Francesco De Meo
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WCCFtechLatest Reviews
Dungeon & Fighter, or Dungeon Fighter Online, is one of the most played video games of all time, having managed to even surpass massively popular games like League of Legends in terms of gross revenues at times, but it is not a well-known game in the West. Starting with the fighting game DNF Duel, Korean developer Neople, however, has decided to try and bring in more people to their franchise with multiple titles set in the Dungeon & Fighter Universe, such as The First Berserker: Khazan, an extremely competent action role-playing heavily inspired by the first few entries in FromSoftware's Souls series and Team NINJA's most recent ARPGs like the Nioh series and Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
The Assassin's Creed series may no longer have the luster it had with the games starring Ezio Auditore, but there's no denying that there's still no video game series like it. While the stories featured in many installments may not be one hundred percent accurate to the time period they are set in, the ability to explore some of the world's most incredible places while getting to interact with real historical figures is something that very few games can offer at this quality level. With the introduction of role-playing game mechanics, some of the uniqueness of the series was inevitably lost, but the market seemed to appreciate this direction, as Assassin's Creed Valhalla, even with its issues, achieved financial success, selling the highest number of copies during its launch weekend for the series.
Back in the late 90s, after releasing some amazing games like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger, Squaresoft was the undisputed king of Japanese role-playing games. The publisher's dominance in the genre, however, did not stop other Japanese publishers known for releasing some absolute bangers in other genres from launching their own takes on the genre, like Konami, which released the first entry in the Suikoden series back in late 1995 in Japan. While the game directed by Yoshitaka Murayama wasn't particularly different from most traditional JRPGs, it set itself apart from the competition by tackling some pretty mature themes for the time. However, the rise of polygonal 3D graphics and a Western release date too close to that of Final Fantasy VII severely impacted the game's audience. No one at the time could have predicted that the game would turn into a full-blown series, counting five main entries and a few spin-offs that would attract a loyal and enduring following, even after the series was clearly done.
Despite running since 2004, it took the Monster Hunter series multiple installments to reach the level of popularity it enjoys today, and that's largely due to the much-improved accessibility. Much like the first entries in FromSoftware's Souls series, the early Monster Hunter games had some obscure mechanics that weren't properly explained in-game and required some experimentation to properly grasp. Since 2018's Monster Hunter World, however, making the series more accessible has become one of the main focuses, an effort that has paid off immensely, as working on making the franchise more accessible to newcomers also addressed some of the series' archaisms and brought massive gameplay improvements, such as the introduction of seamless maps whose different zones aren't separated by loading screen, streamlined hunting preparation and more.
The first two entries in the modern Ninja Gaiden series are still considered decades after their original release as two of the best action games ever released and for very good reasons. With the depth of their combat mechanics, their high-speed action, and solid level design, the two games have aged rather well and still play great to this day. With the departure of Team Ninja's founder and series creator Tomonobu Itagaki, however, the franchise kind of lost itself, with a third entry in the series that required a revamped version to steer the course and provide an experience that, while improved, still failed to be on par with that of its predecessors. The glory days of the early 2000s, however, seem to be back, with the announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4 and the surprise launch of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black, an Unreal Engine 5-powered remaster of the second entry in the series that attempts to bridge the gap between the hardcore experience of the original and the tweaked gameplay of the Sigma release while offering enhanced visual, and generally succeeds at providing a solid entry point for those who never had the chance to play the game.
Despite pulling features and mechanics from a variety of different series, Eternal Strands manages to feel like a cohesive experience that really shines once players get the hang of its advanced physics and combat system. However, the average story and the game's repetitive latter half hold it back from being truly fantastic, making it a solid action-adventure that's just a few steps away from greatness.
More of a sidequel than a true sequel, Sniper Elite: Resistance delivers the core experience of Sniper Elite 5 with a new protagonist, fresh maps, and the same solid stealth mechanics that made the previous entry enjoyable. While it may not offer the evolution some fans were hoping for, the game still provides plenty of fun thanks to its well-designed levels and satisfying gameplay.
Tales of Graces f Remastered does a great job improving the original's excellent gameplay with quality-of-life improvements and new options, such as the Grade Shop being available from the get-go, providing an experience that is fun right from the start for returning players. While the main story may not be particularly engaging, the charming cast and the outstanding combat system make the remaster a worthwhile purchase for newcomers who never had the chance to experience the PlayStation 3 original.
Despite some of its shortcomings, such as the excessive amount of busywork for quests, guild development, and other mechanics that dragged the experience down, the first proper adaptation of Fairy Tail in JRPG form developed by Gust managed to be rather successful, mostly thanks to the faithful rendition of the charming characters created by Hiro Mashima. Still, no one expected the game to receive a sequel, so its announcement earlier this year came as a complete surprise.
Since Hironobu Sakaguchi left Square Enix to create his own development studio, Mistwalker, the Final Fantasy series has never been the same. Although debating the quality of individual titles past the ninth entry in the series, the last the franchise's creator worked on, has never produced an actual consensus, there's no denying that the little spark that made Final Fantasy one of the most loved Japanese role-playing game series ever made went away together with the series creator.