Coded Soul [コーデッドソウル -受け継がれしイデア-] Game Sample - PSP Vysethedetermined2 2024-04-24 | Note: This version is the upscaled stealth port released for PS4/PS5 in 2023.So there was a rather promising early PS3 title under the name of "Folklore", aka "FolksSoul: Ushinawareta Denshou" (FolksSoul: Lost Tradition)... anyone remember it? Released back in 2007 by Game Republic and Sony, it wasn't exactly popular despite releasing numerous add-ons and has since gone on to be a cult classic. The game was featured in our channel intro many years ago but didn't get an actual video for reasons... nevertheless, it was a fine game overall renowned for its beautiful visuals, great merger of Eastern and Western sensibilities and some of the finest usage of the SIXAXIS motion control scheme, but there was much more to the game than could be seen on the surface. What if I told you that Folklore was connected to not one, but two other games? One serving as a prequel, and one serving as a sequel? Indeed, let's go down this rabbit hole while we explore today's title, "Coded Soul: Uketsugareshi Idea".The loosely-connected trilogy was first born from an (at the time) new studio named Gaia, which was founded in 2003 by Kouji "Cozy" Okada, one of the founders of Atlus and main developers of the earlier Megami Tensei / SMT / Persona games, after he left Atlus. The first game by his new studio was "Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner", a monster-collecting RPG released between 2006-2007 for Sony's PSP (which was, ironically, published in the U.S. by Atlus). Monster Kingdom is one of a fairly small list of PSP games that was not available for the PSN in the U.S., meaning it was only released physically (and it's fairly rare as-is). Gaia would go on to help co-develop "Folklore" for the PS3 in 2007 (working on the monster designs... also of note, the game was called "Monster Kingdom: Unknown Realms" early in development but was changed due to poor sales of Monster Kingdom). Folklore's Japanese full title adds the "Lost Tradition" moniker, which is somewhat aligned with the final game's "Uketsugareshi Idea" (or "Inherited Idea"). Besides monsters and the concept of "Monoliths" shared between all three games, Folklore and Coded Soul have more significant connections with each other.Coded Soul shares connectivity features, gameplay concepts and even makes numerous references to characters and lore from Folklore (the player can't even progress very far without getting power-ups through "Keat's Report"). That said, you don't need to have played the previous games to understand the plot, but there are several Easter Eggs for dedicated fans who have. The reason we're covering this game first is because it was recently released for the Japanese PSN for PS4/PS5 and it is probably the most obscure of the bunch... but the fact that Monster Kingdom (which shouldn't have been a big deal) or Folklore (probably due to the difficulty of porting PS3 games) wasn't released as well is kinda baffling.The game takes place in the near future of 20XX, where strange incidents tied to America and the Bermuda Triangle have proliferated into the release of a deadly phenomenon known as the "Asura Virus" and the discovery of a potential cure in an unknown world known as "Idea" where only an experimental guinea pig named "Gail" can enter. The research and development of Idea is closely guarded by the military at Area 51 (Codenamed "Project Code Chasers") and "Jay Jack Langley" is the only one who can help now as, due to a chain of events, he is the only other person capable of exploring Idea since he was chosen by Gail to save May, our damsel in distress. Jay, while mighty and strong, is also a guinea pig of the military operating on borrowed time as he himself is inflicted with the Asura Virus and his future is uncertain (he has to return every 24 hours to the base to keep the virus at bay or his organs will crystalize and die... he has a limited amount of time he can stay in Idea), and this takes up the bulk of the plot.CS takes more of the RPG elements of MK:JS and some of the monster mechanics but with real-time action and the karma system of Folklore. Jay grows through leveling and manipulation of monster data into his weapon, the "Risk Breaker", but players can also capture dozens of monsters in dungeons (you can take two into battle, and have five in reserve), upgrade monsters through mutations (they can't gain levels or experience like Jay, but can be captured with different stats and powered up with karma items and cell data) and store spares in your monster library. Estelle manages most of your monster needs as well as keeps the shop nearby while Lisa and Freeman allow you to take on various side missions or quests. Combat itself is a basic, somewhat janky ARPG (controls are stiff and you can't properly target enemies, but many weapons and skills get around this issue) with monsters fighting through set A.I., but the game is still pretty interesting with decent visuals and good music.
The Marionette Antique [マリオネットアンティーク] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2024-04-24 | So here's a rarity from Doujin Circle, Roots, that I've been tracking down for many years now and finally found for purchase: "The Marionette Antique". While Roots has been operating since 2001, they quietly ceased operations in 2016 after 15 years and are best known for "Memories of Solomon's Key", "Ultimate Labyrinth Daedalus" and "Magic Musketeer Mami☆Mami Musket". Released in 2006, it is the first game in a mini-series along with "Pumpkingdom Halftype" and "Pumpkingdom Halftype2", but as those were essentially demos, "The Marionette Antique" is one of Roots' most comprehensive works. With more than 150 rooms and lasting several hours, TMA looks like a Metroidvania on the surface (complete with a sprawling map, various weapon types, kinds of gear, unlockable abilities, etc.) but its primary element is puzzle-solving, with the action serving as more of an end to justify the means. It is officially labeled as an Action-RPG.The game has a plot, but the bulk of it takes place prior to the game's start and is outlined in its digital manual. The player takes the role of 16-year-old Mari Saionji, a slightly peculiar girl from Minato-ku, Tokyo. Mari has particular tastes in clothes and fashion with a Victorian flair and with her birthday on the horizon, she decides to treat herself at her favorite accessory shop on the outskirts of the city. The shop has some new items on display today, but one catches Mari's attention in particular... a ring with a deep silver luster and a mysterious aura. As if being beckoned, Mari feels an almost divine intervention echoing in her head as she checks the price and checks her purse... the ring is expensive, but Mari knows she has to have it, and the ring looks like a perfect fit. Just out of curiosity, Mari tries the ring on, but as soon as she does, the area is enveloped in darkness and she loses consciousness. When she comes to, she awakes in an unknown underground world where she encounters a sentient piece of armor or "knight" who mistakes her for the witch of legend, Marian. Mari doesn't understand what's going on, but she may be the reincarnation of Marian and she knows she needs the knight's help to find her way home...The game, as mentioned before, gives off the initial impression of a Metroidvania; you are allowed to explore freely although the game isn't exactly what you'd call non-linear (as each main area has ten orbs which need to be found to access the boss area and go to the next main area), but the game has many optional areas as well as bonuses unlocked with "Secret Words". Mari can not do much directly, but she can control the knight in her service with the rings she acquires and can gain access to different weapons, tools or accessories which expand the options at her disposal. Each weapon has their own levels, cooldowns (squatting and items increase weapon recovery), pros and cons and can be leveled up to Lvl.5 by reaching fairies who will do so for a price. However, the goal is to find ten orbs in each area and these orbs only reveal themselves when you eliminate all the enemies in said room, so the puzzle comes in trying to figure out how to dispatch each one. Some are hidden pretty well or require you to find an alternative route just to get to them, and Mari is also fragile... she dies in a single hit but can be revived once if she has a green crystal (Time Distortion)... if not, you have to restart from your last save.Save points are pretty common, but the further you get into the game, the more spread out they become, so the game gets more difficult as tougher enemies are introduced and less save points are available. While the game was released in 2006, it has the feel of considerably older computer titles with a strong MS-DOS vibe in terms of the presentation and framerate (with a few outliers). The game doesn't have too much variety in the music tracks available with a little over a dozen, but they're all appropriate for the game's look and overall vibe (Roots doesn't really disappoint here, look up "Memories of Solomon's Key" and "Ultimate Labyrinth Daedalus" if you need proof). Overall, while there are more impressive Doujin works out there, the game is a bit of a hidden gem among Doujin Action/Adventure/Puzzle games. This is a video getting through the first area and showing a separate snip with an upgraded weapon. You can find the game at:mediafire.com/file/mtiuft7w3sq8lo1/Marionette+Antique.7z/fileEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Protect Me Knight: Mamotte Kishi [まもって騎士] Game Sample - Xbox 360 Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-26 | Protect Me Knight! Defeat F$%kin' Goblins!Funny story about this one; I recorded this MANY years ago with a group of friends just shooting the breeze but it never went public because there was a fatal flaw in the recording, and as I've been playing other games from this dev (more later) like "Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness", "Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet" and "Ouritsu Anapoko Gakuen" (a gem of a gem in desperate need of a localization and broader audience), I looked at my Xbox 360 with a hint of sadness. You see, I am still of the opinion, almost twenty years later, that the Xbox 360 is Microsoft's best console and it was doing a lot of great things at the time and it helped that the machine was a total beast when it hit the market. "Games with Gold" (free games to keep even if you didn't have a subscription), excellent versions of most games when compared to multi-platform releases, a foray into backwards compatibility (nothing grandiose like the PS3, but a step in the right direction), several worthwhile exclusives (still need ports of "Lost Odyssey" and "Blue Dragon", especially with Akira Toriyama's passing...), STRONG Japanese support compared to its predecessor, the list goes on.That said, one of the coolest but unfortunate things Microsoft did with the system was create the "XBLIG" or "Xbox Live Indie Games" marketplace (formerly Xbox Live Community Games or XBLCG), an experimental foray into even lower-priced gaming accessible to those with even the littlest discretionary income and a gateway for many amateurs and veterans alike to create games with few restrictions other than price point and blatant disregards for the TOS (Terms of Service), which was preceded by Xbox Live Arcade in 2004 (which served as sort of the middleman between full-priced games and cheap as dirt Indie games). The only platform offering Indie games outright to such an extent at the time was, of course, PCs themselves (but many were found on Valve's rapidly-growing platform, Steam), and while many of them could be considered shovelware by today's standards, quite a few gems got released for it Internationally (but not Australia unfortunately, as the terms were too loosey-goosey for them). The service eventually ended in 2017, but not before an impressive number of games dropped, approximately 3,600 that are "currently" known (could be more).If I was Microsoft, I would reeeally look into a modern-day equivalent as it fostered quite a bit of Indie talent, but enough about all that - let's talk business. "Protect Me Knight" is one of the best XBLIG to never get a large following due to just how niche it was... you couldn't even find it proper back in the day under its English title and had to look for it in Japanese! Released in 2010 by "Ancient Corp.", a studio founded by Yuzo Koshiro (YES, THE LEGENDARY MUSIC COMPOSER Yuzo Koshiro) and his mother (Tomo) and sister (Ayano) on April 1st, 1990 who are best known for work on "Sonic the Hedgehog", "Streets of Rage 2", "Beyond Oasis", "Shenmue" and their current games circa 2010. At this time, Ancient was part of the "digital renaissance" and put a lot of stock in the model of digital distribution to cut down on costs and foster lesser restrictions on how they operated. Makoto Wada (aka karu_gamo) handled approximately 90% of this game's development by himself and is a powerful force within Ancient currently as the chief designer and lead on most games. At its core, it's a 2D single-screen Musou-style beat-em-up where you defeat mobs of enemies, but it's got light elements of Tower Defense and Survival as well (the game was originally a "Zombie Survival" game early in development before shifting).The player goes through each stage protecting the Princess who can be moved by the player while utilizing one of four classes: Fighter, Amazon, Ninja and Mage. Each character is distinct in their abilities (that can also be upgraded with "Love Points" which also create barricades for protection, catapults you can man, desperation attacks to clear crowds, and your endgame ranking) with the Amazon being the average character, the fighter being the strongman, the ninja being quick, and the mage specializing in crowd control. While the game is not very long (weighing in at 10 normal stages and a survival mode), it supports awesome co-op up to four players (locally), quirky Engrish and very tongue-in-cheek humor and themes, being a parody of the fantasy genre as well as old-school games. Combos can be formed amongst players by juggling and defeating enemies for increased Love Points. The music is by Yuzo Koshiro and is obviously awesome (with the title theme deliberately sampled and paying respects to his work on "Dragon Slayer IV") and the game has a surprising amount of sound effects too.This is a video of the game in action. The game is currently lost to the sands of time... but not his next work, "Earthion" for the Gen / Mega Drive, so look out for it!
MOCHI A GIRL [モチ上ガール] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-26 | If you need a frame of reference for this title, I can easily refer you to "New Super Hook Girl", "Ganbare Natsuki-san" or one of the various "Umihara Kawase" titles. "MOCHI A GIRL" by the small dev team, mumimumi, was originally released for the Nintendo Switch back in 2019 as part of the "Play.Doujin!" and Mediascape lineup before eventually getting ported (thankfully) to Steam in late 2023 and adds its own glutinous rice flavor to the mix. While we're at it, mumimumi has other strange games that have made their way to Steam such as "Hug Survivor" and "Otokonoko Fishing", so check them out if you're so inclined. The game is a fast-paced action game that banks on its simplicity with a one button scheme and intuitive controls to entertain gamers of most ages and skill levels.The game doesn't really have a plot... I suppose if one had to make one up, it would be that you play with a girl made of mochi and have to collect all the sushi and sushi-esque items while touting your mochi supremacy to log the best times and prove you are the best mochi girl... oh, and there are a few bosses too, so, these baddies really hate rice and must be stopped. This mochi girl of yours can fire off a sticky grappling hook which has different traits based on the objects you grab as well as the angle and trajectory. For example, you can pull at the ground to get a little sprint going, grab ceilings to swing around, grab walls to roll up them if you hold the button, and grab certain enemies and throw them as well. Later levels have more sophisticated gimmicks that will allow you to swim through water, rotate around in full 360 degree fashion, swing around or through objects, grind on rails and more. Most levels are pretty straightforward, but the later levels have quirks to them that make them a little more enjoyable.The game is pretty simple visually, but it works well within the parameters of the Switch hardware with no major hiccups in which to speak of. It's also a fun game on the go that can be played in short bursts, which caters to another one of the Switch's strengths. The audio is upbeat and fun with good clarity and while an initial playthrough of the game only weighs in around an hour, the game does introduce some additional content for those seeking to get a bit more out of the title. These extras include timed versions of stages (where you collect holy clocks to extend the timer that also introduce new ways to grapple around existing stages) and challenge stages that push certain mechanics to the max with no checkpoints from start to finish. On the subject of checkpoints, "MOCHI A GIRL" is very easy and relaxed in tone for the most part as there is very little penalty for failure (only going back a small ways) and most enemies are relatively non-threatening, only pushing you around some in most cases.While "MOCHI A GIRL" is a fun little experience, it's actually quite expensive for what you get at $20 or so. That said, if that is too rich for your blood, definitely wait for a sale, but there aren't too many Umihara-likes out there, so I took the plunge at full price. This is a video showing different things in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Beach Volley Girl Shizuku 3: Sekai Taikai-hen [G-MODEアーカイブス36 ビーチバレーガールしずく3 世界大会編] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-26 | Volley...ball! Again! For the last time!A G-MODE recreation / reissue of old mobile phone games, this introduces "G-Mode Archives 36: Beach Volley Girl Shizuku 3: Sekai Taikai-hen". They've released quite a few reissues for the PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch and it's good to see them getting ported from old defunct hardware for posterity. Of course, most of them have not aged well and this is more for novelty than anything else, but it's a commendable project and I hope many more old mobile phone games can be salvaged such as the BREW service titles, J2ME releases and older Android / iOS titles. There are a few games I really WANT to play such as Climax's 2006 iteration of "Lady Stalker" ("Waltz of the Labyrinth", which has practically been forgotten) and many Western Java games on mobile, to name a few, but this is a good starting point. There have been projects for years now slowly integrating old mobile titles for use in emulators.That said, while this is a great recreation of 2009's "Mobile & Game Studio" title, it's a functional and great sequel in a pretty nice series overall, with three other games (and a demo) that are related to each other. One title that will most likely NOT be covered is "Beach Volleyball Girl Shizuku Training Camp Edition" which was a free flash demo distributed for the "Pico Pico Mixi" (aka "pikomiku") between August to September of 2008. Said title essentially takes place somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd game as the two mains are doing intensive training. When you look back at games like these, it's truly impressive how far mobile phone gaming has come in such a short time (but at least these titles weren't predatory like many of the phone games we have today).G-Mode has done what they need to on their part with a few basic configuration elements, the ability to scale up to 1080p and the ability to turn graphics filters on or off (though the in-game filter here is pretty good without making things blurry or too pixilated). The same jerky, low framerate is also here (for better or worse) and the game has gamepad support which doesn't seem to suffer any issues in terms of lag or latency. Even with the game's low framerate, it's easy to control for the most part, but you can't control things with maximum efficiency like most games in the 30/60FPS range. The story has a smidgen of depth for a series about volleyball and actually builds upon itself with each subsequent release. In this game, another year has passed since 17-year-old high school seniors, “Shizuku Asagiri” and “Haruna Minase”, played on the world stage. Shizuku and Haruna go their separate ways and Ran's younger sister, Suzu, becomes Shizuku's junior partner. Shizuku is on a quest to reunite with her best friend and finds her during the prelims of the latest World Tour but... several plots ensue that dig up old memories and even a little trauma.The game is 2-vs-2 paired volleyball and is easy to operate. Unlike real volleyball, the game is broken into sets where the player must reach a set amount of points first based on the rules (7 points for a single set by default now). The gameplay has improved dramatically in this finale as you can get many more outfits (and all characters can wear all outfits now, complete with a censor bar, rumble and jiggle physics), choose different characters (including returning characters from 1&2), swap between your partner during a match (each character has their own special move now), execute team specials (Super Serve + Enhanced Special), follow a broader story with a bigger flow chart, view funny and anecdotal series commentary, witness Haruna's Blog, and more. Scenarios can be played with other partners as well and profile and ranking data is expanded (S-Ranks are a little harder to achieve now too).The actual gameplay is mostly what you'd expect: Blocking, Jumping, Serving and Spiking all make an appearance. As this was originally a phone title, the game automates a lot of the movements and positioning for you, but you will still want to go manual in small doses (especially when a special attack comes your way). The main change to the core gameplay was the aforementioned team specials and ability to switch members mid-match. Of note, team specials require a maxed out special bar. The HUD has been improved to be more visually appealing and the graphics have improved even more with many slick cut-ins for special attacks as well as new background animations to add more life to the overall packages. As a whole, it is one of the best-looking G-Mode titles currently available. The sound has also been upgraded a bit and a few tracks are even catchy and memorable. It's an excellent follow-up to the second game and the best in the series, but you need to play the first two to have a better appreciation for it. This is a video of some things in action with a basic run-through.
Beach Volley Girl Shizuku 2: Hishō-hen [G-MODEアーカイブス16 ビーチバレーガールしずく2 飛翔編] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-26 | Volley...ball! Again!A G-MODE recreation / reissue of old mobile phone games, this introduces "G-Mode Archives 16: Beach Volley Girl Shizuku 2: Hishō-hen". They've released quite a few reissues for the PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch and it's good to see them getting ported from old defunct hardware for posterity. Of course, most of them have not aged well and this is more for novelty than anything else, but it's a commendable project and I hope many more old mobile phone games can be salvaged such as the BREW service titles, J2ME releases and older Android / iOS titles. There are a few games I really WANT to play such as Climax's 2006 iteration of "Lady Stalker" ("Waltz of the Labyrinth", which has practically been forgotten) and many Western Java games on mobile, to name a few, but this is a good starting point. There have been projects for years now slowly integrating old mobile titles for use in emulators.That said, while this is a great recreation of 2008's "Mobile & Game Studio" title, it's a functional and improved sequel in a pretty nice series overall, with three other games (and a demo) that are related to each other. One title that will most likely NOT be covered is "Beach Volleyball Girl Shizuku Training Camp Edition" which was a free flash demo distributed for the "Pico Pico Mixi" (aka "pikomiku") between August to September of 2008. Said title essentially takes place somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd game as the two mains are doing intensive training. When you look back at games like these, it's truly impressive how far mobile phone gaming has come in such a short time (but at least these titles weren't predatory like many of the phone games we have today).G-Mode has done what they need to on their part with a few basic configuration elements, the ability to scale up to 1080p and the ability to turn graphics filters on or off (though the in-game filter here is pretty good without making things blurry or too pixilated). The same jerky, low framerate is also here (for better or worse) and the game has gamepad support which doesn't seem to suffer any issues in terms of lag or latency. Even with the game's low framerate, it's easy to control for the most part, but you can't control things with maximum efficiency like most games in the 30/60FPS range. The story has a smidgen of depth for a series about volleyball and actually builds upon itself with each subsequent release. In this game, a year has passed since 16-year-old high school juniors, “Shizuku Asagiri” and “Haruna Minase”, won the "Cinderalla Cup". After winning the tournament and even defeating one of the former top players of Japan, Kamishima Ran (the masked rival), Ran becomes a coach and asks Shizuku and Haruna to play on the world stage instead of locally, travelling all over. The plot stays mostly centered around those two, but we do learn a little more about the other players as well, with several new characters making an appearance.The game is 2-vs-2 paired volleyball and is easy to operate. Unlike real volleyball, the game is broken into sets where the player must reach a set amount of points first based on the rules (10 points for a single set by default now). Another thing that differs from real volleyball is that you have special volleyball powers and can take the outfits and skills from your defeated opponents to use in matches. By default, Shizuku has the "Phoenix Attack" (which is probably the cheapest, most versatile skill in the series against the CPU besides "Hellraise", so I never changed it other than to experiment). The reason I say Shizuku and no one else is because you can ONLY play as Shizuku... yeah. While the game has a Story, Versus and Collection mode, you can only select what opponent you want to face for practice, and you can't switch between your partner, which is why Shizuku learns skills in the first place (to minimize the need to use other characters). A ranking system now determines what you can unlock.The actual gameplay is mostly what you'd expect: Blocking, Jumping, Serving and Spiking all make an appearance. As this was originally a phone title, the game automates a lot of the movements and positioning for you, but you will still want to go manual in small doses (especially when a special attack comes your way). The Collection Mode has expanded to include tan marks and character profiles, and the story has expanded to include a flow chart, so you can alter the course of your journey and get multiple endings now. Special attacks still function by jumping and pressing down on the pad, but it's much more responsive, and blocking at the net is faster and more satisfying. The graphics and sound are fairly good compared to other G-Mode titles and have been upgraded here with more detailed locales, better sprites and more animation (the camera moves more too now). It's a good follow-up to the first game, but the final game is the best. This is a video of some things in action.
Beach Volley Girl Shizuku [G-MODEアーカイブス04 ビーチバレーガールしずく] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-26 | Volley...ball!A G-MODE recreation / reissue of old mobile phone games, this introduces "G-Mode Archives 04: Beach Volley Girl Shizuku". They've released quite a few reissues for the PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch and it's good to see them getting ported from old defunct hardware for posterity. Of course, most of them have not aged well and this is more for novelty than anything else, but it's a commendable project and I hope many more old mobile phone games can be salvaged such as the BREW service titles, J2ME releases and older Android / iOS titles. There are a few games I really WANT to play such as Climax's 2006 iteration of "Lady Stalker" ("Waltz of the Labyrinth", which has practically been forgotten) and many Western Java games on mobile, to name a few, but this is a good starting point. There have been projects for years now slowly integrating old mobile titles for use in emulators.That said, while this is a great recreation of 2007's "Mobile & Game Studio" title, it's a rather simple but functional start to a pretty nice series overall, with three other games (and a demo) that are related to each other. One title that will most likely NOT be covered is "Beach Volleyball Girl Shizuku Training Camp Edition" which was a free flash demo distributed for the "Pico Pico Mixi" (aka "pikomiku") between August to September of 2008. Said title essentially takes place somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd game as the two mains are doing intensive training. When you look back at games like these, it's truly impressive how far mobile phone gaming has come in such a short time (but at least these titles weren't predatory like many of the phone games we have today).G-Mode has done what they need to on their part with a few basic configuration elements, the ability to scale up to 1080p and the ability to turn graphics filters on or off (though the in-game filter here is pretty good without making things blurry or too pixilated). The same jerky, low framerate is also here (for better or worse) and the game has gamepad support which doesn't seem to suffer any issues in terms of lag or latency. Even with the game's low framerate, it's easy to control for the most part, but you can't control things with maximum efficiency like most games in the 30/60FPS range. The story has a smidgen of depth for a series about volleyball and actually builds upon itself with each subsequent release. In this game, the plot centers around two 15-year-old high school freshman, “Shizuku Asagiri” and “Haruna Minase”, aspiring players who decided they wanted to seriously pursue volleyball since middle school. Although they had a horrible debut in their local match back then and were essentially mocked, they didn't give up and train hard to participate in this year's national volleyball tournament, the "Cinderalla Cup", after successfully beating a masked duo (who serve to inspire them as rivals).The game is 2-vs-2 paired volleyball and is easy to operate. Unlike real volleyball, the game is broken into sets where the player must reach a set amount of points first based on the rules (15 points for a single set or 10 for a two-of-three set, making it a little slower than the sequels). Another thing that differs from real volleyball is that you have special volleyball powers and can take the outfits and skills from your defeated opponents to use in matches. By default, Shizuku has the "Fire Attack" (which is probably the cheapest, most versatile skill in the series against the CPU besides the "Phoenix Attack", so I never changed it other than to experiment). The reason I say Shizuku and no one else is because you can ONLY play as Shizuku... yeah. While the game has a Story, Versus and Collection mode (Collection for swimsuits, but it's pretty barebones), you can only select what opponent you want to face for practice, and you can't switch between your partner, which is why Shizuku learns skills in the first place (to minimize the need to use other characters).The actual gameplay is mostly what you'd expect: Blocking, Jumping, Serving and Spiking all make an appearance. As this was originally a phone title, the game automates a lot of the movements and positioning for you, but you will still want to go manual in small doses (especially when a special attack comes your way). Since we've been talking about specials, a small bar is on the HUD that goes yellow-orange-red. Orange allows for power spiking and red allows you to do a special attack by jumping and pressing down on the pad... this move is fairly temperamental in this game but much more responsive in the sequels. The graphics and sound are fairly good compared to other G-Mode titles. It's an okay start for the series, but the sequels are better. This is a video of some things in action.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
FX Unit Yuki: The Henshin Engine [FX・ユニット雪 変身エンジン] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-26 | Henshin-A-Go-Go, maybe? Maybe not? Henshin-A-No-No? Hmmm..."FX Unit Yuki" is an indie action game jam-packed with satire and references to classic games of the 80s and 90s with special attention being made to the beloved TurboGrafx-16 / PC-Engine (CD) platform. Originally based around a web comic by artist and fledgling game developer, Sarumaru, titled "Henshin Engine" in 2015-2016, it wouldn't become an actual game until 2018. A successful Kickstarter campaign was held for "Henshin Engine - The Game" in 2016 which later evolved into "FX Unit Yuki: The Henshin Engine" with the help of "The Old Rover" as the programmer, "Black Tiger" as the tile artist, and "Garbled Waves" as the primary composer (aka Simon Johansson). Collectively, they currently make up "SaruPro" with "PixelHeart" publishing this (Switch) version. Reading around, there's a bit of controversy surrounding some of the Kickstarter rewards and of the main dev himself, but the game itself has the general reputation of a well-intentioned but slightly slapdash game. An enhanced PC/Steam port, "FX Unit Yuki: T.H.E. RECODE" was in the works but seems to be in limbo. A sequel, "FX Unit Yuki MiniMix - The Unit Wars" is in development for the Game Boy.There's no difference in the plot between the different iterations of the game (PC Engine Super CD-ROM², Genesis / MD, Dreamcast, Nintendo Switch); Yuki Shirakawa is an "average gamer gal" and aspiring game tester who attends Yellow Bee Academy and lands her dream gig as an apprentice for JEC (NEC). While working one day, Yuki stumbles across a special prototype console and is mysteriously drawn to it, but her close contact with the machine has unintended consequences as she is transformed into a console-wearing super heroine who can travel between the human world and the world of video games (allowing her to "debug" on a whole other level)! But JEC's biggest rival, SG corporation, has similar technology allegedly stolen from someone on the inside of JEC which allowed them to create their own avatar, Geni, who goes into the same games with the intent of sabotaging JEC. Now Yuki has to put her gamer gal skills and apprentice play testing skills to the test as she hops from different games for fun and to stop SG and Geni from botching their games.As a child of the 90s, I can appreciate what FX Unit attempts to do and the premise is not so unlike "Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad" / "Gridman the Hyper Agent" / "VR Troopers" / "Cyber Cross" / "Cross Wiber" / etcetera but with a more whimsical style and anime-esque flavor. That being said, Yuki and her limited assortment of abilities doesn't really do much to impress when combined with the mostly VERY simple level designs. The game is spread across eight main stages and Yuki double jumps, slides and dispatches most of her enemies with slashes and a charged attack (and even some of this is only achieved after find an associated HuCard-shaped upgrade)... these abilities are not as functional as they sound (her slide for example shows her getting caught by attacks she should probably otherwise avoid, indicating hitbox or collision issues) and she has a crouching punch that I have yet to find a use for. I'll give a few brownie points for the game's two scrolling shooter segments (Inspired by Cotton 100% and Lords / Winds of Thunder) which, while a little rigged and a bit perfunctory in feeling, do bring the action and change things up. There are also a few nice secrets and multiple endings that help elevate the package a little bit more and are nice nods to the secrets found in games of yesteryear.On the visual side of things, FX Unit has a few decent set pieces and a handful of slick animations but otherwise remains firmly in the "acceptable" camp, due mostly to the overall level designs. While the game has the benefit of saying it has higher-res artwork stills than your average PC Engine (Super) CD-ROM² games, these scenes do not bear the hallmarks of good-to-great animation and voice acting that games on the medium are typically known for. Of course, it's not something I expected nor do I fault it for it, but it is something to consider (one homebrew for the system, "Mysterious Song", does have cutscenes and voices). Each stage is modeled after different games such as Adventure Island / Wonder Boy, Castlevania, Shockman, Bonk, and more, but it's worth mentioning that "Satin 50%" is a modified rendition of the first level from an (currently unreleased) game from Old Rover, "Lucretia: Demon Princess / 鬼姫の呪い". The soundtrack is the clear highlight of the game and evokes a powerful but eclectic vibe of the Super CD-ROM² days. The sound effects are punchy, the instrumentation is good and while the soundtrack isn't very large, it's not lacking in variety.The Switch version is fairly cheap and is worth a soft recommendation, but good luck getting some of the physical versions. This is a video showing some things in action. Enjoy.
Tenerezza [テネレッツァ] Game Sample - Xbox Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-05 | If one asked what would be a "good" Japanese Action-RPG for the OG Xbox to play, they would probably get laughed at due to the overall poor sales of the system in Japan and the very small handful of exclusives, but there is at least one that is actually sorta good that you could play on the system... a cute little game called "Tenerezza", an experimental title from Aquaplus, the publisher (but sometimes developer with its main subsidiary, Leaf) of such hits as the "To Heart" series, "Comic Party" series, "Utawarerumono" series, "Tears to Tiara" series, and more. As a one-off title with no spin-off or sequels, Tenerezza is fairly unique among the studio's output which mostly consists of visual novels and RPG/Strategy games with heavy visual novel elements. Originally finished towards the end of 2002, the game would get delayed and released in January of 2003. Due to poor sales and some key aspects (mentioned later), the game would get ported to Japanese Windows PCs a few months later.The story centers around a young witch, Tenerezza (which is Italian for "Tenderness"), who wants to be the world's most powerful magical girl, but this is partially a front as she takes on the role of the town guardian and quest completer for the denizens of Esparanza. Cheerful and helpful, she protects those in need and one day gets a request to check the cursed forest to the east to stop a demon lord, who she mistakenly assumes is the Fairy, Lolo, but after their misunderstanding, Tene (for short) learns that there is an evil witch named Sharom who summons monsters and works in the service of a greater evil. Tene, in her hubris, believes she easily dispatches Sharom only to be caught off guard and severely injured by her. Before she can deliver the finishing blow, Tene is teleported to safety and learns that Sharom can be stopped if she gathers four elemental gems and journeys across the land with Lolo and the disciple of fire, Celius, to find them.The plot is pretty predictable and the story isn't very deep but banks on its charming and funny characters and is passable overall. The gameplay is similar to the plot in that it is fairly simple and a little under-baked; Tenerezza can cast spells from the four primary elements, use melee attacks with a non-elemental blade, and craft / cook a variety of items to equip or use on her quest. While there aren't a lot of core items, there are a lot of ingredients to farm which becomes a problem very quickly as Tene has a VERY limited carrying capacity and as most items cannot be bought outright (they require a combination of cash and many ingredients or must be found), you will either find yourself full of items right near dungeon entrances or ignoring everything but what you need for a particular items or quests. Tene has a safe at home which holds a hefty 500 items, but she can only carry 20 items out in the field (which can be increased to 40 and then 60).Battling takes place in real-time and Tene gains experience and levels like a regular RPG. When she levels, she gets stronger as well as gains a little HP, but the real reward for leveling are points you can allocate to each element or HP / melee strength. While the game doesn't tell you specifically (though one NPC references it), it's better to specialize in one or two elements starting out; magic can be charged to new heights as intermediate magic can be learned when an element reaches level 7, advanced at level 13, and mastered at level 20 (improving your base element). You can also learn Forbidden Magic (by getting two or more elements to level 20 and investigating hidden stone monuments) which are frankly OP and the game does have a few rewarding sidequests and several secrets, some that are time sensitive and some which will alter Tene's cosmetics.The game can last about 20hrs or so if you milk it, but it can be cleared faster if you don't care about the quests or characters. While some enemies resist certain elements (the one thing preventing you from cheesing everything), you can actually speed run the game pretty quickly as levels aren't as important as getting items, using strategy and avoiding damage. One fatal bug exists in the Xbox version after you collect all four gems and take them to the president of Esparanza, locking up the game. While the scene can be rapid-skipped to continue, it could not be fixed. This lead to the PC version's patch when it released a few months later as well as improved graphics, added bestiary, new ending context and post game features to improve goodwill with fans. The PC version is the definitive release. The game sounds good and looks like a fairly polished Dreamcast game.The opening is animated by Studio OX and the theme song "Fragrant Wind" is sung by Emi Motoda who also did vocals for Comic Party and Utawarerumono. Yumi Kakazu who voiced Tene also voiced Yuffie Kisaragi from various iterations of FF7 and Kula Diamond from the KoF series. This is a 3hr test video. Enjoy.
ProtoCorgi [プロトコーギー] Game Sample - PC/Indie Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-05 | Known as a "Bark-em-Up", "ProtoCorgi" is a great Arcade-style Cute-em-Up Shmup developed by the Chilean Indie studio, Kemono Games, and published by Ravenscourt in 2023 (For Switch and PC through Steam & Epic). Inspired by 80s/90s shooters (R-Type, Air Buster / Aero Blasters, etc.) and a faux-anime story (presented with a fun opening and some Japanese lines here and there), the player takes on the role of Bullet, a C³ class (Cute Cyber Corgi) robot dog in his quest to save his owner, Nixie, from an evil alien invasion. The game takes place over five decent-sized stages and runs about 30-60 minutes depending on the different conditions the player meets (fairly average runtime of a typical Arcade Shmup not factoring replayability). ProtoCorgi uses the open-source engine, Godot.Besides great visuals, an awesome soundtrack and highly variable gameplay, the title is very cheap and offers a lot of features for an Indie Shmup such as the ability to create levels, customize your "Bark" (which has a secret or two in and of itself), reviewable training sessions, several secrets hidden throughout the levels, and multiple endings. There are also many unlockable difficulties to cater to casual Shmup fans up to some of the most hardcore aficionados (nine in total). Bullet has access to four main weapon types: Main Shots, Missiles, Options and Bombs. Each of these weapon categories have three sub-weapons each with bombs being discarded after a single use and, in typical shooter fashion, each weapon has situational utility (you can use whichever weapons however you want, but some are better in certain situations than others). One unique ability is Bullet's "Bark", which is stronger than level 1 weapons but also serves as a valuable scoring mechanic that unearths hidden treasures and can get powered-up by coming in contact with scoring items and treasure boxes, creating the powerful HYPER BARK. The player can also chain-destroy enemies to create combos and get some serious bonus points.The last of Bullet's arsenal is found in very particular locations and includes the ability to absorb enemy fire, the ability to freeze time and the ability to project a powerful Jojo Stand at the enemy (let's just call it Bullet Platinum). That said, the default difficulties aren't too difficult but, like most Cute-em-Ups, the game can be deceptively challenging on higher difficulties. If there were any main things to consider, I would note that the game is single-player only and has no cross-platform features in terms of online content and leaderboards. This is also, ironically, not the first Arcade-style Corgi-based shmup on Steam (You can play "HORGIHUGH" with a husky-corgi mix) but arguably the better of the two. Getting all the achievements can take a little while too, at least 5-10 hours depending on your skill level. While there are many of competitively priced shooters on Steam, the game goes of sale from time the time for 75% off or more, costing a paltry sum below 2$, making it pretty much impossible not to recommend.This is a video of the game in action. We periodically lose lives to not show off the entire game, but there are full playthroughs for the game in the web. Also included is a basic tutorial and the game credits. While it is not shown in this video, you CAN PET THE DOG (using the mouse). The opening theme is titled "I AM PROTOCORGI" (私は プロトコーギー) by Francisco Cerda. You can get the game at:store.steampowered.com/app/1039280/ProtoCorgiEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Forza Polpo [フォルザ ポルポ] Game Sample - PC/Indie Vysethedetermined2 2024-03-05 | "Forza Polpo" is not an Indie game I expected to stumble across... or rather, I'm kinda surprised it wasn't developed sooner - a game heavily inspired by Sony and Exact's "Jumping Flash!" and Nintendo's "Pilot Wings" series (JF!, in turn, inspired the "Vs." Jumping game along with Robo Pit, "Cyber Egg: Battle Champion"). Beyond the game's simple and rather depressing plot lies a game that still somehow possesses a cutesy exterior with verticality and shooting being front and center. While it was originally released by the Italian developer "Monte Gallo" back in 2021 (Early Access), the game would be officially released in 2023. Aesthetically, the game couldn't be more different from their next upcoming game, "Better Than Dead", if they tried, lol.The story is that 99.9 percent of the world and its population have disappeared due to a mysterious explosion caused by Dr. Prometheus, the inventor of "Pink Energy" which was derived from antimatter. It was such a powerful source of energy that all devices powered-up by it became autonomous, possessing what Dr. Prometheus referred to as a "soul"... except for one incompatible little octopus robot named "Polpo Rev.2" from Polpo Courie Express. While generally deemed "obsolete", Polpo's antiquity afforded it one luxury... Pink Energy had exploded and imploded, destroying virtually everything, but the Polpo Courie Express was away from the epicenter and avoided eradication. From that moment on, all that has remained of the Earth are small fragments suspended in a void between the clouds. Months and seasons are no more. Everything seems to be frozen at the moment of the disaster now Polpo must venture forth and salvage what's left of the world as well as memories left behind in "Code Cubes" while being led by a mysterious female named Mey to learn about the meaning of life. All surviving machines powered by pure pink energy have gone rogue and serve as Polpo's enemies. Polpo, while not properly compatible with Pink Energy, will get a temporary boost from it, but its energy is constantly being drained, so the player must move quickly as they can not venture very far from the landing dock or starting point for very long, at least ordinarily. Forza Polpo has two main ways to play: Simulation Mode (the preferred, original mode) and Arcade Mode (which removes the energy draining mechanic and alters certain variables, making it more in line with the original "Jumping Flash!" games). Simulation Mode adds a greater sense of urgency to the gameplay and serves as a greater challenge than the Arcade Mode, but the Arcade Mode increases damage and movement parameters to not make things too easy while easing you into the mechanics. With all that said, just what EXACTLY does "Jumping Flash!" and "Forza Polpo" play like?The goal is to find several key items hidden across each level (in this case, Code Cubes) and return to the landing dock in one piece to clear the level. The player does this mainly by shooting and jumping, but it's not just any jumping that you'll do... you jump REALLY FREAKING HIGH, so those with a fear of heights need not apply. The player can do a triple jump as well as a super jump (with a power-up) and float in the air to descend slowly and move around dozens of feet in the air. The movement is more momentum-based and doesn't feel as precise as JF! and the levels aren't quite as inventive as JF! either, but the controls are fine within the context of this game and feel natural after some practice. You can also shoot thunberbolts, rockets, etc. and some weapons can only hurt certain enemies. Hidden on each level is also a "Crypto Pixel" which will adorn your bedroom / hub with little graphics of various in-game things. There are also a few boss battles every few zones too.Graphically, the game mostly nails JF!'s look and feel, but the camera is more free and there is a blue-ish tint over the FoV... I get that they wanted to simulate the look of a cockpit and the blue light might be what one could experience inside of the machine, but it's more visually distracting than anything. There should be an option to disable it or remove it all together as it tones down what is an otherwise colorful game. The soundtrack is pretty nice and you can choose to play levels with or without music for the most part (there are music machines you can activate in most areas). Overall, it's not a bad first effort at all and an interesting homage to 90s gaming.This is a video of the game in action. You can get it at:store.steampowered.com/app/1187870/FORZA_POLPOEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
White Knight Chronicles Game Sample - PS3 Vysethedetermined2 2024-02-21 | Of course, we all know that the development team over at "Level-5" is pretty great, but sometimes you'd be surprised by some company's origin stories, so let's take a little bit of time to gloss over that. Level-5 was essentially many years in the making and can be traced back to the late 80s with its current president and CEO, Akihiro Hino. Born in the 60s, Hino got his first gaming gig in 1989 working with "Riverhillsoft" as a programmer for "Burai: Jokan", an often forgotten (but fairly ambitious) RPG for the PC-88 that saw ports and a direct sequel to different platforms of the era. While this didn't exactly catapult Hino's career, he got his real gaming chops five years later with the 3DO exclusive, "Doctor Hauzer" (a survival horror game akin to "Alone in the Dark" and "Resident Evil") and the PSX "Overblood" series where he served first as lead programmer and then director before forming his own company and legacy. "Dark Cloud" would serve as his first Level-5 game during the wildly popular Japanese launch of the PS2 and while it struggled initially to gain traction, further releases with "Dark Chronicle" (aka Dark Cloud 2) and the chance to collab with Square Enix on the legendary "Dragon Quest" franchise (Dragon Quest VIII, one of the most popular games in the series) would seal the deal as Hino and Level-5 being capable of delivering consistent, quality products. Level-5's reputation hasn't changed much since then (barring a limited international presence these days from dwindling sales in the West), though Hino has shown the world that he is not afraid to take risks and deviates quite a bit from game to game (though "Yo-kai Watch" and "Professor Layton" could be considered the company's bread and butter). On that note, let's jump into today's video, "White Knight Chronicles".Released originally in 2008 in Japan and 2010 internationally, WKC was a semi-turn-based, semi-online RPG where you create an avatar and players could hop in and out of the gameplay by building communities, joining guilds, taking on quests and rising in ranks. However, the game also has a fully self-contained single player experience which you're basically required to get through to dive into the online multiplayer components as the game is excessively grindy (unless you could coerce high level players to take you on as a noob apprentice and kill mobs for you) and your avatar basically just appears as a silent bystander as the actual main character, Leonard, gets all the glory. The story is essentially your fairly stock tale of a young band of heroes who go on to fight evil and help damsels in distress, but it's got cool giant robot battles. While the game draws some parallels to earlier games like "Phantasy Star Online" or "Final Fantasy XI" and later games like "Xenoblade Chronicles", it's the closest game that Level-5 put out that has channeled the spirit of one of their cancelled games, "True Fantasy Live Online", an ambitious game that was in development for the original Xbox that got shelved (from the crafting, guilds, customizable player housing, giant strange creatures, carriages, semi-turn-based combat, character creation, etc.) partially due to inexperience with online gaming infrastructure at the time and partially due to Microsoft's strict demands. Despite the less than amicable separation, their time on TFLO did set the building blocks for WKC and the later "Fantasy Life" titles.The odd (albeit cool) thing about WKC is that it released internationally a little over a year later with a direct sequel, WKC2, that also contained the entire original game with enhanced features, so if you never got into the first game, you could opt to get the second game, making the original almost totally worthless, and witness the main story for both games. A PSP prequel followed as well in Japan and Europe. Each game was roughly 20 hours long if you only experienced the core game with none of the online features, but much longer if you were grinding guild ranks and going for its dreaded platinum trophy (which is estimated to easily take hundreds of hours). Besides the aforementioned, notable characteristics of the game include hundreds of skills / classes divided up by different weapons, customizable characters with changing appearance from their gear, weapon durability, skill cooldowns with chainable combos, various enemy weaknesses based on elements and weapon / attacking type, and A.I. tactics.The game is not exceptionally cutting edge but is nonetheless a rather attractive PS3 game with a pretty cool medieval/fantasy soundtrack, though it doesn't go all in on the particle effects and pizzazz until very late in the game. There are occasional framerate dips, but nothing especially jarring. This is a video showing some things in action while taking the opening demo from the ORIGINAL WKC with gameplay from the upgraded version in WKC2 (as it seems oddly absent). This is a test of the EHD60X / mClassic combo. Enjoy.
Black Rock Shooter: The Game [ブラック★ロックシューター] Game Sample - PSP Vysethedetermined2 2024-02-21 | If you told me that I would be playing a late PSP game that was born from a series of unusual circumstances and posting it on February 21st, 2024 -- I would say balderdash but... I have nothing better to do today, so I guess I'll indulge myself. "Black Rock Shooter" is the main title for a series of media that is centered around the eponymous character, "BRS" for short (who has different "actual" names based on the media), who is a mysterious female character created by the illustrator Ryohei Fuke, also known as "Huke". The character was created as early as late 2007, where she caught the attention of the Japanese pop band, Supercell, which inspired a song featuring Hatsune Miku. The song would eventually go viral on the popular video hosting site, Nico Nico Douga (aka Niconico), from which a 50-minute OVA would be made (first piloted in 2009 and finished in 2010) and a full blown video game, "Black Rock Shooter: The Game", made a year later in 2011. Developed by the now-defunct Imageepoch (best known for the "Luminous Arc" series, "Fate/Extra + CCC", "Criminal Girls" and "Arc Rise Fantasia") it was published internationally two years later in 2013 by NIS America (as a download-only title). The game's opening animation was done by ufotable, with ONE OK ROCK performing the theme song "NO SCARED". Numerous BRS media has been released since, though they each take place in their "own" universe with only certain elements being carried over.BRS:TG takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where over 7 billion humans are dead and only a handful of survivors make a last stand against a group of alien invaders. Their one hope is to free the legendary "BRS", a humanoid weapon known as a "Gray" that they've confirmed has the power to fight back against their oppressors but also suffers from bouts of memory loss. The story has several twists and turns while playing on the themes of humanity and what it means to be human. BRS:TG is an Action/Shooting RPG that presents a unique combination of real-time combat and turn-based shenanigans with a basic inventory system and interesting mission / growth system. The game features 3D graphics with fixed camera views in certain areas as well as visible enemies on the field which whisk the player away to separate combat zones when encountered. While it's possible to avoid confrontations, many areas require you to dispatch a certain amount of enemies to proceed. Missions (known as "Challenges") are a variety of tasks that need to be completed (defeat X amount of enemies, solve X puzzle, navigate free hunts, etc.) that bestow many beneficial effects from stat boosts to new skills. When you are engaged in battle, the player can not move freely about the field but can aim their crosshair to target and shoot enemies as well as dodge attacks with proper timing. Shooting and dodging will cause BRS to overheat (especially dodging), so spamming the shot button will only get you so far in the beginning as the player is tasked with identifying patterns and avoiding killer blows. Continuing on, combat has special skills that BRS can equip to different slots which can be used with different cooldowns and passive skills she can use that work automatically (although they can be toggled on or off if you want an added challenge). Normal battles can get repetitive very quickly, but the boss battles do have fun patterns and change things up a bit (with multiple lifebars and various gimmicks). The game also attempts to switch your objectives up a bit as you activate switches, hop around rooftops, activate terminals, ride a motorcycle through the city, create diversions, and more. The gameplay has a few items that you can use in a pinch, but the game's more exceptional missions require stringent item usage or even perfect execution and understanding of the game's mechanics.Visually, BRS is not what one would call a looker; the opening movie, while professionally animated, is compressed considerably and the in-game graphics are quite grainy and jaggier than even some early PSP titles... you can tell the game has a lower overall budget than some of Imageepoch's earlier titles (or too much of it went to paying for ufotable and ONE OK ROCK). That said, it's not an unpleasant looking title and the game has a cool soundtrack from the talented Manabu Namiki(known mostly for his contributions to more traditional Shmups dating back since the early 90s). While the gameplay does wear thin after a while, I think those seeking a grind and who enjoy post-game content (to get the "true" end) will get a little more mileage out of the game. The main game is roughly 15 hours. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Mimana Iyar Chronicle [ミマナ イアルクロニクル] Game Sample - PSP Vysethedetermined2 2024-01-29 | "Mimana Iyar Chronicle" is a polarizing JRPG with a dedicated fanbase by the prolific developers at Kogado Studio that was poorly received by almost all major gaming outlets (and, at the most, had little glowing praise outside of a consistently solid localization, more on that later). Released in Japan in 2009 and the U.S. in 2010, the game, even in its homeland, sold poorly and got a scathing 21 out of 40 score from Famitsu (who are generally pretty lenient, a 21 is preeetty low hanging fruit coming from them) and while the game was planned to be a multi-part epic in the way of the "Legend of Heroes Gagharv Trilogy", "Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology" and others, it was most certainly not destined to be. Yeah... MIC is not a great game for some pretty fundamental reasons, but it's also not exactly the game's fault either.For starters, what a lot of people don't realize is the game basically started out as PC Doujin software; MIC was originally shown off as early as 2004 during Comiket 67 under the tentative name of "Iyar Saga: Mimana no Michibiki" and was spearheaded by Kogado Studio's "Rabbit Team" as a side project to be released in the Spring of 2005. This got pushed back later to Summer of 2005 (with a shift in development to the "Black Cat Team"), then disappeared until it resurfaced in 2006 under the name we know it as today, got postponed all the way until October of 2007 with a placeholder release date of December 2007, disappeared again until July 2008 where the development got shifted to the PSP, got delayed a few more times and finally released in February of 2009 with publishing assistance of GungHo Works and development assistance of Premium Agency. Yup.Besides obvious development hell, the game did not accomplish all it set out to do and will likely never see a proper re-release in any other form than the PSP/PC (although it shares the same world with two other Kogado Studio games - Little Witch Parfait and Angelic Concert / Serenade, and uses the same currency, Golda). The team that took it on, Black Cat, disbanded after its release, but I digress... what's the game about? A down on his luck mercenary, Crais Sewell, is hired as a bodyguard by a mysterious young girl named Sophie Rothorn. She hired him specifically and she wishes to use him as protection as they travel the world collecting seven gems. Along on their quest, they soon discover someone else is after the gems, Heidar with the help of his henchman Feide. They are also joined by Melrose (Mel), a sorceress, who wants to dissect Crais to discover the source of the strange magical aura that emanates from him. Not long after they are joined by a warrior, Tinon, who after Crais sees naked, claims she "will follow him until he marries her." Later under bad circumstances, they are joined by Crais' cousin Patty, who is an expert and collector of magical artifacts and healing methods. They embark on a dangerous journey filled with monsters and magic.The gameplay, plot, visuals and nearly everything else is about as half-baked and unbalanced as they come, but there's still an odd charm that shines through, in part, due to a terrific localization (that tones down the questionable harem elements of minors, the youngest of which was originally around 9 years old). Often described as a "Tales of" lite (which is a VERY generous assessment), the game has real-time combat where the player can execute a simple 3-hit combo (with a power-up for proper timing), block and use magic or skills. The problem is the combat is clunky, wrought with collision issues, and magic is too slow in 99% of all cases to be useful except outside of battle. You can only directly control the main character (A.I. is sub-standard) and every battle can be solved by moving and hitting X as they are devoid of strategy except maybe three whole battles. Speaking of battles, you fight about every 3-6 steps unless you walk (where you don't fight at all) or use this game's equivalent of "Holy Bottles". The game only weighs in at 12-15 hours with very little optional content and is more basic than even some 80s and 90s RPGs but yet still feels like it drags on too long before it becomes semi-acceptable.The music is fine... I'd dare say even good, but there's not enough of it. As if to display another sign of how unfinished the game is, almost no dungeons have music, and since most of the game is in dungeons, that's a lot of ambient noise or silence. Fortunately, some of this silence is filled with a somewhat impressive amount of spoken dialogue that elevates the game from mediocrity with several recognizable greats such as Johnny Yong Bosch, Laura Bailey, Karen Strassman, Wendee Lee and more. The ending hints at stuff that was meant for a sequel that never happened and plot points left completely unresolved, so time his been even less kind to this one.Get it if you're an RPG collector, but avoid otherwise. This is a vid demonstrating the mClassic/HD60X in full. Enjoy.
Vampire Hunter D Game Sample - Playstation Vysethedetermined2 2024-01-26 | In the words of the immortal left hand: "Yummy! Feed me more."Alrighty gang, here's the deal; Victor Interactive Software's obscure late 90s / early 2000s "Vampire Hunter D" is an anomaly that was not received very well when it was initially released. Based on the books and movies of the same name by the famed author, Hideyuki Kikuchi, the tale has been around since the early-mid 80s and garnered much praise for its detailed and macabre art (Yoshitaka Amano of Final Fantasy fame was the primary illustrator for the novels) and gritty horror themes, selling the better half of 20 million books worldwide. I have fond memories of the original animated film when it aired on the SciFi Channel's "Saturday Anime" block when I was young, so I was keen on finding this game when it previewed in gaming mags of the day as one of those titles that wasn't very likely to get localized. Lo and behold, the game would get published about a year later by Jaleco, JVC Music Europe and Virgin Interactive as a tie-in to the second movie, "Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" (which, in turn, is based on the third novel)!As the only game currently based on the revered VHD, it takes some liberties and tries to condense events from Bloodlust and re-interpret events to segway into the game's setting, the Castle of Chaythe. Taking place waaaaay in the future in 12090 A.D., ten thousand years have passed since the "Final War" brought the history of the human race to its end and where vampires reigned supreme. However, humans have gradually become more resilient and resourceful after many long dark years, making a comeback against the vampires and driving them towards near-extinction. The setting merges medieval gothic fantasy with science and technology.This game takes place during their "final hour" when the proliferation of bounty hunters arises who are tasked with seeking out and destroying the remaining vampires, and one bounty hunter in particular is unique amongst them... with pale skin, a beautiful figure and peak fighting prowess, "D" takes on an important mission to rescue a rich noble's daughter from the epicenter of vampiric prestige and her captor, a powerful vampire named Meier Link. He's not alone though, as rival bounty hunters like "The Marcus Brothers" are also seeking this bounty and other unknown perils await within. Taken at face value, it's a cool concept for a game and regularly draws comparisons to Capcom's "Resident Evil" series with its fixed-view pre-rendered backgrounds, 3D polygonal characters and tank controls... but what if I told you it was more similar to something else and actually predates it?Indeed, VHD is similar to RE and functions somewhat as a survival horror game, but this is probably secondary to its action/adventure elements... and on that note, the game feels more like a precursor to Capcom's "Onimusha" series than Resident Evil. It has a strong emphasis on close-quarters combat, D moves quite swiftly within the confines of the tank structure (and can even strafe, toggle abilities and, most importantly, JUMP), the game has similar routine puzzles and menu management, and D can execute combos on top of using vampiric magic abilities and use his left hand to absorb enemies to gain power like a certain gauntlet! Heck, there's even the ability to lock on / off nearby enemies, block and a few segments where you control a secondary character! There are differences, of course, but both games started development around the same time (and Onimusha was originally planned for the original Playstation before moving development to the PS2) and VHD is fairly commendable as a PS1 action game in this space.One feature that helps VHD stand out is the VP gauge which determines what kind of magic attacks D can do and rises when he's splashed with blood or takes blood pills and lowers when hurt or consumes human remedies. Another feature is being revived by your left hand upon death if you consume enough enemies and max out your magic gauge (this "revival" happens through plot in the original Onimusha). Lastly, the game has multiple endings (3). From the technical side of things, VHD looks and sounds mostly great, though the English version has the unfortunate side-effect of voices being cut short (they did not sync the timing with the length of the Japanese voice tracks), so make sure to cut on those subtitles. The game is mostly easy if you know what you're doing (there are three difficulty settings and you can save anywhere) but has niggling issues like most fixed-view pre-rendered games, though you get used to them. The controls are responsive with the ability to walk or run, with combating certain enemies being slightly clunky.I think that, while not perfect, this game got a pretty bad wrap back in the day. On its own, it's a pretty good PS1 action game with a spooky veneer and even better for fans of VHD. This is roughly an hour of the game with a few demos. We need a modern attempt at a VHD game. Enjoy.
Builders Block [ランドメーカー] Game Sample - Playstation Vysethedetermined2 2024-01-26 | PSX Mode: StartArcade Mode: 16:44"Builder's Block", aka "LandMaker", is pure Arcade-style Puzzle Action Feng Shui Architectural Boogaloo. Originally released in Japanese Arcades (with an International prototype that exists) by Taito in 1998, it later received a near-perfect port to Sony's Playstation at least one year later between 1999 (Japan) and 2000 (NA / PAL) by Jaleco and EON Digital Entertainment. It was also ported to the PSN service (in Japan) in 2008 by Square Enix. That said, the best way to experience this game in English would be on the PS1 as it features some added QoL features, provided you can get past the loading times in this day and age. The basic gameplay involves sliding blocks and creating structures... so orient those buildings baby.I'll get right to it: this is not my favorite puzzler ever. It's rather unique by featuring a dash of Puzzle Bobble and Monster Slider with an emphasis on building various structures that bestow various power-ups to the player and it's done with delectable sprites and quality 2D animations, but it doesn't possess the same lasting appeal of some of Taito's other classics. However, I LOVE everything that this game essentially sets out to be; Taito was towards the tail end of a weird creative renaissance when they released this game. The story (of Arcade Mode) - Many countries were destroyed by the Gojasen who were led by the ruthless Gokyo. A supernatural person sent by Goso fought with the Gojasen and stopped them, however a large portion of the world's land has sunk to the bottom of the sea. There was only one continent remaining with a culture resembling ancient China. The escaping people from the sunken continents came to this place with their new cultures and set up a new country. This new country was influenced by the ancient culture and worked safely, but this is the beginning of a new fight.Taito and their collaborators really explored different cultures and spiritual themes in games during the 80s and 90s that even touched on the balance of life and death, but as extremely prolific as they were in the Arcade sector, I think this aspect of them shined brightest in their more narrative-based titles and console offerings (mostly in collaboration with developer "Neverland"), beginning with "Lufia / Estpolis" and continuing with "Energy Breaker", "Chaos Seed" and more or less ending with "Landmaker". There would be a few other standouts from them in this regard over the years such as "RayCrisis" and "Bujingai", but they would be few and far between. BB's offerings are divided between the console-exclusive Puzzle Mode and Battle Mode that feels a touch like Intelligent Cube with its rudimentary 3D (though the gameplay is completely different) and the original 2D Arcade Mode. While the Battle Mode is more or less self-explanatory (compete against a friend), it's worth pointing out that the Puzzle Mode has some weird secondary goal of building up different regions of the world and increasing your population to obscene heights.Puzzles generally involve making certain structures which will create a symbol when the objective is met that must then be eliminated to clear the stage. However, stages often have hidden objectives or alternative solutions by building higher than the minimum which require careful planning on some stages to find (Advanced Bonus). Half the puzzles are available by default while the other half must be unlocked. This mode also allows you to build structures even bigger than the normal game (the normal mode goes from 2x2 to 5x5, but Puzzle Mode goes up to 7x7). If you want the mode with the prettier graphics, faster gameplay and better music, I'd recommend sticking to the Arcade Mode.Face off against the computer or a friend by selecting one of ten characters (two are hidden boss characters than can be accessed with a code) as well as take advantage of the game's "Another World" mode (also accessed through a code). It's not especially pretty by Arcade standards, but the game is still aesthetically interesting and features more of those good old tunes by Zuntata. I find it interesting that the title screen has birds flying off it just like Energy Breaker too (Energy Breaker and Chaos Seed look FANTASTIC for SFC games though). The game doesn't have much in the way of replayability either, so it's a good thing that the added 3D modes exist to get at least a few more hours out of the game. The game is quite niche but surprisingly kinda cheap to acquire... for now. If you're a fan of puzzle games, make sure to add it to your collection. This is a video of the game in action (the timestamps above separate the modes). Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Galaxy Hotel [宇宙ホテル] Game Sample - PS4 Vysethedetermined2 2024-01-26 | Well now... here's a fairly fun and whimsical little game where guests, quite literally, be wild 'n out. Galaxy Hotel (aka Uchu Hotel) is a Japanese-exclusive download game for the PS4 released through the PSN store in 2018 that just so happens to be dual language. Developed by Lancarse, the team behind such gems as "WiZmans World", "Lost Dimension" and "Ed-0: Zombie Uprising", the game is classified as a Strategy / Management / Business game, and it's also fair to call it a clicker and even an action game... but definitely not an idler. At 800 yen or a little more than $5 U.S. dollars, the game is a good value, but it's got quite a learning curve and can be played in two ways: either really fast and aggressively or excruciatingly slow. For the purpose of this video, we go the aggressive route.So, you're the new owner of a shabby intergalactic hotel that features... you guessed it, a single lobby and a lot of dreams. Aided by your trusty pal, Navi, your goal is to increase your rank to a five star hotel and complete a multitude of quests to become the best hotel in the galaxy and overthrow your biggest rival and enemy, the notorious Gappo. Sounds easy? It can be... but it definitely won't seem that way starting out. While the game gives you a basic rundown of who and what will take place, the game bombards you with so much information that it's hard to process it all right away and you'll find yourself failing pretty easily the first few times. Indeed, I almost gave up on the game and didn't want to believe the game's lukewarm reviews, but just when I almost did... I got into a groove that worked, dived deeper into the game's many sub-systems and concocted several strategies to turn a profit and I felt like a shifty business tycoon before too long. Moral of the story? You gotta spend money to make money!So what will you be doing? Building a bunch of facilities (but most importantly, rooms for sleeping), attracting a multitude of unique alien guests with different traits, selling gifts, serving food at restaurants, hiring employees, holding fairs, creating fevers, building stairs and elevators and such, taking advantage of weekly promotions, repairing facilities, upgrading facilities, balancing elements, trying to swindle rare guests, completing quests (some of which are timed and some which may require building certain facilities, earning a certain amount of money, setting up a certain number of structures, etc.), raising your level, expanding your territory, rearranging your facilities, buffing your buildings and nerfing certain guests, stopping customers from brawling, and even stopping guests from dying! You can do a lot in the game and you don't have a lot of time to do it; the game lasts up to three years which is EXTREMELY LONG if played normally (estimated in the ballpark of 100+ hours), but the game is constantly running in real-time and as the tempo picks up, even 15 in-game minutes can feel pretty hectic to manage. Additionally, every week requires you to get an evaluation... if you fail to generate a profit three weeks in a row, it's game over.However, if you DO turn a profit at the end of the week, your slate will be wiped clean. The game feeds you guests at an alarming rate and you will constantly find that you don't have enough room to house them all, which means you'll have guests leaving, and their money along with them! You also have particular guests like the early Gyopas who will die constantly and reduce the reputation of your hotel if you don't set up aquatic facilities in the right configuration starting out (and they are wealthier early guests, so you want their money). While it may seem counter-intuitive, you will need to go in the red (and quite a bit depending how much you want to accelerate the gameplay) to get what you need starting out, so don't be afraid to fudge the first two weeks of evaluations... if you build the right facilities, you'll be able to turn a steady profit by week three.The game's one main gimmick is that each guest travels in a route and will only go where their favorite facilities lead them, so you want to make sure you have a nice selection of non-rooms for them to choose from (and a room shouldn't be before a non-room if want them to visit it). The game has a fun gameplay loop, but there will be intervals where guests brawl constantly and this can go on for minutes at a time, making progression difficult until things calm down. At least the game has a lot of notes you can reference for guidance. The game has nice 2D graphics with many little accents and animations (I like how each building looks different as you level them up) and a snazzy futuristic soundtrack. The English translation is also very good for the most part with a lot of personality! Overall, I recommend it at its low price point. This is a video of the game in action... it was originally over 2hrs but the editor crapped out at the hour mark. It still covers the essentials. Enjoy.
The Road to Druaga [ザ・ロード・トゥ・ドルアーガ] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2024-01-26 | The gameplay starts about one minute in, was testing different configurations."The Road to Druaga" is a cool Doujin fusion of "Dragon Buster" and "The Tower of Druaga" (both influential Namco Arcade games of the mid 80s), developed by Onoda Production which was finished in 2022. The game involves our hero, Gilgamesh, traveling across many maze-like stages to find and rescue the fair maiden, Ki, from the clutches of the evil Druaga. Most items and features from the Tower of Druaga have been converted over and adapted for use in this game, creating a fresh alternative to Dragon Buster while also offering fundamental differences from ToD (namely, the mostly fixed screen and squishy protagonist).The best part? It's free.The game involves the player travelling a map of different locales which house various secrets that will make your trip easier. Earlier builds of the game didn't have it, but the current version has a hint system on by default which shows which areas house which items to make the game easier for newcomers. Each area is maze-like in structure with many chambers that require you to defeat stronger minions than the free-roaming ones before you can proceed. These minions almost always impart an item that will aid you in your quest, but if it's a piece of equipment, you will want to track down the balancing scales lest you be cursed; Cursed gear always impart some negative side effect (but, interestingly enough, have different abilities from blessed gear, making it worthwhile for those who want a challenge). A key must be found in each area as well before you can progress to the next area.Gil starts out fairly weak but becomes quite formidable as you get additional gears with different attributes as well as swords to execute combos and rings to defend against will o wisps. Enemies have basic tactics that gradually evolve the further you get into the game and there are also a variety of bosses to defeat with different strategies. Graphically, the game looks slightly more polished than the original Dragon Buster (which means it looks much better than the original Tower of Druaga) and the music seems to be slightly remixed versions of the original ToD at a higher sample rate. For fans of old-school quests, it's a jolly good time.This is a video of the game in action. You can get it at:druaga.onoda-pro.com/downloadEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Magical Drop VI [マジカルドロップVI] Game Sample - PC Vysethedetermined2 2024-01-26 | It's Magical Drop. It's the sixth main game. It's on Steam, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One too. It's not nearly as bad as MD5, but it's still a little annoying. You unlock virtually everything. It's got a few unique modes. It's a bit obtuse when it comes to getting the extras. There's seasonal DLC for it so expect the game to attempt to gouge you later. It was released last year (2023) by Storm Trident S.A. and Highball Games in conjunction with Forever Entertainment. The game was originally based off of a game called "Drop Drop" by Russ Ltd, a Russian company. That about sums it up. Want to know more? Magical Drop rocks as a whole. Let's get into it.For the uninitiated, I'll quote Wikipedia here instead of improvising on the same talking points with slightly different verbiage:"A stack of random colored bubbles descend from the top, and a player is defeated when a bubble hits the bottom. Bubbles can be picked up and dropped by the player's clown at the bottom, and are destroyed when three or more of the same color are put together on a single column. Chains are formed either when a single drop caused a chain reaction, or when more than one group of bubbles is destroyed in quick succession. The game is normally played with two players (one may be a computer opponent), and chains cause the opponent's stack to descend faster.""There are 24 characters overall, all but the Black Pierrot being named after a tarot card (although the Strength card has been represented by two characters throughout the series). Different characters have different attack patterns. The columns of the opponent's stack will descend at different rates relative to each other depending on the character chosen. This causes a disjunction of colors that may make it more difficult for the other player to clear their stack. For example, with the character Devil, all the columns will descend at the same rate, whereas with Sun, the middle columns will descend faster than the others."MD6 is mostly MD3 with an updated HD coat of paint. The game's Story Mode is a modified version of MD3's "Magical Journey" and features multiple endings with different routes determining what characters you use. The game's Survival and Puzzle Modes are just as they sound. "Path of Destiny" is an expanded "Magical Journey" with a ramped up board game vibe that has you competing against others to reach the end while collecting money along the way used for unlocking things and the Caravan Mode is a timed race against the clock while gaining as many points as possible. The game does not allow you to lose against an opponent (though you can lose solo games in Story Mode, this is illustrated in the video) and has to be played MANY times to unlock everything, but I suppose it's a little better than the alternative (not having anything to work towards).On the surface, the game is a proper return to form... the graphics are great (although a few of the animations seem... off, and a handful of assets look cheap) and the music is slightly upgraded versions of familiar tracks. The characters have updated Japanese dialog which is kinda cool and it also has local / online multiplayer available. The only downside? After more than a half dozen games and almost 30 years, the core gameplay nor the extras have seen any significant updates. I love Magical Drop, but it wouldn't kill them to add some worthwhile new features, even if they're optional. Even so, the game's lightning-fast gameplay and high skill ceiling on harder difficulties is a blast and a testament to the series' lasting appeal. This is a video showing the game in action. You can get this version at:store.steampowered.com/app/2176320/Magical_Drop_VIEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Ed-0: Zombie Uprising Game Sample - PC Vysethedetermined2 2023-12-30 | "Ed-0: Zombie Uprising" is a janky but fun and interesting alternative to your usual "Mystery Dungeon", "Rogue-like" and "3rd-Person Action" games. Developed by the strange folks at Lancarse (best known for Labyrinth, aka "Mawashite Koron" which is a remake of Taito's "Cameltry", "Lost Dimension", "Monark and "The Diofield Chronicle") and published by one of the kings of the budget sector, D3Publisher... who have recently merged with Bandai Namco and have waaaaaay too many titles to mention at length (but who are quite recognized for the "Earth Defense Force", "Bullet Girls", "Onechanbara" and "Puzzle Quest" series), Ed-0 was also released for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Self-described as an "Oedo Panic Rogue-like Action Game", players take on the role of one of three "Zom-Beings" during the mid-19th century towards the end of the Edo period to fight a "Zombie Revolution" caused by Japan opening up their borders to the colonial Western world...Nevermind that the story of the game seems a little xenophobic, because it's just a framing device at the end of the day to push the game's campy and absurd premise where the player runs around a tiny hub to upgrade ludicrously expensive traits, runs off into mildly randomized dungeons killing zombies to a largely throwaway plot (it's such rubbish, the narrative pretty much dismisses that you have two other characters and tells the story from the perspective of "Samurai Mumyo") while elegantly making yourself or others vomit, and a means to make pre-PS3 era action games look highly refined. The game is clunky and a chore to control as well with the occasional bout of BS (and the game is self-aware of this to the point that there is a feature in the options to reset your position if you randomly get stuck outside of the game's geometry) and, while not visually or aurally unpleasant, seems to be locked on current gen platforms just for the sake of being locked to current gen platforms, and it even conveniently bypasses fans of 2k for 1080p and 4k features as well as a incomplete list of the usual 16:9 display resolutions below 1080p. Doesn't sound like glowing praise so far, right?Welllllll... for every thing that Ed-0 seems to do wrong, it does two or three things right, so let's get into what's appealing about the game. For the uninitiated, "Mystery Dungeon" games were popularized in Japan during the mid 90s with the introduction of Super Famicom's "Fushigi no Dungeon" games which started with Torneko (Dragon Quest IV) and Shiren and later got MANY derivatives (officially and Indie / Doujin), though they themselves were inspired by Western and misc. efforts from the 80s and early 90s such as "Rogue", "NetHack", "Dragon Crystal" and "Fatal Labyrinth". Common elements of the genre often consist of (mostly) silent protagonists, randomized dungeons, a general hub which may or may not evolve based on player involvement, large restrictions during initial attempts (either through very restricted menu management, reset character abilities, etc.), traps and careful player movements, survival elements (either from tactical player agency, imposed challenges from hunger and/or stamina, or other features) and harsh penalties upon death. The overwhelming majority are also "semi-turn-based" where, at minimum, enemies move as you do.Ed-0 generally has all of those things but incorporates them in a fully 3D environment where the player as well as enemies have total control, adding a very unique component over the usual trappings. No longer can the player methodically plan every move as you will often be forced to deal with situations in real-time and the game really rewards thinking on your feet as there are a bevy of good and bad items that play into the game's meta and three distinct playable characters. The samurai is balanced, the ninja relies on mobility and technical skills and the sumo wrestler has a lot of health and super armor for most attacks. Each character also gets a variety of skills that can be upgraded as well as many charms to augment your runs that can be stacked, cursed, etc. The player can also throw items at enemies and take advantage of a large variety of different strategies as well as the occasional surprises. Once you learn the controls, the rest of the game gradually clicks and it becomes incredibly addictive. The game's true allure kicks in after the second dungeon, as you'll actually have a few permanent upgrades under your belt.If the game had a bit more time and a bit higher budget, the game could've improved the overall package and fostered an overwhelming degree of replayability, but it's still a fun and experimental title as-is. This is a video of roughly the first hour. You can get it at:store.steampowered.com/app/1717020/Ed0_Zombie_UprisingEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Gel-Tank [軟体轟輪ゲルタンク] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-12-30 | For a side-scrolling Doujin action game, "Gel-Tank" (aka Nantai Todoroki wa Gel-Tank) is a well-balanced specimen. Produced by what generally appears to be a solo developer at TECHNODOT, the game wears most of its inspirations on its sleeves. The game is highly nostalgic from its sound to its presentation and feels like a lost gem from the 16-bit or early 32-bit era.First and foremost, if you've glossed Steam reviews, you will see the game is compared quite a bit to "Metal Slug", and that comparison can't be understated; a lot of the animations, effects and vehicle designs were greatly influenced by MS but the game is more restrained in terms of the level designs and Arcade influences (no timer, more generous amount of power-ups, much lower degree of difficulty, etc.) with a more "Bargain MS" feel. Gel-Tank has a relaxed and adventurous tone with a smidgen of exploration and is a hodgepodge of various console games of the 8-bit and 16-bit era... a little "Blaster Master" with the ability to disembark your tank and go off the beaten path for the occasional goody, a little "Rocket Knight Adventure" with the goofy enemy shenanigans and fixed periodic enemy waves, a little "Kirby Super Star" with mid-level banter, a little inventory management with skills and skill slots (you choose the game, lol), things of that nature. The plot is also simplistic and campy: a lone creature of the "Gel" species is hunted by the "Human Kingdom Army" and narrowly escapes while finding a legendary "Tank Suit" in the process that is powered by an advanced A.I., Eia. Needing power to fight back, the Gel and A.I. work together to take the land back from the army... but is everything as it seems?The game has few modern conveniences and even goes out of its way to replicate the feeling of games of a bygone era by including almost a dozen CRT filters just for fun, but the game feels like a polished work that does the classics justice. The graphics are nice and each level is slightly varied either by theme or design, but the game is kinda lacking in terms of enemy variety. However, seeing as the game was done by basically one guy with the Unity engine no less, I'd still consider that a compliment. The sound effects are nice and punchy and the soundtrack is also unexpectedly GREAT with a lot of bangers, though not all of the music is original (for example, the third stage of the first region plays "Shizuka" from Ninja Brain's "Assassination" album). I have no major complaints with how the game looks or sounds.The gameplay is pretty straightforward for the most part... just shoot everything that moves. In the beginning, your performance during the game's tutorial will dictate what difficulty you start with, though you can change it in the options. The player's tank has a rotating turret which will require you to move around to aim properly; the turret locks by default when the shot button is held, but this can be disabled as well. Different power-ups can be picked up which also have different advantages and restrictions and the player can rescue "POWs" who will aid you on your quest if you collect enough of them. A cool but underutilized mechanic also comes with our gelly hero... they can leave the safety of the tank to climb walls, and explore some areas for secrets, but it is not used nearly enough nor to great effect and is executed just enough that you know it's a feature that exists. A few things that do spice things up though are "skills", "combos" and "large vehicles". Skills can be purchased from the shop that do a large variety of things and are worth exploring (Expert difficulty disables skills). Combos are achieved by destroying just about anything without getting hit; higher combos generate more jewels from enemies which can be used to buy skills from the shop, and different factors alter combo conditions. Large vehicles are vehicles your gel and tank can both board and function in much the same way as they do in Metal Slug. Large vehicles can run over most enemies as well. It's worth noting that unlike Marco and company, your gel has no default close-quarters knifing abilities, though they won't get hurt by touching normal enemies (most large machines can still hurt though).The last thing of merit to mention is that the game was recently translated into multiple languages, one of which is English. The developer translated it themselves using ChatGPT and says that the quality is terrible, but as a native speaker, I think they did a good job -- it has personality and few noteworthy errors in which to speak of. While I could say more about Gel-Tank as a whole, it would really start digging into the particulars, so I'll wrap things up. The game lasts a few hours and is a fun romp while it lasts, but it's a little pricey. If price isn't an issue, then give it a go by all means. If so, then $5-10$ seems fair. I hope more of Technodot's games make their way to Steam and I will keep an eye on them from here on out.
Imone and the 99 Brothers [イモーヌと９９の兄さま] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-12-30 | Howdy all! Not much to say about this one; it's a super rare Doujin demo of Nepia World's 2007 game, "Imone and the 99 Brothers". The game was never completed and / or has never left the "Pre-Release" stage, and what was completed has an "Early Alpha" feel to it, but NW hunters have been looking for this one for many years.The player takes the role of the titular Imone as she blasts monsters and ghosts with 99 feisty blobs and clears different "phases" or stages. There's no scoring, no end (though you're not really intended to get past phase 10 or 11) and no real point to the game, though it's interesting to think of what could've been. The game's infinitely rotating playing field is kinda neat and the few sprites in the game are cute, and the little bit of music in the game is kinda rad. Imone has to contend with bats who steal the blobs and ghosts who cast spells that will turn you into a frog... while in frog form, Imone is very vulnerable and can only hop about. If she's near a blob, they will attempt to eat her and if they land a clean bite, the game is over. The game will also effectively end if she runs out of blobs to fight back. Every third phase, the player will run into a boss who excels at stealing blobs and turning Imone into a frog, but they are generally easier than the levels themselves.If the game spent more time in the oven, I think it could've been a more appealing endless title or restructured into a full-fledged action game, but it simply wasn't meant to be. Whelp, time to try and hunt down the rest of these odd little games... the last few are only going to be harder to find and preserve (being Nepia World / Team Dangeroude titles such as "Tepo Crash", "256-Biki Usa-chan" and "Nepia Land" if I branch over to the X68K). Have a go at it and Happy Holidays!mediafire.com/file/fmmpj2lba5o0lx5/IMOQ.7z/fileEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Be Rain [ビィ・レイン] Game Sample - X68000 Vysethedetermined2 2023-11-30 | "Be Rain" is an odd duck for sure... a super rare X68000 game that was recently dumped after eluding preservationists for over 30 years that's an obtuse action game that doubles as an 18+ adult video game... and it's a fairly good X68000 exclusive at that. I acquired this game recently during a Japanese auction and covered it briefly through YouTube's Community tab, but it's probably better to show the game in action than simply talk about it. Released in 1993 by "Software House Parsley", "Be Rain" takes a little inspiration from "Qix / Gals Panic / Skweek" and "The Demon Crystal / Tower of Druaga" games while incorporating some mecha elements and basic anime-style cutscenes into the mix. While it's not as outright flashy as the Gals Panic games or as brutal as Skweek / Druaga, it strikes a modest middle-ground and can be cleared in about 1-2hrs depending on skill level."Be Rain" involves a young woman named Rain who awakens with amnesia and finds that she has been turned into a mechanized monstrosity by an incredible but eccentric doctor (mad scientist). Allegedly, she was mortally wounded while saving the king's life and due to her injuries (she was literally torn to pieces), has no recollection of her heroic events. The doctor created an experimental body with prototype magical technology to give her a chance to fight the demons who once defeated her under the conditions that if she can reclaim her parts, she can be restored to normal with magic and technology. Using a teleporter to access different times and dimensions, Rain goes on a quest to slay all demons and communicates with the doctor remotely via a communication device installed on her ear to where each of the enemy strongholds are at. There is a small twist at the end where:SPOILER--------Rain was not "saved" but abducted and deceived by the doctor and was actually a guinea pig to test his weapons and collect data. After going through various trials and tribulations, the doctor compiles his findings to create a pure killing machine which is his first step in conquering the world and pits it against the "original" Rain in a final battle to the death touting machines as superior. However, he underestimates the tenacity and will of humans and ultimately fails with Rain narrowly escaping the aftermath of his greatest creation's defeat.--------END SPOILERThe story in the manual doesn't really shed much more light on the plot or setting, so the story as a whole doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but what we do know is that the player character battles demons while clearing terrain to find secret goodies as well as uncover "memories" in the form of friends or acquaintances Rain knew as a human. The more terrain you remove, the more clear the memory becomes (represented by a "Rate" meter) and when enough is discovered (around 75-80%), the memory becomes clear and a picture is uncovered. Conversely, if the player finds and proceeds to the exit before the memory is recovered the stage will have to be done again from the beginning. Like Druaga, the requirements to clear certain stages properly can sometimes be rather cryptic (some involve using a certain weapon arm, standing still, killing a type of enemy, taking down a suspicious marker, etc.), but the game is more forgiving and showcases hints as you take certain actions or progress a certain amount of the stage which is illustrated with text that scrolls at the bottom of the screen.BR consists of five main stages that contain five rounds each (four levels + a boss level) and there are numerous permanent upgrades that can be collected that you can swap out which will alter Rain's offensive and defensive capabilities. Between stages, you can switch out these upgrades developed by the doctor and allocate them to your body, legs, left arm (short range) and right arm (long range). It's worth mentioning that weapons have durability / uses and it generally goes that the more powerful it is, the less uses it has. There are also temporary power-ups hidden around levels and most have a positive effect such as destroying all enemies, restoring you health / weapon durability, granting a shield, etc., but some have negative effects such as slowing you down reversing your controls, etc. Nearly every weapon can also be powered up by holding down the attack button where Rain shines from blue to gold and usually grants a more powerful attack or an attack with greater range.BR doesn't look particularly special, but it's hard not to dig its soundtrack like the overwhelming majority of Japanese computer games of the 80s and 90s, and the gameplay is functional, even if it could've done without the adult content. This is a video going through the game with a few deaths to illustrate different graphics. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Safety is Power SE [s.i.p. ～safety is power !～ SE] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-11-30 | "Safety is Power" is a series of ADV / Card Battle games developed by the Doujin circle, ColorWorks. CW has released independent games officially since 1999, most having a mature / adult or eroge slant to them. The first s.i.p., which was released during Comiket 64 in 2003, was an 18+ work that had a goofy story and simple premise, but its following sequels, "s.i.p. SE" and "s.i.p. TE" were revised to be for all-ages. This is significant as besides the last game in their "Medical Manager" series, all their other works were rated for audiences above the age of 17, and "s.i.p. SE" is their first all-ages work. "SE" or "Special Edition" was released during Comiket 67 in 2004 and progresses the story a little, updates the graphics a little more, trims down some of the ADV elements (such as the time management system) and plays up the game's more comedic and wholesome elements.The story revolves around a 23 year old unemployed NEET, Makoto Asaka, who is otherwise an "ordinary" citizen of Wakui City living in a rundown apartment. Makoto doesn't have any money but has been skirting the law for some time through tax evasion, abuse of Japan's basic "National Pension System", and odd jobs or "gigs" working under the table, becoming more behind on his fiscal obligations by the day. However, there is another odd phenomenon that has developed in Wakui City that Makoto did not immediately become aware of known as the "New Stalking Law", which grants protection and partial asylum to qualified candidates who have garnered the attention of unscrupulous parties. This system was put in place at Wakui City to divert resources to an emerging problem that the local police could not manage on their own, and is designed for rather extreme cases. In order for it to work, the "PG (Public Guardian) System" was created to assign benefactors who perform tasks on the behalf of their clients.In the events of the first game, Makoto was swept up in a battle for his life against a "Ninja Army" and in SE, the game takes place a few months after the first where Makoto becomes a reluctant "employee" for city hall where other PGs gather while contending with a group of bizarre cosplayers who have an axe to grind with the city. His guardian however is a stoic but capable young girl, 18 year old Mika Kikuchi (who is part of the Social Welfare Division), who not only is the first inaugural PG hired by the city, but who also slowly grows on him as a capable protector and confidante. Several antics ensue as the story unfolds, but the crux of the game lies in playing a revised form of "Blackjack". This form of Blackjack is played in teams and introduces a "Contract Bridge" system which determines who is doing what and what, if any, advantage the player will have.Each player draws 13 cards and whoever has the highest or "strongest" card wins the hand. Regarding the strength of the cards, A is the strongest, followed by K, Q, and finally 2, with the rest in-between being self explanatory. Cards in play generally adhere to the suite of the first card put down; if you do not have a card of the specified suite, you can put down another card, though it will automatically lose under ordinary conditions. The exception to this is if there is a declared "Trump" card in play. If the player doesn't have a card in the starting suite but a card in the trump suite, this card will automatically win if placed UNLESS another player also uses a trump card with a value greater than your own. A basic strategy is to clear out low value cards and get through the rotation of players to delay your turn order and better pick up wins during the latter half of the game (your partner can also pick up some wins by compensating for your hand).However, the rules are changed up significantly when a "Contract" is drawn prior (which doesn't begin until later in the game). This auction-style affair determines the rules to win 7 or more hands and can range from using only a certain card suite to no trump cards in play, to even winning all 13 hands, and alters the difficulty of the game. Depending on who declared the contract, one player will become the "Declarer" and the other will be the "Dummy"; the "Dummy" has their hand revealed to other players and adds another layer of strategy to help the "Declarer" sus out the best moves to make. It's a fast-paced, robust and interesting twist to an otherwise ordinary game of cards when things gel properly.The game has nice and vivid artwork, a serviceable soundtrack, and a few QOL features on the ADV side of things typical to the genre (Message Skipping, Recall, etc.). This is a video of the game in action. You can get it at:mediafire.com/file/w46vpi81yylsinu/sipSE.zip/file- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6 [J.LEAGUE プロサッカークラブをつくろう!6 Pride of J] Game Sample - PSP Vysethedetermined2 2023-11-30 | "J.League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 6: Pride of J" is a fairly comprehensive Soccer Management Simulation developed by Sega (CS1) in 2009 and is one of many titles in the long-running "J.League Soccer Club" series as well as the first game in the series for the PSP. The game is notable for having Riichiro Yamada as the director and producer, which is one of the earliest games he served in either role. Riichiro also worked on titles such as "Hundred Swords", "Panzer Dragoon Orta", "D×2: Shin Megami Tensei Liberation", "Samurai & Dragons", "Yakuza: Dead Souls" and "Yakuza: Like a Dragon". He currently serves as the head of Japan Games at Warner Bros. Entertainment.As the name sort of implies, you will become the manager of a Soccer Team, form a Soccer Club and balance your books while training to become the best team in the J-League. While you would need to consult Japanese fan sites to know the differences between the many games, #6, based on its own merits, is a fun game that organically links its many themes and systems from strategy, management, support, player acquisition, human relationships, team building, character collecting and more. While a few "bugs" are cited such as the possibility of getting gridlocked financially or statistically if players are dissatisfied with their yearly evaluations, leading to them leaving and pushing you out of the minimum number of players needed to hold the team together (resulting in a game over), the game runs at a quicker tempo than some of the other games and has more than enough content to satisfy most J-League fans. It also has a more robust story this time with more characters as well as characters with more depth and weight to them, making the experience more dramatic than past entries as rivals not only compete but share their wisdom and impart valuable life lessons.However, it's also not for the average Soccer player as you are managing A LOT of things and the actual Soccer gameplay is restrained quite a bit, almost completely automated and partially luck-based. You start by using your introductory cash to create your starting lineup, staff members, coaches and then move on to selecting a few sponsors and developing a promotion plan. Besides the fairly typical options in games like this like creating schedules and monitoring events, a lot of thought was put into just how much you interact with your team and build up your team synergy. For example, some coaches can shorten the period of time that players engage in special practice sessions, giving them greater returns on stats while other players may trigger additional special effects depending on the combination of team mates. You can upgrade a variety of facilities or use gifts to influence character morale or rival interactions, and you can even choose tactics to alter the players' thinking and positioning or choose keywords to deviate between offense and defense... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.On the subject of the audio and visuals, the game sounds pretty good where applicable (as some things don't really have music, like the actual matches which mainly subsist on crowd chants, field sounds, player shenanigans and special skill beeps and bloops). One of the points of contention for this entry is that the game lost the spoken commentary of some earlier entries as the game prioritized the game's increase in volume and scope. I haven't played these entries, so I have no frame of reference, but I wasn't really bothered by the absence of spoken dialogue. The visuals are probably a little better than average for the PSP in the areas where the 3D is actually on display, but nothing to write home about, so.... serviceable? The inability to directly control ANY aspect of the 3D on-field action is a little bit of a downer for someone who thoroughly enjoyed previous entries like "J.League GG Pro Striker '94" (of course, this game was 2D), but for fans of this particular simulation style, it does what it does well.The game can run pretty quickly if you know what you're doing but it's still challenging and interesting depending on whether you're affiliated with the J1 or J2 clubs. If you DO have questions about anything though, the game has a comprehensive in-game glossary for almost any term or topic of note. Of course, with everything I've just said, a pretty high proficiency in Japanese goes a long way in enjoying this game to the fullest... BUT, you can learn the general flow with a little patience. If you're a big fan of management sims and want some good portable Soccer, you could do a lot worse than this.This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Princess Defense [プリンセスディフェンス] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-11-30 | Princess Defense is a fairly basic, short and cute "Tower Defense" title from the small Doujin circle, Harukana Game, and the first commercial release from the team (followed by "Cilty Heal"). Released during the Summer Comiket of C85 in 2014, the player assumes the role of Princess Tia, a brave battle princess of the forest, who is using her influence to protect her land and Decentra Castle from the forces of evil. The game is dubbed a "Job Changing Tower Strategy Game" where players have some agency in how they tackle maps by gaining allies and developing different classes with their own (3) special abilities while adhering to mostly typical Tower Defense rules. The game has 32 stages that can be adjusted depending on difficulty, adding to the game's grind and replayability. A "Princess Defense 2" had reached early development and was unveiled at the Digigame Expo back in 2016 but seems to have been quietly abandoned. It's a pity, as it had an interesting aesthetic and showed promise.While "Princess Defense" might be HG's first commercial game release, it has a little more meat on its bones than "Cilty Heal". Besides being longer and more challenging, the game allows you to slowly grind levels for your characters which will increase the base stats of the class as well as earn currency and "gems" to deck out your characters. Each character can wear up to five gems and the strength of the gem depends on its rarity as well as if it has any hybrid traits. All gems can be leveled up which increases their potency, but gems with hybrid traits tend to cost more to level up (and many also have pros AND cons, so be careful to balance out the more negative traits with other gems). On top of that, the higher a gem's level, the more likely an upgrade can fail, taking your hard earned money in the process.The action in Princess Defense happens in real-time and, like most TD games, deals with the player combating multiple waves of foes before getting wrapped up in a boss encounter. Characters in battle will have the buffs from their gems and base stat boosts but start at level 1, but the caveat is that you will gain hearts from defeated foes which can then be used to quickly level up your characters mid-fight. A big part of the strategy is deciding which characters or classes to take into battle and how to manage your in-fight leveling. Characters unlock their skills every few levels and some skills can be game-changing depending on the scenario, but not all foes are created equally. Some foes, for example, can only be hurt by magic while others are tanky and may require an archer on a strategically-placed outpost to whittle them down before they get to the melee squad to minimize damage or casualties. Some are untouchable to melee characters while others require the "long game" strategy to dispatch effectively. Or, when all else fails, dope characters into particular specialties like making your archer or thief absurdly fast or create a fighter who is so strong that they can take down foes in just a few blows with well-placed critical hits. Anything goes.The game has a cute chibi aesthetic, a simple soundtrack and functional (and slightly addicting) gameplay. There is also an exploit that works on many bosses where the player can sandwich a wave boss between two characters and get the timing down to "carry" a character just before they are struck to avoid damage and stage a counterattack (this was originally meant to move your characters to different vantage points). If the castle is destroyed by the enemies, it's Game Over!This is a video of the game in action. You can learn more about Harukana Game at:harukanagame.infoYou can also get the game at:https://booth.pm/ja/items/1221962Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
SwordBreaker: 2D / NOT 2D Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-10-05 | Dubbed a "Dimension Switching Vertical Shooting Game", "SwordBreaker: 2D / NOT 2D (also known as "2D or Not 2D: That is the Question") is a rather fun and obtuse game with some interesting mechanics that borrows some inspiration from the "Touhou" series but has a lot of stuff going on under the hood. The game is exceedingly rare and the small dev team at "else undefind" spent about 2 years (from 2014 - 2016) developing it then stopped making games shortly after release. They also developed "Magical Party: Panelia" and the demo of "SwordBreaker: Chronogrammaton"The game features two "Swordbreaker" witches, Juno and Litte, who are sent to investigate anomalies in their kingdom of "Millenilia" caused by errant magic. Tasked by the immortal "Millenium Witch", a strange space dubbed the "Flat Area" is causing everything to become flat and is encroaching their kingdom. Juno is a little safer to use and specializes in homing abilities while Litte uses a stronger focused laser and tracking bits (bits that, once they hit an enemy, stay fixed on them). There is a lot of jargon to keep track of too... Ether, Consumption, Solid, Fluid, Atmosphere, Tablets, Rings, Fame, Heat, etc., and it can be difficult to keep track of it even once you understand the correlation between everything. That said, let's dive into it a little.Ether can basically be seen as your overall pool of power and this power is channeled through "Tablets", which you have 3 by default. I say this because you can change the number of tablets but not the overall amount of Ether, and more Tablets means more opportunities to stay alive but lower attack potency while less tablets means higher attack potency as you burn Ether in a quicker and more concentrated form and also activate an "OverDrive" state more aggressively when your "Heat" reaches its maximum threshold. However, this results in a lower defense potency. Tablets second as shields and when the player is hit, they lose Ether or get shattered if the attack is powerful enough, but the Tablet will protect you at least once (at the cost of losing the Tablet). Different attacks will cause the player's Ether to fluctuate between a Solid and a Liquid, but if the Tablet is empty, it cannot be restored until Ether is completely solid, so be careful. Bosses also have Tablets and can be defeated by breaking their Tablets or reducing their health to zero.Speaking a bit more on the Heat and OverDrive systems, the player gains chips when defeating enemies, but defeating enemies while in OverDrive will net gold chips which helps restore Ether, increase your score and Fame, and also alters the "Atmosphere". The "Atmosphere" changes depending on the player's skill level and will increase the intensity of the enemies but will also reward more chips and increase your score. The Ring Gauge System shows the player's remaining Ether with White / Yellow highlighting Liquid Ether and Red highlighting Solid Ether and the goal, like most shooters, is to get hit as little as possible. To assist in this endeavor is the "3D Expansion" system. At any time, the player can push a button and turn the field from "2D" to "3D', though the 3D field will consume Ether and will eventually be disabled if your Ether becomes too low. This is important as some waves are designed to be impossible to navigate without abusing this mechanic, so balancing your use of Ether, learning when to push your Heat to the limit, and proper deployment of 2D and 3D fields is essential to get the most out of the game.So, with all of that out of the way, you may be asking: what is the point of getting Fame? We kinda get Heat, Rings, Tablets, OverDrive, Ether, 2D/3D and all that jazz, but is Fame even worth getting? The answer is YESSSS. Fame is also collected based on the player's scoring and skills and gets converted into "Icons" depending on how far you get, whether you finish or quit, etc. These Icons, to put it simply, unlock various features in the game, but you can also use them to continue if you die (this is discouraged of course).Visually, the game is pretty simple like many Doujin shooters coming out around this time with lots of GUI displays, talking anime characters, and simple sprites and backgrounds, but everything runs smoothly and the game's gimmick of swapping perspectives is a nice touch. The music is also quite good and evokes a fusion of "Touhou" with "Castle of Shikigami" in some instances but also has some nice piano pieces and other set pieces. There's also a load of options and tutorials to fiddle around with to cater to players of most skill levels and there's also some Omake content if the player can achieve the "GOOD ENDING" after the "Another Day" segment.The dev is still activate and does not want distribution at this time. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
The Spirit Fighters 99: 2nd Impact [ザ・スピリットファイターズ 99] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-10-05 | Super rare FM95 game released just before Christmas of 1999. One of several predecessors to IS-SOFT's "The Spirit Fighters 2000". Three characters new to this version include "Beast Shooter Miku", "Eco Ice Tohoku Electric Power Mascot Ecoco" and "Galaxy Investigator Yuri". Ecoco and Yuri in particular did not return in TSF2000 (but Miku did). This game will "likely" not work in current Windows environments and I had to modify the game's configuration file and use a Japanese VM to run the game while recording outside of its environment to get this footage. I also had to use keyboard controls as most of my old computer gear is in storage (it is compatible with the MS Sidewinder Controller), but it turned out okay overall. This is a basic game sample showing the title in action."TSF992ndImpact" uses a four button attack system (Weak & Strong Punch / Kick) with an orthodox fighting game command scheme. One quirk is that the game incorporates "Strikers" which were found in "The King of Fighters '99" until "The King of Fighters 2001" which this game loosely parodies, but they consume one special gauge (used when the player presses weak punch and kick at the same time). There isn't much more to add on this one other than this is the "fourth" game in IS-SOFT's series, which means there are at least three other titles before this (which may have been established prior to IS-SOFT as they are known today, as their site was founded in mid 2000). The live-action characters are modeled after KoF characters with the creator using themselves as a template in various forms of cosplay.You can get the game at: mediafire.com/file/deeswtlk8779d6k/spfi98.7z/fileEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Adventure of Ukagaka [伺かの冒険] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-10-05 | "Adventure of Ukagaka" or "Ukagaka no Bouken" is a fairly short 2D/3D Doujin game by Harukaze that is in the vein of Namco's "Legend of Valkyrie" series and is a follow-up to Harukaze's "Nanika no Bouken" (which was much closer to TLoV). The game is five stages of platforming and action starring one of the more popular "Desktop Mascot Ghosts", Mikage Sakura. Since Namco has only used their beloved Valkyrie sparingly and mostly with cameos, this is one of the few homages to said series (which more or less died with the obscure Super Famicom / PAL SNES title, Xandra no Daibouken: Valkyrie to no Deai / Whirlo). It was released in 2005.While the gameplay is functional, the story is not meant to be taken seriously as it essentially boils down to gags and parodies with Sakura and company... from goofy-looking pedobear facsimiles to a "One Piece" parody (with Zoro, Sanji and Luffy appearing as monkeys) to Mayura aiding you but not really aiding you (she gives you a marker so you can better identify your position on the screen), the game's story beats are just there to add flavor text to a nonsensical quest. Sakura can shoot enemies as well as charge up a toss of her sidekick, Unyuu, to defeat them and collect coins. Coins can be used to get limited-time power-ups but are also used occasionally to buy a pass needed to progress. You don't generally need to grind for anything as you will quickly find yourself with more cash on hand than you need, but you may want to stockpile some for power-ups. You can purchase medicine to restore your hearts, homing pencils which are almost double the strength of your standard shot, and bombs which have really short range but are super powerful. If you buy more than one weapon at a time, they will be used in the order you purchased them and the next in line will automatically trigger once the first one runs out. The game is very easy for the most part, though there are a few jumps that feel like leaps of faith as the 3D perspective and camera aren't always working well together. The graphics are pretty simple but the game has a nice soundtrack, most character lines are voiced, and it's pretty fun while it lasts.This is a video of the game in action going through about half the game. You game can be found at:mediafire.com/file/jlkner1fbp60sou/HSnB.7z/fileEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Bulletmaster Itaisan [バレットマスターイタいさん] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-10-05 | A simple obscure Doujin action game where you shoot a bunch of goons, and a sequel to "Sword Master Itaisan". Made with the Unity engine by the developer, Potato Fly, in 2012. Also stylized as "BULLETMASTER ITAISAN". "Itai-san" was slightly popular among Japanese students working on game design, with the unreleased "Sorcery Master Itaisan" being featured during the "8th Futaba School Festival".As Itai-san, a happy-go-lucky discounted trap-like version of Dante, you are killing cat things and lemons and potatoes and aliens and such with guns and a bayonet sword for... reasons, at the request of a young lady who is less than human. She arms Itai-san to vanquish evil (after trading antiques to a peddler to acquire these mighty arms) with guns forged from technology of both the human world and demon world, and as Itai-san possesses the abilities of both humans and demons, he is most suited to the task. There are various skills you can learn, two types of your three primary weapons, and "Sozai", which is an ingredient-fusing system where you can create items purely for collection purposes. Besides shooting enemies with dual handguns and slashing with a bayonet, Itaisan can also use "Vritra", a Dragonoid that requires you to be stationary to unleash powerful volleys of energy.The game features 6 areas and 18 stages (16 without the tutorial areas) and comes in two flavors: unpatched and patched. Prior to patching, some levels were extremely difficult as certain enemies had very high shields, a much higher rate of fire, and more health... the bayonet was also practically useless as it did low damage. After patching, the bayonet becomes much stronger, enemies are rebalanced and the enemies' had their shield power reduced. The game is considerably easier after patching but playing the game unpatched does offer a significant challenge. Clearing levels while satisfying various requirements (speed, combo rate, damage, etc.) yields points which can be used to purchase skills as well as upgrade your parameters. After the third area, the player should have access to all skills and the game fully opens up, but be warned that parameters are connected to your overall level, each upgrade increases your level by one, and you can only go up to level 99. There is no way to reset your parameters and one stat provides "FP", a separate metric which determines how many skills you can equip. While taking a balanced approach is okay, you can develop your character however you want and basically clear the game without incident (unless you put NO points into Vitality AND FP, which would defy typical gaming logic). The bayonet can dispatch most enemies, especially at high power, but the guns possess the vast majority of the skills you can learn, has a longer combo chain, and does "critical" damage at close range (if you are not locked on to an enemy). Of course, you don't need any of the skills to finish the game and can just keep shooting or stabbing too... that's an option.Visually, the game is pretty simple and it runs pretty well. Being as the game is a Unity title, it may require higher specs to run than it appears at a glance, but it is stable and has basic config settings. The music is by "Rengoku Teien", which means that it's pretty rad, but I've heard better tracks from this group in other games like "Super Mogura Tennis", "Stay on Taboo", etc. Even so, it's a short little game and can be cleared in 40 minutes or less. This is a video of the game in action going over the whole game. It can be found at:mediafire.com/file/g7c99d61ltq3nl4/BMI.7z/fileEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Innocent Tears [イノセントティアーズ] Game Sample - Xbox Vysethedetermined2 2023-08-05 | "Innocent Tears" is an interesting Visual Novel / Strategy hybrid that's a "partial" victim of circumstances. Originally planned for Sega's Dreamcast in 1999 and cancelled sometime in 2000 as a beta (the game was shown off at TGS and even had the "Dreamcast Press CD" dumped online) by Global A Entertainment (GAE) and Kobi Group (who mostly specialize in PC Eroges), the game resurfaced almost three years later in late 2002 for Microsoft's Xbox which was STARVED for Japanese content. Regrettably, I can see why it was cancelled... not every game gets pulled due to finances or irreconcilable differences. Innocent Tears FEELS like a beta that was shoved out the door in a barely finished state with no significant playtesting whatsoever. The artwork is good, as it should be, as it was handled by a semi-popular manga artist (Hiroyuki Utatane), but the interface and other assets (sans music) would have been poor even by 1999 Dreamcast standards. This isn't the real crime though... the problem is it's missing so many basic quality of life features for both genres that it's offensive.The basic plot is that people live on a ruined Earth in the 22nd century. Tokyo was destroyed in an instant by a mysterious force and those who survived live in fear. Angels, once believed to be holy beings, attack every day to eat humans while "Fallen Angels" are angels who have retained their humanity. As Haruaki Kagura, a fallen angel, you battle with angels, friends who are injured and / or unstable, a mysterious organization that continues to monitor your actions, and discover the final stage of human extinction while looking for your former lover, Kagari Himura... while the setup is interesting, the characters are super cliched and the delivery is flat.Let's start with the VN segments. You can do auto text... that's it. You can't skip scenes, rapidly skip through texts, review conversations, hide windows (for screenshots), adjust windows or sound mixing or nothing (as the game is almost fully voiced, sound mixing options are crucial for this). The game has undisclosed "flags" (no choice selection) which can slightly alter the plot at certain points, but they don't have a large impact on the overall plot. The game has NO system options to help here. Next, there's a world map between scenes. You can pick available locations and trigger battles or scenes. They turn yellow when "complete", but you have almost NO CLUE which ones will progress the plot or how many times you'll have to trigger the same ones. You just click around blindly as the narrative barely hints at anything. You can only save after an event or battle which is also inconvenient.Then there's pre-battle prep. You can check your status, items, skills, weapons, party members to bring, etc. (Different battles have different character limits). The problem? Items and weapons are ENTIRELY undescriptive. You can't buy anything at all, so you randomly get stuff after battle. But instead of items telling you what they do such as what stats or properties they have, they have useless descriptions instead. For example, you can get a lucky driving charm. It'll boost various stats. Instead of saying what stats, it'll have a vague description like "An old charm. I don't drive anymore anyway." Weapons have to manually be equipped while Items offer properties automatically. The menus are clumsy and not very helpful.Continuing, we have actual combat... boy howdy. The game tried to be unique, but it is hugely flawed. IT is a standard tile-based, chess-based strategy game: the players have a phase and then other parties have theirs. What separates this from most strategy games are Action Points (a precursor to games like "Adventures to Go!") and flying. Characters can execute as many things as they have Action Points for with the caveat that any attack skill automatically ends their turn. As such, it's in your interest to move, support, and fly prior to attacking (which breaks 99% of all fights). Flying helps you reach higher ground or execute a more powerful melee attack. It's as broken as it sounds and the computer "can" do the same thing, but the A.I. is braindead. It gets worse though... you have no idea what anything does. I mean, I can read and UNDERSTAND what it does, but the game has NO number indicators for basically anything on the battlefield. You don't know how much damage you do outright, you don't know how much support abilities heal or buff you, you can't even scope the field like in a respectable strategy game (the analogs slightly shift the view). You can't even save mid-fight, but most battles are quick. The camera and interface as a whole is intrusive and awkward. As a whole, the game is playable but all its issues are borderline intolerable, and combined with bland visuals and a dull plot without much backstory (though many scenes are done with flashbacks), the game can be cleared in about six hours or less. Some additional notes will be in the comments.
Metal Dungeon Game Sample - Xbox Vysethedetermined2 2023-08-05 | Panther Software was a curious bunch... having released games in Japan since the late 80s, most of their titles were not particularly well-received and fairly low budget, but they're a developer / publisher that has grown on me. Some of their most notable titles were works such as "Kami no Machi", "Lesser Mern", "Ku2", "Hamlet / Space Griffon" and "Kitchen Panic", but they dabbled in a smidge of nearly everything. In an incisive degree of irony, Panther Software migrated towards Microsoft's Xbox during the sixth generation of consoles in the hopes to capitalize on a niche market and faced almost immediate bankruptcy instead. While it doesn't mean much, they earned my respect as one of the industry's bigger risk takers with their releases of "Brave Knight", "Aoi Namida" and "Metal Dungeon" on the console. Metal Dungeon is also notable as one of only two (or "three" if you count "Shinobi no Okite") of their games released outside Japan, the other being the second iteration of Space Griffon for the original Playstation.Published in late 2002 outside Japan (and early 2002 in Japan) by Xicat Interactive, Metal Dungeon is one of the VERY FEW JRPG-style games on the console, though it was developed with a very Western aesthetic in the hopes of appealing to the Western market, but it's unusual for a few other reasons as well. For starters, the game can loosely be considered a Dungeon Crawler, Mystery Dungeon / Roguelike (or Rogue-Lite) game and Arcade game. If you wanted a game that combined Wizardry with the veneer of Phantasy Star II + Phantasy Star Online and then stripped it of 99% of its plot and over-indulged in gray and silver, you would get a pretty good idea of what to expect from this game... and everything that comes with that. A very static and basic HUB. Sci-Fi warriors with swords, guns, gloves / claws, etc. A basic combat system which is fully automated by default (though you can interject at any time). A paper-thin narrative and basic plot: The game takes place in the alternate future world of Alansas where countries are at war with Magic Technology. In the process of creating "Weapon Monsters" with technology from ancient sorcerers named "The Gods of Magic", scientists find a way to manipulate the gods but eventually lose control. As a result, the gods break free and take control of a secret facility and proceed to slay all of the research teams and arm the compound defenses. The player is a commander in charge of a Cyborg Enforcer Team sent into this facility, the "Metal Dungeon", to reclaim it.Yeaaaaah... the game takes a rather antiquated approach to most things which was contrary to what was generally being offered during the early 2000s as most titles were really flaunting their "next-gen" status, and this was one of several reasons the game was polarizing and critically panned by the media. Coincidentally, the game builds a bit of hype on the Japanese gaming front (as they are HUGE fans of these styles of game, even creating various Japan-only Wizardry games) and even ran various contests and promotions for the game... no word on if these endeavors paid off (probably not), but my point is that the game was created for a very specific target audience that just wants an addictive and repetitive good time spelunking dungeons. As such, "Metal Dungeon" does succeed here in some fashion. The audio / visuals are incredibly basic in most respects with few tracks, many palette-swapped enemies and bland dungeons, so I won't go into more detail here, but the gameplay is old-school decent.The game lets you create up to ten different classes with male or female counterparts (five basic and five hybrid / upgrade classes). No alignment things and such, but they have their own specialties and stat growths. One thing to elaborate on is that characters gain experience but don't level-up in the normal sense; characters gain "FP" that can be distributed to stats based on class and each upgrade increases a level, and you can also dope stats for temporary boosts, fortify stats with units to compensate for high costs in class-specific categories, and equip spell chips (the amount varies by class). Dungeons are randomly generated and full of treasures and traps, and while the game has 10 main "Areas" with different gimmicks, these Areas loop for 90 additional zones and 100 Areas total for those seeking a true grind.The game has a few other aspects such as "Area Search", "Monster Hunt" and "Trial Hall Battles", but only the hall is really worthwhile. Shops also stop being useful after the 2nd or 3rd Area, but money is used for managing virtually all aspects of your team, so you'll still want a good supply of cash. Energy and Elemental Orbs do need to be farmed though, so just a friendly heads-up. The game has basic options to speed things up too, but the game takes dozens of hours to see through to completion, especially for completionists. This is a video showing various aspects of the game. Enjoy.
Super Adventure Island II Game Sample - SNES/SFC Vysethedetermined2 2023-08-05 | Okay gang. Without going into too much detail, "Adventure Island" and "Wonder Boy" are sort of sister series with no direct connection to each other but share numerous similarities in their core gameplay. This is because "Adventure Island" was originally an adaptation of "Wonder Boy" from the Arcades for Nintendo's consoles as Sega owned the rights to the WB name but Hudson paid for the rights to adapt the game under the AI namesake and others (from the original developer, Escape, to circumvent copyright). So, WB is Sega (generally) and AI is Nintendo (generally) but they kinda do their own things and there are even more odd variants such as "Revenge of Drancon", "Turma da Monica na Terra Dos Monstros", "Bikkuriman World", "The Dynastic Hero", etc... yeah. Weird copyright issues aside, WB started to distance itself from AI by becoming a series of Action RPGs while AI was largely a series of linear platformers.The two exceptions to this are "Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima IV" (Adventure Island IV, which remained Japan-only for the Famicom) and Super Adventure Island II, a semi-uncommon game that was meant to be the last game in the series (though there would come at least one remake and one reboot of sorts). Co-developed by Make Software and Hudson between 1994 and 1995, "Super Adventure Island II" switches things up and, while a bit rough in some spots, makes a case for itself as one of the system's more ambitious quests (though it still manages to be quite short). While unique in and of itself, it draws a lot of similarities with games like "Wonder Boy in Monster World" and has pronounced Action RPG elements with exploration (complete with backtracking), gear and optional secrets, among other things (some would refer to it as a "Metroidvania"). In the game, our great hero, Master Higgins, is travelling with his wife Tina when they get swept up by a storm and both gain amnesia. During this time, Tina is found by the king of "Waku-Waku Island" and they fall in love, with Tina slated to be engaged to the king before she is kidnapped by baddies. Higgins makes his way to the castle where he learns of Tina's fate and agrees to rescue her on the king's orders as he feels she will help him regain his memories.While running, jumping and beating weirdos is part of Higgins way of thwarting his enemies' usual M.O., his skillset has been adjusted to solve puzzles, cast magic and utilize various weapons and armor besides the stone axe or fireball. Higgins can explore many areas and must find many different items needed to progress or upgrade his arsenal with new skills. Swords, Knives, a Shovel, an Axe, special techniques to stab above or below (think Zelda II) and other goods will round out the experience as you explore different islands, earn money, find secrets and even gamble (which is optional at Curly's Casino). Most enemies are on the pesky side until you acquire a powerful upgrade that is usually in the area and there is a world map where frequent random battles take place (also think Zelda II, they're short side scrolling segments) and bosses usually require a certain pattern or gimmick before you can overcome them. Higgins, as usual, is a tad bit funky to control but performs well overall within the confines of this game.In the audio / visual department, the game is a small step backwards from the first SAI (which isn't too surprising given the increased scope of the game and the original having tracks from the legendary Yuzo Koshiro), particularly in the visuals (some assets feeling a little under-developed), but it's still serviceable. Susumu Matsushita's character designs are still a welcome breathe of fresh air, but it would've been nice if they could've translated a little better in-game, which was certainly possible given the system's capabilities. Most areas are pretty straight-forward and easy enough to navigate and while the game is fairly linear, there's enough meat on the bones to warrant tracking this one down. The game was later released for Nintendo's Virtual Console service for the Wii. Overall, the game is pretty fun!This is a video showing the game in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Unyunyu [うにゅうにゅ] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-08-05 | Requested by @TouhouEXPolaros, "Unyu(u)nyu" is, quite simply, a Doujin "Puyo Puyo" clone. Released in 2001 / 2002 by Cheriru Soft, the game takes the popular Ukagaka Software Ghost mascots and plops them into a falling-object puzzle game. Taking place across seven stages, the game has a very simple beginning, middle and end. With a simple how-to-play segment, basic selection of modes (single, multi, etc.) and fun parody "Suny Trinitron" complete with a "CS2", the game fills a very specific role: a functional PP parody. The easiest way to find the game is through the "Archive".This is a video showing the game in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
School of Ragnarok [スクール オブ ラグナロク] Game Sample - Arcade Vysethedetermined2 2023-06-03 | "School of Ragnarok" was a somewhat short-lived, fairly experimental online 1-on-1 tactical Arcade fighting game (or in this case, a simple MOBA) developed by Dimps and co-produced by Square Enix. Early in the game's development, it inspired the gameplay that would be seen shortly afterwards in "Dissidia Final Fantasy NT" (which also released in Arcades shortly after this but also saw ports to other platforms). It's also notable for its involvement with Kazutaka Kodaka of "Danganronpa" fame as well as Takamasa Shiba who worked on the "LORD of VERMILION" series and Kimihiko Fujisaka who handled character designs (who spent the majority of his tenure with Cavia and Mistwalker and is known for his designs on the "Drakengard" series as well as "The Last Story"). The popular CEO of MONACA, Keiichi Okabe, also handled some of the music (He is rather prolific prior to MONACA, but is best known for his work on "Dancing Eye", the "Taiko no Tatsujin" series and "NieR:Automata").The game takes place in an era when the states and local government lose power and influence in a world where powerful "Academies" seize control. Among the numerous academies, the academy known as "Jugaku" had its own ideals and, in attempt to separate from the rest and monopolize the situation, rebelled and fought between the others. However, as a result of the school's struggles against each other for hundreds of years, not only the academies but the whole world becomes devastated, and Jugaku decides to settle things once and for all with a special duel, the "Conquest Battle", by utilizing the school's final weapon, the "Gakuen Gods" (School Guardians). Since every Academy has agreed to participate, the final decisive battle is declared in a bid for ultimate control and power. Each school guardian is a living, breathing entity that the students worship and are influenced by completely which ranges from good to evil, and everything in-between. Some desire peace, some pursue knowledge, some want to change the timeline, and some simply want to fight and kill.The game touts itself as a "5D" game by seamlessly switching between 2D and 3D during gameplay and uses a character creation system (male and female). It's a bit fiddly, but works okay for the most part. When characters create a certain amount of distance from each other, the game adopts an over-the-shoulder view where the player can move in 3D and shoot projectiles as well as find landmarks, the "Kinjirou Statues", which follow turf war / capture the flag rules. When a player occupies the area of a Kinjirou Statue for a brief period, the statue will lend its power to the player which is derived from the school guardian and offer more special abilities in the form of buffs, debuffs, or spells that can damage, heal, etc. Naturally, these can be taken back and aren't super important to get, but they will increase your power even more if you can occupy all three, so it adds a bit to the game's meta. When the player is close enough, the game shifts to a 2D fighting plane. In this view, the majority of the fighting will take place as players can execute different combos by utilizing the different attack buttons.On this subject, the player has four primary abilities: Guard, Jump, Action and Shot. They're pretty self-explanatory, but Action and Shot can have different properties depending on the timing, direction pressed, and whether the player charges the button. However, the game is not strictly 1-on-1, as the school guardian also occupies the field and acts independently, although you can also issue them commands. Each school guardian also has a "Divine Work" gauge which, when full, can force the guardian to execute a special move. Lastly, the guardians have a "God Gakari" gauge which fills when fighting or taking damage. When it is 50% or more, the player can directly draw the guardians power into their weapon which transforms it into a God Weapon and increases their power temporarily... or they can execute their ultimate ability, the "Ragnarok Drive". This one-time move follows a pass-fail system (so if it misses, there's no second chance and it can't be activated again until the next round) and is a powerful skill meant as a finisher.The game, on the surface, is a rather attractive spectacle and quite nice for an Arcade game released back in 2015. While the player avatars are a little dull, the amount of customization is decent, but everything else looks spiffy. The game has a multitude of tracks for the stages and for each school guardian, which is also a nice touch, and the voices are pretty standard stuff. The game saw a few updates and ended with "Re:Boot" in 2017, where it was eventually stopped and left unfinished (the character on the far right will crash the game). As the game was primarily online as a service game, you also lose a lot with the game's offline mode... converting the whole game to offline would be worthwhile. This is a video showing different things. Enjoy.
Senjin Aleste [戦刃アレスタ] Game Sample - Arcade Vysethedetermined2 2023-06-03 | I don't exactly know what the heck this is, but it's not quite Aleste. Is it fun though? Yeah. "Senjin Aleste" is a modern Arcade revision to Compile's classic "Aleste" series of legendary SHMUPs and developed and released courtesy of Sega as part of the M2's "Shot Triggers" lineup which attempts to revitalize various shooters. While M2 has many different "renewal" titles in the works, "Aleste" was one of the most anticipated reboots on offer, so when it eventually dropped in 2021, expectations were high... but it didn't quite excite long-time fans and didn't exactly pull in newcomers either. Word on the street is that location tests and sales were lukewarm and the game has no plans for a console port at this time, making this title to not only be an Arcade-exclusive (and Arcade first), but also the first to not see a home console port. Another, more "faithful" title, "Aleste Branch", was originally in development alongside Senjin Aleste but has quietly came and went so many times that it has significantly diverged from its original scope (adding many new elements and also changing from 2D to 3D). The game uses Sega's "ALL.Net P-ras MULTI Ver. 3" Arcade service.The game does, surprisingly, have a story. It's about plants from space that were used as raw materials to advance computer components for mankind, which, unsurprisingly, causes problems down the line as machines go rogue and the last hope lies in a small squad (codenamed "Aleste") of well-endowed anime girl ace pilots with experimental and deadly war machines. I'm only slightly joking, but I didn't translate it verbatim. You can get a good little summary of the game from the dedicated fan site for it at:aleste.fandom.com/wiki/Senjin_AlesteHistorically, Aleste games are single player affairs and this title is no different, but it does deviate in some significant ways. For one, the game has four playable characters that can be swapped during gameplay by picking up the corresponding letter to perform a "change". Selecting your main character will determine what "Leader Skill" will benefit the team by offering different buffs. As you cannot just swap characters at will, it's important to remember that each character has different strengths and weaknesses as well as two different shot types and a generic screen-clearing bomb. Another new mechanic is that each ship has a "Utility Radius" which serves several purposes; it will grab capsules within its radius that will fill up your "Power-Up" meter, serve as a "Bullet Buffer" (which repels bullets a short distance which then become revenge bullets, but this is used as a scoring mechanic as defeating certain enemies turns them into medals) and uses a secondary radius during Power-Up mode which shows how much time you have left before it runs out.Utilizing Power-Up, Bullet Buffering and Changes effectively is the key to increasing your score rate, number of medals, etc., though scoring truly shines on the higher difficulties. Speaking of which, there are four of them, and they influence the usual things such as enemy waves, bullet speed, and recovery. On the subject of recovery, each pilot will die in a single hit, but they will slowly recover over time (and this is sped up if you collect a change pod for a downed ally). There are five stages and, in typical Aleste fashion, the game is fairly unforgiving. Even the first level has tons of things going on, though the game does admittedly do a pretty good job of telegraphing these things between the lights and warning meters that pop up as well as the small bars to show boss stamina and the like. The game is fairly nice in the audio / video department with crisp pixels and punchy audio, though the game's already small vertical playing area is made even smaller by not utilizing a fair bit of it, giving the game a fairly low-res appearance. While Aleste is not exactly what one would call a "Bullet Hell" series, some of the hardest titles would show that "Senjin Aleste" isn't so far removed in the challenge department as the game rains bullets from everywhere.Senjin Aleste is a Shump I would give a soft recommendation to, but it would not be an exaggeration to say there are plenty of better shooters out there, especially many of the newer Doujin shumps (REVOLVER360 RE:ACTOR, Crimzon Clover, GRAND CROSS: ReNOVATION, Dezatopia / Momoiro Underground, etc.). This is a video showing different things in action including the tutorial, introduction, attraction, etc. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Hangzo Game Sample - Arcade (Prototype, Unreleased) Vysethedetermined2 2023-06-03 | "Hangzo" is quite the anomaly and a game with some interesting connections.For one, it is an Arcade game that was never officially released and was found and dumped in a basically complete (albeit slightly unpolished) state, making it one of the more intriguing finds in the video game world when the conversation of lost media gets brought up. Next, the game has a bit of an identity crisis; whether its the exact nature of its development or release (which seems to be a toss-up between Hot-B and Data East with an estimated 1992 / 1993 release window), the clashing themes from an aesthetic standpoint, or the unusually generous nature of the gameplay (as the difficulty is actually quite low for an Arcade game), one has to wonder what happened here. It does not have the usual splendor of an Arcade game and feels much more like a lost console game, specifically one released for Sega's Mega Drive (more on this later), feeling like a lost cousin to "Shinobi" or "Ninja Warriors". This is not a bad thing, but as a coin-op title is meant to generate revenue through high difficulty and a larger-than-life first impression, "Hangzo" is much more reserved and would've been a better fit for a home console.In the game, sometime in the year 200X, Japanese corporations have expanded into various parts of the world and saw remarkable progress and growth. However, those who truly boomed in this market were those willing to increase their profits through unparalleled malpractice, deception and greed. As such, the Japanese government was the perfect vehicle for corruption as a malicious enterprise that could not be reliably regulated and who sought to rule its citizens with an iron fist by investing in untold levels of black market activities fueled by modern technology and a group who controlled people from the shadows. To reclaim the integrity of Japan and bury the negative karma brought about by the government, a special squad was secretly formed, code-named "HANG-ZO", which was an elite fighting unit comprised of ancient Japanese ninja capability with modern technology with which to do battle. Their directive was to find and kill a primary target of the corruption, the owner of "Circle Mountain" who only goes by the name of "Mr. K".The game has simple hacking and slashing with projectiles you can throw and charge, limited jutsu (bombs) to use, and the occasional mount you can acquire which can also be powered up. When riding these mounts, the platforming becomes a little more imprecise as they are longer than the player character and can get by through proper monitoring of their shadow. The player can also dash, grapple swing (and attack which has a few I-Frames) and negate certain attacks. Each character has EXTREMELY minor differences beyond their attack pattern: Hanzo is strong, Kasumi is balanced, and Kotaroh is the small, agile character... but their parameters are so similar that you really have to pay attention to notice and serve no real advantage to completing the game. Most bosses have simple patterns and go down easily and the game ends before long using the same city-scape view of the trio that the intro uses.The game as a whole "plays" okay although collision doesn't feel precise, but the generous amount of item pickups make up for this. There are several insta-death pits where the game's grappling mechanic comes in handy, though a few spots are set up a little cheap so that you can't cross certain gaps without inching your way through or taking damage (and these spots are harder during co-op due to the fixed positioning from characters on the screen). There isn't a traditional timer like in some other Arcade titles; instead, lingering too long sends hordes of nasties your way. Aesthetically, the game is a bit of a mixed bag but never what one would deem "bad". The game has your typical staple of generic small-scale mooks, medium-sized baddies and large-scale honchos (most of which at least look a little intimidating) with a mostly 16-bit veneer ripe for consoles and the soundtrack has a decidedly Yamaha-synth sound to it... these things are not just by accident. Kei Maruyama, who normally handles sound design, helped with graphics for the game (and much of their portfolio is with Whiteboard / Santos who worked mostly with Sega on titles such as "Mahjong Cop Ryuu" and "Battle Golfer Yui"). Kuniyoshi Takazawa is one of the main CG designers and is best known for his work with "Rusty" (PC-98), "Tower Dream" (SFC) and "Dekitate High School" (SFC). Atsushi Okiyama is credited in the special thanks and mainly known for graphics and dot drawing but is best known for his later work on "La Pucelle Tactics" (PS2), "Disgaea: Hour of Darkness" (PS2), "TearRing Saga: Berwick Saga" (PS2) and "Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny" (PS2). The point is that much of the development team has roots mainly tied to the home sector and took an odd turn with this Arcade venture.This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.
Space Invaders 95: The Attack of the Lunar Loonies [あっかんべえだあー] Game Sample - Arcade Vysethedetermined2 2023-06-03 | Anyone who is even loosely affiliated with the gaming scene knows that Pacific Kougyou's (a subsidiary of Taito that stems from the early 60s) "Space Invaders" is one of the most iconic video game series ever created and a fun old-school shooter, but most people don't realize just how many different iterations of the game actually exists. Nevermind almost countless ports and bootlegs of the original, how many entries would you think exist? 10? 15? Maybe 20? If you guessed closer to "50", you'd be in the right direction, though numerically speaking, there aren't too many sequels to the game. However, today's entry, "Space Invaders '95" (aka "Akkanvader") is one of the quirkiest entries of them all and the one entry that truly jumps out to me as "uniquely" Japanese (unless you count "PD Ultraman Invader" or "Space Raiders").It's got a Kiki Kaikai cameo in the form of Sayo-chan and her "pupil" Miyo-chan (who would, so far, never appear again, and is not to be confused with Miki / Becky from "Kiki KaiKai: Dotou Hen"). It's got "Darius" ships and "Space Invaders Capsules". It's got a giant metallic invader and a quirky giant crab girl. The game explodes with color and character and is often considered a combination of "Space Invaders", "Galaga" and "Parodius", which is a pretty fair comparison. It also looks and sounds pretty spiffy as it runs off of Taito's F3 Arcade board. The game has two known ports being released on the "Taito Legends 2 / Taito Memories Gekan" compilations (though the "Taito Memories" series is collectively superior) which makes them worth tracking down for Invaders fans. The only issue? The game is HARD on single player and was almost designed with co-op in mind... but how can you hate the zaniness of the game? You get to fly around as a literal piece of... poop. Okay, that's not the best selling point, but the game is fun.This version of the game, at its core, is the same as the original, but with new characters, added mechanics and a major lift in the presentation. The game has five different crafts whose appearance differ between player one and player two, and each craft has a special shot that can be charged up for added mayhem. My favorite one is Sayo-chan's shot as it is luck-based but still balanced in terms of utility and power (delivering a big bang when at its best) but there are also specific power-ups that can make short work of the loonies when used properly. There are also bonus stages that are reminiscent to "Galaga" and varying segments that take advantage of vertical and horizontal movement (though the player remains fixed on the screen). There are also bosses now too, and they're an interesting bunch.There's way more stuff going on now too as enemies have many different characteristics and, to give you a fighting chance, some projectiles can be cancelled out by your own fire. The game sports 32 short stages spread over five rounds and doesn't have much to offer after you've cleared it once. It's not the best SI game I've played, but it's still a fun time for score chasers, shooting enthusiasts and Invaders fans. This is a video of the game in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Aeroboto [フォーメーションZ] Game Sample - Arcade Vysethedetermined2 2023-06-03 | Oh "Formation Z", we hardly knew ye... or did we? "Formation Z" (known outside Japan as "Aeroboto") is an Arcade game developed and published by Jaleco in 1984 with distribution in other regions handled by Midway. While the game is a "lukewarm" classic at best that didn't do particularly well based on coin-op revenue, it saw quite a few ports and was included in several compilations, such as standalone ports for NES, MSX, PC-88, Sharp X1, Nintendo Switch and PS4 (as part of the "Arcade Archives" line) as well as "Jaleco Collection Vol. 1", Retro-Bit's "8bit-Collection" and even through unofficial pirate carts such as "Supervision 52" (aka "52 Games", which is where I first played it growing up).The plot takes place in the year 2701, where a robot named Ixpel (which can transform into an aero fighter) is sent on a mission to stop an alien super weapon from reaching the Earth. This isn't really made evident during the game (which is just two primary levels that loop after a brief congratulatory message), but since most games of the era didn't have much of a plot, this can be forgiven to a large degree. The gameplay is extremely simple: the player must shoot or avoid enemies and obstacles while travelling on the ground or in the air. When on the ground, the levels progress incredibly slow but it is typically a little safer than being airborne. The real benefit of being on the ground though is you can collect gas canisters which will restore a little bit of the fuel you need to continue flying; some sections can only be cleared when flying and not having the fuel to clear these sections essentially spells doom. Both forms can charge their shot to pierce through enemies or damage tougher things that can't be destroyed with the standard pea shooter. Each level features a boss-like enemy (where fuel depletion stops) and an opportunity to snag bonus points by taking care of a post-level task (docking the plane in front).The game has no real music and very simple, albeit clean, visuals. The controls of your mech are also not exactly graceful and have a bit of a learning curve in order to find the proper execution between robot and jet as well as the right timing to avoid danger. As such, the game is not particularly good, but it's also not particularly bad (for 1984) and has a bit of a special place in my memories from a nostalgia standpoint. It will eventually get a remake in the form of "Project Formation Z" with a fresh coat of paint. This is a simple video showing the game in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
The Adventures of Robby Roto! Game Sample - Arcade Vysethedetermined2 2023-06-03 | "The Adventures of Robby Roto!" (Robby Roto for short) is a 1981 Arcade title produced by Bally Midway. If I had to describe it in simple terms, you could chalk it up as a combination of "Pac-Man" (which predates this) and "Dig Dug" (which this predates) but with a few bells and whistles that distinguishes it from either game. If you're feeling froggy, you can also throw other titles in like "Mr. Do!", "Lady Bug", "Boulder Dash" and various other maze games of their ilk, but the 70s and 80s were full of clones or variants. Developed by Jamie "Jay" Fenton and Dave Nutting, the game subverts the more aggressive playstyle found in those games with quick-spawning enemies and really aggressive, sometimes unpredictable enemy characteristics, often putting players on the defensive. As a result, it was deemed more difficult and complex than some other early 80s coin-op titles, and deterred most casual Arcade enthusiasts. It is also one of the few games made available (publicly and legally) for download to use in Arcade emulators. No other port of the game was made available officially.As the titular Robby, your goal is to go underground and rescue your fellow miners from the clutches of the evil Voltar and his minions while retrieving buried treasure. Each level has three miners to rescue who give you a large bonus if you can rescue them all, although it is not required. Levels also have a key which must be collected before you can exit with any people or items you find and not all ground can be dug up (small arrows will help guide the way in terms of where you can dig). The longer you stay on a level, the more baddies that will appear to stop you, and the more difficult it will be to avoid being captured. All adversaries including the most one, the spiders, can detach any hostages you have if they get too close to you which will require you to retrieve them or leave them behind. You also have a one-time-per-level special ability in the form of a "Magic Roto" which will make you temporarily invulnerable as well as eliminate the dreaded Jawbones from maze. Bonus "Rotos" will be awarded every few stages to help keep you in the game.The game's "music" is generated as Robby moves, similarly to Dig Dug, though it is not nearly as good. The graphics are also rather crude with uneven linework and a decidedly MS-Paint look to the overall package as opposed to precision sprite work, which helps it stand out a bit, for better or worse. The visuals were primarily bitmapped which allowed for the easier creation of certain shapes and geometry compared to spriting, but the potential of this is not on fully display with Robby Roto. I don't think anyone would've especially minded this during the early 80s as the gameplay was actually ahead of its time and it is still interesting to play compared to some of its peers, but where most Arcade titles capture the imagination of its audience with dazzling sights and sounds which usually elicits a powerful first impression, Robby Roto is not one of those games and must bank solely on its playability. That said, it is fun in doses.This is a simple video of the game in action. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Two Jong Cell!!「つーじゃんせる！！」Game Sample - Playstation 4 Vysethedetermined2 2023-04-01 | The days of Arcadey hardcore ecchi Mahjong games may be more or less over, but there still seems to be a market for the more softcore variety on handhelds and consoles as evidenced by quite a few titles including today's "Two Jong Cell!!", a PS4 exclusive. Developed as a budget title by Arc System Works late last year for 2,490 yen (about $20 USD), I picked the game up on sale for about 2,000 yen and decided to cover it for giggles, and what I found was... a mildly frustrating Mahjong game that tries to titillate the player with pretty girls and a novel-like story but it's a little too conservative and irritating for its own good. I won't say it's a "bad" Mahjong game, but there are many Mahjong games that do... well, Mahjong, better.The setting of the story is Minegami Academy, a school that has existed for a long time where mahjong is popular among the students. As a nameless transfer student, you are greeted by another transfer student, the beautiful and bubbly Haru Ichinose. Over the game's roughly 20 minute introduction, you basically get a tour of the campus, meet the other eccentric heroines and hear a grand speech from the spirited amateur about her love of Mahjong and how the bonds between people can strengthen the soul of the game, requiring a "Partner" to climb the ranks. Your goal from hereon is to become the top Mahjong player in the school and deepen your bond with your partners, each with their own story and "special abilities".Special abilities? Yeah, it's one of "those" Mahjong games. The main hook of the game is that each heroine has various abilities that they can utilize to help shape or change the rules of the game that fall under "A.I. Playstyle", "Kizuna Tricks", and "Extreme Skills". No matter what you do, the game is two-on-two and the rules change wildly based on these character skills as well as what difficulty you select, which may require you to defeat a certain character, incorporate a certain technique, require both characters to avoid defeat, etc. This also means that you have to be wary of utilizing certain tactics as you can put your ally in a compromising situation and vice-versa. On easy and normal difficulties, it's not a total deal breaker. On hard? Besides the often strict victory conditions, you have to deal with another (sometimes ugly) aspect of computerized Mahjong... the RNG. The tutorials lull you into a false sense of security as the actual game drops a ruthless amount of RNG on the player. This is in part because the game REALLY pushes you to use the sub-mechanics, but when they become the rule and not the exception, it's more than a little annoying. To explain, the A.I. by default will utilize any plays the player would, without discrimination. This means that the computer won't hesitate to do a Ron or Tsumo on you (and it happens often) and pull from your pool of points to add to their own. In theory, this isn't a bad thing; the game usually ends when you or your partner manage to have the most points when the game ends or when a character runs out of points. However, this isn't an option on some difficulties... so you can change their A.I. to prevent this. However, doing so makes the game more of a 2-against-1 affair... so this is where the other abilities come in. "Kizuna Tricks" are skills that use points that accumulate between rounds. Each character has a different pool of points and some are better at tricks than others. These tricks can do all sorts of crazy things such as seeing tiles in the future, pulling stuff from the discard pile, swapping mutiple tiles and more. They're cool when things go in your favor.The other ability, "Extreme Skills", activate at different levels from 1-2-3 and accumulate when you win a hand or by doing heroine-specific turn-ons. For example, Ranra Banbara the "Masochist Boxer" builds Extreme Gauge when an opponent deals a winning hand against her directly or Misuto Hisame the "Aquatic Goddess" builds small amounts every time she activates open pairs (Chi, Kan, Pon, etc.). Some skills are super broken such as Haru's where you get 5,000 points every time you Reach or Sazanka's "Poison Pill" which gives the player 120 points every time their turn comes around or Zekko's which adds a ridiculous amount of damage to a winning hand. Yeah... there's also online play as well.The graphics are pretty standard modernized "Live 2D". While not the most impressive example of 2D animation, it's nice overall, but it lacks the theatrics or sexiness of Arcade Mahjong games of yore. The soundtrack is also pretty dope. The game had a promotional push from several VTubers but didn't go very far. This game is a clear case of "you get what you pay for", but get it on PSN if you're so inclined. This is a video illustrating various things. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Galaxy Express Tobiuchi! [銀河列急屋台トビウチ！] Game Sample - PC/Doujin Vysethedetermined2 2023-04-01 | Loosely translated as "Galaxy Express Tobiuchi!" (Galaxy Train Express Stand Tobiuchi!), this here game is a fairly fun Arcade-style Doujin game inspired by single screen games of the 80s such as the original "Mario Bros.", "Donkey Kong", "Popeye", "Joust", and others. Truth be told, this video was supposed to go out weeks ago, but since I was troubleshooting a range of computer problems for my six-year-old PC, it couldn't go out until now. The premise of the game involves a motley crew of intergalactic "Ramen" fanatics who travel around looking for the tastiest food they can find while combating misfits along the way. It was released some time ago in 2008 in physical form by the Doujin circle, KPC, but was later re-released and updated slightly in 2021 for the modest price of 500 yen in a digital form. This version also includes one new character and several bug fixes that have since been lost for the original retail disc version.As "Al the self-proclaimed Galaxy Sheriff", Hakobi the "Fierce China Doll", the mysterious alien "Mocchori" and the beautiful noodle master and condor "Condate", the player shifts through different zones that have their own hazards and physics as it pertains to gravity. Each character has their own unique traits from power and range to speed and mobility, but they also have a special skill that has different properties. For example, Al can double jump and shoot a charged shot that bursts when it makes contact with an enemy or object, causing a ricochet effect. Hakobi has long range and high attack power but low mobility... but her charged shot allows her to float and move along the X-axis as long as she is charging. Mocchori is extremely light and recoils from actions easily but can shoot a charged shot that can be controlled by the player. Condate can fly around and specializes in close-range combat. Things of that nature.The game's main hook for scoring is defeating multiple enemies at once for combos and rapidly collecting different food items which grow in potency as you rapidly defeat enemies. The game also rewards the player for not dying with a "No Miss" bonus that accumulates and bigger and better challenges as the game loops multiple times after clearing the main levels at least once. In the original build, the character would die in a single hit, but this was changed in the update to support numerous hits with enemies getting more powerful and generating "Suicide Bullets" as the game looped more, creating a more balanced difficulty. A little "Train Gauge" at the bottom charts your stage progression. The game doesn't have much in the way of options besides the bare minimum, but the player can continue from whatever stage and loop they've gained access to and it also supports co-op play.The game's aesthetic is pretty simple but nice and would fit in well with the era it's emulating. No complaints with the game's soundtrack either as it's solid (the game uses numerous sound effects that can be found in other Doujin games). Overall, it's 500 yen well spent. You can get the game at:https://booth.pm/ja/items/3299692This is a video of the game in action covering the first loop. Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Lovelydoll / Wildmachine [ラブリードール,ワイルドマシーン] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-03-11 | As I start digging deeper into the niche areas of the Switch's library, I'm starting to notice that it got several ports of games that were originally free or near-free... I'm not opposed to this as it's an opportunity for developers and publishers to make some money off of their works, but this is at least, like, the sixth game I've found that falls into this category so far. The oddly-named "Lovelydoll / Wildmachine" was originally a free Doujin game released back on PCs in 2018 by "spice+" and "offoffo" and then ported to the Switch about 4 years later at the beginning of 2022 by Regista / YMCAT.Created with the "Smile Game Builder" program, it is a fairly short but interesting mishmash of genres but is an adventure / visual novel hybrid above all else and falls somewhere in the "Otome" category of games targeted towards females but does things the typical Otome game doesn't, which merits brownie points. "offoffo" did the illustrations for the PC game and did not collab on the Switch port, thus the art and interface was changed slightly (both are good). The PC version has since been pulled but probably exists somewhere on the dark web. Initial playthroughs are about 4 hours but the game has several diverging paths, a few "Bad Ends", and multiple endings with the game's various characters as well as epilogues to continue after the main adventure. The game retails for 1,990 yen but is frequently on sale for 990 yen.The story takes place in the idyllic seaside port town of "Wingil", a cozy and technologically advanced place blessed by the wind where machines flourish and a young genius inventor lives. This genius, named Nordic, has spent the last ten years creating the ultimate "Mechanical Doll" to help overcome the trauma of his past and to pay off his best friend's debt, but he still doesn't know how to make her tick. After retiring for the day, the doll is possessed by a kind wind spirit (named Sylphy by default) who has been watching over him since he was little and who, consequently, has fallen in love with him and uses this opportunity to manifest a physical form. However, having never had a physical body or proper face-to-face contact with humans, she is initially overwhelmed and is gradually taught humanity by the residents of Wingil through regular interactions, events, errands, and mini-games. At this point, the Otome aspects take a bit of a back seat to broaden into a more "Slice-of-Life" piece of work where love is more of a side effect than the end all, be all, and the primary goal becomes paying off a large debt.LD/WM is pretty charming as our pure-hearted, naïve heroine tries to understand humans but lacks general common sense (and many of the characters are pretty thick-headed as well) and coming to grips with things as she discovers there are many different types of humans from various walks of life unfolds in an interesting way. If you don't understand Japanese very well, you can even be deactivated (killed) early on leading to one of the game's Bad Ends. However, the vast majority of the game has a cozy vibe with a low penalty for failure; scenes can be saved between and even screwing up will rewind back to the decision-making phase so you can try a different outcome. Much of the game involves chatting with characters and picking choices with roughly the first hour consisting of tutorials, but when the game unfolds proper, it separates itself from the usual narrative-driven Otome game and even develops small RPG elements.Sylphy can take on numerous tasks to repay the game's debt that alternate between a day/night cycle such as Machine Racing, Gambling (High/Low with Fairy Cards), selling various materials, and questing (battling various monsters and fulfilling acquisitions for different characters). Sylphy is, as you can imagine, not a normal girl... as she is powered by the wind, she has great physical prowess due to her mechanical nature but can also utilize wind magic. She can also take Nordic and Fukurou with her into dungeons to deliver support and combination abilities. You can even retire to your room where you have access to various utilities including upgrades for Machine Racing, various extras and trophies. If you have disposable income, you can also buy many different items in town to increase Sylphy's abilities or to deliver to other characters and find hidden power-ups as well. Most of the systems don't pass the rudimentary phase, but considering these elements are absent from the vast majority of Otome games, it's a nice touch.The graphics are cute in a late PS1 / early-launch Dreamcast or PS2 way and the soundtrack is soothing and nice. There are no voiceovers, but considering it was initially a free work (with no significant changes in the Switch version), I would've rated it pretty highly in that capacity. As-is, it's an interesting departure from the usual Otome game. You can get it at:store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000048978.htmlEnjoy.
Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed [ゾイドワイルド キングオブブラスト] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-03-11 | Ah... good ol' Zoids. You know, this franchise has been around for a LONG time now, technically over 40 years! BUT, the outlier is that the franchise's popularity struggled after the mid-2000s, especially on the video game front... when "Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed" was released, it had been MORE THAN TEN YEARS since the last Zoids game (and that game was released on the Xbox 360 of all things and published outside Japan by Atlus under the name of "Zoids Assault"). Released in Japan in 2019 as "Zoids Wild: King of Blast", it got released Internationally a year later by the small publishers at "Outright Games" who mainly tackle heavily licensed works. A "significantly better" sequel was released in Japan (Zoids Wild: Infinity Blast) but since "Blast Unleashed" sold poorly, it is unlikely that it will see a release outside Japan. What's more unfortunate is that this game is co-developed by our friends at Eighting (who are best known for their work on the "Bloody Roar" series, "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom" and "Mahou Daisakusen" with Raizing) and is one of the few exclusive Switch fighting games.While I'm not a big fan of "Zoids Wild" as a whole (and the botched Western release of the anime on Netflix doesn't help, and many of the characters have food-based names in Japan), the series was intended as a hard reboot to a franchise that had been mostly dormant for more than a decade and is commendable as such. Another commendable aspect is that while this game has a lot of fundamental flaws, it does attempt to cram a lot of content in that covers a lot of the "Zoids Wild" timeline and it does look and sound great on the Switch with a nostalgic "Saturday Morning Cartoon" vibe for the dub. The general plot is that a spirited young boy, Arashi, pilots a legendary Zoid, the "Wild Liger", and craves adventure and becoming stronger and travels the world with his Zoid. While rough around the edges, he eventually meets a talented Zoid Commander from "Team Supreme", Quade, who mentors him briefly and tells him about a fascinating find only known as "Great Ancient Treasure Z", which gives Arashi a new purpose as he pursues this treasure and meets others along the way, eventually forming his own team (Team Freedom). This will bring him into a conflict with the "Dark Metal Empire" and tests the bond of him and his Zoid as he taps into a legendary technique, the "Wild Blast".While the game does retread a lot of ground from the anime / manga, it does do its own thing from time to time such as go on a hunt for Zoids sub-species (basically alternate skins for your Zoids) and present a few different scenarios. The game only has three main modes: Battle (think Versus), Mission (which branches into Continous Battle / Arcade, Story and Practice / Tutorial) and Gallery (which lets you view Zoids, listen to music, hear dialogues, see various artwork, or watch the credits), but there's a good deal of unlockables. The Story Mode is QUITE long and as you start with almost nothing from characters to all the miscellaneous stuff, you'll be spending a lot of time there. Let's go over the gameplay briefly.The gameplay is relatively simple as each Zoid has three main attacks and three special attacks that have a bit of a Rock-Paper-Scissors thing going on. Light attacks which are good at setting up combos and work well with dodges, heavy attacks which have a few invincibility frames and take good damage, and guard breaks which can reduce an opponents guard gauge and have good staggering capabilities. Players can only guard so long before becoming defenseless and there are other tricks to switch things up on your opponent, but you won't be using them much thanks to "Wild Actions". These moves expand your options with more powerful techniques that have a cooldown between uses but can be used in conjunction with combos and guard breaks. Lastly, "Wild Blasts" will send your Zoid into overdrive, improve certain parameters, and even upgrade some Wild Actions. There are three types: Regular (in a neutral stance), Defensive (while guarding) and Offensive (while attacking). Offensive and Defensive run out much faster but can stagger your opponent or set them up for a counterattack and are used for the most advanced combos. Different Zoids have different stats and it's also worth noting that the Zoids from the Dark Metal Empire use "Dark Blasts", which differ from Wild Blasts. For one, they can be used instantly from the start, but they can only be used once a round and also drain some of your health. Some Zoids can also inflict different status ailments to turn the tide of battle and all Zoids can daze an opponent if striking them from behind with strong atacks. The game is a modest appetizer for "Zoids Wild: Infinity Blast"... it just needs an International release. As-is, it's a modest fighter aimed towards kids and diehard Zoids fans. You can get the game at:nintendo.com/store/products/zoids-wild-blast-unleashed-switchEnjoy.
Battle Arena Nitoushinden [バトルアリーナにとうしんでん] Game Sample - Playstation Vysethedetermined2 2023-03-05 | Toshinden is just a really bizarre series as a whole... originally released in 1995, it was positioned as this premium fighting game franchise during the mid 90s along with "Tekken" and "Virtua Fighter" for a solid year and then it started going off and gradually doing its own things for two years after that which didn't exactly resonate well but are still curious in the context of gaming history, but after 1998, the games saw little in the way of improvements and got eclipsed by the competition with the last remaining titles ("Toshinden 4" and the "Toshinden Reboot" for Wii) practically being dead on arrival... T4 wasn't even released in the U.S. and TR never left Japan. Generally handled by Takara and Tamsoft but having numerous developers depending on the platform, 1996's "Battle Arena Nitoushinden" is basically "Virtua Fighter Kids" (and was even slated for a U.S. release as "Battle Arena Toshinden Kids" but was cancelled) with chibi characters but... more weird. And not nearly as good.Nitoushinden features 8 default playable characters with one hidden (Vs. Only) character -- 5 are returning characters (Eiji, Ellis, Sofia, Tracy and Vermillion) while 4 are new to this work. While I'm not opposed to them adding new characters, the lack of more recognizable Toshinden characters may upset some folks. The gameplay has, for the most part, been greatly simplified and is more buggy than some other installments, which is kind of saying something, but this was done in an "attempt" to make the game stand out more. Unlike other entries, most moves are tied to a single button and the game incorporates a parry button versus a traditional block as well as a "Key Frame" system where attacks need to work through each frame (this is intended to reduce button mashing but doesn't hamper all attacks). The game doesn't have a conventional combo counter but does have linkable attacks and your opponent gets sent flying if hit too many times consecutively.While Virtua Fighter Kids runs on a modified VF2 engine and, as such, is more or less amazing, Nitoushinden doesn't follow BAT as closely and is more condensed with smaller enclosed rings, a somewhat odd camera view, questionable collision detection, and perhaps an even greater lack of balance. Most desperation moves either suck or come out without warning and the controls could use some work as a whole. While the graphics are a little interesting with some lighting effects and unusual geometry with a "bouncy" effect created through a process called "Miming" (to give a dancing and lively quality), the animation isn't as smooth as earlier entries. The music is perhaps the game's biggest saving grace, but even this sometimes seems at odds with the environments, characters, or weird live action characters on display... I would would give the soundtrack a soft recommendation.Speaking of the live action actors, they are shown in the opening and during the game's built-in tutorial, but I'm not sure why they exist. The lady present during the tutorials isn't too odd I suppose, but the gang present in the intro just make the title feel more surreal... maybe that was the point all along, but not everyone will find "Flying Lunch Boy" or "Princess of Slight Fever" appealing. To their credit, they don't LOOK bad, it just begs the question "Why?"... but I digress. The game isn't entirely awful but it looks and feels kinda janky and it's not cute enough to justify the price of admission... at least not its original MSRP, but it's dirt cheap in Japan right now. It's worth noting that this game wasn't developed by Takara, Tamsoft or Nextech and was actually developed by "Vistec Japan" which might explain a lot (they were involved with other "gems" through "Fatal Fury: Wild Ambition" and "Samurai Shodown: Warriors Rage" ports which were better but not really the pinnacle of 3D fighters) and drops our plucky characters into a high school setting (Takara Gakuen) with paper-thin endings. The game doesn't even support the memory card and doesn't track anything in the way of high scores or unlockables.This is a video of the game going through the main mode with Sofia and showing some of the tutorial stuff. As an fyi, "Rika" is based off of the "Licca-chan" dolls that are also owned by Takara (Tomy). Enjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
LogiKing [ロジカル真王] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-03-05 | I don't really want to say bad things about this game... but my hands are kind of tied; there is almost no information about the game out there as well as almost no videos, which is a little baffling given its pedigree. Released a few months back in December of 2022 as a Switch exclusive, the game was published and co-developed by FuRyu and ART (who also worked together on "Unchained Blades") based around a new card game IP by Shogakukan in conjunction with Hiro Morita (concept and character designs as well as the mangaka for an original LogiKing story) and Kazuki Sugimoto (Game Design). Hiro Morita is perhaps best known for his involvement with "Beyblade Burst" and as an assistant on "Hayate the Combat Butler" while Kazuki Sugimoto is a relative newcomer to the industry with no major accolades prior to this. While the concept of the game is fundamentally sound, calling "LogiKing" barebones would be kind of a compliment.While the in-game explanation is a little convoluted, I'll keep things simple: Each player has access to the same ten cards that are numbered 0-9 and determine turn order via a coin toss. From there, each player selects two of their ten cards to put into their hand. Afterwards, the player uses the remaining eight cards to help deduce the two cards in the opponent's hand. Following so far? Good, as this is the core of the gameplay loop, but it gets a bit more sophisticated. Each card has special abilities that make it easier to deduce what each player is holding. There is an Effect Phase (where you use a card's ability and place it in the discard pile) and an Attack Phase (where you pick the opponent's hand and select a number from 0-9). Discovering the right number in the right hand results in a "Logical" and the goal is to get two Logical deductions to win. Cards can narrow down the numbers to guess, destroy an opposing card, revive a card, swap a card from your hand, attack more than once, and more.The energy on display gave me slight vibes of one of FuRyu and Lancarse's unsung gems, "Lost Dimension", but there is sadly not enough game here to justify a purchase. The in-game audio/visuals are serviceable for this type of game, but the fact that there are ONLY ten cards is laughable. Yes, you can play online against others, but not only is the single player experience sorely lacking, there's almost nothing to unlock or take into the online game besides alternate skins for your ten cards (which are also used for your player avatars to add insult to injury). The game does advertise downloadable content and gives off the illusion of expanding your options with multiple decks, but three months in and there isn't a single new card to spice things up and it's giving the big impression of an abandoned game. At $15, there are WAY better options of the card variety ("SNK Vs. Capcom: Card Fighters' Clash" is on Switch and only half the price with way more to offer as a glaring example) and even more if you're willing to pay that are obvious like the multitude of "Yu-Gi-Oh!", "Magic" and "CardFight!!" titles, and this is with me putting practically zero thought into it.If you still want to try it, I won't stop you, of course. Use this video to gauge if it's up your alley, but don't have any grandiose expectations on an improved game... although I will happily change my opinion if they release some considerable (and reasonably priced) expansions. This video goes over a few matches and ends with Credits and Licensing. You can get the game at:nintendo.com/store/products/logiking-switchEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Puchitto Cluster [ぷちっとクラスター] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-03-05 | Also released on PS4, "Puchitto Cluster" (aka "Petite Cluster") is a fun budget puzzler released in 2020 by "ULLUCUS HEAVEN Inc." (best known for their "Fragment's Note" titles). For the low price of 500 Yen, you get a decent little bit of content and chibi-style anime characters swinging around magical attacks. While it has a fun but uncompromising gameplay loop, it's well worth the price of admission.There isn't too much of a plot, but there is a surprising amount of dialogue; essentially, you take the role of one of five (plus one hidden) magicians who maintain the balance of ... (couldn't find the name of the kingdom) until one day when a mysterious doppelganger goes around causing mischief for our heroines. The antics ensue as each character realizes it is a misunderstanding and run around attempting to find the one truly responsible for the mean-spirited pranks and ultimately band together to make the perpetrator behave... while it is nice that each character's story takes place over several episodes and from different perspectives, it won't win any awards. The game was designed to be cute above all else and succeeds in being so, but it's also pretty fun as well.The core puzzle action is actually somewhat unique and fairly intuitive -- the game is an inverted drop puzzler not too unlike "Magical Drop", "Money Idol / Puzzle Exchanger", "To Heart: Date Exchanger", "Oshidashi Zintrick", etc. but with its own twists of course. The player controls several magic tiles and three columns that are allocated to different directions or buttons. The goal here is to sandwich two tiles together to convert the tiles in-between into said color/type, but you can only convert one type at a time. What this means is that if you have a moon-sun-sun-moon, you'll get moon-moon-moon-moon. However, if you have moon-sun-star-moon, it won't work... you would need to do moon-sun-star-moon-star which will create moon-sun-star-star-star which THEN needs moon-sun-star-star-star-sun WHICH BALLOONS INTO moon-sun-sun-sun-sun-sun WITH A FINALE OF moon-sun-sun-sun-sun-sun-moon... WOWEE! Eliminating five or more of a type creates "shadow" nuisance tiles and quickly clearing all three rows creates the deadly "All Flash" which drops a crippling amount of shadow drops (very difficult except at the beginning of a match).Matches are made a little more interesting as combos, character stats and "favorite tile" play into the game's meta as each character has HP and matches are won by knockout or time (highest remaining HP). Generally, the more HP a character has, the weaker they are while high attack warrants low HP, so you can go from a tank to a glass cannon, the the game favors a more aggressive playstyle (and thus the glass cannon). This game is not as balanced as some other puzzlers as characters don't have special abilities or such that can turn the tides or get out of a sticky situation and once a character has low HP or is stuck in a bad situation with too many nuisance tiles, it becomes almost exponentially difficult to recover. Tiles that reach the bottom of the screen don't have a particularly bad effect, though not clearing a big link is a missed opportunity (and it can speed up some of the remaining columns).The game has online play for its low asking price as well as several offline versus configurations and the ability to unlock costumes in a simple manner for all the characters. You can also reference in-game help materials to take advantage of all the game has to offer. The game looks pretty good and has a nice soundtrack -- the story itself can be fast-forwarded (though the option says "skip") and the story battles are actually pretty challenging (the last two stages will really test your abilities) but you can get a solid few hours of entertainment out of the game. This is a video of the game in action illustrating various things. You can get this version at:store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000022569.htmlEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Sansuu Driller [さんすうドリラー] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-03-05 | A basic edutainment game about addition, subtraction and filling in blanks. Developed by Sonic Powered in 2021 (who are best known for their "Traffic Controller / Airport Hero" series as well as "From the Abyss" and "Japanese Rail Sim"), it's honestly somewhat terrible. No, it's not terrible because it's educational, and it's not because of the questionably late 90s graphics and limited OST. It's terrible because of a pure lack of content... it is modestly priced at about 770 yen (less than $6 USD) but you will see almost everything you need to see in under 15 minutes. It seems rather obscure even on the Japanese front, but don't let it discourage you from other SP titles as most of them are kinda nifty.Well, to talk about it in detail, the game consists of the player who assists two siblings, Rio and Rico, as they dig through the ground looking for treasures left behind on a small remote island. This island is blessed by the power of Haniwa and Dogu, Earthen effigies that protect the island and its secrets... but those kids don't care, because they want glory. They want it so much that they use a quirky drilling machine, Dorirun-Gou, to plow their way through the Dogu protectors and brag about their drilling power. But their drilling machine isn't powered by a normal energy source... it's powered by smarts. Yeah. You gotta be smart enough to take down the enemy, and your drill power determines what "technique" you use (though there is no reason to use anything other than FULL POWER).The game has three levels. The first level has addition problems, the second has addition and subtraction, and the third has addition, subtraction and filling in blanks. The first level has two Dogu Guardians, the second has three, and the third has five. Besides having more guardians, each level makes the Dogu a little tougher to defeat. Every level starts with the player going first, where a center bar slowly depletes and problems appear on the screen. In other words, you have a limited amount of time to solve problems before time runs out. Each problem you answer successfully will power up your drill a little, while each wrong answer depletes a fair bit of strength. You have a gauge on the right-hand side that shows your drilling strength -- you can attack with "A" as soon as you get one bar, but this will naturally be a weak move. Additionally, even if you fill the gauge to max, that doesn't mean your attack will K.O. the enemy in one hit... it keeps getting stronger even after it's maxed. If you fail to attack before time runs out, you will sustain damage from the enemy.The game is extremely easy I imagine for anyone over the age of eight, but getting the best treasure still poses a modest challenge even for adults as it requires almost lightning-fast reaction speed to problems to maximize your score (by charging as long as possible for each Dogu). As for the rest like the Dogu themselves, they come in three flavors of common, uncommon and rare. It doesn't really add much of anything to the game, but there are 30 to collect. The game keeps a log of some of your most recent digs and the Dogu are randomized. The game has less than a half-dozen tunes and even with the visuals being fairly basic 3D, the graphics have odd defects and glitching from time to time. That about sums up Sansuu Driller.This is a video with minor edits showing things in action. You can get it at:store-jp.nintendo.com/list/software/70010000040708.htmlEnjoy.- ADDITION -Like Us On Facebook: facebook.com/thegamingsanctuaryFollow Us On Twitter: twitter.com/GS_Vyse_and_Bel Visit Us At: http://www.gamingsanctuary.com
Hopping Girl KOHANE Jumping Kingdom: Princess of the Black Rabbit [ホッピングガールこはね JK -黒兎の姫-] - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-02-11 | So... I came across a series of games that has virtually no presence outside of Japan: "Hopping Girl Kohane". Originally released in 2015 for mobile phones, it saw two games before making its way to Nintendo's eShop four years later as an upgraded semi-remake / sequel under the LONG name of "Hopping girl KOHANE Jumping Kingdom: Princess of the Black Rabbit" (aka Hopping girl KOHANE JK -Kurosagi no Hime-). Created by the relatively new outfit at "D.O. Co., Ltd." (who are NOT affiliated with the old eroge studio from back in the early 90s, but a team who emerged around the last ten years) that is comprised of some former Atlus staff and specialize in parlor games (Pachislot, gambling, etc.), they started branching out into console games with this title. It was a modest success in Japan and is seeing another update later this year (Hopping Girl Kohane EX). Why am I bringing all this up? Because despite its obscurity, this is a game that YOU MAY HAVE SEEN before. In fact, it actually came out about 15 years prior to the first HGK. HGK is, for lack of better words, a spiritual successor to the unusual action / racing game, "Monster Farm Jump", better known outside Japan as "Monster Rancher Hop-A-Bout". Monster Rancher was very popular during the late 90s to mid 2000s in the U.S. and Japan (it had very limited exposure in Europe) and had numerous spin-offs, but HaB was more obscure than most as it had a more limited release and seems like it was meant to be a different game earlier in development before inserting MR/MF characters into the mix at the last minute for marketing reasons (it actually released in the U.S. first before it made its way to Japan) and if there is a precursor to it that both MR/MF and HGK share, I haven't found it yet. I even dug deeper and looked into the staffing for both games and found no significant matches, so either this game was made with no prior knowledge of HaB (unlikely), the rights to the game expired or privately swapped hands (plausible) or the game knowingly expanded on HaB with enough differences to avoid copyright infringement (also plausible).Regardless of the circumstances, I'm glad that this game exists. The story is brief and total machine-translated gibberish, so I'll just summarize everything so far. Kohane Momono, a whimsical 12-year-old adventurer and treasure hunter, stumbles upon a frog prince named Hop and accidently kisses him, which grants magic powers to her and those around her (due to a curse by King Hebi). Along with Tobio, a frog and travelling merchant who gains the power to speak from Kohane (and also falls in love with her), she explores the Jumping Kingdom for treasure and magic jewels to help restore Prince Hop's glory and to live a comfortable life. This goes on for four years until a new conflict arises -- Kohane, now 16, runs into a rabbit named Bani who implores her to help Princess Rabi, who has been cursed by the "wicked" King Wani, and is now corrupting magical stamps across the Jumping Kingdom. Being bored, Kohane happily assists.HGK for the Switch is a marriage of the first two games (with EX migrating even more features) while advancing the story and upgrading the game further. Players only need the analog to move around and adhere to momentum physics while jumping on magical stamps to advance through each stage. Many of the core systems were lifted wholesale from HaB but combos are easier to execute and the game has a larger variety of tiles / stamps (about three dozen) in addition to level hazards. The game has about as many levels as HaB (a little over 100) with no level editor, but it still retains versus battles and it expands on HaB's core with greater level designs and the awesome "Floor" mechanic where you can get catapulted one or two stories high to take more alternate routes through stages. There are also crazy difficult "Championship" levels to push your skills to the limit.In lieu of multiple characters or the Rucksack, HGK has hundreds of items to find which will aid you and aren't just for cosmetics. Kohane can gain a bunch of different outfits which alter her starting stats (Life, Speed, Jump and Time) or buy (From Tobio) / find items to improve your level runs. Treasures, outfits or items can also be found based on your skill on clearing levels (with ranks from D-S, lower ranks have lower chances of getting rare goods) and getting enough treasures or secret medals (3 per level) can also unlock higher-grade costumes. The game, to its credit, was optimized for the Switch and looks and runs great even during split-screen (local) multiplayer with better controls than mobile. The soundtrack is fairly small but upbeat and enjoyable.The game is $20 bucks, but you get a good bit of game here and it's fun (albeit VERY challenging at times). You can get the game at:nintendo.com/store/products/hopping-girl-kohane-jumping-kingdom-princess-of-the-black-rabbit-switchThis video illustrates many things. Enjoy.
OSHIIRO [ 推色-オシイロ-] Game Sample - NS Vysethedetermined2 2023-02-03 | Let me get this out of the way: JUMP SCARESI happened upon this game literally by chance yesterday... I had just got my monthly salary, reviewed my budget, and went on the hunt for more Xbox imports and cheaper obscurities to round out my gaming purchases. Looking to add more weight to my Switch library, I went looking for devs putting out really niche titles when I remembered "Regista" had put out the little-known Switch gem, "Sofia". I saw this title while perusing their catalogue, saw it was already on a deep discount even before release, saw it was about Japanese Idols and labeled as an "Action" game, and also saw it was released in English (the vast majority of Regista's games are not) which had me intrigued but... oh boy, I was not prepared for what I was getting into. It's the beginning of February and "OSHIIRO" is already one of the most "things" I've played this year.If you have a weak constitution, leave now. OSHIIRO (aka "Recommended Color: OSHIIRO") is actually a short "HORROR X IDOL" game about exorcising spirits and while not overtly grisly or gore-filled, it is unsettling and janky to the extreme. Literally released yesterday by the Doujin dev, "tadasumen", the game is a self-aware kusoge (the dev's site is literally "Kusoi Site") that is oddly compelling and shouldn't be recommended to anyone... unless you're like me and just couldn't put the game down for some reason. Actually, that's a bit of a hyperbole on my part -- there are good reasons not to put this down. It's got idols. It's got dancing butt-naked ghouls. It's got glowsticks. It's got buff guys. It's even got sushi. If the game doesn't become a cult phenomenon and blow up throughout the dark web for being so bad that it's good, I'll be surprised. It is worth noting that a free version of the game was released for PC and can be accessed at:firestorage.jp/download/552e5dec975c9c107a843832026f84a5f64af8f0This version has most everything the paid version has including a superior framerate (60+,) greater visuals (with adverts also not being censored) and the added English version (even though it isn't mentioned). However, if you opt to get this version, you would be doing the dev a disservice as they would not collect the cash they need to inspire greater kusoge. The Switch version also has most of the Bonus Content unlocked from the start, is portable out of the gate and the controls are a little more intuitive. That all said, the game involves a nameless protagonist who is investigating an incident at the "Chiba Legend Arena". More than 20 years ago, human remains were excavated during initial construction of the facility. Spirits were bound to the location, but they were deemed harmless by a local exorcist. As a result, the arena had been used without incident. This all changes when the arena hosts its first live virtual idol concert, "ReGene Beats", where these spirits became enraged by human trespassers and took on demonic physical forms to attack and consume their victims. The arena has been shut down until further notice... and they send you, the player, to investigate what went wrong.As a fledgling exorcist, you make your way through the dark and desolate remains of the Arena where you stumble upon an unexpected weapon against the spirits: a glowstick. Apparently, the spirits were huge fans of the virtual idols (Yunoka Renjo, Mitsuna Goumori and Rurine Bito) and wanted them all to themselves, so you must quell their rage by waving your newly acquired glowstick in solidarity. However, like most fans, they have a preference: Red (Yunoka), Green (Mitsuna) and Blue (Rurine) which can usually be ascertained by the glowsticks they wear around their heads and the complexion of their skin. However, due to the slick lighting and reflections of Unreal Engine 4, this is not always reliable... especially when the spirits flip-flop between their favorite idol!Most spirits will kill you instantly if they make contact with you, but the rare "Ceiling Spirits" will not. Most spirits however can be defeated by waving your glowstick in the proper color to exorcise them and all levels must be cleared by finding and removing all the hidden idol graffiti (you can get hints to where they are by turning off your glowstick, but this is basically a death sentence). Hitting a spirit with the wrong color will deal no damage, stop them briefly and decrease your heartbeat gauge; if this gauge is depleted during an encounter, you will also die of a heart attack. The visuals are pretty basic but clean on the Switch but the soundtrack, what little there is, is surprisingly great. The Bonus content is as weird as the game itself and most of it is lame but there is one exception: The Sushi game. This mini-game is hilarious and I wish there was more of it.You can get the Switch version at:nintendo.com/store/products/oshiiro-switchThis is a video of almost everything (and at least one death, a lot of Sushi death). Enjoy.
