I bought the JPN version of
Knights of Messiah at launch with the assumption that Kagura Games would translate it in about a year's time given their relationship with the developer. (Developer even updated a prior game that I had previously purchased with an English option.)
More than 3 years passed until we finally got the translation. Steam reviews are abysmal due to reported crashes. One person proclaimed that those were fixed using Windows 7 compatibility mode. Another mentioned renaming or deleting System/F1AltEnterF12.dll helped.
Compatibility mode didn't help with an early version. Then I tried them simultaneously with v1.0.3 (site links) and there are still plenty of crashes but significantly less. This can happen when clicking through text, trying to save, or even a click on the title screen. It's playable either way, but saving frequently - to different slots - is recommended. Though in long cut scenes there is no option with a rare crash...
Holy fuck was the 1st version buggy as hell in the very, very brief time I tried it. I wondered if Kagura butchered it but seems that the base game is the problem, which is shocking from Doujin Circle Gyu!.
As for the game otherwise:
* Large quantity of events, though obviously with a fair share of recycled art
* Plot is as expected if you've played his prior works, though with improvements
* Large map except most of the places are empty/eventless
* Battle system is decent and has clothing tear + rape depending on enemy as usual
* Standard heroine costumes as per earlier games
* Requires pressing keys to death
* Not having an option to prevent pregnancy (unless I missed one) is annoying, forces manually giving birth every time after a sex scene
* Art quality took a massive dive, visibily worse than any prior game
* Good character design even if my least favorite compared to prior games
* Filler endings but acceptable considering the game length
* Decent Tips menu item during story, but oddly missing post-epilogue (to indicate missing cut scenes)
Overall I enjoyed it despite visible flaws and do recommend it, but I am pretty disappointed with the art. It really stings compared to earlier works.
I haven't done a completeness tally but I was able to get most of the cut scenes without much problem. Same for costumes, except Alicia's heart g-string, which means I either missed a treasure box or the developer put it in a random battle drop unlike the others and I haven't encountered it yet.
If you haven't played any prior game, it involves tons of heroine prostitution and usually a semi-brainless story. I don't like whoring but the developer makes it fun anyway. I recommend playing this game first (before older works); there are cameos like Mai from Treasure Hunter Mai that won't be appreciated, but better to save the better ones for last.