Game Review #217: My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!? (Nintendo Switch)
Reviewer: Jordan M.
Developer: COSEN
Publisher: Sekai Games
Category: Adventure/Visual Novel
Release Date: 02.28.2019
Price (at time of review): $24.99 (digital & physical)
Buy My Girlfriend Is a Mermaid!? from the Nintendo eShop here.
Buy My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!? (physically) from Playasia here.
A Fin Slapping Adventure
After many years of living in the city, our character has decided to take a trip to the small rural town in which he grew up. While you are visiting, however, you encounter one of your old childhood friends, a beautiful girl named Ion. One of the first things you notice is something seems very different about her. Could it be.... the giant tail? Who knew a masu salmon could look so tasty? Welcome to My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!? for Nintendo Switch.
Dive On In
This game pretty much plays out like your basic visual novel as you read different screens and find yourself occasionally making different choices throughout the game. As the game progresses, we find ourselves meeting several other types of interesting characters. Pettako, like Ion, is also a mermaid. Unfortunately for Pettako, she seems to have completely lost her memory. Rin is a priestess who attempts to look after the mermaids, but has a bit of a personality issue. Your character seems to be able to look past the fact Ion is half fish pretty quickly, and some of his thoughts to himself about her (and comments to her) can be pretty amusing if not at times borderline creepy. Someone is clearly lacking knowledge in both the girl and fish department.
The controls are pretty basic. A can be used to scroll through each dialogue screen or select an option when it comes time to make a choice about something. If you don't feel like constantly clicking, you can use Y to set the game on auto. If you get tired of auto scrolling just press Y again to turn it off. R can be used to skip certain scenes.
Some Fin About This Soundtrack
I enjoy the art style of the game a lot and the game is very vibrant and colorful. I would be lying if I said Ion wasn't a total babe. I like that the game allows for a ton of different options such as achievements, bonus stories, etc. I also like that it gives you the option to view scenes you have already progressed through, and even the option to adjust each character’s individual voice. It’s pretty in-depth for this type of game if you ask me.
The soundtrack is quite decent. I really enjoyed the title track, which is a cute little jam. I feel like this game was fairly well written but perhaps there are a few moments where something was lost during the translation of this game. Some of the statements are fairly deep with very expressive vocabulary but on occasion things seem a little disjointed which left me a little confused. Then again, this just could have completely been me and my "relaxed" brain.
I'm Out of Fish Puns, If you Have One Let Minnow
The art style as I said is really nice, and the characters are well drawn. I think this game is fairly solid and has a ton of bonus features as far as visual novel games like these go, and several of the songs on the soundtrack are pleasing. As I said, there were a few moments where I was a little confused by the dialogue and wondered if it may have something to do with translation, but overall it’s a solid job with no typos or broken sentences. This game honestly I have to admit is a little pricey for what it is. I'm in no way attempting to imply that it’s bad, and for fifteen or twenty bucks I would say sure, if you're into these type of games then grab it. Twenty five dollars however may be just a little costly for some. Lower the cost just a bit and if you're into this genre of games then it will be definitely something worth looking into.
Rating: 8/10
Buy My Girlfriend Is a Mermaid!? from the Nintendo eShop here.
Buy My Girlfriend is a Mermaid!? (physically) from Playasia here.
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*Review Code Provided by Sekai Games