DelitaThis

This review will be updated provided CDPR will work on it, but it is a buggy mess that's quests are completely linear and the choices, for the most part, do not matter. The driving is also maybe the worst I have ever played.

Today, I'll take on the task of reviewing the most recent 7th expansion work: When the Ciconia Crys. Now, like myself I am certain most of us are still coming off of the high that Umineko was after its major circulation in popularity in the past 2 or so years. As a result of playing Umineko and watching or Higurashi playing it as well, bias of what you think Ciconia may get in the way and let me say that that is the number one issue that many of the readers will undoubtedly feel. I will not go into spoiler territory whatsoever, but let me say that Ryukishi was pulled no punches in saying that this work is unlike many of his others. For those of you expecting a murder mystery, I will pull the cat out of the bag now and say that it is not. As Ryukishi said himself, this is a story thats more of an open world mystery that involves more politics and world government, not families trapped on an island. As always, I rate my VNs on a 3 point rating and purchasing scale, and that grade is justified by the four categories of gameplay, art, music and story, with some intangibles thrown in at the end. To begin, the gameplay is exactly what one would expect coming from a 07th expansion VN. It is purely kinetic and there will be no decisions to be made. When it comes to the text, depending on whatever version of the 2 previous when they cry games you played this one may feel a little different as there is no voice acting, and the text is a full screen textbox like Fate. The art, well this one is just a tossup. Ryukishi, the mad lad himself, does both the art and the story for his own works unlike most other authors, which I garner a lot of respect for him for. For those that played the PS3 updated sprites versions of the previous works, you may feel that the big hands art style and lack of CGs may hurt the value of the game overall, but for those of you that played the base game of both of the previous works you will be mildly surprised to see that Ryukishi’s art has definitely improved over the years. The music, while may be noted for its lack of songs, is good when it needs to be. It’s cheerful when it needs to be, it can be haunting and mysterious at other times, and does what it needs to. It's not the best ost i've ever heard in a VN by any means, but it does what it needs to to provide the background that reflects what's going on in the story. Speaking of, the story is much different than any of 7th expansion prior works. As stated before, this is much more of an open world mystery that will have you guessing at the layers of political intrigue and wonder who is pulling the strings as opposed to wondering who, in a small to medium sized cast, the murderer is. The setting is also much different than the prior works, as it is set in A3W, which means after the third world war. Its set a few hundred years in the future, so a lot of the technology is sci fi esque, its not an island setting in the 80’s anymore. All in all, Ciconia is a good read that is enjoyable for what it is. When voice acting and CG art is implemented it'll be much better overall, and considering how the first part ended I am certain the the next 3 parts will only get better from here. My only real gripe with this is the price, and to all of you watching I recommend waiting for a big sale to pick it up. Its 40 dollars and is only the length of a longer higurashi episode. If you are new to the series, you can get most of higurashi with 40 dollars and nearly all of Umineko for it, and in my opinion both of those are much better VNs. While this game is good, I do think it is the lowest of the three works, but that does not mean its terrible by any means. I rate Ciconia a 7.5/10, a 75/100, and recommend waiting for a sale to pick it up. The content spills a lot of world building considering its the first chapter, and while the VN is good, it did not leave an impact on me like the previous works. Hopefully the next part, which is coming soon, will improve upon the first and will live up to the previous works names.

Summer Pockets, a game that has meant so much to me and that I have followed from its very first announcement. There will be no spoilers in this video unlike many of my other reviewers as, basically, I just want all of you to experience this for the first time like I was able to. To begin, I am an avid key fan, as many of you know, and considering Maeda's health issues I was truly worried for the future of key. When Summer Pockets was announced I was filled with emotion just on the announcement alone on the basis that it could be Key's last ever worked, so I followed this project like a hawk. I downloaded the beta which was in japanese which i don't even speak, gave reviews and tried to talk about it as much as possible to shill for an English release. When I got my wish, I can say that my dream as a key fan was answered. As usual, I rate my games on 3 scales across rating and purchase, and its based on the categories of gameplay, art, music and story. To begin, the gameplay is your typical VN but with a little bit of a twist. Basically, instead of needing a guide and making sure you get every decision for every route, you simply click on character faces which locks you in. This is innovative for a key VN, and this simple feature was a lot of fun and super efficient. On top of routes, you can do some joke scenes, and play minigames such as table tennis and this pokemon battler type game where you catch things with items you get as achievements. While this may sound dumb, trust me when I say its alot of fun and add a lot of life to the characters, a lot of laughs to the reader, and a lot of fun all around, the most ive had in a key game mini game. The art, directed by NA-GA, is very little busters esque. The designs are beautiful, the characters reflect the theme and setting of summer and some of the CGS are up there with my favorite in key games. In some of the CGs the eyes seem a little off, but thats such a far and inbetween complain to what is otherwise beautiful. The music is what you would expect from Maeda and key, some songs fully encapsulate summer and are melancholic, some seem surreal and others make you emotional the second the violin hits. Every single route has an ending song which fits the theme, and some characters have their own special ending songs as well which also fit the tone of the route. The main ED, lasting moment, is maybe my favorite in any key game so far… sorry alicemagic and clear weather after the rain. Finally, we have the most controversial of the bunch, the story. Now, without spoiling anything there will be two sides to this summer pockets fanbase. Those that believe that this was not adventurous enough and therefore think its a very good rehash of old themes, and those that believe solely in the latter thinking that the reuse of themes is more of a revamp than a copy paste. Summer pockets uses a lot of old themes from key games, and for those that have read every work the game may seem predictable at points. Despite all this, the themes have been perfected, and I wholeheartedly believe that both old and new fans alike will respect them for what they have to offer. In conclusion, Summer Pockets is exactly the VN I needed in my life right now. Its heavy themes, its high and emotional points and its setting of summer are perfect as we begin to enter summer. This VN has reached one of the highest points ever in a VN for me, the Kamome route, and it got even better as time went on after the Shiroha route. Summer pockets is a firm and beautiful return to tradition, and I can gladly say, with no doubt in mind, that the future brilliance of key may even outshine the radiance of the past. I rate Summer Pockets a 9.4/10, which is a 94/100 going by that metric. Its a perfect return to what we all know and love, and oldtime and new fans will be in for a treat. With steam summer sale right around the corner, I recommend all fans of VNS alike to pick up this masterpiece, and even if you have missed the sale I can still gladly say this VN is well worth its price.

Persona 5 Royal, a game that I did not know I was going to sink as much time into as I did. I am a huge persona fan, even playing through the first 3 games, which are just persona 1 and 2 yada yada doesn't matter. Point is: I played through all of em and persona 5 was just not what I thought it was going to be. Of the new age persona’s, that being 3 and up, I thought that 5 was the weakest link. As a result of which, I was pleasantly surprised by Royal which I think changed alot of what I hated about P5. However, the controversy comes from if these changes warrant a 60 dollar game, and hopefully I will be able to answer that question in this video. As always, I rate my games on a 3 point rating and purchasing scale, and that grade is justified by the four categories of gameplay, art, music and story, with some intangibles thrown in at the end. The gameplay is very similar to that of the first game, with the key differences now being some quality of life changes in the sense of the guns and bullet usage, and morgana allowing freedom. These changes definitely sparked a vast improvement, and while they made me feel a little bit more OP than the first title, but the challenge is still there especially on the harder difficulties and later game content. When it comes to the art, this is not a 10, this is THE 10. This is the poster child for what art should look like in games of this caliber, the art is smooth, beautiful, not overbearing and adds to the ambiance of the setting and characters. So when it comes to the music, there are definitely some changes from the first game. There are more tracks now, and there's a new preemptive strike song called take over, I didn't like it at first to be quite honest but now im in love with it. Last surprise has remained as the main battle theme, for those of you that love the original work. The acid jazz adds to the ambience as well, and its lovely to see that the Persona series has continued that music style. Finally is the story, which is largely the same up until the new added content that you unlock by doing certain social links. The new social links definitely provide really good background, development and depth to the characters, but it still may be the weakest story of the new gen personas. The big controversy of this game is something I want to get to now: and that being if it is worth it being a new standalone title and not just some DLC expansion type. The new thieves den mechanic is alot of fun and great for completionists like myself to get statues and music of the events. The biggest issue with this is that you cant see your friends, so you cant really flex off your work. Besides that, theres the new added trimester which does add gameplay and some new characters as well, but it is very hard to say if it warrants a new 60 dollar purchase. After weighing everything, my final consensus is this: if you haven't played the original, this is the copy to get. Its advancements are noticeable from the first work, but if you have you can just watch the new content on Youtube and get the same experience. All in all, Persona 5 Royal was a very enjoyable experience, but the issue of it being a full standalone title remains. Its a solid 8.8/10, and I very much enjoyed it over the original, even if I do think that Persona 4 Golden is the better game all in all.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]