Sorry for the dearth of updates in the past few months (read: year). Graduating from college and finding a grown-up job was more stressful then I had originally considered.
General Stats
Concept: 7/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 8/10
Playability: 9/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Replay Value: High
About the Game
Genre: RPG/Simulation
Length: 60-120+ hours
Platform: PS2
Review and General Storyline:
First and foremost, I have been attempting to write this review from the very beginning. Persona is a series very near and dear to my heart, and has been for at least a few years now. This has been super hard for me to pin down, and I have no idea why. I've also gone in and out of obsession with this series. I'll sit down and play for fifty some odd hours (not necessarily consecutively) then I'll quit (usually right before a boss) and won't touch it for a few months.
Alright, enough bitchin'. I'm going to split this up into two different sections. The first part will be the PS2 review, then I'll list my notes on the PSP version as comparison (as I have played and loved both. Certainly there are some significant deviations between the two versions).
First, if you are thinking about getting a version for the PS2, my suggestion is to splurge for the Persona 3 FES edition. Used, it might be a little less than ten dollars more (unless you are going for the digital download, which is the cheapest option AND FES, but for the PS3, and not physical). It is totally a matter of personal preference. I am a fan of the physical disc, so I have a copy of FES for the PS2, though I have been considering for some time getting the download for my PS3 (-edit- bought the PS3 version last week. Be jelly -edit/-).
Like I said, personal preference, but go with the FES over original nine times out of ten. It has a bunch of extra features, including a whole new post-game storyline, "The Answer." You get significantly more bang for your bucks in this edition.
It's always fun to begin a game by choosing your own name, but its even more fun to begin a game where time stands still and people transmogrify into coffins. You meet Yukari and Mitsuru, and have a nice and awkward conversation with the two of them (seriously, Main Character is far to blase after seeing these two chicks with guns?)
You really have to follow the storyline for the next few days, with very little free time, until Shadows attack.
Now, this whole fighting system is very witty. The enemy, a Shadow, gets repelled by your Persona, or another facet of your personality that you summon by shooting yourself in the head. It's creepy and crazy but really, really witty. My psych class just learned about the id, ego and superego, and shadow and persona were words that I heard in the lecture that actually had me sit up and listen. Look into it, because I can't really explain it...
Anyway, this is one of the better RPG games, if only because there is just so much to do, and so little time to do it in. You become friends with schoolmates, team members, and these are called "social links" and are your connections with others. The closer you become to your classmates, the more impressive persona you can summon and fuse.
And the dungeon. Hot damn that is a fine mess. First, the name; "Tartarus." A little too on the nose, if you ask me. Tartarus is, according to Greek mythology, the part of the underworld that the really nasty people go; equivalent to hell. And the fact that it is in your school? A little too obvious.
Did you know that there was a hidden hour, every day at midnight? This is the Dark Hour, where normal people transmogrify into coffins, the streets are lined with blood and the moon is huge and yellow. Special people, like you (the main character), Yukari, Mitsuru and Akihiko in the beginning can use your strength of heart and will to shoot yourself in the head with an Evoker to release your Persona. Like I said, look into Jungian psychology, the way the creators of the game really went deep with symbolism is crazy awesome.
Now, you are required to do a bit of grinding in the dungeons to get strong enough to defeat some of the stronger shadows, but it's all great fun. I did get a little bored at parts, feeling like I was doing the same thing over and over again, but it was easy enough to stick to it. That's the only reason playability and entertainment got 9's, instead of 10's.
The optional boss (the reaper) is both frustrating and annoying. I spent hours at it one afternoon (I have only ever beat it once) because it had a lot to do with luck, almost more so than strategy. In the early levels, he sucks, because you can't really explore the levels well enough (or as well enough as I want to) without him coming after you, and even when you are strong enough, he will still kick your ass nine times out of ten.
A hint on dungeon crawling for treasure: back yourself into a corner, where you can see no little red dots on the screen, and send your teammates out to explore. They will grab all the stuff you need and fill out your map. I would do that until they found the stairs, then I'd regroup, run to the stairs, then send them out again until they found everything. Great strategy for the optional dungeon, Monad to collect lots of money and gear.
Its also a great game for all playing styles. Even casual gamers can get a kick out of this game, while more experienced players will enjoy the strategy it takes to plan out your days to ensure you maximize your time wisely. In normal and beginner mode, there is little strategy involved in fighting the bosses. You pretty much wail on them until they are done. Some of the normal and hard modes you really need to know what you are doing, however, before you get into a fight; you want to have the right equipment, then right persona, and the right mindset to kick some serious ass.
Concerning sound, some of the music gets a little annoying; the music in the Velvet Room, and the music walking around town is played so often that it does get a little grating. When I go to fuse new persona, when I know I'm going to be doing it for a while, I make sure to mute the TV. Otherwise the sound would drive my roommates insane (as they have constantly mentioned to me).
Overall, I give this game a solid 9; music's a little annoying, but it is a great game to waste hours and hours at.
Regarding the PSP edition:
There are both upsides and downsides to this. I loved having the choice to play as a woman, and she was so cute, too! It was also great not getting tired while exploring Tartarus. There were new conversations for me to enjoy, also the Void Quests for Margaret were a great new challenge. Theodore from the Velvet room was adorable, and so were the new social links.
What I didn't like about this version is that I couldn't actually control the main character in anyplace other than the dungeon. When exploring the world, all you can do is move your cursor around the screen and talk with people. Can't actually run around, which wasn't very fun.
Because of that lack of running around, I can only give this version a 7.5 out of 10. Not enough action for me, though I did love the girl character I could play.
Showing posts with label ps2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ps2. Show all posts
Friday, July 25, 2014
Friday, July 27, 2012
PS2: JAK and Daxter, The Precursor Legacy
I warn you now (and realize that I probably should have warned you in the introduction, but I am lazy and don't like thinking ahead) that all my reviews will be biased and there will be a foul language abundance.
General Stats
Concept: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Playability: 9/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Replay Value: Very High
About the Game
Genre: Action/Adventure Platformer
Length: 8-20 hours
Platform: PS2
Review and General Storyline:
Alright, this game begins with Jak and his buddy, Daxter, exploring the dangerous Misty Island, and generally doing shit they aren't supposed to do--like exploring Misty Island.
Cute little cut scene and BAM. Best friend Daxter goes swimming in some Dark Eco and is now an Ottsel. That is a mix between an otter and a weasel, in case you were wondering (I was, so I did a little research).
And, you guys are totally in trouble with the Old Green Sage Samos, so he kicks you off to Training Rock, which is a seriously useful level. Here you learn pretty much all you need to know to kick ass throughout the entire game.
Eco, as you learn, is some pretty awesome shit. Green will heal you, Blue makes you fast, Red makes you strong, and Yellow shoots fireball things. Oh, and Dark Eco, obviously will kick your ass--you get hurt if you touch it and die if you fall in it. Ouch.
But these first few levels--Sandover Village, Sentinel Beach and the Forbidden Jungle--are very easy and teach you all the controls. If you can't get through these first few levels, there is now way that you can get past some of the later levels--because some of those get hard.
Anyway, the point of this game is to generally collect power cells. They power your A-GRAV zoomer and keep you from being lava bait. You collect them for Kiera, a babe that has both Jak and Daxter drooling after her--and she is the crotchety old Sage's daughter. That kind of defines the game. You need 20 to upgrade your heat shield the first time to get you to Rock Village, then 45 to upgrade your anti-gravity device to get through the Mountain Pass to Volcanic Crater, then 72 to power your second heat upgrade and go through the Lava Tube. Finally, 100 (or 101, depending on your awesomeness) power cells are needed to unlock the "secret" ending.
You also need to collect Precursor Orbs, which act kind of like currency--they allow you to buy Power Cells from various villagers. There are like 2,000 total, but you only need just shy of 1,600 to buy all the Power Cells--and you will be considered totally kickass if you can do that, because there are some seriously tricky spots (including 10 in the junction between Spider Cave and Volcanic Crater).
ANYWAY, mini-games. I live for some of these mini-games, if only because they are so freaking hard. The first one, in the Forbidden Jungle, is to catch 200 lbs of fishies. There are 5 lb fishies and 1 lb fishies, then there are Poisonous Eels--nasty little buggers--and if you catch a single one of them, the guy takes his net back and you have to start all over again. Super frustrating, but I feel like a boss when I finish it.
So, while you are attempting to turn Daxter back into a human, you end up kicking Lurker ass, rescuing all of the Sages, zooming on your zoomer, defending a swamp from critters, flit around on a Flut-Flut, spend time in a volcano, on a snowy mountain, chill on the beach, and explore some ruins. Easy.
The final level, the Citadel, defines this game. It weeds out the boys from the men, the women from the girls, the babies from the big kids. It defines a platformer--there is so much jumping, so much precision, just so much, that if you aren't dedicated, you might just quit. I thought about it, did, in fact, a few times. But then I set aside a couple of hours and made it to the very top. That is where I met the mother of all bad guys. Seriously. Super hard boss fight that ended up making me want to pull my frigging hair out. And then--freedom. You finish the game. Done. Kaput.
Like I said, this game, if you motor through and only get enough Power Cells and Precursor Orbs to finish the game, then it can take as little as 6 hours. It is also entirely possible to 100% the game in a single sitting, 10 hours, if you are good. If you are an inexperienced gamer and OCD and have to get everything, at the very pinnacle, this game will take 15-20 hours.
This is another great game for casual players. There are places that require some skill, but it is entirely possible to bumble your way to the very top--it just takes some persistence. I've only finished this one twice, possibly, but I've gone through the first few levels at least 10 times, and can 100% it in my sleep almost. The more you play, the better you will be.
Overall, I give this game a 9 out of 10. The dialogue of Daxter and the laconic Jak is hysterical and ups the replay value to very high all by itself.
General Stats
Concept: 8/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Playability: 9/10
Entertainment: 9/10
Replay Value: Very High
About the Game
Genre: Action/Adventure Platformer
Length: 8-20 hours
Platform: PS2
Review and General Storyline:
Alright, this game begins with Jak and his buddy, Daxter, exploring the dangerous Misty Island, and generally doing shit they aren't supposed to do--like exploring Misty Island.
Cute little cut scene and BAM. Best friend Daxter goes swimming in some Dark Eco and is now an Ottsel. That is a mix between an otter and a weasel, in case you were wondering (I was, so I did a little research).
And, you guys are totally in trouble with the Old Green Sage Samos, so he kicks you off to Training Rock, which is a seriously useful level. Here you learn pretty much all you need to know to kick ass throughout the entire game.
Eco, as you learn, is some pretty awesome shit. Green will heal you, Blue makes you fast, Red makes you strong, and Yellow shoots fireball things. Oh, and Dark Eco, obviously will kick your ass--you get hurt if you touch it and die if you fall in it. Ouch.
But these first few levels--Sandover Village, Sentinel Beach and the Forbidden Jungle--are very easy and teach you all the controls. If you can't get through these first few levels, there is now way that you can get past some of the later levels--because some of those get hard.
Anyway, the point of this game is to generally collect power cells. They power your A-GRAV zoomer and keep you from being lava bait. You collect them for Kiera, a babe that has both Jak and Daxter drooling after her--and she is the crotchety old Sage's daughter. That kind of defines the game. You need 20 to upgrade your heat shield the first time to get you to Rock Village, then 45 to upgrade your anti-gravity device to get through the Mountain Pass to Volcanic Crater, then 72 to power your second heat upgrade and go through the Lava Tube. Finally, 100 (or 101, depending on your awesomeness) power cells are needed to unlock the "secret" ending.
You also need to collect Precursor Orbs, which act kind of like currency--they allow you to buy Power Cells from various villagers. There are like 2,000 total, but you only need just shy of 1,600 to buy all the Power Cells--and you will be considered totally kickass if you can do that, because there are some seriously tricky spots (including 10 in the junction between Spider Cave and Volcanic Crater).
ANYWAY, mini-games. I live for some of these mini-games, if only because they are so freaking hard. The first one, in the Forbidden Jungle, is to catch 200 lbs of fishies. There are 5 lb fishies and 1 lb fishies, then there are Poisonous Eels--nasty little buggers--and if you catch a single one of them, the guy takes his net back and you have to start all over again. Super frustrating, but I feel like a boss when I finish it.
So, while you are attempting to turn Daxter back into a human, you end up kicking Lurker ass, rescuing all of the Sages, zooming on your zoomer, defending a swamp from critters, flit around on a Flut-Flut, spend time in a volcano, on a snowy mountain, chill on the beach, and explore some ruins. Easy.
The final level, the Citadel, defines this game. It weeds out the boys from the men, the women from the girls, the babies from the big kids. It defines a platformer--there is so much jumping, so much precision, just so much, that if you aren't dedicated, you might just quit. I thought about it, did, in fact, a few times. But then I set aside a couple of hours and made it to the very top. That is where I met the mother of all bad guys. Seriously. Super hard boss fight that ended up making me want to pull my frigging hair out. And then--freedom. You finish the game. Done. Kaput.
Like I said, this game, if you motor through and only get enough Power Cells and Precursor Orbs to finish the game, then it can take as little as 6 hours. It is also entirely possible to 100% the game in a single sitting, 10 hours, if you are good. If you are an inexperienced gamer and OCD and have to get everything, at the very pinnacle, this game will take 15-20 hours.
This is another great game for casual players. There are places that require some skill, but it is entirely possible to bumble your way to the very top--it just takes some persistence. I've only finished this one twice, possibly, but I've gone through the first few levels at least 10 times, and can 100% it in my sleep almost. The more you play, the better you will be.
Overall, I give this game a 9 out of 10. The dialogue of Daxter and the laconic Jak is hysterical and ups the replay value to very high all by itself.
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