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<![CDATA[A-to-J Connections - Gaming]]>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 04:27:04 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Game Review: Pretty Girls Escape PLUS]]>Thu, 18 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/game-review-pretty-girls-escape-plusBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

We've reviewed several ecchi-themed games on the Nintendo Switch in the past here at A-to-J, and we just might have another one for you all today. Pretty Girls Escape PLUS is a bit different though, as its release on PlayStation consoles implies that it can't be nearly as lewd as the other games we've looked at previously. It's a puzzle game, and it does feature a handful of pretty anime girls, so there's more than likely some fun to be had here no matter what. We're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today, and hopefully see if this game is more than just well-endowed anime girls. Enough with the intros, let's get right into it!

There isn't any story to speak of in Pretty Girls Escape PLUS, so we're going to jump right into discussing gameplay. This is a puzzle game that tasks you with getting a 4x4 block representing the currently selected girl to the exit of the level located on its lowest line. In the way are all sorts of single-space colored blocks, and several stage obstacles that can quickly spell disaster. The main game features nine girls, each having six puzzles to complete. Most of the girls' stages introduce new hazards and gameplay elements, but the core mechanic of escaping remains the same. Since the character block starts at the top of the screen, you're going to have to cut a path to the bottom. This is done in two ways, first you can clear colored blocks that match by touching them, and second you can shift the entire puzzle to the left or right to shake up and fill any loose spaces. The character block can very easily get stuck on top up of a bunch of single-color blocks, so it's best to have a plan of action before you make your first move. If you get stuck, you're forced to reset the entire puzzle and start again. While the main gameplay mechanics are rather simple, subsequent puzzles add in new elements like spiked blocks that mean a game over if the character block touches them, solid black blocks that never disappear, boxes that require two sets of nearby blocks to be cleared before they are destroyed, and even pistons that move up and down with each movement you make. There are also key blocks which you'll need to use to unlock the escape, and sometimes the path to escape can be limited to just one corner, or the number of character blocks needing to escape can be raised to two or three. Players might go in expecting a rather simple puzzle game, but it can be a rather deep and challenging experience once you get into it.

Completing all the main puzzles is well and good, but there are also things like score and missions to worry about. Score doesn't really matter beyond maybe bragging rights, but you do get bonuses for completing puzzles in fewer moves, or even clearing the screen of each and every block. Missions are more important though, as it's these that give you points that you can then spend to unlock outfits and backgrounds for your each of your characters. The missions are things like beating a level within a certain time limit, clearing it within a low move limit, or making sure you clear a certain number of blocks before reaching the exit. Each stage has two missions to complete, and you have to do both of them in one shot in order to get the associated point bonus. This can sometimes be easier said than done, but it does give you something to work towards in the main stages since there's only 45 of them. While those are pretty easy all things considered, the real challenge comes in the aptly named Challenge Mode stages. These are far harder puzzles that throw just about everything at you at once, and they pretty much exist just for the sake of offering hardcore players an extreme experience. There's no points given in these stages, but the sense of accomplishment was more than enough for me. I wasn't expecting the puzzles in a game like this to actually stump me, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the game is a far richer experience than its screenshots might imply.

The dress-up mode is where you'll be spending all the points you've earned in the main game, and it's also where you'll be able to create diorama scenes that mix and match the various art assets you've unlocked. This mode was far more featured than I was expecting, and I spent an embarrassing amount of time creating scenes that only exist on my Switch's memory card. I did find the miscellaneous word bubbles to be very random, but that also added to their charm. It took me a while to realize that you could place more than one girl in a scene, and I actually don't think that there's a limit to how much you can add to any one scene, at least I didn't encounter one during my time with the game. Admittedly this is a rather throwaway feature, and there's no way to save the creations you've made beyond taking a screenshot, but it's the only time you'll see all the girls in one place, and it's worth messing around with at least for a short while. My only gripe with the mode would have to be that it has some oddly confusing controls, but you'll probably get used to them since this isn't an action-orientated part of the game.

I went into Pretty Girls Escape PLUS thinking that it would be a generic ecchi game that only offered a mid puzzle game to keep you from getting to the lewd content too quickly, but I was surprised to find it was a game that I really enjoyed playing. I managed to clear the main stages in a single couple-hour session, and I've been working at the Challenge Mode levels since. This is by no means among the best puzzle games on the market, but it's very much worth giving it the time of day if you're a fan of the genre. The problem comes with the aforementioned lewd content. I'll admit that this isn't one of those Switch titles that blatantly throws the word "hentai" into its title, but I think that some players might go into it expecting to get far more lewd content than this game has to offer. Let me tell you know that you won't find anything beyond anime girls in bikinis here, and you'll want to look elsewhere if you want more. That said, the girls never felt distracting, and the diorama mode was fun in its own way, so maybe give it a chance nonetheless. While I personally didn't care that there wasn't a bunch of nudity in my anime-themed puzzle game, I understand that some people might come in expecting it. You'll get the pretty girls promised in the title, but don't expect to see them naked anytime soon. Unless you make fan art of them I guess. (In which case be sure to send it to me!)

While I will admit that there were times when I felt that things in Pretty Girls Escape PLUS felt a bit too generic, I did enjoy the art and graphics for the most part. There's the usual disconnect between the anime style characters and backgrounds versus the gameplay elements, but that's probably to be expected at this. At least everything was bright and colorful, and nothing ever felt confusing or poorly depicted. The backgrounds felt like they were taken from a stock manga reference book, but they are neat representations of all the anime tropes: a bedroom, a cloudy sky, a convenience store, a pool, a city street, etc. The girls are all well-designed, and I'm sure it won't take long for people to find a favorite. There's also several archetypes here too, and you'll have characters who are students, idols, housewives, and so on. I'd have to say that Aoi and Ayari were my favorites overall, but that's neither here nor there. I guess the only complaint I have with the art would have to be that all the girls technically only have one illustration each. They do have several outfits, but said outfits are just placed over their base character model. This means that each girl only has one pose, and the only thing that ever changes are their outfits and facial expressions. I'm not sure if this is truly a negative, but it's worth pointing out nonetheless. I already mentioned earlier that this game is very light on the ecchi content, so once again don't expect to find much of that here.

Sound probably fares a bit better than graphics overall, but I do have some similar points to make. I found all the music to be upbeat, cheery, and totally fitting for the style of game, but I could never shake the feeling that it all sounded like it came from a stock music library. While I don't want to imply that this means the music was bad, it does mean that much of the music has that vague "I feel like I've heard this somewhere before..." vibe to it you get when music is trying to hit a specific sound or vibe, rather than simply being good music in general. I talk a lot about "visual novel music" in my reviews for games in that genre, and I'm starting to think that there's a certain style of music that goes with arcade-style puzzle games. All that aside, I was surprised to realize that the game includes some limited voice acting. This only really comes in the form of a line here or there when you're doing good or bad in a puzzle, but it was a nice touch. I do wish that there was more of it, but what was here did a great job fleshing out the characters.

While I had far more fun with Pretty Girls Escape PLUS than I thought I would, it isn't exactly a game that will keep players occupied indefinitely. It only took a couple hours for me to complete each of the girl's stages, and though I still have yet to complete all the Challenge Mode puzzles, I don't think it'll take more than a few more hours to do those either. This is a pretty short game that's rather light on content. The nature of the puzzles being ones where you must escape from a pre-determined situation means that there isn't anything new to experience once you complete all of the game's stages. Short of cleaning up any unfinished missions, or playing around with the dress-up dioramas, there isn't a lot of reason to go back once you've completed it. Not every game has to be a long-lasting affair though, and at just $6.99, Pretty Girls Escape PLUS feels like offers up a decent amount of content compared to its price.

I honestly never imagined I'd be saying this, but I think Pretty Girls Escape PLUS is a decent buy for puzzle game fans. It's challenging, introduces lots of new mechanics that change up the general formula, and the titular pretty girls are fun to place in wacky pictures in the dress-up mode. If you're looking for more ecchi in your games, you may want to look elsewhere, but everyone else is sure to find something to enjoy here. Grab it on whatever console you can and free those girls!

Check Out Pretty Girls Escape PLUS on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/pretty-girls-escape-plus-switch/

Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B
Value: A

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A surprisingly fun puzzle game that has dozens of challenging stages.
+ The art and presentation are nice, and you do get some good-looking anime girls to look at.
+ The in-game missions provide goals that you'll want to meet if you're looking to unlock everything.
+ While the main puzzles are fun, the challenge mode stages are sure to give even the best puzzle game players a run for their money.
+ The diorama drees-up mode is decently featured. You can create some funny images with it once you've unlocked everything.

Cons:
- Though it might be an odd complaint, there were times where the puzzles felt extremely unfair.
- A rewind feature would've saved countless minutes going back to fix a single bad move.
- If you're going into this expecting to get some extreme ecchi content, you'll be disappointed.
- Can be completed fully in a handful of hours if you know what you're doing.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

Aoi is best girl!

]]><![CDATA[Waging War Over A Flower Shop: A Flightpath: Adventures In Venaris Review]]>Wed, 17 Apr 2024 18:44:45 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/waging-war-over-a-flower-shop-a-flightpath-adventures-in-venaris-reviewBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

I am a huge fan of shmups and have reviewed several notable titles in the past, so it probably comes as no surprise that I was excited to see an anime-inspired shooter heading to all major consoles in the form of Flightpath: Adventures In Venaris. (Hereafter simply referred to as "Flightpath".) This vertical shooter features a colorful cast of characters, an RPG-like upgrade system, and a branching storyline. Though it's a departure from the standard arcade-style shooters I'm used to, I'm sure there'll be something for me here. It does star a bunny flying a spaceship after all! Anyway, we have a lot to cover, so let's dive right in!

A Rabbit in a spaceship? I've seen everything!

Things get colorful and crazy fast.

Everything in Flightpath revolves around a criminal organization known as The Syndicate. This group controls much of what goes on in the planetary system Venaris, and all three of the main characters have some connection to them. Kath decides to get revenge after they burn down her friend's flower shop over a protection money dispute, AJ is a detective who got a little too close to The Syndicate's activities and is now going rogue to stop them on his own terms, and Max is a spacecraft race driver who refused to lose on The Syndicate's orders. All three set off a journey to bring them to justice, and while they pretty much follow the same set of levels, their branching paths change each of their campaigns a bit. That's actually one of the things that makes Flightpath rather unique, in that you'll have to play through multiple times if you want to see the different ways the story can play out. I'm not sure if any of these different paths lead to multiple endings, but considering that I've beat Kath's path three times and didn't notice anything too different, I doubt it. Even though adding a more integrated story to a shmup might seem rather innovative, I was not a fan of how it was delivered. Much of the game's text comes during actual gameplay, and things slow to a crawl to allow this to happen. This is actually something you can control in the options menu, but it always felt more distracting then cool when it happened. Then there's the fact that there is no voice acting of any sort. I wasn't expecting every character to be voiced if I'm being honest, but there isn't even a typing sound in its place. Instead we get a single "ping" type effect that is used for every single message in the game. This grew to be very irritating after a while, and I found myself skipping through most of these sections just so I didn't have to hear that ping again. The writing isn't Shakespeare anyway, so it's not like I was missing anything huge. While I wouldn't say this is a big negative on the game's part (Except for that slowdown during gameplay thing.), I have to admit that I think the game might've been better off with just a single screen before and after the main campaign to tell the already fairly simple story.

An example of a split path in a stage.

It's cheaper without the vowels!

Even though Flightpath is a shmup, it plays almost like an RPG at times. There are no lives, there are no in-game weapon pickups, and there is no point system. There's just money to collect and spend, and your single ship. The single-life mechanic might sound like it'd be a challenge, but your ship has the ability to take several hits before going down. Enemies and obstacles come at you from all angles, and every ship except for Max's can be fitted with guns that shoot in just about every angle. (Max's ship can't shoot behind him!) Taking out enemies gives you stars, batteries, and money, which are used to recover energy ship, charge up your secondary weapons and shield, and purchase upgrades for your ship respectively. Dying in game doesn't even mean a standard game over either. Instead you're given a "loaner" ship and sent on a secondary mission that's pretty much meant to earn you extra money so you can get back into the main battle with a better outfitted ship. Each of the three storylines has ten stages, with all of them ending in boss encounters or specific story-related missions. Speaking of which, besides getting the occasional message, you'll be given the option to switch/choose objectives mid-stage. These branching paths are usually rescuing someone or ignoring them, destroying a base or protecting evidence, or collecting specific items or giving chase to the enemy. These choices are made by flying in one direction of the screen or another, and this is as good a time to mention one of my other big problems with the game: its screen orientation. I'm no stranger to vertical shooters, but I'm not a fan of games that use a horizontally-situated playing field when the action is meant to be vertical. To make matters worse, Flightpath even has space on the sides of the level that are hidden slightly off-screen. This means that the area of play is not only rather squished, but also rather wide. This can be especially annoying in boss encounters, where the bosses will occupy an area of the screen that you'll have to fly upwards to even see. This is a hard thing to talk about for those not familiar with shmups, but it's an issue that I'm sure players will notice after a few minutes of playing. Thankfully it's by no means game-breaking, and you'll probably get used to it after a few stages just because you'll have to.

Kath's storyline was my favorite.

Bye bye Tribal Chief!

Upgrades are the name of the game in Flightpath, and you're going to want to pick up all the cash you can so your ship becomes the most powerful one in the game. Weapons are probably the first thing you're going to want to upgrade, and there's a special quirk to them. Each ship is able to equip several different weapons that fire forward, backward, or diagonally, but are only able to equip weapons that don't push your ship past its power limits. This limit is set by your generator, and that means you'll have to upgrade that first before you go in for the best weapons. Even with the best generator, you'll still have to make a few concessions as it won't allow you to stack the strongest weapons on all parts of the ship. The standard weapons are all here, homing missiles, lasers, machine guns, and plasma beams. You can mix and match to your heart's content, and you don't have to worry about losing any of your weapons if you're hit. Besides weapons, you can also upgrade your ship's armor and shields. These are pretty self-explanatory, and along with generators, you'll want to wait to purchase the best one available. That's actually one of the problems I found with this system, as the big deference in performance between expensive and cheap upgrades made me gravitate only to the expensive ones. I think the game expects players to make small, incremental upgrades as you go through the game, but I found myself toughing it out in the first 3-4 stages so I could just buy the most expensive gear by the midpoint of the game. This "pauper" stage of the game was harder than I was expecting, but it meant that I was able to skip the nonsense and be overpowered for the entire second half. It's probably not the best way to play the game, but I do appreciate that the customization options allow for it. Also, those who are looking for a challenge can even set their own limitations to the upgrade system. The possibilities are practically endless.

I had a lot of fun in the core game, and didn't mind at all that there were parts of it that felt very unpolished. If it were only the three main campaigns, I probably wouldn't complain, but I would find the game's content to be rather thin. Thankfully Flightpath also offers an Endless Mode that you can really sink your teeth into once you're done with the three storylines. This mode sees you take on various stages in rapid succession, with distance covered being your main goal instead of points. Also, instead of branching paths in the middle of a stage, you're picking buffs and debuffs that you'll only see in this mode. These can be things like avoiding a boss fight but being unable to use your secondary weapon, losing your shields but being guaranteed a shop visit, and so on. It's this mode that I felt was the most robust, and it was also here that I learned to appreciate the ins and outs of the ship upgrade mechanic. Since it's not really possible to simply tough it out here like I did in the main game, on account of everything being reset once you die, I found that I'd make smarter decisions regarding how I spent my in-game money. I finally learned to appreciate the middle upgrades, and each new piece of the ship suddenly felt a lot more important. Part of me wishes the mechanics that make Endless Mode unique were put into the main game, but I'm just glad that they were included at all. Though this might not be the best replacement for a standard Arcade Mode, it'll probably be the part of the game that'll most appeal to hardcore shmup fans.

Collecting random items can be a mission.

ACAB includes AJ.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to Flightpath's visuals, and that has to do with the different art styles on display. If we were just talking the character designs, portraits, or menus, I'd say that the game looks great and has a neat anime aesthetic to it. I loved all the characters, and Max and Kath grew to be my favorites. It's not all like that though, and rather than go for a sprite-based look to the game's core graphics, we get rather rudimentary 3D look instead. Saying things like "This looks like a PS1 game!" feels a bit overdone, but it's exactly how I felt while playing. To be fair things look more like they'd be right at home on a PS2, but my point is that nothing looks particularly detailed or well designed. The enemies all look like poorly rendered clumps of polygons, and there never seemed to be much variety among them either. Add in the squished feeling I mentioned earlier, and everything just feels a bit uglier. Things also take a turn when you start fully upgrading your weapons, as the colorful beams and bullets clutter the screen in all their neon-infused glory. The game just looked like a mess whenever I'd reach the final stage, and the occasional cool-looking boss could only do so much to alleviate the strain on my eyes. There are also some parts of the game that the Switch just doesn't seem equipped to handle, so be aware of that if you're planning on picking up this game on that console. I don't want to make it sound the Flightpath is a completely unplayable eyesore, but there is quite a bit of missed potential here that I feel could've been met if the game went for a simpler look for its gameplay.

Since I already mentioned earlier my thoughts regarding Flightpath seriously needing something better than a ping for dialogue, I'm going to focus my discussion on the game's sound on its music. Flightpath goes the route a lot of modern action-orientated games go, where the music seems to be lost in the game's sound mix. The hum of weapons, the explosions of enemies and stage elements, and all the other sound effects going on drown out much of the game's music by default. After adjusting the game's sound options, I was disappointed to learn that I probably shouldn't have bothered anyway, as the music felt quite generic for a game like this. I don't want to make it sound like I thought that anything in the game was bad, or that the music was an atonal mess, but I couldn't help but feel that the soundtrack seemed to be totally uninspired. Any track could've been placed in any level, and they didn't have much of the usual upbeat energy one finds in a shmup. There wasn't a single track that I felt added to the overall experience. Though Flightpath is still a rather decent game overall, I think sound is where the developers dropped the ball the hardest.

The Endless Mode stage choices.

This reminded me of Shadow The Hedgehog.

Though Flightpath is clearly made to be played multiple times, I'm not sure it's really worth it. Playing through each of the campaigns once is fun enough, and the Endless Mode does give you something to do once you've completed the main game, but going through each story again to see how things play out differently doesn't seem worth the time investment. I mentioned earlier that I beat the story mode three times with Kath in the hopes of seeing if anything at all changed within her story. I can say that things like bosses faced, objectives given, and even the occasional in-between level cutscenes did change depending on the in-game choices made. That said, I didn't notice any of these choices having any effect on the game's ending, and they didn't even change up the levels played. Completionists might want to take up the challenge, but since there's no way to track what you've seen and what you haven't, I don't see the point. I still think that the experience offered is more than worth the price of admission. At just $9.99, Flightpath is priced more than reasonably for fans of shmups to give it a shot even if it doesn't feel like it hits it out the park. This isn't a bad game by any means, it just doesn't have the longevity I was hoping for when I picked it up.

Just a bit too bright.

Marie is best girl.

While I'm not sure I can give Flightpath: Adventures In Venaris the widest of recommendations, I can say that it's a game that I had a lot of fun with, and I think most others will too. The core gameplay was entertaining, each of the three stories had some funny moments, and I'm just a sucker for shmups. Hardcore fans of the genre might find it a bit too slow and easy, but casual players will probably enjoy it for it not being the standard arcade experience. If you do decide to pick it up though, maybe consider getting it on a platform besides the Nintendo Switch, unless you want to deal with the occasional performance issues. Either way, get out there and save Marie's flower shop already!

Check Out Flightpath: Adventures In Venaris on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/flightpath-adventures-in-venaris-switch/

Story: B
Gameplay: B
Graphics: C
Music/Sound: C
Value: A

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A shmup that relies more on story and an RPG-like upgrade system over arcade gameplay.
+ The branching storyline, and three playable characters, make this a highly replayable game.
+ The Endless Mode is fun and has several gameplay mechanics not seen in the main game.
+ Great character and character designs really bring the world to life.
+ Featured several levels with varied stage objectives.

Cons:
- The story segments that occur during the stages themselves seem poorly integrated.
- Could've really used some sort of voice acting as the single sound that comes with on-screen text can become grating after a while.
- The game's soundtrack is okay at its best, and simply not very good at its worst.
- The stages and enemies feel rather uninspired and lack much detail.
- There are some performance issues on the Nintendo Switch.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

Get out there and vote!

]]><![CDATA[Game Review: Pachi Pachi On A Roll]]>Tue, 16 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/game-review-pachi-pachi-on-a-rollBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5

Having previously released on the PS Vita and PS4 back in 2021, Pachi Pachi On A Roll is set to arrive very soon on the PS5 and Nintendo Switch. This is a pachinko-style game that features art of two anime-inspired girls in various stages of undress. While it may bear a passing resemblance to one of "those" games (read: ecchi or hentai games), its gameplay does set it apart from other similar looking games we've reviewed in the past. What exactly does said gameplay consist of? Will it be enough to convince you to pick it up? We'll hopefully be answering those questions and more as we take closer look at the game on the Nintendo Switch.

Don't expect any sort of story when you start up Pachi Pachi On A Roll, as you're all but placed into the main game straightaway. You're given a single game board to play, and are tasked with completing several missions that unlock art in the in-game gallery, and additional boards to play on. The only other goal besides that is to get a high score, but I'm not sure a high score in a game like this means all that much at the end of the day. Since this is as simple as can be, you can probably imagine my surprise when I learned that there is actually something resembling a plot hidden in the game's online description. Apparently the two girls in the game are named Fujiko and Robin, and they are two thieves who are trying to rob/rip off the four major casinos in a place known as Money City. None of this is ever told to you in-game, and I don't think any of this exists outside of the eShop descriptions. The only part that really holds true is that there are two girls who are playing what is essentially a game of pachinko across four machines, but seeing as they literally go to space at one point, I doubt that all of them are located in a single city. I guess you can still call them thieves and the machines casinos, but that's stretching things a bit. While none of that really matters, I figured that it was worth mentioning before we move on to discussing how one actually plays the game.

I don't think it's possible to find simpler gameplay than what's on display in Pachi Pachi On A Roll. While not a full video game version of pachinko, it uses the game ball-dropping mechanic that makes this pretty much an electronic slot machine with only the most bare bones of player interaction. All of the game machines are single-screen and horizontally-orientated, and one thing you control is the dropping of balls into the field of play. This simple task is done by pressing the single action button when the claw holding the ball gets to the desired location. Everything is up to chance from there, but you'll get points for each thing the ball touches on its way to the bottom of the screen. You'll start with about 40 balls to drop, and can get more through gameplay. The game ends once you run out of balls, and while you can complete all the missions in a single run, I'm not exactly sure that you're able to "win". That's pretty much it. There's no way to directly control where the ball will go, and you can't even move the claw holding the ball either. The only thing you'll ever do is press a button to drop the ball. If there's a single positive to be said about the game, it would have to be that it's extremely simple to learn and control.

Obviously there's more to the game than just that, and each of the game's four machines/boards do play very differently from each other. Seeing as you get points for everything you hit on the way down the screen, it makes sense to drop your balls in the path of most resistance. Besides hitting random pins and obstacles, each board has different "missions" for you to complete. Missions consist of completing tasks like successfully robbing a train in the Western-themed board, turning all the asteroids into their proper pachinko pin form in the space board, or getting a jackpot in the casino-themed board. Some missions see you go into minigames, with one even resembling the classic arcade game Breakout. You can even undress the girls a bit if you hit specific pins that are marked with hearts. All these missions add to your score, so it's best to aim for them even if some can prove to be very challenging. All missions you've completed are technically tracked in-game, but I'm not sure there's a way to directly see which you've completed and which you haven't. They are the quickest way to unlock the next board, and the gallery images you get from them are pretty neat too.

Pachi Pachi On A Roll may be a game that's left mostly up to chance, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I found it to be somewhat addicting. I guess that isn't exactly surprising since pachinko machines themselves can be addicting, but I wasn't expecting to like the game as much as I did. I initially figured I'd play it for a couple hours to see if I could unlock everything for the purposes of this review, and then realized that I was still playing it long after I got everything I needed. You may not have a lot of control over how the game plays out, but there's just enough player interaction that it occasionally feels like you do. I just hope that my love of the game never manifests into an actual gambling addiction, as losing actual money versus a video game is a totally different thing! All that said, I'm not sure if my experience can necessarily be seen as a sort of standard, but I like to think that there's something about the game that just works.

While there's nothing in Pachi Pachi On A Roll that's going to push modern consoles to their limits, I do think that the visuals are cool, and sometimes can even be a bit impressive. There's a lot of integration with the characters into the boards themselves, and the little minigames and mission unlocks were a nice touch. It has the same vibes as playing a slot machine that has over-the-top animations. You'll find yourself playing just to see if you can unlock the next scene in the board you're on, and then suddenly realize that Fujiko and Robin are losing articles of clothing! Even though that very much is a central element of the game, if you plan on playing this for the ecchi content, you may be disappointed when you learn how much work is required to get the girls to see the girls without their clothing. Also, nothing ever crosses the line into actual nudity, so don't expect anything resembling true hentai art here. This is a great-looking game for those looking to ogle pretty anime waifus, but I don't think that should be anyone's sole reason for picking it up.

I unlocked most everything in Pachi Pachi On A Roll in about 3-4 hours, and that was probably due to some of the missions being near impossible to complete. Doing all the mission unlocks art in the gallery, and I'm willing to be that I'm the only one who was dedicated enough to complete it. There's something here that kept drawing me in despite me having completely beaten the game. I'm sure it's just the addictive nature of pachinko in general, but I can attest that this game has a surprising amount of longevity to it. Considering it only costs $6.99 at the time of writing, picking it up doesn't sound like a bad idea if anything I've mentioned already interests you. Grab it, learn to love pachinko like I have, and maybe get your fix here rather than losing your savings at a pachinko parlor in Japan!

Check Out Pachi Pachi On A Roll on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/pachi-pachi-on-a-roll-switch/

Story: N/A
Gameplay: B-
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B-
Value: B

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A fun, simplified take on arcade-style pachinko.
+ The graphics are fun, and the animations and changes that take place on the boards are fun to see.
+ Though I wouldn't say it should be the sole reason for picking it up, it does give a decent amount of ecchi content.
+ Its simplicity make it surprisingly fun and addicting, and the missions and different game boards add a lot of variety to the formula.
+ I actually think that the art found in the in-game gallery is one of the best parts of the game.

Cons:
- Doesn't offer a lot of actual interactive gameplay.
- Those looking for more extreme ecchi content may be disappointed.
- The sheer randomness of the gameplay can be pretty off-putting at times.
- This is basically an electronic slot machine, so there will be some who won't want to play it for that reason alone.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

#PachiPachiOnARoll

]]><![CDATA[The New Dawn of the Real-Time RPG: An Akatsuki: Lord of the Dawn Review]]>Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/the-new-dawn-of-the-real-time-rpg-an-akatsuki-lord-of-the-dawn-reviewBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

It's rare that I'm at a loss as to how to describe a game in a few words, but Akatsuki: Lord of the Dawn (Hereafter simply referred to as "Askatsuki".) has me a bit stumped. It's probably best described as a real-time strategy RPG, but there's so much more to it than that. It's out now on the Nintendo Switch and PC by way of Zoo Corporation, and we're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today. This is going to be a strange one, so let's get right into it!

The quest begins!

The starting island.

Discussing story in Akatsuki is odd as while I feel that it does have a rather decent one, it also seems to be barely attached to the core gameplay loop. Following a war with a Demon King, the young Ark learns that he is the descendent of the Badona family. He's been raised in secret so that he can one day lead an army to finish the war once and for all, and that day has now come. He's summoned before King Odorian IV of the Kingdom of Krenian (the land I guess you're defending), given the title of Lord Badona, and sent to raise an army to take the war to Demon King himself. From there Ark travels from island to island, meeting and recruiting new people to his cause, while also eliminating whatever evil threatens the local populace. Each bit of story is told through cutscenes that you'll find only in the main questline. There are some decent twists, turns, and reveals along the way, but it all feels a bit pointless when you realize that there's no real sense of urgency to anything. I figured that since the game has a day/night cycle that time would be of the essence, but you're pretty much allowed to take however long you want to complete any tasks given to you. Furthermore you're not even easily able to properly construct fully on the islands (more on this in a bit) until you finish the main quests in that region. This means you'll actually have to finish the current round of story missions if you want to make the most of the current area you're in. After a while I found myself skipping much of the story so I could get back to the actual gameplay. This may sound like a rather large negative point to start the review on, but I think it only truly reflects on how the game dropped the ball in incorporating the story elements properly into the main game. Thankfully it's gameplay that saves Akatsuki, and we're going to discuss that next.

Ark Badona is a rather boring protagonist.

Gotta get that army going!

Placing Akatsuki into a genre is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. It has elements of a real-time strategy game, an RPG, a deckbuilder, and even some light city-building sim mechanics. Don't worry too much if all that sounds like an odd mix, because while there are some parts of the game that shine more brightly than others, everything comes together in a rather neat, cohesive way. Let's discuss combat first. Combat sees Ark lead up to fifteen characters into battle at once, with the first five of them being able to use special skills or abilities that come with their class. These skills are usually buffs or strong attacks, and they're also the only thing you can directly control in battle besides movement and formation. Each battle sees you arrange your army as you see fit by picking one of three formations, and then charge forth into the enemy. Attacking happens automatically, though you might have to maneuver a bit so you're making the best of your troop’s abilities if the enemies you're facing are using ranged attacks. Each character and monster has their own life bar, and they will die when it hits zero. If one of your characters dies in combat, they're no longer able to participate, but you're still able to keep on fighting and you'll get them back after the battle is done. Losing in combat is a very real possibility, though I rarely encountered it past the early points in the game once I realized you were able to add in more than the initial five starting characters. Since combat is what you'll be doing the most of in-game, it's best to work out what party makeup works best for your play style. Since this is probably the most important aspect of the game, it makes sense that most of the other gameplay elements sort of revolve around it.

While you're not able to directly control your army, you are able to see to their maintenance. You gain renown from completing quests and winning battles, and you can use this to recruit new soldiers at your base came, and to level up the ones you have already. Characters are able to be leveled up to only a certain point before they can need to be ranked up, and from there you can even put them into a secondary class once they hit level 99. That's a very long process, and one that you'll only see if you're very dedicated to the game, but I was surprised to find how deep of a mechanic it was. All the classes you'd expect to find in a game like this are here, and you can recruit classes like Thief, Warrior, Magician, Knight, Sniper, Monk, etc. There are some more unique classes like Bouncer, Gunslinger, Outlaw, and Curser too, so you can create a very diverse party once the options open up to you. Each class has their own stats and attacks, but the skills the main five bring into battle, and the bonuses they get when they rank up, are what you're going to want to keep an eye on. Also, while the equipment they carry is all automatically chosen for you, you can choose to put specific weapons and armor onto each of your characters that you've crafted through the in-game crafting mechanic. You're also able to create three unique armies you can switch between, but I rarely did that. I mentioned deckbuilding elements earlier, and it's the party building system where most of those elements come into play. Those looking for a deckbuilding RPG might be disappointed though as beyond calling the armies "decks", and some skills and attacks being represented by cards, these bits of gameplay don't run very deep. I didn't mind that at all though, considering I'm not a fan of the deckbuilding genre in general.

Everyone attack!

Things getting a bit messy.

Crafting is just one of the many things you'll unlock via Akatsuki's rather robust skill tree. It's also there that you'll gain the ability to recruit different characters into your army, gain the ability to build resource gathering buildings, and even learn new formations and classes. Crafting is probably the most important of all the in-game skills, and it's done by using gold and resources that you find from defeating monsters and clearing missions to create new materials and items. This is where you'll create magic items, weapons, armor, and more, and I found it to be a system that felt a bit too deep for a game like this. I was able to get through most of Akatsuki only ever bothering with the most surface level of crafting, and only truly bothered with the mid and later stages for the sake of this review. It's a fun system to mess around with, but it really only exists for those looking to create an absolutely indestructible party. The uneven nature of getting the base materials required for crafting made the whole system feel like a chore early on, and you'll most likely be over-powered by the time resources start to become abundant. The only other thing worth mentioning in relation to the crafting are the missions that you sometimes get that require you to craft specific items to complete. These often are things dropped by monsters, but start to switch over to high-level crafted items about halfway into the game. These missions can be quite odd as they often give lesser crafted items as rewards. I'm not sure if this is a bug in the game or not, but it did mean that I'd sometimes take quests knowing that I planned on failing them just to get them out of the queue. The rest of the skill tree is what you'd expect, and it too takes renown to advance.

Map traversal and the light city-building elements are the final thing I want to discuss when it comes to gameplay. Each island is made up of several hexagonal squares that are split up into various buildings and terrains. Your main base will be the island's central town, but you'll find other villages on many of the bigger islands. Most of your missions, both optional and main ones, will require you to explore more of the island, and each space will see you take on a series of monsters that change depending on the terrain you're fighting on and the time of day. There is a day/night cycle, as well as a day counter that shows how many in-game days you've been playing the game. While I never encountered any issues with taking too long to complete most tasks, you can fail quests if you take too many days to complete them. Most quests have a three-day time limit, but some can be less. Once a space has been cleared of monsters, the surrounding spaces are revealed and you can complete the process again. You're also given the ability to build new buildings on certain space types, like mills in forested areas and quarries in rocky spaces, with these basically acting as a way to get guaranteed daily resources. Besides being used to craft more items, wood and stone can also be used to upgrade the island infrastructure, making them the most important resources in the game. You can build roads between the main town and villages, and upgrade the city in other ways that make it more viable. The level of the current area actually determines what you're able to craft, so it's best to get to work as fast as possible. This may sound like a bit much to manage in a single game, but I usually left it alone until I had tamed most of the island already, and cleared all the area's main quests. By that point you're pretty much just cleaning things up, but it's fun to see a mass of blank spaces become a functioning island after an hour or two of gameplay.

The Skill Tree.

The crafting system is a bit too deep.

And that's the basic gameplay loop. I found it to be very rewarding to go space by space, fight ever stronger monsters, and level up with them, but I have to admit that it all started to get repetitive rather quickly. Akatsuki is a game that is best played in small bursts, and I actually wonder if it was meant to be a mobile game at some point. The pacing just feels like it was never meant to be your main focus, and gameplay fatigue seemed to creep in fast even though I was mostly having fun. It doesn't help that many of the gameplay elements felt unevenly paced. I saw very little reason to bother to upgrading the islands once I fully completed the skill tree, and that's a task that's surprisingly easy to do if you're thorough in clearing out each space, and take on every available mission. Battles can be very fun and rewarding, but they all felt like they ended far too quickly once I had made my perfect party. There are monster hideouts that send wave after wave of enemies at you, and there are even a few boss encounters that change things up a bit, but I couldn't help but wish that the game went a bit further in the real time strategy elements. There was a point where I had made my favorite army, built them to a very high level, and pretty much just breezed through the game. About halfway into the game it became rare when a party member died. More emphasis on the actual strategy elements of combat would've gone a far way, and I think the overall difficulty could've been kicked up a few notches. I still had a lot of fun playing and clearing the game, but it's probably would've been better if I'd taken the game at a slower pace and enjoyed all the different parts it had to offer.

My favorite party.

A day's work gets rewards.

While I do think that Akatsuki is a great looking and sounding game, there are some quirks that I never could really get around. The sprites being small makes sense considering how many are meant to be on-screen at one time, but I found it strange that every cutscene plays out in a curved fisheye point of view. I'm not sure what the game was going for with these, but it was very distracting and made for some odd screenshots. The music in-game is great, but since most scenes play out quickly I found that I rarely heard more than the first section of each song. This isn't really a complaint to the quality of the music, but I also have to admit that everything does sound a bit generic. Thankfully the cool sprite-based graphics helped me get over some of the milder complaints I have, but I'm also not done. Next up has to be the general text-heavy nature of the game. Since a lot of the game revolves around crafting, skill trees, and simulation elements, it makes sense that there'd be heaps upon heaps of text-only sections. This brought down the visual appeal quite a bit, and the only thing good I can say about it would be that they at least used a font that I liked. Akatsuki isn't going to win any awards for presentation, but I've played games that fumbled things worse than this one.

Akatsuki is a really fun game that'll easily eat up hours of your time if you let it sink its claws into you. There's a lot of different ways to play the game, and it's definitely one of those "there's something for everyone" type of experiences. I once again have to reiterate that I think this is a game best played in short spurts, as in maybe in between sessions of a more involved RPG. I really think a slower pace will help one see the many things the game does right. Rushing through it like I did only exposes how thin some of the different genre elements are, and it honestly doesn't do the game much justice. If you're looking to pick up Akatsuki, then the low price of $9.99 almost feels like a steal considering the amount of content you get. This may not be the best game available on the Nintendo Switch, but it is a game that's worth your time and its lack of a distinct genre is worth seeing directly.

A later island that has quite a lot of area to cover.

No rest for the wicked!

It might be rather obvious, but I give Akatsuki: Lord of the Dawn a pretty solid recommendation. It may not be a game fans of action titles might be interested in, but it combines enough elements into itself that fans of other genres are sure to find something to enjoy here. If you're looking for a good console RTS, an indie sprite-based RPG, or even both of those mixed with light sim elements, then this is the game for you. Pick it up on whatever console you can, and thank me later. I hope that we get some sort of follow-up to this game down the road, as there are several parts I would love to see improved upon.

Check Out Akatsuki: Lord of the Dawn on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/akatsuki-lord-of-the-dawn-switch/

Story: B
Gameplay: B+
Graphics: B+
Music/Sound: B
Value: A

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A fun mix of RTS, RPG, and simulation gameplay.
+ Creating the perfect army is a lot of fun, and there are near limitless party customization options.
+ The graphics and music are cool, and the game runs smoothly even with tons of sprites on screen at once.
+ Can be played in a variety of different ways depending on what part of the game you want to focus on.
+ Though it may be a bit intimidating to come into at first, the game's various elements are easy to grasp in short order.
+ Is available at an extremely affordable price.

Cons:
- The story seems to be barely integrated into the core gameplay loop.
- Some of the gameplay elements, like crafting and city-building, seem to be paced differently from other aspects of the game.
- Things like the odd curve found in cutscenes, and the sometimes generic music, bring the presentation down a bit.
- Is best played in shorter bursts, and this along with the uneven pacing makes me wonder if this was meant to be a mobile experience at some point.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

Everyone wants something!

#Akatsuki

]]><![CDATA[Game Review: SokoFrog]]>Fri, 12 Apr 2024 10:02:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/game-review-sokofrogBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

SokoFrog is a Sokoban-like game that's out now on all major consoles. As the name implies, it plays in the style of the classic video game, Sokoban. For those that aren't familiar with it, Sokoban is a puzzle game that relies on a block-pushing mechanic to make up its gameplay. There actually seems to be a bit of resurgence in Sokoban-likes, and SokoFrog is releasing with a surprising amount of competition. What does SokoFrog offer that makes it unique? Well, we're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today and hopefully find out! Let's get into it!

If you went into SokoFrog thinking that you'd be getting a story that explains why there is a frog moving around boxes, then you're going to be disappointed. SokoFrog drops you straight into the action, and doesn't even give your frog avatar a name. There actually isn't a whole lot to SokoFrog beyond the gameplay itself. The adjustable options are limited, the title screen barely exists, and doing things like finding the level and frog select menus can be surprisingly difficult considering how simple that aforementioned title screen is. While this means that there isn't anything too complicated to explain here, it also means that the game doesn't offer much in the way of presentation. I don't normally like to pick on indie releases, but having a nice title screen, and decently featured options, should be the standard for any commercially released game. It definitely would've done wonders here.

Even though SokoFrog borrows heavily from the Sokoban formula, it does things quite a bit differently when compared to its namesake. Unlike the original Sokoban, where you had to place several boxes onto pre-designated spaces, SokoFrog only requires you to place a single key block onto a key space to open the door that leads to the next level. There are other boxes for you to deal with in each stage, but these only exist as movable obstacles, and can usually be destroyed so that they're no longer an issue. While this single-block mechanic makes things far simpler than the standard Sokoban gameplay formula, it isn't without new challenges of its own. One block or not, the path to the key space is never easy. You'll often have to plan out your route in advance before taking your first move, and you'll find that the reset button becomes your best friend. There are even some levels where you can successfully unlock the door, only to then realize that there is no clear path to it. SokoFrog is by no means a hard game, but it offers enough challenge to always keep you on your toes.

There's more to completing the game than just pushing the key block to the key space, as many of the game's levels have challenges that go beyond what I've mentioned so far. Essentially the game is broken up into 20 level chunks, each having their own look and feel. They also have their own unique hazards as well. Across the game you'll be dealing with spikes that kill your frog and destroy boxes, open pits that can crossed safely by pushing pillars into them, ice platforms that can only be crossed once, lily pads that sink and reappear over time, bombs that destroy blocks, and so on. All these obstacles have to be taken into account when moving the key block, but each set of levels usually gives you stage or two where you're able to play around with the new mechanics. There are also other gameplay elements at work like the parasols that block the view of spaces they're above, the darkness that extends beyond your field of vision in the caves, and even the ice stages which require you to push the key block from one side to the other via the slippery ground. You'll also have the opportunity to unlock new playable frogs every ten levels or so. Though the game is rather simple, it does offer enough variety that its simplicity never comes off feeling like a bad thing.

Visually SokoFrog looks like something you'd find on an 8-bit console, though it still manages to exude a charm that's hard to describe outside of playing it yourself. All the levels look unique, the stage hazards and obstacles are well-designed, and there's even a lot of variety among the playable frogs. Obviously I found myself wishing that there was more to the overall presentation, or that the gameplay area took up more screen real estate, but I found it hard to find fault with the graphics themselves. Unfortunately, things aren't so positive when it comes to music. I actually wasn't completely sure the game even had music as I barely ever heard it during the first half of my playthrough. It took me turning up the in-game sound all the way up in the options menu, and blasting my TV as loud as possible, for me to finally hear what the game actually sounded like. While the music isn't anything special, it's not necessarily bad either. My big issue with the sound has to be its mix, but it also doesn't offer much in the way of sound effects. A great soundtrack can easily save an otherwise mediocre game. Though SokoFrog is anything but mediocre, I did find myself thinking that a decent retro-inspired soundtrack would've made the already enjoyable experience more memorable.

There's no other way to say it: SokoFrog is a very short game. I beat the first hundred levels in about an hour, and finished the game in its entirety in about two. There's 100 main levels, 50 bonus levels, and 18 frogs to unlock. There isn't any reason to go back to the game once you've beaten it, but the game up to that point is actually very fun. It's biggest saving grace has to be its price, as $4.99 feels like the perfect price for the amount of content one gets here. If you're a fan of Sokoban-style games, then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. It's cute, fun, and changes up the gameplay enough to make the experience worthwhile. It's not the best Sokoban clone I've played, but I didn't regret a single minute I spent on it. Everyone else? Well, it's cheap enough that it won't break the bank if you're just curious, so I say give it a go!

Check Out SokoFrog on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/sokofrog-switch/

Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B-
Music/Sound: C-
Value: B+

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A fun Sokoban-like that features 150 levels.
+ The graphics and characters are cute and have a neat retro vibe.
+ New gameplay elements added in each set of levels keep things interesting.
+ Offers the right amount of challenge to players of all skill levels.
+ Very affordable at just $4.99.

Cons:
- The music is very quiet by default, and doesn't really add anything to the experience.
- Can be fully beaten in a couple hours if you know what you're doing.
- The slightly loose controls can cause you to accidentally screw up a level.
- Though fun and affordable, SokoFrog is a rather small game that isn't very deep.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

That you Reggie?

]]><![CDATA[Evading Monsters Three Minutes At A Time: An OBAKEIDORO! Review]]>Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/evading-monsters-three-minutes-at-a-time-an-obakeidoro-reviewBy Al

Players: 1-4 (Local) 1-8 (Online)
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC

If you've ever wanted to play an asymmetrical survival game like Dead by Daylight or Friday the 13th: The Game, but also want the tongue-in-cheek humor of Luigi's Mansion, then OBAKEIDORO! is the game for you! Developed and published by FREE STYLE Inc., this game released on the Switch and PC way back in 2019. We're a little late to the party, but we're going to be taking a look at the Switch version today. It's not often that we review a game like this, so let's not waste any more time with introductions. Let's dive right in!

That's a little sus...

Just gotta chill once you're in here.

OBAKEIDORO! has does have a story (sort of), but it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. I'm going to just skip the brief bits of plot that open up the game, as they pretty much only exist to ease new players into the tutorials. All standard games in OBAKEIDORO! take place between three humans and a monster, these characters can be controlled by any combination of IRL players, or by the CPU. Each match sees the monsters try to capture all the humans and place them in a cage in the center of the stage/arena, and the humans try to outlast the monsters that are chasing them. As I stated before, this sort of plays like an anime-friendly version of Dead by Daylight, but as time went on I couldn't help but feel it more resembles a glorified game of tag. While that's not exactly a negative, I have to say that it doesn't lean too heavy into its horror aspects, and seemingly doesn't offer all that much depth. There's a lot more to the game that just a simple game of tag though, so let's move on to discussing gameplay.

Talking OBAKEIDORO!'s gameplay is rather simple as each character only has a small pool of actions to draw from. Monsters and humans can all run and jump, and they all also have at least one special move that helps them in their goals. For monsters it's usually the simple act of grabbing the humans, with some monsters having more range than others, and some even have special abilities tied to how they grab. Humans are all armed with a lantern that they can use to stun monsters for a brief so they can run away, but these attacks are limited and have a cooldown after each use. There are several monsters and characters to play as, and each have their own abilities. Well, at least the monsters all do, the humans often are just different from each other in terms of visuals. While humans don't have many differences between them, their lanterns do. Each lantern comes with stats that dictate how useful they are, and maybe even added abilities or skills. Taking all this together, you can pretty much get an image of how a standard game of OBAKEIDORO! plays. The monster(s) will attempt to grab all the humans, and the humans will run and dodge in the hopes of staying free. Humans placed in the cage aren't able to do much outside of communicate via stock phrases or emote, but non-captured humans can actually rescue their captured allies if they're willing to risk their own safety. Rescuing allies is done by hitting two switches on the cage, and similar to lantern cooldown, there'll be a set amount of time where you won't be able to unlock the cage again even if you or your friends get recaptured. Oh, and rescuing humans from the cage also recharges all lantern attacks. Winning a match is determined by which goal is met; monsters win by capturing all humans, and humans win by running out the clock, which is set to three minutes by default. Points are awarded to all participants after a match has ended, even to those who lost, and you said points can be used to unlock more gameplay options.

RUN!	They almost had us in this one.

All that I've said so far may sound pretty basic, and it really is, but there's a lot of small details that can make each match unique. Players are given stamp cards per type and event that unlock character upgrades, skills, and more as you complete certain in-game tasks. This means that you start out slow, unskilled, and limited to only the most basic of humans and monsters. You'll eventually find yourself powered up slightly, and have the ability to try out other characters and items that better suit your play style. This is a rather neat mechanic as it does a good job gradually revealing more gameplay elements to the player over the course of what essentially becomes a long-form tutorial. After the initial learning period, the gameplay changes up greatly depending on the character, monster, or lantern players are using. Monsters probably vary the most, as some can be slow, jump higher, pass through walls, and have greater or lesser reach with their grabbing or skills. Characters sometime have additional skills like moving faster after rescuing their allies, or having a dash or dodge, but they tend to vary the least. This is also reflected by the fact that most additional characters are unlocked via events or DLC. Lanterns are what are actually important to the human side of things as not only do they have skills like the ones already mentioned, but they also have stats that dictate their effectiveness. Some lanterns take longer to unleash their attack, but have better range, or vice versa. Finding the best lantern for you will take some trial and error, but thankfully there is no penalty for losing the odd match here and there. In short, all these additional gameplay elements help pad out what is rather simple game on paper, making it feel far more involved than you think such a simple concept could be.

There's one other place where OBAKEIDORO! offers a lot of gameplay variety, and that's in its levels. I was a bit put off when I noticed that there are only five levels in the game, with three variants of each, but they all play so differently from each other that you'll rarely think of that low number as a limitation. Delzo Cemetery is the basic stage, and offers the most wide open area out of all the stages. Snagtongue Swamp has a system of mushrooms that can help or hinder humans, and basically operate like power-ups do in a platformer. Ghost Town has a lot of places for humans to hide, and is often covered in fog, but the big buildings mean that humans lose a lot of their maneuverability when hiding in a foggy corner. Jump Warehouse has all sorts of neat contraptions that humans and monsters can both use to get around the stage quickly, but it's also the stage I played the least with in my time with the game so far. Lastly, Whomp Library has hazards that can reveal the location of nearby humans, and even stun them if they're not constantly on the move. That's not even everything that each stage has to offer, and they all also have little changes and added touches in each of their variants. I do have to say that I would've appreciated the online mode more if players were able to choose where the next match is going to take place (The stages rotate in real time over the course of the day.), but you'll come to appreciate the variety each stage has to offer.

Grabbed by the ghoulies!

Party Blitz is the best!

It takes lots of matches for players to get good, but doing that might be easier said than done due to the online-heavy nature of the game. Players can play OBAKEIDORO! by themselves, or via local multiplayer, but you're going to have to go online to get the most out of the experience. Besides the fact that there are several things you can only do and unlock online, there is a surprisingly robust community for the game out there even today. I rarely had much trouble finding a match either as a human or a monster, and there's even a cool "Party Blitz" mode that you can only play online. This mode doubles the amount of players involved, meaning that six humans will find themselves facing off against two monsters. Things get chaotic fast in this mode, and totally new strategies have to be developed. I guess it's obvious why this mode isn't in the local modes (four player limits and all that), but I did find myself wishing I could practice a bit offline. As far as online stability goes, I did experience a few connection issues here and there, but they could've just been problems on my end. A couple hiccups aside, I had so much fun online that I had to break away from it long enough so that I could write this review. It's really that addicting. You'll also get to encounter players who've unlocked everything in-game, so seeing how certain monsters, humans, and lanterns actually play gives you something to work for. Then again some of those could come from DLC, but we'll get to that later. I guess you can still say that the gameplay loop is rather thin, but it's fun enough that it never felt boring, even after dozens of matches. This is probably due to the surprising amount of gameplay variety that comes from the character builds and stages themselves, but is also probably thanks to the fact that the stamps and points mean that you'll be unlocking more of the game as you go.

Online matches are where it's at.

Always be buying.

I've talked a lot about gameplay, but I think I'll take a small break to cover graphics and music before we wrap up. While neither aspect of the game ever truly wowed me, they were more than perfect within the context of the game. OBAKEIDORO! isn't going to be pushing the hardware on either platform its on, but the visuals have a charm to them that made me forget that you're never really given much reason to be doing any of the monster vs. human stuff that you are. The graphics may look like something that you'd see back on the PS3, but that also means that everything runs pretty smooth and with practically no issues. On the flip side, music is generally spooky and fun, and you can even hear some classic Castlevania tracks if you pick up the free Castlevania DLC. I actually have to admit that I liked the music far more than the graphics, even though I can't recall any tracks off the top of my head. The soundtrack had cool, spooky vibes, and the sound effects and brief voice samples were as endearing as the character designs. I'm sure that there will be many people who won't want to play a game that has a slightly dated look like this one does, but there's really nothing much to dislike here.

While individual gamers might have different mileage depending on how well they take to the core gameplay loop, OBAKEIDORO! is practically infinitely replayable. Its online nature means that its days on the Nintendo Switch are most likely numbered (Especially in light of the recent 3DS and Wii U online shutdowns.), but I still think that there's more than enough game here to keep one entertained until that inevitable day of shut down. The game currently costs a very reasonable $19.99, though I must say that I was a little put off by all the DLC that is currently available for it. It's not nearly as obscene as other games, but considering how thin the core game is, I couldn't help but think that the DLC should've been priced quite a bit lower. That's more of a personal nitpick though, and I still have to say that I enjoyed every minute I spent with the game. I actually plan to play it as soon as I'm done with this review, and part of me wonders if I should write a follow-up down the line about how the game holds up after a month or two of playing. I'm not sure if I'm going to do that, but I guess keep an eye out just in case I do.

Is that a Belmont?

Winning is fun!

Even though I give OBAKEIDORO! the fullest of recommendations, there are some fairly obvious reasons why some might want to not pick this one up. If you're not a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber, then this probably isn't for you. There are solo and multiplayer elements to take part in, but this is a game that pretty much needs to be played online if you're trying to fully enjoy the game. If you ARE an NSO subscriber, and you're not put off by an online multiplayer title, then grab this one on either platform you can. If you do, maybe try to find me online, as I'll be jumping back and forth from monsters to humans for the foreseeable future!

Check Out OBAKEIDORO! on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/obakeidoro-switch/

Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: A
Value: B

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A fun asymmetrical multiplayer game that feels like an anime-friendly version of Dead by Daylight.
+ The stamps and points systems mean that you'll get stronger, and have more options available to you, as you learn how to play the game.
+ There's a surprising amount of depth and variety in what could've been a very simple game.
+ Graphics and music are both well-done, with the visuals having a certain charm to them that's hard to put into words.
+ The (mostly Japanese) online community is thriving even though the game is close to five years old.
+ If you're not a fan of playing online, you can play OBAKEIDORO! in solo or local multiplayer.

Cons:
- Even though there are offline modes, playing online is all but required.
- It can be a bit intimidating coming into the online space as a newcomer when everyone has clearly been playing for years.
- Though charming, the graphics look they'd fit in perfectly on the PS3.
- Some of the coolest characters and lanterns have insanely high costs to unlock them.
- Though I have yet to find the game dull, the gameplay loop can be a bit thin when you think about it a bit too long.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

Catch you all online!

#obakeidoro

]]><![CDATA[A Warm & Fulfilling Visual Novel: A Sunny Café Review]]>Mon, 08 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/a-warm-fulfilling-visual-novel-a-sunny-cafe-reviewBy Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Being a huge fan of visual novels, I couldn't help but get excited when I learned about the release of Sunny Café. A visual novel that centers on Taiwanese café culture isn't something you see every day, and it's rather amazing that we're getting it in the West at all. It's out now on the Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC, and we're going to be taking a look at the Switch version today. Was my excitement for the game justified? Just how deep do the coffee connections go? How does it compare to visual novels from Japan? Hopefully we're going to answer all those questions and more in the review! Let's dive into it!

There's such a great cast of characters here.

We never see Bowen's parents.

Sunny Café puts you in the shoes of Bowen Wu, the son of the owners of Café Origin. He currently lives alone as a student since his parents are currently travelling the world on coffee-related adventures. A series of chance encounters bring Kathy Gu into his life, and the two strike up a friendship. They both learn about each other’s hopes and dreams, and Kathy begins to hang around Café Origin in the hopes of repaying Bowen for his kindness. She's not alone in that though, as Bowen's friend, Alvin Zhang, also hangs around the café in his free time. You'll quickly learn that much of the game takes place within the confines of the café, but this is by no means a limitation. Besides the already mentioned trio you'll meet Kathy's friend Angela He, social media influencer Bella Chen, and the other workers at the café. Though the story obviously leans towards the romantic, there's quite a lot going in all of their lives. Bowen wishes to have a café of his own, Kathy longs to study abroad and become a translator, Bella Chen may have a crush on Bowen, and café employee Leila Guo seems interested in him too. Everyone has their own part to play in the story, and all the characters are very fleshed out and nuanced. There's a lot of drama and character interaction to be had, but there's a very cozy, slice-of-life vibe to everything. It may sound like I'm avoiding discussing where the plot goes from the initial set-up, but that's mainly because it doesn't exactly have a strong focus. There's the feeling of capturing a brief moment in time where everyone's lives still seem ahead of them, but I can't really explain Sunny Café's plot in a few sentences. While I can't really find the words to describe in better detail than what I already have, I can say that it does tell quite the unforgettable story in its relatively short runtime. I'll get to some issues I had later in the review, but I will say now that most players will probably grow to love the characters as much as I did over the course of the game.

Alvin Zhang is great though.

Bella Chen is a non-annoying influencer.

Fans of visual novels might be thrown for a loop when playing Sunny Café, as it really doesn't feel like anything else in the genre. Maybe there's an entire Taiwanese scene of games like this out there, but as someone who's pretty much exclusively played Japanese-made visual novels, it feels like almost like a genre onto itself. Right off the bat there's the aforementioned slice-of-life pacing you get throughout the experience. You'll find this type of writing and storytelling Japanese visual novels too of course, but the way the story is told in Sunny Café feels like it was being adapted from a TV drama. That statement is really hard to explain for those not familiar with those types of shows, but those that are will probably understand what I mean. Nothing ever feels too urgent, and the plot points that feel a bit more serious come when you're not really expecting them. There are choices you can make throughout the course of the game like in any other game of this type, but only a few actually alter anything noteworthy. These choices also come off as very random since it can be hard to tell which choices are the "correct" ones for any given scene due to their very vague descriptions. Another aspect that is sure to surprise visual novels fans has to be the game's setting. Being set in Taiwan, and focusing heavily on Taiwanese café culture, many players will probably be experiencing the setting for the first time. Interpersonal relationship quirks, work culture, and even character tropes are not what one normally sees in Japanese visual novels. All this makes for a truly unique gameplay experience that's only slightly marred by how it's somewhat unpolished presentation. While I do give the translators a lot of credit for bringing us the game in a very readable and relatable state, I must point out that some editing could've helped out greatly. Parts of the story drag on and on, and there were more than a few scenes where I was just mashing the button to get through them. There's also several typos and grammatical errors throughout the script. In spite of all this, the game's charm kept me from ever judging it too harshly.

This pattern haunts me still.

I don't know a thing about coffee by the way.

Another gameplay addition that sets Sunny Café apart from other games is its focus on coffee making. At several points in the game you'll be tasked with making coffee for your friends and co-workers. This usually starts by picking the particular coffee that suits their taste, then going through a series of minigames to actually make the coffee. Those involving simply measuring and grinding the beans are the easiest, but the hardest have to be where you're meant to pour water through a filter in a specific pattern. I found that these are practically impossible to do without a touch controls, especially when you're tasked with the petal-shaped pour pattern. I have no idea how players on platforms other than the Switch are meant to get through these sections, but each time one came up I'd take my Switch out of the dock and use the touch screen to get past them. Minor advantage aside, I'd still mess up a few times. Thankfully you're able to restart most of the minigames at any time, but that petal-shaped pour haunts my dreams. After getting through pouring, figuring out grinding settings through scribbled notes, or even playing a card matching game, you're graded on how well you made the coffee. This determines how the character you're giving the coffee will react, but I don't think these sections have a lot of effect on the way the game plays out. Also, there are several randomly placed coffee-related items you can click on to get some background notes, but these are mainly for in-game collecting purposes. I flip-flopped between loving and hating the coffee making mechanic, and part of me thinks that the developers did too. Even though it does happen once or twice in every chapter, several of the scenes felt like afterthoughts. While I wasn't expecting a true café management simulator, I guess I would've appreciated it if the coffee making elements were better integrated into the overall gameplay experience.

Since story is where it's really at in visual novels, I want to reiterate that I feel that Sunny Café gets it right for the most part. All the issues I had with the pacing were pretty much wiped away once I got the end of the game. It didn't quite wrap up in the ways I was hoping it would, but it was very true to the characters themselves, and the overall themes. There was a bittersweet feeling as I watched the credits roll, but I felt mostly satisfied. I did find that I wanted to go back into the world of Sunny Café and see what happened next, but I had to make do with what I was given. It's something that's hard to describe, but it felt very much like finishing a really great show and having to move on with life knowing that you're most likely never going to visit these characters again. I mentioned it earlier, but I can't help but feel that Sunny Café managed to get the idea of drama in video game form correct. There's no weird anime-esque plot contrivances to spoil the mood, the story moves at what feels like a snail's pace, time skips are common, and it even wraps up in way that ties up all the loose ends, but somehow leaves you wanting more. When I was done with the game I suddenly didn't care that there were parts of it I practically skipped, or that I tried to rush through the coffee making segments, I was just glad that I had experienced the game for what it was.

An example of an in-game choice.

Fun with everyone.

Visuals are one of the stronger aspects of Sunny Café, but they aren't without some odd issues. First off, I have to say that all the character and background designs look great and have a lot of detail and originality to them. You'll spend a lot of time in Café Origin, but I was especially impressed by how different the game's other settings were. The mall, the other cafes, the amusement park, and even the haunted house all stood out and didn't have the generic feel that can plague non-AAA visual novels. The attention to detail is even more impressive when you realize that these other locations are usually only used for a scene or two. Settings aside, there wasn't a single character that I didn't love the design of. Each of them even have different outfits that they'll cycle through during the course of the game, and they all have a range of emotions that show how they're currently feeling. I do wish that there were more CG image scenes, as they felt too few for a game like this, but perhaps that's an issue only I'd notice. Speaking of things that might only be a problem to me, I did think that some of the character illustrations felt off at times. While everything looked very well-done for the most part, there were some characters who had images that felt like they came out of a "How to Draw Anime" book. This was most notable with some illustrations involving Bella Chen and Angela He, but I caught vibes of it here and there elsewhere. None of this was really anything worth complaining about for too long though, and I felt that there were lots of other small touches that kept me from ever truly feeling that the game was losing points for its visuals.

I have to preface my discussion on the game's sound by saying that I'd be giving it a perfect score if I felt that the game was mixed properly. There were times when I could barely hear what the characters were saying, and I would have to actively mess with the in-game audio settings to make everything sound correct. It's not even that things were just quiet, it seemed to be a dynamic thing, as voice/music volume would go up and down as scenes played out. Also, I played this game in both docked and handheld modes (on the Switch of course), so I can say with surety that this was an issue all around. Most people might not notice this since the game is fully in Chinese, but I wanted to hear the voice acting since it's rather rare that I play a game that is in that language. That minor annoyance aside, I have to say that everything in the audio department is perfect. The voice acting is spot on, and the soundtrack is far above what you'd expect for a visual novel. It's not standard visual novel type music, and there are some tracks that are still stuck in my head even as I write this review. I did find it odd that there weren't any vocal tracks to open or close the game, but what we did get was great nonetheless. Even the sound effects were perfect, as the sounds of grinding and pouring coffee makes one feel like they're actually getting hands on with the process. The fact that I think the sound is practically perfect otherwise makes the entire mixing issue the more troublesome. Maybe a patch can fix it, though I really don't see that happening post-release.

This looks like another game, doesn't it?

Truer words were never spoken.

While I do feel that Sunny Café offers a rather fulfilling story, I have to admit that it's a pretty short experience overall. There are a handful of optional scenes, dialogue, and missable moments here and there, but you'll easily reach the end of the game in about four hours or so. I went into the game thinking that it would have different romance options, and while it does offer slightly different endings depending on how you play the game, there's only really one story it has to tell. This isn't a bad thing of course, since it does a good job with the tale it wants to put forth, but it might be a bit of a disappointment for those probably wondering what it would be like if Bowen chose to woo Angela instead. At about five hours in the game, still not having mastered the petal-shaped pour by the way, I'm confident in saying that I've cleared the game fully. Just like watching a great show or movie, there isn't a lot of reason to go back to the game other than to experience its story again. With this in mind, I think it's priced perfectly at 14.99. It's actually currently on sale at the time of writing, and it definitely offers enough content to justify its price. I may have found myself wishing it had more branches in its story, but I guess I can say that the story it does tell is one that'll stick with me for quite a while.

Don't leave things unsaid!

A nice moment with Kathy.

It probably comes as no surprise that I give Sunny Café the highest of recommendations. I had some issues with the coffee making gameplay elements, and there were more than a few presentation issues, but this is one of the better visual novels I've played in recent memory. It's worth picking up just for the fact that it tells a story that has a decent amount of Taiwanese cultural elements in it. If you're a fan of the genre, you owe it to yourself to grab it on whatever platform you can. It may be paced a bit differently than other similar games, but if you find yourself enjoying the story, then maybe you can get into the world of dramas next. That's a topic for another day. Anyway, get out there and help Kathy Gu get out of the rain already!

Check Out Sunny Café on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/sunny-cafe-switch/

Story: A-
Gameplay: B
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A
Value: A

Overall: A-

Pros:
+ Adds lots of unique gameplay elements to the standard visual novel.
+ The setting and focus on Taiwanese cafe culture make for an experience not often seen translated for western release.
+ Each of the characters feel well-written and fleshed out, with the story is one of the best I've experienced within the genre.
+ Though they can be a bit hit or miss, the coffee making segments do break up the standard gameplay.
+ Great visuals, music, and voice acting make this feel far above its indie status.
+ Feels like a TV drama done in video game form, and I mean that in the best way possible.

Cons:
- The slow pacing might have been helped with different writing or editing.
- There are many typos and grammatical errors throughout the game's script.
- Some of the coffee making mechanics, especially the water pouring ones, come off as rather unfair.
- There aren't many story branches to experience, limiting the game's replayability.
- The sound mix seems very off, with the character voices getting louder and quieter for no apparent reason.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

I really love this game!

]]><![CDATA[Game Review: Life of Slime]]>Sun, 31 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/game-review-life-of-slimeBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

You'd think that a game called Life of Slime would be a cozy slice-of-life sim or something similar, and while some of those elements are present, it's actually one of the strangest games I've played in recent memory. Coming soon to the Switch, PS4, and PS5, Life of Slime is a game that defies all genre norms and expectations. We're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today, and explore exactly what I mean by that last statement. This is going to be an odd one, so let's dive right into it!

One of the most important plot elements.

This girl offers some interesting asides.

Life of Slime drops you into the role of Slami, a slime who wants more from his life and also fears the process of merging. You'll quickly learn that "merging" is the slime equivalent to sex, and he fears that he'll lose himself in the process. You may think this is a random thing for me to bring up, but it's a through-line that runs the entire course of the game. After a hard day's work on his parent's farm, Slami decides that he's going to steal money from his parents so he can head to the big city of Intown to be with his girlfriend Slimi. Slimi clearly loves Slami, but she also wants to merge with him as soon as he arrives. Much of the game involves Slami doing his best to reject Slimi's advances, but the pair do manage to settle into a domestic partnership. Slami eventually gets a job as a cashier at a local market, and life seems to be calm at the very least. Just when Slami's life starts to feel boring again, strange things start happening throughout Intown. An illness is spreading like wildfire, and Slami is forced to make several life-changing choices. Though he's always trying his best, Slami ends up in several precarious situations, and his struggles with life soon become deadly. From there the story expands into places that I'll leave out for the sake of not diving too much into spoilers. I'll talk a bit more about story later in the review, but I have to say that it is the single best part of Life of Slime.

I want to be a Slamager.

I don't even have words...

Describing the gameplay in Life of Slime is rather difficult as I'm not really sure if I can say that it even has any. I guess you could call this a third-person adventure game, but there aren't any real mechanics that would make this an actual "game". You don't solve puzzles, you don't have an inventory to manage, there are no dialogue choices, and the action sequences are the very definition of basic. The closest thing I can compare it to would be a kinetic visual novel, but obviously this one has a bit more walking and jumping then you would normally expect in that type of game. Each chapter starts with Slami setting a goal of some sort. These goals can be getting a job, walking a different way home, or even trying to buy Slimi a gift. Though you always have full control of Slami, you're pretty much railroaded into only completing the current goal. There are some optional sections and scenes you can experience, but they act more as world-building asides rather than anything resembling a sidequest. If you ever try to veer off the mandated path, you'll be stopped and told where it is that you're supposed to go. I don't want to make it sound like I'm particularly complaining about this aspect of the game, but it's best to know what kind of game this is.

Even though the game always chooses the path for you, you're able to wander around a bit within its confines. There are several easily missable interactions and conversations scattered throughout the game. For example, when you're first looking for Slimi's apartment, you're able to speak to several of her neighbors, one that even hints at Slimi's activities when she's away from Slami. Even in Slimi's apartment, you can miss small details like the notes Slimi leaves for Slami on their shared computer. Later on you can even see what's going on in buildings you can't enter by peering into their windows, and there are some scenes that will have more resonance if you were thorough in interacting with every slime earlier on in the game. It's the small touches like these that left me wondering if I should classify this as an adventure game or not. In the end it's all just a lot of flavor text, but these are the kind of things that separate the good games from the great ones.

Things change quickly.

This feels a little too real.

I already covered the basic plot earlier, but let me say that Life of Slime has one of the craziest stories you'll ever experience. There wasn't a single scene in this game that played out the way I thought it would, and my jaw dropped more than once. I did often wish there was some sort of player agency involved, such as making choices that might lead to different outcomes, but I'm sure that would've made this a completely different game if they had been included. I hesitate to say that the story put Life of Slime into the horror genre, but there's something truly horrific about how everything goes from being cheerfully optimistic, to mundane and boring, to deadly serious, and finally back chill and calming. I can honestly say that I've never played a game like this, and it's been stuck in my head ever since I completed it. With that in mind, part of me feels that this game is almost a bait and switch. While it never gets too drastically dark, it's not at all the cute, silly game that I thought it would be going into it. Not only is one of the repeated plot threads Slami not wanting to "merge" (read: have sex) with his girlfriend Slimi, but that's not even the worst thing you'll find here. Among the more controversial topics the game covers are police brutality, protests that turn into rampant looting, xenophobia, murder, and even allusions to the COVID-19 pandemic. I personally have no problem with Life of Slime choosing to tackle these plot elements, but I can easily imagine some players feeling bamboozled when the game does a complete 180 on them partway through.

Story aside, another thing that Life of Slime has going for it has to be its awesome visual style. Everything is presented in a 2.5D world, and all the graphics are nice and blocky in a neat retro-inspired aesthetic. There's a lot of variety to the slimes you'll encounter throughout your journey, and the small details I mentioned earlier extend into the visuals as well. The happy-go-lucky opening cutscene, the way the city devolves over the course of the game, and even the way the title screen changes once you beat the game, are just a few examples of how Life of Slime uses visuals to its advantage. Obviously the graphics aren't going to push any platform to its limits, but they're very impressive for such a small indie release. You wouldn't think a game of this limited would have great lighting effects or a dynamic camera, but it does. Also, since there's not really any gameplay to get in the way of things, there's no on-screen HUD to deal with. I guess my only negative would be that the game is rather limited in scope, but that's more of a nitpick than anything.

This rally goes south quickly.

Slimi's fanfiction is pretty strange...

Music is another place where Life of Slime shines, with the soundtrack also sporting a retro aesthetic. Every track has a lo-fi 8/16-bit vibe to it, and that's something I always love to hear. The music matches the look and feel of the game, and there wasn't a single track that ever felt out of place. The sheer amount of music tracks is also very impressive. Each scene in the game seems to have its own theme that you only ever hear once or twice. This means that the soundtrack features dozens of tracks, which is somewhat strange given the game's short length. I do have to wonder if the music in Life of Slime was created specifically for the game, but it's an impressive collection of music even if it wasn't. I did find myself wishing that the sound effects would have a bit more of a punch to them, as they seem to often fade into the background, but that could just be issues with the default sound mix. Lastly, you won't find any voice acting here, but I don't think most people would've expected it in the first place.

Seeing as there are no in-game choices to speak of, there's just one ending to be had in Life of Slime, and getting to it will take most players about an hour or two. While I have to admit that there's very little reason to ever play the game again once you've cleared it, that one playthrough feels like enough. You can always go back to experience the story again if you find yourself wanting more, and maybe you can catch all the things you might have missed your first time around. Normally I'd have at least a slight complaint about a game offering as little content as this one does, but seeing as Life of Slime is currently priced at a very reasonable $4.99, I can't find it in myself to be upset. This isn't a long game by any stretch of the imagination, but it is one that's worth every cent of its asking price.

Good things never last.

Yeah, things get weird.

If you have any of the platforms Life of Slime is going to be releasing on, you owe it to yourself to pick it up at your earliest convenience. It's an experience akin to watching a great movie, and its low price means that it's cheaper than most other entertainment options anyway. Its lack of a distinct genre also means that it can be played by just about anyone. There's no previous gameplay knowledge needed, and I'm sure even the most casual of players will be changed by this game's story. I guess those who may be offended or put off by the subject matter might want to stay away from this one, but I do think it's worth giving it a shot based on story alone.

Check Out Life of Slime on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/life-of-slime-switch/

Story: A-
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A-
Value: A

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A cool game that is very hard to describe in just a few sentences.
+ Though a rather short experience, it is packed full of world-building and characterization.
+ The graphics look great and there are tons of small details that are easy to miss.
+ Features a soundtrack full of great music.
+ Priced perfectly for the experience you'll get.

Cons:
- The story covers some very dark topics, and may not be for everyone.
- Feels more like an interactive movie, and doesn't feature a lot of actual gameplay.
- The action scenes where you can die can feel like they come out of nowhere.
- There's very little reason to play it again after you complete it.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

I found myself in the game!

#LifeOfSlimeConsoles

]]><![CDATA[Game Review: Knowledge Keeper]]>Sat, 30 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/game-review-knowledge-keeperBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC

Knowledge Keeper is a puzzle game that is developed and published by Sometimes You. It’s coming soon to all major platforms, and we're going to be taking a look at the Nintendo Switch version today. Puzzle games can be very hit or miss, but this small indie release has a lot going for it. Seeing as the puzzles aren't going to solve themselves, let's dive right in and get on with the review already!

Though Knowledge Keeper definitely has something resembling a story, I don't think it's worth outlining here. Basically it involves the titular Knowledge Keepers attempting to reassemble crystals that were shattered long ago. These crystals are needed to stop an incoming evil threat, but it's never really stated what exactly that means. I choose to not mention it more beyond that because I honestly don't think that story was around when the game was created. I don't want to jump in right away with the negatives, but Knowledge Keeper has some of the strangest presentation I've ever seen in a game. There's the opening cutscene that's never referenced again, then you're immediately thrown into the game. There's no title screen, there's not even a tutorial, and there's not even any options to play around with. If you choose to go back to what the game calls the Main Menu, you find four squares representing the four sets of levels, and there's not even any music to accompany this simple screen. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that this game isn't actually complete. Oh, and don't expect a long cutscene to wrap everything up at the end either, as that lore dump at the beginning is pretty much all you'll ever get. Anyhow, while that was a rocky start to a review, it's not any better or worse than players getting into the game for the first time. If anything, I've prepared everyone for the experience ahead.

While the presentation may be lacking, I'm pleased to say that Knowledge Keeper does deliver some pretty solid gameplay. This is a puzzle game that relies on a color-switching mechanic, with your main goal being to grab the crystal at the end. Grabbing said crystal isn't always easy though, as you have to make sure a pathway exists for you to get to it, and that you're currently the correct color that matches it. Your character can either be blue or yellow, and the entire world is made up of enemies and hazards that correspond to those two colors as well. You can switch between colors by going through certain doorways, or by touching floor panels. Changing colors also alternates enemies and hazards, and some have the ability to kill you outright if they are activated. Yes death is a thing that can happen here, but you're just as likely to reset the room yourself when you inevitably box yourself in with the wrong solution. Most levels see you make a roundabout way to a switch while avoiding things like spikes that hit you if you're the wrong color, enemies that will attack as soon as you walk into them, or even bridges that collapse after a certain number of uses. Most early levels often rather simple puzzles, but things really ramp up as more mechanics are introduced. You'll eventually be able to use boxes to block enemy fire or create a path across water, use swords to actually kill enemies, or even teleport to get closer to the goal. I don't think there are any puzzles that have more than one solution to them, but you'll probably get the hang of things early on. While I complained earlier about the lack of a tutorial, I did find it rather refreshing to be thrown into a game with no warnings and be forced to use environmental clues to advance. Though I can't be sure it was done intentionally, it is a unique way to place players into a game.

It probably would take too long to explain all the available mechanics here, but I guess I'll give a few examples of puzzles I can recall. Some rooms will have a color changing floor panel with a box behind a bridge that'll collapse as soon as you step on it. Obviously this means you're meant to use the switch, and then push the box into the water to create a more permanent bridge. Also, now is as good a time as any to say that you can actually pull boxes, even though the game never explains it to you. Anyway, you'll now find that sentries of your color now block the path ahead. Stepping in front of them means they'll shoot a laser at you, so you have to find another box to block their attack. Thankfully their appearance meant that other enemies that previously blocked doors are now gone. You'll find more boxes there to push, and you can finally get past the laser-shooting guard. It turns out the guard was protecting a single-use sword, and that sword is just what you need to break through the wall to the crystal. That's just one example of a puzzle solution, and there are a total of 50 stages in all in the game. That's probably my main issue with Knowledge Keeper actually; it's rather on the short side of things. I beat the entire game in about two hours, and there were only two or three puzzles that really had me stumped. One of them actually turned out to be color-based in a different way that usual, in that you had to wait for clock hands to turn red. This particular puzzle was hard for me to complete due to me literally not being able to see the color change needed, but thankfully I was able to get past it with some help. Other than that, I have to say the game offered a decent challenge, even if it isn't a very long experience. New mechanics are introduced in a way that keeps you on your toes, but it never gets overwhelming. It's not the most difficult puzzle game out there, and the controls can be very floaty to boot, but I didn't regret a single minute I spent on the game.

Visually, Knowledge Keeper looks amazing. It has a retro pixel-based art style that I can't help but love. There's all sorts of tiny details in the levels too, and you can even do things like break pots and move chests that have no effect at all on gameplay, but are a nice touch nonetheless. Enemy and stage hazards are all well-designed too, and I even liked the very random cutscene that opens the game. Unfortunately this level of detail does not extend to the game's soundscape. As far as I can tell, there are only four tracks in the game, one for each of the four areas. They're alright as far as music goes, but they're very repetitive and not at all inspiring. The bigger problem with sound has to be the distinct lack of sound effects. There were many puzzles that sometimes seemed to have a click to them if you got them right, but it didn't always seem to trigger. There are also many things you'd think would have sound effects that just don't, like certain enemies that change your color against your will. It's not the biggest complaint in the world, but it goes back to what I was saying about the game not feeling complete. I guess all this can be expected considering how the game seems to handle presentation in general, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

Since the game is broken up into four areas, and the first one has 20 levels, you'd think the game would have a total of 80 puzzles to complete. You may have noticed that I only mentioned 50 earlier, and that's because the other three areas only have 10 levels each. While I didn't necessarily think the game was lacking in content, this made me a little upset as it almost felt like the developers were being intentionally misleading. I can't understand why else the other areas would have half the levels other than to pretend that you'd be getting almost twice the content than you actually are. Also, there is literally no reason to play this game once you've beaten it. Sure you can return to any level via that Main Menu, but I'm not sure why you'd ever want to do that. There's nothing else to see or unlock, there's no special completion bonuses you can miss, you're just done after you complete puzzle #50. The one saving grace to all of this has to be the game's price. Coming in at just $4.99, I can't really find it in me to be upset by the rather thin content, or even the parts of the game that seem unfinished. It's definitely not the best purchase in the world, but it's light enough on the wallet that you may not notice that you beat it in a handful of hours. While the game does feel unfinished at times, I'm got to admit that it never feels broken or particularly bad.

Even though I had fun here, I don't know if I can give Knowledge Keeper an open recommendation. It has some cool puzzle mechanics, and fans of the genre will likely find enjoyment here, but I find it very hard to suggest this over the dozens of better puzzle games out there. I guess grab it if you're looking for a new cheap puzzle game to play, or maybe if you find the graphics to be as endearing as I did. Just go in with the right expectations and you'll be all set.

Check Out Knowledge Keeper on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/knowledge-keeper-switch/

Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: C
Value: A

Overall: B+

Pros:
+ A fun puzzle game that features several mechanics to keep things interesting.
+ The pixel aesthetic fits the simple gameplay, and everything looks great.
+ Difficulty ramps up at a perfect pace.
+ Very affordable at just $4.99

Cons:
- Even though there is a cutscene at the beginning, there is practically no story to speak of at all.
- Lack of story aside, there aren't any tutorials or even a title screen.
- Though the music isn't bad, it's rather lackluster. There are also very few sound effects to speak of.
- I can't help but wonder if this game is actually just unfinished.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

#KnowledgeKeeper

]]><![CDATA[Game Review: 7 Days Heroes]]>Fri, 29 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMThttp://a-to-jconnections.com/gaming/game-review-7-days-heroesBy Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5

Retro-inspired 2D action games aren't exactly a rarity these days, so the game we're going to be looking at today has a hard road ahead if it wants to stand out in an already crowded scene. Coming soon to consoles, following an earlier release on Steam, we have 7 Days Heroes. 7 Days Heroes features a team of four heroes who find themselves up against a horde of zombies. That setup isn't exactly the most unique, but let’s take a closer look at the Nintendo Switch version and see what exactly this game has to offer. We have just seven days to save the world, so we better jump straight into it!

They actually just want to escape.

Just a boy and his dog versus a tank.

7 Days Heroes opens with three kids and a dog in a research facility. They are being tested and trained in a way that reminds me of the kids from the Akira manga/anime. You have the main character, the boy with glasses, the girl, and the dog. They technically have names, but I don't think they're meant to be anything but archetypes. This is evidenced by the fact that the boy with the glasses is literally named "Megane" (as in "glasses" in Japanese), and the dog is just called "dog" or "pug" throughout. One day the AI that runs the lab, known as MAI, runs amok and begins turning all humans in the world into what are essentially zombies. Our heroes take this opportunity to make their escape on a military plane, but are separated when said plane crashes in the middle of nowhere. Our quartet must reunite and decide if they're going to help humanity, or simply make a run for it. It's estimated that MAI will only need seven days to turn the entire population into zombies, so time is of the essence. While that sets up the basic premise, I have to point out that discussing the plot of 7 Days Heroes is by no means an easy task. This game has one of the worst translations I've ever seen, and I am convinced that the developers simply ran the entire thing into Google Translate. It's not even an "All your base are belong to us" type of funny either, as most of the text is literally unreadable nonsense. It took a lot of mental gymnastics to piece together the story I just mentioned, and it never gets any better. It's odd because I don't think a game like this needed all the extra plot elements like AI and research facilities. It could've simply been a zombie invasion story, and wouldn't have needed nearly as much garbled text to get that across. Seeing as the story is definitely the weakest aspect of this game, let's just move on and discuss gameplay.

Even though I don't think 7 Days Heroes does a lot to break any 2D action gameplay norms, there are a few things that make it unique. Since the four main heroes start the game separated, you can only control the main character and the dog at first. This is a good thing as the main character is the only one who is able to continuously attack at all times. This is done by way of the many guns he can equip, and reloading them comes at the cost of nanomachines. Nanomachines are what is causing the MAI's zombie outbreak, but our heroes can use them to their advantage. While you can technically run out of nanomachines if you're not careful, most levels will give you at least enough so you're able to complete them and perhaps spam easier levels for more. The boy with glasses can also attack, and he even has far more powerful weapons at his disposal. To balance things out a bit, their usage is limited on a per level basis. This means that his grenades and flamethrower can be used to clear touch enemies, but there's no way to refill them if they run out in the middle of a stage. The girl uses psychic attacks, and I found these only useful for solving puzzles or attacking when you absolutely can't move forward even one square. The dog pretty much only exists to do things like hit a switch or push a block, and can't attack on its own. The dog does have to ability to dash, and dashing can dodge most attacks. While you start as just the main character and the dog, you eventually get to play as several combinations of the characters, and eventually as all four. This not only leads to performance issues I'll discuss later, but also all sorts of annoyances like having to have all available characters with you in order to exit a stage. This means you'll often have to switch between them many times to clear a level, since they more than likely got stuck behind a wall somewhere. This issue can be compounded when the character you previously controlled is running backwards like mad to get to the character you're currently playing as. It's a really messed up system that is only partially fixed by a "wait" command you get early on. Rather than have them sit patiently, I'd have liked it more if their AI wasn't literal trash.

If only the dog could not get stuck.

I burn teddy bears in my free time.

There are seven sets of stages in the game, each representing a day. Each of these days is broken up into four smaller stages and a boss fight. Your job is to find a randomly placed key in each stage, and reach the exit with all current party members intact. Along the way you'll want to find that level's unique item, usually a new weapon for one of the characters, and try to collect all the nanomachines available. Though you're given what should be the full amount for each stage, I've noticed that some levels allow for you to pick up more than the stated max nanomachines. Any nanomachines picked up get placed into a pool you can use to upgrade or reload the main character's weapons, and you continue the process again in the next levels. Most stages are typical action platforming type deals, but you'll have to rely heavily on the character switching mechanic mentioned earlier. 7 Days Heroes can feel deceptively easy at times, but you'll often find yourself blindsided by tough enemies that come out of nowhere, and enemies placed in areas to specifically annoy players. Thankfully you're not being timed, so you can often clear even the hardest sections by taking things one at a time. As mentioned earlier, you can also upgrade the main character's weapons if you're having too much trouble taking out enemies, though the upgrades don't often feel worth the high cost of nanomachines. Getting hit can quickly lead to death as your invincibility frames seem to only last a fraction of a second, and seeing how most healing items are scattered about at random, you'll often find yourself dying more than you'd expect. There are mid-level checkpoints the pain a little, and you do get to keep items and nanomachines you've already picked up, but enemies will respawn too so it's not really an ideal situation to die close to the end of a level. All these gameplay quirks are made worse thanks to the slippery controls. You'll very rarely feel like your character's momentum is working as it should, and your double jump always seems to turn into a wall grab at the worst possible time. I'd complain about that last point more, but I'm pleased to say that there aren’t many sections that rely on precision platforming.

Doggo got on the elevator wrong.

Get used to this screen.

There's a lot of retro fun to be had in 7 Days Heroes, but at the end of the day I don't think it plays very well. The controls are far too loose, the hit detection is all over the place, and it can randomly turn to unfair out of nowhere. There isn't even a lot of balance when it comes to the bosses. Since your characters are the definition of squishy, most boss encounters will see you attack as quickly as possible, and hope that you get the boss before they get you. This wonky difficulty balance can also be seen in the levels themselves, where you'll sometimes find yourself facing multiple damage sponge tanks and helicopters that can kill you in a few hits. Also, while platforming is never really an issue, there are a lot of decisions in the level design that I simply can't get behind. One of the sets of stages sees you on the back of a truck being driven by the boy with glasses, and most of these operate as sort of stationary shooters. These levels are the worst in my opinion, and they almost made me quit the game. Falling onto the road is instant death, so that means the main character is useless for attacking anything that's not directly in front of him, and I also think it's impossible to pick up all the nanomachines in any of these stages as they'll simply fall into the road. Then there's the boss fight, which is the only one that requires any sort of tactics. I say "tactics", but I really mean that it just takes a stupidly long time to beat them since you can only attack it one hit at a time. These stages are followed up by a series of cave levels where the game suddenly decides it wants to be a sort of Metroidvania-lite game. These once again almost made me quit, but I persevered for the sake of the review. Honestly, I'm not sure it was worth it since all I got for my efforts was more chewed-up garbage text this game calls a story. Not everything here gameplay-wise is bad, but when it is, it's absolutely horrible.

While I'm not exactly a fan of the game's story or gameplay, I can say that one place where 7 Days Heroes shines decently bright is in its graphics. Everything is presented in retro-pixel glory, and there are even some cool lighting effects to be found in many of the levels. There is a sort of "sameness" to some of the enemies, but I guess that can be expected when you're dealing with what is essentially a zombie invasion. That small nitpick aside, the other character and enemy designs look great. I may not have been a fan of those driving sections, but I will admit that the Phoenix chase that starts the entire chain of events is one of the best-looking sprites in the game. This would all be well and good if not for the fact that the game manages to run very poorly on the Nintendo Switch. While I know that many factors go into why that would be the case, I can't help but question why a game that looks as simple as this one can't run at a consistent framerate. I'm usually not one to notice or complain about such things, but the game becomes almost unplayable when you enter the cave levels with all four party members. I'm not sure if it's the open layout of the stages themselves, or the fact that you'll easily hit the double digits number of on-screen characters once you factor in enemies, but only this review kept me playing. I'm not sure if this is an issue on other consoles, but considering the Switch is rather infamous for this kind of thing, I wouldn't be surprised if players on other consoles never had to deal with performance dips. I hope that a patch comes out to fix these issues, but that's probably just wishful thinking.

I kind of want to go to Walmart now...

The game runs like garbage in these sections.

You'd think that 7 Days Heroes could've just given players a healthy dose of 8-bit inspired music and called it a day, but I think they fumbled the ball here almost as badly as they did with the gameplay. Before I begin bashing the game's music, I want to point out that it's really not that bad, it's just very generic. I like to complain whenever a game mixes its music very low into the general sound mix, and that was my first problem here. I had to play around with the options until I could hear anything at a decent volume, and then I realized that it was probably purposely placed low into the background so you couldn't hear how lackluster everything is. There are a few good tracks, with the intro and first level themes being decent standouts, but most of them just seem uninspired. The way they simply exist without really moving along the gameplay made me wonder if they were just taken from a music library. Once again, I don't mean this as a fully bad thing, just that nothing stands out at all in a game that is already sliding down a slope when it comes to presentation. While obviously there isn't any voice acting here, there also don't seem to be a lot of sound effects either. Most effects are muffled and muddy, and others seem far too loud. This goes back to my issues with the overall mixing of the sound, but it made for a generally poor experience in the audio department. Seeing as how I often like to say great music can save a mediocre game, I was very disappointed when I came to the conclusion that everything here is forgettable at best, and borderline bad at worst.

If you know what you're doing, and if you're not concerned at all with weapon upgrades, you can probably beat 7 Days Heroes in well under five hours. I had some difficulty with certain sections of the game, so I grinded my way to full weapon upgrades. Doing that adds one or two hours to the overall time, most of which will I spent absentmindedly defeating the same boss over and over again while watching videos on YouTube. It can be a fun experience if not for the many issues I mentioned above, but there's very little reason to go back to the game once you complete it. There are optional items to find, and lots of nanomachines to collect, but those goals can easily be hit your first time through a level. I guess there is some difficulty playing the driving sections to perfection, but the less said about those the better. At just $9.99 I have to admit that the game isn't priced too high for the amount of content you get. Once again I don't know if I recommend playing it on the Nintendo Switch at the current time, but it's not a bad price point. There is the slight caveat to that price though, as the game only costs $3.99 on Steam. This isn't just a Switch Tax thing either, as it's nearly double that price (once again $9.99) for consoles. This is almost definitely a decision made by the publisher for reasons that I'm sure have to do with licensing, but it still bothered me.

This phoenix looks cool.

At least they're a great-looking bunch.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to recommending 7 Days Heroes. It's not a horrible game, but it's also not very good. It's poorly balanced, features a horrible translation, has some questionable gameplay mechanics, and there are entire sections that are near unplayable on the Nintendo Switch. All that said, there were some moments where I had a lot of fun with it, I just wish those moments lasted more than a few minutes. I guess if you can look beyond everything I've said, and can grab it on any platform other than the Switch, you're likely to find some enjoyment with it. Everyone else is probably better off playing any other retro-inspired 2D action game, as there are plenty of them out there.

Check Out 7 Days Heroes on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/7-days-heroes-switch/

Story: C
Gameplay: C
Graphics: B+
Music/Sound: B-
Value: B

Overall: C

Pros:
+ A fun action game that features some light RPG elements.
+ The weapon and item upgrades make gameplay progression feel very smooth.
+ Blends run and gun action with simple puzzle solving really well.
+ Barring a few sections, the game offers a smooth challenge progression.
+ The game looks and sounds amazing.

+/- Though it would've required a lot of re-tooling, this game seems like it could've made for some neat multiplayer levels.

Cons:
- Has one of the worst translations I've seen in recent memory. It can often be hard to interpret what is trying to be conveyed.
- The character change mechanic can lead to some very annoying situations when the computer-controlled characters get stuck behind walls.
- Just about every level that takes place in the driving section is horrible and not fun to play.
- While I'm not sure about the other consoles, having all members available significantly slows down the game in some areas, rendering it nearly unplayable.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

Time to hit up the mall!

#7DaysHeroes

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