Please stop releasing games on portable consoles that I end up being too embarrassed to take out of the house.
This is Exstetra, a JRPG for the Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita that was released late last year. The game had managed to get under my radar, but I picked it up at the store when I was in an RPG mood a few weeks ago.
The story is very much your standard generic RPG plot: The main character wakes up to find himself in the strange land of Ameizia with no memory. He is soon informed that he is the “Prizma”, the prophesised saviour of the world, and together with friends, who, like himself, have been brought to Ameizia, he must fight to save not only this magical world, but his own.
I didn’t expect all too much from the plot, but I did like the character designs of artists Katsumi Enami and Tony, so I bought the game and began playing it on my Vita as I rode the train home.
The game started out innocently enough, and the game’s heroine joined my party and got into an event battle…
Which introduced the Kiss System. No, it’s not where a popular 70’s hard rock band comes out to rock and roll every night and party every day. When enemies are defeated, the main character acquires “Exs” points. When enough Exs points are accumulated, you can pass this energy on to your allies by kissing them, thus granting them a boost in power to turn the tide of battle. There’s even a mini-game for timing your kisses for maximum effect. (Apparently this can be done with the male members of the party too.)
Anyhow, it was at this point when I became strongly aware of the businessman sitting next to me pretending that he wasn’t staring over my shoulder. I quietly shut off the game and spent the rest of the train ride pretending to be asleep.
I wouldn’t call Exstetra a “bad” game, but it’s certainly embarrassing to play on a portable console while on the move out in public. Kind of kills the whole “portability” thing, I know. Sadly, I haven’t taken it out of the house and consequently haven’t really played enough to be able to pass full judgment on it.
Exstetra is currently out in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and Sony PS Vita. No word yet on an international release.
Comments
12 responses to “You Power Up Characters With Kisses In This JRPG”
If you’re living in Japan, wouldn’t that just be another day in the life of an otaku?
I was in Japan just yesterday, and there were definitely people playing more embarrassing games than that on the train!
I don’t see how it’s embarrassing in the first place. It’s just a kiss, settle down.
True, it actually sounds like a neat idea to me; makes the game really weird without being too over-the-top. I mean, at least he’s not playing Akiba’s Trip or Senran Kagura on the train!
Yeah I went their last year and I saw a fat dude on the train dressed from head to toe in gear with the logo of that pop band AKB48 or whatever its name is. Pink stuff, that look like it had been bedazled, including his slacks.
Not hating, just saying, yeah, normal.
There are legions of dudes in pink AKB48 shirts in Japan, that idol group is insanely popular. Like 1D in Australia x 10!
The amount of fandom to western bands can’t even come close to how insane asian boy/girl groups can get >.>
I would say only the Beatles could have ever topped the asian boy/girl band legion xD
Yeah, but unlike the asian boy band/girl groups, the beatles were actually good 😛
Japanese jpop bands are just like one direction x 100. People care more about sex appeal than the music, which is just generic trash.
Are you calling me fat? I’m not fat just big boned…
GOSH, I wish i was in Japan yesterday…
🙁
I wonder if he was ever embarassed to play Chrono Trigger and have Ayla Kiss everybody, including the girls. Then there’s the double team action with her and Frog…
Lol, I used to play Senran Kagura on the train cos thats the only place i really play portable games. Didnt really think about whether people were watching or not…but these days most people are too deeply focused on their own smartphones or handheld devices to even bother what other people are doing…