I never played the PSP game, so it was all new to me, which probably helped, as did going in with an understanding of and suitably managed expectations due to its heritage. I also think I developed a borderline unhealthy need to finish all the missions I could as soon as possible, which lead to the aforementioned gamebreakingness, and the afternoon spent trying to work out how to beat Minerva (which really wasn’t that bad once I’d twigged how Battle Stance actually worked).
The more I think about it the more I realise there wasn’t really that much of a main game, and that they really could’ve done better with the way (or when) missions unlocked; as soon as you manage to brute force your way through a couple and learn how Materia Fusion works the rest of the game just becomes a cakewalk. In fact, my biggest issue in the last few hours, besides Minerva, which is why I was trying in the first place, was trying to get the stats I wanted on Materia that wasn’t going to then turn into something else/something I didn’t want when I fused it.
Monster Hunter Rise & Sunbreak
Ys Chronicles 1
Metaphor Refantazio
Monster Hunter Wilds
Ys Chronicles II
Astro Bot
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla
Luigi’s Mansion
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion
My Final Fantasy VII experience will be forever enriched for having met Zack Fair, the adorable motherfucker.
Like it's protagonist, Crisis Core is irritating and occasionally desperately stupid, but I couldn't help but like it. The story is largely rubbish, and hilariously inconsistently acted. The pacing is all over the place, even before you realise that at least two-thirds of the content in the game is comprised of the incredibly basic side-missions accessed in-menu from save points. You can utterly break the game by using the gear from completing them too, as they're eventually harder than the story missions, to the point where nothing I faced in the last two chapters of the story took me more than three hits to kill, including bosses. This despite the final side-mission boss taking hours and hours of attempts, and hundreds and hundreds of swears.
If I didn't already know it was a remake of a handheld game I think I'd have worked it out anyway, and that isn't a compliment. It's a 7/10 AA-feeling game, on the basis that its myriad components all probably average out to about that, but despite all that, I just liked it so much. I do find myself hoping no-one takes that as a recommendation though, so much as a sign that I'm maybe a bit odd.
I did think it was great though, and am glad I did finally play it after all; I wondered if I ever actually would, but thought if I was going to it would need to be before Rebirth, which I'll probably get around to around 2027 the way I'm going, but still.
Hell, I'm tempted to play the original for the first time in years now too.
Monster Hunter Rise & Sunbreak
Ys Chronicles 1
Metaphor Refantazio
Monster Hunter Wilds
Ys Chronicles II
Astro Bot
God of War Ragnarok: Valhalla
Luigi's Mansion
Finally played this, on the 3DS, and was a little over halfway through when I started getting a little fed up with using the 3DS nubbin to control it, at which point the fact you would be able to play the original GC version on Switch 2 was announced. Oh well.
Having to use the nubbin was about the only thing I didn’t like about it though, other than Luigi moving a bit too slowly. Lovely little game, which I really should’ve got around to before now, what with it only being a year shy of a quarter-century old…
That said, you don’t actually have to swap to the archetypes if/when you don’t want to - once you max one out you can keep levelling it, and will get a currency you can spend on levelling others. Makes it so you can cherry pick the skills you want from a class without actually having to use it.
I didn’t realise this at first, as I don’t think the game tells you, and I did sort of miss being forced to try new things, but it’s very handy later on when new stuff is introduced too late to use it comfortably without levelling first.
Yeah, it’s really hard to judge these until they’re “done”, and also to forget just how much game there is in the meantime.
I’ve started TU1 in earnest since my post, and the new headliner fight is great, if still not super challenging for an old hand.
I’m more annoyed that I can’t get an A on the Event/Arena Challenge quest…
JDubYes