Title Screen for The Flower Shop

So, I have to admit that The Flower Shop (from Winter Wolves ) is the first visual novel-style anything I’ve ever done anything with. According to a comment in the facebook page for the app, The Flower Shop – Summer in Fairbrook, the version I played on CD is closer to a flat dating/farming simulator than an actual visual novel, but it was advertised as a visual novel when we found it in Huntsville. For that reason (and for me to feel as though I have put a foot in the VN door) I will continue as such! It is not a bad thing, and in fact The Flower Shop was so appealing that I am interested in branching further into the VN world.

"Those chic- The babes over th- I mean, those two fine lady-thangs."

The first thing to be noted is that the main character in this VN/dating sim is a complete loser. This kid has an amazing girlfriend and, from the look of his home’s interior, a pretty smooth life. Despite his luck, Steve completely squanders the love offered him by a beautiful girl. The final blow comes as he stares at two girls jogging by where he stands while speaking with his girlfriend. Mind you, this is a special space from their past. Even as you witness her blushing, smiling face and your heart starts to warm, your wonderful virtual avatar – Steve – is staring at two of his classmates jogging by in short shorts and sports bras. He gets detailed, too. And of course he has to add how grateful he is that they wore what they wore; at this point, I really started to wish I could mute his inner-self and only pay attention to the stuff that came out of his mouth. However, it is OK! Hang in there through these tough times; he gets better! In addition, the art in The Flower Shop is absolutely beautiful, and the dialogue is well-written. It is well-worth overcoming the initial “I hate the guy I’m forced to be” stage.

To be honest, the absolute lack of intelligence in the “protagonist” actually made me want to push forward, though. He is so dumb that, if you are anything like me, you will start to become interested just so you can find out how he could possibly go on to date any of the women involved in the game. Seriously, he seems that honestly dense at the start. I am not sure if this was an intended design, or if it was just a slightly biased take on the average male, but it worked in any light. Steve does start to improve at some point too, and that makes up for any hurt feelings over the stereotype. Don’t worry, brothers. There is no need for a call to arms!

So with our girlfriend (Jill) now deciding she wants little to do with him, our dad has finally decided the cause is lost. His only option is to send us to live with our uncle (who happens to look about forty years older than Steve’s father) for the summer. With some fuss, the whole thing is moved to where the bulk of the visual novel/game experience takes place; the quiet town of Fairbrook. Now, in the beginning of the game it does not seem to matter what choices you make; you are going to be dumped one way or another so far as I have experienced. It is seriously tough to make Steve seem worth it. However, the first discussion options with Steve’s uncle are where choices start to make noticeable difference. Shortly, we will be introduced to many young, beautiful and enticing women. Oh, and one slightly older yet still rather enticing woman who happens to be a librarian (score!).

Weekly Planning Screen

After the first, pre-planned length of time spent farming and being shopped around to these somehow single ladies, the ability to plan out Steve’s week becomes available. We can either rest that day, farm the whole day (you farm one way or another before and after activities), or communicate with the women. The first woman is obviously Steve’s ex-but-maybe-not-ex-girlfriend. Her days are all spent on the phone talking to her about what Steve has done around the farm and what is happening in the big city. Woman number two is a sassy, attractive and active young woman who hates Fairbrook and goes by the name Clara. She absolutely adores the city, and due to being from the city she loves running with you in the mornings. This is a prime example of a dynamic character in this story other than Steve. In the beginning I hate this girl; She whines too much and seems not to care about anyone but herself. She’s like Steve without the Y-chromosome. This tones down later after much family drama. She is a very interesting character. Next is the owner of the Flower Shop, Susana. My first impression of her was along the lines of “Hellooooooo extremely-environmentally-conscious nurse!” Susana is a very cute blond firecracker (when she’s angry, at least) who loves eating natural foods from her garden. She likes when you try her cooking. She also has a very protective older brother. Finally we have my personal favorite, Marian. Marian is a (dare I say it) gorgeous older librarian. She also happens to be the hardest woman to please in the world. See, every girl raises a certain stat as you interact with her, but requires a different stat to make them fall in love with you. Marian raises your Culture levels, but requires a high romance level to end with. To end with Marian, you must have every other woman wanting to be with you and be careful to stop interacting with those women before their “love” scenes start popping up. Marian also likes poetry and has some parental issues. It’s a very honest subject to tackle, in that parents don’t tend to support their children whole-heartedly when they want to become writers for a living.

Go figure.

You can spend the summer making money with your farm, spend it interacting with but not romancing any of the women, or else choose a honey and finish off the meal with a companion rather than just Steve’s father. Personally, I think I have covered every possible ending. The story is actually pretty enjoyable, and it changes enough with each play through if you have different goals each time that it is not easy to become completely bored with the development. There is also some difficulty present; I ended with the women I did not intend to on multiple play throughs before I finally hit my jackpot in Marian! However, despite my fascination with the poetic librarian, it is almost impossible to forget the moments you shared with your first love.

Stay dreamy, CEN.TAKU.ME readers.

Susana and Steve, First Kiss; Jun 16, 13:12

You've just read [Review] The Flower Shop on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

Fans of Final Fantasy outside Japan will not have to wait six months longer to play FFXIII. The official release date for North America and Europe is now March 9th, 2010 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 versions. That is much better than the original June 2010 date.

Prior to the announcement Square-Enix released a week ago, Square-Enix President and CEO Yoichi Wada stated that the international versions of FFXIII is “on schedule” and would be released by the end of the 2009 fiscal year: April 2010.

In the announcement trailer, a new version of the theme song will be preformed by British singer, Leona Lewis, called “My Hands”. Of course, this has set off a firestorm from fans who prefer “Kimi ga Iru Kara”, preformed by Saguwara Sayuri. There’s no word yet of an option to hear the original Japanese version in the NA and EU versions…

Lastly, fans with Twitter accounts getting the Xbox 360 version will get a bonus feature by Re-tweeting about it to your friends who are interested. More details are on the Xbox 360/FFXIII official site. The more tweets, the sooner it will be unlocked.

FFXIII Announcement Trailer

“Kimi ga Iru Kara” by Saguwara Sayuri

“My Hands” by Leona Lewis

You've just read FFXIII – 3.9.2010: The Countdown Begins on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

I found this a few weeks ago while browsing for some Final Fantasy XIII screenshots (so I’m not sure exactly where I found these, orz..). Someone was nice enough to continue the year old meme of the infamous Metal Gear Solid 4 Xbox 360 10+ DVD set, if it was released for the system.

Remember, this is not official and is only a joke. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 version is getting a 3 DVD release, so the joke makes (little) sense. While I’ll be getting the Playstation 3 version of FFXIII, I wouldn’t mind having this in my collection…

You've just read What If: FFXIII Xbox 360 Box Set on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

I have returned with another game review! Today I will be reviewing Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu hosted by the good folks of Aeria Games. It’s all thanks to Aeria that I’ve discovered alternative choices from the market standards with titles such as Final Fantasy XI or Ragnarok Online. The best of it all is that it’s free! ^_^

Luminary is an Anime-style MMORPG, originally developed in Korea by NDOORS Corp., featuring a vast array of features from running your own town community, including investments in the Stock Market, PvP/War, Pets, many economy opportunities, and much, much more! But how much is “much more”?

Gameplay

As many MMORPGs, you can deeply customize your character to whoever you want him/her to look like. But in Luminary, you are given a choice of 4 pre-made characters: 2 males and 2 females. Of course, you can change his/her appearance later with armor, weapons, and the like, but other features such as haircuts have yet (at least for now) to be implemented. In Luminary, you can be any class you want to become without having to stick with one job. You can use Archery skills, even use Rifles, Axes, Swords, and many more!

As mentioned in the preview, Luminary is a MMORPG that requires deep social interaction, from running towns (and servers), as well as the usual Guild, Grouping, and PvP features. Meeting the requirements, you can run your very own town Luminary has to offer. A few towns can have requirements to join a town ranging from a player’s minimum level and/or your commitment to the game.

Aside from running your own towns, you can also become a mentor at Level 50. A mentor helps out a new player with how the games works. (After all, this is a very big game in terms of features). While Mentoring is an excellent feature to Luminary, I do have a few Pros and Cons about the system.

The Pros: It is an excellent way to ask for help from a member of the server’s community without asking in the /shout channel, only to get a trolled response, or no response at all.

The Cons: The players who offer their Mentoring services while their “offline”; the player will leave up a chat box advertising their services while Away From Keyboard (AFK). While I admire their efforts of helping others in this way, I find it frustrating when the player isn’t available to help right away when you need it.

To add to the list of Cons, the other is the fact that getting a mentor is required for the Beginner’s Quest line in the early stages of leveling a character, which can be difficult if depending on the time of the day. The good thing is that you don’t need to keep a Mentor forever: if the Mentor’s help doesn’t help you or for another reason, there are always others to help you when you really need it.

Aside from Mentors, there are tons of social opportunities in Luminary, such as running for “Goonzu”, which is just like running for Political Office in real life: when elected Goonzu, you can control the server’s overall economy. A Goonzu can also appoint 5 ministers who look over aspects of the server’s environments, such as appointing policemen (portable versions of Game Masters when one isn’t around), setting the length of events times (including crafting bonuses), and many, many more.

Audio

The music in Luminary is cute and calming as in Ragnarok Online. Unlike Ragnarok, the music changes randomly everytime you zone into the field–this is something that a lot of reviews of MMORPGs point out when it comes to repetitive BGM—and its gameplay counterparts. Unlike the reviews, I seldom get tired of listening to the same thing over and over again (It’s how I became a fan of the Ragnarok soundtrack!), but this is a change if you don’t want to hear the same thing again.

Graphics

When people say the game is a pimped version of Ragnarok Online, they’re just about right. While the former has 2D graphics–dating back to 2002, Luminary features 3D sprites similar to the Harvest Moon game series back during days of Harvest Moon 64. The NPC designs are cute, but a few of them do look a little cheesy, but it’s not a big deal. But when the NPCs are actually interacted with, there have Manga-style counterparts that is suspiciously similar to Ragnarok Online‘s Manhwa-ka, Myung-jin Lee..

Replay Value

With the features mentioned above, Luminary will keep you very busy. A plus with Luminary is that it features an Endless Quest system; once you complete a quest, you can do the next one. You will be rewarded with Experience Points, as well as Marbles (the currency of Luminary). Once you reach the maximum level of 100, there’s so much you can do—you could try your hand in running a town (or server), set up shop and sell your own manufactured items. The possibilities are endless!

Overall Rating

I recommend downloading and checking out Luminary if you’re looking for a free MMORPG after putting up with Pay-to-Play games. The vast features Luminary has to offer is similar to what you can find in World of Warcraft—but for free, and it’s a plus if you love Anime-style graphics! Also, be sure to check out the Luminary forums for more information and help on the game.

Official Website: http://luminary.aeriagames.com/

Rating:

You've just read Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu [Review] on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

My Summer of Gaming continues with another game that I will review this weekend, called Luminary. It’s another MMORPG hosted by Aeria Games in North America. This Korean made cute Anime-style MMORPG features gameplay modes you would never (at least for now) in Ragnarok Online.

It comes equipped with the usual MMORPGs features, such as a PVP system, Tradeskills, Pets, and an endless quest system (a plus being a former Ragnarok player). What makes Luminary different from other MMORPGs is its deep social interaction; it’s not just to join guilds or form parties for quests, but to help new players on their new journey by becoming a Mentor, or you can become politically involved by running for “Goonzu”.

There’s a lot more to talk about in the review, but the only thing I can tell you right now is that it’s the most interesting MMORPG I’ve ever played. If the screenshot isn’t convincing enough, the gameplay trailer should keep you entertained until the review.

You've just read Luminary [Preview] on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

Today, I will review Twelve Sky 2, which is a Free-to-Play MMORPG currently in Open Beta (in North America) from the folks over at Aeria Games. The game was first released in Korea from Alt1 games. It’s the sequel to the first 12 Sky game, also hosted by Aeria.

It’s a feudal Martial Arts game that takes place in China, along with Japanese and Korean themes. It’s one of the first free MMORPGs that I’ve really enjoyed over previous free MMOGs from other publishers. I will explain why this game has kept me busy over the course of a few weeks.

Gameplay

Upon starting Twelve Sky 2 for the first time, there are 3 factions to choose from: Guanyin, Fujin, and Jinong. All three factions focus on close-quarters (two per faction) and ranged combat (one per faction) and weapon uses are varied depending on the faction (Jinong players use Light Blades, Guanyin uses Sword, etc). While there are no magic based classes in Twelve Sky 2, spells can be used later during your character’s development.

Twelve Sky 2 uses the old fashioned Hack-and-Slash battle system, which doesn’t require much clicking as in the standard free MMORPGs; just click and forget. Skills and items can be assigned to the customizable hotbars using the F1~ and QWERTY buttons. Leveling in Twelve Sky 2 is really easy and it doesn’t take up a lot of time. The quests are awarded after leveling up and are straight forward. Experience points are rewarded as well upon their completion.

Twelve Sky 2 is also PvP based. You can enter battlefields that take place during parts of the day and depending on your character’s level (1-10, 90-99, etc). Like in modern MMORPGs, players can also challenge other players to a duel. The game features Party and Guild features to meet other players and to help out others in need, or when you need help—especially to participate with during Twelve Sky 2′s events held almost every week, which often includes double experience points.

Leveling your character to the max is worth the $0 as leveling up to 20 and beyond can be a piece of cake. Further customization is possible though ways of purchasing AeriaGames Prepaid cards at Target, 7-11, and HEB stores nationwide for $10 or $20.

Audio

The sound effects is on par with the overall environment and doesn’t get annoying after a while. While in PvP, however, the sound of NPCs fighting each other does get repetitive after a few minutes. I do give it that it does add to the imagination of being in the midst of a intense battle!

The music in Twelve Sky 2 reminds me of the game, Battle Arena Toshinden 2 (which also had an feature-length anime adaption), which brings back memories of the days of neo-feudal (if that is such a term) action. (Case in point: the music featured in the trailer). With Twelve Sky 2 taking place in such a setting, this points out my case. ^_^

Graphics

The graphics are pretty decent for a free MMORPG (compared to the premium retail games). If you have a high-end computer (with a decent video card, of course), you will get the most out of your gaming experience. On the other hand, the effects will interfere with the environment (such as hardware lags) if your computer hardware is not up to date.

Replay Value

With each level gained, there’s a lot to explore in Twelve Sky 2. In terms of the community: the behavior of other players varies depending on the time of day; It is possible for a player to come up to you and still kills and stalk you playfully (as usual in most games) or worse (getting scammed, random insults and the like).

But when a problem arises, Aeria’s awesome Game Masters (GMs; or Game Sages (GS) in Twelve Sky 2) are there to fix it. The Game Sages even appear in-game during events to answer questions from players; the appearance of live Game Masters is very lacking in other MMORPGs.

Overall Value

Twelve Sky 2 is worth looking into if you like games with feudal themes mixed in with Martial Arts. There are a few thing to look out for while playing it, such as Virtual Currency sellers and the usual scammer (which is common sense in any game). Regardless, it’s the best $0 you will ever spend. ^^

Rating:

You've just read Twelve Sky 2 [Review] on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

There is a new game in the review pipes at the moment. It’s a MMORPG called “Twelve Sky 2“, and it’s the sequel to the first Twelve Sky game, released by Aeria Games. It’s a free MMORPG like Maple Story and Ragnarok Online (well, parts of it), but you can purchase additional items for an affordable fee by using a pre-paid card at your local Target, Wal-Mart, etc.

The game is set in the Feudal Era of China. You can use Martial Art moves as well as the traditional hack-and-slash skill. Did I mention that there’s PvP involved as well? (The “good” kind of PvP like in Final Fantasy XI). It’s actually a lot of fun (and it’s the reason why I haven’t updated the blog in a while, ORZ..). Until then, check out the trailer for Twelve Sky 2 and try the game out yourself* by heading over to the official website. ^_^

*In related news: Aeria Games recently launched a Facebook page for Aeria Games fans to keep up with the latest events in the Aeria community from their Facebook account! They are also having a contest: If they reach 10,000 fans by June 30th, they will give away a Nintendo Wii to a lucky fan!

Rules: For people outside the US, Aeria reserves the right to change the prize into cash (covering the cost of a Wii system in USD). A verified PayPal account is required (creating a PayPal account is free). When the contest ends, the winner will be announced on the Wall page. The winner will be contacted via Facebook; if the winner doesn’t respond, another winner will be chosen. Good luck! ^_^

You've just read Twelve Sky 2 [Preview] on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

It’s official: a 14th installment in the Final Fantasy franchise is already on the way while XIII is still in production. However, the next FF game will be online only and is exclusive (for now) on the Playstation 3 and for the PC, ala FFXI.

The trailer made its debut at Sony’s E3 Keynote. I knew something was fishy when they showed the male hero: he looks like a Hume. I hope the gameplay will be better than XI…

You've just read Final Fantasy XIV on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

The next game I will review is the Playstation 3 version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel from the guys at Ascaron Entertainment. It is the sequel to the first Sacred game, originally released in 2004 for the PC.

Sacred 2 is the first game in the series to get released on Next-Gen game consoles. It’s possibly the best non-J-RPG to be released this Spring, and it could be a great alternative from playing the .Hack games or from playing a Pay-to-Play MMORPG.

Story

The land of Ancaria is on the brink of war. Long ago, the Seraphim, an angelic warrior race, handed over the T-Energy to the High Elves, a group of people skilled in the art of magic. T-Energy has many uses: in combat which would make the Elves unstoppable, which is what they intend on. Some High Elves even oppose of its use.

The use of T-Energy is the High Elves way of expanding their economy and warfare. This transformed the once beautiful Ancaria into ruins from many battles against the Elves. In the conflict, other dominant races, such as the Dryad and Temple Guardians, find themselves at ends with the High Elves and race to find new lands free from T-Engery.

It is up to the player whether to save the land of Ancaria to the way it once was, or join in on the impending war. The choice is yours.

Gameplay

Upon starting Sacred 2 for the first time, you will find the usual options: Continue, Start Game, Select Character, Leaderboards, Achievements, and the Game Options menu. At the Character Select screen, you can create your character. Choose from the following races: Seraphim, High Elf, Dryad, Temple Guardian, Shadow Warrior, or Inquisitor. Depending on your character’s race. It is up to you whether to save the land or add to the turmoil…

The general controls of the game take a while to get used to. To access the menu (for Quests, Inventory, Combat Arts, etc), you hold down the R1 Button, followed by holding down the left analog stick in the direction of the menu you want. It’s different from pressing just one button to access everything at once, but I can’t complain.

The character movement is what you would expect playing World of Warcraft. There is one thing that I would like to see in other RPGs is the ability to buy a mount as soon as possible. In Sacred 2, you can buy a mount at anytime (provided if you have a Riding Skill up to date). Mounts can be easily obtained on the cheap, but be prepared to pay more depending on the speed and level of your Riding Skill.

Being a Hack-’n-Slash game, all you need to do is press the X Button to get rid of your enemies. You can also use spells depending on your class. You can customize your character with equipment found on enemies and from rewards from quests. Leveling up is a peace of cake, as well. Getting to Level 8+ is a breeze once you start following Sacred 2′s countless quests.

There are some quests that are too hard to do along and could be done with another player—either Online or Offline. This game is a lot of World of Warcraft in terms of appearance, but it’s not like any MMORPG: you can’t just walk up to a player and ask if they can help out. You can find players by searching from the main menu or continue a campaign online as you would offline, and wait until a player (or three) comes along. Sacred 2 also offers PvP mode, where you can battle against other players in parties.

Audio

The music in Sacred 2 is preformed by German Heavy Metal band, Blind Guardian. Whereas in MMORPGs with otherworldly tunes preformed by an orchestra, many of the songs have a dark Metal theme (Similar to the songs of Black Tide). It does contain songs that have a medieval feel to it, but the mixture doesn’t dull the mood.

The sound effects in Sacred 2 perfectly corresponds with the events; walking, running, attacking, etc. The voice acting in the game is decent and fits the characters well. Another plus: when you talk to NPCs, they will actually speak—especially to another NPC, as if you were eavesdropping; where in modern traditional RPGs (e.g.: Final Fantasy X) you will see speech boxes outside of cut scenes.

Graphics

The opening movie of Sacred 2 is well done and totally life-like. The gameplay graphics is similar to what you would expect in a non-J-RPG (and a little better than WoW, actually). It can also be glitchy when you kill enemies; they will continue to stand for several seconds until they normally fade away.

There is one problem I have found: the text is too small (playing on a SDTV). Depending on the lighting (in the game), you won’t have a hard time reading. But if it’s dark in both the game and in the room, you may have to find a lit area to read the text.

Replay Value

Sacred 2 has excellent replay value as it has different campaigns varied by the character’s race and level. Once you have gotten most of the quests out of the way, you can try your hand at various tradeskills for bonuses. For the Playstation 3 version, it makes the game more enjoyable by earning Trophies.

Overall Value

Despite a few flaws, I recommend check out Sacred 2. It’s pretty addicting, and it earns many pluses with the multi-player. Plus it’s worth the $60 if you can’t afford monthly MMORPG payments.

Thanks again to RocketXL for making this review possible!

Rating:

You've just read Sacred 2: Fallen Angel [Review] on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!

Just in time for the E3 Gaming Expo and recently talked about from Danny Choo, Sony unveiled the next installment of their PSP Handheld system, called “PSP Go”.

It is what it says it is: an “On-the-go” version of their current PSP system… But there’s a catch: it’s UMD-less. Meaning the system will support only digital downloads of existing games on the Playstation Network Store.

I hope Sony will keep the current PSP system as well, as I do not see the point in ditching hard copies of software with the added bones (instruction manuals printed in paper, etc.). Screenshot taken from Eurogamer via Kotaku.

In related news: Kotaku reported that the ESRB has listed Final Fantasy VII (yes, that’s “7″) on their website for the Playstation 3 and Playstation Portable. That means a portable FFVII in North America, people!

What’s your take on it?

You've just read PSP Go (and FFVII) on CEN.TAKU.ME. Please drop by to leave a comment and to browse the archives!