DragYn の最近のレビュー

Monkia is my waifu, sorry Amane from the Grisaia series, you've been replaced!

by force . . .

In all seriousness, if you like a touching story (and can forgive a little over-the-top melodrama), give Lucy a chance. I got it on sale, and it was well worth the $5. Nice production values including gorgeous sprites, beautiful (and plentiful) CGs, some voice over work (Lucy is the only one with VOs, albeit not in English) and excellent sound design.

Has in game achievements as well, though they aren't actual Steam achievements.

Do you enjoy VNs at all? Buy it.
Do you like long and branching stories? Buy it.
Do you like "horror"? Buy it.
Do you want high production value with full voices and animated sprites? Buy It.

The Letter is - quite simply - amazeballs. At least, I think so. Some notes about my experiences with the game thus far (I've finished it 3 times, and have plans for a couple more as I barely have 60% of the achievements) to follow:

1. From a gameplay standpoint, it's relatively basic VN-type stuff. Dialogue in a box at the bottom of the screen, you read it, and move on to the next. All of the characters (including you) are fully voiced, with the exception of internal monologues and thoughts. Also, the sprites are animated and quite pretty to look at. Where I feel The Letter sets itself apart is the branching storylines.

To begin, you play 7 different chapters, each from a different character's perspective. Your choices in dialogue (and whether they live or die)carries over from one to the next, so a simple choice in Chapter 1 can have far reaching repercussions all the way in Chapter 7. I both love this, and it drives me insane. If you are a completionist, this one may take awhile - especially without a guide. My first playthrough, I had one person in a coma, one die, and the rest live. Then I tried one where everyone lives, and one where everyone dies. Somehow, I managed to screw up that last one and one person still lived. Some are much easier to kill than others! There's also a relationship system, where dialogue choices increase or decrease their ties to one another. This can mostly affect the Epilogues and the endings individuals and pairs receive.

2. The story itself. While the "horror" elements are relatively soft, there is a solid "creepy" vibe to much of the game. There are a few mild jumpscares, but nothing too intense. In fact, I think the strongest of these is actually the first time you click new game from the menu. Other than that, the ghost's image and sound design are spot on. My only real complaint is that there are times when the story feels like it stalls out a little with an over-lengthy internal struggle. CGs are well placed and are more interactive.

3. QTEs. While I understand the desire to add "gameplay" to a VN, these feel unnecessary and at times, frustrating to me. Thankfully, you are able to skip them (though you'll miss out on a few achievements). There are also settings to make them easy (though the number mashing one in the elevator with Ash is still annoying).

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of as I hastily type this out. I simply wanted to make sure I gave my thumbs up review for the game. I've spent almost 40 hours in this VN and I'm sure I have at least 10 more to go. This rivals The Fruit of Grisaia as my favorite VN, and I think people should know about this gem.

Proof that you don't need dialogue to tell a compelling and emotional story.

Yes, there's very little "gameplay".
Yes, it's essentially RPGMaker graphics.
Yes, it's heart warming.

It took me a little over an hour to complete the experience and the story. My advice? If you're going to play it, do it in one sitting. It's more akin to watching a short movie than playing a game.

The Fruit of Grisaia was my introduction into high-quality, high-production value VNs. I abso-freaking-lutely loved it. I'm still finishing a couple of the routes, but after a solid 50+ hours into that game, I can say without a doubt I recommend it.

Now, what does that have to do with this game? Essentially, Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru MIchiru Part 1 (from now on, IMGCCMP1) is an alternate-world, kind of spin-off story using the characters from The Fruit of Grisaia (and it's 2 sequels). This time, we focus on the bottle-blonde psuedo-tsundere Michiru and her ridiculous antics.

Minor spoilers:She dies, gets revived by a magical cat, and embarks on a mission to seal the Sevens Chaos (which are essentialy the 7 deadly sins) to grant her one wish of becoming a pop idol - and coincidentally save the world

I highly recommend at least reading through The Fruit of Grisaia so you at least know who the characters are. That's not to say you can't enjoy this VN without it, but there are lots of little inside jokes and over-the-top personality quirks that get explored in this one.

It's extremely silly, briefly heart warming, and thoroughly entertaining. I actually, legitmately LOL'd several times per episode.

The sprites are equal quality to the other Grisaia games, with animated opening and closing movies (plus a magical costume change movie). Gorgeous CGs abound, and there are galleries for those, the music, the movies, and scene replays.

As for the format, this is Part 1 only, and there is another. Part 1 consists of 7 episodes, each somewhere in the 30-45 minute range each (if you read fairly quickly). The entire Part 1 took me just over 5 hours to complete, and it was time well spent.

While $20 is a lot for 5 hours, the game is currently in a Humble Bundle, and is certainly worth grabbing on a sale. If you're a die-hard Grisaia fan (and for some reason don't already own this), I'd say pick it up at any discount.

Recommend or not . . . Recommend or not . . . Hmm . . .

Even as I type my review, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this game. Did I enjoy playing it? Yes. Well, mostly. Perhaps the tried-and-true Pro's and Con's list is the way to go. Then we'll see where we land.

So first, the positives:

The art is pretty. The backgrounds are vibrant and colorful. The sprites themselves are beautiful, and the women are certainly attractive. CGs are plentiful - especially given the length of the game. There's obvious care and effort put into the artwork, but is that really enough?

If you like Yuri, that's basically the whole plot. Pumpkin is in love with her boss and wants to sleep with her. That's essentially it. I mean, there are some minor details in how we get to that point, but let's be honest; once you realize that's the objective, that's all most of us (guys) will care about. Let's make it happen!

On the negative, the story is insanely short. I was able to complete all the achievements in a little over an hour. I'm a fast reader, but even still. Many of them are for random choices in the middle of the game, so in essence there are actually only 4, or perhaps 5, endings. And one of those can be reached in 5-10 minutes.

The translation is . . . wonky. It's certainly not the worst I've ever played/read, but the grammar, verb tense, etc. is all over the place. Now, I've had games with horrible english be almost a positive for me (check out my review for Super Star). But this is in that gray area. It's bad enough that it's distracting to me, but not so far off that it's adorable. If you're reading this VN in Russian, this obviously won't apply to you.

In the end, I feel as though the playtime and general blandness of the story are enough to have me tell you to hold off on this one. At $4, I'm not sure it's worth the money. In a bundle, on a 75% sale, or received as a gift? Absolutely worth a playthrough. But just the once when you have an hour or so to kill. And you want to see green and purple nakedness.

P.S. In the game, hit TAB then type the word 'code' to unlock the nudity options. It's not exactly vital or game changing, but I mean . . . boobs . . . so . . . yeah. Might as well look at them.

Recommended? Yes, definite thumbs up from me.

True Fear: Forsaken Souls is part 1 of a (planned) trilogy of HOG-style adventure games. I refer to it as "HOG-style" because the HOG scenes are less hunt and click random items, and more of a chain of cause and effect. You need a piece of tape to fix a wire that gives power to a light that shows a code that you need for a safe etc etc etc - all within the same small scene. The first one of these puzzles took me back a bit, and I was almost disappointed. But, as I progressed, these puzzles felt a bit more logical and natural vs your standard fare.

The rest of the game is pretty standard static-scene adventure gaming. The puzzles were generally logical and the use of the map function made hopping from room to room easy. I did get stuck a couple times, but it was mostly due to my own idiocy in missing something very basic.

The setting is creepy and dark, but not overtly frightening. A run down house (actually, 2) with a cemetary in the basement and an abandoned asylum (bonus chapter) make up the locations. Typically, the scenes/rooms are fairly static, with some mild animations like bugs skittering across the wall, or lights flickering. But interspersed throughout the story are short cinematic scenes (again, fairly typical - though decent quality) that added to the horror element. It is in these that a few jump scares and PG gore would occur. My 10 year old son watched me play and got startled at the jumps, but nothing that gave him nightmares or anything.

All-in-all, if you enjoy the Artifex Mundi games but want something a bit darker and more forboding, this is for you. $15 may be a touch high for the time you'll spend, but the game itself is worth the price. If you find it half-off or better, it's a must-buy IMO.

Here sits another game where I'm mostly on the fence about recommending it. Ultimately though, I'd have to say it's a soft pass as the gameplay itself is rather "blah"

In essence, you rule a kingdom in some weird Tinder-style manner of swiping "cards" left or right. It's kind of a stat management game? Yes, that's an intentional question mark. You do have 4 icons across the top of the cards that represent the different factions that you must keep happy in order to be not dead. Your actions (left/right swipes) have positive or negative effects on one or multiple groups. That's basically it. Oh, and when you do die (it happens a lot), you take over as your heir. Not sure why you always HAVE an heir, as there were times I messed up and died within 3 years or so. But whatevs. Either way, you plod along.

At first, it was fairly entertaining and when random events would pop up, I would gain a new "card set" that adds more events and triggers. But after awhile (and many, many ruler's deaths) I felt as though I was recycling the exact same cards in the exact same situations and quickly grew bored.

On the positive side, the minimalistic art style is nice. And the price is about right. But if you subscribe to the thought that each dollar = an hour of play, then I ran out at about $1.50.

If nothing else, it's a good start. But I'd say pass unless you gain this in a bundle or a deep discount (as it's already inexpensive).

Okay. I finished it. I think, anyways. This damn thing was confusing as all Hell.

Overall, I'm on the fence about this little VN. Unfortunately, I feel that the negatives outweigh the positives, so I'm saying "steer clear"; unless you get it in some form of a bundle or *HEAVY* discount.

First, on the plus side, the graphics are top notch. Yuri is cute, Suzukake is naughty-librarian hot, and Yae makes me feel funny and then I feel funny for feeling funny. (Because she's actually a he). The VN utilizes the Emote system - which I'm definitely a fan of. It helps bring the characters to life. Going hand-in-hand is the fact that the 3 main characters (besides you) are also voice acted (in Japanese, as per usual). Production-wise, Malus Code is great. But that's about where the positives end.

The VN is kinetic, but also has 3 routes. Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense. Trust me, nothing in this makes any sense at all. In order to access the 2nd and 3rd routes, you play through the first story (Yuri's). It ends . . . abruptly/poorly/badly/stupidly/WTF-ly. Then you get a new title image and start route 2. I still don't get how these routes fit chronoligically. I'm going to assume they're more "alternate" endings and plots than anything else. The problem is the game attempts to be very X-Files with it's "more-questions-than-answers" formula, but falls flat by basically just giving questions. Mostly, the question is simply "huh?" and then it ends. I imagine it's intended to be creepy and mysterious, but it's really not. It's bland and befuddling and nothing seems to have anything to do with anything else.

The characters themselves are odd at best. There's not really much depth or even consistency to their personalities. Well, that's not true. Yuri always seems like a mental child, Suzukake is always kind of the hot-but-smart ♥♥♥♥♥, and Yae is . . . whatever the Hell Yae is. The mian problem seems to be with your character, Will. He's a student, or a researcher, or an agent of something or another. I'm not sure really. Truthfully, I just didn't care. The "romance" is horribly forced and makes little sense. One minute, Suzukake is scolding you and the next she's dressed as a succubus at a theme park on a date with you. The Hell? And that's saying something because this game is chock full of "What the ♥♥♥♥ did I just read and why?" moments.

There are other issues as well (like the total lack of a coherent plot to individual routes, let alone a larger story arc), but I'll leave this there. At this point, I think you get the picture that while pretty to look at, the game is a mess of randomness that is just plain bewildering.

TL;DR - Huh? What? No. Just . . . what? No.

Japanese School Life (JSL) is a slice-of-life about a US exchange student named Brian studying in Japan for a year. While there, he meets 2 similar-yet-different girls in his class. Hilarity ensues. Okay, not so much hilarity, but rather . . . . education. Information. Learning. Man, I'm making this sound boring. Hang on a sec here . . . let me try this again.

Are you interested in Japanese culture? Do you want to know minute details about Japanese foods, festivals, holidays and such? Then JSL is for YOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

This VN is definitely slice-of-life. I guess. Mostly. Well, maybe it's more educational. But life happens in it. A whole school year, actually. You arrive in Japan and are immediately befriended by 2 adorable girls (Chiyoko and Arisa) who take you under their wings. Throughout the course of the year, you'll learn minor details about each and be treated to glimpses of their personalities. Unfortunately, that's about as deep as they get. You see, that's pretty much the "story" here in JSL. You meet these 2 girls, pick one to romance (sort of) and stay stuck in the friend-zone for an entire year anyways. A very large chunk of the game is actually informational miniature "lectures" from the girls about various aspects of Japanese (and specifically otaku) culture. I'll be honest, I learned a LOT in this VN. But was it entertaining? Eh . . .

Graphically, the sprites and CGs are beautiful. The game utilizes the Emote system (which anyone who's read my other reviews knows I enjoy) to make the characters more lively through animation. The voice overs (in Japanese) are much more professional than in many games, and the characters themselves have many and varied reactions, inflections and tones in their words. The music is decent and catchy, and had me humming a couple of the "happier" tunes after I'd close the game.

In the negative, the story is bland and forgettable. The game feels mostly like a delivery tool for a culture lesson. This is all well and good, but I would have rather had more actual story content (The entire game took me less than 6 horus for 2 routes) to better balance out the exposition you recieve about things like "mochi".

Also, Brian. Ugh. Why so many exclamation points, Brian?! How are you possibly this excited about almost everything that happens to you on a daily basis?! He uses them in every. Single. Screen. Let's be honest, Brian is a dork. He may be a lovable dork, but he's a dork none-the-less. I mean, it took him an entire year of having these cute girls covertly throwing themselves at him to even realize he LIKES one of them, and STILL HE DOESN'T DO A DAMN THING ABOUT IT. HE GOES HOME SINGLE! AARRRRGGGHHHHH!

Despite the negatives, I believe the positives outweight them and I definitely lean more to recommending the game than not. It's silly, it's funny (sometimes), it's long-winded (like me) and cute simultaneously. As with many of these more modestly-priced VNs, I'd say wait and get it on a sale. 50% feels like you're getting your money's worth for sure. I bought it at 25% off, and that seems almost a bit high to me.