Another year, another great moments but also tension and stories. This year 2015 is like every year i lived but it has more moments that happens to me than in 2014. As usual, writing, listing and telling this more than words is more my typical exercice. Like last year, i prefer to use English to write this because its like the universal language that anyone should get used than any other language.
Also because im French, my native language is French and for anyone not native with English is a tough exercice as usual as English is not perfect but i can still communicate around with people and friends i interact with. So just get warned that it might be hard to read and follow but its better to be honest and say it now, so please excuse me already with this for those who'll accept to read this entirely long text, or will you not read. :p
Enough of the introduction, let's expose what i want to say.
1. My new job, my new life
2. Consoles thought
3. Games thought
4. Wishes for the new year
The only reason a warrior is alive is to fight, and the only reason a warrior fights is to win
My life has been better with 2015. Not only i could finally get a new work, its also my job for life as its not another temporary worked with a set time contract but a full time job. That was my wish i wanted to grant since being out of school for years. So what is my new work nowadays? Selling Video Games but not only that =)
Im a seller in a hypermarket but since work need that you should do more than just a single task, i do also work on the electronic side of the store, prepare the purchased stuff and deliver for my customer. With this first year in this job done and another year with 2016, waiting for me. From this job i've learn a lot about how the market work and also how hard it can be to sell your stuff and actually how you have to deal with the stock. When the stock is too big because a product didnt sell well, we have to bargain it at some point. When a thing is selling well, we try to manage the stock bit by bit so we can manage to sell it without creating a stock that we cant sell. In some example, i have a collegue who put a lot of trust on Nintendo games and most of its 3DS library is not doing well, to give names : Code STEAM, Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, Ace Combat 3D, Fossil Fighters. His only good sales this year were Style Savvy 3(La Nouvelle Maison du Style 2 in French or Girls Mode 3 on Japanese), Zelda Majora's Mask and Animal Crossing. You know the type of pressure you can have once you have selected a wrong batch of games you cannot sell and at the wrong moment, this is also why selecting niche games is also a difficult task if you dont know the type of public of the store will buy, another tend of problem the Micromania who work next to me, is also facing. When a specific game do not sell in here but can sell elsewhere, we transfer that stock to the other town hypermarket, this explain sometimes why some hypermarket who go see do still continue to sell games or specitif one exactly or move their entire physical to a fully Digital one via Prepaid cards for digital store. My own task this year was mainly to help selling popular console as it has to be something new for someone couldnt miss unless you are really bad at communicating. My employer wasnt wrong when he hires me in this section, i did help for PS4, especially to explain to some customers how Playstation Plus works as its something difficult to those who arent really into the digital thing and are used more of the traditionnal way of physical release. Also being someone who help selling games is also another hard task i had to handle as there's many things that's different like a merchant from a game store like Micromania. On my side: the information has to be clear, brief not too long and has to help selling more products. Difficults are : The information must not cause harm not headache, it has to lead to a purchase. This is for example a common problem my collegue have when he has to sell 2DS, 3DS and N3DS as customers have hard time about if 2DS and N3DS can read 3DS games. Unlike gamers, a normal customers have problem and do not look directly at details that is supposed to be immediate like : Please read the square on the bottom of the case which clearly state: its also compatible with 2DS. You can state it for recent games but you cannot state it with older games that can still sell over years like Mario Kart 7 or Kirby. Its was also the case to me as well for some PS4 games in which some customers ask me if some games require PS+ to play or not like offline campaign game do not require PS+ like Akiba's Trip 2 but a game like Star Wars Battlefront totally require PS+ .
But in the end it was a good 2015 in life. However 2016 may looks difficult to me as this time there'll be more games to advertise, more difficulty to handle the information about the new technology, especially on my side for both Sony and Microsoft VR devices but also on Nintendo as i'll have the advertise around the Nintendo NX. And being a VG seller will not be easy this time as i'll need to learn much more infos so i can advise my customers for this new year. So i wish it wont have any misleading communication so i can stop see my collegue Didier ranting at customers about the fundamental difference between a 2DS with a 3DS Vanilla and a N3DS as for me to actually explain that the Playstation VR is not a new PS5 nor a gadget like PSMove.
I think it's important to get your
surroundings as well as yourself into a positive state - meaning
surround yourself with positive people, not the kind who are negative
and jealous of everything you do.
2. Consoles thought
This year, i havent bought any new system, i got a new one from my work which i sold out after malfunction and after beating its own sole game. Not much to say but you'll be reading the best console i had play this year from the worst one.
Playstation 4
No matter how much the hating is around the Playstation 4 about PS4hasnoExclusivegames, i play the system not because so-called journalist is bashing it but because i want the games that is in it. First rule, there's multisupport with PC and XboxOne release. Second rule, PS4 welcome the Japanese game that Xbox One doesnt. Third, i've been promised JRPG on PS4 and i have them unlike XboxOne and WiiU. Finally, i've played much games there this year than any other consoles except PSVita. You might read the amount of games i've played with the Games section but overall im definitely satisfied, seduced and the PS4 has really proved me its usability with this year. I cant wait for the new exciting games i'll be playing in 2016.
Impression : The First Year was good, the Second year i own the system has even getting better.
Playstation Vita 2000 LCD (EU acc) - Playstation Vita 1000 OLED (JP acc)
The Playstation Vita has been the second best console of this 2015 on my heart and as same as PS4 impression, i dont care of the people who keep bashing it over months and years as long as i can still get games i want to play and i want to play. But compare to PS4, as much as i enjoy my PSVita, i did find just a little more games to play on PS4 this year that has astounish me than the PSVita had mainly serve this year to do my year of Neptune Games and serve as my portable device to play mostly outside, home and at work. But honestly i bought more games on PSVita than others handheld and play more of this one in this year than other handhelds and that's what matter. For the third year that i own a PSVita, im still loving it and i can ignore the bashing around. After all, a famous person said once: As long as someone believe in you and put its faith on you, you must not lose hope nor faith. And that person is right.
Impression : PS4 may sold my heart this year but PSVita is still one i treasure this year
Vanilla 3DS (EU) , New3DS EU(Sold), 3DSLL (JP)
This is the third year i spend with a 3DS. This year, i bought only 6 games on the system althought its equally 3 EU Games and 3 JP Games. This year, i've received a New3DS from my work without spending any money. Well glad i didnt spend any money on the new system but just on one faceplate which was the Legend of Zelda one with Black Cover and the Triforce. So what went wrong? After playing N3DS with Xenoblade Chronicles 3D which was okay as being a portable Xenoblade Wii on hands, i had to dispose of it after it fails downloading 2 eshop games, an issue i really hate with Nintendo changing the Memory Card system from system to system. At first downloading data from Vanilla 3DS to the N3DS was a long process and then loading are shorter, downloading faster. So what went wrong? The moment i wanted to download Lord of Magna that i bought on the store, the game didnt download and keep getting me errors. It has gotten worse when i went to change multiple MicroSD to N3DS and still not downloading. Better change after waiting days because it could be servers problems? Nope, still not downloading. Then trying in the old vanilla 3DS after Nintendo has finally put its Nintendo ID network system, ok its works. So what use i have with N3DS with no games coming in it after Xenoblade X? Selling it back. And since i receive it for free, selling it is an extra cash win for me. Thanks Nintendo for the N3DS that had some problems but i wont support it. Maybe waiting the Nintendo NX. Till then i went to stick with the old Vanilla 3DS and the 3DSLL to continue my gaming. Well Kuro was right with the N3DS, its uneeded and i dont care of amiibo usability.
Impression : Fix your goddamn digital store Nintendo, its still painful for downloading.
PS3
The PS3 will have officially 10 years in 2016, 10 years in which Sony promise it'll live 10 years and they were right. In 2016, some PS3 games will still coming but some wont as companies has started to move on PS4 for greater cause but to really assume the PS3 has lived long enough and we have to welcome the new generation. Because of this, i thought it was also a good time to purchase one last Playstation 3 with the Ultra Slim 500Gb. I bought it new so i could actually replace the Hard drive with a fresh new WD Blue 1tb to transform it into a full fledge digital system and transform my old Slim into a Media Center in which i read animes and TV series. My old FAT 80Gb went to my bro house for my nephews so they can play Minecraft PS3 and Skylanders that i bought for their respective birthday. However, why the PS3 is under 3DS this year? Because i havent played as much of my new PS3 than actually playing the 3DS.
PS3 has seen in Europe releasing some of its latest and promising games such as the promised Yakuza 5 who finally came, Eiyuu Senki and Sen No Kiseki (Trails of the Cold Steel). 2016 will conclude in Europe with Sen No Kiseki II as Xseed announce it for 2016, this will be the last PS3 game for west so they better enjoy it.
Impression : 9 years and it'll have 10. 9 years of JRPG, 9 years of games
Playstation TV
Because my work imply that i play more outside and i've spent more time playing PS4, PSVitaTV has been receiving less care as i only went to play 3 games on it : Tokyo Xanadu, Ys MoC and NeptuneVSSega Hard Girls. The system is still okay as long the named PSVita Title i play is compatible with it, else it still serve me to play my legit games i own from Digital PSP into Bigger Screen.
Impression : Not could fully playing it so it does sometimes get the dust it shouldnt. But it has to be the case and i cant prevent it unless i stop working which i wont mean i wont get money and no money means no games.
WiiU
My worst year with this system and its definitely true when i bought only 2 titles this entire year and it was start of November with Project Zero 5 and one week after its own release in December in Europe, Xenoblade X. Both bought in their respective Limited Edition with still good care of making an artbook and an extra poster and steelbox for their respective game althought i hate the steelbox of Project Zero 5 while the Steelbox of Xenoblade X is beautiful. So what's the problem with it? After all, many gamers claimed that WiiU has a good year with plenty of games. I wish to know which ones. So we gave me names like Splatoon but i hate Splatoon genre as i hate CoD. So Mario Maker? I started to hate Mario when they were too much of it (not a good time as Nintendo promises no new Mario in 2015 but went to release 7 mario games in 2015 which was TOO MUCH and a lie). Well then how about the Wii Virtual Consoles? The GBA Virtual Console? The N64 Virtual Consoles? As same as my opinion on the wii, its not because i have to force buy 4-5 times the same games that it means it has games! (Zelda OoT 64 -> Zelda OoT+MC Gamecube -> Zelda OoT 3DS -> Zelda OoT VC64, STOP!). Sorry if i couldnt find the fun with the wiiU but this year is not the year of the console to me and hopefully its only my opinion and it dont apply to the global opinion of the world so we can enjoy our system like we should and not like the general opinion who always vote the same thing.
Impression : Where are the games i want? щ(ﾟдﾟщ)
XboxOne?
I still dont want to own a XboxOne and this year 2015 still convice me not to. Reason? Microsoft really hate Japan games and its not because Platinum Games work for Scalebound that i should be hyped for this sytem at all (and Scalebound do not interest me). Let see how Microsoft support Japan : They didnt advertise 5pb games despite being their only support of Japanese game there and it result as Chaos Child and Psycho Pass getting very poor sales at the point even a Western Fallout 4 on Xbox One is selling more. Result? These games get port on PS4 and PSVita and do twice if not third more sales than the Xbox One version for only Chaos Child as Psycho Pass will be next year for PS systems. So what can you sell me on Xbox One for a gamer like me who prefer Japanese games. Forza 6? I have Project cars on PS4 and even if its also on XboxOne, i dont care. Rise of Tomb Raider? It comes on PS4 in 2016 and start of 2016 its already on PC so dont care. Xbox360 compatibility? Last time i checked the compatbility list there were no Blue Dragon, no Lost Odyssey, no Infinite Undiscovery, no Last Remnant, no Eternal Sonata, no Star Ocean 4, no Magna Carta 2. Should i continue the list? Why would you make crappy games like Doritos Racing compatible with XboxOne while there's some games gamers wants but arent compatible. Oh but PS4 cannot read PS3 games so lol Xbox Win. Yeah sure it win, it wins for me only if i can find a game compatible to play, not games i dont want. Its as same as XboxOne still dont know how to sell in Japan, they dont sell because they dont appeal to Japanese gamers despite they hate Microsoft. You cannot convice Japan when you could sell some Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey at the time of Xbox360 but still cannot sale Chaos Child and even convice Japanese to buy Scalebound. In the end, i wont consider an XboxOne purchase unless Microsoft convice me with Japanese games in which they dont have.
Impression : What's a Xbone?
No matter how busy you are, you must take time to make the other person feel important.
3. Games thought
Each year is a great year for me about video games, whenever they are games released this year, games that i've keep to play this year because the timing and retro gaming because im not tired to play some old games when i have some moment for
JANUARY
Neptunia Rebirth 1 : PSVita
Full Fledged Remake of the first Neptune game from PS3 by using the Neptune God V system and letting a newcomer Fellistella handling this title on PSVita. At first it was like playing the first Neptune as a portable episode to play anywhere which is quite useful for grinding and actually grinding is what you'll need to beat the episode in the legit way if you dont purchase any DLC that would break the difficulty (in form of Histoire, Peashy and Pururut as DLC characters who i heard are broken). In form of remake, i find it better than the first Neptune in term of Gameplay but as a story one, i find it slightly dissapointing as it was less darker and serious althought im glad i could play more Noire sooner. Also i didnt like IF being Vert laptop at each scene both have to interact as it does downgrade my impression on IF and make me more to hate Vert as i still dont like her. The addition of characters from Victory DLC onto this Remake has also made the remake a bit more different to play as in before you were only relying on the Trio Neptune, Compa and IF. Addition and Removal(no Gust, no NISA) give me some mixed feeling about this episode. Overall i appreciate more for the system remake but for story, i do definitely prefer the original game.
Impression: Good remake for its system, bad for its massive change on the story side. Also adding more characters made it less tactics to play than the first Neptune game.
The Walking Dead S2 : PS3-PSVita
I love the first Walking Dead game but i dont like the second one. I dont like the second one because Clementine is not as deep as Lee was to follow, its weak because the conclusion of the game is not intense, is not that interesting as a finale althought i love Kenny. And i dont like this second season because of fucking lazyness in term of chara development which was less deeper than the first season without real tension and not to mention that making Clementine into a Super girl who can solve problems that adults could and her childlish side has completely dissapear in favour of a brat who tries to be strong. Also god i hate so many characters in this episode : Sarah, Arvo, Rebecca oh and the only side game that came in this game: Bonnie... What ending did i do? I went to trust Kenny because Kenny is still the best character of the S1 and is still the best of S2. Kenny was also the best friend of Lee so i found it natural that Clementine support and stay with Kenny so they can respect Lee last wish and live and fight together against the horrible life that awaits them outside Wellington. Choosing Kenny of instead of Jane means that i trust my friend more than trying to betray them as Jane represent to me, more of the side of loneliness. After all Jane abandon Clementine at the end of Chapter 4 so it was a sign that she would leave Clementine one day, even if in her own ending that i made after with the PSVita version(for double plat as well).
Impression: I'll remember the season 2 for Kenny but definitely not what it is, the worst Telltale game that i had to play this year.
Sleeping Dogs DE : PS4
There's not much to say about Sleeping Dogs on PS4, its the same game that i have played when it was hugely discounted on PS3, in the exception that this time every DLC are on the PS4 Disc. The real difference is the difficulty on PS4 version as adding all DLC means you have to beat them to count for the Platinum AND some missions are now made harder as you have to use some DLCgear from PS3 on the PS4(applied DLC). However playing it on PS4 on my side was pleasant as i was using the PS4Share to capture every moment i play of the game and that i couldnt on PS3. The last reason i wanted Sleeping Dogs on PS4 is that its the only open world GTA-type that i prefer to play as i play a Cop rather than gansters like on GTA or Saints Row. That purchase was meant to support SE to the Triad Wars development but in the end it will be cancelled. But despite this, i will not forget Sleeping Dogs after playing it twice because Wei Shen is my favourite character that made this game memorable and his voice actor is gorgeous, Will Yun Lee who will also voice Kung Lao for MKX =).
Impression: Sleeping Dogs is not as god than GTAV for others, but for me its good because of what i want to play there, a cop, who want to stop the crime, in HongKong. And my affinity of playing good guy to the very end is what made me want to play Sleeping Dogs, even twice, despite of all of its flaws. Also Melee in the Asian way >>>> Firearms
Sly 1 : PSVita
Not much to say about Sly 1 on PSVita. My first time playing it was on PS3 with the Sly Collection and playing it on PSVita is nothing much different other than having it portable =)
And Sly 1 fits very well on PSVita as initially the game was short and being short is what portable are good for, playing in short session. Because the first Sly didnt use much control, it didnt require much use of the PSVita touch function and fits already well on the palm of my hands.
Impression: A fine episode well made done port on portable unlike Jak Trilogy who was badly done. Also the trilogy for Vita was free if you bought it digitally on PS3 so its also a good win win.
Soulcalibur Lost Swords : PS3
I went to resume SC LS around January for my surprise to see that my JP savedata was carry on the EU SC LS i went to download to play. As the process, i could resume and finish to unlock the remaining trophies i didnt unlock there. Playing it on EU servers this time made it much enjoyable as it was less laggy than the JP servers from the JP game but still, the game dont help me to enjoy it with its microtransaction and his atrocious loading for a.... Single player game without no Versus Mode, no real Online fighting mode but especially you still need to grind some events to earn some currency in order to play with the others SC characters. But even playing them is not helpful as they dont carry over your current character level and gear AND you have to PAID REAL MONEY to actually playing with their original costume. I have no idea who was behind SC LS but its definitely not the Soul Team and to end this, SC LS has been closed this November and is no more playable, with no Soulcalibur 6 not announced and SC Unbreakable Soul dead, the franchise is now dead which sadden me as i love this series but now its dead for good :(.
Impression: A worst iteration of the series that do also end the franchise as its now dead for good.
Sly 2 : PSVita
Same case than my opinion for Sly 1 on PSVita except that this one had to rely more with some of the PSVita Touchpad mostly for the binocular zoom and the zoom on the map because unlike Sly1, Sly2 play more in an open space where every missions are play from point A to point B rather than finding all collectible per short level. Another good port from the homeconsole to the portable.
Impression: Same opinion than Sly 1 PSvita.
Senran Kagura Bon appetit
After receiving my dual box of SK EV and SKBA physical, i went to play Bon appetit at the moment Marvelous Europe went to discount the game with a huge bargain so i went to play it thanks to this. (Its also a Double Platinum stackable with EU and NA version.). To be fair, i went to play all of my songs with Ryoubi as i swear that any Senran kagura games i'll play MUST have Ryoubi or i wont play. As a rhythm game its okay and entertaining enough but as a deep music rhythm game there's definitely better choice elsewhere like Project Diva, Taiko No Tatsujin, Ouedan because Bon Appetit is easy enough to achieve althought Hard tracks require much more concentration but they reward more currency than easier difficulty.
Impression: Nice game for those who want their Senran Kagura fanservice but not as average as any other rhythm game
FEBRUARY
Atelier Escha&Logy Plus : PSVita
I wont need to repost a 400lines of my opinion of this game. I think anyone who read my previous opinion of the PS3 games do already know that its a must have as an Atelier modern game and its definitely the episode you need as a portable iteration. This portable version not only having the best of Escha&Logy, is also adding new scenes between Escha&Logy as a love relationship (althought if you want them to have a marriage look, you'll need to get their respective costume as DLC) and Nio is also added to the roster alongiwth DLC characters (but nerfed in contrast so Wilbell get uber nerfed this time compare to her PS3 DLC iteration). As a PSVita iteration, you have to get ready of some downgrade in term of graphism as the game is not as beautiful as the PS3 version (which made the best of the Omega Force Engine) and had some slight longer loading between place you visit (but hopefully battles arent long to load).
Impression: A must need episode as a portable as it was already on consoles.
Dead Or Alive 5 Last Round : PS4
A free update for those who own DOA5Ultimate PS3 (and stop getting support after the Second Season Pass for PS3) and a new purchase to do on PS4(and XboxOne and PC). I got the first Season pass for free but i went to purchase the two others season pass as the second one was thanks to the Falcom and Schoolgirls Strikers DLC and the third season pass has already sold me for her excellent Marie Rose in dancer outfil and soon for Naotara Li for March 2016 included in the game, do still continue to make me appreciate the game for the third time. It might be the only Fighting game i did accept to repurchase from DOA5 PS3, Plus on Vita, Ultimate on PS3 and finally LastRound on PS4 until XtremeBeachVolley 3. On PS4, not only i could PS4Share everything i wanted to do and couldnt on PS3, but also i could still continue to play it with my friends. LastRound had to include both Raidou and Honoka as for those who didnt purchase Marie Rose, Phase4 and Nyotengu. It did also include 4 new stages and some new DLC costumes add the destructible option (SK and Deception, SGS add the transformation via taunt).
Impression: Still satisfied with it despite waiting for a DOA6.
Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires : PS4 (havent touch PSVita version yet)
8th Episode of the Empires series for DW, DW8 add a new Wei general (i still think they should stop adding more Wei general...) as Xun Yu. I had already loved DW7E and this 8th episode add more in term of marriage where you can finally make children and childrens inherits parents stats and traits, making my XiaoQiao marriage possible with a good ending around it. It do also add more in term of strategic support battles and finally this episode welcome a F2P version that can help anyone to get into DW despite not being a main episode. Another good thing is since i have much DLC from DW8XLCE, they do carry on with DW8E. The only downside? The game is clearly not made for PS4 unlike DW8XLCE, i found it poorly execute for PS4 as PS3 is somewhat better looking in comparaison... Its also because DW8XLCE was a launch title of the PS4 and had more support than DW8E being only a sort of poor improvement from the PS3 port.
Impression: Because it improved the good things of DW7E and i can have children and marry with XiaoQiao, my waifu, i consider this episode to be the best. Still a shame its not good in term of graphism for PS4.
Dragon Quest Heroes : PS4
While Nintendo is busy censoring Dragon Quest 8 Jessica on 3DS (you'll see once it'll be released for West, and compare it to PS2, you"ll see censors on 3DS even on JP version) as for demaking some stuffs (like the same treatment for Tales of Abyss 3DS) , SquareEnix with Koei deliver some of the gorgeous looking but also intense play with Dragon Quest Heroes. So what did i get with DQH? Another Musou? Well yes and no. Its Musou feeling when i can kill plenty of monsters but not because its not musou feeling when i cannot kill more than 1000 ennemis like a Musou and ESPECIALLY because boss fights are so TOUKIDEN feeling than Musou no brainer. Also Dragon Quest Heroes made me believe that Koei can actually other cross over with the quality of Dragon Quest Heroes with others franchise just like the upcoming Attack On titan for 2016. A system like DQH does could also create plenty of good crossseries like a Precure or an Atelier Musou which are most asked in the latest Koei Musou poll. This Heroes episode came also at the moment Nintendo werent localizing DQ7&8 yet (i had the JP version on February 2015 while EU version release on October, two weeks after, DQ7&8 were localizing thanks to West sales which help SE to decide the localization). So thanks to DQH, it was pleasant to have some of my DQ characters being well made 3D characters like Jessica and Wangus, Alena and having voice acting, one really new addition since the Western release of DQ8. (its the first time for Japanese DQ Games if you exclude anime DQ like Fly=Dai no Daibōken)
Impression: A fresh DQ title on 3D that made us believe DQ is back and it does, DQ11 for PS4 and 3DS. Both having their huge difference.
MARCH
Resident Evil Revelations 2 : PS4
An episodic Episode i could appreciate. Despite how people felt about being episodic, i didnt have any problem because... the first Revelations was already playing as an episodic format despite having the full game day1, the way Rev2 wanted to follow but as episodic downloable. I appreciate it because compare to what everyone said, paying only 25€ for the full game via Season Pass rather than 40-50€ a full game like Rev1 is an honest price. This honest price has however a contrast, the game is both beautiful and ugly as ugly to carry on old console graphical and beautiful as the bestiriary have more variety than Rev1. Also Rev2 improve the combat and action mechanic from Rev1 but do also add more dilemma choice with the return of the inventory slots. General opinion found Claire ugly and i didnt find it ugly as anyone do age. After all this is how Claire looks at her 30ish and we arent playing 18ish Claire so people should stop bitching about aging characters. Barry did also age but he's still fine as a fighter and looking for Moira. My only deception in the game is the final chapter of Claire which is not interesting unlike Barry one. Also the nice twisting good ending can only be done via a choice from Claire side on Chapter 3 rather than Barry own decision in the entire game made me mixed feeling about what i decide the whole game. Hopefully one good addition is the improved raid mode of Rev2 which is being played more Arcade and more dependable of growing characters in their individuals with each having their own set of skills, strength and weakness. Its just a shame that only this mode add the coop online while the main campaign lack of it. (game can be only played local coop)
Impression: An okay episode, cheap for what it costs and cheap for what it delivers. If it was a full 60€ games i would rant but for a full 25€ cheap game at launch, its okay and honest.
Final Fantasy Type 0 : PS4
Finally SquareEnix delivers FFType0 for the West, in form of an improved HD version for Home consoles and later for PC. While people were ranting for no PSVita nor PSP version, i was fine just having an improved HD version when this HD version had new controls and add a better camera support (which was patch later). Lacking online contents that PSP had? No problem in here because we got FFType0, an episode that was way acclaimed in Japan and now playable here. What i did like in this one? Combats and characters customization. What i didnt like? The unbalanded difficulty change which make the game either broken or abusively broken, overall either too easy or way to broken. Its also a sort of mature episode before Lightning Returns in we set this was release on the original JP with the degree of violence being much more visible than in older episode like blood (until LR FF13). Also i did also appreciate that you can freely choose your own main character instead of being force to have one, that way i went to play more of Queen and Rem rather than Ace.
Impression: A general improvement over its portable episode and if people need to play it portable, there's remote play for this.
Bladestorm Nightmare : PS4
I havent played the original PS3 version when i play the PS4 remake version. It was a lot different than any Koei title i had played before. But to be honest in term of gameplay, Bladestorm is more about tactics and how you give orders to beat your goal and objective rather than doing it yourself (which you cant unless you want to die) and for a PS4 game, its definitely not and would fit on PS3 as the game is not taking the full potential of the system and just being a redone version from the PS3 for what it seems to be. Another point which ring my ears for pain is only to have the American voice without being able to switch to a Japanese one. At least if the game had French voice to fit the setting or more focus English Voice Actor to at least make it bearable, i didnt like the voice acting for the EU version.
Impression: A general improvement over its portable episode and if people need to play it portable, there's remote play for this.
APRIL
Neptunia Rebirth 2 : PSVita
Rather than being a remake, its actually a port of Mk2 with only minor addition and replacement with Gust being replaced by Brocolli and NISA by RED and these 2 doesnt have the charisma that former Mk2 characters add. With these receive also the addition of VictoryDLC/Rebirth1 cast minus Young Falcom not being in it so the original Falcom can still exist. Contrary to Mk2, Rebirth2 is just Mk2 being portable with the addition of the Stella Dungeon which had good idea at first but become quite painful to play as the latter part require too much freetime to be spend outside of the game because of crazy exploring requiring days (hours if you force buy DLC) for the last reward. If it was only painful, one mistake at Stella Dungeon can make you lose all your gear (unless you do once again, buy DLC). In term of dialogue, i miss the animated 3d models which are replaced with the executed Skits which make lose all of the charm and impact of many scenes, especially the one i treasure in my mind between Uni and CFW Brave. Another problem is how lazy the new ending is made by mixing the conquest and the true ending just to Nepgear having her Mk3 processor (which is definitely an improvement over the meh style of her Mk2).
Impression: To be fair, id rather enjoying more Mk2 than Rebirth2. I might not be the only one as Japanese fans didnt appreciate it as well as much as its own sales, game was like more than half the price in Japan when the game get released overseas in its own first week.
Toukiden Kiwami : PS4, PSVita
Toukiden Kiwami sounds like an add on addition of the original Kiwami but with much more improvements itself. First its carrying the original Toukiden contents and story and add contents behind 3 news characters (HOROU!!! <3) and additionnal story contents up but to satisfy enough fans until Toukiden 2. EU and NA were able to get the improved PS4 version before Japan and for what it is, was gorgeous in visuals and also a good reason to play with more improved control on this one for bigger screen but came as killing the PSVita version to PSVITA TV with the PS4 having too much better improvement and addition to actually play on PS4 than TV. In term of gameplay, the addition of Horou Weapon for the weapon make the whole game a cakewalk with long range do completely destroying the game as the Bow was another most good weapon for the original Toukiden.
Impression: Toukiden was already good, Kiwami make it even better but also ever more easier with the Rifle breaking the game itself. PS4 version made the PSVitaTV version uneeded althought its still make the Vita version better in comparaison.
Senran Kagura Estival Versus : PS4 - PSVita
EV was one of my most anticipated game of 2015 because not only it develop at first the story around Ryoubi and Ryouna but also its sequel to Shinovi Versus which had seduce me the last year. With Estival Versus, i got more of the fast pace battle system that i had with Shinovi and got a lot more in term of pleasure with playing favourite characters, especially Ryoubi. Althought not everything is perfect with the game, i enjoyed it a lot as my action game of the year than any others. I still have cons about choice made in the game like some massive nerf with the cast like Ikarugi get more and more weaker despite she's only reliable for combos, Haruka get the most serious nerf as she's no more so invincible but some get high buffed like Ryoubi now getting more of deadly long range that fill ninpo so fast you can counter attack with ease but Imu might be the one that receive extreme buff that she's totally broken with both combo and power. Another nice addition i have with the game that kept me playing it till December are the addition of collaborative characters from Ayame to Naraku with a total of 35 characters on the cast to play with.
Impression: A massive visual improvement Shinovi Versus, some change in the Gameplay form and plenty of contents to be satisfy for a bit of time but lacks on others points like debatting the balance with the cast and some multiplayers balance problems.
MAY
Neptunia VII : PS4
4th Episode of the mainline continuity of the series, that was such an episode to wait for. At first i was about to wait until its localization until CH reveals the new form of the main cast which has set me on to play it on Japanese at first. For what i've receive after playing Rebirth 2 is a big slap on my face over for a lot of improvement made for this new episode. First are fast paced combats that are so fast and engaging that it has totally change how i was playing the old neptune games. Second point is the improved soundtrack that had much more memorable music than Rebirth2 and 3 soundtrack (and got their tracks re-used too much with following spin off) and finally the improved visuals that made the cast more charming like having a leveling up pose and two victory pose, not to mention that Lily Rank in this episode is much MORE EASIER to get and so, less painful to do. However the game is not that perfect and i have some dissapointment over some parts. First is how short the game is, despite how the game has been advertised as 3 games into 1. Second is how the new form is not really giving much more improvement with the stats and so using them is pointless that i prefer to stay only on CPU form. Last con might be the fact that i still cant visit any city by myself which is a really negative point when in comparaison you could at least visit at bit in the previous Omega Quintet. And as much as Neptunia VII improve the formula, its only a bit of the improvement i can get while actually a spin off of Neptune had brought me the rest and good ideas despite this one is having fast battle that other dont .
Impression: A good 4th Episode but not as good as Victory brought the very top while Victory II just brought the face pace battle and improved visual.
JUNE
Touhou Genso Rondo : PS4
A PC port for PS4 that receive 2 additionnal characters and trophy support. Unless you always stick with PC, PS4 version is not that needed unless you would love to finally have some of your favourite Touhou as some of your trophy hunting miltestone which i do =). And this is what i did for 3 Alice potential trophy =).
Impression: If you have the PC version, keep it and forget PS4 ver. If you never played this one on PC (i didnt so i took PS4 ver), you might give it a try, its a nice fighting game if you like the concept of shooting, breaking guard and sneaking for staggering your opponent.
Yuuki Yuuna : PSVita
The only game about the second Story of the Hero legend. Made by Furyu, the game satisfy me for the content it brings for Yuuki Yuuna fan in both form of a short action game with some trials and a Visual Novel Story part to unlock while satisfying requirements given with most of the trials. For the action part game , its a nice but too short game with 5 stage per characters that are actually the same to play but different to experiment like Tougou can only jump than running and dashing but is deadly with damage while Yuuna is strong for fast combo and medium strength. The game is not that gorgeous with the graphism but is at least more enjoyable than a PSP game. Finally the VN part brought more interesting stories about the girls life that complete the Additionnal disc of the Blu Ray of the anime and the Light Novel. It was also the game that convice me to read more about Tougou, about Washio. Overall its an ok game for the fan of Yuuki Yuuna but maybe not for those who seek good action games.
Impression: It satisfy the fan of the series for its fanservice delivery but its not a good action game for anyone else.
Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition : PS4
The real Dante returns i wasnt expecting yet because i want DMC5 but definitely what i wanted to see back. For my surprise not only the game has some improvement over the vanilla DMC4 but also it add playable Lady, definitely a new thing to me as i like the character since DMC3 and the Anime series. Trish is ok addition since DMC2 where she debuts her playable but definitely the best is Vergil return with DMC4SE as its not a bad PC MOD but Vergil receiving DMC3 pattern list with some picked from DmC as well. The last best part for me is the addition of Japanese Audio (for the JP ver) that change some of the original game scenes to watch.
Impression: A great return of the original series despite being a fixed version of the original last episode. With this one i really hope that Capcom will develop DMC5 and NOT DmC2.
JULY
Neptunia Rebirth 3 : PSVita
After playing Neptune VII, it was really difficult on getting back to the old system. But hopefully since i was playing the latest EU version, it add immediatly a free DLC that add the whole cast of the Trilogy Neptune Rebirth. With this, i could satisfy my envy of Rebirth3 and finally play with my own all stars cast that had Adult IF, Noire, Uni and Chika. And this is what the game really have, an all stars cast because its just Victory but on the palm of your hands. I dont have much to add in this one as its the best Neptune game but now portable and with an all stars cast.
Impression: Just being Neptune God V/Neptunia Victory but with an all stars cast
Shin Atelier Rorona : 3DS
3rd iteration of the very same Atelier Project11, Atelier Rorona. The game on 3DS receive a massive demake visual over the PSVita/PS3 version. As demake, you shouldnt think of the character sprite (that have actually lose a lot in term of body and foot, the SD effect is not really helful) but how the general aspect is. Gust had to proceed to a lot of removal in term of graphical aspect : less life with less tree, less nature, map are now more smaller and even house get less furniture. This demake however have 2 addition that was made for the fan of the original game rather than bringing a new audiance into it. The first addition is the revamped battle system that is a mix between old Atelier mechanic and new system in which sound good on paper but its not when you pick an episode that is not mostly battle related (over than the overtime part) where you can still beat the game under lvl 12 and filling requirement to get the best ending. The new battle system would have be much better if it really add battles that deserve this system like Atelier Meruru or Atelier Escha&Logy, hell EVEN ATELIER VIORATE! The second addition is the segment part of Astrid but by the time you really play her, you'll find her too broken to actually enjoy her part. I still have dissapointment over her story as its still not solving mystery around her master and her interaction with Sterk is really minor to justify her story as the most interesting addition for the final version of Atelier Rorona
Impression: For a fan of Atelier Rorona, the Astrid part is short but satisfy the less. The new battle system is good but could deserve to be in another Atelier game that would really deserved to be more battle oriented that Rorona is sadly not.
AUGUST
J Stars Victory + : PS4, PSVita
I didnt import the original Japanese game and to my surprise, when BNE announce its localization was one surprising news. Althought the game is not as good as the brilliant Jump Ultimate Stars from the NDS game, its the one that introduce me to series that are Madoka and Nisekoi. Its also one game that have understand that To Love Ru is about lala so having her as a support character despite not being playable is at least the best addition i could get with the game. As a fighting game, J Stars Victory + is not really engaging and have minor anime fanservice but as a game to discover many series that fit in the cross over is a decent one.
Impression: Not as good as Jump Ultimate Stars, its a different game i get when it comes on 3D but its still a nice crossover that came overseas.
Sword Art Online Re Hollow Fragment : PS4
A visual improvement and a fix translation from the PSVita game, Re Hollow Fragment is a nice episode to enjoy on bigger screen with the visual improvement is gorgeous for my eyes for my will of Asuna and Sinon but less when it cut some of the original portable function. The main primary one is not being able to pause the game as it must be done in sort of one sit or waiting to get back to town to actually a break for yourself. While PSVita let you pause via getting back to the XBM is not something possible on the PS4 version which is a let down considering the game have long session to play around. My other negative point is that because it is a game that have to be played with all in built DLC from the Vita version is making its own platinum a lot more difficult to get if not only its also glitched. Final con is that its just a minor Visual improvement as Lost Song have much better visual. But overall its a decent SAO game that had force me to really get interest into the series because this is what the game is supposed to do, to give you the felt that it has to satisfy the fan of the series but also bringing the newcomer into the SAO world and merchandise around it.
Impression: A massive improvement for its revision translation that looks more English than broken English from Chinese. Its an improvement for visual but not as much than Lost Song delivers, its still a good SAO game but not being able to pause the game might be brutal for anyone who cant play fully.
SEPTEMBER
Metal Gear Solid 5 The Phantom Pain : PS4
The Man Who Sold The World, this is a song that get sticked to my head from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. This same song is totally related of the general aspect of MGS5 into many points from spoiler to its own identity. Kojima sold me his last game before its own company dispose of him. I wont talk about the Kojima/Konami story any longer but im glad i could play the last of Kojima work. Big Boss did also sold the world in the spoiler term. I get sold of this game by enjoying it bit by bit despite all the controversies it receive from cut content to visual aspect like the storyu around Quiet. Its one MGS that i could finally enjoy to its full as i didnt enjoy playing MGS4 for his gameplay but his story. In here MGS5TPP is one i enjoy more for its gameplay rather than the story as most is to enjoy via cassettes like Peace Walker. Its one massive game where i could enjoy the stealth element around it and can be enjoyed by various way. Places are gigantic to visit and before learning how each base work from day to night i was already spending hours playing it. And by reusing same method, ennemis learn to counter my shenanigan and i had to proceed in other way each time which make more hours to be spend but more with trial and errors, learn and beat things around. If i have to add some cons into the game, i might say the Mother base as we get promised to customize it by ourselves but in the end, we could only change the color
Also we could have animal around the base rather than just in the zoo place but it was removed in the final game because of the rush. Some collectible cannot be enjoy like every animal we capture in the cage and finally the moment you get D.D, the moment you start to ignore D Horse and even Quiet as D.D is too broken and useful at every mission you do. The Man Who Sold the World is also the man who made me think of my life this year about how i should handle and understand my friend to also how i should dispose of bad friends and all the negativity the Internet is trying to get me in to trap me into a person who should be negative. I really want to thanks Kojima and its team for the hard work he did on the game as it was the one i enjoy the most this year and one i'll hardly forget in the future. For this, Its the man who sold the world.
Impression: The Fulton Who Sold the Game
Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butoden : 3DS
At first, i bought it not because it was actually Supersonic Warriors 3 but also it add Butoden 2 from SNES that in France we have as "La Legende Saiyen". Unfortunately both games ended up being slightly dissapointing althought EB do better in gameplay part than the recent Xenoverse. My other dissapointment is from B2 port which remove all the epic music despite being now a full fledged 60Hz game but really hard to enjoy with the tiny screen of the 3DS. EB made it good to have a roster like Ultimate Battle 22.
Impression: A better Dragon Ball Z than Xenoverse but still not as good as others to quote Budokai 3, Tenkaichi 3 and Legends.
Koesta ; Mobile
Koesta is one surprising mobile game i had to heard via a news from CH with the new update of Rebirth3(that West get too late) about a trio of girls being casted by Fellistella for a new Mobile game called Koesta, a card game RPG. Koesta make you choose between 3 girls in which i choose Orikawa Kotomi because of being shy and being pink pattern. At first i didnt have much will to play the game until an event from CH collabo made me earn Cards and piece of cloth from IF of Neptune games. Despite the event being short and didnt start with a lot of good cards, i was able to build my deck at time and earn every cards of IF at the very end of the event/ After this, the game was nice to play but because it lacks of challenge after knowing how the game is being played and building a good deck, its hard to play it everyday as it doesnt hold much good event from Fellistella.
Impression: Seems to be a good card game at first but lacks of challenge after building a good deck
OCTOBER
Yoru No Nai Kuni : PS4
Hands down to be my GOTY of this year. Gust has promised a new IP in 2014 but after Shin Rorona reveal, i was wondering if Gust went lazy Gust until demake was one, this new one was announced before Atelier Sophie. But to be honest, after playing it, its hardly a Gust game but more a Koei game with the mix of Musou and Toukiden in battle feeling with the Visual and aspect of a Gust RPG game. This gorgeous mix create Yoru No Nai Kuni, a game in which you follow agent Arnas and her childhood friend Lyuritis(i wont use the localized name) in a semi realistic world as it takes place in our world in a small part of England. In term of gameplay, YNNK is a brilliant mix of Musou by not overloading a lot of ennemis on screen(maybe so the Vita poor port can do the same) and focusing at fast pace action slash with some tactics mechanics by summoning familiars and command them to help you building combos and or support you around. Each familiar have different attacks and different role which help you to actually customize and plan different battle approach and what make the game both friendly to play but also very tactical when it comes to do harder fights such as boss fights and many challenge of the coliseum. Another great thing of the game is its gorgeous music that make you want to boot up the OST that come up with the Premium Box of the game just to listen to how brilliant musics are in the game for anything : for the game events, battles and even place you visit. Finally visual is the one most important point of this game and the game is defnitely beautiful. BEAUTIFUL except on PSVita in which the game is like PSP made like a bad port Musou game. Its running slower than DW8XLCE for PSVita and even worst than DW Portable 2 on PSP itself. No matter how much West want PSVita version, if they want a game version that belong to the next trash bin, here is it but i highly recommand it to play it on PS4 to actually enjoy the enhanced lightning and visual effect rather than being 3DS bad port made on PSVita.
Impression: A must have on your PS4 collection or PS3 if you want. But definitely a new Gust IP that shown that joining force with Koei wasnt a bad idea after all. If YNNK can reuse its assets to an Atelier Musou, it would be another good game to expect.
Tokyo Xanadu : PSVita
After Sen No Kiseki II, Falcom went to work fully on Tokyo Xanadu, a new IP that's not related to Xanadu Next but use most of Sen No Kiseki assets to built this new game. In term of visual, its an improvement over the PSVita version of Sen No Kiseki. In term of gameplay, its an original Action RPG with some fast pace battle. In term of general aspect of the game it has an okay story, a charming cast of characters with my favourite are Kou, Shou and Lion atm. The Music in the game is as enjoyable as Sen No Kiseki OST were, good but not as epic as Crossbell games. While people in the West will compare it to a Persona, TX has its own element and identity that doesnt make it Persona at all, its still a shame that people kept comparing school RPG games to Persona while they are just RPG. My over top quality of the game is to have Towa in this game despite its not the same Towa than Kiseki but is much more lively in this game, especially her interaction with cousin Kou.
Impression: Another good Falcom game over the top of the basket games to play in 2015 but lose some points on my side for just being a Kisekish game than being new.
Schoolgirl Striker ; Mobile
Thanks to akuma for let me discovering the game. After stopping playing I Love Pasta for a year, i went to try a new game with Schoolgirl Strikers, a game that pack card collectible element but with a huge story, roster and background. One good thing about SGS is not about building the best deck but how you manage to create a team to stop the alien invasion as for progressing thought the various event the game made. Its a whole combinaison that seduce me and keep me playing it. My favourite character there is Sajima Yumi. The first bit of the story are although a bit boring to follow as i actually get interested to follow it at the Episode 7-2 and because the game has too much interesting events, i do skip the story sometimes just to get into the events in order to get more points to actually improve my cast when i can get SR cards but also events have some extra events following a bit of the cast so there's always moment i cant catch up with the main story and that's maybe a little problem i found in the game. However this problem is what making the game itself more to get into because it takes time to get bored and that's a good thing, i kept playing it.
Impression: After stopping Sim Management game I Love Pasta, Schoolgirl Strikers went there as a game of change. I like getting on the game events althought it slow me to actually get into the main story but the content there is good enough to let me continue to play it. Its hard to recommand to anyone as you should really start to get into the whole merchandise to actually appreciate most of the part of this series from comic, game and story part.
NOVEMBER
Life is Strange : PS4
I was waiting DONTNOD new game and here it is, it take the form of an episodic adventure game that follow the path of the classic formula of a Point&click game. It follow the destiny of Max, a normal teenage girl who live a normal life until a fateful encounter will change her life and making it like the title sounds it, roll credits Life is Strange. With DONTNOD, i get the Time Mechanic that was introduced in their previous work Remember Me and that power will help her progressing and face the many obstacle in her way. But that power as awesome as it sounds has a huge impact to the world and that'll be explain throught the game. This is where after playing more till the later episode that i think DONTNOD have not only created a good experience with dilemma waiting for us but also they seems to be interest in Japanese game as i found part of Steins;Gate and Zero Escape 2 throught the game with the fact of playing and messing up with the time by trying to save Chloe and her friends. The game is also a game about teaching life and no matter how we really want to fix things, we cannot save and make things better as how it create more problems, especially when you see the consequence of how it affect Chloe multiple time. In the final choice of the game, i had decided to respect Chloe choice as it was the most objective choice in life but affect her greatly. I know some others may found the opposite choice to be better because of how the people in the town treat both Max and Chloe but my choice represent the fact i want to satisfy everyone than just my ego. This is maybe where DONTNOD wanted to make us to do with these 2 choices, both choice have huge consequence and there's no happy ending anywhere and its not because the game must have a catastophic climax that what make Life is Strange good but its how our choices in life have always huge consequence and we cannot satisfy everything which rings me a bell to the famous quote : "with great power goes great responsibility"
Now im ready to wait the new DONTNOD game and hope it'll be as good as i have enjoyed both Remember Me and Life is Strange.
Impression: The story take its time to develop something around Max Life until the ending where there's a lesson of life that i get to learn. Life is Strange is another game where we can bring mature topic to the video game audiance and doesnt need to be high quality budget like QD games to bring both a story and a video game experience.
Blanc VS : PSVita
Hard to say that i was waiting BlancVS. At first i didnt enjoyed NeptuneU so knowing that BlancVS was actually a sort of NepU2 didnt really praise hope. However there's one thing i may have enjoyed in this game and its only the multiplayer part in which i have enjoyed playing it with SonicDX12 and Ryuzaki57 and also the minor sound improvements from the attack of each heroines that was lacking at the first Nep U. But outside of the these points, this is the game i havent enjoyed playing with all the problem it gets. The visual has improved from Nep U which i cant deny but the overall aspect is a lazy copy paste from Nep U and worse, it got issues. The game has issue to bring at decent scenario which couldnt be helped with Blanc, a remininscence of her role at NeptunePP and that's still Tamsoft(who also did PP). I dont know if trying to respect Blanc gag from PP about she wrote the scenario and now she direct a movie with her as the movie writer... I dont know if it was intented but it makes the story not interesting to follow. Another big problem is shorter each map were compared to Nep U, i finish the main part in less of 4h... And Blanc is not even the main character to play as i could actually ditch her and actually beat the whole game with Noire and Uni (and in this one Uni and Rom are once more broken). The game receive more updates to stabilize and fix the game issues but even now its still not that playable (and boss get nerfed more and more) for the main story part. In the end, its only enjoyable for the multiplayer part but definitely not entertaining...
Impression: BlancVS is as white as it represent emptiness for those who were waiting a good spin off.
Style Savvy 3 : 3DS
La Nouvelle Maison du Style 2 in French. A reminder for those who read me right now, i wasnt kidding when i said i wanted to play this game since Girls Mode 1. I was never able to get a good price for GM2 but could get one for GM3 and just to remind you: its not because you think for yourself that its not a game for you that it shouldnt be one and i can punch you for criticize me about playing it. That's being said, now let's back to the topic. GM3 is an improvement over the first two episodes as it gives more choice of clothing but also more activities around it compare to previous games. If i skip the fact that some clothes can only be obtained throught amiibo (the DLC of Nintendo games) and that the story is now too fantasy (inherit the key of my workshop from my granma, now becoming the new owner and have to save the world with my sense of taste about clothes, the classic story i read elsewhere : Atelier Sophie, Atelier Elkrone anyone? damn you Granma!) than realistic. But what 's more important is the "sim management" part, that one thing i love in Video Games as it imply i dont mess up with my choice and give me a sense of managing things as in here, any clothes i do must correspond to the strict criteria that customers wants. That means creating more and more differents clothes to please them but also managing my finance. And this is where SS3/LNMDS3/GM3 is what i wanted to play with, management. It ended up the game i have actually enjoyed this year on 3DS more than the others (except DQ8) i own from this year.
Impression: Looking for a good sim management game this year is where GM3 answer my need of a game about it. It doesnt matter if the game is too girly for the opposite public, what matter is what the game brought to me and for this, i dont care being the opposite genre.
Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax EU : PSVita
I did actually bought the game at first in January on Japanese after i got a bargain price for it and rebought it in October on European version. At first that cross series from most of the Dengeki series into a fighting game sounds cool. But just like the previous Dengeki Cross series game, Cross of Venus, its not as good as a game but can satisfy enough the fan. The console port (following the Arcade update) add Selvaria from Valkyria games and Akira from VF games. It does also add a short story mode for everyone of the current cast who has to save Dreamcast Sega Hard Girls. Then what i have is a generic fighting game using some of the modern 2D VSF games mechanic and play with my favourite Dengeki characters i have. For me it was Kuroyukihime and Asuna. I didnt like that Kuroneko get her role as support only as it was my favourite character at Oreimo. Its just a fanservice game like any others i had but its really poor in content and unlockable... In comparaison i had a lot more fun by playing Mai Otome : Otome Butou Shi on PS2 and even Nanoha Gears of Destiny on PSP. Its so poor in content that SEGA release an updated version called Ignition and add Yuuki from SAO as DLC for Ignition in addition of the added contents and characters like "Tatsuya God Oniisama fuck Kititard in 7sec" which shown me that SEGA prefer money bait over actually updating that Vanilla game. Its so vanilla right now that it ended up being another dissapointment.
Impression: A game poorly treat by SEGA that i glad i bought first in a bargain price on Japanese after actually buying it full price in Europe to actually support SEGA effort, actually for Yakuza 5.
Project X Zone 2 : 3DS
Being a NamcoXCapcom 2, this is what Bandai Namco has promised since August. When the game was first reveal for Europe, it was carrying the keywords of NamcoXCapcom : Brave New World. Brave New World is the original song of NamcoXCapcom which is as nostalgic as the game is, it was also used at many AMV as the song itself is so good to listen. Also the teasing itself was showing Reiji and Xiaomu. Because of these, you couldnt deny that it was NxC sequel rather than being PxZ sequel itself. And the game itself will definitely shown how it want to stay back far away from PxZ as possible. Not only PxZ2 want to give the NxCish feel by bringing this time a more nostalgic cast from the glorious era of VG of all 3 companies that are Capcom, Namco and SEGA like Ryo Hazuki, Segata Sanchiro, June,(Star Gladiator), Kazuma&Majima or even the Nintendo cast with Chrom&Lucina etc. But also it wanted to redeem itself from the many negative points PxZ1 brought.
At first PxZ2 is definitely NxC2 as Reiji and Xiaomu story is really about their stories and how the events really ties to NxC stories rather than PxZ1. Timeline however is as confusing as PxZ2 will give to both audiance (ReijiXiaomu story takes place months after NxC while it takes years for other casts like 3 years for Street Fighter Ryu and Ken or Alisa from God Eater. ) some headaches. But you sure is here for the gameplay part and not the story arent you? In gameplay part, the game is a MASSIVE improvement over PxZ1 like getting cancelling to improve combos and shorter battle that do not make them playing over 2h but now a bit like of 30min to maximum an hour, from this it takes back to NamcoXCapcom. Another good point is how now Solo characters are much more useful to pair with pair characters by not only extending combos but how each skills they have make them more useful and unique. Final point is how the soundtrack have GREATLY IMPROVED over the atrocious PxZ1 soundtrack, in here its definitely want to be like NxC quality soundtrack althought being portable doesnt help for some arrange songs. However fixing system doesnt fix everything. At first im glad to get a NxC sequel but im not happy about how poorly it was executed as it takes too much things from NxC original story and do not wrote new stuff in the following. Also Saya who's after all main NxC antagonist got her spotlight busted by stupid Shiisu which her Chloe LemairISH accent... Over the course of the game where PxZ1 was actually enduring for its long battle and broken difficulty, PxZ2 go far but to bring shorter battle which is one positive news but in the cost of making more half of the game casual to play, its so easy i was wondering if i wasnt playing a Very Easy version of NxC1... Difficulty can be great in order to actually advance the plot and enjoy the game but kill itself the very core of its genre aka being a SRW in the first place. That was until the last 3 chapters are ridiculously broken in difficulty and you hope you did actually equally raise everyone at time rather than rellying on the same team pattern. And this is where the game itself is a con for me : it gives you the need to buy DLC. For those who really suck more at the initial casual difficulty of the game can suck more by buying broken gear or ever more increase XP and money growth so it would make the last battle easier than it should. Of course i advise you not to buy them but it depends on you as PxZ2 is also offering them as a bundle. Its a shame that DLC arent used to actually develop characters with additionnal missions that needs them to give a reason they are in the game, i think of Ingrid, Ryo Hazuki, Sega Sanchiro or even June. There's tons of characters but not all of them are well exploited like NxC did it great so it carry the same problem than PxZ1 at not greatly developping all of them equally. Also not everyone will live the new pairing cast for this episode, even myself i cant think of Solo Leanne while i dont like Zephyr and Vashyron being the new pair, i wanted the system to actually have pair to be cut and create new pair. After all, who wouldnt want to create a pair of Kazuma Kiryu with Ryo Hazuki? Or put Oogami in a solo character so you can actually yourself, arrange your best and dream pair of Sakura Taisen characters? Or why not finally team Alisa with Nana for God Eater?
Impression: Well there's too much to tell but overall i did enjoy a bit of PxZ2 but its a shame for its suggestive choice of making it easier, force DLC while PxZ1 didnt need it, dont develop all of the cast, ruin Saya so the chemistry with her and Reiji&Xiaomu is not working that well, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S A FUCKING NXC2! Its a slight dissapointement for the NxC fan but for the other players who dont know shit about NxC1 will feel lost to follow this one game story as its not related to PxZ1 at all despite it carry its animation, some of the cast and the game system. For this, i highly advise you to read NxC script or play the original NxC if you really want to understand this sequel
DECEMBER
Gravity Rush Remastered : PS4
PSVita remastered port for PS4, Gravity Rush Remaster is supposed to bring the PSVita title into big screen after this one couldnt be played by any way from the PSVita TV. Two points i have note in this version: It has indeed enhanced visual that make the game a bit more beautiful than it was on Vita and give enhanced controls that make most of the game more easier to play than it was on PSVita like giving L2 and R2 the bottom of both the touch and rearpad of PSVita and the touchpad of PS4 acting as same as the one on the Vita. Also the game get packed with all of the DLC included in this one. Kat is more gorgeous to look on a big screen but sadly she dont really come with new stuff with her so its not that needed to get the game a second time, especially when initially the game was made to actually enjoy the Vita controls.
Impression: Overall its the same game from Vita but improved visual and control but its not that needed if you arent into double platinum and actually wait for the sequel.
Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls : PSVita
When Blanc VS is doing it wrong, IF is doing it right. Actually IF is doing it the right way that it ended up being my favourite Neptune game of this year despite Neptune VII. For the game itself, its a RPG like the main Neptune series but packed with plenty of new mechanics that does make the game more action paced despite lacking the fast speed from neptune VII. Unlike both Victory games, NvS is relying on the Job system to actually give its game change mechanics. With each
job that does actually not only change stats, it do also give different inherit skills and to learn. From active skill to passive skills that does actually chance how you'll play the differents characters of the game. The game is also coming with a new mechanic in battle called Fever. Once the Gauge is filled to 100% from different Gems (that do also restore HP and SP) or by attacking your opponent, the Fever give all priority turn to your team until the Gauge reach 0%. Think of the Matrix System of Tales of Legendia but brought in the Turn based form. The Fever do not also give you priority of overpowering opponent with contless combos but also unlock EXE Drive Attack and your own attack are more powerful. This game change mechanic is actually well implemented that i wish it can be brought to the next Neptune main game, it could actually make Victory II even better if it was there.
The game do also point some nice Chrono Trigger reference via the Historia Destoyer serve as the Lavos of the game as it'll destroy the different era of SEGA Hard girls universe if IF and the amnesic Segami will not stop him. IF and Segami will have to travel from SEGA VG era to not only save the CPU and SHG from extinction but also will have to repeat (actually IF, Segami cant) the timeline because the time limit is very strict that it forces many NG+ until you unlock the true ending. The game is also pack with the usual Neptune gag that's so good they are better than any Blanc Scenario. That's being said, i still have some points about the game, i really feel the game could have been better if it was actually a PS4 game for what it brought, especially in the action part once you visit every place for collecting medals (réminiscence of Medals that SEGA Hard Girls needs for graduating) to the battle mechanics. An additional thanks of this game is to have introduce me to the cast of the SEGA Hard girls in which i went to watch the short anime after beating this game. This game gave me more good impression about Dreamcast SHG but also the Tsundere Noire-like Saturn and the charming and deadly Megadrive who doesnt give any shit about Iris Heart (finally a character who's not afraid of Iris!). Gamegear is as same as my impression of Nepgear: both remains useless addition in the cast as being both useless and uninteresting (but that was expected from Gamegear, she barely exist in the anime as it focus mainly on the Trio)
Impression: But overall Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls ended up being my best Neptune game that it did also end my year of Neptune series who had its 5th anniversary. It give me a fresh game from the Remake Rebirth1, the lazy Rebirth2, the all Stars Rebirth3, the sequel Victory2 and the Kusoge BlancVS. A last Neptune (spin off) game for a great end of this year. Also i'll ship anytime IFxSegami rather than IFxCompa!
Blade Arcus From Shining EX : PS4
To be honest, i bought the game more for its Limited Tony Taka Edition than the game itself. For the goodies part, i wanted the new Gravure that was advertised with my favourite Shining Tony Taka characters Altina and yay i could grab 4 new arts of her. =) The calendar is also nice and being able to grab a OST of Shining Blade is a pleasure as its my favourite PSP Shining Game. Now on the game itself, it ended up being a better Fighting game than Dengeki Bunko to play because it rely much more on skill and combo rather than casual helpful mechanics from recent VSgames but ended up however being limited in command list for every characters and have a very limited roster (with Sonia from Resonance acting as the sole DLC). Game content itself is as poor as Dengeki Bunko as its only limited to art gallery, also a very negative point for not having Online mode. So what does actually make this game better than Dengeki Bunko for my eyes? To actually have no casual mechanics and to actually have decent cast to play as in here i can actually play most of the cast because of my affinity with it from Altina, Sakuya, Sonia, Rage, Rosalind, Misty and Yukihime.
Impression: A fanservice game that i appreciate only for its goodies, Tony Taka arts and characters rather than the overall poor content, this content have a smell of enhanced re-release game coming soon enough as well :/
Dragon Quest 8 : 3DS
A real Dragon Quest VIII portable, at least its here. With physical control, with portable enability, with voice and improved soundtrack. And... its downgrade visual compared to the gorgeous look of the Mobile version which i was wondering why... Not only it receive downgrade visual like ToA 3DS did, the game do also get the moment to get censored by Nintendo even in Japan... Jessica got most of her attire from the original PS2 game, censored with more tissue, breaking the actual logic of her character being legit attractive in most of the special attack in game. But outside of the censor part and the downgrade visual, it does improve the game mechanic for the best. A good example is now the Alchemy pot is taking from Dragon Quest Heroes and does the Alchemy crafting elements in an instant rather than waiting long time for crafting. This however result in a decreasing difficulty in the early part of the game as you can actually create improve medecine at very beginning and actually create at the same an early money trick to advance further in the game like a pace and Metal Slime ended being less difficult to aim in this version resulting in a massive XP farm than the original game. All of this to add an additionnal dungeon to grab more broken gear and having additionnal Mori and Red characters into the party, Red being so useful as my new thief that i ditch out Kukuru(Angelo for West) from my main party.
Impression: Despite some removal and downgrade visual that im pretty sure the game would have been a perfect PS2 port if it was actually a N3DS game like Xenoblade 3D, DQ8 being portable is a must have considering how good the original game was and compared to the gorgeous portable visual of the Mobile DQ8, this one is much more playable with physical control and actually being a stable portable version.
Atelier Sophie : PS4, PSVita
Here it is, the Atelier game i was waiting for the most, however ended up not being my GOTY but actually a decent Atelier game that does finally better of what Shallie dont. But even if Sophie is doing better than Shallie for my eyes, it still have some bad points for what the game is even if the game have really a lot of good quality. But let's be clear, the game itself is more a mix of most of the recent Atelier best mechanics and add severals new one that are both good but also bad because of lacking sense. For the best, it improve the Alchemy part as it make a return to the Arland's quality ingredients which means as more the best quality you bring to your item, the best is in the result of the main properties and bonus stats. The Alchemy part have also introduce a fantastic and brilliant idea with the different Cauldron you can get and craft it back to improve its property : Wider Grid, being able to move your piece like a Tetris, increase the bonus element rate and growth. Each ingredients comes with their own element and their own shape form to fit in the alchemy grid. Because of these, nothing of your experiment will be the same and the failing item crafting is also back, its also back as a good point as the failure experiment will serve to create the Philosopher's stone from its true Atelier way, from the very first Atelier Salburg games! Because Sophie is also taking from every atelier that it do also bring a lot of fanservice back to this game. Puni are back and they are more cuter and deadly than ever despite we lack of the Puni gang of the previous game. It do also brought back Pamela who does use the physical body(from Arland) but still being the ghost we know since Gramnad. This important point is not only linking Arland to this universe but Logy is also added here and serve as Haggel replacement for the blacksmith part. With Logy, the Tasogare universe is also link. Finally the later part of the game give a reminiscence of Mana Khemia and Gramnad universe. With Al Revis (MK) and Gramnad, who still have Salburg linked to its way (not to mention Marlone to Atelier Quest Board), Gust actually design Atelier Sophie to be the game that does ultimately link EVERY UNIVERSE into one via Atelier Sophie. This has actually blow my mind after i beat the game and Plachta challenge as Sophie now serve as the ultimate link for every Atelier universe. If its a good point, its also a bad one because outside of being a game that link every universe, it does not come with many innovation as the game itself is just taking the best ideas into one game and add very minor addition compare to what Gust always deliver in term of innovation. For its cast, the childhood crew Monika and Oskar are actually enjoyable to follow with Monika who aim to be a good singer and Oskar a good friend and farmer. Here comes the companion that does out of nowhere, are related to Sophie's alchemy art but mostly to Plachta : Leon(Amelia, oups spoiler? XD), Fritz and especially Julio (to more related into it via Nazarus, an interesting side character but havent get much treatment, probably to keep room for Sophie2 (damn you Okamoto for actually want a sequel to Sophie) planned for 2016). Only Cornelia and Harol arent coming out of nowhere as the first serve a merchant and duplicator of your crafted item (like Pamela did in previous game) and Harol being cold to Sophie but start to be nice with her after solving his problem. The game do also feature the return of the time limit BUT not in the way i was supposed it would be back, it serves only to give a time limit to the enemy errands and ingredients rarity throught the various request and rumours you have to solve)
The game itself could actually use to have a Time Limit because the game does actually take the Time System from Atelier Judie for the best part of adding day count that does both serve as day/night interaction that influence monster swap apparition(only rain does affect monster aggresivity and stats like MK night time) and the season system as it influence to the item frequence AND serve to unlock some dungeon and events in the game. It do also get the multiple route unlocking so you could actually planned from left to right. But the Time Limit is removed from story part because the game do actually feature more character developement, back to the Arland system, a thing that was lacking on Tasogare game who was trying to create a serious story but fails to deliver it (Shallie...)
Unlike Tasorage and Iris games, Sophie is not creating a complicated story but does only go to the essential, Sophie have inherit the workshop of her deceased gramna and now its her turn becoming the Alchemist of the family. She then after an experiment, discover the alchemy book that's Plachta. She then set herself to help Plachta to retrieve her memories and to solve people's problem around the town. That's some totally classic Atelier but that's definitely what the series has tried to get back after a disastrous Tasogare too serious plot. In order to help Plachta to retrieve her memory back, you have to fill the book with all recipes you can find by investigating and crafting items with a special trait that require to craft and carry over other experiment, another reminisence of Mana Khemia well handled tasks.
In term of Battle mechanics, the game is playing back to the Arland Turn based and add the mechanics of Offensive and Defensive Formation which serve as the additional support attack and defense that was introduced since Mana Khemia. After filling the Burst Gauge (200% add support, 300% add Special), you can trigger Special Attack and or Special Guard depending on : If all 4 characters are alive and well means no stun, no break, no curse), the last character in the active turn is the one that can execute the Special. If none of these are meet, the last character will execute a normal attack and TAKE THE WHOLE GAUGE WITH IT back to 100%! This is a totally bad point as the game mechanic is too much based on random as its hard to manipulate the character you want to trigger the Special. Also Special attack being dependable of this system is a negative point that not make the battle more tactics but randomly executed. For this, Rorona3DS or even Ayesha do better in term of battle strategy than Sophie...
Impression: Atelier Sophie is the game that link every Atelier universe into one by trying to link every details. Its also one episode who start over as the 7th series of the Atelier games and every first episode brought the good to the worst mechanics. Its the slow transition and i wish like every Atelier series that its sequel will totally improve its game system to deliver a perfect sequel to wait and expected for. This said, a better Atelier than Shallie but like Rorona on PS3 at that time, the first new PS4 Atelier that'll need some work to deliver the best next year.
TOP 10 HONORABLE MENTIONS
10- J Stars Victory + - PS4
9- Yuuki Yuuna Wa Yuusha De Aru - PSVita
8- Style Savvy 3 - 3DS
7- Schoolgirls Strikers - Mobile
6- Devil May Cry 4 SE - Multi release
5- Xenoblade Chronicles 3D - N3DS
4- Neptune Rebirth 3 - PSVita; PC
3- Street of Rage 2 3D - 3DS VC
2- Dragon Quest VIII - 3DS
1- Life is Strange - Multi release
TOP 10 BEST GAMES10- J Stars Victory + - PS4
9- Yuuki Yuuna Wa Yuusha De Aru - PSVita
8- Style Savvy 3 - 3DS
7- Schoolgirls Strikers - Mobile
6- Devil May Cry 4 SE - Multi release
5- Xenoblade Chronicles 3D - N3DS
4- Neptune Rebirth 3 - PSVita; PC
3- Street of Rage 2 3D - 3DS VC
2- Dragon Quest VIII - 3DS
1- Life is Strange - Multi release
10- Senran Kagura Estival Versus - PS4
9- Dragon Quest Heroes - PS4
8- Toukiden Kiwami - PS4
7- Neptune V-II - PS4
6- Neptune VS Sega Hard Girls - PSVita
5- Atelier Escha&Logy Plus - PSVita
4- Tokyo Xanadu - PSVita
3- Atelier Sophie - PS4
2- Metal Gear Solid 5 : The Phantom Pain - PS4
1- Yoru No Nai Kuni - PS4
TOP 10 DISSAPOINTING GAMES
10- Shin Atelier Rorona - 3DS
9- Neptune Rebirth 2 - PSVita
8- Blade Arcus From Shining EX - PS4
7- Project X Zone 2 - 3DS
6- Yoru No Nai Kuni - PSVita
5- Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butouden - 3DS
4- Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax EU release - PSVita
3- Atelier Shallie - PS3
2- The Waking Dead Season 2 : Multi release
1- Blanc VS - PSVita
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.
4. Wishes for the new year
For the new year 2016, i've promised to myself these followings and to explain them
I. To watch more animes
Since 2011, i went to watch less anime than ever before, this was mainly because i found myself watching them but enjoying them the less. The general quality at first is not as good as what i used to watch in the past. The actual more interesting ones are those who didnt decrease as much in years due to my taste : Mahou Shoujo. In the type of MS animes, i aim especially for both on the problem the group of characters have to solve and how they do this via battle or using their powers or their head to do so. Generally the MS genre is also giving me my usual taste of Japan habits, Precure tend to always aim at these like knowing part of Japan life or places and their habits. Im more interested into character developement than actually action type and this is the reason why Slife of Life is also my second favourite genre. But before when i was enjoying both genre, i was also enjoying some action shonen anime but mostly when it was innovativing.
But now i think its also time that i should catch up with some i have really missed and actually the moment i can actually talk about it. Since LJPrecure, i've actually stop to write about what i felt after watching each episodes of a specific anime, not just Precure related. I miss the time i was actually planning theory about a specific plot and elements, and i miss the time i was actually talking it more than i could actually talk about a game. So i have finally decided to create my own profile at MyAnimeList
I used to debate and to fill these at Animesuki but nowadays i tend to avoid Forum so i can actually avoid the negativity and being free to express myself
II. To actually reduce my Backlog
Thanks to 2015, i could acquire as many games as i wanted but im actually sad to not have play every of them because now i work so i have less of freetime than ever. Also most of my new games are mostly JRPG so that means long hours to play and so long time to actually beat. So in order to actually dispose of my backlog bit by bit, my first objective is to play most of the VN of my backlog and god i have too much of them. This way i can also prepapre myself for the upcoming Zero Escape 3 around the summer. I wont stop playing because its my favourite hobby but i must not flood myself with too much games so i have to space and planned more carefully about what to complete first and what i really want to play. I might purchase less games this year so i can slowly decrease my backlog but it'll also help me purchasing them for much cheaper price with some might ending up in the bargain bin. However i'll not stop purchasing game i consider to actually most than others so i wont stop purchasing game but choose those i want to support.
III. To actually taking this blog seriously
Since i've etablish this blog in 2014, i wanted to start over but in the end i wrote only one entry per year and it was only the Year Review than anything else. This year, i want this to change. Now that im actually happy with my life and have finally etablish a situation in which is both fine and confortable from my side, im no more running from left to right about how my life will be and how i can survive. I want to be back at writing things i always wanted to talk about. I want to be back as the one who always talk too much but always wanted to express himself. This way im sure i can space out Twitter of my constant amount of repetitive twitter post but also on really sort out my thought. Ressurecting this blog is my goal this year.
IV. Overall these 3 points sum this
I miss writing stuff, i miss the time when i was actually enjoying something so much that i needed to write it and actually share my thoughts. Writing is what i miss. I've actually stop writing the day i left Gameblog after some stories happens there. I want to go back to what i was good at and writing is also a good way to me to exorcice my own demon, my own anger and the negativity that always surround me. By actually being serious of filling my objective in this year 2016 is that i want to be back as what i was really, one who like to help, to share thought, to share my knowledge and to earn more in the process with both knowledge from friends and people in return as for learning more.
Once said that we never stop learning in life, we still continue. In 2016, i want to reborn at going back to my old self and showing myself to those who have started knowing me.
