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Crystar Review

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It’s time to look at a video game that I hadn’t actually heard of before. It’s a pretty new one and doesn’t appear to be super mainstream so I’ll cut myself some slack here. It’s definitely got an interesting cover and with a name like this you can’t help but get a little interested. It’s definitely a pretty good game with a solid plot. I’d definitely be up for a sequel to this one.

The game starts off by introducing us to Rei and her little sister Mirai. They both wake up in a demonic world and don’t know how they get there. Unfortunately this leads to a monster showing up and the only way for Rei to defeat him is to open up a contract with the two leaders of this realm. They reveal that this world is Purgatory and that doesn’t bode well since Mirai ended up getting destroyed during the chaos early on. Her soul is now flying through purgatory and if it reaches the gears of revival she will be lost forever. Purgatory’s rulers give Rei a simply contract. They will give her the power to fight through the underworld and save her sister but in exchange she must destroy the Revenants that plague the world. Rei is determined to do whatever it takes to save her sister so while she doesn’t trust these self proclaimed demons and thinks the contract is suspect, she doesn’t have much of a choice. 

As you can tell the game’s plot is pretty deep as usually I could summarize the whole thing in one paragraph. As you may guess from the term purgatory this is a world you only enter if you are dead. The only exceptions are that revenants can suck away living humans into this demonic world in order to eat their souls. Technically revenants can also go after other revenants and dead souls, but a living one is worth a lot more so it speeds up their quest for revival. One they have attained enough for revival they will be able to go back to the real world and resume their life or potentially use their power to destroy it. It’s why the Executors (People who have signed a contract) are told to destroy them to keep the balance.On one hand, you’ve gotta take these guys down because they are eating all of the good souls as well. When someone dies if they forget their identity they become butterflies. Ones that retain some identity eventually level up into becoming a special butterfly or a revenant.

Ironically the ones with the strongest wills are the ones who are hunted. Strong mental fortitude is one of the most important traits for a soul to have in order to escape this place. So there are a lot of things to think about when targeting all of these souls but at the end of the day there doesn’t seem to be another way to save Mirai. For my two cents on that, the people are already dead and the ones who are mindless are just monsters at this point. Most of the revenants are completely evil as well and it would be hard to take them to prison. I do think it’s the right move not to destroy the good ones but of course it is tough since they all tend to lie quite a lot to get you to lower your guard. 

As for the gameplay, it’s a 3D best em up. You travel through maps that are created like a maze as you search for the exit. You rarely have to fight enemies but I recommend taking on most of them since the level ups are important. If you get to some of these bosses at a low level they’ll just end up crushing you with no mercy. One hit would be enough to finish you off and that’s not putting yourself in a great position. If you just fight all of the enemies you come across during your route in the game then you’ll be just fine when it comes to these challenges. You’ve got your standard attack, power attack, and a bunch of special moves. The power move is extremely slow though so I don’t recommend ever using it. It just never comes in handy and is so much slower that the slight increase in power is not worth it. This is partially due to the fact that you can dash cancel your standard combos. What I’ll do is throw out 3-4 hits and then immediately dash to continue the combo. A lot of games that use a dash feature end up having this feature so I always try for it. You always feel like this can’t be intentional because it really extends the combo, but if it’s there then I’m gonna use it. 

I ended up beating the game at a relatively early level as I hadn’t even hit 30 yet. It wasn’t bad though and I could still deal a good amount of damage. The equipment you have is the important part and I also bought a lot of food to amp up my stats during the fight. Leveling up will certainly help you beat bosses easier but it also makes the levels a lot longer so you just have to decide how to want to play this. I got to enjoy using all 4 characters throughout the game. Rei is definitely the most balanced one and my favorite for taking on minions. When the bosses would show up I liked Kokoro because while her attack range is terrible her power is through the roof. When she lands hits the bosses definitely feel it. Sen’s a good all around attacker so she’s good to switch in as well. Nanana is pretty broken with her projectiles but they deal an extremely low amount of damage. Put it this way, you can beat any level/any boss with ease using her, but it’ll take a super long amount of time. Keep her on the bench for emergencies.

The graphics are definitely solid here. In game it’s got a very goth/end of the world feel to it. It makes for a good atmosphere and the colors really stand out. I was also happy to see a full anime intro to the game which was pretty cool. The soundtrack is also pretty good. It’s not super extensive or anything, but it complements the game well. The game is definitely pretty somber the whole time so don’t expect to see too many bright colors or happy themes. The happiest theme is probably when Rei is at home, at least that part feels pretty normal.

As I mentioned the story is pretty dark. The same goes for even the normal levels as every enemy you face used to be human. When you destroy them they tend to throw curses at you hinting at how they died. Pretty much everyone has a tragic backstory here with everyone’s souls constantly crying at you. Crying is how you get stronger so prepare for a ton of that. I dare say it crosses the line a bit when one of the animals gets involved. The game handles it as well as something like that can be handled since there’s no blood and at least it happened painlessly in the human world, but I still did have to strike away a star for this. It really wasn’t needed in the game and the whole thing would have been better off without it.

As for the characters, they are all pushed to the breaking point as the game goes on. Rei definitely handles this the worst from all of them. I still don’t really buy into her stabbing the wrong person by accident the way she did. I’d like it if the game implied that someone forced her to do this, but surprisingly that didn’t happen. The whole game was someone’s plan so it’s reasonable to say that she did something, but it’s hard to confirm that. Regardless Rei cracks quite a lot as the game goes on. Everyone is always messing with her, but you still have to put a lot of blame on her.

Kokoro is a fun enough character aside from her Rei antics. She does a good job of moving past her origin story and keeping a lid on things. She’s a dependable ally to have. The climax of her character arc is similar to Captain America: Civil War’s so you’ll have to choose which side you’re on. I have to say that I’m on Kokoro’s, but it’s written well so you can understand where both characters are coming from. Sen’s a good character who’s justice angle is solid. She’s probably the most heroic out of the group although by the end her justice appears to waver. It’s a personal situation, but doesn’t change the fact that it goes against her ideals. Then we have Nanana who gets a smaller role than the other 3, but is a lot of fun.

She probably gets the roughest hand out of the group though because most of her scenes are people being mean to her. She’s always nice in response though so it gets pretty emotional. For supporting characters we have Mephis and Pheles. They’re more annoying than anything, but I suppose you need cryptically evil characters to balance things out. The one with glasses at least plays it straight though and gives some actually useful info. The other one just trolls 24/7. There are more characters but you should really play the game to get the full scoop. It has so much story that it’s like watching an anime or a movie.

There’s a lot of replay value here. For starters the game has 4 different endings. Beating the game once took me around 11.5 hours. Fortunately you don’t need to beat the whole game again for the different endings, but I fully expect you’ll be at 30+. Then if you want the Platinum it’ll take even longer. So there’s definitely a lot to enjoy even after you beat the game here.

Overall, Crystar is definitely a really solid game. It’s certainly very different from your average beat em up game. The whole thing really felt like Madoka from the abstract drawings to the contracts with the demons. I dare say that the game is even more grim as nobody really gets a happy ending here. Granted, I only played the default ending so I’m sure the true ending probably gives everyone a better conclusion. I’d definitely recommend checking this game out, but if you don’t like sad stories then this one won’t be for you.

Overall 7/10

Crystar Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Play Time 11h 17m
PS4 Trophies 30/51
Ordeals Cleared 23
Torments Obtained 79
Memoir Collection Rate 18.5%
Torments Purified 17
Sentiments Fused 22
Sentiments Modified 11
Aggressive Sentiments 14
Protective Sentiments 16
Bolstering Sentiments 8
Enemies Defeated 1039
Max Chain Count 321
Max Damage Dealt 1231

Character Levels

Rei Level 25
Kokoro Level 22
Sen Level 23
Nanana Level 24

River City Girls Review

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It’s time to look at a pretty recent beat em up game for the PS4. The game always did look pretty solid ever since the first promotions for the game came out. WayForward and Arc SYS working on the game also ensured that it was going to be a great title. It does not disappoint. The game may be rather short but I think you could reasonably expect that based on the arcade style. It’s definitely a really fun game that doesn’t cut any corners.

The plot involves Kunio and Riki getting kidnapped by someone. Their girlfriends Misako and Kyoko get a text letting them know what’s going on so they quickly break out of school and will stop at nothing to find the guys. They may have to tear down the entire city to find them, but that’s fine by them. Whatever it takes they aim to get to the bottom of this. You’ll get a lot of fun backdrops as a result. The heroes go through the school, a mall, a boat, a music show, and more. Each location brings new enemies to beat up.

The gameplay is a very classic beat em up. You won’t have a ton of different moves so it’s about making the most of the ones that you do have. I bought a few moves near the beginning of the game, but I didn’t get anything after that. I’m sure the extra moves after that can be handy, but at the same time some moves will hold you back so watch out. I’m not sure if this is intentional, but take the move where you can pick someone off the ground and hit people with him. This one’s more of a hindrance than a help because it’s the same button as your standard punch. A lot of times I would be getting ready to punch someone and suddenly I’d be picking someone up instead. It’s not exactly a welcome surprise in those cases. Likewise while the Dab looks cool, it does mean you have to be extra precise with your kick so you don’t use this attack instead. I suppose it adds to the strategy although it’d be nice if you could turn off some attacks. Perhaps it’s possible to do so in the dojo or something.

The gameplay is pretty straight forward so you should get the hang of it very quickly. You’ll also see loose weapons on the ground that you can use to slam people with. I feel like the damage is pretty much the same as just whacking someone so you’ll rarely ever want to use it. The best combo actually seemed to be your standard 3 punches into a kick routine. I used that to great effect against every enemy and boss. It certainly paid off. When you’re surrounded by multiple opponents I recommend a tactical retreat. They’ll just land way too many blows if you stick around. Your best bet is to get out of the way and then make your way back towards them. If you hit them all at the same time you eliminate the risk of a counter attack. Dash combos will be your friend.

Each of the bosses also have a set pattern so once you learn that you should be good to go. The bosses are stil pretty tricky though and I needed food items for some of the latter ones. Surprisingly the final boss is pretty easy so I didn’t need any for her. Just keep on hitting her and try to dodge the kick counter attacks. It’s really not that hard to do so and then you’ll have made it through the game.

The story is pretty short and you can beat the game in about 4 hours. Granted there is still a lot of bonus content to explore here. You can go and deal with some extra fights to help your next door neighbor out. Additionally you can break a bunch of statutes and buy all of the collectibles. The platinum seems pretty achieveable here so you’ll just need to invest some extra time in and it’ll be yours. One thing to note is that when you switch characters your levels don’t transfer over so if you’replaying by yourself then I recommend sticking to one character.

As far as the graphics are concerned this game is top notch. Not only are the in game models and backgrounds really great but the game even has fully animated cutscenes. The comic book ones are also really shark and work extra well for the emotional bits. This is an area where the game really excels and the fact that it has full voice acting is really fun. I always feel like that helps to enhance the game even further. Then you’ve got the dynamite soundtrack. There are a lot of great songs to be found here and the sound quality is top notch. The game was basically booming out of my TV in every scene to the point where I’d have to turn the volume down a few notches. The game is incredibly high energy and you can’t go wrong there.

Then you’ve got the writing which is a lot of fun. As you’ve probably guessed the story isn’t 100% serious. You can see how the game pokes fun at the premise quite a bit here and there with the main characters’ proof on why Kunio and Riki have been kidnapped getting slimmer and slimmer. This leads to an incredible plot twist as the game ends which I did not see coming. It really threw all of the classic tropes out the window and flipped everything you thought you knew about the game upside down. It’s just brilliant and the script is really solid throughout the game. With the exception of the next door neighbor all of the characters are pretty solid.

Misako is the tough character of the group who is always threatening to beat people up. She’s actually a bully which several characters comment on. Nobody wants to mess with her because she’ll definitely take you to the hospital. Misako is a fun character to follow even if she may not be a traditional hero. At the very least she is trying to help the guys out so her goals aren’t so bad. Kyoko is a lot nicer but also a little dense in comparison. Things tend to go over her head. She can fight as well as Misako but isn’t as aggressive. Naturally I liked Misako a lot more, but I chose Kyoko at the beginning of the game so I ended up being stuck. From the way the menus looked I assumed Kyoko was gonna be the tough one. Ah well, lessons were learned.

Throughout the game you meet a lot of supporting characters and villains that you have to take down in each chapter. They’re all fun and quirky. I could see a full manga or anime being based around this game and it would be a lot of fun. While you won’t feel bad for the bullies or the villains, you will probably have some sympathy for the school girls who believe they are friends with Misako and Kyoko. They’re really nice at times and help us in our quests, but get absolutely no gratitude. Again this is partially foreshadowing for the twist ending I’d say but you hope they end up finding new friends soon.

Overall, River City Girls is a great game. It is really short which is the only tag against it, but it’s just so high quality that you can overlook this. It reminds me of the average Platinum game which tends to be fairly short, but gives you a lot of quality in that experience. (They do a lot of long games too, but I’m thinking along the lines of Transformers Devastation or the TMNT game. Their franchise titles are usually short) Where else are you going to get such smooth animations and gameplay? The humor is on point here and this is the kind of game that you won’t be forgetting anytime soon. I’d definitely recommend getting it right away. Look at it this way, even if you don’t like it quite as much as I did, it’s not like it’s going to last all that long right?

Overall 8/10

Kung-Fu Heroes Review

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Time to look at the next NES game on the docket. This one’s a fighting title so that definitely looked pretty interesting to me. It’s a fun enough title although certainly less polished than the last one I played. The gameplay is sound, but there are times where you’ll be sure that you dodged an attack and yet you get slammed anyway. It feels a little cheesy at that point, but the more you play the better you’ll be able to keep a wide berth between you and the enemies.

The basic plot is that the princess has been captured and you have to save her. You have to go across the many worlds level by level in order to make it to the end. There seemed to be about 24 levels give or take so that’s pretty good. The levels are short and I see that someone beat it in about 40 minutes, but I think you can reasonably expect the game to take you closer to a few hours instead. The Switch games all have the checkpoint feature as well as the rewind button so you should always be able to make it to the end of the game if you so desire. Just keep on chugging away at those levels!

It’s an overhead game and your main weapon is your punch which has a range of one square. The idea is to beat enough enemies in a level to open the gate. Once you’ve opened the gate then you can use it to reach the next level. Rinse and repeat until you’ve cleared the game. Since your range is so short you typically want to hit the enemies from the side so they don’t counter attack. If you both punch at the same time then you will most likely lose the encounter. At least that seemed to be my experience. Another attack up your arsenal is your jump which can also defeat just about any opponent. The advantage of this attack is the longer range, but if you mistime your jump or the enemy decides to do the same then you’ll lose a life. Whether you’re attacking or being attacked someone will get KO’d. All enemies only have the 1 health point as well as the character you’re playing as.

Each of the levels have a bunch of objects that can be destroyed. They house a bunch of different items including a blaster, extra lives, and points to improve your score. You can also find a key which leads you to a bonus room where you get even more points. In theory the best way to play this game is slowly as you should try to get as many extra lives as possible to be prepared for the end. The levels definitely get considerably harder as you progress so while the lives may feel unnecessary at first you will be very glad that you had them by the end of the game.

Also, definitely watch out for the bosses that show up once in a while. As far as I can tell they cannot be defeated so just try to wait them out. At least that was the case for the first boss who ran in and then quickly left. He will try to hit you with a bunch of energy blasts as he chases you around the place, but dodging isn’t particularly difficult since there are no minions while he is around. You just have to keep on turning corners and running full speed. Do that and you should definitely be safe.

The graphics look fairly good. They’re definitely quite old by this point and not as refined as some of the others, but it’s still a cheerful game where you can always tell what is happening. I do think the hurtboxes on the characters might not be properly aligned with the characters based on how I died at some points, but nothing can be 100% perfect. As it stands it was still close enough where it wasn’t too regular. As for the soundtrack, it’s fairly standard stuff. Nothing to write home about, but it works well given the title and the context of the story.

Overall, Kung-Fu Heroes is a fun game. There’s not a lot of depth or replay value to it, but it’s one of those titles that you could easily have fun with for an hour or two as you try to clear the levels. I don’t expect you will stick around for much longer than that, but since the game is free that’s really all that you need. I look forward to seeing which games Nintendo adds next month. I’m thinking we’re ready for the next console, but if they stick to NES I wonder what games they will pull off next. I’m sure there are technically still a bunch we don’t have yet so they could probably drag this out a little longer if need be.

Overall 6/10

Star Wars Battlefront Review

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I’ve owned this game for a very long time as I hunted down the PSP game that I needed to play first. Well, Lethal Alliance is now done so that left room for Battlefront to take the center stage. It’s definitely a very fun game and one that has a pretty unique premise. It takes a very different look at what a beat em up game is all about and it works pretty well. It does feel a little limited in scope, but that’s probably because of how old it is. It still does age well, it just isn’t as long as I would have liked. I would recommend it either way though.

The game’s plot covers the Clone Wars as well as the first two movies in the original trilogy. The unique part of this story is that it’s told through the eyes or ordinary rebels and storm troopers. You also switch between fighting for the Rebels and the Imperials as the game goes on. In some levels you are the hero while in others you are the villain. Sometimes this can make it a little difficult to keep track of who you’re shooting which adds to the danger. After all, friendly fire is activated here. Allies can shoot you in the back and vice versa. Particularly in one of the final levels my allies kept on shooting me to death which was pretty intense. They were throwing grenades like there was no tomorrow. The snow level is also tricky in that respect as both sides are all in white (Storm Troopers and Rebels in white coats) so it’s tough to know what to do next.

Each level starts off by showing you how many troops both sides have. Typically it is 200 on each side. It’s cool in that you can actually see the number go down with each KO you land. Expect to die a lot of times as well though since as a normal character you have no plot shield. On average if I took down 100 enemies I would die around 25-40 times. Of course, every time you die your side loses a man as you are effectively switching characters so you do want to try and not die too often. Once one side is down to 0 troops left or you’ve taken over all of the bases in the level for at least 20 seconds then you win. Typically the first win criteria will happen before the second, but there have been a few times where the enemy only had 1 troop left and I won via conquering all of the areas instead.

The areas are key to winning regardless. Your troops seem to do a lot better when you have most of the bases on your side even if it’s evenly matched. That’s why it is usually worth it to quickly leave your troops to conquer the areas instead of trying to hold your ground. It’s the kind of game where pushing forward is encouraged. This did get tricky for one level near the end where the only way to get to the other territory was through a very long bridge right up the middle. It’s one of the few levels where I did die once. It’s a pretty genius design though as it does force the confrontation right off the bat and you have to wrestle with the fact that you can’t just hide and get them from the back. It was a lot of fun and helped teach me to throw more grenades.

I also do think the game developed the stealth abilities pretty well here. You don’t have any fancy stealth kills or anything like that but if the opponent is focused on shooting down your partners you can often start shooting them real quick from behind. By the time they are able to react to your shots the match is as good as over. It’s done in a way that feels pretty realistic and isn’t too overpowered which is very heard to do. It’s the little things like that which really make the game standout. While I played the whole game as a trooper type character you could also pick the sniper, rocket launcher, and a third choice. I’m sure their respective gameplay would also be pretty fun to dabble with.

The graphics are pretty good, although as I mentioned before it can be hard to tell who your ally is and who the enemies are at times. The costumes are really similar and some of the levels are just really dark. The indoor levels are usually well lit so those aren’t a problem but in the dark you end up fumbling through the level. At times I just had to trust in my compass as I shot blindly into the night. Meanwhile the soundtrack is definitely on point. It’s nothing that you haven’t heard before, but it works pretty well all the same.

Where the game is lacking is definitely in replay value. The single player campaign is incredibly short. You can play various side modes like story mode without the story or other bonus levels which helps to an extent. There also is multiplayer mode which I imagine would probably be the most enjoyable option as you lead an army against someone else’s and it’ll all come down to your tactics. Yeah, I ca definitely see that being a lot of fun assuming it works that way. I can’t find too many places talking about the multiplayer here and the only video I saw was more of a co-op. Even so, teaming up with someone is always fun as well.

Overall, Star Wars Battlefront is definitely a very solid game. I can see why this one would have been pretty iconic back in the day. It really was a fresh new direction for the series and I like the way it handled the genre. It’s smaller in scope than it would have been nowadays, but it definitely has that retro charm as a result. The game is very smooth and the gameplay is appealing. At the end of the day that’s really all you need to be a success if you ask me. If you’re on the fence about getting this game because of its age I would recommend you take the plunge and buy it anyway. I’ll be starting Battlefront II soon so I hope to see it continue Star Wars’ steak of quality games.

Overall 7/10

Fate Extella Link Review

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It’s time to look at a brand new game that isn’t really getting a lot of attention. I don’t pre order too many games throughout the year because…well that gets pricey very quick. So typically I try to hold out for the best games of the year. Now you may be wondering why this one would make it. Well, I’m a big fan of the beat em up genre first of all. Then while Fate the franchise may have its ups and downs, you can’t deny that the premise is definitely really good and it’s a very interesting verse. Mix the two together and it definitely makes for a game that I don’t want to miss. At the same time I do have to admit that the game is incredibly short to the point where it does hurt the longevity part a bit.

There is one main plot here as opposed to a bunch of small ones like in most beat em up titles. You follow the champion of the previous game. He conquered the Fate game on the Moon and thought that a time of peace would be coming but instead a new villain group has arisen. Really it’s just one main villain who is mind controlling a bunch of old foes from the various Fate battles. Fortunately a new character has shown up to help assist the lead. He seems to be hiding a secret, but as long as he is helping then the lead is willing to overlook that.

I won’t mince words here, the game’s story is only around 3 hours long. It’s incredibly short, there are only 8 levels until you get to the ending. Each level varies in length but it certainly won’t take you very long to complete. The levels are longer than a platformer’s or something like that, but they are still short compared to other beat em ups. When the credits start rolling you’ll try to wake yourself up because it just seems to have happened way too quickly.

Still, there is some replay value here which will definitely add a bit to the experience. For one thing, there are 3 different endings to the game. Each path takes about as long as the first so then you’ve turned the game into more of a 6 hour game. (“Wait…that’s not 3X 3!” Well yeah, but you’ll be breezing through by this point) I’ve beaten two endings by the time of this review and my play time is a little under 5 hours. After beating all of the levels you can also jump into the Extra Battles which are effectively the same story levels, but now they are a lot harder. This is a good way to get some level ups and more equipment. There are also a bunch of attacks and costumes to unlock and items to craft. While most of the trophies in the game are easy, they will take time so if you go for the Platinum don’t expect to get it anytime soon.

Then we need to talk about the gameplay of course. Beat em ups come in a few different styles. You have the Dynasty Warriors games which are pretty realistic so you aren’t slamming people by the hundreds and then you have the Nintendo ones where you are beating hundreds of opponents in an instant. This one is definitely more like those as you’ll end up beating hundreds of opponents in seconds. It’s definitely pretty nice and I think the whole point of the genre is to feel powerful. In this respect, the game certainly succeeds. Then you’ve got a nice array of attack options so you aren’t literally using the same button over and over.

Beat em up games are button mashers at heart so that doesn’t go away, but at the same time it’s fun to switch things up a bit. The leveling up system can be a bit slow though. Even by the end of the game you’ll only be around level 30. Assuming that the cap is 100 I don’t think you’ll be getting up there very quickly. The flip side of this is the cool EXP share option that most games have been having in this genre for quite a while. You can match the level of every other character to your main one right away. It doesn’t cost too many resources either so you can just max out one character and you’ve instantly matched everyone else. It helps take away the grind aspect of the game so you only do that if you really want to do so.

There are a bunch of other aspects of the game that you can have fun with like bonding and such, but you don’t need to do so. I didn’t bother with any of that myself, but I can see the appeal if you like hanging out with the characters. Typically this aspect tends to get a little dicey so I’m certainly fine with skipping it. Back to the gameplay for a moment, aside from all of the usual final smashes, you have a Noble Phantasm attack which is effectively your ultra move. It hits everyone in the area that you’re in and the attack power is crazy. The game did a really good job of effectively making it a one hit KO move. I also like how they implemented the command seals into the gameplay. You can save them as last second revive moves or you can use all of them at once in order to get full meter. It can be a tough choice, but typically I’ll go with the latter.

After all, this game isn’t all that difficult. Even on hard mode I don’t expect you’ll run into many challenges unless you aren’t leveled up enough. On all other difficulties the enemies barely fight back. The only level where I actually got in some danger was the final boss of the second path. (Of course I haven’t played the third path yet) I’m sure the game will only continue to get more and more difficult though which is good. Difficulty is fun, especially when it’s optional.

As for the technical level, the graphics definitely look pretty good. It’s not exactly at the top of PS4 level, but everything is nice and colorful with a good amount of detail. The attacks all look good and I like the level designs. The music is less memorable, but it’s not bad. I’d say that this is the kind of game where the gameplay is really what the developers focused on and the graphics/soundtrack were less of a priority. As long as they are good enough that’s fine with me.

There isn’t much to talk about with the story either since it’s so short and there isn’t a lot to cover here. The main character is fun enough. He’s a solid adventurer who likes a good fight. His backstory is definitely interesting since it does make you think twice about his character. His future definitely seems like a grim one so it’s good that he can at least have fun now. The main villain is pretty over the top villainy, but I guess he can be enjoyable. There just isn’t all that much to him to be honest.

There’s less to say about the champion. Technically he is the player so that makes sense, but he only appears once in a while and mainly just talks through thinking bubbles. He goes with the flow and does the heroic thing, but doesn’t really have any character. Everyone else is pretty much in character from the shows. They show up and get their moments before being thrown off screen. Everyone gets to make their presence felt.

Overall, Fate Extella Link is a great game. It is limited by the length in the same way that Sonic Forces was, but ultimately it does provide you with enough of a satisfying experience to overlook that. You actually will be interested in playing through the levels multiple times to get level ups and see the alternate levels. The interfaces are all very smooth and the gameplay is exceptional. While I do express caution at buying the game at full price considering the length, I can definitely recommend it as long as you enjoy the gameplay style. There is enough replay value here to be worth your while.

Overall 8/10

Seven Deadly Sins: Knights of Brittania Review

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Time to look at another game. This time the title in question is Seven Deadly Sins. This game is based on a manga that I have to give a hard thumbs down. Still, I figured that the game wouldn’t have the same issues that the manga has and it is a 3D action game with a duel mode so you can’t go wrong there. It’s definitely fun and while the gameplay does not feel quite as polished as other similar games it gets the job done.

The game starts with the princess of a corrupt kingdom escaping and deciding to seek out the legendary Seven Deadly Sins to help her reclaim it. The problem is that they have been lost to the world for many years. Elizabeth manages to find the leader who is currently operating a tavern and decides to stick with him to find the others. Fortunately he is looking for the others as well so this works out quite nicely. Their opponents are the legendary Holy Knights who have been tainted with power and corruption.

The gameplay is pretty much how you would imagine it. There are less enemies than usual so calling it more of an action title than a beat em up seems pretty fitting. Naturally then the duel mode plays out more like a traditional fighting game. Each character has their normal attacks and power moves. Additionally they can use various super attacks and a final smash of sorts. Using these techniques at the right time will be the difference between victory and defeat. The game can get slightly challenging towards the end but never to the point where you will be stuck for any long period of time. At most you may just lose once or twice.

This is probably the first 3D styled game like this where some of the characters aren’t all that fun to play though. Most of them are good with their traditional attacks, strengths and weaknesses. However, a few characters just seem so bad and rigid that it’s hard to see yourself wanting to play as them. King is a good example of this. He can’t fight up close and is purely a long range fighter. His attacks all use up energy meter as well so sometimes you’ll have to resort to running and hiding until your energy gets back. You can see how this would get old. Fortunately you only have to actually play as him 2-3 times. I’m sure he has some kind of strengths to offset such a massive weakness, but I couldn’t find it. While simpler than other fighting games, you’ll still get to engage in a lot of fun brawls.

The graphics look pretty good. This style has worked pretty well for the various anime fighters. It does a good job of keeping each character model detailed and the game is easy to see at a glance. In particular the ultimate attacks are always fun to see. The soundtrack is on the repetitive side, but fortunately the tunes are quite solid. The danger tune is on point and helps to amp up the tension.

The actual story is fairly short at around 4 hours but there is a good amount of replay value to be had. First of all there is multiplayer mode which always adds in a whole lot to do. There are a reasonable amount of characters to keep the matches fresh and inventive. For single player content the game ends once you have assembled 6 of the deadly sins. As you can imagine there is a 7th one hiding somewhere. To get him and 100% the story you have to go through the various taverns and complete the bonus missions. They’re all very quick so these missions won’t feel tedious. It’s a good way of extending the game and as I mentioned in my tank review, it’s the right way to extend it. Lock some good bonus content behind the extra stuff, just don’t keep the story imprisoned. I could see myself going back to complete these missions at some point in the future, even if just to get some more characters to fight with since I’m currently missing a few.

Overall, Seven Deadly Sins is a pretty fun game. It hits all of the right notes and has a great balance of gameplay and technical merits helping it along. The game’s layout is very simple, as is the world map. Initially I thought the rumor system was rather pointless but as it is just a fancy way of saying that you unlock new levels as you beat old ones I suppose I can get behind that. Might as well differentiate your game a bit right? I’d definitely recommend giving this game a shot. It has a lot going for it and at the end of the day there’s just a lot to like here. Even the main characters here are a lot more likable than in the actual manga so the game did a really good job of bringing out the best in everyone.

Overall 8/10