Kaminagi
2006
My first ever game.
Will forever keep it in my heart for that reason :))
Will forever keep it in my heart for that reason :))
2014
Not everything needs to be perfect.
In a world, where playing a game can be a waste of time and money, lies a 7€ title that fills those hours you absolutely wasted on it... with a reminder that games don't need much to be enjoyable.
From a time when everything was a lot more simple.
Playing it until the end was worth every cent.
In a world, where playing a game can be a waste of time and money, lies a 7€ title that fills those hours you absolutely wasted on it... with a reminder that games don't need much to be enjoyable.
From a time when everything was a lot more simple.
Playing it until the end was worth every cent.
There are worst games out there
A turnoff for some, but an incredible treasure for many.
I'll review this according to my own taste, but, if this turns out to not be for you, at least you can see why I gave it a high score.
This game is far from perfect, but it doesn't need to be.
If you're a Persona fan, love dungeon crawlers and/or enjoyed the previous game, then you definitely need to try this game.
This game improves everything the previous game tried and has no dependency on that game (it's also free of spoilers for the games included, but they include tiny references for fans who completed the games, not ruining the experience for both sides).
The Gameplay
It borrows Etrian Odyssey's classic dungeon crawling system with map making (you have to make the map of each dungeon!), which is surprisingly intuitive and it's not an hassle to do (despite how it may sound).
The dungeons are not randomly generated, but focus on puzzles and well thought exploration.
And, while you may lack a different experience each time you enter an already-explored dungeon, the maps are different and vast enough for you to enjoy them each time.
Oh, and did I mention? There's something called "FOE" in some floors - good luck if you ever come across one in-game, you're meant to avoid them at all costs :)))
The fun doesn't end even when you finish the game.
The Battles:
You start up with a group of characters and not everyone all at once, which makes experimenting a lot easier (and each character has a pretty unique way of playing). There are always characters that are better than others, but none feel necessary.
But something that is not very enjoyed on the gaming community, yet pretty important, is the Random Battles - but it's not a cheap random battle system: You have a meter that changes to a different color according to how close you are to finding a random encounter, just like the Etrian Odyssey games. This reduces spawn rate but also ensures you when they're gonna attack you.
And the whole battle system is also pretty enjoyable, being a fun mix of every Persona RPG game - you'll find various elements of each game sprinkled into one and still manages to work and not become a weird mix of it all (however, clearly there are still strategies that are better than others, despite their balance).
But, at the end of it, lies a pretty simple (and standartized) battle system that manages to be fluid and complex. You'll find your playstyle soon enough.
The story
It is a Visual Novel (like most persona games) and follows a pretty interesting narrative. There's no sort of dating in this game (like the main games), which honestly wasn't needed at all for a game like this.
The characters are the ones we all know, having (almost) every member of the main cast of each game (except for the games that came after this one, obviously). Their interactions, alone, are worth watching the story and manage to be pretty funny and serious when needed - which is also an improvement from the previous game (where they were all very thrope-ish).
Difficulty
Possible the "worst" part of the game, as you can throw you off reasonably soon in the game.
This game has several difficulties, but even the Normal one can be pretty challenging, which isn't bad at all, but not only does it throw off unexperienced players as it's also really badly balanced in the First Boss... fortunately, this is only a problem early on due to your lack of resources and strategies which are clearly better to defeat it than anything else.... it can make several players give up here.
Brag all you want if you defeat it at your first try, really.
Other than that, the game is rather acceptable with no unreasonable difficulty spikes and manages to ramp up the difficulty quite well, but it still asks you to manage your resources effectively, and, if you're not careful enough, you're gonna do a lot of back and forth - but take your time, there's no rush (unless you like it that way).
As a player that doesn't mind grinding and is a perfectionist, the difficulty was just on point - I never once underestimated the game afterwards, and I'm glad I didn't.
If you really want an easier game, go for the DLC personas and just abuse them. They don't break the game on their own, but, if you know how to use them, they will make everything easier.
Music
(BONKERS)
The music blends perfectly in the game's style and gives it an incredibly memorable and unique feel.
All different music styles from each game are available, with a bunch of remixes and new tunes to listen.
OVERALL; TLDR
Love dungeon crawlers?
Want good variety for team building?
Resource managing feels rewarding for you?
HECK, like Persona or Etrian Odyssey??
This is a must, if you answered yes to any of these
The reason it's not so well known is that it was released way too late in the 3DS's life span...
That should say everything that's left to say
Give it a chance, I highly recommend it
I'll review this according to my own taste, but, if this turns out to not be for you, at least you can see why I gave it a high score.
This game is far from perfect, but it doesn't need to be.
If you're a Persona fan, love dungeon crawlers and/or enjoyed the previous game, then you definitely need to try this game.
This game improves everything the previous game tried and has no dependency on that game (it's also free of spoilers for the games included, but they include tiny references for fans who completed the games, not ruining the experience for both sides).
The Gameplay
It borrows Etrian Odyssey's classic dungeon crawling system with map making (you have to make the map of each dungeon!), which is surprisingly intuitive and it's not an hassle to do (despite how it may sound).
The dungeons are not randomly generated, but focus on puzzles and well thought exploration.
And, while you may lack a different experience each time you enter an already-explored dungeon, the maps are different and vast enough for you to enjoy them each time.
Oh, and did I mention? There's something called "FOE" in some floors - good luck if you ever come across one in-game, you're meant to avoid them at all costs :)))
The fun doesn't end even when you finish the game.
The Battles:
You start up with a group of characters and not everyone all at once, which makes experimenting a lot easier (and each character has a pretty unique way of playing). There are always characters that are better than others, but none feel necessary.
But something that is not very enjoyed on the gaming community, yet pretty important, is the Random Battles - but it's not a cheap random battle system: You have a meter that changes to a different color according to how close you are to finding a random encounter, just like the Etrian Odyssey games. This reduces spawn rate but also ensures you when they're gonna attack you.
And the whole battle system is also pretty enjoyable, being a fun mix of every Persona RPG game - you'll find various elements of each game sprinkled into one and still manages to work and not become a weird mix of it all (however, clearly there are still strategies that are better than others, despite their balance).
But, at the end of it, lies a pretty simple (and standartized) battle system that manages to be fluid and complex. You'll find your playstyle soon enough.
The story
It is a Visual Novel (like most persona games) and follows a pretty interesting narrative. There's no sort of dating in this game (like the main games), which honestly wasn't needed at all for a game like this.
The characters are the ones we all know, having (almost) every member of the main cast of each game (except for the games that came after this one, obviously). Their interactions, alone, are worth watching the story and manage to be pretty funny and serious when needed - which is also an improvement from the previous game (where they were all very thrope-ish).
Difficulty
Possible the "worst" part of the game, as you can throw you off reasonably soon in the game.
This game has several difficulties, but even the Normal one can be pretty challenging, which isn't bad at all, but not only does it throw off unexperienced players as it's also really badly balanced in the First Boss... fortunately, this is only a problem early on due to your lack of resources and strategies which are clearly better to defeat it than anything else.... it can make several players give up here.
Brag all you want if you defeat it at your first try, really.
Other than that, the game is rather acceptable with no unreasonable difficulty spikes and manages to ramp up the difficulty quite well, but it still asks you to manage your resources effectively, and, if you're not careful enough, you're gonna do a lot of back and forth - but take your time, there's no rush (unless you like it that way).
As a player that doesn't mind grinding and is a perfectionist, the difficulty was just on point - I never once underestimated the game afterwards, and I'm glad I didn't.
If you really want an easier game, go for the DLC personas and just abuse them. They don't break the game on their own, but, if you know how to use them, they will make everything easier.
Music
(BONKERS)
The music blends perfectly in the game's style and gives it an incredibly memorable and unique feel.
All different music styles from each game are available, with a bunch of remixes and new tunes to listen.
OVERALL; TLDR
Love dungeon crawlers?
Want good variety for team building?
Resource managing feels rewarding for you?
HECK, like Persona or Etrian Odyssey??
This is a must, if you answered yes to any of these
The reason it's not so well known is that it was released way too late in the 3DS's life span...
That should say everything that's left to say
Give it a chance, I highly recommend it