You don’t watch Titanic hoping the boat will survive; you need to see Jack and Rose sharing a moment, however brief, in this dark, cold life. That, more than anything, is what you can take away from Iwakura Aria. Perhaps you’ll find the ending that I couldn’t and discover a happy ever after for everyone. But, even if such a thing doesn’t exist, the fact remains that the love is there, and, however fleeting, it’s real, and it burns and it chases shadows away.
Sunset High is a day late and a buck short. Having to repeat the same nonsense again and again to slowly unlock some new information doesn’t feel like I’m gradually learning more, it feels like I’m stuck in a Tik Tok that’s mashing up Twin Peaks with Sixteen Candles but trying to keep it modern.
Overall, with that one odd exception, Fiz and the Rainbow Planet is a great example of a snack video game that’ll be a fun jaunt for fans of pixel art and platformers. The cohesion is solid, I enjoyed how the characters interacted, and nothing particularly crazy happened with play or controls.
The concept is tepid at best, the graphics are generically cute and the delivery is just a mess of a golden goose situation. The day to day on the free version is hatefully slow, and, once you drop the ten bucks, you’re just turned loose with no sense of accomplishment to help you along. There’s no middle ground between “drip feed content” and “whatever, here’s a bucket.” This is the biggest brand in the world, and Pokémon Friends lashes out at each and every fan to say “you’ll pay us because we expect you to, so pony up.” Don’t be surprised for the Pokémon Center to start selling these yarn versions in the next two months, and for them to be thirty dollars a pop. I knew you were in it for the money, Pokémon Company, but this is disgusting, even for you.
Even if you’ve never touched AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES in any capacity previously, this is a solid entrypoint that might even be better thanks to pacing and plenty of extra reading to catch up on previous events. It’s captivating, it’s complex, and it’s riddled with intrigue and mystery. The moments you live are the moments you remember, and, though he is exhausted from lack of sleep, Kaname Date very much feels alive.
If you are all in on Bustafellows already, if you adored CollarXMalice or Code:Realize and can pick up the general information, then you’re in good company. Bustafellows: season2 has plenty of excellent voice acting, quirky romance beats and a couple of great developments that made me appreciate Shu so much more than the first title. But if you’re coming into otome games or visual novels in general, this is not a great place to start.
Overall, Irem Collection Volume 3 is charming and fun, but it really doesn’t bring anything groundbreaking to the table. These aren’t the classics you would recognize, nor would I call them undiscovered gems that never got localized. It’s a good preservation, but, after your curiosity is slaked, you may never find yourself opening them up to play again. But at least you have the option, and that, more than anything, is the purpose of keeping these titles alive.
In a world where games can be patched and updated till they barely resemble their original form, Front Mission 3: Remake still could not grow into a better and more satisfying sequel. Clean up the graphics, tweak the AI and make the missions load faster, and you’re still left with bland combat and unlikeable leads. I doubt this’ll be my last time with the franchise, but, in a world where even the best games can be left behind in a blink, I have no choice but to eject from Front Mission III immediately to save myself.
“Fine” might be too reductive, but this could have been either a delightful masterpiece or absolute garbage, and it’s neither. If you’re a huge Castlevania fan, it could be a lot of fun. If you liked Bloodstained better than most, then you’ll love this game. But when the sun rises in this house, Chronicles will simply disappear, like a nightmare with lingering doubts left in the day.
There are probably people out there unfamiliar with Viva La Dirt League who will still be tickled by this title and have a fabulous time. I wanted an RPG with more to it than referential humor to something I’ve never seen before. As it is, this repetitive title with quirkiness and interesting combat just can’t keep my attention any longer than it takes to pull Bodger’s hammer out of the well. Again.
1f y0u’re a gh0st ca11 me here! is decent enough: great design, novel plot, alright mechanics. I appreciate that the touchscreen on the Switch works even better than controls when it comes to the switchboard. But it honestly feels like it ends right as it’s getting going, leaving the player high and dry in terms of real resolution, character development and satisfaction. I didn’t dislike the game, but the rough edges felt sharper without space between them, and the overall takeaway was Shakespearean: “Out, out brief candle! And then is heard no more.”
Advanced V.G. is unabashed in why it exists, which drags the whole thing down. If it was excellent fighting or a complete overhaul of the storyline, that might give it some modern clemency. If it was a Saturn game that gets mentioned constantly with the bemoaning wistfulness that it never saw Western shores, I could get that. It doesn’t have to be a game for everyone, but it should be a game that makes sense and elevates the genre in some sense, either through innovation or inspiration. Here, there’s neither, just some risque photos that are the toned down results of Law & Order: Anime Victims Unit.
Waterzooi has crafted a vessel of expression that I see and I adore because of what it is, not what it could be. There’s hints that there may be more chapters in the future, and I, for one, would be thrilled to see even more expansion into this realm. Please, Touch the Artwork 2 thrills me with a simple concept delivered with polish, poise and aplomb.
I did not like the character. I did not like the quest. I did not think what I was doing was noble and I thought everyone sucked. But. The game is so well made the level of polish creates such a sheen it glosses over the mental disgruntlement I have. It’s an indisputably well made game that ticks the boxes like it was born to defy expectations. Pipistrello is daunting, but it knows what it has and never tries to pretend otherwise. Good luck, you’re definitely going to need it.
I feel that Maniac sets out to do what it intends to do very well: it’s chaotic, it’s dynamic, and I admit it runs pretty well on the Switch, a console now infamous for slowdowns and stutters when on screen action becomes too much. It’s a fun little experience, but, without achievements or anything beyond the surface to strive for, you can get bored fairly quickly. Having said that, it’s a good budget title for anyone with a soft spot for 90s mayhem, and it never professes to be anything it isn’t. It’s just a shame: it seems I’ve grown older, and the genre hasn’t aged with me. How bittersweet.
But other than that niggling issue, I had such a memorable, gorgeous time with Kulebra. A combination of Paper Mario, Coco and Undertale, this beautiful game brought me on a journey into unknown reaches of empathy, hope and utter heartbreak. It treated the player gently, touching on ideas of life after death without being aggressive or definitive, and it did so with absolute grace.
I think I really enjoyed Yasha: Legends of the Demon Blade because I didn’t spend a lot of time chasing the next Hades clone after the success of the progenitor. There have been attempts, but I missed them, and I didn’t get into the sequel early access yet. So something that reminds me that isometric, fast paced, incrementally improving titles are fun as hell is important, and Yasha hits those notes with aplomb.
It’s great for developers to try a new idea, and for a New Zealand dev to move to Japan, get inspired by the world and craft an original game in a unique setting is a feat, and kudos for that. Labyrinth of the Demon King is going to be fun for the right crowd who enjoy getting brutalized by things beyond their control and hoping for the best in what felt like an arbitrary generation of items and consumables. For me, though, this was a disappointing, frustrating and honestly exhausting waste of my time. Have fun storming the castle, I’m going back to bed.
Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero was made because NIS said a survey of fans demanded these characters return for another installment, so I have to believe that someone is emphatically excited about this title. And there is a lot to see and do: randomly generated maps, tons of equipment to find and buy, customization through skills learned and taught, and generally fun combat that requires little higher brain power.
I lost my mind with 13 Sentinels back in the day, and my time with The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy was similar. It’s clever, engrossing, and it breaks up the reading with the right level of engagement and action.