A sequel to one of the most popular games of the Sony PlayStation era, Crisis Core follows Zack Fair as he comes to grips with the world of Soldier for the Shinra Company.  What starts as a fun romp through the world turns into a story about genetics and trying to figure out who you and your friends really are.  Along the way you will meet new characters and strange environments while also being reunited with familiar people and locales.  The combat is not your traditional turn based game with you running around the battlefield selecting magic, attack, or a multitude of other moves all the while a slot wheel is turning which governs your Limit Breaks.  It’s all very hectic and wholly unique.  Oh, it’s also a handheld game, so take that into account!

Visuals:

I bring up the handheld aspect because this game is absolutely gorgeous for the time.  It fully encapsulates what a modern Final Fantasy game should look like and breathes life into all the characters.  I will say the models do look a little weird but Square was going for a style at the time.  The worlds are open but sparse and do kind of seem small and generic but it doesn’t really detract from the game.  The cutscenes are beautiful to see with the FMV also being nicely done.  The enemies do get kind of stale after a bit just because you see them so many times.

Audio:

I’m not really a fan of the voice acting in the game.  It’s really bad and stilted.  Like they were just reading from a direct translation.  The sound effects of the game are also questionable with the footfalls being ear crushing decibels.  Again, it doesn’t detract from the experience.  But what REALLY becomes annoying is constantly hearing “ACTIVATING COMBAT MODE!” every fucking five feet with the fights becoming so numerous.  Same with the Limit Breaks which break up the action causing you to hear the bad voice acting.  The music of the game is really nice, except for the combat mode song because you hear it a lot.  Hearing familiar tunes is always really nice, though.

Completion:

I FINISHED THIS GAME!  It’s a pretty short game and is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while.  The PlayStation Portable isn’t really a comfortable system to hold so that was a main detractor but I’m happy I finished it.  I wish the acting was better, the combat was more fun, and the story made more sense but I do understand the overall Final Fantasy VII story now more so than I did before I went in.  I am happy to see the game getting its flowers in a remake/rerelease for contemporary consoles so more people can enjoy it. 

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Set after the events of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, we find Big Boss is out to strike it on his own after becoming jaded with the United States.  He is greeted by two individuals who are trying to make their country a better place only to realize that it has all been a ruse.  We find out that The Boss could potentially be alive since we hear her voice, and a contemporary song, over an audio cassette.  Naked Snake wants nothing else but to get to the bottom of this.  His mission takes him to the heart of 1970’s Costa Rica to, hopefully, find out what’s going on.

Visuals:

What a cool looking game for the PSP.  It invokes the feel of Snake Eater while still being noticeably portable.  The models look amazing while showing that Snake has aged and is trendy for the times.  The “animated” cutscenes leave something to be desired but they get the point across.  The environments are also really well done with some of them being quite large.  Only problem is they’re kind of empty but that’s to be expected.

Audio:

The game really shines here as most of the storyboards are voice acted with the same returning cast from the previous entries.  This can be a boondoggle as the cutscenes do drag on for quite some time and, with this being a portable entry, sometimes you just don’t have the time to wait for them to play out.  The rest of your typical Metal Gear sound are here with the “!” and soldier banter playing out as it should.  

Completion:

You know, I was all ready to hunker down and play this entry but then it got to the point where you have to start building out Mother Base or training individuals to learn upgrades where I bounced off.  I hated this in MGSV and I really didn’t want to do it in a portable game.  This, compounded on how the game actually played made me bounce off of it.  I know the system didn’t have dual analog so they’re working within the constraints, but having your camera on the face buttons is terrible.  I couldn’t get the hang of it and just stopped playing.  What a bummer.

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This is a classic Outrun game in every sense of the word.  The only things that are different are how it looks, who’s driving, and what you’re driving.  You can pick between a few different avatars as well as your ride of choice as you go from one race to the next in the titular drive of coast to coast.  Along the way you’ll have other drivers blocking your path as well as a rival who just always seems to get in the way.  It’s actually really fun and hits all the right notes!

Visuals:

Talk about a game a very nice glow up from its original roots.  Even though this is for the PlayStation Portable, it is absolutely gorgeous.  Everything is just bright and vibrant with the cars looking amazing and the levels being extremely detailed.  All of this is moving at blazing speed like an Outrun game should be!

Audio:

Just like the visuals, the audio in this game hits all the right notes…pun definitely intended.  The cars sound like they should, the tracks have those tunes that just won’t quit, and everything is superb.  

Completion:

I raced a few races and immediately fell in love with this game.  It controls so well with the difficulty curve ramping up a bit.  The sense of speed is amazing with levels going by you in a blur.  It’s even more amazing that this is a PSP game and it shows what truly that system was capable of!

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Patapon is a rhythm game first and foremost. It’s not a typical one where you’re trying to match beats and everything. There is just an ongoing time signature throughout each level that you have to match with button presses to get your little army of natives to either march, attack, defend, etc. If you get ten combinations in a row, you get a FEVER! and your little dudes get all excited and do all sorts of cool stuff.

Visuals:

This game gots style. It’s very simple with how it shows the characters as black little one eyed head things as they go from left to right completing the level. The contrast between the foreground and the background is very apparent with the aforementioned being deep black while the rest is colored. Enemies’ eyes are a deep red to differentiate them. I can’t really say anymore without showing what I’m talking about.

Audio:

The music and sound effects for this game will stick with you for decades. The little guys constantly telling you the combination you just entered over and over again never really seems to get old and, as you keep the combo going, the music ups and it really does sound like you’re making music. The soundtrack is adorable considering what is going on in the background. The little guys chant and cheer when you beat a level and have a little party at the end. It’s equally adorable when they yell, “FEVER!”

Completion:

I have been playing this game off and on probably since it first released, or at least when I got my PSP back in 2008. I’m terrible at keeping rhythm so I bounce off of it pretty quick but I so desperately want to keep playing just because how charming and addicting it is.

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