I tried this one because of the high rating, the traditional JRPG, and the heroine's design. This is a good title, a "sure thing", if you will, but it can't reach the big leagues in my opinion.
Starting with the good, and there's plenty:
- The heroine - She is a mix of many things, including ditzy blonde, crazed succubus, traditional noble vampire, a bit of gothic Lolita, anti-hero, and "dominatrix". Having a lot of traits in a character doesn't necessarily translate to quality, but in relative terms (looking at other H-oriented JRPG's), it's a major plus. I find her design appealing , and that's very important, Doris is half the reason to play this.
- Translation - The quality of the text is a breath of fresh of air, and I'm gonna use the same argument as above: Enough MTL or AI translations or whatever, will get you to appreciate proper English and whoever is delivering to you. Another major plus.
- Fast combat, no random encounters, save time before bosses, "repel mechanics", bonus loot (if you perform well), dungeon guides, nothing hidden obnoxiously, and good but not excessive (in quantity) itemization, equipment and skills.
- Attention to detail - This is the real pearl of this game. There's many little details that show care in what has been delivered, like Doris' weapons (gloves) and her sprite; The archer actually shooting an arrow; the toddler still crawls on the floor at the orphanage, your sidekick reacts to your outfits, and more things like that. It's this sort of stuff (the extra mile), that really shines for me here.
- Day/Night Cycle - Nothing fancy but it's there and it works. You guessed it it's a positive by virtue of novelty, and comparison.
- Music Choice - Some Zelda, Pokémon and FF inspired tracks, other than that very adequate overall, and this is a very important parameter, because not everyone can "pick music" for a wide audience. Modest and traditional, over loud and outlandish, please.
The "it's up to and your tastes" category:
- H-scenes - I wish I could come here with some nice statement that makes me sound progressive, but no. The whole "being a strong, confident, sexually liberated female protagonist", doesn't turn me on. "Reverse rape" is a bit better but not by much. It's a huge problem because it doesn't get me going. It doesn't have to be one for you.
At any rate expect Doris to be literally insatiable in the H-scenes, and they use her condition as a vampire, to surpass any physical limitations when proportions don't match. Basically, a tribe of orcs cant keep up with Doris, she'd suck them dry... All of them.
The actual bad:
- Difficulty - Talking about difficulty in videogames is a slippery slope where no one is ever right or wrong, but I will say that this one is too easy, to a point of going the entire game without using the Inn (coffin), or ever losing a battle and reloading.
How much of a problem is it? A big one for me, because I need to feel challenged, and get a wake-up call every now and then, or the will to actually try things just fades away, and monotony sets in. There's more to be said, and an argument can be made, that combat should be easy due to the adult nature of the game, but I'm gonna roll with a straight up negative, this is not the place to weave notions on this topic.
- The exploration (dungeon delving) - It gets progressively worse, because the loot is not worth it, the monsters have little variation, the design gets more convoluted, there's barely any events, or meaningful npc's, or side quests, and after a few dungeons I just used the "fairy guide" to get to the end.
I can't even call it a pitfall, because I'm fairly certain they adopted this "model" through a conscious decision. I don't speak "corporate" or "dev", but this screams: More time, and or talent/resources were needed. There's a marked contrast between the first 5 hours of the game, and what follows.
I'd say this an 8/10, but the impression left on me by the second half of the game, was threatening to make the score lower. Long story short, this is not one of the great ones, but it's still good and worth your time and money.