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LBX is a series I really feel sorry for. I can tell the developers are really trying to make a beautiful, sci-fi adventure...and while this game is strong at a technical level, I can understand why the core gameplay mechanics never appealed to the 3DS audience in America. Probably the most irritating thing about this game, is that the problems start within the opening cutscenes...right before the actual gameplay starts! The game starts up with a flash-forward of the main hero Van Yamano and his partner Achilles attacking the villain's ship with the CIO resistance. Which doesn't make any sense because he no longer uses Achilles at this point of the story. Even his friends Amy and Kaz are using the incorrect LBX! And thanks to this cutscene, the twist where Aeron becomes one of the good guys is ruined...fantastic. After setting up my profile, another cutscene plays, explaining how LBX came to be. Then another flash-forward cutscene plays. Then comes a rock n' roll music opening. After that comes a chase scene. Why are there so many cutscenes? After a while, I forgot that I was even playing a video game. When the actual LBX fights begin, they're pretty challenging. Since your LBX AX-00 has a poor defense, without cover pads, you'll have to be extra careful during the first few levels. LBX parts have this AC level-up system where they grow stronger with battle experience, while your's characters level just allows you access to more core-unit space and more powerful special moves. You can grind by fighting people on the streets, but there LBX will always match the strength of your LBX so even the practice fights are tricky! And even though the dungeons have weaker opponents, you're always fighting 3 on 3 matches with your teammates controlled by the computer. And if the AI isn't strong enough, your allies become lunch meat, and you have to win battles all by yourself. It gets trickier since there's more story than tutorials, young players will be jabbing those buttons in a paranoid craze...desperately trying to survive. You can boost your fighter like a rocket, charge and release barrage attacks, and perform multiple different techniques during battle while searching for your opponents weak points. You've got a large range of weapons as well! Spears, Swords, Guns, Rifles, Hammers, Claws, and even Missile Launchers! The special attacks are also pretty great and act as great finishing moves. There's a lot of freedom with the customization and battle mechanics to keep players entertained. That's all said and good, but what about the theme? The story is actually pretty grim for an E10 game. There's a large kill count, the villains feel like legit puppeteer terrorists, there's a level where you have stop a freaking assassination attempt, don't forget the Nils Richter torture scene. I know that games like Yo-Kai Watch and Inazuma 11 with have the occasional heavy scene, but this is something else. Even the levels are pretty intense, consisting mainly of danger-filled military bases full of security drones. The majority of the game has this "long war" theme to it...and that's fine if you want to add more realism to the story, but remember this is an E10-rated game. What kind of pre-teens would find this game to be appealing? You can have a complex story. You can have a complex battle system. You can have a mature theme. But when you try to do all of those things together, it's very difficult to find enjoyment within the big picture. Therefore, I think this game is more deserving of a Teen-rating. But even if that was fixed, the game still has some minor flaws. For one thing, the backtracking gets tiring really quickly...especially during quests. Characters will ask you to go back and forth to the store to buy them LBX parts, look for hard to miss items, most of the time I had to look up what to do for some of these tasks. Thankfully, most of the quests are just battle challenges. Some of which have you fight 3 opponents at once! That's just PEACHY. I reached my limit after completing a challenge where I have to fight an LBX with no weapons what so ever...and that took like 7 minutes to beat. During team fights, allies and enemies alike will interrupt my attack chains with special attacks, leaving me vulnerable. And since I barely see Rina in the game in general, I don't care about her backstory betrayal scene. Sigh...I will give this game credit though...the ending is excellent. Lex makes a decent twist villain and a ruthless final boss. Its a 3-stage fight where the main hero Van is trapped and has to fight an LBX monster alone. It's followed by a touching message from Lex, where he asks Van if the world can really be saved from people who think they're gods. The post game takes you back to the events before the final battle, dungeon enemies become stronger, new characters can be unlocked, and that's nice in all...but while I've gotten a lot better at this game, I'm not satisfied enough to keep playing.… Expand
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