Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return

Well, I'm only getting around playing the third part* of this saga now, despite buying it right upon release. The reason being that playing through Mask of Arcadius, then Liberation Day and then Captain's Return takes a really long time and I always got distracted by other games half way through. But this time I'm actually starting with CR and it's pretty amazing. What I personally love about the Sunrider series is not just the long running story, and it's a decent story not the usual Visual Novel horsedung, but also the evolution of gameplay details over 11 years. Captain's Return offers a lot of smart details that feel immersive, while at the same time allowing for a large number of custom settings so really every type of player can enjoy themselves. It's a bit of a shame how every sequel in the series sold less and less copies on Steam, and how few people actually know the franchise. If you happen to stumble upon this for the first time it's one of the few series where I would really recommend to get all of them and play it in order. Normally devs tend to kinda sideline their older titles to make the story more accessible - but not Love in Space. And that's what makes Sunrider stand above the usual indi anime games. *[spoiler]Technically this is the fourth part, but part two is a dating sim playing back in the Acedemy days of the protagonists, so it is irrelevant to the actual space saga story.[/spoiler]

Sunrider is an enjoyable manga-style series that, unlike most manga games (which are usually just glorified visual novels), features excellent turn-based combat. Sunrider 4 is still an enjoyable manga game with excellent turn-based combat, but it changes a lot of the game from the earlier entries. This isn't a bad or good thing per se, but it is not at all the same experience. Mechanically, the combat is no longer hex-based, but instead an open grid with momentum-based movement. It is a lot more challenging, especially early on when you're not used to it, and requires a lot more mathematical precision to get right. A single misclick can be disastrous. It's rewarding when you do it right, but it's a very different experience. Sunrider 4 also adds some adventure-style puzzles and point-and-click sections. Bluntly, I think these were very ill-advised. The point-and-click sections are mercifully brief and have some pay-off later in the game, but the adventure puzzles are tedious and pedantic. Thankfully, they are restricted to the middle of the game. Narratively, Sunrider 4 is interesting and engaging, but again completely different. Whereas the earlier games had a light-hearted tone and lots of fun little lewd fan service scenes, Sunrider 4 is dark and serious, featuring frequent elements of psychological horror, and the very limited adult scenes are extremely tame (bewbs only) and restricted to the psychological horror sections, so not lewd in tone. Again, this wouldn't be a bad thing per se if this were an original game, but it is tonally jarring in the fifth entry in a series (including Sunrider Academy). Despite this sharp tonal shift, though, nonetheless you must have played the earlier games for the plot to make any sense or have any emotional resonance. Sunrider 4 is a good game, and I recommend it. But you must have played the original trilogy to understand it, yet paradoxically you shouldn't go into it expecting it to be very much like those earlier games. If it were an original game none of this would have been a problem, but for a sequel the gap between expectation and reality was disconcerting.

机战gal佳作 成就里有一个secret end，要二周目new game +通关才能解锁。二周目是升级归零但是初始好感度继承上一周目的（也就是可以开局满好感） 二周目通关的隐藏结局是，女猎手库莎娜和方特纳对话，说现在在与男主的战斗中损失了三成的舰队导致PACT形式不利，如果不是原型帮了男主一把，那么本来应该击败男主获得胜利了。方特纳会说，虽然男主和魔鬼做了交易（这里指的是原型欧米茄，也就是把蜘蛛女郎模样的原型），但自己也有秘密武器。然后镜头一转就是被PACT五花大绑控制的原型阿尔法ALPHA（也就是前代里原型爱丽丝的姐姐，哥特风的原型）

A worthy addition to the Sunrider franchise. The combat is very different to previous games, still turn based but with the addition of momentum (and associated absence of grids). Took a few missions to get used to then very fun to play! Story maintains the quality we've come to expect, some twists and turns with strong accompanying music covering both background-enhancing tracks and stirring battle music. Well worth playing.

有牛头人和替身文学

Najlepsza odsłona serii pod względem fabularnym ale przede wszystkim w końcu zmieniono silnik na którym były oparte bitwy. Implementacja nowego silnika i zupełnie nowego systemu walki to przeskok z piekła do nieba w porównaniu z poprzednimi odsłonami gdzie w niektórych bitwach przy większej ilości wrogów gra zaczynała zacierać na 5fpsach jak narkoman na odstawce, nie mówiąc już o tym że zupełnie odpuszczono sobie planszę jak z herosów na rzecz bardziej swobodnego ruchu przez co w końcu można wykorzystać pełen potencjał arsenału jakim jesteśmy uraczeni a nie tylko spamować 3 te same typy ataków jak to było wcześniej. Potencjalnym minusem jest kategoryczna redukcja fan serwisu choć moim zdaniem jest to 2. największy plus tej części patrząc na całokształt fabuły jak również transformację głównego bohatera który w końcu przestał być kasztanowym ludkiem i zaczął przypominać bardziej człowieka z krwi i kości który musi nieść swój przysłowiowy krzyż na plecach. Miłym zaskoczeniem były Endingi które nie były jednotorowe, pozostawiając furteczki na kontynuację sagi. Generalnie w porównaniu z poprzednimi częściami to zdecydowanie najlepszy Sunrider dotychczas technologicznie jak i fabularnie, co będzie Canon a co nie to okaże się Bec Tego Typu.

Sunrider 4 is the long-awaited 4th instalment of the Sunrider series. However, this instalment is a few steps forward and a few steps back, so whether you like it depends on what you are looking for. Firstly, the devs have completely re-invented the combat mechanics. Instead of the typical grid-based maps from previous instalments, tactical maps in this game allow complete (2D) freedom of movement where characters spend energy points not to move, but to accelerate. In other words, you spend energy points to start moving, but once you are moving, you continue moving until you spend energy to stop or change direction, just like you would in space. I personally like this feature, since it more accurately depicts combat in space, but I understand why it would be a deal-breaker for many. However, my main problem with the combat is not the mechanics, but the difficulty. Specifically, because enemy units do not level up and the game does not introduce more advanced grunt units, the player is stuck fighting low-level grunt units, even in the final battles of the game. So without higher-level enemies, how does the game increase the difficulty for later battles? Answer: more enemies! The result is that later battles become a slog, where the enemy spams units but does not get any harder. Secondly, the writing for this game is disappointingly cliche. The art has improved substantially since the early days of the series, but the characters (both playable characters and antagonists) are now firmly entrenched in anime archetypes - they feel static and very one-dimensional. The overarching conflict has always been an analogy of the conflict between liberal capitalism and authoritarian socialism - a typical theme in American games - but after the events of the 3rd instalment, I expected the game to explore more ideologically grey areas, and I expected the antagonists to be more multi-dimensional. Instead, the antagonists came back more one-dimensional than ever. The community for the Sunrider series remains divided between those who want a dating sim and those who want a tactical RPG. I'm of the latter, and I feel the devs are, too. But to please those players who see Sunrider as a dating sim, they introduced a dating aspect to the game. As a result, the dating part feels tacked on; not only does it feel incompatible with the game's linear story structure, but by emphasizing each girl's distinct personality, they are pushed further in the molds of anime archetypes. The Sunrider series has always been a tactical series with strong art and music and unique mechanics. If you are willing to overlook the flaws with the game’s difficulty and writing, you will likely enjoy this instalment. Personally, I enjoyed it, but I finished it feeling quite disappointed. I hope the next instalment delivers a more satisfying experience.

The 4th one is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, it is one of the most unique combat systems I`ve ever seen, on the other, playing it strikes a "doesn`t quite work" kind of zone, mainly owing to a handful of owerpowered spells and not being allowed to move twice on a continuous grid. Legit most my gripes could be solved if movement wasn`t limited to once per turn. Nonetheless, there are fun builds for every unit in your roster and it`s quite satisfying to demolish everything in your path, even if the game is a lot easier than it`s predecessors. The story works for what it is, a justification for a bunch of massive battles. It has it`s moments but they mostly stand on the sheer power of the music. I hate pretty much every secret ending, so here I am, collecting hearts throughout the entire game, only for the end to cut out at "let me tell you my story" then at least tell me the fking space pirate story or smth ffs, what was the point?