Special REM Review – PAD Halloween

This is by far the worst special REM GungHo has ever released even if you include the various iterations of the initial Pink REM. Even if you ignore the poor value of the filler eggs, the Halloween-specific rolls are lackluster themselves. While most special REM monsters fade into obscurity soon after their introduction, I think this set is exceptionally poor. The two rarest eggs, Kali and BSonia, while useful, are uninspired rehashes of their originals. Vampire and Laila are unimpressive in the same way, but at least Alraune, Izanami and Thoth & Sopdet have some interesting dimensions. They aren’t enough to carry the REM or to justify spending your precious stones on, though.

The REM filler eggs don’t help things. The Archdemons are one of the worst pantheons in the game and the Wizards are some of the worst non-pantheon base-gold eggs. The Fairy Tale girls are fine for silvers, but have little to no practical uses. When Izanami and Thoth & Sopdet were first revealed, I was really excited because I thought I’d finally be able to tell the average Joe that rolling in a special REM was worth the risk, but even the quality of those two silvers eggs doesn’t justify wading through the rest. For whales, the filler is going to become MP no matter how good or bad it is, but for the average player I suggest holding onto your stones in hopes of something better. We should be getting a Player’s Choice Godfest soon and there’s still hope for an improved Christmas REM.

“Collab” Review – PAD Island

8/12/15: Review updated for Mini RSonia and Mini Valk uevos.

GungHo, with its infinite benevolence and generosity, has graced us with another special REM; this time with girls in bikinis. I’ve gone over this before in my PAD Academy review, but in terms of value-per-stone these special REMs simply aren’t worth rolling in. That is, until you factor in those bikinis. Before rolling, ask yourself: are those swimsuits worth it? If there’s any doubt in your mind, probably not. The Summer REM is extremely top-heavy; Claire, Pandora and GSonia are all very good, but there is a steep falloff after that. There is a plethora of landmines in the 6-, 5- and 4-stars with only Urd and Awilda having value befitting their rarity. To big spenders, this isn’t a huge factor since since all that matters are the best rolls, but for the average player the chances of improving your box through this REM are almost nil; even worse than past special REMs. I’m fearful for those that finally roll a gold egg, only to be greeted by Chester. Buyer beware.

Will NA Get the MP Shop or Not?

8/13/15: No MP Shop for this event confirmed.

While signs are pointing toward NA receiving the Summer REM sooner rather than later, the major question is whether we’ll get the MP Shop along with it. This is critical because on JP Claire is available for purchase for 300,000 MP. This is an extremely steep price, out of the range of the majority of players, but her availability in the MP Shop gives her a fixed price instead of facing the endless uncertainly of the REM. Outside of Claire, the MP Shop gives users an opportunity to recoup some value on much of the garbage they get from the machine (and trust me, there will be a lot of garbage). My grades aren’t beholden to this feature being released, but keep in mind that in the short-term an already poor REM only gets worse without it.