Here's what I've been up to the last 3 months:
Pokemon Crystal - Loved it. I chatted last time about how impressed I was with the in-game clock and day/night cycle. This playthrough I really saw the traditional Japanese influences on the game's setting. Kimonos, pagodas, and tatami mats all combine to give Johto an "antique" feeling, at least more so than Kanto in Gen I. Speaking of Kanto, I found its addition to be frivolous. The story with your rival, team rocket, and Suicune all wrap up in Johto, so nothing in Kanto feels important. Additionally, all the memorable features of Kanto have been removed, either because they have a new equivalent in Johto or because of space limitations. Examples include the Safari Zone, the museum, and Bill's House. Exploring Kanto feels bare as a result. I would've preferred it if they cut Kanto out completely and used that development time to further enhance Johto. Controversial opinion I know.
Asura's Wrath - This title is unrivaled in its boldness, but I found myself conflicted. I don't watch anime. However, as I was playing Asura's Wrath I found myself wishing it was made into a television series. But if it was, I wouldn't experience it because I don't watch anime. Quite a conundrum. The gameplay is fun, but not deep enough to keep me interested. At times I wished I could just enjoy the action instead of having to focus on pressing buttons. But its format in the videogame landscape is so unique. If you take that away, it risks becoming just another generic shounen anime. This conflict means that it'll never exist in the perfect space, which I guess just makes it all the more interesting.
We Love Katamari - Wearing a Katamari Damacy t-shirt as I write this. Great game. Lots of interesting new levels and the addition of multiplayer is a game changer. Some levels even have unique mechanics in multiplayer mode, which I found really impressive. I love the intuitive game design of the Katamari series, plus the art style and music are real memorable. There's also so many jokes hidden in the environment of each level. Such a wholesome game.
Shin Megami Tensei V - My game of year for 2021. Each weekend for about 5 weeks I had 6 hour game sessions where I was just totally immersed into the game's mechanics. The numbers are
real good in this game. I wrote about one of my favorite aspects to the game on r/megaten, which I'll share here:
Skill potentials and essences are great, but Da'at is the real hero.
It's such a joy to explore. The perfect ratio of collectibles, enemies, and side quests. Yet its surreal beauty is enough to make you stop and take in the view occasionally.
The spaces are diverse too. There's wide open plains, like around Tokyo Tower, compact cites with verticality, like Kamiyacho, and even linear sections, like the optional mountain path up Onarimon. All of which are interconnected. SMTV weaves between these different level designs with ease.
The cherry on top is the dynamic music. I love the chime that rings out to announce the full moon. The perfect mood setter.
Previous SMT games certainly had exploration, but it was a different flavor. It was mostly dungeon crawling. Sure there might've been a world map, but that served primarily as a way to connect towns and dungeons. With SMTV, exploration has opened up, and as a result Da'at feels lived-in. Never before has the series felt so intimate.
Diablo II Resurrected - Played this with my buddies. Earlier this year I played through the original Diablo II, so it was really fun comparing the single and multiplayer experiences.
Solar Ash - Heart Machine's follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter, my 2010-2019 Game of the Decade. Gotta say, I found it alright. The addition of conversation trees really negatively impacted the experience for me. The game leaned on these conversation trees to give exposition and to tell the story, but I felt it made it hollow. I wish the story was better integrated into the environment to really force me pay attention as I play, or to make me want to replay it. Unfortunately, everything is spoon-fed, so I had little investment in what was going on. The soundtrack also lacks potency. I hate to say the experience fell flat to me because I follow Heart Machine and know this game was a huge step for them, but the game was never able to grab my attention.
Okami - Are games allowed to be this good? Okami is creative, funny, beautiful, relaxing, and thoughtful. Everything comes together perfectly. You can bark to bring up your player information. You can dig holes to uncover treasure. The celestial brush mechanic is ingenious. I love it all. Every second I'm like "wow is this objectively the best game ever?" Can't wait to 100% this one.
. A game my brother never let me play, mind you, because he was an asshole, etc. The game being... Shadow Sorcerer. Now I'll see if it was actually any good. I was always fascinated watching it being played.
