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What are the best Nintendo DS/2DS/3DS games?

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Dec 5, 2022

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26 Games Considered

Best Nintendo DS/2DS/3DS games	Price	Platforms	Genre
-- Terraria	$19.99	Windows, Mac, Xbox 360/One, PS3, PS4, Nintendo 3DS, Switch, iOS, Android	2D platformer / Minecraft-like
-- Bravely Default	$42.99	Nintendo 3DS	Role-Playing
-- Shovel Knight	$24.99	Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Windows, Mac, Linux	Action, Platformer
-- Chrono Trigger	$53.99	Windows, SNES, Nintendo DS, Wii, PS, PS3 (Digital Only), PS Portable, iOS, Android	Role-Playing
-- Animal Crossing: New Leaf	$29.99	Nintendo 3DS	Simulation

Terraria

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Intriguing world

Terraria uses a bright color palette and an upbeat chiptune soundtrack to ease you into its world. However, once you start exploring and spend time in it you'll notice it's not as cozy as it first seemed to be. Blood Moons that rouse the dead from their graves. Goblin armies trying to destroy everything in their wake. Vast and dark cave systems, filled with odd creatures and various dangers. Ancient ruins, teeming with the restless dead and evil spirits. Pockets of decaying land, thriving with misshapen monstrosities. It's really fun to explore and discover something new about the world of Terraria. See More

Top Con

Low replay value for those who play it as an adventure game

Terraria is a sandbox platform-adventure game, so it partly hinges on beating various bosses. If you play it purely for the sake of defeating all the bosses, you might have little else to do afterwards. Restarting the game won't be as enjoyable either because you'll already know what to expect, causing continued play without a new goal feel mundane or boring. See More

Specs

Genre:2D platformer / Minecraft-like

Co-Op:8 Player Online / 8 Player LAN

Controller Support:Android (MOGA / HID), Steam (Full)

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Fun combat

It starts out simple, with you whacking away at slow moving zombies and flying eyes, gradually shifting to more fierce and fearsome enemies such as flying demons, agile lizardmen, and many more. To survive you'll have to be always on the move, dodge enemy attacks, and be accurate when you retaliate. There are also plenty of weapons to choose from. Melee weapons such as swords, hammers, lances, and flails. Ranged weapons such as bows, crossbows, rifles, and miniguns. And various items that allow you to cast spells. Whatever you choose, it feels great to destroy hordes of enemies. See More

Top Con

Progress can feel slow

Quite often you'll have to collect tons of materials to craft the necessary tools, equipment, and boss summoning items to advance. This can take a really long time, especially if you're unlucky with the items dropped by mobs. See More

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Lots of community servers, tutorials, and streams

Terraria has a large community of players on every platform including mobile, desktop, and console. Because of this, there are many servers to play on, as well as tutorials and Let's Plays. Finding content or help getting started is quite easy. See More

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Allows for freedom of expression for all ages, all at your own pace

Terraria has all kinds of tools and materials you can use to build whatever you can imagine. From housing, to furniture, to weapons, to types of structure, the possibilities are almost endless. This is great for children who enjoy building and problem solving, and for adults who enjoy the same. It also makes for a great objective-less game, where you can do just about anything you want at your own pace. See More

Bravely Default

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Unique risk reward combat system

The combat in Bravely Default revolves around a risk reward system where the player can choose to take up to four turn sanctimoniously, which will leave them turn-less for the next three turns. This can of course open them up to numerous attacks where they will be unable to do anything, even heal. On the flip side one can choose to take a singe turn in order to build up the amount of extra turns they can take when they do want to take a risk. This balance is what makes for strategic gameplay in that one needs to weigh if the risk outweighs the reward. See More

Top Con

Exploration can get blocked off at times

Even though you unlock the airship early on, you're restricted in just how much you can explore. Going off to faraway lands and venturing into the dungeons you find isn't an option -- the game will block you from entering these high level areas, saying that it's not time to go there yet. This may be part of an effort to lock off those high level treasure chests, since there's an option in the config menu to turn off random encounters entirely and to run around freely. It's understandable that there are some limitations to exploration, but it's still disappointing. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing

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Beautiful visuals reminiscent of classic JRPGs

Bravely Default has a gorgeous art style that feels like a throwback to older JRPGs from the 1980s and 90s. The chibi-style characters have a certain elegant design to them that's doesn't come off as childish. The medieval-style towns and landscapes all have a nice, hand-painted aesthetic that makes the world feel familiar and lived-in. The browns, blacks, and golds in the menus, UI, and font are also really well-done, making the game feel grounded. Overall, it's a great look that attracts younger and older players alike, and JRPG veterans especially can find a lot to enjoy here. See More

Top Con

Voice acting is hit-or-miss

Technically, the voice work is fine -- it's more that the way the characters sound can be a little off sometimes. Sometimes they have weird inflections or tones that don't quite fit, meaning the problem is more with the voice direction than the actors themselves. They may have tried to stay too true to the original Japanese dub, but things end up sounding unnatural in English. It's not consistently bad enough to be a huge problem, though. See More

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You have a lot of freedom to explore starting early in the game

Quite early on, you unlock an airship that lets you fly around wherever you want on the world map. You can go pretty much anywhere you want with ease, as long as it's on the general overworld. There are some restrictions beyond that, but you can generally use the airship to quickly get from place to place without needing to run there on foot. See More

Top Con

The story is mostly standard JRPG fare

While there are some standout aspects of the story, most of it is pretty predictable by JRPG standards. You start off with a world-ending scenario, and it's up to you and your companions to find a bunch of crystals to help restore everything. There's a reasonable amount of depth in the way that not all is at it seems, as well as some dark themes with the villains, but you don't really find out about this until later on in the game. By that point, you may already lose interest and not care about the nuances. See More

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Cool multiplayer feature that helps you out in battle

There's a key optional mechanic you can try out through the limited multiplayer features. You can upload a "copy" of your characters with their specific job, skills, and stats, and other players can "download" your character to help them out in battle in a pinch. If you're stuck at a crucial part of a hard fight, you can use this option to get a friend's specific character or a random one from other Bravely Default players. It's a neat feature that encourages interactions between friends and even online players you've never met before, strictly through helping each other in battle. See More

Top Con

Gets repetitive in the later half of the game

Things start to drag in the later chapters, where the story begins to repeat itself. You're forced to do the same thing over and over again without much variety. If you hate that sort of thing, but you still want to give the game a shot, then you may want to set your expectations accordingly in order to prepare. See More

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View cut-scenes starring certain characters with AR cards

The AR card implementation for Bravely Default allows one to view cut-scenes starring a particular character that is on the card. While not instrumental to the gameplay it is a nice feature that allows one to learn more about the characters in the game. See More

Shovel Knight

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Pretty fun risk versus reward system

In each stage, there are multiple checkpoints you can revive at if you die. The twist is that you can destroy the checkpoints for extra treasure. Doing this also means you’ll have to start from the beginning of the stage if you die. It’s a pretty cool way to increase difficulty and add tension to a playthrough, especially because it’s never forced on you. See More

Top Con

Can be frustrating

While Shovel Knight captures a lot of SNES era’s good parts, it also brings back some of the bad parts. It's mostly the hidden enemies that attack you as soon as you approach their hiding spots, causing you to take needless damage or even die. This adds a really tedious trial and error aspect that forces you to memorize all enemy placements just so you can beat a stage. In addition to dealing with the enemies, the timing of jumps or using special skills at the right moment adds to the frustration. Press the button too early or too late and you'll end up back at the start of a platforming section or worse, dead. See More

Specs

Genre:Action, Platformer

Co-Op:2 Player Local

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A unique experience

Shovel Knight has 2D pixel art, a simple gameplay, and a retro feel. It stands out in an era dominated by 3D titles with super detailed graphics and convoluted gameplay because of its influences from classics like Zelda, Castlevania, Duck Tales, and even Super Mario Bros. It’s not just trying to cash in on the nostalgia of older players because it’s a game that can be enjoyed by anyone thanks to its polish. See More

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Feels great to play

Shovel Knight has very colorful pixelated graphics, a decent chiptune soundtrack, excellent 8-bit sound effects, and the controls feel really fluid and responsive. So whether you’re just running through a castle, shoveling away at gems in a tunnel, or even jumping on a dragon’s head, Shovel Knight is a blast to play. See More

Chrono Trigger

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Quality art and music

Chrono Trigger has a wonderful art style and soundtrack that make the game worth going back to over the years. The 2D sprites are expressive and unique to each character's personalities, all as a nice fit to the funny moments and the more serious points in the story. Their original designs have a cool and colorful anime look, hand-crafted by the creator of the Dragon Ball series. And the music, despite the old SNES sound from the 1990s, is filled with meaning in a way that makes it obvious the composer poured his heart into each track. Everything is still worth a listen today, giving off a timeless and classic feeling. See More

Top Con

Scripted battles go against the flow of gameplay

Even though there aren't any random encounters in the game, there are still the occasional battles that happen during scripted moments. These tend to break the flow of exploration and going about battles at your own pace, conflicting with the freedom you normally have to go wherever you want. As long as you know to expect these to pop up every now and then, it shouldn't be too bad. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing

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You can obtain multiple different endings depending on your choices

Depending on when and how you tackle certain bosses, you can get quite a few different endings. There are more than a dozen or so endings to go after, each of which show outcomes that vary from one another in some intriguing ways. Some are quite funny, while others have more troubling implications or positive outcomes for certain time periods. Going after all of the endings can be a fun challenge. See More

Top Con

The turn-based combat may be too easy for some players

The battles are pretty basic, with standard mechanics of characters and enemies attacking in turns, with various skills and spells that they have access to. If you're used to turn-based games, then Chrono Trigger might not be much of a challenge for you. There are some cool additions, like getting your party members to team up for flashy special attacks that do tons of damage, but this is still something most veterans would expect from JRPGs. See More

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Battles happen seamlessly out on the field, with no random encounters

You don't have to worry about random encounters in Chrono Trigger. Enemies are all visible out on the field, so you can avoid them whenever you want to focus on exploring. And, when you do get into a battle, there's no transition screen from the field to the turn-based environment. Everything happens seamlessly, with your party members taking up formation and moving around to take their turns to attack on the available space around the enemy. This was pretty advanced for its time, and it's a mechanic that hasn't lost its impact over the years, keeping the game from ever feeling like a grind. See More

Top Con

The game is a little short for an RPG by today's standards

For your first playthrough, it will probably only take you about 20 hours to finish. Since Chrono Trigger is the game that pioneered New Game+, it's possible to give it some leeway, as the play time is designed around you playing through the game again to get multiple endings. Still, if you're not interested in chasing after the other endings, you may feel unsatisfied with the game's length, though your mileage will of course vary. See More

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Captivating storyline that centers around time travel

Chrono Trigger has an expansive and touching story that shows all the ways the world can change over time. You begin the story as the young man named Crono, exploring a fun festival called the Millennial Fair, when his friend Marie gets caught up in a malfunctioning time machine. Crono's quest to find her takes him on a journey across several different time periods in the past and the future where he meets the rest of his companions; together they find out about the greater problem overtaking the world, and so they set off to stop the catastrophe. Getting to see all the ways the world changes across centuries has huge implications that you discover as you go along, with some really emotional moments that still hold up today. See More

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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You have unlimited freedom to do whatever you want

There are next to no restrictions on when you can do things. You can go fishing, collect clams, dig up fossils, go shopping for clothes and furniture, chat with your neighbors and write them letters, participate in town events, and tons more whenever you feel like it. The only major thing is that the game runs according to the real world clock, so for example, there are some villagers that only show up at night, and you won't be able to interact with them during the day. But this is natural enough that it's not too much of a bother; you can always go off and do other activities until the right time comes up for your target goals. See More

Top Con

Can turn into a huge time sink

Because there's so much to do in the game, you can get caught up in wanting to do everything, all the time. Whenever you can finally afford that latest upgrade for your house, there's always something else to do, like staying on track with your mayoral duties, and then another thing and another thing. It's possible to become too addicted to Animal Crossing to the point where you prioritize a scheduled meeting with a villager at your house, for example, over real-life obligations. See More

Specs

Genre:Simulation

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Addictive town simulation and management

Animal Crossing: New Leaf puts you in the shoes of a mayor of a village of talking animals, where you get to manage the village's events and generally make decisions to make your neighbors happy. While you can make plenty of bureaucratic decisions like when and where to host village get-togethers and events, you also get to manage your own home, your character, and your finances. It gets more in-depth than what you may expect, providing some pretty addictive fun in getting everything just right. Finding the best ways to decorate your house with furniture you bought or received as gifts from your friendly neighbors, collecting new clothes to customize your character, and somehow earning enough money to pay off your home mortgage loan are all part of your daily life in Animal Crossing. You can easily get hooked from all the ways you can pick and choose from so many different activities. See More

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Fun multiplayer options with StreetPass friends

The game opens up a lot with the multiplayer activities with your StreetPass friends through the Nintendo 3DS. You and a group can all join up in one of your friends' towns to hang out together at town events, play mini-games, or just generally get up to all kinds of trouble by terrorizing the villagers if you really wanted to. Anything you do here doesn't affect the host's actual town, so you can make the neighbors angry, cut down all the trees, or whatever else without worrying about your friend losing out on their own progress in single-player. See More

Shin Megami Tensei IV

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The Law and Chaos alignments are black-and-white

There's little depth or nuance to the ending paths you experience if your alignment ends up siding with Law or Chaos. Certain characters represent each alignment, but these characters are static with hardly any development, and their reasons for going down these routes can be interpreted as too extreme for players to sympathize with. You may find yourself wanting to go down the Neutral path instead and rejecting Law and Chaos, but it's quite difficult to get this alignment for the ending, since it's determined by a hidden score from answering questions throughout the game. See More

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Highly challenging, yet rewarding turn-based combat

The battles in the Shin Megami Tensei series are unforgiving in how difficult they are, and SMT IV is no exception. You fight with a party of demons you collect, aiming to pinpoint your enemy's elemental weaknesses and exploit them. Once you find the weakness, you're rewarded with an extra turn; if you keep landing the right attacks, then the game lets you chain a finite number of turns one after another. If you don't look up a guide, then finding weaknesses is a matter of trial and error, and hoping you don't die while you figure things out. But this also applies to your enemies -- if they exploit your weaknesses, then they get extra turns instead. Most of the opponents you come across hit for a ton of damage, so you absolutely need to take advantage of gaining extra turns. And as you get farther along in the game, you get access to buffs to your party's attack, defense, evasion, and more, as well as debuffs to debilitate your foes. As you get better with the combat and earn some tough victories, the sense of satisfaction you get helps you to keep pushing forward. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawler

Top Con

Annoying and obtuse demon negotiation mechanics

Demon negotiation is a cool concept, but it doesn't always work as intended. When talking to a demon, the answers you give them affect whether or not they decide to join you. Aside from trying to appease their personality types (being playful with young demons, flirting with female demons, and so on), there isn't much you can to do know what it is they want. And there are a number of times when, after answering questions correctly and giving the demon your items, money, etc., it decides not to join you and runs off with all of your stuff. It's incredibly irritating with little rhyme or reason behind the mechanics. See More

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Philosophical story where you shape the fate of the world

Shin Megami Tensei IV is all about letting you decide what is just and what is right in a malleable world. You start off as a Samurai who follows orders from his superiors, but you and your friends and fellow Samurai learn that not all is as it seems. Gaining knowledge and power to change the world so that the strong rule the weak, upholding the status quo where God's word is law, or allowing humans to decide their own fate without demons or gods: your journey ultimately takes you down one of these three paths. It's up to you to go with whatever worldview fits your moral alignment best: Chaos, Law, or Neutrality. See More

Top Con

Finding where you need to go on the world map is a pain

Once the game opens up, it's great, except the map is terrible for getting around. Sometimes you won't even know exactly where you have to go: it's just a matter of wandering around until you find the place. Or you do have an idea of your next objective, but the map ends up giving you a hard time. There are way too many dead-ends and fields of poison that you run into -- these, on top of not knowing where to go, makes navigation one of the worst parts of the game. If you want to avoid the headaches, you can find a guide online to help you get around. See More

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Your moral choices branch out to multiple endings

Your choices throughout the game determine which of the three alignments you fall under. Whether you lean toward Chaos with the demons, Law with the angels, or the Neutral alignment that rejects Law and Chaos, the latter half of the game changes to reflect your views. Characters who were once antagonists can become your allies, or vice-versa, depending on which path you follow. The world shapes itself in drastic ways through your choices, leading you down different branches, each with their own separate locations to explore, powerful bosses to defeat, and unique endings that follow. See More

Top Con

Harsh learning curve in the first dungeon

The first dungeon, Naraku, is really, really tough, especially if you're not familiar with the Shin Megami Tensei games. You're basically thrown into the area with basic gear and a few items against demons who can easily kill you in a few hits. You have to recruit demons to your party to even the odds, but this is easier said than done. You may find yourself having a hard time if the demons you try to recruit end up killing you instead. If you get overwhelmed, you can always make your way back out the dungeon, heal up and save, and then continue. See More

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You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. While fighting, you can recruit almost any enemy demon or angel as long as it's at your level or below, through a process called demon negotiation. You barter with them through a conversation before asking it to join you; if it likes you, and if you give it the items, money, and whatever else it asks you for, it may join your party. You can then fuse angels or demons together to create stronger allies with better abilities. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

Uneven level of difficulty

There are a few things that throw off the overall difficulty. Some of the earlier bosses can be too hard and downright cheap in comparison to others, making things unbalanced. Also, in both regular battles and boss fights, if an enemy uses a light or dark spell and hits your main character, there's a chance that you will be instantly killed, resulting in a game over. But as long as you do your best to prepare for these bosses, and make sure to save often to not lose as much progress from possible instakills, you should be fine. See More

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Brilliant music with a unique sound

The music in this game is on another level. Right from the opening main theme, it sets the tone with an otherworldly song with real weight and gravity, like the pulsing of the planet itself. This type of sound comes up in other tracks as a great leitmotif, with the oppressive sound fitting with the bleak and philosophical narrative tones. Other songs mix in rock sounds with classical or even hip-hop influences, making for some memorable moments when an unexpected track kicks in. Some of the boss music, especially later in the game, are quite inventive, with some of them sounding downright mind-bending in how experimental they are. It's an overall incredible collection that stays with you for a long time. See More

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Unusual and clever setting

Shin Megami Tensei IV takes place in a medieval-style society in the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, with some modern-looking technology like the Demon Summoning Program that allows you to control demons. To say why would be a spoiler, but the mystery is at the heart of the game's narrative. If you've never played a Shin Megami Tensei game before, the explanation for everything does a nice job at playing on your expectations. See More

Fire Emblem Awakening

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Relationship Mechanic adds depth

Units next to each other on the battlefield will support and assist their allies. This builds relationships between the characters that improve their ability to support each other and also unlock dialogues between the characters outside of battle. This adds a lot of depth to the characters and their personalities and gives you more reason to care about the characters and your units. See More

Top Con

Game rewards grinding

To see and do all there is to do in the game you are heavily incentivised to grind fairly unexciting basic battles or obtain DLC which provides repeatable missions. See More

Oliver Law's Experience

A fantastic strategy RPG that is certainly one of the best games for the 3DS. It has a great cast of characters, fun gameplay mechanics and is a good starting point for players new to the series. See More

Top Pro

Varied cast of characters

The game features a ton of characters that are all brought to life through the art, voice acting and extra relationship dialogue sequences in the game. While some are cliche there is bound to be a character you can appreciate in there. See More

Top Con

Amount of options may be too much to grasp

While not the worst thing in the world there are quite a lot of options in this game. A forging system for weapons a special power system for all characters may not ever be touched in a playthrough making one ask why they were included. On top of this they may be difficult to grasp the full mechanics upon first look and so may make for systems people do not really want to explore. See More

Top Pro

Great introduction to the series

Fire Emblem is a long running series which can be intimidating. However, this game is a great introduction to the series. It has some solid options for newcomers including a Casual mode that turns off permadeath for units. See More

Top Con

Unable to replay main story missions

Once you have played a main story mission you cannot replay it. This can be frustrating if you want another to have another go or try out the mission using different units. See More

Top Pro

Very customizable

Not only is ones troops customizable through their looks, armor and weapon choices but there are many aspects of the game itself that can be changed such as the voice work or skipping cut scenes. See More

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Interesting use of relationships

Users can pair certain male female characters in battle to improve their relationship. Once it reaches a certain point the characters can breed offspring who then can be used as more troops in the team. This makes for an ingenious way to build up ones roster as well as adds a relationship aspect to the story and gameplay. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

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Philosophical sci-fi story that speculates on the consequences of human vices

The science-fiction story in Strange Journey Redux is among the best in the Shin Megami Tensei series. It's a clever commentary on human greed and lust for power, and speculates on the ways the planet can end up suffering from our excess and wastefulness. It starts off with you as part of a team investigating the Schwarwelt, a huge black hole eating away at the South Pole, that leads to several different dimensions filled with demons. Each of these dimensions and the demons within show what could possibly happen if humans let their vices overtake them. It's chilling because of how real everything feels, even in the realm of "impossible" demons and alternate dimensions. See More

Top Con

Incredibly hard, especially if you take the Law or Neutral routes

Since the difficulty in the Shin Megami Tensei games is a feature, this is more of a warning for new players than a complaint. Not only are the battles and dungeon crawling are relentless, but the challenge really kicks in during endgame. If you go for either the Law or Neutral routes, then be careful, because the final boss in those routes is the hardest one in the entire series. First timers may want to opt for Chaos during their first run through. Otherwise, grinding all the way to level 90 may be required if you can't defeat the final boss at lower levels, and that may take several hours. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawler, Horror

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Highly challenging, yet rewarding turn-based combat

The battles in the Shin Megami Tensei series are unforgiving in how difficult they are, and Strange Journey Redux is no exception. You fight with a party of demons you collect, aiming to pinpoint your enemy's elemental weaknesses and exploit them. Once you find the weakness, the demons in your party who share your moral alignment (Law, Chaos, or Neutral) will team up for extra damage through a co-op attack. If you don't look up a guide, then finding weaknesses is a matter of trial and error, and hoping you don't die while you figure things out. Most of the opponents you come across hit for a ton of damage, so you absolutely need to take advantage of their weaknesses for co-op attacks. And as you get farther along in the game, you get access to buffs to your party's attack, defense, evasion, and more, as well as debuffs to debilitate your foes. As you get better with the combat and earn some tough victories, the sense of satisfaction you get helps you to keep pushing forward. See More

Top Con

Your destinations are too often behind hidden doors

The bulk of exploration involves upgrading your gadgets to find more types of hidden doors, and it's done in a pretty unreasonable way. When you can't progress, chances are you need to find one of these upgrades somewhere on the map, though they're usually locked behind a door that you can't see. If you don't follow a guide, you have to spend a lot of time facing walls, backtracking again and again until you find what you're looking for. This happens way too much throughout the game, at times taking the fun out of the dungeon crawling and turning it into a slog. See More

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Your moral choices branch out to multiple endings

Your choices throughout the game determine which of the three alignments you fall under. Whether you lean toward Chaos with the demons, Law with the angels, or the Neutral alignment that rejects Law and Chaos, the later segments of the game change to reflect your views. Characters who were once your allies can become antagonists, or vice-versa, depending on which path you follow. Schwarzwelt and, in-turn, the world, shapes itself in drastic ways through your choices, leading you down different branches, each with their own powerful bosses to defeat, and unique endings that follow. See More

Top Con

Some of the puzzles can take a long time to figure out

There are a couple of notorious puzzles in this game. The main one, you encounter about halfway through the story: it involves a bunch of warping around the map and falling through traps in the ground to get to where you need to go. If you keep at it, you're sure to find your way eventually, but it's frustrating. See More

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You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. While fighting, you can recruit almost any enemy demon or angel as long as it's at your level or below, through a process called demon negotiation. You barter with them through a conversation before asking it to join you; if it likes you, and if you give it the items, money, and whatever else it asks you for, it may join your party. You can then fuse angels or demons together to create stronger allies with better abilities. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

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Intense and foreboding soundtrack with classical influences

In the best ways possible, the music ranges from grave and serious to majestic and elegant. Regular exploration themes have deep, booming choruses backed by relentless military drums, keeping you on-edge throughout the many hours you spend dungeon crawling. Boss battles are as foreboding as the enemies you face, with a range of blaring brass sounds that ground the tone and elevate your experience: even the period of silence in "Vehement Rage" conveys plenty of weight and importance. Major boss battles are even more impressive, fitting their Law, Chaos, or Neutral alignments in creative ways, with "Holy Miracle" bringing all the classical grandeur of a battle against a true being of Law. And the song that plays in the final dungeon, as well as the end credits theme, are both particularly special, with an unexpected tone that perfectly captures the end of such a strange journey. See More

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Hardcore dungeon crawling that keeps you on-edge

The dungeon crawling in Strange Journey Redux isn't for the faint of heart. It's a real test of your endurance, on top of the added difficulty of the random battle encounters. You play in first person, trekking through the dimensions of Schwarzwelt in search of a way back to Earth, searching through the areas to find upgrades to your gadgets and your ship. You have to deal with several puzzles, hidden doors, riddles, and different types of traps in your path, all in uncharted land with only your wits to guide you. If you're the type who craves a serious challenge, then this just might be the game for you. See More

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Features some new additions over the original Strange Journey

Strange Journey Redux is an updated re-release of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for the Nintendo DS. There are some brand new additions to bring in both new players and existing fans of the original, mainly the new character, Alex, who seems to oppose you and your team at every turn. Fighting her leads you to the new dungeon, the Womb of Grief, with several winding puzzles and bosses; completing this dungeon unlocks an enlightening perspective for whichever alignment-ending you earn. There are also plenty of other changes, such as updated character models and art, Japanese voice acting to replace the original's text-only story, and new apps for your gadgets that can ease the difficulty of battles and dungeon crawling. See More

SteamWorld Dig

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Unlimited replayability with a procedurally generated world

Through the use of random generation the game is able to create a different experience not only for each person that plays it but for each time one restarts the game. Which lends to a bunch of replayability. See More

Top Con

Combat mechanics are basic

Combat consists of hitting an enemy with ones pick or drill, which is time consuming and not really satisfying. It is much easier to just go around opponents, even if it takes more time. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Top Pro

World is permanently altered as you play through it

To navigate through the world of SteamWorld Dig, you need to dig through the earth, shaping out the tunnels and paths you need to pass through, requiring you to think twice about how to dig so you can get through the tunnel efficiently, and escape when you need to before you run out of power. See More

Top Con

Beginning of the game is somewhat tedious

Until a few upgrades are acquired and teleporters placed around the map for faster travel, it requires a bit of monotonous mining. See More

Top Con

Nice digger, but not really metroidvania

It has stuff to unlock - but you buy most of those options, unlike a metroidvania game. Also, down is always correct, unlike metroidvania. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

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Hardcore dungeon crawling that keeps you on-edge

The dungeon crawling in Strange Journey isn't for the faint of heart. It's a real test of your endurance, on top of the added difficulty of the random battle encounters. You play in first person, trekking through the dimensions of Schwarzwelt in search of a way back to Earth, searching through the areas to find upgrades to your gadgets and your ship. You have to deal with several puzzles, hidden doors, riddles, and different types of traps in your path, all in uncharted land with only your wits to guide you. If you're the type who craves a serious challenge, then this just might be the game for you. See More

Top Con

Some of the puzzles can take a long time to figure out

There are a couple of notorious puzzles in this game. The main one, you encounter about halfway through the story: it involves a bunch of warping around the map and falling through traps in the ground to get to where you need to go. If you keep at it, you're sure to find your way eventually, but it's frustrating. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawler, Horror

Top Pro

Intense and foreboding soundtrack with classical influences

In the best ways possible, the music ranges from grave and serious to majestic and elegant. Regular exploration themes have deep, booming choruses backed by relentless military drums, keeping you on-edge throughout the many hours you spend dungeon crawling. Boss battles are as foreboding as the enemies you face, with a range of blaring brass sounds that ground the tone and elevate your experience: even the period of silence in "Vehement Rage" conveys plenty of weight and importance. Major boss battles are even more impressive, fitting their Law, Chaos, or Neutral alignments in creative ways, with "Holy Miracle" bringing all the classical grandeur of a battle against a true being of Law. And the song that plays in the final dungeon, as well as the end credits theme, are both particularly special, with an unexpected tone that perfectly captures the end of such a strange journey. See More

Top Con

Your destinations are too often behind hidden doors

The bulk of exploration involves upgrading your gadgets to find more types of hidden doors, and it's done in a pretty unreasonable way. When you can't progress, chances are you need to find one of these upgrades somewhere on the map, though they're usually locked behind a door that you can't see. If you don't follow a guide, you have to spend a lot of time facing walls, backtracking again and again until you find what you're looking for. This happens way too much throughout the game, at times taking the fun out of the dungeon crawling and turning it into a slog. See More

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You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. While fighting, you can recruit almost any enemy demon or angel as long as it's at your level or below, through a process called demon negotiation. You barter with them through a conversation before asking it to join you; if it likes you, and if you give it the items, money, and whatever else it asks you for, it may join your party. You can then fuse angels or demons together to create stronger allies with better abilities. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

Incredibly hard, especially if you take the Law or Neutral routes

Since the difficulty in the Shin Megami Tensei games is a feature, this is more of a warning for new players than a complaint. Not only are the battles and dungeon crawling relentless, but the challenge really kicks in during endgame. If you go for either the Law or Neutral routes, then be careful, because the final boss in those routes is the hardest one in the entire series. First timers may want to opt for Chaos during their first run through. Otherwise, grinding all the way to level 90 may be required if you can't defeat the final boss at lower levels, and that may take several hours. See More

Top Pro

Your moral choices branch out to multiple endings

Your choices throughout the game determine which of the three alignments you fall under. Whether you lean toward Chaos with the demons, Law with the angels, or the Neutral alignment that rejects Law and Chaos, the later segments of the game change to reflect your views. Characters who were once your allies can become antagonists, or vice-versa, depending on which path you follow. Schwarzwelt and, in-turn, the world, shapes itself in drastic ways through your choices, leading you down different branches, each with their own powerful bosses to defeat, and unique endings that follow. See More

Top Pro

Highly challenging, yet rewarding turn-based combat

The battles in the Shin Megami Tensei series are unforgiving in how difficult they are, and Strange Journey is no exception. You fight with a party of demons you collect, aiming to pinpoint your enemy's elemental weaknesses and exploit them. Once you find the weakness, the demons in your party who share your moral alignment (Law, Chaos, or Neutral) will team up for extra damage through a co-op attack. If you don't look up a guide, then finding weaknesses is a matter of trial and error, and hoping you don't die while you figure things out. Most of the opponents you come across hit for a ton of damage, so you absolutely need to take advantage of their weaknesses for co-op attacks. And as you get farther along in the game, you get access to buffs to your party's attack, defense, evasion, and more, as well as debuffs to debilitate your foes. As you get better with the combat and earn some tough victories, the sense of satisfaction you get helps you to keep pushing forward. See More

Top Pro

Philosophical sci-fi story that speculates on the consequences of human vices

The science-fiction story in Strange Journey is among the best in the Shin Megami Tensei series. It's a clever commentary on human greed and lust for power, and speculates on the ways the planet can end up suffering from our excess and wastefulness. It starts off with you as part of a team investigating the Schwarwelt, a huge black hole eating away at the South Pole, that leads to several different dimensions filled with demons. Each of these dimensions and the demons within show what could possibly happen if humans let their vices overtake them. It's chilling because of how real everything feels, even in the realm of "impossible" demons and alternate dimensions. See More

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

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Accessible to newcomers to the Shin Megami Tensei series

If you've never played a mainline Shin Megami Tensei game, then this is a fine place to start. Instead of one harsh difficulty set for the whole game like most others in the series, you can select your preferred difficulty option at the beginning. Navigating the world map is much-improved from Shin Megami Tensei IV as well, making it easier to figure out where you need to go. The combat system is also much better here, with fewer frustrating mechanics to deal with, offering a much smoother experience. In terms of gameplay, this is one of the strongest entries in the series and a good starting point for new players. See More

Top Con

Spoils Shin Megami Tensei IV right from the start

This is a direct sequel to Shin Megami Tensei IV, following the Neutral ending in that game. You won't be lost trying to figure out what's going on, since the exposition does a good job of explaining things, but it spoils pretty much everything. You may want to consider going back and playing SMT IV first before jumping in here. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawling

Top Pro

Your moral choices branch out to multiple endings

Your choices throughout the game determine which of the three alignments you fall under. Whether you lean toward Chaos with the demons, Law with the angels, or the Anarchy and Peace routes that reject Law and Chaos, the latter half of the game changes to reflect your views. Characters who were once your allies can become your enemies, or vice-versa, depending on which path you follow. The world shapes itself in drastic ways through your choices, leading you down different branches, each with their own separate locations to explore, powerful bosses to defeat, and unique endings that follow. See More

Top Con

The Law and Chaos alignments are shallow and black-and-white

There's little depth or nuance to the ending paths you experience if your alignment ends up siding with Law or Chaos. Certain characters represent each alignment, and their reasons for going down these routes can be interpreted as too extreme for players to sympathize with. In SMT IV: Apocalypse, these endings are also shallower than they were in SMT IV. Since the other two endings have their own separate problems, none of the outcomes turn out all that well. See More

Top Pro

Philosophical story where you shape the fate of the world

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is all about letting you decide what is right and what is just in a malleable world. You start off as an inexperienced demon hunter who's only trying to get by in a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo, in the middle of a war between demons and angels. As you get stronger and learn more about the demons' and angels' ideologies, your choices throughout the story determine how things turn out in the end. See More

Top Con

The Peace and Anarchy endings are flawed

These endings are strange for a number of reasons. With one route, the story spends the whole game making one point about certain themes, and then this particular ending shatters all of that in such an extreme way. It's an unsatisfying and anti-climatic in all sorts of ways. The other one is a mess of JRPG stereotypes that doesn't make any sense for a mainline Shin Megami Tensei game. It's the writers' experiment with a different kind of tone, but it may leave veteran players of the series with a bad taste in their mouths. See More

Top Pro

Brilliant music with a unique sound

The music in this game is on another level. Right from the opening main theme, it sets the tone with an otherworldly song with real weight and gravity, and an added twist with electronic sounds. This type of tune comes up in other tracks as a great leitmotif. Other songs mix in rock sounds with classical or even hip-hop influences, making for some memorable moments when an unexpected track kicks in. Some of the boss music, especially later in the game, are quite inventive, with some of them sounding downright mind-bending in how experimental they are. It's an overall incredible collection that stays with you for a long time. See More

Top Con

The story puts too much emphasis on your tropey companions

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse has a lighter tone than SMT IV, mostly because of the "happier" cast of characters, but they all lean too far into stereotypes. The characters don't really grow in meaningful ways beyond their archetypes, the friendship angle gets played up a lot, and there's a pointless love triangle between Nanashi, your main character, and two of the female characters. All of this is too much of a departure from the bleak and grounded storylines in the rest of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series, with this game pandering to another separate audience. See More

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. While fighting, you can recruit almost any enemy demon or angel as long as it's at your level or below, through a process called demon negotiation. You barter with them through a conversation before asking it to join you; if it likes you, and if you give it the items, money, and whatever else it asks you for, it may join your party. You can then fuse angels or demons together to create stronger allies with better abilities. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Pro

Highly challenging, yet rewarding turn-based combat

The battles in the Shin Megami Tensei series are unforgiving in how difficult they are, and SMT IV: Apocalypse is no exception. You fight with a party of demons you collect, aiming to pinpoint your enemy's elemental weaknesses and exploit them. Once you find the weakness, you're rewarded with an extra turn; if you keep landing the right attacks, then the game lets you chain a finite number of turns one after another. If you don't look up a guide, then finding weaknesses is a matter of trial and error, and hoping you don't die while you figure things out. But this also applies to your enemies -- if they exploit your weaknesses, then they get extra turns instead. Most of the opponents you come across hit for a ton of damage, so you absolutely need to take advantage of gaining extra turns. And as you get farther along in the game, you get access to buffs to your party's attack, defense, evasion, and more, as well as debuffs to debilitate your foes. As you get better with the combat and earn some tough victories, the sense of satisfaction you get helps you to keep pushing forward. See More

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Solid voice work from cast of the movie

The voice acting in Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens is really good, especially if you're familiar with the film. The game features both voice clips from the actual film as well as new voice lines recorded by many of the actors from the film reprising their roles. It's great to hear the actual voices from characters like Rey and Han Solo, giving you the feeling of actually playing through the movie itself with the real actors. The new voice work is generally well done and adds authenticity to the experience. See More

Top Con

Doesn't change up the LEGO game formula

As the LEGO games are meant for younger audiences, it's great that they're easy to pick up and learn, but LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens doesn't offer anything new to the franchise. It's the same setup of adapting the original material with the same type of humor, and the same type of combat. If you've played other LEGO games, you'll pretty much find a similar experience here. See More

Specs

Steam Rating:Very Positive

Genre:Action-Adventure

Co-Op:2 Player Local (except on Nintendo 3DS)

Top Pro

Side levels provide backstory for characters and events from the movie

You can unlock additional bonus levels that delve into extra events not shown in the movie, showing what some characters were doing before the movie takes place. These levels are "canon", though with the typical LEGO humor added on top, making them fun to experience if you're a big Star Wars fan. See More

Top Con

Simple and repetitive gameplay

The combat is basically a mindless button-mashing experience that requires no skill and offers no forms of character progression. There isn't anything with depth or intricacy here, as it's meant for a younger audience. The most you'll see to change things up are puzzles that you have to figure out from time to time. If you're looking for something more involved and complex, you're probably better off looking elsewhere. See More

Top Pro

Light-hearted story

With well-written characters who quip and deliver memorable lines, the story in LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is wonderful for anyone interested in a lighter, kid-friendly interpretation of the Star Wars universe. The villains are competent without needing to be overtly evil, and the main protagonists are charming in their heroism and banter with other characters. There are some genuinely funny moments that even adults will probably get some laughs out of, making this an ideal game for Star Wars fans of all ages to enjoy. See More

Fire Emblem Warriors

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There is a distinct sense of character progression

Between battles and story chapters, you can upgrade character levels in the training grounds by spending gold, choose talents for your heroes, and forge powerful crests and weapons with materials gathered during battles. If you find your heroes simply aren't strong enough to tackle the next battle or chapter, you'll always have to opportunity to go back and grind old battles for new crafting materials, experience, and special items. This is a nice touch that helps players feel their heroes getting stronger, especially when you get to go back to an old battle completely overpowered and just demolish everything. See More

Top Con

Army management can be tedious due to AI

When units are set to offense, they become reckless and tend to get themselves killed far too often. Upon capturing their objective, they will completely stop and await new orders. When set to defense, they will heal themselves and guard forts, but refuse to engage approaching enemies, even ones who are close by. This poor AI makes micromanaging units a hassle at times, as they constantly have to be given new orders. See More

Specs

Genre:Hack-and-Slash, Role-Playing

Top Pro

Combat is satisfying and strategic

The fast paced action is the heart of the game, and you won't be at a loss for things to swing your weapon at. Virtual armies of enemies fill each and every map to the brim. Each hero has their own set of special moves that can be used, oftentimes with over the top animations such as a powerful weapon swing sending dozens of enemies flying in different directions, along with special effect such as bursts of light and wind trails behind each strike. Chaining attacks together in vicious combos look and feel great, with each hit feeling like it connects. The game uses a rock paper scissors type combat system called the "weapon triangle" in which certain weapons are strong and weak against other weapon types. Swords beat axes, axes beat spears, and spears beat swords. This adds an interesting layer to combat where you'll want to make sure you're using the right weapon against the right enemy for maximum damage. See More

Top Con

Story is generic

The kingdom is being overrun with monstrous armies from another dimension, and it's up to our heroes to stop it. There's not a lot of character development, nor much to the plot. The paper thin story probably won't hold your attention, and can be mostly skipped over to get to the action. See More

Top Pro

Potential permadeath adds panicked excitement to battle

If one of your characters die, they may be potentially gone for good as raising them from the dead requires a large amount of rare reagents. While you may be able to resurrect a fallen hero from time to time, you won't be able to continually bring them back if you let them die constantly. This encourages strategic play by keeping an eye on the entire battlefield, as opposed to just mashing buttons and cutting through ranks of enemies. Nobody wants to see their favorite hero die, so this adds a sense of panicked excitement to the action. See More

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History modes expands on the base game with challenges

History mode is a fast-paced and exciting mode where you tackle a map (based on classic events from previous Fire Emblem games) with various challenges requiring a certain number of enemies to be killed, or the map to be cleared in a specific time frame. Some of the most tense moments are to be had in this mode due to these battle requirements which aren't present in the regular story mode, and it will really put your skills to the test. By completing these challenges, new weapons and characters are unlocked, making it a rather rewarding experience and a great way to keep the gameplay going after the main story mode is completed. See More

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All favorite characters together in one place

Over 20 of the more popular and well-loved characters from the Fire Emblem franchise appear in this game, including Rowan, Caeda, Lyn, Chrom, and more. It's a treat to see most of the characters from all the Fire Emblem games all together in one place, teaming up with one another when they otherwise wouldn't in other games. See More

Bravely Second: End Layer

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Better end game pacing

One complaint with the previous title in the series was that the late game content was weak. That is not an issue with End Layer as the pacing is uniform keeping the plot interesting all the way to the end. See More

Top Con

Some poor dialogue

There are certain characters in the game that no matter what is going on never break from their poorly written dialogue (which can come off as cheesy). This can be immersion breaking as it does not seem realistic to behave in such a manner when important things are happening. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing

Top Pro

Good mix of story genres

Whether your interest is in sci-fi, western or medieval themes, Bravely Second has it. Each character has a different background that is then explored in the game making for an experience that you never know what is going to come up next. See More

Top Con

Some jobs are limited to fighting certain characters

There are particular jobs available in the game that can only be gained by fighting a particular character. This is played out in the story through a conflict, one that you may not personally agree with on one side, but requires for that disagreeable choice to be made in order to gain the job. This creates an inner personal conflict with the player in having to choose a job they may want and having to agree with something they actually do not agree with. See More

Top Pro

Many choices in the Job System

The Job System in the game allows for changing the job of any playable character in the game. The choices are varied and allows for great customization. This makes for an individualistic experience for anyone who plays as there are 30 different jobs that can be chosen, which allows for many different combinations. See More

Top Con

May be too familiar

Many of the locales in the game are the same as what were seen in the original, which feels a bit like a re-hash. With little changed in the combat mechanics of the game, overall it can seem overly familiar, which may not appeal to those looking for something more from the series. See More

Top Pro

Unique risk reward combat system

The combat in Bravely Second revolves around a risk reward system where the player can choose to take up to four turn sanctimoniously, which will leave them turn-less for the next three turns. This can of course open them up to numerous attacks where they will be unable to do anything, even heal. On the flip side one can choose to take a singe turn in order to build up the amount of extra turns they can take when they do want to take a risk. This balance is what makes for strategic gameplay in that one needs to weigh if the risk outweighs the reward. See More

Hyrule Warriors: Legends

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Satisfying hack-and-slash combat against dense packs of enemies

Taking out huge packs of enemies in Hyrule Warriors is incredibly satisfying. Even though your foes outnumber you, you have powerful, flashy attacks to lift them in the air and take them down, dozens at a time. Slashing through everyone with spinning attacks with gigantic swords, for example, never gets old, especially while playing as one of your favorite characters from The Legend of Zelda games. Clearing out maps of all the enemies makes you feel powerful and gives you a great sense of accomplishment. See More

Top Con

No co-op

As Hyrule Warriors: Legends is a port of Hyrule Warriors for the Wii U, this version is somewhat downscaled, as you'd expect for a handheld game, mainly with the lack of co-op and multiplayer options. The rest of the same features are here except those, which is a shame, since some players may mostly have their eye on this game to play with friends. Unfortunately, if you want to play with others, you are better off going with the Wii U version instead or even the Nintendo Switch game, Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, both of which have good splitscreen co-op features. See More

Specs

Genre:Hack-and-Slash, Fighting

Top Pro

You get to play as several characters from The Legend of Zelda series

Hyrule Warriors has a good roster of characters to play as, each of them from The Legend of Zelda games. Aside from the most well-known characters like Zelda and Link, fans of the series get to enjoy plenty of other familiar faces. You can play as Ganondorf, the main antagonist from the series, as well as other characters like Sheik, Princess Ruto, Yuga, Volga, and many more. Even if you're not a diehard fan of the series, you can still enjoy the sheer variety of characters and all their different fighting styles. See More

Luigi’s Mansion

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

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May be too niche for some Persona fans

While the blend of role-playing and dungeon crawling sounds interesting, this may be a hard sell for Persona fans who just want to play this game for the characters. There's no getting around the gameplay, especially considering the game itself is easily over 60 hours long. The dungeon crawling isn't that good, either, compared to other games of the same genre, making this an even less appealing option for fans. Even though the writers consider this game canon, you're still better off skipping over Persona Q if you don't think the gameplay will be up your alley. See More

Top Pro

Tons of story fanservice for Persona 3 and Persona 4 players

If you love Persona 3 and Persona 4, then this is probably the game for you. Persona Q combines all of the main cast members from both games together in one universe. The story involves all of the characters teaming up together to face a new outbreak of Shadows within a mysterious labyrinth that appears in the Persona 4 high school. With everyone together in one place, that means getting to see them interact together in cute and hilarious ways that Persona 3 and 4 fans can appreciate. Even though the story relies heavily on players having prior knowledge of both casts, new players should still be able to enjoy the game as they get to know everyone through their many interactions together. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawler, Roguelike

Top Con

Too many characters are badly written in order to be "funny"

The downside of all the fanservice is that not all of it is meaningful or well-done. Most of comes down to characters exaggerating a single, shallow trait without any growth whatsoever. One of the worst offenders is Chie from Persona 4, who, in her original game, is a bit of a tomboy and a loudmouth who loves meat, but she genuinely cares about her friends and wants to protect them. Here in Persona Q, her main character trait is that she loves meat and yells about this at every opportunity. Akihiko from Persona 3 suffers this as well, dumbed down from his calm and collected athletic self to an annoying guy obsessed with protein. It's so bad that this can be a major turn-off for some fans, so beware. See More

Top Pro

Combines strategic role-playing battles and dungeon crawling gamplay together

The gameplay is unique in the ways it merges traditional turn-based combat with dungeon crawling. You have a party of five members from either Persona 3 or Persona 4, each of whom you can freely customize with certain skills through their supernatural Persona beings. You can bring along anyone you want instead of only picking whoever has the most relevant skills for any given fight. Exploration is in first person, where you trek through the layers of the dungeons in order to find treasure, progress the story, and fight boss battles at the end. The dungeon crawling may be outside of some Persona fans' comfort zones, but the battles and story might be familiar enough for you to give the new gameplay a shot. See More

Top Con

Some of the dungeons are too difficult and frustrating

The first and final dungeons are way too hard. It's bad with the first dungeon, since that's when you're learning the game and getting used to things. The difficulty gets better and more manageable after that, though you may lose interest before reaching this point. And then the challenge gets tuned up way too high again during the last dungeon, which might discourage some players from even finishing the game at all. See More

Top Pro

Great music

Persona Q has an incredibly catchy soundtrack. It has many songs from Persona 3 and Persona 4, along with some new, yet familiar tracks. The trip-hop/hip-hop soundtrack blends classical, rock, pop, and synthwave sounds together in such a unique way that no other game really comes close to. New and old songs alike have a distinct rhythm and the cool, modern sense of style that fits perfectly in the Persona universe. Despite all the different ideas, it all comes together as a cool and cohesive sound. See More

Top Con

Certain characters are unbalanced

You can absolutely break many battles just by bringing in overpowered characters. In particular, Naoto from Persona 4 is ridiculous with her abilities to instantly kill enemies with light and dark skills. She can help a lot with the more challenging dungeons, but she's too strong compared to other characters who end up as dead weight in comparison. Using these broken characters can feel cheap. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker

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Tense and strategic turn-based battles in an isometric view

Just like the first game, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 is full of challenging battles that really make you think. You have your standard human party members who make up units of teams along the square grids of the battlefield, with each human character taking along two demons to act as their party members. Moving across the grids in an isometric view, you engage tough enemy demons in turn-based battles where you work to exploit their elemental weaknesses or land critical hits, both of which reward you with an extra turn. And there's always the danger that you may get surrounded and overwhelmed by the enemies, most of whom hit pretty hard and can easily give you a tough time if you're not careful. See More

Top Con

The art style doesn't quite look right

The anime art style for the characters has a few weird hang-ups. The sharp, colorful aesthetic would have been nicer if most characters didn't look cross-eyed most of the time. Some of the female characters, like Io, one of the core cast members, have such strange, gravity-defying breasts that don't look natural at all. And because the story plays out like a visual novel, you have to see the character's 2D art up close each time they speak, you can't really ignore how the art looks. See More

Specs

Genre:Tactical Role-Playing, Visual Novel

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. Quite early into the game, you get access to a demon auction system where you buy new demons to join your party. You can then fuse them together to create stronger allies with better abilities, mixing and matching demons as you need to take on any challenge that the game throws at you. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

The main screen is the smaller, bottom one instead of the top one

For some reason, the main screen where all of the gameplay happens is the bottom one, which is smaller than the top screen on the Nintendo 3DS. You only use the top screen to look at the map or the enemy demons' stats and weaknesses. It's an odd design decision that can take some getting used to. See More

Top Pro

Suspenseful story about saving your friends' lives during an apocalypse in Tokyo

This time around, Devil Survivor 2 focuses more on the bonds you share with your party members, keeping the stakes high throughout your journey. You start off by getting a mysterious message on your phone, showing you exactly how someone will die in the future unless you manage to save them. The toughest part is that it's possible for you to fail and lose party members entirely, making you lose out on one less person to use in battle. All of this happens during a sudden appearance of demons in Tokyo, where you obtain the power to summon and control them as you will. Using your demons in fights to help save your friends is at the core of the game's story. See More

Top Pro

Record Breaker version features a few additions over the original release

The Record Breaker re-release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 has a few new features over the original game. They added in voice acting, some new demons to collect, the option to change the difficulty setting, and a lengthy new section of the story that you can access whenever you want without needing to start a new game. With these additions, this is easily the best and definitive edition of Devil Survivor 2. See More

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

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Quirky cyberpunk story and setting with an old school feel

Soul Hackers is a funny and eccentric spin-off of the serious Shin Megami Tensei games, with a more character-focused story this time around. You play as a hacker among a group of like-minded friends, sneaking your way into databases and systems just for fun at first, until you discover a bunch of questionable activity from a huge corporation. Even though the story mixes in the moral dilemmas that this corporation imposes on its workers to carry out so many terrible deeds, the narrative makes sure to balance things out with lots of charm and silliness. As you and your friends take down the corporation through hacking into an alternate reality and summoning demons to fight by your side, there are plenty of light moments where the characters joke around and laugh together. The cyberpunk setting also has a tangible 1990s feel to it in its atmosphere and aesthetics, speculating on how the internet would soon take over our lives. It's a great mix of humor, mysticism mixed with technology, and well-written banter between the protagonists, standing out in a clever way from the rest of the games in the series. See More

Top Con

Somewhat dated

While this is a good remake for the most part, it does still show its age. Dungeon crawling can feel monotonous sometimes because of the samey environments with weak textures. The existing FMV sequences from the original game also look like the devs just copied and pasted it over from the Sega Saturn version with its lower resolution and grainy visuals. Plus, the navigation, battle, and demon mechanics are straight from the SNES era, which may not excite many people outside of the SMT core base of fans. Although, this is a great game for anyone who's willing to embrace these things as endearing instead of annoying. See More

Specs

Genre:Role-Playing, Dungeon Crawler

Top Pro

Enjoyable and challenging turn-based combat

The turn-based battles in Soul Hackers can be a challenge, but overcoming the difficulty is all part of the fun. You have a party of demons with you as you fight against other demons, basically hitting them with attacks and spells that they don't absorb or resist in order to beat them. Keeping your attacks going while making sure your team stays healthy is a familiar balancing act for JRPG veterans, though the moderately tense feeling to the fights in this game is quite unique and unlike anything else. It's enjoyable growing your team and taking on tough bosses, all the while getting stronger as you get better at the game. See More

Top Con

High random encounter rate

The dungeon crawling can be off-putting at times because of the relatively high random battle encounter rate. It's not terrible if you're used to this type of thing in JRPGs, but for anyone who isn't, it can be pretty grating to have to stop every few steps to fight a battle. This problem gets worse as you run out of Magnetite to keep your demons summoned, and if you do completely run out, you can't keep any of your demons out, making navigation much more difficult than it needs to be. See More

Top Pro

You get to collect and control many types of demons and angels to fight in battle

Demons and angels act as your party members in battle. While fighting, you can recruit almost any enemy demon or angel as long as it's at your level or below, and if it's compatible the moral alignments (Law, Chaos, Neutral) of the other demons in your party, through a process called demon negotiation. You barter with them through a conversation before asking it to join you; if it likes you, and if you give it the items, money, and whatever else it asks you for, it may join your party. Keeping demons in your party requires an expendable resource called Magnetite that you can buy from shops. Getting stronger demons is a matter of fusing your existing ones together to obtain new party members; this is especially important, since demons don't level up with you in battle. And there are hundreds of different types of demons and angels with their own fitting designs and relevant mythological lore, ranging from familiar names like Shiva, Lilith, Valkyrie, Phoenix, Raphael, and many many more. See More

Top Con

Not an ideal choice for newcomers to the Shin Megami Tensei series

If you've never played a Shin Megami Tensei game before, this may not be the best place to start, because the demon mechanics and dungeon crawling can be pretty daunting to newcomers. Players who have other SMT games under their belt are better off, since their understanding of the more recent installments will help them figure out the more old school things like Magnetite management that the newer games don't have. Without that knowledge and experience, you might not enjoy the charm of Soul Hackers, and all that it has to offer as a glimpse into the earlier games that paved the way for everything that came after. See More

Top Pro

Intricate dungeon crawling played in a first-person view

Exploring dungeons in Soul Hackers is pretty in-depth, with large, sprawling maps and the occasional puzzles to figure out. You traipse along in the first-person, fighting battles, finding treasure, and progressing the story through boss battles along the way. The dungeon crawling in this game is pretty involved in just how much of the maps there is to reveal and discover, feeling a lot like the first two Shin Megami Tensei games for the SNES in the early 1990s. If you love dungeon crawlers and you're looking for a challenge, then this is a good choice. See More

Top Con

If your main character gets hit with an instant kill spell, it's game over

The most frustrating part about the combat is that there's a certain degree of unpredictability and randomness to it because of instant kill spells. There are light or dark spells that, if they hit any of your characters, there's a good chance that they will die in one shot. If they have resistances to light or dark, then they stand a better chance. But if your main character gets hit, and they die, it's an automatic game over, possibly throwing hours of progress down the drain. See More

Top Pro

Features some nice additions as a remake of the original Soul Hackers

This remake of Soul Hackers for the Nintendo 3DS is the first one localized for North America and Europe. Since the original release in 1997 for the Sega Saturn and the subsequent port for the first PlayStation were only available in Japan, the devs included a few new bonuses to help the game stay current. There's some pretty solid voice acting, a new FMV scene at the start of the game, the ability to save anywhere, and an option change the difficulty at any time, including right in the middle of battle. The addition of the Nintendo 3DS's bottom screen takes away a lot of the headaches from the dungeon crawling, since you can see the map right there as you explore and unlock areas as you go. This is a fine way to play the game for the first time if you couldn't get your hands on it in Japanese way back when. See More

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

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Top Pro

Engaging rhythm gameplay

The way the rhythm controls work is great for keeping you engaged and on your toes. While the basics are simple enough, with certain prompts signalling for you to press or tap your buttons or to instead use your 3DS stylus to trace a long note with the touchpad, things pick up pretty quickly. Once you get to the more upbeat battle themes that are faster and have a mix of different button inputs flying from left to right across your screen, it's a fun and satisfying challenge to pull off all of the notes correctly. For Final Fantasy fans especially, following along with the gameplay to the songs you know and love by heart is really special. See More

Top Con

The role-playing elements don't matter that much

While it's nice that the game has role-playing aspects like stats and skills to upgrade, there's really no point in bothering with them. They're supposed to help you with the rhythm gameplay, but they don't actually make a difference in the end, since you still have to do most of the work with your own reactions and button presses. The role-playing part is just there for the sake of being there, and as a wink and nod to the RPG identity of the franchise. See More

Specs

Genre:Rhythm, Role-Playing

Top Pro

Cute visual style

The chibi character sprites are quite cute as another throwback to older Final Fantasy games. The rounded, colorful designs make even more serious characters like Squall Leonhart from Final Fantasy VIII look adorable, helping them fit in with this unusual but fun mash-up of genres. Younger players who aren't as familiar with Final Fantasy may find the style appealing as a way to get into the series through this game, while older fans can appreciate the differences and novelty. See More

Top Con

Text in the background cutscenes is in Japanese

For whatever reason, we didn't get the localized versions of the cutscenes. The devs instead left the Japanese text in the English version of the game instead of including the same shots of the localized scenes. While fans may be able to recognize when and where the scenes play by memory alone, new players will probably be lost and unable to follow the emotions that help carry the songs. See More

Top Pro

Comprehensive collection of tracks that span the Final Fantasy franchise

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy has 78 music tracks in the base game from Final Fantasy I to Final Fantasy XIII, with a handful of the most memorable songs from each title. Battle themes from the earlier Final Fantasy games are the ones that hold up best, with fast-paced melodies and a distinct sound that carries through the first six games. Fans are sure to recognize the bigger, more iconic final boss themes like the opera-orchestral "Dancing Mad" from Final Fantasy VI and "One-Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII. The wonderfully emotional vocal themes, "Melodies of Life" from Final Fantasy IX" and "Suteki Da Ne" from Final Fantasy X are also here as well. And if you want even more songs, there are over 50 DLC songs to purchase through the Nintendo eShop. See More

Top Con

There isn't much of a story mode

Other than some quick exposition at the start to set things up, you won't find a story mode here at all. Since the Final Fantasy games are well-known as RPGs with good stories, it's weird that Theatrhythm includes RPG elements but all but ignores the story entirely. The story isn't exactly essential, though, since the gameplay carries everything quite well. But for fans who are on the fence about getting a rhythm game, you unfortunately won't find a noteworthy story mode here to pull you in. See More

Top Pro

Incredible amount of nostalgia for Final Fantasy fans

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a good callback to the games in the series, specifically geared toward longtime fans. The cast of characters and songs ranges from the first Final Fantasy back in the 1980s all the way to Final Fantasy XIII that released in 2009. Having the recognizable characters together like Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VIII, Yuna from Final Fantasy X, Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, and Terra from Final Fantasy VI, as well as a fantastic collection of iconic music from the franchise, helps this feel like a great celebration of the series. Most of all, getting to see familiar cutscenes in the background of the rhythm gameplay is a nice touch that Final Fantasy fans can appreciate. See More

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