For a while now, there has been a good amount of criticism surrounding Idea Factory/Compile Heart games. They have a bad reputation of having overly complicated gameplay, needless grinding among other things. While the first Neptunia game had a lot of bugs, at least I heard that they improved the gameplay in the sequels. Now with the Playstation Vita, I think they kind of learned their lesson with Genkai Totsuki Monster Monpiece (限界凸騎モンスターモンピース, lit: Unlikely Knight: Monster Monpiece), which sold over 50,000 in retail and download. With that, I would like to share some experiences of playing it after getting through the first Chapter and a part of the next one. (Image Source)
This game involves a girl named Mei who lacks self-confidence after losing a mock match in the beginning. She is a friend with Elsa and Karen. Rhiane, their teacher introduces Mei to a monster girl named Fia who will become her buddy. With that, Mei works to become the master of “Monster Girls” while collecting quartz in a world inhabited with these girls and humans.
So from the story, this game is basically a fantasy adventure trading card game. In the past, I played some trading card games like Pokémon Trading Card Game for the Gameboy and various Yugioh games. Compared to this, the gameplay is pretty simple and fun. Basically, there are eight types of cards: Dragon, Bird, Demi-H, Fairy, Nature, Beast, Undead and Hybrid. You can place another card on top of the old one of the same type to power up the replacement. In addition, they are categorized by various colors and have what they do. If you place three cards of the same type, you get a boost in HP and attack. Lastly, the card also indicates what it does: Attacker only attacks one enemy on the field, Shooter can attack multiple enemies, Healer can heal HP and Booster boosts attack.
The goal off this game is to get one of your girls to your opponent’s base and get their points to zero in order to win. To summon them on the field, you need mana in order to do that. It gets replenished every turn. After you get their points down to zero, you win rewards like cards and items that you can use on your cards.
While the game contains some fanservice elements, namely the scratching to take off their clothes by using the touchscreen so you can “shamelessly” power them up which is one of the reasons this game got a “D” CERO rating. While I haven’t played that mini game, I don’t really care for it because the evolution doesn’t necessarily give you an advantage all the time. Otherwise, the game is mostly tame besides that exception. Moreover, I like the art style since the girls look cute. Also, you can view a log of text you have read in an event, which is a feature in most visual novels. Overall, I think the game is fun so far although its niche. It deserves a look if somebody decides to localize it, which is possible since Compile Heart is looking for a company to do it.
I almost forgot to mention, there are some of the voice actors from Anime I have watched that voiced characters in this game. This includes: Shimoda Asami (Mei) & Namakura Minami (Fia) (The Idolmaster), Fujita Saki (Karen) (Working!!) and Igarashi Hiromi (Eileen) (Papa Kikinasai)
Hmm, I think as far as Compile Heart is concerned, I’ll stick with Mugen Souls and the Neptunia series. I don’t have a PSV because I strongly believe portable consoles are artifacts of the devil. CURSE CH FOR MAKING THE NEXT 3 NEPTUNIA GAMES FOR PSV AND NOT PS3! Hmm, maybe after a major price drop, I’ll reconsider signing a deal with Kyubey.
Anyway, this game AT LEAST has no important male characters, unlike “Conception: Please Have my Babies” or the Agarest War series, so it has that going for it. Gameplay-wise, gimmick aside, it looks pretty cool.
BTW, Plutia FTW! DAMN IT, I MUST HAVE NEPTUNIA V NOW!
Ironically, I use my portable systems far more often than my PS3 or Wii as I don’t have the time to play those consoles since I’m still in college and I can play games on the go (not the crappy mobile games, which is the work of the devil). But aside from that, the Vita already had a price drop in Japan, so it’s a matter of time it get a price drop elsewhere… I don’t know, but they probably announce one during E3 or something when they probably announce more games for the console.
Aside from that, I have a lot of games to keep me occupied for the time being, until Summer Japanese releases.