Okay so Aquaplus has decided to make a new game, that is set before utawarerumono 2.
This game ended up being harder than I expected, it really is quite in line with
old school rpg's, so I want to say this game probably isn't it if you want something casual.
I won't be detailing any plot spoilers and there'll just be some screens/cg's without context.
I forgot to add that this game is available in english on PC, but the ps4/5 versions are japanese only.
OP movie
Pro's
- Interesting story that is part of a greater whole.
- Decent graphics/world design and BGM.
- Combat may be simplistic yet it can still be satisfying to win against odds.
Con's
- Can be unforgiven at times...
- Mobs a plenty! but EXP scaling is pretty bad.
- Npc/townsfolk models can leave to be desired.(This has been patched)
- Game locks basic QoL features behind Halu upgrades... want shrines
to give both hp/mp? short out of luck till you have the mats.
Story/characters:
It stars Oshtor in his younger days who met a young girl named Shunya and together they
end up trying to meet back up with his father who apparently send her to Oshtor for help.
Personally when this game was announced I was like huh? a midquel? will this turn out okay...
good thing, at first sight this game isn't too heavy on relying on the rest of the series but
despite it trying to tell a story of its own it is without a doubt this is a prequel to utawarerumono 2!
its just not going to be about Haku or Kuon, because it is about Oshtor and the history of yamato.
Honestly if you like Oshtor, Munechika or Mikazuchi who are the main characters
along with Shunya and want to enjoy an RPG adventure with those three in their younger years
then I think its an easy recommendation but ultimately this game is more or less
a coming of age story mostly centered on Oshtor and Miikazuchi of how they became generals!
There are only four party members in this game which makes it pretty compact...
err did I say four? actually there's a fifth if we count the robot that Shunya can summon.
They all get unique weapon designs too! sad there was no glamour system i'd definitely
want to keep using a specific look at times.
Their backstories were also the most interesting to me and well I never really understood
Mikazuchi in the original games but turns out he was really a tsundere ore-sama.😂
Munechika more or less felt like she was there for comic relief but she too
had her backstory fleshed out a little! As for Shunya... I do not know and I can not
say much without spoilers so I just say that I don't really understand her or that
this game ended up cutting itself short? yes that is right while the story mostly
seems wrapped up and sets Osthor to the path of general... Shunya is left up in the air.
I was very disappointed... and I do not understand the end at all.
I am not sure if I should recommend it if you're completely new to the utawarerumono series though... but I think this game can be played either before or after Uta2&3. I don't want to be
too strict especially when this game really tries to stand on its own and introduce its
own elements while still knowing its part of a greater story and world.
In terms of story pacing/length of the game, it is pretty long? it took me 50ish hours
I think the overall pacing was okay however it did kind of slow down once you got
to the capital and it took a bit before the story picked up again.
It did leave us with some fun scenes and fetch quests... atleast those gave good money!
is this what it means to finally land a good job? probably!
So after I beat xenoblade 3, which left me kind of depressed I wondered what game/vn
would be best to play next... which lead me to cupid parasite cuz honestly I was in the mood
for something that I know is light-hearted/fun and probably doesn't take it self too serious! I couldn't finish the game before kuro 2 so this kind of became a backburner game I played inbetween
other games. Due to this being out in english, I actually decided to play it and support
instead of just buying it in JPN. The localization was fine and they even patched
any lingering issues that were found. Of course I did spot a few minor mistakes
anyone could make when typing, its nothing too big that would ruin it in the long run.
Pro's
- Cute and funny story with a pro-active heroine.
- Gorgeous Art and Catchy Tunes!
- Unique individual routes and a really good finale.
Con's
- UI is a little busy / too much random/useless text in menu's.
I don't got many complaints so let's get those out first!
The UI is a tad busy! which I think is more of a personal issue from my part.
So while the art is really good and I don't have much problems with the background art either
though it is stylish the backgrounds can look kind of flat at times as well.
I don't mind the vibrant colours in fact I like bright happy stuff but there's such a thing
as there being a lot on the screen. The other thing is that while the music is really good
I didn't like it when there were vocal tracks cuz it distracted me from reading
so I just lowered the volume to the point its just a nice background bgm.
The UI is just too busy for people like me and it overwhelmed me...
still I like the style of it all and it being hip and trendy even if its just not my thing.
System wise it was just basic stuff, there are bad/fail ends but it all was pretty simple and easy
to get the normal/best end which didn't have much difference except one being just better.
It does have bad ends but they're not too bad, if you play blind you could get them...
but its not too hard to get the good or best ends due to love catch! although
at times it will take a while before the love catch shows up.
Cupid Parasite does remind me of Variable Barricade in some ways yet they're nothing alike.
The only thing that is, is that the love interests are definitely not ready for marriage! yet.
Both games also have a confident/headstrong heroine. So if you're into that or tired
of the meeker ones Cupid Para is definitely something to look into.
For the most part it was a pretty light-hearted but fun read, this is not the game
to look for if you prefer darker stories as it really is like a love comedy.
Can't describe it in any other way! some of the love interests might not work for everyone though
but really i've played plenty of otome games to know by now that sometimes you'll just
find some character that you just cannot like or leaves the most terrible of first impressions
and Ryuki sorta hit that spot for me, I was like any other love interest please and thank you!
I swear I looked over all the initially available love interests and was like hmm they're all
a better choice than him. I still wanted to do his route of course, just not right of the bat.
All in all Cupid Parasite is a fun and cute otome game, it is also a game that can lift your mood
like if you have a bad day or want to think about something better/fun.
There's not much otome games like it but I think it is one of the better ones out in english
because it doesn't try too hard with its story and manages to keep it light and fun
without it ever trying too hard to be something it isn't.
The heroine Lynette also was an absolute queen I enjoyed seeing her interact with the guys etc.
One thing I will be honest about is that the love interests could definitely be a hit or miss
but don't let that stop you from trying it out. I didn't like any of the guys that much based
on the common route but their route did make things better or put perspective on things!
so characters like Shelby became much more likable and even Gill became bearable.
Ryuki however will remain the king of terrible expressions, even so his route was still
surprisingly entertaining, even if I don't like him that much he got the OK from me by the end.
The true route this time was one of the better kind but I can understand if some say it needed
just a little more romance as it did focus on the plot and any questions the player could have had.
However if you're not looking for a rom-com or don't like that genre, Cupid Parasite should be a pass!
but if you're up for that or just for something silly then by all means it gets my recommendation
cuz it is a good time. This game is also great to just play in short bursts/a little at a time
or do a route every now and then! for me it was like that and just did a route inbetween other games.
For the most part it all turned out okay cuz there's no real overarching plot so I wasn't
too confused when I picked it back up cuz every route is mostly self-contained.
There was definitely a plot beneath it all but by the time I got to the routes that delved into it more
I also stopped taking breaks and just did the final three routes one after the other.
Allan's route is really good tho and i'd even recommend the whole game just cuz of him.
I also think due to the love interests being diverse there may be something for everyone
in this game which is good. Honestly I think Cupid-Para was pretty well-rounded!
all things considered this was a good otome game maybe not the best ever but it was pretty good
at what it tried; being a rom-com. The final route does feel more like a fanservicey what if
rather than a typical true route but it does a good job of giving the player another perspective.
9,5/10
Biased score I know! but I did enjoy it and will look back fondly on it.
My play order was Shelby > Gill > Raul > Allan > True.
Raul's route is locked till 2nd play and Allan's locked by him...
dunno if there was a recommended order but I think the following is alright to recommend
due to the restrictions on Raul/Allan the first three routes listed can be done as you like.
If Ryuki really irks you due to his habits then you could skip him...
or if you want to get to Allan just do Gill and Raul to unlock Allan.
Okay its that time of the year! unfortunately while I greatly looked forward to this game
I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped! first of all this is a direct-sequel to kuro no kiseki
so I don't recommend starting with this game. Sadly when this game launched
there was a bunch of drama Llama due to chinese streamer that rushed the game
and finished it in a day or so and a lot of fans were disappointed.
After playing it myself I can sort of understand why!
I will say this here, I tried to be positive but this game is far from perfect
this is not one of those cases where sugar coating it is gonna make it better.
Anyway if you don't like what you're reading close the tab and
go play it for yourself and form your own opinion.
There won't really be many plot spoilers in this post, though some notes
about random scenes but nothing with full context.
Pro's
- Story has an interesting enough premise and it is good as a direct-sequel.
- Rion and Celis are goat, Nadia and Swin are cute little angels.
- BGM was good, tho mostly boss fights.
- Fishing minigame is back and better than ever.*
Con's
- This game does very little for the trails series as a whole.
- Dumb bad ends with time travel gimmick yet no consequences for it.
- We hardly visit any new areas.
- Characters get too careless and OOC in a way that does not fit.
- Minigames for the sake of having them.
I'm going to start with the things that I liked!
I loved spending more time with Rion and Celis and learning more of them
they're also Bergard's disciples/students and they go way back. Sadly Bergard couldn't
be around much in this game but these guys have our backs most of the time, especially Rion!
I liked the scene where Celis kicked a door and Rion went like oh my that's quite sturdy isn't it?😅
or the one where Rion covered Celis's mouth as she was about to spout obscenities.😂
I Need more cheeky guys like Rion in my life...
Someone at falcom may have been a Eugeo fan though as Rion's S-craft is quite the reference!
and well he ended up being like a true bro too so... hmm!
Cuz Bergard isn't present at all in this game and I wish Rion/Celis replaced him in full
but they ended up being more or less guests that join at fixed times.ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
A timeless classic...
Nadia and Swin are also back and they're so cute and sweet, most scenes were fun with them
also plenty of fun moments with the cast in the game, it wasn't all bad.
Okay you may be like what does this have to do with any of the plot? well it doesn't
the plot is mostly about the eight genesis, Quatre also gets more development
as his backstory was actually pretty big and could definitely not be told before.
Unfortunately this game may have been about the eight genesis but it did a terrible job
at even explaining wtf they even are... instead we get an entire chapter full of bullshittery
but hey just in case anyone misinterprets this sentence i'll add that atleast it wraps it all up
pretty well and there was a reason why garden master wanted the dang things... and why red grendel exists. So even if this game does nothing for the series as a whole it is good as a sequel.
Elaine has a nice ass.
Sadly I thought Elaine would have more presence but more often than not it felt like Swin
was the second protagonist and she was even sidelined for a whole chapter.
Haha atleast Elaine's final connect event was kind of nice, super fanservicey but uhm
while that is nice its also nothing definite regarding her relationship with Van.
Van is a good MC, kuro 1 has showed that but in this game he and the crew have
gotten careless, add into the fact the dead ends are just shock value
its like they tried to turn this into a visual novel! Maybe trails becoming a VN
wouldn't be so bad, perhaps this way they could actually finish the story as a whole. /s
As for Shizuna... she was cool as always but yet again this wasn't her game!
also I didn't really like her costume this time cuz it looked like she robbed a store
and was caught in the act when going for the pants.😂
Anyway if you expect Kuro no Kiseki 2 Crimson Sin to make big progress for the series in general
then drop those expectations cuz you ain't gonna get it! but as a sequel or fandisk to Kuro 1?
yea it is good in that sense but it also doesn't do too much for any of the cast.
In short, Kuro no Kiseki 2 can be a disappointment *if you expect to much in the grand scheme of things.
More rambles after the jump, edit: I won't force anyone to read any further as I can sound
kind of harsh, cuz despite loving parts of it I did not enjoy the game as much and actually
expected more of it. Please note that I do not think this game is that bad...
if you really don't like what you're reading then I urge you to play it for yourself
maybe you will like it more than I did! thus my score of enjoyment overall
is a 6/10 this is my personal rating for the game.
