Final Weapon
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The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak serves as a brilliant introduction to the Republic of Calvard, the setting for what appears to be the most exciting Trails story arc yet. Van Arkride explores the gray areas of Calvardian society alongside allies that are just as tough and driven. The game's story is complemented by a revamped combat system that retains the identity of Trails, and there's of plenty of improvements made that make this one of the best Trails games to date.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin accomplishes exactly what a solid sequel should. Everything from the graphics to the game mechanics has been upgraded or tuned in various ways to create a smoother yet new experience. Improved fidelity, stronger ease-of-play, more cohesive maps, and battle adjustments make Monster Hunter Stories 2 a more modern feeling game while unabashedly still being a proper Monster Hunter AND RPG experience.
Monster Hunter Stories is a fun spinoff that holds its roots close ot its heart. Dozens of new ideas were thrown in together to create a fun new take on the Monster Hunter series. With new content, voice acting, and higher framerates, the rerelease of Monster Hunter Stories is one worth your time.
Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- is a beautiful and surreal experience with gorgeous illustrations, an incredible narrative, and presentation that sits atop the visual novel market. It can be easy to get lost in life, but Tsukihime provides a firm reminder that no matter how fragile life is, you belong here.
Banana Rumble is the first all-new Super Monkey Ball game in a long time, and it proves that the series still has more arcade thrills to provide. The new Spin Dash mechanic is an excellent addition and opens up some very neat possibilities. Unfortunately, some technical issues and a few tedious stages somewhat hurt the overall experience, but there is otherwise a lot to appreciate here.
It's entirely possible that Nine Sols might just end up being my favorite title of 2024. It's simply that good. While it may not be an incredibly innovative experience, it is an incredibly refined one. If you are an action fan, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. Nine Sols may not be perfect, but it's very close to it.
If Night Springs is indicative of the quality that can be expected for Alan Wake 2's future DLC expansions, then the future is undoubtedly bright. While the DLC is a bit short, running for approximately three hours, each episode of the TV show-themed DLC is unique and feels like an entirely separate game. The effort put into Night Springs alone makes it more than worth purchasing Alan Wake 2's twenty-dollar season pass.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is a near-perfect version of Shin Megami Tensei V with a brand-new storyline and nearly a hundred hours' worth of new content. The Canon of Vengeance story corrects many of SMT V's faults while making the game's world feel even more intriguing and unique. All of the new features compound together to make an even more fulfilling game, making this the definitive version of SMT V.
Splodey is a fun 2D platformer that removes the jump button for momentum-based puzzles. What could be a gimmick becomes much more as the game stands on its own as a pretty fun game. Some annoying levels do hold it back from being something more, but it's still a very fun time. It boasts a high replay value for those who want it, and even now, I find myself picking it up to play through it once more.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a great remake that brings one of Nintendo's best RPGs to modern consoles. With a litany of new quality-of-life updates, great writing, an addicting combat system, intriguing characters, and a stunning world, The Thousand-Year Door is a near-perfect game, save for a few frame drops and the frustrating use of backtracking.
Horizon Chase 2 is an excellent follow-up to Horizon Chase Turbo, offering a wide plethora of stages to race across and sights to see. I found enjoyment in modes I typically get frustrated in, with Time Trials specifically pulling me back for more each day. If you're a fan of arcade racers, Horizon Chase 2 is a great time I recommend trying out.
Touhou Genso Wanderer -FORESIGHT- is a dungeon crawler with very few tricks to reveal. It can be addictive at points, but the game is ultimately a barebones experience that quickly becomes tiring to play. There is potential for something better here, but the current product probably isn't worth your time.
Ultimately, Samurai Warriors 4 DX is one of the most complete experiences in the franchise, and it came with a pretty decent port to Steam. Although not the most customizable graphic experience, it stays true to what made it so great and would be a great acquisition at a discounted price.
The remake of Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord is great. It revives one of the most historically important games of all time with dignity. These old bones may creak at times, but the foundation of all of your favorite RPGs can be found here. There’s a good amount of exploration and party-building to keep you busy. The no-holds-barred combat will be sure to test your mettle, as well. There is room for experimentation, and learning how to be efficient creates plenty of replay value. Be forewarned: even with tons of quality-of-life toggles, this game is unforgiving. The autosave feature and balancing that lean towards ‘brutal’ ensures that the age-old adventure still has teeth. There are even settings that allow players to experience the game balancing as it was in its original format and its slightly altered console ports from back in the day. I don’t recommend coming to Wizardry 1 for a deep storyline. Its premise is nothing more than mildly interesting. I’m also not a fan of the DnD style balancing, I much prefer how later RPGs handle their calculations.
Indika attempts a lot with its short runtime, and it succeeds in many ways but falters in some. I have nothing but respect for the story it is telling and even enjoyed most of my time with it. Great characters and voice acting elevate an already memorable story, but sadly, it doesn't always hit the mark, and technical issues can bring it down a bit. It's still quite the experience, and I look forward to what the developer does next.
Pool Party is a great physics-based game that features a concept I have never heard of before. While it lacks slightly in content, it more than makes up for it in the fun factor category. Its fast-paced matches and fun ways of mixing pool with a certain activity or sport are certainly something that I would recommend to any fan of party games or if you have an event coming up. Lakeview Games did a great job with its first release, and I'm excited to see what they do in the future.
Ultimately, Endless Ocean: Luminous is a chill, relaxed experience that doesn't offer much beyond the surface. The game is essentially a collectathon, with little to do outside of exploring and looking at things. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but Endless Ocean: Luminous is exactly what it aims to be—a title about exploring the ocean.
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- Sweep the Board is a different enough party game that stands on its own. Sadly, it doesn't do enough to recommend playing it over its contemporaries. The world of Demon Slayer does a lot to carry the game forward and fill it with charm, but the minigames don't have as much going for them and lack variety. It is fun enough to recommend playing once with friends but not enough to play more than that.
Rainbow Cotton is ultimately a unique title with lots of charm. However, the experience is filled with bugs, camera issues, and decisions that left me scratching my head. With so many great ideas, it is a shame the controls and bugs plague what is otherwise a charming and colorful experience.
Library of Ruina is both a fantastic and frustrating experience. A twisted narrative and complex mechanics make for what could be a cult classic. Unfortunately, the lack of a natural difficulty curve as well as some awkward UI issues will make this game significantly less appealing to some. Overall, it is worthwhile, provided you have the time to fit it into your schedule.