March 2024
Well, that was a month gone by that was entirely consumed by FFVII Rebirth. Though my general progress is not much to note, I don’t regret even a second of it. Now with Rebirth out of the way I have fully dived back into FFXIV and plan to finally start on the Heavansward expansion (though I’m currently and fervently grinding all job levels to at least 30 and maybe 50). Of course, I’ll probably drop that again to continue FFVIII at some point, but we shall see. Still, a very JRPG time of year for me it seems though I still plan to keep up with MK1 and Tekken when time allots.
Goddesses now walk amongst the Earth. To continue getting praise and worship many become idols but not all idols are equal.
A pretty decent VN that has you work with two goddesses that wish to become great idols like some of their peers. What’s more you have a familial like relationship with one of the great divine idols. Help these two rise in their popularity and enter a contest where they just may get to spread their divinity on stage around the world. The first thing to note is this seems to have decent production value with nice quality images and animations as well as voice work. The one thing that kept keeping me off guard were the number of musical sequences that made me think it was the ending sequence of the game… but then the game kept going. It isn’t a bad thing, just a bit of whiplash and possibly some lack of thought on my end. This game does get pretty fan servicey, but nothing out right lewd.
Rating? 7/10
Recommend? Kinda? To be honest, I kind of grew bored with it towards the end and didn’t care for some of the character paths.
I should start by saying that I genuinely hate mobile games. Everything about them just doesn't work for me. Yet, because Square likes to hide story in these (Kingdom Hearts >.>), I decided to start it when it released last year when I needed to take an hour bus to get to work. After much fatigue and weariness I ended up putting it down and only recently picked it back up on Steam… and I still hate it.
To no wonder, the game is plagued with the same cheaply implemented gameplay and microtransaction hell that most mobile games have. If you want to progress the actual every crisis story, you'll have to play through some of the original FFVII chapters as well as Crisis Core chapters before making much progress. Even when you do make progress in the new story, it takes a long while before anything happens. By that time, you've reached late game which not even an astounding amount of grinding will get you far. In fact, to progress you need a lot of RNG when you synthesize materia to not only get a high quality one but also has the stats you need. It's ridiculous, incredibly and utterly ridiculous. The gacha portion of the game mostly just gives you different weapons, though rolling enough times will give you stamps to unlock limited time costumes for the game which are the only positive thing in this game… if it didn't require an unholy hell amount of time to get the crystals to roll the gacha in the first place.
Recommend? Not in the slightest. I… I think I'll just have to watch the story in an online video.
Rating? 1/10
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541st Playthrough Time: 110 hours
1st Playthrough Difficulty: Dynamic
1st Playthrough Final Level: 49
To be honest, this review is a little hard to write as this game had consumed my life for a month. Where do I start? What’s the best way to transition between points? How do I fully convey my pure enjoyment and awe of the entire experience? Well, let’s start with this: Rebirth improves upon FFVII Remake in every way possible. Probably the most frequent feeling for most of these categories, and the game itself, was… “wait… THERE’S MORE!?” in the most genuine and great way possible.
Combat
Though the combat at a base level is still very much the same action RPG it has been incredibly expanded with the synergy system. The synergy system allows unique interactions between characters like never before, deploying powerful combination attacks and even buffing your team. First, there is synergy abilities give either an offensive or defensive attack without needing to use up ATB charge (your means of using abilities, items, etc.). They are often great to use in a tactical situation such as needed to block lots of damage, hit enemies out of reach, and even build up ATB quickly. These abilities often work with a wide range of characters per character so you rarely have to worry about not activating them once unlocked. Synergy abilities are massive and more unique to a specific pair of characters that do lots of damage, stun, and apply a powerful buff for the duo enacting it. These buffs include anything from increasing ATB segments, no mana costs, increase stagger duration, and upgrading your limit break to the next level. Since these abilities are so powerful they require a bit of setup. First and foremost having the correct team members to activate and second you have to build synergy charges by using abilities that cost ATB charges (the more ATB charges cost the more synergy you build up). Admittedly, I didn’t completely understand this system and assumed much until about 60 hours into the game as I thought it was related to stagger and not ATB cost. In some fairness, even on dynamic difficulty, most fights didn’t give me a chance to use these abilities until maybe late game when it started to pick up a bit so I never had the chance to really test these theories. Speaking of Dynamic difficulty, it felt like it took a long while before the game adjusted to a difficulty that I felt challenging. It probably wasn’t until the final few chapters of the game where it really went into full effect whereas everything before that was pretty easy. Still, every boss battle I fought, and even most regular enemies, felt amazing (with maybe the exception of one). Anything I ever had trouble with merely required me to think of a different way to go about the situation (and sometimes maybe remember how Elemental actually works).
Combat in Short: The newly added synergy system creates a fun and new way for your characters to interact during combat while also giving us visually dynamic abilities. Dynamic difficulty is slow to calibrate to your skill level (hard is not available from the start). All fights feel amazing, save for maybe one bird in the sky.
Exploration
I’ll keep this portion short as this and story easily have the most to surprise new players. Exploration is exceptionally phenomenal. Without fail, each new area surprised me just as much as the last and even after all that surprised again. Exploring every area, whether it be overworld or in a dungeon, felt like it was so carefully and well crafted. Certainly you do get some ideas carried over from other games like towers that pin point certain locations of interest, but it definitely carries itself in a better way (I felt). The music creates an atmosphere that matches the areas locale and spectacular scenery. The various challenges and instances laid about feel more or less natural and feels like no space is created without reason.
Music
Oh my GODS the music in this game is not only abundant but phenomenal. I simply cannot believe how much music there was in this game, that side quests would get their own themes, we’d get several variations of some songs, and every single one is amazing to the last chord. I had pre-ordered the OST back before I even had a chance to play the game and I am so glad I did as this, much like the rest of the game, has far exceeded any expectations. Which is saying a lot considering FF has been known for solid musical pieces for some time.
Story
Again, Keeping this short to avoid spoilers. Starting with side quests, in which there are an abundance. Side quests offer a lot more than meets the eye. First and foremost, side quests tend to tie with one of your party members so you can sort of bond with them as you go along. This is a wonderful way to get character building and growth while you go about your tasks. Not to mention a lot of side quests tend to provide lore and story elements that some times feel like this should be main story content. Each side quest feels very self aware. That the devs know what people hated in the past game, wanted for rewards, and creating genuine interactions between the player and the various NPCs you interact with. Though I didn’t vibe with every character I came across, I did respect their existence and appreciated anything they were having me go through. Not to mention, every quest felt unique. Very rarely was it as simple as go beat up x thing, or collect y things. Simply the amount of mechanics was astounding. Main story was amazing to every last beat. They did each character so incredibly well, building them up wonderfully and expanding upon parts that were either brought up before or simply alluded to in past. You won’t find that everything is the same from the original (as suggested by Remake) we are on an adventure where fate may change. Yet, any changes made often just enhanced the original moments and/or kept me in wonder on what will happen next. One thing is clear is that the game intentionally leaves some things vague and unanswered.
Story in Short: All side quests felt as important to the story as the main story itself and provided wonderful character and world building. It even introduces a affection system that increases every time you bond with someone and/or talk to them. Every point was enjoyable. The main story enhances just about every kept sequence from the original while providing a sense of mystery and wonderment. One thing is clear is that the game intentionally leaves some things vague and unanswered.
Mini-Games
Why would I make a section for mini-games? Well, if you saw any of the complaints or praises for the game, then you might know that there is an absolute mega-ton of mini-games in here… and I loved every single one. It should be mentioned that 99% of the mini-games are extremely optional. So don’t worry if you think that the game is going to force this down your throat and bloat the game. It absolutely doesn’t. In fact, the game wants you on the story as much as you might, but those damned enjoyable minigames will keep calling you back. So, let’s start off with easily the best one, Queen’s Blood. A new card game introduced that has you try to conquer lanes to gain points and outwit your opponents. The amount of depth this game has is unreal. There are so many cards and ways you can go about building your decks, taking the victory, and facing against challengers as well as challenges to keep your card bloodthirst sated. Without surprise, it is no wonder people want a stand alone game or even IRL TCG version of it (I know I do). Though Queen’s Blood stands out quite a bit, just about every other minigame feels fairly on par and either makes some wonderful callbacks to the original, enhances existing ones, and provides some wonderful new entries. They are not always well crafted so to speak as some challenges can be a little rough, but not outright unenjoyable.
Minigames in Short: Though there are quite a many minigames in the game, almost none are mandatory. Yet, they are so fun that they may as well be. Queen’s Blood being ~~King~~ Queen among them. Some may have more challenging sections than one may like, but still a great experience in the end.
UI/General Complaints
This game is not without it’s flaws. Some challenges felt unintentionally rough. Some wording in the battle failed UI needs better clarification. For instance, if you get caught in a series of battle and die, you will get several options including “Retry from Before Current Battle”, “Retry from This battle”, “Retry from Before Battle”, “Resume”. One of these options puts you right as you face the last person you fought, one places you at the start of the sequence of battles, and one puts you in an area before the battle begins. Though my wording may help you as you try to figure which option does what, I assure you that these are not very clear especially in the heat of it all. I’ve probably restarted the longest and hardest series of battles 3 to 4 times over because I either selected the wrong option or the default position of your cursor changed and I selected the wrong option by accident. Frustrating to say the least.
All in All: I probably missed more than a few points as there is a lot to cover and it was hard to get everything in my head down on paper in time. Not to mention I wanted to make sure the honeymoon phase passed before I passed judgement. So, it’s without a doubt that I can say this has easily gotten into my top 10 if not top 5 games of all time. It’s perfect, perfect. Down to every minute detail. For any issues it does have, other parts of the game more than make up for it. Definitely my favorite game to get the 100% completion.
Recommend? Absolutely yes. Though you don’t have to replay Remake, it is certainly recommended. Just know that this game improves upon it quite well, so don’t be discouraged to get this one either way. Even talking about it now I am tempted to boot it back up again.
Rating? 10/10
Beaten > Completed
Not much has changed for me regarding this game, which may be for worse than better. The general combat still feels good, balance patches have smoothed some things out, cross play, and quality of life changes (such as seeing ping, having Next match appear instead of rematch, etc) have been a huge ~~Ed~~ Boon to the experience… even if some of these changes should’ve been in here from the get go. Still, the game is still a shadow of what it could and should have been. Not to mention the seasonal rewards have been getting worse since Season 2. Still keeping strong and will continue to experiment with characters each season.
Season 1 Main – Raiden w/ Cyrax Kameo
Season 1 Rank – Demi God
Season 2 Main – Reptile w/ Scorpion Kameo
Season 2 Rank – Elder God
Season 3 Main – Mileena w/ Sektor Kameo
Season 3 Rank – Champion
Season 4 Main – Johnny Cage w/ Janet Cage Kameo
Season 4 Rank – Still in Progress
If I understand, these DLCs are not sold separately which can be conflicting considering how underwhelming the first one can be if you aren’t interested in it’s focus Pokémon.
Isle of Armor
A fairly bite sized DLC that has a few open areas, 1 new Pokémon, 1 new variant, and a bunch of returning Pokémon from previous games. The new variant of Slowpoke is alright, but you only have access to one of it’s evolutions, the other being locked behind the following DLC. This feels incredibly misleading considering the amount of scavenging you need to do to get the item for it’s evolutions. The new Pokémon it introduces, Kubfu, is it’s entire focus. So much so that the end of the game has you do a battle tower with only that mon. So, if you aren’t interested in this new fighting type, it’s a pretty easy skip as far as it’s adventure goes. All the activities are either straight forward battles or a collectibles quest that unlocks Alolan Pokemon. Sadly there just is not much to this DLC.
The Crown Tundra
Where the Isle of Armor lacked interesting content, the Crown Tundra made up for in adventure. We are no longer tied to one main line quest focused on a single mon, but instead 3 different quest lines focused on a plethora of new mons and variants. The whole theme behind this is legendary hunting. It’s the entirety of what you do and it’s great. Solve puzzles to find the Regi mons. Track down and outsmart the new bird legendary variants, and find out the mystery of the crowned legendary themself. It is nothing short of grand and exciting to go on this catch-a-thon. Of course, more Pokémon get returned to the dex and we finally get access to the new Slowking variant. On top of that, there is a new raid dungeon with a twist. Essentially creating a rogue-lite situation where you must use the Pokémon you battle in the dungeon to make your way through the series of battles to the final legendary Pokémon. However, you only get the one mon, so you must decide which to keep and what paths to take to fight the different obstacles. Admittedly, I didn’t do this too much, but it feels much better than the game’s normal raids, not to mention the final prize seems to be a guaranteed legendary. We also get some great characters including an excellent comic relief who leads you along this adventure.
Team: Galar Slowking, Marowak, Urshifu, Zoroark, and Venusaur (swapped in the three legendary birds for the final challenge…)
All in all the DLC averages out to be between alright and good. Pretty much how I felt about the base game. I did make it my effort to take on a whole new team of Pokémon for this DLC pack which I think made the experience all the more interesting. My overall gripe was that there really isn’t a Pokémon Center in either DLC and needing to swap mons, buy items, or heal up was quite a pain.
Recommend Generally yes, but maybe on sale and wouldn't go out of my way for it.
Rating: 6/10
Though this game has several performance issues, I actually quite enjoyed the base game. It being one of the more fun Pokémon games I had played in quite some time. So, I was interested in seeing how it’s DLC would play especially after experiencing Sword’s DLC.
The Teal Mask
We get a new area which is fairly sized and offers a ton of returning Pokémon, 1 new evolutions, 2 new variants, as well as several new legendary mons. The game has a more involved story with heavy folk lore themes and fun new characters. There are some side quests, but a lot of them seemed quite easy to miss as they don’t really have a notification on the map to draw you to their position, but one in particular is quite enjoyable and reminiscent of Pokémon Snap. The pace can be quite slow at start, but does quickly evolve as you go. My biggest issue with this DLC was traversal. Several caverns are easy to miss and often lead into semi-difficult hard to navigate areas. Overall an enjoyable DLC that leads straight into the next…
Team: Oricorio (Ghost variation), Dipplin, Sinistcha, Magcargo, Ariados, and Basculegion
The Indigo Disk
Serving as a sort of continuation of the first, it picks up from your last experience as we get returning characters and continuing plot lines. However, the big difference with this DLC is that all trainer battles are DOUBLES. It’s an interesting twist that sets itself apart from the series allowing you to rethink your team comp and abilities. Though, when facing wild mons you will still have single battles. We also get a main terrarium area that is divided into four distinct biomes to catch these new Pokémon. So, what’s new in terms of Pokémon? Well, we have two new evolutions, a new legendary, new legendary variants, new mythical, and a plethora of returning mons.
The story of this game is less folk lore-y than the last and has a more standard feel as we get an elite four-esque battle goals. Though, in addition to facing these mighty four you will have to first to pass their challenges which were all fairly unique and a nice twist. Luckily they were only needed to do once, much like beating the elite member themselves. We also get more ties into crater zero despite being in a school far away. The only let down here was that it required battle points (earned by doing menial tasks) to take on the elite four and I was never directed or given privy to the new legendaries. I never actually ran into any of them and don’t know how. So, if there was some sort of content leading you in that direction, I simply was not aware of it.
Team: Granbull, Alcremie, Alolan Muk, Malamar, Overqwil, and Dewgong
Though this DLC pack cost a bit more than Sw/Sh’s I think it is a decent price considering I felt it held much more consistent adventure and story. Just a great overall experience.
Recommend Yes! It’s free and well worth your time.
Rating: 7.5/10
Ongoing Games
Like A Dragon 8: Infinite Wealth (PS5)
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (3DS)
Final Fantasy VII (Steam)
Final Fantasy XIV (PC)