So, I'm aware of the small controversy regarding the English translation/localization. I'm thinking about doing a podcast episode addressing my feelings on that, but I'll just say here that I think the English version is just fine, for many of the same reasons I stated in our Final Fantasy Tactics podcast series. Speaking of FFT, Yasumi Matsuno got involved in a twitter thread on this very issue. It was interesting to get his thoughts on English localization. I'll get more into the weeds on this topic at a later time.

I think a demo like this really gives an impression of confidence from the developer. They could have cut the amount of time by an hour or two and it would still be decently generous. The amount of attention this game is getting is insane and it makes me happy that that Atlus is advertising it well.

I’ve never seen a demo get so many videos made on it. I think that says a lot.

One of the cool things I appreciated was when introducing a new class type character, they made recommendations to formations to put them in. This is a great way for newcomers to get right into the game and then experiment later after they get settled into the systems.

You just sold me on the game! I haven't played too many Strategy RPGs because they seemed daunting to figure out. But hearing that the tutorials are so good, combined with the steady pace, really makes me want to try this one.

13 Sentinels quickly became one of my top 5 games of all time when it released years ago. So this game has been on my radar since it was announced. It's almost unfair how many great games, mostly rpgs, are being released so close together this year so far. There's no way I'm going to be able to finish Rebirth in time to be able to play this day 1. I still have the CE preordered though.

As someone who works as a professional UI Artist in Games for over 10 years I can say that I think I never saw an UI that polished. Sure there are UIs with better UX but man this is so damn polished.

As a big Ogre Battle 64 fan, this is my most anticipated game in a long time. We've been waiting for a spiritual successor to the Ogre battle style games since 1999. (Though Symphony of War came pretty close.) Almost 25 years later and it's actually happening. Can't wait for 03/08/24.

I was immediately sold on Unicorn Overlord. Anything reminiscent of Ogre Battle is extremely underserved as a subgenre. Glad to hear it's executed with so much flair and competence too.

"I'm actually kinda pissed I'm gonna miss the release of this game." LOL that's a great endorsement

A tactical rpg from vanillaware was bound to be something special. Im kinda amazed it took this long for anything like that to arrive. We only had to get over 10 years of roguelike metroidvanias before someone tried their hand at this.

I'm a couple hours into the demo now, and it's pretty sick. Thanks for putting this on my radar Mike. The tutorials are pretty genius I will say.

i've been one of your audiences since the dark pixel days and i keep coming back for your insights from time to time because of your clear-cut, substantive and engaging writing. these brief videos do not demand a lot of time and as a college student, i'm really glad to consume this type of content ! can't wait for more! but don't get me wrong tho, i really really love your podcasts and i do believe it's the pinnacle content of your channel as it bridges meticulous analysis and casual conversation on the medium that is admittedly looked down upon when talking about its merit as an art form. i just missed these short snapshots of your thoughts on certain games. kudos to the channel!❤

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, is one of my favorite games of all time. I, to this day, have very fond and vivid memories of renting the snes cart from Blockbuster time and again and playing it into the late hours as a teen. This is the re imagining spiritual successor of that game in totality and I couldnt be happier. Im only sad that it took almost 30 years of my life for this to finally be created.

What they pulled off here is a absolutely insane. The demo alone has easily seen me continuously discovering new stuff for 50+ hours already. I haven't seen such tutorials...ever, definitely agreed. The UI, the presentation, it's a work of absolute art. The mechanical workings of the system take so much from so many places and just... perfect it.

I loved the demo, so much i got the collectors edition. They have so much faith in it, it has a whole ass card game with the collectors edition. A collectors edition with a practical item in it instead of a statue, i love it.

When people talk about games back in day being held back by technical limitations, people seem to refer to graphical limitations that devs wanted to go beyond with 3D and higher fidelity, photo realism etc, though I find that to be untrue. But when I look at Unicorn Overlord, this is what I imagine what devs wanted their sprite based games to look like if they weren't held back by technical limitations, being able to have incredibly detailed and intricately animated sprites. I adore Vanillaware's philosphy of pushing 2D graphics as if the gaming industry never moved away from 2D and how that would look today, they're like the last bastion of this style.

Sounds to me like VanillaWare has done it again. I have the demo downloaded, just haven't gotten the chance to play it yet; but now that I know it's 8 HOURS LONG, I'm much more inclined to do so. Happy to see this channel talking about a VanillaWare game. Feels like we're maybe one step closer to my dream of seeing a State of the Arc podcast on 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

I was floored by this experience. The demo was more than worth it and proves the game is also as such.

The game also has a great library with a system similar to FF 16 where you can look up a person and there are words in their bio you can click on and go to those topics. Great for lore stuff, and topics expand with new information as character’s stories expand.

Glad to see you've enjoyed the demo as much as I have.

You mentioned the game guiding you through the levels, which it does in a great and intuitive way, but I really love that you have a choice and can skip battles, and the weapons in shops seem designed to help you do so. The game sends you to Rolf after you get established, which is fine and good. But that first shop sells a true strike spear and a magic damage sword. If you want gryphons, you can buy the true strike sword, skip Rolf, go hit Bruno's level using Chloe with the spear to handle the flyers, and you'll have gryphons right off the bat. But the walled city with heavily armored guys is also right there, and the magic sword would let you cut through the hoplites before you get mages, if you want. I saw CoffeePotato immediately going north to where they warn you away because it's full of high level fire mages and using strategy to win the level with no anti-magic groups. I'm with you that the story isn't in-depth the way we expect from the genre (and the first boss battle has the protagonist literally state that this isn't that sort of story). The dialogue is also good enough but not Alexander O. Smith. I'd assume those would preclude a game from being S tier for me, but there's just so many mechanics, so much content, so many enjoyable systems... at some point, I think it's gonna brute force its way into my S tier like Ochlys, an ice mage, and a gryphon rider using Frenzied Flight to defeat a fire mage boss in 60 seconds despite not having any anti-magic units yet.

If I'm not mistaken I think this is something I've heard you guys talk about before, but I really like the "representative" approach the game has towards units A lot of people see a group of 2 swordsmen 1 cavalry 1 archer and think "this is silly, how is this an army?" But I really like the idea of them being hundreds of people being condensed into a single character. I think Unicorn Overlord portrays this expertly

I think i have done like 9 runs already and always lean in a dif direction with characters and builds. Legit the best demo i have ever played and i couldn’t possibly be more excited to get my hands on the full game

I was not paying any attention to this game before I played the demo. It completely blew me away, and when I was done with my five hours, I went and pre-ordered it.

The demo consumed me for an entire day straight. I couldn't be anymore excited and pumped. Always been a fan of Ogre Battle, FF12-like gambit systems to play with Tactics. The biggest issue like you said, Dragon's Dogma is right around the corner that I've been waiting for for nearly 20 years.

Idk what it is about 1st quarter now, but jrpgs the last 3 years have spoiled us so damn much... 2022 - Triangle Strategy 2023 - Octopath 2 2024 - Unicorn Overlord Can't wait to see what 2025 has in store for us 1st qtr!

I'm in agreement with you. Unicorn Overlord has become my favorite strategy/tactics game of all time, and that's just from the demo playthrough. I can't wait until my Monarch Edition arrives. I already played through the demo twice and I'm really fighting to not have a third go at it lol.

This is already a game of the year contender.

The art direction alone has me sold !!! I’m with you Mike , can’t wait to rock this Gem 💎!!!

I found about this game thanks to a YTs video on my feed (thank the algorithm), and I'm loving it, and i don't think I've ever played this kind of genre, well, maybe decades ago on old emulators, and it sucks you won't be able to enjoy it at launch and also, gotta say big oooff on Dragon's Dogma 2 brother, after 10 freaking years, we're finally back, hope time goes fast for you.

I was already really excited about this, but now my enthusiasm is through the roof!

Never really been a fan of this art style but damn this looks good. Definitely gonna download the demo after work! Great video🎉

Absolutely loving the demo so far!

I'm like 2 days into playing after i finished the demo pre release. I'm about 40 hours in now lol. Utterly addicted to this amazing game

I was interested in this game, but you have fully sold me, this looks incredible.

the instant i saw the squad based fighting and non grid battles i was ignoring all form of videos, only listening to a few who gave their opinions such as you did! Instantly going to buy this and sometimes you just feel you gonna enjoy a game toroughly for a long time...this being one of them. Reminds me of old times when you were able to buy a game based on the cover and images/text on the back

This title is not click bait. After playing the first region (almost, theres so much to do per region its fantastic!) I can safely say that he is 100 percent right in this video. This game is the type of masterpiece that hasnt been around since the console wars spurred creators to do their best. I put down Final Fantasy rebirth for this, because despite my love for the FF7 universe, its not every day that a new franchise is born that will be a beloved classic for decades to come! Probably one for collectors to put an extra copy back! Hopefully, this game will spark off an evolving franchise. Because they truly have something special here.

Great work as always guys!

I'm sold, thanks

Finished the demo last night and love it. Headed to my nearest game retailer after work on the 8th. Love the art style. ❤👍🏽⚔️🏹🛡

best and biggest review of a demo I ever seen!

You are not alone with knowing that this game will go down in tactical rpg history

So excited for this!

I played all the demo twice and I m so hype for the full release 🎉

I only learned about this game a few days ago, but I’m already excited!

Hmmm... This comes out on the Switch, why not get it there and have it while traveling for work? It plays fantastic on the handheld.

I can't wait to pick this up!

I was waiting for this.

Great to hear your enthusiasm man! I was very curious about the game but not sure how I would feel about the combat style. Gave the demo a shot and LOVED it. Mind you I highly recommend putting it on expert mode. I need a game like this to have some bite. Looking forward to full release. Before I finished demo I preordered the physical switch version on amazon. Excited!

It’s the best! I can’t wait until Friday!

Masterpiece.

Demo was amazing. Looking forward to the full game.

As a PC only gamer... Im not looking forward to see this title joing Bloodbourne as the things that we have been robbed of.

I actually love games like this! And this looks sooo good!

Can't wait for the official release!!!!

Been waiting for this

Awesome video as always Mike. I'm 💯 waiting for this game.

I'm so excited for this game!!!

Dude, the art style alone sold me on this game. seriously, I can't begin to describe the ithc this game scratches. So it's gonna be super sweet.

I would absolutely love to play Unicorn Overlord. If it was on Steam.

This is the best spiritual successor to Ogre Battle an Ogre Battle 64 I have ever played.

Can't wait for this!

I decided to get the insane collector's edition of this. Had to support it as much as I could.

Releasing this a week after Rebirth is actually insane

I've had the collectors edition pre-ordered since the game was announced. Can't wait for it to come in this week.

I agree, the demo caught me by surprise and blew me away.

My most anticipated game and since I don't buy many games anymore, definitely one that I'm going to put a lot of hours into. I randomly came across a trailer a month or so ago (can't exactly remember) and it was enough for me to keep my eye on it. The demo came out and I realized it was Vanillaware and ATLUS. 13 Sentinels was one of my favorite games to come out in the past 5 years. As soon as I saw the art style... I knew. The music then kicked in (the one used as the bg of this video) and I was HOOKED. I played that demo and took my time for those 8 hours. I enjoyed every single battle and I am SO ready to play this game. I'll be in the middle of a move when it released but best believe, I'm going to reward myself with this game after it's all said and done. Great video!

I went in blind. After the first mission I felt I knew enough to play the game well. Starting mission two I chose to play the game on the hardest difficulty and died twice, once due to purposely using rest to see if I could interrupt the rest or if I needed to wait the full duration (had to wait the full duration). The second due to timing out. After that I managed to first clear the next two missions staying on the hardest difficulty. The fact I can play on the hardest difficulty right away and clear the missions on the first go speaks VOLUMES to how tight the balance is!! I only played the demo for roughly four hours. I was at a decent stopping point and didn't want to continue the game and stop at a time that I didn't want to. I am looking forward to having this game take over most of my free time for the next couple of months since I plan on playing through this game completely blind.

I was just planning on playing the demo and then moving on to play other things. Little did I know the demo for this game was basically the entire rest of my night. I think it took me about 4 hours to realize that I was still playing the demo, I'd just gotten so sucked into it. Definitely didn't expect that. Need to finish up 7 Rebirth before I get this though, maybe even Dragon's Dogma if it depending on how long it takes me to finish 7. This wasn't even on my radar before trying this demo on a whim.

This was a day one purchase since they showed this game off in a nintendo direct. But playing the demo and seeing it was an open world game was mind blowing and made it a torture to have to wait one more week in order to play the full game.

thanks for the recommendation Mike. I'll check it out

Ok. The overworld highly piqued my interest but you clinched the deal with 20 minute encounters. I’ll definitely check out the demo, thanks for raising awareness about this!

Physical copy delay: We know you've been waiting patiently for the item Unicorn Overlord (English). Sadly, we've received information that there has been a delay in receiving the stock and the estimated time for its arrival is by the 3rd week of April.

Aside from the details of the review, the music in the background is beautiful! I would get the game for the music itself

I got halfway through the tutorial and deleted the demo. I just wanted to wait for release as it was so dang good.

I've been looking forward to this game since they first showed it, I'm just sad that it isn't getting a release on Steam, at least for now, I would love to play it. Yes I know emulation exists, but yeah

Wish it came to PC 😭

"Based on a demo of a game that isn't out yet. I think this is the greatest game of all time." . . yes I would indeed balk at this.

When i saw the title "Unicorn Overload", I honestly thought "is it April 1st already?"

Im so excited to play this game

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the demo!! As a fan of Vanillaware games and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim being my RPG of that year, I am glad that Vanillaware continues to make amazing RPGs. I can not wait to own this game soon!!

Well that's going on the list then!

Agree with all the points, the Demo was fantastic. Can't wait for it.

I have played this demo more than the other complete games I have, first preorder I have done too.

Did you beat the optional quest north west of the starting point on the main island (you have to head east then north where the road splits)? Just wondering because I didn’t get to and accidentally overwrote my save after the final mission! I’m wondering if you actually get to play that in the demo or if it turns you away

I couldn’t put it down, accidentally played til I saw sunlight 😂

About to preorder the monarch edition right now!

Suuuper excited about it, I was a huge fan of Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen back on ps1.

I thought this looked like it was good but didn't plan on picking it up. Just bought a physical copy and can't wait to play it. This seems like the recipe for a little played cult classic that will be valuable years down the road.

5:00 I can tell you this good sir, I don't play strategy games at all. I am terrible at them. Since FF Tactics on PS1 back in the day I lovingly look in on them for the artwork and RPG and story of them but never play them because I can never get into them proper. I always hate losing and literally not really knowing why I lost and keep trying and trying to do the same battle over and over again with no idea what I could do differently. Well it is a good thing they put out a demo because this game really does allow you to learn the stuff mostly 1 thing at a time. I think this coupled with the pacing it just hit all the right notes for me. I am definitely picking it up and I can tell you for sure, it will be the first Strategy game I ever actually complete.

Yeah i'm pretty hyped up as well as an Ogre Battle fan,are you thinking about making a full review/analysis of it?(And potentially Tactics Ogre? Podcasts are too long for me)

I downloaded the demo, but after I purchased the collectors edition 😂😅. Wasn't aware there was a demo but I'm definitely gonna check it out in anticipation for the game coming out. Jeanne d'arc is still one of my favorites so this is right up my alley.

Act 1. This entire demo....Act 1. We alredy recruited an assload of characters, humans specifically. This is just one country and if what these screenshots online are true we are in for a hell of a ride. Elfs, Angels, Beasts, amd all the unique classs that comes with them. And need i remind everyone this comes out a week after FF7 Rebirth? The more I imagine what's to come, the more i believe how fitting the name of their army is. This is TRUE liberation.

Something that not a lot of people talk it's how they completely add the fantastic gambit system from Final Fantasy 12. It's so good. ;)

I had zero doubt in Vanillaware when they first announced this as 'the rebirth of tactical RPGs'. What we've seen in the demo is that and more. Vanillaware took Ogre Battle 64, a sprinkle of Fire Emblem's support system, and a new take on FF12's gambit system(!!) to make something unique and challenging. I'm definitely doing another playthrough on the hardest difficulty once I beat the game. I want to push the tactics/gambit system to the limit.

As soon as I saw it. I knew I’d love it. Waiting til Friday for my switch preorder :) lol he world map reminds me a lot of dragon force

I was extremely surprised by my level of enjoyment for this game. I just kept wanting to come back to it. It's not overly complex. The battle mechanics are very Fire Emblem RPS and primarily "big number go brrr". I would never say its better than FFT and my favorite of all time. But I did have the same reaction when I encountered the treasure hunting and found a map for treasure for something in the northern region. Finally zoomed out on the overworld and realized I was only playing in this little tiny corner. So much more to explore!

I've played through the demo twice now and yep this game is great. The fact you can set the positions of squad members before a fight starts and that you can play around with the conditions of when a skill activates. When things start clicking it feels really good, like take the Witch unit type for example she buffs another unit to deal magic damage but at no cost of their original physical output. Now I was thinking what happens if I place that buff on a unit with an AOE. This ended up working. The gear you get also plays a huge role too, I ended up putting a Dancers Bracelet on a Cleric which gives a physical attack bonus to the next unit about to act. And now what happens if you put both of these examples together.

Hell yeah pre-order NOW!!!!!!!!!!!