How weird is it that this exists? A SMT-like that co-opts Fire Emblem names and characters, and also it's about J-pop. I wonder how angry Nintendo America was when Nintendo Japan told them this is what they have to sell.
I adore this game's aesthetic. I'm a sucker for pop music in games anyway and this really incorporates it into every aspect of its style. The Session system makes the game maybe a little easy but also kinetic and showy, and that's a trade-off I'm more than happy to make. I don't know much about idol music but found the tunes are catchy enough that I often let them play out during battles instead of skipping the animation.
It's a shame that style isn't present more in the actual story. The game doesn't have any point to make about the nature of performance. In the end the villain is defeated physically but not refuted philosophically. The Cosmic Evil is summoned off-screen and once the heroes pump some DPS into it for a while the story just abruptly ends. Maybe I was expected to recognize the Big Bad from Fire Emblem which I have no experience with, but nothing else in the story relied on outside knowledge.
Other than that, it's a very solid RPG. When asked I've been describing it as Persona-lite: similar mechanics and setting, but without the calendar and also 40 hours shorter. The characters are interesting enough to fill the ~50 hours this game took me to beat. All the female characters have a crush on the protagonist because unlike in Persona you can't choose to date one so they have to cover all the bases. I might go load my endgame save and get some more achievements done.
I adore this game's aesthetic. I'm a sucker for pop music in games anyway and this really incorporates it into every aspect of its style. The Session system makes the game maybe a little easy but also kinetic and showy, and that's a trade-off I'm more than happy to make. I don't know much about idol music but found the tunes are catchy enough that I often let them play out during battles instead of skipping the animation.
It's a shame that style isn't present more in the actual story. The game doesn't have any point to make about the nature of performance. In the end the villain is defeated physically but not refuted philosophically. The Cosmic Evil is summoned off-screen and once the heroes pump some DPS into it for a while the story just abruptly ends. Maybe I was expected to recognize the Big Bad from Fire Emblem which I have no experience with, but nothing else in the story relied on outside knowledge.
Other than that, it's a very solid RPG. When asked I've been describing it as Persona-lite: similar mechanics and setting, but without the calendar and also 40 hours shorter. The characters are interesting enough to fill the ~50 hours this game took me to beat. All the female characters have a crush on the protagonist because unlike in Persona you can't choose to date one so they have to cover all the bases. I might go load my endgame save and get some more achievements done.