Category Archives: Games

Bleach Rebirth of Souls Review

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It’s time to talk about an absolutely elite title! Bleach went above and beyond in terms of adding a ton of awesome content and easter egg for true fans. The presentation and story are absolutely first rate and of course this is a fighting game so you can’t go wrong there. Now granted, there is one aspect about the gameplay that I don’t love but barring that it’s all at an elite level here. The game is also surprisingly long so you’re guaranteed to have a satisfying time here.

The story begins with Ichigo having to gain supernatural powers in order to save his family. He is now a Substitute Soul Reaper, someone who stands on the edge between life and death. He has to fight powerful monsters and also save his friends from the corrupt Soul Society. Along the way he also learns of sentient monsters in Hueco Mundo who have big plans as well. Can Ichigo stop them all and save the entire universe from certain anhiliation?

One thing’s for sure right from the jump, the developers really paid attention to the manga. There are tons and tons of extra details here. A story mode doesn’t get much more detailed than this, particularly a fighting game one. There are hours and hours of pure cutscenes here even aside from the combat. There are also a ton of secret missions and also secret cutscenes that are triggered when you clear challenges during a level. So you really get rewarded for doing your best to follow the story beats.

The story is also handled pretty well on a difficulty basis. None of the levels are a piece of cake to get through, far from it! You’ve really got to focus here because if you let your guard down at all then it’s all over. Here’s where the gameplay becomes important. Unlike traditional fighting games where everyone has a normal health bar, this one is focused on reishi. That’s basically an aura. The only way to deal damage to your opponent’s life points is through final smashes. You can use these as soon as your opponent’s shield hits the red level but it will be one point weaker. Alternately reducing the shield to 0 means you can use your final smash at full power.

The downside to this of course is that you will be seeing the same final smashes over and over and over again. They each have a little pre recorded cutscene at the start but those do add up eventually. Some characters like Ichigo and Aizen also have longer than average cutscenes for the final smash. It’s definitely nice for the game to show off the top tier animation that they have but this is the only part that can get a little old. I’d have preferred a traditional health bar system but hey it is unique.

Naturally the graphics are completely top tier here. It all looks really amazing while playing through the game and they did a good job on the cutscenes as well. The soundtrack is also elite with a ton of great songs mixed in throughout the game. Whenever you are in battle and someone activates their Bankai, you can expect the game to really speed up. The game isn’t really focused on balance so some characters are super weak compared to others. That’s just how it goes, it’s a pretty fun approach that I can appreciate though. They’re trying to make every part of the game lore accurate even right down to the gameplay. You never really see that so it was impressive.

Naturally there is a whole lot of content here. The main story is almost 30 hours long and then aside from that you’ve got side missions, bonus levels, and lots of other stuff to do. Vs mode itself is naturally enough for infinite replay value as well. So when you mix the whole thing together then you have a winning formula. The Platinum trophy for the game definitely looks like it would be a really hard one to grab though. Definitely not one that I would aim for anytime soon at least. It is yet another way the game has a ton of replay value though.

After playing through a ton of characters for the story, I can safely say that the most satisfying character to play as is Ichigo. They did a good job of developing him as a really good all around fighter. He may not be the strongest but he has good reach and his attacks combo well. My least favorite would be Uryu. Spamming the arrows can be interesting but you just don’t get to play as much. It feels less active when you can’t just be swinging a sword the whole time and forcing the opponents to back off. That is when Bleach is at its best after all, when you can just take off the limiters and run in for action.

It does match Uryu’s fighting style though so it’s yet another good detail. Similarly Mayuri doesn’t run around, a scientist like him is too proud for that. So he has good reach and attacks that pull in the opponent. Of course while accurate, that’s why I wouldn’t play as him much. Grimmjow is a lot of fun with his savage attacks but they also hurt himself which makes him rough. Yeah I’ll stick with Ichigo. Also quick shoutout to the fact that the whole game is English dubbed. I can tell you that this makes a massive difference. You really feel the emotion and the passion in every fight. It further helps the cinematic feel of the story mode.

Overall, Bleach: Rebirth of Souls was a game that was getting a ton of hype for months and months and I am proud to say that it completely lived up to it. Every part of this game is completely satisfying and polished. I will be getting the sequel right away when it comes out as I’m hyped to see how the sequel goes. There’s definitely a lot more content to cover and now I can say with 100% confidence that this team will know how to handle it. If you had any doubts about the game you can definitely put them aside. This is the ultimate tribute to Bleach fans and I expect it to continue to be talked about for a very long time.

Overall 9/10

Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues Review

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Cobra Kai is one of those titles that definitely got big out of nowhere. I remember thinking that a sequel to Karate Kid would be reasonable but to think it would get two different video games? I wouldn’t have guessed that. Now that the games are pretty cheap, it was time to get them and see just what I’ve been missing all this time. Well, suffice it to say, the game is pretty fun. It’s not great or anything but I enjoyed the story and between the two campaigns there is a decent amount of content here. Any beat em up fan will get a kick out of this.

I went with the Cobra Kai story of course. The title starts with two kids being thrown into detention for having another fight. One of them is a big fan of the Cobra Kai dojo wile the other is a Miyagi stan. They both have differing accounts of what exactly happened that caused so much drama. From the Cobra Kai side, it seems like Daniel LaRusso is causing a ton of trouble and really making a mess of things. It seems like he can’t move on from the past and so he has to be stopped before karate is fully corrupted. Where is he hiding though?

The gameplay here is a classic 2D beat em up. You have to fight through waves and waves of opponents as you proceed forward. You have your basic moves, super moves, and you can switch between your 4 characters at will. You lose a level if all 4 are defeated but generally I don’t see that being a problem. The game isn’t one of the more difficult ones. Maybe if you opt not to use any upgrades then it could be tricky. The upgrades are really handy since they reduce cooldown timer on your special attacks and also increase the attack power itself.

You earn the currency to use the power ups as you defeat enemies and clear specific challenges like finishing off 15 opponents with your signature move. Basically you’ll get a ton of these challenges by playing normally but definitely check them out at the dojo since there are some you will need to actively try for. The upgrades are all increases of about 1% but they really add up. You don’t want to miss out unless you are intentionally trying to make the game more difficult.

How the game works is there are normal levels and boss levels. The normal levels are circles on the map which lead to the boss levels. These stages have no cutscenes and you’re just blowing enemies away. Each boss level has two big fighters who stand in your way in addition to all the minions. Clearing a boss level gives you a clue point. Once you have 8 clue points, you can go to the final boss lair and fight Daniel LaRusso. There seem to be about 12-14 boss levels so you really have some options on where you want to go. Also if you feel you aren’t strong enough to defeat him yet, then you could play those levels for more EXP.

Be warned, whichever Dojo you start with, you will not be able to switch back, to them again during New Game+. In that mode you must play as the second dojo and complete the game again. That will then unlock the true ending so you can see here how the game has a certain amount of depth to it. Definitely not something to be underestimated. The levels are reasonably long too. The normal levels are only around 10 minutes or so but the boss ones can approach 25. You don’t want to lose there. Now, I never did so it’s possible there is a checkpoint or something but I wouldn’t risk it. Just keep fighting as hard as you can.

I’d say the most important thing here is to use a lot of special attacks. You gain invincibility during almost all of them and they cool down very quickly even without upgrades. So keep on spamming those and spam your dodge in order to stay one step ahead. As you play through the game you will quickly get a feel for how to deal with each enemy. When in a group, be careful about hitting an opponent while they’re down. You have no super armor during this maneuver which means that you will be super vulnerable.

Perfect blocking/parrying an attack does restore some of your health though so this is really something to be aware of. Most of the enemies can seem a bit unpredictable at first but they keep the same movements throughout the game. So eventually you should have a good understanding of how to defeat them, or at least I would figure you would. There are a lot of health items that are dropped in each level though so this may not even be necessary. Your fallen allies even revive after a little time.

There are also a few collectibles in each level so that will help during the replay value. Getting the Platinum doesn’t look insane but it definitely will take time so you really can’t go too easy on it. Expect to be here for a little while. Fortunately the gameplay is fun so that works well enough. Considering that you can get the game for about $5 nowadays, I would say that’s even a bargain. It’s definitely got more content than your average tie-in.

As for the music, it gets surprisingly good as you play through the game. It’s trying very hard to emulate the old music and you can feel that but after a while it just starts to come into its own. Perhaps it is from listening to the same themes so many times but you begin to enjoy them. That’s a pretty good feat. The graphics are definitely sub par though. Stuff you could have seen on the PS2. I appreciate that there is voice acting though. So all in all, the technicals are good enough.

Overall, Cobra Kai is one of those video games that takes you down memory lane. They don’t make a ton of games like this anymore. It feels very authentic and is a lot of fun. You will be done with it quickly but not too quickly considering the price. It may even make you want to watch the TV show and see if it can hold its own with the game. I’ll be going through the second game fairly quick so you can expect a review on that one soon enough. It uses a completely different gameplay style so that will either be a good thing or backfire big time.

Overall 7/10

Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition Review

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Xenoblade Chronicles is often thought of as one of the all time great RPGs and I would say it lives up to that. The story is dynamite, the gameplay is a lot of fun, and there is just so much to do within the game. It’s the kind of game that you can play for a very long time and not get bored. The content just keeps on going and the Switch version even has a whole epilogue to it. So now you’ve got extra content on top of a game that was already very long. This game is definitely a bargain at any price.

The game starts off by showing us a war between Mechonis and Bionis. After a large scale war, Bionis won and the world was finally at peace. Unfortunately it would not last forever. Several years later, Mechonis has returned and now the fighting is intensifying. Local researcher genius Shulk will now have to wield the legendary Monado Blade to fight back. The blade is so powerful that it cannot be controlled by most people and then injures the people who do wield it for too long. Shulk seems impervious to the effects but for how long? Also while he uses it, he appears to be able to see bits of the future. Maybe he can save the whole universe now!

There are a lot of positives to get into here but the first one has to be just how fast the story gets going. You start the game off with a massive war, and then another invasion a few cutscenes later. The game isn’t trying to bog you down with a long intro, you’re just thrown into the mix. The pacing stays pretty fast throughout the game and well the main tory is around 50 hours to get through so that’s a whole lot of content. There are hundreds and hundreds of side quests to play through as well, and optional bond moments too.

The game is also reasonably difficult so you are really encourages to go around completing a lot of side quests to get stronger. Doing this is the best way to really make sure you are ready for action. I spent many hours just fighting minions to get stronger and let me yell you, it was absolutely needed. The amount of times I was destroyed by a boss was very high. The villains are given a lot of respect in the power levels department so as Shulk you do feel like the underdog. This works well with the story.

The game also handled the future sight really well. It’s generally hard for any character to land a hit on Shulk. He’s much too fast, skilled, and powerful with that ability. Then to counter it, we have enemies who can read minds who turn that against him or other times when Shulk is not doing well and temporarily loses his abilities. It helps to keep things balanced. The story changes a lot throughout the adventure as we meet many different factions and fighters. They’re all well thought out and as always RPGs do have a huge advantage here because of how long you’re with the characters. How could you not grow to like them after being on the journey for so long right?

As for the gameplay, it’s a turn based system with a little auto attacking. Think of it like .Hack. So every second hat you run around and don’t click on anything, you will do an auto attack. This builds up your Monado gauge for powerful attacks. Additionally you can cycle through your signature moves and use any of those at any time. These deal a whole lot of damage and are really good to have in the pocket. They all have a cooldown though so you want to be careful about when you use them.

Meanwhile you can switch characters and use their abilities as well. Then there are combo hits and a lot of other mechanics to go through. This is a very involved game and then you can also level up the attacks when you find the book that activates the upgrade. Most of these are found in shops for lower levels and then at the highest levels you have to find specific enemies to drop them. As a result it can take a while to get the exact item that you want. Quick saving and reloading is probably the easiest way to get around the low percentage drops.

Throughout the game you will be asked to complete tasks which gets you money and exp as well as some good items. I was extremely impressed at the hundreds of missions in the game. That’s pretty much unheard of for virtually any game. It’s a staggering amount and I had to complete nearly all of them in order to become strong enough to beat the game. That’s how I knew that this game meant business. It’s also nice that for all of the fetch quests, the map does show you where to find them. Doing this blind would have been absolutely brutal.

The worlds are absolutely huge after all so these quality of life features were greatly appreciated. Yet another thing that shows why Xenoblade Chronicles is such an elite title. A lesser game would have still had you searching blind the whole time which would have been rough. There are also a few mechanics I didn’t get to try out much like trading materials with different passerbys. I also didn’t do most of the bond missions and just leveled them up naturally by fighting enemies.

There are so many different ways to equip and form your party that the possibilities are nearly endless as well. If hypothetically the levels ups were not enough, then I would have done a lot of tweaking in my party until I found the right balance. It’s another area where trial and error is a good idea. Meanwhile the technical aspects are top tier as you’d expect. The soundtrack is excellent with a whole lot of great rock tunes. The main battle theme is a true all star and all of the other tunes hold their own as well. Meanwhile the graphics are great. I really enjoyed the battles within the cutscenes and of course the effects during gameplay as well. The game never lacked for detail.

Overall, This was a top tier game. It’s just really hard to beat a good RPG! It was also nice to finally see Shulk in action. His personality here is definitely quite a bit different than in Super Smash Bros but you still get the general idea. It always gives me a lot of high respect for how Sakurai really adapted the moves and lines from the game. It really makes his moveset in Smash a true celebration of his character. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is still the best one but this holds its own. I’ll be eager to see how X ends up faring.

Overall 9/10

NFL Rivals Review

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It was finally time to check out another sports mobile title. NFL Rivals looked pretty fun and I gotta say that my hunch was spot on this time. The gameplay is really smooth and it’s a lot like playing Madden itself. The game has an impressive amount of modes to play through as well so it is definitely not lacking in content. It can take a while to get to the challenging parts though as the whole intro is about giving you more and more stuff every minute. It feels like you will have to play for many hours before you get out of the new player phase and really get to have a blast out there.

You first have to set up your team with the free cards that you get. Then you go through a bit of a tutorial as you play through a lot of game moments and eventually you start with the online battles and season mode. You will get tons of rewards as you play and you use those to supercharge your team all the way through. Keep that going and you’ll have a superstar team in no time. You fully play offense in this game as defense is totally simulated. I’m definitely cool with that, I think defense is a lot harder to code and generally speaking it’s not as fun anyway. Why play defense when you can play offense right?

It’s all touchpad controlled of course so the main plays you can call will be passing ones. When you hike the ball, you watch where the players are going and then hold down on the screen. This will slow down time for a few moments while you make a decision. Hold the screen for too long and time will resume though so keep that in mind. You also can run the ball but often times it just doesn’t seem to be as worth it. It will work sometimes and not other times. You just have less control over what is going on when running vs passing. When you pass, 9/10 times if it doesn’t go right it’s because you made a mistake.

You can also punt although I didn’t do that at all during the game. There is also the field goals and those are fun while also being reasonably difficult. The meter can really speed up on you and then you’re absolutely left in a rough spot. In most cases you should go for it unless you’re really close to the goal and are confident in your field goal skills. I’d recommend practicing on them during blowout wins where it doesn’t matter if you make the shot or not. That’s how I would practice at least.

Each game is pretty fun as you receive your rewards and the matches are also pretty fast since you’re only playing offense. You can easily fit in a bunch during a small play session and that’s the right approach for any mobile game. Ideally these are games you will be playing when you have little chunks of available time so you definitely don’t have the freedom for long battles. After all at that point you would probably just be playing the console version of Madden right?

This game gives you near infinite replay value and a lot of fun along the way. I don’t see what more they could really add to a Football game to make it even better so this one definitely stands near the top. Additionally there is even a way to make a little money on it but I stress the “Little” in this so don’t download the game in hopes of making money. It’s more like you might make a few dollars after playing through the game a whole lot. So it’s a fun bonus but not something that you should have as an actual incentive.

The graphics are pretty good here. I’m not particularly surprised though, mobile games often look really good. The amount of polish that goes into them is always really impressive. They definitely make an investment on games like this and the big ones really pay off. This would definitely be an example of a winning title. They even have guilds and such to support your teammates. I could see myself sticking with this game long term if I had found out about it much sooner. At this point my main mobile spot is really taken up by Pokemon Go but otherwise this one would be a contender. It’s just that Pokemon Go is simply too good. Maybe Madden will one day find a way to catch up to Pokemon but I’m not sure if that would even be possible.

Overall, NFL Rivals is a game that I would highly recommend. The gameplay is well thought out and while the sheer amount of content can be a little overwhelming at times, I would say that game’s menus are handled in a very logical manner. It helps to mitigate how vast the game feels and let you take it one mode at a time. Yes, definitely no issues there. If you don’t play this game then you will really be missing out. Don’t let that happen to you and download the game asap!

Overall 8/10

Donkey Kong ’94 Review

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It’s time for the return of Donkey Kong. This is one of Mario’s first ever antagonists and I can tell you that nobody ever expected he would end up becoming the great hero that he is today. Well, that wasn’t the case here as he’s up to his old tricks in kidnapping Pauline so now Mario has to stop him. This time DK is well prepared though and has hidden behind dozens and dozens of levels. Can Mario get through them all in time to save her? One thing’s for sure, it’s unlikely that Pauline would be friends with DK again after all of this.

The gameplay initially starts off with the classic Donkey Kong style as you jump through the different floors and try to dodge all the barrels. The level then ends once you reach the top. Well after a few levels of this the game transforms into a more standard platformer and this is when things get real. Each world has levels in multiples of 4 where you fight DK every 4. So some worlds have 8 levels while others have up to 16. It’s definitely a lot of levels to get through. The objective in the platforming levels is to get the key and bring it over to the chest in order to open it. This may sound easy but as the levels go, there are more and more obstacles in your path.

I was pretty impressed at different points with how creative the game would get. It was also rather difficult, certainly a lot more difficult than you would expect a game to be nowadays. Nintendo was not holding back so you can expect to die a number of times here. All it takes is to mistime one of your jumps and it is curtains. You can throw your key around to get past some but if you don’t pick it up within a few seconds, it will respawn back to where you first grabbed it. So you often have to move really fast or you will have just lost a bunch of ground for no reason.

The levels tend to be on the smaller side so it doesn’t feel bad if you lose too much though. Ultimately it comes down to having a plan. As long as you know what you are going to do then time will rarely if ever be a problem for you. Sometimes you just can’t execute your plan quick enough so there will be a degree of trial and error here. Just don’t give up, keep on swinging and eventually you will make it. If you’re super stuck, try looking for an alternate path because sometimes you’re just looking at the puzzle all wrong.

The toughest parts are definitely when a level has different arrow orbs. These create blocks that can be climbed or walked on depending on where you pout them. They often end up being the toughest because there are tons of ways to use them since you choose where they go. In most puzzles, you’re figuring out how to use equipment that has been put in specific places so that is way easier. Well, just keep your composure and you’ll be fine.

The graphics are pretty good. The game looks nice throughout from the backgrounds to the character designs and items. It has that Nintendo charm to it at all times. The soundtrack is more forgettable but DK games rarely keep pace with the classic Mario titles anyway. As long as they’re close, I suppose that’s the important thing. The story mode will take you a decent time to get through thanks to all of the levels. Probably 3-4 hours if I had to guess and potentially a bit more depending on how many times you need to try again. You’re getting a pretty decent bang for your buck even if it’s not crazy long or anything like that.

I guess my biggest piece of advice when playing the game is to try not stopping much. It’s better to take the wrong approach and lose a life than to be left wondering what to do and lose when the time runs out. The timer isn’t especially high so it will run out rather quickly and in the worst case you will be just as lost when you respawn. At least when you die from the first method you can rule that out as an option. It’s not like the levels are crazy complex so just knowing one way that isn’t correct will really help you narrow things down.

As for the boss fights, those are pretty self explanatory. You have to hit Dk with the barrels that he drops down. Keep the pressure on him and you’ve got this. Unlike the levels, I would say the bosses always tend to be pretty easy. Not crazy easy like you can close your eyes during them or anything like that but easy enough where I don’t expect you will die much at all. It’s just not that game.

Overall, Donkey Kong is definitely a fun game. It takes you back to a simpler time of gaming and it holds up really nicely. I’d be up for more titles like this one. The whole transporting the key around thing was definitely really creative. The Mario vs DK series is still kicking so there is always a chance to keep on making new games like this one. Until then, you should definitely check this out on the Nintendo Switch Online. There is no downside to doing it after all so why not right?

Overall 7/10

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Lord of Darkness Review

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Uh oh, it’s another strategy type game! Lord of Darkness takes thing further than the first game in regards to how realistic they are going with the simulation. You now have to worry about supplies and 7 different kinds of locations in addition to the battles. As a result there is far less gameplay than in the first one. The difficulty of the battles themselves appears to have been lessened but the game itself is just as difficult as always because of all the other factors you have to worry about. The more you have to keep track of everything, the more you will quickly find yourself being absolutely shut down. Ultimately, you’re doomed here.

The game has only 2 scenarios instead of 3 this time but maybe you unlock the third later on. The main goal of the game is really to go in and conquer all of the world. Along the way you will have to fight or ally with other team leaders. Of course the whole quest feels virtually endless with how the other armies keep popping up like whack a moles. Defeat one of them and another 3 come in to take their place. Trust me, it’s not ideal when you like to see your progress going up. I felt the same way for De Blob 2 and Paper Mario: Color Splash. I never like the idea of enemies recapturing different locations that I already got.

The only exception I can think of is Dynasty Warriors since it’s all happening in real time and it’s on the same level. So it doesn’t feel as bad when I lose a piece of land compared to other games where it means a whole lot of back tracking. I would argue that it is a completely different circumstance to be honest. Then this game is also just very complex with how the supplies are handled. You can give orders once a month so you have to be very complete with them. Try addressing as many areas as possible because the wait to the next month will be absolutely brutal. Of course on the other hand this also means that each month will be really time consuming.

The enemies seem to be a lot more relaxed this time around though so I made it through many seasons without being attacked. That also means that the game gets downright boring though. You’ve also got a lot of RNG elements here like floods that come washing in and illnesses that take chunks out of the general populace. Why add RNG to a heavy strategy game like this? The answer might be that it tests your strategic skills in an ever changing environment but it just makes you less invested since your well thought out plans can be done in an instant.

The graphics are okay at best but it’s clear that they were not a big priority here. There’s also not much of a soundtrack at all. I can say that they did put a lot of effort into the gameplay so I’ll give them some props there. It just wasn’t any fun and ultimately that is the most important part of any game. Who is going to play a video game that they don’t think is an absolute blast? It just wouldn’t make sense and so this one just forgot to be super fun. I’m sure strategy fans may get a kick out of this one but it definitely does not have the kind of widespread appeal that you would like to see here.

In terms of quality of life features, the game could definitely stand to label the units. They’re all very easy to mix up. The difference comes down to their weapons and flags. If you really pay attention then you will know what they all represent but having a basic map on screen would be nice. In a more modern adventure you wouldn’t need that since the game would have way more details but in this case it is an absolute necessity. It’s certainly an instance where the game’s technical limitations really came back to bite it.

There’s not a whole lot more to get into with this game. You can activate multiplayer which can make things a little more fun but the sheer chunk of time that it would take up would probably end up hurting quite a bit. With two players that is basically double the amount of time that it would take to clear each game and that’s assuming that one of the other 25 computers doesn’t win. So if you’re going to do a multiplayer battle this is probably not the title to use.

Overall, I would say to avoid this game. Even though it’s free, there just isn’t much fun to be had here. The menus are way too extensive and the gameplay is too limited. I would probably rather read a book about the warring states than play through this one. I can’t say that I find the period too engaging even on a good day but there are ways to make it interesting. Perhaps a modern PS5 remake would prove to be different but in the meantime this is definitely a full on skip.

Overall 2/10

Uncharted Waters: New Horizons Review

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Okay this one is actually a bit more brutal than the Nobunaga’s Ambition title. For starters there is still combat but it’s even slower and the bartering is even more detailed. Well, I’m jumping into this a little out of order so let me slow down here. Lets just say this isn’t like the Uncharted games that you’re used to. No sir, this is a very different experience and unfortunately I can’t exactly say that in a good way. I suppose there is a whole lot of water though.

So the game starts off by letting you choose from a bunch of characters. It probably makes a difference on how the game starts off so I picked the guy who seemed the most well rounded. You start off by talking to a bunch of people to get your starting equipment. Some food, water, men, items, and of course a boat. Now what you gotta do is travel the world and buy/sell items of commerce in order to get things rolling.

This is of course where the game starts to really lose a whole lot of steam. It’s just not a fun kind of gameplay. For starters you have to monitor the going prices on each island. Say Island A sells corn for $5, but island B sells it for $3. You want to go to Island B and buy a lot of it, then go sell to Island A where they really need it. Multiply this by over 20 different items and of course factor in that you need to have enough money to invest in buying more food for your men as well as to buy more material to buy. Amp up the confusion even higher when you have to deal with pirates that are running around.

These fights are hard to win and take a lot of men. If too many die, then you’re going to have to find more at another island which will of course take even more fuel out of your tanks. That’s not good. Did I mention that you can also run into random storms that eat up materials? Bet you didn’t think of that one….and if you die at sea it’s a full game over. There is no save point to go back to. You have to start from scratch. In a way it’s sort of like Digimon World Next Order where the intro is the toughest part as you will lose a few generations on getting the basics going but by the mid game you are really well prepared for what’s next.

Difference is that I don’t have a really enjoyable story and fun graphics to incentivize me to do all of that. No, instead I’m supposed to just enjoy the process and that’s not good enough for me. There is a story here of course as you’re taking someone back to his kingdom, helping a stowaway, etc. There’s also a war going on but none of it is particularly captivating. It doesn’t move you the way that a more interesting story could have. I know there were some technical limitations back in the day but it didn’t stop a lot of other big SNES titles that I’ve played back in the day. No sir, those just kept on trucking through.

The most I can say for the game is that it looks pretty nice. It reminds me of the old Final Fantasy titles. It’s peaceful to be moving around without any wild encounters running around. It feels like a long time since I could just explore the hub world like that so it was really a good change of pace. It even made me think that the game could have been good if it was limited to just the island. Maybe you’re the mayor and you have to take care of folks with a lot of trading. I think that could have actually worked out well but this one was just too ambitious for what it was trying to do. It ultimately was doomed to not be able to succeed this time.

Now just to leave the series some hope, the other way it could work out is if they made this into a big MMORPG. Imagine this scale but all of the people running around are actually real people. It’s why that genre always had a lot of potential. I don’t see myself really getting involved in any of those because honestly that would be extremely time consuming but I do get the appeal. If you are ever going to make a trading game that is actually fun, I don’t see any other way around it. You need to add that social element to the game, it would make you heavily invested. Particularly if there are social guilds and everything since then you don’t want to let your party down.

Overall, Uncharted Waters is not a good video game, I would even go as far as to call it a pretty bad one. I actually think it could be a good educational tool for kids but in that case the gameplay is a bit too difficult. They would need to find some kind of a solid middle ground but ultimately this just isn’t it. This is not the game that will really change things for folks and that may be unfortunate but it’s just the way that it goes. I can see why this game never got all that huge. I like to say that I am a fan of strategy titles but perhaps I’ve been overrating myself in that department. These definitely show that I’m still out of my depths past a certain point. I need some kind of excitement to get me going. Unlike fighting games or platformers, the gameplay alone cannot carry the game.

Overall 2/10

Nobunaga’s Ambition Review

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It’s time to get into the old time strategy games on the SNES. Nobunaga’s Ambition is definitely a game that everybody has heard of but I’m sorry to say that it has not aged well in practice. The gameplay takes too long to get to and there is too much RNG. Hardcore strategy fans will have a kick with this but it is lacking the quality of life features that would make this a winner. You end up watching more than actually participating which is not a good idea. Maybe one of the sequels will do the trick but I have my doubts.

The game starts off very ambitiously as you decide how many players will be participating between 0 and 8. Yes, 0 is an option as you can then watch the war going on. I tried that mode once and watched for about 10 years of in game time but the war just never ends. The world is too large so when one faction gets a lot of land, the others end up capturing some eventually. It’s an eternal war you can say. When you are actually playing the game with 8 people you can prevent that but of course it will still take a while. Playing as one person? Well you’re going to get crushed.

I do appreciate the game allowing you to choose if you want to watch the computer’s turns or not though. I made sure to say no because the game would absolutely take forever if you did that. Each match is a very long experience because of the amount of details put into it and watching all of the 28 countries duke it out would really take forever. When it’s your turn, you can choose to attack a neighboring country, make a deal with them, or flat out bribe their citizens to join your country. I suspect these options don’t really begin working until you have a lot of money and prestige though because I tried on several accounts and it just didn’t work. Even with rewind so I know the chance was 0% there.

As for fighting, well that’s something you can win but without rewind I imagine you would be dying a lot. When the match starts, you position where you will put your men. The kicker? You don’t actually know where the opponent will put their men until the match has actually started. So worst case your king will be immediately surrounded. If that happens then you are really cooked because it’s not just a loss if your king is defeated, it’s an instant game over! It’s quite the harsh punishment.

You also keep all injuries and deaths from the previous rounds. So lets say you start with 100 men and lose about 30 in the first fight. Well, now you will have 70 fighters left for round 2 and that number will only continue to be reduced in each ensuing battle. That’s I guess where the bartering would come in. You can try to buy and sell rice and even order more men but it’ll cost you gold. So in addition to the fights you have to really take all of that into account as well. You’re also surrounded by 2-4 enemies no matter who you pick to play as so you have to hope that they don’t all attack you back to back. If they do then you’re really in trouble.

Sites list the game as 50+ hours and I can definitely see why. I imagine that eventually you will beat enough opponents to really make a name for yourself and improve your reputation but it’s definitely not going to be easy and is going to be a long time. You will have to suffer some losses to give your other forces time to marshal their defenses. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Where some modern quality of life features could have helped would be with the speed of combat and the little cutscenes here and there. If you remove those then everything probably gets to be a whole lot easier.

As far as the graphics go, the game looks quite old. None of the character models are all that descriptive and the game also just throws you right into the fire. If you want a tutorial then you’d best look for that online because you won’t be seeing anything here. No as far as this game goes, you just need to try your best. There’s not much of a soundtrack but I wasn’t really expecting that anyway. This is an old time war game so it’s meant to be very somber.

To me there just isn’t a lot of incentive to playing this. If you want to try and take over the world, I imagine it would be much more fun irl in a dungeons and dragons kind of setup. One of those real rpg games where you play with everyone and just enjoy the game itself. That’s the way to do this kind of game rather than in a video game. Still, this game got enough sequels where it makes sense that a lot of people do have a good time with it. I will also say, it is still better than Harvest Moon for what it’s worth although I can’t see myself playing either game for very long.

Overall, Nobunaga’s Ambition just makes you want to play some Dynasty Warriors. I think that series spoiled me a bit because uniting the world through combat just makes way more sense than this strategy title. If you’re gong to do strategy, then do it in a straight forward way like in Fire Emblem. You keep the strategy fights while also not having to worry about the smaller stuff like supplies, grain, etc. Just focus all the way on the combat. Hey it’s free on the Switch if you have the online though so maybe you ought to give it a shot.

Overall 3/10

Alex Kidd In Miracle World DX Review

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All right it’s time for a really retro platformer. Alex Kidd is a title that just about everyone has heard of at some point but I would say a lot of people have probably not actually played it before or have seen what the gameplay is like. I can’t say that I knew much about it myself and so it was time to finally change that. This game is fun but the sheer lack of length and replay value does hurt this one somewhat.

The story follows a kid named Alex who was minding his own business when Janken the Great shows up and starts a lot of chaos. He invades the kingdom and defeats the King while also kidnapping the prince. Alex is the only one who can stop this menace but to that end he will have to take down the 3 Rock/Paper/Scissor fighters. See, it’s a play on words with Janken being some of the words in the Japanese spelling of the classic game. Fortunately Alex excels at everything he does.

First lets go over the good things about the game. It looks really solid. A lot of polish went into the modern graphics so it stands out and the game even gives you the option to switch back to the old style at any point. That was definitely impressive and I switched a few times for fun but the modern graphics are definitely the way to go. The levels are all bite sized with check points except for one really long level which was really difficult to beat. It takes a while to really master the controls and mechanics but there was a good amount of thought put into this one.

If the gameplay weren’t so slippery then this would be even better. As it stands, you will probably die more than a few times to what looks like a normal jump because the air carried you too far or something like that. Unlike most platformers, this one has momentum as a factor so if you jump forward and try to stop, your character won’t stop unless you pull back. As a result it is easy to overcalculate and even to the end this was difficult to work around. Expect to die a lot but eventually you will get the hang of it.

The soundtrack isn’t bad although it is mostly forgettable. i can’t think of any really hype tunes off the top of my head. It’s definitely going for a much more down to Earth kind of vibe. Nothing wrong with that but for any kind of sequel I hope they do decide to go all out a bit more. The game should also provide more explanations since basically nothing is elaborated on. You just have to figure it out the hard way.

Items are virtually useless in the game so I would recommend ignoring them. They don’t regenerate when you lose a life meaning you will lose this almost immediately. The items really didn’t make a difference here so I wish I had skipped them and could have gotten a nice trophy out of it. Perhaps you will find them to be more useful but I think they could stand to be buffed a little more. At the very least they should stick with you until a full game over.

The difficulty level for the game is fairly high but definitely not impossible. You really need to master jumping as soon as possible. Once you have that down then you can really start moving and not only will the levels get shorter but you can focus on the boss battles. While the rock paper scissors mechanic for each boss fight is not possible to know at first, they always follow the same pattern. So just memorize what they pick for the first two turns and you will beat them on all future runs. That’s really the only way to approach this.

As for the actual boss fights, they can be hard but they all lack in durability. So the best thing to do in every fight is rush in and try landing some hits. You just need to survive for around 10 seconds and your punches will take care of them. It doesn’t sound that bad when you put it like that right? Honestly the most annoying thing will just be in having to complete the stage again in order to get to the boss fight.

Even when the levels are short you can still feel the repetition. Getting all the trophies for the game will also take some time so that adds some replay value. All in all, this is probably not a game you would want to get for full price but on sale it is a good bet. The gameplay itself is fun after all as you run and jump across obstacles and levels. You can even punch but the range is so short that it is also easy to bump into an enemy by mistake and take damage. In fact, that is easily the toughest part of the game and how I suffered a ton of deaths. After a while you get the hang of the range though.

Overall, Alex Kidd is all about trial and error. The game is fairly unforgiving as one hit from any attack will take a whole life from Alex. That being said, you can also beat a lot of enemies in one hit. Play slow and steady as often as you need because there is usually not any kind of timer anyway. You can worry about speed running and everything after you beat the game. So that’s the game in a nutshell, some questionable game design decisions to be sure but it is a game that’s fun to play. Even when you die a whole lot, it never feels totally hopeless or anything like that. If they make a new Alex Kidd game at some point I do think it would be a lot better. There are easy ways to make the sequel a lot better after all. Put in a solid story as well and I’ll definitely keep an eye on it.

Overall 6/10

Super Ninja Boy Review

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Super Ninja Boy is a very unique game because it’s sort of trying to be 3 different games at once. For starters it is a turn based RPG for the big boss fights. Then it becomes a full platformer adventure for some of the minion encounters. For the others it becomes a 2D beat em up. During the hub world you have an overhead style like Final Fantasy. The game has you travelling the world on foot, then in a boat, and then in a giant mecha. It’s tackling everything but unfortunately excels at nothing and that’s probably what doomed the title.

You play as the Super Ninja Boys who are needed to save the world. Villains are emerging from all parts of the planet and some of them aren’t even human. Their father (Or uncle) went missing as well. These two have formal training but are they really ready for an adventure like this? They will really have to travel the entire world so this is no picnic. At the same time, these two boys know that they are the last hope for humanity.

The story’s fairly forgettable but it does have a fun script. I appreciated all of the one liners and burns that came up during the game. There are quite a large number of villains running around as well. Now like I said before I do think the game is too ambitious. If they had just picked one genre they could have succeeded. For example, the reason the overhead part fails is because the encounter rate was set up to be way too high. You have a minion trying to attack you every few seconds. Your odds of fleeing are near 0 unless you are considerably stronger than the enemies. The other problem is that you barely get any EXP from fighting minions so it’s not like you can easily power level.

Eventually you will need some level ups but the grinding sessions are annoying at best when they show up. It’s just not something that you really want to be doing at this point in time. Then for the RPG battles, they have a ton of RNG at every point. None of the attacks have descriptions or show how much damage they do so you really have to wing it here. Trial and error is how you get used to all of the attacks and that feels like sloppy game design to me. There should be a better way of knowing what’s next.

There is no map in the game for the massive hub world so good luck remembering where everything is. If you take the wrong path then you have to play through a whole platforming level before you return. This gets old quick. I can safely say that the game would be really difficult to navigate without the rewind feature. At least that helps to mitigate the worst parts of the game’s design. It doesn’t mean that you are totally safe or anything but at least you can quickly retreat.

These all feel like pretty basic game design choices as well so I don’t know how the game launched like that. It’s a shame because the novelty of actually having multiple games in one is a pretty good one. I would like another game to try this in the present with a big budget studio behind them. If the game pulls that off then it will have really made history. Well, at least you can’t say that the game is short. It’s a true RPG through and through and it took me even longer than all the estimates had guessed.

I suppose most gamers were able to figure out where they had to go right away. I definitely can’t say that was true for me. I really had to put on my thinking hat and exploit the rewind to visit a lot of towns at times before I found the right ones. The NPCs aren’t typically handy and there is also a glitch where sometimes you will enter someone’s house twice and stay in a bit of a loop. More sloppy game design, it just doesn’t stop.

Overall, Super Ninja Boy made quite a lot of mistakes. So why am I not calling it a bad game? Well, for all its faults, the game still does some things right. It does provide a lot of content, the story can be fun, and the actual beat em up/RPG gameplay isn’t bad. It’s just the various mechanics around those which really hold the game back. So while I won’t say that it’s a good game by any means, it does enough to stay in the middle. Just make sure you beat up as many enemies as possible and you will shorten the grinding time needed. Learn which enemies go down quickly and ignore the ones that don’t. No enemy that survives a lot is worth fighting. Trust me on that.

Overall 5/10