Heroine Anthem Zero: Episode 2

73%
Game Brain Score Based on 75 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • music
Heroine Anthem Zero: Episode 2 Game Cover
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"Heroine Anthem Zero: Episode 2" is a narrative-driven game following the journey of Shama, a descendant of the Savior, as she searches for answers and her benefactor in Uzato. Living under the Tree of Life and becoming a priestess, Shama ventures to the far west after receiving her mother's cryptic message. The game delves into complex themes about relationships between God, humanity, and nature, while players enjoy its beautiful artistic style and atmospheric soundtrack.

  • PC
  • Windows
  • Cloud
  • NVIDIA GeForce NOW
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

73%
Audience ScoreBased on 75 reviews
story22 positive mentions
grinding4 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful art and a fantastic soundtrack that enhances the overall experience.
  • Combat mechanics are enjoyable and fluid, with a variety of abilities and character interactions that keep gameplay engaging.
  • The story is intriguing and character-driven, with a lot of depth and interesting lore that fans of JRPGs will appreciate.
  • There are excessive cutscenes and dialogue that disrupt gameplay, making it feel more like a visual novel than an action game.
  • The game suffers from poor translation and localization issues, leading to confusing dialogue and grammatical errors.
  • Loading times are excessively long, which can significantly hinder the overall experience and pacing of the game.
  • story73 mentions

    The story of the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it intriguing and filled with creative elements, while others criticize its pacing, confusing narrative, and excessive dialogue. Although the game features high-quality visuals and music, many feel that the storytelling is dragged out and marred by translation issues, leading to a lack of engagement. Overall, while some appreciate the unique world-building and character depth, others find the story convoluted and frustrating, suggesting that it may be best enjoyed by those who prioritize narrative in their gaming experience.

    • “The story is interesting, invoking, and original, but there are aspects that could use some improvement.”
    • “You are here for the story, and this story is one I buy into.”
    • “The gameplay is fluid, the story is interesting, and the world-building is good.”
    • “As for the story itself, it is super confusing partly because the pacing can be rather obtuse at times, but the biggest offender is the terrible translation.”
    • “The story is either confusing or so boring that it didn't register.”
    • “Pacing: the game's pacing needs some work; there is so much storytelling, which wouldn’t be a bad thing if at some point you were clearly allowed to roam around the world, but in my playthrough, it all felt like a very tight and linear path you were carried on from beginning to end.”
  • gameplay39 mentions

    The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that it is frequently interrupted by excessive dialogue and cutscenes, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the fluid mechanics and improvements over previous installments, others criticize the balance of combat and the lack of challenge, leading to frustration. Overall, the game features solid mechanics and beautiful art, but suffers from pacing issues and a cluttered design that may hinder enjoyment.

    • “This is evident with the beautiful art, flashy animations, ethereal music, multi-layered narrative, and many gameplay systems.”
    • “The gameplay is fluid, the story is interesting, the world building is good.”
    • “This game carries much of the good from its previous episode and improves on it, the gameplay is nice and fluid (albeit the regular enemies feel a tad weak damage-wise for my tastes) and the soundtrack being yet again superb with lovely visuals complementing it.”
    • “The game is alright (though not amazing) mechanically, but there is simply too much dialogue, too many uninteresting story beats, and virtually nothing to do except follow the main story.”
    • “There are far too many cutscenes that disrupt the gameplay.”
    • “Every 10 minutes of gameplay, you have a ridiculously long text cutscene where the characters exclaim their way through with shocked 'anime facial expressions' and equally annoying voice acting.”
  • music27 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its beauty, emotional depth, and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere and storytelling. The soundtrack is noted for its variety, fitting seamlessly with different scenes and gameplay elements, while some tracks stand out as particularly memorable. However, a few critiques mention that certain music pieces may lack impact or feel bland in specific contexts. Overall, the music is often highlighted as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.

    • “The world is massive, there's decent amounts of depth to the combat, and the graphics and music are top notch.”
    • “The accompanying music is equally impressive - it perfectly fits the mood of every scene.”
    • “A lovingly crafted side-scrolling RPG, with an interesting story, great attention to detail and excellent music for an indie game.”
    • “Soundtrack is lacking any real impact.”
    • “The music was bland and did not really enhance the action or story.”
    • “Even with Chinese, the voiceovers are in Japanese (so is the music).”
  • graphics23 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and artistic quality, featuring a lovely art style and impressive full-screen illustrations. While the visuals are generally considered top-notch, some players noted issues with resolution that can make the graphics appear fuzzy in full-screen mode. Additionally, the game includes a significant amount of fan service, particularly in the portrayal of female characters, which has drawn mixed reactions from the audience.

    • “The first thing you'll notice is that the artwork and music are gorgeous.”
    • “You can tell the quality just from looking at the trailers; the game has a lovely art style and hundreds of full-screen, fully rendered illustrations.”
    • “Graphically, this game is gorgeous.”
    • “Granted, none of this is graphic enough for the game to warrant an 18+ rating.”
    • “Before I move on to the game's big problem, I do want to note that nearly every female character in the game is voluptuous and scantily clad, and the artwork loves to focus on them at lurid angles.”
    • “Some character artwork: I’m not bothered by scantily clad characters, but I think sometimes this game takes that a little too far.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the need for frequent checks on merchant stocks and the cumbersome process of switching pet abilities. Many achievements are missable, and some require significant grinding, which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.

    • “Most achievements are missable; a few require grinding, and some are only available in the early access version.”
    • “Switching pet abilities is a rather tedious process since you need to make sure you swap to the correct pet and then select the correct ability from the pet's ability menu.”
    • “It became tedious after a point having to check the stocks of all of these merchants every 5 minutes to see if they had anything new I might need.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    The game's optimization has been criticized for poor performance, particularly in the last two chapters, despite solid mechanics. While there are signs of improvement, the high level of art resolution demands better optimization than what is currently offered.

    • “Such level of art resolution requires very good optimization, which this game has slowly been improving on.”
    • “Regrettably, such level of art resolution requires very good optimization, which this version lacks.”
    • “Performance goes downward in the last two chapters.”
    • “Solid game with good mechanics but poor performance.”
  • humor3 mentions

    The humor in the game is highlighted by a blend of funny moments and dramatic scenes, often intertwining the two for comedic effect. Reviewers appreciate how the humor enhances the storytelling, making the gameplay more engaging and enjoyable. Overall, the combination of humor and drama keeps players invested in the experience.

    • “The game is filled with funny moments that keep me laughing.”
    • “The combination of dramatic scenes and humor creates some truly hilarious moments.”
    • “As always, the story and humor are great, which keeps me engaged and wanting to play more.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    Players express deep emotional resonance with the game's heartfelt dedication, highlighting its ability to touch their hearts and convey gratitude towards the creators and crew. The overall sentiment reflects a strong connection and appreciation for the emotional messages embedded in the game.

    • “Wow, the dedication and heartwarming effort really go so far.”
    • “It truly touches my heart with its heartfelt message for us, as well as for the creators and crew working on this for us!”
    • “I am sending you all my heartfelt gratitude, love, and thanks!”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game shows potential, with clever dialogue and nuanced writing occasionally shining through, but is hindered by poor animations and excessive visual effects that detract from the overall experience. While the art is visually appealing, the character designs may come off as overly exaggerated.

    • “The art is beautiful, albeit with very, very thirsty character designs, but it's marred by animations that feel like they have about half the key frames they should, and overuse of visual effects making action incredibly difficult to read.”
    • “Every now and then, the translator manages to get lucky and write a few sentences that aren't that bad, and in these rare moments, the quality of the original script shines through; you can tell that there's some really clever dialogue and nuanced character development.”
  • atmosphere2 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its seamless blend of 2D and 3D assets, creating immersive environments that range from ancient temples to eerie fog-laden forests. The music complements the visuals, enhancing the overall experience and contributing to a captivating ambiance.

    • “It seamlessly blends 2D and 3D assets to create very atmospheric environments - from ancient temples to creepy forests covered in thick fog.”
  • stability1 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with players reporting frequent bugs that can lead to getting stuck in loops or respawning in fatal locations, necessitating restarts.

    • “The game is quite buggy; you can get stuck in loops and have to restart, or your character dies in a spot and respawns in an instant kill area.”
    • “There are frequent crashes that disrupt gameplay, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
    • “I've encountered numerous glitches that affect stability, including freezing and unexpected shutdowns.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
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