Recent reviews by Volkarion

I want to express my appreciation for Auden Cho-Wong and all the other (few) people that worked on this project: it's a very nice VN, though a bit short. But of course I am not complaining of anything, given the fact that it's offered for free. My detailed rankings are:

• PLOT = 9/10: really intriguing, and somewhat also socially relevant;
  
• GRAPHICS = 8/10: quite good;
  
• AUDIO 1 = OST = 8/10: quite good too;
  
• AUDIO 2 = DUBBING = x/10: sadly, there is no dubbing but it's totally understandable given how much it would have cost;
  
• AUDIO 3 = SOUND EFFECTS = 6/10: they are good and appropriate, but too much loud;
  
• GIRLS = 8/10: all of them, except Terra for me (which is a bit too hollow as character), are well developed and quite interesting.

My final rank = 8,2/10 (with an EN dubbing could have been 9/10).

Last but not least, thanks to all the staff that worked on this project. I'll be rooting for you.

I liked a lot this title, cause it offers:

• beautiful and sometiems very deep plot, which mixes love stories with a Sport centered main history (with themes like competition, talent, jelousy, and above all how to deal with defeats & difficulties);
  
• excellent graphics, OST and sound effects;
  
• very interesting characters (but also some - few, anyway - that I didn't like cause they are too childish).

The are 4 specific routes + 1 true ending; the main heroines that you can date are 4 and the last route has no romance in it. About my ranking of the girls:

• Misaki is BY FAR the best girl and offers the best route too;
  
• Rika takes for me second place, cause I liked both her and her route ... and in that one Masaya (the male protagonist) really shines (he is very nice and kind with her ... and I liked that a lot);
  
• Mashiro third place: she is a good girl overall, though a bit tsundere sometimes. Her route, also, is quite good;
  
• Asuka is by far the worst heroine for me, cause she is REALLY TOO NAIVE (almost stupid) in many cases. She is cute for sure, and good at hearth, but really too childish. In real life, I would never date a girl like her.

Besides the main heroines, there are also other interesting characters (Aoi-san, Botan, Satouin, Shindou, and Saki Inui). I liked a lot all of them; indeed, my only complain is that you can't date Satouin or Saki. It would have been a GREAT idea, for me, to make also 1 route for each of them. Maybe they could take my suggestion and make them in future? I would really appreciate if that happened.

This title deserves a lot, cause it offers:

• beautiful graphics & animations;
  
• excellent sound effects (with impactful and funny blows);
  
• 6 different Cyborg to pick up to make your runs;
  
• a good enemy bestiary and some great Boss battles;
  
• a very good level design;
  
• an interesting Hub with some nice "services" included;
  
• a lot (more than 20) of WONDERFUL weapons, and each one of them with a dedicated unique special attack.

With Patch 2.1, the heavy (at least for me & some other customers) stuttering issues have been almost totally fixed (much better than before, though not 100% smooth). So I am glad to reward this title with a positive review (my old one was negative, due to the just said problem).

The only (moderate) negative point for me are those frustrating achievements that require flawless victories against bosses. I would have prefered better achievements.

CONCLUSION: Oblivion Override is a greatb title = 9,2/10.

This is by far the best MK ever & the best NetherRealm game so far. It (the Ultimate Edition) offers:

• 37 different characters, & none of them is less than excellent (I would rank all of them A or S, and the best of them as SS);
  
• TOP NOTCH graphics+animations and sound effects;
  
• a wonderful itemization system, both about outfits & about gameplay (the augments offer some very interesting "RPG elements"). Moreover, this loot & itemization system is not grindy & frustrating like the one of Injustice 2. It requires FAR LESS TIME & once you unlock an outfit you cannot find it again;
  
• excellent single player contents (Story Mode, Klassic Towers, Towers of Time);
  
• a marvellous and very big Krypt to explore (also to unlock some items, outfits and finishers);
  
• online contents (seasons of the "Kombat League"), with interesting rewards.

Only 1 BIG PROBLEM: the servers of this title, and the mysterious way you have to access them, ruin all the experience. You'll have lots of disconnections while playing, and, if you are unlucky as I have been, 1 day the game will simply stop to connect to its servers and become impossible to play.

WB and NetherRealm should honestly fix those servers, making them much more friendly to access. In my case, even with a working connection, I can't access them anymore. This is my only game that doesn't work online, and given the fact the this title is made to be enjoyable only online, this is not a minor problem.

After playing this title quite a lot, I am here to make a proper review of it. Let's start with the good things:

• great graphics and animations;
  
• excellent sound effects and OST;
  
• the best single player contents (a wonderful RPG/Story Mode + Training missions + Arcade) offered in an ArcSystem fighting game;
  
• very interesting fighting system (easy to play, hard to master);
  
• good roster (only with all the DLC Characters).

The only downsides are:

• Vira Super Skybound Arts not working (I don't get why);
  
• some Boss Fights are totally unfair (Vaseraga, Belzebu, Belial) in RPG Mode (on Hard difficulty, or NG+).

So, overall, a wonderful title that I totally recommend ... BUT there is a major issue here: Cygames and ArcSystem are developing an improved version of this title, called "Granblue Fantasy VS Rising". Now, I am more than glad that they are making even better this title BUT I am really worried about their selling policies: will they at least offer a serious discount for the ones which have bought the original game + its DLC??? Considering that Rising will come as a new title, and not as a DLC, I am really worried that they may be thinking of selling it at full price also for the old customers. That would be awful and totally unfair! And also, Rising should come including ALL the DLC of the base game (skins and stages included). If they dared to sell the cosmetic staff again as DLC, that would be a steal.

On the contrary of "The Witcher 2", that I found quite a bad game cause of the wooden animations and of the poor sound effects , this title is a true and total Masterpiece. Here are the reasons why:

• immersive and immense open world;
  
• charming characters and excellent plot (to the point that not a single Quest is boring);
  
• amazing graphics and movies; the animations are good (but still not perfect);
  
• incredible soundtrack and dubbing + impactful sound effects;
  
• great bestiary and good Boss fights;
  
• amazing hero development (there are a lot of skills to unlock);
  
• very varied and funny gameplay.

I can't find a single flaw in this game.

My final rank = 30/10 = best game ever, together with Dark Souls 3.

POST SCRIPTUM 1: thanks to my friends for having given it to me.

POST SCRIPTUM 2: thanks to the Modders, for having made this title one of the best ever! (Without Mods, the game is still good but not for sure a Masterpiece).

EDIT (14/12/2022): avoid like pestilence the "Next Gen Update"! Not only it makes the game unplayable on many PC (in my case, the game doesn't load anymore; many other players are having a dramatic drop of framerate + a lot of crashes), but it breaks also all the Mods that you were using.

Here is the "Gordian Quest" formula:

• take the best of Darkest Dungeon and the best of King's Bounty and fuse them;
• add some good D&D & "Game-book" elements;
• add the best camping system ever made;
• add the best hero development ever made (you have 10 heroes to pick for your parties, and you can literally build your skill grids);
• add tons of different enemies (included 15 unique Bosses), wonderful items & funny combat cards (most of them active, and in rare cases passive skills);
• merge all these elements in an excellent way ...

to get one of the best games ever. About the game lenght, the main Campaign alone (at minimum difficulty "Hard") is around 80 hours if you are a completionist like me. And the game offers a lot of post-game contents (special arena & dungeons for the main Campaign characters + "Realm mode").My final rank = 10/10.

This title is for me not only the best Samurai Shodown, but the best game SNK ever made. Let's summarize its qualities:

• great graphics and animations;
  
• wonderful audio (both sound effects & musics, expecially the final song associated with the credits of the Story Mode);
  
• good single player contents (Story Mode, Survival; Time Mode, Challenge).

The only bad thing is that the MP network is quite bad.

My final rank: 9,2/10.




Questo titolo è per me non solo il miglior Samurai Shodown, ma il miglior gioco che la SNK abbia mai fatto. Riassumiamo le sue qualità:

• grande grafica ed animazioni;
  
• audio eccezionale (sia effetti sonori che musiche, specialmente la canzone finale associata con i crediti della modalità Storia);
  
• buoni contenuti per giocatore singolo (modalità Storia, Sopravvivenza, accumulo Tempo, Sfida).

L'unico lato negativo è che la linea del MP è piuttosto scadente.

Mio voto finale: 9,2/10.

This title offers:

• an amazing world , huge (13 levels, and many of them VERY big) & beautiful like a japanese Diorama;
  
• a highly tactical gameplay , with a lot of different possible approaches to enemies. You can also use many enviromental assets or items;
  
• 5 wonderful playable characters , all with a superb english dubbing & with an interesting personality.

The challenge is very HARD, expecially on the first run. When you know properly how to play, and the structure of the 13 levels, things become a lot easier. Anyway, for the first run I suggest to play at "easy", considering that for me the 3 difficulty levels would deserve a different name:

• "EASY": I would call it "normal";
  
• "NORMAL": I would call it a true challenge or "very hard";
  
• "HARDCORE": I would call it "nightmare".

I started with "normal" & died A LOT of times. (On my first run; on the second run I died 1/4 of the times, in comparison to the first, epic and unforgiving, journey). It was also very satisfactory to manage to do everything with that high level of challenge, but I totally understand that some people could become frustrated and leave the game. It would be blasfemy, cause it deserves a lot & offers also an interesting plot, very realistic for a Shinobi & Samurai world. And I ADORE japanese culture, expecially for the high value given to honor.

My final rank = 9/10.

• VIDEO : gorgeus graphics & pictures (in particultar, about characters); excellent animations = 9/10;
  
• AUDIO : impactful sound effects & enchanting 0ST; amazing dubbing = 10,5/10 (10 honors);
  
• PLOT : a classic Fantasy RPG plot, but very well narrated = 8/10;
  
• CHARACTERS : the main characters are unforgettable, & some of the secondary ones (known as "The 5 ...") are really charming = 10,5/10;
  
• DIALOGUES : a very nice work! The humour, here, is always smart & funny like it was in "ACE ACADEMY". The serious dialogues are also well made = 9,5/10.

GLOBAL RANK = 9,5/10.

• BEFORE PURCHASING THIS TITLE, I was thinking: << Mmmm, only one possible romance??? I am a bit disappointed & not sure this one is worth the price >>;
  
• AFTER BUYING & PLAYING THE GAME TILL ITS TRUE ENDING, I can say: << Only one possible romance, but that one was all I needed! My beloved was so beautiful, both inside & outside, that I totally fell for her! >>. Great job, PixelFade!!! My only complain is that I can't bring Leanna into my World. :-(