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The best thing Nier Re[in]carnation has to offer is the legendary team behind it with the man Yoko Taro as the director, Keiichi Okabe as the composer, Akihiko Yoshida and Kazuma Koda as the artists. And the game did not fail to deliver everything in technical aspects. Ethereal and melancholy OST, detailed graphics that perfectly captured the Nier-esque atmosphere, superb character designs reminding us with the beloved FF tactics. With this sheer amount of quality, many would inevitably expect something unique and that is when the disappointment dawns upon us.
Preview and gameplay trailers from months ago already predicated how the game would be, a turn based gacha game set in Nier universe. However, it seems people were yet to realize or simply elude this very fact by anticipating themselves with the thought of ambiguous wishes. Thus, upon the release, many were disappointed for what the gameplay is, a walking simulator with turn based battles. Combining with the "abysmal" gacha rate, another nail to people's hearts.
And yet, by this comical disappointment, it seems people already forget the core formula of gacha genre, the lackluster rate and pseudo-RNG. Mixed pool? Low rate? waitu bait? long intro? bad reroll? everything they complaint may as well be applied to many gacha games. And it seems these people are not really looking for a game but a gacha device to help them vent the thirst for thrilling and despair. This, however, leaves us with a desirable question: Is Nier Re[in]carnation is just another "gacha game"?
In the relative framework, I actually enjoyed this game more then I believed. Even with the average gameplay, NieR hits me with a wave of nostalgia. Everything about it screams the beauty of Nier and Drakengard. From the dystopian world, the tragic protagonists to the cryptic, grotesque story telling; the unique camera movement switching from top down to side scrolling; the soothing soundtrack. These aspects may atttact alot but inevitably bring to itself much comparison with the masterpiece Nier Automata.
However, NieR itself is not a vision of Yoko Taro himself but a collaboration between SE and Applibot with the involvement of Taro. Yoko Taro also told that he did not directly write the story but only forsaw and created a coherent plot from other writers' ideas. Yet, many seem to be drunk on their own interpretation, their own ambiguous standards. Maybe, it's time we try to enjoy the game for what it is and not just a gambling device or impossible vision to wench our thirst. Maybe, after such long mad hours, we will start to play something and appreciate it, and not too quick to dismiss it because it does not fit very well with our perception of a perfect "gacha game".
Skeptism runs deep within any hype games and too often people get disappointed. This is the case of GI for its abysmal gacha, stingy currency and fiasco. However, GI deserves a chance to be played.
Now to only praise the graphics and renounce the gacha system will undermine everything beautiful about GI. In retrospect, even without the abysmal gacha, GI is a coherent experience returning to the heart of adventure - RPG games that we all loved when we were kids.
You have a mesmerizing open-world full of mysteries, dungeons and puzzles. Plenty of treasures to discover, and enough lores to actually enjoy the world-building. Combining with fantastic, ethereal soundtrack that bring out the momentum of action, eerie and nostalgic feeling. The world in GI suddenly comes to life with all the endearment for the classic Zelda and Nino ku ni series.
But GI is not BotW and it will never be. BtoW is becoming a descriptive catchphrase for the game. This inevitably circulates endless misinformation. People play with highest expectation and soon find only the disappointment but never actually understand the game.
GI stands in its own league as the highest quality among ARPG games in gacha market. You have the Elemental combining system appearing to be very simple and yet surprisingly has alot of depth and fun nonetheless. The combat is slower comparing to the predecessor aka Honkai but remains enjoyable with the introduction of aiming system, the lack of the dodge system, and the abundance of creative ways to play. The stamina, climbing, swimming, cooking, forging and gliding all add to the gameplay with the nuance and I can only wish for more mundane activities to be added.
The story in Genshin is enjoyable personally. But for me, GI was never meant to be a story-driven game. GI is all about exploring, adventuring and regarding this aspect, GI exceeded my expectation with nostalgia.
In the end, many may find the game with many flaws. But everything has flaws. I agree the gacha is shady but without it, GI remain a coherent journey of classic RPGs and the gacha plays no part in this experienfe. Yes, the endgame may require you to get better characters but I say it is meaningless. For the endgame do not reflect the whole experience and thus, GI deserves to be played at least once like any other great RPG titles.
Lord of Heroes, a hollow beauty in the gacha market.
LoH with its deeply flawed design does not shy when trying to showoff its strongest aspect, the graphics. It is very clean, crisp, colorful, minimal and thus successfully created a mesmerizing fantasyland without overwhelming players with the grandiosity. This aspect shined very well in term of character designs. Each appears with a simple costume, minimal effects within a few accessories describing about their background and countries. This stylistic choice tied very well with the universe of LoH (if it has one). Depsite not having a jaw-dropping design, the characters are able to convey their personalities (even if it is cliched). Outside of that, your main character (Lord) looks like a well blended between an edgelord and a chad (consider this as a positive one).
Yet, despite having good graphics and strong concept arts, LoH suffered alot with its uninteresting gameplay, poor choices in term of gacha aspect, potential yet lackluster story and recycle character designs.
At this point, you should be too familiar with turn-based system to the point of feeling discontented. And LoH did nothing to improve this exhausted mechanic. You create a team, go on an adventure, and auto through everything. Buff/debuff plays a neglectable role. Beautiful cut-in effects soon turns into a burden upon watching them repeatedly. And the dull audio only enhances this boredom by making every attack feels impactless.
And you ask what could this game even go wrong next? And the answer is everything else. LoH does not have character gacha, it has weapon gacha and we all know too well what are the consequences. Paid-only heroes, some can only be obtained by using real money, gear dependency and RNG for everything relating to gears. You get a good gear but it needs to have % stats, random stat upon upgrading, chance - based upgrade system. And the game does not even disclose the success rate. To salt this open wound, LoH decided to make the strong gears exlusively for gacha. And finally, to make itself even more miserable, every character is just another recyle of their respective styles with different colors and minimal effects.
Progression in LoH is slow and tedious. Each part, skill uprade, level up, enhance...require a substantial amount of gold and they are dictated by RNG, gated by stamina.
Some may argue that they play the game for the story itself. All is well and I gave a compliment for what LoH achieved. Every gameplay aspect is disclosed very well within the lore of the game. Alliance is indeed a guild system but the way they present you is clever by saying you need to have a conference with other lords. Or the auto system is delivered as "Your heroes can make their own decisions". These are small details but is nonetheless very nice. And the story is interesting enough with its on-going wars between nations. Betrayal and alliance. But here lies another problem. LoH offers too little detail about its world building. Plenty continents could be expanded into a full flesh country with culture, people, races. Yet, what we have are wars and wars alone. Soon the antagonists you fight with to protect your sovereignty and expand your kingdom becomes one dimensional
The story finally loses its steam and potentials.
There are other aspects that I did not cover including pvp, raid. As they are identical to other games. LoH is ultimately a hollow beauty without much to offer the players. Despite its beautiful graphics, there are plenty rooms to improve. But if you actually enjoy the game, then all is well and hope is meaningless for even with many flaws, you could enjoy it.
There is one question that people usually ask about Honkai Impact 3 (HKI) is whether the game can still hold up to today standard? This question again is proved to be unnecessary as HKI stands as one of the best gacha game on the market.
I see some did complain about the gameplay to be "rather" repetitive. This is a futile remark since every gacha game possesses this repetitiveness in its design. Whether it is an ARPG or classic RPG, the core mechanic of this particular genre is "grinding". Grind to get material, weapons, currency, etc. However, under this notion, the gameplay of HKI appears to be on the superior side. Easy to learn but fun nonetheless. The game now has a much more respectable roster offering players with ton of new mechanics to try. Creating your own team with unbeatable combo and mesmerizing effects, badass result. HKI provides its players a valuable intrinsic value.
Now come to the story and characters. Despite the fact that the game has a very small casts comparing to other games, each of its characters are beautifully designed with professional voice acting, good playstyle, great backstory/lore and development through out the span of main story/hidden quests/events. The world building also played a respectable role in helping players to indulge in the world of Honkai. Many secrets, conspiracies, etc. And don't let its "eye-candy" graphics fools you for thinking this game is just about waifus.
Finally, graphics, gacha and grindfest. I do have a soft spot for HKI colorful world. It is old yes, but never feels outdated, Everything remains with this nostalgia from the first day of the game. Now, with the introduction of extraterrestrial characters, HKI rivals other games with its craziness when you can summon a dragon, create many "voids", punch through your dungeon with tons of effects. Combining with smooth models, detailed map designs, and you will sink every precious hour to indulge in this virtual world.
Gacha? Now I could say it proudly that the game is indeed very f2p friendly. You are required to grind, yes there are characters gated behind gachas, top tier weapons need to be rolled. But, that do not mean you do not have anyway to obtain. There is forgy system where you can create stigmata and weapons, there is "player rush" that help you acquire stigmata/shards/stamina/gold, there is land of wishes (budget way to get S chars) and there is one free selected S Chars. Many ways to obtain crystals from daily missions, abyss, events, etc. So even if you hate the rate and mixed gacha pools in this game, HKI offers you various methods to obtain what you desire. And btw always save up for your waifus because of safety net.
In conclusion, if you are still trying to find something to kill your time or hesitate to jump back right to this game, do yourself a favor and play it. It is worth every of your damn time except of course if your phone cannot run this "5gb app".
in the heart of jrpg fans, romancing saga series stand as the legendary IP with compelling story, memorial casts, beautiful moments, unforgettable ost. And here, in gacha entity, romancing saga re:universe once again proved itself to be a product of care and love. Expecting alot of biases for I am a sucker for retro games.
A trip back in time to the retro era with the clean, mesmerizing pixel graphics, crisp & clean. Every character models stay true to the heart of its predecessors and of course with much more detail emphasizing their costumes, personality and themes. Combining with various effects in high res texture and behold the beauty of retro on your hand.
Artwork, yes. Re:universe offers its modern consumers with both the retro style and modernized style. Prefer the nostalgia? Have it your way, want a waifu according to your anime standard? suit yourself for the game let you twist your favourite character's illustration/sprite in accordance with what other "styles" you own.
Story? don't expect a gacha IP to be on par with its predecessors, yet it is good and only get better with times. Many events feel very fun to read with colorful characters, genuine dialogues.
In term of gameplay, romancing saga is what you would expect from these retro-ish games. Turn-based battle with weakness/resist mechanic. Easy to learn but nonetheless offering various ways to create your own strategies due to its diverse casts, formation and inheritance. And don't forget that every characters can get stronger depending on how-much-you-grind-for-them. For stats are acquired through battles/expendition.
Gacha? 5% for SSR and a Safety net at 15 multi rolls combining with the fact that this game provides you every mean to acquire that much (45000) for almost every banners. Rejoin for we are under the rain of freebies and generosity to the point you start to question whether the game will close anytime soon.
Btw, please join its own reddit and discord for the community is really big, helpful and informative about the game. Outside of the cycle? prepare to die for misinformation.
Anyway, give Romancing Saga Re:universe a chance before you decide to look past it for it "old-ass" graphics or grindy aspect (aren't we already under the grind hell?) for it is for once an enjoyable experience and prepare for summer event, you know what to look for (thicc waifus in summer skins).
Idola Phantasy Star (IPS) is a gacha game that you ever wish for: permanent free x10 rolls daily, lot of freebie, spark-able banner, fun gameplay, various contents, great events and an understanding developer. And yet there are quite things that often hestitate one to actually enjoy the game wholeheartedly.
Let us first understand its positive aspects. Gameplay. Mobile games for general standard are needed to be easy to engage without often consuming your times too much. According to this viewpoint, IPS did a good job of creating an undemanding turn-based mechanic with the implementation of auto battle, auto repeat, x2 spead and skippable animation. One may argue that these aspects would butcher the "actual gameplay", I disagreed for in this review I am discussing about gacha games, which are entirely different from pc or console respectively. Thus, IPS could be picked up and played without worrying yourself too much.
Content, pvp and events insofar as the time of writing this review. IPS for the most cases understood its fanbase in particular and newcomers in general very well. The game knew what we often expect, let say summer event. Great banner, good rate-up, new characters with beautiful illustration, pre-event and main event with alot of freebies/material to farm for. Additionally, IPS also offers you with daily x10 rolls permanently on general banner. At the core itself, there are main story to play, side missions for farming, daily activities, Idola mode (similar to raid), fate chapters and finally pvp. On the basic, most of them are the same as other gacha games, nonetheless providing you with sufficient amount of enjoyment in a less time-consuming manner.
PvP itself. If There is a tier list, there will be meta. IPS is no exception from this notion. However, in retrospective, most of my experiences with pvp were rather pleasant. The pvp is seperated into three sub-categories which I shall call bronze, silver and gold. Each will match you up with suitable opponents. Bronze usually starts at B+ (low power), Silver is often at A~, and Gold is usually against S~. Each yields different amount of pvp currency for pvp gachas, which included exclusive characters, x2 rate, material... Hence, even if you feel underlevel or do not have "meta chars", you can still save up enough currency for rolling notwithstanding.
The game strongest gimmick may actually lie in its design orientation. Beautiful illustrations without falling under the spell of oversexualization for fan-service and cheap marketing. Factoring with its free chaos /law/neutral system, which is similar to light/shadow in e7, and you have abundance of great design to be entertained.
Now we come to discuss where IPS did fall off. the never ending cycle of dupe system, one of the greatest sin in gaming history we ever witness if sins are permitted (joke). Under the scope of consumers, this decision is but infuriating and unfair due to Appalling rate for 5* characters, unparalleled growth. Notwithstanding the subtituted materials, this system is far from making the game enjoyable.
Very interesting universe connecting with Phantasy star online and yet the game cannot go beyond "interesting" with its subpar writing, forgettable characters and poorly written villains. Fate episodes are not even an improvement, however, they provide with sufficient information to understand your favourite characters insomuch as the writing allows you to.
Finally, the loading time. Personally, this problem stemmed from my own experience with the game, which was similar to let say "F**", everything was under this annoying, slow loading screen before I could actually play anything. Hence, scrapping my entirely playing section with continuous alt-tab in order to wait.
IPS is a greater game in term of customer service and listening to their fanbase. Yet it is without fault and many often hesistate too look past these problems. Notwithstanding these matters, Idola Phantasy Star is definitely time-worthy and one should play if he/she is looking for another good gacha on the market.
P/S: Global version is CBT right now and maybe wait for official release if you could not bring yourself to put everything in google translator.
Date A Live Spirit Pledge (DALSP) is fundamental a dating simulator game with a twist and turn in term of gameplay to create a better entertaining value.
DALSP at first glance is a side scrolling gacha game. It has every typical aspects like others on the market. Gacha for characters & sephira (stigmata if you prefer), straightforward upgrade system, crisp and clean effects, switch characters during the battles, simple combo moves, pvp, co-op, daily quests...
However, these parts are not essentially the core of DALSP rather they are simply dull comparing to many different games. They offer only the extrinsic value aka materials, character shards. The combat itself although easy to learn and fun to play brings no intrinsic motivation for you to get better. Every combat animation feels weak without impact. All you need to do is smash the skill buttons, dodge when needing. And the flying mode, which is a nice change of pace, is rather forgettable.
The main attractiveness of DALSP lies in its description: an innovative dating simulator. The "innovative" part is questionable but the DALSP is no doubt a greater dating sim focusing on story, characters and multiple choices. The main story is the same as LN or anime following every arc strictly without much alteration. There are many weird dialogues during the entire main story section yet choosing them will change nothing but a couple of different lines before the scripted scenarios kick in.
However, the "date" system is much better. You get to take your favourite spirit on a date to many places. Each will yield different outcome depending on your choices during the dates. Thus, it is advisable to revisit a scenario many times to unlock more CGs. The Live 2d in the game is beautiful, lively, expressive with top-notch facial expression such as blussing, embarassing, happy, sad...Your waifus look even better when you view them in POV and have the ability to choose the answers. Combining with professional VAs and translation, DALSP is undoubtedly a great experience for fans in general or people who love VN.
The UI though feels insignificant and dull on the side scrolling part blending itself very well with the VN aspect. Light, easy on the eyes and does not distract you from your dates.
The music is only there to compliment your dates with romantic, light-hearted asmotphere.
Finally, the gacha. Abysmal rate, shard system, mix gacha pools, limited premium currency which are difficult to get and only avaible in a small portion. However, you can farm pretty much many spirits through hard/hell stages though there are indeed gacha-only characters. This is a rather dubious part of the game is, however, understandable due to the small casts of DAL. Paradoxically, it makes getting a S character feel greater due to the rarity and their personality.
Ultimately, DALSP is a story-oriented game on fundamental level. Every aspects of the game contribute directly in a respectable way to this very orientation while offer various modes to appeal a wider audience, which are done in an uninspiring way to only compromise not so much. Hence, leaving people to desire for more to actually enjoy everything the game has to offer.
Beyond good and bad gacha games, there lies Fate Grand Order. Is this game good? Yes, is this game bad? Yes.
Fate Grand Order in its totality is a game either you would love it wholeheartedly or disgust it.
~"It's hell that you're walking into"
1. Let first talk about the bad. The gameplay. FGO at its core is a turn-based game yet it decided to make this system turn out to be more infuriating than it would be due to the RNG factor in distributing command cards during battles. Is this really a negative aspect? subjective, but as the first glance, one would often deem this mechanic as annoying. Combining with the lack of auto-farming, and hell you get yourself a second job during events or just simply want to upgrade your favourite servants.
2. RNG. I sometimes viewed FGO as an embodiment of gambling. Everything is decided by RNG, you want materials? too bad, luck is not on your side; want to get your favourite servants? well pray alot and hope for the best because the game does not have any safety net. Due to this very reason, the game soon becomes a chore to just simply play.
3. OST? there are good songs such as Grand Battle 3 but others are often forgettable.
4. Graphics? The game is far from having the best. Many may argue that the graphics is still good and great to look at. However, I disagreed. Comparing it to other gacha games in the market and you often feel the lackluster, the clunky animations, outdated UI and traumatized gacha animation (joking).
Then why are there many people recommending it?
Now we talk about the good.
1. The Story. Fate Grand Order at its core design is a single player game requiring internet connection. Its strongest element to stand as the most successful gacha game lie in its captivating story consisting of many arcs. You will encounter many historical figures being told in a new perspective of anime and its quirkiness fighting for humanity. Does it sound interesting? Hell yes. There are indeed some bad arcs but its consistency in quality has been improved over times with better writing, better dialogues and loveable servants that you soon find yourself being encaptivated by their personality.
2. And that why we finally came back to the abyss of salt, gacha. Abysmal rate, shady, unfair...even with those words being thrown around I consider this aspect as a controversial side. Why would I even roll for this servant knowing that I will never get him/her? Simple, because I love them and that is enough reason for many people falling into the abyss. Yet, if you stare at the abyss long enough, you will eventually compromise with it. Even with the abysmal rate, there is the satisfaction to finally get what you want. It is under this contradiction that every servants appear to be greater than just an illustration waiting to be collected.
3. Finally, gameplay. Yes, I did view this aspect as infuriating and tedious. Yet, beneath these, there is a deeper strategic element to play the game. Coming up with your own team to compete against difficult contents, creating your own strategy without following whatever "meta" would yield a great fulfillment because you finally beat the game with your favourite servants who sometimes are deemed as worthless. And you are the one to use them with their full potential.
So, Do I love or hate this game? None. For having many tedious parts, the experience with FGO is a memorial one at least for me. I love it for whatever it is but I will not recommend it for anybody. FGO is meant to be played, to throw it in the trash bin or dedicate your times to it; the verdict is yours to decide.
Is this game really just about the hype? Maybe. At the time writing this review I must say the game is not without flaws comparing to the gacha standard nowadays. Yet, I considered this game as a niche on the market for:
1. Fan of Yoko Taro
2. People who love Taro's writing and beautiful ost
3. People who simply enjoy attractive illustrations
Now if you want to try this game because many talked about it then there are several things to take into consideration.
Firstly, the bigger flaw of the game lies in its gameplay. Comparing its quality at this point would be unfair due to its age and how the gacha genre has been progressed since these past few years. However, this is necessary to understand why this factor would turn off many people. Turn-based battle combines with minimal effects and 2d models presupposing an uninteresting gameplay without many interactions to be done during the battles. Thus, rendering any means to enjoy the game for what it is.
Secondly, its total dependence on gacha as a mean to progress. Combining with abysmal rate for nightmares, lackluster gacha animation (subjective point) and paid banners which will give you many nightmares with better stats, which are required for late game contents. The biggest factor to finally put a nail in the coffin for people who decided on a whim to give this game a try.
Thirdly, its outdated UI. Before jumping to me and crawl my eyes out for this, I would like to clarify my point as a personal opinion which bases totally on my subjective view without any prior professional knowledge about game design. I still vividly recalled my first time with SinoAlice JP. It was mesmerizing with minimal, clean UI, beautiful illustrations and eerie yet soothing OST. The UI was what peaked my interest in the first place. Simple, elegant, blending perfectly with its world building and twisted story. But that was 3 years ago, and now with many competitors on the market SinoAlice inevitably lost its charm standing against other mesmerizing, attractive UIs.
Finally, the lack of various contents. Yes, SinoAlice has many collabs, colosseum, guild war, single-player story. However, its humble presentation and emphasis on guild war left many to desire a different game mechanics on pve or simply side activities. I, however, consider this is both a positive and negative element. On the other hand, you can treat this simply as a side game to login everyday, do some daily missions and look at your waifus without stressing too much on missing out contents.
Now that I finished my review on negative side, I would like to emphasize on its merits. Its story, music and the man himself Yoko Taro. Yoko Taro is known for his rather dark and twisted story focusing on deeply flawed heroes or sometimes anti-heroes. SinoAlice is no expection with cryptic story based on Grimm's fairy tales. Each character has their own desire, motivation, personality and their own reflection on many darker subjects. SinoAlice shines itself with a unique, compelling and spiraling story rivaling other quality games in the market.
Factoring with many haunting, memorial tracks and you finally dive deep into Taro's perverted creativity on journey to understand human nature.
In my conclusion, SinoAlice is a game I very much adore for even its flaws and yet I could not wholeheartedly recommend it for the general audience. On the virtue of good games, its value is overshadowed by many weaknesses. Thus, preventing many to venture into the land of Taro's fairy tales.
There are many great things have been said about the game so what I will do now is to add more to them.
You want to know if this game is worth playing?
Short answer: Yes
Long answer: Hell Yes
Honkai Impact or Punishing Gray Raven?
- I would say why not both? Each of them has their own unique charm to stand apart in the market. From the world building, storytelling to the design of the casts. Or..
- Choose Punishing Gray Raven if you prefer post-apocalypse settings and futuristic character designs with diverse male casts.
- Choose HKI for its colorful world and beautiful valkyrie and simp for our cinnamon roll Yae Sakura.
- Either PGR or HKI will let you experience the action-packed gameplay with mesmerizing graphics while also slap in your face with stamina system. kek
Gacha?
- Both have safety net, rather low rate for S characters, both require you to grind and save up or just open your wallet if you really want your waifus. In turn, you get many distinguishable characters and their different versions with each has his/her own backstory.
Event?
- It's summer, you know what to expect.
Another reason to just play both?
Lucia in PGR and Yae Sakura in HKI. Both use katana, have tragic backstory and come with many OP versions.
Verdict: 11/10, would simp for Lucia!!
Why did I even play this PTSD simulator in the first place? I don't really know, maybe I was baited by Homete~ Please don't kink shame me or (report me to the police).
A great game with a spiraling story that only went deeper into the abyss further and further. Its only purpose was to torture and break your maiden hearts with alot of deaths. So many deaths that you went full existential crisis and felt sympathetic for the "jpeg" t-dolls that didn't even exist in the first place.
Turn-based strategic gameplay where you have to crack your brain, cry like a pathetic heroine due to the difficulty spikes went through the rooftop in events. Yes, indeed this madness only serves to fuel your trip into the abyss.
Music? pumping you with adrenaline and leaving you with only trauma. Truly beautiful.
The only thing that brings forth serenity to balance out this trauma-inducing trip would be waifus. What is better than looking at your waifus in their revealing damaged arts and summer skins? In this madness, I would find the only peace residing in homete's thighs (please again, don't call the FBI)
Homote out of 10, would cry again!
Decided to give this a try, went on playing it for 5 months straight and sank around $200 on it. Log in everyday, doing daily, doing weekly, running annihilation -> farming originite, spent some dollar bucks -> agonizing over the gacha -> rinse and repeat.
Did I regret everything? No, I did enjoy my time with the game. But I did decide to finally put dơwn this game at the mid of summer event.
Now the review, graphic-wise it is cute and pleasant to look at. The UI is crisp and clean. The chibis are nice and all but it did surprise me at the first time because I am not a fan. Though after giving it more time, the graphic did grow inside me. Nothing much to say about the arts, very beautiful, superb; just look at the abundance of fanworks on pixiv and you know what I am talking.
Gameplay, your trategic tower defense game. Easy to learn but hard to master with its abudance of characters, unique abilities and "pause button". Then again, it is up to you to create your very best strategies to beat the stages, especially on hard difficulty and challenges. Beside, you have a very big dorm to manage which will help you with farming and upgrade materials. And Yes, please give my thanks to the auto system, without it the game would be a chore.
Story? alot of potential with rich lores, yet failed to deliver many aspects due to the subpar writings and questionable dialogues. However, I did enjoy a portion if it, sometime it even tried to pose a philosophical question on wars and morality, a breath of fresh air but left many rooms to be desired. Another aspect I felt lackluster would be the casts themselves. Without proper side stories for them, each character felt as if they were just there for the sake of waifus and husbando. However, at the point of this review, I heard the game did make alot of improvement in the story aspect, which is good thing and I am rooting for the consistency in the quality.
Music? very good, many catchy songs, high quality production. Lungmen Battle was indeed an adrenaline-inducing song fueling you through the nightmare of annihilation 3.
Gacha? ok rates, you have pity system that will carry over to the next banner you decide to roll for. In my experience, I would consider this feature as a double-edged sword. On one hand, you can get shafted and come back with your desire characters. And on the other hand, you will get spooked by dupes at the expense of entire your karma. Becareful for what you are rolling.
Why did I decide to stop playing the game? Well I did got salty over Schwarz whom I spent around 70 rolls and only got 2 ifrit dupes. Secondly, the very core design of the heart surging flame event turned me off completely or maybe I just felt salty. Anyway, I did comeback for the CC, great event encouraging you to push the difficulty further and further. Again, I failed to get another best gurl, Blaze.
Well enough with my ranting. In conlusion, arknight is a great side game with beautiful artworks, engaging gameplay that encourages you to replay with different strategies. If you have not played it already, please give it a try because it is definitely worth your time.
Edit: Finally got both Nian and Blaze, guess I am back!!!
An ok game for tales fans that people don't have to worry for it being shut down anytime soon.
I would like to compliment for the graphics, don't know if it was just me but the game was kinda blurred when playing on my phone but looked find on Emulators.
Great character models which can be customized with accessories. I would not consider the animations and skill effects to be the feast for the eyes but they were pleasant to watch if that is your thing.
Voice acting was top-notch which brings alot of personality for every characters in game. The translations in the game are very professional and coherent. I would love too see English VA being added in the near future.
As the point of reviewing this game, I have not gone too far to have enough understanding about its story. However, in my opinion, the story was ok, enjoyable with many characters from other tales series but still have not left any memorial impression on me.
OST was good, the opening song was catchy and anime-ish enough to get you hooked. The rest of them were pleasant to listen to but I found them rather forgettable.
Combat is your standard turn-based battle with a little of twist and turn. When you first play the game, it will introduce you with "hit system", which increases your damage base on the total of hit numbers you deal during your turns. Each character with their skills has different hits and CD respectively. Thus, in order to maximize your combat efficiency, you should plan your next attack wisely. In my opinion, the combat is interesting enough to learn and play without feeling repetitive.
Auto and x2 speed are unlocked right away from the start, which is a good thing but with x2 speed the game felt very clunky to play.
Gacha is rather on the generous side with 5% for SSR rate. The game also gives you alot of gems with daily login, first clear, event. Rerolling in the game is also very easy, you can find many methods on its unofficial wiki. And you get to do a selective roll after finishing the tutorial, which is a good side if you want to play with your favourites.
Upgrade system is straightforward and easy to understand, I am not a friend with convoluted or interconnecting systems with tons of different materials.
Now I would not consider this is a con because many gacha games have it. It is your beloved "dupe system" again. Please say hi to your old friend. You may find this is annoying but this is just Bandai Namco with their knack. However, you can substitute your dupe with universal crystal (don't remember what it is called) which can be acquired through daily login although very scattered and you need 11 dupes for 1 character. Also please note that the dupe will provide your character with subtaintial powers. Red flag or not? You decide.
The game has pvp and with dupe system, you know what is waiting you ahead if you want to main pvp.
In conclusion, if you are tales fans or just simply seeking for another gacha game with turn-based combat then give it a chance before deciding to ignore. However, I have to pass on this one because it ran like an out of control nuke on my phone and a joke on my pc.
Tried this game for fun, now I've got addicted to another shipgirl game.
Can't say much about story because I can't read moonrunes. But it's a battleship waifu-ish game and you know what you are looking for. Beautiful waifus, ripped clothes in damaged state, moe and so on.
Surprisingly fun gameplay, somewhat like an arcade game with beautiful models, great voice acting and nice attack cutscenes, which can be turned off if you want. And what is even better? Auto mode, yes you heard it, this game has auto mode for farming which will help alot in term of avoiding repetitiveness and time saving.
And now the most important part of the game, gacha. Yes, we all want to know whether the game is "f2p" or "p2w":
First, I would say the rate in this game is rather low, not entirely abysmal though. You can use tickets or premium currency to roll (180 gems/tick). You can get tickets on first playthrough on hard stages (10/story) and the gems can be acquired through missions/achievement. Not generous enough but not bad. I would say save up for your waifus because it has safety net.
Secondly, every shipgirl needs dupe to upgrade. Yes, the beloved system: duplicate. However, from my experience, you can pretty much get as many dupes as you want through Construction (Azur Lane, Kantai...) and a new system that will generate for you a dupe when you put your waifu in. It is great but after getting one you need to wait for a certain amount of time before using it again.
Thirdly, the shop itself. You can buy rate-up shipgirl with medals which can be acquired through gacha and other SSR ships with in-game currency, which can be farmed in daily maps (skill books, weapons, exp).
In conclusion, I would say it is very f2p indeed. A little bit of patience and management and you can get your desired shipgirls.
How about the gap between SSR and the rest? well it is a waifu collection game, the rarer the unit, the better they are.
Nice and all but what? Your phone cannot run the game? well, they have pc version but you need to create an account on your phone and scan the QR code every time you wanna play. You can try and play on an emulator but the game runs better in the PC version.
And finally, my conclusion for another long review. The game has every aspects that you would expect in these types of game, however, it shines itself with the unique gameplay, smooth 3D models, new waifus (who does not like it?). Hence, if you ever consider to try this, go ahead, the game is great and very fun.
Very good game with deep customization system for mecha. The combat is automatic which may turn off someone looking for an action-inducing gameplay. However, if you are looking for a strategic game then this might be for you.
Pilots, co-pilot, equipments, pet systems can change the playstyle of your mech drastically and the game encourage you to try and build your own mech. With the restore system and a little bit of gold you can get back all your investment without having to grind again to build another mech.
Now I must say as first glance the game might appear to be p2w with mech gacha, dupe systen and pilot gacha. However, for pilot you can get for free if you have patience thanks to its bar system. Most of mecha in the game can be farmed for free with Black Market, where you can buy shards, and random events appearing in main story. With enough patience and good management you can get great SSS mech without spending too much. And A mechs are actually good, they can be upgraded without dupe and will carry you through to late game.
For the main source of gems, it comes from PvP. However, the rank in pvp system are dictated through frequency of participating and not winning. Hence, even if you are underleveled you still can get lot of gems.
I apologize for my rather long review. But I hope it would encourage some people to give the game a chance and enjoy it.![[厲害]](/cdn/img/transparent.png){kind=spacer}
Epic Seven | Global
3.8choosing to play this game is equivalent to consciously choose to go with an abusive relationship. One moment before, you would think this shitfest is not too bad because you just got a 5* hero with free roll and the next moment you would be plunged to nothingness and go completely bankruptcy for wanting that sweet stat rolls on your newly acquired hero.
Love me some mood swing, for this game is like playing with fire and get burned then complaining why would you get burned.
Maybe, we are all masochists deep down in our hearts. Or maybe, you and me are just beyond saving because of gacha addiction.
Now just go play this shit and ruin your mental health and wallet