Finished Rance Quest. Honestly, in terms of gameplay, it's lackluster, and the post-game content doesn't match up to the sixth installment (or maybe because I cleared all the side content before finishing the game).
I'll list the points as I'm feeling a bit lazy to write neatly:
+ Rance Quest features a plethora of characters from the entire Rance series.
+ It's a significant series for me due to the lore development, particularly the insights into the nature of the Rance world and the introduction of the character Crook (though already explored in Kichikuou Rance, this is the canon version).
+ Rance is portrayed in a more humane light here, especially with his adorable daughter, Reset. The wholesome moments whenever she appears are delightful.
+ While the artwork might not be as stunning as Sengoku, it's still one of the best eroge in terms of visual CGs and character designs that I've come across.
= The castle events (yes, Rance has a castle here) that you can access after completing quests (and later there's a moment where you don't need to quest anymore), along with the random events in the town with a slice-of-life vibe post-quest, featuring random characters. Initially enjoyable as we get to interact with our party, but with dozens, even hundreds of characters, clicking through their events gets tiresome when you just want to finish quickly.
= The gameplay is basic, similar to the sixth installment, a dungeon crawler with skill points, but viewed from the top rather than the RPG-style ala Might and Magic in the sixth series. It's a matter of taste; personally, I'm not a fan.
- The quests are of the "take whatever you want as long as the main requirement is met" type. Most of them are comedic, but the main story events are quite linear, which I consider a step backward from Sengoku Rance.
- There are hundreds of quests with unclear quality. Sometimes they deliver humorously, sometimes they're just random and silly.
- There's a lack of new memorable characters. Sachiko, the new sidekick, is meant to replace Sill, but in my opinion, she doesn't quite fill the gap.
- There's no grand-scale plot that truly stands out here; the conflicts feel small compared to what we experienced in the sixth and seventh installments. Even though there are two significant plots intertwined (Rance Quest and the Magnum main story), the conflicts still feel minor.
- I found the antagonists to be underwhelming, with minimal presence throughout the story. Their characterization and plot execution when their actions are revealed also felt lacking.
- Half of the game lacks any impactful moments, the Kalar story arc (Rance Quest main story) follows the typical comedic random storyline of Rance, and the story only becomes engaging during the Magnum main story conflict, but that's only in the final sessions of the game. Imagine playing a 60-hour game just to experience a good plot in the last 10 hours.
- Grinding in this game... exhausting. There are places to farm, but are you really going to farm XP when there are dozens of characters here? And sometimes it's necessary because the gameplay is typical old-school RPG where your attacks depend on spent skill points. Eventually, there comes a time when you have to swap characters (which has a limit depending on your charisma points accumulated through completing quests). Oh, and they have a level cap, and Rance has to sleep with them, and their level cap increases, but then you have to grind again because their level drops to 0 again (and then it was updated to drop 4-5 levels after sleeping together once). Most of this game can be considered grinding, something I despise in JRPGs. If it weren't for the Rance brand, I would have dropped this game.
- There's a lack of things to discover, and sometimes random requirements are needed to trigger events/characters (like having to bring specific characters that you wouldn't know unless you consulted a guide).
- The environments are typical of low-budget RPGs, with assets being reused to the fullest extent.
Overall, this game favors quantity over quality, with hundreds of shallow quests and characters who only have 1-2 events before becoming irrelevant. It's linear and a significant decline from Sengoku Rance, which excelled in gameplay loop, discoverability, replay value, and grand storylines in the sixth and Sengoku series. If it weren't for Rance and Reset, this game wouldn't have been salvaged.
My rating: 6/10.
I'll list the points as I'm feeling a bit lazy to write neatly:
+ Rance Quest features a plethora of characters from the entire Rance series.
+ It's a significant series for me due to the lore development, particularly the insights into the nature of the Rance world and the introduction of the character Crook (though already explored in Kichikuou Rance, this is the canon version).
+ Rance is portrayed in a more humane light here, especially with his adorable daughter, Reset. The wholesome moments whenever she appears are delightful.
+ While the artwork might not be as stunning as Sengoku, it's still one of the best eroge in terms of visual CGs and character designs that I've come across.
= The castle events (yes, Rance has a castle here) that you can access after completing quests (and later there's a moment where you don't need to quest anymore), along with the random events in the town with a slice-of-life vibe post-quest, featuring random characters. Initially enjoyable as we get to interact with our party, but with dozens, even hundreds of characters, clicking through their events gets tiresome when you just want to finish quickly.
= The gameplay is basic, similar to the sixth installment, a dungeon crawler with skill points, but viewed from the top rather than the RPG-style ala Might and Magic in the sixth series. It's a matter of taste; personally, I'm not a fan.
- The quests are of the "take whatever you want as long as the main requirement is met" type. Most of them are comedic, but the main story events are quite linear, which I consider a step backward from Sengoku Rance.
- There are hundreds of quests with unclear quality. Sometimes they deliver humorously, sometimes they're just random and silly.
- There's a lack of new memorable characters. Sachiko, the new sidekick, is meant to replace Sill, but in my opinion, she doesn't quite fill the gap.
- There's no grand-scale plot that truly stands out here; the conflicts feel small compared to what we experienced in the sixth and seventh installments. Even though there are two significant plots intertwined (Rance Quest and the Magnum main story), the conflicts still feel minor.
- I found the antagonists to be underwhelming, with minimal presence throughout the story. Their characterization and plot execution when their actions are revealed also felt lacking.
- Half of the game lacks any impactful moments, the Kalar story arc (Rance Quest main story) follows the typical comedic random storyline of Rance, and the story only becomes engaging during the Magnum main story conflict, but that's only in the final sessions of the game. Imagine playing a 60-hour game just to experience a good plot in the last 10 hours.
- Grinding in this game... exhausting. There are places to farm, but are you really going to farm XP when there are dozens of characters here? And sometimes it's necessary because the gameplay is typical old-school RPG where your attacks depend on spent skill points. Eventually, there comes a time when you have to swap characters (which has a limit depending on your charisma points accumulated through completing quests). Oh, and they have a level cap, and Rance has to sleep with them, and their level cap increases, but then you have to grind again because their level drops to 0 again (and then it was updated to drop 4-5 levels after sleeping together once). Most of this game can be considered grinding, something I despise in JRPGs. If it weren't for the Rance brand, I would have dropped this game.
- There's a lack of things to discover, and sometimes random requirements are needed to trigger events/characters (like having to bring specific characters that you wouldn't know unless you consulted a guide).
- The environments are typical of low-budget RPGs, with assets being reused to the fullest extent.
Overall, this game favors quantity over quality, with hundreds of shallow quests and characters who only have 1-2 events before becoming irrelevant. It's linear and a significant decline from Sengoku Rance, which excelled in gameplay loop, discoverability, replay value, and grand storylines in the sixth and Sengoku series. If it weren't for Rance and Reset, this game wouldn't have been salvaged.
My rating: 6/10.