This still stands out as being one of the best H games ever made. Like a lot of h games don't come close with how this game understands how to balance gameplay with story and how it ties into the virgin mechanic and also how much you want to make life hell for you. This circle never made a sequel, which is a shame, but it really is hard to top something as great as this.
Pros:
Everyone has to play this game at least once if their computer can run it. It's too good to pass up for an older game.
Pros:
- The story is godlike. I don’t think I’ve actually shed a tear for any other h game.
- Unique art style that only this game has and nowhere else.
- Feena is such a good protagonist. You don’t want bad things to happen to her given how cruel the world is, but the fact she continues to never give up makes you want to support her and not put her in hentai scenarios if possible.
- Your actions actually do affect how you will move throughout the game. If you play as a typical protagonist, the story will move along normally, but if you commit crimes or to adultery, you’ll find the dialogue changes and how people interact with you differently.
- The gameplay is challenging and it matches the difficulty you put it on. Normal mode is still difficult because the game is about the struggles Feena has to face and the realistic nature of going in alone with a frail body.
- You can customize how Feena looks and attacks in battle. Do you want to keep her well-balanced? Do you like to be full of offense? Do you prefer magic? Do you want to be a defense tank or a dodge tank? It’s all based on the classes you can unlock down the line and what you prefer. Some builds are better than others and depending on what class you equip determines the stats that go up after each level.
- There are some really funny parts in this game. A specific scene that felt so out of place (but isn’t) is very memorable and why I would want to help this group of people.
- Impossible to do a virgin run on the first play through.
- The RNG in some fights can be unfair. I specifically had to reset on the orc general because he knocked the knight out in one hit and then proceeded to get multiple critical hits at once.
- The dice option is not to get out of free jail. I personally think it should be given how you only get three and only when you rest up do you get them back. The game is so over reliant on the dice system that in scenarios where you shouldn’t fail in the first place (picking herbs, dodging a booby trap in a chest) that sometimes the difficulty is because of the ruthlessness of the dice.
- I’m sad how even the best ending leaves on a cliffhanger. Without spoiling, I’m sad how the creator hasn’t made anything after this, because there is a way to make a brand new game where you can continue the story with Feena or go with a different protagonist in search of her.
- The criminal system is just used to get hentai scenes and rarely affects the story. If your criminal record is high, the guards will randomly stop you when you’re walking in one of the three towns and demand you pay up. The moment you pay the toll, they leave you alone making it pointless in the story sense. If you can just buy your way out of trouble after committing crimes, then there’s no real reason for the guards to stop you, especially if it's a repeated offense.
- The forced criminal record is cringe. I love when I save someone from being made a cum bucket and the reward is getting a criminal record because the rapist hurt himself. Like if doing the right thing just gets you accused of a crime you didn’t do, then there’s no point to the system.
Everyone has to play this game at least once if their computer can run it. It's too good to pass up for an older game.