NIS America has announced that they will no longer be able to release the paired games Touhou Genso Wanderer and Touhou Double Focus on their previously planned dates of February 7th in North America and February 10th in Europe. The company has announced that these games will now be releasing on March 21st in North America and March 24th in Europe.
At the time of the announcement the company did not state why this delay occurred but the games will still be available in the same form as before, with the retail PlayStation 4 versions including both games on separate discs in North America (Touhou Double Focus will be digital only in Europe) and the PS Vita versions being available digitally as separate purchases.
Outside of Javier and his thrown together group players will see that Clementine plays a fairly different role this time around. Since many players likely didn’t pick up the first two seasons again on the latest generation of consoles, Telltale Games offers players a chance to either start the game from scratch with a default Clementine as well as craft a Clementine based on their previous choices through a short questionnaire. This allows players to mold Clementine a bit by selecting various options that Lee would have made in the first season and she would have made in the second. This option also gives players some finality to certain aspects of the second season’s ending as flashbacks are the only time we actually get to play as Clementine so far in these two episodes. These flashbacks show us the results of Clementine’s traveling choice in what ultimately becomes a heart-wrenching event to longtime fans.
With poignant moments scattered throughout, players must keep on the move as they meet with another group who join them only to find themselves in increasingly dangerous situations that push even the best of the characters with them to their limits. With the two episodes serving as something of a re-introduction for longtime fans and possible starting point for those who have never played before, the two parts of Ties That Bind help bring most of the big players together quite quickly in an effort to help move things along in the future and through flashbacks and current interactions we are given some history with Javier and the rest of the family to help establish him as something more than a fresh face.
Whether choices matter yet has yet to really been shown off as playing through the entry twice saw the same result more or less unfold with the story leaving off at the same cliffhanger. It is worth noting that the rare appearance of a dialogue choice description not matching what ends up actually being said does happen during the beginning of the second episode, turning what players might have ended up thinking would be a simple way to stand up for someone into revealing another character’s unspoken intentions that may end up playing a bigger role in the future.
The art style still mimics the comic book nature that fans are familiar with but with smoother transitions and better action sequences. The character designs are presented in a better manner as well, though I did notice that more than a few zombies appeared to have the same designs repeated throughout both episodes. That being said players will be able to experience some life before the undead apocalypse and catching a glimpse of certain characters and objects before and after the outbreak creates a rather interesting feeling of lost innocence in many of the character’s cases.
Story
Another change can be found in the overall difficulty. Shantae has never been a terribly hard game to start with as like Mario, the platforming has always been accessible and simplistic. This title however has a bit more of a trial and error approach to some stages however, meaning if you run into danger without looking or thinking beforehand, you might wind up doing the same area again until you nail the appropriate platform or take out the particular enemy blocking the way. There is no down side to this as the game is fun (yeah, that can be a positive) and I never found myself frustrated even when I died at my own fault as it took less than a minute or two to get back in and give it another go. I personally dislike trial and error, but Shantae’s is light in this outing and causes no foul due to how simple it is to hop right back into the experience.
Shantae brings a ton of upgrades with her in Half-Genie Hero, such as the transformation abilities as well as special potions that allow her to utilize new moves. The transformation aspect includes the likes of the monkey, a mouse, a crab, and even a blobfish, with each treating the player to a new mechanic that will allow further progression once obtained. Because older stages can be revisited at anytime, this means that you can now discover new areas and items once you revisit, and with the stages changing after the first completion (usually in difficulty), players will be happy to know they can turn into a fish and bounce onto the heads of their enemies until their craniums crack. The currency system is about the same as it always has been, with a shop in tow that allows players to buy upgrades and powers for Shantae to utilize, with the ability to add techniques to the animal transformations being an option.
Completionists will get a huge smile on their face when playing Shantae as well, as there is a ton of reason to continuously replay stages aside from the silky smooth gameplay. There are a ton things like souls of pirates to pick up, and this title rewards excellence with more content that can be unlocked for both Shantae and the player. While the game in itself is rather short, this is a title that encourages replay-ability through several means with just enough shake-up to feel new with back-tracking, boss battles, and enjoyable dialogue that spurts from the many residents of this alive little world.
The soundtrack is also amazing here. Featuring a blend of audio with plenty of unique tracks, Jake Kauffman has crafted an epic with the music featured here. There is also a small amount of voice acting despite the story being mainly text-driven, and the actors made their characters come alive even more due to some stellar performances that capture the quirk exceptionally well. It is actually a rarity for a game to hit the nail on the head for almost every category when it is crowd-funded, but the splendid audio ties together a fine package of consistency and quality to make this adventure upbeat and warm from beginning to end.
