It’s understandable that you would think that way. I also had a similar opinion after it got re-revealed and became all cute and about idols. I was fearing it would be all about fanservice and the quality not being high. I’ve followed a bunch of let’s play videos after the game got released in Japan. My opinion changed after that.
Let’s get one thing out of the way, the game’s fanservice is very tame. More than the official trailers and commercials have you believe. When it comes to fanservice, you only deal with certain outfits and one particular dungeon about gravure models. From what I have seen, it doesn’t have any ridiculous fanservice mini-games, the dialogue is normal and the camera doesn’t go out of its way to focus on boobs & asses of the characters etc. When I watched the first hour, it was very serious and focused on the story. I feel like Atlus/Nintendo tried to sell the game as a fanservice game to gain more sales out of the okatu crowd, but the game is really not that type of game. It has a bit of fanservice like how you usually expect them in RPGs. Altus/Nintendo have also adjusted certain costumes and the gravure dungeon for the Western release. So it’s made better in my opinion, even though I was planning on getting it regardless of that.
With that out of the way, I have learned that it might be a very special game, but you have to be open to its theme. The game shows you part of the entertainment industry and idols in Japan. I myself follow this industry and enjoy certain idols, so I’m not new to this. I have noticed how the devs have really put a lot of attention to bringing this industry faithfully to the game. Some of the music has actually been handled by Avex Trax, a very popular record label in Japan. There aren’t many games that show this part of Japan, and for that, it has my interest.
And lastly but not least, the game’s quality is actually very decent. It’s a very polished game and it has received a pretty good budget that makes it B kinda RPG of the PS2 era. It reminds me a lot of Persona and Shin Megami Tensei games. The battle system looks very engaging, the upgrade system (while fairly simple) seems to be good enough, the graphics are beautiful, the story seems to be engaging, exploring the city mixed with fantasy looks good etc.
I realized that it’s really its own game. I was also disappointed at first, about the fact that it wasn’t as dark or doesn’t have a lot of connection with Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei. But when you set these thoughts aside, you will notice how good of a game it might be. It’s also good that it is its own game. That way I don’t have to worry about where it fits in the story line. I can play the game straight away if I feel like playing an RPG.
It all depends on whether you can enjoy its focus on idol life, the colorful presentation and that silly Japanese style.
