As Basic As Things Get | Thoughts on Hi-Fi Rush 

The Zanzo analogy was pretty clear. It's about being over perfectionist to the point you harm your employees and stifle the actual work being done. Yes having a creative vision is good, but if you keep being too scrutinizing every single detail of it for perfection, not only do you waste the team's effort, u waste resources and the work ultimately doesn't get done. This is also an actual issue in the industry (games that end up in development hell that then end up being crunched to meet deadlines all because the dude in charge prioritizes his vision over the reality of the situation. And no this isn't solely a AAA games issue, indies also deal with this)

I believe they said that Zanzo was based off their experiences with higher-ups in the videogame companies they used to work for. People who don't really understand the amount of work which goes into projects, nor how unreasonable the demands they make are, when working in such a complex medium. Overall I really enjoyed Hi-Fi rush, and while I can say it isn't for everybody, I really gelled with the characters, and am a sucker for found family tales. The music was incredible, the artstyle was fantastic, all the small details really showed that they cared about the overall project, and I found the combat super enjoyable for what it was. Either way, keep up the good work, and have a nice day.

the combat is simple enough but with enough basic building blocks that its a action game id love to use to introduce people to the character action genre, since parries and pause combos being on beat is a really good way to get people to learn this style. i could have used more combos but i get that this is kinda a new concept in an of itself

damn man what hifi rush do to u

I think some of the criticism with regards to the platforming and combat being more on the simple side is quite fair. But it seems like there are points where you’re either way too harsh about little things or there are aspects of the game you’ve just refused to cover. You mention the game looking good but don’t speak of the incredibly well made animation of the characters or even the 2d drawn cutscenes. You mention Chai being a tool but never go into his growth where he slowly becomes more aware of the situation he’s in and the responsibility he has to this new group of friends. No mention of his pep talk to Peppermint as an example. Then there’s the complaining that the Easter eggs and references aren’t in depth enough, as if a reference needs depth and can’t just be a fun little moment for people to recognise. Chai literally pauses in the same walking stance as the classic Bigfoot picture. This doesn’t need commentary nor does it need to serve a specific purpose other than being a fun addition. Music wise I think they stuck with a particular tone to elicit certain feelings and that’s the reason for alternative rock being the main genre used. Whirring by The Joy Formidable being a great example of the right track at the right time

i think the thing with zanzo was more pointing at creatives who actively abused the peopel around them and thinks they're making the sequal to the bible -Inafune, druckmann, cage- more than those who are excentric but can be alot to deal with, if htat makes sense?

I must admit I'm a little confused about how you find the gameplay boring yet listed Ghostwire Tokyo as a game you did like. That game has some of the most cookie cutter open world gameplay that we've seen over and over again the past decade. As much as I adore the No More Heroes franchise, its gameplay is also about as basic as it gets. The thing that brings those games together are their setting and stories, and the same goes for Hi Fi. Love your videos as always, but this one seemed a little mean spirited for odd reasons.

Uhhhh, yeah, can't say I agree with a lot of stuff here (the part about Zanzo's level in particular was just a bizarrely cynical way to interpret such a simple joke of the devs poking fun at themselves and standard creative/business procedure in the production of projects like this, I feel) but the fact that you wrote off the combat as basic while also barely talking about the support characters with all their special moves with positional attributes and combo extending capabilites, the surprisingly good enemy variety, *consistently* great boss roster (a rarity in this genre if you think about it), chip system, hidden encounters, neat level of challenge that's offered on higher difficulties etc. etc. etc., if at ALL kinda left a bad taste in my mouth, man.

Bro missed the entire point on why Zanzo is a bad guy in this game. He clearly doesn't care about his employees and prefers to torture them or make them work until exhaustion just because he wants to get his shallow ideas done

Didn’t expect you would think this about the game. And probably the only negative video I have seen on the game. Also I really don’t agree with the “baby’s first hack and slash” comment.

Watching through the video and it feels like you’ve missed the point on a lot of things. Chai developing from a self centered asshole to being an genuine friend to his group, Zanzo being a commentary on creative directors being so ambitious and selfish that it’s detrimental, the whole game just trying to be a simple plot. If you wanna play a more overall complex game then go play that, just don’t force the ideals of other properties onto this one for the sake of “criticism” when it’s not trying to be those games.

I'm not sure where this is coming from considering it's got a LOT more depth than no more heroes 1/2 in terms of combat, and it's child like charm is just undeniably wonderful. Gonna have to classify this as a miss personally so far in this video (I'm 20 mins in). The style and fun factor are great and it doesn't need to have the depth of bloodborne to be just damn fun!

The fact that you are even comparing HFR's aspects to other games shows Tango hit it out of the park with HFR. Usually dev studios do not change the genre expertise they are good at. Tango doing a complete 180 and still having high polish and creative ideas is honestly brilliant.

It's very much a game backed by its style and charm, and that won't really vibe with some people. I really enjoyed it, even though I thought the gameplay itself was a little boring at times. A lot of impressive work has been put into making the whole world synced to the beat, and the visuals are a style that's very hard to get right, and I feel like they did that. Chai's a bit of a jerk, but I feel like a lot of his comments were things I wiuld have been saying, difference being I'm on a couch and he's fighting for his life out there ... except for when he too is on a couch. I couldn't really agree with a lot of your points, but I understand why you feel the way you do. Hi-Fi Rush is far from my first character action game, it was just fun for me to go on a little romp, even if it wasn't necessarily complex.

Damn for speaking for 30 minutes I feel like practically no valid claims were made beside the platforming being rather meh. Everything else was just personal tangents and history and "me no like saturday morning cartoons so this is automatically bad" when completely being bs on stuff like combat being simple when you didn't even mention assists, parries, pretty much everything you unlock past just starting and Chai's personality which you had to use early game footage to make your case as he only really argues with Peppermint in the first two stages and is after that pretty much a nice guy with just some attitude. Really screams needing to be the one man out here.

People are pointing out that Zanzo sounds like the perfectionist creator that sometimes harms other peoples for the sake of "creating art". That's kinda of a good discussion when you think about directors like Stanley Kubrick or Alfred Hitchcock...

Can't believe how angry you are

Hilarious you call him Peter Parker considering he's voiced by one.

My 2 complaints with this game with my current 24 hours in it is there not being a lock on. And when you can't skip the talking. The platforming could be better but it wasn't something that bothered me. And IDK could just be me but it seems you went a bit off the rails with this one. Like something about the game bothered you and made other things unpleasant for you. And to Chai being well him. He and the rest do grow and change as the game goes on. I don't want to run off the rails my self but it's like you were hoping for some grand multi layered genre merging master piece. For a game that's 30$.

I'm not sure why you didn't use later example of Chai being being a prick out of spoilers when you used footage of the werewolf boss fights and Korsica. But Chai tones it down later and it's not like the game plays it like he's in the right.

I wish NMH3 looks as polish as this game.

Honestly sounded like you're more in the mood for a platformer, why would you want people to play pizza tower over this, two great games with different genres

26:00 I would have thought that to be more of a caricature of Kojima or Nomura, directors who end up going years over time and millions over budget, than of someone like David Lynch. Maybe that's because you and I have just consumed different media through our times and we just look at different things.

This review honestly sounds like you dislike this game because it is built on a bunch of things you dislike rather than it being objectively bad. But y'know that's fair, this is your review and your opinion on the game so idk Personally I love this game, I can get down with a game that's a bit more casual and laid back, like the game itself wants you to just switch off your more critical thought processing and just enjoy it. Enjoy the hackneyed af story, the dumb as hell dialogue and the slowed down combat. Just pick up your Controller and smash out some rounds after a long day of work.

Can't say this is what I was expecting

Goofy died for ours sins, goddamit Ghenry!

@GhenryPerez I know it's sad that Mikami and Nakamura left Tango Games, but I won't stop playing nor supporting the developers. Mikami retired for a specific reason: so the new generation can spread their wings and not be under his name/label. The man has done so much for gaming for over 20 years, I can blame him for retiring. I support and respect his decision. Nakamura, obviously has her own things going own, and wish her the best of luck. Whatever developer she is at now, I'll support her too. Do as you wish, but I will never abandon/lose interest in Tango, so long as they try and make the games they want to make. BTW, I am big Evil Within 2 fans, but I do enjoy the first game to an extent. I still prefer EW2 though.

A bit of correction on the Peter Parker part...I think Chai is modelled after Ben 10 actually (assuming you know that show). The art style harkens back to the cartoon-anime artstyle that Ben 10 popularized, Chai has the smug over confident attitude that OG Ben had, his dynamic with Peppermint is straight out of Ben and his cousin, Gwen's own. And the VA pick more than likely wasn't because he VA'd Peter Parker, but that he VA'd Ben at some point. Just wanted to point that out, especially cuz Peter and Chai...barely have any similarity...except brown hair I suppose(which Ben also has lol)

Glad I clicked this video , I had no idea this was from tango !

What are your thoughts (if you have any) on No Straight Roads? Since watching your review for HI-Fi Rush, it feels like a weird inverse of what it is. Where in Rush the gameplay is solid enough and goes with the beat, in NSR it felt like I had to fight with the games difficulty since playing on easy required me to delay my inputs to parry similar to the people mentioned playing Rush.

man, rythm heaven ost fits so well with these kinda reviews

I got the notif for this video and immediately went "oh no this vid's gonna be bad" and sure enough I was wrong The videk was even worse than I thought. Jesus H. Christ man.

I loved the game but I appriciate you being as brutally honest as possible about why it didn't work for you

I feel like the xenogears reference is a bit weird for you to call out as it was clearly using it as more than just a point and recognise the thing, they’re poking fun at the fact that they themselves had to cut part of their game which is why they used that specific scene

29:42 sure do!

This review reminds me a lot of nitrorad's review of deltarune. They're both misses because of the preconceived notions that went into the game before they pressed the start button. They never had a chance from the start and there was no assessment of their opinions. I think they should have approached it by pointing out the flaws with less snark. I mean trying to be Peter Parker isn't really a bad thing(I don't think it's correct observation) but also pointing that out makes the other stuff contradictory. Going for Peter Parker would mean they want him likeable but your assessment of him being a asshole goes against that. Chai is supposed to be annoying. It's like Scott Pilgrim. Scott is a dick but like chai he doesn't know it. Chai is high on his own supply. He's living in his own fantasy but by the end he is supposed to grow and be humbled. Zanzo problem isnt that he's being stifled. His problem is he's a perfectionist that doesn't care about his workers. He can't get anything out cause he's too anal to get anything go. It's the every painting is unfinished idea but the painter refuses to stop. It's dr dre and detox.

I do like a different harder take on a game I enjoy. That said I do disagree on quite a few takes, and I think that's fine as we're different people. The combat is more basic than DMC but I wouldn't simply leave it at that. There's plenty to chew on like Magnet resets, Jam Overkilling & Special Gauge management, Parry Countering to keep high uptime of your teammates during fights and all the while going hard while the music picks up. I never felt as if the game as too slow during combat, because of what the game is asking of you to do isn't to go nuts at a high BPM. Some songs will be slower and you have to think of your combo routes to reflect the speed; and some will ask you to go fast and slam fools into the dirt. I took it as a duet, not a blood bath. Though I do wish the combat was better balanced with the platforming though, I agree with you on that one. I do think Chai genuinely changes but he doesn't go from bad to good; more just bad to less bad. He just found a group of friends that he seems to gel with, and that's enough for him. Unironically I find more people have issues over Peppermint because Sidecut Bad and she shouldn't get angry at said snarky smartass when he's genuinely a goof. Chai's not a ground-breaking character; he's just a failguy who got lucky enough to actually do something and it's gone to his head. He gets more level-headed but the fact that Chai is a failguy will probably stay as it is. I think it's personal taste. Reference wise it wasn't really eliciting bold meaning. They're just fun stabs at stupid moments either Dev wise or culture wise. Hell the Xenogears reference is because once you save Korsica that entire sequence and the cutscene before the cannon was cut content of a level and a boss they still had the assets for. It's a reference not because it's only Xenogears, but because Xenogears had a horrid dev cycle on that Disk 2 transfer. As much as I love Venture Brothers though, comparing this to that series that has had over a decade to perfect its comedy and vision is rather harsh. While I don't agree with a chunk of your takes, I understand why you felt that way for the most part. I respect it.

calm before the storm

certainly a take

Wow I did not gel with this video. Highly disagree with everything in this.

22:58 You mean specifically that era in the 00s where every western action cartoon was trying to mimic the anime artstyle? Yeah checks out Avatar The Batman Witch Winx Totally spies Martin mysteries Teen Titans Monkey hyper force go Wakfu… Oh god we’ve gone from 80s cartoon nostalgia to an entire game that’s basically 00s cartoon nostalgia and 00s rock nostalgia too I don’t know how I should feel on this

"Most boring basic platforming outside of a Wayforward game" To be fair, Uncharted and Assassin's Creed have even more basic platforming than something like Shantae does. The platforming in this game does look pretty basic with that said but I doubt it's as egregious as something like Uncharted 4 is. Also, yeah you could argue a lot of kid's cartoons at the time weren't very good but the thing is 90% of all media is average to begin with more so than bad. All though the writing in this game seems to be weak either way. You could almost every video game that involves active movement requires some degree rythmn, platformers, shooters, hack n slash and even stealth games to some degree. Funny, I like TEW2 but No More Heroes 3's writing I found to be obnoxious. Probably because Travis kept mentioning a foreign film director I had no clue about and Suda kept mentioning Mike in almost every 5 cutscenes.

Welcome back!

The main character is Peter Parker yeah

Yeah. I knew it from your other videos and didn't mind it too much. But you just went full edgydoi "this is too childish! Why do you like it?!" Way too hard. This ain't it brother, you didn't understand half of why people liked the game. Also "no techno"??? A certain money wolf would like to talk with you.

Imagine if they did this for South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut

Chai is nothing at all like Peter Parker, like I disagree with most of the review but this point above all else is the most wrong

I don't think Zanzo is a parody of anybody, he just comes off as another cartoon stereotype, and obviously the character goes over the top. I am not saying that creative people don't require extra money, but in some cases big ambitions+infinite cash = a worse product, see bioshock infinite

i disagree with alot of your points, ESPECIALLY your comment on "saturday morning" cartoons, but a decent video otherwise

kingdom hearts is unfortunately not babies first action game that would be any of the devil may crys that force you to play normal mode first (almost all of them) or like mgr which has a tiny skill ceiling

Oh boy

Why are you getting so mad m8. I'm assuming the time between battles is so the player can get more practice on rhythm since it can be difficult to keep up. The baby's first action game bit is also a massive downplay of the games gimmick, since it's adding and expanding on something action games have always had, not just teaching players how to play action games. I see the Peter Parker comparison, but it's obviously not the same as, as the only similarities are quips, the basic brown haired white teen look, and the voice. Otherwise, Peter and Chai go through different arcs and are different people. The scene you picked of Chai being annoying was very cherry picked, and out of context. He is annoying(which enjoy), but the scene you picked was early, when Chai didn't trust Peppermint and Peppermint was annoying with Chai. The two had very good reason to be snarky at each other. As for difficulty...I think you're just really good at action games m8. I and many others have actually had difficulty at points in the game. It's not bone crushing on hard, but it is challenging at several points . Meanwhile it sounds like you just weren't interested in the game from the get go. So naturally you didn't really give it a chance. Word of advice, in those situations, just don't play it. Nobody wants a poor review, and going into something with apathy at best, annoyance at worst, is just going to come out with a bad product. Also, no need to tell me to unsub or that it's not your problem (unprofessional btw). I unsubscribed awhile ago

While you make good points I have to agree to disagree because the game does appeal to my sense of humor which isn’t for everyone.

Great video! I love it!

17:30 You don't like Shantae or why do you say so?

Basically you didn't like it, then it's your problem, not mine. My experience was that i had a lot of fun. Also, i suck at this game, can't keep the rhythm most of the time, it got easier the more i played.

Ghenry, I love ya man but yeah I don’t agree with this take

Bruh, zanzo is incompetent and cant learn from mistakes. I dont think he has passion and more like delusions.

As someone who adores this game, you make some pretty good points with your more critical takes on the game. Especially on the platforming sequences. also, I think both this and Pizza Tower are such fucking good games

Speaking of the licenced songs, I remember first hearing 1,000,000 from NIN back in Midnight Club LA, so song's not that niche.

Here first before the fallout lol

I think this game is really good (like the most strong 8 I've played in a while) though that's partially due to the rhythm based aspects in gameplay, very well executed and vibrant cel-shaded art direction/amazing animation, general polish and me actually giving a damn about the characters/story to a degree. I have no idea where the GOTY talk is coming from for it *especially* so early on in the year, it's guaranteed to be nominated in multiple categories with one win for sure at least.

Man, I love alot of your videos but this is definitely a bad take

Yeah, you were pretty cynical with this one

I don't think this game was for you

Yeah, you are being cynical. The goofy Saturday morning cartoon vibes are welcome when games are usually morally grey, philosophical, and take themselves way too seriously. Outside of maybe Psyconaughts 2 and Kid Icarus: Uprising, I can't think of too many games with that vibe. Also the references have points. The twin peaks one was used as a segue to the end of a dream sequence, with 808 doing the walk working as the reveal. The Xenogears reference is a self deprecating joke because both sequences were used to convey content that wasn't able to make it into the final cut ( The lead up to the cannon= most of the latter half of Xenogears)

7:20 Wait a second... is that the Dreamcast logo?

I agree with the review on a lot of points but the story review segment felt a little more aggressive and nitpicky than was warranted. I’m not into the Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic either but I think it’s unfair to be this hard on a very obviously nostalgic and loving aesthetic a lot of people are into. It would be like if somebody spent half of a review of a Suda51 game talking about how the aesthetic is tryhard and pretentious. That being said I do relate with you on most of the review, found the game really boring and childish Saturday morning cartoon stuff does make me irrationally angry, nice to see a different perspective.

This guy just mad the game wasn’t Dead Rising 😂

Im not sure you ever claimed to be unbiased, but god dayum the comments making this look like a not even finished rough draft. Rant content does not reach your target audience.

hmm surprised that there was that much platforming ... game looked coolish tho, but in this category, I really want to play ''wanted dead' by team ninja that everyone panned, bummer cause I really liked wo long since I really started to enjoy pseudo souls combat from jedi fallen order

The only criticism I have of this video is that you talk about round platforming heroes and don't mention Kirby.

zanzo is inspired by docsquiddy trust me

As ok as this game is, I wish No Straight Roads was more like it on the rhythm side.

I understand that you’re a fan of character action games, and your critique is valid. However, you’re still wrong

I love this game but I will admit, the campaign's replay value goes down because of the extensive walking/platforming. Sure I could focus on the Rhythm Tower, but I have to replay the main game's levels to earn more currency. As for the references, they're definitely surface-level and don't add to the story. But I find them harmless, they're not jarring to see. At least for those who don't recognize them. I certainly missed a few but didn't bat an eye.

So what I noticed of the footage with movement and platforming is that the dashes were only used for clearing gaps. Meanwhile, the game allows you to chain three dashes on the ground if you land them on beat (and even insta-reset said chain if you care enough to learn how to do so). So with the basic run being that much slower I can see where the time bloat on the non-combat parts comes from at least to some degree.

With the unceremoniously and utterly scummy closure of Tango gameworks. I wanna get this off my chest. Out of all your video on various Games, absolutely dislike this particular video and disagree with a lot of your opinions in it, especially your thoughts on Zanzo and Chai. Which is really saying something as I REALLY Love Your other video, particularly the ones on Henry Cooldown and The Silver Case. Although it’s obviously your opinions and views on the game, and I’m not gonna judge you for that. But it’s clear as crystal that this game just wasn’t made someone like you. I may sound like a bit of an asshole but I just being blunt and honest here.

Not one of my favorite reviews of yours, especially since I personally loved HFR a ton, but I saw what you meant in some points of criticism. It was still a nice and fun watch before bed. Also I gotta agree with plenty of the comments regarding Zanzo, I think you were overthinking on who he was based on instead of looking at the type of directors and creators that he is based on, those being creative types in the tech and gaming industry who only care about overly ambitious, unrealistic ideas that want them done no matter what while at the same time having no regard for anyone but themselves and their own vision. Tbh, I’m surprised you didn’t talk about having issues with the goofy Jojo references that he kept doing lol

Yes, I paused the video

Loved it for its style and personality alone. I don't really care if the gameplay's basic.

Recent Cuphead video made me suspect it, but this video definitely makes me believe it. Ghenry has no respect for animation.

is this... is this really a 30 minute long video of you, a guy who spent hours picking apart and analyzing no more heroes, explaining how you didnt get probably some of the easiest to understand ideas ever?

Devil may rush

Before I watch, I just want to say what I really appreciate about this game is the character. Even if it's not perfect, it's something a bit outside the norm. Not completely unique, but something different. That being said, I did find it quite slow and pretty boring. Did not get very far before I stopped playing. The gameplay felt like something from the early 2010s.

You really nailed it with this one! 10/10! I was waiting for George Costanza to show up in the game given that it was Vandalay Industries.

I want to see Travis Touchdown make an appearance in this universe just so he can dismember Chai while Chai screams.

Do you dislike this game because it reminds you of No More Heroes but it's too cheery and not cynical and edgy enough for you ?

I hope it hurts

It’s crazy that most of the people in this comment section don’t actually have a counterpoint to you saying that the platforming is boring timewasting (because it’s true)

I loved Hi-Fi Rush the moment it was announced and played it... But once Pizza Tower came out I havent gone back 😂

Complains about how whiny chai is and then proceeds to whine about references (and except the one he likes lmao) game’s definitely not perfect but not every game is made for you. If your wanting a more serious story theres a lot more out there, and if you want better character games theres a lot out there. Its a fun return to ps2 style games, kinda all it needed to be. The numbers show.

I see a lot of people of describe hifi as a throw back to the 00s but that doesn’t mean they should have brought back the crappy parts of the 00s like having forced platforming in actions games. Seriously go back and play any budget or janky hack n slash and they are all like this Nanobreaker is a great example with its terrible jumping, and while sure HiFi isn’t bad like nanobreaker it’s still something we’ve known sucks by now. legit one of the better examples is actually the dmc reboot of all things

i appreciate you have your own opinion. i hope these comments don't make you backtrack cause i agree, like some other commenter said. I think people are starved for originality so this feels like finding water after being in the desert for like 3 days so it taste like the best thing ever but after awhile you end up thinking dang this just water bruh.... but hey if you love the game more power to you.

This video interesting...

Took an L on this one

dann

Really good review, sorry to hear you got Covid

KH is a baby game unless you play in critical mode

A lot of people view critics as individuals who think because they have an opinion it's automatically right. I don't believe that's the case, frankly, some people just want to get their opinion out as a form of expression. They're not really trying to convince anyone of anything, in which they're giving less a review and more of a human artform of venting. Considering how much work you put into these, I assume you're at least trying to get some people to see your point of view. There's a respect for genuinely great presenters as reviews done by people who give information in such a way can result in wildly change opinions. Who exist to enlighten or celebrate higher thought and analysis in our past times. It's clear there are good reviews and bad ones, and with how 'quality' is manufactured, especially in this field, being such a nebulas concept. It would be nice if there was at least a guide on how to make a good review. Unfortunately I don't think one could be made, but if you look at a compilation of bad reviews, you can at least make a do-not list. I think making one from this video specifically would be mean spirited, but if you come back to this video a few years down the road, I hope through your own growth you realize why so many well received counter comments from people at the end of your review had an equal amount of thoughts about you vs. the game. Putting in a line about " not giving a fuck" about dismantling part of the intended experience however small invalidates every part of the review past that point. Frankly considering your gripes with Chai around the 20 minute mark, using that example and a few other parts of your review, I can actually picture some of this as Chai analyzing his own game. I'm new to the channel coming in off a recommendation for one of your different videos, I like your reviews on games that are cynical in their identity, such as Dead Rising 4, as you appear to be an cynical person. But I think it's very telling that a really sarcastic version of this game (no more heroes) is way more appealing to you. Rather then being able to find the individual charm in both games equally. Maybe that's just my outlook on life that can't mesh with yours.