almorica
2005
It can be difficult to get the good ending on a first playthrough, but Trace Memory is a perfect first adventure game/VN to get you into the gaming styles. Unfortunately, you will then want to play worse adventure games/VNs, like this one's sequel.
A short and sweet little horror experience with its main detraction being the repetition. As brief as it is, though, it's not so bad to go through it several times with no save/skip function. A nonbinary protagonist and stylish limited color palette help it stand out among others of its kind.
This game has been on my mind since 2017 and still won’t let up. A stunningly dark dungeon crawler/visual novel crossbreed unafraid to make you afraid, Death Mark has earned its various mature ratings through its concepts and visuals. The characters are a little quirky and sometimes unpleasant; they’re the types of people (and children) that don’t really get along well with other people for one reason or another, which can make them relatable or not. The gameplay can be rewarding or tedious, but if you really get stuck, the Spirit Files give tremendous hints toward success.
Unfortunately, it is also horny, and in a very specific way: the sometimes suggestive visuals (almost all of female bodies) are as saturated with horror as the rest of the game. For most people, it’s going to just be unsettling or even upsetting. For some I’m sure it’s hot. I can’t say I like the female body exploitation, but it’s an undeniable facet of this game that will pop up at least once a chapter. If you think you wouldn't be able to stand this, the first sequel, Spirit Hunter: NG, drastically reduces this to the series' benefit. I'd recommend skipping to that entry.
At least the horniness is a minor part of the game. The Horrors are varied and bound to hit at least one thing you’re uncomfortable with. The original final chapter, Chapter 5, is the most terrifying scenario I’ve ever been in in a video game, and the night I completed it for the first time I was too scared to sleep. I love that chapter enough to place the game in my Top 5 of all time, despite the game’s flaws.
Ultimately, I love this game. I love playing it, and have it as a platinum on my Vita. I love watching youtubers play it, and Gab Smolders was the one to introduce me to this series, making it dear to me for the past six years.
And, most importantly, Shuuji Daimon is a dilf (doctor I’d like to
Unfortunately, it is also horny, and in a very specific way: the sometimes suggestive visuals (almost all of female bodies) are as saturated with horror as the rest of the game. For most people, it’s going to just be unsettling or even upsetting. For some I’m sure it’s hot. I can’t say I like the female body exploitation, but it’s an undeniable facet of this game that will pop up at least once a chapter. If you think you wouldn't be able to stand this, the first sequel, Spirit Hunter: NG, drastically reduces this to the series' benefit. I'd recommend skipping to that entry.
At least the horniness is a minor part of the game. The Horrors are varied and bound to hit at least one thing you’re uncomfortable with. The original final chapter, Chapter 5, is the most terrifying scenario I’ve ever been in in a video game, and the night I completed it for the first time I was too scared to sleep. I love that chapter enough to place the game in my Top 5 of all time, despite the game’s flaws.
Ultimately, I love this game. I love playing it, and have it as a platinum on my Vita. I love watching youtubers play it, and Gab Smolders was the one to introduce me to this series, making it dear to me for the past six years.
And, most importantly, Shuuji Daimon is a dilf (doctor I’d like to
2023
I played through 1997 in its entirety in a little over two weeks with my partner, our total play time coming in between 10-15 hours. We came into it expecting something low quality, but hopefully entertaining — I personally thought it would be worth it if it just taught me a few things about 90s Russia. We were both pleasantly surprised with the result.
Parts of it are still very silly. There’s stray punctuation in some text boxes, some typos, [presumably] glitches that do things like prevent a character called Girl from ever having a real name above her dialogue, a glossary that is very tedious to navigate, wonky human anatomy in some CGs, and the characters generally continue shouting at each other even when they’re supposed to be quiet. But the game is much more than its problems, and I ultimately found it to be a positive experience.
Right when you get to the title screen, you can see a cute, unique user interface resembling a much older video game. It’s possible to actually play it as a simple mini-game by pressing the + button, or just use it to navigate through basic main functions. It has a gallery and an achieved endings list (though it does not say how many endings there are), as well as a glossary you can also view while you’re playing the game. You will almost definitely want to view that glossary as you unlock definitions and explanations while playing, but as you gather more words it becomes more of a search to find them in the list. There is no “NEW” indicator; you just have to locate them yourself. At least you learn some cultural context for your trouble!
Starting the main game itself, it’s apparent that the background artist knows what they’re doing. The BGs are very detailed and frequently beautiful. CGs are more hit-or-miss, but it’s cool to see them change with the characters’ actions, and the artist is quite skilled at unsettling imagery as well. The character portraits are also quite nice; characters who are much older than the main trio show that age well.
The voice acting is exclusively in Russian, and in my experience it all worked. While main character Anton didn’t have that much vocal variation, Alisa and Daria’s cadences were especially fun to listen to, and Fedor’s voice was downright sultry. I mean, seductive. I mean—
The characters aren’t all that special, but they serve their purpose in the story well enough. The game could’ve used a more consistent stance on domestic violence perpetrated by a few of those characters, but the usually strong condemnation was satisfying to see. There is also an interesting bit on gender that is brought up in one flashback and then never acknowledged again. The mystery at the story’s heart is very unusual (speaking as someone unfamiliar with much Russian fiction), so it was never too predictable or cliched.
Something cool about that mystery is that you only get the whole picture after following every possible route in your choices. Those choices come down to Trusting or Distrusting each character that asks for it. So, while you’ll get 5 different bad endings doing this, you will learn something important chasing them down instead of only earning a bloody failure CG. It’s also possible to just get a good ending the first time and stop there if you’re satisfied.
Overall, 1997 is an engaging VN with beautiful backgrounds, awkward CGs, decent characters and pleasant full voice acting. At its cheap price point (especially on sale), I would recommend it to anyone else who wants to dive into a relatively short mystery and learn a little more about a very specific time period in Russia.
Parts of it are still very silly. There’s stray punctuation in some text boxes, some typos, [presumably] glitches that do things like prevent a character called Girl from ever having a real name above her dialogue, a glossary that is very tedious to navigate, wonky human anatomy in some CGs, and the characters generally continue shouting at each other even when they’re supposed to be quiet. But the game is much more than its problems, and I ultimately found it to be a positive experience.
Right when you get to the title screen, you can see a cute, unique user interface resembling a much older video game. It’s possible to actually play it as a simple mini-game by pressing the + button, or just use it to navigate through basic main functions. It has a gallery and an achieved endings list (though it does not say how many endings there are), as well as a glossary you can also view while you’re playing the game. You will almost definitely want to view that glossary as you unlock definitions and explanations while playing, but as you gather more words it becomes more of a search to find them in the list. There is no “NEW” indicator; you just have to locate them yourself. At least you learn some cultural context for your trouble!
Starting the main game itself, it’s apparent that the background artist knows what they’re doing. The BGs are very detailed and frequently beautiful. CGs are more hit-or-miss, but it’s cool to see them change with the characters’ actions, and the artist is quite skilled at unsettling imagery as well. The character portraits are also quite nice; characters who are much older than the main trio show that age well.
The voice acting is exclusively in Russian, and in my experience it all worked. While main character Anton didn’t have that much vocal variation, Alisa and Daria’s cadences were especially fun to listen to, and Fedor’s voice was downright sultry. I mean, seductive. I mean—
The characters aren’t all that special, but they serve their purpose in the story well enough. The game could’ve used a more consistent stance on domestic violence perpetrated by a few of those characters, but the usually strong condemnation was satisfying to see. There is also an interesting bit on gender that is brought up in one flashback and then never acknowledged again. The mystery at the story’s heart is very unusual (speaking as someone unfamiliar with much Russian fiction), so it was never too predictable or cliched.
Something cool about that mystery is that you only get the whole picture after following every possible route in your choices. Those choices come down to Trusting or Distrusting each character that asks for it. So, while you’ll get 5 different bad endings doing this, you will learn something important chasing them down instead of only earning a bloody failure CG. It’s also possible to just get a good ending the first time and stop there if you’re satisfied.
Overall, 1997 is an engaging VN with beautiful backgrounds, awkward CGs, decent characters and pleasant full voice acting. At its cheap price point (especially on sale), I would recommend it to anyone else who wants to dive into a relatively short mystery and learn a little more about a very specific time period in Russia.
2022
This is a short visual novel encompassing the first two chapters of the Hitme story, so even though it says "2", you can start here (and the dev even recommends it).
Everything about this feels so carefully crafted to fit a vibe that I feel like any criticism is exactly what the dev was going for. The use of "u" for "you" in the English translation sometimes definitely breaks my immersion, though.
It's a very violent and sweet story about polyamorous gay men and multiple kinds of recovery, so if that concept entices you, I think you'll ultimately have a high opinion of it too. It does have scenes of sexual intimacy and a fair amount of suicidal behavior, in case either one concerns or interests you more.
Everything about this feels so carefully crafted to fit a vibe that I feel like any criticism is exactly what the dev was going for. The use of "u" for "you" in the English translation sometimes definitely breaks my immersion, though.
It's a very violent and sweet story about polyamorous gay men and multiple kinds of recovery, so if that concept entices you, I think you'll ultimately have a high opinion of it too. It does have scenes of sexual intimacy and a fair amount of suicidal behavior, in case either one concerns or interests you more.
2016
Somehow, pretty much every review of this is correct. Chasing down locked chests and grinding for the last destination is tedious; the Blowbeat combo cheapens most strategies; It'll scratch the itch if you're looking for a shortish piano-accompanied tragedy in the style of retro RPGs.
One thing I disagree on is that it really needed multiple drastically different settings. Sometimes a short game can take place entirely in a winter landscape and it's fine and cohesive.
One thing I disagree on is that it really needed multiple drastically different settings. Sometimes a short game can take place entirely in a winter landscape and it's fine and cohesive.
2006
An older gem of a game, Magical Starsign does its utmost to achieve style on the DS. It’s beautiful to look at most of the time and at least amusing when it isn’t, and it uses the dual screens to display the environment at times in such a way that I have a hard time imagining it remade for a single-screen (or at least horizontal) device. It took me about 25 hours to complete this time, so it’s on the shorter end of turn-based RPGs.
It’s a spacefaring fantasy, and heavy on the fantasy aspect — the planet designs and general “science” make for some bizarre sci-fi. It’s a lot of fun if you can get past that and just enjoy how much the world commits to weaving together its world under its own cute, clever, and sometimes frightening logic. It’s cohesive, as long as you don’t try to force it to make sense under real-world logic.
(It is absolutely wild how much each planet's dwellers let the main kids get away with just to "rescue their teacher", though.)
In general the battles (mostly random encounters) aren’t that difficult, and I didn’t need to spend much time grinding. You can generally just move from one place to the next, taking down bosses with a little thought put into your strategy. The final boss is a little over the top in difficulty though, considering how long the unskippable cutscene is beforehand. As a warning: do not let the final boss line up the planets. The game does not give you this warning, and finding out what happens if you do allow it is a slow trudge back through that cutscene again. If that sounds fine to you, then hey, go for it.
I’d recommend this game to anyone in the market for a pretty pixel RPG that has a substantial story, but doesn’t take a substantial amount of your time. It’s quirky and a little heartbreaking, and looks excellent on the original DS hardware.
It’s a spacefaring fantasy, and heavy on the fantasy aspect — the planet designs and general “science” make for some bizarre sci-fi. It’s a lot of fun if you can get past that and just enjoy how much the world commits to weaving together its world under its own cute, clever, and sometimes frightening logic. It’s cohesive, as long as you don’t try to force it to make sense under real-world logic.
(It is absolutely wild how much each planet's dwellers let the main kids get away with just to "rescue their teacher", though.)
In general the battles (mostly random encounters) aren’t that difficult, and I didn’t need to spend much time grinding. You can generally just move from one place to the next, taking down bosses with a little thought put into your strategy. The final boss is a little over the top in difficulty though, considering how long the unskippable cutscene is beforehand. As a warning: do not let the final boss line up the planets. The game does not give you this warning, and finding out what happens if you do allow it is a slow trudge back through that cutscene again. If that sounds fine to you, then hey, go for it.
I’d recommend this game to anyone in the market for a pretty pixel RPG that has a substantial story, but doesn’t take a substantial amount of your time. It’s quirky and a little heartbreaking, and looks excellent on the original DS hardware.
A sequel I kind of recommend skipping the first entry for. It continues the general situation of the first game, but with a different cast and so much more sympathy. Plus, a big mystery of the second game will only be a big mystery if you play it first! (On the other hand, that same mystery will be spoiled in game 1 if you play game 2 first.)
In general, the Caligula Effect 2 is a very fun, easy game I gladly sunk 75 hours into. Pleasantly linear and stunningly hopeful for a game so blunt about traumas people face in all ages of life. It features very heartfelt transgender and nonbinary representation, without insisting everyone upset with their gendered treatment in life is trans by default.
Despite being a serial easy mode player, I was able to complete it the first time on the hardest difficulty without DLC aid. Make of that what you will.
Unfortunately, a decent amount of the game is only in Japanese audio, no text given: battle conversations among your party members, or between your party members and the bosses, are wholly untranslated. At least there are fan-translated versions of the party-only battle banter available, but it’s a very frustrating limitation of the official English localization.
Certain group quests take a lot of running around through tedious areas as well (one hospital floor is so poorly laid out for backtracking), and battles can also visually be rough on photosensitive people.
If you can get past those issues, amazing game, worth the time.
In general, the Caligula Effect 2 is a very fun, easy game I gladly sunk 75 hours into. Pleasantly linear and stunningly hopeful for a game so blunt about traumas people face in all ages of life. It features very heartfelt transgender and nonbinary representation, without insisting everyone upset with their gendered treatment in life is trans by default.
Despite being a serial easy mode player, I was able to complete it the first time on the hardest difficulty without DLC aid. Make of that what you will.
Unfortunately, a decent amount of the game is only in Japanese audio, no text given: battle conversations among your party members, or between your party members and the bosses, are wholly untranslated. At least there are fan-translated versions of the party-only battle banter available, but it’s a very frustrating limitation of the official English localization.
Certain group quests take a lot of running around through tedious areas as well (one hospital floor is so poorly laid out for backtracking), and battles can also visually be rough on photosensitive people.
If you can get past those issues, amazing game, worth the time.
2020
Fairly inoffensive, but also aggressively not good. Considering Danganronpa's Kodaka was behind this, it could've been a lot more uncomfortable (but the mystery could've been more engaging, too). It's not the worst way to spend a whole couple of hours or less, unless you're epileptic, in which case you might genuinely die from all the erratic light effects.
2016
Mildly entertaining for what it is (if you can easily access your device throughout most of the day each occasion you play it). Obviously low budget UI-wise however, and not where you want to go for difficult choices and character depth.
Jaehee is a great wlw option, though sadly the more overtly romantic content for her is paywalled. Still absolutely more effort than many other devs would like to put in for a female character route!
Jaehee is a great wlw option, though sadly the more overtly romantic content for her is paywalled. Still absolutely more effort than many other devs would like to put in for a female character route!
2021
No major criticisms of this game come to mind, so I can't say exactly why I didn't emotionally connect with anyone in this game. It was just something I played once in a while when bored until I finished it, taking me almost 6 months total. I don't regret it, at least.
On the notable plus side: an explicitly 20+ year old set of love interests and protagonist (who is also voiced)!
On the notable ??? side: if there are lines that seem to not be translated, go into the backlog and check for them there. This does mean that if you're hard of hearing or don't listen to the voice acting, you'll miss some of the lines completely.
On the notable negative side: there are numerous typos in the English localization (mainly punctuation), and Luka deserved a route. Cowards
On the notable plus side: an explicitly 20+ year old set of love interests and protagonist (who is also voiced)!
On the notable ??? side: if there are lines that seem to not be translated, go into the backlog and check for them there. This does mean that if you're hard of hearing or don't listen to the voice acting, you'll miss some of the lines completely.
On the notable negative side: there are numerous typos in the English localization (mainly punctuation), and Luka deserved a route. Cowards
Still overstays its welcome less than Great Ace Attorney even with case 5
2022
Profoundly unsettling game with a deeply fucked up vibe and suitably cool aesthetic. For budget obsession horror, it would be difficult to outperform this for me. (Better sound quality/balancing related to the voice acting is probably how.)