Chantelise: A Tale of Two Sisters

There are very few anime-themed indie game out on the net. This is one of them and it happens to be a very good game. This one also seems much more easier then Recettear, and while it reuses content from it, the game is still good for anyone who is new to RPG games.

First and most importantly, I would not recommend this game if you do not have a gamepad. The keyboard controls (as so many others have rightly said) are NOT friendly and will just make you want to beat your head against a wall. However, if you have a gamepad, the controls are simple and light. Of second importance, you must know that this game is NOT ANYTHING LIKE RECETTEAR. If you are hoping that Chantelise will be another creative twist on the RPG genre, as Recettear was, then you will be disappointed. Chantelise is for the most part an extremely basic hack and slash game. (Note, for example, that your character does not have levels or stats but only gets stronger through finding or purchasing new items and equipment.) Now the interesting things about Chantelise that would serve as an appropriate reason to purchase are the following. 1) Quest structure. Each chapter of the game's quest is set at a particular map location, and each location is divided into areas. In order to complete a chapter of the quest and advance the story, you must blaze through the entire dungeon without being defeated. However, you are free to practice any area of the dungeon in a sort of "time trial" mode until you discover all the strategies--and possibly valuable equips--you will need to blaze through. (The boss battles in particular can be extremely difficult. Many have been frustrated at the high level of difficulty of even the very first boss.) Forcing you to blaze through fairly challenging dungeons (and very challenging bosses) in a single run without save points, and forcing you to start over completely if you die, adds a certain level of tension that other RPGs lack and makes you feel much more accomplished for completing a dungeon. 2) The spell mechanic is interesting. Rather than having a set list of spells that charge you mana to cast, enemies drop colored gems when you beat on them. These gems can then be picked up and used to cast spells corresponding to the elemental color of the gem (red = fire, blue = water, etc). You can even combine gems to create new, more powerful spells. At first this feels awkward as a magic system, because it slightly randomizes your spells, but it becomes fun once you start to experience it more like "punch enemies until their pieces fall out, pick up pieces, throw them back for damage." This is especially interesting in larger battles where you have to beat the gems out of smaller enemies in order to throw them at large enemies that are dangerous to get close to. 3) Each area of every dungeon has a hidden treasure that requires you to solve its mystery before it will appear. In one area, you might have to destroy every torch on the map before it will appear. In another area, you might have to race past all the enemies on the map and kill the very last enemy first before it will appear. Some of these are extremely difficult to figure out, but a lot of them can be easily discovered if you have good intuition. So if you're looking for an extremely basic hack and slash with 1) interesting quest structure, 2) quirky spell mechanic, and 3) secret treasure chests, then this might be a good game for you. If you want another Recettear, this is not what you're looking for.

I love the game Recettear! It was funny and there was a lot of things you can do there. But this game is almost the opposite. The world of Chantelise is so small and the dungeon are so long and annoying! There is no checkpoint in the dungeon like Recettear (in story mode). If you want to go back you have to go the whole way back which is just stupid and if you are getting killed by the endboss you have to go again from the startpoint of the dungeon to the endboss. They reused some items, textures and sprites and even some endbosses from Recettear which on the one hand is not bad because the story may happen in the same world as Recettear but on the other hand this game feels like a mod with the same old item a few new things.... If you want to play hardcore rage rpg and getting killed many times. Buy it now!

The game has a lot of heart, and is charming. Unfortunately it's marred by a very problematic camera-control system, and unwelcome difficulty spikes. I wouldn't recommend it to any but the accomplished gamer very into the subgenre.

I really did want to like this game, I bought it off of Gamersgate (one of three indie RPG purchases) and I was sorely dissapointed. The camera was atrocious at times, and while I can enjoy difficulty spikes in RPGs, I expect them to be balanced out and done in a way that seems natural to the game's storyline. This game, unfortunately, does not do this. Instead, you get a game that would all but frustrate the most hardcore RPG gamer out there with its difficulty curve, and the amount of polish that went into this game is laughable. There are some really excellent indie RPGs out there, but sadly, this is not one of them. Not recommended.