Recent reviews by KNDY です

I absolutely enjoy the "WARRIORS OROCHI 4" game and when you play this game for many hours, one thing that is going to be important is having cool music to go along with that gameplay.

But one such DLC that makes you wonder if it's even worth it is the "ω-Force 20th Anniversary Concert BGM Pack".

First and foremost, its important for people to know that in Japan, music is expensive and second, unlike other countries, the great lengths Japan does to protect their music copyrights. Some companies are still in the '90s in that aspect and to this day, mostly Japanese companies tend to put their music as in-game only and MP3's or other formats like FLAC are not available.

This is primarily done in fear because they know people will rip them and put them on websites causing a headache for them. It's also one of the reasons why many Japanese companies today still release short videos not full videos on YouTube. They don't want anyone ripping their music, they want you to buy the physical or digital media separately where they can count sales and have control over it. [Note: I work with Japanese entertainment companies, especially the music industry]

In Japan, bundling things with music is the way they like to include their music, so to this day, if it's bundled with physical media, for limited series or to promote a release, they include a CD soundtrack.

So, knowing this in advance, it becomes subjective. How badly do you want that music that can only be listened to in the game? Music you can not download directly?

For me, I wanted to support Omega Force for what they have done with this video game series and also, I need more musical choices.

When the packs are on sale, it's a great time to buy. $11 is not bad for 21 songs. And the music is from the concert, so it has that live concert feel.

Granted, you are not going to enjoy the music all alone (you can during the music selection) but during the game, a lot of the voice and action sound effects will be prominent.

But I will say, there are a lot of awesome songs on this BGM pack.

Yes, it's a shame that you can't download it, listen to it in your car or phone. One day, major Japanese video game companies will one day allow their music to be downloaded separately on digital copies on STEAM. But as you can see with many major releases, they aren't going to any time soon.

So, knowing this in advance, the soundtrack is definitely worth it, moreso on sale! Under $11 is much more wallet friendly and it gives me the high energy music that I expect to use on this game.

It's a rarity to find live video game concert sounds in a video game. It's one thing to buy a soundtrack of live video game concerts but many songs that can be used in-game, I don't think I have really seen that in any video game.

I absolutely love the mixing done for these songs to hear the music separation (primarily electric guitars) from left and right headset (example "Slash It; Thrasha All BGM 5, "Tetorigawa" BGM 11, "Demon Slayers" BGM 13).

My personal favorites: "Dynasty Warriors" (1), "Slash the Demon" (3), "Arena" (4), "Slash It; Thrash All" (5), "Great Red Spirit" (6), "Kawanakajima" (8), "Tetorigawa" (11), "Chthonian Fiend" (14), "Pyropterix" (15), "THE WALL OF FATE ~God of War~ The Heroes' Advance" (18), "THEME OF OROCHI -REBIRTH MIX-" (19), City of Flowers (20) and "Crush 'em All" (21).

If you are on the fence, it's worth getting if you love this game and it's style of music. But do know, the BGM Pack is only play only via the Gallery Section or in-game. No fast forwarding, just play only.

As a longtime "Musou" fan, I do recommend it!

"Scarlet Nexus" it looks great, has a captivating story, cool voice acting but somewhat par gameplay.

In a way, it's more like a Virtual Novel game with gameplay elements, with the gameplay being OK.

I think those who love action-drive anime/manga storylines would enjoy "Scarlet Nexus" and in someways, I feel like there is more a lean towards reading vs. gameplay. And some gameplay elements, it's more of a rehash of re-doing things you've done before which becomes monotonous.

In some ways, it's a bit sad because for such a cool game with cool characters and design and cool storyline, developers must have had a hard time trying to figure out how to create a compelling well-balanced game.

But regardless, I did enjoy the game, as I enjoy reading a lot of manga and play a lot of virtual novels. Those who want more action and less reading, may not like this game that much.

So, a question some may ask is if the DLC is needed. If you are a completist, then go for it. If you can get it cheap, go for it. There are bond episodes which lengthens the game (especially if you beat it with one character and play the EX New Game with the other character). But aside from cosmetics and Bond stories, one can pass on it. I got it for the bond stories (yes, more reading! I don't mind, but if you do...then avoid).

As for the cosmetics, I thought I can have everyone decked out in all red like what you see in the illustration but it's not the case. Although, Yuito's red costume is awesome.

Other than that, again, I'm cool with "Scarlet Nexus" and I give it a recommendation, but that's only if you like a lot of reading and you are digging the overall character design. If you are looking for exciting gameplay, this game is not it. In fact, many times I felt sleepy because I felt I was rehashing things over and over again. It does get old quick and wish developers just created new environments and not having gamers revisit areas. Especially in an area where you had to look for keys and with a bond episode, you're going to have to do it all over again.

But "Scarlet Nexus" is a reader's delight! You are captivated in its fascinating storyline and cool visuals, like a comic book. The voice acting is also pretty cool too! But the gaming part of it...it's a bit lackluster.

I have to admit that it’s been a long time since I’ve played a “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon” game and while I enjoyed the series, I have since moved on from console to PC gaming and had to try “Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint”.

450 hours later and I think I can say that I very much enjoyed this game! But it’s one of those games where the DLC enhances the experience and those sticking with the base game, if they don’t try the DLC, they end up missing out.

But first and foremost, look at reviews and if they have not put in much time playing it, then disregard it. This is a game that you really have to develop your character and add awesome weapons and gear overtime. It’ll take some time but that’s part of the journey with this game!

In fact, I don’t want to stop playing it but I have dedicated months to this game and I need to move on to the next game (as I have a huge gaming backlog).

First, it’s important to note that I got the Ultimate Edition on sale and my review is based on solo not multiplayer.

The main storyline is very cool. Pretty much there are various areas that you can pursue and so much of Auroa to discover. You have different classes you can partake in but I think what made this game so much fulfilling is using the drone to discover bivouac scattered throughout the island and thus making traveling easier.

It can get monotonous of walking around and fighting enemies for better weapons or parts, but it’s part of the game but with having so much of the DLC scattered through areas that are spread out, it made discovering locations much easier.

So, weapons do get better overtime, gear gets better overtime, but it depends on how much time you put into it. Seeing people who are only putting a dozen hours or so and think they got this game down and dismiss it is quite foolish.

You really have to get into this game and explore and play it and you’ll discover how awesome it is. Sure, the main missions is one thing, but those DLC missions takes the game even further. I swear that taking down the enemies in season 3 was just awesome!

Sam Fisher in Season 2 was cool. But it’s hard for me to see how much Sam Fisher has aged since I started playing “Splinter Cell” (and then I realize, darn, I grew old with this character as well…lol). But great to see Sam again….albeit, a much older version of one of the greatest stealth character in video games.

Also, the “Operation Motherland” was fun way to end the game.

But assuming no one got into the DLC and just focused on the base game, I can then see where some sections would be seen as negative. Taking on certain antagonists, there were those who were shown as evil but when you get into battle, it didn’t lead up into anything significant.
That is one key weakness of the base game is the antagonists don’t have any feeling of excitement, compared to the DLC missions.

I don’t like how Mads Schulz played a key figure in the beginning but pretty much nothing after you complete the missions.

Another is the use of the AI teammates. Some missions, you don’t want their involvement because even if you tell them to hold, they end up showing up in areas where enemies spot them. So annoying, that I had to deactivate them at times.

But I love the customization and the ability to really travel afar in this game and kick butt. I absolutely love this game!

But these are just small negatives, the positives outweigh the negatives if you incorporate the DLC. Because now that you can get the Ultimate so cheap on sale, you can see how they made this game better.

While the base game is very good, to truly enjoy this game and want to keep playing, those DLC’s more than make this game even better.

While Ubisoft was able to make this game way better than the base game through its updates and DLC’s, it’s not the bad game that some people made it out to be in the beginning. Ubisoft managed to make this game a winner, but it came months later after its release.

If you see this game on sale, please get the Gold or Ultimate Edition. I say Ultimate Edition, because really, there is only a few buck difference when both are on sale.

But I absolutely love this game! Highly recommended!

I have been looking forward to play Wales Interactive's "Five Dates".

As a person who enjoys Japanese dating sim video games (which are quite popular in Japan), I wanted to see how the experience this would be via FMV, as in Japan, many are just static images but with audio. And the concept is similar, you go on dates and you choose the right/wrong answers.

Granted, this one is focused during the Pandemic, so it is video dating and are shot in a person's bedroom or kitchen. As opposed to meeting at the park, museum or restaurant.

During the Pandemic, I had my fair share of online video meeting, especially for that first year which was quite rough. But I lived the experience and man, if only in real life, you can go back and answer questions differently like you can do here.

My first playthrough, I actually didn't answer anything. I let it go and see how they reacted to the default answers and of course, all women were turned off and I didn't get a date.

But the second playthrough, I was immediately wanting to date the Spanish freebird. But granted, they do throw some questions in the loop.

And sometimes you get some crazy questions about sex (ie. sexual positions). There is profanity, no nudity. But for the most part, I had fun with this.

Again, I pretty much grew up playing Japanese dating sims and I absolutely loved this game and the whole FMV aspect. FMV has come a long way and Wales Interactive are doing a wonderful job with it!

"Five Dates" is recommended!

In "Ys IX: Monstrum Nox", we have another Nihon Falcom game building upon "Ys VIII: LAcrimosa of Dana" and also a few things from previous games.

And as Nihon Falcom president Kondo Toshihiro said, he wanted to bring the game towards adventure and he did so with this ninth game.

Adol Christin and Dogi, the adventurers arrive in the prison city of Barduk.

Doesn't take long for Adol to be arrested for his adventurous past and locked in prison. This is where he is taken by Aprilis and given special abilities and together with others who have special abilities, must take on the Monstrum.

For the most part, I enjoyed the game thanks to its characters. I really like the move sets for each character and that is a plus of being able to have several characters (3-4 at the most) and you can advance their move sets.

For the most part, I think the game is one that curious JRPG fans may want to partake in if they wanted to try an "Ys" game for the first time.

The storyline is captivating, the characters are cool and the moves and battle system is easy to pickup and keep one busy for many hours.

What didn't I like about the game? I felt towards the end, they tacked on many side missions for the sake of getting enough Nox to open a sealed area. I think tacking them on so much towards the end, kind of tired me out and I was starting to get tired of the game and wanted to move on. I guess, I liken certain side missions to like watching a filler episode oif an anime you enjoy. There are only so much filler episodes on can't take? The same with these side missions that felt tacked on.

I did notice a glitch but maybe it's only on my end where audio kept going out at times and the only way to get it back is to save the game, close it completely and load my last save file. But maybe it's just on my end...it didn't happen too much for the first half, but it did happen quite a bit towards the middle/end of the game.

But for the most part, I enjoyed this game a lot and I do recommend it!

If there is one DLC that I recommend for "Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain", it would be this. I got it on sale for cheap, so I had to check it out!

If you have beaten the game, prepare yourself for some high intense battles because they literally are sending everything at you. And now the Kaiju can control your armed vehicles to go at you and man, it gets intense. I love it!

And even more levels where you can collect a ton of gems and use close contact weapons.

The additional weapons and gear is like the cherry on top of this awesome DLC!

But for the price you get on sale and all that it comes with, it's so darn worth it! Highly recommended!

As a big fan of the "Chikyu Boeigun" (Earth Defense Force) series, my first foray into the series was the second game for the PSP in Japan (which I would upgrade to V2 for the Vita) and would continue from 2017 and up on the XB360 and Vita. But also played the spin-offs such as "Global Defence Force Tactics", "Earth Defence Force: Insect Armageddon" and now on STEAM with "Earth Defense Force: Iron Rain" (ahh...the memories of traveling to Akihabara in Tokyo and visiting all the Trader shops for Earth Defense Force games).

I absolutely enjoy the series, but I was hesitant of getting this one because all the negative reviews. But everyone has different taste and noticed those giving negative reviews, some didn't put that much time into the game.

While I have played it with the English, I prefer playing it with the Japanese dialogue, I wanted to try this game as Yuke's wanted to do a side story that was more serious than campy, so this is different from the Sandlot versions of EDF. This has no connection to "Insect Armageddon".

There are two types of missions that one will want to do, one is to complete the mission by eliminating the enemy, the other is collection MIA drones. You don't have to do the latter. But it is also best to collect as many of the blue, green, yellow and orange gems as it would lead to adding items to your attack.

I've only played single player and the game was exciting and fun but some issues is that certain areas are reused a bit too frequently. I wished they gave more variations in setting. Granted, some are day and some are night but a change of scene would have been nice since it takes place all over the world.

From the 52 missions, for the most part, as you level up, you get some levels that are insanely easy, but then a few that are insanely difficult. So, expect to die often and play over and over like other EDF games.

Loved the character creation mode, there are so many clothing options that you can earn but although, I wonder where the idea for "Nardo" came from (lol).

There is also Mercenary Mode for online only team battle. I'm a single player person with a huge STEAM backlog, so I feel like for me, after defeating the game, it's more or less playing it again on more difficult levels to collect more weapons.

But I had a lot of fun playing this game. Some have valid reasons for disliking it, but for me, it was definitely well worth the purchase.

Earlier on, it may seem monotonous but from mission 12 and on, but this game gave me "ULTRAMAN" vibes with the Kaiju and felt like I was a member of Team GUYS, SkaRD, XIG or GUTS taking on these killer Kaiju. Loved that!

Also, later on when you see tons of Scourgers going after you or in the cave tunnels with a ton of ants coming after you and using grenades or even getting your sword out to slice through them all. I loved those missions!

Last, there are a lot of DLC for this game. All are cosmetic, but one "Golden Storm", I got it for those gold ants and extra missions (on sale) which seems to be the best in the lot. I also got the DLC for fiction gravure model Futaba Riho (she is a character on the video game "Love Songs Idol Classmate" and "Onechanbara" games but also a lot of the company's SIMPLE series games (a lot of Mahjong games).

But man, I wish there is a sequel, especially with that ending teaser!

I absolutely enjoyed this game! Recommended!

As a "Tales" fan, "Tales of Berseria" is a JRPG that I do recommend to fans who love or are new to the series. But how does it rank with other "Tales of" games?

While the storyline and the characters are captivating, I do feel that it carries some of that old school style of having to travel far from point A to point B too much. Until much later in the game, when you get a hoverboard that makes it quicker to get from point to point, I feel that you will find yourself fighting a lot during those long walks just in hopes of getting better equipment, that you more than likely will sell.

If anything, while not necessarily a grindfest, you will want to search everywhere for chests (especially the pink cat chests) and fight as many as you can which will test your patience, especially with the extra dialogue that will pop up while walking around.

The extra dialogue serves to add more character (comical) dialogue with characters who aren't all that impactful for most of the game or more development for Phi and Theresa.

I think at the first half of the game, it was enjoyable and fun, but by the second half, I felt that developers threw some things in to extend the games duration, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but the pacing feels disjointed at certain areas of the game.

At times, I was like..."great more walking"... some puzzles were tricky but for the most part, not too difficult.

If anything, the storyline and characters keep me captivated but certain gameplay elements, while cool, sometimes you wonder, "is there a real point of cooking or sending boats out to islands that will affect gameplay". And seriously, some of the things you do get for your character for outfits are downright uncool.

But this is a slightly above average "Tales of" game. And this is coming from a guy who owns and played "Tales of" games since the PS/GBA days (Japanese games).

But I do recommend it!

So, what is the LGV Méditerranée? It's a 250 km (160 mile) French high-speed rail between Saint-Marcel-les-Valence, Drome and Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhone and also features a connect to Nimes and Gard. In fact, it became appealing as now one can go to Marseille from Paris in three hours, making an alternative to flying.Service began in 2001 and it was a life-changing event that has made transportation to farther areas in France much easier (to the dismay and protests of wineries, as is the case with many high speed rails going by farming areas).So, what is the TGV Duplex?TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer français which means "National Society of French railroads") and is France's national state-owned railway company.The TGV Duplex features bi-level carriages and has a seating capacity of 508 passengers.The TGV Duplex also has a maximum speed of 320 km/h (199 mph), it is considered the world's fastest train as a short formation TGV Duple achieved 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) and has been tested for aerodynamics and safety in the event of a collision.  It uses an active pantograph (Faiveley CX), all wheel disc brakes, quiet roof fans and an aluminum body.I absolutely love the bold Carmillon livery and it's just a beautiful train overall with so much power and speed!So, what does "Train Sim World: LGV Méditerranée: Marseille - Avignon Route" on "Train Sim World 3" allow you to do?The main route is the 58-mile route from Marseille Saint-Charles to Avignon TGV.  The 200 series TGV Duplex EMU in SNCF Carmillion livery is what you will be responsible for.Journey Mode features over 24 hours of activities, there are two training modules and five detailed scenarios for this route.  And of course, there is a Livery Designer, Scenario Planner and it's based on Dovetail Games proprietary SimuGraph Vehicle dynamics engine and Unreal Engine 4 technology.I absolutely enjoyed this route, but some may call it a short DLC because you only have the one vehicle and the routes are not exactly long.But for me, the ability to drive the TGV Duplex was one of the main reasons of getting this DLC and the route is something that appealed to me.But one of the things that I noticed with this game that it really will teach a person is how pantographs are utilized.  During a route, you will need to know when to switch from DC (pantograph at the front and rear) and then to LGV (uses the AC Pantograph on the rear and sets it to pantograph height to its maximum extension) before entering a tunnel (as power mode must be changed to 25kv AC) and seeing a blue sign indicator, then switching to AC mode (pantograph on the rear) outside of Marseilles.I liked how you get to learn about the vehicle's braking system, the TVM-430, the Crocodile safety system, the VACMA (Driver Vigilance Device), the KVB system (enable or disable).But I had so much fun controlling the TGV Duplex.  I just like the overall controls of how the train is run and the newer technology and thought that went into the design.The game also looks beautiful, although I can't comment on accuracy of how close it depicts the route, it's beautiful to look at!"Train Sim World: LGV Méditerranée: Marseille - Avignon Route" is on sale for an unbelievable price of $5.99 (80% off) on STEAM (Spring Sale was at $17.99, so this current sale for this DLC alone is insane).  Get it now while you can!  "Train Sim World 3" owners, make sure to purchase the version that shows "TSW2 & TSW3 Compatible"."Train Sim World: LGV Méditerranée: Marseille - Avignon Route" for the price and enjoyment, it's definitely a must buy at $6.

I'm a long time Gundam gamer, longtime mecha game fan and also a Gunpla builder. And I'm a Gundam manga and anime fan and visited Gundam locations throughout Tokyo for years.

With that being said, "New Gundam Breaker" breaks away from the the previous Gundam Breaker video games which I've enjoyed on my PS Vita and as I read the reviews, I have to wonder, has some of those who even gave a negative review even played a Gundam game before?

Were they more into the Gundam Battle Assault games of the PSP and wanted a more fighting game ala "Street Fighter 2" experience?

Or were they wanting a more "Gundam vs." outdoor battle style of gameplay or the "Dynasty Warriors: Gundam" style gaming?

What I liked about this game is how they incorporated the building/crafting which I wouldn't be surprised if they created the game in this manner to coincide with the plug for Gunpla and the "TRY" anime series by focusing on the Gunpla aspect. Crafting your own Gunpla, designing your mecha the way you want and taking it to battle.

The main storyline is you joined a new school and you are passionate about Gunpla. But it doesn't take long to realize that because the student body has looked at Gunpla as a strong will survive instead of playing for the fun of it, you and a few friends decide to create a rivalry faction to take on the cocky student boy students.

And while it seems there is a visual novel aspect as you select certain answers, it's not exactly. It's more for storyline and then assisting your friends in battle.

You can choose a frame to suit your style of gameplay. I'm more of a striker and like to fight and demolish my enemies immediately and utilize the parts for myself after the battle is over.

While many Gundam characters do show up, there is no good and bad as you will have to destroy Gundam and Zaku. As you will be given multiple quests during gameplay.

Unlike other mecha games which the goal is to defeat the enemy. This one is about team battles and accomplishing your quests and trying to get the best score and defeating the members of the school's student body.

Is it a perfect game? No. Camera can really bug you but you'll have to turn off a certain setting to make things easier.

I'm enjoying this game a lot, but it's not because it's a Gundam game. I enjoy it because of the gunpla aspect of the game but also its storyline of being the underdog team in school and defeating the student body who are so arrogant in their ways.

If anything, I'm glad to have played this game on STEAM. It's running great considering how much flack the game received when it was released on PS4 in Japan due to the freezing and glitching.

With that being said, I do feel it's much to different than previous Gundam Breakers. This is a completely different game, hence the "New Gundam Breaker", but for those who liked the previous Gundam Breakers, this game may turn people off, especially if you loved 2 and 3.

In some ways, if they called this game anything but Gundam Breaker, it may have received much more respect. But because the call it "New Gundam Breaker", those who played the previous games are going to feel that developers strayed too far off course. I do understand that.

For me, I see this more as a Gunpla fighting game, rather than a Gundam Breaker game and I enjoy it as such.

But because we can only say recommend or not recommend this game, I do recommend it. . It's a fun game, I'm enjoying it a lot! But I purchased this when it was on sale and I recommend doing the same!