Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SP4KLMD/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_dl_7EX6GB675WNKM29ZZ92C_2
* **What is 13 Sentinels?**
13S is a side scrolling adventure with an RTS, tower defence style, battle system. The game is about 80% adventure and 20% RTS battles.
* **What is the story about?**
Japan is being invaded by machines of unknown origin, destroying the world. It’s a japanese story, so only a group of highschoolers piloting giant mecha can save the world from annihilation.
* **Why is the narrative so praised?**
The story follows 13 playable main characters, each having their own story line and all the storylines are connected. Not only there are 13 story lines that connects to each other, but the story also takes place in 4 different time periods: the tail end of WWII in 1945; the peak economic bubble in 1985 (the “main” setting); the near future of 2025; the far future of 2065.
The narrative structure is therefore non-linear, a character may be living in 1985 while others will only be born 30 years later, but of course it would be *too simple* like this so the writers added a twist: time travel shenanigans are constant, and a character may for example travel in time 40 years to the era of another character, but a few weeks earlier or later the events of the storyline of another character from that time period. This creates a fragmented narrative that thanks to the bite-sized lenght of every “chapter” (there are multiple chapers per characters and they are all 20-40 minutes long) will always leave you with a few answer, but also definitely more questions.
In all this organized narrative chaos, the RTS section of the game too is a integral part of the overall story. The very first battle of the game takes place as soon as the machine invade Japan in 1985. How does the battle of 1985 connect to the events of ’45 or the story of the people living in 2065?
Play to discover it!
* **Is the title an hyperbole?**
It’s the critics opinion!
Ben Moore from Easy Allies
>13 Sentinels is not the first gorgeus game Vanillaware made, but the reason it’s exceptional is because of how exciting the journey is. Sure there is the mystery boxes as you peel away layer after layer but a giant reason you want to hungerly jump to the next chapter is because the characters are just so charming. It is relatively rare that a videogame story is this captivating and it’s absolutely worth making time for it.
Eurogamer
>Enigmatic and unapologetic even in the face of its most absurd ideas, this is sometimes messy, sometimes boring, but always astounding.
https://www.eurogamer.net/13-sentinels-aegis-rim-review-a-heady-mix-of-sci-fi-passion-and-big-ideas
Polygon
>There’s plenty more for me to tell you about this game, like how it stacks twists atop each other like a tower of turtles, without ever collapsing under all that narrative weight. Though reading more would spoil the fun – and trust me, you’ll be doing plenty of reading once you boot the game up anyway. I’ve written so much about why this game means the world to me. Now I leave y’all to decide whether or not to play it.
https://www.polygon.com/reviews/23020989/13-sentinels-aegis-rim-switch-review
TheSixthAxis
>13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a must-play for fans of Japanese sci-fi adventures. Mixing the strengths of Vanillaware’s art with time-travel adventures is a recipe for huge success. A story ambitious enough to have thirteen different protagonists seems bound for failure, yet the game manages to make each story not only incredibly impactful on its own, but adds up to a bigger, brighter and utterly unforgettable narrative. The addictive tactical gameplay that strings these story scenes together, despite a strange artstyle, is just icing on the already massive and delicious cake.
* **Is there anything special to the game other than the narrative?**
Actually yes! The game has gorgeous hand drawn style 2D graphics. Seriously, the game is visually a work of art. Some screenshots of [the night city in the ’80s](https://www.rpgfan.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/13-Sentinels-Aegis-Rim-Screenshot-201.jpg) or [the destroyed world in the ’20s](https://i0.wp.com/mynintendonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/13_sentinels_aegis_rim.jpeg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1) or [the beautiful portaits during the dialogues in battle mode](https://honeysanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/sentinels_-aegis_rim_city.jpg) can attest it.
In my personal opinion, the striking art and the vibrant colors make 13S *the best game* visually on the Switch OLED, only rivaled by the recent port of Persona 5 Royal.
The soundtrack is also deserving of praise, composed by Hitomi Sakimoto of *Final Fantasy Tactics* and *Final Fantasy XII* fame, the game features certified bops like [the battle track (LYSINE)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3abA3m3ujg) or [the chill background music to the highschool sections in adventure mode set in the ’80s called In the Doldrum](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOfxnAZejpo).
I wish I could link to more music, but I don’t want to ruin the fun of discoving them as you play.
* **I don’t trust random reddit users**
That’s a good policy, but maybe trust Sakurai!
>”There’s never been a work like this before, and I don’t think there’ll be a continuation, either. If you want to play it, it has to be now! Anyone who wants to write a game scenario should play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.”
Masahiro Sakurai Praises 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, ‘Game Writers Should Play It’
Or Yoko Taro
>“I think you must buy this game! The reason for that is—in order to keep the existence of this Japanese national treasure of a company known as Vanillaware, they must sell as many copies possible. I don’t care whether games of other companies sell, and I really wouldn’t care at all if Atlus were to go under! However, Vanillaware games are the one thing we can’t lose in Japan, so let’s all buy 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim!”
https://www.siliconera.com/yoko-taro-shares-his-thoughts-on-vanillaware-13-sentinels-aegis-rim-and-why-you-must-buy-it/
* **Who is 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim audience?**
This is not a game for everyone, but I would personally recommend the game to the following people:
-Fans of anything sci-fi related. Not only is the narrative fantastic, there are homages to a lot of sci-fi classics from both Hollywood and Japan.
-Fans of visual novels. It’s technically a bit more than a visual novel (I think Visual Novel DB for example doesn’t consider it as one), but if you love VN you simply have to play 13S!
-People who never played VNs or side scrolling adventures and are curious about them but are afraid they may find them boring. I don’t think there is any better introduction to this style of games really. The pacing is excellent, the art is amazing and battle mode is a nice change of pace in between stories.
-Fans of good games in general. If you love gaming as a media, then this is for you.
If you buy the game and don’t end up liking it, maybe it will be of consolation knowing your money is helping a pretty small studio that almost went under developing this game. Vanillaware and its fans will remember your service.
* **Anything else?**
[Yakisoba pan](https://www.pockettactics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/13-sentinels-aegis-rim-review-5.jpg)
by Joseki100
43 Comments
Really enjoyed this one. The battles helped break up the VN element and I found them enjoyable.
It’s better to say that the main audience is the anime fans. Because it has a typical anime plot.
>RTS, tower defence style, battle system.
Alright, that immediately lost me.
I’m good
>13S is a side scrolling adventure with an RTS, tower defence style, battle system. The game is about 80% adventure and 20% RTS battles.
Any time anyone ever recommends this game, they fail to make the most important thing the first point: It’s essentially a visual novel or point and click game.
Don’t bury the lede when making game recommendations. They’re *games*.
I have been looking for this game since it released in PS, have you played it on Switch?
If so, how is the performance? I guess that the adventure part is fine (or hope so at least), but how are the battles?
Didn’t like this one. Stopped after 9 hours in. Story to confusing and battle sequences not that great.
I started playing it recently and am loving it, but holy shit the narrative is giving me a headache trying to keep track of!
Also, I think >!2188 also needs to be included in the list of years the game takes place in!<?
Everything this studio makes has a slightly pervy edge to it which ends up putting me off. It’s a shame because I like the art style otherwise tho.
This game is amazing. It’s a hybrid visual novel but definitely worth playing even in not into VN. I wanted to try some VN and picked this up as the story sounded interesting and it’s my #1 game on the switch right now.
I just got a steam deck and will likely be using it more but this game runs so well on the switch and is really a good story!
Can’t stand stand the pervy aspect of the game- big NO thanks.
Ehhh I would absolutely not say that. It was a great narrative that managed to make sense despite having so many moving parts, but it relies way too much on having a plot twist every 5 minutes that by the 5th one I was just expecting every single character to be >!a clone, or an AI!< and I ended up being right 90% of the time.
Then the final “twist” as to the true nature of the world the game takes place in, well oh boy, I was not a fan of that. Really felt like it invalidated everything that happened up to that point. Also, >!the fact that almost no emphasis is put on how pivotal it was that 2188 Ryoko inserted malicious code into the simulation before it started really felt insulting to me. Like that’s the entire reason the story even happened, it’s the entire reason there was any conflict at all, and yet it’s just a throwaway line at the very end of the game with no build up or foreshadowing from the rest of the game.!<
So yeah, no, I don’t think it’s even remotely close to being one of the best narratives in videogames ever. It was getting there maybe about 5-10 hours in, but the longer it went from that point the more pointless everything became.
And before anyone says “you just didn’t get it”, no, like I already said, I completely understood everything that happened, I just don’t think it was good. It felt like most things that happened just happened because the writers thought “because we can.” They really needed to trim some ideas and focus on a stronger singular narrative. Plenty of stories have done the piecemeal non-chronological storytelling method, such as Durarara and Baccano, and I think those stories have great, focused narratives. I genuinely just think 13 Sentinels tries too hard to do too much and it also tries to have >!a happy ending for absolutely everyone, so nothing is really gained or lost by the end of the story. Everyone is just at the same place they started only now they’re all dating each other.!<
It’s worth playing, especially on sale for $30 which is how much I grabbed it for on PS5, but it’s by no means “one of the best narratives in videogames.” Certainly not when games like Undertale, Nier:Automata, Xenogears, and The Last of Us exist.
Games real good and the art style is very unique. Great deal at 30
Fantastic game, 10/10 would recommend.
It’s a bit of a high school relationship simulator, so may want to include that in the OP as well
Started it the other day, I’m only an hour in or so and it seems cool. Wasn’t nearly as hooked as I was by P5R(which I haven’t finished yet but am 70+ hours in and it’s probably my favorite single player game I’ve ever played) but I’ll definitely keep going.
My only complaint so far is that I wish the graphics during the combat bit were a bit better for the units, but not really a big deal.
There are so many games that I want at the moment, especially with all the Black Friday deals flying around. This game did look very interesting when released and if I had the funds at the moment I would love to pick this up.
I’m already having to pass on Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart @ $30 despite it normally being $70. Things are just really hard right now.
This game is really just for people into anime robots and short skirts
I already own it for playstation, but it’s great.
Alright, I’ve seen multiple posts trying to convince me to give this game a shot but this is the one to push me over the edge. I was initially turned off by ‘anime high school’ character design but I’m definitely intrigued.
I got this from GameStop for $4.98 last week. Brand new.
Can we stop over hyping this game as its giving people unrealistic expectations and in my opinion the overhype left me disappointed.
hearing people talk about how the story was incredible and left them thinking about it for weeks or how its this great life changing game really over sold it for me. i enjoyed the game, but would only give it a 7/10. the story wasnt bad but still kinda cliche in areas.
the RTS stuff was fun but a bit messy with so much stuff going on and with all units looking similar.
Please note that by “adventure game” They largely mean visual novel.
This is a visual novel with an excellent story and a very basic RTS side piece tacked on.
Gameplay is EXTREMELY light here. If that turns you off, you can get about 95% of what makes this game great by watching a let’s play on youtube.
Playtime is about 30-40 hours.
It’s one of those games where the story is best experienced with as little breaks as possible. It’s purposely complex and twisty so it’s not the sort of thing you want to play for a couple hours each week…or a week straight with a 2 month break.
>one of the best narratives ever in videogames
Is it possible to write a review in 2022 without insane hyperbole?
It looks and sounds like a million other animes actually
Impulse buy because the battles looked cool, ended up loving the visual novel elements and characters WAY more than I thought I would. Please check out this game as well as previous VanillaWare titles, beautiful artstyles and interesting game ideas…
This sounds like every other bit of tropey weeb dreck on Switch
Um, way to oversell it? It’s interesting, but it isn’t “the best”.
I bought it for the Switch yesterday since it’s 40% off on the EU eShop. The mecha battles are a bit confusing but doable. The story always keeps me wanting to know more. It’s like finding more questions instead of answers. I like it a lot.
This has all convinced me to grab this up. Thanks for all the weigh in. At essentially half off and physical, it’s a safe bet.
100% play it.
“one of the best narratives ever” is just massive hyperbole
I was disappointed in the story tbh.
>!It all makes very little sense in the big scale. For an example, there’s no point of it having a ‘border’ when the world is constructed of virtual world.!<
>!Another thing, it was made pretty obvious that the teleporter is just teleporting them between sections of places with different era design, but that part was dragged around until it was dead nearing the end. It was tiring.!<
>!Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of Japanese VNs and games, but this game story is totally over praised by a lot of people. You can imagine how disappointed I am after waiting for years for the Switch version to come out without spoiling myself to any trailer or review, but ended up disappointed with the overall story.!<
>!The story of DanganRonpa 2 is so much better than 13 Sentinels’s amazing build-up but ultimately flopped 4/5th into the story.!<
It’s an amazing game and rated very highly; I always wanted to play it but it was 60 bucks and a PS exclusive; it’s finally on Switch and Steam and I got to play it, and it was AMAZING. Do not pass this one up, and don’t worry if you’re not usually into strategy- I’m not either but this one is pretty light and fun in how the strategy works. You’ll enjoy it forsure
The screenshot of 3 schoolgirls on a street corner confirms this is not the tyoe of game id have any interest in. Didnt even bother to read rest of the post. Not sure who that screenshot should actually appeal to
I wish people would stop overhyping the story of this game. The story is fun but its a fucking mess as well. Go in knowing that and you will enjoy it more.
I bought for full price when it came out on PS4 and again on Switch. Zero regrets. To be fair I am a huge vanillaware fan.
Lol I weekly or so am reminding my friends to get this game. It’s so damn good.
Bought it last week on sale, the art style is fabulous, story is interesting so far but the battle is really pretty much what u see on screenshots.
Still I would recommend this given how unique the game is👍🏻
I bought it yesterday due to the strong reviews and word-of-mouth like this.
Are you the same kid from like a month ago that was raving about this game?
The people in this thread are so dumb.
“It’s ackshually not one of the best narratives OP 🤓 you’re being hyperbolic! 🤓🤓🤓” – People that don’t know what opinions are
I had been waiting on a sale. Saw your post and just ordered it! I’ll play this one after I get through pokemon scarlet 🙂