The MC’s defenses aren’t the only thing that towers mighty and strong ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Beautiful Mystic Defenders' review
Developer: Fantasize Games (Published by MangoPartyGames)
Genre: Tower Defense
Store: Steam
Reviewed version: Final
Censored: No
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows
Language: English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Russian
Before I start, I have to admit I'm not a big fan of tower defense games. However, Beautiful Mystic Defenders proved to me that it's possible to enjoy a game from a genre you're not into if it's good enough
Story
The plot is your typical isekai story whose protagonist is transported to another world and has to help a group of beautiful girls defeat an evil lord. Its story is very serviceable. Rather than giving long and deep infodumps, it gives you just enough info to explain who the antagonist is and why you have to fight them. On the downside, the story is predictable and lacks any character development but, to be fair, that's not what matters most in a gameplay-oriented game.
Audiovisuals
Artistically, it's pretty. The cartoony sprites look pretty good and give the game a more laid-back vibe (after all, the game is anything but doom and gloom). Moreover, the anime-styled characters' portraits are beautiful, and the animated sex scenes are neat. The soundtrack is also good, though the tracks aren't very memorable.
Gameplay
Now we get to the meat of the game, the gameplay. It's not much different than the usual tower defense game on the surface; you have to place towers to kill the enemies before they reach your base. There are also different types of enemies coming at you: some enemies are fragile but very fast and come in big swarms, others are slow but resist physical attacks, some fly, and so on. Moreover, each level has three different difficulties, and you unlock them by beating them in the hardest difficulty available.
Furthermore, you can pick one of the 5 heroines available as a playable character. Each heroine comes with special skills, such as summoning melee units, setting up mines, freezing enemy units, poisoning them, or hitting an area with a powerful magical attack. They also get experience every time they kill an enemy and eventually level up, so you can either have a balanced team if you swap your heroines from time to time or a powerhouse who blasts any opponent who gets in her way.
Every time you win, you're rewarded with 3 stars you can spend on different upgrades (and yes, you always get three stars even if you barely manage to win). You can increase the power of your towers and their range, reduce their costs, or improve your heroines.
Verdict: Enjoyable even if you’re not a fan of the genre
I had a lot of fun playing Beautiful Mystic Defenders, even if I'm not a fan of the genre. The gameplay is solid and balanced, the art is pretty, and the story, while nothing out of the ordinary, complements the game nicely. Check it out if you're looking for a solid tower defense game or trying different genres; you'll enjoy it.