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By Hemisphere, 27 February, 2010 3:08 AM

Ikusa Megami Episode 4: Verita, Eushully’s next installment in the Ikusa Megami series, is shaping up to be one absolutely excellent game. You can check it out yourself by downloading the trial here! And trust me when I say that downloading and subsequently playing the trial is very much worth your time. Not only does it give us a peek at the reasons behind the crossover between Serika and Riui, but also the gameplay. Man…I can’t believe I went grinding-crazy over a trial alone. That’s how much I got into it.

Putting the story aside (as I can barely make a decent impression of the game’s story from a freaking trial alone), the one thing that really jumps out at me and grabs my attention is how the game looks. That’s because it looks freaking GORGEOUS. The sprites, effects and fields used for battle and exploration are now more detailed than the ones used in Ikusa Megami 0, looking absolutely vibrant. As for the CGs, they’re very pleasant to look at, especially the ladies. Rawr. Man, these ladies are absolutely hot – a fact that will repeat itself over and over in your mind as you look at them in their wondrous glory in CG.

While the gameplay remains fairly reminiscent of Ikusa Megami 0′s system, there’s some additions (though most of them are out of the trial’s scope). You can now take on sidequests from Inns, providing more distractions and options to enjoy the gameplay unlike in Ikusa Megami 0. You can also capture certain monsters and put them on support duty (and strictly ONLY support duty), and they’ll help you out with various passive and active skills while in combat.I would have liked to see how the army battles went, but too bad it’s not included.

So to sum it all up: gorgeous CG, lush detail, enjoyable gameplay, and a promising story that looks to be epic (seeing as it’s a crossover of Genrin and Ikusa Megami, that’s kind of a given). Which adds up to having no reason to not want this title at all, and every reason to temper one’s patience as April 23 is kind of fucking too far away from more Serika and Riui plus gorgeous hawt ladies goodness.

Now for another title’s trial which I’ve just played recently as well would be Makai Tenshi Jibril 4′s trial, available here. It’s not a very extensive trial, as it covers only the prologue of the game – the incident involving the three student council members and how they became henshin heroines. Regardless, it’s worth a look just for some laughs.

Thanks to the devil sisters Meimei and Maimai (who turned one of their classmates into a tentacle monster), the student council (consisting of Momo, Aoi, Yuzuha and the lead) gets caught up in the whole thing, with the lead getting supposedly stabbed through the chest – because he’s a dude, and tentacle monsters have no interest in dudes, especially ones who hours ago was his male classmate. Love (you know, the loli angel who’s always in every Jibril game) shows up to free the three girls from the tentacle monster’s grasps and give them the power to transform into henshin heroines via the use of special hair accessories. Using the power of Amore, the three ladies then turn their classmate-turned-tentacle-monster back to normal, sending the devil sisters scurrying off in fear.

The whole thing’s actually funnier than how my synopsis makes it sound like. If there’s anything that the Jibril series is good at, it’s not taking itself seriously (and fetish fulfillment among other things). With that, the three girls are tasked with the duty of protecting the school by Love; who, as it turns out, is the school’s president. Oh, and the lead is tasked with the job of “replenishing” their “energy”, because their Amore power is powered by love, and every time they use it up in battle they will need to have it “restocked” – willingly, or unwillingly. And Love’s already made some arrangements in order to ensure that they stay in close proximity to one another should the “need arise” by making all four of them reside in a very luxurious dwelling, all paid for by Love’s divine counterfeit – detectable by God, but not by the police!

So…Ikusa Megami Verita for sheer awesomeness, and Jibril 4 for crazy hilarity. Damn you April releases!

Comments (8)

By Hemisphere, 29 April, 2008 5:38 AM

Remember how, in a previous entry, I said that I had to somewhat muster up my motivations for playing Kamipani instead of being naturally inclined to play it? That somehow, my motivation and eagerness towards the game was diminished by yet-unknown reasons despite my attempts at figuring out just what those reasons are?

Well, if you’re wondering just why I was so out of steam when it came to Kamipani despite my apparent zeal and fervor for the game before it’s release, then wonder no more. You’re looking at the reason for it. Actually, you just read it from the title of this entry, if that wasn’t obvious enough.

Right before Kamipani came out, I was playing Boy Meets Girl, but only briefly. At that time, there was hardly anything that I found particularly outstanding or awesome from the game unlike 11eyes, though what Boy Meets Girl did for me was that I continued playing it and reading though the story…for unknown reasons. Sure, Ishiki Hikaru was there, but aside from that there wasn’t anything that stood out from this game, but I continued on playing. I’d call this practice “button trance”, but Jetfuel in his entry of Ar tonelico 2 already used the term, plus he’s the one who coined it! I find it an appropriate one, though, so pardon me if I do use it in future entries.

I stopped Boy Meets Girl for a while because of some other games, namely Sakura Strasse and Kamipani, after which I’d forgotten all about it. After remembering that Kamipani’s staff started off with Boy Meets Girl, I went back to this title in an attempt to figure out just why Kamipani doesn’t seem to be working with me. And then it hit me like a ten wheeler truck as soon as Miu greets me with her usual laugh: I’m still hung over on Boy Meets Girl! I need to finish it before moving onto Kamipani!

Tell me if any of these sounds familiar. Main lead is mainly associated with two girls from his past? A strange incident from his childhood seems to be affecting his memory? Main lead’s memory seems as if he’s forgotten something important from his childhood, and one of the girls that he’s associated with is directly related/responsible? One of the girls has strange magical powers, and seems to have come from somewhere else? Yep, that’s Boy Meets Girl and Kamipani sharing identical plot and story elements, though not too similar, and it’s that similarity which seems to be stopping me from enjoying Kamipani as much as I should be. Seems that if I’m looking forward to enjoying Kamipani, then I should get to finishing Boy Meets Girl first – which isn’t a problem, considering that I’m close to the end of Miu’s route!