Tag Archives: PS4

Sword Art Online Alicization: Lycoris Review

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It’s time for the next big Sword Art Online game. I’m still behind by a few other titles but this was one of the big story driven ones and the second last title in its continuity. It’s definitely a long one as the average game length for this is over 60 hours. That’s pretty crazy but they really do go in depth on everything. It was well on its way to a great score for most of the run but unfortunately Sword Art Online has certain pitfalls that it tends to be trapped in and it ended up stepping into it here multiple times in fact.

The game roughly covers the first half of the Alicization saga and then also jumps into its own thing. The first chapter covers the whole anime part before the war arc so as you can guess it’s a very long saga. The story is mainly a bunch of cutscenes with a little gameplay in the middle. For that reason you can say this one leans the hardest into being a full on visual novel. Outside of a big difficulty spike near the end, the gameplay is fairly easy. So you tend to beat enemies in seconds and then go to another 30 minutes in cutscenes. That’s why the story plays a big role in how much you will like the game. More so than even the gameplay to be honest because that is the focus.

The story is not good though. My main complaint with it would be how repetitive it could be. The big new heroine for the game is Medina and her character history revolves around how everyone dislikes her family. They call her a defect and everyone is always rushing to gang up on her. It’s really not an easy life that she has at all. The problem is that they effectively repeat the same insults and plot points. Pretty much every 20 minutes you could expect someone to start scolding her while everyone just watches. It gets worse and worse as the game goes on because then you have the whole cast just watching and shaking their heads instead of actually doing something about it. You’d think they would know to just jump in and actually save the day and instead they watch. Yeah you can’t really get much worse than that. It’s absolutely something to be disappointed about.

Medina also takes a lot more than she really needs to. The whole engagement thing was an obvious farce from the start but she still went through with it. Then she gets manipulated by the main villain with ease and it’s all just rough for her. Also we learn the dark history of her family and it ends up getting wayyyyy too grim dark. We didn’t need to know all of that. So between the original edgy parts of Alicization and the new parts added for the game, it’s just way too dark and dreary the whole time. I’d definitely give it a thumbs down all the way as far as the story is concerned. There are cool parts to be sure but whoever was in charge of doing the writing for the game did not properly understand it and as a result they made a whole lot of mistakes.

Outside of the story, the gameplay was good but the menus are not always very clear. It is really hard to navigate and nothing is particularly well explained. You do have quick travel which is good but at the same time you can’t see any quests or locations until you use the quick travel. So that would mean memorizing all of the 20+ locations in your head because otherwise the only way to know what is there is to travel. Then when you pause you see the locations but it’s really odd that they couldn’t pre load this.

You can’t really see your equipment without going through a bunch of menus and your skills are all locked behind hidden side quests that do not even appear on the map. The hub world is huge so I’ll give the game credit there but of course that makes it even harder to find the places that you want to go. Not a very good idea if you ask me. It’s a world of difference from the other games I’ve been playing which have really clear menus at all times. The game feels way too hard to use on all of the technical aspects which is unfortunate.

The core gameplay itself is good at least. It feels good wielding the sword and you can play as over 20 characters here so there is a lot of variety in combat. I basically stuck to Kirito unless I was knocked out though. You are always in a party of 4 so you don’t lose unless they are all knocked out. It’s important to note that your party is disbanded after every chapter so if you forget to reform them then you will go into battle alone and be crushed. This happened to me a few times which was definitely rough. Hopefully you saved your progress.

The final chapter is close to 4 hours long and has a lot of different boss battles in it. Make sure you save when possible, but there aren’t many opportunities to leave the tower. So definitely don’t click past the dialogue too quickly or you will miss out on your big chance and that would be rough. At least you can skip the cutscenes the second time around so it won’t feel quite as long but that’s still something you should probably avoid if you can help it.

As far as the graphics go, I would say they have aged pretty well. The game is colorful and has a lot of detail all the way through. I am glad to see so many cutscenes even if the story was not really able to do them justice. The fact that the game is this long is definitely a testament to the developers’ skills the whole way through. The soundtrack is also pretty good. Not as amazing as you would expect for a Sword Art Online game to be honest but still good enough in the end. We did get a lyrical song for the final boss which was pretty fun.

I can also say there is a ton of replay value. If you want to get all of the trophies and clear every quest then I expect you will be here for at least another 30-40 hours. There are an insanely high number of quests to explore and the trophies look really long. Not particularly difficult mind you, but just a huge time investment. So if you’re a Sword Art Online mega fan then this should help you.

Overall, Alicization has got to take the title of worst Sword Art Online title. It’s extremely rare for me to dock points from a game for the story being no good but ultimately that’s what happened here. The story was bad enough that it actually dragged the whole thing down which is pretty crazy. It just goes for way too many edgy themes the whole time and it always feels no unnecessary. If you’re going to go for the visual novel format I would also say that you definitely need a more complete story at the ready. What we got was clearly not ready for this kind of length and so it had to be extremely stretched out over and over again in order to make the distance. As the player it is very noticeable the whole time. I have much higher hopes for the new game that just came out.

Overall 4/10

SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake Review

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It’s time for some Spongebob action! Spongebob is one of those tv shows that I never really watched even as a kid but I have always enjoyed the memes. It’s a series that seems to always provide good wholesome fun so I can appreciate that. The characters are generally funny and the games are well made. In the end I would say this is a pretty fun title all the way around and another worthy entry in the series. The platforming is very effective the whole time.

The game starts with Spongebob and Patrick messing around as always when they accidentally shake up the cosmos with a wishing artifact. A mysterious witch offers to help them but deep down she aims to capitalize on the madness and make things worse. Spongebob and Patrick will have to find their friends across all of the different worlds and put things back to normal. If anyone can pull off such an ambitious rescue, it would definitely be Spongebob. He’s always the man with a plan and has been through pretty much everything by this point.

Right away one of the very solid things about the game is the gameplay itself. I would say Spongebob is one of those games that understands the core fundamentals of what it means to be a good platformer. It’s not adding a bunch of gimmicks or anything like that. It’s a game where you are actually jumping over a lot of obstacles and defeating enemies. What it lacks in difficulty, it makes up for in creativity. I would go as far as saying it has some of the better 3D environments in terms of being fun to play. There is something to be said for being able to just run through a level without many big difficulty spikes.

I love good difficulty as much as the next guy but this game put fun as the top priority and it shows. I really enjoyed the various levels and minigames like the racing portions. You can spin as Spongebob to defeat enemies as well as ground pounding and shooting bubbles. Then you’ve got a double jump and a little gliding going on. So you have basically all of the gameplay options at your fingertips right out of the gate. Most impressive if I do say so myself. Each world is fairly short so you’ll likely beat this game in around 4 hours or so but there is a reasonable amount of replay value.

You can go back to get different items and collectibles so that you can eventually platinum the game. It’s a fairly easy platinum so it’s definitely one that is worth pursuing if you want to continue with the experience a bit more. Additionally, you can probably get the game for a reasonable price at this point compared to when it first launched. That’s definitely something for you to consider when getting the game. At the end of the day it’s one that you should have a lot of fun with. It’s a basic game and that’s not a bad thing.

As for the story, it’s a comedy first and foremost so you’re not playing this for a serious look at the fall of the multiverse. Instead, you get to enjoy a lot of good puns and wordplay. I was kept really well entertained the whole time at least. It’s the kind of cheesy dialogue that just leaves you grinning the whole time. It’s just very effective so I give the script writer a thumbs up. You definitely have to embrace the silliness but it did a good job of never being cringey so I would say it handled this perfectly.

Some of the lines are even rather clever. Meanwhile every world is completely different so you don’t have to worry about reused assets the whole time. The graphics are really good as well. It’s all very bright and vibrant the whole time which helps make all of the stages even more fun to watch. Meanwhile the soundtrack is more on the forgettable side, I can’t say there are any tunes I can remember off the top of my head. I suppose that is definitely something that the series could work on for future installments.

There isn’t a ton more to say about the game due to its simple approach. I would even say this is a game you could easily point to for anybody who is wondering what a platformer is like. It’s not worried about a deep plot, innovative gimmicks or anything like that. It may sound like a backhanded compliment but in a lot of ways I actually think that’s really impressive. It’s important to know your own identity and as I’ve said many times in the past, it’s important for a video game to be fun. Spongebob is fun the whole time and you never have any doubts about that. I could easily play this game for hours and hours at a time. So it may not be Great, but it is very good and never drags on.

Overall, Spongebob definitely has another winner here. This is a fun game all around with quality platforming and it’s clear that they put a lot of effort into this one. It wasn’t just another random Spongebob game, this was one with a lot of heart. As long as you enjoy a good platformer then you will have fun with this game whether you have seen the show or not. That’s definitely the hallmark of a good game right there. It is fully accessible for everybody.

Overall 7/10

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows Review

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It’s time for one of those games that looked just enough like a tie in where people had some reservations about it. The good news is that because of that you can get this game for dirt cheap nowadays. I always enjoy some good One Punch Man action so I was definitely eager to see how this one turned out. Fortunately they really held nothing back here. It’s a great title and one that is even carried a bit by the technical aspects. The combat isn’t the most fine tuned 3D title that you’ve ever seen but the menus and layouts are all just really solid and smooth. You’re constantly impressed as just how easy everything is to navigate. This is probably the kind of game I would point to when explaining to people why menus are so important.

The game roughly follows the story of season 1 but has you playing as a brand new hero. You are recruited into the hero’s association and work on rising up the ranks by saving people and crushing monsters. Along the way you run into Saitama and Genos. This results in your constantly showing up to fight off the big villains but typically Saitama is the one who will actually put a stop to the madness. It would be more effective if you actually talked during the cutscenes though. During gameplay your original character talks and even has some great lines so I don’t know why they didn’t keep that energy up.

Either way the story is a pretty reasonable length. It should take you around 6-7 hours to clear it and there is a lot of replay value aside from that. This is a fighting game title after all so you can have fun in multiplayer mode for many hours. Additionally in single player mode you have a ton of bonus missions and level ups to work on. You will want to max out each of the fighting styles for more trophies as well. The platinum trophy looks like it will take a while to unlock but at the same time it looks very achievable. So put in enough effort and you will definitely be able to complete this one.

When you level up you get to choose which stats to increase so I recommend putting everything in attack power. Trust me, that’s what you will be using the most by far. Use two quick hits, a low hit, and then your standard combo. It does a good amount of damage and you can recycle that comb for the entire game. A pretty tempting strategy to use if I do say so myself! You don’t really need to get fancy here. It is good to make sure you have a super attack that breaks through guards though. That is really handy for when they start blocking.

Ultimately I went with the power type for the whole game. Then my super attack was a grab so if the opponent blocked the opening moves of my combo, I would immediately use the grab and would deal the damage. It’s a really good way to cheese the opponent and so I kept up a win rate of over 90%. The tough levels tend to be ones where stage hazards show up. I died once because a meteorite was slamming me into the ground and it did massive amounts of damage. The hazards could probably be dialed back a little to be honest.

I could never figure out how to get up quickly though. This is the toughest part of the game by far as a result since the enemy only has to knock you to the ground once and then after that they can keep comboing you to oblivion. It meant that I would either crush an opponent without getting hit or just barely win because one hit has such a massive effect to it. I’m assuming there is something you can do but I just couldn’t figure it out.

Back to the technical elements, the map is super detailed and has icons for every kind of content around. There is an arrow always pointing you to where you need to go within the story and there is also quick travel. All of the menus have super fast loading times and really look natural. There is really no downside to be found here. Then the graphics are also really good. The game models look sharp and there was just a whole lot of effort put into this one. I have to give the soundtrack props next as the tunes are really good. It felt like everyone was proud to work on this game. It may not be a AAA title by any stretch but the technical elements wouldn’t be out of place in one.

Just touch up the story and gameplay a bit and this could have been the next big thing. Ultimately that wasn’t really part of the plan but it’s still a game that any fighting fan can really enjoy. I always love playing through a great fighting title and this one is really no exception. Anime fighters can get real immersive and I dare say this game feels like it had a much higher budget than even something like Jump Force which is crazy when you think about it.

Overall, One Punch Man really delivered with this game. I definitely had a blast here. The whole game definitely goes by real quick but it’s also one that I could feel like picking back up and playing at any time. I left a whole lot of content on the table as well so there would be a lot for me to do when I get back into the game. The fact that the whole game is dubbed and contains a ton of voice acting is also super impressive. It’s something I never take for granted because even nowadays games will come out without voice acting like this. So when it does appear, that’s just really awesome. If they ever come up with a sequel to this one then I can safely say that I will be there day 1. I definitely won’t be missing out on this and I recommend picking up One Punch Man whenever you can. It’s that good.

Overall 8/10

Castlevania Advance Collection Review

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Time for the next Castlevania collection! This time we’re entering a more modern era with a bunch of GBA titles and I gotta say this works out pretty well. You can feel the quality of life updates oozing out of each title and all in all they do feel a lot more fun. I would also say generally speaking they do improve as they go on. Sometimes not unanimously in every regard but generally speaking they feel stronger. The games also increasingly have more story which always works out well.

So we kick things off with Circle of the Moon. Dracula is returning once again and he must be stopped but how do you beat a foe so powerful that he has the whole world on its knees? Well, Nathan will have to figure that out. This game has the classic Metroidvania type style here as you wander around a labyrinth gaining new powers and abilities in the rooms. With each new ability comes new opportunities and so you work to find out which areas have opened up for you to crack. It makes for some good fun in exploring but this is the critical make or break point for any game in the genre.

Here’s the balancing act. Naturally you want a lot of dead ends and such to encourage players to return later once they are stronger. However, the rooms can be quite large so what you don’t want to do is make the journey feel like a chore. The way to prevent this is by having fast travel in a lot of different areas so you can hop on that right away. It removes all of the excess running. Now, there is a level up system so beating the enemies gets easier with time. That is a good idea since proper progression is always a plus. It means that if you’re stuck at any point, you are given clear direction on how to get past that point which is really cool. Not just any game will do that.

So this one did it better than some of the other titles. Not perfectly mind you, but it’s a fairly good showing of the genre. I never quite understood the card gimmick though. You could use cards in different combinations to unleash powerful elemental attacks and such but I could never get any of them to work. You can still win without this but I imagine that the game might have been a whole lot easier otherwise. So I definitely did not make things easy on myself here. The graphics are solid and I liked all of the boss battles. There are quite a lot of them here so you really get to go all out.

Then in the second game Juste shows up to put an end to Dracula’s reign of terror. Defeating the king of the vampires won’t be easy but this guy is ready. It picks up a lot of the gameplay details and abilities from the previous game while also throwing in some new wrinkles. Gone are the cards (Which I’m 100% down with) and replacing them are magical super attacks. You are invincible while using these abilities which is extremely handy and the techniques themselves vary based on what sub weapon you have equipped. I chose one that let me shoot energy waves and I made sure to never pick any other sub weapons after that. This one was just way too useful but I can’t remember which one it was. I think the sub weapon looked like a book of sorts but I’m not sure of the name.

Either way there are a ton of sub weapons everywhere so it should not be hard to find these. Just keep searching and you will get them fairly quick. Meanwhile you still have the level up system so make sure you get those right away. If you beat all of the enemies you will get the level ups normally but especially securing some of them early on is an incredible help for you later on. You want to be able to easily dispatch all of the zombies and creatures that head your way to save health for the bosses. The bosses definitely do not hold back and really dish a whole lot of damage out.

The game loses some steam near the very end though as it does fall into the trap of the journey being a little too monotonous. As you approach the end game, there will only be a few passages left to check but they are in completely different sides of the map. So even though you have quick travel, it takes forever to get anywhere which is really the issue. This only really applies to the end game as it’s possible to miss power ups and then this cascades quite a bit as they are all linked. So just watch out here because missing things is really high stakes.

Then we have the third game, Aria of Sorrow. This one felt like it had a pretty good technological jump right off the bat. The graphics are extra clear, we have a whole new setting, and all of the gameplay mechanics are very sharp. You still have the level ups but now you have a soul system. Instead of finding the power ups for the most part, you gain the abilities through souls. It’s a fun way to go although there is a mild issue of having to pause and cycle through your abilities to keep on switching powers. That part’s a little dicey you know. Still, it’s a mild annoyance at worst, not something that will really be giving you a hard time here.

I liked the plot of several people being suspicious and you have to try and figure out who will be Dracula’s new vessel. It’s almost like a mystery game of sorts there so that was a fun angle. I think another way to put it is that the game had a whole lot of personality. It felt like the devs could have fun taking things in a new direction and it worked really well. It even felt like there was some true replay value here as you could clear the game while still leaving a lot left to be done. It’s the right balance of being a completionist vs just wanting to finish the game. Additionally, you gain powers like flight that make each room a breeze so that addresses my issue of moving through the map too slowly from the last game. This was definitely super solid.

Finally we have Dracula X. Well, Dracula is back and we have to take him down. Lesss goooooooo. The plot is super basic/nonexistent and the game feels like a super simplified version of the old ones. The fact that you can no longer jiggle your whip around or use magic attacks feels like a massive step back. It just went too far into being super retro. It’s not bad, the whole game is super short but very linear. It just doesn’t hold up compared to the big full fledged game titles. It was kind of funny to go back to this one.

The graphics for all of the games are pretty solid. Dracula X looks rather dated but all of the GBA ones hold their own. The soundtracks definitely vary from game to game but as a whole there are a ton of good tunes to listen to so you definitely won’t be getting bored at all. The variety is definitely here to stay and you might even recognize one or two from Super Smash Bros. There is a good amount of replay in trying to get all trophies and really ace each of the games as well. You will definitely need to tap into your inner Castlevania fan to pull that off but it will add some extra hours without a doubt.

Overall, Castlevania Advance Collection is definitely pretty fun. All 3 of the game boy advance titles are pretty solid and generally speaking are a step up from the retro styled ones. They all feel like complete games and I do think adding a full fledged level up system to the vania games is a real good way of keeping things from being too repetitive. Even if you get lost, at least you know you are making progress. I may still not be a huge fan of the sub genre but I can say this is on the higher levels in terms of quality. It’s certainly miles away from certain other titles that just feel like a grind. The final game may not hold up as much but I consider that to be more of a bonus title so either way there was no real pressure there.

Overall 7/10

Batman: Return to Arkham Review

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It’s time to return to the world of Batman games. Yes, this collection absolutely lives up to the hype and it’s been great playing so many elite games back to back! It’s really hard to see how DC can top this Batman series in the future because of just how well it nailed the mythos and atmosphere. Not to say we’re done with the Arkham series as there are still two games left to get but this was a fantastic start all around.

The first game in the collection is Arkham Asylum. Batman was undergoing a normal operation where he took down the Joker and arrested him but unfortunately the jail isn’t as secure as it should be. Joker ends up breaking out and takes over Arkham Asylum real quick. The inmates all answer to him now and they are united in their drive to destroy Batman. Batman will really have to call upon all of his knowledge and gadgets in order to take these guys down. Batman is heavily outnumbered by tons of opponents after all so this won’t be easy.

The game does a terrific job of embracing the combat elements of Batman along with his detective’s nature. It’s all really handled quite spectacularly and whenever you lose, you do feel like you deserved the death. The infiltration missions for example are difficult but never unfair. You have to watch the opponents carefully and if you are caught, take down the opponent as soon as possible. Often times I would get into a gunfight and die but sometimes I would pull off the win. The game felt very open with how many options you had and it was ultimately up to you to use them in the right ways. If you made a mistake then the game would punish you quite harshly for it and I didn’t really see any problem with that. It’s all on you after all.

For example the parry system is quite incredible here. The timing is tight but you always have a visual sign that someone is going to make a move. It’s possible to fight whole scores of enemies and not take a hit or you might have your timing thrown off by getting hit and then suddenly you’re panicking and taking a lot of blows. It feels a lot like a real fight due to this which adds a real layer of realism to the whole thing. I was definitely real impressed and it’s not something that you would see in a lower tier game. It’s all these things that add up.

The gameplay is something I could take about for ages. You have tons of gadgets in the game that allow you to strike at an enemy in a variety of ways. You can just keep on going and really overwhelm them by freezing them, stunning, using a batarang, normal blows, etc. The gadgets are mainly the same across both games but do change up a little bit. I liked each variation and they both ultimately do the same kinds of things. The gameplay is incredibly smooth in both titles so I wouldn’t really change anything. I played them back to back and had no complaints. The games have aged extremely well in either case.

Naturally this goes for the graphics as well. It all looks really HD and crisp. They have all of the little things like the cape fluttering and all of the textures. The artstyle is one that will age really well I’d say so even 10 years from now it will look great. The sequel also went all out in allowing you to change into a bunch of different costumes so I really had fun with that. They all work rather seamlessly into the gameplay.

Arkham City has Hugo Strange show up to take over the city. It was pretty cool to be playing as Bruce Wayne temporarily since he doesn’t appear very much in the video games. It was also the natural follow up with having the whole city being taken over this time around. It really helped to change up the scenery as well. I really liked the Asylum and the whole atmosphere there, but being able to be outside with all of the different environments was great! It may have been a bit easier to get lost at times but that’s just how it goes. It was absolutely worth the trade off.

Getting sniped by randoms on the roof could get a little tricky at times but hey…skill issue. Like I said, you are always really in control so if you lose then it’s on you. The only time where it felt like it would be hard for you to reasonable guess what to do was in the boss fight with Mr. Freeze where you have to use every gadget once in order to take out his health. You basically couldn’t injure him the same way twice. Now that was a super hard boss fight to win. It was extremely difficult but still fun. I also thought it was creative how he would foil any follow up attempts.

It goes back to the game feeling really vibrant and alive. The A.I. is years ahead of many other titles around. The grunts will actually team up and come up with plans to stop you. They’re not just wandering around and wondering what to do. They’re getting out there and doing what has to be done. If you make a wrong move they all gang up on you and cover all exits. It’s really fun and the reason I don’t mind dying a ton of times is how many checkpoints there are. You never lose a significant amount of time for dying which I extremely appreciate. These are the quality of life features that I absolutely live for. Nobody’s walking around talking about why check points make a game amazing but boy do they feel good!

It was also cool to actually play as Catwoman for a few levels in the second game. While the majority of gameplay should always be with Batman, I do think switching it up a bit to other fighters is not a bad thing. Emphasis on fighters of course, I don’t want to be playing as any civilians. Next time Robin should be playable as well. It was cool seeing his cameo and everything and I think they could really do a lot with his gameplay options.

Overall, These two Batman games are absolutely elite! The stories are real interesting and while the campaigns aren’t super long, there is a considerable amount of replay value here. Certainly enough to keep you really engaged. They didn’t rush any part of the experience here and so I can easily recommend this to anyone. This is AAA gaming at its finest and definitely one of the best superhero games out there. You owe it to yourself to play through this collection. There’s really nothing bad to say about the game, it is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word. The developers clearly knew what they were doing and had a lot of passion for the product.

Overall 9/10

Tales of Arise Review

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Whenever someone says “Arise” it’s always in a very dramatic kind of way which makes you think and this game is no different. It’s a really intense RPG that has a good length. This allows time for all of the characters to get proper development and everything. I tend to play these games for fairly long batches of time and even then it took me a while to knock this one out. It definitely speaks to how much content is in the title. Granted, I did beat virtually all of the side missions but even then there was still more to do and extra content to be covered.

The game starts by introducing us to the world. There are two races of people. The Renans, who live in the sky and subjugate the Dahnans, the people who live on the ground. The Renans have incredible powers and so they took over easily 300 years ago. Ever since then, they have continued to dominate and there is really no way for the Dahnans to rise up. That is, until one slave named Alphen meets up with a Renan girl named Shionne. She has decided to murder the 5 Renan lords who have enslaved everyone and Alphen agrees to help. Along the way they make a lot of friends and fight off powerful monsters. The closer they get to the end of this journey, the more uncomfortable truths they find out. Will these revelations end up destroying their will to fight??

One thing about a game that is 40+ hours like this is that the plot will change a lot. So this plot summary I gave will be outdated very quickly but at the same time you don’t want to go into those plot details from the jump because they are filled with twists. The more surprised you are the better. All in all I would say the twists are all handled very well. It may get a little long for a bit there where you are sitting through 40 minute cutscenes of everything being broken down for you. At the same time it’s probably a good idea though because otherwise I do think you’d have people saying it was all too complicated.

The gameplay is a 3D fighter where you have your standard attacks and then you can also launch your power moves. They take longer to load and you have to have enough energy to use them. As the game goes on you can use upgrades and power ups to help replenish energy more. The level up system is pretty interesting here. Of course you have the standard level up system for the characters but in addition to that you also have the SP upgrades that you can use to unlock new skills or stat bonuses. You get points from every battle but very few of them. Most of your points are from completing side quests which is why you want to complete as many of them as possible. Then some of the sections with upgrades aren’t unlocked until you have completed specific tasks like eaten a specific food or completed a certain side quest. You can see what you need to do from the level up board so I recommend checking up on these from time to time so you know where to go. These upgrades are all fairly minor but really start to add up as you unlock more and more.

The game is surprisingly difficult at times. I can say with reasonable confidence that if you just try to barrel through and fight the final boss it is not going to end well for you. Go complete some side quests, get some good armors, etc. Load yourself up and then you will be fine. Items are extremely handy in this game and for that reason, earning money is a very slow process. It’s another instance where you need to complete side missions as often as possible. These will always get you a lot of money which you can then use to buy items like revives or potions that give you cure points.

The cure point system is something fairly unique compared to other RPGs. Basically, healing your allies takes energy from this system rather than your special meter. So if you run out, then you can’t use any of your healing spells. This means you often need to keep an eye on that and replenish it as needed. Without these items, you’d get crushed by a ton of the bosses. Grinding for level ups is still super important of course but another big thing is really just getting funds for the extra items.

I will also give the game heavy credit for the solid romance plots here. Not all 3 of the romance plots work but 2/3 is still really good. Especially considering that one of those is the main pairing. There’s a lot of development here and the two were through a lot. We even got a time skip of several months. So this game hardly took place over a few days. I thought it was all handled most excellently. The writing is really top tier here. Outside of the main story, there are over 300 skit cutscenes which you can have fun playing when you are at the campfire or live as you walk through the areas. I did like 100 of those but still had a lot to go.

The sheer amount of content here is breathtaking. Then of course you have the soundtrack which is really solid. Both theme songs in the game were really good and I also enjoyed the general battle themes and boss battles. The animation is top tier of course and the game even has some fully animated scenes as well. That was really cool. You can tell that this game got the top level budget and it was all worth it. People call this a top tier RPG and they are absolutely right in every way.

Overall, Tales of Arise is a top tier game. The characters are excellent and the story is great. The gameplay is executed incredibly well with smooth gameplay and even some solid platforming. It’s got every quality of life feature that you can think of and of course the story mode is already super long. Then you have a ton of replay value that can likely double your play time. If you somehow don’t own this one yet, then you should definitely check it out. It will forever be known as one of the top RPGs.

Overall 9/10

Scarlet Nexus Review

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Scarlet Nexus is one of those games that was really huge when it was first announced. It was going to be a game that really changed everything. It would be the big RPG that people would be talking about for many years to come. Well, I can definitely say that is succeeds in those areas. This is definitely a game that I highly recommend checking out. It is an elite title all the way through and you will be having a good time here.

You get to choose from two characters when you start the game. Each one has a sizable campaign of around 20 hours and then you can play the second campaign. I stuck to 1 character this time around and went for the guy. He wants to be a great OSF agent and live up to the family’s powerful reputation. Along the way he makes several friends and everything seems good until he begins bumping into some very dark conspiracies. The OSF is about stopping aliens and protecting people but it looks like they may have gone a little beyond that in their pursuit of justice. It may be time to take them down but it’s important to not lose sight of who the big villains are. Tough choices will have to be made.

The game tackles a lot of big sci-fi themes like time travel, clones, alternate pasts, etc. So right away I can tell you that this is up my alley. Of course that does take a while to appear in the story but you’re pretty engaged with everything else happening the whole time. The game is mainly working within the context of there being a ton of organizations and all of them are reasonably corrupt and evil for different reasons. These are guys you would no want to bump into. Of course you can try to stay on their good side but that can be difficult in and of itself. That also does mean there isn’t a true main villain for most of the game.

The game does a great job of establishing the villain’s motivation even without a ton of screen time though. Out of the game’s 12 chapters, he probably only appears in 3-4 of them and usually only for a brief moment or two. Yet by the end you really understand why he is so desperate. I’m not by any means saying that you will end up rooting for him or anything like that but I am saying that you will be able to see his motive clearly which is important. It separates him from the average villain who is just trying to destroy the world or something.

The graphics here are definitely top tier. You have full cinematic type cutscenes and even the basic ones generally all have voice acting. There are some slight exceptions of course but those are small exceptions. I always like when a game has extensive voice acting like this. It takes the whole experience to the next level and shows that this is a real AAA game. Voice acting is often what can turn a very good game into a great one. It heavily buffs so many aspects of the game and so yes, Scarlet Nexus was a complete success here. The kind of game that you can really admire and respect. It was most impressive.

Meanwhile the soundtrack was also really good. Definitely another classic W for the title. There are a good amount of battle themes here, both for the normal encounters and for the bosses. There’s a good amount of variety in this title and it fits in well with the general sci-fi theme that the title is going for. There were definitely no issues on a technical level for this game. As an RPG i also goes without saying that there is a ton of content here. Beating the game with both characters will take around 40 hours easy. Then there is also completing all of the bond missions and getting the Platinum trophy. Definitely not going to be an easy task right there. So I was definitely satisfied with the length all the way around.

I do recommend doing a ton of the bond missions as you play through the game. The power ups you get with each partner are rather substantial. There are a ton of these missions so it can feel a bit intimidating but as long as you do all the ones that are available in each chapter as you move forward then it won’t feel like a crazy onslaught the way that it would once you are closer to the end of the game. It’s all about pacing yourself after all.

Now I didn’t talk much about the gameplay yet and that’s part of what’s unique about the game. You have your usual close quarter combat skills but you can also use telekinesis to throw blocks and objects around. It’s a pretty fun style of gameplay and this often helps you attack an opponent’s weak point. Once you have the villain down to a low enough amount of health and you have broken their mind gauge, you can defeat them with a brain crush. It’s a super handy technique.

You can also activate brain mode which makes you temporarily invincible so long as you’ve gotten the right upgrades. Definitely super handy but make sure you turn it off before the meter falls all the way down. If you forget to do this then it’s an automatic game over. It’s actually a really interesting mechanic because it ties into the story where his mind is slowly shattering So it makes sense that you would lose if you stay in this experimental mode for too long. My big tip is to use your materials to buy brain gears whenever possible. Brain crush mode makes even the final boss trivial since you can skip most of the craziness. I made sure to grab every material I could throughout the game so I was really in a good spot here. The game could get reasonably tough and I did die a few times but often it was because I underestimated the enemies. You always have enough items to keep on healing and moving forward.

Overall, Scarlet Nexus was really a blast. Waiting for this game was totally worth it. It definitely lived up to the hype all the way around. It would be great to see a sequel to this show up at some point even if the ending was rather definitive. The game’s ending lands on its feet so there really were not any issues here. You really got your money’s worth with this one. Even more so for me since the game was on sale for a crazy $10 amount. You really can’t get any more of a steal than that right? It’s the one benefit of waiting so long before getting a game although I can tell you when the second comes out that will be a day 1. Definitely no waiting this time.

Overall 9/10

The King of Fighters XIII: Global Match Review

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King of Fighters XIII definitely surpassed my expectations here. The instant it had a real story mode and not just throwing cutscenes into arcade mode, I knew it was quite literally built different. This was a game that was putting the story first and I was all here for it. There are even branching paths so you can see different versions of the story and more added context as you play through the game. I ended up getting 60% of the cinematics on my first run.

The story concludes the big saga of the villains trying to revive Orochi and using their cosmic powers to get in everyone’s way. Ash gets a big role in here as he stole Iori’s powers last time and is working on getting Kyo’s now. If the old lead isn’t careful then he is going to be taken down. It’s a really good premise to get you pumped up and I greatly enjoyed the intro. We got to see all of the old leads like K and Kyo and then it ends with the lead being attacked. This game just has the most focus on story by a longshot and it was an excellent idea. I always feel like this is the perfect way to really get you focused up for what is about to happen.

The story definitely doesn’t disappoint. We get a lot of fun illustrations the whole time as the plot moves forward and a ton of dialogue. I didn’t even see all of the paths as I mentioned before so they added a ton of content here. It almost felt like a visual novel at times here. I should also mention that there is another King of Fighters tournament going on here of course. That’s always got to be a factor here of course. Why would there not be a tournament?

It should come as no surprise that the gameplay is great as always. The graphics look really sharp here once again and the movement speed is really good. I felt like the bosses were also designed better so you got to actually play against them. It wasn’t a matter of abusing loopholes or cheesing the opponent out. Instead you were actually fighting them mano a mano the whole time and that was a much better idea. So I was really glad to see that, it’s definitely the way to go.

You feel more of a sense of triumph when you win as opposed to just exhaustion and wondering if the boss is still more skilled than you are. Here, the boss is still rather difficult but it’s nothing crazy. The boss is way aggressive and like a real player will leave openings for you to attack with. I will say that the second to last boss had such long animation cycles though. When he grabbed you, you could basically close your eyes and rest a bit because then he keeps on punching you in the stomach and taking forever to get on with it. He’s a very dramatic fighter to be sure. I feel like it would probably be funny to see anyone using those combos in a competitive tournament assuming that the character has these moves when you play as him.

In terms of the paths in the game, usually you will have a choice for example to see what’s happening at the tournament or what Ash is doing meanwhile. Typically I went with the Ash plot since I figured it would be more intense but you’ll probably want to try them all. When I googled how to get the true ending, there seemed to be quite a few requirements to even get the chance so good luck. Definitely not a pushover by any means but that adds to the ever expansive replay value of the game.

You have the endless vs fights, getting all story mode paths, and of course getting the Platinum trophy in the game. By the time you’re done with that I’m sure you will have spent a ton of time on the game. Additionally, here are a lot of characters to play around with so you’ll want to test them all out and see which character you are best with. I’m actually starting to like the grappler characters in this game. It feels so satisfying when you land a command grab out of nowhere and it deals a ton of damage. A super throw is what won me the final match after all. I was about to lose otherwise.

Overall, King of Fighters XIII is a great game. I dare say that it is easily the best of the early games although calling it an early game is probably misleading. I think XV is probably still the best overall but I’d need to think about it. Either way the latest 3 games are the top 3 overall which is cool because it shows that the series is in its peak right now. They need to bring us some more games but bring back this expansive kind of story mode. It really does help the series go to the next level and doesn’t feel like it should be a giant ask. If there’s any King of Fighters game that you should get, this may even be my first recommendation because of the story.

Overall 8/10

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme Vs. Maxiboost On Review

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Gundam is one of those series that has so many games and shows and movies that it’s hard to know where to start. I’ve played a few of the games back in my day though and they were always fun. So I figured I could expect a similar level of entertainment from this game. I do wish it had a real story mode but the gameplay is fun and overall it’s extremely impressive how many characters are present here. It’s truly an ultimate collection for Gundam fans.

The main gameplay style here is that of a 2 vs 2 brawler. It’s in 3D and you use your blasters and occasional energy sword to take your opponents down. The first team to lose all of their lives will suffer defeat in the match. You have around 6 lives split between you and your teammate and depending on how strong your machine is will determine how many lives you lose when your robot is destroyed. At the end of the day though your strategy will remain the same. Just don’t get hit and you will be fine. Of course when the levels are this chaotic that can be a little difficult.

So there are well over 100 robot suits to choose from here. The game breaks up the roster based on series which is pretty cool. It does mean you have a lot of scrolling to do but it’s a clear way to identify each Gundam. Then when you choose the Gundam you can choose out of 3 different modes you want to fight as. By the end I usually went for balanced since it seems like the best bet but long range and short range can be fun too. You just need to master the gameplay a lot more before you can pull that off. Otherwise you’re just going to get absolutely obliterated the instant you head into the fray.

This game doesn’t have a tutorial or training mode at the ready though which is too bad. This is one of the few games where I would have appreciated that. There’s just a whole lot that you have to sift through here from various weapons and special abilities. So if you’re not constantly on your A game then you’re gonna be in some real trouble here. I was mostly just button mashing and I can tell you that this doesn’t fly in the Gundam games. Unless you know what you are doing you will ultimately be crushed. That’s just the way that it is. So I couldn’t really get to enjoy the gameplay mechanics to their fullest extent but I still had fun.

The graphics are naturally very solid here. The robots all look on point and the level designs have a lot of detail to them Everything is very vibrant at all times and each level stands out. The soundtrack is a bit more forgettable but there were a lot of tracks in the music menu so I’m guessing there are some really solid ones in there that I just didn’t come across yet. Once you factor those in then I’m sure the soundtrack is probably good overall.

In the end this game is definitely going to have the most value for true Gundam fans. The online scene already seems dead from when I was trying to find a match so you better have someone that you can play it offline with. Technically you have unlimited replay value with the vs mode but that is all assuming that you really love the gameplay. It needs to be a top tier fighting game for you or the whole thing will just not be worth your while. For me, it’s a fun game but not one I’d be clamoring to pick up again in the future.

Overall, Gundam makes for a good robot combat title. It’s always been solid in the past and I don’t see that changing in the future either. It’s really quite impressive. That being said, not having a story mode will always be a blow against it. Some fighting game titles like Super Smash Bros can get away with this but most cannot. Even if it’s a really basic arcade mode type setup, I want a character ending and some interactions. It helps to make the whole thing more real. This one is satisfied to be a super basic fighting game. Albeit, one with an absolutely huge roster which I give them full credit for. It’s extremely impressive and I’ll probably look at the game more fondly once I know more of the Gundam fighters.

Overall 7/10

Spider-Man: Miles Morales Review

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Time to look at the big spinoff to that iconic Spider-Man game. This one’s definitely quite a bit shorter and so it feels like a lean version. Gone are all of the science minigames and civilian levels. Instead you are really Spider-Man the whole time and some of the map navigation has changed a little. Some of these are positive changes while others are not but it works really well in this pocket setting. Ultimately I would say that it’s another top tier game and really does a great job of continuing the saga. I may not have been as thrilled if I paid $60 for it but otherwise it definitely does the job.

The game starts off with Spider-Man being defeated by the Rhino so Miles has to save him. Peter figures it’s about time for a good vacation so he heads off to be with Mary Jane for a while as Miles takes center stage to fill in. He doesn’t just want to fill in though, he wants to prove that he has what it takes to be the true Spider-Man and he may get his chance now. The new villain group known as the Underground is so powerful that they took out the Demons gang and they are planning something big that could destroy the city. Can Miles stop them even if it means taking on some former friends?

The story is around 6-8 hours give or take although it can be a bit longer if you spend more time on side quests. I didn’t do as many as in the first Spider-Man game in part because there were less of them so I wouldn’t pass them by in pursuit of the story mission. Also in part because in this game the crimes are endless compared to the first Spider-Man game where they would end. So as a result I didn’t feel like there was much of an incentive to working on those. Eventually there is a trophy that is crime related but that will be showing up later on. The trophies for this game don’t look all that hard and actually seem easier than the first Spider-Man title but the one that will take a while is beating the game again on New Game+. I suppose not that it’ll take a super long while or anything but noticeably more intense than the rest of them.

It gives you some good replay value though. I mentioned some changes earlier so of course the endless crimes was one so what about the others? Well, now you can turn invisible which is super helpful for getting the drop on enemies and landing more stealth takedowns. I will admit that it makes the game much easier as well. You can turn invisible mid combo to confuse the enemies and then keep on beating them up. Additionally Miles comes with his electric abilities which all land a real big punch. It makes for a satisfying way to beat down the enemies of course but it’s also another way to get yourself out of a tight spot.

So you should really be breezing through this game. That said, it’s a worthy trade off because I really like the venom abilities. They help to make the combos flashier and it’s like having special attacks in addition to the standard moves. The upgrade tree has been simplified so there aren’t as many upgrades. With far less collectibles as well, cleaning up the city has never been easier. I doubt it will take all that long after completing the game all the way through.

The combat speed itself feels faster with all of the combos but that might just be more of a feel and less of a fact. It’s hard to say for sure but I was definitely racking up the blows. Navigating the map is more or less the same as in the first game and moving the side missions to a separate screen feels about the same even if the location is different. The game has removed the quick time events which is too bad but I can’t say that I missed the human stealth missions. You don’t have a camera or anything like that this time which I’m also fine with.

These are things that show how this game is more like a mini version of the first but the important thing is that it still has a lot of content. It has less costumes for example but it still has a good amount of them. So there’s less of everything but compare this to another big game and it probably still comes out favorably. So I would say that’s pretty impressive. Meanwhile the graphics are still really good. It’s likely using the same engine which makes sense. Some costumes don’t always work as well in the cinematics like the cartoon one I wore but that’s to be expected since the art style is so different. I just chose it anyway because I like that costume a lot.

The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side. It’s good and all for the moment but there are no tunes that you would actually go and look up. I would have liked some rock themes or at least one when you fought the Prowler. That may be the best boss fight yet in these two Spiderman games. I like how you had to really rely on your spider sense. It’s something that hasn’t been utilized a whole lot yet so that was really nice. You had to trust in your reaction times and get the job done. Yes, the timing isn’t super tight so it’s a little on the easy side, but regardless the concept was really cool.

Naturally the game does lead into the big sequel with the ending so that’s definitely real exciting. As a whole the story did a good job of setting Miles up for the big leagues since he will need the experience here. At times the drama with Tinkerer could feel a little forced perhaps but all in all you were engaged the whole time. The stakes may not have been Earth shattering but that’s for the main games, not the spinoffs per say. It also will help and make Spider-Man 2 feel more like a crossover now that both characters have had their own games. I assume each one will keep their respective combat systems but we’ll see if that is really the case. I’m also curious on how switching between the characters will go.

Overall, Miles Morales really delivers with a superb game here. The original game set up the groundwork and this one took it all the way. I love these kinds of games with massive free roam over the city. It’s handled so well even to the basic things like movement. I actually want to go and grab the collectibles because the game is so fun. You’re encouraged to just get out there and have a good time which I appreciate. The more I play through these games, the more I’m curious to check out the final outstanding ones that I haven’t played like Web of Shadows or the home console version of Spider-Man 3. All in good time I suppose.

Overall 9/10