I should preface this by saying that I absolutely love RPGs. They’re my absolute favorite genre, and they probably always will be. That said, Atlus makes some really good RPGs, and Tokyo Mirage Sessions is no exception.
Minor spoilers for Tokyo Mirage Sessions below
I know a lot of people were upset with the whole concept of the game about idols after the original SMT x FE announcement. Thing is, it was a super fun concept. It was new, and I was excited about it. I was not disappointed either. Using musical attacks on your enemies is actually incredibly satisfying, and the soundtrack for this game is entirely on point.
The actual combat for the game is extremely solid. At first it comes across as a typical turn-based RPG, but as you move through the game, you learn session combos, which allows your characters to combo up on enemies, duo attacks where the characters either sing or act to cause damage and heal, and you can actively swap characters through the battles, which is nice in exploiting weaknesses.
The characters themselves are all great, even if they’re not all likable, per se. You do have your stereotypes (so much tsundere!!!!), but that didn’t make me instantly dislike any of the characters. Each character has three side quests available, and these are great opportunities to learn more about your companions. I was entertained by each one, and you HAVE to do all of them to get the true ending. The protagonist is also a fun person to play as, although he is a little shoehorned at times in the story. One character in particular that I thoroughly enjoyed was Tsubasa. She is not only entertaining and has the most growth through the storyline, but she is absolutely adorable.
One MAJOR issue I had with the game was character designs, though. It is obvious that the main character designer is a breast man. While there is nothing wrong with characters having large breasts, it is another thing to constantly have them in your face. A little variety in characters would have been nice, and one of the few characters that was less busty (but still pretty busty) is even taunted for her lack of large breasts. It was a bit irritating and off putting for me. There are also moments in the game that are just downright creepy, and not a whole lot can be done for that.
That said, many people were upset about the “censorship” (that isn’t what this is, and if you think it is, maybe try and look up actual censorship) of the game. For myself, I actually enjoyed the game more with these changes in place. Given Tsubasa’s character, it didn’t make sense for her to debut in a tiny bikini top. The new design for her fit her a lot better, and it was a much cuter outfit. The same situation goes for the photography dungeon. As I understand, it was meant to be a sexy bikini shoot, but the outfit that they have Tsubasa in is my favorite of the game. For me, it was a major improvement to downplay the T&A of the game, as it fit the character and tone better. For those of you that are in need of the jiggling breasts, you still get PLENTY of that from Maiko. (Breasts do not work this way, guys. They just don’t.) Tsubasa’s carnage form also has plenty of that, if it’s what you’re in the game for.
The anime cutscenes were really fun to watch, and they were extremely well animated. While there weren’t too many of them, I got very excited each time they popped up. Most of the time after one occurred, you could purchase the outfit featured in the scene, and let me tell you…I am a BIG FAN of buying super cute outfits for my characters.
There were a few times where I was irritated with dungeon design, but for the most part, I was in love with this game. I had a fabulous time with it, and I still listen to the soundtrack even after I beat it. So far, it’s in the top 2 of my games I’ve played this year. I highly recommend it.