Samurai of Hyuga 2
By Devon Connell
“Has to be romantic, so…” I began my thought but it didn’t go very far. I didn’t know how romances worked—my relationship with Junko was twisted and not something I would wish upon anyone. But if our flings taught me anything, it was this.
I forced my comrades into a huddle and came up with a plan. “Lisssten up, girls. We’ll get those pair of hearts—hiccup—pumping, if itss the last thing they do.”
If the first in the series was a love letter to localized animation, this is a continued love letter trying to justify all parts of the medium. Such as the filler episodes, but there is a bit of a twist here that works. You start realizing a little bit that the actual content of the story does feel like it could have been presented without a lot of the surroundings at this time, a stark contrast to the previous title. But, if you are all in on the style and presentation of this as anime in Choice form, it scratches the itch perfectly.
General Story:
After barely surviving an encounter with a jilted ex, our ronin continues to track down ghosts with Scrappy and Flim-flam… er… Hatch and Toshie. This time, however, our hero has to depend on their young charge to help them cheat at a board game to attract the eye of one of those ghosts, while avoiding those hunting for them.
The thing is, this whole entry is a set-up for the actual confrontation with the next ‘demon’ that occurs in Book 3, so when I bring up filler episodes, I’m not exaggerating. That isn’t to say there isn’t good world-building and solidifying of story, but it does start to set a precedent for one story bleeding into the next book only to be wrapped up in that one and another story being the focus for the next half of the book.
Format and Typos:
Noticed a few minor grammatical typos, but I specifically went paths I don’t normally take; so maybe others haven’t really picked a lot of those choices before. Still just as easy to read as the previous title.
Game Mechanics and Stats:
Basically the same as book one. Opposed pairs, working towards attunement by acting in character. It adds an element where you stat titles change up to add uncertainty to your actions later in the story. This is more cosmetic and nothing you need to specifically attempt to counter, but it is there.
Replayability:
This meets the same replayability level expected in the first title, as the majority of choices are based on the opposed pairs and you still feel a little like you are on rails. For example, in the intro quote, you end up going along with the situation even if you choose that you’d prefer to ruin it. The story just lets you know you were convinced to help. This makes sense in context for the anime-style nature of the story, but less for a choice-driven game.
Dislikes:
- It’s becoming a little more apparent that the story is very on-rails and choice just alters how you view the story that is already decided.
- If you are here to slay demons at the behest of the Emperor, then you may not be satisfied with this entry.
- It really feels like the story doesn’t know what to do with someone who doesn’t want to ‘romance’ every option presented to them.
Likes:
- Still a great representation of anime tropes and appreciation for the Toonami era.
- For a board game, the action was described with the same zeal as any of the more lethal duels.
- The author is very good at disconcerting sequences that appear to show that something isn’t right, especially using mechanics to illustrate that.
Game Rankings and Completed Reviews
