VANITY

Hello!
This week I've a BONUS REVIEW: I disintegrated the previous review of Vanity I made exactly three years ago (I admit I waited to delete and re-submit the same day) for this game because was based on the old version, updated in 2022 with some meaningful changes. Anyway you can still read the old review here, even if the game is no longer available (at least here, I've it archived a copy and it can still be available on other sites, if you really want to play that one) because most points mentioned before (like the game structure, the use of most assets and style of the cutscenes) still remain valid.
Old (and crappy) review incoming:

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The old review: 01/17/2020 (VANITY 2020)

I'm envious...
Not because this is another good game (well... demo but of a good lenght) made by Yeaster, the last one I played and, sadly, also an incomplete one. But do not worry there's enough to play and to enjoy, and I liked it.

I'm envious because, if I remember well, this game was inspired by a Killer7 rpgmaker fangame that Yeaster played ages ago, and sadly now it's impossible to find this game.
I tried for 2-3 years...
Pity...
Anyway we have Vanity!

The Good
Vanity apparently looks similar to the other games made by Yeaster (that I already reviewed): modern horror setting heavily inspired by Shin Megami Tensei, a cast of many varied characters, dungeons with avoidable opponents and bosses.
Ok so what's new? Well the cutscenes are (like those of the Killer7 fangame I mentioned earlier) not made on the maps with the game graphics but with images and pictures from various sources (the game Shin Megami Tensei, anime, comics, etc). Despite the low resolution of Rmk2003, I liked a lot this choice because the images are supported by an excellent choice of music and sounds (like rain and thunders in the intro).
This is style!


Wise words indeed!

The rest of the graphics are the usual charsets and chipsets also used in Onyx, but here mapping is surely a bit better and chipsets are more coherent. I like that there's still the possibility to save anywhere and you'll also find some healing spots often strategically positioned before the end of the level and the obligatory boss. Wandering monsters are totally optional (like in some other Yeaster games like Mistery Man Zero) since you can repel them at will, but it's better not doing that or you will be undervelled when you reach the boss.

Ok what about combat? Usual side view with battlers. Enemies are mainly demons, monsters and other beings coming direcly from Shin Megami Tensei (no surprise!) and characters have different attacks and skills. Ok nothing new here!
The story is in my opinion pretty good and interesting as it deals with the end of the world, prophets, demons and a dark modern setting. Original choice, even if this is what you can expect from a game made by Yeaster. I liked the idea of the "alignment" that Marcus, the protagonist, chooses depending from the different answers he gives in some crucial points of the story.


Just another day fighting demons in a dark dungeon with friends!

The Bad
Ok, this game isn't without flaw. The first problem is that this is a demo. The second is that it's a typical Yeaster game so this means dialogues, dungeons, bosses and nothing else. Really. But the story was what made Onyx and sequel great, and here is the same with the addition of nice cutscenes and really good music choices.

Verdict
Vanity isn't very different from Complete Chaos (that features the protagonist of Vanity as a guest character), Mystery Man Zero (that had better maps and facesets) or Onyx 1&2. Clearly there are many improvements in almost every department, but the base gameplay is still the same. It's simple but well done and, as usual, you have a strategy guide included if you find any problems during the game.
This is in my opinion an ok game with stylish cutscenes, great music (I especially like the main menu and battle themes), and an interesting alignment system. While the rest is not overly original it's still well done and without bugs or other nuisances. If you liked Onyx and sequel you will like this one too!
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The update: 01/17/2023 (VANITY 2022)

Did you read or did you skipped the old review? Well, I do not really care, let's start with the new one. Vanity is still a demo, but in my opinion it's better, much better.

The improvement concerns especially the story that's really better and I found it more immersive than before. I have hazy memories of the old game (I have an archived copy so I could technically replay it) but I am sure that the beginning happened really quickly, maybe too fast. The focus was on the protagonist, here instead we have a much more presentation also of the other, less important characters, for exaple I liked much more Leo and Alex in this game than in the previous, but also Ashkii is much better presented. I believe that the story is really much more interesting and captivating than before even due to a more realistic story (now the protagonist is much more hesistant to dive into the adventure, and there is also more background about him).

Speaking about some of the changes that I can mention without making spoilers, I can say that the custom made are better made, Ashkii is finally similar to the pictures, before it looked like an armored warrior instead than having his trademark trenchcoat and beret. Marcus instead was not just changed aestetically, but he's now called Jason (even if it's assumed to be the same character that looks like Richard B. Riddick, and clearly it still appear as the old character in Complete Chaos, where it was a sort of guest/cameo hero). There are also other changes for what concerns the cast of playable characters, but I'll let you discover that by yourself.


Battles are similar to the first game, but with more skills and different visuals. I like them!

Combat is more or less unchanged, except for the removal of battlers: the game now uses the same 1st person visual and layout used in another Yeaster game, Mystery Man Zero, including the portraits of the characters on the right. Enemies are still the creatures taken from the Shin Megami Tensei games, but the backgrounds are really better, and they had to change due to the change from a side view perspective to a front first person vision. But it's not just an aestetic change, the enemies also seems more appropriated and realistic: while previously in the villa we immediately found demons (BAM! Suddenly demons!), now first we've to deal with the security, normal human opponents that were previously lacking. Playable characters also have now two sets of abilities, one "mundane", and the other more "esoteric", unlike in the first game where they had only the special skills.
Anyway aside for this there is no real change concerning the gameplay except for ONE important aspect: while (IF I remember correctly) before enemy respawned when the party re-entered a map inside a dungeon, now they don't, but you get a special bonus for eliminating every opponent inside a dungeon. This means that there is NO WAY to grind due to the presence of a finite number of enemies (I'm not about sure about other areas like the city), and this makes the boss battles (there are just two here) more difficult than before. The presence of wandering/avoidable enemies, the possibility to save anytime and to regenerate the party at some healing points from the previous game (also used in Complete Chaos) were kept, and that's a good thing!

Mapping isn't changed a lot (even if the city looks smaller, and it's ok since there aren't many points of interest, at least in these demos) even if I found some minor issues: in the city I found a passability error on the east side (you cannot go forward tue to a wire being solid) and a couple of strange parts in the villa, like a sort of balcony that is passable, and some doors in the central room that are around a corner. Weird but not bad, luckily there are always some arrows that shows the various points of entry/exit. A particularity I noticed were the squishy sounds when you walk over the bloody remains of the dead guards!

Anyway for the rest this can be considered as an upgrade version of the previous game, even the game over scene is more elaborated, for the rest is the same game, there are still dialogues choices and the difficulty of the encounters isn't changed much, maybe wandering enemies feel weaker and bosses feel stronger (the Cerberus, second boss, was the real first tough enemy for me in the previous version, now even the first one gave me a very hard time!).

Please note that the walkthrough attached is outdated, since it goes beyond the events of the demo and he also encourages to grind, and that's pretty much impossible now. The boss can be defeated but it's VERY difficult, unless you use some strategy and consumables.


The city is not safe! See that horned guy? He's a demon and he is dangerous!

Final Verdict
I liked a lot the new changes, because if I have to say few words I can just tell you that gameplay is more or less the same, but story is improved a lot. Well it's not that the plot became something else, but there was rather a series of rearrangement of the events and some modifications that made the adventure more interesting, immersive, engaging. For the rest there is not much to say, it's the same game (evenb if a very short demo compared to the old one) with some upgrades and improvements, with similar stylish cutscenes in addition to great music selection, and it was already pretty good, probably this will not be my last review of it, but so far it's very good and getting better and better!

Just to do something new, this time I'll end the review with a little fanart!