Planet Stronghold Review

Title: Planet Stronghold
Release date: 2011-02-27
Developer: Winter Wolves
Publisher: Winter Wolves
Genre: Indie Western JRPG

Let's temporarily switch our gazes from the far east to the west and review an RPG by Italian developer Riva Celso - the guy behind "Winter Wolves" and "Tycoon Games". Why he needs two different labels to publish his games is an eternal mystery and WW and TG releases have always been hit or miss with me. They ranged from incredibly shitty (Heileen series) to really good (Bionic Heart and Vera Blanc series). So let's disassemble "Planet Stronghold" and see if it is a good game.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Review

Title: Umineko no Naku Koro ni (うみねこのなく頃に)
Release date: 2008-12-29 (2009-06-07 in English)
Developer: 07th Expansion
English publisher: Witch Hunt (as a fan-patch)

"Umineko no Naku Koro ni" or "When the Seagulls Cry" is the second visual novel in eight chapters (this game contains four of them) created by Ryuukishi07 of "07th Expansion" fame (counting Higurashi saga as a single work). Both Higurashi and Umineko have garnered huge following both in Japan and in the other countries and despite being made by a doujin group have already become franchise names with manga, anime, live movies and other crazy shit based on them ruling the wallets of impressionable masses. Can I say "Moooo"? I have already reviewed the Higurashi series earlier on this blog and can honestly say those were some of the best VNs I have ever played. Can Umineko hold up to that achievement? One way or the other, comparisons to Higurashi are unavoidable.