Diego Escala
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MonsterVine
KeenGamerLatest Reviews
Nearly fifteen years ago, Square worked on a game that was very nearly a sequel to the DS game Final Fantasy: The Four Heroes of Light, which was eventually spun off into its new IP called Bravely Default on the 3DS. As with most things, it’s been long enough that it’s time for an eventual remaster, and that’s what we have here with Bravely Default: Flying Fairy HD Remaster.
Between stages, the game’s got some minor distractions to keep your attention. During levels, you may spot some conspicuously hidden collectibles strewn about; manage to grab them and you’ll be able to view them at the Angel Grove Youth Center. You can hang out there between missions to chat up characters like Bulk & Skull, Ernie, or other characters from the show that you rescue during missions. You’ll also be able to fix some arcade machines to play. Additionally, there’s also a speed-run mode available to you and some combat training if you need to refresh your ranger skills.
When not in a mission, there’s a surprising amount of customization you can do for each of the nine characters you can acquire in the game. Everyone has their own distinct playstyle and weapon toolset, along with a series of loadouts you can unlock for each character. On top of that, you’ll be able to customize each character’s weapons with a variety of modifiers like changing the shape of a grenade’s AOE splash, to ignoring an enemy’s cover and also add new active or passive abilities on a character. This is all to say that there’s a lot of ways to kit out your squad when you take them on a run.
More so than in the first game, the developers were really able to capture the spirit and look of the Warhammer 40k universe, with these towering gothic cathedrals looming over you, or the dangerous jungles with massive plants that look like they’d kill you with a touch. The models themselves, from the characters to vehicles, feel as if they were ripped straight from the tabletop figures as well with how detailed they are. I’d sometimes just pop open photo mode to stare at all the pieces of the space marine armor, with that signature blue coloring, it really feels like they put in the extra effort to make the minifigures to life in this game.
More so than in the first game, the developers were really able to capture the spirit and look of the Warhammer 40k universe, with these towering gothic cathedrals looming over you, or the dangerous jungles with massive plants that look like they’d kill you with a touch. The models themselves, from the characters to vehicles, feel as if they were ripped straight from the tabletop figures as well with how detailed they are. I’d sometimes just pop open photo mode to stare at all the pieces of the space marine armor, with that signature blue coloring, it really feels like they put in the extra effort to make the minifigures to life in this game.
For the high-score addicts, Anger Foot does feature a leaderboard that you can climb your way up, but most importantly are the challenges featured in each level. Each level has three challenges to attempt that range from the mundane like “Finish level in ____ secs” to more challenging puzzles like finishing the level without jumping. Some of these really make you go back and rethink a level’s structure, such as trying to figure out how to not jump when there are sections that require you to clear a gap. Getting the “Only use your feet” challenge in a gun heavy stage in particular will have you mentally plotting out the most efficient route to take, making sure you can survive it using only your feet. Doing these will reward stars that you can then use to unlock new sneakers that offer a variety of game changing effects like door kicks becoming explosive, a second life, or even nonsensical effects like making yourself and all the enemies drunk. With the dozens of shoes to try out and leaderboard options, there’s some decent stuff to keep you playing even after you’ve finished the game’s campaign.
Iffy platforming aside, reveling in cat mischief is incredibly cathartic, as you can climb up balconies to knock over potted plants and watch them shatter, or trip up pedestrians and run off with their phones or lunch. You’ll also be able to dress your cat up in a variety of adorable hats, from a watermelon head to a wizard hat, which are found scattered around the game’s world or collected randomly through the various capsule machines you can find in the city. It’s a great way to encourage you to explore every inch of the city to see what new hat you might find. This is a game that was made by a person who loves and understands cats, and it’s apparent in every aspect of the game.
Something that can’t be understated is Aggro Crab’s effort to bring newcomers to the genre into the space with some really friendly accessibility options here. There’s everything from being able to reduce damage taken by varying degrees to extra health for yourself or less for enemies. You can even adjust invincibility frames on dodges, parry window timing, and even turn off the feature of losing your XP/currency upon your death. Hilariously enough, you can even flip a setting that gives Kril a massive gun that can one-shot anything in the game, including bosses. It’s a lot of nice settings to allow someone new to finetune their experience as they slowly get accustomed to things and I think will go a long way in making new fans of the genre.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown genuinely wants you to explore every inch of its world, and that camera feature is part of it encouraging you to not sweat a spot you’re stumped at and to think back on it when you’re ready. It can be a difficult game at times, but it never wants to frustrate you and honestly has some of the best accessibility options I’ve seen in a Metroidvania. Besides that, you can also go into the difficulty settings and adjust practically every setting you can possibly think of; it even lets you drop portals to help you during platforming sections if one is giving you too much trouble. It’s refreshing to see and hopefully gets more people into the genre who might’ve avoided it thus far.
If you’re still hankering for more metal-on-metal action, then you’ve got competitive multiplayer to keep you sated, along with the Arena mode. Here you’ll be able to fight against virtual representations of fallen armored core pilots that become increasingly more difficult. This mode is a great way to get practice against future boss fights or even multiplayer since (while you won’t face an Arena pilot in the campaign), it’s good practice against a wide variety of armored core types that force you to think strategically about how you’re tackling a fight. It also has the benefit of not requiring you to run through an entire mission just to get practice on a particular type of armored core pilot.