A remaster of Akiba's Trip
Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed is the precursor to Akiba's Trip: Undead & Undressed, the smash hit that introduced a Western audience to the seedy underworld lurking in the shadows of the haven of “otaku” culture in the Akihabara district of Tokyo. Released as Akiba's Trip Plus in Japan, players explore an accurately modeled recreation of the famous “Akiba” district circa 2012, hunting vampiric foes, and tearing off their clothes to expose them to sunlight. The game has been remade to bring it to modern HD graphical standards, all while retaining the charm of the original classic that started a cult hit series.
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I played Akiba's Trip H&D pretty much immediately after its... successor AND predecessor (yay localisation issues), Trip U&U, and I'm unpopular in saying I prefer this entry. However, I just can't deny how great the plot and characterisation of H&D is! The narrative is mostly light even with its tackling of some mature themes, with a faction war at the centre of both the story and the branching endings. This setup allowed for some good old themes of coexistence and acceptance, and boy does H&D get it right. The characters are all absolute treasures (even the villains and random NPCs!) and I found myself incredibly attached to everyone by the end. This is definitely aided by tanu's amazing sprite work throughout the story's cutscenes.
The gameplay is generally serviceable and nothing more, however I actually prefer the system for obtaining clothes here to U&U and the option to buy different move types was a godsend. How U&U didn't have moving or area attacks is beyond me. The graphics are also mostly serviceable, but to be totally honest after seeing what they were in the original PSP release they're a definite upgrade, jesus. Audio quality can be a little strange on VA in the early game, but due to H&D's production coinciding with covid lockdowns this isn't something I hold against the game at all.
Given the whole concept of H&D involves you learning stripping techniques from a shady dancing woman who lives in a pink mansion on an Akiba rooftop, it would be easy to assume it's mostly fanservice and not much plot (not that fanservice is a bad thing per se). But not only is fanservice a minimum, this story is one of the most welcome experiences I've chanced upon in a game.
The gameplay is generally serviceable and nothing more, however I actually prefer the system for obtaining clothes here to U&U and the option to buy different move types was a godsend. How U&U didn't have moving or area attacks is beyond me. The graphics are also mostly serviceable, but to be totally honest after seeing what they were in the original PSP release they're a definite upgrade, jesus. Audio quality can be a little strange on VA in the early game, but due to H&D's production coinciding with covid lockdowns this isn't something I hold against the game at all.
Given the whole concept of H&D involves you learning stripping techniques from a shady dancing woman who lives in a pink mansion on an Akiba rooftop, it would be easy to assume it's mostly fanservice and not much plot (not that fanservice is a bad thing per se). But not only is fanservice a minimum, this story is one of the most welcome experiences I've chanced upon in a game.
pure otaku
fun story and characters, some of the worst gameplay ever
fun story and characters, some of the worst gameplay ever
you would expect this to be entirely unenjoyable but i think acquire games have a charm that manages to come through no matter what. Jank with simple boring combat but i enjoy the writing and the virtual tourism (simple as it may be here) quite a bit. i also feel like tanu was a great artist pick; i really enjoy the color palettes of the CGs. they feel somewhat ahead of their time to me for similar artists in 2012 but thats probably exaggerating (＾3＾♪
otherwise very obviously a japanese AA PSP game in every way. fun stuff! probably not worth revisiting! (i do want to see the other endings though...)
if you want a better game with acquire's charm i would probably play WotS4. or at least the sequel to this
otherwise very obviously a japanese AA PSP game in every way. fun stuff! probably not worth revisiting! (i do want to see the other endings though...)
if you want a better game with acquire's charm i would probably play WotS4. or at least the sequel to this
A janky, skungy portal to an Akihabara of the past makes for a lighthearted, fun time. It really is virtual tourism, all the fun quirks of Akihabara make this game feel so authentic despite it's technical drawbacks and downright bad combat. Still worth a look if you're into otaku culture and want to be sent back to Akihabara of a simpler time.
I kinda regret playing this but it was still funny as hell
terrible gameplay but the story and characters are decent enough to keep me invested. okay beginning to an odd series.
It really shows that it's a PSP game
(gamer is easy once you know how to upgrade shit, don't listen to the others.)
terrible gameplay but the story and characters are decent enough to keep me invested. okay beginning to an odd series.
It really shows that it's a PSP game
(gamer is easy once you know how to upgrade shit, don't listen to the others.)
so much potential remaster but still lock at psp era, i'm going to pick this up when my backlog is done