 |
 |
||||
 |
 |
|
||
|
Ah! My Goddess (Ah Megami Sama) |
||||
|
Added 10.22.00 | Review by Kaze Kiri FX (Jake) |
||||
|
You're probably already aware that this game is based on a popular anime/manga series. Therefore, I am sure there are a lot of FX owners who are interested in playing this game. I think before you read the rest of this review that I should tell you that this game is actually a remake of the 1993 NEC PC-98 computer game of the same name. Various upgrades for the FX version are listed on the back of the case. The voices were added for the FX version as well as the opening animation and the two mini games. Much of the game, however, seems to be taken rather directly from the original. Though I can't speak for hardcore fans in Japan who played both versions of the game, I would say that the FX version provides an entertaining experience for fans of the series who understand Japanese. If you're not a fan of the series and/or don't understand Japanese you probably won't enjoy this game too much. Also, fans of the anime who aren't too familiar with the manga should be aware that this game follows the manga much more closely than it does the anime, and the manga is very different from the anime. If you haven't figured it out already, this game is a digital comic. And as digital comics go, I would say this one is pretty good. It's extremely long (two discs), and has a lot of neat little innovations you won't find in every digital comic game. It also occasionally has a very amusing sense of humor. There are some really good RPG-related jokes in the second disc that I found especially amusing.
Probably the most disappointing thing about this game is that the in-game graphics appear to be taken directly from the PC-98 version and are far below PC-FX standards. The detail and color are much less than you would expect from most FX games. The voices and music, however, are exactly what you would expect from an FX game. The music includes simple arrangements of BGM from the anime series. And you simply have to commend the vast amount of voices that had to be recorded to span the entirety of both discs of this game. Wow! All of the original voice talents from the anime are here, except for Kikuchi Masami who plays Keiichi. The excuse for this being that the player is given the role of Keiichi, and under clause 42 of the digital comic rules list, "The player's character should usually be made silent," this is justified. However, in this case they have violated a sub-clause of clause 42 which says, "However, if the player's character is an anime character who already has a voice in the anime, the voice of that character should be used." I wonder if they just didn't want to record all those voices or if Kikuchi Masami didn't want to be a part of this project for some reason. Either way, the absence of Keiichi's voice is noticeable and seems unjustified. Back on the positive side, there are also some command-based battle parts which use FMV that are pretty cool. You can use some different attacks from any of the three goddesses. They're not particularly hard most of the time, but you can be sent back to an earlier part if you lose. There are also some mazes you have to navigate through at some points in the game. Mazes are usually pretty annoying in digital comics, but here it seems to be done reasonably.
There are also two mini games included which are completely separate from the main game. You can access these at any time from the title screen. There's a jigsaw puzzle type game and a memory game. The memory game is surprisingly fun. While this game may have its share of problems, its length and occasional inventiveness make it a worthwhile playing experience for fans of the series who can understand Japanese. I think I was very disappointed and bored with it at first, but once I became involved it was very entertaining. This game earns my thumbs up. And if you meet the earlier mentioned criteria for players who would enjoy this game, then I recommend this game to you as well. - Kaze Kiri FX (Jake) |
||||
 |
||||
|
|
||||
