God Eater 3 (Switch)

 As a Monster Hunter clone, God Eater really does try its best to set itself apart.  With the devour and gun switching mechanics, they've done a decent job.  They introduced some new weapon types in the second title and the burst mechanics were further expanded.  In the third title, they added two new weapon types and grew burst even further.

I'll get it out of the way.  The story in this one is very generic.  It felt so similar to the previous titles that I skipped most of the cutscenes and still knew what was going on.  You spend your time learning about each of your team members, eventually befriending somebody mysterious, and then it all culminates in an epic climax.  I did watch the last set of scenes and it felt like I hadn't missed a thing.  The story is there but nothing to write home about.

The core of the game is going through missions with your selected weapon and beating on big or small Aragami.  The big difference from previous titles is there are new Aragami to hunt.  Some are fun to fight and others a complete bother.  Some hit entirely too hard and the new mechanic where some of the bigger baddies can now devour you and go into burst was annoying.  It led to a basic tactic of just running away once an Aragami started attempting to use the devour attack it had.  Problem is, some of them you couldn't run away.  They would either follow you across entire maps until you got hit or lost all your stamina.  Sometimes they would get you with no chance to even react.  

Still, combat is fun.  The burst mechanics are fun and it was fun using the different burst arts.  I played the game using only the new weapon type of Heavy Moon.  It felt good and often I had no problems just rinsing through enemies.  Sometimes my attacks wouldn't register or I wouldn't jump when I had clearly spammed the button several times.  The controls are not as responsive as I would have liked but I made due.  Guns and custom bullets though feel like they got a huge nerf.  Gone are the days of building a special bullet that pretty much destroyed whatever you fired it at.  They are very limited in use and I didn't bother even using one.  I picked the shotgun gun type and just blasted until I ran out of OP, using it as a simple way to rack up some quick damage while I was trying to run away.

My biggest complaint though is the camera.  I've never had to fight a lock-on system as much I had to in this game.  I would lock on to enemies only to have it just vanish seconds later.  I didn't press the button to dismiss it and the Aragami didn't vanish or move in a way it should have disengaged.  Most of my knockouts were from me just simply being unable to see the enemy.  It was incredibly frustrating to be hitting an enemy only to have the camera decide I no longer needed to see them and whiff my big finisher.

As far as the series goes, this was a good way to end it.  They really did peak in the Rage Burst.  The combat wasn't as tight in this but it was more fast paced.  The guns were not satisfying and I mostly ignored them.  Even the story wasn't great and very formulaic.  All in all, I had some fun but felt no need to keep playing after the main story was done.  I'm sure some of the side missions were interesting but I have no desire to keep playing it.  Good for fans of the series but if you want a Monster Hunter style game, just get Monster Hunter Rise at this point.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch)

 I'm not going to lie, I love Kirby.  I have played every Kirby game and there is just something about the little pink puffball that makes me keep coming back.  This game was no exception.  I found myself just bopping through the levels, looking for secrets and doing my best to finish with as much found as possible.

If you've played a Kirby game before, this will feel familiar.  The biggest change is the jump to a 3D platformer.  Kirby has been 3D for a while but never in a fully 3D world.  The transition was really good and for the most part, they nailed it.  There are a couple of instances where the depth of field messed up a jump or I randomly walked off the map because I wasn't paying close enough attention. Those moments were few and far between.

I do need to make a mention though, Kirby games have always been viewed as easy.  It is one of the reasons I love the series.  It is great to just turn off your brain and run through a level or two.  This game though, they added some difficulty.  There were many times, especially during bosses, that I almost died.  I didn't learn till after the main story and into the special secret stuff that the game intended the player to use guarding and dodging.  I tanked most fights and survived somehow, but I had to learn how to play a bit better at times.

The copy abilities in this game all felt great.  Some were familiar, like Sword or Hammer, but then you get some a new one like Ranger.  They actually gave Kirby a gun, they won't admit it but they did.  Each ability has strengths and weaknesses and the puzzles surrounding them were fun.  New to the series is the mouthful abilities.  Basically, Kirby swallows a huge object and gains control of it.  Each object does something unique, from racing around in a car to smashing enemies as a set of stairs.  Each has a section and each feels unique.

The best part of the game, and series, is the music.  This game is no exception but some of the tracks are especially noteworthy.  The ice themed area had some of the best music and the mall music made me feel like I was actually wandering around a mall as Kirby.  Doing what he would do, jumping from table to table eating the cakes and doughnuts stacked on them.

Kirby is one of those series that I just can't get enough.  They each feel unique and are some of the most fun I've had with a game.  Sure, most of them aren't long but that isn't a bad thing.  Some games pad the hours just so people feel they get their money's worth.  Kirby doesn't need to do that.  It sets out to be fun from start to end and that is what it is.  There is depth to the game though.  There are numerous side-games and collectibles.  Watching Kirby look at the little figures you collect is probably my favorite gaming moment as of late.  Kirby is the wholesome hero we need right now and I'm so glad that this game exists.  Do yourself a favor and play this game.  Just don't expect it to be a cakewalk.  

Suikoden (PSOne Classic)

 Lots of RPGs try to have large parties but nothing beats Suikoden.  What starts as a small force opposing an unjust empire, grows into an unstoppable army.  Sure most of the recruits are utterly useless but that's what makes it fun.  If you want to challenge yourself, you can.

The game, from the 32Bit era, is pretty simple.  The sprites are good and the music is passable.  I do wish there was a better way to skip some of the animations.  Having to watch the same rune magic over and over again does get kind of old.  But I understand that for the time this game was made, that wasn't the norm.  It was a lot of work to make those animations after all and I can see why the developers wouldn't want them to be skipped.

The core game revolves around building your army by recruiting 108 characters or "stars".  Many of them come from progressing the story but not a lot of them do.  Figuring out how to recruit of the stars is kind a of puzzle at times and does provide a nice little side piece to the mainly linear story.  Combat consists of building a party of six characters, with both a front and back line to consider.  Front line characters will hit harder and take more damage but some characters can't attack from the back line.  Usually the back line is reserved for the archer or magic using characters.

That brings up magic, to use magic or a skill, you have equip a rune.  You have your standard fair of magic, based on the elements like fire, water, wind, etc. Then there are some that do different effects, like protect against status ailments or reduce enemy accuracy.  Not every rune is useful and not every rune can be unequipped.  Some characters come with a rune that you cannot change but they usually are pretty powerful.

There are two other kind of combat, outside the main RPG battles previously mentioned.  Occasionally you will fight in large scale wars.  These play out in a rock-paper-scissors manner where you select and hope you picked the right option to counter what the enemy AI picked.  There aren't many of these and they aren't terribly hard but having the options for Ninjas/Thieves to tell you what the enemy is going to do is almost needed in some cases. 

The other kind of combat is rare with only three instances that I can recall.  These are duels, where it is one vs. one between one of your characters and an enemy.  The interface looks like a fighting game with two large health bars at the top but boils down to a rock-paper-scissors style fight again.  Although it isn't a true RPS style as one of the options doesn't have a a counter.  It was a neat way to do some very key story fights and better than just doing a standard fight with lots of dialogue.  If you know what you are doing or know what the enemies selected line means (each piece of dialogue corresponds to a choice), then you can easily win them.  They are very important to win as losing could mean permanently losing a character or a game over.

You would think that having over 108 characters would get muddled but each character has a unique style.  Some don't develop much but others you learn quite a bit about.  There are certainly some that I grew fond of and always kept in my party when I could.  This game isn't the most challenging and isn't super long but it was a fun ride while it lasted.  I enjoyed my time with it and understand that it really builds in the sequel.  Unfortunately, I won't ever get to play the other games in the series as they are incredibly rare and expensive.  It is a shame this series isn't around anymore, there are really good ideas here and I feel that this series could make a come back.  The only gripe I have is that the encounter rate was way higher than it should have been at times and a lot of the fights that you get into, you sometimes can't run from.  So you end up having to fight some enemies that literally give you 5 EXP for no reason.  For the most part though, it was enjoyable.