Levels

The first thing I'd Like to bring up is the level design. I feel it is in a CLASS OF ITS OWN, making these areas feel not as traditional levels where you go in a sort of straight line but a world or proper lively city in terms of travel. I felt a sort of similar feeling when I played BLASPHEMOUS for when returning to areas there are, by the time you've completed it, shortcuts that make it easier to travel. Final thing but I don't feel like I am slaving through an area, they feel much more managable as you go through it Besides the Tomb of the Giants

Bosses

Now, there are definitely some flaws such as the Bed of Chaor or the Four King IMO. But, all that aside I had a really god time with them. Most are quite Memorable and to me the most Important, fair. A good example of Fairness is Ornstein & Smough, Definitely didn't feel it at the time They feel difficult but not to the point of Impossible, which is great for this game. My Favorite Bosses:

• Ornstein & Smough
• Artorias
• Asylum Demon
• Priscila
• Gwyn
• Sif
• Moon Butterfly

Npcs

This part of the game is Both AMAZING but also A PAIN IN THE ASS Questlines for NPCS are somewhat complicated, especially for your first playthrough. There is a lot of specific Statuses or things that are needed for Certain NPCs, not hard with a Walkthrough but a challenge for those who don't. And the Npcs themselves are a treathaving so much personality and Welcome to this Dark and Cruel world you go through. The Goats IMO: Seigmeyer, Solaire, and Andre

Common Enemies

There are so many stupid enemies I didn't like, the bugs in blighttown, swamps, ALL DOG TYPE ENEMIES the rats, Wheel Skeletons, Lizards.

Story

The Story is quite unique with the world being barren in its landscape, making the small interaction with characters all the more memorable. The world is ruled by dragons in the beginnign, and it is not until the first flame is found when the four lord vanquish said dragons. From this they secured their position, and gave opportunity for the fearful humans to grow. It is a very interesting story that is even better after the game.

Favorite Area

Royal Forest,by far, had the most vibrancy out of all the previous areas and made it feel just as nice to walkthrough, same with the Sanctuary previously, b far one my favorite bonfire spots IMO. ALso, Anor Londo for more obvious reasons. It has mystery, beauty, deciet, and also a big turning point for the story

Bed of Chaos and Four Kings

To me, both of these were badBesides Pinwheel. Four kings is terrible if I had used my normal armour build, and also when fighting wiith Havel Armour felt more uninteresting fight in comparison to all of the other bosses thus farBed of Chaos, THE WORST BOSS IN THE GAME,tedious, annoying, and although lore-wise is pretty cool, does not make up for it

Gameplay and Progression

Felt clunky and slow in the beginning but pairs well overall with the surrounding. Same for progression, slow at first but when finished it feels rewarding. Not linear in the traditional sense but will pushu you in the right diirection. On that note, These games feel so well built for multiple playthroughs You're not supposed to find everything in the first palythrough. You are meant to get lost and not find everything, so on your second you finish solaire's questline, felel more familiar with the areas and in turn find it easier and much more welcoming. Areas tend to feel bigger then they actually are in retro spect

Side notes

• I didn't wanna make it a full section, but I feel upset and dissappointed with Lost Izalith, it had so much potential and now knowing the constraint of time and what would have been, is all the more upsetting
• Items were not well communicated on how to use them
• Other hated enemies: Bone dogs, Archers in Anor Londo, Aggro Range in Demon Ruins
• All of the DLC is AMAZING
• First Titanite Demon is INSANELY hard
• Songs and the usage of them are so cool,my favorite is the one in ASH LAKE

Adventurous

The beginning of this game opens with you to a discussion of your mother on the side of a cliff as you set up for camp. Eventually, as you go out to get some firewood and are seperated by an avalanche, and forced to explore a cave, where you find a minecart that presumably takes you back to the campsite, which then breaks, dropping you to your starter and in the region of Naljo. TO me, this gook was one my favorite parts of the game, being so different from the traditioan turn 10 or just moved in concept. You're not given a goal in the beginning of the game either which I liked too!

Sprites

The game includes a good chunk of new pokemon in terms of not just being Gen 1 and 2, thank god. And the sprite work done on them is just soooo good in my opinion. My personal favorite is Luxray, it is an intimidating one but it matches it really well. Not too much to say otherwise but felt it should be mentioned

Towns

Now, this isn't necessarily a downside but there a quite a few towns that feel the same. However, given the Hardware constraint it isn't something I necessarily hold against the game. But, there are some good ones, Here are some of my favorites

• Heath Village - Music, overall vibe and buildings in nighttime 10/10
• Acania Docks - Did a good job with the design and music
• Phlox and Phacelia, Saxifrage Prison, Firelight caves, and Naljo Ruins

Music

A cool thing that they did was Reuse many soundtracks or songs from other Pokemon games. I think it was a good fit and was done really well. Also, there are some original music in the game such as in Saxifrage Prison, which is my favorite song in the game

Music

Now the story to me wasn't too memorable as other mainline games, but not one to cast aside either. It wasn't groundbreaking but it was enough for me to have fun with it. The general themes they tackle are Industrialization, Preservation of Past ideas, and the Purpose or Roles we are given in life

Uniqueness

There are some really cool concepts that are used in the game. One of them is the ability to play as pokemon in certain areas. I found this to be really cool and fresh. They also had platforming levels, which added a whole other view of the game. Literally and in a way that did not feel out of place, props to how they did it!

Honorable Mentions

• Power Rangers were fun enemies
• Rival wasn't great but cool to see locked up at the end
• Provincinal Park
• I really liked the Dad Character

Areas

Now the amazing level design found in Dark Souls I is not present in this game, although, there are soem shortcut here and there, it is not to the same scale. The overall sense of progression was not terrible, having you go through 4 paths in order to get to the 4 Lord Souls and also having a similar concept of going back to prior areas at the end of the game. But some of these areas are not up to the same standard, overall though, the area progression isn't bad, just feels lackluster at times.

Enemy placement

OH MY GOD. They wanted you to suffer in this game for sure. Now to all the areas have bad enemy placement, but when they do it is absolutely terrible. And the difficult part part is that the enemies themselves are already difficult, leading you to have to find a way to lure them out , or run past them

Areas with Bad Enemy Placement: Iron Keep, Lost Bastille, Heide Tower, Brume Tower, Fallen Giants, Huntsman Copse, and Black Gulch

Bosses

Now the bosses in this game are pretty good, only thing really holding them back is the runbacks, and the reason for this the enemy placement. The on;y BAD BOSS I can think of with no redeeming qualities is the Dragon in Aldia's Keep. Other than that, the bosses were all round pretty good. Here are my favorite bosses

• Lost Sinner
• Ivory King
• Ruin Sentinels
• Smelter Demon
• Looking Glass Knight
• Veldstadt
• Fume Knight
• Sinh
• Nashandra
• Pursuer

Npcs

One thing they did good in this game was the Npcs, not as numerous but memorable. The only 2 questlines you really do are LUcatiels and Bernhardts.

Of course the best being Lucaties

Majula

A big aspect in Dark Souls I was the hub, and they nailed it!. Not necessarily as a converging point similar to Dark Souls 1, but more so the area you return to. It is jusy the right size and gives everyone a good location

Problems

Just wanna quick fire some things I didn't like but, but not enough to get a section.

• Staggering Enemies with Shield
• Poise with both you and enemies
• Roll Attack
• Hit Boxes on Enemies
• AGILITY

Story

The story follows suit of the first game with there being 4 great Lord Souls needed to get, and eventually leading to linking the fire. But the reason for the Journey is different with instead your main goal being to go to Anor Londo to get the Lord Vessel, to seek the king of Drangleic and become the Sovereign. I also like how they shed more light on the Hollowing and forgetting memories. Definitely a good story

Eluem Loyce

By far my favorite area is Eleum Loyce, with the overall atmosphere of it being un welcoming and full of light but in a way that's not warm. Also the branching paths as well as reexploration was really nice to see. And to top it off great dialogue and lore leading to an awesome BOSS FIGHT

Forlorn

Now something they changed in this game was Invasions, with you being able to get invaded at any time, and adding so much more. In my opinion, I feel they added to many with the reward only being few thousand souls and a human effigy. But, one of these invasions by chance and not a set encounter, is Forlorn. I saw this MF everywhere and of course his poise was insane. If I had fought him 1 or 2 tijmes it would bave been fine, but he pursued me more then the pursuer did.

Improvement

Here are some Improvements I felt while playing the game:

• Access to shards for Weapons
• Hub being more useful
• Huge Graphic Upgrade
• Bonfire Ascetic
• Can use all souls at once
• Faster way to get Boss Weapons

Atmosphere

This game is a remake, mostly with the visual aspect, so for many, they feel that a lot of the core atmosphere and visuals were altered, and therefore the Remake lacking. In my opinion, Ithink yes, the games do look vastly different , however, I think the remake did such a good job maintaining so much about the game, and tried to improve the graphics, and make it something more of its own then a 1:1 copy, which I appreciate. I liked the whole tone, with me picturing this moody murky green color as the general feeling of the game. It felt like a Fromsoft game, but also not at the same time, it is odd on how to describe it. But overall, I think the atmosphere was done well, and still had the Fromsoft touch

Gameplay

The core gameplay is unchanged from the original, or at least most of it, so I feel whatever I say is more or less the same for both the orginal and the remake. Most of it is very exact or similar to Dark Souls in terms of general combat... But, with the whole world tendency thing, I remember just not enjoying it, and wasquite fustrated overall. It is similar to how I felt when I played Bloodborne, but in the same way, I got over it eventually. I do think it makes sense story wise, but I just remember being annoyed about the mechanic as a whole. I don't think there much else to share. I liked the backstab, didn't feel all that punishing either. Solid overall

Npcs

The Npcs, were good, but again, nothing that I felt had a lasting impact. They were cool, like the Ostrava, but the rest were just alright imo. I did like The Maiden in Black though, was a good "firekeeper" for sure.

Lukewarm Take

Honestly, looking back on the game, I think I feel very neutral about the game, it is good definitely, but I really don't have much to say on it besides it was good, and honestly a great remake. It is a shame I never wrote a review when I actually beat it, but still, it was a great game, and a great remak, even though I may not have anything special to say on it...

Menu Visuals

This isn't my first Persona game, so I already had an expectation of there being a good visual style, coming from P3 and P4. Man, they just blew it out of the park with the ui and just all elements of the game. It is full of interactivity and is so responsive like, just the main menu with each submenu having a unique Joker sort of pose or action, is just so cool. It is really interesting, everything is so simple in the style with the art not being so detailed, but then gets very complex in the movement and interaction, it is a really good pairing. But they aren't just copies of eachother. Each submenu looks uniquely made, like the confidants, or the Persona menu, overall is amazing.

Setting

Now I will be honest, at first I wasn't too excited about it being located in Tokyo. Don't get me wrong, it is cool, but at the same time I liked the smaller more intimate spaces like Inaba and Port island. But after properly playing the game. The setting is just so perfect. I feel if the Persona team did any location it would be amazing. The thing about it is that they put so much detail that everything feels tied to it, as though putting these elements anywhere else just wouldn't work. Because Tokyo or Japan has a big fandom for moc builds, it would make sense to find a store with Model Guns, or getting part time Jobs. I've already been to some of these places before (in real life), but after a few hours of playing none of it really mattered. Really great, (although I hope they do a fictional one again for the next)

Party

The party members and overall group interaction was nice. It felt like they were close, but close for a common goal, and overtime it grew to be more than just that. I think the steady relationship they grew was nice and was perfect for this game. Also their designs were really nice, I liked that it wasn't exactly like 4, in which I felt I associated a color with each character. I can't think of much to say besides my favorite being Makoto, with her personality, and also her just being the goat in battle.

Battle Mechanics

Although of course it was built off of P4, they just blew it out of the park in this department. At first it felt weird, but to be fair it did feel the same way jumping from 3 to 4. I gotta say, adding Baton Passes, Technical, and kouga and eiga is perfect, I don't think I can ever go back (jk). The battle mechanics feel so well thought out, I really liked how fast it felt. Even if you don't use rush, if you know what you're doing, it will end fast. Overall, so smooth, well thought out turn based mechanics that are so far the best I have ever played with in any game, and I will miss it forever.

Personas

They changed and added some things with the personas too. First off, I liked the adding of abilities, although at times they feel a bit op (more so late game). It adds some more customization and made me want to fuse more to get specific abilities (like Relentless) on other personas. Something I didnt like for a while was the removal of 3, 4, and 5 way fusions. They did add advanced fusions for those specific kinds, but it still felt weird not having it for a while. They also added training, which can be huge (I mostly used it for Arsene), but its a nice side thing to have. Also the big addition: NEGOTIATIONS. At first, imma be honest, I was so confused and it felt so foreign to me. But now finishing it, I think it is perfect, and makes more sense then just having them appear on cards (although its not bad either). I liked the idea of negotiation, talking to the Demon (persona), needing to tune your answers to get them to join you, and also money and items too. I know its an SMT mechanic but it feels right at home, hope they continue this in P6

Palaces

Perfect, Perfect, Perfect. I am so glad these were not generated, but fine tuned and mapped. It feels nice moving or going somewhere, and it not being completely random. Im glad that they Palaces fit with the theme of Thiefs, and the palaces being places you could imagine robbery or thievery occuring. I think my favorite Palace has to be Maruki's. I liked one, how it was set up, being seen early on in the game, but not paying any mind to it. Two, It didn't really feel like an area of hostility, at least from Maruki, out of all the rulers, he was my favorite. I hope and pray, that they always do detailed dungeon/palace design, and give the same treatment to P4R

Confidants/Social Links

The social links or Confidants were very solid in this game, I liked how we more or less helped them all as being Phantom Thieves at some point, going to Mementos to help change the hearts of the people around them, making their lives better. It really solidified in my head how I liked the concept of the Phantom Thieves. Although they go after big targets, they want to help anyone, if they can. Now, there are two Confidants I will say is my favorite:(Honorable Mention Kawakami ans Shinya )

• Yoshida (Sun) - I honestly really liked him as a character. He is such a good person, and the things he is trying to stand for really hit me. He talked a lot about young adults, and in the current world it felt like whether in Persona or Real Life, hearing someone like that, preaching for someone like me, was nice. Also his Voice Actor was such a good fit.
• Sae (Judgement) - The main reason I liked hers a lot is due to how it fit in the story. It was really well done, and was the best judgement so far, rather than being given after completing the fool, but was the literal embodiment of Judgement, who was Judging you, and the more you grew the Confidant the more she trusted you

The Abilities were really a nice touch. It felt like the prior Social Links were purely to get more story, and help with fusions, but it didn't feel like they impacted too much. This to me is the complete opppsite in this game. Because the abilities are so helpful, I feel more inclined to hang out with them, as though they have a bigger purpose not only in the story, but also in terms of mechanics. It makes more sense, with the themeing of "growing bonds with those around you", and in turn do you receive the benefits, and the creation of the world

Mementos

Although they removed randomly generated floors in the main dungeons, they added an entire sepereate one called Mementos. Its Similar to Tartarus somewhat, but makes more sense in terms of story and overall visually. It replicates the idea of the subway, with you progressing further and further, deeper and deeper into the system. I liked also how it represented the masses, which tied well with the Story and Request elements. It also helped with grinding, it didn't make me feel like I needed to grind in the Palaces, but could just come to Mementos, within reason, and get to the level I need to be. (Driving into enemies feel really op)

Story

Well rounded, and perfectly crafted. The general premise to me is the injustice, negligence, the stereotypes given to one another, as well as the large impact of the internet and the interconnnectivity is has broughten. There is a constant struggle against the unruling adults who manipulate society for their own selfish gain, and in turn hurt those around them. You begin in one of these unfair, unjust scenarious, being thrown in to Tokyo for a crime you did not commit. You continue through the stories, hearing constant rumors of these so called crimes around you, and being stereotyped constantly. However, through the metaverse, the meeting of your first 3 party members, Ann, Morgana, and Ryuji, you find a way to rebel, and go against these unruling adults. The story fits really well with the modern day, as the injustices that these characters endure are constantly happening in the world. But what's even more telling is the connection of the metaverse and the masses. People are constantly feeding, grasping new information and tossing it aside, this concept is not only felt, but shown throughout the entirety of the story. Through the changing of hearts, you gain the favor of the masses, but this is not concrete, as at a certain point this love and appreciation turns on a dime. The theming is so complex and really puts the strugles of the internet, and the mindlessness we portray, on full display.

The embodiment of people wanting to imprison themselves, and become slaves, forcing themselves to walk mindlessly, is a great final boss. A constant battle of desire, to free those from the eternal chains that the Holy Grails claimed were asked for.

The rivalry between Akechi and so well written. At first, I didn't like him, I could tell there was something fake, or odd about him, as though he had an ulterior motive. I am not sure how the Original game portrays him, but through the Royal Edition, he is one of the best rivals I have ever seen in any source of media. He goes against you, but in the literal depiction of black and white, and for the ideals you embody. The game, is full of concepts such as this, and does not sturggle to portray them. Fantastic writing.

Graphics

The graphics and overall handling of the game is amazing. It is mind boggling to think that the previous game was Persona 4. It is just wow. Everything looked beautiful, and ran beautiful. At no point did anything look jarring, or lag in any way. And to think that this game came out on the ps3, it is astonishing and just proves how amazing the teams behind these games are. My favorite thing was the lighting effect, like t he lines that appeared outside of certain light sources at night, was a really nice touch in my opinion

Final Thoughts

For some of the things that I am not too sure on where to fit in these sections, I will mention them here.

The small details and design of the game is fantastic, like the walking animation stuck out to me in particular. It feels real, and at first felt fast, but in a city like Tokyo, most walk at that pace

At first, I did not like all the changes, but that was more so pickiness and wanting familiarity, which at the end, was not necessary for this game, what so ever

The twists at the end of the game were so cool, and it just felt so cinematic than the other games, mostly due to the visuals and the amazing strides they achieved visually in this game

Style

I think the style was honestly quite nice, being a mix of Final Fantays on the NES, but having a mix of SNES sort of artwork when it came to the cutscenes and the enemy art. I also liked how they had the sprite work be the main representation of the characters, and the art work or cutscenes in game were far in few inbetween, it was honeslty off putting at times or better, endearing seeing the characters like that, since I am so used to the simple art style they have. Overall, I think it was quite well rounded and consistent with the art style, and enjoyable

Gameplay

The gameplay was nice and thought out. It feels simple and somewhat not noteworthy because of it, but I think that is a testament to how good it is. Battles last as long as you make them, and it felt very ironed out. Not as fast as Persona, but fast enough to not have me feel as though I should try and avoid enemies. Also for the levels, I liked how low they were, and with the story, it fits very well. We didn't go on this long and enduring journey, but felt quite short in the timespan, thus, the levels match that. They have some other mechanics that I think were nice, like being able to switch out party members at any given time, but with the one currently in use, shared experience completely, and the overdrive system from Chained Echoes (Not exact but similar). I think it was very nice and enjoyable in terms of gameplay, and didn't have me feel as though as was grinding, or not having a good time

Story

I think the story was the most surprising. I did not expect it to be so impactful, or so heartfelt in the way it was told. It feels simple on the surface, with the character's troupe feeling like their main trait, but they move from that in time, and honestly felt connected to them. The story, to put briefly, follows the group of heroes from 2 years ago, the previous game, as they had saved the world from ruin. Time has past since them and unfortunately there is another threat, although not revealed immediately, the glitch. The glitch is corrupting the world around him, and plans to shape the world into something for him and him alone, as king. I liked him as a villain a lot, and with him being a child with these god like powers, hit motives don't feel as complex but deep, and you tend to feel somewhat pity for him. Really enjoyable story, and full of heart and whimsy. Am glad I played it and felt bittersweet to see it end...

I have not played the previous game, so at first I felt I would be missing a lot, but this is not true at all. A lot of the beginning is spent laying the ground work, informing you of these past events, and while it would be nice if you did play it before, or if I have, I don't regret it to be honest, and I think this experience was more than enough!

Something I enjoyed more than maybe I should was naming the characters! I never really get a chance to do so, so I was excited when I realized that some of the characters have no given name. At first I was unsure of what to name them, but I chose names that I think felt right, and did not have a preconvieved attachment in my mind. Now, after beating the game, I think those names are those characters, and I genuinely was getting real attached to them, and I think naming them had a role in that

LOVE!!!

The game is all about Love, and needing it to further progress the game. It is meant to be a sort of play on the rpg genre, and does not have any of the well known or key gameplay mechanics. There is no battling, no true "level up system" and is more so just on you being social, and interacting with your environment. There is a day/night and week system, and at the start of the game you start with being able to move around for a half day. The more love you gain, then you "level up" your love, giving you more time to move and interact. You need to sleep to replenish your action time, level up, and also save.

The game is very "slow" or better yet, "laxed", in that you are only able to walk around, and there is no music, at least at the start of the game, with you just hearing your feet move and some ambiance. The other MAIN WAY to get love is through catching animals (ill get more into that in the story section), and each giving you 2 or 3 points. They weren't too difficult to catch them all, but at times were really obscure, so id have to look some of them up.

Feel

At first, I really liked the game, but was suuuuuper confused on what to do, like nothing is really explain to you, and you need to just go around and interact to find your way, I got the hang of it after a little bit but was just very confused with everything lol. I think the overall feeling of the game is like a sim game, but an rpg. I don't think ive ever played a game like it, which I think is why I enjoyed it so much.

I think the characters were really fun, with my favorite being the guy who runs the music shop. They all have this sort of gibberish audio behind them, but it adds a lot of personality to them which made me like them evem more

Story

The overall story follows you, a young child who playing an rpg, and you have just beaten the dragon in order to save the kingdom/world (I dont really know). You then hear you mom tell you to get off, but you don't and instead get sucked into the game. You are now a visitor, but mistook as someone known as "Grim" (My character I named). It turns out, this "Hero", is nothing more than a big bully, and is in fact, killing all these poor defenseless animals for these arbitruary "levels". You are tasked with both saving all these animals, harvesting as much love as possible, and saving the dragon/king of the moon. At the end, you do save everyone, but only by putting the game down, and opening the door outside. The story was not something too deep, but just overall enjoyable, and the journey there was well worth it

Final Thoughts

I was very surprised at how weird the game is, and how fun it ended up being. The music surprised me a lot, and being able to buy it from some guy and surrounded by references, like tower records, was awesome. I am not sure if I did everything moon had to offer, but at the end of the game, I LOVED it, and that's all you gotta do, just love...

Unique in so many ways

I played two games I have never seen or played before in terms of mechanics, and I am/was all for it. Katamari is something I can only really describe as Katamari... How the game is played is essentiall you, the prince, are put in a location somewhere on earth with you Katamari. You are meant to roll up your enviroment, with your environment, and dependng on the size of it is what you can roll up, the more you get, the bigger your katamari, and this is the who cycle, eventually, you could end up rolling islands, typhoons, and a bunch of other huge stuff. It is very simple in hindsight, but can get difficult if you can't feel out what you're supposed to roll up.

The overall style is just so unique, I won't go into the whole history of how the game was made, but the game is very "low poly", or better yet simplistic in its style, like the cat or animals being all square like. BUT, it adds a lot of charm to the game, and is clearly a stylistic choice rather than hardware limitations.

The whole "story" is about the king of all cosmos, who was sooo drunk that he knocked out all the stars in the sky. So now you, the prince, are tasked with needing to roll certain sized katamari, and these will replace the knocked out stars. Very simple story, but the dialogue is sooo fun, like the King is just does not like you, but is also so full of himself. But its all in a jokingly way, like when you fail a level, he just is soooo dissapointed in you, its all really fun

Music

The music is SOOOOOO GOOOD, with almost every song being a straight banger. The whole music style is Shibuya-kei, and not that it fits with the game necessarily, but shapes it a lot. Similar to Sonic with its music, without it, the game would feel soooo different. Just so good in its music. My two favorite songs are The moon and The prince, and Cherry Tree Times. Just so fun, and could not imagine playing the game without the audio on!

Interesting Puzzles

The whole game is a based around puzzles, in which you go into various dimensions, and do certain actions, in order progress in other ones. It is a very interesting concept that I feel the game delivers on very well. Some of the had me confused, but not the games fault whatsoever, but my own shortcomings lol. I dont have much to say on the particulars of them besides that they were very clever, and was not too difficult that led me confused the entire time. They did introduce new mechanics and concept very well, especially in a game with no dialogue, or voice acting, so it was all visual.

Visuals and Tone

The artstyles and atmosphere of the game was great as well! It had a very simple design, but also great colors and distinctness between the various dimensions you travel too. One being themed around a swamp, another around sort of foreign alien esque structures, and also a desert or canyon style one. I also liked the idea that you can go back to any specific puzzles, which is nice for those people who wish to 100 percent the game easily.

Mechanics/Movement

The games strongest aspect, has to be the overall movement, and all the mechanics surrounding it. When it works, man does it feel good, and chaining the movement to do cool tricks. I think that is another strongpoint, the sort of open ended feel you get from the game, go wherever, and move however. There is a multitude of ways to move and get around, and you can strong arm many parts you technically shouldn't do at certain points, which to me is very fun. I do think it was somewhat confusing on where to find certain upgrades and such, and was just full of so much back tracking. I personally got lost around halfway in the game, and had to look up guides and walkthroughs on where to go. This isnt exactly necessary, but I can see the game getting fustrated in how open ended it is

Soulslike?

When I was first presented this game, I was told it was a soulslike, and I think it had the tag on steam, and I must say that is the part that is lacking the most, There are barely any enemies around, and the only benefit to killing them is to recover health from failed platforming. It is best to describe this as a platoformer with mild soulslike mechanics. In that sense, it is fine, but it is nowhere near a proper soulslike

Music and Atmosphere

The music and tone of the game was very solid, and I actually had heard a few songs before, which made me even more excited. Sometimes they would be minorly headache inducing, just from the sheer amount of failed attempts and time spent in certain areas, but it was still a solid soundtrack. The atmosphere was cool too, although very bare nones and can feel very "empty", but knowing this game is from a game jam, cant knock it too harshly

Areas

This game is not traditional, in regards to the area layouts. The more so "areas" of this game, are sort of large sandboxes, with various small dungeons and what is known as the main "Legacy Dungeon" which by completing is what progresses the game. At first I found it somewhat fustrating, being so used to the linear format of the previous games. But after the the first 3 or so areas, I think it wasn't as bad as I originally thought. I personally do prefer the more linear progression, but I also think that this is a great take on the open world genre. That isn't to say that there are not the more traiditonal feeling, tighter areas, such as Haligtree and Leyndell, but still feel quite vast. My favorite area has to be Limgrave, with the stunningness of the colors, great legacy dungeon, and an overall good introduction to the game as a whole.

Npcs

There are SOOOOO many Npcs in the game, is is just astounding. I used a walkthrough for most of this game, just when it came to finding certain dungeons, sites of grace, and for Npc progression. When it came to the Npcs, there were many introduced in the first area, Limgrave, which for me came off as extrememly overwhelming, and although most of them are not that long, still felt like a lot to handle. Many of them are intertwined, and progressing the game in certain ways can lock or affect various npcs depending on what you do.(I'll touch on the vastness of the Npcs and the Game as a whole in a different section)

Putting this aside, I think the Npcs were quite nice in this game, and I think I liked the amount of Npcs, as the world is so vast so if there were just a smaller amount, in tune with there previous games, in a open world format would come off as weird to me.Now for the big question, what were my favorite NPCs, I think in my heart there are two that were the most enjoyable, with them being Ranni and Millicent. They just had so much character in their personalities, and with theirs being some of the more longer questlines, I felt more connected to them. Really loved the whole idea of Ranni being a sort of outcast, and with Millicent being such a righteous person, even till the end

Bosses

Oh my goodness, there were just soooooo many bosses in this game, it was honestly too much. I liked many of the bosses, but they feel like Dark Souls 2, but much more copy paste (due to the smaller dungeons and such). For example, the sort of stone cats bosses, ulcerated tree spirit, and so on. These sort of bosses felt fine, but when I encounter them later on in the game, without a health bar, and I mean almost all of these bosses changed in this way, makes them way less appealing and more of an eye roll when encountering them.

MY LEAST FAVORITE BOSSES, there were just so many, so I will limit this list to just 3

• Godskin Duo
• The two gargoyles (ABSOLUTELY AWFUL)
• Rune Bear

I think in one hand, yes it is great that we get more bosses, as its always fun to fight a boss, but on the other hand, having so many leaves the game is a state where the sheer number of the dilutes them too. Take for instance Stone Cat ones. I remember fighting them at least 3 or 4 times as bosses, but towards the end of the game they became a sort of common but harder enemy. From my knowledge, I don't think they have ever done this in ther previous games, and not as a comparison point, but to state that if they are bosses let them stay as bosses. I really didn't like the copy and paste aspect of these bosses, and would have really preferred having these bosses that are repeated, be altered in physicality as well as moveset, which they did for some, but not for all

Moving on to MY FAVORITE BOSSES:

• Godrick
• Maliketh
• Radagon
• Malenia

Although I strugged with Malenia and Maliketh, I gotta say they were great bosses, but touching more on Malenia, the whole her healing was kinda bull in my opinion, especiall through my shield. Also on the two Gargoyles, absolute worse boss of the game, like just terrible. two large and fast enemies, and without a mimic just feels dreadful. Like they do not work well together, and would rather fight one beefed up then two

Speaking more on the bosses, the DELAY on most of them was just outright silly. Like Radagon for example, almost all of his attacks were delayed, and had me just struggling, as I am more used to the immediate response and dodge. I think it makes sense for certain bosses, like Radagon with the state of the body, but some of them (godrick), were just really, really silly, and aburd to me

A lot A lot A lot

This game is huge, so it beg a so I want to give my take on how I feel about it. I think for me, who typically doesn't replay games, thus tries to get as much done as possible, without a walkthrough, this game is a nightmare, and can be a headache at times. However, on the opposite end, I think this game is just ripe with replayability, and when thinking about it through that lense, the game feels more and more enjoyable, as its fine to miss stuff, and with the game being as large as it is, with bosses, npcs and such, even if you do miss something here and there, or fail an npc quest, there is always the abiltiy to replay it. I think this game, out of all the soulslikes, can feel the most fresh on a second playthrough, at least from my eyes, where as the other titles are for me to just experience something that I already have. I don't know if I am explaining it well, but it is a great game, even with the large amount it handles.

A lot of this game feels repetitive, in the enemies, bosses, and so on, but the only justification is that, with a game of this scope, I think it just comes with the genre unfortunately, and I don't think they, nor would the people who were expecting this game, would want to put them man power and time into expanding.

Mechanics

There was a lot of new Mechanics added to this game, such as ash of war, the summons, great runes, JUMPING, bell bearings, and the like. I think I didn't really have an issue with any of these mechanics generally, and think they were and are a lovely tradition. However, it felt not the best when it came to actually using my controller, like mid fight neeing to just reach across at times to summon, or two handing needing two buttons. I got used to these overtime, but in the beginning it felt like a hassle for sure. I think the Jump button was nice to, but no plunging attacks was just bizzare, and felt really weird to not have them, especially with the environment and terrain the game has. Although maybe they would see it as overpowered, but can't say for sure. All in all, love the mechanics in this game, and had that lovely souls smootheness

Gripes

There are some things I did not like in this game, so I will just quick fire them in a list

• Not naming any of the stones/shards as well as the runes
• All the Gargoyle enemies
• The sheer speed of the enemies, and some of the placement at times was crule (Putrid Avatar, two knights...)
• Certain Boss Mechanics, that left me fustrated (Malenia, and Maliketh)
• Many Dragons, but the more pressing issue, the resistances they had
• The needing to rest like twice for the death birds, night riders, and also for the bell bearing thieves

Final Thoughts

To start, I have not watched any lore videos, and am very confused for a lot of the lore, but when I do the DLC I will be sure to add it there

The game was solid all around, and although it became a slog at times, I think that was partially myself as well. Loved the game, and although not my favorite in the insane line of Fromsoft titles, it is another game I would recommend anyone to play!

Theming

I think this is the strongest point of the game, very creative in the world building and "nations" or people of this dump world. This game seems liek a conversations amongst friends like "Imagine if..." but turned into reality, and I am all for it. There was 5 total groups in the game: Bugs, Garbagians, Clothing, Mammalians, and Furniture. Each had their own cities and surrounding areas uniquely designed around these concepts. My favorite has to be the clothing, with the idea of them getting a bath or a fresh wash as a way of cleaning, and the clothing being more tattered is a sign of aging, and closer to death. I think they absolutely nailed this, and was the thing that had me the most intrigued, besides the art style

Visuals and Style

This was the second hook, and their other big point. They did not dissapoint when it came to visuals. It was going for a snes styled rpg, even implementing the similar "3d" implementations that was used on the snes. It was very vibrant and detailed. Comparing it to chained echoes, id say it is stronger in its pixel art for sure. Had amazing art, as wel as the concept art too looking so cool. Each area felt uniquely designed, and no two areas felt exactly the same, which I felt was very nice

Mechanics and Platforming

The two core mechanics were the combat and the platforming. Speaking on the combat first, I think it was generally okay. I liked the idea of timed attacks and blocks, but a lot of the time the enemy did not properly telegraph there attacks, often being a change in thee enemies color followed by the attack, making it feel out of place and difficult to propely block. I did like the idea of the chess board style movement attributed with various debuffs and buffs on the board. It left for more strategy, although it wasn't heavily implemented in the game. I think they should've leaned into it more, but I think doing so would have made the game much more difficult.

For the movement, I think the idea was nice. But for the execution, to be honest, it felt very jank. It was hard for me many times to properly see where I was jumping to, and without talking about bugs, it was off a lot of the time. The times I was most frustrated or having the most difficulty, is when the platforming was involved. Sometimes I would not be able to go to certain locations, my depth of field felt off at times too, but I can appreciate what they were TRYING to do.

Bugs and Issues

Man oh man, there was so many bugs in the game. There was a time I went into an area during the 4th act, and it sent me back to the 2nd. It was only in the enclosed area, but what would happen if I saved, would I be screwed. It was very scary. The main bugs had to do with sdequest, and movement. There were so many invisible walls that shouldnt be there, platforming feeling off based on where they had the hitboxes. The worst of the bugs was when I was trying to platform in the mines, and I couldnt jump on a cart, it kept phasing me through. I think if the game had more polish, I would love the game so much more. For the sidequest, certain ones didnt work due to locking out of them by a certain time, or just outright not working for some reason. It was fustrating since I was trying to do them all but I hope they go back and fix it.

Story

The story was so fun, you being a trash can, hoping to be a knight of the dump, with your rival being a RECYCLE BIN, it sounded so cool. The gist of the story is you and your friend, at first, going to save the kidnapped king of your land, and making friends along the way, and eventually saving him only to realize that it was a betrayal, all for the second coming of the GRIME, which are the main antagonist group. I loved the idea of acid being the main bad guys in the game, and also all the relics was a cool concept too. A lot of cool moments, like Bluebin saving Dustin, and the cat that was under walker, or just Dustin growing into a proper adult. Or learing Dutin is actually Garbamesh. Story is very solid, nothing too deep, but enjoyable for sure

Progression

Very nice progression, at first felt I was missing stuff, but you unlock the airship at the end of the game, so there is no real worry to have, which was nice, but throughout the game I felt I was missing stuff, or areas I should be able to go to, I couldnt.

Difficulty

I think this was for many a steep difference when starting and throughout the DLC but for me it was more so just in the beginning, the first boss in the Gaol was absolutely brutal, buy beyond that the other bosses felt relativtley normal, nothing too severe in comparison to the base game. I do think the way they scaled the DLC was not too great, but I don’t think I could see this working any other way, considering how often the game is probably played amongs players, if it was not scaled through items in the DLC, many would most likely steam roll through it

Areas

I think this was the strongest part of the DLC, no area had me upset or felt like a slog, they all felt relatively good when it came to enemy placement and such. There were some crazy ones though, like I think 12 or so trolls in one area, or with the skeleton enemies in the Dragon’s Pit. But the areas were so sereen and just downright beautiful. Elden Ring is by far their prettiest game they have ever produced, and the DLC puts it on full display. The Cerulean Coast was just so gorgeous, as well as when you enter the Scadu Altus. The colors just pop so well, and had me just looking around a good bit. Id say my favorite is Cerulean Coast just for how it looks, but a close second has to be the Enir Ilim.

Soulslike?

I have to say none of them were absolutely terrible, but not all of them were memorable, but that is what you get in Elden Ring. The MAIN bosses however were cool in my opinion, for my Top 3 id have to be

• Bayle
• Lord of Frenzy
• Promised Consort

I have to say the third one may sound off, but I really did like the fight, but these were all cool in their own way. Bayle was just straight raw, with Igon screaming at him firing his arrows helping you. Or the Lord of Frenzy fight not only looked cool but was a really well coreographed fight. Now for the last one, the Promised Consort. Now I am not saying this boss did not give me trouble, it was difficult, but it was a good fight, at least the first phase was. The second phase had a lot of just insane stuff happening, with the main trouble being with Miquella flashes after Radahns attacks, but it wasn’t too bad. I felt after the first couple tries that it was definitely doable, but required some changed. I ended up relying on my ability of my weapon, and used the talisman that increased my MP. I think the boss is absolutely insane compared to any of the other games, but was not as hard as Malenia or Kos, at least for me.

Npcs

didn’t do all of the Npcs, and a lot of them were more or less lackluster, I did like how they were all connected, and it was interesting throughout the DLC since they all have the connection to Miquella, and with the great rune shattering, they all began to change. I think my Favorite has to Igon, he had such a good voice actor, and one of the best Npc moments I have ever seen in a Fromsoft game. A close second has to be Thollier or Leda.

Final Thoughts

I have to say that this DLC was a great addition to the game, and well worth the price point. It was not as scary as everyone made it out to be, and actually was my highlight of Elden Ring. Great contrast to the base game in so many ways, great additions, and overall a great experience. This easily closes this game being well above Dark Souls 2, and now that I have finally conquered most of the fromsoft souls games, last is Sekiro...

Poppin Style

Overall was very solid, especially with the characters. I do think generally it was good, but it felt bland in certain areas, most notable in the city when they are a proper band, and in the prison. I think there best was on the beach at the beach house. I don’t have to much to say besides that they should have spent more time on it if they could have

Story

I was genuinely surprised especially how much I liked it towards the end of the game. A lot of it was silly banter, and I was confused on how beat was properly placed in the story, in terms of if this was a sort of isekai or an actual event ocurring. But it was towards the end of the game where it began to make more sense, and not to say I didn’t enjoy it until that point, but it really began to pick up. The whole struggle with both Beat and Quaver with their mothers, in different ways, really got to me, and the music expressing these moments is what had it hit the most. Truly, it was my favorite indie game of 2025, and genuinely almost cried when Beats mom left that message, and at the end of the game when she leaves

Bangin OST

Oh LORD, was my favorite part of the game for sure! This was the main driving point for playing this, and my god did it deliver. I expected it to be good, with a few hitters here and there, mostly just a few vocal and the most instrumental. Not only did they have a full ost, but around 17 songs total album along with it! It just reminds me how big of a role music plays in my own gaming experience, and how moments can be enhanced with them. If not for that last song, I don’t think I would have felt the way I did without it. It has that genre of music that I love, indie rock, but not completely amatuer. This album will stick with me for a long time, and I and so so so happy about it

My favorite Songs have to be: No Signal, Bookend Songs (Both Versions), Waiting, Dialtone, Mirror, and Worn out Tapes

The Gameplay

So I am not really a rhythm game guy, so I thought I would be fairly bad at the game, and since I was playing with controller, it would be worse. The gameplay itself was actually really fun, and the most polished part of the game. I do think at times the normal difficulty is way to easy, but within the story, I did not care much since I could do the arcade. After seeing Muse Dash, it is very in line with the gameplay, but not one to one. It feels like its its own thing, but in no way forgetting what makes these games popular. I also loved the arcade mode, it was well designed both visually and also comes with loads of songs. I didn’t really care for the ones besides the album, but I did like them having live versions of songs, and also remixes by other artists!

The Indie Curse

fortunately, with any indie games comes the bugs, and man did it have them. After finishing the game and looking it up, it appears that almost all of these bugs come from the ps5 edition, which is also handled by a different team. It was these bugs that had me stop playing, not being able to unlock certain things, and trophies as well. Not anything to be toooo angry about, but definitley unfortunate.

Story

The story was quite straight forward, and honestly for me it was nothing really to write home about. I did like the idea of you being from the far future interacting with the past, but with the whole titles and concept of star ocean, I assumed we would be more in space, hopping from planet to planet. Also, beyond the end and beginning of the game, most of the game was not really that advanced, but more so just a normal fantasy adventure. What I did like is how there was not many hickups in terms of getting to the goal of the story, and you end the story achieving what you set out to do

Mechanics

There was a lot to unpack when it came to the mechanics of this game, and while I think it was the most complex, by no means was it the best. There was a massive sleugh of crafting, magic, stat boosts, and various other things within the skills and its point systems. I think there is both a positive and negative to this. One one hand, it is very cool that they put so much effort into this, but on the other, the game is not long enough for me to fully enjoy it without feeling overwhelmed and also having to grind a lot for it to properly function. For instance, in order to get the mass skill for perfect crafting, you need to buy make music and also buy most of the instruments, but in order to do that you need lots of money, which you can get by having the best alchemy skill, which would work even better with that perfect crafting skill. Or the duplication camera, or the combat improvement one. These sound cool on paper, but in game, I was using these between the same two towns for HOURS ON END, and it was, to me, no fun…

Party Members

This is where I do think the game shined. In the game you have your main four party members, that you get or at least meet at the start of the game. And then later on, throughout the story you are able to recruit four more, for a total of eight. Now a lot of them are tied to one another, such as you getting one person allows you to get another, or, if you have these three then you can get this fourth one. At first I was put off in how limited it felt, but, I think with how short the game is, that it is not that bad. What I also REALLY liked, and I feel does soooo much better than octopath does, is in how they interact, in both between one another, and in the story as a whole. For instance, with Ashlay in Cyuss, in there both crucial moments between Phia, or just going to that town as a whole, is vastly different from one another, and both shed different light on the characters. Like it was really cool seeing in Ashlays section talk about Cyuss, which Phia cares for, but when you get Cyuss and bring him instead, Phia is reluctant to talk to him, and he is ashamed to go see his father. It was just really awesome to see, definitely the highlight of the game for me!

Art Direction

I think the game was fine visually, and it felt very in line with Valkyrie Profile, which the same developers made. I of course love the pre rendered backgrounds a lot, and the fixed camera, however, some parts looked much worse than the snes counterpart, but nothing to complain about tooo much. I also did not like the new art for the remaster. Mainly because of how the outfits and tone were different than there sprites, the art was not bad, but didn’t match.

Games played

Here is the full list of games I played this year. TOTAL: 23

• Valkyrie Profile
• Persona 3 FES
• Persona 4 Golden
• Persona 5 Royal
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• The Last Story
• Furi
• Katamari Damacy
• Cocoon
• Unbeatable
• HellDivers
• Destiny
• Elden Ring
• Mario Kart World
• Moon
• Bombrush CyberFunk
• Pseudoregalia
• Animal Well
• Demon Souls
• Kingdoms of the Dump
• 8 Bit Adventure 2
• Inscryption - Second Playthrough
• Star Ocean First Departure R

I am very happy with the amount, and the games I played, none of them were wasteful, and I enjoyed all of them, in their own ways!

Favorite

It easily has to go to Persona 4 Golden. I just had so much fun with the game, and each character touch my heart in a way no other game has. I think the moment I felt the most attached was when both Nanako was going to die, and at the end of the game when I was leaving Inaba, I was in tears sobbing, with the biggest smile on my face. I dont think I have had a game make me so emotional or connected before, and has left huge impact on me. Loved the game

What's Next

For next year, there are a few games I want to play. Stray Children, the game made by the people who made Moon. Star Ocean, just because it looks really fun. An old Final Fantasy game, haven't played one in a while. Xenoblade, about time I started the series. A BUNCH OF INDIES, just something from the mass backlog I have lol. Vagrant Story, seems fun. And the Rest I will leave open. Not too sure what next year has in store for me in terms of free time. But I will always try to make time for the this amazing, transportive hobby.

Strategy, Tactics, War!

This is a strategy game, so there a lot of the gameplay is of course, strategic. Where to place certain people, whether to engage or not. I think this game specifically wasnt as hard as im sure it will be in the future, since it is the first title in the series, but still had its own challenges. I think the levels at first felt long, but honestly, unless you are planning on using the armory, or dont have a set plan on who to use or level up, than it goes by pretty fast. Id say this gets me excited to not only play other Strategy rpgs, but continue the fire emblem franchise

I think the dying mechanic makes sense, and honeslty, it would be more organic to have people die, besides the main party or character, instead of resetting. That is what the creators intended, and for me it just felt like I was missing out of that sort of "war-like" element that the game was trying to show me

Baseline Story

The story was pretty alright. Nothing super indepth but by no means is that to undermine it, but I think with this game being originally being on the nes, I am very surprised at how much detail there is. (Although this could be more thought out due to it being a remake). I honestly dont remember tooo much, besides you losing your family, and going off to war and allying with various countries, and attacking others, in order to reach the shadow dragon!

Introduction to the Series

I think my favorite part of this game, overall, is the gameplay, and thinking how the stories are bound to get much better as time goes on is even more exciting. This was a solid stepping stone, and luckily was by no means a slog to get through (Besides grinding for HOURS in the armory, and having to reset a bunch). I think it is games like these that we need for series that are older, like how they made the final fantasy pixel remaster, or the Ocarina of Time 3ds title, or all the Super mario platformers being on switch.

Smooth Gameplay

Fantastic Game Progression

The Story of the Ghost

Tales

All around amazing Graphics