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.
Game feels like unpolished Pokemon Mega fire red. Somehow, gameplay is worse then 20 years old game. :/ You are forced to rely on OP cheat ability. Without it, you cannot beat 30 lvl Yarimon at level 10. Hentai scenes do it no justice. They are not voiceacted and all girls look the same, just with different hairstyle. The game feels unfinished.
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If you have not played old pokemon games, perhaps this can feel interesting.
Pokemon clone that I have to patch just for the content that is supposedly advertised. I shouldn't have to go to another site, create an account, and patch for the rest of the content that should already be in the game when bought.
surprisingly deep story & well developed world. Need a patch for the "spice" & theyre usually only a few images looping but good art & fun+smooth gameplay that scratches the collecting itch (for the yariman at least, not so much for the yarimon)
While this has good H scenes I do regret installing them because they slow you down from the game play.Game play is simple but has the standard monster collector game formula down.
Somewhat meh Hentai game. Wholesome vanilla stuff's more my thing, so a lot of the more degen roleplay SM stuff in here don't quite do it for me.Decent Monster collector RPG. Obviously since it's hentai, there's not a whole lot of depth or complexity to the game's mechanics. I'm a big fan of some QoL features, however (Yarimon scanner showing what to look for in an area, EXP shards system significantly reducing grinding,etc.). The game also does a good job of balancing with the quirky gimmick that the protagonists are weak but have a one-time OTK attack.Phenomenal Pokemon rip-off. In fact, they got the look and feel of the game so right (with the GBA-NDS graphics and the excellent soundtrack) that for me this is unironically the best Pokemon ripoff I've played so far (minus the hentai of course). And in terms of storytelling this is even better than Pokemon games of that era.Overall I really enjoyed this game. Hopefully more DLC incoming?
I would strongly advise anyone considering purchasing this product to look elsewhere for a game aimed at adult audiences. This game is a blatant cash grab scam, and I regret falling for it. I thought I was buying a game that combined Pokémon-like elements with adult scenes, but that's not what I got. The game has a Pokémon-esque aesthetic and an interesting story, but if you're looking for adult content or interactions with the characters you've defeated, you're out of luck.To access any adult content, you need to purchase the DLC and a separate patch. The DLC is available on Steam, but you have to buy the patch from a third-party source outside of Steam. This is inconvenient and suspicious, especially since Steam has a reputation for keeping its platform clean and secure.What's even more egregious is that this product is falsely advertised. The game's tags claim it contains sexual content, but it doesn't. This is a clear case of false advertising, and I hope the Steam administrators take notice of my comment and remove this product from the platform. The developer's predatory practices, trying to extract more money from customers by selling incomplete products, are unacceptable.Let me be clear: if you don't purchase the DLC and the patch, you won't get any of the adult content you might be expecting. I urge everyone reading this to spread the word and avoid this game. Unlike other adult games, which include all content in the initial purchase, this game tries to nickel-and-dime you with separate purchases. I don't care if the developer is from a region with certain restrictions; if they're selling on Steam, they should be held to the same standards as other developers. Either sell a complete product or don't sell it at all. That's my stance.
Great game i beat it twice the first time using the cheat tackle and the second time using it once to get the achievement but for some reason still didn't get it i might run it back a third time just to hopefully get it after like 9 hours.
I came here for horny, there was zero horny, horny art style, yes, but, nothing else, there was zero horny to be seen, instead of horny though, I got story, AND THEN THE STORY SLAPS ME IN THE FACE!Anywayze, that's my thoughts after playing the main mission and not playing the DLC (yet), now for a proper review:It is a pokemon knock-off, so you take your pokemon (yarimon) and go fight others to level up, evolve and get more moves, the unique part though is that there is a cap on your level, or rather, your yarimon's level, which is whatever your level, yup, you have a level, and it goes up by either eating shrooms or beating people up, during the early to mid-game, this is really hard, but once the end game rolls around, you can kinda just blitz everyone else. Oh yeah, and battles aren't like pokemon where you run in front of them and they fight you, no, they will have a question mark above their head and if you talk to them, you will see the level of the pokemon they have.Next up is Chikipu, unlike actual pokemon where you get to select your starter, you get Chikipu, and Chikipu is hella weak besides [cheat tackle] and if you decide to not use [cheat tackle], Chikipu becomes useless up until you beat the normal gym, Chikipu is also locked into your party so you can't box Chikipu but you can the other yarimon, this wouldn't be too much of an issue if we had six slots with Chikipu taking one, but that's no the case here, there are three slots and Chikipu's taking one, so you only have space for two other yarimon that aren't Chikipu.Now for the story, I'm going to gloss over a majority of it but basically, you are playing a character who has a LOT of hidden backstory elements, such as being immune to mind control, having some of the rarest stuff in the world (forgot what it was called) and Chikipu being a big piece of the lore, a REALLY big piece.1. I think the level up system is unique, sucks being stuck around early to mid levels for a solid while, love that I don't get fought on sight.
2. I don't really like that there are three slots and that Chikipu is mandatory, it would've been fine if Chikipu had better moves but they really don't besides [cheat tackle], one more slot and I would've been happy.
3. A little annoying thing is that the PC is alwayze rather weak-willed until the end of the game happens, imagine isekai protagonists thinking they're weak after blowing a hole in the wall or beating the royal ace, it's like that, it'll only pop up during some of the bigger fights like the star fights, but still.Ultimately, I like this, I especially love the ending, more specifically, the final dream, that was epic as hell, love the artstyle for their powered up modes.
What I expected: A cute, small Pokémon-like game with great hentai arts.What I got: A medium-long fantasy sci-fi adventure with a nice touch of psychological horror… and yeah, still Pokémon-like with great hentai arts.
the story is amazing, the gameplay is decent, a lesser pokemon maybe. And if you play the steam version there are no hentai scenes which makes it a good SFW game
Yarimono is a 10/10 hentai game and like a 6/10 pokemon clone, so if you want something to rival that game-play this might not be what you are looking for, but it is passable and enjoyable just lacks the depth of other monster games. The lewd aspects tho are great and worth the asking price. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys lewd games as a must play.Also be sure to get the patch from the publisher website for the best experience!
This is not primarily a monster lover game, so don't expect that coming in.
Sex on Victory with an mysterious, but eventually story related reason. The script writing generally keeps it away from being too creepy even though it's not exactly consensual. Art is the sweaty and sticky style (lots of fluids) which isn't usually my thing but it works fine here.
There are games that make you cry and games that make you come. but rarely a game that makes you do both.could be 10/10 but I give it 9/10 - installing the xxx patch with the DLC1 gave me problems
So the game itself is grreat however to get the H scenes you need to go off steam which i wont do so outta 10 since they dont auto include it id give the game a 6 id give it a 8 if it included the H file it knows what game it is this off siting is odd.
O jogo é legal, tem um estória interessante e tudo mais, uma boa variedade de monstros pra capturar mas não tem o conteúdo +18 que eu vi pelas tags a menos que você se dê ao trabalho de buscar na internet no site deles um mod. Em geral, digo que não vale o preço atual (70 reais) se comparado a outro que custam menos e oferecem tanto quantoJogo 6.5/10 (considerando a média em 5)
Porn content is blocked and so you have to go to an external website, download a patch, and install it yourself to see it. Then, you have to do it again when the game us updated. As a pokemon knockoff, it's not bad, but otherwise it's more trouble than it's worth.
Amazing game with amazing H scenes maybe one of my favorite in my eroge collection. Gameplay top notch.
Wish you could have more than 3 mons on your team
But that would be my only complaint. Loved the cheat tackle because well sometimes I like to get things done fast lolHope there’s more to come and love the secret rooms and extra h content at the end.Thank you devs ❤️
A BETTER GAME than Pokemo-er, THAT GAME.
THAT GAME, where the corporation is MORE THAN HAPPY to go after the little guy, the little guys that actually made that corporation the way they are today.If there's one catch, is that would be Steam's redundant censorship rules that forced players to install a patch to get around the MANDATORY censorship of games like this by registering through another website to get the patch for the FULL EXPERIENCE.Well, you COULD play it as it is but who in their right mind that KNOWS who the character designer for this game is to play it like THAT?The artist really should use this game as a platform to spread his art, I know I'm interested in his other games (and "art") and want to see MORE in an official sense.9 out of 10, because I MUCH PREFER THIS GAME than that STAGNATING series.