Displaying items by tag: Anime

Project Nimbus is an impressive effort from such a small studio, but it’s very much a work-in-progress, and it’s been that way for a somewhat long time. The gameplay is excellent – addicting enough to burn through countless hours unnoticed – but the story is lacking. The voice acting, translation, and dialogue writing do not serve this title well, though the battles carry the gameplay enough to make it worth the time. If this kind of heavy combat in a robot setting appeals to you, give it a try, and hopefully the issues will clear up by the time it’s finished.

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Despite clumsy camera work and few bugs along the way, Shiness: The Lightness Being is a delight to play. Colorful and enchanting, it’s a role-playing game that offers an engaging story with numerous cut-scenes and a combat system you’ll find entertainingly challenging. If you’re a fan of action-driven RPGs and can enjoy a good tale, and are the forgiving type comes fluidity and smoothness in gameplay, then consider the purchase.

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Faithful to the franchise, PSYCHO-PASS: Mandatory Happiness manages to involve the player into speculative science-fiction that poses fundamental questions about the human condition. While the graphics rely on still images and, at times, follow dialogue to an extent that feels tedious, the storyline creates a gripping experience on crime and mystery that leaves one pondering their own views on happiness and self-determination.

A Rose in The Twilight is a visually stunning yet straightforward puzzle-platformer with a macabre atmosphere and an adorable main character. The storyline and the dialogue tend to fall short, but with unique game mechanics and beautiful design, lovers of the genre can enjoy the delightful characters while testing their mettle on the challenging puzzles of this title.

Although it succeeds in both maintaining familiarity for fans of the genre and introducing novelty, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy fails to deliver engaging combat or efficiently introduce players to its unique mechanics. It boasts a solid and engaging story that starts with strong momentum, but suffers from distractions which ultimately hold Operation Abyss back from capitalizing on its strengths, resulting in a title that is simply good, despite clear potential to be great.

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Senran Kagura Estival Versus shows that developers (Tamsoft and Marvelous Inc) can make a title without restrictions on censorship, and pull off one of the more enjoyable games of the genre, without making me use my brain too much. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and that’s not a bad thing.

NieR: Automata contains twenty-six different endings, which inevitably incentivizes those who want to see all possible conclusions. But, the apparent lack of story, which drops off for a good while after the introductory level, is stinging, and you must have enough commitment to see past this.

Toukiden 2 is exceptionally well-made and can readily provide countless hours of entertainment for those who enjoy an action-packed hunting-style game with a sprinkling of RPG. There's ever more to unlock as you progress, granting some new feature to play with, rewarding you for making your way through the game.

With AAA Anonymous, we discuss our latest AAA game addiction, until the next one replaces it. This episode covers SQUARE Enix's PC release of NieR Automata.

Atelier Firis is a great addition and continuation to the Atelier series at large. The series may not appeal to players who prefer nearly non-stop action and combat, though if you enjoyed previous Atelier titles, there is a high chance you will come to relish Atelier Firis. The drive for pushing through the story builds slowly, but, once you reach this point, it's unlikely you'll be able to put this game down.

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Atelier Sophie offers a fantastic experience, with a refreshing motivation behind the story and the ultimate goal of the main character. Good character depth and development pairs well with a playful yet intricate alchemy crafting system to guarantee hours upon hours of great gameplay for Atelier fans and newcomers alike.

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A title that appears to have been a labor of love, but also and unfortunately, that fails to be anything more than that. For fans of visual novels and dating simulations Angels with Scaly Wings might serve to impress you, but if these aren’t a draw, then pass. The art, animation, and music leave something to be desired, while the gameplay and story line are only interesting because of the odd concept that serves as a common denominator: dating dragons.

Disagea 2 is a fantastic release that plays quite smoothly and has a tremendous amount of depth and playability to offer. Granted, the combat mechanic can seem repetitive, but there is a staggering number of classes to recruit, along with new abilities to unlock and level up, and new maps and aspects to explore. As a Prinny might say: download the demo and check it out, dood!

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One of the best virtual introductions to a new language I have ever seen. Thanks to Learn Japanese To Survive!Katakana War, one could be well on their way to learning the Japanese language while immersing themselves in a genuinely fun game.

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XenonValkyrie is a project that held many promising ideals.  It sought to be the synchronized combination of a platforming shooter, rogue-like, and Metroidvania game, but couldn't quite live up to its potential.  It had too much on its plate, and the result was a disjointed and buggy mash of disconnected aspects of many genres.  Pile that on top of balance, design, and control issues and you get a game that is unfairly difficult and lacks truly elaborate content.  Nevertheless, the game is still somewhat enjoyable, if you have a knack for the brutally challenging and are willing to invest a lot of time and tolerance to unravel what it does have to offer.

The Anime style of Criminal Girls: Invite Only may be great, but it isn't enough to consider the Steam release a worthy purchase. A video game should always be fun to play; sadly, too many oddities plague this one's progression and inhibit the strategic aspects that turned-based RPGs rely on to be considered good games.

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Heroine Anthem Zero’s strength lies in its story and depth of world. If you expect to play a masterpiece ARPG with innovative and intuitive mechanics, character level progression, and/or a high skill cap that requires regular practice, look elsewhere. But if you want an interesting, albeit sometimes by the book, story played out through captivating visuals and don’t mind the occasional moment of "ecchi," then HAZ may be the ARPG for you. Solid gameplay and appealing boss fights help carry the action between story moments, while not forcing a skill wall on the player, and the promise of more content to come help increase the value of its meager $14.99 price tag.

Cute girls in cute outfits, doing cute dances to cute songs. Deep plot lines optional, character archetypes and cash-cow milking downloadable content, required. As such is the anime idol game genre. Front Wing’s “Time Leap Paradise SUPER LIVE!” is no different. 

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Yomawari uses your sense of sight and sound to plunge you into a haunted town and an underlying story of love that you won’t want to miss. The only real question is: Are you brave enough to take on the night alone?

Unfortunately, despite quality personification, Negligee's plot and dialogue fall flat. The key to a compelling narrative is introducing problems for the characters to solve. The issues facing Negligee’s characters are painfully mundane. As a result, the plot flops without ever finding a meaningful hook. There are long stretches of stagnation while the protagonist vacillates between hesitancy and insecurity. Instead of excited, I found myself irritated and impatient, quick-clicking through conversations in the hopes of getting to the interesting parts. Sadly, by the time the game delivered, I was too bored to care.

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