Trinity Trigger isn’t a bad game, but it isn’t the best game either. Its strong points are its simple combat, loveable main cast, and charming graphics. However, it could use some work in the story and sound departments. I do hope the game’s development staff continues to stick with this world they created, as there are some interesting concepts, they just need to be expanded upon. I think newcomers and veteran action RPG players can find something to like about this game, just don’t come in with super high expectations. Due to the short playtime, I can’t recommend purchasing this game at the price of $49.99 (digitally). I suggest waiting for a sale before picking this one up, if you’re interested.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played, and one of my favorite games in the Trails series. The thought provoking story is memorable, the characters look fantastic and are full of personality, the turn-based combat is polished, and the music is phenomenal. Trails to Azure absolutely lived up to the bar Trails from Zero set, and surpassed it with flying colors. I did run into a couple bugs, and there were some issues with the translation, but those were not enough to bring this one down too much. I highly recommend this game to fans of the franchise and RPGs. However, since this is a sequel, you should at least play Trails from Zero before getting into this one. Trails to Azure will set you back $39.99 digitally and $49.99 for a physical copy, and I say it’s worth every penny.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero is an outstanding JRPG with a great story, memorable characters, solid turn-based combat, and an absolutely amazing soundtrack. Going back to my question in the beginning, was the game worth the wait? The answer is a resounding yes. While the game’s localization can be a bit rough in some places, this shouldn’t hold you back from experiencing this title. I highly recommend this game to fans of the franchise, JRPG fans, and even newcomers. For the price of $39.99, it is definitely worth it.
I have a love-hate relationship with Rune Factory 5. I love the relaxing atmosphere and simple daily life activities, straightforward combat, and the Rigbarth citizens. My experience was unfortunately muddied by questionable enemy design, an absurd difficulty spike, and numerous issues and bugs that found their way into the final product. I think if you’re a longtime Rune Factory fan you might find something to like. However, if you’re a newcomer, I cannot recommend buying the game at its $59.99 retail price until they fix some of the issues I mentioned earlier. If the game is on sale, and the game is updated, I say knock yourself out. The best way to play the game is on PC, and I guarantee you’ll at least love the characters and simple farming life.
Sifu is a solid action game. The kung fu techniques were a treat for the eyes, combat is fluid and fun, the main character designs and environments were beautiful, and the difficulty felt just right. Add in the great soundtrack and sound effects, and you got a pretty good package. Unfortunately, the game is held back by some visual issues, a short length, and low replayability. If you’re a kung fu enthusiast, or a big fan of action games with a good amount of difficulty, I think the game is worth the $39.99. However, if you’re looking for a game you can play long after you finish the main stages, you may want to look somewhere else.
I enjoyed my time with Neptunia ReVerse. It was great seeing these loveable characters interact with each other again, and I appreciated how much this game improved upon the original. ReVerse is such a significant improvement over Hyperdimension Neptunia, that if your only experience with the first game is the original, I highly recommend picking this one up to see how much it changed. If you’re new to the series, this is probably the best way to get into the Neptunia franchise, seeing as how this is a remake of the very first game. If you already played Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 1, I think you can skip this one since the story is essentially the same. I think $50 is a bit high for an upgraded port of a PS Vita game, so I recommend waiting for a price drop before picking this one up. Neptunia ReVerse is available right now for PlayStation 5.
NINJA GAIDEN: Master Collection bundles three good action games that are still fun to play years after their original release dates, and have made a pretty smooth transition over to Nintendo Switch, despite some of the hiccups I mentioned earlier. While some aspects didn’t age well, like Sigma‘s camera issues, I still think these three titles are solid action games and worth picking up. I think that NINJA GAIDEN fans, and fans of action games in general, will still find a lot to love here. The games still have fun combat, good music, beautiful character models, and the baddest ninja in the world, Ryu Hayabusa. A standard edition copy will cost $39.99 on the Nintendo eShop, and I feel this bundle is definitely worth that. If you want something extra, you can also get the deluxe edition for $49.99 which comes with a digital art book and soundtrack. Are you ready to fulfill your ninja fantasy and step into the shoes of the world’s strongest ninja?
To answer my question from the beginning of the review, Persona 5 Strikers absolutely blew through any expectations I had. The game has great character development, beautiful anime-styled graphics, an earworm soundtrack, and, much to my surprise, excellent action-based combat. It’s come to the point where I would welcome more spin-offs with this combat system. It took me about 60 hours to complete the main story while completing the Requests available to me, so you have a good amount of content to play through. After beating the game, more Requests unlock, so you have plenty to do even after finishing the story. However, I don’t recommend playing this game unless you’ve played Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal, or you watched Persona 5: The Animation. P5S spoils events that occur in P5 and you won’t be as attached to certain characters if you haven’t played the original. But, if you’re a huge fan of Persona 5, I highly recommend you pick Persona 5 Strikers up. It is definitely worth the $59.99 price tag, and I promise you won’t leave disappointed.
I enjoyed my time playing Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, especially after all the recent updates. The game has a decent story, very fun combat, a well-implemented soundtrack, beautiful environments and great looking characters. However, it is still affected by technical issues, an absurdly long first chapter, a questionable use of character creation, the omission of characters such as Yuuki and the CUBE shop system which shouldn’t be there in the first place. It took me about 121 hours to beat the main story while doing side missions and Bond Events as well. Once you beat the story, you can tackle Raid Dungeons, try to test your mettle against high level foes, try to get high rarity weapons or even try to unlock all the event CGs. So there’s still some things to do even after beating the game. Would I recommend paying $60 for this game? I would only recommend doing that if you’re a hardcore Sword Art Online fan like me. If you’re not, I recommend waiting for a sale or waiting for the technical issues in the base game to be mostly fixed. If you do decide to take the dive, know there’s an immense amount of content waiting for you.
I very much enjoyed Sword Art Online: Lost Song. The combat in the game is fast paced, the controls are easy to get used to and Multiplayer is very fun and will drain almost all your time in the game. Those sub events are also extremely fun to watch. The only problems I really had with it were the recycled dungeon and enemy designs, and how easy and repetitive the combat could get. Also the story was pretty underwhelming. Those issues aside, if you’re a fan of ARPGs or Sword Art Online in general you should definitely give this game a shot.