I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that there was going to be a sequel to Doraemon Story of Seasons, and Friends of the Great Kingdom was a decent experience overall. It’s clear that it has learned from the previous game’s mistakes, fixing pacing issues and offering more activities to keep the experience varied. Friends of the Great Kingdom is a great game to chill out with, providing so much whimsy and silliness that it’s hard not to grin like a fool when playing it. Even though not all of the new content was a home run, it feels like the Doraemon Story of Seasons series has finally found its footing with room to blossom even further.

So while Half-Minute Hero Super Mega Neo Climax offers some new features, they don't make for a brand new experience. That said, the Hero 30 mode, which is the heart of the game, is still in place and as great as ever.

Perhaps if this game had come out in 2005, when it was originally created, when the industry was slower and the game releases were more spread out, it might have been more appealing to more players.

On the whole, AI LIMIT hits the target it aims for. It is a solid, if somewhat thin, Soulslike with a pleasing anime aesthetic. The combat is fun with a few decent innovations, the narrative is compelling, and the presentation manages to toe the line of being unique while also feeling familiar to its contemporaries. Unfortunately, a few missteps in the enemy design, voice acting, and technical departments hold it back from true greatness. Those that don’t enjoy the genre are unlikely to find that AI LIMIT solves any problem they might have, but those that do will find a fun addition to their collection.

Though it departs from the previous two games in the series, Seven Pirates H still manages to carve out its own niche in the adult-minded gaming space. While the differences between past games and this one may seem jarring at first, overall many of the gameplay tweaks come as welcome changes. Just consider whether it’s worth trying to explain the Chest Growth system to your seatmate on that next plane ride.

Zanki Zero doesn’t offer as wide of an appeal as it could, but it will still likely be able to find a dedicated following that appreciates the layers of challenge it offers.

Dark Deity feels like a love letter to Fire Emblem in so many ways, and while it does have elements that make it stand on its own, it’s not fully there yet. That being said, there’s a lot to like in Dark Deity, with an addictive gameplay loop and ensuring tons of possibilities for customization to make its gameplay shine. I was so pleasantly surprised with Dark Deity on numerous occasions and I am eager to see if Sword & Axe LLC can iron out the kinks. Any strategy fan looking for a good challenge, interesting gameplay, and fun and customizable cast of characters should find Dark Deity up their alley. Just maybe wait for a patch on the Switch in hopes that the performance issues get addressed.

What probably best summarizes The Outer Worlds is that, in spite of my qualms with aspects of it, I still enjoyed my time playing it. It doesn’t overstay its welcome and by the fills a void that feels wider in the wake of many larger western studios losing interest in making dedicated RPG experiences. It’s not the kind of game to stand the test of time and Obsidian has made much better and more interesting games in the past, but there is a pleasant experience to be had. For those looking for that style of single-player RPG will find a lot to like and could do a lot worse.

If you're a fan of this style of game and have played the best recent releases, look behind you. Because that's where Wasteland 2 is going to be.

In a year dominated by sequels to franchise favorites, there was a hope that Starfield would carve its own path to success. While the team at Bethesda should be commended for taking such a big swing, there’s no denying that the game doesn’t feel like a cohesive work. Maybe continued support and future sequels will make something more meaningful out of a work that is clearly deeply enamored with both science fiction and space exploration. Unforunately, this first launch has had far more mixed results than desired.

Battle Princess of Arcadias is a perfect example of what it means to be a middle-of-the-road RPG.

The value is clear to nostalgic fans, who have probably already purchased the game and had fun with it. However, newcomers to Funkotron are more likely to enjoy it for a few hours and move on in search of more variety, a bouncy bass beat in their hearts.

Sometimes a game becomes a bit too ambitious for its own good. Poison Control is one of these games, as the anime-inspired story and musical accompaniment are well worth being held in high regard. Those can only take a game so far, however, and are brought down by the clunky gameplay and copy-and-paste visuals accompanying them. Depending on which aspects the player values more it can either be a fun and engaging romp through a wonderful world with unique characters that grow, or it can feel like a slog repeating the same thing over and over ad nauseam until the energy drains out of the player and the game is shut off. Ultimately it balances out to an average game with a few unique mechanics, an entertaining if niche story, and a stellar soundtrack.

While Galaxy of Pen & Paper doesn’t push any boundaries, it stays true to its 16-bit roots, offering a fun exploration into outer space, and a great excuse to hang with your friends, eat some pizza, and roll some dice.

There’s plenty to enjoy from balancing the equipment of Backpack Hero. Like fitting everything into a suitcase, figuring out where everything slots in can be very satisfying. However, there are plenty of rough edges. The story mode falls flat fast and the presentation fades quickly into the background. The gameplay loop is so richly varied that finding new ways to break the game with a build is always entertaining, it is just a shame that the presentation surrounding this gameplay is so lackluster.

Exist Archive is a game with a lot of potential that ultimately feels like it's missing something. The story starts with a heap of promise but ends up going nowhere with it, and the great combat is unfortunately marred by frustrating, lengthy level design. While I wouldn't go so far as to say the game is bad, it is disappointing in too many ways to really call it good.

It certainly isn’t a title that will gain universal appeal, but it very much finds its home in its niche and will offer those looking for an easy-to-jump-into yet strong narrative will find Arcadia Fallen II is adept at scratching that itch. While it may not be the most thrilling tale at the start and has limited ways to engage with it, there are plenty of fun moments to enjoy from the cast, and the story ultimately satisfies.

It's difficult to recommend this particular title to newcomers in the series — they would be best served jumping in with an earlier entry — but easy to recommend the series as a whole.

Ultimately, Torchlight III is a game of simple pleasures. Simple gatherings with friends to take out enemies for greater loot. A simple, easy-going story that helps the game flow along faster. Simply going through just one more dungeon to have fun in and use the hero created to rain destruction down for better gear, and do it all over again. If something simple and fun that can be taken in small doses is what players are looking for then Torchlight III fits the bill. However, many may wish to wait for some big patches to fix the issues with multiplayer before getting too invested, or just take a favorite hero through the single-player campaign or a Dun’Djinn until the game lives up to its full potential.

Starbites ultimately sits firmly in the middle of the RPG spectrum, never really approaching either end of it. There are plenty of enjoyable moments involving the character interactions or when the combat and exploration get into a good rhythm, but it never really takes that extra step needed to stick in the memory. Nonetheless, it’s an enjoyable enough way to spend the time, and there’s a strong base for IKINAGAMES to be able to build upon going forward.

Secret of Mana came at a time when expectations for RPGs were completely different than the present. This remake treads so much familiar ground that it is unlikely to attract many new players to the series, although it does capture what remains fun about the game quite well.

The repetitive gameplay cycle, taken to its extreme by asking the player to clear the game a total of five times before the true ending is even unlocked, won’t win everybody over. But fans of the genre should find the game more than worth checking out, provided they know what they’re getting into.

Overall, The Greater Good is a decent enough game, with graphics being the main mark that often hinders the game rather than helping it. They simply didn’t work at times as I didn’t know where to go because a rock formation that seemed part of the background graphics was actually something to jump on, or the entrance to a tavern was between two other background images. Other than that, the battle system is tried and true, with a decent amount of strategy raising the difficulty. The story has an interesting premise, sees a satisfying conclusion, and even has a small epilogue.

Citizens of Earth could have been a modern classic, but a few questionable design choices sadly hold it back.

In the end, the game was very fun to play, very fun to listen to, and very fun to watch, but the frustration caused by the game's inability to give better information ruined the overall enjoyability.

From beginning to end, Stellar Blade remains consistently wonderful from a presentation perspective, uneven but perfectly well from a gameplay perspective, and lifeless and poorly executed from a narrative perspective. Stellar Blade consistently shines in many areas, but any recommendation must come with a heave “your mileage may vary.”

One Piece Odyssey is a blatantly predictable and run-of-the-mill experience. While it may seem obvious that an anime game is targeted to an audience familiar with it, one may wonder why to waste an opportunity to make it more democratic and attract new fans. The tweaks to the classic turn-based battle structure are welcome but fall short due to the game’s unchallenging difficulty and easy-to-break equipment system. Die-hard One Piece fans will be able to appreciate the game as an interactive reminiscence of its arcs with minor redesigns. Yet, those looking for a bold and unique game may need to look elsewhere.

Yakuza Kiwami is a very modest remaster with very little new content. What is new is swell, but it's nothing groundbreaking or even necessary. It's more like nice little bonuses to a game that hasn't entirely aged well story-wise and graphically. Still, it was nice to come back and see where the series started without all the rough edges of the original PlayStation 2 release. I will say that Kiwami made me love the first Yakuza a touch more than I did when I originally played it years ago. As a crazed fangirl for the series, even though Kiwami is a solid effort, it still doesn't hold a candle to later games in the franchise.