Pedro Cooray
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Checkpoint GamingLatest Reviews
The marketing for Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake spoils a lot of its story. This is the third Dragon Quest game, and it’s only revealed well into the second half that – spoilers – this is a prequel to Dragon Quest 1, something most trailers for this remake state outright. With similar remakes of DQ1 and 2 coming out next year, part of me wonders why they’re being released in “chronological order” when that’s not how these stories are designed. Regardless, this is a phenomenal rem...
I get the sense that Visions of Mana is a big deal for Square Enix. This is a franchise that’s been around since the 90s, but Visions is only the 5th game in the core mainline series (the 4th, Dawn of Mana, came out in 2007 for the PS2). I was hesitant going in since Square’s previous attempt to revive a long-dormant franchise didn’t go so well. Thankfully, Visions of Mana is a success story in that it is exactly the kind of RPG I’m into. You’ve got delicious mechanical systems, lus...
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus looks like a classic side-scrolling Metroidvania, and it is, except that description belies the game’s true focus. Realistically, this is a demanding, at-times brutal platformer with Metroidvania elements, set in a gorgeous world inspired by Japanese watercolour art. It has a beautiful art style and animations, an intriguing narrative, and an excellent soundtrack, but the precision-perfect platforming required basically from the outset is jarring if you came in s...
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, to put simply, is a director’s cut. It’s the original game with a whole bunch of new features – new ways to explore, fight, and experience the story. But most importantly, Vengeance finally breaks SMTV out of its Switch exclusivity prison and into every modern console. Returning mostly unchanged are the fantastically tense battles and exploration, with a plethora of mechanical additions, updates and significant changes to the story. But major and minor t...
Sand Land seems to be part of a relatively recent push to adapt the manga of the same name, originally released throughout the year 2000. A film adaptation was released last year, an animated series earlier this year, and now the official video game’s out. Sand Land was created by the late Akira Toriyama, perhaps most famous for the Dragonball franchise, and a legend in the games industry due to being the illustrator behind games like Chrono Trigger, Blue Dragon, and Dragon Quest. Sand Land...
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League reminds me of the discourse surrounding the release of Forspoken last year. Like then, here is a game that made such a terrible first impression that it was panned by audiences and critics alike, months before it even came out. It doesn’t help that Suicide Squad adheres to the much-maligned live service model of online games. Many already made up their minds that this was bound to be a forgettable title like Marvel’s Avengers, Anthem, or the contextu...
Trinity Trigger gave me a mixed experience during my 15 hours with it. The first 6 hours were rough, with unique ideas buried within layers of tedious plot, tired fantasy tropes, and repetitive dialogue. I only kept playing because I had to, but I’m glad I did, because Trinity Trigger gets surprisingly captivating after that initial hump. With key development staff from games like Trials of Mana, Xenoblade, and Octopath Traveler, Trinity Trigger is an homage to 90s action RPGs, for better a...
Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened is the kind of game that makes you wonder if the current model for reviewing games is working. It’s the tenth game in Frogwares’ Sherlock Holmes series, but as Frogwares is a Ukrainian developer, it’s the first game they made since the country was invaded by Russia in February 2022. Looking at their social media presence over the last year has been heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. Posts about the devastation caused by the war, including the ...
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is aimed at three different audiences. The first are fans of Final Fantasy VII who wanted more context on Zack Fair, one of the game’s most important characters. The second are those who got into FFVII (and Final Fantasy at large) through 2020’s Final Fantasy VII Remake and are wanting more. The third are folks like me, who enjoyed Crisis Core on PSP and wanted it playable on modern consoles. After finishing the game, I can say that all three audienc...
“The revelations we experience can be terrifying to us and to those who witness us experiencing them.”