Mighty No. 9
Okay so, at the time of writing this I have 3 bosses down.
Yes, I did back this game. Yes I did play the beta.
I won’t deny this game has a lot of controversy around it. But I’m gonna try to stick to the game itself.
Is it bad? No. Could it be better? yeah, but it’s still satisfying.
Is it worth the hate it gets? No, I would say not.
Most importantly, is the game fun? Yes.
I strongly recommend people play, and I mean actually play, not just the 0.2 hour times we’re seeing in the reviews, and form your own opinion.
– Real player with 17.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Anime Platformer Games.
Mighty No.9 should be a textbook case of how to not destroy the expectations of everyone who was craving this game. There hasn’t been a Megaman or Megaman X game in years, this should have been a cakewalk for this team to do and other studios have shown they can get very close to getting that Megaman feel. I’ll get this out of the way first- I’m not going to go into the gripes about the Kickstarter campaign, or the long wait, or all the other campaigns that were started before this way finished- they have been discussed to death already and you can check from other sources if you still wish to support the game by buying it.
– Real player with 14.2 hrs in game
Kisaragi no Hougyoku
The premise of this game is the most forced romance plot I’ve ever seen. Ever.
The translation is atrocious, there are rampant errors in the script, there’s very little use of visuals to aid the writing, there are no choices to be made, and the music is primitive.
The fact that the game is glitched and sticks you in an infinite loop where you can’t advance is actually a blessing. Even though this is an indie game created on a small budget, it’s still inexcusably bad.
– Real player with 5.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Anime Casual Games.
Memory’s Dogma CODE:01
So, imagine you see a luscious, appetizing cake, copious amounts of fluffy white cream topped with a juicy, plump strawberry beckoning you to taste it. You take a knife, cut yourself a slice, and lo and behold, to your delight, you see a layer of chocolate cream sandwiched between the two layers of sponge cake making up the treat. Mouth watering, you spear a piece on a fork, carry it to your mouth, anticipating the sweetness about to bloom on your tongue, only to discover the chocolate cream is, in fact, dog shit, what you thought was sponge cake is just regular dish-scrubbing sponge, and the strawberry is plastic. The whipped cream is the real deal, but will that make you feel any better? Memory’s Dogma is in fact just that: an attempt to pass a pile of garbage off as something appealing, at least outwardly. The core of it is completely rotten though.
– Real player with 56.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Anime Indie Games.
Short story, most people will be able to complete it within 2-3 hours or less.
The story is actually rather generic anime plot and predictable, but I still enjoyed the content nevertheless. Just come in with low expectations and have the characters, environment, and music immerse you, since those are the selling points rather than the story itself. Art and CG is very good.
However, there’s a particular scene (actually, a character) that didn’t make any sense to me. Felt it was extremely forced drama. But if I rambled on about this character or this scene in particular, it would be spoilers. This character’s motivations are basically illogical and the story doesn’t give them a chance to redeem themselves and the point of this scene. Felt like it was just there to create some delusional pain or attempt to frighten the audience, but it didn’t quite work on me. This scene could’ve been much better but they failed to execute.
– Real player with 16.1 hrs in game
CLANNAD Side Stories
So I sign into steam and much to my surprise I see Clannad Hikari Mimamoru Sakamichi de (Clannad Side Stories) on the store page, and after a brief moment of incomparable excitement and a small amount of time to recompose myself I bought the game, now if you have seen my original review of Clannad you will most likely know I have a great deal of passion for this subject matter…..
so I guess I’ll preface this review the same way I did with the original Clannad VN, and this is by saying I maybe a tad bit bias in this as I absolutely love Clannad, I have the Manga, the Blurays, the 10th anniversary art book, so yeah just keep that in mind while reading this review, and try to forgive me ;)
– Real player with 680.7 hrs in game
CLANNAD Side Stories Official English Release, Published onto steam by Sekai Project and Developed by Key, who has also developed visual novels like Kanon, Air and Little Busters just to name a few. CLANNAD Side Stories is known as ＣＬＡＮＮＡＤ -クラナド- 光見守る坂道で in Japanese. It is originally released on PlayStation®Portable in 2010, it combined the text of the respective novel published in 2005 and audio from the drama CD’s published in 2007. Each story centers around a specific character from CLANNAD, from Nagisa to Yoshino, even including Kyou’s pet, Botan. [Botan is pretty cute but not my favorite of the bunch] Each short story adds rewarding depth to the world of CLANNAD and its cast. A small note before I proceed this review will be slightly different from the other reviews as there will not be any score given. Relavent links can be found at the bottom of this review.
– Real player with 14.2 hrs in game
NEKOPARA Extra
This game saved my life.
I am 27.
My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and adopted our son together. They are now both 4 years old.
When we were going through our separation, I found myself lost and miserable. I was self destructive. I got so mad one day from everything spiraling out of my control that I punched some concrete in a moment of overwhelming emotion. That caused me to break my 5th metacarpal in my right hand… my working hand… my games hand.. the hand that I held and carried my children to bed with.. The hand I desperately needed to make sure I could continue to provide.
– Real player with 7612.3 hrs in game
BEFORE NEKOPARA:
⡆⣸⡟⣼⣯⠏⣾⣿⢸⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠸⠁⢹⡿⣿⣿⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄
⡇⡟⣸⢟⣫⡅⣶⢆⡶⡆⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣛⠃⠰⠆⠈⠁⠈⠙⠈⠻⣿⢹⡏⠄
⣧⣱⡷⣱⠿⠟⠛⠼⣇⠇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃⣰⣿⣿⡆⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠉⠈⠄⠄
⡏⡟⢑⠃⡠⠂⠄⠄⠈⣾⢻⣿⣿⡿⡹⡳⠋⠉⠁⠉⠙⠄⢀⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠂⠄
⡇⠁⢈⢰⡇⠄⠄⡙⠂⣿⣿⣿⣿⣱⣿⡗⠄⠄⠄⢀⡀⠄⠈⢰⠄⠄⠄⠐⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠘⣿⣧⠴⣄⣡⢄⣿⣿⣿⣷⣿⣿⡇⢀⠄⠤⠈⠁⣠⣠⣸⢠⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⢀⠄⠄⣿⣿⣷⣬⣵⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣟⢷⡶⢗⡰⣿⣿⠇⠘⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄
⣿⠄⠄⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣾⣿⣿⡟⢀⠃⠄⢸⡄⠁⣸
⣿⠄⠄⠘⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⢄⡆⠄⢀⣪⡆⠄⣿
⡟⠄⠄⠄⠄⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢿⣟⣻⣩⣾⣃⣴⣿⣿⡇⠸⢾
AFTER NEKOPARA:
⣾⣿⠿⠿⠶⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣤⣄⢀⡅⢠⣾⣛⡉⠄⠄⠄⠸⢀⣿⠄
⢀⡋⣡⣴⣶⣶⡀⠄⠄⠙⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣴⣿⣿⣿⢃⣤⣄⣀⣥⣿⣿⠄
⢸⣇⠻⣿⣿⣿⣧⣀⢀⣠⡌⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⠄
⢸⣿⣷⣤⣤⣤⣬⣙⣛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⡍⠄⠄⢀⣤⣄⠉⠋⣰
⣖⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢇⣿⣿⡷⠶⠶⢿⣿⣿⠇⢀⣤
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣽⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣥⣴⣿⡗
– Real player with 143.0 hrs in game
A Clockwork Ley-Line: The Borderline of Dusk
A Clockwork Ley-Line is an awesome VN but with serious technical issues!
Introduction
The story and setting are really interesting, especially for someone like me who plays mostly slice of life-ish VNs. Once you have started with reading you don‘t want to stop.
Each time a new Mist appears, means that something funny will happen.
Playtime
Concerning the playtime, one guy states in his review that he needed only 3h to complete his first playthrough. I can only absolutely disagree to this, since I cleared the true end after around 20h.
– Real player with 26.2 hrs in game
I love this game. Kind of obsessed with it, really. It has good, dynamic characters, and a solid plot without plot holes (with the exception of a small, but still present, plot device at the end).
My only complaint is that Steam registers the launcher as playing the game, and the launcher closes after the game launches, so Steam doesn’t accurately display your total play time. While you can get around this my renaming the actual start app to the launcher app, it comes at the cost of font modifiers and punctuations (quotation marks and dashes, specifically) displaying as the game’s coding markers (specifically, ・ followed by a character)
– Real player with 18.7 hrs in game
Arcana Heart 3 LOVEMAX SIXSTARS!!!!!! XTEND
Warning: The netcode is delay based and current population of regulars is maybe 10 people max (including myself) who are pretty chill but kinda insular, who also happen to have solid connections with each other (mostly). The patch notes for Xtend are available, but the Mizuumi section for Xtend is largely barren. The game is also apparently tied to your monitor refresh and needs to be capped through external methods. The training is lackluster and does not not natively have a input display.
Turn back now if these factors are a turn off, or just plain inconvenient - which is entirely reasonable.
– Real player with 90.0 hrs in game
This has probably been my favorite surprise-release of 2017, at least in the fighting game genre, since I had no idea this game existed, let alone was going to be released.
Now, despite the fact that I am a big fan of games like Nitro+, UNIEL, Aquapazza, Melty, etc, I never really got into AH3LM. The main reason was likely because, at the time I picked it up on Steam, barely anyone played, and those who did would body someone like me before I could even confirm anything. The other problem was, while I could get my friends interested enough to try out BlazBlue, or UNIEL, or even Nitro+, for some reason, no one would give AH3LM a try for some reason. So, since I was limited to continual training for the off chance of an online match, or single player modes, I had pretty much dropped the game, except for the occasional itch for something different.
– Real player with 60.4 hrs in game
fault - milestone one
Fault: Milestone one is the first VN game of the Publisher ALICE IN DISSONANCE and is the start of an evolving series.
We start the Visual Novel in a dark night where the country of Rughzenaide and its capital is being attacked by an unknown paramilitary assailant. Suffering heavy losses, this unknown force is invading the Kings Palace, where they intend to kill Selphine the princess because she possesses a greater power that could put every military force to falter.
Being cornered and unable to escape, the Princess’s life guardian resort to a last hopeful escape through a special mana current, but for some reason this mode of escape did not go the way it was intended too. They were able to escape, but not to the actual destination they planned. Instead, they were sent to the other end of the world. To make matters worse, all of this is in a zone where is no mana to be found in the surrounding area, which is necessary for them to be able to use their manakravte.
– Real player with 41.5 hrs in game
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this kinetic novel. I bought it solely because of the first minute of the trailer.
It was one of the best decisions I’ve made.
Looking at it now, from a critical standpoint, I can freely admit that Fault Milestone One has quite a few flaws. Much of the story is told through flashbacks and, as with any VN, there is quite a bit of exposition.
But for the fifteen hours it took me to devour this, purchase the sequel on the spot, and devour that too, I was utterly entranced.
– Real player with 27.4 hrs in game
KARAKARA
This is a plaintext version of the full GameCynic review (with gallery)
Supported in part by a successful Indiegogo funding campaign earlier in 2016, Japanese developer Calme’s debut title is a short visual novel centered around the daily life of Leon, who struggles to keep his café open in a post-disaster era.
Visual novels — games which are essentially watching anime at your own pace, with little to no actual gameplay — are often a difficult genre to do well. Their simplicity means that storyline often makes or breaks a game, and a market saturated by home made, amateur titles can often overwhelm new developers. Luckily for KARAKARA, this isn’t a problem, thanks to strong personalities for the main characters.
– Real player with 19.1 hrs in game
If I had to describe KARAKARA in one sentence, I’d say “It’s Fallout meets NEKOPARA, but not as competent as either one”. Now if that intrigues you, please read on.
KARAKARA is a fully kinetic visual novel. That means there’s no plot choices, no dating sim elements, not even a petting button or localized earthquakes. It functions like a standard visual novel, with static backgrounds and slightly animated character sprites. I really like the visual style, particularly with how colors are balanced. If I had to complain about anything, I’d say everything is just a bit too bright, but it’s not bad. As for audio, the music isn’t exactly remarkable, but it makes for a good background. There’s also sound effects that get the job done similarly, and the voice acting was at least good enough that I didn’t mute it.
– Real player with 14.1 hrs in game
Order of Ataxia: Initial Effects
No reviews for this one? Guess I’ll give it a shot.
This is a visual novel. If you’ve never played one of those, gameplay consists of reading and making choices. Basically a choose your own adventure.
TL;DR at the end.
At the time of this review, the game is not fully voiced (it will be getting a voice patch later, according to the store page). I completed a single path through the game, and reloaded before the final choice to get a second ending. Took me 3.5 hours.
ART: You can see the art in the screenshots on the store page. It remains consistant the whole way through. Characters have several facial expressions and a couple poses.
– Real player with 3.5 hrs in game
I rarely ever write reviews but I like the developers other visual novels and this one didn’t quite reach that expectations but even so it’s by no means bad. I didn’t write a review so much as make two lists but it’s what came to mind so that’s what I did and now I’ll go to waiting for the next Rising Angels episode. :)
Bellow are my positives and negatives for the visual novel.
Bad/what could be improved:
- Better audio visual feedback when you click something, like a sound effect or the text to scroll.
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game