Very solid game all around, with the 2023 patch by TADA (found in the alicesoft english wiki) it's a pretty fun and balanced game, with the best plot so far and Sill having more of a main role compared to previous entries. Rance is still fun as hell and the translation for this game in particular is pretty amazing. The party members are wack though like Julia is complete garbage even if you get her to train and Merim just does absolutely nothing. Play it with a walkthrough as per usual with Rance games.
The gameplay is definitely an improvement from the previous game, but I definitely prefer the plot of Rance 3
gameplay is complete dogshit, dungeons were awful, but overall still somewhat funny so ill let that slide
Follows combat from Rance 3 which isn't the best one but is passable, it gets a bit hard towards the end though (fuck those metal armor). Final boss design is quite good.
Th exploration is okayish with different areas and little puzzles here and there with the different groups before they join Rance.
Th exploration is okayish with different areas and little puzzles here and there with the different groups before they join Rance.
Not bad but rough to get through. There's a bit of jank with the game itself and I wasn't a big fan of the gameplay, being forced back to town, menuing, etc. However, there are some good parts, like the character interactions (especially with the townspeople) and parts of the lore from Rance 3 that it expands upon. This is probably the most skippable one, although I'd recommend watching a let's play instead of skipping it altogether.
plain garbage, awful dungeons, not soul just ugly and kinda boring even if new world elements are introduced.
Tem problemas chatos, como o loop de gameplay e o quão desnecessariamente longo e arrastado (principalmente da metade pro final) ele é, mas é um jogo mt charmoso, o combate é o do III só que bom, ótimo setting com personagens novos bem legais, ótimas interações de personagens e o jogo é mt bonito artisticamente.
O III é mlhr, mas sinto q é por pouco até. Como disse antes: jogo com problemas realmente incovenientes e frustantes, mas exala alma e coração.
O III é mlhr, mas sinto q é por pouco até. Como disse antes: jogo com problemas realmente incovenientes e frustantes, mas exala alma e coração.
Eta jogin bao da porra
the battle system gets better here because you can actually make the characters attack rather than it being a set up with the cpu, however, this game does have its drawbacks. they seem to make you withdraw from the dungeon at a certain time in game (8pm) which is ridiculous. perhaps it was to invoke a sense of realism? but it only makes things rather irksome.
oddly enough, monsters seem tougher to battle in this game in some cases.
i do like the amazing pixel art, which was very prevalent during the later 90's during the pc-98 era. i also kind of like how the game encourages you to go back to town with random events and things to do. kudos for them having an enemy named bitch
oddly enough, monsters seem tougher to battle in this game in some cases.
i do like the amazing pixel art, which was very prevalent during the later 90's during the pc-98 era. i also kind of like how the game encourages you to go back to town with random events and things to do. kudos for them having an enemy named bitch
The final chapter is an atrocious mess that pukes one badly designed boss after another at you without any thought.
In any case.
It's weird how the main thematic question of Rance 4 is dismissed by fans: The dichotomy between Bitch and Rance.
Over and over, the game forces you to question what, really, the difference between the protagonist and the villain are. It goes so far as to replicate the exact same scene of the two: Bitch complains about his companions being the reason for his failure, a few hours later in the game, Rance does the same thing.
At the same time, this makes the answer as clear as day, and shows why Rance can live on and Bitch goes on to die as a nobody: Rance thrusts forward.
Bitch always chooses the easy way out, he would rather live a stagnant life if it meant not having to care for anything.
While Rance never accepts lying down, he ALWAYS chases after the future. "A boring-ass ending where everything is set out is not worth his time."
In the final chapter, this is again clearly shown by him choosing to lazily fooling around with Io instead of taking care of the issue immediately when he still had the chance. While it doesn't make much sense at this time of the story for him to accept a trade with Bitch (especially not after seeing what he did to Merim), it makes sense thematically. He gets the just punishment for taking the easy way out, by having to fight a million more enemies and almost losing everything he loves.
Simultaneously, this is what makes Rance such a strong comedic character. Many times, what seems like an incredibly stupid and thoughtless action is forgiven by the story, just because he's Rance. He has such ridiculous luck that he gets out of danger even if he shouldn't have over and over again. He is a bug in the system, and doesn't play by the world's rules. Still, this doesn't mean that he can do whatever the hell he wants, it just means that the narrative is more lenient with him for, among other reasons, comedic effect.
In any case.
It's weird how the main thematic question of Rance 4 is dismissed by fans: The dichotomy between Bitch and Rance.
Over and over, the game forces you to question what, really, the difference between the protagonist and the villain are. It goes so far as to replicate the exact same scene of the two: Bitch complains about his companions being the reason for his failure, a few hours later in the game, Rance does the same thing.
At the same time, this makes the answer as clear as day, and shows why Rance can live on and Bitch goes on to die as a nobody: Rance thrusts forward.
Bitch always chooses the easy way out, he would rather live a stagnant life if it meant not having to care for anything.
While Rance never accepts lying down, he ALWAYS chases after the future. "A boring-ass ending where everything is set out is not worth his time."
In the final chapter, this is again clearly shown by him choosing to lazily fooling around with Io instead of taking care of the issue immediately when he still had the chance. While it doesn't make much sense at this time of the story for him to accept a trade with Bitch (especially not after seeing what he did to Merim), it makes sense thematically. He gets the just punishment for taking the easy way out, by having to fight a million more enemies and almost losing everything he loves.
Simultaneously, this is what makes Rance such a strong comedic character. Many times, what seems like an incredibly stupid and thoughtless action is forgiven by the story, just because he's Rance. He has such ridiculous luck that he gets out of danger even if he shouldn't have over and over again. He is a bug in the system, and doesn't play by the world's rules. Still, this doesn't mean that he can do whatever the hell he wants, it just means that the narrative is more lenient with him for, among other reasons, comedic effect.
Like Rance III but less funny, full of backtracking, and generally more annoying to play. Neither as charmingly rough as the first three games nor as polished as later ones.
See, this is where shit gets real. Stupidly fun for a doujin RPG of the era. The combat has seen a massive facelift from Rance III, and so has just about everything else. Maybe it's a sign of repetition but I found myself familiarized with the entire layout of the main dungeon by the end in a way that felt easy and fun to navigate. Some really unique progression ideas here, like the RNG risk/reward system with the Level-Up Goddesses and the entire concept of the Black Sword as a balancer of your junk equipment. The main cast plays differently enough to warrant mix-and-matching and it was genuinely great to see some favorite old faces again (here's to Maria and Shizuka, and that like one scene with Lia in it lol). Tosuhin Toshi seems baller as fuck and I've gotta check those guys out at this point, because they helped turn Rance into eroge Xenoblade for a game, and that's baller as fuck. Cannot wait to see what the future holds for the up and coming Brutal King.
surprised by how much i ended up liking this
significantly more character and lore-driven than the rest of the series to this point. pretty much everything rance says is fucking hilarious and the gameplay is actually serviceable this time around due to having a real battle system - i don't know why it took this long to introduce controllable party members or more than two skills, but thank fucking god they're here now!
starting to also understand why trails and rance are gateways into each other for a lot of people... i think i know which series i'll be trying out next
significantly more character and lore-driven than the rest of the series to this point. pretty much everything rance says is fucking hilarious and the gameplay is actually serviceable this time around due to having a real battle system - i don't know why it took this long to introduce controllable party members or more than two skills, but thank fucking god they're here now!
starting to also understand why trails and rance are gateways into each other for a lot of people... i think i know which series i'll be trying out next