There is a reason to buy Dark Rose Valkyrie. Play it so that you can see the investigation segments, put that system into your own game and create the world’s next Danganronpa.
There is a game based on this same part of history that you can buy that lets you move around a big map, fighting enemies, building armies and doing everything that Dynasty Warriors 9 tries to do but better. It was called ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIII’ and it came out two years ago and was made by the same company. Do yourself a favour and buy that instead.
Certainly the most fun Senran Kagura game available in English but there are too many other games that do not come with Estival Versus' negatives to warrant recommending it, unless you really want the video game equivalent of watching a raunchy anime while it is still censored for TV.
While Tokyo Twilight Ghost Hunters Daybreak Special Gigs does a lot right, it really does have too many negatives to warrant a total recommendation. It is a game that would be used to fill in a dry spell between other similar urban fantasy games, and it is certainly a unique experience once you actually teach yourself how to play it.
Touhou Genso Wanderer is still easily the best ‘Mystery Dungeon’ style game you can buy in English right now with a far better combat system and a great sense of humour. It is just sad that the game seems to take every opportunity to stop you from getting to that fun, by either making movement far more complicated than it needs to be to unusual localisation decisions. These are things that just get in the way of a game that has been released at an incredibly competitive time of the year. With loads of other games also coming out that will be demanding attention, Touhou Genso Wanderer needed a bit more polish than it got to stand out.
Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel is a must-have if you are a fan of Nitroplus which should be a great deal of people. But anyone else is likely to find the game offering far too little to be worth buying on release.
Yakuza Kiwami has really brought me back into loving the Yakuza series again by remaking the very game that made me drop it. Now that is exactly what a remake should do. Now I’m really looking forward to the sixth game and the remake of the second. In the meantime, I shall catch up on all that I have missed.
BlazBlue takes some hits due to a sloppy end to some of its story threads and the ever-present patriarchy that cripples all potentially perfect examples of pop culture, but other than that, you will not find a better fighting game anywhere else on this planet. We are officially on the Blue standard.
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 is worth the purchase as DLC if you already own and like Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator. But in a niche market that is getting a bit crowded, I cannot recommend it be at the top of your list. Only when compared to fighting game releases of this year does it come out on top and that will not be for long.
An immediate sell to most 2D fighting game buffs, the developer French Bread has a great reputation going in. Combined with their relationship to Type-Moon this may be a gateway to pull in a new audience. With the fluidity and freedom during gameplay Under Night In-Birth EXE:Late goes further to improve the 2D fighting game genre and with the addition of the GRD mechanic, skill is very much rewarded. While the game may not be the most user-friendly for newcomers to the genre, it certainly deserves a look.
The score has to take a hit from how much of a chore fighting the computer is and some bad English localisation choices. Other than that, there is truly nothing else out there like Touhou Genso Rondo and it is a fantastic addition to any collection and a must-buy if you are a Touhou fan who has been waiting for seemingly impossible official English releases.
While this is the definitive Hakuoki experience, it is also the most complicated one. Best to be something that you pick up if you really love the otome games. If you do, then there are no other games out on the vita at the moment that offer you this much. Both in the scale of the story and even more so in the choice of romance options.
Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] is a solid addition to the previous game and just as fun to play. If you missed Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late when it came out, you really owe it to yourself to give this a try over the more extortionate fighting games.
Indeed, Dancing All Night is at its best when it is celebrating everything that was positive about Persona 4. Especially in story mode where there is a lot of time for each character to show off what made them so loveable. A solid move, as only people who care about Persona 4 will buy Dancing All Night to see high polygon models of their favourite costumes from other games… dancing to a house remix of the dungeon selection music.