by OL » Wed Jan 31, 2018 1:11 pm
Even if it is the old engine, it's still no excuse for the game to operate like a PS1 RPG. It's more a question of optimization. Being that it's an engine that was created last generation (it started with Yakuza 5) running on current hardware, and the fact that they, themselves, created it... you'd kind of think they'd be able to optimize it a bit more, get more out of it. But no, they're aiming more for "quick and easy" rather than "new and interesting."
Don't get me wrong, it still looks alright; I'm an FotNS nut, so I'll obviously play it if it gets localized. I did, after all, play through both Ken's Rage and Ken's Rage 2 almost to 100%, and those games had about a thousand times less variety than this one looks to have. I think I'm just a bit jaded with most modern Japanese games in general; more often than not, they typically seem to resign themselves to old, comfortable design philosophies rather than trying to forge ahead and be adventurous. I can't remember the last time I was really, genuinely excited for a new JRPG, for example. And I still, haven't played through Yakuza 0 or Kiwami yet; not because they look bad, but because they're literally just more of the same as the previous three games in the series. Which were good, mind you, I just got burnt out on them.
It's just weirdly frustrating, because I look at something like this and see so much potential being a bit wasted. A few very simple changes could make it feel new and immersive and absorbing, but instead it's a lot of menus, clicky dialogue boxes, blank loading screens, and an underwhelming overworld.
But then again, I'm a really fickle little bitch sometimes, so maybe I'm just in a mood.