When I first saw the PS Vita all I thought was "hmm". I was on a budget at the time & "hmm" was not enough justification to pay the same money for a handheld console as a home console. I know, I know you can't look at it that way but at €249 for the cheapest bundle deal & that was without a memory card I really had to.
Of course I found a way round not having the money to buy one, it was really quite simple. I suggested to the manager where I worked at the time, that we needed to spend more time "testing" the products we sold. I mean after all if we were more confident of how the products work we will sell more of them. So for research purposes & building my product knowledge I played the Vita almost every lunch time for weeks.
While it took a little while longer then expected to actually buy one I can tell you this; if my PS Vita broke tomorrow & I could not get repaired where I now work, I would buy a new one straight away - no questions asked.
I am...I umm...this game is....I am blown away by this game!!!! I had never played a Persona game before playing Persona 4 Golden Week. It truly is a masterpiece & I have been absorbed completely into the Persona 4 world. I have now played; Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Ultimax, watched some of the anime series (which I must finish), am currently playing Persona 3 just for some tie in purposes and am looking forward to getting Persona 4 Dancing All Night.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I am not really big into fighting or dancing games but Persona 4 is just so good I can't get enough. I have the soundtrack, I even have a design sorted for a tattoo that would cost me a €1000 to get done & I am still thinking to myself "I can probably justify that". Okay I am going to calm down & look at reviewing this game but yes I think it's a little bit alright.
The story focuses on the protagonist Yu which is you (I am sorry I couldn't help myself). Your parents have to go abroad to work so you get shipped off to the quaint rural town of Inaba. Lucky enough you get to live with your uncle Ryotaro; a gruff cop who is coping with being a widowed husband & raising a young daughter. It is not all bad for him though as Nanako is awesome, cute & the kind of kid you always wanted. So far nothing crazy right? All normal, nothing weird, prepare for your mind to be blown.
It starts with a mysterious murder, finding some friends, falling into a TV at an electronics store & finding a life size plush Teddy who only speaks in Bearisms! What do you mean Bearisms? He says things like, "I am Bear-y scared", "I am a Beary busy bear", "I am Beariffic". So mind blown yet? No? But wait there is more! Inside yourself you have another side of you so to speak, this is called your Persona. Persona's are powerful beings that can be used to fight monsters in the TV world, you & your friends must all learn to summon them. Only by working together can you help stop the monsters, solve the growing number of murders & pass your exams!
Onto music! I have always had a like for J-Pop due to some of the anime series I have watched. The music in Persona 4 Golden Week brought this to a whole new level for me. Shoji Meguro composes a brilliant array of songs accompanied by the lyrics of Reiko Tanaka & vocals of Shihoko Hirata. The music perfectly fits with every part of the game & really helps reflect why video game music is so important in games. My favorite tracks are; Reach Out to The Truth, Junes Theme, Heartbeat, Heartbeat, How Much? & I'll Face Myself.
The game looks beautiful, everything from the warmth of Dojima's living room, to the quaint living, breathing town of Inaba & of course the TV World with it's varied dungeons. The changing seasons is another great visual effect & helps make everything feel more real. It is difficult to be non biased about a game you love but I can't think of anywhere in the game that I felt it was dull or uninteresting.
The game play is difficult to sum up because there is simply so much you can see & do. Like with any JRPG you have dungeons you need to clear to power yourself up & beat bosses. To me though the game really shines with all the other things you can do. Hanging out with friends & building relationships is highly rewarding not only from a story stand point but also helps improve your Persona. Getting a part time job is a great way to make money, level up skills & make new friends. Fancy like watching a movie, fishing, catching butterflies or visiting a shrine it is all possible & more in Persona 4 Golden Week.
How do I best sum this game up? Buy It. That is all.
I remember seeing all the TV commercials when Gravity Rush was being released & I thought to myself, "yes this seems like a game I would like". It ended up being the first game I tried & bought on the PS Vita, I was not disappointed.
The game is set in the upside down town of Hekseville, the place is falling apart & I mean literally.
You play as Kat, a girl who has lost her memory but rather than let it get her down she picks herself up & gets on with. She quickly meets a mysterious black cat called Dusty, he helps you rediscover your power - the power to manipulate gravity. Kat's mission is try & help the people of Hekseville put there town back together by destroying crazy shadow monsters, collecting crystals all while trying to remember who she is, oh & of course stopping the bad guy.
The music is composed by Kohei Tanaka is interesting & runs between beautiful melodic pieces & a jazz sound reminiscent of the 20s/30s. These sounds are really apparent on tracks like; Pleasure Quarter, Douse Shinundakara, Old Town & Ease. Then out of left field you have very intense tracks like, Bloody Claws & Gravity Raven. It has a really great soundtrack & is one of the best features of the game.
Visually speaking the game is gorgeous, Hekseville reminds me of an alternate universe french town. The cobblestones & architecture of the buildings really bring the town to life. The developers went for a cell shading style when creating the game which works fantastically on the PS Vita. I love little touches like the comic panels being used to break up the the normal speech bubble dialogue when talking to people in the world. Another great touch is that for the most part cut sequences flow seamlessly into gameplay & back again.
The gameplay is fun but at times can be frustrating, the movement of Kat can feel a little unpredictable. I can't remember how many times I fell off of somewhere or missed landing an attack on an enemy. While the controls could be fiddly at times I still really enjoyed playing. I have many great memories from the game but one of my most memorable parts was when Kat is trying to find a home. She ends up living in a sewer which is actually way nicer than it sounds. Obviously she needs some furniture & has to scavenge it from round the town. It takes time but when you finally get all you need I felt really proud, I thought to myself, yes I could be happy in this home. I quite enjoyed helping the people of the town out & helping pull parts of the town back together. Collecting crystals to level up your abilities was very satisfying & helped in getting orientated with the controls.
With few flaws I found it to be a lot of fun & I have not played any game like it before or since. Well worth adding to your collection if you don't already have it.
I have played only a few of the Final Fantasy titles but by far this one is my favorite. I remember saying after I finished the game on the Playstation 2 I would love if this became available on a handheld console. The big reason for this, apart from the convenience would be that I could play Blitzball on the go. I loved playing blitzball & if it was a real sport I would definitely watch it. Naturally when I heard it was announced for the PS Vita I was excited & bought it immediately upon release.
The game opens in the futuristic, tranquil, neon lighted city of Zanarkand, Tidus narrates what happened just before his life got turned upside. You play the character of Tidus the star player of the Zanarkand Abes Blitzball Team. People are cheering for you as you run late to the stadium for a big game, then it begins. You get to watch one of the best cut sequences I have ever seen in a game & I still stand by that now. All I will say is something happens & causes you to be transported to another world - Spira. As it is massively story based like any RPG I don't want to spoil anything for you, I will say the main enemy is impressive & is so much more than just a simple enemy.
The music is put together by Junya Nakano, Masashi Hamauzu, Nobuo Uematsu. There is a beautiful heartfelt piece by Nakano Ritsuki called Suteki Da Ne, if you have played the game you will know the song well. If you have not played it find it on line right now & listen to it. The soundtrack for the game is huge & is available as a 4CD set. There is so much to say about this soundtrack that I could easily do a post solely on it. The music has so many levels & even if you don't like Final Fantasy games listen to this soundtrack. Some of my favorite pieces are; I Want to Tell You Everything, Hurry, Rikku's Theme, Enemy Attack, Song Of Prayer - Valefor, Auron's Theme, Otherworld, Brass De Chocobo, Blitz Off, Someday the Dream Will End. If I was to sum the music of the game up I would say, it is magical.
The game looks superb! From the small village of Besaid, to the breath taking temples & character designs they are all a visual delight. The cut sequences are amazing & as mentioned one of my favorites is right near the start of the game. I remember seeing the opening sequence before the title screen the first time & I was blown away. Hearing Tidus narrating & the camera panning showing a beach with all your allies standing around looking distraught & tired. There was just something very powerful about it & set the tone for the whole game.
Where to begin with the gameplay? Well I am going to jump right ahead & say "Let's Blitz!" I loved playing blitzball & I know I am not the only person that got into it in a big way. Playing through various leagues trying to win overdrives & special techniques was awesome. Basically the stadium is a sphere of water where two teams try to score the most goals before time runs out. Aqua football is an over simplification of what it is but is a great visual aide. I easily poured 40+ hours into playing Blitzball alone & I don't regret a moment of it.
Summoning Aeon's on the battlefield was always a delight & in quick battles watching their attacks swot aside enemies with ease made me smile with glee especially if you got overkill's - which you almost always did. Once of my favorite Aeon's was Yojimbo who was a slight luck based character who I always had great success with especially when it came to his instant kill move - Zanmato. In some cases I had not even had my overdrive charged half way & got him to pull it off anyway. Ahhh even thinking about him performing the move nearly brings a tear to my eye.
Like any great RPG character interactions are key, whether they are with your allies or someone you have met on the side of the road. There are many great characters in FFX, some of mine include; Auron, Maechen, The Chocobo's, Dona & Barthello, Belgemine, Wakka, Lulu.
It is difficult to flaw this game, however there are some parts of the story that can be slow at times, getting some of the more specialized weapons (Lulu's for example) is a real pain, there are also a few enemies like Malboro who can end up killing before you have even landed a punch, this is slightly frustrating especially if you have been powering up for an hour & forget to save. In the grand scheme of things these are minor issues & does not spoil the overall experience. Whether you have played it before or are just considering playing it for the first time pick up a copy & play it today!
Well that's the PS Vita & all the console reviews for now. I am sure at some point in the future I will review the Nintendo 3DS & the XBOX One. Going forward I will just be looking to review games that I am playing. Before I finish with the PS Vita I wanted to give a few honorable mentions:
Sine Mora
Hot Line Miami
Guacamelee!
Freedom Wars
Nihilumbra
Uncharted Golden Abyss
This is Little Monkey signing off!
