MASSIVE EDIT:
I want this at the top, because it was what changed my mind. Honestly, this is the first time I have changed a review "score", and the only reason was the developer actually reached out and made some balance changes in order to address my biggest gripe: the final boss. I replayed the final area after they tweaked its life total down, and it is a much more reasonable fight. It still took a bit of time (it's been quite a while since I played, so some of that is on me), but it was less than half the time that it took previously. I'll leave the old stuff in with a [strike] strike [/strike] through it to show what I feel has changed. I also removed one remark about assets since I was just flat out wrong.
Overall, this still isn't going to crack my top ten games, but these changes put it into the category of being above the mark where I would normally recommend a game. I really appreciate the developer taking the time to listen and reach out. It's not something I feel most developers would do. And I don't think the change was made to just appease some idiot (me) on the internet. The change was fairly minimal, but that change made quite the difference to the overall experience.
*END OF EDIT*
Man, I think the fact that I almost gave this game a thumbs-up says more about my compulsion to 100% these games than it does about their quality.
Honestly, I enjoyed parts of this game. There is an interesting "dating sim" like management system that makes some of the slightly more annoying elements more fun and interesting (during most of the game; I’ll get into it more later…). The battles aren't horrible. There are a ton of different stats that need to be balanced, and it felt like there were several ways to build a party. I say "it felt" because I just chose a party I liked and stuck with it for most of the game. The art is alright as well. Other than that... not a fan.
There is a TON of pointless exposition. I feel like whenever there is dialogue, it could have ended at least 3 or 4 text boxes earlier. Most of the girls are treated like idiots (some of them are), and there are about 50 running jokes going at once. They all get old after the 2nd or 3rd time through, so it makes the overuse of dialogue even worse.
I really don't care about the excessive misogyny; I get it, it's kind of the point of the game. It does get old rather quickly, though. There are at least 2 characters that are so over-the-top ♥♥♥♥♥♥, though, they are exceptionally difficult to deal with. The super "submissive" ones are also annoying since they basically go along with any horrible thing you say to them. I said the same thing about "Bad Ass" as well: the writing seems to be coming from someone that has nearly zero experience with women. Again, not terribly bothered by it, since it is so unbelievable, but it will likely turn others off pretty quickly.
Finally, the last big thing that really convinced me to not give this a "recommended" was the final boss. Let me set the stage...
Like I mentioned earlier, there is a "dating sim"-esque element to this game. It is boiled down to 2 different stats that each girl has: Love and Obedience. One thing I do like about them is how they can affect battles, instead of just being there to measure the girls’ “affection towards you. I won't really go into some of the dumb things you can do to get them to go up or down (some are REALLY stupid...), but I will say that they are pretty tough to get to a maxed-out state. There are items that will boost them, but they are pretty limited, maxing out 1 or 2 girls at most. You can use your main character's NRG (this game's version of mana or MP), but it is EXTREMELY costly, and it is even more tedious to lower the cost. This mechanic can be manipulated a bit, but it is only practical near the end of the game when resources are more plentiful, and you have a better idea of which girl needs what in order to work them toward the max. Bottom line: it is a pain in the ass to get these stats to 800 or more without sitting at the last boss micro-managing the hell out of it. If you are patient, and you worked REALLY hard at keeping all of the girls as "happy" as possible, you can probably get 3 or 4 over that 800 limit at the same time. I say 800, because that is what you need to get each girl's final ending and the achievement associated with it. Also, you CANNOT do anything after the final boss other than choose a girl, and you better choose one that has that 800+ stat, too. Thankfully (after a few attempts), I did realize that the game autosaves after the fight, which means you only need to reload that save to choose each girl that is over 800.
[strike]But.... BUT you need to do this at least twice (if you were smart/lucky getting the requirements up to that point). AND the worst part is the final boss takes AT LEAST 15 minutes to fight and kill... I wish I were joking. This was after figuring out the best methods of dealing damage and just completely unloading on this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. There are a few very heavy hitting items near the end of the game, 1 of which would normally wipe any other boss, but this dicknut can tank 3 of them PLUS 10 minutes’ worth of whaling on him with the best crap in the game... AND THAT'S JUST HIS FINAL FORM!!! This thing has 4 forms, each one more tanky than the last, each with increasingly annoying tactics! No... no, no, no, no, NOOOOO! This is terrible design, and a really crappy way of padding out an extra hour or more of playtime. To be honest, even if you only had to fight this douche once, I'd still be pissed. It was a pointlessly time-consuming fight that wasn't even that hard. It totally ruined the pace and any fun I may have been having up to that point. [/strike]
If you are really into heavy amounts of tedium for little to no reward, by all means, buy this game. Otherwise, avoid it like the plague.
