Recent reviews by CREAMEDCONE

2 hours into the game and I've already gotten a pretty good idea of how the rest of it will play out - spoilers, not very well.

Initial impressions were the same as everyone else has claimed: the game has some very pretty visuals, well animated cutscenes, and the music - while unfortunately somewhat forgettable, is very nicely composed. There was a lot of effort put into making it a visual marvel, and it shows.

Unfortunately, pretty visuals and a decent soundtrack isn't enough to hold together what I consider a very mediocre, borderline frustrating JRPG.

The characters have so far been unlikable, follow the most cliche tropes seen in mostly older anime, and the dialogue just feels really flat and uninteresting. It also feels rushed, even though I'm only two hours into the game. Is it possible that the story may become better, more elaborate, perhaps fun? Possibly! This game loves to boast how similar it is to games like Chrono Trigger, but it misses so many of the key elements in writing that made Chrono Trigger stand out.

Speaking of fun: if there's one thing I will give the game credit for, it does have a interesting battle system - and it can be quite fun at first utilizing the mechanics that you're intended to use. I can't testify as to whether or not it improves upon itself, or if it remains stagnant for the rest of the 20-30 hour playthrough, but it will definitely hook you in.

This in turn leads to the main gimmick of the game: swapping between the past and future. I won't say it's executed perfectly, but so far from what I've seen, it's quite good! I just wish it was visually conveyed a little bit better. I'd much rather prefer a toggle to switch between past, present, and future - rather than having my entire view obstructed by a huge triangle splitting the screen between past, present, and future. If you were to say, toggle these visuals between the shoulder buttons on a controller (which aren't used at all), I think that would make the visuals seem a bit less bloated.

Now beyond all of that, what ruins the experience for me is that the game is INCREDIBLY UNPOLISHED: visual glitches, auditory fumbles - it is seriously a huge problem; and after being released for almost FIVE years now, on top of normally being sold for almost $50, this is seriously inexcusable.

To me, it seems the developers really focused in on the time travel mechanics and battle system, and skipped out on polishing the rest of the game. You also move VERY slowly - the game would seriously benefit from a run button, or the ability to jump. I'm just baffled by the fact that rather than address these issues and make some quality of life improvements, the developers opted to add MORE content to the game rather than fix it's seriously annoying issues.

I'd love to try and continue, but I seriously can't commit to a 20-30 hour JRPG if I know deep down it's really not going to be worth my time. I think I'd be more okay with it being the way it is if it we're priced at $10-15, but the fact that it is STILL being priced as brand new in this rough of a state is not helping its case. If you seriously wanted to drop that much money, you could buy Sea of Stars, which is a more fun and proper homage to classic JRPG's.

If you can get it for incredibly cheap like I have, I'd give it two hours to see if it's something you want to invest your time into. For me, it'll be put on my back burner, more thank likely never to be picked up again.

I think purely based off visuals, design, and music, Knuckle Sandwich is a must have game. It is an incredibly fun RPG with a flavorful aesthetic, quirky humor, and a unique soundtrack that no doubt has been inspired by "the one" RPG that we all know and love.

However, while I adore this game for everything mentioned above, I was a bit disappointed to find out that the story is a bit lackluster. It doesn't really seem to know what it wants to do or where it wants to go, so you find yourself experiencing a discombobulated story with no real direction. For an RPG especially, it's important to have a somewhat grounded story for your audience to digest.

I still highly recommend playing this game, because even though it may be disjointed with it's story, it's still really fun with it's battle mechanics, and a joy to experience with it's quirky dialogue.