Chaos;Child is a visual novel that needs to be taken slowly and digested over a few days. There are still scenes that I can't stop thinking about because of how graphic and powerful they were. Steins;Gate sets the bar really high for me and Chaos;Child is the first visual novel in a long time to come so close to that emotional of impact on my mental state.
Project Nimbus makes a great attempt at capturing the mech action genre that rarely comes West. Fans will find a lot of what they want from mech action, but the lack of motivation to complete missions could potential hurt the chances of them completing the game. For a small indie game, Project Nimbus hits all the right ques to be a great action game, but dated visuals and
Rogue Trooper Redux might have been a strange game to remaster, but I had a decent time playing through the story again. I enjoyed taking advantage of the limited enemy AI as well as taking them out with my arsenal of gadgets. Although I would have preferred a reboot or sequel to the series, this provided a nice trip down third-person shooter memory lane, but that might not be enough to gauge enough interest from modern gamers.
Raiden V: Director's Cut offers a wide variety of weapons and difficulties that are sure to keep players busy for some time. I could have used a few additional modes, ships, and weapons, but what's provided was enough for me to have a blast. Hopefully, the success of Raiden V: Director's Cut opens the floodgates for the bullet hell genre on consoles in the west.
Yomawari: Midnight Shadows has everything a horror game needs, engaging story and characters, creepy town, and scary spirits. Most importantly, it shows a significant improvement over what the previous entry in the series offered. Sadly, the game lacks more explorable areas and also a more extensive variety of enemies, who end up overstaying their welcome in the later parts of the game. With that said, Yomawari: Midnight Shadows caused me to scream out of fear multiple times and, at the same time, kept me excited for whatever was coming next.
I enjoyed the new battle systems and all of the additional features that Gust added to Nights of Azure 2. However, it's clear that keeping the action fast and the frame rate stable were the developers biggest concerns and it shows in the forgettable environments. Thankfully, there's too many good features about Nights of Azure 2 for fans of Gust to not pick it up, while at the same time introducing new players to the developer. As for me, I'm going to hope that they continue to support this awesome action RPG series and its casual yuri story plots.
Zwei: The Ilvard Insurrection might satisfy some of the hardcore Ys loving fans of Falcom, but I feel like this game will do more for any gamer who is intimidated by the developer's other series and bigger titles. It's a shame that I waited so long to get into the Zwei series, but I'm grateful for a chance to play such a fun and amusing action RPG in a time where serious story premises seem to be all we get.
Summon Night 6 proves that a decent localization can help a series that has very little presence in the West. With some unique SRPG mechanics as well as good character development, Summon Night 6 could easily become a fan favorite in the West and hopefully pave the way for future and past entries in the series to be localized. At this point, I'm excited to wrap up this review and continue to spend some one-on-one time with Toris (I see you quickly going to Google to figure out who she is).
.hack//G.U. Last Recode destroyed any expectations that I had for a remastered RPG from ten years ago. The mechanics and visuals work well and with an increased speed and reworked mechanics getting through the game's low moments aren't so bad. I always tend to prolong beating RPGs because I get too attached to the characters, but the way that Vol. 4 Reconnection concluded the series was as good as a conclusion can be as I found myself content and ready to move on to the next adventure.
Dungeon crawlers aren't for everyone, but Demon Gaze II is the perfect place to start for players who have yet to try out the genre. The story has as much depth as the impressive in-game customization systems that will surely impress veteran fans of the series along with being easy for newcomers to digest. I'm happy to see Experience stepping out of their comfort zone and trying new things with the dungeon crawling genre. Playing through Demon Gaze II has left me excited for whatever the developer has coming next.
Little Busters! English Edition is the best way to experience an amazing visual novel about friendship, heart ache, and baseball.
Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2: Brave New World showed me what Deck Nine is capable of in terms of storytelling and character growth. Also, the game's choice system is well thought out and represented a wide variety of possibilities for many types of players. Lastly, after finishing Brave New World, I'd like to add that the worries I originally had for the rest of the series drifted away as Chloe and myself looked towards the future Episodes.
Tokyo Tattoo Girls is as niche as it's going to get and if that sounds like something you're into than you might find this title to be just what you want. I hope to see Sushi Typhoon Games evolve as a developer and take what's good about this game to create something more because this game has more in common with a random smartphone title than a proper strategy RPG.
Like a stated before, if you enjoy mindlessly killing zombies and half-naked anime girls than you might find a great deal of fun in School Girl/Zombie Hunter, but if you're looking for a decent playing experience, I feel like you'd be let down. I hope to see Tamsoft continue to develop new IPs, but hopefully next time they'll give the game a good amount of QA before pushing it to release.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is one of those RPGs that I didn't want to end. Luckily, there is enough post-game content to satisfy players looking to sink 100's of hours into more adventures with Rex and the party. However, I can't seem to shake the feeling that I was left with as the end credits rolled. I feel like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 showed me what it's like to go on a real adventure and it happens to be one that I don't think I will ever forget.
In the end, Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope brought me back to a time when I had to sit down and thoroughly shut myself out of the real world and immerse myself into this world — more specifically the star ocean. Exploring space and discovering huge new worlds creates a great playing experience, and with this remastered version this game only looks even better. Even though a few years have passed, Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope is close to the same game I remember, but I appreciated the nostalgic reminder that games are challenging and autosave wasn't always a thing.
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ will find that jumping into the series was well worth it. On the other hand, fans who have already played the game will discover a large variety of new events to play through as well as a much-improved battle system than what they remember. I had a great with Tokyo Xanadu eX+ and now I'm left with the new post-game quests that will probably add many more hours to my play time.
Life is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 3: Hell is Empty offered a nice companion to the Life is Strange universe, but the shock of the conclusion is lost when compared to the superior Episode 2. This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy Episode 3, I just felt that it's conclusion presented more questions than answers. Perhaps it's a good thing the Life is Strange: Before the Storm left me with wanting more because now I wouldn't mind if the series continued either with more prequel content or a direct sequel to Life is Strange.
Being a port of an 25 year old title, Romancing SaGa 2 gives a promising look back at how RPGs have grown over the years. With the game's story spanning generations of characters and a fairly decent story, Romancing SaGa 2 is worth the price, but try not to get too attached to your main character because you will die, a lot.
More importantly, each character has left a lasting impression on me and the growth that they experienced during the story makes the game feel even closer to the timeless stories of early RPGs. Legrand Legacy: Tale of the Fatebounds expertly brings the PlayStation era RPGs to 2018 with an attention to detail that brings the genre to modern consoles and satisfies that nostalgic itch.