Date A Live: Rio Reincarnation

Today we are checking out DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation. This is a series that has been around for a while and it has quite the following. It started out as a light novel series and eventually expanded. What we are checking out here is actually the third chapter in this story. However, this does come with the two previous games, Rinne Utopia and Arusa Install and I would advise playing through both of those before jumping into Rio Reincarnation.

The Most Important Thing

The schtick of DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation and the series, in general, revolves around these things that are called space quakes and these are causing a ton of problems and they are caused by these beings called Spirits. Our protagonist, Shido is the only guy who can seal these spirits away and he does this by dating them and making them fall in love with them!

The third part of this story introduces a new spirit called Rio and this spirit is very strange and is on the search for what she calls “the most important thing” you are trying to figure out more about her and what this is. The story is very hard to follow if you have not played the first two games, but they are both here. Or, you can watch a short 20-minute recap that will fill you in.

Back At One

If you get that obscure Brian McKnight reference you are pretty damn cool! Anyway, the gameplay on offer in DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation is what you would expect from a visual novel. You read the story and make your way through it by making the right choices at the right time. There are a ton of spirits for you to date in this game so replayability is very high.

The game gives you some free time and this is where you will take a spirit that you want to get to know better on a date. The gameplay is nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed my time with it and it appears that there are many different directions that things can go.

Anime Space Girls Won't You Come On Down?

I love the art style that they went for with DATE A LIVE: Rio Reincarnation. This is a great looking visual novel. The characters have that anime look to them, but what captured my attention was the clothing that these spirits would wear. Look, I like naked chicks as much as the next guy, but there are some really cool and interesting clothing designs here that let you know these are not your normal girls.

There is some Japanese voice acting on offer here and while I do not understand a word that is being said, I can still appreciate good voice acting when I hear it. The voice acting and the music are mixed perfectly and it never is too loud or too quiet.

Pros:

• I love the art style
• The designs of the spirits are really cool
• It offers plenty of replay value
• It also includes the first two parts of the story
• The sound in the game is very well done

Cons:

• To get the best out of it, you need to play the previous two games
• Some of the dialogue can go on way too long