I never played the original Persona 3, so I don’t have the nostalgia lens going into the game. Coming to this game after my last Persona game being Persona 5 Royal, Persona 3 Reload feels a bit light.

The main dungeon of the game, Tartarus Tower, is similar to Mementos, where floors are randomly generated, and after certain floors, the theme of the dungeon changes. There are no specific dungeons in Persona 3 like in Persona 4 or Persona 5, which have individual themes and backstories.

To break the monotonous feeling of the dungeon, there are doors that show up randomly on the floor, behind which you can fight tougher bosses. Of course, the Reaper still exists like in Persona 5’s Mementos, and there are skills you can use on each floor, like stealth or unveiling the whole map.

Greedy Shadows also randomly pop up, which you have to chase. If you defeat them after chasing them down, you get all the loot they have collected on that floor and are instantly teleported in front of the stairs to the next floor.

Every full moon, you will fight a big boss, and until then, your only dungeon is Tartarus Tower. You will be repeating this loop throughout the game. Combat is more or less similar to Persona 5, with some bits removed.

You exploit the enemy’s weakness by using your Persona’s power, you can do an all-out attack, and each playable character has ultimate skills that you can use when the ultimate skill gauge is filled. The condition for the gauge filling faster depends on each character. There are no duo ultimate skills like in Persona 5 here.

Outside of combat and exploring Tartarus, you can raise your social link with other NPCs just like in most Persona games. You can raise your three social skills, which are charm, confidence, and academics, and you can do side activities. There are fewer side activities compared to Persona 5, I feel.

Classrooms are mostly the usual affair as in other Persona games, where the lecturer will ask questions, and you try to answer correctly. However, some classes, such as Math, will ask you to answer questions before talking about them, and with how much I suck at Math, it’s a huge curveball for me, and I kind of love it.

I quite like that your teammates’ Personas evolve as the story progresses and don’t rely on you maxing out the social link with them. This allows the player to chase potential romance partners outside of the party without feeling guilty or prioritizing other social links too.

The graphics are a bit behind Persona 5, even though there are some similarities in visual style between the two games, such as the use of striking colors with blocky UI designs. It looks good but feels less original compared to Persona 5. For example, combat UI choices such as attack, defend, etc., are the same for all characters, but in Persona 5, each character has something related to their weapon on the UI.

The overall vibe and usage of color are spot on. Persona 3 is probably the darkest entry in the series, especially as the full moon approaches and more people fall victim to Apathy Syndrome, with more of these NPCs popping up in the city. The Dark Hour, with its green and grim vibe, was well-executed visually.

Character design feels a bit like a step back coming from Persona 5, but they still look good, especially their combat gear. They just don’t feel as original as Persona 5 did. Of course, you can change their outfits too, and I love the inclusion of some spicy outfits for the characters.

Animation is fluid, from the in-game anime cutscenes to the combat animations and ultimate skills. I also love that the mirrors have reflections, which some higher-budget games made in Unreal Engine are missing.

I love the music in Persona 4 and Persona 5 to bits, but Persona 3 less so, mostly because I am not a fan of Hip Hop, Rap, or R&B music. It feels very out of place for me in Persona 3, and I honestly don’t remember any of the music after finishing the game.

The voice lines are really good for the Japanese voice actors and decent for the English voice actors too. I mostly played with Japanese voices and briefly tried the English voices just to see how they sounded. The Japanese voices have an upper hand in terms of fitting the characters’ looks and emotional delivery, and it helps practice my Japanese listening skills.

The sound effects are solid, such as the sounds of spells, swords, and spears. The background OST for some heartwarming scenes is also appropriate. It’s not as detailed as having echoes or different footstep noises when you are in different kinds of halls, such as a tiny room, but it is good enough.

This is probably the darkest story in the Persona series, and I love it. People and characters die for real, and there is no plot armor for some characters. For every death, the game handles the event and situation really well. There are also some darker elements in the backstories.

However, the story is also less complex and very straightforward, even somewhat predictable near the last two months. There are some nice twists, but nothing that will make you go, ‘Oh, wow, I wasn’t expecting that’ kind of twist. The ending still surprised me and caught me off guard, making me feel sad.

More could be done for the players to feel connected to the villain too, since the villain’s side of the story is a bit lacking compared to other Persona games, especially for a character who shows up late in the game. It’s harder to feel attached to the character in a very short time. Chidori is the only villain character I feel some connection to due to her frequent appearances and her side of the story, but the rest, I don’t really care much about them.

Social links are also hit or miss. Some of the character social links are generic if you are an anime watcher, while some are really nice to follow. I wasn’t able to max out a few of the social links since they weren’t able to hook me into their stories.

Persona 3 Reload

When we think of tactical JRPG, what we have in mind would be something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics where we move our units on the map and than end our turn letting the enemy units move. This is no longer the case in Unicorn Overlord since everything is real time.

Much like in Fire Emblem, you will still be deploying units onto the battlefield but time flow in real time. The enemy unit are always moving even if you don’t move your. This is somewhat similiar to Diofield Chronicle which Square Enix experimented with.

However, worry not, you can pause the game anytime to issue your command which introduce a layer of strategic depth that cannot be achieve with turn based one. For example, waiting for the enemies to reach certain area to ambush them.

Combat screen is similiar to Fire Emblem where your unit will carry out the fight themself while you can watch. The biggest different here is that you can assign skill, skill order, when to use the skill like Final Fantasy XII Gambit system, giving you finer control on your units. You also have to take into account skill point that will be consume when the unit use them in combat.

Unlike Fire Emble, a unit didn’t consist of just one or two character. You can field up to 5 characters after upgrading making for unique combinations and tactics which is for you to test out. Each character type have advantages and weakness so you have to take that into account too when forming your unit.

Apart from the unique combat system, the rest are standard Tactical JRPG affairs. You can equip weapons, armors and accessories for your unit. You can bond with them like Fire Emblem relationship system call Rapport. 

You can move around on the overmap to take on visit towns, repair and help towns, take side quests and main quests. The map in Unicorn Overlord is huge with unique culture and environments for you to see.

I have always been a fan of Vanillaware art since Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Vanillaware knows how to make beautiful art that will suit the theme of the game and It is no different for Unicorn Overlord. 

The art is totally pleasing to the eyes. Combat effects are not overdone. Characters and backgrounds look not only gorgeous but fitting for the theme of the story. The cutscene and story telling look beautiful too with fluid animation that are a reminiscent of 13 Sentinels Ageis Rim.

The music is good and pretty much suitable for the era and the theme the game is set in. However, the tracks are not as memoriable and can get repetitive fairly quickly.

Voice acting is solid for Japanese voice with suitable voice for each character. No one voice feel too old while the character look young, etc... I don’t really like the English voice thou.

Probably the weakest part of the game is the story. It a generic bad guy overthrow the kingdom and takeover the world where the hero and his resistance force have to fight back control.

Having a generic story isn’t bad in itself if the flow of the story is good with interesting macro stories which Unicorn Overlord sorta of have but the story progress very slow with a lot of filler battle to tackle in between. You might have conquered a big city and the needle only move a few millimeter kind of scenerio despite each region having it own unique problem and scenerios going on.

Rapport (character bonding) moments are hit or miss. Some have generic kind of story while other have a more interesting story. Due to having a huge number of unique character you can encounter or recruit, the characters don’t get a lot of time to shine either and the bonding moments are just to supplement this issue.

Unicorn Overlord

For a developer whose main forte is mobile games, Cygames did an excellent job of getting the gameplay right with some help from Platinum Games. Combining elements of Monster Hunter with Final Fantasy XIV, combat is the bread and butter of the game, and they nailed it.

Combat is super smooth with good mechanics that strike a balance between simplicity for new players and depth for higher skill level players. You can execute normal and strong attacks, and different characters have unique combos. Additionally, you can assign four skills to use in combat after unlocking them in the skill tree. You can also guard and dodge, with chances to trigger perfect guards and dodges if timed correctly.

The skill trees are fairly linear, and you will eventually unlock all of them. However, customization comes in the form of Sigil slots, allowing you to build your character differently from other players (assuming you don’t just go for the meta build). Do you want more attacks, more HP, or even more dodging ability? Sigils cover all those options.

Instead of having players control one character and changing weapons like in Monster Hunter, you control different characters, each with their own unique combat style, skills, and abilities.

There is also a mechanic similar to a limit break, allowing you to unleash your ultimate attack when the bar is full. The unique aspect is that you can chain it with other AI-controlled characters or players to unleash an even more devastating ultimate attack.

There are also many epic boss fights, such as the giant titan fight called Excavallion or Primal-to-Primal fights in which the player controls the Primal.

The best part of the game for me would be the Final Fantasy XIV-style boss mechanics. As a long-time Final Fantasy XIV player who quit because of the huge time sink it was, this brings back so many memories. Dodging AoEs, clearing adds, hiding behind structures to avoid attacks, positioning, etc.… Handling unique mechanics is everything I love about Final Fantasy XIV, and Granblue Fantasy Relink wholesale mimicked it.

Difficulty is also handled well for endgame content, unless you are being carried by public co-op players. It ramps up gradually with new mechanics introduced, with occasional skill tests for players before unlocking the next stage of difficulty.

Granblue Fantasy Relink also has many quality-of-life features that I love and think all games should have. When you skip a cutscene, the game gives you a summary of the scene you are about to skip, which is really handy. The ability to open the lore book for unique lore during cutscenes and speeches is also a game-changer, something I heard Final Fantasy XVI has something similar to.

The map and stages in the game are very linear but are well-designed with nooks and crannies to explore. I welcome the removal of the mini-map too, as it allows me to get a better sense of exploration while only relying on my compass, like in the older days of JRPGs.

The art style of Granblue Fantasy Relink is gorgeous, absolutely breathtaking. While I really love the art style of Tales of Arise, I believe Granblue Fantasy Relink surpasses it. Not to mention, the animation is smooth and flawless as well.

Every new vista, map, stage, or city I unlock captivates me. I spend a lot of my time admiring their beauty and appreciating the care and love put into crafting them. The first time I unlocked Seedhollow, a major city in the game, I was awestruck. I allowed myself to fully immerse in the environment and thoroughly explore the city, opening chests and searching for collectables.

It's no secret that every video game often has to lower the details and quality of distant objects, but I admire the way this game handles it. Even though distant objects become less detailed, they still blend in flawlessly with the higher-quality objects nearer to the player and don't turn into a total blur.

The animations, both when exploring and in combat, are incredibly smooth. Each character also has different running animations and emote styles. Additionally, I can’t get enough of how naturally the hair flows without clipping into body parts. Combat is flashy but not overly done, allowing you to still see what is happening on your screen.

There are a lot of epic animations and scenes in boss fights too such as sliding down Excavallion hand through explosions or Lucilius's fight where two Paradise Lost clashes.

The sound design is also quite impressive, although I wouldn't say it's on par with the level of Final Fantasy. Granblue Fantasy Relink features many excellent tracks, but also quite a few forgettable ones.

The main theme of Granblue Fantasy Relink is beautiful and very relaxing to listen to. In fact, it evokes a Final Fantasy vibe, which isn't surprising given the involvement of the legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu in the early development of Granblue, working alongside Tsutomu Narita.

The boss music is probably the most memorable aspect of the game's soundtrack, with explosive, rousing, and even orchestral pieces. I especially love the music for Bahamut Versa’s End of Ragnarok and Lucilius.

The English voice acting is solid, but I played the whole game in Japanese, which feels more natural for any anime game. Additionally, playing in Japanese allows me to catch some problematic translations made by the localizers, as I understand a bit of Japanese.

I wouldn’t say the story is anything special, especially if you're a seasoned anime watcher or JRPG player. It follows a very typical traditional JRPG or Shounen anime-style narrative. The story moves fairly quickly and only accounts for around 22 hours of gameplay time for me.

In Granblue Fantasy Relink, you can choose to play as either Gran or Djeeta as your main character in the story, but either choice won’t have any effect on the narrative. The game drops you straight into the action on an airship with your crew, many of whom are already bonded with the main character.

Initially, you might have questions about who all these people are, but don't worry, the game has something called "Fate," which allows you to experience every character's story and helps you understand them better.

However, I do wish the Fate storytelling didn't consist solely of reading walls of text but included some cutscenes or multiple artworks to make things more memorable and stick with me months down the line.

Another problem I have with Fate is that almost all the Fate stories suffer from unnecessary additions by the English localizers, with some of them not making sense or being entirely unnecessary and not adding anything to the story.

Later in the story, one of your party members named Lyria gets kidnapped, and you embark on an island-hopping adventure to rescue her while uncovering the mystery behind her abduction. It's one epic fight after another until it culminates in a super epic showdown with a higher power, with the help of "Nakama (仲間) power."

With only 22 hours of the story, there is little to no chance for character development or deep interaction between the characters in the main storyline. However, the comedy sprinkled throughout the main story every now and then is pretty solid and helps lighten the mood.

Despite the lack of character development or deep interaction, I do appreciate that characters interact with each other in combat, even those who are not included in the main story and are unlocked by the player. I also noticed some differences depending on which characters are paired up.

Granblue Fantasy Relink

Ever since Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale, I have had a soft spot for dungeon crawling management games. Cruisineer hit that spot fairly well.

The first part of Cruisineer is the dungeon crawling part, so you equip your frying pan or tenderizer (Yes, those are real weapons in the game) and start smashing things in the dungeon to gather your ingredients and resources. The dungeons are procedurally generated, so every time you enter, you will be greeted with a slightly different layout.

In the dungeon, you have your normal melee combo, ranged attack, melee special and ranged special attacks. You can also dash and do dash attacks too. To make things more interesting, your weapons and armor pieces come with passive buffs, be it from flaming dash to summoning a shield bubble at the end of your attack combo. These make for some fun combinations.

The dungeon crawling isn’t a breeze either. In fact, for people new to this kind of game, it will prove to be some challenge. Moreover, there are boss fights in the dungeon too. A new dungeon unlocks after paying off each stage of your debt.

Even though the dungeon crawling aspect is done really well, procedurally generated stages do get old as you get used to their layouts. The selection of monsters you can fight and get ingredients from is also quite small, and it requires you to unlock a new dungeon just to face a couple of new monsters.

The second part of the game is the restaurant management, which I think is a bit too simple for my taste. You open your shop, customers come in and you go to the right cooking station and cook the order they want. The orders are also pre-selected for you, so you don’t need to look for them.

Most customers will collect their own food, but some, such as nobles, require you to serve them the food. After they are done eating, you collect the payment at the cashier station. From time to time, you might get people trying to evade paying for food, but those are easy to catch too.

One thing I noticed while playing is that different customer types have different traits. Old timers are really slow at deciding what to order and slow at walking, while kids are fast and impatient.

As you get richer, you expand your restaurant and buy and decorate with new furniture. Some furniture have buffs that increase the rate of the type of customer your restaurant attracts.

One word: Charming. The illustrations are gorgeous and cute, with bright, colorful and cozy 3D graphics in-game. It is very pleasant for my eyes.

The dungeons also follow the same charming art style, from their environment to monster design. I like the combat effects too, and never once does it feel overwhelming or hard to see when combat gets messy.

The art style and graphics of the food are really good. The food is inspired by South East Asian and East Asian cuisine, and being a South East Asian, just looking at it makes me hungry. I have to make sure I have snacks beside me while playing the game. And if you haven’t noticed, all the NPCs in the game are named after foods.

The graphics are very top-down, which I wish were more in line with games like Story of Seasons, so that I can see the game world in more detail.

The soundtrack of the game is not memorable, but it is really atmospheric. It is the type that amplifies what you see on the screen instead of staying in your head. The soundtrack really suits the charming graphics and art style with its cheerful tracks.

There is no voice acting in the game, but they do make some cute noises to compensate for it. There are some audio cues in combat, such as when your shield blocks attacks. Cooking sound effects are generic and are not dependent on the type of recipe you are cooking.

The story is probably the weakest link for Cruisineer. The story just consists of you paying back the debt your parents have left as you reboot the restaurant. The debt doesn’t have a deadline, so you can pay at your convenience too.

As you repay your debt, new dungeons unlock and you get more and higher amounts of debt to pay off. From time to time, you will get a mail from your parents telling you what they are up to.

The side quests are also simple cooking or gathering quests, where you need to cook or gather certain items and turn them in, in exchange for recipes you can use at your restaurant. The story NPCs give are fairly simple too, but they do a good job at bringing their personality forward, as well as what is going on in their life, with just a few lines.

Unlike games like Story of Seasons, there are no seasonal events in town, nor is there a relationship or marriage system, which I think is a missed opportunity.

Cruisineer

The Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn DLC does not really introduce any significant new features for the gameplay and mostly follows the same strengths and weaknesses as the base game. You can read my review of the base game here if you have not done so yet - [here].

The DLC does not really improve the graphics and mostly retains the same art style and graphic quality as the base game. You can read my review of the graphics for the base game here if you are interested - [here].

The DLC does not offer many new soundtracks or music and the quality of the soundtracks and music you have heard in the base game is consistent here. You can read my review of the sound department for the base game here if you are curious - [here].

The only significant new addition is Nazamil’s voice acting and needless to say, it is flawless in both Japanese and English and fully portrays her personality and the situation she got into.

Now, this is where Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn DLC differs. It is set roughly a year after the events of the base game, where the worlds of Renans and Dahnans have merged. The party comes together once more to shut down the Mausoleums of the merged world and encounters Nazamil, a new character around whom the DLC story revolves.

Nazamil is a shy, soft-spoken girl who has a tragic past. She is unique in the fact that she is half Renan and half Dahnan, which leads to both sides not accepting her as one of them. Wanting to find a place where she can belong, she finds it in Alphen and Shionne’s party, but trouble is brewing on the horizon.

Banking the whole story on a single character, Nazamil, is a risky move, but I am glad they pulled it off well in not only her personality, and backstory but also making the player sympathize with her.

It is also great to see the lifestyle people are having after the world merge and whether the Renans and Dahnans are coexisting or not. There are times in the story where if I were in Alphen’s place, I would have chopped the person to pieces, and this is the first time in a long time I have seen Alphen genuinely pissed off.

The side quest stories are mostly about the new lifestyle between Dahnans and Renans and how they are getting along with each other or their new life. A lot of these side quests are fetch or kill quests too. However, the character interaction and skits more than makeup for this shortcoming with their high-quality interactions.

I also like the new EX quests that are implemented in the game, essentially these are side quests with a continuous story on the topic of Alphen researching about weddings. The twist is, that players are given access to Shionne’s diary, where she is aware something is going on behind her back but not sure what, making for some funny entries in her diary.

Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn

Let’s start with the combat of Star Ocean The Second Story R. The combat is action-based instead of turn-based and it is super smooth. The combat has a Break system where depleting all the shields will immobilize the enemies. There is also a dodge system where if you time it right, you will teleport behind the enemies and stun them, just like Blind-slide in Star Ocean  The Divine Force.

On the bottom right of the combat system is your Bonus Gauge, which gives you passive bonuses depending on the Party Formation you choose and how well you fight in combat. There are many Party Formations to choose from and earn, each giving unique passive bonuses.

Combat is really smooth and breaking the enemies is super satisfying. The combat mechanics tie in really well for most parts. However, in fights where the number of enemies becomes numerous and you are swarmed by them, it is hard to see their telegraphed attacks to dodge properly. This renders the dodge system kind of useless.

Through Assault Formation, you can also summon backup party members or characters from other Star Ocean games to use their skills on the battlefield quickly. You can also disable certain spells or skills so that the AI controlling the character won’t use them. However, the AI are also kind of dumb and do die a lot.

Once you win a battle, you are granted BP and SP, which you can use to level up passive Battle Skills or Lifestyle Skills, such as crafting, customization, fishing, cooking, and so on. Battle skills are straightforward and do what the description says, while lifestyle skills are more complicated.

Each lifestyle skill not only gives other benefits such as stats, but you also have to level up different combinations of Lifestyle Skills to level up certain skills, such as Customization, which requires a combination of Smithing, Aesthetic Design, and Eye for Detail. To add to that, there are Group Skills, which, as the name suggests, need multiple characters at certain Lifestyle Skills levels to unlock.

I also love that the game only explains the basics of these skills and encourages you to try them out in a trial-and-error style. Try combining different ingredients for cooking, or different weapons with materials, and who knows, the outcome might surprise you. Some of these skills affect certain mini-games and are more than just numbers and stats.

The map menu also informs you about side quests available, limited-time quests, private actions, and so on. As much as I love the convenience factor, I think not providing it would give the player a sense of exploration and discovery more, just like in the older JRPG days.

In addition to the core gameplay, there are mini-games like fishing, which is straightforward but fun to discover new fish or hunt for legendary fish. Bunny race betting is also quite fun to play. The cooking rhythm game needs a bit of getting used to for the timing, but it becomes quite fun afterwards too.

One word: Breathtaking. I have a soft spot for pixel art games and I thought Octopath Traveler was at the top of the pixel art graphic tier until Star Ocean The Second Story R dropped. The blend between real 3D objects and pixel art is simply gorgeous. 

I love the vibrant colours, the shading, and the particle effects. I love that the game gives a spectacular view from time to time, showing off how pretty the game looks. Not just every town, village, and city, the overworld also looks beautiful and is a joy to traverse on such a pretty world map.

I love the new character art style on the character profile page too. Moreover, spells and skills in combat are crisp and well animated too.

Despite the soundtracks not being playlist-worthy or tear-jerking, the soundtracks are really atmospheric, with a sense of grandeur on some tracks, while some tracks offer comfort. They are quite nice to listen to. I never managed to finish the classic Star Ocean Second Story and I played it when I was a kid, so I don’t remember the soundtrack well enough to compare it with the Remake.

As for the voice acting, I played in Japanese voice and I preferred the older voice acting style. The new voice acting kind of reminded me of my JLPT listening exercises. Thankfully, the game offers the ability to choose between the old voice and the remade voice for each and every playable character. Thanks to this option, I was able to switch between voices depending on what I liked for each character, between classic or remake.

If you have played some other Star Ocean games, then you are probably already half familiar with the core theme of Star Ocean The Second Story R. A guy ends up on an underdeveloped planet, meets the locals, and goes on to solve a big issue blighting them, which turns out to be galactic in scale.

It is not so different in Star Ocean The Second Story R, where Claude, son of legendary admiral Ronyx J. Kenny, gets teleported to an underdeveloped planet Expel due to his reckless behaviour, where he meets Rena. The two later end up on a journey to unveil the truth of the Sorcery Globe.

This is where the game allows you to choose who would be the main protagonist of the game, and depending on who you pick, certain parts of the story slightly differ, but not by a lot.

Star Ocean as a series doesn’t really shine in the story plot department. In fact, for Star Ocean The Second Story R, I think the second half of the game is way too fast in pacing and the villains are kind of underutilized. However, I believe where it does well is in its character story and interaction, and yes, there are countless of them in Star Ocean The Second Story R through Private Actions.

The game also has a bonding mechanic with affection levels among your party members. As you progress through the main story, different towns offer Private Actions between characters, and almost all of them I see are quite nice. Some Private Actions might even offer you choices you can make, some are comedic moments, and there are some misunderstood Ecchi moments too.

Due to the game not allowing you to recruit all playable characters, either by the hard party limit of 8 or by recruiting certain characters that make you ineligible for another character, the game achieves replayability through different Private Actions and endings by recruiting these characters you missed out on.

With the game boasting multiple different character endings of almost 100 endings, depending on who the characters end up more affectionate with, leading you to different ending scenes.

Star Ocean The Second Story R

The combat in Fate/Samurai Remnant strikes a good balance between combat mechanics and flashy moves. Much like in Musou-style games, boss fights come with many mobs and a single high-HP boss. Servant boss fights, however, feel like action-packed combat encounters, where you need to pay attention to their combat mechanics.

Servants, powerful legendary or historical characters summoned by Masters to assist them, are notably strong, and their strength becomes evident when you control them in combat. You can switch between the protagonist Iori and his allied Servants when a gauge is full, but there's a time limit on how long you can use your Servants before returning to controlling Iori.

However, this doesn't mean Iori is weak. He may feel weak early in the game, but he becomes considerably stronger as the story progresses. Iori has five different sword stances, each with unique effects, combos, and usefulness in different situations. For instance, the water stance is fast and ideal for clearing out crowds of mobs. Additionally, he can use spells through gems, just like Rin Tohsaka in Fate/Stay Night.

The combat does become somewhat repetitive, as many boss fights involve breaking their shell before dealing proper damage to their actual HP. To quickly remove their shell, you'll frequently use your Servant skills to stun them and deal more damage. I also wish the combat have a bit more weight and feel less floaty.

The combat in Sword Demon's difficulty presents some challenges, although it isn't overly difficult, as you can use healing items without limit. Fate/Samurai Remnant is not a particularly challenging game, which is acceptable since Fate is more about the story and its characters. 

One peculiar issue I found is the implementation of cutscenes during combat, which can abruptly shift control back to Iori, wasting some of your Servant gauges when you are controlling the Servant. Additionally, there are instances where the ultimate skill totally missed due to the enemy using certain skills. I also wish there were more enemy varieties.

Each character you can control has its own skill tree. Iori and his Servant Saber boast the most extensive skill tree since you'll spend the majority of your time playing as them. Other allied rogue Servants have their own, albeit smaller, skill trees.

Another key gameplay element in the game is called Spirit Font Conflicts, which involves tactical battles on grids with the goal of capturing locations until you reach the enemy base or objective. You can use special items to gain advantages on the field, split up with Saber to cover more ground, or capture allied rogue Servants' bases to request their assistance.

However, the tutorial for Spirit Font Conflicts can feel lengthy, with each new instance introducing a new mechanic and the tutorial explaining these mechanics, potentially making me feel I have less freedom to explore them independently. If you can overcome this feeling, capturing the entire Spirit Font map is quite satisfying.

In addition to the main gameplay mechanics, the game offers various mini-games, such as blade polishing and statue carving. Most towns and locations also feature local tasks that provide extra rewards. You can also rechallenge old bosses, upgrade your katana parts, and enhance your workshop for additional buffs.

The graphics of Fate/Samurai Remnant are not exceptional in any way, but they are serviceable. I'm not a graphic whore when it comes to graphics. The visuals perfectly align with the game's AA budget.

Despite the graphics not being high-end and sometimes featuring low-texture details, I genuinely appreciate the art style they've incorporated. While strolling through Edo, I truly feel like I'm there, walking alongside Saber and Iori. The streets of Edo come to life with people walking, running, and vendors selling their wares.

I also appreciate the character portraits and certain cutscenes with traditional Japanese-style art, which enhance the overall immersion. Moreover, the game boasts some breathtaking locations.

The combat effects are flashy and well-animated. Many of the epic Servants' spells and attacks look impressive, and the cutscenes for ultimate skills are both flashy and visually captivating.

The soundtrack, once again, is era-appropriate, featuring a lot of calm Japanese traditional wood instruments music. It enhances the atmosphere of the game, and while there are certain music pieces I really like, some even staying rent-free in my brain, I wouldn't necessarily add them to my playlist.

The voice acting is also superb, with characters using era-specific speech styles. I particularly enjoy it when Musashi appears with a modern speech style, causing confusion among everyone else about the meaning of certain words she uses.

The general sound effects are decent and serve their purpose. They may not be highly detailed, such as different sounds depending on where the sword hits the enemies or echoes in a valley while fighting. Nevertheless, they are adequate and don't feel overly generic.

If you are new to the Fate franchise, Fate/Samurai Remnant serves as a valid entry point for newcomers. It thoroughly explains all the basics and lore you need to know, while veterans can also appreciate it with its fan service. One thing is for certain: the story undeniably belongs to the Fate universe.

It has been a while since we've had a non-mobile Fate game, and Koei Tecmo and Omega Force have executed the story quite well. There may be some pacing issues and occasional peculiar decisions, but overall, it's a solid narrative.

The story of Fate/Samurai Remnant is set in the Edo period during the Keian Era, where Japan has achieved peace with samurai becoming ronin. One of these ronin is the protagonist, Iori, who practices the dual katana swordsmanship style known as Niten Ichiryu. Uncertain about what to do with his new life, he is drawn into the Holy Grail War, also known as the Waxing Moon Ritual in this game.

Fate/Samurai Remnant requires patience, much like most other Fate animes, as it takes a bit of time to gain momentum. However, the wait is well worth it, as the complexities gradually unfold.

The story is deliberately paced, and it explores philosophy and morality. What sets it apart is that, unlike Fate/Stay Night, the protagonist's ideology is not overly naive or extreme, and he manages to get the job done exceptionally well.

The characters are intricate, and each Servant possesses a unique personality and backstory, rooted in their historical or mythological origins. Moreover, the relationship between the Master and Servant is a focal point, and the narrative aims to showcase this through Digressions.

The narrative and the relationship between Iori and Saber are well-crafted. It starts with unfriendliness, with Saber looking down on Iori, and gradually evolves organically into mutual respect and friendship.

One aspect I particularly appreciate is the game's attention to historical and cultural accuracy, such as the portrayal of the Yoshiwara district (red-light district) where courtesans are not allowed to leave the district. The game doesn't simply relegate this information to a logbook but integrates it into the story and character dialogues.

If I were to offer a complaint, it would be that the New Game+ additional stories don't warrant a replay. Many of the new story entries and Digressions in New Game+ could have been implemented in the first playthrough with only slight modifications. However, the ability to fast-forward through already-read text makes life a bit easier in New Game+.

The game offers three different endings, each with some variations. However, because the branching comes rather late in the story, while it enhances the story's cohesion, it can also make certain elements of the narrative feel abrupt.

Fate Samurai Remnant

Let’s just say, Armored Core VI is a mecha game that makes me feel like I am the pilot of a Gundam. It has fast-moving mecha, the ability to dodge and weave through multiple incoming projectiles, exciting boss fights and multiple customization options.

In terms of combat, it is extremely well done. Mechas have appropriate weight and speed and you can feel their weight both in movement and combat. Weapons have appropriate oomph depending on what you use. The stagger bar from Sekiro also makes a fun addition to the game.

Avoiding getting hit is the name of the game here. Using your four weapons on your left arm, right arm, left shoulder and right shoulder, you the pilot have to tackle mission after mission which can range anywhere from a few minutes to hard but fun and memorable boss fights which will make you retry multiple times and get good.

There are a lot of customization options too if you are stuck on a boss fight. The game encourages players to try out different loadouts. These weapons and mecha parts can be bought from shops, discovered from chests or as rewards.

Each weapon has different characteristics, damage and stagger values. Each mecha part also has different stats such as weight, energy and speed. Some mecha parts even come with special characteristics such as the ability to hover in the air. Armored Core VI makes customizing your mecha really fun.

Moreover, you can customize your mecha emblem and colour too. Want to build your favourite Gundam? You can give it a shot. It can get pretty close.

Mission stages range from small to large depending on the mission. A lot of the time you have freedom on how you want to tackle the mission. The game only gives you an objective marker. Do you want to go at it with brute force while dodging the lasers or do you want to sneak in from underneath the platform? It is your choice to make.

I also love that they took a page out of Nier where every new game+ adds some new mission stages to tackle along with new Arena fights and weapons. Of course, this also lets you trigger different endings the game has to offer. The gameplay loop and combat are so nice that it doesn’t get old to retry the same mission stage after you finish them once.

The minor downside would be a questionable boss fight stage design on the very first mission where you fight a giant helicopter. There is a small boundary set up for the boss fight area which the player cannot pass but the helicopter can go past this boundary and still shoot you.

Another downside would be the bad balancing of the weapons. Some weapons such as lasers and plasma become quite underpowered mid to end game due to low stagger stats. When the game revolves heavily around staggering your enemies, anything with a high stagger becomes the default winner.

Armored Core VI doesn’t have super high-end details that will make your GPU scream but for what it is, it looks pretty decent. There are some low-texture patches here and there when close up but overall, it is a nice-looking game.

The environment has a lot of detail to it. You can instantly feel the sense of scale on how big your mecha is compared to your surroundings. From urban, snowy to desert regions, the environment is a looker. The trails that your mecha leaves behind when sliding even differ depending on the ground.

Of course, this is a mecha game, the mechas have a lot of details from graphics to animation on them, especially your mecha. For example, even though heat is not part of the gameplay loop, after a heated battle, you can see your mecha putting out the heatsink outside the mecha body and cooling it down before putting it back into the body.

Ray tracing is also available but only within your mecha garage allowing you to see your mecha in better shadow and details and yes, the mecha looks impressive and cool that it will make any mecha otaku nut.

I guess my complaint would be the lack of proper cutscenes with fully modelled humans. The lack of profile photos or animations is also a downside for me, not only it make the characters harder to recognize but also I cannot see what my waifu Ayre looks like.

I feel like it is also a missed opportunity not to have a small lobby where you can walk around your mecha and admire its beauty and scale while missions are taken by either talking to NPCs or a terminal.

Coming from other From Software games like Elden Ring or Sekiro which have epic-sounding atmospheric music, I feel like Armored Core VI is lacking in this department. The music is not bad but it is just not there compared to the other games from From Software.

Music is… well, it is there. It doesn’t sound bad or out of place, it just silently serves the scene and is not memorable either.

Sound effects are what shine in this game. Be it the SFX of laser sword, multiple rockets getting fired, or Gatling guns, they sound good with a lot of power behind them. The sound of metal clashing each other in fights also makes fights more immersive and tense.

Voice acting is great for both English and Japanese voice even though I do notice some differences in translation in certain scenes. E.g. The defend the rockets stage, in Japanese Ayre said “Beautiful fireworks, isn’t it?” in a more date-like scenario while in English, she said “Those really look like fireworks” which doesn’t feel like I am on a date. As always, western localizer moments.

I wasn’t expecting much from the story of Armored Core VI but let’s just say, I am pleasantly surprised by how it merges a lot of mecha anime stories and how Japanese it feels. Though the way the story is delivered could have been better.

You wake up as an augmented human pilot number 621 inside a mecha. A voice from your handler fires up, commanding you to infiltrate the planet of Rubicon under the guise of a mercenary.

The planet of Rubicon is under a lot of conflict between the different corporations and an organization called the Planetary Closure Administration. As you continue the story, you learn more about the politics behind these corporations, the conflict among them, the history of the planet and the mysterious substance called Coral.

The story is mostly told before and after the mission in the form of well… Radio waves with emblem icons. It can be a bit difficult to follow if you are used to cutscenes and it is also less immersive. I badly want to know what these characters look like especially Ayre.

The story didn’t go deep into any particular topic and might be a bit predictable if you watch a lot of mecha anime or play a lot of JRPGs, nevertheless, it is still a short and sweet, extremely enjoyable story.

The game also comes with three different endings and the true ending is locked behind New Game++ which I encourage everyone to go through due to New Game++ adding many more stories and missions. Even certain events that happen in the mission are different.

Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon

If your Atelier experience is limited to modern-day Atelier games, it might come as a shock that most older Atelier games feature a time limit. This holds true for Atelier Marie as well, where you are given a 5-year deadline.

Every action you undertake consumes in-game time, whether it's a single day, several days, or even over a week. Planning a trip to a nearby forest to gather resources or engage in battles against monsters? Such activities require time for travel. Even synthesizing items takes its own time. Effective time management plays a crucial role in playing Atelier Marie, though I find the time limit in this instalment relatively forgiving compared to some of the later entries in the Atelier series.

What surprised me was that Atelier Marie's gameplay leans more towards simulation games like Story of Seasons, where a final goal is set, yet you are free to structure your day however you please. The lack of handholding is refreshing, allowing players to discover and explore on their own—harkening back to the gaming experiences of my childhood. Engaging with NPCs, reading lore books, and uncovering things independently—this is the way games used to be.

So, what's achievable in a day? Atelier Marie's mechanics are straightforward. You can visit the tavern and contribute items and materials from a randomly generated list of requests. Additionally, you can pursue rumours that unlock new locations to explore.

Venturing to nearby areas enables you to battle monsters and gather materials. The combat system adheres to the traditional turn-based JRPG style, where you and your enemies take turns, selecting actions from a menu. While the early game might pose some difficulty if you take on more than you can handle, overall, the difficulty is relatively mild, requiring minimal strategic planning.

In contrast to modern Atelier games, companions aren't automatically provided; you need to hire and pay them wages each time you return from an expedition. These companions also have a friendship meter, which grows as you adventure together or fulfil their requests, leading to character-specific stories and quests.

Synthesis is straightforward and simple. With the necessary materials, crafting items is just a one-button process. The complexity of modern-day Atelier elements, such as elemental attributes or item quality, is absent from this game. New synthesis recipes are acquired by purchasing books from the academy and later the academy's library.

To alleviate potential monotony, Atelier Marie includes special event days when unique occurrences transpire in town or the game world, based on the calendar. There's also a battle tower-style location where you ascend through floors, battling monsters until you face the boss.

Random mini-games crop up occasionally. For instance, after synthesizing or gathering something, a mouse might snatch your painstakingly crafted cheese, prompting you to navigate a maze-like, top-down arena to retrieve it back from the mouse.

Finally, the game's duration falls within the range of 8 to 11 hours—a suitable length for this type of game. This prevents it from becoming excessively lengthy, repetitive, or tedious. It serves as a bite-sized taste—or, one could say, an appetizer—of the Atelier series.

Atelier Marie adopts a delightful and charming chibi-style 3D graphics approach instead of fully embracing full 3D visuals, coupling this with 2D illustrations for character cutscenes.

It's been a while since I've played a chibi-style game; the most recent one being Bravely Default. This experience is truly invigorating compared to the usual AAA 3D titles. I genuinely appreciate the charm of well-executed chibi 3D graphics. The character cutscenes art has received a modern update, featuring anime-style illustrations that exude prettiness and showcase a commendable level of detail.

The environments are equally vibrant and colourful, enhanced by contemporary 3D lighting techniques. This not only enhances the beauty of the surroundings but also aligns well with the game's overarching charming chibi 3D art style. This harmony is essential in creating a laid-back and relaxing gaming experience.

Atelier Marie doesn't boast a plethora of memorable soundtracks or music pieces, but what it does feature aligns perfectly with the game's aesthetics and theme, particularly its playful undertones. Each track suits the scenario unfolding on screen, complemented by appropriate sound effects that enhance the experience.

Players are also presented with a choice between the original classic soundtracks and remastered versions. The original soundtracks have been slightly polished for modern sensibilities, retaining a charming retro quality that harmonizes well with the game's aesthetic, particularly its playful tone. On the other hand, the remastered tracks align more seamlessly with the game's aesthetics, contributing to its lively atmosphere.

Voice acting is solid and befits each character, maintaining a seamless fit without anything out of place. Voices are present for key dialogues and scenes, although less significant moments do not receive voiceovers.

Atelier Marie embraces a laid-back, slice-of-life style narrative, where Marie, an alchemy student at an Academy, finds herself at the bottom of her class, facing the looming threat of expulsion.

In a final chance granted by the headmaster, Marie must synthesize an item that will pave her way to graduation and realize her aspiration of becoming a full-fledged alchemist.

Unlike more contemporary entries in the Atelier series, Atelier Marie doesn't adhere to a structured storyline that needs to be followed. Instead, the game centres around a single overarching goal: to graduate from the Academy and avert expulsion.

Main quests don't exist. Instead, the headmaster provides occasional tasks as guidelines, offering opportunities to complete them for additional funds.

While the game might not prioritize a central storyline, it does offer side stories and character narratives, each presenting diverse scenarios—ranging from aiding a childhood friend's recovery from illness to assisting a bald character in growing hair. These tales span a spectrum from comedic to heartwarming.

Marie herself is a charming, energetic, and endearing character to follow, especially in her interactions with other characters. Unfortunately, her character's growth and expression are somewhat limited as the in-game years unfold.

I find myself wishing the game had taken the liberty to infuse more character development into Marie, introducing more side stories, character events, or extending the main narratives.

Diverging from some of the modern Atelier series that adhere to linear stories, this game presents multiple endings. These endings can be reasonably attained within the five-year in-game timeframe, as long as one avoids squandering time on redundant item collection or crafting. Personally, I had around six months to spare when I finally crafted the pivotal "big" item required for a specific ending.

Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg

The gameplay can be split into two parts: the investigation phase, where the protagonist Yuma and his cute sidekick Shinigami go around crime scenes collecting clues. Sometimes, I manage to piece together some clues; other times, I come up with multiple possibilities, and occasionally, I have no clue who the culprit might be. It's a stage where I try my best to think. 

After gathering enough clues, Shinigami transforms into a cute waifu in a magical girl-style transformation sequence and opens up the Mystery Labyrinth – an alternative reality where you can spend time solving real-world mysteries. Shinigami vomits up solution keys made from the clues you gathered, and Yuma pulls out a sword (Solution Blade) from her mouth (because pulling out a sword from the chest is overdone). It has a very old-school anime vibe that I love.

The Mystery Labyrinth is like a Persona-style dungeon where the Labyrinth reflects the crime you are trying to solve. Here, there are a few core gameplay mechanics such as Reasoning Death Match, Shinigami Quiz, Quick-time-style quiz, Choosing the right door, and God Shinigami.

The Reasoning Death Match is somewhat like a battle, but instead of attacking enemies, you dodge their statements and slice down contradicting statements using your Solution Blade equipped with a Solution key. You can think of it as a more flashy Ace Attorney "Objection" scene.

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