Bioshock Infinite

Infinite is more of the same braindead pew-pew crap gameplay as the original Bioshock, but instead of objectivism and libertarianism it's got Ken Levine's strawmannified, both-sidesing takes on American jingoism and race relations and time travel and parallel universes and dehumanization that's too cowardly to actually say anything; after all, every true artist (and their publisher) will tell you that diminishing any hint of a message or moral stance in your work is a small price to pay to score just a few more sales from that lucrative demographic of white supremacists.  And it's all brought to you at the cost of Ken's company and hundreds of his coworkers' jobs and well-being because the gaming press has hyped him up as some infallible heaven-sent visionary for so long that he's started believing it himself.  (Ironic, then, that he sees absolutely no parallels between himself and his story's villain, a normal guy who becomes a self-proclaimed prophet so he can exploit people he sees as inferior for personal gain.)  But I will admit, seeing a popup about how "not all confrontations need to be solved with violence" after an unavoidable shootout in broad daylight that left about 56 of my assailants dead was pretty goddamn funny; at least until I learned that it wasn't meant to be and it was an earnest attempt at incorporating "player choice" and "morality" into the proceedings, which - surprise - makes literally no difference to how the story plays out anyway.  I also guessed the big plot twist about 20 hours before it came (seriously, we've all seen Fight Club by now, quit ripping it off) so the whole thing is just a completely boring waste of time with no payoff.  Ken Levine really is the perfect example of someone too in love with the sound of his own voice to realize he's not saying anything novel, intelligent or even entertaining; it's just hot air that only entertains himself and his fanboys who are desperate to be as big of a successful hack as he is one day.

 

 

Seriously Ken, you worked on Thief: The Dark Project and System Shock 2, two of the greatest video games of all time; eat a slice of humble pie and start working on quality projects again, not self-indulgent garbage like this...

Developer: Irrational Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Released: 2013
Platforms: XBox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Mac OS X, Linux

Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Millennium Girl

 A remake of the original Etrian Odyssey, with several new features added - 3D models for monsters, multiple options for difficulty, some features to streamline the action (like fast-traveling through completed floors), some new enemy types, faster animations and combat, and most substantially, a new alternate story mode with new areas to explore, quite a bit of voice acting and several pre-defined characters and new story scenes, as well as two new classes exclusive to that mode (Highlander and Gunner).  Basically, the original EO with some significant upgrades and new content added.  The only real hangup is that there's only one save slot available, so you can't keep a separate save for the Classic mode and for the Story mode - you have to delete your progress in one to start the other.  That aside, it's classic dungeon crawling action with modern accomodations to trim down on the tedious aspects of its '80s bretheren; if that sounds good to you, Etrian Odyssey Untold is worthy of your time.  

Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Released: 2013
Platforms: Nintendo 3DS

Final Fantasy: All the Bravest

A mobile take on Final Fantasy, or so it claims; if you're expecting anything resembling a captivating narrative or an interesting world to explore or clever character building and combat mechanics to play around with, you're going to be severely disappointed.  So what do you get?  An exceedingly simple monster mash where you form a party of up to 30 (!) characters, have them spam their single move over and over to defeat enemies, and if they fall in battle, you get to either wait 3 minutes of real time for them to return or pay up real money (of course) to replace them.  And if you shell out even more money, you can get a random handful of proper named characters from the Final Fantasy series like Kain, Cecil, Cloud, Tifa, Rinoa and Zidane to join your ranks; otherwise you just get to use generic Fighters, Mages, Monks, et al from the early titles.  Not that it matters because the named guys function exactly the same as the generic characters, just with maybe a slightly flashier animation or inflicting a bit more damage.  Yes, somehow the gameplay is even more shallow than Final Fantasy XIII's legendarily braindead design, and the fact they've added a gambling/pay-to-win angle to it just adds an extra layer of scumminess.  The only thing even lending it a faint resemblance to Final Fantasy is some sprites ripped straight from the old games, a handful of music tracks and the Active Time Battle combat, but with no depth to its gameplay and no story to tell whatsoever, there's just no reason for any franchise fan, new or old, to care.  So who will All the Bravest curry favor with?  Nobody really, except possibly very young kids; like the vast majority of mobile games it's predatory junk engineered to secure that all-important demographic of grade schoolers whose parents only buy them games that resemble something popular and are safe in content, simple to play, easy to win at and (most importantly) have a dirt cheap entry price.  Well, I say that even young kids deserve better than disposable slop like this.  Shame on Square Enix for lending their brand to this garbage, and especially for trying to use it as a crutch to make their other terrible games of the early '10s look better by comparison.  If you want something that effectively pays homage to the series' formative days, play Dissidia, World of Final Fantasy or Final Fantasy Dimensions instead; sure those games have their flaws, but they're far more worthy of your time and respectful to their source material than some bottom-shelf cash grab mobile game will ever be.

Developer: Bitgroove
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: 2013
Platforms: Android, iOS

Ys: Memories of Celceta

The fourth overall telling of Ys IV's story (having also seen outings on the Turbografx-CD, Super Famicom and Playstation 2 in prior years), but the first to actually be made by Falcom themselves.  It's also the second to utilize the party-based system of Ys Seven, with the player able to have up to three characters active and swap between them freely with the shoulder buttons.  One also earns skills and assigns them to the four face buttons in order to use them in combos and power them up, can dodge attacks with good timing to gain a temporary bit of slow motion a la Bayonetta, and even build up and use super moves to deal heavy damage to enemies.  Basically, if you enjoyed Ys Seven, you'll probably get a kick out of this one too.  If you're a fan of classic Ys, though, this one is still worth a look to see how it puts yet another twist on the story of Ys IV.  It's not my favorite of the series, but Memories of Celceta is another game worthy of the Ys name.

Developer: Nihon Falcom
Publisher: XSeed Games
Released: 2013
Platforms: Playstation Vita, Windows, Playstation 4

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

The Megami Tensei series has always blended science fiction and fantasy elements to it, but Soul Hackers is one of the more prominent examples, taking it deep into cyberpunk territory.  The player is part of a hacker ring called the "Spookies" opposing a corporation called Algon Soft, who have vastly upgraded the tech in the small town of Amami and who have dark ulterior motives in doing so.  As per series standards, demons soon inter the mix and the player pursues numerous virtual worlds in their quest to unravel the dark secrets within them.  The game utilizes the same mechanics as the earliest Shin Megami Tensei games - having to negotiate with demons to recruit them and keep a supply of a resource called "Magnetite" to keep them summoned.  However, demons' personalities also enter the equation; the player will slowly have to earn their trust with gifts or letting them choose their own actions, lest they disobey orders in combat or clash with other demons in their group.  Its also not the series' best in terms of presentation or design - while the VO is quite good for the most part, the music is rather drab and the dungeons are mostly dull (with one standout in the form of an art museum where the player ventures through various paintings to proceed).  Still, its relatively fresh concept makes it another worthwhile SMT title and worth a try.

Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus, NIS America
Released: 1997, 2013
Platforms: Sega Saturn and Playstation (Original), 3DS (Remake)

Path of Exile

 A game developed by several members of Blizzard North (the studio behind Diablo), Path of Exile is a free-to-play take on that style of gameplay.  A good one, at that - the game effectively forges a cashless economy, with equipment-forging items and skills being tied to gems that are slotted into weapons and armor.  Potion bottles refill on their own as you defeat enemies, and the game even goes out of its way to do another oft-maligned RPG element better - the character upgrade system here greatly resembles Final Fantasy X's sphere grid, having you travel around a board to gain stats and abilities, though you're not tied to any paths or locked out for large portions of the game and free to forge your character however you wish.  There's a lot to like in Path of Exile; perhaps most of all is the fact that, as mentioned, this game is free to play.  It's not pay-to-win either, with monetization mostly being relegated to customization options for your character, which definitely earns it a lot of points in my book.

Developer: Grinding Gear Games
Publisher: Grinding Gear Games, Tencent, Garena, Kakao Games
Released: 2013
Platforms: PC, XBox One, Playstation 4, macOS

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

The conclusion to the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy, and at first I had some hope for it, as it seemed to at last break away from the infamous railroaded gameplay of its predecessors and try something new.  Alas, I found myself severely disappointed yet again.  Lightning Returns at least has a clever concept, having the player operate on a thirteen-day time limit and complete missions to extend it, power up their character, and try to make their way to the final boss and defeat him before the sand in the hourglass finally runs out.  However, they've chosen to implement this idea in probably the most flat, unrewarding way possible - by making every single quest feel like busywork. Moreso as the bad writing of its predecessors is now a central focus of the gameplay too, having the player bond with NPCs and endure some of the most grating, over-worded, badly-acted dialog I've seen outside of a thirteen-year-old's whiny webcomic, let alone in a multi-million dollar RPG project.  Combat is slightly changed up but no better than it was in the previous two games, mostly just coming down to swapping between three equipped costumes (functionally almost identical to the previous games' Paradigms) and spamming a small handful of attacks until everything is dead.  Yes, one does get the chance to block enemy attacks and stun enemies by striking at their weaknesses in order to reduce damage and get a better rank, but it's just not enough to make the action any more compelling; particularly when the game still can't craft a decent reason for you to care about slogging through any of the cynical by-the-numbers questlines, bad characterizations, insufferable dialog or droning action associated with either.  I may not be the biggest Final Fantasy fan out there, but the XIII trilogy will unquestionably stand in my mind as its biggest failure.  By that already appalling standard, Lightning Returns stands out as the nadir of an atrocious trilogy, one of the lowest points for any legendary franchise and one of the worst gaming experiences I've ever had.  Yes, it's really that bad.  

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: 2013
Platforms: XBox 360, Playstation 3, PC, iOS, Android 

Child of Light

An RPG that showed a lot of promise on its face, combining a tragic fairytale with a storybook-like presentation, a beautiful and sad soundtrack, and gameplay that combined elements of Grandia and Paper Mario together.  It works to a degree, with the player able to delay enemy turns and cancel them with well-placed attacks and enemies able to do the same, and a pretty varied party with a number of unique skills.  Sadly, it all just gets a bit tiresome before long, as enemy battles tend to get exceptionally drawn-out and repetitious since it's all basically built around that one gimmick with no real variation (well, aside from enemies that punish you with heavy-damage attacks for cancelling their turns, defeating the entire point of having such a system).  This, plus the large amount of grinding required to defeat some bosses and craft spellstones, as well as the fact that the game relies so heavily on random dice rolls (with the odds tilted out of your favor at every turn), made this a game I got bored of well before the end.

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Ubisoft

Released: 2013

Platforms:  Playstation 3, Wii U, Playstation Vita, PS4, XBox One, PC, Switch

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead

An open-source roguelike and simulation game forked from an earlier release called "Cataclysm", Dark Days Ahead, like many in the genre, is a deep but ruthlessly punishing experience. But is there a lot to like once you get past its overly complex UI and opaque design, or is this one Cataclysm you don't want to experience? 

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is one that's gotten a fair bit of attention among PC indie gamers; not as much as something like, say, Dwarf Fortress, though it is compared to that at times owing to its relatively realistic design and detailed world generation.  It actually started out much smaller in scale as a zombie apocalypse rougelike simply titled "Cataclysm", though it was abandoned around 2010.  However, the source code was released and fans continued the game, expanding its scale and scope considerably and rebranding it "Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead".  It continues to get fan mods and updates to this day as well, with new nightly builds, so its fanbase is certainly dedicated.

The concept remains the same at its core as the earliest version of Cataclysm, being set in a near-future New England after an apocalypse.  You don't encounter just zombies, though - just about everything that can go wrong has in this world.  Triffids, Lovecraftian monsters, rampaging robots, cyborgs and mutants, giant insects and other hazards roam rampant.  And yes, there is also a mod that adds murderous animatronics to the game, not dissimilar to another popular indie series.

The game begins with the player generating a world to explore.  The world actually remains persistent across games, keeping one's settings for weather, seasons, and even keeping track of major changes made to the scenery; burnt down trees and destroyed buildings will stay as such.  In fact, they will continue to persist across numerous playthroughs, only resetting once every non-monster character in the world is dead.  A few things remain fairly consistent, though - large stretches of country roads and woods, cities that tend to be packed to the brim with undead, illegal bio-labs where mutations and bionics are found, and bunkers full of survivors or crazed cyborgs or paramilitary groups which tend to shoot you dead upon approach (but if you're good enough to raid them and survive, well, you're set for a good, long time).

Character generation is very in-depth as well; though there are only four base stats you can alter directly (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Perception), they all factor into various skills and tasks in a number of ways.  Strength of course gives you more melee damage, but also makes you more resistant to diseases and poison and grants greater carry weight and more hit points.  Desterity factors into hitting with attacks both at range and afar, Intelligence boosts your learning and reading rates and how well you can craft items, install bionics and interact with NPCs, and Perception is used to detect traps and useful items.  In addition, you can pick a number of traits that grant your character positive and negative effects, with the former subtracting from your pool of available points and the latter giving you more points to spend.  These include things like Addiction Resistant (making it harder to become addicted to drugs, and to shake off addictions), Bookworm (improving your morale more when reading) and Light Step (reducing your chance to trigger traps).  Negative effects include Animal Discord (animals generally either avoid or attack you), Flimsy (lowering your max HP and healing rate) and Insomniac (makes falling asleep much more difficult).  This gives you quite a lot of leeway for roleplaying, but those who are into min-maxing can just pick positive ones that will maximize beneficial effects and a bunch of minimally-hindering negative ones to effectively get some free points.

Finally, there are skills, which cover just about everything you can do in the game.  From bartering to using computers to building to driving to patching up injuries to swimming to fighting (whether with guns, melee weapons or barehanded).  You can tweak these to a degree at the start, but for the most part, you'll improve by practicing with them in-game.  Wielding weapons, making attempts at crafting stuff, reading books, driving around, et cetera will slowly improve your proficiency with it, and, if you have the Skill Rust option enabled, not using them for a period of time will cause them to slowly decay again.  One can also choose to disable progression on a skill willingly - more useful than it sounds, as after a certain point there ceases to be any noticeable difference in performance, and continuing to actively train it at that point will simply drain your Focus more quickly.

Unlike most roguelikes, however, there isn't a defined goal in Cataclysm DDA; instead, the focus is on day-to-day survival.  Finding food, water and shelter are your primary concerns, and avoiding combat whenever possible is usually a better option to fighting; moreso early on, when you have a relatively weak character and most enemies can easily overpower you.  Just staying alive a single day is often a monumental task as well - one wrong step can put you in the thick of a group of zombies or aggro an angry cyborg or get you attacked by psychotic militants, and well, that's usually it.  On the other hand, if you pick your battles, try to make friends by completing quests or trading items with them and get reasonably good with crafting and butchery to make the most of any materials you scavenge, you can slowly work your way up.  Keep in mind you're in it for the long haul, and things will usually go smoother.  As long as you don't get eaten by zombies or mauled by a stray cyborg on day one, of course.

Speaking of cyborgs, one can scavenge and install bionics with a variety of purposes - from built-in armor to surgical tools for more efficient butchering to built-in weaponry, or even odder ones like draining heat from enemies you strike in combat to deal extra damage and charge your batteries.  Fun stuff, but they do require access to an autodoc and come with a chance of installation failure, which can cause pain, injuries, malfunctions or even death.  Some start scenarios also have you begin with some bionics installed - both functioning and malfunctioning, which adds another degree of fun or frustration depending on your preferences.

Mutations come into play too, giving your player various passive traits if they come into contact with mutagens or consume mutated body parts.  These usually follow the traits of various animals - taking on fish characteristics naturally make you better at swimming, but also more averse to staying in a single place for long (and you smell worse).  Beast mutations make you stronger, faster and more resistant to harm, but animals become hostile to you and you're required to eat food (meat in particular) much more frequently.  Most mutations can be undone, but particularly severe ones may be permanent, forcing you to change up how you play from that point on.

Vehicles are another much-talked about element of Cataclysm DDA, and for good reason - they're a lot of fun.  From humble bicycles to semi-trucks to school buses and RVs, there are a lot of them to find, repair and use (and yes, you can hotwire them; you will have to more often than not).  In addition, one can modify them in a variety of ways, including installing multiple engines, modifying them to run on different types of fuel (gasoline, diesel, electric or even solar power), and even install robotics to control them remotely.  Hell, you can even make some vehicles aquatic by installing boat hulls on them and cross bodies of water.  It's about the only game I've ever seen where you can make something close to the vehicles from Mad Max: Fury Road, and that's just plain awesome.

There's a lot of really fun stuff to do in Cataclysm, but before you can get there, learning a few of the more mundane skills the game has to offer will pay off in spades.  Farming is a relatively inexpensive but effective way to keep your food supply steady for much of the year, crafting crude tools (like crowbars and slings) from raw materials will give you an easy way to reach areas you otherwise couldn't or let you carry much more capacity, and learning to bandage and disinfect wounds and treat various diseases you may encounter will greatly affect your long-term survivability.  Cooking too, as uncooked meat can potentially infect you with parasites and cause debilitating effects.  Managing morale is important as well - if you're down and depressed you won't be good at much of anything, so things like finding books to read, having a good meal once in a while, listening to music, or (in a pinch) popping some drugs will all help you there.  As with anything, you have to learn to walk before you can fly.

Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead is compared to Dwarf Fortress in a lot of respects, and it makes sense - both feature minimalistic aesthetics, extremely intricate mechanics and overly opaque interfaces that all but require you to regularly consult their respective wikis, not to mention a high degree of challenge and ultimately being built around inevitable failure rather than an uphill battle for success.  Still, the sheer amount of content and freedom the player is afforded is downright staggering, and being able to build up a small band of survivors/fleet of vehicles/army of mutants and cyborgs is a ton of fun - if you can manage to survive long enough to get there.  You can also make it as easy or as punishing as you like via in-game options, so if you want, you can pump up your starting point pool to give yourself an advantage or take a really difficult start with a bunch of disadvantages and see if you can last more than an hour, let alone a day or more.  There are hundreds of games which describe themselves as "open world" or "sandbox" experiences, but very few of them let you experience true openness, variety and freedom the way Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead does.

Developer: Kevin Granade (and the Cataclysm community)
Publisher: Kevin Granade
Platform: PC, OS X, Linux, Android
Released: 2013+
Recommended Version:  The official releases are all nearly identical as far as I can tell, though if you're going to play on a mobile device, I do recommend a USB or Bluetooth keyboard; the touch-screen controls are very unwieldy to use with this type of game.

Shadowrun Returns

Shadowrun Returns, as its name implies, is a followup to the cult classic SNES game based on the tabletop RPG released two decades earlier, retaining many of its hallmarks but going for a turn-based tactical style of combat rather than real time action.  But does the long-awaited return of Shadowrun pay off, or is this one franchise that should have stayed dead and preserved its dignity?

Shadowrun is a tabletop RPG set in a cyberpunk science-fantasy setting, and to be honest, I don't know much more about it than that, as I've never been a huge tabletop gaming guy.  However, I did hear about Shadowrun as a cult-classic SNES title, and upon playing it, I found quite a bit to like.  While it's far from perfect and has some prominent bugs and instances of poor balance, the storyline was creative and it melded elements of RPGs, action games and a good point-and-click adventure, creating a fun, engaging experience.  Also like any good adaptation, it didn't require familiarity with the source material to be engaging; even though I had no prior knowledge of Shadowrun, it was strong enough on its own merits to keep me interested.  All of this is doubly surprising considering it was made by Beam Software, a name mostly associated with average-to-bad licensed games on older platforms.

In the intervening years Shadowrun also saw a few other releases; a more action-oriented title on the Genesis with randomly generated missions, a Sega CD adventure game that only came out in Japan, and a team-based death first-person shooter on the Xbox.  The Genesis is probably the best-received of those, though I only played it briefly so I can't say much about it personally. 

Shadowrun Returns, on the other hand, is very much a callback to the SNES game in terms of format and design.  The isometric viewpoint returns, as does the focus on storytelling and solving the odd puzzle to progress.  However, one is now afforded much more opportunity to customize their character - Jake Armitage in the original game was basically roped into being a jack-of-all trades, jacking into computer systems, casting spells and wielding firearms in roughly equal measure throughout the game.  Here, you can specialize or divvy up your skills as much as you like, and any skills you may lack can almost always be made up for by hiring other Shadowrunners for your team on missions.  Even out of combat, there is always a way to progress no matter how you've built your character, though it is admittedly rewarding to be able to bypass an obstacle just because you have a high enough skill (like having enough Charisma to smooth-talk your way past a guard) instead of going in swinging or forking out cash.  It reminds me quite a bit of Fallout in this regard, though the extremely linear format (broken up into stages) and an overall lack of optional objectives limit the number of times this comes into play more than I would like.

Combat is quite a bit deeper than the SNES game as well; no longer real-time, but instead it takes on a turn-based tactical format with a heavy emphasis on taking cover; not unlike the modern XCOM games.  Standing out in the open is almost always a pretty dumb move, as you're extremely vulnerable in that state; even ducking behind a wooden bench or something will significantly reduce your chance of being hit and taking critical damage (though obviously, sturdier cover is preferable whenever possible).  You're also afforded a lot more options depending upon your build - Shaman builds can cast defensive magic, set up barriers and summon spirits (whether using Fetishes or summoning them from elements in the environment); Deckers can bring drones into combat that they can attack with while remaining relatively safe themselves, or even hack things like turrets or cameras mid-battle to give your side an advantage; or, of course, you can just fall back on good old guns and melee weapons.  In fact, it's perfectly viable to just give a character a ton of strength and HP, deck them out with cybernetic upgrades, and have them run around pummeling enemies to death while tanking hit after hit if you really want to.

The strong writing is a definite plus that carries over into the game's sequels too.  It's a pretty simple murder mystery at its core, but along the way you encounter a lot of interesting characters, all of whom have their own distinct motivations and personalities, and they all get some pretty great lines of dialog too.  It works in plenty of Shadowrun's unique dark atmosphere too - channeling spirits, rampant corporate/police corruption and some genuinely disturbing scenes of people being exploited by lowlifes are all prominent elements in the narrative.  Of course, it also rapidly gives way to something significantly deeper and more threatening, and slowly peeling away the layers of mystery is where much of the fun of the experience lies.

Shadowrun Returns definitely isn't the highest-budget game of its time period - animation is relatively basic, characters are mostly shown as still portraits and there's no voice over - but what is there looks and sounds good at least.  The environments throughout show a stunning amount of detail - even something normally as drab as a warehouse looks amazing here and really gives you the itch to explore and find everything you can.  Sound effects and music are on the same level, with some surprisingly catchy tracks during battle.  Basically, they did a lot with a little here.  And as I've said too many times to count: I'd rather have no voice acting than bad/apathetic acting.

So, does Shadowrun Returns bring the series back to form?  I think it does.  While it's certainly not the most impressive game in terms of presentation or sheer amount of content, what it does have is highly polished and fun to experience, and the sheer amount of customization you're afforded gives it quite a bit of replay value despite its linearity and relatively short length.  The addition of Steam Workshop support also allows players to craft their own campaigns and add whatever gameplay tweaks they wish.  A solid game that paved the way for two amazing titles to come.

Developer: Harebrained Schemes
Publisher: Harebrained Schemes
Platform: PC, OS X, iOS, Android, Linux
Released: 2013
Recommended Version:  All versions of the game seem to play more or less identically.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

The Nintendo 3DS saw updated rereleases of Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, but A Link Between Worlds marked the first original outing for the series on the platform and was a throwback title in many ways, being very heavily based on Link to the Past.  But does it prove to be another worthwhile title in the Zelda line, or is it just one you can safely avoid?

The Nintendo DS is a highly-acclaimed system among fans, but its shortcomings were evident right out of the gate; lacking any kind of analog control hampered the port of Super Mario 64 on the console, forcing gamers to make do with either the D-pad and a run button or just the clumsy method of trying to utilize the touch-screen for movement in 3D space; neither of which was particularly great.  The Zelda games on the platform were similarly hampered, relying instead on stylus-based movement and mechanics; while it worked considerably better there considering the top-down viewpoint those games utilized for the most part, it still left most people wanting for a more traditional setup.

Fortunately, the 3DS addressed this flaw straight away, giving players an analog stick to utilize that would allow for some more seamless ports of the two Nintendo 64 Zeldas (both with a plethora of added features), as well as some new games in the series that could make full use of the system's features.  A Link Between Worlds was the first of the new Zelda games on the platform, and it went in hard trying to appeal to long-time series fans, bringing the overall world design and aesthetic of Link to the Past to a 3D engine (in fact, in Japan, it was billed as a direct sequel to that game, having the subtitle title "Triforce of the Gods 2" in reference that region's title).  This may have felt a bit pandery to some, but as LTTP is one of my favorite games of all I time, I certainly wasn't going to complain.

I'm certainly happy with the way it was handled, too.  While the overall feel and layout is similar (retaining almost all of the dungeons and respective themes as well), a lot was done to make Link Between Worlds a distinct game in its own right.  The most prominent of these is a new gameplay element that allows Link to flatten himself against a wall, becoming a 2D art piece that can move horizontally across unbroken surfaces; this proves to be a clever mechanic as it lets you reach new areas, evade attacks or sneak up on some foes to hit them from behind, as well as seeing integration into many of the game's puzzles.

The game's structure is also heavily reworked; in fact, unlike Link to the Past, it's almost an entirely non-linear experience, letting you visit virtually any place in both the light and dark worlds (here rebranded "Hyrule" and "Lorule") at your leisure and complete dungeons in almost any order.  Fitting this, dungeons have a relatively "item-neutral" philosophy of design, requiring few (or no) special pieces of equipment to complete them.  Similarly, dungeon treasures are relatively limited, mostly just being varying quantities of Rupees; key items are instead acquired at a central shop from Ravio, where one can pay a small amount of Rupees to "rent" them (which causes them to be taken away if Link dies), or pay a larger sum in order to keep them permanently.

Items are similarly reworked as well.  While several series staples remains (Bombs, Bow, Boomerang, bottles for carrying various potions and items), a couple new ones appear as well.  The Sand rod lets Link create raised platforms on any sandy surface, while the Tornado rod will launch Link into the air, letting him reach higher platforms and stun nearby enemies.  Nearly every item now also has a "Nice" variation, generally granting more powerful effects, that can be unlocked by finding "Maiamais" and bringing them to Mother Maiamai.  This can make some mundane items into surprisingly deadly weapons; the Lantern, for example, the Nice Boomerang grants increased throwing range and speed, and up to three can be thrown at a time.  Perhaps as a suble nod to Link to the Past, where the bug net could be used to deadly effect against Agahnim, the Super Net also deals eight times the damage it normally would, making it into a deadly weapon.  These upgrades aren't always necessary or particularly practical, but they are a always a good bit of amusement, making it worth finding all the Maiamais to try them out.

Most bosses in the game are recognizable parallels Link to the Past counterparts, but like everything else in the game, have been reworked to utilize the new mechanics and items.  A few entirely new ones appear as well, like Margomill and Zaganaga, while others are a creative fusion of two familiar series enemies; one prominent example being "Knucklemaster", a fusion between the Wallmaster enemy and the Iron Knuckle.  As per usual for the series, bosses are less about raw combat and more about pattern recognition - finding a means to expose the bosses' weakness and exploit it, which oftentimes requires creative use of your items.

So, is A Link Between Worlds another worthy Zelda game?  I certainly won't argue that it's not.  While it is very obviously based upon a fan favorite game (and even billed as a direct sequel to it in Japan), it does a lot to change things up; dungeons are familiar but remixed enough to keep things fresh, items gets some creative new uses and upgrades, and the overall non-linear design make it an experience you can experiment and play around with at your leisure.  That design decision all but ensured it would be compared to its predecessor (often unfavorably), but I certainly don't regret purchasing and playing through it, as I had a blast every step of the way.

Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Released: 2013
Recommended Version: N/A

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

Ni no Kuni marked Level-5's return to the single-player console RPG experience after a long absence, and they brought Studio Ghibli along for good measure to provide plenty of charm and emotional impact.  But does Ni no Kuni stand up well as a game, or is this just one that only has an anime legend behind it but nothing else?

Level-5 made their debut with the Dark Cloud franchise and from there built a small empire, moving on to create a very successful puzzle game franchise (Professor Layton), bring the Dragon Quest games to a new generation with cel-shaded visuals, voiceover and traditional but challenging gameplay, and build a long-running tie-in franchise to the Inazuma Eleven anime series.  That was all well and good, but fans of traditional RPGs in the PS3 era were largely left out, with their only releases on the platform to that point being a lackluster online game called "White Knight Chronicles" and its sequel.  That, paired with a ton of other underwhelming RPGs in the era (Final Fantasy XIII and hordes of Idea Factory slop), left a lot of genre fans, myself included, high and dry.

Then out came Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch.  A reimagining of a Japan-only DS title called "Ni no Kuni: Dominion of the Dark Djinn", it took advantage of the more powerful hardware in every way it could to truly deliver a Ghibli-like experience.  It succeeds admirably in this regard, playing up all of Ghibli's hallmarks - with imaginative monster designs, beautifully-animated, cel-shaded characters and models, gorgeous and intricately detailed towns, numerous animated cutscenes for story scenes and the protagonist undertaking a very personal and emotional journey, the presentation of the game is fantastic and quickly draws you into its world.  Even the in-game manual ties into this quite well, showing off huge amounts of world lore, spells, a monster bestiary and even a handful of short stories, all brimming with charm.

Helping with this is its old-school design, returning some long-absent genre elements (like a world map) to the game but making efforts to make them feel fresh in their own way.  The overworld, unlike many older games, is not just a flat and dull place full of enemies and little else, but has quite a lot of gameplay in itself - items to find, quests to complete and strange sights to see.  Enemies are also visible on the map and in dungeons at all times, giving the player a chance to avoid them and conserve resources or pick their battles with a particular enemy type they would like to capture.

Combat in the game is action-driven, with the player able to select and cast spells, attack enemies or use items in real-time, with the other two playable characters being computer-controlled.  The main characters have useful spells, though their abilities are somewhat limited and their physical attacks not particularly strong.  This is in large part to encourage the use of the game's Familiar system.  Somewhat similar to the Pokemon series, enemies can occasionally be tamed and added to one's party, and each has their own distinct movesets and stats.  Most also have fixed maximum levels, however, requiring that the player constantly keep an eye out for new creatures to capture to keep pace with the game's challenge.  The combat itself is simple overall but fun enough, though the lackluster party AI (tending to blow all of their MP on spells in very short order) leaves a few things to be desired.

As is standard for Level-5 games, Ni no Kuni offers quite a lot of side-content to keep the player occupied well beyond the main story.  One story-relevant but largely optional moment is the "Pieces of Heart" mechanic; not to be confused with Zelda, these have the player capture a particular emotion from a character with some to spare and give it to someone else who is lacking in it, usually earning a reward in the process.  Completing sidequests like monster hunts or errands earn Merit Stamps, which can be spent on character upgrades.  Some more traditional ones show up too, like a casino and an arena with progressively tougher combat challenges to overcome.

Ni no Kuni, while not my favorite Level-5 game, is certainly a welcome return to form for them after a long time away from grandiose JRPG experiences.  The presentation and atmosphere is full of charm, aided in no small part by the legendary studio Ghibli, and it's certainly not lacking for content, with a 40-hour main storyline and plenty of optional quests to undertake to keep you engaged even longer.  As a gameplay experience it's good but not great, but as a charming video game fairy tale it's unforgettable.  Very much worth a look for any serious RPG fan.

Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Level-5, Namco Bandai Games
Platform: Playstation 3, PC, Switch, Playstation 4
Released: 2013, 2019
Recommended Version: The 2019 ports feature no new content, but run at a higher resolution and framerate than the original PS3 release.  The Switch version runs at 720P and 30 FPS while the PS4 and PC ports run at 1080p and 60 FPS.

Dragon's Crown

Vanillaware is a company known for their games' stunning 2D visuals, but prominent technical issues  and odd design decisions tended to lend them to an average overall reception.  Dragon's Crown was their attempt to create a hybrid of a beat-em-up and a loot-fest RPG, but does it prove to be a worthwhile game beyond its graphical appeal?

Founded in 2002 as "Puraguru" and renamed in 2004, Vanillaware is something of an oddity in that their games have primarily stuck with 2D graphics for the most part.  They have remained a fairly low-key company, putting out some hybrid-genre likes like Odin Sphere, GrimGrimoire and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which saw both praise and criticism from gamers.  However, they did build up enough of a following in the west to warrant further releases for their games, and in 2013, Dragon's Crown, a game which had a concept floating around for at least fifteen years, would at last be finalized and released on both the Playstation Vita and the Playstation 3 by Atlus.

Dragon's Crown is arguably their most "mainstream" game, being a relatively straightforward beat-em-up with a lootfest bent to it.  In fact, it's more than a bit reminiscent of Capcom's Dungeons and Dragons games released in arcades with its heavy emphasis on co-op gameplay, temporary weapons to utilize and a large variety of enemies and loot to find throughout.  Between missions, the player also has the option to buy new abilities, identify and sell found equipment, repair equipment they've used during the mission, and even buy temporary buffs for their next excursion to make things slightly easier.

Players can travel through the various stages in groups of up to four, with the game supporting both online and couch co-op, and if no other players are available, NPCs generated from saved online data will join the player on their quests instead (unless they specifically set all of the empty slots to unavailable, which is necessary to complete a few quests).  There are a grand total of six characters in the game, running the gamut of fantasy archetypes.  The Fighter is the typical slow, but powerful short-range tank, the Amazon has relatively weak defense but high speed and can, after landing enough hits, enter a Berserk state that amplifies her damage tremendously.  The Dwarf is a more defensive character with an emphasis on taking hits and throwing around explosives to control crowds, the Elf is relatively weak at short range but wields a bow that can launch burning and poisonous arrows, the Sorceress summons powerful elemental spells, transforms enemies and can aid the party by summoning food, creating skeletal minions and bolstering their stats.  Finally, the Wizard serves as a more offense-based magic character, summoning fire and meteors, slowing down enemies and even having a spell that can instantly kill foes (though it obviously doesn't work on bosses).

The game's interface is a somewhat unique one - while the character is controlled as one would expect, using the thumbsticks and d-pad for movement/inventory selection and the buttons to perform various actions - they typically do not interact directly with the environment to uncover secrets or open chests.  Instead, the player must use the right analog stick (or touchscreen or touch pad, depending upon the platform) to move a cursor around the screen.  Simply moving the cursor over a hidden item is enough to reveal it (at which point the player's avatar can touch it to pick it up), but things like treasure chests, hidden switches and runes must be "clicked" on to activate them.  Adding to this, the player is always accompanied by two NPCs - the thief Rannie, who unlocks doors and chests for them (and gets better loot from them as his level increases), and the fairy Tiki, who points out hidden secrets from time to time.

Runes are another somewhat unique mechanic.  As the player proceeds through quests they will gradually earn more of them, though they can only cast "spells" with them at predetermined points, usually finding them engraved on background objects.  By clicking on runes in their inventory and ones in the environment in a specific sequence, they create "rune words" with special effects like making treasures appear, earning a temporary score bonus, bolstering their stats temporarily or even gaining an extra life.  Each adventure typically has a few of them, and though they can only be activated in specific areas, they can prove quite useful if the player knows the rune words.

Later in the game, one also gains the ability to take on many stages in a row, carrying over their current stock of lives and continues and risking losing all of their gained treasure for greater gains in the next stage.  Between stages, though, they can get an advantage at camp with a cooking minigame - by clicking on the numerous food items and spices on the screen and dragging them to the cooking pot or frying pan, they create food items that grant them buffers for the next stage; the more different dishes they successfully cook, the greater stat buffs they will gain for the next stage.  As a nice touch, some ingredients are added to the selection after defeating specific bosses, such as Gazer Eyes and Kraken Tentacles.

But of course, no mention of a Vanillaware game can go without speaking of its aesthetics.  Simply put, Dragon's Crown is a graphically gorgeous game, with hand-painted 2D backgrounds and cutscenes that show off a stunning amount of detail.  Character animation is surprisingly on-point too, with enormous, intricate character sprites that show exquisite levels of expression and a wide variety of animations for their numerous attacks, as well as a very distinctive style in general.  Dragon's Crown is also the center of controversy for its male-centric fantasy art style, with some characters (most especially  the Sorceress) noted for their very particular designs.  However, nothing in its dialog or setting is particularly sexist; the game just knows its audience and tries to cater to it.

Dragon's Crown is very likely Vanillaware's most successful game to date, and it isn't hard to see why as it provides intuitive, yet varied gameplay that proves to be quite entertaining, especially with a group of friends around to collect loot and fight bosses with.  It may not be the most deep or engaging game out there, but as multiplayer loot-fest action RPGs go, it's one of the best you're likely to find on a console.

Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: Atlus
Platform: Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, Playstation 4
Released: 2013, 2018
Recommended Version:  All versions of the game are essentially the same, just with some slight differences in the control layout to accomodate each platform's particular features.  Dragon's Crown Pro for the PS4, however, is currently the definitive release, with 4K graphics, a remastered soundtrack and some exclusive new downloadable content.  Once nice feature is that all versions of the game support both cross-save transfer (allowing the player to upload their characters to Atlus servers and download them on another platform to keep their progress and equipment) and even cross-play, so if you don't have access to a particular platform, you can still play with your friends online.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

After a number of spinoffs and an un-numbered sequel in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise (Strange Journey), IV marked a return to the base franchise, as well as many of its more controversial design elements.  But does Shin Megami Tensei IV prove to be a worthwhile adventure, or is it dragged down by the dated and frustrating elements of its design?

The Shin Megami Tensei franchise has a long and complex history in North America, but arguably its first major success was Nocturne on the Playstation 2, which combined a moody atmosphere with gameplay that retained many familiar elements of the franchise (recruiting demons through dialog and fusing them to create new ones), yet also tried enough new things to set itself apart from its predecessors and give itself a distinct feel and strategy; among these, the player would be able to carry over skills between fused demons and customize their own character with a variety of skills and elemental vulnerabilities/immunities, allowing them to adapt their strategies for upcoming battles.  Following up on that came Digital Devil Saga, which aimed to be more accessible while losing the franchise's most iconic element (recruiting demons), and after that came Personas 3 and 4, which worked elements of a dating/school sim into both the story and the gameplay, with the player's party growing stronger as they built bonds with their classmates.

Strange Journey came out on the DS a few years later, and was something of a return to form for the series.  Returning to the grim, moody atmosphere of 1, 2 and Nocturne and the first-person perspective of the first two games, the gameplay saw much of a return to Nocturne's style, putting heavy emphasis on exploiting elemental weaknesses, haggling contracts with demons and building a party of demons to match the challenges the player would face in an upcoming area (with a limited degree of customization for each one they acquired, based on what skills they had when fused).  It also returned to something that many of the spinoffs had lacked by featuring multiple story paths and endings - depending on one's choices, the story would branch in different ways, making some demon types unavailable, changing up the strategies the player would need to use in order to succeed.

Shin Megami Tensei IV continues in much the same vein, giving the player freedom to pursue different story paths and tailor their party to the specific challenges they will face.  However, some things have been changed.  The game is now viewed from a third person perspective, and similar to the Persona games, one can get surprise attacks by landing a strike on an enemy before they are aware of the player's presence, or be surprise attacked themself if the latter happens.

The Press Turn system from Nocturne is removed, as is the 1 More system from the later Personas.  Instead, successfully hitting an enemy weakness or blocking/nullifying an enemy attack has a chance to put that character into "Smirk" status, which grants them a high evasion and critical chance until the end of their next turn.  While this does allow the player to gain benefit when they are adequately prepare for it, I found it to much more often be a liability - as damage output from enemies tends to be extremely high (enough to kill a character in only 2-3 hits), one missed attack or hit on any of your party's elemental weaknesses can very easily doom your party and send you to the game over screen, which gets annoying very fast.

Said game over screen is a problem in itself, taking nearly a full minute to play out its introduction on your first visit with no way to skip it, and then forcing you to pay an exorbitant amount of Macca (money) to try your previous battle again, with the price only getting higher the more times you end up continuing.  Considering that the game also lets you save at any time (and the high difficulty makes save-scumming all but mandatory), I really have to wonder why they even bothered with this, other than as a callback to the Super Famicom SMT games.

Frustratingly, the game also returns to the grind-heavy aspect of its forebears.  As mentioned, if you're at the "recommended" level for an area, you can easily get blindsided by enemies and taken out in one or two turns (with the "Run" command seemingly only being there to taunt you; I almost never got it to work when I desperately needed it).  Failing a negotiation, having a single elemental weakness out of place or making a single input mistake can very quickly turn the tide against you, which quickly boils the game down to a frustrating affair of experience grinding mixed with tedious save-scumming - neither of which I ever particularly enjoy in a game.  Yes, Shin Megami Tensei is a franchise noted for its difficulty, but when Nocturne and Persona had the option to play on a lower difficulty that greatly toned down the grinding aspect of the franchise and its "latest, greatest" entry does not (not by default, at least - more on that later), it feels like a step backward for the franchise.

Another step backward for the franchise is the player's abilities (termed "Apps" in this game).  Many of these are things which the player was given by default out of the gate in earlier SMT games, or things that would simply be earned over the course of the game.  Character and Demon skill slots must now be purchased one-by-one and manually equipped with a limited number of Points to gain benefit from them, and the only way to gain more skills or points is to complete quests and gain levels.  In effect, this just adds more tedious do-or-die fights and savescumming to the game, drawing out what is already a drawn-out process even further.  Dick move.

But that's all peanuts compared to the ultimate slap-in-the-face change brought to Shin Megami Tensei IV, that being its DLC scheme.  Many of the problems I've mentioned above are addressed here, as things like new quests that provide abundant amounts of XP, App Points and a lower difficulty setting are provided, but deviously all cost more money on top of what you've already paid for the game.  More insultingly, said rewards radically unbalance the game in your favor, allowing you to reach Level 99 in a matter of a few hours so that you can easily breeze through the game.  Either way, you're left with a losing choice - play a slow-paced, grind-heavy and tedious experience, or pay extra money and get left with something that provides virtually no challenge and actively belittles your skills as a player.  Personally, I chose to just stop playing the game, as Atlus should know better than to insult their audience like this (and did only a few years prior, suspiciously in the years before the Sega buyout...).

Shin Megami Tensei IV rolls back not only the earlier themes and storyline of the franchise, but the improvements that came with its later entries and spinoffs as well, returning the series to a grind-heavy, user-hostile experience on the whole.  The fact that they're now pushing paid DLC to "fix" the game, but only breaking it in another way in doing so, only compounds the idea that Sega views this franchise as little more than a cynical cash-grab.  Sadly, the games that have followed it in the years since have yet to dissuade my perception of that idea, either.

Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Released: 2013
Recommended version: N/A

Project X Zone

A tremendous crossover game that combines characters from numerous companies and franchises together into one title.  But does this game's enormous scale prove an asset, or does it just collapse under its own weight?

One of Namco's many long-running franchises is the Super Robot Taisen/Wars series, a crossover between countless different mecha anime and games that allowed the player to pick their favorite characters and battle their way through hordes of bad guys (some from the many crossed-over franchises, others original).  This was accompanied by an over-the-top battle system which allowed the player to control multiple characters at once, with a single button press launching a character into a lengthy animation that would hit the opponent multiple times and, with good timing, would allow your teams to chain together lengthy combos and super attacks for massive damage.  While nothing spectacular overall, their exaggerated style did prove amusing to a degree, and their random encounter driven, turn-based format generally made them enjoyable enough an experience to see through to the end.

Project X Zone is a spinoff of that franchise, carrying over many of its gameplay elements and crossing over numerous franchises (this time various Capcom, Namco and Sega franchises) but changing the core gameplay around to be more of a turn-based strategy RPG.  Rather than being based around simple random encounters as the player navigates a dungeon, the game's combat now operates off of a grid, with your units (comprised of a combination of three characters - one two-character team and a solo character) moving across the board, attacking and defending against enemy attacks in the same excessive style.

But with this change in format also comes the game's biggest stumbling block.  Namely that each battle in the game now takes so much longer to complete.  Rather than simply being about defeating single units and the occasional boss encounter and moving on to the next, the larger scale of the battles means that you'll be controlling nearly your entire supply of characters at a time and must now overcome a small army of encounters on each board, each of which can take multiple battle scenes to eliminate from play.  This means you'll be seeing the same few character animations over and over and over again within each fight, quickly reducing their novelty value to nil and just making them tedious to sit through instead.  Moreso when each battle can stretch out for upwards of forty minutes and the story scenes tend to give no indication of how close you are to completing it, instead seemingly just taking the chance to introduce yet more characters for you to control and more villains for them to fight against in the coming battles.

Not to say that the experience is all bad.  It certainly makes a good first impression with its prevalent sense of humor (including some very unlikely team-ups - Frank West of Dead Rising and Hsien-ko of Darkstalkers, for example), flashy style (including well-animated character cut-ins during super attacks) and even some pretty catchy background music from all of the various franchises involved.  However, the neverending buildup of characters, battlefields and expansive stages quickly makes one realize that too much of a good thing can, in fact, be very detrimental to the experience.  When you can get all of the fun of Project X Zone from a Youtube combo video and skip the 40+ hours of boring filler, it's really not a game I can recommend shelling out money for.

Developer: Banpresto, Monolith Soft
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
Released: 2013
Recommended version: N/A

Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness

After two passable but mostly forgettable outings in Disgaea 3 and 4, the franchise returns to its original protagonists and setting for a new adventure.  But does this return to form redeem the series for more casual fans, or just push it further into irrelevance for all but its most die-hard followers?

Nippon Ichi's Disgaea is a very love-it-or-hate-it franchise; you either love it for its deep gameplay, sharp sense of humor and surprisingly smart storytelling in spite of its cutesy visuals, or it just becomes a bore for the same reasons.  I personally still consider Disgaea 1 and 2, as well as the spinoff game Phantom Brave, to be some of my favorite strategy RPGs, but many of Nippon Ichi's other outings haven't had the same appeal for one reason or another; mostly, they just seem to overdo the grinding/randomized elements aspect of their design and quickly become tedious to play, rather than fun.

Perhaps as an attempt to address this and return the series to its roots for long-time fans, Disgaea D2 pares down many of the elements addressed in later Disgaea games, streamlines some other elements that have been around since the beginning, and adds in a few new ideas of its own in order to give it a distinct feel.  The most prominent of these is the "Cheat Shop", which allows the player to freely adjust the difficulty of the enemies and the amount of experience, money and mana they receive from battles.  This not only allows you to funnel less useful things (like money) into better level gains or mana boosts, but also to freely adjust enemy levels for more efficient leveling, especially in the post-game where money is all but useless.  This also allows the player to freely toggle on the Land of Carnage mode for high-level play (eliminating the need to farm randomly-appearing items in the Item World), as well as a new mode called "Rasetsu" which drastically increases enemies' stats (and yes, it can be stacked with Land of Carnage mode for even more madness).

One of the franchise's more controversial additions, the Magichange mechanic (wherein a monster transforms into a temporary weapon for a human character, with stats based on the monster's own) has also been removed from D2.  Instead of that, we get monster mounting, which allows any humanoid unit to ride a monster unit, adopting their movement range and using them as a shield of sorts.  All damage directed at a mounted unit is taken from the monster's HP, and when they die, only the monster is removed from the field, leaving the humanoid unit safe.  There is also no turn limit for using units like this (unlike Magichange) and it grants new attacks depending upon the monster type mounted.

Likability is another mechanic introduced in D2.  All units' relationship with others are ranked between 0 and 5 shearts, with things like successful team attacks and mid-battle conversations boosting it and harming/killing one another with attacks lowering it.  Characters with higher Likability have a higher chance to perform Team Attacks, as well as doing greater damage in team attacks, combos and mounted attacks.  Of course, being Disgaea, one can also spend Mana to boost relationships between characters by passing a bill at the Dark Council, but the price is prohibitively high until the postgame.

Some other mainstay elements of the franchise were also streamlined.  The interface is now much tighter (paring about 11 menu options down into roughly 5), the Item Warehouse and Backpack are amalgamated into one and expanded to 999 slots, and item world Innocents no longer need to be stored on items - they can be stored in the "Innocents Warehouse" after being subdued and used to populate items later.  The much-maligned "Rarity Number" on items has also been abolished, with items now simply coming in Common, Rare and Legendary variants and getting boosts when paired with other equipment of the same rarity level.  Diagonal throwing has also been simplified, simply allowing the player to pick any square within their throw range rather than having to time a button press as the cursor moves between two preset 90 degree angles.

Characters as a whole also have a greater degree of customization, with the ability to mix and match Evilities between classes (humanoids getting two while monsters get a total of three) and each generic class having three different variations to use.  Color palettes can also be freely assigned rather than having to unlock them later, and each character also has three voice sets to choose from, adding another layer to the player's immersion.

One of the lacking elements of Disgaeas 3 and 4, to me at least, were their storylines; their characters were rather forgetttable overall and the stories felt like less-interesting retreads of earlier entries in the series.  Thankfully, Disgaea D2 addresses this as well; the returning characters are as distinct and hilarious as ever, delivering some truly hilarious dialog in the story scenes and in-battle dialog snippets.  The story itself also regains Nippon Ichi's sly sense of humor, incorporating many bad and nonsensical fan fiction tropes ("long lost" family members, gender swapping, characters having previously unrevealed superpowers, etc) yet making them all work well to serve the game's witty tone.  That self-awareness and deprecating style of humor is something that I don't think too many, if any, other RPG companies could pull off well, but Nippon Ichi succeeds here.

The game is not totally without problems, though.  There were numerous issues with lockups in the game, as well as oddities like characters being reduced to 1 HP after a battle (even when at full health at the battle's end) and certain attack animations simply freezing on certain stages.  Many of these were addressed in a patch, but I still had the game lock up under certain conditions; mostly related to casting specific spells on specific stages.  Still, I only encountered this on a few scattered maps, none of which are particularly difficult to complete without the spells in question, so it wasn't a deal breaker.

The other major problem I had with the later Disgaea games is still in effect as well.  DLC for the game is at its scummiest, giving the player a grand total of nineteen new playable characters at a price of $3 each, totaling up to $7 more than the game itself cost brand new.  Worse, they had the audacity to tie trophies to each of these characters, meaning that completionists will not be able to get 100% completion on their trophy lists without shelling out for every last one of them.  A pretty bad thing considering that the franchise is geared toward that very demographic!

Some hiccups aside, Disgaea D2 is a worthy sequel, returning the franchise to its roots while also introducing enough fresh elements to keep the experience from being a thoughtless retread.  The newly polished presentation, ability to fully customize one's party members and reduction of many of the game's arbitrary random elements also add to the experience, creating a tighter game that appeals to more casual fans while reducing the sheer amount of save-scumming for die hard players.  Disgaea D2 stands as proof that a bit of streamlining and a return to one's roots can be a very beneficial thing for a franchise.

Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Nippon Ichi Software
Platform: Playstation 3
Released: 2013
Recommended version: N/A