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Overall, I found Yakuza Kiwami 3 to be an okay, average Yakuza game. It wasn’t horrendous, I had some fun with it, but it doesn’t have the same charm that won me over by the end of Yakuza 3 Remastered. I found myself quickly burnt out and feeling like it lost all of the charm Yakuza 3 used to have, which would’ve sucked me back in. But I did enjoy Mine’s side story chapters in Dark Ties. Funny enough, I prefer his new fighting style they came up with over Kiryu’s. Mine was a lot more fun to play as when it came to fighting thugs across Kamurocho. Sadly, that simply isn’t enough to recommend Kiwami 3 over the original Yakuza 3 experience should you only want to play one of the two. It is fun in its own right, yet it’s lacking in too many other ways and for that, I was disappointed. I simply cannot say that every Yakuza fan would love this one.
Overall, I enjoyed Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta. It expanded on the story I knew from the TurboGrafx era while still retaining the fast pace of combat and sense of adventure. The new and returning characters got a lot of love and characterization, which I really appreciated, especially with Duren, who is now one of my faves. Unfortunately, those story and character additions also contributed to a longer play time that felt overly padded at times. The game suffers from a lack of quality of life features such as a cutscene skip, and its hand-holdy style of spoonfeeding the player information was frustrating, especially in the beginning when I really wanted to jump into the action. I wish there had been more voice acting rather than relegating it to only a couple scenes, but the acting was fine all around. I played mostly with Japanese voice over but the English voices were good. The music is excellent and without reproach. Adventuring with Adol is always a good time, and I am definitely glad I got to go on this one with him again.
Ultimately, I enjoyed my time with Homura: The Crimson Warriors for the most part. But as someone who is now just a bit too obsessed and addicted to otome games, I was disappointed by the severe lack of extras. I mean, I guess I knew a historical otome wouldn’t be the most romance filled title ever. But I had hoped there would at least be some satisfying extras to unlock. Homura would really benefit from a fandisc. At the same time though, it’s not my first choice among otome games I’ve played that don’t have a sequel or fandisc, yet I hope will get one. That honor still goes to Sympathy Kiss. Nonetheless, if you enjoy history, or you’re a fan of visual novels full of battles and historical war excitement, this might be a game for you. I definitely think it has plenty to enjoy. But, if you’re mainly an otome fan and not majorly into history or war, this probably won’t be the next best otome for you to pick up. Or even if you’re a huge historical otome fan specifically, I still find the lack of unlockable extras to be quite disappointing.
Ys X: Proud Nordics is the definitive edition of Ys X and a step above its predecessor. It’s a solid action RPG with fun combat, nice visuals, and great music. The new story is interesting and implemented well without interfering with the existing story. The newly added game modes are a great deal of fun and add much more replay value to the game. I highly recommend Proud Nordics to newcomers and those who played the original. The new additions and improvements made Adol’s adventure through Obelia Gulf a more enjoyable experience overall.
I have to say I did enjoy my time with Calamity Angels: Special Delivery. The story isn’t that deep but the characters make up for it. It has an okay soundtrack with some good voice acting, and while the combat is random it is sorta fun to see what kinda crazy move these over-the-top characters are going to pull off next. If you like RNG and board game style games, this one is a no brainer. At the $29.99 price tag, you’re gonna have a lot of fun here. If these things aren’t your jam, you may want to hold out for IFI’s next offering.
Even with my gripes, I obviously enjoyed my time with SH ƒ. Early in my first playthrough, I called this game Silent Hill 3‘s more quiet, subtle sister, and having completed it, I stand by that assessment. Both games deal with similar themes, but approach them in completely different ways. Heather Mason’s story was angry and violent and in-your-face about it, while Hinako’s is subdued and simmers over multiple playthroughs. I found it a really neat contrast that still provided an emotional, resonate conclusion I haven’t stopped thinking about since beating it. Hinako is one of the most relatable protagonists in a game I’ve played in a long time. Silent Hill ƒ is absolutely a Silent Hill game in all the ways that matter. While the repetitive, frustrating combat and less-than-scary atmosphere keep the game as a whole from reaching the vaunted heights of SH2 and SH3, Hinako’s story stands toe-to-toe with James’ as the best in the series. It’s a story that’s deeply humanizing and impactful, and one I think is worth experiencing.
Arknights: Endfield is a solid game. It has fun combat, a robust building system, expansive environments to explore, and is a visual treat to look at. Unfortunately, it’s held back by its work-in-progress nature and gacha mechanics. If you’re looking for a free game to play with fun gameplay and nice visuals, I think this is the game for you. Arknights: Endfield has tons of room for growth and a lot of potential, so I look forward to seeing how it proceeds from now on.
Shujinkou is clearly a love letter to Japanese language and culture, created by a team with passion for both games and language. Despite the technical issues and uneven pacing, I really loved my time with this game. As someone relearning Japanese, immersing myself in the language learning aspects was both a great refresher and a genuine learning tool at times without ever losing focus on also being a fun game experience. The combat is engaging with just the right amount of difficulty, and the characters are charming and memorable. I still listen to the music every chance I get. It’s a long game, so if you get it be prepared for the commitment, but I think it’s well worth your time.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails beyond the Horizon is an excellent entry in the Trails series and the strongest game in the Calvard arc. The combat system is one of the best in the series and the music will leave a lasting impression on you. The story is interesting and will grip you until the end. It resolves mysteries from previous games all while setting things up for the future and leaves you clamoring for more. If you have been following Trails for a long time, I highly recommend you pick this game up, you will love it. Newcomers, however, should play earlier entries first before tackling this one, to maximize their enjoyment of the game.
Overall, I enjoyed Mistonia’s Hope. It wasn’t my new favorite otome, but it was as enjoyable as any other. So many are released nowadays, not every title stands out above the rest. But I will say, I’m grateful we’re in a timeline where we get so much otome localized in the West. I know that wasn’t always the case. I mostly enjoyed the romance with the different love interests, plus uncovering the secrets behind what happened to Aprose’s family, or moreso why. I didn’t run into any significant issues in this game either. The usual grammar mistakes weren’t too extensive, it was mostly near the end of the game where I ran into most of them. If you’re a longtime otome fan, you’ll have as much fun with Mistonia’s Hope as any of the tons of other Otomate titles that have been localized. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily better than the others. Although, I do think this one is way better than Battlefied Waltz: a somewhat similar Otomate title I reviewed earlier this year, which also had a main girl who lost her family and home. One last note, Mistonia’s Hope took me just about 55 hours to go through every single route and check out the extras I unlocked.
Donkey Kong Bananza is an excellent game. I had a ton of fun bulldozing my way through enemies and the underground world with DK and Pauline. It is visually impressive, the music is a bop, and the sound design is impeccable. Despite my gripes with its performance in some spots, it doesn’t take away from how much fun I had with this game. I feel players, both young and old, will definitely enjoy their time with this one. If you have a Nintendo Switch 2, I highly recommend you grab a copy of this one, it’s definitely a must-have title on this console.
in the end, Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian felt very much like a mobile spin-off game. While it is mostly standalone, the events of the mobile game starring Resna are constantly vaguely referenced. Plus, it clearly didn’t get the same effort and care typically put into a mainline title, and it didn’t run amazingly on Switch either. I should note real quick, I have yet to get my hands on Atelier Yumia, so I can only compare to the two Ryza games I’ve played, as the most recent offline titles. Despite having some issues with this one, though, I did have a lot of fun playing Resleriana RW overall. Mostly, I enjoyed the relationship between Rias and Slade, and learning more about the mystery behind what happened to Hallfein when they were both kids. I think that’s where this game shines the most. Unfortunately, due to the various issues performance wise, the aspects where it felt like a quickly made mobile spin-off and with the game freezing in the worst possible place it could, I can’t be as generous with my score as I wanted to be. Sure I had a lot of fun playing this one, but there were still a lot of problems. Regardless, if you’re an old fan of the Atelier franchise, I think you’ll find a lot to love.
Disgaea 7 Complete is a pretty good package for the $69.99 price tag. The base game is great and like I said in my previous review, this was a return to form for this franchise. The DLC adds quite a bit to the game if you’re a fan of the Disgaea franchise, or if you just want a bunch of special characters to fill out your party with. I think this is a must for Nintendo Switch 2 owners that haven’t already invested in the previous release. You’ll find a great strategy game here that runs very well on your hardware.
Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is an excellent RPG and a perfect example of how a remake should be done. It kept the story, which helped me fall in love with the Trails series, intact while also greatly improving the visuals and gameplay. And the music is still exceptional. Despite some of the small issues I had, I really enjoyed revisiting Liberl and following Estelle and Joshua on their journey, and I feel this remake has managed to surpass the original game. Those wanting to get into the Trails series usually ask where they should start. I can proudly say this is the absolute best game to start the series. Newcomers and veterans of the series will definitely have a good time with this one. Now, I just hope Falcom brings us a remake of The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC sooner rather than later.
Overall, I really enjoyed Illusion of Itehari. While this otome was lacking in a lot of ways, the story still had me hooked pretty quickly and I couldn’t seem to put it down. One last thing I should mention, is that this is nowhere near Aksys Games’ worst release in regards to grammar mistakes. Forgive me for comparing the two again, but I will say it wasn’t nearly as bad as the two Piofiore games in that regard. In looking into Itehari a bit after deciding I wanted to do this review, I saw that a fandisc had already been announced for Japan. I’m not sure if it’s out there yet or not, but I really hope Aksys will localize it next year. I’m now actually waiting for sequels and/or fandiscs for a few different otome. I really hope despite the Switch 2 now being out, that we’ll continue to see more otome localized for the original Switch, especially the fandiscs and sequels to previous releases us otome fans in the West have already come to love.
After over 80 hours of playing Grand Bazaar, I can still say this is a wonderful new entry in the series. And yes, I do think this is the very best STORY OF SEASONS game to be released on the original Switch. If you don’t mind a more hectic farming game, where you’re constantly running around growing stuff, collecting stock to sell at a weekly bazaar and raising the quality of your products, then I highly recommend Grand Bazaar over the other STORY OF SEASONS games currently available. This one might not be for you if you like a more relaxing Bokujō Monogatari game, such as Animal Parade. Nonetheless, I adored the time I spent with Grand Bazaar. I was pleasantly surprised to see Marvelous turn things around and put more time and effort into releasing a fantastic new entry in the series. The game has a lot of life and personality, and I don’t believe it’s at all too short either.
Overall I had a good time with Yomegami: My Sweet Goddess. I found all four heroines’ routes to be interesting and nothing ever got too serious, which was a big plus for me personally. I love light-hearted comedies like this and I hope JAST picks up more of these in the future.
Ultimately, I found Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma to be an okay game. I enjoyed it for the most part, mainly the story and getting to know the different characters. But as I’ve described above, it also has a lot of flaws which keep it from being a great game. Not to mention, it dragged on a bit too much in the latter half, constantly throwing you at multiple dungeons and bosses per one story issue. Nonetheless, I think existing fans of Rune Factory will find plenty of fun to be had here, I just wouldn’t say it’s nearly as good as older entries prior to the Switch era. I spent around 60 hours on Azuma, though I should mention, I did lower the difficulty to easy near the end after it started to overly drag on.
The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is a fantastic game. The story is amazing, and once you see the twists and turns it will hook you in and not let go. I loved all of the characters, the soundtrack is just fantastic and this features one of the best English dubs I’ve heard in a long time. I had a blast with combat as well. It can be pretty tough on normal mode, but if you want easier combat so you can enjoy the Visual Novel aspects there is a safety difficulty that is much easier. At the $59.99 price tag it’s likely gonna take at least 100 hours to see all the endings here if not more, so it’s well worth your coin. It’s very rare a game comes along that does everything right, but The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy does just that.
The overall plot of Battlefield Waltz wasn’t amazing. Although, the romance I would say is better than 9 R.I.P., the last Otomate title I reviewed. I’m not sure if this is just how these games were back in 2014, or if Battlefield Waltz just happens to be a more basic otome. If you like otome, I’m sure you’ll get some enjoyment out of it, it truly did grow on me after I got through a few routes. It simply wouldn’t be my top choice from this developer.