About Crimson Craftwars:
Disclosure: I am one of the beta-testers of this game and as such received it for free. Crimson Colosseum is a game I’ve wanted to test for over a year, and I am happy that it is finally released. Tags: JRPG, Single Heroine, Virgin Heroine, Slavery, Ryona, Many Bad Ends Story: 7/10 The game features Sachi, a young and slightly naive swordswoman traveling the world to improve her skill and prove to her father that she is worthy of his respect. Alas things rarely go as intended, and she gets kidnapped and turned into a gladiator slave, forced to battle men intent on making her their own for a variety of reasons, nearly all of which include sex slavery. Due to this, Sachi has to fight 8 duels to win her freedom, but even one loss will spell her end. However, as is often the case, there is more going on than meets the eye. Gameplay: 9/10 The game is about equal parts 1-on-1 combat and exploration/training. The player has 20 days to finish all 8 duels, each day has 5 phases where city folks appear and go about their day, and it’s possible to fight bouts against any number of enemies in the same time limit. The regular people will be shopping, eating at restaurants, or buying tickets to spectate at the colosseum during the day and evening, while at night the streets are fairly empty except naturally for the Red Light District. Some NPCs also give cryptic hints regarding what happens in the end game, sneakily hidden between all the generic chatter. The setup changes every day between two sets, for 10 different “batches” of people total. Due to this, there are a lot of folks to interact with, in addition to more important NPCs with their own storylines that advance as you interact with them. Training works as a cutscene. It can be done nearly any time and involves Sachi pretend-fighting against a log. A randomised result then displays, ranging from critical failure to massive success, with a cute graphic to illustrate each outcome. Combat meanwhile consists of the aforementioned 1-on-1 battles. Here is where the game really shines, because not only are there a variety of gorgeous art pieces to illustrate Sachi’s state, she also has a unique “Dice” command which rolls a D6 to select a skill. Those skills can be bought and changed at the player’s preference, up to 6 times each (except for the passives.) Due to this, combat can be altered to suit a given enemy’s strengths and turn them into weaknesses. For example, an enemy with massive amounts of armour, but little speed? Simply equip a lot of defence-ignoring skills, and he’ll go down in no time. Equipment as per typical JRPG formula can also help, since there are things like perfumes and various precious stones that can give benefits, such as improved stats or poison-immunity. As each dueled enemy is different, adapting to the correct circumstances and choosing the right strategy is the key to victory. Art: 10/10 Even though the game is already a little older, the drawn pieces are gorgeous. Character busts and CGs are drawn in lush detail, with plenty shading and displaying emotions and body state very well. Though that does mean, since this is a ryona game, violent actions and abuse are drawn in detail all the same, so keep that in mind. Sound: N/A It’s free resources, but chosen well. Verdict: As I said, I am biased towards this game, but even if I wasn’t I would still like it. It’s by no means perfect, but it has plenty justification for why things are the way they are, the world building is interesting, and there is more going on in the background than what first appears to be the case. So my final score is a solid 9/10.
