Recent reviews by A dashing rapscallion

A fun and novel take on the deckbuilder genre.

The game's premise is that you move into an apartment that uses a slot machine to make rent payments. Each turn you spin the reels and choose one of three randomly chosen symbols, each with different effects. Some simply provide 1 coin when they come up on the reels, and some interact with other symbols (Cats destroy Milk an provide bonus money, Keys open treasure chest symbols to award money, etc.). Eventually items with passive and active effects (certain symbols provide more money, some can add or remove symbols, etc.) get thrown into the mix, and "essences" provide quest objectives for temporary or permanent bonuses (destroy x symbols for a reward, have x symbols on screen at one time, etc.). You need to make escalating rent payments every couple of weeks or lose, culminating in a boss fight against the landlord with new rules and symbols being forced into the slots to disrupt you.

The game's pretty short so it's easy to get in a few rounds and there's a decent amount of items with synergy to mess with. It's a pretty unique game and there's a free demo at the time of writing so it's very much worth trying. A word of caution for people who achievement hunt, though: there's over 100 achievements, lots of them are RNG, and there's a handful that will require you to play for hundreds of times, though a successful run can go pretty fast.

Catchy little OST that I added to my phone. Atmospheric and brings about a depressing nostaliga for the game.

This game is kind of like eating a cupcake with rainbow frosting. It's short, it's sweet, and while it doesn't overstay its welcome you might wish there was a little more.

The premise of the game is simple: you find a normal lost phone and promptly invade the owner's privacy. The goal is to find out the secrets behind the phone's owner, and you do so by reading the owner's texts, going through their emails, seeing the sites they browse, etc. To access various accounts, you'll need passwords that must be guessed by going through their texts, dates, etc.

The game has a strong LGBT tint to it,. A good bit of it comes off as authentic, and it's something that many members of the community will relate to. The "old fashioned" family, that one supportive friend, the unfortunate reactions, and the world opened up when you gain access to the Internet and meet the like-minded are all shared experiences that will strike a chord with many players, particularly those in the community.

The aesthetic is charming, the music is relaxing, and the puzzles are tricky with a sense of accomplishment to solving them. That said, the premise of the game and the control you have might sour some people, particularly those who get attached to characters and find themselves involved in the story. The game itself is about invading the privacy of someone who has many personal secrets and works to safeguard them, and at least one decision you can make (and will if you want an achievement) feels pretty sketchy.

If you don't mind the LGBT aspect or the arguable issues with privacy, A Normal Lost Phone is a fun way to pass the time. The price is right and there's an undeniable charm and sweetness to the phone owner's story.

A fun, short little VN title with branching baths, some cute moments and a charming aesthetic and animation. You play as a young man who wakes up with a hangover in a stranger's bed and no memories. You're then tasked with examining the objects of her room for clues and small talk as she periodically engages you in conversation.

The game makes for a good read that doesn't overstay its welcome, making it ideal for someone who wants to kill a little time or cleanse their gaming palate a little. That said, it does make it rather brief and anyone looking for more investment will find it lacking in content. People looking for 100% completion, or to experience all the story, will also probably find certain segments repetitive after going through them so many times.

Ultimately it's worth the asking price, if only for the art style. You'll probably get most of it back by selling the trading cards, anyway.

Best described as the FF7 of its series, ToS is the one that helped the franchise really breakout in the west. I owned a GameCube, but ultimately decided the console wasn't worth constantly plugging and unplugging and let it gather dust because PS2, so I passed up on this title. Over ten years later, I ended up preordering Zestiria to get the bonus Symphonia and see what the fuss was about.

ToS launched in a deplorable state. Bamco launched the highly anticipated port of one of their most beloved titles as an unstable, buggy mess, which I'm pretty sure violates several Dwarven Vows. Months later, they finally updated it into a workable, playable game that doesn't require a fan-made mod to not be awful (but still helps).

The story initially revolves around a trio of friends: a swordsman named Lloyd, a tolerable child mage named Genis, and Colette, the "Chosen of Mana". The mercenary Kratos and their teacher, Raine, soon join up. Colette is foretold to regenerate the world and save humanity from the Desians, half-elves who keep humans in work camps and see themselves as a superier race. The story quickly complicates as more characters appear and the story unfolds.

The battles are real-time. You target an enemy, move away or close the distance. One button allows you to use standard attacks while another uses one of four assigned special attacks depending on whether or not you use it with a directional button. The result is a fast and fun system that allows and rewards combos. The characters you don't control can have their AI customized and specific attacks disabled. Stat growth can also be influenced by assigning "titles", which are awarded by story events or in-game achievements.

The game starts out sticking closely to its tropes before throwing them out the window. How it bends and twists things were more novel at its launch, but many of them aren't as special now that other games have done the same. The game also doesn't do the best job of hiding some of its twists, or simply foreshadows far too hard. The writing and voice acting is still solid, and certain parts WILL leave you feeling emotional.

The game is stable and plays very well, and TSFix (check the forums) enhances it further. The 30 FPS cap is still annoying, but tolerable. The game has aged well, and I found myself wanting to hurry home so I could resume playing it. I've come to kick myself for not buying it back when it was new. Depsite its initial issues, the current product is enough to make a Tales fan out of me.

shadow and lightning temples can still go to hell though

ME is a sort of side-scrolling Stepmania/DDR played with the keyboard. The premise is simple: choose a song (your own or from the selection the game comes with), and your character runs from left to right. Arrows appear, with the frequency determined by your song. Hit the proper button as your cursor passes over it, with some arrows requiring you to hold the key.

There are four difficulties. The lowest allows you to press any key, while the higher ones differentiate between WASD and arrow keys, and can require you to use both throughout the song. The range means players of all skill levels can enjoy a casual experience or more intense play, though the harder difficulties can mess with dyslexics.

The controls are simple, the aesthetic is clean and beautiful, the game works with pretty much any song, Steam Workshop makes the already pleasant visuals better, and the game is suited to both quick play or extended sessions. The game even unpauses with a timed delay to give you a chance to remember where you left off. The only potential issue with the game is the side-scrolling background. The movement has been known to cause motion sickness in players, but this can be alleviated by simply deactivating it.

Like the game before it, Rebirth 2 tells the story of four CPU goddesses and their fight to save video games.

The story is set in an alternate universe from the original. The angle of the four fighting to decide best console is dropped to focus more on their war with piracy. Also unlike the first, the subtlety is dropped: the villain is the embodient of piracy, sin, and destruction, and the evil organization seeks to fill the world with bootlegs and illegal downloads. When the game begins, the CPUs are subdued and held captive. Without the four to protect their lands, their sisters, fittingly inspired by handhelds, are forced to take up the cause.

The game itself is very much a sequel. Much of it remains unchanged, if only because Rebirth 1 was inspired by its sequel, but much more focus and polish has gone into the game. The game's humor and quirkiness remains intact, and even more self-aware than before, even eager to lampshade the younger moe cast and take shots at the otaku fanbase. The world, art, locations, and enemies are reused from the older game, but a good number of new environments and monsters are added. The music just as strong. The grind is also lessened from before, particularly if you invest in the DLC and get some helpful bonuses off the bat.

The battle system still involves choosing between attacks that focus on reducing enemy guard, dealing heavy HP damage, or building a combo meter for special attacks. Characters have unique techniques that drain their SP (MP) or powerful attacks that drain a certain amount of the combo meter. A notable change is that the party limit is now four, allowing for a larger meter and more combination attacks between certain members.

The Remake sytem also returns, allowing players to craft recipes that add new items to stores or dungeons to the world map, alter dungeons, their items, and the monsters within, or even add new characters to the party.

A new function is Stella's Dungeons, which allows you to assign an NPC to expolore dungeons you've discovered. She can find new items for herself or you to use, or possibly fail and lose everything (without the proper DLC, anyway). The exploration is done in real time, which can be annoying for players who don't want to toy with their computer's clock.

However, while the game itself is sound, the port is not. FPS drops when Guard Break triggers are common (check the guides for a fix), cutscenes can lag, loading can sometimes be Iffy, and many report freezing around a certain Castle. Most of these issues are minor or only seem to affect the minority, so you'll probably be safe. Probably.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first game, you'll enjoy this one, too.

also noire is still best waifu and conquest ending hurts

A game that tells the tale of four ancient goddesses engaged in an eternal divine war for control of the world itself, and most importantly which video game console is the best, how piracy will destroy the world, and how close girls can get before it's no longer subtext.

The game is very competent, without anything that particularly lacks or stands out. The story really just boils down to "what if game companies and consoles were anime ladies", but the writing is amusing and the little jokes and nods towards the companies (the Wii girl has incredible defenses, the Xbox wears a red ring, etc.) are a nice touch. The battle system revolves around setting up combos, choosing from weak attacks that raise a meter for powerful attacks, attacks that reduce the enemy's guard, or high HP damage above all else.

The world, art, and locations look very pretty, and the music is enjoyable, but there could stand to be more variety and many dungeons are "The dungeon from before but with an extra path and area added". The enemies are standard RPG fare, with the occasional anime joke or game parody such as Mario's pipes or Pac-Man ghosts. The game also boasts crafting recipes that allow you to add items to the shops, access new dungeons, or change the items and enemies that can be found within a dungeon.

The only real concerns with the game are the grinding and fanservice. With the former, you'll often reach a boss and find yourself suddenly outgunned, and needing to go back until you've gained a few levels, with one early boss apparently enough to send people to forums, convinced that victory is impossible. Regarding fanservice, most early introductions include cutscenes where the only animation is jiggling, and certain outfits and attacks will mean upskirt city. That said, if you're looking at this game, it's probably a selling point for you.

If you play, keep in mind that the "camera reset" button lets you skip attack animations.

also noire is best waifu honorable mention to blanc

They finally made a game where I feel bad about killing people.

Suck it, Spec Ops.

This game taught me what that "friendzone" thing is that the kids complain about.