Showing posts with label Morita Masakazu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morita Masakazu. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Suuran Digit Review

数乱digit
Game: [Suran Digit].
Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.
Developer/Publisher: Otomate
Platform: PS Vita.
Release date: 2016-10-20

Suuran digit, its basically a modern wafuu(old japanese style) otome game.
School settings usually put me off but this seemed interesting enough to give it a shot.
Sadly I think not many are interested in it or better put they were but Collar x Malice
and Yuukyuu no Tierblade took all the hype so this otomege went under the rader
well its sorta good it did because it wasn't that amazing or anything
it could've been much better, sure heroine can fight but she's lazy as f**k
and she only really puts effort into it like twice or so.


As much as I love the OP for some reason the full version isn't as good to me, this
is totally normal that the full ver doesn't live up to the TV/Game version.

 For play order I recommend startng with Takagi, this is due to his pacifistic deadpan personality
which can make for a boring route because of his I won't fight or protect you for that matter, lol.
Also for the love of Kuro do Yuuhi's route last since his route has the most spoilers of all
so basically you'll end up with this going from least to most spoilers.
For Meguru its really best to do him ASAP to save what likeability is left in him... 
Takagi > Meguru > Keitarou > Mitsu > Ousuke > Yuuhi.

Pro's
Most if not all charcters was likeable.
- Diverse seiyuu cast(A few popular but not the usual bunch)
- Art and BGM.

Con's
- Short and not enough choices, tbh it feels like mobile game at times.
- Meguru, you are either gonna love or hate him...
- At first it doesn't feel like an otome game.
- copypasta

The prologue, chapter one and two is just the introduction.
Too bad there isn't a lot of choices... and not much happens in the prologue + chapter 1/2
to the point its a long prologue and you'll skip over it everytime since nothing new.
In chapter 3 you get to choose between the rich kids aka the student council
or the poor kids(lol not really) which are part of a club called Suuken.
The common route isn't that long and the routes aren't either, in the first few hours
suran digit doesn't feel like an otome game which is fine the only character that
actively pursues Hiroka is Ousuke but Hiroka will have none of his advances in other routes.
Other than that the system is nothing to write home about, standard VN stuff.

Each route takes about 5 hours to clear(give or take)
If you're fluent japanese and a fast reader maybe even shorter.

Sadly there is copy pasta, some general scenes during the route are almost identical to others
and in some parts exactly the same but the game classify it as new so haha no read skipping.
The best example is the sports festival but good thing is depending who you go for some things
are different like who's side you're on but still it can get annoying some share the same event.

I liked the heroine's personality in general and her lazing around. lol
Also she isn't afraid of picking fights with people! Too bad they made her so unstable
now we have a both cool and lazy heroine at the same time!
But... when I really think about it this is good because no one is perfect and one
who is confident/courageous should be allowed to be overwhelmed and show weakness
but yeah what is consistency! surely there was another way...

The CG scenes are pretty short, they're like how to put it? Fleeting moments.
This is fine with me but a little more dialogue would've been better.
The general scenes are also quick to the point, there isn't any TL;DR but its wasteful.

Overall I wouldn't say its a bad, sure you'll skip like 1/2 hours of common stuff
on 2nd+ play but thats bound to happen, some of the routes are less exciting than others
and speaking of romance in some routes there is not enough of it, the sweet scenes
are too short for me to appreciate them and the ending esp Takagi's makes me wish for more
and I am glad the short stories delivered for once but other than that meh, just the beginning.
As much as I like a diverse cast of characters and their interactions in the case of Suuran Digit its
really a curse rather than a blessing because the first half of the route is a drag in most route
 except all of the routes in the student council arc(Ousuke,Keitarou and Yuuhi)

6.5/10
Is my final verdict, its not outright terrible but it leaves much to be desired.
My personal experience made it a lot better than it may seem but its not that good.
The original score was higher but before the end of the year I decided to look over
 what I played and reduced it by two points because it really wasn't all that great
nor did it leave a memorable impression on me, imho you're better of spending
 your money on Collar x Malice or Yuukyuu no Tierblade if you haven't already
that's not to say Suuran is that bad but... yeah its just doesn't stand out much.

Stop reading hear if you do not want any spoilers, I still avoid mentioning the big topics
and you now my digest are shit and full of my own thoughts sometimes.

Friday, September 9, 2016

Collar x Malice - Review

 Game: [Collar x Malice].
Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.
Developer/Publisher: Otomate
Platform: PS Vita.
Release date: 2016-08-18.

 With Otomate being hit and miss ofcourse I had doubts about this otome game.
I had to choose between this game or 7'scarlet and I can't say it was an easy decision
since both games are mystery themed so it had to be one or the other, for better or for worse
 I decided to pick up Collar x Malice! since at times you just have to choose one or the other.
Anyway you may have guessed it but CxM focusses more on story than romance.
This IMO is good but for those expecting more romance, may be disappointed.
The team.
If you want a play order this one should be ideal:
Mineo > Kei > Takeru / Shiraishi > Aiji.
Please note that Shiraishi's route is locked till 2nd play, Aiji doesn't unlock till you've done everyone.
Mineo's route is very light on plot content so I recommend him first and Kei 2nd.
Takeru's route is pretty well balanced so he's perfect to do before the final two routes
though i you do Shiraishi before him or not shouldn't matter.
I have to add that after I did Takeru I was even more motivated to do the rest!

 Pro's
- Story.
- Characters.
- Art and bgm.
- Individual route is self-contained.

Con's
 - Many Bad Ends.
- Long routes, honestly this is both bad and good.
- Those expecting more romance may be disappointed.
- Not light-hearted in the slightest, can get pretty dark.
Hands where I can see them! :P
This game was fairly decent in length and actually managed to draw me in
because it was very suspenseful at times but in other areas like romance it was a little lacking.
 Though there were still enough cute bits because it is an otome game afterall.

The first route alone took me around 10 hours (give or take), I'd rather have a VN takes it time
 than rush itself, the story was really good so I can't even complain even if lack of romance.
Also I think Collar x Malice would have benefit from a voiced heroine! but sadly this isn't the case.
The heroine was really likeable atleast, also her brother didn't really care that much for her
which was nice considering how many games follow the onii-chan trope.
Kazuki is still a tsundere siscon even if he barely shows it at first. :P
Sadly Ichika doesn't know how to handle technology well.. which considering the setting is weird.

Also I am disappointed this game had no ending list, like I fully completed the game cg and all
but I was at a loss to see what bad ending I missed  and there are a lot.
Like come on otomate, when a game really needed one you go and pull this crap?!
Even Reine des fleurs has one... so why not Collar x Malice?
This is probably the only thing I am discontent about like seriously but oh well it can't be helped.

If you need a guide I recommend this one:
 http://dsadv.blog66.fc2.com/blog-entry-1133.html

Shhhh...
More ramblings and minor spoilers/CG's after the jump.
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Monday, December 7, 2015

Jyuzaengi ~Engetsu Sangokuden~ 1+2 - Review


十三支演義~偃月三国伝~
Game: [Juuza engi ~Engetsu Sangokuden~ 1+2 ]
Genre: Otome Visual Novel.
Developer/Publisher: Otomate and Red entertainment.
Platform: PSP, PS Vita.
Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/jyuzaengi/vita/
VNDB:https://vndb.org/v10289
Release date: 2015-08-27


Basically its Dynasty warriors with an otome spin to it, haha...
I can't say my original expectations were particularly high but I was pleasantly surprised
 it turned out to be mostly decent! (the first game atleast can't say the same about the second).
Thankfully the system wasn't annoying... it was decent, I liked the journey system.
RoTK with furries(as in cute animal ear and/or tail)... TBH out of all of them
Ryuubi is the cutest, maybe not romantically but you get the picture?
Not much plot spoilers for the first game atleast just quick thoughts and tbh
you can read elsewhere... I ended up writing more about part 2 because it was a step down
and I love complaining when I don't like things, it good to have opinion though.


This is by no means a loyal otome adaptation of ROTK and if you expect one you will be sorely
disappointed, I actually prefer Sangoku rensenki over this but that might be just me liking its tropes.
The writing is decent but it has issues at times, especially the 2nd game and I do not mind if
its not historically accurate but they make so many changes to turn it into an otome game this is one
of those you want everyone to be happy type of games... and thats what you get esp in the sequel.
This game isn't that bad but if you hate the I want everyone to be happy trope
and considering the setting expect something more serious give it a pass.

Jyuza engi 1, 8/10
I thought this was pretty solid, story is pretty good and great setup even tho they take too many liberties. The war scenes in this game are boring and drag the game on longer than it should
which makes me sleepy, cuz 70% of the time its just boring ossans talking about war tactics
but everything else was A++ and playing Jyuuza2 right after this was a bad idea and I regret
doing so since I loved every route and the continuety of the ends is not there except 1.
Jyuuzaengi 2, 5/10
Story is so-so but once again they take many liberties to change it into an otome game, I didn't
like Chounn & Chouryuu's route this time, plot there was pretty bad, compared to the other route.
 I only really ended up liking 3/4 routes out of 8 at the sequel so I am really disappointed.
The major problem with Jyuza2 is that they want you to forget all of the endings in
th first game cuz it continues from Ryuubi's route, yeah thats right and fine.
Ryuubi's route was still decent and finishes up the overall story nicely in my opinion.
But most of the other routes like Chounn, Chouryuu, Sousou and Kakouton were a drag
since it was a pain seeing Kanu fall in love again, still Chouhi's route was a huge improvement
over what he had in the first game though and Kakouton wasn't that bad.
Shokatsuryou ended up being my favorite in the sequel and Shuyu was eh.
S-e-r-i-o-u-s-l-y don't play these two games back to back, its my one and only mistake.
Though if I had to give it a rating overall it gets a 6.5/10 rating from me
which is a seven at best which is not bad at all.

Pro's
- Overall it has an interesting story and setting.
- Kanu was a pretty awesome heroine.
- Most if not all the guys are likeable (depend on taste tho).
Art and Bgm.
- Seiyuu's A++.
- Kakouton was moe the best boy, even in the sequel which I disliked in general.
- Shokatsuryou.
- Chouhi redeemed himself in the sequel, he was such a cutie pie there.
(I'm just glad it did one thing right at this point.)

Con's
- Ossans talking about boring war tactics, this is just sleep inducing, I can handle stuff like
dynasty warriors and history do interests me but in a visual novel esp otome its just a big no.
(atleast the sequel had less ossans).
- Enshou and Guo Jia are T R A S H.
- Bacho should have had more presence.
- In the 2nd game became too much of a damnsel in some of the routes.
(Huehue CHOUNN, she was still cool but she just wasn't as awesome as before...)
- In the 2nd game some of the routes, no the whole sequel had a weaker plot in general.
(In the case of Chouryuu, I was like I didn't ask for this did I? and for Chounn I was like wtf is this?)
- Sonken and the new guys should have had a route of his own instead of the old one.
(I was okay with Ryuubi's route since he was the OTP but the rest of returning cast are back 
to square one, why not turn them into sub chara and give Sonken and others a chance?).

 So basically TL;DR the sequel was kinda poor with the exception of Shokatsuryou, Shuyu and
Ryuubi's route. I didn't even like Shuyu but his route was OK compared to others.
Tbh I don't hate Jyuza Engi 2, I just feel that some routes like Chounn,Chouryuu,Sousou
aren't worth my time after playing the first game, ESPECIALLY RIGHT AFTER PART ONE
but don't worry I still like this series its great and the protag kicked ass where she could.
Overall I am biased for Ryuubi, Kakouton and Shokatsuryou, I liked Chouryuu route more in the 1st game though in p.2 they turned the fantasy elements up 9000% and I regret doing him last in the sequel. 
-
Playorder... for the first it doesn't matter except Ryuubi should be done either first or last cuz continuity why first? he doesn't have much romance and the thing he has could be jarring.
For part 2 some routes unlock on 2nd play so may as well do Shokatsuryou first, the rest
don't matter much and if you want to end the sequel in a good yet bittersweet way
 I recommend doing Sousou last, definitely not Chouryuu. -_-
Sure it was sweet but... it left a bitter taste in my mouth considering some stuff, seriously
i'd rather have Sousou to end the game with than... whatever the fuck even was Chouryuu's best end.

FAQ
Q: Is the PS Vita port worth it? if I played the PSP versions?
A: Do you like replaying or should I say rereading VN in better resolution? and do you like trophies?
Q: I only played the first game years ago, should I buy this port?
A: Do you remember liking it? by all means go for it if you want the complete experience.
Q: Are there any new additions to the PS Vita version?
A:There are new additions, there is a new epilogue for every character in the first game but
its really short, its hard to say if a 5-10 Minute scene with a CG is worth your time
it may be good for die-hard jyuuza fans but if not... its a pass?
I don't think it is worth it especially if said epilogues are retconned om the sequel.
If you agree like/agree with most of those answers then I say yes go for it.
(I can by no means guarantee you'll like this as a whole, maybe you will, maybe you won't...)
TL;DR/end

Characters ★★★★☆
Art  ★★★★☆(Great.)
Scenario/plot. ★★★★☆(First game 4 star... 3 star for sequel.)
Music★★★☆☆ (Average but no complaints.)
System  ★★★★☆ (Comfy...)
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆(Good but do not think too hard about it.)

 More ramblings after the jump.