Quick summary:
There's no quick summary. Picture this website; Now the JRPG's you saw in it; Dwell on their quality/scale/playtime. All done? Rance Quest doesn't have to be better than those because they are not playing in the same league, and never meet. They just play the same sport. Let me be honest, I'm at a point where I don't read a review that takes more than 2/3 minutes of my time (and it better be on point too), and I can't convince you to play this with a short review. It's a "tru-blu", ethical conundrum, involving pains to my empathy, patience, and sense of justice.
Here's my bravest, swiftest, earnest attempt to tell you about Rance 8 (quest) from memory.
- Lore - There's a "boatload" of it. 7 other games (sort of...) before this one, and 2 more after. Do you care about worldbuilding, characters, setting, arcs, story? Welcome home, there's a lot to talk about, and if you are one of those players who "introspects", then goodness me, this game, and the entire series has so much subtext/commentary for you to discover.
The problem is continuation. If you just decide to play this one before the others (at least 3, 4, 6, and 7, you will NOT get the same value, or the references, or be as invested, or just understand why this "fuckeroo", keeps raping women, while also making them fall in love with him.
- RPG mechanics (combat) - It's a "grindfest", but there's a built-in "cheat mode", if you want to speed it up. Without spoilers, the game keeps abusing the "level drain mechanic", that you might have seen in other games. So to get stronger, you have to get weaker, but this also leads to many H-scenes, and is congruent with the rules of the world, (people have levels, limits and know about it) and the initial setting.
In actuality, this is just an excuse to extend gameplay, and be advised you could be playing this for dozens of hours, but it's also an intelligent way of doing it. And remember the different leagues mention above? Skills, equipment, items, progression, dungeon layouts... When I complain that "stuff" like that is bad in an adult game, this is one of my points of reference. Scale, resources and budget can go suck on an egg. Good is good, bad is bad.
- H-scenes - It's a stupidly high amount, there's all kinds of tags, and the art is great. Having characters that you know/like from the previous games, also improves things (same problem as above, unfortunately). Not selling it well enough? How about sex while holding out for dear life on a cliff. They go to places, literally.
- Use a guide - Every rose has it's thorns, and Rance 8 is no different. There are some obnoxious, rage-inducing, blood-boiling, screen shattering quests in this game. For the love of whatever deity is above (or below, you do you) keep the wiki page open, and check the quest you are about to do. This is really important. We are talking about a mentality that you will not appreciate, and that feels completely unfair (requires prior knowledge or equals a reload to mission start). There's a number of quests that feel "criminally Japanese". Let's go with that.
Ok, have your congratulatory pat on the back for reading this far: *Pat, pat*. I'd be bored already, what stamina!!!
Let's say that you don't know Rance 8: Only play this game if you are a fan of everything that comprises a JRPG, and if you have a LOT of time on your hands right now. With all of this in mind, and by virtue of comparison this a 10/10 (as far as adult videogames go) , and I deeply regret not addressing the VN part of it, but it's also pretty good.
(Where the hell is Sengoku Rance btw? It's absence feels like a punishable offense against users of this website. It's the best one damn it... maybe)
There's no quick summary. Picture this website; Now the JRPG's you saw in it; Dwell on their quality/scale/playtime. All done? Rance Quest doesn't have to be better than those because they are not playing in the same league, and never meet. They just play the same sport. Let me be honest, I'm at a point where I don't read a review that takes more than 2/3 minutes of my time (and it better be on point too), and I can't convince you to play this with a short review. It's a "tru-blu", ethical conundrum, involving pains to my empathy, patience, and sense of justice.
Here's my bravest, swiftest, earnest attempt to tell you about Rance 8 (quest) from memory.
- Lore - There's a "boatload" of it. 7 other games (sort of...) before this one, and 2 more after. Do you care about worldbuilding, characters, setting, arcs, story? Welcome home, there's a lot to talk about, and if you are one of those players who "introspects", then goodness me, this game, and the entire series has so much subtext/commentary for you to discover.
The problem is continuation. If you just decide to play this one before the others (at least 3, 4, 6, and 7, you will NOT get the same value, or the references, or be as invested, or just understand why this "fuckeroo", keeps raping women, while also making them fall in love with him.
- RPG mechanics (combat) - It's a "grindfest", but there's a built-in "cheat mode", if you want to speed it up. Without spoilers, the game keeps abusing the "level drain mechanic", that you might have seen in other games. So to get stronger, you have to get weaker, but this also leads to many H-scenes, and is congruent with the rules of the world, (people have levels, limits and know about it) and the initial setting.
In actuality, this is just an excuse to extend gameplay, and be advised you could be playing this for dozens of hours, but it's also an intelligent way of doing it. And remember the different leagues mention above? Skills, equipment, items, progression, dungeon layouts... When I complain that "stuff" like that is bad in an adult game, this is one of my points of reference. Scale, resources and budget can go suck on an egg. Good is good, bad is bad.
- H-scenes - It's a stupidly high amount, there's all kinds of tags, and the art is great. Having characters that you know/like from the previous games, also improves things (same problem as above, unfortunately). Not selling it well enough? How about sex while holding out for dear life on a cliff. They go to places, literally.
- Use a guide - Every rose has it's thorns, and Rance 8 is no different. There are some obnoxious, rage-inducing, blood-boiling, screen shattering quests in this game. For the love of whatever deity is above (or below, you do you) keep the wiki page open, and check the quest you are about to do. This is really important. We are talking about a mentality that you will not appreciate, and that feels completely unfair (requires prior knowledge or equals a reload to mission start). There's a number of quests that feel "criminally Japanese". Let's go with that.
Ok, have your congratulatory pat on the back for reading this far: *Pat, pat*. I'd be bored already, what stamina!!!
Let's say that you don't know Rance 8: Only play this game if you are a fan of everything that comprises a JRPG, and if you have a LOT of time on your hands right now. With all of this in mind, and by virtue of comparison this a 10/10 (as far as adult videogames go) , and I deeply regret not addressing the VN part of it, but it's also pretty good.
(Where the hell is Sengoku Rance btw? It's absence feels like a punishable offense against users of this website. It's the best one damn it... maybe)