an average review? aww too bad you didn't find a good one to do a review on :( I know how much you're always on a mission for those. the alchemy part sounds like fun, interesting and a good plot situation, but since it's lacking something I don't know if I should even venture out there, find it and play it. when z doesn't agree with something or like it very much it could be a dangerous pit fall and I could wind up not even playing half way through it :/ it does sound like fun though, so the pros and cons aren't being very well thought out and played out in my mind for me to ponder over tackling this one. glad to know what you've been up to these past few weeks, been curious where you've ran off to, this would explain it. another nice review brought to us by z !
Kamitori Alchemy Meister game Review
Story & Playability
Story Introduction
Wilfred Dion - an alchemist from Yuidora whom aspires to become an alchemist whom can bring a smile to his
customers' faces strives to attempt his second entry test into the guild for he had failed last year owing to his
parent's untimely death.
As he strives to become the alchemist he sought to become , he runs into three different girls and with their aid , he
quickly rose through the ranks of the Alchemist Guild.
Story Overview
Well , to be blunt and honest - the story of Kamidori Alchemy Meister feels kind of like a punctured tire which is in
dire need of repair and some extra air to kick it up a notch.
The plot definitely does exist and it is something which is definitely above-average - but it is painfully lacking in
the ability to let the player to feel a deep bond for the characters in the game nor is there even a particularly
complicated or deep storyline to mark it's own landing in the world of Visual Novels - storyline-wise.
Everything about the plot is above-average. The characters' background , the way the story moves on - if your
looking for a "crying game" - this isn't your game since the supposedly "emotional scenes" had
failed to bring tears to the audiences' eyes.
It is far from epic either since it does not involve extraordinary events which would take your breath away.
The Visual Novel , simply put , bears a plot featuring contents from a very , very typical Visual Novel but twisted with a spice of originality but lacks enough reinforcement to set it apart from typical medieval-fantasy plotlines.
Furthermore , the ideals of the protagonist is fairly half-arsed and I could say the same for the other characters in
the game.
Their ideals , dreams , wishes , desires - their intentions and will are explained but it was not thorough and thus , it
is difficult for the player to find themselves immersing into the roles of the characters since their emotions and
background were described in such an inflated manner.
Long story short , it's one of those stories which bears so much potential but is eventually wasted with the lack of details and emotional events.
Furthermore , the male characters are really bland in the plot - their not even voiced. Crayl is an exception since he have a strong dedication to his twin sister but characters like Leguna , Uya and Wilfred himself were impossibly bland - it's like their tossed in for the sake of not turning this game into a scenario of which the main character is not surrounded solely by women.
Rating:
Graphics
Artwork Review
The design of the characters are very simple and perhaps stereotypical but with a twinge of originality.
An angel designed like a typical Valkyrie from Anime and games , a Shinigami draped in shredded robes whilst bearing a
gigantic scyte - the characters are designed to efficiently bring out their personalities with just a glance but bears
enough originality to stop them from becoming stereotypes.
There are very interesting details in the armor and weapons of the characters in the game and admittedly , the angel wings were beautifully drawn and their not just an awkward lump of jagged edges but you can feel the fluency and softness of the feathers just by looking at the wings of the characters - enhancing their angelic aura even further.
What really intrigues me is that the developers had included a halo to their angels - but funnily enough , the player would probably find their eyes fixed upon the character itself and would not notice the halo hovering over their heads several inches away.
The characters are essentially designed under the condition of their "typical Visual Novel roles" - such as a Yuruichi ( A wood sprite ) wearing a green tunic , blonde elves , loli mages with pink hair , Eastern swordswoman with a firm front and long black hair - but all of them have their own unique traits and appearance so their bound to be able to stick in the players' mind for a long time - unlike other Visual Novel heroines which bears a very stereotypical design with no originality whatsoever.
As for body proportions - that is in itself another issue - an issue I could only find in Yuela ( The Main Heroine of the game ).
For some reason or the other , her body proportions were a bit weird in certain scenarios ( Her head feels strangely off
from the rest of her body ) and her legs were place in an awkward fashion in one of the H-Scenes.
You don't really find this issue with the other characters but for one reason or the other , the body proportions
of Yuela alone felt strange and unnatural for more than one occasion.
Rating:
Sound
Music Review
Music isn't a particularly strong forte in this Visual Novel - whilst the Opening is indeed exceptional in Visual
Novel standards the music for the rest of the game features a very "loopy RPG-ish" style of music you often
find in old-school RPG games.
Fortunately , it isn't unpleasant and it does not drive a nail into your head and incur painful headaches - but it
can really get boring after some time and it doesn't help considering that the Visual Novel's gameplay value
is well over a hundred hours.
Voice Acting Review
Male characters whom are not voiced when they should be so - that element really hurts the game - particularly when a
male converses with a female character and it's going to be really darn awkward for your brain to adjust to that
all of the time.
It is common for male protagonists to be voice-less but even the other male characters in the game weren't voiced
but the irony is that female characters of no particular plot importance were voiced in the game.
On the upside , the voices for the female characters were well-done - whilst I had failed to sense anything particularly emotional in their voices ( and again , this is one of the reasons why emotional scenes had failed so dramatically ) , their voices fit their roles and personalities well and it is easy to distinguish a playful succubi to a motherly elf in this game.
Rating:
Fun
This is a Review of Kamidori Alchemy
Meister
Well , the reason of which you would play this Visual Novel is not for the plot - which is somewhat substandard - but
the gameplay.
It's like playing those old-school RPG which is brimming full of content - you can't stop playing because you
WANT to unlock every single thing hidden in this game and it's not just for the CGs but also to unlock new
characters for your party and hone them to have the very best stats as offered in the game.
Strangely enough , this Visual Novel offers better qualities as a RPG than a Visual Novel so if your looking for
something better than Utawarerumono or Tears to Tiara in terms of the RPG element - this is your cake.
As for the storyline however... well , it's simply above-average.
Overall ( Others )
Pros
- Long gameplay value
- Unique RPG system in Visual Novel standards ( Doesn't feel like a budget RPG with cheap programming )
- New Game + Content to enhance gaming experience
- Three main heroines and plenty of side-heroines!
Cons
- Painfully bland protagonist
- Story is unique but lacks... refinement
- Main selling point of this Visual Novel is essentially the H-Scenes and the gameplay - but definitely not the
story.
- Painfully simple route / flag system
- Annoying EXP system
Age Rating : 18+
Console : PC
Gameplay
Whilst this may certainly be a Visual Novel - you would not need to fear about how you would enter the main
heroine's routes since it's about as clear as the sunshine outside your window.
Just one choice and it will affect the remaining chapters of your game.
As a Visual Novel , I would very honestly say this - it is terrible.
As a RPG fan however , I am fond of this game.
It involves a very simple Turn-Based Strategy RPG system which would actually force the player to think about their moves before making a decision since unlike most Turn Based Strategy games , the player could not retrieve their decisions and have their units reverted back to their original positions like in...say... Disgaea.
Each battle map involves special elements such as areas of which only certain characters with certain skills could enter ( Like lava , a bottomless pit , water ) and Harvest Points which are crucial in the game since they yield potential ingredients for your Alchemical products.
The Skills system of the game is very flexible since each character have their own sets of unique or similar skill sets
- allowing the player to adjust his or her party to their liking and playing the game their own way or adjusting
according to the combat scenario since skills , weapons and accessories can be changed even in combat to give you the
edge over the enemy.
Whilst it may seem meaningless for most battles , in battles against enemies beyond your caliber , it is indeed a test
of skills and the mind - though of course , you would still need to train your characters beforehand.
As for the Alchemy system of the game , those whom had played the Atelier series or Mana Khemia would find themselves fitting into the game just fine - since it mainly requires the player to find materials , beat up monsters and make their desired items for certain tasks or for themselves.
Unlike Atelier or Mana Khemia , however , the game features a shop system of which the player could sell their goods since there is a daily tax implemented on the player and they could also enhance their shop by placing furniture found either in the game or made by themselves via Alchemy - though of course , the former tends to have more interesting effects or special events affiliated with them.
To enhance the playthrough experience , there is a New Game + function , making your future playthroughs a lot easier as a whole since you can import your characters' stats , weapons , items , money , rank and stuff like that - but New Game + also offers a whole assortment of new and challenging missions to spice up your playthrough experience and it is unlikely to finish them all at once since some of them are too difficult even for the second playthrough.
To top things up , there is even a resurrection system in the game , allowing the character to find a furniture to
"resurrect" their characters to Level 1 - but allowing them to keep their stats.
Rinsing and repeating this process would allow you to build your invincible team - those whom had played games like
Disgaea would find this system familiar.
My only complaint would be the EXP system. Regardless of the enemy level , they offer the same amount of EXP to the
player.
For example , killing a basic slime would offer a set amount of EXP even if your like 50 levels away from it but killing
a monster 50 levels away from yourself does not give you any Bonus EXP - the only reason of which the player would level
up quickly is because of the EXP requirements per level is different.
Romance
Romance is a negligible element in the game.
Whilst it is clear that the character could not do without the other , as I have mentioned before , the lack of
emotional events had totally killed off any mentionable romantic moments in this game.
Furthermore , the relationship the main character has with the rest of the side-heroines is a bit complicated.
It is clear that they all... ehh... are love-smitten with him but does not seem to really mind sharing him amongst
themselves and they get along like a family.
So essentially , it's a happy Harem game! *chokes*
H-Scenes
H-Scenes , every Eroge has them but this game have so much that it's on par with series like Shin Koihime Musou.
Each Side-Heroine would have at least a single H Scenario and as for the three main heroines.... Well , let's just
say there is plenty of them.
Of course , H-Scenes don't just drop by without work - Side-Heroines' H-Scenes could only be unlocked by leveling them up and doing their special events whilst Main Heroines have two to three compulsory H-Scenes and as for the rest of their H-Scenes - they can only be unlocked by upgrading their various Armor to the fullest extent and it is by no means an easy task.
The H-Scenes of the game is heavily fetish-based - a playful succubi , an emotionless Shinigami , a teasing angel , a noble angel , an earth spirit , a water spirit ( Undine ) - you get the idea.
As for the main heroines , depending on the armor H-Scene you had unlocked - they would adopt different
"personalities" owing to the properties of the armor and act in different ways and manners.
Either from a shy little girl to a woman without inhibitions - this game ought to fulfill whatever fetish you have and I
mean it , this game literally bears H content from various genres but of course - nothing extreme is included.
Trivia
- Patching the game is required if you want to have the additional content!
- This game features characters from Eushully's other game - Himegari Dungeon Meister - as New Game+ Unlockables
- This game features Eushully's mascot cast as playable characters
Rating:
Final Verdict
7.5000 (good)
Reviewed by z827, Apr 04, 2012
Comments
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angelxxuan Banned Member Apr 05, 2012
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back07 Jan 28, 2014
hhmn, average. i'll download and playing it soon z..
thanks for review :)
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