The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is a solid entry into the Legend of Heroes series. It has superb sound design, art, and storytelling. It has a really good detective oriented main character that pays off quite well in the end.
Jack Move has a lot of great mechanics and customization that ultimately doesn’t get utilized due to some poor balancing. The art design and music are fantastic and we hope to see more from this world.
The Darkest Tales is a solid action 2D Platformer with a twist on classic Fairy Tales. A fun short adventure that tells a story about a teddy bear trying to rescue its owner. Plus, how cool is a duel-wielding Teddy Bear? How much more do you want?
Pretty Girls Escape is a puzzle game akin to BreakThru! but with added features and mechanics. It doesn't add a whole lot but it does add enough to be engaging and a satisfying puzzle game.
Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a solid game loop that feels fun to play, especially if you are with friends. However the progression system and the cosmetics have much to be desired. Hopefully the longer this game stays in service, the better the options become.
Star Ocean: The Divine Force is a competent game in the Star Ocean franchise but it is hindered by some in game decision with menus, quest logs, and the party member AI. It isn't the best transition to 3D from the art, but playing and fighting enemies is very enjoyable.
Lunistice is a 3D platformer giving us the best elements of 3D Sonic the Hedgehog and Crash Bandicoot. Short enough that it won't take up your week but addictive enough that you may want it to.
Chained Echoes is a 16-bit-era JRPG that lends itself well to the genre. A definite pickup if you are wanting to do a run of more SNES-era games but still have some quality-of-life adjustments of the modern era.
Samurai Maiden is an enjoyable action Hack and slash game that has great visuals. The combat in the game is solid, but not all the mechanics are quite as polished as its combat. An enjoyable story that picks up quite a bit in the second half of the game. These characters are great and I do want to see more of them in the future!
Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song Remastered is a well-done and polished remaster that allows the player a lot of freedom. Fans of the series will be delighted at the extra characters and storylines. It still suffers from 2005 visuals and 2005 voice acting but it is nostalgic in a way.
Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII Reunion is a masterclass on how to remaster a game. It has revamped graphics, combat, and voice acting. However, the PSP core is still inside the pretty graphics. Still gotta deal with bite-size levels, poor lip flaps, upscaled grainy cinematics, and random encounters. Overall it is still a fantastic game.
Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters is an ambitious title that finally returns to the mainline series of Neptunia. Action based combat with still keeping skill setups from the previous games along with seamless transition from combat to traversal makes it a great step up to current generation hardware. The combat system without the passive effects of discs feel clunky, and the maps have plenty of reused designs but otherwise a solid entry into the series.
One Piece Odyssey is a solid JRPG experience with great animations, characterizations and story beats. It lets you relive some of the best moments of the series in bite size chunks. The ease of difficulty can feel boring to fans of the genre but overall a great experience.
Another new change with Shadow Warrior 3 Definitive Edition is the Hero Mode for the story playthrough. Hero mode makes it, so you have a limited amount of lives in a playthrough. If you lose those lives, you’ll have to restart the entire story mode again. It is a good test to see how well you remember the game and some of the tricks for each arena.
Hogwarts Legacy is an absolute monster of passion and creativity in a world that is all about creativity. Great combat mechanics and a unique open world with many interesting secrets hidden around makes playing this game an absolute treasure.
Anime vs Evil: Apocalypse is an enjoyable game at its core with the shooting mechanics and the character designs, but the lack of content and variety does hinder it.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is the peak of storytelling, character writing, and worldbuilding. With enhanced visuals and solid dungeon design this game is an absolute must play for anyone who wants to see video games as a medium of narratives.
GrimGrimoire OnceMore is a display of passion from the art to the character designs. It has a fun loop and is a very unique experience. The only negative comes with the shortness of the main game and the maps mainly go up and down.
Atelier Ryza 3: The Alchemist of the End & The Secret Key is the culmination of the entirety of Atelier Ryza. It is a fantastic conclusion and adds a lot of QoL mechanics that make it a great experience.
Hunt The Night has combines Legend of Zelda in its puzzles and exploration with Bloodborne in its difficulty and ambiance in a way that will attract fans of either series. Though it might turn off players who are not interested in a lot of difficult boss encounters.