If you’re hesitant to check this game out because it’s marketed to female gamers, I would encourage you to get over that stigma and give the game a shot regardless. There’s a well-crafted story hiding behind the marketing, and reading it from a woman’s point of view is a nice change of pace in the gaming sphere.
Really, I wish the writers would’ve dove into the themes of escapism more, rather than just hinting at and playing with them. After completing Ai’s and Yuriko’s story routes, it was easy to look back and see all of the unrealized potential.
For fans of the series that have been waiting to return to the world of Valkyria, I’m saddened to say that this opportunity isn’t really worth your time.
This remaster is definitely the way Final Fantasy XII is meant to be played. If you've already played the original to death, there's enough changes and improvements here to warrant your time and money. If you've never experienced the twelfth numbered title in this series, now would be the greatest time to finally jump in.
Even with the repetitiveness and occasionally ridiculous difficulty, Sundered is still a title I’d recommend to fans of the genre. It’s worth it just for the atmosphere alone, but even beneath that, you’ll find a respectably solid game.
The repetitiveness of the school life portions is the greatest offender – the game really comes into its own when you’re out of the school environment and exploring Erebonia. Still, if you’ve been on the fence about giving this game a shot, the PC port is easily the definitive version.
If you can fumble your way through the gameplay, you’ll find a unique and intriguing story buried beneath it. With everything you have to put up with to get to it, though, I’m not really sure it’s worth the effort.
Despite the complaints, I can easily see Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana going down as a modern classic of the genre. The sense of wonder the game offers during exploration, the beautiful artistic presentation, and the just plain solid and fun gameplay make this a title that you absolutely should not pass up.
All-Stars is still a competently-made game, and fans of the series and Koei Tecmo’s properties will probably find much to enjoy here. Outside of that demographic, though, this game is blindingly mediocre, and hardly worth your time.
The Vita seems to have become inundated with dungeon crawlers in recent years, but Mary Skelter is one that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you’re raring for a challenge, paired up with a great storyline, this is definitely a title to add to your library.
If you're a series fan, and still have a strong stomach, Danganronpa V3 can't come any more highly recommended. If you haven't experienced the franchise yet, now's the time to jump in…but start with the first game.
I personally hope the series continues to pursue this genre, as the potential exists to create a truly excellent team-based shooter with a bit more work. Much like the rest of the series, if you’re not averse to blatant fanservice, Senran Kagura: Peach Beach Splash comes highly recommended.
What feels like an attempt at streamlining the Social RPG formula ends up creating a title that just isn’t fun to play. The ambitions of the story mostly fall flat, although there is a small spark of charm in some of the characters. Really, that would be enough to give the game a perfectly mediocre score. However, the sheer ineptitude of a text editing job and horrifying handling of what could’ve been beautiful graphics are major dealbreakers, driving this game down into the dirt.
Shadow of War managed to grab hold of me much harder than any other open-world game ever has. Despite its inherant faults, I still had a great time playing through, and can’t say I regret the hours I put in to it.
Featuring a dark atmosphere with some moving moments (and a few touches of immaturity here and there), it’s been a long time since a visual novel has grabbed me as much as this one did. Even with the weaker final quarter, this is a story that comes highly recommended.
On its own, though, Zwei is still a beautifully crafted game and an addictive dungeon crawler. If you’re looking for something a bit more light-hearted to dive into after the more serious big releases coming out this time of year, this game would be right up your alley.
You know what? I’ll say it straight up – Tokyo Tattoo Girls is one of the worst games I’ve played so far this year. NIS America has brought us some absolutely amazing games in this latter half of 2017[...]and I truly have to wonder why they even optioned this game for a localization.
If you’re a visual novel fan looking for a quick read (around 15-20 hours depending on reading speed), Ley-Line is a mostly entertaining romp with quite a bit of potential that I could easily see developing more in the next entry. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes in the future. However, if you’re going to pick up the all-ages version, I’d suggest just skipping the character side-routes.
The boss battles soured my experience a bit, but Light Tracer was still a fun experience and a nice change from what has become the VR norm. With a bit more refinement, it could be an excellent game, but what is presented here was still wholly worth the time playing.
Fans of JRPGs, classic and modern, would be doing themselves a disservice in passing on this title. It has a few noticeable quirks and stumbles, but Legrand Legacy is an excellent way to kick off one of my favorite gaming genres in 2018.