The following is a true story. It documents exactly one hour of time. . . So I see this game sitting on the "new demos" section of the PSN. Looks. . . kinda cool? Kinda cool font? But the title makes no sense. X-Blaze? Some kind of fighting game? Big action game? Code Embryo? What's that about? Like. . . maybe a space shooter, fighting off R-type aliens hatching from embryos? The game description offers nothing. All I get is the usual "Sony licenses this game to you, blah blah blah," legal stuff. No description of this game whatsoever. No screenshots either or a trailer or anything. All I have is a "free demo" button luring me in. I have to try it just to see what this thing is. A short time later and the game is downloaded. Here we go! Oh dear. Oh no . . . I think I might be playing a japanese dating sim. The intro video shows some average looking guy, who ends up being the main character, and he's constantly surrounded by buxom young ladies, all who have the bounciest boobs, and the camera keeps focusing on their bouncing boobs. Ooooo-kay. Yeah, dammit, I've downloaded a dating sim. Whatever, let's play this thing and see what we have! So the main character wakes up in the morning, and says hi to his female roommate, Hinata. They talk and talk and talk. Then his other friend, Akira shows up. More talking. 10 minutes in. - So far all I've done is press the X button to advance the dialogue. I don't even get to select different dialogue options. Nope. Just keep hitting X. Finally I'm given an option- the main character gets some e-mail and I have the option of reading all of it or some of it or none of it. Okay, I check out all 3. They're all dumb. So done reading those. Now what?? More talking. 30 minutes in. The main guy goes to work. He works at a restaurant, where his manager is going on about how this one customer she saw had laid his fork and his pickle just so at a certain angle on the plate and how it was all very symbolic. The main guy is baffled as the conversation makes no sense, but just because he's pointing out how weird it is, doesn't make it better or funny in any way. 40 minutes in. Guy goes home and is attacked by a crazy guy. Emotionless anime doll girl shows up to save him. You'd think by now I'd be given something to do, considering it's an action scene. But nope. Just keep pressing X. Guy goes home and comments on what a weird day that was. 60 minutes in. Doll girl follows him home to protect him from any more attacks. Her 2 supervisors show up as well to info-dump all over the place. They're supposed to be quirky and zany, but they just come off as annoying. Sometime during the night, guy accidentally grabs doll girls' boob. Yep- that old anime joke. He wakes up in the morning and lots of talking about how doll girl slept with him (to protect him!!) and Hinata is jealous, because if anybody should be sleeping with him, it should be her! This is the only hint of any romance in this thing. More talking, more talking. More pressing X. At this point I'm just waiting for either the demo to end or finally be allowed to do something. I haven't even been given the option to check any more e-mails or anything. Just as I'm about to give up and turn it off, a big group picture of the cast pops up with the words, "To Be Continued" on it. I don't think so. This isn't a game. It's just a (BARELY) interactive story, and the story isn't interesting and the characters aren't either. And it doesn't feel like a dating sim either. A full hour in and so far only 1 hint of any romantic feelings? How much longer do I have to play before the story finally gets going?? I felt like I ran a marathon after I finished this thing. It was so exhausting getting through all of that. And that concludes my report. It was so bad, I had to tell others.
You seem like a patient guy- something like that tends to ruin my mood. Due to your demo description I googled this game... & I still don't know what type of game it is. It's a prequel to Blazeblue a fighting game, but xblaze doesn't appear to be that sort of game. Go figure... Thanks for the story though.
Yeah, by all rights I should have turned the thing off well before the hour mark. It was like watching a slow moving train wreck. And really- I kept thinking that at some point I'd get to do something. Even a "choose your own adventure" book is more interactive than this.
It's a viual novel tie-in for the fighting game Blazblue. I only found out about its existence because it was advertised in pamphlet that came with the game.
Visual Novels are very hit and miss; unless they can magically draw you in quick, they get kind of dull.
Yeah. I know they did similar things with the Metal Gear Solid & Silent Hill comics. Never read them, but they're probably more interesting. This thing just plodded along. There's no hook to the story & no reason to be interested in the characters.
You mean the first Phoenix Wright game? Cuz I've played it, and that's pretty good. Or is there an actual PW visual novel?
No, but they remind me of VN. You should play the rest of them, they maintained a good consistency in quality.
