(Reviewed after 100%)
TLDR:
Yes, the overwhelmingly positive reviews do not lie. If for some reason you are still on the fence, don't even waste your time reading the rest of my review. Go play this. Although I very strongly recommend playing 'Lust Epidemic' first.
I'm writing this not for the potential players of this game. 'Treasure of Nadia' is the Shaquille O'Neal of adult videogames; meaning, even those who are not into the adult videogames know of it somehow.
I'm mainly writing this as an honest feedback for the NLT developers in case (albeit very unlikely), they read these reviews.
My General Thoughts:
Every discussion about ToN should start with a "well done" and a "thank you".
Collecting my thoughts after finishing ToN reminded me of how hard it is to make adult videogames. And making a game that has this many eyes on it, is double tough. So, a sincere 'thank you' to the team.
The list of positives for ToN is not a short one. ToN, like its prequel Lust Epidemic (LE) showcases the most polished utilization of RPG Maker in the absence of combat. There are very few 'actually gamified' adult games. This series is an example.
And the amount of effort put into the renders and animations really shows. These are the obvious positives, of course. There are many others mentioned in other reviews.
Room for Improvement?
There are a few things I'd like to point out.
1) The Adult Contents of ToN:
I played ToN after 100%-ing 'Lust Epidemic'. And prior to that I played 'Visiting Aunt Sarah' and read through the comics. The thing that bothered me as I compared these games is that it feels like every game is getting 'meeker' than the previous ones when it comes to adult content.
I imagine that's by design.
The scenes in ToN are clearly better in terms of rendering and graphics, but to me, they seemed ... well ... less erotic than Lust Epidemic.
At first I thought it was probably me getting desensitized but then I went back and played LE again and no, I don't think it's me.
Maybe it is because LE had more variety of Kamasutra pages for each love interest (although admittedly the number of LIs were significantly smaller).
Or perhaps because LE gives you options during the scenes? A sacrifice ToN had to make in lieu of spending more resources on high fidelity graphics.
Or perhaps it's because LE shows the transition between positions which makes you feel you are watching a real scene as opposed to ToN which is mostly cut-off motions stitched together in the mind of the player?
On the surface these are small things, but I do believe they make a difference in the end.
2) The Protagonist:
This ties into the previous one.
Looking back at the works of NLT, even in the comics, the protagonist is a go-getter who makes things happen. They think, they plot, and they act. They initiate life.
In ToN, we have Johnson Junior (Henry). A good looking dude who is surprisingly very passive. We see it in almost every scene, that life is happening '
to him'. He shows up and gets used. He shows up and gets sent after a task/item/person.
Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It's totally OK to write a character that way. And I'm sure this specific passivity is erotic to some. I just didn't expect it in an NLT game. Even compared to Bradley (protagonist of LE) there is world of difference.
I can't deny that I was rooting for Brad when they were having a competition
and I was elated he won.
This passiveness is even portrayed in the adult scenes. In most scenes Henry is moving like he is a geriatric on his final mission. Sticking to the commands, careful not to touch anything inappropriate. Slow and steady wins the race, I guess
Again, I don't think this writing and design choice has been by accident.
3) The Length of the Game:
I never complain about the length of a game I enjoy. I find it funny that some do. I never ate a delicious cake and said "Man, this is awesome, I wish there was 'less' of it!" If there is too much cake I'd eat it in different sessions.
I enjoyed my time with ToN. That said, I think both ToN and LE stayed longer than the capacity of their gameplay. I think there is a limit to how much an adult Zelda-like (Metroidvania?) collectathon game can go on with the same characters and environment. And the longer it goes the more contrived it feels.
To elaborate, I can summarize the main plot of the ToN in a single, medium-sized paragraph. This story, IMHO could've been told in half of this length. The game didn't have to end there, but the story could have. And I'm certain NLT is creative enough to add more engaging stories to the ToN saga.
My Humble Recommendations for Future Games:
I know it's too late for The Genesis Order as the roadmap for it is set by now, but perhaps for the next games or series you may want to consider these.
Regarding the first two points; as I said, I think those decisions are made deliberately. Probably to cast a wider net and invite more audience. More people means more varied tastes and therefore a need for safer content. I totally get that. And I empathize.
However, there is a risk of diluting the water to the point of loss of identity. Maybe not right now, but the arrows certainly point that way.
I think the beauty of indie game development, adult or otherwise, is that the devs don't have to bow down to any corporate overlord or external pressure ... at least in theory. And I think people are good at recognizing 'visions' and helping them grow. So, as a friend I'd recommend letting your creativity go wild; allow your creative vision materialize just like the comics days.
But then again, I'm not a game dev, so what the hell would I know?
What about the length?
If I were NLT, instead of committing to a story told long, I would turn the game into a collection of 3 stories with different characters (and possibly environment) which are tied into the overarching plot. For example, I think Madalyn's story could've been told separately, even with a different protagonist.
I think this could give the player the feeling of novelty and mask the tiredness of the collectathon formula. I can imagine the compartmentalized nature of separate stories will make the production and release of the updates easier as well.
My final thoughts:
I'm grateful for the fun times I had with ToN, and although I'm moving on to The Genesis Order with curbed enthusiasm, I hope the best for NLT in their future games.