Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius – the very beginning of the franchise. A mix of Visual Novel and turn-based strategic RPG that shows the story of Captain Kayto Shields on his galactic voyage in a wonderful vessel known by the name Sunrider with a phenomenal crew.

The moment I saw the game I had no doubt I would enjoy it and ended up installing it. It was free, had a decent looking characters and what seemed like mechas. Add to that RPG and possibility to manage the vessels and it just sounds great.

The story is quite dark. It portrays a galactic warfare and possibly all the bad things that come with it. Won’t be explaining details, because that would require entering the spoiler territory. Despite all the darkness, there still are your typical Anime situations, which is not a bad thing as they can keep you away from the darkness for a moment.

As for the characters we have already mentioned Kayto – the protagonist who lost his family. Ava – second in command, childhood friend (rare childhood friend that’s not garbage!) and absolute workaholic. Asaga – the self-proclaimed hero. Chigara – running a space bakery (not a fan of hers, never will be). Icari – phenomenal tsundere. Claude – perverted doctor that wants the captain and doesn’t hide it. Sola – a kuudere with a fantastic past (to read about, not really to live that past). And Kryska – musclehead that’s way too idealistic.
To be fair there’s more, but let’s stick just to characters that are part of the crew. No need to mention quite a few other names here.

Again, the game is a mix of a Visual Novel and RPG, so expect some choices through the story. Choices regarding the girls and not. And tactical battles. And decisions on what you want to upgrade as it will be necessary for the space battles. Side missions, main missions, there’s quite a bit of that.

All in all, the game is truly fantastic. And the fact that the first installment in the series is free is a great thing. Myself completing it, I ended up getting all the other parts as well when they got released. I also played the game on my YouTube channel and everything is up on my Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius playlist with 52 videos, which you can feel free to check out. But just the amount of videos should tell you the game has quite a bit of content. And to end it, I definitely recommend playing the game.

Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius is an exciting blend of tactics and visual novel! A gripping story, strategic battles, and charismatic characters make the game unforgettable.

good game playing it again