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Little Goody Two Shoes (video game)

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Little Goody Two Shoes
Developer(s)AstralShiftPro
Publisher(s)Square Enix Collective
EngineUnity[1]
Platform(s)
Release
  • WW: October 31, 2023
Genre(s)Role-playing, adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Little Goody Two Shoes is a video game developed by AstralShiftPro and published by Square Enix Collective.[2] It includes elements of role-playing, adventure and horror games, and has an anime-inspired visual style. Players control a girl called Elise, who attempts to avoid horrific monsters in the enchanted woods while searching for a way to escape her mundane life. The game is a prequel to the 2016 RPG Maker game Pocket Mirror.[3]

Gameplay

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A young girl named Elise is found by an elderly woman in the woods. Years later, after her adoptive grandmother dies, Elise performs odd jobs for the nearby villagers while fantasizing about wealth and adventure. Players control Elise as she investigates rumors of a wish-granting creature in the woods, and why horrific monsters have started coming out at night. During the day, players can perform jobs for the villagers and build relationships, including going on dates with up to three different female love interests. The jobs are action-oriented minigames, and relationships use elements of life sims and dating sims. During the night, players must guide Elise through the woods and avoid monsters. If players do not maintain positive relations with the villagers, they may accuse Elise of being a witch responsible for the monsters' appearance. Elise dies if caught by the monsters, and players must also balance her hunger and sanity. If Elise dies, players can return to a save point.[4] There are ten different endings based on choices players make, such as who to romance.[5]

Development

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The developer of the game, AstralShift, is based in Portugal.[6] They were influenced by shōjo anime (anime targeting young women) from the 1990s, including Sailor Moon, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Slayers. In particular, they wanted Elise to emulate the strong female protagonists of these shows, both in design and writing. The world was influenced by the video games Legend of Mana, SaGa Frontier, and horror games made in RPG Maker. Though the story connects with their previous game, Pocket Mirror, Little Goody Two Shoes was designed to be standalone.[7] It was initially designed to be a short prequel to that game, but they said it progressively grew in scale during preproduction in 2019 and 2020.[8] Square Enix Collective released it for Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch on October 31, 2023.[9]

Reception

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Little Goody Two Shoes received positive reviews on Metacritic.[10] RPGamer praised the combination of genres but found the action sequences and puzzles frustrating.[4] Nintendo Life similarly praised the mix of genres and criticized the puzzles.[5] Push Square called it "an excellent life-sim adventure" but said it can become repetitive.[11] RPGSite enjoyed the story, gameplay, and anime-inspired presentation, and they said the mix of genres was handled well by gradually introducing new gameplay elements without overwhelming players.[12] Sports Illustrated praised the mix of influences and genres, which they said were impressively brought together. Although they criticized the puzzles and some of the writing, they said AstralShift "nailed the retro anime style".[13] RPGFan designated it the best adventure game/visual novel of 2023, calling it "scary good" and "candy for the eyes" for its retro RPG Maker look.[14]

In the 35th GLAAD Media Awards, Little Goody Two-Shoes was nominated for Outstanding Video Game.[15]

References

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  1. ^ Saver, Michael; Pung, Julia; Stanton, Devon (2024-01-04). "Made with Unity: 2023 in review". Unity Technologies. Retrieved 2024-01-13.
  2. ^ ""SQUARE ENIX COLLECTIVE'S FAIRYTALE HORROR, LITTLE GOODY TWO SHOES IS OUT NOW!" - Square Enix North America Press Hub". press.na.square-enix.com. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  3. ^ Gonzalez, Andrea. "Review: Little Goody Two Shoes". Destructoid. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  4. ^ a b Fuller, Alex (2023-10-31). "Little Goody Two Shoes Deep Look". RPGamer. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  5. ^ a b Hagues, Alana (2023-11-06). "Little Goody Two Shoes Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  6. ^ "About Us". AstralShift. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  7. ^ Palmer, Lauren (2023-10-31). "Interview: Little Goody Two Shoes Devs Talk Inspiration and Romance Routes". Siliconera. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  8. ^ Vitale, Adam; Torres, Josh (2023-10-31). "Little Goody Two Shoes Interview: Card Captor Sakura's influence, the challenge of horror, and development timeline". RPGSite. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  9. ^ Romano, Sal (2023-10-09). "Little Goody Two Shoes launches October 31". Gematsu. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  10. ^ "Little Goody Two Shoes". Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  11. ^ Ditchfield, Jaimie (7 November 2023). "Mini Review: Little Goody Two Shoes (PS5) - A Flawed But Unique Spin on the Life Sim".
  12. ^ Shkreli, Paul (2023-10-30). "Little Goody Two Shoes Review". RPGSite. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  13. ^ Broadwell, Josh (2023-11-01). "Games you missed out on in October 2023". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2024-01-21.
  14. ^ Kobylanski, Abraham; Trosper, Tyler (2024-01-26). "RPGFan Games of the Year 2023: Best Graphic Adventure or Visual Novel". RPGFan. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  15. ^ Gardner, Chris. "GLAAD Media Awards: 'Fellow Travelers,' 'All of Us Strangers,' 'Bottoms' and Ice Spice Among Nominees". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2024-01-18. Retrieved 2024-01-17.
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