Category Archives: 2019

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: King and Knight – Atelier Rorona DX #15

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We’re into the third and final year of Rorona’s assignments in our New Game Plus run through Atelier Rorona DX, and some interesting mysteries are starting to be revealed about a bunch of characters.

I’m really enjoying this run, as I’m seeing some scenes I’ve never seen before; the additional “free” time I have available thanks to all the stuff I’ve carried over from my previous playthrough is making it much easier to build up everyone’s friendship values and see all their events.

I’m not sure if I’m on track for any of the “special” endings right now, but I’m certainly going to do my best in this final year to see what we can achieve!

Cover Games, Our World is Ended

Our World is Ended: Introduction

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Even among the already niche-interest community of Japanese video games, visual novels tend not to get a ton of hype about them… at least here in the West.

That’s why when a new one comes along and its localisers are confident enough to refer to it as “a new masterpiece of narrative visual novel storytelling”, it’s probably worth taking notice. Of course, it’s pure marketing-speak, but it also demonstrates a certain amount of faith in the product — and perhaps a track record of the game being well-received back in its native territory.

Is Red Entertainment’s Our World is Ended, also known as 俺達の世界わ終っている (Ore-tachi no Sekai wa Owatteiru) worthy of the descriptor “masterpiece”? Only one way to find out!

Continue reading Our World is Ended: Introduction →

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Closing Out Year 2 – Atelier Rorona DX #14

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It’s time to wrap up the second year of Rorona’s adventures with the final preparations for the next Annual Festival!

Of course, New Game Plus Rorona got all the boring stuff done absolutely ages ago, vastly ahead of schedule as usual, so instead we take some time to continue exploring the Dark Woods and see what we can find.

There are plenty of mysteries still surrounding our current party members Tantris and Lionela, too… so perhaps we’ll get a little closer to some answers today!

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Deep Water and Dark Forests – Atelier Rorona DX #13

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It’s time to check in on Rorona again! This time around, she has her hands not-so-full with preparing for the second Annual Festival of the game.

As always, the head start that the New Game Plus bonuses afforded us means we can get the assignment out of the way very quickly, which leaves plenty of time for a bit of exploration.

For today’s episode, we check out the underwater Lost City as well as the Dark Woods. And my cat “helps”.

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: End of Summer – Atelier Rorona DX #12

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Summer’s drawing to a close in Arland just as it’s starting to get nice and warm for springtime here in the UK.

Today our brave little alchemist takes on her toughest challenge yet: dealing with a comic misunderstanding involving a gentleman friend and her parents! Oh no!

She also does a bit of alchemy and indulges in the usual Puni abuse. She does still have a job to do, after all…

Atelier Arland Trilogy, Videos

New Game Plus: Beat the Heat – Atelier Rorona DX #11

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It’s summer! At least it is in Arland.

You know what that means: alchemical solutions to beat the heat! Of course, the astute among you will have already noticed that… oh, let’s leave that as a surprise, shall we?

Today’s New Game Plus run continues with more alchemy, more one-hit kills, some boobs on proud display, and Tantris and Lionela really starting to come into their own as fighters, despite their inferior equipment. Hit the jump to see how things went!

Continue reading New Game Plus: Beat the Heat – Atelier Rorona DX #11 →

Cover Games, Death End Re;Quest

Death end re;Quest: Down the Rabbit Hole

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Death end re;Quest, in keeping with the rest of Compile Heart’s Galapagos RPG project, is an ambitious and rather unusual affair from a narrative perspective.

The setup for the game is pure isekai, but almost immediately after actually starting the game for the first time, you’ll come to realise that there’s much more going on here — a really interesting blend of genres and styles that makes good use of its medium to tell a story and raise some intriguing questions.

Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading Death end re;Quest: Down the Rabbit Hole →

Atelier Arland Trilogy, New Game Plus, Videos

New Game Plus: Mel Kishida Loves Stinky Feet – Atelier Rorona DX #10

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As with Wednesday’s Warriors Wednesday video, I thought I’d make an effort to drop in some vaguely interesting factoids into my video intros.

As such, today you will learn that yes, indeed, Atelier Arland character designer Mel Kishida is indeed into stinky feet. But how is this relevant? Umm… Well… Oh, just watch it, will you? (And play Blue Reflection, it’s beautiful.)

Hit the jump to see how Rorona’s efforts went today… ignoring the pervy Japanese dude just waiting for her to take her boots off!

Continue reading New Game Plus: Mel Kishida Loves Stinky Feet – Atelier Rorona DX #10 →

Atelier Arland Trilogy, Videos

New Game Plus: Vultures-B-Gone – Atelier Rorona DX #9

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Our “second playthrough” adventures in the world of Atelier Rorona DX continue, this time with an important pest control job!

It seems the Nearby Forest has been infested with vultures, and Rorona is clearly the right person to get rid of them. At least it’s a distraction from the myriad neuroses and mental scars Astrid and her absentee parents have almost certainly left on her by this point…

But surely, surely there must be an easier way of clearing out the vultures than just booping them all on the head with a(n admittedly massively overpowered) stick, right…?

Continue reading New Game Plus: Vultures-B-Gone – Atelier Rorona DX #9 →

Cover Games, Death End Re;Quest

Death end re;Quest: The Art of Fighting

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One of the things Compile Heart’s Galapagos RPG project has been keen to do ever since its inception is experiment with mechanics, particularly when it comes to combat.

Death end re;Quest is an excellent example of this, featuring several layers of mechanics that keep things consistently interesting as you play through the main story and the optional side content. It’s also one of Compile Heart’s better balanced games to date, featuring a smooth incline in challenge factor rather than sudden, unexpected spikes.

Let’s take a closer look at how it all works.

Continue reading Death end re;Quest: The Art of Fighting →