Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return

Sadly I cannot recommend this game. The writing is just not good and much worse than that of the previous games. The last few chapters were a big mess, and were so disappointing that I had to force myself to finish the game. The conclusion of the teased enemy at the end of Sunrider LD was so, so bad, just to name one example. The charm of the girls also has taken a huge hit as all characters have now completely entered the trope train. Lastly, the choices of previous games were pretty much meaningless after that awful time skip. Gameplay-wise: The new combat is mediocre at best and has serious flaws, especially with how momentum is handled. The temple section was unnecessarily long-winded and frustrating, which could have been improved if they had let people beta test their new ideas... This brings me to my biggest gripe, which is that the game is not moddable as the previous games, while the company also decided to not give out any beta versions anymore, showing that they do not care about feedback of us players anymore, something that changed after their Idol Empires game and for me is one big contributor to the current state of this game. All in all, a big disappointment.

Really not enjoying the puzzles aspect of the game. You basically need to solve puzzles to advance the gameplay. It's so different from previous games, I'm flabbergasted. In this version, they went economy-mode on the story (Liberation Day had one of the best story arcs), and decided to "improve" it with puzzles that don't even have any emotional/psychological impact. And the puzzles are so poorly thought out, that it feels like they had a non-game designer come up with it. If it's the same game designer, I can only express sheer surprise and amazement (in a bad way). Please folks, don't buy this game. Buy the one after, if there ever will be one. Or just wait until some fan-inspired successor comes along. Great premise still (mechas, giant ships, harems, etc) - but oh what a horrible execution.

太好玩了！为什么这么好玩的游戏名气这么小？要不是新作Sunrider Legends Tactics在近期发售有推送，我都不知道有这么一个系列的游戏。虽然感觉打完了这一部才觉得不应该从后面中途打起走，而是应该先把前几部作品玩了了解剧情先，因为这一部开头就是一大堆情景闪回导致我有点懵，根本不知道发生什么事了，不过好在资料里面有粗略的剧情介绍和前情提要，勉强能理解一点。但是还是有好多人我不认识，比如Maray是谁？看起来应该是死在在前作里面的某个跟男主有关的人，结局那里忽然冒出来我就在寻思怎么难道新船的机魂都还有形象吗？但是回过头开新游戏的开场动画来看，男主当时撞毁太阳骑士号时最后喊了句"Maray！我来了！"，感觉应该是某个跟主角团关系不错的人，至少也是跟王女的关系不错，新船Maray号应该也是为了纪念她而命名。等我去把前作打了应该就认得人了。 看了前几部的玩法都是走格子的，感觉这部应该算是系列创新作了，不仅改成自由移动，还加入了移动惯性系统。老实说，我就是被这个移动惯性系统吸引才入的坑，感觉真的眼前一亮，让人感觉这才是太空战该有的特性，尤其是重型单位受惯性影响严重，外加不同武器射界不同要不停转机体朝向，让我有种自己真的在开几百万吨的星际战舰的感觉而不是单纯的换皮战棋走格子。感觉这是我头一次见到有把惯性机制做进太空战类题材的游戏，体现在游戏里就是像Paladin号和Maray号这种重型单位一旦速度提起来后就难以停下和改变移动方向，但是也可以利用这种特性，纯粹依靠惯性来移动，达到不消耗行动点就可以移动的目的。 主角团的角色个性鲜明，操作的机甲和战舰也都各具特色，每一个都有独特的魅力，让人感觉缺一不可没有重复感。 王女Asaga，驾驶机甲High Roller，功能全面，有一定防护的同时机动性能较强，而且从远程射击到近距离缠斗样样都会，还能在一定程度上削弱敌人护甲，单次攻击的输出不及队里的特化型机体，但是可以使用身为Ryuvia战姬的能力消耗血量补满行动点，一回合内多次攻击造成爆发伤害，是全能型狂战士，非常契合Asaga本人开朗活泼冲动鲁莽的特点。 副官Ava沉着冷静性格正经，协助驾驶旗舰Maray号，作为队伍里唯一一艘战舰，定位是全能重型突击单位，Maray号上装载了各式各样的武器，从远到近一应俱全，同时有着较为优秀的防护，可以抵挡普通机甲的机枪扫射，但是战舰重量太大机动性较差，适合利用惯性移动的同时沿途发射各种武器倾泻火力。 古Ryuvia战姬Sola，驾驶机甲Arch Angel，典型的远程专精单位，机体只装备了一门磁轨炮，高精度高伤害高射程，身为Ryuvia战姬的能力是让机体无法移动，换取强大的射击精度和伤害加成，后续随剧情推进解锁特性后射击还能穿透目标命中多个敌人并削弱敌人护甲。但是Arch Angel强大远程能力的代价是完全不具备其他武装，无法拦截鱼雷和导弹，本身机动性较差，血量和护甲也比较脆弱，需要队友提供保护。 原型体工程师Lynn，队内的技术员，驾驶机甲Dominator，强大的辅助单位，能标记敌方单位使我方对目标单位的命中率提升，是队里所有依赖射击进行输出的机体的大爹，基本上只有Lynn标记了的单位才能造成有效输出。同时能够夺取敌方发射的导弹和鱼雷控制权，保护友军不受制导武器的威胁。自身在前方展开90°锥形护盾，可以保护护盾内的友军减免遭受的能量武器伤害，同时也能关闭敌方的护盾，使友军的能量武器能打出伤害。虽然能释放无人机(浮游炮)进行范围输出，但是伤害非常堪忧，建议还是使用维修无人机版本，她的职责不是去输出，用维修无人机还能省点维修费。 雇佣兵Icari，驾驶机体Phoenix，超高机动近战刺客型单位，主要职责是使用近战连击快速清除大量敌方机甲杂兵。本身机体较为脆弱，受到攻击时完全依赖高闪避值来回避攻击，但是这种拼概率的东西懂的都懂。而且机甲无法对战舰发动近战，本身Phoenix除了近战武器以外也只装备了一个输出不算高的机枪，导致其对战舰单位很无力，也因此相比High Roller来说Phoenix不适合作为正面缠斗单位使用，而应当利用高机动力作为游击单位伺机发动攻击和对战舰绕后补刀。 前联盟军官Kryska，驾驶机甲Paladin，超重装坦克单位，和Phoenix是完全相反的两个极端。主要武器是四门双联加农炮，除此之外和Phoenix一样只有一挺低输出机枪。如果说Phoenix的战法是在各方面想要减少敌人注意并且将轻装高速表现到极致的话，Paladin就是典型的开场就拿着大喇叭大喊"全体目光向我看齐！看我看我！"的龟速超重装铁王八，机甲的装甲比战舰还厚是什么概念。但是这并不意味着她只能当坦克承伤，背上的四门双联加农炮拥有整个游戏除开BOSS的必杀攻击以外的顶级输出，升满以后总共2000的基础伤害，如果再被Claude上了BUFF输出能飙到3000，一炮下去秒天秒地。游戏里和Icari成了雇佣兵组合，两人关系非常好，实际上Paladin和Phoenix也确实能成为很好的组合，Phoenix可以快速清理低机动的Paladin难以处理的敌方机甲，而Paladin可以很好的消灭Phoenix难以应付的敌方战舰。 船医Claude，驾驶机甲Spell Caster，与Lynn不同的另一种辅助单位，能减少敌人的命中率，增加友军伤害，还能投射圆形护盾保护友方免受能量武器伤害，最重要的是能利用牵引光束强行移动敌我双方的单位，辅助队友移动或者攻击敌方。武器为两枚鱼雷，一般用于自保。 还有个Cosette，驾驶机甲Calamity，定位应该是重炮单位，机动性跟Paladin坐一桌的，主要武器是各种导弹和鱼雷，装载的加特林也比普通机枪输出高一截，而且还带有近战武器，虽然以她这个机动性基本上用不到这些近距离作战装备。虽然看样子她应该是前作里面的老熟人了，但是在这一部里面她真的算主角团吗？她充其量就是个在某几关临时配发给主角团的临时机体啊，甚至连结尾大合照里面都没她，我都不知道好感度系统里面怎么会有她出现。而且由于实际能操控她参战的时候已经到了游戏后期了，这个时候主角团的机体已经升级的差不多了，因为Cosette属于临时参战人员导致她的机体无法升级，导致Calamity相比其他机体来说性能就不太够看了。 说到性能我就想笑，我知道虽然一般来说这种游戏里面都是会让主角以少胜多的，但是后期每次进关卡看到对面一大帮人，而我方只有6机甲+1战舰这种构图我就想笑。尤其是最终战打野狼队的时候，对面女猎人号旗舰+一大票各式各样的的战舰和机甲乌泱乌泱排开阵型，对阵我们这边小小的7个人，真的是会赢吗？会赢的！然而就这么一支无敌舰队却被7个人暴打，你自己看看普通机甲和主角团机甲的性能差异有多大，主角团驾驶的这些哪一个拿出来不是数值怪物。真的全是努力与汗水，没有一点数值，每次想到这里我都想笑。 我一开始看到这游戏我还以为是日厂做的，结果居然是欧美厂商，这真是出乎我意料的，而且这一部居然还能出出来这么好的质量，还是全日语配音+专属日语主唱主题曲，除了UI简陋了一点以外，但是我感觉欧美gal好像都是这样，虽然存在着前作素材复用的感觉，但是主要立绘和CG都是重新画过的，这种质量对我来说已经是大制作了，我在想难道Love in Space是什么有钱大厂吗？为什么我以前从来没听过？回头去看看他家系列第一代那个质感才更符合我对传统做二次元gal的欧美小厂商的印象，跟这一部根本没法比，这9年来难道他们做大做强了？这差距真的不是一星半点啊，以至于后期有一段男主的回忆(或者说幻觉)里面复用的是前几部里面的场景立绘和CG，真的是很出戏啊画风完全不一样了啊，尤其是那个初代Ava长得跟现在这个相比根本不一样了啊笑死了。很难想象居然有欧美厂商做gal不仅做这么多年没死还做大做强了，也是牛逼的，难道这游戏其实在欧美知名度还挺高吗？能做大做强至少也说明他们家做的这系列作品质量和玩法上是很给力的。狠狠支持，加油啊制作组的大哥哥！继续出新作啊！

I left this game in my backlog bin for a long time and finally decide to play. Oh boy I like the game much better than the predecessor. Better wifu pict, better game play, better engine, also I enjoy writing the most.

TL:DR = You know what you are getting in story wise when buying this. And this is ok. This part is what you expect, and playin previous games it is what I signed up for, but . . . . . What is absolute clown-fest is the actual battle. At first it might seem deep and expansive, but you soon find yourself flying space garbage with team of trashmobs. it feels like you are flying a space baloon and everybody has a needle. =Game is what you expect, but battle system is just SH@IT out of whack= 1. Your units are always underpowered vs trashmobs = your units are WORSE than thrashmobs. And as game progresses, it gets worse. 2. upgrading units are not even cosmetic, as it demands so much cost do develop anything, that you either pimp out 1 unit or spray green paint of withering grass. This is really garbage, since stock-factory ryders from junkyard have BETTER stats. 3. Whoever designed battles and enemies strength-wise never accounted for reality. IF units are actually done correctly- as intended - our heroes would be dead in first flight, piloting R2D2-level of space cans. 4. Why oh why, basic enemy troops have more advancements in technology than my state-of-the-art ancient technology infused miracle of engineering? probably, because F-CK logic. Or consistency. 5. Battle designs are one and the same. I could skip any dialogue in story and play 50 the same skirmishes. It is all the same and I do not get to even fly as I like ,because outer space is limited by invisible lines. So much for tactical manouvring. If I could I would skip the battle altogether. This is souls-like level of self-inflicted-abuse. 6. Despite all the tactical moves or advancements game is just linear point and click game with semblance of tactical freedom. If you don't do it dev way, you are going to fail. Especially with special conditions set during deployments. 7. I know that this game is supposed to be a simulation of a captain who is struggling vs the world, but this is not the case. I am struggling vs 6 thrashmobs which can zero me in 1 turn, have 3x amount of attacks and 2x amount of hp. ALL OF THEM, not speaking about boss fights. This is not equal field, this is artificially increased difficulty. If my ship would be this underpowered vs FEW ships, not to mention entire fleets, this story would NEVER have happened in the first place. previous games had much more simpler mechanics and had high difficulty curve, but were acceptable, here it is rarely a joy.

关于使用3DM汉化补丁游玩，玩着玩着会报错无法继续游玩的解决方法：改回英文版过那个画面就好，但在中文界面打开设定也会报错。因此我们需要在游戏外改设置，下面是方法： 1.设置文件路径：此电脑----->C盘----->用户----->(自己的用户名）----->AppData----->Local (这个文件夹可能不一样，能找到下一个就行）----->Surider_4_The_Captains_Return---->init 2.这个init文件就是游戏的设置文件，用记事本打开这个文件，找到这一句global.opt_language="CHS_3DM" 3.改成global.opt_language="English",打开游戏就变回英文了 4.载入存档，过完报错的剧情后保存存档，最后改回中文继续游玩。（改回CHS_3DM就是英文变回中文）

Lynn is soooooo cute

I really liked the first two games, a lot actually, but this installment... how do I put it... the combat is complete absurdity. I'll finish the game anyway since I bought it, but I won't be waiting for future sequels, because I know that if they ruined one thing, they'll ruin the rest. It's hard to highlight any pros other than the improved artwork (though it's still just okay), so let's talk about the one massive negative. The combat: 1. The balance is complete crap. 2. Ryders, which are supposed to maneuver effortlessly, have turned into tanks on ice. Clunky and useless. The accuracy is absolute ass. 3. Commands are completely gone, they just cut them out. Or at least I don't have them at this stage of the game. 4. Battles are now unforgivably dragged out and chaotic. I even set it to the lowest difficulty to get through it faster, but even a simple, easy fight still takes a ridiculous amount of time. 5. Weapon accuracy is total trash, at least without upgrades. It's so bad that they really needed to justify it in the story, because... well, factually, such abysmal accuracy shouldn't be possible for advanced war machines. Other cons: 1. Loading screens everywhere. 2. The UI, in my opinion, is worse than in Liberation Day. 3. They overcomplicated and overhauled things that didn't need to be rewritten or remade. 4. The design of the new mechs is also complete crap (my personal opinion). In the end, they just took a wrong turn somewhere. If you're a fan of the series, feel free to buy it, at least for the story. But if you're just on the fence about continuing... then my definite answer is no. This game is now only worth buying for the plot, not for the broken, absolutely stupid battles... And I had such high expectations...

Meh. It's not bad but it's not good either. If there was a neutral review I'd maybe go for that one but as it is i can't recommend it. I don't know what they were thinking but while the gameplay got way more interesting, unique and fun (except for a few rough edges), the story's quality tanked quite a bit, nothing from the previous saves mattered and then they expect you to go through that again for a tiny 2 minute cut scene "secret ending". They somehow just collected all sorts of typical writing short cuts and stereotypes. Themes of colonialism, racism, Capitalism vs evil Communism, 8 different dere-types etc... I was expecting for SOMETHING to come up to freshen things up as it happened before, especially since they've showed different perspectives about communistic ideas, but nope nothing. Just evil Fontana man being evil. The guy had so much character in previous games. It was alright but definitely the weakest in the series, except for the combat.

Finally a somewhat serious story (still alot of funny moments added) for the series. Sure the "big bad" which gets teased for like 60% of the story dies within 1 mission/scene and never gets brought up again, but other than that the story is leagues better than in the previous 2 titels (be it still flawed at some points). Im a bit sad the ideas which got used in the prologe story are not used further into the game (as in you doing differnt stuff in the scenes). The complete gameplay overhaul is also pretty cool, especially the new combat system. Sure it still has its flaws, especially in the balancing department (i have yet to see any reason to invest into lasers since kinetics just owns 95% of what the game throws at you even on the highest difficulty), but generally you have way more options and you can actually use different tactics than "lets move as one giant blob" which was the default/best tactic for the previous 2 games. Also most units can be used in multiple ways depending on the upgrade path you chose. all in all 8.5/10. Ok story cool combat gameplay.