Cthulhu saves the world is a huge improvement on Breath of Death VII, to the point where I'm shocked it costs the same amount as that game. I am very glad the dev managed to build on so much from the first game, though, as that one was brimming with potential. Cthulhu saves the world has a better story, gameplay, and world. I honestly don't think there's a single thing about the previous game that I preferred. I can definitely see how this is the same team that made Cosmic Star Heroine, which I loved.
First of all, the gameplay. Instead of a max of 5 enemies, you can now have around 7 from what I've counted. Along with that, you can now target specific groups of enemies instead of just one or all. They're pretty cool changes, though not what mainly affects the combat. I'd say what I actually noticed about the combat is that you actually have to try to synergize your attacks and elements with your party and enemies! Hooray! I now have to actually think about what I'm going to cast instead of mindlessly attack and heal spamming. Yeah, so combat here is still fun, and now even more fun due to having to actually think about most of it. It's not the greatest combat of all time, it's still kinda simplistic, but hey, I'll take what I can get. I think the best way to get across how much more well-designed it is, is to let you know that this game is about double the length of Breath of Death VII, and doesn't tire me out until the very very end of the game. So overall, I am very happy with the improvements made to the combat system, especially since it keeps the game from being stale now that it lasts so long.
The world is also definitely better. There's now more areas to explore, ones which look way better visually and are far more varied than in BoD. Each area also has a story gimmick to keep them all narratively interesting, which I thought was a nice touch. There's also some more optional caves to explore, and they can be really hard. I would definitely only recommend doing the caves [spoiler]that you can only access by flying[/spoiler] near the end of the game.
However, all that's a wash. I could live with either of those aspects being a bit lame. No, what I really like about this game is the story. This game finally has a definite story! Yeah, it's still cheesy and coated in irony and meta-humor, but first of all I like that type of humor, but more importantly, the party members interact! Yep, there's several pseudo-cutscenes where we get to see all the characters, well, be actual characters and interact with each other. And it's fun! I don't wanna spoil anybody you'll meet, but I think they all manage to be quirky without feeling too stupid and funny without being eyeroll-worthy. I enjoy their interactions as well, I think the writing is honestly pretty funny, but it manages to do that whilst not constantly feeling like the whole thing is just one big dumb joke. The star of the cast, of course, is Cthulhu himself, who's constantly at odds with everyone else in the story, including the narrator, which I think is hilarious. I'unno it's just a really fun story to watch unfold, and on top of that I think it's fairly memorable! I think I got everything I wanted to get out of this game, honestly!
Don't really have much else to say, this is a big improvement on BoD. If you like simple JRPGs like I do, and enjoy cheesy writing that obviously had some care put into it, I think you'd be about as into this game as I am. Recommended!
