RPGamer's Reviews
There are some foundations of a good game here, but the characters could be better fleshed out, and the game could offer more incentive for the player to keep progressing in the form of a more compelling plot, more character growth, and more varied missions and mechanics.
There’s no question that both of these titles are first-rate tactical experiences though, and the ability to actually play Langrisser II legally in English is a massive boon to the RPG world. Any players with an affinity for tactical action should look them up immediately, especially since good sales might prompt the rest of the series to finally make its way elsewhere in the world.
Hero Must Die offers a fascinatingly different approach and is well worth checking out just for that. All of the RPG building blocks used are of the most basic sort, but the game manages to combine them effectively with its wilder ideas to ensure that there’s always a sense of building towards a bigger picture and a final goal as well.
The game is an interesting experience purely for its world and general atmosphere, but ultimately it fails to come together due to the lack of depth in its mechanics, character development, and world lore.
Underneath it all lies an engaging combat system, though it’s a shame the story and writing under-serve what could have been an interesting world and cast of characters.
Azur Lane: Crosswave doesn't harbour ambitions to be more than it really is and, though it may be a bit underwhelming, it at least doesn't outstay its welcome. It's perfectly happy to just provide some hours of mild entertainment without trying to reinvent the wheel and that may be enough for some, but certainly not all.
The writing isn’t going to win too many awards, and I could’ve done without the unnecessary anachronisms, yet there was still some magic to be found in my journey through the Deepwood.
While I wish some of the subject matters like prejudice, family, and culture could have been tackled with a little more depth, there’s still plenty to enjoy at this little coffee shop, so stop by for a warm beverage on your preferred console.
There will be some fans who will find content here to enjoy, however, with the vast breadth and depth of the Nintendo Switch library, those looking for quality games can no doubt find better candidates elsewhere.
SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions is an ambitious game that hides a lot of content beneath its surface whilst offering one of the best combat systems and strongest replay values for an RPG.
It’s difficult to recommend this title to anyone without much knowledge of South Park, because the experience is suffused with material only fans will fully appreciate. This is nevertheless one of the occasional licensed titles that actually does its source justice, and is an incredibly easy recommendation to anyone who likes RPGs and has some appreciation for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s amazingly long-lived series.
I admire a fair amount of what developer Talerock and publisher Asterion Games put into Grimshade. It’s a title very much in the style of something using the Infinity Engine, a design choice that’s come back into fashion in recent years. Where it unfortunately needs some improvement is in a few technical details, plus its localization.
While the game won’t appeal to those seeking the tactical gameplay of a classic Fire Emblem, anyone who didn’t jump onto the idol train last generation could do far worse than picking up this Encore, especially with a dearth of other games in a similar vein on the Nintendo Switch.
The music at least alleviates some of the monotony and players won’t need to spend too long with it to spark the ending credits, but the combat and systems contrive to make the gameplay far from enjoyable, and the story is almost not worth mentioning. One can only hope that it allows lessons to be quickly learned ahead of any future action RPG endeavours.
It’s not the kind of game to stand the test of time and Obsidian has made much better and more interesting games in the past, but there is a pleasant experience to be had.
It’s a relatively stress-free handful of hours that can be spent instead in a state of wonderment.
The game offers enough humourous charm and strong enough gameplay to make it an enjoyable experience.
Ryza herself may be among the best heroines in the Atelier series. She is chock full of determination and humour; she is sensitive and has empathy, offering players a heroine who is multifaceted in a way that the previous entries lacked.
It tries to do a lot of things, and definitely has a distinct personality from anything else I remember playing. Layering everything with needless profanity is not the magic bullet to become amazing though, and using the game’s real bullets is often more complicated than it should be.
For RPGamers new to the hunter sub-genre of RPGs, Dauntless can provide an excellent entry point, especially given its free-to-play model.