About a year ago, XBLAZE Code: Embryo released for the PS3 and PS Vita. It was a visual novel that took place in the Blazblue universe. The story was set 150 years before those events however, so it's connection to the source material was tenuous at best. The true canonical ending did end on a cliffhanger, which is where Lost: Memories takes place. Well, it sort of does, as it's more of a fan-disc. But the content of the game is a bit lacking, and the conclusion to the storyline is lacking as well.

If you've seen any visual novel made in the last 10 years, you'll likely have noticed that their appearance is low-budget. You get streams of text, and a background with images of character's, overlayed on top of the background, occasionally switching to a CG image displaying a scene when something important happens. That's not what Overflow decided to do. They took a route most developers avoid these days. Instead you are treated to an interactive anime where you make decisions to influence the outcome of the story. While the visual novel does a good job, there are a few issues that keep it down.

Rockin Android isn't a stranger to the shoot em up genre, but many of them are often of an on-rails nature. Diadra Empty forgoes such a structure for an arena, and that makes for some crazy times. But perhaps it's a little too chaotic and unforgiving.

It's been awhile since the bikini and cowboy hat wearing swordswomen graced Western shores. The last time was back in 2009 for the Xbox 360 and Wii. The 360 and PS3 sequel Oneechanbara Z: Kagura skipped domestic release, and instead we come to 2015 with it's PS4 only sequel, Z2: Chaos. And much like it's previous releases, the game bathes in the excesses of trashy videogame design. But much like any trainwreck or the Simple Series that it originated from, the game still manages to be amusing enough to be a fun diversion.

... Odallus is a game about a man named Haggis, who is currently pondering his place in life, when he discovers that the nearby village has been set aflame. Rushing to the town, he learns that an evil force is responsible, and that his son has been captured. Now he's on a quest to rescue him and put an end to the invasion. Haggis also has to seek pieces of an object called the Odallus to get through a barrier in the final level, so a lot of exploration will be necessary. The game plays out like a low fidelity platformer that would blend in with many games from the late 80's and 90's of the NES heyday. Although the game borrows elements from games in the 16-bit era as well.

The individual films in Phase Two of the MCU largely struggled to measure up to what The Avengers brought to the table. So Ant-Man continues that tradition within Phase Two. It struggles to see how it can fit as a piece of the large MCU. It's a very odd way for Marvel to cap off the end of Phase Two and jump into Phase Three.

After the fall of developer Neverland, the team behind Rune Factory didn't take long to start a new project. The first game they did was Forbidden Magna, and it was quite a departure from their previous works. Swapping out Farm-sim/Action RPG mechanics for a more tactical combat system, the game is finally available in the West under the new name, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven. While the game has some nice ideas, it doesn't exactly execute them as intended.

Sekai Project is known for bringing mostly visual novels to steam, but this is there first attempt at publishing a game outside of that genre. Tobari and the Night of the Curious Moon marks the debut of this first step towards the companies' strides to off more variety to the consumer, and it's a fun time, although it could use some polish.

Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed originally released in Japan as Akiba's Trip 2, the sequel to the PSP original. It initially launched on the Vita and PS3, and received an enhanced port on the PS4. This latest port is based on that version. I'll say though that when I first heard of Akiba's Trip, the West would never get it, seeing as the original was passed up for localization. Thankfully XSEED games stepped in and brought this little bit of zany brawling to the masses in a number of ways. It's a fun time, even with a bit of rough edges to deal with.

Aksys Games isn't a stranger to visual novels or RPGs, but this is likely the first time they have taken on a hybridization of the two genres. The game has a great localization and interesting concept. But there are a number of odd design decisions that keep it from greatness.