Astlibra Revision is one man's labor of love, the magnum opus of hobbyist game designer Keizo Morishige. This is a polished version of his browser game Astlibra (labeled accordingly!), completed over the course of a decade and a half, which shows - there's a LOT of game here. Combat is tight, nail-bitingly precise down to a matter of frames, and near-infinitely customizable with a bevy of buffs (or debuffs, if you wish), weapons, and special abilities. There's ample room to play this game with nearly any build or strategy you like.

While mostly cobbled together from free assets (though very well-chosen ones - the soundtrack is killer), Vanillaware artist Takehiro Shiga (better known as Shigatake) worked on refined character art for Revision, paired with breathtakingly detailed boss designs by artist Haku Tatsufuchi. As a Vanillaware diehard, I was first drawn to this game because Shigatake worked on it, but the rest of the game is far too solid for that to be the only thing worth mentioning.

The story plays out in an episodic fashion, down to an anime-like opening sequence (complete with theme song!) before each chapter. You play as Popular McJRPG Guy and his personal Crow of Judgment on a sprawling journey that comes further off its hinges as the game progresses - there is heartache and fanservice in spades, predictable in spots and utterly blindsiding in others. It's best to experience it blind! The English translation, originally fraught with grammatical errors, has been significantly improved with a patch, but the old one is currently still available through a beta channel should you wish to use it.

The MSRP is a steal for the sheer size and quality of this game. Of all the Games By One Guy out there, this is as good as it gets! To all aspiring game designers - this game is proof positive that if you are truly passionate about your creations, it can be seen and felt from a mile away.

A job very well done by KEIZO and collaborators - warmly and enthusiastically recommended.

Brilliant game. Awe-inspiring presentation (it's Vanillaware), fun combat (especially as Velvet and Mercedes). I own and played the original ages back but never finished it.

The circular maps are a good touch though they can sometimes make things easy to miss. One thing I really appreciated was the ability to "listen" for items as your character runs along the ground - the item name popping up on the screen makes a sound as do the mandragoras, and it's very helpful for combing over areas you've missed.

My only complaint is that the story and general pacing felt a bit overlong, but the structure works well and justifies it if you can stick with it to the end.

I loved every protagonist, I loved the framing, and I intend to go back for the plat. Vanillaware is a gem of a studio and I'm thrilled to have spent time in this storybook. Not a 10 for me but pretty damn close.

Second verse, same as the first, but it's better-translated this time and a little bigger (or, considering the Vita's size, smaller?).
All the high and low points are basically untouched, though the better translation sheds some more light on the story, and it's the same just-short-of-perfect game that I would recommend to all people who love beautiful things. It's been just about 10 years since Rebirth's release at the time of this review, so the ball is in Vanillaware and Aksys's court to bust this one out of Vita jail.
I loved the Wii version so much I'm going through it again on Vita just to see the translation differences. Will update this review once I get to the DLC content.

As you can tell by my username, I like this game a perfectly normal amount, I swear. It's deeply steeped in esoteric Buddhist lore, which is probably the most interesting thing about the game for me. One of my favorite things about Vanillaware’s body of work as a whole is the care with which it interprets myth and classical art, and the work on this game balances deep reverence and cheeky excess on an edge sharp enough to rival a real Muramasa. It's a game that comes from the intimate knowledge of a spiritual tradition that is alive and well, and there's something very remarkable about that.

The visuals are perfect as you’d expect; you cannot ask for more. But even by atrociously high Vanillaware standards, these are standout. Be prepared for some of the most beautiful backgrounds you'll see in a video game - and dare I mention the food? This is not a game to be played on an empty stomach.

Sadly, I just can't give it a perfect score because the enemies and gameplay get repetitive after a while, the teleportation system is inefficient and makes the game a bit more circuitous than it needs to be, and the translation on the Wii version is lacking (but is much improved in the Vita version). For me, that doesn't stop it from being a work of art and an absolute must-play.

And consider me next in line for a statue of the big-titty foxgirl, but when is that Torahime figure coming out?!

This isn't my favorite Vanillaware game overall, but I still really enjoyed it. It's like saying there's a flavor of ice cream that you don't like as much as another. I played this using a translator because I was impatient and bought it before it had a Western date - it worked pretty well considering.

(4/4/23 - editing to add, since the game is out worldwide now - I'd encourage you to try the demo first to see if you'll enjoy it. If you like the gameplay, which is the toughest hurdle to get over with this game, you'll fall in love with the rest.)

I found myself being reeled in by the story and pleasantly intrigued by each new revelation. The game is set up in small chapters, making it very easy to jump in and out of play, so it's a great VW game for those with very little time on their hands (OnceMore especially, thanks to the fast-forward function). This remastered version has some welcome quality-of-life improvements and new features. The tutorials are very hand-holdy, but this worked out since I was playing it in Japanese and it helped me understand specifics without having to take my phone out every few seconds. The game does get tough fast, even on normal difficulty, and the gameplay might be a hard sell to some, but it's a very solid experience overall. The unlockable art in OnceMore in particular is absolutely stunning, too.

If you know 13 Sentinels, that game is a spiritual successor to this one, so there isn't a better time to rediscover it than now - and if you want to play it, OnceMore is the way to do it.