Majkol Robuschi

“The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure is a well-written and content-rich RPG that pays the discount of a technical profile that is anything but up to date. An unmissable appointment for enthusiasts, but perhaps we should advise newbies to start from the previous chapter.”

“A musical love letter addressed to fans of the Final Fantasy series, and one of the best rhythm games around.”

“Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a crude and poor video game, but it is not lacking in inventiveness. What I'm wondering is if, unlike other similar multiplayers titles, it will have time to evolve and improve over time, or if Bandai Namco will put an end to its service before the game formula is refined and enriched as it needs.”

“Metacritic: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is a mediocre fighting game, but a more than recommendable experience for those who don't miss a chance to shout "Hora Hora!" at the top of their lungs.”

“Frail Hearts Versicorae Domlion is an interesting video game that explores the rotten city of Gris through a suggestive setting and an intriguing and well-characterized cast of characters. The story always works well, but the gameplay (a mix between RPG and Visual Novel) doesn't always. Maybe it's because of the limitations of RPG Maker, or maybe it's an excess of naivety; however, the game developed by Sezhes will certainly appeal to anyone looking for a dark story full of monstrosities.”

“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles brings on Switch the same flavor we savored at the end of 2021, bringing to the table the free updates released on the other platforms, and the promise of new playable characters coming in the future. The portable experience is surprisingly faithful to the home console one, but some extent of exclusive content or at least an updated story mode would have turned a simple "switch port" into a much more welcomed return.”

“The idea behind Soundfall is intriguing, but the execution falls flat too quickly. The rhythm game hybridization works most of the time, and it's probably its best feature, but the RPG elements tossed in just to add some more depth to an intrinsical arcade genre might not suit everyone's tastes. At the end of the day, the low production values and the general repetitiveness of the experience are what really stand out, and that's just disappointing.”

“Persona 4 Arena Ultimax brings to modern gaming platforms all the content and updates wisely crafted by Arc System Works for Atlus' best fighting game yet. Unfortunately no new relevant features are included with this porting but at least the game has been freed from the shackles of old gen consoles.”

“Gust and Koei Tecmo return to the Mysterious universe of Atelier, featuring Sophie and Plachta in a new adventure. This additional chapter revisits the old trilogy's mechanics in a new light, fixing the past issues and introducing some new interesting ideas to an already working formula. Presentation is stronger than ever and the new cast, albeit the stereotypical writing, grants some well-paced and relaxing Atelier experience without compromises of sort. This is what the Mysterious trilogy should have been and Gust knows it for sure.”

“Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is the depressing follow up to the most disappointing entry in the whole Koei Tecmo hack'n'slash series. The strategic aspect that allegeldy distinguishes it from the predecessor is barely there while the action mechanics are basically the same, with castle sieges being the only real new offer of the whole package. Some clever ideas are noticeable, but most of them are reused from previous iterations. What Omega Force packed in the game at launch is not enough to build an entire experience on repetition.”

“Blue Reflection Second Light achieves what the past episode couldn't: telling an intriguing story with a cast of compelling characters. Its light RPG mechanics leave more space for character development, toning down fan service in favour of a plot that pushes forward reconnecting all the past entries, between videogames and animated series. A sugar coated coming of age story dedicated to anime girls and fans of the "majokko" narrative.”

“The Good Life is Swery's first take on the Life simulators genre. While it incorporates all the features that made him a cult creator it also shows a disorienting mix of elements and mechanics that just don't work well together. The thin narrative line and the histrionic cast of characters fail to fully flesh out the social commentary that the creator intended to convey. The whole experience ends up feeling more like a list of chores rather than a smart and enjoyable experience in Swery's characteristic Troma-like fashion.”

“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles is basically the typical video game taken from an animated series that you would expect from Cyberconnect2: a delicious banquet for fans and yet another display of the technical know-how of the Japanese company in terms of 3D modeling and cel shading animation.”

“Astria Ascending tries to convey the "feel-good" atmosphere of the classic JRPGs with an aesthetically pleasing art direction and promises of pure turn-based combat extravaganza. Unfortunately its ambition falls flat due to a forgettable writing and an unbalanced combat system.”

“Tales of Arise brings some needed fresh air to its beloved Action JRPG franchise while sticking faithfully to its classic formula. The renewed visuals and the more mature art-style should not alienate the fandom: at its core, this game is a very classic Tales of title, with new additions that make it an even more memorable experience.”

“The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles is an HD collection of 3DS titles never released before in the West that tries to reiterate the beloved Ace Attorney formula with an historical-drama flavour. Characters and settings are fleshed out in a brilliant way and yet the gameplay feels too familiar for its own good.”

“Neo: The World Ends With You is the widely anticipated sequel of a cult Nintendo DS title and one of the best Action RPGs available on current platforms. Building on its predecessor formula, this sequel introduces a wide variety of content that while being faithful to the original game exceeds it in every aspect. Fans should rejoice: Shibuya is back to stay!”

“The remastering process didn't address the shortcomings of the gameplay of Legend of Mana. Yet, its vibrant world, full of memorable characters drawn to life by astonishing visuals and new orchestral scores, is as good as ever.”

“Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster looks more like a port than a remaster, but its strengths remain evident while considering a technical sector comparable to that of the original edition.”

“The Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack improves the formula of the previous Atelier trilogy however the adventures of Sophie, Firis, and the gung-ho twins are recommended only to die-hard JRPG enthusiasts.”