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Natsu no Sagashimono ~What We Found That Summer~ has fairly unengaging gameplay, but it does well at creating that feeling of summer in the countryside and getting to know the locals. The slice-of-life scenes are enjoyable and even if brief the more serious elements were welcome. It would've been nice to see improvements in some areas, but it feels fair considering the low price.
With an interesting setting well-supported by its neon-themed colors, fleshed out characters, and meaningful dialogue, I am very happy with the time I’ve spent reading The Restless Sheep & The Lone Wolf. Although abrasive as a read because of the nature of its content, those who are brave enough to take the plunge into the heart of Kabukicho’s underworld will surely be rewarded with a satisfying rollercoaster of a story.
Little Big Adventure – Twinsen's Quest was such a pleasant surprise when it got announced. The original game is one of those titles that I adored back on release but haven’t thought too much about aside from whenever Little Big Planet got mentioned. While I loved replaying Twinsen’s tale in Little Big Adventure – Twinsen's Quest, I can see the many flaws with the game for both newcomers and hardcore fans. But for someone like me? It’s still a great way for me to get my nostalgia fix in a slightly easier way to play it. It’s lacking that charm in places and it is distinctly old school in difficulty, puzzles, and pacing, but there is still quite the gem hidden under all the dirt. It’s an interesting oddity, one that you’ll likely either love or hate this one with little middle ground. It's left me looking forward to the remaster of Little Big Adventure 2 and hope it brings Twinsen and his wacky world into more gamers' hands.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is the best version of a quintessential RPG. Not only does it respect and uphold what the original game stood for, but in many ways it offers up even more depth than it held originally. The story is made grander and more emotional thanks to changes that are so natural, I’d have believed you if you told me they always existed. Combat is made better thanks to new vocations to spice up already strong replay value, the addition of challenging new bosses, and higher difficulties making it the toughest version available. The gorgeous artistic overhaul it received is also among the best I’ve seen for remakes in general. Dragon Quest III isn't my favorite or even my second favorite game in this series, but it says a lot that I still think it's among the very best of RPGs that I’ve played. My already glowing thoughts on it grow ever brighter with this version, and I was skeptical that such a thing was even possible. Even after receiving several remakes that I already thought were great, they somehow found a way to make it even better. 1988 was a long time ago now, but some legends truly never fade.
Metal Slug Tactics is a game that caught me by surprise in a few ways at first. I wasn’t sure at first what to make of the roguelite aspects, and even fifteen hours down the line with the title I still feel it is one of the weaker aspects of the game. The game’s performance on the Nintendo Switch is damning for the title and the user interface being as intrusive as it was didn’t give me the best welcome to the game. I will say I did enjoy the game with the issues put aside. I just wouldn’t suggest picking it up on the Nintendo Switch and would rather opt for either the PC or Playstation/Xbox console versions, which hopefully alleviate the main issues I had with the game and give gamers a much more pleasurable Metal Slug experience with a heavy slice of roguelite tactics.
Arc System Works has once again provided a new, old-school experience with a unique twist on a familiar tale. I enjoyed my time with Kunio and friends in the world of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms once again. The original game had such a strong foundation which carries over to the sequel, but there isn’t much here that will seem new to those who played it. On top of that, some parts such as how dialogue is handled and the lack of the China Heroes mode are a step back for the Saga sub-series, as fun as it still is.
The Mario & Luigi series began to grow stale over time, so I’m happy to say that Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a welcome refresher in several gameplay areas. When it’s fun, it’s very fun, and there are a lot of neat ideas and sections that make this game get generally better as you get more into it. The Plugs and some of the overworld abilities make those sections some of the most fun I’ve seen from the M&L series to date. It also made the leap from handheld to console quite well, with some really nice aesthetics and animations to its visual components. In some ways, Brothership feels like two steps forward and one step back for the series. While not quite the worst game in the series pacing-wise, Brothership still has its share of slow sections that drag on a fair bit more than I would have liked. This ultimately holds it back from being as tight and consistently great as it could have been. I also appreciate that the game’s attempts with its story are a touch more earnest rather than just being fully comedic, and the game still has its charm, but I found its narrative a touch too basic and lacking in interesting developments despite the amount of its runtime taken up by cutscenes. Ultimately though, there’s a lot to like with Brothership. If you want a generally upbeat and at times wacky RPG with a neat and skill-rewarding combat system and don’t mind something a bit simple on the story, it’s a pretty fun game.
Terrifying in its implications on death, DEAD DAYS is an interesting look into our relationship with our mortality. With interesting characters, relatable themes, and heartfelt struggles, it's a great read for those who might want a change of pace from their usual romance or action-filled visual novel story. The only thing holding it back is its focus on its own freak arousal.
The stronger routes make Kakenuke★Forward to Our Sparking Youth! worth reading, and even the weaker ones still have good heroines. I did think certain aspects became too repetitive at times, but there was a lot to laugh at.
Sonic X Shadow Generations is the best 3D Sonic package that money can buy. A solid upgrade to Generations’s performance and features makes the best 3D Sonic title even better. Meanwhile Shadow Generations represents a resounding leap in level design and visuals compared to some past games, and is a rock-solid compliment to its predecessor. I have my issues with it, and I don’t think it’s as great as Sonic’s portion of the package, but it’s still good and largely well-rounded. It feels as though the series has finally shed its curse of each game being a “good first step”, and what we have now are simply good, if not great games. The future doesn’t just look bright for the Blue Blur, it may be looking better than it ever has.
I absolutely love Killing Time: Resurrected and couldn't be more surprised, when I saw the fact this has similar origins to the horrendous PO'ED as a 3DO shooter. I went in expecting the worst and came out with a new game for my top 10 classic first-person shooters list. It's quirky, it's fun, and in my personal opinion, it pushed the envelope at the time. The game isn't going to be for everyone. It's almost punk in how janky and strange it looks and plays. But, if you can go in with an open mind and just allow yourself to get absorbed by the Water Clock and its mystery, you've got yet again another banger remaster by the kings and queens of remasters Nightdive Studios.
Astro Bot is a game with an incredible amount of love put into it. It’s not quite at the level of a game that makes a PlayStation 5 worth owning all by itself, and it’s not especially long, but it’s the kind of game that any console would gladly feature in its library as a key title. It’s a game with a fair amount of nostalgia behind it, both in terms of its wide array of cameos and it being a collectathon, but it stands on its own as a triumphant adventure of fun and charm in its own right. My playthrough had me smiling at so many points and served as a great reminder of all the hours of joy that I’ve had with PlayStation games over the years.
Destiny Star Girlfriend 2 works well as a short experience, focusing on a single heroine. The comedic moments are great, as are the visuals. Maja may not stand out as much as some heroines, but I enjoyed the time spent on her story, especially after discovering parts of her story at the start of the Destiny Star Girlfriend series.
Super Mario Party Jamboree is great fun with friends, with a core experience that works incredibly well, but allows the flexibility to tailor it to your own preferences. There'll be laughter and perhaps more than a few four-letter words flying around in each match. The fact that it has so much beyond the core experience is just icing on the cake.
Metaphor: ReFantazio might just be the best JRPG of 2024. With a great story with more to it than it first seems, characters that have their own journeys worth experiencing, and excellent gameplay from the day-to-day events to the dungeon delving and battles, it's absolutely worth picking up.
Given how long the series has been going, I had higher hopes for SINce Memories: Off the Starry Sky than I felt was able to deliver on for the series’s English-language debut. It hits a few of the right notes but doesn’t quite put them together enough to truly strike a chord. It’s well-presented, but presentation alone doesn’t carry it, and the script errors don’t do it any favors either. The cast of characters have their moments, but they’re scattered between lengthy sections of ultimately both predictable and often forgettable story routes that at times feel like inorganic drama was put in for the sake of it. The end result is a fairly cookie-cutter and by-the-books romance visual novel that doesn’t truly shine in any particular area.
Card-en-Ciel is a game made better by how much it revels in its own excess. “How much is too much?” is a question that it proudly eschews in favor of throwing everything in the kitchen sink at participants. My primary issue with the game is that it’s clear it’s stretching itself thin in some areas as a result of this, mostly in rather repetitive visuals and a lack of non-vocal music. On occasion it can also grow a little long-winded, but these moments didn’t happen too often. As a card game and especially as a celebration of all things Inti Creates, it’s fantastic.
I cannot recommend Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream. To anyone. Even the most committed Sword Art Online fans are unlikely to find much to love here. It is a live service title without legs. A real disappointment coming from the developers of Fatal Bullet. Perhaps with more development time and a clearer idea of what the game should be, it could have been a worthwhile endeavor. As it stands though it’s a sad, vapid outing for the series.
I cannot say enough positive things about Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO. In my opinion, there hasn’t been a better representative for the product in the whole history of the franchise. It has more depth than a traditional arena fighter, and that goes such a long way to staving off the repetitive nature of the genre. While your mileage may vary somewhat depending on how much you like the source material, I feel it would still be very fun even if you didn’t know what was going on, and if you love Dragon Ball you’ll be hard-pushed to find a better celebration of this much-loved franchise than in Dragon Ball: Sparking! ZERO.
I’m thrilled to report that Ys X: Nordics isn’t just good, but in many ways it represents Ys at its best. I have some foibles with it, such as an occasionally inconsistent presentation and a comparative lack of memorable environments. However, it’s a mostly successful modernization and refreshment in a series that was in need of exactly that. Coupling this with improvements to cutscenes elevating an already great story and some of the best boss fights in the series, and you have a game that won’t be leaving my mind any time soon. I’m always excited for what’s coming next with Ys, but as I reflect on this title, I’m downright impatient as I think of the ways they can push its changes even further. Our 10th is always a big deal, and it’s clear that Ys understood that.