This review contains spoilers
this was the first ever game to make me cry, so i had VERY high expectations for it upon a revisit
so mark my disappoint about this replay when i liked it but didnt love it, and worse of all didnt cry at the ending (despite being much more open about my emotions). i think this just comes from having more media literacy though, and while the ending IS still emotional to me it hits a lot less hard when i've seen this kinda story of lost romance so much more often. i think if anton was introduced earlier and katia did more it'd have hit harder, tho the diary entries did help a bit. and id be lying if i said that the ending theme, iris, didnt still get me emotional as hell, even if not tear levels.
in many ways this is a better game than curious village. better puzzle variety, a better difficulty curve, a more interesting hook with a larger scope. very varied locales. great antagonist. SWORD FIGHT IS SO COOL. the final puzzle using a ds gimmick the rest of the game doesnt??? what the FUCK that's genuinely rad and inventive, and i felt like a genius working it out again just before writing this review lmao
but i do think the final reveals arent as well set up, the pacing is weird and all over the place, the photo pieces quest is just padding and backtracking and it SUCKS SO BAD, and poor. poor flora. she deserved better. why was she in this game? why was don paolo here??? i love paolo but like,,,, unnecessary tbh. and these issues do kinda cancel out those positives for me.
overall still a good time, but i do prefer curious village slightly more. next up is my fave in the series, and the one that has a final cutscene that always makes me cry.
tldr; good nostalgia trip but this game doesnt hold up for me personally, i like it but wish i loved it
so mark my disappoint about this replay when i liked it but didnt love it, and worse of all didnt cry at the ending (despite being much more open about my emotions). i think this just comes from having more media literacy though, and while the ending IS still emotional to me it hits a lot less hard when i've seen this kinda story of lost romance so much more often. i think if anton was introduced earlier and katia did more it'd have hit harder, tho the diary entries did help a bit. and id be lying if i said that the ending theme, iris, didnt still get me emotional as hell, even if not tear levels.
in many ways this is a better game than curious village. better puzzle variety, a better difficulty curve, a more interesting hook with a larger scope. very varied locales. great antagonist. SWORD FIGHT IS SO COOL. the final puzzle using a ds gimmick the rest of the game doesnt??? what the FUCK that's genuinely rad and inventive, and i felt like a genius working it out again just before writing this review lmao
but i do think the final reveals arent as well set up, the pacing is weird and all over the place, the photo pieces quest is just padding and backtracking and it SUCKS SO BAD, and poor. poor flora. she deserved better. why was she in this game? why was don paolo here??? i love paolo but like,,,, unnecessary tbh. and these issues do kinda cancel out those positives for me.
overall still a good time, but i do prefer curious village slightly more. next up is my fave in the series, and the one that has a final cutscene that always makes me cry.
tldr; good nostalgia trip but this game doesnt hold up for me personally, i like it but wish i loved it