Recent reviews by AMDG Banana Ben [AU]

The story and gameplay is decent but falls short in every other aspect.

When you have an armoured enemy who can also kill you in a single volley, you know you have a problem (just a regular enemy, not even a boss).

Shame since it's actually quite forgiving for a sidescrolling beat em up. If you wanted you could grind out levels and gear up to a point and that would make things easier but frankly I don't like the game enough to do that.

A fitting time to write a review for this classic game. I finished it many times as a teen, so it's safe to say this is one of my favourite old school CRPG's.

Pros
- Easy to pickup, a few extra class options come with EE and makes for a more interesting experience although I will admit I still have never played a Shaman character yet.

- TOB is a short but good experience, especially for this who are already familiar with BG2. Sometimes you don't want to play a 40+ hour adventure so it's perfect for this, that and being a high level means high level abilities.

- A quality cast of characters and it's also easy enough to play with mods or a custom party. In the past you had to make a party in multiplayer, export them to your singleplayer folder and it was just a lot of extra work.

- I know some OG fans hate the new UI but it didn't personally bother me, the general QOL added outweighs most of the problems.

- Meta builds aren't necessary to win unless you are playing no reload on Insane with mods like SCS and Legacy of Baal with a lower level party or lack of custom characters. There's many ways to break the game, that's half the fun! (at least for me).

Cons
- Early>mid game can be pretty frustrating for a first timer, thanks to some very powerful debuffs (Vampires level drain, Mind Flayers sucking your brain or Beholders killing you straight up).

- Lategame is pretty overwhelming on higher difficulties.

- LOB difficulty is for the masochists. While there are moments of fun, expect even basic fights to be a bit of a slog even with meta picks. At least this becomes much easier by lategame once you unlock HLAs and the top tier weapons, honestly feel like the first game on LOB is harder just because of the early to mid game being very unforgiving.

- Some rare bugs or pathfinding issues still plague the game (not as bad as some other Infinity Engine games like Icewind Dale but can be annoying).

Overall, this game is a classic for a reason and goes on sale regularly so it's never a bad time to pick it up. I recommend starting on Normal/Core Rules if you are a first timer or newer to the BG series, it has a very generous difficulty curve or story mode/easy if you don't want to worry about dying and status ailments.

As someone who picked this up for peanuts back when it was on the PSN store, I wanted to give this an honest go to see how much the HD port improves the game. Note that most of my criticisms are directed at the original game, not the updated version.

I just completed Suikoden 1 on Hard mode (average clear time should be closer to 20-25 hours since I missed some characters and didn't grind much).

Pros
- Great updates to the visuals and audio quality.
- Easy speed up in battles and the autobattle option saved a lot of time. I hope in future titles they can also have the "save cursor" feature for some battles where for when I want to use Runes/Unite attacks without having to sort through and select them every time.

- A pin section for the log is such a smart addition! It really helped me when recruiting characters or when I forgot about where to go next.

- Generally not a grind heavy game. Other than money sometimes being an issue, the game scales your experience gain to your level meaning that a low level character can be at the same level with a few battles and this is even faster with the XP rune easily acquirable around midgame.

- Difficulty is on the lower side. There's multiple ways to break the game even if you aren't greedy for damage like me, between high magic characters or Unite attacks being able to be spammed in some instances.

-Tactically the game gains a large amount of depth in Suikoden 2 with more rune access, some familiar faces and good abilites (also items which cause damage and some that can even AOE heal your party is awesome).


Neutral

- Game length could be a miss for some players. Like I said earlier, I finished Suikoden 1 in under 20 hours so even for a completionist it's likely not going above 40 or 50 hours which is pretty short for most JRPG's, at least in my experience. At least there's some replay value if you want to 100% the game so that's something.

- Suikoden 2 takes a bit too long for my liking before it gets "good". Basic QOL such as teleporting back to your base and the like doesn't happen for a good while and upgrading my weapons felt like a perpetual problem, mostly because there wasn't many towns that had regular access to these.

Cons
- Inventory management is horrendous. I kind of wish they overhauled it so that you had reserved slots just for your equipment, having to always be aware of this wasted a lot of time and added a fair share of frustration. (This is much better in the 2nd game, why they didn't just use this system for both games is beyond me).

- Lack of revival items. While it was nice that you could bring back characters with basic healing items after a battle, it made some particular boss fights quite frustrating if you can't survive against say multiple AOE attacks and again those revival items are rare and expensive for when you do get them. This is generally better in Suikoden 2.

- Autosaves, while a good addition, were rarely placed well. Instead of choosing to have them say after some difficult bosses or large battles, they would often trigger before a save point saving you... 30 seconds? It would have been better to spread them out or have them like many other JRPGs and make an autosave when you leave or enter most areas.

- Lack of easy exit for the PC version. I have to alt+F4 every time and for a modern port this is not acceptable. Also an autorun function would be good.

- Better clarity on certain scenarios would have been good. For example, there are a very points of no return in both games but very little indication or time to prepare unless you've already played through the game or have been using a guide leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

- Why can't you just look at the map when in the overworld? I had to exit to the manual, scroll down to map and then look at it. This became less of an issue when I was more comfortable with the game world but again, why not just add a minimap. (Turns out I missed a character in the first game which lets you see a minimap on the overworld, again it's an odd feature).

Good overall versions of both games. I recommend getting it on sale if you can to maximise the value for your dollars =)

This game has great potential but some of the more egregious parts will likely stifle it's long term lifespan.

Pros
- Visually beautiful, the mech designs are cool and have enough variety to keep it interesting
- The gameplay is alright, the weapons themselves look and feel cool
- Matchmaking was very quick, excellent ping and easy enough to mark things for team-mates
- I really like that you can try out mechs before you spend your in-game currency

Cons
- The character's look like they were dipped in hot glue, something about the sheen of their skin looks un-natural and what is with the super long zoom on their behind just before they launch?

- The movement aside from the light mechs feels extremely sluggish, that's fair enough if I'm playing an Ultra Heavy but otherwise it feels like i'm moving in molasses and dash energy runs out extremely fast. It would be good if there was ways to remedy this so that all mech types can feel balanced.

- Some mechs feel far overtuned. I'm not so worried abour damage but in capabilites, like I get that the default mech is supposed to be well rounded but you effectively have to kill it more than 2 times over since it has the second suit and I think there would be some more nuance if there was a way to prevent the ability or maybe just buff the removed armour form to be better and replace the armour gain ability altogether, it just doesn't feel well designed.

- I can see the Battlepass gain being absurd unless you spend money. Yes it's a beta but I've played enough online games with terrible grinds to see where the mindset is heading, maybe they could boost that particular currency gain by playing with friends or something? Anything to make it faster.


tl;dr An okay 3rd person Mech game that has great potential but fails to represent a game worth your time in the long run, probably fine if you want to casually play but that's about it (this makes me miss Gundam Evolution even more now, gone before it's time).

A solid romp and generally enjoyable example of what the Infinity Engine can do.

Note that most of my cricisms are not focused on the extra polish Beamdog added to this game but moreso over arching issues that were there before said game was updated.

Pros
- The art style has aged well, i still quite like the larger set pieces and general variety you get in this game really setting it apart from BG and Planescape
- Unique spells and abilities not accessible in other games, adds a bit of extra spice to the game as someone who has cleared BG1/2 dozens of times
- The general plot is very focused, leading to a playtime of around 10-15 hours (at least for me) and 5-7 hours for the Heart of Winter Expansion (not including the extra Trials of the Luremaster).
- Enhanced edition perks such as the custom kits make the game more enjoyable, especially as someone who likes doing unique challenges like using only a particular weapon type or class and the extra items from the update were nice touches as well.
- Solid challenge in the gameplay. Having the possibility of a decked out custom party always felt cool and while there isn't any party interaction compared to other D&D games, there was enough there to always keep me interested.

Cons

- Heart of Fury overall was a frustrating rather than fun experience. I wasn't fighting the enemies so much, instead it was the pathfinding and enemies clogging up areas limiting your tactical options. I get it, it's an optional mode for the hardcore but I feel like for a game like this, maybe a better AI or some different attacks or something is always going to be more interesting than simply stat padding and increasing numbers.

- Persistent traps. In BG, after you walk over a trap it often could never trigger again, unlike this game where afaik every trap will continue triggering until you have disarmed it making for some frustrating encounters in high trap environments.

- Mostly related to HOF difficulty but the pathfinding feels especially bad in this game, compared to say BG or Planescape Torment which generally have wider environments to navigate there are many areas you can be funneled leading to some extra frustration. Not a deal breaker but this felt much more prominent than I remember.

- Some of the achievements bugged out, specifically the story mode completion which made me spend more time finishing the game again from scratch (also class related achievements, swap them into the 1st player slot and they should unlock). Truly an odd interaction.

- More high capacity or purchasable/droppable infinite +1 arrows/bolts etc would have been great, in the late game I was spending a lot of time going back to the shops because of how often I would simply run out.

tl;dr It's a good, reasonable length game that goes on sale often and overall feel good to play. Whether you are a Infinity Engine veteran like me or someone looking to get into CRPG's, I'd say this is a pretty good place to start.

A shadow if it's former self.

While the dual job system is cool, the general mechanics and gameplay didn't improve enough to keep the game interesting or satisfying.

It looks nice but that's about the only good part of the game (also turn off Vsync, it was making my game drop frames constantly since I play on a 144hz screen).

Play it at your peril on deep discount of just play the vastly superior games on 3ds (or heck play Octopath Traveller 1/2 who's systems are generally better but you also get lots of cool job combos!)

As a big fan of Turok 1 and 2, this game is a massive dissapointment.

Pros
- Nightdive did a fantastic job porting this game. As someone who's never owned a 64, it looks pretty incredible.


Cons
- Audio quality is terrible, would have been nice to have some extra polish
- Gameplay is too hit and miss. Enemies can deal 10 or 50 damage in a few hits, making for a frustrating experience
- Bosses are boring and not fun to fight

tl;dr Unless you really love Turok and want to suffer through this game, I can't honestly recommend it.

A great RPG and an excellent choice for Saga vets or those who want to get into the series (I'd either put this game or the most recent Romancing Saga 2 Remake as the best starting point for the series).

Pros
- High Replayability. Being a little different than traditional JRPG's it allows for a more open ended experience, aside from some set quests and such depending on your main character chosen, you can somewhat go where you want in whatever order you want. Also New Game plus is great especially if you're a completionist like me who wants to play through with everyone, less time spent grinding money and just start with your best items+weapons then just naturally grind your abilities and call it a day.

- Scaleable enemies. This took some getting used to when I first start playing this game back in the 90s but in short, the more you fight the stronger the enemies become allowing you to access your stronger weapon techniques so it actually discourages grinding in that sense.

- Being able to finally play this on Steam is a blessing. Had minimal issues with the control scheme and while a generally challenging game, you can save wherever you wish limiting time wasted.

Cons
- The bosses are pretty difficult the first time you encounter them.
- Somewhat expensive for a remaster. It doesn't personally bother me much since I bought his on sale and even 70+ hours into the game have not finished everything so it will give you value for your money.

tl;dr If you want to delve into a Saga game, this is an excellent start and makes for an excellent JRPG.

A short but fun experience.

Pros
- Unique even amongst other 40k games as there isn't a lot of representation afaik for the Adeptus Mechanicus as far as games go, the lore and setting is pretty cool
- Decent mission variety and enemy types
- Very reasonable difficulty on Normal, made for a generally relaxing experience compared to some of the harder titles out there

Cons
- I wish the build variety was fleshed out further. If you have enough resources, you can make very little meaningful differences in your build


Not much to say really, just a solid title and a good pick especially if you grab it on sale!

I tried several times to get into this game, just couldn't enjoy myself despite being a giant SRPG fan.

Visually it looks great but the story and mechanics just felt all over the place and progression for characters also felt pretty dry and boring. The game just feels like it could have been the next best modern SRPG but it trips over it's own feet.

Pick it up on sale if you like games of this style, i cannot recommend it.