Visual Novel
- Console
Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star review
Although Japanese role-playing games are habitually criticized for having derivative battle mechanics, verbose dialog, and trope-filled plots, the genre flaunts…
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Persona 4 Arena Ultimax review
While it’s not unusual for a game franchise to sidestep stagnation by switching genres, 2012’s Persona 4 Arena was a…
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Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Review
From Lord of the Flies, The Beach, Lost, and even the reality-TV staple Survivor, the desolate, uninhabited island has often…
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XBlaze Code: Embryo Review
Not long ago, it was nearly impossible for Westerners to play a localized visual novel. As former Nippon Ichi Software…
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Hyperdimension Neptunia: Producing Perfection Review
Pundits who claim that the plotlines of Japanese role-playing games have atrophied into a puddle of tired tropes likely overlooked…
Read More » - 3DS
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars Review
I once had a psychology professor who claimed that self-preservation was the stimulus behind almost all human action. According to…
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Go! Go! Nippon! –My First Trip to Japan- Review
On the surface, Go! Go! Nippon! My First Trip to Japan‘s plotline seems like a setup for a lively eroge…
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Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Review
While Japanese gamers have enjoyed the virtues of visual novels for over thirty years (purportedly 1983’s Hito de Nashi no…
Read More » - 3DS
Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale Review
Look past Retro Game Challenge’s collection of faux-Famicom titles, and the title divulges an implicit takeaway: despite cultural and geographical…
Read More » - 3DS
The Starship Damrey Review
One of the more curious cartridges to inhabit the slot of Japanese 3DS’s was 2012’s Guild01. A compilation of four…
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