Really loved this title! It has a very solid identity and the reveals in the plot are quite fun. At a first look, it's easy to jump to the conclusion that this is another "depression earthbound-like" game, but that's not quite right. The gameplay is an extremely fun combo of traditional RPG elements and MANY WarioWare-like mini games. I'll leave more detailed thoughts below:
Combat in this game is genuinely so smart. The game cleverly rewards players for interacting with its mini-games by offering big amounts of damage from perfecting them - especially enemy attacks. This means you are always on the offensive in combat, making battles very exciting for those that may not be "into" the turn based format. I love that statuses are also new and exciting in this game. Long gone are the days of turn based poison damage, here statuses effect you're ability to interact with the mini-games, which effects your damage. However if you are a skilled player, you will be able to overcome these hurdles - I really like this, the game is always finding ways of rewarding the player for playing it well.
The art style is very charming - I've genuinely not seen a game that looks quite like it. It's not afraid to throw little doodles in your face for a laugh and the switch from 2D sprites to 3D models in cutscenes is really interesting! It artistically separates the areas of interest very very well. A lot of the animations are also interesting in this game? They are strangely fluid in a way that scratches my brain lmao. The 2D sprites have non-tile based animation in battle, giving them a particularly lively look. (i really love how the applebat moves for instance)
The music knocks it out of the park, I really love all the tracks of the game and I'll be adding quite a few to my playlist soon : ]
I really only have a few criticisms - I think in the first 3-4 hours of the game there are quite a lot of cutscenes. I think it could do well to cut down on a few or allow the player to explore a little earlier. I also wish the girl characters in this game were allowed to be sillier - none of them really reach the silliness in design or personality of B-side, Dolus, Mr. Apricot, etc.
Otherwise, I really adored this game - I could definitely find myself coming back to it to replay one of these days. I really don't see where the lower scores are coming from - but one word of warning, please make sure to pick up the game again once you beat it!
Combat in this game is genuinely so smart. The game cleverly rewards players for interacting with its mini-games by offering big amounts of damage from perfecting them - especially enemy attacks. This means you are always on the offensive in combat, making battles very exciting for those that may not be "into" the turn based format. I love that statuses are also new and exciting in this game. Long gone are the days of turn based poison damage, here statuses effect you're ability to interact with the mini-games, which effects your damage. However if you are a skilled player, you will be able to overcome these hurdles - I really like this, the game is always finding ways of rewarding the player for playing it well.
The art style is very charming - I've genuinely not seen a game that looks quite like it. It's not afraid to throw little doodles in your face for a laugh and the switch from 2D sprites to 3D models in cutscenes is really interesting! It artistically separates the areas of interest very very well. A lot of the animations are also interesting in this game? They are strangely fluid in a way that scratches my brain lmao. The 2D sprites have non-tile based animation in battle, giving them a particularly lively look. (i really love how the applebat moves for instance)
The music knocks it out of the park, I really love all the tracks of the game and I'll be adding quite a few to my playlist soon : ]
I really only have a few criticisms - I think in the first 3-4 hours of the game there are quite a lot of cutscenes. I think it could do well to cut down on a few or allow the player to explore a little earlier. I also wish the girl characters in this game were allowed to be sillier - none of them really reach the silliness in design or personality of B-side, Dolus, Mr. Apricot, etc.
Otherwise, I really adored this game - I could definitely find myself coming back to it to replay one of these days. I really don't see where the lower scores are coming from - but one word of warning, please make sure to pick up the game again once you beat it!