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Liberation Maiden 3DS Download


edza

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All right so, have a bit of rum in me and watched the Nintendo direct video. Was intrigued by the Liberation Maiden game that appeared in the eshop after the presentation but was a bit worried that there was no gameplay vid. Still haven't found one but what de hey, sure I've money in the account and wild eyes this evening.

 

So for anyone who's wondering, it's downloading on my 3DS now and I'll post a review after a few sessions.

 

Anyone else play it yet?

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I have heard little about this, other than last nights announcement. However, after looking at that video am I right in thinking this was a full, on card retail release in Japan and download here? If so that better set a precedent.

It's one of four smaller games that were released together as one retail package in Japan.

 

Releasing the games separately on the eShop definitely seems like the way to go.

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Not to mention Guild 01 bombed in Japan (15k first week?). Surprisingly it looks like Level 5 are making a Guild 02 so it must have been very cheap to produce.

 

I've played the first 3 levels on easy and I'm so far enjoying it. It's quite Kid Icarus like in controls, using the circle pad to move, L to strafe and the stylus to move the cursor. To fire your weapon you hold down the stylus to lock on to targets then release to fire missiles. If you had difficulty with KI: Uprising's controls this game is probably not for you.

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Got it, beat the first two levels and am enjoying it. The turning controls are a bit awkward, but everything else works well and the game does a good job of making you feel like a badass! :D

 

There's some nice variety in the missions too and the production values are nice and high. All in all, good stuff! :)

 

I don't really get how the scoring system works though. I'm sure there's some nuance to it that I'm not getting yet.

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Took a chance on it and it's pretty good so far with excellent music and good voice acting. Control is a touch weird given you're slightly floaty and the strafe seems to slow you down a lot - I think it easy to just not bother with it unless I really have to like on the main core thingies.

 

I did the first level on normal, though I did lose a continue just before the last hit on the boss. I then got to the end of the second level, even managed to complete the sub-mission, but missing with the suicide attack thingy sent me straight back to the title screen despite having continues left so now I have to do it over.

 

Definitely fun but whilst the production values do seem high, it still only feels high for a download title. Had it been an actual retail release, you might struggle to justify it a bit more but the gameplay is fun and that's what counts.

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Is it just me or does the story end rather suddenly?

 

I wonder if there's an extended ending that you get for beating hard mode...

 

BTW, how the hell do you improve your public approval rating!? (The game and its manual explain nothing :confused: )

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I finihsed this last night on normal and got 100% approval rating at the first time of asking. I know I did the sub-missions on levels 2, 3 and 4 and I also got at least 90% purification on every level including 100% on one. I played through today on hard and got 100% again - this time I did the sub-mission on level 1 too and my purificaction was higher overall per level (got 100% on levels 1 and 2). What I did notice was the sub-missions were different from normal mode. The increase in difficulty wasn't too bad except for the last boss which took me half a dozen attempts or so - I beat all the other levels with my first attempt.

 

And to answer your question @Dcubed, if you haven't done it already, beating it on hard doesn't make any difference to the ending.

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Okay, but what do you think of it?!

 

I ejoyed it a lot - really fun game.

 

Has some brilliant music and the graphics are nice if you don't look too hard - though pay attention and word budget will pop in there. It manages to mask a lot of that with plenty of explosions though and a bit of nice particle work.

 

Would I prefer it if longer, absolutely. As Dcubed hinted at, it ends suddenly. It makes you think there would be another level or boss or something (let's hope sequel) without doing anything about it.

 

In terms of control, it's like the flying sections on kid Icarus except you aren't moving along a set path so here moving the analog pad moves you about the world rather than just the screen. You fly over the battlefield at a fixed height and shoot at things below. Bosses lock you into a limited range of movement as you circle strafe around them - though that allows you to ajust your height to help avoid attacks.

 

You have two main attacks that you can swap between at will though frankly, I found the second much more useful than the first - but it still had it moments. One target locks on enemies and fires when you release the stylus whereas the other shoots a beam you control the direction of. You can also charge an attack by destroying things to release a smart bomb style attack to cause damage around an area. This can also be used to unleash a desperation attack for even greater damage if you reach the end of your health with it still charged. The the other move you have is reserved for finishing bosses and is a bit annoying really - drawing circles on the screen with your stylus is never fun in any game.

 

Shooting drains you energy meter, however, and this is also your shield so it works on a classic risk/reward system. Taking dmaage with no shields will reduce your health and this can't be recovered but your shields can still recharge. One thing to note though is that if your sheilds do take damage, it temporarily deactivates the part of the meter that absorbed the hit. This in turn limits your ability to shoot. It will recover in time but it it's most likely to happen in boss fights forcing you to focus on evading until it builds up again which is when you're at your most fragile since there is no escape. Should you die, you do have continues but your meter will be at a reduced state until it charges up again. If you died because you depeted your shield yourself, and then got hit, it doesn't count - it's only when your shield has been broken. Continues restart you at the exact point of death and should you use them all up, you will return to the title screen. Selecting the story mode will return you back to the start of the level you died on. Once completed, a level can be played in score attack freely.

 

Each level has three missions that pretty much equate to "go here, destroy that". Doing so reveals a target to be destroyed that weakens the seal around the last boss and prompts your next mission. A sub mission can appear that asks you to go destroy x or destroy x number of y enemies or even find the hidden object. They aren't mandatory but they add to your score. You can also just destory none key enemies and restore greenery back to the land - this nets you more points (with an extra bous for 100%) and an unlock in the gallery. You also have a time limit of 30 mins to this all in.

 

And I guess this is supposed to be a score attack game because you'll never hit that 30min limit unless you forget to pause it by mistake and at 5 levels, it's over long before it ever outstays it's welcome - which is why you might begrude the asking price but it's hard to fault the gameplay. Successfully destroying enemies without pausing adds to a score multiplier which seems to cap out at 5x. Certain eneimes can totally be abused mind for big points so that takes a shine off of things.

 

Finally, there is a Gallery for unlocking the in game art and the in game history and other bits and bobs about the characters. This is done by beating levels, clearing the game, getting 100% purificaction on levels and just playing over and over again. So it still rewards you for successive plays through even if your experience is still the same.

Edited by Captain Falcon
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I'm interested in it but its pretty expensive for what sounds like a short game.

 

It's about the same length as Ikaruga and is structured much like an arcade game.

 

It's pretty good, but certainly not the best of its kind.

 

I'd say it's worth it if you appreciate a short and replayable arcade style experience.

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