Suffice to say, it should be pretty clear at this point that, in terms of sexual content, Rance is a lot more than “Look at her underwear” — and more broadly, that the series is far more than just its erotic content, too.
That doesn’t mean it’s not worth playing, mind; if you enjoy this sort of simple early ’80s shooter, Savage Bees is as good as any out there. Just don’t expect a particularly life-changing experience!
New characters will be introduced, and will show up again in later games — indeed, there are several characters who first appear in Rance 01 that I already recognise from my previous encounters with Rance 5D and VI. Rance’s relationships with these characters will evolve and change in sometimes surprising ways, and there’s a real sense that you’re going on a journey through this character’s life as the series goes on.
All in all, I kind of regret having slept on Forgotten Worlds until now; it turns out that those seemingly boring muscle-bound meatheads have quite a colourful, chaotic adventure to enjoy — made all the more entertaining by their borderline nonsensical digitised speech quips between each stage. I can see this being a particular blast if you bring a friend along for the ride — so if you’ve held fire on this one until now like I have, I’d encourage you to give it a shot!
As it stands, Arsonist Heaven has failed to learn any of those important lessons, and as such is not a game I can recommend in any way. But at least in failing to learn those lessons, it, in turn, has its own important lesson to teach.
Rance 01 is a relatively short game compared to later games in the series, but that’s in keeping with the relatively small-scale nature of the story it has to tell. One of the particularly appealing things about the series in its entirety is how it develops in scale and scope over time — both in terms of what you, as the player, get to experience, and what Rance is actually getting up to as part of the narrative.
It’s cleverly designed, it’s smartly written, and there’s nothing else quite like it out there. It’s a delight to see it make a grand return after nearly 10 years of being confined to PC — and I sincerely hope that at least some of you reading this manage to guide Elodie to something vaguely resembling happiness, because heaven knows I’m still struggling.
So perhaps skip this one if you’re looking for a satisfying survival horror experience — but keep an eye on Suzaku, because there’s definite potential here. It’s just not realised in SENSEs Midnight.
If it’s not a classic Capcom title you’ve heard of before, downloading the free Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium pack is a good opportunity to familiarise yourself with it — and it sets a solid expectation for the rest of the collection to also feature a variety of enjoyably lesser known titles. And, of course, several versions of Street Fighter, but you know how it is.
Gauntlet mode is a fantastic contrast to the main Story mode of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition, plus a great means of “grinding” characters without feeling like you’re just replaying the same things over and over again. You can jump into it right from your first moments with Warriors Orochi 3, so long as you’re careful — but the mode is solid and substantial enough to also make for excellent endgame content, potentially keeping you busy into perpetuity.
1943 is a good choice for the free game in Capcom Arcade Stadium. It’s a nice example of Capcom doing what Capcom does well: a game that is easy to get up and running with, but which is hard to master. There are better games in Capcom Arcade Stadium as a whole — hell, there are better games just in the 194X series — but, well, they’re not going to give away the cream of the crop for free, now, are they?
On the whole, then, The Tower of Succubus is another excellent addition to the Succubus series as a whole. While its somewhat more niche-interest source material might make it a little bit of a harder sell to those hoping for another Zelda-like, once you start working your way up that tower it’s hard to stop. With 77 floors to challenge, this will keep you busy for quite some time — so you better get climbing!
This is a strong start to this second collection. While some may bounce off it due to the relative lack of big-hitters available up front, it serves as a great reminder that many of our favourite video game developers and publishers from over the years are considerably more than just their most famous titles. Sure, those famous titles are great — and that’s why some of them are included here — but it can be incredibly rewarding to discover new experiences that you didn’t previously know existed. And that’s where the real value of this collection lies.
Once you get your head around this, the game becomes much more enjoyable — and it also stands out as being something more than a simple attempt to ape Star Fox with modern tech. While it’s very obvious that the original intention of the Ex-Zodiac project was “let’s make Star Fox”, it’s also clear that at some point along the line, the developers decided to take things a bit further and give the game its own clear sense of mechanical and structural identity also.
While you’re playing, though, allow yourself to relax. You earned this time to do nothing of any real importance — and while it can be tempting to think that you “should” be doing something of greater value either to yourself or to society at large, sometimes it’s important to just be selfish and do something for no other reason than it feels good.
Assuming you’re on board with the non-optional adult content — which, let’s face it, if you’re reading Rice, you probably are — then The Sword of Succubus is one of the best non-visual novel adult games you’ll ever play. It’s a magnificent example of what the adult gaming sector has to offer to gaming in general, and a title which deserves recognition and praise — and simply for more people to enjoy it.
In fact, you may well find that you sometimes reach points in Story mode where spending some time in the other modes of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition is very much to your benefit in terms of raising bonds between characters, earning Growth Points and Gems, or simply taking on some different types of challenges.
There is enough game here to keep you busy for literally years — and over the course of this deep-dive you’ll see just how many different ways there are to enjoy it. Including through playing as characters from Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Bladestorm, Warriors: Legends of Troy, Soulcalibur and Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll.
All in all then, Otoko Cross: Pretty Boys Klondike Solitaire does exactly what it sets out to do, and it does it well. It would be nice to see these characters incorporated into a more ambitious project at some point in the near future — but as a means of establishing them as an ensemble cast and getting people familiar with them, these casual games are doing a fine job, and I certainly wouldn’t object to seeing more.
So yeah. Consider that a ringing endorsement, and if you have the slightest interest in Castlevania-style games — and wanted to like Simon’s Quest but just couldn’t quite manage it — then I can’t recommend Midnight Castle Succubus enough.