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13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - PlayStation 4
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About this item
- Vanillaware, the storytellers behind Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown, craft a sci-fi mystery epic spanning thirteen intertwining stories
- Uncover the truth and delve into a 2D side scrolling adventure featuring gorgeous art and environments. Then, battle the Kaiju in fast-paced, top-down combat
- Customize the Sentinels with an arsenal of mechsuit weaponry, and fight to defend humanity
- Beautifully rendered in Vanillaware’s signature hand-painted visual style. Uncover a deep story through visions of the past and the future
- The doomsday clock is ticking. Become a Sentinel pilot, customize your mech, and fight waves of Kaiju in top-down tactical combat
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Product information
ASIN | B08B4SHYNQ |
---|---|
Release date | September 22, 2020 |
Customer Reviews |
4.8 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #6,824 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games) #297 in PlayStation 4 Games |
Product Dimensions | 6.69 x 5.51 x 0.79 inches; 2.4 ounces |
Type of item | Video Game |
Rated | Teen |
Item model number | ST-22031-1 |
Item Weight | 2.39 ounces |
Manufacturer | Sega |
Date First Available | June 12, 2020 |
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Product Description
Vanillaware, the storytellers behind Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown, craft a sci-fi mystery epic spanning thirteen intertwining stories. Uncover the truth and delve into a 2D sidescrolling adventure featuring gorgeous art and environments. Then, battle the Kaiju in fast-paced, top-down combat. Customize the Sentinels with an arsenal of mechsuit weaponry, and fight to defend humanity! Key Features: • Beautifully rendered in Vanillaware’s signature hand-painted visual style • Uncover a deep story through visions of the past and the future • The doomsday clock is ticking. Become a Sentinel pilot, customize your mech, and fight waves of Kaiju in top-down tactical combat
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Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the storyline engaging and fascinating. They also say the quality of the game is great, with fun battles. Customers praise the artwork as beautiful, incredible, and beautiful. They find the characters interesting and fleshed out. They appreciate the great English and Japanese voice acting.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers like the quality of the game. They say it's an absolute lad of a game, with great experiences to play. They also say the gameplay is very good, and the battles are fun. They mention that the combat portion of the games is highly rewarding, and that it'll be a clear love letter to all things sci-fi. Additionally, they say the tower defense can be really fun, and it has well-crafted stories.
"...since it was a not as visually inviting but I found it smooth and fun to play.I won't spoil anything from the story. Enjoy it for yourself...." Read more
"...Tower defense can be really fun if you like that kind of game!..." Read more
"...hand was a nice distraction from the story segment since it plays almost like an RPG...." Read more
"...what the full story was all about as they all come together, was very well done, and there was quite a few unexpected twists...." Read more
Customers find the storyline engaging, with a helpful guide that keeps them on track. They also say the story is phenomenal, fascinating, and uniquely told. Customers also love the feeling of solving a mystery and appreciate the third segment for the lore and events that happen during the story.
"...13 Sentinels takes quite a unique approach to gameplay, in the forms of 13 protagonists (hence, the game's name)...." Read more
"...There's also a third segment for the lore and events that happen during the story so you can revisit them in case you forget...." Read more
"..."story", where neither is too brief nor drawn out, and the story bits are captivating so far. I'm about 2 hours in and enjoying every bit of it...." Read more
"...The story is great also, I love how they slowly give you bits and pieces and as I was watching it unfold, I was really invested...." Read more
Customers like the artwork in the game. They say it's beyond beautiful, has incredible art direction, and is stunning water-colored 2D animation. They also appreciate the top-notch graphics and the creative story. However, some customers feel the battles are pretty basic graphically.
"...Vanillaware managed to make this game look absolutely gorgeous, so I figure why not get the physical copy and admire the art...." Read more
"...The art style and presentation are so outstanding, I love the hand drawn visuals and its cozy vibes...." Read more
"...The art / graphics / animation are pure Vanillaware goodness, and the sound and music... sublime. An audio / visual feast...." Read more
"...I LOVE the artwork and storyline to this game. They did a game I wasn't sure would even come state-side more than justice!..." Read more
Customers find the characters interesting, fleshed out, and likable. They also say the story is engaging and intentionally episodic between its 13 characters.
"...Each character is fleshed out and helps contribute to the overall plot of the story (which I'll get to later)...." Read more
"...before the full picture comes into view but I believe all the characters are fleshed out and I enjoyed learning their backstories...." Read more
"...The characters are interesting and fleshed out. There's more of the tower defense / battle bit than I expected...." Read more
"...work, to a BEAUTIFULLY made title with amazing attention to character development and continuity...." Read more
Customers find the voice acting in the video game excellent. They also appreciate the talented voice actors and the well-recorded audio. Customers also mention that the game has interesting dialogue and neat characters. They appreciate the dual language option and bonus post game.
"...All of the dialogue is voiced, even the thought bubbles, so if you've neglected visual novels, since there are no voices to keep you engaged; 13..." Read more
"...Great translation work, to a BEAUTIFULLY made title with amazing attention to character development and continuity...." Read more
"...(but with beautiful art and fully voiced!)..." Read more
"...The English dub is excellent, maybe the best I’ve heard from an anime type game...." Read more
Customers find the music superb, and the voice acting great. They also say the audio is a visual feast, with crisp and well-recorded audio from talented voice actors.
"...Lastly the soundtrack is amazing, I love all of the tracks during the mecha fights...." Read more
"...An audio / visual feast. And to top it, Atlus as the god-tier publisher.The bonus artbook is a nice touch...." Read more
"...The soundtrack is interesting, with good production...." Read more
"...story is stunning water colored 2d animation art with crisp and well recorded audio from talented voice actors you'd very much recognize in both..." Read more
Customers find the game complex but still enjoyable. They say the story is woven in a way that keeps it from feeling convoluted. They also say the gameplay is relatively easy with some tactical combat. Customers also mention that the controls are simple enough.
"...Analysis, is in essence, a carefully thought out guide...." Read more
"...plays out as more of a graphical adventure, although very, very simplistic in mechanics. The characters are interesting and fleshed out...." Read more
"...at first, but the story is woven in a way that keeps it from feeling convoluted and will have you on the edge of your seat...." Read more
"...Controls seem simple enough, and the battles are fun, alittle on the easy side but then again this is super early into the game...." Read more
Customers are mixed about the difficulty level of the video game. Some mention that it has a tactical turn based battle system that is fun, while others say that the battles are too easy. They also say that it leaves a lot to their imagination and that the scale will get progressively difficult.
"This game is all about the story. It has a tactical turn based battle system that is fun but honestly not the reason to play the game...." Read more
"...The battle scale will get progressively difficult (it won't feel challenging until the 2nd Area)...." Read more
"...Gameplay is relatively easy, having some tactical combat with overhead view and the rest being a visual novel type story. All-in-all, awesome!" Read more
"...The problem is the combat leaves a lot to your imagination, it could have been so much better if it was all animated in a way like the story..." Read more
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13 Sentinels takes quite a unique approach to gameplay, in the forms of 13 protagonists (hence, the game's name). Each character is fleshed out and helps contribute to the overall plot of the story (which I'll get to later). With the exception of maybe 1-2 protagonists, I enjoyed the cast. All of them are unique in their own right (I'll give some small description for each).
REMEMBRANCE
By far, the greatest feature of this game is Remembrance, which is the game's central section to telling it's plot. And while the plot is incredible, it's more-so the approach to the story which is genius. While you do play as 13 characters, from their own points of view, you have to unlock each character by completing other character's events. I'll give an example: Yuki Takamiya's story becomes locked at a certain point until you complete Natsuno Minami's "Exterminator" event. Events are instances during each character's routes. Think of them like checkpoints. You will find yourself replaying certain sections, but choosing different options in order to progress. This is an event. Whenever I mention a character's event, picture a break in their route. In game, an event will always end with a "To be Continued...."
My recommended order to play through this game would be to hop between protagonists frequently (I do it every single time the event ends and I'm brought back to the protagonist selection). I highly encourage players to switch between other characters that appear in that protagonist's story (Ex: In Juro's route, Iori Fuyusaka can be seen, therefore I switch to her after I complete Juro's event; in Iori's route, Shu Amiguchi can be seen, and in his route Yuki Takamiya appears, and so on). This is the way the game is intended to be played, in fact I discourage you from trying to outright complete one character's story in one shot, as it takes away from the central narrative and most-often-than-not it will be locked. At key points in the game, certain character's stories directly follow each other (assuming you've been using my order), and this is very rewarding.
Most of the time, you'll be finding yourself switching between characters to unlock the other's story. In simpler terms: Even though the character may be unlocked, they will become inaccessible until a certain story event/enemy wave (more on that later) is completed first. To me, this never upset the impeccable pacing, which is astounding, since the game takes place over several key time periods.
Speaking of characters, let's name a few shall we? (this is just a short summary and it's purpose is to demonstrate how each character ties in with the next. I included some images regarding each character's routes)
Juro Kurabe: A boy from 1985. He's living with Megumi Yakushiji, but he's worried the school might find out and expel the both of them. He greatly enjoys Mecha and Kaiju movies, and often shares them with his best friends (Shiba and Shu Amiguchi). Juro has been talking to Iori Fuyusaka, an insomniac kept awake by the dreams she has. In truth, the school he's attending is keeping some deep secrets from him.
Megumi Yakushiji: A girl from 1985. She's living with Juro, who she has a romantic interest towards. Her story is all about restoring Juro's memories by following the orders of Fluffy, a supernatural cat. If you've seen Madoka Magica, you'll come to appreciate this route.
Shu Amiguchi: A boy from 1985. Personally, one of my favorite characters. He's a flirty rich kid who's trying to get the best out of life. He becomes acquainted with Yuki Takamiya, a "sukeban" girl, who he comes to see as the ideal romantic interest for him. For his entire life, he's had girls throw themselves at him, but he's never had someone refuse him. This is what lead to his initial interest. While this is all going down, he's been having a supposed pop idol, Miyuki Inaba, talk to him through his tv. She warns him about a great conspiracy involving their town. Eventually, he finds himself too deep in the conspiracy to get out.
Yuki Takamiya: A girl from 1985. She's amassed a great deal of respect as the leader of the "sukeban" girls (delinquents, basically). She's been sent (forced) as an undercover agent to investigate Sakura High for those who are compatible with the Sentinels by the government, alongside Ryoko Shinonome. Her best friend, Natsuno Minami, has been missing from school for several days. Unbeknownst to her, Natsuno Minami is being investigated by the government, which she is working for. Yuki knows that Natsuno was never the kind of girl to run away, so she immediately pulls together an investigation with her partner: Erika Aiba. Her investigation leads to several bomb (metaphorical) drops.
Ryoko Shinonome: I'm not sure just yet what time period she comes from. She developed a crush on Tetsuya Ida, one of the higher ups at the government station that Yuki and her are working at. She suffers from great headaches (when playing as her you actually see how much pain this girl goes through) and has to take pills in order to subside them. She's looking for 426, a prisoner who was believed to have caused the Deimos invasion.
Natsuno Minami: A girl from 1985. She's one of my favorites as well. Natsuno is heavily invested in Alien and conspiracy theory media. She watches the same movies that Juro and Amiguchi watch, but she whole-heartedly believes that Aliens are real. Imagine her surprise when she discovers an Alien robot, who she aptly names BJ. BJ is looking for the pilot of Sentinel No. 17 (I'm not sure if that's the exact number, but you get the point). She hides him in her P.E. bag and shoves him in her track locker.
Keitaro Miura: A boy from 1945. Once again, one of my favorites and for good reason too. Miura was preparing to leave his home and fight in WWII as a pilot of a Sentinel (I don't remember the exact number). His friend, Takatoshi Hijiyama admires his will to fight and gives him his regards before they depart. Before leaving, he is shocked to find his home in flames from a US air raid. He travels to the future by accident and is devastated to learn that Japan lost the war. Honestly, he's the best character in this game.
Takatoshi Hijiyama: A boy from 1945. His story begins at Tokisaka Shrine, a very important location to keep in mind. He corners Kiriko Douji, a supposed traitor and his love interest. However, Kiriko reveals herself to be Tsukasa Okino, a guy who worked on the 4th Gen Sentinels. Hijiyama chases after him into the future: 1985.
Iori Fuyusaka: A girl from 1985. Iori constantly suffers from her dreams and finds herself oversleeping in class to compensate. She's friends with Tomi Kisaragi and Miwako Sawatori, who appear most in her story. She met a mysterious boy (Ei Sekigahara), after bumping into him at the school gate. She sees him as a romantic interest and tries to find him.
Ei Sekigahara: A boy from the future. Ei is an amnesiac. He wakes up in a dark alley to find a corpse, a gun (Phaser), and several other things. His story is all about piecing together his steps in order to recover his memory. Why was this woman killed? Who killed her? Why this exact location? What does this key unlock? Who am I? These are some of the questions that will pop up during his route. I'm not finished with his story yet, but it's certainly very interesting.
I hope I managed to at least pique your interest with some of the descriptions. I also wanted to show the importance of switching protagonists frequently, that way the plot makes more sense. I didn't include the other 3, since those focus on some plot heavy details (Especially Gouto). Trying to play this game in chronological order is impossible, so don't bother; most of the shock is only delivered so well, due to the buildup.
ANALYSIS
If you ever find yourself needing a chart or a list to navigate through the story, Analysis has you covered. While playing Remembrance, you get thought bubbles. By thinking those thoughts, you add on to Analysis. Analysis, is in essence, a carefully thought out guide. All 13 character's profiles (assuming you've unlocked them) are stored here and gradually built upon as you progress with their routes. The best feature, however, has to be the mystery files. Mystery files help clear up certain details, which may have confused you during the story, without giving too much away. They are a great addition to Analysis. You will unlock mystery points to spend on these files through Destruction and Remembrance (mostly the former, but there are rare instances where Remembrance will grant these points). I recommend coming back to Analysis every now and then (let's say every 4 events), or if you are completely lost.
DESTRUCTION
(I don't remember what the mode itself is called at the moment, but it's a blast)
Hear me out on this. I absolutely can't stand Mecha shows and tropes. It's just not my cup of tea. That being said...I love this mode! In Destruction, you pilot all 13 characters' Sentinels and defend the city from the Deimos (Robot Kaiju). Each character is separated into 4 types of playstyles depending on the Sentinel:
-1st Gen (Brawlers, big damage boys): Nenji Ogata, Takatoshi Hijiyama, Ei Sekigahara
-2nd Gen (All Rounders): Juro Kurabe, Iori Fuyusaka, Ryoko Shinonome
-3rd Gen (Long Range): Natsuno Minami, Keitaro Miura, Tomi Kisaragi
-4th Gen (Aerial Mid Range): Megumi Yakushiji, Renya Gouto, Yuki Takamiya, Shu Amiguchi
The battle scale will get progressively difficult (it won't feel challenging until the 2nd Area). Just make sure you are always upgrading your pilots and switching them out when needed. Each pilot comes with perks which unlock at LV 5, 10, 15, and 20. It can anything to increasing all stats if the pilot is completely alone (Shinonome) to increasing damage if a follow-up was preformed by a certain character-duo (Natsuno and Miura). Overall, you won't have any problem as long as you upgrade your pilots after each battle (I recommend focusing on Demolisher Blade for the Brawlers, put that to +5 and it will insta-kill all Wave 1 and most of Wave 2 Kaiju; don't rely on the machine gun skills they suck trust me). Also DON'T recover unless absolutely necessary. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I haven't recovered my pilots ONCE and I'm doing fine. If you choose to recover your battle score will reset: Mine's currently at 2.10x more, since I won 12 battles straight without dying.
OVERVIEW
Overall, 13 Sentinels is absolutely worth the $60 price for how much content you're getting for it. If you see a sale, buy it immediately. I recommend picking up the physical copy, since it comes with a mini artbook. Vanillaware managed to make this game look absolutely gorgeous, so I figure why not get the physical copy and admire the art. Trust me, you'll appreciate it more once you actually play through the game. Anyway, 13 Sentinels is a masterpiece regarding yet another Time Travel basis flipped on its head. All of the dialogue is voiced, even the thought bubbles, so if you've neglected visual novels, since there are no voices to keep you engaged; 13 Sentinels is a great place to start.
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021
13 Sentinels takes quite a unique approach to gameplay, in the forms of 13 protagonists (hence, the game's name). Each character is fleshed out and helps contribute to the overall plot of the story (which I'll get to later). With the exception of maybe 1-2 protagonists, I enjoyed the cast. All of them are unique in their own right (I'll give some small description for each).
REMEMBRANCE
By far, the greatest feature of this game is Remembrance, which is the game's central section to telling it's plot. And while the plot is incredible, it's more-so the approach to the story which is genius. While you do play as 13 characters, from their own points of view, you have to unlock each character by completing other character's events. I'll give an example: Yuki Takamiya's story becomes locked at a certain point until you complete Natsuno Minami's "Exterminator" event. Events are instances during each character's routes. Think of them like checkpoints. You will find yourself replaying certain sections, but choosing different options in order to progress. This is an event. Whenever I mention a character's event, picture a break in their route. In game, an event will always end with a "To be Continued...."
My recommended order to play through this game would be to hop between protagonists frequently (I do it every single time the event ends and I'm brought back to the protagonist selection). I highly encourage players to switch between other characters that appear in that protagonist's story (Ex: In Juro's route, Iori Fuyusaka can be seen, therefore I switch to her after I complete Juro's event; in Iori's route, Shu Amiguchi can be seen, and in his route Yuki Takamiya appears, and so on). This is the way the game is intended to be played, in fact I discourage you from trying to outright complete one character's story in one shot, as it takes away from the central narrative and most-often-than-not it will be locked. At key points in the game, certain character's stories directly follow each other (assuming you've been using my order), and this is very rewarding.
Most of the time, you'll be finding yourself switching between characters to unlock the other's story. In simpler terms: Even though the character may be unlocked, they will become inaccessible until a certain story event/enemy wave (more on that later) is completed first. To me, this never upset the impeccable pacing, which is astounding, since the game takes place over several key time periods.
Speaking of characters, let's name a few shall we? (this is just a short summary and it's purpose is to demonstrate how each character ties in with the next. I included some images regarding each character's routes)
Juro Kurabe: A boy from 1985. He's living with Megumi Yakushiji, but he's worried the school might find out and expel the both of them. He greatly enjoys Mecha and Kaiju movies, and often shares them with his best friends (Shiba and Shu Amiguchi). Juro has been talking to Iori Fuyusaka, an insomniac kept awake by the dreams she has. In truth, the school he's attending is keeping some deep secrets from him.
Megumi Yakushiji: A girl from 1985. She's living with Juro, who she has a romantic interest towards. Her story is all about restoring Juro's memories by following the orders of Fluffy, a supernatural cat. If you've seen Madoka Magica, you'll come to appreciate this route.
Shu Amiguchi: A boy from 1985. Personally, one of my favorite characters. He's a flirty rich kid who's trying to get the best out of life. He becomes acquainted with Yuki Takamiya, a "sukeban" girl, who he comes to see as the ideal romantic interest for him. For his entire life, he's had girls throw themselves at him, but he's never had someone refuse him. This is what lead to his initial interest. While this is all going down, he's been having a supposed pop idol, Miyuki Inaba, talk to him through his tv. She warns him about a great conspiracy involving their town. Eventually, he finds himself too deep in the conspiracy to get out.
Yuki Takamiya: A girl from 1985. She's amassed a great deal of respect as the leader of the "sukeban" girls (delinquents, basically). She's been sent (forced) as an undercover agent to investigate Sakura High for those who are compatible with the Sentinels by the government, alongside Ryoko Shinonome. Her best friend, Natsuno Minami, has been missing from school for several days. Unbeknownst to her, Natsuno Minami is being investigated by the government, which she is working for. Yuki knows that Natsuno was never the kind of girl to run away, so she immediately pulls together an investigation with her partner: Erika Aiba. Her investigation leads to several bomb (metaphorical) drops.
Ryoko Shinonome: I'm not sure just yet what time period she comes from. She developed a crush on Tetsuya Ida, one of the higher ups at the government station that Yuki and her are working at. She suffers from great headaches (when playing as her you actually see how much pain this girl goes through) and has to take pills in order to subside them. She's looking for 426, a prisoner who was believed to have caused the Deimos invasion.
Natsuno Minami: A girl from 1985. She's one of my favorites as well. Natsuno is heavily invested in Alien and conspiracy theory media. She watches the same movies that Juro and Amiguchi watch, but she whole-heartedly believes that Aliens are real. Imagine her surprise when she discovers an Alien robot, who she aptly names BJ. BJ is looking for the pilot of Sentinel No. 17 (I'm not sure if that's the exact number, but you get the point). She hides him in her P.E. bag and shoves him in her track locker.
Keitaro Miura: A boy from 1945. Once again, one of my favorites and for good reason too. Miura was preparing to leave his home and fight in WWII as a pilot of a Sentinel (I don't remember the exact number). His friend, Takatoshi Hijiyama admires his will to fight and gives him his regards before they depart. Before leaving, he is shocked to find his home in flames from a US air raid. He travels to the future by accident and is devastated to learn that Japan lost the war. Honestly, he's the best character in this game.
Takatoshi Hijiyama: A boy from 1945. His story begins at Tokisaka Shrine, a very important location to keep in mind. He corners Kiriko Douji, a supposed traitor and his love interest. However, Kiriko reveals herself to be Tsukasa Okino, a guy who worked on the 4th Gen Sentinels. Hijiyama chases after him into the future: 1985.
Iori Fuyusaka: A girl from 1985. Iori constantly suffers from her dreams and finds herself oversleeping in class to compensate. She's friends with Tomi Kisaragi and Miwako Sawatori, who appear most in her story. She met a mysterious boy (Ei Sekigahara), after bumping into him at the school gate. She sees him as a romantic interest and tries to find him.
Ei Sekigahara: A boy from the future. Ei is an amnesiac. He wakes up in a dark alley to find a corpse, a gun (Phaser), and several other things. His story is all about piecing together his steps in order to recover his memory. Why was this woman killed? Who killed her? Why this exact location? What does this key unlock? Who am I? These are some of the questions that will pop up during his route. I'm not finished with his story yet, but it's certainly very interesting.
I hope I managed to at least pique your interest with some of the descriptions. I also wanted to show the importance of switching protagonists frequently, that way the plot makes more sense. I didn't include the other 3, since those focus on some plot heavy details (Especially Gouto). Trying to play this game in chronological order is impossible, so don't bother; most of the shock is only delivered so well, due to the buildup.
ANALYSIS
If you ever find yourself needing a chart or a list to navigate through the story, Analysis has you covered. While playing Remembrance, you get thought bubbles. By thinking those thoughts, you add on to Analysis. Analysis, is in essence, a carefully thought out guide. All 13 character's profiles (assuming you've unlocked them) are stored here and gradually built upon as you progress with their routes. The best feature, however, has to be the mystery files. Mystery files help clear up certain details, which may have confused you during the story, without giving too much away. They are a great addition to Analysis. You will unlock mystery points to spend on these files through Destruction and Remembrance (mostly the former, but there are rare instances where Remembrance will grant these points). I recommend coming back to Analysis every now and then (let's say every 4 events), or if you are completely lost.
DESTRUCTION
(I don't remember what the mode itself is called at the moment, but it's a blast)
Hear me out on this. I absolutely can't stand Mecha shows and tropes. It's just not my cup of tea. That being said...I love this mode! In Destruction, you pilot all 13 characters' Sentinels and defend the city from the Deimos (Robot Kaiju). Each character is separated into 4 types of playstyles depending on the Sentinel:
-1st Gen (Brawlers, big damage boys): Nenji Ogata, Takatoshi Hijiyama, Ei Sekigahara
-2nd Gen (All Rounders): Juro Kurabe, Iori Fuyusaka, Ryoko Shinonome
-3rd Gen (Long Range): Natsuno Minami, Keitaro Miura, Tomi Kisaragi
-4th Gen (Aerial Mid Range): Megumi Yakushiji, Renya Gouto, Yuki Takamiya, Shu Amiguchi
The battle scale will get progressively difficult (it won't feel challenging until the 2nd Area). Just make sure you are always upgrading your pilots and switching them out when needed. Each pilot comes with perks which unlock at LV 5, 10, 15, and 20. It can anything to increasing all stats if the pilot is completely alone (Shinonome) to increasing damage if a follow-up was preformed by a certain character-duo (Natsuno and Miura). Overall, you won't have any problem as long as you upgrade your pilots after each battle (I recommend focusing on Demolisher Blade for the Brawlers, put that to +5 and it will insta-kill all Wave 1 and most of Wave 2 Kaiju; don't rely on the machine gun skills they suck trust me). Also DON'T recover unless absolutely necessary. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I haven't recovered my pilots ONCE and I'm doing fine. If you choose to recover your battle score will reset: Mine's currently at 2.10x more, since I won 12 battles straight without dying.
OVERVIEW
Overall, 13 Sentinels is absolutely worth the $60 price for how much content you're getting for it. If you see a sale, buy it immediately. I recommend picking up the physical copy, since it comes with a mini artbook. Vanillaware managed to make this game look absolutely gorgeous, so I figure why not get the physical copy and admire the art. Trust me, you'll appreciate it more once you actually play through the game. Anyway, 13 Sentinels is a masterpiece regarding yet another Time Travel basis flipped on its head. All of the dialogue is voiced, even the thought bubbles, so if you've neglected visual novels, since there are no voices to keep you engaged; 13 Sentinels is a great place to start.
The art style and presentation are so outstanding, I love the hand drawn visuals and its cozy vibes. The story may not be for everyone, it takes quite a bit before the full picture comes into view but I believe all the characters are fleshed out and I enjoyed learning their backstories. I played the game swapping constantly between character stories, if I forgot anything between play sessions I could refresh in the lore/event segment.
The mecha side of the game features high-stakes combat where you control 6 of the 13 character's mechs and defend a certain point for 2 minutes or until you eliminate all enemies. When you select a character, the game pauses for you to choose whether they'll move, defend or activate and ability. I played on the hardest difficulty and battles normally took 40 seconds in-game, but maybe around 8-10 minutes in real time (and longer for the final missions). There are 4 classes of mech and each character has slightly different variations within those 4 classes that made customizing loadouts and trying different strategies fun.
Lastly the soundtrack is amazing, I love all of the tracks during the mecha fights. I also played the game with subs and Japanese VA, which I thought was pretty good. All of the little banter during mecha fights was subbed, something I notice most foreign games don't usually sub.
Overall, the story and lore segments are nice for when maybe you don't wanna try super hard and just experience a fun story. When you want some intense action, you can dive into the mecha combat segments. I love the freedom of choice this game gives you and recommend this game.
The bonus artbook is a nice touch. The game comes in a standard case, with it and the artbook encased in a slip cover.
Worth it.
Edit and update: 25 hours in, and omg. What an amazing story. I am NOT a VN guy, and my days of graphic adventures were decades ago, but my goodness. I'm actually at a point where I've advanced the story so far I need to catch up on the tower defense bits, which are normally more my thing. This game is something really unique that I'm not sure has ever really been done before. I just wanted to update, as my original glowing review was after 2 hours. After 25, I can say that... WOW!!!!
Top reviews from other countries
Combination of visual novel and half real-timed, half turn-based tower defense like RTS. Visual novel part weaves Vanillaware's unique art style and storytelling way into a non-chronological, multi-protagonist sci-fi epic. RTS part unlike Vanillaware ever made is 8-bit simplified style, however it allows hundreds to thousands of "Deimos"(which they called the kaijus in the game) spawn simultaneously. Two mode can be switched in any time except for some plot twists being locked at first.
Those who love classic sci-fi, story heavy games, Vanillaware's art style, twisted plot, and Megazone 23 should give it a try before being spoiled.
This is a side-scrolling text based adventure game, the strategy war game part is not much, if you want strategy game, get Tactics Ogre Reborn. To unfold the whole story, you need to play through 13 different characters as their stories interwine, you play a bit of one character’s story, move the character around, click items or talk to other NPCs, dialogues have different choices, need to go back and forth talk to different NPCs to proceed. Then you will be forced to stop any further progress with this character, switch to play another character, click and talk again. Repeat the same process to unlock more progress for other characters. Sorry I am not good at explaining the gameplay.
Visual and Music :
Vanillaware style, need I say more ? So beautiful ! Music is good too.
Hours and replay value :
I borrowed from library and played 20+ hours, I am at around 30%.
Buying experience :
Never bought from this seller, ordered on Nov28 Monday, didn’t pay extra for fast delivery, arrived on Dec01 Thursday, package ok, game is new, no bonus art cards. Ordered in 2002Dec, of course bonus items are all gone. Enclosed a photo of the game, perfect condition, works fine in my PS4.
Price :
In 2022Dec, even used one is not easy to find, so this price for a new one is reasonable.
Conclusion :
If you like Vanillaware visual or text based adventure games, go get it, thank you.
Reviewed in Canada on December 1, 2022
This is a side-scrolling text based adventure game, the strategy war game part is not much, if you want strategy game, get Tactics Ogre Reborn. To unfold the whole story, you need to play through 13 different characters as their stories interwine, you play a bit of one character’s story, move the character around, click items or talk to other NPCs, dialogues have different choices, need to go back and forth talk to different NPCs to proceed. Then you will be forced to stop any further progress with this character, switch to play another character, click and talk again. Repeat the same process to unlock more progress for other characters. Sorry I am not good at explaining the gameplay.
Visual and Music :
Vanillaware style, need I say more ? So beautiful ! Music is good too.
Hours and replay value :
I borrowed from library and played 20+ hours, I am at around 30%.
Buying experience :
Never bought from this seller, ordered on Nov28 Monday, didn’t pay extra for fast delivery, arrived on Dec01 Thursday, package ok, game is new, no bonus art cards. Ordered in 2002Dec, of course bonus items are all gone. Enclosed a photo of the game, perfect condition, works fine in my PS4.
Price :
In 2022Dec, even used one is not easy to find, so this price for a new one is reasonable.
Conclusion :
If you like Vanillaware visual or text based adventure games, go get it, thank you.