Title: Moero Chronicle
Platforms: PlayStation Vita, Steam
Genre: RPG, First Person Dungeon Crawler
Developer: Compile Heart
Publishers: Compile Heart, Sony, Idea Factory

If you can’t get enough Monster Girls and fan service, then Moero Chronicle is right up your alley. Controversial and perverse, this title will bring you hours of moe moster fun.

Story

All the Monster Girls have gone rogue because of a terrible curse -no human who has gone to the monster girl village has come back alive.  The next hero the human village plans to send over is Io.  Io can still barely get a grasp of his own “desire” let alone talk to a girl without that “desire” going out of control. How will he be able to save the world if he can barely talk to girls?!

Io pairs up with Lillia, his childhood friend, and an otter shaped like a penis (yes, you read that right) named Otton whose hobby is collecting the sacred cloth: panties! Io journeys through Monstopia while collecting some panties and rubbing down some monster girls along the way.

The story is pretty goofy and the main characters are pretty shallow. I keep wondering why the hell the monster girls, aside from Lillia, seem remotely interested in the main character, but story isn’t meant to be the highlight of the game.  Don’t expect anything in-depth from the main cast.  However, because it’s so silly, you’ll have a good time getting a few laughs at the over-the-top fan service and personalities.

Gameplay

Moero Chronicle is a first-person dungeon crawler.  You navigate through the dungeons and get stopped -many times- by battles that get pretty obnoxious after a while.  However, the game already knows that the battles can get tedious so an “Auto” button was added to speed things along.   As you go through the dungeons you start to collect monster girls and the regular dungeon enemies can become sidekicks for the monster girls.  Each monster girl has her own special abilities, and as you level up she learns new skills.  You can switch your team around as you see fit; you can create your ultimate moe team!  Keep in mind that each girl has her own moe trait, so you can arrange your team for ultimate effect.  Or just keep the type of girls you like around.

Like pretty much every RPG out there, battles are all turn-based.  You have Io on your “team” but he plays the role of support character.  The monster girls battle using their skills and attacks, but Io “stores” his desire and “releases” it on one girl during battle to power up her attack. However, storing his desire has a limit, and if you store too much without releasing it, well, Io needs a cooling off period… probably to go change his pants.  Io can also use items, which makes him useful for healing (if you don’t have a healer) or reviving fallen characters (if you weren’t paying attention to what happened during “Auto” mode).

Boss battles, where you fight the Monster Girls to remove their curse, requires a bit more tactic since they are weak to specific elements.  Your goal is to hit the monster girl’s armor, ultimately disrobe the girls, then “purify them” by touching them in particular places on their bodies to break their curse.  As you hit the girls, your Excitement Gauge fills up and you enter Bumping Scratch mode, where you touch the girls an increase their excitement. If you don’t succeed the monster girl will run away.  When you succeed, you can add them to the team or go back and interact with them at the Inn.  When I played, I used a PS4 controller so it was difficult to control the cursor during Bumping Scratch mode.  Often, I found myself rubbing the air and missing out on my chance to catch them.  Once you get used to using the joysticks, it’s not too difficult but can get pretty frustrating since the pointer (at least for me) tended to wander on its own. I haven’t tried playing the game with a mouse, so this aspect of the game might be a bit easier with more control.

Outside of the dungeons, you can go back to the Inn and interact with the monster girls.  This includes talking to them when an event is available, giving them gifts, assigning a Pet Pact with an enemy you fought in a dungeon, creating new materials, changing their outfits (which gives them new skills and power based on what you pick) and everyone’s favorite: giving the girls a nice rub down!  Your goal is to gain the favor of the monster girls. Of course, this aspect of the game doesn’t really appeal to me much, but for those into cute anime girls and getting “physical” then it’s a perfect fit.

Graphics

Aside from the art style of all the anime girls, the graphics aren’t noteworthy.  The dungeons feel bland and repetitive. The monsters you battle are pretty hysterical as they are all sex related.  You literally fight a condom monster and a vibrator! Of course, diversity in monsters is also pretty limited so the humor goes away pretty quick.

Animations is also kept to a minimum.  You don’t get to see your monster girls fighting, but rather an avatar of them at the bottom of the screen.  There are some jiggle physics happening in the boss battles, but otherwise, the overall look and design feel generic.

Verdict

Pros: You can have a lot of fun collecting monster girls and arranging them on your team however you want.  You can pick the type of moe you’re really into or get technical and keep girls with the appropriate skills for the dungeon you’re going through.  There are plenty of girls to choose from so you can have fun just mixing it up.

If you’re into touching, prodding, and poking 2D waifu’s, then this title is also a good pick since you can rub your favorite girls as much as you want.  Almost.  There are also some pretty racy costumes.

Cons: The dungeons get repetitive and boring.  The graphics are bland, and animations are  limited.  There isn’t much depth to the story and can get boring pretty fast.

I’d give the game a 5/10.  It’s a fun pick if you want a few laughs, but otherwise, if you’re not into 2D anime girls, first person dungeon crawlers and bad story lines, you might be better off with another title.