I have played the game for about 11 hours and these are my impressions.
As the other reviews say, in terms of a Pokemon game, Entrancing Wishes excels in this. The gameplay doesn't stray too much from the Pokemon formula and that's a good thing. It includes Terastalizing, Megas and gigantimax (as far as I saw) so that adds fun strategic opportunities in battles. For me, the writing and story are where it shines. You play as the son of a petty criminal on their latest scheme wherein you become Champion and then sell snake oil to get rich. What seems cut and dry at first gets complicated as powers beyond your understanding changes both you and the world around you. The characters are written well with Mela being my BFF. What's really compelling are the choices that actually affect the story; you can be a good guy, a bad guy, or a kind of anti-hero that makes the major good choices but isn't above using your powers for fun.
Now, while the more SFW elements are great, the H-scenes are where it stumbles. I have no issue with changing them from hand-drawn to 3D Koikatsu(models) and the situations are creative but they're only A SINGLE PICTURE! No animation and not even multiple pictures. For example, when you're at the casino there's a scene where you hypnotize someone and play poker. The kicker is that the chips go up her cooch and as she continues to win, more go up there. She trembles and shakes, trying to keep it together until she wins and they all come spilling out. The only visual is her holding the cards topless while this is all described. If they remake or add to the scenes to make them more animated or engaging, it could make this game top-tier.
As the other reviews say, in terms of a Pokemon game, Entrancing Wishes excels in this. The gameplay doesn't stray too much from the Pokemon formula and that's a good thing. It includes Terastalizing, Megas and gigantimax (as far as I saw) so that adds fun strategic opportunities in battles. For me, the writing and story are where it shines. You play as the son of a petty criminal on their latest scheme wherein you become Champion and then sell snake oil to get rich. What seems cut and dry at first gets complicated as powers beyond your understanding changes both you and the world around you. The characters are written well with Mela being my BFF. What's really compelling are the choices that actually affect the story; you can be a good guy, a bad guy, or a kind of anti-hero that makes the major good choices but isn't above using your powers for fun.
Now, while the more SFW elements are great, the H-scenes are where it stumbles. I have no issue with changing them from hand-drawn to 3D Koikatsu(models) and the situations are creative but they're only A SINGLE PICTURE! No animation and not even multiple pictures. For example, when you're at the casino there's a scene where you hypnotize someone and play poker. The kicker is that the chips go up her cooch and as she continues to win, more go up there. She trembles and shakes, trying to keep it together until she wins and they all come spilling out. The only visual is her holding the cards topless while this is all described. If they remake or add to the scenes to make them more animated or engaging, it could make this game top-tier.