Released on August 30, 2024, Yarimono has captured the hearts of RPG enthusiasts worldwide. Developed and published on Steam, this turn-based RPG combines creature collection mechanics, intricate storytelling, and competitive gameplay to deliver an experience that resonates deeply with fans of the genre. With an impressive 90% rating from over 2,000 reviews, Yarimono has quickly earned its place among the best games of its kind. But what sets this game apart? In this detailed review, we will explore every feature, mechanic, and element that makes Yarimono a must-play title.
The Premise and Storyline
At the heart of Yarimono lies an intriguing story of discovery and competition. The protagonist embarks on a journey to master the legendary “Cheat Tackle,” a unique and powerful ability possessed by their creature partner, Yarimon. This journey leads them to participate in a high-stakes tournament where strategy, skill, and creature mastery reign supreme. The narrative is layered with twists and turns, delving into themes of friendship, rivalry, and personal growth.
The storyline is crafted to keep players engaged, offering dialogue-rich cutscenes and character interactions that build a rich, immersive world. Players will find themselves invested in uncovering the mysteries behind the “Cheat Tackle” and the enigmatic figures they encounter along the way.
Gameplay Mechanics
Turn-Based Combat System
One of the standout features of Yarimono is its refined turn-based combat system. Players command Yarimon and other collected creatures in battles that require strategic planning and quick decision-making. The game rewards foresight, making it essential to anticipate opponents’ moves and counter them effectively.
Creature Collection and Training
Much like other creature-collection games, Yarimono allows players to capture, train, and evolve a variety of creatures. Each creature possesses unique abilities and stats, encouraging players to experiment with different combinations to form a balanced team.
Mastering the “Cheat Tackle”
The “Cheat Tackle” is not just a flashy move—it’s a core gameplay mechanic. Mastering this ability involves understanding its strengths, weaknesses, and situational uses. The game provides tutorials and challenges that progressively teach players how to harness this skill effectively.
Tournament System
The game’s central tournament adds a layer of competitiveness. Players face increasingly difficult opponents, each with unique strategies and creatures. The tournament’s progression system ensures a steady increase in challenge, making each victory feel earned and rewarding.
Graphics and Art Style
Anime-Inspired Visuals
Yarimono boasts a vibrant, anime-inspired art style that perfectly complements its narrative and gameplay. Character designs are detailed and expressive, bringing the world and its inhabitants to life. The game’s visual fidelity extends to its environments, which are richly textured and filled with subtle details that enhance immersion.
Special Effects
Battle animations are fluid and visually striking, particularly the “Cheat Tackle,” which is accompanied by dynamic lighting and explosive effects. These touches add excitement and drama to the gameplay, making each battle memorable.
Soundtrack and Audio Design
Immersive Soundtrack
The soundtrack of Yarimono is nothing short of spectacular. Composed to match the game’s emotional beats, it shifts seamlessly between tranquil melodies for exploration and high-energy tracks during battles and tournaments.
Voice Acting and Sound Effects
While the game does not feature full voice acting, its sound effects are meticulously crafted. Each attack, ability, and environmental interaction is accompanied by satisfying audio cues that enhance the overall experience.
Replayability and Longevity
Multiple Endings
Yarimono features branching story paths and multiple endings, encouraging players to replay the game to see all possible outcomes. Decisions made during the storyline affect relationships and the final result of the tournament.
Post-Game Content
After completing the main storyline, players can access post-game challenges, including tougher battles and rare creature hunts. These additions provide hours of additional gameplay for those who want to continue exploring the world.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Engaging Storyline: A rich narrative filled with twists and emotional depth.
Strategic Gameplay: A challenging combat system that rewards planning and adaptability.
Stunning Visuals: Beautifully designed characters and environments.
Memorable Soundtrack: A score that perfectly complements the game’s tone.
High Replay Value: Multiple endings and post-game content keep players engaged.
Cons:
Steep Learning Curve: New players may find the combat mechanics overwhelming initially.
Lack of Full Voice Acting: While the sound effects are excellent, the absence of full voice acting may detract from immersion for some players.
Limited Creature Variety Early On: The early stages of the game offer fewer creatures to collect, which may feel restrictive.
Comparison to Similar Titles
Similarities to Popular RPGs
Fans of Pokémon and Persona will find familiar elements in Yarimono. The creature collection and tournament mechanics echo Pokémon, while the character-driven narrative and strategic gameplay are reminiscent of Persona.
Unique Features
However, Yarimono sets itself apart with the “Cheat Tackle” mechanic and its anime-inspired aesthetics. These elements provide a fresh twist on the genre, offering something new even to seasoned RPG players.
Tips for New Players
Experiment with Creature Combinations: Don’t stick to a single team. Experimenting with different creatures can reveal unexpected synergies.
Focus on Learning the “Cheat Tackle”: Early mastery of this ability can make battles significantly easier.
Engage with NPCs: Talking to non-playable characters provides valuable tips and sometimes rare items.
Save Often: The game’s difficulty can spike unexpectedly, so saving frequently ensures progress isn’t lost.
Final Verdict
Yarimono is a masterclass in turn-based RPG design. With its engaging storyline, deep combat mechanics, and stunning visuals, it offers a gaming experience that is both challenging and rewarding. While it may not be perfect, its strengths far outweigh its shortcomings, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.
Yarimono is a "mature" creature collector game with a weird gimmick. "Mature" cause there is a 18+ patch out there for this game, it is VERY censored. The weird gimmick being a OHK move that only works once per fight. The creature designs range from adorkable, to badass, to lazy af. The story is more thought out for a h-game, and was genially really good (I teared up at the end... untill It got weird again). There is a achievement for beating the game without the cheat move, so it is possible, but the game is made in a way that you'll need to use it one atleast one mon on the team at is 20+ lvls higher. Honestly, I feel like this is better censored. I had a fun time and the story kept me going.
I enjoyed it so far. I beat the champion and entered some kind of "new game +", so there is still more to do.Getting your trainer level to 50 seems like a bit of a challenge (I'm not using "Cheat Tackle" - for the achievement), but once you get to 50 the game is super easy, especially if you use the "tank + status induced damage over time" strategy.The unattractive protagonist might be offputting for some, but it really doesn't bother me. It actually helps me enjoy the game because it emphasises his "magical" power rather than him being a chad to win over women - so it enhances the story.There's some really good events in terms of writing / character development imo involving your rivals / friends towards the end of the main game.The art / animation is quite good imo. You can't turn off the overlays, but I don't mind it too much. There's an NPC who comments about the player feedback around this in a building somewhere, which was pretty funny.
At a glance, it's just another Pokemon game, but under the surface... yup, it's pretty much a Pokemon game. Battle monsters, catch monsters, consensually make love to everyone you defeat, the usual. The game's design allows you to play "normally" or basically speedrun to get all the scenes without much difficulty, or at least less difficulty. I forget if there's a gallery anywhere, but there is a patch required from the Dev's site in order to access the scenes. Without it, the game is still enjoyable. The story itself had me intrigued, and at the end left me satisfied in multiple ways *wink*.Overall, a satisfactory experience. 10/10, would beat my- I mean, would beat the game again (with one hand).
You need a patch to uncensor the game.
If you are on Linux, I would reccommend to purchase the game completelly from the publisher's website as the patch needs debug on Linux and it may be complicate.
[ PATCH REQUIARED ] if you want the "Full" experience. The final achievements are pretty fun to get.---{ Graphics }---
☐ You forget what reality is
☐ Beautiful
☑ Good
☐ Decent
☐ Bad
☐ Don‘t look too long at it
☐ MS-DOS---{ Gameplay }---
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ It's just gameplay
☐ Mehh
☐ Watch paint dry instead
☐ Just don't---{ Audio }---
☐ Eargasm
☐ Very good
☑ Good
☐ Not too bad
☐ Bad
☐ I'm now deaf---{ Audience }---
☐ Kids
☐ Teens
☑ Adults
☐ Grandma---{ PC Requirements }---
☐ Check if you can run paint
☐ Potato
☑ Decent
☐ Fast
☐ Rich boi
☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer---{ Game Size }---
☐ Floppy Disk
☐ Old Fashioned
☑ Workable
☐ Big
☐ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive
☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it
☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data---{ Difficulty }---
☐ Just press 'W'
☐ Easy
☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master
☐ Significant brain usage
☐ Difficult
☐ Dark Souls---{ Grind }---
☐ Nothing to grind
☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks
☐ Isn't necessary to progress
☑ Average grind level
☐ Too much grind
☐ You'll need a second life for grinding---{ Story }---
☐ No Story
☐ Some lore
☐ Average
☑ Good
☐ Lovely
☐ It'll replace your life---{ Game Time }---
☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee
☐ Short
☑ Average
☐ Long
☐ To infinity and beyond---{ Price }---
☐ It's free!
☑ Worth the price
☐ If it's on sale
☐ If u have some spare money left
☐ Not recommended
☐ You could also just burn your money---{ Bugs }---
☐ Never heard of
☑ Minor bugs
☐ Can get annoying
☐ ARK: Survival Evolved
☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs---{ ? / 10 }---
☐ 1
☐ 2
☐ 3
☐ 4
☐ 5
☐ 6
☐ 7
☑ 8
☐ 9
☐ 10
I would recommend the game, but without the patch. It's still an interesting battler and it is actually more interesting and still possible to play without using the Cheat Tackle move.The patch adds H-scenes after each female trainer battle. In my opinion these scenes were uniformly disgusting, looking the same with x-ray vision on the female genitals, weird cave sounding music, and sounding like walking through mud and slime with sticky water boots. Easily the worst H-scenes I've seen yet, and they're all exactly like that. I regret trying the patch and I note that you can't go back to a non-patched game after applying it; the save will glitch out when you try to load it.So I recommend playing this game without the patch. It is interesting mechanically and there is still a game to be played. Not as good as say Cassette Beasts but still scratches the monster battler itch.
Soooooooooo, I was playing this game thinking that the H scene would appear after I beat the game. Turns out you need to install a patch first. before playing the game. weird right? still a good game. even without the H scene.
FYI Worked well with my steam deck too
9.5/10
Completion time (Difficulty[Normal] + DLC 1 + DLC 2): 36.5 hrs
- 1 Steam achievement bugged (No DLC -> New Game to get in Difficulty[Easy]): 0.7 hrs
This really was an incredible game. The original pokemon experience but with bad bad ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. get the patch fool. like I played for 68 hours... what?? (100% tho)congrats on 200,000, you deserve it!
So, to get it uncensored, you have to get the patch. So far so normal for asian games.
But to get the patch, you are forced to make an account on their website, with a valid email address. Already very screwed up.
Then you try to download, but oh no, the links do nothing, because they use some javascript bull that doesn't work in all browser instead of just link tags.
So you try it using that piece of chrome. This time the link works. Forwards you to a google drive.
The google drive doesn't allow you to download because "many users want it"holy expletives. There's being complicated, and there's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ all down the throat of legit purchasers. Piracy is still a service problem and by now I wish I just pirated it. Yes there was more than one download link and the other one worked but still.
How about you self host the patch and it's available for anyone without making an account, as without the game it wouldn't be usable?
At least the other asian games that find it impossible to just put the uncensored version of steam have that.Besides that, even if you finally get it to work..
Gameplay is solid, but man.
If you don't like ugly bastard, then don't play it. It's not just the protagonist that's an UB, it also has.. I dunno if it has a name, but the art style often associated with UB. Nearly every H scene has a "internal view" overlayed that you can't turn off, the spooge is a dirty diseased looking yellow, and generally the art style really doesn't do it for me.
If you don't mind UB (I thought I didn't because I'm not looking at the guy anyway) at least look up some screenshots on how the scenes look.You might thank me.
Also, while I totally get the virgin fetish.. every. single. one. of the girls you meet being a virgin is even more unbelievable than friggin pokemon battles. If every single girl is a virgin, it really loses why it's special to begin with.Now if you like UB, if you like the art style, if you don't mind jumping through hoops to get the patch, don't mind that apparently every single one of the many women you meet is a virgin - or, if you simply don't want the patch, the rest of the game is solid.
This one is pretty decent. It's fairly sparse on any H scenes, at least in the beginning. It's also very forgiving on leveling up. Your starter has 1 hit instakill move you can do once per battle and just flatten anything. Universal experience, and after every single fight you get experience shards which can also be used to level up. It's also pretty easy to level up by grinding. Almost seems like 1 fight is 1 level at least.All in all it's a decent pokemon clone game and definitely the best I have played in the H game genre. My only real complaint is I'm really not a fan of the main character design, but that's just me.The game also has some weird leveling. It's not possible to beat the first gym leader, even with your one hit kill button. So in the middle of a gym challenge you just have to leave and go do other story stuff. It's oddEdit: Slight edit to this review. After hours of gameplay I found out this game needs a patch that you can get from the 072 project website for all the adult content. It's strange because usually 072 games don't need a patch, and have all the content included. This one needs a patch
Excellent Pokemon-like game with an incredible story! The only downside is the adult content, I was not a fan of the H-scene art, and the sound effects that went with the art were not good. There are a few good scenes, but most were meh. Aside form that, I highly recommend this game!
i have a problem white the game none of the X things in the game appear for me. I don't know if it's a bug or something wrong white what i'm doing but i would like to know what to do to fix it, pls help,
Hey! Developer Im donwvoting game until u explain to me why I need to suffer in trying to find how to make this patch uselless patch work, ive went from the main to dlc1, and dlc2 nothing working I bought the game for adult contnet I underestand the censorship but its useless when its not working ive even check the discussion a lot with countless people going crazy. THis suffering from fixing this broken or mess of a game just to make the patch work and mine is still not working Im reaching my limit just to throw my laptop with the anger ive been bubbling up, just this to propely set this up ive done lots of patch from diffrent game before but this one is the one I had most trouble with followed the guide my expection been low. Also if anyone can msg I still need helpOk update Guys! I found a big problem with the file verify even if u dont use it this patch the Dlc2 patch is baiscally censored from the start ive tried all patch even dowloading only one of each dlc and non work, I also went and buy the uncensored version form 072 and transfer the file to my steam game it worked but the moment I tried to verfiy everthing it censored it all, is the adult content even here at this point?
Great game. Well written, good gameplay. The variety of the scenes is alright (mostly vanilla, but some interesting exceptions) but I'm not a huge fan of the art style. Still, very good game and definitely worth its money.Yarimono is basically a pokemon clone where you have a party of up to 3 monsters with 4 moves and an ability each. There's a basic weakness system (ie. water beats fire, fire beats grass, etc) and the move and ability effects are mostly pretty interesting. There are some overpowered strategies but mostly it's well balanced.
The level of your yarimons are capped by your trainer level, which increases by 1 each time you battle a trainer so if there's a trainer you can't defeat, you can always come back later. I highly recommend not using the cheat tackle ability (which is a once-per-battle 1-shot move) because the game works surprisingly well without it, and you'll get an achievement for it at the end. For each female trainer you defeat, you'll also unlock a scene with them and there are 67 female trainers in total (though some have multiple or shared scenes).The writing of the game is surprisingly good. It's an interesting story that got me hooked after a while and especially the ending is a big highlight. There are some small side-stories/events as well, which are mostly interesting too. However, if you don't use the cheat tackle ability, some of the writing suggests that you do which may be a bit annoying.All-in-all, great game even without the 18+ patch. I spent about 20 hours to beat it and get all achievements though one achievement requires grinding out the entire "pokedex" and another requires you to beat ~70 players in a sort of battle tower (though you don't fail if you lose and can take breaks in-between). Great game, I'll probably buy the remaining DLC at some point to play through that as well.
+i am grateful for all the Tomboys we have been blessed with in this Game
+the Game itself is pretty enjoyable.
+for an H-game the story is not to shabby
-would have liked more collectables aside from the mushrooms.
-some more cute and pretty looking Monsters would have been niceUncensored Patch
+its cool that the option exists
+can re-watch the scenes
+a good amount differrent of girls
-could do without those creepy X-RAY scenes, it looks like someone cut them open
-A FEW VERY disgusting scenes involving bodily fluids and Anal
Pokemon for adults, in every sense of the word
Its a drastically accelerated pokemon in terms of gameplay, the promise of a 'cheat move' is absolutely real, but the game is designed around it, so it absolutely does what is promised without discount, but the game is not without challenges. It basically is a pokemon with minimal grind and all meat.
The story and characters are super-star highlights, the story for its short length, really portrays a large cast of very engaging characters, and the core mystery and story is extremely well executed and quite moving. I would say this easily crushes any pokemon story in terms of quality.
to be clear, this NO is for DLC2 problems not the origin game or origin game + DLC1.With both DLC1 && DLC2 installed, I was not able to unlock certain achievements. I did try find the answer / install DLC1 only but no dice.
With DLC2 only installed, game does not start.
All done in 11 hours. Good deal in sale. Story excecution and grinding is good enough. I dont get why protagonist is a short ugly midget wondering if developer is ugly af. There are many scenes but inside cam must have been seperate, feels raw and unpleasing.
Still good perv game 10/8
-1 for disturbing inside cam,
-1 for ugly character with full forcefull and repetitive scenes.
Already finish this game in dlsite. Buying this again in steam to support the dev...
Please release Yareru Ticket to steam too. Definetely gonna buy...
Depending on your goal, this is a fun monster taming / creature capturing type of game with "extra bits". Keep in mind... you do need to "patch" your game for the special scenes, which you can learn from their website / forum. Anyways, i recommend
While this review is technically NOT a recommendation, the game itself isn't bad, per se.The recommendation really depends on whether or not you can tolerate a very specific type of Ugly Bastard hentai. The type being where the UB protag in question has a tongue that looks like a cow tongue, and are into the idea of watching a girl fill a mug with piss, then watching a different girl drink it (thank ♥♥♥♥ that second option is skippable, but would have much preferred skipping the entire interaction).For a Pokemon-styled game.........it could be worse. It follows the typical 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' approach most lazy knock-offs do, unlike the rather complex interplay between Types, but you honestly shouldn't be expecting what Pokemon has to offer from this type of game.The art for the Pokemon.......can be fine. Most of the Not!Pokemon are just generic knockoffs, with only the 'special' ones having much effort put into them.
The art for the girls is a bit better, though the rather lackluster attempt at animation can be a bit mixed, where some of the girls have almost hot animations, and the others were cleared just given the minimum effort.
There are also doujins from the main artist available to read within the game, but they aren't translated, which is kind of an annoyance.The scenes themselves are often just........some form of vanilla P in V stuff. Its either missionary, Standing, or some variety thereof, with most of the roster only having a single scene.
Some girls have multiple scenes, which can dramatically change from the vanilla to being strangely pissed focus, to occasional blowjobs or paizuris, with the 'main' girls often getting extended scenes with kissing (which means having to see the strange grotesque tongue Protag has).
The worst part of the scenes are the sound effects and the frankly abhorrent sex writing: the sound effects are generic squelches that you only expect from people who have never heard sexual sounds, and the translation of really bad UB hentai dialogue makes the extended sex scenes an utter slog if you ain't into it (like, I wouldn't be shocked for Protag to be making the typical sex onomatopoeia one expects from bad UB hentai, but the fact even some of the girls are doing 'Buhi' style noises shows that not even a good translation team could save the script for the sex scenes).The plot for the non-sex part of the game is.......fine. It's not great, but to say its bad would be wrong, coz its just......okay.Overall, it still feels like a slog, to the point that I've beaten the main game, and am choosing to stop playing rather than risk whatever horrors the DLC offer.
The few 'extra' scenes I unlocked for girls just promised me more piss, so seeing a host of the girls have extra scenes in the DLC didn't act like the incentive it wants to be.
Good story, good content, good gameplay.
Passion project.
Highly recommend.P.S.
Love the ruin event. Glad the devs decide to put it on the game.
While it may put someone off (it's optional), it's just too good.
The "balancing" on this event is also good and overall a good outcome.
This game has no business being so fleshed out and polished 😂
It's literally a Pokemon game where you get to H with every single trainer you beat.
If you're already a fan of Nyuu Koubou's work, this is basically that, brought to life.
(Of course, make sure you get the patch for the full experience.)
It's one of the best H-games I've ever played, seriously.
