Just Finished: Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD (As Part of the Kingdom Hearts All in One Collection) (PS4)

Another Kingdom Hearts game in the books. This is the first game in my play through of the series that I had never even played partially beforehand so it was completely new to me. Of course this game was originally developed and released for the 3DS. Even though I was a 3DS owner since day one I never considered buying the game for the device. I'm glad I played it on the PS4, not only for the value, but also the trophies and ability to play on big screen. I couldn't imagine trying to take on some of these tricky combat situations on the 3DS' cramped screen and controls. Although I think all the 3D imagery and gimmicks they threw in probably looked pretty goond on the handheld. The story is still ridiculous and convoluted. It's encouraging that they threw in quite a few original worlds or movies we have not experienced in the series before like Hunchback of Notre Dame and Tron Legacy. The drop mechanic is one of the most bizarre things I have come across in a game. If a certain timed meter drops to 0 the game forces you to stop what you are doing and play as the other character (Sora or Riku) in their story. Maybe they wanted you to spend even time playing as both (though Riku takes over at the end) but it was distracting and would even happen in the middle of boss battles. My biggest pet peeve with this series remains the ridiculous difficulty spikes towards the endgame with the last few boss battles. It is quite frankly absurd and has plagued every entry in the series. Again this game has appeal for young players because of the Disney character so to make the final bosses so frustratingly grudgingly difficult makes the whole series feel discordant. Oh also the game has Pokemon style elements with the Spirit Creatures that you can create and train to fight alongside you. Initially I thought this would be an annoying gimmick but it worked pretty well and was not too obtrusive.  The presentation other than the story is top notch. The gameplay still has some kinks but is mostly satisfying. I got serious gay vibes between Sora and Riku's story. And I'll end my review on that note...

Score: 7/10

Full Completed 2022 List:

• Far Cry 5 (PS4)
• Resident Evil 6 (PS4)
• inFamous 2 (PS Now)
• Super Mario Bros. 3 (NSO)
• Bioshock 2 (PS4)
• Ico (PS Now)
• Knack (PS4)
• Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance HD (PS4)

I am one trophy away from getting the platinum on TMNT: Shredder's Revenge.

So hard to do arcade mode on Gnarly difficulty. 0% chance I'll have the patience to do it solo (I find Beat-Em-Ups nearly impossible to play solo on hard). The second hardest - and single rarest - trophy is "Beat the final boss without getting hit'; I did that last night and it was a nightmare. I hate RNG. Seemed sometimes the game just DECIDED you got hit, since after every opportunity you get to hit the boss he will randomly do one of four potential actions, and one of those actions goes in a random direction and happens with no tell.

If you stay in place, he'll hit you with a shadow attack 100% of the time.
If you dash away, he'll either teleport or dash or use the shadow attack
IF you jump, he'll either teleport, dash, or use the shadow attack.

Fortunately, teleportation is easy to avoid as long as you keep on the move and the shadow attack has a very short range so as long as you're fast you can get right outta there. Problem is, the dash leaves behind fire, and if you touch the fire you lose out on the trophy. so you are always taking a risk. Sometimes he'll dash your way and you'll get lucky, sometimes he will dash directly where you were already jumping and you'll get hit.

you think, oh, the solution is to simply wait and see? but no, not an option. If you don't bail outta there INSTANTLY you're getting hit. And he does potentially two attacks in about .75 of a second, the shadow attack and the dash. If you aren't outta there IMMEDIATELY he hits you with the shadow attack. If you get out of there via a dash it's quicker and has i-frames but also leaves you prone for a split second long enough that if he dashes in your direction you're fucked. Your best bet (in my experience) is to jump away. but if you regular jump you have the same mobility limitations and might get hit. You also can only double jump on the ascent, so while it gives you SOME extra mobility it's not perfect.

Resulting in a small chance that at least one time throughout the fight, of which you're looking at 4-5 cycles to finish the health bar at best, you'll be presented with an attack that you can't possibly avoid. And that annoys me. The fight is hard enough as it is due to the wonky hit boxes on the flames (the ones he leaves behind and the ones he pushes out in circle-patterns), but by the end I wasn't ever finding it hard to actually avoid his attacks and juggle my supers with my patience. I was up until nearly 2 last night after 8 hours of attempts, and I genuinely feel maybe 5% of the failures were due to my own mess-ups.

Which, on its own is FINE. RNG based bosses are fine. It happens. Cuphead was very RNG-reliant and occasionally put you in situations you couldn't possibly have escaped without getting hit, but the difference is that Cuphead's fights were super short, easy to get back into, and showed you where on the ruler you were relative to the next phase.

In TMNT, if you get hit to shredder, you have to redo an entire boss prior to his fight as well. And there's load screens as well as 'cutscenes' you have to watch before and after that first fight as well as prior to starting Shredder. And you can't just press a button to restart. HAd it just been Shredder, jump in, try again? It'd be fine. Still mildly frustrating and unfair, but manageable. As it is....do NOT go for 100% on TMNT: Shredder's Revenge. GREAT game to play, but a handful of the trophies/achievements are absolute garbage.

Been a while since my last update. Three new games to add.

Finished Games:

1. Luigi's Mansion (Switch) My Rating: 8/10
   • Played through this game with my fiancée. Not sure if I would have liked it as much playing by myself, but in co-op it was a lot of fun. Not among the console's best games, but certainly enjoyable nonetheless.
2. Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) My Rating: 9/10
   • I actually finished this game last year, but I realized I forgot to put it in last year's list, so it's here now. It's great. Probably the best 3D Mario game ever, or at least very close to it.
3. Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4) My Rating: 9/10
   • An absolutely brilliant tactical RPG. Likely the first game I've beaten this year that'll end up in my top 50 list of all time at the end of the year. It's not quite as good as the first game in the series, but it's not far off.
4. The Last of Us Part II (PS4) My Rating: 9/10
   • Pretty much just flew through this one in less than a week, which considering my work schedule is almost unheard these days. An excellent game. Not sure whether I like this or the first game more. The rating might even go up once I've had some time to think on it, and now that I have finally played it I still have no idea what some people's problem with the game was, outside of the obvious idiots getting angry at game having a diverse cast. Regardless, this is another game that's likely going to end up in my top 50 at the end of the year.
5. Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4) My Rating: 9.5/10
   • Because of Forbidden West's impending release I wanted to go back and replay Zero Dawn, just to remind myself of the story and characters. Since that first playthrough I've considered Zero Dawn to be the best open world game of all time, and not much changed on my second go-around. The story, world, character, gameplay, visuals and music are all still amazing, and the only issues I have with the game are minor ones, like the inventory space being a bit too small for my liking. 
6. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (PS4) My Rating: 8/10
   • Or the game that just never ends. I liked DQXI quite a lot, though it is not without its issues. The main character has about as much emotional depth as a plank of wood, which ends up hurting some otherwise very well done emotional moments with the other characters. The game also has an unfortunate tendency to stretch things needlessly to pad the run time. The music was quite forgettable as well. However, otherwise this is still a quality JRPG, but not one I'll probably be returning to in the future.  
7. Elden Ring (PS4) My Rating: 10/10
   • An absolutely exceptional game, and unless something truly incredible comes out, likely going to end up as my game of the year and very high on my all-time favourite games list as well. The gameplay, the world itself, the story behind the events of the game, the sheer amount of engaging and interesting stuff to do and find in The Lands Between, the visual design, music, and so many other things about Elden Ring are simply impeccable. It's not quite a perfect game, not that there is such a thing, but there are a few minor negatives as well. One of the late game areas is ridiculously frustrating, couple of the optional dungeons aren't very fun, and a few of the bosses in the end-game feel a bit unfair at times. Overall, this is still without question the best open world game I've ever played. 
8. Ara Fell: Definitive Edition (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
   • A fun, light love letter to 16-bit JRPGs of old with a good story and characters, interesting setting, very good music, and a beautiful old-school visual style. For the roughly 16 hours I spent playing through it, I very much enjoyed Ara Fell. The normal battles do start getting a bit tiresome by the last quarter of the game once I had unlocked all the skill upgrades, but other than that I don't really have any major issues with it. Check it out if old-school JRPGs are your thing.
9. Lara Croft Go (PC) My Rating: 7.5/10
   • Needed something different after so many huge games and JRPGs. It had been a while since I'd played any puzzle games, and Lara Croft Go was on sale, so I bought and played through it over the last week. Just a well-designed, fairly short puzzle game with a Tomb Raider skin slapped on top. The difficulty curve is a bit all over the place, but otherwise I have no major issues with the game.
10. Hue (PC) My Rating: 7/10
    • A fun, fairly straightforward puzzle platformer that revolves around changing the color of the world itself to solve the puzzles. Nothing exceptional, but I enjoyed my time with it.
11. Spiritfarer (PS4) My Rating: 9/10
    • One of the best games I've played in recent times. An absolutely gorgeous game with wonderfully written story and characters. I played it through in co-op, and both I and my fiancée loved it. In between the heavier moments with the characters there are a lot of fun chores to do, each with their own minor variations to the gameplay loop. 
12. Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS4) My Rating: 8/10
    • A beautiful action-adventure game, with a unique setting and story. The characters end up feeling a bit distant even at the end, but I still liked them. Just needed a bit more added to them. The gameplay is good, if somewhat derivative of other similar games. For a studio's first game this is an excellent title. Looking forward to what Ember Labs brings out next.
13. Abzû (PS4) My Rating: 8/10
    • A wonderful, relaxing, and tranquil experience. Very much like Journey in a lot of ways, though perhaps lacks some of its grandeur and beauty. Regardless, a great game that you can finish in a single sitting.
14. Uncharted: The Lost Legacy (PS4) My Rating: 9/10
    • Decided to replay The Lost Legacy for the first time, and it's still a great game. Chloe and Nadine are excellent in the main roles, the gameplay is a lot of fun, and the setting is beautiful and interesting. Perhaps a bit behind the very best games in the series, but not by a lot.
15. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS4) My Rating: 7.5/10
    1. Honestly speaking, I was quite disappointed in Crash 4. I'm not sure why, but I can't recall ever having as many problems with perspective in a 3D platformer. I died so many times because I had jumped either too soon or too late and hit an obstacle, and this often happened repeatedly with the exact same obstacles. I also didn't think the levels were all that great, and the difficulty also felt very uneven. I don't remember having these issues with the original Crash games, but perhaps time has gilded those memories.

Currently Playing:

1. Stardew Valley (PC)
2. Code Vein (PS4)
3. Command & Conquer Remastered (PC)
4. Dandara: Trials of Fear Edition (PC)

+ Azure Striker Gunvolt 2 (Xbox Series X)

Couldn't agree more. Huge disappointement after playing the phenomenal N.Sane Trilogy (and the originals back in the PS1 days).

Double jumping is god awful and of course there are the perspective issues that you mentioned. Levels that want you to destroy 400+ crates when in earlier games 100 was already a lot. I completely ignored them after a while since there's always one or two that are hidden in an obscure place.

I never wanted to play more than one level per session. I simply had enough and rather wanted to play something else. Still finished it but it took me a lot longer than I expected.

2022 completion list (thus far):

- Kena: Bridge of Spirits (PS5, Platinum Trophy)  
- Team Sonic Racing (PS5)
- Elden Ring (PS5, Platinum Trophy)
- Horizon Forbidden West (PS5, Platinum Trophy)
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (PS5)
- Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Switch)
- Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time (PS5)

How was the Kena plat? I want to do it but I hear the hard mode is a bit of a pain in the arse. 

It's certainly difficult, but it's doable. I came pretty close to losing it at Adira, she was by far the hardest part for me. I spent hours on her. You'll need to make the best of all your abilities and will want your upgrades. Bombs become rather useful in combat and Spirit dash becomes your saving grace once your unlock it. The bosses will put you to the test and timing is everything. Ultimately you need to avoid taking damage as much as possible, don't rush your fights as any mistakes are quite punishing.

Psychonauts 2
Spiderman morales
Terminator ps5
Ratchetclank ps5
Life is strange : true colors
Halo infinite; series s
Alan wake remake: ps5
Horizon forbidden west
GRIS. Ps5
HOA. Ps5
Guardians of the galaxy: ps5
Sifu:ps5
Returnal :ps5
Kena bridge of spirits: ps5

Currently playing cyberpunk ps5 and stray