The typical Gust game has a couple of unique amazing things that sets it apart from mainstream games. It's the main reason to play Gust games. Unfortunately, Nights of Azure has nothing amazing and very little that's unique. It is by far the worst Gust game ever released in the US on a console.
Combat: Below average. The bulk of combat is done by 4 monsters that you can summon. TheseThe typical Gust game has a couple of unique amazing things that sets it apart from mainstream games. It's the main reason to play Gust games. Unfortunately, Nights of Azure has nothing amazing and very little that's unique. It is by far the worst Gust game ever released in the US on a console.
Combat: Below average. The bulk of combat is done by 4 monsters that you can summon. These are copies of the ~30 monsters in the game that you basically capture and level up. But because your default monsters are good enough to get you to the end of the game, there's no reason to use other monsters.
Your main character fights along side your monsters, Diablo-style. You've got 4 weapons to choose from, but there's never a reason to switch from the starting sword. Spamming the sword's light attack (ignoring heavy attack all together) is simply the most efficient way to clear a room and gets to you end-game with no problems.
Equipment: Consists only of a single item type. Your monsters can equip one each and you can equip up to four. These are just random drops from monsters that give set bonuses to attack, hp, defense, etc, and sometimes a special attribute, like reducing fire damage or recovering hp over time. I ended up equipping only high attack items on my main character and was able to easily complete the game at character level 8.
Menu system: Bad. The layout is just plain bad. Though you can get used to it over time.
Environments: Bad. You've got a hotel as your main base and it's way out of proportion for your characters. For example, it appears to have 12-foot doorways, 4-foot books, and 60-foot ceilings. Outside of the hotel are the combat areas, that are all very bland. They're mostly corridor/maze-like areas with flat floors and walls made of building/brick textures. The proportions of these areas are not consistent with each other or your base.
Music: Forgettable. Most tracks are generic stock-sounding music. Not nearly as good as the Atelier, Surge Concerto, or Ar tonelico series.
Characters: Just plain dumb. There's 4 you normally interact with and 2 that you rarely interact with. Their actions are dumb for the most part and their motivations aren't explained much at all (leaving everyone feeling very shallow). You can tell they tried to put in some Atelier-style interactions between the characters, but it all falls flat, considering the weak main story.
World building / atmosphere: Basically non-existent. The world is supposedly ending, but you see none of it. Your interactions with the world are limited to 7 characters and a few text logs of activities you took during the day (you never actually get to see the daylight). And interestingly enough, those activities you take during the day give you no indication that the rest of the world thinks the world is ending. It's like everyone except you are going about their daily lives.
Story: Very bare-bones. You, as a woman, are trying to save your girlfriend from being sacrificed. It starts like that and ends like that. There's no big revelations, twists, or anything that makes a good story. Though about half-way through they have a lover's quarrel (over something stupid) and make up fairly quickly. It's the sort of thing that might be appealing to you if you think teenage-girl drama is appealing. This is unfortunately the most unique thing about the game and it was downright boring for me.
Fan service: Abnormally large breasts and a bit of frontal-panty from your main character. If you like ass, you won't find any here.
I found nothing great or amazing in this game and was glad when it ended. I recommend playing it only if you like the idea of being a lesbian saving your girlfriend from being sacrificed, and think you can become easily invested in those characters with very little backstory. Being a fan of the character designs (abnormally large breasts), and liking girl-drama helps too.… Expand
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