Tag: Video Games

Bofuri, Vol. 5 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2360-8
Rating: 3/5
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Description from the Book

After going toe-to-toe with two of the strongest guilds on the entire server, Maple Tree proved itself as a force to be reckoned with when they placed third overall in the latest event. That said, war isn’t all the guilds are good for! Maple and her friends have steadily grown closer to members of the Order of the Holy Sword and Flame Empire as their rivalries give way to something more. With new friends and powers, everyone is more than ready to dive headfirst into the newly released stratum!

Personal & Info

I have no more volumes after this one, so more reviews will be added after I get more.

Characters

Maple Tree

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. At this point, she’s starting to understand how to play games better. She still doesn’t like the pain system, so she puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Kasumi is a katana wielding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event. Her build is normal compared to Maple, Mai, and Yui.

Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube. He has an amazing memory, which makes him a uniquely skilled player.

Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s one of the best great shielders in the game, and his build is relatively normal compared to Maple.

Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best crafters in the game.

Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.

Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.

Flame Empire

Mii is a mage specializing in fire magic, with the nickname Flame Empress. She is a role player who is in too deep to quit.

Marx has the nickname Trapper. His specialty is setting traps, and he is eighth in player rankings.

Misery has the nickname Saint Misery. She’s primarily a healer, but she is tenth in player rankings.

Shin has the nickname Splinter Sword. He has a rivalry with Kasumi.

The Order of the Holy Sword

Pain is the top player on the server. He plays a holy sword knight.

Frederica is a mage specializing in aoe attacks. She has an ongoing rivalry with Sally.

Drag has the nickname Groundsplitter. He’s an axe wielder and tends to make Frederica cover his defense while he focuses on DPS. He is fifth in the player rankings.

Dread has the nickname Godspeed. He uses daggers similarly to Sally and appears to be faster than her. He also has a heightened sense of intuition for danger, which helps make him a formidable foe. His ranking from the first event is second.

Story & Thoughts

This volume covers a lot, and I actually have several gripes. First of all, there are two new stratums and two events. The book is not long, so there are significant time skips. It covers everything from roughly October through February. That’s a long time frame! And I don’t mean that in a good way. Despite the multiple content drops, it feels like hardly anything happens.

I think the biggest problem is the story might have too many characters. The first couple volumes are charming because they focus on two friends playing the game and having fun. Now, there is a long list of characters, which means more time has to be spent on individual quests and various group adventures. There are so many time skips, and adventures feel more glossed over. The new characters were interesting for the fourth event in volume four, but now they seem like a hinderance.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the story expanding with new characters. But, right now, they’re all very shallow. I want them to have more in-depth adventures to get to know them better. Chrome had one a while back, and Kasumi gets one in this book, but I don’t think that is enough for them. Most other characters haven’t had any at all, yet, and the group ones don’t quite feel the same since they just walk through everything. The characters have little to no challenge. Boss battles earlier in the series are more interesting and thrilling. The ones here feel a bit lacking in comparison.

The story is still fine and enjoyable. It just feels like there’s a dip in quality at the moment. I hope it goes back up in the next one or two volumes. Also, there are no admin or forum sections. I like those, and actually miss them. With two events and multiple boss battles, I thought there would be at least one, but there isn’t.

Bofuri, Vol. 4 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2358-5
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

With new allies and skills at the ready, Maple Tree embarks on their first event! The obvious favorites to take the crown are the big guilds like Flame Empire and the Order of the Holy Sword, each boasting well over a hundred members and some of the best players who topped the ranks in previous events. To make matters worse, everyone on the server has been stocking up on anti-Maple skills and items after her rise to infamy. For any hope of victory, Maple Tree will have to overcome incredible odds and shatter all expectations—or wipe out everybody else trying!

Personal & Info

I’m still not impressed with the cheap paper the publisher uses for this series. Three out of four volumes so far have some kind of damage just from normal handling or shipping. Be careful with the physical copies. They are not nearly as durable as the average book.

Characters

Maple Tree

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense. Since starting the game, Maple has become an absolute horror to other players.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance. Like Maple, she has established a horrifying reputation to other players.

Kasumi is a katana weilding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event. She has yet to be infected by Maple’s weirdness.

Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube. He has an ability that lets him store spells for later use, which makes him a bit overpowered as a mage.

Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s also one of the best great shielders in the game. He has been infected by Maple’s weird luck and managed to get some overpowered gear and skills of his own.

Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best in the game. With her new gear and skills, she’s also likely considered overpowered.

Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.

Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.

The Order of the Holy Sword

Pain is the top player on the server. He plays a holy sword knight.

Frederica is a mage. She tried to get intel on Sally before the event and has a bit of a rivalry with her.

Drag has the nickname Groundsplitter. He’s an axe wielder and tends to make Frederica cover his defense while he focuses on DPS. He is fifth in the player rankings.

Dread has the nickname Godspeed. He uses daggers similarly to Sally and appears to be faster than her. He also has a heightened sense of intuition for danger, which helps make him a formidable foe. His ranking from the first event is second.

Flame Empire

Mii has the nickname Flame Empress. She is a mage specializing in fire magic. I would guess the guild is named after her.

Marx has the nickname Trapper. His specialty is setting traps, and he is eighth in player rankings.

Misery has the nickname Saint Misery. She’s primarily a healer, but she is tenth in player rankings.

Shin has the nickname Splinter Sword. His rival is Kasumi, because he lost to her in the first event.

Story & Thoughts

The entirety of this volume is the fourth game event. It covers a lot with a large amount of characters. More information about and inclusion of other top ten players are shown. Most of them are in the three guilds the description mentions: The Order of the Holy Sword, Flame Empire, and Maple Tree.

I like the story well enough. The event is interesting and entertaining. The addition of so many other characters makes things feel even busier.

My main issue with the volume is that, despite the expansiveness of the event, it still seems too easy for Maple Tree. In volume three, they reveal what the event will be, as well as all of the terms and conditions. The fact each character can die a certain number of times before being removed from the event left me thinking Maple Tree would suffer more deaths throughout. The actual number of deaths in the book is well below my expectations, and thus leaves me feeling like the story lacks enough tension to truly be satisfying.

Aside from that one thing, various parts of the book had me smiling and giggling. Maple is comically overpowered. If Maple Tree had a harder time, I think my rating would be higher. It can be difficult to have overpowered characters and still keep the right amount of tension. I think the balance is a little off in that regard.

Bofuri, Vol. 3 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2354-7
Rating: 3.5/5
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Description from the Book

Following their incredible performance in the treasure hunt event, Maple and Sally are interested in one thing and one thing only—buying a house! After all, every guild needs a home. Though their guild is still small, the girls and their friends are excited to have a place to meet, train, and grow—especially now that the newly minted guilds are all going to be facing off in the next big event! This is the birth of the legendary Maple Tree, the guild whose name strikes fear into the hearts of all who hear it!

Personal & Info

I had a headache while reading a large chunk of this, so it’s possible my rating might be a little lower than it deserves.

Characters

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Kasumi is a katana weilding player that Maple and Sally befriended during the second game event.

Kanade is a mage player that Maple befriended during the second game event. His staff is a Rubik’s cube.

Chrome is the Anonymous Great Shielder in the forums and Maple’s friend. He’s also one of the best great shielders in the game.

Iz is a crafter that Maple met through Chrome. She’s one of the best in the game.

Yui and Mai are twins only differentiated by their hair colors of white and black. They are Maple’s newest friends, and chose pure strength builds.

Oboro and Syrup are Sally and Maple’s animal companion rewards from the second event. Oboro is a fox, and Syrup is a turtle.

Story & Thoughts

This volume is not as thick as the second, but thicker than the first. I’d rather these light novels be a little thicker, because they’re thinner than others I’m used to, but at the same time, it’s nice that they are short. Despite the thinness of the volumes, it always feels like a lot happens due to the shortness of the chapters and the fast paced story telling. They make quick, fun reads.

The book picks up after the second game event. The ability to purchase guild housing becomes available and Maple decides she wants to start her own guild. Everything takes off from there as the girls invite everyone they know, so far, to join.

Things are a little different compared to the first two volumes. Instead of just covering Maple and Sally’s adventures, the book covers all of the characters. For example, there are sections where Chrome, Iz, and Kanade all get their own individual adventures. It’s a pleasant change.

On the negative side, the story has a lot of grinding. Large sections specifically focus on gaining levels, getting a specific skill, gathering a specific item, or hoping to find good gear. Sometimes that’s interesting, but not always.

There is a game event in this volume, but it’s nothing big. It’s very short, and hardly touched on, because Maple can’t easily participate and there aren’t rewards that interest her. After that part of the story, the rest is their guild getting ready for the fourth event, which will be in the next volume.

Overall, a lot happens, but the story is a little too grindy. Regardless, there’s a lot to love. The characters are great, and Maple’s unique luck and way of playing the game seem contagious to those around her.

Bofuri, Vol. 2 by Yuumikan, Koin
Series Name: Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense. (Light Novel)
Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Magic, Sci-Fi, Slice of Life, Video Games
Intended Age Group: 13+
Publisher: Yen On/Yen Press
Edition: Paperback 
ISBN: 978-1-9753-2354-7
Rating: 4/5
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Description from the Book

Maple has become famous overnight after finishing in the tip three of the battle royal and defeating over two thousand players without taking any damage at all. Now, with the treasure hunt event about to start, Maple and Sally set off in search of rare gear and adventure! The game admins and other players look on in both fear and excitement as they wait to see what crazy new development is about to hit the server!

Personal & Info

For others getting the light novels, the cover of the book is the papery kind, not the glossy kind. Because of this, it’s more flimsy. Mine has a small tear on it just from picking it up and setting it down a few times. You might want to be extra careful with how you handle it.

Characters

Kaede Honjou, player name Maple, is the main character. She didn’t play video games much until she tried New World Online. The game has a pain system that allows the player to actually feel pain when they take damage. Because of this feature, Maple puts ALL stat points into her defense.

Risa Shiromine, player name Sally, is Maple’s friend. She introduced Kaede to the game, and decided to follow her lead in making an overpowered build. Her primary stat is agility, and she has a special skill as a gamer to be able to handle fast movement and reaction times without any additional program assistance.

Several new characters appear in this volume. I can’t easily list them here without spoilers, so I’ll let anyone who doesn’t already know who they are find out by reading.

Story & Thoughts

This volume holds up well compared to the first. It’s approximately twice as thick, which is nice. The entire event they were prepping for is encompassed in this one book, so you don’t have to worry about getting the third to find out how it ends.

The length works against it a little, too, though. My biggest issue with the book is that there are several sections of the story where they have to wander around rather aimlessly. But, when something is happening, it’s really good. The various dungeons and bosses they have to clear are interesting. The boss fight with the bird had me on the edge of my seat. There’s still a decent amount of comedy mixed into the story, too.

In the first volume, there are occasional wholesome chapters of what people say in the game’s forums in reaction to Maple’s rise to fame. This one has something similar, which is the admins monitoring the event. Whenever Maple or Sally succeed at something that is designed to be impossible, or stumble into interesting situations, the admins freak out. It’s amusing, because the admins are afraid of either of them getting any more overpowered than they already are. There is also one tiny forum section as part of a normal chapter after the event is over.

The series does a good job making sure the reader knows where and how skills are obtained. However, Maple seems to have some skills that are not on her list of character information. I think they are skills she’s probably had all along, and just did not use until now. Several skills she uses in the event seem to be derived from her Hydra ability. When she first got and used the skills connected to that, there was an implication that there were only two skills: Hydra and Paralyze Shout.

I think I can excuse this, because of how early in the story it is. Maple is likely still learning what she can do. When she has to get down the cliff, she does take some time to look at her skills to see what is available to her. This all leads me to believe Hydra itself is more overpowered than I initially thought.

Overall, the book is really good. I wasn’t even in the mood to read it when I started, but after a chapter or two, I was sucked in. The series really is that good. I might have to bump it up on my priority list, because I’m always sad I don’t have the next volume.