Video Games Collection

** Scores are ranked based on personal preferences. Very subjective.

ALL TIME favourites

*The games that changed my gaming view (i.e. ruin other games) in one way or another. *

Kingdom Hearts 2 Final Mix (PS2)

This game serves as my first experience to speedrunning. I found Bl00dyBizkit’s AGDQ2017 run when looking for Roxas strats and the rest is history. This is still my favourite speedrun of all time. I play the randomizer a lot and learnt some speedrun strats. Everything about combat in this game (aside from some questionable boss designs) is just perfect.

Story/Plot: The prologue is amazing. In just a few hours you are connected to one of the best written character in the series, then it’s all downhill from there. Disney worlds are meh, didnt really teach Sora anything personally. Nobody lore is alright. Organization XIII works just enough for evil corporation but nothing memorable. The ending execution is pretty good though. They could have ended KH right there. The only three story beats in the game I cared are the prologue, battle with Roxas and the ending.

Characters: A huge mess. Sora loses the spunkiness in KH1 and just a good guy now. Kairi remains useless even when awake. Roxas is the only great character in this game. The way he faces his fate and coming to terms is pretty heart wrenching. Riku is actually OK, but his arc kind of ended in 358/2 Days. Axel is pretty fine but also more elaborated in Days. It is rather hard to connect with the new casts, villains or not.

Gameplay: Hands down the greatest ARPG combat system of all time. Combos are fluid and snappy. Camera is great. There are a ton of different mechanics that you can mix and match. Great difficulty settings. Fantastic bosses like Lingering Will and Sephiroth… and I can still go on. I doubt there will ever be another action game that feels better than this game.

Music: One of Yoko Shimomura’s magnum opus. Other than Disney world related tracks that I don’t enjoy as much (which is like half of the OST), the rest of the soundtrack is pretty much perfect. It also has one of the best Dearly Beloved.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C D S+ S Roxas

Best tracks: Darkness of the Unknown, Dearly Beloved, The Other Promise

Persona 4 (PS2/Golden PC)

My first Persona game. Immediately started NG+ right after NG, almost 100% except fighting Margaret, learnt speedrun routes for P4G.

Story/Plot: The main plot itself is actually just fine. It manages to convey its theme but nothing groundbreaking. It excels at character centric arcs which takes up most of the game. This game captures the feeling of living a (not so) simple student life in a small town and just hanging out with friends. The Golden addition is nice just for more team bonding moments but the new plotline is really forgettable and adds nothing to the already complete story.

Characters: My favourite Persona cast. The cast is very endearing and full of personality. The team may be cliched but never one dimensional, although much are hidden in their social links, some of the SLs are still and will be the top SLs in the series (Kanji, Naoto, Yosuke). The other NPC social links are generally decent, but not a lot of them stand out amongst others (Nanako, Dojima, Ai Ebihara, Kou, Death grandma, Naoki). Marie is a character with some interesting concepts but awfully executed. I just hate how she is shoehorned into the story and forced to be important just for no good reason.

Gameplay: Standard SMT-lite gameplay. Dungeon crawling is a bit better than P3 but still a tedious experience overall. There are quite a few QoLs that just helps the overall experience.

Music: Really good. The 4 town themes just stuck with me ever since and probably will never leave my playlist, it just hits different when you are walking down the street in hot sunlight with Your Affection blasting in the headphones. Snowflakes sends chill down my spine when I first hear it. Nevermore is a decent motif. Just a really really solid soundtrack with J-Pop as the focus.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S S+ A+ S Rise/Naoto/Yosuke

Best tracks: I’ll Face Myself (Battle Version), Heartbeat Heartbreak, Snowflakes

Final Fantasy X (PC)

My first Final Fantasy game. Absolutely love the characters, the world and the plot.

Story/Plot: It is an epic yet emotional journey. In the end you are really convinced that this IS Tidus’s story. The first video game ending that made me almost cried real tears. The romance is developed naturally and perfectly justified without being forceful. Any and all FFX sequels do not exist.

Characters: This game has one of the best cast in gaming history. Everyone is likeable and carry some flaws and changes throughout the journey naturally. Tidus is a great protagonist and easy for us to see the world through him.

Gameplay: Pretty slick turn based combat with more strategy planning than the reaction speed of ATB. I never engaged with it too much though. Sphere grid is still a unique progression system to handle linear and open job class even for today’s standards. The minigames suck and the endgame is a grindfest that I never bothered with.

Music: The OST is definitely not the greatest FF OST despite having two of the best motifs in the series (To Zanarkand and Suteki Da Ne) - it is not as cohesive as the other previous titles due to having multiple composers (which all three are amazing btw). Most tracks sounds incredible in game but for some reason they sounded weaker out of it.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S+ S- S Tidus/Yuna

Best tracks: To Zanarkand, Suteki da ne, Assault

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)

My first Zelda game. The game aged like fine wine. It is overflowing with charm with its cutesy and colourful designs. The perfect introductory Zelda IMO. I also invested quite a lot of time in the randomizer to become semi proficient.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B A S A+ Toon Link

Best tracks: Dragon Roost Island, Great Sea, Molgera

Tales of Berseria (PC)

The plot is refreshing and engaging and heavily theme/character driven. Almost every main character ties heavily into the main plot from the beginning to the end and brings out the theme in various different angles. The story execution and the ending is next to perfect. My eyes are definitely sweating during the sequence. The cast also has strong personality and have fantastic interaction with each other. Completed most sidequests and I am normally a no-sidequest player. The things that drags it down are the bad dungeons(literal hallways) and less memorable OST.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S+ D A- Velvet/Eleanor

Best tracks: Shout Your Soul, True Will, Eleanor’s Theme

Best tracks: Team, This One’s Stronger!, FIGHT!, Team, It’s Getting Serious!

Trails in the Sky FC+SC (PSP) (I consider as one story split into two games)

  • Elaborate world building
  • Great cast chemistry. Not just Estelle between others, but other party members among each other too. Makes you forget they are really not that unique within their archetypes.
  • Natural character growth. You spent about 80 hours with Estelle and seeing her growing from a naive girl to a matured and competent Bracer is simply inspiring.
  • Banger OST. From jazz to rock to emotional harmonicas. Take your pick.
  • Good combat system
  • Maybe the best localization ever existed in video games. Truly the soul of this game. The game is carried largely by this. They turned anime cliche dialogue into magic. Everyone’s lines are witty and to the point.
  • The ending for both games are just perfect. EVERY SINGLE DETAIL.
  • Estelle is Bestelle
Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S+ S S+ Estelle/Joshua/Kloe/Anelace

Best tracks: Confessions, Sophiscated Fight, Whereabouts of Stars, The Fate of the Fairies, Whereabouts of Hope, Shine of Aidios

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana (PC)

Ys series has come a long way.

Story/plot: The plot is to provide the setting mostly as one should expect from Ys games. Events on the island is nothing too noteworthy, just to lead up to finding Dana. But I still like how the survivors bonded under this extreme circumstance. To be fair, Dana’s backstory is also quite simple but it is presented so masterfully I never thought I will see this in a Ys game. The way her mystery unfolds is captivating and the truth is satisfying to watch.

Ending She literally Madoka'd herself. Script is 1:1 from PMMM last episode.

Characters: I enjoyed how they handled Adol - he is no longer a silent protagonist, just a very quiet dude. He does show a lot of personality throughout and it is great. The other cast other than Dana are just serviceable, works for the story and has some chemistry. Dana on the other hand is just fantastic. She is well established even we before we meet her. Her interactions with everyone is nice and just has a super positive energy that is down to earth. Design wise she has just the perfect balance of cute, cool and horny. Not the character with the most depth in the genre but definitely one of the best in the series. Why does she need to have blue hair and a name ending with -na…

Gameplay: Full on action gameplay, Flash Guard and Move can be a bit too OP. Difficulty selection is great to serve everyone with different skill levels, one of the best entry points to ARPG probably. ARPG veterans need to set limits to properly enjoy the game. Island exploration is great fun. Bosses are mostly designed around the combat system, though there are some bosses that just break this rule, majority of them are well balanced. I mean like 70% of them, not including final boss and final final boss. If you’re comfortable blocking/dodging here, you will do well in 80% of the ARPGs.

Music: It’s Falcom Sound Team jdk. One only expects the best from them and they did not disappoint here. They still maintain the metallic soul in Ys but blended with more modern sounds. I still cannot believe Iclucian Dance - the best field theme in the game is composed by Mitsuo Singa. Actually Singa did a phenomenal job here.

This is the first game I had officially completed to 100% !!

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ A S+ S+ Dana

Best tracks: Sunshine Coastline, Iclucian Dance, Dana

Radiant Historia (DS)

One of the best definitions of a solid game and well-executed, novel ideas put together. This game is going down into the history as one of the best DS games and JRPGs.

Story/plot: Warring nations is used as the backdrop for time travelling as many decisions will need to be made, it could not be more appropriate than this. It really feels like you are participating in a war personally especially in the beginning chapters. The design of choices and the responses are brilliant, most of the time both options make sense and are equally valid, but you never know if something unknown may influence the result down the line, encouraging players to make a choice without worrying too much. In the end it is still the same old save the world plot but does not really affect the experience. The pacing is tight and the writer is good at setting up and subverting expectations. The lore around time travelling is not that watertight at all so do not expect Steins;Gate out of this.

Characters: Stocke is a really well done protagonist. He presents himself like a standard JRPG protagonist but has enough quirks to make him different. The side cast are explored just enough like the main crew (Raynie, Marco, Rosch), still some are not that established (c’mon Gafka you can do better than this, even Raul has more character). I think this can be spared as backstory is not as important when a war is at hand. The dynamic is pretty good, giving the comrade feeling around the party.

Gameplay: The best part of the game. The main gimmick revolves around travelling between two timelines to find solutions for the other timeline, requiring players to pay some attention to the main plot, though the hints sometimes are too obvious. No random encounters, suitably sized maps and field abilities make for a fun dungeon experience. The combat system is also a highlight. Each battle requires careful thought even if you have a good strategy (I heard there are lots of ways to break it but never found on my own, those are hidden in the sidequests).

Music: Ah yes it is Yoko Shimomura [insert fanboy screams here]. This is probably her shortest OST. Due to the game’s structure, the music needs to be reusable enough in many cases and she nailed it as usual. You can hear a lot of KH style in it, with one track calling back to Legend of Mana (i think). Once a violin slut, always a violin slut.

Perfect Chronology: The extended lore is nice but does not really add too much to the main themes. the Perfect ending definitely reduced the emotional impact from True Ending. The game is entirely “rebalanced” and it might be for the worse. At this point the combat designer is out of ideas to utilize this system any further so we got Apocrypha clone a.k.a Singularity as the final boss (and sidenote I really appreciate Apocrypha’s design when I see Singularity). The Vault of Time is a solution for underleveled characters like Rosch to be useful, but it just becomes the default grinding spot and obsoletes the main dungeons. I really don’t like the sound effect changes, the book flipping sound is much more meaningful. I can understand the attack animations is faster for sanity sake, but it is not very visually appealing. Voice acting is fine for the most part, only Raynie and Rosch sounds different from my imagination. Aht feels more lively with her voice, great work. It is a dead horse to beat, but the distinct original artstyle was so immaculate that they should have designed the new characters in that style instead of using a simpler anime style (I want to think that it’s just the original artist could not work with them anymore, but who knows), the portraits are fine, the sprite arts are a bit off (why the long face Stocke??). Menu cursor sometimes drifts too fast. Did they just remove cutscene skip just to emulate games of the time like SMT4/4A? Well the only issue is that I have played the original for 3+ years straight at this point, it is too hard to adapt to this almost same but new game.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S- A+ S+ S Stocke/Raynie

Best tracks: The Edge of Green, The Garden where Celestites Lies, Where the Winds and Feathers Return

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair

Who is drunk on hope and despair cuz I sure am. It improved in almost every aspect of DR1.

Story/Plot: With all the groundwork set up in DR1, they get to expand on the themes of the series and they definitely nailed it. Hope and despair. Believe and suspect. Cold hard truths and blissful ignorance. Logic and luck. This entry also has a more engaging overarching plot that DR1 where you are mostly waiting for the next murder to happen in between, as compared to the mystery of Monomi and … other chaotic factors. There is a very clear flow on how a case impact the flow of the story. That ending sequence is just so well executed, with all the twists and connections from previous game tied together. I genuinely felt despair during it. It does get a bit cheesy near the end but who actually cares. If there is ever one Danganronpa game worth a deep analysis, it is probably this one.

2-1 Good riddance for Teruteru. Nagito actually started showing his true colours right here. I was actually a bit sad Byakuya can't carry us anymore.
2-2 It's actually very easy once the fakeout is detected. A really cliche plotline but it serve its purpose well and managed to develop Fuyuhiko (though he is just alright)
2-3 Too many things go unexplained even after the reveal (ultimate despairs have physical buff i guess). Its significance only ties to the endgame and does not really make a lot of sense at first. But it is a great hint to the endgame reveal that leads to an aha moment. People say Hiyoko's arc got cut short there and is bad, but I think that is precisely the irony. [2nd playthough] She really did just teleport to music venue without Hajime noticing, then run back inside the hospital. Other than this bug, the story execution for this trial is actually really good, tying in the themes of belief and doubt naturally. I am not sure if Hiyoko even deserve an arc now, based on her attitude after case 2.
2-4 Gundham... I don't even have a reason to start caring about him. I guess his character is just executed poorly. But the case itself is great and it is almost a perfect crime if not for one uncontrollable factor. [2nd playthough] This case acts as a prologue to case 5 narratively, with how Nagito emphasizes on this case being the opening act. He even goes as far as trying to hijack Closing Argument to end this faster. This case just becomes even better with this fact.
2-5 The best case in the series. This is the game's climax and it delivered. Nagito's arc is hereby completed. Chiaki's reveal is heartbreaking. Also it wins as the most gruesome looking death (Well V3 has the worst but the state of the body is kindly concealed )
2-6 "I am not Izuru Kamakura. I AM HAJIME HINATA!!" The execution and the presentation are all top notch. It is a bit cheesy but it is real hype.

Characters: They seems to be less tropey but less deep as well. It’s like DR1 has tropey characters with unexpected depth and DR2 has well rounded characters with nothing really surprising. In DR2, you only get to learn about their background information in pieces and rarely changes their view.

Hajime I initially didn't like him as a protagonist because he feels very tense as compared to Makoto. But there is a huge significance to that, to show his lack of confidence and inferiority complex. Later on with the talentless student reveal further enhances that. This fact let him become his own character than Makoto ever will be. During the last chapter he sort of becomes like Roxas (So Makoto is Sora? He sure acts like the anime protagonist in this game) where he seems to be doomed no matter what, except he has a way out but not Roxas. And that is probably the first time I really felt a sense of despair in the series. JP VA just feels not right.
Nagito This guy might be my favourite Danganronpa character of all time. The hope obsessed freak. Whoever created him deserves a raise. I really thought he is somehow Makoto (disguised as or went insane) or directly related to him for a long time (Nice choice of VA AND the character name, thanks director), since it is not all that surprising to have Makoto go to the other extreme in pursuing hope.

It is hard to write a chaotic neutral character. He helps and confuses the class all at the same time. His ideal is certainly extreme and twisted, but not all incomprehensible. He died to prove his point - be the hope that destroys all despairs remaining on the island. At first I thought he looked down on the rest after the talentless Hajime reveal was simply because Hajime as the talentless one was leading on the other Ultimates (i don't think this is the most accurate explanation after watching the ending, but I don't think this is entirely wrong either). Either way his interaction with Hajime is always the highlight of the game. The hangout do flesh him out a tad bit more but there really could be more since he is integral to the main plot.
Chiaki The traitor reveal is pretty shocking. She is a good character but I definitely felt like she is being carried by the plot execution than she is genuinely a great character. She is adorable and all but I still prefer stronger waifus in the end. She being the Ultimate Gamer is actually a really meta thing in the context of the game. You are not part of the game.
Sonia She is cute and unintentionally funny. I like her design and EN voice, very classy but natural. No I don't want to know what she did with Gundham, why is she even so interested in him???
Kazuichi Actually the first character in DR that represents a dudebro (Hagakure ain't it). A very vanilla dudebro, nothing too much other than that.
Peko She is a badass. I tend to empathize more with character having difficulty in processing feelings. The backstory is a bit cliched but works.
Byakuya It seems that the Ultimate Impostor is just brushed over like that. A bit of a letdown. Now I think his inclusion is yet another nostalgia bait.
Hiyoko Her ultimate talent is only there to contrast with her actual personality, feels very forced to me. She remained exploitative and ass through the end. Easily the worst character after Teruteru.
Ibuki I actually suspected her to be one of the killers and definitely feel bad about this thought. She is killed in an unconscious state and not able to do anything against, which is just sad.
Mahiru The team mom but never actually get to do a lot. She is too plain imo. (2nd playthrough: I got her character)
Mikan I knew she had major major mental issues the second I lay eyes on her. Stay away from crazy. I simply cannot sympathize with her especially after what she did. (2nd playthrough: Okay she is pretty cute when you actually ignore that part of her. She didn't do anything exactly wrong either before case 3. JP voice is absolutely perfect.)
Junko (since Monokuma is there so you should know) Now that it is more clear about her motive, that is only to obtain the ultimate despair, she is just another crazy Kefka/Joker style villian. And there is all to it.

Gameplay: I especially liked the Agree shots and Rebuttal Showdown. It’s great they reworked Bullet Time to be more enjoyable. Didn’t really care about Logic Dive or Improved Hangmans Gambit. Spot Selection should have been there in the first game.

Music: There is Welcome to DANGAN Island in this OST and it is automatically the best Danganronpa OST. I like the vibes in this one more than DR1 for sure. And stop making me wanting to have people murdered because Ikoroshia killed it as the investigation theme. They also fixed the music looping from the start during the investigation so all the better.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S- S S Hajime/Nagito/Chiaki/Sonia

Best tracks: Ikoroshia, Welcome to DANGAN Island, Beautiful Ruin (Summer Salt)

Final Fantasy VI (GBA)

The real reason I dropped my first playthrough is probably because I cannot stand the walking speed without sprint shoes. Also used a guide to get more secrets, and it actually made the game more fun.

Story/Plot: What happens if the heroes fail their quest to save the world, yet the world does not end like the villains claimed? What happen to their hopes and dreams? It certainly has depth and great moments, but it does not really hit all that hard, for the first part of the setup. Then I am floored by the first sequence of World of Ruin. This story beat still has untapped potential even 30 years later. Also this has probably the second best final dungeon escape sequence of JRPGs (Sky SC’s is still the best), and plays off with its ensemble cast. The ending is just simple and clean yet emotional. Wow.

Characters: Ensemble cast does hurt the depth a bit but the average quality is still up to standard. At least the most important characters (Terra, Locke, Edgar, Sabin, Celes, Cyan) are well developed. Locke and Cyan’s stories can be a bit over imo.

Gameplay: Esper system paired with fixed jobs is great. This is the kind of system that hits the right balance of set roles and customization for me. I like the custom skills for each job, we really should see more creative stuff like Blitz and Sketch. And for whatever reason this game just feels better to play for me as compared to 7 or 8.

Music: Yet another stepping stone for Uematsu’s future masterpieces (and his very best up to that point). There are bangers and ok tracks. It is pretty good.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S- A+ A+ S- Terra/Celes/Sabin

Best tracks: Decisive Battle, Awakening, Celes theme

Mother 3 (GBA)

Magical. This is why I play video games. Also obligatory fuck capitalism.

Story/Plot: The first hour already blew me away with its concise, effective writing and subversion of expectations (from EarthBound). Its presentation is way better than most GBA games. A bit less wacky compared to EarthBound. Overall still very charming. All the well crafted scenarios really help me fill in the emotional gaps myself. Act 3 started a bit abruptly, but that is a very minor complaint. The final sequence is great.

Characters: Flint is quite fitting as a silent protagonist with the usual stoic dad archetype. Though for self insertion sake Lucas had to be silent, but I really want him to emote more and talk more.

Gameplay: Autorun is fantastic, more games should have this. Early chapter boss fights are all decently hard due to not having reliable healing methods. Rhythm combat is very vague, but it is actually important to master so fights dont take forever. Unlike the previous games, boss fights actually requires strategy and rewards good strategy very well. Rolling HP adds another layer of decision making of whether to get to the next actions quicker or spend time hitting combos doing extra damage. Difficulty spikes are everywhere, sometimes require hardcore grinding to get past bosses with lesser pain.

Music: Wow GBA can actually have good sound. So far it is not as immediately memorable like the earlier titles but all are quite chill. Rhythm combat really forces you to listen to the battle themes carefully, and easily immerse you into combat. Some tunes are easier than others, at least the boss themes are quite catchy.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S- A S- S- Lucas

Best tracks: Monkey Delivery Service, Unfounded Revenge, Happy Town?

Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions (PSP)

This is my first Matsuno game and I am very impressed by the narrative quality and depth. This game has definitely set up some high expectations for Vagrant Story. I get how this game allows creative expression and respect every bit of it, but this is simply not my favourite combat system. Thinking back, Valkyria Chronicles has a similiar cutscene structure as this game, but it really requires a script as good as this to work.

Story/Plot: The main plot can get a bit confusing, but it is ok to just know what are the actions on screen. This is mostly due to the protagonist not aware of the bigger picture, and the scenes only shows bits and pieces to a grander scheme. The essence is in the dialogue exchange. I cannot get enough of this modern Old English. The main plot does not sound so interesting on paper but it is intriguing enough to keep going. I really like how the truth is layered. The animated cutscenes are great, adds a lot of weight to those sequences as compared to the PSX version. There is maybe one plot convenience that stands out (Alma being the chosen one), but it simply shows how everything else are tied together so perfectly. The ending is very surprising, it managed to poetically tie up the overall themes of the story. Brilliant. This is the kind of ending that I will think and reintepret over a long time. It is a shame that Ramza never get to face off Delita at the very end.

My intepretation on the ending The part where Orran sees Ramza and Alma as he expresses his regret for them. This shows that Ramza still lives on in Orran's mind, and that is what drives Orran to record Ramza's story and even die for it, just so that the truth may be revealed some day. The truly noble one is the one whom people will die for (dying is the key of our comparison here), not the hero on the face level, contrasting Delita. This is why I think it is more beautiful for Ramza and party to die narrative wise (also this can explain his line about his father), he can sacrifice himself because Ramza did for many, even no one knows. At least Orran knows he might be remembered by his works, but Ramza is doing all this out of his kindness for the world. I know a lot of this is mere assumption, but I think this is more romantic.

Fast forward to Delita's sequence. Ovelia at this point is the only person alive who has some genuine connection with Delita from the main story. Due to how Delita has treated others, she simply cannot trust him at all, as much as she wants to. I believe it will help to have one sequence between the graveyard scene and this scene, to show her fear of Delita - or the Delita/Orran/Valmafra scene is meant to do that, since Ovelia leaves in panic after hearing Delita's narcissistic grand plan. I think her reason is that she wanted to know if Delita will put himself before her i.e. the only person he seemed to care about. The only way to test him is to stake her own life, and she probably has an answer in mind. There is no way she can kill Delita like that, even she knows, and that is never the purpose. That is why she did not wound him fatally, and said:

How could you? You...you used them, and all the others! And someday you'll cast me aside, just as you did him!

In PSX version, the 'him' is Ramza, but in WotL is just 'him'. I wonder if this him can refer to anyone else, maybe Orran from the Delita/Orran/Valmafra scene?

And Delita being Delita, retaliates with a fatal blow, fulfilling her words right at that instant. He really could have done anything else with his physical abilities, but the primal sense (which is the truest sense in most cases) takes over and attacks a mostly harmless target. At that moment, she knows she was right all along. But the silver lining is that she finally had agency for the first time in her life, this is her only way to deny not just Delita's, but anyone's manipulation in the future. She wanted to escape from this life of being used, even by death. She died for her own sake, contrasting Orran who died for an unsung hero. Not even Ovelia wants to die for Delita (you can argue that there are probably many soldiers who will die for him as a king, but he is just a symbol not a person at that point). So this is why Ovelia has to die here, otherwise this scene would be quite pointless.

And Delita's line afterwards:

Did you get your end in all of this, Ramza? I...I got this.

Delita realizes what he has done, and why Ovelia did this. He killed the only person in the world who wanted to genuinely trust him. This is what he reaped from what he sowed - the bitter end of having nothing left to cherish, but only power. He wonders if Ramza, who took a completely opposite path from him, and likely to lack many things with the lack of power, was happy and fulfilled in the end. Ramza was probably happy that he managed to find Alma, but I wish we have some more textual evidence to this, maybe just one line from Ramza after the final boss? That might feel not very Matsuno though.

I think this way, this two sequence really drives home the main theme that a man worth respecting is not the one celebrated by history, but the one always choosing to do the right thing. I feel like if this is in novel format, I would have got it better even in the exact same words.

Characters: The characters are defined by their action and opinions, even though there are many characters, everyone is distinguished by their ideals, yet never feel too much like just a symbol. Most of them are very compelling with short amounts of screen time due to the concise dialogues. Show don’t tell is done so well here. Ramza is pretty cool, reminds me of Lloyd from Trails a lot (actually they are archetypical as heck, it’s just me liking the cool and composed and morally upright protagonists). One weak point is the other casts in party, once they become a permanent party member means they are no longer relevant in the main plot. Of course some are better or more relevant than others, not every named party member are treated equally (Rapha/Marach lol).

Gameplay: I am actually playing the two systems I never enjoyed at once (job system and SRPG). Emulator save scumming makes trial and error a lot better. Not to mention all the fine gameplay gimmicks that causes some choice paralysis and paranoia. Putting a gimmick fight after 2 fights is pretty annoying. Due to the mechanics of Job points, grinding can look very silly. That infamous fight is simply unbalanced without prior knowledge, I beat him with legitimate strats after a lot of extra grinding for convenient job skills. I almost spit blood when I realized there is one fight after that one (which also has a gotcha). This 2 fights singlehandedly brought down the quality of this game in terms of balance and fun.

Music: There are a few memorable tracks tied to the big story sequences. Overall is pretty good, never have much comments for orchestra OST. I do feel most of the soundtrack is too short, some can use a longer climax.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S A A Ramza/Agrias/Ovelia

Best tracks: Run Past Through the Plain, Tension

OPUS: Echo of Starsong

Just play this game already. We have Freebird Games from the west, and SIGONO from the east. The execution is near perfect. They have proved themselves as master storytellers.

Edit: This is the first time I bumped up a game to the highest category. The more I think about this game the better it gets. This game reminds me of all the things I loved from my all time favourites: The depth of its main theme and the tight writing in FFX, the bittersweet ending in Sky FC, the fantastic writing of the female lead in Ys 8 and Tales of Berseria (Yes I know I am biased for bittersweet endings).

Story: To chase the childish dream or to live in the present, which one is the way to live as yourself? This game will present you with a very compelling answer that might defy your expectations. Eda’s arc is tightly tied to the main theme, making it a solid narrative throughout and manages to explore the themes from many angles. A very elaborate sci-fi world, meant to support the very character driven main plot, so probably not everything is as water tight as it is presented apparently the writers spent a great deal on building a grounded mythology and history. One thing that intrigued me are the “mandalas” around the world, very symbolic. All the ancient text are well done and immersive. The acts are very distinct yet flows naturally. There are a lot of repetitive cutscenes, but I think most are used pretty well without getting too annoying, especially when used to recontextualize some scenes (let’s talk about YLIA some other day). The emotional setup is fantastic, ready for a impactful payoff. The payoff is undeniably predictable and effective, though a bit short to my liking, ranking just a bit lower than my perfect ending that is FFX’s ending.

Ending spoilers Please forgive me. I can already tell when Eda told Jun to search for the flower seed. My guess was "I am sorry", I was not so off if I am just trying to guess Eda's last words. Though the former makes more sense as Red was redeeming herself from her past as a witch by raising up a girl. They pulled off a great deception before the send off, making you think Eda was going to give up. They even let you leave the planet! This is the kind of thing that can be done only in a video game format, and they certainly seized the opportunity.

Characters: The casts are all deeply flawed and humane characters. The MC (somehow Li Mo becomes Jun Lee in the translation) is a very classic Exiled Prince, with a pleasant character development. Remi’s bratty attitude is very justified and well handled. Eda is just great all around, not a Mary Sue, and still a strong willed person. All three main casts relates to one another, but expressed as very different arcs and ends on different resolutions, creating this cohesion with interesting interactions. I do think the game is intentionally toning down the romance subtexts, to give more focus on the character themselves. I played on Mandarin sub and dub, as the game is originally produced in. The dialogues flows naturally without being too theatrical or cringy (is this a Chinese game problem? This game is written by Taiwanese). The VAs’ delivery are on point.

Gameplay: It is on the easier side. The musical element did not play a huge role (or more accurately, there are puzzles with music elements but not musical puzzles). Puzzle solving is very elementary. The DnD style space exploration with resource management is the more fun part, often giving some room for role playing. I just wished that we can complete the achievements without doing multiple playthoughs because I kind of want to keep the magic of my first run.

Music: It is a standard cinematic storytelling soundtrack, with emotional bursts and ambience, helps a lot in immersion. The ending themes might sound generic without context; but in that scene, it hits like a truck and in some ways, helps to express and relieve the complex emotions felt throughout the scene. Absolutely brilliant.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S S A A+ Eda

Best tracks: The Flowers There… Are Always in Full Bloom, Echo of Starsong, The Name has a Special Meaning

MAN

The exceptional games that did not change my world, but I will always remember these games fondly

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling (PC)

A simple story does not mean that it is not meaningful or bad. The main cast only consists of three characters and the story is their adventure to obtain a treasure. But this gives substantial development and attachment for all three of them. Their conversation feels like real people are role playing the characters and NPCs. Paper Mario style gameplay is great, giving an easy way to wreck the game is great for turn based noob like me (All hail Weak Stomach). The OST is definitely inspired from Mario and similiar genres, a composer that should be watched with great interest. Done some runs before.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A S+ S S Vi/Kabbu/Leif

Final Fantasy IX (PS1)

I am struggling to decide whether to put this here or the next category initially but it deserves to be here (This is no longer in the highest ranked category, sorry FF9 but you are stuck being the ‘top tier but never anyone’s favourite’ ). I had been blinded by the internet that this is not for me, and is that WRONG. This could easily be my favourite FF if I had played this before FFX (though FFX is still the better introductory FF imo). This is a really solid game without a lot to complain.

Garnet/Dagger is written wonderfully and acts like a real 16 year old girl under the circumstances. Zidane is a refreshing protagonist as he is a largely developed character at the beginning and has a nice arc wrapping up his character near the end. The other characters also stayed as relevant for as long as possible (maybe not Amarant, he is definitely the weakest in the narative, only act as a foil to Zidane’s ideals). Vivi is precious and must be protected. The theme of life and its purpose is quite timeless and thought provoking.

I liked how everyone has a fixed role that cannot be changed. Getting new equipments is exciting with the weapon ability system. The slow load times and long animations are real but can be easily solved with emulator speedups (and I believe the battle theme is synced to the long battle loads). The world map is easy to navigate and the encounter rate is really acceptable. Quina is the first blue mage I used extensively (7=I don’t like Cait Sith, 8=I don’t do encounters after getting No-Enc from Diablos, 10=Kimahri and blue magic is just useless most of the time.). The only complaint about it is the Trance system with too much randomness (I didn’t even see Eiko Trance once, at this point just remove it lol).

Soundtrack wise I still prefer FFVII and FFVIII’s OST but still a slight win over FFX OST overall. And I like some dungeon music (Mount Gulug), which is a rare case for me. Melodies of Life is also a great motif and used with a lot of care.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S S S- S Zidane/Garnet/Vivi

Best tracks: Battle 1, Freya’s Theme, Rose of May, Melodies of Life

Hollow Knight (PC)

Truly one of the classics. The hit effects is one of the best in video games, probably better than KH2 if not for the lesser variety of attacks. The details that goes into one nail swing is so intricate and made the combat experience reach another level of satisfaction. Controls are snappy and weighty, movement is so fun even the walk to boss is easily bearable. Bosses are fantastic and reminded me that I do like boss fights and keep trying. Subtle storytelling works really well for a gameplay focus game like this.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A A S+ S+  

Trails from Zero (PC)

It is worth the wait. This is the game that gets better the more you think about.

Story/plot: The title is literally PERFECT for this game, this is all about the SSS’s trails from zero to hero (The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Hero would be very goofy). Crossbell is shaped to be the perfect stage for a perfect shitstorm. All the politics hit too real in the modern world. The story of passionate and just people struggling in a corrupted world is just done so so well. Good thing this DOES NOT end on a cliffhanger, but many plot threads still left unfinished for Azure (this is some high quality sequel bait that doesn’t trip your feelings but you still want to play the next anyway, I guess this model is not as profitable as ending it on a dramatic cliffhanger). The conclusion to that Sky side plot is also great. Not involving Ouroboros is a smart move, but the new villain is not really that good either. The overall plot is very grounded for the most part, which also means there are not too many dramatic moments to talk about, but with a lot to think about and analyse.

Characters: The SSS only have certain quirks on a very surface level which only represents a little of their real character. Lloyd grew on me over time, the only frustrating thing is him being romantically dense. I like how his anime speeches gets dunked on in this game (maybe this will get old one day). I like Elie a lot but I can agree that she got the shortest end of the stick in terms of characterisation. Lloyd x Elie forever!! Leave Elie to me if you don’t want her Lloyd She is the first character in the game to impress me as I did not expect to see a politically aware character in a video game. Her feeling of powerlessness against the tide resonated with me. I did not expect to like Tio but her humour and writing is up to my taste, I still don’t know why I love her design, probably the first “kuudere loli” archetype I really enjoyed (and there is a great reason for her being like this, bonus points). People are saying Randy is a great character too, guess I will have to wait until Azure to find out. KeA… is alright, I dont’t think she is necessary to become a motivation for SSS. It feels more like ha Bright family you have a daughter, we SSS have a daughter too reeee.

The other cast are just as fleshed out, especially all the other allies. The antagonists are honestly a bit weak compared to them but enough to serve their purposes. I was a bit scared Estelle will lose her charm but seems the writing team pinned her character nicely. I definitely did not fanboy all over when Estelle & Joshua appears and stalked them at any given chance.

Gameplay: I lost at the first boss fight, the kids die in 3 hits. The game can be ass at times and force you to retry with correct gears, but it has no weird difficulty spikes like in Sky SC. Generally good balancing, Combo Craft is a nice rework from Sky SC, adds a lot of identity. Max Advantage Preemptive speeds up mob fights a lot faster.

Music: Two new composers definitely shake things up and added a lot of identity to this OST, maybe this OST is the more “Falcom”-ey one as compared to Sky’s jazzy vibes (I need more Saki Momiyama but too bad she left after CSII). Way of Life motif is very addicting. Possibly has the best collection of battle themes in the series (Arrival Existence and Arrest the Criminal made it lose to Azure). It is so mind boggling how the title theme (Zero no Kiseki) evokes a special sense of nostalgia, as if you have already spent a lifetime of adventures with SSS when you dont even know them yet.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S S- S S+ Lloyd/Elie/Tio/Randy

Best tracks: Inevitable Struggle, Formidable Enemy, Zero No Kiseki

Trails to Azure (PC)

Story/plot: The characters’ personal influence may fall a bit shorter, it is all made up with a much stronger main plot. The politics is even better with higher stakes than before, diving into diplomatic relationship and national security etc. Beach episode is kinda nice… only thing is massaging the girls is really disturbing, even if it is Elie. Groping scenes are horrible. The twist is worth everything. It is quite slow at the beginning but when it gets going, it DOES NOT stop. Now I will be sure to suspect everyone, even the guy who gets a freaking title theme epic speech. I was played like a fiddle, good job Falcom. In essence, this is a brilliantly executed mystery in its core, and you will only realize how tightly knit it is near the end, giving that satisfying feeling of realization. This game is one of the very few that made me care about the evil plan. But at the same time it is still a great journey for the SSS. Combined with all that and the worldbuilding, you get a duology with incredible substance and depth. Though there are still flaws but the good definitely outweighs the bad.

Characters: I did not expect them to take away Randy and Tio at first, how I missed SSS. Randy finally got his arc, but actually it’s just ok, not disappointing but not groundbreaking. Wazy on the other hand is the Crossbell best girl all along very interesting, but the bromance with Wald kinda gets in the way. I should have known coming from Tokyo Xanadu, it should not even have surprised me. Noel is just vanilla and boring, the only high point of her character is when she decided to side with CDF, it would be a lot more dramatic if she stuck with it, but anime will be anime. Elie is just there… even Tio too. And for the love of Aidios, stop thirsting for Lloyd my girls, and this actually got worse in CS?! Rixia is whatever thicc thighs saves lives, she looks like anything but a jaded assassin as claimed, her arc with Shirley is a bit forced too. I still don’t understand why this has to be revealed in Zero, it just kills every suspension. So ironically Lloyd is the best character in this game. But SSS as a unit is what really shines and makes everything worthwhile.

Cameos are great as usual, Ries actually looks better in Crossbell artstyle. And they didn’t forget about Kevin! and they won’t, right… Dieter is quite fine as a character, motivations and actions and all, just the back story about magic is a bit eh. Mariabell’s character fully revolves around that, so it’s quite lame, lamer than that is her witch outfit which looks like a bad cosplay. I can agree that Grimwood as a villain feels like a twist for the sake of it but you have to admit that it is funny how he change his mind from just one anime speech.

Gameplay: Same old as Zero. Nothing too innovative. Master Quartz takes a bit too long to level for customization in first playthough. For some reason I am still running low on sepith even near late game, until there are no more quartz upgrades, I still think I don’t have enough to fully build every playable member (this was written at the start of Azure Tree by the way, I knew nothing…). I like how the game subtly guides you to build Lloyd by taking away Randy. That final “dungeon” is actually as long as Berseria’s, luckily it is about twice as bearable.

Music: Somehow Zero’s vibe is better, maybe because there are so many ambience and generic sounding tracks like Orchis Tower. There are some stand out tracks like Knox forest theme but replacing Afternoon in Crossbell for an objectively inferior one is not it. Special Support Section is only used once iirc. In exchange we get some of the greatest battle and boss themes in the entire series. At this point I will say this game has the best collection of battle themes across all Falcom games, and I know that is a very strong claim.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S- S- S- Old SSS/Wazy

Best tracks: Seize the Truth, Unfathomed Force, The Azure Arbitrator

Xenogears (PSX)

I had a great time reading a synopsis of a game. I may never revisit but it deserves to be here just for being one of the greatest video game stories alone.

Story/Plot: This game uses symbolism very well. IMO a story should not depend so much on other materials such that it is almost impossible to understand without deep knowledge of the referenced materials or just “get the vibes” (there are many “cult classics” that do this). This game has a lot of symbolisms, but they never get into the way of the main story and can be enjoyed easily as a perfectly decent sci-fi story. Symbolisms are only used to further bring out the themes and increase players’ appreciation for the story. The story is almost like NGE, but at a much slower pace. Get inside the Gear, Fei! About disc 2, it is such a pity that it had to be this way, some of the scenes will be simply mindblowing if acted out. Despite all of the limitations presentation-wise, the impact from its payoff never pales in comparison with other good games, and it’s all thanks to the masterfully crafted narrative in its core. Now I will wait for the dream remake like everyone else…

Characters: The characters are very fleshed out and feels very human. Fei’s writing is just great. All of them are like chess pieces on a chess board, playing off against each other and creating some very interesting scenarios. Very good cast of villains, there are multiple factions with different goals that also fight against one another, but it can get confusing very fast. Fei and Elly’s character arcs are simply perfect.

Gameplay: The combo system is pretty cool. The Gear gameplay is a lot more than expected but oddly removed from the core RPG gameplay as the Gear stats does not grow with experience, which is logical but affects the game dynamics. Most of the money goes into upgrading the gear instead of the characters themselves. Platforming is an ambitious attempt, even though it does not really work out.

Music: Now I am really liking Mitsuda’s style too. I still prefer CC but this is a very solid OST overall. He is really a versatile composer.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S B S- Fei/Elly

Best tracks: Shevat ~ The Wind is Calling, Shattering Egg of Dreams, The Treasure Which Cannot Be Stolen

The triple A Ys game I always wanted. This may be the game that tops KH2 combat for me. Story is impressive in its own way - it simply keeps all the good parts and cut out all the fat in a JRPG. We are here for the cheese and action. No time is wasted on characterization; there is a damsel and there are her knights, and that is enough, sometimes no reason is required. Somehow this clicked but not DQ, maybe presentation played a big part here.

Almost all characters are fun to play in their own way, even they may have similiar base mechanics, every character is still quite different. Combat is fluid and simple to understand with surprising depth and variety. Music is by Tsutomu Narita, one of the veteran FF arrangers. The OST is a good balance of traditional JRPG sound and cinematic sound. Vow and Promise tickled all the right places in my Falcom fanboy brain in the first second.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ B S+ S- Katalina/Zeta

Best tracks: Vow and Promise, Main Theme - Part 2, Final Judgement

Persona 3 FES (PS2) / Persona 3 Portable (PSP)

A very theme driven game and successfully brings out the message of facing death and living in a compelling way. The OST though good is not my style. There are some glaring issues like imbalanced pacing, tedious dungeon climbing and questionable social links but still makes for a great experience. The four movies can be an acceptable way to experience the main plot as that is what makes this game shine.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S C A+ Yukari/Aigis/FeMC

Best tracks: Memories of You, Memories of the City, Sun

Tales of Symphonia (PC)

The textbook RPG grand adventure. It contains every trope you have known and expect, yet manages to present itself with all the advantages of the tropes and stand out among others. I thought the plot twist although expected but still as shocking. The weak points being the combat and half of the cast not being relevant after their arcs.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S A- A- A- Lloyd/Raine

Best tracks: The End of a Thought, Force, A Glint of Light

Chrono Trigger (SNES)

The game that 100% deserves its reputation of all time JRPG classic. Many elements that are ahead of the time like non random encounters and character based sidequests. Highly polished and rich in content for the time. Jets of Time randomizer is sick.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B A S S+  

Best tracks: Battle 1, Wind Scene, Corridors of Time

Tales of the Abyss (PS2)

Great story, props to the scriptwriter for having the balls to write this kind of story. Luke’s development is arguably one of the best in all of JRPGs. The other cast goes from decent to great (Anise can kindly fk off tho). The combat is a direct upgrade from Symphonia and is so so much better with the addition of Free Run. I loved the FoF mechanic. The pacing can be odd, way too many back and forth in between world maps. Guy is in the top 10 dudebros in JRPG history and no one can change my mind (“This may be the real Luke, but my friend is that idiot.” ICANT). Sadly its OST is all time low, only some important battle themes stand out, and the rest sounding too much like Symphonia or simply forgettable. Shoutouts to the anime, it is a fantastic adaptation and you should watch it.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S A+ C Luke/Guy/Jade

Best tracks: The Arrow Was Shot, Karma, Meaning of Life

Final Fantasy VII (PS1)

Great story and characters. Having an event driven plot makes the characters feel a bit lacking. And the translation is indeed trash as it is almost impossible to understand the main plot correctly without explanations online. I highly recommend to emulate if you can accept the LEGO block models.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S A A S+ Aerith/Tifa

Best tracks: Aerith’s Theme, Tifa’s Theme, Those Who Fight

Terranigma (SNES)

Truly an ARPG ahead of its time. Great OST to create the mysterious and sombre atmosphere. Slightly dark/bittersweet ending is a nice touch. Surprisingly having some decent cast. Ark is simply a better Crono from Chrono Trigger. Technical limitations (read:lag) sometimes can hinder the combat system quite a bit.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- B A+ S+  

Best tracks: Light and Darkness, Dark Field, Light Overworld

Trails in the Sky the 3rd (PC)

A spin off ish game but not. Nice to see some detailed character back story and future plans. Serviceable main plot compared to FC+SC. Kevin and Ries are great and all but didn’t really hit as hard.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ S S A+  

Best tracks: Fighting Right On, Cry for Your Eternity, Overdosing Heavenly Bliss

Odin Sphere (PS2)

A decent fairy tale with a somewhat elaborate world with a grander plot, multiple characters, everyone have arcs ranging from amazing to OK, decent OST. Combat can be clunky (at least the hit effects are dang satisfying) and alchemy can be a bit confusing. Also challenges resource management quite a bit due to very limited inventory. It features JP and English dub too, which is most rare in PS2 games.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ S A A Gwendolyn/Mercedes/Cornelius

Best tracks: Battle in the Witch Forest 2, Attic Archive, Hope Followed by a Difficult Battle

Portal

Yes. It is as good as people claimed, up there with Chrono Trigger and other true classics (though I will argue only game design enthusiasts will get its brilliance in current day, I also dont think any post Gen Z will play this game without some passion for video games). It is dry but witty, puzzle designs are top notch. Simply perfect.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B A S+ B Weighted Companion Cube

Portal 2

Literal art. The redemption arc of GlaDOS brought me to tears.

Portal 1 or 2: Portal 1 has the simple elegance and charm that you can only experience once. But 2 is objectively more complete and improves on everything. Both are one of a kind experiences that should not be missed.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ A S+ B  

Nier Automata

I don’t know whether to put this here or the highest rank. This game is not as depressing as I imagined, but that is fine I guess.

Story: The story is more on big concepts than character driven, reminds me a lot of FF7 in terms of narrative. The start of Route C is just mindblowing. I am so immersed in the story that I did not even doubt or try to guess the plot twist. The stage is so perfectly designed to tell its story. Amusement Park is one of the most hauntingly beautiful locations in a video game.

Characters: 2B is fine as a protagonist, but the real highlights are 9S and A2, especially A2. Characters generally dont go through huge development arcs, but I still immensely enjoyed all of them.

Gameplay: The action gameplay is actually quite repetitive, just dodge and attack, but they really make perfect dodging easy and satisfying. Hacking is a bit too strong in combat imo. The game is actually really short and most of the time are spent on sidequests. I definitely think some of the quest should be mandatory for the experience.

Music: A somewhat different vibe from Replicant, this soundtrack generally is more hopeful (as the game itself is more hopeful for sure). The tracks are less dramatic compared to tracks like Kaine or Emil. Emi Evans is the GOAT.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S+ S S- S+ A2/2B/6O

Best Tracks: City Ruins/Shade, Vague Hope/Cold Rain, Voice of No Return

REALLY good

I would highly suggest you to give these a try.

Ys: Oath in Felghana (PC)

Makes you wonder if you are playing a bullet hell or an ARPG. Chester 2 fight gave the same feeling as Roxas in KH2, overwhelming, epic and the great feeling of finally defeating him.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B A A  

Best tracks: Chop!, The Boy who had Wings, Valenstein Castle

Ys Origin (PC)

Similiar to Ys:OiF, but you get to play with three characters on the same map, it can get repetitive but overall a major upgrade from it. One minor gripe is that you can cheese most fights with Yunica Phoenix once you get it, rendering melee moves almost useless. Toal gameplay is the best.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A A+ A+  

Best tracks: Believing, Oboro, Tension

Kingdom Hearts (PS2)

A simple Hero’s Journey, but a great one. Unlike the later KH games, the main plot is tied nicely with the Disney worlds, making Sora’s journey necessary and important to his character. One of the best executions for “Friendship is Power” trope. It can be cheesy but it is good because it is not baseless. Combat is simple and effective but the camera… did not age too well.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S A A S Sora

Best tracks: Dearly Beloved, Night of Fate, Traverse Town

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GC)

Actually a better Zelda game than WW in terms of complexity and combat. Midna is a great character and added a lot to the simple plot. Wolf Link is cool and TP Link is my favourite Link in the series.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A A A Midna/Link

Best tracks: Hyrule Field, Midna’s Lament, Lake Hylia

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (N64)

This game gets full marks in atmosphere and world crafting. Not a fan of non linear gameplay (had to follow a guide from start to end to be able to clear it) but I appreciate it exists.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A B B  

Best tracks: Deku Palace, Clock Town, Song of Healing

To the Moon (PC)

More like an interactive visual novel. An emotional story with a thick plot behind.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A A B A+  

Finding Paradise (PC)

Sequel to To the Moon. I prefer TtM’s story over this but still equally good. The plot thickens which is definitely not a sequel bait

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A A B A+  

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)

It is a classic alright. Definitely prefer this over MM for linearity.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B A A  

Best tracks: Song of Storms, Lost Wood, Title Theme

Ori and the Blind Forest (PC)

Very good game but metroidvania is not my type. Also not a fan of western atmospheric OSTs, all thanks to Yoko Shimomura the Leitmotif Queen, influencing my music taste forever.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B A B  

Okami HD (PC)

The Zelda game that is not named Zelda, feels a lot like Twilight Princess overall (wolf with a small sidekick and cleansing the world part). Running and jumping around as a cool wolf is fun. Beautiful Japanese artstyle. Brush gameplay is cool. Sadly the combat is just about the same as TP - too many tools made the fights too easy. The puzzles are really quite easy but can stuck in some places similar to Wind Waker, some parkours are pretty challenging IMO. The story is the simple save the world plot, but a lot goofier than I imagined. They really should have kept everything in one act instead of having multiple acts that shreds the hype. Boss reuse is pretty bad, not adding anything new even. Music is purely atmospheric. Derpy Ammy is pretty great.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A A A- B Ammy the Furball

Best tracks: Shinshu Field, Ryoshima Coast, Faith

Now I can understand the old Zelda elitists. The dungeons are really fun challenges but not impossible to figure out with some effort. There are not a lot of handholding but just linear enough to know where to go next. The enemies are real threats unlike in GC Zeldas. There are really creative dungeons too like the Skull Woods. The only downside is that some bosses are just SNES-unfair, practically impossible for first timers without doing extra content.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C C A+ A  

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc

Yeah it’s a genre defining classic, with endless supplies of hope and despair. Game is oozing with style and personality, from the art to the presentation. The main plot is really solid without much to complain. Class trial is a simply creative and brilliant gamification of a debate (Bullet time is pretty ass though). Characterization could have been less tropey but it’s whatever. It definitely suffers from the Madoka Effect where the shock value is completely lost due to its popularity. The music helped create the very specific vibe and made for a very immersive experience. BOX 15 is absolutely godly.

1-1 Pretty decent introductory case, simple and effective character arc for Sayaka and a nice warmup to the game's mechanics with a really easy murder.

[2nd playthough] This case is really well executed. Other than too easy solve I cannot find anything else to complain.
1-2 Quite meh imo. One of my least favourite case in the game. I could not care less about Mondo or Taka. Chihiro is whatever too.
1-3 Celeste is immediately sus. But if it is enough to fool most of others it works (but why even attempt this when you know there are geniuses like Kyoko and Byakuya around??). As observers it is easy to know she is weird but not for Makoto & co. It would be worse if Makoto somehow get an IQ boost here. Even if I know Celeste is the culprit without needing much hint, I still want to follow Makoto's steps to reach the conclusion. I would agree this whole thing can be executed a lot better. But I can get over with this and get the writer's intention.

[2nd playthough] Watching Celeste's plan fall apart in the trial just makes me wonder why does she even try?
1-4 Pretty good case too. Completed the arc for Hina and Sakura. Also gives Byakuya a chance to develop a bit. Cool stuff.
1-5 I cannot care about this Mukuro I barely know about. This case's entire purpose is the execution part and leading into Ch 6. Kyoko's backstory honestly is not all that impressing.

[2nd playthough] I should commend that the writer keep the feelings grounded and did not overdramatize this.
1-6 It is time for Makoto to become the anime protagonist. Good ending.

[2nd playthough] This is most probably my favourite surviving cast as a whole.


Makoto Not too interesting of a self insert but does have one redeeming trait compared to other DR protagonists - that is he can always somehow inspires the others, which lead to character growth to different degrees.
Kyoko Best girl. Kyoko smug gives me life. She has that irresistable aura of confidence around her. But she does not have too many interesting character growth. It's not that there isn't, but not eye catching enough.
Toko Archetypical, I guess she's ok from the hangouts. Masochists are creepy.
Junko Mukuro: I am fine with her gyaru mode hanging around a bit more. Real Junko: Plot device. Next.
Celeste Good character (with ~~probably~~ positively disappointing execution). I liked her mysterious vibes.
Hina Good and sane girl. Other than that one time she lost herself.
Sayaka Totally nailed that she is the first killer and/or first death. Game is pushing too hard. She is kinda nice but too plain.
Byakuya Actually an interesting character with distinct strength, weakness and little growth. All in the hangouts though. Serves as an insert point for slightly smarter players.
Chihiro I didn't see that coming.
Sakura Probably the most upright and and respectable character in the game. The actual Ultimate Moral Compass. RIP.
Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S- S- S- A+ Kyoko/Hina

Best tracks: DANGANRONPA, Box 15, Discussion -HEAT UP-

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

I came for more Danganronpa, I almost left because of the antagonists, I stayed for funni Byakuya slander, then I was moved by the wholesome friendship between two girls.

Story/Plot: The setting is just a fever dream. The real meat is the interaction between Komaru and Toko, and their journey to become friends and helping each other grow. It is so cliche but the execution is almost flawless. The dynamics of different stages are handled realistically. It is very believable they become BFF in the end. They also made connections to DR2 without actually ruining anything which is a rare case for a prequel.

Characters: Toko is just plain amazing here. At the start she obviously learnt her lessons in DR1 but there are still more to explore, the coolest part is her gimmicks are preserved and those become part of a compelling marrative. I have low opinions on DR1 Toko but that is completely changed after this game. Komaru is also wonderful. She is Makoto but not self insert. This alone make her so much better and interesting. She is THE cinnamon roll I pledge to protecc. She went through very similiar arc as Makoto but instead with the power of hope now it’s the good old power of friendship. Seeing some cameos is pretty cool. Nagito’s role pre DR2 is especially interesting and explains a lot of things.

Gameplay: This game is actually a puzzle shooter and not an action game. Once Komaru’s controls click it’s actually quite fun. It’s Toko’s control that is lackluster. Also all the bosses can be cheesed too easily with Toko’s ults. But the main challenge is the puzzle part. Nice design to let player to choose whether to clear them perfectly or just rush through them.

Music: Discussion theme as final boss theme is positively funny. Otherwise a pretty standard Danganronpa feeling OST

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S- S A+ A+ Komaru/Toko

Persona 5 Royal (PC)

Trying to be a blind player when you know the story beats so well is … hard yet interesting. It’s not wrong to compare this entry with the previous ones you liked so much right…

Story/Plot: If there is any shortcoming from this game it is probably the main plot. The script takes on a much bigger question it can handle and handled it mediocrely. The villains are painted as absolute evil with no humanity whatsoever, Sae is one of the exception as she has a better build up. Though I am not satisfied with its depth, I am happy they still handled the “easier and safer” alternative well i.e. making punishing evil fun and gratifying. Another big theme is about being “rebellious”, which has no major issue or surprises, it is just the topic is not approached from many different angles through party members, like P3 did on the themes of living and death and P4 did on the theme of true self.

Third semester is better than I remembered. It being tacked on like an afterthought certainly ruins its execution a bit but the presentation is still great despite all that. Akechi finally becomes a real character (ironic huh) and fleshed out through interactions, goes from C tier character to B+ tier easily. It is so sad this is the best arc yet still is just about average compared to most of the arcs in previous games.

Characters: The party dynamic is fine I guess, the big shortcoming is that everyone are only mutual friends with MC but no deep relationship with each other. It is not as unique as P3 or has fantastic chemistry like P4, but I can see this being some people’s favourite party. Also these guys definitely chat on the phone too much. The confidants aka SL has two very distinctive purposes, for non party members is all kinds of oppressed people in all walks of life. The side characters arc often involves a villain which has the same issue as above section. For the party members, mostly is their extension of their arc or get involved in their circle, their growth in them feels somewhat trivial to me. Maruki’s confidant is definitely one of the more interesting ones. Remade Akechi link is also pretty fine, but still not quite enough to be a compelling rival. Kasumi is handled a lot better than Marie, but there ae still a lot of traces of shoehorning.

Gameplay: This game is one of, if not the most stylish game of the 2010s. Combat flows smoothly, I love how mastering inputs alone improves combat experience. Every other RPG menu feels so clunky after coming out of this one. Movement is fluid, dungeons are generally well thought and nicely designed. The only downside is that this game gives you way too many OP tools to trivialize the game (All ma- elemental skills in 2nd dungeon and Auto-Masuku before 3rd dungeon??? what is even happening) and with previous SMT game knowledge it becomes a slaughter on Normal difficulty (not using DLC too). I am too chicken to use Hard on my first playthough.

Music: This is one of my gateways to video game music so definitely have special feelings for this OST. Beneath the Mask is possibly one of Meguro’s greatest track. Way too many bangers to count. Take Over is officially the best battle theme in the Persona main games.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A+ S+ S+ Morgana/Ann/Makoto/Kasumi

Best tracks: Beneath the Mask, Sunset Bridge, Blooming Villain, Take Over, Throw Away Your Mask, Ideal and the Real

Ys: Memories of Celceta

Story/Plot: The premise is a twist on the cliche amnesia trope and is actually quite interesting. Going into a new town only to be blamed is surprisingly funny and fits Adol’s character well. This is the third best design for Adol after 8 and 9, the character full sprite looks really good. The weird thing is that all the towns are supposed to be secluded from other population but no one acts like so. I can see why people complaint about how this entry breaks the Ys lore, but at least there really is no major issues about the story. The ending is the laziest in the entire series for sure (Azure is only released a year before, is this a coincidence?). But nothing is going to top Ys VIII anyways so it’s alright.

Characters: Adol’s backstory is a great addition for the entire series, building him as a simply a guy with too much curiousity. Before this he feels like just a boring adventuring machine without a mind of his own. Karna is best Ys girl after Dana, is the best status effects applicator and has good early grouping skills. She is simply too powerful for a love interest in Ys, before Dana appeared at least. I like Duren quite a bit, what a clown. I am also sure someone in the company has a serious gap moe fetish starting from the Sky era until today…

Gameplay: Ys 8 beta with fixed camera. Most of the time I am just fighting with camera and bad targetting. It is totally fair when the huge boss decides to stand in front of the camera. The target is just a marker but you still attack straight ahead anyways. Boss design is pretty mediocre as a result. Feels like they only updated half of the battle system and assumed the rest would work the same in the Napishtim engine games. Unlike 8, you are forced to stand still while guarding, this adds a lot more risk-reward interaction. Flash guard is still a bit janky, but there is normal guard in this game which is nice. For some reason Falcom’s classic EXP rubberbanding is not working all that well in Hard mode (not sure if they even implemented that). The two final bosses are actually pretty hard without items.

Music: This is why I will always want more Falcom (and hopefully not robbed in the process). At this point it just feels so right to hear jdk band’s style. The opening track sounds even better than usual after hearing the uninspired music in DQ8 for hours. Although this might be one of the weaker soundtracks compared to all other Falcom games out there, but still a really decent OST.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B A A S Karna

Best tracks: Gust of Wind, The Foliage Ocean in Celceta, Black Wings

Valkyria Chronicles (PC)

Story/Plot: The cutscenes are short and concise, with a lot of breaks. Good for gameplay but a bit choppy for storytelling. Ultimately, this is still a gameplay centric game than a story centric one. It is a typical war story so far in typical JRPG fashion, for example unusually talented MC that is good at unrelated field (high school training) and love interest. K drama romance is nice once in a while. The big issue is that there is very very little tension and the presentation is not helping either. The protagonist just keeps winning (cuz gameplay, even I would think twice to have forced defeat after many turns of gameplay for plot reasons. Maybe do a forced combat segment/cutscene is better), even the losses only occurs offscreen. The cutscene structure is actively hurting one of the emotional moments. But it still tells a decent and complete story.

Characters: Welkin is pretty funny when he is not doing anime MC things. All the characters are pretty grounded and normal (read 2 dimensional). There are character arcs for the squad but all are quite lacking in depth. I really like Alicia’s design.

Gameplay: Save scumming is godsave and scouts are OP. The artstyle and aesthetic is great. Trying to play the game as intended is the real challenge, which is ironic to say the least.

Music: It is Sakimoto and his typical orchestra. Not to diss on his other higher profile works but this is pretty generic.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A- A B+ Alicia

Indivisible (PC)

Cartoonish plotline. I like all the south eastern influences. The Tales-like opening is actually really good. Ajna’s arc is a lot like Luke’s (his is probably still better), and I am all for it. I am not expecting Hiroki Kikota as the composer at all (no wonder the soundtrack is so melodic for a western game).

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A- S- A  

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue (PSX)

Campy fun adventure done to perfection. It is simply a more enjoyable game than SSS with the QoLs. If I had played this game when it first released this could very well be my favourite game. Now I can finally say Lunar is genuinely great and deserves to be the baseline of traditional JPRGs. They know what they are aiming for and achieve their goals expertly, which many developers struggle to deliver, as basic as it sounds.

Story: The main motive is just to find Althena, it is an ok motivation. Characters from the previous game appears in the most intersting ways instead of simple cameos, very cool. This time they use the trope where everyone in the party has some beef with each member of the evil organization. The payoffs in the second act are really good. I am a bit bummed that the church is now actually evil, but the fun twist is when you find out some statues started charging money (they did not commit to this completely though). SSS’s focus on romance is still more interesting, but EB has a stronger execution overall.

Ending + Epilogue Lucia's Pendant - I'd rather just have Lucia. This is some peak writing. The original ending can totally work as a very bittersweet ending with a different setup and framing, and I can guarantee it will be absolutely heart wrenching. But instead we get the Epilogue to change the fate. Fantastic. This reminds me a lot of FF6 where you collect your friends around the world and start another "adventure", but there is no extra story tied to them. Gameplay wise there is just a lot of dungeons, not very exciting. The final fight is quite anticlimatic also. I am not sure if the simple ending cutscene is worth the grinding needed. I was lowkey expecting an epic love confession. The credit song is nice, but Wind's Nocturne from SSSC is still the best vocal track in the duology.

Characters: The sauce to this series is the character chemistry. I would even go as far to say they are at least on par with or better than the Tales series. The only issue is you need to actively look for the interactions by talking to NPCs. The approach this round is to get all the party then explore their arcs. Their arcs are much stronger than the SSS cast. Ruby is so much better than Nall, it is not even a competition - she is actually likable and has a character arc. She is kind of like Morgana, but without the narcissistic part. Hiro has more dialogue and more fleshed out than Alex, he actually is a real character on his own. Lucia does not get kidnapped for most of the game and has a lot of interactions with Hiro throughout the journey. She even flirts with Hiro later which is cuuuuute. Lemina is fun, I just don’t like the forgiving act for her arc as it is not well built up, but it is so typical it is whatever (it is not P5 kind of bad). Ronfar’s character really surprised me, his payoff really stands out from the rest. Jean is fine the first side ponytail character I am not into, her powerup is a good enough compensation for being the weakest character in the narrative.

Gameplay: Huge improvement to SSS. No more split inventory, tactics setup and field positioning all made the game a lot more enjoyable already. The crest system is pretty neat. The bosses are also more well designed with mechanics and also harder, cannot really just spam the strongest attack and heal (it does become that in the late game). Dashing with a cooldown is also pretty fun to use optimally. They amped up the anime cutscene and damn they look so good with that 90s style. I want that Lucia maid costume in game so bad reeeee. The first 3 bosses are the some of the hardest bosses in the game. It is a bit weird the game has really few bosses with its playtime. The final difficulty spike is quite brutal, it is barely possible thanks to team invincibility skill, and why no one mentioned to not override saves?

Music: Really good, feels like a natural progression from SSS. But some instant classics e.g. Althena’s theme and Towards the Horizon are too hard to beat. One track that is better than SSS is the boss theme for sure.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B+ A+ B+ A Lucia/Lemina/Ruby

INTERESTING titles

May not appeal to a lot of people, but still worth to check out

Final Fantasy VIII (PC)

Plot: Mess, Characters (especially Squall and Rinoa): Beautiful, Gameplay: Mess, Music: Beautiful. Rated beautiful mess. Basically only Squall and Rinoa are the stars of this game. The important bits of other characters are either hidden in side quests or simply non existent. Seifer is such a wasted opportunity as a great rival to Squall. They could have done so much better with the story. Great OST, good use of motifs without making it repetitive like FFX. The gameplay… just nope. I used boosters in this game and did not regret a single bit.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B A+ D S+ Squall/Rinoa

Best tracks: The Oath, Eyes on Me, Man with a Machine Gun

Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP)

Weird game. I am so glad PSP version is that easy i never fused a single persona (read: never engaged with battle system). Story is fine but sure can get weird very fast. Sadly I didn’t like the music as much as I wanted to. Liked how no one is crafted as waifu/husbando or into specific tropes and equally reveals their lovable and hatable points.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A A+ C A- Lisa/Maya

Best tracks: Battle Theme, Maya Theme, Velvet Room

Child of Light (PC)

It is waaaay too short for the price, could have use another dungeon or two, Casual is a bit too easy but who would expect normal RPG gamer mode to be named Expert. Nice combat system though can feel slow every battle. Nice little fairy tale but far weaker than say Odin Sphere, half decent cast that has short stories tied into their quest but did not have any meaningful development in any way.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A B A+ B  

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap (GBA)

Another cute Zelda game. Has big WW energy.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B C A B  

Tokyo Xanadu eX+ (PC)

I will always use this phrase to describe this game: Budget Persona 4 - Made with Lots of Love. Seeing what Falcom had achieved with Trails in the Sky I am even more confused why is this so mid. It contains every anime trope but does nothing interesting for the entire game. Some characters even looks like they are directly adapted from Persona 3/4, with the skin from Trails of Cold Steel. The main plot could have been fine but the True Ending had to ruin it. Somehow it managed to create another Kairi from KH, as if Kairi is not bad enough (no hate for Kairi here, she’s pretty cute but nothing more than that). Combat is quite shallow and simple but is the best part about it, most mechanics are just “I Win Buttons (with too many X’s)”, at least there is dodge roll. Bosses ranges between too easy to too annoying. Only buy this on 80% discount.

Coming back from Ys VIII: Flash Roll in here is much more balanced and does not trivialize fights. X Drive is one of the better implementation of a “Limit Break” skill

Coming back from Trails from Zero: So this game is just a cheap copy of Zero. Kou is discount Lloyd and Asuka is discount Elie, Yuuki is playable Jona, Sora is Chie ripoff, Rion is Rise ripoff (maybe there is Trails equivalent), Shio is 1:1 Agate, Jun looks like kid Wazy, Wazy probably has secret identity like him. Mitsuki is Mitsuru ripoff. Now everything makes sense.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B A+ A  

Best Tracks: Believe It!, Possibility Flaps, Morimiya is Okay!

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (GC)

Maybe I am not built for Mario games. The humour just fell flat on me and the story is already so simple as it is, there is not a lot to hook me in terms of story/characters. The music style just did not grab me, maybe is its instrumentation or composition i don’t know, but it is not bad by all means. The battle theme really grew on me. The great thing is the combat which is the reason I completed this game. For dungeon design, there are a lot of sections relying on constant backtracking without the connectivity Zelda games offer and it can be mildly infuriating. And who the heck decided to add the realtime 30s minigame. I actually kind of enjoyed the Princess Peach sections, and this is where I realized Nintendo would have written princess characters for around 10 years when this game was released.

I am just glad the existence of this game inspired the great game that is Bug Fables (perhaps referenced TTYD a bit too much). Other than the less puzzle filled dungeon design and a smaller world, BF improved and polished everything else compared to TTYD.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C C A+ C  

Shadow Hearts (PS2)

Story/Plot: I really cannot tell if there is any deep and powerful message under the goofy and cliche story underneath. Either the theme of the story just flew by me completely, or this is just a DMC-esque story used to create a specific creepy atmosphere and serve its gameplay. About the romance… sure it’s there but not really compelling or anything.

Characters: Yuri is pretty interesting, a very sincere and honest dude, both to himself and others. He almost feels like a prototype Noel from FFXIII-2. Alice is a bit boring of a princess archetype. Well actually they do a little of Noel-Serah dynamic in FFXIII-2. The rest has some interesting quirks but nothing noteworthy.

This game has its ways to do humour, like Margarete’s skill is calling a phone Hououin Kyouma style then use a wacky item like toilet flush to enchant a target with Water spell??? (This sentence is really weird to type out). And her “I need some help here” followed by “Sore! (Take this)”, like hey just decide if you want to be American or Japanese already (apparently it’s just that they forgot to dub that line).

Gameplay: Judgement Ring is really fun. I really wished there is some in-universe explanation for this system. (spoiler: there is, albeit short) In turn enemies can inflict status on the ring, which is really creative. But the skill system is just meh, spamming the strongest appropriate skill is always the best strategy. SP system is really cool as well, using up your “turns” to speed up a fight (but Yuri always has the most SP even after a fusion). There is that one dungeon that seals skills and items, that is NOT VERY COOL, especially banning a black and white mage from using skills is a very annoying and questionable move.

Music: Very atmospheric and suitable for this horror setting, but not too nice to listen to.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B A+ C  

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony

Story/Plot: I like the story structure where only selected few are focused instead of similar screentime for almost everyone. But generally I am conflicted about the whole plot and progression especially the ending. I only really enjoyed the first case and Shuichi’s arc. This time we can also see the face of MC on the side, fully defining him as his own character.

V3-1 The best opening chapter in the series. Kaede is super delightful, also gives Shuichi a character arc to begin with. I can see this as 1-1 remake and unlike last time it is actually effective. Brilliant.
V3-2 What the heck is that motive???? Can you at least even try??? Junko's action makes even more sense because there are real life parallels but not this one. The murder operation is starting to get a bit Conan ridiculous from here on.
V3-3 I was hoping to not see a double kill and my disappointment was immeasurable when it happened. Kiyo is a creep with another rather outlandish motive. Dude could have graduated if not for the second murder.
V3-4 I am sure this is all set up to make Gonta a murderer, and only for the shock value. I guess it had some effect on Kokichi but I am not sure. It does create a decent conflict between Shuichi and Kaito so it is not all bad I suppose.
V3-5 Pretty good case but feels like copying 2-5 in concept and still not as great as 2-5.
V3-6 "And I will avenge Kaede! I swear on her kindness and her love... and her grave that I will avenge her!" and "The pain in my heart is real! The pain I feel when I lose the people I love is real!" got to me real good. Okay you want to end the series I get it. But what did we do to deserve such a passive agressive ending? Also Shuichi is such a gigachad here.

Characters: Similiar to DR2’s approach but even more gimmicky. Focusing on a selected few means that if you hate some of them, the game becomes insufferable. My guy is done being the weakest or the outlier, instead the strongest asset in class trials. I liked Shuichi-Kaito-Maki as a trio, very sweet. Judging from the number of notable mentions you can see I don’t care about this cast that much.

Shuichi My favourite protagonist in the series, Hajime is still the best protag though. His arc is just solid and has a character on its own. I find myself sometimes disagreeing with what he does.
Kaede She wins as the series Best Girl (sorry Kyoko it is a very close match I swear). I just love when she is on screen. She has wonderful interactions with everyone, a very compelling motive and most importantly a strong agency only paralleled by a handful of characters in the entire series.
Kaito Actually one of the strongest portrayals of typical shounen protagonist dudebro because there is a competent rival and foil aka Kokichi. Also generally positive for character development of others.
Kokichi I respect his role and importance in the story but I just cannot enjoy his character in any way.
Maki She cute. I don't think she is as bad as the fandom describes but there are definitely lots of room for improvement.
Kiibo Funny guy haha. He could be so much more than he actually is.
Kirumi I expected great things. I expected Peko but improved. And it all goes down the drain. This is probably the most disappointing DR character out there. But shoutouts to trying to escape an execution.

Gameplay: I don’t like any of the new addition or changes at all except Scrum Debate, way too many gimmicks and stray away from gamifying a debate into debating with minigames. Lying bullet is interesting but can get in the way of story (another proof that Shuichi is not a self insert), having 2 solutions is also a cool addition but can be ignored really easily.

Music: It is not as good as D2. Finally we have a good sad theme (Heartless Journey) for once though.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ A A+ A+ Kaede/Shuichi/Maki

Best tracks: DANGANRONPA v3, Beautiful Lie, Discussion Space Edition

Valkyrie Profile (PS1)

A very experimental game and a breath of fresh air into the typical JRPG scene. A one-of-a-kind experience we might not ever seen again. I expected to like this game a lot more but in the end it is just pretty good. However it deserves to be one of the JRPG classics due to its uniqueness.

Story/Plot: The premise is that the player as a Death Goddess Lenneth and recruiting dead souls to fight a war in heaven (sounds like the perfect setting for gacha to me). The progression is sort of linear but not quite. It seems there are optional progression but isn’t really all that important in the first playthrough.

Characters: There are some cool characters here and there like Janus and Jun. Since there are so many characters it is impossible to care about them all. I did not really get attached to anyone. The character sprites are really distinctive.

Gameplay: It shall be engraved upon your soul!… Divine Assault - Nibelung Valesti! is one of the greatest voicelines in all of JRPGs (Lenneth’s delivery is just godly, everything she says in battles are instant classics). Very very cool battle system. There are lots of mechanic but most are really negligible. I don’t know why but all battles including boss battles ends in 1-2 turns. I love the 2d platformer dungeon exploration and more games should have that. The movement could be better but it is smooth enough. Sometimes the crystal can cause lag. Not sure what transferring ultimately does to the game’s progression (Do I get game over if I don’t transfer at least one member every chapter?).

Music: Sorry Motoi Sakuraba, it seems I can enjoy your music after all. The OST has a great identity and style. Even I enjoyed a lot of dungeons themes and there are tons of dungeons in the game. The emotional and melodic themes are all fitting too, just enough sadness without going too overboard.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A+ A S S-  

Best tracks: Fighting the Shadowy Gods, Confidence in Domination, All is Twilight

Chrono Cross (PSX)

Definitely mixed feelings about this one. The main disappointment is that the sequel to one of the most refined video games is a very experimental game that feels nothing like it. Not sure if this is a huge waste of potential or just an unpolished gem that already reaches some of the great heights (mostly OST).

Story/Plot: Your typical RPG story, something’s weird going on, and so happens someone’s trying to destroy the world and such. It’s pretty hard to get attached to the main plot especially after Kid is gone. And you found out that the previous heroes’ efforts are sort of wasted, when I already don’t feel like caring about anyone other than Serge… Great stuff. But rationally speaking, it is an interesting concept that good endings might have unwanted consequences. A lot of the end game plot should have been shown before as breadcrumbs instead of throwing it all together. Generally, the concept is there, but it left too many blanks and becomes a bit incohesive and didnt really manage to deal the emotional punch, or maybe this is the intention?

Characters: The protagonist is silent, even the character description has nothing to say other than he is a silent protagonist. Kid is the only developed character with motivation and personality. And you have a bunch of other tag alongs which are just there for necessary reasons or not. Some side stories like Karsh and Riddel’s is nice.

Gameplay: The basic battle system is pretty fun, but its execution could have been better. Looks confusing at first but completely clear on the second look (no in game tutorial and looking up online). Very unique take on skills/magic and MP systems. The issue is that the progression feels VERY weak, I don’t feel like getting stronger at all. While I think the levelling mechanic is kinda smart, it really takes away the sense of levelling up. Also it does not encourage you to use stronger skills, which is really weird. Equipment upgrades are far and few. All this combined and the gameplay feels stale over time.

Music: This is definitely one of my favourite OSTs of all time. The OST probably deserved a better game to go along. It is tempting to just say the music here is superior to CT (they are at least equally great for sure). Maybe it’s recency bias I prefer the OST in CC over CT, but we will see in a few years. Mitsuda nailed the tropical sounds perfectly. References to Chrono Trigger OST is fantastic. Unstolen Jewel is so beautiful, it ranks right under Dearly Beloved, same as Song of the Ancients and To Zanarkand as of writing. Still not a fan of the battle theme, at least the boss theme and final boss theme is quite decent.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B C A S+  

Best tracks: Scars of Time, Radical Dreamers - Unstolen Jewel, The Girl who Stole the Stars

Radiata Stories (PS2)

I am not expecting to actually give this game an extended writeup. This may not be the greatest game of all time but I can easily see this as a cult classic as it currently stands.

Story/Plot: It is just trying to trick players into thinking this is just a silly game. After the first cutscene they really tried to make you forget about it in the next 10+ hours. Then the depressing reality just… hits. It can get surprisingly cruel too when it comes to it. No long speech from even friend turned foe, just fight and done, and you are back to the ever peaceful and funky town, the contrast is too strong to ignore. The ending for human route… then… what is the point? Jack is still only following his impulses, he gets all the revenge he wanted, and leaves Radiata… and? Why? What? Is this just a huge nod to Chrono Cross??

Characters: He shows no tenacity of purpose, and exhibits no fear of death… An intriguing young man. This is one of the most interesting comment on shounen protagonist kid. Jack is a cocky brat from inside out, he literally interacts with the world by kicking (it is never not hilarious), people or objects. A really great attempt at tying personality to gameplay. Radiata residents are all crafted with care (there are still generic NPCs but very few), with unique faces and names. But Jack is usually seen solo though he is supposed to be familiar with the townspeople. I do hope the game can add some mandatory, permanent and plot relevant characters from time to time into the party.

Gameplay: Radiata is Clock Town but way larger, bigger than Crossbell city even. This game fully commits to being silly and they mean it, from voice acting to music use to wordings. You can challenge almost anyone to a duel on demand which is just crazy. The combat system is rather clunky, at least it fits the difficulty so it is not very annoying. Without a guide it is hard to recruit the good teammates and you kinda stuck with the mediocre and lame ones.

Music: Half of the OST including the battle themes is joke music and it is glorious. I can’t say about Grandia but I think this style really is Iwadare’s specialty judging by Lunar and this game.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- A B A  

Final Fantasy IV (PSP)

The plot is actually super fast paced, feels like a lot has happened in only a few hours. It is very plain compared to anything even FFVI but it is a huge improvement over FFIII. All the party members has some kind of relevance to the story and that is really good (@ Gogo and Umaro and Amarant). Sacrifice plot is used too much that it loses meaning as the game goes on. The main plot is probably a subversion of the crystal collecting trope from the previous games, instead of collect them all the protagonist loses them all.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
A- B B A Rydia

Best tracks: Theme of Love, Battle Theme 2, Airship theme

Disco Elysium

This game is a hit or miss. The game makes it more than it actually is. The process is fun, but the “open” ending basically denied all my assumptions about this game. I really thought I would need to pick a side and see how my stance affects the case and there was a time limit before the town goes down. I can accept the ending, just not how it played out. Kim is trying to end the case and literally trying to frame the guy, which I feel like it is another red herring but is actually not. In the end this game is more free and sandboxy than suggested and I should have fooled around more? But I would not have known this in the first playthrough.

Maybe I am just too busy trying to minmax and getting pass checks. Who knows maybe I am playing this game wrong.

There are so many interesting lore to explore, it does feel like a waste but if it is all a backdrop to the main quest then sure whatever. it is hard to believe that all this effort is only used as a background and treasure for those lorehunters. The voice acting is top notch. The writing is immersive and believable and it is the game’s greatest strength. I also think this kind of prerendered background style (?) is a great artistic choice, just a bit hard to see where to walk. Allowing softlocking i.e. not having money to sleep at night is just illegal, no modern game should do that other than for artistic purpose and not by player’s inaction.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
S S A- A+ Kim

EarthBound (SNES)

Trippy, wacky and charming in one.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B C A+  

Tales of Vesperia

This is undeniably the most “complete” Tales experience, scoring slightly above average on every aspect. It is a jack of all trades but master of none.

Story/Plot: The class discrimination theme is just alright. I do like me some Lelouch/Suzaku dynamic. This entry has one of the weakest hooks in the Tales games. The conflicts are solved too fast and simple, really lacks in stakes and weight. Revealing Yuri being vigilante could be a huge crash out moment and add a lot of drama, but it is just brought over like that. Overall it is a super safe plot.

Characters: What if we put all flavours of tsunderes aka people who cant be honest with themselves into a party? As Tales tradition, they are all very cliche, but the execution is just so solid. But it really lacks the ONE iconic character like other Tales, which makes this party a lot less memorable. There is way too many kids in this party, Karol is consistently annoying, he did get his moment later on, thats pretty cool. Yuri is a bit overhyped by the community, Troy Baker really carried this one. His high pitch voice trying to imitate Karol is damn funny. I like classical tsunderes so Rita is quite good, she is probably one of the grumpiest Tales main characters. Estelle is fun, her victory skits with teammates (a sign of victory with high five) are the ones I will remember - very cute, but her character really is just slightly better than Colette, Natalia is done way better. If I had a nickel for a short haired princess having weird fashion choices, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice. cues Ashe from FFXII Flynn is really boring. If not for the quality of the cast, this game would not have been too different from DQ.

Gameplay: A Tales game that is not overengineered with way too many mechanics? Is this even a Tales game? Why do they regress in the late PS3 era? The weapon system is whatever, not innnovative but works, I just think some essential skills like sidestep should just be part of everyones kit. The 3D model artstyle is great, probably the best iteration of the traditional Tales. Not a fan of the 2D sprites, their face feels a bit twisted. The overall dungeon quality is quite good by Tales standards, which are often either extremely boring or annoying. I finally understand the combat system, the controls only make sense on a controller. This is Tales combat at its best. I really hate that bringing Estelle to any boss fight is pseudo hard mode, I just want her to be good.

Music: This is finally not reminiscent of Symphonia, but I can’t say much about this OST either. Some town themes feels different and refreshing from the usual stuff.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B+ A- S- A- Estelle/Rita

PRETTY nice but skippable

Not a waste of time, but nothing notable either

Persona Q (3DS)

Meh Persona fanfic. All the characters you love become one dimensional and are used for “comedy” purpose. Has a decent original plot though. Etrian Odyssey gameplay is cool. Way too easy to exploit once you know it (Poison/Light+Dark skills).

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B C A A  

Best tracks: Light the Fire Up in the Night, Lazer Beam, Friends

Lunar: Silver Star Story (PSX)

A cult classic within the JRPG circle. But I think it really needs that nostalgia and era factor to become a great game. It feels like the FMA:B of JRPGs, but without that extra kick that makes it a real classic. Only recommended to JRPG fans for historical purposes. Coming back from Golden Sun and DQ8: Is it just me or Lunar SSS is really THAT good? How can this tropey 1998 video game beat so many games after in terms of story telling? Why do I keep thinking about and use this game as a baseline whenever I play a truly traditional RPG?

Story: The most standard RPG story I have experienced so far. It can be summed up as “Hero saves the Damsel in Distress with power of love and friendship”, there are no big twist too (Wow that weird looking dude who acts like your ally is definitely not a villian). Tons of animated cutscenes and voice acting adds a lot to the story. What it does great is tying its theme tightly to the main plot, although it can feel forced. For a love story, your main party consists of three (more like 2.5) couples with different dynamics and really make its point across clearly and strongly.

Characters: The characters are pretty cliche but it should be spared for being an old game. Character development is decent and everyone have just enough of it. It would be nicer if Alex can show more personality because he showed quite some, even if it is typical protagonist personality. The banter between the party is the best part, adds a lot of life and quirkiness to them.

Gameplay: Very standard, old school turn based system without anything notable. The inventory system is quite annoying. A lot more enjoyable on emulator to dodge encounters. No random encounter is great as usual. Surprising difficulty spike in the final dungeon? It did exactly different things compared to other RPG of the same age which are linear world maps, saving anywhere and giving lots of free heals, which I am sure is a big surprise to people played on release.

Music: There are some bangers here and there. The battle theme is pretty catchy and addicting. The final boss not having a unique theme is a huge letdown. The main theme - Althena’s Song is quite emotional too. But overall it is a OST just above average for me.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B- B C A Jessica

Best Tracks: Towards the Horizon, Wind’s Nocturne, Fighting Spirits

Ys VI: Ark of Napishtim

tldr: Non linear progression is cool, grinding is not cool, boss design is very inferior compared to Felghana and Origin. The game can feel very tedious to play though short due to more time spent on grinding instead of retrying bosses. Only recommended for true Ys fans.

This game has the design philosophy of most retro games, with progression hidden out of the main path and the player has to work to discover for themselves. There are also a lot of optional and missable stuff too. This is not present in any of the future Ys games where key items and progress are just put in front of you. It is pretty amazing that the Teleport item is not even mandatory.

The level scaling is too strict, even stricter than later games. You really do 0 damage to anything that is slightly above your level and you are forced to grind up to the level floor. You are punished too much for being underleveled until running through dungeons becomes a problem, making the game very very grindy. Levelling equipments is probably required too and those costs a lot. It’s great that they balanced all of that in the Felghana and Origin.

Most bosses are just annoying in the first attempts, then boring when you know how to damage it. The ability to use items in battle makes the bosses feels much less brutal with this system, though comes with a cost of bloated HP. Ernst is pretty damn hard and annoying and does deserve the hype theme, actually he is the only exciting boss in the entire game. Dash jump is pretty unintuitive but interesting to use if you know how, at least better than extended jumps in Felghana which is unintended. I am pretty sure this is where Dana’s Light form is referenced with Adol’s Yellow blade here.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C C A- A-  

Code Vein

A very nice bridge between JRPG and Soulslike. Story is your typical post apocalyptic plot, filled with tragic people with tragic backstory… It’s not the most interesting thing ever but it works just fine for a gameplay centric game. The flashback system is effective at establishing the many backstories. Gameplay emulates Soulslike well enough but keeping the easy mode accessible.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B+ B+ A+ B  

Ys I+II Chronicles

Yay I am legally a Ys fan. Bump combat is slightly more acceptable than I thought and only really fun when overlevelled. The soundtrack is fantastic as usual. They really should have slip in Feena’s theme anywhere they can in the future games and not just logo screen, actually just promote this melody more like Aria of the Soul, lest Dana becomes the best girl of Ys. Bat boss is doable with pause buffering. The two shitheads are barely possible with pause buffering. Dark Fact is impossible without pause buffering. Is this seriously their idea of fun??

Ys 2 is a lot more acceptable in every way possible, no wonder this is not talked as much. But how did the goddesses end up in the credits? Now I am interested to go back to Ys itself and that Roda tree forest will look absolutely gorgeous.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C C C A+  

Best tracks: Feena, First Step Towards Wars, Tension

Golden Sun (GBA)

It feels like a Tales game, but only the base structure and nothing else. Dungeon and puzzles are actually good unlike most of Tales games. Job system has just the right amount of customization for me, every member has their own archetype but is flexible enough to branch out a bit by swapping Djinns, very cool system. Sakuraba had definitely peaked around late 90s and early 00s. But sadly I cannot find a good reason to finish it as it feels like there are no more new experience towards later half of the game. I would have loved this game if it had more going on for characterization and writing.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C D A+ A  

Ys SEVEN

Instead of Ys 8 beta, this game feels more like Napishtim 3D. Once you accept this fact and accept all its quirk including but not limited to: all the annoying stuff in Celceta, semi-reliable guard, strict level scaling and very stingy SP; you can just play this like the Napishtim engine games but jankier, though this does add extra layer of strategy that doesnt exist in later entries. For example since it is so easy to get stunlocked, you need to switch character just to distract the boss so the stunned person doesnt get deleted. You also need to carefully plan and use skills instead of spamming like in the later games. But overall I really regret picking Hard for first playthrough, it is simply not rewarding. The amount of polish in Ys VIII is truly a miracle coming from SEVEN and Celceta.

They chose not to have a definitive love interest which is fine, but they dont even try to make the new guests become too likable, that is just weird. Music wise is rather meh for Falcom imo. As the first game with playable Dogi, he deserved a better sprite art and kit than this. One interesting thing about this game is its FF9-like weapon skills system, though that can prove to be annoying as now I am “forced” to buy weapons when I see to not lose out on possible kit improvements.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C C A A+  

MEH

I just don’t like these

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)

Played this for the story only cuz Roxas is my boy, Xion is eh. Definitely nailed the mundane life, if that is what the devs intended. Actually has a coherent story within which is the only good thing. Combat has some potential but largely wasted, definitely can be remade.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B C B Roxas

Best tracks: Another Side Battle, Deep Drive, Vector to the Heavens

Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep (PSP)

PSP version is probably the worst way to experience this half of a train wreck. Aqua is the only saving grace out of this game.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C D D A+ Aqua

Best tracks: Dearly Beloved, Ventus Theme, Aqua’s Theme

I am Setsuna (PC)

No. You cannot just remake Lunar+Chrono Trigger without something fresh. They remade CT, but they left out the soul of CT and everything that makes it great. In the end it becomes a very bad attempt at imitating CT which is almost embarassing. Even taking away the comparison, it is still a below-average JRPG. It is still worth to know the context of OST that I have been listening since forever though. ** When a game is bad at what it does, you start noticing all the petty things.

Story/Plot: Mostly a rehash of FFX. The plot felt pretty empty and flat as there is not enough background to the “pilgrimage” unlike FFX with elaborate world building. It almost felt random. There are simply not enough to keep me to care about the main plot on an emotional level. They tried to present the theme of “sacrifice”, but fails to present it in a meaningful way, in other words, amateurish. To be fair the concept is not bad and can definitely shine but it fell into the wrong hands. The ending is a mess, it just comes up at nowhere and reveals more plot points that’s never referenced before and expects player to care. But luckily for how little there is, the main quest is really short, so players can end this snorefest quicker.

Characters: The cast almost collected all the weaknesses in different casts in various JRPGs and put them together. Lack of relevancy after own arc (and their arcs are as generic as it gets!), no memorable exchanges, one beat personality, you name it. It is like Lunar SSS, but the cast is now boring. I tried very hard but it is impossible to be attached to any of the characters. We have: the silent protagonist that gets no interesting options and just there for plot reasons, Setsuna a.k.a Mary Sue, the plot dumper, the annoying kid, and a bunch of others. A character looking like Auron does not automatically makes him cool like Auron.

Gameplay: I get the devs wanted to create the authentic 90s experience, but you cannot just ignore some modern QoL like auto text scroll/cutscene skip (unless the dialogue is as good as Bug Fables/Trails) and faster walking speed. Momentum system is a decent twist to the CT base system. The skill and equipment system can be a bit more streamlined. The controls are sometimes unresponsive while moving.

Music: One of my favourite OSTs of all time and listened to it religiously even before this playthrough. It fits the game’s environment and vibe perfectly. Also perfect for listening on its own. But the engineering is not good. Some inappropriate usages and no looping/continuation at certain scenes really kills the mood. They did not fully utilize the potential in this OST when it could improve the auditory experience a lot more than this. There are also some questionable SFX choices that just ruin the song eg travelling in airship.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C D B S+  

Best Tracks: Rare, Beginning of the End, Beyond the Snow

Illusion of Gaia (SNES)

Quintet RPG is an acquired taste, I thought I am OK with it after Terranigma but I was wrong. Gameplay feels more Zelda than RPG, with traditional puzzles that are annoying and challenging in a fun way. It has the same vibe/weirdness as Terranigma. The plot is less structured than Terranigma, sometimes leaves me wondering why I am still playing it. The music is far not as magical as Terranigma for sure.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C C B C  

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)

What kind of JRPG fan that has never played a DQ game? Time to fix that. I know full well I will not like the narrative aspects of the game, just here to experience the “original” RPG vibes. Just as expected I cannot endure to the end.

The director really be like “You and I know the deal, so I will not even bother to explain and off you go”. There is only one cutscene without dialogue to explain the reason of this “journey”. The worst part is that that really is all there’s to it, no plot twist no nothing (Ok I am sure there will be more but it wont be mind breaking). The characters are all rather one dimensional, which would have been fine if their dialogue is not as bland and dry as it is. Funny accents and voice acting cannot replace good writing.

The series is known for raiding houses and breaking pots, but I never expected the items are so nice that it is very worth to do it everywhere. I used to think that I will find something nice to say about the music once I played but that did not happen. The only good thing about the music is that it sounded inoffensive. The style is so plain it feels like AI can generate the soundtrack. Sometimes I just feel like listen to literally any other battle theme from other games. It made Gust from Chrono Cross sound awesome, at least it was catchy! There are a lot of tracks but feels like there are only 5 tracks in total.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
C B A C  

Mother (GBA)

Map is way too big for walking speed, had to hold turbo for the entire game. GBA ported audio is extra crappy. Great to see all the source of callbacks in EarthBound though. EarthBound is more like a remix of this game. Only recommended for research purposes or completion’s sake.

Story/Plot Characters Gameplay Music Best Girls/Boys
B B C A+  

DROPPED

Dropped within the first few hours. Not qualified to give any valid opinions.

Bravely Default

Job system hurts my brain, love the OST though

Rogue Galaxy

Generally clunky, boring dungeons and OST

Final Fantasy VI (SNES)

On hold, just didn’t grab me…?

Star Ocean: First Departure (PSP)

combat is too barebones, lack of real control, also Sakuraba I just don’t like you that much

Legend of Mana (PS1)

Combat is too clunky, non linear layout is too uncomfortable for me. This is Yoko Shimomura’s single best standalone OST. It captured the magical fantasy world like no other, not even her future works has this degree of raw imagination. I will die on this hill.

NOT ROLLED CREDITS

Spent a substantial amount of time but did not feel like finishing them. The estimate completion is roughly based on guide lengths.

Illusion of Gaia (Progress before dropped: 60%)

I dont even know how I made it that far. I was waiting for that same magical moment to click, like what Terranigma did to me. But it seems like it is not going to happen for this game.

Golden Sun (Progress before dropped: 75%)

I feel like I have seen enough and there is nothing to keep me going on.

Dragon Quest VIII (Progress before dropped: 45%)

I tried.

Valkyrie Profile (Progress before dropped: 50%)

Again, non linear storytelling rarely works for me.

Shadow Hearts (Progress before dropped: 95%)

Emulator decides to erase heal/shop point right before final boss, not that I really care about the ending at that point.

NEXT UP/ONGOING

  • Vagrant Story
  • Yakuza: Like A Dragon

INTERESTED IN

  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • Ace Attorney series
  • Grandia
  • Valkyrie Profile 2nd attempt
  • Breath of Fire II
  • Mass Effect Trilogy
  • Hyper Light Drifter

INTERESTED but maybe someday

  • Trails of Cold Steel
  • FF7 Remake trilogy
  • The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
  • Tales of Arise
  • Sekiro
  • Atelier Sophie
  • Xenosaga
  • Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Final Fantasy V

SWITCH wishlist

  • Xenoblade Chronicles
  • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
  • Odin Sphere Leifthrasir
  • Breath/Tears/Skyward Sword/LA remake/Echoes
  • Astral Chain
  • TWEWY Final Remix
  • Metroid Dread?
  • FE3H?

Series Ranking

Based on overall enjoyment. Order may be different based on different aspects.

Final Fantasy

X > VI > Tactics > IX > VII > VIII > IV

Tales of

Berseria > Abyss > Symphonia > Vesperia

Kingdom Hearts

2FM >> 1 >> Days >> BBS

Persona

4 > 5 Royal > 3 >> 2:IS > Q

Ys

Lacrimosa of Dana >> Origin > Oath in Felghana >= Memories of Celceta > SEVEN > Ark of Napishtim > Ys I+II

Zelda

The Wind Waker > Twilight Princess > A Link to the Past > The Minish Cap > Ocarina of Time > Majora's Mask

Trails

Sky FC = Sky SC > Azure >= Zero > Sky 3rd

Danganronpa

2 > UDG > 1 > V3

Mother

Mother 3 > EarthBound >> Mother 1