Neo Angelique not-so-Special

03.10.11 / Japanese, Koei, Otome game, Romance game, Sony PSP, Video game / Author: Kina / Comments: (0)
Tags: neo angelique special, neoromance

I finished it now, but I still hate it. It’s boring as hell.

I don’t even know what to write here. Let’s start with a list of synonyms for “boring”.

Using some high-powered arcane magic, Koei managed to take this list and convert it into a video game, which they proceeded to name Neo Angelique Special and sell for $80 a pop.

Still don’t get it? Need me to draw you a picture? Here you go:

*sigh* Okay, okay. I played it. I’ll talk about it. Sheesh…

First of all, Koei has this series of otome games called Angelique. I’ve only played the first two games, but the basic premise is that you’re given a continent/universe to develop, and you have to do this while competing with a rival and simultaneously trying to raise the affections of a number of hot bishie Guardians. Believe me, it’s better than it sounds, but even the best formula gets stale after a while.

After  number of permutations, spin-offs and remakes, Koei decided to reboot the series. I’d like to say it’s the thought that counts, but in this case the thought should have lived and died as a thought, because the reality is cold and cruel. In fact, I’m going to go out on a very sturdy limb and claim this: Koei was making a new otome game, realized it sucked donkey balls and slapped the Angelique label on it so donkey-ball-suckers would buy it.

My proof? The game has NOTHING in common with the other Angelique games. There’s a story element where Ange has special powers and is supposed to become the Queen of the World, but that could be any game at all. The world-building element is missing. The guardians are reduced to glorified escorts. There’s no rival. There’s a primitive battle system that’s an insult to any serious gamer. The game is easy beyond imagination.

The Angelique games have goals to meet and regular reviews. They have daily, weekly and monthly structures, but how exactly to achieve things is entirely up to you. Neo Angelique has no proper structure. Story progression happens when you stumble across the next flag without meaning to. Sometimes you go to the salon and nothing happens. Next time you to go the salon, bam, the story moves on. Your life consists of fulfilling monotonous quests in the hope that you will somehow trip across the next story element. Does that sound like a recipe for fun or does that sound like donkey balls? If you say both, you need help.

This review is all kinds of messed up. Oh my, that’s just like the game. Let’s try and get some order in here. First, the story. There are these bad creatures called Thanatos that make people very unhappy. Luckily a girl named Ange (that’s you) and four bishies have the power to purify these baddies, so they hang out in a fancy mansion drinking tea and having dinner parties (for real) and helping people out once in a while. Eventually you find out there’s this Erebus guy that’s causing all the trouble, so you get in a flying ship and go beat him up. Then you can either become Queen of the World or go back to having tea parties. Decisions, decisions.

Up next, gameplay. Talk to your guardians until they like you. Not much different from the standard Angelique games, except now you have to “unlock” conversation topics by visiting certain places or taking certain missions. Get enough of the right topics and you win the conversation bingo (no seriously, the topics are laid out like a bingo card) and your relationship progresses to the next level. Presumably if you do this enough you’ll get the guy at the end. Pssh, as if I’d want any guy that could be won in a bingo game. Occasionally you’ll have dinner parties and chat the guys up too all together. Not as much fun as it sounds, trust me.

Urge to keep writing, fading fast… Not like there’s anything left to note. You chat with guys non-stop, you wander around the planet in the hopes of triggering the next event, eventually you trigger it, story continues. There’s also a very rustic, primitive battle system, the kind they put in games for people who’ve never played RPGs before (see Arabians Lost for another example) It’s a bit like Chrono Cross with all the color attacks, and just like Chrono Cross it’s almost impossible to lose a battle unless you try really hard. That’s the last boss there. He makes Yu Yevon look tough.

Anyway, Neo Angelique was a massive waste of time. The bishies weren’t that cute, the story wasn’t very interesting, story progression was lul randum, the battle system was a joke, the music was okay, the background art was GORGEOUS, gotta give credit where credit is due, and while it wasn’t short, it didn’t take that long to finish. No way in hell am I ever playing this again, nor can I recommend it to anyone. Find an artbook (seriously, the background art is really nice) and call it a day.

Angelique Special 2 – how to win

02.11.10 / Japanese, Koei, Otome game, PSX, Romance game, Video game / Author: Kina / Comments: (0)
Tags: angelique special 2, neoromance

Well, actually I haven’t won yet, but I’m getting there. I found a very good Japanese strategy site on the subject, the URL of which I have sadly forgotten, and I used it to ensure that I now have 6 hearts to Rachel’s 4, and two guardians (Julius and Randy) at my beck and call. Right now they love me so much they’re building the universe for me on their own, while I focus on raising stability at the academy. I’m going to chat up Oscar, Victor and Olivier as well in case I ever need them to vouch for me at the monthly review (doubt it will be necessary at this rate) and before too long the universe will be mine! *evil cackle*

Anyway, for the benefit of anyone who’s been playing this game and getting whupped by Rachel, here’s how to do it.

1. At the beginning, ask her to go easy on you. This is only necessary for the first playthrough, after that you can play it hard mode. It’s the first option on the third question she asks at the start, but if you don’t understand enough Japanese to know that much, you should probably stop now.

2. Pick a good zodiac sign and blood type. Check Marfisa’s compatibility guide to know what the best ones are.

3. Find out who the hardworking guardians are. “Hardworking?” you ask? Yeah. In this game, not all guardians work equally hard. If you ask two different guardians to put energy into your planet, they might put in different amounts. This ranges from 2 all the way to even 7 for “a lot” of energy. Each stat needs energy 10 to form a planet. If you ask a hardworking (7 energy) guardian for “a lot” of energy, you’ll get 2 planets in 3 days. By contrast a lazy (2 energy) guardian will take 10 days to give you the same results. You have a limited number of hearts and days to work with, so naturally you need to maximize your results.

So how do you find out who works hard and who doesn’t? Well, as soon as you’ve set everything up in the game, save at the table in your room. Then for the next couple of days, visit all of the guardians in turn and ask them to put in a lot of energy. One day, one guardian, until you’ve visited all 9. Then go to your planet and check the new chart. You’ll see who put in more energy, and who put in less. Note it down somewhere. By the way 6 and 7 energy guardians are rare, and you’ll most likely have only one or two 4-5 energy guardians per game, most of them will be 2-3. That’s okay, but you need at least one hard worker.

Also note down which elements the universe needs most of. at this early stage it’ll probably range from between 7 to 15. Any element (and accompanying guardian) which requires less than 10 energy should be ignored. Because no matter how much energy you pour in, it’ll never grow your egg (shining ball of energy) so don’t bother. If those are the guardians you like, consider restarting because it’s completely random. Strictly speaking you can still go ahead and use that element if the guardian is hardworking, but I believe you get better results with the elements you need more of. What I really need is more research on this matter.

4. Before you reset after finding out who works hard, visit the fortune-teller and check who you’re most compatible with. With any luck you’ll be most compatible with the ones who work hardest AND your planet will require >10 of their energy. But even if you’re not, don’t re-start unless they’re completely lazy (2) and/or the planet requires less than 10 energy from the hardest working ones. I mean, you can go for it, but you’ll be fighting uphill all the way. Anyway, reset now and start afresh from day one, focusing only on those worth your time.

5. Your next task is to grow your egg twice, using your hardest working guardian(s). It should only take a few days if you’re doing it right. Just grow it twice, because apparently if you go up to three Rachel starts hurting you. So grow it to two.

6. Next ask two guardians for energy until you reach 9 for each one. You might have to use “small” infusions of energy for it. No problem. Just make sure that you can maximize both in one night, two at most.

7. Good, now hang in there while Rachel goes ahead and raises the egg as well. She should contribute her lot too. Let her get about two growths for now.

8. While this is going on, start charming one or two of your most compatible guardians. Your days will go like this – talk to them about yourself, then visit the fortune-teller to raise compatibility until it’s at 100. If it’s at 100, raise compatibility for the next guardian. Date them on weekends. If you’re using an emulator and can reset easily, take them to the park and try to answer their questions. Otherwise stick to your room or the lake for a safe date.

9. A day or two after Rachel gets 2 growths (make sure she doesn’t get 3), step in immediately and raise those last 2 growths (the ones at 9, remember?). Ta-daa, you’ve got 4 to her 2, and the queen will instantly award you with your first extra heart.

10. After that, play the game as normal. Keep raising your guardians’ love till it’s at 175+, at which point they’ll start helping you on their own. Occasionally ask them to pour in energy for you, but keep the focus on raising stability at the academy. If you outstrip Rachel too far she’ll try and hold you back, so just stay a little ahead of her, maybe 3 or 4 planets, not too many. Be sure to keep up the guardians’ love, and to keep studying.

And that’s it! Not so hard, so long as you don’t let her get that first heart, and make sure you get the second heart too. Here’s a tip if she’s got a guardian on her side: visit him and ask him to work for you. Either to hurt her (not recommended ‘cos she can take revenge), or to help you. If he’s working for you that day, he won’t give her any bonuses.

Have fun!