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This user has reviewed 49 games. Awesome! You can edit your reviews directly on game pages.
Cosmic Star Heroine

Throwback to the 16-bit era

Cosmic Star Heroine presents itself as a Japanese role-playing game inspired by Chrono Trigger and Phantasy Star. Indeed, it is a mechanically sound 16-bit game, with unique mechanics. Each of your party members (four at a time) has up to seven abilities, which generally can only be used once each, as well as a means of refreshing your abilities. There are also items (one use per battle) and "programs" (essentially, single use abilities). Your health recovers automatically once battles are done, so no need to carry potions or things like that around. These mechanics take some getting used to, but in the end they provide a very flexible system that - when managed correctly -- can basically break the game. The fact that there are no "random" battles, and every battle is telegraphed beforehand, helps keep things flowing. There's no need to grind. If you're ready to continue the story, you can go. The homages to other games, both those produced by Zeboyd and by other companies, are a nice touch if you like hunting for secrets. Really, it's well worth the ten or so hours it takes to finish the campaign. The only reason I'm giving Cosmic Star Heroine four stars instead of five is the story. It flows logically, without many interruptions, but there are a number of cliches that are likely to make you shake your head as you play. Given that this game is in the JRPG style, that is a major shortcoming.

8 gamers found this review helpful
Fell Seal: Arbiter's Mark

Excellent spiritual successor to FFT

As mentioned in many previous reviews, the gameplay in Fell Seal is very close to the original Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT). You control a group of heroes on a grid, mix and match classes and skills, fight monsters and humans, and lead an idealist on a journey to expose the corruption lurking within a respected institution. There are differences, of course. Your crossbows don't have a minimum distance; obstacles like trees don't block your shots; there are no one-hit kill spells or abilities. As such, the basic gameplay is a bit easier than FFT; however, there are numerous difficulty settings that you can adjust to make the game more or less challenging. You can turn off permadeath, stop enemies from hitting a level cap, and things like that. Story-wise, and without going into any spoilers, you are playing as the female captain of a group of law-keepers known as arbiters, who works with her team to unravel the corruption that is plaguing the arbiters and those who command them. Over the course of your playthrough—40+ hours if you want to grind or do end-game content—you can unlock secret classes and companions, craft strong weapons, participate in fighting contests, and experience multiple endings. The release I've been playing (1.02) is polished, and delivers consistent gameplay throughout. Overall, I'd recommend buying it. Frankly, I can't wait for DLC.

8 gamers found this review helpful
Ne no Kami - The Two Princess Knights of Kyoto Extra Story

Some closure

I actually enjoyed this DLC more than the main story. This is partly because of the price; it's only 5% of the cost of the main story. However, it also provides closure about the fate of one plot-significant character and sets the groundwork for a sequel (if that ever happens/reaches GOG). If you're going to buy Ne No Kami, might as well pick this up while you're at it.

7 gamers found this review helpful
Ne no Kami - The Two Princess Knights of Kyoto Part 2

Meh (Review for Parts 1 and 2)

I purchased Ne No Kami with decently high expectations, given that I have enjoyed Sekai's previous games on GOG. However, I can't really recommend it. The description talks about princesses, about fate, and about knights. What we get over the ten hours of playing time (for Part 1 and 2) is far from this, instead being full of common visual novel tropes. Light spoiler summary: Our main character, Len, is a normal high school girl until she is whisked away and taught about a world that has remained hidden beneath a "veil" (for lack of a better term) through the machinations of an ancient, nigh ethereal organization. The ayakashi (yokai) are involved, as is the pantheon of a culture very far removed from Japan and advanced scientific technology. It's something we've seen in anime and manga time and time again, and I grew tired of it pretty quickly. The characters, despite the claims on this page, are not sufficiently well written to elevate the material to what was promised. Also, note that this is a censored version; uncensored patches for these games are not free, but must be purchased elsewhere. Why am I giving this two stars, then? The animation is still pretty good, So that's worth a star. Note that Part 1 and Part 2 have to be played in order for this game to make any sense. This is not a game you can just pick up in the middle; if you buy one, you might as well buy both.

11 gamers found this review helpful
Ne no Kami: The Two Princess Knights of Kyoto

Meh (Review for Parts 1 and 2)

I purchased Ne No Kami with decently high expectations, given that I have enjoyed Sekai's previous games on GOG. However, I can't really recommend it. The description talks about princesses, about fate, and about knights. What we get over the ten hours of playing time (for Part 1 and 2) is far from this, instead being full of common visual novel tropes. Light spoiler summary: Our main character, Len, is a normal high school girl until she is whisked away and taught about a world that has remained hidden beneath a "veil" (for lack of a better term) through the machinations of an ancient, nigh ethereal organization. The ayakashi (yokai) are involved, as is the pantheon of a culture very far removed from Japan and advanced scientific technology. It's something we've seen in anime and manga time and time again, and I grew tired of it pretty quickly. The characters, despite the claims on this page, are not sufficiently well written to elevate the material to what was promised. Also, note that this is a censored version; uncensored patches for these games are not free, but must be purchased elsewhere. Why am I giving this two stars, then? The animation is still pretty good, So that's worth a star. Note that Part 1 and Part 2 have to be played in order for this game to make any sense. This is not a game you can just pick up in the middle; if you buy one, you might as well buy both.

27 gamers found this review helpful
Guns, Gore & Cannoli

Fun time waster

"Guns, Gore & Cannoli" is, at its core, a time waster. It doesn't have a deep story, nor are the mechanics that difficult to grasp. There is not sense of personal fulfillment at the end of the game, nor a sense of wow at the scope of the world. This is not, however, a bad thing. Sometimes you just want to pick up a game and shoot zombies, and that's exactly what "Guns, Gore & Cannoli" offers. You play as Vinnie, a mobster who is tasked with retrieving someone from a town that has been incommunicando for the past few days. Upon arriving, you find that it is filled with zombies, gangsters, and soldiers, and it is your job to fight your way past them and finish your mission -- and maybe discover what the heck is happening. Over the course of the game (about 3 or 4 hours), you'll use a range of weapons to defeat an assortment of enemies, including three bosses. Each type of enemy has its own skills. Some might explode, others might run through crowds, and still others might spray poison gas. The art style is easy on the eyes, and the gameplay (keyboard only) is smooth. Overall, a fun time waster, and well worth a buy.

5 gamers found this review helpful
Memory's Dogma CODE:01

Pretty good sci-fi VN, but...

Overall, Memory's Dogma: Code 01 is a pretty good sci-fi visual novel. Your name is Kusuhara Hiroki, and your high school friend recently died in a car accident. Fortunately, an organization called JCO has stored her memories, which are available for access until the end of the month. Unfortunately, inconsistencies in these memories lead you down a rabbit hole of conspiracy and assassination as you attempt to uncover her true cause of death. Honestly, I'm not sure why Japanese RPGs and VNs seem to enjoy turning every story into a conspiracy to take over the world and doom humanity, but that's what happens here, and -- as common in stories like this -- the seemingly hard sci-fi of the initial story gives way to a much less scientifically plausible one. Oh well. ... This game is supposed to be episodic, so don't expect all of your questions to be answered through Code 01 itself, but at least the story can stand on its own if needed. Story aside... there are only five significant choices, with one "true" ending and four "bad" endings, so if you like your VNs with branching storylines this won't be for you. Illustrations and music are reasonably high quality; the voice overs (Japanese only) are quite good. All in all, worth a go if you're interested in sci-fi.

13 gamers found this review helpful
Brutal Legend

Is there such a thing as too much metal?

After reading up on Brutal Legend, I decided to try it. It sounded interesting: a metalhead roadie gets sent back in time and brings metal back to a land born of metal and inspired by metal covers, using a metal car and metal riffs and metal axe to fight back metal demons. Add in Lemmy Kilmester, Jack Black, Ozzie Osbourne, as voice actors, as well as a (fricking amazing) soundtrack with over a hundred metal tracks, and you've got yourself probably the most metal thing this side of, well, metal. I have to hand it to Double Fine; it certainly is a fun game, especially at the beginning. Black's comedy mixes well with the shear... well, uniqueness of the game, and the first 30 minutes was easily the most fun I've had with a game this year. But over time, with metal this and metal that, as well as the introduction of rather clunky RTS elements midway through the game, I just couldn't bring myself to finish everything. In short, I'd say that for most gamers Brutal Metal is worth buying on sale... but not at full price. Not until we can buy the soundtrack, at least.

2 gamers found this review helpful