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Nightdive has made an exceptional remaster of a very mediocre game. The Thing does not deserve this kind of attention. There are better games out there that could have gotten this treatment, but hopefully, it inspires someone else to take another shot at adapting John Carpenter’s immortal classic. Its premise is still fertile and novel and maybe one day, someone will get it right.
Most people consider Chrono Trigger one of the best JRPGs for a good reason. It’s an exciting story to play through with unforgettable visuals and music. The gameplay is a perfect balance of challenging yet it remains streamlined to keep it accessible. It may be too basic for hardcore RPG maniacs, but it’s hard to ever feel disappointed when getting swept up in such a wonderful and feel-good adventure.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a cinematic title that manages to fulfill the “playable movie” premise in a positive way. Fans of the franchise will be right at home with the Raiders of the Lost Ark-inspired plot, and given the game’s positive reception, it might even open the door for a new era of Indiana Jones media.
Much like Triangle Strategy, both games suffer from having to compete with Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre. No SRPG has ever or likely will ever come close to achieving such greatness. You’re better off revisiting those two classics if you need to scratch the strategy RPG itch.
Spirit Mancer is a solid action platformer with amazing pixel art and breezy gameplay that makes it ideal for kids.
Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver 1 and 2 Remastered are the definitive versions of two awesome but flawed games. One game surpasses one in another aspect and vice versa, but between them both you’re going to get a superbly gothic and atmospheric epic backed by some of the greatest and moodiest dialogue in any game ever.
Perhaps I’m being a little too harsh, but I expect that if you cash in on my childhood, you should at least give me an experience that’s more fun than the game I played 20+ years ago.
If you are a lover of Fairy Tail and just want to relive the Fairy Tail final Arc, then it is worth picking up Fairy Tail 2 as it’s a fun JRPG.
Nikoderiko takes all the best lessons from the games of yesteryear, and presents them in a colorful package that lands firmly in the all-ages “easy to play, difficult to 100%” box with all the greats of the genre.
Little Big Adventure: Twinsen’s Quest is borderline unplayable. The kinesthetics are dreadfully unpleasant and the rough state of the game can lead to some nasty bugs. The few areas of improvement are not worth enduring this sluggish mess. Gamers are better off playing the original.
What’s interesting to note is that a lot of these game-breaking issues can easily be resolved with a patch. Assuming that day never comes, this is a quest I wouldn’t recommend to anyone other than the usual Dragon Quest fans who would buy it anyway. Some things should be left untouched since the modern audience does not understand what made it good in the first place.
River City Saga: Three Kingdoms Next was close to being fun. The tiring and repetitious structure that makes players run back and forth between the same areas across a huge map becomes very boring. There is too much teasing the player with a challenge and when it finally comes, it is too little and too late.
Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a flawless JRPG experience. It takes an old gem masterpiece from the golden age and refines it into an epic masterpiece with an AA budget than what Square Enix typically spits out of its mouth.
Crypt Custodian doesn’t deviate far from the very basics of the Metroidvania formula, but it polishes simplicity to the point where you can’t help but be engaged by it. Having a tight combat system, exploration that doesn’t screech to a halt every five minutes, and a pleasant aesthetic is more than enough to create a fun experience, and Crypt Custodian does exactly that.
Grunn is fully committed to being a surreal experience, but doesn’t go too far to the point where it becomes nonsense, instead striking a good balance between the mundane and weird. It deserves its place as one of the most charming horror titles released this year, and is more than worth playing if you enjoy feeling isolated, uncomfortable, and Dutch.
The older Ocarina of Time gets, it only becomes more relevant. Its themes resonate through a classic story of good versus evil and a weighty ending that carries tragic implications for anyone who has played the later entries in the franchise. It’s a tale as old as time itself and still engrosses despite its age.
Empire of the Ants is an exceptional entry-level strategy game that lets players relax once in a while during exploration-based stages. Some things are unrealistic or inaccurate but are in service of making an enjoyable experience. At the very least, it has some of the most realistic visuals on current-gen consoles.
While I can appreciate the idea of a Furi styled boss battle, it just feels out of place considering what the rest of the game is. Maybe there was more planned or maybe they just decided that they didn’t know how to make the boss battle fit naturally into the flow of the arena. Maybe they ran out of time and decided it was good enough as it was. I’m not sure, but at $15, it’s hard to penalize them too much over a slightly disjointed final battle.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an epic RPG for Mario standards. It has everything one might hope for, all wrapped up in a beefy package. The erratic framerate won’t impress long-time gamers and even the load times might wear down a kid’s patience, but the trade-off is some of the most appealing art and animation seen on an RPG on Switch.
Death Stranding: Director’s Cut may not resonate with everyone who plays it. This is not a typical action game. It’s pensive for long stretches with bizarre instances of humor and sudden bouts of action. Death Stranding: Director’s Cut blends several genres into an epic surrealist sci-fi epic. Kojima’s message may be aggressively in-your-face, but at least it is a message worth having.