Liberation Maiden is a 3DS and iOS game. It was the first in a series of video game compilations created by Level-5 and SUDA51. It’s not an an incredibly long game but it’s also not expensive. It has some nice animated cinematic along with fast paced gameplay. When I saw the gameplay it looked fun and I wanted to try it. However, I guess in all honesty what sold me was the unique story behind the game.

You play as Shoko Ozora, or as you find out in the opening of the game, the second president of Japan. Your duty to your people is to pilot Kamui (a giant mech ship thing) to destroy the enemy forces that have taken over the country. I know it sounds weird but I thought it sounded awesome which was probably the main reason why I gave this game a try. The story and characters are about as expanded upon as Star Fox is and it works for the game. You get enough backstory in between missions that you can just enjoy the game and keep a vague notion of what you’re doing in your head while having fun with it. Although, you can also unlock the ability to check out more details on the story by meeting certain goals int eh game which adds to the replay value (since it’s isn’t very long to finish).

The game itself wont take too much time out of your day and if I had to compare the feeling of playing it to something it’d be Star Fox (the one for the N64 or I guess the 3DS remake as well now). The gameplay isn’t exactly the same but it has a similar feel of progression to it. However, it’s more free range environment and large amounts of enemies attacking you at once make the gameplay more like a bullet hell kind of game. It’s not hard to pick up but it’s challenging to master and rewards you for being able to complete all of the objectives. I also liked it’s shield system. Getting hit isn’t a good thing and it limits your resources for being able to destroy enemies since your shields and guns draw from the same energy. However, you can gain the shields (and energy maximum) back by destroying more enemies. It allows players who’ve lost a lot from getting hit the chance to recover as long as they can survive. This element to the game was a really good way to balance fun and challenge.

It was a lot of fun to pick up and play through and it’s the kind of thing that makes me wanna pick it up again and try to do better. It might not be very long but it’s a lot of fun, it has a great soundtrack,  and it doesn’t everything it needs to for a fun experience. I found myself using all of the weapons the game had to offer in different strategic ways and had a lot of fun. In the end I can’t really ask more from a game besides that it works well within it’s own limits and is really fun to experience.

5/5