As always, I'm warning you, that there will be NSFW content, spoilers and everything of that sort here.
It's your problem if that is a problem for you.
I'm not responsible for anything, I warned you.
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The time has come, and so have I.
It is, yet again, the time for my yearly review.
What have I played, what have I re-played. Most of those will be reflected in my textual diarrhea here.
To be honest, I play less and less games each coming year.
Less and less good games are being made, first of all, more and more bad games are coming to our gaming machines.
I really don't see myself buying some PS5 or Nintendo-something, as I literally KNOW nothing good will ever come out for it.
The only saving are those ports of PS2 games, really. I should buy a new PS2 instead of some PShit4 game.
I don't even have much to say about consoles, because generally there are only 3 worth noting this year.
PS4 - generally, the only console really needed this year. All the current games, or 99% of them, are ending on it naturally. The console I used the most this year, despite how much I hate it.
PSVita - just a living corpse. I mostly used it for 1-2 games, and replaying Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku. It'll die next year, probably.
3DS - another living corpse, mostly. Only useable for emulation, as generally no new games are coming that I would want.
A note on Nintendo Switch, since it's the newest console on the market, and one I didn't buy yet.
I don't think I'll buy a NintendoSwing Switch anytime soon, as it's support with games I would want is so weak there aren't even 3 exclusive games I'd want. Complete disappointment.
Besides, even those 2 games I want are still far from release. Having it right now is pointless. It'll be cheaper later, if games I want will ever be released on it.
This year, I will not be offering to advise on drinks you should consume while reading this, so let's move on to the games directly. Drink what you drink, eat what you eat, and enjoy my textual diarrhea, and try not to get a real one.
Another one of my completely random purchases. At the time I bought it, it was something like 1000 yen at amazon.co.jp NEW, and I needed something to stuff into the box I was going to ship out from Japan, since I didn't have much at the forwarder's warehouse at the moment.
If I am to describe the game, the first word that comes out is "horrible".
Despite the interesting setting, characters, gameplay feeling like it's taken out of recent 3D Tales of games, it really kills most of it's good points with how grindy it is.
It also features awful corridor dungeons that feel like they're taken out from Shitnal Fantasy XIII.
What will especially annoy the player is the extra dungeon, which cannot be exited via Escape Key, you must reach a certain point of the dungeon where you can. The annoyance is that you have number of quests you need to finish there, and exit the dungeon each time you finish one(though, you can do those at the grindy Arena that you will grind anyways if you want to reach LV99 with all characters for the trophy).
The trading card thing is the most annoying thing in the game, get ready to spend some hours just opening card packs to get that one last card you need.
Again, that is all despite having wonderful characters with interesting stories you can follow by doing their sub-quest lines.
I personally enjoyed the stories of Riyu(the idol), Yamato(the 中二病, lol) and Kotomi(the foul mouthed ojou-sama)
Kotomi might be the strangest girl I ever came to love. Reasons? Who needs them, it just happened.
One can say the whole game is saved for me because she was there.
Despite all the grind, I was able to get through it just to hear more of her voice, to hear her character song more and to simply see how she develops as a character.
So, one can say I am satisfied with having played this game. I do want to kill the guy who designed the dungeons and was responsible for some implemented the trading cards, but overall, it is a good game.
Strangely, I don't feel that bad after getting the platinum trophy, maybe because the game isn't as bad as I'm writing, or just because I know I have no need to return to it ever again.
Ayesha no Atelier: Tasogare no Daichi no Renkinjutsushi (アーシャのアトリエ ～黄昏の大地の錬金術士～) (PSNow)
A game back from times Atelier series was still good, and the only good one from Tasogare subseries.
The game was out back in 2012, which was the first time I played it, and took the platinum trophy back on PS3.
This time, however, I was trying(okay, 4 months) the Playstation Now service, which got it included in the beginning of 2017.
PSNow being PSNow, playing the game through it is somewhat disadvantageous to the player, as opposed to playing the game on PS3.
Sooney wanted to implement the ability to use the DLC you bought on PSNow-provided games about 2 years ago. That never happened.
Thus, you won't be able to get Odelia and Marion in the party, as well as explore Cow Paradise DLC dungeon.
However, so what? Nothing is generally lost(with the exception of the playability of my beloved automata).
Thus, I have enjoyed getting the platinum trophy yet again(since my PS3 and old account are long banned).
Also, while the virtual machines for PSNow are supposed to be the same as PS3 itself, I felt the game worked smoother than on a real one. Though, perhaps, I have just forgotten how it worked on a real one by now. 5 years isn't a short period of time.
Ayesha no Atelier Plus: Tasogare no Daichi no Renkinjutsushi (アーシャのアトリエPlus ～黄昏の大地の錬金術士～) (PSVita)
Again, I'm not going to go into details describing what the game is about or anything, seriously, in 5 years just about everyone should already know. Or you can ask me directly.
I'll just point out the differences with the PS3 version, and what I feel about those.
First of all, the performance, compared to PS3 version, is FREAKING AWFUL. Seriously, GUST, pls put more resources into optimization when you port something, you have a bad habit of forgetting to do any.
It seriously lags and is generally slower.
Not that expected anything from the console I call Shita(and not for nothing) in that department.
But after my rant about shitty performance on Shita ends, the interesting part starts.
The game has become a lot harder depending on difficulty setting, despite the difficulty still coming from monsters' parameters.
The Album is also an interesting addition, which is quite interesting to complete(pretty problematic too).
However, most of it's pages are just official(awful) Hidari arts that we've seen tonns of times.
Thankfully, we get a bonus in form of unlocking fast forward in battles, free battles and stuff for completing each, so Hidari shitarts can go to hell, and I got a reason to actually do it.
Other than that, the game mostly didn't change at all.
With how awfully it works on Shita, I got a serious headache just thinking about the platinum trophy, so I just gave up on it.
Though, perhaps it was because I also platinumed the PS3 version this year through PSNow.
Shallie no Atelier: Tasogare no Umi no Renkinjutsushi (シャリーのアトリエ～黄昏の海の錬金術士～) (PSNow)
I must've really had nothing to do to even start it again.
This game was the beginning of the end of the Atelier series, and that game which was PROBABLY going to have a proper time limit, but then some VERY IMPORTANT BITCH came in and "Oh, time limit? The game's not going to have it, go re-do everything", which is why the game got delayed back in 2014, or so I think.
It just has all the elements that would be needed, should it have gotten a time limit system.
And despite it having returning characters from Ayesha and all, the game is seriously awful.
The battle system with 6 party members feels like it has just been pushed into the game, without proper planning, and is pretty disgusting as is.
The story is again fucking awful, even Shitsca and Poogy had more or less acceptable story(and I liked Flameu(the last boss) anyways).
And most of all, the story of the whole subseries felt unfinished, as the player still doesn't get to know the truth about the eternal Twillight that has engulfed the world of the series(apparently that's fixed in Shita version, but pls Gust, don't test games on people, especially taking money for it).
However, it is one of those games that are more or less saved by the characters. I played it just to meet my beloved Odelia, as well as to enjoy Miruca's faces(with how she is, she really makes awesome ones...without even changing face expression!)
Can't say I enjoyed the game much, I was mostly annoyed by the game's flow and story, but I REALLY had nothing to do at the time.
Due to how bad it is, I'd never think of even trying Shita port.
Ryuu ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta (龍が如く６ 命の詩）(PS4)
I'll start this one with my classic "shitty west" bit.
Sega is really to be called ShitEGA for how they are treating it, and the series in general, outside Japan.
First of all, the game's subtitle does have "uta" in it. HOWEVER, it is not the "uta" for song, but rather, the one for poetry, poem etc. Couldn't they at least google the difference between 歌 and 詩?
Japanese poetry plays a very important role in the game's story, so they SHOULD'VE...but, no they never did, so shitty west will know the subtitle as Song of Life, which is completely wrong.
It should be "Poem of Life", it really should, but thanks to shitty translators, who, probably, graduated some COOL university, it won't.
Shitty west is shitty, and I will always point that, and the fact that I never learnt japanese at any university or used any textbook, yet I happen to know and understand it better than, probably, any of them. That is, mostly, because I greatly love japanese language, unlike most of them, for whom it is only a part of their shitty career.
Now that I'm done with my usual "shitty west" rant, let's see what about the game.
The game itself is suprisingly good, how a Ryu ga Gotoku game should be.
I could go around battling random buttheads and doing sub-quests, as well as catching cats, all day.
One of the best things in the game is that you ONLY play as Kiryuu Kazuma, unlike some previous games.
I've never been really interested in other characters, except, perhaps, for Majima Goro, who is just cool with how crazy he is.
Thus Ryuu ga Gotoku 6 was a paradise of a game to me in that matter.
The battles, however, aren't as dynamic as they would've been have the development team used the engine that was used for Ryu ga Gotoku Zero and Kiwami. Fuck Dragon Engine.
The story is AS ALWAYS, super dramatic, I'd even say overly dramatic.
I really didn't get why did Kazuma go for a prison sentence himself. No, well, I did get why, but I really don't see any need in all that. As a result, Haruka, who literally dropped the career of an idol in RgG5, disappeared on a whim, and then, suddenly, we get to know she gave birth to a kid, and then got into a traffic accident, and is near death. Holy shit, ShitEGA, what?
That's what the player is made think throughout the whole game.
Then Kazuma goes to find the father of that kid...while babysitting him all the time. Seriously, he even fights while passing Haruto to someone around for a minute.
That was seriously annoying, especially with how you need to calm down the kid using the shitty gyroscope in the PShit4 controller.
First of all, ShitEGA, you know, I HATE kids, yeah? pls never do it again.
Thankfully, at times Kazuma leaves him with someone, and goes to beat bad guys alone.
But after finding out who is the father of the kid, it doesn't get any better, as the guy is a bastard kid of some chinese shithead mafia boss, who illegally brought him to Japan, and filed him as a japanese kid. Sega, I'm NOT sorry to say it, but I happen to hate chinese just as much as I hate kids.
And the revelation of the mastermind behind all the SUDDEN killings in the game was so...uninteresting, with how he and that guy voiced by Kitano Takeshi, did it all JUST to protect the secret SUPER BOAT that Japan has been making since WWII.
That was a bad move, honestly. Way to ruin a good drama.
And, classically, Kazuma gets some bullets up his stomach and all, BUT IS SHOWN alive, though filed as dead, in the ending movie.
Thus I expect RgG7 to have Kazuma(60 yo or something) being as awesome as always, but with a new family, new life, AND RETURNING to Kamuro-cho to beat someone's ass again.
Fuck you, SEGA, really. And that is said despite that I have enjoyed the game a lot.
Also fuck you SEGA for blocking screenshots...
Star Ocean 3: Directors Cut (スターオーシャン3 ディレクターズカット) (PS2onPS4)
One of the best games of all time for me. I have waited for an HD-fication of it for years, I have even tried launching it on PS3's PS2 emu(doesn't work because of the encryption layers that tri-Ace placed on the game disc. Same reason you need to enable a special mode in PCSX2 to play it), but finally sCRAPquare Enix decided to officially release an HD re-release, even if one made by applying a huge layer of filters, which I could apply on PCSX2 as well, but with TROPHIES! yay.
The game itself is the usual Director's Cut untouched, which is just the best(and yes, that means it still crashes at times).
I can't even describe how fulfilled I felt when I, waking up at around 6:00 AM Moscow, downloaded the game and just started the crappy prologue(really, it WAS bad and mostly unappealing).
Though, the prologue is the only bad or boring part of the game, as the dramatic story, the characters and A TONN OF THINGS TO DO will soon engulf the player into the game's world.
The world of Star Ocean 3 really feels like it will never end, even though it's not anywhere near that, in reality. Once you 100% all maps for the bunnies, the world generally ends But that will take quite the chunk of your time. Tbh, there STILL are maps I wasn't able to 100%.
After that come the Battle Trophies. In a way, it was like the trophies that are implemented through PSN since PS3, but scaled down to battles only, and local. That's also back in the PS2onPS4 release.
Though, feel no worry, now we have PSN trophies for 15%, 25%, 40%, 55%, 65% and 80% of battle trophies completion.
Square didn't feel like torturing the player, so you can do ANY 80% of them, skipping the most troublesome ones(however, you'll have to do some problematic ones anyways, and no one removes 95% requirement for Full Active Mode unlock).
Generally, if you're in for trophies, get ready for 2 weeks and more(since some things are pure random...ahem, bunny races) of time dedicated purely to the game. Even 75% took me over 100 hours.
The story isn't much to speak of, especially since the game is over 10 years old, really, just about anyone over 18 years of age knows just about everything there is in the story.
The characters, however, became even more attractive than they were with how the game got GRAPHICS on it's side.
I took Nel ending BOTH times I've cleared the game(Galaxy/Universe), because she's so HNNNNNGGGG damn cute I can't choose anyone else.
Honestly, PS2 was a console that had so much potential, and was so progressive that 3D games generally only need just a bit of cosmetic make-up to become really beautiful.
I spent a really good time re-doing just about everything there is in the game, and I was really happy it was finally released. I have waited for it from about 2011, after all.
Not as long as it took some games to finally come out, not even near Tsukihime Remake, BUT quite long anyways.
It's only 3k yen, so treat yourself to a glorious feast of a good jRPG, which you certainly won't find anywhere in present day(just look at SO5, yikes).
NieR Automata (PS4)
Am I into butts? Of course I am into butts.
But I also like women's panties, as well as a lot of other things.
NieR Automata seemed like a perfect game, featuring a female android(I love android-girls too) as a protagonist and all.
But let us not forget that there is that strange guy called Yoko Taro behind it. Geez, what a way to make such a great butt into a drama.
Honestly, the gameplay isn't that good, with how a lot of things are decided by levels and stat numbers, as well as chips you equip(and lose in most cases you die. That is, if you don't pick them up from your dead body), as well as number of healing items you have on you. Really, Yoko-san, what did you even want to make in the end? It's not an RPG, but it's not an action too. Really felt strange.
The story is also a big FUCK in the player's face, and the worst part is that you need to play THE SAME story twice, just with 2Butt and 9SHIT. Fuck, I hated that shota-bitch who is the second character.
Thankfully, after you clear it twice, you get a biiig chunk of the game to play with A2, who, while not cute or anything, is at least a girl.
Endings are another big FUCK. just like in any other Yoko Taro game. There are 3 types of endings in a game, Good, Bad and Yoko Taro.
Like, really, a bad end for eating an Aji fish? SERIOUSLY?(Ending K - aji wo [K]utta)
Be sure to save before even trying, the game warns you the fish is, apparently, poisonous for androids(for some random Yoko Taro reason).
And the final scene, that you get after fighting the CREDITS in danmaku style was so expectable and unpleasant that I really wanted to beat the creators demanding my money back.
Honestly, I really wanted 9S to finally die.
The game is really not what people are saying about it.
It is not hard, it doesn't hide the fact that you can save from you(if you are observant, you will notice the symbol that means saving is possible at the top left part of the screen), it isn't even good to start with.
But it's an easy platinum trophy, since you can buy most trophies for in game money(except endings), so, in a way, I am content with it.
But I will never touch a Yoko Taro game again. Just NO THANKS, I'm fed up with his shit.
(that said, I have played all the Drag-on Dragoon games).
NekoPara vol.1 Soreiyu Kaiten shimashita (ネコぱら Vol.1 ソレイユ開店しました！) (PC)
Years after it was released, and what, a year or two after I started sleeping with Vanilla, I have finally found time to read the beginning of the story of best catgirls in the world.
This game made me think on a lot of things, like human nature, what is a human and the world's evil that is never brought up much.
The world in which Vanilla and Chocola live is a hard one, but one in which experiments in mixing human and cat genes succeeded.
However, just as any other invention, it brings both good and evil.
Catgirls are called ネコ(neko, same as the word cat, but in katakana. the kanji would be 猫), and they are NOT humans that have cat ears and tail. They are more like CATS that just look like humans.
All of their senses are that of a cat. They have strong sense of smell. They also go into heat once in a while.
And most of all, they DON'T understand a human's feelings, for they are not humans.
That makes a lot of troubles with how humans throw them out, at times, and a lot of other things like them being used for crimes and whatnot.
Luckily, the protagonist is not any dickhead, and his family kept some ネコ anyways, so when he finds Vanilla and Chocola on the street, freezing(ネコ don't have any fur, so they would freeze just like any human would) and clinging to each other to survive, he instantly picked them up and was nursing them for some nights, just like I'd do, just like anyone sane would.
First of all, don't get a pet if you're going to throw him/her out later.
My sense of justice is strong, so I'll never forgive anyone who does.
And thus, Vanilla and Chocola became attached to him, so they sneaked into his baggage when he was moving from his family's place to become THE KING OF SWEETS MAKING in the city. The rest can be guessed.
The game is pretty short, as it is mostly a nukige, with no particular deep meaning intended, but it made me think on a lot of things, and I came to love Vanilla even more. I got Chocola as well, as Vanilla was really sad being apart from her sister.
I can never make a girl I love sad. (What a pathetic man I am, would the reader think, perhaps).
But now both are my beloved 恋ネコ whom I have a duty to protect and make smile forever.
Gotta read vol.2 and 3 which I got limited editions of, since, well, I love my 恋ネコ and Sayori's art is great.
But, as sad as it already is, I have so many games that I don't know when my eyes will be able to read through them.
But my love for Vanilla and Chocola will never end, that is something i can say for sure.
Blue Reflection: Maboroshi ni Mau Shoujo no Ken (BLUE REFLECTION 幻に舞う少女の剣)(PS4)
It seems that the game industry is really declining the last few years. A really little number of new games are truly good, and most are either bad or mediocre.
I bought it when I was visiting Japan in August, since well, the premium box usually costs over 15k yen, and I got it just for 5k, and to note it even had DLC codes unused. Nice.
It really should be called Lesbians: the Game, as the main character, Shirai Hinako, is a girl who, UNEXPECTEDLY, dates girls(not like she has any choice, tho, there ain't anyone but girls in her school).
The main premise is pretty lame despite the good setting. Hinako is a ballerina, who loves ballet more than anything, but then she gets one of her legs injured so much she can't dance anymore no matter how she tries.
She then gets into a strange world full of green grass, flowers and ruins and becomes a mahou shoujo(called Reflector in this game). Wow, now that's an original setting(not that there are setting that are original anymore in this world).
She is accompanied by two girls, Lime and Yuzu, who are also Reflectors(kinda), and is made to defeat giant monsters that appear sometimes. called 原種(Genshuu).
It is said that if Hinako succeeds in destroying all of them, she will get just one wish granted, but any wish she has.
What? Is this MadoMagi? Really? Kinda.
While designed by Kishida Mel, and his art is great(and sexy), the game itself, however, is a huge lackluster.
Balance? Never heard of it.
Stable framerate? Never heard of it(and this is PS4, lol!)
Having date locations modelled properly, and not used just as backgrounds? NEVER FUCKING HEARD OF IT!
In the end, the game turned out to be mediocre at best, even though it had great potential.
You have 4(okay 5) locations to explore in Common, the school and A BIG WHOLE OF NOTHING ELSE. Really, GUST, you can do better.
The characters, however, are great.
Each girl is very different, and cute, and CUTE.
However, that's the only thing that is good to the game, battles are mediocre, I literally cleared the game with one skill and some buffs. And that is despite it having a good variety of skills, but...you just don't need them, as simple as that.
And the ending was quite, mmhm, well, unpleasant. It's the only one in the game, so you can add linearity to the list of it's bad points.
Yuzu and Lime turn out to be ALREADY DEAD(私たちはもう死んでいる), and after reflecting the last boss to hell, they have to disappear. And the only wish our stupid heroine thinks of at that time is that she doesn't forget them.
What a way to ruin the good mood.
The game was really good in terms of art, and character development, but really bad in everything else.
I hear Kishida wants to make a continuation, but GUST says not so fast, as no moneys and time for it ATM.
As for me, I really want next game to be better. This one was plain lazy.
Makai Senki Disgaea 5 (魔界戦記ディスガイア5) (PS4)
One of the rare REALLY good games I happened to play during 2017.
Disgaea series hasn't changed that much since the very first one, so that's to be expected.
I had a lot of things to say about how NshItSA handles localizations of the series, but nah, I haven't seen how bad it is in this one, I can just assume based on past experience, since I know for sure that HUMANS NEVER FUCKING LEARN!
But let us not think of the bad, and think of the good.
Tbh, I don't see why NIS decided to make Disgaea 5 a PS4-only title(well, later ported to Switch). I remember they said something about performance and GIANT maps etc., but honestly, the game only features just the normal Disgaea map sizes, and basically nothing new in systems(except some Revenge etc stuff, but it's really minor, just feels like polished Disgaea 3-4 with a bit of new features), so I don't see why wasn't it released on Shita, which would make a lot more people play it, especially in Japan, where portability is just about everything. Shit happens.
However, despite all the complaints I might have, the game is good. I spent a nice 200+ hours grinding stuff without even noticing I'm grinding much, that's how exciting and fun this game is.
I don't really want to say anything about the story, as it is the usual Disgaea chaos, with characters dying and reviving at will at any random moment for any random reason.
However, it is worth noting, that the only true end is a happy one, as always.
Characters, while all of them are on the classic level of Disgaea madness, I do like Usaria and Seraphine, about as much as to wish there were dakimakura covers of them.
Also thx NIS for adding kitsune class, Izuna is also very cute, despite being pretty much a side character, who only gets a saying in a few chapters. Sad.
Really, all games would be way better if they didn't change as fast and as much. Disgaea devs know their thing.
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! -Kono Yokubukai Game ni Shinpan wo! (この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！‐この欲深いゲームに審判を！-) (PS4)
Knowing the second season will be short AGAIN, and who knows if third will ever exist, I was quite happy to know that KonoSuba will become a game.
The game is a visual novel in a nutshell, but with some, mmm, trial elements.
Here's the story depicted in colorful pics.
So, Kazuma picks up some ring that was just lying there on the ground when he was carrying Megumin back after her EXPLOSION.
But oh, what a surprise, the ring turns out to be cursed, and now Kazuma steals girls' panties once a month while he sleeps.
The game that came as a download code with KonoSuba game pre-order.
In itself, it is a danmaku game based on KonoSuba in which you shoot through hordes of enemies while dodging their bullets controlling one of 6 KonoSuba characters. YunYun is a secret one you unlock after clearing the game the first time, if I remember right.
It generally doesn't matter who you choose to play as, but before starting, take a look at the settings.
Here you can set up some fun things, like text character set(unless you're a super human, you won't be able to read KONOSUBA mojiset, really, it's just for fun), or usefulness of Darkness and Wizshop.
Normal Darkness plays as a melee character in a danmaku game, while Ponkotsu Darkness will miss, making the game HELL for you. But it's a fun thing to try.
Setting the Wiz Shop to Ponkotsu will make it even more hellish, since instead of this
choice of useful items like LIFE MAX PLUS, QUICK RECHARGE etc.
After deciding on if we want COMPLETE HELL, or just a fun little game with KonoSuba characters in KonoSuba world, we can finally start the game.
During stages, the player will sometimes come to meet other characters with "TAKE ME!" on them.
I'd take Megumin anytime in her butt, but this time, it's just taking her as support to use her powerful Explosion spell to defeat enemies, leave the map in ruins or just
destroy Wiz Shop to get some money.
As the game is based on first season(in which the battle against Moving Fortress "The Destroyer" happened), you will, of course, battle against iconic bosses of the first season
Such as General Frost(冬将軍), Mitsurugi(that second guy that is reincarnated in KonoSuba world, who chose a cool sword) and Dullahan.
I'll give you a hint, take Kazuma as on Dullahan and Mitsurugi for an easy fight and lulz.
Since the game was distributed by download codes only, and isn't sold in PSN, you probably won't be able to play it, unless you bought the game but didn't open it yet, or unless you're lucky and some guy sells the code at Yahoo Auctions. That, and maybe one day you'll be able to get it with the digital version of the game,
To be honest, this bonus game seems more valuable as a game than the main one, lol. Had a lot of fun playing it, cleared with all characters on all difficulties with and without Ponkotsu Wiz Shop.
The gameplay is top notch, and the characters are good, but what about the story?
JRPG Top 2017
VN Top 2017
It's your problem if that is a problem for you.
I'm not responsible for anything, I warned you.
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The time has come, and so have I.
It is, yet again, the time for my yearly review.
What have I played, what have I re-played. Most of those will be reflected in my textual diarrhea here.
To be honest, I play less and less games each coming year.
Less and less good games are being made, first of all, more and more bad games are coming to our gaming machines.
I really don't see myself buying some PS5 or Nintendo-something, as I literally KNOW nothing good will ever come out for it.
The only saving are those ports of PS2 games, really. I should buy a new PS2 instead of some PShit4 game.
I don't even have much to say about consoles, because generally there are only 3 worth noting this year.
PS4 - generally, the only console really needed this year. All the current games, or 99% of them, are ending on it naturally. The console I used the most this year, despite how much I hate it.
PSVita - just a living corpse. I mostly used it for 1-2 games, and replaying Akumajou Dracula X: Gekka no Yasoukyoku. It'll die next year, probably.
3DS - another living corpse, mostly. Only useable for emulation, as generally no new games are coming that I would want.
A note on Nintendo Switch, since it's the newest console on the market, and one I didn't buy yet.
I don't think I'll buy a Nintendo
Besides, even those 2 games I want are still far from release. Having it right now is pointless. It'll be cheaper later, if games I want will ever be released on it.
This year, I will not be offering to advise on drinks you should consume while reading this, so let's move on to the games directly. Drink what you drink, eat what you eat, and enjoy my textual diarrhea, and try not to get a real one.
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AKIBA'S BEAT (PS4)
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| Riyu's face AND text generally describes the game as a whole. |
If I am to describe the game, the first word that comes out is "horrible".
Despite the interesting setting, characters, gameplay feeling like it's taken out of recent 3D Tales of games, it really kills most of it's good points with how grindy it is.
It also features awful corridor dungeons that feel like they're taken out from Shitnal Fantasy XIII.
What will especially annoy the player is the extra dungeon, which cannot be exited via Escape Key, you must reach a certain point of the dungeon where you can. The annoyance is that you have number of quests you need to finish there, and exit the dungeon each time you finish one(though, you can do those at the grindy Arena that you will grind anyways if you want to reach LV99 with all characters for the trophy).
The trading card thing is the most annoying thing in the game, get ready to spend some hours just opening card packs to get that one last card you need.
Again, that is all despite having wonderful characters with interesting stories you can follow by doing their sub-quest lines.
I personally enjoyed the stories of Riyu(the idol), Yamato(the 中二病, lol) and Kotomi(the foul mouthed ojou-sama)
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| Just look at how cute Kotomi is when she's embarassed |
One can say the whole game is saved for me because she was there.
Despite all the grind, I was able to get through it just to hear more of her voice, to hear her character song more and to simply see how she develops as a character.
So, one can say I am satisfied with having played this game. I do want to kill the guy who designed the dungeons and was responsible for some implemented the trading cards, but overall, it is a good game.
Strangely, I don't feel that bad after getting the platinum trophy, maybe because the game isn't as bad as I'm writing, or just because I know I have no need to return to it ever again.
Ayesha no Atelier: Tasogare no Daichi no Renkinjutsushi (アーシャのアトリエ ～黄昏の大地の錬金術士～) (PSNow)
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| The shitty new interface for PSNow. Seriously, Sony, why do you need a separate app for everything, especially one that lags like hell? |
The game was out back in 2012, which was the first time I played it, and took the platinum trophy back on PS3.
This time, however, I was trying(okay, 4 months) the Playstation Now service, which got it included in the beginning of 2017.
PSNow being PSNow, playing the game through it is somewhat disadvantageous to the player, as opposed to playing the game on PS3.
Sooney wanted to implement the ability to use the DLC you bought on PSNow-provided games about 2 years ago. That never happened.
Thus, you won't be able to get Odelia and Marion in the party, as well as explore Cow Paradise DLC dungeon.
However, so what? Nothing is generally lost(with the exception of the playability of my beloved automata).
Thus, I have enjoyed getting the platinum trophy yet again(since my PS3 and old account are long banned).
Also, while the virtual machines for PSNow are supposed to be the same as PS3 itself, I felt the game worked smoother than on a real one. Though, perhaps, I have just forgotten how it worked on a real one by now. 5 years isn't a short period of time.
Ayesha no Atelier Plus: Tasogare no Daichi no Renkinjutsushi (アーシャのアトリエPlus ～黄昏の大地の錬金術士～) (PSVita)
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| Basically, the only reason to play the port. |
I'll just point out the differences with the PS3 version, and what I feel about those.
First of all, the performance, compared to PS3 version, is FREAKING AWFUL. Seriously, GUST, pls put more resources into optimization when you port something, you have a bad habit of forgetting to do any.
It seriously lags and is generally slower.
Not that expected anything from the console I call Shita(and not for nothing) in that department.
But after my rant about shitty performance on Shita ends, the interesting part starts.
The game has become a lot harder depending on difficulty setting, despite the difficulty still coming from monsters' parameters.
The Album is also an interesting addition, which is quite interesting to complete(pretty problematic too).
However, most of it's pages are just official(awful) Hidari arts that we've seen tonns of times.
Thankfully, we get a bonus in form of unlocking fast forward in battles, free battles and stuff for completing each, so Hidari shitarts can go to hell, and I got a reason to actually do it.
Other than that, the game mostly didn't change at all.
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| As the SUPER BADASS RENKINJUTSUSHI is still there, why would it change? |
Though, perhaps it was because I also platinumed the PS3 version this year through PSNow.
Shallie no Atelier: Tasogare no Umi no Renkinjutsushi (シャリーのアトリエ～黄昏の海の錬金術士～) (PSNow)
I must've really had nothing to do to even start it again.
This game was the beginning of the end of the Atelier series, and that game which was PROBABLY going to have a proper time limit, but then some VERY IMPORTANT BITCH came in and "Oh, time limit? The game's not going to have it, go re-do everything", which is why the game got delayed back in 2014, or so I think.
It just has all the elements that would be needed, should it have gotten a time limit system.
And despite it having returning characters from Ayesha and all, the game is seriously awful.
The battle system with 6 party members feels like it has just been pushed into the game, without proper planning, and is pretty disgusting as is.
The story is again fucking awful, even Shitsca and Poogy had more or less acceptable story(and I liked Flameu(the last boss) anyways).
And most of all, the story of the whole subseries felt unfinished, as the player still doesn't get to know the truth about the eternal Twillight that has engulfed the world of the series(apparently that's fixed in Shita version, but pls Gust, don't test games on people, especially taking money for it).
However, it is one of those games that are more or less saved by the characters. I played it just to meet my beloved Odelia, as well as to enjoy Miruca's faces(with how she is, she really makes awesome ones...without even changing face expression!)
Can't say I enjoyed the game much, I was mostly annoyed by the game's flow and story, but I REALLY had nothing to do at the time.
Due to how bad it is, I'd never think of even trying Shita port.
Ryuu ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta (龍が如く６ 命の詩）(PS4)
Sega is really to be called ShitEGA for how they are treating it, and the series in general, outside Japan.
First of all, the game's subtitle does have "uta" in it. HOWEVER, it is not the "uta" for song, but rather, the one for poetry, poem etc. Couldn't they at least google the difference between 歌 and 詩?
Japanese poetry plays a very important role in the game's story, so they SHOULD'VE...but, no they never did, so shitty west will know the subtitle as Song of Life, which is completely wrong.
It should be "Poem of Life", it really should, but thanks to shitty translators, who, probably, graduated some COOL university, it won't.
Shitty west is shitty, and I will always point that, and the fact that I never learnt japanese at any university or used any textbook, yet I happen to know and understand it better than, probably, any of them. That is, mostly, because I greatly love japanese language, unlike most of them, for whom it is only a part of their shitty career.
Now that I'm done with my usual "shitty west" rant, let's see what about the game.
The game itself is suprisingly good, how a Ryu ga Gotoku game should be.
I could go around battling random buttheads and doing sub-quests, as well as catching cats, all day.
One of the best things in the game is that you ONLY play as Kiryuu Kazuma, unlike some previous games.
I've never been really interested in other characters, except, perhaps, for Majima Goro, who is just cool with how crazy he is.
Thus Ryuu ga Gotoku 6 was a paradise of a game to me in that matter.
The battles, however, aren't as dynamic as they would've been have the development team used the engine that was used for Ryu ga Gotoku Zero and Kiwami. Fuck Dragon Engine.
The story is AS ALWAYS, super dramatic, I'd even say overly dramatic.
I really didn't get why did Kazuma go for a prison sentence himself. No, well, I did get why, but I really don't see any need in all that. As a result, Haruka, who literally dropped the career of an idol in RgG5, disappeared on a whim, and then, suddenly, we get to know she gave birth to a kid, and then got into a traffic accident, and is near death. Holy shit, ShitEGA, what?
That's what the player is made think throughout the whole game.
Then Kazuma goes to find the father of that kid...while babysitting him all the time. Seriously, he even fights while passing Haruto to someone around for a minute.
That was seriously annoying, especially with how you need to calm down the kid using the shitty gyroscope in the PShit4 controller.
First of all, ShitEGA, you know, I HATE kids, yeah? pls never do it again.
Thankfully, at times Kazuma leaves him with someone, and goes to beat bad guys alone.
But after finding out who is the father of the kid, it doesn't get any better, as the guy is a bastard kid of some chinese shithead mafia boss, who illegally brought him to Japan, and filed him as a japanese kid. Sega, I'm NOT sorry to say it, but I happen to hate chinese just as much as I hate kids.
And the revelation of the mastermind behind all the SUDDEN killings in the game was so...uninteresting, with how he and that guy voiced by Kitano Takeshi, did it all JUST to protect the secret SUPER BOAT that Japan has been making since WWII.
That was a bad move, honestly. Way to ruin a good drama.
And, classically, Kazuma gets some bullets up his stomach and all, BUT IS SHOWN alive, though filed as dead, in the ending movie.
Thus I expect RgG7 to have Kazuma(60 yo or something) being as awesome as always, but with a new family, new life, AND RETURNING to Kamuro-cho to beat someone's ass again.
Fuck you, SEGA, really. And that is said despite that I have enjoyed the game a lot.
Also fuck you SEGA for blocking screenshots...
Star Ocean 3: Directors Cut (スターオーシャン3 ディレクターズカット) (PS2onPS4)
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| "You have two choices",- Nel says, but you really only have ONE(to love her tender). |
The game itself is the usual Director's Cut untouched, which is just the best(and yes, that means it still crashes at times).
I can't even describe how fulfilled I felt when I, waking up at around 6:00 AM Moscow, downloaded the game and just started the crappy prologue(really, it WAS bad and mostly unappealing).
Though, the prologue is the only bad or boring part of the game, as the dramatic story, the characters and A TONN OF THINGS TO DO will soon engulf the player into the game's world.
The world of Star Ocean 3 really feels like it will never end, even though it's not anywhere near that, in reality. Once you 100% all maps for the bunnies, the world generally ends But that will take quite the chunk of your time. Tbh, there STILL are maps I wasn't able to 100%.
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| Defeat Frei, Defeat Frei alone. Pretty problematic, right? |
Though, feel no worry, now we have PSN trophies for 15%, 25%, 40%, 55%, 65% and 80% of battle trophies completion.
Square didn't feel like torturing the player, so you can do ANY 80% of them, skipping the most troublesome ones(however, you'll have to do some problematic ones anyways, and no one removes 95% requirement for Full Active Mode unlock).
Generally, if you're in for trophies, get ready for 2 weeks and more(since some things are pure random...ahem, bunny races) of time dedicated purely to the game. Even 75% took me over 100 hours.
The story isn't much to speak of, especially since the game is over 10 years old, really, just about anyone over 18 years of age knows just about everything there is in the story.
The characters, however, became even more attractive than they were with how the game got GRAPHICS on it's side.
I took Nel ending BOTH times I've cleared the game(Galaxy/Universe), because she's so HNNNNNGGGG damn cute I can't choose anyone else.
Honestly, PS2 was a console that had so much potential, and was so progressive that 3D games generally only need just a bit of cosmetic make-up to become really beautiful.
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| 7 faces of Nel Zelpher that I absolutely love, all in a single picture. |
Not as long as it took some games to finally come out, not even near Tsukihime Remake, BUT quite long anyways.
It's only 3k yen, so treat yourself to a glorious feast of a good jRPG, which you certainly won't find anywhere in present day(just look at SO5, yikes).
NieR Automata (PS4)
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| BUTTomata |
But I also like women's panties, as well as a lot of other things.
NieR Automata seemed like a perfect game, featuring a female android(I love android-girls too) as a protagonist and all.
But let us not forget that there is that strange guy called Yoko Taro behind it. Geez, what a way to make such a great butt into a drama.
Honestly, the gameplay isn't that good, with how a lot of things are decided by levels and stat numbers, as well as chips you equip(and lose in most cases you die. That is, if you don't pick them up from your dead body), as well as number of healing items you have on you. Really, Yoko-san, what did you even want to make in the end? It's not an RPG, but it's not an action too. Really felt strange.
The story is also a big FUCK in the player's face, and the worst part is that you need to play THE SAME story twice, just with 2Butt and 9SHIT. Fuck, I hated that shota-bitch who is the second character.
Thankfully, after you clear it twice, you get a biiig chunk of the game to play with A2, who, while not cute or anything, is at least a girl.
Endings are another big FUCK. just like in any other Yoko Taro game. There are 3 types of endings in a game, Good, Bad and Yoko Taro.
Like, really, a bad end for eating an Aji fish? SERIOUSLY?(Ending K - aji wo [K]utta)
Be sure to save before even trying, the game warns you the fish is, apparently, poisonous for androids(for some random Yoko Taro reason).
And the final scene, that you get after fighting the CREDITS in danmaku style was so expectable and unpleasant that I really wanted to beat the creators demanding my money back.
Honestly, I really wanted 9S to finally die.
The game is really not what people are saying about it.
It is not hard, it doesn't hide the fact that you can save from you(if you are observant, you will notice the symbol that means saving is possible at the top left part of the screen), it isn't even good to start with.
But it's an easy platinum trophy, since you can buy most trophies for in game money(except endings), so, in a way, I am content with it.
But I will never touch a Yoko Taro game again. Just NO THANKS, I'm fed up with his shit.
(that said, I have played all the Drag-on Dragoon games).
NekoPara vol.1 Soreiyu Kaiten shimashita (ネコぱら Vol.1 ソレイユ開店しました！) (PC)
Years after it was released, and what, a year or two after I started sleeping with Vanilla, I have finally found time to read the beginning of the story of best catgirls in the world.
This game made me think on a lot of things, like human nature, what is a human and the world's evil that is never brought up much.
The world in which Vanilla and Chocola live is a hard one, but one in which experiments in mixing human and cat genes succeeded.
However, just as any other invention, it brings both good and evil.
Catgirls are called ネコ(neko, same as the word cat, but in katakana. the kanji would be 猫), and they are NOT humans that have cat ears and tail. They are more like CATS that just look like humans.
All of their senses are that of a cat. They have strong sense of smell. They also go into heat once in a while.
And most of all, they DON'T understand a human's feelings, for they are not humans.
That makes a lot of troubles with how humans throw them out, at times, and a lot of other things like them being used for crimes and whatnot.
Luckily, the protagonist is not any dickhead, and his family kept some ネコ anyways, so when he finds Vanilla and Chocola on the street, freezing(ネコ don't have any fur, so they would freeze just like any human would) and clinging to each other to survive, he instantly picked them up and was nursing them for some nights, just like I'd do, just like anyone sane would.
First of all, don't get a pet if you're going to throw him/her out later.
My sense of justice is strong, so I'll never forgive anyone who does.
And thus, Vanilla and Chocola became attached to him, so they sneaked into his baggage when he was moving from his family's place to become THE KING OF SWEETS MAKING in the city. The rest can be guessed.
The game is pretty short, as it is mostly a nukige, with no particular deep meaning intended, but it made me think on a lot of things, and I came to love Vanilla even more. I got Chocola as well, as Vanilla was really sad being apart from her sister.
I can never make a girl I love sad. (What a pathetic man I am, would the reader think, perhaps).
But now both are my beloved 恋ネコ whom I have a duty to protect and make smile forever.
But my love for Vanilla and Chocola will never end, that is something i can say for sure.
Blue Reflection: Maboroshi ni Mau Shoujo no Ken (BLUE REFLECTION 幻に舞う少女の剣)(PS4)
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| See what GUST did there? I see. |
I bought it when I was visiting Japan in August, since well, the premium box usually costs over 15k yen, and I got it just for 5k, and to note it even had DLC codes unused. Nice.
It really should be called Lesbians: the Game, as the main character, Shirai Hinako, is a girl who, UNEXPECTEDLY, dates girls(not like she has any choice, tho, there ain't anyone but girls in her school).
The main premise is pretty lame despite the good setting. Hinako is a ballerina, who loves ballet more than anything, but then she gets one of her legs injured so much she can't dance anymore no matter how she tries.
She then gets into a strange world full of green grass, flowers and ruins and becomes a mahou shoujo(called Reflector in this game). Wow, now that's an original setting(not that there are setting that are original anymore in this world).
She is accompanied by two girls, Lime and Yuzu, who are also Reflectors(kinda), and is made to defeat giant monsters that appear sometimes. called 原種(Genshuu).
It is said that if Hinako succeeds in destroying all of them, she will get just one wish granted, but any wish she has.
What? Is this MadoMagi? Really? Kinda.
While designed by Kishida Mel, and his art is great(and sexy), the game itself, however, is a huge lackluster.
Balance? Never heard of it.
Stable framerate? Never heard of it(and this is PS4, lol!)
Having date locations modelled properly, and not used just as backgrounds? NEVER FUCKING HEARD OF IT!
In the end, the game turned out to be mediocre at best, even though it had great potential.
The characters, however, are great.
Each girl is very different, and cute, and CUTE.
However, that's the only thing that is good to the game, battles are mediocre, I literally cleared the game with one skill and some buffs. And that is despite it having a good variety of skills, but...you just don't need them, as simple as that.
And the ending was quite, mmhm, well, unpleasant. It's the only one in the game, so you can add linearity to the list of it's bad points.
Yuzu and Lime turn out to be ALREADY DEAD(私たちはもう死んでいる), and after reflecting the last boss to hell, they have to disappear. And the only wish our stupid heroine thinks of at that time is that she doesn't forget them.
What a way to ruin the good mood.
The game was really good in terms of art, and character development, but really bad in everything else.
I hear Kishida wants to make a continuation, but GUST says not so fast, as no moneys and time for it ATM.
As for me, I really want next game to be better. This one was plain lazy.
Makai Senki Disgaea 5 (魔界戦記ディスガイア5) (PS4)
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| Hooray! |
Disgaea series hasn't changed that much since the very first one, so that's to be expected.
I had a lot of things to say about how NshItSA handles localizations of the series, but nah, I haven't seen how bad it is in this one, I can just assume based on past experience, since I know for sure that HUMANS NEVER FUCKING LEARN!
But let us not think of the bad, and think of the good.
Tbh, I don't see why NIS decided to make Disgaea 5 a PS4-only title(well, later ported to Switch). I remember they said something about performance and GIANT maps etc., but honestly, the game only features just the normal Disgaea map sizes, and basically nothing new in systems(except some Revenge etc stuff, but it's really minor, just feels like polished Disgaea 3-4 with a bit of new features), so I don't see why wasn't it released on Shita, which would make a lot more people play it, especially in Japan, where portability is just about everything. Shit happens.
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| And that was BEFORE THE GRIND EVEN STARTED! |
I don't really want to say anything about the story, as it is the usual Disgaea chaos, with characters dying and reviving at will at any random moment for any random reason.
However, it is worth noting, that the only true end is a happy one, as always.
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| What are you expecting? They are bound by tight siblings love(despite not even being siblings) |
Also thx NIS for adding kitsune class, Izuna is also very cute, despite being pretty much a side character, who only gets a saying in a few chapters. Sad.
Really, all games would be way better if they didn't change as fast and as much. Disgaea devs know their thing.
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! -Kono Yokubukai Game ni Shinpan wo! (この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！‐この欲深いゲームに審判を！-) (PS4)
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| Yes, it's just a game in which Kazuma infinitely carries Megumin on his back. NOT! |
The game is a visual novel in a nutshell, but with some, mmm, trial elements.
Here's the story depicted in colorful pics.
So, Kazuma picks up some ring that was just lying there on the ground when he was carrying Megumin back after her EXPLOSION.
And Kazuma decides to return them to the proper owner personally(even though everyone says they don't fucking need to be given them back that way).
To identify whose panties are whose, Kazuma starts a PANTSU TRIAL(パンツ裁判), on which, based on clues he gets during the chapter story, he must identify whose panties are whose.
But girls aren't going to just confess they got their panties stolen so easily. Even if the curse prevents them from wearing any other pair of panties, they just won't, so Kazuma has to
Prove his logic about whose underwear is whose.
If he's right - he gets a "reward", if he's wrong - he gets punished. (to me both are the same, though)
The rewards might be:
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| Embarassing Chris is the best part of the rewards, hehe |
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| This should be a reward, but Aqua is misunderstanding what a reward is a bit. |
While the punishments might become:
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| A Butt. Wiz became just a Butt. |
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| Again, this was supposed to be a punishment! |
That's the gist of it.
After some chapters and trials, the story will proceed to character routes. Character route is decided on whose affection towards Kazuma is the highest.
Depending on if the affection stat is at 3+ hearts or around 2.5, the player will see the good end, or the normal end.
And in a way, character routes are the best part of the game, really as Kazuma might
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| Marry Megumin |
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| Or embarass Chris even more. |
However, since it's just a side-story, the endings change nothing in the story, nothing to even run imagination about. The relationships stay in the same state they were.
As a matter of fact, Aqua never gets her panties stolen. Probably because she doesn't wear any, perhaps?
The game is a very enjoyable read, and a nice addition to KonoSuba story.
It also is a very simple game to take the platinum trophy.
I hear it is released through DMM on PC, so if you're SO POOR you can't allow yourself to get a PS4 and the game - go there. Though, it might end up more expensive, depending on if's just be a port, or web version with monetization mechanics.
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! -Attack of the Destroyer- (この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！-Attack of the Destroyer) (PS4)
In itself, it is a danmaku game based on KonoSuba in which you shoot through hordes of enemies while dodging their bullets controlling one of 6 KonoSuba characters. YunYun is a secret one you unlock after clearing the game the first time, if I remember right.
It generally doesn't matter who you choose to play as, but before starting, take a look at the settings.
Normal Darkness plays as a melee character in a danmaku game, while Ponkotsu Darkness will miss, making the game HELL for you. But it's a fun thing to try.
Setting the Wiz Shop to Ponkotsu will make it even more hellish, since instead of this
You will get this choice of ABSOLUTELY useless items, meaning you will only be able to get upgrades from monster drops, generally.
After deciding on if we want COMPLETE HELL, or just a fun little game with KonoSuba characters in KonoSuba world, we can finally start the game.
I'd take Megumin anytime in her butt, but this time, it's just taking her as support to use her powerful Explosion spell to defeat enemies, leave the map in ruins or just
As the game is based on first season(in which the battle against Moving Fortress "The Destroyer" happened), you will, of course, battle against iconic bosses of the first season
I'll give you a hint, take Kazuma as on Dullahan and Mitsurugi for an easy fight and lulz.
Since the game was distributed by download codes only, and isn't sold in PSN, you probably won't be able to play it, unless you bought the game but didn't open it yet, or unless you're lucky and some guy sells the code at Yahoo Auctions. That, and maybe one day you'll be able to get it with the digital version of the game,
To be honest, this bonus game seems more valuable as a game than the main one, lol. Had a lot of fun playing it, cleared with all characters on all difficulties with and without Ponkotsu Wiz Shop.
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: Meijoushigatai Game no you na mono (這いよれ！ニャル子さん 名状しがたいゲームのようなもの) (PSVita)
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| The game was worth it just for this CG. |
Do you know what am I doing when I have nothing to do? I'M BUYING RANDOM GAMES AND PLAYING THEM!
Lie. I actually bought it just to have something to ship with another order, since shipping just one game is a bit too expensive. Shipping two or more is better.
The story is a complete chaos as expected of Nyaruko-san, who is the crawling chaos Nyarlathotep.
Tbh, I only played Kuuko route, as she literally is the only one who is interesting in the whole franchise for me. Living flame, was it? Well, I do not like hot stuff, I prefer cold stuff, but my heart is wide open for every bishoujo to enter(else I'd not have over 4000 二次元嫁, right?).
Gameplay? Do you think a VN has much or any to speak of? But it actually has some this time.
At times, you have to choose an extra scene(for increasing affection, of course) by means of a simple mini-game of CHAOS;LOTる(see what they did there?).
Those of you who are a bit smart will notice one reference, those of you who are actually smart will find two.
Generally, you just have to stop the slots to make Kuuko do a Love Attack on you. Simple, right? Not exactly, but you can save before doing it, and re-do it as many times as you will fail to get Kuuko to do it.
Other characters? Ah, right, there was a bunch, but I am so uninterested, that I only mentioned and will only mention Kuuko.
The only other part of gameplay is the usual element of VNs - the choices. Your general purpose is to choose the choices that lead to Kuuko route(even though the protagonist will still have no romantic relationship with her. As a matter of fact, she will, however, hold some romantic feelings towards the protagonist in the later parts of light novel, saying that she will "Marry Nyaruko and make shounen her lover"("shounen" is how she addresses the protagonist)).
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| No romantic feelings, but the protagonist manages to hold a living flame in his hands AND not get burnt! |
In a way, one can say that I greatly enjoyed the game(with how much Kuuko I got, that wouldn't even be wrong), however, with how it is an original scenario in the very beginning of the story, one can say I am sad.
Seriously, anime-games should go further into the original's story(not like that can, or will, happen ever).
Majo to Hyakkihei Revival (魔女と百騎兵Revival) (PS4)
Since the game is again a game from years ago, I'll only speak of the changes.
Generally, there are NO changes, with the exception of the new dungeon, called 幻影の塔(Tower of Illusions), which consists of 100 floors, and even more(or so I read, I didn't go for it) floors down(underground).
Seemingly not really interesting addition, but in this dungeon, you can play as Metallica for a bit. Once the Lica gauge reaches 1, you can switch with Metallica and play a bit as her.
3 gauges - you can use Metallica until the next room/floor, or until she gets hit a lot.
Metallica uses the same weapons as Hyakkihei, with the same result, but she can also use magic(her weapon set on the screen stuff are spells).
The tower also has a bit of it's own story, which is LAME AS HELL.
Like, everyone becomes friends in the end. Lame as hell.
I like Metallica that trolls everyone, and gives no fuck about others' feelings.
But the most surprising thing for me was that after this screen
on which I got my trophy for clearing the tower, THE GAME FUCKING CRASHED, and I didn't save anywhere in the tower, only before I first entered it.
That was...SURPRISING!
Now I won't have the wish to play it again any time soon. Whew.
Can Can Bunny Premiere 2 Refresh (きゃんきゃんバニープルミエール2 Refresh) (PC)
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| Swatty looking at me with such a face that I want to ask what did I do wrong in this world. |
I love old games, everyone knows that.already, right?
So I decided to play the legendary NANPA(pick-up) dating simulation game.
Then I notice all the games are either on PC98(lazy), or ported for Win3.1/95. As it turns out - completely incompatible with current systems, and well, while I can, I don't really want to run the games in a virtual machine. I still bought it for PC, though, for collection
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| Win3.1/95, ohlol |
Then I find out that Premiere 2 was made compatible with current systems, and, conveniently, was also on sale at the moment.
Bought it instantly, lol.
Though, I have to say, I was disappointed in this "high resolution" version, as Saturn version(which I also bought) looks better on a big CRT TV than this high resolution re-release...
The game really feels more comedy, than a dating simulation game, with how protagonists literally fails at picking up girls all day, but thanks to godly powers of the 7 luck gods and Sarasvati, somehow still gets to fuck the girl in the end.
Talk about feeling jealous.
Oh wait, I just call a deliheal girl when I'm in Japan, skipping all the unneeded steps, so I generally have no reason for jealousy.
What is the best part of any old game - the story isn't the same until the very end. Depending on character you're going for, the story can become very different starting from about half of the game.
One of the most interesting routes is Hikaru's route, halfway through which her university friend - Ayako, also joins the the roster. From that point, the player can either go for Hikaru alone, or switch the route to Ayako route, or keep both until the very end.
Causes some funny scenes.
The sad part is that Swatty isn't a heroine, as always, even though, depending on choices, the player can, kinda get together with her. Or was it by default, sry, don't remember, did it half year ago.
Tho, perhaps it's just that I didn't find her route, as in the next game, that finishes the Swatty trilogy, Can Can Bunny Extra(DX), it is said they loved each other, resulting in Swatty nearly disappearing.
To be honest, I'm only playing the series for Swatty, really.
But this year, my hands only reached Premiere 2(even though I have 1 and 2 for saturn), even though I have EX DX for PC-FX since last year.
Well, guess that's something forward to in the future.
Despite all the things, I really enjoyed the stupid comedic story, as well as knowing the characters closer. The girls, unlike the protagonist, are interesting
Though, at times, I really wanted to punch the protagonist in the face for stupid crap he was blabbering. Though, since the protagonist is supposed to be me(nameable, and I input my name in the name input), I had to punch myself.
Jigoku Shoujo Mioyosuga (地獄少女 澪縁) (PS2)
A game I wanted to get back in 2009 a lot. Sadly, back in 2009, I had no money to buy anything over normal groceries, so that had to wait a few years.
But back in 2009, I was able to get a dump(even if a few months have passed before one surfaced on the net), and play it.
However, I wasn't able to clear it back then, which should surprise the reader, as it is clearly a Visual Novel, and nothing over it, not even a mini-game. But read further, I'll tell you the reason soon enough.
But now, in 2017, I was and am able to both buy it, and clear it.
The story spins off from about half of the 3rd season. Mikage Yuzuki, who was a temporary vessel for Enma Ai after the second season's events, goes to a remote village, where her friend, Ayumi, lives her normal countryside life.
Except, the life is anything except normal there.
There is a legend in the village, the legend of Jigoku Shoujo. However, about no one in the village knows the name of Enma Ai as Jigoku Shoujo, which strikes the reader's mind as soon as that gets spoken out, as well as Yuzuki's.
The Jigoku Shoujo of whom legends are told in the village is called Rikudou Rui(六道るい), and she is said to send people to hell for breaking the unspoken rules of the village(well, they aren't really unspoken, but no one mentiones them aloud). However, they do not disappear, they are killed with a nail-drawer in a very gruesome way.
An avid fan of the series will surely notice the difference instantly, since Rikudou Rui is said to do 地獄送り(lit. "sending to hell"), while the Jigoku Shoujo we all know does 地獄流し(lit. "sinking to hell").
And all would be good, since no one has been sent to hell for years, but as Yuzuki comes to the village, the strange killings start again.
Even though the Jigoku Tsuushin, Enma Ai with her companions are unrelated to the killings(why would they be, really?), they also hear the strange rumors of the place, so Ichimoku Ren together with Hone-onna come to investigate the stuff.
The game is a mystery-adventure with a story that has a high Higurashi no Naku Koro ni feeling.
Each character gets a "chapter", in which the character does his stuff, and in gets an ending. There are various endings for every route, but only one is considered the "true" ending, which unlocks the next chapter.
And now comes the interesting part. While the villagers consider "Rikudou Rui" to be the Jigoku Shoujo, and believe that strongly, they still somehow know of Jigoku Tsuushin site, and some even use it, being greatly surprised when Enma Ai names herself.
And that is the only part of the gameplay. About once a chapter, the player gets to this screen
and has to input a name. Simple, right? Well, of it was a normal japanese input on PC, it would really be.
NOT EASY AT ALL! After pressing one of the hiragana symbols, you'll be brought to kanjis which's pronounciation start with the sound of that symbol.
Again, simple, right?
Perhaps for a japanese person it would be, perhaps, I do not know.
However, no matter how I looked for the needed kanji where they should've been, they simply weren't there. I thought the game was broken, or me playing the game on PS3 through PS2 Classics conversion made the game impossible to clear(btw, if you input something random, or hiragana instead of kanji, or wrong kanji, you'll get a bad end).
That wasn't right, the game is clearable completely even if you play it on PS3 through PS2 Classics conversion. It's just the game has kanji sorted by on-yomi instead of the usual kun-yomi that I am used to.
First of all, I don't remember all the on-yomi, only the basic and most used ones. And, lol, on-yomi might read very differently from the words we're trying to form(family names and names), so it'd be LOGICAL to sort by kun-yomi, but prolly this was done to make the game have the "old feeling"(though, I'm not sure how the kanjis were sorted before). Or maybe just a trick to make it harder.
Once I understood the trick, everything went as smooth as sending someone to HELL.
Btw, each chapter you can input 3-4 different names to get 3-4 different bad endings and CGs in which the character you input the name of is on the boat to hell with Enma Ai, either pleading for Ai to turn the boat back(as if), or accepting his/her fate.
After clearing the 5th, Ichimoku Ren chapter, the おまけ(Extra) mode will fully unlock and will look like
Is this ToHeart, sorry?
Don't even expect it, I warn you.
This "mode" has 5 chapters, each unlocked after clearing the True End of each character's chapter.
Not sure if this is a good thing to say, or rather, spoil, but DO NOT EXPECT to get anything of the romantic stuffs with Enma Ai, who is, basically, the main heroine of this part of the game. I was honestly hoping for something of that sort, but I tell you - don't do that.
Each chapter is basically a short story filled with Jigoku Shoujo franchise related jokes and other references like
And in the end, the player will anyways
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| be sunk to Hell |
Told you, don't expect anything
Having explained and spoiled everything I wanted, I will sum it up and express my feelings about this game.
The game is surprisingly interesting, perhaps because of the setting, perhaps because of the characters, or maybe just because I'm a guy who mindlessly loves everything in which Enma Ai is present(and that's...not really a big lot of things, right?).
The music, the feeling, the voices, the art, everything is fitting to be a part of Jigoku Shoujo franchise.
Unlike now, Compile Heart did a good job back in PS2 days, I have to acknowledge it, since making an anime game of this high grade is very hard. Too bad they only make "original" moeshit now, makes me want to throw up even thinking of what they make now.
Koisuru Shoujo(Doll) to Omoi no Kiseki～Poupee de souhaits～ (恋する少女（ドール）と想いのキセキ～Poupee de souhaits～)
Ever had agalmatophilia(wikipedia it if you don't know what that means)?
You will, after reading this one.
As the name implies, it includes the main character being in love with a doll, even if with a living one. Or the protagonist believes it.
The protagonist happens to have met a doll maker, who was making those living dolls. Unlike others, she treated them like humans, and not like objects, but she was always sad, saying she "cannot save them".
He loved a certain doll of those that were together with that woman, who is called Towa.
And when time came for them to part their ways, he promised he would return for her.
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| Towa is cute, right? |
Later, after reuniting with Towa, the protagonist also meets Komakuri Amane, who is also a doll maker, but from a different bunch than the woman he met years ago was, and her doll - Shuri.
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| don't mind the picture, just know that Amane is the girl pissing herself, and Shuri is the green haired girl behind Also, I know you just awakened to urine fetish. Sorry, but I also did when I was reading this so it's ok. |
She reveals that these living dolls are not living just because they are made so, no, they are usual life sized dolls, which are moving and "living" because they have spirits of the dead with a strong grudge inside them.
Seemingly calm and nice dolls might become very dangerous, should they remember something from their past, which is why their memories are sealed to some extent.
Well, now comes the eroge part, at times they start remembering that stuff and go berserk, so the protagonist has to...have sex with them to strengthen the seal and make them forget what they are
Also, an interesting part of the setting is that ONLY the protagonist, Amane, and doll makers feel the dolls like humans(so, for example, for them touching their skin would feel like touching a normal girl's).
For other people, they are still dolls, something made artificially.
Cause of that is said to be the way people treat dolls, so the protagonist, who treats Towa and Ena like normal girls, would of course feel them like normal girls.
...I'd go see a doctor if I was him, probably.
Or not, because they are cute
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| Or, rather, Towa is cute. In any situation. |
Besides 2 dolls, and Amane, there is one NORMAL girl as a heroine in this game, but that's boring, so I didn't bother to read her route. Don't need another 生徒会長, really.
For a game that only has a strong setting, characters but NO concrete storyline, and so no continuation in sight, it was very good, I'd say.
Actually, even if Towa is a bit yanderistic, I still wanted to get a dakimakura cover with her(didn't, because there were things to buy with more priority. Well, not like I can't buy it later)
Hanasaku
Otome to Koi no Madousho(Grimoire)～Guild no nai Mura ni Guild wo Tsukurou~ (花咲く乙女と恋の魔導書（グリモア）～ギルドのない村にギルドを作ろう！～) (PC)
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| Atelier Lime and Sheena fits more, really. |
Okay, the time has again come for me to write about games made by Studio E・go Debo no su Seisakujo.
This time, I played the newest entry in Atelier series - Atelier Lime&Sheena ~Erile no Renkinjutsushi~.
Oh, who knows how much I want this to be the new Atelier, instead of what Atelier series has become.
An adventurers guild, a place where people come to request adventurer's help in a lot of things, ranging from monster extermination and dungeon exploration to making potions and stuff.
The main characters are two dragon-girls - Lime and Sheena who are a part of the country's adventurers guild.
Their quest is opening a guild in Erile, a village that doesn't have one yet.
On their way there, they save a boy called Ein, who is an alchemist a synthesizer(合成師), and who becomes their companion on their way to opening a proper adventurers guild in Erile. Though, he doesn't do it just for fun.
Ein is cursed by an unknown monster, and turned into a little boy, though he was an adult.
Since Lime and Sheena are absolutely useless in making things, their main purpose is gathering materials and beating monsters.
The materials gathering is made in action style, but not just an action, but action that can be played with only mouse.
You can still connect a gamepad or use your keyboard, but the game was made with only mouse and only the left mouse button in mind.
And the developers realized that idea and succeeded in making awesome action with just the mouse.
Everything, from moving and attacking to using skill and magic can be done with LMB only.
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| Lime's magic - Starlight Volcano. |
LMBS in a way, but not Linear Motion Battle System how it's for Bamco's Tales of but Left Mouse button Battle System. Tho, might've been funny to see Tales of Lime&Sheena, lol.
But just gathering materials is not enough for an adventurers guild. People ask for various stuff, including stuff which requires to be made(or bought, perhaps).
Making stuff is what Ein is for, since he's a synthesizer.
But in all honesty, it's just another Atelier game, since it's CUTE GIRLS DOING CUTE THINGS+ALCHEMY+CAKES!
But, as you would expect, the game is not limited like a console game would be. Girls are not only doing cute things, but also ECCHI things
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| What are we to do with two dragongirls who are drunk? DO THEIR ASSES! MWA-HA-HA-HA! |
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| SWEET LIME NYOTAIMORI! (the second girl is NOT A GIRL, suddenly) |
The game is also full of other pretty funny and interesting characters like
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| Marigold, the owner of the item shop, who also is a shotacon, a lolicon, and S&M pervert. |
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| JESUS, |
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| Aisia, a girl in heart, but a boy in body. Opens and runs the sweets shop. |
and others.
Of side things, you can build yourself the home of your dreams in the backyard of the guild. It doesn't affect anything, you can't do anything(as far as I know), but you can do it just for fun
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| I suck at these things. Thank gods it's nothing I need for events or story progression. |
The gameplay is top notch, and the characters are good, but what about the story?
The story is mostly light-hearted, like Atelier Rorona was, but near the end, it becomes just a biiit serious.
But in the very end, everything is still the lighthearted and funny love comedy it was intended to be.
I really felt like punching the screen when Ein gets his age back, since his looks and actions don't match at all.
Though, it's funny.
I loved the game from the first minutes of gameplay. Really, I could've never imagined something that feels so Atelier(I remind you that I love the old parts of the series a lot. Except Iris) but is so different(and without time management), and yet so good.
If you can - BUY IT AND PLAY IT.
Also, Lime is one of my REAL waifu.
Because there existed a dakimakura cover of her, and I got it at amazon.co.jp, hehe.
Hanachiru Miyako to Ryuu no Miko (花散る都と竜の巫女) (PC)
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| Atelier Lime&Sheena 2 ~Wa no Kuni no Renkinjutsushi~ |
Story-wise it's more of a side-story, but gameplay-wise it's a direct sequel.
Ein fails the synthesis of 変若水, which is apparently something like an item, making of which is a proof of a first-rate synthesizer.
Well, seems Ein was just not enough first-rate.
As a result, along with the whole guild building, Ein, Sheena and Lime are transported to Wa no Kuni, the eastern country, which is generally medieval Japan.
At first, people treat them like suspicious, but after knowing Lime and Sheena are dragons, they automatically change the attitude to worshipping them, as it is said that dragons bring luck in that country.
Next question stands - "how the fuck do we get out of here?", but having no idea, the 3 decide to stay here until they find a way to go back to Erile, and while at it - work as a guild to earn money.
The gameplay didn't change at all, and in technical details, it feels like the transition from Sora no Kiseki FC to Sora no Kiseki SC.
And while the gameplay didn't change, the game did become harder.
If I easily cleared HanaKoi without best equip on normal, with this game, it doesn't go that way. Enemies are hitting way harder, and don't even think of pressing the CTRL button(fast forward) in battle, that's nearly instant death.
The alchemy also got a grade up, but only in terms of having MORE items to synth.
Though, most new items are just new interior stuff for your backyard.
Also cakes again.
The story starts same as in the previous game, lighthearted and funny, but gets quite serious near the end.
H-scenes, though, got a grade down in my opinion, because no one gets buttfucked this time. Meht.
The art is top notch as always, though. Yamamoto Kazue is one of those artists that always draws awesomely.
As a drawing line, I'll say that while the game doesn't have my preferred H, it is awesome as a game, and I greatly enjoyed it.
First of all, H-games are not only about the H(except nukige, and not all of them are about it too), so the game was still very enjoyable.
I found the story especially enjoyable for sudden plot twists and generally solid storyline since about the second half of the game.
One of the changes in this game is that there is no harem route this time, but instead we got a Kukuri-hime route, which is very interesting by itself, since in her ending, the general end also changes.
I thought that Tsuki no Michibiki Kumo Haruka will be the next game in Atelier Dragongirls series, but it turned out to be Dragon Izumo. I am yet to clear it, so it won't get written about this time.
Omega Labyrinth Z (オメガラビリンスZ) (PSVita)
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| Do you see what I see? Yes, Urara has NO TITS, BECAUSE THEY ARE UNNEEDED! |
Another sequel which is mostly the same as it's predecessor.
Omega Labyrinth Z is only different in 2 things - new story meaning more characters and how the 悶絶香(read Monzetsukou) work.
If in the first game you needed to gather TONNS of those to learn new skills and upgrades, since everything was divided in 4 categories, each needing it's own 悶絶香, and each had 3 grades(from small to large) which decided how much time you'd have to do your thing, in Z there's only one kind for everything, even though there are still 4 "learning" scenes for everyone, with lewdies each time you do.
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| Urara's 昼寝 scene |
Speaking of characters, the game got 3 new playable characters - Akanezaki Rio and Rurikawa Urara, as well as the new fairy - Chichi(note how names of both fairies basically mean breasts, just of different size)
Akanezaki Rio is a deliquent, who frequently causes trouble for the academy, who missed all the stuff with Holy Grail of Beauty, because she was injured and thus absent from the academy.
However, she also has a wish to grant - she has a strong complex about her big milk tanks(G cup), and wants to make them smaller.
Thus she attacks Aina's group for destroying the Holy Grail, but then knows the truth and joins them, hearing that the schoolmaster is out to revive the broken Holy Grail.
Rurikawa Urara is a close friend of Rio's, and a grand masochist, as well as a super flatty who doesn't even care for her own breasts(best girl). She also is generally the best support for me, as she has the highest attack in the game, as well as nice evasion stats, but also lowest defence. Not like she needs much, since she only needs to attack the enemies together with me, I'm not counting on her to defend me, and she's known to get hit at the worst time, but that's minor.
Chichi is another fairy, like Pai, who is also born from ω power. Unlike Pai, she is very prideful, despite generally being useless.
Gameplay is still the same Fushigi no Dungeon in 3D, with random dungeon generation and breast size increasing as the player gets more and more ω-power by defeating monsters.
Speaking of increasing breast size - same as in previous game, when the character gets into flat chest trap, she can't identify items for some time.
Well, in case of Urara(if you want to play as her, which I don't recommend due to how much damage she gets), she can't do it initially, and won't be able until you get her breasts a bit bigger(1 or 2 cup sizes up. and in her case it happens super fast).
Besides all those, there are minor changes and additions, like Verona GPS, which you can use from Yumi's shop.
Usage is simple - you place the GPS on an item, and if you die in dungeon, Verona(Chichi's dog friend) will find it, and you can buy it back at Yumi's shop.
However, it'll cost you a lot of ω-power which is pretty problematic to grind.
For that, there's a new mode, in which you go to a dungeon you already cleared as fairies(Pai&Chichi, or just one of them).
As fairies are small, they can't carry equipment, potions, books, staffs and 悶絶香 are the best they can.
Thus, everything else will be turned into ωP automatically at high rates.
A nice mode to grind some ω-power and 悶絶香.
Of my impressions, I can only say good things. I like when the sequel doesn't have big changes from it's predecessor. The girls are cute, but breasts are big(that's a bad point!).
Story doesn't matter much again, and the gameplay is sucking you in for hours, just like any Fushigi no Dungeon and other rogue-likes.
But well, that's the idea that the creator of rogue-likes(author of original Fushigi no Dungeon) had in mind, and it works.
A great game to play at work(since you can play for 5 minutes, and return to doing your work before boss notices) or when waiting for a bus or plane(which is why I went for portable version mostly. other part of the reason is that PShit4 touchpad can never compare to touchscreen in useability in such games).
Too bad west will probably get it...
Yoru no Nai Kuni 2 ~Shingetsu no Hanayome~ (よるのないくに２～新月の花嫁～) (PS4)
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| Well, at least my favorite girl is back, in some way. |
After I was done with Yoru no Nai Kuni platinum trophy, I thought that it would be nice if the series continued, I wanted to see more Christophoros, maybe even as a partner.
I regret that thought, and Christophoros never becomes a Lily...
GUST's team did their best, they probably did, but in the end, the game really turned out mediocre, and they even had to turn off time management in a patch for NG+, due to how problematic the game turned out to be for players.
The time system is realized in form of changing moon phases under the eternal night. On first playthrough if you let it get to this point, the next time you sleep - it's game over.
The reason for that is that even if you start from Full Moon phase, there's only like 12 days until New Moon(hey, shouldn't it be 15 at least? huh, GUST?), and that's basically not enough to do everything, no matter how good you are at time management, for once you return to the hotel, no matter how much time you had left, you have to sleep.
Time management only has meaning if you CAN achieve something by doing it, else - it's pretty much useless. GUST, remember thaaat.
Having a time system that is absolutely useless was really annoying.
The battle gameplay feels like WHY THE FUCK IS THIS EVEN HERE?
A lot of mechanics, like Selvans that change into weapons are literally unneeded, you seriously don't need them for anything, unlike the ones that can open various paths that are closed initially.
And even after you've learned all half-youma abilities, means maxed the strength of those weapons Selvans turn into, the basic blood-sword is still better(damage-wise) and easier to use than all of them.
Same goes for Lily Burst. It basically is unneeded, since most Lilies have it single target, which is useless for hordes of jayou we're fighting. And on bosses you can do fine without it.
Another part of my complaints towards the game is complete mess in how you do some trophies, since I was dead set on getting the platinum trophy(which I did, indicated by a screenshot a bit earlier).
To get them all, you literally need to clear the game THREE times fully, thanks to how you only get the Nightmare Crown after 2nd playthrough,
Nightmare Crown is an accessory that will increase the Blood you get after going out by 100%, thus making it possible to reach LV50, and get enough points to learn all the half-youma skills.
You probably can do it on 2nd playthrough without the Nightmare Crown, but it'll take you twice or thrice the time.
Bad balance again, lol.
And again, no matter how unfinished it felt, the first Yoru no Nai Kuni did it better, with how it only had 11 levels for Arnus, how you didn't need to grind the last boss for it(in this game, you have to, as it is the only effective way to grind Blood in the game), and how Selvans were really needed, and there was a reason to level them up.
Story, as sad as it is, feels way or two weaker than the story of original Yoru no Nai Kuni.
Too much forced drama, not enough emotions in characters' interactions, lame reasons for last boss to even be a last boss, lame endings.
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| Being an artificial half-youma, Arushe has to perform maintenance at times by means of this coffin-like thing(also used for level ups in this game). Also be jelly, I got the platinum trophy. |
The setting of Arushe dying and being brought back to life by means of artificially making her a half-youma was good. It was good, but the story after it completely ruined that "good" part.
Being surrounded by a lot of other people never felt so surreal and out of place as it is in this game.
Perhaps because Arnus(or Arnas, how GUST used to romanize her name. I like mine, so GUST can go to hell) was a lone warrior, who fought to protect the one she loved all alone, with partners being only her loyal Selvans.
And, while Arushe also fights to protect Liliana, who is supposed to become a sacrifice to suppress the Queen of the Moon, the situation is completely different.
Maybe Arushe is just weaker as a character, maybe something else, but she really doesn't give the impact that Arnus did.
She doesn't need to suppress the urges to drink human blood, as there always is Camilla and other girls who will gladly allow her to suck some.
She drinks chocolate, but for a completely different reason - she just likes it(Arnus was drinking chocolate as a replacement for blood, DO THE IMPOSSIBLE, BREAK THE UNBREAKABLE, ROW ROW FIGHT DA POWAH!).
She doesn't think much, honestly. All she does is relying on other's opinions, to then say "Ok, I'm going to defeat the Queen of the Moon, yeah". All of her worries are hidden behind the black loading screens. Bad move, GUST.
To be honest, a lot of points in the story are seriously annoying, simply annoying. Like Liliana, who, no matter how many times she gets said there's no particular need to be down, and that she'll be saved no matter what, is still thinking of becoming a sacrifice.
Like, the fuck? Girl, humans are not made to just accept the reality around them, how about standing up and confronting the fate others are writing for you? No, that doesn't happen, and it's annoying.
Or Arushe, who is bothered by becoming a youma slowly as she gathers more and more blue blood inside her body. Like, SERIOUSLY? You have a full fledged youma in your party, your old instructor - Muveil(and she's also really cute now), AND YOU ARE STILL BOTHERED BY BECOMING ONE? It's okay, really. Whyyy?
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| Seems like I'm controlling Muveil on the screenshot, right? Actually, Arushe is just behind that column. |
Other characters are generally as annoying as the two I mentioned, except, perhaps, for Arnus, who was also added as a Lily during final development phases.
Perhaps, Arnus' story is the best part of YnNK2, as it confirms that the Extra ending of YnNK is the true end, as Lyuritis is confirmed to have survived the battle with Ludegate, the mastermind and last boss of the first game.
Really made me at peace, as developers tend to leave Extra as Extra, having nothing to do with how the game really ends.
And the player also gets to know the reality around Arnus, who became the new Yoru no Kimi(夜の君) having consumed all of the original Yoru no Kimi's blood from Ludegate.
But not like all the youma and jayou automatically started to obey her, or like her. According to her, most are laughing at her, saying she's an ex-human. She just beats such idiots to a pulp, though.
However, character stories are more of a side thing, honestly. Doesn't add much to the game's main story, except allowing the player to know the Lilies better.
The main story is lame as fuck, and I already mentioned it. Arushe just moves like a dog on a leash, doing orders of the new 教皇庁. Basically, no thoughts are ever shown and those that existed are hidden behind the loading screens.
And when the player overcomes the fight with the last boss, the player should be even more annoyed and disappointed, as there are only 2 endings, both of which I consider BAD.
The only thing that changes, that in one ending only Arushe disappears(dies), and in the second one both Arushe and Liliana disappear(said alive, but no one knows since they are in a different dimension. read dead) and treated as heroes who saved the world and continue to do it.
A bad end and worst end, really.
The after stories of each character don't make it better too...
Another thing is that the game has NO secret or extra bosses, not even speaking of extra bosses with extra story, like Christophoros and Mistral were in YnNK.
You can get one free and one paid DLC, each of which includes a new boss, but those won't be nearly as good and interesting.
So, to sum it up, YnNK2 turned out to be a really mediocre game for reasons such as having too many characters, modern realities(DLC and shit) and simply bad script.
I did enjoy seeing and hearing more Christophoros, but her role is so minor, that I want to cry.
I want GUST to try thinking, and doing it better next time(if it ever comes).
Eiyuu Densetsu Sen no Kiseki III (英雄伝説 閃の軌跡III) (PS4)
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| Altina's resolve to swim 50 meters is burning in this picture. |
Having left us to wait for continuation after the best ending ever in Sen II(that's not a joke. I cried tears of joy when ShitCrow died), 3 years passed, and Fa(i)lcom finally released Sen no Kiseki III, which I was waiting for patiently, unlike the shitty hypers on twitter.
The game came out really different from the previous Sen no Kiseki games, with more comfortable battles(no more fucking action choice ring!), a cast of cute new and old characters, and possibility to see panties of just about every girl existing in the game.
The story tells of the time after the battles in Sen II(obviously), featuring Class VII having graduated, and found their place in life.
The protagonist is, as always, Rean Schwarzer, who is now an instructor at the newly established branch of Thor's Military Academy, guiding the new Class VII/
Since all of the old Class VII members are busy with their lives, we won't be seeing them much, both sadly, and thankfully. They are still important key figures in the story, though.
Of gameplay, there's only one thing to say - thank gods this was done.
I wouldn't have been able to live through another game where I had to choose an action each time.
Hope Sen no Kiseki Kai and Sen no Kiseki II Kai will use this system too.
Other than the interface, there are minor changes in Brave Point actions, but those are really minor, honestly.
However, there's one really balance breaking change - the Order system. By using some Brave Points, a character can activate an order, giving the party various buffs, some of which REALLY break the game.
Like Rean's 絶唱陣＜神楽＞ which makes all Arts casts INSTANT for 6 turns and costs minor 2 BP.
And Arts can be made to deal massive damage, depending on quartz you equip on some characters.
It's still an Arts game, yep. Though, physical attacks can deal massive damage too.
Another change in overall gameplay is that ALL quests, including "secret" ones are now displayed on the map. No more need to talk to random NPCs to find a secret quest, yay(fans of reading tonns of falcom textpoo will be enraged).
And lastly, my thoughts on some points of the game.
In this game, the player gets to see some of the major characters who appeared in previous games without any masks, like we get to see Arianrhod's face(she normally wears a helmet, and even when you break it in Ao no Kiseki, you can only see it from side a bit)
Another interesting point is that 黒のアルベリッヒ(Alberich of the Black), who turns out to be Alisa's father, who was supposed to be dead, according to my theory, is no one else but The Phantom Thief - Bleu Blanc. Just about everything about him says he is, but it is never confirmed directly.
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| Right when I saw him, I thought "he's totally BleuBlanc" |
His face and hairstyle just fits BleuBlank perfectly, except for hair color, but since he's known to easily change his appearance at will(which also matches BleuBlanc), it shouldn't be surprising.
He also mentioned a lot of stuff about stealing(technologies, information, everything), which also matches someone who is a Phantom Thief.
And just as a fact, BleuBlanc doesn't appear in Sen III story, because he is said to have went someone far away. Oh, the excuses, anything can be said in excuse, really.
I'll be SERIOUSLY SURPRISED, if he doesn't turn out to be BleuBlanc, really.
And now is the time to talk about RAGE I had after playing this game.
I was so happy when shitCrow was finally fucking killed in Sen II, I was practically dancing.
But in this game, fuck it, fuck it, FUCK IT!
THE FUCKING BITCH IS REVIVED, AND TROLLS EVERYONE BY JUST BEING THERE!
FUCK YOU KONDO, FUCK YOU FAILCOM, STOP, KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE!
That was something I really hated in the game.
However, of characters dying and surviving, there was a happy moment too.
In the very end, after beating the last boss 2 times, THAT SHITTY FUCKING MIRIAM FINALLY FUCKING DIES LIKE A HERO, PROTECTING MY BELOVED ALTINA AND BECOMING THE 根源たる虚無の剣!
FUCK YES, I was rejoicing the whole day after I saw it. She was so annoying I practically wished that someone finally kills her. HELL YEAH!
Speaking of Altina, this time she's a party member, which made me really happy. And you can date her in Kiseki fashion too.
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| Altina's answer after my marriage proposal. HELL YEAH#2 |
And finally, I did say that you can see practically any girl's panties in this game? Yep, you can. Just about anyone's, really, with the rare exception of some girls who never sit.
Easiest ones are those who are in our party
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| For Altina, due to her low height, the easiest way is any ladder in the game. Apparently, during the final chapter in the Palace, her panties are pink. Didn't check. |
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| Yuuna. Not really a good angle, but anyways, yellow. dark yellow |
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| A better shot on bike. Definitely yellow. |
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| Muse - pure white. Easily seen while running, or even just standing. |
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| Sharon - adult black. Again, easily seen when running |
The general way to see other's panties is the same. Either press square on fishing spot when you have low camera angle(might be fixed by now, didn't check), or run when controlling them. For NPC the best and generally only way is to find them sitting and do some tricks with camera.
Skirt conquering is generally the most interesting part of Sen no Kiseki III.
To sum all my love and hate - Sen no Kiseki III is a great game, with some really annoying parts, and fucking Kondo splitting games in 2 again.
But strangely, I can't say I disliked it. And besides the story, the game is great in terms of gameplay, characters and music. Generally, nothing to even complain about then, haha.
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| 2018
Majo to Hyakkihei 2 (魔女と百騎兵２) (PS4)
Nearly forgot to write about it.
Majo to Hyakkihei 2 joins the roster of sequels that are WAY weaker than the first game.
Oh noes, devs, please don't do it anymore.
The gameplay is mostly the same as in the first game, the only thing that changed much is the world, the characters and the story.
Majo to Hyakkihei 2 happens in a world where witches exist, but Inquisition(called Weissritter, or just WR) exists there as well to hunt the evil witches. "Good" ones are allowed to live.
However, a witch is not something to be born as in this world. Unlike the first game, where you needed to be born with magic power, becoming a witch happens like a disease mostly in this world.
While we play controlling Hyakkihei, the main characters of the story are Amarie and her sister Mirm.
Mirm goes missing, the whole village searches for her everywhere for days, but she is still not found.
And when she returns by herself, she has a strange wound on her forehead, which turns out to be the "Witch's Eye", since witches have 3, meaning that she got the witch disease.
Fearing that Mirm will become a witch, the villagers practically force Amarie and Mirm out.
After leaving the village, Amarie joins WR to become a 白衣の女神(Goddess in White. this is the usual way to call cute nurses in Japan), who are said to be able to cure witch disease.
But time does not wait, and she's persuaded to allow Mirm take an operation of curing the disease by the "professionals" of the WR.
But, duh, it doesn't go well, and Mirm dies during the operation, just at the moment when they were about to take out the witch's eye.
When the inquisitors doing the operation were already filing her as dead, the witch's eye suddenly opens, and a full-fledged Witch, Chelka, appears, awakens the Hyakkihei doll(was Mirm's favorite)
and goes to punish the puny humans who tried to kill her(by taking out the witch's eye).
A nice setting, right? But after that, the interest goes down a lot. After she meets Amarie, and transforms back to Mirm for a brief moment of time, the game really becomes uninteresting.
There are interesting moments, like when the truth about curing the witch's disease at WR is being shown to the player in the worst possible way, but other than that, the story is a cheap drama with cheap turns and boring bosses.
And once the bosses generally become Heretic Witches only(besides last two), the interest hits the ground.
Seriously, NIS, you can do better.
Chelka, being the replacement for Metallica in the game, is also way weaker as a character. Unlike the seemingly all-powerful Metallica, Chelka doesn't know much about the world or anything, so she spends most time in conducting different experiments(one of which was taking out another witch's eye...turning her into a Heretic Witch).
While she generally behaves the same way as Metallica did towards others, she has a really bad taste(else why would she turn the crow she was friends with when she was Mirm into an okama), and really sucks at being evil.
Other characters generally also feel like being just a replacement for the characters in the original Majo to Hyakkihei.
Amarie is a replacement for Bisco and Funinmugin(the crow) is generally Arlequino.
The whole game feels like a bad remake of a movie, with just a bit of changes, which also suck.
Thankfully, the gameplay is still fun, and barely changed from Majo to Hyakkihei Revival, except for really minor changes.
The gameplay, however, might be the only saving for this game, as destroying hordes of enemies is ALWAYS FUN, and now we have proper skills, so it's even easier, mmm.
To sum it up - YEAH, another subpar sequel.
I did enjoy massacring the enemies, and beating both the WR and the witches, but the story was really weak compared to the first Majo to Hyakkihei(not even some cute loli-old hag like Nezaria). NIS, pls, do it better next time.
The artbook in the limited edition was nice, tho.
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Yup, and now I'm done with my reviews.
I do have some games I wanted to write about, but couldn't due to not having much to tell you about them. Not my style to write in 1 line, which is enough to describe them.
Anyways, time to proceed to my classic game TOPs of the Year..
This time there won't be as many genres, as well as games. Sad world.
Kuro Tops 2017
JRPG Top 2017
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| ロリレナス won the top this time. |
1. Star Ocean 3 Director's Cut (PS4)
2. Eiyuu Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki III (PS4)
3. Akiba's Beat (PS4)
3. Akiba's Beat (PS4)
1. Jigoku Shoujo Mioyosuga (PS2)
2. NekoPara Vol.1 (PC)
3. Koisuru Shoujo(Doll) to Omoi no Kiseki～Poupee de souhaits～ (PC)
Action RPG Top 2017
1. Hanasaku Otome to Koi no Madousho(Grimoire) (PC)
2. Hanachiru Miyako to Ryuu no Miko (PC)
3. Majo to Hyakkihei Revival
Action Top 2017:
1. Yoru no Nai Kuni 2 ~Shingetsu no Hanayome~ (PS4)
2. Ryu ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta (PS4)
3. NieR Automata (PS4)
DateSim Top 2017:
1. CanCan Bunny Premiere 2 (PC)
2. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: Meijoushigatai Game no you na mono(PSVita)
3.Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Kono Yokubukai Game ni Shinpan wo (PS4)
There won't be a top for tactics and danmaku, since seriously, only one point in a top seems strange.
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And now, after I'm finally done with the tops, I want to say a few words about the coming year, or, rather, the year that has already come.
2. NekoPara Vol.1 (PC)
3. Koisuru Shoujo(Doll) to Omoi no Kiseki～Poupee de souhaits～ (PC)
Action RPG Top 2017
2. Hanachiru Miyako to Ryuu no Miko (PC)
3. Majo to Hyakkihei Revival
Action Top 2017:
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| It would be, Arushe. Wearing such an impossible swimsuit would CERTAINLY be embarassing |
2. Ryu ga Gotoku 6: Inochi no Uta (PS4)
3. NieR Automata (PS4)
DateSim Top 2017:
2. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: Meijoushigatai Game no you na mono(PSVita)
3.Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Kono Yokubukai Game ni Shinpan wo (PS4)
There won't be a top for tactics and danmaku, since seriously, only one point in a top seems strange.
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And now, after I'm finally done with the tops, I want to say a few words about the coming year, or, rather, the year that has already come.
With each passing year the number of good games and games of satisfactory quality is becoming smaller and smaller.
And in 2018 I only wait for:
Gintama Ranbu (1/18) (PS4)
Gal*Gun 2 (PS4)
Dungeon ni Deai wo motomeru no wa machigatteiru darouka? -Infinite Combate- (PS4)
Rance X (PC)
Catherine: Full Body (PS4)
Eiyuu Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki IV (PS4)
And that's, generally, all I have to wait for.
Again, each year there are less and less good games than before. Just each coming year...
Who knows, perhaps in 2020 I will only be playing old games, because new ones will be completely unplayable shit.
To finish my line of thoughts about this year - I just really hope it still has the chance to become better. The game industry really sucks recently.
I hope I will still be writing my textual diarrhea in 2018 and after it, but who knows.
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