Recent reviews by SilverTorpedoRider

Undeniable classic. Always great to come back to, one of few games I know by heart.

The game has initial steep learing curve but it quickly becomes fun. The visuals and physics, although not always realistic, are very satisfying. Do not expect this game to be balanced, sometimes you are destined to fail the mission, while other times you will be destroying multiple vehicles with just one salve of fire. My biggest dissappointment is the amount of crashes and slowdowns (especially when recovering vehicle) but it didn't put me off enough to stop playing. It does not seem to be receiveing much dev love at present but the game is fun and the price is right. I generally recommend it. Oh, it also features some unrelistic achievements like completing a run 1000 times, taking that one run can take between 2-5 hours ... I'm sure you've seen those before. There's another one like that for failed runs if you are bored.

I was sceptical about yet another remake of FF1. Especially that after FF Origins we received mostly re-heated versions with added bonus dungeons and weapons. With this one, however, I was positively surprised with the amount of QoL improvements whilst keeping the game faithful to the original NES version. To sum it up quickly, I give this release 8/10. For my reasoning please read on.

Visuals:
The character sprites got seemingly downgraded from GBA/PSP releases, however after closer inspection it does not seem to me this way anymore. For previous remake SE used refreshed artwork to make the game appear more modern and to give it more of Tesuya Nomura-ean vibe. This version, however, seems to draw mostly from Amano Yoshitaka's original work.
The spell effect were completly re-done. And this is what especially stands out in this version. The new effects are absolutely stunning - even the low level spells appear very realistic and show this is more than just a pixel-perfect remake of the original and surpasses all previous releases.

Music:
One would think that there isn't much that can be done with music that was originally amazing and remastered multiple times. The game does not fail to surprise in this field as well. It features orchestrated tracks that are based on original score, yet were made to fit very well with locations it was inteded for. For me this resulted in even deeper immersion into the new FF1 world.

System:
QoL changes include simple auto-battle system, quicksave option, dungeon minimaps and more. It feels this changes are much more important than adding lengthy and tedious dungeons (like the Labirynth of Time in PSP ver.) or ones that are fairly fun yet break game balance and immersion (GBA - Judgement Staff etc., FF3-FF6 bosses). For this reason this feels like a definite experience, complete with spell/charge per day system which IMHO fits much better in D&D-esque FF1 world.

Why not 10?
There are many issues, however, none seem major however I still take them into account:
- fullscreen seems to reset every time game is closed
- cursor memory is not restored after re-launch of game
- most content from PSP/GBA was dumped except for caravan trader that sells temporary stat boosting items, again altering the balance of the game
- required level up exp was lowered and the cap is now 99, therefore it takes little effort to become overpowered in mid-game
- the game could have done without phoenix downs & ethers, they really break the delicate game balance

All in all, the value for money in this case is very good and I definitely recommend it, especially that it is the first PC release of the game. PROTIP: Don't let Garland knock you all down. (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

For a 2010 game the visuals are amazing, especially on a high-end machine. While game has linear path, which seems to be an object of many complaints it has plenty of content to make up for it and high replayability rate (hidden chambers, special challenge objectives, multiple difficulty settings and more for me to discover). Controls may need getting used to as they feature classical combo stacking, which some people may not understand and simply brand it unresponsive. For those I recommend pressing LT during combo to see how nicely it will cancel any previous input. This gem features some puzzle & platformer moments but really its about combat - performing long combos while not getting hit. Abilities to unlock are plentiful and at times seems much more than really required to perform well in battle.
On a flip side, I felt like many elements were "borrowed" from other games of similiar genre, especially DMC, GoW & SoC and seem to be out of place at times (like battle at the end of Chapter 1). It seems Castlevania : Lords of Shadow branch finally put 3D Castlevanias on track. I would recommend picking up this title when it's on offer as it's price seems to be fairly steep for a 3 year old release. Other than that It's one solid title, and a must-have for any Castlevania fan!

Just wow...
This I have not expected, one of the finest platformers of my childhood is now on steam.
Much recommended to anyone who would like to see what platforming genre looked like on PC back in the days.
Still stands solid today. Shame there is some outdated information on the introduction screen, other than that great value for money.