I'll keep it brief and on point. The game is not bad at all. The level design is classic metroidvania. Wade through the areas you can access, unlock the path forward and shortcuts through already explored areas as you go, hit walls to reveal secrets. Nice and simple. Onto the combat. I am not too far into the game, but from what I've seen, getting hit is severely punished from the start. Attacks from all enemies, mobs and bosses alike, take between 25 and a 100% of the main character's HP. The damage can be avoided by either dodging or parrying. The parry mechanic is an interesting addition, however, with the telegraphed attacks varying in speed it isn't easy to time it. Also, the severe punishment in form of heavy damage further discourages practicing it. The dodging mechanic is pretty reliable, but very rarely, the MC still takes damage during dodges. And now to address the elephant in the room. Contact damage in a 2D environment is sometimes very difficult to avoid, and with it being just as high as attack damage, at times, the odds are stacked quite highly against the player. The few boss fights I've been through so far are not long at least, and that's the only fair point of the difficulty which borders on punishing. The boss fights boil down to memorizing the properties of the attacks and timing dodges into the opposite direction while also minding your spacing. Momodora - RutML handles this better. Yes, bosses still do high damage and have some devastating attacks, but at least the contact damage isn't as extreme as in Minoria, and the boss arenas are larger, allowing for much better spacing. Conclusion: The lack of space combined with punishing damage can really act as a detriment to the enjoyment. The efforts of the dev-team are most appreciated, and the game is still enjoyable, but there clearly is room for improvement. I hope I wasn't too harsh.
Written as a Metroidvania 1-st timer. The first impression of this game was an experience typical for a game which is hard to put down, which keeps you wanting more of it. An objective analysis from the get-go was an impossible task for myself. After letting the impressions sink in, I can say that the game is definitely worth your time. And it's going to ask a lot of it, if you want the complete experience. But at no point did the game feel like a chore. The colourful and quirky design of the enemies, the sometimes tricky platforming sequences, the vast amounts of collectible and usable items, all that makes the game very enjoyable through and through. The gameplay feels smooth and well-optimized. The wide variety of enemies always keeps the player on their toes, but at no point does it restrict the options it gives them. Combat can be approached any way you want it. It's not perfect, some tools/weapons are definitely more effective than others, but at no point is the player forced to approach it using one single method. That isn't the case with traversing the castle and other areas, but that's the main motive for exploration of the game's world. The narration is not the strongest point of this game, but IMHO, it's not the main point of it anyway. The music and the visuals are top-notch, a true feast for the senses. Both the English and Japanese voice-banks are well done too. The only gripe I had with the game is that sometimes, the solution to get past certain obstacles is either rather convoluted or simple to the point that one would hardly think of it. Still, way better than hand-holding in games. The verdict: A wholeheartedly recommended title.
It's just a run-of-the-mill shounen-manga style visual novel. The promised yuri has to be purchased somewhere else and be manually patched back in. Even the kiss-scenes have been cut out. This title barely classifies as a shoujo-ai as it's being sold on this platform. I am sad to say that I cannot recommend this title.
