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[bestgirlinc]

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is a huge game this year. Anticipated for what felt like forever, this sequel to Breath of the Wild truly has caught people’s eyes. But unfortunately I didn’t like Breath of the Wild, so I had no such anticipation. I won’t go into detail as to why and I do plan on replaying it for a review to maybe give it another chance. That said, I didn't care to be excited. So what were MY thoughts? Well, I actually really liked it. I was pleasantly Surprised by the way it managed to actually get even someone like me who didn’t like the last game to really enjoy it.

Spoiler warning

I will be talking about spoilers. If you want to avoid Spoilers know I liked it and recommend it. If you want to know details proceed to the rest of the review.

Gameplay:

The Gameplay is very similar to Breath of the Wild. It’s big and open ended with lots of little shrines and such. What makes the game work better is the abilities are more interesting and there is just flat more to do. The building is the big grab of the game and works rather well. Being able to build anything I want within reason is very fun and managing to make something that works makes you feel like a genius. The abilities themselves mostly are just for traversal and such but the fuse mechanic makes up for the lack of offensive abilities. Bomb flowers, puff shrooms and the like make the game dynamic work and allow for a varied way of handling the trials and tribulations you will be forced to endure. 

That said there are still issues with the game. Despite being a Soulsborne fan I feel like the game’s difficulty is still mostly just badly designed. It feels like the game WANTS difficulty but doesn’t really understand how the other games make the difficulty work. Many enemies hit a bit too hard or the knockback is a bit too ridiculous or Link just doesn’t react in a satisfying enough way and makes the idea of facing things like Lynels to be just an annoyance. It’s not like they’re hard, they’re just annoying. I want to reiterate though that I did genuinely enjoy the gameplay. I just have issues that I think Nintendo really should address in the future with whatever they do next

Sound:

The music in this game is phenomenal. I'm not even gonna pretend that it’s anything but. The music in this game is truly a step above what I thought was one of the good parts of the last game. The last game had good music but the music here actually left me breathless. The Final Boss theme against Demon Dragon Ganondorf is amazing. The way it uses various themes of the game including ones from Breath of the Wild feels amazing. The way it uses the japanese sounds this version of Ganondorf uses is breathtaking. The song truly feels like a climactic battle, and the end to the strife all taking place in the SKY. Ganondorf’s main battle themes is also great with tones from the other themes and the guardian theme int here it feels like this is a fight against an opponent that is truly Link’s EQUAL and one that this time is truly to the death. Of course the other boss fights also have these tones too. Colgera having the sounds of Wind Waker in the theme makes me feel like the spirit of the heroes from the zelda timelines are at my back to push me into a new direction. A little final farewell before we truly move in a new direction. I feel like that is the major thing with the music for me is that it expertly uses both old and new sounds to let you remember the past and know that this fight has been eternal and needs an end. 

Truly an amazing soundtrack that really does hit me. Even if you end up not agreeing with me and say the game is bad, please give the game a shot.

Story & Characters: The Story of this game is much, MUCH more improved to what was BARELY there in the last game. In this game, the story actually feels like a true story. The Flashbacks aren’t stuff you forgot, but bits and pieces of another story that adds much needed info that you would NEVER be able to see otherwise. The Link end of things has much more story and feels much more like a real Zelda game with a full story. You travel and see the land tarnished by Ganondorf and his evil. You recruit Sages in an attempt to save the land and defeat Ganondorf. You feel a sense of forward momentum as the game weaves the tale of an evil that is truly ancient and needs defeating. Ganondorf is a great evil who destroyed the land once before and is doing it again. He almost destroyed the Master Sword, which is shown to still have Fi inside as you hear her sound as she clearly is talking. He destroyed the land, no doubt killing innocents. The game feels like the truest essence of Ganondorf and his evil. The game constantly reminding you of the past games (which may or may not be canon to this game that’s up to fan interpretation) making you truly feel the nearly 40 year history of this beloved franchise. The Soundtrack emphasizes it with tones of those past games. It makes the lead up to the final battle with the man who is your equal amazing. The way the game actually seems to be attempting to build up the world and make you truly want to help it. The quests feeling more robust and story based makes this need to save the world ever more large as you explore. Truly the themes of sacrifice that come from things like Zelda’s final decision in the past show how much the game is truly trying to make things dire. Other themes such as the way the past and present connect and the way the battle we wage today are the same as in the past which combined with the reminders of the older games makes this game feel huge. 

Of course there are still issues. In particular I wish they would have taken some notes from the other games that influenced this current style. In particular I wish they’d add the amount of care that the Souls and Elder Scrolls games do to their worlds. There need to be more places that feel lived in. I know the monsters are there and such but I’d like to see a more living breathing world. Enemies that are just people, more than just the Yiga clan. The issue I had with BotW was that it felt really empty and the shrines didn’t add anything. I still feel like the shrines are a bad way to handle it as I would like more natural ways to give people these orbs that are used to upgrade your bars. The game could also use more details in the items if the game wants to feel Souls-like. All that said this game is truly a huge step up over the last game and I think the story actually works here. I overall loved it and feel like this is the right direction for the franchise. 

Final Thoughts: Is this game perfect? No, not even remotely perfect. It has issues that I mention, but I loved the game. I felt like this game truly felt like the next direction for the Zelda games. The game feels like it honors the past while moving forward. The gameplay has its issues but feels like it’s getting more well developed. The game feels really well done and thought out. I enjoyed the game so much that I actually did my best to do everything. I unlocked the Ancient Hero’s Aspect which I love. Overall I think the game is a great time and I do suggest it. Truly a great game 8/10. Not perfect but pretty damn good.

8/10

[bestgirlinc]

Fallout 2 Review

That's Right, Folks! I'm back with a review of a Fallout Series game! This time it is the follow up to the original Fallout! As you know, I have a very intense love for the 1st Fallout game. So with that said the question is: Does the sequel get close?

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE GAME

Gameplay: Same as before but with a lot of problems fixed. Map too big or want to store items but they removed the pack mule glitch for followers? Get the Highwayman. Want to keep this one follower the whole game? You can! You can have multiple followers and most of them level up with you (Minus some exceptions). You can equip them with better equipment and make the characters able to handle the end game even. I beat the game with Lenny, Cassidy, Marcus and Goris and loved it. Heck, the special random encounter locations get saved on your map so you can revisit them if you want. So if you saw the cafe of Broken dreams and missed Dogmeat you can go back and get him. (Also Dogmeat levels with you too this time and is actually not a bad companion) Score: Great Sound: The music in the game is drastically different from Fallout 1. Where 1's music is very focused to selling how harsh and desolate the destroyed world is. Fallout 2's music is much more lively, the world IS recovering. While songs like Redding's and the Oil Rig's show the world that there is still a long way to go. A lot of the soundtrack uses either a more Tribal sound or a country sound, depending on the area and situation. These tell the tale of how the wasteland is recovering. People are surviving and creating societies and slowly coming together. The music has an ever so slightly more hopeful, this tone being different provides a sense of "Hey we actually did it!" to the game when it comes to coming from 1 to 2. Of course horrors still pop up and the music emphasizes that, and how white collar the horrors are this time. It's concentrated evil that must be defeated so the world can go back to its much needed recovery. My favorite tunes are the Highwayman Overworld theme and Redding, check them out as they emphasize my points. Score: amazing Story & Characters: The Story for this Game is interesting. 70 years after the Master was defeated by the Legendary VAULT DWELLER. Things have changed, people are surviving. Your character, the grandchild of the VD is tasked with finding the G.E.C.K. (Garden of Eden Creation Kit) and eventually stopping the Enclave and saving the world. The Enclave is the remnants of the U.S. Military who survived the apocalypse. They plan on culling humanity of all the mutants; be they Super Mutant, ghoul or even slightly mutated regular people. The characters are great especially the companions who feel more fleshed out this time compared to before. The villains are less horrific or understanding than The Master was. Epitomizing the U.S.'s ideas on might makes right and our way or no way, the only answer is to take them out. The game's themes of Americana and the things many cling to being bad and outdated is very poignant. The world has moved on and all the Americana does is hurt people. It brings no freedom or justice or good, only death and ignorance. This is the game that hits the nail on the head the hardest on what the faux American Exceptionalism of the series is about. That said, the game is very big and can get exhausting. So many places, so many quests so many ending slides to worry about. The game at times is less focused than the 1st and it shows. Frank Horrigan and the President don't make for good replacements to the Lieutenant and the Master, despite being good villains. But when compared to 1 it's hard to match up. Score: Good

Final Thoughts: The Game itself is a marked improvement in a lot of ways to 1. Providing better gameplay, more content, an amazing soundtrack that still matches the quality of the 1st game's and much more. The story though is a marked downgrade as the villains don't match up, the game feels less focused on making the second half as big as it was in Fallout 1 and overall just doesn't match up. Of course it's still a great game that I would any day of the week recommend but just not as much as 1. That said While it isn't as good as 1, I'd still give it a:

9/10

As always I'll see you next time in the wasteland.

[bestgirlinc]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review

Hey Folks ADHD be damned and I have a backlog of reviews to do, Sorry. I will try to make it up to anybody that cares. I saw the new Spider-Man and I am excited to talk about it.

Music: I will say that the pop music isn't as pronounced in this one as it was in "Into the Spider-Verse". The music is still really good, primarily focusing on the orchestral score. Of the score I think that it is really good, the various leitmotifs coming in together very nicely over and over again. Every Spider-Person has their own style, Miles' sound is very different from the pop-ish rock of Gwen, or the Indian sound of Pavitr or the punk sound of Hobie or Miguel's more Sci-Fi sound. Every world feels different and vibrant and well done. As a whole it was great.

Plot: The Plot of Spider-Verse this time around is focused more on a Gwen than Miles. The story starts and ends with her story and the story is really the thing at every major beat in the movie that is used to push the plot forward. Gwen feels lost and like she doesn't trust her father and thus runs to Miguel and his "Elite Spider Corps". Funnily enough this time Miles kinda knows what he wants to be and what he wants to do and what he needs to do. While not privy to all the information he shows himself to be fine and his plot involving The Spot being one clearly building to greater heights in Beyond the Spider-Verse. As a whole the movie was pretty darn good and the plot was well done all around. (I avoided too many details so as to not spoil anyone too much)

Themes: The Theme of trust and fate are quite big this time around. Gwen and Miles having issues trusting their families with this huge secret they both have. The Fate of all Spider-People to go through the motions of Losing a love/Gwen Stacy, losing an Uncle, the captain of the police dying etc. All of these ideas being ingrained as necessities to a sustainable UNIVERSE for Spider-People. Fate and Trust both being major themes is interesting as it Critiques the idea that Spider-People need to be the same exact story every damn time. The movie's themes in my opinion are really well done and I enjoyed them a lot.

Overall The movie was really good, the Animation was stellar, changing with every character's world. The Plot was an amazing part 1. I will say that we need to see them stick the landing to get a definitive scoring but as of right now I think it is a 9/10. The only thing holding it back is that it isn't as self contained as "Into the Spider-Verse" was.

[bestgirlinc]

Universal Studios review

That's right I was asked to do a review on a theme park!

While not the usual there's plenty of crossover with the things I review! I will denote that I got in for free thanks to family working there and it being a BDay present. That said I have lots of nostalgia for Universal as I went there a lot as a kid.

My Criteria for a review will be: Theming, Food, Rides and Lines. I feel like these are the things that matter most to anyone coming to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Theming: Theming to me is very important in setting a Theme park apart from an Amusement Park. Six Flags is an amusement park, Universal is a THEME park. I think Universal's theming is pretty top notch. The areas all scream of theme. Even the normal areas have people doing acts and running around as characters. The Ride areas all being INCREDIBLY well done to such a high degree that it really feels like you have entered the world of the ride.

Food: The Food is Obviously very important if you are gonna be there the whole day. I will say as I am not well endowed with money, your experience may vary from mine. But my experience was rather nice. Moe's Tavern had great drinks including one from my favorite episode, the Flaming Moe Homer. The Food at Luigi's was nice and reliable, good cake, good pasta and Pizza. I will say that the lines are VERY big at The toad Cafe and you need a reservation to eat there. Which uh, good luck on that. Overall though I will say the food is good, not great mind you, but good.

Rides and Lines: The Rides/attractions themselves were mostly great. My favorites were the Studio Tour and Mariokart: Bowser's Challenge. I love the tour as it feels so cool to see a behind the scenes look at the studio where many movies and shows get filmed. Mariokart was a ton of fun with the VR goggles making it feel like both a ride and a game. I went on a few rides there, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was fun so long as you are able to fit on the ride (opinions on Rowling being negative I still enjoyed it as a whole). The Simpsons Ride is always fun, even if I miss Back to the Future the Ride and wish it was still here instead. Jurassic World is such an improvement to Jurassic Park it's kinda sad. Dreamworks Theatre was fun but it feels like it should have been a fun crossover between the series' instead of just Kung Fu Panda. Fast and the Furious Supercharged was fun but kinda just a retheming of the tunnel that has been there for ages. Finally Secret Life of Pets was good but not great, mostly just something for the kids, but it was pretty cute I guess. The lines outside of Mario were pretty good but that's cause I went on a Wednesday, which I suggest going on a day like Wednesday. Mario even was pretty good by the time I got there by the end of the day.

Overall I think the park is really good, I do miss the old days but that's just nostalgia talking. As it is now, the park is fun and a great time. If you are in Southern California and want to go to one of the historic parks, you won't go wrong with "The Entertainment Capital of L.A." 9/10

[bestgirlinc]

Film Review: A Goofy Movie

A friend of mine convinced me to branch out a bit so here we are! I think I'll have to grow into these too, but I am confident I can do decently.

Music: As a musical I certainly hope the music is good. Of course it is very 90s Disney, lots of Broadway style numbers that logistically make less sense than normal musicals but still, not bad. The stand outs are obviously the ones done for the fictional musician Power line. But the "On the Open Road" and the "After Today" songs are also certainly fun ones. The regular music is good too, very Disney, but good Plot: The Plot is a simple one where the teenage son, Max, is a misunderstood troublemaker and his father gets the wrong idea as to what is going on. This misunderstanding causes them to not discuss the actual issue and be stuck going on a road trip. Goofy acts like Max is a little boy who is down a violent path. Max thinks his dad is just being weird and annoying him. They learn to be closer and talk more and become closer as a family. Overall, very good plot even if it is a simple one. Don't go to Disney for complex plots. Themes: I would say that honesty and learning to tell people the whole truth immediately is the biggest theme in this movie. The movie has so many moments where if they were honest no issues would happen at all. Another major one is to not listen to people who give advice you know isn't right. The case in point being that Goofy tried listening to Pete. Pete is a man shown to be a bad person that even Goofy knows is bad. Goofy in trying to listen to his friend's advice messes up further rather than just following what he knows works, being honest. The themes come together nicely in the end and create a simple yet nice bow.

Overall the movie is a simple one but a definitely fun one. A romp that I thoroughly enjoy every time I watch it. Trust me, I definitely plan on watching it a million more times. I give it an 8/10

[bestgirlinc]

Kingdom Hearts Review

After long last I am back with another review! This time with a review of Kingdom Hearts 1! Kingdom hearts is one hell of a large series. the game back in the day was marketed as a Crossover between Final Fantasy and Disney. An odd mix to be sure, but it sure intrigued my Disney loving, Final Fantasy loving ass as a kid. I remember playing this game over and over again as a kid. That is to say that I'll be honest that while I will attempt to be critical of it, I am not perfect and I am sure bias will peek through.

Gameplay: The gameplay of KH1 is definitely not as good as KH2 or 3. That's not that controversial to say of course. The series WILL get better over time as they explore and expand the gameplay. That said the gameplay is definitely good. The game is a simple action adventure rpg. It has elements of a platformer here and then but mostly just action adventure, with a heaping helping of hack and slash. The gameplay is pretty simple and even on the hardest difficulty isn't hard to understand or get over. I'll say the biggest criticism I have is of the game having such drastic effects on the game such as how fast you level or what moves you learn at all being behind quiz answers and such that at the time you'd never know and even now only if you do research is a very bad idea. It makes the game very annoying and punishing for those that want to go in blind. That is a VERY bad idea that I do not like at all. But IF you have help with that, then you are golden. The game is good, not great, gameplay wise.

Sound: The music in most of the levels is simple. Lots of KH music in the Disney levels are kind of mindless. Mostly just ideas taken straight out of the movies the levels are based on. Halloween town has the "This is Halloween" for example as the easiest choice of "yeah that's what I expected" choices. That said in THIS game most of the songs are BASED on the movies and not actually just the straight songs. But the music is still very much BASED on the music there and blends in a lot in my opinion. Tarzan and Peter Pan being the best levels in the game for music in my opinion. I think the music while very much of the movie it is based on is still rather nice. That said the big stand outs are the songs made for the original levels. Hollow Bastion's level having the best in the game to me as the music is intense and grand. It fits the concept of this being Maleficent's castle. This is where the greatest evils in Disney and the KH universe as a whole call home! It also makes you feel like "Yeah, I hit the final stretch of the game. Things are moving to the finish line now!" For that and much more the game's music STILL is something I'd consider good. Just don't expect top tier music from the Disney levels.

Story & Characters: We've reached the category that non KH fans dread: The STORY! So allow me to explain the complicated plot. A kid gets a giant key weapon. The kid fights Disney and FF characters with Donald Duck and Goofy to help his friends and saves the world from a guy who wants to conquer all worlds. Like I could go into unnecessary detail on the plot to make it seem more complicated but it really isn't that complicated. The worst of it is that the keyblade weapon Sora, our protagonist, uses sort of has a mind of its own. But that's sorta common for magic weapons in fantasy media. Really KH1 is very accessible for newcomers (obviously). You wanna play KH1? Don't do chronological order, just start here. The story overall is good, well written and hits the right beats. The Disney levels mostly are original plots that service the overall story too. So yeah, overall good.

Extra Segment, Is it worth it?: Why this segment? Because I played this game on the HARDEST difficulty after being bullied to do so. Now I wish to truly show my thoughts on Proud difficulty. Is it worth playing? No, not really. Like, it's not THAT hard. But not really worth it either. Just play it if normal difficulty is too easy for you. So yeah, no, I don't think it's worth it. I'll probably play on normal mode if I go back to it again. That way I can relax and not die over and over again. Don't get me wrong though I did nearly everything in this game on hardest difficulty. Only didn't do the synthesis and Gummi missions.

Final Thoughts: Kingdom Hearts 1 is a whimsical game that is easy to see how it became such a big thing that Sora being in Smash was the most requested character ever. It's fun and actiony and has a little something for everyone. I don't have much left to add except yeah, if ANY of these things intrigue you, go give it a shot. The game is dirt cheap nowadays.

[bestgirlinc]

The Perfect Soundtrack in a game.

Hey Folks, Wanted to talk about something important to me, music.

See, Music in my opinion is probably one of the most important things in games. It sets the tone, tells a story and sets one of the biggest impressions on the game.

From Serious games to less than serious ones. From MUSIC to Atmosphere and everything in between, video games RELY on their soundtracks more than many realize.

But One question on my mind: What makes the PERFECT Soundtrack?

Well I obviously think that is subjective. Naturally that's up to everyone's own individual opinions.

Mine though? It's pretty simple. It has to work as both a Soundtrack to a game, AND, it has to work as an album. The Soundtrack has to work in both regards and be uplifted in different ways in both regards. Naturally I want to give examples.

Silent Hill 2 is often considered the best in the series, but as far as Music is concerned I think it takes the silver trophy. The Soundtrack is great, genuinely amazing. But the problem with it is that a lot of it feels more just atmosphere than it does music. Take this for example:

This is Ashes and Ghost, a song used for the Blue Creek Apartments section when enemies are around. Is it bad? No, far from it, it works perfect for the game. Sets up the atmosphere great and is an overall great song IN GAME. But it isn't listenable. Mostly just scary atmosphere to me.

But of course, let's also add my favorite:

The Melancholic tone, the guitar that that drives it, the garage tone to the whole thing. It makes it feel more natural and real. The song is down to earth and homey. Perfect for the tone the games give of real people delving into hell (metaphorically speaking)

Now, Does SH3 have atmosphere songs to? Yes, Yes it does. BUT here's the thing. The Soundtrack works though. For the actual SOUNDTRACK, they trim the fat and make it a full actual album. Yeah, I think this counts. To me, if they put the thought of which ones to put in it for you. That works too. The soundtrack's melodic tunes used actually fit a full album. Listen to is and you feel like you have both a great OST and a great album. Here's my favorite.

The Way the song perfectly explains Heather's emotions and pain. The way it epitomizes how much the pain has changed her in just a single night. The way the song sets up all of the emotions. Utterly perfect song, for a near perfect game. Silent Hill 2 and 3 both could be considered perfect, but I give the gold to 3 as it feels like it tried a little harder to be listenable than 2.

Bloodborne is another perfect one to me. The soundtrack is gothic in nature and every boss has a unique song that fits the boss perfectly (Except the Chalice bosses, but we don't count them). The Songs are all amazingly done and fit the game so well, telling the story of the characters perfectly often without any words at all. Here's 2 of my favorites:

This song is why I am giving 2 songs here. This one is very good and super haunting, for many acting as the END GAME'S FINAL BOSS THEME. It's quiet and scary and is a song that you've heard a few times before even all the way back in the beginning of the game. You were MEANT to fight this boss. This is what you were put here to do. You never had a choice as you realize it had been a leitmotif* the whole time in the game.

This song is the epitome of what Bloodborne's music is like. Haunting, intense, intimidating and perfect. Lady Maria stands tall as the Postergirl for the whole DLC expansion: The Old Hunters. Her Song becoming even more haunting when the lyrics are translated (A rare luxury in FromSoft games) Telling the tale of how this whole thing with the fishing village happened and the regret she feels. She isn't a bad guy, she isn't trying to kill you for a bad reason. She just want you to back off and not repeat HER mistake. That whole thing makes an extra layer of sadness to her theme, especially for me who more than repeated it by joining her family's group.

Many out there will wonder which FF soundtrack I think is perfect and while I will tell you my favorite one right after, just for fun. I think this is the best soundtrack they made. Trigger is more the fan favorite but it's soundtrack has some pop culture songs in it which takes me out of it (Robo's theme being the obvious example). This Soundtrack though, oh it fits so well. Not a single song misses the mark. The Music feeling like you've entered into the tropical world of the El Nido archipelago. The composer researching how the music in these places are like to properly recreate it for the soundtrack being the icing on the cake. Here my favorite:

The Opening song accompanying the opening movie paints a picture of the grand journey you are about to go on, and the vast array of unique locations. The Song is beautiful and unique and feels like a song straight out of the world itself, I get lost every time I listen to it.

The swan song for the Turn Based RPG era of Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy X's music plays a pivotal role in the game and fittingly is genuinely beautiful. Feeling like a mixture of sci-fi, Religious and Tropical. The Soundtrack features many amazing beats worth remembering and listening to. I often get lost in the songs. That said not all are album worth and so it's not what I choose as Perfect. But damn is it so close it might as well be.

Auron being the (in my opinion) Best character in the game, if not series, naturally his song is my favorite. He's a man who epitomizes the themes of letting go of the traditions that hold us back and hurt us, and embracing a future where we work towards true happiness. He's the kind of character who I love to cheer and cry about. His music fits him so well that by itself I cry a bit

Of Course I was going to add a fighting game soundtrack. Killer instinct is an amazing special case in fighting game soundtracks. All the songs feel like genuine songs out of an AMAZING album. Each song having a unique feel that explains the character perfectly in every way. Now many love the soundtrack, but why Killer Instinct? Because while I love Guilty Gear's soundtrack as a Silver medal, the soundtrack is poorly mixed in game. Baiken's theme being the best example. I'd show you but it's hard to show via article. But KI does things differently. The soundtrack is dynamic and flows with the flow of combat, making it perfect on that regard alone. On top of that there is the in game mix and the Album mix. Both being great, but the thought to make an album mix makes it all the better. Here's My favorite:

This song is often considered the best in the game. I'm Back to Rise is such a well made song. It's intense and epic while simultaneously tells the story of who TJ Combo is. You get to know him JUST FROM THE SONG ALONE, but you don't sacrifice gameplay. Honestly, I love this OST so much it was the first game soundtrack I actually BOUGHT.

Finally the one that surprises people the most when I tell people: The Sims. The Sims has this great relaxing atmosphere designed to fit in with the retro 60s aesthetic of the game itself. The music is jazzy but in like a GOOD smooth jazz sorta way, while including appropriate other songs when necessary. I often listen to it when I'm out, blending in well with my day to day, while not hindering me like louder soundtracks. Here's my favorite:

Now to me, this shit is so fucking relaxing. I get lost in the beautiful piano solo. I just want to lay down and relax and read a good book, maybe grab a cup of tea with honey and just... relax... Which is perfect for the game. It wants you to feel like that for the fun doll house aesthetic. Building a house in late stage capitalism has never been more fun.

I hope this has been a fun look into my mind and hopefully helped prove my point on what I think makes a perfect soundtrack. If not I hope you at least had fun. Do you have games YOU think have perfect soundtracks? Tell me! I'd love to hear your opinions on what is the BEST Gaming soundtrack!

[bestgirlinc]

Fallout 1 Review

Hiya Folks, I'm back with another review. This time on the game that started the popular Series FALLOUT. Fallout 1 Being a Spiritual Successor to the original Wasteland games was not Interplay's first rodeo with Apocalyptic RPGs and it shows. Fallout 1 if you don't want any SPOILERS and just want a Rundown of whether I think you should play it or not, is amazing. If that's what you are interested in hearing, then smile knowing that I DO think you should play it.

Gameplay: While Rough on first look, the gameplay is intricate and once mastered is a truly wonderful experience. Understanding the game creates a feeling of euphoria as you go from a truly weak character who gets bodied by rats, to a champion capable of turning your enemies to ash or goo in a single action. Companions are the weakest link as they do not level with you and can be a hinderance. Their only uses being to distract enemies, doing small amounts of damage and most importantly, being pack mules by using what I believe are unintended glitches. That said the game itself is fun, and more forgiving than one might initially believe. Sound: The Sound design for Fallout 1 by Mark Morgan is truly something worth listening to. Dreary horrific music that sells the tone of the wasteland and how awful things truly are. My favorite tracks being "City of the Dead" and Acolytes of the New God". City of the Dead selling this dark feeling of just how oppressive the environment you are in is. Acolytes of the New God though is, in my opinion, the best track in the game. It's usage of what feel like warped chimes and percussive rattling as well as chanting makes it truly feel like you have stepped into a cult's lair. The sound being haunting and worthy of a listen just to feel that feeling of knowing you have entered a place that is not a place one should ever have to be in. Story & Characters: The Story is where this game truly shines. Initially starting off as a story of one person going out to find a water chip to save your home of Vault 13, the story gets off the rails in the best of ways. As you travel you find evidence that Mutants best described as SUPER Mutants are being made and at a rate that does not make sense for the rate of exposure and time since the war, the game taking place in 2161 less than a century since the war. The player once the Water Chip is found, is tasked with finding and stopping whoever or whatever is creating these mutants. The villains being aimed at creating a world of Super Mutants that can survive the wasteland and will stop at NOTHING to see their goals achieved. The Pinnacle of the entire series' villains and possibly top 10 villain material period is THE MASTER.

The Master being a Legendary foe who is unlike any other. Having a realistic motivation and scary transformation when you learn of his past. The Master, formerly known as the man Richard Grey, being a transformed monster of a man. His mind lost to the numerous ones he had consumed and his ideas of this being the way it should be. This character truly shines, and while lots of others are great too, The Master who's shadow is cast on the series even to this day, is a shining diamond that shows the true potential of Video Game Villains and Video Game Writing.

That Said It should not surprise you to say this game has entered into my favorite video games list. Wonderful story, wonderful world building, wonderful writing and even pretty darn good gameplay create a game unlike any other that I cannot emphasize enough I think you should play if you are able to.

10/10

See you next time we hit the wasteland.

[bestgirlinc]

Outer Wilds Review

Hey Folks, thanks to @wolfykooly I have played through the entire game, Outer Wilds. The game was provided by her and she was there the entire time I played it. She's a cool person and a good artist so if you see this check her out. Spoilers for both game and the DLC Echoes of the Eye ahead

Gameplay: The gameplay is simple. You explore, you learn you follow the rules of the universe of the game, et cetera. Overall it is good gameplay. The game runs in a seemingly clunky way but it feels natural and I think it works. The gameplay may be clunky but it's fun as a whole. The only downside is that the game has these Anglerfish things that make the ending VERY anger inducing as you have to avoid them. The game itself is fun, I wish maybe there was less resets, as the game has a Rogue-lite death mechanic.

Sound: The music is really good. Fits the tone of the game perfectly and honestly is extremely listenable. It blends in well and when you notice it, it feels just right and truly becomes an enjoyable experience.

Story & Characters: The Story itself is weird, goes all over the place and has to be pieced together. But to be honest, that ain't a bad thing. The game provides a story that I think works really well. The characters are mostly okay. Most of them are interesting but not really ones I'd write home about. That said, the two non Hearthians (The species you and the other explorers are) are really interesting and enjoyable. I think they both are interesting and I definitely love seeing them.

The plot of Echoes of the Eye is much better in my opinion than the main game. You learn about and explore this new structure and learn about the history of the place and its mysteries. Stealth sections and mind bending puzzles. It was quite enjoyable.

I think I'd give it a and 8/10 it was fun, but had some issues. It isn't perfect, but it is really good and I overall loved it. I would definitely recommend.

[bestgirlinc]

Fighting Game Opinions Part 5

To commemorate my new Blog I will be taking about my FAVORITE fighting game: Skullgirls! I adore the game as it gives me basically everything I want out of a fighting game: Good Single Player Content, Good fluid gameplay, great music. The game is probably the only game that I never get tired of, and always remain excited for.

I love the story mode for the game. Every character has a story, every character also has a slightly different story in the Arcade mode. This is what I prefer in fighting games, every character gets a chance to actually be learned and understood both in gameplay and personality. This makes you able to truly know which ones you like and why. It isn't just who looks the coolest or the hottest it's about who's gameplay, story and personality truly meshes with you personally. I think this just works better as a game than the ways Guilty Gear and Mortal Kombat do it, sadly.

I love the soundtrack so much. My favorite of the composers being Michiru Yamane who utterly decimates every song she does. Being a veteran from the amazing Castelvania: Symphony of the Night. She is a great composer who makes some great music. Overall I am very happy with the quality of the overall music.

The Gameplay is fun and fluid. I love the Team system being rewarding no matter how many characters are on a team. The custom combo system being so nice to use as it feels very wonderful. Even if I don't actually play the game very well, I feel good when I do it right anyways. The game is fun, fluid and dynamic and I love it.

I actually have been playing it since the original release which should tell you how much I adore the game as a whole. Bought all the DLC for the original release and the current release. I love it a whole lot. Probably the only fighting game I can give a 10/10. It gives me everything I want.

My Favorite Girl is:

Valentine, sure, she is visually appealing. But I actually adore her story and personality. Tough and sly she is a mystery who was forced to work with the Skullgirl and Double. The last survivor of an Anti-Skullgirl lab she is interesting and always a little mysterious. I love her so much, plus her gameplay is fun and great.

Best boy is:

Beowulf! He's loud he is not the brightest boy in the world, he's amazing. I love this boy so much. His story of trying to find redemption for his past and wanting to truly be the man he pretends to be is endearing and lovely. I love him so much he's such a great dude.

Since it isn't a series I can't review the whole thing, so I'll say that despite the current legal issues it is in pulling it down a bit, the game itself is still a 10/10 for me. Course if anything came up I would lower it easily.

[bestgirlinc]

Soulsborne Blogs: Dark Souls Remastered

Hey Folks My first new Review of this account is part of a thing I will occasionally do called Soulsborne Blogs. With this I will go through the games made my Miyazaki and his team that we consider part of the overarching Soulsborne... Ring... Shadows Die Twice... series? Either way I hope you like it as I dive into the SECOND game in this series: DARK SOULS Specifically Dark Souls Remastered

SPOILERS

Gameplay: It's an early Souls game so it is a bit on the tough side but the gameplay by itself is not bad. Learning to parry is key in my opinion as just blindly using a shield makes the game much more boring. So Parrying is key when not using a Catalyst, Talisman or Pyromancy Flame to cast spells. Not every enemy can be parried but the ones that can will have you thanking me and yourself for wanting to and committing to earning how to parry with your shield. Besides that I will say there ARE some scuffs in the game as a whole though. Not with the primary gameplay but the actual level design. The game's interconnected nature makes it kind of a pain to travel through. Having to figure out the right direction by itself can be a pain as it doesn't tell you till you hit a wall that you went the wrong direction. On top of that many of the bonfires are a bit farther away than I would prefer them to be. I personally would have preferred a more Demon's souls approach of making shortcuts available more readily so I can zoom to the boss whenever I lose to try again rather than the long treks some of these bosses have.

Sound: The Music is good, it is definitely fitting for the dark and horrific nature of the game as a whole. I will admit that there aren't too many things that overall stand out to me sadly. That's not to say it is bad but nothing ever really stood out to me when I played it. Weirdly enough it stood out more when Listened to by itself so it may be a sound design issue and not the soundtrack itself as Songs like Pinwheel and Priscilla's themes stand out when listening on its own. That said the soundtrack does feel a LITTLE same-y at times. The Songs do start to blend together just a tad. Could have probably used a bit more diversity in sounds for the game. That could be due to story reasons but still I feel like maybe could have used a bit more.

Story & Characters: The Story and characters of the main game are mostly good. I think that there aren't too many standouts though. Solaire, Priscilla and Quelaag plus her family were all interesting but the story as a whole felt like there wasn't a whole lot of agency besides when the Firekeeper was killed and then it was just cause the best bonfire was destroyed. The Story involves Lords from long ago defeating the dragons with the power of their flames that they obtained. Many eons have passed since that day and what eventually became a major civilization had eventually fallen apart as the First Flame began to dim. Afraid of the inevitable the king was the first to link it but now it is up to the "Chosen Undead" (you) to link it (Or not) to keep the cycle going (Or begin a new age embracing the inevitable age of Darkness). It's not a bad story, but nothing happens in the plot itself. It's mostly you fulfilling an ancient prophecy with nothing else to come of it plot wise. Plus many side quests are hard to track which makes not many characters stand out themselves besides the rare stand outs like Patches, Solaire and the like.

That said none of this applies to the Artorias of the Abyss DLC expansion. The Story and characters of THAT are 10/10. I absolutely adore the whole thing. You save a princess get sent back in time to when things were happening with the promise of meeting a man who had been hyped up in the main game quite a bit as the man who beat the abyss only to find he lost in reality and you had to kill him. The question then becoming "Wait who beat it then" Only for you to realize that it was in fact YOU who fought alongside Sif to Kill Manus and save the Princess in the past. It was so cool to play and learn about. I felt like I had been given the agency I needed. I was the one who did this, I has made my mark on the world's history. The tragedy was beautiful. Artorias trying to save the day but dying and never knowing he would be celebrated as a hero. Us knowing WE were the ones who did it, but because we were a hero lost out of time knowing we would never get the proper glory we deserved. It was Tragic and Beautiful and exactly what I needed in this game.

Overall probably an 8/10 or so. Artorias really made this game a fun experience. The Game has issues that cannot raise it to the TRULY GREAT status but overall I enjoy the game and feel like it is truly good that it helped create a new subgenre of Action RPGs

[bestgirlinc]

Skyward Sword HD

Beat Skyward Sword HD, been around a decade since I beat the Wii version gotta say Gameplay wise better but like… still not perfect, not a fan, music was great orchestral revamped sound was great, story had ups and downs still not a fan of the reincarnation concept they gave Link, Zelda and Ganondorf, Characters were great, especially Fi and Groose who felt to me like they had a full character arc and became truly likable, especially with no battery warnings or Rupee screens. Artstyle was good I liked the watercolor look it has, Link's lips are still funny with how large they are. Locations were a little lackluster as the repeating of the 3 areas multiple times was grating and made me wish for new environments no Snow, no haunted house, no unique locations really except the time mechanic in the sand area which… eh… Heck give the water temples shit all ya want but they have personality at least. So lots of negatives BUT I liked it, the characters had so much heart and the music was so good that the failings ended up overlooked by how much I enjoyed Seeing Fi, Zelda and Groose and even Impa eventually and the side characters too. So outta 10 I'd say a 7.5/10

[bestgirlinc]

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (Switch)

Beat it nearly 100%, just missing some remaining Dampe Chamber challenges. Gameplay: Overall I'd say really good. The physics had some issues on the crane game bit but overall it was really good. Lots of bits adding to each other making the gameplay surprisingly rich. Only problem is the Dampe stuff which is pretty tedious after a while. It felt like they wanted a Mario Maker style thing but couldn't commit. Really woulda preferred the Photographer.

Sound: Really good overall. As a remake of a remake of a Gameboy game there's obviously not a ton of diversity in sound but it makes up for it with a ton of heart. Even with most of the songs being without orchestrated soundtrack, as far as I could tell, the music was still heartfelt and lovely. Story & Characters: Combining the two cause as a Remake of a Gameboy game there isn't a ton here. That said what there IS, is a sweet game with a bittersweet ending. Marin is great and by herself lands herself as one of my favorite Zelda characters. Her dream of wanting to see beyond her island, Her sweet singing and her sad realization of the reality of her world made her in my opinion a surprisingly 3 Dimensional character for a remake of an 8-Bit game. The story is bittersweet as it blares loudly what will happen but the ending is inevitable. It creates a sense of sadness underneath the sadness. The little silver linings in the ending and perfect ending help ease the pain though. Overall I'd say 9/10 Really good tightly packed game. Not Perfect by any means but I still loved it and would 100% it again.

[bestgirlinc]

Fighting Game Opinions part 1

Previous posts I personally have done have all been Zelda so I thought it'd be fun to post something about a genre I can't really review in a normal way: Fighting Games. I'll tell Y'all my opinions about them instead. Starting with Street Fighter. My Thoughts on the series as a whole are mixed. I think 1 is bad, 2 could be better, 4 is not bad not great just if I were to be generous, just sorta good, gameplay is overall fine but the graphics are... not good, and 5 is a mixed bag some good, some bad some great. My Favorite one though is the same as most fighting game fans: Street Fighter 3 3rd Strike

Overall I think the game is great. The cast is amazing with characters like Ibuki, Makoto, Q, Remy, Dudley, Hugo (With Poison), Alex and more. The returning characters from 2 are good rocks to go to for those unfamiliar with the amazing weirdos of 3's newcomers. Said Newcomers being Chun-Li, Ryu, Ken and Akuma. The Art is great, characters are expressive, movements have are fluid and the attacks have an impact to them. The Music is amazing and has a great style, the hip hop feel to the music gives the game an intense uniqueness. Overall if you wanted my opinion on Street Fighter as a whole the series is okay 6.5/10. While I love many characters the games themselves always have some issue that keeps the games being considered great to me. The Exception being 3, which I give a 8.5/10, only not being any higher due to being an older game with no major story mode or anything. That said if they ever ported the PS3 Version I'd give it a 9/10 as it has a ton of great features. Challenge modes, little mid battle challenges, other sorts of features that benefit Single Player types. That version is the best one in my opinion, but the version that you can buy is an 8.5 great, not perfect but a pretty damn great game. That said since it's fighting games the characters are most important so I'll tell you my Favorite characters Favorite Girl is Poison She's cool, she's attractive, she has an amazing personality, she's trans. I absolutely adore Poison. One of my favorite fighting game characters ever, bar none.

Favorite Guy is Dan He's goofy, he's funny, he tries his best, he's a good dude. I love the amazing failure that is Dan Hibiki. Dude is just a fucking fun character.

Of Course, if you are wondering, I am excited for SF6. It looks good and more like SF3 than any other game. I like the new roster, the stages the art and overall what I see. But Time will tell if it only LOOKS good or is good.