Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed Reviews
Between lackluster combat, outdated graphics and the horrendous stripping mechanic, it's very hard to think of a reason to recommend Akiba's Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed.
I really enjoyed AKIBA'S TRIP: Undead and Undressed which was released on Vita and PS4 before this. Sadly I cannot say the same for AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed, which despite being much "newer" is pretty much a bare-bones remaster of an older game that's aged like bread. While it's not the worst game to have Akiba in the title (see: Akiba's Beat), it's very hard to suggest anyone other than die-hard fans of the series even consider this one. It's dated and repetitive with a little bit of charm, but it's sadly outdone by the previous release. If you haven’t played that already, just go straight to it or watch the anime.
I was looking forward to playing Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed, but it’s just a bit too clunky and dated in design to really enjoy. I was a fan of the narrative and how weird it gets, but everything else about the game just felt unsatisfying and not a lot of fun to play. With the awkward combat, poor visuals, and technical issues, it really is difficult to recommend the game. To Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed’s defence, it did start life as a PSP game. However, with so many better remastered titles releasing these days, there’s no excuse for it not to have made some refinements to make the game more fun to play. It’s certainly not the worst game I’ve ever played, but it’s hard not to see Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed as anything other than a disappointment.
There are reasons people might be happy about Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed. It’s a win for folks who enjoy the series, as they’ll finally get to play the one that started it all. Those who appreciate obscure games getting a release outside of Japan might be pleased to see it show up worldwide. Not to mention it helps with game preservation efforts, as this is a PlayStation Portable title being “rescued.” I’m glad people who want it have a chance to play it. But it’s a big step back from Akiba’s Trip: Undead & Undressed and incredibly frustrating.
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.
Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is a remaster of the original Akiba's Trip. However, its Western debut leaves a lot to be desired.
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 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.
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.
I can’t imagine anyone so desperate for content that they would find value in this only marginally improved ten-year-old game. Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is and has always been, awful and no HD remaster will fix its terrible story, lackluster combat, primitive graphics, and creepy tone. Some games are broken or bad in a kind of fun way, but Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed isn’t broken, it’s just bad and decidedly, aggressively not fun at all.
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 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
The idea behind AKIBA'S TRIP is delicious and fun, but if in 2011 the product could work despite all its shortcomings and the limitations imposed by the PSP hardware, the same cannot be said for its reissue. The one made by Acquire is in fact a remastered only in name, it is no coincidence that the product has preserved all its historical technical problems, such as the mismanagement of the camera, the inaccurate pointing system, the very slow response times of the commands, the cumbersome animations, and so on.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound and Debriefed is a rough game all-around.
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.
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.
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.
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
Akiba’s Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed isn’t the best brawler around and has limited fan service but a solid storyline and witty dialogue make it an addicting one nonetheless.
I did enjoy my time with this game, but it did not age well at all. This is more of an HD remaster than it feels like an HD remake.