Game review: Persona 4 Golden

Persona 4 Golden 

Platform: PS Vita

Now, I may be late to the party, but I have recently finished this wonderful game. Initially I started this game on the PS2. Yes it was released on the PS2 first but I never finished it. When I heard that they re-released the game with new content to the Vita I decided that I had to finish it! The story revolves around a small town called Inaba and you are a transfer student staying there for a year with your uncle. This small town eventually becomes an area of murderous crimes and it is up to you and your team to discover why and who the culprit is. With the use of your Personas, you defeat monsters whilst trying to find answers. It also has a pokemon-esque style of playing with its turn based attacks and finding new personas (or Pokemons).

So after many hours of it, I finally finished it. I have to admit, it has got to be one of the best games I have ever played in my life. For starters, it wasn't just about fighting or killing the end boss of each level. This game integrates a beautiful story line, with fighting, socialising, hanging out with friends, romance and even  exams!

What makes the game so good? It's the story and the feels you get when you play through it, you will come to love each and everyone of the characters that you meet. You find out more about them , you talk to them, you hang out with them and you can romance them.

The music is fantastic as well , although you may get sick of some of the repetitiveness of a particular song (heartbeat...heartbeat...heartbeat).

Overall, this game is a masterpiece and I wish I had finished it sooner. The dungeons are very linear and the monsters do not vary much except in colour and levels haha. Also some people may find the social aspect to be tedious, but I certainly enjoyed the banter with other characters and the feels when you come together.

There is also an animated version of this as well. But do play the game first before watching as it will spoil the story!

+ Amazing story
+ lots of content
+ Great music and combat
+ Personas are cool
+ Long game

- Dungeons are linear
- repetitiveness
- not much variety of monsters

Rating: 9.5/10

Game review: Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragments

SAO: Hollow Fragments

Platform: PS Vita

If you have watched the anime then you will know what this game is about. Of course, it is about the world of SAO! This game was localised and released digitally last month of the PS Vita and it would be classed as an offline MMORPG action game.

You play as Kirito or the main protagonist of Sword art online. This game takes place after level 75 ( where the anime stops) but instead of being released from the death game, they are in fact stuck in the game still and have to complete the last 25 levels. For the  fans of the anime, this game will be a great buy, but for the ones that haven't seen it,  I would suggest watching the anime up to episode 14, just so you know some story and the characters that appear in the game.

The combat in this game, is like an MMORPG, you have skills and you can press buttons to perform these skills. The combat isn't terribly difficult, but it does take time getting used to. There are many skills to learn and many weapons to try out. You fight monsters, you level up, you gain  skill points to use for new skills.

Now the story has two sides, there is completing the 25 floors of Aincrad or you can go into the hollow area where you will meet a new character called Philia. This hollow area is the new content added and is not in the anime. Again, in this area you have to find out about the place and explore around just like an MMORPG.

This game is very fun, the combat feels slow but it is very fun once you get used to it. The story doesn't really exist from where I am now currently. But it's being  a fan of SAO I can appreciate the little bits of the game such as the characters, the sword skills and the environment and UI of the game. Similarly, I think non-fans will also enjoy it as it is a different type of game that you get on the PS Vita.

The game has so much to offer and it does feel like I am playing an MMORPG. The max level currently is 200 and I am only at 117 with so many hours played. The new patch coming soon will bump this up to 250! I have hardly advanced floors as I always get side tracked doing other stuff. You can unlock costumes for you partners and you can romance them as well. You can hold their hands, you can hang out with them and in doing so, you will unlock achievements. You can also customise Kirito if you don't want to look like him too. ( I prefer him as  default Kirito)

However, there is a big flaw with this game. The English translation or localisation is abysmal. Although I can understand it, the standard is not up to scratch. But I can live with that. The game sometimes feels really grindy too and areas feel very similar.

+ Great for SAO fans
+ Lots of content
+ Lots of levels
+ Cool Sword skills

- Bad translation
- Grindy

Rating: 8/10