格安のAzur Lane: Crosswave PSN CD KEYSをJP¥5413.18から購入する。 🎮

Pardon my bias as this game is first of it's genre that I've ever played (although I've played very different genres of games), so it's hardPardon my bias as this game is first of it's genre that I've ever played (although I've played very different genres of games), so it's hard for me to compare it to anything else. I'll just rate it based on enjoyment while playing it, as well as some general ideas I have about what could've been done differently, even within this unfamiliar genre.First, I'd like to describe the genre - about 80% of the gameplay is dialogue. So, it's more of an interactive story, than a game of any other genre.However, unlike other RPGs - there is just one dialogue option. Which greatly reduces the interactivity, and makes it 100% linear.With that - this title more of an manga with voice-over, rather than an actually INTERACTIVE story game. Not an anime because there aren't any substantial animations to speak of. Well, sure, people do enjoy reading manga, and books - even though it's (obviously) an 100% linear experience. People enjoy 100% linear games which have a good storyline, too. So this isn't necessarily bad. Although having multiple dialogue choices and branching storylines would increase the title's appeal greatly.As for the remaining 20% of the gameplay - 10% of that is actual combat.First you form a fleet - 1 or 2 waves, up to 3 characters per wave. You start with just one wave with 2 characters though.When the combat starts is the only times you see actual 3D models of any of your characters. The level of detail is OK but there's so much sparks and glittery smoke flying around that you can't really see much of the characters in combat. Combat itself is rather mind-numbing - a dozen or so fights in, on Hard difficulty - just strafe the target and fire away primary attack non-stop. That's it. Literally. 100% win rate with the bonus for winning within a rather lax time challenge. Each time. In a videogame, combat is supposed to be at least a little fun and challenging? But here - the combat is an entirely skippable chore, but it takes on average 1 minute per battle, so not a problem.Final 10% is selecting which ship-girls are part of which fleet, which attack wave. On a more personal level - which weapons, armor, and other systems does each one of these girls have. This part of the game is wide but flat - there's a seemingly large amount of equipment and special abilities to equip for each character, as well as many (over 100 I think, once fully unlocked?) characters to select from when forming your fleets' waves. But... given how mind-numbing the combat itself is - there's little incentive to even bother upgrading anything on any of the ship-girls, or figuring out how to use any of the special abilities.The waifus themselves and the interactions with them are the only appealing part of this game, hence this generated a ton of puns of quite an obvious nature...Overall - this as a voiced-over manga with shiny, fanservice-y characters, with which you can kinda interact to an extent (which is arguably the title's main difference from being a fully passive reader of a manga). And a story which is trying to be cute, or funny - with variable success rate.Oh and the ship-girls occasional say things which are related to their IRL-counterparts from WW-2. i.e. Bismark and Hood have a grudge - Bismark has sunk Hood IRL.Taihou is awkwardly afraid of fire - IRL the carrier caught fire and burned down, despite having very advanced (for the time) fire-suppression systems.

At first glance, Azur Lane: Crosswave may look like a fan service-filled experience, and while there is a bit of truth to that in both character design and some conversations in the story, it is also a title filled with intrigue, rivalry, and cooperation. The depth of the story and character growth coupled with the easy to pick up, hard-to-master gameplay make it perfect for the portability of the Nintendo Switch. Post-game content is just as important as the main story, whereafter dozens of hours can be put into creating a dream team whose power is unstoppable against the Sirens.

Azur Lane: Crosswave is a game that was best left on smartphones. The visual novel sequences are perfectly fine, and the story itself – while utterly bonkers – is interesting enough to keep you engaged, while the characters are both charming and unique. Sadly, the naval combat sequences bring down the entire experience. They’re slow, repetitive, rarely require much strategic thought, and look incredibly bland all at once. This is a game for hardcore fans of the genre only; everyone else ought to look elsewhere for their naval combat needs.

It’d be nice if the Shipgirl fights were more visually interesting, but Crosswave looks a little too much like a mid-tier Playstation Vita game for my tastes. All of the dialogue is fully voiced...in Japanese, which is something (and also diagnostic of most Vita games). On the other hand, Crosswave already features Neptune from the Neptunia franchise--and I have to assume that the other Goddesses will move in eventually. That’s probably not enough to keep me coming back, though. If you like anime-based visual novels, you might get something out of Azur Lane: Crosswave. For me, though? I like a little more “game” in my video games.

You do also get to play around with photo modes and the like; Compile Heart play the fan service up to its maximum, and there are some little bonuses in there for people who already own the game on PlayStation 4. Really, though, there's not much to add above and beyond our review of the PlayStation 4 game; this is an almost surprisingly good port to Nintendo Switch, and thanks to those mobile roots it does feel like a game better suited for the comforts of a handheld than the "big screen" - the combat action lacks the sustained thrills for the big screen experience, but the dynamic twitch gameplay makes for the perfect commute killer.

Azur Lane: Crosswave boasts some gorgeous artwork, but the combat system and dialogue need work. Unfortunately, using sexy battleships in combat just isn’t for everyone.

My sense is that Azur Lane: Crosswave will appeal to established fans of the ‘moe’ subgenre of anime who will happily forgive the myriad problems, boredoms and irritations that will rise to the surface for everyone else. For those who aren’t ready to devote themselves to a seafaring waifu, Crosswave runs aground as soon as it sets sail.

Fans of the mobile title will enjoy this, if you have a dislike of anime style games with fully voiced Japanese dialogue, you won’t get any enjoyment out of this.

Azur Lane: Crosswave has a well-written story mode that runs as deep as the ocean, but the combat that strings these story scenes together is as shallow as a kiddie pool. It's wonderful to see fan favourites interact, and the voice acting adds a lot to the already charming story mode, but it's a shame that the gameplay fails to leave as much of an impression as the narrative and art did.