Recent reviews by JTPlays

By all intents and purposes, this game is awesome. It was more awesome before it went to consoles, since then you have the whole controversy over censorship (it's not as bad as people say but still annoying) and a whole host of legitimately game breaking bugs which is unacceptable. Evidence can fall underneath the floor or out of bounds of the player, main suspects who need to be arrested can glitch between walls and floors of buildings making them unable to be detained, suspect casualties can just not give you a button prompt to secure them, the list goes on.

So yes, this game is great, when it works. But about 75% of the time now, it doesn't. Hold off until major patches are made to address these actual game breaking bugs.

It doesn't come close to Chrono Trigger but that's OK, it's its own thing and it should be. I think you should definitely play CT beforehand due to how much it relies on that game's story but be prepared for a completely different tone and gameplay experience.

This game drags a bit from about hour 3-10 but once you get to Fort Dragonia it picks up and stays amazing until credits. The story is touching, endearing, and gives some much needed closure to my two favorite character from CT despite how little screentime they had in that game. It suffers from some third act exposition dumps that could have been foreshadowed more or just handled more gracefully in the moment but the information is still great if you've played CT.

The battle system is completely unique and really fun, until you fight your 800th normal enemy encounter and it starts to get a little tedious, the bosses are really unique and enjoyable. The cast however is way too large and besides their innate element color, don't play differently from each other at all and very few of them have any real depth. The ones who do have depth though are fantastic, Fargo, Karsh, Glenn, Leena, Radius, Kid etc. are all wonderful additions and the game really could have benefited from keeping these who have real plot relevance and cutting the rest.

Mitsuda did the music. That's the critique. He's a genius, end of story.

Besides my issues with pacing at the beginning and heavy handed lore dumps at the end, the cast list being so large, and normal encounters being tedious, this game really is great. It stands on its own and as a very good follow up to one of the best games ever made. While it doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor, it's a great game just on its own merits. I'm glad I finally got around to finishing it after 6 years of playing the first two hours and dropping it, you need to meet it a little more than half way for a bit but once it gets going it really does impress with just how polished it is.

I've read a lot about technical issues with this port, I didn't run into any myself, I was also playing with the special-k mod and some model swappers with a CRT filter and it ran and looked fantastic. This port obviously works best modded.

8/10

This demo, the last available level in particular, is peak. The more checkpoints makes the game a lot more about shorter, more difficult sprints in which you learn and adapt to the spawn points and attack timings of the section, rather than longer brutal gauntlets through a whole level. The platforming in 3-4 specifically was awesome, lots of timed damage boosting jumps and the in-air attack boost to do a ring of flying enemies to get to the higher rooftops then just classic precision timed platforming across falling platforms. Really cool game, I'm stoked for the full release.

This game is just peak. It's cinema. Best soundtrack since Final Fantasy VIII, best story told in a JRPG, they refuse to pull any punches when it comes to making you feel some of the most uncomfortable emotions a human can experience. The characters feel real, flawed, lovable, hateable, human. The story beats are jawdropping from the first 10 minutes all the way to the end with some of the most well thought out and brilliantly foreshadowed plot twists in a narrative game I've ever seen.

The combat system is fantastic, a mix of real time parrying and dodging with turn-based combat inspired by Persona. However it is where my very very few criticisms of this game come in. The majority of enemy attacks have a very specific sound cue for when you need to parry, on normal and hard mode this is a 6 frame window for you to not take damage. However, on about 10% of enemy attacks, this sound cue flat out does not exist, and even on some attacks that have the cue, there are other sound effects for the attack happening near simultaneously so that your ear cannot reliably differentiate the sound because of the interval between the two. This makes certain boss fights a slog if you're insane like me and are playing nothing but glass cannons and trying to be a parry lord.

The game is breathtakingly gorgeous, the landscapes in this game belong in a museum of fine art. The last boss fights are in some of the most incredible locations you could ever put into a game.

This game is a work of art, a true once in a generation masterpiece that stands toe-to-toe with some of the giants of its genre and holds its own. This is the Final Fantasy IV, the Chrono Trigger, the Final Fantasy VII of this generation. It wears its influences on its sleeves while taking only the best parts of each and transforming it into something wholly unique and beautiful. I honestly cannot believe this game got made in the age that we're in but here we are.

92 hours 36 minutes to get to the end screen. What a freaking game, that's what 1 wanted to be. The ending was great although, I wish I could have killed von Aulitz myself, and Eric got off easy (I hope theres a 3rd game to get that loser). It was truly a one of a kind experience and well worth the 7 year wait. I was saying depending on the ending it may become my favorite game ever, I'd have to do a lot of thinking on that.

The themes were handled so well, the battles were massive and brilliantly executed, the characters felt truly real and like they reacted to everything the player wanted to do. The last two scenes were beautiful, wrapping up the players own thoughts on the journey and the overarching narrative. It's high on my list for sure, miles better than 1 (which is brilliant in its own right but suffered under the weight of its ambition and budget) but I think with a more drawn out narrative conclusion it could have been even better.

The combat has seen so many refinements and improvements, the new weapon types are all fun to try out. The main issue I have with the story pacing is just how much reliance on stealth there is, which is a double edged sword because I love how much subterfuge and guerrilla warfare tactics are employed. If you loved the first game despite the jank and the rough edges, then this game will serve up everything you could possibly want in a sequel, it doesn't reinvent, it refines.

Is this Ninja Gaiden 2? Yes.
Is this Vanilla NG2? No.
Is this better than Sigma 2? Yes.
Is it good? Yes.
Probably the definitive way to play this game without playing on 360 or emulation.

A fantastic interpretation of the best horror game of all time and one of the best games in general. The soul of the story is still in tact, the performances from the cast are mostly incredible start to finish (Laura's voice actress stole the show), the redesigned and longer layouts of each interior section keeps the game fresh for people who have played the original dozens of times despite some annoying long enemy encounters, and it's just a great game to play.

Some issues people have with some redone scenes I can understand (the labyrinth section comes to mind) but I also personally love the way it was done in this version. You can see the pain and anguish in James' face and the less overtly evil tone for the other character in the scene just adds to the torture that James is experiencing more than just a shocking reveal of who this character really is.

This game is also legitimately terrifying, the original is creepy and unsettling and psychologically horrifying, this game is all of those plus having an actually nightmarish experience going through these dark twisted hallways with no clue what's behind each corner. Play it with the lights off, headphones on, Dualsense controller (if you have it) and you will know what I mean. Never being able to escape the disgusting sounds coming from the radio or the heartbeat pulsing through the controller and the fear of what could possibly be in each room you enter took me back to the renaissance of mid-2000s horror games. Add into that one of the most tragic, beautiful, depressing stories in all of gaming and you get a true masterpiece.

We need more remakes like this and Resident Evil 4. Update the gameplay and graphics, maybe reinterpret some things that were flaws in the original or just could have landed better with new technology, but keep the soul of the game in tact. That's what this game does flawlessly.

It's the best way to play two of the greatest video games ever made. (Now the only way to play Soul Reaver 1 unless you bought it before they took it down for some stupid reason). Soul Reaver 1 has amazing puzzling and platforming with a compelling story. Soul Reaver 2 has mediocre combat, worse puzzles but has the story beats that most fans of the series love above all else. I had a couple bugs in the remaster, I crashed one time in SR1 right at the door to the final boss which made me do the entire dungeon again then a platform bugged and I had to find a work around with the bug itself and shifting in order to get past it because it didn't reset upon quitting the game (also in the final dungeon).
Soul Reaver 2 for some reason has black boxes of missing textures on top of the altars in the Air Forge but only in the remastered graphics??
Anyway, these games are fantastic and you can tell a lot of love and care went into remastering these timeless classics.
Soul Reaver 1: 10/10
Soul Reaver 2: 8/10
Remaster Collection: 9/10

Awesome game. The boss quality 90% of the time ranges from good to great, the 10% of bosses that are lazy or just not that fun however stand out a lot more because the overall quality is so high.

The combat is fun, lots of customization options, being able to respec whenever you want is one of the best aspects of the game since it encourages build variation and different strategies. Normally with "souls-like" games (I do have trouble calling this souls-like though, it's more God of War with limited heals and a bonfire system) I don't enjoy cheesing bosses or using super overpowered moves cause it trivializes otherwise fun challenges. That's not the case here, bosses by endgame are basically pure cheese with the final boss going so far as to fully break established mechanics of the game and basically cheat, CHEESE AWAY BROTHERS!

The story is ok, I didn't really understand much of it, it's kind of just a series of barely connected events that relies more on emotion than actual storytelling which is fine. I like the story more than Elden Ring's though. The music is top tier absolutely gorgeous, the music videos between each chapter had my jaw on the floor each time with how beautiful they are and the music that accompanies them.

8/10 game, overall amazing but the bad parts, while few, stick out like a sore thumb.

Edit: Be warned, running on a 3060Ti with an i5-12600KF, this game has crashed outright 7 times, and has had 3 black screens that never resolved resulting in me having to Alt-F4. Somehow this port runs worse than the version on Epic?? I'll still recommend it because the games themselves are amazing and Epic sucks, but this should not be happening.

The best, most convoluted, awe-inspiring, awkward, well written, horribly written, fun, frustrating, and emotional JRPG series is on Steam now! What's not to love?? KH1 and 2 are two of the best games for the PS2 and two of the best stories ever told in gaming. KH1 has a horrible camera and frustrating platforming. KH2 has an incredibly convoluted and confusing story. Even despite their clear faults, they still hold up after over 20 years, maybe it's nostalgia but every time I hear Simple and Clean or Sanctuary I get misty eyed.

If you want to experience two powerhouse classic games, this is the best way to do it. You also get a (very mediocre) card game that takes place in-between 1 and 2 and a beautiful cinematic collection that is 358/2 Days (which you should watch *after* KH2 if it's your first time). I'm not gonna get into the Birth By Sleep debate but that's here too (and it's pretty awesome...) These games are definitely all flawed but I don't care, they're special and will always be my comfort games that I go back to at least once a year.

10/10