Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is a good and original Dungeon Crawler, with a nice story and a significant amount of otaku fan service.

Many will shy away due to the concept alone but if you’re not put off by the ‘motivation’ scenes then Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is a great JRPG. A nice change of pace from your usual ‘save the world’ adventure, a variation on the usual turn based battle system and a very well presented game all round.

Some people are always going to look down on this series because of the mini-games and the sadomasochistic theme. But don’t worry, the game is very quick to point out at the beginning that it’s all completely consensual.

A very deep and sensual JRPG and a far superior game than its predecessor.

There’s a lot going for Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors. The characters are likable, the writing is solid, the combat is fresh, and it feels like a great fit for the Vita. However, it’s embarrassing to level up when others are around, and the ‘sexy’ minigames wore out their welcome in a hurry.

This new title from Ichi Software comes to the West marked by its censorship. However, its dungeons and how well this game uses the controls of the PlayStation Vita will give you hours and hours of entertainment.

If you can look past the sadomasochism theme (and I won’t blame anyone who can’t as it constantly irked me the wrong way) then you’ll find a redeeming RPG. The star of Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is its battle system, which is a fun twist on turn-based gaming. While I wish it was in a different game, for now I’ll have to stoop to spanking girls that clearly don’t enjoy it in order to experience it.

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors makes its way into the crowded scene of dungeon crawlers, thanks to an unusual combat system, that drives away the monotony of their fellows, and requires a good dose of strategy.

The low-res sprites of the original are gone, replaced with wonderfully drawn characters that are much more visually appealing.

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors is a niche release for sure, but it's also a solid RPG experience which is ideally suited to the Vita. If you've got Sony's handheld device and an open mind regarding how female fighters should be motivated, then this is a slice of good quality JPRG that can provide many hours of battling pleasure. Just take our advice and try not to play it in public.

If you're willing to try something a bit out of the ordinary, Criminal Girls 2 has a battle system at its core that just about redeems its shady veneer.

It's difficult for me to recommend Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors for two reasons. One: as far as RPGs go, there are far more robust RPGs available that offer more satisfying questing experiences. Two: with regard to "sexytime" games, there are plenty of dedicated eroge (translated in English to boot) out there to more deeply fulfill any extreme fetish desires you may have. That being said, this sleazy game certainly had a visceral effect on me and actually had me contemplating the contradictory aspects of myself. However, this experience taught me that my inner monster decidedly prefers the taste of Cannibal Corpse to Criminal Girls.

While its erotic theme and solid combat system may hook some people, it falls apart due to clunky mechanics and repetitive tasks.

This sequel is no longer surprising, but if you enjoyed the first, you'll like this one. Still, it's a little bit milder and if you focus on its core gameplay, quite dull.

Criminal Girls 2: Party Favors isn’t a groundbreaking RPG, but does offer a decent gaming experience with an interesting story concept. The problem is it’s somewhat bland without the sexual aspects.

When you battle a boss, frantically whittle its health down to zero, with your party’s health hanging by a thread, it’s hard not to punch the air with delight — it’s just a shame that the rest of the design philosophies within the game weren’t a little more robust, and not solely designed to simply pander and attempt so hard to titillate.

The discussions about the fetishes catered to aside, this is a solid, albeit grind heavy JRPG.

I am frustrated with Criminal Girls 2, because on one hand it's a very solid dungeon crawler that most of the time doesn't outstay its welcome. It has the right pacing, the battle system has some neat little quirks to it, and yet the downside is that it becomes grindy in more ways than needed. While I didn't hate my time with Criminal Girls 2, I feel like it needed a much clearer direction to make the gameplay and story components more cohesive, and that's where it fails. If you liked the first game, this review likely won't sway you, but for those who are curious, just be prepared for a lot of scrubby brushes and goo flinging awkwardness.

It would be one thing if, like Gal*Gun or Monster Monpiece, the titillation was cover for a game that was secretly also a lot of fun. Instead, what you have here is titillation to cover up the fact the game isn’t even all that enjoyable, which just makes it kind of sad.