This is my first Vanillaware game, so I don't have any reference points to draw upon, except the fact that it's different from past VW games. It's funny looking at the threads about this game on here with people thinking that it's not worth all the dev time. If you are not in a reading mood, at least listen to Masahiro "There never was and there will probably never be a game similar to 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, everyone should play it." Sakurai, Yoko "let's all buy 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim" Taro, and the people that nominated it for Japan's Seiun Sci-Fi Awards.
If you are already sold on the game before this, I don't think you need to or should read any further; I went into the game blind and it just kept on surprising me until the very end.
For those of you that barely know anything about the game, it's split into two sections.
The Adventure section is a visual novel... and it is amazing. This game and 428 are peak VNs to me. They somehow made this huge cast work; everyone in the main cast plus some of the side characters are all likable. The stories of the protagonists are all very different tonally, and it's like reading mini-VNs that are part of a larger VN.
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Edit 5/26: After looking at newer comments about the game and thinking about it a bit more, It's definitely a mix of point-and-click games and a VN, at least presentation wise.
Throughout the adventure segments, keywords will appear and you can "think" about them through the triangle button. This mechanic is what allows the player to push the story forward and interact with the characters. However, it's not that difficult; most of the times you will know what to "think" about.
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For those of you that played 428, here's an analogy. 428 is a giant 3D sliding puzzle that the player has to sit there and solve. On the other hand, 13 Sentinels is like as if someone dropkicks a giant puzzle and the individual pieces scattered throughout every corner of a messy room, and the player has to find it and put it back together. On top of that, the shape of the puzzle and the illustrations on it are designed in a way that it could fit into smaller illustrations. THEN at the end, you can use the archive section of the game to give you a complete look of what the ACTUAL illustration on the puzzle is supposed to look like. The story, when told in a linear fashion is already pretty good, but it's the way that its told during a playthrough that transforms it into something truly special.
The battle section has the basis of a turn-based strategy game, plus a dash of tower defense and RTS elements. It's a bit overwhelming and hard to decipher in the beginning, but I eventually get used to it. There aren't a lot of fancy animations for the mechs; my imagination and the sheer number of enemies are what completes the experience of "operating a mech and facing off swarms of enemies" for me. It is not that difficult (I played on normal and got all S ranks), but it is tons of fun. The chaotic nature of the battles is what makes it fun for me - especially when enemies explode into fireworks. However, if you are attracted by only the mechs
The music is a blast, and I'll just highlight some of the songs here.
With the way things are, I doubt it is getting released here in the West in 2020. But if you even have a slight interest in the game, I encourage you to keep it in your mind and avoid footage of it if possible. In all honesty, this game will release at a horrible spot (be it 2020 or 2021), since it's for sure getting overshadowed by next-gen systems and games. It seems that almost all PS4 games will be playable on PS5, and I better see this game on the long list of games that are compatible, Sony.
Overall, it's a strong GOTY contender for me, and playing through it has gotten me interested in VW's older titles, even though I know that they are drastically different from this. Vanillaware probably doesn't have the manpower for it, but I hope they can find someone to help them bring their back catalog to modern platforms.
I don't think using time as a way to deceptively present a story is necessarily new, but it's done extremely well and layered in here.
The world is first presented as linear, with different points on a single timeline and time travels, so the fact that they are revealed to be "parallel universes" (sectors) would come as a shock. However, even if someone deciphers that ahead of the in-game reveal, there's the reveal of actual parallel universes at play, with the sectors actually being just different era cities right next to each other. And then that is superseded by the true role of the year 2188 plays in the narrative, and eventually, the ultimate reveal of the cast being in matrix.
IMO it can be disorientating, but also super rewarding, even if I ended up deducing something insignificant. There are definitely times where I can feel my brain attempting to process it at times and struggling to find a reference point, since time is usually an easy go-to, but it is unreliable for a large portion of the game.
I am just going to throw this in here, even though I am not even 100% sure myself. In some routes, there seem to be some non-flashback scenes that are presented out of order, which further complicates things.
However, there are sacrifices that the devs made in order to accommodate the current structure and maintain that element of surprise. There are gaps in the narrative (the time Megumi and Izumi Juurou spent together, Tomi and Tetsuya) that lead to a lack of characterization, and it's really apparent in Megumi's route. As a result of that, I am definitely not as invested in some pairings as much as for example, Tsukasa-Taketoshi and Iori-Ei, which have way more actual build-ups that are shown throughout the game instead of just the game telling me that "hey she loves him".
This is strictly a personal preference, but I feel like the VN portion could've used a more hyped up bookend (such as Iori's sentinel activation) instead of connecting it to 3-10(?).
Talking about the game is gonna be a pain. One of my friends watched the prologue on Youtube after getting interested, and whenever they talk about how they think the story will go, I have no choice but to sit there and just, smile. :)))
The world is first presented as linear, with different points on a single timeline and time travels, so the fact that they are revealed to be "parallel universes" (sectors) would come as a shock. However, even if someone deciphers that ahead of the in-game reveal, there's the reveal of actual parallel universes at play, with the sectors actually being just different era cities right next to each other. And then that is superseded by the true role of the year 2188 plays in the narrative, and eventually, the ultimate reveal of the cast being in matrix.
IMO it can be disorientating, but also super rewarding, even if I ended up deducing something insignificant. There are definitely times where I can feel my brain attempting to process it at times and struggling to find a reference point, since time is usually an easy go-to, but it is unreliable for a large portion of the game.
I am just going to throw this in here, even though I am not even 100% sure myself. In some routes, there seem to be some non-flashback scenes that are presented out of order, which further complicates things.
However, there are sacrifices that the devs made in order to accommodate the current structure and maintain that element of surprise. There are gaps in the narrative (the time Megumi and Izumi Juurou spent together, Tomi and Tetsuya) that lead to a lack of characterization, and it's really apparent in Megumi's route. As a result of that, I am definitely not as invested in some pairings as much as for example, Tsukasa-Taketoshi and Iori-Ei, which have way more actual build-ups that are shown throughout the game instead of just the game telling me that "hey she loves him".
This is strictly a personal preference, but I feel like the VN portion could've used a more hyped up bookend (such as Iori's sentinel activation) instead of connecting it to 3-10(?).
Talking about the game is gonna be a pain. One of my friends watched the prologue on Youtube after getting interested, and whenever they talk about how they think the story will go, I have no choice but to sit there and just, smile. :)))
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It's Vanillaware's interpretation of mechs vs. monster invasion on a massive scale in a city setting. I really enjoy the visually chaotic nature of it, to be honest.
Unfortunately not, Atlus West does have a website up but that's all there is to it.
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