Legend of the Master Baiter
This is the story of a passionate fisherman who decides to catch a goddess with his fishing rod over the course of one summer. To achieve this goal, he arrives at the Indzu Peninsula, where a water spirit enters the fish caught by the experienced angler and transforms it into a monster girl – the girl's appearance depends on the type of fish. As the saying goes, “there are plenty of fish in the sea,” and it will take a long time before he manages to reel in a goddess.
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Most of the gameplay is dedicated to fishing. The game lets you fish in the ocean, a river, a lake, and rice paddies. Different species of fish live everywhere, and you need to use different fishing rods to catch them. Once a fish takes the hook, a mini-game begins where you must perform reaction-based actions. At the same time, the main character strikes ridiculously epic poses! The mini-games vary depending on the type of fish, which keeps the process from becoming too monotonous.
When not catching fish, the player is free to explore the town and complete quests for the locals. For the most part, these tasks involve catching a specific fish that can only be found in a particular spot. As a reward, the hero receives experience, resources, souvenirs, and clothing that grants stat bonuses.
Since the game is centered around a summer vacation, it has no shortage of activities. The protagonist is free to: catch bugs; cook food and relax outdoors; pursue a romantic interest; fight animals that challenge him; and get kidnapped by a crew of undead pirates. There is so much content that it took me 15 hours to complete both the main and side quests. And that was without even bothering to unlock all of the available content!
If the game had a patch restoring the cut content, it would allow you to get a closer look at its unusual visual style. For instance, if you had no desire to get more intimate with fish girls — the game would also let you romance ordinary girls.
Detective Girl of the Steam City
The events of this game unfold in an alternate steampunk London. A private detective named Sophie decides to take advantage of her legendary father's departure and establish herself as an independent figure. Toward this end, she challenges the city's criminal underworld, leading to the most unexpected consequences.
Sophie is free to follow two paths:
- The first involves working for the police. It requires answering calls, gathering clues, and tracking down the culprits. For the most part, you must deal with robberies and threats against important individuals. Solving crimes is rewarded with stat increases. If you stick with the police until the end, Sophie's ultimate adversary will be the legendary Phantom Thief – the Japanese counterpart of Robin Hood.
- The second path leads to easy money and questionable decisions. Sophie gets involved with gangsters who hire her to take out even nastier criminals. This task requires no mental effort – just beat enemies until there are none left.
Both paths involve epic chases, shootouts, and conspiracies at the highest levels. To get the full picture of what is happening – it is best to play through both.
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The heroine herself possesses outstanding intellect, which helps her find a way out of any predicament. Her gear includes a powerful mechanical fist and a grappling hook that lets her reach elevated spots. Both items consume steam from a single source, so you must use them wisely!
The protagonist has an endearing personality and is well-written; I grew quite fond of her throughout the playthrough. Fortunately, the game can be completed in such a way that nothing bad ever happens to her.
If the game had a “cut content” patch, it would reveal a whole new side of London. Many events would gain extra spice, and a dark fate could easily befall Sophie.
Chevalier Historie
In a certain magical kingdom, evil was sealed away. Following an ancient tradition, Princess Lily set out to reinforce the prison of evil and extend an era of peace and prosperity. However, the captive's vile henchmen managed to capture her before the ritual could be completed. Now, only the noble and innocent knight girl Jeanne is capable of saving her lady from a rather unpleasant fate.
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The main objective of the game is to infiltrate the realm of darkness and rescue Princess Lily. To do this, you must visit four locations and rescue the elemental spirits loyal to the princess. There is nothing complicated about the rescue process – eliminate every monster in your path and defeat the boss waiting at the end. After clearing one location, the difficulty of all the others increases, adding a nice layer of challenge to the game.
If the game had a patch restoring the cut content, getting it would take some real effort. Most scenes could only be obtained by losing to a specific opponent. The problem would be that Jeanne very quickly turns into an unstoppable killing machine. Losing as her would genuinely become a challenge – you would have to resort to using special items. Fortunately, there would be an option to skip the hassle and simply unlock the gallery.
Explorer of Yggdrasil
One day, as if out of thin air, a monumental tower appeared in a remote land. People took the phenomenon as a divine sign and dubbed the tower Yggdrasil. Pilgrims and adventurers who made their way inside discovered that its various floors were filled with respawning monsters and treasures. The higher they climbed, the stronger the monsters became, but that did not deter those eager to reach the very top.
The events of the game begin with an unconscious, armless mage. The guards were about to get rid of the mage, but he was saved by the intervention of a kind and not-so-bright girl named Mei. The armless and the brainless join forces to infiltrate the tower once more and unravel the secret of Yggdrasil.
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The gameplay premise is simple: defeat enemies in your path and climb higher. Every few floors, an opportunity arises to open a shortcut and battle a boss. Fighting monsters is made easier by a vast arsenal of weapons, which includes swords, daggers, maces, and shields. The girl herself can change classes, which grant stat bonuses and enhance the effectiveness of specific weapon types.
If the game had a patch, it would reveal cut mechanics. An aphrodisiac mixed into healing potions would allow you to distract monsters and steal their weapons. Completing newly unlocked quests would award alternative experience, allowing you to further boost your stats. The game boasts gorgeous pixel art, so unlocking extra animations would be well worth it for the visuals alone!
Noelle Does Her Best!
This is the story of a remarkably airheaded adventurer named Noelle. The girl decides to buy a new house that was being sold for next to nothing. The catch was that anyone purchasing the property also agreed to pay off the previous owner's astronomical debt. And if Noelle fails to raise the required sum on time, she will face a terrible fate.
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To pay off the debt, Noelle will have to work as a babysitter, a caregiver, a shop clerk, a model, and a lab rat. Two sisters offer her work as an adventurer – clearing nearby lands of monsters. If she doesn't sit idle, she can not only clear the debt, but also punish the swindlers who forced it upon her.
If the game had a patch, it would unlock an overwhelming amount of content — Noelle Does Her Best! stripped of any “spice.” But then again, you wouldn't be able to show this game to your dear grandmother... Think for yourself, decide for yourself!