Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2

I thought I would never play a Neptunia game again, but I'm glad I tried MK2. It is a huge improvement.

The combats are turn based again but this time the characters move around the battlefield which allows to establish different strategies, target multiple enemies, hide from being hit, etc. I have played a game with a very similar concept, maybe Arc the Lad on PS2?

Combats aren't random and are very easy to avoid, also the battle pace is very nicelly done where I never got tired of fightning over and over. The game balance is great but there are too many overpowered skills which I tried to use only on boss fights.

On the customization side, we get to equip with many different items and also choose between a few skills to build different combos.

The game's pace has improved a lot, we get a more detailed world map with lots of things to do like quests, visit cities, battle in a colisseum, watch events, explore dungeons which are very short, I don't have any complain I think it is perfect for this game.

Graphics are okay though it abuses a bit on palette swap. Music has some catchy tunes and voices are good for a low budget game like this. Also it is not very long (I got the true ending in 22 hours) but has a great new game+ with new dungeons and many endings to watch.

The story starts fine and I watched many events because it was interesting to know the characters, but it got very boring after half game and I started to skip many events and only paid attention to the main story.

Did I like it? Yes
I think you will like it if you:
- Are a neptunia fan
- Don't hate anime jrpg

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Final Fantasy Theatrhythm

This is an addictive rhythm game a la Guitar Hero featuring the best of Final Fantasy music. It is controlled with the touch screen using the usual gestures and where each Final Fantasy numbered game has at least 3 different stages featuring different gameplay:

- The world map: where the character roams around and the player follows an slow paced music. Controlls here are usually tap and hold&slide.

- Cinematic mode: a beautiful mode where a cinematic from the game plays while the player follows the flow with taps, holds and flicks.

- Battle mode: the 4 characters battle some enemies while the player keeps the rhythm on a fast paced music with taps, holds and quick slides while the characters attack the monsters with many known skills, magics and summons.

The game has some rpg-like customization, featuring the main characters who can level up, learn different abilities, equip item. Plus there's a ton of content to do, many difficulty levels and different modes.

Music of course is superb, featuring the most epic and remember tunes from the main games. Too bad the 3ds speakers aren't great, but the recording quality is very good because I connect the 3ds to some autoamplified speakers the sound quality experience a vast improvement.

On the bad side, there's dlc and that they "dared" to put tunes from a game that Squarenix refused to bring in english.

Did I like it? Addictive!
I think you will like it if you:
- Don't hate rhythm games
- Love Final Fantasy

I rate my experience with a 7.5 out of 10.

Drakkhen

I think this is the first rpg I had ever seen. It's kind of "open world", presented in a very well made 3d perspective, similar to might and magic but with many outside enviroments.

I could start by making my own party of 4 heroes, I had fun customizing them though I barely remember which options I had. Once in the game, I had a big world to explore, I could go wherever I wanted and getting owned on the way because I got into a high level zone. The medieval atmosphere is greatly done.

The combat is real time and a bit strategic plus random encounters. The customization is very good too, I can see the new armor I found reflected on the character model, that didn't happen very often. Also as a kid it made me laugh seeing my characters in underwear ^^.

I guess the game isn't very complex, because was very very young when I played this and still managed to reach very far into the game tough I barely understood anything.

Did I enjoy it? I have very good memories of it.
I think you will like it if you:
- Like playing old school games

I rate my experience with a 7 out of 10.

Anarchy Reigns

The only Platinum game I didn't enjoy.

A game with fast action, basically It feels like a 3rd person shooter with a very arcade gameplay. I got bored very soon, the combat gets too repetitive, the development is not interesting and graphically looks mediocre. Overall the game feels like a very low budget one.

On the good side it has an online multiplayer mode which i did not try but I'm sure it can get pretty addictive.

I think the online mode is the game's main feature and this is the explanation of why the single player experience is so poor.

Did I like it? Boring
I think you will like it if you:
- Want to play online
- Like simple action games

I rate my experience with a 3.5 out of 10.