東方幻想魔録W ～ The Devil of Decline

Nearing the final boss of the game, I can say for certain now that Devil of Decline has been an extremely worthwhile journey. I had come into contact with Genius of Sappheiros Comiket release in my early days of being in the fandom and had always heard that first game had a better reputation. Yet I had still run somewhat out of breath and patience after the Iku bossfight in Genius. Perhaps it's the better circumstances that I've started this game in now, but Devil of Decline clicked and kept on clicking as I played. What I liked especially is how open the world feels. You can explore the shattered Gensokyo in several directions and sequencing happens only at very few places. Often, it's the difficulty of encounters that might persuade you to go the other way. Or they might not and you'll somehow brute force your way through those enemies. Very rarely does this game tell you not to go somewhere because it said so. The result is that the world feels big and the quest to save Gensokyo becomes grand and exciting as a result. I also really appreciate the SaGa influences of the game: The many actions you take during combat all add up to minor boons that keep you motivated. A weapon profi…

Boring. Maybe there's something I'm missing, but this game feels like a watered-down version of Genius of Sappheiros (their previous entry). GoS made every playable character feel unique and good for their own scenarios, DoD makes every character feel the same. The shikigami system is cool in concept, but kinda just feels like additional equipment that adds generic skills. The addition of a map and updated graphics is nice, but its not enough to save this game.

They gave Reimu's sprite a pose with a raised arm with an actual armpit. 10/10 The game is also good.

Romancing SaGa 3 but Tōhō

Absolutely stellar turn based RPG. The systems of the game result in a flexibility that makes it feel like you can adjust to anything, but still just restrictive enough that you have to make real choices with building your party for any given part of the game. This does result in a potentially unavoidable side effect that as you get later into the game you have to readjust large parts of your party to adequately deal with each boss.

Hard ass RPG but SUPER FUN