The game that turned me into a weeb back in the 8th grade, and now I've decided to revisit it after YouTube recommended me its soundtrack, giving me chills with its excellence. I completed it in 40 hours and here are my thoughts:
+ The OST, especially the hymn songs, is top-notch. The opening alone is amazing.
+ I love Nagi's character design in this game, blending fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk elements. Back in middle school, I was fascinated by Aurica's design (particularly her thighs, lol), but now Misha and Shurelia are just adorable.
+ The Cosmophere delves deep into the psychological aspects of the female characters. I used to see it as a galge/fanservice element, but now I truly appreciate character development through gameplay.
+ You can feel Akira Tsuchiya's passion project in every aspect, from terminology, world-building mechanics, to the practical language and writing, as well as its application to the game's music.
= The gameplay is average and broken, easily exploitable (selling Grathnode Crystals at Firefly is ridiculously overpowered, solving money issues by selling crafted items), and damage output can become excessively high, rendering song magic useless in random encounters.
= Many crafted items in the game are overpowered and easy to make, but as a casual player, I don't mind.
= The recrystallization mechanism for turning items into Grathnode Crystals is underutilized, although it becomes powerful in the endgame (Grathnode Crystals, S-rank items, have exceptional effects).
= The branching paths create plot holes when the story converges, skipping major character development arcs, which could easily be watched on YouTube.
- Honestly, I never reached maximum harmonic output until the end; the game ends prematurely due to its simplicity.
- I hate that at the end, I couldn't fully craft some endgame items because of rare enemies (after an hour of searching in vain), and sometimes the recipes are in unexplored areas, forcing me to backtrack, which is infuriating (no escape items, backtracking in this game is a pain).
- The plot, honestly, is weak. I particularly despise how Misha's character is handled, constantly sacrificing herself only to have it undone by the plot. The three-phase structure feels like the story ends, then suddenly a new problem arises, and it repeats. I even thought DQ XI from yesterday was better. Luckily, the message and character arcs in this story are charming enough.
- There's no memorable villain; everyone is too good.
- Each ending to the story arc is disappointing and unsatisfying; it would be better if it were depicted with CG or a slideshow for the aftermath. It's evident the creators were confused about what to do with the characters. Thankfully, the epic music at the end compensates for it.
- Aurica's character is severely underused in the game, even in her own route, feeling overshadowed by Misha or Shurelia (who enters the story arc at the end).
- The game's world isn't well-exposed; it feels small and lacks organic elements. The scale is narrow, NPC dialogues rarely update regarding conflict changes, and the factions—church, tenba, platinia, and I forgot the last one—are irrelevant because they lack valid motivations that make them interesting and alive.
Solid 7/10 from me; without the nostalgia factor, it'd be a 6.
+ The OST, especially the hymn songs, is top-notch. The opening alone is amazing.
+ I love Nagi's character design in this game, blending fantasy, sci-fi, and steampunk elements. Back in middle school, I was fascinated by Aurica's design (particularly her thighs, lol), but now Misha and Shurelia are just adorable.
+ The Cosmophere delves deep into the psychological aspects of the female characters. I used to see it as a galge/fanservice element, but now I truly appreciate character development through gameplay.
+ You can feel Akira Tsuchiya's passion project in every aspect, from terminology, world-building mechanics, to the practical language and writing, as well as its application to the game's music.
= The gameplay is average and broken, easily exploitable (selling Grathnode Crystals at Firefly is ridiculously overpowered, solving money issues by selling crafted items), and damage output can become excessively high, rendering song magic useless in random encounters.
= Many crafted items in the game are overpowered and easy to make, but as a casual player, I don't mind.
= The recrystallization mechanism for turning items into Grathnode Crystals is underutilized, although it becomes powerful in the endgame (Grathnode Crystals, S-rank items, have exceptional effects).
= The branching paths create plot holes when the story converges, skipping major character development arcs, which could easily be watched on YouTube.
- Honestly, I never reached maximum harmonic output until the end; the game ends prematurely due to its simplicity.
- I hate that at the end, I couldn't fully craft some endgame items because of rare enemies (after an hour of searching in vain), and sometimes the recipes are in unexplored areas, forcing me to backtrack, which is infuriating (no escape items, backtracking in this game is a pain).
- The plot, honestly, is weak. I particularly despise how Misha's character is handled, constantly sacrificing herself only to have it undone by the plot. The three-phase structure feels like the story ends, then suddenly a new problem arises, and it repeats. I even thought DQ XI from yesterday was better. Luckily, the message and character arcs in this story are charming enough.
- There's no memorable villain; everyone is too good.
- Each ending to the story arc is disappointing and unsatisfying; it would be better if it were depicted with CG or a slideshow for the aftermath. It's evident the creators were confused about what to do with the characters. Thankfully, the epic music at the end compensates for it.
- Aurica's character is severely underused in the game, even in her own route, feeling overshadowed by Misha or Shurelia (who enters the story arc at the end).
- The game's world isn't well-exposed; it feels small and lacks organic elements. The scale is narrow, NPC dialogues rarely update regarding conflict changes, and the factions—church, tenba, platinia, and I forgot the last one—are irrelevant because they lack valid motivations that make them interesting and alive.
Solid 7/10 from me; without the nostalgia factor, it'd be a 6.