Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time

it's kinda really good and really bad at the same time,
Pros:
- the story is entertaining
- the characters are charming
- I love that it has game exclusive anime cut scenes animated by trigger
- the music is great of course it's from the anime
- the whole visual novel part is fun and I like how all characters have their own animations
- the fact that it's fully voice acted is amazing
Cons:
- the gameplay is ass, never thought that I'd say this but I don't think this should have been an action game
- the AI is dumb af, they just walk into traps and let themselves get damaged
- Luna Nova is kinda confusing, I don't like how the game doesn't show you where exactly you are and only the general area
that's all so far I guess, will prolly add more as I progress the game
if you like the anime you'll also like this game, the characters carry it hard af lmao

TL; DR
Have you watched the anime and liked it?
After it finished, did you feel an abrupt sense of loss and wished you could visit the beautiful world of Luna Nova for just a few more hours?
Do you shout "Tia Freyre" when you hop on your bike or start your car?
Do you agree with Frank, that girls like Lottle are a rare find nowadays?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you will like this game.
This is a double-edged sword, though. If you answered no to all of the questions, 95% of the game's charm will go right pass you, leaving you with 5% of unrecognizable characters, clunky fetch quests and undercooked dungeon beat-em-up.
Backstory
I absolutely loved the anime. When I finished binge-watching it not that long ago, I was left with the feeling of emptiness, longing for the return to the magical world of Luna Nova. Not long after, Steam's Fall Sale began, decreasing the price for the game. On a whim, I bought it, cautious of what some of the negative reviews were saying.
And I'm loving every second of it, just like I loved the anime.
Positives:
The story
Without spoiling much of the plot, the story is the same light-hearted adventure that you remember from the anime, and could have become a separate movie or an OVA series. I probably won't spoil much by revealing that Akko and the rest of the witches land in the groundhog-day scenario of perpetually repeating the first day of summer vacation. This serves as a basis for the rest of the story to be built while also fitting in nicely within the possibilities of a universe brimming with magic.
Additionally, it also makes some technical aspects of the game explainable within the game setting. NPC characters acting the same way every day? Admittedly, a normal situation in very many games. You probably don't even think about it anymore. But in Chamber of Time, it actually is explainable, with the day resetting and no-one beside the main characters remembering about it.
The setting
The game is set before the Samhain Festival episode, which marks the beginning of the new school semester. As such, the game references past occurrences from the anime and also predicts some of the future ones. The dedication to details is clearly visible here, and the tight integration into the anime universe is definitely a huge bonus point for any fan.
The characters - and NPCs!
As a fan of the anime, I cannot understate the joy of being able to interact with many of the Luna Nova students that have only served as background in the show. You get to learn so much more about them as you visit them during different time of their day. You get to know their personalities, habits, current worries and vacation plans. You even get to help some of them in achieving their minor vacation dreams!
And you can be assured that characters that have received dialog in the anime will stay true to their established personalities throughout the game. The dedication and attention to detail in this regard can set an example for other games built upon an existing show.
The soundtrack
Perhaps I shouldn't praise it too much, because it's essentially the soundtrack from the anime, but it just fits so well within the game. In fact, after spending many hours in the game, whenever I hear the soundtrack in the show I can't help but think about how it fit in the game!
What is definitely worth praising, however, is the fact the each and every line spoken by every side character and NPC is delightfully voiced. Plus, if any of the characters was voiced in the anime (original Japanese cast only, mind you!), you can be sure the same voice actor was hired for the game. And they did absolutely stellar work too! This certainly enhances the magical atmosphere within the game and increases the level of immersion in this beautiful world. Doubly so, if you also watched the anime with original Japanese dubbing.
Passable
Graphics
You shouldn't expect the newest DLSS effects, v5 shaders or anything that should stress your graphics card. In fact, one could make a minor complaint about some of the locations to be rather bare-bones (school grounds come to mind).
For me though, the game shines where it truly needs to: the character design is an almost perfect 3d-fication of anime characters, which is definitely appreciated.
Could be improved
Any complaints I have are directed at the dungeon crawler part of the game.
Combat AI
Everything the other reviews have said is absolutely true. Your AI companions will waste their strongest spells when there's only one enemy with but a sliver of health left. They will throw the enemies behind the screen borders, forcing you to wait for them to trot back into the screen to be hit again. They will fire their spells in the opposite direction the enemy is standing.
Multitude of complicated systems
None of the many additional systems bing much value to the game, none of them are explained properly and they don't even make any difference in combat:
* Why do I need to distinguish the spells into Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable? Why do we need anything other than Water/Fire/Earth/Air?
* Why do enemies pretend to be resistant to some damage types at all? Fire can deal with almost everyone anyway...
* Why is there an ability to enchant accessories with custom properties? The XP bonus certainly comes in handy when you want to grind some levels quickly, but that's about it...
* Why do we even need to gain levels and distribute stat points? By level 255, which is the ultimate cap increased through the Underground Labyrinth, you will have enough points to have every stat but one capped at 255 anyway.
* What does -% on an item mean (eg. +Cardinal Magic -8%)? Does it mean the item decreases your stat? Are my cardinal spells weaker if I equip it?
Leveling
As a programmer I cannot let it slide easily... I'm now grinding the Underground Labyrinth to get every witch to her max level. Akko and Lotte are already capped, while the rest are about level 200. Imagine what: I'm already sitting on about 400 horoscope points more than I need to buy and fully upgrade every spell in the game. Why am I getting more points then? By the time everyone is capped I will have more than 500 unspendable horoscope points. I will zero them with CheatEngine, you can be sure of that, but a cap for horoscope points equal to the number of points needed for every upgrade seems easy enough to implement...
All of the points I mentioned give off the feeling that the dungeon crawler part was forced into the game without thorough consideration.
Still, it bears mentioning that there is lore reason behind the entire dungeon crawler part of the game. :) The first anime short movie had the girls enter a dungeon as part of their treasure huint lesson. They even entered it through the same door the Underground Labirynth uses, which again shows the dedication and the attention to details. Sucy even called it "a crappy dungeon crawler RPG". Oh, how right she was. In this regard, the game didn't have to reflect the anime so closely. XD
Well, none of things I mentioned above will stop me from playing. As a fan of this great anime I love every second of the game, even the crappy dungeon crawler part. :) I have only the Decorator achievement left to get, and you can bet I will do that. Right now, I'm grinding levels in the Underground Labirinth (depth ~400 so far, I hear it goes to 999). I'd like to imagine I'm setting up Akko and the girls for the rest of their lives: they already have over 7mil Luna Pounds in their accounts, enough potions to last until graduation, and wands and accessories that would blow away Croix and her missile in a single flick. Level 255 for all the witches and all room decorations are the only thing left to get.
Like Akko, I won't give up. Always remember:
A believing heart is your magic.

best anime

performance is a bit inconsistent and running around the school is a bit tedious but i'm enjoying it

game form very good story anime . But looping time form clock only great for japan and anime , never great for a game . Make i feel like a mouse in a trap , weaking up 8h am again , again and again . Boring and tire

Some of the best characterization I've ever seen in a game. Unfortunately it seems to just miss the mark on a lot of little things. For example the bosses of each area feel like they lack polish, the main storyline fun too, but doesn't really have the best resolution. Just a bunch of little things that could of been altered to make this a great game. Combat overall isn't bad; outside of the bosses, but, I'd only play this game if you're in it only for fun dialogue and characters.

Slow-paced adventure game set in the world of "Little Witch Academia," an anime from 2017 based on a short film from 2013. The school setting seems to be completely explorable, with a few locations unique to the game. There are 7 playable characters (all from the show), with teams of 3 setting off on side-scrolling action/dungeon-crawling segments to gather money and items, level up skills, and ultimately further the plot of the story. When you're not in the dungeon, you're trotting around the school grounds volunteering yourself for fetch quests and talking to every single student that hasn't left for Summer vacation already.
This game is easy, it is tedious, and it is extremely slow-paced. Expect up to an hour of exposition before you're even allowed to save the game for the first time.
If you liked the show and are really into slow-burning adventure games filled with tons of item gathering quests, Disgaea-esque leveling systems and incredibly over-complicated equip screens, it's a no-brainer. Otherwise it'll be a $40 decoration for your Library.

If you are a fan of Little Witch Academia (like I am), then this game is certainly for you