I think the reason this doesn't feel like it has its own story arc is because this game doesn't feel like it was meant to be released episodically. Rather we're just getting the full game split into five chunks. For that reason I'd be a little hesitant in judging it from that (especially from a scoring standpoint). This game based on the first episode shows a ton of promise. The characters are great (as they have been throughout the series), the writing is great, and when I finished the first episode I really was left wishing I could play the rest of the game.

I'm not sure I like the addition of choice in the game. It seems to have been handled well so far, but often it seems choice is constraining in that it leads you to play based on your interpretation of the characters (or even what you personally would do) instead of the writers' interpretation. I think there's a lot of value to telling someone a story without letting them change it. That's how you get some of the more compelling video game stories (I wonder how many people, given the choice, would have followed the ending of The Last of Us, and whether it would have been as powerful a game if we had been given the choice). Choice can be valuable, but I tend to prefer less choice in the story, especially in a series where choice hasn't really been an element in the past.

Quite a shame, I was hoping this would turn out well. Out of curiosity is anyone on the staff reviewing Fairy Fencer f (/if so when's the review expected to come out)?

Reading your review Tom it sounds like the biggest reason to play the game is for the side stories, but I'm a little surprised that the protagonist ends up being really weak. I'd have expected the side stories at least to an extent to be used in giving some insights into the main character, especially as you talk about with his wife Julia ("She grappled with her feelings for Ronan, struggling to rationalize why she was attracted to a man with so many problems.") sounds like it would be as much a reflection on his life as her own. How is it that the game fails in this (or does it not try to?). Re: that, is it that Ronan is a bland protagonist, or that he is an unlikable one?

Really disappointed to see this game didn't turn out so well. Looks like other reviewers don't like it much either. Oh well, glad I didn't pre-order.

What kind of an idiot criticizes the first fifth of a game for being setup. On the whole this review is awful.