Let me preface by saying I did not play the demo, as I had already seen the trailers in Japan and was solidly sold on it. The demo may have changed some of my opinions for better or for worse, but in general I can tell what I'll think of a game just from watching gameplay, so I avoid demos.

I'll also start by saying I'm just past stage 3, the first real boss of the game. If stuff changes after that point, then I don't know yet.

With that out of the way...







WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN THIS GAME?!

Every time I see a boss, I try to fight them but I die, except I don't die. It just respawns me in the same area I was in just before the boss, but with enemies. I don't get a game over, the story advances, and I'm left with less of a clue than before. I don't even see the boss again after that. I don't know if I was supposed to win or not, but I don't get much of a chance to do anything about it. Oh, and when I die to normal enemies (I'm experimenting with strategies so I take lots of hits trying random things), sometimes I actually die and have to do the button mashing thing. But not every time. Sometimes it just respawns me anyway. I haven't quite figured out what's going on with that.

Going through 'doors' sometimes leads me to a side scrolling section, sometimes back into the same room I was in before, and sometimes into those shadow jumping sections. I've yet to figure out what's going on, and what my objectives are. I know I'm supposed to be finding some bones or something (found the first one in a door that was in a far side path), but I don't even know where I'm supposed to be looking.

The combat is a bit more clunky than I expected. The best combo I've come up with is with Arch - S S S R1+S (jump) S S S R1+S S S S hold S, but I can't see how it evolves at all past that point. Perhaps a forced ground bounce and then a relaunch? Gale and Veil have no combos, so meh. With only 1 button for attack, your attack options are limited, and the Arch's dodge, as well as the Gale's dash, are unwieldy enough to just not be useful. I'd say I'm a bit disappointed overall. Still, I haven't unlocked the Overdrive that's mentioned in the manual, so maybe it will expand more.

The side scrolling stuff is pretty cool, but unfortunately with the combat mechanics being clunky, attacking obstacles becomes a hindrance. I love how they are presented (though I have to give a big WTF at the side scrolling Nephilim section... you'll know it when you see it), and I'm curious to see how they will evolve.

This game just confuses me more and more as it goes on. I will say that it's fun, but it's not as satisfying to play as other games in the genre. If I had to rate it, I'd probably say a 7 or so out of 10, but don't take my word for it.

I started on Normal, and I'll probably challenge Hard, but we'll see whether or not I go beyond that. I doubt I'll aim for this platinum, solely because that all G-rank trophy seems like it could be tough... not that I can even get any ranks at all yet. That probably comes after beating the game once.