WolF010101
BACKER
2023
Nocturnal got my attention because I saw that it was only 2-3 hours long and had a pleasant art style. Also, I do love some 2d action platformers, although I admit I am terrible at them.
Nocturnal is a good game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The battle system is nice and has an upgrade system, that gives you just enough new moves that you can learn if you want, which gives something extra. The enemies are not tough, but they pose enough challenges that if you just try to spam attacks will get you killed quite frequently (I would say from the middle part of the game onwards, early on it’s easy).
There are also light puzzle elements that the game throws at you, but they aren’t difficult at all, especially if this is not your first action adventure. The game also has a very lenient checkpoint system, so dying or failing a jump will not lose you much progress.
The art style is neat, especially the fire animations in dark places. The world is great to look at, though you will spend most of your time inside buildings. The music is also pleasant and not memorable.
All in all, there isn’t much to discuss within Nocturnal, at least for me. It’s a 3-hour game you can play, have a fun time, and probably forget within a week. The story and characters are rather one note, the combat system has some depth plus the game has a pleasant visual style. If it’s on sale and you have a couple of hours to kill, it’s an option.
Nocturnal is a good game that doesn’t overstay its welcome. The battle system is nice and has an upgrade system, that gives you just enough new moves that you can learn if you want, which gives something extra. The enemies are not tough, but they pose enough challenges that if you just try to spam attacks will get you killed quite frequently (I would say from the middle part of the game onwards, early on it’s easy).
There are also light puzzle elements that the game throws at you, but they aren’t difficult at all, especially if this is not your first action adventure. The game also has a very lenient checkpoint system, so dying or failing a jump will not lose you much progress.
The art style is neat, especially the fire animations in dark places. The world is great to look at, though you will spend most of your time inside buildings. The music is also pleasant and not memorable.
All in all, there isn’t much to discuss within Nocturnal, at least for me. It’s a 3-hour game you can play, have a fun time, and probably forget within a week. The story and characters are rather one note, the combat system has some depth plus the game has a pleasant visual style. If it’s on sale and you have a couple of hours to kill, it’s an option.
2020
I was really interested in playing Liberated when I saw it. Fantastic visual style and a potentially interesting dystopian story. Unfortunately for me, this was a definite dud.
First, the gameplay was a standard 2.5D action platformer with nothing to talk about, to be honest. Levels were boring, nothing that stood out, the enemies were guys with masks or law enforcement with some flying droids sprinkled in to remind you this is in the future. The game also has some light puzzle solving, but I don't remember any of them, so none stood out.
I thought the story had potential, but it was the exact opposite. It’s the cliche: the government did something terrible and covered it up, so they can put laws that spy on you. While you can make a story cliche and intriguing, this was not the case for me. The characters have no development, they have a name, a trait (not necessary though), and that’s it. The ending was a bit interesting, so, I give them credit for that. You have some choices in the first chapter on how to act, that do nothing, as far as I saw, and some QTEs that actually do have some impact (1 in the 1st chapter to be exact).
The soundtrack was unremarkable, so I can’t talk about it, since I don’t even remember it. The voice acting was so-so in my opinion, though it’s an indy game, so I can’t be mad if the voice acting isn’t phenomenal.
All in all the game had potential. The style and the narrative could have made the game fantastic, but for me, they fell flat on their ass on this one. I haven't played the DLC, so maybe that was better, but the game never made me want to play more. It’s 4 hours at most and goes frequently on sale, so if you are interested in the game, give it a shot. Maybe it will do more for you than it did for me.
First, the gameplay was a standard 2.5D action platformer with nothing to talk about, to be honest. Levels were boring, nothing that stood out, the enemies were guys with masks or law enforcement with some flying droids sprinkled in to remind you this is in the future. The game also has some light puzzle solving, but I don't remember any of them, so none stood out.
I thought the story had potential, but it was the exact opposite. It’s the cliche: the government did something terrible and covered it up, so they can put laws that spy on you. While you can make a story cliche and intriguing, this was not the case for me. The characters have no development, they have a name, a trait (not necessary though), and that’s it. The ending was a bit interesting, so, I give them credit for that. You have some choices in the first chapter on how to act, that do nothing, as far as I saw, and some QTEs that actually do have some impact (1 in the 1st chapter to be exact).
The soundtrack was unremarkable, so I can’t talk about it, since I don’t even remember it. The voice acting was so-so in my opinion, though it’s an indy game, so I can’t be mad if the voice acting isn’t phenomenal.
All in all the game had potential. The style and the narrative could have made the game fantastic, but for me, they fell flat on their ass on this one. I haven't played the DLC, so maybe that was better, but the game never made me want to play more. It’s 4 hours at most and goes frequently on sale, so if you are interested in the game, give it a shot. Maybe it will do more for you than it did for me.
I found this game through Reddit; the developer was advertising that they will be releasing it soon and I was intrigued by it. I love to see people chasing their dreams and trying to make video games plus, the developer was upfront to say that they were heavily influenced by Fire Emblem, even though if you check the game out, you can see it easily.
The beginning of the story is very similar to most of the Fire Emblem games as well. A deposed prince is starting a rebellion so they can take back their throne. The characters are mostly one-note though the main character and antagonist due get some development with their relationship being fleshed out throughout the story. The other characters also get some screen time though you can boil down their personality to a cliche: the thief is a charmer, the knight is a stick in the mud, the lone swordsman is nice but rarely talks, etc. Not bad per se, but nothing special. I appreciate the portraits of all the characters though so extra points for that.
The gameplay is your typical TRPG Fire Emblem type with some twists. You have saved points throughout each level which really helps since this game, at least for me, is annoyingly difficult. I started on Hard mode, but after chapter 3, I started the game over on Easy, since I knew that if I’m getting so frustrated this early, it’s going to get worse. Characters can get extra hits through a turn so your units can get one shot (no perma death though), and with a total of 11 units for the whole game, losing one unit can crippler your strategy for the chapter. You need to be so scared and careful and inch your units little by little, which some people might enjoy, but I don’t like playing a chapter for at least half an hour to get through it since I don’t want a character to get one shot and I need to start over. Another thing is a lot of chapters have your army split up without you deciding which characters go where making things even more annoying. I had a flying unit, which I barely used in flying mode since 70% of each map is filled with archers/ballista units.
The Ost is nothing interesting, just a couple of songs and 1 track loop for a chapter, which makes each chapter even more annoying, so I barely listened to it.
I wished this game was more polished and not as brutal as it was, but I don’t want to bash a passion project. It’s the first game of the developer and they are making a sequel to it, so hopefully, it comes out better than the first one. If you love the older Fire Emblem games, which I know are more unforgiving, this may be the game for you.
The beginning of the story is very similar to most of the Fire Emblem games as well. A deposed prince is starting a rebellion so they can take back their throne. The characters are mostly one-note though the main character and antagonist due get some development with their relationship being fleshed out throughout the story. The other characters also get some screen time though you can boil down their personality to a cliche: the thief is a charmer, the knight is a stick in the mud, the lone swordsman is nice but rarely talks, etc. Not bad per se, but nothing special. I appreciate the portraits of all the characters though so extra points for that.
The gameplay is your typical TRPG Fire Emblem type with some twists. You have saved points throughout each level which really helps since this game, at least for me, is annoyingly difficult. I started on Hard mode, but after chapter 3, I started the game over on Easy, since I knew that if I’m getting so frustrated this early, it’s going to get worse. Characters can get extra hits through a turn so your units can get one shot (no perma death though), and with a total of 11 units for the whole game, losing one unit can crippler your strategy for the chapter. You need to be so scared and careful and inch your units little by little, which some people might enjoy, but I don’t like playing a chapter for at least half an hour to get through it since I don’t want a character to get one shot and I need to start over. Another thing is a lot of chapters have your army split up without you deciding which characters go where making things even more annoying. I had a flying unit, which I barely used in flying mode since 70% of each map is filled with archers/ballista units.
The Ost is nothing interesting, just a couple of songs and 1 track loop for a chapter, which makes each chapter even more annoying, so I barely listened to it.
I wished this game was more polished and not as brutal as it was, but I don’t want to bash a passion project. It’s the first game of the developer and they are making a sequel to it, so hopefully, it comes out better than the first one. If you love the older Fire Emblem games, which I know are more unforgiving, this may be the game for you.
Tyranny is one of the first CRPGs I have played. The first one I have beaten. I’m not sure if it’s a perfect beginner CRPG though it’s a good start.
One of the main drawing points of the game is that you play for the conquerors here. We are the evil Empire, while the game takes place in the last part of the world that hasn’t been broken and defeated. You are a Fatebinder which the games explain in detail, but for brevity, you go and declare what needs to be done and, in your case, find a way for it to be completed. If you have played a CRPG or know what to expect from the genre, you have a lot of choices on how the game’s story can play out, Tyranny being no exception. Each path you take is different enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. The world and lore are captivating making you feel like there is so much beyond the places you are allowed to go. The story is interesting, albeit the ending sadly leaves on a cliffhanger, and it looks like there won’t be a sequel anytime soon.
The characters and companions that you see through the game range from very interesting to mostly bland. My favorite characters were the Voices of Nerat (an Archon, that has stolen hundreds of souls throughout the centuries, making him just a bit unstable) Lantry, a companion in the game, and Verse. Some of your companions have a quest attached to them, but sadly not all which makes some more interesting than others. The voice acting, when present, also helps the characters a lot, and the banter between them makes conversations fun.
The combat system is decent, but I wouldn’t say it’s fantastic. At the start, it’s challenging making it fun, but when the pathfinding of the characters screws up it can become frustrating very fast. You get combo abilities with your companions, which makes combat a bit more fun although, at around 2/3 of the game, you become a train and smash through every combat encounter. Though I was playing on normal difficulty, so on higher difficulties, this may be different. I didn’t play around with the magic system though it was intriguing, and from what I have read, it can be very broken, so if you like to play mage characters, this will be the game for you.
All in all, I enjoyed Tyranny a lot. Story, world, and lore make the whole place feel alive and fun to explore. The cliffhanger ending is a big letdown, but the story up to that point was great. The combat could have been better. It’s an underappreciated game that hopefully, gets a sequel at some point, though I doubt that.
One of the main drawing points of the game is that you play for the conquerors here. We are the evil Empire, while the game takes place in the last part of the world that hasn’t been broken and defeated. You are a Fatebinder which the games explain in detail, but for brevity, you go and declare what needs to be done and, in your case, find a way for it to be completed. If you have played a CRPG or know what to expect from the genre, you have a lot of choices on how the game’s story can play out, Tyranny being no exception. Each path you take is different enough to warrant multiple playthroughs. The world and lore are captivating making you feel like there is so much beyond the places you are allowed to go. The story is interesting, albeit the ending sadly leaves on a cliffhanger, and it looks like there won’t be a sequel anytime soon.
The characters and companions that you see through the game range from very interesting to mostly bland. My favorite characters were the Voices of Nerat (an Archon, that has stolen hundreds of souls throughout the centuries, making him just a bit unstable) Lantry, a companion in the game, and Verse. Some of your companions have a quest attached to them, but sadly not all which makes some more interesting than others. The voice acting, when present, also helps the characters a lot, and the banter between them makes conversations fun.
The combat system is decent, but I wouldn’t say it’s fantastic. At the start, it’s challenging making it fun, but when the pathfinding of the characters screws up it can become frustrating very fast. You get combo abilities with your companions, which makes combat a bit more fun although, at around 2/3 of the game, you become a train and smash through every combat encounter. Though I was playing on normal difficulty, so on higher difficulties, this may be different. I didn’t play around with the magic system though it was intriguing, and from what I have read, it can be very broken, so if you like to play mage characters, this will be the game for you.
All in all, I enjoyed Tyranny a lot. Story, world, and lore make the whole place feel alive and fun to explore. The cliffhanger ending is a big letdown, but the story up to that point was great. The combat could have been better. It’s an underappreciated game that hopefully, gets a sequel at some point, though I doubt that.
2016
I wanted to like this game so much more. If it were cut in half, this would be a fantastic game. The story could be considered cliche, but still, I liked Jack quite a bit, and his life slowly spiraling even more out of his control is an intriguing ride. The voice actors gave a solid performance, especially Jack’s voice actor. The soundtrack is enjoyable plus giving the option to pick your songs for each day is a nice touch.
The gameplay is compelling at the beginning. Trying to optimize which people to send, how many and to try and catch false alarms so you don’t waste your time is intriguing, but for the first 50-60 days. After that, it quickly gets monotonous. And while I like the story, the story moments are so far away from each other that you could be playing day after day, with nothing changing, in the meantime. By the end of it, I was going as fast as possible through the days so I could get it over with. I had an army of officers not caring if they died or not.
If you want a police management game, that you can play and do something else simultaneously (that’s what I started doing from the middle of the game) I recommend it, especially if it’s on sale.
The gameplay is compelling at the beginning. Trying to optimize which people to send, how many and to try and catch false alarms so you don’t waste your time is intriguing, but for the first 50-60 days. After that, it quickly gets monotonous. And while I like the story, the story moments are so far away from each other that you could be playing day after day, with nothing changing, in the meantime. By the end of it, I was going as fast as possible through the days so I could get it over with. I had an army of officers not caring if they died or not.
If you want a police management game, that you can play and do something else simultaneously (that’s what I started doing from the middle of the game) I recommend it, especially if it’s on sale.
2009
Arc Rise Fantasia is a game that never got the appreciation it deserved when it was out. A JRPG for the Wii that was notorious for its limited selection in the genre, ARF took some ideas from the Tales series with regards to its story and tried a different kind of turn-based battle system, and all in all I believe it delivered on almost everything.
The story of ARF emphasizes the religions in the game and how conflicts arise from the differing Law’s of the two major gods. Later in the game, it also shows the history of the world, which is fantastic since more world-building is always something I can appreciate. I won’t go more into the story, but all I will say is that it’s not a groundbreaking story, but it’s an interesting one. One negative I will say is that the game has a lot of back-and-forth between different locations that gets annoying after a while. For a 50+ hour game, it has a limited location pool. Now for the characters
The main characters L’Arc and Ryfia are cliches of the genre. Most of the cast have cliches or tropes to them (Serge being a womanizer, Cecille wanting to be the courageous hero, Leslie being a femme-fatale and so on), though they all have grown throughout the game. They don’t stay static, the cast develops and shows more of them, especially in the Skits that the game offers. I don’t think it will be a stretch to say that the skits give a lot more for the characters than the actual story scenes.
The battle system is fantastic. It’s turn-based, putting a big emphasis on strategizing your turn to be as effective as possible. The game is challenging as well, most of all the boss battles, which with one or two wrong decisions, can spell a game over for you quickly. Level grinding can help you have an easier time with the boss battles, but you won’t run them over with a couple of extra levels. Strategizing is the key to winning. I had trouble with just one of the boss battles, which you are not expected to win, so if you like a challenge this game gets a recommendation just from the battles alone.
And lastly for the music. For me, it's probably tied with the battle system for the best part of the game. A fantastic OST and a joy to listen to, particularly the boss fight themes. Unexpected Fight and Before the Mighty One are the two biggest highlights of the OST.
I will touch on this in the end, but the most infamous part of this game is the atrocious English voice acting. Yes, it's shit, yes I played the undub version with the Japanese VAs, and no it does not ruin the game. If you can only play with the English voice acting, you can turn off the voices in the settings, my only suggestion is to turn it back on for boss battles (the characters give you hits when the boss is going to hit like a truck) and if you can play with the Japanese VAs do it.
In conclusion, Arc Rise Fantasia is a hidden gem that should be experienced by a lot more people.
The story of ARF emphasizes the religions in the game and how conflicts arise from the differing Law’s of the two major gods. Later in the game, it also shows the history of the world, which is fantastic since more world-building is always something I can appreciate. I won’t go more into the story, but all I will say is that it’s not a groundbreaking story, but it’s an interesting one. One negative I will say is that the game has a lot of back-and-forth between different locations that gets annoying after a while. For a 50+ hour game, it has a limited location pool. Now for the characters
The main characters L’Arc and Ryfia are cliches of the genre. Most of the cast have cliches or tropes to them (Serge being a womanizer, Cecille wanting to be the courageous hero, Leslie being a femme-fatale and so on), though they all have grown throughout the game. They don’t stay static, the cast develops and shows more of them, especially in the Skits that the game offers. I don’t think it will be a stretch to say that the skits give a lot more for the characters than the actual story scenes.
The battle system is fantastic. It’s turn-based, putting a big emphasis on strategizing your turn to be as effective as possible. The game is challenging as well, most of all the boss battles, which with one or two wrong decisions, can spell a game over for you quickly. Level grinding can help you have an easier time with the boss battles, but you won’t run them over with a couple of extra levels. Strategizing is the key to winning. I had trouble with just one of the boss battles, which you are not expected to win, so if you like a challenge this game gets a recommendation just from the battles alone.
And lastly for the music. For me, it's probably tied with the battle system for the best part of the game. A fantastic OST and a joy to listen to, particularly the boss fight themes. Unexpected Fight and Before the Mighty One are the two biggest highlights of the OST.
I will touch on this in the end, but the most infamous part of this game is the atrocious English voice acting. Yes, it's shit, yes I played the undub version with the Japanese VAs, and no it does not ruin the game. If you can only play with the English voice acting, you can turn off the voices in the settings, my only suggestion is to turn it back on for boss battles (the characters give you hits when the boss is going to hit like a truck) and if you can play with the Japanese VAs do it.
In conclusion, Arc Rise Fantasia is a hidden gem that should be experienced by a lot more people.
2007
I knew going into this game that it won't be anything special and that’s what I got. I would call Luminous Arc a beginner's first SRPG. Basic in every way, be it story or gameplay.
The story has a lot of cliches that you would see in other games or animes, the characters are one-dimensional, but they are still somewhat endearing. The intermissions after fights give them more personality that you will not see throughout the story and is a pleasant addition.
The gameplay will not surprise you if you have played any other SRPGs.
The biggest problem I could say it had was that you couldn't move the camera in any way being on a 3D grid-like FF Tactics makes it very hard to see where you put your characters. Also, the buffs were not of much use, but very few games make buffs useful so it gets a pass. Use Leon throughout the game, he's like a cheat code.
In conclusion, Luminous Arc is a functional game that you can beat in about 15 to 25 hours, depending on if you want to get all the intermissions. It did not do anything innovative, but for a budget title and the first game created by Imageepoch, it could have been a lot worse.
The story has a lot of cliches that you would see in other games or animes, the characters are one-dimensional, but they are still somewhat endearing. The intermissions after fights give them more personality that you will not see throughout the story and is a pleasant addition.
The gameplay will not surprise you if you have played any other SRPGs.
The biggest problem I could say it had was that you couldn't move the camera in any way being on a 3D grid-like FF Tactics makes it very hard to see where you put your characters. Also, the buffs were not of much use, but very few games make buffs useful so it gets a pass. Use Leon throughout the game, he's like a cheat code.
In conclusion, Luminous Arc is a functional game that you can beat in about 15 to 25 hours, depending on if you want to get all the intermissions. It did not do anything innovative, but for a budget title and the first game created by Imageepoch, it could have been a lot worse.
2014
Asdivine Hearts is a game that was originally on mobile phones and shows a lot with its limited graphics, music, and all-around quality. It’s my first Exe-create game and will probably be my last for quite a bit. The game is not bad, but it’s below average. The game has about eight tracks throughout, excluding the final boss and battle, and has about 5 or 6 dungeon designs. Again, it was a mobile game at first, but it’s a 20+ hour game and the repetitiveness begins to show up very fast. After getting all your party members it’s basically: Go there, get directions, go to the dungeon, beat the dungeon, and repeat the cycle 20 times. The main storyline is nothing too interesting, but it does its job, while the characters are one of two highlights for me. They are cliches but are endearing all the way through and do have a bit of development to them plus, if you are into harems in anime, you can choose the girl you can end up with and have multiple endings. Now the other highlight of this is the combat system. The combat system is turn-based, but of the Final Fantasy SNES kind, with the faster characters getting turns first. It also has a grid system that is 3x3, where you can put your party members and where the enemies will be. It’s not the most complex system, but it’s intriguing, while the enemies being challenging and not total pushovers make you think a bit during fights.
All in all, Asdivine Hearts is a below-average game, but not an outright terrible game. If you want something, that you want to play for a lot of time but in short sessions, this game is for you. I’ve also read that the sequel is far shorter than the first, which could be for the better. I’ve also read that this game has a lot of post-game content with multiple endings, you can get more than 100 hours of gameplay. But if you go into the game thinking it will be more than a mobile RPG, you will be disappointed.
All in all, Asdivine Hearts is a below-average game, but not an outright terrible game. If you want something, that you want to play for a lot of time but in short sessions, this game is for you. I’ve also read that the sequel is far shorter than the first, which could be for the better. I’ve also read that this game has a lot of post-game content with multiple endings, you can get more than 100 hours of gameplay. But if you go into the game thinking it will be more than a mobile RPG, you will be disappointed.
ASH is a game that I would say is unpolished. Made for the DS by Mistwalker it has some interesting gameplay decisions with having 3 members per squad (like SMT: Devil Survivor) but having them move separately and having an action point bar that if it goes lower than 50 AP will leave you unable to fight enemies. Intriguing in concept, but unfortunately, in practice it makes the gameplay feel like a slog. Having to move nine different characters every single turn can get tedious real fast.
Secondly is the limited enemy pool. Throughout the 30 hours of gameplay, you will fight with about 15 to 20 enemies that get recycled, and that's it. And each stage will bombard you with reinforcements that will prolong it even more. Chapters usually have a generic end requirement (either defeat everybody or go to the end of the stage). That wouldn't be that big of a problem if the combat were quick, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Same for the OST of the game. It has a good OST or is at least serviceable, but having the same battle theme play each time gets very tiring. The final boss fight theme is fantastic, in my opinion, and that was the thing that made me want to play the game in the first place. It's a great song and worth a listen.
The story is interesting at first, but through the game, it gets a bit more cliched and murky as to what exactly is happening, though that could be because of the translation, so I can't be sure. Lastly, the characters are nothing to write home about, but they are serviceable and aren't a detriment to the story or overall experience, but I can say that they don't make the experience any better as well. The art direction and the graphics are pleasing, especially for the DS.
In conclusion, if the gameplay were faster and had a bit more variation on the soundtrack, this would be a fantastic hidden gem made by the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sadly the risks they took in the gameplay department made the game too slow for me plus the limited Ost made it a chore to get through.
Secondly is the limited enemy pool. Throughout the 30 hours of gameplay, you will fight with about 15 to 20 enemies that get recycled, and that's it. And each stage will bombard you with reinforcements that will prolong it even more. Chapters usually have a generic end requirement (either defeat everybody or go to the end of the stage). That wouldn't be that big of a problem if the combat were quick, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Same for the OST of the game. It has a good OST or is at least serviceable, but having the same battle theme play each time gets very tiring. The final boss fight theme is fantastic, in my opinion, and that was the thing that made me want to play the game in the first place. It's a great song and worth a listen.
The story is interesting at first, but through the game, it gets a bit more cliched and murky as to what exactly is happening, though that could be because of the translation, so I can't be sure. Lastly, the characters are nothing to write home about, but they are serviceable and aren't a detriment to the story or overall experience, but I can say that they don't make the experience any better as well. The art direction and the graphics are pleasing, especially for the DS.
In conclusion, if the gameplay were faster and had a bit more variation on the soundtrack, this would be a fantastic hidden gem made by the legendary Hironobu Sakaguchi. Sadly the risks they took in the gameplay department made the game too slow for me plus the limited Ost made it a chore to get through.