cowinspace

This is a gem of a puzzle game with an incredible amount of content for the price. It is a simple game where you draw coloured lines between numbered points and try to fit everything together until a pixel art image is created. It is an excellent time waster just don't expect it to do anything else. The story mode is short and the puzzle difficulty increases gradually letting you learn the game without any issues but the real depth is in the puzzle mode which has received several free expansions and offers hours of content at no extra cost. The pixel art is well done and, thanks to the scale (up to 128x128), more detailed than the likes of Picross S.

I was expecting to like this game given the developers previous series (Luminous Arc). What I wasn't expecting was to be playing a game that I already consider one of the best of 2016 (poor European here, game released in March thanks to NISA Europe. Why does Atlus hate Europe so ;_;). Right now it is my GotY for the 3DS, and the only two titles I see that could change that would be Fire Emblem: Fates or Zero Time Dilemma, both series that I am a fan of. I love the graphical style, I know that chibi models on the battlefield might not be to everyone's taste but they are well done and the bright look and soft focus give the game a feel that is entirely its own. The sprite art for the visual novel sections is also extremely good and accompanied by some top quality voice acting. Oh and the music is outstanding, Listening to the witches songs was what convinced me to put my money down on the launch edition of the game. As an SRPG it isn't particularly challenging, I've lost a few battles but I've never once found myself stuck at a mission, even grinds where you simply have to hold out were not much of a problem to beat. However I am a turtle when it comes to games like this and I always level my squad evenly and I have entered every story mission at its recommended level so if a challenge is what you're after then remaining slightly under-levelled would increase the difficulty. I have also focussed on raising my affinity with team members rather than working or exploring so I have more secondary abilities opened up. Each character being their own class and having relatively unique abilities is a great thing (I love job systems, but there is always something special about unique classes). The plot is pretty predictable and is full of clichés and tropes but it is well executed and I felt genuinely attached to the characters in a way that this jaded old gamer hasn't experienced in more than a decade. Again the voice talent, script, translation, and localisation are incredibly well done and help bring the story up to a height where it can stand against the best. Are there issues? Yes, and they all relate to the battlefield interface. The inability to rotate the view is a little frustrating, as is the small scale of the maps. If it weren't for the varied terrain this could have really impacted the enjoyment of the battles. The lack of unique effects for AoE abilities can get a little stale though the cutaway animations help alleviate this. Finally the lack of mission types with almost all missions being "kill everything" could get boring but the extra objectives (some of which can be damn hard to get) in the story missions can impact how you approach a battle and add some incentive to change up your strategy. TL;DR - A fine swansong from an under-appreciated developer that hits well above its weight. It is a great way to introduce someone to SRPGs due to its gentle difficulty curve and is an enjoyable experience for anyone that already likes the genre.

An enjoyable, if short, room escape game with a passable visual novel layered over it. The translation is rough with mistakes aplenty but it manages to convey the story well and the small cast of characters don't overstay their welcome and there aren't any outright irritating members. The story is basic, which is fine as they manage to pack in a few good twists and even manage a few moments of tension. The room escape puzzles are composed of standard adventure game "find item, use item" puzzles and the psychic puzzles which can best be described as block mazes with the interesting point that you cannot see anything until you use you limited clairvoyance power to reveal small sections. The adventure game puzzles are logical and are usually straightforward and the psychic puzzles are varied and interesting. The only complaint I have is that the game is a little easy and more than once one of the characters will just say exactly what to do next; "Oh that [item] needs to be used in [location]". However, I must also take into account that this game is extremely cheap for what it offers. If you are anxiously awaiting Zero Time Dilemma and want something short and sweet to carry you for a few days then I would not hesitate to recommend this to you.