Aaaaaaahhh....!
So glad I downloaded this. I love it. Seriously one of the best VNs out of the bunch I downloaded last time.
I downloaded this because of the BxB (---> had some yaoi cravings) but I didn't realize it in the gameplay at least until the scene where we get to see Cadfael
's bare ass... ahem bathing. I didn't even realize the "meter" until the end of the first playthrough. To be honest, I casually love playing RPGs and was totally immersed both in the gameplay and the dialogues. Both of which I thought were more than adequate. Not amazing, but enjoyable.
So when I replayed the second time I still couldn't get Cadfael's trust points to the max (because I accidentally went straight to the Town Square at the first town and didn't load that far). I also got the "cad_love undefined" screen as well, and originally thought it was the cause why I couldn't get the Love ending. Then I got into Preference screen and made me wonder if there would be something more graphic than Cad's naked back scene as I realized there was "Adult" option, and that was when the "I love you" option showed up to me. YAY!
I was always a perfectionist in completing games, so when I found out you could level up for FREE in the gyms, on the first playthrough I maxed out Cad's and Lucille's levels to 50. Of course, that was after first increasing their stats to 500, so it was like 500++ all over the stats, and as a result, the final boss was done in 3 strikes.
On the later playthroughs, there was once I couldn't get to level up Lucille. She's stuck in LV 1 and 50 stats, and when I checked later on, when I finished an enemy with her, her xxx XP to level up turned out to be minus. And the negative number was increasing everytime I trained her XP. I wonder if it was deliberate or a glitch.
On the same playthrough, since I couldn't get Lucille to level up, I also found it harder for Cad to level up in the gyms. It was as if the gym's level was adjusting to the collective levels of them both. If this was deliberate, I think it's pretty nice~ Makes you have to be fair for all team members huh?
It was a bit sad that on the first try I couldn't get Kuruk further than LV 49 though. The message was showing his level "xxxx XP until LV 26". XP
Oh, and also, there were armories I couldn't buy on the highest upgrade in the last town. I wonder if it was because the money wasn't enough, but I hope it wasn't deliberate, since why would you even add them if you make the players cannot buy them?
As for disruptive elements:
1. The "cad_love undefined" message I got after the first ending.
2. When Kuruk casts Guard on himself, the message shows "Gaurd" typo.
3. Does Guard actually do something?
4. Do "Maul" and "Sword Slash" actually do things much like how Lucille got "Water 1" when she went to LV 10?
5. Resurrection spell, both for Cad and Lucille, actually only costs 120.
6. Even after I bought Heal 1 Magic for Kuruk, there was no "Magic" option in his fighting sequence screen.
7. Was Terrwyn sword actually matter to the story?
8. Sometimes I lost "Equipment" option when playing in the gym. The same goes for the meter if I load a game. (Maybe the one you fixed on the later version. I just downloaded the game a couple days ago, though, maybe you should update the files on the first post?)
I may add stuffs when I remembered them. Oh--- and I haven't gotten the Bad Ending, by the way. 7 times is rather... hard for a perfectionist-as-early-as-possible like me. ^^;;
Gameplay:
Nice. Imagine how advanced ren'py RPG you could do with this structure. I'm not a programmer myself so I bow down a thousand times over to this team.
It's a hassle on the Fight screen though, because I need to point my trackpad from "Attack" to the actual monster, jumping quite far and makes me uncomfortable enough. It might be a different case with mouse, but with trackpad, it gets a bit tiring.
And it's not "responsive" either. I'd rather have outlined/shining/desaturated monster showing you actually click on them rather than the red small button. I wish you could incorporate keyboard control into the RPG gameplay as well. Though if you already have, then I must be not paying attention. //slaps self
I really really love the "Move" fighting gameplay on that narrow cliff though~ It would be nice to incorporate them much longer than the plain turn-based fight on the rest of the enemy fights~ Though if you did that, would be nice to actually know where you could move and where you couldn't. (Imagine FF Tactics/Fire Emblem where you could see the square patches. I won't mind if you apply the same logic to the red buttons. Maybe showing the "lamps" as off/gray on the uninhabited patches?)
I love Gym as well. It makes the player able to control the difficulty on their own.
Art:
It grows on you. At first I was a bit turned off.
It must be the sexy ass Must be the lipflap and blinks which made it gradually becoming enjoyable as I play it. Lucille is still a bit hard on the eyes, but Walter, then Cad, really grew on me. And Kuruk is already cute from the beginning~ I really enjoy seeing Kuruk's emotions!
If I may give more detailed comments, it's probably the coloring. As of now, the sprites look quite dull. I also don't have anything against blurred backgrounds, but if you can give more detailed/eyegasmic backgrounds, of course I will be more than happy to throw my money on the screen.
What blew me away was the people silhouette. Running, walking... I applaud you for adding them. It was a really nice touch.
And even though the Adult scene was awkward, the art didn't turn me away. Congrats!
Plot & Writing:
Can't say much since I haven't gotten the Bad ending, but I like it so far. Partially because I like playing BxB games. It was quite standard, but I love the execution. It was heartful.
At some points, I feel that it could be more emotional/explored though. I quite agree with reviews above that it could get more personal as well if you use other than third POV, but it doesn't hinder me in finishing it~ Since I have the habit to skim over writings, when I replayed the game I found heartening details all over the scenes, and I love it. Showing, not telling, yeah, people already reviewed that one.
Music & SFXs:
Adequate. I usually don't pay much attention unless the musics are really, really good, and invokes some kind of nostalgic feels OR when I play horror games. Perhaps it is a proof that the music was integrated seamlessly with the game?
The SFXs are seamless as well~
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Overall, I'd love to play this kind of game more! <3