Wednesday, September 12, 2018

"Ishara: Bane of the Seas" Review

Genre:  Visual Novel

Summary:  Years after her disgrace, Ishara returns to her family to steal her boat and becomes entangled in her sister's wedding.

Gameplay:  An early decisions influences whether the story will follow Ishara's journey with her sister or her sister's fiance.  There is a sole later decision.  There is also an optional turn-based combat system with multiple battle abilities for different characters.

Style:  The art aids the story and characterization, as does the good music.  There are also nice sound effects and quips during combat, although the latter seem a bit strange when there is no other spoken dialogue.

Story:  Given the lack of decisions, there's not a lot of variety in the story, but the story that is there is very engaging with empathetic characters and exciting action.  Not a lot of backstory is given upfront, and certain details can only be learned in one path or the other.  This is a bit intriguing, but also somewhat frustrating.

Conclusion:  Although lacking in options, Ishara offers fun combat and an entertaining story.