Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed Reviews
If you just judge by the graphics, it feels very outdated. But the idea of it all is pretty decent as it focuses on the geographical location of ‘Akihabara’ and the stories based around it. Although the entire run is roughly around 8 hours, so the hype dies down quite sooner than you think. Play through multiple side missions and try to unlock all the various endings to stretch that play time longer. There are several factors that may not be fulfilling, but if you’ve never been to Akihabara before, while it’s not the best time to physically travel the world, this digital version of Akihabara may ease your urge and your otaku spirit can rest with this game... for now.
Review in Korean | Read full review
"AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed" is an old game that was released on PSP, but it is acceptable that it has a unique B-class sensibility and material that captivates otaku.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is a remaster of the original Akiba's Trip. However, its Western debut leaves a lot to be desired.
I appreciate Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed for spawning a sequel that I fondly remember. I just have an extremely hard time overlooking so many glaring problems that were glossed over to repackage and sell it in this state. Unless you really loved Undead & Undressed or just don't want a hole in your collection, this is one to pick up on sale.
Between lackluster combat, outdated graphics and the horrendous stripping mechanic, it's very hard to think of a reason to recommend Akiba's Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed.
There's a fair amount of side-quest stuff to do such as playing mini-games in the maid café or helping out locals with their problems, although none of it is particularly innovative or memorable. There are also loads of different quirky weapons and hundreds of different clothing options to collect. Roaming around Akihabara while wielding a keyboard and wearing a Gundam cosplay made out of cardboard boxes is kinda fun, despite how average the game is overall.
Ultimately, it’s hard to recommend Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed to anyone but the most ardent of action RPG fans with a taste for Otaku culture. While its premise is genuinely interesting, as are the storylines that stem from it, the dated visuals and archaic combat will be big hurdles to overcome for most. For those who can see and work past them, however, there’s some fun to be had, albeit littered with some frustration. It’s just a shame that more hasn’t been done to bring this game up to today’s standards.
Hellbound & Undressed has elements fans will enjoy, and if you dig, you can find quirky and interesting things here, but if it catches you having too much fun, be prepared to have that stripped from you like a finely quaffed set of Shadow Soul clothes. This game is a constant chore to enjoy and should be reserved for the folks that really want to see where the series began.
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed will be reviled by many people for its dumb premise, but its perverted combat system isn’t even what’s most egregious about it. It’s an underwhelming remaster of a PSP game that doesn’t look nor perform much better than its 2011 counterpart, which was already an underwhelming technical achievement at the time.
The mechanics have not aged well, the story rarely gets passed 'eye rolling,' and combat is frustratingly repetitive. From my understanding, there are many quality of life improvements that have occurred in later entries into the series but this remastered version keeps it faithful to the original, warts and all. Strip away the Akihabara charm, and there's not much left to enjoy.
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is a lot of fun, but it also leaves something to be desired given the fact that we’ve had its sequel for almost a decade at this point. If you’ve never gotten into the series and want to start, or are like me and love Undead & Undressed so much that you just want to know what came before it, then Hellbound & Debriefed is absolutely worth your time. It’s a charming title with a good amount of replayability, and gameplay that, in all likelihood, you probably won’t find anywhere else. Do be warned, however, that its age is showing at this point.
I didn't really expect the series first entry that originated on PSP to be "better" than the successor that was released in the west on PS3 and PS4 already. What I didn't expect though was an experience this frustrating and shallow. I wouldn't really have needed this remaster of the original title.
Review in German | Read full review
Despite being a very simple HD re-release of the PSP original game, AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed has as much charm, lewd narrative, and addictive gameplay as its superior sequel. Once you get stuck into the game you’ll begin to overlook the fuzzy assets and simplified gameplay, becoming enthralled by the comedic writing, addictive stripping combat, many side missions, and questionable dialogue. There’s lots of replayability due to multiple paths, endings, and characters, with a massive list of tasks to complete, not to mention the insanely difficult ‘Holic’ mode. AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed may not be a looker in terms of modern JRPGs, and I may prefer the sequel over this original game, but I’m glad that we finally got a chance to play it in English officially on modern consoles. If you enjoyed Undead & Undressed then you’ll enjoy this one too, as long as you can look past the very low-quality visuals.
Most of the time, though, it’s like playing a stripped-down version of Yakuza. You wander a Japanese neighborhood, shop, do side-quests, build up your character, much like in that venerated series. But then the combat sucks and the story is poorly paced. On the other hand, I can’t deny it grew on me. It feels like one of those janky, Japanese, early PS2 titles like Mr. Mosquito or Robot Alchemic Drive. It might not be the most fun to play, but it’s unique enough to captivate.
Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is a fun and even impressive title considering its origins, but one that needed more of a remake than a remaster.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Before beginning to play Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed, plans to write a screed defending the game while poking fun at the pure stupidity of the gameplay were already in motion.
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed is a rough game all-around.
Akiba's Trip isn't necessarily a bad game, but it's not that good either. The experience is simply not good and goes beyond thematic constraint and technical precariousness. Perhaps it works better on Switch, considering its potential as a portable system.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Akiba's Trip is a poor attempt at creating a tantalizing video game, and it's only the strength of its humor and writing that makes it even worth a look. This is actually the first official English localization of the original Akiba's Trip, though after spending time with it in 2021, it's a mystery why anyone wanted to remaster it in the first place.