Kwaidan ～Azuma manor story～ Reviews

(TLDR: Weird interface, but a very good fixed camera adventure) Mostly created by a single developer (Gudou Taguchi), Kwaidan: Azuma Manor Story is impressive for a number of reasons. The retro look is impressive - recalling PS1, or pre-PS1 Japanese games (think the YS series). The professionally designed cutscenes are impressive, and the efforts towards a complex combat system are impressive (though the outcome is not exactly fluid). The bestiary is impressive, and the game narrative is well developed, full of character and detail about the setting, with a nice twist at the end - very impressive! But most impressive of all is- -the utterly insane player interface and hud choices. Reader, this sh♥t is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s. The hud covers the screen with two pillars (okay, fine if you're doing 4:3) and then covers MORE with a permanently displayed inventory and health bar. Why? WHY? And then, in order to interact with the world (look, use, etc), one has to use the right stick or mouse to move a cursor around the screen and literally click on the objects. And the player character won't oblige you in the slightest - if you happen to click on something that's just outside of their reach, they won't walk up to the object and perform the operation, they'll stand stock still and politely inform you that you need to move them closer to the object. It's just crazy. Man, it'd have to be a pretty special game to make someone work to get past this! ...And fortunately, Kwaidan IS actually kinda special. Odd choices aside, it's a very professional, polished and complete action adventure telling the story of a Hososhi (basically think 'Witcher') apprentice battling her way through a Yokai-infested country manor in order to save the people within, and restore order and destiny to the clan. Ignoring a tendency to lean too hard on panning cameras and the lack of any adventurous angles, the fixed camera is largely well implemented, making combat and exploration enjoyable. Indeed, there are a few puzzles that rather exploit the fixed camera nature of the game, which leads to some entertaining revelations. Combat can be a bit tricky, but once you learn what the game expects of you it becomes a fairly enjoyable if routine experience - and you can run past a lot of the monsters you encounter in the game. Monster designs are delightful - drawn from Japan's rich catelogue of weird and (occasionally) silly (shoutout to the umbrella-leg fiends) mythological beasts. Puzzles lean a little on the tradition of Umbrella building design, but there are some nice little innovations later on that enlivens your course through the environment and will provide some clever challenges. Audio is nice - music is mostly a selection of jazzy low-fi beats which are a nice accompaniment, if not especially atmospheric. Sound effects are fine, though not especially weighty. Actually, a correction - the footsteps are EXTREMELY weighty... honestly, these might be the heaviest-sounding game characters I've heard in many a year. Models and texturing is of a very good standard, though the textures lean towards the sorta soft pastel quality seen in games like Tokyo Xanadu eX+, which can give the backgrounds a somewhat painterly effect, which is not unpleasant. Animation is lively and characterful, though lacking some secondary animation (honestly, though, it's one guy, like). Kwaidan is Kuon and Project Zero / Fatal Frame's plucky little sister, and once you get over her habit of poking you in the eye and refusing to PICK UP THE MEDICINE BAG IT'S RIGHT IN *FRONT OF YOU KWAIDAAAAN*, you'll find a game full of style, excitement and clever twists. Ganbatte! (If you're looking for more fixed camera adventures, consider checking out the [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/fixedcamera]Fixed Camera Appreciation Society[/url] - we're a friendly bunch, and we host the most complete lists of fixed camera games on Steam and elsewhere. See you there!)

short and sweet, the only thing i can complain its finding the numbers for the safe and the move/turn speed its a bit too slow