"You ran. But I, who am accepting the sorrow of having lost my own important person, am different from you. I didn't run. I'm now only praying for the person who loved me. ...I am different from you."
It's hard to go in-depth for the Towelket series because by their nature, they are obtuse and hard to approach. Numbered at random, with occasional lack of direction, and its nature as a very underground series of RPGMaker games means there's barely anything on them online in the western sphere compared to other works that have more succesfully breached the culture barrier. But despite that clear lack of connection, there are still people dedicated enough to bring it over, people who put in the hours to read and play, and who feel passionate enough about it to share it with others. And that visceral nature of connection is what surpasses the language barrier for all art, even for the most niche of works and the most hidden of games.
Having seen that my Backloggd list was at 499 games played after I finished QP Shooting - Dangerous!!, another work of the same nature as Towelket, I decided to make my 500th game logged this; I had already gone through 3 and 2, and found a strong appeal for both in different fields, 3 in its more comedic nature and decent cast despite its low text and 2 in its horrifically depressing representation of femininity in the modern age represented in the angle of another alien invasion. This was also the game that had me get into the series in a sense; while I have more interest in a few other titles more than this, it was the one I had heard more positive towards compared to the rest of the series.
And I believe it's quite justified to be as well-loved as it is: Towelket: One More Time is another improvement on what 3 and 2 did, taking their comedic and surrealist natures combined with the dark and horror atmosphere that 2 nails to create an outstanding mixture of comedy and drama. One More Time's synopsis is silly if taken at face value with the use of a "curse of turning corners", but as you progress through the story do you truly start to feel immersed into the story and the role of you as the protagonist: being thrown into millions of years into the future and constantly antagonized, seeing constant reminders of your friends having been brutalized, One More Time is dark. But it's not just dark despite its imbuing misery, but rather it continues to have some levity with the Check mechanic; where the party constantly comments on your environments and the characters grow more attached to each other, these little nuggets of dialogue create some well-desired levity despite everything.
One More Time is also a more uplifting experience than 2 ever was: and while 2's misery and depression is not entirely to be discarded, I do think that Kanao's style here feels like some much-needed optimism compared to the embuing, nihilistic nexus that 2 prided itself on. Not to get into spoilers as this is a game that I reccomend you do play, but there's still a strong sense of acceptance here to the misery that 2 presents in a much more global scale, presented in a much more buddhist angle.
I write all of this, but at the end, to talk of One More Time is unnecessary. The more I speak and explain the less I do justice to this game; because words aren't enough. One More Time is pure communication and yearning distilled into a game that resolves itself in pure acceptance, and it is presented in a manner that only it could justify itself. And perhaps, for what I wished to do for a "500th game logged", little serves the role like One More Time does in the function of games as art, and art as communication.
"Sad people... I'm not the only one.
Happy people... I'm not the only one.
Everyone... is the same as myself.
...hardships and happiness.
I am the same as everyone.
Everyone is the same as me."
It's hard to go in-depth for the Towelket series because by their nature, they are obtuse and hard to approach. Numbered at random, with occasional lack of direction, and its nature as a very underground series of RPGMaker games means there's barely anything on them online in the western sphere compared to other works that have more succesfully breached the culture barrier. But despite that clear lack of connection, there are still people dedicated enough to bring it over, people who put in the hours to read and play, and who feel passionate enough about it to share it with others. And that visceral nature of connection is what surpasses the language barrier for all art, even for the most niche of works and the most hidden of games.
Having seen that my Backloggd list was at 499 games played after I finished QP Shooting - Dangerous!!, another work of the same nature as Towelket, I decided to make my 500th game logged this; I had already gone through 3 and 2, and found a strong appeal for both in different fields, 3 in its more comedic nature and decent cast despite its low text and 2 in its horrifically depressing representation of femininity in the modern age represented in the angle of another alien invasion. This was also the game that had me get into the series in a sense; while I have more interest in a few other titles more than this, it was the one I had heard more positive towards compared to the rest of the series.
And I believe it's quite justified to be as well-loved as it is: Towelket: One More Time is another improvement on what 3 and 2 did, taking their comedic and surrealist natures combined with the dark and horror atmosphere that 2 nails to create an outstanding mixture of comedy and drama. One More Time's synopsis is silly if taken at face value with the use of a "curse of turning corners", but as you progress through the story do you truly start to feel immersed into the story and the role of you as the protagonist: being thrown into millions of years into the future and constantly antagonized, seeing constant reminders of your friends having been brutalized, One More Time is dark. But it's not just dark despite its imbuing misery, but rather it continues to have some levity with the Check mechanic; where the party constantly comments on your environments and the characters grow more attached to each other, these little nuggets of dialogue create some well-desired levity despite everything.
One More Time is also a more uplifting experience than 2 ever was: and while 2's misery and depression is not entirely to be discarded, I do think that Kanao's style here feels like some much-needed optimism compared to the embuing, nihilistic nexus that 2 prided itself on. Not to get into spoilers as this is a game that I reccomend you do play, but there's still a strong sense of acceptance here to the misery that 2 presents in a much more global scale, presented in a much more buddhist angle.
I write all of this, but at the end, to talk of One More Time is unnecessary. The more I speak and explain the less I do justice to this game; because words aren't enough. One More Time is pure communication and yearning distilled into a game that resolves itself in pure acceptance, and it is presented in a manner that only it could justify itself. And perhaps, for what I wished to do for a "500th game logged", little serves the role like One More Time does in the function of games as art, and art as communication.
"Sad people... I'm not the only one.
Happy people... I'm not the only one.
Everyone... is the same as myself.
...hardships and happiness.
I am the same as everyone.
Everyone is the same as me."