Nympho Sensei Ryoko, published by JAST USA and developed by Code Pink, is the nukige (masturbation aid) visual novel that puts players in the role of the titular Ryoko Sumeragi as she goes about her days as a highschool teacher with an insatiable sexual appetite. Throughout the story, players will be tasked with choosing where to find people to seduce, as well as participating in an oddly sexual story. Much like in any nukige, players with various fetishes may find that theirs is catered to in at least one spot within the game.
The story starts with Ryoko awakening one morning, feeling too lazy to get out of bed to go to work. Almost immediately, we are given a choice on what we want Ryoko to do, stay in bed or get up early. For this playthrough I opted to stay in bed which lead to the story heading in the direction of Ryoko catching a later train. This lead to her being (willingly) groped, and more, sexually by an unknown man that is soon revealed to be another teacher. From there, the game advanced to what is essentially the gameplay of the title, choosing which areas of the school to stalk for some more of the sex. There are also some storyline sequences involving Ryoko’s brother, Akito, and the siblings sex-slave, Hitomi, that the player makes choices to kind of control and for different kinds of h-scenes.
Pretty much every choice you make in the story is purely made to unlock a h-scene (sex scene) in some capacity. However, the story itself, when it’s there, is pretty interesting… even if it is entirely shallow. The story in Nympho Sensei Ryoko deals entirely with the teachers relations with her brother, Akito, and their sex-slave, Hitomi. At first it seems as though Ryoko is controlling the reins on the trio’s sex, and romantic, life. But soon, it appears that perhaps, Hitomi is falling for Akito and would sometimes break her promises to Ryoko to favour Akito. The choices you’re given in these storyline circumstances do appear to have an effect on the story slightly too, with h-scenes and references seemingly being brought up in later dialogue.
What’s interesting about the gameplay is that one New Game to the ending constitutes one day in the story. At the end of a playthrough, you’re given a rating on how many people you slept with in that day, and how much sperm was collected. What’s interesting, and confusing at first, is that after you finish the game, hitting New Game will take you to the next day in the story. When I first finished it, I thought that I had somehow missed a lot of content or the game was buggy so I reloaded an earlier save. But instead, hitting new game gave me a new day and a new story to play. It’s interesting, but still a little strange. I liked it, but wish also that it was more apparent. Maybe if New Game was titled New Day or something it would work better.
As you can guess by this point, Nympho Sensei Ryoko has sex-scenes. It has a lot of them. The gameplay in this title revolves entirely around unlocking these scenes by choosing where you want to go within the school grounds in order to find someone to sex. To do this, players are given a limited number of movements, represented by a heart, where they can choose a location to travel to and see if there is a scene available. What’s interesting here is that depending on where you are in the game, you may not actually always find a scene when you go to a location, which will consume a movement. There are a lot of scenes to find and enjoy, all of which are pretty well detailed and pornographic, and some of them even tie-in to the overall narrative.
Nympho Sensei Ryoko’s h-scenes are pretty well drawn, even if some of the characters suffer from Hiraiface, and always seem to be angled in just the right way erotically. While a lot of newer visual novels feature all kinds animation techniques, or have a multitude of different pictures for each scene, Nympho Sensei Ryoko instead is a lot more simple with only a small number of images per scene. However, this game is designed with a quick fap session in mind, and not so much a game that wants to torture you sexually. That’s not to say that the torture fetish isn’t represented… because it is, it’s just not the focus. Pretty much, in this game, if you have a particular fetish, it is more than likely covered in some capacity. They even have a scene for swimsuits. So definitely, outside of lolicon stuff (I haven’t encountered any on my playthrough), there isn’t anything that I don’t think isn’t covered. If you need a fap, you just need to hunt down the scene that works for you.
As is becoming more and more standard for Japanese developed visual novels, the game is voiced by Japanese voice actresses. However, it is only the female characters, and Akito, that get voiced within the game. Gamers expecting an English voice option should know that it is unavailable, but the Japanese dub is amazingly well done anyway. The main voice that you will be listening to is Ryoko’s own, as she is in most of the scenes, but each of the supporting characters are all also pretty well done.
One thing that might be a bit interesting to some people is that the voices can become quite loud. Especially late at night. So, uh, make sure to turn the volume down a bit before playing. Unless you live alone, then by all means crank that volume to the max!
Overall, Nympho Sensei Ryoko is definitely a fun time waiting to be had. If you want to try something different, but also something that caters to your needs, this game will likely have you covered somewhere. Keep in mind that it is not a fully interactive experience, but it’s definitely intended to keep you interacting ;).
Rating: Lusty/10
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Nympho Sensei Ryoko is released on PC in English by JAST USA. This review is based on a code provided by the publisher for the purposes of review. You can purchase the game here (non-affiliate link).
If I had to quickly describe Nobunaga’s Ambition to someone completely unfamiliar with the series, I would say that it is pretty much the Japanese version of the Civilization series. Only, a bit more complicated, and confusing. However, for fans of history, and those that like tactical depth, there could be a lot that would interest those people in Nobunaga’s Ambition.
The main story in Nobunaga’s Ambition plays out a little differently depending on which clan you choose in the games Recommended screen on opening the New Game button. However, interestingly, if you choose to go back, you are taken to a menu where you can choose an era and character to play through. It’s honestly a little confusing how this works, as you would expect to kind of choose an era –and then– choose a clan. Also ideally, it would be clear that you are playing a specific scenario when choosing a clan on the first screen, rather than having to go back and choosing a scenario from the list.
Anyway, the game is actually rather light on story content, instead focusing strongly on the gameplay of the title. After beginning a scenario, you could be convinced that you’re not even really playing a game for its story, but instead are playing a game for its period and gameplay. And really, the gameplay in this is really the entirety of the game. Like, really. Learning how to play the game is, in itself, a game.
And honestly, that isn’t even really necessary. The best way to play this game is to just let the retainers make all the decisions for you. At most, you may want to manually take control every so often to make it feel as though you’re actually doing something useful, but outside of that, there’s no real point. The game doesn’t make this process of non-automation more appealing either, the in-game menus are complicated as heck, and way too overwhelming. Once you work out which of them are actually useful, the two pages of menus feel like they could have been reduced significantly, or made more useful elsewhere.
Visually, this game looks like it was made back in around 2004. As a historical civilisation simulator, I wouldn’t really expect it to have photorealistic graphics and so the visuals do work for what the game is. However, this game does feel aged straight of the box, which doesn’t give too good of an initial impression.
I did really like the character artwork and the overall designs within the UI. However, as previously mentioned, the menu’s are a mess to navigate and no amount of good artwork will fix that. However, fans of the samurai era will definitely really enjoy the art from this game.
The audio in this was pretty unremarkable, and with the game closed, it’s hard to remember any significant track that really stood out to define the experience. While video games are visual experiences, sometimes the audio really helps to make it just a little more complete and can even make a badly made game slightly more enjoyable.
There are some voice clips however, which does show some effort went into the audio. I just wish that it was more memorable. Even the combat noises were pretty generic and nothing to really push this experience into a memorable one.
Overall, I just really didn’t enjoy my time with this game. I feel like the hours spent trying to learn it were for nothing when the game will always do a better job at playing itself for you. It almost feels as though if you don’t spend hundreds of hours trying to progress, it was designed to be played for you with how obtuse the UI is. If you’re a fan of these kinds of games, you’ll probably love this, but for me, this is too similar to other games that do a much better job.
Rating: 6.5/10
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This review is based on the PC version of the game which was supplied to us by Koei-Tecmo for the purposes of review. It can be purchased on Steam for ~$60.
Final Fantasy XV, the JRPG from Square-Enix, only just launched worldwide continuing the story set in the Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy movie. This movie is set a few years before the events of the Final Fantasy XV games and follows the story of an elite squad of commandos under control of the king of the kingdom of Lucis. This squad, and the protagonist Nyx, wield magic and do battle against the empire of Nifelheim to stop a plot to overthrow the kingdom of Lucis. Much like the previous Final Fantasy movie, The Spirits Within, this film is done completely in CGI, but unlike it, it actually has to do with a mainline Final Fantasy title.
Kingsglaive’s story is far from a vast philosophical tale, and instead moves in the direction that Final Fantasy stories have been moving towards for quite some time, and that is a theatrical storyline with memorable characters and a pathway to action sequences that seem to really bend reality, pushing the fantasy to the final limit (break). Nyx and his friends are a small group within the Kingsglaive, an elite group of commandos that operate in the defence of the kingdom of Lucis in strategic missions. Soon after the films beginning, we’re taken into a huge battle with the forces of Lucis needing to defend their main city from the attacking Nifelheim forces. It is here that we get a sense of the Kingsglaive’s casts personalities, and the films theatrical storytelling.
The main plot develops over the course of the film and follows Nyx’s path from a Kingsglaive front-line unit, to one that is reprimanded and put onto guard duty. While undertaking this new duty, he is assigned to guard an upcoming event involving a treaty between the empire of Nifelheim and the kingdom of Lucis. This is where the real meat of the plot comes into play, as the film becomes one of political rivalry and political/military power-plays that affect Nyx, as well as some other notable characters from the upcoming Final Fantasy XV game, such as Lunafreya. Of course, somehow, Nyx ends up finding himself caught in the middle of all of these political battles, making this a fun and action packed movie.
To be honest, I didn’t think that I would find Kingsglaive to be all that an enjoyable film, but, honestly, I really did enjoy it. From the outset, the idea of another Final Fantasy film was an iffy one, after-all, Final Fantasy The Spirits Within wasn’t exactly the most Final of Fantasies, having barely any similarities to any existing Final Fantasy at the time. Even more, the Final Fantasy anime series is barely even memorable, I literally only just remembered that it existed as I was writing this paragraph. But, outside of the iffy quality and pacing of the early movie, Kingsglaive strengthened itself the further along it went. It isn’t a cinematic masterpiece, but damn, it made me excited enough for the franchise to renew my hope that Final Fantasy XV wouldn’t be a symptom of a huge decline in the franchise. But I still can’t help but want Final Fantasy to go back to its medieval fantasy roots just a little.
Kingsglaive – Final Fantasy XV is a movie done completely in CGI. This seems a little weird at the beginning of the film with a bit of uncanny valley going on with characters expressions, but as the film progresses, the emotion shown in the CGI characters does actually increase exponentially. It kinda feels like the team got better at animating, but then forgot to go back and fix up some of the earlier sequences. However, despite this small issue that corrects itself as the movie progresses, the CGI action sequences are incredibly well done and somehow become the main draw to the film.
As I mentioned before, this is rather theatrical film with characters that often go for the theatrics. Quite often, you’ll see some exaggerated movements in the way the characters talk and behave during dialogue and combat sequences to make things look and seem cooler, or to emphasise a certain emotion or plot. This is a good use of animation and it’s something I like to see in films.
Character and set design is pretty important to the Final Fantasy mythos, with characters becoming more and more elegant as the main-line series progresses. What was interesting about this particular Final Fantasy story is that it takes place in a world that looks similar to our own for the most part. This comes right down to the Lucian kingdom being very reflective of a modern day Earth city. However, things start to look a bit more Final Fantasy when the Nifelheim appear, looking like a mixture of the soldiers from Final Fantasy XIII and the Garleans from Final Fantasy XIV. What was also cool was Ultros’ design in this, even if he wasn’t as silly as some of his previous incarnations.
Unlike anime, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV only has English and a couple of other voice options, but no Japanese dub. I find this a bit strange considering that this is a Japanese production and fans of the games often prefer to play the Japanese language when it is available in games. But outside of that, the voice acting was pretty well done and the performances were believable. I also enjoyed the soundtrack, which had some pretty good moments.
Overall, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is a rather fun film that gets better as it goes along. It sets up the world of the video game Final Fantasy XV pretty well and gives you a nice background understanding of what’s going on. The battle sequences are pretty awesome and the story progresses interestingly.
Rating: Needs a little more Final Fantasy, but still worth a watch /10
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Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV comes courtesy of Sony Entertainment. This review is based on the BD version of the film as provided by Sony for the purposes of review. The publishing of this review was held back to celebrate the launch of the Final Fantasy XV video game. You can purchase it in stores for ~$20, it is also available on iTunes.
Mass Effect: Andromeda is the latest title in, and spin-off of, the Mass Effect franchise. Gamers take on the new role of Ryder as a “Pathfinder”, an explorer that can do whatever they want as they are mostly above authority, to help establish colonies across the Andromeda galaxy. However, the Andromeda region may not be as hospitable to life as the team had envisioned. It’s a new galaxy, and with it, a new adventure and new dangers await.
I’m going to say this as soon as possible so that people can immediately determine whether or not they will enjoy playing Mass Effect: Andromeda or not. The writing in this game feels as though it was written by a 14 year old fan-fiction writer from tumblr. And not one of those good ones either. The kind that writes themselves in as a Mary Sue character that has all the side cast eating off of their every word and exist only to further their whims.
So the game starts with the crew of the Starship Enterprise Colony Ship of the humans reaching Andromeda galaxy. Their job is to explore new worlds and to establish contact with the new Nexus base set up in the Andromeda Galaxy. Immediately upon entering the system, the crew decide to take a tour onto a nearby world, shortly after their ship is damage from some kind of dark matter nebula. It’s not the smartest move, considering there is a Nexus base nearby to get repairs done, but, fan-fiction tier writing.
While on the planet, the games narrative really starts. After some explosions and some linear pathfinding, you come face-to-face with the mook soldiers of the game’s primary villains, the Kett. Anyway, more poorly written exposition later and suddenly you are no longer a regular explorer, but are now the Pathfinder. Breaking protocol on becoming Pathfinder, because your dad passes it down to you, and the rightful next-in-line gets shafted.
This part is another example of poorly written story in this game. The rightfully trained next-in-line Pathfinder doesn’t even care in the slightest that all of her years of training have gone to waste. She is just like: “Yup, you’re the Pathfinder now. That’s cool. I will follow you to the ends of the galaxy and die for you.” In fact, just to see if at any points she becomes resentful about it, I’ve taken her on every mission I could and spoken to her often. It rarely, if ever, comes back up as a topic. Heck, you can even kind of become her friend (I played female and didn’t notice romance options, only the friend heart; I will also admit to rushing this a fair bit). If this was the first two Mass Effect games, there’d have been some kind of tension here for sure.
The way the story is told and progresses isn’t particularly appealing in comparison to previous Mass Effect games either. At no point did it feel like there was any kind of urgency to my mission, nor did it particularly feel like there was a reason to explore. Definitely though, the narrative was dis-interesting enough for me to not want to pay attention to it. I can handle dumb narratives, but the way it’s delivered here, it was just boring.
Let’s look at an example of an urgent quest that you get locked into. There’s one quest where you have to rescue some aliens from an alien brainwashing facility. You go in, none of your party members use their talents to help you get into the facility, nor do you get the opportunity to bond with them through special dialogue via them helping, unlike in the other Mass Effect games. After that, you fight a bunch of enemies, not too much happens but the person you’re doing the quest for giving some dialogue. None of it meaningful. Soon, you fight a boss. The boss was actually slightly challenging if you don’t realise that you have guns and his only damaging attack is a one hit kill melee attack and are hit by it. And then his ending dialogue gives you two choices, each as stupid as the other, and finally, you go through an actually challenging firefight that is easier if you do it wrong.
I want to expand on the dialogue choices on the boss in that scenario, as it is major point that echoes throughout the game in almost every conversation. You’re simply not given enough realistic options to deal with a scenario. Spoilers: Your two options are to either save the person you came to rescue, or, let them die and rescue all the brainwashed people. It’s dumb, because in previous Mass Effect games, there would surely be a third option to save everyone the hard way. In this very specific instance, it’s kill the bad guy and bomb the base to save the one person, or, let the bad guy live and save all the brainwashed people.
Now, we could have just added a deceptive third option here and had our cake, and eat it too. Shepard would have done this. This is dumb. The writing in this game sucks. And this one scenario echoes this weakness throughout the entire game.
I don’t want to spend all-day talking about just how poorly written this game is, or how poorly thought out the choices that progress the story are, and so I will end that discussion here. It is a shame that Bioware’s writing has fallen so far in recent years, although the signs were all there, pointing to this inevitable conclusion.
A thing I’m not sure if Bioware intended with the gameplay or not is that all the decisions and things that you do in the game, can very easily be done by the people asking you to do them. This isn’t just reflected in the quests either. There are small mundane things in the dialogue as early as the start of the game that make you feel less like a hero, or an explorer, and more of a galactic delivery boy. I remember being in shock at how dumb some of the NPCs in this game sounded asking for you to do things that are literally right in front of them. “Ryder! I have arms, with hands on them! Can you touch this thing for me that is literally right within not even a full-arms length of distance from me?”
Speaking of dialogue, it plays a huge part in this game. It’s just too bad it’s uninteresting, mostly useless, and seems to serve some point other than creating an enjoyable experience. Why is it that literally every alien you meet in the first few hours of the game gay? I get that gay representation is seen as good in games, but why are there no gay humans? Are Bioware trying to tell us that all gays are aliens? Wouldn’t it have been more believable if there was a more varied mix of characters? Why does their sexuality even matter?
Actually speaking about that, in a (SPOILERS) cutscene where you first meet Peewee, you are on a hostile alien world where literally everything is trying to kill you. What does she do? She runs into you and pushes you onto the ground with her grotesque alien body that is sure to make anyone being tackled on an alien planet immediately react in a self-defensive manner. Does this believable scenario happen? No? Instead, we get instant sex-eyes.
I’m going to be honest, I was ready to drop this turd of a game at this point. Nobody can write, and nobody knows anything about anything. This is worse than: “DO YOU WANT TO RIDE THE BULL,” because at least at that point we were asking for it. Here it’s just: “HEY LET’S NOT REACT DEFENSIVELY TO ALMOST BEING KILLED OR MOLESTED ON AN ALIEN PLANET WHERE EVERYTHING WANTS TO KILL US.”
There is also a lack of opportunity to make your character into a Paragon, or, a Renegade in this game. As I previously mentioned, the dialogue makes almost no difference to story progression, and when it does, it is dumb. Regardless of if you pick the smart option, the emotive option, the curious option or the friend option, not much really happens. All dialogues lead to the same place, outside of the specific ones that don’t, and it just seems like cheap differences with no consequence. No longer can you be a good dude, or a dude that just goes around punching people in the face and shooting them in the head, or a deceptive dude, nope. Now it’s just: advance dialogue>choose 1/4>advance dialogue in similar manner>if story mission give two dumb options. There is no real depth here, just slightly different scripts.
Anyway, the combat gameplay in Mass Effect: Andromeda is actually pretty good. It’s pretty reactive and the jump-jets make an awesome addition to making firefights fast and visceral. Particularly, if you have a fast shotgun you can just rocket in and kill things with relative ease. The melee combat is a bit iffy though, that could have had a bit more effort put into it. Though, if you imagine that you are a robot and not a person, you are making excuses, but they are fun excuses.
One thing that I don’t understand in Mass Effect: Andromeda though is that you can effectively jump-jet everywhere. Because this can be spammed, it effectively makes sprinting useless as it comes out ahead in movement speed. It’s not quite as fast as using the not-mako, but it’s still pretty quick.
When it comes to the game world and the scenario in Mass Effect: Andromeda, the game is a little different to previous games. In the first two Mass Effect games, moreso the first, big open worlds were relegated mainly to mako drives and not many main scenario missions utilised these sandbox style worlds. Instead, most of the roleplaying is done on bases and in stations. Very tight areas that were interesting and made you want to explore. In Andromeda, you will be mostly running around empty sandbox planets, going from copy-paste station to copy-paste station to find the one item that will advance the mission you are on.
It feels like a lot of the game’s length was artificially created through this egregious, and often annoying, spacing. There’s just not enough to do to justify the vast amount of space between objectives. And if you’ve come out of previous Mass Effect games, it just feels like a lot of wasted time.
Interestingly, the sound in this game is really well done. The background tracks give an awesome feel to the game that really makes this worthwhile. Unfortunately, the soundtrack carries the game, rather than being a supplement to a great package.
The voice acting in Mass Effect: Andromeda is also done okay, but you can tell that even the voice actors began to feel how dumb this game actually was from a writing perspective. There are a few standout performances, but on the whole, it felt like a lot of lines weren’t given enough context to make it work. Or, everyone involved knew they were making rubbish and simply didn’t care. The only voice actors that seemed like they were happy to be working on this game were the not-kitty-twilek aliens.
The Frostbite engine used in this game really does do all of the hard-work in making Mass Effect: Andromeda truly standout. And standout it does. All the blemishes of amateur modeling and amateur rigging stands out like a stick in the mud. I mean, the developers couldn’t even be assed making a detailed character generator. How much effort do you think they actually put into making decent models themselves. 0. It was outsourced to someone else.
Honestly, Mass Effect: Andromeda is a symptom of a bleeding western game industry. You have talentless hacks being hired because they know the right person, or they wrote some erotic fanfiction that someone at the studio got the tingles over and ended up getting the job as a writer. After that, because nobody can actually do anything except write fanfiction, all the grunt work gets pawned off to someone else to do, someone that doesn’t care. And the end result, well, is Mass Effect: Andromeda. Note: This whole paragraph is supposition, and may not be truthful. But damn, this is the only explanation for how things could have gotten so bad with this title. How do you mess up Mass Effect with such a Mass Effect?
Overall, I just can not advise people buy this stain on the franchise. Your money would be better spent on buying the classic three games if you’re hungry for some space-faring sci-fi. If you’re a fan of the series, do not tarnish your memory. Stay safe. Avoid.
Rating: DO NOT BUY/ 10
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Mass Effect: Andromeda is developed by Bioware and published by EA. This review is based on the PS4 version of the game, as supplied by EA for the purposes of review. You can buy it on Origin(PC) for $99 dollarydoos, PSN(PS4) for $99 dollarydoos and Microsoft Store(Xboner) for $69.99 USD.
Yoko Taro, the team at Platinum Games and Square-Enix may have created a true work of art in NieR: Automata.
NieR: Automata, published by Square-Enix and developed by Platinum Games, is the second entry in the NieR timeline of the Drakengard (or Drag-on Dragoon) games. In the month of being released, it has sold over 1 million copies and has gained a considerable cult following in the gaming world. But what is quite remarkable about this title isn’t its sale stats, or how good of a game it is, it is that it is truly the greatest argument that video games can be taken as a serious art form.
Much like most people, I went into NieR: Automata not knowing much about the game and its history at all. On the recommendation of a few friends that are fans of the franchise, and Platinum Games’ good name in making memorable action titles, I opted to pick this gem up only if I could find it a significantly reduced price due to some of the heavy criticisms of the previous entries in the franchise. Namely, those in the Drakengard portions of the series. I had previously tried to play the first game but dropped it after an hour due to how amazingly terrible it was.
Fortunately, I was able to find Automata at an amazingly reduced price on Green Man Gaming (with their sign-up promotion, combined with a further 5% off voucher I found on Google), and bought it on the spot. I have to say that I went into this expecting a terrible game with solid action mechanics. Instead, I was– quite simply– drawn into this remarkable world with truly memorable moments, characters, and of course, immense pain and suffering.
How is it that a video game could make a person feel so much emotion? I’ve never played an action game, an RPG, or any kind of game really, that literally made me cry on more than one occasion. I’m not the type to be drawn into a horror game, I don’t usually connect to a protagonist in an RPG, and I can watch guts splatter across a screen and not even bat an eye. Yet here I was, drawn into the incredibly human story, ironically told using robots and androids, that made me genuinely feel for the characters and the scenario.
To really examine this, I want to talk a bit about my experiences playing the game, so this may contain some spoilers for people that haven’t played it. Not that they make a difference, this is a game that somehow works well even if you’re expecting certain things to happen. What you read kinda just sits in the back of your mind while you’re playing and somehow makes the pain worse. It’s kinda interesting.
The Route A Discussion
The game opens with you taking control of a hardened combat android with the looks and graces of a gothic lolita ballerina. Her name is 2B and is she is a sexy badass. With twin-swords in hand, she mercilessly wrecks enemy machines that, at first glance, just seem like brain-dead mooks… much like in any other video game. However, by the end of the opening level, you’ve met and seen killed her companion android, a shota-styled boy named 9S.
What’s interesting about their relationship in this opening level isn’t that they are partners, it’s the hints that there is more behind them two than the game lets on. While playing this opening level, it is as though both 2B and 9S have met for the first time in their relationship. You can tell that this is so from how 9S introduces himself to 2B, and that while he tries to build a level of camaraderie, 2B rebuffs his advances by being incredibly cold. “Emotions are prohibited,” she tells him.
What’s interesting here is that by the end, she is crying over his broken body and is willing to sacrifice herself alongside him for the sake of the mission, almost as though her actual emotions for the android boy, whom she had just met, had been developed over a much longer period. Somehow, watching their bond grow over the course of the level makes the end moment strong, but when you consider the implications more in-depth and take into account that not many people on their first meeting would feel so strongly, it becomes apparent that there is much more to their relationship which makes it more sad, because it means that at least one of them is hiding something.
While this opening moment wasn’t the strongest in impact, it set the tone for the game in that it may not just be the action game that people were expecting. Of course, we had all seen cheap emotional moments in action films and the like, so it was still possible that this would just be a slightly perverted action game, considering the looks of the seeming main character and her finely shaped booty. So, it wouldn’t have been too bad if the title was just explosions and cheap romance. But no… it definitely isn’t that at all.
One of the things that the game slowly builds you into is that these machines that you took for faceless mooks may not actually be as faceless and mooky as you thought. As you progress through the story, you meet various characters that at first seem a little strange and out of place. Slowly though, characters like the machine, Pascal, become more like caricatures of human emotions that really start to play on your own thoughts. After a while, and after being thrown into intense situations, these machines feel more like people than even 2B or the other androids.
It’s not just side-character variant machines like Pascal and his family in the forest, and their tragedy, that makes you feel. As you progress through the game, you are consistently increasingly barraged with the cries of the enemies you encounter and destroy. At first the machines don’t do much, they just kind of stare blankly at you until you mercilessly slaughter them for experience points and loot, as, after-all, it’s completely justified murder for they are your mortal enemies in an endless war. However, they eventually do start to talk, and it becomes apparent that many of them feel a familial bond with each other that you have have walked into and destroyed.
This theme really becomes apparent once you enter a desert boss fight with two machine-made androids named Adam and Eve. When you first enter the zone that they are found in, you will notice some rather interesting robots. At a glance, they are your usual faceless mook types, but if you pay attention, you can clearly see that they are trying to breed with each other. As in, they are mirroring the way humans breed. What’s interesting here is that they all do manage to combine and give birth to new beings in Adam and Eve. Through these two characters across the story, we can see a human face to put onto the machines and the pain that they feel having been invaded and destroyed for a war they have long forgotten as pointless.
All the while the world is constantly bombarding you with these messages of painful feelings, you have 2B and 9S’ relationship slowly growing along too. At some point, you don’t quite realise when, you’ve become attached to the two of them as a team. Maybe it’s because humans naturally bond over time and this is reflected in games where you are partnered up. After-all, I became solidly attached to Quiet in Metal Gear Solid V as well, simply because I used her as my main companion. Perhaps the team making the game were kind of aware of this phenomenon, and with the hints of a building relationship, were able to create a stronger image in the mind of the player.
It seems like everything in this game is timed to be reached at the perfect moment to create distress in the player themselves. For example, in a battle with the previously mentioned Adam and Eve one is killed by the player. This sets Eve off to become a murderous and homicidal machine hellbent on taking revenge for his deceased brother. Unlike in other games though, you can somehow feel Eve’s immense pain. This is possibly due to how the times you’ve seen them have been quite charming despite them being caricature villains. It seems as though they may be a parody of over-the-top pretty boy bad guys. This is exemplified through Adam’s kidnapping of 9S after an emotive and extreme battle.
I don’t know why, but not having 9S there really affected me. It was as though I had lost half of myself after that fight. I wanted 9S back, not because it is right to rescue a comrade, nor because the game was telling me it was what I was supposed to do, but because I genuinely wanted him back to satisfy my own ego. It was lonely without that shota, and I’m not even into that stuff. Adam was gunna be murdered, because he stole my shota from me. And he was. It was very self-reflecting, particularly how the game talks about this very issue as you are fighting him.
After all of this buildup over time, you aren’t just playing a game anymore. The game is pecking at your subconscious, making you consider the actions that you’re taking. Yet, you don’t want to stop. For some reason, you want to continue fighting these machines, you want to uncover the truth behind the world, you want to save your android friends and protect humanity. Even as the cries of the machines that you slaughter play in your subconscious. This is particularly true when for when you reach the forest zone for the first time.
You learn that these Forest Kingdom machines had separated themselves from the machine network long ago and started their own kingdom. When you first hear about them, they are made out to be bad guys and so you are justified in killing them by your friend, Pascal, the caring and nurturing machine that is a clearly a guy with a womans voice. He states that they have been harassed by them in the past and have built a gate to separate themselves from the kingdom. And so, because of this, you feel justified in your killings. As flimsy as a justification as it is, it is enough to feel okay with going on a killing spree against them.
What’s shocking here is that they see you as the invading force when you enter the forest. They just want to be left alone and are willing to defend their kingdom to protect their family with their lives. The voice acting for these machines, particularly in the Japanese language, can get downright distressing. These machines don’t just give stock lines, the voice actors really go so far as to even want to do look more like they actually have something to fight for. This sound of genuine distress in some of the machines is quite off-putting the first time you hear it. You start to consider if maybe a killing-spree isn’t the wisest choice of action. And then you kill them all anyway for experience points and loot because they’re game monsters and you justify it to yourself that way.
After a bit of a climb, you discover some interesting things about them that make you feel rather bad for the slaughter. But you consider also, they tried to kill you. They had been harassing Pascal. It is okay to murder them. Are humans really such easy monsters to create? We can take a flimsy excuse to kill something and just roll with it.
In this initial run with 2B, you really only see the surface layer of what you’re seeing, doing and hearing. This reflects 2B’s action oriented nature of putting feelings below, or behind, the job at hand. She is a killing machine designed to murder these machine lifeforms and not feel anything about it.
However, much like the opening level of the game, the ending battle sees her once again lose her one and only companion 9S. She can’t withhold the feelings that she has for the android, and as an audience, we identify 9S as a companion of our own and we feel similarly bad for his eventual passing. Then suddenly it’s End of Evangelion tier suffering, but with a bright and bittersweet ending that has so much cheese that you can’t help but feel happy to see 9S’ memory live on.
And then after the credits roll, you do it all over again, but this time from the perspective of 9S. The character you have come to care about the most through a single playthrough of NieR: Automata. This time around though, it’s not just the exact same game but with a different character, it’s a similar game as told through the eyes of a completely different person.
The Route B Discussion
9S, due to his function as a Scanner and not a Battle type of android, sees the world much differently to the way that 2B does. And we see this as early as the opening level of the second playthrough. 2B’s playthough was designed to be a cursory glance at the world and its themes. These are conveyed to the player in passively through the guise of meaningful interaction in combat. Unlike 2B and her two swords, 9S is much worse at direct combat but has the ability to plug himself into the minds of enemy robots. So, he sees and hears things that 2B cannot, and this second playthrough acts as a reinforcement of the themes felt only on a cursory level within the first playthrough.
You know that this is the case as immediately on the second route of this game, you already see the kinds of deep relationships between the machines within the first few seconds. Instead of the high-octane action sequence found in 2B’s run, you instead start the game at the slow pace of a machine that has lost his brother to scrap. As the player, you control this robot as you try to repair your brother in futility. Once you take control of 9S, he sees this and remarks on how dumb it is. But you, as a player, probably can’t help but feel the opposite of 9S. You feel as though he is a bit of an ass, but yet, you know this can’t be the case as you previously tried so hard to save him.
This kind of sequence plays into another level of themes that are introduced into this playthrough. It’s that not every character is as they seemed the first time around. You get that extra small look into matters and characters that you didn’t as 2B, and it really conveys more appropriately the level of complexities that actual characters have. This isn’t to say that all characters are the opposites of themselves in comparison to the first route, but, there is just that tiny bit of additional info that gives more depth to what you’ve just seen previously.
Gameplay-wise, the story advances the same way as it did in the run of 2B, but what really makes this run exceptional is all of this bonus content as 9S. Throughout 9S’ run, you’ll be treated to additional dialogue from each enemy that further enforces their humanity, but it’s more than this. Each level has a kind of backstory that was unseen the first time around.
These backstories are told in the form of short cartoons that set the background for what you’ve seen before. Even more, while it’s not made apparent if 9S is directly seeing these due to his abilities, or if they’re being forced onto him, he (and by extension, the player) are able to learn some rather chilling details about certain characters that they meet and kill throughout the game.
The most chilling example in NieR: Automata, in my opinion, is the opera singer boss, Simone. Her backstory begins when you enter the abandoned theme park level as 9S, and you get a small tale about how she would go through the motions of beautifying herself to appease an asshole bloke machine. What makes this most chilling though, isn’t the story itself, it’s that after you defeat her, you are given what seems like a snippet of her memories. Looking into the mind of another person is probably a horrifying ordeal in itself, but now, you’re being forced to watch how this warped machine came to be warped in the first place. She became vain in the hopes of wooing a man. She sacrificed and murdered many to attain her goal. And ultimately, it was all for nothing. Her beauty was just a mask. Behind it all was a truly monstrous character, hiding and beautifying herself to seem attainable.
She wanted so badly to create the image that she believed another wanted to see in herself. But truly, living to this ideal is a madness in itself. And through Simone’s actions, we can see the futility in working hard to achieve something, only for it to blow up in our faces at the end. What is left after that besides madness and depression? Her story is truly a reflection in the hearts of some humans, and even if you yourself are not like that, there are still parts of yourself you can ascribe to this story. Perhaps it is not vanity you were seeking, but the completion of a model, or some task at work, just something deep and personal to you that didn’t work out in the end. You could have ended up as Simone, murdering machines and androids as a coping mechanism. This reflection is most chilling indeed.
Nier: Automata’s use of extremes in emotion are often used to amplify the feeling a scenario. But, it never quite feels like the game is forcing you to think or feel a certain way about it. At no point does 9S remark on these images in an emotive way. At no point are you told that you should feel sadness, remorse, pity or any other kind of emotion. What you feel as a player, an observer and a participant in these scenarios is entirely your own personal response.
Each of the main missions that took place in the Route A playthrough with 2B has points like this within them while replaying them as 9S in the Route B run. These extra bits of information reinforcing each scenario that much more and putting so much more pressure on the player to consider things. It’s not just these scenarios on their own though, it’s the build-up of each one before it adding onto the next, as well as the passive information given from side-quests, overreacting enemies, and characters that you meet along the way that really amplify everything in your mind.
What’s most interesting about this mental buildup is that when you– playing as 9S– get kidnapped by Adam, are treated to what was going on to 9S mentally at the time. 9S, and as a result, you the player, are kind of mentally probed by Adam as a kind of torture. You’re not quite sure when it is that 2B will come to your rescue, but you’re also fighting for your own survival through a hacking minigame.
While this is not truly indicative of a struggle, it does massively convey the futility of trying to save yourself from your own mind while in captivity. Afterall, 9S is hacking himself in this scene. Adding onto this though, is Adams dialogue exchange with 9S. As the player now identifies with the android, the probing questions Adam throws his way also kind of plays on your own mind as a player too. To reinforce this in the strongest way, Adam’s final question to you “You wish to **** 2B, don’t you?” really does get into the players own head. A lot of people in forums believe the censored word is ‘fuck’, but the game uncensors that word in other areas. So truly, this final question pierces the players own mentality.
Much like in reality, 9S’ run is filled with finding small bits of information on the world, as well as the scenarios that the game puts you through. Similarly to 9S, we as people will never know the complete and true story of something. We can only judge and react based on the snippets of information made apparent to us. How we react to that is a reflection of ourselves really, and this is something that art does. It allows us to impose our own ideals onto something, and makes us truly reflect on them. 9S’ playthrough of the story achieves this well. And it is apparent right from the start of his run that this isn’t just an action game, it is going to be a work of art.
The Route C,D and E Discussion
The third (and fourth) run of this game is the most important part of NieR: Automata as a work of art. It combines the feelings conveyed in both Route A and Route B and then makes you lose control of them. Everything that you’ve come to love and enjoy in this game crashes down around you. Everyone and everything that you thought you knew were lies.
The girl you worked so hard to save as 9S? Dead. The children of Pascals village you worked so hard to save? Murdered by machines and driven Pascal insane. The lovable 9S? Twisted by intense hatred for the girl that 2B sacrificed herself to.
It’s actually this character, A2, that serves as a point of stability for the player. It is through her eyes that we come to see how twisted reality has become. As a character that had previously been in control of her own battle against the machines, waging countless excursions to slaughter them, having the player take control of her puts her into situations she would have otherwise never seen another side of. In a way, it is due to the players will that we see character arcs end the way that we do.
The loving character, Pascal, is forced to find a new home for his family of machines after they are attacked in their village by warring berserk machines. As we, the players, have become attached to the loving Pascal and his family, we are saddened to see them attacked and slaughtered, and so we opt to help them find a new home. Unfortunately, they’re tracked down there too and attacked. It is here that we see Pascal and his pacifism finally pushed to its limits and he goes berserk himself. This is too strong a reflection of being pushed to the limits and something that we can all relate to.
But this relation is an opportunity for self reflection. Here we take control of Pascal himself and get to unleash our feelings upon the invading enemies. We feel completely justified in doing so, we’ve lost everything and these are the people responsible for it. Should they be allowed to live while the people we care about have died? No. Of course, different players will have different reactions to this, and it does truly make us question whether a persons ideals can suddenly be pushed to the side as long as it suits whatever justification we make for it in our minds.
After pushing our ideals aside and returning to check on the remaining children, we find that they too have been slaughtered. It is in this moment that we re-assume control of A2 and are given the choice on Pascal’s fate. If someone asks you to end their life for them, do you accept their proposal? What is the morality in erasing another persons memories? Or do you wash your hands of it all, you’ve done all that you can, and leave the person in pain behind to deal with their own problems?
These are the three solutions you are given to assist Pascal in his lament. Is there a right answer here? I don’t think so. I don’t think there is a wrong answer either. It is what it is: a painful choice given to us under completely relatable circumstances. I suppose that many of us would choose the option that we would like done to us in that situation. I personally walked away from Pascal the first time. It’s not my choice to make whether he lives or dies. He has to choose that for himself. Forcing someone else to choose your fate is completely unfair on them and puts them in a position that they never asked for.
This point in the narrative is interesting because it is a splitting point in the story. Players see the results of the world through the eyes of A2, but we can also switch to 9S at various points to get a look into his increasing despair. In my opinion, 9S is truly relatable as a character in this third arc. How would any of us react if the love of our lives was ripped apart in front of us? If given the opportunity to just unleash that sheer hatred upon the world, would we do it?
9S, in this part of the story, is the character that we want to be when we lose everything that we have. Actually, all of the prominent characters in this chapter are. But, as we control 9S, it is almost a catharsis to be able to just unleash upon the world, justified or not. Through 9S, we are given the opportunity to release all of our bent up emotions that are quite possibly just laying dormant in the back of our subconscious somewhere.
Or maybe for some of us, this is a really reflective opportunity to watch the results of what would have happened if we caved to our emotions and just let loose. After-all, every characters that does (including 9S), meets with a tragic fate when they do. Even more interestingly, we see 9S –and by reflection, ourselves– become much more like Eve, who we had only just killed for becoming out of control much earlier. Fittingly, 9S is able to receive the same fate at the end.
I could talk all day about scenarios and how they reflect on ourselves as players, and how deeply they affect us on an emotional level. But honestly, if you’ve played the game, you’ll know exactly what I mean already. So that brings me to the final point that I want to talk about, and that is how futile all of events in the game actually are.
Revelations, Philosophy and the Meaning of Life
Eventually you will learn the exact reasons for the war of the machines and the androids. Why it has been going on for as long as it has, and even, the truth behind the player characters themselves and their place within the world. It is not a pretty revelation, it is actually quite depressing. And even so, these characters have no idea and simply make the most out of their tortured life and find meaning within themselves and each other.
The revelation that spins everything onto its head is that the androids had long since the won war against the machines, but had kept them alive as a method of retaining a purpose within their lives. Without the purpose of protecting the last of the humans, another falsified idea, they found that androids simply stopped functioning. And so, they manufactured a prolonged war in order to keep their own race alive. What’s interesting here is that after events of so long is that the machines eventually evolved more human traits and were able to reclaim ground against the androids. It seems that they were also keeping the androids alive to keep an ongoing enemy to force their own evolution.
This points to many philosophical questions about the meaning of life, the purpose of a collective people, and the purpose of the self. If it is your job to kill all the machines to protect humanity, is it right to continue fighting once it is revealed to all be a sham? If your very existence relies on a perpetual enemy, do you not just simply create more pain for yourself and others? These questions, and more, are things we ask ourselves from these revelations. We see the futility of the war through the characters in the game, which casts everything with yet another light.
Finally, at the end, you are given a choice by the revived Adam and Eve about joining a machine ark on a voyage into the stars. To start again and find a new purpose in life. Is it right to carry this war to another world? Should you stay behind to die and finally end the cycle? Or does your life have meaning as long as you have someone to share it with?
I believe that this is one of the core aspects of NieR: Automata. You need to rely on yourself, but also, you need to rely on meaning and purpose given by others. This meaning is exemplified through the end credits of the game in the final E ending. You are given the task of fighting a bullet-hell style shooter against the end credits, often being curb-stomped by the Marketing and PR department (surprise!) until you are given the option to accept help from another players data. It is okay to try to do things alone, but often, life is easier and more meaningful with another person there.
And, before doing this final battle, you are given the option to make someone elses ending experience that much more meaningful by sacrificing your own save data so that they might succeed. Sometimes, we all need someone to give us that helping hand in life. This ending sequence really does drive this point, and I believe one of the main points of the game, home.
A game as reflective and philosophical as NieR: Automata, in my opinion, couldn’t be any less than a true form of art. The creator gives you this image, or set of images, to derive meaning from. This meaning isn’t forced upon us, but rather, created through our own thoughts and experiences through the reflection of what it is that we’re seeing and doing within the game. Everyone will take away something different from this title, and even if they don’t find it as artistic and emotional as some of us have. At least they will have pretty android booty to ogle the entire way through.
It is out! Here is the official word about the launch!
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FINAL FANTASY XV NOW AVAILABLE FOR
XBOX ONE AND PLAYSTATION 4 WORLDWIDE
‘FINAL FANTASY XV – Ride Together’ Launch Trailer also Released
SYDNEY 30th November 2016 – FINAL FANTASY® XV, the highly anticipated and latest mainline entry in the iconic FINAL FANTASY series, is now available for Xbox One and PlayStation®4 across the world.
The latest instalment in the classic series, FINAL FANTASY XV is set in an enthralling world where fantasy meets reality, where players will embark on an adventure like no other. Join Prince Noctis and his comrades on an epic journey of brotherhood, love and despair as they unravel Noctis’s destiny and take up arms against the warmongering empire, Niflheim. With a captivating cast of characters, breath-taking visuals, open world exploration and thrilling action-packed real time combat, FINAL FANTASY XV is the ultimate FINAL FANTASY experience for both newcomers to the series and series fans alike.
“FINAL FANTASY has a special place in the hearts of many and the team who worked long and hard on this project couldn’t be prouder to present FINAL FANTASY XV to fans around the world,” said Hajime Tabata, game director. “Today, we invite not only longtime fans but a new generation of gamers to a series beloved thanks to the engaging storytelling, unique characters and captivating worlds that have become the hallmark of FINAL FANTASY over the years.”
To celebrate the launch, a new gameplay trailer entitled ‘FINAL FANTASY XV – Ride Together’ is also available to watch now at:
FINAL FANTASY XV is available now worldwide for the Xbox One and PlayStation®4 system. For more information on FINAL FANTASY XV, visit: http://www.finalfantasyxv.com/
Critical Hit is the debut single player visual novel release by TsukiWare for PC. It is filled with the sorts of DnD adventures that a 13 year old you might have created and the adult you more than likely still wants to indulge in. It tries to offer the player something a little different than the ordinary. How does it stack up to heavyweight fare? Let’s see. Let’s get this out of the way, first and foremost, Cirtical Hit features a trap as its central character in the story. If this is the sort of thing that will add some allure to the character (cough cough, raises hand) then I am sure you will get more out of the game.
So, how is the game? Lets talk about the characters as that is where I feel the game best shines. In Critical Hit, there are three main characters that you will be dealing with in the game. Akira himself, a very mild and shy boy who wants to be a hero. He is a very feminine looking boy who wants to go on adventures to rescue his princess pony toy… yup you read that right. Then there is Spirit Akira, who is an anomaly that seems to represent Akira while also filling in as the observer to the audience about what is happening. Akira is unable to interact with Spirit Akira which makes for a lot of humourous dialogue as Spirit Akira seems to be aware of what is really going on.
Lastly, the game is set under the whim of an all seeing and all powerful dungeon master. This DM likes to send Akira into all manner of situations that he must overcome, seemingly delighting in using cliche deviant scenarios to push Akira into the situations he wishes to be privy to.. In true adolescent pulp fantasy; this will mostly involve the use of Akira’s pert young body and its ability to entertain objects of various size.
The dialogue is very tongue in cheek and plays off a lot of the common expectations we are used to seeing in such a game and indeed, in the general DnD universe as a whole. I found myself enjoying the conversations between Akira and the characters around him, from people joking about him having a weaboo name (okay he kinda does) to a pair of goblins coming across him and deciding he needs to judge who is the best out of them both by molesting him.
I literally laughed out loud a few times playing the game, just seeing the situations that Akira found himself in and it was the sole reason I continued the story. That isn’t to say that the graphics in Critical Hit are bad. I personally think that Akira is quite alluring, however I found myself wanting his scenes to be more drawn out, as it felt that by the time I was getting into a situation and really getting prepared for what was to come, Akira was taking it like a pro and moving the story along.
The story has it’s own conclusion but it all happens very quickly and the game will be over before you know it. This is the problem with Critical Hit as a whole. You have an awesome dynamic between a spirit that servers as a link between the player and game, a game master who interferes with what the spirit really wants to do, and Akira who is the pawn dragged into everything. These characters work well and you want to see more development from them. You want each scene to have more details, for there to be more individual choices as to what Akira will do, how he will resolve his dilemmas with the monsters that desperately want to spank his tight boy pussy and how it will shape the story.
Maybe I am expecting to much from a small title but I think that speaks to the games credit, it left me wanting more than it gave. If it’s asking price was say, $5, then I could fully justify the purchase and would argue that every one of you should experience Akira and his quest of boners for themselves. However, unless you have the money to spare or are a huge trap fan, then the asking price of $9.95 is a little much considering the very short length and linear nature of the game.
I hope that Critical Hit will give TsukiWare some exposure and allow them to develop more fully realised visual novels in the future as they have shown themselves to have a good sense of humor and and the ability to create likeable and visually appealing characters.
Score: Jackhorn / 10
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Critical Hit is developed by TsukiWare and released by MangaGamer. This title was supplied by MangaGamer for the purposes of review. You can purchase it on their site for ~$10.
Funbag Fantasy, or Kyonyuu Fantasy, is developed by Waffle and is a game about big boobs. Or rather, it’s a game with a medieval fantasy setting with a main protagonist that has a thing for big breasted women and all the women that he happens to encounter all have big breasts. From the outset, it seems as though Funbag Fantasy is a game for those that are a fan of the… funbags, and a lot of the H-scenes focus heavily on this aspect of the body. Expect lots of paizuri/ boob-jobs.
Lute, the protagonist, is the worst ranked member of the Knight Academy. His grades are so low that the story begins with him being refused entry into the castle in order to receive his certification for becoming a knight, that’s how un-knightly he seems. After being given his certification after some complications, he is given a new assignment. He is to look after the town of Boan, and work with the Lord there. However, while in Boan, it seems as though things may not be as they seem.
The story told into the town of Boan is really a taste of the kind of storytelling that the entirety of Funbag Fantasy has to offer. On the one hand, it is incredibly interesting, with tales of behind-the-scenes manipulation and a plot to overthrow the throne, but on the other, it is also incredibly fun with how the main character kind of accidents their way through everything. Even more, the games secondary protagonist, the sexy Succubus character, adds a lot of life to the game, both sexually and in the characters writing.
Using the early scenario of Boan as an example, there is a simple plot of what seems like an idea to have the Lord of that town have his wife executed so that he can remarry. However, this soon becomes an even bigger conspiracy that unfolds into a plot to overthrow the throne. However unlikely that it is, out hero is able to tame a succubus and sleep with the Lord’s wife without anything bad happening. Even more, he ends up the hero in this instance.
The above is pretty much the formula for how the story in Funbag Fantasy plays out continually. However, the formula never gets boring or uninteresting. Somehow, things just keep getting better and better and you want to keep on reading through. It’s so weird where a formula doesn’t eventually wear itself out, but, in this case, just keep going.
Much like in most Visual Novels, the players are presented with choices at times. Typically in this game, the choices don’t really amount to much other than a change in lewd imagery, but, there is a point where it seems like one choice may make a big difference on the gameplay. This review is only based on one route, so, I’m not too sure what plays out if you take the other option, but looking in the menus at all the unlockables, it seems like the story may diverge at that point.
As someone that prefers the booty more to the booby, I wasn’t quite sure that I’d enjoy the artstyle in Funbag Fantasy as much as I did. It could have been the more fantastical and medieval style art that drew me in, but I can’t say that the boobs weren’t uninteresting either. I also really liked the artstyle in general, with the setting and characters working really well together, even if the designs aren’t typically realistic.
All of the H-scenes in the game revolve around boobs. I can’t recall a scene off the top of my head that didn’t have a boob take up most of the screen. Even more, there is a lot more paizuri than vaginal or anal sex, although there is a fair bit of fellatio. If you’re into boob-jobs, definitely, DEFINITELY, take a look at this game.
One of my complaints about this game is the background music. While it is quite cheerful and engaging most of the time, it doesn’t feel like there is enough variety to make it not become annoying. I wasn’t a fan of the soundtrack, but I think that some people will like it. You can always turn the music down or off if you’re not too big on it.
Meanwhile, I really enjoyed that Funbag Fantasy is only partially voiced. For the most part the protagonist and some side characters are not voice acted at all, while the female characters in this game are fully voiced. This kind of lets you self-insert into some situations, and not lose your boner while dealing with dudes. However, sometimes the voices are a bit on the loud side, possibly due to being higher pitched, so I recommend not playing this at full volume.
Overall, Funbag Fantasy is a fun title with some pretty decent art with a focus on the mammaries (which my computer dictionary is telling me isn’t a real word). As mentioned, if you like big boobs, you’ll love this game. However, as someone that isn’t too big of a fan of them, I really enjoyed what this had to bring as well, so I suppose that it has a level of universal appeal. I definitely recommend picking up Funbag Fantasy.
Rating: 9/10
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Funbag Fantasy comes courtesy of MangaGamer. This review is based on the PC version of the game and was supplied by MangaGamer for review. You can purchase it here for ~$45.
THE SWORD ART ONLINE SAGA CONTINUES AS BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES SWORD ART ONLINE: HOLLOW REALIZATION™!
Dive into a brand-new adventure while Kirito is thrown back into a new VRMMORPG world: Sword Art: Origin!
SYDNEY, 9TH November 2016 — BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, the premiere publisher of anime video games, has released SWORD ART ONLINE: HOLLOW REALIZATION for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PlayStation®Vita handheld system in Europe, Middle-East, Africa and Australasia. Based on the worldwide hit Sword Art Online franchise and with an original story supervised by Reki Kawahara, players will assume the role of Kirito to explore the world of Ainground in the most immersive single player MMO-like experience ever created.
To watch the Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization launch trailer, please visit:
A new VRMMORPG has emerged: Sword Art: Origin. In this familiar world, in which he was once trapped, Kirito meets a mysterious NPC, Premiere, and receives a cryptic message: “I am back in Aincrad”. Taking the role of Kirito, players will enter the massive expansive world of Ainground to unravel this mystery. First of all, thanks to the advanced Avatar Customization system, players will personalize their avatar: name, gender, weapons and physical appearance, from the eyes’ color to the sound of the voice!
As players start this new adventure, they will have to assemble a party of characters to command and collaborate with during fierce battles. Famous Sword Art Online characters will join them such as Asuna, Silica, Sinon, Leafa and much more as well as more than 300 NPCs to interact with, peopling this new virtual world. For even more fun, players will be able to enjoy the game with 3 other players in an exclusive Multiplayer Mode providing a never-seen-before experience in the Sword Art Online universe.
SWORD ART ONLINE: HOLLOW REALIZATION is now available on PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®Vita across Australia & New Zealand.
Dead End Junction is an interesting take on the Wild West. Developed by sole member of 773, Hizuma (with help from others) and published by Culture Select for the Western market, Dead End Junction turns out to be a good visual novel. It centres around Josette, a free spirit looking for adventure. She finds it after discovering her father’s past. There is a good story, great characters, a decent soundtrack and an unique art style, but there are some flaws which are hard to ignore.
The visual novel centres around Josette, an orphan living with her uncle in the town of Cow Stone Bell. As with most young protagonists, she is tired with her lifestyle in the small town. Instead, she has a desire for adventure and wants out of the town. That opportunity comes one day during a freak storm. A man in a hooded cloak appears in front a Josette. After telling her uncle, it’s revealed Josette’s father and uncle had From there on, it becomes a story of self discovery, the meaning of friendships and tackling social issues that were prevalent during the Wild West period.
The story is quite slow to start. There was too much exposition delivered in one hit, but the world is thought out quite well. The pacing felt off as well, as it took its time to get to the meat of the story. However, as the story progressed, it did become quite interesting. As Josette discovers the world outside of Cow Stone Bell, the visual novel explores several social issues that were present during the Wild West period, such as relations between settlers and Native Americans. They were presented in a mature and objective light and can easily apply to modern society, allowing the reader/player make up their own mind. With that said, the ending didn’t provide any closure at all and the story got quite repetitive.
As for the characters, they are all well developed and interesting. The reader/player will enjoy Josette. She is the typical free spirit that wants to to go on adventures rather than staying in a small town herding cows. She is also quite brave, but also reckless as she rarely thinks about the situation. She’s quite headstrong as well. Her polar opposite is Flanel Hopefield, daughter of the owner of the biggest ranch in Cow Stone Bell. She is usually shy and reserved, but also more lady like due to her upbringing. The friendship between Josette and Flanel is actually quite special. They are very close to each other, to the point where Flanel doesn’t want Josette to leave. These two characters are the standout in Dead End Junction, but the overall cast is quite good.
The art style is unique but not magnificent. However, it does the job. The characters rarely have exaggerated traits, but that makes it more interesting. The art style lends itself to look like a comic book, right down to the panel look and different dialogue boxes. Ther backgrounds look decent enough. The soundtrack fits with the overall theme of the visual novel and that’s all it needs to do. It’s a decent soundtrack. There are also homages to famous country western songs like “Home On The Range,” which was a nice touch. However, there is no voice acting, which makes it stand out from other visual novels on the market.
Dead End Junction seems like a hit and miss visual novel. Overall, it’s a good visual novel, but it’s plagued with several narrative issues that could’ve taken the novel to further heights. The story is good overall, but it starts off too slow with too much exposition to cover the world. The ending needed closure rather than what was offered. Josette and Flanel are standouts in a cast of good characters, while the art style and soundtrack fits the theme of the novel. Considering the price of the visual novel, it’s worth picking it up for the good story.
Rating: 6/10
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Dead End Junction was provided by publisher Culture Select for the purpose of this review. It is available on Steam for US$8.99.
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