Nick Mangiaracina
This author account hasn't been claimed yet. To claim this account, please contact the outlet owner to request access.
Writing For
MonsterVineLatest Reviews
Through all the wonderful moments together, the four outcast girls living in rural Michigan during this moment in their lives. The summer when you’re sixteen, what a fucking time, man. Hanging out at the beach, the hideout in the woods, bloody mary in the outhouse, finding the abyss, playing a parking lot concert, and recording all of it with a handycam. I felt like I lived an extra life, even in the short playtime of both games. I let Autumn down. But I wasn’t going to let that stop me from loving the best summer ever.
That aside, while both games have their issues, the Lunar Remastered Collection does a wonderful job of bringing these two games out of the 90s and into modern day. And if you played just these two games in the Lunar series, you’d probably be left to wonder why this series died out in the first place. Perhaps if this Lunar Remastered Collection sells well enough, we’ll finally get that Lunar 3 that’s been rumored to exist since as far back as I can remember.
You’re also given an option for graphical style. Offering a Doujin mode, Studio mode, and Vivid mode, you can really play with how the game is being presented. Doujin mode gives the appearance of a fan-made project with a clean but novice look. Studio mode most resembles how the game is meant to look but with the added green palette effect from older computer games. Finally, Vivid mode is what I believe is the intended mode for display. Featuring the cleanest look with the most colors. I played through scenes on each mode and it’s impressive how good this game looks in all three.
It really sucks because, without these technical issues, Bloom & Rage is Don’t Nod at the top of their game. Bloom & Rage, to me, easily eclipses Life is Strange. I’m ready to have my heart broken again but, when the core of your game is discussion, emoting, and people talking, it should work and look good. I hate framing my review this way too because damn it all, Bloom & Rage is a great story. But I can’t overlook the bizarre eye-twitching, the models resetting, the lip synching. It’s all part of the package.
Mysteries, individual cases, and the overarching story are both exciting and satisfying. I was pretty upset by where the story went but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Even just replaying the opening scene, I was immediately shown the breadcrumbs for what the story would become. Impressive, really.
And if you’re like me and you decide to think too much about what’s happening on screen, one of the objectives in every single level is to simply do nothing. In fact, you can just leave the game running if you prefer and our protagonist will simply wait, as they’re supposed to. It’s boring, and certainly not the most interesting way to play While Waiting. But there’s a level of sincerity in playing this way. You can cheat at mahjong or… you could just play mahjong. You could reset the computer of the person next to you or… you could just wait for yours to finish updating. You could force open the stall door or… you could just shit your pants.
Now, I’m conflicted. I dig Tales of Graces f and the Remastered version offers some very nice quality-of-life features. And truthfully, if we go back to the original Wii release and then look at the Remastered version, it’s a night and day difference. I refuse to be a fence sitter, but damn if Tales of Graces f Remastered didn’t throw me for a loop on whether or not I found this game worth recommending. And truthfully, if you want to play Tales of Graces f now, legitimately, your only option is to buy this Remastered version (Although you can still get a digital copy of Tales of Graces f in a combo pack with Tales of Xillia on PSN.) This is especially true if you’re playing on an Xbox or the Nintendo Switch.
Fairy Tail 2 looks about as great as an anime game can look but with the gameplay, it was death by a thousand cuts. No one thing Fairy Tail 2 does is bad, but there are a bunch of little things that really ruined the experience for me. I really liked the first game and I feel like my review reflects that, but the experience I had with Fairy Tail 2 was not a good one. Maybe a little more time testing and a refresher on the story would have changed how I felt about Fairy Tail 2, but as it stands, I didn’t have a great time with this one.
I’m not sure if my initial impressions are the reason why or if we’re witnessing greatness initially locked away on a non-gaming platform but Fantasian is a surprisingly great experience. Between the characters and their growth, the interesting and winding narrative, and the fun combat, Fantasian is one of the best RPGs I’ve played this year. I’m shocked to be writing this but Fantasian really impressed me. However, recommending a game like this after the initial slog of the first third of the game is very tough. Whether or not this game will resonate with fans I can’t say, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard isn’t a perfect game but, hot damn, it’s a great one. I feel at home in Thedas, I like the people that live there and the care that Bioware puts into writing these characters. Imperfect companions and story beats that help us understand not just what’s going to happen in the future but what’s happening right now. A brand new art style that’s just gorgeous and a combat system that’s fully realized instead of a half-compromise.