Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius

I might have chosen wrong upgrades. Yes you can't grind for credits. It all depends on your story choices and missions you took. I didn't go deep in the story because I'm stuck at a very hard mission. I started a new game 1 or 2 times and still didn't get past it. Don't be so happy that you can skip missions or refuse others help. There are 2 hard missions in a row i couldn't get past the first one and missed the credits to skip it then (Surprise m*********) plays everytime i remember this game. Yes it has manual saves but they won't help you much if you suck at turn based games or not good enough for the missions. THE STORY IS GOOD BUT I JUST CAN'T FORGET THAT MISSION.

This is only half game, the other half is "visual novel". So far though only one bit was gratuitous stupidity, the rest is rather like an average anime. That is, a mix of contrived and silly and epic and tragic. Unfortunately you get the sense that choices really don't matter when you make them, you'd have wound up in the same place anyway. Side mission choice so far was only offered once at the begining with the implication it would be important, but no callbacks and no others since then. The gameplay is decent but does suffer at points. The daring wedding rescue was imposible on average difficulty let alone anything higher. Disapointing because up until then it had been pretty balanced. The battle chatter does get repetitive though, and it would be nice to have an option to speed up and skip that junk after a while. I'd only give it 3 stars but the fact is it has already compelled me for hours so extra point, and it is free after all.

I am heavily biased for this game, but it is weighed down by a slight lack of harmony. The battles of Sunrider: MoA are very rewarding, full of set pieces that encourage and sometimes force you to try new tactics. Sadly, the combat has a random element, and the RNG frequently rears its ugly head. Pro tip: Don't be embarrased to reload. Every enemy not killed and every extra turn taken costs you money or command points that you could use later in the game. The progression in MoA is suitably deep. You can upgrade your ship the Sunrider, several mechas piloted by your waifus, and even buy regular ships and other equipment to add to your fleet. However, bad investments are costly to roll back, especially at higher levels, and there are definitely bad investments. Pro tip: Sola's rifle is good against everything. Icari may not even be effective against some ryders. Neglect flak and shield at your peril. The writing of MoA is darker than it first seems. It helped me explore how war could make me into a monster. There are also a few scenes with decent humor that create a nice juxtaposition. The plot feels a little disjointed because while there are several long, deep scenes exploring complex military strategy or difficult morale dilemma, the main story that connects them is relatively threadbare. Pro tip: If you like Cosette and want to keep her alive in Liberation Day... Actually, I'll leave the details out. If nothing else, you should try this game for its abundance of sci-fi references. I have noticed homage to everything from Firefly to Legend of Galactic Heroes to Star Trek, on top of more obvious references. If you enjoy space sci-fi, you won't be disappointed. Oh, one more thing. I said waifus, but you don't get together with anyone during the events of the game. Not even the adult patch makes much of a difference. This is a sci-fi story with a tactical, at places even strategic, flair. Despite a few missteps, the devs succeeded remarkably well.

Combat is fun, but one or two misses results in a loss, and the game punishes you for going off script. The story is tedious, the girls are amusing.

Of course, the second work of Love In Space would have problems. Great, mostly perfect turn-based strategy has bugs because of the old RenPy, also balance is not perfect. But do I mind it replaying game many times? What is much more important for visual novel is the narrative (and some CGs ofc). Here is something Sunrider hit me right in my heart, it's not just about cute waifus, it's a huge space opera that made me laugh and cry. Also the Liberation Day has higher quality in everything, but it's really important to play the Mask of Arcadius first, so just try it, it's free and maybe you would be next to join our great community.