Rance: Hikari o Motomete

The Good
The summary is a lie. It's a game you get instead of a girlfriend. The game has cute character design and some funny dialogue, sometimes almost of LucasArts quality. The combination of a typical fantasy quest and the quest for Rance to get laid with every woman he meets works fine at times. The fact that you can at any time rape your assistant could be regarded as a bonus, especially in case you get stuck. Of course, real heroes don't rape 16 year old girls.

The Bad
The main interface is not very clever, and the conversations are mostly automatic. The fact that you are displayed an overview of the town you're in, but only given text indications of where you are makes navigation needlessly difficult. It's been a while since I drew a map of a game, and it shouldn't be needed in this case, since a town is not the same thing as a dungeon.

Seing the world through the eyes of Rance is not always very funny, since he is basically a bastard. As long as you can keep the distance to him, it remains funny, but it is difficult to interact with the game through such a character. On the other hand, that is a basic problem with computer games, namely the interface between the player himself (or perhaps herself) and the player on the screen. Personality is required, but gets in the way. A game with a more interactive dialogue could have made Rance more likable.

Oh, and the music is absolutely worthless.

The Bottom Line
Are you tired of RPGs where you can't have sex? Get a game from Alicesoft. It appeals both to those who like RPGs, and those who like sex.