PS2 Backlog Committee

17) The World Ends With You (DS)







Just a preface to my review crim. I'm the type that always values authenticity and honesty over tact, and sometimes I step on toes because of that nature. Please forgive any criticisms. I know how dear this game is to you. I mean no offense - only sharing my own genuine opinion. And hey, I liked it! I had plenty of fun with it despite the things that rubbed me a little sideways.


I had long been curious about The World Ends With You. It had been in my backlog for years and years, and I finally decided to experience it for myself. Truthfully, I knew very little about it, despite it having been so many years since release. I only knew that the combat might be complicated, that it was anime-inspired, and that it was loved by so many. But, I decided it was time for me to see what it was in my own hands, and having now played it, I will say that it's an interesting mix of very good with some stains that sullied the experience somewhat for me.

The most immediate impression was how this was going to be very much an anime / manga type of vibe. From the angular lines and use of color and speech bubbles, to the setting, characters and music, everything was very “Tokyo”. While the visual stylings are very comic-infused and familiar, they also had their own unique flavor, and I found the look and tone to be engaging and was a vibe that grew on me throughout. Wandering the streets of Shibuya and listening to the catchy j-pop tunes while playing in a Matrix-like “game” that involved a real world and an under/other-world - a game with heavy consequences to the players, of which the main character Neku as your avatar, was a participant - was fun and engaging in an imaginative way typical to much of the anime I've experienced. Everything was very *dramatic* and over the top, both in terms of the primary story as well the characters that inhabited the world - both heroes and villains. Everything popped with that type of melodrama characteristic of the medium (of anime), and it was surely entertaining in that hyper-real and exaggerated way.

In terms of mechanics, things were certainly interesting. In this “game” within the game, you, as Neku, are required to have a partner as you venture forth. (I'll avoid spoilers about the details just in case.) As you encounter opposition and must fight, your partner battles foes on the top screen and Neku battles on the bottom. You (as Neku) utilize a variety of stylus gestures as indicated by collectible “pins” he acquires, physical movements like slashes, pokes, presses, drags and swipes in various directions and with various environmental elements to generate damage according to the equipped pins instructions. The upper screen where your partner fights is mostly about simply pressing left or right on the d-pad in the direction of enemies in order for attacks to land. There is more to it than this, however. There are also plenty of equipable items that function as stat modifiers. You can purchase a variety of gear at many shops in Shibuya to aid you in your efforts, and some of the better gear could really make a great difference in battle outcomes. These elements are very “fashion-centric”, a theme that is present throughout. There's also an element where you can try to match certain sequences for the partner character on the top screen by taking branching paths on your directional inputs (up and down in addition to left and right) to fill in certain patterns to gain additional abilities and healing. I must say that this element really came across as overkill, as I found it tough enough to simply focus on both screens with the directional inputs for the partner being all I could really manage in addition to Neku's problems on the bottom screen. This game is truly a multi-taskers paradise, I suppose - something I most certainly am *not*. I guess I'm a smooth brained ape that can only think peel banana and *then* eat banana - not both simultaneously. To be fair though there are multiple difficulties and modifiers for how to handle your partner - including making them fight on their own completely. So, it's not like you have to crack your brain in two in order to play. I played throughout as both characters, but made no attempts at the pattern matching aspect of the upper screen after realizing it was an ask too large, rather simply directing my attacks to the enemies side as best I could while controlling Neku as the bulk of my focus. This multifaceted approach to combat was unnecessarily complex in my view, but I suppose there are some high-functioning savants that probably make this juggling act look like child's play. I also felt like the control inputs didn't always register as executed. They mostly worked fine, but there were instances where I was trying to do one thing and it did another, but with the level of inputs available and the relatively small screen, it's understandable that there would be some difficulty in precision. And it could be possible to equip two different pins that utilized the same or very similar gestures, resulting in frustration at times. As stated, it mostly worked fine, but there were surely moments where I felt I was not getting the response relative to my input, and that was not pleasing. But when you got a nice collection of pins (evolved to be more powerful through use) and got into a flow state with your attacks, things were not only flashy and exciting, but felt very satisfying to execute. Slash into a group of enemies, uppercut them all a couple of times, create an earthquake to immobilize them, fire out bullets to the stunned crowd and pick up a car to drag over them - or any combination you might find fun from the myriad potential options. Wow - to be sure, *playing* TWEWY could be great fun at the best of moments.

In terms of story, I don't want to spoil the narrative, but I will say that the characters - Shiki, Joshua, Beat and Neku all felt very unique and well-developed, if in an exaggerated and caricature sort of style. And the themes present were resonant, with a focus on loyalty and interdependence carrying a warmth that I appreciated and helped sustain the otherwise sometimes-clumsy, if frequently entertaining story.

And some other points that detracted from my experience a bit were the fact that there were some sharp difficulty spikes in a couple of spots that caught me off guard. I also didn't really care for the “style” and “trends” aspect of the game. I am my own style, and have always been utterly disinterested in following the herd. And the fact that some pathways were blocked if you didn't use the right fashion trends for attire and pins annoyed me quite a bit. I guess that's more about me, to be fair, but I simply don't care about blending in with what the world may expect - kind of like Neku, in the beginning, lol. But the style theming was very much in harmony with the overall tone, so it wasn't out of place, just not my personal cup of tea. Also, TWEWY is not the friendliest game on the hardware. The constant and frantic swiping, slashing, poking and pressing really left its mark. The DS(iXL) hardware is a tank, and I've got two of them. One of them I keep pretty pristine, but this old girl really felt the effects of things. She made it through fine, but she's got some battle scars to show for it, ha. My screen, even on this more heavily used device, accumulated some scuffing and blurriness that, to be fair, isn't really present while the screen is on, but when off there's plenty of visible scratching on it now.

So what to say about The World Ends With You in summation? I felt like it was a fun game with some interesting aspects. I love that this game is really married to its hardware. The DS offered some interesting control options and, to be sure, many games used them, but TWEWY really embraced things and it feels like actual hardware is by far the best way to enjoy it. (Granted there are many touch devices in the world today, but the fact remains that this game was built for the machine on which it released, and I love that about it.) The themes rose above the bones of the narrative, but were simultaneously dragged down by clumsy, scattered and sometime tedious exposition that left me a bit sour. I love the potential depth of combat, but that's more of a positive if it were a game I felt a strong desire to replay. Generally for me, I'm only interested in the idea of replaying games that I rank 4/5 or above, and TWEWY, for me, was just average when I place everything on the scale and wait for it to balance. I really appreciated the overall style and the unique flavor of everything, but those pluses were tied to some heavy anchors like inexact inputs, overly complex control ideas and an unnecessarily lengthy experience, given the repetitive nature of the nuts and bolts. I had fun with my time, to be clear, but it's ultimately an average (good) experience taken in totality for me, but unfortunately not a game that lived up to the hype surrounding it for my own tastes. 3/5

16) Castlevania The Dracula X Chronicles : Rondo of Blood (PSP)









I never really got into Castlevania until Symphony of the Night on the PS1, and while I've really loved that formula of the series, I've only briefly sampled the older school variety, having not even played a full entry in the “classic” selection of games. Having just played Aria of Sorrow earlier, it reminded me of that gap in my gaming history, and so I decided to go back to the PSP and play the Rondo of Blood remake on the Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles collection. Having Aria fresh in my mind, I was pleasantly surprised by the music. The GBA chip stands no chance against optical media, and both the sound quality and musical pieces were very nice here, most of the time. And being an early form of Castlevania, it leans much more heavily into the pure platforming aspects of gaming than the RPG-tilted Igavania entries. And for the most part, it worked well for me. Using your whip and secondary (heart-dependent) weapons was enjoyable because of the fun bosses, well-designed levels, enemy placements and (varied) movement patterns. I do have to say that this was a stiffer challenge than Aria of Sorrow, and to be transparent, I did use save states rather than replaying longer sections when meeting my end. But the overall sense of resistance was pleasantly tough without being overly frustrating. I could have skipped those save-state shortcuts, but in this day and age, I like the convenience unless I'm just wanting a pure experience because a game is simply undeniably compelling to me. I got other games to play man! But even with that "cheesing" of things, there was some entertaining and challenging platforming, whipping and pattern-based combat. I also have to say that the game is quite short. I finished it in a couple hours or so (with the acknowledged use of save states), but it's not very long to make it from beginning to end. Having said that, the game is chock full of secrets to find, alternate paths and things to unlock, including the classic Symphony of the Night and the original Rondo of Blood. I did go back and find some alternate routes and secrets, and I appreciate when a game makes discovery and exploration worthwhile. But even with those carrots on a stick, you'll end up playing through much of the same content repeatedly in the process of digging out all those goodies, and unless a game just really hits the sweet spot for me, I don't enjoy retreading my steps so often. But there is more than adequate content and reason to keep it on your screen if you really desire to “complete” everything. There were also a smattering of short cut-scenes that added to the flavor with some fairly poor, but not overly off-putting, voice work. And the visuals in general were pretty nice with 3D models and aspects upon the 2D plane of play, and infused with that gothic mood that all fans enjoy. I also felt the platforming could be a little stiff sometimes, especially with the double jump which had to be positioned just right much of the time as the second jump awkwardly somersaulted you backwards. (As Richter - you can also play as Maria with a different move set and selection of secondary items.) Getting the feel for the timing to nudge your jump - even regular jumps that called for precision - was a little finicky, as you weren't in control of the movement throughout the entirety of the motion. In all, Rondo of Blood on PSP was a fun, if not exceptional, time. I appreciate that this remake made up for the supposedly poor and incomplete North American SNES version, which was all that gamers in the US got until this came along, and I can see why classic series fans enjoy it. If you're really into things, there's plenty to keep you busy as you scour for secrets and unlockables, and it's got that traditional platforming appeal that is often really enjoyable, even if those mechanics weren't as fluid as I would have preferred. I can't say that it approaches the more modern Metroidvania formula for me, however. I found it to be a fun game while lacking the same pull of those entries. I really miss the tons of items, abilities, collectibles and percentage-based map exploration of more recent Castlevania. I know this is a fairly well-loved entry in the classic formula, but I'm likely just more drawn to the rpg-like 'Vanias as a gaming template - worth playing, nevertheless. Rondo lives in that hazy area between a 3 and 4/5 for me, but if pressed I lean slightly to the “good” but not “very good” side of that continuum. 3/5.

Just catching up on these. Great write-ups on an insane variety of games/platforms.

Kind Words is a wild premise. It took me a minute to figure out those were messages to real people rather than AI or something.

Looks like we'll be in 4/5 territory real soon!

17th!?!?!?!? GOOD!?!?!?!? THAT'S ******* AWESOME!

Every criticism levied was entirely valid izzy. I am just glad you didn't absolutely hate it because I would have felt bad like I wasted your time . Any time I recommend a game, I try to make sure it's actually 'good' at least. Example: I genuinely LOVE Shadow the Hedgehog. I would NEVER suggest anyone else on this planet play that game because it is just hot garbage. It's just my kind of hot garbage. I am willing to put up with all the crap in that game that just does NOT work because it just clicks with me. But when I suggest The World Ends With You, it's because while there's a lot in the game that might not work (I am amazed that you went mad easy on Neku because he just sucks until like halfway through the game ) and a bunch going on, I still think it's worth a shot and hopefully full playthrough. I fully understand that my favorite game won't have to be someone else's. Additionally, other people are going to have different criticisms of something like TWEWY. Which is great! Again, my goal was not to het you to love it but to play it. I appreciate that you tried it and saw it through. Thanks izzy, I'm just glad you enjoyed your time with it .

canedaddy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 11:32 am Just catching up on these. Great write-ups on an insane variety of games/platforms.

Kind Words is a wild premise. It took me a minute to figure out those were messages to real people rather than AI or something.

Looks like we'll be in 4/5 territory real soon!

Right Now!

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 11:38 am 17th!?!?!?!? GOOD!?!?!?!? THAT'S ******* AWESOME!

Every criticism levied was entirely valid izzy. I am just glad you didn't absolutely hate it because I would have felt bad like I wasted your time . Any time I recommend a game, I try to make sure it's actually 'good' at least. Example: I genuinely LOVE Shadow the Hedgehog. I would NEVER suggest anyone else on this planet play that game because it is just hot garbage. It's just my kind of hot garbage. I am willing to put up with all the crap in that game that just does NOT work because it just clicks with me. But when I suggest The World Ends With You, it's because while there's a lot in the game that might not work (I am amazed that you went mad easy on Neku because he just sucks until like halfway through the game ) and a bunch going on, I still think it's worth a shot and hopefully full playthrough. I fully understand that my favorite game won't have to be someone else's. Additionally, other people are going to have different criticisms of something like TWEWY. Which is great! Again, my goal was not to het you to love it but to play it. I appreciate that you tried it and saw it through. Thanks izzy, I'm just glad you enjoyed your time with it .

Sure. Everything hits differently for different people. To be clear, I can see why you (and so many others) truly love TWEWY. There was plenty I enjoyed with it as well, and it's very clearly a very polished and unique game.

Oh now I find the meme I was looking for. 17th! 17th!

15) Animal Crossing Wild World (DS)







When I first played a game in a genre I'll call the “Rural Life Sim”, I fell in love. The idea of living an idyllic life away from the stresses of the fast pace inherent in the rate race of modern civilization, a life more intimately connected with the natural world, is just a perfect pitch on the tuning fork that harmonizes with my own vibes. My first experience in this broader genre was Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town, which is to this day my favorite example of this kind of game. I've since played a good many entries in this varied genre beyond Harvest Moon, and this year I finally got around to playing Animal Crossing Wild World on the Nintendo DS. I had already played the Gamecube original, which I also enjoyed very much, but that was back in 2009, so I figured enough time had passed for a return to the formula.

Things were immediately familiar, bringing back memories of that Cube title. The visuals were a little less crisp, understandably so on the hardware, and the world was no longer flat as Nintendo tried to impart the feel of a rounder world. As you move, a curvature to your little village revealed itself as things gradually vanished or appeared on the horizon. I suppose Nintendo wanted to impart the feeling of inhabiting your own little world, but it would certainly have to be a *very* tiny world, given the speed of the curvature in relation to your movement. I didn't love this aspect at first, but it faded into the background as a non-issue with play. Otherwise everything was similarly charming, with lots of vibrant colors and cute animations and tons of little touches for characters to reflect their moods. It was funny watching two characters interact with one another and see musical notes of happiness along with a visual representation above their heads showing a pleasant interaction. Alternatively, characters could become upset with one another with dark little squiggles and an appropriately annoyed little sound cue reflecting their frustrations or sadness. And Ninty did an excellent job of incorporating personality to all the various villagers with a minimum of expression. There were tons of potential bits of conversation, and although they repeated in many cases, I was still finding many new pieces of dialogue months into play. And all the inhabitants would let you know of their likes and dislikes in a way that seemed to bring them to life as you got to know them. There were chipper little animals that always seemed to find the glass half full, as well as surly misanthropes providing a nice contrast. There were even some oddball characters that were clearly not normal, lol. I'm reminded of one little strange bird that moved into my village called Jitters, a bird with odd color patterns and strange catch phrases that let you know this guy would always stand out in a peculiar manner. And the music was full of an innocent and playful feeling that created a soothing atmosphere for your explorations of your village. And the change of seasons, with the accompanying change in flora and fauna, added to the feel of an ongoing virtual life. The overall mood was consistently pleasant and inviting. I'm reminded of the Bob Ross quote, “Happy little clouds” when trying to summarize the feel of Wild World. There was just a generally joyful and pleasurable sensation of virtually inhabiting this space.

As for the game itself, it was similar to my other experience with this franchise. There were tons of fish, insects, fossils and gyroids to collect, among other things, many of which could be donated to the local museum for display. And then there was the decorating aspect along with items - furniture, wall coverings, floors and so on that allowed you to get your Feng Shui on. I found this aspect really addictive. There were so many items and decorations with nearly limitless combinations, allowing you to flavor your home's mood in so many ways. It was always exciting to get a new item, whether by purchasing from the Nookway, receiving from another villager or shooting down a floating present from above with your slingshot. With each new addition, the possibilities of expressing your personality and informing your abode with a tone that reflected your desired mood grew and grew until you had so many options that you felt compelled to frequently remodel until you got everything just “right” for you. And also of note regarding the items, everything reminded me of Matchbox cars from my childhood. So many things had little interactive elements. You could fry an egg on a stove, turn on a computer with the old 56k modem sound effects, sit on chairs, sofas or lay in bed, turn lights on and off, watch a TV with little still shots that transitioned for weather, sports and so on, a little pinball table with sounds of bumpers and bells, and just so many little aspects that added to the flavor of a fun and playfully interactive little world. These touches were small, but they added so much to the feel of things. There's also an in-game stock market (the turnip market) where you can buy as many as you want at the asking price on Sundays and hold or sell throughout the week based on Tom Nook's offer price. If you timed it well, you could make an absolute killing if you had saved enough bells (the in-game currency) to buy a real haul. Sometimes the price would go super high, but only briefly. So if you got greedy, it might drop below your purchase price and never return, forcing you to take a loss on your week's investment. Or it might never get very high. But it was fun way to make money, and the best and easiest way to acquire a large amounts of bells. There was just always something new to keep you coming back. New residents and characters, new events, changes to your town, new items to discover and so on. There's just this persistent pull to keep coming back and changes which created an evolving, but familiar sensation of “home”. After a while, this soothing rhythm emerges as you return to your little home away from home day after day.

In terms of less than stellar aspects, the DS is a little long in the tooth visually. To be clear, it didn't bother me much, especially after spending some time with the game and getting used to it, but some higher fidelity wouldn't have hurt. The structure of the game, in many ways, is just a (very) prolonged session of somewhat pointless collecting, but the skin over the top makes the simple concept enjoyable despite the basic nuts and bolts being really dry. But, as with so many things, it's not necessarily the fundamentals, but the style and skill with which everything is executed that makes something engaging and worthwhile. Yeah, you're mostly just accumulating "crap", but in the context of a friendly and quirky village with endless diversion, and it remains fascinatingly engaging over the longer term despite the simplicity of the underlying structure. But things *can* eventually start to feel tedious as you play day after day. Not too much changes and things start to feel a little too much like a debt simulator as you're just fishing and acquiring resources to pay off Nook and buy more useless shit. (just like real life, lol) It's got a consumerist undercurrent that agitates (me) on some subtle level, and when I feel that I get annoyed with AC. And it's just a drip-feed content distributor that drags things out over a long period of time. Granted, it's designed to be played over the long haul, but there's a bit of resentment that creeps in for me when I see behind the curtain and notice how everything is constructed. It's not bad design necessarily, it just requires an understanding going in and a willingness to see beyond the underlying structure. It was also frustrating how limited your storage space was. You have 8 “pages” of storage within your cabinet, but it's shared across all drawers and cabinets no matter how many you have. I was so excited the first time I bought an “extra” cabinet, only to find out that it too was already full. Ugh. It can seem like a real grind if you play with any idea of quick “progression”. You're always paying off a new loan to Tom Nook for an incremental increase in house size. Granted, it's a game meant to be revisited on a daily or semi-daily basis over the very long term, to see the change of seasons, enjoy the holidays and just soak up the atmosphere of change, but things can feel unnecessarily drawn out sometimes. And it was frustrating to have a villager you enjoy leave town. If I liked someone, I would go out of my way to shower them with gifts and letters, but it didn't seem to sway them in any way. Ah well, life is endless transition. Maybe they were going for a deeper philosophical message there about the transient nature of all things. Giving Ninty too much credit perhaps? When my best bud Drake, who I had a framed picture of on a table, moved out, I was crushed. He had been with me since day one, and I liked his personality and he was the only one who stayed for so many months since I had started. I got a little bitter and just started ignoring the other villagers after a while. But slowly I warmed up a little again, but never really got over the loss of my friend. I later learned that it may be possible to convince someone to stay, but you would have to know that they're planning on moving by checking in on them in their house every day to find a bunch of moving boxes preparing for the exit. If you do that, you can keep talking until the dialogue option to convince them to stay pops up. But, it's a bit ridiculous to expect the player to check in on everyone every day, especially when most villagers are out and about most of the day or sleeping/resting which prevents you from entering their home. (I miss you Drake. You were such a good duck. ) And this is not the game's fault, but I missed out on the social aspect of everything like visiting other players villages since I played it so long after the fact and don't know anyone who owns a DS and plays this game. It would have been nice to enjoy that aspect, but that's what I get for playing it so long after the fact. Most egregious of all, however, was the fact that after I had played for a few months, I started encountering random freezing when entering Tom Nook's store. I did some reading online, and freezing (of various kinds) seems to be a problem that is not infrequent, especially after prolonged play - either in individual sessions or over the long-term. That's simply unacceptable for a game that is designed to be played over the long haul. I can't tell you how annoying it was to have done tons of things over the course of the play session, satisfied to let it rest for the day, and lose all progress *again* because of a freeze. It was just intensely deflating. I imagine it's some sort of memory issue, but that shouldn't pass the attention of Nintendo QA and really soured me on things in a significant way as those freezes started appearing and happening with greater regularity.

But despite my complaints, I enjoyed the many months I spent in Wild World. It wasn't going to receive a 5/5 from me anyway, but the freezing knocked it down from a higher 4 to a lower 4/5, and I certainly prefer the Gamecube version, especially with its NES unlockable games. (But it was also a 4 for me.) I feel I would be justified in knocking it down to a 3 because of the technical problem encountered, but that score wouldn't reflect the fun I did have while it lasted. The issues I experienced don't negate the fun I had prior to the freezing issue, but I surely feel robbed and unsatisfied, as I was hoping to play through at least a calendar year to see all the changes and events. But its strengths still stand, and I cannot dismiss them despite the unfortunate problems. But I'm left feeling incomplete while putting it down. I just can't continue to play and not know if I'm going to waste more of my time. It's nearly an unforgiveable sin, but I have to acknowledge the fun and enjoyment I got for several months. Again, a 4/5 that would have still been a 4, albeit perhaps ranked a bit higher, absent the freezing issue. But if I had known going in that it wasn't uncommon to experience this problem, I may have been reluctant to pick it up in the first place. In the end, and while acknowledging they are very different in many ways, I'm still on the hunt for a “rural life sim” that can equal Friends of Mineral Town. Maybe Stardew Valley. It has been in my backlog for years, and maybe that will be my new fix when I return to the genre.

14) Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth (PC)










Looking for a good story, I picked up a visual novel / P&C adventure called Ken Follet's The Pillars of the Earth. I had it in my backlog for a while, having picked it up for cheap on a sale a while back. I was always drawn to the art style and setting and it seemed like something I would enjoy. Being based off a novel of the same name, the odds of it being an interesting narrative were pretty good, I felt, and so I dove in.

Before getting to the story, I will say that this is more of a visual novel than a traditional point and click adventure. There are a very limited number of items (and or icons) which can be used to engage with the world in various ways, prompting progress. But the execution and purpose of these interactions are mostly obvious, limiting any sense of real puzzle solving or resistance to narrative progression. It's not necessarily bad, but I did go in expecting more of a point and click game and found things to skew far more towards the visual novel end of the spectrum and mostly of the kinetic variety. There are, however, some choices to make at numerous points, but they felt insignificant generally speaking. I believe the story was more or less fixed and these points of interaction were more for the player to feel as if they had a means to express themselves at various junctures. The game, from what I understand, adhered pretty closely to its source material, rendering any real agency more illusory than genuine. There are also some very simple timing mini-games where you click your mouse / controller to land at highlighted sections as an icon moves left and right. It *is* possible to “fail” these, but you are just returned to this simple form of interaction until you get it right. These are not challenging or engaging in any way, and frankly did little but intrude on the experience. So, for all practical purposes, it is right to consider this a strictly kinetic visual novel, with some acknowledged points where you can earn achievements for fulfilling certain requirements that don't really impact the narrative. Having said all that, I was fine with the structure, even if I'd have enjoyed some puzzles. I discovered the kinetic visual novel last year, and I really enjoyed that first experience (Pale Cachexia), convincing me of the enjoyment to be found in these minimal to zero interaction type games. I just consider them stories like I would find in books, with the added aspects of visuals and sound/music to accompany my own imagination.

With that out of the way, I have to say that I did enjoy the overall presentation. The delivery was of a cell-shaded style, with characters and environments tending towards the more realistic depiction of the world, visual style aside. The backgrounds were often gorgeous, depicting a variety of diverse locales, which kept things engaging from that standpoint. The characters were also well drawn and expressive. They were animated along with many environmental details, giving the world a living and dynamic flavor that helped to immerse in the setting. The characters were sometimes a bit robotic in their movements across the world, seeming to slide rather than form a solid connection to the ground, but it was a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. The music and sound effects were also nicely done. Of particular note on that front, the voice work was excellent almost across the board, which came as a great relief to someone who finds this to be the exception rather than the rule. There were many actors, and they came across in convincing fashion without being over the top. There were a couple of exceptions. One of the main villains did have a bit of a comically overdone delivery at times, and his character felt a bit cartoonish in his one-dimensional expression of anger / evil. It didn't detract heavily, but there was little nuance to his persona, and that felt a little disappointing and at odds with much of the rest of things. But, from a presentation standpoint, I was engaged and pleased with the overall package.

But the most crucial element of this game was unquestionably the narrative, and I found it to be mostly well-done. It's set in the medieval period of the twelfth century England in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. The story itself is a mixture of history and fiction and centers on the building of a cathedral in said town, along with a murder conspiracy enacted by high-ranking church authorities that affects all the characters throughout as we learn about all the players on the stage. The thematic elements revolve around power and corruption and the duplicitous nature of those who seek to gain control and abuse their power while hiding behind masks of honor in a very “wolves in sheep's clothing” type of vibe. As things develop, we are treated to the idea that divinity (and evil) lay within us all rather than in any external structure or organization, and that things are often not as they appear, given the ability of individuals to be found in circumstances at odds with their fundamental nature. There was plenty of drama and intrigue throughout as dirty deals and backstabbing are the norm for the villains and the innocent often find themselves wrongly accused, as so often is the case in life. The whole drama spans multiple decades and has a very nice sense of scale and scope, while also condensing things into a more intimate and personal level via the primary players lives. There's love, betrayal, scheming, hopes and dreams - both fulfilled and crushed and just a very nice mix of dynamics that inform the lengthy story. There were some real moments of drama, tenderness and tragedy that brought about a connection to everything, and although there were some slow / low points, I found the whole tale to be one worthy of being told, in the end. The conflict and intrigue at the intersection of religion and politics, including a battle for the throne, offered plenty of exciting moments to spur interest throughout.

There were certainly some elements that I didn't particularly love as well. Sometimes the scene could be at a distant vantage point, and it was hard to tell who was speaking if it was a familiar character voice that wasn't a consistent part of the narrative. It was also a very slow to develop story, which was both a positive and negative. The characters and story were given time to breathe and develop, but it sometimes felt like things were a little lethargic in their progression. To be fair, I spent close to 18 hours with it to finish it, and it was a story deserving of that length, even if things occasionally felt like they marinated a little longer than I would have liked at points. I sometimes had the feeling that I just wanted the story to get on with it. But again, it's not necessarily bad, You just need to be patient and be able to enjoy a slow-burn type of delivery or you might find yourself losing interest. And as mentioned earlier, there's very little resistance to progression and the “puzzles” aren't really puzzles, so there's no satisfaction to be had in the sense of overcoming challenges. But overall, I felt The Pillars of the Earth was worthy of my time. It's got a well-formulated story with a mixture of protagonists and antagonists that mix in interesting and dramatic ways as their mutually exclusive aims clash. And I found the theming to be particularly resonant and in harmony with my own sensibilities - the idea that goodness or evil are not confined and bound to surface level appearances, and are, in fact, often in contrast to outward expression. It's not my favorite P&C/visual novel ever, but it's a good one. 4/5.

crimson_tide wrote: ↑Mon Jan 15, 2024 12:06 pm Oh now I find the meme I was looking for. 17th! 17th!

Livin' the life!

13) Crystalis (NES)









When I was little, I had an NES, and I had loved gaming since the Atari VCS, and the NES was such a leap that it almost seemed surreal to the gamer and tech-ignorant kid in me. But despite having that iconic, industry-saving Nintendo console, I didn't have tons of games for it. As an adolescent, I was preoccupied with playing sports, school, friends and just the general stressors of life that accompany that age. I definitely made time for gaming, but it was less of a focal point than I sometimes desired. I saw so many intriguing games when browsing store shelves that I felt like I'd really enjoy, but I knew I didn't have time for the abundance of playing that the gamer in me wanted. It's not that I regret it because I was doing what I wanted with my time, but it was a sensation of being pulled in multiple directions with, of course, a finite amount of time and energy to spend, and gaming was a smaller piece of that pie back then for me. But as I've gotten older, I haven't lost that sensation of wanting to play so many games that I missed, and with that feeling, I picked up Crystalis for the NES in 2023.

The narrative set-up is that the “Great War” has brought civilization to an end, and in the conflict between science/technology and magic, science had come to be seen as the cause of humankind's downfall. (maybe prescient today?) Eventually a magician named Draygon becomes tempted by the forbidden mysteries of science and seeks to combine the two, resulting in the old-as-time power hungry dictator archetype rearing its ugly head yet again. There's a decent amount of backstory in the manual, and also fair bit of narrative delivered in-game, but this is an action RPG at heart, and the overall story is suitably sparse, offering just enough flavor to incentivize practical engagement with the world. And it's a pretty big open world, especially for the time. There are eleven towns, along with plenty of external areas and dungeons connecting everything. There's an expansive feel to the world, and exploring, discovering and unlocking things as you progress is very satisfying. You'll need to listen to townsfolk to get direction, and even then, things can be a bit murky in spots. It's like Zelda in that regard, and it's a bit of a double-edged sword. Not always having clear indicators for progression facilitates that sense of adventure and pull to explore, but when things get a little too vague, you can feel a little lost and tedium can set in. The dungeons could also add to the sense of being lost. It's not that they were overly complex, but the geometry remained a little too similar oftentimes as you wandered about the intersecting and winding pathways, and it could be easy to forget which way to go. This is the type of game that would have benefited from an in-game map, or you could, in a really old-school manner, make your own. Being in this internet age, I consulted online maps for convenience’s sake a few times, and I admit that I did consult a guide on a couple occasions. It's not that it wasn't doable without external reference, but I got a little tired of the feel of aimless wandering in a few spots, and not wanting things to drag out to the point of frustration, I caved in and got some outside direction. But I didn't do it so much as to spoil the overall enjoyable sensation of exploring this interesting world. It did lessen the sense of accomplishment a little, but I got other games to play too, lol. (It's not a super long game if you know what you're doing, but there is certainly the possibility of getting stuck or just wandering until you luckily stumble upon the next point of progression.)

In terms of mechanics, I thought Crystalis was very good. As mentioned, it's an action RPG, and there's a good amount of mechanical interaction and methods of dealing with your opposition. There are four elemental swords that you gradually collect throughout, along with modifiers that increase their power and utility. These swords were essential to opening pathways as well as being effective (or not) against various enemies and bosses. You also can find and buy a variety of armors and items as well as obtain special abilities that are vital to your journey. Some of those abilities were really interesting. You could teleport from town to town, paralyze others, change forms into other types of humans which was necessary for progression and obtaining some important things in spots, use telepathy to get advice from a quartet of helpers, fly over gaps and hazards, as well as a variety of other skills that served on your adventure. They all used magic points which could be restored by resting at inns or using certain items. There was quite a bit of variability and complexity, especially for the era, in terms of how everything fit together, and it was satisfying to integrate all the tools at your disposal as your adventure progressed. The actual combat was fun too. You have various levels of attack for your elemental swords and the enemies moved with different patterns. It was important to avoid hits in some cases due to the status effects that you could receive from enemy contact. The controls were responsive, and the combat was enjoyable, if simple in terms of practical execution. The bosses were more complex in terms of challenge, as you often had to contend with bullet-hell type of situations from their projectiles, but they were well-made and fun too. And in true RPG fashion, you gain levels throughout - up to level 16, increasing your power and defense. Overall, it was fun to play with controller in-hand, and a nice example of basic fun that you often find with the two-button controllers on the console.

The presentation was pretty nice too. The visuals were colorful and varied from region to region, which also added to the epic feel and flavor of a larger world, and made exploration feel rewarding. The audio was decent. I've heard that some loved it, but I found it mostly passable, with some better loops than others. There was a little humor thrown into the mix of all the drama in the form of an all-woman, man-hating village which felt pretty up-to-date for sure, lol. Generally speaking, it was just a good action role playing game with enough strengths to warrant genuine praise. I cannot imagine anyone who enjoys old-school Zelda not also really digging Crystalis. It's got plenty of reasons to play it all these years later, and I'm glad I took this trip back in time. You can even ride a dolphin. In the end, it's a fun example of the genre, and just a quality game overall. 4/5.

12) Daxter (PSP)







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I played all the Jak and Daxter games on PS2 - well, not Frontiers and Jak X Racing, but they're in my backlog - but in terms of the main trilogy, I played and enjoyed each of them. Coming from Naughty Dog, they're obviously technical marvels relative to the hardware, and the mechanics were tight and responsive, as expected with the developers pedigree. They were also an interesting mix of the collectathon platformer married to a heavier narrative focus. They were genre stretching in this way, and because of that they had a unique appeal to me. Having never played the PSP spin-off in Daxter and his stand-alone adventure, I was in the mood to revisit this universe and did so in 2023.

It's immediately apparent that the technical skills translated to the lesser PSP hardware, unsurprisingly so, given the Ready at Dawn and Naughty Dog convergence. Ready at Dawn has proven themselves technically proficient, much like the series creators, and one need only look at The Order: 1886 on PS4 for undeniable evidence of their coding chops. So they were surely a fine choice to take the baton from Naughty Dog and run with this property. In addition to the general programming skill, the fun presentation continued in this off-shoot. The wise-cracking Daxter is well-suited to donning a primary role, and he has his moments to display his familiar comedic character here. I will say that he walks a (*really*) fine line between grating/annoying and charming sometimes, but he's well-suited to the overall tone of the series and genre. I also liked that this entry filled in a timeline gap between Jak 1 and 2, showing us how Daxter ultimately spent his time leading up to rescuing Jak for the beginning of the second main entry. I've never really been deeply engaged to the story in this series. It has always been a fairly enjoyable set of adventures in the moment without leaving a lasting or compelling impact in my memories, but I appreciated the links and connections in this tale nonetheless. The main reason for me to play these games has been to enjoy the platforming and collecting, and Daxter continues that familiar formula as well. Being tasked with exterminating more "Metal" entities - this time "bugs" instead of "heads", Daxter begins work for the Kridder Ridder, lol, extermination company. It's all simply a soft set-up and excuse for the action to come, and I didn't really care too much for the pretty forgettable story, but it was inoffensive, remaining mostly in the background and unnecessary for enjoying the rest of the game. Being a temporary exterminator, Daxter eventually acquires a gun that allows him to shoot (and eventually switch between) poison, fire and ultrasonic projectiles. They all have their purposes and more effective uses in addition to any of the forms allowing for Daxter to briefly hover as he platforms by pointing the muzzle of the weapon towards the ground to keep him aloft for added distance. I really enjoyed this mechanic, and it felt fun to execute, especially in some sections where the limited ability would run out as you collected more fuel orbs floating in mid air, creating opportunities for lengthy airborne navigation and challenges. It was just a satisfying method of moving about and justified the game on its own merits much of the time. Along with the platforming, the bulk of the game involves collecting gold gems from fallen bugs for level progression as well as the familiar Precursor Orbs. There were 1000 such orbs to collect which seemed like a lot, but maybe I'm forgetting the abundance of these in earlier titles. I didn't attempt to acquire them all - no thanks, lol. I had around 700 at completion, but they did serve an additional purpose, as each hundred obtained opened up new "dream sequences' where you could lay Daxter down on his bed for a nap and you'd play an icon-matching mini-game based on popular movies of the era like The Matrix, Braveheart, Indiana Jones and such. If you completed the mini-game Daxter would get a health upgrade or a new move of some kind. So if you wanted to max out his abilities, you were rewarded for all that collecting, at least. The mini-games were repetitive, always matching symbols and directions, and they could sometimes be fairly challenging with input prompts flying in rapidly, but they weren't a negative, and the funny takes on the movies they represented provided some mild chuckles. Also, they did serve to mix up the pacing and minimize repetition a bit. I also have always appreciated how this series tracks collectibles and percentages. It's nice seeing that ever-increasing count and movement towards goals in such a cold and statistical manner, and it probably appeals to the (mildly?) autistic within, lol. Daxter also tried to keep things fresh by providing different types of stages. Some were mini "open worlds", some were linear levels, and then there were vehicle sections, like in the previous games. I especially liked the platforming section on moving trains going in opposite directions with obstacles and hopping over from a train going in one direction back the other way in spots. That stood out as well done. The hover bike sections didn't fare as well, with the bikes feeling too loose and clumsy for my liking, but they didn't make up too much of the experience. There were also segments within levels where you'd slide down chutes while collecting and avoiding hazards as well as zip-line like sections with the same objectives. That speedier movement and quick-paced, reactive gameplay was welcome and a nice change of pace when they cropped up. Musically, there were also some nice pieces and it was clear that some attention was given to this aspect of things, and I always appreciate auditory engagement.

Some things rubbed my fur the wrong way in Daxter though. While you generally have camera control for panning with the triggers or in first person by pressing up on the d-pad to survey your surroundings while stationary, there were a couple instances where any sort of user camera control was removed, and those areas really needed it. It was frustrating and caused me to miss areas needed for progression in one spot, in particular. I wandered, uncertain how to progress for a bit, while eventually using the camera from a distance so I could see what the game wouldn't allow me to see up close, where it was relevant. I also didn't like the feel of one aspect of the controls. The double jump has a quick turnaround time for the second jump, and I felt like I wasn't able to let it ride for some extra distance before initiating the second jump and I didn't like that feeling. It was always possible to navigate where you needed to, in fairness, but it nevertheless felt restrictive having to execute "part two" of that maneuver quicker than I wanted to sometimes. The combat was also merely adequate. It was more button mashing than anything with any degree of finesse, but that's not surprising, given the genre. Finally, one overarching complaint that has always bothered me with this series is that of the art-design for many of the characters. It has always felt very hollow and cynical, trying to appeal to everyone. (Naughty Dog has even mentioned as much, at least in terms of Jak's design, I know.) I feel like Naughty Dog has tried to apply the same *effeciency* towards art that they use when coding, but the two forms of creativity don't and shouldn't have the same roots in my opinion. Trying to form some composite "amalgamation" of character / art design that would appeal to everyone just leaves a personality free husk. The idea of a "best" form of art design is at odds with the very spirit of art, of personal, creative expression. So I've always found this series to be markedly personality-free from a visual standpoint, likely reflecting that design philosophy. Any real artist is not interested in making something for *everyone*, rather something that comes from within, that speaks through them, but here I'm reminded of the business side of gaming, for better or worse.

But complaints aside, and even though Daxter didn't do anything exceptionally well or even *new*, it was still fun and familar collectathon, platforming romp. Playing via emulation, it also upscaled nicely with the resolution bump, although the cutscenes suffered in comparison, remaining lower res / blurry and weren't affected. (maybe I just didn't dig deep enough into the RetroArch settings, ha.) But overall, Daxter was a fun mascot platformer, a genre that I almost always enjoy, even if it's merely competent, and I would rate this above that baseline for fun. Like the rest of the series, this was a 4/5 for me, but I'd rate it below the main trilogy contextually. Still, I'm happy to have finally played it, and it's an easy recommendation for any fans of the genre or series. I'm pleasantly surprised at how capable the PSP feels all these years later, capable of delivering experiences like Daxter, that are still well-worth playing in 2023.

isthatallyougot wrote: ↑Tue Jan 16, 2024 2:28 pm 13) Crystalis (NES)



12) Daxter (PSP)

Ah, 2 games I've played. Daxter was great! I remember renting Crystalis a few times and liking it, but I don't recall how far I got...probably should check it out again.

I keep ALMOST buying that SNK anniversary collection exclusively for Crytalis. I ****ING LOVE that game, nice Izzy !