While the core mix of action platforming and city building is a thing of beauty, this Renaissance version of ActRaiser is bogged down by motion sickness-inducing framerate drops, ugly prerendered character models, and far too frequent tower defense sections. If ActRaiser Renaissance is your only way to play ActRaiser, then please do yourself the favor, but I would highly recommend getting a Super Nintendo with a game cartridge, or a Wii with the virtual console download installed.
I feel like I will get some backlash for this, but I did not enjoy my time with Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town. I am not usually a fan of the farm sim genre, but I can tell other non-fans that this is not the game that will get them into it. It is a remake of a 22-year-old game, and for that, it gets credit for helping build this niche genre and for having little to build upon. But there are other options out there. Stardew Valley has trampled the Story of Seasons series under its hoof, and the Persona series has made the day-to-day grind exciting and meaningful. But if you love farm sims and you’re looking for a simpler, more relaxing alternative to Stardew Valley, Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town will undoubtedly provide you with hours upon hours of content.
The main game consists of 5 chapters that each take about 2 hours, as well as 3 bonus chapters. Corpse Party isn’t the longest game, but it doesn’t overstay its welcome, and it’s certainly worth its bargain price. The only complaints I might have is that it won’t be for everyone. Corpse Party isn’t quite a visual novel, but it’s definitely more of an interactive story than a videogame. Its modern equivalents are games like To the Moon, and Yume Nikki. So if you’re into JRPGs, old school survival horror, or modern narrative-heavy RPG Maker indie games, I highly recommend picking up Corpse Party. I was curious about playing it, and am so happy that I did.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water is a very good throwback to the weirder survival horror games found on the PS2. It features a looming horror atmosphere I really enjoyed, and a unique gameplay hook with its motion controlled first person camera. While it’s not going to win any game of the year awards, I would think that Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water should be a must play for all survival horror fans, especially with its budget price.
As much as I loved playing through the Final Fantasy V Pixel Remaster, I can’t call it the definitive version. A definitive version would have the GBA bonus content, the PS1 cutscenes, the option to switch graphics and music, and multiple difficulties. But what we have is a beautiful version of a JRPG classic that has not been widely distributed outside of Japan. It’s an amazing game that holds up really well today. So, if anyone from Square-Enix is reading this review, please release the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters on console, with physical editions. I would buy the heck outta that.
But what a story these games have. I was so engaged when playing through Danganronpa Decadence. My predictions were wrong, and I was very impressed with the outcome. If you’re at all a fan of visual novels, mysteries, or anime aesthetics, then Danganronpa Decadence is a must play. It’s four games for the price of one, and I loved all of them.
The combination of rumor, magazine publication, and CD trading is what made the Monster Rancher games special. It’s hard to recreate that kind of feeling today. But, Koei Tecmo did it very well. The only problem is that there’s not much content in the game, and without multiplayer capabilities, mileage doesn’t go very far. If I have any advice for anyone attempting to play this game, it’s to share this nostalgic story of how the game worked, and don’t just look up the stats of the best monsters on the internet. Play with some friends, use your favorite albums, and see what you get, because that is what makes Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX unique. Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX is an effective nostalgic novelty, but as a monster raising sim, it’s pretty meh.
The Disney Classic Games Collection is very thorough and fantastic. If you have any nostalgic love for these games, then this collection is the best way to play them, and if you’re a younger gamer, who is at all curious as to why some of us adults have a special place in our hearts for 90s 2D platformers, then this collection would be an excellent place to find out. Hopefully this release leads to future Disney Collections. My fingers are crossed for a Mickey Mouse bundle featuring the Magical Quest trilogy, Mickey Mania, the Castle and World of Illusion games, and the Japanese-only Mickey no Tokyo Disneyland Daibōken game. A kid can dream, right?
The Letter: A Horror Visual Novel is a very good story, with an excellent focus on character relationships. The story uses the structure of the visual novel genre to deepen its quality. This is what a visual novel should be. It doesn’t have the originality of genre classics like 428: Shibuya Scramble, Danganronpa, or the Ace Attorney series. But it is an easy recommendation for fans of the genre, who are looking for more.
Rise of the Third Power is a 40 hour long, Super Nintendo throwback that shouldn’t be missed by genre fans. The only criticism I can really throw at the game is it lacks that special edge Squaresoft SNES RPGs had. Everything in Rise of the Third Power is well-done, it just doesn’t innovate. This keeps Rise of the Third Power from being an immediate classic. I loved my time with it. I actually loved it so much that I bought Stegosoft’s other JRPG, Ara Fell. While Rise of the Third Power won’t convert any non-JRPG fans, it will provide a wonderful journey to those of us already drinking that sweet JRPG Kool-Aid.
To summarize, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax has the visual novel stories of both Persona 4 Arena games. As a result, it has the full roster of Ultimax, as well as all the character balancing. All the DLC from the original titles is included in this new release. This gorgeous anime fighter is easy to pick up, and difficult to master. It’s a ton of quality content for a budget price, which makes Persona 4 Arena Ultimax a must buy for all Persona and fighting game fans.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is as good as it ever was. The Switch version doesn’t add anything for people who have the game on other systems. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm fans, who might be excited for another similar game, should dial their content expectations way back. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba fans don’t need their teeny narrative summarized, the way Naruto fans might’ve wanted theirs. Merging these two franchises wasn’t the right decision. It would’ve been the definition of “a renter” in the 90s.
F.I.S.T.: Forged in Shadow Torch is an excellent story-driven, combat-heavy Metroidvania. But the Nintendo Switch version is the worst version available. If the Switch is your only option to play the game on, it’s a great game at its core. But if you have access to either PlayStation, or a PC, their visual and performance quality greatly outweigh the Switch’s portability option.
I loved Lost Epic. If a physical copy becomes available, I’m going to buy one. For anyone who is a fan of action RPGs, Metroidvanias, or the Vanillaware visual aesthetic, Lost Epic is a must-play. If the Developers can fix the poor in-game explanations to smooth out the beginning of a first playthrough, Lost Epic could easily go down as a genre classic.
Despite the latter half of this review being mostly criticism, Arcade Paradise, at its core, is a very good management game, with tons of very well-parodied arcade games to play. The mix of genres works incredibly well. I really wish there was a version of Capcom Arcade Stadium in this style. Or an NES Remix. Arcade Paradise’s inauthentic aesthetic, and lack of polish bring it down. But anyone intrigued by the game’s premise should give it a try.
My only major gripes with Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince are highly subjective. It’s a game that needs to reach the kind of people who play mods of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which provide the player with more challenging combat and puzzles. Blossom Tales II has a very good world map to explore, and its dungeon puzzles and combat are perfect. It starts like a game a parent would want to get their young daughter but becomes one that will impress any old-school Zelda fan who gives it some time. So give Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince your time.
Cursed to Golf is a great idea for a game. It’s a very difficult 2D golf game with precise controls. Although it’s a Roguelike, I enjoyed it less like I enjoyed Hades, and more like I enjoyed Super Meat Boy. I just can’t believe there are no multiplayer options! And there are some bugs that need fixing. Playing Cursed to Golf was great fun for a few hours, but as a single-player-only experience, I’m not sure how many players will be captivated long enough to try to conquer all 18 holes.
Fans of the anime will still want to play Made in Abyss: Binary Star Falling into Darkness, but do so with caution. The main draw for new fans will be exploring the abyss and seeing all its layers. There’s just a lot of garbage to sift through to get to the good stuff.
Inscryption appears to be a very niche roguelite deck-building card game. But it turns into so much more. It’s a must play for anyone who is a fan of experimental videogame storytelling. Anyone remotely curious, who enjoys a great mystery, should also play without hesitation. This is the highest review score I’ve given in a while, and I wasn’t drawn to the base gameplay at all. Inscryption is a special game, and a wholly unique experience. It’s going to be remembered as a benchmark of videogame storytelling years from now. I could not be more shocked or impressed.
If you are a fan of JRPGs, then playing Voice of Cards: The Beasts of Burden is a no-brainer. The new monster-catching mechanic is very addictive. And the Yoko Taro story twists alone are worth the price of admission. Fans of the Voice of Cards series will find The Beasts of Burden to be darker, more episodic, and more streamlined. None of those are bad things, they just differentiate The Beasts of Burden from the other games in the series, and keep things fresh enough, without changing the core game mechanics too much. I loved this game, and if you’re a fan of old-school JRPGs, you probably will too.