Jump to content

Video Games Finished in 2022


EH_STEVE

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...
- XIII (Switch)
I realize FPS games were just in a different place 20 years ago, but boy, it's hard to imagine this game getting even mediocre reviews.
 
- Severed Steel (Switch)
The moments when it clicked it was fun but too often I found myself getting tired of repetitive levels or little issues like the long load times.
 
- Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch)
Wonderful action-RPG, what more needs to be said.
 
- Slaycation Paradise (Switch)
I'll be honest, this was more fun than I expected it to be. Pretty repetitive, but still a solid twin-stick shooter kind of game.
 
- Inmost (Switch)
Eerie game, though not for the reasons I was expecting. Not sure I wholly recommend it, but the ending does hit you hard in the emotional gut.
Link to comment

11/6- Splatoon 3 for Nintendo Switch 
 

Spoiler

Five years after one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch, Splatoon 2, came out, it seemed weird a sequel would come out. Splatoon 2 and its expansion, Octo Expansion, is highly regarded as one of my favorite games of 2017. In 2022, the unthinkable happened. Splatoon 3 arrived in late 2022. With Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and Bayonetta 3 coming out this year as well, 2022 seemed to be the year of the video game trilogy, like 2007 was to films at the time. But, that just leaves the question: would Splatoon 3 be better than Splatoon 2, with how much content 2 had overall?  
 
Splatoon 3 begins with a simple premise: The Great Zapfish was stolen once more. (Cap’n Cuttlefish should’ve really had more security detail on the one thing powering up his city.) Even though there’s some fuzzy stuff, it doesn’t seem to be a big deal, as the new Agent 3’s companion, Smallfry, can swallow it using enough Power Eggs. A few stages later, the new Agent 3 faces off against DJ Octavio. After his pitiful defeat, DJ Octavio remarks that it wasn’t his plan this time to steal the Great Zapfish, and someone has been brainwashing his own minions. The ground begins to collapse, and it swallows Agent 3, Cap’- I mean ex-Cap’n Cuttlefish, Agent 1 & 2 (Callie and Marie), Captain “Inkling” (The former Agent 3, whom I guess their work in 1 & 2 made them the new official Captain), and DJ Octavio. They stumble upon a new cavern called Alterna, which is filled with the fuzz. Cap’n Cuttlefish seems to be missing, too. The new Agent 3’s mission is not only to find the means to explore Alterna and rid it of the fuzz, but to also find Cuttlefish. It won’t be easy, however, as the trio Deep Cut (an Octoling, Inkling, and a manta ray), want to claim the treasure of Alterna. An unknown entity known as ORCA as provides as the mission guideline, making sure Agent 3 obeys each objective as best their can. I like the new story Splatoon 3 provides, because of its new mechanics, and so on. Plus, Splatoon 3 gives a huge information dump on why the world is mostly dominated by marine life now in the form of its logs. The player has to find and beat all missions in the game to understand the true background of the series in general. I wonder where Off The Hook went off to, but Deep Cut is still a great trio. As bosses, they are pretty challenging but fair too.  
 
Splatoon 3 has most of the same graphical and visual beats of the last two games. But, Splatoon 3 has a new hub-world in Splatsville, which I’m not sure is better or worse than Inkopolis. Both have different but unique vibes. New characters like Gnarly Eddy and Jel La Fleur make nice new additions to the storeowners, while it’s nice to see some of the old cast too. The creatures all talk and move and their weird but lovely ways. The Splatoon series has some of my favorite expressions of any Nintendo series. As for the music… it’s Splatoon 3. It’s going to be quirky but enjoyable.  
 
Splatoon 3 builds off of the weapons and modes of its prequels, and adds in some new weapons, special attacks, and new sub-weapons. Also new to the mechanics are the Squid Roll and Squid Surge, a roll and a charged jump boost. The lobby for multiplayer is expanded into a full room with different places, like a locker room, and a target practice area. The new items for Splatoon 3 include food items (such as double EXP for a little while), and stickers and badges. The stickers can be shown off in the player’s locker, and the badges… maybe during online or whatever. As for modes… I don’t know what is new, but the normal Turf War is basically claiming the largest amount of territory, as usual. Anarchy Battles are basically Ranked Battles with a new twist, and Salmon Run got new enemies and bosses. The online is actually rather decent. Amibo support from the first two games are back, but with a weird technical hiccup. One of my Callie and Marie Amibo couldn’t work, so I had to replace it.   
 
Splatoon 3’s story mode works similarly to the mission structure of the Octo Expansion. Agent 3 can do each mission in whatever order, and can even sometimes choose the weapon they want to work with. After most goals, Agent 3 will be given a medal and Power Eggs. (And an update to the digital journals.) Smallfry uses a different amount of Power Eggs to get rid of the Fuzzy Ooze spreading Alterna. However, Agent 3 will sometimes lose eggs for entering the mission, or by retrying certain parts if they fail too much. There’s at least no inflation of how much Agent 3 has to pay each time, thank gosh. Some missions were better and sometimes more rewarding than others, that’s for sure. Agent 3 and Smallfry will traverse six islands, each with their own collectibles. My advice: throw Smallfry whenever possible. Smallfry can find treasure that’s sometimes invisible to the eye. There are four different kinds of collectibles, so it’s interesting to search each nook and cranny. Some collectibles also upgrade certain things, like Agent 3’s ink recovery time. Smallfry is also able to take down enemies. It took me nearly an entire weekend to complete the story mode. The bosses, even if they were few, were fun to take down. 
 
Splatoon 3 is one of the most fun games of 2022.      

 

 

 

 

 

 EDIT: By the way, there's something wrong with the moving spoiler box thing, so this is where my overall reviews of the rest of 2022 will be.

 

11/10- Splatoon 2 with Octo Expansion for Nintendo Switch

 

Not as great as I remembered, but it still kicks butt!   

 

 11/17- Sonic Frontiers for Nintendo Switch
 

Spoiler

After five years of greatness with Sonic Mania… and disappointment with Sonic Forces… who knows where the future lied with the Sonic franchise. Team Sonic Racing didn’t help much either, and the collection with Sonic Origins was just okay. I really enjoyed Sonic Colors Ultimate, even if others didn’t. Still, there were the Sonic movies, and, there was a glimmer of hope. In 2021, news of a new 3D Sonic game was in the works. And, from what fans gleamed, it was going to be a sandbox exploration game in line with Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild. This made fans excited, confused, and worried. Sure, this would be a new take on the series, but Sonic in 3D has had a troubling past. When it came to mechanics, the story, the combat and so much more, Sonic has always mixed results. Plus, not only would this be the first time a speedy character like Sonic had to deal with an open world, but also Sonic would also focus a bit on combat, a trait the series has never dealt too much with or has done poorly. Even though it was a spin-off, Shadow The Hedgehog was blasted for being too edgy and combat oriented. Sonic Unleashed already had the werehog levels that centered too much on slower-paced, drawn-out, tedious, and mostly monotonous fights and platforming. The Sonic The Fighters or whatever was really abysmal, and Sonic Battle just didn’t work on the Game Boy Advance. (That fan game that copies Dragon Ball FighterZ does look like fun, though.) Would Sonic Frontiers be the best 3D Sonic game in a long time? Would it rival that of Sonic Adventure 2 (and maybe the 1st) and Sonic Colors (and perhaps Unleashed and Generations), and could it be possibly be the best 3D Sonic game ever? 
 
Before the game actually begins, there’s actually an animated prologue to this game on YouTube. Knuckles self-reflects about being the guardian of the Master Emerald, the origins of the Chaos Emeralds, and sometimes how lonely he is. While exploring Angel Island, he comes across a gear and a portal he’s never seen before. He’s teleported to a new world and confronted by some robots. After defeating them, he encounters a huge robot, a Titan, and is soundly defeated. He is trapped inside a red circular prison, unable to escape. The animation is excellent, and Knuckles himself is portrayed wonderfully here. Back to the main game:  somewhere undisclosed, Dr. Eggman also finds another portal with the help of his A.I. Program . He begins tapping into the secrets of the Ancients; but something important causes the A.I. to send Eggman into the portal. Meanwhile, Sonic, Tails, and Amy ride on the Tornado (who knew it also had two seats, since Amy is a passenger, Tails is the pilot, and Sonic rides it like in the Genesis games) to the Starfall Islands, which has a set of the Chaos Emeralds. A barrier made of chaotic energy disrupts the Tornado, and it begins to suck in the three.  
 
Sonic goes through a weird place reminiscent of Green Hill, and eventually leaves. He exits the oddly familiar place, and a weird voice tells him they are shocked to find out someone had the will and drive to exit Cyber Space. The weird voice commands them to “Find the Chaos Emeralds. Defeat the Titans. Tear down the walls between dimensions.” Sonic hopes that their guidance might help them find and save Amy, whose current locations are unknown since the strange event. A weird mysterious being, later known to be SAGE, observes Sonic, and tries to stop his progress through several means. (After a week of thinking it meant nothing, I realized it’s just another anagram of SEGA; clever.)  
 
Sonic eventually finds Amy, and later frees her from the same prison Knuckles is in. However, the same energy that trapped Amy begins to do something to Sonic. Although Amy is concerned about what happened, Sonic says he’s fine. Along the way, Sonic runs into mysterious creatures known as Koroks- I mean Kocos. During his search for the Chaos Emeralds, Amy finds a Koco looking for their lover. After a few story beats, it turns out the Kocos had the memories of the Ancients; creatures that resemble… CHAOS?! SO CHAOS WAS A SURVIVING MEMBER OF AN ANCIENT CIVILIZATION THAT WAS DESTROYED BY AN UNKNOWN ENTITY?! This has so much implications to the mysteries of the Chao, the Chaos Emeralds, the Echidna tribes, Angel Island, and so much more! Oh, yeah, a long ago, these Ancients fought an unknown entity, and seemingly lost! (Yet somehow Chaos survived!) These Kocos are somehow implanted with the memories of the Ancients, and possibly more. Sonic gets a few Chaos Emeralds after helping the Kocos with their predicament, and… the Kocos that have their own story arcs get spirited away. (Amy says it’s some kind of closure they never got in their past life or the like.)  

After Sonic gets a few Chaos Emeralds, SAGE sends the nearest Titan after Sonic. Although Sonic tries to damage it, the Titan overpowers him. He gets the idea to collect the Chaos Emerald to defeat the Titan. Still, there is ONE PROBLEM. A HUGE ONE, at that. The Titan also guards one of the Chaos Emeralds. 
 
And, that’s where I’ll stop there, because Sonic Frontiers has a lot of amazing surprises going for it. This is one of the biggest stories in the series so far, and I got to say… it’s probably the most cohesive one ever. The story doesn’t feel inconsistent, the characters feel right at home and have good motivations, and there were a lot of shocking moments I never saw coming… Well, except for a few, but most of the beats felt fresh and new. I was genuinely interested of where the story was going. It also helps that the tone feels a little mature. It doesn’t go too dark like Shadow The Hedgehog. The characters often reflect on their current situations, are worried for each other, and try to do the best they can. They also wonder about the nature of the Ancients and look at the world they are in. And, Amy just wants to help, rather than just be a nuisance to Sonic. This is probably the best characterizations of the characters to date, and there are a lot of nuances to each. Each character goes through a character arc that pays off, even if only Sonic is playable. That goes for SAGE as well. Sure, she might seem as bad as Fi from Skyward Sword at first, often saying that Sonic’s chances are hopeless, but she has real motives behind her actions. She might be the most complex antagonist since Shadow. While her goals aren’t clear yet, it becomes obvious during the flashbacks.   
 
Plus, Big The Cat is back and he’s not as grading as he was in Sonic Adventure and Sonic Heroes. 
 
  
Okay, so the game’s story is amazing, so surely the rest of the game is too, right?! Well, not exactly. The art design is one of my favorite in a long time. Although it’s not as cartoony as Colors or realistic as Sonic ’06, there’s something grounded and believable about the Sonic characters and Starfall Islands. It’s probably the best looking 3D Sonic game to date. It’s not as creative as Colors and the Sonic Adventure games, but the landscapes still seem beautiful. The characters are wonderfully animated too, and seem the most expressive to date. There are a few things I don’t like. The camera is my big one. When I’m trying to explore on the islands, sometimes during a puzzle it wouldn’t let me move around when I just wanted to explore. I would have to find a place to fall off or run away from to get pack exploring. Also, when facing certain directions, my controls would work not as intended. That lead to so many uncalled for deaths. Last in the case of the Nintendo Switch version is the pop-in. … Actually, it’s not as atrocious as I’d thought it would be. Besides, playing a game this astonishingly big without frame-rate drops is impressive enough. The voice direction is fine, even if it took a while to get used to how lower-pitched the new Sonic VA is. Or how more subdue and more realistic it sounds coming from him. Then there’s the music. The overworld music fits the exploration theming, even if it’s nothing to write home about. It’s like Breath of the Wild’s take. The music during levels, boss fights, and cinematics, on the other hand… is phenomenal. I can’t remember them all, but they all boost with adrenaline a high-energy beats.  
 
Plus, Big The Cat’s fishing music didn’t want me to go on a rage and tirade of curse bombs. It’s a lot more mellow. 
 
Sonic has some of his older move-set: running, jumping, and bouncing, grabbing onto stuff, the homing attack, grinding on rails, the light ring dash, attacking, and maybe some other stuff I’m forgetting. The boost formula is back, this time without the Wisps. It’s similar to Breath of the Wild’s stamina gauge, but you can’t upgrade it. It’s a bit necessary, as some jumps are impossible without it. The spin-dash is also in this game, but it feels a little more finnicky to use because Sonic has to jump first. With 3D exploration in mind, there are a few new things unique to Sonic Frontiers. First, he can climb some walls, and even run on them. It’s a little bit odd and finnicky to work with, and might work better in Breath of the Wild than a faster-paced series. Another seemingly purposeless but speedrunner-friendly move is the stomp and its boost variety. Sonic just halts all momentum to stomp onto whatever is below, like an enemy. (It’s also useful against a certain enemy in particular.) Sonic can also double jump. I’m not sure if he could before, but he can in this game. Sonic can execute combos by pressing certain buttons; but most combos have to be unlocked via a skill tree system. The EXP can be earned by doing boost jump tricks (like Sonic Unleashed/Colors; almost forgot that) and by beating enemies. Penultimately is the parry. By pressing two shoulder buttons, Sonic can reflect enemies’ attacks. It’s rather really hard to pull off the timing, for whatever reason. Then there’s the Cycloop. Sonic can use a weird energy to catch enemies off guard or for solving puzzles. Using this the Cycloop to get enemies out of their shields is fun. It’s a bit hard to use when terrain of different elevation gets in the way. 
 
Sonic, like Super Mario Odyssey, doesn’t have a lives system. Sonic’s amount of rings also depends on how he “dies”. There’s also a map, like with most open world games. However, until he locates Big’s fishing spot or does a certain story segment, Sonic can’t fast travel. Still, like Assassin’s creed, Sonic can “unlock” parts of the maps by doing certain puzzles. Also, the game has a day and night cycle, and sometimes rain can happen, and an unusual night event called … Starfall. Enemies will reappear (like the blood moon in Breath of the Wild), and a slot machine will roll when Sonic gathers enough stars. 
 
 Sonic’s collectibles in the 3D areas are gears, vault keys, memories, blue and red seeds, fishing coins, and Kocos. The memories move the plot forward with whatever character is on the island. They are mostly obtained during platforming challenges and treasure icon areas. The gears unlock portals, which take Sonic to Cyber Space. The Cyber Space locations are… based on Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Sky Sanctuary, and some kind of futuristic traffic level I think might be Speed Highway. Yes, these places have been done to death; but like Sonic Generations, there is a good reason they’re back, even if it’s a little bit of a stretch. (One of the Cyber Space challenges is getting all five red coins. Not in one take, thank gosh.) The gears are often obtained by defeating an overworld miniboss, like… the Shinobi. (Huh. I guess Sega selectively cares about its older series.) Vault keys unlock the vaults that store a few Chaos Emeralds. They can be obtained in the open world, but I often tried to beat most of the challenges in Cyber Space. The red and blue seeds are used to level up offense and defense by giving it to an Elder Koko. They are usually obtained by solving puzzles. The Kocos themselves raise ring capability (since Sonic can get up to 999 coins in the open world), and/or Sonic’s speed when diving to the Hermit Koco. When one hears a certain rattling and their toddler-like noises, chances are that a Koco is nearby. Some also hide in some pods too. Like I mentioned, story progression is tied to the character on the island (such as Amy on the first), and the Kocos they help with. Some progression is hidden behind certain minigames, like herding a good amount of Kocos. The Chaos Emeralds are hidden behind vaults, character story progression... and the Titan. The only way to get the Chaos Emerald is to find a way onto the Titan and get to its vault. Then… Sonic goes Super. 
 
Admittedly, one of the best parts of Sonic Frontiers is beating the Titan as Super Sonic. Although he dies if he loses all of his rings, Super Sonic is much more powerful to take on the Titan. Still, the Titan will make things harder after losing some percentage of health. And, there are some quick time events which either make Sonic lose rings or start the fight all over again. I hated some of these, to be fair, but that wanted me to beat the boss even more. The spectacle of beating up the Titan and defeating it is amazing. I think the Titan also borrows some similarities to a past boss too. 
 
If there’s anything I had to complain about was sometimes perfect-precise platforming and the turning at times, especially when boosting in the air. Also, platforming on mountains and uneven terrain is kind of wonky sometimes. The Koco houses or whatever are prime examples of my confusion.  
   
Oh, I almost forgot about Big the Cat’s fishing mini-game. The fishing coins can be found in the overworld, or can be obtained by the Starfall Slot Machine event. Big charges Sonic coins for each fish reeled in. Unlike the minigame in Sonic Adventure, it’s optional, and it’s easier. Just throw the line, wait till a fish nabs the hook, and press the white line meets the red one. There are a lot of fish, and some interesting stuff, in the water, and Big rewards Sonic with a variety of coins. These coins can be used to purchase many things, like EXP, Lost Koco, and Egg Memos. The Egg Memos are recordings of Eggman’s journey in Cyber Space. Since I didn’t know they would spoil me with plot details, I checked them out when I got them. The more you know. 
 
It’s also okay if Sonic doesn’t beat up everything, and does every open-world platforming challenge and Cyber Space challenge. There is enough of collectibles by the 3rd act to get the amount needed to beat the final boss. Trust me. … I beat all the Cyber Space challenges anyways. Cause I felt like it. 
 
The endgame bosses were maybe the most hyped… even if they felt underwhelming. But, at least it’s not facing Eggman for the 31st time! … It’s just another god-like being.  
 
Still, Sonic Frontiers is one of my favorite games of 2022. It’s my favorite 3D Sonic game. Not my favorite Sonic game, since that goes to Sonic Mania Plus, but it’s darn close.    


     
 12/5- Pokemon Violet for Nintendo Switch: 
 
 

Spoiler

The last Generation, Sword and Shield, left me a bit disappointed. I liked some of the new Pokemon, Gym Leaders, music, designs, and so on… But, it cut the national Poke’dex. Sure, eventually, it got an expansion pass, and allowed for more Poke’mon, but the initial shock that I couldn’t legally battle with ever Poke’mon now devastated me. (Maybe I’ll play Poke’mon Showdown now, because that’s the same with the current Generation too.) I’m getting ahead of myself; but I was a bit hopeful for this new Generation. Violet and Scarlet looked to be the first true open-world games in the series, even if Poke’mon Legends Arceus was something similar months before. Still, I was a bit wary now. Sword and Shield were disappointments, and the Diamond and Pearl remakes were the worst of the series so far, even if Legends Arceus gave the series a glimmer in this uncertain world. When this game was announced to be open-world, I had questions. How would level scaling work, if at all? What about the gym leaders, the new teams, and these new Titan Poke’mon? How would the games perform? What’s the deal with these ridable legendaries?! Let’s see if Generation 9 does anything better. 
 
The game starts off with the rideable main legendary of the game gliding around, when it promptly crashes. The player gets ready for school, and is introduced to the principal and Rita, this game’s rival. It is noted that Rita has become Champion of the Paldea Region. Because this is the player’s first day of entering the world of Poke’mon, she challenges the player with the weaker starter Poke’mon. After getting the hang of catching Poke’mon, the two see the main legendary injured and attacked by nearby Poke’mon. The player almost dies falling down a cliff, but is saved by his Rotom phone; and the legendary scares off the Poke’mon. The player gives the legendary the sandwich his mom made for him, and the legendary breaks a boulder. The pair try to get out of a cave, but are immediately attacked by a Houndoom and its pups. The legendary lifts up the player, and gets them out of the situation. The player is okay, but it seems like the legendary is still weak from the injuries. Upon coming to a nearby lighthouse, a teenager or young man named Arven scolds the legendary of wandering around without his permission. The player promptly beats Arven in a battle, and Arven straight up gives the Poke’ball the legendary was caught in. (It’s crazy to think such a legendary, especially the Poke’mon on the cover, was caught by an NPC before the start of the game.) Rita and the player head straight to the nearby school. Rita teaches the player the big new mechanic of this game, Terastallizing; and later, a timid and shy girl named Penny is suddenly attacked by goons of Team Four Star… I mean Team Star. Upon arriving to the academy, the player introduces themselves to their homeroom. The player then optionally studies for Poke’mon, and is given a special annual assignment for all students: to find “their treasure”. There are a few choices. Rita wants the player to do the usual League Challenge (defeat the gym leaders, and defeat the Elite four and Champion). Arven wants the player to find and defeat the Titan Poke’mon, who guard these special herbs called Herba Mystica. (Although it seems like he’s a jerk, Arven has something to care about in his character arc.) A random hacker named Cassiopeia wants the MC to disband Team Star for good. (It turns out that the members of Team Star were once bullied about a year ago, and left the school because it did nothing for them and were wrongly rumored to be bullies themselves. Most of the staff left and were replaced by the start of the game.) It’s up to the player to find out what out what they want to do… And to be honest, the decision making doesn’t matter in the slightest. The player can do all of those things around the same time.   
 
Okay, so when it comes to the visual and sound design, this is where Gen 9 is kind of strange. I got a kick out of some of the new designs for the trainers and Poke’mon. I’m not sure about Paldea’s map design, because the start of the journey is in the center now. I’m also not too sure about the cohesion of the world, as well. Some things felt off, like maybe the trees, but I can’t place it. It feels… disjointed at times? The performance… is maybe the worst thing about this game. Slowdown, bugs, glitches, pop-in, crashes, the works. This is maybe the least optimized Poke’mon of the series. Also, there’s no way to turn off battle animations or speed up the text, unlike most games in the series. Playing this game was a slog at times. I didn’t mind EXP share was on, because I’m not going to spend more hours playing this game than necessary because of how slow it plays. I’m going to think hard on the music, because it’s more dynamic this time around. I’m not sure of games like Hollow Knight or Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy influenced this game, but the wild Poke’mon battle music is a tenser version of the field themes. Although, the last Poke’mon used by Gym Leaders have the same flair like the Gen 5 games. I just wish the other important trainers and the Titan Poke’mon had the same idea. That even goes for the Elite Four and Top Champion, whose tracks are… really, really lame, and not exciting in the slightest. 
 
Generation 9 changed the series by going into uncharted territory: the open-world structure. Where the player goes is up to them. … At least after the two-hour long tutorial. Oh, yes, even if the player can’t use it in battle yet, the legendary can be ridden on for travel. And, like most open-world games, there’s a day and night cycle, and weather effects. Sadly, there’s no such thing as lightning in this game.   
 
I did my first-time Nuzlocke for this game, and tried to head off to Dragon Titan first. I wanted a genuine challenge, and decided to go after what people considered one of the hardest types ever. But, it is surrounded by water, and I had no means to get to it yet. The rideable legendaries can get new abilities by taking down the Titans and eating a sandwich with the herbs. So, I went after the Ground and Flying Titans first. Still, I realized I was in for an infuriating time. There is no level-synching in this game, like I thought there would be. What I thought would be Poke’mon around a reasonable level, like around level 10, were around level 25 when I first battled the Ground-Type Titan. Even if I caught Poke’mon, they would probably ignore me. I didn’t get any gym badges at first, so battling the first few Titans were a pain. I changed my rules of my Nuzlocke because of the amount of insanity I went through. Eventually, I took care of the Dragon Titan. 
 
 After that, I decided to go after Team Star. But, the Fairy-Type and Poison-type bases totally ignored me, because not all of my Poke’mon would be able to listen to me. I wanted to do an interesting Nuzlocke; but this game seemed to stay on track with its traditional main game design, that I had to conform to what it wanted me to do. This is NOT Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Metroid Dread. This is more similar to Kirby And The Forgotten Land and Monster Hunter Rise.  
 
So, I went to the Psychic Gym, where I had fun doing yoga, but almost got beat, because my starter was the water/fighter starter. I then headed to the Ice Gym, where the challenge was sleigh-riding with no challenge, but a harder gym leader. I beat the Steel Titan because of how I laid out my challenge. I beat the Ghost Gym with the interesting double battle mechanics that was genuinely surprising for me. Next on my list was the Normal Gym.  
 
On a tangent… I love Larry and his Challenge out of all the Gyms here. The player has to guess the special menu, and is given only one clue. Not only is the challenge harder if one just tries to guess without a guide, but it kind of steers the player in to battling the trainers who have the other clues. Larry is the anti-Gym Leader. He is just bland, uninteresting, and nothing special… and I love that. His Poke’mon reflect him, even if I could do without his Tera Poke’mon Staraptor. And, he’s an Elite Four member too!  
 
I then took on the stupid Bug Gym. (Let me say it, it’s my least favorite.)       
 
 The first part ended when I defeated the Rock Titan. I had to battle Arven, and… his team nearly floored me with his over level 55 Poke’mon. I wasn’t prepared. After a bit of wondering what his parent, who is shockingly the professor, is doing in the Great Crater of Paldea, the most dangerous part of the islans, he told me to… get stronger, and effectively told me to do the other quests first.  
 
After taking on the Grass team, I finally had my way, and went after the Fairy Base first. One by one, Team Star fell to my onslaught of amazing Poke’mon. Last were the Water and Electric gyms. It was a confusing mess of unscaled level difficulty, but I did it.  

Defeating Gym Leaders takes care of that pesky leveling system, and beating the leaders of Team Star grants more items in the Poke’Centers, like more TMs and better Balls. I took on the director of the academy, who was also about the level 55 range. I only had the leader of Team Star, Elite Four and Champion to take care of. And anything that would be difficult later on. So… I grinded a lot of Poke’mon, to make sure a team of at least level 70 Poke’mon before I continued. I lost some good contenders, but I marched forward.  
 
After a week, I did it. I defeated the Elite Four and the top Champion. After that, I took care of my rival; who, don’t forget, is a Champion. Yes, by defeating the Top Champion, trainers can be Champions of Paldea. I never thought the title of Champion would be so… superfluous in this game. Last, was the leader, the hacker, Cassiopeia, or rather Penny, themselves.  
 
I’ll get into the last part of the story later. I just wanted to talk about my hardships about doing a Nuzlocke in which I was totally uprepared for.    
 
Terastallizing is a new concept for Poke’mon battling in general. It’s like the Maxing in Generation 8, but the types of the Poke’mon change, and the moves of the specific Tera form are increased as a result. This means that a Sudowoodo can finally become a Grass-Type, and what was once a weakness to it, Water moves, can be not very effective any more. One move in particular changes its typing when the Poke’mon changes its. Some Poke’mon in the wild shining yellow and all of the raid battles use a variety of Tera types. One of the gyms allow for a change in the Poke’mon’s Tera typing by Tera shards found in the wild. (You’ll never guess which gym has it?!) There are some catches, however. Like Maxing in Gen 8, only one Poke’mon can use the Tera Type change. The Poke’mon cannot change to its Tera typing again until the player go back to a Poke’mon Center and chargest the Tera Orb. I think some story events also allow for a recharge for the Tera Orb too, but I forgot to test that out. And, it’s not like each Poke’mon could benefit from the change in typing, since their moves often correspond with what moves would be organic for them. Plus, not every TM would suit a specific Poke’mon. Choosing a Tera type is a little bit more complicated than what players would think of.   
 
Gyms are like the same as before. Take care of a challenge/trial, and their corresponding trainers, and face the leader. A true double battle gym returned with strangely rap battles, including the gym leader. Guess what their typing is? GHOSTS! I never associate the dead with something as living and fresh as rap, but here it is! The last Poke’mon they use is a Poke’mon that doesn’t have the same regular typing, but its Tera typing to fit the typing of the gym. Battling Team Star is strange. The player has to send out the first three Poke’mon in their party, and defeat Poke’mon sent out by Team star using the auto-battle feature. The player has to defeat a certain amount of Poke’mon before they battle the leaders of Team Star. There’s a time limit… but it’s super generous. Ten minutes is too generous. As for the Titan Battles… it’s like a normal battle, but after they’re defeated the first time, the Titan goes to where their Herba Mystica is and gets a boost in a specific stat. The player has to defeat the Titan one more time. (Or in the case of the Dragon one, TWO MORE TIMES.) 
 
What else is there? The Poke’mon, like in Legends Arceus, are visible. But, the player can’t simply throw a ball at wild Poke’mon, so they have to battle like usual. Then, there’s auto-battling. … Only use it if you’re busy and need to do other stuff. The EXP from auto-battling doesn’t compare to actual battles. TMs can be found in the wild, and can even made in the new part of the Poke’Centers. They’re also back to one use now. Thankfully, there are still no HMs; and because of lore reasons, the new taxi system are parrots. Poke’centers can be found a lot more in the world, and the Poke’Mart features are also integrated with them. League Points can be used to buy items, as well as be used along with materials to make TMs. Poke’mon drop materials (and maybe League Points). League Points can also be obtained by finding crystals for Tera Raids and by defeating Team Star bases. Items like TMs and materials can also be found in the world too.   
 
Then, there’s the picnic. I never used it. I know it boosts some things for different Poke’mon, but it felt useless in theory. Same goes for the academy lessons. I get it that some children don’t know how to play Poke’mon; but I myself am currently in my 30s as of this review. As much as I respect the educational system in general, it’s not a requirement in these games. I don’t know if the lessons reward the player with anything, but I passed on that.   
 
Still, there is the elephant in the room. The current generation still does not a national dex. For now… I have to accept that with the recent performance issues of a new open-world design, that I’m okay with that. Poke’mon Showdown might be the only way I can truly go into a fun competitive scene now.  
 
So, I beat Arven, Cassiopeia/Penny, and Rita. All that is left is to go to the Great Crater of Paldea/ Area Zero, where a lot of bombshells are dropped. The professor made a time travel machine, and brought some Poke’mon from the future/past, including the box art Poke’mon. That’s why one of the Titan Poke’mon was weirdly a different species but similar a Donphan. They’re known as Paradox Poke’mon. (Where and what Dialga and Celebi were during this whole situation is beyond me.) Area Zero was also the site for the Terastallizing phenomena, like the Maxing of the last game before it. Then, when the gang is ready to face something serious, Arven suggests the box art Poke’mon come out. When that happens… another one of it appears out of nowhere, and scolds the box art Poke’mon. The other one vanishes into a gate. While that happens, more Paradox Poke’mon appear out of the gate. The player and company battle the horde the best they can. The player enters the main lab, only to find out that the professor they met is not who they seem. They are an android created by the real professor who… died years ago in an incident. (Well… this is maybe the most tragic Poke’non story ever. Never since N’s dilemma in Black and White, or maybe Lillie’s fight with her mother in Generation VII, has a sad element of Poke’mon been touched upon. And, this is the first time a Professor dies in a Poke’mon game. It’s not the first time a parent also neglected their kid, since Giovanni technically did it first, but it’s shocking for a professor to be kind of a jerk by focusing more on their work than their kid. … Why am I getting Jojo vibes from this game?!)  The professor brought Paradox Poke’mon the world, but the Pokemons’ appearances in the present would make the current present of Paldea catastrophic. The android wants the MC to stop the time machine, but there is a huge problem. The android will battle the player as a defense mechanism, thanks to the program running the time machine. What’s worse… they have the second box title Poke’mon, along with some unseen Paradox Poke’mon. (All of which were caught by… MASTER BALLS?! HAX!) After it is defeated, the Time Machine’s system takes over the android, and only the Poke’mon registered by the real professor can battle. The android finally sends out the other box title Poke’mon. No one, including the player, can battle it. All seems hopeless, until… the player’s box title Poke’mon finally decides to battle. It regains its true strength for a one-on-one Fox only battle. After getting cheered on by the rest of the group, the player’s box title Poke’mon finally defeats the other. The professor’s android goes to the future/past, seeing that the group can overcome any challenge in their way. Although probably conflicted he never got the resolution he wanted, Arven is fine that he and his friends are still there and that the world is fine. The group head back to the academy. End credits with the Ed Sheeran song.  
 
Poke’mon Violet is… a confusing and wonderful mess. In terms of a narrative, it is one of my favorites. Some of the characters, worlds, puzzles, gyms, and Poke’mon were cool to see. It’s not also half-bad when it came to some mechanics and the music. Sure, it doesn’t have the national dex, like what I expected with Generation 8; but moving forward, I no longer care. The performance issues, the bugs, the glitches, and some of the mechanics and music are why I don’t consider this to be peak Poke’mon just yet. My reverse Nuzlocke was hard as all heck, maybe the hardest to imagine; but, it concluded with an interesting end. I’m honestly not sure how to criticize this game. Like, Sonic Frontiers, it has some cool things I like, but it’s bogged down by some crucial choices. I need some time to process this game… along with the other Poke’mon games I haven’t touched in years. 
 
It's also strangely my favorite generation since Generation 2. Hear me out. The consequences of time travel seem similar to the consequences of global restructuring, a universal reset, the separation of Poke’mon and humans, fixing the imperfections of the world, seeking out other dimensions, and the manipulation of energy similar to fossil fuels. This is also the first time a Professor has a strained relationship with one of the main characters, and screws up the balance of the world. Team Star is one of my favorite teams, because they were tragically forced into their situation. Sure, Team Skull and Team Yell are antiheroes as well, but this is the first time I cared about a Team’s backstory. Rita has a similar role to Blue/Red, Hau, and Professor Kukui, but she holds the record for being a Champion in the beginning of the game. And, unlike most other games, except for Generation 5(.0), the mythos and lore of the world takes more precedent over the League this time by the end. Sure, the structuring of the narrative beats should’ve been handled better, but the conclusion this time felt earned, and it ends with everyone celebrating, not just the player. Rita, Penny, and Arven have stakes in these games. Rita wants a worthy challenge, because she’s a legitimate trainer before the player faces her, Penny wants to stop her Team from doing any harm, and Arven wants to help his partner and to seek out his parent. By the end, everyone is in a happier place, not just the player. Sure, there are some parts of the presentation, story, and game-play that are worse than other Generations, but… I just think the story, characters, and some parts of the world itself are the reasons why I like this Generation more than III-VIII. But, there’s clearly nostalgic bias when I’m talking about my other favorite Generations.    

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry for this. 

Edited by Link, the Hero of Dreams
Link to comment
  • 3 weeks later...
- New Tales from the Borderlands (Switch)
Shame this wasn't better, considering the first Tales from the Borderlands is one of the best of those episodic games that Telltale was pumping out.
 
- Mario & Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (Switch)
Overall it does feel too easy, but I still enjoyed having more Mario + Rabbids strategy gameplay.
 
- Sonic Frontiers (Switch)
More than anything the game feels bloated with bland ideas. Clearly the developers were just trying to fill up space rather than highly polishing the open-world experience.
 
- The Quarry (PS5)
A decently fun game to play with other people since it's practically like watching a movie. I think I liked Until Dawn more—partly because the gameplay felt more novel, but I also think UD had a more interesting story.
 
- Sword of the Vagrant (Switch)
Stylish little action-RPG. Maybe not amazing but lots of potential that could be brought to bear in a sequel.
Link to comment

So I haven’t been keeping this updated very well and I haven’t been keeping track of games I have beaten very well. So I am just gonna prepare for next year. Things got really crazy this year on top of my own mental health struggles. So when ya dealing with depression you usually don’t want to play anything or do a lot and so I been just bumbling about. Things are getting better for me so guess I will shoot for next year.  Anyways, it is always fun. 

Link to comment

12/5- Pokemon Violet for Nintendo Switch 
 

Spoiler

The last Generation, Sword and Shield, left me a bit disappointed. I liked some of the new Pokemon, Gym Leaders, music, designs, and so on… But, it cut the national Poke’dex. Sure, eventually, it got an expansion pass, and allowed for more Poke’mon, but the initial shock that I couldn’t legally battle with ever Poke’mon now devastated me. (Maybe I’ll play Poke’mon Showdown now, because that’s the same with the current Generation too.) I’m getting ahead of myself; but I was a bit hopeful for this new Generation. Violet and Scarlet looked to be the first true open-world games in the series, even if Poke’mon Legends Arceus was something similar months before. Still, I was a bit wary now. Sword and Shield were disappointments, and the Diamond and Pearl remakes were the worst of the series so far, even if Legends Arceus gave the series a glimmer in this uncertain world. When this game was announced to be open-world, I had questions. How would level scaling work, if at all? What about the gym leaders, the new teams, and these new Titan Poke’mon? How would the games perform? What’s the deal with these ridable legendaries?! Let’s see if Generation 9 does anything better. 
 
The game starts off with the rideable main legendary of the game gliding around, when it promptly crashes. The player gets ready for school, and is introduced to the principal and Rita, this game’s rival. It is noted that Rita has become Champion of the Paldea Region. Because this is the player’s first day of entering the world of Poke’mon, she challenges the player with the weaker starter Poke’mon. After getting the hang of catching Poke’mon, the two see the main legendary injured and attacked by nearby Poke’mon. The player almost dies falling down a cliff, but is saved by his Rotom phone; and the legendary scares off the Poke’mon. The player gives the legendary the sandwich his mom made for him, and the legendary breaks a boulder. The pair try to get out of a cave, but are immediately attacked by a Houndoom and its pups. The legendary lifts up the player, and gets them out of the situation. The player is okay, but it seems like the legendary is still weak from the injuries. Upon coming to a nearby lighthouse, a teenager or young man named Arven scolds the legendary of wandering around without his permission. The player promptly beats Arven in a battle, and Arven straight up gives the Poke’ball the legendary was caught in. (It’s crazy to think such a legendary, especially the Poke’mon on the cover, was caught by an NPC before the start of the game.) Rita and the player head straight to the nearby school. Rita teaches the player the big new mechanic of this game, Terastallizing; and later, a timid and shy girl named Penny is suddenly attacked by goons of Team Four Star… I mean Team Star. Upon arriving to the academy, the player introduces themselves to their homeroom. The player then optionally studies for Poke’mon, and is given a special annual assignment for all students: to find “their treasure”. There are a few choices. Rita wants the player to do the usual League Challenge (defeat the gym leaders, and defeat the Elite four and Champion). Arven wants the player to find and defeat the Titan Poke’mon, who guard these special herbs called Herba Mystica. (Although it seems like he’s a jerk, Arven has something to care about in his character arc.) A random hacker named Cassiopeia wants the MC to disband Team Star for good. (It turns out that the members of Team Star were once bullied about a year ago, and left the school because it did nothing for them and were wrongly rumored to be bullies themselves. Most of the staff left and were replaced by the start of the game.) It’s up to the player to find out what out what they want to do… And to be honest, the decision making doesn’t matter in the slightest. The player can do all of those things around the same time.   
 
Okay, so when it comes to the visual and sound design, this is where Gen 9 is kind of strange. I got a kick out of some of the new designs for the trainers and Poke’mon. I’m not sure about Paldea’s map design, because the start of the journey is in the center now. I’m also not too sure about the cohesion of the world, as well. Some things felt off, like maybe the trees, but I can’t place it. It feels… disjointed at times? The performance… is maybe the worst thing about this game. Slowdown, bugs, glitches, pop-in, crashes, the works. This is maybe the least optimized Poke’mon of the series. Also, there’s no way to turn off battle animations or speed up the text, unlike most games in the series. Playing this game was a slog at times. I didn’t mind EXP share was on, because I’m not going to spend more hours playing this game than necessary because of how slow it plays. I’m going to think hard on the music, because it’s more dynamic this time around. I’m not sure of games like Hollow Knight or Spyro: The Reignited Trilogy influenced this game, but the wild Poke’mon battle music is a tenser version of the field themes. Although, the last Poke’mon used by Gym Leaders have the same flair like the Gen 5 games. I just wish the other important trainers and the Titan Poke’mon had the same idea. That even goes for the Elite Four and Top Champion, whose tracks are… really, really lame, and not exciting in the slightest. 
 
Generation 9 changed the series by going into uncharted territory: the open-world structure. Where the player goes is up to them. … At least after the two-hour long tutorial. Oh, yes, even if the player can’t use it in battle yet, the legendary can be ridden on for travel. And, like most open-world games, there’s a day and night cycle, and weather effects. Sadly, there’s no such thing as lightning in this game.   
 
I did my first-time Nuzlocke for this game, and tried to head off to Dragon Titan first. I wanted a genuine challenge, and decided to go after what people considered one of the hardest types ever. But, it is surrounded by water, and I had no means to get to it yet. The rideable legendaries can get new abilities by taking down the Titans and eating a sandwich with the herbs. So, I went after the Ground and Flying Titans first. Still, I realized I was in for an infuriating time. There is no level-synching in this game, like I thought there would be. What I thought would be Poke’mon around a reasonable level, like around level 10, were around level 25 when I first battled the Ground-Type Titan. Even if I caught Poke’mon, they would probably ignore me. I didn’t get any gym badges at first, so battling the first few Titans were a pain. I changed my rules of my Nuzlocke because of the amount of insanity I went through. Eventually, I took care of the Dragon Titan. 
 
 After that, I decided to go after Team Star. But, the Fairy-Type and Poison-type bases totally ignored me, because not all of my Poke’mon would be able to listen to me. I wanted to do an interesting Nuzlocke; but this game seemed to stay on track with its traditional main game design, that I had to conform to what it wanted me to do. This is NOT Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Metroid Dread. This is more similar to Kirby And The Forgotten Land and Monster Hunter Rise.  
 
 
So, I went to the Psychic Gym, where I had fun doing yoga, but almost got beat, because my starter was the water/fighter starter. I then headed to the Ice Gym, where the challenge was sleigh-riding with no challenge, but a harder gym leader. I beat the Steel Titan because of how I laid out my challenge. I beat the Ghost Gym with the interesting double battle mechanics that was genuinely surprising for me. Next on my list was the Normal Gym.  
 
On a tangent… I love Larry and his Challenge out of all the Gyms here. The player has to guess the special menu, and is given only one clue. Not only is the challenge harder if one just tries to guess without a guide, but it kind of steers the player in to battling the trainers who have the other clues. Larry is the anti-Gym Leader. He is just bland, uninteresting, and nothing special… and I love that. His Poke’mon reflect him, even if I could do without his Tera Poke’mon Staraptor. And, he’s an Elite Four member too!  
 
I then took on the stupid Bug Gym. (Let me say it, it’s my least favorite.)       
 
 The first part ended when I defeated the Rock Titan. I had to battle Arven, and… his team nearly floored me with his over level 55 Poke’mon. I wasn’t prepared. After a bit of wondering what his parent, who is shockingly the professor, is doing in the Great Crater of Paldea, the most dangerous part of the islans, he told me to… get stronger, and effectively told me to do the other quests first.  
 
After taking on the Grass team, I finally had my way, and went after the Fairy Base first. One by one, Team Star fell to my onslaught of amazing Poke’mon. Last were the Water and Electric gyms. It was a confusing mess of unscaled level difficulty, but I did it.  

Defeating Gym Leaders takes care of that pesky leveling system, and beating the leaders of Team Star grants more items in the Poke’Centers, like more TMs and better Balls. I took on the director of the academy, who was also about the level 55 range. I only had the leader of Team Star, Elite Four and Champion to take care of. And anything that would be difficult later on. So… I grinded a lot of Poke’mon, to make sure a team of at least level 70 Poke’mon before I continued. I lost some good contenders, but I marched forward.  
 
After a week, I did it. I defeated the Elite Four and the top Champion. After that, I took care of my rival; who, don’t forget, is a Champion. Yes, by defeating the Top Champion, trainers can be Champions of Paldea. I never thought the title of Champion would be so… superfluous in this game. Last, was the leader, the hacker, Cassiopeia, or rather Penny, themselves.  
 
I’ll get into the last part of the story later. I just wanted to talk about my hardships about doing a Nuzlocke in which I was totally uprepared for.    
 
Terastallizing is a new concept for Poke’mon battling in general. It’s like the Maxing in Generation 8, but the types of the Poke’mon change, and the moves of the specific Tera form are increased as a result. This means that a Sudowoodo can finally become a Grass-Type, and what was once a weakness to it, Water moves, can be not very effective any more. One move in particular changes its typing when the Poke’mon changes its. Some Poke’mon in the wild shining yellow and all of the raid battles use a variety of Tera types. One of the gyms allow for a change in the Poke’mon’s Tera typing by Tera shards found in the wild. (You’ll never guess which gym has it?!) There are some catches, however. Like Maxing in Gen 8, only one Poke’mon can use the Tera Type change. The Poke’mon cannot change to its Tera typing again until the player go back to a Poke’mon Center and chargest the Tera Orb. I think some story events also allow for a recharge for the Tera Orb too, but I forgot to test that out. And, it’s not like each Poke’mon could benefit from the change in typing, since their moves often correspond with what moves would be organic for them. Plus, not every TM would suit a specific Poke’mon. Choosing a Tera type is a little bit more complicated than what players would think of.   
 
Gyms are like the same as before. Take care of a challenge/trial, and their corresponding trainers, and face the leader. A true double battle gym returned with strangely rap battles, including the gym leader. Guess what their typing is? GHOSTS! I never associate the dead with something as living and fresh as rap, but here it is! The last Poke’mon they use is a Poke’mon that doesn’t have the same regular typing, but its Tera typing to fit the typing of the gym. Battling Team Star is strange. The player has to send out the first three Poke’mon in their party, and defeat Poke’mon sent out by Team star using the auto-battle feature. The player has to defeat a certain amount of Poke’mon before they battle the leaders of Team Star. There’s a time limit… but it’s super generous. Ten minutes is too generous. As for the Titan Battles… it’s like a normal battle, but after they’re defeated the first time, the Titan goes to where their Herba Mystica is and gets a boost in a specific stat. The player has to defeat the Titan one more time. (Or in the case of the Dragon one, TWO MORE TIMES.) 
 
What else is there? The Poke’mon, like in Legends Arceus, are visible. But, the player can’t simply throw a ball at wild Poke’mon, so they have to battle like usual. Then, there’s auto-battling. … Only use it if you’re busy and need to do other stuff. The EXP from auto-battling doesn’t compare to actual battles. TMs can be found in the wild, and can even made in the new part of the Poke’Centers. They’re also back to one use now. Thankfully, there are still no HMs; and because of lore reasons, the new taxi system are parrots. Poke’centers can be found a lot more in the world, and the Poke’Mart features are also integrated with them. League Points can be used to buy items, as well as be used along with materials to make TMs. Poke’mon drop materials (and maybe League Points). League Points can also be obtained by finding crystals for Tera Raids and by defeating Team Star bases. Items like TMs and materials can also be found in the world too.   
 
Then, there’s the picnic. I never used it. I know it boosts some things for different Poke’mon, but it felt useless in theory. Same goes for the academy lessons. I get it that some children don’t know how to play Poke’mon; but I myself am currently in my 30s as of this review. As much as I respect the educational system in general, it’s not a requirement in these games. I don’t know if the lessons reward the player with anything, but I passed on that.   
 
Still, there is the elephant in the room. The current generation still does not a national dex. For now… I have to accept that with the recent performance issues of a new open-world design, that I’m okay with that. Poke’mon Showdown might be the only way I can truly go into a fun competitive scene now.  
 
So, I beat Arven, Cassiopeia/Penny, and Rita. All that is left is to go to the Great Crater of Paldea/ Area Zero, where a lot of bombshells are dropped. The professor made a time travel machine, and brought some Poke’mon from the future/past, including the box art Poke’mon. That’s why one of the Titan Poke’mon was weirdly a different species but similar a Donphan. They’re known as Paradox Poke’mon. (Where and what Dialga and Celebi were during this whole situation is beyond me.) Area Zero was also the site for the Terastallizing phenomena, like the Maxing of the last game before it. Then, when the gang is ready to face something serious, Arven suggests the box art Poke’mon come out. When that happens… another one of it appears out of nowhere, and scolds the box art Poke’mon. The other one vanishes into a gate. While that happens, more Paradox Poke’mon appear out of the gate. The player and company battle the horde the best they can. The player enters the main lab, only to find out that the professor they met is not who they seem. They are an android created by the real professor who… died years ago in an incident. (Well… this is maybe the most tragic Poke’non story ever. Never since N’s dilemma in Black and White, or maybe Lillie’s fight with her mother in Generation VII, has a sad element of Poke’mon been touched upon. And, this is the first time a Professor dies in a Poke’mon game. It’s not the first time a parent also neglected their kid, since Giovanni technically did it first, but it’s shocking for a professor to be kind of a jerk by focusing more on their work than their kid. … Why am I getting Jojo vibes from this game?!)  The professor brought Paradox Poke’mon the world, but the Pokemons’ appearances in the present would make the current present of Paldea catastrophic. The android wants the MC to stop the time machine, but there is a huge problem. The android will battle the player as a defense mechanism, thanks to the program running the time machine. What’s worse… they have the second box title Poke’mon, along with some unseen Paradox Poke’mon. (All of which were caught by… MASTER BALLS?! HAX!) After it is defeated, the Time Machine’s system takes over the android, and only the Poke’mon registered by the real professor can battle. The android finally sends out the other box title Poke’mon. No one, including the player, can battle it. All seems hopeless, until… the player’s box title Poke’mon finally decides to battle. It regains its true strength for a one-on-one Fox only battle. After getting cheered on by the rest of the group, the player’s box title Poke’mon finally defeats the other. The professor’s android goes to the future/past, seeing that the group can overcome any challenge in their way. Although probably conflicted he never got the resolution he wanted, Arven is fine that he and his friends are still there and that the world is fine. The group head back to the academy. End credits with the Ed Sheeran song.  
 
Poke’mon Violet is… a confusing and wonderful mess. In terms of a narrative, it is one of my favorites. Some of the characters, worlds, puzzles, gyms, and Poke’mon were cool to see. It’s not also half-bad when it came to some mechanics and the music. Sure, it doesn’t have the national dex, like what I expected with Generation 8; but moving forward, I no longer care. The performance issues, the bugs, the glitches, and some of the mechanics and music are why I don’t consider this to be peak Poke’mon just yet. My reverse Nuzlocke was hard as all heck, maybe the hardest to imagine; but, it concluded with an interesting end. I’m honestly not sure how to criticize this game. Like, Sonic Frontiers, it has some cool things I like, but it’s bogged down by some crucial choices. I need some time to process this game… along with the other Poke’mon games I haven’t touched in years. 
 
It's also strangely my favorite generation since Generation 2. Hear me out. The consequences of time travel seem similar to the consequences of global restructuring, a universal reset, the separation of Poke’mon and humans, fixing the imperfections of the world, seeking out other dimensions, and the manipulation of energy similar to fossil fuels. This is also the first time a Professor has a strained relationship with one of the main characters, and screws up the balance of the world. Team Star is one of my favorite teams, because they were tragically forced into their situation. Sure, Team Skull and Team Yell are antiheroes as well, but this is the first time I cared about a Team’s backstory. Rita has a similar role to Blue/Red, Hau, and Professor Kukui, but she holds the record for being a Champion in the beginning of the game. And, unlike most other games, except for Generation 5(.0), the mythos and lore of the world takes more precedent over the League this time by the end. Sure, the structuring of the narrative beats should’ve been handled better, but the conclusion this time felt earned, and it ends with everyone celebrating, not just the player. Rita, Penny, and Arven have stakes in these games. Rita wants a worthy challenge, because she’s a legitimate trainer before the player faces her, Penny wants to stop her Team from doing any harm, and Arven wants to help his partner and to seek out his parent. By the end, everyone is in a happier place, not just the player. Sure, there are some parts of the presentation, story, and game-play that are worse than other Generations, but… I just think the story, characters, and some parts of the world itself are the reasons why I like this Generation more than III-VIII. But, there’s clearly nostalgic bias when I’m talking about my other favorite Generations.             

Edited by Link, the Hero of Dreams
Link to comment

Woah. Guess it's been a while. Hi, guys. This year has been a wild one so I've had a lot less time for games, but something about the pick up and play nature of the 3DS has made it my go-to system.

 

Metroid Dread

Castlevania

Castlevania III - Alucard run

Kid Icarus Uprising

Phoneix Wright Ace Attorney

Kirby's Blowout Blast

Castlevania (again)

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

- Pokémon Scarlet (Switch)

Regrettable performance issues and a missed opportunity to have a fully open-world system that allows you to play gyms in any order, but the core Pokémon gameplay is always fun.
 
- Wavetale (Switch)
Cute, heartfelt game. Surfing around on the water is a lot of fun, though the combat could be better fleshed out.
 
- Bayonetta 3 (Switch)
Had a blast with Bayonetta, though I didn't totally love Viola (perhaps only for that one challenge Verse that requires using Witch Time, which was a total pain). Honestly can't say I totally loved the ending either, but it also doesn't diminish the quality of the gameplay at all.
 
- Neon White (Switch)
Really cool action game all about speed. I also appreciate that the high rank times are realistic, so you don't have to be flawless to unlock all the bonus content.
 
- Blossom Tales II: The Minotaur Prince (Switch)
A fun Zelda-style adventure game. Doesn't really try anything new, aside from having a lot of collectibles which gets a bit tedious, but still a decent game.
Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...