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Recordkeeping: Arcade Spirits COMPLETE
Feb. 12th, 2019 05:54 pmTo work at an arcade takes hard work and guts. It takes a steady head for business and the willingness to laugh a little at life's ups and downs. It takes a warm heart and some basic common sense.
You also need luck, strong support from friends and the willingness to throw yourself after your hopes and dreams. You can't get anywhere if you don't follow those.
Arcade Spirits is about following hopes and dreams, working with fast friends at an arcade in the distant future year 20XX. You can date your friends, or you can just go to work and have fun with your friends. The game's not gonna judge you if you're not looking for romance.
I've played enough VNs where the game over condition is "You tried to buddy up to too many people, none of them is your True Soulmate, come back when you're ready to commit." Arcade Spirits doesn't do that.
This also means that it doesn't work on a "route" system, where you lock yourself to someone and see all of their scenes by saying only things they like, then replay to see everyone else's scenes by saying only things they like. You're pretty much free to engage with a situation based on the personality quirks you want to have, and if you go off and befriend someone who isn't your True Love... not a big deal. You all work together anyway, who minds?
It's also a VN that isn't a conduit for lewds. There's some suggestive art (look, there's a freakin' beach episode) but nobody strips off completely.
Oh, and this game is extremely respectful of folks across the LGBT spectrum. (If that's a dealbreaker for you, please get the hell out of my review text.)
The art is pretty great, and the music is ... loungey and relaxed. It doesn't intrude on the experience, I'm glad I bought the soundtrack for background listening.
The writing really takes center stage (it's a visual novel, obvs) and it's got that classic Lucasarts-y feel where for the most part you never have to be afraid to pick a solid joke or reaction, because you can be sure it won't tank your game. It's also funny and poignant and can contain as much HOT BLOODED SPIRIT as a giant robot anime if you choose to propel yourself down that route.
(I for one stepped up as a Passionate Defender of Arcadekind and the game let me roll with it. Srsly the text was like 80% Stirring Friendship Speech. I think I accidentally rolled a Yu-Gi-Oh character.)
That said, prepare for emotions. There are some Strong Feelings here. It can hurt.
If you're an older gamer, you'll go berserk over nods to classics like Buckner and Garcia's albums and existing real-world retro games, or you can go full eSports fan with arcade-action MOBAs and revolutionary dancing. While you're not actually playing these games, it's fun to see them and mull over how the arcade scene could've developed if it hadn't crashed.
Basically... I was waiting eagerly for Arcade Spirits and it lived up to what I wanted and expected. There's good replay value here if you're the type to chase achievements but if you're not, this is a pretty strong one-and-done story too. The demo's worth a try if you're still on the fence, but...
...look, 80-some quarters will get you either a stirring tale of love, dreams and friendship OR it'll get you halfway through Gauntlet.
Haven't you played enough Gauntlet for one lifetime?
[EDIT: I have been informed that original Gauntlet does not have an ending and I was thinking of Gauntlet Legends. I hope this grievous misinformation does not damage my credibility. I promise to fire myself when I am no longer needed for upkeep and maintenance.]
(This review was cross-posted to Steam, so it's a little odd-reading. Written for the masses and all. But look: I fricking loved this game. It got me to consider dating human people. That doesn't happen. This game gave me the same warm feelings about its cast that Star Billions did. So... yeah, real good stuff here. 10/10 rec if you're into VNs at all.)
You also need luck, strong support from friends and the willingness to throw yourself after your hopes and dreams. You can't get anywhere if you don't follow those.
Arcade Spirits is about following hopes and dreams, working with fast friends at an arcade in the distant future year 20XX. You can date your friends, or you can just go to work and have fun with your friends. The game's not gonna judge you if you're not looking for romance.
I've played enough VNs where the game over condition is "You tried to buddy up to too many people, none of them is your True Soulmate, come back when you're ready to commit." Arcade Spirits doesn't do that.
This also means that it doesn't work on a "route" system, where you lock yourself to someone and see all of their scenes by saying only things they like, then replay to see everyone else's scenes by saying only things they like. You're pretty much free to engage with a situation based on the personality quirks you want to have, and if you go off and befriend someone who isn't your True Love... not a big deal. You all work together anyway, who minds?
It's also a VN that isn't a conduit for lewds. There's some suggestive art (look, there's a freakin' beach episode) but nobody strips off completely.
Oh, and this game is extremely respectful of folks across the LGBT spectrum. (If that's a dealbreaker for you, please get the hell out of my review text.)
The art is pretty great, and the music is ... loungey and relaxed. It doesn't intrude on the experience, I'm glad I bought the soundtrack for background listening.
The writing really takes center stage (it's a visual novel, obvs) and it's got that classic Lucasarts-y feel where for the most part you never have to be afraid to pick a solid joke or reaction, because you can be sure it won't tank your game. It's also funny and poignant and can contain as much HOT BLOODED SPIRIT as a giant robot anime if you choose to propel yourself down that route.
(I for one stepped up as a Passionate Defender of Arcadekind and the game let me roll with it. Srsly the text was like 80% Stirring Friendship Speech. I think I accidentally rolled a Yu-Gi-Oh character.)
That said, prepare for emotions. There are some Strong Feelings here. It can hurt.
If you're an older gamer, you'll go berserk over nods to classics like Buckner and Garcia's albums and existing real-world retro games, or you can go full eSports fan with arcade-action MOBAs and revolutionary dancing. While you're not actually playing these games, it's fun to see them and mull over how the arcade scene could've developed if it hadn't crashed.
Basically... I was waiting eagerly for Arcade Spirits and it lived up to what I wanted and expected. There's good replay value here if you're the type to chase achievements but if you're not, this is a pretty strong one-and-done story too. The demo's worth a try if you're still on the fence, but...
...look, 80-some quarters will get you either a stirring tale of love, dreams and friendship OR it'll get you halfway through Gauntlet.
Haven't you played enough Gauntlet for one lifetime?
[EDIT: I have been informed that original Gauntlet does not have an ending and I was thinking of Gauntlet Legends. I hope this grievous misinformation does not damage my credibility. I promise to fire myself when I am no longer needed for upkeep and maintenance.]
(This review was cross-posted to Steam, so it's a little odd-reading. Written for the masses and all. But look: I fricking loved this game. It got me to consider dating human people. That doesn't happen. This game gave me the same warm feelings about its cast that Star Billions did. So... yeah, real good stuff here. 10/10 rec if you're into VNs at all.)
