Review for v2.57
There are so many words you can use to describe this game, and yet I have a hard time using any of them to form coherent thoughts.
I remember playing this game during the first versions released. I booted it up with no expectations. It simply managed to catch my interest from a glimpse off the latest updates page. It all sort of hits at once. The writing, the characters, the style of the renders, the drama, etc. etc. Then the music kicks in, and I had that "oh shit, this is good" moment. I could feel the potential, and it really delivered.
This game is unabashedly anime as hell in all the best ways. Literally through the power of friendship, love, and bonds we are fighting off interdimensional goddesses who love us so much that they will stop at nothing to kill us and everything we've known. Wild right? This game is a trip.
The powerups/transformations, the fight scenes, the cheesy lines, the kickass soundtrack, all the drama, the emotional moments, the humor, just everything really. It all culminates into one thing: a truly unique and incredibly well put together visual novel. More than being anime as hell, this actually does just feel like I'm watching an anime in visual novel format. I can't say I've played another game like this that recreates the feeling so well.
What will probably feel like a foreign concept is that we are not playing as the MC. Rather, we are observing him. CJ, the protagonist, is an established character with his own thoughts, motives, and personality. As much as every other character in the game. We are not shaping him to ourselves, nor choosing how he proceeds or what he says. He's a huge but reliable goofball that you can't help but like and the game does a great job showcasing that.
All the characters are wonderfully portrayed really. You just do not see this level of quality in visual novels very often. You feel for them, love them, maybe even hate them at moments. That is the sign of something good.
Now for as salacious and carnal some of the later sex scenes are, this is not what I would call a porn game. You don't play this for the sex. Almost weird to say with the ever-expanding harem. For a significant amount of the time the game is devoid of it even, though the lewdness has certainly shot up in more recent chapters. Rather, you play this for the story and the characters. Where the sex stuff is just a really nice bonus (and I have to say thank you for the maid scenes, which were a REALLY nice bonus).
This is one of those rare AVNs that fit into the category of "one of a kind." I don't think it's a game everyone would enjoy, but for story lovers it's almost a must to check out at the least. Very impressive stuff.