Forums

Topic: User Impressions/Reviews Thread

Posts 121 to 140 of 3,212

RogerRoger

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
PC, PS4 (version played) & XboxONE / November 15, 2019

I feel like a failure.

It's the final battle and I've just been killed for the sixth time. I've been at this for almost an hour. I'm starting to forget elements of the excellent narrative which has brought me here. I've lost all focus on the meaning behind the character I'm fighting. I'm frustrated, I'm angry and most importantly, I'm not having a good time.

And so, before walking through a door and starting to chip away at an impossibly-large health bar all over again, I take up the repeated advice of the loading screen.

I hit the Options button and lower the difficulty level to 'Story'.

Sure enough, that health bar is no match for me now. In a flurry of oversized glowsticks, I start to consume chunks of it at an alarming rate. I get to see the ending in record time, and it makes me smile but, as the credits roll, I can't shake that feeling of failure.

Apparently, my skills aren't good enough for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. I know this to be true, since Game Director Stig Asmussen said as much; Respawn Entertainment only added the 'Story' difficulty level after feedback from this year's E3, terrified of any controversy after EA's last interactive outing in the Star Wars mega-franchise, Battlefront II, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Even upon starting the campaign, Jedi: Fallen Order recommended its 'Jedi Knight' (or 'normal') difficulty level specifically for semi-casual gamers. I'm no slouch, I can play games; heck, I've beaten Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance on higher difficulty levels before, but where that game had an accessible fluidity and consistent rhythm to its tricky, counter-based swordplay, Jedi: Fallen Order seems to embrace a malicious, insidious desire to give you the illusion of skill, only to then punish you for feeling comfortable as it assaults you with random, unpredictable and unfair encounters.

Or it settles for patronising you, by suggesting you lower the difficulty to 'Story', a difficulty in which, ironically, there is absolutely no difficulty. Even if you get smacked around for a good couple minutes, your own health bar will remain largely intact. I recognise the importance of making this experience available; this is Star Wars, people aged seven to seventy will want to play this game, but to know that it was included as an afterthought doesn't help me overcome my own sense of unworthiness (or the developer's own snobbish elitism).

I'm gonna stop talking about this now. I recognise that I don't speak for all gamers on this issue (heck, the Soulsborne games are popular for a reason, right?). Maybe I'm just not good enough, or maybe I didn't quite understand some of the mechanics; whatever your certain point of view, my inability to push buttons fast enough is only a small part of Jedi: Fallen Order.

And the rest is so gosh-darn wizard.

***

Fans of Star Wars know the story already; at the end of the Clone Wars, two-faced prune face Darth Sidious executed Order 66, transforming loyal comrade Clonetroopers into back-stabbing Jedi killers and corrupting the once-peaceful Republic into the diabolical Galactic Empire. In the wake of this betrayal, we find Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan) working on the scrapyard planet of Bracca and trying to hide a secret. One somewhat-contrived incident later and everything becomes clear; Cal is a Jedi in hiding, now suddenly exposed and a target of the Empire's fearsome Inquisitors. This forms a rock-solid basis for everything that follows, embracing Star Wars history to create a palpable atmosphere and give context to a planet-hopping, lore-expanding quest which is among the best and most engaging in the franchise.

Cal is helped along by cagey mentor figure Cere Junda (Debra Wilson) and the grumpy-but-loveable Greez Dritus (Daniel Roebuck) as well as faithful droid companion BD-1 (whose 'voice' has been crafted by Star Wars sound maestro Ben Burtt) and another, spoiler character I won't mention. Together they form an unlikely, but awesome, crew and must face the mysterious Second Sister (Elizabeth Grullon), the brutish Ninth Sister (Misty Lee), and a host of other enemies, not all of which are on the Empire's payroll. Almost all of the game's new characters are immediate favourites. They have depth and personality, and all are acted to perfection. The facial capture animation is so good, it allows for non-verbal storytelling between dialogue, lending real weight to interactions and plot developments (some of which are kinda predictable, others of which were surprises, to be sure, but welcome ones).

Untitled
Jump (For My Love): Life with your small ragtag crew has welcome echoes of the Normandy SR-2, helping you feel flickers of genuine affection for them.

Even on a surface level, however, great care has been taken to present these characters in the best possible light. BD-1 will have you asking "Artoo Dee-Who?" with every single, ridiculously-adorable thing that he does, regardless of his usefulness in gameplay and importance to the narrative. There are other neat touches, too; if left idle, Cal will ruffle his own hair and it stays ruffled, slowly falling back into place. Environments get the same treatment, with puddles rippling in the wind and lighting strategically placed to enhance visual impact.

Well... most environments, I should say. There are some exceptions. Despite an extensive E3 showing, Respawn struggle to make the most of Kashyyyk, the Wookiee jungle homeworld. Large parts of its scenery look a little last-gen, which is a shame because other parts of it shine. It's likely something that can be improved upon, if not fixed entirely, with a couple patches; hopefully the same can be said for the small handful of framerate hiccups, texture pop-in problems and missing animation frames I encountered, again mostly whilst visiting Kashyyyk.

Maybe it's just that we've been spoiled by the lush jungle environments of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and Shadow of the Tomb Raider in recent years. Such a comparison is tough to avoid, especially since large combat-free parts of Jedi: Fallen Order play like deleted levels from those games. Cal ends up wall-running, climbing, sliding and puzzle-solving his way through multiple tombs, temples, shrines and trials; if you've ever guided Chloe Frazer or Lara Croft around similar places before, then you will find controlling him will not be difficult. There may be a small handful of leaps and bounds which demand too much precision but, with no penalty for falling deaths, you won't mind retrying them once or twice.

Untitled
Temple of Doom: If you've ever wanted LucasFilm to mash their intellectual properties together, then this might lead to the fortune and glory you seek.

And you'll likely have to retry them again anyway, as backtracking to explore new paths is actively encouraged and, on some planets, essential to the narrative. This never feels obstructive, particularly since you'll often return with new Force powers or abilities unlocked on your extensive Skill Tree, allowing Cal to open up new shortcuts and keep his pace steady. Whether you'll want to venture into every single corner of every single location is a question of personal taste; whereas some hidden pathways lead to spectacular and important discoveries, potentially doubling the size of the map, others will just drop you in a small cave and feed you a scrap of lore.

I'd encourage casual Star Wars fans to examine that lore carefully, however, as a vast quantity of Jedi: Fallen Order references layers of the canon many sidestep or ignore. Two of the planets Cal can visit are from the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, and the concept of the Inquisitorius was created for its follow-up show, Star Wars: Rebels. As a result, some of the twists and turns may seem bizarre or creatively lazy to those who've only watched the films, perhaps seeming to reinforce a couple of gaming tropes; I can assure you, though, that everything has very deep, established roots in the wider Star Wars universe. As a hardcore fan, this pleases me no end, and legitimises the game in a unique and powerful way... but heck, even if you're not interested in all that detail, do give everything a quick read, if only because certain entries can also reveal handy gameplay tips, buried away as a reward for the more observant.

Untitled
The Details of the Devil: Attack patterns of certain characters may seem unfair and chaotic, but at least somebody has attempted to give them psychological grounding.

At this point, I should probably return to discussing the combat, but I feel like I would just be repeating my personal issues (and that's a boring conversation anyway). To borrow a friend's fantastic analogy, if this Soulsborne type of gameplay is like beer, then I only kept drinking it because everybody else at the party was, so I felt like I had to. Now that the party's over, I'm gonna be much more comfortable drinking refreshing, inoffensive pineapple juice in the relative peace of the 'Story' difficulty level. Admittedly yes, some of the mid-game boss fights were magnificent fun, sitting in that ability sweet spot between "Oh, I have a bad feeling about this!" and "I can do this, I can do this!" but then the last two major confrontations went and ruined everything. Perhaps somebody more qualified, more skilled at Soulsborne gameplay, can speak to the quality and fairness of Jedi: Fallen Order's combat in the near future. I certainly can't.

What I can do is revel in the world-building achievement of a game which, despite the best efforts of EA shareholders, has managed to buck the trend and actually exist. I'll continue to explore strange, new worlds (...wait, wrong franchise) and find new outfits for Cal, new paint jobs for BD-1 and new colour schemes for our ship, the Stinger Mantis. I'll check every corner for those scraps of lore, and I'll keep pestering Cere and Greez whenever possible, because they're still giving me new incidental dialogue to laugh at.

Jedi: Fallen Order contains both the purity and hope of the Light Side and the anger, hatred and suffering of the Dark. For many, it might well be the Chosen One, bringing balance to the current state of Star Wars gaming under EA's tyrannical rule.

But for me, well... let's just say that my midichlorian count is too low to appreciate all of its aspects.

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

HallowMoonshadow

Awww man @RogerRoger

I'm no star wars aficionado but I am a Souls one. Not sure I agree with Th3solution's initial beer analogy in the Fallen Order thread but...

It's the final battle and I've just been killed for the sixth time... I'm frustrated, I'm angry

... I've definitely been there! 😅

It's a shame the game has not only broken you with the gameplay, but unintentionally belittled you for it too.

That's one thing about the Souls games in them having only the one difficulty level. Not to mention the npc summons or friends and strangers whom you can journey with an-

Well I'm getting off point there.

Even though this wasn't the game you're looking for, It's good that it's seemingly got all the lore right and actually trying something different with the franchise that has perhaps not only stagnanted but been underutilised in EA's hands for far too long.

It was a good read and it's unfortunate it didn't hit all the right buttons for you...

...Oh and the Second Sister character looks pretty cool!

Edited on by HallowMoonshadow

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
.
.
.

"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

Thrillho

@RogerRoger Nice review. I've avoided the main thread as I'll probably get the game at some point but I'm glad to hear it really is a great game!

I have to admit to lowering the difficulty for the final Valkyrie in GoW as it was the lat thing I had to do and I'd come within a whisker of doing it so many times. I didn't want to leave the game with my final memory being the frustration of not beating her.

Thrillho

RogerRoger

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Thanks; it's actually helpful to hear about how Soulsborne games have established themselves, as the influence would appear to be stark. Maybe some day, I'll go back through Jedi: Fallen Order and try again, because if anything's gonna make punishing gameplay click with me, it'll be my undying nerd love for Star Wars.

But there's nothing to be sorry to hear, because weirdly this is simultaneously one of the greatest Star Wars game I've ever experienced, and one of the most punishing, unfair and brutal gaming experiences of my life. I love it as much as I hate it, but at least there's love in there!

@Thrillho Thanks, both for the praise and for confirming that I'm not alone in my difficulty-lowering approach. It'll be interesting to hear what you, and others, think of the game; hope you enjoy!

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Th3solution

@RogerRoger I don’t know what I’m more impressed by — the fact that you beat the game in a matter of a few days, the fact that you have managed to come out of your first Souls-like intact, or that you wrote this wonderful review so quickly. It’s all so very impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it (and your several mini impressions on the game’s thread).

Reading your review, I think I’m going to love this game. I’m certain to play it. Nevertheless, believe it or not, I’m still torn between getting this first or Death Stranding. Both games have so many superlatives being dropped. And honestly I’m enjoying my current games I’m playing from my backlog sufficiently that I think I’m going to hold for a little while.
But Fallen Order appears to have been all we’d hoped for and more. I’m so happy to have a good single player Star Wars game to look forward to.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

HallowMoonshadow

RogerRoger wrote:

But there's nothing to be sorry to hear, because weirdly this is simultaneously one of the greatest Star Wars game I've ever experienced, and one of the most punishing, unfair and brutal gaming experiences of my life.

Well I'd strike out unfair (at least I would now)... But otherwise... sounds like what's becoming my catchphrase regarding this game @RogerRoger of "sounds like a Souls game" In particular my time with my first Demon's Souls.

As I said in the chit-chat thread a few weeks back when it briefly became Dark Souls anonymous I spent an entire christmas break with over 50 hours of playtime, ditching one character and trying again with another build (I tried five different characters) before the game finally resonated with me

Trust me all us souls players know those initial lows... Only difference was we couldn't switch difficulties like you can in this! 😅

The fact that this is blended with something like Uncharted for those set pieces and there is of course that Star wars coat of paint does make it sound like a uniquer experience then it could've possibly been...

Here's hoping when you play it again not only is Kashyyyk not bugging up so much but you enjoy it a whole bunch more!

Edited on by HallowMoonshadow

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
.
.
.

"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

Ralizah

The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Level of Completion: 100%. All trophies unlocked and all collectibles obtained. It's on Switch, so no Platinum trophy or anything to show off, but I do have these screenshots!

Untitled
Untitled

Synopsis: A wolf monster, disguised as a human princess, leads a local prince she accidentally blinded through a dangerous forest to a witch's cabin in order to have his vision restored. But the prince doesn't realize that his mysterious benefactor is the selfsame monster that robbed him of his vision in the first place.

Genre: Puzzle-platformer

Untitled
-
-
ART AND MUSIC: The presentation, while undoubtedly low-budget, is a highlight of this title. The game's expressive character sprites and cohesive art design makes it a game that's constantly fun to look at. Forest backgrounds, while not terribly varied, are atmospheric and sometimes creepy. The muted colors work well in this respect. The character designs are cute, but not obscenely so: their chibi-esque stature doesn't detract from their dramatic presence in the story. The effect of the art is also heightened by a short but excellent score that really highlights the emotional highs and lows of the journey.

Untitled
-
-
STORY: The story here is concise and basic, not unlike one you'd encounter in a fairy tale. Yet, like any decent fairy tale, there are a plethora of themes that resonate universally: self-doubt, the search for one's place in life, the centrality of memory to emotional life and personal identity, the immutable differences that divide us from one-another, questioning the most basic assumptions about our existence, and the need for unconditional acceptance and love from those we care most about.

Complimenting the fairy tale-esque nature of the plot is the way it's conveyed to the player. Dialogue, character thoughts, and plot activity are all narrated in story book fashion by an omniscient third-person narrator, with charming illustrations that have a sketch-like quality to them. The effect, then, is not unlike having a parental figure read a bedtime story to you as a child.

The cast is limited. Aside from some monsters and disposable humans in the background, the only three characters in this game are the Wolf/Princess, the Prince, and the Witch. And the Witch is more of a plot device than anything, and only shows up near the beginning and the end of the game. So the entire focus is on the eponymous duo. It's a genuine pleasure to watch their relationship evolve throughout, especially when it examines the changing attitudes and moral struggles of the "Princess," who is entirely unused to the needs and habits of actual human beings (there's a charming scene where she discovers that, to her shock, humans don't just go out and consume the raw flesh of animals they've butchered; to the Princess, who is actually a wolf, eating raw meat is just second-nature, part of her automatic and unquestioning relationship to the universe around her). It's an interesting twist on the Beauty and the Beast concept. There's also a Disney's Little Mermaid element here: the reason the Wolf and the Prince meet in the first place is because of the Wolf's beautiful singing voice, which the Prince would travel to the forest every night to admire, not knowing she's a monster. She accidentally blinds him by trying to cover his eyes so that he can't see her for the beast she is when he tries to find her one evening, and, like Ariel in The Little Mermaid, she sacrifices her most precious possession, her singing voice, in order to assume a humanoid form and escort the Prince to the Witch. Unlike Ariel, though, she isn't really seeking to woo a man or break free from the trappings of her childhood. Rather, she's on a quest motivated by love and guilt.

One complaint, though: given the fact that the actual story is limited to a relatively minor amount of narrated dialogue, it would have been great to have this narration in English. I'm sure the Japanese voiceover is fine, but when someone's telling you a story, you want to actually understand the words you're hearing. It's a small thing, and would have improved the presentation fairly dramatically.

UntitledThere's a lot of self-doubt in the Wolf's heart; could the Prince ever learn to accept her for who she truly is?

UntitledThe game's tone is one that mixes somberness and an almost childlike whimsy to often great effect.
-
-
GAMEPLAY: While everything else is positive, the downside of the game is found in its gameplay. It's actually not a bad game , but the very basic nature of the gameplay fails to live up to the excellence found in the rest of the product. The entire game is one escort quest. The main character can switch between Wolf form, which she'll need to do to clear certain obstacles and keep enemies from mutilating the helpless Prince, and Princess form, where she'll be able to grab hold of his hand and lead him forward in the level. The Prince himself is little more than an accessory used to activate switches most of the time (which makes sense, considering he's totally unable to navigate by himself), although, over the course of the game, you'll unlock the ability to tell him to walk a certain distance on his own and have him carry certain light objects that are needed for some of the puzzles.

The puzzles themselves are primarily of the environmental form, with you having to figure out how to get the Prince through certain tricky obstacles without enemies or the environment killing him. And he will die a lot, as falls of more than a few feet tend to be fatal, and there's a LOT of jumping around in this game. You also have riddles of varying quality, though. They tend to be either incredibly basic, to the point where they might not even be there, or occasionally inscrutable to the point where you have no idea how to even tackle them.

Levels are clumped together in themed environments, with each one individually taking no more than a few minutes to navigate. There really isn't much in the way of variation between these areas, though, and the gameplay is samey throughout, despite the addition of a few mechanics here and there. Moreover, it never feels like you're really being challenged with a series of increasingly complex levels. It's easy to go on mental autopilot as you navigate these simple challenges, waiting for the next story segment to show up.

Controls, while not terrible, don't fare especially well, either. The Wolf should be a thrilling character to control, but she just feels sort of... clunky to maneuver.

I should also mention that, even for its diminutive $19.99 price tag ($29.99 if you buy it physically, lol), the game has little to offer in the way of unique content. It probably took me between 3 - 4 hours to complete the game, and then another 2 or 3 to complete all of the trophies and side content. So, best case scenario, you're looking at 7 hours of playtime. It's a charming story, but there's just not that much to this game.

UntitledI love how the Prince and Princess both smile when they're holding hands. It's such an adorable touch.

UntitledIf you allow the Prince to die somehow, the Princess will sob in grief for a moment before you're restarted to the last checkpoint.
-
-
Conclusion: The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince is a cute, charming fairy tale with a lovely style of presentation but little in the way of substantive gameplay content, challenge, or longevity.

UntitledA good visual metaphor for the lovely couple's relationship
-
-
Verdict: 7/10 (subtract a point if you're not a sap like me and don't tear up by the end)

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

RogerRoger

@Th3solution My love of Star Wars conquers all, it seems. Thank you!

The most enjoyable part was that, despite not knowing what I was gonna end up writing, I still managed to sneak in six semi-hidden Star Wars quotes, references or turns of phrase. It's a wonder I didn't start swapping "me" for "meesa" halfway through.

You've gotta enjoy whatever you're playing in the moment, so I wouldn't rush, particularly in the age of the post-launch patch. By the time you're ready for Jedi: Fallen Order they'll have likely implemented Photo Mode, cleaned up some of Kashyyyk's rough edges, and generally made it feel like a smoother experience from start to finish... and hey, if you can shave a tenner off the price in a sale, even better. Whenever you get to it, I'm confident you'll have a blast.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy When a double-bladed lightsaber comes spinning towards your face faster than a DualShock4's split-second wireless latency, you're tempted to call it "unfair", trust me! But you're right, that's why I separated my personal take on the combat at the beginning, because my ability (or lack thereof) shouldn't factor into a critical review.

I'm certain Soulsborne fans will think this game nigh-on perfect, at least from a combat perspective, and that's awesome. Maybe after I've played it a couple more times (which of course I will, it's Star Wars and there's a Photo Mode coming) it'll click with me, too. Here's hoping, at least!

Then we can swap war stories like a couple of pros... "I got this thumb sprain fighting the Second Sister, what about you?" "Ah, final boss of Dark Souls, did my left index finger right in." "Nasty."

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

RogerRoger

@Ralizah You must be the only Switch owner who wasn't playing Pokémon all weekend.

Great review; sounds like a real charming game. I'm all for adding points to reward emotional impact, and from the screenshots and your description alone, I know I'd likely "get something in my eye, honest" as well. Can't believe it's an extra tenner for a physical copy, though!

Might be something my partner enjoys, so thanks for bringing it to my attention!

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@RogerRoger Physical Switch games seem to be $29.99 minimum, which, I guess, is attributable to whatever production costs are associated with putting the game on a physical cartridge. Some companies put extra swag in the boxes, though, which minimizes the irritation produced by the Cartridge Tax a bit, I guess.

Thankfully, I borrowed it from a friend!

I'm usually a "gameplay first" sort of person, but this one did too much right for me to knock it any more than I already did. I would have if the gameplay was aggressively bland, but it's just... acceptable, alright, OK. The fantastic art design and emotional narrative make up for it a bit, I think.

RE: Fallen Order - Sorry the difficulty balancing proved too lopsided for you. The game sounds... fun, though. I think I'll probably jump on it when it drops in price a bit. This might sound a bit inane, but, when you're exploring different environments, do you have some sort of map to reference so that you don't get lost?

Also, how accessible would you say this game is to someone who is only a very casual Star Wars fan and only really cares about the original trilogy? Is the lore stuff that would go over my head?

Great write-up. I love how authentically your experience with a game carries over to your written impressions.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

RogerRoger

@Ralizah Gone are the days of a full-colour, well-produced manual in every game box, so I guess I wouldn't mind paying a little extra if Nintendo are trying to uphold that tradition, or something similar.

Cheeky!

Yes, there is a map in Jedi: Fallen Order (sorry, should've mentioned that in the review). It's a full 3D hologram projected over Cal's shoulder by BD-1 and is colour-coded to show blocked routes, unexplored areas and available shortcuts. Very useful indeed; one of the better in-game maps I've ever used.

And no, I think you'd be fine with the narrative content and lore. Everything you need to comprehend the story is presented up-front, and major events which are casually explained in brief exposition can usually be found expanded upon in the Databank (should you even wanna bother; if you know that the Jedi are good, the Sith are bad, and that the Clone Wars were a galaxy-defining mess, you're pretty much set). It's rather beautifully done, pleasing us nerds without getting bogged down in "last time on..." nonsense.

EDIT: Oh, and thanks for the review praise! Apologies, must've missed that in my haste to reply.

Edited on by RogerRoger

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@RogerRoger Nintendo doesn't care about that tradition, but Nintendo fans certainly seem to. It's probably a big reason so many limited print services for indie games have popped up as of late.

Personally speaking, while I sort of understand the appeal of having a collection on your shelf, I tend to go digital as it allows me to keep almost my entire collection in one format. I'll ultimately always opt for whatever is cheaper, though.

Fallen Order's map sounds very helpful, which is great. The 3D hologram map sounds similar to the in-game map Retro utilized in the Metroid Prime games years and years ago.

And yeah, I've actually seen all of the films and have a pretty decent idea of what's going on in the SW universe, but I'm still super casual when it comes to the nitty gritty of it. Good to hear it's accessible to everyone. And in-game encylopedias are always a blast when done well! I'll probably spend an inordinate amount of time just reading stuff in it, if my experience with other games is any indication.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

HallowMoonshadow

That art style is fudging adorable @Ralizah!

I quite like the tracks you out up too.

One flower's smile is very chill and relaxing compared to most of the music I've been hearing whilst gaming lately which is certainly refreshing and there's a sombre tone to Blade of Words that I quite like as well.

I see it's also on PS4 too so... Who knows I may play it down the line.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it so!


RogerRoger wrote:

When a double-bladed lightsaber comes spinning towards your face faster than a DualShock4's split-second wireless latency, you're tempted to call it "unfair", trust me!

I trust you completely @RogerRoger as I said my time with Demon's souls was the very much the same, yelling out obscenities and saying the game was not only unfair but cheating and dumb in my frustration lol 😅

And I look forward to our water cooler moment of swapping war stories (Which was hilarious by the way)

Edited on by HallowMoonshadow

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
.
.
.

"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

Thrillho

@Ralizah Nice. Love that art style.

Untitled

This just looks like she's just exasperated at the fact he's tripped over the woodland creature. Again.

Thrillho

Thrillho

Yakuza Kiwami 2

Untitled
Indeed

Completion: About 60hrs (I think) with roughly 80% trophy completion (my best yet for a Yakuza game!)

Untitled
Sometimes you do need to take a break from all the double crossing and exposition

Story: YK2 (as it shall be known from here on in) picks up not long after YK1 (I'm sticking to it) and the plot is just as good as the previous game. Unsurprisingly, it's a tale of double crossing, slow reveals, and occasional moments of melodrama. The game does well to bring back plenty of characters from the first game but also introduces lots of new characters, none more so than the main protagonist Ryuji Goda.

The main story bounds along nicely and flits between Kamurocho and Sotenbori, with the option to freely move between the two as you like. Occasional deviations take you into different areas, particularly the Tojo clan headquarters, but for the main part you'll be covering your old stomping grounds from Y0 and YK1.

The story gets a little silly towards the end as it seems every other character is a member of the Korean mafia that are the behind-the-scenes baddies here but on the whole the story is solid. The addition of the Majima storyline to fill in the gaps for him is a nice little addition that adds a couple of hours on but it is a bit light on content.

Untitled
Sadly, no using the tiger drop on an actual tiger

Combat: The combat here is much more streamlined with only the one combat style, rather than the three to four from previous games. This surprised me slightly and the combat feels quite repetitive early on as you only have the one style and few moves to go along with it. However, the combat upgrades work much better when not spread across the different styles, and there are a hole heap of heat actions (special moves) to keep combat fresh. In particular, there are useful additions to help in crowd control situations which are very welcome. Majima also has reduced combat styles which is disappointing and given the lack of upgrades to his style, it feels a bit boring compared to the bonkers styles he has in previous outings.

The same problems persist from previously, however, particularly that the camera seems to sometimes manage to find the worst possible angle for fighting and that the method of locking on to enemies is a bit rubbish. The health regen moves for bosses from the previous game have gone thankfully though, and the main boss fights have unique heat moves to finish them which was a nice addition.

Untitled
Cabaret club is back!

Side content: A big part of the Yakuza series is the [s]nonsense[/s] extracurricular activities there are to partake in.

The sub stories here felt a little lacklustre as they mostly felt like quite short affairs which were frequently mob fights. There were some exceptions to this but the in depth sub stories of Y0 and YK1 felt missing.

The cabaret club mini game makes a triumphant return with its own storyline. While little is different from Y0, it felt a bit more of a chore this time around but of course I still completed it and raked in the cash while doing so.

The new Majima construction was a bit of a chore though. You oversee your merry construction workers (with their catchy Majima construction theme tune) and move them around to defend your construction lot. Strategy comes into play with the make up of your squad, upgrading characters in battle, and unleashing special moves at the right time. It is fun to start with but quickly becomes repetitive.

Speaking of repetitive, there are additional bouncer missions which plonk you into a small section of the map and have an almost Streets of Rage style mission as you clear these areas of enemies (in slightly different ways) before finishing with a boss. These are good fun to start but each level has three difficulty rankings, although I never noticed too much difference between them, and there are 25 levels altogether I think. So yes, 75 levels altogether. Sod that.

The coliseum is also back with a fun array of battle types but the overall difficulty here felt lower than previous games. This was fine by me as I actually got to complete it for once.

Untitled
Yakuza is going to Yakuza

Overall: YK2 doesn't reinvent the Kiryu shaped wheel but tinkers with it enough to feel different from previous outings and makes it look better than ever. The story will drag you in but the extra content will keep you there.

Edited on by Thrillho

Thrillho

RogerRoger

@Thrillho Great report on YK2 (it's catching!).

My best friend has just finished YK1 and is looking forward to continuing with these remasters, but it sounds like YK2 makes a lot of changes to combat and content that, on the surface, seem like a backwards step. At least there is difference to be felt, however, as I gathered that Y0 and YK1 were similar to the point where playing them in chronological order made YK1 feel a little like an expansion pack.

At the very least, I can warn her about incoming men in diapers. Thanks!

***

@Ralizah Yeah, I'm in that weird mid-stage of having a large physical collection, but also playing a lot of digital releases and getting used to the convenience. I'll always be tempted by old-school re-releases from Limited Run Games and whatnot, but I'm not as fearful of the inevitable all-digital future as I once was.

If you do end up reading all of the lore in Jedi: Fallen Order and like the sound of some parts, I could always embed clips of its animated origins. They chose great bits to reference!

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy As long as the water cooler is in A&E...

"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."

PSN: GDS_2421
Making It So Since 1987

Ralizah

@Thrillho Thanks. Now I can't unsee her face-palming.

I'm starting to get a real backlog of these Yakuza games. I'm going to need to buckle down soon and start plugging through them. I might skip Yakuza 0, which I've already played 25% of or so, and just focus on the Kiwami games, though.

@RogerRoger I'm still not 100% on-board with an all-digital future for gaming (more like 90%, but there's still that little bit of annoyance when I realize I have a way bigger library than what I'm seeing on my shelf), but I've pretty much completely abandoned physical media when it comes to TV shows and movies. I watch all my movies and anime on streaming services now and, honestly, even as someone with 200+ DVDs and Blu-Rays, I'm not sad about the shift. Physical media is a pain.

Only thing I won't budge on is books. I'm 100% physical with books and comics (aside from the ComiXology collection I built up 5+ years ago before deciding it wasn't for me). E-books just aren't the same.

Edited on by Ralizah

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

HallowMoonshadow

Nice going @Thrillho! I know there's a bunch of Yakuza love on this forum already and ugh... I'm seriously considering getting at least zero rather then waiting for the new entry after all I've heard recently... It sounds like something I'll love


Oh and a little tip too @Thrillho I figured out... if you change the word "small" at the very end of a twitter jpg link to "large"... you get a bit of a clearer/higher resolution picture

Small link

Untitled

Large link

Untitled

S'not a huge difference... But it's a bit clearer and not so fuzzy

Edited on by HallowMoonshadow

Previously known as Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy
.
.
.

"You don't have to save the world to find meaning in life. Sometimes all you need is something simple, like someone to take care of"

Ralizah

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy I think the game is worth playing if you can get it on sale. There's not a lot to it, but it's a mostly charming couple of hours, and, yeah, the art design is just phenomenal and adorable.

Currently Playing: Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re- Boot Camp (NS)

PSN: Ralizah

Thrillho

@RogerRoger The changes to the combat felt a bit regressive to start with but I think I preferred it in the end as you could neglect some of the combat styles on the previous game whereas here only having the one style means you got much more familiar with all the different moves available to you.

@Ralizah I picked up Zero about 6 months ago and then YK1 and YK2 when they appeared in sales so they've been waiting for me to play. I did the same with Y6 before they'd even announced the 3-6 collection, and then I picked that one up with the Summer Sale discount code. It's taking up a fair chunk of my PS4 library! And I would say to stick with Y0 as it's the most fun game so far but it must be great to play the game after the Kiwami games to get more of the in jokes and understand the rise of Majima a bit more.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy Y0 is a Playstation Hit (or whatever they're called) and frequently on sale too. For £15 it is a steal and excellent value for money seeing as it took me 90hrs to finish! YK1 is a shorter affair but you can tell it was originally made a while ago as it's lacking in a content a little. It has also been remade so that it has flashbacks to Y0 as well now. And I didn't know whether the bigger images were a bit too big but I will take your point on board.

Anyhoo, next review to come later tonight!

Thrillho

Please login or sign up to reply to this topic