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| Title | Omega Labyrinth Life |
| Developer | Matrix Corporation |
| Publisher | D3 Publisher |
| Release Date | August 1st, 2019 |
| Genre | Rouge-Like Dungeon Crawler |
| Platform | Switch |
| Age Rating | Mature |
| Official Website | |
I was really bummed out when PQube Games was forced to cancel the localization of Omega Labyrinth Z due to reasons beyond their control. When I saw that a remake of the first title in the series was getting a remake under the name Omega Labyrinth Life and that it was going to release in Asia with English subtitles, I was thrilled. I was even more stoked when D3 publisher decided to release the game here in the West digital as well. The journey toward playing one of these titles in the West has been a strange one, but the real question is, was it worth the wait?
Our story begins at Belles Fleurs Academy, which features a legendary garden where beautiful flowers have always flourished. A new student has just arrived and her name is Hinata Akatsuki. She is very excited to start her new life here, but suddenly she is transported into a strange dungeon on her way there. She hears a voice that guides her to the exit. She arrives at the academy and meets her classmates, but soon after disaster strikes as the entire garden suddenly dies. Some of the girls blame Hinata for this, as has just arrived there. Hinata decides to journey into the labyrinth to save the Holy Blossom. Sadly the Holy Blossom has fallen, but with a seed left behind they can revive her. They do so, and then the journey begins to defeat the evil that has tainted the garden. This journey will prove difficult and Hinata and the other girls will have to work together in order achieve their goal.
The overall story of Omega Labyrinth Life is pretty simple, but I can’t say it’s not entertaining. The writing here is very well done and it really gives all of these characters a ton of personality. Hinata is the goody two-shoes protagonist that just wants to help everyone. Mei is your typical Chunibyo that is using her dark powers for good. Berune takes a liking to Hinata right off the bat. She is certainly a bit of rich girl, but she isn’t one bit snobby. In fact she is very friendly and you cannot help but love her. Nanami is the class rep, and is very dependable. She always wants to help those in need. Juri is the resident idol, but she hides a crazy personality under that cute exterior. Mio is the cool beauty of the school, but is very shy. Last but not least is Yurika, she’s the big sister of the group. She helps them deal with any situation with love and kindness. While I’m sure some folks will just dismiss these girls as common anime tropes, I personally thought their interactions were great and I was always looking forward to their next conversation.
While I thought the characters and story were pretty good the music is another matter. The music when walking around the academy is very plain. It does change up a bit when certain story events take place but it’s not really that big of an improvement then either. The music while crawling the dungeons is pretty lackluster as well. It’s not bad, but I feel like more effort could’ve gone into it. When you use a microphone in the dungeon the girls will each sing a unique song. These are all very well done and fit the character’s personality to a tee. All of the voice work done here is top notch, and the voice actors do a great job of bringing these characters to life. There is no English dub for this title.
Gameplay here is that of your typical top down rouge-like. You and enemies will take turns moving about the dungeon until you finally reach each floor’s exit. There are a variety of shields and weapons you can find while exploring, and of course you will to find some bad ass underwear for armor. Each of these can be given unique skills through synthesis, and you can also combine them together to make them stronger. Certain Swords and Shields can even be combined to make new items altogether.
Each dungeon will have basically the same enemies, but there may be stronger versions of them than you’ve faced before. While I would’ve liked to see more variety in enemy models, there is enough here to get the job done. The Boss monsters look great and each has a unique style. Looks can be deceiving since most of them are pretty weak, so long as you’re properly leveled up on your way to them.
As you defeat enemies you will gain Omega Points. These are used for currency and they will also give the girls more power. Where is this power stored, you may ask? Well, in the girl’s breasts, of course! After gaining so many points their breasts will expand. This will replenish uses of each girl’s special skills, and will give you an ultra powerful slash when you reach a Z cup.
Omega points have a variety of uses. You need these to synth items, add skills to items via the Assimilator, buy items, and Identify items using Size Up. Ambiguity Crystals are unidentified items, and in order to figure out what they are use must use Size Up. The girls will take the crystal and rub them between their boobs and unleash the hidden item with the power stored in their breasts! Japan really is a land of wonder.
Dungeon crawling isn’t your only task in Omega Labyrinth Life. The garden must be maintained and restored as well. To do this you will plant seeds and weed each garden at Belles Fleurs Academy. Once you plant each type of seed and water them, they will bloom in a short amount of game time. This will net you important materials that is used to add skills to your equipment. There are different types of waters you can use that will give you varying results. Some of these are the girls’ sweat that is obtained during Blooming. This is where you touch each girl to unleash massive amounts of Omega Power. This is done with live 2D CGs which all look very nice! Each gal has four different levels that can be unlocked, each with a different CG. Each will grant you access to permanent buffs and new skills. Note you will not use Omega Power for this, but instead you will pay with nectar you have collected by tending the garden.
I spent over 40 hours with Omega Labyrinth Life and had a blast. While the game isn’t perfect, the dungeon crawling is fun and the over the top aesthetics really make this stand out. I completed the main story during my playthrough, but there were two 100 level dungeons I have yet to explore. If you love Rogue-Like Dungeon Crawlers that have tons of Ecchi, you should pick up the game today at the $59.99 price tag. I know that sounds pretty steep, but there is a lot of content here. If you’re a casual fan of this genre this is a good title to get your toes wet with, since I didn’t think the difficultly was too steep for anyone to enjoy. I hope D3 Publisher figures out a way to bring us the sequel. If it’s as good as this one, we’re missing out on something great.
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Game provided by the publisher for review purposes
The game is digital only here in North America, so if you would like to purchase a physical copy please hit up the folks at Play-Asia with our affiliate link below.
