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Latest Reviews
Port Royale 4 is a wonderful game, and the compromises that were made to bring it to Nintendo Switch are minor and easy to overlook. This is the kind of simulator that you can end up spending hundreds of hours with, and as one of the rare genres that aren’t...
Overall, I had a great time with Boomerang X. The action is tight and it always feels like an expression of skill whenever a level is successfully beaten. The surreal fantasy setting also matches the game’s tone perfectly, providing moments of surprise and wonder with each new level. The simplicity...
I have no idea how I missed the original Monster Hunter Stories on the 3DS, because the idea of Monster Hunter, but in turn-based JRPG format, is very much my jam. See, as much as I enjoy the aesthetics, design, and concept of Monster Hunter, I’m really not good at...
For all I’ve written above, Doki Doki Literature Club really isn’t really interested in being a game. It’s more a kind of interactive essay, which isn’t about presentation values, beyond their ability to enhance the bait-and-switch that sits at the heart of the subversion. The four girls in the game...
I’m very torn on Mario Golf: Super Rush. On the one hand, the aesthetics are gorgeous, the charm is there, and the basic golf mechanics are wonderfully accessible and yet have enough given that there is room to master them. Putting aside the silly “manually chase the ball” nonsense in...
In effect, Legend of Mana is less interested in being a JRPG as it is a story of immersion. You’re given these truly beautiful, art gallery-worthy environments to explore, these eclectic, memorable characters to interact with, and a narrative that is broken up into a series of vignettes that keeps...
For all of the above criticisms, there was one feature that I really liked and felt was a genuine Dungeons & Dragons moment; after major battles, a campfire would pop up, and you would have two options. You could take a “short rest” (a term cribbed from Dungeons & Dragons)...
As an existing fan of Disgaea, this new one is, despite the incredible focus on big numbers, more of the same, and that is fine by me. The extended level cap is hugely indulgent and entirely unnecessary to the tactics JRPG format, but at the same time it’s part of...
Scarlet Nexus is one of the most interesting new JRPGs that we’ve seen in a while from a big publisher. Combining a beautifully elegant, but also visceral combat system with a rich and evocative theme, and hugely entertaining characters, this game is available on the previous generation, I know, but...
I could certainly see plenty of others finding it less compelling, however, because beyond the visuals, so very little has changed in 35 years. Yikes. 35 years. Presumably, Prince Alex is now King Alex of Radaxian by now. I’d better get back to my throne.
The action is gorgeous, too. Once you’ve seen a Guilty Gear battle opener, where you get a beautifully cinematic short cut-scene of the character striking a pose as the camera swirls around in dramatic 3D pace, then you’ll wish every fighting game did better in setting the scene or each...
My concerns with DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power sit with it as a property. I know this is a wildly controversial thing to say, but I don’t really believe that Marvel and DC are appropriate for children. If the hundreds of implied and explicit deaths per movie or show...
