XBlaze Code: Embryo Review by: lolid23 - 6/10
Another story of the Azure.Xblaze Code: Embryo was my first visual novel, I'll say that I haven't played a Blazblue game before, even so, I played this game last year for some reason. This is the first time I'm reviewing a game with an M rating, and I would say that Xblaze Code: Embryo deserves its M rating, that said, this review will reference some of the content in the game, now, I don't think that this game is on the same level as Lollipop Chainsaw, Bayonetta 1 and 2, Devil's Third, The Order: 1886, and many other games. I'd say that the rating of Xblaze Code: Embryo is a low end M rating, in other words, a game that perhaps barely deserves its M rating, but at the same time, a T rating wouldn't have been enough, that's for sure. Xblaze Code: Embryo isn't very violent, yes, the game has violent scenes, but the game isn't very graphic when it comes to violence (at least in my experience, I have only seen two different endings), however, the game has at least one instance of partial nudity, there are several (many?) f-bombs in the game (milder swear words are more frequent), and the game also has a lot of suggestive dialogue (''Wow! Es, your boobs are spectacularly huge. I mean, you're so tiny. Seriously, they're amazing!''). The game explicitly mentions the ages of many characters, and of course, some characters are under the age of 18, even so, the game kind of sexualizes one of the characters under 18, Hinata Himezuru, with her large breasts, green bikini that shows her cleavage, and a CG image where she is taking a bath with another character, does it matter that Hinata Himezuru is a sexualized character? I would say that it doesn't, she isn't real after all. So, yeah, Xblaze Code: Embryo is a game with an M rating, and that's fine. Anyway, this is my review.
Story: Xblaze Code: Embryo is a visual novel set in the Blazblue universe, the game takes place 150 years before the events of Blazblue, in the year 2050. The story is about a high school student, Touya Kagari, whose life changes radically after he is attacked by a man infected with a virus or disease (an
Union) and is rescued by a mysterious girl named Es, the mysterious girl Es will then be ordered to protect Touya Kagari, and after that, Touya Kagari will be involved in dangerous situations and meet with different characters, the story is big and complex, but it makes sense, I'm someone who has never played a Blazblue game before, but I can say for sure that you can appreciate and understand the story without having played a Blazblue game before, the concepts used in the game,
Union, Drive, Seithr, etc, make sense in the context of the game and overall you can really understand what's going on thanks to a (mostly) great localization free of censorship, with this being a game published by Aksys Games, I'm sure that the game is 100% uncensored. There are funny moments in the game and while the game certainly takes itself more seriously than other anime style games, it's still a game that has moments that can make you laugh at least a little, unlike Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness, another visual novel that has a serious tone. This is a visual novel, and because of that, this
really is a game best experienced with knowing as little as possible, I'm aware that the Blazblue series has a reputation of having a complex story, I know of someone who called Blazblue ''the Kingdom Hearts of fighting games'', but as I said, the story of this game makes sense, it's not the best story of all time, but still, it's a great story with likable characters, for the most part.
Graphics: Xblaze Code: Embryo kind of looks like an interactive anime, and it can be compared with other games such as Time and Eternity and Root Letter when it comes to graphics. I really like the art style, even if it's not my favorite art style of all time, and overall, the game has a great presentation, with the not so lifeless main menu (unlike the sequel Xblaze Lost: Memories, which has a simpler main menu), occasional animations during the game (not just lip movement and blinking),
huge amount of CG images, and different camera angles during the game, the exact reason why the game kind of looks like an interactive anime. I'll say it right now, it's hard to appreciate the presentation of other games after playing the Xblaze games, the Hakuoki games seem to have a more traditional presentation and don't look like an interactive anime, I'd rather have an anime style game that looks like an anime, and not just two or more characters talking over a background, the presentation of the Xblaze games has spoiled me, and I admit I don't really like how the Hyperdimension Neptunia games look during the events after playing this game and its sequel. If an anime style game doesn't have cinematic cutscenes or has very little of those, I would prefer if the events had different camera angles and everything, instead of characters talking with just a static background behind, regardless if the game uses 3D models (Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni) or 2D art (Chaos Wars). It's a great looking game, Root Letter might have art that looks more stunning, but still, I really like how the game looks, the varied character designs and many different CG images are welcome, perhaps Xblaze Code: Embryo had a bigger budget than other games, at least that's what it seems, it's a game developed by Arc System Works, and it looks amazing.
Sound: The game doesn't have an English dub, which I do not like, it's true that this is a visual novel and not every visual novel gets an English dub,
but there are visual novels that have the option of playing with an English dub, the Danganronpa games are an example of this, Aksys Games has published visual novels with an English dub before, the Zero Escape games have the option of playing with an English dub if you so desire...why not this game? At least the voice acting is great for the most part, perhaps the worst voice in the game is the voice of Hinata Himezuru, she is 16 years old, and yet, my parents said that she sounds like a little girl, which is true. I wouldn't say that her voice is annoying (unlike Chihiro Inoue's voice...ugh), but I can't deny that it's debatable if her voice is fitting or not...I don't think it's fitting, to be honest. The soundtrack is varied and it's an interesting mix of various styles, many themes are very enjoyable to listen to, and as I said, it's a varied soundtrack, Curry Shop: Maha Raja is catchy and it sounds distinctively asian, Secret Arts is a scary theme fitting for some of the moments in the game, Crimson Heart is a great theme fitting for a character who fights using fire magic and isn't evil, Time of Death is an interesting theme that combines a choir, dubstep and rock, and after playing Blue Reflection, I love me some dubstep, there are several songs that would be fitting for an average day or moment, Homecoming and Everyday Life are some examples...I can keep going. Overall it's a very enjoyable soundtrack in my opinion, and it's better than the soundtracks of other games or visual novels, in my opinion, I've played a little of Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness and Hakuoki ~Memories of the Shinsengumi~ (I haven't finished both games), and so far, it seems that Xblaze Code: Embryo has a better soundtrack than both games, Xblaze Code: Embryo really has great and interesting music, An Unknown Visitor is especially interesting, that theme made me say ''use of xylophone in a serious theme? How unique.'' The sound effects are fitting and complement the game, the violent scenes wouldn't be the same without the impact sounds, not to mention the convincing cries of pain and occasional coughing.
Addictiveness: Eh, reading is my least favorite activity when it comes to entertainment or pass the time, I can play Xblaze Code: Embryo, I don't hate this game, I've finished this game more than once, but after playing this game, its sequel, and a little of other visual novels, I can say for sure that maybe, just maybe, visual novels are my least favorite genre in video games, a visual novel is a visual novel after all, it's basically a book in video game form, and because of that, the fact that I'd take any other game that isn't a visual novel over this game, as long as the game is well made and/or fun shouldn't be a surprise, still, I wanted to try this genre, I'm used to play video games with an open mind, so, I played Xblaze Code: Embryo without expectations, and...it's not a bad game, it must be said, however, that your enjoyment of this game, and other visual novels, will depend on how much you enjoy reading, and if you like to read but only a little, like me, you might have trouble getting all the endings. A video game can have an amazing story or great characters, but if the game is just reading...that might mean that the game is not very good for many people.
Depth: With more than 5 endings and many CG images to unlock, the game, even compared to other visual novels, feels massive, it really feels like a game with a lot to see and unlock, I might be wrong, but this looks like a bigger game than others. Even after playing for many hours, you might still have many images to unlock and a few endings to see.
Difficulty: It's a visual novel, the game is easy to play, and getting an ending is very easy, I don't know how I should rate this category, should I rate this with a higher number because of the different endings? I don't know, in any case, getting more endings shouldn't be very difficult and perhaps the hardest part is having the will to play more, in which case it is not so difficult even for me, so, the number for this category might be fine. Accessing the BackLog is frustrating in the Playstation Vita version because you have to use the touch screen and it doesn't always work, but other than that, the game works as it should and the controls are functional.
It is difficult for me to recommend this game, in my opinion it's not a bad game but it's not a good game either, Xblaze Code: Embryo is okay, and if you can get it very, very cheap, I guess it's worth it, if you have never played a visual novel before you can play this game, and if you get this game, I recommend getting the sequel Xblaze Lost: Memories, just make sure to get at least two different endings before playing the sequel, I got two endings before playing Xblaze Lost: Memories, and it was a good experience (I agree that Xblaze Lost: Memories is better). If you are a fan of visual novels and are interested in the game, then buy this game even if it's not extremely cheap. For everyone else who isn't willing to try something new or who are not fans of visual novels...buy another game...maybe.
Graphics
9 Sound
9 Addictive
6 Depth
9 Story
8 Difficulty
4
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