Recent reviews by Werner

7/10.

I've been a Final Fantasy lover for about 30 years, and was mega excited when FFXV launched... only to be massively disappointed. It felt unfinished, bland, and uninteresting.

So I kind of dreaded playing this again, ten years later. It's been sitting in my library for a while though, taunting me, as one of few FF games I haven't 100%ed. So it was time.

I've got to say I was pleasantly surprised. Much has been improved from the initial release, and DLCs help to flesh out the characters. However... it's still among the worst in the series, in my humble opinion. The battle system has very little depth, the story leaves a few things to be desired, and it just doesn't have that magical feeling like the older entries. While it was the first real open world game of the series, I feel it tried a bit too hard to be something it's not.

Also, some very weird quality of life decisions lowers the score in my book.

- Why does Noctis have to stop after every single battle to look down/wipe his hands/stretch? It would be one thing if it happened before I could start running, but it's a small but vastly irritating delay. So I start running for a second, then stop, and have to restart the running. Repeat a thousand times. It takes away the flow of the game.
- Why (at least in some areas) can I not do ANYTHING without Magitek soldiers interrupting? Can I please just finish one hunt without people dropping in?
- And for the love of Bahamut, who thought it would be a good idea with a (relatively short) stamina gauge? It's a huge world, but exploring it by foot is extremely tedious since Noctis gets out of breath every ten seconds which grinds everything to a halt.

So, a weak 7 out of 10 seems reasonable. Still a pretty good game and worth a recommendation, but I would honestly prefer any other Final Fantasy game between at least FFIV and FFX (and probably FFXII and FFXIII as well - the others show their age a bit too much, or are non-compareable MMORPGs).

8/10 - Not my favorite Tales game to be honest, but still very solid. I prefer the story and characters of Graces F. Also, not a fan of the two separate stories when they are like 90% identical... I hope Xillia 2 Remasteded will be better; you know I'll be buying it to support the remaster project.

An extra minus for the so-so port that would have needed some TLC.

10/10! This might very well be the best strategy RPG I've played. Better than both Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy tactics, and that's saying a lot.

Graphics are gorgeous, characters feel unique, the story is very engaging and interesting, and I just love everything about this game. I CANNOT understand what people mean when they claim that the story is bland with bad voice acting. I mean, I'm hooked! And while the voice acting isn't superb, it's definitely good... with the only exception being the very first line from the little kid when the game starts; that guy sounds like a robot. :D

I'd love to see Triangle Strategy 2!

10/10 - Perhaps not for everyone, but I can't give it any other score. Two really well-made ports of absolute classics from the golden age of JRPGs.

10/10! Wow, what a great game! I kind of feared this game due to the time jump feature, thinking it would be too different to other JRPGs. But after three playthroughs I can safely say that I couldn't have been more wrong. It's mostly just something to carry the story forward and reset your LP (Life Points; characters permadie at 0).

I've never played a game before where 85% is really 15%. When it comes to my guys' hit rate, that is, when it's the enemies it's the other way around.

Also... way too many missions. It gets extremely tedious when I just want to focus on finalizing a single thing without three abductions and seven UFOs. But I guess it's part of the charm. Can't not recommend.

Fun and addicting little pastime. :)

9/10 - I love the art style, the gameplay, and the characters. Would have been 10/10 if they would ease up on the endgame gacha mechanics a bit.

Here's hoping for a Relink 2!

8/10 - This is probably the weakest game in the series imho. It feels like a "what if" filler game where you get to fight people you otherwise wouldn't.

The Calvard arc doesn't impress me to begin with; neither of the games move the general plot forward by much. Also, I'm not a fan of the new battle system. It's mostly "align the ring around your first character correctly, so the character you want also does an attack"-simulator 2025. Sorry, but I prefer the old system.

That being said, I'll continue to support the Trails series by throwing money at it every single release. I've 100%ed all games so far, and intend to keep that streak going. :)

Thank you for remastering these games! Soon only Breath of Fire and Lufia are left. :)

Suikoden 1, while a solid game, definitely shows its age. Suikoden 2, however, is a masterpiece that can hold its own to this day.