KowieT

This game has set SO many bars for my expectations in Adventure Platformer games. True to the basic run around and collect items formula discovered in the N64 era, every collectible feels worth collecting. No collectible feels terribly tedious and after playing this game for decades you see a flow to optimizing collect-as-you-play. The worlds feel big but not too big for how fast Banjo traverses. The music in every level is catchy and does a cool environmental change depending on where the protagonist is (e.g. music sound different underwater). Banjo-Kazooie is one of my top 5 recommended games on the N64.

True to the Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga series, this game is packed to the brim with charm. The music is always fun and comfortable, the tone is always "you're here for fun not seriousness", and the battles are fluid and dang-near rhythm-based. I'm glad to see this series alive and well especially since Alpha Dream (the original studio) closed its doors. The stakes are never terribly high in these games. It's almost always a bad guy shows up and wants to be the biggest bad but shenanigans ensue when the Mario Bros show up. Battles this time flow a little differently, which is one of my few gripes about the game. All attacks include both Mario Bros and require you to press A or B to activate Bro. These don't count as Bros Attacks which are easy to learn as you progress the story, but you become over-reliant on the special Bros Attacks at a pretty early stage of the game. Since there are only about 6 of these special attacks per character they become repetitive and kind of a chore. The story does a cool "here's your TRUE enemy" and even ups the gravity of the situation when the main villain reveals that his master plan distract everyone so they forget they are sad, all the while corrupting and destroying the world. As an adult playing this colorful, aimed at younger audiences game, that story hit differently now that I have an adult perspective of the world. This game is a blast and fun, but after 70 hours and the true enemy finally revealed many scenarios could have been omitted. I feel like the repetitive attacks made this game overstay its welcome, but I still recommend this game.

Assuming that 5 is Average or "what I expect" I feel like 6/10 is very fair. I picked this game up in a Trine Collection when it was on sale. Considering I paid about $4 for this game, I got my money's worth out of it. The latest entry (5th in the saga) was on sale so I figured I would finally sit down and play the first entry. Trine is a straight-forward platforming adventure that puts you on a simple mission to find the Trine and stop the Skeleton Lord (I couldn't be bothered to learn the main baddie's real name) from taking over the Kingdom. Literally finished this game in a weekend. Maybe 5 hours of content and a bit more if you want to 100% it. Thin story, but I had no expectations of depth. I had fun, but this game definitely feels like it is meant to play couch co-op with a couple buddies. The music is great, probably one of the most redeeming qualities of this game. I would replay this and probably just pause the game just to get a little OST. Platforming worked fine, but there were several parts where physics just didnt want to work right. If you can get this game on sale, give it a go. There are 5 games as of this review, so it's worth your time if they managed to churn 5 titles out of it. I hear the story gets deeper as the titles go.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a great example of how modern conventions can make an old game formula feel fresh. I have always described Fire Emblem as Anime-Chess because even though it is a tactics game akin to the Mercenaries Saga and Final Fantasy Tactics, this installment feels far more like I am playing Risk than a tactics game. The music in this game does not disappoint, and i hope to some day get this OST on the Nintendo Music app. The addition of the school scene makes the characters feel far more developed because you can experience the character progression. I can better select the characters im willing to invest time and effort into. I deffo get Hogwarts vibes when roaming the plaza. I have a terrible habit of restarting an entire battle when a character I want to love dies, so the addition of the "undo button" takes a lot of stress off. Unlike the oldest of Fire Emblems, this game has sub-battles where you can grind a character and beef their stats, but to its detriment, it made those battles feel more empty to me. There are no stakes and I feel no pressure if a character falls in battle because technically I could have chosen not to fight at all. A calendar system was added to make the chapters have more depth, which i actually think is a great touch. Each week, the students would have class, then at the end of the week I can choose to roam the school, take a rest to boost motivation, or battle random bandits. The calendar was a good way to let the player budget what to do with their time, but it made my 3rd week of battles feel bland and pointless. Overall, the story is fine. I didn't feel as engaged in Byleth as I did Corrin or Marth. Even though Byleth has a connection to the goddess of this world, I never really felt like there was payoff or anything that made Byleth's connection worth it. I still like this game and look forward to the next installment.

One of my favorite RE games has been RE4, with an extremely close 2nd being RE: Revelations. Part of the reason I enjoy RE: Village so much is because it is a perfect blend of RE4 action, the first person terror of RE7, and just the right amount of RE:Revelations creepiness. "Sure nothing can top that," I says to me self. RE: Requiem is now in my top 3 RE games. RE: Requiem is now in my top 3 RE games. Bumping Village to 4th. I had the honor of playing Requiem on my Nintendo Switch 2, and I do not regret it. I've read several reviews from others about their frames dropping, but I cannot recall any instance where my frames dipped. Sure, the graphics are going to be better on a different home console, but I got to play this gem on my handheld, at home and at work, no internet connection required. I was never pulled out of the horror element due to "low-res" or "bad textures". As a matter of fact, my play setting was almost always low light, headset plugged in, motion controls on. Ever since RE4 on the Wii, I've preferred motion controls. Playing RE4 and Village in VR made me appreciate motion controls even more. The music was haunting, and the areas I played as Grace I was genuinely dreading getting found by zombies. Therein lies my only gripe with the game in general: The Leon sections are super fun, but I was never really caught off guard. I wouldn't want a nearly 50 year old Leon to struggle fighting zombies, but I always felt like I could see it coming. Similar to RE Revelations, the Chris sections kinda felt cheesy because I'm big bad Chris Redfield and nothing will stop me. I would have appreciated character growth more if it was more of an Ethan Winters experience, but it made sense to his story. Grace was the closest I got to a character growing in strength a la RPG-style. Her voice actress though: the stammering at the start of every scary scene got old fast. Everyone has fenominal voices, even with the excess use of our leading male and female roles. Dr. Victor Gideon wins the best voice acting award because homie was channeling Heath Ledger's Joker and I'm here for that. Honorable mention to Leon's dad-puns. Otherwise, the payoff of getting to revisit Raccoon City and see the echoes of RE2 made me nostalgic. Don't let the haters tell you it's no good on Switch 2, I had a blast and look forward to my second play through. PS: my favorite Easter Egg is 100% the walking tofu.

As a fan of the original Paper Mario TTYD, this remaster is a perfect upgrade to an already amazing game. The story follows Mario and Co. to a new locale called Rogueport, where (in storybook fashion) we are told that a grand city once stood before storms washed it away. Like the N64 Paper Mario, Mario gathers a new partner from every realm who need his help but returns the favor by joining Mario's party. All of the music has gotten a significant upgrade, one of them being that the battle music changes depending what region Mario is exploring. And if you want a more original experience, there is a badge Mario can equip that plays "nostalgic tunes". Both the Switch and GameCube versions of these soundtracks are available in their entirety on the Nintendo Music app. Battles are turn-based, and enemies can be seen on the field prior to initiating battle, giving the player the option to fight or not. The controls are extremely responsive, allowing myself to get more "stylish" points. When Mario attacks, the player can tap the A button again for stronger multi-hit attacks. Any time I missed a prompt, I never felt like it was the game's fault. This is my favorite Paper Mario in the series, and I always hope that the next game will pull inspiration from this title.

This game was on sale in the Nintendo eShop. There wasn't much to go off of at the time. There were some dynamic screenshots and a video that made the story feel deep and compelling. Plus, the busty protagonist got my attention speedy quick. There are some indie games that are absolute gems so I do my part when I can. It is normally $14.99 but was sale for $2 so I picked it up. I learned quickly that the advertising material oversold this game. Everything looks same-y so trekking the areas can be confusing. It's not made clear whether you should attack and defend bad guys, so you find out early on that you are not supposed to engage in battle. Failure results in a dreadful loading screen and an autosave never near where you fell. You would think with the amount of campfires and materials provided to craft arrows that it would be important, but other than literal targets in the distance and hanging bags of crates there is nothing to shoot. These "evil" priests take more than one arrow to fell; I ever managed to kill any of them with just arrows. The story is so thin that it never makes clear WHY the priests are evil, but we learn through these oddly placed journals that they work for the big bad. Even with the journals, the story is NOT fleshed out enough to make it engaging. You can easily deduce that the writer is her lost boyfriend. Voice acting is over the top not in a good way. The protagonist has far more emotion than all the other characters in the game. The music is forgettable and does nothing to stand out, it's just generic "fantasy" forest music. No music in the sneaky areas so there is no tension (someone told me that there is supposed to be music so maybe my game failed to load it). It does do something right: the achievement icons are cute, and when her uncle got turned to stone I genuinely gasped. There's a spore or particle effect floating that SHOULD have made the game look good, but instead makes the game look dusty. The jump animation looks ridiculous and should have just been an auto jump since it's only used on cliffside. The ending sets up a "to be continued..." scenario, but I don't think they should try it.

This game does not disappoint! Out the gate, you're thrown into an action sequence, which gives the player a quick glimpse into how powerful Samus can get as the game progresses. When the inevitable thing happens that strips you of your powers, the game throws you into a new mysterious world. This game is a visual FEAST on Switch 2. The music immediately locks you into this new world that feels like a Metroid Prime world. Like Prime 1, the world is split into areas that fit environmental themes: fire, ice, electricity. You collect Galactic Federation companions from each area who propel the story in that area. Samus does the silent protagonist thing, which makes her come off as tough and "I don't really care what you have to say." Inevitably, they help her in the ending sequences and even though Samus acts like she doesn't care about them, I as the player feel bad when they get hurt. It's up to the player to help them when they fall in battle or you fail the mission. The boss fights were tough but not frustrating, I even enjoy them as a decent challenge on the unlock able Hard mode. I tried the mouse controls, but they never feel organic to gameplay. Personally, motion controls feel the best for this game. I know other players didn't like the over world desert, and while I agree that there could be more variety in enemies and hidden items, I obsessively enjoyed finding the green shards lying about. Plus, the Vi-O-La amiibo unlocks bike skins the more you drive so I didn't mind aimlessly driving around. This game feels like it is setting up a new trilogy. Phazon is no longer a thing, but Samus and Sylux both gain psychic powers from the new planet that will probably be a reoccurring theme in the Prime sequel. I'm excited to see where the Prime series goes!

This game was on sale in the Nintendo eShop. There wasn't much to go off of at the time. There were some dynamic screenshots and a video that made the story feel deep and compelling. Plus, the busty protagonist got my attention speedy quick. There are some indie games that are absolute gems so I do my part when I can. It is normally $14.99 but was sale for $2 so I picked it up. I learned quickly that the advertising material oversold this game. Everything looks same-y so trekking the areas can be confusing. It's not made clear whether you should attack and defend bad guys, so you find out early on that you are not supposed to engage in battle. Failure results in a dreadful loading screen and an autosave never near where you fell. You would think with the amount of campfires and materials provided to craft arrows that it would be important, but other than literal targets in the distance and hanging bags of crates there is nothing to shoot. These "evil" priests take more than one arrow to fell; I ever managed to kill any of them with just arrows. The story is so thin that it never makes clear WHY the priests are evil, but we learn through these oddly placed journals that they work for the big bad. Even with the journals, the story is NOT fleshed out enough to make it engaging. You can easily deduce that the writer is her lost boyfriend. Voice acting is over the top not in a good way. The protagonist has far more emotion than all the other characters in the game. The music is forgettable and does nothing to stand out, it's just generic "fantasy" forest music. No music in the sneaky areas so there is no tension (someone told me that there is supposed to be music so maybe my game failed to load it). It does do something right: the achievement icons are cute, and when her uncle got turned to stone I genuinely gasped. There's a spore or particle effect floating that SHOULD have made the game look good, but instead makes the game look dusty. The jump animation looks ridiculous and should have just been an auto jump since it's only used on cliffside. The ending sets up a "to be continued..." scenario, but I don't think they should try it.

To put the plot of this game simply, you play as a little bug dude with nothing but a jump button and a single-swipe nail to attack enemy bugs. You travel through the remains of what used to be a vast bug kingdom that now has fallen apart because of an unknown enemy that has corrupted the land. Like all Metroidvania games, you start weak, but gradually gain weapons and abilities that make traversing and attacking easier. The story is told in passing by NPCs you talk to throughout the journey. As an early adopter of the Nintendo Switch, I remember buying this game in hopes that I would love this Metroidvania and commit time to it. My first impressions were pretty "meh" because I thought that many of the areas were too similar. I had trouble keeping up with things and remembering what was where. I also was not a fan of the "if you die, you have to return to that place or loose equipment forever." So, I put it down and hadn't played it until SilkSong was mere months before release. The wife and I saw countless memes and heard many music tracks from the game. This sparked my interest again. We started to play together on our own consoles. Now, I was entranced by the vibe, the dark gritty areas felt lively, the music was beautiful and haunting, the fear of losing my collectables became motivation to try again and again. I found myself unable to stop exploring. As soon as I found a new area, I was driven by the desire to find the hidden mapmaker, I was driven by the NPC that tasked me with slaying a set number of enemy species. I would have gladly given this game 10/10, but there is one element of this game that I'm not a fan of: DLC endings. Now, the Voidheart Edition of the game includes all DLC. When this game originally came out on PC, Team Cherry was eager to get this thing playable as soon as possible because the project was funded by KickStarter. So, we got an ending, but it wasn't the "true ending". I happen to like the original dark ending: it is dark, sad, and like life a little unfair but you know it has to be done. Had I played this game back then when it was intended to add to the adventure, I would have forgiven this set up, but after beating the main story and discovering that there was more trials to unlock, I lacked the "McGuffin" to keep digging. Yes, I didn't get 100% completion and have several areas left to explore and test my platforming and battle skills, but that's going to have to be when I get the itch to play again. In total, there are 5 endings and they are still sad but not as dark, AND they set up SilkSong. Yes, it was necessary. Yes, I still love this game. But it's almost perfect to me. I still HIGHLY and GREATLY recommend playing this game.

To put the plot of this game simply, you play as a little bug dude with nothing but a jump button and a single-swipe nail to attack enemy bugs. You travel through the remains of what used to be a vast bug kingdom that now has fallen apart because of an unknown enemy that has corrupted the land. Like all Metroidvania games, you start weak, but gradually gain weapons and abilities that make traversing and attacking easier. The story is told in passing by NPCs you talk to throughout the journey. As an early adopter of the Nintendo Switch, I remember buying this game in hopes that I would love this Metroidvania and commit time to it. My first impressions were pretty "meh" because I thought that many of the areas were too similar. I had trouble keeping up with things and remembering what was where. I also was not a fan of the "if you die, you have to return to that place or loose equipment forever." So, I put it down and hadn't played it until SilkSong was mere months before release. The wife and I saw countless memes and heard many music tracks from the game. This sparked my interest again. We started to play together on our own consoles. Now, I was entranced by the vibe, the dark gritty areas felt lively, the music was beautiful and haunting, the fear of losing my collectables became motivation to try again and again. I found myself unable to stop exploring. As soon as I found a new area, I was driven by the desire to find the hidden mapmaker, I was driven by the NPC that tasked me with slaying a set number of enemy species. I would have gladly given this game 10/10, but there is one element of this game that I'm not a fan of: DLC endings. Now, the Voidheart Edition of the game includes all DLC. When this game originally came out on PC, Team Cherry was eager to get this thing playable as soon as possible because the project was funded by KickStarter. So, we got an ending, but it wasn't the "true ending". I happen to like the original dark ending: it is dark, sad, and like life a little unfair but you know it has to be done. Had I played this game back then when it was intended to add to the adventure, I would have forgiven this set up, but after beating the main story and discovering that there was more trials to unlock, I lacked the "McGuffin" to keep digging. Yes, I didn't get 100% completion and have several areas left to explore and test my platforming and battle skills, but that's going to have to be when I get the itch to play again. In total, there are 5 endings and they are still sad but not as dark, AND they set up SilkSong. Yes, it was necessary. Yes, I still love this game. But it's almost perfect to me. I still HIGHLY and GREATLY recommend playing this game.

This game is a delicious epic to enjoy on the Nintendo Switch. It runs perfectly in both handheld and docked modes. I often would snatch it off the dock and play in bed before falling to sleep. Since FFX's original release on the PS2, I have loved this game. This was the first Final Fantasy for me to finish the story. The music is fantastic and I (off the top of my head) cannot think of a track I don't enjoy. I am a big fan of the way this Final Fantasy game takes turn-based combat: attacks more or less have a cool down that may delay a character's turn, but the interface helps the player easily keep track of turns adding a level of strategery. The story is a beautiful story about love, determination to prove one's self, and camaraderie. Voice acting is great, but Titus has...moments. If the game allowed in back on PS2, it would have been nice to have an explorable world map. I'd argue that because this game is a quest from point A to point B (like taking the Ring to Mordor) that it works. Everyone feels spread out but once their story comes to a head it feels complete. I cannot say that the puzzles are perfect though. As soon as I entered a temple and had to face a new trial, I would become overwhelmed with dread. However, one Aeon fight later, my patience is rewarded and I can go back to turn-based goodness. FFX-2 is a definite change of pace. I don't mind the Charlie's Angels vibe. I feel like this game tries to differentiate itself from its predecessor, but I can see how that could be a turn off for people expecting a similar sequel. It would have been nice to get a more "serious" sequel, but Yuna genuinely grew into a new woman after the events of FFX. Still turn-based, but heavily focused on class-types. The costume changes are fun, and thank the Lord above that this clothing/class change was before DLC ever became a thing. The story doesn't resonate with me as well as FFX did, but FFX-2 has a good story.

Since FFX's original release on the PS2, I have loved this game. This was the first Final Fantasy for me to finish the story. The music is fantastic and I (off the top of my head) cannot think of a track I don't enjoy. I am a big fan of the way this Final Fantasy game takes turn-based combat: attacks more or less have a cool down that may delay a character's turn, but the interface helps the player easily keep track of turns adding a level of strategery. The story is a beautiful story about love, determination to prove one's self, and camaraderie. Voice acting is great, but Titus has...moments. If the game allowed in back on PS2, it would have been nice to have an explorable world map. I'd argue that because this game is a quest from point A to point B (like taking the Ring to Mordor) that it works. Everyone feels spread out but once their story comes to a head it feels complete. I cannot say that the puzzles are perfect though. As soon as I entered a temple and had to face a new trial, I would become overwhelmed with dread. However, one Aeon fight later, my patience is rewarded and I can go back to turn-based goodness. FFX-2 is a definite change of pace. I don't mind the Charlie's Angels vibe. I feel like this game tries to differentiate itself from its predecessor, but I can see how that could be a turn off for people expecting a similar sequel. It would have been nice to get a more "serious" sequel, but Yuna genuinely grew into a new woman after the events of FFX. Still turn-based, but heavily focused on class-types. The costume changes are fun, and thank the Lord above that this clothing/class change was before DLC ever became a thing. The story doesn't resonate with me as well as FFX did, but FFX-2 has a good story.

I never had incredible interest in the series, but was told to play it for the story. I bought this game twice: PS3 and PS4, but never finished it until this Nintendo Switch port. Given the scale of this game, I love being able to play it on the go. I'd bust it out at work or in waiting rooms, then easily stow it away until my next sesh. Visually, this game runs well and has excellent atmosphere. It suffers from a sign of the times: there are a lot of dark and muddy colors because making it harder to see makes it spookier. I enjoy traversing the map and the game does an excellent job keeping me on track. Several times, I found myself overrun by a mob, but after a little trial and error I'd eventually succeed. The voice acting is top tier, the characters have depth that make them feel alive. I dare say that the in-game models are a bit underwhelming compared to the gravity it felt in the voice actors' performance. The game doesn't over stay its welcome, but about 3/4 the way through the story I felt as strong as I was ever gonna get. There wasn't much fear of loss or death by that point in the game; however this could have been because I chose to harvest all of the Little Sisters on my first play through. Interestingly, I managed to avoid a lot of spoilers over the past decade or so and genuinely felt bad after harvesting them once I got to THAT part. Another sign of the times, I feel like this game controls extremely clunky in the beginning, but once you warm up to the pacing and aiming it works well. It's odd though, because it's 2K brethren series Borderlands has dang near perfect control. This game was a fun time. I don't foresee me playing it again, at least not anytime soon. I'm happy to have experienced this game.

I busted out the Wii U to play this game again. The music, the collecting, the primates, everything about this game oozes nostalgia for me. I was finally able to play this game to completion now that I'm older and more patient. The idea to change characters mid level is neat, but I have always hated when I find a small hoard of bananas that belong to a monkey I haven't traversed that far with yet, but they had to pad the game out a little to give us more meat. My biggest gripe with this game has to be the mini games. At first they aren't that bad, but by the time you get to the 3rd world the mini games start to repeat themselves. The mini games are exactly the same but now you have more items to collect in a lesser amount of time. I know the N64 had limitations, but variety would've been nice. And holy mother of pearl do I HATE the mine cart levels in this game! I'll take the hardest kart ride or barrel rocket from the new Donkey Kong Country game by Retro Studios tenfold over this **** These were the most anger inducing portions of DK64 and made me question if 101% is worth it. In the end, I'm glad I stuck to it and finished the game. This could have been the Wii U version not being optimized, but once I got to 150+ golden bananas I had several game crashes. I was worried that my obsessive "collect everything before progressing to the next level" mentality was breaking the game. For a great blast to the past, boot this game up, but 101% completion wasn't as rewarding as I'd hoped. I the words of The Completionist, "I give this game my Completionist rating of 'Finish it'."

What can I say about this game that hasn't already been said? This game is amazing. It's the perfect example of a Kickstarter campaign going right. There may be some bias about which version is better, and yes on a side by side comparison the PS4 and XBOX versions look nice, but this game is perfect on the Switch. I was able to complete this game with no game breaking glitches and no crashes. I would often switch from dock to handheld because being a daddy means I have to play games where ever and when ever. Maybe when it first came out it was a hot mess, but as of now, it's great! The music is superb, however, there was one area where I felt like the music was half-baked and could've done a better job setting the mood. The rest of the soundtrack sounds like it was ripped straight out of a Castlevania game. Some of the weapons felt pointless. I REALLY wanted to use her legs the entire game, but the boot upgrades were always lesser than most of the swords I picked up. Also, I wish that the food I could eat for health would give me an HP count prior to cooking my ingredients so I didn't waste things cooking food that wouldn't help me in battle. I was able to play this game to 100% completion in about 22 hrs.

I've never been a huge fan of point and click adventure games but I definitely wanted to. I hadn't played a game like this since I was a kid in the 90s. Path of Sin: Greed was a nice reintroduction to the genre. My expectations were exceeded, but they were also low. I like the ability to fast travel between areas and I like how the hint system can be on or off depending on how hard you want it to be. Luckily, finding objects and their solutions wasn't terribly taxing (like the solution wasn't terribly convoluted), but eventually I got to a point where I'd enter a room and try every object until something opened. I may try to play this game again in the future, but the story was your basic "someone got murdered who done it" kind of deal. Don't expect a groundbreaking conclusion.

Cute little game for what it's worth. It feels like a cheap Metroidvania, but I enjoyed my time with it. The filters were interesting to unlock, especially considering the game is only black and white otherwise. Maybe one day I'll boot it up again, but nothing to write home about.

Since I haven't gotten a new entry in the Mario Golf series since 2014, I was dying for a golf game. I first heard of this game from YouTuber Caddicarus and figured I'd give it a shot. Golf Story has a unique charm about it. It's very self aware, and even though characters take themselves seriously. You as a player see how ridiculous their motives are. The protagonist of the game has his own **** the NPCs make it clear pretty early that they don't care. I'd kind of say that the devs didn't really want to you care either. After the initial course, the protagonist unenthusiastically wins the remaining tournaments because "why not?" Gameplay was really fun in the beginning and I really wanted to get good enough to read the greens like I can in other golf games, but once you get to the mid to later holes the physics feel really broken. The game gave a vague description to how steep the green is, then it was randomly up to the game whether or not it would make the shot close to the hole or WAY past it. The devs also got a little lazy making the game read "yards" when my ball was only inches away from the hole. Oh my gosh and the wind. The wind mechanic is incredibly broken. Many times the 3MPH winds pushed my ball as much as the 12MPH wind. I became frustrated almost to the point of quitting, but was determined to finish the game. I even played to 100% completion because I wanted to get the most out of this game. There are many who like this game and I don't hate it, I just wish there was more polish. Overall, Golf Story is a fun time. Maybe I will play it again in the future, but for now it just made me want a more polished golf game.

There are many things to love and enjoy about Indivisible being that it's a Metroidvania over world with Superstar Saga-like battle mechanics, but it still falls short of what I was hoping to get out of this genre mashup. It's a cartoony, silly world that we learn about through the characters you recruit. On paper, the idea of many playable characters to switch between sounds great, but in reality I never got the chance to connect to even half of them. Once I found the 5 or 6 characters I liked, I didn't care who else got recruited. Part of the reason why is the way leveling up works is by finding items called Ringels and trading them in for attack or defense. At the end of a battle, an experience bar says that a character increased in level but there is no obvious change in strength. Boss battles weren't terribly hard, but the window of opportunity to attack for bosses like the serpent queen didn't flow well between platforming and turn-based battle. I enjoyed the platforming bits and backtracking wasn't that bad in the main worlds because it felt organic, but I was not a fan of the retreading climb that I had to face each time I went up Sumeru (the villain Kala's place). Which I find ironic because Metroidvania's are all about retread, but something about the lack of hidden discoverable and the lack of enemies made the climb up Sumeru pretty brutal. The music fits each area perfectly and sometimes found myself sitting at the pause menu for background tunes. The NPCs in this game offer no clues or insight to the game. After the first random cameo from [insert indie-title hero here], I was hoping that they would add to the story or have an opinion about our quest, but everyone offers smalltalk banter or mention not wanting to talk to Ajna. Overall, this game is better than average and an ambitious attempt, but I feel like its sequel could offer more depth.

This JRPG never felt like I had to grind to defeat a boss. With the exception of a surprisingly challenging boss at the beginning of the game, my characters and their natural progression from enemy encounters have me enough experience to be well prepared for boss battles. The music was enchanting and gradually evolved as the story progressed which enhanced the excitement I felt as my characters became stronger. Voice acting is spot on!! A nice attention to detail was the character interactions during the victory screens. As things changed around them and the characters got to know each other more, their dialogue grew with them.