This is some of the smartest use of the ADV format I've ever seen in a visual novel, a real fusion of medium and narrative that has a satisfying conclusion to basically everything you could ask for and leave you clutching your head with how it all works out.

There are also a lot of comforting VN-isms that anyone familiar with this genre would be either ecstatic or disappointed with, up to personal preference really.

Solid characters and all sorts of awesome twists and turns that are only bogged down slightly by a couple odd puzzles and narrative choices that have with weird solutions but do have their own justification, kind of not really i'm still mad over one of the solutions to a puzzle let me be.

Definitely not the kind of game you can binge in one sitting, maybe treat it like a replacement for a tv show or a mystery book.

I hope this gets the attention it deserves and more great things come from this team (despite being under Squeenix's thumb)

Not much to say, just continuing to tighten the formula that everyone adored since Super Metroid. Surprised how nice this game looks as well and it has some neat ideas of it's own. Only real gripe is the ones I have with the formula, the feeling of just being a dumb lost guy and then trying to scrounge for all the items you can at the end made me feel a little insane.

This game helped spawn a new species of little guy that's kinda moe with it and I can't be mad at them for wanting to impale me cos they're so cute.

I always have this feeling of wanting to play a pokemon game but realising there are like 50 little speedbumps in terms of what I like:

I like to imagine having my little team set up easily and running through the region with them, developing movesets and little in-character quirks for them to have. This game was a perfect way for me to make that real.

Beyond just the flavour of the experience the game flows very well, really thrusting you into it very quickly and letting you do as little or as much as you want depending on how willing you are to put in the time in.

The environments and Pokemon look great in these 3d spaces and battling is a bit more interesting than usual.

The pokedex is expanded on very cleverly as opposed to just being a checklist, including the fact you're able to complete it without any interference from the other games.

The story was...well it was a pokemon story but it leaned moreso on the side of mystery dungeon than a mainline game with a very charming and simple cast.

Overall a fantastic experience perhaps only dragged down by its at-times meandering post-games.

I've wanted to enjoy playing a pokemon game for a long time and now I feel like I finally could. Might make playing Gen 4 a bit harder however.

A mesmerising aesthetic of 'gameboy camera filters' and 'low poly nightmare' with the sometimes-hilarious and sometimes-disturbing mechanic of warping the main character's face kept me going for a while, however the game's repetitive nature and lack of specific narrative pay-offs left me frustrated several hours in, to the point of doing the same things over and over with little variance.

The game does get away with its rather heavy handed dialogue with some stellar one-liners and great cutscenes along with some fun reveals that begin to be drowned out in the distorted noise of 'THE LORE' which it sadly doesn't feel it can commit to without losing its ties to the works it is inspired by.

All that being said there are plenty of secrets and ways to approach this game that so I recommend it for anyone looking for something a bit different and slower paced.