There, it finally happened. Now every main Ys game (apart from the still not remade V) is available on PC for your enjoyment. This latest release is a new canon re-imagining of the fourth entry in the main series, that previously was comprised of two similar, but different games telling a similar story. Oh, the events of the game are also set as a chronological second adventure and happen before the third game (Oath in Felghana) but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the game is fun. Even if not the best in the series.
Tag: great soundtrack
Happy about: Devil May Cry HD Collection and 4: Special Edition
I remember learning about Devil May Cry back when I only had a PS1 of my own and waiting for the next Resident Evil. Code Veronica X on PS2 was originally released with the demo disc of DMC and I’ve seen many a fan of RE later say that that demo disc was the best thing about their purchase. Originally planned as the next entry in Resident Evil franchise (you can even see Umbrella logo in some of the old concept art) and highly influenced by Onimusha and Hideki Kamiya’s love for over the top stylish action concepts, this hack and slash action title created something of a genre of it’s own, sometimes called “stylish action” or “character action”. And while it evolved so much with fans eagerly awaiting whatever next game PlatinumGames (comprised of a lot of old Capcom employees who worked on DMC) are going to release, it’s interesting to go to the beginning and see how the genre defining franchise evolved.
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Thoughts on: The Mummy Demastered
Licensed videogames are known to be mostly miss than hit. There are few notable exceptions of games being good, and even rarer exceptions where the game was superior to the product it was meant to promote. I heard that last year’s The Mummy reboot was bad. Yet, somehow it managed to lead to this tie-in videogame. Is it great? No. But it’s quite decent and has an amazing soundtrack.
In love with: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA
In just 4 years I went from “What’s Ys?” to being a huge fan of these action RPG series by Nihon Falcom that is finally starting to get proper recognition outside of Japan. I didn’t like all games I’ve played so far equally. Origin and the story arc it preludes (covered in I & II) used to be my favorite – it had the perfect version of the gameplay mechanics that the series had in mid-00s, it had really interesting memorable story with good characters and it was quite short and to the point, covering every important and exciting aspect of itself in the best possible way. And I wasn’t super keen on the new gameplay ideas introduced in Ys Seven, the template currently used by the series, so I was a bit cautious about VIII (and still is about IV, which I will play later this year when it’s ported to PC).
Now, some of my concerns and fears were justified. But Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA might be my favorite Ys game so far and one of the best examples of action RPGs I’ve ever seen, both mechanically and narratively.
Thoughts on: Danganronpa 1, 2 and Ultra Despair Girls
Just like the Zero Escape series, Danganronpa has been a series I’ve been curious about for a very long time now. It has gained a huge following outside of Japan years before getting an official localisation for its quirky dark humour, fantastic soundtracks and curious approach to mixing adventure game visual novel elements in rather novel ways. But are they really that great?
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In love with: Treasure Adventure World
There aren’t that many good examples of a free game turned into a paid product I can think of from the top of the head. Can think of plenty mods turned to paid games, sure. But free games? World of Goo was made from a free Experimental Gameplay Project title that simply had the same basic mechanics and looks. Super Win the Game is more of a successor to the free You Have to Win the Game. Only La-Mulana, Spelunky and maybe Eversion feel like actual “remakes”, which follow a more or less same structure as their original free counterpart but with updates. I suppose, Cave Story can somehow fit this list too. But point is – not that many I can think of, and, interestingly, almost all of them are somewhat metroidvania-ish.
Treasure Adventure Game is a free exploration-focused platformer with Zelda and Metroid influences that was released about 6 and a half years ago. I stumbled upon it due to it being featured on GOG and had a blast playing it 6 years ago. Then about a year later a remake was announced. Treasure Adventure World is a higher resolution, higher fidelity remake, with minor updates and several pacing changes, but overall unchanged design. For better and worse.
Few notes on: Videogame music 2017
Last time I decided to do a “look back at” videogame music of a previous year was mostly due to how big the wave of 80s inspired synthwave and like was and mostly to check just how prevalent it was in videogames. This time, I’m doing it because I feel like last year just had several truly amazing soundtracks that became an integral part of my main music playlist.
Disapprove: The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut
Almost 5 years ago a completely unexpected action RPG came out. The genre was back on the rise after the success of Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2, but people wanted to see it evolve even more. Add more little weird touches, more curious takes on the same basic mechanics and gameplay loop. Darksiders 2, an action adventure at core, had lots of action RPG elements to it and Borderlands were a huge success at mixing FPS and action RPG. So there was The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing, from rather unknown NeocoreGames, who had previously released rather mediocre series King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame. And the game was surprisingly fun. I mean, it wasn’t stellar, it didn’t revolutionize the genre or anything, but there were small touches that made the game work a bit closer to how a story driven action RPG would, like The Witcher, yet it remained at its core a pure monster killing loot gathering aRPG in all its simplicity.
But it was meant to be the first of 3 games. And the games that followed… well… Let’s just say, I’m not exactly sure the Final Cut of the series, that mixes all 3 games into one, is the cut I would’ve went with.
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Happy about: Zero Escape Trilogy
I’ve been curious about what became Zero Escape Trilogy for a while now. Original 999 (Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors) was released back in 2009 on Nintendo DS to very positive reviews on how it tackled the mix of visual novel and “escape the room” puzzles, while also using it’s branching narrative, common for visual novels, as a plot point for many worlds interpretation influenced plot. It was also one of the first attempts, to my knowledge, to bring the Cube (the movie) ideas to video game format, mixing horror, thriller and mystery novel and becoming somewhat of the “What if Cube, Saw and Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” were anime”. Virtue’s Last Reward followed 3 years later on PS Vita and 3DS, and then in 2016 Zero Time Dilemma was released as a final chapter of the plot on the same systems, but also on PC. However, it wasn’t until Zero Escape: The Nonary Games release last year, that updated and re-released the first two games in one package, that I finally had a chance to check on them.
Disapprove: Prey (2017)
Prey went through some really troubled development times. Original game of the same name has been one of the longest games in development, announced originally in 1995, and finished in 2006, retaining a lot of the original ideas and a lot of core 90s FPS values (and if you can get it, get it, by the way). Then, a sequel Prey 2 was in development as a more action adventure-type game, closer to Deus Ex or, probably even closer, The Darkness in the mentality and design approach, by Human Head Studios. Yet, after years of development, it was quietly cancelled before being re-announced as Prey, now developed by Arkane Studios. And being a completely different game, highly influenced by “Shock” games and immersive sims. Still taking on the topic of alien invasion, but now from a more psychological thriller angle, similar to the cancelled XCOM FPS title (later completely remade into mediocre The Bureau: XCOM Declassified).
It set out to be something amazing – a very freeform “Shock” title, with all the metroidvania/survival horror exploration focus and even more on top, with interesting setup, with aliens who can look like normal items, with multiple approaches to everything, with nicely written small NPC stories and with the music by Mick Gordon. If only all of this worked.