Others - Completed - Magic Castle RePureAria 2 [v1.25] [House of Black Dream Fantasies]

  1. 5.00 star(s)

    tenkaya

    It's a disorganized masterpiece, a massive world with a huge amount of content, effort and ambition. It's beautifully imperfect, brilliant in ways and frustrating + challenging at times. The post-game for the true ending is basically the same length as the main game, shockingly. I strongly recommend you go for the true ending and play through the whole game, it's unmatched in terms of scope and pushing the limits.

    It's one of the best h games i've ever played in terms of what it's trying to be and really a passion project that understandably took years to make.
  2. 5.00 star(s)

    lordofthewhales

    Wow... what a game. I'd played a little bit of this almost a year ago after enjoying most of the first RePureAria, but I ended up putting it down after the first chapter or so. This week I decided to give it another shot, and this second time around, I was absolutely hooked. In completing the main story/first ending and spending a bit of time snooping for collectibles and scenes, I've had a really fun 10+ (maybe closer to 20) hours of gameplay. I'm taking a break after the tricky final bosses, but there are still more sidequests, collectibles and bonus chapters to complete when I'm ready.

    As in the original RePureAria, we play a weak but brave male protagonist who ends up "sharing his body" with the female protagonists. (Gaining the capability to shapeshift into powerful magical girls, at the cost of a shared internal monologue and emotions). This set up is really original, and allows for highly dynamic form-switching gameplay and a unique narrative. While the original was a little more creative with this concept from an H perspective, there are still interesting scenes involving the shared body dynamic. This game also shares a lot of common DNA with the original, reusing some enemy types, H animations, and even rooms outright. Not exactly a direct sequel, this game's plot acknowledges and ties up the loose ends of the original with a (at times confusing) alternate reality/time-travel based plot. However, the story stands alone and most of the Repure 1 ties are mostly fanservice (although they definitely enrich the game).

    This shared content with Repure 1 was what originally had me put down the game - a lot of this it is somewhat front-loaded into the game, which led me to unfairly judge it early on. However, this game is several steps ahead of the original, to such a degree that it would be hard to go back.

    So let's talk improvements:

    - One thing that was massively frustrating in Repure 1 was the possibility of missing time-gated sidequests and permanently being unable to see content. Although you can miss sidequests in RP2, you gain the ability to warp back to earlier points in time after beating the game, so it's much harder to permanently mess up your playthrough.
    - Another issue this game fixes, mentioned by other reviewers, was the lack of zoom-out ability in the first game. There are still a few annoying sections where it's too zoomed in, but the visibility is mostly fixed in this game, which makes the whole thing much more enjoyable.
    - The overall level design in RePure 2 is also way better. RePure 1 had some absolutely brutal rooms that were either needlessly labyrinthine or which involved enemies chain-knocking your character all over the place. While RePure 2 made the strange decision of bringing back a couple annoying areas from the first game (although somewhat improved) the overall "cheesiness" of the challenge in RePure 2 is vastly reduced. While the levels are still complex and full of invisible/destructible walls, I don't get the sense of "I never want to come back here" like I did in many areas in the past game.
    - There are also a number of Quality of Life improvements this game provides that really transform the experience. In RePure 1, we had extremely limited warp points (expensive to create, only up to 8 total if you played perfectly). In this game, the warp feather is a one-time purchase that lets you create warp points in almost every major room. There are also fast-travel NPCs and a base system that further cut down on backtracking, making exploration and using new keys/powers a much more fun experience.
    - The H scenes offer much greater variety than the original. Previously, most monster girls had 1-2 scenes, whereas this game often has 3+ in addition to lots of special or unique sequences. This game also leans much less heavily on non-H enemies, who are few and far between, so you can almost always watch a scene. It's also more clear which scenes are unlocked/available, and which particular mongirls can give those scenes.
    - The way familiar monsters are handled is also way better. Each mongirl has a bunch of slots with different skills, some of which are randomized when you catch them. There's a complex system for copying/mixing/adding/removing these skills, providing lots of depth for party customization. Remember, we have 4+ protagonists that we're switching between during gameplay, and each has their own skills/specials and equipped familiars, so there's a ton of depth to engage with here.
    - The style of the pixel art is not drastically different, but is generally cleaner/clearer in this game.
    - Finally, the way the male character is handled is much better. Very early on, we get the Hammer item that allows him to undress and run into mongirls for a scene + a chance to recruit them, whereas we only get this well past the halfway mark of RePure 1, meaning we needed to spend a lot of time taking damage on purpose in the first game. In both games, the male form is "the weak one", but while in RP 1 it could only be reached by taking damage, this game lets us transform into the male like we can any other form. In both games, there are some subversions of the male form being the weak one (for example, being the best form in water in both games). However, this game goes even further in terms of giving the male form even more capabilities later in the game (I won't spoil the specifics, but it both adds to the fun and complexity of the gameplay and does a great job of illustrating his growth as a character)

    That's all I can think of for direct improvements, but the awesome worldbuilding of Majo and an abundance of NPCs with interesting dialogues are also some good points about both games.

    Now, while I do rate this game 5 stars, it's not necessarily perfect. There is still some cheesiness/arcadiness to the game (especially in later bossfights/ when using the effects of some powerful items). The story can be confusing at times, and I would recommend playing this game mostly back-to-back because it's very easy to forget the best paths through the numerous large maps. I don't find all of the monstergirls attractive (some of them are too much in a loli direction for me) but there's tons of varied content, very little of which is mandatory.

    Overall, RePure 2 is an excellent metroidvania title that takes advantage of the fact that it's an H game to deliver a unique and interesting plot that wouldn't be suited to more traditional media. It's clearly a labor of love, built on top of the already solid base of the original while improving on it in almost every way. Being an excellent game doesn't prevent RePure 2 from delivering on H scenes, which are many and varied. The H system is also firmly part of the core gameplay, and gives ample reason to engage with it. While less polished and especially less balanced than a title like Succubus Affection, RePure 2 is a longer, deeper and more narratively rewarding experience. If you have time, play the original first, but this game is an improvement that also can stand alone.
  3. 5.00 star(s)

    eggsausce

    Improves upon the first game in every conceivable way, mostly by adding a zoom button, making it possible to see enemies more than 3 feet away; a revolutionary technology that effectively obliterates all the jank of the first game and replaces it with a pretty solid metroidvania experience.

    Do note that a. the game is absurdly long (easily over 12 hours if you're trying to 100% it) and b. kind of bullshit with its combat sometimes, though this can be avoided- while enemies are bullshit, a lot of your abilities are equally bullshit when used properly.

    Oh, the porn is good too.

    Overall a great game, definitely one of my top recommendations.
  4. 5.00 star(s)

    Magister Masquerade

    This is actually a pretty vast and fun little metrovania with some solid pixel porn and lots of monster girls. It's not perfect, but it's definitely a cream above the crop when it comes to similar games, many of which never even finish. Hoping for a third one!
  5. 5.00 star(s)

    Juanmamola76

    English.
    I have been playing Paradise Fortress RePureAria 2.
    A great game and one of the best metroidvania I've ever played.

    I always comment as I think one of the best qualities of Hollow Knight is its integration of world building (literal) within its levels. Narrating purely with its design.
    RePureAria 2 does something more, with much less amount of visual elements; it does the same by intrinsically joining a purely gaming level design with the existence of the world. Something not so uncommon in certain games, especially in the past, but this one does it well.
    All this while having a varied movement system and a deep displacement system to go along with it. Added to interesting enemies and characters, with fantastic designs, a good story, and a background with great depth. The erotic pixel art is of great quality and the drawn scenes, while simple, are well constructed with effective storytelling and good art. Despite all this the game in its simple visuals and somewhat dated metroid-like design can feel confusing and may not be to the liking of the player looking for a faster and simpler experience.

    I had always put this creator's games aside after a few minutes. Even though I always fell into them for being their own thing, and for their unique visual style. I'm glad to come across one that finally comes together.
    I'll have to pay attention to the rest of they works.


    (Review translated with DeepL)
    Original en español. (Originalmente en hilo de twitter/retocado)
    He estado jugando a Paradise Fortress RePureAria 2.
    Un juego magnífico y uno de los mejores metroidvania que he probado.

    Siempre comento como opino que una de las mejores cualidades de Hollow Knight es su integración de la construcción de mundo (literal) dentro de sus niveles. Narrando puramente con su diseño.
    RePureAria 2 hace algo más, y con mucha menos cantidad de elementos visuales; realiza lo mismo hilando intrínsecamente un diseño de niveles puramente gaming con la existencia del mundo. Algo no tan extraño en ciertos juegos, sobre todo en el pasado, pero este lo borda.
    Todo teniendo además un sistema de movimiento variado y un sistema de desplazamiento profundo que lo acompaña. Sumado a enemigos y personajes interesantes, con fantásticos diseños, una buena historia, y un trasfondo con gran profundidad. El pixel arte erótico es de gran calidad y las escenas con dibujos, pese a simples, están bien construidas con una efectiva narración y buen arte. Pese a todo esto el juego en su simpleza visual y algo anticuado diseño a lo metroid puede sentirse confuso y no ser del agrado del jugador que busque una experiencia más rápida y simple.

    Siempre había dejado los juegos de este creador aparte después de unos cuantos minutos. Pese a que siempre caía en ellos por ser algo propio, y por su estilo visual único. Me alegra de dar con uno que por fin acaba cuajando.
    Tendré que prestar atención al resto de sus obras.

    De cierta manera este juego me a echo sentir "Por este motivo los videojuegos existen." Y eso es algo muy bonito que dice de la calidad de este.