Playtime:
1247 minutes
Short Version:
Take Persona's "Life Sim" vibe and upping your relationships with various companions and friends, or spend time doing things.
Add a classic JRPG combat system with elemental strengths/weaknesses.
Throw in utterly hysterical dialogue and you being turned into a robot for a literal mad scientist and you're forced to work for the "bad guys" and pretty darn great voice acting.
It's pure magic and a must-play for any fan of Life Sims, TG/TF or just fun comedy games!
Long Version:
This is, without a doubt, the best game I've played from Lached Up Games to date (I haven't gotten to Max's Big Bust 2). And if you've played Allune and Brie (which I highly recommend), this game will give you everything that game gave you, but it's so refined! This is a brilliant evolution of Allune and Brie's concept of a Life Sim (AKA Persona-style time interacts).
I've been in the TG/TF community for a very, very long time, but I only recently went through and played the first title of this series. I highly recommend both Visual Novels set earlier in this universe, Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme (especially for one specific insane catgirl) and Max's Big Bust (which sets up the entire origin of this story!)
Note: I played on Steam Deck, and there were some minor compatibility and bugs due to the designer not having access to a Steam Deck for testing.
The only major issue is sometimes the game won't load right, but rebooting the Steam Deck and starting the game up a couple times will eventually get you in the game. Trust me, it's worth this.
Characters:
The first thing to really understand is just how flipping hysterical the writing in this game is. Each character is wonderfully written with unique personalities and quirks (and sometimes their whole personality is a freaking quirk). Ellie is the perfect mad scientist who simply does what she wants, including turning her roommate into a robot for using her toothbrush. And programming certain mental restrictions into poor SERA, who now must go along with all this madness.
SERA stands out as the sole voice of reason for the entire group, but because they're all bonkers, almost no one actually listens to her. She's the one pointing out the absurdity of everything they're doing, and that's one of the reasons that makes her so magical as a character (a bit like Kyon vs. Haruhi if you know your anime).
I could break down each character, but I'll sum this up: each has a dedicated character arc of growth and change. Sometimes that growth and change is unwilling or caused by absolute insanity, but it happens! I ended up caring for these characters as much as I do for my friends in Persona 5. They may occasionally be idiots, but they're my idiots. And I love them.
The character roster grows substantially over time, though you stay with the same battle team for the entire game. I am utterly in love with Tabitha, who is that catgirl in brown with steampunk-style clothing on the main header. She's one of the nice ones, really!
Sadly, there were no romances available yet. That being said, that's slated to come in Chapter 6. And yes, I'll be picking Tabitha!
Combat:
If you've played the standard JRPG (think Final Fantasy 7), you're used to the turn-based combat this game and many others use.
The nice thing is that all the enemies are (usually) tuned to work with your existing team. You're almost always going to have someone who can strike at an enemy's weak point, making the combat fun without it being overwhelming. Bonus, the later equipment makes you think about the build you want each party member to have. You can decide if you want a well-rounded brawler or a glass cannon. Each party member has a particular style, such as Jasmine's Samuri-style katanas, Kathy's friggin' rocket launcher (no, I don't wanna know where she stores it), and Ellie's crazy bubbling death flasks.
Aisha, your Battle Support Guide, has tons of fun dialog. She's snarky and hysterical (let Ellie go down a couple times to see how Aisha reacts, trust me). She warns of silences, poisons, low HP and low MP (usually by berating a party member in properly quippy ways). She also loves to give all sorts of comments about bosses, including warnings… or that apparently everyone is hot for sexy werewolf men (I mean, I'm down).
And SERA? She definitely fits her role as the Robotic Battle Maiden. Complete with lasers that shoot out of her hands/wrists when she does a standard attack (and her voice actor will even say "PEW PEW PEW" It's so damn cute).
UI:
Honestly, this is where Battle Maiden shows the most amount of improvement from Allune and Brie. While the game doesn't perfectly fit the Steam Deck's screen, it's only noticeable in a few places. Movement between different zones is easy, with each zone being cool and unique in its own way. Even better, the various companions/friends you make along the way (who are all tracked with the "Heart Beats" app on your phone, accessible through the same menu where you can find Max Heart Minute and your equipment) show up on the main world map as icons, so you don't have to go hunting each zone for them!
Max Heart Minute, a daily short skit that tells the story of Chloe and Ashley, wanna-be morning reporters, being trapped in this world while also telling you what stores are having sales that day (which, for some items, is the only way to make things affordable). Sometimes, there are no sales, and it's just the two girls either trying to make sense of the world, getting in trouble (it's usually that) or coping with the horrific trauma of living in a world where octopus girls are very real (I don't really see the downside, but whatevs).
The Stats are now much easier to read. Though this game was designed for a much bigger screen than the Steam Deck, it's still much, much better than Allune and Brie.
Events:
Another fun improvement is the amount of detail in activities. After all, this isn't all about conquering the dungeons. It's about enjoying yourself! Events you can partake in include Minotaur Boot Camp, 3D Printing Money, Fairy Dance Halls, enjoying a Wishing Well, and having a Snowball Fight with a city of catgirls. The best part is that selecting the same activity more than once will result in unique story snippets. I recommend Meditating. Ellie really enjoys it.
The other element I wanted to bring up is that as you explore the dungeons, you will stumble across encounters with a short story introduction in the standard Visual Novel style, then get interrupted by attacking enemies, then continue the conversation. It made the combat feel like an even bigger part of the story.
Sound:
Morning, afternoon and night all have different music. You'll also enjoy music from the previous games (I especially love the track from Gender Bender used for the "Select Character" screen). There's a ton of good music in here!
The voice work is excellent! Each character has their own voice in combat as they sound just like a true magical girl should: shouting out their various attacks! Ellie, after a certain EVENT, is definitely the standout. I don't wanna spoil it, but her VA just freaking nailed it. Even better, the victory comment is random, and most of them are funny as hell.
It's frankly AAA studio quality.
Summary:
This is a hysterical and utterly epic game that I can't recommend enough. I've been yapping about it for anyone who stands still for 5 seconds. It's killing me not telling my partner about every single special moment that made me giggle like a lunatic (because they want to play it too!). It also hits all my buttons, including transformation, monstergirls, transgender zaps, mind control, robot girls, giant mechas, all while having real characters who you'll end up caring about and loving.
This is now one of my favorite indie games and I can't wait for Chapter 6!
Also, if anyone knows a mad scientist like Ellie, can you put me in contact with them? For reasons.
👍 : 4 |
😃 : 0