Category Archives: Reviews
Dark Rose Valkyrie Review A Rose With a Few Thorns
Platform: PS4
Developer: Compile Heart
Publisher: Idea Factory International
ESRB Rating: T
Thank You Idea Factory International for a Review Copy of this game.
Dark Rose Valkyrie is the latest JRPG brought to us by Compile Heart and is a collab project from developers known for working on Tales of Symphonia. This game is also one of the few JRPGs put out by Compile Heart that is a brand new IP separate from the Hyperdimension Neptunia series, and even tries some new ideas in terms of storytelling and gameplay. So how does this game fare?
Miitopia Review You Call this a Utopia?!
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: July 28th, 2017
MSRP: $39.99
ESRB Rating: E
A Review Copy Was Provided by Nintendo
Miitopia is the latest game in the “Mii” series of video games and is one of the first ones to get its own standalone release. Miitopia seems to be an extension of the Mii Plaza game “Find Me” in terms of concept. So how does this game fair now that it was able to be fully fleshed out with its own kind of campaign? Well, the answer to that question may not be what you think, so let’s take a look into Miitopia.
Hey! Pikmin Review A Proper Spin Off
Platform: 3DS
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo of America
Release Date: July 28th
MRSP: $39.99
A Review Copy Was Provided by Nintendo of America
The Pikmin franchise is probably one of my favorite video game series ever, I remember buying a Wii U specifically to play Pikmin 3, and the thing that pushed me over with the Switch was the promise of a Pikmin 4, so when Nintendo announced a new spin off game in the Pikmin series I was extremely skeptical about this offering. After all, we are coming right off the heels of Metroid Prime Federation Force, so my expectations for this game were rather low. That being said, after playing Hey! Pikmin I can say that this game managed to surprise me in many ways.
Tokyo Xanadu Review Is Imitation the Best Form of Flattery?
Developer: Falcom
Publisher: Aksys
Platform: PS Vita
Release Date: June 30th
ESRB Rating: T
MSRP: $39.99
Thank You Aksys for Providing A Review Copy of this Game
It’s been a long time coming for the next entry for the Xanadu franchise. It’s been over 10 years since the release of “Xanadu Next” for the N-Gage. Although I will say that this game is nothing like the previous entry. For one, this game ditch’s the design of the previous entries entirely and now feels more that of Trails than anything else. If you take “Trails of Cold Steel,” take out the military background and make it modern day with Sci-fi elements, you’d get Tokyo Xanadu. That’s not a bad thing perse. But it’s not a great thing either. I loved Trails of Cold Steel faults and all but this one feels almost like a carbon copy.
RPG Maker FES Review- Creating Adventures on the Go
Developer: Kadakowa Games
Publisher: NIS America
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Release Date: June 27th
MRSP: $39.99
Thank you NIS America for providing a review copy of this game.
RPG Maker FES is an entry in the long running series of RPG Maker games, and is the only entry to appear on the Nintendo 3DS. This will be an odd title to review, as RPG Maker itself isn’t really a game, but an engine to create RPGs. RPG Maker FES advertises itself as a simple pick up and play level editor in which you can share your created games with people around the world. So how does this new entry stand up to its past iterations?
RPG Maker uses a very simple level editor to build your potential adventure. In different menus you can create weapons, characters, items and events to use in your game from a selection of presets or (somewhat) from the ground up.
From here all you need to do is go to the map editor and construct your levels and place the different events around your game. The process of doing this can be very simple once you get the full understanding of it, and the game offers quite a nice amount of presets to work with that you can fully customize to fit your games needs.
The game does offer online functionality as well. You have the ability to upload your games to a level selector similar to Mario Maker on Wii U, where you can sort through various creations to play. However, unlike Mario Maker, you don’t have to own RPG Maker FES to play these games. There will be a free app down the road that will allow you to download other players games for free, and help support creators by giving their games exposure to help in the rankings. It is the gift that keeps on giving. Sadly, there is no way to actually upload your creations to say PC to work on your game further, which is a bit unfortunate.
The only real problems I have with RPG Maker FES is that, well, it is a bit too simple at times, yet if you don’t know what you are doing, it is easy to get a bit lost. Yeah I know, two totally different ends of the spectrum, but let me explain. The game is very straightforward in what it allows you to do, but you are limited to what’s only available on the 3DS engine itself. You can only edit things in the presets and menus that you have available to you, which can prevent a lot more complex gameplay modes from appearing. The game also isn’t very newcomer friendly at times; it took me quite a bit of messing around with things to finally get a grasp on how things worked. If the game had included a short example game explaining things, it would have gone a long way in bridging the gap for people looking to get into this. That said, at the end of the day, once you get the hang of it, the complexity fades.
Overall, RPG Maker FES is a good tool for the 3DS for people who are looking into video game design, or wanting to make their dream RPG a reality on the go. While there is a bit of a learning curve, the engine’s approach to making games is so transparent that almost any person can get into if they put their mind to it. I can recommend this game to anyone who wants to give their hand at making their own video game. Also with the launch of the app for players to download your games whenever, you could easily make a name for yourself as a talented game maker in the 3DS world.
Persona 5 Review Perfection of JRPGs
Developer: PStudio
Publisher: Atlus USA
Platforms: PS4, PS3
Release Date: April 4th, 2017
ESRB Rating: M
MRSP: $59.99/$49.99
I should preface that this review is more or less a condensed version of my video review of this game. I go into much more detail within the video than I do here, so enjoy the cliff notes of said review!
God Wars: Future Past Review – A Diamond in the Rough
Developer: Kadokawa Games
Publisher: NISA
Platform: Playstation 4/Playstation Vita
ESRB Rating: T
Release Date: June 20th. 2017
Thank you NISA for providing a review copy for this game.
It’s been quite a while since Kadokawa’s last strategy game, Natural Doctrine. It wasn’t received well due to its relentless and unforgiving difficulty if you made even a single mistake. In 2014, Kadokawa Games announced that they would try again, and in 2015 they officially announced “God Wars: Future Past.” Instead of the more Tactical side of the genre, they’ve opted for the more pure Strategy side of it.
ARMS Review- Greatness Within ARMS Reach.
System: Nintendo Switch
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: E
Release Date: June 16th
MRSP: $59.99
Thank You Nintendo America for providing a review copy of this game.
ARMS is the latest IP from Nintendo and it seems as though they are trying to recapture the “Splatoon effect,” but with a fighting game this time. In this game, you go head to head against foes fighting with weapons known as ARMS in a arena style battle similar to the Dragon Ball and JoJo fighting games. So how does Nintendo fare for this first time into this fray? Well, all I can say is that this game will not leave you up in ARMS.
The Nonary Games Review – Ambidex Edition
Developer: Spike Chunsoft
Publisher: Aksys Games
ESRB Rating: M
Platforms: PS4, PSVITA, PC
MRSP: $39.99
“The Nonary Games” is an excellent way to jump into the Zero Escape franchise as it contains the best version of “999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors” and a good port of “Virtue’s Last Reward.” It’s thanks to the dedicated fans that the third Zero Escape entry was released, and that we received this excellent collection, all due to a renewed interest in development. This review is spoiler free and focused on the PC version.
The story of 999 takes place on a sinking ship where Zero, the main antagonist, kidnapped a group of nine people and is forcing them to play the Nonary game. The characters have watches locked to their arms with a number. The cast has to split into two groups, with the player having control of where the main character, Junpei, goes. The cast can only be in groups of three to five people and their watches have to result in a digital root matching a numbered door. After going through the numbered door there will be a puzzle room or two for the player to complete. Every puzzle room gives various hints towards future plot points, and alludes to Zero’s identity. It’s a wonderfully written story with laugh out loud dialogue and a genuine sense of mystery.
Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 Review Let’s Rock!
Developer: Arc System Works
Publisher: Aksys Games
ESRB Rating: Teen
Platforms: PS4, PS3, PC
MRSP: $39.99 USD Retail ($19.99 Upgrade on all platforms)
(Review Copy Y/N) A review copy was provided by Aksys for the PS4 and we are grateful for the opportunity given to us.
We’ll be tackling a powerhouse in the world of fighting games today with “Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2.” Created and developed by Daisuke Ishiwatari and his team at Arc System Works, and published by Aksys Games; as of now Rev 2 is the 17th entry in the Guilty Gear series. From the previous entry, Revelator, to Rev 2, the game has received numerous changes and new additions to boot which will be gone over along with the mechanics. So with this short introduction out of the way, will we see Rev 2 exceed expectations as an enhancement, or will it succumb to being an unnecessary coat of paint over an already exceptional game? Only the Heavens and Hell will decide, so without further adieu…
The Gaming Gamma 