Indianadan101

The quality of this game was definitely a surprise for me. While I am a die-hard Type-Moon fan, I can acknowledge when the series has it's fault. The Extella games were great but they had a high barrier of entry for the story and the gameplay consisted of generic button mashing as expected from Musou games. Because of that, I could not recommend those games except to other fans of Type-Moon and it purely be for the story. Samurai Remnant solves both those issues for me. Due to the time-period this story takes place, you do not need to know anything about the Nasuverse to understand the story which makes it a great entry point for general audiences. The gameplay, while still retaining hack and slash Musou combat, also adds far more depth with different combat stances and skills that have not been in any Musou game so far. Not to mention how great the boss battles are. In previous Fate Musou games, fighting bosses/Servants feels no different than fighting mobs of enemies. Servants in Samurai Remnant feel challenging, especially when you are controlling the main character which makes sense considering how weak humans are compared to servants. The story story has a lot of mystery and intrigue and another aspect of the game that surprised me was the voiced dialogue. Nearly every line of dialogue in this game is voiced, even from random NPCs in towns. Very very VERY rarely would I see the occasional generic JRPG dialogue style of talking to someone and they say just one word while having the dialogue box do the rest. It may seem like a small thing but it really helps the world feel more alive and sets it apart from other JRPGs. The only thing about the game that may turn people off of it is the sheer emphasis on story rather than gameplay. This truly feels like you're playing through a fate anime and I mean that as a compliment. To those familiar with the franchise however, that means you are interacting with characters 90% of the time and fighting is very spread out. Thankfully the story is highly engaging and the main character is fleshed out and does not feel like a self-insert. Iori has great chemistry with Saber and seeing the two play off each-other gets you invested in them very quickly. If you are put off by the very disproportionate attention to the story rather than the gameplay, I cannot really recommend this game to you. However, I do believe it is a story worth experiencing and the game is not as massive **** as other Musou games. I'd much rather take an incredible story with sparce but fun battles instead of mindlessly fighting just to grind for little reward. 10/10 for me and for once, I don't think my Type-Moon bias is clouding my judgement.

I have written this same review on the Switch port but since I have bought both editions, I thought I might as well bring my review over to the PS4 port as well. The only extra note I will say regarding this port as opposed to the Switch port is that it will be the easiest platinum trophy ever. You literally just need to finish the visual novel and that is it. Furthermore, I believe if you have a PS4 Pro or PS5 (like me), the novel is actually upscaled for 4K resolutions which makes the art and animations even more vibrant. The only detriment I will say is that you are limited to a monitor or TV which can be hard to read for an extended period of time, whereas the switch can be read anywhere when it is undocked, making for a more comfortable reading experience. Both ports are still amazing in their own ways. Below is my review of the actual game itself: Possibly one of the most anticipated visual novel localizations ever. Despite their immense popularity, Type-Moon seemed to be allergic to localize any of their works that was not a spin-off or anime. Many fans such as I had to settle for fan translations for visual novels as iconic as Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime. However, we finally have a localization for one of their visual novels, and it delivers. Despite being a decade old, the animations and art of Mahoutsukai no Yoru definitely hold up and are only enhanced by modern resolutions and incredible voice acting. The soundtrack is arguably one of the best visual novel OSTs of all time, ranging from high octane battle songs, to bittersweet melancholic piano ballads, to relaxing slice-of-life tracks such as the main theme. Most of which is composed by the talented Hideyuki ****, best known for his work on Street Fighter IV and V. The story and characters are incredibly complex and well-written in true Type-Moon fashion. The dynamics between the characters are both infectiously funny and also incredibly tense when needed. The story involves a lot of slice-of-life elements which really makes you grow attached to all the characters while introducing elements of mystery and world-building to build intrigue and suspense. I cannot get too much into the specifics because this story is best experienced with less information going in. While some may be upset or put off that the first localization of a Type-Moon visual novel is of a title they have little to no knowledge of, it is important to note that the story of Mahoutsukai takes place before all other major Type-Moon stories, such as Kara no Kyoukai, Tsukihime, and Fate/Stay Night. This was technically the first story Kinoko Nasu has ever written, so it actually makes sense for it to be localized first. I highly recommend this story to anyone since it requires no prior knowledge of any other Type-Moon stories. Others might be hesitant as most visual novels have multiple branching paths and routes such as Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime, but Mahoutsukai is far more accessible since it has a linear storyline and is far shorter than other Type-Moon visual novels. This is not only a great introduction to the Nasuverse but also to the visual novel medium as a whole. Even if you are not into anime, I consider this as one of those stories that even those who dislike anime can enjoy as the story is pretty grounded and does not feature excessive amount of fanservice. Please support this game so we can have more localizations of the Nasuverse in the future!

Possibly one of the most anticipated visual novel localizations ever. Despite their immense popularity, Type-Moon seemed to be allergic to localize any of their works that was not a spin-off or anime. Many fans such as I had to settle for fan translations for visual novels as iconic as Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime. However, we finally have a localization for one of their visual novels, and it delivers. Despite being a decade old, the animations and art of Mahoutsukai no Yoru definitely hold up and are only enhanced by modern resolutions and incredible voice acting. The soundtrack is arguably one of the best visual novel OSTs of all time, ranging from high octane battle songs, to bittersweet melancholic piano ballads, to relaxing slice-of-life tracks such as the main theme. Most of which is composed by the talented Hideyuki ****, best known for his work on Street Fighter IV and V. The story and characters are incredibly complex and well-written in true Type-Moon fashion. The dynamics between the characters are both infectiously funny and also incredibly tense when needed. The story involves a lot of slice-of-life elements which really makes you grow attached to all the characters while introducing elements of mystery and world-building to build intrigue and suspense. I cannot get too much into the specifics because this story is best experienced with less information going in. While some may be upset or put off that the first localization of a Type-Moon visual novel is of a title they have little to no knowledge of, it is important to note that the story of Mahoutsukai takes place before all other major Type-Moon stories, such as Kara no Kyoukai, Tsukihime, and Fate/Stay Night. This was technically the first story Kinoko Nasu has ever written, so it actually makes sense for it to be localized first. I highly recommend this story to anyone since it requires no prior knowledge of any other Type-Moon stories. Others might be hesitant as most visual novels have multiple branching paths and routes such as Fate/Stay Night and Tsukihime, but Mahoutsukai is far more accessible since it has a linear storyline and is far shorter than other Type-Moon visual novels. This is not only a great introduction to the Nasuverse but also to the visual novel medium as a whole. Even if you are not into anime, I consider this as one of those stories that even those who dislike anime can enjoy as the story is pretty grounded and does not feature excessive amount of fanservice. Please support this game so we can have more localizations of the Nasuverse in the future!