Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return Reviews

entertaining storyline. improved combat mechanics from the previous iterations. overall, it acknowledged the previous games while ignoring some inconvenient aspects. not a big fan of the borderline 4th wall breaking but it's done in moderation. definitely want to play the next chapter once it's out.

I personally really like the Sunrider franchise. I find the worldbuilding and characters to all be compelling and interesting. That's a big part of why I keep coming back. However, it's also become increasingly clear to me that the devs have a specific story they want to tell, and, unfortunately, it doesn't perfectly fit the Dating Sim VN genera. I'll explain in more detail below, but, for those looking for the quick and dirty, here's my verdict. 1: If you played Sunrider for the Combat, you should watch gameplay videos before you decide. 2: If you're here looking for a moe dating game, check out the spin off Sunrider Academy, because I don't think this is for you. 3: If you're here because you're invested in the narrative, then you should be able to enjoy this game. Sunrider 4 is simultaneously very much in character and a major departure from what the devs have established. In terms of story structure, tone, and focus, Sunrider 4 picks up well where Liberation Day left off, and is a wonderful space opera. But, as a game, the mechanics take a major departure by ditching the hex based board game feel of the older entries in favor of a system where both direction, momentum, and inertia matter. While this is a very cool idea, I personally feel it would be better explored in a different title. Now, I want to address an observation I've had about the franchise as a whole. As I mentioned above, it feels to me that what the writers behind Sunrider actually want to write isn't a visual novel, but a full length, multi season anime series. The more of the mainline Sunrider games I play, the more convinced I am that's the case, and both Liberation Day and now Captain's Return really hammer that home for me. In today's market, a visual novel is basically just a tame way of saying dating sim. That's what I think may players expected going into Sunrider, initially. Hell, it's what I expected going into it. But you never really get any major choices that determine anything about the cannon plot for the franchise, including dating. And this continues to be true in Sunrider 4. I won't get into spoilers, but it could be argued that the whole franchise is actually a critique of the kinds of expectations we as players have in getting to play the hero and make good decisions to save the day. For the story of Sunrider, your choices ultimately matter very little to the outcome of the story as it unfolds. In fact, the first 3 installments you didn't have any romance choices at all aside from the non-cannon dlc. In many ways Kayto Shields, and by extension the player, is not an architect of his fate, but an active bystander caught up in major events. To be clear, none of this is a criticism. Indeed, I really like the story the devs have been telling. But this isn't a "Choose your own adventure" game, and you should be aware of that. With the fact that the story itself is fixed, you're really less a player in the RPG sense, and more an active observer. This story could be told just as effectively, if not more effectively, as a multi season anime like the Gundam shows of old. If someone told me that the reason Sunrider is a game instead of a show is budget, I would believe it immediately. Hell, I'd love to see the Sunrider story serialized in that way. Now the story of Sunrider, the crew, the world, the ships...it's one I really like. A lot. And I think it's one a lot of other people may enjoy too. I think that a number of the negative reviews on this franchise come from the difference between what Sunrider "is" and what a new player thinks a VN is "supposed to be." I'm happy to play out the battles of an anime show and otherwise be along for the ride, but I recognize not everyone is. Do I recommend Sunrider 4? Yes, absolutely. I recommend all the Sunrider games. But I feel it's important to understand what you're getting. It's quite literally an interactive book. It's not a dating sim. The dating aspect feels, to me, almost tacked on. If you're looking for a dating sim, Sunrider Academy is probably more your speed. But if you want a classic feeling space opera complete with daring adventures, exploring ancient ruins, and fighting for the fate of the galaxy, Sunrider 4's story feels just as compelling to me as the older entries in the mainline franchise.

Where do I start with this one? Sunrider was my first VN, and it's been a long road to get here. I think Captain's Return is a much needed reset or palate cleanser after Liberation Day. I spent a few days reliving peak Sunrider nostalgia with this one, and ended up falling in love with the characters all over again. In a sense, Captain's Return is very similar to Mask of Arcadius, We spend some time getting the crew together, we spend some time gathering allies and exploring the geopolitical landscape of the galaxy, and then we ramp up into fighting the big bad. The visuals are good, the VAs are on point, and the music is great. The story pacing is a little off, but honestly I didn't care that much. It's ok. The new combat system is incredibly fun after you get used to it. As always, the best defense is a good offense, because they can't kill you if they're dead. But you don't have to play that way, and you can instead turtle up, bleed momentum, and form a sniper's nest for Sola. The new combat plane creates so many new avenues of combat and I can't wait to see where it can go. (Asaga and Icari are broken) I'm ambivalent with the other modes, I don't really care for the rat race modes and the puzzle maps were mostly tedious, if somewhat interesting to solve the first time around. Overall, I'm not sure if it's worth full price if you won't get hit by the nostalgia bomb, but a good game and worth a try. (Please buy and play the game so the foil card price goes down.)

The game was not as good as previous releases. I prefer the old combat grid and really disliked the maze missions. The story also does not end here so I hope the next one is the final game because the story was not as good as the rest of the sunrider series.