This game kept reminding me of Gurumin from the gameplay elements to the environmental message. Instead of a drill, you use magical gear powers from Noi to go through platform obstacles and reach the end of the stage. The main gimmick is that you can change the seasons, altering the climate of the levels and making unaccessible ways accessible and vice versa. It's really fun due to its simple premisse and good level design, but I admit I got a little tired of the endgame sections. The levels have too many branching paths that look identical. You're supposed to find these purple crystals in order to get all the stars, which serve to learn new combat skills, but it gets a little annoying having to search everywhere. Still, I was never bored.
I realized anytime there's a game with a typical anime plot, the reviews will have some of the saltiest people on Earth. Most reviews aren't even actual criticism, just people really pissed off. So yeah, unless you have some sort of nostalgia for this sort of plot, this game will probably annoy you. We have the selfless protagonist who wants to save the world, the mean villain who hates humanity for all the bad things we've done to our planet, the little mascot character, the sleeping beauty, the best friend with a mysterious past, etc. I'm actually fine with most of these, except for Lyra, the childhood friend who has a crush on Nayuta. I don't mind the trope, but she had almost no purpose outside of a few gags. Why is she even on the cover? I also don't know how to feel about Eartha's role of making you food. Creha also serves as the damsel in distress, despite her powers. Apparently this game doesn't seem to think too highly of women, which is funny considering the mainline series having one of the most iconic female protagonists in RPG history. In all seriousness, I don't think the developers are misogynists or anything, it's just not very well written. Also, Noi is precious.
Visual are cute, but it looks a little weird sometimes. Being originally made for PSP, the graphics weren't supposed to look this crisp, so the more detailed characters look really odd. I also noticed the faces overlapping objects or even their own hands.
The bosses were incredible (outside of Armadalleos, screw her). Having to use your abilities to reach the obvious weak spot is probably seen as an outdated design, but I still find it enjoyable. Normal enemies are varied, but are hardly challenging. I believe this game is better played on hard, since normal is way too easy and I never worried about my health. I mean, I really needed to try Eartha's homemade food, okay?
If this game doesn't seem too appealing, so you're not gonna like it, simple as that. What you see is what you get, which is why I knew I was gonna love it.
EDIT: I forgot to elaborate a bit more about the plot. It isn't that I think the clichés are good, I just think they work well enough with this type of story, while still having some nice little twists at the end that I thought were genuinely good. It's just a matter of preference.
Gameplay: A
Level design: A
Story: B
Characters: C
Visuals: C
Music: Falcom
Difficulty: Optional (Hard)
I realized anytime there's a game with a typical anime plot, the reviews will have some of the saltiest people on Earth. Most reviews aren't even actual criticism, just people really pissed off. So yeah, unless you have some sort of nostalgia for this sort of plot, this game will probably annoy you. We have the selfless protagonist who wants to save the world, the mean villain who hates humanity for all the bad things we've done to our planet, the little mascot character, the sleeping beauty, the best friend with a mysterious past, etc. I'm actually fine with most of these, except for Lyra, the childhood friend who has a crush on Nayuta. I don't mind the trope, but she had almost no purpose outside of a few gags. Why is she even on the cover? I also don't know how to feel about Eartha's role of making you food. Creha also serves as the damsel in distress, despite her powers. Apparently this game doesn't seem to think too highly of women, which is funny considering the mainline series having one of the most iconic female protagonists in RPG history. In all seriousness, I don't think the developers are misogynists or anything, it's just not very well written. Also, Noi is precious.
Visual are cute, but it looks a little weird sometimes. Being originally made for PSP, the graphics weren't supposed to look this crisp, so the more detailed characters look really odd. I also noticed the faces overlapping objects or even their own hands.
The bosses were incredible (outside of Armadalleos, screw her). Having to use your abilities to reach the obvious weak spot is probably seen as an outdated design, but I still find it enjoyable. Normal enemies are varied, but are hardly challenging. I believe this game is better played on hard, since normal is way too easy and I never worried about my health. I mean, I really needed to try Eartha's homemade food, okay?
If this game doesn't seem too appealing, so you're not gonna like it, simple as that. What you see is what you get, which is why I knew I was gonna love it.
EDIT: I forgot to elaborate a bit more about the plot. It isn't that I think the clichés are good, I just think they work well enough with this type of story, while still having some nice little twists at the end that I thought were genuinely good. It's just a matter of preference.
Gameplay: A
Level design: A
Story: B
Characters: C
Visuals: C
Music: Falcom
Difficulty: Optional (Hard)