Video games save lives!
That's not a joke. That's actually a plot point.

This game mixes real-time strategy with a visual novel-esque story with 13 protagonists, which the player can see in (mostly) any order they want. Already that gives a lot of player choice in how they want to experience the game. It was a bit overwhelming for me at first to go through the story due to the amount of plotlines to watch, but I pushed through thanks to a little planning in what order I was gonna do the stories.

Starting with the story, I did really like it, but there's major problems I have with it. First of all, I hope you’re a fan of sci-fi, because this game uses every cliché in that genre you can imagine. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking with those clichés so the game decides to instead rely on its plot twists to keep the player engaged. This game is built on its twists and I do think some are pretty strong. Keyword being “some”, because others don't hit as well because of the structure. Pretty much every scene is dedicated to moving the story forward or providing new information to the player. That’s all well and good, but it creates such a fast pacing that it’s hard for me to keep up with some reveals and who did what before the story even takes place. Due to all the revelations usually happening at the end of the storylines, you’re gonna go through the first half or so not understanding a thing, and sometimes, the answer for a question that arose in one character’s storyline would often be answered in a completely different character’s, and by that point, I’ve probably forgotten what question I even had. Sorry, but it becomes too much for my two-sizes-too-small brain to follow. At least there’s the analysis screen where you can see the chronological order of all the events.

It can be salvaged if the characters were fun to watch, and I think they are, but only to an extent, because some of them feel two-dimensional. There were some I thought stood out like Hijiyama, Kisaragi and Goutu, but I wouldn't say I didn't care about those I didn't mention, I still like seeing what the characters went through. Plus, the fact that they aren't the most fleshed out does have an explanation (I think?). By the way, it’s hilarious that Atlus doesn't have a good track record on having LGBT+ representation in their games, and yet the gay couple here is the most believable pairing of all the ones that are endgame.

I like how being able to control the characters during these parts breathes life into the visual novel aspect, though I have to complain about a few times when it's not clear on what you need to do next to see a certain route.

Having said all of that, I still very much liked playing through the story. I think the reason for all my problems is simply because of how overwhelmed I was by it.

The strategy mode is where I had the most fun. And I'll admit that, this is not a complex strategy game. Each Sentinel generation have their own attacks and each pilot have their own unique skills that are unlocked when they level up. You move them across the map and attack with either long-ranged or melee attacks with stronger and effective attacks that can be used if the pilot has enough special points that get more of by defeating enemies. But it was so simple, yet effective. I had a blast going through this. The explosions of the Kaiju are just too satisfying for me to not like it, especially when I blast a horde of them down at once.

And these fights do get hectic as they go on. Sure, I may have only lost once across 30 battles, but I still had to think a lot about when and where to use one character to deal with certain enemies. That final battle with hordes of Kaiju coming and coming will go down as one of my most memorable gaming moments.

The writing here I also found to be better made than what was in the actual story. The characters gets a lot more characterization and get more chances to bounce off one another. And I really wanted them to make it through this, they went through hell here. I normally have a problem getting emerged in characters' grave situations, but this was one time where I could do it and I haveily applaud the game for that. It made the ending all the more uplifting.

Oh, and the soundtrack is going into my favorite game soundtracks of all time.

I can't say if I'm giving this a fair unbiased shot or just hopelessly gushing over it. But hey, you're supposed to praise what you like, right? I never expected to like this game as much as I ended up doing, and that's always a good sign. Let's go out there and live.

Video games save lives!
That's not a joke. That's actually a plot point.

This game mixes real-time strategy with a visual novel-esque story with 13 protagonists, which the player can see in (mostly) any order they want. Already that gives a lot of player choice in how they want to experience the game. It was a bit overwhelming for me at first to go through the story due to the amount of plotlines to watch, but I pushed through thanks to a little planning in what order I was gonna do the stories.

Starting with the story, I did really like it, but there's major problems I have with it. First of all, I hope you’re a fan of sci-fi, because this game uses every cliché in that genre you can imagine. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking with those clichés so the game decides to instead rely on its plot twists to keep the player engaged. This game is built on its twists and I do think some are pretty strong. Keyword being “some”, because others don't hit as well because of the structure. Pretty much every scene is dedicated to moving the story forward or providing new information to the player. That’s all well and good, but it creates such a fast pacing that it’s hard for me to keep up with some reveals and who did what before the story even takes place. Due to all the revelations usually happening at the end of the storylines, you’re gonna go through the first half or so not understanding a thing, and sometimes, the answer for a question that arose in one character’s storyline would often be answered in a completely different character’s, and by that point, I’ve probably forgotten what question I even had. Sorry, but it becomes too much for my two-sizes-too-small brain to follow. At least there’s the analysis screen where you can see the chronological order of all the events.

It can be salvaged if the characters were fun to watch, and I think they are, but only to an extent, because some of them feel two-dimensional. There were some I thought stood out like Hijiyama, Kisaragi and Goutu, but I wouldn't say I didn't care about those I didn't mention, I still like seeing what the characters went through. Plus, the fact that they aren't the most fleshed out does have an explanation (I think?). By the way, it’s hilarious that Atlus doesn't have a good track record on having LGBT+ representation in their games, and yet the gay couple here is the most believable pairing of all the ones that are endgame.

I like how being able to control the characters during these parts breathes life into the visual novel aspect, though I have to complain about a few times when it's not clear on what you need to do next to see a certain route.

Having said all of that, I still very much liked playing through the story. I think the reason for all my problems is simply because of how overwhelmed I was by it.

The strategy mode is where I had the most fun. And I'll admit that, this is not a complex strategy game. Each Sentinel generation have their own attacks and each pilot have their own unique skills that are unlocked when they level up. You move them across the map and attack with either long-ranged or melee attacks with stronger and effective attacks that can be used if the pilot has enough special points that get more of by defeating enemies. But it was so simple, yet effective. I had a blast going through this. The explosions of the Kaiju are just too satisfying for me to not like it, especially when I blast a horde of them down at once.

And these fights do get hectic as they go on. Sure, I may have only lost once across 30 battles, but I still had to think a lot about when and where to use one character to deal with certain enemies. That final battle with hordes of Kaiju coming and coming will go down as one of my most memorable gaming moments.

The writing here I also found to be better made than what was in the actual story. The characters gets a lot more characterization and get more chances to bounce off one another. And I really wanted them to make it through this, they went through hell here. I normally have a problem getting emerged in characters' grave situations, but this was one time where I could do it and I haveily applaud the game for that. It made the ending all the more uplifting.

Oh, and the soundtrack is going into my favorite game soundtracks of all time.

I can't say if I'm giving this a fair unbiased shot or just hopelessly gushing over it. But hey, you're supposed to praise what you like, right? I never expected to like this game as much as I ended up doing, and that's always a good sign. Let's go out there and live.