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Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW: June 28 to July 4, 2021 -- The "I was at the racetrack drinking for 4 straight days" episode

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: July 06, 2021 (01:18 PM)
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Easy week, with only three reviews. Good, as I had one long weekend and am not mentally prepared to do stuff. Including my usual pre-RotW banter. Maybe next time!

THIRD PLACE

Dagoss' Final Fantasy Legend (Game Boy)

Holy crap, being wiped out from a long weekend definitely meant I wasn't emotionally prepared to read something this long! I mean, this is one of those "blogs posing as reviews" and I did find the material to be a fascinating read…I was just not ready for something more intense than lame food puns or British sarcasm, and therefore, I got floored and might need a nap. While there is a lot to get through in order to get to parts that review the game, I did find the writing to be good and informative and, while I'm one of those "1" scores this game has and, therefore, am not going to be agreeing with your stance on this game, I will say you did a good job of backing up your points. I particularly liked the concept of talking about how a player's mindset coming into this one might be the big key, as it doesn't play like the usual RPG and you'll have to adjust how you tackle it because of that. When you phrase it like that, my response goes from "You liked THIS?!?? WHOA!!!! DUDE!!!!!" to "Huh, I can see your point and since I'm not touching this one again, I'll take your word on it." Which is a pretty good accomplishment considering my first reaction to seeing a FFL review was to think I really should play a totally shit RPG again in order to have fun with a bash review. Because the recent ones I'm playing or have played (Lords of the Fallen, Realms of Ancient War) are action games with RPG elements and they're more "not good, but scratch an itch" instead of "laugh my ass off while tearing it apart" bad.

SECOND PLACE

EmP's World Series Baseball Starring Deion Sanders (Sega 32X)

Credit where it's due: You did the best you could with this sort of game and I can't think of a better way to tackle it. I mean, it's a sports game that's, with a few exceptions, ripped from the 16-bit system version and then had a famous player's name tacked onto it. I liked the parts where you talked about things like the lost potential of this system. Here it is: A new, more powerful version of your Genesis and all you wind up with is squandered potential. A few games that turned out to be surprisingly good, a few that turned out horribly and some that were slightly upgraded 16-bit games. You covered the basics of the game, got in and got out before you ran out of insightful things to say.

REVIEW OF THE WEEK (aka: Overdrive Place)

Jason's Judgment (PlayStation 5)

Currently I'm using PlayStation Now to go through the PS3's Realms of Ancient War (a sub-par Diablo clone I'm playing because I was in the mood for a game of that sort) and the PS4's Tales of Zestiria (because it's connected to Tales of Berseria and I did buy that one off you). In the PS3 library, there are both Yakuza 4 and 5. After reading EmP's remake review of older Yakuza games and this one, I'm wondering why I'm playing what I'm playing instead of those. Or looking up the PS4 version of this one to see if it's really good or they really worked to make this upgrade/remake a lot better. You simply did a great job of making this game seem really entertaining, bringing out its great story to the forefront, while also letting us know there are tons of activities and side quests to be doing, with the only flaw being that you're in a small world and get thrown into fights constantly. While at the same time, making them seem really fun, at least for a while, due to the interactive nature of the environment. This game seems really fun and you did a great job pinpointing a lot of what about it makes it that way.


Nap time! Or not. Probably should wait until I leave the office, at least…


I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

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Author: dagoss
Posted: July 06, 2021 (03:38 PM)
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Well, maybe I'll convince you when I get around to reviewing SaGa 2!

For older games, I'm trying to write "reviews" that focus on putting the game in perspective. It takes a lot of work, but I think it's worth while because not enough people are doing it. At this point, whether or not the game is good by current standards is sort of immaterial in my opinion. I wish there was more long form reads for older games. US Gamer had some before closing up, and Goomba Stomp does. On the podcast side, Retronauts is good at deep dives. I wish there was more though.


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Author: honestgamer
Posted: July 06, 2021 (05:17 PM)
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Thanks for the timely topic, and for the kind words and placement. Makes me glad I managed to get my review together and submitted instead of letting it slip into the next week!

I think you would probably find Judgment quite enjoyable, and I don't know that you'd miss a lot by playing it on PS4. I think the changes are of a more technical nature, probably to do things like tighten up some minor visual bugs or improve textures or whatever. Unless you plan to get a PS5 soon, there's no reason to delay playing it. Scene by scene I believe it's still the same game, and the developer has tended to get about as much out of the PS4 hardware as anyone this side of Naughty Dog.

Congrats to EmP and dagoss for turning up with solid reviews. I do like seeing the deep dives into retro games, as I've noted previously. I think that if they become something fairly regular, an audience could build for them, because I know a lot of folks like taking a good look at retro stuff. It's one thing people have remarked on when I've shown them the site over the years, so I know retro is definitely still worth producing. It'll find a pleased audience, if not right away then eventually!


"Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." - John F. Kennedy on reality

"What if everything you see is more than what you see--the person next to you is a warrior and the space that appears empty is a secret door to another world? What if something appears that shouldn't? You either dismiss it, or you accept that there is much more to the world than you think. Perhaps it really is a doorway, and if you choose to go inside, you'll find many unexpected things." - Shigeru Miyamoto on secret doors to another world2

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: July 06, 2021 (10:30 PM)
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The PS4 version easily could become my intro to the whole thing in the near future. Part of this month's PS Now additions. Only for 90 days, but from your review, that shouldn't be a problem. The trailer I watched looked really good, if not at the tech level of what the PS5 version looks like via your screens.


I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

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Author: EmP (Mod)
Posted: July 10, 2021 (03:31 AM)
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Thanks for the kind words. For those that still care (population: me), the reason the 32X reviews have slowed right down is because all that's left is a deep, text heavy strategy game only available in Japanese, a Star Trek bridge simulator and American sports games. There is a reason American sport have zero world wide appeal - they're awful and you're all awful for inflicting them on the rest of us.

Props to Dagoss, whose reviews are always a must read for me, and to Jason for a review on a game I'm working my way towards. THE PLAN is the work through all the Yakuzas in order and work my way towards the newer games. Ironically, the greatest threat the war against my backlog regularly encounters is Jason himself.


For us. For them. For you.

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Author: overdrive (Mod)
Posted: July 10, 2021 (09:44 AM)
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I think the last American sports game I enjoyed was the '06 NCAA Football. Nowadays, I don't do sports games unless it's racing and heavily centered on European disciplines.

EDIT: No, wait, I did have a good bit of fun with Super Mega Baseball. That was a fun diversion.

As for Yakuza, you guys have broken me. With Judgment on PS Now for 3 months, I'll start with that and if I like it (from the reviews I've recently read of Yakuza-universe games, I give that a percentage chance of somewhere between 99 and 100), I'll move to 0 and hit every damn one of them. PS4 versions for most, but with the PS3 4 and 5 also on Now, I might use that for those two. While spending the entire time wondering how I've made it this far with the series flying completely under my radar. I mean, Japanese mafia GTA with fisticuffs replacing guns and, if anything, more side activities to pursue? This should have been my addiction for years!


I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

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