@efesell: Right, even if a title stumbles in a few areas, there is so much going on in the series overall that there is always something to enjoy.
I don't hate the dating stuff in the Cold Steel games as much as some people but I do hope that the series returns to canon relationships (which it seems like it does). It can be fun to ship Rean with different people but I miss having relationships be more directly tied in to the story like they were in the Sky trilogy.
Oh, wow! The visual novel page got a shout-out. I've been poking away at that page for a few years now and wrote most of what is on the page now. Thank you for highlighting it.
@beard_of_zeus: Honestly "Dramatic Adventure Game" is a genre title that was basically made up by Sakura Wars. I think 13 Sentinels just used the term in order to explain the type of balance they were going for between their two gameplay styles.
I feel like 13 Sentinels definitely took some cues from Chunsoft's sound novels like 428. The multiple protagonists and the way the story is structured reminds me a lot of 428 (although the decisions you make do not effect other characters). Even 13's character select screen looks very similar to 428.
Been playing this game over the past few days and have been really enjoying it. I feel like the story has already had several moments that would have been earth-shattering plot twists in any other game but are just another cut-scene in 13 Sentinels. I'm constantly going "wait, what?" in a good way. The battle segments also add some nice action and verity but are not the main focus of the game for me (even though I really enjoy them).
The game is call a "dramatic adventure game" in Japan which is the same genre title given to the Sakura Wars games and, just like with the SW series, 13 Sentinels is mainly an adventure game with battles punctuating the narrative.
@mindbullet: Yeah that section can be a little slow. You are actually pretty close to the end though so if you ever feel like finishing it you don't have much further to go.
Bowl-of-Lentils's comments