Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a homage to the entire series. The background music has always been an essential part of the franchise. That's why I was all the more pleased when this game was announced. The story sections are told in their most essential features, which is good for newcomers, but simply too little for veterans. Also the scope is exhausted relatively quickly and the other modes are nice, but it doesn't have a real added value. The enemy types are also exhausted after a while. The real highlight is and remains the music, because every single track reminded me of the wonderful events around Kingdom Hearts. If you want to remember such moments, Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory is a must buy. If you don't have any nostalgic memories of it, you will have to think twice about buying it.
Review in German | Read full review
Mario Kart Live - Home Circuit is a new version of the classic racing game. The AR features are refreshing and a lot of fun. Bringing the aspect of the race track into the living room was a clever move by Nintendo. With the right size there are no limits to your fantasy. The co-op mode is unfortunately not possible online. You are limited here to the local version. Why Nintendo considered this step, I did not understand. I imagine it to be especially funny to play with players all over the world in their living rooms.
Review in German | Read full review
Yakuza: Like a Dragon has made the leap into the RPG genre with flying colors. The story is kept exciting and you can't stop following Ichiban's vendetta. The abundance of side tasks can be a bit overwhelming for the player at the beginning. But once you have played the game for a few hours, you know the most important points in the city. Time passes very quickly when playing darts or karting. By no means you need to believe that these actions are a waste of time. You get personality points which finally strengthen the fighting actions. The fights bring a breath of fresh air to the row and put a smile on the players' faces. Through the different creative classes you attack the opponents with pigeons or wrestling moves instead of casting disdainful fireballs. Unfortunately, the invisible AoE range of abilities spoils the fun of the game. Also the unusually long races until a comrade reaches the enemy seem strange. A timeline showing the next actors would have been helpful too. If you like the Yakuza series and are open for new things, you definitely have to go for Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Review in German | Read full review
The train of Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV has reached its final destination with flying colors. A thunderous applause can be heard and the guests can leave the train confident and satisfied. The same was my feeling when I finished the final epic. The series has accompanied me for many hours and I wouldn't want to miss any of them. Also the end was not the actual end. If you really want to know everything, you have to make certain decisions that I don't want to go into here, but it's worth it in any case. Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV is the perfect end of the series. A thrilling story right to the end, forces every RPG lover to play the game to the end, even if it can take up to 100 hours. The sound is well done and makes fun to listen to. Especially the variety of different sounds made me add the tracks to my spotifylist. The only downer remains the look. The look has improved over the last seven years for the series itself, but is still not state of the art. I also really liked the combat system with the new features like Auto Battle or the huge Mechs that can be summoned. Everyone who played the series until the third part is forced to finish the final part. If you have never played an offshoot, you will have a hard time finding your way into the game. While it's not a bad idea to rework the story so far, it doesn't replace playing the series.
Review in German | Read full review
Monkeys, man's best friends! This motto can be applied very well to The Survivalists. Without the hairy companion, you are very quickly lost at the title. The game offers a solid sandbox survival adventure with strengths and weaknesses. The crafting aspect is the highlight of the title. Many different items need to be built by the stranded person to make island life bearable. Also the constant hunger is not as bad as it sounds at the beginning. Since the food can't rot, you can build a big camp. On the negative side, it should be mentioned that crafting often gets in the way of itself. If you want to create several objects at the same time, you can do this in a detour. Also, if you have several monkeys, it can get confusing if you want to teach a certain monkey something. All in all The Survivalists remains a beautifully designed survival game with an enormous learning curve. The different biomes are nice to look at and a long-term motivation is definitely given by the different generated worlds.
Review in German | Read full review
Super Mario 3D All-Stars shows the young generation what the evolution of Nintendo's mascot has looked like. Starting with an edgy 3D representation with camera problems, up to a wonderfully designed plumber, who is looking for his princess in space. Even nostalgics will enjoy the collection. You may return to your childhood and experience Mario again. You only have to give deductions in the implementation of the games. That in Super Mario 64, no 16:9 aspect ratio was inserted, is a sad fact. Also the price of 60 Euro was chosen very high for a remaster which was not really remastered. All in all, you will have fun with Super Mario 3D All-Stars, no matter if you accompany Mario on one of his 3D adventures for the first time or if you have already experienced them several times.
Review in German | Read full review
Banner of the Maid is a well done SRPG. The battles are crisp and hard, but once you have successfully completed the mission, you are even more proud of your performance. It is also pleasant that no fantasy setting or completely exaggerated story elements were chosen. The title reflects the French Revolution in its main features. One gets to know authentic characters like Napoleon Bonaparte, Marie-Antoinette or Maximillien de Robespierre.
Review in German | Read full review
Paper Mario: The Origami Kingdom is definitely not an everyday RPG. You can argue whether the new combat system is innovative or disruptive. I didn't like the fact that in the end there is no reward for winning battles. The coins earned can be spent in the store for various accessories, but these are soon bought up. That's why the normal fights are disturbing and you try to avoid them later in the game. The absolute highlight remains the setting, because the gorgeous colors and the character sprites are shining like hell. Also the search for the toads is motivating and lets you enjoy the whole game world. Finally, it remains to say that Paper Mario: The Origami Kingdom unfortunately can't hold a candle to its predecessors. The story around Mario and Origami ruler Olly is well done, but the stressful fighting system makes the game fun to play.
Review in German | Read full review
void tRrLM(); Void Terrarium is a rogue-like title as there are quite a few already. But there are special features that made me play the game longer than I first thought. On the one hand you have a wonderfully mysterious relationship between the robot and Toriko. The girl seems small and fragile and the robot has the same characteristics. But in the course of the story it turns out that the robot is more than nothing and fragile, it is strong and brave! Exactly this development has been well done and NIS America has made the best use of the emotions and the setting.
Review in German | Read full review
Fell Seal Arbiter's Mark - Missions and Monsters is a tactical RPG like no other. Lots of professions that can be mastered and different skills. The story is quite predictable and the twists and turns are predictable. Also the graphics is not the strength of the game. But what is definitely convincing is the completely customizable difficulty level. Is the level too difficult for you? No problem, a few sliders moved and poof, the fight is already easier. Also the gameplay is fun in itself. The commands of the characters are intuitive and you won't find a nested menu navigation. If you look at the DLC, you can get an enormous extension of the game fun with about 10 Euro. New classes, a guild system that makes sense and tameable monsters. What more do you want? Tactical roleplayers who had their fun with genre representatives á la Final Fantasy Tactics or Disgaea will not be able to avoid a purchase. Even newcomers will be able to dive directly into the game action without having to experience too many frustrating moments thanks to the customizable difficulty level.
Review in German | Read full review
Ys: Memories of Celceta is a JRPG pearl like no other. A progressive storyline, different playable characters and a flood of items. If you don't mind watching a more than dusty graphic for about 20 hours, you will definitely have fun with the title. On the other hand, if you have played the version on your PC or PS Vita, the new features of the PS4-Version are too small to play the game a third time.
Review in German | Read full review
Wow, great, tres bien, molto bene, that's all there is to say about such a well aged JRPG! Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition convinces with a wonderful environment, very well staged music and an incredibly twisty story. The only downer are the many quests. Due to the repetitive nature of the quests, they feel more like a burden than an adventure. Everyone who likes to play JRPG, for him Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition is a must buy. Even veterans who want to play the game for the third time will be rewarded with a fifteen hour additional episode. This can also be conveniently selected directly from the main menu, a play through of the original story is not necessary.
Review in German | Read full review
Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is an indie gem. The exciting look á la Paper Mario and the mature combat system, you will have fun playing the game throughout. You can also see the difficulty level. Quite early you get a coin where you can activate the hard mode. If the normal level of difficulty is not enough, you can safely choose the hard mode. By the adaptation with the coin, the modes can be easily switched on and off. If you want to shorten the wait for the new Paper Mario, you can confidently use this excellent title.
Review in German | Read full review
Code Vein makes the entry into the Soulslike genre relatively easy. But that doesn't mean that the game becomes a pleasant walk through the forest. You will die and not once or twice, but very often, but Code Vein takes the player by the hand. The story is served to you on a plate. You don't have to puzzle the story together with item descriptions. But the constant comparison with the titles of From Software is not really necessary, because Code Vein has its own features that are way ahead of Dark Souls. So the blood codes are an enormous enrichment in the game. You can adapt the game to the situation so that no frustrating moments arise. In my opinion, the title is more of a souls-lite. The game remains challenging to the end, but I never had the feeling to have such a subjective difficulty as in Dark Souls. If you have a soft spot for anime and want to try a game similar to Dark Souls, Code Vein is the right choice. It offers everything you need to get started in the genre.
Review in German | Read full review
The remake of Trials of Mana has remained true to its origins. The story, good versus evil, is classic and twists and turns are not to be expected. Through the six protagonists, six different perspectives can be seen in the interwoven story. This allows the title to be played through six times. With a playing time of 20 hours per character, you get a lot from a game. Unfortunately not much can be experienced apart from the story. With almost no side quests, you are "only" busy with the main story. Also there is no local co-op anymore, which could disturb one or the other. If you played the original 25 years ago, it's definitely worth playing it again. New fans have to be satisfied with a roleplay without a lot of gimmicks. But if you get involved, you get a wonderfully animated game pearl.
Review in German | Read full review
Sakura Wars is a good mixture of Dating Sim, Visual Novel and few RPG elements. Because of the LIPS system you have to make many decisions in a short time. Even if it is sometimes not obvious what the outcome is, the fun sequences compensate for it. Through the many romances, you can play the game well and often. The role playing area has several problems and is just too small to convince JRPG fans. But if you are looking for a good visual novel with a touch of Musou action, you will definitely find it with Sakura War.
Review in German | Read full review
As a long-time One Piece fan, I am thrilled with One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4. The story goes all the way to Big Mom Arc and in just under 20 hours you get the main points of the story. The fighting system remains true to a Musou game. You fight your way through a level with a pirate of your choice and defeat several thousand enemies. The special abilities available to you are the graphic highlight. Each character has four attacks typical for the series. Also the innovation with the shield bars and the giant enemies brings fresh wind into the series. Unfortunately, the biggest criticism is the long waiting time for the loading screens. This aspect takes so much dynamic out of the game that it sometimes seems frustrating. Also the level of difficulty is not really demanding. At the highest of the three levels, there are isolated sections where you have to take more care. All in all One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is the best part of the series. If you have fun in the One Piece universe and own a console or PC, the title is an absolute must buy.
Review in German | Read full review
A thirty year old game hasn't looked this good for a long time. The remaster of Langrisser I & II is a perfect success. The new character designs fit wonderfully into the modern game landscape. But if you want to have the original feeling like back then on the Sega Mega Drive, that's no problem either. With about 70 hours of different story paths, you have a lot to do with the bundle. Since the gameplay changes depending on the way you play, playing through the game several times is not boring. You have to endure the frustrating moments with the sometimes really stupid NPCs, but in the end you will be rewarded with an exciting story. There are not many strategy games that can hold a candle to Fire Emblem, but Langrisser I & II is definitely one of them. Strategy fans can take the titles with confidence.
Review in German | Read full review
Underhero is a lovingly designed indie title with lots of attention to detail. If you look at the conversations around the colleagues of 745, it is fun to listen to them. It doesn't seem to be a burden to talk to all monsters, no, you want to talk to everybody and get to know the world around the Underhero better. The bouncing passages are the shortcoming of the game. Not only once did the inaccuracy of the jump drive me crazy. But in the end I kept going until I mastered the last jump, even though it took me several years of my life. The fights were a lot of fun. I immediately remembered the Paper Mario parts where dodging and learning the attack patterns was part of survival. If you want to play a mixture of platformer and roleplaying game, spiced with a fun and exciting story, you definitely won't go wrong with Underhero.
Review in German | Read full review
Yes, Warrior's Orochi 4 Ultimate sticks to its principles. You shred your way through masses of enemy hordes and get an increasingly strong troop. The game principle is clear and simple. The total package brings a lot of features that were necessary. Especially the aspect that you can now exchange the holy treasures is something I wanted. The story around Gaia and Hades brings new life into the otherwise boring plot. If you haven't bought Warrior's Orochi 4 yet and you have a preference for the genre, you can confidently go for the Ultimate version.
Review in German | Read full review