Thomas Knight's Reviews
I enjoyed Cyberpunk 2077. The story told and moreover the world it built was truly interesting. I’d certainly recommend playing it, but wish it wasn’t held back by gameplay and technical issues, even if it's still fun despite these. I’m glad I waited for the 1.5 update, as it does sound that this is a rather better experience than the one on launch.
KamiYaba: Destiny on a Dicey Deadline is essentially a story about love and getting closer to a heroine. Beyond that, it shows a touching friendship that grows between a group who at first just occupied the same space. While it won’t win any awards for the plot, there are some great characters who I enjoyed spending my time with – and that’s often what people enjoy behind this type of visual novel.
Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires isn’t the best game in the series, but it’s a solid entry that gets most things basically right. While there are certainly plenty of points to pick at, I still enjoyed taking over the country.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus wants to be the best – and it’s certainly the best there ever was when it comes to Pokémon games. It is slightly held back by the issues on the technical side, but the gameplay kept me invested throughout. I’ve been a fan ever since the original Pokémon Blue, but I’ve never had so much fun with this series before.
Hello Lady! - Complete Edition contains an excellent mystery. It unfolds slowly, builds up, and comes to a great ending – if we ignore the ‘true end’. The protagonist is a big personality who can overshadow other elements though, so whether a reader enjoys Hello Lady! may depend on whether they like him, rather than how much they enjoy the heroines as in some other visual novels or the mystery itself.
Brain Academy: Brain vs. Brain is a great way to keep your mind active, as well as a way to fairly compete with people of all ages. As someone who rarely has to use math beyond basic addition, I could feel the skills slowly coming back to me as I continued to play. It does have some limitations such as direct multiplayer being local only and a limited selection of minigames, but considering the budget price and accessibility, it’s worth picking up.
I feel like The Humbling of a Holy Maiden will be most appreciated by a niche audience – those particularly interested in the kinks on display here. That said, there’s still certainly a lot to enjoy about it. It has an interesting setting, wonderful art, and some great voicing. It is a bit short, but it packs a lot into that time.
I went into Dohna Dohna ~ Let’s Do Bad Things Together with some skepticism. I’d mostly heard about the adult scenes including forced prostitution and rape, which isn’t my type of content. Alongside that though, I found a genuinely interesting story with fun characters, surprisingly great gameplay, and amazing art. There are certainly a few issues that bring it down, but I enjoyed it a lot more than expected. As long as you know what you’re heading into and aren’t put off by those aspects, it’s one to play.
While I had my issues with the ending of Blue Reflection: Second Light and didn’t feel the overarching plot was amazing, it easily won me over with its strong focus on the characters and their relationships. All those little moments stood out far more than uncovering the mystery of what happened to them. Supported by a particularly solid set of gameplay systems for a JRPG, it’s worth the purchase.
I find myself conflicted when it comes to Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX. It still remains the same great game I enjoyed as a youth in many ways, but perhaps it hasn’t stood the test of time in others. The second title is certainly the better of the two, and I’d happily recommend that. It could still be improved, but it’s better. As a package though, perhaps it’s worth waiting.
Mario Party Superstars is a great return to the past of Mario Party titles. Featuring some of the best of the previous games and adding a few new features to modernize, it’s worth picking up. It could do with some more content for staying power, but it’s certainly a good time.
Despite mentioning quite a lot of issues with Neptunia x Senran Kagura: Ninja Wars in my review, I still enjoyed playing it. It’s not the best hack and slash gameplay around, but it was fun seeing the Neptunia characters and how they interacted with the Senran Kagura ones. Still, if you want a hack and slash game, Senran Kagura Burst Re:newal might be a better option.
I had a great time with Renai Karichaimashita: Koikari – Love For Hire. I found the comedy hilarious and it never felt like it went overboard. The premise was interesting and it was used well to set up fun situations. The eccentric cast of heroines was particularly great. I hear that the fandiscs are planned to be translated too and I look forward to them.
Lost Judgment feels like a worthy successor to the original. While I feel it’s a great story, perhaps it doesn’t live up to Judgment as a crime thriller. In its place, it makes notable improvements in gameplay and brings in some new elements. I really enjoyed it, but certainly recommend that you go and play the first title, then come back and play this one.
Harem Kingdom is a laugh-out-loud comedy. I’d not say to come here for the story, but you get to know some rather interesting characters and have fun along the way. It’s a fantasy where you get whisked away to another world, but instead of fighting and adventuring like most isekai stories, you get to relax and enjoy yourself.
While WarioWare: Get It Together! does occasionally feel unfair, it’s tempered by the random nature of the game and that each round is only seconds long. The brilliance shines through minor letdowns, between the variety of characters and minigame matchups, additional modes, multiplayer integrated into all areas, and a surprising amount of longevity.
Overall, I enjoyed Samurai Warriors 5. I generally do enjoy the gameplay of this Warriors franchise and they’ve kept it fresh by including some small changes. The ultimate attacks were a particularly appreciated spin. While the story is never really the focus of the Warriors titles, it was an enjoyable telling of Nobunaga’s tale too. It doesn’t steal the crown of my favorite Warriors title from Dynasty Warriors 8, but it’s certainly a strong entry into the series.
Despite the serious performance issues in Disgaea 6, I still strongly enjoyed it. The story and characters were particularly good. I was surprised by this as I didn’t feel the same about most of the recent Disgaea titles. The sheer amount of customization and different aspects of the gameplay was as impressive as ever. As always, there’s a ton to experiment with.
I enjoyed Final Fantasy VII EPISODE INTERmission, in some ways even more than the base game. While it is a shorter experience and doesn’t include all of the same features, it felt more focused. Yuffie is a great character who brought a lot of humor to this INTERmission and who I look forward to seeing in the main series.
I’d recommend Kinkoi: Golden Loveriche. It’s a great character-focused visual novel, with a focus on interesting backstories. Piecing together the history over different routes was really interesting and the characters were endearing. The production value is certainly high too and the humor is on point.