Recent reviews by Jojo

TL;DR: Trials is a really good game, with highlights for visuals, music and gameplay. It can give many hours of fun play time, actually being a little addictive at that. There are minor setbacks, but it remains as an overall great experience.

First off, it's worth saying I cannot judge this game as a remake, as I haven't played the original "Seiken Densetsu 3". That being said, Trials of Mana is a really good game. It packs beautiful visuals and a pretty good soundtrack. Gameplay can also be quite entertaining, with the battle system presenting many options of abilites that can bring out different sets of strategies. Not to mention the cast of six main characters, each with their own options of class changes, branching out into different playstyles. And thanks to its New Game+ mechanic, Trials offers an easy way of doing new playthroughs, with their own sets of challenges.

Being the remake of such an oldschool game also shows in certain aspects, like the story. While it does have some powerful moments and potential for something big and epic, the story is relatively simple. And regardless of the characters you choose for your party, it remains pretty much the same. There are 3 "routes" available, although what they mostly entail is how different the last dungeon and the final bosses will be. And they all follow the same pattern, which is easy to recognize in following playthroughs. In a way, it is understandable, as the game is probably meant to be played and beat many times, they had to make it as simple as possible. Just a detail to keep in mind.

Gameplay is overall a pretty fun aspect of Trials, with many different areas that can be rewarding to explore. The game is somewhat addictive, and battles are never boring. You might feel limited at what you can do at first, but once you're able to change the class of your characters, things start becoming more interesting. Some boss battles can definitely be tough, but it's all manageable as long as you make good use of spells, items and abilities. A con worth mentioning is that there are quite a few sections of backtracking, especially in the early game, and it can get a bit annoying. And also certain parts that really feel like they're nothing but fillers and irrelevant to the plot. It's a minor detail that doesn't really hurt the game in the long run, though.

All in all, Trials is definitely a good investment, that can present many hours of fun and challenge. While not necessarily mind-blowing, it still is a solid game that is worth experiencing. Thumbs up!

I came to this game looking for a fun and perhaps difficult Metroidvania experience. And I'm glad to say my expectations were met quite nicely.

The gameplay of TLN, with its time manipulation mechanics, is pretty fun and makes for some interesting ways of interacting with enemies and the environment. It also feels tuned in a way that, while you don't have easy access to healing items, you're able to use these mechanics to risk and recover with pretty much no cost. I barely purchased any healing item from the shop, because they never really felt needed.

That doesn't mean the stages and boss fights are easy, by no means. Some rooms were particularly annoying to go through, and certain attacks from bosses feel pretty much unavoidable. But it all boils down to figuring out the best ways to move or attack to avoid taking damage. Or even to recover after taking damage.

While there is a level and experience system, it didn't quite feel like it was the huge difference maker between winning a fight or not. And that's a good thing, in my opinion. You get stronger by learning how to properly use your moveset or by exploring areas and getting more items and skills. Sweet Metroidvania.

One of the bad parts I'd personally point out in the game is that backtracking can be a bit annoying. Even with warp rooms here and there, sometimes you need to go through a dozen rooms just to check this one room that you couldn't access earlier. Although it is fair to say that this is pretty much standard for games of the kind. It's just that some enemies might not be as easy or quick to go through when you just want to explore.

Other complain of mine is that shop just felt mostly underwhelming. While I didn't feel a need for healing items, other ones just felt so expensive I didn't want to bother. In fact, the game lets it implicit that holding the gems you pick instead of selling them might be better in the long run. But I still think it'd be interesting if there was some actual value to the shop.

Also, while not really part of the gameplay and not a huge issue on its own, this game doesn't really try to explain any Touhou lore to you. I had literally no knowledge about the series before playing the game, and even after beating it, I still don't know what Touhou is about. All I know now is the name of a few characters and their relationships. Thus I can't quite tell if they are well represented in this game or not. But again, not a big deal, as I still enjoyed myself.

Overall, a pretty fun and interesting game. I also appreciate that it's relatively short. A fun, challenging adventure that can put your skills to the test. ZA WARUDO!

This is quite possibly one of the best Roguelites I've ever played, if not THE best one. Hades has an interesting premise, fun characters, a lit soundtrack and a thrilling and challenging gameplay. Even though you will be mostly under the rules of RNG, there are things you can control to some extent. That, along with a huge selection of power ups that can work differently for each available weapon, makes up room for many possible strategies. Figuring out those strategies and builds, and then seeing them working in action is quite gratifying. Many ways to play, many ways to have fun.

Of course, the game demands you to step up and evolve as a player regardless of whatever power ups you find. The challenge consistently increases as you make progress, and there's always something to can go after. Such as resources to unlock and power up new weapons and their different forms, jewelry to improve(?) the House of Hades and even achievements that grant you further rewards.

Hades might be in early access (by the time this review was written, at least), but it could totally go for a complete game, except perhaps for a couple minor details. It is quite exciting to know that Hades has a lot of room for growth and for new content to be added. Props for Supergiant Games for what might be their best work ever since Bastion.

A while ago, I felt needy for a good RPG. I remembered I had this game on my library for a while, but haven’t gone too far in it. I started from scratched and actually played through the whole game. And, oh boy, I regret not doing it before.

This game appeared as a spiritual successor for Chrono Trigger. I’ll admit, that was the main reason it interested me in the first place. And it does follow on classic JRPG mechanics, like ATB (Active Time Battle), renaming each character as you wish... And it does carry the concept of Double and Triple Techs, like Chrono used in the past. Despite all of that, Setsuna stands out with unique mechanics of its own, that I was fascinated by. That is, after taking quite a while to understand it.

I won’t get into details about that, for the sake of simplicity, but I Am Setsuna has quite the complex and interesting mechanic for learning and upgrading skills. While the game does require some grinding (also like in classic RPGs), the system is made so fighting monsters isn’t boring or too slow. The numerous skills and combos help with that, along with an initiative mechanic that lets you start a battle with all party members ready to act.

The story is also a big highlight of this game. A beautiful tale that definitely carries the Square-Enix medal. The game does have a few problems here and there, but still was a pleasure to see this pilgrimage develop.

Pros:
- The great story, with quite many different characters, each with their own backstories and development. Not many sidequests, but the few ones can pull theirs weight on story.
- The Skill system. Despite being complex to learn at first, it became pretty interesting for me. It adds a lot of variety, allowing a big number of strategies, combos and double/triple techs to play with.
- The battles. Boss fights can be pretty challenging if you’re unprepared, but the game makes it fairly easy to farm items and level up. At least I don’t remember getting bored or annoyed during training sessions.

Cons:
- The soundtrack. It’s completely composed on piano, and while that is an interesting concept, it feels like it lacks some intensity in some parts.
- Some scenarios are reused throughout the game. As in for towns, dungeons, caves… There surely could be more different things.
- Certain bosses feel unfair at some point. At some point they might start spamming their broken, strongest move on you, ending the battle very suddenly. There is a dependency on luck or chance (looking at you, RNG) that bothers me a bit.

To wrap it up, this a great RPG, and I had very good time playing it. Definitely worth the buy!

So I wanted to play a Warriors game. Couldn’t afford for Berserk, or Samurai, so I found this one on sale. I bought it on a whim, but definitely did not regret it. I haven’t played the past two games of the series, so I can’t make any comparisons. What I can say is that this game was a whole lot of fun and that it earned a spot in my favorites.

One thing that must be known, though. This game follows up on almost all of the One Piece story until now. So if you’re not up to date with the manga or anime, chances are you’ll feel a bit lost. As a matter of fact, Pirate Warriors 3 is pretty much meant to One Piece fans that follow the story close. It is NOT a game you should play if you want to get into the story for the first time. It’s probably its biggest downside, but for people who don’t know One Piece, this game might not be the best choice.

Since I am a One Piece fan, I had a very good time playing through all the story mode. Each campaign follows one arc of the story, and while it is pretty rushed, they’re all interesting and fun to play through. The battle system, while loyal to the basic Warriors game mechanics, adds a few gimmicks on its own. I personally found the friend/Kizuna system pretty interesting and fun to play around with. Overall, this game made me remember why I used to love One Piece so much.

Pros:
- Very fun and dynamic gameplay. It can easily eat a few hours of your time while fighting your way through the many campaigns available.
- Pretty cool soundtrack.
- Interesting mechanic for skill learning, which awards you for playing and testing different sets of characters.
- All the characters with their unique set of skills, while also being pretty loyal to One Piece. Like Sanji being unable to hit women, people getting depressed from Perona’s moves, or turning to stone by Hancock’s moves… Very cool attention to detail.
- Intense campaigns, with different challenges that can cause different changes. It’s no walk on the park, son.

Cons:
- Not really meant for non One Piece fans.
- All the mechanics and controls took a bit of time to learn, because they just use symbols instead of showing the actual joystick buttons. You might need to take a peek at the controls configurations to check how to do certain things.
- A certain lack of skins. While some characters like Luffy do have different outfits based on different story arcs, others just don’t. I feel there could be a lot more, and not just from DLC.

Overall, this game is pretty great. If you’re a One Piece fan, it’s almost a must buy. If you’re not a fan, but don’t care much for following the story, it’s still a pretty fun game. Well earned thumbs up!

As much as I like the Avatar and Korra series, this game fails to deliver a great experience. I’ve played it to the end of the story mode, and while I don’t think it’s too terrible, the pros aren’t enough to make for the cons. That said, let’s get to them:

• The game looks pretty. The scenarios are cool, and quite loyal to the series.
  
• Soundtrack is okay, albeit being literally the same as you hear in the cartoon.
  
• There are some moments where you make special moves that feel great. Basically, being the Avatar at full power is fun. But you have to get that full power first.

• Camera is a bit wonky. You’ll find yourself facing enemies in some bad angles, meaning you’ll have to take a moment to readjust. While you can center with one button press, it’s a bit hard to follow in the heat of combat.
  
• The story is weak. It doesn’t really add anything to the series and there’s barely any characters making appearances. I believe it’d be quite entertaining if we had more characters to fight along with, like Mako, Bolin, Tenzin… It could be a different character in each chapter. But nope. It’s Korra and Korra alone all the game. There is just one character that shows up in spirit (no, seriously) to give some in game support, but that’s all.
  
• Stages are pretty long. You’ll find yourself playing in a chapter for quite a long time. There’s the adventure part, with many enemies, mini bosses and then a “bonus” stage with some running minigame… Then another boss battle after that… It can get a bit tiring, especially if you get stuck in any of these parts.

Overall, this game intends to be like one big episode of The Legend of Korra. Not a good one, though. The story’s not engaging, and you’ll basically fight the same enemies through the whole game, with just a few recolors here and there. Battles are hard at the beginning, but it gets better once you level up your bending skills, grind money for some equipment and learn how to counter.

This game can bring some nostalgic feelings, like from old school PS1 or PS2 games, with action, minigames and all. But it basically runs on the idea that “being the Avatar is fun”. And while it can be fun sometime, it’s mostly hard work and will demand some patience. If you want to give it a try, I’d personally suggest to wait for a good discount on it.

Welcome to the America: The Game.

Broforce is a 2D platform shooter which is basically a huge amount of fun. Your mission is to go through many stages, killing terrorists, evil machines, aliens and eventually the devil himself. To do that, you’ll play with a wide selection of iconic action movie characters, from the Terminator to Robocop and Conan the Barbarian. Each with their own weapons and skills to cause mass destruction of terrorist forces. You’ll be in for lots of shooting, explosion and pixel blood.

Overall, this is a very good game, where you can be creative in the way you tackle each stage. You can blast through every enemy in your way, or maybe dig through the ground to emerge at strategic points. You can even boost yourself through the stage by the air with a robot or with certain weapons’ push power.

There are quite a few different modes to try out, with different difficulties as well, to challenge your skills to the limit and beyond. You can tackle the multiplayer mode with friends. Not to mention the numerous custom stages, which you can play or create to share with others. You’ll find out there are many hours that can be consumed while playing this awesome game. And it’ll definitely be a fun and even hilarious time.

Pros:
- Lots of bros to unlock and play with. Each with their own unique styles of playing. Trying out a new bro’s skills and finding out how much damage they can do is quite fun.
- Easy controls. It’s quite easy to start the game and pass through the stages by shooting through everything
- The exploring possibilities. You can tackle a stage in many different ways.

Cons:
- The bro RNG. While there are a lots of bros, not all of them are so good compared to others. That makes it so, in certain situations, certain bros are better to use. And since each bro you’re spawned with is random, you might find yourself at some tough spots.
- Unnecessary loading times. That’s mostly directed to the Campaign mode, where you fly with a copter to choose the next stage you’ll be playing. When you choose one, it takes a moment to load it up. Then you see a short scene of the copter flying into the stage and go to another loading screen. It’s not much, but surely something that could be changed for better.

The first thing I should point out is that I didn’t take part in the game’s funding process. I didn’t follow it like so many people did, nor hopped aboard the “New Mega Man” hype train. That’s likely the reason why I’m not so critical about this game as many others are, albeit I do understand where they’re coming from. That being said, I’d like to state that this game… It’s not so bad.

Yes, there are lots of problems, and I’m sure many people could point them better than I would. Here are some of the ones I’d mention:
- Weak soundtrack. It’s not too memorable, and they reuse tracks a lot. Not the good ones at that.
- Slippery gameplay. As in, make one minor mistake with the dashing, and you’re scrap.
- Crappy English voice acting. I mean it, put it on Japanese and be happy… Or less unhappy.
- Bad controller settings. Changing weapons (or forms) is a hassle. Sure, you can change the button settings and choose a few forms to have change with one button. But couldn’t it be simpler?
- Bad story. We barely have idea of what’s going on. We have cutscenes that don’t make much sense and then characters that appear, discuss about things and seems like it didn’t add anything. Also, the ending sucks.
- Not enough missions with Call...

Okay, so there are lots of things done wrong. Even then, I just can’t bring myself to hate this game as others do. I had fun playing it, and even after beating it, I’d like to play more and do a few objectives, like the Boss Rush mode. Overall, it's not the masterpiece people were hyped (and were patreons) for. Far from it, granted. For its price, there sure are a lot of better games. I'm marking this review as Positive because I didn't hate it and did have fun, but honestly would mark it as neutral, if possible. If you find it with a nice discount, and find some room in your heart, do give Beck a chance. It could be much better, but it's not a failure. It’s certainly more than just “better than nothing”.

Will you have Hope, or fall into Despair?

Dangan Ronpa's story circles around a group of high school that suddenly find themselves locked into a huge academy. And the only way out of there is to kill a fellow classmate and get away with it. You're in control of Makoto Naegi, whose objective is to find a way out of the school without needing to kill anyone. Sadly, not all classmates share that determination, and the mastermind behind the school will make sure to exploit their weakness to get the “game” fired up.

If you ever played Ace Attorney, you'll be in familiar territory with Dangan Ronpa. Just like in Phoenix Wright's adventures, your objective is to solve a murder by investigating the crime scene and then exposing the evidence in a trial. What makes Dangan different is the visual novel part of the game. Basically, you'll have three phases during each chapter: “Daily Life”, where you can interact with other characters, in order to improve the relationship and get skills. Then there's “Investigation”, where you explore areas to find clues and evidences to solving the case. Finally, the “Class Trial”, where you use the found evidence to break other people's statements and eventually expose the truth.

The plot itself has many mysteries and twists, throwing surprises at you from start to the end. The gameplay during the trials is where the challenge really is, though. It's sort of like a set of minigames, as you have to break someone's contradiction with “Truth Bullets”, or find a specific word in a quick hangman game. Those might be a bit confusing at first, but it becomes much easier when you get the hang of it. And there are skills you gain through Daily Life that can make your job easier during trials.

Overall, the game is pretty fun, with interesting characters and quite the surprising, if not crazy plot. Surely it's worth buying, and I do hope Steam soon makes a move to release the sequel. If you like mystery games, with tons of story presented to you, Dangan Ronpa it's a great choice.

I've always heard about how good Bastion was, and it really made me curious and eager to try it. Finally, this year, I got myself a copy of the game and now I'm able to say it too: This game is amazing.
Going straight to the point, this game is a hack and slash, where you control a single character, but with many weapons and cuztomization options. You have around 10 weapons to choose in pair, along with different upgrades you add and change at will during the game. In my opinion, that's one of the best points in the game, choose the combination that best suits you or challenge yourself with unusual combos.
The soundtrack is also one of Bastion's great features. I've been hearing to it even before getting the game. It's quite awesome and beautiful, to say the least. While the only voice you hear in the game is the narrator's, you don't really need anything else. Rucks does a terrific job being serious, funny and sentimental. As for the plot, you kinda fall in the mid of it without knowing much. But the game does explain it as it goes. There aren't much characters, but you do get to know more about them as well.
Overall, Bastion is totally worth buying, soundtrack included or not. It's very fun to play and can be quite challenging with the right customizations. Giving all my recommend to this game