what a great game. the style is very well done and consistant - i did skip a lot of the text but some was enjoyable. the gameplays really fun - i was honestly having more fun with the cat making concept i thought it was well paced and well designed. Biggest cons of the game: house building was kinda annoying, ngl the absolute worst part of this game is finishing a run - and ur whole inventory holding was shuffled around with the like 20-30 items u get on a run. also no rarity on items is annoying. the rng aspect is kinda annoying but im not that bad its the part that makes it unique - the "1 cat 1 run" makes it a little sad too - u get the perfect cat and level ups but it really doesnt matter - this to me makes the game a lil harder to enjoy. also classes are objectively unbalanced - i cant believe or know why the mage even exists when the archer does what they can do 200x better. i was extremely suprised though that charms and status effects work on bosses, some boss battles are completely trizialized by some really low level skills which is suprising. I wish there was a harder mode - the most fun run i had in this entire game was a 1 cat archer run, i sav scummed and reset about 200 times to beat the throbbing king - i had like 5 negative quest items involving the gun that kills all team mates, the smiley face on the other cat, i loved it - felt like fe3h levels of difficulty where its turn based - u need to make the Chess best move every single turn for like 30+ turns thinking creative and getting a little lucky i wish there was more of that challenge but now that I have 40+ cats with 7 all stats, and 10+ positive mutations, i can literally play 5x speed and do each battle in 30 seconds no thoughts on hard mode. The inventory system really isnt fun tho - i have 50 things to pick from - finite slots, all for a run that i know is going to be so easy theres no point of even equiping anything - but i know ill be getting like 30+ items that run and itll scramble my inventory. Also pressing r on the map resets the whole thing - thats super annoying ngl. DESPITE ALL THESE CONS - its still a 9/10
I completely disagree with the ratings on this game. Users bad reviews might put a huge weighting on gameplay, UI and such and prehaps a "taking of style" from cup head but objectively speaking there is care put into the scene transition images- i cant believe they actually had a detailed screen transition for almost every area that was deeply relevent. There is deep detail and design for the maps and bosses, As well as the effects - anvil dropping on you? Changes ur size. Witch turns your person human or something. If people are review bombing and rating based on their frustraition i get it, but objectively, there is something jaw dropping here.
I believe this game has the template to make an all time game some day. I don't know if it's just me but the idea of a instrumental weilding / music forward game, beautiful world, story rich game will one day be a GOTY. This however, is not it, the genre of game is quite unique, in my opinion is far better than mincraft dungeons. I think the idea of an open world thing where ur defending these places and running around places and such is a little tedious - there doesn't appear to be a focus on the character stats or equipment which it might have benefited from. I liked the narrative VA driven lead. Also I can tell the world was made quite beaifutully - its teaming with life.
I feel like the combat is quite smooth and there are tense moments which are quite fun. However, this game feels like more thought needed to be put in. Particularly, wait time of potions, it's not the smartest move - the wait time of potions is like 1 minutes - which makes no sense, okay so its not like Hades where u have no way of healing, and this game wants quick combat - i could wait around for 1 minute every time to heal then 1 more min to get potion off cd - but its so dumb. Also the battle against the evoker - i dont think ive ever scoffed at how bad a boss was made in my life. You clear the adds - 1 second later he spawns4 fairies, you go up to hit him - as soon as u approach he runs -faster than u. This might be the worst design ive ever seen. The arrows - i feel like its hard to put these into switch but alas, it still feels pretty bad to use.
I am unbelievably impressed by how good this game is. It wasn't on my radar and honestly i didn't know it was part of the Rune Factor series as I thought they'd name it RF6 or something, also the complete change in art direction - i thought this might have been a title from before 2023. Little did I know this would be one of my fav games of all time. Of all the rune factors - it feels like this is the magnum opus. I'm SO HAPPY they have amazing VA work and direction - i think RF5 the biggest issue was how little life and telegraphed movement was of npc's. But now it feels really good, and there's actual direction in the game. Much needed. I REALLY like the character FMC design - and VA - phenomenal. Also the combat feels a lot better than prior RF's. And the camera angles during conversations feel good as well.
Phenominal direction, I cant describe it, its a laze fair game that is so effective. Something feels magical in this game, watching Aaron's performance on the VA, the inspiring speeches, teh normality of his life something simple like just sitting down and putting on the headset - it just felt so unique. Im really happy people are loving this game cause I followed tell tale games for so long since 2010's. I don't know im just so impressed - I completely understand the fandom - it feels like there wasnt anything too special with the designs but it just works - Invisgal and Blonde Blazer will prolly forever be etched up there. Flamebae was a standout character, just so unique - so weird, i can't describe another character in movie or video gam ehistory whowas the most hated character - never changed - and somehow became my favourite character. It's risk like these and exectuion what makes this game a 10/10 - i was going to give this a 9/10 but seriously the only thing that **** was the "combat" which I guess i could have turned off - oh buy the way i clicked on the screenand draged down. Impressive
Edit: This pokemon has the worst most anticlimactic legendary battle possible. i dont think it was possible to be this bad - no build up go to a random place then see them randomly come in. no kidding. This game is significantly worse than pokemon arceus, and scarlet. I'm a little dissatisfied. I'm happy with the combat change they did - it felt kinda smooth and removed the annoying CC of the battle animations, also made it feel more natural - but at the same time i think it kinda changed the entire game to something else - I think the overall execution, it didnt feel like i was fighting a pokemon battle. Also I dont like the way u heal pokemon - it feels like the whole fight stops. I think the optionality to choose standard or this battling, or making WILD area ones like this which i think feels really good then the actual important battles it goes to the older style - because sometimes it was like, uhhh this is an important battle? but here i am just walkin around trying to dodge attacks. So yeah big respect - i kinda lost my mind on the first battle - in my entire life first time losing the firstpokemonbattle - it was because i was learning the system i couldnt believe the pancham dude hit me like 3 times in a row. So i dont really know what speed stats do it kinda revolves into a button spamming most of the game - with 1 unit. Z crystal upgrades were a mistake btw - the designs and feel - all terrible... Also the alpha pokemon kinda invalidaes the whole game - i dont mind it if there was a way to limit alpha pokemon and have a alpha version of each. Im sure its common but doing the same thing over and over was so boring - i think the replaytability of pokemon arceus . im just not sure why id play this game again - doing these mega pokemon queling. So yeah, honestly im gunna replay scarlet - i feel like they did way better plot, take me back to ppl complaining about how its just battle gyms, elite 4, then win. Pros: Emma - ngl i think they sculping this tanned goddess the way they did is more "suprising" then them changing up the 20+ year combat style; great design and character - kinda limited scope - its really hard to appriciate these characters when u play phenominal games that flesh out characters more than just aestetics. Cardinal: kinda cringe dialogue i think they sawhow Iono was the best character they probably ever made in franchine history and rushed to have somthingsimilar - oh well. amazing design. One of my favourit moments playing was finding a lavatar on the roof - also exploring hidden areas in the wild areas adn finding ne walphas - i thought that felt kinda good. I stil lcant believe they really made the game ONE CITY like it really was in just one city. I guess they did a good job with that concept. alot of the characters were weird, i think the low level of depth and story context makes the characters very weak - as for the scene with beating the tower - the angle was so weird like it was so unsatisfying and repetitve - they really made me beat a flower 3 times. And the using blizzard on the foundtain - i think thats the future of pokemon. World exploring in a botw manner where various -uncapped lvl pokemon are all over the place - and certain things are interactable with pokemon moves - idk tho... also the amount of zipping around via fast transport. Everyones expectation of this game - ppl were expecting Jett to be evil - we were getting some sub urban "mario esque" where he's in new york - pokemon game - yet it just felt like menu warping, sidewalk, flat building similator - walk to cut scene. theres just so much stuff missing and a jump button.
Subpare intellegence development ideas: put nearest bench 2 min away from boss fights and make every dmg do 2 masks of dmg - so theres no reason to ever try to get mask shards or have an even number of hp countainers. Would love to debate the devs on rationale but i'd probably take 7 years to get a response back. Not a bad game just terrible finishing touches. Also by the time u get double jumps there's no way at all to disable it, you go from muscle memory instead of floating you jump. 1) Price point - it's so refreshing seeing how much content this game has for $20 USD. I didn't have high hopes for this game due to the 7 year delay. My main argument was why wouldn't they hire more people, but oh well.
2) I think its crazy - one of the best story lines of GOTY - i'd argue clair obscure was probably the only game I liked that is GOTY potential in the last 6 years of the show. Then this game comes out. I refuse to rate this poorly in relation to GOTY voting.
3) This game is extremely frustrating. First off the boss fights are the most fun I've ever had -way better than hallow knight. However, the game is extremely disrespectful to the players time - I understand a lot of souls like games like to do this - making the respawn point like 2 min away from the boss and past enemies. I feel like this is the lowest IQ move i've ever seen in the gaming industry. 4) The game dropped the ball on satisfaction beeting enemies. If they don't drop roseries there is NOTHING AT ALL you gain from beating enemies. Also bosses - I'm so unhappy - u beat them - expect a reward. And theres nothing, no chest no drops - it kinda flopped there.
That's about all the complaints I have - despite it I give this game a 9/10 that's how good it is. If u ignore the development cycle, enemy loot, respawn location I would've given this a 10/10.
This is likely one of my top 5 games ever. I'll admit this: if this game aint nostalgic you might not enjoy it that much but anyone has to admit the dark themes, the way the "nexus" changes with the story, and how cool that x and y axis flip was. There's so much b/s, I recall in 3 seperate decades 2008 on my moms work laptop on dial up searching up yt vids on the jail code 4 digit or something, then doing it in 2010's and 2020's - i can't lie, this game is unbeatable without a walkthrough, but it was innovative, fun and had a killer ending. 10/10 love you
ngl the idea of 2nd phase bosses are too epic, but now its 2nd phase playable MC - i love how well it fits with the whole "shadows die twice" which might be one of the most bad ass titles ive seen. I love this game, i think the only thing that felt meh af was knowing where to go. As a casual, take it from me, you don't play this game 12 hours a day for 2 weeks. How do I know where to go? Then there's the idea of the open world which kind of trivializes the walkthroughs. Anyways, I was soft locked by frustrating hours of walking around not knowing where to go. Also From soft one day will learn that the bosses aren't hard - they just are meant to piss you off with the long death screens (unescapable) and respawn points 30 sec away from the bosses. Oh wells. One of the best games though, big respect to Sekiro.
Edit 8--> 9: my apologies didnt know ur game. Thank you so much to the not following canon - I think it might be an alternative timeline where instead of link solo carrying 1v9, lil tea pot bro saves the time line? It doesn't matter. I like how they kind of "hint" at the canon timeline but then form their own ending. Good. IT was enlightening seeing the characters I love fully VA'd and animated. In BOTW and TOTK it feels like a blue moon (or blood moon) to see a cut scene and hear others voices, this games a tread with nearly 3 hours of cut scenes. You have one of the most slam dunk opportunities to make a 10/10 game off botw canon lore and you kinda flop. This game was told so matter of fact - like King Ronan telling us everytime "oh yeah this dude strong he going to ride the beast" I feel there's so much complexity how cool would it be like it was like, oh we're going there to scout out and find someone, or, we picked someone and then they died and there was an emotional moment and the new person (as we already know what happens later) is selected. Also there being no "somiel" / nexus to kinda chill and digest hurts these games it feels like a linear game. Not to mention how the 4 drivers were back to back to back in the game; why not spread this out? Why is everything so quick.
This is one of the most well executed games i've seen. This is not a perfect 10 for me but it's closer to a 10 than a 9; my only criticism: no mini map toggle in "non open world maps" and no map in general in those areas - the amount of times i had to reference a walkthrough as the scale and time it takes to explore comprehensively, and sometimes feeling like you're walking around for 15 minutes in a circle while enemies respawn and chase you again. It took away from my experience of the game, I wanted to go in blind no walkthrough. MI can see a really good argument: this game is so good u should explore every nook and cranny but I don't want to. Also - the exploration and fast traveling I thought was done poorly, I found myself having to walk so much or ride around the map way more than a modern game should allow. Finally, the skills - the idea of waiting 10 levels to get a skill doesn't make sense to me - every level should feel empowering and something I can capitalize on if I want to. Also the power and effect of some of these 10 cost skills were so useless. My most memorable experiences: I audibly gasped hearing the beat drop to Renoir's battle and Monoco. As an enjoyer of gaming ost's this game will get a perfect 10 out of 10 for me, I feel their song composition follows the theme of "Spanish" culture very well - can't say I've ever enjoyed the theme but now that I can associate it with the experience and character's it's a 10/10. Esqie, Monaco, Gusatvo and Venso were done so well as characters - It's sad I didn't like any of the females- I thought Maelle's VA was phenomenal but the character depth of those 4 characters were mind boggling how well they were written. Monoco is my fav character - it's like a perfect example of when you take a risk away from tropes and it resonates so well. I'm impressed by how they tied everything together. Theres so many themes and metaphors which I didnt pick up on but kinda vibe felt it out. I'm sure i'll do research on the stories later but yeah it's insane to me how they paint a "real world" then show the truth to it while still honoring the memory of what is "real vs fake." I was really impressed by the world design especially the underwater place. I thought there was so much cool things in the design - like everything was unique felt natural and did its job of filling up space in the world. Like for example the anchors. Edit: Mb, this games closer to an 11 then it is a 9 lol... after digesting the music, characters and seeing others reaction to the game - the game only gets better after completing it blind. I do find the idea of difficulty a lil weird relation as this games ridiculously easy to min max with guides that trivializes the game. Renoi une vi tie song - this might be the best song i've heard in video games - the idea of not only it sounding good, but when translated explaining actual key themes of the game - then you realize it's Renoir and Alice arguing with each other... and that is a 10/10 song? I've never seen anything quite to this level of quality -apologies for thinking it was Spanish music, it's french.
Edit - came back to give this 9-->10; anything that makes me emotional like 2 weeks after playing it will get a 10 in my book. Thinking about those deep strings at the end, also the Special attack animations like Yukari's, this game deserves nothing other than a 10. Original review:
The game feels constrained by the 2009 writing which is fundamentally different than a p5 or p4 title - i thought the amount of time spent with the group unraveling the mystery was significantly less. VA and dialogue felt based around social links, the events like plant/dog walking. I wish there was more natural or unique team building things, felt like 95% of them happened in the dorm. Also most days kinda felt the same, school entrance meet someone, class, social link, sleep. I cannot believe how trippy I felt at the end of the game, I was expecting a little more (talking about the last 1 hour or so) I think the idea of a non written end (barring the episode aigis) where the idea of the MC's death isn't explored was pretty unique that was probably free writing and character building but game was over so it is what it is. This game will be memorable. I really like Fuuka and Aigis, though BOTH were a little disappointing with the build up - aigis kinda shows up on the beach - beatiful but kinda no build up, Fuuka wasn't as broken as her character archetype would led u to believe - u just find her in Dark Hour and thats that. I'm NGL this game COOKED with animations and in game models - if a persona 6 was based on this i'd be happy. Just look at Takeba's in game smile, or Catherine's "registration" the way its so dynamic and lip sync'd its so beautiful. Disturbing the peace might be the only battle song i could listen to 9000x times but I think they need to change up battle musics i think they use that one from start to end. Battle animation is flawless as well at this point the only critique there is the system itself which Metaphor showed us we can improve ALOT for these persona games. 9/10
The amount of effort that went into this game is phenominal - to an extent it feels like they really double downed their budget to get this perfect: the VA's used and amount of lines (everything, I listened to EN btw). To an extent, this could have been a VA - if we're being honest with ourselves. But I actually am really impressed by the combat which isn't forced - it kinda feels weird that its not but it set up the stage for Unicorn overlord which might be my fav game of all time. The story is so convoluted, to an extent I don't actually like it. It's hard to get invested when u have to stop, go to some other persons story try to remeber what happened, then by then its the next day and you go back to your main persons story, and then it turns out that was Iori and not Natsuki so your brains getting crossed up by the number of people. It's just insane. Also I don't find there was any "satisfaction" for the numerous story parts. In octopath 2 i feel like EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER of an octopath leaves you feeling an emotion - it does thatso well im getting goosebumps just thinking of Agnea. As for this game, usually its more questions, running from some ppl, nothing, and that's all from what i've seen.
2025 June 8: soft locked from progressing game through obscure game mechanics that are only needed i imagine once after 30 hours of gameplay - the ancient wisdom level characters to open the stairwell. Like why? Is it to add realism? Why do they have to force players into doing this dumb crap ONE TIME IN THE ENTIRE GAME and it's something thats soft locked behind the most complicated system you've ever seen - i've cross checked chat gpt, and several yt videos - there's like a trust system v some quests that take hours? Some insect harvesting for Dromach - WHERE - WHERE DO I GO? like WHY, now i have to finish this game on yt. I don't wanna lower than game below 7 but for some reason jp devs have these terrible ideas that no one likes but they put it in anyways. It's like putting DEI in your game to have DEI. 8-->7. still think that this game has the best designed characters ive ever seen in video games, i like that Pandy's glasses and eyes became visible - not sure why but nice touch. Poppi - this is my favorite character in the game and prehaps ever. I have played and seen almost every game on this planet from 2000's to 2025 - the sheer character and everything encompassing it is so unique and pleasant that I have to just say wow. When I first played this game I wondered how BOTW can look and play like that (felt like 1 decade ahead of this game) but then you got to remember games can be better in certain places. In design and characters, this game feels like 2 decades ahead of BOTW and most i've played. It's 2025 now. I pray I find another character as enjoyable and quirky as poppy by 2037. I doubt it. durhhh win combat lose in cut scene every boss battle. I'm pretty impressed by how well this game does vs xenoblade 3. Narratives easy to follow, likeable characters, much more VA, more beautiful world. This game impressed me. Some cons I had were: Pyra's VA I was pretty happy they used non british accents for her (btw I don't mind any of the voices in this game in fact it kinda gives me metaphor vibes where I love the british va'ing) but her voice stands out too much. It just feels unnatural (EN) not to say the VA did a bad job, I just feel like there was a disconnect btw her and the scenes/sound engineers. I love Pyra's design omg, she's the reason we play this game and the game caters to us in our fantasy of protecting her with a hint of romance. Rex has been a great Protag - much better than I was expecting. Like the villians were hatable and the good guys were likable, the music SLAPS - i'm VERY impressed by the ost and worlds. It's a little sad BOTW came out before this, as I think "dang i really can't pick up anything around the map/ really intereact with the map like climbing, its kinda awkward walking around and jumping everywhere" other than collection points. The combat is pretty dang repetivive and i think the enemy scaling - its weird to see lvl 40's around with lvl8's, although I think it was cool seeing a lvl 96 trex. This is a great game. I had to come back to adjust rating from 9 to an 8. The two biggest issue this game faces: I can count maybe 10 times where you win the battle then "lose" in the cut scene - i really hope japan stops with these it comes to the point where i just accept that im going to die after every battle i win - theres one of these fights u win then lose in a cut scene (pyra turns forms) that is possibly one of the most frustraiting scenes ive ever seen. It gives you a beautiful moment, a sacrifice wasted and kinda makes me lose what respect i had in Rex. Ngl that music with the vocals made me uncomforable af - in a way thats good i knew some s*** was going to go down. Also the biggest critique I have is the map directions, I will at least say that this game tells you kind of where to go unlike a lot of games. But the ticker that tells u meters away is really bad, and also the map toggle is and there's an issue with the layering / knowing where to go - trust me. Edit:
Nia - this character grew on me so much. This might be one of my favorite VAs i've had the pleasure of listening to. So much aura and character from one girl. Character design in general: this game might have the best character design i've seen. Feels like they're so ahead of their time, like it's gatcha level design where they're just taking such insane risks and it working. Blue hair girl, pyra/mythra, Pandora, Poppi.
I don't think this game can answer the: "why am i unique" / do i exist question well at all. We don't dive in depth, at least anything memorable, into the existing cast. I feel sorry, because i love all these characters having everyone reduced to "moral one liners" such as Yusuke having a voice line "that is.. truly dispicable" every so often - we know how much we like these guys. As such, no matter how much iloved ps5r, I cannot give this anything above a 7/10. I thought Akane was interesting, and Ichinose I thought was likely the hottest character i've seen in a persona game. The story gets a little interesting after the politician lady, but then kinda stays stale - no relation building, no new plot (go to palace/jail then beat person then sad then onto next). So again why does this game exist. Anyways. One thing i was looking forward to was the resolution of how Crow and the old police lady resolve them knowing their true identity which was completely brushed off? Also Madice ceo we never see again. It just feels like ps5r dlc. 7/10
I've played since set 7.5; over 2k games diamond + every set. This game is stuck in limbo: fun (making it that people can do insane things) or no fun + balance. It's actually a hard decision. They went with the ladder. I feel like the start of sets always start the same, REROLL 2 cost mainly, then maybe 1 3cost and 1cost line up dominate - this is some of the most miserable low skill activities life has to offer. The incompetent team also can't even do "nothing" correctly - the set revivals in theory are balanced on the last patch, yet every time they "modernize" the revival set to remove the fun and what made the set fun in the first place. They hit the limit on creativity in terms of system design, champions, and really aren't willing to push to try something new. I respect some members on the team, i feel the direction **** but giving new content every 4 months is impressive. It's pretty sad, i don't think in any other game I can beat the best player in the world 90% of the time assuming I had like ~80% "luck" (items, units in shop, augs) bellcurving.
Not nearly as satisfying as the 1st game. I felt the gameplay felt significantly less intuitive and satisfying as the first game. I felt as though there was a huge barrier - i get its not a romance but having just IRIS as the main girl in the 1st and now, having way more in this game it felt like we weren't protecting anything, just solving the half body mysteries. I dont think the plot twist was anywhere as satisfying and it felt weird that Date and iris took a WAY stepped back role in this game after the first. So yeah, IMO worse story, characters, and plot twist. I feel like the AIBA of this game was fine af - the VA was all on point and plentiful.
This game is so beautiful. I feel like you're kind of lost at first but the english VA really helped me connect to the game and characters. Some notable parts of the game: I love their representation of dementia; Iris's "mincraft" world vs the true Iris path. I love the plot twist of when the chief answers your questions - that might be one of my fav memories in video gaming - when everything clicked it was so satisfying. The game treats you to lovable characters - so many clickable things, and alot of VA'ing. I really liked this game. It felt a little unsatisfying with some of the endings, it felt like I was running away if they were bad, and if they were good like the Mizuki ending - that was "removed" from the truetime line. I was impressed by how well they drip fed you info over the timelines that didn't feel linear. The gameplay was suprisingly fun as well - I felt like there was actual strategy when picking the options where I didnt need to search a walkthrough. i think the only thing i'd improve to this game is the replayability factor? Is that fair, probably not, because that's all story games. I wish we got more emotions maybe? It was hard to convey feelings in this format prehaps. Where it's face moving + text box, live action, or living out the persons memories in the somium - it just felt a little out of the moment but I think for Mizuki's end it really helped it out.
This review is purely based on my experience locked behind the map / directions, locating where to go for 3 hours is the most miserable experience in the game, go to the pointer on the map!! Did you try that? Yes... This is likely the most frustrating experience i've ever experienced. Is that a fair review? Am i expected to go to a walkthrough to know where to go? I accept that my review is ignorant, but, in my opinion, if your games not user friendly and the directions are this complex, it just highlights how good other games like BOTW, PS5r and how much they outclass games like this.
Review update 9-->10. Apologies I wasnt familiar with your game. This games a 10, although I have no doubt the critiques on yt are fully legit and i have some of my own, the story was phenominal - i kinda just brute forced beating ganon instead of see the whole story lines. Hence my change from 9 to 10, but still the nostalgia of Tulin, the Zelda story line, mineru - these are pure nostalgia in 3 years I have no doubt. Pros:
WAY better and actually difficult boss fight - faught final boss with no dodging mechanic, soilder set 2 star upgrade all, and 6 hearts, i imagine that might be why? I like that you can't just yellow heart ftw or sundelion all your hearts back. Also it was a huge gauntlet of back to back fights - my 5 savage lynel bows and 12 gerado spears with white mane horns were barely enough. The game added in some things that made me drop my jaw - the fuse mechanic - i thought "genius" when i saw it, ultra hand gluing. Then theres the dragon fight at the end - i feel like they could have done way more there - it was epic and sick esp at night time but would be cool to see not just at the end. Octorocks cooked. Love em. Fighting some of these bosses have been the most fun ive had in gaming period. Hinox when you don't know the shooting eyeball mechanic, obsidian gleeox when you only have a +25 bow and 5 hearts. I've spent so many work day the next morning, playing til 2:30 am knowing ill have a bad time tommorow, but being so close to beating gleeox/bone hinox @ rito village place. Cons:
I feel like the under and over world werent nessessary, added depth and some insane world scaling but idk - top world just felt like tutorial island + get sundelions, depths just seemed like way to get to final boss + pristine wpns. The intro part to the game - I thought the story telling was very weak, i like how the ending map connects to the start - that was lovely. But yeah absolutely, this game dropped the ball on the story - i was waiting for goosebumps at any time of the game like when I played botw. I can't say it was there. The game feels like DLC -I couldn't believe they used the same "world" I thought to myself: uhhh so its just botw over again but u get cool contraptions, replace shrines, and thats all? My expectation was that when Zelda fell and i was pulled to another world, that would be the connector for why the story had a new map - but nope it was the same. Anyways, if u like the game and hate me - it is what it is follow ur own opinions -why does mine matter. For prospective, i probably put 2-3x more time into totk than botw, botw i feel i could have beaten in 10 hours with durians, weapons from the castle. This games too ez - just added this point here. I have cleared king gleeox, the Lynel gauntlet, final boss, i checked online and there appears to be nothing else "harder" in my opinion the only struggle I had was the final gauntlet to beating the end boss including beating the white manned lynel, every enemy along the way, and only having sidion and riju so I had to fight like 6 bosses back to back with no info on them or knowledge of flurry rushes, also no "gloom protection" I didnt know that was a thing until now...That was the first time ive ever had to stop and reset in botw or totk. But im seeing people go into the final boss with 4x more hearts then me and all 4 sages, and i think u can beat the phantom ganon phase before hand. Not their fault - but is there even a point in a final boss if u can just afk and win?
Procrastinated playing this game for like 5-6 years, finally got around to playing it - i dont think any game in my life has made me drop my mouth more than this. As someone who played genshin, pokemon scarlet / sword ect... - this game puts those to SHAME, i can't believe how insanely good this game is. Going around and talking to people - there's life - id say the only weak part its its the same ppl in same locatiosn at same time, but the dialogue i feel changes with the game - like even bums. GOsh darn, this music is good too. The combat - iHATE 3d gameplay like live action - this is one of the better ones. I can't beleive how masterful it feels swapping from melle, bow and shield. I think besides a few flaws which im sure is due to my ignorance, i wish the progression of gear was better - i thought weapons its interesting that 100% of my dmg is from loot i pick up. Weapons were fine, but i thought armor progression was meh af - i went from the gerado desert set to full ancient armor lol... from there, a few durians and the game was obsolete - no matter. I feel like the whole Zelda franchise led up to this point, everything so well integrated -I have tried alot of zelda and I didnt like them AT ALL. This one was amazing, just felt like i knew what i was doing and how to do it. BOTW i give u one of the highest ratings of my 10/10 games ive ever rated.
I dont wanna leave too long of a review - finished this game 2-3 years ago, surpsingly strong direction from pokemon. This game has some of the coolest sceneries and pokemon, there's nothing in the world better than seeing a flying togekiss. I think the idea of pokemon charging you isso thoughtful - i waspalying pokemon scarlet - theres no life to these pokemon standing in pack and doing nothing. They could improve A LOT on this concept though, why is the sea just 99% magikarp and gyados though... Also after playing BOTW, lots of things they can do better... Good game.
This is the pinnacle of sea game genres. Although the replayability is a little meh (you already know all the monsters and events) - the first run you have with this game is so memorable. This made me explore into the sea game genre and I don't think i saw anything quite like this, people point to Subnaughtica which I swear is the most complicated game ive ever played. The lastboss is so BS because u spend all this time getting wpns and upgrades only to use some plot wpn for 100% of the fight. I think the game focuses on its great gameplay but here me out - it gets repeptitive and grindy - there comes a part of the game you dont feel like fishing for sharks, tuna, ect... Also the characters - though the atmosphere is lovely i wish there were more elements/things to do with other characters - its somewhat static / event prompts. I give this a 9. One of the best games ive played.
I feel like this game, the nostalgia of chilling in a bar - it's such a unique experience. The nostagia is definetly better than experiencing it but something makes me come back to this game every few years. It's a fun game with loveable characters and good endings. It's VERY hard to force endings, and the long gameplay feels tedious after a while, even with autoplay... I give this an 8 due to story, pacing, uniqueness, character, atmosphere those are all 9 or 10's, gameplay, "illusion of choices" and a repetitive system of climb blocks + pull L or R string, then repeat 20 times. "AH YEAH ALRIGHT WE DID IT TKSKSTKTSKTKTKTTKSHTK."
This is easily the worst tactics game i've ever played - it attempts to do some novel things like the auction which is probably my fav part of the game, but overall this game feels terrible to play without any prior experience to the franchise or game. Skill crack, leader skills unset, turn order, extra turns. There's so many concepts that are so bizzare and don't work IMO. Ultimately, the gameplay feels like I'm going to my local library and emailing the binary input to a 3rd party who manually moves some chess piece around for me and I see the input afterwards. I know that doesn't make sense but what i'm trying to say is, this game is so alienating, hard for no reason, and clunky to play. Props to the game for a full VA and english cast though.
I review this after have beaten that Oltura? Final drake - this game cooked. I can't believe how stylistic, and beautiful the world is - right when u load up in Hulukaka? Village - the water, the characters - everythings teaming with life. This is my first MH game ive played - i tried a live combat MH game, although i despised that game. I think this game kinda simplifies the MH system and the game felt really approachable. I dislike how the grinding/leveling monsties are so tedious to remember/look up the atk type - it takes 5 minutes to kill a monster like 5-10 levels below. But as for the story battles - i find the combat system is very fun and allows you to beat bosses with like 10-15 levels higher than you as you can just win via head-tohead battles. Though that's nice griding EXP is miserable and takes so long. Also i wish there was better info on eggs -like when u can go to prior stages and can get 5-7 rarity eggs. I gave this a 8.4/10, ratou village was my fav for ost, if you take time and just walk around - u notice how beatiful and well designed everything is to adapt to this human monstie world.
Credentials: 100%'d the game, beat fe3h maddening 9x times (inverse builds - i.e phys atk/swordmaster Lysithea, ap/grimory Edel ect), fe engage hardest diff 6x times (classic maddening, 0 deaths + all on 1 turn brought final boss from 100% untouched to 0% hp). This 2015 gem feels like a breath of fresh air - honestly, the writing/characters, the POWER it feels when you conduct and the beat drops right when the buff/debuffs are applied to all enemies/allies - this game is fun. For clear conscience I will say, this game lacks a lot in creativity in battle - i can count like 30 times the goal is to survive, kill all or kill x number. Meanwhile the harbringer/boss team stands in place and looks menacingly EVERY STAGE. As for the plot, i thought it wasn't bad - it made it for CONTEXT for the NUMBEROUS BATTLES - honestly the battling is an eyesore general tactics games has what? 20 main battles and some system to side battle but this i think ive battled/tuned 40 battles im tired boss. These are some AMAZING girls btw, Mordi hilda and Sakuya are stand outs, they are such a breath of fresh air - almost like pretty good TO great VN elements with the girls. BTW MORDI might be one of my fav units of all time - nothing related to her combat btw - in fact might have the worst kit of all time. Her floating noise with those dam boots and her phrase of "mor" really grows on u. Orbs - lets talk orbs. GOOD really fun system - i think the equipment was 1D - just buy from bianca shop and every 2-3 stages stuff gets better - and thats where BIS comes from. But orbs - although i think the system for buying and refinding are flawed - the combinations u can create and the fun of getting a 2x slot orb --> 3 and so on is pretty fun. I wish they clarified what worked with skills though, pretty annoyingso id be teching out all my units with hit, dodge up orbs, then atk up and def up orbs - pretty impressed by the number of "follow up" orbs and items u can get. Dorthy's kit was PHENOMINAL i really liked her - had a clear identity with lower hp = more dmg,guts, desperation orbs, dodge orbs. I will admit i played liketeh first 4 ch in 2019 and picked it up in 2024 - why? Cause the ost was banger then i realised how good the art/girls were and knew i had to play it again - im glad i did though. The reason i dropped it was bc i thought the tiles, mvmt - no rally system, "NTR" level plot where u just feel so helpless - every game has this moment but this one was on a different level to the point of annoying. It didnt feel like the combat was good - and tbf its prolly not until u get Nonoka part of the game. The games clearly flawed though with the free time - its a lie - cause u NEED TO SPEND THE TIME with relations - even then u can only max out like 5 ppl max i think. Also the NTR levels of disrespect - 2ndlast battle: DURHHHH AL WITCHES REQUIRED - pick btw ur other 10 ppl and pick 2. I think FE3h does the unit slots for combat the best - u know its going to be 10-12 for most then 12-14 on last map. U are lvling these noobs from 1 to 50. I do think the FE's liek SS are aight for the late game unit u throw into ur team like Geese/Echidna - the power ur not acclamated to. I enjoyed Alto as a character, and they DONT follow the anime trope of never directly having girls feelings in the open esp in har - em anime HOLY THESE ENDINGS my jaw dropped bruhs out here. Anyways - combat 4/10 early game by late game 9/10 (orbs, hilda strats, items, dorthea, sakuya - it gets better). Plot 8/10 if u close ur eyes to the fact the harbringers could have just been honest instead of pretend to be evil to create context for battles. Characters 8/10 - lowered by 2 just for Keith and Rusty. Carried by Hilda, morti and Sakuya/Nonoka. Pacing of econ - 9/10 - im actually pretty impressed -not enoughgold to buy everything in the shop at end game but enough for my best units, i was able to buy lots of upgrades most moments of the game. The exchange sells i thought was dumb but actually by late game it smoothed out the income well. Controllability of fight outcomes - 7/10 - kinda plays itself out or maybe u play the orb/wpn. Also side note im really happy thers a way to see nonoka and dortheas faces. Good game. I think mobility and range doesnt creep up at all throughout the game. Stella glow i give u a 9/10.
I've been carefully planning what i'd write here for the last 2 weeks, it's been a LONG time coming but im so happy to write this and give it a 10. I cried, i laughed i had fun and I broadened my horizon. I'm not sure about others but i thought this was just smt5 dlc or some knockoff - some "persona" their magnum opus francise stand in. I regret those words and if i could metaphorically i would slit my tongue out if i could hear myself now. After 100% here's my review: gameplay - this gameplay while it's confusing you kind of laugh "sooo archetypes are personas" yes. But as someone who 100%'d ps5r this gmaeplay ratio's ps5r its not even close - its just so fun and dynamic - theres strategies its not a persona spamming best abilities and buying your BIS equipment from the hanged man's airsoft shop from 0% -100% of the game. I'm so glad they took a risk with their gameplay - i thought smt5 and ps5r IS aweful unintuitive and lame. For instance - you rank up your allies in ps5r - in ps5r: oh ok u can fart and walk at the same time. in metaphor: unlocks cool new UI, new archetype classes, more cooking, ect... The turn crystals while confusing at first i feel like it's a masterpeice of a system - you have 100% control of the outcome of the fight. Characters - idc if theres no romance - Eupha, STROLH, gallica holy man - they nailed it. I was wondering how persona 6 would top persona 5, i doubted even morgana was toppable but i can see now never doubt Atlus... Although id say Hulken, Heismay was kind of average - the MC having 1 voice line every 1 hour was kinda weird - i didnt really liek the mc. Plot - i REALLY enjoyed the context they gave - it was so wacky, contestants being immortal frmo a glowing rock in the sky - but it just fits "fantasy" so much i love it. I thought the big plot twists were kinda - didnt hit hard at all - id sa ythere was just 3 More being ur dad, the voice being ur mom and the whole reality v fantasy - i thought it was badass hearing of our world from a fantasy book. I detested the persona same fight - u tp to the dude and "ill reveal ur true form" the live action to turn based was REALLY good ngl i was sweating when i first played i thought it was a live action game which woulve pissed me off. Although i think the ending was pretty clichhe andhonestly -bad - i loved louis as an enemy so confident. The boss fight was INSANE too it was well paced. This is the first atlus game i played that has death - so much death. Non of them felt like death for death - i thought grius' really throwed us into the world man. Now that i think about it - the allies have stories - its hard to expect a masterpeice like octopath 2's stories from each of them but i thought the side stories were pretty weak. I know its hard but yeah. Ireally enjoyed the art style it was like getting hit by a breath of fresh air seeing gallica after getting hit off the side of the row at the start. I expected the last boss music to go a lilharder - il lstill give this game a 9/10 for music - some real bangers - archetype went hard. The places u go are so breath taking - i cant believe how MUCH there is and why it looks so pretty. Metaphor - i bestow onto u the highest rating i can give - 10/10
Obviously, this game has improved easily 1000 things that are so much better than the 1st. Most important thing in my opinion was adding in amazing va's. The first game has no portraits just pixel walking model and no voice, i feel those two things really alienate the characters so having at least one helps and the va team (english) killed it. I'm not sure how much of a fan i was that the best items in the game were just things you find around the map. Not shop items not boss drops just general finds. There were alot more pairings I think that would be interesting instead of the current crossed path duos, but oh well it's a lot of work. I enjoyed a lot of the characters stories, it was lovely in fact. I think Hikari was the most memorable? Or prehaps Throne? They're all good, i really enjoyed this game, I REALLY liked the map monsters like the shark in the water, the octopuff grinding, the armsmaster/weapon location finding (I thought the others like the arcanist and inventor were usless except for the stats), Oh right, the musics a 10/10 easily, the quality and fit of each area and the day and night sometimes i'd just chill some place and take it all in bruh i love it.
Emblem system: I have been a die hard fe fan for 2 decades, only emblem I didn't know was sigurd. I wasn't a complete fan of the emblem concepts - using heroes from other games as the main concept for this new title. I loved these heroes (except marth) in their own game but they don't add much, in fact they take away from the emersion and stab at the legacy of these characters -albeit, it was quite fun eagerly awaiting the next emblem just based on name - you kind of know who the instructor, fates, and azure twins are but the others are a mystery - and the gender they'd use. The opening animation where we kill sombron took away alot from the game as well, I ALREADY knew that they would join the team even if they were enemies at the time just cause i saw them earlier... and i know what sombron looks like and that we beat him, also it kinda felt surreal having the end play at the start. Also it left me thinking there would be another stage v sombron - as the final battle doesnt take place in the intro battle, unlike fe awakening/fates. Melding bond rings - this is the worst execution of a concept i've seen, the only saving grace is that there is a point in the game you only have 1 ring so it supplements that but these melded rings always get outscaled by emblems, i like the idea and the fact they used the older game art but yeah it's a waste of bond frag which you'll have easily 40k to spare by the end after collecting achivements. Combat:
This game starts reasonably, by chapter 15 or so things get impossible, it feels like the mvmt of units get way too high too earlier resulting in a 1 shot to your back line. Eventually the weapon triangle is a non-factor, you have likely 4 people on your team that can take and do damage (usually a speed/armored), then the other 8 get one shot or do no damage. I thought the game required a lot of grinding, even in sacred stones the free roam grind was more reasonable. Silver and gold corrupted have to be farmed like 6 times just to get enough SP (2k lets say) for a skill. Speaking of which, i enjoyed the skills there were several new ones (maybe they're in fe heroes idk) like lunar brace, momentum, last stand, speed taker. These made me salivate to get but going from 6 to 2 skills u can equip is kinda disgusting, but given that you won't even have enough sp to inheret 2 skills by the end of the game even after grinding 10 silvers you won't even notice the 2 skill slots. Although, I thought it was really fun picking an emblem though with the stats (like corrins hp) then the skills you want. General:
The game's tone... i can't believe the 180 from fe3h. The idea of war has kinda been toned down, in favour of things similar to genshin i.e. the look which im okay with it takes like 15 min to adjust to and realise its pretty good. Scavaging ores and cooking supplies feels terrible and the idea of exploring a map after you win on it is novel at first but usually you don't care. Adopting pets didn't really do anything cool. This game might have the worst QOL ive seen... NOTHING MAKES SENSE, want to get a skill? go back to somial then go to training then fight the emblem (yeah there def needs to be a fight here it def matters!!) then go back then go to inventory go to manage skills then add it. I know it soundsself explanatory but there are SO many moments in the game i want to do something, anything, and it just tkaes like 5-10 min... upgrading ur sword? uhhh go beat things pick up the orego to somial go to forger have enough gold, upgrade!!! Want to move all your units up to the main character in battle without engaging everyone? Not possible, gotta move them all by hand (still no multi select btw!) As much as I disliked the games watered down war/mature tone, the qol, the combat pacing, the system/skills, this game is indeed good compared to the next best tactics game. Generally speaking the game has taken a few steps back from fe3h and some forward. Fe3h has the most unremarkable plot and really only 1 emotional scene in any path you play (the same one for all, though i won't spoil). Engage's plot was amazing with several - sometimes unneeded emotional moments. ALSO somehow they managed to make even better characters - there were many I disliked in fe3h like ferdiant (love the en va, rip) and purple hair noble, tons of unremarkable ones like leonie too. Engage I didn't hate a single person here except sombron human form. As for the music I listened to fe3h music at work and never appriciated it in the moment so I tried my hardest to appriciate engage's music. I am unimpressed by it though, fe3h has so much life i can't think of a track under 9/10 but for engage its not all there, the Sohm was phenomenal and the ending vocal song was nice. Oh speaking of which the opening song is like soooo not fire emblem, as a die hard fan i almost cried that the game **** when i heard the opening and played the tutorial. Plot 9/10, char 10/10, va 10/10, music 7/10, qol 2/10 combat 8/10
Easily the worst game I've ever played. The tutorials - you realize how bad this game is when you vs Illidan, and you notice his character can attack and summon 2 cards per turn while you can't. Then I pvp someone and I start with 30 hp and they have 35 hp, like, why is that a thing? When you go to the main menu for the first time, you're bombarded with 20 different pop ups like its a mobile game. After 10 minutes I happily uninstalled and will go back to TFT.
I got the not true ending, which I'm satisfied with. I know you get the true ending by listening to Airy but it was too painful to know i'm falling into a trap. Otherwise, this game is fantastic. It has a pretty straightforward system for dialogue with full voice acting and movement around the map. I think the map design was amazing, I loved Florum and Anchiem, felt really unique and the themes/plot was integrated in the map design such as the citizens turning the cog wheels and the whole town was about cogs. It had a really strong core - good turn based, classes with a unique system (such as stat changes based on class and equip ranks) and the abilities. Somewhere along the lines the game becomes obnoxiously difficult at random places - with the main story line being easy AF - for example, Ch 7 Crowne was literally 2x harder than the final boss. I would have liked to see the sub quests LATER ON explored more - such as the vampire castle, what are these dragons and why am I killing them? The location and markings for the dragon were so cool and exploring for them was awesome but what are they? Also, I thought the amount of times I would end up at a crystal awakening it, going to the pillar of light and repeating I was going to go crazy... Not to mention hearing the same dialogue and awakening things. Opening knocked it out of the park ~prior to the vampire castle 9.1/10; 5-10 hours after that and after doing a few new worlds 8.5/10. Overall with the ending and slow pace and repetitive endings 8.1/ 10.
This game is not a masterpiece but does exactly what it needs to do. It tells a story the whole way through on a unique concept - things you forget in life. That sock under the bed, those headphones you threw away, that iPhone you discard to go to the next one - the world is built around this concept and in a lovely fashion. I can't get over how orchestral the music is and how uniform and aesthetic the game is. I think the parkour is pretty random, platforming things and puzzles seem like a decent way to add depth to the game and not just have it as a movie. I guess that's one advantage games have over movies - choices and different outcomes from the watcher. I can't say the ending is satisfying, and I have no idea how to see the other endings without playing it again. I thought the VA's for the forgotlings were all weird. But after you notice that its that way on purpose, the forgotlings have a unique charm which is pretty consistent - while Bonku and Anne, humans, have crisp and nice voices. The two outliers were Tiffany and Fig, I'm not sure if this is connected to anything - but the characters are very well done. Graphics 9.5/10 - I like how contrasting the opening visuals are from the game, also the opening animations as well. I wish they played with those other art styles as well. 9/10 music - there was never an out of place music, but at the same time, there were no marquee tracks the likes of Radiant historia, Nier. Plot 8/10 - while the plot twist was obvious it doesn't take away from the story - however, the ending does. The pacifist ending is abrupt and feels like your playing that game where everyone in a group says a sentence to make a story. Its your turn and you have to end it up - thats what this games ending is. Sufficient but unsatisfying. Otherwise, big ups to this game for the unique and well done concept of the forgotlings. Gameplay 3/10 - lol, in a vaccumm just looking at the gameplay, no pretty music or graphics, this game **** lol. Run around, parkour, get pushed around the map beyond the realms of physics, chase some dude, move some gears this way that way, go to a walkthrough after you give up on a puzzle - see the answer and still wonder how its a puzzle.Overall - strong 8/10.
An easy pick-up and one of my favorite games of all time. It does everything correct, and goes beyond it as well. Story 10/10 - It took a while for the game to catch on for me, so I guess there's a slow-start. But when you're invested, you'll be playing this game for 10 hours up until 8 am. It is extremely captivating, and while this is the first time i've played a multiple time line game, i feel it was done perfectly. While ppl recommended playing the game without Nemesia (a mode i forgot the name of), im glad I didn't. The base game is perfect, and nemesia just added a tone completely different from the game - a safe haven on a ship floating in a different dimension. It completely takes away the tension that the game has you under, feeling like your being chased and constantly on the move. So don't start off with that mode. 8/10 Design - I suppose one of the weaker points is the graphics. Tbh while I think it has its own charm, it can easily be counted as rough and pixelie. I enjoy the portrait art and the fact the graphics are consistant throughout the whole game. I think the textbooks are a little bizzare but it doesnt make the game unplayable. 11/10 Music - bruh, I can literally hear the music. I study to the music. Skalla, Dunamis, Alistel - this game has so much fantastic music - saying otherwise is just bait. The songs have so much life and theme that perfectly matches the area of the game. I suppose the only music that is lacking is the combat - i believe it is the same DUN DUN soundtrack every battle. Besides that, this is like aaaaaa, slightly below Nier. Weakest parts of the game: running around dodging everyone, going invis, moving from place to place, moving barrels and exploding them; going online to find which time line to go to 2 progress the story // get a route. The combat is extremely repetitve for "bench mob" enemies. In terms of the overall combat its fucing amazing. But im not trying to sit around planning my turns, stat boosting, combo seeking against random enemies - its a well though out turn based combat but for bosses.
Gameplay 4/10 - battles are fun and unique. Way too many monster and event encounters - also many pointless things that just take up time. It feels bad to move, as i await a monster encounter which I would just run away from. It's basically impossible to traverse the map while staying sane. Design 7/10 - Unique - but i feel over done how the whole game is built on cards, from the map to the combat to the monsters to the characters. I feel like the map could have been not cards. While it feels unique and cool at the start, it just seems clunky how your card moving around the map moves from card to card. Music 8/10? - That one soundtrack is so Nier-esqe I couldn't help but love this game the first hour of gameplay. I can't really recall the other music but yeah the music is the best part of the game. Overall unsatisfying how the ivory trio, or some other guy shows up after you beat a boss - so u traverse through 100 random monster encounters to kill a boss just to have the excitement taken out when someone else shows up. Really? The framework for this game had potential, but definitely tarnished by the gameplay and plot direction.
Unique turn-based combat that's satisfying. Only some things are viable - things like staffs and some summoned guys abilities are terrible. NPC interaction and shops are pretty bad - most upgrades feel useless. Stage 3 is done poorly, it ups the difficultly by probably increasing the damage of monsters of 200% without any power ups and the same upgrades. Very poorly done - especially because stage 3 is needed to beat the game. 7/10 pretty good if you play one or two runs a day and never do stage 3
On paper, this game should be a strong 8 to low 9. Only rating this as 0 b/c no way it deserves an 8.5 user score. One of, if not the best OST I've heard in video games in general. The graphics are trendsetting while still paying homage to the old JRPG ways. Despite this, so much is done wrong. Key things. I don't play a JRPG for a linear and story I'm thrown into. I wouldn't pick up a traveller to see a new story. This game needs a remastered + remaked ASAP. Full voice-acting, more in game artwork (if the game was themed around those fantastic drawings, imagine how much better this game would be), portrait models and a more thought out and interesting stories. Also it's extremely confusing on what to do - I feel like the game has no main quests/story. Why am I picking up other travellers and seeing their prologue too when I can just do that picking them at the start? If I was picking them up, why can't there be any unique relations/dialogue things. Many QOL improvements needed as well - random combat events are annoying af and makes me want to stop playing - I think cut it out entirely or maybe in game monster sprites - boost the exp rate/hp which would make the long waiting in combat more bearable.
Great game with a unique vibe around the idea of mid-life things like starting a family, relaxing at a bar after work, meeting other girls (one way or another), and making decisions that feel important. The gameplay may be enjoyable - it's definitely unique. It feels very infuriating, especially when the story is that great - it feels like the puzzles are just a 20-40 minute cooldown on it; in addition to the Diva popping out and taking you out of the moment, lots of ways the game delays / prolongs the stories. I think the game/main story is enhanced by the other people's dialogue but often is unrelated - just like irl. I'd much prefer watching a playthrough of a full route and any dialogue from that character/relating to that "girl" than playing it out. Would easily be a 9-10 if that was a thing. But is a 7-8 as it is, I just don't like how slowed down the game is.
This game is visually unique; in my opinion, the rating is far too high. I felt like it was a chore to open steam and play this. I'm not sure where the enjoyment comes from - you walk around collect flying things then progress. Def not puzzles, or a platformer. Respect to the devs but yeah - pass
not a review. a rant. Although not my fav genre, the graphics are extremely charming and everything looks tight and simple. I feel frustrated at many of the puzzles and progression of the game - like the racoon for instance. If you aren't paying attention, you get tp'd to another identical area without the raccoon, and when I refer to walkthroughs some don't mention that this mechanic. I walk around and think I just broke the game leaving me to reload and come back, go back to the village to talk to the girl (is it really more crazy that I didn't talk to someone in the village than it is that I was teleported to an identical area?) and went back to see no raccoon. Restarted from a new game to try to find him and yeah. **** is expected to be played with a walkthrough, it ain't good. I feel like there were so many things I tried to do to find the raccoon (1 puzzle of many I'm sure) that I want to say the puzzles are unreasonable and unintuitive.
I agree with the user ratings but not the critics, definitely not near an 8/10. This game is amazing, to be Frank. Any level of player can pick it up and enjoy it, it expands on the core mechanics of what the FE series did amazingly (combat). This includes the blacksmith - which to my knowledge was the precursor of fe3h. Also, an in-game model where you move freely which brings the sprites to life well. I didn't think I'd like the "double party" system within one game, but overtime both the two seperate parties became fun to play. The promotion system was also very generous and rewarding, also super satisfying to hear the statue music and the promotions. The characters were super likeable or hateable, but regardless all art and sprites looked amazing and consistent. The look is very unique to the FE games but it works. I thought the way they used a "pad wheel" for the auto battling made farming and combat super simplified. I do recall an overabundance of dragons just everywhere, I believe in the Cecilia route - having more enemy diversity may have helped at certain stages. Also new to the FE titles was the voice acting - I am so happy this game had top level voice acting all the way through - even a year after beating the game, I can hear the voices of each character pretty vividly every time I see the characters. This game is amazing and is a must play for any one that enjoys turned based combat and army building.
I disagree with the critic review score. At a $20 price point and no experience to advance wars or FE, I can see the appeal of this game. However, the game feels uninspired and lacking in many departments - simple things like scrolling to units, attacking, capturing, fighting are just not up to far with any fire emblem game - even Sacred Stones from 2004 (this is a 2019 game btw). The tutorials are long-winded, and there should be a way to skip them, the fighting is almost never-ending with the enemies spawning a unit almost every turn and the AI occasionally running away if you move back. By the 4th map I was 20 turns in, and was just having things spawned - and killed and so on... Not to mention there is "passive" healing on major characters for some reason. Moving units is a pain in the *, an auto-move would be useful; not to mention again - how bad the moving of each character feels, if your 1 box outside of the movement it will deselect the character and then you need to move your cursor to select the guy again, then move again. These are just small things that take away from such a simplistic game, like making the "map" smaller than what the screen can offer - like, why? In terms of battling - there's nothing exciting. Do yourself a favour and just play FE3h or any FE that's not fates or shadow dragon or heroes or warriors. Some things this game does well: the pixel art in the maps is done nicely, the characters feel unique like the MC but not someone I want to root for. That's about it, i'd probably take a 2000's advance war over something released 20 years (this game) later.
placeholder for now. fe fates has many new concepts which are used in fe echo and fe3h. I was amazed by the portrait improvements intitially. New weapon classes, a "zoom in" look, a "nexus" to idle between fights rather than just being a spite on a map or a menu. Also, the idea of expanding on the typical fe plot to date - X is special because (nobility). Evil people come and do evil things - i need to stop them. I stop them. They were manipulated behind the door by inhumans (insert dragon or other thing). Beat thing. Title card. Don't get me wrong - best s*** ever, but damn was it repetitive. This game went out and was like, there are two houses! Fight gogoogo. I think the idea was special and was built upon in fe3h. Cons: The bizzare and repeating sounds for every textbox was very infuriating. I thought the class system was inferior to prior games. The difficulty was not, imo, fine tuned in fe standards. the grinding by doing non main story quests was pretty weird imo.
