Kimi no Yuusha: polished 90s-like JRPG

(tags Dual Screen, Kimi no Yuusha, RPG, game)

I finally finished the story mode of Kimi no Yuusha (キミの勇者, lit. "your hero") after about 50 hours of play. This 2008 single-player CERO A-rated game was train ride entertainment, 30 minutes at a time JRPG. The main reasons I stuck through it were the forgiving, casual difficulty, the easy controls, and the moé-like character graphics (by the same artist as Doki-Majo).

As a JRPG, my basic comparisons always start with my Final Fantasy experiences. Immediately, KnY can be compared to early FF 1-6 with the battle field showing enemies on the left and my 4 characters on the right. KnY does follow the pattern of young blood up and coming, but the story is much more immediate and slice of life. The main story is epic, but only because there only seems to be one hero party doing great things for the world. That's just fine for me. The side quests remind me of after-school cartoon episodes with bite sized moral lessons, with a bit of otaku-ism added.

Ryunette reserves 6 book copies for 2 people, the typical otaku argument, while Tio looks on. From side quest 39.

I really like how easy it is to get into the game. Starting the cart up is a breeze with no company logos in the way. The familiar DS feature of closing the lid works well and saving works at the over world map and before major points. The chapters are organized in 30 minute anime-like segments. Dialogue can be forcefully skipped with the B button. Chapter summaries can be reviewed in the Diary mode complete with unlocked graphics.

There are up to 10 controllable characters, but I only bothered with the female avatars. Ha. Actually the ratio is 4 guys and 6 girls. My party consisted of the hot-headed blonde hair "Magic Driver" magic user named Tio, the male hero named "Wanda" that carries an oversized key as a sword weapon (no I have not played Kingdom Hearts), a sexy onee-chan cat girl named Aroma, and a battle tough sexy mermaid named Silk. Sexy yeah because that's the way they are drawn. CERO A, though. I was hoping Tio and Wanda would get it on, but they don't even ... oh spoilers, sorry. Time to write a fan-fic.

Wanda. Hahah. Why is this male lead lacking so much masculinity? Tights, a one-piece cloth which is more dress than smock, and wears a cap with cat-like ears. I guess you could input your own personality into him? Tio is cute but too hot-headed for her own good. Still she smiles a lot and doesn't stop trying. Aroma is accompanied by her sarcastic younger sister, Sera (girl #7), who speaks through her acid-tougue puppet, Tom. Tom and Tio get into verbal sparring while other characters question Tio's sanity. Silk is supposed to be a princess of the merfolk but she just like to battle like girls do. But this girl speaks in old-man Japanese, moé me up.

The other characters are supposed to be charming, right? There's this tough guy that doesn't say a thing but he doesn't look tough. He's a rotund cat that always thumbs up with a smile. He's accompanied by his dainty wife (girl #8) who communicates for him. Huh. Then there's this elven archer type that is the closest to the recent fan-homage stereotype, the shut-in otaku. How about the wind magic user that just happens to be a petite girl even though she says "boku" ("I" but usually reserved for males and tomboys) all the time?

Though this is a casual game, there was an attempt to complicate the game system. For example, there's an additional menu-based (not reaction based) combo system that one can uncover, which gives bonus attack damage. This advanced level game play is not necessary and merely serves as another checklist to uncover.

I can't believe I played another menu fighter, but at least there was an auto battle mode. Just press Select and they always "Fight". Sometimes my 4-person party will tag-team, and the baddies go flying across the screen. Perhaps there's a tag-team attack bonus but it was hard to discern and I can't control when they tag-team. The previously mentioned menu-based combo system was hard to uncover and also required me to dig through and equip spell books. The pay off is something like 5 to 10% attack damage, which probably adds up but unfortunately it depends on the tag-team system, which isn't dependable. So why bother.

At least I didn't have to grind for levels so much. I was just doing side quests all the time. I think I was over-leveled for the last boss.

The music is totally forgettable, owing to the limitations of DS presentation but also because there's no comparison between listening to music on my iPod or listening to these bleeps and bloops. The same battle music hits me over and over again. The per-town music always cuts off because the store music cuts in. And there are voice samples but only for attacks and battle wrap up and they become pretty repetitive.

Unfortunately, I don't feel motivated to go through it again even though there is stuff I haven't yet unlocked. There's no "New Game+" and it is necessary to restart from the beginning with no carryover. Infuriating. It's not going to take another 50 hours but I will probably have to gamefaq it to keep myself from doing things over again. The premiere gamefaq for this game is the unofficial Kimi no Yuusha kouyraku wiki (キミの勇者　攻略wiki).

There is one after-story dungeon. Although the final boss was somewhat nerve-wracking perhaps this will make me notch my game up.

Well this wasn't a totally unique gaming experience, but for 2200 yen at used it was a pretty fun ride.