Stone4D

My two favourite things in video gaming are Fire Emblem and Dynasty Warriors. So as as you can probably imagine the announcement that the two series were gonna have a baby was easily the most exciting thing I've ever experienced with video games. I'm saying this up front because I may have a bias as a result. Now to begin, I loved Hyrule Warriors, Nintendo and Koei's last collaboration, but felt it was missing a little bit. Maybe it was the fact that even though I enjoy Zelda I don't have the same connection with it as I do Fire Emblem, it being one of the first games I ever played. Maybe it was just the lack of features within the gameplay, nothing to really spice it up. But Fire Emblem Warriors has none of this. There's countless things going on thanks to the addition of staple Fire Emblem mechanics such as pair-up and the weapon triangle, which I must note is FAR more important in this game then in any of the main series entries. Here it practically forces you to switch between characters and go into battles with a good mixed team, and you'll need to command your other units to really get anywhere or else you'll find yourself overwhelmed fast. If you can't tell, you actually need to use strategy instead of just mindlessly mowing down packs of troops, just like Fire Emblem! It's great, and gives the gameplay that kick in the ass it needs to be truly enjoyable for a lasting period. I've also gotta praise the visuals in this game, Fire Emblem has never looked so good. Colours pop and the characters come to life like they never could before on non-HD graphics. What's more, you're given the choice between 720p ands 60 FPS, or 1080p and 30 FPS. More games need this. Please. I've spent a decent amount of time on both modes and while both are perfectly playable, I prefer 60 FPS and the smooth animations it brings (the attack animations are half the fun after all), even though things are a little fuzzier. But of course, I have to talk about my complaints. Most importantly is the roster. That damn roster that causes so much controversy. As a lifelong series fan it should come as no surprise that I fall on the side of "this roster is terrible". There are 15 Fire Emblem games, but 17 of the 25 characters available (this review, like all of my reviews, is ignoring the DLC) are from two games (Awakening and Fates). That's absolutely pathetic. Of the remaining 8, 2 are originals made for the game, 3 are from another game (Shadow Dragon) , and the other two feel like they're in the game just to try and not piss us off, having zero story impact at all, not that it's a good story anyway. The bias is almost hilarious to look at, and it's a major letdown for me to see so many games and fan favorite characters left out for no good reason, especially when an uncomfortable amount of the included characters are clones of other characters. My other complaint of significance is one I couldn't have ever imagined saying a year ago: Everybody talks too damn much! Virtually EVERYTHING has a voice line, and generally it's the same line for that same scenario every time it comes up. I seriously have to mute my TV when buying stuff in the camp en-mass, lest I go insane from hearing "Hey, it actually worked!" or another character's equivalent countless times like there's a stuck CD playing nearby. Please everyone, stop talking outside of in-game dialog, cutscenes, and the title call (although maybe an option to disable this too). So overall, I enjoyed this game and consider it easily the best Warriors spinoff ever made. but my voice complaint and the roster keep it out of the 10 it would deserve otherwise. If you love Dynasty Warriors like me or are a newer Fire Emblem fan, get it because you're gonna love it. Otherwise though, I advise thinking things through or waiting for the end of DLC support to see how things shape up.

Golf Story seems like such a strange idea: How could you possibly combine the spot of golf with RPG mechanics? But it turns out you can, and beautifully at that. This game hits all the right spots for me, great (and very Australian) humor, satisfying gameplay, and a feeling of progression. To mention wonderful usage of its platform, this feels exactly like something Nintendo would've made for the Switch. The golf mechanics are simple enough, you get a power meter, all the typical clubs, and you need to factor in wind speed for your drives and sloping for your putts. It's pretty similar to Mario Golf. Where things get fun though, is when that RPG genre kicks in. You'll be solving quests with golf (getting you experience to level up your golf stats), buying new clubs as you would equipment, and you'll solve puzzles to advance the (rather hilarious and ridiculous) story, generally also involving golf. There's one of these puzzles in particular that was an absolute joy to complete for me, perfectly combining humor, puzzle solving, and of course, golf. HD Rumble is very apparent too, almost everything you do will make the controller do something. Perhaps the best example is when you knock a ball off a cliff and your controllers will make a cartoon-ish sound. It can be a little too much though (EVERY text bubble, really?), so thankfully you can turn this off if you choose. The seven main courses you'll play on are just as weird as everything else in this game, you'll go from what feels like redneck golf, to a "haunted" course, to a country club, and many more. All of them stand out visually, and all have unique traits to them. For example, the first course you'll go to has moles that can move your ball. There's more than just standard golf to play as well. You'll experience disc golf, mini-golf, and several other modes that I won't ruin. It's a game packed with content, well worth the price tag. However, I can't give it a higher score than a 7 for one simple reason: It's a really buggy game. Crashes are common, weird quirks can both break things or make them a breeze, there are occasional problems with saving, and there's a several quality of life issues (Not being able to restart a clearly failed mission is the biggest offender for me). Some of this happens at random, and can really ruin things for you, possibly even forcing a restart of your entire file, although I haven't suffered this myself. If these are fixed I will gladly give this game the 8 or 9 it deserves. Overall though, if you're willing to deal with some frustrations and love either golf or RPGs, I couldn't possibly recommend this game enough.

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentina is without doubt the best Fire Emblem title yet in terms of presentation. The characters are redesigned beautifully, the menus are even cleaner and better polished then either Awakening or Fates, and the music is as mind blowing as ever. The soundtrack, of course, accompanies key story moments, which are brought to life with beautifully animated cutscenes. Even the scripted sequences using the in game models are solid, not just using battle animations like in Fates and Awakening. Gameplay wise, it's a very unique experience. Shadows of Valentia is born from a time when developers experimented a lot, and its source material, Fire Emblem Gaiden, is basically the Zelda 2 of Fire Emblem. You'll go through dungeons, roam around towns, fight several battles per chapter, and experience battle mechanics the likes of which are not seen anywhere else in the series. Mages learn spells, archers can attack from one tile away, and characters always carry a default weapon. But at its core, this is Fire Emblem through and through. Strategy is just as important, and if you're not a hardcore fan the features from Gaiden might throw a wrench into your plans. I won't discuss the story too much, but it's leagues better than Fates and edges out Awakening, although don't expect anything groundbreaking. It's also fully voice acted, a series first, and it is stellar, bringing the characters and story to life like never before in Fire Emblem. On the downside, the map design is not good at all, which was a problem in Fire Emblem Gaiden. They stayed a little too true to the source material on this front. Most maps are extremely boring, are huge, have almost no enemies, and add nothing to mix up your tactics. They keep this game from the 9 or 10 it deserves. In addition, the DLC practices for this game are also absurd and absolutely abhorrent from Nintendo. But it's not a part of the game and won't effect my feelings towards it. Overall, Shadows of Valentia is a refreshing and beautiful entry to the Fire Emblem series, and I recommend it to anybody looking for a good and unique strategy RPG.

Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 is definitely a good game, managing to exceed its predecessor in most ways. There's more variety, helped by the addition of a new (rather overpowered) playable character in the form of Copen, and it feels more alive with additional characters and the dialog that comes with them, while still managing to retain the same fun gameplay the first game had. One major difference on this front is how much easier it is to get S ranks. Only once did I rank lower then A during my playthrough, while as getting A and S ranks in the first game could be quite an undertaking. That can be either a good or a bad thing, depending on the kind of person you are, so I won't take points off for it. It's not perfect however. The level design can get a little stale, the story is very lackluster in some parts, and the previously mentioned dialog gets in the way when you're playing and is a huge distraction at times. Also, it comes in a little on the short side if you're not going for high scores and fast times, although it's longer then the first game overall. Overall though, you'll certainly like this game if you liked the first one.