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| Original PS2 cover art because its pretty. |
้ใใชใๆ็ฉบใฎไธญใง3
Game: [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 3 Ultimate]
English title: Haruka beyond the stream of time 3.
Genre: Otome Game RPG.
Developer/Publisher: Ruby Party, Koei Tecmo.
Platform: PS2. PSP, PS Vita.
Release date: 2017-2-23
Even tho I was bummed by gentou rondo I decided to give this game a chance and
I wish I found this game a lot sooner... but I alas, when I finally didI had a lot to write
about it and since almost no one did, justice will be served!
Anyway there's a demo on the japanese PSN for you to try if you have doubts
but I think anyone who plays RPG's can enjoy it regardless, the heroine isn't weak and won't hesitate
to take to the battlefield; she's involved in everything, the scenario is interesting
what more do you want? but it relies on historic fact so it might still be difficult
if you don't know a lick about japanese history.
Pro's
- Good story if you're into history.
- Capable heroine, starts out average but becomes too perfect.(can't decide if bad)
- There will be someone that strikes your interest more than others but every character is likeable .
- Art, this speaks for itself but I love the original character designs/artworks.
Con's
- If you do not like RPG-like gameplay in your VN's avoid.
- Not every route is well balanced with plot and romance at times it depends.
-
Characters have interesting motivations in their own route, yet in
another their objective cease to matter, I know this is normal but it
could've become super interesting.
- The heroine is going to make or break this game for you.
- Its annoying to learn all combination attacks and some CG's are gotten outside of routes
ala sub event style.
So Koei decided to port Haruka 3 and Izayoiki to the vita, fully voicing it and adding new CG's.
No its not a remake but more like a full voice special with Izayoiki included.
Being full voiced does make it a better experience and make scenes that much more worthwhile.
They also added a DLC route for Fujiwara no Yasuhira... since he was a popular sub chara
in Izayoiki, the reason for a DLC route is because its an obvious quick cash grab to insert
a new route for yet another port of a game that was first made and released in 2004
yet you still need to pay up to get it also you need to play the game normally
up untill a certain point which further proves it should have just been in the game from the start
as this isn't a mobage but KOEI is greedy and most fans just bought the LE for the code.
Sucks to be one of those who didn't eh? anyway let's stop taling about DLC...
Moving on, one animated scene was removed the first one is still in but the second one isn't.
Also some CG's have been completely replaced with new ones and/or close ups.
Which I think is a shame... granted some of them did look derpy but a lot are still there so who cares?
I see a lot of japanese review complaining about slight changes such as the above but
I've been mostly enjoying myself, I think its a nostalgia factor but its such a hassle
to do everything in this game I did just wanted to do something else at one point
and take my mind of off it and well I did!(it was like a one week break more or less)
Uh that's it for nonsensical rambles about why this got a port I guess.
Anime OVA
On the topic of the anime OVA's I do not recommed them...
I only watched it again because KOEI put it up on their ruby party channel but I wish I ignored it.
Not only is it a waste of time it also spoils important parts besides it doesn't do
the game justice as its extremely rushed like it drops you in the middle of a story.
Certain stuff don't even make sense and are completely original, like for example
Benkei never leaves the party and does jack shit outside of his own route
still he's thee type of chara you will be watching out for regardless.
Its only nice as fanservice when you've completed the game already and want to see the
boys''animated'' sadly Benkei without his cloak just looks weird to me but they
probably didn't have funds to draw the casual outfits so they had to do it like that.
Also I like how they just spoiled an important detail of Saku's route like its nothing. -_-
Honestly I dislike the OVA's because they're so confusing as it has no beginning and no proper
ending, something you'll only find in the game, OVA felt like spoiler collection
or better put an advertisement to get people interested if anything.
The story of Haruka 3 is set during the Heian period and is based on the
tale of the heike.
The heroine Kasuga Nozomi gets summoned by a shota!Hakuryuu, Masaomi and Yuzuru get dragged
along with her to an alternate world that is similair to Kyoto at the end of the heian period.
Sadly I know almost nothing about the heian period so most of the lore is lost on me...
but hey atleast there is wikipedia... or maybe your local library has japanese history books
Still I felt that I did learn a few facts from this... even if its ofcourse not accurate KOEI did their best.
Not needed but kinda recommended to read up on a tale of the heike a little
before playing this so you know some facts, skimming the wikipedia is fine.
Also if you do not like stories about war and all the drama that comes with it give this
game a pass because you will have to partly be ok with that sort of stuff
i'm not saying to not give it a chance but if you're unsure there is a demo, the heroine is pretty
involved though and compared to other games I played I enjoyed this a lot more.
Anyway Taira no Kiyomori was reincarnated as a kid and tries to use zombies to take over japan
so it up to the miko to save us all, luckily she has eight beautiful men at her disposal, that all you need to know.
After obtaining the scale of the white dragon Nozomi... is literally stuck on groundhog day
trying to change everyones fate while learning their darkest secrets even after ending up with
one of the guys and knowing they're fine now she happily goes to chase another. ~_~
If this was a shoujo manga the main couple would obviously be Masaomi
with Yuzuru cringing in the background. lmao don't hurt me for this. ๐๐๐
I honestly love the idea of this... so many times I liked a character in game/anime
whom's fate was not desirable and now you can save them! again I wish I found this sooner.
I enjoyed playing through the demo when it came out a few week before the game did
and it only solidified my purchase, I love RPG's and this game was much better developed than
Haruka6's system.
On
repeat play Affections/bonds carry over since its continues, routes are
basically self contained whoever you pursue will alter events because
priority and sometimes even the last boss changes.
The way this was done makes haruka 6 gentou rondo look like it tried too hard to be like this game.๐
The overall story in every route is mostly the same beat the Heike! like I said depending on route
things change in
favor of the guy because his motivation take priority over others whom fall into
the background, its honestly pretty sad because it
could've gotten more interesting sometimes
the story takes an unexpected turn and in my opinion Shirogane's route was the best at that
all of the routes were more or less selfcontained, Kurou and Kagetoki's
routes were related but other than that no route spoils anothers issues.
It may seem like a really long game but it not that long as it seems, all you need is
motivation & after I got everyones love end I was like? let's take a short break since
I was so done at that point hench why this took me like a whole month.
~Gameplay~
The game plays like a traditional RPG, however since this came out in 2004 it hasn't aged well
anyway you move Nozomi around on an overworld map and the big shiny light is your next objective
the small multi colored dots are places battles may or may not occur, the encounter rate was pretty
high and battles are pretty slow, I never noticed which dude had the lower encounter
rate skill but not that it matters since wiki said he's almost never in the party. -_-
There's no time limit so there is no rush, some character events may disappear
after story progresses so becareful I suppose, just look at the hints or use a good guide.
While the battle system is pretty slow you can atleast skip animations, you also upgrade
your characters by using element points so they become stronger, battles are mostly fought
using magic techniques and when the guy is out of MP you cheer them so they recover some.
There's combination attack between hachiyou members too but you have to raise the bond between
them to 2 at most and grinding takes time, if one barely use both chara at the same time
just by playing normally you'd prolly never get all of them unless
you like fighting battles for no reason and often switch the party around.
I recommend to spend time fighting battles since combi's do increase their usability
sadly without a good guide you will miss them the easiest one for me was Hinoe x Atsumori?
but since you need to make certain choice along the way the rest was a pain in the neck because the
bond only increase by buffing, guarding and the one need to be raised has to be put in the center.
Honestly by the time you get all of them you'll be more than done with it all... there's little use
for half of the combinations other than be able to mix it up when things get monotonous.
 |
| Kumamo boys~ |
There's also ailments and the like but yeah its an rpg so you should expect that sort of stuff!
Benkei is your healer, Saku can cure ailment, Ridvan, Kurou and Masaomi are fighters
but some of the rest are sorta just there doing stuff like Kagetoki and Yuzuru's are rangers
but to me they are just like any other unit like Atsumori or Hinoe.
I just make my party based on their usability and whom's route I was on and so character
like Benkei was always around and seriously who wouldn't put him in their party?
Thankfully there was no trophy for learning all skills, thank god for that because some
require you to be hit by ailments in order to learn them and that requires
RNG bullshit.
Honestly I did enjoy the battle system and general gameplay more than harutoki 6 because Harutoki 3 really is an RPG and not with a little bit of tactical gameplay/time management.
The RPG fan in me wasn't disappointed that's for sure... also you can switch 8 hot men on the fly
so if you didn't have the right party to counter the enemy of a specific element it'd be no problem.๐
Not everyone is always around but most are... I just wish it was better developed
and give Nozomi skills to use as whenever she has to fight alone its just mash attack & rng to dodge.
Sadly the gameplay is too easy i'm always one or two shotting mobs, there is barely challenge
even on hard mode and to someone who plays RPGs often I can't help but still think its
underdeveloped but still this or real rode is as close as we get to a decent otome rpg.
I didn't get tired of it... nor was fighting that annoying except for the high encounter rate.
Yeah the graphics do not look pretty... but honestly who cares?
Every guy has two endings, normal and izayoi... so you must play atleast twice...
8+8=16... yeah that right! luckily it will fly by once all the common stuff is over with but
there is new text after you finish routes sometimes cuz Nozomi been there done that
and she will point it out because she knows, she remembers what happens in a previous loop.
Izayoiki end is basically going through common route again but few side events along the way...
its nice if you want to replay it at a later date but it wasn't that special in most cases I liked the
regular route except Masaomi because Izayoiki just felt right for him yet with Atsumori
and a few others I can't choose but I think for most regular end was better.
There's also bad ends or more like you fail ends but they aren't necessary for completion at all.
My Playorder: (normal love end)
Benkei > Saku > Yuzuru > Kurou > Hinoe > Ridvan > Kagetoki > Masaomi > Atsumori > Hakuryuu > Grand Finale.
Honestly there's TOO MANY I just put some characters of interest all over to motivate me....
On first play untill you obtain the scale you cannot trigger the true character events, some
of the first events for Benkei, Saku or Yuzuru's trigger along the way but it won't get far
you're meant to play it more than once, its not all about romance its about the journey
and caring for your comrades whatever their personal issues may be.
I do not think there was a recommended order and since this is one of those type of games its best
to go for a character you are actually interested in, Saku's the easiest but Ridvan and Hakuryuu's
route is apparently the hardest to get onto but easier once you have done more routes.
Why isn't Yasuhira in the play order? well because he's a DLC and has no trophy.
If I had to recommend anything at all do Masaomi before or after Yuzuru but not too late
into your playthrough, the rest of the order do not matter, to me Hakuryuu last since
everything is possible thanks to him so why not? but honestly order doesn't matter
it depends on personal taste or where your interest lies the first time around.
My Izayoiki end play order:
Hinoe > Yuzuru > Masaomi > Atsumori > Ridvan > Benkei > Shirogane > Kagetoki > Kurou >Tomomori.
Kurou and Kagetoki are tied to additional scenario which includes Shirogane this order makes
more sense as Shirogane is obviously the core character of the new scenario.
Tomomori can only be done after Shirogane and everyone else since his end is tied into grand finale.
The system of going back to a certain chapter to change fate is confusing at first
and without a guide you will scratch your head atleast on your first route but it easy when you
get the hang of it trust me, the game gives you so much hints when and how to get their events.
Oh and there's automode for VN part but since vertical text box and read from
top to bottom right to left I was like lol nope, this take me twice as long to read.
Like most KOEI games events are straight to the point which I like but if you wanted a real VN this isn't the place to look for one and for some route romantic development is not balanced
but whatever there was I can say was nice just understand its not all about romance
but about changing fate of someone you care about!
KOEI... they just love to keep the relationship open ended and allow us
to fantasize of what next now that they acknowledged each other and live together in peace, if
anything they know where to end it, we don't need marriage ends if they're happy they're happy!
There are many different paths you can take but the core of some story arcs is the same even if
different there are multiple variation of the same events mostly in chapter 4 like if you have
Hinoe with you and go straight to the river it'll be SLIGHTLY different if he wasn't with you then.
Certain things will not change even if your destination is different such as encounters
with villains(post scale) but uh that's all I'll say i'm getting off topic. After that most of
the character route start but there's a few where things are a lot different, won't say who.
Most of the guys don't kiss up to the heroine
except maybe Hinoe/benkei, they have their own
opinions and will say it given the situation like for example Nozomi literally has to prove herself to Kurou.
All characters do follow stereotypes, Benkei is mr tease you lots aka a haraguro, Kagetoki is carefree
on the surface atleast, Atsumori is the resident kuudere and Hinoe is the typical flirty guy
but they all have their own secrets they won't easily share, the deeper you get into
the guys events you'll start to see their true self, I was honestly surprised by some.
I like Nozomi she is average at first, buut at the end she does become
little miss perfect...well uh who wouldn't if you went through so many ''loops''.
Take that as you will, I honestly think she's just fine nor was she annoying, she's just capable.
At first like she sucked at dancing but after a few loops she does it perfectly, that just an example mind u.
I only recommend Haruka 3 if you desperately want an otome RPG, its not long
but there is a lot of content to explore preferable go take a break from it when this game
is getting too much of a hassle, its really not all that great to do try to do all at once.
Haruka 3 is not a bad otome game perhaps a little out dated compared to what we have now
its far from perfect but whats important is that it has things that one may like such as Nozomi
being more than capable and won't always need to be saved, tho occasional girl problems do arise.
To me all of the guys are likeable in some way even if Tomomori gave me a terrible first impression.
I couldn't help but feel bad for him down the line.๐
There is always something new to learn in every route and its mostly fun sadly characters such as
Hinoe do not have much substance and are just there while Benkei's motivations are intriguing yet he's also just there in other route, there's potential but they never get it in other routes that aren't their own. aand Yuzuru is 5ever the kind kouhai that likes you but won't ever say so because he thinks
Nozomi likes his bro eventually he was like fuck this shit imma tell you and hope you get it.๐
I do not think one can truly dislike the characters if anything it depends on taste.
The heroine is cool she can hold her ground, they made her too self concious of all her actions
but I don't think I like her that much and in Yuzuru's words she is as kind as she is cruel.
Its all that what makes her hard to relate, she can fight on a battlefield for crying out loud and is proactive in general but that doesn't mean much... I would definitely be a coward and wouldn't be able to fight on a battlefield but tbh
some otome heroines just aren't meant
to be self insert material and imo Nozomi definitely ain't one of those.
Overall I still had a good time, its a decent otomege that'll last a while its also fun
to learn amore about japanese history, the otome parts may or may not be to your liking
Hinoe aside its not typical stuff, personally I think haruka6 is better at it overall.
The vita port being fully voiced adds a lot to the scenes and the seiyuu did an amazing job
but I do not like that some CG's been replaced for close ups but whatever some old cg did look derp.
I give this game a
7.6/10 some stuff leave to be desired but it was mostly a fun experience
I don't think this game was as good as haruka fans make it out to be though...
but you can say the same thing with a lot of games its really a personal opinion.
I do not regret playing, I feel it has a place in my heart due to doing things I wish you could do
like saving your favorite characters for once, I don't care if some parts don't make sense even.
Some routes definitely would have benefited from actual epilogues but they didn't and
got side story instead some were nice tho, sigh but hey atleast a handful of them did!
Before I forget have to make it clear these harukanaru games are very character focused
romance is placed last some routes are better with that then others, you must
be willing to learn more about them and give them a chance also these games are very pure
the lewdest character in the game was perhaps Tomomori and you have to work hard to get to him
but trust me despite lack of plot and being a short route in general it was worth it.๐๐๐
I liked every character in some way but I think Atsumori, Ridvan, Benkei, Shirogane
and Tomomori are my real favorites, I feel bad for Yuzuru yes but IDK about him.
As for the rest down below is all spoilers thoughts so if you want to play I recommend
to stop reading here and just go straight to the end of the post for my final thoughts
and to see which route/character I liked the most without spoilers.
Maybe I wrote down too much but eh I don't think anyone else
bothered to post that much about this game so it OK. :)
