Compile Heart

[WedaSan]

I played Omega Quintet despite the fact that I hate idol culture, and overall, I would recommend it. Even though I found all the idol stuff to be eye-rolling, the characters were still very enjoyable to the point I did not skip all the dialogue like in the Neptunia games, and by the end, I was even into the premise a fair bit. The combat system is good old turn based with some extra twists to make it fit the theme, and you can speed it up by skipping the animations; always appreciated. Do be warned that one of the systems is repairing your armour/dresses, and that makes upgrading your dresses/dlc dresses if you have any early on, a double edged sword. Yes, you get a stat boost, but you might also be unable to get resources to repair that dress...

The game also features fun stuff being able to do stuff in battle to affect how much EXP you get, which you can break if you meet the right conditions. Always love that. Also a fairly sized, challenging post game if you get the true end.

The biggest warning is, if you're aiming for the true end, one of the requirements is that you have to do some side quests that are missable. Usually this isn't a problem if you have the good habit to check the map for missions whenever you can, however... one of the missions comes right after a story moment where the characters shout that it's REALLY IMPORTANT to get to the next mission ASAP... and guess who was the sucker that committed the horrible mistake of getting into the story and dropping my good habit?

Grumble. Dropped the game and didn't play it again for five years. But when I came back, I got the platinum trophy for it, so I clearly enjoyed it a lot. I got it for a pittance on a sale all those years ago, so it must go for really cheap on sale now, so yes, I do think it's worth it.

As for compile heart, I think they get a bad rep because of the neptunia games. Which I now avoid like fire, but I don't agree with the hate in their other titles. Yes, all their games are waifu bait as proven by there being almost no male characters... but that doesn't mean all of them are as cringe as Neptunia. Far from it, I found myself getting attached to many characters even when the setting wasn't something I liked. Many times, they have familiar battle systems that are comforting in today's action filled world, but with little systems here and there to keep it interesting. A lot of them, including at least the first neptunia remake game, do something I absolutely love in JRPGs: add an optional area/boss early on that, if you bite through and grind enough to beat it, rewards you with EXP that makes at least the immediate rest of the game a cakewalk. It's so darn satisfying.

And honestly, at least on Playstation, they go on sale really often, so if there is a setting that catches your eye, give it a shot. Their games now are a lot more competent than their PS3 offerings. Even if they don't look impressive, they are comforting for JRPG fans. And if you find a cutscene getting to be too much, you can always skip it and rarely miss anything. The 'comedy/bait' stuff is usually separated from the important stuff well enough.

My personal reccomendations for those still unsure would be Dragon Star Varnir, which has a touching story and a male protagonist, and Trillion God of Destruction, for those who can get it, for it's very interesting setting and systems. Socery Saga Curse of the Great Curry god is also an option for those who like mystery dungeon type games.

Final note, but their sorcery saga games on the game gear are a personal favourite of mine. So for those into retro games, this was way before their neptunia cringe, and where the puyo puyo characters come from.

Do you play on Hard on your first playthrough?
I played once on Easy and planning to replay it on Hard but don't have time to.

 

[ExeExe]

Do you play on Hard on your first playthrough?
I played once on Easy and planning to replay it on Hard but don't have time to.

I began that first playthrough that ended in failure due to the aformentioned missable mission, on normal. On my second go, I decided I didn't want to go for a third playthrough for the platinum, so I played on advanced/hard. It added a bit to the grind, and made me have to switch out of my better dresses besides for bosses because I was scared I wouldn't be able to afford to fix them, but other than that, I didn't find it any more significantly tougher. The grindiest part of the game is the post game, and there's tricks you can do to get level bonuses that can make that go a lot faster. There's videos on youtube showing it too.

Thinking about it now, I might end up replaying it again though, just to get raise affinities with other characters, as the true path forces you to max out two specific ones.