Recent reviews by Acel

A puzzle game with stages that get more depressing (just like the story) as it progresses...
"Nobody told me it was a field trip!" Somebody screamed.
"WHO THE HELL WAS CUTTING ONIONS!?" Yelled another.
"The perfect game to hand out to unsuspecting guests..." Chirped my Funeral Director.

I have read most of the reviews about the game before the purchase and I must say after trying it out, Im totally flabbergasted by how harsh and untrue the complaints were. Yes, there are significant changes (not all good) from the previous release but overall it is STILL a bloody decent game for its time. I have played my fair share of bad games my entire life but this aint it and I often wonder if those people who condemned this game even come from the same planet I live in while I load the game up and think about what combos Im able to pull off that session.

Yes, they remove the stat allocation system, which reduced the customization of your characters greatly but it isnt all that bad. You can still change some stats with your gear/equipment. I know it takes away the fun from creating funny or crazy characters with ridiculous stats but think of it as rebalancing the game for the better. And yes, they removed the crazy unlimited Bursting system too BUT again, like Ive said, think of it as a rebalancing for the game because some characters can go really crazy with the old Burst system and I dont think anybody would enjoy being on the receiving end of those combos (unless it is the boss, so yeah sure). Now you are limited to a fixed number and I think overall it makes you plan your approach to the stage more carefully so you dont go wild the moment you enter like the old days (which is also fun but lets move on) and having tougher bosses mean that you cant just spam attacks carelessly and mindlessly now (which is good). In fact, I like beat-em-ups with tougher (or a lil cheesy/unfair) bosses, because it is so much more satisfying when you finally beat them flawlessly after getting your butt handed to you the first time and spending time to get it right after that. Im sure nobody wouldve liked Dark Souls if it was easy, right? But seriously, lets just admit that we tend to just mash the attack buttons without any repercussions in the past because as long as you connect with something, you can always burst cancel into anything you want. Its all comes down to who hit who first so you just keep throwing attacks out. Now that burst is limited, you will finally sit down and play the game the way it was meant to be played ie mastering and utilizing the attack negating and crushing system where you can negate incoming attacks with attacks of your own cancelling each other out or beating the opponent with it. This deepens gameplay significantly IMHO.

Graphically, yes it is NOT perfect but still overall it is a big improvement from the previous. Also, the game plays really smooth now, so what is there to complain? Is graphics really more important than gameplay? Also, I see no problems with the controller setup. Are people actually trying?

Next is "the lack of English voice dubbing." Id be very honest and biased here, Ive always preferred the original voices in Japanese videogames because they sound in character and the characters in THIS game are designed to be VERY colorful aesthetically both visually and orally. Many of the humor just do NOT translate well into English. Heck do most people even understand the humor of it all? The skimpy (boobalicious) and naive airhead princess tasked with saving the world, accompanied by the flat-chested anego/robber ringleader (who actually did not want to take part in anything), the suspicious yet nonchalant undead Lady "Zozo" (who is actually a loli), the bratty Allegro who always claim to be a sage etc etc I doubt even the translators knew what they were translating because they did not get to play or experience the game characters prior to their assignment so its not hard to see why some Japanese grunts are badly translated into weird long sentences that mysteriously appear out of nowhere. Doh.

That aside. I only have one gripe with the game, they didnt make the maps bigger as a bonus. Maybe that is expecting too much but one can wish cant one? Also, the non-existant online community is a real shame, all thanks to the bad reviews it totally didnt deserved. This game does NOT suck. Period. You should get it when it is on discount because it is a steal.

A rather enjoyable doujin dress-up game is what I would call it despite the game developers' repeated attempts to make it into some E-sport thingy forcing players to constantly fight each other every season for mediocre rewards. Yes the fighting system is acceptable but its not as complex or as deep as other 3D free roam fighters, often allowing brain dead near full health combos even 3yr olds could excecute without any repercussions. Since you can not block or parry attacks of any sorts, player characters are forced to constantly run around in circles to avoid attacks or bait a whiff for an opening. Yawn. How exciting.

Also, the game has this unthinkable habit of punishing players based on the overall performance of the fight. Meaning if other players ie allies/party members repeatedly die during the fight, use your total revives and then quit the game, leaving you to face the bosses alone and then you beat it with a mediocre clear time, the rank or difficulty of the map will drop. That means the loot you want on that map will have a lower drop rate now unless you clear the map with a better result to raise it again. Not so much of a problem except the maps/missions have cooldowns and you might party up with another person who could be the same as the last, or even worse and then the rank falls even further...

That aside. If you like to flaunt your wealth online this game is just for you. Everything is expensive. Need another character slot because you want to make a character of a different sex? Thats $13. Want to try a different weapon like Dual Swords? $10. Hammer? Another $10. etc etc People can tell how rich you are when you have several characters all equipped with expensive DLC costumes, underwear and accessories and you will be noticed. Make a loli and give her a cute name. Undress her occasionally in the lobby and spam an expensive emote. You will become popular. So much so, you will always attract unwanted attention. BUT THIS GAME DOESNT ALLOW YOU TO BLOCK PLAYERS. Not only can they constantly spam in the chat to annoy you, they can even join your regular games repeatedly just to mess with you by doing nothing and then quitting. Hooray.

But really. If you are bored, an otaku or even a weeaboo and have too much time & money to spare and or just want to use a loli to occasionally smack some people around with a hammer then brag about it in the online lobby, this is the game made for you. You CAN get all the attention you want here. Just beg people to carry you 24/7 if you are too cheapskate to spend any real money and you will eventually be able to afford to sit on a golden throne someday and have pervs pm you how much they want to lick your loli toes.

Played the mobile version for quite a bit some time back and downloaded the steam version expecting the same game but was left very much disappointed. Not only was new robots and weapons harder to attain on the steam version, they cost many times more in real money. Also, after the first 2 introductionary rounds, it took me several queues of 30 mins EACH to finally get into a game and only to be owned by high level players with fully decked out weapons and robots. The matchmaking seems to be way worse on the PC version. When I finally hit my teens, in the Private tier Ive been pitted repeatedly against Max level players on Gold and higher tier with all weapons unlocked killing me in mere seconds upon robot spawn. While my robots can barely only move and shoot, they can fly around in stealth and do all sorts of nonsense to me while I can only watch after getting immobilized. Its like getting unwanted anal sex while tied up. Very frustrating. What's worse is with the new Titan update, all the max level players can summon a gigantic robot that by itself, can already lay waste to ALL your robots... while they laugh at your newbie rear end. But if you have a high threshold for pain and frustration, it might be playable. Just dont take it as seriously as the mobile version and play it really slowly just to pass some time while you die match after match. You will eventually get some decent weapon or robot several months or even years later and then stand a chance to live for a minute or so. Ps: The population is dwindling so the game will ALWAYS match you against the TOP players in full squads even when you dont even have a single decent robot. Stay away if you can!!

Update: recently the game have introduced the putting up of past loot chest rewards on offer and some are ridiculously cheap ONLY after you have spend a fortune on chest keys to acquire them in the previous event. This is just ridiculous and way out of hand.