Posts Tagged ‘5.0’

November 13th, 2013 Featured, PC, Reviews 2 Comments »

Luxuria Superbia Review

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Developer: Tale of Tales
Publisher: Tale of Tales
Platform: Mobile – Android, iOS Ouya PC – Direct

Why do we play video games? The first answer that often comes up is “for fun”. We are seeking some kind of enjoyment for ourselves, whatever that entails. In that way, games are designed to be subservient – to cater to the player’s whims. Now imagine for a second that a game existed with the roles reversed. You are meant to provide joy to the game. Would such a thing still be enjoyable? I found the answer when playing Luxuria Superbia.

Yes, absolutely. My first experience with Luxuria Superbia was on an iPad. Although granted instructions, the game still seemed absolutely foreign to me. On each stage, you are greeted with a blank circular tunnel that has little buds on it. When touching the buds, a row or rows begin to blossom with color. It doesn’t take a great deal of thought to realize that the “goal” is to light up the entire tunnel. With my virgin playthrough of a stage, I found myself excited by the pulsing colors and similarly surprised by the fact that the game talked back. It kindly urged me to continue – to bring it more pleasure.

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It was such an unexpected experience I knew that I needed to own the game myself and play it more. No matter what platform you go with, the main game is the same, but the experience changes slightly. To me, using a touch screen feels far more intimate than analog sticks on a console or PC. Somehow, Luxuria Superbia makes me want to keep coming back. I don’t play for high scores but to share a moment with the game. There is joy to be found in bringing pleasure to others, and I never expected to see such a message expressed via a video game.

There’s something mesmerizing about the colors as they brighten and as cute little objects appear (rainbows, wheels, etc). Paired with phenomenal music, plunging continually further into the tunnel proves hypnotic – and erotic. Tale of Tales’ latest title surprised me after a lifetime of gaming. Give it a try and see if you fall in love.

Score: 5

5 out of 5 alpacas

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October 23rd, 2013 3DS, Featured, Nintendo Systems, Reviews 1 Comment »

Rune Factory 4 Review

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Developer: Neverland Co.
Publisher: XSEED Games
Platform: 3DS

I remember when the very first Rune Factory game came out. It was touted as “A Fantasy Harvest Moon”, which immediately caught my interest. I bought it as soon as it released and played a bit of it, but found it a tad too difficult and went on to other games. Of course, I still found the concept extremely fascinating and continued to follow the series. After hearing that Rune Factory 3 improved upon the series’ formula, I decided to give it a try and absolutely loved it. So, it was only natural that I would be looking forward to Rune Factory 4.

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Like Harvest Moon games, you’re able to grow crops, raise livestock (which are monsters that you tame rather than actual farm animals), and woo potential lovers. Rune Factory focuses much more on plot and RPG aspects, though. And there’s a lot of that packed into Rune Factory 4. The two main story arcs take a good 40+ hours to play through. That’s not all, though! There’s also a bonus arc that has quite a lengthy and cumbersome dungeon. I have over 70 hours logged into Rune Factory 4 and I have yet to finish the last arc.

Tired of fighting and need to take a break from the main story? Then embrace your social life! There’s plenty of well-developed characters to talk to and lots of festivals to attend. And don’t forget about the six bachelors or bachelorettes that you can date. Although it’s a smaller selection versus those of other Rune Factory games, the dating/romancing aspects in Rune Factory 4 are much more expanded. The best part is that you can totally have a harem of lovers (which made choosing a husband in Rune Factory 4 the hardest decision of my life).

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There’s also a new feature to the series, which is performing orders with accrued Prince/Princess points. These orders vary from bettering the town with new shops and festivals, to expanding your farm. Heck, you can even change your character’s portrait to that of anyone in the game.

In terms of localization, the Rune Factory series’ new home at XSEED is definitely a good one. It’s as if they’ve been taking care of publishing Rune Factory games here the whole time! I loved every bit of writing in the game and the voice acting is perfect.

The only complaint I have about Rune Factory 4 is how evil the RNG can be. You see, there are “town events” that can happen often (these were really nice for building the characters of NPCs). Whichever one may pop up is totally random. Unfortunately, bachelor/bachelorette events, and even the one needed to start the plot’s bonus arc, are included in that very large pile of randomness. You might need a lot of patience to activate some of these events.

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I had so much fun with Rune Factory 4 and I can’t recommend it enough. If you’ve ever considered jumping into the series, now is definitely the time.

Pink Score: 5

5 out of 5 alpacas

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September 13th, 2013 PlayStation Portable, Reviews, Sony Systems 2 Comments »

Sweet Fuse: At Your Side Review

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Developer: Idea Factory
Publisher: Aksys Games
Platform: PSP

Sweet Fuse is an otome visual novel that has an incredibly weird premise.  Your uncle, Keiji Inafune (yes, THAT Keiji Inafune), has built a video game-themed amusement park and you’re invited to its grand opening.  Everything is going swell until the evil Count Hogstein takes over the park and all its staff hostage. It’s up to you and six handsome men to brave Hogstein’s seven deadly games, lest he kills all the hostages and blows up your uncle’s beloved park.

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There’s still time for love, though! All six guys are romanceable at the very start of the game and have their own routes. There’s also a seventh guy whose route is unlocked when you finish Sweet Fuse at least once. To my surprise, I grew to love every guy over the course of my playthroughs (well, except Meoshi). I say it’s definitely worth it to go through every single route that Sweet Fuse has to offer! Even if the romance aspect in Sweet Fuse is minimal, there’s still enough of it to satisfy anyone that is in search of that ooey-gooey stuff.

Sweet Fuse‘s story is surprisingly serious and deep. As you go through each route, you figure out that Hogstein isn’t the nonsensical villain that he’s first introduced as. There’s actually a reason that he’s decided to have all of you participate in his games! All the guys also have some rather interesting backstories that eventually intertwine. I can’t say too much without spoiling the whole plot, though.

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Some of you folks may be concerned that Sweet Fuse is too “girly.” Like I mentioned previously, the romance is kept to a minimum and the game instead relies more on action and drama. It actually feels a lot like Zero Escape: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, if that happens to be a visual novel that you like. Sweet Fuse is an otome game that everyone can enjoy.

I think the only aspects of Sweet Fuse that disappointed me were the rather large amount of typos and the “puzzles.” Before I began the game, I was under the impression that the puzzles advertised would actually be solved by you. Instead, the characters in the game usually come to conclusions for the puzzles themselves (oftentimes bumbling). Sometimes, you’ll get the opportunity to push your group into the right direction by selecting the correct keyword during the “Explosive Insight” phase, but it’s not very exciting. 

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That stuff is easily pushed aside when compared to everything I love about Sweet Fuse, though. What I believed was going to be a silly little visual novel actually turned out to be a very emotional and entertaining experience. If you own a PSP/Vita and like visual novels, then definitely get your hands on Sweet Fuse. 

Pink Score: 5

5 out of 5 alpacas

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August 7th, 2013 PC, Reviews 3 Comments »

Saya no Uta ~ The Song of Saya Review

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Developer: Nitroplus
Publisher: JAST USA
Platform: PC

What a fabulously strange visual novel Saya no Uta is. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I dove into it one night. But, boy, am I glad I did.

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