The Caligula Effect: Overdose

Combat system is interesting: essentially you choreograph your team's moves by sequencing them on something resembling a piano roll, which I guess is kinda the point for a game heavily involving music producers. There is satisfaction from watching your design execute perfectly (which isn't always the case!), but I think by the later half of the game the novelty wears thin, and you'd start to get into a grind fest against same-y mobs as you navigate dungeons towards the next boss. Voice acting and music and aesthetic are great, though it's stunted by lack of fleshed-out 3D animation (they're basically stiff textured models with occasional face swaps for emotion). That whole "500+ NPCs to befriend" feature is overhyped. They basically give a side-quest mechanic that rewards you with extra rewards not obtainable elsewhere, with the extra barrier that you can't approach certain NPCs until you are bonded with at least one of their friends. There's only a limited variety of side-quests they come with, so it's not as deep as it sounds. They also provide a source of skill points from levelling them up. I guess if you're really interested in tidbits of lore you could go about fulfilling all of their quests and learn about little stories surrounding particular classes (e.g. a class wrapped around the drama of a murdered classmate, or a class that started its own cult), but they don't really have relevance to the plot. The plot similarity with the Persona games isn't surprising considering the writer worked on earlier Persona titles. Having played P5, I think Caligula by comparison approached more subjects that were darker/taboo through the main plot + character side-stories, directly addressing issues relating to mental trauma/disorder. Bonding mechanic is lackluster though, only granting a meaningful reward upon full bond. Generally I think there could've been potential in developing certain mechanical aspects deeper, but it's not a bad game.

Caligula Effect began well. You can choose your name and gender. Nice. But then came the opening cutscene. The animation was stiff and the graphics poor. Awful. So, would the game play save it? The game has three major elements: a fair story, a good combat mechanic, and a dull social behemoth. Story summary; you’ll learn the following in the first 30 minutes. You begin aware that you are stuck in a Matrix-like world called Mobius. Most students believe it’s real life. The overlord of Mobius is it’s creator and baddie. You join a group of aware, rebel students. You and they want to escape to reality. This group provides most of the dialogue and voice acting which is good albeit too hyperbolic in tone and subject. Sadly, your character mostly listens to your allies conversing among themselves. You are usually a mere silent spectator. The combat is a clever turn-based mechanic. You fight rogue students. In a single turn all grouped characters can perform multiple skills in a certain order which you can move forward or backward on a time bar. You then watch a preview of what “might” happen which includes the enemy’s moves. You then can move or change skills. When satisfied, you accept your plan and let the bullets fly. It can be very satisfying but it can get grindy. The social piece is awful. You have 500 students to befriend. Amount optional. To do this, you approach a wandering student and talk to them 3 times which levels them to “friend.” You speak not a word and somehow you get responses as though you actually said something. Their canned responses you will hear, quite literally, a hundred times. You then get a side quest that resolves some personal, social crises they have. Imagine trying to keep track of 500 names and quests. To “help” you’ll find an overwhelming chart that shows all 500 students and their relationships! Those who love JRPG social games might bear the grind but it's no Persona. Sadly, I admit that I paid to imprison myself in my own Mobius.

...so mesmerising and beautiful.... For the DRM-Free GOG release I am grateful... Thank you for that FuRyu and historia for this DRM-free game which gave me euphoria. An RPG like no other; blending action and an order of turns, plus main character having two stylish guns, with no money or items to speak of, but with music that captivates and you will love. A story written by a storyteller Persona games of the past, Tadashi Satomi with a composer of old Shin Megami Tensei, Tsukasa Masuko's talent can be described as vast, In short - by just listening to music, you'll forget how much of time has passed. Like a sin that is innocent that is punished eternally, The characters in this game all struggle internally. The story is overall (in my opinion) more mature, than a more popular game which is a social simulator gallore. The social mechanics are here too, without slow pacing and calendar plaguing it to boot. And even if you make a mistake and hurt a person's heart, A helpful companion will help you so you can retry. Fighting with friends is how you make your friendship stronger, Even if for some of them the process takes longer. The combat is really flashy and good, Shame that the difficulty is easier on Hard than it should. To make you fully strategize and have you engage with the combat, I recommend playing on EXTREME where you have to find the best strat for each fight. You will die in one or two hits if you don't do that, And if you use auto-battle - you will fall flat. The graphics have been greatly improved from the original PS Vita version, with option of up to Unlimited framerate and good collison. The mechanics have been simplified and streamlined, It is not just a port - It had been completely remade. Voice acting is only in Japanese, buit it is amazing with it being delivered without any cheese. Now to conclude my review say my last words and return to μ and Aria's virtual world, buy this game! I guarantee that you won't be bored.

The music, voice acting and menu screens look and sound very good. I'm assuming the game is rated bad for the graphics? : Keep in mind, this is a re release of a PSvita title, with new features. So far I played about 40 min and the COMBAT is very unique, it's turn based but you can control the time of the attacks. It has multiple endings too, good amount of replayability. I hope to play for a long while.