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.

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.

Review – Sakura Sakura

We are entering the last months of the PSVita in Japan. It’s sad but there’s nothing we can really do about it. It’s time to support the last Vita supporters, namely Entergram which released waves of romance visual novels on Sony’s handheld. Sakura Sakura is one of those and it’s a stunning little game.

Like it happens a lot in those games, Sakura Sakura tells the story of a transfer student. Tôru is such a student and arrives in the middle of an academic term at Rintoku high school. He was told he could live in the comfy dorm called Maison Lune, but last minute troubles finally guide him to the derelict Tsukimi mansion.

Unfortunately for Tôru, the dwellers of this ruin have all an attitude problem and he will get into trouble as soon as he sets foot there. So much good for the player though, because the game starts being hilarious right away. The very cunning Naoki for example, is huge slacker but somehow always manages to get his way thanks to his unmatched talent for blackmailing. For some reason, he also has the largest collection of photos of female students in the academy, which will ultimately put Tôru in dire straits.

Akira, the sexy gymnast, has a sharp tongue and never misses an occasion to throw a jab at someone. Sakura Sakura is very well written in that department and the dialog never ceases to entertain. The maths teacher Nanako Sakura is the manager of the mansion. She’s rather shy and has trouble solving the problems caused by Naoki and Akira. Of course, she has feelings for Tôru and the reverse is also true.

But after seeing the gorgeous deputy-head of Rintoku’s art club, Sakura Kirishima, Tôru decides to tackle the subject. He had always been interested by drawing and painting, of course…

From there, you come to enjoy the love triangle between the two Sakuras and Tôru. It’s really fun because loaded with jealousy, mean lines, and suspense since most of the time you can’t know who’s route it’s gonna be. Awkward in his relationships, Tôru will upset Sakura or Sakura more than once, but they always make up in a touching way.

The surprising thing is that there are also love misunderstandings among the secondary characters, which in fact don’t look like secondary at all. Many protagonists beside the Tôru-Sakura/Sakura couple have a big role to play and moving feelings for each other, which they take time to discover and it’s really beautiful when they do. Sakura Sakura then has not just one but several stories to enjoy at the same time, and I don’t even mention the numerous character routes. That’s dozens of hours of fun here.

Visually, Sakura Sakura is really fine. The live 2D is rather discreet but convincing. CG pictures are cute and there are plenty throughout the game. Alas, due to the game being released when publishers were the most confused about Sony’s new rules, at least two pictures have been cut to remove the underwear from the screen (note that in later games, Entergram does show the underwear again). On the other hand, swimsuits or other sexy aspects don’t seem to be a problem.

For a first VN experience from Entergram, Sakura Sakura was definitely an excellent pick. Hilarious from beginning to end, with great characters and characters stories, visually appealing, it’s one of those little games on which you spend a very nice time.

Review – Shin Hayarigami

Now that Vita’s release schedule is becoming lighter, I can finally start doing something I’ve been wanting to do for some time : find the hidden gems in the long history of PSVita games in Japan. Shin Hayarigami is certainly one of those. Released in 2014, it was the first of this somewhat known horror/investigation series in this generation.

The first contact with Shin Hayarigami is still not truly exciting. The first hours let me think of a standard visual novel of generic design and dull story-telling. Graphics are nothing impressive, the art being very average. Music and sound also could fare a lot better. Dark themes are too rare and the jazz used in the investigation parts doesn’t help building an atmosphere. Sound effects are next to non-existent.

The soundtrack gets better in the second part of the story though. Eerie melodies become more frequent and the player starts to really get into the narrative. Another big letdown is that screenshots are completed blocked. I had to use that good old method of taking photos of the Vita screen.

After digging a bit, I found in Shin Hayarigami some interesting gameplay and interactivity. NIS’s game asks the player to make choices all the time.I n regular talk, but also and especially in secquences called Liar’s Art. Those parts are a clash of ideas between you and one of the characters. Depending on your answers, you’ll gain his/her trust… or lose all credibility!

The trouble is that everything goes a lot too fast. You barely have 3 or 4 seconds to answer in Liar’s Art, not enough to even read the different choices. I had to start over quite a couple of time, which is a bit too bad…

The Logic Chart asks you to find out the role and personality of each character, as well as the relationship between them, from what you read in the story. Ultimately, you also have to pin the real culprit. All those choices contain a lot of traps, game over screens and different endings.

The extensive interactivity eventually helps the narrative. The woman inspector you play as is chasing a murderer called Blindman, who cuts off the victims’ eyes. Here’s the trick : Blindman is an urban legend. How to catch a killer who doesn’t even exist? The list of suspects is quite long and you’ll have to make some theories before reaching the shocking truth. However, the story turned out to be fairly linear. Being CERO Z, Shin Hayarigami has equally shocking depiction of death and agony. It’s so violent that I almost wanted to put the console away at times.

But the biggest point of the story is that actually… there are many stories within it! Once Blindman’s scenario is completed, you are invited to go back in the timeline in order to look for hidden choices leading to entirely new cases. The characters stay the same, but their roles vary : some secondary characters become important characters, the type of crime changes, the bad guy changes and all the logic gets modified. You have to rethink the situation every time and that’s giving the game a lot of content. The best thing about it is that you can go to any moment of the timeline anytime. This way you don’t need multiple saves. It’s extremely convenient!

All that makes Shin Hayarigami a game a lot more interesting than it looks. True, the lesser effort in graphics, design and sound hurt the experience a bit, but its innovative gameplay mechanics makes it an enjoyable investigative visual novel.