The Most Insane Vanillaware Games | Grimgrimoire to Unicorn Overlord

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  • Опубликовано: 29 июн 2024
  • Instead of Elden Ring DLC, you're getting Grimgrimoire.
    These alternate titles are gonna end me dude. Anyway, Vanillaware was historically famous for producing high-quality sidescrolling action rpgs, but recently made a splash in the west with some of their strategy/tactics games - 13 Sentinels and Unicorn Overlord. Both titles have significant historical lineages. 13 Sentinels is structurally based on conceptual work done for Grimgrimoire, the studio's first PUBLISHED title, even if Odin Sphere was developed first, and Fantasy Earth Zero before that. It's a long story.
    Unicorn Overlord is also a significant achievement for the studio, having been in the works for a decade, but it's got an unfortunately interesting tie to the Japan-Only Grand Knights History. This video essay, or retrospective, or any number of other terms, digs into the history of Vanillaware with an eye towards its aesthetic intentions, its gameplay lineages, and the narrative work manifested in their various titles' gameplay.
    13 Sentinels is pretty spoilerific, so please use the video chapters to avoid
    This is a sequel to this video! • Princess Crown and the...
    COME CHILL:
    / kbash
    / kbashshow
    Special thanks to my guest readers, who are, in order:
    ‪@Faerghast‬
    ‪@RPGaymer‬
    ‪@Cvit‬
    ‪@eurothug4000‬
    ‪@Foxcade‬
    ‪@PleaseStopTalkingPodcast‬ (thanks to Billy specifically!!)
    ‪@GohLow‬
    ‪@WritingOnGames‬
    Tracks Used:
    Grimgrimoire, Grand Knights History, 13 Sentinels, and Unicorn Overlord OSTs w/ some Dragon's Crown as well.
    Sources:
    pastebin.com/i4y3KyLq
    In the original vid I included things on screen, but remembered it's pointless to expect people to click through a video. RUclips doesn't have annotations anymore. I'll try this out. If you want a full and proper works cited, I'll hit you with it when my work is considered academic and I'm getting paid like one LOL til then we stay punk
    Also sampled from Stu's Starcraft footage here:
    • StarCraft 1 - Full Ter...
    And WC3 from: • Warcraft 3 The Frozen ... and • Warcraft III: Reign of...
    0:00 contextualizing vanillaware
    3:30 Grimgrimoire & Art Under Capital
    28:42 Grand Knights History, the budget, the war story
    50:07 13 Sentinels Without Giving Too Much Away
    1:06:17 spoiler segment without
    1:10:00 Unicorn Overlord
    Reviewing Grimgrimoire, Grand Knights History, 13 Sentinels, and Unicorn Overlord in 2024 is interesting. There's a lot to critique about Vanillaware, but it's difficult because of their unique place in the industry. From the PS2 to the Nintendo Switch, Vanillaware made incredible, boutique games that sample the classics - the vanilla ice cream of gaming - and done them up nice for the modern era. Reviewing Grand Knights History is almost unheard of - the game was released in Japan only, but with modern day translation patches, even us anglophones can take a swing at the thing. 13 Sentinels is impossible to cover in-depth without spoiling heavily, and for once I'd rather leave it to the analysis people and the hardcore video essay folks to tackle in videos tailored specifically towards the game. Unicorn Overlord's had an interesting run. It became a hotbed for criticism over its localization, and for its difficulty, but I think it deserves a more particular look at its design objectives and how it accomplishes them.
    #gamereview #retrogaming #ps2 #psp #nintendoswitch #unicornoverlord #13sentinels
  • ИгрыИгры

Комментарии • 211

  • @SumEpithet
    @SumEpithet 5 дней назад +83

    I've never formulated the complete thought of how Vanillaware is a dev that makes primarily 2D Action games or Strategy games until I read the title of this video. That's such a strange coupling of genres to specialize in for a small dev.

    • @jmh8817
      @jmh8817 4 дня назад +4

      Yeah, I never made the connection until now. In my defense, I only played their action titles.

    • @yeetkunedo
      @yeetkunedo 13 часов назад

      I just want a 2D fighting game from them.

  • @yeetkunedo
    @yeetkunedo 5 дней назад +71

    I’m so glad you experienced these games. Vanillaware is one of my absolute favorite developers in the entire industry.

  • @carolinedavis8339
    @carolinedavis8339 5 дней назад +28

    Until the GrimGrimoire Remake on Switch was announced, I was convinced no one remembered one of my favorite games I ever played growing up.

    • @badwrongfun5541
      @badwrongfun5541 5 дней назад +2

      I'm contused. Its a remake? This whole time it looked like a remaster.

    • @AT7outof10
      @AT7outof10 3 дня назад

      The original lived rent-free in my head for years. Glad it got a second chance.

    • @ashkeebs
      @ashkeebs 2 дня назад

      ​@@badwrongfun5541 It's a bit of both, since they were able to add in things they couldn't originally.

  • @Kuuribro
    @Kuuribro 5 дней назад +11

    Christ, Kbash is SO. GOOD. At describing things!
    It's actually poetic sometimes how this guy can make me feel things I didn't even know I felt about stories I've digested YEARS ago, off of a one liner.

  • @Unlosing_Merron
    @Unlosing_Merron 5 дней назад +56

    13 sentinels my beloved....

    • @thelaughingdragon32
      @thelaughingdragon32 3 дня назад +1

      Man, I need to finish that. I'm still at the beginning...

    • @firebirdstark
      @firebirdstark 3 дня назад

      I had a hard time getting past the first hour or so, I’ll have to give it another try

    • @yeetkunedo
      @yeetkunedo 13 часов назад +1

      @@firebirdstark as someone that loves Vanillaware but hates visual novels, stick with it

  • @dimitrisharatzas158
    @dimitrisharatzas158 4 дня назад +4

    You are not alone, Kbash. There's at least one more Ogre battle fan out there. And I'm outraged we'll never get the missing 5 games.

    • @Ghalion666
      @Ghalion666 3 дня назад

      Not only do I love ogre battle, I don't like Tactics ogre, though maybe I would if I played the cling together one and not the knight of lodus one or whatever it's called, the one where you need some mermaid spear logincolus to kill the big bad angel dude. Maybe that's in both, I dunno.
      But yeah, they finally did it guys, we finally got a successor to ogre battle (and 64). PLEASE don't make me wait that long for a game that's a successor to Dragon's crown!

    • @dimitrisharatzas158
      @dimitrisharatzas158 3 дня назад

      @@Ghalion666 knight of lodis is a prequel to let us cling together. If you don't do the secret ending to see how both games connect, the game is kinda bland story-wise. Even then, you're meant to play let us cling together first, cuz the revelation is more impactful that way. But it's fun to mess around with snapdragons. If you're gonna play let us cling together, do yourself a favour and play either the original psx version or the one vision mod for psp. Reborn is a terribly balanced scam, and the original version on the psp is just barely not as bad.

  • @Nipah.Auauau
    @Nipah.Auauau 5 дней назад +14

    1:41:05 Amazing detail here where the main character is forced to look up in order to meet his GigaStacy Amazoness wife's gaze.

  • @Eon_Kain
    @Eon_Kain 5 дней назад +34

    Vanillaware try not to burn through development budget challenge any%.

  • @jaikthesnake6285
    @jaikthesnake6285 4 дня назад +14

    Yuri Lowenthal's IMDB page has gotta be longer than the bible

  • @aivalera
    @aivalera 4 дня назад +13

    Something about the whole "Unicorn Overlord is too easy" argument I hate is that the it allows the game to have way more freedom of choice and challenge than other strategy games. Game's too easy? Do a Norbelle run; Go against the odds, get crushed, do what you can with your self-limited powers. Use only mercenaries. Execute everyone. Refuse Selvie. Find your own challenge, it's there, you're just too stubborn to go find it.

    • @Ghalion666
      @Ghalion666 3 дня назад +6

      I get what you're saying... This is kinda backwards. I agree with your sentiment in this situation, but disagree on principle lol.
      Normally I hard disagree with the 'use these self-imposed challenges' argument for games that are too easy, where said self-imposed challenges are ignoring/depriving yourself of core game mechanics that otherwise add depth to the game. Challenge alone isn't the goal, but the combination of challenge AND a deep gameplay with lots of choices, gains, drawbacks is the goal, and making it so you just neuter a core mechanic that makes a significant portion of the player's strategy is not a good way to add challenge.
      Unicorn Overlord though does seem to have slightly more cusotmizeable mechanics that compound into each other to fit the whole package that you can probably ignore 1 or 2 and still have a proper strategy to the game's guts though.
      Though I do think the game is pretty slow with how long you have to wait before you can finally make meaningful choices on these things. Like you have to hit level xx before you unlock other active/passive abilities on characters, as well as when you decide who to upgrade, as well as when your army gets sizeable enough that you really have to consider who to keep and who to bench, or what classes to use and what classes to bench, etc.
      I started off thinking the game was less deep than ogre battle until I reach elf-land (I too skipped Darken-whatever without realizing it until later) myself because up to that point it kinda is.

  • @Tenchigumi
    @Tenchigumi 5 дней назад +29

    "If you have cat, there is no danger."
    Unless you name your cat "Danger," at which point all you have now is cat.

    • @Ghalion666
      @Ghalion666 3 дня назад +2

      Honestly though, for some reason 'damage' seems like an oddly appropriate name for an actual RL cat.

    • @Tenchigumi
      @Tenchigumi 3 дня назад +1

      @@Ghalion666 Indeed. The innumerable scars on my lap are a testament to that.

  • @burningprodigy
    @burningprodigy 5 дней назад +17

    13 Sentinels is an amazing gem. One of a kind and will probably never happen again. Great video dude.
    Now will you ever to Trails/Kiseki?

    • @dragonmaster1500
      @dragonmaster1500 4 дня назад +1

      "Now will you ever to Trails/Kiseki?"
      We can only dream.

  • @HemborgerChariot
    @HemborgerChariot 5 дней назад +3

    I've been waiting for the 13 Sentinels segment for months and I'm glad to finally have it. I'm a little unhinged for this game and I love what you have to say about it, even if I have some disagreements. I do really wish you were more willing to go in depth on spoilers but I understand why you weren't. I suppose I should be grateful you covered it at all. Thank you, KBash.

    • @caprat7357
      @caprat7357 5 дней назад +1

      It is the truly lamentable cost of Kbash's format. Offering commentary and vignettes into some of the most interesting games out there but also striking that balance to ensure that viewers who haven't experienced those games can use his content as a jumping off point.
      I do often find myself wishing there was extended thoughts segments on patreon for spoilerific analysis, but our boy already works too hard as it is.

  • @jmh8817
    @jmh8817 4 дня назад +2

    "The war story genre" is my favorite video you've ever made and I'm glad to see this pseudosequel to it. Keep on keepin' on, duder.

  • @aquamaton
    @aquamaton 5 дней назад +5

    It's been awesome watching your channel develop. Your videos are so fucking good.

  • @newbrowny
    @newbrowny 4 дня назад +2

    This is one of your best vids kbash, all your vanillaware vides are amazing. Been watching for years and this video is whats gonna make me play some of these games finally. Thank you KBash!!!!

  • @sukamadik5983
    @sukamadik5983 5 дней назад +1

    A video I didn't know I wanted but certainly a welcomed one, thanks 🙏.

  • @josephlefebvre7127
    @josephlefebvre7127 5 дней назад +2

    UO was such a wierd game for me. I have not attention span. But with how light each of the systems were I completely 100% my tactical playthrough. Receuevery chatacter, getting every report, every sidequest. You are absolutely right, the story isnt the most compelling. But the whole package was so unlike everything I normally play. I didn't need to but I found myself tweaking all my tactics. Grinding the arena multiplayer.
    I love all vanillaware games, I think muramasa is still my favorite, but UO was definitely a huge suprise and I am glad I played it.
    (Rant over, Great videos as always!)

  • @p00pdragon
    @p00pdragon 5 дней назад +19

    I wish these games came to pc.

    • @daniellion5291
      @daniellion5291 5 дней назад +1

      You can emulate all of them, with the exception of maybe Unicorn Overlord.

    • @joearnold6881
      @joearnold6881 5 дней назад +9

      @@daniellion5291 I’d rather support an indie dev if I can

    • @Frosfank3034
      @Frosfank3034 5 дней назад

      ​@@joearnold6881 You can do both. Buy the game and then emulate it. No need for the console ~

    • @p00pdragon
      @p00pdragon 5 дней назад

      @@daniellion5291 but can you play dragons crown online on pc

    • @sunbro9744
      @sunbro9744 5 дней назад

      ​@@joearnold6881If they want support, make the games accessible natively on PC

  • @koigiraffe
    @koigiraffe 5 дней назад +13

    Grand Knights History honestly seems like a very Etrian-esque game, which is really cute. The whole "Create a team of OCs to then go explore around" is super compelling and I wish it was more or a thing in games, especially given how you Can absolutely still tell a compelling story without having a party of distinct personalities at play, as said Etrian Odyssey series demonstrates

    • @siveon298
      @siveon298 5 дней назад +1

      Maybe not Etrian Odyssey specifically but I'm sure both are inspired by Wizardry/DND in that regard. Wizardry specifically being an astronomically important game for JRPGs.

    • @newdawnhorizon9879
      @newdawnhorizon9879 5 дней назад

      Have you played 7th dragon 2020 and 2020-2

    • @koigiraffe
      @koigiraffe 5 дней назад

      @@newdawnhorizon9879 Been hacking away at 2020 actually!! I beat the first 7th Dragon for posterity and found it kinda mediocre but loved the start of 2020 so

    • @halifaxsteppenwulf7980
      @halifaxsteppenwulf7980 2 дня назад

      Boy do I have good news for you then, a huge portion of the CRPG and dungeon crawler genres for the last 40+ years are just waiting for you to dive in, generate a party, and go exploring.

  • @leonardoedsona
    @leonardoedsona 5 дней назад +9

    I just finished Odin Sphere earlier this morning. Your video came in just in time canadian youtuber Karlos Bash. Cheers.

  • @amcname8789
    @amcname8789 5 дней назад +13

    Never heard of Grimgrimoire in my life but can already tell, If I don't have it, I'll die.

    • @Just.Kidding
      @Just.Kidding 4 дня назад

      do yourself a favor and play the original, not the shitty remaster

    • @AT7outof10
      @AT7outof10 3 дня назад

      I've played both, I have no idea what the dude above me is talking about. Just enjoy whichever version you can get your hand on~

  • @meathir4921
    @meathir4921 5 дней назад +3

    Funnily enough, the game I want to play the most after this series is the one I can't. A 2D action combat game with laser focus and several games of iteration? I REALLY want to play Muramasa now.

  • @ToastyCubes
    @ToastyCubes 3 дня назад

    KBash your vids have consistently improved so much it's actually insane

  • @Scuzoid_Melee
    @Scuzoid_Melee 5 дней назад +2

    Been looking forward to this one. Unicorn Overlord may not be game of the year, but it was 100% the most addictive for me. I can't recall the last time I beat a game in as few number of days as I did with UO.

  • @Tiiliuu1
    @Tiiliuu1 5 дней назад +1

    Subscribed to this channel four months ago just to see this video when it popped up. Excellent work, even if I disagree with some things like being so harsh on UO's story. Other shame is that I can't show this video to others thanks to the 13 Sentinels and UO spoilers haha. But I'll stick around for more videos down the line.

  • @threeswordssama
    @threeswordssama 41 минуту назад

    My first Vanillaware game is Unicorn Overlord and I can't wait to see more from them in the future.

  • @rskolokrs
    @rskolokrs 4 дня назад +1

    I love their art direction , no matter what kind of game they made

  • @willfully3368
    @willfully3368 4 дня назад +4

    VANILLAWARE is such a great developer they deserve soooo much success. They’re incredibly talented and need the recognition

    • @willfully3368
      @willfully3368 4 дня назад

      If I’m gonna get grimgrimoire too

  • @astinwillier6808
    @astinwillier6808 4 дня назад

    I've been meaning to play a few of these! Thanks for the insight, I already jam dragon's crown because of you

  • @ChrisLT
    @ChrisLT 5 дней назад

    Excited for this one. 13 Sentinels and Unicorn Overlord were both some of their best works.

  • @baydo1468
    @baydo1468 День назад

    It's incredible how Grand Knights History is basically a prototype for Unicorn Overlord

  • @Kimosabes2hot
    @Kimosabes2hot 5 дней назад +7

    This heatwave ain't the only thing that's hot, cause here comes KBash with a *FIRE* Upload

  • @AwesomeFerret25
    @AwesomeFerret25 5 дней назад

    While playing UO, I couldnt stop thinking about what you would say about it. Glad the day is finally here!

  • @AizakkuAnalysis
    @AizakkuAnalysis 5 дней назад +4

    I really want to get a copy of Princess Crown on the psp. I just want to physically own it in my hands, even with the language barrier.

    • @SonofSethoitae
      @SonofSethoitae 4 дня назад +1

      The fact that Princess Crown never got brought over here may be our biggest failing as a species.

  • @GrumpySylveon
    @GrumpySylveon 2 дня назад

    I wish Kbash did a video on every game series ever. There's just something you do, that honesty, it's something that I want to hear about every game series ever.
    Please talk about Kirby :)

  • @rctecopyright
    @rctecopyright 5 дней назад +1

    I vaguely remembered XPlay reviewing this game as a teenager, so I downloaded and played GrimGrimoire off the PSN in 2010. Loved it and I wish that another game like that could be made (which sounds unlikely from this videos description of the studio).

  • @acaracaraorange7685
    @acaracaraorange7685 5 дней назад

    Been waiting on this one!!!!

  • @turanome5678
    @turanome5678 4 дня назад

    my head snapped upward the moment I heard Billy
    love cameos :3
    glorious video all round tho

  • @zacharymobrice6019
    @zacharymobrice6019 4 дня назад +1

    KBash is getting closer and closer to getting into Gundam. I was there once too, boy... you won't be able to hold out much longer

  • @halifaxsteppenwulf7980
    @halifaxsteppenwulf7980 2 дня назад

    I’m morally obligated to second that 13 Sentinels is a must play. It is truly incredible with a story so tightly constructed that every seemingly little innocuous detail is actually extremely well thought out and likely plot critical - even the horny bits are actually running off amusingly rational world building.

  • @obbm
    @obbm 5 дней назад +1

    Would love to see you do a Magical Vacation/Magical Starsign video. I know you've mentioned Brownie Brown in your Mana video but I never see anyone talk about those two games!

  • @nobel11
    @nobel11 4 дня назад

    I've given up on making art. At this point, I just create stuff to placate my sanity. I have no idea how you make money with creativity. But I am thankful for Vanillaware, and for you Kbash, sharing your art, and bringing happiness to strangers. I hope you, and Vanillaware, will continue to be able to afford to eat, and afford to create.

  • @fvakarian
    @fvakarian День назад

    Y'know, I have a weird relationship with Vanillaware games, because while I think they're beautiful and unique and worth checking out... I also tend to find them really repetitive. It frequently happens just as you said, I play them for a few hours and then just disconnect, having the sensation that I got everything that I could get from the game.
    However, as it happens when I watch your content, this video gave me some incentive to try again and see things through a new perspective. Hell, I had to try Vagrant Story four freaking times before it became one of my favorite games ever, just to give an example. I'm well aware of the concept of "acquired taste", and maybe this is a similar case.
    Anyway, thank you again, K-Man. You keep consistently being one of the best in this platform IMHO. Keep it up.

  • @tyronechillifoot5573
    @tyronechillifoot5573 5 дней назад +20

    I wish Unioncorn overload had a more interesting story tbh

    • @Ghalion666
      @Ghalion666 3 дня назад +1

      It's weird how a game about an oppressive empire and war is more 'toothless' than odin sphere where the cute underage protagonist who probably has the most tragic backstory, who is the most innocent, DIES

  • @sahkovalo
    @sahkovalo 5 дней назад +1

    I was not ready for the ninja info cards gag 😂

  • @ArcCaravan
    @ArcCaravan 23 часа назад

    I primarily know Vanillaware for their art style, action games (Odin Sphere, Muramasa, Dragon's Crown), and their gorgeous food.

  • @RyanBeardy
    @RyanBeardy 3 дня назад

    13 Sentinels was my first Vanillaware game. It was so good I cannot wait to play the rest!

  • @backlogrob8358
    @backlogrob8358 4 дня назад +1

    The Grand Knights critique reminded me of Scarlet Nexus's big disconnect: YOU ARE AT WAR!

  • @Unquestionable
    @Unquestionable 5 дней назад

    I still remember falling in love with Odin Sphere when it first came out in all it's PS2 lagging glory and have kept an eye on Vanillaware ever since. I was very aware of Grimgrimoire at release but limited interest (was my days before I branched out much in my taste) just gave it a hopeful nod and moved on, being sure to pick up Dragon's Crown day one of course. Since then I've kept up with all their titles and even remember the online discussions and disappointment when Grand Knights History didn't get a US release back when the PSP was still extremely viable. When 13 Sentinels was first announced along with all the hype from the Japanese release I was expecting something special and was somehow still completely blown away when I did play it, to the point I picked up the Switch version as well just for an excuse to replay it. That Unicorn Overlord got so much attention made me so so happy and it's been an absolute delight so far with the limited time I've been able to spend with it. Easily one of my favorite game dev groups out there and always look forward to their output (and pray for a Princess Crown remaster for the US one day).

  • @Supercohboy
    @Supercohboy 2 дня назад

    Billy and Writing On Games, nice cameos, absolutely epic.
    I skipped the spoilers bit for 13 Sentinels, that game seems like quite the flawed gem and I appreciate your perspective on it. As a mecha fan, it's surprising and interesting to see these devs make a game taking place in that genre (sorta...), but it looks like the mechs themselves take a visual back seat to everything else. In reality, 13 Sentinels looks like it's more of a referential nostalgia trip of a visual novel with quite a bit of strategic combat between those VN bits. But beyond those attack previews and the little mech art-piece you get to see when selecting each Sentinel, the mechs are hardly present in the visuals, especially during combat when the robots are doing all the cool stuff.
    That's exactly how you lose any interest from most Mecha fans though, by creating a Mecha game that hardly shows off the mechs, imo. A lot of people come to Mecha for the fights and the philosophy, but mainly for the epic visuals and large-scale destruction. I understand their budget was negligible, which resulted in 13 Sentinels appearing the way it does, but like...it feels like they didn't even TRY to make a game taking place in a genre suited for the budget they had. They NEVER had the money to create crazy-detailed epic mech sprites doing epic things in a way that doesn't look like Vanillaware simply palette-swapped medieval design elements for sci-fi ones for their next game. So instead we get what seems like a confusing and highly-esoteric cyberpunk-themed strategic view as bright lights shoot bright lights at other bright lights. Hardly a Mecha game, if we're being honest, which is going to kill a lot of peoples' interests. Imo they shouldn't have included mecha combat at all if they couldn't do it justice, that's how you fail to meet the expectations of players and ruin the game's chances of success in the wild. Why not just make a visual novel every now and then, which would've been lower budget and probably sold better?
    Or maybe they needed to work with a few sponsors to make their dreams more fully-realized, but then that goes against the spirit of Vanillaware as a company, which I can respect. Idk, this particular entry looks really good on the VN side of things, but it seems like that strategic element wasn't suited for the type of combat it was attempting to represent. The combat systems they made appear as though they could've worked excellently to represent combat in cyberspace instead, it gives me some Tron vibes due to the visuals especially.
    It's a game that I may end up trying someday, and I literally haven't played it so I can't really critique it, but I did want to give some perspective as an interested potential purchaser. Mecha fans have an especially sore spot in regards to video games, there simply aren't many good Mech games out there, as you know. So when something even remotely lukewarm shows up on the horizon, it incites a bit of a pessimistic reaction from me, and presumably from some other fans out there too.
    Too many people have good things to say about the game though, so that's promising and encouraging in spite of those initial reactions. I look forward to checking this one out eventually, if I can.

  • @guy0Npage38XBL
    @guy0Npage38XBL 5 дней назад

    Another banger video

  • @SuperLuccian
    @SuperLuccian 5 дней назад

    I love your videos

  • @leonardobitencourt3188
    @leonardobitencourt3188 5 дней назад +1

    do you plan on doing NISS America series? Mainly Disgaea for sure, but Soul Nomad, Phantom Brave and others are pretty good too!

  • @KhaosElement
    @KhaosElement 4 дня назад

    Man, I haven't been more excited for a game than Unicorn Overlord in a long, LONG time...but I only have a PC. I have no desire to buy a whole ass console for one game. God I wish Japan would embrace the PC more.

  • @redalchemy7322
    @redalchemy7322 3 дня назад

    I've had a lot of respect for the vision and love Vanillaware bestow in their games. Hell the detail they put into their food alone says a lot about what they do and what they value.
    It's honestly heartbreaking to hear about them always scraping by and making just enough to survive. Though for pity's sake I wish they would bring their games to PC
    They remind me of the devs behind Fuga (The Little Tail Bronx games in general) or Millennium Kitchen (The Boku no Natsuyasumi games including the more recent Shin Chan game). I feel like these guys know that they are niche, but just love what they do so much that they are willing to go for as long as there is just enough money in the till to continue forward. To those tenacious few, I salute you

  • @justingraton17
    @justingraton17 4 дня назад +1

    Listening to you talk about Grim Grimoire and then spitting my drink when you casually mention it's a ps2 game

  • @Thariorn
    @Thariorn 4 дня назад

    Goddamn, Vanillaware's art style really rustle's my jimmies in a funny way.
    Seriously, thanks for idle booty shake animations

  • @azure5584
    @azure5584 5 дней назад

    I was screaming internally "WHERE'S NEW KBASH" a few days ago and voila, here he cometh!

  • @blakeunderwood8364
    @blakeunderwood8364 4 дня назад

    1am? Video? Locked in 😎

  • @chrisdaughen5257
    @chrisdaughen5257 3 дня назад

    As someone who recently beat Unicorn Overlord on Tactical, I’ll admit the game is perfectly balanced. Even with items and skills, I never felt like there was no challenge in the late game.
    Is the story a bit too simple? Absolutley. I don’t know why they had the bad endings occur if you win the final battle as soon as you can at level 5, unless it’s the devs indirectly making fun of players playing on the easier difficulties. But in defense of the games themes on morality, it’s not completely black and white. The characters in the prologue squad aren’t all mind controlled, some of them work for Zenoira for personal reasons. Even at the last minute, it feels like they tried framing Galerius as really dedicated to resurrecting his people… despite being the reason they all died in the first place.

  • @KlausWulfenbach
    @KlausWulfenbach 5 дней назад +1

    Joke's on you I'm already a Vanillaware fan and GrimGrimoire is one of my *all time favorites* .

  • @Valkenhyne
    @Valkenhyne 5 дней назад +2

    I really should get around to finishing 13 sentinels...

  • @Epiphanetic_
    @Epiphanetic_ День назад

    You took me out with
    “you… you get Dirt Town😭”

  • @themaid9254
    @themaid9254 5 дней назад +1

    Grimgrimoire is one of those games that I love but whenever I talk about it people check out so fast

  • @Ghalion666
    @Ghalion666 4 дня назад +1

    I just don't understand how there are still no major indie releases that are inspired from Dragon's Crown.

  • @Zegaexiron
    @Zegaexiron 5 дней назад +1

    Learning that VanillaWare has been near failing *since the beginning* is insane. Despite it all I enjoyed the games I've played from them and hope they'll still make games in the future. Hopefully even get out of hanging by a thread.

  • @jamminjelly117
    @jamminjelly117 4 дня назад

    Strong disagree that you can spoil 13 Sentinels. The game is so complex and interwoven that you cant really get the story until you can piece it all together in your head. One reveal does nothing when everything twists multiple times. That being said, love these retrospectives! Thanks for giving more love to vanillaware.

  • @Dens753
    @Dens753 5 дней назад +1

    for UO, you actually can find the rapport scenes easily, in the rapport menu you can click the available one to fast travel as long as the area is liberated LMAOOOO

  • @badpiggy4177
    @badpiggy4177 4 дня назад

    Never thought I'd see a Collab between Kbash and Cvit but I'll take it

  • @Bakutakamine
    @Bakutakamine 5 дней назад +1

    Bruh fr that spam rice bowl looks like it went pretty hard. I fucking love spam musubi.

  • @Hevymin
    @Hevymin 5 дней назад +1

    Honestly Unicorn Overlord is probably my game of the year unless something else knocks my socks off

  • @Kletian999
    @Kletian999 2 дня назад

    1:40:00 the souls believed Galerius would free them. Only when Galerius was betrayed did Alian have an argument to win them over.

  • @novohart1928
    @novohart1928 5 дней назад

    Imagine being already spoiled to the 13 sentinels in 2021. It's such a shame that I didn't experience this game myself.

  • @cloudfrog2911
    @cloudfrog2911 День назад

    I agree some of male ring-rite options are more explicit, but not by much. I mean, sure the praise kink wizard is more explicit than most male options but you square it up against the women who would onscreen kiss Alain, become Alain's queen and bear his children. Unsubtle subtext, at the end of the day, will never be text. I guess it just hurts a little that they decided it had to be that way.

  • @CuriousInLCL
    @CuriousInLCL 5 дней назад

    WE ARE SOOOOO BACK!!!

  • @maxjustice1542
    @maxjustice1542 4 дня назад

    Ending the whole retrospective with an ice cream analogy is great. I didn’t expect to enjoy Vanillaware’s games either. The art is beautiful but most of their gameplay ideas do not suit me. I found myself still having a good time taking in the worlds they’ve crafted. Hopefully this company continues to make games in the future. Making something unique than something average.

  • @Dasm.
    @Dasm. 5 дней назад

    Vanillaware is top 3 for me. Love your videos ❤

  • @pedrofranco3504
    @pedrofranco3504 5 дней назад

    KBash, where did you find Gran knights story art?

  • @gqphoenixclops3056
    @gqphoenixclops3056 5 дней назад

    AYOOO! I recognize Cvits voice anywhere on RUclips 😮🎉

  • @metaldoji
    @metaldoji 5 дней назад

    thank you

  • @keeganseck7751
    @keeganseck7751 5 дней назад

    Haven't played UO yet, so I'm gonna dip and leave the video on for the watch minutes.

  • @powerprotoman
    @powerprotoman 5 дней назад +3

    as someone who tapped out of unicorn overlord at the demo i saw a character went "oh that's the real villain" and then looked it up and was right, purely because i know about fire emblem 1 main antagonist- one day i might learn to enjoy RTS but until the the adventures of walmarth and his wacky ring will be something i dont engage with....also the friend character's design is like a costco version of adol from Ys

    • @chewviewleonardo6511
      @chewviewleonardo6511 5 дней назад

      I understand the undynamic design since most Japanese graphic designers repeat the same color-hair tropes of red, blue, green. Those are from the limited graphics in a different era. Otherwise they are unoffensive and even approachable. Its simply alright. Also, I remember people joked on FE villains because they were comically written. FE 1 had a jealous magician and D&D Earth Dragon. FE was like Gundam the decade prior to it. Prussian uniforms everywhere. Camus is literally Char. I enjoyed UO doing a simple story and so like Dragon's Crown, gameplay and atmosphere were the priority of my enjoyment. I remember my journey, not endgame.

  • @Ghalion666
    @Ghalion666 3 дня назад

    I declared myself a black licorice hater as a kid, and discovered I loved it as an adult. But I don't think this was due to aquired taste, or my personal tastebuds changing as I aged. I think it was caused by my exposure to black licorice being eqclusively the cheap artificial twizzlers, where the red ones are relatively normal candy in comparison. However, upon trying actual quality dutch salted licorice, I discovered that licorice was good. I wonder if you have the same thing, where the ice cream was actually quality, and all the black licorice you tasted before was the cheap carp.
    In my experience, many many beer haters have a similar experience. I've converted people more than twice my age who hated beer their entire life into liking it just by handing them one I thought they would like based on my intuition of their personal tastes, and no I'm not super aggressive about it, I casually get one 'for myself' and offer them a sip and say I doubt they think it tastes like any of the other beers they hate, and they try it and are like wow it's actually good! They don't just say so to shut me up or to give up or anything.

  • @hemangchauhan2864
    @hemangchauhan2864 5 дней назад

    WE ARE SEATED!

  • @jackal27
    @jackal27 5 дней назад +1

    LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO

  • @Kletian999
    @Kletian999 2 дня назад

    1:11:00 Josef will waste exp if used. Anyone overlevel gets like 90% less exp and his stats are deliberately nerfed to be weaker than level 15 units and not get back to normal until level 45.

  • @Kletian999
    @Kletian999 2 дня назад

    1:36:00 mirabelle isnt anyone, Miriam is a radiant knight, Scarlet is the rescued priestess.

  • @heavynorse7746
    @heavynorse7746 5 дней назад

    Gammel Dansk - Wooh, Denmark mentioned! Kinda!

  • @drifterj
    @drifterj 5 дней назад

    Grand Kingdom is a great update for Knights, but the story is still bare bones

  • @CastleStrongGaming
    @CastleStrongGaming 4 дня назад +1

    Finally another K bash vid, thank the gods 😂🙏

  • @pkphyre8920
    @pkphyre8920 5 дней назад

    LETS GOOOOO

  • @RaphaelCGA
    @RaphaelCGA 5 дней назад

    Ah yes Grim Grimoire: A 2D side view RTS where you take on the role of a "trainee" witch locked in a time loop doing battle against main devil character from the Faust story Mephistopheles.

  • @maegnificant
    @maegnificant 5 дней назад

    My man really said "erect" without blushing.

  • @MasterBlade111
    @MasterBlade111 5 дней назад +1

    1:17:55 Is anyone is going to tell KBash you automatically teleport to the locations by selecting the relationship in the menu orrrrr?

  • @diamondhamster4320
    @diamondhamster4320 4 дня назад

    GoonerWare was always GOATED in art department.

  • @qsmith2514
    @qsmith2514 5 дней назад

    Patreon Peeps chiming in to let yall know this one is a BANGER

  • @neurosis51
    @neurosis51 3 дня назад

    17:40 Don't forget Vanillaware is adamant about not releasing their content on PC ever, so I'm sure that plays a big part in their struggling for funds. Either the studio or the publisher needs to get out of their own way. Dragon's crown, muramasa, and the rest are all console only still.

  • @UrubuDoMangue
    @UrubuDoMangue 2 дня назад

    My fav game company fr fr

  • @BoneBeastKimimaro
    @BoneBeastKimimaro 5 дней назад

    "We all know somebody who restarted their pokemon game 800 times to get a shiny legendary."
    So, fummy story, in my first (and only) playthrough of Emerald, I got a Shiny Latios. Legit. No save-scumming, no cheat codes, no RNG manipulation, NO RESETS. I wish I was kidding. I was like 14 years old at the time. I didn't even have access to, know about, or even just consider most of those things. It was pure, unadulterated luck.