Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

I've reached the end of Bravely Second on 3DS. It's a sequel to the 3DS game Bravely Default, and not to be confused with the upcoming Switch game Bravely Default 2. Essentially, Bravely Second is a direct sequel of Bravely Default, and features the same world and various returning characters. On the other hand, Bravely Default 2 will take place in a different world and has a separate story.

It was a fairly decent JRPG, but nothing groundbreaking or anything. The Brave and Default system helps to mix up battles. The player can use Default to save up moves for a later turn, as well as defending. On the other hand, Brave lets you use multiple moves in a single turn, though that can leave a character defenceless afterwards if they don't have any moves saved up. So there's strategy with deciding when to attack as much as possible, and when to conserve your moves.

The job system in this game is also pretty cool. Characters start out as a generic Freelancer class, and can switch to different classes after defeating certain bosses. There's the standard melee fighting classes, magic casting classes, and status afflicting classes, but there's also lots of other weird and wacky classes as well. There's 30 different classes in the game, and it's fun to play around with as many different ones as possible.

The locations are a bit lacking though. The dungeons are fairly easy to navigate through. They normally consist of a few small areas, with the map on the bottom screen making it quite simple to figure out where to go. Plus, a lot of the dungeons and the overworld in general will look familiar to players who played the first game.

The story is interesting enough, but it can drag on at times. I'd put it on par with the story in the first game. There's a lot of small talk that I feel could have been condensed down to improve the pace.

Players who were fond of Bravely Default and want more of the same will enjoy Bravely Second. For players that weren't so keen on the original, Bravely Second isn't going to change their minds about the series.

For players who haven't played Bravely Default, I cannot recommend starting with Bravely Second. Bravely Second begins by summarising the events from Bravely Default, including various major spoilers. The rest of the game also regularly references what happened in the first game. For new players, starting with Bravely Default or waiting for Bravely Default 2 will be their best options.

@mookysam cheers yeah Doom 3 is good but very very long for the type of game it is! I've only done two levels of the Doom game club playthrough but hopefully I get some time this week to finish it off!

@ralphdibny DOOM 3 imo is a very solid survival horror game and I can't deny how ahead of its time it was technologically, but it still lacks the essential characteristics of what I like about DOOM which makes it easily my least favorite in the series. Still a solid write up

Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series (PSVR)

Time to strap in & step into a Galaxy far, far away.

Gameplay:

• Originally an Oculus exclusive released in an episodic format, it arrives on PSVR only as an all encompassing bundle, though each episode is still separate on the PS4's dashboard. Each episode has two gameplay modes, "Story" & "Lightsaber Dojo", plus a "Settings" menu, which even allows you to adjust the VR settings (I went with the standard experience, but there are all sorts of comfortability options for those more prone to motion sickness).
  
  The menu that greets you upon opening one of the episodes, it's immediately clear Move is required, as you must interact with the in-game buttons to progress.
• If I hadn't known going in that it was originally an Oculus exclusive, I would have assumed it was a first party effort on Sony's part, as the Story mode follows the PlayStation exclusive single-player template to a tee. You're funneled along a linear path from one impressive setpiece to another, with simple puzzles, ledge platforming (though you use the Move controllers to "physically" climb ladders/handholds, grip your way across ledges & overhead monkey-bar style elements, giving these segments much more immersion than you get on a TV), and the occasional combat scenario (with you in place fighting off a few waves of enemies or a boss) to break things up. Each episode's story mode picks up exactly where the last one left off, combining into a cohesive whole that took me about 3 hours to clear.
  
  
  The top image is an early example of a puzzle, where you must turn a knob in order to examine a hologram of your ship, while the bottom image features a boss fight against a Tie Fighter.
• As for the combat itself, new elements are added in each new chapter. In chapter 1 you get your first lightsaber about halfway through & learn to physically duel & deflect blaster fire. Chapter 2 gives you probably the biggest upgrade in which you can manipulate objects/enemies with the Force with a free hand(s), which is also used in puzzles (you also gain the ability to throw & recall your lightsaber as well). Chapter 3 rounds things out with the ability to steal & use Stormtroopers' blasters & grenades (the former of which requires quite some skill to get a good shot in).
• This leads us into the other gameplay mode in each chapter, the "Lightsaber Dojo". Each variant of it asks you to master what you know (up to that point) in order to clear 40 increasingly difficult combat scenarios (so 120 across all 3 chapters). Each level grades you on your performance (you usually have a set group of adversaries, and are graded on the time it takes you to clear them & how much damage you take, though there are also scenarios where you're instead graded on how many enemies you can take out in an timed onslaught), earning you 0-3 Commendations (think Stars) depending on how well you do. While you can move on even if you clear a level with 0 Commendations, for every 6 you earn you obtain an aesthetic unlock such as a new color lightsaber (or gloves, lamely enough) & eventually can unlock the specific lightsabers used by certain famous characters. These again are only aesthetically different though (as far as I've unlocked), so only the most die hard of Star Wars fans will likely find the encouragement to really care about the Commendations. Plus, unlocks don't carry across chapters, so each Dojo has it's own sets of unlocks (which means you'll have to start out unlocking the basic color options each time), though episode 3's dojo quickly lets you unlock dual lightsaber weilding (which as far as I'm aware doesn't feature in the first 2 Dojos).
  I thought I had taken some decent screens in the Dojo, but in the end this shot of me deflecting the blast of some sort of orb drone was the best I got. In the end I think things get quite hectic around any given Dojo's round 20, with so much going on it can be hard to accurately interact with what you want (particularly with the Force), so I haven't pushed much further than that in any of them. You do feel totally awesome when things are lining up just right though, and it can be a good workout.

Audio/Visual:

• As I've mentioned before, in many ways it feels like a first party Sony effort, and that extends to the presentation. Things look detailed, and even on my Slim model I didn't feel like I had an issue with blurriness (outside of a generally soft image due to the resolution of the set itself).
• They even match Sony's effort in spectacle IMO, and while these moments continue throughout the entire adventure, I'll try my best to explain with the game's starting moments...
  
  You start out finding yourself high above the atmosphere of Mustafar, and soon an Imperial Star Destroyer (sorry if that's not the right terminology, I'm not up on my Star Wars knowledge) flies in from directly overhead in a truly awe inspiring moment...
  
  After being taken down through the cloud cover you find yourself above the planet's harsh surface with a menacing structure far in the distance...
  
  As you approach the building it's size becomes apparent as it towers above you as you fly into a hanger (at this point I'm looking straight up to get a view of it's peak).
• The game has the iconic soundtrack & sounds of the Star Wars franchise to work with, and they're used to good effect (especially that buzz of the lightsaber).

Story:

• As a "Spice" smuggler captured by the Empire, luck shines on you when it's revealed that only you have the ability to access an ancient Mustafarian artifact known as the Bright Star, which Vader seeks to gain immortality (and more personally, a twisted desire to revive Padmé into the world, no matter who else has to parish). Soon you find yourself bouncing between being Vader's apprentice & the appeals of the Mustafarian resistance, who urge you to destroy the Bright Star before Vader can use it to bring destruction to the universe.
  
  Once an episode you'll be treated to a painterly vision, such as the one above that features a nightmarish vision of Vader bearing down on you. Word's can't describe how cool it looks in the headset.
• I can't say it's filled with memorable characters, but your Droid ZO-E3 (pictured above above the Tie Fighter image) provides much needed comic relief, and Vader strikes an imposing figure.

Conclusion:

• Just a really cool experience when all is said & done. It was my first Move VR game, and it left a really good impression, despite the occasional need to readjust things (which an issue with the tech rather than the game itself I'd imagine). I can't imagine how mind blowing it'd be to a Star Wars die hard.
  
  You've done well to make it this far.

@TheFrenchiestFry cheers, it's a long running series so it's bound to have plenty of differently styled entries. I quite like that about big franchises though, they can sort of keep all the lore, atmosphere and characters quite similar but offer you vastly different game play experiences. Mortal Kombat a good example because you have the retro style, the PS2 era and the modern era which are all quite different from eachother but are all buckets of fun and tell an awesome story (that was helped along a bit by the movies, TV shows, web series andof course the Saturday morning cartoon!) The donkey Kong series is another, you've got the arcade style, the country series, king of swing, konga, the neo-country series and 64. Even Mario games are mostly vastly different from their predecessors, the only Mario games I'm not as big a fan of pretty much happen to be the sequels in the same style (new SMB, 3d world) but I love the DS NSMB and 3D land!

I am here to talk about Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze which I am playing on my Switch. I never played it on my Wii U because I was so ashamed of the console that I couldn't even look it in the eye. Now that it's on the Switch and the Wii U has been catapulted into the sea, I can finally give this game a chance so here is my user impressions/review of it.

I like the way Donkey Kong looks and I like his fur. Considering this is a last-gen Nintendo game it still looks great, which I guess is because most Nintendo games have a cool art style and look great. This is what happens when you don't strive for realism. Anyway, he's a sweet monkey.

I am playing without Funky because he's a dirty cheater. I've just got Diddy and the girl one. I know I technically have Cranky too but I don't like Cranky so I'm not using him. Anyway, the characters look great. I like the new baddies too. Penguins make top villains. For other evidence of this, see The Wrong Trousers.

The game is hard but it's not a pad snapper. I'm not finding it particularly frustrating because when I'm dying I know that it's because I'm terrible at video games and I should be ashamed of myself, and not because the game is unfair. A bad workman blames his tools, and I am at the very least a mediocre workman. I know I'm dying because I stink.

Anyway, it's tough in parts but I'm mostly through the game. I'm in the Donkey Kong Island world which I assume is the last one and I'm near the end of it.

The bosses are great and the most challenging bit of the game. I love the levels that are a bit different, like the ludicrous flappy bird ones, and the ones where you're in a mine cart. Mine cart levels in anything are cool.

I give Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze Land a solid 8/10. If we're using silly .5s I might even go to an 8.5. I think I prefer it to that New Super Mario Bros. game that was on Wii U that got ported to Switch which I also played and enjoyed. Maybe they're about the same. Either way I like them.

@RR529 Cool - this had completely passed me by so might check it out. I'm playing Star Wars Squadrons in VR and very much enjoying it.

@Rudy_Manchego, glad I could bring to your attention. I'll definitely be checking out Squadrons myself eventually.

@johncalmc, Tropical Freeze is a great game, and probably my favorite 2D platformer on Switch. Glad you're enjoying it.

@Kidfried, I liked Yakuza Kiwami (which I got thanks to PS+), and have been intending to check out the rest of the series, but haven't yet gotten around to it. I'll keep an eye on Judgment for it's different perspective.

I went back and read a few historical reviews from Ralizah's excellent index! Some of games I've played and some i want to get around to playing at some point. Apologies if I tag you and the game isn't that fresh in your memories any more!

@mookysam I read your review on Peace Walker and it's pretty accurate. think what I pick up from it and maybe it's because it's how I felt about it so I might be projecting, is that it's not necessarily worse than other MGS games it's just different but fun in its own way. I wish I'd seen this when you wrote it though because I was playing through it again roughly about the time you played it, though me and RogerRoger discussed it at great length (as well as other Metal Gear games) in the MGS V thread. While it is different, I just found it super addictive, both times I've played it. My first save file is 60 hours and my second save file from lockdown this year is 90 hours. It really does balance different mission types, item development, base building/management and outer ops (not sure how to describe this bit in generic gaming vocabulary) really well. The only time it lacked balance was as you indicated, in the final chapter where there is an abundance of tank/helicopter missions that can get very very tedious. Though it does throw up a bunch (but not nearly as many) perfect stealth type missions in the final chapter too, which were really good. It's interesting you mentioned monster hunter but didn't mention the MH missions (unless I missed that part) because there is a handful of unlockable missions included where you face off against the monsters from that game as well as a special bipedal and fugly monster that's inspired by metal gear rex!

@crimsontadpoles I liked your review of ZombiU. It's a game I got with my launch Wii U but I mainly got the bundle because it seemed like the cheapest way to get the game and a pro controller at the time. Maybe it was also the only way to get the black 32gb model of the Wii U as well, not sure. I thought it sounded like an interesting game at the time but I never got very far with it, survival horror has never been my forte and permadeath is always quite intimidating but I am tempted to give it another go now that you've said the permadeath isn't so hard to manage. I would be interested to know, though I know it's been ages since you played it, do the zombies keep respawning after you kill them or can you actually just kill them all in the luring with the flash light method you described and progress through zombie-less levels without too much stress?

@Th3solution great review of Valkyria Chronicles 4. I have the first game on Switch and the 4th one on Xbox one X but I've not played them yet. I was planning to play through them all (2&3 emulated and a localisation patch for 3 on my PSTV) during lockdown but never got around to it, mainly because I was ticking off my backlog so rapidly that I didn't want to slow down for 4 x 40 hour games. I first found out about these games when I was playing Project X Zone on 3DS which was a crossover tactical game (more of the traditional type than VC). It had characters from VC along with characters from other Sega/Bandai Namco/Capcom franchises like Resident Evil, Mega Man, Virtua Fighter and God Eater (off the top of my head). I always liked the aesthetic of the VC characters tho, and I really enjoy this kind of historical Europe alt history setting in an anime style. I'm a big fan of fullmetal alchemist for example but that's probably set about 50 years before VC and obviously in a different world. But yeah, great review and I'll look forward to playing the games in the next maybe 5 years or so 😅

@RR529 nice review of Vader Immortal, it's a good detailed review and interesting from the perspective of somebody not so verse in Star wars lore. Vader's castle was always a bit of a deep dive that has been brought to more mainstream attention with the larger marketing push that Star Wars has had over the last 5 or so years. This is definitely a game I am going to get on PSVR in future if the price is right in a sale or if it gets a (reasonably priced) physical edition. It's a shame the campaign is so short but I'm sure it's worthwhile. It's probably partially why I'm waiting for a sale though because I probably won't be as interested in or get very far in the dojo mode.

@johncalmc interesting review of tropical freeze! Have you play the first Country Returns on the Wii/3DS? The first one on Wii is actually one of my favourite games ever and I completed it 203% or whatever it is. I played a couple of levels on DKCRTF on Wii U but I didn't get very far. It was quite different from the first one. I feel like, in the levels I played at least, the rhythm was kind of off. The first game had some tricky platforming but you could kind of play it in time with the background music and it was really cleverly done. Maybe it becomes more rhythmic in the later levels of TF that I didn't get to. The other thing that threw me was not using motion controls for rolling. I guess that was part of the rhythm of the original game too. I know it's a bit of a weird thing to desire some imprecise waggle in a precise platforming game but it kind of just worked really well in DKCR so I was gutted that it was omitted from the Wii U version of tropical freeze. Did they add it back in to the switch version using the joy cons? Anyway it's definitely a game I am going to get back to at some point so it was really interesting to read your thoughts on it!

@ralphdibny I have no idea if they've added it back in on Switch because I never use the Joy-Cons. I'm playing it with a Pro and the roll is mapped to the ground pound button. I guess it's just whatever you're used to but since I played Donkey Kong without motion controls, having to get used to using them was pretty grim. I'm glad they're gone. If only Nintendo would accept that motion controls are dead and buried then we could all move on with our lives but for some reason they feel compelled to keep shoe-horning them into games that would be objectively better without them so who knows, there's some hope for Donkey Kong Arm Waving Edition in the future.

@johncalmc haha fair enough, it's nice to have the option for both to be honest. There's some waggle games I'd rather have buttons for and some buttons games I'd rather have waggle for. I think it was only because I was so used to the Wii controls for DKCR that it felt really off using the button in TF. I do agree that they definitely wouldn't work in the original country games though! I don't think it would be that comfortable using it with the joy cons anyway because they are way less comfortable than the Wii remote+nunchuck so I normally play switch games with the pro controller unless it's something like Mario odyssey

@Kidfried I've been eyeing Judgment for a while, but it sounds like it's not unique enough to push ahead of other mainline Yakuza games. I'm disappointed to hear the side stories aren't great, considering those tend to be some of the best parts of the Yakuza games.

@johncalmc I actually played through DKC: Tropical Freeze on Wii U with the wiimote + nunchuk combo. I had a pro controller, but that controller always felt sort of cheap and plastic-y to me (not like the Switch Pro, which I just bought, and it one's one of the most comfortable, premium feeling controllers I've ever used). While I'm not generally a fan of waggle (but AM a big proponent of gyro, but is a massive evolution over pure dual analog when it comes to games with fine aiming), I thought shaking the remote to roll worked fine for the game.

I agree the game's difficulty is way overstated. It's challenging, but people make it sound like a rage platformer or something. I actually had way more unfair deaths in the older Rareware DKC games on SNES. The level design, tight controls, and whatnot generally make this game a blast to play.

And yeah, a lot of people at the time of its Wii U release were drooling over Donkey's detailed HD fur.

Thanks for contributing!

@RR529 Nice review of Vader Immortal. The game certainly sounds cool. While I confess I'm generally not a fan of Sony's 'movie game' approach, I think something more linear and cinematic probably works really well in the context of VR, which, right now, is primarily driven by the desire for unique experential spectacle.

You'd likely have sold me on this if I owned a PSVR. Maybe one day, if Sony ever bothers to do actually tempting sales on it again. I think I might have bought in already if I wasn't concerned about the soft image quality that my PS4 would render. It'll be interesting to see how much the VR experience is improved on PS5.

Oh, and nice screenshots, btw

@crimsontadpoles Cool. Always like a good 3DS piece!

So, I was one of those people who was crying online for Bravely Default to release years back when JRPGs were still thin-to-non-existent on the system, and I was really excited for its release. And I did end up enjoying it, even though it's VERY flawed in certain respects. This one never really got its hooks into me, though. I think it was some combination of the rehashed settings (as you mention, while they're very pretty, they're not terrible interesting or interactive overall, and I didn't really want to go through the same places AGAIN) and the change in composer (say what you want about the game, but Revo's work in Bravely Default was unimpeachable, and the amazing music sometimes helped to carry the otherwise uneven experience). It's a game I've intended to get to for years now, but I can't motivate myself to sit down and play it.

I assume the annoying time looping shenanigans from the first game are no longer a thing, right?

Also, regarding difficulty: would you say this game is more balanced than the original? I felt like BD had this massive, annoying difficulty spike around the end of Chapter 4, and the difficulty further spiked around the end. I don't mind challenge, but the later chapters of BD are legitimately so difficult that I had to drop the difficulty down. And I play SMT/Etrian Odyssey games on on high difficulty settings!

@RogerRoger I feel that dread about my work being subpar every time I post online! Which is why, yeah, if someone puts in effort and crafts something good, I want to clearly communicate my appreciation of that. Feedback, in general, is crucial when it comes to creative work, I feel. I guess there are some rogue writers who can seal themselves in a cavern in the mountains and hone their craft to perfection, but everyone else kind of has to throw themselves at the mercy of others.

"I'm glad you remember the horrifying music from The Dark Brotherhood, though, as I might've found something that's worse (somehow), so consider yourself warned!"

That's both intriguing and worrying. You wouldn't happen to be reviewing Crazy Bus, would you?

@Ralizah I wasn't going to comment too much on the difficulty not living up to the hype in case it came across like OH HEY GUYS THE PLATFORMER KING IS HERE kinda post. But it's nowhere near as hard I was told. There's been a few levels where I died a bunch and the bosses in particular can get a bit spicy but otherwise - unless there's about to be a massive spike as I haven't finished the game - it's a pleasant challenge. Which is totally fine by me.

@Ralizah did it have waggle for rolling/slapping the ground when you played it out of interest? I'm thinking I might not have tried those controllers on Wii U or maybe they patched it in

@johncalmc The K levels can get pretty challenging (the ones you unlock by collecting all of the KONG letters), but even those aren't some insurmountable challenge. The final unlockable world can also be pretty tough to 100%, but, again nothing crazy. Some of the K levels you have to beat to get to that point are harder, honestly.

Tropical Freeze is on the more approachable side of the series, IMO. Even Returns on Wii/3DS is more challenging.

@ralphdibny Yeah, if you play with Wiimote/Nunchuk, you waggle to roll/slap. Otherwise, on the GamePad/Pro Controller, they're tied to button presses.

I was surprised. Like with Mario Galaxy, I thought the waggle was well-implemented, and it triggered pretty consistently, so I didn't have an issue with missed inputs at all.

@Ralizah nice! Yeah it was definitely cool in DKCR at least, it kind of felt a bit like doing a drum roll after you'd been tapping along to the music, or hitting a cymbal with the A button after a drum roll by rolling into a jump.

I think waggle worked well enough in Twilight Princess too though it could have easily been done with a button. On the flip side, it was a mixed bag with more complicated movements, I liked using it as a wand in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought it was really good (even if wingardium leviosa was no longer a swish and flick movement 😅). But something like marvel ultimate alliance was actually pretty mediocre/bad and would've been better with standard button presses. It certainly didn't live up to the pictures on the back of the box!:

This is obviously the pre motion plus era. I thought skyward sword was really good even if it was a little convoluted!

I love the Wii motion controls and certain waggle movements absolutely beat out the button equivalents. That said, the pointer controls were hit and miss and certain games had woeful implementation, like Ultimate Alliance as was mentioned. I really miss them on Switch despite the few times they’re used being brilliant. Mario Tennis Aces’ motion controls are way more fun than the buttons and Mario Kart feels best with motion controls + HD Rumble.

@ralphdibny Thanks for reading. If I recall correctly, zombies don't usually respawn in ZombiU unless you leave the area and come back. There are some exceptions though. There's also some points in the story where lots of zombies appear, leaving you with little choice but to fight aggressively.

@Ralizah I think Bravely Second is more balanced than the original. However, there are a few features that make it easier to become overlevelled, so you might prefer leaving the difficulty on high for most of it. The game lets you change the difficulty whenever you like without penalty.

Bravely Second does have a time looping shenanigan, but it's nowhere near as bad here. Without giving too much away, it involves warping back once, then doing something different in the first battle after warping. That then leads you to a new part of the story. There are several hints on what to do here, though anyone not paying enough attention could end up repeating everything all over again. So that's something to watch out for.

@crimsontadpoles Okay, thanks for elaborating. What you described in Bravely Second sounds fine. But tens of hours of repeating virtually identical gameplay segments over and over drove me and a lot of other people up a wall. I get what they were trying to do, but it was really poorly handled.