My 5 Christmas Wish List of 2020

 

Ahh it's almost a Christmas, a holiday season that everyone celebrating the most special festival over the decade. You see them setting up Christmas Trees filled with lights and bells, playing snowball fights, building up Snowman, decorating stuff in living room, singing Christmas songs, watching Christmas films, and finally Santa giving away to children and families with special gifts that been already wrapped up is what made this whole season so special.

I am looking forward to pick 5 of my video games that I'm adding it to my most wanted Christmas wish list that I wanted to get it on my Christmas holiday, but to keep you in mind that these are not the actual top 5s because this blog is about any 5 of these games that I might considering getting it on Christmas Day.

So without go further do, here is my 5 Christmas Wish List of 2020.

1 - Yakuza 6: The Song of Life (PS4)

     

 As a massive fan of Yakuza series, one of the SEGA's non-stop action-brawling that was known for its fully-rich story written, memorable cast of characters, and insane amount of action-packed presentation and brutally fight sequences which is the reason why I loved this series so much. 

Starting off with the Yakuza 3 and 4 which are very first two Yakuza games that I ever played on my PS3 back in my early 2010s days and then I went into playing some later games on PS4 including Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1 and 2 (Remakes), and Remastered Collection. 

I wanted to get a hands on with the Yakuza 6: The Song of Life which is meant to be a final closure of your favourite original protagonist's saga leading the developer behind the whole series went to focus on entirely new adventure with completely new protagonist for recent game such as Yakuza: Like a Dragon.

I was hoping to look forward the last Yakuza game that I really needed to catch up with the final conclusion of Kiryu's saga, so I can able to move on with the entirely new Yakuza game that already came out this year.

2 - Project X Zone 2 (3DS)

                      

I'm a fan of the video games crossover series where you can bring your favourite characters, stories, settings, and universes from separate franchises to meet and interact with each other. 

I grew up playing the crossover titles such as Marvel vs Capcom, King of Fighters, SEGA All-Stars Racing, Battletoads and Double Dragon - The Ultimate Team, and of course Super Smash Bros that brings out the most interesting things in video games, as much as the comic book company like Marvel and DC did a same with their own crossover series like Marvel's Avengers and DC's Justice League.

There's one of the game that catches my attention was Project X Zone 2 for the 3DS which is a turn-based RPGs title cross between the three companies such as SEGA, Capcom, and Namco had agreed to bring their characters of the different franchises in whole game.

You will have various of rosters such as Ryu and Ken from Street Fighter, Akira and Pai from Virtua Fighter, Jill, Chris and Leon from Resident Evil, Dante from Devil May Cry, Jin and Heihachi from Tekken, Kiryu and Majima from Yakuza, and many more playable units featuring in this game. 

The price of this game is quite a bit valuable at online stores such as Amazon and Ebay which cost almost between £50 to £60 (SPOILER ALERT!!!! I already got this copy in new condition for like £24 from Ebay...yeah, yeah I know it sounds like a cheating to include this on my wishlist, but oh well), so this is likely to become a future rarest 3DS game if the original price will likely go skyrocketed in later years.

3 - Kid Icarus Uprising (3DS)

   

The 3DS system is not been known for its own shooter libraries besides stuff like Capcom's Resident Evil Revelations is one exception as being the most impressive showcase of the 3DS standards, while Konami's Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D are also considered as a decent looking port of the PS2's original title, but not quite as smoother as the HD collection for PS3, X360, and PS Vita.

There's one of the game that had caught my interest was Nintendo's Kid Icarus Uprising for 3DS which is a game mixed with the both third-person and rail-shooter genre making a departure of the 2D action-platformer from the first original game for NES.

I did not expect Kid Icarus made a surprising return which took 26 years to make a new installiment for 3DS since the original NES title being released in 1986, but I gotta admit the character Pit was making a first appearance as the fighting roster in Super Smash Bros Brawl for Wii which came out 4 years way before this game released in 2012.               

I am curious to try out this game to see if its any good on the 3DS because I didn't had any of the proper shooter games on my 3DS collection except I had Capcom's Resident Evil: Mercenaries 3D which is more of the average shooter title, while Nintendo's Codename Steam is just more of the tactical RPG focused than being the action-based style shooter.

I wanted to get my high hopes on this game which is the only shooter game on the 3DS library that I am considering it adding to my wishlist for this Christmas season.

4 - Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)

Back in old days of 90s where Square Enix was responsible for their well known RPGs library such as the classics like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Romancing Saga, and of course their critically successful franchises such as Final Fantasy that everyone loves the series. 

It was known for its groundbreaking story presentation, memorable cast of characters, unique open-world design, orchestrated original soundtrack, and intelligent turn-based gameplay that made Final Fantasy the most influential RPGs series ever made by gaming press and fans. 

The most beloved 1997's title that became commercially successful on the PS1 is Final Fantasy VII which is the first FF game appeared on the PlayStation platform since the previous 6 games were made for mostly Nintendo consoles which is the reason why it really helped the sales of the Sony's first console as well as making the FFVII becoming a PS1's best-seller title worldwide.  

The legacy of FFVII had led the fan community demanding the company for the full remake of the original masterpiece which was already revealed in Sony's E3 2015 showing off the first teaser trailer of the FFVII remake had hyped the whole gaming fans worldwide. 

Square Enix had finally made the release of the remake for PS4 this year and I was looking forward to play this game that I been waiting this for many years to make it dreams come true.

5 - New Super Lucky's Tale (PS4)

When it comes with the classic-style 3D platformer similar to Super Mario 64, this game had caught my interest to play this kind of style that I wanted to add it on my wishlist which is New Super Lucky's Tale.

It is a traditional 3D platformer where you take control of adventurous fox named Lucky sets off his quest to rescue his older sister as well as restoring the book of ages to save the world from the mysterious villain.   

I was impressed with the actual gameplay demo of this game that is sorta reminds me of my childhood game like Super Mario 64 with similar-style gameplay, platforming segments, and overall level design.

I also heard the New Super Lucky's Tale is meant to be a expanded version of the original game featuring improved camera system, re-written story plot, re-designed graphics, and adding new remixed levels which brings a nice enhancement from the original, so I am very glad that the developer behind this game finally acknowledge the faults of the original game after receiving a feedback from the fans to solve the issue that was present in the original.

After playing the demo releases, I will definitely consider getting the full version on my PS4 because I love playing the platforming games. 

Honourable mention:

 

Doom Eternal (PS4)

Fist of the North Star: lost Paradise (PS4)

Ghost of Tsushima (PS4)

Crash Bandicoot 4: It's about time (PS4)

Valkyria Chronicles 4 (PS4)

Nier: Automata (PS4)

Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS)

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) 

Contra 4 (DS)

Aliens Infestation (DS) 

            

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This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.      

 
     

Yakuza Remastered Collection PS4 Review

 

Yakuza Remastered Collection is a Action-Adventure game for PS4, and it was developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by SEGA. It is a fully remastered video game compilation of three titles being originally released for PS3 such as Yakuza 3, 4 and 5.

To tell you the truth, I already covered two of the Yakuza games for the PS3 on my blog back in early 2010s except Yakuza 5 is one of the first PS3 game that never got physical release, unlike Japanese release has physical copy, instead it got end up being released as a digital copy on PS Store which is the reason why I never able to play this until the Yakuza Remastered Collection got released for PS4 this year.   

After being able to beat previous entries of the series such as Yakuza 0, Kiwami 1 and 2 which I did also already cover these games on my blog from last 3 years which I have enjoyed these game as being an outstanding entries of the series thanks to excellent storyline, cinematic design, recognisable cast of characters, and fluid combat brawling with tons of action packed moments, as well as being an improvement over the previous entries featuring additional gameplay mechanics, better overall graphics design, and various of new content.

I had the reason to bought this fully remastered collection as a standard edition copy because I got it off from Ebay as a early black Friday sales which is kinda cool to see various of the games getting a decent sale discount, so it is really nice for me to re-visit my past again on these two games such as Yakuza 3 and 4 because it is very first two Yakuza games that I ever played on my PS3 to experience the whole series and then I am glad that I'm lucky being able to play Yakuza 5 on PS4 for very first time since I haven't played the original PS3 version that was released 5 years back.

So far, what do I think about the whole video game compilation of three Yakuza games? my answer is that I am so happy that I've managed to beat the whole game as well as being able to enjoy the rest of the storyline, the characters, and of course being packed with the full content is what made this collection worth picking up for those who can gets a hands on with the fully remastered package.

So without go further do, let's start the review.

Presentation

The collection splits with different events and settings in each games. The Yakuza 3 involves Kazama Kiryu must deal with the three gang bosses who arranged the attempted murder, and returns to the life he thought he left behind, while Shigeru Nakahara, one of the Kiryu's ally, is being encountered by their rivalry known as Tamashiro Family has threaten to against his clan known as the Ryudo Family.

Then you have Yakuza 4 had introduced three new playable characters such as Sky Finance's loan shark named Shun Akiyama had drawn into the story with the mysterious woman named Lily who asks for a loan of 100 million yen without explanation, while you have the ruthless criminal named Taiga Saejima who pleads guilty of murdering 18 mens of Yakuzas had managed to escape from death row and discover the truth behind the 1985 shooting incident, and then young police officer Masayoshi Tanimura went to investigate his father death who was also a cop, then finally Kazuma Kiryu had learned the story of Tojo Clan had faced with the current crisis back in 2005.

Finally Yakuza 5 involves Kazuma Kiryu who now works as a taxi driver in Fukuoka to escape his past once again until he found out the battle between Tojo clan and Omi Alliance appears to be breaking out causing another gangs war, while Taiga Saejima had gone back to square one by escaping from the jail again and finding the answers behind his death of an old friend. It also introduces two new playable characters such as Tatsuo Shinada who is a former baseball player banned from the sport and spent lives as a homeless went into investigating the truth behind fifteen years of his final match, and then finally Haruka Sawamura had moved to Osaka to become a idol singer in the entertainment industry, while you had Shun Akiyama being pulled into conflict when he's informed about the murder of a colleague.

So far, the whole three games is still has a top-notch storyline which I really enjoyed watching all the plot-twisting moments, suspense events, backstory, and war conflict between the gangs-related family is what made these games quite interesting to watch and play. I also liked the dialogue between the characters is somewhat kept the story intact adding a extended plot-wholes is giving the game more elaborate story-writing.

I like how the developer had done re-translating the game scripts which I don't really mind having these script fixed to make it much easier to follow the story during the cutscenes.

Its really hard for me to decide which are any of these three games had better storylines and characters because I already added Yakuza 3 on my top 10 PS3 games back then while I also enjoyed Yakuza 4 for its additional playable characters and game's pacing, but I didn't expect Yakuza 5 is doing lot better than what I'm expected because I wasn't being disappointed with the overall storylines and the choice of characters is what made the game bit too long which I will explain it later at the end, but it adds more in-depths storylines and has interesting character development than the previous game especially having a newcomer of the game is what made the game so great if the story and characters stayed intact and felt fully developed, so don't get me wrong because I still love Yakuza 3 and 4 has a respectable charm for the nostalgic reason, but it felt not as good compared with Yakuza 5 did it quite better for its story and character overall as my personal opinion.

Yakuza Remastered Collection has amazing cast of characters like you have badass brawler hero, adorable little girl, funny loan-shark dude, ruthless criminal, and unlucky former sport player is what made these characters so recognisable in entire Yakuza series.             

I got to say I love the setting of the open-world locations where you get to explore around the city like going into places like SEGA arcades, restaurant, clubs, subway, backstreets, parks, underground sewer, karaoke, pubs, convenient stores, and many more places to visits that keeps you busy with the game itself.

Yakuza 3 has the summer style locations such as outside beach of orphanage houses, Yakuza 4 has prison-like cells and rooftops, and Yakuza 5 has big stadiums for live sports and idols that gives us a eye-catching views that fits perfectly on the series presentation. 

While I did enjoy the rest of the story on three games, but I felt the length of the cutscenes on Yakuza 5 is ridiculously bit too long on both cinematic and in-game conversation which can be bit tedious to watch and read through, but that doesn't mean it's necessary bad thing which I still liked the story presentation for its plot-written and dialogues that keeps me enjoying the game that really adds my whole Yakuza's experience.  

 

Overall, it has brilliant story-writing, memorable characters, and eye-catching open-world locations.

Gameplay

On these three games depending which characters you're playing as, you will have the list of main missions on pause menu where it focuses entirely on the main story, while you have the list of the sub-stories which is a side missions where you had to complete each tasks will expand the game's lengths becoming more longer to play as well as retrieving with the extra EXPs as a rewards.

You will start off with the open-world area where you can able to explore around the city that allows you to visit the places that I've mentioned before on the presentation section.            

You run around with the left stick while holding the L1 to walk naturally, and then you use right stick to move around camera as well as pressing the L2 to centre your camera view. You can press right stick button to use first-person view and then looking around with the right stick.

While exploring around the area, you can talk with random NPCs for hint and tips, navigating items on floor, and entering inside the place by pressing the X button. 

While being encountered by groups of gangs that chases you around the city till you are forced to battle with them in beat-em-up play-mode.

The square button uses as weak attack which is basically simple but faster attack, the triangle button uses as strong attack which is slow but deals with powerful damage, the circle button uses as throw and pick ups where you can perform an various of grapple attacks as well as picking up objects as a weapon, and the X button uses as quickstep which allows you to evade the enemy's attack.

You can make the combination of weak and strong attack to perform an combo hits adding more damage attack on enemies and when your heat bar is been filed up on the bar screen which allows you to perform various of special attacks such as headbutting on their heads, stomping their faces on ground, making heavy punch on their faces, slam them onto walls and grounds, and smash them with the weapons giving a instant damages against the enemies.

You can use L1 to block against enemy's projectiles in close range, while holding R1 to stay on target at the enemies making it easier to fight with one enemy and another. 

While sharing with the beat-em-up combat, the game also shared with the QTE sequences where you had to press the corresponding button correctly when appears on the screen during the 3 second limit, but if you press the wrong button then it's likely you probably end up failing to evade enemy's projectile and there are a chase sequences where you had to chase down the enemy before they successfully escape, so you will have to knock them down till their enemy is been easily taken down.

Each of the playable characters has their own fighting style such as Kiryu are more of the well-balanced fighter dealing with the basic light and heavy attacks, Akiyama is more of fast-paced that deals with his speed attacks, Saejima uses his powerful charged and grapple attacks, Tanimura has ability to use parrying, and Shinada is very good with the weapon attacks. 

After defeating the enemies will reward you with EXPs which levels up your character giving you ability to upgrades four of the variants such as heat, souls, tech, and body from the option menu.

The heat upgrades allows you to add various of heat actions and other heat-related upgrades, the souls upgrades focuses accumulation of heat as well as expanding the heat gauge, tech upgrades adds more combat moves, and body upgrades increases health and damages and throwing and grabs which these four upgrades variants allowing your fighting style and technique becoming more sufficient and perform better during the combat battle.

Even though the combat is still plays decent on both Yakuza 3 and 4, but as a remastered version it's no where near good as the Yakuza 5 because I finding the combat moves set is pretty limited on both heat action and tech moves which could have been done bit better, but still it played pretty decently for the rest of the game which is the reason why I preferred Yakuza 5 did it so better for its additional combat mechanics allowing you to learn more fighting move set and more heat action effectively.

As the combat gameplay plays absolutely well on all three games especially with Yakuza 5 had improved on both combat and open-world design, these three games had shares with action-packed missions that really kept the game ongoing such as battling with over 30 to 40 of yakuza gangs in one buildings, brawling with the bosses that are tough as nails, joining with prison friends for escape plan, finding way to get past through locations without getting caught by police nearby, finding evidence during investigation, chasing down bad guys on rooftops, saving the friends life from the rivalries, and confronting the corrupt leader for their crimes they have committed which is the reason why I had spent playing over 4 hours a day of total impact adventure and the sub-stories is also pretty good that also benefits your experiences which gives a game an additional fun with entirely new different adventures.  

Outside of both the mains and sides-mission, you will also had a outside activities where you can spend free time on mostly mini-games and other fun activities such as baseball, golf, bowling, pool, darts, mah-jong, karaoke, dance, and of course Club SEGA where you can able to play some arcade games such as Boxcelios 1 and 2, SEGA's Virtua Fighter 2 and Bandai Namco's Taiko No Tatsujin which is cool, but I find the content on Club SEGA is rather lacking compared with previous game like Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 2 has way better categories of games, so don't get me wrong because I know these three games are originally released for PS3 which is the reason we didn't get classics like Space Harrier, Fantasy Zone, and Outrun at the time.

So far, I am very happy that the whole games had turned out being a faithful to the original PS3 version thanks to stable frame-rate and polished resolution which I am going to explain it on the graphics section and I also wanted to mention an extra content in the remastered collection which I will discuss more on special features section. 

       

Overall, it has fantastic combat, open-world design, and epic single-player objectives.

Graphics

I got to say the whole three games are just the remastered port of the PS3 titles featuring 60 FPS and fully 1080p resolution which made these game looked more polish and up to date as opposed to 720p with less than 60FPS on original PS3 version which is quite bit mucky and dated for nowadays, but still it didn't change the overall graphic design which the whole three games looked just as same as you are expected.

The only difference is that the remastered version just had cleaned up the jaggy textures of environmental design and cleaning up the visual effects of lighting and shades to make it look more natural.

I am glad that the remastered version is looking better on the PS4 with no signs of major slowdowns during the combat gameplay and in-game cutscenes, and with the full resolution that runs higher than the 720p is the reason why it made these games looked more quality and authentic.

You will end up with a decent use of color saturation and crispy pixelated design which gives a game an nice tweaking process running on the PS4 hardware system.

While the tweaking stuff is a nice touch, as I said the graphic design is just like from the original PS3 with same level design and character's model which I don't really mind the design choices for the remaster version, but it's still look pretty solid for the rest of the game that I didn't had an issue at all.    

Overall, it has cleaned textures, descent visuals, quality resolution, and less slowdowns.

Music and Sounds

Each of the games still shares with an amazing soundtrack that keeps you more engaging with the Yakuza's action packed battles as well as these game also shares with really cool karaoke songs that you can enjoy sing along with friends and gangs too, so yeah let's not forget "Baka Mitai" which is a song that went viral three years ago as a internet meme...yeah the memes always can be quite classy just like our good old days of the internet.

The sound design is still sounds pretty good on the remastered collection with no signs of audio lags and distorted which they did a great job of tweaking the sounds effects during the in-game open-world area which means there are no issues with the crowd noises and atmospheric streets sounds is sounds pretty good on the optical sound system.  

I got to say I still loved the voice performance by the original cast of their roles which really nails it well in the in-game cutscenes giving a magnificent results on their character's development with in-depth personalities.

Overall, it has amazing soundtrack, great sound design, and magnificent voice cast.

Special Features

What I liked about the remastered collection is that the content that was missing on the PS3 version finally got it restored on this package adding more contents such as adding 20 side missions, mini-games, in-game game modes, and stuff that was based on PS3 DLCs are all included on this remastered collection turning into an definitive package.

I also wanted to mention these game has unlockable in-game modes like battle modes, premium modes, and of course new game plus for significant replay values.

Speaking of being an definitive package, the collector's edition comes with really badass game cases and of course an replica PS3 case only of Yakuza 5 which is also a welcome edition for huge video game collectors.  

Overall, an awesome features.

Advantages

Brilliant story and characters

Eye-catching presentation

Fantastic combat gameplay and open-world design

Polished graphics with quality resolution and higher FPS

Amazing soundtrack and magnificent voice cast

Awesome additional features 

Packaged with three games

Replay Values 

Disadvantages

Yakuza 5 is little too long on both cutscenes and in-game conversation.

Yakuza 3 and 4 has limited combat moves compared with 5. 

                      

      

Final Verdict

Presentation 9/10 - brilliant story-writing, memorable characters, and eye-catching open-world locations.

Gameplay 9/10 - fantastic combat, open-world design, and epic single-player objectives.

Graphics 8.5/10 - cleaned textures, descent visuals, quality resolution, and less slowdowns.

Music and Sounds 9/10 - amazing soundtrack, great sound design, and magnificent voice cast.

Special Features 10/10 - new 20 side missions, mini-games, in-game modes, and has cool collector's edition stuff.   

   

  

Overall 9/10 - I am so glad with this package comes with three amazing titles that is worth picking up for the fans of the series can able to get a hands on with the full remastered of these PS3 classics being bought to the PS4 console. 

It's not just with the engaging combat gameplay and top-notch story presentation is surprisingly entertaining to play, but with fully polished resolution, running on higher frame-rate, and being packed with extra content is also stepping forward by SEGA themselves which I am so happy that I've bought it in to my home which is the reason why these collection doesn't totally feel rushed out and rehash the same thing, so that being said this is must buy for those who has or has not previously played threes on original PS3 version should able to give these collection a try on the PS4.

UPDATE 03/01/2021: This remastered collection will also be available on PC (via Steam) and XBONE (via Xbox Game Pass) in late January 2021.

I will look forward to playing Yakuza 6: The Song of Life as a final title to conclude Kiryu's saga and hopefully moving on with the entirely new adventure such as Yakuza: Like a Dragon in sometime future. 

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This is Zeeshan Mirza's Blog and I'll see you next time, happy blogging everyone.                             

         

  

      

Top 5 Underrated RPGs Games

 

Role-Playing Games is a one of the video game genre that gotten really popular in between the 80's and 90's pioneering with the sub-genres categories such as Action-RPG, Turn-based-RPG, and Strategy-RPG. It was widely known for its cinematic story presentation, character's development, bigger open-world exploration, building up skills and powers, longer play-length with many side-quests and main adventures, and unique gameplay with strategic battle system is what made RPG so successful over the years. 

We have influential classic series like The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Shin Megami Tensei, and Paper Mario, while sharing with the acclaimed modern titles like Monster Hunter, Xenoblade Chronicles, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, and The Witcher had gained popularity over the years due to commercially sold well and has larger community had spawned many sequels and merchandise throughout the franchise. 

Despite their successes, there are some of the RPG games that didn't get a recognition what it deserved is because it had too many competition, lack of commercial success, smaller fanbases, and had received mixed reception from many journalist that the game developers are trying their best of creating the new ideas of making their own style of the RPG games.

I want to pick out the most underappreciated RPG games that I considered these games as the overlooked gem that are labelled as failed to notice from the public eye, so I have the reason to like these kind of games that I had fun playing the most and why is it worth checking out.

So without go further do, here is my top 5 underrated RPG games.

5 - Hybrid Heaven (N64)

Unlike PS1 has many libraries of RPG games such as Final Fantasy VII, Grandia, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Persona, and Parasite Eve, the Nintendo 64 had not been known for its own RPG library beside Paper Mario is one exception.

There's one of the game that I didn't know it was existed on N64 library was Hybrid Heaven created by Konami, a company was responsible for their successful franchise such as Castlevania, Silent Hill, and Metal Gear Solid.

I remember discovering this game when I was a young teen sitting on the computer desk and learned that the game is kinda different from any of the action-adventure titles, so I had a first go playing on my N64 emulator for an hour and I was impressed with the concept of the game is actually interesting for the N64 standards.

A several years later, I finally got the original N64 copy of Hybrid Heaven from Ebay just for dirt cheap and decided to spent playing for a week to see if this game is any good? the answer is it actually turned out to be a decent RPG title that I did not regret playing on my N64 system.

Hybrid Heaven is one of the game was notable for its peculiar mix of genres such as both RPG and action-adventure that the designers had hoped to create a new style of RPG battle system.

You take control of the Agent named Johnny Slater finds himself in a massive underground installation created by the aliens under Manhattan as his mission is to stop the experiment involves cloning known as hybrids, as well as searching for his kidnapped president.  

What makes the game quite interesting is the mix of gameplay element such as standard 3-D action-adventure games that you have ability to move in any direction, jump, crawl, climb, and shoot as well as solving puzzles by disabling electronic weapons or through skillful maneuvering.

When being encountered by hybrids monster, it changes into the RPG battle system where you had to fight them with the strategic command menu such as punching, kicking, and grappling, as well as blocking, countering, and evading.

What made the RPG battle system great is that you can customise your own combo moves up to 5 different attacks and then you had a list of items that allow you to perform various things such as boosting up your speeds and strengths, draining down enemy's stats, increasing your health points, and shooting enemies with poison, ice, and fire.    
You will also build up both your offense and defense skill level as well as learning a various of fighting moves slowly improves your fighting style is what makes the game quite a unique for N64's RPG title.

The game also supported a widescreen aspect ratio utilising N64 expansion pak which I do not recommend playing the game on the high resolution which can result a grainy frame rate during the gameplay, so it doesn't mean it can ruin your overall fun factor of the game is played fine on low resolution. 

The game has a interesting story and presentation that is kinda like watching a early sci-fi film with darker tone feel and alien themed concept is pretty neat for this type of game and the whole soundtrack is one of the N64's most redeeming quality sounds you ever hear from the game featuring more eerie and suspenseful orchestrated style is what I considered these music as the best part of the whole game.

Hybrid Heaven is a Konami's most overlooked title that never got any of recognition due to being released in the same year as the massive title such as Silent Hill, Final Fantasy VIII, System Shock 2, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, Sonic Adventure, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, and Soul Calibur which left Hybrid Heaven on N64 remained forgotten, so I would love to see if any of the developers consider remaking the original N64 title to its modern-day console generation will be sounds like an honourable idea.

4 - Ys Origin (PS4/PS Vita)

 

Back in my old days where I can only recognise several of RPG games as a young teen like Skies of Arcadia, Grandia II, Paper Mario, and Final Fantasy VII. There's one of the series that I never actually heard of it before until I discovered it from mostly gaming related YouTube channels (like Game Sack) had already covered their retrospective on Ys series long time ago.

After learning about the whole series, I thought this might be an interesting for me to try and see if it's any good about the game, so I've picked Ys Origin for both PS4 and PS Vita digitally as one of my very first Ys game to experience and discovering a cult-following Action-RPG.

Ys Origin takes place in 700 years before the event of the original 1987's Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished which explains the backstory involves Ys, Darm Tower, the Black Pearl, the twin goddesses, and the six priests.

I fully acknowledged the Ys Origin is one of the first game in the series in which Adol Christin is not the protagonist, unlike the rest of the Ys games, so instead you take control of either Yunica Tovah or Hugo Fact navigating the Darm Tower to rescue the two goddesses who helped make the land of Ys flourished and saving them from demons who seek to obtain the power of the black pearl.

What I like about this game is that it's more focused on the straightforward dungeon crawling style with top-down perspective, taking place entirely within the massive Darm Tower which I think it made the game much easier to get into.

You have the playable characters has different fighting style such as Yunica wields her axes and greatswords as well as performing various of combos and moves, while Hugo uses his wand to fire energy projectiles, uses destructive power in close range, and wider effect of power shot.

Once your boost meter had reached capacity that allow the characters to perform a affective quicker and stronger attacks and far greater defense. 

I really liked playing this type of game where you can able to navigate and explore the multiple floors of large tower filled with many enemies, hazards, puzzles, and collecting stuff which really encouraging me to fight off against these foes to build up our levelling skills and gaining more currency or items to upgrade your weapon and skills which makes the game feels very beneficial for most of the RPG players can able to enjoy the game.

I love the design of the visuals that is so impressive to look at especially even the game was came out in 2006 for PCs which adds up a great level structure inside the castle that is wide and huge, and I got to say the lighting effects and environments in most floors is quite nice and polished that made the whole game pretty amazing, but as a PS4 and PS Vita title it did a decent job of adding a proper widescreen support with fully cleaned resolution to make the game look better when playing on modern HDTV.

Ys series definitely has the greatest music scores in RPG gaming which I considered it as the marvellous thing they ever produce in whole game.

Ys Origin is one of the game that I quite liked it which got me into with the whole series and I also considered this game as being one of the hidden gem of all RPG library that is worth playing as today.

3 - Valkyria Chronicles (PS3)

 

SEGA had their own libraries of the RPGs classics such as Phantasy Star, Shining Force, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Skies of Arcadia, and of course Sakura Wars, but there's one of the game that caught my attention was Valkyria Chronicles for PS3 which many had believed the whole series is sort of the cult-following RPG mixes with fantasy and war alike presentation that I finding it quite interesting to pick up and play.

It is a Third-Person Tactical RPG game originally released in 2008 for PS3, and was later being re-released for PC and PS4 in between 2014-16.

The game set in 1935 E.C and takes place in Europa, which is fictional region based on Europe during the early World War 2. 

You take control of the members of the Gallian Militia to take out the evil empires known as Imperial Alliance in order to save Atlantic Federation and the land of Gallia.

It played in third-person perspective with tactical RPG elements, which uses the turn-based battle system, so you will have the list of playable units on the briefing options with many combat classes and the mission objectives which has a list of goals as your mission is to capture the enemy's base in order to complete the mission.

The gameplay worked pretty well for its the range of combat featuring upgrades for weapons and tanks as well as building up your class units by increasing their EXP points for better performance, and the overhead design is stunningly remarkable giving a wide depth of battlefield which allows your strategic command system ability to move unit freely on overhead map adding a great use of both combat and tactics.

I was so impressed with the overall presentation has the World War 2 influence with the mix of fantasy and war settings which makes the whole concepts worked really well for this type of RPG genres.

The game has memorable cast of characters, best story-written dialogue, and cinematic design that keeps up feel very emotional about the depressing history behind the event involves tragic war.

The whole graphics design offers anime art style design, colourful scenery background and well designed environments that is looking spectacular that I consider it a best looking graphics of the PS3 era that SEGA had ever produced.

It has the most amazing orchestral soundtrack ever made by the composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, who are best known for scoring Final Fantasy XII, Ogre Battle, and Radiant Slivergun, had delivered a magnificent results of war-alike vibes with dynamic instruments and atmospheric quality music that gives the game more heroic feel of the game's personality.

Valkyria Chronicles is probably my favourite RPGs of all PS3 libraries that deserves many recognition and praises that SEGA had done absolutely well with the game, but unfortunely the whole series had been fallen behind due to sequels like VC2 came out on the wrong platform such as PSP resulting the poor sales in comparison with the first ones and the VC3 is one of the first game that never got released outside of the japan that turns away the fanbases from the western territory, but thank god SEGA had learned their lesson with the VC 4 are finally getting a proper home console release since the previous two installiment being on handheld platform.

That being said, this game is still an underrated title that I highly recommend to all RPG fans to pick up and play this game.

2 - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia (3DS)

          

  

              

   

First of all, it is true that I never actually heard of the Fire Emblem series when I was a child in early 2000's. I remember when I had a copy of Super Smash Bros Melee for Gamecube which I was so addicted to play everyday with my cousins. There's two of the unlockable characters that nobody actually have heard of them are Marth and Roy which had caught my attention, but the issue is that the Fire Emblem series are exclusively in Japan which was the reason why these two ended up popular as a fighting roster of the Super Smash Bros series that leads Nintendo wanted to introduce their Tactical RPG series to western audiences in early 2000's making the first time ever since the Fire Emblem had originated at Japan in early 90's.

A first worldwide debut such as Fire Emblem which is one of the well received GBA title that was being loved by many fans that the series had spawned numerous of sequels such as The Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, Fates, and Three Houses, while sharing with spin-offs such as Heroes, Warriors, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE.

I was originally gonna put Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn for Wii as my number 2 list because it didn't get a same recognition as the previous titles, but instead I made the mind up with the 3DS title that are actually done better such as Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadow of Valentia is one of the game that I'd preferred it more than any of the Fire Emblem games as my opinion.

It is a full remake of 1992's NES title called Fire Emblem Gaiden which added the elements in the game such as rebuilding the storylines and expanding core gameplay mechanics based on recent 3DS games like Awakening while adding dungeon crawler aspects in game. 

You take control of Alm and Celica as part of the Zofian's deliverance team along with the friends to battle against the Duma's Empire of Rigel as well as reuniting with the goddess Mila for seeking help and support of the land of Zofia.

What makes the Fire Emblem game so great is that I loved the turn-based core battle where you and your team batting out against the enemies in tactical battlefield.

The grid system is much easier to navigate where you can able to move and attack the enemy's unit as well as the many of the class units are pretty done fabulous sharing with different advantages of skills, defense, speed, and health which nicely balances the combat performance.

The game also shared with two gameplay mechanics such as dungeon crawling aspects where you explore around the area to locate the hidden secrets filed with coins, items and treasure chest, and then you will have a point and click style where you can able to talk people in the town, examine the whole area for items and weapons, and move to different area to explore which I really liked the idea of adding a new element to it's whole series makes it very different approach from any of the Fire Emblem games.

The whole presentation in the game is looking spectacular for its 3DS standards thanks to full animated sequences throughout the game really shows how amazing the cutscenes looked on the Nintendo's handheld system  filled with amazing anime drawn characters and fully voiced dialogue for its story design and it also had a fantastic storyline and interesting characters that really builds up many of joyful and teary moments that makes your heart feels very emotional is the reason why I loved this game so much.

The original score is a great rendition to 1992's original NES title with fully remade orchestrated music as well as included several of new soundtrack that aren't present on the NES version are actually heartwarming and heroic that really fits well for several of cutscenes which is the reason why I considered it as masterpiece.

Although this game did not get a same attention as the previous two titles such as Fire Emblem Awakening and Fire Emblem Fates which had a stronger overall sales, but that doesn't mean this game didn't get a much love what it deserved because this is really outstanding RPG game that the RPG fans should be much appreciated by getting an hands on with this overlooked 3DS title.

1 - Terranigma (SNES)

I grew up playing some of the best RPGs that SNES has to offer such as the likes of Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG: Legend of Seven Stars, and of course The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, so these are the RPGs games that defines the 16-bit era just like how SEGA had their own RPG titles for SEGA Genesis/MD such as Phantasy Star II and Shining Force.

There's one of the game that caught my attention was Terranigma, a Action-RPG game which was created by Quintet, a same team behind SNES classics such as Actraiser, Soul Blazer, and Illusion of Gaia.

It's one of the first Quintet's game that never officially released in USA due to publisher Enix (now merged as Square Enix) had already ended the US subsidiary by the time the localisation was finished, so unlike the rest of the region such as JP, EU, and AUS did finally get a release in between 1995-96, a same year as the fifth generation era of console gaming including the newcomer home console such as Nintendo 64.

Last year, I had a reproduction SNES multi-cart which includes 70 SNES games featuring the battery save function and fans translation games which I got it off from Ebay, so I was happy with the repro cart came with the great libraries of the SNES games, so I had spent playing Terranigma for 3 weeks to see if this game is just as good as the previous Quintet's titles like Actraiser and Soul Blazer. 

The answer is that I really enjoyed the game which deserves to be on my list of top favourite SNES RPGs, so I have the reason to like this game because it's one of the Action-RPG game that I wasn't regret playing on my SNES.

The game tells the story of young boy named Ark sets out his adventure to resurrect the mother world of earth from life evolution to the present day as well as defeating the demons who corrupting the peaceful mankind.

You take control of Ark in top-down perspective view which is kinda like Zelda: ALTTP, but utilises with action-based real-time battle system that allows the player to perform different techniques such as running, jumping, attacking, and using the combination of these actions as well as gaining experienced points for level up system such as strength, defense, and luck.

The gameplay system is working absolutely well for its combat control mechanics, numerous of weapons and armors to increase your player's stats, and using various of corresponding spells which makes the whole game so unique and creative for SNES RPGs encouraging all players to improve upon your combat and skills that made the game quite fun.

I really like exploring the overworld map of open-world levels just like most of the SNES RPGs did a same approach where you get to explore and visit the unknown places with different kinds of environmental settings such as the towns, the villages, the port, the forests, the mountains, and the castles, and I also liked talking with the random peoples for hints and clues or just for normal conversation. 

The game also shares with numerous of miscellaneous tasks that keeps you playing the game even more and it has many best boss battles in any RPGs games which really adds the fun factor of the whole game.

The graphics is truly an outstanding for 16-bit standards featuring an impressive mode 7 style overworld map with great use of scrolling animation and variety of open-world design making it a most achieved game's design of SNES hardware and it also has the richest soundtrack that the developers had ever produced showing the full power of SNES sound technology produces a variation of instruments feels almost like a CD based quality.

Terranigma is a last greatest RPGs of SNES libraries that didn't get a massive attention what it deserved due to lack of the USA releases and being released in a same year as the SNES RPGs titles like Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals and Super Mario RPG: Legend of Seven Stars had left Terranigma being a long forgotten for awhile. 

It's a shame that this game never got any of re-releases or remake that I really wanted to see this game happen for modern-day generation, so that being said it is clearly being one of the most underrated RPGs games that no one ever had played the game before, so I highly recommend to all RPGs fans to play this masterpiece that shall not be forgotten. 

Honorable Mention:

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars (3DS)

Codename: Steam (3DS)

Soul Blazer (SNES)

Secret of Evermore (SNES)

Project X Zone 2 (3DS)

Draglade (DS)  

Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin (AKA Dark Conflict) (DS) 

     

         

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Top 5 Castlevania Games

 

What a horrible night to have a curse...yes everyone, we are taking a look the one of the Konami's classic franchise that are originated from mid-80's era which is a Castlevania.

It's one of the game that you take control of the vampire hunter set off the journey to confront and defeat Dracula to save the humanity.

Starting off from successful traditional 2D action-platform to popularising Metroidvania genres to 3D hack 'n' slash reboot, Castlevania as a whole are widely regarded as being one of the Konami's acclaimed franchises and also one of the best-selling of all-time in early days had spawned many of sequels, spin-offs, comics, novels, and of course animated series.

It was known for unique level design, gothic themes, bunch of vampires and monsters, numerous of sub-weapons and specials, epic bosses, memorable soundtrack, and overly challenged gameplay element which heavily focused on enemy's patterns, exploration, and multiple paths is what makes the whole franchise so recognisable.

I decided to make my 5 favourite games that I had a nostalgia on these games as a childhood such as the designs, sounds, graphics, and bosses. 

So without go further do, here is my top 5 Castlevania games.

5 - Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (GBA)

Before I begin explaining this game, first of all I wasn't impressed with the first two GBA games such as Castlevania: Circle of the Moon which brings me a disappointing experience that aren't as good as the outstanding Castlevania: Symphony of the Night had delivered perfectly well on the PS1 libraries, but going back to this it suffered with dull graphics design and stiff gameplay controls that really started to effect my overall fun factor and then we have another title called Castlevania: Harmony of dissonance which had improved upon over the Circle of the Moon, but then again it suffers with easier difficulty lacks overall challenge and poor quality soundtrack that didn't give a game justice.

Then I finally found a better GBA game that finally got everything right it should are Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow which is a final Castlevania title for GBA libraries that beings very close to Symphony of the Night has to offer.

You take control of young teenager student named Soma Cruz battles against the dark figures that wish to inherit the undead lord's power. 

Like Symphony of the Night that heavily focused on non-linear gameplay with large exploration and RPG elements requiring experience points for level up system, the game introduces the new mechanics called tactical soul which involves absorbing the souls of enemies in order to gain additional abilities such as Bullet souls are Soma Cruz's replacement for sub weapons, Guardian souls allows you to transform into mythical creatures and summoning familiars, Enchant souls provides you a unique abilities equipment such as the ability to walk on water, and Ability souls makes your abilities active longer such as double jump and sliding.

So far, I had no issue with the game at all because I believe the producer Koji Igarashi had acknowledged the issues from the Harmony of Dissonance after receiving the feedback from the fans of the series resulting more depth gameplay design, lengthy levels, satisfied difficulty system, quality soundtrack, and detailed graphics is what made Aria of Sorrow a worthy title for all Castlevania fans should able to appreciate more on this game than the previous two GBA titles.

4 - Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (TGCD)

"Die monster, you don't belong in this world!" -Richter Belmont 

At the time where I remember playing Castlevania: Dracula X on the SNES as a young teen back then right before I've discovered this game for TGCD that I didn't knew this was existed way before the SNES port. 
This is Castlevania: Rondo of Blood which is a first traditional 2D action-platform that never got released officially outside of Japan till I got it off from software emulation site as well as owning both the PSP and PS4 version as the Dracula X Chronicles and Castlevania Requiem. 

You take control of Richter Belmont goes out to save his lover Annette, who was abducted by the evil vampire leader Dracula.

This game has 9 stages with 4 multiple routes resulting with different alternative levels, so you will have a whip as a main weapon and various of sub-weapons such as throwing daggers and axes, holy water, spinning crosses, pocket watch, and grimoire which you will need these to fight off against the hordes of vampires or monsters throughout the level before facing with the bosses and you will have some sub-goals is to rescue 4 maidens including 12 year old Maria Renard, who then becomes a playable character, has ability to use attacks using her doves and one of 6 sub-weapons such as a white tiger kitten, dragon whelp, baby phoenix, turtle, egg and musical notes as well as being able to perform double jump.

I got to say that I was impressed with the game because I did not expect TGCD version to be more superior than the SNES port has to offer due to technical marvel of CD add-ons system was capable of utilising the graphical power and arranged soundtracks that really adds up the game's atmosphere and action.

It has well builted level structures that has tons of hazardous objects and many enemies that requires memorising patterns and the bosses are quite satisfactory that keeps you well entertained. 

I also liked the use of multiple routes which relying on rescuing 4 missing maidens and leads you to alternative stage adds the overall replay values. 

The game is ridiculously expensive on TGCD which cost around over £100 to £200, so I highly recommend you to get it cheap on both PSP and PS4 under Dracula X chronicles physically or Castlevania: Requiem digitally. 

3 - Castlevania: Bloodlines (SEGA Genesis/MD)

        

       

As a huge SNES kid back then, I was surprised to see a vampire hunter game being on the SEGA's console platform called Castlevania: Bloodlines which is the only Castlevania game ever released for SEGA Genesis/MD as much with the Super Castlevania IV are exclusively on SNES.

The story focused on the vampire hunter John Morris and his best friend Eric Lecarde set their quest to take up the fight against evil as well as preventing the full resurrection of Dracula. 

Unlike the previous entry of Castlevania, this game gives you an option to select any of two playable heroes has different main weapon and abilities such as John is able to swing past gaps with his whip, whereas Eric must use a different route by performing high jumps by using his spear which adds the new variation of the gameplay style.

Like most of early Castlevania game involves players proceed through each level, defeating enemies, and collecting gems to power special weapons, it included the sub-bosses where you get to fight against them before proceeding to main bosses and the game splits into different paths depending on which character you had chosen. 

I'm really impressed to see the game as a whole turns out to be a stunning experience of 16-bit library thanks to clever use of graphical effects of parallax animation looked pretty amazing for some stages such as glossy water animation bounces ups and downs, wobbly blue castle that tilts side to side, spinning colosseum rotates around, and illusions platforming splits in threes which I considered this as being the most technically achievement on SEGA's 16-bit system. 

I really liked the overall presentation of the game for its vampiric themes of stages filled with dark forests with haunting castle, clock rooms with full of cogs work, blue palace with broken statues, and navy clouds with bloody red moon. 

The gameplay design has the same charm as the early Castlevania titles featuring a tight controls, responsive combat weapons, great use of platforming, battling with bosses, and being able to play as twos with multiple path choices and different style of gameplay is what I called a finest side-scrolling action for those who owns the SEGA's 16-bit machine.

The game is also available on PS4, XBONE, PC and Switch as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection that you can able to get it digitally.

2 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PS1)             

     

         

"What is a man? A miserable little pile of secrets, but enough talk...have at you!" - Dracula

One of the game had caught my attention when I was a young teen at the time where I normally get the software emulators and bunch of game ROMs online to play many of the classic retro games for particular platform. 

I remember playing this game first time on PS1 emulator to see how this game was different from any of the traditional Castlevania games, but I wasn't being able to finish the game properly which I was currently more busy playing on PS3, Wii, and PS Vita as well as had too much focusing on my important studying in college.

Then a years later when I had a Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles digitally on PS Vita as well as Castlevania: Requiem for PS4 which included the 2 favourite classics such as Rondo of Blood and Symphony of the Night, I decided to give a game another try and see if I can able to beat the game entirely.

The answer is yes I've managed to finish the game on both version and so far it is one of my second favourite title in the series that really adds my gaming nostalgia I will never forget remembering how legendary this game had turned out.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is one of the game mixes with the genres of platforming-adventures and Action RPG are widely known as Metroidvania, a genre was pioneered by Nintendo's Metroid series, making a huge departure of traditional side-scrolling action from early Castlevania games.

It takes place after the event of Rondo of Blood where it takes role of Dracula's son named Alucard sets off his journey to putting the end of his father's cursed castle that harms the humanity. 

It's one of the game that heavily focused on large range of non-linear exploration featuring many locations to visit, finding hidden secrets, collecting items that leads you to gain access to undiscovered areas, and uses the RPG-style level up system that requires gaining many experience points as possible in order to be good enough to fight against the wide range of enemies and bosses with their highest level status.

What I liked about the game is that each of the combat weapons have their own advantages and disadvantages that is designed for various reasons such as you have sword that has a fair amount of damage attack, the daggers are quicker but weak compared with swords, the ranged weapons worked better for far-ranged attack, the two-handed weapons equips two except one, the clubs has better use of defense, and the shields are protective item against the enemy's projectiles. 

The game also has really cool relics that gives you ability to transform into wolf and bat, performing double jump and swim underwater, being able to gain entry to sealed doors, and summoning those supportive familiars such as sword, demon, ghost and fairy which can be found on curtain location.

So far, the overall gameplay design is absolutely terrific for its larger exploration of map design, the combat and relics is fluid and responsive, the RPG elements that builds up your confidence to progressing your player's stats, and it has two possible endings that adds up a ambitious replay value is what made the game so special.

I love the look of the graphics design is pretty damn amazing for the PS1 standards despite the system has the difficulties to create a smooth 2D title, this game offers a use of visual transparency for lighting and shadow, 3D style background design, sharper texture details on environments, and stunning character's animation which I considered as the best looking 2D game of all PS1 libraries.

The game had an excellent CD quality soundtrack by Michiru Yamane, a Japanese composer who had previously worked on some Castlevania games and later for Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, did a remarkable job of creating her best video game scores of whole Castlevania series. 

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is clearly the legendary title that really holds up to today standards, so the PS1 copy is stupidly rare which cost more than £200 to £300, so like I've mention with Rondo of Blood before, you can able to get this game dirt cheap on both PSP and PS4 under Dracula X chronicles physically or Castlevania: Requiem digitally. 

1 - Super Castlevania IV

So you been wondering why I chose this game as my number 1 favourite over my previous two on my top 5 Castlevania games? well the answer is that I had the reason why this game had defined my childhood gaming because I grew up mostly on SNES as a young kid which means that Super Castlevania IV is my top favourite of all-time.

I remember when my brother took me to the video game store to discover the game that I really wanted to play, so my brother had given me a recommendation for my SNES library is Super Castlevania IV that I was looking forward to play this kind of game.

I remember having first time playing this with my cousin who came to my home to play my SNES and after playing amount of hours of fun we were very impressed with the game had turned out to be quite success. 

Super Castlevania IV is one of the game similar to original's 1986 Castlevania for NES featuring expanded play control, 16-bit graphics make use of SNES Mode 7, and a soundtrack with new pieces and arrangements based on previous Castlevania music. 

Following the same setting as Castlevania on the NES, you take control of vampire hunter named Simon Belmont has his quest to defeat Dracula once for all through 11 stages.

Like the first Castlevania game where you use whip as a basic main weapon, various of sub-weapons, extending range of whip, and being able to walk on stairs, the game had introduced a whip mechanics such as you can swing your whip around in 8 different direction blocking enemy's projectiles, latching onto rings to swing over areas that are too wide for the player to jump across, and you can able to move as well as using whip attack while crouching which really gives the new addition to its gameplay style making an easier to control.

The gameplay has incredible challenges that involves platforming where you need to memorise all the enemy's pattern and hazards to get to the next area without dying that keeps you playing more and more till you reach at the end of the level. 

The boss battles is superbly epic that is so difficult to master, but it is a fun at the same time that takes you sometime to get used too is what makes the game satisfy you enough to impress the game even more. 

The graphics is absolutely well made for the use of mode 7 engine such as rotating level backgrounds, boss animation, and transparency effects is damn looking spectacular that shows off the SNES powerhouse.    

I really liked the darker presentation of the game filled with the gritty level design and deadly enemies that really adds the game's personality that made the game quite appealing and it does always have one of the most memorable soundtrack that give the SNES do a justice that made the game so recognisable.

That being said, this is my favourite Castlevania games I ever played that really defines my nostalgia as a child and I will never forget this masterpiece had deserved to be on my own SNES libraries.

I say go play this game on SNES or get it for PS4, XBONE, PC and Switch as part of the Castlevania Anniversary Collection I can guarantee you will be superbly impressed by playing this awesome game.      

Honourable Mention:

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3)

Castlevania (NES)

Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (NES)

Castlevania Adventures (GB)

Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)

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