WarioPunk Design

I recently finished the remake of the first Front Mission, another Squaresoft classic I'd never played.

Even though I'm not a huge mecha fan, I really enjoyed the game; the setting is interesting and visually unique.

The original sketches by Amano that I worked from for this illustration are beautiful; some characters wear much more vibrant colors than they actually do in the game.

The gameplay has some limitations due to its age (the remake has remained faithful), but considering its release date, it's a very solid game.

One flaw with this modern version is that Forever didn't take much of a risk with this new version; they could have added something more to the story or the mechanics, but the wide selection of 3D models is excellent.

I don't think I'll draw the members of the game's other campaign; this illustration was very demanding and I struggled to finish it, and I think I'll take a break until next year.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

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This year I finished Final Fantasy XII for the first time.

Without going into too much detail, what I found was a mediocre JRPG and a very poor Final Fantasy.

The legacy of the Final Fantasy name is too heavy for this overly experimental game, with a sketchy and dispersive story and a nonexistent protagonist and antagonist.

However, FFXII left me with some good things: Basch is a fantastic character, Ashe is one of the best female characters created by Square Enix, and Balthier is an excellent, charismatic supporting character.

The problem is that these three characters have all the makings of unforgettable characters, but they're presented in a truly bland plot.

If the story had been better crafted and the protagonists had actually been Bash and Ashe, we could have had one of the best chivalric tales of the genre.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

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Time to talk about a game I loved.

Thanks to the Switch remaster, I was able to play what is probably my favorite Atlus game.

Raidou Kuzunoha and the Mystery of the Soulless Army is, for my tastes, the perfect blend of ARPG/monster tamer/investigation.

Every aspect of the game entertained and amused me, despite being a mute protagonist (which I hate), Raidou still manages to have an innate charisma (thanks largely to Kaneko's design).

I had high expectations because I had already met and faced Raidou in Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne, but I have to say I wasn't expecting such a beautiful game.

My only regret is not starting a New Game Plus (I never do) to get Raiho, which is probably the most beautiful thing Atlus has ever created.

I hope Atlus also remasters Raidou's second adventure for Switch.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

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In the early 2000s, I only knew Beyond Good & Evil through gameplay videos on TV and extensive Ubisoft advertising.

This year, I played the anniversary edition of the game and it was love at first sight.

Like Rayman, BG&E is more like a work of art than an entertainment product, as only the French team at Ubisoft could do.

Despite numerous script and gameplay changes during production, budget cuts, and a flood, the final product is a video game that shines in every way: gameplay, story, music, and graphics are all top-notch for a platform adventure game from the early 2000s.

The Italian version's dubbing is also top-notch.

Rarely a platformer with so many ideas work in every aspect without being boring, BG&E's mechanics and gameplay are fun and challenging, and this is coming from someone who doesn't like stealth games at all.

The soundtrack and the game's graphic style are definitely the two aspects that are truly unique and unforgettable for me.

Unfortunately, the sequel was never released, and from the demos shown, it seems very ambitious and, in my opinion, too different, though understandable.

I really appreciated the behind-the-scenes content of this anniversary edition, full of interesting sketches and curiosities.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

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Finally, after many years of waiting, I managed to get my hands on a JRPG I've always admired from afar, watching the trailers and gameplay shown on Game Network (here in Italy we had a TV channel dedicated to video games for some time).

There's a lot to say about Baten Kaitos.

The initial impact with the card system (magnus) and the associated combat is certainly very strong and addictive, an idea that until then had been used in small RPGs for portable consoles, and which here is expanded and made highly strategic (Baten Kaitos Origin will feature some technical improvements, but in my opinion, the combat will be worse overall).

However, the story starts out weak and full of gaps, questions that are never satisfactorily answered, which is strange, as Monolith has always been a master when it comes to the narrative side of its games.

Baten Kaitos's strengths are its visual imagery and the Magnus system.

The world of Baten Kaitos is varied, colorful, and innovative, like admiring a series of fantastic paintings; the various islands, especially Mira, are a feast for the eyes and ears (even if Anuenue's theme will quickly become a torment).

As beautiful as the aesthetic is, the game's story never really takes off.

It starts with very generic expectations and then, save for one of the best plot twists I've ever seen in the genre, settles into a very tired final arc.

The party characters have tremendous potential, but they aren't fully exploited throughout the story (the Lyude family or the Savyna comrades), but fortunately they are a little revisited in the side quests before the final dungeon.

Furthermore, the true depth of these characters will be explored fantastically in Baten Kaitos Origin, which is why I think Origin should be played before Eternal Wings.

Another weakness that strikes me personally is how forced and rushed the romance between the main characters is. Being one of my favorite aspects of JRPGs, I didn't appreciate how sloppy it was.

Furthermore, there are a couple of poor gameplay choices that slow the game down and dampen the story's pace (they'll be there in Origin too, with those damned cookies) like forced backtracking and fight the same boss two or more time in a row.

I didn't like the decision to remove the English voice acting in the remaster. Despite its reputation for mediocre voice acting, I can't get along with the Japanese language.

One of the worst ideas, in my opinion, was the post-battle reward system.

At the end of a battle, you can only keep one item or photo, forcing you to repeat battles to get new equipments or completing the photo album, which is also the only way to earn money (a peculiar choice that would have worked if you could have kept more items).

It's not hard to understand why this was removed from Origin.

I really enjoyed the side quests: the family tree, the animals, the constellations... they're all fun and engaging in the style of '90s JRPGs.

Overall, Baten Kaitos is a good JRPG with many innovative ideas, but many missteps in terms of story and gameplay choices that slow down the pace. In terms of story and characters, my favorite by far is Baten Kaitos Origin, which I really enjoyed a lot, great characters chemistry and skits, even though I found the combat inferior.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

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Time to change genre a bit, Lollipop Chainsaw was a very fun experience, played for the first time with the remaster for Nintendo Switch.

Although overall short (the individual levels are very long), the game has as a great quality an excellent politically incorrect, exaggerated and sometimes nonsense humor.

The gameplay becomes repetitive almost immediately but the articulated levels, the soundtrack and the fantastic jokes between Juliet and Nick are the real entertainment (great work by the voice actors).

A truly fun game.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

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Valkyria Chronicles 4 was one of the most pleasant surprises among the games I played on the Switch, it immediately became one of my favorite rpgs both for story, characters and gameplay.

However, the first Valkyria Chronicles only existed digitally on the Nintendo platform (and I don't buy digital games) so I gave up on the idea of ​​not being able to play it and instead I bought the manga (where the story was changed and rushed).

Thanks to LimitedRun Games, last year I was able to order my physical copy of Valkyria 1 for Switch and I played it immediately (I finished 4 four years ago now).

From a story point of view, Valkyria 1 is more consistent and direct and I have to say that even though I really like the story of 4, I liked the story of 1 a little more, even if it was shorter and simpler.

As for the key characters, I liked the ones from Valkyria 1 and Valkyria 4 equally, while for the villains and the various recruits, 4 is clearly superior (Selvaria is a great character but the duo Crymaria and Walz are incredibles).

Being the first game in terms of missions and gameplay, it is simpler than Valkyria 4, which, considering the stylistic differences between 2 and 3, can be considered the ultimate version of Valkyria 1 gameplay.

Finally the dramatic moments and the love story struck me more in Valkyria 1 (and they were great).

In short, I loved both games but I slightly prefer Valkyria 1 for story and narration and Valkyria 4 for secondary characters and gameplay.

I hope to see Valkyria Chronicles 5 or a remake of 2 and 3 one day.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

REDBUBBLE https://www.redbubble.com/people/Punkkommando77/shop?

This drawing was probably the most ambitious project I've undertaken since I started this hobby, when a few years ago I prepared the illustration "Videogames Rumble" I drew all the characters individually and then assembled the entire composition, this time instead it was a single drawing, the composition is in fact much more tidy and without empty spaces.

Another technical detail is that having such a complex drawing and with smaller characters than I usually do, I couldn't use my usual filters to manage the shades as they would mess up the characters with each other, so this time the shades are rougher and less similar to brush strokes.

Let's move on to talk about Chrono Cross, another game from the golden age of squaresoft that I played only recently, a game I knew absolutely nothing about in terms of history and gameplay.

Chrono cross has a wonderful graphic style as well as the character design, that period of square with 3d models on pre-rendered backgrounds is my favorite and the one I'm most fond of, FFVIII, FFIX, Parasite Eve and Chrono Cross are spectacular from an artistic point of view.

Also the music in Chrono Cross is fantastic and incredibly ambient.

The gameplay is definitely experimental, there are many new aspects and overall they work and the game is never boring.

Moving on to the story, I found it ok, up to about half of the game I was really disappointed, thinking that square had made a game with such a banal progression worthy of a fanfiction of one of their titles was quite discouraging me, things simply happen and we chase the character with bad guy written on his forehead because there is nothing else to do, obviously the bad guy is looking for the macguffin of the day.

Then something happens in the story and finally the plot starts to be captivating and deep, too bad that the first part of the game is so empty and despite being full of "adventurous" moments there is no real motivation.

I also hate protagonists who don't speak and finding something like that in a game from that period of the square is for me a big negative point and is probably the reason why Serge is not a protagonist who is remembered.

The choice to have numerous companions was handled better than other similar titles, although it is "annoying" not to be able to have them all in a single gameplay it is also true that there is no real reason to use more than 5 or 6, and the fact that everyone has a mini quest or in any case a hidden chest for their final element and dedicated dialogues at various points in the game is very nice.

Also the way in which the various alternative endings are unlocked is very intelligent considering what the game is about, even the humor especially in these endings is very funny.

Chrono Cross is a game that I liked but didn't love, I don't think I'll play it again but it definitely left me with some good memories, my favorite characters were among the strangest: Mojo, Starky and Skelly.

I also played Radical Dreamers, the prototype of Chrono Cross and the game was very fun and well written, recommended.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

TEEPUBLIC https://www.teepublic.com/user/wariopunk

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I decided to dedicate a drawing to Nier Automata not because I particularly liked the game, in fact I found it very mediocre, but i really liked the characters design.

I had high expectations for this game, however not only did I struggle to get to the end (the real end) but I also found a game that does not excel in any department, both the story and gameplay do not go beyond a certain level, and if the first is very basic and they try to make it more complex with a fragmented narrative (which does not work) the second is a light version of other titles of the same genre and period (like Bayonetta 2).

The only aspects that I really liked about the game are the soundtrack, very beautiful and varied, and the character design, but I cannot say the same about their personalities, in fact apart from 9S that I really liked everything else is really flat.

I conclude by saying that I have never played the first Nier so I may not have understood everything thoroughly.

If you like my illustrations, you can find my custom merchs on Redbubble, TeePublic or my Threadless Store.

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