Review: Liberation Maiden

Liberation Maiden

Completed: June 2015

Time Spent: ~1 Hour (Story) ~1 Hour (Extras)

Systems Available: 3DS (Download-Only) & iOS
System Played: 3DS

Spoilers: None

Price: $7.99 MSRP (Purchased during sale @$2.99)

Gameplay

Liberation Maiden is a game where you control Shoko, the main heroine, and her mecha ship (thing) through the course of a five long mission levels. The controls were a bit hard for me to get used to, but after playing games like Kid Icarus, the flow and way the machine was supposed to be controlled became quite clear after clearing the game. You use your main hand to hold the stylus, and control the bottom half of the screen (3DS), which is where your reticle on the top screen goes. Attacking is basically highlighting the enemies (which is bolded in a way, for you), and releasing the stylus to shoot. You start off with some missiles, but you do get another weapon later on in the game. The sweet catch here is that the energy you use to attack enemies is basically your shield energy - meaning that if you're to use all your shield energy for attacking, your mecha becomes very vulnerable to enemy fire, possibly taking your health down at a faster rate than normal. This helps add another level of strategy, as you have to take out the enemies with firepower, but also have to give yourself a bit of space for protection. 

Each of the five levels take place in a different location in Japan, ranging from Osaka to Hokkaido, and the variety of the missions are somewhat good. Your main goal in most of the missions given is to destroy these enemy veins that are plaguing the country of Japan. By destroying these, nature is restored to the land, and peace is just one step closer. There's a boss at the end of each stage, and most all of the bosses stand still, with you circling around it to attack. I don't want to go into too much detail with these bosses, but I can say that it's a pleasant experience and does offer a challenge, depending on the difficulty you choose. Speaking of which, you have the ability to choose one of three levels of difficulty for story mode (Easy, Medium, and Hard). I started off with Normal, and found enough of a challenge after my first playthrough. After completing said difficulty in story mode, you can access all five levels in the 'Score Attack' mode, which is where you can play any of the levels with the goal of getting as many points as you can. 

There are also submissions in some of the missions for each level, but I felt that these were sort of like random add ons, and left me with no idea or clue what to do when they gave me one (especially those with a rather short time limit). Eventually, I got the hang of these submissions, but I still feel that they could have been improved to some extent. Also, the variety in missions you have is there, such as stealthily making your way across a factory, or dodging Touhou-style bullets, but all in all - there isn't really too much. 

Story

The first time through this game, I had little to no idea what the story of this game was going to be about. It seemed that there were these things I had to destroy, and that there were a lot of enemies swarming in what was called, "New Japan." After completing story mode once, you'll be able to access some achievements you naturally unlocked (with the first playthrough) in the Gallery part of the game, where each section (there are 30) gives you a history lesson on what happened to Japan, who the villains are, and various other details related to the game. I found this to be quite a cool feature, as it motivated me to play more levels and achieve what the gallery pieces each required. Although it would have been nicer to get the story and backstory handed to us in a more direct way, I feel that it's one way Level 5 attempted to add replay value to this game. There are two main characters that you get to know in this game; the main character Shoko, and her advisor/commander, Kira. You two will communicate with each other throughout each of the missions and stages, and will serve to help guide the story and gameplay forward. I do believe that this game could have been fleshed out more, as the ending of the game was somewhat of a cliffhanger (pretty much a massive understatement, but...).

Music/Art

In terms of art, Liberation Maiden does a pleasant job of creating scenery that fits with the situation. The scenery for each of the five stages are quite diverse, and it felt like I was actually adventuring in another location in Japan (Which, I was). I'd say that the art of the mecha and main character in action are alright, and the portraits that are drawn for Shoko and Kira are also decent. Animation featured in the beginning and end of the game are well produced, and I would have loved to see more of that. Overall, in terms of art, Liberation Maiden does a pretty decent job, with no major problems.

The music in Liberation Maiden is something else - it's really worth turning up the volume and plugging in your headphones when playing this game. The first stage and last stage bosses have music with vocals, and I have to say that it's some of the best electronic j-pop I've heard in a long time. All the other tracks are very fitting with the scenery and atmosphere (imagine a relaxing techno piece for Hokkaido, and a more intensive piece for Osaka or Tokyo). I found myself listening to the music in and out of the game, which is definitely a good sign. In terms of sound effects, I'd say that Liberation Maiden does a decent job, with no negatives, but no positives. 

Presentation

The menus in Liberation Maiden are really nice looking, and fit for the theme this game tries to present. With lots of flowerlike designs, I felt that surfing through all the menus, fonts, and just the system itself was really fluid and not bad. The layout in the game isn't the smoothest, but everything is somewhat clear after playing for half an hour or so. The gallery looks really nice, and I yeah - just the interface and everything else is really well done. The 3D effects are well done too, so make sure to crank it up when you're deep in enemy territory!

Length/Postgame/Multiplayer

Liberation Maiden doesn't have any multiplayer features, and its campaign is actually really short. I'd say it would take you 1-2 hours just to complete one difficulty mode in story mode. While the campaign is ridiculously short, (as mentioned earlier) there are ways to expand on the time you can spend on this game. I did each stage on Normal difficulty in Score Attack mode two times or more, just to get more of that music and potentially unlock five or six of the hidden gallery items that I couldn't manage to get before. While all of this equates to only a few hours on your list, it's good to take note that this game is under 10 bucks, and with my deal of getting it for only 3 dollars, I have to admit that it can be quite worth the money (or, a great 'bang for your buck' as some people say). The game really felt like a demo, and although a Visual Novel sequel (Liberation Maiden Sin) did get released, I have still been hoping for a new adventure with Shoko, Kira, and some new characters with a story span of at least 5 hours. 

Overall (+Final Impressions)

I really enjoyed my rather short time with Liberation Maiden; it was an experience that not many other games could replicate, and while the campaign was short, the replayability for this game isn't that bad, I would have been hoping for more. On the other hand, with this game, you'll be receiving a ton of great electronic tunes, great art, and a mecha-load of action! With the beautiful menu designs and fun + challenging gameplay, I find it to be worth its price tag if you're willing to delve deep into the adventures of Shoko Ozora!

Pros

+ Wonderful gameplay: Challenging and fun

+ Diverse scenery and great tunes - nice anime cutscenes too

+ Decent replayability value, with the Score Attack mode

+ Smooth and fluid menus, practically no lag

+ Interesting gallery and backstory, once unlocked

Cons

- Campaign is pretty short, even for its price

- Lack of variety in missions

- Submissions aren’t really that well developed; too random

- Due to short length, the story is unclear at the start

FINAL VERDICT

Gameplay: 9.0/10 

Story: 7.0/10 

Music/Art: 9.0/10 

Presentation: 9.0/10 

Length/PostGame/Multiplayer: 5.0/10 

Averaged (7.8) Overall: 7.5/10