@@koisj8310 If your standards are low, sure. The unfortunate thing is that Honkai Impact 3rd has amazing writing while Genshin Impact imo feels like a decrease in writing quality so I don't really expect Honkai Star Rails to be that good especially since it's like literally the fifth time they have an alternative universe version of the same characters which has become really stale at this point. Either make original characters or stop making new games.
@@eriochromeblackt3021honkai is the peak example of terrible rpg's and videogames in general, it's ironic that a video about this topic is sponsored by it
Oh my gosh Taylor, those glitches shown are absolutely hysterical! And I'm surprised that I've never even heard of Arc of Alchemist. I had heard of the other ones, and I knew enough to stay far far away from them too!
Valkyria Revolution started as a Shining Resonance clone. When they first showcased it, it was clear that the two games had the same battle system, parallel mechanics and very similar map/exploration elements. However, due to all the negative feedback surrounding there being "Too many Action RPGs" at the time (yes, that was a thing on the JP/JRPG side of Twitter back then, I distinctly remember it), SEGA drastically changed the game's direction to incorporate more "strategy" elements, completely butchering what would have been a pretty solid spinoff (again, the initial pitch was literally steampunk Shining Resonance) on the series and turning it into the abomination we ended up getting.
woah that's insane and how would i have ever known something like this if you never said it and i never stumbled across your comment and read it O: , shining resonance refrain is my fav and probably best AJRPG....
And both games (Shining Resonanse Refrain and Valkyria Revolution) were made ONLY by Mediavision, Sega only published those two games, unlike Valkyria Chronicles series where Sega GE2 (former Overworks + WoW Entertainment) helped them with developing.
Honestly it wasn't terrible, definitely not bad enough to be in the top five worst JRPG's on the PS4. The amount of unnecessary dialogue and lack of dramatic angles in the cutscenes is 100% a valid complaint. And yeah, except some of the later bosses the strategy element is kinda pointless as button mashing will win most minor fights (on the other side I remember the final battle against the Valkyria suddenly requiring perfect knowledge of the strategy system in a bizarre difficulty spike). But while I would never call it a "great" game it still entertained me enough that I saw it through to the end. I would never play it again but it fit snuggly in the "Mediocre games you play while waiting for something amazing" category and I would never have guessed its metacritic score was so low.
With Natural Doctrine, it’s a weird one overall. I can understand the rating it got. I wanna say that beginning part with the orc is trying to show you a mechanic to intercept and counter, which basically makes it where he doesn’t get to attack via stuns. I think I just led him away and ran past or something and came back later? Btw, Did you get tired of the goblin cave music? I liked it initially, but hope you’re ready to hear that loop again and again. Lol Also, you almost have to be a greedy asshole in the endgame (a choice with some items in the game) or you’ll have a magic supply problem (your mages have a very finite resource to cast spells), which will require you to kill goblins in their caves to replenish until you literally can’t due to driving them to extinction and have to wait turns til they repopulate if you’re grinding (hence music loop). I gave up on the final boss due to its bs killing the last shred of “don’t let the game beat you” dignity I had left. I had saved prior to the final part to grind if need be, but nah, that’s torture. I imagine if you play like a greedy bum in two specific choices, it’ll prob make it far easier on ya. Is it hard? Yes, but can be managed. Although, I lost count how many times I lost. I do enjoy the combat style, but wish it was more refined maybe? Would I recommend it? Only to my enemies.
I liked Natural Doctrine, but it is VERY unfair, and I mean that, that 9 enemy ambush was a much EASIER fight than some fights that are VERY shortly after that. I honestly didn't get much farther because of it getting harder, but I still liked what I played.
What finally drove me to rage quit and never play again is the combo system. I can't remember the details but I do remember watching the damn AI spend 10 min comboing moves by moving the goblins back and forth. You can get combos yourself but how you do that goes against all logic for a turn based stratergy like this as it involves doing what should be pointless moves in the wrong direction. Also worth noting that the AI is fully aware it only needs to kill one of your team and does its absolute best to gang up on a single team member.
I just power leveled my chars, the real bad is later in game where you have ALL characters in the battle at same time making each battle last an eternity. A thing I found out about this game is that the AI behavior is determined before the battle, and you can saves to manipulate the battle to your favor, I even beat the hardest bosses in game.got the best gear.
I really liked Akiba's Trip, i hated it at first but it's so... captivating. The weird self aware story, the clunky combat which you can actually master (and boy was that satisfying for some reason), the messed up transitions, the goofy sounds, the goofy concept, all of that made for an unforgettable game, a horribly deformed and flawed one, but certainly a game that i will remember all my life.
It's actually what Akibahara is in real life, when you go to Japan it's exactly like Akiba's Trip no joke. However saying it's hard and clunky and difficult to play well if he had trouble playing this even with the HINT in the title no wonder he gets his arsed kicked in games.
seems kinda interesting actually, if you don't take the ridiculousness too seriously. one of those culture things that a lot of people can't deal with. i may have to check this out at some point.. i'm a big fan of action combat as well, Yakuza 7 was so wasted with its combat system imo. (could be my fault for having that game broken within the first 1/4 of the game... and more money than i knew what to do with) coming from someone who loved yakuza 1 and 2 (2's combat was so much better than 1) on PS2
Have you played the sequel (Undead and Undressed)? Its so much better. I was looking forward to see the roots but the first game was pretty clunky and made me respect how much they improved on the formula. unfortunate that they made a completely different style of game for its third entry (Akiba's Beat) which just doesnt have the charm.
You should see the last boss on Natural Doctrine. They actually let party members die there, and I got wiped over 20 times. Once they let me start the game over and put me back at level 1. I was like, no, I'm never doing this to myself again. If they had just let me new game+ with everything, I would have considered it.
I played Natural Doctrine on the PS3. It went poorly. It felt like a Dark Souls experience if you minus out all the things that made Dark Souls fun. The Battle Mechanics have promise but are too poorly implemented to make you feel like you're doing anything worthwhile. Plus the enemy balancing is broken. There was a secret area in the first dungeon that made me feel super cool when I discovered it, however, there was a big F*** You Minotaur locked up with a treasure chest. So I did what anybody would do, open up the Minotaur's cage to fight the minotaur in the INTRODUCTORY DUNGEON. The thing can one shot characters and your attacks do nothing to it. If it kills you, you have to restart the entire mission and just ignore it completely. The game is a slog to play.
I actually bought Natural Doctrine the day it came out. I was so interested in and thought it would be fun..... holy crap was I wrong. The battle system is sooooo punishing that it became the first ever rpg I gave up on. I ended up returning it within the week for my money back. The only other one on the list I've played was Valkyia Revolution, If I could describe it in one word it'd be "Meh"
I gave up on Shadow Madness, because I seemed to have found a secret boss near the beginning of the game that you weren't really supposed to fight till later. and since it was so brutal and I couldn't win, I felt the game's difficulty curve was too punishing.. and I realized also that bosses scale with your level so there is little reward in leveling up, you don't feel more powerful.
It’s funny seeing on some natural doctrine videos, ppl saying how fun of a game it is and one comment read pretty much bragging how almost had all the trophies unlocked for it, just needed to save vasily
It is the Dark Souls of STrategy Games. To beat the ogre in the first cave, I had to actually fall back to a more defensible location in order to set up an ambush and take him out with. Its not just mindless, "beat enemy over head with sword till dead, heal when needed" that damn ogre hits you once, you are dead.
Valkyria actually has a good story and good character development (you have to engage with these in town). It is also pretty challenging towards the end. Did you know there is magic on it too? I am not gonna say it's an amazing game and it should've been it's own IP due to comparisons with the SRPG, but Valkyria Revolution was surprisingly decent.
The worst thing in VR is begining of game, it's getting better over time, but damn that grind and HUGE difficulty spikes in late game. All boss battles with all generals, especially with Victor and Guiloche are hard asf + you have time limit in late game missions, if you sucks ... well Brunhilde arrives and one shots your team :) Story and characters are very well developed, and ending in this game it's worth pain. If this game would have higher budget, i think it will be great JRPG.
@@nr2676 completely agree. The story in revolution is good. But then the difficulty spike arghhhhh. And that's when the combat was mid to begin with. It was fun for a while, but to grind for hours? Nope!
@@DaakkuuYRS the main problem with this game and Valkyria Chronicles games (and reason why this franchise is still underrated as hell) is Sega. They give them wayyyyyy too low budget.
Not only was this a brilliant and comedic idea for a video, but you executed it flawlessly. You judged each one fairly (and BOY was I grateful that you went into this with the mindset of giving each game a fair shake) and gave an authentic read on each game. I sincerely hope you continue this series, considering this made me subscribe to your channel - though perhaps with a system's library that breaks your bank a little less? 😜
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words. I’m really glad you and so many others enjoyed this video. I will DEFINITIVELY do more of this series! I just need time to cleanse my palette of these bad games lol.
I tried and failed miserably with Natural Doctrine and you hit all the points I hated as well. What a convoluted mess of a game. Also, majority of the comments played Valkyrie Revolution which I find amusing, guess a lot of people expected more Chronicles.
I actually got the Platinum on Valkyria Revolution. While it wasn't a new Chronicles that I wanted I did grow to really enjoy the game. It ended up being a bit of a mindless fun game that I'd use as a stress relief much like the Warriors games or Senran Kagura. I'd definitely put it over some other JRPGs I had on the system like Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness or Asdivine Hearts.
I remember purchasing Natural Doctrine when it released on PS$, for the full 59.99 when it came out. I took it home, played until the goblin mine and just couldn't progress due to difficulty. I go back to the store and try to return it. They wouldn't let me.
I actually played Arc of Alchemist, and I enjoyed it. What the game doesn't explain well is that weapons have different attack types. And enemies have weaknesses and resistances to those attacks. It does tell you, but in like a mini brief. I didn't realize that myself until about halfway through the game.
I played a number of these and I am not sure I would call any of them the "worst". I quite liked Valkyria Revolution. It was a bit odd but once you got into the story it was quite interesting. I can name two games that I would put way below any of these. One was the game based "Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon " or DanMachi and below even this is Marchen Forest which I couldn't even finish which is saying a lot. Mostly it was the combat and extremely annoying dungeon layouts for both but also the total lack of any real story.
The worst game I played in recent years is Omega Quintet. It has all of the biggest problems in these 5 games combined, especially the unfair gameplay. It's a turn-based RPG, but the "turn-based" part doesn't apply to enemies. They can break the turn order and go before you whenever there are fewer than 4 enemies alive, and whenever any enemy is below 50% HP. This means you could be wiped out before you even get a chance to act, and even when you survive, you'll be left on low HP, have all your stats reduced to 1, and be inflicted with every status ailment in the game. It's by far the worst kind of artificial difficulty I've seen in over 20 years.
number 5 is cherry picking. JRPGs are known for the humungous amount of cutscene vs gameplay. Final fantasy and xenoblade gets praised for it. I do agree though about show don't tell. most players go for the fasty bois usually for combat and had never explored big dick damage classes with slow CD timers. You also criticize it for a hybrid of action/strategy. I think it's fine. having to min/max damage numbers is a charm of its own. number4 no comment. not a big fan of 2d number 3 no comment. not a big fan of turn grid based number 2 not a big fan of the series number 1 deserved just for the delay in an action game
Ok so I'm going to play devil's advocate for Natural Doctrine so Wall of text incoming: The game is ugly and I won't contest that in the slightest but the game play comes down to basically abusing the everlasting fuck out of LoS. The battle system can be boiled down to this: 1. Unlock the gun for Geoff 2. Geoff will always have LoS of the enemy you wanna kill Team damage is distance between teammates x number of people attacking. 3. I'm not even going to joke it's trial and error The game is unfair I'm not even going to lie, but it's extremely abusable barring the few scenarios where you literally can't win (aka Aslan and the lizard temple) but beyond that this game is generally really fun with a few cool secrets in it. The area you got stuck in can be easily avoided once you figure out how it works (yeah I know BAd GEam DesIGN) but honestly once you learn the combat mechanics you can actually infinitely farm the cave boss (the cutscene where versily dies and Sean Schimmel screams like a pansy) but the versatility and the builds you can make for each character more than doable. I plan on going back and farming the 1st boss (it's scripted for you to run so even when you kill it it just respawns) to see if I can break the game later on, but I totally.understand if you don't want to play it because the AI in Natural Doctrine is Programmed to kill you with extreme prejudice and if you make 1 mistake with your strategy you are 8/10 times more than likely dead.
I really dug Valkyria Revolution and put in about 100hrs even platting the game. I liked the combat, cast , story and was sad when it was time to roll credits. Also your percentage of combat time vs story time I guess can count as true if your just doing the main missions since I put in a lot of time into combat in the game. The biggest negative I have to say about the game is the boss fights because my god are they sponges and theres one where you fight a ship which feels like a waiting game. I still feel most of the hate the game gets is because of its name sake even though its a spin off.
i never played this games, and NEVER know this games:D lucky! fan final fantasy series, tales of series, YS series, trials of mana and all series, so i only play Japanese games!.
I loved the story of Valkyria Chronicles once you get into it and learn the motivations and such but it takes HOURS to really get into and if your not invested enough (or bored enough)
Valkyria Revolution isn't actually a "Valkyria Chronicles" game. It has nothing to do with the rest of the series and most fans consider it an awkward footnote that's best left forgotten. A result of Sega not knowing what to do with the IP, and just implementing every single thing fan feedback said. Total mess
@@Hugsloth it maybe "forgotten" and all by some, but it is definitely a "Valkyria" game. When characters over lap, wartime battles over lap, and other things overlap and get Involved, than it is part of the Chronicles, though in a different game style.
@@kevynhansyn2902i mean you should play from start to finish to see if it's good or not. Playing 7 hours on a game that you complete in 30 is nowhere near accurate for review.
I didn't really mind Valkyria Revolution, but then I hadn't experienced the core franchise at the time. And Akiba's Trip is a very niche game with a very particular audience.
>11:54 I started to play the game, because of this video :3 This mission is possible but yeah it's sucks. edit: I finished Natural Doctrine. Thanks for tip. The game wasn't bad but sometimes unfair and slow.
I played Akiba's Trip recently for the first time and had a blast despite the bad textures, clunky controls and embarassing dialog. Now I am a master of strip-jitsu and have learned the art of crossdressing. Even though the premise is pervy, it never crosses the line into porn.
I like the Sequel so much, but just now I see the 1st game. I guess the Bug and clunky fight is really unbearable compared to the Sequel; Undead and Undressed. Undead and Undressed is indeed a far upgrade from the 1st game (I played it on PC though, so I don't know about PS version). If you like the 1st game, maybe you can try to play Undead and Undressed. Still waiting for Kati's Route (Director's Cut or something... Man, we really want that sexy Maid 😂).
Natural doctrine is just...god I thought it was a PS2 game that got move to PS4 or remake and I search for it and then it just hit it was a PS4 game a new one! And the mechanics were really confusing like what you said and the difficulty wall 🖕 to who ever got the idea that ambush was a good idea with those Mechanics!
Honestly this just reminded me how the Natura Doctrine was one of the first things I played on my PS4 and I got so blown up on the first battle that I never touched it since and forgot all about it. But seeing it again in this video... you somehow just sold me on trying it all over again. I need to see for myself. The combat system looks so ridiculously complex that I am honestly intriqued, I love unique combat systems. And the story sounds so weird that I suddenly need to know where it goes. I don't think this was the intended effect of the video, but you sold me on Natural Doctrine.
natural doctrine was a Vita game actually and super punishing yes. Valkyrie is not great but the plot is engaging. Arc of alchemist also not that bad and original (it's a city builder mixed with an rpg which, back then, was very odd) I suppose the glitches and lag depend on PS5's back comp emulation. The switch port I know is also dreadful. None of these are great but Arc and Valkyrie don't deserve the hate in my opinion.
I played natural doctrine on the vita, and i thought the graphics was ok for it but looks horrible on the ps4 lol. I remember before playing it, it was dubbed dark souls for strategy games. I also got stuck where you were and about to quit but i git gud and finished the game. If i was to play it now, i wouldn't have the mental capacity to do it lol.
Alright! I tried playing Natural Doctrine three months ago and got stuck on the same battle that you did and rage-quit in quiet frustration. I'm glad it wasn't just me. And that combat system? Needlessly complex. And the story? I don't remember any of it. Lol
are u crazy??? Natural Doctrine is till today my top 3 turn based game EVAAA. The graphics, map/characters design, music, gameplay are just awesome! plus it have a vs and coop mode where we can play as ANY enemy too! i love it!. The only thing I agree is that its way too hard and unfair. But to play vs a friend in vs mod is so damn fun. They should had had make a part 2 on ps5 and fix all the mistakes it had.
I'm surprised by how bad Akibas trip is. I played the sequel on the ps3 and it was pretty good. The graphics was still bad but missions were straight forward, fun, and combat was pretty decent. I guess they learned a lot since the first game also the joke dialogue don't get you killed.😂
Yes agree. I enjoy the Sequel, it is a Fun Game, so to be honest, I myself surprised to see how different the 1st game is; A lot of Bug, Clunky Combat, etc...
I hit such a massive difficultly spike in the last area of Natural Doctrine which soft locked me. Pretty much a rage inducing game for most of the game, as a stradegy noob.
But...none of these are as bad as to be called worst... I even got a platinum trophy in Akiba'Strip 2, which is what you're calling the worst While it's not. It does require A LOT of time to understand how it works, but once you're done with that, you'll be having a lot of fun. But no one will explain it to you in the game. You're a big boy, deal with it And I love it when the game explains nothing and you have to get it by trial and error. It's way more fun that way
I don't know if somebody already said it, but the thing you're trying to explain on Arc of Alchemist is called Input Delay. Fighting game players usually know about that since it's a big deal on FG. As you showed, the game have an incredible high input delay. I don't know how this game was approved at all.
Valkyria Revolution has been on my radar for a while now both because it’s a very cheap game to get physically and the fact that Erick Landon really liked it. I can deal with the long cutscenes easily. I did so with Eternal Sonata and the Xenosaga trilogy. Plus it seems like this takes on more of a style of a visual novel and knowing that going into it I feel is a good thing. 13 Sentinels got my attention and it has tons of cutscenes with little gameplay as well. The only thing though based on what you have said is if the story may be boring to me. It seemed like an interesting political drama, but I guess if it never gets exciting I can see why it may be good to hesitate on it? But for less then $10 CIB I may just take a flyer on it anyway?
I bought it (Valkyria Revolution) for $15 off Amazon a few months back off Erick Landon's recommendation and thought it was alright. It does drag a bit toward the end, and the ending left me disappointed; but I've spent way more money on waaaaaay worse games and ultimately felt I got the fun that I paid for!
I say its worth it as I found the characters and story rather good and the more time you put into the game the more you start to learn about the cast. The combat also is fun as well and it plays like more of an action game compared to the main line series and dont worry you dont need to play any of those to enjoy this one.
@@Hugsloth To be honest gameplay wise better experience is more about what type of game you want to play more. I beat VC 1 and I can admit the gameplay didn't click with me and I found myself enjoying the gameplay here more.
Arc of Alchemist and Akiba weren't that bad. You just need to grind alot to cope for the not-so-good gameplay. Overall, I've played far worst JRPG's in my time. Like Magna Carta or Stella Deus. But they weren't on PS4, OK. Also, old RPG's from 3rd or 4th generation could be really way worse than this. To me the worst ever was Unlimited SaGa on the PS2. I was unable to even understand what was to be done. I mean, we start with some kid, and breakable weapons, and there's a foggy map, and you wander, but you never get to reach any point that makes sense or set you on your course for your adventure. There's just no knowing what has to be done and so, you die miserably at the very beginning of the game. I've played shittons of JRPG's in my life, but that one was the most confusing of all. Ans since I had no walkthrough for it, I never was able to unstuck myself. I just sold the game.
I played valkyria revolution. In my experience, even after you get through the cutscenes, it is still 45 minutes of scrolling through menus, buy and upgrading gear and the magic gems that give you spells and skills, going through everyone's character abilities that change the way they play depending on party setup(the womanizer preforms better with no male teammates, for example) building the party, then adjusting everyone's AI, All for a five minute fight, but if you don't do that you will have to constantly pause the game to switch characters to make them do what they are supposed to and they will immediately stop doing that and go eff off somewhere off screen, plus they will deal like no damage if you don't upgrade everything at the start of every mission. I was like 12 when i was playing this and only got a hour of time on my ps4 a day, 2 on the weekends, so this game absolutely sucked playing because I would open the game, spend 3/4 of my time dicking around in menus, 5 minutes playing and 10 minutes watching brief and debriefing cutscenes. AND THIS WAS FOR THE EFFING SIDE QUESTS. The actual story missions I could only play on Sundays after church when I had a little extra time.
Taylor, this was really great, and intuitive. You really know how to serve your niche in creative ways. Ass kissing aside, I really liked Valkyria Revolution. It has a few meaningful moments that I enjoyed. But I can certainly understand why it's scored so slow.
I tried Natural Doctrine because the description sounded kinda neat but I'm pretty sure I was as confused as you and got stuck on the exact same mission as you.
So I just watched it, good job Taylor. I just want to touch on Natural Doctrine ( I think you know already, me popping everywhere when people comment about the game 😅. I mean, I'm kinda excited, nobody ever talks about this game which I love. ) So yeah it's fair to say that the graphics are ugly, the UI is cluttered, the story is as generic and boring as it gets and the characters are just empty shells nobody cares about 😂. Those are all valid points. The only point I disagree is the battle system. The battle system is tight, for real. It was created by veterans of the Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle franchises. The problem is that the learning curve is really steep and you have no incentive to learn it ( like we said, bad story, bad graphics, cookie cutter characters ). For real, I remember reading the review from IGN and I can't fathom how the reviewer got as far as he got because he didn't understand what he was doing 😂. I grinded those mines, until I felt confident I understood what I was doing, a good couple hours at least, maybe a bit more. For real, when the game came out I skipped it due to the reviews 😅. But a good friend of mine, big fan of tactical RPGs like me, gifted it to me for my birthday and told me I had to play it. And I just loved it. So great video, keep it up Taylor, I love your stuff 😉
@@TheGamingShelf Oh yeah, and a final little thing for Natural Doctrine. The guy that refuses to let you enter in the city and to listen to your report about the creatures, it's because he knows of their existence and he's trying to harness their power and control them if I remember correctly. So he's trying to keep their existence secret. That's why 😉.
"Playing these games is painful" *IMMEDIATELY plugs two mobile-quality gacha games from a company that spends more money on toilet paper than game development and more money on making up microtransactions than the US spends on its military*
This was a very fun video, I would love to see you try it for other consoles but I worry that it would get too expensive lol. I remember back when Akiba's trips first came out a friend imported it and tried to tell me how amazing it was and yeah... I mean it sounds like the sequels get better or at least more silly but how did they manage to get so many sequels with such a terrible first game... i find it hard to believe the original version is better then the port? I mean I know why it's a decently large series now... it's the fanservice but a game should at least be fun to play! Anyways great vid!
Natural Doctrine is SOOOOOOOO bad! Like what the hell were they thinking?! I tried it on the vita and the whole screen was covered in text. Such a horribly executed idea. This video was so fun to watch! I'd love if you did more of these for different systems although it does sound painful lmao
not being allowed to revive party members in the field is sort of a common trope in dungeon crawlers. Maybe not one everyone loves, but its a feature that has been in constant use since the very first RPG... (though in the first RPG you couldn't revive characters. If they got hit they were dead. You just... replaced them with somebody new with no levels or equipment.)
Isn't it a double standard to say a game is bad because it has more cut-scenes than gameplay, but some games with a similar rate get a better opinion? That's not the reason Valkyria Revolution (VR) gets a low score, because the same can be said about the other Valkyria games, or even games like Trails in the Sky, and these get better reviews. VR is a good game, but it's not a Valkyria Chronicles game, and that's the only reason it got bad reviews. Saying otherwise is hypocrisy.
@@lain11644 same here it was definitely old but but I don’t remember having as many troubles, for example I had to problem getting those musicians clothes. I’m looking forward to play Akibas trip on switch.
@@TheGamingShelf the Secret for the Combat is the wooden sword with that ist was very fun Had a enhanced wooden sword +99 at the end and with the techs you have aoe attacks
"worst textures ever" "whoever done this UI should never work in industry" it is not funny at all good work putting up video together would you kindly not to make harsh comments on others peoples work
5 worst of all time is a terrible title for this. 5 mediocre maay work, but I still had fun with 3 out of 5 on this list. Not to mention this says "5 worst of all time" when PS4 actually has asset flip cash grab rpgs in its store.
At around 11:20 you said you'd get "GetGud' comments over the strategy game. If a system is so unintuitive that you can't understand what you're doing wrong to correct it, then it is a failure of game design.
Akiba's Trip is the only one on this list and I really enjoyed it due to the characters and dialogue. It got me laughing and having fun with how silly and over the top it can get. The dialogue and over the top anime comedy is the best part of Akiba's Trip and why I got it in the first place. Well, I love comedy and harem anime so I guess that's probably why I like the game so much cause it gives me the same vibe as those genre of anime. 😅
Natural Doctrine is one of the ugliest looking PS4 games I've ever seen. Beyond just the poor graphics that UI is one of the most confusing things I've ever seen.
I actually kind of enjoyed Natural Doctrine, should be noted, I played on the easy mode, and was completely cheesing the game, like never letting them get near me kind of layered ranged attackers thing that the game tried to discourage, but I did anyway and it worked out well enough. Also, Arc of Alchemist is good for what it's trying to be, as it basically encourages min maxing, grinding, and stat raising...but it's tone clashes almost constantly with itself. Like, the story is that this is the LAST chance for the world, if you fail this mission, EVERYONE dies, and you're competing with two/three other kingdoms to retrieve a device that might not actually exist, and they are willing to kill, and even torture you to get this thing. And then the game keeps doing wacky hijinks in every character's 'sub-plot' cutscenes, trying to get you to laugh, and enjoy being free of the hustle and bustle of the kingdom, and really not take anything seriously. Worse, just to spoil, by the end it turns into a friendship conquers all message that is completely muddled by one of the Kingdoms being a slave state that all but admits it will conquer and enslave the other kingdoms once everything is stable again...but for now they're working with you, so the thing you're after considers it peaceful enough, and even the ending implies you talk them down, a fact that is just stupid. That and the final boss all but demands you fight and kill each other to earn its power, but then acts like you're the dick for fighting.
In regards to your experience with Natural Doctrine, I'm going to try to relate to your experience with my first few hours playing Final Fantasy Tactics, which was when I did not yet know how to add more than just the default character to battle (so it was 1 versus like 8 guys)
Well, I finished Natural Doctrine 2 times and loved it. Yeah, some fights are brutal, but, mostly, those with Extra Enemies and Final Boss. Others need just little patience and some understanding of positioning. For example, enemies can't shoot at you IF you are hidden behind something. Sometimes you need to make a good-old retreat to make enemies into the line so it's easy to kill them. Also bonusesafter lvl up sound not that hot, but they are. And the final moment: some fights (extra) are only after you have more party members. For the story: it's also can be discussed. For example, Orc Chief just tested us. In the world in which only strong survive, and you consider yourself strong, your friends also need to be strong. Just natural rule, as in the name of the game. Can you trust a weak in such world? No. So the moment, we have proved that we are strong, he accepted us. For Valkirie Revolution... I think that many people wanted other thing. Yeah, there are many cut-scenes, but they are good, the story is good, It's not about how oh-surprise-military-genious-commander-with-luck and little country repel the large army. The conflict is more understandable and equal. But still, thanks for the opinion.
@@TheGamingShelf thanks. I understand, that TRPG is the genre that is not for everyone. Well, some of those games. And, of course, the moment, devs are making the game difficult is a big hit to many. The thing is I played almost every TRPG from Japan, including pretty... nicher ones. And many of them are brutally hard. At least, on mid-late game. Games like Agarest, Hoshigami (that one is really brutal on late game), Valkirie Profile Covenant of Plume... It's great genre, but not for all and not really fair sometimes.
What an amazing idea for a video. I don't know how to replicate this idea but it's a massive yes from me. I was hoping for a hidden gem but everything looks so bad.
I got Akiba's Trip on Switch recently, and I enjoyed it. It's dated, and heavily pitched to a slice of otaku culture, but it had enough of the aspects from the better follow-up that I still played through it for an entire story cycle, and will probably go back to get one of the other story branch endings. I do have to agree that lock on would have made a huge difference, and fights against a group are very difficult. Although getting clothing is fairly easy: you have to buy the guide book for the type of clothes.
Honestly the main problem is that we got the far superior sequel first, and yet Marvelous thought a basic remaster of a PSP game - as in lacking improvements to the point where they recorded the new dub at what is clearly PSP quality - would be enough to get people to buy it in the West. It was a half-assed cash-in clearly aimed at the Western market and it's tragic.
I beat a couple of these ones... Valkyria Revolution is a little over-hated but I feel the game has really backwards design, where your characters gain more power and influence as the enemy forces dwindle so the start of every map is about as hard as any match gets excluding bosses. Most difficulty curves ramp up instead of down, it's weird. Akibas Trip I appreciated in a lot of ways but even with my patience and taste I found the Jank bad more often than fun or charming.
I played a good 10 hours of Akiba Strip, It didn't feel clunky to me and I got the band member's set pretty quickly (3 area reloads). Ya, the story is extremely cringy to the point I just muted it and started skipping cutscenes at the master but it did better getting me invested compared other bad games I played.
I back up Idea Factory and Compile Heart because I want to see them succeed, they have a ton of promise but need to learn better design techniques sometimes. Arc of Alchemist was a game I played to examine their experiments in gameplay design, and I'm glad they went where they did - I just think this one could have benefited from better environmental design and a non-apocalypse story.
They make great games(Megadimension Neptunia VII for example) but then they sabotage them with cheap practices (Didn't I see this dungeon in Lowee and Leanbox too?) and that why they're often overlooked. I've asked friends into RPGs if they liked Neptunia and most of them think Tamsoft who made the spin-off Four Goddesses Online were the creators and Compile Heart were a company they outsourced Neptunia to instead, due to the sheer difference in quality between the 3rd parties and Compile Heart/Idea Factory themselves.
IF and Compile Heart arent new to the industry. They had over a decade to improve, but never did. They just churn out low budget half-assed JRPGs every year and run relatively unique ideas into the ground. When they have something halfway successful (Neptunia) they clearly run out of ideas immediately and just churn out repetitive sequels or give the IP to betrer studios for one-off spin-offs that are just other game franchises with a Compile Heart coat of paint. And that's with their "good" IPs. Their worst stuff is abolute bottom of the barrel.
Played Akiba's Trip both of them and they are a guilty pleasure. In the B movie so bad it becomes fun. I laughed a lot while playing them and they are so cheap now they can be a good way to kill a weekend.
🌟Honkai: Star Rail is finally coming on April 25th! Pre-Register Now: hoyo.link/a2RWCsAd
Is that gonna be one of the worst RPG on PC?
@@skydiamsteam6005
Only time will tell
@@skydiamsteam6005 *No.*
@@koisj8310 If your standards are low, sure.
The unfortunate thing is that Honkai Impact 3rd has amazing writing while Genshin Impact imo feels like a decrease in writing quality so I don't really expect Honkai Star Rails to be that good especially since it's like literally the fifth time they have an alternative universe version of the same characters which has become really stale at this point. Either make original characters or stop making new games.
That akiba was a PSP remaster for the ps4😂
A video critiquing RPGs while being sponsored by a Honkai game is some amazing level of irony.
Why? I don't get it.
Honkai is a good game....but the gacha aspect is awful
@@eriochromeblackt3021honkai is the peak example of terrible rpg's and videogames in general, it's ironic that a video about this topic is sponsored by it
S tier
@@Grande_Vtr To think that game and the new Madoka gacha rip off Trails combat system...
Oh my gosh Taylor, those glitches shown are absolutely hysterical! And I'm surprised that I've never even heard of Arc of Alchemist. I had heard of the other ones, and I knew enough to stay far far away from them too!
I thought Arc of Alchemist was cute and had no glitch issues, just alot of figuring out what i needed to do where
I couldn’t believe them lol. I wasn’t even trying to crash the game!
I don’t have an opinion on Arc of Alchemist, because having bought it on Switch it is unplayable due to the 5-10 fps frame rate.
honestly on ps4 it runs ok
Hi David!
Valkyria Revolution started as a Shining Resonance clone. When they first showcased it, it was clear that the two games had the same battle system, parallel mechanics and very similar map/exploration elements.
However, due to all the negative feedback surrounding there being "Too many Action RPGs" at the time (yes, that was a thing on the JP/JRPG side of Twitter back then, I distinctly remember it), SEGA drastically changed the game's direction to incorporate more "strategy" elements, completely butchering what would have been a pretty solid spinoff (again, the initial pitch was literally steampunk Shining Resonance) on the series and turning it into the abomination we ended up getting.
@malice5121 Xenoblade isnt even action-based, its an active time battle system.
But I get your point, hope that DQ12 isnt action based
woah that's insane and how would i have ever known something like this if you never said it and i never stumbled across your comment and read it O: , shining resonance refrain is my fav and probably best AJRPG....
And both games (Shining Resonanse Refrain and Valkyria Revolution) were made ONLY by Mediavision, Sega only published those two games, unlike Valkyria Chronicles series where Sega GE2 (former Overworks + WoW Entertainment) helped them with developing.
Honestly it wasn't terrible, definitely not bad enough to be in the top five worst JRPG's on the PS4. The amount of unnecessary dialogue and lack of dramatic angles in the cutscenes is 100% a valid complaint. And yeah, except some of the later bosses the strategy element is kinda pointless as button mashing will win most minor fights (on the other side I remember the final battle against the Valkyria suddenly requiring perfect knowledge of the strategy system in a bizarre difficulty spike). But while I would never call it a "great" game it still entertained me enough that I saw it through to the end. I would never play it again but it fit snuggly in the "Mediocre games you play while waiting for something amazing" category and I would never have guessed its metacritic score was so low.
With Natural Doctrine, it’s a weird one overall. I can understand the rating it got.
I wanna say that beginning part with the orc is trying to show you a mechanic to intercept and counter, which basically makes it where he doesn’t get to attack via stuns. I think I just led him away and ran past or something and came back later? Btw, Did you get tired of the goblin cave music? I liked it initially, but hope you’re ready to hear that loop again and again. Lol
Also, you almost have to be a greedy asshole in the endgame (a choice with some items in the game) or you’ll have a magic supply problem (your mages have a very finite resource to cast spells), which will require you to kill goblins in their caves to replenish until you literally can’t due to driving them to extinction and have to wait turns til they repopulate if you’re grinding (hence music loop). I gave up on the final boss due to its bs killing the last shred of “don’t let the game beat you” dignity I had left. I had saved prior to the final part to grind if need be, but nah, that’s torture.
I imagine if you play like a greedy bum in two specific choices, it’ll prob make it far easier on ya.
Is it hard? Yes, but can be managed. Although, I lost count how many times I lost. I do enjoy the combat style, but wish it was more refined maybe?
Would I recommend it? Only to my enemies.
That last sentence 🤣
Ah yeah Get stun = Game over i remember that.
*a greedy
@@Livingtree32 thanks, I missed that one when edit revising.
I hate when games like this and Wild Arms XF ruin their potential because you have to play a VERY specific way just to survive an encounter.
I liked Natural Doctrine, but it is VERY unfair, and I mean that, that 9 enemy ambush was a much EASIER fight than some fights that are VERY shortly after that. I honestly didn't get much farther because of it getting harder, but I still liked what I played.
What finally drove me to rage quit and never play again is the combo system.
I can't remember the details but I do remember watching the damn AI spend 10 min comboing moves by moving the goblins back and forth.
You can get combos yourself but how you do that goes against all logic for a turn based stratergy like this as it involves doing what should be pointless moves in the wrong direction.
Also worth noting that the AI is fully aware it only needs to kill one of your team and does its absolute best to gang up on a single team member.
I just power leveled my chars, the real bad is later in game where you have ALL characters in the battle at same time making each battle last an eternity.
A thing I found out about this game is that the AI behavior is determined before the battle, and you can saves to manipulate the battle to your favor, I even beat the hardest bosses in game.got the best gear.
Must be the only game that beat me made me go to another one and I ended up forgetting it
I should give it another shot when I have time
So if you make it to the last chapter, no matter what difficulty you're on it becomes perma death for everyone.
@Daryl Nahorodny Yes, but then you won't see the endings for all chars, I even got the special ending for beating the game twice.
I really liked Akiba's Trip, i hated it at first but it's so... captivating. The weird self aware story, the clunky combat which you can actually master (and boy was that satisfying for some reason), the messed up transitions, the goofy sounds, the goofy concept, all of that made for an unforgettable game, a horribly deformed and flawed one, but certainly a game that i will remember all my life.
It's actually what Akibahara is in real life, when you go to Japan it's exactly like Akiba's Trip no joke. However saying it's hard and clunky and difficult to play well if he had trouble playing this even with the HINT in the title no wonder he gets his arsed kicked in games.
seems kinda interesting actually, if you don't take the ridiculousness too seriously. one of those culture things that a lot of people can't deal with.
i may have to check this out at some point.. i'm a big fan of action combat as well, Yakuza 7 was so wasted with its combat system imo. (could be my fault for having that game broken within the first 1/4 of the game... and more money than i knew what to do with)
coming from someone who loved yakuza 1 and 2 (2's combat was so much better than 1) on PS2
Have you played the sequel (Undead and Undressed)? Its so much better. I was looking forward to see the roots but the first game was pretty clunky and made me respect how much they improved on the formula. unfortunate that they made a completely different style of game for its third entry (Akiba's Beat) which just doesnt have the charm.
@@Loanstalker Reminder that Undead and Undressed is getting a Director's Cut. Kati route soon!
@@HYDEinallcaps Yeh I cant wait!
You should see the last boss on Natural Doctrine. They actually let party members die there, and I got wiped over 20 times. Once they let me start the game over and put me back at level 1. I was like, no, I'm never doing this to myself again. If they had just let me new game+ with everything, I would have considered it.
Akiba's Trip combat looks like if someone played a Yakuza game for a few hours and went "I can do it!"
and they nailed it! shame it was yakuza 1 though 😂
I was gonna say, it has big "we have Yakuza at home" energy.
oh god imagine an Akiba's Trip game with Yakuza level of quality and polish! XD
I played Natural Doctrine on the PS3. It went poorly. It felt like a Dark Souls experience if you minus out all the things that made Dark Souls fun. The Battle Mechanics have promise but are too poorly implemented to make you feel like you're doing anything worthwhile. Plus the enemy balancing is broken. There was a secret area in the first dungeon that made me feel super cool when I discovered it, however, there was a big F*** You Minotaur locked up with a treasure chest. So I did what anybody would do, open up the Minotaur's cage to fight the minotaur in the INTRODUCTORY DUNGEON. The thing can one shot characters and your attacks do nothing to it. If it kills you, you have to restart the entire mission and just ignore it completely. The game is a slog to play.
I actually bought Natural Doctrine the day it came out. I was so interested in and thought it would be fun..... holy crap was I wrong. The battle system is sooooo punishing that it became the first ever rpg I gave up on. I ended up returning it within the week for my money back. The only other one on the list I've played was Valkyia Revolution, If I could describe it in one word it'd be "Meh"
Im so sorry you had to suffer through ND. It’s a miserable nightmare for sure.
I gave up on Shadow Madness, because I seemed to have found a secret boss near the beginning of the game that you weren't really supposed to fight till later.
and since it was so brutal and I couldn't win, I felt the game's difficulty curve was too punishing.. and I realized also that bosses scale with your level so there is little reward in leveling up, you don't feel more powerful.
i got pretty far and then hit a level where it was near instant death any action
It’s funny seeing on some natural doctrine videos, ppl saying how fun of a game it is and one comment read pretty much bragging how almost had all the trophies unlocked for it, just needed to save vasily
It is the Dark Souls of STrategy Games. To beat the ogre in the first cave, I had to actually fall back to a more defensible location in order to set up an ambush and take him out with. Its not just mindless, "beat enemy over head with sword till dead, heal when needed" that damn ogre hits you once, you are dead.
"You want to remove a high school girls clothes? As you may already know, it's not that easy." Yikes.
Yeah 😬
Natural Doctrine is like a chess game! (you need a big brain) idk why but i like that game it's a unique game. 9/10
Valkyria actually has a good story and good character development (you have to engage with these in town). It is also pretty challenging towards the end. Did you know there is magic on it too?
I am not gonna say it's an amazing game and it should've been it's own IP due to comparisons with the SRPG, but Valkyria Revolution was surprisingly decent.
Definitely not as bad as people say!
I agree it's an ok game I would say a 7/10
The worst thing in VR is begining of game, it's getting better over time, but damn that grind and HUGE difficulty spikes in late game. All boss battles with all generals, especially with Victor and Guiloche are hard asf + you have time limit in late game missions, if you sucks ... well Brunhilde arrives and one shots your team :)
Story and characters are very well developed, and ending in this game it's worth pain. If this game would have higher budget, i think it will be great JRPG.
@@nr2676 completely agree. The story in revolution is good. But then the difficulty spike arghhhhh. And that's when the combat was mid to begin with. It was fun for a while, but to grind for hours? Nope!
@@DaakkuuYRS the main problem with this game and Valkyria Chronicles games (and reason why this franchise is still underrated as hell) is Sega. They give them wayyyyyy too low budget.
Not only was this a brilliant and comedic idea for a video, but you executed it flawlessly. You judged each one fairly (and BOY was I grateful that you went into this with the mindset of giving each game a fair shake) and gave an authentic read on each game. I sincerely hope you continue this series, considering this made me subscribe to your channel - though perhaps with a system's library that breaks your bank a little less? 😜
Thank you! I appreciate the kind words. I’m really glad you and so many others enjoyed this video. I will DEFINITIVELY do more of this series! I just need time to cleanse my palette of these bad games lol.
Same
I tried and failed miserably with Natural Doctrine and you hit all the points I hated as well. What a convoluted mess of a game.
Also, majority of the comments played Valkyrie Revolution which I find amusing, guess a lot of people expected more Chronicles.
I guess it's an acquired taste 😅. I found the battle system really well done and it's what kept me engaged with the game.
I actually got the Platinum on Valkyria Revolution. While it wasn't a new Chronicles that I wanted I did grow to really enjoy the game. It ended up being a bit of a mindless fun game that I'd use as a stress relief much like the Warriors games or Senran Kagura. I'd definitely put it over some other JRPGs I had on the system like Star Ocean Integrity and Faithlessness or Asdivine Hearts.
I remember purchasing Natural Doctrine when it released on PS$, for the full 59.99 when it came out. I took it home, played until the goblin mine and just couldn't progress due to difficulty. I go back to the store and try to return it. They wouldn't let me.
Lol rip
Valkyria Revolution probably plays like ass but sara is cute so I give it a 7/10
Ah, I see you’re a man of culture 😎
@@TheGamingShelf everyone loves a good old wrench wench
I actually played Arc of Alchemist, and I enjoyed it. What the game doesn't explain well is that weapons have different attack types. And enemies have weaknesses and resistances to those attacks. It does tell you, but in like a mini brief. I didn't realize that myself until about halfway through the game.
Speaking of a Persona cast reunion in Akiba's Trip, I immediately recognized the "master" as Aigis' voice actress as well
Yes! I forgot to mention that. And the boss girl is Cheramie Leigh who played Makoto 🤣
Hahahah i dont know why but i Just love this vídeo! Sorry i know you sufferef with some of those but thats só Fun tô see!
Haha no worries! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I played a number of these and I am not sure I would call any of them the "worst". I quite liked Valkyria Revolution. It was a bit odd but once you got into the story it was quite interesting. I can name two games that I would put way below any of these. One was the game based "Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon " or DanMachi and below even this is Marchen Forest which I couldn't even finish which is saying a lot. Mostly it was the combat and extremely annoying dungeon layouts for both but also the total lack of any real story.
I bet those probably would have been bottom 5 but nobody reviewed them lol
It simply isn't a Valkyria game.
@@TheGamingShelf Actually I looked up "Is it wrong to try to pick up girls in a dungeon?" on Metacritic and it has a score of 46
@@bernardoheusi6146 its a spin-off. Why dont people get that 😂
@@leonard9624 Thank you. Spin offs are allowed to be different.
The worst game I played in recent years is Omega Quintet. It has all of the biggest problems in these 5 games combined, especially the unfair gameplay.
It's a turn-based RPG, but the "turn-based" part doesn't apply to enemies. They can break the turn order and go before you whenever there are fewer than 4 enemies alive, and whenever any enemy is below 50% HP. This means you could be wiped out before you even get a chance to act, and even when you survive, you'll be left on low HP, have all your stats reduced to 1, and be inflicted with every status ailment in the game. It's by far the worst kind of artificial difficulty I've seen in over 20 years.
One of your most enjoyable videos! I definitely laughed out loud a couple of times. Would enjoy seeing more like this XD
Thank you so much! I really put a lot of extra time into editing this one so I’m glad you enjoyed it :)
number 5 is cherry picking. JRPGs are known for the humungous amount of cutscene vs gameplay. Final fantasy and xenoblade gets praised for it. I do agree though about show don't tell.
most players go for the fasty bois usually for combat and had never explored big dick damage classes with slow CD timers.
You also criticize it for a hybrid of action/strategy. I think it's fine. having to min/max damage numbers is a charm of its own.
number4 no comment. not a big fan of 2d
number 3 no comment. not a big fan of turn grid based
number 2 not a big fan of the series
number 1 deserved just for the delay in an action game
I highly appreciate your time and effort and MONEY to get this video out! 🙇
Haha you’re welcome! Thanks for watching and dropping a comment 😉
Ok so I'm going to play devil's advocate for Natural Doctrine so Wall of text incoming:
The game is ugly and I won't contest that in the slightest but the game play comes down to basically abusing the everlasting fuck out of LoS.
The battle system can be boiled down to this:
1. Unlock the gun for Geoff
2. Geoff will always have LoS of the enemy you wanna kill
Team damage is distance between teammates x number of people attacking.
3. I'm not even going to joke it's trial and error
The game is unfair I'm not even going to lie, but it's extremely abusable barring the few scenarios where you literally can't win (aka Aslan and the lizard temple) but beyond that this game is generally really fun with a few cool secrets in it.
The area you got stuck in can be easily avoided once you figure out how it works (yeah I know BAd GEam DesIGN) but honestly once you learn the combat mechanics you can actually infinitely farm the cave boss (the cutscene where versily dies and Sean Schimmel screams like a pansy) but the versatility and the builds you can make for each character more than doable. I plan on going back and farming the 1st boss (it's scripted for you to run so even when you kill it it just respawns) to see if I can break the game later on, but I totally.understand if you don't want to play it because the AI in Natural Doctrine is Programmed to kill you with extreme prejudice and if you make 1 mistake with your strategy you are 8/10 times more than likely dead.
I really dug Valkyria Revolution and put in about 100hrs even platting the game. I liked the combat, cast , story and was sad when it was time to roll credits. Also your percentage of combat time vs story time I guess can count as true if your just doing the main missions since I put in a lot of time into combat in the game. The biggest negative I have to say about the game is the boss fights because my god are they sponges and theres one where you fight a ship which feels like a waiting game. I still feel most of the hate the game gets is because of its name sake even though its a spin off.
i never played this games, and NEVER know this games:D lucky! fan final fantasy series, tales of series, YS series, trials of mana and all series, so i only play Japanese games!.
I loved the story of Valkyria Chronicles once you get into it and learn the motivations and such but it takes HOURS to really get into and if your not invested enough (or bored enough)
I agree with you.
These videos never seem to add "in my opinion" and rely on other sites for their views.
Valkyria Revolution isn't actually a "Valkyria Chronicles" game. It has nothing to do with the rest of the series and most fans consider it an awkward footnote that's best left forgotten. A result of Sega not knowing what to do with the IP, and just implementing every single thing fan feedback said. Total mess
@@Hugsloth it maybe "forgotten" and all by some, but it is definitely a "Valkyria" game.
When characters over lap, wartime battles over lap, and other things overlap and get Involved, than it is part of the Chronicles, though in a different game style.
@@kevynhansyn2902 OK let me clarify: I, as a VC fan, do not consider it canon lol
@@kevynhansyn2902i mean you should play from start to finish to see if it's good or not. Playing 7 hours on a game that you complete in 30 is nowhere near accurate for review.
I didn't really mind Valkyria Revolution, but then I hadn't experienced the core franchise at the time. And Akiba's Trip is a very niche game with a very particular audience.
A game can be niche and still shitty
>11:54
I started to play the game, because of this video :3
This mission is possible but yeah it's sucks.
edit:
I finished Natural Doctrine. Thanks for tip. The game wasn't bad but sometimes unfair and slow.
I played Akiba's Trip recently for the first time and had a blast despite the bad textures, clunky controls and embarassing dialog. Now I am a master of strip-jitsu and have learned the art of crossdressing. Even though the premise is pervy, it never crosses the line into porn.
I like the Sequel so much, but just now I see the 1st game. I guess the Bug and clunky fight is really unbearable compared to the Sequel; Undead and Undressed. Undead and Undressed is indeed a far upgrade from the 1st game (I played it on PC though, so I don't know about PS version). If you like the 1st game, maybe you can try to play Undead and Undressed. Still waiting for Kati's Route (Director's Cut or something... Man, we really want that sexy Maid 😂).
Natural doctrine is just...god I thought it was a PS2 game that got move to PS4 or remake and I search for it and then it just hit it was a PS4 game a new one! And the mechanics were really confusing like what you said and the difficulty wall 🖕 to who ever got the idea that ambush was a good idea with those Mechanics!
Honestly this just reminded me how the Natura Doctrine was one of the first things I played on my PS4 and I got so blown up on the first battle that I never touched it since and forgot all about it. But seeing it again in this video... you somehow just sold me on trying it all over again. I need to see for myself. The combat system looks so ridiculously complex that I am honestly intriqued, I love unique combat systems. And the story sounds so weird that I suddenly need to know where it goes.
I don't think this was the intended effect of the video, but you sold me on Natural Doctrine.
I like how you make videos about not playing bad JRPGs and you're sponsored by a gutter-trash JRPG. Seriously dude? Credibility gone.
natural doctrine was a Vita game actually and super punishing yes. Valkyrie is not great but the plot is engaging. Arc of alchemist also not that bad and original (it's a city builder mixed with an rpg which, back then, was very odd) I suppose the glitches and lag depend on PS5's back comp emulation. The switch port I know is also dreadful. None of these are great but Arc and Valkyrie don't deserve the hate in my opinion.
I played natural doctrine on the vita, and i thought the graphics was ok for it but looks horrible on the ps4 lol. I remember before playing it, it was dubbed dark souls for strategy games. I also got stuck where you were and about to quit but i git gud and finished the game. If i was to play it now, i wouldn't have the mental capacity to do it lol.
Alright! I tried playing Natural Doctrine three months ago and got stuck on the same battle that you did and rage-quit in quiet frustration. I'm glad it wasn't just me. And that combat system? Needlessly complex. And the story? I don't remember any of it. Lol
Welcome to the misery club my friend. But it’s okay, you’re safe now 🤝
are u crazy??? Natural Doctrine is till today my top 3 turn based game EVAAA. The graphics, map/characters design, music, gameplay are just awesome! plus it have a vs and coop mode where we can play as ANY enemy too! i love it!. The only thing I agree is that its way too hard and unfair. But to play vs a friend in vs mod is so damn fun. They should had had make a part 2 on ps5 and fix all the mistakes it had.
I'm surprised by how bad Akibas trip is. I played the sequel on the ps3 and it was pretty good. The graphics was still bad but missions were straight forward, fun, and combat was pretty decent. I guess they learned a lot since the first game also the joke dialogue don't get you killed.😂
Yes agree. I enjoy the Sequel, it is a Fun Game, so to be honest, I myself surprised to see how different the 1st game is; A lot of Bug, Clunky Combat, etc...
Natural Doctrine, I never got a gameover but I stopped after the 3 mission and I really don't know why you played even further than that.
I loved the original akibas trip, if you are able to embrace the absurdity, is a fun time
The first one (we got in the west) is actually solid!
Idk if it's on the list, while it's not a PS4 game originally it was remastered, but Final Fantasy Type 0 is absolute garbage.
I hit such a massive difficultly spike in the last area of Natural Doctrine which soft locked me. Pretty much a rage inducing game for most of the game, as a stradegy noob.
But...none of these are as bad as to be called worst...
I even got a platinum trophy in Akiba'Strip 2, which is what you're calling the worst
While it's not. It does require A LOT of time to understand how it works, but once you're done with that, you'll be having a lot of fun.
But no one will explain it to you in the game. You're a big boy, deal with it
And I love it when the game explains nothing and you have to get it by trial and error. It's way more fun that way
I don't know if somebody already said it, but the thing you're trying to explain on Arc of Alchemist is called Input Delay. Fighting game players usually know about that since it's a big deal on FG. As you showed, the game have an incredible high input delay. I don't know how this game was approved at all.
Also don't play Honkai lol
😱
8:37 normally when people say "This looks like a PS2 game" they're way exaggerating, but this one ACTUALLY does. Wow 😭
I tell no lies 😎
Valkyria Revolution has been on my radar for a while now both because it’s a very cheap game to get physically and the fact that Erick Landon really liked it. I can deal with the long cutscenes easily. I did so with Eternal Sonata and the Xenosaga trilogy. Plus it seems like this takes on more of a style of a visual novel and knowing that going into it I feel is a good thing. 13 Sentinels got my attention and it has tons of cutscenes with little gameplay as well. The only thing though based on what you have said is if the story may be boring to me. It seemed like an interesting political drama, but I guess if it never gets exciting I can see why it may be good to hesitate on it? But for less then $10 CIB I may just take a flyer on it anyway?
I bought it (Valkyria Revolution) for $15 off Amazon a few months back off Erick Landon's recommendation and thought it was alright. It does drag a bit toward the end, and the ending left me disappointed; but I've spent way more money on waaaaaay worse games and ultimately felt I got the fun that I paid for!
You can get a better experience - narratively and gameplay-wise - from any of the 4 mainline VC games. Revolution is just unnecessary
@@Hugsloth i wouldn't say better story vs the second VA.
I say its worth it as I found the characters and story rather good and the more time you put into the game the more you start to learn about the cast. The combat also is fun as well and it plays like more of an action game compared to the main line series and dont worry you dont need to play any of those to enjoy this one.
@@Hugsloth To be honest gameplay wise better experience is more about what type of game you want to play more. I beat VC 1 and I can admit the gameplay didn't click with me and I found myself enjoying the gameplay here more.
Arc of Alchemist and Akiba weren't that bad. You just need to grind alot to cope for the not-so-good gameplay. Overall, I've played far worst JRPG's in my time. Like Magna Carta or Stella Deus. But they weren't on PS4, OK. Also, old RPG's from 3rd or 4th generation could be really way worse than this. To me the worst ever was Unlimited SaGa on the PS2. I was unable to even understand what was to be done. I mean, we start with some kid, and breakable weapons, and there's a foggy map, and you wander, but you never get to reach any point that makes sense or set you on your course for your adventure. There's just no knowing what has to be done and so, you die miserably at the very beginning of the game. I've played shittons of JRPG's in my life, but that one was the most confusing of all. Ans since I had no walkthrough for it, I never was able to unstuck myself. I just sold the game.
I played valkyria revolution. In my experience, even after you get through the cutscenes, it is still 45 minutes of scrolling through menus, buy and upgrading gear and the magic gems that give you spells and skills, going through everyone's character abilities that change the way they play depending on party setup(the womanizer preforms better with no male teammates, for example) building the party, then adjusting everyone's AI, All for a five minute fight, but if you don't do that you will have to constantly pause the game to switch characters to make them do what they are supposed to and they will immediately stop doing that and go eff off somewhere off screen, plus they will deal like no damage if you don't upgrade everything at the start of every mission. I was like 12 when i was playing this and only got a hour of time on my ps4 a day, 2 on the weekends, so this game absolutely sucked playing because I would open the game, spend 3/4 of my time dicking around in menus, 5 minutes playing and 10 minutes watching brief and debriefing cutscenes. AND THIS WAS FOR THE EFFING SIDE QUESTS. The actual story missions I could only play on Sundays after church when I had a little extra time.
Oh god Valkyria Revolution...
The fact that this game exist is a curse.
Taylor, this was really great, and intuitive. You really know how to serve your niche in creative ways. Ass kissing aside, I really liked Valkyria Revolution. It has a few meaningful moments that I enjoyed. But I can certainly understand why it's scored so slow.
Thanks Dylan! Im trying to make unique videos in the space. It seems people really liked this video concept :)
Nah arc of Alchemist is great. Not the absolute best but it was super fun to play as.
I tried Natural Doctrine because the description sounded kinda neat but I'm pretty sure I was as confused as you and got stuck on the exact same mission as you.
I’m so sorry 🫡
oh, natural doctrine.... i have it for vita, and my god that game was annoying
So I just watched it, good job Taylor.
I just want to touch on Natural Doctrine ( I think you know already, me popping everywhere when people comment about the game 😅. I mean, I'm kinda excited, nobody ever talks about this game which I love. )
So yeah it's fair to say that the graphics are ugly, the UI is cluttered, the story is as generic and boring as it gets and the characters are just empty shells nobody cares about 😂. Those are all valid points.
The only point I disagree is the battle system. The battle system is tight, for real. It was created by veterans of the Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle franchises. The problem is that the learning curve is really steep and you have no incentive to learn it ( like we said, bad story, bad graphics, cookie cutter characters ). For real, I remember reading the review from IGN and I can't fathom how the reviewer got as far as he got because he didn't understand what he was doing 😂. I grinded those mines, until I felt confident I understood what I was doing, a good couple hours at least, maybe a bit more.
For real, when the game came out I skipped it due to the reviews 😅. But a good friend of mine, big fan of tactical RPGs like me, gifted it to me for my birthday and told me I had to play it. And I just loved it.
So great video, keep it up Taylor, I love your stuff 😉
Hey everyone enjoys different games! I loved DioField Chronicle and everyone’s seems to hate it 🤷🏻♂️
@@TheGamingShelf Like they say : "one man's thrash is another's treasure" 😅
@@TheGamingShelf Oh yeah, and a final little thing for Natural Doctrine. The guy that refuses to let you enter in the city and to listen to your report about the creatures, it's because he knows of their existence and he's trying to harness their power and control them if I remember correctly. So he's trying to keep their existence secret. That's why 😉.
"Playing these games is painful" *IMMEDIATELY plugs two mobile-quality gacha games from a company that spends more money on toilet paper than game development and more money on making up microtransactions than the US spends on its military*
At least the mobile games are fun!
This was a very fun video, I would love to see you try it for other consoles but I worry that it would get too expensive lol.
I remember back when Akiba's trips first came out a friend imported it and tried to tell me how amazing it was and yeah... I mean it sounds like the sequels get better or at least more silly but how did they manage to get so many sequels with such a terrible first game... i find it hard to believe the original version is better then the port?
I mean I know why it's a decently large series now... it's the fanservice but a game should at least be fun to play!
Anyways great vid!
If this video does well (which early signs point to it will) I’ll definitely check out other systems!
Wouldn't be the first example of a series that has a terrible first game and the sequels improve on it. Street Fighter comes to mind.
Natural Doctrine is SOOOOOOOO bad! Like what the hell were they thinking?! I tried it on the vita and the whole screen was covered in text. Such a horribly executed idea.
This video was so fun to watch! I'd love if you did more of these for different systems although it does sound painful lmao
Based on how well this video has done so far I’ll definitely be doing other systems :)
not being allowed to revive party members in the field is sort of a common trope in dungeon crawlers. Maybe not one everyone loves, but its a feature that has been in constant use since the very first RPG... (though in the first RPG you couldn't revive characters. If they got hit they were dead. You just... replaced them with somebody new with no levels or equipment.)
Thank you for your service, this looked painful.
It really was 😔 But you watching and leaving a comment makes it all worth it!
Isn't it a double standard to say a game is bad because it has more cut-scenes than gameplay, but some games with a similar rate get a better opinion? That's not the reason Valkyria Revolution (VR) gets a low score, because the same can be said about the other Valkyria games, or even games like Trails in the Sky, and these get better reviews.
VR is a good game, but it's not a Valkyria Chronicles game, and that's the only reason it got bad reviews. Saying otherwise is hypocrisy.
The other game’s stories are better told is really the big difference. And I feel like you get to play more so the balance isn’t as bad
I finished Akiba's Trip recently. The ending was surprisingly well done.
This one or the good?
@@TheGamingShelf The one in the video. I haven't played the sequel yet.
@@lain11644 same here it was definitely old but but I don’t remember having as many troubles, for example I had to problem getting those musicians clothes. I’m looking forward to play Akibas trip on switch.
I remember playing the original psp version, the combat felt really fun for a low spec device.
@@TheGamingShelf the Secret for the Combat is the wooden sword with that ist was very fun Had a enhanced wooden sword +99 at the end and with the techs you have aoe attacks
If these are the 5 worst Graphs you found, you didn't even try.
Natural doctrine is one of those games that’s never to be played by a sane mind
It's not that bad 😅, just a really steep learning curve with absolutely no incentive to make the player want to learn 😂
Lol 😂
"worst textures ever"
"whoever done this UI should never work in industry"
it is not funny at all
good work putting up video together
would you kindly not to make harsh comments on others peoples work
Nope. Thanks for asking though! 👋😃
People still think Valkyria Revolution is bad?
It’s all about expectations. It’s not a core VC so therefore it sucks. It’s really not that bad 🤷🏻♂️
Begining of game, probably filtered many people (very easy difficulty, and too much Visual Novel stuff too little combat).
5 worst of all time is a terrible title for this. 5 mediocre maay work, but I still had fun with 3 out of 5 on this list. Not to mention this says "5 worst of all time" when PS4 actually has asset flip cash grab rpgs in its store.
I based the list off the 5 lowest metacritic scores. So by the definition they are literally the worst 🤷🏻♂️
"worst PS4 JRPG's" proceed to post sponsored garbage gacha game
At around 11:20 you said you'd get "GetGud' comments over the strategy game. If a system is so unintuitive that you can't understand what you're doing wrong to correct it, then it is a failure of game design.
THANK YOU
Akiba's Trip is the only one on this list and I really enjoyed it due to the characters and dialogue. It got me laughing and having fun with how silly and over the top it can get. The dialogue and over the top anime comedy is the best part of Akiba's Trip and why I got it in the first place. Well, I love comedy and harem anime so I guess that's probably why I like the game so much cause it gives me the same vibe as those genre of anime. 😅
Natural Doctrine is one of the ugliest looking PS4 games I've ever seen. Beyond just the poor graphics that UI is one of the most confusing things I've ever seen.
Try playing it. It all makes no sense 😵💫
I actually kind of enjoyed Natural Doctrine, should be noted, I played on the easy mode, and was completely cheesing the game, like never letting them get near me kind of layered ranged attackers thing that the game tried to discourage, but I did anyway and it worked out well enough.
Also, Arc of Alchemist is good for what it's trying to be, as it basically encourages min maxing, grinding, and stat raising...but it's tone clashes almost constantly with itself. Like, the story is that this is the LAST chance for the world, if you fail this mission, EVERYONE dies, and you're competing with two/three other kingdoms to retrieve a device that might not actually exist, and they are willing to kill, and even torture you to get this thing.
And then the game keeps doing wacky hijinks in every character's 'sub-plot' cutscenes, trying to get you to laugh, and enjoy being free of the hustle and bustle of the kingdom, and really not take anything seriously. Worse, just to spoil, by the end it turns into a friendship conquers all message that is completely muddled by one of the Kingdoms being a slave state that all but admits it will conquer and enslave the other kingdoms once everything is stable again...but for now they're working with you, so the thing you're after considers it peaceful enough, and even the ending implies you talk them down, a fact that is just stupid.
That and the final boss all but demands you fight and kill each other to earn its power, but then acts like you're the dick for fighting.
What's your name? "March 7th."
No no, not your birthday: What's your name? "March 7th!"
WHO'S ON FIRST?!
😂
In regards to your experience with Natural Doctrine, I'm going to try to relate to your experience with my first few hours playing Final Fantasy Tactics, which was when I did not yet know how to add more than just the default character to battle (so it was 1 versus like 8 guys)
OMG I did that with tactics my first time playing too!
"Where do you want me to look?"
"Yes."
""
Video Game Design Philosophy 101 - When lacking in imagination for good ideas just obfuscate. Brilliant!
Pretty fun video, good idea for browsing through some interesting crap in the barrel. Thanks youtube algo, we found a new channel to check out.
Thanks for watching! Had you played any of these before?
Well, I finished Natural Doctrine 2 times and loved it. Yeah, some fights are brutal, but, mostly, those with Extra Enemies and Final Boss. Others need just little patience and some understanding of positioning. For example, enemies can't shoot at you IF you are hidden behind something. Sometimes you need to make a good-old retreat to make enemies into the line so it's easy to kill them. Also bonusesafter lvl up sound not that hot, but they are. And the final moment: some fights (extra) are only after you have more party members. For the story: it's also can be discussed. For example, Orc Chief just tested us. In the world in which only strong survive, and you consider yourself strong, your friends also need to be strong. Just natural rule, as in the name of the game. Can you trust a weak in such world? No. So the moment, we have proved that we are strong, he accepted us.
For Valkirie Revolution... I think that many people wanted other thing. Yeah, there are many cut-scenes, but they are good, the story is good, It's not about how oh-surprise-military-genious-commander-with-luck and little country repel the large army. The conflict is more understandable and equal.
But still, thanks for the opinion.
Glad you enjoyed the game!
@@TheGamingShelf thanks.
I understand, that TRPG is the genre that is not for everyone. Well, some of those games. And, of course, the moment, devs are making the game difficult is a big hit to many.
The thing is I played almost every TRPG from Japan, including pretty... nicher ones. And many of them are brutally hard. At least, on mid-late game. Games like Agarest, Hoshigami (that one is really brutal on late game), Valkirie Profile Covenant of Plume... It's great genre, but not for all and not really fair sometimes.
5 worst RPGs.. then says they are sponsored by Honkai 😂😂😂😂 the comedy writes itself.
and you're the punchline
What an amazing idea for a video. I don't know how to replicate this idea but it's a massive yes from me.
I was hoping for a hidden gem but everything looks so bad.
I was genuinely hoping I would like any of these but yeah…they’re all pretty bad lol.
I definitely want to tackle the Switch next :)
Why is 2nd last game so much like Persona 5 XD?
I got Akiba's Trip on Switch recently, and I enjoyed it. It's dated, and heavily pitched to a slice of otaku culture, but it had enough of the aspects from the better follow-up that I still played through it for an entire story cycle, and will probably go back to get one of the other story branch endings.
I do have to agree that lock on would have made a huge difference, and fights against a group are very difficult. Although getting clothing is fairly easy: you have to buy the guide book for the type of clothes.
Honestly the main problem is that we got the far superior sequel first, and yet Marvelous thought a basic remaster of a PSP game - as in lacking improvements to the point where they recorded the new dub at what is clearly PSP quality - would be enough to get people to buy it in the West. It was a half-assed cash-in clearly aimed at the Western market and it's tragic.
I beat a couple of these ones...
Valkyria Revolution is a little over-hated but I feel the game has really backwards design, where your characters gain more power and influence as the enemy forces dwindle so the start of every map is about as hard as any match gets excluding bosses. Most difficulty curves ramp up instead of down, it's weird.
Akibas Trip I appreciated in a lot of ways but even with my patience and taste I found the Jank bad more often than fun or charming.
Agreed! Revolution really isn’t that bad. The combat’s cool and it has a huge roster of characters.
This was such a good video. I would love to see you do other systems.
Thank you! The video is doing incredibly well so far so I think I’ll have to make it a series :)
Imagine making a video like this only to shamelessly plug a free to play game 🤣🤣🤣
Honkai Star Rail is infinitely better than any game in this list 😎
Gotta love hearing Erica Lindbeck in a game regardless of how bad it is
Akiba's Trip was originally a PSP game. I have it on Switch and it's not that bad.
I respectfully disagree. It very much is that bad, IMO. But hey if you’re having fun then go for it 🙂
I played a good 10 hours of Akiba Strip, It didn't feel clunky to me and I got the band member's set pretty quickly (3 area reloads). Ya, the story is extremely cringy to the point I just muted it and started skipping cutscenes at the master but it did better getting me invested compared other bad games I played.
Hahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Utter class man!!!
Haha thank you 👌😂
Natural Doctrine’s battle system has some awesome potential, and the game feels like an experiment that failed because of implementation.
Agreed! It needed a little more time to cool. It could have been cool but yeah just too frustrating as is.
Indivisible has the same kind of button system but its actually a good game
Yeah that game was really good
I back up Idea Factory and Compile Heart because I want to see them succeed, they have a ton of promise but need to learn better design techniques sometimes. Arc of Alchemist was a game I played to examine their experiments in gameplay design, and I'm glad they went where they did - I just think this one could have benefited from better environmental design and a non-apocalypse story.
They make great games(Megadimension Neptunia VII for example) but then they sabotage them with cheap practices (Didn't I see this dungeon in Lowee and Leanbox too?) and that why they're often overlooked.
I've asked friends into RPGs if they liked Neptunia and most of them think Tamsoft who made the spin-off Four Goddesses Online were the creators and Compile Heart were a company they outsourced Neptunia to instead, due to the sheer difference in quality between the 3rd parties and Compile Heart/Idea Factory themselves.
IF and Compile Heart arent new to the industry. They had over a decade to improve, but never did. They just churn out low budget half-assed JRPGs every year and run relatively unique ideas into the ground. When they have something halfway successful (Neptunia) they clearly run out of ideas immediately and just churn out repetitive sequels or give the IP to betrer studios for one-off spin-offs that are just other game franchises with a Compile Heart coat of paint.
And that's with their "good" IPs. Their worst stuff is abolute bottom of the barrel.
Valkyria Revolution. Still better than Valkyria Chronicles 2.
Avan: Hahahahaha ... YES !!!
Nactural Doctrine is actually really fun once you get into it. You just gotta grind
I actually tried grinding and couldn’t even beat the level I was grinding lol
i liked Natural Doctrine, but it is so unreasonably difficult.
I bet these games will be on ps plus extra 😂😂
Played Akiba's Trip both of them and they are a guilty pleasure. In the B movie so bad it becomes fun. I laughed a lot while playing them and they are so cheap now they can be a good way to kill a weekend.