Recent reviews by rinimt

My full review can be found here.[www.the-backlog.net]

As the demon Azutura threatens to reawaken, Jordan has been chosen to take up the task of keeping him asleep. However, things go unfortunately wrong and ends up plunging you into a quest to try and take out all of the other demons. To finish this quest, you'll need to recruit numerous allies to aid you. Thankfully, the game provides 31 potential allies for you to recruit. These allies range from being a chicken to a celebrity, and there's even a dragon you can recruit in!

It's a good thing the game provides so many characters though, even if some are quite well hidden. The Book of Legends has a major love for giving you party splitting sections, ranging from just a few battles to entire dungeons. I really disliked these sections as I've never really been a fan of things that force you to have split parties. Thankfully the game does give experience to those characters who aren't in your active party (though the experience doesn't spread out to those in a split party, at least I never noticed it doing so).

While I heavily disliked the party splitting, I did enjoy The Book of Legends overall. There's a lot to do, especially for folks who are completionists, and the story is fairly enjoyable.

My full review is available here.[www.the-backlog.net]

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy by the publisher for review.

Man... What a way to start into my first ever Sakura title. Going in, I sort of knew what to expect. Coming out, well, it was about what I expected.

Sakura Swim Club follows the story of boring Kaede as he transfers to a new school. There, he meets a member of the swim club (by bumping into her in the hallway and getting a full view of her underwear). Things go crazy from there, with "story" points happening just to have the two girls suddenly become exposed. These "story" points mostly make no sense and just don't have an explanation. Sorry, but I've never heard of water being able to rip apart swimsuits or controller cables coming to life and stripping someone.

Sure, if you're looking for "that" kind of game then go right ahead. Otherwise, try and just stay as far away as you can. On top of the completely illogical plot, there are also numerous spelling/grammar errors throughout the story. Sakura Swim Club gets a massive do not recommend at all. There are far better visual novels out there.

My full review can be found here.[www.the-backlog.net]

Lamia Must Die is a short and sweet game about killing the Lamia that has been terroring the citizens. You must assemble your team and then face down with her. That's all Lamia Must die is - cutscenes and her boss fight. Considering it's free, that's plenty for me.

After you choose your team from a couple options for your Paladin and ranged damage, you're given some brief cutscenes. After those you're thrust into the battle with the Lamia. She's not easy and will require quite a bit of strategy to actually take down. I definitely enjoyed how much she made me think, and how much I struggled to make it through even on Wait mode. The ending with all four heroes surviving was worth the struggle at least.

Don't go into Lamia Must Die expecting some award winning story. Do expect a boss fight that will keep you on your toes and thinking to figure out the best strategies. I do wish that there was an option to enter the menu at some point to adjust settings other than at the very beginning after you choose new game, but ah well. For the price of free, you may as well give Lamia Must Die a try, as long as you don't expect some big story out of it. And hey, it even has voice acting!

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/wild-island-quest-review/

Where do I even begin with this game... Wild Island Quest follows the story of a group of guys who are going from their home island (Mech-City Island) to Wild Island while it's on a rare pass-by. While you can go it alone, you can also gather up your friends to go with you. What choices you make determine how many of your friends you can recruit (I did the path with recruiting Conan only).

Interesting idea, right? That's what got me initially interested. Unfortunately, everything goes wrong in Wild Island Quest quite fast. If you're able to even follow the story, you'll find a a lot of English mistakes in terms of grammar and odd word choices. This pretty much tells you that this was translated with a Russian to English dictionary and in quite a few places it seemed they didn't quite know which word to use so they just picked a random one. Of course, this "random one" makes very little sense to a native English speaker, and in several cases I actually had to go search up words that were used to try and figure out what word/meaning they were going for.

The horrendous English coupled with the pretty poor graphics (the models just look awful) make Wild Island Quest fall very short of what it could have been. As it stands, unless some drastic improvements are made, this game gets a gigantic pass. There are better visual novels/choose your own adventures out there. Oh and no, there isn't really a "combat system". You just choose if you were lucky or unlucky in an outcome.

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/the-static-speaks-my-name-review/

the static speaks my name is a short (~10 minute) game that delves into the subject of depression. Well, that's one of the subject it delves into in that short amount of time. You wake up in the middle of the night and go about a routine until you just can't take it anymore.

The game does feature a couple options for things to do, mainly in regards to the caged man. There's a bit to explore and try and figure out as well, and you'll still be left with some questions in the end. Despite the short time, the static speaks my name can leave a lasting impression. With that said, the models seem extremely basic and stuff like the shrimp seem to move a bit odd.

For free and for a 10 minute game, it's worth giving it a try. If you're easily triggered by certain things though, give it a pass.

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/black-home-review/

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher for review.

Lecia Coy is trying to find her husband who is missing in an abandoned monastery. Unfortunately, this monastery is home to a number of secrets. She'll have to team up with several other people who have come here for different reasons to try and find her husband.

Black Home is an around 6-7 hour RPG that also features multiple endings. I'm not quite sure how you trigger the different endings though as I only got one. The entire game takes place within the monastery though the areas look different enough that it doesn't start to feel too dull to always be in the same place. There's only one set of collectibles to find, chess pieces, and you'll have to do a lot of digging and searching to try and find them all.

While Black Home might not be something to write home about in the end, it is an interesting game. Most of the game is fairly straightforward - I only got lost once while trying to find what I needed to progress. Some parts may make you think a bit, and as long as you don't mind that the AI of enemies trying to chase you can be a tad shaky at times, then check out Black Home.

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/idol-magical-girl-chiru-chiru-michiru-part-2-review/

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy for review by the publisher.

Following the events of Part 1, a dangerous threat has appeared for Michiru and Kazuki! What could it be? Idol Magical Girl Chiru Chiru Michiru Part 2 takes on a generally more serious tone in comparison to Part 1. Don't worry - there's still plenty of laughs to be had within! The final 6 episodes sees the story wrap up nicely, though I was left curious about a few points that I'm guessing might be more explained in the main Grisaia series (I haven't played it yet).

I wouldn't suggest playing Part 2 without having done Part 1 first, but I do recommend Part 2 if you've played Part 1. You'll end up extremely confused otherwise as there are no introductions to the characters and you're just thrown in. I know this is pretty much a given, but I wanted to put it out there in case. They are a bit expensive on their own though, so you may be better off trying to get them on a sale.

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/beyond-eyes-review/

Disclaimer: I was provided a key for review by the publisher.

Beyond Eyes follows the story of Rae, a young blind girl, as she ventures into the world to try and find Nani. To find her friend, she'll have to use her other senses to solve puzzles and make it through this scary world. Beyond Eyes is generally bright and colourful, but should Rae become scared, whether it's from a dog, seagulls, or something else, how she imagines the world will turn dark.

Some may find how fast Rae moves to be a bit too slow. I personally found it just fine - she's blind, I don't expect her to go sprinting around the world. I found the overall game to be extremely enjoyable though, and the time I spent playing it was fantastic. Whenever something would happen to Rae, whether it was getting scared, being happy, or being sad, I felt the same as she did. The way everything is conveyed is absolutely fantastic.

If you love artistic games and/or good stories then this game is a high recommendation to check out.

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/fated-souls-review/

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy by the publisher for review.

As a mercenary, Gauly isn't liked very much. He still gets hired for jobs though, and this one should be simple, or so you would think. A simple escort mission for the church soon turns into something bigger - something that affects the whole world.

Fated Souls suffers from numerous issues. There's a lot of slow backtracking in the game, which isn't made much better by the fact you get initially teased with fantastic movement speed. This backtracking involves a lot of not knowing where you actually need to go, so what you're really doing is playing "where in the world is the right NPC to talk to". This is made even worse by the fact battles progress incredibly slowly. Learn to use and abuse magic - it's a major saviour.

It's incredibly hard for me to recommend this game unless you're ready for a lot of headaches.

My full review can be found here: http://www.the-backlog.net/asphyxia-review/

Note: A copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Asphyxia revolves around Samantha, a teenage girl suffering from severe depression. They are going on a school trip and she has to come to face some people she'd rather avoid. Well, one she doesn't want to avoid, but it ends up happening anyways. Follow her as she tries to repair a broken friendship and tries to deal with her depression.

A VN with multiple endings that dives into some dark areas involving depression. The characters are based off old poets and their relations - though they've been changed into teenage girls put into a more modern setting. Asphyxia features a wonderful soundtrack and art style, along with fantastic writing (with an occasional error or two) that help to form a wonderful setting.