Moero Crystal H (REVIEW)

If adult anime humor is your thing, and you don't mind a wee bit of perversion then this definitive port of "Moero Crystal H" might be right up your alley. The game itself is centered around a fantasy world created by a certain Goddess of Creation. This Goddess created both humans, and monster girls to coexist in perfect harmony in their respective parts of the world. The land, and sky respectively. She also created the Panties of Light as well as the Bra of Darkness to keep them in check. Basically, two relics that keep the world, and it's inhabitants from being destroyed. Unfortunately for a traveling dude named Zenox, and the Guardian of the Panties and Bra (Luanna) a mysterious thief known as Dark Ottonias stole away the Bra of Darkness with the intent of doing some dirty things with it. Namely putting poor monster girls under a human hating spell. A spell that can only be undone in the most lewd of acts. That act being the destruction of certain clothing articles. It is through these awkward encounters, and the goal of stopping the end of the world that Zenox, Luanna, their panty thieving pal Otton, and the monster girls they recruit along the way will find the Bra thief, and whomever else that might be hiding in the shadows as well.

At heart 'Moero Crystal H' is a classically styled dungeon crawler experience. Through, and through. The type that is done up in a 3D first person perspective within maze-like environments that house story related events, hidden treasures, and battles of varying kinds. As Zenox, Otton (A seal-like panty thief), and his harem of monster girl cuties there are some tasks that players will have to take into consideration as they help them explore these dungeon-like locations, and search for Dark Ottonias. In each give area, and on each given floor of said area you'll find floating avatars that will either trigger an event, battle, or offer up a treasure looting opportunity. Among other things. Progressing not only involves battling would be monster girl recruits, and lesser enemies, but also dealing with an area's leader. Something that takes proper map navigation, and battle prowess which is easily learned through the games tutorials. 

In the battle portion of dungeon exploration you'll find that Zenox acts mainly as the offscreen cheerleader with options to store or release desire energy. Desire changes the battle flow in that it allows characters to change order, and even regain SP for skill use. Storing it to at least 30% on Zenox's turn, and inserting it into one of the monster girls via the INSERT option will allow for that monster girl to swap places with another party member, and even take an extra turn at times. Along with those functions Zenox also controls the item, and escape options. The item option allows for using single use items in battle to heal, or deal damage to onscreen enemies. Escaping, on the other hand, is self-explanatory.

When it comes to attacking the enemies Luanna, and the other monster girls you successfully recruit will be your main offense option. These monster girls can perform basic attacks, use skills that they unlock through repeated combat encounters, and defend per turn. Keeping them alive, and not paralyzed is the key to continuing onward on your quest for the missing Bra of Darkness. Along with basic attacks skills play an important role in combat as well. Some of the skills the monster girls have are elementally aligned, and will be more effective against enemies with particular alignments. Fire beats wind, wind beats water, water beats earth ... so forth, and so on. All skills cost skill points regardless of alignment inclusion, and can only be used when you have enough SP to spend on them. Making the use of spells is something that must be weighed carefully lest you find yourself in a dire predicament against a more formidable foe. 

Death comes swiftly for adventurers who don't mind their health points, and in 'this dungeon crawler each character including Zenox comes with a certain amount of HP (health points) that only increases through victories, and earned experience points. Once all party members' HP is fully depleted or they are all paralyzed it is "Game Over", and back to the starting screen and last save point. The battles that can deal the final deathblow range from simple short lived slap fests to intense boss fights where everything you do matters greatly. Some battles randomly happen as you move through the corridors, and others are initiated by running into the avatars of the monster girls, or even walking through a doorway. The monster girl avatars come in a few different forms with tiers of strength accounted for. A small purple flame, for example, is the lowest category of monster girl while a menacing pumpkin avatar is the more powerful, or "H" type. All monster girls can become a part of your party, but doing so will require a mini-game to acquire.

When you first encounter a monster girl in a dungeon you'll be tasked with either defeating her outright by hitting her full body, or by targeting individual pieces of clothes. Doing the latter will not only visually undress them, but will put them in position for further sexual shenanigans and acquisition in scratch time. Scratch time activates once all articles of clothing are destroyed. It'll begin after Otton showers the screen with coins. At this point you can go on into scratch time, and try to meet it's objectives for recruitment, or you can use a monster girl crystal by pressing "Y" beforehand (supposing you have one) to capture them like a Pokemon, and later defeat them in scratch time at the town's training area. Supposing you go into scratch time you will need to fill three darkness meters that coincide with the current monster girls' weak points. This usually includes rubbing or tapping the onscreen areas until colored diamonds appear, and then continuing to do so on the sweet spots until that coinciding meter fills up. Fill up all three meters within the time limit, and the monster girl will go into a nude flash state where tapping or rubbing her exposed, but heart censored, body like a pervert will release her from darkness, and make her a part of your party. At times you will be able to get two girls in on the scratch time making the task more rewarding, and less cumbersome given the situation.

As far as the flow of the story, and combat goes it is a mixture of visual novel style storytelling with the usual IFI characters conversing through animations and voice-overs/text between each other as they try to find out which end's up. That, and dungeon exploration in which the main gimmick of the game that is monster girl recruiting takes place. In between all of that you'll also be able to stop, and shop for items and accessories. The accessories cover various parts of the monster girls' bodies giving them stat boosts accordingly. Other items such as gifts play into the relationships between Zenox, and the monster girls. Making them more suitable for battle situations. In the way of combat synergy among monster girls you'll find that monster girls that work together in a party will be able to unlock 48 erotic arts which will effectively alter their combat efficiency when assigned. Changing such things as damage taken, or given. It's a play on the old Neptunia Lily system. Not only does gifting, and pairing have it's benefits within the game, but there's also more intimate story interactions that will occur between Zenox and the monster girls for taking the time to give the previously mentioned gifts to the recruits. This opportunity takes place in a resting place within the game's town. A place where you can enter an intimacy mode to build bonds. Doing so successfully will grant bonus stats in the following dungeon area you enter. 

Outside of all the main game elements is a Doki Doki style shmup (shoot 'em up) mode where moving a phallic shaped ship, and dropping bombs on the monster girls' attire will reveal secret places for exploit. This leads to the reveal of their secret crystals, and will allow you to evolve the girls by completing a single level dungeon therein. Ultimately allowing for different transformative effects for each girl. For accessory enhancement the game also has a Soul Temple where colored souls you earn through battle can be spent on the monster girls equipment. Allowing the creating, and setting of seals to add alignment stats/buffs. Should you fancy a little fashion with the flashiness there are also secret areas in the game's dungeons that will bank you bras, and panties for visual monster girl customization.

Navigation in the game is also something worth noting. While in a dungeon you can press "Y" to bring up a map screen that will show where you've been as well as locations of interest you've happened upon. It helps players to not get lost while exploring as making the quickest way from point A to B will help stop the over use of restoration items that could be better used in battle against the area boss. Speaking of which, dungeons or areas have plenty of opportunities to nab new party members as well as battles against more powerful monster girls that serve to progress the plot. That, and the usual looting or special event markers scattered between. It should also be noted that save points in a dungeon are few, and far between so saving as often as possible is a must.

For those of you looking for those IFI extras 'Moero Crystal H" does include two monster girl bestiaries that include crucial info such as weakness. There's those two encyclopedia entries as well as an item listing, and 48 erotic arts listing. It's for all those perfectionists out there looking to make the most of their playthrough. Should you beat the game you will find a new "100 Scratch" mode which is a time attack mode centered purely around scratch time. Knowing the girls' sweet spots is the only way to get the best time there.

The Verdict ...

Moero Crystal H is a complete DLC inclusive port of a mature JRPG title that made it's way on what would usually be considered a more kid friendly console. It escaped Western censorship making it's way to the Western audience, and in doing so dared to brave the criticisms normally given by critics that would throw the first stone like some pious individual with holier than thou morals. While I do realize it contains some morally questionable content for the more prudish religious groups, and even to some extent for myself, I found the gameplay to be solid and the presentation to be alluring. It's a smooth turn based dungeon crawling experience with mature themes, no less. You'll find plenty of innuendos, sexual humor, and touchy-feely mini-games throughout the entirety of the game. It is built around a party recruitment system that in itself utilizes the rubbing of onscreen bodies to rid certain female characters of their clothing articles, and cursed afflictions. If this is something that bothers you, you might want to pass on this one. However if you wish to support developer freedoms on the Nintendo Switch this is a good buy for that cause. The price point is good for such a package as well. Costing around $40 (US). Just under the usual retail $60 price tag. As I mentioned before it does come with all the DLC including 6 bonus characters that can be added in via the main menu. It is, in all intents and purposes, more bang for your buck.