My Lovey-Dovey Demon may not be, in my opinion, one of the best ebi-hime works but it has some strong points and accomplishes its purpose of an unpretentious and cute plot within the romcom genre. However, the fact it doesn't develop into something more complex at some moments turns the reading into a tiresome, monotonous effort, making the visual novel a niche, limited recommendation.
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The Curse of Kudan may not be a long visual novel but it offers, during its approximate 10 hours of content, three different endings to the intriguing mystery that gave birth to the urban legend, also impacting its replay factor. Though the romance between the girls is the end result in the game, this element is a mere consequence of investigating the cases presented in the story. Though it has some small issues in the plot development, mainly in quite obvious choices during the deduction stages, this is an excellent visual novel for the Switch library, especially for the fans of girls love.
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For those who are fervorous fans of Touhou, Koumajou Remilia II: Stranger’s Requiem is yet another quality spin-off with a darker approach to the seventh game of the franchise, Perfect Cherry Blossom. However, due to the persisting issues in its punitive gameplay and the extremely linear stages, it's hard to recommend this Touhouvania to people who only love metroidvanias — for those, Touhou Luna Nights ends up as a better example of its genre.
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With an incredible audiovisual presentation, with an easily navigable interface, UsoNatsu is another visual novel that, despite being of the girls love demography, has everything to please fans of romance [stories] in general.
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Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate - Definitive Edition is a competent visual novel that mixes various gameplay elements to deliver an intriguing and immersive narrative focused on time manipulation. Even though some elements, like the wonky controls and a few visual bugs, may be a small headache in certain moments, they are easily compensated by the excellent narrative the adventure offers, making it hard to stop [playing].
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Persona 5 Tactica brings a tactical adventure rich in customization that does not leave aside the elements of the series on which it is based, with good accessibility in terms of difficulty, covering different levels of players of tactical titles. Exuding its own charisma and style, typical of the Persona subseries, Persona 5 Tactica features excellent art and sound direction, with emphasis on the dubbing that features the original voice actors reprising their roles.
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Yohane the Parhelion -Blaze in the Deepblue- has a major underutilized potential, be it as a metroidvania or as a product for Love Live! fans. From scenery and enemies that get tiresome over time to the few memorable tracks, the only strengths [of the game] end up as the 2D illustrations and the humorous dialogues dubbed by the animation's original cast. Obviously, this doesn't mean Yohane's adventure doesn't have its highlights, especially as a good entrypoint for metroidvania newcomers, but there are better titles in the market for the fans of the genre.
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Crymachina stays on the fence in many aspects, but it doesn't manage to be as bad as it seems, as long as the player keeps in mind its weak points. However, it's a mistake to regard it as a spiritual successor to Crystar, especially when it comes to battles, narrative and ambientation, but these latter two aspects, which carry the concept of the game, manage to sustain the arduous (and unbalanced) task to explore the diverse sections of the Eden spaceship.
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Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express [...] faithfully follows the book it's based and, at the same time, alters— in a very natural way, it's worth pointing out — some elements to make it an adventure worthy of being a XXI century mystery. Besides, the addition of a new character to dive into a case that, in the book, is only mentioned briefly, is a great gift for the fans of the Queen of Crime, not to mention the brand new mystery centered on Joanna Locke herself that is a postgame campaign.
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Fate/Samurai Remnant, although it is a victim of the Switch's technical performance, is another excellent RPG recently added to the console's library. With a dense narrative that lives up to Type-Moon's renowned franchise, combined with different systems that enrich the combat and exploration of a reimagined feudal Japan, we have an adventure that both regular Fate fans and newcomers can enjoy without fear.
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Fans of the Queen of Crime can once again incorporate an inexperienced Poirot in Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot - The London Case, a new story that lives up to the british writer's narrative style. Even though there are a few blunders here and there, especially [when it comes to] the performance, players looking for an excellent mystery plot will find this to be an excellent adventure able to captivate for hours on end without getting tiresome.
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In To Have and to Hold, although it again brings Yuel and Tavi as central characters, ebi-hime gave up a fictional Middle East and brought the cousins to 21st century England. This change of scenery allowed, above all, to better explore the relationship between the two cousins, in particular several aspects that shape Yuel's personality. Also, here we have a visual novel that embraces both those who have already played All Ashes and Illusions and All Idleness and Ephemera and those who are meeting the cousins for the first time. Finally, there is a better balance between sexual and other passages throughout the short duration of the campaign, even if, this time, the soundtrack is not one of the highlights.
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Sea of Stars evokes nostalgia by bringing an adventure reminiscent of 20th century RPGs to modern consoles. With a meticulously crafted audiovisual package, charismatic characters and locations and lots of lore to be explored, its simplicity makes Zale and Valere's adventure a full plate for both veterans and newcomers to the genre. Even with a few caveats here and there, this game is proof that, although there are setbacks along the way, the result can be – and a lot – worth it.
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With all the positive points of Var Commons intact, Norn9: Last Era is a package that's very rich in content, bringing explanations and perspectives that were not explored in the base game. Unfortunately, some CGs were reused on the fandisk and some parts of the narrative are more padded than they should but, for fans of visual novels, the second trip onboard the Norn is quite worth it.
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Though it brings a vast character customization, an entertaining story and the possibility to visit the same story from two different perspectives, Cross Tails doesn't manage to be a highlight in any of these aspects among RPGs, as other games in the genre managed to do everything this KEMCO title proposes better. Besides, the audiovisual presentation also leaves something to be desired despite running well on Switch. Nowadays, there are better RPG options in the market. It's not enough to show potential if it's constantly hindered by the grinding in the long run.
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With Eyes of Ice, though not exactly an otome visual novel, is an excellent narrative by ebi-hime, who did not shy away from exploring scenery and habits different from those the author is used to write. Even though Iceland's Nordic culture (especially the names) may cause some non-European players to raise their brows, the plot is solid enough to keep your interest from start to finish, especially thanks to an excellent audiovisual presentation and characterization.
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Even with some narrative cliches and elements that could have been further explored in the plot, Loopers is an extremely beautiful and competent visual novel in its audiovisual and textual aspects, and it has a wide variety of configurations to make it more comfortable for reading. It's hard not to get emotional with the story that, despite being short, resonates a lot with bits of our daily life.
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Cassette Beasts, in essence, extends the mechanics of Nintendo's IP and gives the player a wide range of customization combined with the open world concept that many games currently offer. While the audio-visual presentation might not appeal to everyone, this RPG captivates with its well-executed story and diverse elements that evoke nostalgia for the 1980s and 1990s. It's true that the Switch port deserved more polish in technical aspects, but Cassette Beasts doesn't disappoint when expanding on the mechanics introduced by Pokémon. Certainly, the game is a hit for those who like collecting and lots of fun and cute little creatures.
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"Jack Jeanne brings a simple and relatively cliche story, but it'll definitely please the fans of theatrical productions. Unfortunately, though it tries to reinvent the visual novel genre, the game is way too focused on the simulation and rhythmic elements, leaving the narrative aspect to the sidelines, something that, in my opinion, made the gameplay dull over time. Overall, the newest BROCCOLI port in the west is entertaining and handles the audiovisual presentation well with a remarkable dub and soundtrack and polished art signed by Sui Ishida, but, when weighing the pros and cons, I did not feel I was playing a visual novel.
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ghostpia Season One offers five chapters that make a complete plot. Analyzing it from a narrative standpoint, it's hard to describe this visual novel as the impact of the themes it works with will vary from player to player, but, overall, the story is satisfactory and intriguing, with the right amount of drama and comedy. The audiovisual choices are, certainly, the high point of ghostpia, though the lack of choices during the narrative and the confusing menu navigation may chase away some players who prefer more interactive visual novels. In the end, for those who like a dense and introspective reading, but well connected, here is a game that manages to hold your attention for hours without rest.
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