What Games Are You Playing?

[Lucky_Deity]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5)

After 103 hours I finally beat it and did almost everything in-game and I've got to say I loved almost every second of it, GOTY for me so far and will likely stay it.

There is so much to say about this game due to how big it is so I will share my full thoughts at a later time but this was a beautiful game, so many great moments as well as fun gameplay (for the most part).

The wait for Part 3 is going to kill me but I still have a lot of other entries in the FF series to tide me over until then.

 

[Lordhippos]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5)

After 103 hours I finally beat it and did almost everything in-game and I've got to say I loved almost every second of it, GOTY for me so far and will likely stay it.

I'm really glad you liked it so much, I documented some issues I personally had with it but this is all subjective, and maybe I'd have liked it more if I had more nostalgia for the OG version.

I heard there is a patch today that improves performance and presumably some of those awful looking textures we had occasionally, especially on rocks.

In general news, I've bought a few games ready for some point in the future when I'm out of new releases to play, based on some conversations we had a while back in this thread.

Purchased The Surge 1 and 2 (double pack on Steam was about £5) and Nioh 2 which was in this months Humble choice for £9, can't really complain at these prices! Humble one also contained some other games, will keep Citizen Sleeper as that looked pretty cool.

 

[Dai]

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
I finished it yesterday with almost 124 hours on the clock. I often start to lose interest in long games around the 50-hour mark, so it's testament to how good this was that it held my interest throughout. I'll be surprised if anything due out this year tops it as a potential Game of the Year contender.

That's not to say it's perfect. There was far too much copy-pasted map-marker-chasing filler from the Ubisoft school of open world design (I groaned when I saw the first radio tower). On the other hand, while Rebirth has vastly more side content than Remake, much of it is a lot better. The major sidequests are generally more varied and interesting than the ones in Remake, a few duds aside (that one with the damn chickens...). Chasing random map markers wasn't all pure busywork either, with the protorelic ones leading to some of the most entertaining moments in the game, and even things like accessing item caches and radio towers increasingly becoming environmenal puzzles that reminded me of pre-reboot Tomb Raider at times.

Combat has been developed and fine-tuned even further than Remake. Each character plays differently, keeping things interesting throughout. It's on a par with Bayonetta at this point, and makes a mockery of the simplistic combat that used to typify action RPGs.

Some of the minigames are as feature-rich and polished as standalone retail games. Chocobo racing is a massive upgrade over the original FFVII, now playing like a competent Mario Kart clone. I spent a ridiculous amount of time in the piano rhythm-action game. The real star of the minigames is Queen's Blood though, the first FF card game I've really enjoyed, and with a large amount of opponents, chess-style puzzles and gimmick-based challenges to keep things interesting. It even has its own storyline.

As for the main story, I loved almost all of it. A typical playthrough of the original FFVII takes me about 35 hours, with disc one being about 15, so one of the main things I wanted from the remakes was a chance to spend more time with the characters. The first two remakes have offered that in spades. It's great that it continues to lean into the quirkier moments of the original too.

Aside from some excessive open world bloat, my only real complaint is the last few hours of the main story.

Spoiler: Ending spoilers

Aerith's death is a scar that 90s gamers have carried for decades. Remake teased that things could be different this time, so I expected to come away from Rebirth's version of the Forgotten Capital scene either relieved or heartbroken. I didn't expect to be confused and frustrated. It's never a good sign when I immediately have to hit the internet to read up on conflicting theories about what the hell just happened. As far as I can tell, there are a few possible interpretations:

1) After entering the portal of light, Cloud becomes untethered from reality and is essentially choosing his own version of events from a branching multiverse of possibilities. Aerith simultaneously dies and doesn't die, becoming a Schrodinger's cat who is observed as alive by Cloud, but dead by everyone else. I think Sephiroth is the only character who has been mentioning the multiverse though, so it's possible his talk about that is just further attempts to mess with Cloud's head. This version also doesn't track with the clash between Cloud's borderline cheerful demeanor at the end vs Aerith being more sorrowful as they part ways.

2) After entering the portal of light, Cloud enters a realm that overlaps with the lifestream, enabling him to see spirits of the dead. In this interpretation, the world(s) where Zack survives aren't other dimensions, but rather dreamworlds within the lifestream (ie. Zack didn't actually survive). Aerith dies, but Cloud's already broken mind can't cope, so just like his memories of the Nibelheim Incident changed, we see him altering his perception of what's happening to Aerith in real time. Cloud is then seeing Aerith's spirit. She knows that she died, but Cloud thinks that he saved her, which explains the disconnect between their moods in the final scenes. When Cloud asks "Can you find your way back?" and she says, "It's like a second home", Cloud is referring to the Forgotten Capital, but Aerith is referring to the lifestream. This would act as pay-off for the earlier talk about death being a homecoming. Advent Children supports this theory, since Cloud sees and hears Aerith and Zack's spirits at times.

3) In the original FFVII, the Sephiroth who appears in disc 1 is his spirit that's infected the lifestream. It's possible this is still the case, but Rebirth also introduces the idea that "Jenova can imitate people you hate, people you love." Sephiroth uses this line to attempt to turn Cloud against Tifa multiple times, but we never get a real payoff for it in Rebirth. Perhaps the Sephiroth we see in Rebirth is Jenova, and so is the Aerith that Cloud sees after her death. If Jenova is also the one altering Cloud's memories of his past, this theory would track. Sephiroth being Jenova in disguise in Rebirth seems a possibility, but I'm not sure about this theory for Aerith though, since I would have expected a more sinister twist on her in the final scene instead of her somber farewell.

4) The worst option is if the writers might just be hedging their bets and there is no real explanation yet. Either they didn't want to lock in a definite answer about whether Aerith lives or dies until the final part of the trilogy or part 3 will remain equally ambiguous about her fate in an awkward attempt to appease both people who want her to survive and those who want an accurate retelling of the original.

Theory 2 makes the most sense to me, but the execution of that final chapter is so confusing that I just don't know if it's likely.

 

[Herano]

I've been trying out a lot of bullet heavens and have been really into Picayune Dreams lately. An interesting and surreal postapocalyptic sci-fi story, music that gets your blood pumping and fun bullethell bosses make it a winner for me

 

[NormanicGrav]

The unknown journey continues and it's one game that was played throughout the whole month!

I have decided to delve into gameplay spoilers for various aspects so if you want to play the game blind I suggest you ignore this post!

---

#06 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PlayStation 5)
Acquired: February 2024

Spoiler: My thoughts on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

Final Fantasy VII is a game that many people have played and considered to be one of their favourites throughout their gaming history. My first experience was through Final Fantasy VII Advent Children which was a fun CG anime film, but I did get the opportunity to play the original after playing the first part of this remake project. If you have seen my previous post, I won't go into too much detail about how I felt about the first part or the original, but both were great experiences.

After four years, the second part of the trilogy, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, has finally been released and it's such a journey that I struggle to describe how much content Square Enix has managed to jam pack into this game. The developers have put a lot of love into this game and it definitely shows throughout the whole experience, from its storyline to the world-building and even the mini-games and side quests available. I will get straight to the point - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is technically a 10/10 game and one of the best games created for this entire franchise. There are a few issues but a vast majority of what this game has done is pretty much perfect.

Let's break the game down into different sections.



The story:
We continue where we left off from Final Fantasy VII Remake, leaving Midgar and travel around the world. You visit various places from towns and facilities to entertainment centres and jungles. If you played the original, this pretty much adapts the remainder of Disc 1's content which doesn't sound like much but is a great stopping point for what the journey provides. Each chapter is filled with interesting plot points and great character development for each member of the team. While this is re-treading the same key points from the original, there are expanded sections for additional context and a new direction to bring more surprises to the mix. I'm not going to spoil that much, because its definitely an intriguing direction for what's to come.

Square Enix seems to have implied that while newcomers can jump into the remake trilogy without prior knowledge of any of the previous instalments within the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII world, it is worth checking them out to experience some specific moments throughout this game and the next one that may add more context to what is going on (which explains why Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII was remastered and why Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete was re-released in theaters recently).

The ending has made a lot of people feel disappointed or confused, and even I had the same type of reaction, but looking back at it more and knowing the full context, I think it's a pretty genius and bold move to take. Knowing the context it definitely makes sense on why Square Enix decided to go with this direction and I do think the third game will make up for it.



The journey:
The pacing is pretty much spot on and I was honestly side tracked by a lot of the game's side content for a majority of my time playing through this game. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a massive game and it shows. You have large maps that are pretty much all connected to each other and fast travel is what it says it would do well. You can use chocobos to traverse in a lot of areas, which does require you to find one first which was a fun little mini-game. Some chapters are linear but much like the original they have been expanded upon to make it feel like a complete experiences. Your party does split up from time to time into different groups which adds to the variety and being able to control and experience each character's mechanics and gameplay during combat.

Relationships are also a key factor during your journey throughout the story. Certain dialogue choices and side content will build your relationship to each character, whether its with Tifa or Aerith or even Yuffie who tags along in the early parts of the story. While this won't impact the ending, it does add for nice rewarding side content moments during two chapters of the story. Plus, if you didn't receive the outcome you wanted you do have another opportunity to see the other characters specific scenes when you finish the game.

A number of characters do make a return, most notably Chadley who continued to provide Cloud and his team with various notes about the enemies and world surroundings. We are introduced to MAI who is very similar to Chadley but is mainly there to support you with the enemy World Intel segments. While I have no issue with her presence I do consider both of them to be over welcoming during the journey and wish they toned it down unless there was a specific story arc involved.



The combat:
Final Fantasy VII Remake's combat was a great balance between the classic turn-based gameplay and modern real-time action. What I love about this mixture is how they are essentially taking the Kingdom Hearts game formula and using the menu selection to slow down time to which you can make different decisions throughout the battles. This is great so that you can calm yourself during intense situations especially when dealing with boss fights.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth takes what worked with the original and expands upon it with new mechanics added to the mix. Synergy is the biggest inclusion which allows you to team up with a partner and create special combos to help build your ATB gauge or have unlimited MP support or even an extra level to your limit break. While it does sound a bit confusing at first, it works really well and you can use the game's level up system to build your character's abilities like additional Synergy links and more limit breaks.

In Remake, each weapon had their own system where you can use points to build up its power. They have replaced that whole concept with an overall character build using folios which covers everything altogether, which to me works much better for pacing and progression. They do still keep the unique abilities that you need to keep using to permanently add it to your roster as well as materia slots that differ on how many are available for each weapon. Each weapon also has three mini slots that allow you to add extra damage power or MP support depending on your preference for each character. The equipment setup also returns so you have one that adds additional materia slots and another for things like more attack power or resistance to specific materia attacks.

Also a new addition to the combat setup are Item Transmuters which allows you to create new items and equipment which is very handy for situations where you run out of items and need more. You will see so many objects throughout the land that you just can't help but pick up and these are all relevant to this new menu selection. The more you transmute, the more items you can create.



The side content:
Good lord there is so much content in this game it's insane. Within four years, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth has provided the best value of money than I have ever seen from any recent game in terms of the side content. Every mini-game and storyline introduced here feels polished and relevant to the world that has been built. There's so much creative ideas as well for the side quests, ranging from teaming up with a regime to defeat a monster, to chasing some weird gang members, to even throwing a box in front of a chicken to lure them from one area to another.

Alongside the side quests is the World Intel which is basically this game's take on the Ubisoft concept. Now this is both a benefit and drawback to the world that has been created. Traversing throughout each area is great and its cool to find new stuff throughout, but there are some areas that do feel a bit too overwhelming that it can be a bit too much. Saying that, I found that the mini-games were spot on and all were different to each other in each area which adds to the freshness of the content. In each World Intel area you have enemies that you can fight with specific challenges namely staggering and weaknesses, finding a few lifestream pools that provide a bunch of resources for your Item Transmuter, and three sets of special caves that will support you in your battles against Summons on the Chadley simulator.

The most important side content is the Protorelic storyline which are a four-part segment in each area that involves the character Gilgamesh. You see him throughout and each area you complete you discover more about his character but along the way it also expands the stories for many side characters you interact with, one area in particular provides additional relevance to what happened in the previous game.

Fort Condor from Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade does make a return, but only for one specific section and it's different to before. While it has some neat additions like adding special characters to support you with big attacks/defences, I do feel this is a downgrade to the previous iteration. Since its exclusive to a specific section, you have to deal with a fixed build which adds more difficulty to the mix. Its a shame as I did enjoy the mini-game prior, but the other mini-games make up for it.


View attachment Card game.mp4

In fact, the best and most addictive new addition to the mini-game line-up is Queen's Blood, which is a card game with the aim to receive a large number of points against your opponent. There are three lanes and its not designed to be based on having the most lanes but rather the most points, so one lane can have 30 points and the other two lanes could total 25 points overall and you still would win, which makes for a great tactical approach. The cards have three tiers and the bigger the tier, the stronger the card will be in the lane but you have to work your way through your lane setup and make sure your opponent doesn't steal your slots. There are dozens of cards you can collect, and each card you put down adds points and depending on what you pick buffers as well to help support you against your opponent. While it does feel like you may lose, it is very rewarding winning each match you face and I was able to complete all of the ones related to the ranks. There are also puzzle versions for more challenges if you want more.

There's dozens of mini-games included in this game it's insane. Returning from the original is Chocobo racing which can be very challenging if you don't have the right gear for your chocobo and which difficulty you're on (for instance if you play the game on Hard difficulty the AI gets tougher as well in the race). Also available is a linear bike game which is pretty much the same controls you would have experienced in Final Fantasy VII Remake but points based. The smashing boxes for points mini-game from Final Fantasy VII Remake also makes a return though I don't know if its as overkill as the one Yuffie experienced in Intergade. Similar to Fort Condor, there's Gears and Gambits which is about you strategically placing robots in the field to defeat the centre boss whilst also managing your defences in three corners of the area. And of course there's the music rhythm aspects that are also available, namely with the piano which is great but it can be a challenge if your controller has drifting issues like mine did which was a nuisance. There's even more but I don't want to spoil too much.



Other notes:
Because I prefer to have a better framerate than resolution for my playthroughs, I did select performance mode which is 60 frames per second. The game runs really well though there are some occasional dips here and there. The graphics look really good especially during the cutscenes but some characters up close do look like they have seen some ****. Speaking of character models, I do think the character models for the NPCs are inconsistent in design, and what I mean by this is that you can tell who is important by how their faces look. It's a shame because it does take you out of the experience at times.

I do love the amount of detail on the character NPCs in each area, especially in towns which makes the game feel more lively. I also noticed each character is different so it doesn't feel lazy and reused a lot which is good. The monster variety is also pretty solid and each one can be accessed to identify their weaknesses and how to stagger them.

The moogles have returned! They are also a mini-game but there are rewards for finishing them. Yes, they do indeed have teeth but nothing wrong with that and I would rather have this than how they handled it in the previous game.

Also yes, Cait Sith is Scottish which is cool.



To conclude:
I have spent a total of 93 hours throughout this journey. I finished the story at the 83 hour mark and spend extra time to wrap some content. I tackled all of the World Intel content, acquired the summons available in Chadley's simulator, completed the main ranks of Queen's Blood, reached a Rank A or S with the piano, won all of the Chocobo races, and even achieved a few of the missable trophies. If you want to go for the Platinum trophy, you will end up playing the game twice (second time on Hard difficulty) and have to 100% the mini games in its entirety. But again this is all optional and I just focused on finishing the content without aiming for any top ranks in general.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is a game that I honestly didn't pay that much attention to over the past few years, and I'm loving the experience of going into it with very little information. It's made the journey a lot more exciting because there's surprises to explore. Now I have spoiled the gameplay surprises pretty much with this post I will admit but there's so much content that I haven't even touched with this game and I would love to see more people check it out. Again, this is not a perfect game by all means and much like how we went from Remake to Rebirth, Square Enix will no doubt keep the feedback going from Rebirth to their untitled third game in the trilogy. In fact my only negative is they should tone down the World Intel stuff whilst keeping the mini-games and content, which would help with the pacing and avoid feeling a bit dragged out in parts. But this is a minor issue to an otherwise well done game. I do hope Square Enix is able to live up to the expectations now presented here with this massive game in the next unknown journey, but much like how I feel about Kingdom Hearts I'm confident it'll work out.

For now, playing through this game has made me interested in revisiting Advent Children once again, and maybe even check out any of the other Final Fantasy games I have in my backlog. Namely Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion, Final Fantasy VIII Remastered, and even Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.

---

My backlog so far:

Spoiler

#​	PC/Steam Backlog - Game Name:​	Genre:
1​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky	Turn-Based RPG
2​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC	Turn-Based RPG

#​	PlayStation 3 Backlog - Game Name:​	Genre:
1​	3D Dot Game Heroes	Action RPG
2​	Bleach: Soul Resurrección	Fighting
3​	Castlevania: Lords of Shadow	Action, Hack n Slash
4​	Catherine	Puzzle
5​	Drakengard 3	Action RPG
6​	Eternal Sonata	Turn-Based RPG
7​	Folklore	Action RPG
8​	Gran Turismo 5 Academy Edition	Racing
9​	inFAMOUS	Action
10​	inFAMOUS 2	Action
11​	Katamari Forever	Puzzle
12​	Prince of Persia	Action, Platformer
13​	Puppeteer	Platformer
14​	SEGA Rally	Racing
15​	Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time	Action, Platformer
16​	Split/Second: Velocity	Racing
17​	Stranglehold	Action, Shooter
18​	Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord	Tactical RPG, Visual Novel
19​	Way of the Samurai 4	Action

#​	PlayStation 4 Backlog - Game Name:	Genre:
1​	13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim	Tactical RPG, Visual Novel
2​	AI: The Somnium Files	Adventure, Visual Novel
3​	Black Clover: Quartet Knights	Action, Fighting
4​	Bullet Girls Phantasia	Action, Shooter
5​	Burnout Paradise Remastered	Racing
6​	The Caligula Effect: Overdose	Turn-Based RPG
7​	Captain Tsubasa: Rise of New Champions	Sports
8​	Catherine Full Body	Puzzle
9​	Chaos;Child	Visual Novel
10​	Conception Plus: Maidens of the Twelve Stars	Turn-Based RPG
11​	CRYSTAR	Action RPG
12​	Cyberdimension Neptunia: Four Goddesses Online	Action RPG
13​	Danganronpa 1 Reload	Visual Novel
14​	Danganronpa 2 Reload	Visual Novel
15​	Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls	Action, Shooter
16​	Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony	Visual Novel
17​	Date A Live: Rinne Utopia (Rio-Reincarnation)	Visual Novel, Dating Sim
18​	Date A Live II: Ars Install (Rio-Reincarnation)	Visual Novel, Dating Sim
19​	Date A Live III: Twin Edition: Rio Reincarnation	Visual Novel, Dating Sim
20​	Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth - Hacker's Memory	Turn-Based RPG
21​	Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories	Adventure, Simulation
22​	Dissidia Final Fantasy NT	Arcade, Fighting
23​	Dragon Quest Heroes II	Action RPG, Musou
24​	Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition	Turn-Based RPG
25​	Dragon's Crown Pro	Action RPG
26​	Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen	Action RPG
27​	Fairy Tail	Turn-Based RPG
28​	Fate/Extella Link	Musou
29​	Final Fantasy IX	Turn-Based RPG
30​	Final Fantasy VIII Remastered	Turn-Based RPG
31​	Full Metal Panic! Fight! Who Dares Win	Tactical RPG
32​	Gal*Gun 2	On-Rails Shooter
33​	Gintama Rumble	Action, Musou
34​	GOD EATER 3	Action Hunter RPG
35​	Gravity Rush 2	Action, Platformer
36​	The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures	Visual Novel
37​	The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve	Visual Novel
38​	Gundam Breaker 3 BREAK EDITION	Action, Arcade
39​	The Hong Kong Massacre	Top-Down Shooter
40​	Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Infinite Combate	Action RPG
41​	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven	Fighting
42​	Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa	Puzzle, Visual Novel
43​	Langrisser	Tactical RPG
44​	Langrisser II	Tactical RPG
45​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel	Turn-Based RPG
46​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II	Turn-Based RPG
47​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III	Turn-Based RPG
48​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV	Turn-Based RPG
49​	Legend of Mana	Action RPG
50​	Megadimension Neptunia VII	Turn-Based RPG
51​	Megadimension Neptunia VIIR	Turn-Based RPG
52​	MELTY BLOOD: TYPE LUMINA	Fighting
53​	Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm	Action, Fighting
54​	Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2	Action, Fighting
55​	Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3	Action, Fighting
56​	Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4: Road to Boruto	Action, Fighting
57​	NEO: The World Ends With You	Action RPG
58​	Neptunia Virtual Stars	Action
59​	Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars	Action
60​	Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered	Turn-Based RPG
61​	Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom	Action RPG
62​	Nights of Azure	Action RPG
63​	Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon	Action RPG
64​	One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4	Action, Musou
65​	One Piece: Unlimited World Red	Action
66​	One Piece: World Seeker	Action
67​	Our World Is Ended	Visual Novel
68​	Persona 5 Royal	Turn-Based RPG
69​	Persona 5 Strikers	Action RPG, Musou
70​	Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney	Visual Novel
71​	Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Justice for All	Visual Novel
72​	Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations	Visual Novel
73​	Punch Line	Visual Novel
74​	Raging Loop	Visual Novel
75​	Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-: Prophecy of the Throne	Visual Novel
76​	Robotics;Notes DaSH	Visual Novel
77​	Robotics;Notes ELITE	Visual Novel
78​	RUINER	Action, Shooter
79​	SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays	Tactical RPG
80​	SD Gundam G Generation Genesis	Tactical RPG
81​	Secret of Mana	Action RPG
82​	Sengoku Basara 4: Sumeragi	Musou
83​	Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal	Action
84​	Shadow of the Colossus	Platformer
85​	Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster	Turn-Based RPG
86​	Star Ocean: First Departure R	Action RPG
87​	Star Ocean: The Last Hope HD Remaster	Action RPG
88​	Steins;Gate Elite	Visual Novel
89​	Super Neptunia RPG	Turn-Based RPG
90​	Super Robot Wars 30	Tactical RPG
91​	Super Robot Wars OG: The Moon Dwellers	Tactical RPG
92​	Super Robot Wars T	Tactical RPG
93​	Super Robot Wars X	Tactical RPG
94​	Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet	Action RPG
95​	Taiko no Tatsujin: Drum Sessions!	Music, Rhythm
96​	Tales of Berseria	Action RPG
97​	Tales of Vesperia	Action RPG
98​	Theatrhythm Final Bar Line	Music, Rhythm
99​	Tokyo Xanadu eX+	Action RPG
100​	Trials of Mana	Action RPG
101​	Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception	Tactical RPG, Visual Novel
102​	Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth	Tactical RPG, Visual Novel
103​	Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen	Tactical RPG, Visual Novel
104​	Utawarerumono: Zan	Action, Musou
105​	Valkyria Chronicles 4	Tactical RPG
106​	Valkyria Revolution	Action RPG
107​	WipEout Omega Collection	Racing
108​	The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival Edition	Action RPG
109​	WORLDEND SYNDROME	Visual Novel
110​	Yakuza 3 Remastered	Action, Beat em up
111​	Yakuza 4 Remastered	Action, Beat em up
112​	Yakuza 5 Remastered	Action, Beat em up
113​	YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World	Visual Novel

#​	PlayStation 5 Backlog - Game Name:	Genre:
1​	Alan Wake Remastered	Action, Shooter
2​	CONTROL Ultimate Edition	Action, Shooter
3​	Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII -Reunion-	Action RPG
4​	Cyberpunk 2077	Action
5​	Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Hinokami Chronicles	Fighting
6​	The DioField Chronicle	Tactical RPG
7​	DOOM Eternal	Action, Shooter
8​	FANTAVISION 202X	Puzzle
9​	Forspoken	Action RPG
10​	Ghost of Tsushima	Action, Adventure
11​	Ghostwire: Tokyo	Action, Survival Horror
12​	Granblue Fantasy Re:link	Action RPG
13​	GrimGrimoire OnceMore	Real-Time Strategy RPG
14​	Hades	Dungeon Crawler
15​	JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle R	Fighting
16​	Judgment	Action, Beat em up
17​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie	Turn-Based RPG
18​	Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name	Action, Beat 'em up
19​	Lost Judgment	Action, Beat em up
20​	Mobile Suit Gundam BATTLE OPERATION Code Fairy	Action
21​	MONARK	Tactical RPG
22​	Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten	Turn-Based RPG
23​	Neptunia ReVerse	Turn-Based RPG
24​	Neptunia: Sisters vs Sisters	Action RPG
25​	One Piece: Odyssey	Turn-Based RPG
26​	Pac-Man World Re-Pac	Platformer
27​	Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit of Wonder Labyrinth	Metroidvania RPG
28​	Relayer	Tactical RPG
29​	SD Gundam Battle Alliance	Action RPG
30​	Soul Hackers 2	Turn-Based RPG
31​	Star Ocean: The Divine Force	Action RPG
32​	Star Ocean: The Second Story R	Action RPG
33​	Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin	Action Souls RPG
34​	Tactics Ogre Reborn	Tactical RPG
35​	Tales of Arise	Action RPG
36​	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2	Sports
37​	Unicorn Overlord	Tactical RPG
38​	Valkyrie Elysium	Action RPG
39​	Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon	Turn-Based RPG
40​	Ys IX: Monstrum Nox	Action RPG
41​	Yurukill: The Calumniation Games	Shoot em up, Visual Novel

#​	PlayStation Classics (via PS5) Backlog - Game Name:	Genre:
1​	Disney/Pixar's Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue	Platformer
2​	Everybody's Golf 2	Sports
3​	Grandia	Turn-Based RPG
4​	Kurushi Final: Mental Blocks	Puzzle
5​	The Legend of Dragoon	Turn-Based RPG
6​	Twisted Metal 2	Action, Racing
7​	Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth	Turn-Based RPG
8​	Wild Arms	Turn-Based RPG
9​	Wild Arms 2	Turn-Based RPG

#​	PlayStation Vita Backlog - Game Name:	Genre:
1​	Bullet Girls	Action, Shooter
2​	Freedom Wars	Action
3​	Valkyrie Drive Bhikkhuni	Action

#​	Nintendo Switch Backlog - Game Name:	Genre:
1​	Akai Katana Shin	Bullet Hell, Shoot 'em up
2​	Avenger (Telenet Shooting Collection)	Arcade, Shoot 'em up
3​	Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition	Adventure, Point & Click
4​	Castlevania (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
5​	Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
6​	Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
7​	Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
8​	Castlevania: The Adventure (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
9​	Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Advance Collection)	Action, Platform
10​	Castlevania: Bloodlines (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
11​	Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Advance Collection)	Action, Platform
12​	Castlevania: Dracula X (Advance Collection)	Action, Platform
13​	Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Advance Collection)	Action, Platform
14​	Contra (Anniversary Collection)	Side-scrolling Shooter
15​	Contra Hard Corps (Anniversary Collection)	Side-scrolling Shooter
16​	Contra III: The Alien Wars (Anniversary Collection)	Side-scrolling Shooter
17​	Cursed to Golf	Sports, Platformer
18​	Cytus Alpha	Music, Rhythm
19​	Deathsmiles	Bullet Hell, Shoot 'em up
20​	Deathsmiles II	Bullet Hell, Shoot 'em up
21​	Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze	Action, Platform
22​	Final Fantasy	Turn-Based RPG
23​	Final Fantasy Adventure (Collection of Mana)	Action RPG
24​	Final Fantasy II	Turn-Based RPG
25​	Final Fantasy III	Turn-Based RPG
26​	Final Fantasy IV	Turn-Based RPG
27​	Final Fantasy V	Turn-Based RPG
28​	Final Fantasy VI	Turn-Based RPG
29​	Fire Emblem: Engage	Tactical RPG
30​	Fire Emblem: Three Houses	Tactical RPG
31​	Gaiares (Telenet Shooting Collection)	Arcade, Shoot 'em up
32​	Granada (Telenet Shooting Collection)	Arcade, Shoot 'em up
33​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero	Turn-Based RPG
34​	The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure	Turn-Based RPG
35​	The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails	Action RPG
36​	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Action RPG
37​	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening	Action RPG
38​	Live A Live	Tactical RPG
39​	Mario Kart 8 Deluxe	Racing
40​	Metroid Dread	Metroidvania
41​	Metroid Prime Remastered	Action, Shooter
42​	MUSYNX	Music, Rhythm
43​	New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe	Platformer
44​	Octopath Traveler	Turn-Based RPG
45​	Operation C (Anniversary Collection)	Side-scrolling Shooter
46​	Paper Mario: The Origami King	Turn-Based RPG
47​	Powerslave Exhumed	Action, Shooter
48​	Psychic Storm (Telenet Shooting Collection)	Arcade, Shoot 'em up
49​	Radiant Silvergun	Bullet Hell, Shoot 'em up
50​	Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess	Turn-Based RPG
51​	Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom	Turn-Based RPG
52​	River City Girls Zero	Action, Beat 'em ups
53​	Secret of Mana (Collection of Mana)	Action RPG
54​	Senran Kagura Peach Ball	Pinball
55​	Senran Kagura Reflexions	Simulation
56​	Shadow Man Remastered	Action, Adventure
57​	Super Castlevania IV (Anniversary Collection)	Action, Platform
58​	Super Contra (Anniversary Collection)	Side-scrolling Shooter
59​	Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury	Action, Platformer
60​	Super Mario Galaxy	Action, Platformer
61​	Super Mario Odyssey	Action, Platformer
62​	Super Mario Sunshine	Action, Platformer
63​	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Fighting
64​	Syd of Valis (SD Valis)	Action, Platformer
65​	Trials of Mana (Collection of Mana)	Action RPG
66​	Valis: The Fantasm Soldier	Action, Platformer
67​	Valis II	Action, Platformer
68​	Valis III	Action, Platformer
69​	Valis IV	Action, Platformer
70​	Witch on the Holy Night	Visual Novel
71​	Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition	Action RPG
72​	Xenoblade Chronicles 2	Action RPG
73​	Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country	Action RPG
74​	Yoshi's Crafted World	Action, Platformer

The 2024 '40' Games Goal:

Spoiler

No.	Game	Console​	Acquired​	Genre
1​	Quake	PS5​	2023​	Action, Shooter
2​	Quake II	PS5​	2023​	Action, Shooter
3​	MushimeSama	Switch​	2023​	Bullet Hell, Shoot 'em up
4​	Nioh 2 Remastered	PS5​	2022​	Action Souls RPG
5​	Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade	PS5​	2024​	Action RPG
6​	Final Fantasy VII Rebirth	PS5​	2024​	Action RPG

 

[Lordhippos]

Completed Rise of the Ronin, that was a fun game I liked it, it's basically a mash up of Ghost of Tsushima (though less graphical fidelity) and Sekiro, some say it's also got Nioh vibes but I've not yet played that to confirm.

People said the graphics weren't great, I could see that was true at times, but at others it definitely had it's shining moments where it looked the part. Story stuff was interesting, and the combat was where it really counted.

Anyone who likes Ghost of Tsushima, Sekiro, and (probably) Nioh would presumably also like this.

Stellar Blade demo dropped and I played it, I'm now officially hyped for the full game. Whilst it clearly draws on several other games, it feels like a solid product with good direction, and I think it can carve out it's own niche without just being a clone of something else.

I don't expect this game to change the world, but it was fun to play and I'm sure I'll enjoy it when it lands!

Currently playing Dragons Dogma 2 on PC whilst I await Stellar Blade and Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes to drop later in April!

 

[CommanderZx2]

Regarding Stellar Blade, I looked into that after people were making a lot of noise about it being a fan service game, but what I found was pretty disappointing in that terms. It really doesn't have any fan service aside from a bit of jiggle and some shiny close fitting outfits.

It's so tame it makes me why it was marketed in that way, I guess it was to try to stand out after how prudish the Playstation marketplace has become.

 

[Lordhippos]

We're pretty used to it from anime I think, but it's just the same kind of fan service you get in Bayonetta, Nier etc.

I think I'd play the game even without the fan service, but am not going to complain about it being there.

 

[Dai]

Llamasoft: The Jeff Minter Story
This is the latest in Digital Eclipse's line of 'interactive documentaries'. How you approach it will heavily guide what you get out of it. Billed as having over 40 games, if you're hoping for a good-value anthology of games to play, you'll probably be disappointed. Minter has spent much of his career iterating on the same handful of games repeatedly, and there are at least three versions of many of those titles included.

The next disappointment is how heavily the collection is weighted towards Minter's early career. There are some borderline unplayable Vic-20 games, and the bulk of the collection consists of titles for the Vic-20, Commodore 64 and Atari 8-bit. You do get the Jaguar version of Tempest 2000, a few Atari ST games, and an underwhelming new remaster of the original Gridrunner, but for the most part it stops abruptly at 1994. You don't get Space Giraffe, any of the iOS games, or anything previously released on a Playstation console. Granted, the documentary side continues further into Minter's career, but the included games are very much Jeff Minter: The Early Years.

If you instead approach this as a documentary and historical artefact, there's more to appreciate. It gives a good account of the career of one of gaming's most distinctive developers through a mix of video interviews, archival magazine features, text interviews snippets, and original handwritten development notes. In that context, having multiple ports of the same games lets you see how they were adapted to the hardware capabilities of each system, and how Minter experimented with gameplay formulas in successive versions.

Personally, I came away from this disappointed. I've been aware of Minter since the 80s, but never played his early games back then, due to having a Spectrum instead of a C64. Consequently, I don't have nostalgia goggles for these games, and many of them don't hold up today.

 

[Aeon]

Well, I recently got Unicorn Overlord for my birthday and managed to get the platinum after a whopping 70 or so hours of not even opening my copy of FF7 Rebirth, that I also got for my birthday, until after completing this game, sequence breaking so that I can recruit Dinah as quickly as possible, going back to doing things in the proper order afterwards, realising that real life exists and having to actually do chores around the house before getting back to what really matters in life, playing more of this game and staying up until silly o clock in the morning doing so, eventually getting to the last boss only to find that I didn’t prepare properly so had to start the entire stage again and then unlocking the remaining trophies afterwards; I can confidently say that Unicorn Overlord is a very strong GOTY contender and has been an absolute ride throughout, it’s not often that I can put in 70 hours and still feel like I can keep playing but Vanillaware have pulled it off.

An exceptional strategy RPG.

 

[HWR]

I’ve sunk around 30 hours into Infinite Wealth and 1/3 of that feels like it was just for the Sujimon quest which I have to redo the final fight for as I was under-levelled for the events afterwards and got mullered.

Well almost 90 hours in now and just have a few more Sujimon to collect alongside the final dungeons. Lots to do in this game especially with the Sujimon and Dondoko island games taking around 10-15 hours to fully beat from a substory/fully ranking up perspective. The combat still doesn’t gel as well as just pummelling goons into submission but now I’ve got the right abilities and buffs very little seems to slow me down.

 

[Spark_Heal]

Finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. Originally I skipped a chunk of the side content in a later chapter to get to the ending, but then went back for everything I had interest in.

That was a lot of fun. The big issue I have with it is an unavoidable part of this Remake project. Because they had to make a game about the middle part of the story there isn’t a strong core plot. Which is fine and something the game mostly uses to it’s advantage. The pervious game was very dour and sometimes claustrophobic story set in a decrepit rotting cityscape as a party of heroes slowly assembles. Now the cast of embraced the great outdoors on their hunt for Sephiroth. Wide open areas, new locations, more variety in content, more colourful locations and a more relaxed approach. All of it really works for the game’s benefit because it enables them to focus on character dynamics and adventure. Resulting in a lot of really funny or heartfelt moments.

The combat is improved in a lot of ways. Cloud finally has a way of dealing with flying enemies that feels good. Tifa and Barrett didn’t need much tweaking so they are largely unchanged. Aerith more or less was completely retooled with completely new and unique mechanics that make her a lot better. Yuffie is ridiculously powerful. I’m less positive on the other new party members like Red XIII but they were solid enough. But individual abilities aren’t the only thing. They have introduced a whole range of Synergy Skills: moves that use two party members for various purposes and ultimate attacks that have additional benefits. You need to adjust to using these because they are vital to victory. While there aren’t as many new character specific abilities as I would want (a lot of them are abilities form the first game), magic feels more than before and with so many different tricks and tactics you have an overwhelming amount of combat mechanics to play with.

Some minor issues. Exploring environments is great fun. Climbing towers is not. Rebirth does not have the chops to make that type of climbing puzzle fun. While a lot of the side quests are amazing the way the game is structured means you can run all over the map, find an impressive ruined temple, go in and find it empty because this location exists for a quest you haven’t started yet. And some of the mini-games are just bad. All of them are optional but the piano mini game stands out as being particularly obnoxious. But the game also has an outstanding side activity called Queen’s Blood that I loved every time it came up. Along with a very diverse and excellently produced soundtrack.,

 

[Anime1977]

I'm using launchbox its a frontend for emulators it's free and payed but the free version is a bit limited so no big box mode unless you pay for it.

 

[HWR]

I’ve been playing Robocop Rogue City and though rather clunky in places (and not due to Murphy’s metal physical make up), it’s a decent title that’s elevated thanks to the returning performances from Peter Weller and Nancy Allen. One distraction for me so far though is that a lot of the enemy NPCs sound like Eddy from Ed Edd n’ Eddy but I don’t think Tony Sampson appears on the cast list.

 

[Gemsy-chan]

Completed The Rising Tide dlc for Final Fantasy XVI...a nice little extra to the story

 

[Lordhippos]

Ahead of Stellar Blade release, I've played/completed all 3 Bayonetta games.

Bayonetta 1

I've had this on the PC since I bought it for about £10 back in 2017. I only got around to playing it this year!

A fun action game with good combat, a lot of fan-service, sass, and an incomprehensible story. I'm not really playing it for the story anyway so that's fine.

Bayonetta 2

Similar to Bayonetta 1, but with some polish applied to it in some areas, this is more goal-driven with regards to the destination. The rest of the story is still pretty incomprehensible, but again it doesn't really matter, the story takes a back seat to the action.

Long hair Bayonetta is superior.

Bayonetta 3

I was really disappointed with this one, whilst the narrative of the other two games isn't their focal points, this one tries to incorporate the story into the gameplay more. The result is that the game play suffers. Playing as Bayonetta is mostly as usual, but you're also forced to play as other characters sometimes (won't spoil who) and it just isn't as fun.

The story itself also appears to trample over the groundwork laid by the other two games, and ultimately implodes into a giant mess by the end, with things just happening for "reasons" and twists being thrown at you without any real explanation or foreshadowing.

I think this game was trying to do too much, and trying to evolve the story to setup the next game, but I think it was too ambitious and I prefer the original games for their more simple minded hitting stuff is fun approach.

Verdict

I think release order wins here, Bayonetta 1 > 2 > 3. I kind of wish I had stopped at 2 because 3 really isn't very good, and the good bits didn't outweigh the bad bits for me.

 

[Lordhippos]

Tried out Eiyuden Chronicles: Hundred Heroes on Game Pass as it came out today, and my verdict is: meh. I'm more disappointed in this than I am with Bayonetta 3, and I was pretty disappointed with that as you could probably tell from my post above.

Boring world to explore with nothing in it except random invisible walls, slow pace of exploration, slow battle pace, really egregious translations (I don't speak Japanese fluently but I can tell they've taken extreme liberties with the localisation/translation), and exploring the settlements just leads to empty copy/paste buildings you've seen in other places.

I actually feel kind of bad for the developers here, but the game just isn't fun to play, and doesn't draw you into it's world. Without that connection to the world and the characters all you have is a shell of a game.

To top matters off, the Game Pass version defaults to JPN language for text. I managed to luckily guess which option changed it to ENG, but how poorly was this rollout tested that the entire platform gives ENG OS users the JPN text version out of the gate?

I'm going to go back to Sekiro instead whilst I await Stellar Blade in a few days.

 

[HWR]

I’ve been playing Bayonetta 3 and am reminded why I put it off for a while as I suck at landing combos - not a fan of the non-Bayonetta sections either but I’ll see this through as I’m halfway done.

 

[Lucky_Deity]

It's been a while since I've properly posted on this thread so I need to go back some months on some of these as I never talked about them.

Pokemon Scarlet - The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 2: The Indigo Disk + Epilogue: Mochi Mayhem (DLC) (Switch)

I found both of these very enjoyable, with new areas to explore, new characters and stories as well as new and returning Pokemon there was a lot to do here.

There will be story spoilers going forward.

Spoiler: Continued

Starting with the first half of The Indigo Disk we visit the Blueberry Academy, located in the Unova region in the middle of the ocean. The academy features a huge terranium under said ocean which is the main new area for this DLC, split into four artifically made biomes it gives home to a lot of varied types of Pokemon.

Compared to The Teal Mask's Kitakami, this wasn't as interesting an area IMO but it was still a joy to explore and has some nice throwbacks to areas from Gen 5 which fans will appreciate.

What this area does excel in though is that we actually get some decently challenging battles unlike the main game with a lot of focus on double battles. It was nice having to use some strategy here and there though these aren't brutal by any means but an appreciated improvement from what we've had.

Story wise we continue with the character Kieran who we met in Part 1 who is now in his edgy rival arc and is now the Champion of Blueberry's Elite 4 (until you beat him and them of course). The Elite 4 members (who are all students of the academy as well) are all fun characters as well with some fun personalities. That basically covers the story for the first half of the DLC, it's just battles really which is fine as gameplay was the focus here and the real story content starts in the second half.

The second half of the story see's you (and Kieran) return to Area Zero from the end of the main game in which we get access to an even lower portion of the crater, down in the crystalline caves where the Terrastal phenomen originates and the Pokemon responsible for it which is the new Legendary PKMM, Terapagos which is a cute enough little fella.

The highlights of this area is that after being sick of **** basically Kieren catches Terapagos so he has a PKMN that can finally beat you which of course doesn't last for long, even breaking the ball it was captured in which ends in the longest Tera Raid battle yet which was a fairly fun challenge (though I didn't have much trouble) and during this battle is when Kieren is having an existential crisis from constantly losing but by the later half of the battle he comes around.

The second highlight is that you find out you were the one who originally gave the Scarlet Book to the Prof. Sada of the past during an event if you return to the top of the mountain in Kitakami, causing her to build the time machine which lead to the events of Scarlet, making this a paradox which is a very fitting revelation for this game and further gives some lore to the Paradox PKMN in a way I guess.

I will say though it still felt a lot was unanswered from the main game during the events of Area Zero. I'm not against leaving certain things a mystery or to your own interpretation but I do wish we got some more solid answers. But on the flipside it is fun to theorize on said questions still but I still wish it had a bit more, at least I expected a bit more.

Finally onto the epilogue which released a little later, now this was a lot of fun and is the equivalent to say a fun episode of the anime which doesn't take itself to seriously, a bit of a slice of life episode really.

You, Nemona, Penny and Arven take a trip back to Kitakami and meet up with Kieren and Carmine for a vacation of sorts and this leads to a lot of fun interactions as this was the first time your friends from Paldea meet with your friends from Kitakami. After some laughs you and Kieren notice your friends as well as the residenta of Kitakami start acting weird, they all start dancing and talking about Mochi. You discover this is the work of the new Mythical PKMN, Pecharunt who have influenced your friends and the townsfolk with its mochi. There are some funny cut-scenes involving this and by the end your beat and catch Pecharunt and everything turns back to normal.

Overall this was a lovely fun send-off for the game and though the game has many problems on the technical side I still had so much fun with this entry and is a shame we're not getting anymore as they really hit it with something great on the character interactions and dynamics side and wish we had more of these slice of life / comedy style plots.

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (PS5) (Full Thoughts)

In my original post about this game I said I'd share my full thoughts at a later date so here they are.

This is honestly one of the best games I have ever played period. It's the sort of game you just feel like shouldn't exist, especially in this current era of gaming. Like I'm not sure how to describe it but it feels like a game and isn't ashamed of it if that makes sense.

There will be major spoilers ahead, for both this game and any other game from the FF7 universe.

Spoiler: Continued

I guess as a bit of backstory my first experience with the FF7 universe was with Advent Children when I was teen, I adored the movie despite not really knowing what the hell was going on but it was so cool to me. Of course over the years I already knew about the two major deaths of the series, Aerith and Zack, just without the context (I mean I knew Sephiroth killed Aerith but that was all) and I'd played a tiny bit of Dirge of Cerberus (a game I've still never beaten nor remember much from the little I played) but outside of that it wasn't until I finally played FF7 Remake a few years ago that I really got into the world of FF7 and have adored it ever since. FF7 Remake is an amazing game and I still rate it very highly though will be interesting to go back to after Rebirth.

After that I moved onto Crisis Core Reunion which wasn't that long ago and it was great to finally see what Zack was all about and I fully understood why people love him and though I knew he'd die at the end, that ending battle and scene brought me to tears regardless.

Afterwards I was unsure what to do, do I wait and go into Rebirth blind or do I play the OG FF7 as I really enjoyed Remake not knowing what the actual plot of FF7 even was but I decided to play the original in the end and I'm really glad I did as I think it further improved my experience with Rebirth as well as improved how I felt about Remake as well as made me realise the flaws of Crisis Core and Advent Children (I hate that Genesis is present at the Nibelheim reactor in CC ) and of course FF7 is a fantastic game by itself. I did also re-watch AC before Rebirth, didn't enjoy it as much as I did when I was younger as the plot is pretty weak but the action scenes and music are still top notch, I can't hate the movie.

Now onto Rebirth itself, where to start.

Gameplay - This is definitely my favourite combat system for a FF game, I'm already a fan of action games so the remake series not being turn-based hasn't been an issue for me personally. Though mostly the same as Remake, it has definitely been improved upon and once you adjust it feels great and of course the more abilities and materia you acquire the better it gets.

Starting with Cloud I really like that they have added a ranged attack into his default move-set as considering you play as him for the majority of the game it can be a real issue when you're stuck against an airborne enemy and may not have the equipment / abilities / party members to deal with them as easily.

Barrett feels mostly unchanged though I didn't use him much in Remake tbf but after spending more time with him in Rebirth I've really come around to his playstyle and he definitely does feel better overall.

Tifa again is mostly unchanged and was my favourite to use in Remake, she continues to have great abilities and can be a powerhouse. Due to some other characters I haven't used her as much in Rebirth but is a fantastic option still.

Aerith like in Remake I feel starts off not the strongest but once you build her up she is a fantastic character and you want her in your team at most times. This time around some of her abilities from Remake are baked in to her default move-set which worked well. I don't have much to say about her apart from put the time and effort in as it'll be worth it.

Yuffie is such a fun character to use, I enjoyed playing as her in Intergrade but due to the short time of the DLC I never got the chance to fully experiment with her gameplay but that has been rectified in Rebirth. Being a mix of a melee and ranged fighter she works great in any situation and being able to change her magic type for her ninjutsu further adds to that. I personally used her as a ranged attacker more and was one of the most common party members I used in my playthrough.

Red XIII was my biggest surprise as prior to this I was curious how'd they make a four legged animal playable in this sort of game (though we got a glimpse with non-playable Red in Remake). I really enjoyed his defence styled gameplay which I didn't think I'd be a fan of but I really came around to it very quickly. He also just feels like he powers through enemies being one of the quickest enemy killers and getting that stagger bar up fast. With Cloud and Yuffie he was the other I used the most.

Cait Sith is the odd ball, I really think I just need to spend more time with him and really learn his gameplay style as though I was starting to get some cools things out of him it wasn't really clicking with me. Like Aerith I think once I have the right materia and the like and learnt what moves to use in what situations he could possibly become quite a broken character (like in OG FF7). Definitely my least used character and really only used him when I had to or to get his weapon abilities.

Story - Picking up from Remake we jump straight into playing as Zack for a short section which was a pleasent surprise as I expected the Nibelheim flashback from the demo to be the opening segment and honestly just the fact that Zack was playable at all brought a giddy smile to my face. Though after this we don't see anymore of Zack and his world for a very long time in-game but once you do it picks up and appears more frequently but not so much it keeps interupting the main plot. These Zack portions of course are brand new and not present in the original game and because of that these were the most intriguing, especially the more we get to the endgame.

But jumping back to the main plot we get the Nibelheim flashback which is a great section and from there we cover all the way up until the end of Disc 1 of the original. This covers Kalm, the Mythril Mines, Junon, Costa del Sol, Corel, the Golden Saucer (and below), Gongaga, Cosmo Canyon, Nibelheim, the Temple of the Ancients and the Forgotten Capital. Areas the game doesn't include which you could access during this section in the original are Fort Condor, Bone Village, Rocket Town and Wutai but it's very clear these are being saved until Part 3 so it doesn't take away for me personally as I know they'll do them justice.

Some notable new additions to the story though start with Gongaga which has been very much fleshed out. This includes the appearance of the Crisis Core character Cissnei which was nice to see her again and adding new story events to the reactor in that area which ends with Tifa entering the lifestream which was a very interesting scene. The majority of the new additions though happen with during the final few chapters, which involves a lot of Zack related stuff, the multiverse and the infamous Aerith death scene. At first I was quite lost on what the hell was going on but after looking back and re-watching the scenes multiple times I have a much better idea now but there is still a lot left which we don't have answers for. I know the ending has been very divisive and I can see why but personally I still liked it a lot and am intrigued by the direction they are going in. It still left me in tears so the impact of the original was still there, much more so with how much more development and time we've got to spend with the characters, Aerith especially, she is so precious. I also think whatever happens in Part 3 will likely change how this ending is viewed, for better or worse so only time will tell.

Characters - As an extension of the story the characters are all great for the most part, I don't have many complaints. Their interactions and friendships with each other is part of the driving force of why I love this game so much, whatever they do together is a joy to see. As mentioned above Aerith is my highlight of the remake series but Barrett is easily a close second to me. All the characters from Remake and Intergrade continue to be fantastic though but those two always stand out.

With the characters introduced with Rebirth though we start with the two-faced Scottish robo-cat, Cait Sith. Though he is charming you always know he's hiding something but they have definitely toned him down from being as much of an ass as he was in the original (and that won't be the last time this happens with a character). Due to him appearing a bit later in the game and not really being present for side quests he doesn't get as much time to develop and bond with compared to the others but again once we have Part 3 we'll get to know him more but so far I like what we have.

Next is Cid, the most divisive character so far, now I definitely don't dislike him and we haven't seen much of his story at all due to no Rocket Town yet so I'll wait until Part 3 before any decisive feelings but he is definitley much different than before as in the original he was a bastard to put it bluntly, in Rebirth he is a much more nicer of a person and is unfortately missing his iconic cigarette (I'm no smoker and it's unhealthy I know but it's iconic here).

Now we have the man who just oozes edgy and cool, Vincent Valentine. Meeting him in his iconic coffin in the Shinra Mansion as always, you can't not love him. What really surprised me is the boss fight against him, one of the best additions to Rebirth and I can not wait to see how that comes into play when he is playable in Part 3. Like with Cid he doesn't have a lot of screentime in Rebirth but he definitely got more to do than Cid, even being a part of the Queen's Blood storyline which was fun. Now he is integrated into the main story unlike the original where he was optional I can't wait to see how his story will be expanded upon in the future, especially with how much love the other optional character of the original, Yuffie, got in Intergrade and Rebirth. And with Intergrade already introducing Deepground which was the focus of Dirge of Cerberus (Vincent's game) I fully expect for him to be involved with that in some way, maybe even adapting the events of DoC somewhat, despite Rebirth taking place a few years before DoC, though I don't think many people would mind if that game got retconned. I'd also take a DoC remake in the future and making it an actual good game.

World - The World of Rebirth is beautiful, so many iconic areas have been remade and expanded upon lovingly. The game is split up into regions which are open world areas with a huge number of things to do in each. Outside of the main story quests all the side content in these areas help fill out the World Intel which Chadley requests of you and due to how much I loved this game I did absolutely everything I could to max out the world Intel and got to explore every nook and cranny of this world. The side quests as well are all fantastic, you may get the odd one which isn't anything special but the majority add so much to the world and characters. I was surprised as to some of the stuff you'd only find out by doing these side quests as they're really notable to the world and story which makes these even better, you're getting worthwhile lore and the like out of these.

My most surprising part of this game though was once you leave Nibelheim in the Tiny Bronco you get the scene where it crashes and turns in a boat, you find out the game is actually fully open world and you can travel across the entire ocean to anywhere on the map, a true world map like the original. Playing it I knew some regions were connected such as the Grasslands and Junon and Corel and Gongaga but the fact you can seamlessly travel between them all was outstanding and makes me very excited for Part 3 when we get the rest of the world and the Highwind.

Music - OMG the music is this game is a masterpiece, the amount of the music in this game is crazy, from the new renditions of tracks you'd expect to new pieces and then pieces which were made for the smallest of sections, they didn't slack at all. Some of my favourite tracks would have to be the beach area of Corel with the ziplines, Kalm, the trip up Mt. Corel, Gongaga, the renditions of The Price of Freedom and the main theme of this game which Aerith sings during the Loveless performance.

Queen's Blood - I briefly mentioned this earlier but one of the major side quests in this game is the new card game introduced in Rebirth, Queen's Blood. What Queen's Blood is, is thar you have a board (somewhat like a chess board) which has three rows and with your cards you need to get the most points on the rows to win. A simple concept which as you get further into it the more layers which are added. Now when I was first saw this I kind of dreaded it as I always struggle to learn new card games and seeing that this was going to be a quest line and knowing I'd want to do everything in this game before I got it, I was ready for a slog but once I picked it up, I fell in love with it and is basically an entire second game within this already massive game. I'd easily take a standalone title of this in the future, it's very addicting and did almost every match in the game (apart from the last optional game in the Golden Saucer, I can't beat it ). Definitely another highlight of this game and the plot was pretty cool as well surrounding it.

Mini-Games - This is partly what I meant when I said this game feels like a game. So many of these just seem like silly things other games would see as a waste to include and though they aren't all great (some are very frustrating when going for the high rank scores) a lot were actually really solid and kept things interesting, changing things up keeping the game constantly fresh. And there is a lot of mini-games which I know not everyone will enjoy but I just love that you can see the developers had a lot of fun coming up with some of these and intrigued as to what they'll cook up for Part 3 (the Golden Saucer is already teasing the snowboarding).

Overall Thoughts - I know there is a lot I still I didn't touch on but I think I coverered all the main points and if there is anything to take away from this, is that there you'll get a lot of game for your buck with this title, one of the most content rich games on the market which is for the most part all fun to do (at least I think so).

I loved this game though from start to finish and I haven't stopped thinking about it ever since. Part 3 can't come soon enough. This is easily in my top three games of all time now.

Final Fantasy XVI: The Rising Tide (DLC) (PS5)

FF fans are eating good these days, finished Rebirth not long ago and now we're back with new FF16 content.

It was great to jump back into the world of FF16 and this was a solid DLC.

There may be story spoilers ahead.

Spoiler: Continued

Taking place in the land of Mysidia we finally get to see blue sky again and battle the Eikon Levithan.

Before getting onto Leviathan, the smaller bosses of this DLC were some really fun fights with some interesting ways of going about them. If I was to describe it you can feel the FF14 seeping into 16 which makes for some cool fights. Now with Leviathan this was a pretty fun fight, it doesn't reach the heights of Titan or Bahamut but a solid fight overall though the DPS check on the shield was very tight, I failed like five times before breaking it and even then it was a very close call, I guess that took some of the momentum away from the fight. Still though I'm glad we got the Leviathan fight we'd all hoped for.

For the new abilites, Leviathan's Eikon abilities are pretty sweet with one of the abilites turning the game into a third-person shooter of sorts for a short period in battle. I need to spend more time with these but some solid abilities.

Once you finish the DLC and return to the Hideaway, if you interact with the giant stone you unlock another set of abilities, those being Ultima's, now I've only used them in the tutorial provided but these feel pretty broken in a fun way (thus being locked behind endgame DLC) but will be interesting to see how they function during a playthrough. I'll do a FF Mode playthrough someday.

The land of Mysidia is beautiful btw but I think I've been spoiled by Rebirth with how much more explorable that game is compared to 16 as I just want to explore every nook and cranny of Mysidia.

Story wise, it had some pretty interesting new lore which was appreciated but is quite standalone as well (like the first DLC) which is probably a good thing and the intention not to take away from the main story or make it feel like the main story is missing an important element without the DLC so no complaints on that front.

But overall this was a nice extra story and was great to visit the world of FF16 and spend time with Clive and the others. FF16 has been a great time and loved nearly every moment of it.

I've been typing for so long, look at the time woops. I guess I really did have a lot to say, even if it can be all over the place. I'm no game reviewer but I'm passionate about what I love, props to anyone who reads through it all.

Note: I'll fix the typos soon enough.

 

[Scrambled Valkyrie]

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. As someone who has been a fan since the original PS2 Yakuza/Like A Dragon game I've loved every second of this. It feels like a love letter to the entire saga so far. It's probably a bit more accessible than your standard turn based JRPG to boot. Plus the amount of stuff to do in it is insane. I'm about 50 hours in and there's still things I haven't dipped my toes into. I get so side-tracked doing certain things that I kind of forget certain types of side content haven't been touched in hours and then go back to them only to get sucked into those. It's not the best game to start with story-wise though as the story heavily references and wraps up events from Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, Like A Dragon: Yakuza and Like A Dragon Gaiden: The man who erased his name. Glad I avoided spoilers for this one as I'd have been gutted if I found out anything about the story ahead of playing. Have invested so much time into these characters over the years they almost feel real