13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - Easy Allies Review
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim presents an intensely gripping narrative told with stunning visuals.
Written by Ben Moore
Video Edited by Don Casanova
Reviewed on PlayStation 4
Available on PlayStation 4
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#EasyAllies #13Sentinels #Review - Hry
20 hours in now and it’s hard to put down. My GOTY hands down. The localization team clearly worked their ASSES off on this game and it should really be played by everyone. DONT SKIP
The only thing that is kind of holding me back is the combat. Just looks super boring.
@@LoomDoom From my personal experience, its case of more fun playing than watching in video.
@@LoomDoom It's definitely a lot more engaging when you are playing it yourself. But if oyu just want another action game this is not for you.
I only played it in Japanese. How well does it read in English?
weeb
What the review didn't mention is the absolutely stunning soundtrack. The combat music is so epic that makes it so that the battles despite looking extremely abstract and simplistic are actually exciting to play. And some combat stages combined with the music will give you goosebumps and tears.
just finished this game yesterday on the switch.
absolutely correct. So many bops
especially the idol battle song. out of context this sounds wack but in context it was very emotional. I felt like i was playing an anime ed song sequence
It is a masterclass in story telling. Incredible game.
One of this kind of games where i got tears in my eyes.
Just finished it. Game of the year by far.
yes, of course ben did this one
Ben gives a 9. Instant buy.
He always gives jrpgs high scores
@@Ristyo1992 Mostly because he only really reviews good JRPGs to be honest.
@@michaelandrews117
Yeah I guess.
But for someone like me that finds jrpgs are pretty hit or miss it's hard to be sold.
They should let someone with more cynical eye for the genre review a game once in a while.
@@Ristyo1992 13 Sentinels isn't an RPG.
"the rather 'out-there' sci-fi story" is the understatement of 2020. It goes so far off the goddamn rails, but still manages to somehow make it all make clear sense while never treating you like moron or getting (too) up its own ass. It's insanely impressive. And the strategy side is pretty fantastic too.
The story is a masterpiece hands down
I can't believe that a game like this even exists, let alone is any good, let alone was the best damn game of 2020.
Vanillaware knows how to make a gorgeous game. Battle system is not for me but I will pick up for visuals alone.
This game had me at Vanillaware after the outstanding review this will be a title I get for us this Xmas season. Thank you for bringing this to our attention @Easy Allies with the in-depth review I had NO IDEA Vanillaware even had a new game in the pipeline let alone already out to purchase.
Played it and loved it. Would recommend the analytic section after you beat it. Can help clarify bits that can get confusing.
Character design and voice acting look and sound superb.
Holy cow This is the guy from gametrailers! haven't heard his voice in forever!
Great review!
Big fan of games and visual novels and I'm absolutely loving this on my Switch.
Wow, the backgrounds are beautiful.
Incredibly grateful to Ben for putting this on my radar
Yeah. I'm just going to say it. I LOVE THIS GAME! It has been a while since I have enjoyed a game so much! It isn't for everyone, but damn, it is such a great game!
You always know a ben script. Fantastic as usual.
I seriously hope this sells well. Honestly one of the best game this year. When Vanillaware said they were ambitious with this and could most likely never do this again, I now understand why.
I think they actually underwhelmed me with 13 different main characters that weren’t really developed well with character progression. I didn’t like this game that much but that’s just my opinion.
I've tried several games in the visual novel genre and always have a hard time getting into them. For some reason they just haven't hooked me. I don't know if it's because of the very basic visuals and gameplay, or because I don't find the stories compelling enough to stick with...But I'm about 3 hours into 13 Sentinels and I'm so happy to say that I'm hooked! It's the characters and the intriguing plot that got me. I'm excited to see where the story will go.
I'm about 28 hours in and I love it. Funny enough I recommended this to someone but they turned it down because it has too much game play and they only read visual novels, lol
Some things to add:
The combat is what you could term as say "semi-RTS" or alternatively, "ATB RTS", ATB referring to the active time based combat of classic Final Fantasy games, where the game pauses when you're selecting an action such as attacks or moving, and then plays out in real time when characters are on cooldown.
The English dub is quite well done. I know that some people swear by the Japanese versions as it is the original work - "as the directors intended", but you're not getting a subpar experience by playing using the English VAs; you'll still really appreciate the story either way. One of the English VAs, Kyle McCarley, has in fact been doing his own playthrough.
Soundtrack is amazing, and really complements the game - many of the battle soundtracks in particular are bangers.
It is a shame though that the demo available in Japan and other Asian countries was not localised in the West. I think a lot of people would be much more willing to make a purchase after trying the game out, rather than just taking a leap of faith - but with that said, would very much recommend getting it.
I can always count on Ben to recommend games that I probably wouldn't play and it ends up becoming a favorite of mine.
Played this on a 50 inch IPS TV and I regret NOTHING. The art in story section BREATHES. The music helps makes it even more atmospheric. I wouldn’t want to play this on Switch, because THE DETAILS!
I feel like not enough credit is given to the animations that each move have on the select screen. For me it supplied with a lot of visual animation that started auto completing in my head what these battled looked like as it was going. After a while you can totally see the mech fights simulated in your head in how they are supposed to look.
Well, I agree that the art style in this game has some merit. I do like the paint style aesthetic this game has. It looks pretty and it actually looks pretty cute. That in my opinion was one of the better things this game had compared to some other things.
Not been able to put it down. A fantastic game.
I figured I'd enjoy 13 Sentinels - it's Vanillaware - but I didn't expect to love it as much as I did. Definitely do not skip, it's incredible! Great review!
Awesome review Ben!
Complementary reading : "Rama II" and its sequels, by Gentry Lee & Arthur C. Clarke
Ooh this sounds really interesting and awesome and as a huge fan Odin sphere this looks tons of fun
Knew my man Ben-sama would come through with a review of this. Nice one.
Ok so I just got it( thanks to this review for reminding me it came out and for convincing me to buy it) and you weren't kidding. The story and characters are getting me into already. Damn I love Vanillaware!
Wow this was on my radar .... now I feel i must play it!
25 hours I beat this game, what a master piece, one of the best and most unique narratives of video game history. Would recommend to anyone who enjoys good story.
Beat this Thursday. My goty.
I'll probably pick it up once I catch up on my massive backlog of games (including Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, which I'm just under halfway through right now and absolutely loving).
I was waiting for this!!! not disappointed.
Well I'm definitely playing this.
Amazing channel guys. Literally don't know how many times to say it but God DAMN
I’ve seen multiple comments from people wishing the battle system was something more akin to Front Mission or that ilk. Before playing the game I would have completely agreed with that, but finishing the story and seeing where the battles go, I think they made the right choice. While the presentation of the fights is certainly jarring, especially in the beginning, the shorthand and easily digestible visual representations of the combat are a huge godsend in the latter half of the game. Our heroes are a desperate last stand against overwhelming odds, and the last few fights in the game can literally have hundreds of enemies attacking you at any given time. If the battles were depicted realistically, I think it would have almost been visual overload. Also, the semi real time combat, with you waiting on the recharge between your characters’ abilities, is a purposefully stress-inducing experience, and makes you consider each action. You need to make specific builds between your 13 characters and the game has plenty of ways to encourage you to use all of them, and fitting together a team to take on each challenge feels just as important as the actual combat itself.
The combat is definitely my least favorite part of the game, but I think it’s easy to dismiss all of the things it does right. And it totally does improve as the game goes on. Once you finish the game and unlock a bunch of extra levels, I was more than happy to dive in and challenge myself, even though the main story was over and I already had the platinum trophy. So that says plenty enough, I think.
It's hard to explain but there's something immensely satisfying about blowing up hundreds of Atari Space Invaders in oneshot, so much so that I'm still playing Destruction even after completing the game. People just need to feel it to get it.
> visual overload
Yeah, I was surprised my PS4 (not a Pro) started stuttering towards the end. That's a compliment, by the way.
I was on the fence about this game. Just to clarify, I love Vanillaware, but was sure this game would be up my alley. I will definitely check it out at some point down the line.
This is my game of the year for 2020 EASILY.
Vanillaware does it again. I actually thought they wouldn't be able to top Muramasa Rebirth especially with the extra episodes. But this is a whole other league. But i get the feeling that this won't sell well at all sadly.
Unfortunately it seems that going to be the case and most likely going to get ignored by everybody in VGA shows.
I'm trying my best to spread the word about it. The game sold about 35,000 copies in its first week (November 28, 2019) in Japan, but then it got to over 130,000 copies sold by April of this year through word of mouth and praise from Yoko Taro and Sakurai. I hope it does well over here, it's a fantastic game.
@Weeb Lord I’m also spreading the words. One of my friends wants to buy the game but he said he can’t find retailers who didn’t sold out all their copies.
I also saw some people on Vanillaware PS4 community who said they’re enjoying 13 Sentinel.
@@thepuppetmaster9284 amazon is the only place with copies right now
@@WatteTv PlayAsia also have enough copies although their price is a big higher than my retailers. I'm lucky i got it on day 1 and with an artbook too :3
I just beat this game today. It was amazing! The story left me surprised multiple times and the combat was actually a lot of fun once it gets going. The soundtrack was suberb
I'm really into visual novels now, should I get 13 Sentinels or WorldEnd Syndrome?
@@vann5903 I haven't played World Endsyndrome but if you like visuel novels then I'm sure you'll love 13 Sentinels :)
@@omdhdk just from the look of it, do you think you'll like WorldEnd Syndrome? I was thinking about getting 13 Sentinels, but it's very hard to get a physical copy of the game:v
@@vann5903 sorry I haven't answered you sooner but CZcams's new system is really weird and only notify me when it wants to 😅. Anyway! To answer your question about World end Synndrome. I'm not sure if I would ever pick it up. I've never heard about the vn before you mentioned it. Based on the art style I probably wouldn't play it but that's also due to I have a ton of other games lined up. 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim is a fantastic game imo and is my game of the year along with Yakuza Like a Dragon. I hope my answer was helpful :)
@@vann5903 have you tried buying it on amazon? I live in Denmark and it is impossible to find a copy of 13 Sentinels so I bought in from them instead
Bought it to support Vanillaware.
Hell yeah
We seriously need more Vanillaware games
I bought it not just to support Vanillaware but also the game have all what i want: big mecha, kaiju, time travel, interesting story & characters, plus gorgeous artstyle and music :3
That's pretty much the only reason I bought the game.
I'm not a big mecha fan nor a visual novel guy.
great review
Watching Ben's gameplay, just makes me feel bad about how slowly I read subtitles 😔
Looking forward to buying/playing this soon, played the Japanese demo and have been looking forward to it since! Great review!
Just finished it, an experiece of storytelling that only games can achieve
Exactly and some people want an anime adaptation of it smh
I'd rather watch it as a gameplay is not fun
@@sabith9152 I actually had a lot of fun with the combat at the later levels just as the review said, it can get pretty hectic, also just yourself coming up with deductions and seeing the conclusion is way more engaging imo
@@sabith9152 why anybody would choose to be.a passive participant, I will never understand. Suit yourself,
Exactly. Half of the fun is the semi-nonlinearity of the story, considering the large variation on the order you see some of the events. You’re able to play as certain characters to try and get answers posed by another characters story, or see a scene eight hours after seeing that same scene from another character’s perspective and get your mind blown on how different it all means with context. In a classic form of media, the linear presentation would contrast sharply with the nonlinear progression of the storylines and I think would almost get distracting. In a game it becomes a puzzle you’re actively trying to solve. Fantastic game.
vanillaware's games are always so pretty
Gonna check this game out. I really love Vanillaware's Art style in their games.
One of best game in this gen, I'm not kidding.
The review dropped the same time I finished the game. Easily one of the best games I've played this year.
100%
Just ordered the game, and am super excited to try it. By the way, love your Laura S Arseid profile pic.
If I could find a physical copy literally anywhere in Canada, I’d pick this up.
Shop4ca.com , love that site, buy most of my games from there. Totally legit. Way cheaper than any retailer here in Canada and no tax! Only down side is slow shipping, usually takes 4 weeks. They frequently have sales and price drops and player points for discounts. I highly recommend. This game is currently priced at $62.35 cad on there compared to $90 plus tax on amazon right now. Cheers!
Love you guys.
Its been hard for me to get into 2d games like this. But with the setting, cast ensemble, and story seem very interesting...and that's enough for me to give this a try.
Damnit Ben! Now I have to get another game!
I think I heard this voice long time ago, are you from Game Trailer or another old website like that?
Yes, we're all from GameTrailers. We started Easy Allies shortly after GT was shut down. Welcome back! -Bloodworth
@@EasyAllies sub and alert
You guys were amazing
Bought this yesterday for a few reasons, I kept hearing about the story and that's my main priority most times, the man god himself Yoko Taro had praise for it (that alone sold me) and I feel it's important for these, say, more unique games do well out there...plus I've always been interested in Vanillaware. Only a few hours in, but I got the whole next few days to sink into this. I love it so far and really hope it does well eventually. I get the impression it might be a slow burn sales wise.
For anyone on the fence. Get it.
Damn, Ben really dropped that 9. Beautiful looking game, I just wish the battles looked more interesting and dynamic.
I should’ve known it was vanillaware after seeing the in-game art. Might look into it.
I bought this right after I saw the nurse.
Was worried this game not having the hack and slash would greatly diminish it's worth.
It's nice to see that beautiful handcrafted artwork in combination with masterful storytelling can still be enough for a good score.
For anyone who's ever see a TV show or movie where the commander is moving his units around a board and out smarting the enemy commander, that is the feeling you get in battle.
Think Code Geass.
I've seen a lot of ppl begging for a review of this game. Every Vanillaware game I've played (Muramasa, Odinsphere, and Dragon's Crown) has been on the Vita, so I'd love this to come to the Switch. The combat doesn't look as fun, but since everyone likes the story, I'm down for it. Just isn't the kind of thing I play on my TV.
(Oh, I do have a copy of Muramasa for Wii)
Should hands down win best narrative/story of the year but will get predictably shafted by the VGAs and not even get nominated.
Well, it did got nominated, at least....still got shafted, though.
Gotta be honest, when I heard about this game being a robots vs kaiju strategy game I was expecting something more like a Front Mission game so I was severely disappointed to find the combat visual so lacking. But after hearing about the storytelling system I'm intrigued again. Thanks for the review, I'll keep this one on my watchlist.
Was getting this regardless as I been keeping an eye on it and was very curious but this review pushed me into getting it now rather than later, Plus its a treat to myself for giving up smoking :D Nice review, surprised there was no mention of the soundtrack though? That's something that makes a big difference to me in jrpgs and just games in general really, anyhoo, game is on the way in post :)
update: I bought it and beat it, couldn't put it down. Loved it :) This and black mesa are my two games of the year so far.
The soundtrack is amazing, don't worry
Yeah, absolutely incredible soundtrack. No worries there, friend.
Played the game 10 hours, LOVE the game, pitty that i don't a collector editon
This game is amazing, do not hesitate - play it now.
I just finished the game today and whilst the characters are well written I felt like I needed to take a degree to understand the plot.
Getting it for sure but my only option to buy (physical, has to be that way) is Amazon and it's a little too expensive for me with the current listing since it's imported from the US. Gonna wait till it's available in my region and jumping in for sure, have to play it this year at least and want my support to show.
Well since i got noticed about a like, i'd like to comment that i did buy it, about to finish Ghost of Tsushima and then start it, probably waiting for some patches on Cyberpunk still.
Who else saw the thumbnail and instantly knew this was a Ben Moore review?
As a game story lover, this game is INSANEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Awesome video. Finally I understand what type of game it is. Atlus could've promoted it better
I'm getting some Bokurano story vibes from this (a dozen of kids, giant robots, mysterious aliens accompanied by other mysterious phenomena), hopefully it won't be as heart wrenching as Bokurano was, the game looks gorgeous too (as with most Vanillaware games) But I wish the combat was more similar to Front Mission robot battles, either way i'm intrigued and will give it a try.
While the game does have darker moments, it’s actually a pretty upbeat experience. It’s mostly about trying to untangle it’s narrative web (with about 30 WTF revelations along the way) instead of trying to tear your heart to pieces. It did get me emotional from time to time, though.
I had no idea this was coming out already! Don’t know why I assumed it was vaporware. Still sad they ditched the Vita version but I don’t blame them.
Thank you for doing this review.. and Im glad you are speaking positively about "13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim." Personally, I feel like I have been "screaming my head off" about this game for the longest time to anyone who would listen, trying to spread the good word about how hyped people should be getting about the quality of this game. ...and that included Easy Allies, as I don't recall it being talked about really if at all in what feels like the past two years.... And so yeah, I was getting worried it was going to slip "under your radar". But alas Ben came through, and hopefully people will respond to this review by passionately reaching out to play this truly remarkable game, "13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim".
I'm so torn on this. I recall seeing a trailer way back in 2017 while attending the last PSX and getting a post card for this game, unsure just what it would end up actually becoming. It still has that beautiful Vanilla ware art (and it looks like George still tossed in some fan service going by the short clip of the nurse from this review) but the RTS battle sequences are really off putting ... Ben giving the game a 9/10 is making it look more like a must buy though.
I wish that the Vita version wasn't cancelled, but I'll still get it and remote play it to get the same experience as the other Vanillaware titles that for Vita releases.
This is a great review. I saw the gameplay trailer before the game came out and thought that it'll be a borefest based on how bland the combat looked. I had high hopes for 13 Sentinel and was expecting it to be another Odin Sphere but with Mechs & Kaijus.
I think it is better if I treat this as a visual novel with chess-like combat and not another Action RPG. I'm getting this game soon (if my budget allows).
Yeah, it’s definitely better to view this as a narrative experience with an occasional batch of strategy battles to go through. And the game cleanly breaks the battles into 6 batches of 5 after the prologue which you can do at your leisure to unlock more progress for the character stories, so you can either put off the fights until you’ve done as much story as you want or pound through some of them earlier just to get them out of the way. Or play a level at a time between the character sections to not get stuck doing a bunch back to back. It’s really flexible and gives you plenty of options, just like the rest of the game. So even though the battle system is the weakest part of the game, it never felt to me like it really got in the way. And it gets better as it goes, culminating in an awesome finale.
When I played this game I liked the combat more. But as I played the story more I found myself playing the story more than combat.
The story is so out of this world you all who never played this probably wont realize but spoiler alert, Some of these scenes is the very late scenes. That is how confident easy allies at you wont understand a thing unless ypu play.
Also please play, this game story is amazing.
I love this game.
is like board games, but with story, character design, effect style, awesome BGM, anime style, and japanese voice actor.
Yes!! My fav of 2019 finally came to the west!!!
Wish this game would grace the PC, but now with Persona 4 releasing here who knows? I'd love to play Dragon's Crown and this one.
I agree 👍
Man, I wish I could play this game on switch while laying on the bed.
The best story in video games.
No really though. The best one.
People looking to play the game should avoid watching/reading IGN’s review which straight up spoils certain things in the story. Ben did a great job being vague but clear in his description of the main plot.
Rented from Gamefly and it didn't really hold my attention. However, there are a ton of AAA games in Oct/Nov/Dec so I may revisit this when things settle down.
Damn, definitely going in the wishlist.
Never heard of this one. I just felt like booting up an old Vanillaware game and than started to indulge into what else they have released. Well, it's on sale now (till 15-04), 50% off.
No spoilers, but upon reflection...
the visual presentation of the battles might actually tie into the narrative as a means of foreshadowing.
That's the thing that infuriates me the most when people criticize the presentation of the battle sections. Makes me think they didn't pay attention to the story.
dang Ben you didn't talk about how awesome the OST is. but great review. Easily a 10/10 and my GOTY this year, sorry ff7r
at the start i was thinking it was a game of mistery...
Never heard of it, but your review made me wanting to play it. Being on PS4 only made it severely overpriced, so will be waiting for a sale.
The only thing that kinda has me on the fence about this game is why didn’t they do a advance wars/super robot war type battle if they were using grids/strategy battle system? Like you move a unit that units gets into battle with another unit and you actually see them fighting.
Two reasons: budget/time restraints (29 people worked on this game, it’s not short either) and the battle scenes are a direct homage to the PS1 titles Gunparade March, Front Mission Alternative, and the PS2 launch game Fantavision.
WildOnionChase I would’ve preferred a front mission 3 type battle system myself. Think it would’ve make this game a lot better
Midnight Mayor while that’s definitely true, it also would have likely ballooned development time and cost. This is a niche game, as great as it is, and putting a full, deep SRPG system in here would likely have been too much for the smaller team to pull off in a reasonable time frame. And the battle system, especially towards the end, does allow you to properly feel the chaos of these battles in ways that those other systems wouldn’t have been able to pull off. The final battle in particular was such a desperate struggle where I was as stressed out and desperate to survive as the characters were. It really provided an awesome finale to the game that I’m not sure a front mission style system ever could have invoked, since you’re fighting off literally hundreds (if not thousands) of enemies in most of the later battles.
GrubbsterGaming I’ll find out today my copy should be here in a couple hours
Midnight Mayor hopefully you really enjoy it.
Vanillaware's best yet. I thought Odinsphere was the pinnacle of their talents but 13 Sentinels is a magnum opus indeed. and I generally dislike both point and click adventures and RTS games. But this... this... just wow.
My GOTY by a country mile.
I just discovered this channel, the guy reviewing sounds so familiar or maybe I'm just tripping
Used to be Gametrailers, that probably where you remember his voice.
@@Jerrel28 oh no way! Yes that's why it sounded familiar. Thank you
Beat this game last week. Absolutely stellar game! I think it may actually be my personal Game of the Year! Even after playing through Persona 5 Royal and its stunning third semester!
Also, like others have said, the English dub is also phenomenal, especially given the circumstances surrounding it. It was almost completely recorded from home.
Edit: By the way, since this review came out, Vanillaware has released an update that adds new moves to Destruction and increases its overall difficulty (which was a minor complaint about the original game). The new moves somewhat individualized for each character, and some of the new moves are unlocked only by leveling up other moves. As for the difficulty increase, as an example, a certain enemy used to be able to be decimated by Demolisher Blade because it counted as a single hit. Demolisher Blade now counts as multiple hits, and the enemy is immune to it for that reason.
Can you give a playthrough length estimate?
@@twentyarms Between 30 to 40 hours.
Story are super cool !!!