Recent reviews by ShuShay

Retro to a fault at times, and doesn't really shake up the genre. Thankfully, it's streamlined enough to the point where the normal mode is not as hard or as punishing as some of the negative reviews make it seem.

Thoughtful gameplay is definitely rewarded, and the weapon variety is nice.

The hard mode is essentially the second half of the game, so the length is longer than it looks, too. But I didn't feel like spending much time with that one, especially after the difficulty spike near the end of the normal mode. (Don't worry; it wasn't anywhere near as crazy as the perfect ending in Cave Story.)

I think Kero Blaster is a worth a shot for fans of NES-style platformers and run-n-gunners. In that case, the worst thing that could happen is that you refund it after about half of the normal mode. If you hate NES-era difficulty or limited retries, though, put the game out of your mind forever.

Recommendable under very particular circumstances. Good enough for someone looking for an solo-offline or casual experience that is dead simple to set up on PC. Not worth the full price tag due to a disappointing campaign, low production values, outdated card pool, janky booster pack system, and vacant lobbies. (You can probably find people to play with on the forums or on Discord servers, though.) At the very least, the port itself is good.

Older titles on other plaforms had a better single-player campaign and user experience. (My favorite is Reverse of Arcadia for the Nintendo DS.) Unofficial simulators and Master Duel provide a more active, more competitive multiplayer scene and more recent card pools. The Solo Mode for MD in particular is a good way of trying out the game before spending any money whatsoever (though it falls short in teaching beyond the basics).

Don't buy this if you own the original LotD. From what I understand, the changes aren't worth the trouble.

I wish I could give a neutral rating, but either way, I cannot give a positive one in good conscience.

The games themselves are great! The ports, not so much. As someone who was able to play one of the games from start to finish without crashing, I still can't ignore all the problems people have mentioned online, nor the ones I ran into. Luckily, the more common issues are well-documented, despite many not being recognized by SQEX.

Quick notes:

• The game was recently updated to fix crashing on AMD's RDNA3 GPUs.
  
• If you still experience crashing, AMD or not: limit the framerate to 60FPS in the game settings, disable "Refresh Rate" (which is actually vysnc), and make sure your GPU isn't going into Power Saving mode. If that doesn't work, try disabling any unnecessary GPU settings, or lowering the visuals to 1080p/30fps. (I know, I know).
  
• None of these crash fixes are surefire, but they are the most reliable.
  
• If you experience stuttering, weird jumps in framerate, or audio desync: disable any variable refresh rate settings (like Gsync or Freesync) in your GPU options and set the framerate to unlimited in-game. (Limiting in GPU settings might be fine?)
  
• None of these framerate fixes are surefire, either.
  
• If you're unlucky, like me, then the framerate limit will decrease performance, forcing you to use vsync instead.
  
• If you can get past these problems, these games run way better than something like RPCS3 or even PCSX2. For the most part.
  
• You may notice the framerate dipping from 60 to 30 in some cutscenes and sequences. This is not a performance dip, though I can see why people would think that. The framerate limit was inconsistently kept to 30FPS during these sections, likely to avoid testing and bugfixes. Remove them with a mod if it bothers you.
  
• All PC versions now have upscaled textures, likely by "AI"/machine learning. (THIS IS NOT GENERATIVE AI; NO EXTERNAL ASSETS ARE USED FOR THIS.) While the changes are not very noticeable unless compared side-by-side, the originals preserved slightly more detail and took up less disk space.

The payoff is worth it if you can get it to work, but that can be a big "if" in some situations.

I have been patient with some of SQEX's past ports when their problems were not as blatant, but a line has definitely been crossed with this one. Patches are underway, so I look forward to the day I can change this review to a positive one.

Still worth playing, despite the release of the sequel. A nice mix of games such as Left 4 Dead, Alien Swarm, and Killing Floor, while still iterating on the co-op genre in its own way. The camera system makes the game more approachable to people not accustomed to FPS/TPS games while adding yet another interesting, albeit imperfect, element to the gameplay. Runs better than HD2 on older computers.

One thing I could do without is the galactic war metagame. It's by no means a deal-breaker, and I imagine it's a whole lot of fun in the second game. Here, it blocks you from playing on certain maps or against certain enemy types if players can't clear the currently available planets. In exchange, you get... randomly generated lore?

The DLC is also somewhat of an odd beast. I don't have the skill to comment on how necessary they are to buy, but the consensus seems to be that there are a few must-haves for """optimal""" play with randoms. Optimal loadout or not, though, it's still fun to play with friends.

I'd say this is a good game to spin up with friends from time to time. Recommended to buy the deluxe edition on sale, as it tends to drop to $8 or so. The base game often to drops to $3.

Free lightgun-style arcade shooter. Short, simple, and fun. Not much else to it.

Lobbies are dead, but matches between friends should be easy to set up.

Last Stand update didn't ruin the game.

(Revising my review to better reflect changes in opinion)

Enough has been said about these games, so instead, I would like to discuss why the Remaster might be worth getting on PC, as opposed to other versions. (Trust me, both main titles are good, despite X-2's questionable decisions.)

Originally, one of the reasons I bought this was to experience the International edition and other JP-exclusive content not available before, but as nice as they are, they're not must-haves. I think newcomers would have been perfectly happy with the pre-International PS2 content, while getting less grind in return. Still, I think returning players would prefer the International versions because they probably understand what was added and what they want to get out of it (Dark Aeons, Creature Creator, etc). They also would appreciate some of the balance tweaks and combat options (Omega Ruins, alternate sphere grid, new dresspheres, Catnip nerf).

This revision of the Remaster supplements this with some nice QoL enhancements. Higher-fidelity textures and interfaces, higher resolutions, multiple soundtracks, a generous (yet optional) auto-save slot, and a booster to speed up grinding without losing performance. Again, not mandatory features -- except for perhaps auto-saving and the speed booster -- but they add up.

The big question is whether this is enough to pay the Steam price tag in the face of two potential problems: corrupted cutscenes and the updated models.

The greened-out cutscenes are usually fixed with a 4GB address patch (see PC Gaming Wiki) or disabling power-saving on your GPU. Consider yourself unlucky if you're the exception, and refund without looking back.

The models, meanwhile, are where Square Enix's modernization fell short. Newcomers will not notice the less expressive animations and reinterpreted faces, but veterans will. It is unfortunate that those newbies will walk away without the full experience, even if the new models don't ruin FFX. The original animations were a big deal back then and still look good today, so losing them in a remaster feels a tad insulting.

Originally, I thought replacements could be modded back in, but I did a bad job of testing these restorations and didn't realize how dire they originally were. Good enough alternatives do seem to exist as of recently (run a search for "PS2" on the game's Nexus Mods category), thought they might still have some rough edges. I think most people who are already happy with a non-remaster, International release are better off saving themselves the potential pain.

So what's the appeal of this release? Mainly performance and convenience.

This port runs far better than something like PCSX2 or RPCS3, even on weak hardware. My original PS2 is long gone by now, so having a crisp, performant port like this that can be played on so many devices, even with Steam closed, is something I've really come to appreciate. When combined with the wide variety of mods (including JP dub restoration and new gameplay modes), and the handy new PC features, you have something that's worth keeping in your back pocket.

My verdict is that, out of the box, this is not the definitive edition of the game. With some tweaks, it is... but not for everyone. If you want a faithful experience with less potential problems, then a non-remaster might be the way to go instead. It might even be your only option, if the cutscenes don't work for you.

Still, I'm glad this version exists, even if SQEX messed up in some areas. Get it at whatever price works for you, then mod as you feel fit. Refund later if you're not convinced. This is still FFX and FFX-2 at their core.

(Revising my review to better reflect changes in opinion)

Yes, it's still worth playing despite the 2023 remake. The original has a less serious, more fast-paced style, with noticeably different gameplay. The controls are also not as clumsy as its detractors would like you to think, so long as you don't expect it to play exactly like later third-person shooters.

The main problem is that this port is mediocre. That matters less now that even lower-end laptops can run this comfortably on lower settings, but when it came out, it was somewhat rough. If you're not willing to mod away the problems and disappointments this game has, a recent console release will be less of a pain. For those who can appreciate the options available here, and prefer to play on PC, it's worth it, especially if they buy on sale.

The big mod to use is Resident Evil 4 HD Project. It's a high-fidelity, yet faithful asset restoration project, and is actually "HD." (The vanilla "HD" textures almost look the same as the originals.) There are some recommended bug fixes that come with the mod as well, along with better mouse-aiming. Newcomers and veterans alike will appreciate it.

If you just want the mouse/bug patches while keeping the SD textures, you can install the re4_tweaks mod. In fact, this mod is already included in RE4HDP. (For more information on bugs in the Steam version, see the PC Gaming Wiki or the re4_tweaks website.) This patch is especially recommended for most people playing on 60FPS or above 60Hz, as the game has some intrusive and game-breaking bugs that may occur.

The last thing to note is that if the game will misbehave if your framerate somehow dips even slightly from the limit specified in the in-game settings. Usually, this happens in the form of slowdowns or audio desync. This is a lot less of an issue on a recent gaming rig, but it can still happen. Considering the game is originally from 2004, this is somewhat disappointing.

If you're none of this has scared you off, then I think you should try this release -- again, on sale. Without mods, the heart of the game remains intact. With them, it's free to roam unobtrusively.

Fun demo with some replay value.

Fun demo with some replay value.