It's been five years since Atlus and Vanillaware first revealed 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim to the world. After a couple of delays and a dropped platform, it launched last year in Japan to critical success. As a fan of the developer's previous work, I've kept my eye on the title, but I've noticed enthusiasm toward it in the west has been relatively muted.
The images that sprang to mind when we heard "Vanillaware is making a giant mecha vs. kaiju game" became dust in the wind when we actually got a look at what 13 Sentinels would be. Gone was the side-scrolling action gameplay Vanillaware relied upon in titles like Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. In its place is an experience divided into two very distinct genres: a side-scrolling, text-heavy adventure game that maintains the gorgeous art direction Vanillaware is best known for and an isometric real-time strategy game that looks and plays nothing like the developer has made before.
