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The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is a sequel of higher highs and lower lows. I don’t think it’s as consistently enjoyable as its predecessor, but the game’s incredible emotional and gameplay highs bring it to something that I feel is on roughly even footing with Zero. I compared it to a roller coaster earlier, and I feel that’s an apt summation for the entire game. It’s bumpy and not all of it’s going to be enjoyable, but the thrills experienced make it absolutely worthwhile.
The Future Radio and the Artificial Pigeons has an interesting concept and compelling themes. Unfortunately, it fumbles the execution, too often rushing to hit the next plot point rather than taking the time to build investment in its ideas and characters, and as result, undermines the emotional and thematic impact it aspires to.
There are certainly some positive elements to Fitness Boxing Fist of the North Star. It encourages progress, uses unlocks well, and demonstrates stretches in an easy-to-follow manner. Sadly, the issues with the core gameplay and the price point make it difficult to recommend. For some casual exercise and at a lower price-point, then it might be worth picking up, especially if you’re a fan of Fist of the North Star. But there are better options out there.
Like a Dragon: Ishin has some great characters, an immersive world, and a lot to love. The main plot may not stand out, but the smaller stories of the characters that inhabit the world do. With combat being a highlight, and tons to do, the few issues don’t stop me from recommending this. Just be sure to take it in slowly and experience the world.
Scars Above is one of the most immersive and enjoyable titles I’ve played in some time. The world, characters, gameplay loop, and challenge make Scars Above a game worth revisiting and re-experiencing. The problem is one would need to get through a truly abysmal opening to feel the investment Mad House Games aimed for here. Overall, an authentically fun game, held back by a poor opening.
Metroid Prime Remastered is the gold standard when it comes to “Remasters”. It doesn’t add anything of significance, but it’s not a remake nor does it tout itself as one. Instead, it takes all the iconic aspects of the original title and makes sure they are of a standard that matches the current gaming standard. The game remains to be a gritty, fun, and immersive experience. While the combat isn’t quite as good as the exploration, it still provides a must-play package not only for fans of the original but also for people who may have joined the series a little later. We can only hope that Metroid Prime 2 and 3 aren’t too far behind!
This game may yet be my favorite Inti Creates title of this era. A well-considered, refined, and lovingly realized tribute to Castlevania combined with the quirky, yet fully sincere personality of Gal*Gun makes for a one-of-a-kind platformer. Although I do have some grievances with the overall execution of parts of its level design and partner system, the smile I had on my face the majority of the time outweighs that many times over. Stylish, funny, and breezy all at once—Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is an easy recommendation.
While I had some issues with Marshmallow All the Way Home, its strong common route, the moments of excitement and drama, along with plenty of humor had me enjoy my time with it. While the setting is similar, it certainly breaks away from the mold of the standard light-hearted slice of life that many café visual novels contain. Instead, I found a story more focused on bonds, community, and family.
Dead Space Remake is a title I couldn’t enjoy more if I tried. I love Sci-Fi, I love horror, and this game just reminded me of why the original title turned as many heads as it did. It’s a labor of love and I couldn’t be happier to award an extremely rare perfect score to Dead Space Remake. It’s put every other game of 2023 on notice and will take something really special to dethrone as King of the Horror Mountain.
I wanted to love Wanted: Dead. It has everything I love about that charming AA middle ground from the PS2/3 era, but sadly even at its highest of highs, it still smacks of average. The game has a lot of heart but zero focus, resulting in it trying to do too many things and barely achieving any of them well. I've no doubt this title will get a cult following and I'd be down for a sequel, but as it stands I can't suggest anyone gets involved unless you're craving something a little different wrapped in average and bland paper.
While it doesn’t quite reach the heights of its predecessor, Chaos;Child is a strong visual novel in its own right–one that builds on and evolves what came before in interesting ways. It’s a shame this release is so lacking in polish, but Chaos;Child’s poignant thematic heart still shines through.
Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society satisfies with an engrossing story, great artwork, and compelling dungeon-crawling gameplay. It’s let down by not being much of an improvement over its predecessor and having many of the same problems. Poor yet constant tutorials drag down the pacing and battle mechanics never feel well-considered, although it’s never flat-out poor. If you played the previous Labyrinth game and didn’t like it, this will not convince you otherwise. That said, if you choose to stick with it in spite of its problems, you’ll find a clumsy game with a lot of heart.
From the story to the enemy design and combat, The Callisto Protocol is copy-paste “horror”. I used the quotes around horror because the use of common tropes means that the title fails to provide the most important ingredient in a horror game – fear.
Otoboku: Maidens Are Falling For Me! is a long game, it took me about 30 hours to see every ending and also the little omake scenes that come with getting the endings. It was quite a good game. It hasn’t aged that well in some aspects, but it’s still quite a solid recommendation if you are up for it. It brings forth drama and comedy in a great way and doesn’t refrain from trying something new with the tropes they’ve set out to use.
Demon Queen Melissa has the most interesting combat of any Acerola game I’ve played so far. But unfortunately, that’s not what most people are playing this for. While it’s certainly still enjoyable, and absolutely worth a play, it’s probably my least favorite of all the Acerola games I’ve played so far. If you do find yourself fancying all three of the main heroines, you may well get more out of it than I did. Otherwise, I can’t recommend this over the other Acerola games on the market right now.
Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei shines in many ways, from the impressive art and intricate animation to the immersive voice acting and impassioned music. Its story, which delves into the rich history and culture of the Heian period, has intrinsic educational value. Sadly, despite its lively retelling of Japan’s history, this otome visual novel felt more flashy than brilliant. In the end, of the five romance routes, only two led me on an enjoyable journey while the others bordered more or less on average that even the extra four side characters’ sub-stories could not help save. Thus, unless you are very interested in the history aspect, I would suggest to wait for a sale on Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei.
As both a celebration of the series’ past and as a Strategy RPG in general, Fire Emblem Engage is masterfully and lovingly made. Though the story left much to be desired, addictive and airtight strategy gameplay kept me easily invested the whole way through. Much-needed enhancements to the presentation and its return to more simplified and straightforward structure make this my favorite outing for the series in a long time.
Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider has a steel-like focus on its demographic: people who either grew up with titles like Shinobi and Strider or people who have taken the dive into retro gaming and want the thrill of something new that feels authentic to the time period. The short run time, use of a lives system, and difficulty that some may feel is cheap may deter some gamers. That said, all in all, the developers have knocked it out of the park once again with some high-octane ninja action with intuitive controls, smooth gameplay, and the kind of pick-up-and-play style hook that the loftier AAA games just don’t have.
Neptunia as a series does seem to suffer when it moves away from its JRPG roots. While Neptunia Sisters VS Sisters has a lot of great points, the more action-oriented gameplay aspects do let it down quite a lot. I’d not suggest rushing out and grabbing it, but Neptunia fans will certainly find a lot to enjoy and this is certainly who it’s aimed at. If you can get past the slow start and the gameplay, the story will make it worth it.
One Piece Odyssey manages to not only be the finest One Piece title released, but it also stands on its legs alone as a damn fine JRPG adventure. It’s riddled with all kinds of franchise fan service, but that only carries a game so far and I don’t think I would have enjoyed playing through the game’s 40-hour+ story if that was all it had. The game managed to smash every expectation I had. While it had some wonky pacing and played it a little safe at times with the genre tropes, I felt fully invested in the game from start to finish. It’s to such a point that this game has rekindled my love of the franchise which had been ebbing to the point I was happy to just play the Musou titles for a story recap. It won’t convince anyone who actively dislikes or shows no interest in One Piece to get invested, but if you have a slight curiosity and a love for JRPGs, the game offers enough to entice and entrap players. If you’re a fan of Luffy and Co, then this is the easiest game recommendation I can make. This is the game I wanted from One Piece: World Seeker and has cemented itself as the absolute gold standard of Anime tie-in titles: no more cheap arena fighting games, please!