VIDEO GAME: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

by benmweilertNo Comments
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the KingdomYear: 2023Rating: E10+Time Played: 100+ hours After The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild broke the 3D Zelda franchise with its open-world gameplay, I was looking forward to the sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. While I wanted more of the same things Breath of the Wild offered, there were weaknesses in that entry that I hoped Nintendo would fix in this follow-up title. I may be in the minority here—much in the same way that I don't care as much for Majora's Mask over Ocarina of Time—but I actually liked Breath of the Wild more than this game. Let's start off with what was great: the story. I felt the flashbacks in Breath of the Wild left some amount to be desired, but the story uncovered during Tears of the Kingdom was leagues better and made for a much more satisfying boss battle with Ganondorf. A lot of the "same"...
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VIDEO GAME: Chrono Trigger (2008)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Chrono Trigger Year: 2008 Rating: E10+ Time Played: 34.27 hours I've tried to play through Chrono Trigger for a few decades now. Ever since my family lucked out and found this game in a Super Nintendo bundle at a garage sale, I've played through the first half of this game multiple times. Heck, I even bought it on the Wii virtual console because I had such fond memories of it, despite never having reached the end credits. It wasn't until I bought this game (again) for the Nintendo DS that I could truly appreciate the top-notch game Chrono Trigger from beginning to end. While I definitely appreciated some of the improvements the DS version made to the game (including automatic running and visible health/magic bars), the base game is mostly identical to the SNES version from 1995. What's amazing about this game is how it truly changed the JRPG formula by putting the battles right there on the screen with no cuts or transitions. Additionally,...
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VIDEO GAME: Genshin Impact (2020)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Genshin ImpactYear: 2020Rating: TTime Played: 350+ hours Having played many free-to-play games, there’s usually a point where you run out of stuff to do and the game ceases to be fun. Usually, this is when the time-based resources run out and you have to wait to keep playing the game. It surprised me how many hours I put into the free-to-play action-adventure game, Genshin Impact before I hit this wall. Even when I reached this point, I still had plenty of diverse activities to do to keep me occupied for hours at a time. With regular story updates, it’s almost overwhelming how much you can get out of this game without paying anything. Part of Genshin Impact’s appeal is its somewhat Breath of the Wild-like open world and visual style. While it leans a bit more on anime influences for its character designs (of which there are plenty of characters to play as in this game), Genshin Impact‘s world might be even...
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VIDEO GAME: A Short Hike (2019)

by benmweilertNo Comments
A Short Hike Year: 2019 Rating: E Time Played: ~2 hours I'm starting to like the open-world format of some video games. Sure, there's a broad goal the player is trying to accomplish, but sometimes the most fun comes from the little sidequests that you encounter along the way. Of course, the best sidequests help the player ultimately achieve the game's goal by rewarding a useful item or ability. A Short Hike is a prime example of how to do the open-world format. As an indie game, the big-name developers should take notes here. While the "low quality" visuals initially put me off, you eventually get used to them. This is basically my only gripe with the game, as it's clearly hiding some of the cut corners of its development. As someone who enjoys hiking to the top of mountains, I liked the gameplay with a somewhat loose motivation to get to the top of this island mountain. Sure, the plot is touching when you...
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