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Inhuman Resources: A Literary Machination is a story worth experiencing. With choices that feel weighty, this horror story feels even more unsettling as it's made clear that you're the one taking control of the path your story takes and your actions along the way.
Rance 01 -Quest for Hikari- is a visual novel/RPG hybrid that features cute characters and a gameplay loop that doesn’t overwhelm its readers. Your progress is largely customizable and the game leaves you free to explore as much of it as you want. Additionally, as an eroge, it rewards players with sex scenes that feature excellent art from its artists, creating a feeling of working towards a particular goal. Just be careful of its randomly cruel mechanics—you might find yourself losing major progress! While it lacks an intriguing storyline, it puts most of its efforts in creating humorous dialogue that fits the overall characterization of its protagonist. The motivations, while questionable, are consistent, making the story progression feel solid and sensible. Even the way the case gets solved is pretty comedic, as if we’re just here to have a good time. Just note that Rance is the strongest warrior in the world, so he might come off as weird sometimes. Weirdly cruel, even. Oh, and keep your brain off for the story unless you want to be annoyed. If you’re a fan of visual novel RPG hybrids, then Rance 01 -Quest for Hikari- is definitely worth a pick up. With quirky characters, an irresponsible and arrogant protagonist that’s strangely charismatic for some reason, and art that makes you work for it, it’s a fun little time sink for those who want to try out the Rance series or just have a change of pace from your standard click and read visual novel. Alas, it’s not that deep… yet. Maybe in Rance 02.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is the best version of what I still feel is Monolith Soft’s best outing yet. It’s a bang-on, quintessential example of how to create a massive, alien world that is stylish and inviting. It’s packed with imagination, and its mechanics mostly come together quite seamlessly to create an overwhelming, childlike feeling that I don’t feel any game has managed to replicate since then. With the changes made to the Nintendo Switch version, I feel this more strongly than ever. It’s nothing if not a classic in my eyes. However, it’s hard to gloss over just how poor I feel the Definitive Edition’s story content is. It leads to a wonderful game ending on a sour note, to the point that I actually wind up preferring the original’s notoriously inconclusive ending. After ruminating on it, it’s hard to reconcile the Afterstory with what the rest of the game presents, and in some ways it’s Xenoblade at its worst. However, the Afterstory is only a small part of an awesome package. If you want to explore a massive world, gunning down obstacles in your big robot with sick beats, look no further.
I felt like Love, Elections, and Chocolate was overall better than the sum of its parts. It’s imperfect, but it has enough good moments and handles enough sections in interesting ways even in those imperfections. The phrase that kept coming to my mind throughout my time with this visual novel was “rough around the edges”. I could definitely feel that this was sprite’s debut into full fledged visual novels, as there are some aspects (pacing, handling conflict) that felt rough at times. Its heroines all have rough spots in their respective routes if not their personalities and character, and the melodrama can come off as overdone. Things don’t always happen the cleanest in this story, sometimes for the better, sometimes not. I can’t say I expect it to work for everyone, but there was enough here that worked for me. It’s not a story I expect fans of this genre to all agree on thanks to the rougher aspects of some of its characters, and there’s plenty which I felt could have been done better with its narrative and character dynamics. Even with its weaker aspects, however, I enjoyed my time with it enough to give it just enough of a thumbs up.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land is perhaps not what long-time Atelier fans or even those who joined with Atelier Ryza would expect, but it's an ambitious new take on the Atelier series. It does a wonderful job of creating a sense of exploration and rewarding it, which creates a fun experience. It could however improve certain aspects, particularly around systems like alchemy and how little it links to combat and gameplay, as well as by fixing technical problems. It's something new for the series and a solid base to build on and improve for future titles.
Mojika: Truth Rears Its Ugly Head is an utsuge that dabbles in the psychological tug-of-war between knowing an ugly truth and being fed beautiful lies. By presenting the characters at both their best and their worst, the visual novel manages to weave a quest for revenge centered around manipulation and violence into a story that tries to relay a message about facing the truth. It’s depressingly heavy in its content, but hopeful in what it tries to achieve. Because of the themes, however, it’s definitely not a game that will be appreciated by everyone. Tread carefully as you engage its subject matter; you might learn things that’ll make you less happy.
Tayutama -Kiss on My Deity- is a story worth experiencing and has some great moments. Unfortunately, its structure makes experiencing all of its routes less than ideal, and it would have benefitted from a more comprehensive re-release. Still, I certainly enjoyed my first read quite a lot, and the new scenes in subsequent routes were ones I enjoyed.
Hentai Prison is a comedy visual novel with noir elements that makes use of the prison setting to create an unfamiliar feeling of tension amidst motifs of sex that are familiar sights to fans of the genre. The way it presents the characters as people with varying levels of sexual degeneracy pays great service to establishing how commonplace the interest in sex is even amongst the general populace, a topic that’s well-discussed in both community websites and academic papers. While generally light in tone, the visual novel gleans inspiration from prison stories and turns the game into a well-communicated message about our relationship with sex. Although having incredibly convenient plot devices at times, Hentai Prison shines as a great read for people interested in a long read about self-discovery in the weirdest places. I recommend picking it up not only because of its novelty but also because of what messages its stories try to tell. It makes sense for something so heartfelt to come from an exhibitionist—we’re the most vulnerable when we’re naked, after all!
The King of Fighters XIII Global Match should be the definitive way to play one of the best fighting games ever made, and unfortunately, it’s not in the shape it should be. It’s certainly not what I'd want anyone's first impression of King of Fighters XIII or SNK to be. If you don’t already own The King of Fighters XIII Steam Edition, then this is the only version you can now buy. I would still say if you don’t own the Steam Edition but are curious about the game, there is an amazing offline game here (CPU usage permitting) that you can take on. If like me you already owned the Steam Edition, there is currently no incentive to jump in and make the upgrade. I do hope the developers are hard at work with a patch to turn this around as I’m itching to play more, but currently, as a supposed upgrade for improved online experience, this more than misses the mark.
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is a great game, if one that doesn’t live up to those that came before it. It’s the same as several of its predecessors in many ways and can be incredibly fun at times as a result, but it falls down on certain new or unique elements. If you enjoyed Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth for their gameplay or want to see what happens after the events of those stories, then you’ll likely enjoy this.
All The Words She Wrote is a short, slow, and sweet yuri romance, with a particularly fun dynamic between a cheerful fan and a misanthropic author. While it feels like it could've done a little more post-climax, the build-up to it was particularly good. It's worth the read.
X-Out Resurfaced is a bizarre proposition. There isn’t anything particularly bad about the game, nor is there anything amazingly standout aside from the soundtrack or the opening cinematic, leaving it as little more to me than just a curiosity. I enjoyed my time with the game (and even more when I found out you can have more than one life), but I genuinely don’t think I’ll be returning to this one again due to it lacking much in the way of outstanding qualities. It’s a pick for inquisitive fans of the genre, but unless you’re starved for something to play or just HAVE to have every Shmup on the market, there isn’t much here with X-Out that you can’t get elsewhere with less bloom.
Destiny Star Girlfriend 3 is my favorite of the three titles. It has plenty of comedic moments, but what makes it special is how it handles the plot, especially in how the characters grow closer and the events toward the end. Adding this to plenty of sweet romantic moments and shows of friendship made this quiet heroine’s story stand out even more than the over-the-top Yuuri from the first title, at least to me.
Warriors: Abyss was a pleasant surprise, particularly for its price point. There are perhaps some tweaks that could be made to the formula, but it nicely implements the roguelite gameplay with hack 'n' slash, creating a fun experience, if a touch repetitive as is common with Warriors games. It's one I enjoyed and a nice one to dip into for 30 minutes here and there. The only danger is it creates that 'one more turn' feeling, and 30 minutes soon turns into 3 hours.
Under Defeat is a fine example of how when a good port is produced it can make a world of difference. I had this game on PS3 and it made such a little impression that I was apprehensive to cover it, but I am so glad I did. Clear River Games have absolutely knocked this game out of the park with all the available content and the clean-up job they have done, turning what was originally a “meh” game in my eyes into a top-tier shmup. It’s a hardcore shmup through and through, but with various control schemes, outstanding soundtracks, and various ways to play it through I’m absolutely in love with this title and would feverishly suggest that any fans of the genre pick this version up. It’s not only the definitive way to play the game but in my mind, the only way the game should be played. Bravo Clear River Games and City Connection for bringing this once dull gem out as a blinding diamond in the shmup genre.
Geminism is a visual novel that takes what's considered a normal, everyday life and shoves a healthy amount of absurdity into it. By putting a pair of twins in the center of the story, it introduces a fresh and exciting twist into the relationships surrounding your typical battle-filled story. While linear in nature, it maximizes its storyline by making use of two parallel perspectives that inevitably intersect in a ridiculous ritual for a chance at achieving normalcy. While engaging as a read, the potential for an incredibly impactful ending fails to be realized due to what feels like missed timings and rushed pacing near the ending. The characters do not feel convincing in their motivations until near the end, resulting in a lack of general investment early on that's important for establishing a rewarding payoff. Despite this, Geminism is still very good at what it does well, incorporating dynamic visuals and sounds in an entertainingly fun yet violent narrative. CRAFTWORK did a great job with it as their return title, and I am very much looking forward to their next releases. If you're looking for an action-packed visual novel that's exciting yet wholesome despite being vividly violent, go for Geminism. With its unique art direction, well-utilized soundtrack, and overall fun demeanor, it's an experience that's both cruel yet full of love.
Criminal Border 3rd Offence delivers beautifully on the tension built up in the first two episodes. It offers a thrilling, impactful narrative experience with a unique visual style and lays the stage for an explosive finale in Criminal Border Life Sentence. I continue to be impressed by the quality delivered by Purple Software, and I can’t wait to see this story through to its conclusion.
I’ve no doubt The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II may be a somewhat contentious entry depending on what peoples’ expectations are and what they play these games for. Still, even though I found it generally easier than its predecessor, I had fun the whole time playing it. The core gameplay mechanics are fun to play around with, and the cast of delightful characters and their dialogue and relationships make for a sweet treat. This series has had trouble reckoning with the consequences of its escalating stake, and alas Daybreak II is something of an odd entry that does little to fix any of this while also having its share of problems of its own. Nonetheless, taken as its own game, it has enough marginal improvements in certain areas and some interesting concepts brought forth that I still probably liked it a sliver more than the first Daybreak overall, which was already its own pretty fun (if uneven) experience.
Yes, Ninja Gaiden is well and truly back. Despite a few frustrations with the game not being as faithful as it could have been to the original Ninja Gaiden II, Ninja Gaiden II Black is still about as good as action games tend to get. A glorious facelift makes combat hit even harder, and some subtle but smart adjustments to balance and boss arrangements make it more exciting and less frustrating than its Sigma 2 counterpart. If you’ve heard of Ninja Gaiden but don’t know where to start, let it be here. You simply haven’t lived until you’ve Izuna Dropped an enemy’s head clean off. The original Ninja Gaiden Black is my favorite action game ever made, and I’m happy to say its sequel mostly manages to live up.
MACROSS -Shooting Insight- has some great ideas and a nice mix of gameplay, but parts of it are very poorly implemented. It has tons of bonus content to unlock and more to do than many other shoot 'em ups, while simultaneously seeming to skimp in certain other areas. If you happen to be a Macross fan who is very good at the genre and doesn't mind some iffy mechanics, this might be for you. Otherwise, it's fun to play around with, see some of the unique ideas, and to experience the story, but that's it.