Recent reviews by Rooky

"Truth is stranger than fiction."

That saying applies to Steins;Gate in a paradoxical way: Steins;Gate, a work of fiction, more closely resembles a strange truth than it does a strange fiction, allowing Steins;Gate's fictions to evoke stronger feelings of awe than they should be able to.

The world of Steins;Gate feels like the strange truth of the real world because of how well Steins;Gate incorporates real-life conspiracy theories, hoaxes, phenomena, and physics into its intricate and emotional time travel story.

This game almost makes me believe that when mankind finally unlocks the secrets of the universe, mankind just might discover that Steins;Gate's physics is actually real. And even if Steins;Gate's physics is complete bunk, I can't help but want Steins;Gate's physics to be real because of how awesome Steins;Gate's physics is.

Steins;Gate is a product of mad genius.

If you like sci-fi and don't mind reading, I heavily recommend playing through Steins;Gate.

If you like sci-fi but don't like reading, I heavily recommend watching the anime adaptation of Steins;Gate.

I hesitate to call the anime adaptation a replacement for the visual novel because I feel that playing through Okabe's time travels enriches the game's story in ways I'm not going to explain for fear of divulging spoilers, but rest assured that the anime adaptation is excellent.

While the anime cuts content from the visual novel, it makes intelligent refinements and additions to the source material to empower certain plot-driving ideas. As a result, certain scenes feel more powerful in the anime than they do in the visual novel.

If you have seen and enjoyed the Steins;Gate anime adaptation, I recommend playing through the visual novel. The visual novel's alternate endings are worth reading, and like I said earlier, the story of Steins;Gate is enriched when it is played.

Please note:

• My copy of STEINS;GATE 0 is a gift!
  
• You need to have played/watched STEINS;GATE to understand STEINS;GATE 0.

STEINS;GATE 0 is a very competent sequel to the brilliant STEINS;GATE.

STEINS;GATE 0 features the same elements that endeared me to the original STEINS;GATE: scientific intrigue, thrilling conspiracy, and endearing character moments.

STEINS;GATE 0 gracefully expands on the original STEINS;GATE. STEINS;GATE 0 tells new stories, introduces new characters, further develops returning characters, and contributes to the STEINS;GATE lore without diminishing the integrity of the story of the original STEINS;GATE.

STEINS;GATE 0 has a few non-sensical moments, and a few grammatical errors, but those few instances of failing have done little to dampen my positive opinion of the game. STEINS;GATE 0 does way more right than it does wrong.

STEINS;GATE 0 is definitely worth playing if you're a fan of the original STEINS;GATE.

Please note that I played the game using the following:

PC:

• GTX 960 2 GB
  
• i3-6300 @ 3.8 GHz
  
• 8 GB RAM
  
• Windows 10

Peripherals:

• Xbox One controller
  
• Dualshock 3 (with a third party driver)
  
• Razer Panthera Arcade Stick (for PS3 and PS4) (with a first party XInput driver)

Now, let's begin the review.





A fighting game's got to have sick characters, and a Dragon Ball game's got to have sick Dragon Ball characters.

Thankfully, this game's got a bunch of sick Dragon Ball characters. DBFZ features series staples like Goku, Vegeta, and Freiza, and even features some unexpected, but welcome, characters like Nappa, Captain Ginyu, and Tien. Dragon Ball fans should have no problem finding at least a few characters they like in this game.

What's really great about this game's cast is how well its characters have been faithfully adapted to the game from the source material. From signature moves to basic punches and kicks to character mannerisms, nearly everything in this game is a reference to the Dragon Ball source material.

When you couple faithful character adaptations with Arc System Work's anime graphics magic, you get this game, the most Dragon Ball game in existence so far.



Expect speed, movement, oppressive offense, and long combos. This is a fighting game in the same vein as the Marvel vs. Capcom series, so DBFZ is definitely one of the faster-paced fighting games around. A lot of what I say in this section applies to a lot of fighting games, but my words apply to DBFZ especially.

There's a lot of fun to be had with DBFZ if you're interested in high-speed action.

Connecting with an attack in the open, mounting pressure, breaking defense, and doing big combos are all immensely satisfying. The game's much more stressful when you're on the defensive, but punishing an opponent for being risky or predictable during his/her offense can be just as satisfying and any offensive moment you make.

Basically, the game's a blast as long as you play well (by your own standards). When you make even just a few great gameplay moments happen, the game's fun regardless of whether you win or lose.

Furthermore, like any competitive game, this game only gets better as you get better. I mean, of course you would have more fun the more often you do sick stuff in the game.

Also note that, in this section, I've praised the game without ever mentioning the Dragon Ball franchise. I would play DBFZ even if it weren't a Dragon Ball game. DBFZ's just a blast. This game has the deep and satisfying gameplay I crave as a fighting game fan.



DBFZ is probably one of the easiest fighting games to learn and play around. In DBFZ, characters have few moves, combos have a straight-forward structure, and move execution doesn't get more complex than a half-circular motion on the stick/dpad/whatever.

You do have to learn how to play three characters, though.

If you've never played fighting games competitively, DBFZ is a great game to start with.

If you've played fighting games before, particularly 2D airdash-y fighting games like BlazBlue, Guilty Gear, Melty Blood, or Marvel vs. Capcom, you're going to take to this game very, very quickly.

Now, after I've just told you how easy this game is, let me tell you how hard this game is. This game's easy to play, but not easy to play well. It's a classic case of easy to learn, hard to master.

I remember reading an excellent quote on the internet somewhere. Please forgive me for forgetting your name, random internet user. The quote goes something like this: "DBFZ is easy to play, but when you play someone better than you, you don't get to play."

Truer words have never been written.



DBFZ uses a delay-based netcode, meaning online matches have slightly more input lag than offline matches. It's a bit of a shame that delay is always going to be a factor, but the truth of the matter is that DBFZ feels fine online.

Most of the matches I've played have felt very good. Rarely have I played any matches I'd classify as laggy.

The following is kind of a side note, but I suppose it's relevant to the topic of lag:

I'd say that most of my online matches on PC feel less laggy than offline matches I've played on PS4. The PS4 version unfortunately features a noticable amount of input lag, while the PC version doesn't.

I haven't played any online matches on the PS4 version. Maybe if I had, I would have a completely different opinion about how DBFZ plays online. My guess is that I probably wouldn't like the experience.



DBFZ's lobbies have connection issues, and the game's "ring match" sub lobbies are buggy. Expect to be randomly booted from lobbies and to be unable to rejoin a ring match that you were previously able to join.

DBFZ's lobbies are surprisingly flawed given how Arc System Works has made better functioning lobby systems before for their more recent Guilty Gear and BlazBlue games. I've never had problems with lobbies in those games before.

I wouldn't call DBFZ's unreliable lobby systems deal breakers, but I would call them painful to deal with.



Character balance is a bit of an issue in DBFZ. The balance isn't so bad that some characters are broken and some characters are too weak to be playable, but there's definitely a sizeable power difference between the best characters and the rest of the characters.

Right now, Adult Gohan, Android 16, and Cell are the kings of the game. All three of these characters are the best at something and are good at about everything.

I've gotta stop myself here though. You're here for a review, not my "expert"-level complaints character analyses.

I suppose it's cool that these characters are sick, but it's not really cool that everyone else is notably less sick.



DBFZ includes a story mode campaign. The story's predictable, and the fights against CPUs can get repetitive, but the character interactions are highly amusing.

The story mode is only barely worth playing for unlocking Android 21 and seeing Dragon Ball characters interact with one another.



I don't like unlocking characters for fighting games. In fact, I'm not interested in unlocking things in general. I'm more interested in the grind of getting better at a game than I am in the grind of unlocking game content.

I know there are people out there that find satisfaction in unlocking things in games, so I don't want to mark DBFZ down for having three characters be unlockables.

Whether you like unlocking content or not, I think it's best that you are aware that Android 21, SSGSS Goku, and SSGSS Vegeta are locked from the start of the game.



If you're interested in fighting games, this is the game for you to try. DBFZ's a nice and easy introduction to fighting games, and is a quality fighting game itself. You might want to wait for a sale, but personally, I would have bought this game even at full price, even if it weren't a Dragon Ball game. I just really like how DBFZ plays.

If you like Dragon Ball and aren't really interested in fighting games, I still think this game is worth a try. Depending on how big a fan you are of Dragon Ball, you might want to wait for this game to go on sale. There's a lot of Dragon Ball goodness here to admire.

If you like Dragon Ball and you like fighting games, then DBFZ is an easy recommendation, even at full price. You probably already have the game. I have no idea why you're reading this review. Thanks for reading, though!

First off, those of you who haven't seen the K-ON! anime TV series, but are interested enough in K-ON! to reviews of this film, should give the TV series a watch before watching this film. You need to watch the show to understand the context of the film.

Continuing on with the (really brief) review, please keep in mind that I watched the Japanese version of the movie with English subtitles.


+ Stars the lovable goon squad that is Ho-kago Tea Time
+ Is well-written and well-directed: dialogue and character interactions are natural and believable
+ Looks fantastic in stills and in motion--I actually have 200+ screencaps saved up (but not published)
+ Features fantastic voice work and some Ho-kago Tea Time bangers
+ Ends up being more meaningful than "cute girls doing cute things"

- Is missing some subs for Japanese text and some songs

In short, K-ON! The Movie is a must-watch for K-ON! fans. This film is funny, cute, and heartfelt, just like the original TV series is. And really, you don't want to miss seeing the gang goon around in London.

Before I start the review, please note that I played the game using the following equipment:

PC:

• GTX 960 2 GB
  
• i3-6300 @ 3.8 GHz
  
• 8 GB RAM
  
• Windows 10

Peripherals:

• Xbox One controller
  
• Dualshock 3
  
• arcade stick (most used)
  
• keyboard (least used, but playing on keyboard still feels good)

With that out of the way, here is the review.

Tekken 7...


Tekken 7 runs well on my machine. The game runs 60 frames per second at maxed settings, in borderless fullscreen, at my monitor's strange screen resolution of 1680x1050. I've had absolutely no issues with running the game.


My experience with Tekken 7's netcode has been positive. It's rare that I play a match with noticeable input lag. I live on the Canadian west coast, and I've played good matches with people in east Canada. Canada's a big country, so that fact and what I just wrote should tell you volumes about the quality of Tekken 7's netcode.

You should experience good matches most of the time if you live in North America, Europe, or east Asia, places with a large population of Tekken players.


Tekken gives its players so many options to use for offense, defense, and the neutral game that players can really just play however they want. You're never really locked into playing a certain way because you play a certain character. Characters in this game have dozens of moves (some characters have more than 100 moves!), so they're quite versatile. I know it sounds cheesy, but you can express yourself through how you play in Tekken.

Thanks to Tekken's wealth of moves, techniques, and system mechanics, Tekken 7 ends up being a very open-ended game.

Because Tekken's gameplay is so open-ended, Tekken ends up being about what great fighting games are about. It's about constantly evolving strategy and counterstrategy, precise spacing and positioning, technical skill, and 'mind-♥♥♥♥♥♥♥' (conditioning, baits, and reads), and not so much about 50/50s (situations where the defender must guess, from a restricted set of options, what to do to defend against an attacker's offense).

Tekken's so open that sometimes you might even think it's too open. There are just so many moves you need to learn to deal with.

You might call 'cheap' when you get hit by some moves you don't know how to defend against or punish, but once you understand how to defend against and punish those moves, Tekken really is a fair game. I've gone from hating fighting Eddy to loving fighting Eddy now that I know how to deal with some of his moves.


Tekken 7's story mode is very short, and really isn't all that thrilling. For every minute of sick cutscene action story mode presents, story mode presents two minutes of boring narraration-driven exposition. It's a shame that the story is told largely in such a boring way—Heihachi's story is kind of cool.

Tekken's arcade mode is standard fare and treasure battle is basically an endless arcade mode that pays out cosmetic rewards. There's little reason to play arcade mode, but Treasure battle is worth playing to unlock cosmetic items.

And on the note of cosmetics, Tekken 7's customization mode is the best single player mode Tekken 7 has to offer. I say this with confidence as a degenerate Lili player. The customization options are lacking compared to Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but for the most part you can get your character looking the way you want him/her to look.

Customizations have really enhanced my playing experience. Thanks to them, Lili mirror matches are also fashion shows in addition to just being fights.


Tekken 7's netcode is good, but it's player match lobbies are no good. The lobbies are really buggy, often causing players to disconnect from the lobby, causing players to skip their turn for a match, or causing players to be unable to spectate matches. Tekken 7's lobbies come with plenty of waiting and frustration and really need to be fixed.

The quick match experience is functional, and is thus my preferred way of finding matches online, but even that mode comes with a lot of waiting. Matchmaking can take a while thanks to the loading time between rematches being unnecessarily long. For whatever reason the game needs to reload the stage and characters it already loaded in the previous match.


If you're new to Tekken, or fighting games in general, know that Tekken 7 teaches you absolutely nothing about how to play Tekken 7. It doesn't feature a tutorial so you're going to have to find educational material from outside of the game to learn from if you want to learn how to play the game.

You can mash around and have some fun, but you're never going to experience the best experience Tekken has to offer if you don't evolve beyond mashing. You'd be forced to play smartly anyway if you want to experience even a little bit of online success: the low online ranks which used to be full of scrubby players are now full of killers. If you're new, you're going to get bodied.

Heck, even if you've played for a while, you're gonna lose a bunch. Even with my ~200 hours of experience with this game I really don't know all that much about Tekken. I maybe know less than 20% of the moves in the game, so I often get caught off guard by some moves I don't know much about. I'm constantly having to learn to deal with new moves under stressful situations.

Double heck, I keep getting hit by moves I know how to deal with anyway because my reactions are non-existent sometimes!

Tekken's brutal.


Don't even think about buying this game for its single-player experience. Tekken 7's single-player experience is sorely lacking. The story mode bores more often than it entertains, arcade mode and treasure battle mode bore quickly because computer opponents don't make for interesting or difficult opposition, and customization mode is really only relevant if you play online. I mean, what's the point of customizing your character if no one sees your customization?

If you're interested in fighting people online, then Tekken 7 might a good investment. This game is packed with moves and techniques to learn and master, and is home to fierce competition. If you have the drive to "git gud" and have the patience to put up with losing a lot, then I think you might enjoy this game.

If you already don't like fighting games, you won't like this game. There's nothing here that would make you change your mind about fighting games.

If you already like fighting games, you'll probably like this game.

I love this game (even though I'm not good at it!), hence this stupidly long Steam review.

There are no spoilers in this 'review'. This review is by no means comprehensive. In it I simply compare Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony to the other two main titles in the the series. I write this to give other Danganronpa fans an idea of how V3 stacks up against the other titles.

However, I have a recommendation for those new to Danganronpa.

If you've never played Danganronpa, love a good story, and don't mind reading, play the previous main-series games (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair). The previous games are cheaper, are games of similar quality to V3 (they're excellent). Plus you would need to play those games anyway if you want to get the most out of V3. They're loosely related to V3.

If it turns out you don't like Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc or Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, then you should pass on this game. It's unlikely that V3 would change your mind about Danganronpa.

You newbies can stop reading here. Get out there and play some games!

Now, to my intended audience...

If you played and enjoyed the previous games, play V3. This is my favorite game of the three main series titles.

Below is my comparison of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, and Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.


Also, while I'm comparing V3 with other games, I may as well say that Danganronpa V3 stands tall with NieR:Automata and Persona 5 as one of my favorite games of 2017.

I hope you get something out of my comparison.

There are no spoilers in this review.

Before we start the review, please read my synopsis of Danganronpa below. If you're interested in what you read there, then the rest of this review should be a worthwhile read. There's no point in playing a story-heavy game if the game's story doesn't even interest you!



You and many other students are trapped in a school, and the only way to escape from the school is to win a murder game. In this murder game, students must kill their classmates and get away with the crime. After every murder is a trial. The remaining students gather to determine the identity of the murderer, and to prove his/her guilty. If the students choose correctly, the murderer is executed and the game continues. If the students choose wrongly, everyone but the murderer is executed and the murderer is set free.

It is your goal as the player to escape the school.

---

If you're interested in what you've just read, please read on. My review begins here.

Please note that I played the game with the following:

• a gamepad (specifically, an Xbox One controller)
  
• Japanese voices on
  
• logic difficulty set to "Mean"
  
• action difficulty set to "Mean"
  
• borderless fullscreen mode on

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc...

The game...

• runs at a constant 60 FPS.
  
• supports many screen resolutions.
  
• has a borderless fullscreen mode.

The story...

• does an excellent job of inspiring fear and anxiety in the player. The game likes to remind you that death and despair are always nearby.
  
• encourages the player to hypothesize.
  
• involves murder mysteries that are elaborate and well-designed.
  
• is well-paced. Never do the lulls between events start to feel long.
  
• is full of surprises...

The game...

• sports a uniquely eerie pop-up book look.
  
• features a strong Japanese voice acting effort. The performances for Monokuma and the mastermind are simply excellent.

The cast members...

• are memorable. Some are memorably cool, some memorably wacky, and some memorably detestable. This game is home to one/some of my favorite villains of all time.
  
• are more complex than they first seem. It's not easy to discern friends from foes.

The class trial gameplay...

• demands timing and accuracy from the player, effectively creating tension.
  
• feels out of place because it tests timing and accuracy more than it tests logic.
  
• is finicky. You must attack very specific statements with specific arguments. Even when you have the right idea, you may still have some trouble making progress during a trial. Finding the correct statement gets annoying when the correct statement is accompanied by similar statements.

The general visual novel adventure gameplay...

• is standard fare, and likely would not appeal to visual novel nonfans.

The game...

• tends to "guide" the player toward the right answer.
  
• distastefully forgiving given its theme of despair.

This game is super sick. I say that despite the fact that I have played two standout titles this year: Persona 5 and NieR:Automata. While I don't think Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc tops either one of those games, I think it measures up quite well against them. It's got about as much personality as either game, and it's got story-telling that tops Persona 5's and hangs with NieR:Automata's. This game really was a surprise hit for me.

In closing, I highly recommend Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc to visual novel fans. I'm almost certain those folks will enjoy this game. Fans of other genres should give this game a chance. If you're interested in solving murder mysteries, try a friend's copy or pick the game up at a discount. This game shouldn't be overlooked.

No spoilers in this review.

Rig:

GTX 960 2GB VRAM
Intel Core i3 6300
8 GB RAM
Windows 10

Please note:

I played with a controller, on normal difficulty with a self-imposed no lock-on restriction, and with Steam user Kaldaien's "FAR (Fix Automata Resolution)" mod.

---

NieR:Automata is...



Everything in NieR:Automata is so mysterious. The game doesn't offer a lot of exposition so it's up to you to piece the story together from what you learn during gameplay. The game entices you into playing its story with its many mysteries, and keeps you invested in its story by directly and indirectly involving you in its storytelling. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will say no more. The previous sentence should tell you enough about how much I appreciate Automata's story.



NieR:Automata is an RPG first and foremost, so if you're expecting a hack and slash title of the same level as Bayonetta, you may want to tweak your expectations. Enemy encounters occur regularly, but not as frequently as they would in a pure hack and slash title. Often times there's a lull in action in between Automata's hack and slash segments, so you never truly feel like you're playing a full-fledged hack and slash title. It's an RPG that is part hack and slash.

Furthermore, Automata's combat mechanics are a little less intricate than games like Bayonetta. The preset combos in Automata are shorter and simpler than those in Bayonetta, and the enemies in Automata recover from hitstun rather quickly making it difficult to freestyle a combo. Simpler mechanics aren't inherently a bad thing however.

Automata's combat is more "hit-and-run" than Bayonetta's, which is appealing in its own right.

If you're familiar with fighting games, you can imagine Automata as a game that emphasizes "neutral" and Bayonetta as a game that emphasizes offense. If Bayonetta is The King of Fighters, NieR:Automata is Street Fighter.

I personally prefer Bayonetta's style of combat, but Automata's combat still manages to impress. It's a better hack and slash title than most pure hack and slash titles out there. And as an action RPG, it's on another level. I cannot recall having played any other action RPG that features combat as quick or fluid as Automata's.

As an RPG, Automata is much of what you would expect. It's got character customization, an upgrade system, side quests, and plenty of content. The game's meaty.

I particularly like Automata's character customization. You're able to enhance and extend your character's capabilities using "plug-in chips," and some of these chips do some cool things. One chip basically gives you the equivalent of Bayonetta's "Witch Time:" the ability to slow down time every time you narrowly dodge an enemy's attack. Plug-in chips are total game changers.

In any case, this game excels as an action RPG. I believe it's on a league of its own.



The game's soundtrack is bonkers. Believe me when I say that this game's music will leave a lasting impression on you. I'll link you two tracks, but I encourage you not to go around actively searching for tracks. Some track titles, in my opinion, are minor spoilers.

NieR Automata OST - Battle Theme #1 V2 ( With Vocals )[soundcloud.com]

NieR Automata OST - Amusement Park ( 8 - Bit )[soundcloud.com]

You know how a game's music changes with each location and scenario? During my playtime, everytime I was presented a new track, I lingered on that new track. I would go so far as to purposefully not finish off bosses just to listen to the music. That to me is a clear sign of an excellent soundtrack.

The English dub is very good. The characters are well casted, and performances are good throughout.

I would have played this game with the Japanese dub and English subtitles, but the English voicework was good enough to keep me from switching. As subs-over-dubs weeb, I'm impressed overall by the quality of Automata's English voicework.



My machine cannot run this game at a reliable 60 fps framerate without using Steam user Kaldaien's "FAR (Fix Automata Resolution)" mod. I played the game at its native resolution of 1600x900. I turned anti-aliasing off, blur off, and set texture filtering to 4x. Everything else was set on the highest setting. With the mod I'd say the game ran at 60 fps 90 percent of the time. And while I didn't spend much time playing the game without the mod, I remember playing mod-less at 45~ fps pretty often.

Just know that the game chugged often and without that mod. Folks with dated PCs should beware. I cannot confidently recommend this game to people with dated hardware until Square Enix issues a patch to address the game's optimization.

The mod can be found here:

FAR (Fix Automata Resolution) Steam community thread



* Please keep in mind that I played this game using a controller.

The game's harder difficulties disable any lock-on functionality, forcing you to track enemies by the good old fashioned way of aiming the camera. The necessity of manual camera aim is what makes combat awkward--at least with the default control scheme.

As you can imagine, the game's default control scheme maps attacks to some face buttons and maps camera control to the right analog stick. So unless you have two thumbs on your right hand, you will have a tough time fighting baddies using the default control scheme.

Fortunately, the game allows you to remap your buttons. Just map attacks to the shoulder buttons and voila, you are now able to fight effectively on higher difficulties.

Alternatively, you could use the default scheme and hold your controller in a claw grip: index finger over the face buttons, middle finger on a shoulder button, and thumb on the right analog stick. It's awkward at first, but you can definitely get used to it. It's how I played the game.

---

To conclude, NieR:Automata is an exceptional game. The experience can be marred by Automata's poor optimization, but keep in mind that these technical issues can be overcome. I highly recommend this game to RPG fans with capable PCs.

Just some points about the game. Main pluses and minuses.


Each character is modelled after different anime character archetypes, but each character ends up being their own character. By that I mean I cannot imagine any other hyper positive genki character taking Neptune’s place, nor can I imagine any other cool, calm, and collected character taking IF’s place. They are built from archetypes, but they aren’t so much like their archetypes that they become uninspired stereotypes; they’re crafted specifically for Neptunia’s setting and universe.

The banter and interactions between characters is probably the best part of the game. Personalities clash often, leading to plenty of amusing situations. Neptunia is a series of silly comments and arguments, teasing, and video game and anime references that will have you smiling. I’ve never had so much fun watching people argue over lemons and karaage. You can sort of liken Neptunia to comedy anime like Kin-iro Mosaic or Love Live!. Lots of banter, and lots of fun.

My only gripe is that you hardly learn about the background of any of these characters, especially so with the unimportant playable characters like Falcom, CyberConnect2, and MAGES., the Steins;Gate reference incarnate. I know those three examples are in the game for funsies, but I wish they held more importance.


I don’t usually think about voice work in video games this much, but in a game like Neptunia, where dialogue is so abundant, and where the characters are the main focus of the game, the game’s voice work really needs to be good.

I played mostly with the Japanese voices on since I feel the Japanese voices suited the characters a little better, but the English voices are still good. Depending on which language you choose, you’ll get a different impression from each character. For example, while both English and Japanese Neptunes are complete jokers, the English Neptune is sly, while the Japanese Neptune is more energetic and unabashed.

You can toggle between English and Japanese at pretty much any point, so if you don’t like how one crew of voice actors sound, you can always pick the other.

Neptunia’s soundtrack is very pleasant. It’s no Chrono Trigger, Persona, or Final Fantasy soundtrack, but it has its share of memorable tunes. The soundtrack is good enough for me to wish it was sold here on Steam.


Neptunia’s an RPG it’s natural for it to have hella content. There are extra dungeons, plenty of items and cosmetics to collect, quests to do, and artwork and music to unlock. There are a lot of things to do even after you’ve finished the game.

It took me roughly 24 hours to finish the game, and if I were to complete it 100%, I imagine it would take maybe 20 hours more.

Neptunia’s also abundant in customization options. There are a lot of ways to achieve synergy between party members with the variety of skills characters have, and the partner system the game has. This game is more ripe for experimentation than most JRPGs out there. Next to the cast, customization is a high point of the game.


Unless you’re significantly over-levelled, you’ll find that boss fights in this game tend to be quite long. Bosses have plenty of health, and plenty of guard bar. So you have to imagine that it’s going to take some time to first deplete a guard bar, and then empty a life bar.

Boss fights speed up once you gain access to EXE moves, since EXE moves deal good damage through guard, but even then boss fights still run quite long.

What’s more is that, with the exception of one boss, bosses in this game are all basically the same.They all act the same way, and they are all without weaknesses or strengths. The only way bosses differ is in the area of effect of their attacks, and the typing of their attacks (physical or magic). Attacks can be of an elemental type, but elemental types are disappointingly insignificant in this game.

In Neptunia, you will never have to hit a weak spot, nor be forced to guard certain moves, nor have to attack with certain timings, nor do anything different from what you did against previous bosses. Maybe you’ll need to space out your party differently every few boss fights, but that’s it.


There will be many times when you show up to a boss fight under-levelled, and that’s because the normal enemies you face are usually really weak. They do not at all clue you in on the level of challenge that lies ahead.

You’ll be breezing across a dungeon, stomping on mooks like they ain’t nothin’, but then get absolutely handled by the boss of that very dungeon. Your party members will get one-shotted or two-shotted, and all because you thought you were some hot beans who, understandably, didn’t see a reason to grind.

---

Overall, the Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1 is very enjoyable.

Gameplay is standard JRPG fare, but the Neptunia universe is special. Although you might not always enjoy the game design, the Nep crew never fails to entertain. If you like light-hearted comedy anime, there’s a very high chance you’ll enjoy this game.

*Note: I played MKH exclusively on a gamepad. I do not know how well the game plays on a keyboard.

Fantastico:
+ tight controls and fluid gameplay
+ fun boss fights
+ runs well and is super flashy
+ satisfying challenge

Lame:
- repetitive at times
- pretty barebones experience

-----
Less simply,

MKH is a very straightforward hack and slash game. There's no exploration to speak of, no weapon to wield other than your trusty katana, and MKH's story doesn't really try to do anything beyond creating a reason for you to cut some dudes. But you know what? That's all okay. MKH does the hack and slash in "hack and slash" well.

Expect to fight legions upon legions of varied opposition, and don't expect them to be all that easy to dispatch. Because of the difficulty of these fights, the game's sense of impact, and your flashy moves, cutting into MKH's enemy hordes is very satisfying. However, the composition of a horde only switches with each new wave, and each wave lasts for quite a decent amount of time, so fighting normal baddies is prone to becoming a stale experience.

Fortunately, the boss fights, which come after every five waves of typical baddies, do a good job of breaking up any monotony. These fights are easily the highlight of the game. They're the kind of fights where, even if you win by the skin of your teeth, you will want to retry for a more convincing more flashy result. They're so much fun to play. Be ready for boss fights that will test your reactions, timing, and adaptability. In particular, the fights with the main antagonist, Suzuka, are a complete blast to play.

MKH is a short game as it doesn't feature any extra modes or content, but, if you love a challenge, the game is highly replayable thanks to its multiple difficulty settings.

In the end, MKH is a super solid game. The controls are tight, the action is fluid, and the enemy encounters demand that you devise some semblance of a strategy to face them. If you're a fan of hack and slash games, give MKH a try.