You may remember me talking about TGS VR 2021 and 2022 in my post from last year. When they mentioned that TGSVR would be returning for 2023 with “Sky Islands” along with quest and magic systems, I was thrilled. I had tons of fun in 2021 and 2022 was such a huge upgrade in so many ways, even if it was also a bit overwhelming. There was a story and a boss fight and just… it was genuinely really cool.
Unfortunately, while I am still happy TGS VR happened this year (I’d prefer that over it no longer happening at all), it did end up feeling like a bit of a downgrade to say the least.
The customization didn’t feel as fun or unique (maybe if we got to create an avatar like last year and got to pick hats/new hairstyles/outfits/magic type separately), there’s a lot less to do, everything is smaller in general (though, still very pretty), and the end area for finishing everything felt small.
There are no rides, no quizzes (at best, one quest per area requires you to take a photo of the right answer for one of the NPCs), the only interactive thing, besides obviously the magic and some quests, is some NPCs in areas and watching a bike race. You can’t ride along. You can’t actually race yourself. The magic is also linked to whatever costume you’re wearing and only so many even have anything unique.
There are 24 total quests which is down from the 84 Fragments of 2021 and 72 Quests from 2022 (Plus… no cutscenes or rides).
It’s still very pretty and I did enjoy the quest system versus just clicking random objects– I just wish there was more to it, better customization, and more things to interact with. I’ve always really loved the rides.
Anyway, you can check out my playthrough here:
And here are the many photos I took from around the areas, including the Theater which isn’t in the video above.
Edit: September 23rd, my friend Diggeh streamed going through it and I was part of it. Here are some more fun photos from playing together! I’ll also be uploading my PoV soon…
