Category Archives: Games

Beyond Good & Evil 20th Anniversary Edition Review

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This is one of those games where the title is absolutely legendary. I’ve heard of this game for so long but didn’t know anything about it. Well, I finally got to play through the game and it’s definitely a great title. It actually even managed to make taking pictures fun. The game ends up feeling a bit short but it really does set up the sequel well so I’m definitely eager to see where the story goes. A lot of potential here.

The game follows a reporter named Jade who lives on a planet that is constantly terrorized by aliens. She ends up joining the resistance and they aim to let the public know just how evil these aliens are. Most people are seriously brainwashed at this point so it won’t be easy but that’s their goal. In order to turn public sentiment to their side they will definitely need a lot of photos and evidence though. Is Jade up to the task?

The core gameplay is that of a 3D platformer. You can jump and roll but also smash away at opponents with your staff. Then a big part of the gameplay involves your camera for taking pictures of evidence against the villains or also for snapping photos of animals. Every 10 animals gets you a new pearl so you want to snap away at every one that you pass. You need a lot of pearls in the game in order to beat the game after all so you don’t want to miss any. The game is generous with giving you a lot of these as you play through but even then I still did need to beat all of the looter chases and the 2 races in order to get enough to beat the game.

The more pearls you find naturally, the less grinding you will have to do in the end. That’s always something worth considering here. It’s also fun because the side missions tend to switch up the gameplay a bit by having you use the various vehicles. By the end of the game you will have both a boat and an aerial vehicle so you will want to get used to using them both. Nothing beats the classic running around and swinging at enemies of course but every gameplay style has its moments here.

You also have various teammates who will show up to help for puzzles. Often times you will need to send one away to step on a platform or something like that while you take care of business. The main thing to remember is that they have very small health bars so you want to protect them as much as possible. If they take the wrong kind of hit then they’ll go down and you warp back to the last save point.

Fortunately that’s where the quality of life comes in. The save points are very close to each other and the game has constant auto saves. Losing a life never makes you lose a significant amount of progress which is nice. It’s especially handy because the espionage sections are actually really difficult. You need proper planning there and sometimes I even had to rely on a bit of good ole fashioned RNG like when I fell off a level and got back up but the enemy forgot about me so I landed the KO.

The combat is generally easier but the final boss was challenging. He took me down to a last hit scenario so I only barely defeated him. That could have easily gone sideways but it’s good for a final boss to be tough like that. He really tested my reaction times and everything. Having to fight while the controls were inverted was also a nice touch.

I did fall into two glitches during the game but at least they weren’t major. In one of them an enemy got stuck in a wall while holding the pearl so I had to restart and another time a gate closed while I was halfway through it. Again the auto saves come in clutch here because then I only lost like 2 seconds max. Really nothing to worry about at all in the grand scheme of things.

The graphics are definitely solid. The character designs are on point and there is a lot of variety here. The special effects when blowing up enemies are good and the cinematics go smoothly. The soundtrack is also good although it’s definitely more on the low key side. I can’t say that I would really be looking up any of the tunes on Youtube but they worked well enough within the game.

In terms of replay value, you can definitely aim for the Platinum trophy. I haven’t looked this up yet so I don’t know how hard it would be to obtain that but it will definitely add some time to your playthrough. The main campaign is around 7-10 hours so you’re in the double digits either way which is always the important part. Hopefully the sequel can maybe be a tad longer and keeps in the smooth picture aspect. There aren’t many games that are able to seamlessly add in the photo features without it being super forced or annoying so the game gets big kudos there.

Overall, Beyond Good & Evil is a game that mixed in a lot of classic combat with espionage while even fitting in a bit of a cosmic plot by the end. No way you can play through the whole game without admiring that. The sequel is certainly high up on my radar now and I would definitely recommend picking this title up. The story has aged very well and the overall game design was really on point. Some of the puzzles can get a little tricky and some mazes like the slaughterhouse can really be intense but there is always a fair answer to them. The game has a great amount of quality of life features here which is the cherry on top. You don’t want to miss out on this one.

Overall 8/10

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Review

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Prince of Persia is one of those titles that seems to vanish for long periods of time but when it returns, it returns with a vengeance! The Gamecube titles may have gone a little too into edgy territory but I remember the soundtracks being used for DBZ AMVs because of how intense they were. Then you had the PS3 title which was absolutely top tier. Even the movie was quite excellent and so the franchise really operates at a high level. Well after playing this game I can safely say that it is the best game in the series. It is absolutely elite at every level and should be used as a teaching moment for all other Metroid-vania titles. This is absolutely how you make a game like this.

The story starts by introducing us to the immortals who are a powerful group of fighters who protect the royal family such as the prince. They are all very skilled and good at what they do but one day the prince is captured by the main hero’s mentor. The immortals all follow her into a weird realm where time seems to work differently. They now exist in the past, present, and future with branching timelines. They meet people who have been in here for decades despite only jumping into the realm a few hours before us. Then you even have kid versions of the characters. Something weird is going on but saving the prince comes first!

The story really uses time manipulation in a fresh way and it’s definitely a great approach. It reminds me a bit of the Blame! series where time seems to be a very flexible concept. The main character must even tackle various other versions of himself, some who have been corrupted by power and others who have given up. You also have various gods and other immortal creatures who seem amused by this and others who have just grown used to the whole thing. It’s a pretty big world with a lot of concepts to accept but they all work pretty well.

The gameplay is a 2D brawler type. You have your blade to land solid combos with and then you have your evasion techniques and counter moves. There are over 15 different tutorials for how to play the game but most of it is very intuitive. I only did the tutorials near the end for some more currency to buy unlockables with. You’ll quickly understand the system and then it really comes down to your reaction times for the parry mechanics. If you aren’t good at timing blows then this will really help you get to that high comfort level.

Now when it comes to the Metroid-Vania part, you have a large map that fills in as you explore it. You can also buy maps which show the all of the treasure within a certain location. These don’t fill the dots on collectibles or side mission content though so you will have to find those on your own. Still the treasure is where you get most of your big power ups and currency to buy others. There are many different collectibles here which could have been overwhelming in a different game but in this one it is all handled exceptionally well.

You can equip amulets with different properties, choose which super attacks you want at the ready, and you can even leave little spy pictures when you notice a collectible that you can’t reach just yet. You can store quite a few of those and it’s a good idea because otherwise you will probably forget them. You can use quick travel between any portals you have unlocked but then right before the final boss you also get the ability to warp to any save point. This is a game changer because there are constant save points almost everywhere.

The reason I really liked this is because it rewards you for playing the game. Now in the post game if you want to get everything, you have an easy means to do this as opposed to running everywhere. There is no reason not to make that part a bit easier on the players by this point so I was completely on board with it. The more you explore, the stronger you get which makes exploring even easier. A proper vania title should always make you feel stronger as you play and that definitely happened here.

Meanwhile I really enjoyed the general atmosphere of the game. We had DBZ type interactions as the various immortals fought and all showed off their abilities. It’s not something I would expect to see here as it’s a very specific type of approach. The story was super compelling and cinematic the whole time as a result. I really liked the energy effects as well. This game had really good graphics which also helped a great deal. It feels like a big PS5 game the whole time.

Of course the soundtrack is not far behind either with a number of really good tracks. I’ll need to seek those out at some point to hear them again. The bosses all have different mechanics and due to the wide upgrade selection, your gameplay will likely be very different compared to the next person’s playthrough. There is a ton of freedom here and the gameplay style allows for that. There is a ton of replay value here in exploring the map because you’ll just have a great time doing so. It’s not the longest title but at over 10 hours, it’s long enough to justify the purchase. The value here is pretty good without a doubt.

Overall, Prince of Persia is a top tier game and I recommend playing it as soon as possible. The gameplay and exploration elements are extremely rewarding and there are just so many things to uncover here. I’d definitely like to Platinum this game someday because it just feels that fulfilling to explore and see what else the devs have hidden. The game has a fair amount of difficulty as well so you will have a good challenge here and need to really understand the gameplay mechanics. Hopefully the next game uses a lot of the mechanics from this title, then the series will definitely be in a good position to keep on dominating.

Overall 9/10

Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections Review

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I may not have gotten this game day 1 but I knew at some point that I would need to take the plunge. The whole marketing was about a new Uchiha showing up and that’s like finding out that there is a new Saiyan. It’s an immediate way to build up hype and I can tell you that it succeeded. Really one of the only reasons this wasn’t a day one is because most of the story is old.

When you boot up the game you have your usual array of modes. Vs mode, the main story, and special story. The main story is basically compiled from all of the previous games where they paste a lot of those fights but apparently remove a lot of the interactable bits. From what I’ve heard it’s a straight downgrade which is a shame but that’s just how it goes I suppose. We weren’t hear for the main story either way and I skipped it entirely. At some point I’ll play through it for the trophies but that’ll be a while.

The special story starts off with Boruto getting hooked on this online game where he can play as Naruto. Unfortunately there is a deeper conspiracy here and someone is mind controlling Naruto and the others. Sasuke will have to hold Naruto off but Boruto had to stop the threat at its core. If he doesn’t succeed then that will be game over. Now while the main history mode is longer, they did put a good amount of effort into this special story and it lasted longer than I expected with the post game story chapter. It’s really got a lot of good stuff to it. The beginning of the story is certainly slow paced but once the game starts cooking, it really doesn’t hold back at all.

The gameplay is very familiar to long time Storm fans. You have your auto combos and then several ninjutsu and ultimate jutsu. Use them all to really get the edge in combat and absolutely dominate everyone in your path. The story is generally easy but you still can’t just approach it blindly. You need to have some strategy in mind or you will end up being defeated in short order. Generally I would say that the giant monsters are the toughest to deal with since they don’t really flinch or stagger.

As expected the graphics are pretty high end. The cutscenes still look really amazing as well as the in game graphics which are on that PS5 level. They definitely kept in line with what you would expect from the series. Additionally the soundtrack is also really good with a lot of different tunes. The game can get really dramatic and the themes are able to keep up with the tempo and themes the whole time.

In terms of replay value, this is a fighting game so of course it’s basically endless. You can keep on having new experiences with each fight as they will all be different. Additionally some of the trophies look rather difficult so that will buy some more time as well. Since the gameplay is a lot of fun, you’ll certainly be incentivized to play as much as possible.

The story also handled the new Uchiha, Nanashi really well. She’s a really well written character who manages to get interesting really quickly and ends up having a complete arc. The game even sets up a romance that you could argue is better than any of the romances in the main Boruto and even Naruto series. It definitely has one of those super tragic endings to it too. Naturally you usually want to have a very happy ending for any kind of plot but the tragic angle can sometimes work too and this one pulled it off.

I would say there are some power level issues here as I think Boruto could easily wipe out any of the old Uchiha soldiers. Maybe I’m underselling them but I just see Boruto winning that one. Likewise it feels like Sasuke and Naruto could do even better in the present but at the end of the day power level issues never hurt the game’s actual score and quality. This is still a very engaging story by the end and helps make the experience worthwhile.

This is also a gameplay style that I grew up with so it’s super nostalgic. I won’t say for a minute that I’m the best at it or anything like that but I feel comfortable in the system. Mixing up the combos and trying out new techniques is something I can do without too much trouble. The different cinematics for every finishing special is also another incentive to use each character and learn all of their finishers. Adds to the replay value without a doubt.

Overall, Boruto Connections is definitely an excellent game. It would have been nice to see them redo the whole story from the start to Boruto but it’s definitely easy to see why they would choose to just reuse the assets since they were already there. Naturally if this is your first Storm game then it’ll hit even harder because then this is really an amazing amount of content to go through. You have a ton of replay value here with the trophies and everything so there is more than enough value to justify the price. No downsides there so pick up the game as soon as possible.

Overall 9/10

Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn Review

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Shaq Fu is one of those games that ordinarily might not have crossed into my radar but I happened to see it in store for a great price so I decided to take the plunge. How could I not right? The concept is just pretty interesting and the execution ended up being on point. I’m not going to say that it’s an all star or anything but what I can say is that the graphics and controls are on point. The story will also keep you engaged with how fun it is.

The game starts off with introducing us to Shaq who was found inside a purse and nearly drowned. Who would put a baby through such hardship? Well, he got to grow up learning martial arts and now that will come in handy because there are monsters around. It looks like a lot of celebrities can’t be trusted and things get extra personal when Shaq’s master is seemingly murdered in cold blood. He will not stand for this! No sirrrr!

The gameplay is classic 2D beat em up style. Basically you use your punch, kick, and slam moves to take down enemies. There are tons and tons of enemies so get ready for a lot of punching. Generally you can beat most enemies with the punch buttons but there is a little strategy here. Use your kicks for enemies that are holding a shield because they will block normal hits. When you have enough meter you can also do a ground slam to send the enemies away. It’s a strong attack and does the job but use it sparingly since it takes a while to get the energy back.

Meanwhile you’ve also got a few super forms that appear in different levels like cactus Shaq and robot Shaq. Both of these forms are basically unstoppable since you can spam their heavy attacks with no real drawbacks. So in this form don’t overthink things and just keep attacking everybody. Usually to compensate for how overpowered you are, the game will stack the other side with even more minions than needed. So get ready to deal with a whole lot of that. The super forms are fun but it probably would have been a good idea to have still given some kind of a challenge for them.

After all, the main levels are rather difficult to get through at times. I won’t say it’s a hard game as this is easier than most other similar beat em ups in the genre. You still do have to focus though, if you try to just close your eyes and beat this on instinct then you are going to get absolutely demolished. That’s because of how many enemies there are and how they’re all different. You can react quickly enough to shut them all down but if you get overconfident and let them walk all over you then you’re in real trouble.

The graphics are pretty solid here. It’s going for a very drawn out/cartoony look that works well with the themes of the game. Likewise the cutscenes work really well for that reason as well. Not only is the dialogue great but the fact that it’s all voice acted is incredible. As with all comedies, not every joke will land and the game did go for at least one full crude humor boss which was really unnecessary. Still, aside from that the game had been doing pretty good on the humor.

The soundtrack is solid but the main theme song can be a little much. It’s extremely loud and you hear it for the main menu and every loading screen. So you’ll be hearing it a whole lot, particularly since the loading screens themselves are really slow. I like the concept of the song but the lyrics could definitely be a whole lot better.

In terms of replay value, well you could go for the Platinum. I actually haven’t checked how hard that would be but I get the feeling it will be easy. So with the main game being under 4 hours, maybe this can add another 2-3 hours of replay value. You can usually get the game for a pretty low price so all in all I would say it’s a pretty fair deal. You’re partially playing this game for the pure novelty value after all. A good story goes a long way and since the gameplay is also sound then you have a good bargain. If the gameplay was bad then this would be a harder sell but I do think they actually put some effort into this one. It’s not just some random cash-in or anything like that.

Overall, Shaq Fu gets a lot of points for how up front it is. This game knows that the premise is rather silly and so instead of being subtle about this, it just doubles down on absolutely everything. Trust me, you haven’t seen many games that are as shameless as Shaq Fu is. It’s really the full package and while it isn’t a particularly long game, the most important part is that you will have fun playing it. That’s the key here and if they ever make a sequel, I’d be tempted to buy it day 1!

Overall 7/10

Fairy Tail 2 Review

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Man did it take years to get to this sequel but at long last Fairy Tail has returned! It’s one of those franchises that is perfect for the video game world because the storylines and fights were always dynamic. The series just got plagued by fanservice issues which are far less noticeable in a video game. Like with the last game, this is a pretty elite title. I would give the first game the edge overall as I thought the menus and hub world layout was a bit clearer. Everything there was perfect while here it’s all elite but slightly less user friendly. The gameplay is also a bit different and I would give the original the edge there as well.

This adapts the final arc of the series as the villains launch an all out invasion to destroy Fairy Tail. They have hundreds of thousands of fighters while the heroes just have their family and friends. That said, they are still not going to give up without a fight! They are fighting for a whole lot here and the game really gives time for everyone to shine. You’ll get to play as a whole bunch of characters and fortunately EXP share is always on so you don’t have to worry about them lagging behind the rest.

The only criticism you could probably give the game is that it is extremely easy. To put it one way, I didn’t have to even open up my item bag until the final post game boss. Nothing in the main campaign was worth it, most of them died really quickly. It helps that you have several attacks and super attacks which replenish your health. I’m not talking about a little either, Juvia’s basic healing attack restores close to 80% of your health. The health bars here are pretty massive too so that’s a lot of health that you are saving each time.

You get level ups very quickly and then you’ve also got equipment that can make you stronger. Even if you don’t bother fighting most of the enemies you will be in a decent spot. The fights are so fast and give so much EXP that I would often fight the minion battles anyway though. There are a lot of different collectibles to be found around the world and I decided to grab most of them. From chests to mini creatures to orbs of knowledge, they’re always close to being within your grasp so it’s too tempting to let linger.

The main campaign is pretty long and then the post game adds on a few hours to that. You also have a bunch of optional bosses and individual character stories to go through. I have no doubt that you will be here for at least 30-40 hours by the end of your run. So it definitely makes the value of the purchase worth it. You won’t feel short changed or anything like that. The story is also very captivating so you won’t get bored or anything. Like I said it’s just an excellent game around the board.

The gameplay is a classic turn based style mixed in with real time action. I’d compare it to Final Fantasy XIII. You have turns but if you don’t attack fast, the opponent can just take his turn and attack you anyway. So you really need to have a plan at the ready and can’t just be wondering what to do next. Always be moving forward. Do that and you will be in a really good position here.

The graphics are really solid as you’d expect. The character models and environments all work really well and the fights that we get are a lot of fun. The soundtrack is also pretty good. It could maybe use a few extra tunes but the ones that are there all match up well with the individual scenes so I can’t say that I have any complaints. Because the character all level up with you, you should have fun just playing whoever you want to at any given point in time. Yes there are type advantages in the game but they don’t actually make a bunch of difference. You can use Natsu against a water type and you’ll still be fine. Maybe there’s a hard mode that will make more of a difference but at least in a standard match you won’t experience any issues.

It was only the final boss that really gave me a hard time. I almost thought that I might lose at one point but I was still able to pull through in the end. Using all of the healing attacks was definitely a must though. Keep those in mind because they are absolutely broken but it does keep in with the themes of friendship and family. Healing should be very powerful in such a world.

Overall, Fairy Tail 2 is another elite title. This is a perfect example of how you make a big action RPG with hundreds of collectibles while not letting it feel overwhelming. At no point did I want to give up on opening chests and just focusing on the story because it was not an inconvenience. The devs place everything in a way that makes you want to succeed and that’s a pretty important skill. It’s why designing is such an art because if you make a mistake then it will impact the rest of the game. I highly recommend this to all gamers in general as a result. Good game design is good game design after all. I think anyone can really appreciate what they did here.

Overall 9/10

Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash Review

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Jujutsu Kaisen really got big so it makes sense that it would get a video game. Anime brawlers are fairly common after all. This one is a bit of a step down from some of the others though. If the gameplay was just a tad bit better then it could have reached the next stage but ultimately I didn’t think it would quite reach that point. I had a good time with it but you feel like the game definitely left a lot of meat on the bone.

The story covers the first season of the show along with the movie. It’s a reasonable amount of content particularly since the game goes very in detail with this. There are over 80 missions in the game, I think maybe 100 if you count all of the bonus ones. Not every mission involves a fight though so some are really just big cutscenes. The game has full voice acting which is nice but I didn’t love the presentation of the cutscenes. It’s sort of like panels out of a comic book that are stuck together but not very organically so there is often a little break before the next person starts talking. There are also portions where it will just get silent as someone types up a report.

I can see the attempt there as it’s spooky and all but I didn’t think it worked great. At the end of each main chapter was one CG cutscene though and those always looked good. Getting more of them would have been a good idea. In general the graphics are pretty good here. Not amazing or anything like that but the characters are on model and the quality is good so I can’t ask for much more out of them. The soundtrack also isn’t bad. I’d like a few more tunes but the ones that we do have are pretty solid. Some are downright catchy.

Where the game got messed with is the general gameplay. They decided to make it so that normal attacks don’t deal damage. You can only effect people with cursed energy which is typically only the last 2 hits of a combo or with special moves. You gain this energy gradually as you fight but I just never like the idea or not being able to generally damage someone outside of certain conditions. It lengthens the match for no reason and doesn’t feel organic. It’s sort of like Playstation All Stars. It’s fine to want to be a little different but this is one gimmick in particular that I think is really hard to pull off.

The stages are also impressively big but this also means that it can be tough to land blows at times. You’ll punch the enemy across town and then have to go find him. You have to jump rather high at times and sometimes that won’t be enough. There is even a super jump button for that reason and then you can attack once you’re on the same level as the enemy. It’s a bit excessive but this could have been fixed with better movement options. The game is also meant as a big online title but it’s hard to synergize with your partner since your hit will often mess up with the timing of their combo and vice versa.

It makes it so that you almost want your partner to stay out of the fight and just let you handle it so it all goes down quicker. Since you need the last hits of the combo, it basically means that your hits were meaningless when your ally hits them out of the combo. You can control your partner’s tactics at least like aggressive and co-operative but to be honest I didn’t notice much of a difference there during the game. I suppose I would need to play for a longer amount of time to really see the difference there.

The game also doesn’t feel super well balanced but I only know it on a surface level so that really might not be correct. For all I know, the game is better than most 3D titles. The trophies look rather difficult with a huge focus on online content so I don’t see myself getting the Platinum here but a few more to increase my percentage still sounds good. We’ll see if they end up adding Shibuya to the game as DLC or if they just keep that for a sequel some day. This game doesn’t seem to be super well liked so the odds of a sequel could be dicey.

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen made some mistakes on the gameplay side but it still a pretty good game. It’s impressive how detailed the story mode is. They really wanted to cover everything to the point where we almost could call this a visual novel to an extent. There are a ton of cutscenes, then the gameplay, then cutscenes, etc. If we get a sequel I’d like it to be streamlined somewhat but it’s clear that the game was doing its best to try and make sure gave a good amount of content in the single player mode. I didn’t even touch a bunch of the side missions and mini stories for that replay value. If you’re a big fan of Jujutsu Kaisen then you should check this one out but otherwise you could do better in the fighting games arena.

Overall 7/10

Tekken 8 Review

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This is it, it’s time for the final entry in the Tekken saga! Of course the series will keep going at some point but this finally got us to the end of the saga that’s been building up since the beginning. It’s an absolute masterpiece and I highly recommend it. It’s not simply a fighting game, it’s a full on adventure with a great plot and lots of fun characters. Every part of this game was polished to perfection and you get a real rush while playing through it. It’s the kind of game that you just can’t put down!

The game starts off with Kazuya and Jin fighting in the city. Jin is wrecked as per usual and seems to have lost most of his abilities. He will need to regain them quickly because Kazuya has begun his plan to end the world. There will even be one last tournament. The fate of the world rests on Jin’s shoulders and he will have to really contend with his inner darkness in order to measure up to this. Fortunately he is ready, this is what he was born to do. He will be the ones to end the curse once and for all.

If you didn’t play the older games for any reason, there is a whole mode for movies and summaries to recap them all. It even goes far enough to clear up the more ambiguous moments of the first 3 games where everyone had their own arcade mode. So you learn what the true events were. There are also some prequel movies and the first DLC season of stories comes in for free. That’s a ton of story content for a fighting game right? It’s because Tekken’s story is really good so it’s not playing second fiddle to the gameplay. It’s right in the middle of things the whole time.

Throw in the lyrical songs and this is really a cinematic experience. I had to pump the volume up a bit for some of the cutscenes and man do the sound effects go hard. The game also cleverly mixed in a lot of cinematics with the gameplay to show you the character’s thoughts during a fight. It’s all way ahead of its time and I had no complaints here. The story s excellent and the setup for a 9th main installment is handled really well. I’m already hyped for two of the main villains who seem to be getting a big role coming up.

Meanwhile the graphics are naturally top tier here. The energy effects for each of the attacks are great and the characters have never looked more lifelike. It’s not super realistic in the kind of way where it won’t age well later on though. We still have all of the fantastical elements here as well. You never forget that this is a supernatural world and the character outfits are all very dynamic. As another attention to detail, during one of the final fights, the two characters keep changing across the games. The battle lasts for around 5-7 rounds and your moveset will suddenly change from Tekken 8 to Tekken 5, etc. There’s even a quick blink and you’ll miss it easter egg where one character changes his hairstyle to the old look.

I wouldn’t have caught that myself but ages ago when the game came out I remember people raving about it. The game is really an ultimate homage to how far the whole adventure has gone. Everything about the game is actively celebrated here and it’s really nice to see that. That’s never a guarantee after all and it can be difficult to put in easter eggs without them being forced. Well, I can say that this game didn’t have any problem in that department.

Then of course the soundtrack is absolutely top tier. The main theme of the game is excellent but so are all of the stage themes. It’s one of the most complete fighting game tracks that you are likely to see. Then there is really unlimited replay value here. Aside from the story which is already a reasonable length, you can do everyone’s arcade modes and the story dlc. Then you have normal battling, online matchups, etc. You should be here a very long while if you really enjoy the Tekken gameplay and won’t have to stop anytime soon. It is the best game in the franchise and that is always an honor since it can be difficult to keep on climbing to new heights after a while.

Honestly the bar is so high that I don’t expect Tekken 9 to beat this one. Even just because story wise it’ll be hard to surpass this climax. That said, I do expect it to still be elite which is the main thing. A lot of the pressure will be on Reina and how well she can take the helms of the story along with the villain at the end of the DLC who is sure to be a big player. There are a ton of characters and plots to explore so the series can go in a lot of directions from here.

I didn’t really talk much about the gameplay but naturally that is elite too. It’s a 2D brawler and each hit does a whole lot of damage. Generally win or lose, the match is over really quickly. Once one of you starts landing combo hits, it’s curtains. You can play using dynamic controls or a simpler style as well. Each has their pros and cons in the end. It always feels very satisfying when you land a copy but you can also see how this game would be ultra difficult at a high level. There are so many different ways to move and attack that trying to dodge will come down to a lot of reaction times and then just plain ole experience.

Overall, Tekken 8 is a game that you should buy immediately. You don’t even need any prior experience to enjoy this one, just watch all the recaps after you buy this game. It’s the kind of title that you really should not leave to the sidelines. You have to be there and really experience it because it’s rare to see a game at this elite level. Whenever Tekken 9 comes out, I can definitely tell you that I will be getting it day 1. The series absolutely deserves that treatment at this point. It’s just too good to hold off on.

Overall 9/10

Pokémon Trading Card Game Review

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I’ve played my share of trading card games over the years. Mainly Yugioh but I’ve also played Duel Masters and Shadowverse. I like to think of myself as a bit of a veteran but I never got into the Pokemon one. I felt like the rules just didn’t make a lot of sense to me initially and it didn’t seem as fun. My opinions on it haven’t changed a lot as I consider this to still be the weakest of the trading card games but this title still does a reasonably good job with it. The fact that there is a story mode at all is definitely a plus as that is never a full guarantee.

The basic goal is to defeat all of the club leaders and then take on the elite four. The terms are slightly different from the main games but it’s really the same effect here. You start off by choosing a trial/starter deck from one of the main 3 types and then go from there. Whenever you defeat an opponent, you randomly get 10-20 cards. Some leaders will require you to defeat 3 trainers before you can fight them while others will fight you right away. Keep this in mind for when you are picking which leader to fight next. Since I had a fire deck, I naturally went for the grass gym first.

The initial deck took me pretty far, I was able to beat 3 leaders before I had to start doing a lot of tweaking. By the end of the game I had a balanced fire and psychic type deck. I find the Abra line to be absolutely busted in this game. They just have so many cool abilities and not a lot of weaknesses since the dark type wasn’t out yet. Some of the type advantages are quite a bit different from the original games so you should definitely keep that in mind or you will be in for a really big surprise. That definitely got me a few times so after a while I would start looking at the weaknesses. At any point you can freely inspect every card so that’s not a problem.

I should note that the game is reasonably difficult and I would even say incredibly so at times. It all depend son your deck though. For example it took me over 50 tries to defeat the psychic gym leader but then the Pokemon champion only took me 2 tries. It all depends on the deck that you have built for yourself. This is a game that is really big on type advantages and disadvantages so you have to keep that all in mind. If you underestimate that element of the game then you will really be in for a rude surprise here.

Also the game is insulated against rewinding. I believe the reason for this is that the coin flips are all pre determined even 2 turns in advance. So no matter how many times you try it, the opponent is going to keep hitting his lucky heads to knock you flat. At the end of the day there just isn’t a whole lot that you will be able to do against this technique. So make sure you have a good deck and you will just have to absorb some losses. A good deal of the game is luck based and so if the opponent wins a lot of flips then you’re just going to lose.

I will say this is definitely the weakest part of the Pokemon trading card game to me. I understand a little RNG of course but it feels like virtually every ability is related to a coin flip and so you are going to see a ton of those. It also slows down the pacing of the game by a longshot. None of these animations are skippable after all and you will be seeing them over and over and over again. I also think the games would be really annoying when the opponent would happen to draw the one card that is needed to stop you. It might make you slightly grin at how the enemies have main character levels of plot armor but that will fade when you have to do the whole thing over again.

The graphics aren’t bad. They do remind me a lot of the mainline games and for its time you could tell that they put in a lot of effort. The soundtrack is also not bad, there’s some actual variety here. It’s got nothing on the main Pokemon games to be sure but it’s also more memorable than the average spinoff which is also impressive. I keep saying this but that’s why even if the game wasn’t exactly my speed, it’s clear that this wasn’t a bottom effort cash-in or anything like that. I think they could easily make a new version that would sell really well if they put in the same kind of effort with today’s tech. Maybe just remove some of the coin flips and luck stuff unless it’s extremely ingrained into the card game itself.

Overall, Pokemon’s trading card game has a lot of depth to it. I don’t think it’s amazing but at the same time it would probably be better with some quality of life updates. The game itself is older and does feel dated in some ways. It’s like how Yugioh wasn’t ultra fun in some games because they weren’t optimized so I can acknowledge that’s part of the issue here as well. It still feels like it needs something more to spice up the game but at least now I can say that I know how to play it. If you’re looking for an intense trading card game then this could be a decent one to check out though. Not much to lose and it’s not every day that you get to see a bonus Pokemon storyline.

Overall 6/10

Rafa Nadal Tennis Review

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This is one of those games I had never heard of until I saw it in store. I always tend to like tennis games so this felt like a safe pick but unfortunately I couldn’t have been more wrong. It takes the stylus to the absolute extreme which really doesn’t work well for the sport. You need to have easy movement options to really make this worth it and unfortunately that is all gone. It’s easily the weakest tennis game that I’ve played and probably the weakest overall sports title.

The game has a training mode, exhibitions, and then the main mode is the career. You start out as the 100th ranked player and have to try and win a lot of games so that you can be the best in the world. There is no kind of story or anything like that so this is really just about excelling and doing your absolute best at every turn. You can unlock different shits and rackets but yeah there’s not a whole lot of replay value here either. Thing is, that’s not necessarily a big deal for a sports title. You’re playing it for the gameplay and everything else is meant to enhance that.

Well, that’s where the stylus comes in. You have to tap different points on the screen in order for your player to move there. It means you can’t change directions very easily because that’s a lot of tapping and the balls are coming in fast. Then you also have to swipe your stylus in order to make the shot and that’s also how you aim the serve. A whole lot to consider there and the game is very sensitive so you will be hitting the ball out a lot as well. You’re basically having to calculate a whole lot of things all at once which isn’t super fun. Tennis should be a game that you play on instinct.

I should be able to be dashing back and forth landing hits and countering blows without having to worry about the exact inch I swiped the stylus. That’s just not a good look at all. It took me a while to even get a good serve and while the A.I. isn’t particularly good, their movements are very natural so it’s even hard to score on them. That’s not even getting into lobs and slices. There are just too many details here.

Meanwhile I suppose the graphics aren’t bad. It’s fairly standard DS stuff. Nothing particularly high grade but I wasn’t really expecting that in the first place. It’s just enough to get the job done and that’s really it. So it doesn’t lose any points there. The soundtrack is generic but that’s true even for AAA sport titles so it’s not unexpected. With good gameplay, the title would easily have gotten past all of that.

I generally don’t care for gimmicks much and titles like this are a good reason as to why that is. There are many games with good gimmicks of course but it is just something that is really easy to mess up. If the game went with the “generic” option of normal controls then it would have been many times better. Sometimes the generic controls are the way to go and they are the standard because they have worked for many years. Why change something that is already working really well on its own right? Don’t fix what isn’t broken and I definitely don’t miss that part about the DS. The stylus was almost as bad as the Wii’s motion controls. Almost.

At least the game is very cheap. I only spent $5 on it which is less than the going price of a Subway sandwich. So even though the game wasn’t particularly good and I don’t expect that I will ever be playing it again, it doesn’t really feel like a waste. It’s pretty rare for me to play a game that I would consider to be straight up “Bad” after all and that helps me to really appreciate the good titles out there.

Overall, This is not a particularly good game. I have my doubts on if the devs really put a lot of time into this one. It feels like a very rushed product where the core design doesn’t even make sense for the kind of game that they were trying to make. It’s all a big mismatch and tennis is something that should be absolutely difficult to mess up. I think that’s even the worst part when you really think about it. This should have all been really easy and straight forward, instead it wasn’t. I would advise you to stay far away from this game. It really doesn’t have anything to offer you.

Overall 3/10

Tetris DX Review

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Tetris is one of those games that is known to be virtually timeless. It continues to get more and more alternate versions but people always love pulling up the original. The reason is because good gameplay is good gameplay. As long as that part ages well then the rest of the game will quickly follow suit. For the most part you can see how it surpasses the legacy of the original although I do miss the hand drawn illustrations.

There are a few different modes here that you will notice right away. You have the classic mode here as well as survival mode and a number of others like marathon mode. They’re all pretty similar but of course there are key differences in each of them. It’ll take you a while to go through them all though so you’ll need some time here. I made sure to go through each of the modes to see how they played. Generally I’d say my favorite is classic but what I liked about some of the other modes is that they had endings.

For example, in one mode you have to see how quickly you can complete 30 lines within Tetris. The faster you do it, the higher your score is. It gives you something to try and surpass. Technically speaking the main mode had an ending point as well but very few people have ever managed to get there. I remember a kid made the news for accomplishing this because it was such a massive feat. It’s not something that just anyone could do. I could probably play the game for decades and not accomplish this feat which is really saying something.

The graphics are good here. It’s not like Tetris is the kind of game that shows off with a bunch of graphics or anything like that but the ones that are there are quite solid. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side though. They have 3 different tracks you can choose from and they’re not bad. Just nothing to write home about, I would say they feel closer to public domain music than anything. Imagine hearing a lot of awesome beats while playing instead? Getting in Mario, F-Zero, Pokemon, and any other kind of music would be cool.

I imagine that the top level talents in Tetris may not want to hear any of that since it’ll distract from the gameplay but as a casual player, I’d certainly be down to hear some good tracs like that. It’ll just make the whole game pop more if you ask me. Naturally the replay value here is basically infinite as you can keep on playing more and more with every round being lightly different. Ultimately you just need to get the patterns down and then you can really operate on a high level but of course that is easier said than done. I feel pretty familiar with some of the shape combos but certainly not all of them.

Also after playing a few different Tetris titles, it can definitely be hard knowing the columns as well. Occasionally I would put a piece down in the wrong column by mistake so that’s something you’ll need to get used to. The spacing and such can look a bit different across all of the games even though the gameplay itself is really solid. This is just on the player at the end of the day.

There’s not a whole lot to really say about the game beyond this though. Tetris is a pretty easy to understand game after all and it’s not as if there are a whole lot of modes or variance. So you’ll know right away if you are going to like it or not. I’m still waiting for somebody to make a really story focused version of Tetris. That could really sell gangbusters because it really hasn’t been done yet. The story would draw in the more casual players like me who would otherwise not go our of their way to purchase the game. More players = more revenue. The games can thank me later!

Overall, Tetris DX is definitely a solid game. It’s a fun time even if you may not be here for long. It won’t quite top some of the other classics like Tetris 99 which has done a real good job of revolutionizing the genre. That one really took the series to new heights. The graphics here have held up well though and so it is definitely pleasant to play through. It’s free with the Nintendo Switch Online so I would definitely recommend checking it out. The more rounds of Tetris that you have played across different versions, the more you can really say that you are a Tetris pro.

Overall 6/10