Recent reviews by Eltia

8/10

The good:

• lots of jobs and abilities to choose from;
  
• music composed by Revo;
  
• some early bosses require planning and strategies;
  
• the mini-game B & D is player friendly;
  
• references / tributes to early Final Fantasy titles (such as air fortress from FFII, cursed shield from FFVI, Gloria is a tribute to Leila from FFV);
  
• the Steam version is well polished at release;
  
• Adelle has a cute Japanese voice.

The bad:

• the price;
  
• mannequin like character models are not to everyone's liking (they look fine in some costumes);
  
• the plot is straight forward and resembles Final Fantasy V;
  
• JP and job equipment grinding (only required for achievement);
  
• the English voice acting ain't as good as their Japanese counterpart (could use a younger voice for Gloria who is 20 years old).

The ugly:

• lack of Steam Cloud support;
  
• some job / ability combination break the game's balance, such as Beastmaster and Phantom / Salve-Maker.

Bottomline:

The game is worth about $25. more if you are a fan of Final Fantasy V. If you are looking to experience Bravely Default series and Revo's music, this game is an excellent opportunity. Personally, I prefer this game over Octopus Traveller.

Nominated for the "Best Soundtrack" award 2021.

Update: Thank you for adding Cloud saving support!

Nominated for Labor of Love Award 2020.

Remember Me caught my attention because of my interest in DONTNOD before they produced Life is Strange.

I'm not disappointed.

The visual in the cyberpunk world has a French vibe in it. The memory mixing mechanic can be seen as an early incarnation of Rewind ability in Life is Strange. You can also see some resemblance of characters in to the characters in Life is Strange 1 (such as Victoria).

The story is a build up of the big reveal towards the end (the identities of the protagonist and antagonist). Not too predictable but not a complete surprise.

The combat is probably the weakest aspect of this game. The combat boils down to punching buttons in a specific order. The player can introduce variation by assigning different properties (damage, recovery, combo buildup) to the order of the button. The combat lacks vertical movement, which makes it pretty dull.

The solution to defeating some bosses are not too clear. Some guess works maybe required.

Remember Me serves as a good predecessor project to DONTNOD before Life is Strange. The game itself, though dated and has its own flaw, offers good value and experience. Are you looking for a filler item for your Steam discount? Look no further!

The Good:

• it offers a genuine Final Fantasy experience. The story and music are in the Final Fantasy genre. While the graphics are not cutting edge, the Chibi design factor can be viewed as returning to the franchise's root;
  
• various tributes to previous Final Fantasy titles: characters, location, story elements and mascots;
  
• stacking system is new. Instead of laying out party members horizontally, you stack them (sort of like giant robot fusion in anime).

The Bad:

• the user interface is very convoluted. It takes a lot of steps to do basic, common operation. e.g. I have to go through about five windows just to see the abilities offered by a stack. There is no search function to find units with a specific ability;
  
• unit capturing mechanic need improvement. Some capturing condition are too strict. Often you want to capture a specific unit, spend time to encounter it, only fail to capture it because of failing to fulfill the capture condition;
  
• only one save slot is available;
  
• backup your saved games! This game doesn't support Steam Cloud backup.

The Ugly:

• the Maxima DLC should be a free upgrade. Right now it feels like Square-Enix releases an unfinished product, then bundle a big quality of life update with a bunch of perks into a DLC. The result is adding to customer's frustration on top of the already convoluted user interface design;
  
• the game could lock up your PC if the game terminates abnormally (either it crashes or via Alt-F4) and attempts a restart; (Could be a nVidia specific problem)
  
• this game has some of the worst mini-game design, ever. One Mirage is locked behind one of these mini-games (which is mostly RNG based)! The only mini-game that isn't too frustrating to play is available in the Maxima DLC only.

Bottom line:

As an effort to commemorate the Final Fantasy series' 30th anniversary, this is a wonderful project. Though some of the details feel unpolished: the UI design feels convoluted, some of the quality of life changes should be made available as free updates (e.g. 12 active unit slots and Champion Jewels) and the way the Maxima DLC is structured is not good business practise.

If you are looking forward to buy this game, get the Maxima edition. Not only does It offer more content, but more importantly it fixes the base game to some degree.

Best couch co-op game I have played so far! Requires a bit of teamwork but nothing two dedicated gamers can't overcome.

This is an early hands on review, to give people some ideas about how the game feels like from a JRPG veteran's perspective. As such this review will be updated again when I play the game in the future.

What to expect:

• a good port. A wide array of configuration options are available. 4K display is selectable but wouldn't stick (the game would revert back to 1440p). Solid 60 FPS on a dated PC (GTX 980, 8GB RAM, i4670, Win10 Pro x64) on 1440p and max graphics setting;
  
• hand drawn pixel arts. Yup, they are all there. To add to that, they are blended with modern lighting and graphic effects;
  
• combat system. It reminds me of Xenogear's combat system in which you can choose to store power orbs and unleash them in combos. Each enemy has their own vulnerability (such as weapon type or elements). Breaking an enemy not only enhance damage and chance of skill to proc (like Steal), but also make the enemy skips a turn. Weapons can be switched by a single press of a key;
  
• level of difficulty. While most enemies can be disposed of by cycling break > attack, Path bosses require some preparation (both logistic and strategy). Put in some thinking and they shouldn't pose any difficulty;
  
• music. As someone who grew up with music composed by Nobuo and Sugiyama, the soundtracks are not on their tiers. I would rank it a little lower than Nier's tier.

What not to expect:

• length. A casual playthrough to the first boss took me about 90 minutes, of which about 10 minutes are experimenting with the game. Estimated completion time (from Switch users) is around 50-80 hours, YMMV;
  
• not even close to a FF6 remake. Octopus Traveller isn't even a FF game. But it does have the nostalgia feel from the classic JPRG;
  
• pricing. Well for the same price you can get Resident Evil 2 Remake (plus some pocket change). Both offers a sense of nostalgia, but one has been released for a while back, has a playable demo and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Nier: Automata, despite being notorious for its PC port, costs a lot less and offers more depths. Dragon Quest XI sets a new bar for JRPG yet it doesn't have an imposing price tag.

A bold marketing strategy requires some luck to succeed. Best of luck to Square-Enix if their plan is to handle future "nostalgia pixel JRPG" the same way they handle Octopath Traveller.

9/10

The good:

• no more Soul Memory from DS2 and the game follows the Soul Level system from DS1;
  
• multiplayer matching is seamless and now incorporates weapon upgrade tiers;
  
• closure to the many memorable characters from DS1; (Yes, this includes Gwyn's First Born)
  
• most of the maps are well designed. A few do feel like it's dragging the game on but luckily they ain't big maps;
  
• music, environment and atmosphere are wonderful as usual;
  
• four different endings (be sure to check out the secret ending as it's probably the canon one);
  
• you can respec your characters up to five times per playthrough;
  
• four ring slots (upgraded from two ring slots in previous entries).

The bad:

• ranking up Covenants feel like grinding. Some of them are actually faster to grind offline. The Rank 2 Covenant rewards are pretty niche. You might still want to level up your Covenants for achievement;
  
• Luck stat seems like an after thought;
  
• Faith build is a bit OP but you can prepare for it;
  
• each boss has some weakness you can exploit (which is fine). But some bosses (including the DLC bosses) could die ridiculously easy if you exploit their weakness in a certain way;

The ugly:

• bugs. Sometimes you can't enter fog door as helper phantom;
  
• final boss to Soul series. It's fitting but it's not to everyone's liking. YMMV;
  
• spell casting in general is not as good as melee. Consider mixing some melee into your mage build;
  
• ganking, hackers, etc;
  
• what happens to Dragon Form??

Bottom line:

• as at the time of the writing, you can probably buy the game with DLC for $15-20. The content is well worth the price;
  
• if you are new to Soul series, it may actually not such a bad idea to play DS3 as your first Soul game. If you do, consider DS1 to be the prequel. This way you will appreciate DS3 more. There are a few ties in to DS2 but you can always read about them;
  
• I still rank DS1 higher than DS3, but DS3 is definitely the more polished game.

The Neon Genesis Evangelion of JRPG 9/10

The Good:

• stylish characters;
  
• phenomenal music (be sure to check out the orchestral collection);
  
• plot twist and multiple endings;
  
• good looking environment;
  
• fluid combat;
  
• depth of world lores.

The Bad:

• crappy port; (be sure to install FAR mod);
  
• depressing (but fitting) themes.

The Ugly:

• Square-Enix;
  
• still crappy port;
  
• no GOTY upgrade nor purchase option for standard edition owners.

Bottom line:

Despite all the flaws in the PC port, this game deserves a 9/10. Don't forget to take 2B's panty shots, for science achievement.

There are JRPGs, and there is Dragon Quest. And this eleventh entry has done something unique. 10/10

The Good:

• the story is divided into three acts with increasing difficulties. New players can learn about the game along the way;
  
• cutscene are well done;
  
• characters are loveable and relatable;
  
• no level grinding required. You no longer need to chase after those sneaky metal slimes and pray for critical hits.

The Bad:

• some quests are anonying. e.g. to unlock certain (important) skill trees, you have to defeat a pair of monster with two sets of combined attacks;
  
• the later part of act 3 feels like a foraging and crafting fest. I believe I clocked in about 10 hours just for these activities. Entirely optional though;
  
• the western voice acting doesn't seem to fit very well with Sugiyama's music. You might want to disable voices and re-enable them until the ending;
  
• continuity problem in act 3.

The Ugly:

• new Switch features might not be available on PC version;
  
• it's 2019 and the game features MIDI quality soundtracks. Please install Orchestral Overhaul mod for your own sanity.

Overall:

DQ XI has set a new bar for JRPG. It's well polished and newbie friendly. Act 3 is a love letter to DQ veterans. Some might not like the transition from act 2 to act 3. I recommend you to keep playing: as the story unfolds further, things would balance themselves out.

Game is addictive (but luckily it's not a long game). Did you say you love cats? Well then this game is for you!

Gameplay wise it's nothing groundbreaking (hack and slash RPG). Gentlebros did a very good job in borrowing various RPG elements from successful franchise (pretty sure they are big fan of Final Fantasy series), integrate and translate them into a fluid experience.

You only need to master four spells (maybe less) to beat the game with ease. If you figure it out early you should be able to power level yourself and reduce the grinding.

Looking forward to Cat Quest II.