Recent reviews by GamingBro

I picked Sword Expert because I thought it'd be an easy game.

I died in the dodge tutorial.

in this episode of Project Moon, Dante ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dies

me and my team went from mauling expedition to dead in 3 seconds

I think the idea of zombies in space is cool, and the overall aesthetic of the game is something i really dig. However, there are two major reasons that I quit the game almost immediately: weapon sound design and clarity.

The sound design of the weaponry are definitely futuristic, but it also lacks any impact. I can hit a target but rather than feel like I just shot a bullet through them I instead hit them with a nerf dart from my nerf gun. They could die in one hit, but to me it feels distinctly uncomfortable because nothing about the sound conveys the lethality of it in any way, shape or form.

With clarity, it was pretty obvious. After a quick warm-up in a horde round (where I realized the above complaints), I started up episode two and triggered a dialogue for something I wasn't yet near so I couldn't find the object. Within the next minute, two of my teammates jumped down an open door towards the obvious area and were immediately downed. It then took me another two minutes to figure out that the large terrain blocking the area is not meant to direct us but to act as an obstacle for the actual objective with the dialogue I had triggered by pure accident. There's no clear indicator, either by map design or overly decisions, that tells us what the objective might be or where it is. We spent more time stumbling about then actually progressing and this was literally at the start of the episode.

Just from what I've read about the patch notes and the vision, I could get behind this game but as it is right now I cannot recommend playing it. These issues are ones I think deserved to be prioritized in order to ensure a better playing experience.

10/10 would get pancake recipe again

Never played Mega-Man Battle Network and Rhythm games aren't my forte. By all means, I wasn't accustomed to the speed that the game went at just like many others. I died on map 2 my very first run.
But I kept playing. Slowly, but steadily, I built up experience. I could begin to recognize patterns, predict the order of attacks, understand what to do. Before I realized it, I was easily reaching map 5 as a minimum. I got better.

This game is a lot of fun and a challenging experience. Experimenting with the characters I unlock, finding new ways to combine and create play-styles using their unique attributes, and dying just to get even further than I did last time is much more invigorating than beating it first-try. Even if it overwhelms you at first, I encourage you to keep playing. Little by little, you will definitely get better. You will get farther. And when you finally beat your first run, I assure you that it will feel great.

Seeing all these 1s feel so good
Taking 1 damage
Dealing 1 damage
Seeing CPU Arthur roll a 1 in defense to RoPoChi's 10 roll in attack and dying instantly
Good times

I am past the common route and through half of the heroines' routes, so now would be a decent time to write a review.

Aokana is an interesting visual novel involving a sport known as 'Flying Circus' where two players, known as Skywalkers, compete in a large square track for points. The Protagonist, Masaya, is an ex-Skywalker who quits after a crushing mental defeat. Years later, in the summer of his second year, he runs into a girl who loves the sky. That is where the story begins.

Pros:

• Great story. The sport that the visual novel is based around, Flying Circus, provides very interesting "battle" scenes between the characters while also helping reveal each heroine's story in an indirect way. The common route, while long, helps cover each and every heroine as well as establishing the routes for later. Each heroine's route is different from each other and aren't carbon-copies of the others' routes. Even without the 18+ content, the flow of the story is very much the same.
  
• Good characters. The visual novel does not confine itself within the generic tropes that can be seen in manga, anime, and visual novels. While they can be labelled within them, they are shown to have their deviations and are not simple cut-and-paste characters.
  
• AMAZING design. I just can't find any word to describe it other than 'beautiful'. The characters are beautiful, the background is beautiful. I cannot find anything to complain about in terms of design. It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest I've ever seen.
  
• Soundtrack. It's amazing, it's pleasing, and it's something I would, without a doubt, buy with little regret despite it's rather steep price.

Cons:

• Price. I sounds hypocritical, talking about how I'd buy the soundtrack without regrets then talk about the pricing of the novel itself, but it's very expensive for a visual novel. The novel is about 35 hours for an average reader, which coincidentally aligns with the pricing of the novel, $35. I was doubtful of buying this even with a price reduction. I highly recommend buying this when there's a sale or a discount available if you're not in a rush.
  
• Endings. To avoid spoilers, some of the endings feel lackluster. With the rest of the story having action and drama and issues that they try to solve, the endings leave something to be desired. I'm not entirely sure of what, but there is something missing that just makes you feel slightly uncomfortable and confused.

Summary:
Aokana is a great visual novel. Despite it's rather high price, it is one of my recommendations for "entering the world of visual novels", providing a great experience throughout the story. With an interesting cast and a compelling story line, you'd probably forget how long you've played until you're interrupted by the episodic endings. If you're looking for a story that isn't exactly like the others, this is something you should read.

Haven't finished the game yet, but this is my impression 8 hours in.
Pros:

• Great graphics. It's different, but different isn't bad. It's visually appealing and really makes use of it's light-hearted tone to make you enjoy the story's fun moments within the Soaring Club.
  
• Great story. There's nothing unnecessary about the details of the story nor is it fluffed up and trying to stretch particular plot lines. You'll be enjoying this bumpy road the story is following.
  
• Likeable characters. Each character embodies a 'dere' trump, but they don't play the trend. Ever heard of a tsundere in a wheelchair with a talking duck as a roommate? Yeah, me neither. Not until now.
  
• L E A R N I N G. You can actually learn facts about gliders and some weather phenomenons that you probably didn't even know existed until now.

Cons:

• A long 'prologue'. The real prologue ends about an hour or two in, but it doesn't really get rid of that 'it's the prologue' feel for a small while.
  
• The way the faces look at times. Call me nit-picky but at random moments I notice these small things in the faces of the characters that just really tick me off.

Overall, it's a great purchase and is definitely worth the low price of $15.

I haven't done a serious review before so here we go.
Crystalline is a short-moderate length visual novel where you end up crossing into a world of magic and fantasy and spend the game trying to find a way home.
Pros:

• A cast that isn't your standard copy-and-paste. They have some uniqueness to them that is lacking in other other-world stories where it's the same story retold with different words.
  
• A decent soundtrack. Never felt that the music was ruining my experience. Matched well with the scenario.
  
• Good storyline. It's not just "otherworld harem-building" or a dating sim where you can get with literally any girl with minimal effort. You'll enjoy the story and the many fun interactions between the serious moments.

Cons:

• The arcs in the storyline feel as if they're too short or easily fixed, and they've rarely been mentioned outside of the incoming arc. Seriously, they wrapped up Kara's and Zack's arc way too fast.
  
• The animated poses. 99% of the time they have their arms hanging to their side. They aren't expressive much in that regard, which is a bad appeal when you're going to be staring at those models for the entire game.
  
• The way they did romance. You're only able to romance Leanna, and only if you try to at the very beginning of the game. You can bond with the rest of your team, but there is no special interaction outside of the 'x with y'.
  
• The mini-game system. It's extremely easy and really pulls you out of the immersion. It could've been handled a lot better.

Overall, it isn't a bad game. Not one of the top games, but it's good enough. I recommend you to not buy it at it's full price since it isn't very long, but if it's on sale then it's worth a buy.