Yes, as this review is written, I am the lowest rating of all the ratings here (in fact I am tempted to give it 2 stars, more on that later), and let me get this straight first:
It is not because of the art style (mostly), I like the style.
It is because other things.
So anyway, as the title suggested, this is a trainer game set in a fantasy world where you play as a Freelance Merc that might as well be alt-universe
Ainz Ooal Gown if he is a human and without his tomb.
Due to how fucking OP he is...base on how the game tells, but since this is a trainer game, fighting isn't really a thing...so that info might as well be useless.
And just like Ainz, you are often dirt-poor and have to train a bunch of girls...wait, he doesn't need to do that, in fact, other than the ridiculously overpower part the story says he is, he is actually nothing like the Overlord...
I really need to stop reading them novels.
The premise:
So as mentioned, you are a very fucking OP mercenary that recently destroy a small city-state kingdom and kill their king. Your associates/contractees (I think) decide to make you the king of this newly conquered kingdom, and well, the last king has a princess leftover. So you know the drill...
Like you need any reason to be a "trainer" in these games, there are girls, hop to it.
Gameplay:
Oh boy, do I have a problem with this, but let's get the basic part out of the way.
So you talk with the princess and get her corrupt meter and love meter up (or down), throw her in the dungeon to "punish" her. Or just order her to do things that trainer games let you do, so far pretty basic stuff.
But she is not the only available girl, there are others. But instead of "training" them, they are more like romanceable options:
There is an Elf Maid who sold the kingdom out and still keep her job afterward after you takeover...who get very attracted to you later on if you romance her enough.
A "Not Chinese" Item shop owner who sells you stuff that you can also romance if you play your cards right.
A dryad from the nearby forest that can help you with the garden, and also romanceable, if you play your cards right as well.
A thief who...I think she is also an elf, along with her sister. Who ends up living with you in the castle...if you play your cards right.
There is also an Orc and "your mentor" that joins the fray, but they are still not developed to have too many scenes as this review is written...and believe or not that is not the problem I mentioned above.
So far, many girls to mess with, good, right?
Well...the problem I have with the game appears here: IT. IS. SO. FU€KING. GRINDY.
Of the dozen trainer games I played,
this game has a slower love/corrupt system...and it will be fine if we only have two or at most three train/romance options...
But this game literally has half a dozen girls and the love/corrupt meter already goes so slow, it only triple, if not quadruple the time you try to grind everyone high enough to make things happen, it doesn't help the dialogue isn't variant enough and you have to talk about the same thing at least four times a week just to grind the meters up...and that is very exhausting, more so than fell into a trance in some other game where I have to work every day, at least I get money out of it and that game still have shenanigans happen almost every day...
Oh and speaking of money, you are a freelance mercenary that literally takes over a fucking kingdom, why are you this poor?
I know trainer games have to restrict your funds in some way to make the game not too easy since there won't be any finance issue if you start with literally 70 million gold because you are a mercenary who takes over an entire kingdom.
But this game goes for the opposite end: You are literally too poor, everything from the item shop costs a ton, and you don't have a reliable way to make money fast enough. Make the game even more grindy...a top on the half a dozen girl you have to train/romance.
So basically, too grindy, and you are too poor as a King/Mercenary who just conquer the damn place.
In fact, I will confess I am tempted to rate it 2 stars base on how bad the grind is, making it the lowest rated game I rated on this site, but since I actually stick with it for probably a dozen hours means I am somewhat into it, so eh, three it is.
Artstyle:
Well,
personally I like the art style and the hand-drawn simplistic nature of it...but this is that kind of art style when I saw it, the first thought I have is: "Some dickhead will take a piss on this style thinking it is too primitive, despite they can't draw for shit."
But so far, I see the reviews are pretty positive...in fact, this is the lowest review as it is written on this game.
So I guess people aren't as bad as I imagine.
Although I said am fine with the art style, but that is more of a characters' thing...a lot of background image really gives me a "I can whip this out in three minutes using Paint" vibe, and that isn't good.
Overall, not bad. Even though the background is very lacking in a lot of them.
Story & Personalities:
I mean, it is a trainer game set in a fantasy world, what do you expect?
You take over a kingdom, tell the people do continue their daily life like nothing is wrong...while running around as the king minding your own business training the ex-princess on the land.
Most trainees have a similar personality, rigorous, prideful, someone who doesn't follow any "bad people's" orders, the usual stuff.
It is the other characters that have not so standard personalities:
The not Chinese Item Shop owner is your friendly bumbling girl.
The dryad is a tsundere, because of course.
The thief sisters are the trouble maker (at first) and the innocent one.
The orc girl is a masochist, while your mentor is the dominant type.
It is also worth mentioning the protagonist, you know, the guy who is so fucking OP it reminds me of Overlord just by pure op-ness along (and nothing else aside from the black armor) can have different personalities base on your response...but as usual,
your response is either "good hero with some girl issue" or " dipshit who like to bad mouth someone for fun".
There is no real middle ground here, but I won't say it is negative...
In conclusion:
This is a mixed bag, and despite every time I see the art style, I have the feeling of
"Well I like this, but I know someone is gonna shame it, despite they can't draw for shit." and the asinine grind it has, I still play it long enough for something to happen, so I think I like the game...maybe.
TL;DR
A Trainer game with lots of characters to interact with, but has a slow training meter with every girl that ends up making the game far more grinder than everything else I ever played. It has a fine enough art style, somewhat simple background images, and for some reason, I am sucked into the grind just to see what will happen.