I'll be real here, if this wasn't a spoiler free review this would be five times the length but I'm not here to subject you that, in fact we can both do that once you the reader are done with this game one day! I'm here to try my level best to condense my thoughts into something coherent without ANY spoilers, without sounding like a crazy lunatic, on selling to you what is arguably my favorite story in fiction so here goes. There will be ABSOLUTELY ZERO SPOILERS in this review, I'll be making sure of that. Spoiling this game for someone or for yourself has to be a cardinal sin or something SO I HIGHLY RECOMMEND NOT LOOKING UP ANYTHING ABOUT THIS GAME UNTIL YOU BEAT IT, NOTHING ABOUT THE CHARACTERS, NOTHING ABOUT ANY OF THE TERMS YOU HEAR AND DON'T EVEN MAKE A SIMPLE SEARCH ABOUT THE CHARACTERS I'M SO SERIOUS. LOOK UP ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
First off, what is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim? Well in a nutshell it’s a VN-esque game pumped full of steroids and cranked up to the max. This game features a non-linear narrative revolving around, you guessed it, 13 distinct characters. There are 2 types of gameplay options: Remembrance and Destruction. Remembrance is the real meat of this game and features the non-linear story with you controlling characters in a side-scrolling scenario whereas Destruction is the RTS (Real Time Strategy) section where you control the Sentinels as per the games namesake. Usually, you're mostly here for Remembrance which is understandable, I was too, but I personally find Destruction quite fun despite some considering it the weaker part of the game which I disagree with, it is genuinely really fun once you get the hang of it. It doesn't take too long once you get the hang of it either and the gameplay itself is quite minimalist, simple and most importantly it ends rather quickly as to not distract you from the story, in fact it adds even more to the story but that's a discussion for another day. That's it for the basic rundown of this game but allow me to go in depth and the reason why I hold this game in such high regard without spoiling anything for you.
This will be talking exclusively about Remembrance for the record but let me to get the simpler stuff out of the way first: the visuals are absolutely fucking gorgeous, so is the artwork and animations, characters have such subtle animations during events in order express their personality with some even happening in the background unbeknownst to the player and all accompanied by stellar voice acting in both languages but I personally find the dub much more enjoyable and would recommend it. The game is a visual treat for the eyes, this is Vanillaware at its peak, the music and even the sound effects are absolutely phenomenal as well but that's enough of the little stuff let’s move onto why you're really here. This game has the most unique way of telling a story that I've ever seen in a game, you can quite literally play the story in any order you like hence the obvious reason it’s called a non-linear narrative along with swapping between Remembrance and Destruction at your leisure albeit you will need to fulfil certain criteria to progress the overall narrative but worry not, the game spells out exactly which pre-requisite you need to do for unlocking the next segments. Every single character has their own distinct stories which branch into multiple other stories, oh and a neat fact, every single one of their stories is a unique spin on an existing piece of media or a movie, the characters themselves are also exceptionally well written for the most part. This may seem daunting but its presented in a way to hook the reader in, the stories overlap and intersect, there are countless clashes between the characters and their own goals and beliefs, some work together, some are at odds with each other and what really drives this home is the fact that eventually you will be seeing these certain events from another characters perspective sooner or later when you pursue the aforementioned characters story which on its own sheds even more light to the overarching narrative along with adding even more context on the event you just experienced. Again, this may seem daunting but it truly isn't, I say it has a unique way of presenting its story but it’s not merely just presented, the real reason is that piecing together the story IS the gameplay and I don't just mean the overall mystery, the game trusts and respects the players intelligence unconditionally. If a certain word is said again in another route? There is no flashback or "I remember them saying this" for the most part, the game reminds the player nothing because it trusts the player to remember the finer details and it does not let up in the slightest along with giving you an extensive archive to help you keep track. The plot is this constantly changing schematic inside your head which changes drastically as you take in and learn new information and plot threads, sometimes even flipping it over its head entirely, challenging everything you may have pieced together thus far. You the player are tasked with piecing this gigantic puzzle together, that in itself IS the gameplay, the puzzle may not make sense at first but you soon suddenly have some manner of "OH NOW I GET IT" moment which feels immensely satisfying BECAUSE you did this all yourself, the game did not feed you this revelation in a traditional manner, you the player pieced it together before the answer was even presented to you. It’s such a unique concept and I wish more games went to the lengths 13 Sentinels does in respecting the players intelligence to do. No matter how farfetched a plot detail may seem the game WILL expand on it in a well-executed manner at a certain point, the game trusts the player and it expects the player to trust the game in return, a symbiotic relationship if you will. Every bit of info, every bit of context from a different perspective and every single plot thread is tailor made to fit into the overarching narrative in such a disturbingly cohesive manner that you gotta wonder how long it took for the writers to make everything not seem nonsensical in fear of it seeming like multiple asspulls. Then again, this game WAS delayed multiple times so mayhap that was the reason, contrary to popular belief I haven't exactly deep dived into this game’s development cycle... yet.
This game is an experience like no other and, full disclosure, this is just me quoting 2 certain well known and respected game developers but I truly believe there will never be another game like 13 Sentinels but I would LOVE to be proven wrong, in a perfect world maybe everything was this game but this is just me being delusional for the sake of it but its heartening to know this games sales went from poor to exceeding expectations due to strong word of mouth by its small albeit extremely dedicated fanbase, giving Vanillaware the push they needed and deserved. This game is a phenomenal work of art, an extensive labor of love and passion by the developers and if you still managed to listen to my ramblings this far, I recommend this game to you with everything I have. Now go get in that Sentinel and strap in for the ride, also here's a cool line from the game to end this review cause why not :P
"It's really happening... Just as you said it would. So we'll do what we have to do. Get in the robots and fight. Our fate was sealed a long time ago."
First off, what is 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim? Well in a nutshell it’s a VN-esque game pumped full of steroids and cranked up to the max. This game features a non-linear narrative revolving around, you guessed it, 13 distinct characters. There are 2 types of gameplay options: Remembrance and Destruction. Remembrance is the real meat of this game and features the non-linear story with you controlling characters in a side-scrolling scenario whereas Destruction is the RTS (Real Time Strategy) section where you control the Sentinels as per the games namesake. Usually, you're mostly here for Remembrance which is understandable, I was too, but I personally find Destruction quite fun despite some considering it the weaker part of the game which I disagree with, it is genuinely really fun once you get the hang of it. It doesn't take too long once you get the hang of it either and the gameplay itself is quite minimalist, simple and most importantly it ends rather quickly as to not distract you from the story, in fact it adds even more to the story but that's a discussion for another day. That's it for the basic rundown of this game but allow me to go in depth and the reason why I hold this game in such high regard without spoiling anything for you.
This will be talking exclusively about Remembrance for the record but let me to get the simpler stuff out of the way first: the visuals are absolutely fucking gorgeous, so is the artwork and animations, characters have such subtle animations during events in order express their personality with some even happening in the background unbeknownst to the player and all accompanied by stellar voice acting in both languages but I personally find the dub much more enjoyable and would recommend it. The game is a visual treat for the eyes, this is Vanillaware at its peak, the music and even the sound effects are absolutely phenomenal as well but that's enough of the little stuff let’s move onto why you're really here. This game has the most unique way of telling a story that I've ever seen in a game, you can quite literally play the story in any order you like hence the obvious reason it’s called a non-linear narrative along with swapping between Remembrance and Destruction at your leisure albeit you will need to fulfil certain criteria to progress the overall narrative but worry not, the game spells out exactly which pre-requisite you need to do for unlocking the next segments. Every single character has their own distinct stories which branch into multiple other stories, oh and a neat fact, every single one of their stories is a unique spin on an existing piece of media or a movie, the characters themselves are also exceptionally well written for the most part. This may seem daunting but its presented in a way to hook the reader in, the stories overlap and intersect, there are countless clashes between the characters and their own goals and beliefs, some work together, some are at odds with each other and what really drives this home is the fact that eventually you will be seeing these certain events from another characters perspective sooner or later when you pursue the aforementioned characters story which on its own sheds even more light to the overarching narrative along with adding even more context on the event you just experienced. Again, this may seem daunting but it truly isn't, I say it has a unique way of presenting its story but it’s not merely just presented, the real reason is that piecing together the story IS the gameplay and I don't just mean the overall mystery, the game trusts and respects the players intelligence unconditionally. If a certain word is said again in another route? There is no flashback or "I remember them saying this" for the most part, the game reminds the player nothing because it trusts the player to remember the finer details and it does not let up in the slightest along with giving you an extensive archive to help you keep track. The plot is this constantly changing schematic inside your head which changes drastically as you take in and learn new information and plot threads, sometimes even flipping it over its head entirely, challenging everything you may have pieced together thus far. You the player are tasked with piecing this gigantic puzzle together, that in itself IS the gameplay, the puzzle may not make sense at first but you soon suddenly have some manner of "OH NOW I GET IT" moment which feels immensely satisfying BECAUSE you did this all yourself, the game did not feed you this revelation in a traditional manner, you the player pieced it together before the answer was even presented to you. It’s such a unique concept and I wish more games went to the lengths 13 Sentinels does in respecting the players intelligence to do. No matter how farfetched a plot detail may seem the game WILL expand on it in a well-executed manner at a certain point, the game trusts the player and it expects the player to trust the game in return, a symbiotic relationship if you will. Every bit of info, every bit of context from a different perspective and every single plot thread is tailor made to fit into the overarching narrative in such a disturbingly cohesive manner that you gotta wonder how long it took for the writers to make everything not seem nonsensical in fear of it seeming like multiple asspulls. Then again, this game WAS delayed multiple times so mayhap that was the reason, contrary to popular belief I haven't exactly deep dived into this game’s development cycle... yet.
This game is an experience like no other and, full disclosure, this is just me quoting 2 certain well known and respected game developers but I truly believe there will never be another game like 13 Sentinels but I would LOVE to be proven wrong, in a perfect world maybe everything was this game but this is just me being delusional for the sake of it but its heartening to know this games sales went from poor to exceeding expectations due to strong word of mouth by its small albeit extremely dedicated fanbase, giving Vanillaware the push they needed and deserved. This game is a phenomenal work of art, an extensive labor of love and passion by the developers and if you still managed to listen to my ramblings this far, I recommend this game to you with everything I have. Now go get in that Sentinel and strap in for the ride, also here's a cool line from the game to end this review cause why not :P
"It's really happening... Just as you said it would. So we'll do what we have to do. Get in the robots and fight. Our fate was sealed a long time ago."
Oh my god this is so peak. Storytelling, art style, music are all so so soo good! It took me a little bit to adjust to the combat part of the game, but when I came to it, it was so satisfying obliterating hordes of enemies. Definitely ranks highly as a game for me.
Nos ombros dos gigantes que subimos: uma homenagem de clássicos da sci-fi pra cada personagem, sutilmente alteradas o suficiente para não passar da inspiração, espertamente entrelaçados em um emaranhado narrativo lento de desamarrar. Cada episódio é um microcosmo que em seu pior é entretivo e lindamente ilustrado, e em seu melhor, ótimas peças de ficção científica em um globinho de neve. O vai e vem de vários personagens é fortalecido pelo carisma e rica personalidade de quase todo o elenco.
O que no ínicio parece um pesadelo nível 100 Anos de Solidão de decoração de nomes eventualmente revela suas camadas e se mostra que é um pesadelo ainda maior, porém com garotinhos e garotinhas e robôzinhos de anime que eu acabei curtindo bastante, cada um de sua forma. As sessões de combate, inicialmente alheio e confuso em seu lugar na história, acabam por ressaltar essas conexões, além de permitir que você crie suas próprias com os seus soldados favoritos - Nenji Ogata é o meu GOAT.
Não consigo imaginar o pesadelo de escrever uma história modular que envolve treze protagonistas, viagem no tempo, clonagem, inteligência artificial, loops e paradoxos, realidades alternativas e múltipla personalidade - é como se o twist do Liquid Ocelot fosse repetido a cada 30 minutos durante o jogo todo. É impressionante que o jogo, ainda assim, não ficou maçante em momento algum - fato que se pode dar por eu tê-lo jogado em doses homeopáticas ao longo de dois meses.
A natureza modular da história contribui muito à evitar à mesmice, total confiança dada ao jogador para decidir a ordem da experiência: eu preferia jogar um capítulo de cada na hora de dormir até cair no sono, e durante o dia jogava as fases de combate. Outra vez, ressalto que escrever um tipo de narrativa que não desmancha absolutamente diante dessa libertinagem é um feito hercúleo.
E devo adicionar: ilustrações absurdas aqui se encontram, que, misturadas com o sistema de iluminação - bem dramático em seu caloroso pôr-do-sol e manhãs serenadas - criaram uma qualidade de apresentação que é fascinante em sua simplicidade de execução e beleza. É quase difícil não achar um momento do jogo que não pareça digno de um screenshot.
O que no ínicio parece um pesadelo nível 100 Anos de Solidão de decoração de nomes eventualmente revela suas camadas e se mostra que é um pesadelo ainda maior, porém com garotinhos e garotinhas e robôzinhos de anime que eu acabei curtindo bastante, cada um de sua forma. As sessões de combate, inicialmente alheio e confuso em seu lugar na história, acabam por ressaltar essas conexões, além de permitir que você crie suas próprias com os seus soldados favoritos - Nenji Ogata é o meu GOAT.
Não consigo imaginar o pesadelo de escrever uma história modular que envolve treze protagonistas, viagem no tempo, clonagem, inteligência artificial, loops e paradoxos, realidades alternativas e múltipla personalidade - é como se o twist do Liquid Ocelot fosse repetido a cada 30 minutos durante o jogo todo. É impressionante que o jogo, ainda assim, não ficou maçante em momento algum - fato que se pode dar por eu tê-lo jogado em doses homeopáticas ao longo de dois meses.
A natureza modular da história contribui muito à evitar à mesmice, total confiança dada ao jogador para decidir a ordem da experiência: eu preferia jogar um capítulo de cada na hora de dormir até cair no sono, e durante o dia jogava as fases de combate. Outra vez, ressalto que escrever um tipo de narrativa que não desmancha absolutamente diante dessa libertinagem é um feito hercúleo.
E devo adicionar: ilustrações absurdas aqui se encontram, que, misturadas com o sistema de iluminação - bem dramático em seu caloroso pôr-do-sol e manhãs serenadas - criaram uma qualidade de apresentação que é fascinante em sua simplicidade de execução e beleza. É quase difícil não achar um momento do jogo que não pareça digno de um screenshot.
This review contains spoilers
Video games save lives!
That's not a joke. That's actually a plot point.
This game mixes real-time strategy with a visual novel-esque story with 13 protagonists, which the player can see in (mostly) any order they want. Already that gives a lot of player choice in how they want to experience the game. It was a bit overwhelming for me at first to go through the story due to the amount of plotlines to watch, but I pushed through thanks to a little planning in what order I was gonna do the stories.
Starting with the story, I did really like it, but there's major problems I have with it. First of all, I hope you’re a fan of sci-fi, because this game uses every cliché in that genre you can imagine. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking with those clichés so the game decides to instead rely on its plot twists to keep the player engaged. This game is built on its twists and I do think some are pretty strong. Keyword being “some”, because others don't hit as well because of the structure. Pretty much every scene is dedicated to moving the story forward or providing new information to the player. That’s all well and good, but it creates such a fast pacing that it’s hard for me to keep up with some reveals and who did what before the story even takes place. Due to all the revelations usually happening at the end of the storylines, you’re gonna go through the first half or so not understanding a thing, and sometimes, the answer for a question that arose in one character’s storyline would often be answered in a completely different character’s, and by that point, I’ve probably forgotten what question I even had. Sorry, but it becomes too much for my two-sizes-too-small brain to follow. At least there’s the analysis screen where you can see the chronological order of all the events.
It can be salvaged if the characters were fun to watch, and I think they are, but only to an extent, because some of them feel two-dimensional. There were some I thought stood out like Hijiyama, Kisaragi and Goutu, but I wouldn't say I didn't care about those I didn't mention, I still like seeing what the characters went through. Plus, the fact that they aren't the most fleshed out does have an explanation (I think?). By the way, it’s hilarious that Atlus doesn't have a good track record on having LGBT+ representation in their games, and yet the gay couple here is the most believable pairing of all the ones that are endgame.
I like how being able to control the characters during these parts breathes life into the visual novel aspect, though I have to complain about a few times when it's not clear on what you need to do next to see a certain route.
Having said all of that, I still very much liked playing through the story. I think the reason for all my problems is simply because of how overwhelmed I was by it.
The strategy mode is where I had the most fun. And I'll admit that, this is not a complex strategy game. Each Sentinel generation have their own attacks and each pilot have their own unique skills that are unlocked when they level up. You move them across the map and attack with either long-ranged or melee attacks with stronger and effective attacks that can be used if the pilot has enough special points that get more of by defeating enemies. But it was so simple, yet effective. I had a blast going through this. The explosions of the Kaiju are just too satisfying for me to not like it, especially when I blast a horde of them down at once.
And these fights do get hectic as they go on. Sure, I may have only lost once across 30 battles, but I still had to think a lot about when and where to use one character to deal with certain enemies. That final battle with hordes of Kaiju coming and coming will go down as one of my most memorable gaming moments.
The writing here I also found to be better made than what was in the actual story. The characters gets a lot more characterization and get more chances to bounce off one another. And I really wanted them to make it through this, they went through hell here. I normally have a problem getting emerged in characters' grave situations, but this was one time where I could do it and I haveily applaud the game for that. It made the ending all the more uplifting.
Oh, and the soundtrack is going into my favorite game soundtracks of all time.
I can't say if I'm giving this a fair unbiased shot or just hopelessly gushing over it (despite the critisisms I mentioned in the story segment). But hey, you're supposed to praise what you like, right? I never expected to like this game as much as I ended up doing, and that's always a good sign. Let's go out there and live.
That's not a joke. That's actually a plot point.
This game mixes real-time strategy with a visual novel-esque story with 13 protagonists, which the player can see in (mostly) any order they want. Already that gives a lot of player choice in how they want to experience the game. It was a bit overwhelming for me at first to go through the story due to the amount of plotlines to watch, but I pushed through thanks to a little planning in what order I was gonna do the stories.
Starting with the story, I did really like it, but there's major problems I have with it. First of all, I hope you’re a fan of sci-fi, because this game uses every cliché in that genre you can imagine. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking with those clichés so the game decides to instead rely on its plot twists to keep the player engaged. This game is built on its twists and I do think some are pretty strong. Keyword being “some”, because others don't hit as well because of the structure. Pretty much every scene is dedicated to moving the story forward or providing new information to the player. That’s all well and good, but it creates such a fast pacing that it’s hard for me to keep up with some reveals and who did what before the story even takes place. Due to all the revelations usually happening at the end of the storylines, you’re gonna go through the first half or so not understanding a thing, and sometimes, the answer for a question that arose in one character’s storyline would often be answered in a completely different character’s, and by that point, I’ve probably forgotten what question I even had. Sorry, but it becomes too much for my two-sizes-too-small brain to follow. At least there’s the analysis screen where you can see the chronological order of all the events.
It can be salvaged if the characters were fun to watch, and I think they are, but only to an extent, because some of them feel two-dimensional. There were some I thought stood out like Hijiyama, Kisaragi and Goutu, but I wouldn't say I didn't care about those I didn't mention, I still like seeing what the characters went through. Plus, the fact that they aren't the most fleshed out does have an explanation (I think?). By the way, it’s hilarious that Atlus doesn't have a good track record on having LGBT+ representation in their games, and yet the gay couple here is the most believable pairing of all the ones that are endgame.
I like how being able to control the characters during these parts breathes life into the visual novel aspect, though I have to complain about a few times when it's not clear on what you need to do next to see a certain route.
Having said all of that, I still very much liked playing through the story. I think the reason for all my problems is simply because of how overwhelmed I was by it.
The strategy mode is where I had the most fun. And I'll admit that, this is not a complex strategy game. Each Sentinel generation have their own attacks and each pilot have their own unique skills that are unlocked when they level up. You move them across the map and attack with either long-ranged or melee attacks with stronger and effective attacks that can be used if the pilot has enough special points that get more of by defeating enemies. But it was so simple, yet effective. I had a blast going through this. The explosions of the Kaiju are just too satisfying for me to not like it, especially when I blast a horde of them down at once.
And these fights do get hectic as they go on. Sure, I may have only lost once across 30 battles, but I still had to think a lot about when and where to use one character to deal with certain enemies. That final battle with hordes of Kaiju coming and coming will go down as one of my most memorable gaming moments.
The writing here I also found to be better made than what was in the actual story. The characters gets a lot more characterization and get more chances to bounce off one another. And I really wanted them to make it through this, they went through hell here. I normally have a problem getting emerged in characters' grave situations, but this was one time where I could do it and I haveily applaud the game for that. It made the ending all the more uplifting.
Oh, and the soundtrack is going into my favorite game soundtracks of all time.
I can't say if I'm giving this a fair unbiased shot or just hopelessly gushing over it (despite the critisisms I mentioned in the story segment). But hey, you're supposed to praise what you like, right? I never expected to like this game as much as I ended up doing, and that's always a good sign. Let's go out there and live.
This review contains spoilers
Moment-to-moment I was enjoying the process of 13 Sentinels - reveling in its aesthetics, peeling back the layers of its scenario, bouncing around between characters' stories and finding answers to questions raised in one character's story in another's. About halfway through, as the reveals piled up and lead to ever more mysteries, I started to get the sneaking suspicion that all of this wouldn't amount to much. By the last couple hours where the game decides that, by the way, this whole thing is a Matrix situation, I was just about ready to tap out.
There's something to the maximist way that 13 Sentinels works. There's a thrill in seeing Vanillaware throw every sci-fi trope into one big pot - mechs, obviously, but also time travel, parallel dimensions, aliens, space colonization, evil AI, and....nanomachines. There's even a late-game meta move that exposes the fact that the video game you're playing is a load-bearing part of the whole story (I called this one at the start of the game btw). At first it's thrilling to see them stack all the parts and see how they all interact with each other, but there's diminishing returns. When you keep revealing twists, each individual one becomes less impactful, and the main road is lost.
This problem extends to the characters too, and I was shocked that for a game with 13 protagonists (actually 15, though two of them aren't playable) there isn't any character development or even much in the way of relationships. Characters are well-worn anime tropes that serve more as delivery devices for twists than anything resembling human beings. This is a game with a long, troubled dev cycle, one of the casualties of which was apparently taking out scenes that show the characters hanging out with each other. You can feel the absence - there are precious few moments of characters connecting with each other in any way other than pairing up into (often random and sometimes dubious) romances, and it makes every storytelling move of the game's last few hours fall flat.
I haven't even talked about the game-y part of it which even this game's hardest stans admit is half-baked at best. It's unfortunate because you can see the mechanical bones of something that could've been really neat - Sentinels fall under 4 broad categories but each one within the category has unique skills, buoyed by pilots that have unique passives that give them bonuses when they're paired with other characters, or not close to any other characters, or on as small a team as possible. On top of all that there's a whole scoring system, and a push your luck thing where your pilots get knocked out from being used too often and you can reset them but lose a bonus for doing so. Cool ideas, but none of it ends up mattering because the game is too easy, and the tactical decisions aren't "felt". You can see why Vanillaware followed this up with Unicorn Overlord, a game that really focuses on tactical density, because they clearly have some skilled strategy game designers who didn't have a chance to make good on their concepts.
That's how I feel about 13 Sentinels in general - it's the product of a talented (if stretched to their limit) team, and I respect the craft, but it all feels like missed possibility.
There's something to the maximist way that 13 Sentinels works. There's a thrill in seeing Vanillaware throw every sci-fi trope into one big pot - mechs, obviously, but also time travel, parallel dimensions, aliens, space colonization, evil AI, and....nanomachines. There's even a late-game meta move that exposes the fact that the video game you're playing is a load-bearing part of the whole story (I called this one at the start of the game btw). At first it's thrilling to see them stack all the parts and see how they all interact with each other, but there's diminishing returns. When you keep revealing twists, each individual one becomes less impactful, and the main road is lost.
This problem extends to the characters too, and I was shocked that for a game with 13 protagonists (actually 15, though two of them aren't playable) there isn't any character development or even much in the way of relationships. Characters are well-worn anime tropes that serve more as delivery devices for twists than anything resembling human beings. This is a game with a long, troubled dev cycle, one of the casualties of which was apparently taking out scenes that show the characters hanging out with each other. You can feel the absence - there are precious few moments of characters connecting with each other in any way other than pairing up into (often random and sometimes dubious) romances, and it makes every storytelling move of the game's last few hours fall flat.
I haven't even talked about the game-y part of it which even this game's hardest stans admit is half-baked at best. It's unfortunate because you can see the mechanical bones of something that could've been really neat - Sentinels fall under 4 broad categories but each one within the category has unique skills, buoyed by pilots that have unique passives that give them bonuses when they're paired with other characters, or not close to any other characters, or on as small a team as possible. On top of all that there's a whole scoring system, and a push your luck thing where your pilots get knocked out from being used too often and you can reset them but lose a bonus for doing so. Cool ideas, but none of it ends up mattering because the game is too easy, and the tactical decisions aren't "felt". You can see why Vanillaware followed this up with Unicorn Overlord, a game that really focuses on tactical density, because they clearly have some skilled strategy game designers who didn't have a chance to make good on their concepts.
That's how I feel about 13 Sentinels in general - it's the product of a talented (if stretched to their limit) team, and I respect the craft, but it all feels like missed possibility.
I had heard from a bunch of people that this game was absolutely incredible, and maybe one of the best games released in a while. And uh. Wow. Yeah, this was an incredible experience.
The storytelling is the biggest highlight here. I don't really wanna say much about it cause like, this is the real meat of the game. But I will say that this game manages to juggle 13 protagonists, and none of them feel underdeveloped or pointless. It's so cool the way the story unfolds and the way the characters grow, and by the end of the game, I really liked and cared about just about every character, even the ones I wasn't fond of at the start.
The battle portions were super satisfying as well. I'm not much of a TRPG person, but the battle mechanics in this felt really fluid, unique, and fun. And the way the game forces you to keep swapping around what characters you have in battle felt like it made the game feel more balanced. And something about that firework sound effect when an enemy dies is just soooooooo satisfying, especially when you destroy a ton of enemies all at once. I still definitely preferred the story segments, but the battles were really fun and not too hard for me.
All of this packed into a game with genuinely one of the most beautiful art styles I've ever seen in a video game. Both the painting-like art style in the story segments, and the more futuristic, electronic, & neon art style of the battle segments.
Not to mention the music is phenomenal as well. Not even just the battle themes, the story segment music is all so beautiful and nails the emotions perfectly. All with some really fun and pretty instrumentation. I love this soundtrack so much.
So yeah, this is a truly unique and phenomenal game. I highly recommend it.
The storytelling is the biggest highlight here. I don't really wanna say much about it cause like, this is the real meat of the game. But I will say that this game manages to juggle 13 protagonists, and none of them feel underdeveloped or pointless. It's so cool the way the story unfolds and the way the characters grow, and by the end of the game, I really liked and cared about just about every character, even the ones I wasn't fond of at the start.
The battle portions were super satisfying as well. I'm not much of a TRPG person, but the battle mechanics in this felt really fluid, unique, and fun. And the way the game forces you to keep swapping around what characters you have in battle felt like it made the game feel more balanced. And something about that firework sound effect when an enemy dies is just soooooooo satisfying, especially when you destroy a ton of enemies all at once. I still definitely preferred the story segments, but the battles were really fun and not too hard for me.
All of this packed into a game with genuinely one of the most beautiful art styles I've ever seen in a video game. Both the painting-like art style in the story segments, and the more futuristic, electronic, & neon art style of the battle segments.
Not to mention the music is phenomenal as well. Not even just the battle themes, the story segment music is all so beautiful and nails the emotions perfectly. All with some really fun and pretty instrumentation. I love this soundtrack so much.
So yeah, this is a truly unique and phenomenal game. I highly recommend it.
it doesn't get much better than this.
This game is one of, if not the most insane sci-fi story out there, touching on nearly trope the genre has to offer making it a unique and memorable experience. It’s hard to grasp the scope, to piece together what you’re consuming and how it fits in the puzzle. Confusion haunts the majority of the game. It’s part of the formula that keeps 13 Sentinels so engrossing.
It’s tough to review this game without telling you what it’s about, and I don't mean the plot but the experience itself. Let me elaborate. Whenever you start a new game you’re not familiar with you trip and stumble doing silly things, you attack everything around you to see what breaks, you try talking to every NPC to get something. In a nutshell, you try every action available and learn from the responses you get. That’s our way to understand the worlds we get into, how we get familiar with the rules the game devs set. In your first 5 hours, 13 Sentinels will toy with this idea, it will teach you using deceit. After finishing the first set of prologues the game opens up to an overwhelming degree, letting you continue the story of the characters you just played as at your own leisure. This is where the guess work begins, picking up a character’s story will leave you at a state that doesn’t quite make sense. There isn’t a linear progression from where you last left it at, sometimes it will be as if you never did the prologue at all, you’re back to square one, but things seem a little different. You get the flowchart. A web of seemingly interconnected events that more often than not take you back to the same starting point despite progressing further. The game is certainly teaching you something, though you start doubting what is shown to you. This is where your mind starts to wander. What is happening? Is this an alternate story? A different character? Time-period? Timeline? Universe? My mind surely went through these theories and more.
There is a golden rule in horror media, “Don’t show the monster”. When you do it stops being scary. The reason is because what is the scariest is what your mind comes up with, your thirst of expectation grows wild as it brews in your head. When you show the monster, it becomes underwhelming compared to whatever you concocted in your mind. 13 Sentinels gives me a similar feeling throughout, where my theories were put to test with each new reveal, to my surprise what lied behind the curtain was an escalation, an even crazier idea than the concepts I thought of. It tore down what I planned, and where did that take me? Back to square one. In a funny way the gameplay loop is the ideas that run through your head and the re-conceptualization at each step. Your experience is likely to be different than mine, the plot can be tackled in any order feeding reveals at different paces. 13 Sentinels balances this by locking you out of some events until you have better understanding of others. This is a fail-safe that keeps the sense of escalation going. Of course, it doesn’t do so infinitely, it has to crescendo at some point. Whether the final reveal and conclusion is satisfying is up to how your expectations were met, and whether your head went beyond what Vanillaware had in mind. I for one, was pretty satisfied with the conclusion, the epilogue was a wholesome cherry on top of the whole experience.
The plot of 13 Sentinels is boxed in the “Remembrance” section, which I’d argue is the gameplay itself, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about “Destruction”, a complete subversion of the formula. Much like in the game I wasn’t quite sure where it fit in this review. Destruction takes place in the very final battle, but is introduced at the very beginning. It’s very akin to an RTS and possibly added as a selling point. I understand the idea of a visual novel is a very hard sell to your average gamer. Destruction has a complex UI and as such the game holds your hand through the majority of it. It starts too slow and seemed like a distraction from the main plot… at the start. In time I really started to enjoy it. The strategic scenarios are clever, it becomes a decent challenge towards the end of the game. I just found it a shame it took so long to click.
I’ve played several graphic novels in the past and let me tell you, most of them aren’t good. 13 Sentinels is a cut above the rest, with better looking sprites and more interactivity than its peers you should not sleep on this one even if you’re sour on the genre.
It’s tough to review this game without telling you what it’s about, and I don't mean the plot but the experience itself. Let me elaborate. Whenever you start a new game you’re not familiar with you trip and stumble doing silly things, you attack everything around you to see what breaks, you try talking to every NPC to get something. In a nutshell, you try every action available and learn from the responses you get. That’s our way to understand the worlds we get into, how we get familiar with the rules the game devs set. In your first 5 hours, 13 Sentinels will toy with this idea, it will teach you using deceit. After finishing the first set of prologues the game opens up to an overwhelming degree, letting you continue the story of the characters you just played as at your own leisure. This is where the guess work begins, picking up a character’s story will leave you at a state that doesn’t quite make sense. There isn’t a linear progression from where you last left it at, sometimes it will be as if you never did the prologue at all, you’re back to square one, but things seem a little different. You get the flowchart. A web of seemingly interconnected events that more often than not take you back to the same starting point despite progressing further. The game is certainly teaching you something, though you start doubting what is shown to you. This is where your mind starts to wander. What is happening? Is this an alternate story? A different character? Time-period? Timeline? Universe? My mind surely went through these theories and more.
There is a golden rule in horror media, “Don’t show the monster”. When you do it stops being scary. The reason is because what is the scariest is what your mind comes up with, your thirst of expectation grows wild as it brews in your head. When you show the monster, it becomes underwhelming compared to whatever you concocted in your mind. 13 Sentinels gives me a similar feeling throughout, where my theories were put to test with each new reveal, to my surprise what lied behind the curtain was an escalation, an even crazier idea than the concepts I thought of. It tore down what I planned, and where did that take me? Back to square one. In a funny way the gameplay loop is the ideas that run through your head and the re-conceptualization at each step. Your experience is likely to be different than mine, the plot can be tackled in any order feeding reveals at different paces. 13 Sentinels balances this by locking you out of some events until you have better understanding of others. This is a fail-safe that keeps the sense of escalation going. Of course, it doesn’t do so infinitely, it has to crescendo at some point. Whether the final reveal and conclusion is satisfying is up to how your expectations were met, and whether your head went beyond what Vanillaware had in mind. I for one, was pretty satisfied with the conclusion, the epilogue was a wholesome cherry on top of the whole experience.
The plot of 13 Sentinels is boxed in the “Remembrance” section, which I’d argue is the gameplay itself, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about “Destruction”, a complete subversion of the formula. Much like in the game I wasn’t quite sure where it fit in this review. Destruction takes place in the very final battle, but is introduced at the very beginning. It’s very akin to an RTS and possibly added as a selling point. I understand the idea of a visual novel is a very hard sell to your average gamer. Destruction has a complex UI and as such the game holds your hand through the majority of it. It starts too slow and seemed like a distraction from the main plot… at the start. In time I really started to enjoy it. The strategic scenarios are clever, it becomes a decent challenge towards the end of the game. I just found it a shame it took so long to click.
I’ve played several graphic novels in the past and let me tell you, most of them aren’t good. 13 Sentinels is a cut above the rest, with better looking sprites and more interactivity than its peers you should not sleep on this one even if you’re sour on the genre.
The game is amazing. Great story and art style, if not for the big boobs.
The combat could be less abstract, but it grew on me.
Yay for gay couples
The combat could be less abstract, but it grew on me.
Yay for gay couples
13 Sentinels is telling an engaging story with some really good characters. The gameplay falls down for me in both sections of the game, however. The visual novel parts don't do enough to make things compelling in an interactive way and the tactical battles are flashy and interesting at first but wear out their welcome pretty quickly.
The story is somewhat unique, taking a couple of different sci-fi tropes and mashing them up in a new way. I found the twist to be very obvious from about halfway through the game, though the details were still engaging to uncover, and the characters' individual journeys were still interesting.
The character stories are the real focus here and they mostly deliver on an individual basis. A couple of them suffer from feeling vestigial or unrelated to the actual narrative. Vanillaware ran into this with Odin Sphere as well -- they are trying to give everyone equal screentime without having an equal amount to say for every character. Megumi and Nenji for example just feel like their stories are drawn out or unnecessary in a way that I got pretty tired of. On the flip side, Natsuno, Yuki, Hijiyama, and Miura all work really well and weave together in interesting ways.
The game is also very obsessed with pairing up the cast (which sort of makes sense in the end but is still weird) in ways that are not always natural or even believable. I don't think most of the 'relationships' the game adds do more for the narrative or character development than regular ass friendships would, and in most cases just detract from what is going on or feel like nonsense.
All that narrative is presented in a very slick visual novel wrapper. You get a very small amount of agency here (you can walk around and choose conversation topics) but really you are just hunting for the next thing to do to advance the very linear plot. I liked this at first, but I don't actually think the gameplay here justifies this being better than simply reading or watching it in a linear media format would. This is a general problem with visual novels though, so you kind of go in expecting it.
These sections look amazing, of course. The backgrounds are varied and beautiful and the characters are all unique and expressive. I like the more realistic style Vanillaware has opted for here, as compared to their usual Adonis/Venus inspired character designs.
The tactical layer is very cool looking and flashy. I really like the way this is presented, in a very simplified visual style with some smart hand-drawn intercuts and flourishes. It does manage to be somewhat exciting and tense... in the beginning. Some choice and depth is gestured at with different generation of mechs being available and different upgrades you can choose, but the differences weren't impactful enough and couldn't really be leveraged to change your approach or gameplay in many significant ways (beyond one or two abilities). There simply isn't a ton of strategy here, unfortunately, and this mode has more presence in the game than its depth can support.
13 Sentinels is a cool game that does a lot to bring me along despite being a type of game I am not usually drawn to. The story could be tightened up a bit and my choices could matter more, but that honestly isn't really what this sort of game is going for. If you are a fan of Vanillaware or this style of game, I don't think you can go wrong giving this a shot.
The story is somewhat unique, taking a couple of different sci-fi tropes and mashing them up in a new way. I found the twist to be very obvious from about halfway through the game, though the details were still engaging to uncover, and the characters' individual journeys were still interesting.
The character stories are the real focus here and they mostly deliver on an individual basis. A couple of them suffer from feeling vestigial or unrelated to the actual narrative. Vanillaware ran into this with Odin Sphere as well -- they are trying to give everyone equal screentime without having an equal amount to say for every character. Megumi and Nenji for example just feel like their stories are drawn out or unnecessary in a way that I got pretty tired of. On the flip side, Natsuno, Yuki, Hijiyama, and Miura all work really well and weave together in interesting ways.
The game is also very obsessed with pairing up the cast (which sort of makes sense in the end but is still weird) in ways that are not always natural or even believable. I don't think most of the 'relationships' the game adds do more for the narrative or character development than regular ass friendships would, and in most cases just detract from what is going on or feel like nonsense.
All that narrative is presented in a very slick visual novel wrapper. You get a very small amount of agency here (you can walk around and choose conversation topics) but really you are just hunting for the next thing to do to advance the very linear plot. I liked this at first, but I don't actually think the gameplay here justifies this being better than simply reading or watching it in a linear media format would. This is a general problem with visual novels though, so you kind of go in expecting it.
These sections look amazing, of course. The backgrounds are varied and beautiful and the characters are all unique and expressive. I like the more realistic style Vanillaware has opted for here, as compared to their usual Adonis/Venus inspired character designs.
The tactical layer is very cool looking and flashy. I really like the way this is presented, in a very simplified visual style with some smart hand-drawn intercuts and flourishes. It does manage to be somewhat exciting and tense... in the beginning. Some choice and depth is gestured at with different generation of mechs being available and different upgrades you can choose, but the differences weren't impactful enough and couldn't really be leveraged to change your approach or gameplay in many significant ways (beyond one or two abilities). There simply isn't a ton of strategy here, unfortunately, and this mode has more presence in the game than its depth can support.
13 Sentinels is a cool game that does a lot to bring me along despite being a type of game I am not usually drawn to. The story could be tightened up a bit and my choices could matter more, but that honestly isn't really what this sort of game is going for. If you are a fan of Vanillaware or this style of game, I don't think you can go wrong giving this a shot.
Aegis rim, is prolly the best story I have ever gotten to experience in my life. Now I won't pretend that I understand the story at all and I won't act like not understanding the story left me satisfied in anyway, but I don't think I was really supposed to, at least not on my first playthrough. But don't mistake me here, just bc I didn't get it, doesn't mean the twist and turns of this game didn't have my hands on my head screaming "WHAT!?!" this game will never cease to Surprise you and entertain you, it somehow pulls you back into the story even though you have no idea what's going on. The moment you think you have a grasp on the story the game hits you with another plot twist that completely switches your thinking. The games story is amazing and the way it's told unique (though I would've mush perfered if it more if it was more direct in its story telling) the story is complicated, and the characters are nothing but a delight, you will find yourself finding a home with these mentality ill teenagers. My biggest complaint with the game is the gameplay. The gameplay is just boring tbh not much I can really say about it. Overall though the game is beautiful, the story is complex and exciting, and the characters are funny and are oozing of personality, and their very complex too. This game has definitely taken it's place as the best game in terms of story for me at least
Expectativa: jogo de estratégia/rpg com elementos de história que eu pretendo ignorar.
Realidade: Um enrendo surpreendente, cativante, dinâmico, e que bota A série DARK da netflix no chinelo. Os trechos de combate são tragáveis, mas massantes.
Mas meu amigo, que história! Sinceramente eu esperava alguma punhetinha japonesa genérica que eu iria ignorar pra aproveitar os trechos de luta, mas foi o completo oposto. E que maturidade do enredo em deixar o jogador escolher a ordem dos atos! A história é complicadíssima, mas não deixa uma ponta solta, e não segura sua mão também! Então caso fique perdido ( vai ficar ) retorne nos logs e procure informações. Me surpreendeu.
nota: 8,5.
Realidade: Um enrendo surpreendente, cativante, dinâmico, e que bota A série DARK da netflix no chinelo. Os trechos de combate são tragáveis, mas massantes.
Mas meu amigo, que história! Sinceramente eu esperava alguma punhetinha japonesa genérica que eu iria ignorar pra aproveitar os trechos de luta, mas foi o completo oposto. E que maturidade do enredo em deixar o jogador escolher a ordem dos atos! A história é complicadíssima, mas não deixa uma ponta solta, e não segura sua mão também! Então caso fique perdido ( vai ficar ) retorne nos logs e procure informações. Me surpreendeu.
nota: 8,5.
What a masterpiece of storytelling.
Infinite Possibilities 🏆
Not the type to play games like this all that often but mannnnnnnn this one grabbed me by the shirt and threatened me saying "you're gonna PLAY me, get INVESTED, AND destroy your meatball brain from trying to comprehend everything that goes on......... AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT" >:)
They also cooked with the music.
They also cooked with the music.
Just to preface, this review includes both my actual final verdict and initial thoughts (from roughly 10 hours in) on the game. The latter of which obviously don't fully reflect my current thoughts on the game, but I do think first impressions are still important!
Final Review
While I don't think it'll be for everyone, any fan of existentialist sci-fi and anime will surely find 13 Sentinels to be a real treat. It's clearly a passionate love letter to many of my favorite stories, and whether intentionally or not also borrows a lot of great aspects from other works I like; Terminator, Ghost in the Shell, Bladerunner, Alien, Evangelion, The Matrix, Godzilla, Men in Black, NieR, Zero Escape, the list goes on, and I've really gotta respect how well the game does thematic justice to each of its inspirations. On top of that, the originality Vanillaware brought to the table here shouldn't be downplayed. Where 13 Sentinels may lack some degree of cohesion, payoff for its unique design decisions, it certainly makes up for in innovation. I've never played another game quite like it, nor experienced another story quite like it, and though I find said story falls short in a few areas, its resolute experimentalism should be applauded nonetheless.
As for what I loved— the things that kept me playing daily till completion, I would have to cite the aesthetics, the mystery, the mech fights and their banter, and most of the characters. As I stated in my initial review, this game is just so. fucking. pretty! Each background is a stunningly beautiful painting, warmly lit with a palette of striking, glowing hues. Each character sports a simple yet effective design, brought to life by expressive, endearing animations, and a brilliantly emotive voice cast (I went with the English dub, and would recommend it to even the most dedicated sub Andys). The soundtrack too always provides an amazing accompaniment to the action onscreen, and a number of the tracks were very memorable— the final battle theme is so very hype. I even kinda like the way the battles look, albeit I will say they sorely lack visual clarity, not the most conducive trait to such a complex tactical rpg.
As far as these battles go, despite my minor complaints with their presentation, they were by far one of my favorite parts of the game, and I'm honestly pretty surprised by how divisive they seem! For me, they strike a really cool balance between rts and turn based combat, and even though they're all holograms they still feel incredibly badass, surely in no small part due to the satisfyingly punchy sound effects and campy voice lines. There's a refreshing amount of depth in how you approach encounters, manage team compositions, and otherwise game the system to your advantage, but it also somehow never felt remotely overwhelming to me. 13 Sentinels does a phenomenal job easing players into its mechanics, and that's no easy feat with just how many systems there are. I do sort of wish their difficulty spiked up a little sooner than it did (for the record, I played on the highest difficulty all the way through and it generally felt pretty well tuned), but once you begin reaching the final encounters you really need to plan and improvise strategically, particularly if you want S ranks. I'm super stoked to go back for the optional encounters you unlock after beating the game, and it was honestly just a really pleasant surprise to see their inclusion in the first place!
Of course though, the brunt of 13 Sentinels' content is comprised of its narrative segments. In general, I enjoyed these for what they were, but I will also say that storytelling and writing were two aspects of the game I felt more mixed on. Without getting into spoilers, I need to express that this game's story is hella complex— its plot contains myriad twists and turns, an extensive array of sci-fi themes and vocab to unravel, and a decently massive cast of characters. On top of that, its story isn't presented the most digestibly, at least not until the last several hours perhaps. While I wouldn't necessarily call its level of convolution needless or pretentious, it's certainly self-indulgent, hard to recommend to anyone not immediately enthralled by the mystery of it all.
Where I think this game arguably falls short is in the payoff department; insane as its many reveals can be, I found a lot of them to feel like twists for the sake of twists, information that maybe didn't need as much fanfare as it got, or plot details that could have been left uncommunicated or altogether omitted without the story really losing anything. And weirdly enough, for just how many mysteries the game introduces, it strips back almost all of that mystique by its close, bluntly explaining away just about every instance of ambiguity. Maybe this is for the best in some ways, for on one hand it can certainly be nigh impossible to follow basically anything for the first 20 hours, and it's hard to appreciate what's incomprehensible. Little faith is instilled in the player they will understand anything by the end of the game, so when it eventually does make complete sense and really isn't that revolutionary, all that buildup can feel a little pointless. At least, I usually come to stories for their characters and meanings more than I do for their plots, and 13 Sentinels often seems primarily focused on its plot and worldbuilding in a way I think kind of de-emphasizes its themes, beliefs, and personalities.
Thankfully, that last paragraph is blowing my critique way out of proportion— while a lot of the story's events don't add a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, they rarely detract anything, often at least providing some degree of character development or exposition. And in terms of the characters, I like most of them! Though some of their dialogue can be a little awkward (probably due to translation a lot of the time), they're pretty endearing for the most part, and I appreciate that the majority of them are actually written like people. The best part of the visual novel segments for me was just hanging out with them, going out for food (which always looks fucking delectable btw) after school, playing video games at my guy Shu's place, learning about alien shit with a cute little robot, debating whether "yakisoba pan" or "hemborger" is better, watching everyone crush on each other. It's also great that the majority of the protagonists have equally little clue what's going on, it makes them so much easier to relate to. With that being said, I do think there were a couple duds in the cast. While I don't have anything against Ryoko, Renya, Ei, or Tamao, they all felt incredibly bland (probably all the memory loss), seemingly there purely to exposition dump. While 13 Sentinels is already pretty long, I wish it spent more time just humanizing some of its characters. Even if some of them are a little underdeveloped for my taste though, I like them overall.
Of course, the only reason I bring any of this critique up is because of how often this game is heralded as the pinnacle of storytelling. I find any discourse over whether a piece of media is "overrated" to be pretty unconstructive— the ways people feel about something don't dictate its quality, and calling anything overrated isn't a critique of that thing so much as it is a disparagement of taste. With that in mind, I still really enjoyed 13 Sentinels' story, but more so on the basis of it being a fun, pulpy, anime soap opera! It's kinda just a blast to unravel the sci-fi dictionary, watch the melodramatic love-tridecagon unfold, decipher the crazy-ass lore bible. And there are definitely legitimately well realized themes and characters too! I particularly love all the philosophy surrounding cloning and neural implants— the idea that everyone is who they are because of their experiences, and nothing can ever perfectly replicate one's individuality. It's also super cool there are no truly evil characters in the entire game; while some may be selfish, conniving, or even shallow, they're ultimately all just people with their own drives and motivations.
At the end of the day, this game is great and SUPER unique! As I've said, it surely won't be everyone's cup of sake, but if any of the shit here sounds cool it's probably worth checking out!
* * *
First Impressions
Pretty sure I'm only like 25% of the way through this beast, but I just wanted to get some initial thoughts out since it's been getting me to think a lot, and I've been enjoying my time with it pretty thoroughly! First off, this game looks and sounds gorgeous, and that's coming from someone who's generally not huge on anime artstyles! I'm a massive sucker for hand painted sprites and damn does Vanillaware deliver— the soundtrack goes insaneo style too. ALSO, I fw the mech combat hard, and I'd honestly be perfectly content if that's all 13 Sentinels was.
However, what I more so wanted to talk about was this game's narrative, an aspect of it I'm a little conflicted on, at least as of writing this. To specify, I'd like to speak more of its writing's quality than of my personal experience with it, because regardless of if it amounts to little more than pulpy anime bullshit, I can't lie, I've been getting quite a kick out of following the ludicrously convoluted paper trail. I think my final verdict on 13 Sentinels' story will be contingent on whether it uses its unconventional structure for something meaningful, or if it's just confusing for confusing's sake (and knowing the GOAT Yoko Taro praised it, I'm hopeful).
Something I'm a little confused by is the ratio of information 13 Sentinels leaves ambiguous to that which it just directly tells you. I'm usually a pretty big advocate for show-don't-tell, but when a piece of media throws 30 wacky new keywords at you every second, I think it's totally understandable and generally advisable to include some exposition, or even a glossary. 13 Sentinels is an anime mystery game so it obviously would fall into that camp, and does indeed compensate with a much appreciated and cohesive glossary (and at that, a pretty clever one in that you unlock entries as you go). However, for how happy the game is to leave you in the dark on major plot details, it can be surprisingly heavy handed when it comes to the more digestible ones.
For instance, in the scene that introduces Megumi (whose plotline has probably interested me the most so far), she's walking and talking with her friend Tomi, and then Tomi basically just turns to the camera and says "This is my good friend Megumi Yakushiji. She's always been the Hopeless Romantic character archetype, probably because she's so Shy personality trait." I'm exaggerating a little of course, but what I mean is that it feels really awkward and unnatural to blatantly exposition dump during a casual conversation between high schoolers, especially when that exposition is simply one of said student's personality, something that was already being established organically. Now, it's honestly very possible that the tropeyness of the cast is actually a highly intentional David Lynchian stroke of genius, but when the rest of Megumi's plotline consists of contracting with a talking cat to shoot witches with a magical gun in order to revive her deceased boyfriend from a different era, and none of THAT is explained, I'll admit this kind of thing feels a little off— probably just some clunky translation, idk. When basic information is so bluntly communicated in a story otherwise seemingly apathetic to one's understanding of it, there are times when it's hard to tell whether the game actually respects its players' intelligence.
At least, going directly into another time traveling RPG immediately after Chrono Trigger gives me a little whiplash. On one hand, I think complexity is great for a story, but it also needs to be earned, well placed. CT's story is instantly very effective because of its simplicity, but 13 Sentinels' seems much more of a slow burn. With that being said, I do really appreciate how the characters themselves generally don't seem to know what the fuck is happening either, and it makes them a lot easier to connect with. On the surface, they may all be defined by an archetypal personality trait and a like and dislike or two, but with the game's focus on story and its 40 some hour runtime, I'd have to imagine they go a little deeper than that once they're better established.
13 Sentinels is as niche as it is a vibe, and from what I can tell, its opening chapters are a weeb-level filter if nothing else. Since it's as well received as it is, I think I'll just have to swallow my pride and trust VW to cook, but nonetheless it's pretty damn fun. :)
Final Review
While I don't think it'll be for everyone, any fan of existentialist sci-fi and anime will surely find 13 Sentinels to be a real treat. It's clearly a passionate love letter to many of my favorite stories, and whether intentionally or not also borrows a lot of great aspects from other works I like; Terminator, Ghost in the Shell, Bladerunner, Alien, Evangelion, The Matrix, Godzilla, Men in Black, NieR, Zero Escape, the list goes on, and I've really gotta respect how well the game does thematic justice to each of its inspirations. On top of that, the originality Vanillaware brought to the table here shouldn't be downplayed. Where 13 Sentinels may lack some degree of cohesion, payoff for its unique design decisions, it certainly makes up for in innovation. I've never played another game quite like it, nor experienced another story quite like it, and though I find said story falls short in a few areas, its resolute experimentalism should be applauded nonetheless.
As for what I loved— the things that kept me playing daily till completion, I would have to cite the aesthetics, the mystery, the mech fights and their banter, and most of the characters. As I stated in my initial review, this game is just so. fucking. pretty! Each background is a stunningly beautiful painting, warmly lit with a palette of striking, glowing hues. Each character sports a simple yet effective design, brought to life by expressive, endearing animations, and a brilliantly emotive voice cast (I went with the English dub, and would recommend it to even the most dedicated sub Andys). The soundtrack too always provides an amazing accompaniment to the action onscreen, and a number of the tracks were very memorable— the final battle theme is so very hype. I even kinda like the way the battles look, albeit I will say they sorely lack visual clarity, not the most conducive trait to such a complex tactical rpg.
As far as these battles go, despite my minor complaints with their presentation, they were by far one of my favorite parts of the game, and I'm honestly pretty surprised by how divisive they seem! For me, they strike a really cool balance between rts and turn based combat, and even though they're all holograms they still feel incredibly badass, surely in no small part due to the satisfyingly punchy sound effects and campy voice lines. There's a refreshing amount of depth in how you approach encounters, manage team compositions, and otherwise game the system to your advantage, but it also somehow never felt remotely overwhelming to me. 13 Sentinels does a phenomenal job easing players into its mechanics, and that's no easy feat with just how many systems there are. I do sort of wish their difficulty spiked up a little sooner than it did (for the record, I played on the highest difficulty all the way through and it generally felt pretty well tuned), but once you begin reaching the final encounters you really need to plan and improvise strategically, particularly if you want S ranks. I'm super stoked to go back for the optional encounters you unlock after beating the game, and it was honestly just a really pleasant surprise to see their inclusion in the first place!
Of course though, the brunt of 13 Sentinels' content is comprised of its narrative segments. In general, I enjoyed these for what they were, but I will also say that storytelling and writing were two aspects of the game I felt more mixed on. Without getting into spoilers, I need to express that this game's story is hella complex— its plot contains myriad twists and turns, an extensive array of sci-fi themes and vocab to unravel, and a decently massive cast of characters. On top of that, its story isn't presented the most digestibly, at least not until the last several hours perhaps. While I wouldn't necessarily call its level of convolution needless or pretentious, it's certainly self-indulgent, hard to recommend to anyone not immediately enthralled by the mystery of it all.
Where I think this game arguably falls short is in the payoff department; insane as its many reveals can be, I found a lot of them to feel like twists for the sake of twists, information that maybe didn't need as much fanfare as it got, or plot details that could have been left uncommunicated or altogether omitted without the story really losing anything. And weirdly enough, for just how many mysteries the game introduces, it strips back almost all of that mystique by its close, bluntly explaining away just about every instance of ambiguity. Maybe this is for the best in some ways, for on one hand it can certainly be nigh impossible to follow basically anything for the first 20 hours, and it's hard to appreciate what's incomprehensible. Little faith is instilled in the player they will understand anything by the end of the game, so when it eventually does make complete sense and really isn't that revolutionary, all that buildup can feel a little pointless. At least, I usually come to stories for their characters and meanings more than I do for their plots, and 13 Sentinels often seems primarily focused on its plot and worldbuilding in a way I think kind of de-emphasizes its themes, beliefs, and personalities.
Thankfully, that last paragraph is blowing my critique way out of proportion— while a lot of the story's events don't add a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, they rarely detract anything, often at least providing some degree of character development or exposition. And in terms of the characters, I like most of them! Though some of their dialogue can be a little awkward (probably due to translation a lot of the time), they're pretty endearing for the most part, and I appreciate that the majority of them are actually written like people. The best part of the visual novel segments for me was just hanging out with them, going out for food (which always looks fucking delectable btw) after school, playing video games at my guy Shu's place, learning about alien shit with a cute little robot, debating whether "yakisoba pan" or "hemborger" is better, watching everyone crush on each other. It's also great that the majority of the protagonists have equally little clue what's going on, it makes them so much easier to relate to. With that being said, I do think there were a couple duds in the cast. While I don't have anything against Ryoko, Renya, Ei, or Tamao, they all felt incredibly bland (probably all the memory loss), seemingly there purely to exposition dump. While 13 Sentinels is already pretty long, I wish it spent more time just humanizing some of its characters. Even if some of them are a little underdeveloped for my taste though, I like them overall.
Of course, the only reason I bring any of this critique up is because of how often this game is heralded as the pinnacle of storytelling. I find any discourse over whether a piece of media is "overrated" to be pretty unconstructive— the ways people feel about something don't dictate its quality, and calling anything overrated isn't a critique of that thing so much as it is a disparagement of taste. With that in mind, I still really enjoyed 13 Sentinels' story, but more so on the basis of it being a fun, pulpy, anime soap opera! It's kinda just a blast to unravel the sci-fi dictionary, watch the melodramatic love-tridecagon unfold, decipher the crazy-ass lore bible. And there are definitely legitimately well realized themes and characters too! I particularly love all the philosophy surrounding cloning and neural implants— the idea that everyone is who they are because of their experiences, and nothing can ever perfectly replicate one's individuality. It's also super cool there are no truly evil characters in the entire game; while some may be selfish, conniving, or even shallow, they're ultimately all just people with their own drives and motivations.
At the end of the day, this game is great and SUPER unique! As I've said, it surely won't be everyone's cup of sake, but if any of the shit here sounds cool it's probably worth checking out!
* * *
First Impressions
Pretty sure I'm only like 25% of the way through this beast, but I just wanted to get some initial thoughts out since it's been getting me to think a lot, and I've been enjoying my time with it pretty thoroughly! First off, this game looks and sounds gorgeous, and that's coming from someone who's generally not huge on anime artstyles! I'm a massive sucker for hand painted sprites and damn does Vanillaware deliver— the soundtrack goes insaneo style too. ALSO, I fw the mech combat hard, and I'd honestly be perfectly content if that's all 13 Sentinels was.
However, what I more so wanted to talk about was this game's narrative, an aspect of it I'm a little conflicted on, at least as of writing this. To specify, I'd like to speak more of its writing's quality than of my personal experience with it, because regardless of if it amounts to little more than pulpy anime bullshit, I can't lie, I've been getting quite a kick out of following the ludicrously convoluted paper trail. I think my final verdict on 13 Sentinels' story will be contingent on whether it uses its unconventional structure for something meaningful, or if it's just confusing for confusing's sake (and knowing the GOAT Yoko Taro praised it, I'm hopeful).
Something I'm a little confused by is the ratio of information 13 Sentinels leaves ambiguous to that which it just directly tells you. I'm usually a pretty big advocate for show-don't-tell, but when a piece of media throws 30 wacky new keywords at you every second, I think it's totally understandable and generally advisable to include some exposition, or even a glossary. 13 Sentinels is an anime mystery game so it obviously would fall into that camp, and does indeed compensate with a much appreciated and cohesive glossary (and at that, a pretty clever one in that you unlock entries as you go). However, for how happy the game is to leave you in the dark on major plot details, it can be surprisingly heavy handed when it comes to the more digestible ones.
For instance, in the scene that introduces Megumi (whose plotline has probably interested me the most so far), she's walking and talking with her friend Tomi, and then Tomi basically just turns to the camera and says "This is my good friend Megumi Yakushiji. She's always been the Hopeless Romantic character archetype, probably because she's so Shy personality trait." I'm exaggerating a little of course, but what I mean is that it feels really awkward and unnatural to blatantly exposition dump during a casual conversation between high schoolers, especially when that exposition is simply one of said student's personality, something that was already being established organically. Now, it's honestly very possible that the tropeyness of the cast is actually a highly intentional David Lynchian stroke of genius, but when the rest of Megumi's plotline consists of contracting with a talking cat to shoot witches with a magical gun in order to revive her deceased boyfriend from a different era, and none of THAT is explained, I'll admit this kind of thing feels a little off— probably just some clunky translation, idk. When basic information is so bluntly communicated in a story otherwise seemingly apathetic to one's understanding of it, there are times when it's hard to tell whether the game actually respects its players' intelligence.
At least, going directly into another time traveling RPG immediately after Chrono Trigger gives me a little whiplash. On one hand, I think complexity is great for a story, but it also needs to be earned, well placed. CT's story is instantly very effective because of its simplicity, but 13 Sentinels' seems much more of a slow burn. With that being said, I do really appreciate how the characters themselves generally don't seem to know what the fuck is happening either, and it makes them a lot easier to connect with. On the surface, they may all be defined by an archetypal personality trait and a like and dislike or two, but with the game's focus on story and its 40 some hour runtime, I'd have to imagine they go a little deeper than that once they're better established.
13 Sentinels is as niche as it is a vibe, and from what I can tell, its opening chapters are a weeb-level filter if nothing else. Since it's as well received as it is, I think I'll just have to swallow my pride and trust VW to cook, but nonetheless it's pretty damn fun. :)
Video games that cannot be replicated in any other medium tend to be exemplary in their presentation & mode of storytelling, one that simply can't be formed through traditionally constructed stories. 13 Sentinels, alongside Outer Wilds, is the title I'd point to in saying "This is why video games are art."
13 Sentinels is such an accomplishment in video game storytelling and its status as being a severely underlooked game is quite a shame. I don't think I've seen a story with so many moving parts and elements that could so easily crumble, yet sustains the strongest parts of its plot and intertwines them with genuinely captivating and moving character arcs. Everything works together so seamlessly here: both the gameplay, the different routes and individual plotlines mesh in an ever-expansive web of terminology, events, timelines, characters & whatever the fuck in a way that all links together just perfectly. Somehow, a story of behemoth proportions in scale never loses touch of anything and in the end you're rewarded with a powerful, uplifitng message of humanity's continuous perseverance among other things that'd be spoilers you don't deserve to hear for such a phenomenal work.
To say 13 Sentinels isn't a sum of its sci-fi counterparts would be a lie, yet it doesn't even feel like any sci-fi story I've seen regardless. Pulling in tropes from all forms of sci-fi media from Evangelion, Godzilla, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more, this could've easily been a mess of tropes and a watered down version of much more iconic sci-fi tales. Yet, it is somehow just an even more impressive cumulation of all these tropes to deliver a completely mindbending story that tackles a plethora of ideas perfectly. Between all the time loops, parallel universes, robots, androids, mechas and GOD so much more, the core of the plot never loses itself and the continous back and forth mystery shifts and evolves without losing sight of anything. To have 13 individual protagonist routes combine together seamlessly with BARELY any loose plot threads (if not any) is genuinely insane. Everything works together perfectly, every reveal works, every character's arcs works and their respective dynamics and relationships unfold beautifully. It all feels naturally written and doesn't rely on bullshit to move the story logic along, instead allowing the player to connec the dots themselves and figure out this huge web and really understand just what this games about.
One common criticism you'd hear with the game is it's gameplay and I'd say...it's good! It's not very complex or difficult (though I stuck with normal all the way through), but it's still engaging and very, very satisfying. The strategic depth required to go through each level is as simple as countering what the main kaiju type is and going ham with your abilities. That being said, it all comes together really well and I was never irked by anything the game did with its systems. There are some parts I feel aren't really necessary, like the Sentinel stat upgrade system (which I kind of ignored in favour of skill upgrades) but I imagine on intense the gameplay becomes more thrilling.
Beyond that, this game is gorgeous. The artstyle, the character designs, the spritework... it's just so, so beautiful. It's not a unique artstyle per se, but its complemented heavily with visually distinct CG's and backgrounds, great character designs and some amazing lighting all in a 2.5D perspective. The soundtrack is really good, but I guess there aren't really any distinct soundtracks aside from 2? Even then, it fits the game perfectly in just about every way: from the combat themes, the slice of life friend hangouts to gripping plot revelations, the soundtrack never takes you away from the moment and puts you right into what the characters would be feeling.
I love this game so much and I wish more people played it. There's just so much passion put into it from Vanillaware, its a love letter to all forms of sci-fi media yet has its own distinct identity, one that truly gripped me from start to finish. I fell in love with this game halfway through and by the end all I'm left with is a story so incredible, so grand and yet so small in what it's really about. I love this game so much, what a journey.
13 Sentinels is such an accomplishment in video game storytelling and its status as being a severely underlooked game is quite a shame. I don't think I've seen a story with so many moving parts and elements that could so easily crumble, yet sustains the strongest parts of its plot and intertwines them with genuinely captivating and moving character arcs. Everything works together so seamlessly here: both the gameplay, the different routes and individual plotlines mesh in an ever-expansive web of terminology, events, timelines, characters & whatever the fuck in a way that all links together just perfectly. Somehow, a story of behemoth proportions in scale never loses touch of anything and in the end you're rewarded with a powerful, uplifitng message of humanity's continuous perseverance among other things that'd be spoilers you don't deserve to hear for such a phenomenal work.
To say 13 Sentinels isn't a sum of its sci-fi counterparts would be a lie, yet it doesn't even feel like any sci-fi story I've seen regardless. Pulling in tropes from all forms of sci-fi media from Evangelion, Godzilla, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more, this could've easily been a mess of tropes and a watered down version of much more iconic sci-fi tales. Yet, it is somehow just an even more impressive cumulation of all these tropes to deliver a completely mindbending story that tackles a plethora of ideas perfectly. Between all the time loops, parallel universes, robots, androids, mechas and GOD so much more, the core of the plot never loses itself and the continous back and forth mystery shifts and evolves without losing sight of anything. To have 13 individual protagonist routes combine together seamlessly with BARELY any loose plot threads (if not any) is genuinely insane. Everything works together perfectly, every reveal works, every character's arcs works and their respective dynamics and relationships unfold beautifully. It all feels naturally written and doesn't rely on bullshit to move the story logic along, instead allowing the player to connec the dots themselves and figure out this huge web and really understand just what this games about.
One common criticism you'd hear with the game is it's gameplay and I'd say...it's good! It's not very complex or difficult (though I stuck with normal all the way through), but it's still engaging and very, very satisfying. The strategic depth required to go through each level is as simple as countering what the main kaiju type is and going ham with your abilities. That being said, it all comes together really well and I was never irked by anything the game did with its systems. There are some parts I feel aren't really necessary, like the Sentinel stat upgrade system (which I kind of ignored in favour of skill upgrades) but I imagine on intense the gameplay becomes more thrilling.
Beyond that, this game is gorgeous. The artstyle, the character designs, the spritework... it's just so, so beautiful. It's not a unique artstyle per se, but its complemented heavily with visually distinct CG's and backgrounds, great character designs and some amazing lighting all in a 2.5D perspective. The soundtrack is really good, but I guess there aren't really any distinct soundtracks aside from 2? Even then, it fits the game perfectly in just about every way: from the combat themes, the slice of life friend hangouts to gripping plot revelations, the soundtrack never takes you away from the moment and puts you right into what the characters would be feeling.
I love this game so much and I wish more people played it. There's just so much passion put into it from Vanillaware, its a love letter to all forms of sci-fi media yet has its own distinct identity, one that truly gripped me from start to finish. I fell in love with this game halfway through and by the end all I'm left with is a story so incredible, so grand and yet so small in what it's really about. I love this game so much, what a journey.
Personally, I do not think another game will take the number one spot away from this game in my lifetime. First game that had me excited to take notes to keep track of different narrative pieces each scene kind of shifting your understanding slightly or insanely. The music is also amazing god deoxybirose is such an amazing track, and in my opinion, its got some of the best voice acting performances ever done in the medium with an insanely stacked cast. While I do expect some games like disco elysium, xenoblade 1, and fata morgana to maybe come close to topping this experience, on a personal level this shit was just so fucking ambitious and lands what its trying to achieve so well its insane. I could see how someone could have some minor issues with this game but to me personally this is my favorite game of all time. Its crazy cause you know the more time passes from playing a game and the more you grow and change the more hazy and fuzzy the memory of it becomes and you know it becomes a lot harder to keep older shit on your top 10 because the newer shit you've played is more fresh in your mind and of course its better by comparison, but even with that in mind and all the 10/10s ive played in the last year, nothing has topped this for me and I think thats a testament to how fucking impressive and gutsy this game is. Even the process of it getting made is really interesting I suggest after finishing it reading some Q&A's and interviews with george kamitani cause i think its really impressive that vanillaware, although their catalogue is amazing theyre not really known for their narrative, was able to pull off a game this good and was able to work on it for this long without someone forcing them to release it.
An incredible tale that takes a while to come together. The first few hours you will be wondering what the fuck is happening until it clicks once you start unlocking more protagonists routes. The other section of this game, the RTS/Tower Defense, starts pretty boring but ends up unlocking a pretty deep RPG system with upgrades upon upgrades and bonuses and..you get the idea.
Takes perfect advantage of the medium of games to tell a fantastic story. Way prefer stuff like this rather than forever chasing cinematic trends
this game is so weird cause I keep forgetting about its existence, then I randomly remember it and I'm like "oh yeah that was peak" only to forget about it again the day after.
Like it's amazing don't get me wrong but I'm surprised by how little of an impact it left on me
Like it's amazing don't get me wrong but I'm surprised by how little of an impact it left on me
There's a bit in this when a guy really wants a yakisoba pan and then I found out that a yakisoba pan is noodles in a sandwich and I just don't know why that's a thing but the game is rad.
Every single plot reveal in this game feels like they're doing this without making the tower completely collapse.
Fascinating non-linear sci-fi story that you can play in whatever order you want and at no point does it fall apart because of it. A real feat of storytelling to get everything to work how it does. A game you gotta go in completely blind.
The RTS portion of the game is a lot of fun when you figure it out, I just wish that there was a way to balance it out and make it feel less Start-And-Stop than it is but it is satisfying to see the waves of bad guys explode on the screen. I thought for sure the last mission was going to make my launch PS4 melt through the floor.
cool game.
Fascinating non-linear sci-fi story that you can play in whatever order you want and at no point does it fall apart because of it. A real feat of storytelling to get everything to work how it does. A game you gotta go in completely blind.
The RTS portion of the game is a lot of fun when you figure it out, I just wish that there was a way to balance it out and make it feel less Start-And-Stop than it is but it is satisfying to see the waves of bad guys explode on the screen. I thought for sure the last mission was going to make my launch PS4 melt through the floor.
cool game.
Uno de los storytelling más interesantes y una historia entretenida a más no poder. Parece absurdo hasta que empieza a tener sentido.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this game but never looked into it because I wasn’t sure it was my thing. However, after playing & really enjoying Unicorn Overlord, Vanillaware’s most recent game, I got curious again & decided to take the plunge…
And man am I glad I did. There’s not much I can say without spoiling but this game kept me guessing almost all the way through & I gasped out loud several times as things got revealed. Pretty much every character in this game is well written, even the ones that didn’t initially caught my interest ended up becoming some of my favorites.
I heard before hand that the battle gameplay was a bit on the weaker side & yeah, I do have to agree on that. It’s not the best, but it did grow on me so it wasn’t as bad as I feared. I’m actually going back to to some of those battles to get an S rank on all so that says something as well. Even if you can’t get into the combat, the story absolutely makes up for it though.
So yeah, I highly recommend this game!
And man am I glad I did. There’s not much I can say without spoiling but this game kept me guessing almost all the way through & I gasped out loud several times as things got revealed. Pretty much every character in this game is well written, even the ones that didn’t initially caught my interest ended up becoming some of my favorites.
I heard before hand that the battle gameplay was a bit on the weaker side & yeah, I do have to agree on that. It’s not the best, but it did grow on me so it wasn’t as bad as I feared. I’m actually going back to to some of those battles to get an S rank on all so that says something as well. Even if you can’t get into the combat, the story absolutely makes up for it though.
So yeah, I highly recommend this game!
(Plot twist the game)
Oh boy where to start.well for starters it truly does live up to all its praises if not exceeds it.
The story:-
Man this was such a journey,It's no exaggeration to call this one of the best storys I have experienced in any medium Tho I can agree this game is not for everyone you either got to have a good memory to remember the all the events to link them together and understand the story or keep notes but damm is it worth it I had my mouth dropped so many times cause of the plot twists and the story is so well crafted for the way it conveys it linking things together as you figure out the story along with the characters
is just gold.in the ending when I saw the ending and reconstructed the story it was truly satisfying
The combat:-
Tbh I didn't think I would enjoy it at all from the trailers and reviews but God damn was I proved wrong.the combats like a rts tower defense but you have so many options with the meta system upgrades to your mech and team building.watching waves of enemies get obliterated will never not be satisfying.tho I did feel the Final battle was a little disappointing.
The ost is also really good especially area 2 wave 5
Final thoughts:you should give this game atleast a chance if u find it on a subscription service or smtg yes the first hour is confusing but it does get really good after that.
(Funny story:-as I was watching the ending the power cut so watched it on yt and the video length was 13mins so was my phones battery
You know 13 ppl and stuff haha....I'll leave sorry)
Oh boy where to start.well for starters it truly does live up to all its praises if not exceeds it.
The story:-
Man this was such a journey,It's no exaggeration to call this one of the best storys I have experienced in any medium Tho I can agree this game is not for everyone you either got to have a good memory to remember the all the events to link them together and understand the story or keep notes but damm is it worth it I had my mouth dropped so many times cause of the plot twists and the story is so well crafted for the way it conveys it linking things together as you figure out the story along with the characters
is just gold.in the ending when I saw the ending and reconstructed the story it was truly satisfying
The combat:-
Tbh I didn't think I would enjoy it at all from the trailers and reviews but God damn was I proved wrong.the combats like a rts tower defense but you have so many options with the meta system upgrades to your mech and team building.watching waves of enemies get obliterated will never not be satisfying.tho I did feel the Final battle was a little disappointing.
The ost is also really good especially area 2 wave 5
Final thoughts:you should give this game atleast a chance if u find it on a subscription service or smtg yes the first hour is confusing but it does get really good after that.
(Funny story:-as I was watching the ending the power cut so watched it on yt and the video length was 13mins so was my phones battery
You know 13 ppl and stuff haha....I'll leave sorry)
A story that leaves no one indifferent through Vanillaware's unmistakable artistic style.
13 sentinels is a visual novel with mecha RTS combat. The strong point of the game is how the story is told, fragmented in 13 characters, being able to start practically with the one you want and then link with the others.
It is an achievement how well written it is, as with 13 different characters, starting the story at different times depending on the character at the end of the journey everything makes sense.
Also the use of combat, which is another way to tell the story of what is happening.
I wish they would release it on steam so it will reach more people, if you have playstation or switch I don't know what you are waiting for. And if you think it's not your style visual novels I encourage you to try it when it's on sale.
Una historia que no deja indiferente a nadie a través del estilo artístico inconfundible de Vanillaware.
13 sentinels es una novela visual con combates RTS de mechas. El punto fuerte del juego es como se cuenta la historia, fragmentada en 13 personajes pudiendo empezar prácticamente por el que quieras y luego ir enlazando con los otros.
Es un logro lo bien escrito que está, como con 13 personajes diferentes, empezando la historia en diferentes momentos según el personaje al final del trayecto todo tiene sentido.
También el uso de los combates, que son otra forma de contar la historia de lo que va sucediendo.
Ojalá lo sacarán en steam para que llegará a más gente, si tienes playstation o switch no sé a que estas esperando. Y si crees que no es tu estilo las novelas visuales te animo a probarlo cuando esté de oferta.
13 sentinels is a visual novel with mecha RTS combat. The strong point of the game is how the story is told, fragmented in 13 characters, being able to start practically with the one you want and then link with the others.
It is an achievement how well written it is, as with 13 different characters, starting the story at different times depending on the character at the end of the journey everything makes sense.
Also the use of combat, which is another way to tell the story of what is happening.
I wish they would release it on steam so it will reach more people, if you have playstation or switch I don't know what you are waiting for. And if you think it's not your style visual novels I encourage you to try it when it's on sale.
Una historia que no deja indiferente a nadie a través del estilo artístico inconfundible de Vanillaware.
13 sentinels es una novela visual con combates RTS de mechas. El punto fuerte del juego es como se cuenta la historia, fragmentada en 13 personajes pudiendo empezar prácticamente por el que quieras y luego ir enlazando con los otros.
Es un logro lo bien escrito que está, como con 13 personajes diferentes, empezando la historia en diferentes momentos según el personaje al final del trayecto todo tiene sentido.
También el uso de los combates, que son otra forma de contar la historia de lo que va sucediendo.
Ojalá lo sacarán en steam para que llegará a más gente, si tienes playstation o switch no sé a que estas esperando. Y si crees que no es tu estilo las novelas visuales te animo a probarlo cuando esté de oferta.
Absolutely amazing game
L'univers me plait beaucoup mais le gameplay des combats est tres repoussant que je n'ai pas pu aller jusqu au bout
Por que eu sempre choro com esses finais idílicos?
O entendimento da vida e do amor como aquilo que é puro da alma e nunca somente dos corpos e dos suportes, dá vontade de viver indendente da condição daquilo que entendemos por vida.
Viva por seus devaneios, viva pelas histórias, viva por quem você ama, por nós e por você.
O entendimento da vida e do amor como aquilo que é puro da alma e nunca somente dos corpos e dos suportes, dá vontade de viver indendente da condição daquilo que entendemos por vida.
Viva por seus devaneios, viva pelas histórias, viva por quem você ama, por nós e por você.