Igl00Man

NTE is a painfully shallow Gacha game that tries (and fails) to oversell itself by being "GTA, but with an anime aesthetic". The game play is boring, the driving mechanics aren't well executed, and the art style is one you've seen millions of times, to the point where it feels very sterile and uninteresting (and that's coming from someone who usually plays games with an anime aesthetic). Character design is also very generic, not aided by dull personalities. If you've played one action Gacha game with an anime aesthetic, you already know what to expect with NTE. Skip this game, and don't even download it to your console.

NTE is a painfully shallow Gacha game that tries (and fails) to oversell itself by being "GTA, but with an anime aesthetic". The game play is boring, the driving mechanics aren't well executed, and the art style is one you've seen millions of times, to the point where it feels very sterile and uninteresting (and that's coming from someone who usually plays games with an anime aesthetic). Character design is also very generic, not aided by dull personalities. If you've played one action Gacha game with an anime aesthetic, you already know what to expect with NTE. Skip this game, and don't even download it to your console.

As a pseudo-sequel to Persona 5, Strikers does abandon the traditional game play in favour of a Warriors/Musou style, with some Persona 5 flair mixed in. You control a team of 4 Phantom Thieves, consisting of most of the returning cast (barring out Violet and Crow), and two newcomers, Sophie and Wolf. The formula is mostly the same compared to 5, though with less of a time restriction. Travel through Jails (dungeons), defeat a few bosses, find out more about the dungeon boss, and defeat them after sending the Calling Card. There are a fair amount of stages to challenge, with an incredible story, interesting new characters, solid, fast paced action, and fantastic new music to accompany this journey. It is considerably on the shorter side, clocking in around 30 hours for just main story content, with around another 10 to 20 for completionists, but Strikers is well worth your time and money.

Devil Kings started the Sengoku Basara series on an interesting, albeit shaky foundation. It nails a more over the top, action packed rendition of Koei Tecmo's Warrior/Musou game. There are a decent amount of playable characters that feel different, with the game starting with 6, and 6 more being unlocked by beating story with those characters. One gripe I have is that this game, while being based on a historical period, the Sengoku period to be more precise, the North American release decides to change the names of the characters to be strange. Some work, like Nobunaga being the Devil King, No being Lady Butterfly, and Masamune being the Azure Dragon. Some don't, like Yukimura being Scorpio, Motonari being Kahz, and Xavi being Q-Ball. It's like some of them were named in a similar vein to those late 90's/early 2000's adaptations of anime done by 4Kids. And while I enjoyed the music, I will say it's a shame they cut out that awesome opening theme from the Japanese game (Crosswise by TM Revolution) for something more generic. Overall, Devil Kings is an interesting hidden gem for the PS2.

Part visual novel, part dating sim, part action game, Sakura Wars (2019) is a hidden gem with some minor flaws. Aided by a strong story, with well written characters, solid performances, a good soundtrack, and character designs by the famous Tite Kubo (from Bleach) are some excellent elements that help make Sakura Wars pop. The only gripes I have is that it does lean more towards the visual novel side than the action game, with long stretches between battles, and the actual action gameplay needed a bit more time in the oven, but it still makes for an interesting formula from the predecessor. Fans of the franchise will grow to like this cast, but the gameplay might not be their cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it as an action game fan.

Freedom Cry is a short, standalone expansion that gives Adewale some time to shine, but if you skip the side content, you should be finished this game within 4/5 hours. It's still a decent game, building upon Black Flag's gameplay, but some missions can be obtuse. I recommend it if you like Black Flag, but not so much if you're trying to get into the series.

Rebirth does continue a solid retelling of the event of the original game, all the while streamlining the game to make it not as lengthy compared to it's predecessor. And while it was cool to have moments to play as Zack, the multiverse story elements do drag it down a bit, as well some minor tedious busy work side events (looking at you, Chadley). Overall, fans of the original, and the remake, will enjoy Rebirth, even though there's still a bit of story left to Final Fantasy VII left to tell.

It keeps a lot of core Yu-Gi-Oh gameplay intact, but doesn't do enough to innovate aside from seasonal events, and microtransactions. It does also require a constant online connection in order to be played, whereas other Yu-Gi-Oh games can be played offline against an AI opponent. And there are some lag spikes in what are single player duels. For a free game, Master Duel isn't the worst, but it sure isn't the best.

Pokemon's jump to the Switch since Let's Go has been very rough, and Pokemon Champions doesn't do much to buck that trend. It's a glorified simulator game, that's just regular Pokemon without the exploration. And with a dash of microtransactions. Even if it's free, I can't recommend it, but the battle mechanics keep it from being any lower. Maybe patches will improve it, but Champions further highlights the stagnation of Pokemon, and why competitors are either catching up, or overtaking Pokemon.

Yet another Gacha game relying on an established brand, rather than coming out polished, SDS Origin is your typical open world action RPG trying to ride the coattails of Genshin Impact (already off to a bad start), and it barely gets better from there. At least Origin has an intriguing world for SDS fans. But as it stands, there are better licensed anime games to play than SDS Origins. Maybe some patches could fix it, but as it stands, it's a buggy, predatory gacha mess.

The Star Force series of games often times doesn't get the flowers they deserve, and that's a shame, as these games are genuinely solid hidden gems. Acting as an early 3D continuation to the Battle Network games, Star Force had solid visuals for an early DS game. It does change up the gameplay a bit, where this Mega Man can only move on three squares, and uses a lock on system instead for battling enemies. Narratively, Star Force's story really stuck out to me, about a boy overcoming the trauma of losing his father, and growing past it. It has some well written characters as well. The only real gripes can be some initial roughness in the game play, and some back tracking, but otherwise, Star Force Leo is a hidden gem you need to experience. There is also Dragon and Pegasus, where the only real difference is what form this Mega Man gets, and the element.

For an alternative option to one of Nintendo's flagship titles, Nexomon does a lot right, but has some rough edges that don't quite make it fully stick the landing. The first is a very appealing price point, going for about $13.49 Canadian, as opposed to main line Pokemon games going for about $84.99 Canadian. Another pro is that it's available for other platforms, including Switch, PS4/PS5, Series X/Xbox One, PC, Switch, and IOS, as opposed to being locked on just Nintendo hardware. Nexomon also boasts nice creature design, and a simple, yet sometimes comedic, story. And the battle mechanics are very simple and straightforward enough to learn, very much like Pokemon. And the last advantage is that the game actively shows you where the Nexomon will come from in grassy areas, which can make it easy to make the player decide if they should fight or avoid wild Nexomon. Now, for the cons. The game is very linear to a fault. Your destination is very obvious on where to go next. Battles are way too similar to Pokemon, without too many twists to the formula (aside from maybe a new type here and there). And it does have that "mobile game" appearance to it, which may or may not be everyone's cup of tea (minus the predatory microtransactions). Overall, for an indie Pokemon game, Nexomon is a good alternative.

Overly ambitious to a fault, Crimson Desert tries to do way too many things at once, only to misfire on many cylinders. It feels like it's trying to be a single player MMO, which is fine in and of itself, but it feels like it's an MMO in a beta phase with long, drawn out tutorials, and serious game breaking bugs. When it's not broken, it's a nice looking game that has interesting mechanics, and plays well. But it's an overstuffed game that needed to do less in order to be a good game. Maybe with patch work, it can be something good, but from how it stands, Crimson Desert is the textbook definition of "wait a few months before buying the game". Edited: Crimson Desert uses generative AI images in the game. And if they use AI images in the game, it makes you wonder about what else in the game is using generative AI? It immediately drops the score to a 0 out of 10 in my books.

Anima is an irredeemable game that shouldn't be played by anyone, regardless of how much you pay. The game was visually dated at launch. The buttons can't be changed. Combat feels slow and wonky. Story is riddled painfully generic fantasy cliches. The cast is either woefully annoying, boring, or unlikable. Voice acting was done clearly by amateurs, or first time voice actors. Overall, I recommend you stay far away from Anima. Even if it ends up free, it's not worth it.

First Light acts as a prequel to Second Son, and while narratively sound with solid gameplay, there isn't a lot to do apart from collectible collection, and challenge missions. While there are some solid performances, especially from Laura Bailey as Fetch, First Light doesn't have a lot of replay value after the roughly 5 hour story (less if you skip side activities). Worth a look if you can get it on sale, or have PS Plus, but I'd struggle to recommend it at full price ($20).

Metroid Fusion admittedly has a bit of back tracking, something synonymous with the Metroid-Vania genre, but Fusion shines with a strong combination of exploration, hidden secrets, story, and aesthetics. There can be a bit of a difficulty curve with this game, but if you stick with it, you'll pick up a few tricks that can help you out.

Fire Red's port to the Switch comes with some bug fixes, though it is lacking an online component to make it up to date, and to replace the lack of a wireless connection. Had this port allowed for online trading, it would have been a major step up. It's still the solid game from 22 years ago, and one that's still enjoyable to this day, but some quality of life improvements would have made it a 10/10.

Nocturne's remaster helps bring the classic title back to life with some quality of life improvements, including voice acting, auto battle, the choice between Raidou and Dante as a "rival" character, various endings, and challenging gameplay, but some archaic game design choices do hold it back from being a recommendation to SMT newcomers. It does have one of the deepest combat systems, and one of the most engaging narratives, making it a must play for newcomers, but it wouldn't be the title I recommend to those who don't want a punishingly hard game.

Tales of Berseria is still a fine game, but this is a remaster that should have been an upgrade, either free or at $10 if you owned the PS4 version. The original game is less than 10 years old, and despite this version some minor performance upgrades and better textures, I'd still recommend the last gen version over this "remaster". It still plays well, and has a solid story... but it should have been an upgrade, and not sold at the price it is.

A blast from the past, with a slick coat of neon paint, and an excellent 80's inspired soundtrack, and you have a callback to older times that's aged well. And it can be enjoyed in single player, or with a friend/family member via couch co-op. The only real knock is the short play time, but I recommend it because it's a blast to play, and doesn't tend to be very expensive to buy.

Proud Nordics is the textbook definition of an overpriced re-release. This should have been an upgrade for previous owners of the original Ys X, not a more expensive product than the original game. At most, this should have been a $20 update.

I admit I was apprehensive of Unicorn Overlord prior to starting it, due to the change in genre of past Vanillaware games, but this change in genre helps Unicorn Overlord shine from its predecessors. Rather than a platformer with RPG elements, Unicorn Overlord is an RTS where positioning, team composition, and equipment can be what separates defeat from victory. Add on an excellent story, world building, character development, and satisfying gameplay, and you have an instant classic that shouldn't be missed.

Monstrum Nox on the Switch is still a very good game (see my PS4 review), but in terms of performance, it doesn't hold as much of a candle compared to the PS4 version. It's okay to play on the go, but if you wanted to play it at home, I'd be quicker to point to the PlayStation, or PC versions.

Suda-51's brand of strange games won't appeal to everyone, and if you weren't on board with with his games beforehand, I admit Romeo is a Dead Man won't likely change your mind. But to those who enjoy his strange humour, stories, and gameplay, this will be right up your alley. Part hack and slash, and part third person shooter, but filled with a few minigames, Dead Man has plenty of variety and quirks to make it an interesting game. Add on a solid soundtrack, and it fires on all cylinders to make the game standout. The only real gripes I have is that there isn't a whole lot of replay value after beating the game, aside from restarting at a higher difficulty, but otherwise, I highly recommend Romeo is a Dead Man.

A perfectly serviceable Assassin's Creed game with an interesting story, but some gameplay jank that holds it back from greatness. I wish there would have been less naval battles, and more polish towards the parkour and melee combat.

Nioh 3 reinvents the Nioh formula, and improves upon already stellar gameplay by throwing in some elements similar to Elden Ring. Included are some stealth elements (like crouching), jumping, and a style change between a bulkier Samurai, and a speedy Ninja. It also juggles the player between three time periods, the Sengoku Era (the mid 1400's to early 1600's), the Heian Era (794 to 1185), and the Bakumatsu Era (1853 to 1867), all with historical figures from each time period. I was a little skeptical at first of the removal of the mission structure, but the open world format works very well with Nioh. With optional bosses to fight, Crucibles to purify, bases to take over, and other collectibles find, as well as enemies to fight along the way, Nioh 3 shows how to do an open world game correctly.

I've been a bit of an on again, off again Mario player, and I just got into Odyssey, and I gotta say, it's probably the best Mario game I've ever played. It boast creative level design, thanks to the ability to transform into most enemies by throwing Cappy at them. It's highly replayable, full of hidden goodies for completionists, and filled with plenty of memorable tracks. While it might be hard to get it on sale, Mario Odyssey was well worth every dollar I spent for it, and it holds up incredibly well for a near decade old game (feel old yet?).

Honestly, I didn't like the original Legacy of the Duelist, but Link Evolution improves upon the game way better, by actually allow you to play throughout Arc V, and adding Vrains duels to the story. There are also special summoning animations for certain monsters, which adds a lot of visual flair to Link Evolution. There are still some duels that can be a bit tough, or the opponent duelists having really lucky RNG abuse, but I recommend Link Evolution if you can find it on sale.

This might be a highly subjective point of view to have, but SMT V is the perfect JRPG. It's a difficult to learn, but satisfying to master JRPG, aided by an excellent story, cast of characters, large roster of recruitable demons, and tons of replay value for different endings. There also a lot of side quests for completionists, and a lot of secret bosses to battle. Overall, SMT V is a must buy for JRPG fans who want a great story, and a solid alternative to Pokemon for monster capturing.

Leave it to the Nintendo version to be the most unnecessary way to play Dispatch. One of the things that made the PS5 and PC versions of this game so much better to play is the option to have certain things, like nudity, foul language, and crude acts to be censored. While you can play the game uncensored in certain aspects, you can choose to censor options you might not want to see. The Switch 2 (and Switch port, by proxy) version does not give you the option of toggling censorship on or off, forcing you to play the game uncensored... all the while allowing AI Generated Hentai games with uncensored nudity on the Nintendo store. Plus, the price of game did go up. It was originally under $30 on PS5 last October for the standard edition... but now it's pushing $40. Buy it on PC/PS5 instead, and skip the Nintendo versions.

Leave it to the Nintendo version to be the most unnecessary way to play Dispatch. One of the things that made the PS5 and PC versions of this game so much better to play is the option to have certain things, like nudity, foul language, and crude acts to be censored. While you can play the game uncensored in certain aspects, you can choose to censor options you might not want to see. The Switch (and Switch 2 port, by proxy) version does not give you the option of toggling censorship on or off, forcing you to play the game uncensored... all the while allowing AI Generated Hentai games with uncensored nudity on the Nintendo store. Plus, the price of game did go up. It was originally under $30 on PS5 last October for the standard edition... but now it's pushing $40. Buy it on PC/PS5 instead, and skip the Nintendo versions.

This game pulls no punches with its difficulty, and high volume of enemies that it throws your way. It will very much feel like an NES/SNES game in terms of difficulty, but not necessarily in the best possible way. If you like old school shoot em ups, as well as Robotech/Macross, this game isn't for you. It's punishingly difficult for no reason, feeling more like they tried blending in Gradius, with Robotech, and Touhou, but ended up making a mess.

Legacy of the Duelist is a barebones effort to bring Yu-Gi-Oh! to the previous generation of consoles, where it does bring both single player and multiplayer options to the table. For the single player, you are going through the storylines of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!, as well as GX, 5D's, Zexal, and Arc V, though Arc V is only a tutorial duel without forking over some additional cash. And they even omitted some other duels from the story in order to sell them to you as DLC. And the AI of these duels is very inconsistent. Some duels that should be hard are pushovers at times, and some duels that should be easy can be maddeningly difficult, requiring dozens of attempts. Another issue I have is the lack of an ability to purchase cards in bulk, and needing to open packs individually. It artificially inflates the playing time by doing so. Otherwise, it's just standard Yu-Gi-Oh!, rules, restrictions, and active day card bans from the trading card game. It can be easy to hop into, but hardly does anything special for Yu-Gi-Oh! fans.

Banner of the Maid does a lot of things good, but has a few minor issues that hold it back from a higher grade. Let's start with the good. This game is absolutely beautiful to look at. From nicely drawn portraits of the cast, to the pixel art being on par, or potentially better than classic PS1/SNES games. It also uses a unique setting for the game, being Napoleon's time of French History, and the story is well told with a dynamic cast of characters. The multitude of playable classes with their quirks makes strategic planning a key point between victory or defeat. Then there's the card system at the start of each chapter, which gives you the choice between 2 randomized cards, that positively benefit your side. And lastly, there's a Heroic Attack you can build up to, that can allow for a 100% hit rate attack that multiplies damage for one attack by 1.5 times it's original power. Now, the cons. The story pacing can be inconsistent at times. Some points take forever to reach, but others can go by very quickly when they should take more time to develop. The localization can be very hit or miss, as this was originally created by a Chinese indie team. I can't speak for a one for one translation, as I am not familiar with Mandarin, nor Cantonese, but I noticed some rough translations to English (and some French as well, as I am a bilingual English and French speaker). There is also a sort of social aspect, where you can boost your relations with certain factions, and affect recruitments and endings. It mostly boils down to dialogue choices, though I wish they could have used side quests as well. Overall, Banner of the Maid is solid diamond in the rough, hidden gem for RPG fans. I highly recommend a purchase, and on sale, I'd easily say it's an 8/10.

Samurai Maiden isn't perfect, but it's an enjoyable game with solid combat and some isekai charm thrown in. It has solid voice acting and good soundtrack, but can be repetitive at times, and is short for a single playthrough. On sale, this can be a hidden gem for certain players, though don't expect DMC/Bayonetta levels of replayability or challenge.

Aside from some visuals being drab and washed out at times, NieR Replicant is a perfect example of a video game that acts as a remake, but isn't quite a remake. Replicant retells the story of the original NieR, but updates the visuals, story telling, and narrative, as well as fixing some of the gameplay from the original game. It is highly replayable due to the various endings, but the story will keep you hooked from the first minute you play.

The fact that this same team made Quantum Error, yet falls into the same pitfalls as Quantum Error without making the necessary improvements between games, speaks volumes about their quality control. Similarly to Quantum Error, Code Violet is a visually dated game, not even on par with the original Uncharted game, an early PS3 title. Assets are poorly animated, making the animations of a PS1 game look cutting edge with how lifelike and fluid with how animations flow. Framerate is very inconsistent, not able to reliably be at 30 frames most of the time. Dull story, dull characters, bland environments, and doesn't hold a candle to the game it is trying to be a spiritual successor to. Dino Crisis at its absolute worse looks like a Shakespearian masterpiece compared to the kindergarten play that is Code Violet. And I will copy this line I used during my Quantum Error review for Code Violet: "I get that this is a smaller scale studio/indie studio that made this game, but if you are selling it at Triple A price, you get graded like a Triple A studio. And on that metric, Code Violet gets an F." Even at $1, Code Violet will feel like a scam.

Factoring out the terrible mobile games, Legends Z-A has to be the worst mainline Pokemon game by a whole country mile. Too small of a space to travel, removal of a few quality of life improvements, too inconsistent of performance, and way too repetitive. Z-A should have had more time in the oven, and this stagnation from Game Freak is why other franchises are starting to make better Pokemon inspired games than Game Freak.

Metroid Prime 4 suffers from some baffling choices that hold it back from being a fantastic game. Beyond did not need to be an open world game, when the original formula worked for previous games. Beyond should have included music by default into the game, and not nickel and dime you for extra for a basic feature. It's visually nice for a Switch game, though with some occasional frame stuttering (could be the age of my Switch, though). It does boast a good story, and some awesome gameplay, but it suffers from many games trying to up the ante from previous game franchises by becoming open world, and not properly filling the world up with enough meaningful things to do. Wait for a sale before you buy it, or replay the previous Metroid games.

While not a conventional Final Fantasy game, 16 does quite a bit that I really like, including very spectacular Devil May Cry like combat. It is also a more mature title than most of the other games, and I'm not just saying that because of the M rating. It feels like they went down a darker tone when creating this story and version of the Final Fantasy world, and it resonates very well with a dark fantasy tone. Add on a well written story, and excellent performances (especially Ben Starr and Ralph Ineson as Clive and Cid respectively), and you have an excellent game that appeals to both action game fans, and Final Fantasy fans.

On sale, UFO Robot Grendizer is a fine game that pays homage to old school beat em ups, and Go Nagai's classic works. At full price, it's a woefully short game without too much replay value once the credits roll.

It's not a bad game, but for a Warriors title, Three Hopes lacks what makes good Warriors games like, in my opinion, Gundam Reborn, Orochi 3 and 4, and Samurai Warriors 4 lack. And that's a variety of playable characters that feel different. Outside of the lord characters, Shez, and maybe one or two of your favourite students coming back from Three Houses, the rest of the characters can be benched without too many problems. And aside from going through different routes, which is honestly a bit tedious with this game, there isn't really much replay value with Three Hopes. It's still a well polished game, with a well written story and character development, but I would be hard pressed to recommend this game to either Warriors fans, or Fire Emblem fans at full price.

Not quite as good as the original Life is Strange game, but Before the Storm acts as a solid prequel point for the first game, and fleshes out Chloe's character a bit more before the events of LIS 1. Chloe's ability to backtalk people acts as an alternative option to getting through different dialogue options. It's also fairly short ****, so I'd recommend getting on sale if you're curious.

Typical predatory gacha slop without any redeeming qualities aside from nice looking character models, but even then, it gets bogged down with ridiculous level scaling, and predatory enough transactions to make Hoyo look reserved by comparison.

Coming included with both DLC campaigns, Desperate Escape and Lost in Nightmares, the PS4 port of RE5 is a solid addition, with some minor improvements to performance and graphics. I strongly recommend this game with a co-op buddy, and if you can get it on sale.

Some aspects of Kingdom Hearts have aged well, including visually, the humour, story telling, and music. Some aspects haven't aged well, including some voice acting performances, and the precise platforming. It does run very well, with minimal performance issues, and does appeal to a lot of nostalgia with levels based on classic Disney films. But the game does suffer with a few issues, including a wonky camera, and a very unbalanced endgame with a crazy annoying end boss gauntlet. I'm sure if I played Kingdom Hearts when it was just starting off as a franchise, I'd probably wax more poetically about how much **** it is. The game was a solid 7 out of 10 until that point, but that infuriating end gauntlet made it impossible to progress further, and it killed my interest in the franchise going forward.

Attack on Titan 2 improves upon the first game by tightening up the gameplay, and adding new weapons, but struggles a little with side content to give more bang for your buck. If you liked AOT 1, AOT 2 has plenty of improvements, including a larger roster of characters, joint attacks, and a customizable protagonist.

My only real gripe with Crisis Core: Reunion, is that there isn't the option to have the original voice acting. Aside from that, Crisis Core Reunion is a perfect spin off of Final Fantasy VII, taking gameplay cues from Kingdom Hearts, and showing off Sephiroth's fall from SOLDIER hero into the villain we see him as in the mainline game. Pair that with an excellent story, replayability, solid controls, a top tier soundtrack, and polishing off the rougher visuals from the PSP original, and you have one of the best remakes of the 2020's.

A solid reimagining of Final Fantasy VII, with high quality visuals, tight-knit combat on par with Crisis Core or Kingdom Hearts, excellent remixing of classic songs, and ironing out the kinks of the original, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a new spin on a classic game that feels accessible to new players, and a love letter to old-school fans. There are side activities to keep completionists busy, but an engaging story for story focused players to enjoy. A must play for this generation.

For a first attempt at turning Attack on Titan into a console video game, the game of the same title captures plenty of what made the anime great, including a faithful recreation of the story up until the Beast Titan's introduction. Some of my issues include how awkward using throwable weapons can be at times, and a somewhat repetitive nature, but diehard AOT fans will love this game. It does also boast an incredible original soundtrack that feels like it could have been in the show, though there's sadly no music by Hiroyuki Sawano or Linked Horizon in here.