Recent reviews by Explos

good (true)

Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a spin-off of the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series set in 1860s Japan. The game's story is based on that of the historic figure Sakamoto Ryoma's, but with many additions and changes that make it much more entertaining and bring it more in line with the rest of the series.

Ishin! has a huge cast of characters, the majority of which are loosely based on historical figures, all primarily being portrait by various characters from games within the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series. The bulk of the characters in Ishin! are portrayed by characters who have similar personalities to those that they are portraying, however, the characters in Ishin! still manage to stand apart and feel distinct from the ones they are portrayed by.

The world of Ishin! is one that feels familiar to other worlds within the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, the crowded streets and substories encounters scattered all throughout the world are exactly as you would expect from any game in the series. But the overall setting of 1800s Japan makes the world feel very distinct and unique from the rest of the series, leaving Ishin! feeling somewhat refreshing despite it's overall similarities with the rest of the series.

The combat in Ishin! plays the same as other games Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, the main difference to the combat here is the unique combat styles present in the game, Swordsman, Gunman and Wild Dancer. These three combat styles are each very distinct from one another and each have their own uses. Swordsman sees you utilising a katana for close one-on-one combat, Gunman lets you use a firearm for a variety of ranged attacks, and Wild Dancer combines both sword and gun into a more all-round combat style. The game also features brawler combat style which plays similar to the hand-to-hand combat typically seen in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games. Overall the combat feels well balanced, although the Gunman style can easily trivialise much of the game's combat by staying at range.

Ishin! also introduces the trooper card system. While originally constrained to a side mode, the remake of Ishin! now allows you to utilise trooper cards throughout the whole game. This system allows you to assign various cards that grant various abilities when used, these can range from small temporary buffs to damage to unique powerful attacks. The cards have a cooldown between uses to prevent you from spamming their abilities. The rarer cards can be massively overpowered, allowing you to trivialise any encounter. The cards don't seem too bad in the context of the side mode, but utilising them during the main story will destroy any sense of challenge the game could have provided.

Ishin! also has a wide assortment of side content available. Much of the typical side content found in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon games is present, such as gambling minigames, karaoke, and the arena. However Ishin! also comes with an assortment of new side content, buyo dancing, chicken racing, cooking and tending to your farm. The side content in Ishin! is all good and offers a lot of variety, providing you with a huge assortment of interesting things to do outside of the main story.

Overall, Like a Dragon: Ishin! is a unique spin on the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series that feels familiar yet provides an experience that is both unique and engaging. The world, story and gameplay are all excellent and all come together to make Ishin! a game worth playing.

Persona 5 Royal is an enhanced re-release of Persona 5 featuring a multitude of improvements, changes and new content.

The core of Persona 5 Royal's story is mostly unchanged from that of the original release, with the majority of changes being subtle rewrites and translation improvements. Persona 5 Royal does introduce a couple entirely new scenes to the original story, but these mostly serve as a way to introduce characters and set up events for Royal's third semester. These new story scenes overall feel cohesive with the original story, however, the placement of some of the new story scenes can feel a little jarring - primarily due to them being added into an already jam-packed schedule.

The bulk of the new content added in Persona 5 Royal takes place after the main events of Persona 5's story wrap up, with the introduction of the game's third semester. Introducing a new (mostly) self-contained story-arc and new dungeon, the gameplay of the third semester is exactly what you will have come to expect up to this point.

The story of Royal's third semester is well written and provides an interesting experience that feels both familiar yet fresh. The story takes steps away from the main game's story to stand on its own yet remains close enough that it never feels as if it shouldn't belong. While the story is well written, one downside to the third semester is its length. The story features some interesting concepts not present in the main game, but due to the third semester only lasting for approximately one month in game, I don't feel as if they are explored to the fullest of their potential.

Persona 5 Royal also introduces a multitude of gameplay changes:

Confidants have been re-balanced, with availability, point distribution and skill ranks being adjusted for certain confidants. Confidants now also typically feature an additional "follow-up" scene that takes place as a phone call after returning home, giving you an additional chance to gain points towards a confidant. Along with the changes to confidants, the amount of free time you get has been adjusted with Royal giving you significantly more free time at night. These changes come together to make the daily life segments of the game flow more smoothly.

The battle system has also seen some changes, most notably, baton passes no longer need to be unlocked for each character. The baton pass system has also been greatly expanded, now allowing you to chain together passes, granting you more options when formulating a strategy during battles.

Mementoes has also had various changes made to it, with new music and collectables you can exchange for items present throughout. However, the biggest change is the addition of stamps, these are found scattered randomly through each of the blocks and can be exchanged to enable buffs within mementoes such as granting increased exp or money. The addition of stamps also gives you much more reason to actually explore mementoes outside of completing requests. However, attempting to collect every stamp can become a little monotonous as, just like with mementoes itself, the placement of many of the stamps is entirely random meaning you will often find yourself running up and down a block repeatedly hoping that you find a floor layout that actually contains a stamp.

The palaces also see changes in Royal. While not being entirely different, many of the palaces feature layout changes that allow for them to flow a little smoother. Royal also introduces a grappling hook which is integrated into the palaces typically as a way to access hidden areas, introducing a little more variation to how secrets are hidden. Another addition in Royal is the introduction of Will Seeds, a new type of collectable found within palaces. Will Seeds serve to restore your SP, helping to make clearing a palace in one go a little more feasible, and upon collecting them all reward you with a trinket. One other change seen in the majority of palaces are the boss fights, many of which now feature entirely new phases or mechanics, these changes serve to both re-balance the fights but also help them to feel fresh to anyone who already played the original release.

Overall, Persona 5 Royal is the definitive way to experience Persona 5. With its multitude of changes that serve to streamline the experience, it offers improved gameplay, a more strategic battle system, and a reduction of annoyances that all come together to make the game much more enjoyable.

gar

Good puzzle game with a good variety in level design.

also you murder bunny

It ok

Play Omori

it's like steam, but vr

Is not a game

It's bad.