2021 – A year in review

2021 was complicated year in nearly everything, but turned out quite a great year for gaming. Here are the top/flops in reviews, before going to GOTY.

Atelier Ryza 2 (PS5)

This how a series goes quickly downwards. Atelier Ryza 2 is a horribly boring installment with dull characters and even worse talk, impoverished gameplay and light content. KoeiTecmo is obviously trying to lure the casual crowd, so much that they seem to confuse, or worse, transform Atelier into some life simulation garbage for noobs like Story of Seasons. Fortunately, the U-turn taken with the announcement of Atelier Sophie 2 might save the series.

Neptunia Virtual Stars (PS4)

Neptunia Virtual Stars is what I would call “why not?” level of quality. The gameplay is obviously bad, combat being terrible especially during boss fights. Yet it’s fun. The game is pretty, all the parody jokes are well-thought, there are new cool characters, great voice acting, original features… It’s worth a shot for series fans, and restropectively a lot better that the Senran Kagura crossover.

Love Live! School Idol Festival (PS4)

A great game for orphans of the Project Diva series (as I am). Love Live! School Idol Festival has the challenge, the music, the cute graphics to satisfy rythm games fans. That said, it is expensive : nearly all the songs are sold in DLC packs, so the bill can be quite hefty at the end. The costume-making is also really annoying, but aimed at selling even more DLC.

Wings of Darkness (PS4)

I’ve never regretted a purchase more than this limited edition. True, Wings of Darkness as high production values for a indie game in graphics and animation : the aerial fights are dynamic and loud, and then pretty cool. But it’s a 6-hour long game of very easy fighting and frustratingly underdeveloped narrative.

Tales of Arise (PS5)

We are back to the golden age with this one. Namco’s grandiose epic has an incredible wealth of cool characters, intense fighting, breathtaking landscapes, hilarious side content… Every quality of a great JRPG gathered in modern graphic standards. It couldn’t be more thrilling.

The Caligula Effect 2 (PS4)

That was bad but in the end I wasn’t so surprised. The Caligula Effect 2 is ugly, clearly not the level of a end-of-generation PS4 game. Combat is awful, much too long and tiresome. But my biggest problem is the terrible writing which only equals to the miserable overall content. Both The Caligula Effect and The Caligula Effect Overdose brought enough innovation and story content to stand out on the JRPG scene, but The Caligula Effect 2 merely rehashes the formula with zero effort. It can’t be a coincidence that the game was initially revealed during a Nintendo Direct. They probably had their shipment guaranteed and had no intention to work on it at all.

Battlefield 2042 (PS5)

While the bare-bones main menu was indeed shocking (content really dried up since BFV), what remained (just Conquest) was really greatly made in splendid maps, fine sniping, lots of vehicles, cool teamplay. A good FPS and I don’t understand all the racket against it.

Review – Genso Rogoku

No Japanese firm announced a PSVita game after Genso Rogoku was released in December 2020, making it the last physical game to hit Sony’s handheld there. Iwai Hime Matsuri made me like Ryukishi07’s narratives, but unfortunately this game didn’t get the same kind of attention.

Genso Rogoku has a intriguing rule : four girls are held in basement and are forced to take part in a death game to get out. The trouble is that the game only lets three persons out. Survival or friendship, such is the dilemma set by Entergram’s game over a dozen of hours.

Each chapter, the player chooses a role for Karin, Mizuna, Fûka and Doremi. Funnily, the first kanji of each heroine corresponds to the elements fire, water, wind and earth. That said, the roles they received are “prisoner”, “pierrot” and two “judges”. The prisoner is, very sadly for her, stuck on a iron chair. One of the judges can swap her situation with the pierrot, or declare her “guilty”. In this particular case, the other judge just has to pull a lever and everyone goes free.

As you can expect, it doesn’t happen that easily : the lever inflicts severe pain to the guilty person. Also, all of them have only five minutes before the whole room is engulfed in fire. Therefore, the tension goes high quicker than in a street demonstration. If you enjoy hearing girls argue at each other, this game is made for you. The story is just a flurry of invectives and spine-chilling stares.

But despite scare being the big theme of Genso Rogoku, it’s far less efficient than Iwai Hime Matsuri in that aspect. You can already notice the boxart having a CERO D rating when Iwai Hime Matsuri was Z. I see a sign that Entergram only did half the job. There’s next to no artwork to illustrate the fear and violence. Often, those are silhouettes of the characters on a red background, which doesn’t show much and leaves your imagination do the rest. Genso Rogoku doesn’t really express fear, there was a lot more to be done for that.

The other issue of the concept is its annoying redundancy. You try every prisoner/pierrot combination but every time the scenario is more or less the same. One of the girls is going to recall some unfullfilled promise, blame, and ultimately sacrifice another for it. It is, regrettably enough, literally twelve times the same story. Let’s stress that the author tries a contrast between cute childhood scenes and the killings. It kinda make sense and cleverly prepares the happy end at the close.

I honestly can’t believe that anyone in this project really gave its best. Genso Rogoku is too short, shallow and definitely not scary enough. However painful it may seem, it was far from being the dream-like last Vita game we hoped for.

2020 – A Year In Review

So eh… yeah, I skipped every possible article this year. COVID terror, lockdown, lot of work, (non-COVID) hospital stay and ultimately moving house made me eat lot of time this year. After all, it’s not so bad to review all of it at once, right?

Ys IX Monstrum Nox (PS4)

As it was my second favorite game of 2019, you’d suspect there’s a very high mark here. From storytelling to quest system, Ys IX is a truly enjoyable Action-RPG that also puts an admirable effort in its (very large) character cast. From Adol to the smallest NPC, everyone you meet in Ys IX has an incredible personality and all this together forms a colorful and memorable new Ys Universe.

Persona 5 Royal (PS4)

This needs no introduction. The very best JRPG of the PS4 generation comes back with added content, but late added content. Sadly enough, I need to wait until you’ve finished the Persona 5 part order to add Su… eh, Kasumi as permanent member. This is a hundred hours of doing it all over, but the other surprise guest in the Royal part might make it worth the trouble.

Sakura Wars (PS4)

Sega more or less ruined the comeback of Sakura Taisen here. It’s more difficult to make a great action game than a decent Strategy-RPG. Sakura Wars PS4 could easily have been a decent SRPG, but in the end became a terrible action game. Combat is horrendous and boring. The dating part was cool though, as well as music, graphics and Tokyo’s historic look. A partially fun game that can be interesting at a reduced price.

Final Fantasy VII Remake (PS4)

A ray of light in the heart of the COVID scare. SquareEnix did a near perfect job in reviving the most iconic Playstation JRPG. They kept everything that made the legend of FFVII over the years, and didn’t try to tone it down, westernize it or worse, make it look even a tiny bit like FFXV. There’s guenuine RPG gameplay, ridiculous mini-games, fuzzy sidequests, eccentric characters… In other words, Final Fantasy creators have not forgotten what a JRPG is. That alone, is the greatest thing in 2020 gaming.

Death end re;Quest 2 (PS4)

After clearing this game, I do believe it is the beginning of the end and Death of Compile Heart. Death end re;Quest 2 has been utterly tame in its horror aspect, that is to say its main aspect. Illustrations have been toned down and don’t look especially frightening anymore. Gameplay is a sub-version of the previous system, character development is pitifully wrong and story doesn’t even feel like it happens in the same universe as Death end re;Quest 1. I don’t think we can expect anything anymore from a company that wastes half of its time porting old games instead of putting real effort in the new ones.

Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris (PS4)

What went wrong there, seriously? It was the chosen one in the long saga of SAO games and just miserably failed to offer a entertaining experience. SAOAL has a really big and fascinating Xenoblade-like world, but full of tedious mandatory quests, boring combat full of duplicate characters when they absolutely HAD to translate the uniqueness of SAO Underworld. I hear there’s still tons of DLC planned but, seriously, who will even care now? Fairy Tail was so massively superior that they could as well rethink their way of doing stuff and get to something else.

13 Sentinels Aegis Rim (PS4)

I’m very glad the consensus went so positive about it. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim is the best and most clever storytelling I’ve seen in quite some time. True, it’s not very difficult and the battle graphics are unimpressive, but the gameplay had something deeply fun into it. The aesthetitics of 80’s Tokyo are as as charming as the characters. A great exclusive I recommend to anyone who’s into Japanese gaming.

Persona 5 Strikers (PS4)

A year with double ration of Persona 5 can’t be that bad. Atlus knew that people wanted more Persona 5 and they gave it : the true and marvelous Persona 5 sequel which brillantly extends the pleasure. OK, you won’t have the stellar turn-based system, but instead you have a stellar Action-RPG system. So there zero reason to complain about the “Warriorization” of P5S. It’s an absolutely fantastic continuation of Persona 5, true the Persona spirit.

Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War (PS5)

I had been very curious about Black Ops Cold War from the very first teaser. It turned out that Activision delivered exactly what was promised : a fascinating historic experience and a deep dive into the Cold War era. It definitely has one of the greatest (best or second-best I’d say) COD campaign. It’s very innovative including puzzles, infiltration, choices and… sidequests! The multiplayer is enjoyable as well, even though far still from the Battlefield level of awesomeness.

Review – Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop

Even though the support seems to have ended now, Entergram has kept Vita much alive with tons of visual novels. The company had notably partnered with NanaWind to get a console version of Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop, as often ported from a PC adult game.

Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop is visual novel entirely centered around a school environment, but with a drop (lol) of fantasy and mystery. The player appears as Sotaro Sema, an average high-schooler at first sight, but actually super talented. He’s member of the Tasogare club, student group who helps classmates here and there. The Tasogare members are part of the student council, and Sotaro will be asked to help against the Shinseikai, rival group that tries to take control of the school affairs.

That’s most of the story, and honestly it’s not very dense : barely anything happens, even during te final clash between the two groups. Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop then starts a second half that has a little more mystery. The Tasogare club faces a intruiging man called Zero, and discovers doors leading to an eerie world. Zero sends coded letters to Sotaro’s group, which each time must break the code in order to stop him.

My issue with this game is that the narrative never tries to go deeper in that paranormal aspect. There is no actual puzzle gameplay when you get Zero’s letters : the player just witnesses the outcome passively. Satoro as well as the heroines possess magic cards that grant them some superpowers (look into someone’s memory, detect lies, etc.) but here again it’s very minor part of the story : each card is used only once and you don’t really know where they come from.

Same goes for the parallel world, since the characters just briefly enter it twice. Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop sadly is very plain, including in its school life. It looks more like some big introduction to something else. Indeed, NanaWind’s website (watch out, adult site) shows a sequel called ShiroKoi Alice Gram, only for PC at the moment. Perhaps the narrative gets better but the chances to play it on Vita are essentially zero.

Then, we have to make do with the dating events with the main girls, who aren’t too shabby to be honest. I did like Yaya’s scenes. The head of Tasogare is a real genius but she’s also a flirtatious one. She spends here time teasing Sotaro and the others with absolutely hilarious lines. She’s the funniest character by far.

Kuzaha, the leader of the school discipline bureau, wasn’t bad either. Especially talking about her physical side, since she shows up in the hottest scenes. I realy wished she’d played a bigger role in the story. She’s some sort of drawing geek but she represses her feelings. A shame that aspect of her personality couldn’t be more explained in the scenario.

Yuki is the girl I flagged the ending of, after approximately 20 hours. She’s a real, assumed PC geek who plays MMO games all the time. There are a couple of gaming easter eggs which I found very fun. The dating part felt very flat though. Let’s stress that Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop was hit by censorship, in at least two event pictures. There aren’t that many sexy happenings, so nothing wild there. The progression system seems quite vague as well : it’s very linear and there’s no clear choice of which ending you’re going towards.

Haruoto Alice Gram Snow Drop is globally a disappointing experience. Too long for a visual novel of this type, it’s terribly paced and very shy in nearly every aspect it introduces. Granted, there are extremely pretty girls, great artwork but there’s a lot better in the genre on PSVita.

Press Round-up – Autumn 2019

Reviews posted on VGChartz from July to December 2019. Click on the titles to access the reviews.

Catherine Full Body (PSVita)

I kinda forgot this column after summer but then I realized that Catherine had been my only review at that time. So we’re going to do the second half of the year in one article. Catherine Full Body is one of the top games of the year, as a clever mix between visual novel and puzzle game (although its horrible difficulty has been a big problem). Nevertheless, it’s extremely well written and fun. I’d recommend to play it even if it’s just for the story and the multiple endings. The Vita version was very good, a shame it never made it West.

Atelier Ryza (PS4)

Third Atelier in just one year. Pretty tough job… Gust had talked big on how they would stop rehashing stuff. That was partially true, as the alchemy and battle system were truly renewed and made even more efficient and interesting. Still, they didn’t fix the flaws on storytelling and character development : most of the cast is downright shallow and the constant childish whining at the beginning was next to unbearable. Although it was arguably a good RPG, I don’t understand the all-out praise about it. Firis or Nelke were 100 times better.

GRIS (PS4)

I burst out in delight when it was announced. More proof that Nintendo is actively giving out subsidies to developers in order to hurt the Playstation brand and hamper the competition as much as they can. Going back to GRIS, it is a visually stunning platformer, with interesting puzzle elements and heart-breaking atmosphere. It’s not very long but you will remember it all your life.

Press Round-up – Spring 2019

Reviews posted on VGchartz from April to June 2019. Click on the titles to access the reviews.

Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists (PSVita)

When Atelier goes the Sim City route, it gives the best installment in the series since Atelier Firis. Very long, gifted with deep management gameplay and hella lot of possibilities, it’s a straight hit for those who like to use their head. Countless characters from the present and the past are part of the adventure and voice-acting is pretty cool. One of the absolute best titles of the year already.

Super Neptunia RPG (PS4)

Long after the disastrous Cyberdimension Neptune, Compile Heart seeks a new deal for the series. For that, the publisher asked Canadian developer Artisan to make a 2D RPG focused on the main goddesses. The narrative was cool as it recaptures the initial spirit of the series : event and jokes were fun and entertaining. It was much less so in terms of gameplay, as it’s crippled by shoddy controls, awkward balance and uninspired level design.

Atelier Lulua (PS4)

With so much hyped built around it, Atelier Lulua was some hard disappointment. The whole “return to Arland” story faded quickly in this “sequel” which takes very little from the original trilogy. Glorious characters are left out and replaced by shallow protagonists, and former heroines Totori and Meruru were locked behind a DLC that took two months to be released. That’s the exact sort of development policy and direction that mustn’t be conducted again if Gust wants fans to stay.

Sony’s censorship is neither rational nor legitimate

My first big opinion piece on VGChartz. I wanted to think seriously the right and the wrong from what surfaced about Sony’s obnoxious policy. My conclusion is that it doesn’t need to happen, and ultimately will damage the niche market beyond repair if pushed too far. I think Sony and devs realized that what has been happening since October 2018 makes no sense, and that they can even out the situation together.

Observation (PS4)

Random indy title released on PS4 during a calm Spring, Observation was actually a lot more fascinating than your average indy game. Thriller taking place in outer space, it puts you in control of SAM, a artificial intelligence that has to solve the problems of a ailing station. Great writing and great puzzle parts in this original game. We definitely need more of that and less generic shooters/platformers/strategy.