Simplest Reviews: August 2023

Thursday, August 31, 2023

Succession (Season 4)

I haven't been able to watch TV as much lately, but I'm back and I'm ready to finally review the final season of Succession. If you've seen my past reviews, you'll know that I'm not the biggest fan of this show. I think it's good and more than competent on pretty much every level, but it's just too repetitive. Season 3 in particular felt like it kept hinted at the illusion of change without doing anything to actually change. But now we're at the final season, and if there's any time to shake things up, it's now. And boy, does Season 4 of Succession shake things up.

Season 4 of Succession starts right where the previous season ended off, with Kendall, Shiv, and Roman Roy forming a united front against their father Logan. The first two episodes are about what you'd expect, with the three siblings repeatedly facing off against their father. It's pretty much standard Successon fare, solid, but not particularly memorable. But then the third episode happens, and Logan dies. I remember the night that episode aired and just how shocked everyone was, this was a massive plot twist. We all thought Logan would either pick someone to take his place or be forced to step down, and if he did die, it'd be near the end of the season if not the finale. But with eight episodes remaining, the one question on everyone's mind was: Where would the series go from here?

Well, the answer to that question would be: Some of the best material in the entire show. For starters, Logan's death ironically breathes new life into a series that I had previously found repetitive. With Logan gone, there is now a deadline. Someone has to take his position because Waystar Royco can't stay without a CEO for long. It's also a concept rich with dramatic potential. The Roy siblings are already messed up from lifetimes of abuse, so forcing them to grapple with their feelings towards their father post his death is simply really compelling television. And on top of all that, there's the looming buyout from Matsson which the siblings are incredibly conflicted towards. Matsson himself is a great new antagonist, he's absolutely despicable and revels in it, a joy to watch in all of his appearances throughout the season. What really solidifies Season 4 as the high point of the season for me, though, are the final three episodes which take the three Roy siblings and systematically takes everything from them piece by piece. Episode 8 focuses on Shiv's downfall (along with one of the worst things the siblings has ever done), Episode 9 focuses on Roman's downfall, and the finale gives the dealing blow to Kendall. It's an intense, crushing, and satisfying final streak that ends the series on a really high note.

Highlights:

Connor's Wedding: What can I really say about this episode that hasn't already been said? Logan's death was a massive plot twist that shook up the show for the better, and this episode in particular did a great job dealing with the sibling's complex grief. Better episode than anything from the first three seasons and we haven't even gotten started yet.

America Decides: The last three episodes in this season are all amazing, but America Decides in particular pretty much sickened me. Taking place during an election, America Decides is the most political episode of Succession, showing how the fate of who becomes president is less up to the voters and more up to the few volatile rich people in power, and it just so happens that things are really starting to come to roost for those few volatile rich people. The Roys putting a literal Nazi in power is absolutely one of the worst things they've done in the show, and a grim reminder that as bad as you may feel for them after Logan's death, they're still horrible people. This episode also just has so many amazing individual moments. Tom asking Shiv if her pregnancy is just another trick, Connor's hilarious "the conheads are coming" speech, and of course, Kendall learning Shiv is working with Matsson and voting for the aforementioned Nazi out of spite. Amazing episode, and absolutely deserved of being called the most "shocking episode of the season" by the showrunner.

Church And State: While definitely the weakest of this finale trio, Church And State is still a stellar penultimate episode in a number of ways. It tackles the fallout of the events of America Decides and shows Roman getting some sort of comeuppance, and it shows Logan's funeral and the incredibly varied eulogies that the siblings deliver.

With Open Eyes: And finally, With Open Eyes was an absolutely stellar finale that manages to encapsulate the entire series in less than 90 minutes. None of the siblings become CEO of Waystar Royco, instead Tom does, and even he's still being held under a tight leash. Kendall, Shiv, and Roman can't be CEO because when their last chance is to form a united front, they still can't resist the urge to backstab and turn against each other. Even if it seems like they settled on Kendall being CEO, Shiv and Roman just can't bring themselves to actually go through with it because it's not in their nature. It's a vicious cycle of betrayal, and with this finale, it finally bites the Roys in the ass. Perfect ending.

Ugh, fine, this season was really good. I never really got Succession, and honestly I still don't think that's the case, but I can't deny that it stuck the landing hard. It makes sense, though. My biggest issue with the show was that it felt like it kept treading water, so it's only natural that the final season, where everything finally comes to a close, would be the best season of the show. It's simply a great payoff.

5/5 Stars

Here's my ranking of the seasons of Succession:

4 > 2 > 3 > 1

Here's my ranking of the Succession finales:

4 > 2 > 3 > 1

Favorite Episode: America Decides

Monday, August 28, 2023

Why I Love Sin & Punishment

I've already made a post about my very mixed opinions on Treasure and the quality of their games. They don't always hit the mark, but I respect that they're games are as bonkers, experimental, and boundary-pushing as they are. And when Treasure does get it right, it's something truly special. Enter Sin & Punishment, easily one of the best games Treasure has ever made. It's got everything that defines Treasure as a company. Genre-blending, complex movesets, unpredictable level design, unnecessarily deep lore for those interested, and visuals you wouldn't think the N64 was even capable of. There's just something so original about Sin & Punishment to this day, there isn't really a game like it outside of its sequel, and even that doesn't quite match the same feeling of experimentalism that the original has.

Sin & Punishment can best be described as an on-rails gallery platformer shooter. I'd say it's a game where you automatically run through stages, dodging left and right, jumping across platforms, and gunning down enemies, but that's only like a third of the game. It doesn't mention the more traditional gallery shooter bits, the 2D platformer segments, the sword fight, or the mech sequences. Sin & Punishment is a game that's willing to change gameplay styles constantly, but what makes it work is that they all use the same, very unique control scheme. The N64 controller's weird three-prong design has been a punching bag for a while now, but Sin & Punishment is one of the few games that feels entirely built around its imperfections. You use the analog stick to aim, and you can use either the D-pad or the C-buttons to strafe left and right, accomodating for both right-handed and left-handed people. Pretty much everything else is done with the shoulder buttons. It can be a bit weird at first, but once you get the hang of it, these controls work wonderfully. And where most N64 games only really make you use just the D-pad or just the joystick, Sin & Punishment manages to use all three prongs of the controller in a way that feels entirely natural.

Like most other Treasure games, Sin & Punishment also boasts a surprisingly complex moveset. Along with moving and aiming, you can press the L and R buttons to jump or press them twice to double jump, double-tap the directional button to roll, change your shot type between a standard shot and a less powerful homing shot, and coolest of all, if you press the shoot button (Z) when an enemy or projectile is near by, you can pull out a sword and knock it out of the way. This counterattack actually becomes really important as the game goes on. Along with being practically necessary for some boss fights, it soon becomes clear that there are just too many enemies for you to simply shoot. Eventually, you start to get into this rhythm of sweeping your cursor around, dodging left and right, slashing away at anything that comes near, and it just feels great. It's also quite necessary to use every move at your disposal because Sin & Punishment has a combo system too. The more enemies you can take out without getting hit, the more points you get. Your combo is communicated through a simple number that shows whenever you land a hit, and it just feels super satisfying to watch that number go up. With an abundance of moves and a addicting scoring system that encourages using said moves, Sin & Punishment manages to pack in a lot of depth, and encourages replaying the game to improve your score and even get a 1cc. And even with how crazy the level design gets, the fact that the control scheme and scoring system remains consistent throughout means the skill ceiling remains consistently high throughout.

Speaking of which, let's talk about that level design, shall we? Sin & Punishment has ten levels across three acts and a prologue, and they're practically all different from one another. You start running through a city, before being tossed into an elevator that takes you to a boss you fight solely on a 2D plane, before getting into a mech fight over a pool of blood, and you get the picture. Pretty much every level in Sin & Punishment is memorable, both due to the variety of settings and the variety of what you do within those settings. The highlight of the game for me is Act 2 which easily has the best levels it has to offer. 2-1 is a lengthy platforming gauntlet with chase scenes and sword fights (it's my favorite level), 2-2 is a show-stopping stage where you soar across the skies taking out aircraft carriers, and 2-3 has you run through a subway with each car boasting a new enemy type. Nearly every level has at least one boss fight, as you'd expect from Treasure, and the game culminates in one of the nuttiest final bosses I've ever seen in a video game. You played Sonic Frontiers and thought fighting a moon was weird? How about fighting a decoy of Earth in a giant mech-alien by shooting asteroids, solar flares, and falling stars back at it, while also defending your own Earth from said asteroids, solar flares, and falling stars:

It's just as crazy to actually play, believe me.

Sin & Punishment is a pretty short game capping at around an hour in length, but it makes up for that by being incredibly replayable. It's so replayable in fact that immediately after beating the game for the first time, I decided to replay it just because of how breezy and fun it was. For me, that's the mark of a great, replayable game. Beyond simply replaying to improve your score, Sin & Punishment has three difficulties, and they're all worth playing on their own since they all have unique enemy and boss placements, the harder difficulties even having exclusive bosses. On top of that, beating each difficulty unlocks something new in the game's menu, including a sound test, a frame skip option, and my personal favorite, the Turbo Mode which makes the game go at double speed. It's just as crazy as you'd expect. The most interesting unlock is the subtitles option. See, Sin & Punishment only released in Japan, but it's voiced in English. So for the game's intended audience, they won't be able to actually understand the story unless they unlock the subtitles. It's a pretty neat concept, and would get expanded on even more as time goes on so that not only people from one country can benefit from it. Ico, at least outside of America, has a New Game+ where you can unlock subtitles for Yorda's alien speech, and the infinitely less good The Quiet Man has a second playthrough that adds in audio you couldn't hear the first time (though, once again, to far less success). Sin & Punishment also has a surprisingly fun and lengthy tutorial that basically feels like another level in itself, and a two-player mode where one person can move and the other person can aim. Treasure games don't often have much in terms of content, but Sin & Punishment has so many ways to keep playing that it makes for a game that's incredibly easy to jump back into at any time.

On a presentation level, Sin & Punishment is also fantastic across the board, mostly. The story is admittedly kind of convoluted and the voice acting isn't very good, but I think it does just enough to give the game a consistent sense of forward momentum and urgency, and works as somewhat of a love letter to Studio Gainax's similarly excessive work. And like in most of other Treasure games, there is a lot of world-building and lore hidden in if you're really interested. In terms of visuals, I've often see Sin & Punishment described as poorly aged, but I think that's selling the technical prowess on display really short. The art direction in this game is striking and stylish. From those bright orange fields you run in during the prologue, to the grand sense of scale that makes all the locations that you visit feel bigger than they actually are, to the sharp angular character and boss designs, to the pool of blood setting that caps off Act 1, there are so many memorable bits of imagery here. This game is filled with explosions, crazy imagery, weird camera angles, and badass character designs, and it just looks so cool. But on top of everything, the most impressive thing about Sin & Punishment's visuals is that even with its abundance of enemies and explosions, even with its long interconnected levels, even with its massive bosses, this game does not lag. Sin & Punishment keeps a consistent 30fps throughout, on a console where frame dips were a frequent occurrence. The music by Toshiya Yamanaka is just as unconventional as the rest of the game, it's a strange proggy jazz fusion that not only sounds great but gives S&P its own unique flavor. It's laid-back and gritty at the same time.

Overall, Sin & Punishment is, for me, the Treasure game that perfectly toes the line between being creative and unconventional, and also just being a really damn fun and well-designed game. It has a unique control scheme that makes the most of the N64 controller's weird layout, has a wild variety of stages and bosses that keeps you guessing, and boasts an absolutely nuts narrative. It also feels great to play, has an addicting scoring system, is super well-balanced in its difficulty, packs in tons of replayability, and has impressive visuals that can keep up with the game's fast pacing without sacrificing framerate. There still aren't many games quite like Sin & Punishment to this day, it's entirely itself, and that's something I respect immensely.

Sunday, August 27, 2023

My Favorite Video Games (and why they're great)

So my previous Top 50 list started to feel really strained and like it was missing a lot. So, I decided to expand it to a borderline Top 100. I've played many video games and I'll probably play so many more that a game making it into such a large list is still such an accomplishment, to the point where I can't not look at any of these games as anything other than something truly special. And because I feel there's so much negativity as far as gaming discourse is concerned, I decided that in addition to updating my list, I'll be slowly writing posts about why I each of these games rank as one of my favorites, starting from 100th place and working my way up to 1st. These won't be general reviews like I've done for several of these games, instead they'll focus on the things I love of them and why they stick with me as some of the best the medium has to offer. No game is perfect and if you really wanted to, you could find tons of nitpicks for every single game on this list, but for me, these are titles that are more than the sum of their parts and all ended up making some sort of positive impact on me.

Of course, this list isn't set in stone. Every once in a while, I'll discover a new game that shoots up the list, forcing another game out. Usually, this happens because a game is knocked off by another entry in its series, or because it's just too short to leave as much of an impact as the game that replaced it (a surprisingly common occurrence). In the event that I've already made a post on a game that used to be on the list, I'll leave the link here so you can still check it out. Even though they're not on my Top 100 list anymore, I still love them all the same.

And here are a few more honorable mentions I just couldn't fit onto this list:

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2: This game made me a fan of skateboarding games. It's got the best levels, the best music, and pretty much perfected the Tony Hawk formula.
Mega Man X: A damn near perfect platformer that hasn't aged a day. Every level is memorable and fun, the secrets will always be rewarding to discover, the music slaps, just simply brilliant.
Metroid: Zero Mission: Certainly the most accessible Metroid game, and I am a sucker for its brutal Shinespark puzzles, just wish it was a bit longer.
Twinkle Star Sprites: Super inventive fusion of shmup and puzzle gameplay that gets really tense and competitive, all tied together by a wonderful 90s anime aesthetic. Even if Touhou's Phantasmagoria games took inspiration from it, I think I still prefer the original.
Soulcalibur: The port that finally showed consoles could catch up to and even exceed the arcade cabinet. One of the smoothest and most polished 3D fighting games I've ever played, with one of the best fighting game campaigns ever and a metric ton of content outside of that.
Deltarune: I refuse to rank Deltarune on any list until the entire game is released, but from what we've gotten so far, it absolutely has the potential to beat out Undertale for me with its stronger cast, trippier world design, far superior battle system, and richer soundscape. But let's just see if it can stick the landing before I make any snap judgements, eh?