Others - Completed - HARO: Tale of the Western Country [v1.24] [ponidog]

I'll be honest and give this game credit where its due for implementing four rivers solitaire (aka shisen-sho) over the usual match three trash given that I've only played a literal handful of those types of puzzle games over the years.

The actual game though is mega dated, unfortunately. Small resolutions, a weird UI where left clicking an item equips it instead of just selects (better hope that amulet you just accidently put on isn't cursed lol), and sex scenes that are sparsely peppered in between your board clearing sessions. This 100% isn't one of those games you can play super chill one handed here since you need to actually strategize with clearing the board and locking the right pieces in order to max your score and unlock scenes more scenes by successfully getting Haro off to level up her corruption efficiently.

That said, its not all bad. The in-game help manual (from the help button near the level select) is super helpful explaining all of the game's mechanics if you ever get lost. The music and art are charming with the nice 1990-2000's anime vibes. The light rpg mechanics suit the game well by giving you lots of satisfying small victories even when you suck at the puzzle part of the puzzle game. Moments like finding out your newly identified artifact is actually crazy good for boosting Haro's or your own stats, leveling up and ranking up Haro's lewdness to higher grades to unlock more potential scenes, finding 3+ items in one board, etc.

TL;DR Old game is old, but also weirdly charming if the four rivers solitaire gameplay loop doesn't drive you away. Maybe give it a try for a couple boards if you haven't played shisen-sho before and are curious

This game is old. Like really old. Like more than 15 years old. So, there are going to be some things that aren't... optimal... about it. If you are old enough to remember 15 years ago, you might also be old enough to remember "Hong Kong Mahjong" style matching games. If you don't know what that is, it is a game that uses tiles from Mahjong (basically East Asian poker), but just as a matching game with a few restrictions on which tiles you are allowed to match, when you are allowed to match them, and nuances to the scoring. It looks complicated, but it's pretty much the equivalent of comparing "Go Fish" or Solitaire to Texas Hold 'em.

The music is surprisingly nice, the translation is poor to the point of being nonsensical, and the sex is just... kinda there for no reason. Honestly, it's almost a shame the game is NSFW, because it would otherwise be fun to play during a lunch break (and the sex doesn't really feel all that sexy anyway).

A marginal familiarity with the kanji for numbers makes playing this game a bit easier, so here you are:
1. 一 (ichi)
2. 二 (ni)
3. 三 (san)
4. 四 (shi/yon)
5. 五 (go)
6. 六 (roku)

Hard to undestand what is happening, and there are no explanations in game.
Even with the 'cheat' the game is a chore and not enjoyable.
Game has a pregnancy tag yet you can not even ejaculate inside.
For me it as a disapointment.