ಠ~ಠ

Uhm. Niplheim's Hunter - Branded Azel is an Eroge RPG.
Well duh who am I kidding, y'all who are reading this probably knew it coming into this.
YOU are not actually Azel, but her companion, a blacksmith. Sure you play as and take control of Azel for the most part, but you aint actually her-her. Anywho, you are her companion and the two of you while on a journey to remove her "lust" brand, step into Niplheim which is often referred to as the last defense against the incoming calamity, on the path of pursuit of the evil creature that etched lewd emblems on her body.

Thus the title of the game. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

First off. Lets give credit where its due. Its an Eroge, most people probably get it for well *ahem* yeah.
I personally, have been following Black Train's Eroges for awhile now, mostly the Branded Azel and Daemon Slave series' and have played both. From experience, Black Train's Eroges I'd say could be considered the AAA or at least top shelf titles of eroges. Not only for the lewds though. Like I said, to give credit where its due the gameplay's fun for what it is, an RPG. The OST/BGM to be honest is fairly amazing, and boi does that artstyle just hit it in all the right places. So quite honestly this was a day 1 grab for me.

• + Amazing Art by 黒電車/Kurodensha/Kurotaketo.[kurodens.blog.fc2.com]
  
• + Uncensored compared to the original Japanese release's Mosaic.
  
• + Simple yet still somewhat "refreshing" gameplay & combat.
  
• + Pretty decent OST/BGM. ♫♪ ԅ( ˘ω˘ԅ)♫♪
  
• + Different equipment results in different sprites and artwork!
  
• + H - Scenes are fully voiced.
  
• + Actual high quality English translation! v(^∀^*)
  
• + Likeable Characters~
  
• + Story rich. (It is surprisingly good) (*ﾟｰﾟ)ゞ
  
• + Fullscreen! Σ(･口･)
  
• + Steam Trading Cards/Badges. \(^ヮ^)/
  
• + Free DLC! (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ
  
• +Also did I mention..*cough* alotta AHEGAO~ *cough*( º﹃º )

• - Doesn't have the proper resolution to support said fullscreen...
  (To be expected though, so I wouldnt really say its an actual con)
  
• - Can't bind/rebind A, S, D keys to a gamepad/controller. ヽ(´Д`;)ﾉ
  
• - No Steam Achievements. ( ˘･з･)

HappyHand for Dev/Publisher of the year? Apparently HappyHand went MIA and BlackTrain wasn't getting paid. Hopefully Kagura Games treats BlackTrain better!



So uh. I'd give it a solid 9.5 ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ /10 ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ
The things I'd do for Nipleheim's Hunter - Branded Azel to get Steam Trading Cards(Cards have been added!) and Achievements though. So Imma keep that last 0.5 ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ /10 ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ to myself till they get added.
Definitely worth the full price, and a must buy whenever its on sale for Eroge lovers.
Rip HappyHand went MIA, hopefully BlackTrain-sensei gets treated better by this publisher change! („ಡωಡ„)

Note: I bought this game on itch.io and did not play it through Steam.

This game is leagues ahead of most H-games currently on the market.

The lewd content is well-made, varied, render in a very clean style and distributed in such a way that you are constantly working towards something new. Of note here is that the lewd content is integrated into the turn-based system in a very clean way that does not result in a game-over and can indeed be actually beneficial to you. There are however a few loss-triggered scenes, but they make up the smallest amount of the H-content by far. Many of the fetishes here are far from vanilla, so you should definitely read the content warning.

The RPG gameplay itself is somewhat standard fare, but it is at least integrated into the game in a way that makes getting new scenes and outfits rewarding and doesn't eat up your time with grind. Because of this you will also find that this game is not out to challenge you.

Playtime is roughly 6-8 hours if you bother to unlock every scene and actually read most of the dialogue. Considering that the art and voice-acting is excellent and that some scenes involve animation, I find the price of this game fair.

I do however wish that the H-content was just straight-up shipped with the game. There is no good reason to have an all-ages version for this game.

+ Point : It's a turn-based Monster Hunter parody game that features intense, text rich, and H scenes with amazing artworks. All hot events have voice acting.

A fairly well-made H game. It's a turn-based Monster Hunter parody game that features intense gameply, text rich and sexy scenes with gorgeous art. All hot events have voice acting. Especially, these voice are very cute and adorable. So do not hesitate to play as the hunter girl Azel! It is up to you whether she will become a strong hunter or a servant[imgur.com] to make you happy.

Gameplay itself is quite interesting. Battle systems can be custom-made, and player can pursue RPG's original pleasure through gathering collection material and crafting. In addition, various costumes[imgur.com] can be selected according to the player's preference. And this game also has built-in convenience features like auto. You can skip events and text, so it fits well with users who enjoy fast gameplay. Above all, at first glance, the screenshots of the game seem ordinary, but the H scenes[imgur.com] you may want are very intense. So I am sure you can be quite satisfied with the game experience.


Specifically, 'Niplheim's Hunter - Branded Azel' was the first Steam game by being Published from HappyHand. This publisher has good insights about H games. The developer of this game, Black Train, is a Japanese H doujin/indie game developer with considerable potential. It is a good thing that HappyHand has been able to discover these potential developers and to carry out global projects. Furthermore, the game has been well translated and localized, and the quality of the gameplay is excellent. However, the developer, who can no longer be contacted from HappyHand, has changed the publisher to Kagura Games. We need to be more supportive about these great publishers & developers. In the harsh environment of Steam, it is worth supporting for them to grow better. Highly Recommended!

Edited Review:

The first published version by Happy Hand was pretty good, beautiful, fun to play, well translated and localized.

The KG one?

I'm actually not sure if it's even the same.


I have one main concerning question:

Did Kagura games acquired the license from BlackTrain and re-translated ( censored and tampered with) the entire game on their own?

Or did they just used a backup ( already translated) version from Happy Hand and just Slapped a big KG logo on it?

An answer to this is important for two main reasons:

- If they have indeed Made their own translation from scratch then, the problem is that i can't personally risk recommending a game that has cut content ( since Kg has developed this habit and usually does so to appeal to china).

So, i'll have to replay the " new version" and rewrite my review accordingly.


- If, on the other hand, they're using the Happy hand translation/version, then the fact that guy just "disappeared" makes no sense.

After all, How can Kagura Game then legally use the work of another person ( the translation) in a commercial business whitout having contacted the person in question, payed him or asked for permission?


If they don't answer it most likely mean they're actually still using Happy Hand's translation ( they don't have to request permission or pay him since he disappeared and he's unreachable) instead of making their own


i don't like these inconsistencies.


Also on a side note, the game is quite short and, despite the remarkable quality of the artwork it's definitely not worth paying the full price


UPDATE:

I guess i was right: https://imgur.com/X6M8Wy8

So this is better than most of the H-game RPG Maker fare out there and well worth the price reflecting that. The free uncensored content is always a great boon. If you're looking for a kinky spooge filled RPG you can do a lot worse than this.

Pros:
-Free Uncensored content. Always shines when a game does this, I mean its really the whole point of the game right?
-Good Art. The art is solid and even the pixel art is good. A lot of work went into all the various outfits available.
-Lots of naughty scenes. There are basically 2 protagonists Male and Female and lots of sex scenes between the two of them. Some change based on how long you have played, others which outfit you wear, and some based just on who (or what) you choose to pleasure yourself with.
-Nice vocals and sounds. Strong Jaoanese voices here and there (not every line of dialogue) and some good sound effects placed smartly.
-Strong Localization. The localization is solid, with few missteps.
-Lots of things to do. Its not just a mindless game, there are items to get to craft the right gear and then certain things you can do with that gear to get scenes. In all it has depth.

Cons:
-Runs in a rather small resolution.
-Its a keyboard only interface, sorry.
-Some of the gameplay can get grindy until you have what you need to progress.

A unique JRPG which is distinct from typical RPGMaker alternatives; but still has generic and uninspired h-scenes and plotting.

It took me just under 5 hours to 100% it, although most of that was JRPG combat grind, and some of it was the bonus prostitution mini-game.
Uncensor patch available for free via the publisher's website; although it does require a registration and login to access it.


The combat plays faster than is typical, and doesn't get bogged down in too much nonsense; but it's all very pointless and redundant and despite the game being brief and tolerably paced, it still ends up just being pointless busywork.

JRPG is always a bad fit for eroge: Fantasy combat has nothing to do with sex, and isn't particularly suited to eroticism.

This game tries to overcome the ludonarrative dissonance by having the lust meter act as a mana bar, which is novel and makes sense in terms of the plot.
The downside is that, as is typical for the medium (with only Karryn's Prison managing to do something worthwhile), the in-combat h-scenes are really weak, underbaked, and have zero narrative significance.

As soon as they are over, the main character has spontaneous amnesia and acts like nothing has happened.


Art assets are reused *frequently*. Which, given how little H-content there is, just makes the whole thing feel like a waste of money.

There's a bit of an NTR theme in the game, but it's so superficially treated that you wonder if it's there accidentally.

None of the H-scenes have any narrative significance whatsoever, so all feel totally disposable. Nearly all of them feel totally random and arbitrary and disconnected from any other part of the game.

The unique selling point of the in-combat monster-sex is going to leave fans of that fetish cold because even with the uncensor patch, the staging is such that you only see the protagonist's reactions during sex, rather than the action itself. Plenty of ahegao, not really anything of what's causing it.


Little prostitution sandbox that has the same issues as the main game's H-scenes, shares their decent presentation and animation, and likewise suffers from the lack of explicit content. It's also very superficial.


If it's on a steep discount, and you've exhausted all the alternatives, it might be diverting as a curiosity, but it's not really worth the asking price or your time; even though the presentation is marginally better than RPGMaker alternatives.

This one's to savour!
And i am dic... digging it!
All Characters (letters, hah!) used in this review, are 18+ and above
RPG Elements are simple but don't feel lacking.
The tiny bit of depth they have, is enough and more than i expected tbh.

How the stats work:
ATK increases attack (duh!) damage dealt to enemies.
DEF increases Defense, lowers damage taken and if you have enough, making the enemy miss every time (becoming immortal to it) Defense is fairly powerful! (good to have when Azel is dazed)
DEX, this ones sorta unique, it gives you a chance to double/triple strike using the default attack (perhaps even quadruple?) and increases yields off plants and stones found in the map.
LUK, increases crit chance and drop chance on enemy death.

The game is not making you grind at all , the material requirements are very low!

EP:
There is no mana, instead of mana/stamina you have a max of 100 EP (i am assuming this stands for "ero points").
Instead of skills costing EP, they add EP. When EP hits 100 Azel is in Heat and has to mate due to the Brand.
After mating with the enemy monster, azel is left defenseless for a few turns and has to endure its attacks.
Having Defense is recommended.

I don't fully understand the rpg mating results and their purpose yet, but apparently the amount of ml you "milk" your enemies, will level Azel in it's own way and unlock new skills of sorts.
Azels spots also level in sensitivity. (H rpg elements, cool!)

Dialogue is amazing and i feel the story is well written. Nothing felt off to me so far and i have had great laughs!
I have not finished the game, but i am at day 18 with level 30 Azel and had a blast so far!

Now about the more juicy content the DLC delivers:
The Illustrations are great, but what really tops everything (everything is great!) is Azels amazing Voice actress, i dont know who did it (i might find out after writing this) but it's GLORIOUS!
They did an really amazing job with this.
Not just Her, Other characters too which i throughly enjoyed also.
Voiced in Japanese (Japanese voice acting is on a whole other level)


The adult DLC is additionally double the size of the base game,now that gives you an idea what the game is truly about.
It's that size, because the scenes are well voiced, gorgeously illustrated (in my opinion anyway, i am very picky tho) and really well written. Sort of Clever too, i like how they brought each characters personality to life in the dialogue.
They don't feel cheap either, some are quite lenghty to my surprise.

I really like how its not just some sm ut laden mindless f k fest. Instead it's well written, humors you and casts a charm on you. (it did for me anyway, and i appreciate it!)

Often it's just a games cover that is great and tries to bait you, but this ones different (i feel)
The quality you see in the cover of Niplheim's Hunter, is not only spread throughout the games illustrations, but also surpassed by the great voice acting and Illustrations in the H scenes, that are in harmony with the well written dialogue.
The team behind this did a great job, and it's affordable too, thank you!

Epic Game that truly excells in it's H content, without letting down its RPG elements.
Everything is connected and nothing is without purpose within the game. Even the outfits, which you might think is only for your eye candy, is in fact connected to events dialogues and mini games (which will also level Azels H elements )

I like the game, and i hope you will too!
Can recommend it , especially since the adult DLC is free.

Suggestion to Devs:
Please make an options to disable White screen flashes as example when Azel peaks. While it may serve as a visual representation of her peak, most of us probably play the game with the lights off. Ty! Good game, thank you for making this!

⠄⠄⢸⣇⠻⣿⣿⣿⣧⣀⢀⣠⡌⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠿⠿⣿⣿⣿⠄
⠄⢀⢸⣿⣷⣤⣤⣤⣬⣙⣛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⣿⣿⡍⠄⠄⢀⣤⣄⠉⠋⣰
⠄⣼⣖⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢇⣿⣿⡷⠶⠶⢿⣿⣿⠇⢀⣤
⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣽⣿⣿⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣶⣥⣴⣿⡗
⢀⠈⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡟⠄
⢸⣿⣦⣌⣛⣻⣿⣿⣧⠙⠛⠛⡭⠅⠒⠦⠭⣭⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⠄
⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡆⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄⠹⠈⢋⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣵⣾⠃⠄
⠄⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄⣴⣿⣶⣄⠄⣴⣶⠄⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃⠄⠄
⠄⠄⠈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⢻⣿⣿⣿⠄⣿⣿⡀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣛⠛⠁⠄⠄⠄
10/10

I love the art style.
(Use R18 patch) God I love Azel!
I can't resist her moans & her ahegao face!
She gave me the biggest nut in my life.

They can't all be winners.

First off I want to start by saying this game doesn't support full screen. Technically you can make it full screen but if you do it doesn't upscale properly and all the textures and images look terrible and blurry.

I was originally lured in by the cool looking combat (for a hrpg that is) and decent character art, not to mention I love the whole lust brand thing in hentai. The trouble is that combat is waaaaaaaay easy. Like I actually got to a point where I couldn't lose a battle even if I wanted to. I find it impossible to imagine that anyone could actually lose. While you don't need to make your game dark souls level of hard there should be at least the tiniest amount of challenge. Cool looking combat isn't going to fix that.

I know I jumped right into combat discussion but lets get to exploring the sex, every hrpg needs good sex scenes. One of my two biggest issues with the scenes is that the men in the scene are always this weird shadowy silhouette. There is no full art for men in sex scenes. The other major problem I have with the sex scenes is that while there are a few that follow a traditional visual novel style, a lot of the sex scenes that you can get are displayed very oddly. They basically used the game's combat system and animations to show sex scenes and it looks freaking weird.

On a related note about sexual stuff in the game, Azel (the main lady) does have a system for tracking how sensitive her body is. The more sex you have the more sensitive she gets. There is also a tracker for how many orgasms shes had and even the amount of semen milked. This is all well and good except for the fact that IT DOES NOTHING! This whole big deal with tracking this stuff and making her more sensitive has absolutely no purpose. It doesn't change anything with the combat or the gameplay. It doesn't give you access to new items or change the story in anyway. Its pointless.

Now about the story, to put it bluntly, its bad. It feels super rushed. It doesn't do a good job presenting the story at all. it doesn't really flesh out characters and the ending comes completely out of nowhere. Not to mention the fact that technically you the player aren't actually Azel (the one doing all the fighting). No, you are the blacksmith that travels with Azel. Why did they do that? I don't ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ know. This relationship is not really expanded upon and it really doesn't do anything to try and justify a sort of dual protagonist system.

Seriously, there are much better hrpgs out there. Don't get this one.