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Affordable and gorgeous, there’s no real reason why fans of NEKOPARA shouldn’t pick up NEKOPARA After. Featuring the same cast of cute catgirls with their familiar shenanigans, it reinforces its already successful formula of high-quality visual assets by making good use of the e-mote system to provide a reading experience that is both heartwarming and pleasing to the eyes. Just be careful of suddenly diving into the experience. The water level on the beach is pretty shallow and is only really going to appeal to people who want a little extra time with their favorite catgirls and to see Shigure finally have her moment, even if it isn't as well done as it could have been.
While Perennial Dusk -Kinsenka- has an interesting setting and memorable story, they’re too deeply buried under terrible writing for me to be able to recommend it.
With copious amounts of special effects and a plot that relays the protagonists' struggles to the readers really well, The Pillagers of Raillore is a fantasy adventure that's sure to both excite and make you feel sentimental with what its story has to offer. Although it falls a bit short in terms of maximizing the potential of its setting, the dialogue and events are still plenty of fun for a fan of the genre. It has an electrifying atmosphere, unexpected twists and turns, and heartfelt emotions. There are a lot of sights to take in, so go ahead and schedule your own visit to this fantastical city!
Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour won't be for everyone or even most people, but it is very good at what it sets out to do. It nicely shows off all the features of the new console, includes some entertaining gameplay, and is surprisingly informative about how the technology behind it all works. If nothing else, it gives a hint of how future games may use some of these new features.
Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma is the most fun I’ve had with a Rune Factory title yet. It’s certainly not perfect with quite a few little issues holding it back, but the core experience is so fun that it didn’t stop me from enjoying every moment. There’s just so much to enjoy here that it makes it easy to recommend.
Yoru ga Kuru! -Square of the Moon- Remastered is a visual novel with RPG elements featuring a group of students as they fight against those who want to create an unending night. Simple and straight to the point, it employs consistent themes of hopes and dreams to create a story that is fantastically but relatable. With remastered assets and accessible features, it makes an attempt to appeal to audiences both young and old by reconciling its slow-paced retro gameplay with a faster progression system but falls short of effectively balancing the early game experience around its new tempo. Although clear in what it wants to establish as a story, Yoru ga Kuru! feels like it lacks slightly in character impact due to the minimal buildup of tension in the story. While its various character arcs have clear conflicts that head towards their own resolutions, it hardly feels like a proper payoff because of how short their spotlights are. The way they structured the spread and concentration of important, relevant story events taking place within only a few in-game months undermined the game's potential by withholding opportunities for the reader to become invested in the cast early on in a playthrough. As a visual novel with gameplay elements, Yoru ga Kuru! -Square of the Moon- Remastered is able to put its own spin on the classic RPG formula without being too overwhelming for players not used to the genre. Despite its flaws, it’s a pretty solid game as long as you take the time to tailor it to your own preferences. If you're a visual novel fan looking for something to shake up the monotony of clicking through dialogue, Yoru ga Kuru! isn't a bad pickup. Just make sure you're not looking for a title that'll change your life.
If a slow-life JRPG and a lighthearted fantasy are your sort of game, FANTASY LIFE i: The Girl Who Steals Time would certainly be a title to pick up. Spend your time gathering, crafting, or taking down enemies, or search out new friends and make your island look great. There's plenty to explore here and you'll have a great time doing so.
There’s a share of good and bad to Saeko: Giantess Dating Sim. It’s certainly one of the more unique horror experiences I’ve experienced, enough that the novelty alone makes it worth consideration even if you aren’t inclined towards the particular kink this game ostensibly is marketed towards. It left me with enough moments to kind of dwell on thinking about how I would respond to this situation. The fact that much of the cast really doesn’t come out at the end of this story looking like a good person might not be for everyone, but it gives it a fairly believable side. The first ending I got was unsettling in a way that was genuinely interesting, one which worked particularly well given what all you do in this game. At the same time, it can be a somewhat tedious experience to play given all the repetition. Though I wouldn’t call it quite an “ironic dating sim” despite it using the genre for means beyond conventional romance, the “dating sim” side of things can feel somewhat more burdensome rather than the neat little twist on the genre it perhaps could have made for. This game offers a memorable experience, though a noticeably flawed one in part due to the relatively small package this giantess dating sim comes in that keeps it from reaching its full potential.
Mixing entertaining moments with friends, romance with some lovable heroines, and an engaging mystery to unveil, Happiness! Sakura Celebration is an interesting read. I particularly enjoyed how it used the route structure to reveal different aspects of the plot, building it up as you enjoyed the romance with different heroines. There are a few weaker areas and it won't be for anyone who has an aversion to incestuous routes, but I felt it was well worth the read.
Doom: The Dark Ages was a personally divisive title, and I can imagine some people will not stick with it long enough for it to experience the best of it. It feels completely different from the previous games in both good and bad ways. The game was already released under a dark cloud, but looking back after the credits hit, I had a lot of fun with the game. It just took far too long to show me how fun it could be. You’ll rip and tear until it’s done, you’ll plod along at some places, and go face-meltingly fast through some combat encounters, but at the end of the day you’ll still be playing one of the best modern boomer shooters to date. It seems every third Doom is born to be controversial but Doom: The Dark Ages just grabs the devil by the horns and kicks all kinds of ass…eventually.
Capcom Fighting Collection 2 is yet another fantastic collection of Capcom fighting games. The selection is a little more mixed in terms of overall quality, but I feel this collection especially has more of “something for everybody” than the previous two. This is an absolute must-buy for fans of classic fighting games. It may be slightly lacking in the stronger single-player content, especially compared to newer fighting games, but between the charm of titles like Power Stone and Project Justice and the intense action of Capcom vs SNK 1 and 2, you’ll lose just as many hours as you would credits in the arcade.
Putrika 1st.cut:The Reason She Must Perish is a gripping drama with forbidden love, religious themes, and mounting tension. While quite dark at times, this is made manageable by the occasional romantic or lighthearted moments which are much appreciated. It's a short story, and worth the few hours you'll spend with it.
Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics is the victim of having an unbalanced game selection. There are the two standout titles of River City Renegade and Super Dodgeball which are fantastic, but I wouldn’t say those two alone are worth the asking price. The rest of the games are more curiosities rather than must-plays, though I am still excited to play more baseball. Sadly, Super Technos World: River City & Technos Arcade Classics is the weakest of the collections from Arc System Works for the Technos titles. There is fun to be had here, especially if you can grab someone locally or convince a friend to pick the game up to play online, but otherwise, it may be worth looking into some of the other re-releases that have come out over the last few years.
Pocket Bravery is a fantastic homage to the art of ‘90s fighting games. It nails the fun factor and the sheer amount of content the games used to offer before online play was an option, while doing a fantastic job of replicating the fun of classic NeoGeo Pocket Color titles. This is certainly a title I would suggest any budding brawler puts the cash down on. I will say this likely doesn’t have the strongest player count on any format so if you are picking this up purely for online multiplayer you may be better off spending your money elsewhere, especially since the performance issues on the Nintendo Switch version make that version less than ideal. But all in all Pocket Bravery is a damn fine time aimed at a fighting game playerbase who are already eating quite well at the moment.
Real Anime Situation! DT has its moments, especially when it comes to the comedic interactions between the heroines. It just fails to stand out in most other ways. It's a decent eroge and perhaps some people will like the heroines or situations created more than I did, but unlike Real Anime Situation! 2, I think this one is destined for the bargain bin.
Gal Guardians: Servants of the Dark is a solid improvement over its predecessor, which I already thought was good. Previous frustrations are mitigated thanks to the shift from pure platformer to Metroidvania, while keeping and improving what worked before. That said, it definitely suffers from just not being a very elegantly made Metroidvania. The best of its genre are lifted by a layer of artistry and cleverness that I feel this game decidedly lacks, which is disappointing when I feel it still gets plenty right. It's not the best you’ll ever play, but I’d recommend it quite easily.
Rance 03 - The Fall of Leazas is a visual novel RPG hybrid that features characters from the Rance series, both new and old, thrust into an epic war setting full of action and cruelty. While it retains its signature Rance style of humor, it explores a larger dynamic between characters and groups as it expands the scope of the game to an international conflict. It brings a fresh breath of air to the brutal Rance’s adventures and serves as a great starting point for a possible shift in tone for the overall series plot going forward. By using multiple character perspectives, Rance 03 is able to introduce a number of character motivations that feed into the overall world setting, giving incentive for readers to become invested in the series’ lore. Additionally, the gameplay loop is rewarding to engage with, providing a sense of success through either adult-oriented rewards or overcoming difficult situations due to limitations introduced in the current battle system’s iteration. In simple terms, it’s a lot of fun to play. The catch, however, is that you need to play the previous two games in the series to fully appreciate what the game has to offer. If you’re a fan of visual novels with gameplay and you don't have any issues with the more dubious aspects of the main character, definitely try out Rance 03 - The Fall of Leazas. With an impressive cast of characters, an expanded setting, and fun gameplay, you’ll be burning away your free time without even noticing it. Moreover, even with the added focus on other characters, they still largely retain the unique combination of charisma and cruelty that Rance has, which fans of the series will definitely appreciate. It’s an installment that both lighthearted readers and those who like reading deep into the text can enjoy themselves in. Just keep in mind that you’ll be seeing a lot of cute girls cry; that’s Rance’s style.
So has SNK learned from their previous games and made Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves a game worthy of the mighty Lone Wolves of Southtown? The answer to that is a resounding yes. In my humble opinion, this is the finest SNK game since King of Fighters XIII and does the legacy of Fatal Fury/Garou proud. It looks amazing, the new systems feel completely natural, it has an excellent flow to the matches, the roster is well balanced, and the free Season 1 DLC featuring Chun-Li and Ken Masters from Street Fighter are just a nice sweetener for that. The game just feels so good to play and string moves together that I can just see people getting hooked by it. As a fighter, it feels like the perfect combo of modern gaming and arcade gaming. For a casual gamer, I still believe there is a healthy amount of content here to grip and perhaps be your gateway game into the genre. This is the highest bar and likely the best game to convert anyone over to the series. The admittedly somewhat confusing marketing will undoubtedly create some curiosity in some gamers interested in its real life guest characters, but I expect them to stay for not only the best alternative to Street Fighter 6, Tekken 8 and Mortal Kombat 1, but for the game that has the best chance of winning the bout and becoming King of the Mountain.
If you liked Rance 01, then you’ll like Rance 02 as well. It’s the same silly protagonist inflicting trauma on innocent people he comes across, yet retaining a sort of charisma to him that makes you want to keep watching his adventures. Although technically less enjoyable compared to its predecessor by virtue of release date and relative quality, the experience is rather rewarding in terms of how many CGs you get out of it in a short span of time. Fans of point and click adventure games will have a nostalgic experience playing it as it retains the same old features. As long as you enjoy it as what it is—a silly story, then you’re bound to have a good time.
Strictly as a collection, the Lunar Remastered Collection is an excellent package. You have both games of a classic yet hard-to-obtain duology in a single, highly accessible collection. There are enough touch-ups to account for the different sensibilities of all kinds of JRPG fans around today. The fact that there are Classic and Remastered options which can even share save files is an especially nice treat. Still, the core of each game is kept gracefully intact from their PS1 counterparts. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Lunar 1 and 2 don’t offer particularly deep games in their systems and their stories are a bit on the simple and straightforward side. While this lowers the upper ceiling of the games for me, they have a high enough floor that I still enjoyed my playthrough plenty. They also make up for their simplicity with a charming and engrossing world and interconnected narrative between the games, while having some fun characters and dialogue. This collection serves as an excellent way to experience these fan-favorite RPGs, whether it be for the first time or just a trip down memory lane.