Kuro 2018 Year Review

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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Have you ever wondered, what is time?

Time is, certainly, a resource. But what's more, time is a resource that cannot be produced, even less it can be REproduced.
Time, thus, is the most valuable thing a human has in his hands, and yet, he spends it without a single thought about how does he spend it.
Time management, the knowledge of how to control time, how to use it effectively, is, sadly, not being taught anywhere, at least I haven't heard of a place anyone teaches it effectively in any approximation. People try to learn how to control the time of others, yet they absolutely cannot control their own time.
Oh, la divina commedia.
But that tale, is not about me.

Yet another year passed by us, but I believe no one even noticed. Being busy at work or solving the problems of their families, humans generally do not notice the passage of time. What a waste.
A year ago I thought that I might stop playing games this year. Oh, old fool, how could I have even considered that, there are too many games I still need to play, and so did I this year also.

But first, I've got to speak of the hardware, as I always do.
As I always do.
 

This year completely moved the useability of hardware towards PlayStation for me, so.
PS4 - the piece of hardware I use mostly. While it's life will end in 2020 or so, it still provides most of the games I need. Oh, no, ALL the games I need(console ones).
While I might get quoted on it and laughed at because of Sony's new policies that they gained after moving HQ to Crapofornia of US, I...honestly don't see any problem with it, at least for now.
Games became too sexualized in recent years anyways, and yet, consoles have yet to move to having true sexual content at all. Thus there is no loss. Just some games that are, for some reason, played not on the platform they should be, losing some depictions of nude butts, nothing lost, I play those on PC anyways.

PS Shit whoops, sorry, it was Vita, right - this corpse is surprisingly still alive, despite Sooney  planning to leave portable gaming scene. And near it's death, with all the hacks now available for it, it, yet again surprisingly, is quite alive. Zombies, brrrgrgrrrr.

A year later, another word on Nintendo Swingtch - same as last year, it is the most useless and pointless thing I have ever heard of. People praise it for completely unimportant things. It also still fails to get a single game of it's own, that is not Mario, or anything that really shows it's good sides. No Zero series games by Koei Tecmo(even 3DS had Shinrei Camera, despite it being mostly awful), still no SMT V, and the only upcoming game that might interest me is Omega Labyrinth Life. Pathetic.
Doubt I'll get it any time soon yet, it is yet too early to even think of it.

Done with hardware. Time for GAMES.

Try to eat some fresh, healthy food and drink the healthiest Cola on the market while reading my words. Don't forget to open your eyes wide and at least try to understand the meaning

---

Ready&Sour Lydie&Suelle no Atelier: Fushigi na Kaiga no Renkinjutsushi(リディー&スールのアトリエ ~不思議な絵画の錬金術士~)

If I'd ever have any hope for it, I'd be a fool. Thankfully, I never did.
Despite pretty designs on the package art and all the loud announcements abou Atelier 20 years anniversary, the game is mediocre, if not outright bad.

The main problems:

-The synth system is total crap, due to being inherited from Shitphie no Atelier.
-Time system is total crap(for same reason)
-Returning characters from Shitphie and Fuckthisshitris are annoying as fuck
-The battle system is mediocre(for same reason)
-Trophies are annoying instead of motivating

And while I should've ended on this note, there is one thing that is actually pretty interesting in this crap - the story setting.
The setting about paintings, which have a world inside was infinitely interesting.

And about the moment it all starts to be boring and annoying, the obvious development of finding the girls' mother alive inside of a painting.
Then finding Neige, the creator of the Mysterious Paint Tools, inside of another painting(ネージュちゃんハァハァ。。。).
Then finding out the girls' father is a dumbass, and used an inproper Mysterious Paint, so their mother will soon disappear from the world of the painting too.
Then metting the Black Paint monsters
Then fucking up the bigass Black Paint Monster.

From that point, it is a route split for endings, but all of them are mostly unimportant, as after you trigger all of them at once and create Tieing Pastel, you reach the True End.
It was a pain to do, but at least the True End is good.

I lul'd at how one of Mathias' skills totally, 1 to 1, copies Sterk's Gaia Break from Atelier Meruru. And how much he sucks at it too.

In the end, it is a very mediocre game, like all Atelier games in recent years.
Sick, sad world.

Eiyuu Densetsu: Sen no Kiseki IV -The End of Saga-(英雄伝説 閃の軌跡IV -The End of Saga)(PS4)

The Game of the Year 2018 hands down.

A worthy ending for the Erebonian Empire saga of Kiseki series.

The best ギャルゲー you can find on the market.

This game earns so many titles, that it cannot be described with a single word.

And undoubtedly, it is the best game Nihon Falcom ever made.

With each and every second passing, the game becomes better and better.

Starting from the opening video we can see how much the game has improved over the previous ones

At least I've counted at least twice more moving frames than Sen III OP had. And like 10 times more than Sen I&II had, lol.

A careful player might notice, that the opening has Rean wearing a mask, one of those that the Black Workshop uses to mind control people, but in the game he never actually has one on. Wonder what that means. Perhaps, he was planned as being "controlled" by Alberich of Black at some point of the development phase, but then the idea was dropped, and opening was just already done with.

Being a Story RPG, the game barely does any changes or accents on gameplay, it is the same as it was in Sen III(which actually should've been one with Sen IV, but Kondo AGAIN split the game into two. I hate this man as much as I love his games).
All movements and changes are in the story.

The game goes from Class VII of Thor's Second Academy Branch awakening after the events at the Black Grail in Elin the Hidden Village, which is also Ema's birthplace and homeland

You just don't reject vegetables when Emma is there...

to saving Rean Schwarzer

Main heroine declaration

then to resolving the Conflict of Seven, meaning beating all the 騎神, and saving the world from plans of Giliath Osborne.

But not really so, as Rean-kun is a fucking alpha-bi, trying to save everyone, and Giliath Osborne isn't even at fault for anything, and he's also actually the reincarnation of Dreichels Arnor(spoilers, yes, spoooooilers! You must suffer, spoilerphobia-kun) and is led to the leading position in the Conflict of Seven by the Black Knight God Ishmelga.

Rean actually succeeds in beating the Blue Knight God Ordine and then pushing back the Knight God power flow from Ordine, thus leaving Shitrow Armbrust alive again. FUCK YOU KONDO.

With other immortals, it doesn't go so well. Some just want to die. Some are killed because some fucking narcissist wants wings.

Besides that, in Sen no Kiseki IV, the characters, and the player, know about the existance of "外の理"(Outside Logic), and the the world they live is generally a closed world, which there is no way to get out from, which consists of the Continent of Zemuria, and...nothing.
However, there are things brought from the world outside the world of Kiseki, things that Goddess didn't make to be in it, like the sword McBurn uses, McBurn himself(since he's the king from a different world) or the sword Ishmelga the Black Knight God gave Giliath Osborne the power to use.

However, all of this is old, and could be predicted since Sen II, where Osborne came out alive.
The game really shines elsewhere, particularly in the galge department.

EACH! EACH AND EVERY IS WAIFU MATERIAL!

Throughout the game, Rean(the player) builds up unbreakable bonds with all of the game's heroines, and during "The Day Before" chapter, right before the party gets ready for the last battles at Illusionic Mobile Fortress "Tuatha Dé Danann", the player gets his confession from all(any) of them, or none, depending on the choice.

Sudden kiss scene

Each confession scene is a jewel and despite my main heroine being Altina

Muse has the best confession scene, which is both romantic and funny.
adding captions for stupid shitty westerners who cannot read.

"What are you actually thinking!?"

Why are you prioritizing such a nonsense-spewing worthless little girl("like me" implied, it's not a jealousy scene)!?

"Just saying, but I too am a man.
It's not like I'm completely fine with teasing, or surprises like the one before, ok?"

".....ugh.....you're unfair......"

"An adult, and yet.....
tricking such a little girl like I am-"

"Well, I'll restrain myself from crossing the line between an instructor and a student, at least for tonight"

"Wh, what do you mean by "at least for tonight"

I purposedly only use some screens and skipping most of the vanilla. Play it yourself if you want that.

Others were good too, but not as funny at all.
With Sara, the scene was like something from some textbook about adult love

"I love you---Sara-san"

"Yeah----I do(implied "love you") too"

Kiss like adults do when they confess.

With Altina it was like with a kid finally reaching the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything

"And that---the feelings I'm having are......"

"----Right, it's probably not wrong to think that it's that one you've heard about"

"Then why did you----
why did you call me?"

"It might be the last night and yet.......!"

"Prioritizing such a false being that didn't even understand her own feelings"

"It's not too late yet...!
Please, contact someone more worthy----"

I generally have something to write about each of the scenes, but that would take too much time and space(due to pictures).
Also, one should note that translating these pretty simple sentences into english(or any other language for that matter) is mostly impossible, due to how japanese works. Suffer, and learn.

Being called "The End of Saga", it must've been grand, and it turned out to be, despite being so predictable with all the dead becoming immortals and stuff, but there was a single point that came out as a big surprise for me - the True End, the ending of "The New Path ????" route.

It is EXACTLY the same as another game I've played this year - Grancrest Senki. Absolutely same meaning, even the words the protagonist says are mostly the same.

And while for jRPG it is not anything new or suprising, I honestly expected something different from Kondo. And that unexpectedness is yet another good point of the game.

And after defeating Ishmelga Rouge(doing Osborne fight twice was...not really cool) the classic Kiseki credits roll

thank gods it's not Rean

Yes, see you oneday in Calvard no Kiseki

In the last scene the Leader(盟主) of Ouroboros also announces Calvard no Kiseki in 2021. Probably PS4 too, as PS5 will be too young yet.

"It is about 3 years until "Complete Nothingness" is reached----"

From now, I announce the start of [Orpheus Final Project]'s 3rd phase - "Perpetual Regression Project"

The question who actually is the Leader of Ouroboros is yet open, didn't even see any theories yet. I have a few thoughts, but that's something to save for a personal dialogue, if anyone wishes to hear them.

After the credits, the player is treated to an after story bit about himself(Rean) and the heroine he chose.

I have no regrets, this is the only path. My whole life was

UNLIMITED BLADE WAIFU WORKS

I'm really happy about being able to become one with muh waifus. At least in the game.
Btw, the after story is the same for everyone, Rean getting ready for his instructor things, then getting a message from <whoever you chose>.  

Also, I will just leave this here. May this Emma bond scene come to you in your worst nightmares.

Ozubaan is scary. With tits - even more.

Rorona no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi DX(PS4)

I cursed the moment I actually expected anything from the announcement of Atelier DX for PS4.
I thought, that MAYBE Gust will finally make Rorona complete, and Gisela DLC in the afterstory will finally be playable and all.
*spoiler*
It didn't happen.
*end spoiler*
 
No biggie, however. In the end, it's just Shin Rorona no Atelier but for PS4.
To be honest, the graphics look pretty awful on current hardware, considering they are just a bit upscaled from older hardware, but that just tells us about how lazy this port is.

Otherwise a proper authentic Atelier experience I was so hungry for since Shin Rorona on PS3/Vita.

I actually purchased the Atelier Arland no Renkinjutsushi DX 1・2・3 Premium Box, but I didn't have the time or motivation to do Totori or Meruru DX yet.
They are the same, though.

Shining Resonance Re:Frain(PS4)

Another port from previous generation I was happy about and interested in, but it wasn't worth the expectations.

The "killer feature" Re:frain mode added to the game is Excela and Jenius being playable from the start(only available as DLC before).
The logical thought would be story changes, so that they actually become party members and actually part of it on Yuuma's side.

NOT!
Nothing of that happened. FUCKING NOTHING! NO LOGICAL CONNECTIONS HERE! NOTHING!
Excela and Jenius are just there, with no entry or invitation, available for party usage and dating starting your second chapter(right after you escape the prison).

The thing is so fucked up, that using Excela and her 因果の手招き skill, you actually CAN beat bosses 2-3x your level, because they won't(more like can't. it seems to fuck up their AI) attack you while it lasts, so provided you have enough MP restore items, you can just do it and activate Kirika's B.A.N.D. so you won't miss, thus fucking them up slowly but steadily.

Another fuck up is that while we're on PS4 and we have all the power ever, when many effects are on the screen at once, the game lags as hell, perhaps even worse than on PS3, where that was the default state it had.

Otherwise the same mediocre game I already wrote about in the past. Really, only doing it for Taka Tony art, nothing personal.

Steins;Gate Elite(PSVita)

El. Psy. Congroo.

We all know the story outline of Steins;Gate, right? Yeah, we do. Time machines, time travel, John Titor(actually Suzuha) and general Shikura crap about SF

Steins;Gate is a game I was done with back in 2009, back on Xbox 360, and yet Elite release had me very interested in itself.
The reason for that is quite simple, however.

Steins;Gate Elite is the first and the only FMV-novel type game that exists on the current market, so I couldn't just miss it.
FMV games existed 2 console generations ago, but not a single one was made after the release of PS3. Pre-rendered video sequences as a way to present the game lost to the usage of CG, or fucking real hoomans, though I do not see how that relates to anime-games stopping using it. Probably production costs and all, making animated scenes for everything costs way too much compared to using static images. And if ever the need to upscale it arises, it's mostly impossible. Bad sad world.

I do assume Steins;Gate Elite is just using the already made anime as a base(never watch anime on games I've played, so I won't be checking), but at any rate, it is the first FMV game in like 15-16 years. The last one I saw before was Triangle Again/2 on PS2(or original Xbox), but after that, assuming I didn't miss any, no such games were made.
PSP UMD-PG were something close, but same as with DVD-PG's, it is just not the same.
 

I am long familiar with the story of Steins;Gate, as you may have guessed by now, since I just mentioned clearing the original 360 version, and yet, I must say, Elite felt all new to even me.
Some things are honestly sad to see missing(phone call bgm "village" for example), but I kinda closed my eyes on that.

However, despite all the things said, my new journey through the story of HO-OU-IN KYOUMA's story ended way quicker than I thought.

I never felt that way when I played the original game  but this time, I greatly felt for Feiris Nyannyan and her story, so when the choice came to send D-mail or not, to change the divergence and go closer to a timeline with divergence of over 1.0xxxx to be able to cross to another Attractor Field and return to the days that Okabe Rintarou lost as a result of his time traveling experiments, I could not press the button to change the choice and actually send it, as it would mean Feiris would have to experience the pain of losing her father again.
The cute cat-eared maid remember things from the other timeline during the route, and says she has prepared herself to it, but I could not press the button, resulting in me getting to see her ending in a new way.

And after that, I couldn't make myself load the game from an earlier point and press the button to get the other endings, ultimately making the game unplayable from that point.

But I have no regrets, this was the only path.
And just for letting me feel this world again, and find something new for myself in it, this game was worth buying and playing

Steins Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling(PSVita)

Delta Attractor Field, before Okabe Rintarou actually invented the time machine, and only found a way to send mails to the past.

Conducting experiments on changing the past, MAD SCIENTIST, HOU-OU-IN KYOUMA sent so many D-mails of completely different content to the past, that he ended up in the Delta Attractor Field(divergence >3.0), remembering only that he was conducting experiments, and nothing of what he actually sent to the past.

The Lab Members gather at the Future Gadget Lab to celebrate the birth of a number of new "future" gadgets, which Okabe Rintarou apparently ordered the LabMems("ramen?") to develop(not that he remembers any of that, since it was him, but not him that was conducting experiments wtih D-mails at the time).

One of them is Future Gadget №12 "ダーリンはばかぁ”(lit. "Darling is an idiot", even though that translation doesn't properly convey the meaning and the comical note put into it. Fuck english) which does further when equipped on a pair:

1) If you have an affair - you get a strong electric shock attack on ya

2) if you argue - you also get the electricity on you

3) if you try to take it off - same shit

4) if the two are more than 1 meter away from each other - they again get zapped hard

5) holding hands doesn't make them get an electric shock, woah

6) "when the two's thoughts are the same, they can remove it"

Talk about bad presents

And what do you think? CHRIStina had one equipped in preparation for tests, and HOU-OU-IN KYOUMA equips one on himself just because. That's where the lulz start.

The game's story is ultimately comedic, not a single point of seriousness, except some new info on Attractor Fields, D-Mails and general setting.

And while there is nothing dangerous for the characters in this timeline, as no SERN here, Moeka isn't an agent, and Suzuha is only there to fix up how Daru meets her mother, not to beat up Christina to a pulp, this is just the current situation, and considering the game's endings arent a close, the destiny of the Delta Attractor Field is open for discussions.

Being hit by Feiris Nyannyan's beams of love in S;G Elite, I, of course, had the greatest expectations on her route and ending.

But this being a stupid comedy, those expectations were in vain.

"Nyaha! Feiris Nyannyan is! Everyone's Feiris Nyanyan! I will definitely not become anyone's personal nya～～!"

And that's it.

Of course, I forget to mention, that EVERY route and ending in the game is the same(a fucking open end). It is a love comedy, but it doesn't posess any kind of serious romance(or anything serious for that matter).

Which, honestly, saddened me. It is the first time I actually played it, as after original Steins;Gate on 360, I kinda had too many games on my hands so I skipped it that time. Same on PS3.

I really think that if you make a spin-off like that, DON'T MAKE OPEN ENDS like this.

(I should just complain to Shikura directly, but I can't, until I build a stronghold)

But it was an enjoyable experience even so.

Especially this(Suzuha route)

Too much lulz.
 

Steins;Gate: Senkei Kousoku no Phenogram

Just when I was bored of Steins;Gate spin-offs already.

The critics were going all about how cool it is the game has story from different character viewpoints, but lets be honest - THAT'S SUPER BORING.

What made Steins;Gate interesting is how INSANE MAD SCIENTIST HOU-OU-IN KYOUMA presented it, with his special 中二病 included. Which is why, after Okabe Rintarou route, the game is a boring mess.

Unlike Hiyoku Renri no Darling, Senkei Kousoku no Phenogram story is split by characters, and most of the stories happen in the Alpha Attractor Field(divergence <1.0, but  >0.2), though some relate to the Delta Attractor Field(divergence >3.0), Beta Attractor Field(divergence between 1.0  and 3.0), Sigma Attractor Field(divergence over 4.0) and Omega Attractor Field(divergence is less than 0.2), with all the consequences.

It all starts with Okabe Rintarou following Shiina Mayuri everywhere, protecting her from lots of dangers as a mysterious(lol) hero - A L P A C A M A N.

Only to know that in that timeline, Mayuri died during SERN's attack on the Future Gadget Research Lab, and he was just seeing delusions when he wore the alpaca mask Mayuri made for him.

It results in Okabe swearing he'll find a way to save her, and thus connecting to the events of original Steins;Gate after the end of this route.

There is a second route for HOU-OU-IN KYOUMA in this game, and it tells us more about how he suffered amnesia while trying to save Mayuri during all the time leaps he had to do to reach the  Beta Attractor Field.

But it, together with all other routes, barely has any interesting read, sadly.

In the end, what people praise about this game is worth nothing, but the first and the main route was truly interesting. Great I didn't buy it myself, as, sadly, that route is pretty short.

Chaos;Head Noah(PSVita)

or...MUH WAIFU!

About 8 years ago, I already have had the experience of reading the original Chaos;Head, and at the time, it only seemed like a very strange and, for no apparent reason(Shikura, of course), bloody story.
I was yet all too young, I couldn't sleep well for some time after reading it, and the ending(Ending A 「silent sky」 as it turns out 8 years later) made no sense.

And 8 years later, being hit by Shikura's beams of autism in Steins;Gate, I returned to re-experience this story as Chaos;Head Noah.

The changes between the original and Noah are that 6 character routes were added, one for every female character(except gods they suck. "happy ending? what's that, is it tasty?"(c) Shikura).
And if you want to reach the true end, you need to feel the pain.
Those who only want to see the outcome are welcome to only do the PC version, where there are only 3 endings(which I never knew about, and which was never mentioned back in 2009-2010 by anyone, and I thought only one ending existed)

The re-experience was...let's say it was UNEXPECTED.

I did not know about how much the game changed from Chaos;Head to Noah, so for me it was all new.

And the character routes were...let's say horrifically unpleasant, as the characters die in most of them if not all.
However, the revamped Ending C 「blue sky, to which seeing every other ending leads, makes up completely. The story of a STRONG AND INDEPENDENT MAN(hikkikomori, to put simply) who has problems with his head, Nishijou Takumi, also felt very close after all these years.

Unlike Steins;Gate's Mail Trigger system, Chaos;Head's Delusion Trigger(妄想トリガー) system still feels more interesting. Gods I hated gathering all the mails in S;G series.
Compared to that, the Delusion Trigger system feels simplier, and more rewarding(with gruesome and bloody CGs, of course. there are way more of those than ofz ecchi CGs).

One point that had me bothered in Noah on Vita is the new opening.
I have original's OP [Find the Blue] in my playlist ever since I've played the original Chaos;Head, so having that missing really felt strange.
However, right after I heroically made my way through the horrors of Chaos;Head, and reached Ending C 「blue sky」, when I pressed the menu choice in the main menu to proceed to it, IT started playing, while Nishijou Takumi was awesomely fucking up Norose and his Noah II, the machine responsible for all of his problems with his head(except that he is a delusional being. Shogun is still responsible for that).
It felt like a dose of cocaine, a drug, and I just smashed the table I was sitting at with my hand in extasy(it was painful later).

And unlike Steins;Gate, Chaos;Head's fandisk, Love ChuChu is, actually, a continuation, not "ok, we're going to another Attractor Field".
After being done with C;H, I really felt I wanted more, so I went to clear it too.

Chaos;Head LoveChu*Chu(PSVita)

Continuing right after Ending C 「blue sky」
Nishijou Takumi succeeded in defeating Norose Gen'ichi, and destroying the monstrous  machine called NOAH II.
However, upon awaking, what Takumi first sees is

a real-booted(real-boot - projecting your delusions onto reality. one and only skill Giga-lo-maniacs posess) Seira Orgel, clearly wanting to copulate. 
Oh wow, what kind of eroge is this.

But within 5 minutes of the story, he is stuck with the shocking truth - this is not the real world.
Shibuya is not wrecked, and no Noah II ever existed in it.
But to hell with it, the most shocking(for the protagonist) is that while the girls are still Giga-lo-maniacs, Takumi is no longer one, because "he did it too hard" when he fought Norose and broke Noah II. 
Another shock is that all girls sync'd their delusions with his, and are all present in his delusional mental world.
And the last nail in his coffin is that none of them can escape from this world unless they kill Seira Orgel, who is, apparently, the last thing that Takumi regrets losing.

Unlike Chaos;Head/Noah, Love ChuChu is seriously a dating simulator, and a romance game. 
No blood and no violence kinda feels surreal at first, but then, it all becomes ok.

At times, heroines find themselves in really suggestive situation, but moments after, they only wonder why would they ever do such things.

As explained by Seira's imouto - Erinfray Orgel, that's because Takumi is

A lolicon, a pervert, and an idiot.

Despite being an ultimately comical story, unlike Steins;Gate: Hiyoku Renri no Darling, Chaos;Head LoveChu*Chu is a sequel, not a spin-off, so it had to be complete, with more or less comprehensible endings that aren't an open end.
Thankfully, the game actually is what it should've been.

I completely loved each character ending, and the way to reaching each was interesting, as you literally have to FIND the Delusion Trigger to reach them(that is, if you're no using a guide, and I haven't been using one this time).

The 2 outcomes I've loved the most are
Sakihata Rimi End

Takumi acknowledges Seira Orgel as his 2D waifu, and Sakihata Rimi as his Real 3D Waifu, thus bringing his internal conflict to peace and

successfully escapes the prison of his own mind, waking up at the wrecked school building with Rimi beside him.

Nishijou Nanami End

After escaping his mental world together with Nanami, the two are returning to house of Nishijou family, to where Takumi, being a delusional being, never wanted to return and has no memories of.
But with Shogun, the real Nishijou Takumi, dead(he leaves the world of living in both ending B and C of Chaos;Head), and a loving imouto besides him, he makes up his mind to try to.

Other characters' ending would also be worth a note, but I feel they had less impact, as I barely remember what happened in them, despite only clearing the game 2 months ago.

Of course, there's also Seira Orgel End, but that should, probably, be considered a bad end, since it's just Seira and Erin trolling Takumi and a red screen at the end.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, first feeling surreal, then filling my heart with warmth and, how should I put it...
Happiness, perhaps.

Bullet Girls Phantasia(PSVita/PS4)

The continuation of the best 3rd person shooter ever...turned out not how anyone could have expected it.

This time, the Ranger Club of Misakimori Academy SUDDENLY got thrown into a parallel medieval world(this time we can use swords, YEAAAHO...no, melee weapons suck).
Mob-members are replaced by ORKZ ORKZ ORKZ, and the only humans the girls meet are not exactly friendly at first(until they get a few bullets up their buttz).

The gameplay is mostly the same as it was in 2, except that more girls can appear during Jinmon trainings(heavily affects FPS on both platforms, so not recommended much),
touching is not direct on Vita, but cursor based, probably to make both platforms the same(teh shittiest decision ever) and the AWFUL, WORST EVER, TOTAL GRIND.
You will hate the grind 100%(I did, but I still went for plat).

Otherwise, since it means more Jinmon and ecchi situations, the game is great.

muh favorite girl to tease, Silvia

how many elven maidens older by some hundred years than you can you bully at once? Answer is two.

Cat panties

Down the loli-road, ALL HAIL SAKI!

Cat-girls in micro-bikini are always good

However, the game is not only all fun and nude girls.
About 75% of the game, it becomes A LOT HARDER, for no apparent reason, and that's where you'll have to master the new systems like skills and materials as the difficulty spike is pretty big.

Another thing is the game's DLC. This time, D3 decided to add minor microtransations to the game(50 yen each. doesn't hit your wallet even if you use it) - EXPx2 for 1 mission and Jinmon Point x2.
However, I can assure you, those are ABSOLUTELY useless in the end.
EXPx2 is simply not enough to easen the grind to level 99 by any significant amount of time, and Jinmon is way easier if you just buy 猫魔王の手..

There also is a DLC weapon, which was AT LEAST PLANNED on some stage of development, and it's even already in the game and all, but you cannot buy it, so it's impossible to unlock unless you are a pirate.

14 is FPS. Yes, Vita version without overclocking, and even with it, is pretty awful.

The weapon is a shotgun, with 800 at LV10(each level was going to require you to buy it separately)ammo, and insane shooting speed and insane power. Dragons cry when they see it.
But it's not officially released.

Gotta also complain on the grind. With the addition of Materials, and the great variety of them, and them having levels, the game became a real grindhell.
One of the trophies requires you to gather ALL materials in the game, and that is...near impossible.
Drops are random, though some drop only on some stages(of which there are 62), some are so rare it took me MONTHS to get them(probably I just am unlucky, as some ppl got the plat within a week or two).

And you cannot even imagine how many times I've seen this bug, which I don't know if it is fixed even now(there is a patch now, but I already have plat)

Despite all that, I have enjoyed the countless hours I spend on this game. Even the low FPS of Vita version, all the grind and suffering didn't make me hate it. 
The game also has trophies separate for PS4 and Vita(what's more, there are separate trophy sets for japanese and chinese releases, depite both versions having japanese text in them. You can grind through this game for FOUR times, and get FOUR plats), despite the game being the same and trophies being the same.
But after finishing Vita, I think I won't be doing PS4 any time soon.

The most painful plat ever.

Hokuto ga Gotoku(北斗が如く)(PS4)

As much as I want to praise this game for at least anything, there isn't even a thing, with the exception for battle system, but that is completely and totally covered to the point of being completely hidden by useless grind and open world desert.
Sega, pls, do your crossovers better, it COULD be good.
And just stop blocking me from making in-game screenshots.

When it was first announced, I thought that it MIGHT be cool.
Not in any approximation.
The original story is sucky, the original characters aren't anything interesting, and Kisana, who seemed the only salvation in the game, turns into a total bitch when Raoh appears, and instantly sucks his cock while hailing to the king.

What's more, the game is completely plagued with TIRE GRIND. At times you just need new tires for your car, else you cannot somewhere, and that sucks. If the first time you just need to buy the materials in the shop, the second time it's hard and tedious grind, AND THAT SUCKS.
I just dropped the game after the second time.

The only thing that can be praised in this game is it's battle system, which is fluid, fun and generally good because the game uses Ryuu ga Gotoku Zero engine, and not Crapgon Engine like RgG6 and Kiwami 2.
nuff said 

Grancrest Senki(PS4)

I bought this game right after I knew it has Lodoss Tou Senki characters as pre-order DLC.
And since I wasn't interested in it initially, that was way after release(still got muh Deedlit).

muh Deedlit

The game was quite a surprise, in both good and bad meaning.

Bamco being Bamco, the game really has the feel of Sword Art Online Hollow <whatever> in it's gameplay. No, really.
The usage of skills, battle system overall is just the same, or maybe it's just me.

But no matter how much I love SAO games and their systems, in the context of this game, Bamco really should've thought it out better.
The game is simply not optimized for the hardware it runs on, be it PS4, or Nintendo Swing, so with the great amount of troops, as well as heroes, on the map, it lags hellishly, even freezing at times.

I was going to say hello SAO-kind of damage increasal system, but I'll just say it lags as hell.

They also tried to implement a kind of tactical system similar to Bladestorm: Hyakunen Sensou&Nightmare, but that game was made by Koei, and Koei knows how to lessen the workload, so their games lag WAY less.

The story was pretty typical, war, women, love, death and the conflict between races and just humans. Everything we've already used to see in Record of <whatever> War. *spit*

Actually, I nearly puked at how the game is a single route only, Teo can only end up with one woman, OR WITHOUT HER BUT WITH AN ETERNAL PROMISE TO HER IN HIS HEART! The True End/Normal End split was pretty lame because of it.
In the end you just beat this big black guy

And depending on previous choices, it's either that shitty mage(Siluka) dies, or Teo Cornello goes on talking with it's master that's been controlling the religion that is widespread on the continent, then he beats him up saying something like "no matter, we don't need you to decide for us, from now on we'll deal with our shit ourselves" and it results in this

really, he has so many good girls around(one dies, though), and he chooses this?

I'd take the werewolf twins

At any rate, a nice way to make a game worse than it already is.

In the end, the good idea and spirit was totally killed by how shitty it was implemented, and how short was the scriptwriter's thought line.
I honestly tried to enjoy it, but knowing what waits at the end, I couldn't enjoy it completely.
Sad.

To Love-Ru Darkness: True Princess(PSVita)

It happened, it finally happened after all these long years and useless games with open endings.
A truly finished To Love-Ru game has finally arrived.
Except that happened 3 years ago, and I just skipped it at the time.

While the setting is usual love-comedy crap we're all used to see, the game finally lets us experience what all of us wanted the whole time the series existed - drop Lala/Haruna forever, and get together with:
Yami

Results in the player(Rito) and Yami opening a taiyaki shop after confessing and proving their love for each other

Nana

Results in Rito(the player) having to deal with keeping all Nana's friends

Momo

Results in Harem Project succeeding, but the one you(Rito) love the most is Momo.

Nemesis

Results in you becoming Neme-chan's underling(boyfriend)

 Yui

Results in a happy family project.

or others 

The only things that still pain my heart is that Saki is still given to Zastin forever, since I'm more into ojou-sama type than the author thinks, and that we can't have a Tearju route.

Otherwise, this game is the thing the series always needed. 
Glad it FINALLY got made as the series ended. 

Gal*Gun 2(PS4)

Original Gal*Gun is one of my favourite games on Xbox360(did you know? that's where it was originally released), not that anyone knows.
It was a surprise, since Rail Shooter, as a genre, was long dead in 2011.

But time passed, Gal*Gun W, then this game, Gal*Gun 2, came out, Inti Creates brought the games to the shitty west(except the very first game, which is, however, the best one), and it all seemed okay...until I actually played 2.

If I am to say it, Gal*Gun 2 is NOT anything even near Gal*Gun or W in quality.
I have no idea what for Inti Creates went for VR-esque crap in game design, I do not see any logical reason for that.
No, the concept is still shooting girls with pheromones, right, but the game just doesn't feel like a sequel to that Game of the Millennium.

No finger shooting for you, boy, shoot them with a light gun. Fuck you gamefaqs, now you're right about it being a Light Gun game.

First of all, the protagonist can only see Angel and Demons with a VR-esque headset equipped, and cannot shoot girls from his finger.
Way to ruin an interesting setting, guys, hands down.

Second, woooooow, his love interests are an Angel and a Demon. Oh wow, how fresh and surprising. Overdoing it, Inti, you're overdoing it.
The last nail, the game hates savescammers with how it works. If you want the platinum trophy, you're better off just playing the game 6 times fairly, else it'll be 8 or 9 times. Fuck you Inti.

That's about all bad things I can say about the game, though.
The gameplay is fluid, even though you have to move yourself, and the girls are cute.

NEET angels BAN-ZAI!

but what's more

MUH KURONA IS BACK!
Best ever, even though the new modelling sucks a lot.

But this is not the end yet

MUH Yuuko is also back, and I can undress her. Sounds like a clear victory declaration.

But there's also a bit of SCARY stories in this game.
No, I'm not about that time I got stepped on by Yuuko

I mean that time I got kissed by Shinobu

PLAIN SCARY, devs, do your modelling right, a flying head is fucking scary.
Even ghosts aren't as scary as this

But overall, it was OK. Didn't feel as good as Gal*Gun W or original, wasn't as good as W, doesn't stand a chance against the original, but it was a nice game overall.
And I really missed the 運命の彼女 route, in which you could have any girl in the game as your waifu. 

GunGunPixies(PSVita)

just a game where you can observe butts close up

Everyone knows I hate Compile ShitHeart. Then why was I wasting time playing this game is the logical question.
The answer is, as always, very simple, however.

GunGun Pixies actual developer is not Compile Crap, it is developed by Shade Inc., who made the best 3rd person shooters not too long before it(Bullet Girls 1/2, if you don't know).
When I knew it, there wasn't a way to avoid playing it.
It wasn't a miss, mostly.

The story about a certain apartment with it's own circumstances was, at the very least, very...normal.
That is, until the second half of the game.

And there's a pervert there! MASKED PERVERT!

If from the start, it just looks like the Pixie Team is sent there without reason, just to play pranks on girls, starting from the latter half, it all starts to become clear, but the player is led in the wrong way of thinking purposedly.
If it seems to you that Eri is the ultimate mastermind, the worst girl ever - think again and think out of the box.

The game's solid gameplay part is what I consider it's strongest point.
The investigations, some changes from playthrough to playthrough(random, though) and E C C H I endorphine shooting, what could have been better.

Ahegao doublepeace the Game

But Shitpile Crap just couldn't allow it NOT to have their fucking awful toxic shit, right, so for one chapter, you'll have to deal with their goddesses.

GACHI GASM!

however, no matter how solid and generally good the gameplay is, the game is pretty long despite only being a few days of in-game time, so by the 7th time, you'll be bored as hell.
And if you want the platinum trophy, you'll have to deal with it about 6 or 7 times, as well as with the fact that the ending route triggers are not clear,. as there is no one to confirm them. People just went and did it somehow.
That's pretty bad, really. probably cannot savescam that.

but in the end, it's all good.

Sanoba Witch: Sabbat of the Witch(PC)

I know you're being attracted by Yuzusoft's pretty art, I too was.

The first  thing the eye goes to is the main(lol) heroine's outfit(the rightmost girl).
And soon enough after starting the game, we know the answer.
OH SHIT, SHE'S A MAGICAL BI  witch.

The game has an interesting setting, in terms of how people become a magic user, and how magic works.
First of all, no one is a magic user forever. 
Having contracted an Alp(whom you still need to find!), you have to gather Fragments, and when you gather enough, you can use magic to fulfill any wish of yours(not really, but mostly), but only once.
Thus, magus, as a phenomenon, doesn't really exist.

What's more, for your contract, you must pay a price, which is really different each time, depending on both the Alp and the contractor.
Like Ayachi Nene(綾地 寧々) the main(lul) heroine I've already mentioned has RANDOM sexual excitement everywhere and without much reason usually. Even worse if there is a reason..

What would she do if the library had "TABLE MASTURBATION PROHIBITED" on it?

And also has a habit of trying to escape reality when things go the bad way

Unbelievable...this is a dream...a dream, nightmare...yes, nightmare...it cannot be that it's not a nightmare...it's strange if it's not, this is, unbelievableunbelievableunbelievableunbelievable...

But this is just the beginning, really, and Nene is only one of the game's "wonderful" female companions

But I didn't really want to speak of the "main" heroine(there is no main in such games, anyways).

The shining beams of white light(don't exist in this game) finally disappeared, and she said

"Ah, MOTIVATION, ok? It's not MASTURBATION, ok? We don't need such puns"

And the world has stopped. The voice(Mizuhashi Kaori, even though in the credits she goes as Akashina Manasa, but that's one of her many aliases), the eyes, everything.
The senpai we all always want and will always dream of, Tomoe Mami Togakushi Touko(戸隠 憧子) HATH ARRIVED!

From that moment, the story flow and my choices completely changed into doing Touko route.
Her story was something like Isshuukan Friends the other way around, since here Touko's the one who forgets stuff.
That's cute, right? Yes, very.

While Touko generally is spewing dirty jokes here and there, later she's like:
First doing this

 and then, harsh post-coital regret assaults her.

And that's all because she decided to leave her memories as an Alp when she decided to become human.
You don't fuck with magic, girl. Just believe me, you shouldn't.

While I didn't feel it anything new(nothing is new in this day and age, deal with it), it was the very best choice of what to read.

I actually wanted to read other heroines' routes later, but it didn't come to it yet. Oh, my TIME MANAGEMENT!

Rance X: Kessen(ランスX：決戦)

Long ago, about the times of Sengoku Rance, or was it Rance Quest, Alicesoft promised, that Rance X, the 10th installment, will be Rance X: The End of Saga.
They kept their word.
What's more, they did it well.

Rance X takes the best of previous games' concepts.
Such as FEMINISM(in THE Rance way)

 Tactical approach to saving the world(in THE Rance way)

 and THE Harem(in THE Rance way)

And the story routesplits in battles

on the right side, even though since this battle is Extra, it only has Proceed or GAMEOVER

but to hell with game systems and all, it's THE STORY that the game is all about.

Does anyone even remember what the(latter parts) shit started with?
In Sengoku Rance, Maou Kurusu Miki went berserk, and put Sill Plain into an ice prison.
And from that moment, Rance journeys were only about melting that ice.

And, in Rance IX, he succeeded in melting the ice, or so he thought.

But as he becomes the 8th Maou - Maou Rance(so much Kichikuou Rance here), and his children, led by his child conceived with Crook Mofus, fight him years after that, he finally is stabbed with the shocking truth by the suddenly appeared Crook .

Alicesoft, wait, I thought when Miki put her into that ice she wasn't nude...

The ice has never  melted, no, it couldn't melt, as no humanly possible technology or magic could ever melt ice created with Demon Lord's magic.

Rance really went a long way just to meet her again

Over 15 years has passed since the journey to save her has started, and as all the trials have been overcome, the story ends on a happy note.

As for our new protagonist, who has saved the world from Maou Rance(not really, they've been beaten up, but then...), he returns back from his journey, and after telling stories about his journeys to his mother, only gets asked one question

Was the journey fun?

And to hell with anyone who can answer anything but

It was

The game became the close of one of the best game series in the world, and the developers did their best for it to also become the best, awesomest game in it.

I cannot say they exactly succeeded with that, to be honest, as the game is still inferior to Kichikuou Rance, which is the literal end of the series that happened back in 1996.
Yes, 12 years ago, the series already had an ending, but Kichikuou is considered to be a spin-off, despite it having generally everything that happened in the games after 4.2 already.

Despite that, the game was great. I enjoyed every hour, minute, second, millisecond...moment I played it.

And actually, even without the 2nd part, the first part had very interesting and satisfying endings and developments of it's own.

I personally liked the one where Rance with the help of Warg, the demon that controls dreams, overwrites memory of Kurusu Miki, and in all of her memories, it is Rance that appears, not  Ogawa Kentarou, who is the actual hero who saved her in Little Vampire, and got to the Rance World together with her.

It was very satisfying for me, as Miki was the only girl I couldn't do in Rance 1(neither we could in any of the further games, though) back in 1989, nearly 30 years ago.
Lol, what an old man I am(not really, I'm a bit younger than Rance 1)..

End of the Line

---

And with that, the review part ends.
This year had me playing less games(in amount), or more like I have less to say about them. I actually played a few more games, like Dark Souls Remastered(plat) and a few more, but I literally have nothing to say about them.
But maybe that's for the better.

As for my backlog, to my own surprise, I don't think I left something I started behind this year.
Maybe due to the platform number decreasal, or maybe there's some other reason I can't think of.

The future, however, doesn't look so bright too.
2019 MIGHT or will offer me:
Sword Art Online Fatal Bullet Complete Edition(PS4)
Catherine Full Body(PS4/Vita)
Kingdom Hearts III(PS4)
Rurua no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi 4(PS4)(even though I can't expect anything good from it)
And that's about it.
Sad Sad World.
Give me back my 2010, or better 2005.

I'd make a top of some sorts like I usually do, but this time, it'd only feature one or two genres, so I don't see any  point in it
Less and less games have something I can really say about them, I'm less and less impressed by what the game industry can offer.
Progress isn't always the best thing that can happen, really.

See you next year, maybe.
The journey called Life continues...