Review: Pokemon Let's Go (Nintendo Switch)

If you like video games, chances are that at some point you’ve played one of the many Pokemon games that exist on older consoles, ranging from the Gameboy to the Nintendo 3DS and now the Nintendo Switch. The newest Pokemon game Pokemon Let’s Go manages to keep the nostalgic feeling of games like Pokemon Yellow by using similar layouts and the original 151 Pokemon, but updates visuals and everything else to make it feel much better on a modern console. With a mix of streamlined Pokemon catching mechanics from Pokemon Go, clever dungeon puzzles, all those trainer battles and a personalized-feeling gaming experience thanks to the choice of a partner Pokemon, Pokemon Let’s Go combines old and new concepts well to make Let’s Go echo the greatness of its source material while being simple enough to make it enjoyable now, and this easy-to-pick experience in my first return to the world of console Pokemon games is one I’m glad that Let’s Go made me come back to.

Review: Octopath Traveler (Nintendo Switch)

In a world of modern graphics and one track story paths, Octopath Traveler is unique. With its premise of telling eight different stories in one world, Octopath Traveler gives you the opportunity to choose the order and flow of how you want to play through its interesting seperate stories, with the choice of playing as many as you want at a time offering a custom gameplay experience. While having to level up your characters each time you want to try a new one from its eight can make the experience run a little long, it makes each experience feel like a journey of its own in this world harboring its own lore that leaves a connecting thread to each story if you play them all, but also has each one stand well enough on its own. All of its unique storytelling partnered with a great battle system that makes finding and exploiting weaknesses a rewarding process and its class actions that make each character useful in different ways make Octopath Traveler a satisfying JRPG with no shortage of things to do and a great world to play in.

The Unique Storytelling and Game Flow of Octopath Traveler

Octopath Traveler definitely reflects its name. With eight characters and their stories available to play through, I was expecting to dive into my chosen character Primrose’s story alone when I began my Octopath journey and was surprised when I noticed all the adventures available on the map, ready to be explored at my leisure. These eight paths are just the beginning of Octopath Traveler’s ability to create freedom in each players Octopath journey, with freedom of party members, secondary jobs, story paths and more making each player traveling through the world of Orsterra have their own unique journey that may be deeper or more challenging than others. In a world that truly makes you feel like you have many paths to take, Octopath Traveler’s ability to create your own story and game flow make it a unique JRPG that combines the linearity of its individual stories and the freedom of its big world to make each playthrough a true, one-of-a-kind experience.

4 Reasons Why Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Is So Addictive

As someone who started out Xenoblade Chronicles 2 completely new to the Xeno franchise, I had no idea I’d get so hooked by it. I usually dive deep into games with social elements like Persona 5 and Blue Reflection, both being games that I’ve actively decided I want to put the time into platinuming and thus expected myself to be playing in my spare time. Instead, I’ve found myself every time I’ve had free time wanting to pick up Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to chip away at something, whether it be quests or filling affinity charts, and wanting to dive more and more into its world. I definitely enjoyed Xenoblade Chronicles 2 a fair bit but I didn’t expect to be as into it as I am, so with this thought in mind, here are some reasons why I think Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has kept me hooked on it months after its release (and why you might still be too).

Review: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Nintendo Switch)

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 promises more than enough to satisfy players who like to have lots to do. There’s a big open world with quests and plenty to find, a story filled with its fair share of epic moments and an active battle system that ended up being engaging after taking the time to get to know it. It may not be the most perfect open world JRPG with systems that give random results and the way things are unlocked being questionable at times. But I can’t deny the almost 100 hours I’ve sunk into the experience as plenty of proof that as an open world JRPG with endless things to develop and find, Xenoblade Chronicles 2’s vast and beautiful world is a pleasure to explore.

7 Things I Learned More About In Lost Sphear's English Demo

When Lost Sphear’s English demo appeared on PSN, I initially made the assumption that this was just the English translation of the Japanese one I’d already played, so I put off playing it for a little while. When I finally got to it, I realised I was very wrong and that this demo not only showed a new area in Lost Sphear, but also expanded upon a few things I liked about it in the Japanese one. Most importantly, the new Lost Sphear demo did its job of getting me even more curious about it, so here are some things it expanded upon in the demo that makes its world and gameplay seem even more interesting.

My 3 JRPG New Year Resolutions for 2018

Since 2015, it’s been my own tradition to make a few JRPG resolutions to improve my gaming life for the year ahead. I do this to encourage myself to play the experiences I think I don’t have time for and to finally catch up with any JRPG urges I had throughout the previous year that I didn’t take the time to cater to. These resolutions always come with mixed levels of success, but they always help me improve my gaming time and are a fun way to start planning what I want to play each year. While keeping up with new releases is a challenge in itself, there are a few things in my JRPG life I’ve been wanting to do since I found some new things I liked last year and also things I’ve been wanting do for a while and never got around to. With those things in mind, these are my three JRPG resolutions for 2018.