Didn’t expect much at all, thought it was going to be “guy kill people with samurai sword” turns out it’s much more than that and it’s overall a pleasant surprise.

First of all, the game is aesthetically pleasing with its gritty pixel art and heavy usage of blues, pinks, and purples. Together with its pumping and mesmerizing synth-wave soundtrack, Katana Zero creates a pseudo-retro punk atmosphere (even without most of the retro punk technology) with its visuals and the dystopian neo-noir landscape the game takes place in.

The gameplay, while essentially being an action platformer at its core, has plenty of unique mechanics. In order to progress throughout each level, the player, Zero, is required to kill every enemy. However, a single hit will result in death, requiring the player to redo the entire selection. While this can test the player’s patience and frustration and at times will feel difficult, trial and error and perseverance are the key to succeed in each selection.

Katana Zero excels in player freedom and choice since there are multiple paths and variations to complete in each selection using its game mechanics such as slowing down time to create easier timing to defeat enemies and reflect bullets, rolling around the stage, which grants some frames of invisibility, and using environmental traps and weapons, such as throwing a bottle of fire into oil tanks to create a chain explosion around enemies. As far as level design, Katana Zero is near flawless with its execution of gameplay function.

Another element that amplifies the focus on player freedom and choice are dialogue choices during and in between story missions. While most of these won’t impact the overall story and just added fluff to mold Zero’s personality as the player pleases during conversations with characters. There are a few key interactions Zero will have that could change the game’s course. From completing a level in a different way to unlocking different endings. It adds a sense of replayability to see all of the possible dialogue branches that could lead to different outcomes.

That said, there is no denying the game is still very difficult and will test your patience despite the short sections, the slow-motion ability, and infinite respawning. With its lack of accessibility and its heavily dependent on player reflexes and reaction time, it’s definitely a niche not everyone will enjoy. Especially in later levels when the sections are longer, there are greater numbers in enemies and enemy variation and there are more tricky enemy and hazard placement. This is not a positive or negative notation though, just something the player needs to be aware of for what type of game they’re getting into.

However, in between the game’s chapters are story content that is quite interesting….to say the least. Katana Zero takes advantage of its neo-noir setting with dystopian undertones to set up the overall plot for Zero, as he slowly begins to discover who he really is. Katana Zero presents many captivating ideas and themes that deal with human psychology, mental illness such as PTSD and drug experimentation. It’s hard to say much without spoiling the plot but for its short game length, Katana Zero packs in a lot.

In fact, because Katana Zero has to tell a lot of story within 4-8 hours, a lot of its writing is unexplored and there’s plenty of unanswered questions (despite the end of the game indicating there’s more to come). While the overall plot is fantasizing enough with its setting, the majority of characters hardly exist beyond one-dimensional antagonists for Zero to face or characters that are ultimately used as a plot device for its themes. Because of the short length, Katana Zero has no time to let its story elements breathe, creating a sense of convolutedness at times due to the rushed pacing. Because of its demanding gameplay, it would be impractical to have more levels but there should have been more story scenes during the game. So the characters would be fleshed out better and create a grander impact for the overall plot.

Barring some hiccups in story execution due to length and the player’s mileage will vary depending on its difficulty, Katana Zero is overall a well-put-together game that meets more than the eye. From the combination of standard action-platformer gameplay combined with slowed time to ultimately create a frantic but yet calculating experience to dialogue choices that gives a sense of player freedom. These gameplay elements complement the story’s premise full of non conventional ideas and impressively still manage to tell a compelling tale in the end with its length, even if more could easily be expanded. Katana Zero is definitely a game that shows a lot of promise, especially for the future.

This is solely my thoughts of the PC port and the Intermission DLC since I've completed the base game on PS4 previously.

It's no grand expansion pack but decently long enough for a DLC with a few side stuff. Yuffie is a bit annoying tbh but she's still very loveable. Sonon is really cool as well. Plus Fort Corder best mini-game. The rest of the game is basically the same as the base game. It reminded me of how much I liked the combat and how everything is just expanded. The ending is super raw and if Nomura doesn't do any KH nonsense, then FFVIIR-2 looks very promising!

As for the PC port. Square and Epic Games did not care at all lmao. No ultrawide support, super limited graphics opinions (no options for V sync, motion blur, depth of field, anti-aliasing etc). It's barely what you would see above console graphic settings. Plus there was just so much stuttering. It isn't game-breaking during gameplay since it only lasts a few seconds but it's get so bad during pre-rendered cutscenes it's almost unwatchable.

The one pro I can say is, it runs super smoothly in frame rates above 60fps (I had it set to 90fps) while still having high resolution. Plus the textures are actually better (no more PS2 doors). So FFVIIR benefits a lot with high-end tech. That said, I fail to see why the Yuffie DLC needed to be PS5/PC only when it's something the PS4 could run as well. There wasn't a single moment when I thought "okay the PS4 can't handle this".

My verdict on the PC port: Don't buy it, especially if you already played VIIR before. The PC port is honestly really crappy with issues. It isn't worth the $70 Square and Enix trying to charge. Especially if you just want to play the Yuffie stuff. PS5 version might be the best version of the game so far and I can't believe I'm saying the console version might be better. Well, mods might make it up at least lol.

Finally finished with Horizon II: Forbidden West at 91 hours despite it taking me two months to complete nearly every single thing the game has to offer. Overall big improvement over the first time in almost every single way and just overall one of the highly produced RPG I've played.

First of all, let's just get the obvious out of the way, the graphics are jaw-dropping. Horizon II is legit one of the best-looking games I've ever played in my life. It's amazing how a nearly decade-old machine can put out visuals like this. The environments are great such as the nighttime, it's absolutely stunning and breathtaking with the lighting and fog. But those character models? Legit is some of the best I've seen. In fact, my sister thought I was watching a live-action TV show for a second when I was on a cutscene lol. The animation is so fluid and smooth as well, definitely a huge improvement over the first game. I don't think I will ever get over the fact the character models look like real people. Even now I am just so amazed Guerrilla Games managed to push out visuals like that, especially on old hardware.

You probably saw everyone fawn over the graphics by now, it's definitely praiseworthy at the very least but a game with pretty graphics does not equal a good game. Horizon II is definitely "more of the same". There is still a lot of platforming and scaling to perform across mountains, hills, and abandon buildings. As well as tons of environmental puzzles to solve when you're inside ruins. But there are a lot of improvements such as better melee combats with combos, more accessibility options, more weapons and outfits to upgrade, and more skill points to allocate to customize Aloy to your playstyle preference. To stealth, machine hacking and long-range warrior combat, a grander sense of open exploration such as underwater diving and flying with robots and more varation with side quests. Like I'm all for a strategy minigame and racing challenges lol.

Speaking of the side quests, they're so great. Usually, side quests are simple fetch/kill quests and Horizon II has some of that but each quest is presented like it's a main quest with more dialogue options compared to the first game. They just add so much flavor and give you a reason to do them since it fleshes out the world and its smaller problems much better. They are just really well done filled with so much detailed and vivid dialogue. I wasn't really expecting much with this department but I was just pleasantly surprised with how much you can talk to people on each side quest. It feels like each side quest is like an episodic TV series where you met completely different people in different tribes and clans and help them with their issues. Rather than just faceless kill/fetch quests. The side quests got their own involved stories that are worth doing and I'm impressed. It's rare for an RPG to put this much care into side quests.

Speaking of world-building, I always found its world to be really interesting as it's a new take on post-apocalyptic sci-fi and I'm down for more of that. I didn't really expect much at first and that's me playing Zero Dawn already but Forbidden West really expands upon all of these elements. I get this can come off as a bunch of sci-fi jargon nonsense to some people but I precisely love all of that. I just get super excited to see lore like different planets, space ships, clones, robots, advanced technology and weapons, artificially prolonged lifespans, holograms etc. But what's super cool with Horizon is all of that takes place in what is essentially a pre-historic environment but it's actually a post-apocalyptic setting that at least takes place 1000+ into the future. So it just feels very unique while scratching my sci-fi boner at the same time. I won't spoil much of the main plot but I was very please with how the story intergrades these elements all into one, even if sometimes it feels like not much happens in the main questlines. There are even little notes all over the world to explain what happened in the past and I think that is a very nice touch.

I feel like a lot of WRPGs struggle with characterization and that is one of my biggest issues since you don't feel as connected with your companions. You are just by yourself most of the time. And while Horizon II still has that issue, I noticed having a base you can come back to and talk to your companions about different things is a huge step up from the first game. It kinda reminds me of how you can interact with your party members in Mass Effect in a way. Plus it just adds so much lively characterization and color to the characters and I like they always interact with each other all of the time. It just feels very organic.

However, I do have some issues with the main character Aloy in this regard. I don't dislike Aloy, don't really have a reason to but also I just find it hard to care for her for some reason. It's just her personality feels "too safe" like she can be molded into any situation and it feels like she isn't allowed to be too emotional into any one emotion. Not even the side quests help, in fact, I just think the side quests are really just peeping into the lives of those that live in the Forbidden West that you don't have time to see in the main story. It's really just a world-building thing rather than character-building for Aloy. The rest of the major characters are more interesting than her if I have to be completely honest since they got their clearly defined personalities and traits. Aloy just feels like a blank character that got tons of lines with a pre-determined design and backstory and you hardly make any decisions. So it's a weird in-between from an RPG OC and a fully written-out character.

My biggest complaint with Horzion II has to be the open-world design. It's very...Ubisoft checkmarky and filled up, for a lack of a better term. While it's nice to always have something to do around every corner in the otherwise impressive world map, a lot of Horizon II content is collect-a-thons and checking off question mark symbols scatter everywhere. I can't help but feel like this method of game design is dated and tired out at this point. It also makes the game much more exhausting to complete every single thing since the more minor aspects of exploring aren't as interesting or engaging. Other elements I don't like quite as much are the melee side missions due to their unbalanced opponents and incorrect tutorials, some clunky combat aspects such as switching around weapons and hitting the level cap way too early on. I hit the level cap by the time I was 55 hours into the game. Which takes away a huge RPG component.

Overall Horizon II is a fantastic game with its world-building, visuals, quest design and storytelling, and sci-fi concepts. Some of the best I have seen in an RPG. Sadly I can't say Horizon II is one of the best RPGs I have played due to its open world and RPG design and character writing (especially Aloy) hold back the game a lot. Guerrilla Games managed to create an impressive and charming world to explore and despite a few flaws, I say it's a game that is definitely worth playing and submerge yourself into.

Finished Rhapsody A Musical Adventure at just 9 and a half hours. It's easily the shortest RPG I've ever played in my life. The story is cute and something you would see in a Disney princess movie. Not to mention it's filled with musical scores (as the name implies) it's nothing wow or amazing and the story isn't written super deeply but it's charming and it had a lot of funny dialogue too to keep things lighthearted and entertaining for the most part. Not to mention near the end of the game surprisingly have some really emotional tear-jerking moments. My only real complaint is due to the length of the game and there are only a few songs, it hardly felt like a musical most of the time.

However, the gameplay was just not that enjoyable. Rhapsody supposes to be an SRPG but it's so simple and easy, it just felt like a turn-based game with a grid slapped into it. The game is just so easy it's actually boring to play through. From my experience, I just one-shot all non-bosses most of the time. Not to mention the dungeons aren't good at all. It just basically the same dungeon design but in a different color for nearly all of them and some of them are really confusing to navigate. Not to mention, I just don't like how the game tells you nothing about what to do next but that is just standard for pre-PS2 RPGs. Also, there is a monster collecting element but it just feels like really tackled without much thought, considering you can easily get by the game by just using the same 3 puppets if you wanted to.

Overall, I just think Rhapsody would work better if it was just a 12-episode anime back in 1998. I have no real complaints about the story, it's cutesy, fun, funny, and told the tale it wanted to tell straight through without being convoluted. I just think the gameplay elements are just not really good if I have to be completely honest.

Took me roughly 27 hours to complete both the light and darkness routes in Witch Spring 3 as well as watching the one exclusive scene in the true route (since it's just a combination of both aforementioned routes) and complete nearly all of the post-game.

I won't go super into detail with my final review of Witch Spring 3 since I just already talk about a lot of my thoughts as I was going along. However, it's a really emotional and unique spin on a witch named Eirudy, who is actually a deity, that lived in solitude and loneliness due to the hunting and hatred of witches. However, she soon meets new friends, humans and deities alike, that help her put an end to the witch hunting.

The gameplay is turn-based and you get a lot of options from melee combat with your sword, magic combat, and summoning dolls. There is no level system, instead, the only way to get stronger is by training Eirudy and raising her stats. You can raise her stats based on what build you want and the higher certain stats are, the more abilities Eirudy will unlock. You can also level up dolls based on how much vitality you have and you gain vitality based on defeating enemies.

My only complaint is...crafting just seems to be there just to be there. I personally didn't find it all that useful during my playthrough and only use it if I happened to have the right materials or for story reasons.

The story is the main selling point with its excellent Japanese voice acting and solid OST (there are also Korean voices but I never tried it, no English dub though).

Based on which route you choose, the story beats can range from heartwarming and wholesome to heartbreaking and devastating since Eirudy's development as a character and forming new relationships with the overall cast elevates the thematic plots.

Overall I just found Eirudy to be very loveable and the supporting cast is overall great with various personalities and motivations. It's not incredibly deep or thought-provoking but the straightforward story works very well for the type of tale the game wanted to tell.

Not to mention, there is a surprising amount of world-building and lore, especially in the post-game. The main story of Witch Spring 3 is very stand alone but the post-game seems to connect the other games with returning characters, including games that didn't exist at the time, and hints there is a much bigger world beyond the scope of Witch Spring 3 within the series. It definitely made me more interested in the rest of the games if anything.

The biggest flaw of Witch Spring 3 is just a lack of overall polish and it just generally feels very amateur and cheaply made. There are constant spelling and grammar errors in the text. The UI can be confusing due to the lack of names and descriptions. It's just pictures and sometimes you can misclick on the wrong selection.

Which is rough to deal with, especially during combat. The map system is clunky and you can get lost easily despite the fairly small world in the game. And the UI elements are just very plain and generic with no unique flair.
While these issues are minor by themselves, they all add up to just overall bad graphic design and it just hinders the game more than it should. Since you spend a lot of time navigating menus and reading and it just feels very clunky and undefined. I just generally feel like it's the one overall element that prevents Witch Spring 3 is a really great game.

Despite not every gameplay element working as well and it needed much more polishing and refinement with its overall graphic design. Witch Spring 3 is a beautiful and soul-wrenching story about a witch choosing her path to either stay kind and sweet to humanity despite her hardships or to truly become hated by everyone and lose all empathy for humanity by killing them instead. If you can deal with the clunkiness of playing through the game, then I can definitely recommend one of the most emotional tales I've experienced in recent memory to anyone.

Played 57 hours of Fire Emblem: Three Hopes. I only completed Golden Wildfire but I may play the other 2 routes one day.

Me personally, I think this is a huge improvement from Three Houses from what I've played. For one, it helps a lot that the main protagonist, Shez is voiced and I feel like they have a lot of personality compared to Three Houses' protagonist Byleth that barely said anything and they was a silent character. And even when Byleth did speak and act in Three Hopes, they came off as very robotic and stiff.

There are a lot of similarities between the two games. Loads of supports (although I feel like Three Hopes have less than what you can get in a single playthrough) and I personally feel like the characters are far more likable and enjoyable. They still have thier flaws but it isn't as obnoxious or irritable compare to thier Three Houses counterparts. In fact, I like a few characters better now because of Three Hopes. The overall world-building, lore, and character writing are just as fantastic as it was in Three Houses. It's filled with plenty of political detail and depth.

You have a campbase that functions similarly to the Monastery but it's far more streamlined, smaller, and compressed. All of the services you can use such as training and cooking to boost support points, abilities, and class levels to a blacksmith to enchant weapons, and plenty of shops to buy items and trade resources to use to increase the functionality of these services. It's more focused without the fluff such as minigames or doing quests inside the campbase.

The huge difference is the gameplay since it functions like a Warrior game, you mainly do missions such as capture strongholds, defeat commanders and bosses, defend NPCs, and defeat a number of enemies within a certain time-limit. It can be repetitive but thanks to the game's class system and every character have thier own unique abilities and special attacks. There is some variation to the combat such as using different weapons and magic to attack. Not to mention you can still level up and increase stats just like any other Fire Emblem game. So while Three Hopes went from SRPG to musou action, it still retains the Fire Emblem DNA especially found in Three Houses.

My biggest complaint is very similar to one of my biggest complaint in Three Houses, the main story is incomplete and it ends in a cliffhanger, at least for Golden Wildfire but I will assume the same for the other two routes as well. I can easily say the plot is better well paced, there is a stronger focus on the epic political war drama between the nations and the routes drastically split off faster than in Three Houses. However, it is just unsatisfying to see how not all story beats presented does not get resolved or fulfilled.

Not to mention the game heavily assumed you played Three Houses since the game quickly breeze through the academy arc and many events that happened during that time are referred to a lot in conversations. So anyone that hasn't played Three Houses would be left out of the loop a lot despite the two games having separate timelines.

Overall, I can say while the action gameplay can be hit or miss for some people depending on your preference for Warrior games and it does improve on some of the flaws in Three Houses while retaining some of the same mistakes, I say Three Hopes is a worthy playthrough if you want more content within the world of Foldan.

Crisis Core is a game I knew about many years back when it was on the PSP. However, I had no chance to play it since Crisis Core was physical only with the UMD and I had a PSP Go, which if anyone remembers, it's digital only. So I ultimately missed out on Crisis Core...until Reunion was released with brand new graphics and new quality-of-life improvements while retaining the same story and gameplay of the original.

Never playing the original, I have no frame of reference for comparison. So I will be treating Reunion as its own seperate game. First of all, this has to be one of the highest-effort remasters I've played. Although the graphics aren't as high-end and detailed compared to Final Fantasy VII Remake, the difference is still night and day despite keeping all of the original animations. Not to mention a newly rerecorded soundtrack considering both original songs for Crisis Core as well as remixes of some of the iconic scores from the original Final Fantasy VII.

Gameplay is action-based RPG as players assume control of SOLDIER Zack Fair, although it may seem simple at first, granted there is only a single button for attacking, the true meat of Crisis Code's gameplay is the Digital Mind Wave and Materia Fusion.

The Digital Mind Wave is a nonstop spinning RNG-based mechanic that grants Zack different status buffs, limit breaks, and even summons based on what three-digit number is chosen alongside a picture of the character or summon. You can even level up by hitting the three digits "777". I personally think that an odd way to level up but also in my opinion, levels hardly matter in Crisis Code as Materia Fusion is the bulk of buffering Zack's stats.

The materia system is similar to the original FFVII at its core but what makes Crisis Core unique is the fusion system. For example, fusing a fire material and a poison material will create a dark fire material. This means it's the fire spell but with added poison and silence status debuffs.

In addition, there are also stat attachments with materia. For example, fusing two blizzard materia with 2+ mag will result in blizzard materia with 3+ mag, and equipping that on Zack will grant him an extra 3+ for the magic stat. Also at certain random times, each equipped material can level up to 5 stars, which is mastery and every level will increase the power and attached stat to the materia.

Between the DWM and the materia system, Crisis Core offers the player incredible depth by creating various kinds of materia and huge stat boosts attached to them. In fact, it's rather very easy to overpower Zack within the midpoint of the game if the player constantly engages in fusion and mastering material.

Especially if the player engages in mission mode. While it's very repetitive, they are brief levels when the objective is to defeat the boss enemy and seek out treasure for new materia and items. Completing certain missions will result in new equipment and unlock new shops that the player will not get in the main story. Personally I enjoy the gameplay loop for mission mode, perhaps thanks to its new QoL improvements for Reunion.

Speaking of the main story, and it's very easy to go in-depth with Crisis Core's gameplay but Final Fantasy has always been known for its stories and the main purpose of Crisis Core is to be a prequel game that leads up to the very beginning of the original FFVII. It starts off with SOLDIER Zack Fair being deployed to end the war between Shiina and Wutai alongside fellow SOLDIER operatives Sephiroth and Angeal.

From a worldbuilding perspective, it's nice to see the universe of Final Fantasy VII a few years before the start of the original game and most of the main and supporting cast such as Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith appear in Crisis Core, although with smaller roles this time around.

However, I was very surprised to see how Sephiroth behaved as a calm and collected character before he became a "fallen hero" and his descent into madness as a villain. Not to mention there are little nods throughout the game that strongly foreshadow locations, organizations, and people that appear in Final Fantasy VII.

As far as using Zack and his journey as a catalyst to depict what happened before the events of Final Fantasy VII, I say the story serves him well and expands him greatly as a character. Considering he was just a minor character in the original game that mainly was there as a flashback when he was saving Cloud's life. Zack is filled with personality as someone who wants to be a hero for his dream and wants to protect his SOLDER's pride with honor all the way up to the very end.

The overall plot for Crisis Core, while it's still connected to the overall Final Fantasy VII universe, it works well enough as a standalone story since the main conflict with Genesis and his forces is fairly detached enough. Although I do find Genesis himself as overly operatic to the point he just didn't quite gel well with the rest of the cast, he is still severable enough as a constant thorn to Zack.

However, one of my biggest complaints about Crisis Code is the final chapter, I just felt it was very rushed and forceful in connecting the ending of Crisis Core to the beginning of FFVII. While the final moments are very emotional despite Zack's fate having been pre-determined due to Crisis Core being a prequel game.

There are just several questions that don't get answered within the game. Naturally, huge plot points like what is next for Sephiroth and Cloud are answered in FFVII. But more some of the finer details that are explicitly related to Crisis Core and less so the other installments of FFVII that don't get an answer, especially during the final chapters.

Also, and this is more for completists, but the DMW system is quite annoying to work with if you want to 100% the system by viewing all DMW flashbacks and summon scenes due to its RNG nature. There are ways to boost a specific character's DMW triggering by equipping multiple mastered materia with thier limit breaks. But even then, it's not a guarantee you will view a flashback when thier DMW is selected.

Personally, I found Genesis in particular very stubborn to trigger and I had to do about an hour of letting the game sit during combat and restarting the battle just for his DMW flashback to trigger. Abit this is a flaw most people will not encounter but it's still a flaw the player can possibly run into and there's nothing to do about it besides having good luck.

Crisis Core may have a few fumbles toward the end of its run but it's otherwise a great entry in the Final Fantasy VII universe with its expanded characterization and worldbuilding and the best usage of the materia system thanks to its in depth materia fusion with plenty of strong RPG elements to experiment. Either way, Reunion does a great job at being a prequel game with its own narrative while also being pleasing enough. Whatever Reunion is used to build excitement for FFVII Rebirth or to revisit a game with a fresh new coat of paint or experiencing Zack's story for the first time. Crisis Core is a well-done compliment for Final Fantasy VII.

When I heard Majikoi had obtained several sequels beyond the original, the next order of business was to play Majikoi S. Returning to Kawakami City and revisiting the Kazama family, Majikoi S serves more of an expansion to the original game rather than a continuation.

There are routes that take place after the ending of the five main routes and the Agave route for the original game. However, The main focus of S is on the brand-new characters that further add insight into the Kuki Corporation and introduce a new rival school known as Tenshin Academy. As well as characters from the original game that have not gotten a route have received one in S While the expansion sounds exciting and some of it is well executed, there is also quite a lot of content in S I less than enjoyed.

Majikoi S plays the same as the original game but with a few improvements. Since Majikoi S is fully voiced (just like the original game if you patched it), the addition of a voice timer to let you know when a character has finished speaking is greatly appreciated. Especially since there are times from the original when I have proceeded to the next line before the character is finished talking because I thought they were done talking (it can be a bit hard to tell at times since the voices are only in JP).

New to Majikoi S are short animated clips of action scenes that occur during fights in the game. Considering the nature of Majikoi and its focus on martial arts and combat, these short clips elevate the fights to be more engaging and entertaining to experience rather than just solely using text, voice, sound effects, and still images to depict these scenes.

Also, the route selection is much more straightforward this time, since you use a timeline to select which route to start, rather than spending X amount of time with a character after the prologue in the original game. From there, only the choices you can select can impact the game. While some choices will just alter the dialogue for the next few lines, others will impact what route you will proceed to. And Majikoi S rather has quite some endings that can be very difficult to get without using a guide.

At the end of the common route (which is 2nd-year 1st Semester + Future without a Relationship), the player character, Yamato Naeo, is presented with four “heroines” to pursue their routes. Tsubame Matsunaga, Margit Eberbach, Kokoro Fushikawa and Monshiro Kuki. Tatsuko Itagaki is also considered a “heroine” in S but her route must be accessed in the Agave After route. From what I have noticed, out of these options only Tsubame and Monshiro’s routes cover the bulk of the new S content while the rest of the routes are fairly self-contained to the heroine herself.

I was suggested to start with Tsubame’s route first since it was the route that further introduced the most amount of new characters. And for the most part that was true thanks to the tournament that takes place during her route as well as her need to advertise her natto brand (which means naturally encountering a bunch of characters). Maybe because I love it when girls are older than me or I just love the whole Onee-san trope but I ended up loving Tsubame’s route a lot and she ended up being my favorite character in the game, even if I can understand why some would dislike her at the end. Her route is split into two sub-routes. One route when Yamato “takes the lead” and another when Tsubame “takes the lead”.

The next route I have done is Monshiro’s route. While her route is considerably slower and less action-packed than the previous routes in Majikoi, Monshiro’s route gives the player plenty of insight into how the Kuki company is operated and the employees of the company. Not to mention as far as character writing and development, Monshiro is the strongest route for that in S. After all it’s just really hate to not like Monshiro, she is just really precious and I have claimed her as my “daughter”. Monshiro’s route can have various endings but the “Future with Monshiro” ending is the main ending for her and will unlock her “after” routes.

Margit was the next route I have completed and frankly, it’s rather disappointing. While this route made me enjoy Margit more as a character compared to the original game, I did not like it was so sex heavy with several explicit scenes. To the point, I think half of her route was just sex. It's just a bummer that this is how the game decided to treat Margit when she’s one of the more interesting characters in the games.

Kokoro was next, and while her route hardly focused on any of the new content, it was still a fairly enjoyable route as you get to learn more about Kokoro that was never revealed in the original game. I found her just very annoying and arrogant before, but her route made me see Kokoro in a new light. Now I just can’t help but laugh at her every time she fails at something and cries about it since it’s so comedic and amusing to me. There is a handful of sex scenes but not to the point I thought the sex was overwhelming (although I was quite disgusted with the end of one of them).

Then you have Tatsuko’s route, which began on the Agave After route as well as the after routes for the original’s game five heroines. These routes will assume you have played the original game since the after routes rather work as extended epilogues of the events that took place in the original game. There isn’t much to say since their main plotline is completed. You just go on romantic dates with the chosen girl and engage in plenty of sexual acts with them. Which for me, range from me enjoying them to absolutely loathing them.

Majikoi S is undeniably very sex-heavy in general and because of that, it is important to note that all of the involved characters are 18 and over. In fact, I have discovered the word “nukige”. A term I found out because of this game that means it explicitly focuses on the graphic sex scenes, and by that I mean it’s porn. I rather not get into details since I want to keep this review as clean as possible. But I thought they have overdone it with the porn. The original game had 20 and they are all removed if you play the Steam version while S had nearly 50 porn scenes.

Not to mention they are all very long and unrealistically dragged out. I was uncomfortable seeing a handful of sex acts (for reasons I rather avoid mentioning to not make things problematic) but for the most part, I just ultimately got bored of nearly all of them (I will admit I enjoyed two of them though) since they’re all written the same way and quite frankly, I get very impatient with sex scenes. So in the end I ended up turbo-skipping over all of the dialogue.

However, my biggest complaint is you have to endure much of the porn just to unlock the childhood route. To unlock it, you must complete all 5 routes of the newly added heroines for S as well as all of the after routes of the heroines from the original game. I think that only completing Tsubame and Monshiro’s route should be the requirement to unlock the childhood route considering they are directly tied into the new S content while the rest was fairly irrelevant to the new content. So enduring 8 sex-heavy routes just to unlock what I consider to be the best route in the game is heinous and what I consider the biggest fault of the game.

Once you do unlock the childhood route, which will lead into the Koyuki’s route since Koyuki Sakakibara is considered to be the “secret” 6th heroine for S. The childhood route is easily the most epic, action-packed, and exciting route in the game since it’s such a love letter to classic battle shounen series such as Dragon Ball and Bleach and even take influences from Star Wars. As someone who grew up on those series, it was just nonstop joy from beginning to end thanks to the tight pacing despite how huge the Koyuki route is in scale.

However, I thought any romance for Koyuki was forceful and shoehorned due to the lack of time you spend with her. If the Koyuki route was named something else (I think it should be called the Bushido Plan route instead), then I would have no major issues with it. However, considering that the route is named after Koyuki and considering there’s a huge lack of focus for her. The naming convention is rather confusing and jarring.

Majikoi S in the end is a severable sequel with new improvements to make enjoying the visual novel easier and the new characters are overall great and help expand the world of Majikoi. The porn is frankly overwhelming, does overstay its welcome though and I dislike a handful of them. And due to a lack of an option to skip or censor those games, it makes Majikoi S very difficult to recommend even if someone loved the original game. However, if you can overlook the high amounts of porn, then Majikoi S is a treat for anyone that wants more adventures with the Kazama family and the people that surround Yamato Naoe.