Mirror is a Match 3 type puzzle game featuring its own twist on the formula. This twist comes in the form of the eight girls that will serve as your enemies. Each have their own backstories, moveset, and their own storylines to follow. It is not just fluff before being thrown into a battle against them, learning about what kind of person they are beforehand can help you with the many visual novel like segments in between fights. Answering a choice correctly to mess with her before you engage can lead to nice bonuses such as her overall attack being reduced by 10%, while some choices may redouble her efforts to destroy you and give her a buff instead.
There is a ton of reading to get through, though since you are only given two decisions you’ll still have a 50/50 chance to randomly choose the correct one if you skip all of the dialogue. The bonuses are not so significant as to force you into it either, it is just a nicely implemented feature to add some motivation to read and personality into the title. All of the eight girls and some side characters are fully voice acted in Japanese, containing pretty solid voice work whenever portraying anger, fear or other emotions. I don’t speak a lick of Japanese and for those familiar with SakuraGames (now re-branded as Paradise Project) you’ll know that their translations are abysmal at best. Shockingly enough, that is not the case here. Mirror features perfectly functional and understandable English subtitles to read through.
Each girl has her own standalone story. There is no overall plot to connect anything together, though each character will get progressively more challenging than the next. You will play as a demon, a monk, and all matter of things to suit the theme, with your ultimate goal always being to “discipline” a girl. Once you beat them three times throughout the plot, they will end up in a position in where you can take advantage of them using a variety of methods ranging from sex toys, tentacles, or your hands. There is an uncensor patch to restore the artwork to its original form and include nudity. I see no reason not to install it, especially since even with the mosaics covering the naughty bits, it is very lewd and in no way safe for work.
If you manage to win four matches against her, then you can unlock a free-play version of the discipline mode where your goal is no longer to tame her. In it, you no longer have a turn limit and are free to harass your victim as much & for as long as you feel like. Luckily for those that are not into S&M, urine, and other forms of pleasure far outside the bounds of regular sex, all of it is completely optional. Sure you miss out on the endings, but if all you want is to keep playing the game itself, you can simply head to the next girl or choose to battle a previous one. Even once you defeat all of them, there will be a new mode unlocked called Challenge, which will pit you against all of them back to back. There is quite a lot of content even for those not interested in the hentai part of this title.
Let’s finally talk about the gameplay, shall we? You have four different gems covering your board with different uses if you line three of the same type together, either horizontally or vertically. First up you have the sword icon which represents a physical attack. You then have a star icon for magic attacks, and green potions to heal yourself up from any damage that you take. Finally, you have the orange orbs known as Rage. These will fill up a secondary meter that will increase your overall attack given the percentage of it you manage to fill. It is very handy to gather as much rage as possible to quickly try to dispose of your opponent, as more often than not, it is not they that kill you, but the 40 moves turn limit. Strategy is a pretty big part of this title, blindly matching up icons will likely not take you very far.
Managing to match up a row of four of the same icon will create a new, more powerful version of it. As an example, you line up four swords, and in their place, there will be a single glowing sword icon. Match that special icon up with other swords again and you’ll perform a powerful double slash move that causes far more damage than your usual attacks. Lining up five or more objects will create something entirely different. It will create a rainbow-colored gem, which can not be matched with anything aside from other gems. They can be a slight hindrance as they limit the play area until you manage to create more of them, but once you line them up it will carry a powerful effect. It will also likely rip off all your opponent’s clothes, leaving them nude.
Quite a lot to consider, all the while being under attack from your foe. Physical damage will be the least of your concerns, most of the girls have abilities that will force you to adapt to your current situation, regardless of what you had planned. Stuff like them setting fire to multiple icons scattered about that will cause damage every few turns until you match them up, putting a feather at the top of your board that will heal them until you manage to take it to the bottom, and worse of all being the ones that lock your icons in place. Whether they chain them up, freeze them, or what have you, they will randomly limit your play area and force you to adapt with your now limited moveset. Plenty of their abilities stock up too, you will have to go on the defensive on occasions to clear up your board or find yourself quickly overwhelmed.
Half of the battle takes place before the fighting even begins. You will have plenty of abilities of your own to swap out, stats to increase, and reusable items to help you out of a tough spot. If you take the time to study who your opponent will be, you can create a setup to counteract their strengths and deal with them far more easily than you would have if you simply rushed in. If your foe is big on defense, maybe take an item that will give you 15 more turns to hack away at them longer and increase your attacks. If they are big on status effects it may be wise to take an ability that reduces your healing potential in exchange of getting rid of a few of the effects contaminating your board. All of this will cost cold hard cash however, and in order to receive the big bucks, you need to perform well in battles. It is a spend money to make money type of investment that adds another layer of intricacy to the game.
At its heart, it is still a Match 3 game. You can go fight nonstop without worrying about the rest of the mechanics. Your main factors of success come from a combination of luck and a good eye for matching up icons. The rest of people willing to spend time into its RPG like aspects simply stack the odds in their favor. Given that there is barely a screen that isn’t featuring a lewd anime girl, you will not be forgetting it is a hentai game anytime soon, but it is one title that actually focuses on the ‘game’ part as well. It is pretty impressive for a two dollar title. Mirror features eight fully voiced, nicely animated girls with their own storylines, and a good amount of game-play variation to keep it fresh all throughout. You are definitely getting quite the bang (no pun intended) for the buck should you choose to give Mirror a go.
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