Sections
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is far from being one of the franchise’s best installments, failing to explore the series’ tradition and the few new things it brings to the table. It’s a simple and tedious JRPG that offers a bland, bad developed story, and boring gameplay.
The plot follows an unnamed hero – who serves as the player’s male avatar – whose mission is to end the curse that plagues a king and his daughter: the king has been turned into a troll and the princess into a mare. To do this, the protagonist needs to destroy the one who has cast the curse, a mysterious court jester named Dhoulmagus – although he eventually discovers that there are more [...]
God of War 2 is a fairly safe sequel that capitalizes on the same elements of the first game for great effect, bringing a violent revenge-driven protagonist, and a simple yet effective combat system, while expanding the scope of the adventure. It brings some new ideas to the table, but they could have been developed more.
In the story, the protagonist, Kratos, after becoming the God of War himself, cannot control his violent instinct and thirst for blood, raging unmotivated war throughout the lands. Consumed by hatred, the warrior has become the second version of his archenemy, Ares. To contain the Spartan’s violence, then, Athena and Zeus plot his downfall, which will [...]
The traits of the classic Greek hero differ substantially from the ones of a contemporary one. While the latter is tied to the morality of their society, the former is in no way concerned with notions of right and wrong: their vocabulary, instead, circles around the concept of glory. Kratos, the protagonist of God of War, is one of those heroes. He massacres the innocent, commands vast armies, scales titans, escapes from deadly traps, faces colossal monsters, and even attempts to kill a god. He does terrible things, there is no doubt, but also incredible things.
God of War begins with its most fantastic battle: Kratos needs to eliminate a huge Hydra that is sinking ships in [...]
Tales of the Abyss is an excellent RPG that tells an engaging story, develops complex characters, and presents mature discussions about identity and free will. Its combat system may be too simple for its own good, but the quality of the narrative makes up for any shortcomings in the gameplay department.
The protagonist of the game is a young man named Luke, the nephew of a king, who had to grow up locked in a mansion after he was rescued from a kidnapping when he was just a child – a traumatic event that erased all his memories of his earlier years. With no contact with the outside world, living a good, but boring life, Luke eventually becomes a spoiled, entitled boy. His only [...]
—> The following review will comment heavily on the events of 358/2 Days. Beware of spoilers.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is a bigger, bolder sequel that goes all out in everything it does, delivering a more complex story and action-focused combat system. It has its obvious share of faults – at this point, it wouldn’t be Kingdom Hearts without them – but the game still has its heart in the right place: the story it tells, although bizarrely convoluted, remains tragic and moving.
The plot follows Sora’s awakening after the events of Chain of Memories, and his fight against Organization XIII, which is trying to form Kingdom Hearts by collecting hearts released from [...]
Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories, the 3D remake of the GBA title Chain of Memories, is a strange, disjointed, complex beast. It continues the story of Sora directly from where the first game left off, but with even more bizarre characters and plotlines, while introducing a new combat system that is cumbersome and unbalanced.
The story starts with Sora, Donald, and Goofy chasing Pluto for some news on the whereabouts of Mickey and Riku. Eventually, they end up finding a strange castle called Oblivion, where they start to gradually lose their memories as they explore the place in search of their friends.
Chain of Memories’ narrative continues to explore the same themes [...]