1989
This review contains spoilers
When my backlog wheel landed on this for me to play, I was beyond hyped. This game, after all, jumpstarted one of Nintendo's most unusual and influential franchises, and would go on to inspire masterpieces of its own. Hell, freaking Yume Nikki has a whole world referencing bits of Mother 1, and that's easily one of the most original and experimental titles ever conceived. So it paying homage to this game must mean a lot.
Well, I'm just going to say straight off the bat: this game induces suffering. Every cool mechanic you know and love about the MOTHER series, this one does not have. That means no rolling HP, no psychedelic background, and random encounters. On top of that, I found the game had a ton of balancing issues. On a whim, the right enemies can bind you into a lock, with hardly a chance of breaking free from it. The cherry on top has to be Mt. Itoi, which is from what I've heard never playtested 💀 Nintendo really smoked crack on their part. I thank myself that I had a guide and an emulator to speed up the battles when I needed to.
All the little gameplay quirks really got to me at first with the inventory management and shops but once I started to view everything from the perspective of real life, it made sense. Of course you're not going to be able to hold a whole lot, and you're going to have to swap around goods so that it can be usable. Of course you're being charged an egregious sum just to see your friends revived. Of course, instead of simply interacting with the ATM, you have to open your inventory, scroll to the Cash Card, and hit use. It makes so much sense. That also goes for having the train animation play whenever you use it, and your dad blabbing on and on before you get to the point.
I think the smartest I ever felt when viewing this game through that lens would be when Lloyd joins your party. The game tells you that he's a weakling, and he has the low stats to back that up. The most useful he gets is using gadgets that break often. I asked myself, "why would the game deliberately give you a weak party member?" Then it hit me. Of course, if you were to go on an adventure with your friends chances are you're going to have drag the dorky kid along with you. They're not all combat ready. I love how the game then ties up Lloyd's character with the typical "I'm going to prove myself" arc.
But, those quirks didn't make me fall in love with the game though. After all, this game had indeed made me ragequit, to the point where I would take weeklong breaks from the game when it's not even that long. As I mentioned to my friends, it's art in the same way that a bully beats you up and your mom gives you grilled cheese and apple slices to help make you feel better.
It was the end that the game really got to me. Out of nowhere, I started crying after Ninten sang the Eight Melodies to Queen Maria. She started talking about Geigue and how he was when she raised him, and how his tail would always wag like a dog except for when she sang that lullaby. I was seriously fighting back tears (which I was told NOT to cry about yet, thanks Mother fandom) because the way she talked about him sounded exactly like a loving grandmother on her deathbed, recalling all the fun little memories she had with her grandchildren before passing away peacefully. And then Magicant disappearing, a place that said to always have a loving home for Ninten, felt like the emptiness I felt when my grandmother passed away. I haven't actually properly cried for her passing away, and I haven't done so for over 10 years now. But now I definitely feel like I've let out some of the deep-seeded pain. Even while writing this review, tears are dripping down my face.
So yeah, the ending manages to pick everything back up all at once. It's really not fair of me to attach a score to this game because of how deep the emotions run with it. I feel the same about this game as I do with my own life. It sucks a lot. I've been through a lot of mental pain. But there are just those tender moments, like dancing on the stage, or walking around the elementary school, or sharing a close bond with Ana, that really just make it charming. And then sometimes, it really turns out for the better.
In short, if you're able to love a piece of art, thorns and all, then I definitely recommend it provided you promise me you won't get hurt too much by it. Because this game hurts a lot but man I'm glad to have gone through it.
Well, I'm just going to say straight off the bat: this game induces suffering. Every cool mechanic you know and love about the MOTHER series, this one does not have. That means no rolling HP, no psychedelic background, and random encounters. On top of that, I found the game had a ton of balancing issues. On a whim, the right enemies can bind you into a lock, with hardly a chance of breaking free from it. The cherry on top has to be Mt. Itoi, which is from what I've heard never playtested 💀 Nintendo really smoked crack on their part. I thank myself that I had a guide and an emulator to speed up the battles when I needed to.
All the little gameplay quirks really got to me at first with the inventory management and shops but once I started to view everything from the perspective of real life, it made sense. Of course you're not going to be able to hold a whole lot, and you're going to have to swap around goods so that it can be usable. Of course you're being charged an egregious sum just to see your friends revived. Of course, instead of simply interacting with the ATM, you have to open your inventory, scroll to the Cash Card, and hit use. It makes so much sense. That also goes for having the train animation play whenever you use it, and your dad blabbing on and on before you get to the point.
I think the smartest I ever felt when viewing this game through that lens would be when Lloyd joins your party. The game tells you that he's a weakling, and he has the low stats to back that up. The most useful he gets is using gadgets that break often. I asked myself, "why would the game deliberately give you a weak party member?" Then it hit me. Of course, if you were to go on an adventure with your friends chances are you're going to have drag the dorky kid along with you. They're not all combat ready. I love how the game then ties up Lloyd's character with the typical "I'm going to prove myself" arc.
But, those quirks didn't make me fall in love with the game though. After all, this game had indeed made me ragequit, to the point where I would take weeklong breaks from the game when it's not even that long. As I mentioned to my friends, it's art in the same way that a bully beats you up and your mom gives you grilled cheese and apple slices to help make you feel better.
It was the end that the game really got to me. Out of nowhere, I started crying after Ninten sang the Eight Melodies to Queen Maria. She started talking about Geigue and how he was when she raised him, and how his tail would always wag like a dog except for when she sang that lullaby. I was seriously fighting back tears (which I was told NOT to cry about yet, thanks Mother fandom) because the way she talked about him sounded exactly like a loving grandmother on her deathbed, recalling all the fun little memories she had with her grandchildren before passing away peacefully. And then Magicant disappearing, a place that said to always have a loving home for Ninten, felt like the emptiness I felt when my grandmother passed away. I haven't actually properly cried for her passing away, and I haven't done so for over 10 years now. But now I definitely feel like I've let out some of the deep-seeded pain. Even while writing this review, tears are dripping down my face.
So yeah, the ending manages to pick everything back up all at once. It's really not fair of me to attach a score to this game because of how deep the emotions run with it. I feel the same about this game as I do with my own life. It sucks a lot. I've been through a lot of mental pain. But there are just those tender moments, like dancing on the stage, or walking around the elementary school, or sharing a close bond with Ana, that really just make it charming. And then sometimes, it really turns out for the better.
In short, if you're able to love a piece of art, thorns and all, then I definitely recommend it provided you promise me you won't get hurt too much by it. Because this game hurts a lot but man I'm glad to have gone through it.
This random PopCap game is the most subversive critique on the American economy I have ever seen. In this game the rich (big fish) are only able to gobble up the most fish (money) while the small fish (poor people) are only able to gobble up scraps.
Don't even get me started on how they treat hardworking immigrants. In this climate, they are treated unfairly as an invasive species that threatens to take all the resources in the economy. The game even goes so low as to hideously distort the supposed "antagonist" as a hideous creature.
And on top of that, the ruling class sends the little guys out to fight this creature without ever helping out themselves, which harkens to our politicians sending us internationally to fight some war that they will never directly touch themselves.
Therefore, it is my belief that Feeding Frenzy 2 is by a MILE the best simulation about what it's like to a lower working class citizen, and how they are pitted against their fellow man with the tantalizing prospect of one day becoming the ruler themselves. It's a shame that EA bought up PopCap, because otherwise there might be a Feeding Frenzy 3 in which it has a scene where a school of minnows team up on orcas and overthrow their rule. Sadly, the corporate fat cats at EA would never allow it. Sigh. One can only dream.
Don't even get me started on how they treat hardworking immigrants. In this climate, they are treated unfairly as an invasive species that threatens to take all the resources in the economy. The game even goes so low as to hideously distort the supposed "antagonist" as a hideous creature.
And on top of that, the ruling class sends the little guys out to fight this creature without ever helping out themselves, which harkens to our politicians sending us internationally to fight some war that they will never directly touch themselves.
Therefore, it is my belief that Feeding Frenzy 2 is by a MILE the best simulation about what it's like to a lower working class citizen, and how they are pitted against their fellow man with the tantalizing prospect of one day becoming the ruler themselves. It's a shame that EA bought up PopCap, because otherwise there might be a Feeding Frenzy 3 in which it has a scene where a school of minnows team up on orcas and overthrow their rule. Sadly, the corporate fat cats at EA would never allow it. Sigh. One can only dream.
This is like 9/11 for the remaining queerphobic Celeste fans
Spoilers for Umineko and Higurashi!!
There's something so fascinating about the creator's distinctive second work when comparing it to the first (even though I'm well aware this is far from Ryukishi07's second work I just meant in the WTC series). The character designs seem more intricate. The story themes and way of telling it seem deeper. The character motivations seem more ambiguous and varied. The active push to make a series bigger and better, especially after the first one was so good, is a curious thing to watch as creators try to figure out how to follow up to something that anyone would be honored to have made.
The low hanging fruit I can compare this to is of course the case between Undertale and Deltarune. Undertale, pretty simple premise with pretty simple characters: show kindness to people, because your actions have consequences. Deltarune, more complex: although it's not finished, it tells of battle for control and escapism. Characters evolve more slowly, and they have the baggage that weighs them down while it was a matter of acting to make friends with monsters in Undertale (except, you know, the obvious).
The TL;DR of following up your work is that you should do something different, and Umineko takes the concept of trying to break the cycle of repeating the days over and over in a complex direction. So, in this case, it went from solving the mystery of a curse in a Japanese village with a small group of friends to a game against a witch in a Western-styled murder mystery with a large extended family.
Seriously. The main cast is MASSIVE with about 20 people, not counting the many other side characters. The fact that they all were able to be written well and uniquely enough to be distinct from one another is honestly amazing. Of course, them being varied in personality and demeanor means they're not all going to be winners, nor does it mean that we'll be able to fully understand their characters from the get-go.
And tangentially it is here that I make my rant against Kinzo. Fuck Kinzo honestly. Fuckin self-important asshole lockin himself up in his study all the time glaring and crying and acting like he's better than everybody else just because he pulled a blondie once. Every time he gets burnt alive, an angel gets its wings. Holy shit, fuck Rosa too she's well written but fuck me that scene of her ripping apart Sakutaro is ingrained in my head. I should note that none of these characters are poorly written, they're just extremely flawed people and I appreciate that Ryukishi expanded his writing of characters from overall likable with hidden flaws to outwardly cruel but secretly hurt and sympathetic characters.
Of course, there's no shortage of classic likable characters too. Me personally, I'm a fan of Jessica, Ange, Maria, Shannon and Kanon! But in the end, I hope each character gets their own satisfying arc and conclusion (except Kinzo can rot in hell). But you know what that means. Oh boy, I've gotten attached. See you all again in like a month.
The storytelling takes a nice change as it shifts from more psychological horror mixed in with body horror to pure viscera and body horror. This game is so gory oh my god I love it. The death sound effect and the scene of Maria singing while standing in a puddle of blood facing the wall are ingrained into my head. Actually the CGs of Maria's face warping in general are ingrained into me. At one point I was taking my headphones off because I wanted to physically get away from the horrific scenes. I thought I'd be kinda desensitized to this stuff by now but it's all about presentation that gets people.
Now for the plot, I was honestly enthralled from the start. The delicate balance of everyone secretly feuding for the inheritance was nicely done. Not that I've ever interacted with a rich family, but that dynamic I felt was written organically. And then there's Beatrice coming and fucking everything up in the best way possible and I love it. Honestly, the main conflict with Battler and her was a little aimless at first but as the story states later on that's kinda the point. It's just SO LONG. I wish getting attached to every character didn't mean having to go at it for 60+ hours but hey I'm getting my money's worth 💔.
So overall, yeah this is as good as people say it is! Honestly it's more repetitive than Higurashi which means that I probably would be less likely to reread it, but it wasn't bad. I just wish they potentially did more with the family conference rather than the same exact events over and over up until things get weird. That's what made each chapter of Higurashi stand out from one another, after all. But as it is this is a great read and a fantastic direction for the WTC saga. I can't wait to solve the mysteries again.
There's something so fascinating about the creator's distinctive second work when comparing it to the first (even though I'm well aware this is far from Ryukishi07's second work I just meant in the WTC series). The character designs seem more intricate. The story themes and way of telling it seem deeper. The character motivations seem more ambiguous and varied. The active push to make a series bigger and better, especially after the first one was so good, is a curious thing to watch as creators try to figure out how to follow up to something that anyone would be honored to have made.
The low hanging fruit I can compare this to is of course the case between Undertale and Deltarune. Undertale, pretty simple premise with pretty simple characters: show kindness to people, because your actions have consequences. Deltarune, more complex: although it's not finished, it tells of battle for control and escapism. Characters evolve more slowly, and they have the baggage that weighs them down while it was a matter of acting to make friends with monsters in Undertale (except, you know, the obvious).
The TL;DR of following up your work is that you should do something different, and Umineko takes the concept of trying to break the cycle of repeating the days over and over in a complex direction. So, in this case, it went from solving the mystery of a curse in a Japanese village with a small group of friends to a game against a witch in a Western-styled murder mystery with a large extended family.
Seriously. The main cast is MASSIVE with about 20 people, not counting the many other side characters. The fact that they all were able to be written well and uniquely enough to be distinct from one another is honestly amazing. Of course, them being varied in personality and demeanor means they're not all going to be winners, nor does it mean that we'll be able to fully understand their characters from the get-go.
And tangentially it is here that I make my rant against Kinzo. Fuck Kinzo honestly. Fuckin self-important asshole lockin himself up in his study all the time glaring and crying and acting like he's better than everybody else just because he pulled a blondie once. Every time he gets burnt alive, an angel gets its wings. Holy shit, fuck Rosa too she's well written but fuck me that scene of her ripping apart Sakutaro is ingrained in my head. I should note that none of these characters are poorly written, they're just extremely flawed people and I appreciate that Ryukishi expanded his writing of characters from overall likable with hidden flaws to outwardly cruel but secretly hurt and sympathetic characters.
Of course, there's no shortage of classic likable characters too. Me personally, I'm a fan of Jessica, Ange, Maria, Shannon and Kanon! But in the end, I hope each character gets their own satisfying arc and conclusion (except Kinzo can rot in hell). But you know what that means. Oh boy, I've gotten attached. See you all again in like a month.
The storytelling takes a nice change as it shifts from more psychological horror mixed in with body horror to pure viscera and body horror. This game is so gory oh my god I love it. The death sound effect and the scene of Maria singing while standing in a puddle of blood facing the wall are ingrained into my head. Actually the CGs of Maria's face warping in general are ingrained into me. At one point I was taking my headphones off because I wanted to physically get away from the horrific scenes. I thought I'd be kinda desensitized to this stuff by now but it's all about presentation that gets people.
Now for the plot, I was honestly enthralled from the start. The delicate balance of everyone secretly feuding for the inheritance was nicely done. Not that I've ever interacted with a rich family, but that dynamic I felt was written organically. And then there's Beatrice coming and fucking everything up in the best way possible and I love it. Honestly, the main conflict with Battler and her was a little aimless at first but as the story states later on that's kinda the point. It's just SO LONG. I wish getting attached to every character didn't mean having to go at it for 60+ hours but hey I'm getting my money's worth 💔.
So overall, yeah this is as good as people say it is! Honestly it's more repetitive than Higurashi which means that I probably would be less likely to reread it, but it wasn't bad. I just wish they potentially did more with the family conference rather than the same exact events over and over up until things get weird. That's what made each chapter of Higurashi stand out from one another, after all. But as it is this is a great read and a fantastic direction for the WTC saga. I can't wait to solve the mysteries again.
I would play Trials HD all the time on the Xbox and have a hell of a time, so I decided to wishlist the rest of the games on Steam as a sort of play it whenever scenario. Last Christmas, I got gifted this (shoutout to @senkaikasa btw) and after about 5 hours I can confidently say that this series wasn't just kid me being bored and was genuinely peak.
Coming back to this series as a fully out trans woman is really funny. I never thought about it, but this game is masculinity turned up to the max. From the rock music to the screechy guy shutting up the nerd in the intro, every aspect of this title should tell you at face value that this is a REAL MAN's game for manly men with beards and muscles that have an XBOX because they're COOL and don't have a Wii for SISSIES.
Yet, I can't help but get the vibe that Trials is a title that has a cult fanbase full of autistic trans women. Putting aside the stimulating setpieces, responsive physics and hilarious failures, the aformentioned themes of masculinity seemed to resonate to me in a way that hits different than when I played Marble it Up. Whereas in that game I was fondly remembering how the marble would control under my fingers, Trials's presentation continuously stuck out to me.
This game is so masculine that it smashes the barrier of parody. Think about what comes to your mind when you think of doing cool manly things. Riding motorcycles. Explosions. Getting dirty. Breaking bones. That game has all that. And completely unintentionally, Trials puts it all together into a comprehensive, fun and arcadey package with one message: masculinity can be goofy.
The game knows it, too. It's named TRIALS, how much more on-the-nose can you get? There's a skill game where you try to break as many bones as possible flying off your bike. The message the game is giving is that if your try to perform too hard to be a man, you're just going to get pummeled. And then the omnipotent being that's controlling fate is going to laugh at you for it. To that end, make sure that you have fun, but also make sure that you have fun tomorrow. The standards of toxic masculinity be DAMNED.
I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with what I'm saying. I'm drawing meaning from a goofy bike game from 2013. If I can shorten my thoughts, it would be that this game represents my naive ideas about what being a man was all about as a kid, and as a trans woman that is now aware of how gender works, I see that's what they were going for!
Now if you'll excuse me I'll be looking for the Trials fandom to see what they're all about ^w^
Coming back to this series as a fully out trans woman is really funny. I never thought about it, but this game is masculinity turned up to the max. From the rock music to the screechy guy shutting up the nerd in the intro, every aspect of this title should tell you at face value that this is a REAL MAN's game for manly men with beards and muscles that have an XBOX because they're COOL and don't have a Wii for SISSIES.
Yet, I can't help but get the vibe that Trials is a title that has a cult fanbase full of autistic trans women. Putting aside the stimulating setpieces, responsive physics and hilarious failures, the aformentioned themes of masculinity seemed to resonate to me in a way that hits different than when I played Marble it Up. Whereas in that game I was fondly remembering how the marble would control under my fingers, Trials's presentation continuously stuck out to me.
This game is so masculine that it smashes the barrier of parody. Think about what comes to your mind when you think of doing cool manly things. Riding motorcycles. Explosions. Getting dirty. Breaking bones. That game has all that. And completely unintentionally, Trials puts it all together into a comprehensive, fun and arcadey package with one message: masculinity can be goofy.
The game knows it, too. It's named TRIALS, how much more on-the-nose can you get? There's a skill game where you try to break as many bones as possible flying off your bike. The message the game is giving is that if your try to perform too hard to be a man, you're just going to get pummeled. And then the omnipotent being that's controlling fate is going to laugh at you for it. To that end, make sure that you have fun, but also make sure that you have fun tomorrow. The standards of toxic masculinity be DAMNED.
I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with what I'm saying. I'm drawing meaning from a goofy bike game from 2013. If I can shorten my thoughts, it would be that this game represents my naive ideas about what being a man was all about as a kid, and as a trans woman that is now aware of how gender works, I see that's what they were going for!
Now if you'll excuse me I'll be looking for the Trials fandom to see what they're all about ^w^
This review contains spoilers
TW// Rpe, sxual assult, ftish content
This game actually took me months to finish through the sheer reason of "I'm not interested in this right now lmao" but I finally got through it and even got every achievement from it! Honestly wasn't that big of an ask since it was so short, so even a dumbass like me was able to finish it within 4 hours.
I'm gonna be honest, though. I am not a fan of the trial-and-error bs that the classic RPG Maker horror games pull. It's the reason I dropped Aria's Story so quickly that I didn't even want to review it. It doesn't reward the player for thinking intuitively a lot of the time; it's just chance and then you remembering NOT to do this thing the next time. I can see the argument, though, that that's the charm and seeing all the death animations turns it into an entertainment factor, a la Shobon no Action (Cat Mario). I'm not of that audience, but the game makes the deaths bearable by offering quicksaves at the press of a button.
As such, most of my experience with the game was okay. The story is really where this game hits its peaks and troughs. I will admit, I did have a bit of an attachment to the story at first with Aki wanting to be Misao's friend. It might seem weird to some people, but to me I've had that urge to be like "YES YES YES I WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND PLEASE BE MY FRIEND." And hey, I can always appreciate a good righting the wrongs type of story.
The ending strangely got me. Maybe it's because of my prior attachment to these types of stories but it being uplifting at the end almost made me a bit emotional. The Truth is my favorite part of Misao in that regard.
However, I find some aspects of Misao to be kind of disgusting. This is where the troughs of the story come into play. The Truth, as great as it is, tries to redeem Yoshino and Mr. Kurata and I just...can't understand why. Yoshino goes way too fucking far to just be a mere bully to Misao. Taking lewd photos of her to send to Tohma, painting on her body, and from what I can gather, letting one of the boys "have his way" with her. Girl, that's not stealing lunch money, that's fucking RAPE. You're lucky the most Misao ever did was get someone to chainsaw your body open and proceed to kick you over and over with her multiple spirits.
Now, with Mr. Kurata, I appreciate they gave him some depth by giving him a backstory of him being bullied because of his face and that him changing it never really solved his problem but instead gave him severe Imposter's Syndrome. That aspect of him being frustrated with people not truly accepting him I like. What I CANNOT forgive is his Yoshikage Kira complex. Lord almighty man, the students being scared of you isn't them not accepting you; you're a fucking pedophile that chops people's arms up. I know that approaching pedophilia and perversion should be handled with care and tact. That game doesn't DO that. It would be preferable if the game went in the opposite direction of just treating Mr. Kurata as a fully irredeemable villain. But instead Aki embraces the mf knowing full well the hand fetish is still a problem.
God, I don't know why I've started to become so unforgiving towards these sort of things. Normally I wouldn't be this upset especially with the rest of the game being alright. I think Higurashi When They Cry: Rei must have done something to my patience because I can no longer tolerate the inherent perversion that characters have and the slap on the wrist they get for it. Besides, there are probably other games within this subgenre that execute this story and gameplay without the flaws. The more I think about this game, the more I can't recommend it to anyone despite how otherwise harmless it is. All the other characters I like, too! Saotome ended up being my favorite after the Truth. Just aaaaagh why man why.
This game actually took me months to finish through the sheer reason of "I'm not interested in this right now lmao" but I finally got through it and even got every achievement from it! Honestly wasn't that big of an ask since it was so short, so even a dumbass like me was able to finish it within 4 hours.
I'm gonna be honest, though. I am not a fan of the trial-and-error bs that the classic RPG Maker horror games pull. It's the reason I dropped Aria's Story so quickly that I didn't even want to review it. It doesn't reward the player for thinking intuitively a lot of the time; it's just chance and then you remembering NOT to do this thing the next time. I can see the argument, though, that that's the charm and seeing all the death animations turns it into an entertainment factor, a la Shobon no Action (Cat Mario). I'm not of that audience, but the game makes the deaths bearable by offering quicksaves at the press of a button.
As such, most of my experience with the game was okay. The story is really where this game hits its peaks and troughs. I will admit, I did have a bit of an attachment to the story at first with Aki wanting to be Misao's friend. It might seem weird to some people, but to me I've had that urge to be like "YES YES YES I WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND PLEASE BE MY FRIEND." And hey, I can always appreciate a good righting the wrongs type of story.
The ending strangely got me. Maybe it's because of my prior attachment to these types of stories but it being uplifting at the end almost made me a bit emotional. The Truth is my favorite part of Misao in that regard.
However, I find some aspects of Misao to be kind of disgusting. This is where the troughs of the story come into play. The Truth, as great as it is, tries to redeem Yoshino and Mr. Kurata and I just...can't understand why. Yoshino goes way too fucking far to just be a mere bully to Misao. Taking lewd photos of her to send to Tohma, painting on her body, and from what I can gather, letting one of the boys "have his way" with her. Girl, that's not stealing lunch money, that's fucking RAPE. You're lucky the most Misao ever did was get someone to chainsaw your body open and proceed to kick you over and over with her multiple spirits.
Now, with Mr. Kurata, I appreciate they gave him some depth by giving him a backstory of him being bullied because of his face and that him changing it never really solved his problem but instead gave him severe Imposter's Syndrome. That aspect of him being frustrated with people not truly accepting him I like. What I CANNOT forgive is his Yoshikage Kira complex. Lord almighty man, the students being scared of you isn't them not accepting you; you're a fucking pedophile that chops people's arms up. I know that approaching pedophilia and perversion should be handled with care and tact. That game doesn't DO that. It would be preferable if the game went in the opposite direction of just treating Mr. Kurata as a fully irredeemable villain. But instead Aki embraces the mf knowing full well the hand fetish is still a problem.
God, I don't know why I've started to become so unforgiving towards these sort of things. Normally I wouldn't be this upset especially with the rest of the game being alright. I think Higurashi When They Cry: Rei must have done something to my patience because I can no longer tolerate the inherent perversion that characters have and the slap on the wrist they get for it. Besides, there are probably other games within this subgenre that execute this story and gameplay without the flaws. The more I think about this game, the more I can't recommend it to anyone despite how otherwise harmless it is. All the other characters I like, too! Saotome ended up being my favorite after the Truth. Just aaaaagh why man why.
2022
For what it's worth, Frogun was a jolly good time. I have no nostalgia for the old PS1 graphics, but it worked to Frogun's benefit as to make the characters pop out more and made the gameplay more readable! And in turn, that's what drew me to it in the first place!
The story is light-hearted and simple, and you can really see Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot's influence on it! And hey, as an autistic girl with big front teeth myself I found a bit of myself in Renata. She's a very good protagonist in that I was able to project myself onto her.
The gameplay, like always, has to be the most important part. For the most part it was a great time going through the levels and then going back through them to get all the collectibles. Unfortunately, the mechanics are unpolished and as such suffer. The later levels suffer the most as it requires the player to chain together grabs, and the lock-on I found to be quite frustrating. Even if the red target appears, if you're too low or too high you won't grapple to your target. Platforming in general is just unforgiving. I wish there was more air-time to each jump or a more lenient grapple range.
I'm not too mad. In fact I may pick it up again someday but I've reached my fill of it for now. I hope Frogun Encore improves on this and I hope the devs go back to this game with what they've learned and give it the tweaks it needs.
The story is light-hearted and simple, and you can really see Banjo-Kazooie and Crash Bandicoot's influence on it! And hey, as an autistic girl with big front teeth myself I found a bit of myself in Renata. She's a very good protagonist in that I was able to project myself onto her.
The gameplay, like always, has to be the most important part. For the most part it was a great time going through the levels and then going back through them to get all the collectibles. Unfortunately, the mechanics are unpolished and as such suffer. The later levels suffer the most as it requires the player to chain together grabs, and the lock-on I found to be quite frustrating. Even if the red target appears, if you're too low or too high you won't grapple to your target. Platforming in general is just unforgiving. I wish there was more air-time to each jump or a more lenient grapple range.
I'm not too mad. In fact I may pick it up again someday but I've reached my fill of it for now. I hope Frogun Encore improves on this and I hope the devs go back to this game with what they've learned and give it the tweaks it needs.
2020
Ultimately, I got too lost while traversing this game, so I decided to drop it. I'm not mad though, it was charming as hell and all the characters were pretty cool. (Also I need to be the main character soooo bad plsplsplsplsplspls)
This review contains spoilers
Rei is a very conflicting collection of works for me. On one hand it definitely has its place with adding onto the main story in one particular key way but on the other hand...well, you're about to find out.
Saikoroshi
This is the high point of the bonus collection and honestly the only scenario I'd feel fully comfortable recommending to people. While I was absolutely crushed to see the scenario play out at first (as I'm sure was the intention) to the point where I didn't want to consider this scenario fully canon, I grew to learn what it was teaching and its merits as an epilogue to the series. In my opinion, it really helps Rika's character reach that much more a satisfying conclusion. It also helps flesh out Hanyuu's intentions more. Definitely a great read, even if it makes the perfect ending that Matsuribayashi had stumble a bit.
Batsukoishi
What the fuck. No. No. No. What the fuck is this. I don't like this. I NEVER liked this even in the main chapters but at least I could put up with it because it was mixed in with some of the greatest storytelling ever but this is just that shit turned up to max degeneracy. I know the intro said SPECIFICALLY that it would be that way COME ON THIS HAS GOTTA BE THE MOST CGs to a single chapter. God dammit. KYS KYS KYS.
A critic must suffer for their art I guess /j.
Hirokuwashi
Note that I have only played the PC version and am planning on playing the console version at a later date. I've been told they're really different but they can't be THAT different, right? (clueless)
Anyways, Hirokuwashi PC wasn't terrible. I just found myself really bored by it for some reason, even though it contained the same hype moments such as a cool majong game like from Himatsubushi. I mean hey we got bisexuality but at the cost of Rena going after 3 adults. Yikes. At least it's not Batsukoishi levels of bad but that's a low fucking bar to clear.
Maybe I also didn't care for this mini-chapter for that specific reason. I'm too attached to Rena as a character at this point to put up with any bullshit that happens to her. ESPECIALLY if it means toying with her emotions. That also meant leaving more of a bitter taste in my mouth when it came to Tomitake, Takano and Ooishi as characters. Come on guys.
But, the end was very cute and honestly quite sobering. Keiichi's oblivion to Rena's feelings took me back to my days in high school where I would just reject in hindsight QUITE OBVIOUS clues that some girl liked me due to my low ass self-esteem and lack of social skills. That still frustrates me but hey I'm dating the girl of my dreams now so it all worked out. I just hope it works out for those friends too.
Anyways TL;DR read Saikoroshi if you weren't quite satisfied by Matsuribayashi, AVOID BATSUKOISHI AT ALL COSTS, and maybe read Hirokuwashi if you're bored. At least read it with 07th mod to get a cool ass anime intro. They made TWO DIFFERENT ONES for both version, how.
Saikoroshi
This is the high point of the bonus collection and honestly the only scenario I'd feel fully comfortable recommending to people. While I was absolutely crushed to see the scenario play out at first (as I'm sure was the intention) to the point where I didn't want to consider this scenario fully canon, I grew to learn what it was teaching and its merits as an epilogue to the series. In my opinion, it really helps Rika's character reach that much more a satisfying conclusion. It also helps flesh out Hanyuu's intentions more. Definitely a great read, even if it makes the perfect ending that Matsuribayashi had stumble a bit.
Batsukoishi
What the fuck. No. No. No. What the fuck is this. I don't like this. I NEVER liked this even in the main chapters but at least I could put up with it because it was mixed in with some of the greatest storytelling ever but this is just that shit turned up to max degeneracy. I know the intro said SPECIFICALLY that it would be that way COME ON THIS HAS GOTTA BE THE MOST CGs to a single chapter. God dammit. KYS KYS KYS.
A critic must suffer for their art I guess /j.
Hirokuwashi
Note that I have only played the PC version and am planning on playing the console version at a later date. I've been told they're really different but they can't be THAT different, right? (clueless)
Anyways, Hirokuwashi PC wasn't terrible. I just found myself really bored by it for some reason, even though it contained the same hype moments such as a cool majong game like from Himatsubushi. I mean hey we got bisexuality but at the cost of Rena going after 3 adults. Yikes. At least it's not Batsukoishi levels of bad but that's a low fucking bar to clear.
Maybe I also didn't care for this mini-chapter for that specific reason. I'm too attached to Rena as a character at this point to put up with any bullshit that happens to her. ESPECIALLY if it means toying with her emotions. That also meant leaving more of a bitter taste in my mouth when it came to Tomitake, Takano and Ooishi as characters. Come on guys.
But, the end was very cute and honestly quite sobering. Keiichi's oblivion to Rena's feelings took me back to my days in high school where I would just reject in hindsight QUITE OBVIOUS clues that some girl liked me due to my low ass self-esteem and lack of social skills. That still frustrates me but hey I'm dating the girl of my dreams now so it all worked out. I just hope it works out for those friends too.
Anyways TL;DR read Saikoroshi if you weren't quite satisfied by Matsuribayashi, AVOID BATSUKOISHI AT ALL COSTS, and maybe read Hirokuwashi if you're bored. At least read it with 07th mod to get a cool ass anime intro. They made TWO DIFFERENT ONES for both version, how.
This review contains spoilers
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FINALLY I MADE IT THROUGH MY BRAINROT OF A SERIES LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAT A STORYYYYYY
What can I say? This really is the perfect finale to the series. I will admit, the prologue dragged on a bit too long for me. It wasn't bad, but I admit I really wasn't in the mood to sympathize with Takano after her causing Rika so much trouble.
But MAN does everything pick up with Connecting Fragments and the gameplay actually branches out for once!! Getting the last of the answers was so cool in the way it was presented. There's still a few questions that I'd like answered but they're honestly not important. God knows maybe the answers to them will be somewhere in the console arcs.
And the finale omgggggg this must have been what Jesus felt like when he wrote Revelations (/j). Nothing has gotten me so hype to see all the characters finally get the endings deserve. And yes, I do mean ALL the characters.
The secret ending to Matsuribayashi is interesting for sure. Making the tragic events never happen in the first place by saving Miyoko's parents as an ending really opens Higurashi up to this concept of a never-ending narrative in the form of collecting various fragments is a neat interpretation of the parallel-universes form of storytelling. I guess that's what allows works like Rei and Hou+ and the console arcs to fit in more neatly. In a way it's also respecting its roots as a doujin soft work, by letting the reader continue to add on their own scenarios to the universe. Hey, we love a creator that encourages fan works.
But ummmm yeah that's about it as of writing this I have finished Rei as well and that was good but I'm actually starting to get a bit tired of the series. I want to say now though that I will forever cherish my time that I've had with this visual novel series and the ride it's taken me through, and I hope more of my friends go through it with me, too.
Thank you, Leah.
What can I say? This really is the perfect finale to the series. I will admit, the prologue dragged on a bit too long for me. It wasn't bad, but I admit I really wasn't in the mood to sympathize with Takano after her causing Rika so much trouble.
But MAN does everything pick up with Connecting Fragments and the gameplay actually branches out for once!! Getting the last of the answers was so cool in the way it was presented. There's still a few questions that I'd like answered but they're honestly not important. God knows maybe the answers to them will be somewhere in the console arcs.
And the finale omgggggg this must have been what Jesus felt like when he wrote Revelations (/j). Nothing has gotten me so hype to see all the characters finally get the endings deserve. And yes, I do mean ALL the characters.
The secret ending to Matsuribayashi is interesting for sure. Making the tragic events never happen in the first place by saving Miyoko's parents as an ending really opens Higurashi up to this concept of a never-ending narrative in the form of collecting various fragments is a neat interpretation of the parallel-universes form of storytelling. I guess that's what allows works like Rei and Hou+ and the console arcs to fit in more neatly. In a way it's also respecting its roots as a doujin soft work, by letting the reader continue to add on their own scenarios to the universe. Hey, we love a creator that encourages fan works.
But ummmm yeah that's about it as of writing this I have finished Rei as well and that was good but I'm actually starting to get a bit tired of the series. I want to say now though that I will forever cherish my time that I've had with this visual novel series and the ride it's taken me through, and I hope more of my friends go through it with me, too.
Thank you, Leah.
This review contains spoilers
WOW. So we FINALLY learn what this series is all about 3/4ths of the way into the series... and I wouldn't have it any other way. Reading Higurashi up until this here has been nothing short of a thrill ride with its twists and turns and this chapter felt like nothing short of therapy for me for getting to know these characters. Seeing everything go right for everybody not biased since Mion finally got that FUCKING doll, including them finally managing to break through Satoko's fate just filled me with nonstop euphoria.
Aaaaaaaaand that made me hate Minagoroshi's ending in the best way possible. My jaw was wide open and I was laughing because I was so pissed off at that ending. God dammit, you give me the narrative equivalent of an ice cream cake and then smash my head into it.
But that's what the series is all about, baby. Picking yourself back up and keeping on going with the help of your friends. The ice cream cake may be smashed by your face, but you can still work to enjoy it. And what good is a cake if you can't share at least a bit of it?
Also I see the hype behind Hanyuu now. Never expected the definition of "girlfailure but not really because she's actually really cool and powerful" would end up being the actual Oyashiro-sama. I don't know! Maybe I was expecting her presence to be along the lines of when Bella Hawthorne was exorcised out of Maya Fey's body (speaking of which, I'll get to that series some day) but at this point I should expect the unexpected in Hinamizawa.
This is the perfect primer for Matsuribayashi and let me tell you, after finishing this chapter I was MOTIVATED to finally bust through the finish line. This isn't really me-core as Watanagashi or Tsumihoroboshi was, hence the 4.5 stars but I could really find no faults with this one.
Aaaaaaaaand that made me hate Minagoroshi's ending in the best way possible. My jaw was wide open and I was laughing because I was so pissed off at that ending. God dammit, you give me the narrative equivalent of an ice cream cake and then smash my head into it.
But that's what the series is all about, baby. Picking yourself back up and keeping on going with the help of your friends. The ice cream cake may be smashed by your face, but you can still work to enjoy it. And what good is a cake if you can't share at least a bit of it?
Also I see the hype behind Hanyuu now. Never expected the definition of "girlfailure but not really because she's actually really cool and powerful" would end up being the actual Oyashiro-sama. I don't know! Maybe I was expecting her presence to be along the lines of when Bella Hawthorne was exorcised out of Maya Fey's body (speaking of which, I'll get to that series some day) but at this point I should expect the unexpected in Hinamizawa.
This is the perfect primer for Matsuribayashi and let me tell you, after finishing this chapter I was MOTIVATED to finally bust through the finish line. This isn't really me-core as Watanagashi or Tsumihoroboshi was, hence the 4.5 stars but I could really find no faults with this one.
This review contains spoilers
This chapter was honestly so good that I had to do it justice by trying to be artsy and thoughtful (which just means adding a soundtrack to my review lol). I never thought anything else in Higurashi could ever touch Watanagashi but I was wrong. Not only was it able to resonate with me, it was able to hit me.
Accompaniment: Children of the Wind by Crying
This chapter serves as the answer to Onikakushi, the chapter that made me fall in love with the series. As such, this chapter has made me fall in love with the series all over again. What was a psychological horror masterpiece has turned into a meaningful masterpiece about trusting your friends.
Firstly, I wanted to talk about how just how realistic Rena's depression felt to me. In Doki Doki Literature Club, Sayori's depression was able to get me from her being able to express how much she doesn't want people to burden themselves with her existence. Rena's also touches on that, but it's the way that her circumstances are portrayed at first. In spite of how she feels, she thinks her life is pretty good. She's well off with living, she has amazing friends, and her dad has a girlfriend that's cheered him up the first time since he got divorced. She's well aware of this and she feels bad about feeling upset, knowing that her friends go through worse. This is part of the non-communication that she has with her friends
This leads into the second theme that heavily resonated with me: a lack of trust and how that can be a burden on anyone. Obviously most of us won't be going through the circumstances of killing a badger couple or suffering severe delusions caused by paranoia (not in that magnitude at least, I will talk about it more.) If I'm being honest with myself, I'm... a bit of a petty person. If someone does something that makes me feel bad about myself, I probably won't forget it. Even if they don't mean it that way (which they most certainly don't). It's small, and I know they don't mean it, so I don't talk about it as it might cause more trouble than it's worth (a reason I also resonate heavily with Watanagashi and Mion).
Of course, Rena's reasoning is far more reasonable, with her friends not giving Satoshi the support he needed before he disappeared. But Tsumihoroboshi keeps in line with the series teachings of opening up about your problems to your friends to try and become a better person. And probably the most interestingly relatable part is Keiichi trying to reach Rena's ears by speaking from his heart. But, he's not good at expressing his words. Rena doesn't know what he's talking about. I had to stop and think about that bit. I wouldn't call myself dense like how Keiichi is, but being someone with autism I have trouble reaching people and helping people understand through my words, especially with emotionally charged moments. So Keiichi starts over and just gets to the point. And that's what ultimately reaches Rena which I found is realistic to interactions I've had with my friends when they were going through their struggles. I just wish I was able to grasp their hand with the same impact that Keiichi was able to reach. A simple symbolism of friendship is able to stay in Rena's heart, even when she's descending into madness.
The final theme I wanted to talk about it paranoia and anxiety portrayed through mental disease and madness. As a quick note, this chapter is exemplary in demonstrating the unreliable narrator literary device. We hear what Rena hallucinates through her perspective, and you hear the truth of the same interaction. That's just so cool to me. It's a clear cut allegory of how depression and anxiety warps your perspective to fit a narrative that seems irrational to anyone else. I honestly can't offer too much critical insight here I just wanted to highlight how cool the perspective shift was this chapter and what it meant to me.
This chapter has officially earned the title "Alliecore." Fucking amazing. And there's 30 hours of the main story left and I'm already hooked for Minagoroshi. I am now at the stage where I recommend this VN to all of my friends. I hope you're happy, Leah (who recommended this series).
Accompaniment: Children of the Wind by Crying
This chapter serves as the answer to Onikakushi, the chapter that made me fall in love with the series. As such, this chapter has made me fall in love with the series all over again. What was a psychological horror masterpiece has turned into a meaningful masterpiece about trusting your friends.
Firstly, I wanted to talk about how just how realistic Rena's depression felt to me. In Doki Doki Literature Club, Sayori's depression was able to get me from her being able to express how much she doesn't want people to burden themselves with her existence. Rena's also touches on that, but it's the way that her circumstances are portrayed at first. In spite of how she feels, she thinks her life is pretty good. She's well off with living, she has amazing friends, and her dad has a girlfriend that's cheered him up the first time since he got divorced. She's well aware of this and she feels bad about feeling upset, knowing that her friends go through worse. This is part of the non-communication that she has with her friends
This leads into the second theme that heavily resonated with me: a lack of trust and how that can be a burden on anyone. Obviously most of us won't be going through the circumstances of killing a badger couple or suffering severe delusions caused by paranoia (not in that magnitude at least, I will talk about it more.) If I'm being honest with myself, I'm... a bit of a petty person. If someone does something that makes me feel bad about myself, I probably won't forget it. Even if they don't mean it that way (which they most certainly don't). It's small, and I know they don't mean it, so I don't talk about it as it might cause more trouble than it's worth (a reason I also resonate heavily with Watanagashi and Mion).
Of course, Rena's reasoning is far more reasonable, with her friends not giving Satoshi the support he needed before he disappeared. But Tsumihoroboshi keeps in line with the series teachings of opening up about your problems to your friends to try and become a better person. And probably the most interestingly relatable part is Keiichi trying to reach Rena's ears by speaking from his heart. But, he's not good at expressing his words. Rena doesn't know what he's talking about. I had to stop and think about that bit. I wouldn't call myself dense like how Keiichi is, but being someone with autism I have trouble reaching people and helping people understand through my words, especially with emotionally charged moments. So Keiichi starts over and just gets to the point. And that's what ultimately reaches Rena which I found is realistic to interactions I've had with my friends when they were going through their struggles. I just wish I was able to grasp their hand with the same impact that Keiichi was able to reach. A simple symbolism of friendship is able to stay in Rena's heart, even when she's descending into madness.
The final theme I wanted to talk about it paranoia and anxiety portrayed through mental disease and madness. As a quick note, this chapter is exemplary in demonstrating the unreliable narrator literary device. We hear what Rena hallucinates through her perspective, and you hear the truth of the same interaction. That's just so cool to me. It's a clear cut allegory of how depression and anxiety warps your perspective to fit a narrative that seems irrational to anyone else. I honestly can't offer too much critical insight here I just wanted to highlight how cool the perspective shift was this chapter and what it meant to me.
This chapter has officially earned the title "Alliecore." Fucking amazing. And there's 30 hours of the main story left and I'm already hooked for Minagoroshi. I am now at the stage where I recommend this VN to all of my friends. I hope you're happy, Leah (who recommended this series).
This review contains spoilers
Meakashi begins the journey into finding answers for all the mysteries set up from the first half and it has absolutely wrecked me for it.
I was really hyped to be playing as Shion, but for what reason I'm not sure. Maybe it was that it was a palette cleanser, maybe it was that I finally got to play as a girl, but I was hooked from the get-go. The first half of Meakashi seemed to fly by as I was getting to know her inner thoughts and of the events right before 1983. I think this chapter was much better paced than Chapters 2 and 3, personally.
Anyways, getting into the narrative now.
...
BEST KIN MION DID NOTHING WRONG HALLELUJAH MY GIRL HAS BEEN ABSOLVED FROM HER CRIMES
With that said I pretty much have to throw out a lot of my analysis from Wataganashi, but hot DAMN have I never been happier to do so. The narrative told from Shion's perspective is so woven in so artfully that I find it hard to believe this was done from a popularity poll. If it really was, then that poll deadass determined how the overarching mystery would've unfolded and I love it.
The chapter itself is a great blend of everything that came before it. The unsettlement of Onikakushi, the woe of Watanagashi (because Mion didn't deserve ANY OF THAT GOD DAMMIT SHE JUST WANTED HER DOLL), the descent into madness of Tatarigoshi, and the revelations of Himatsubushi. While never reaching the emotional resonance that Watanagashi hits for me, (hence the rating) I would consider this chapter the most consistent in quality overall.
P.S. Keiichi's sprites are so funny he's such a silly goober I'm finally warming up to him. Also I still have a question about the difference in how Shion and Keiichi meet between Chapter 2 and 5. That's a very neat thing that I should keep in mind when I'm gearing up for the finale!
I was really hyped to be playing as Shion, but for what reason I'm not sure. Maybe it was that it was a palette cleanser, maybe it was that I finally got to play as a girl, but I was hooked from the get-go. The first half of Meakashi seemed to fly by as I was getting to know her inner thoughts and of the events right before 1983. I think this chapter was much better paced than Chapters 2 and 3, personally.
Anyways, getting into the narrative now.
...
BEST KIN MION DID NOTHING WRONG HALLELUJAH MY GIRL HAS BEEN ABSOLVED FROM HER CRIMES
With that said I pretty much have to throw out a lot of my analysis from Wataganashi, but hot DAMN have I never been happier to do so. The narrative told from Shion's perspective is so woven in so artfully that I find it hard to believe this was done from a popularity poll. If it really was, then that poll deadass determined how the overarching mystery would've unfolded and I love it.
The chapter itself is a great blend of everything that came before it. The unsettlement of Onikakushi, the woe of Watanagashi (because Mion didn't deserve ANY OF THAT GOD DAMMIT SHE JUST WANTED HER DOLL), the descent into madness of Tatarigoshi, and the revelations of Himatsubushi. While never reaching the emotional resonance that Watanagashi hits for me, (hence the rating) I would consider this chapter the most consistent in quality overall.
P.S. Keiichi's sprites are so funny he's such a silly goober I'm finally warming up to him. Also I still have a question about the difference in how Shion and Keiichi meet between Chapter 2 and 5. That's a very neat thing that I should keep in mind when I'm gearing up for the finale!
Whatever I was expecting this chapter to be, it definitely wasn't this. I came into this chapter expecting a short but zinging story that would jumpstart the quest for answers in Meakashi.
...Okay, admittedly I got exactly that but not in the way I was expecting, goddammit!! This was satisfying as hell to go through as a difference in narration but keeping the mystery in the background. First thing I should mention is that this probably is the end of me trying to review these chapters as if they were their own thing. Himatsubushi REQUIRES you know everything before getting into it, as it directly references events from Tatarigoshi (of course, that's without the mentioning the bonds you SHOULD be building up with the characters in the previous chapters).
In short, this is more of a savory appetizer than a full meal. It's here we learn more about Rika as a character (and her younger self is ADORABLE, btw) and just how much she knows about everything. The way she speaks, the way she was raised, and the way she thinks, elevating her to the character with the most potential for uncovering a MASSIVE rabbit hole.
Of course, we also learn a bit more about how the people in Hinamizawa run the show and get to empathize a bit with the methods the protestors use to try and fight to keep their village alive. But, me being an emotional bitch, I grew most attached to Akasaka and his wife's loving relationship for the short time that I saw it. I'm not going to spoil anything for this review in particular but this is where I'm realizing how ham Ryukishi's going with the emotional piano keys.
There was some stuff I was mostly neutral about, like the whole driving force of Akasaka going to Hinamizawa in the first place, but I still had a fun time with it! It was shorter, too, which is good because supposedly it's RIGHT before the second half when things get answered so I'm glad it didn't overstay its welcome.
One last thing. I'm aware that the console ports added alternate endings which is definitely something I'm interested in, but I think it would be better suited to be left out of my reviews for the purpose of neatening up how I review it. I definitely will be playing them when I'm done with the PC arcs of course.
...Okay, admittedly I got exactly that but not in the way I was expecting, goddammit!! This was satisfying as hell to go through as a difference in narration but keeping the mystery in the background. First thing I should mention is that this probably is the end of me trying to review these chapters as if they were their own thing. Himatsubushi REQUIRES you know everything before getting into it, as it directly references events from Tatarigoshi (of course, that's without the mentioning the bonds you SHOULD be building up with the characters in the previous chapters).
In short, this is more of a savory appetizer than a full meal. It's here we learn more about Rika as a character (and her younger self is ADORABLE, btw) and just how much she knows about everything. The way she speaks, the way she was raised, and the way she thinks, elevating her to the character with the most potential for uncovering a MASSIVE rabbit hole.
Of course, we also learn a bit more about how the people in Hinamizawa run the show and get to empathize a bit with the methods the protestors use to try and fight to keep their village alive. But, me being an emotional bitch, I grew most attached to Akasaka and his wife's loving relationship for the short time that I saw it. I'm not going to spoil anything for this review in particular but this is where I'm realizing how ham Ryukishi's going with the emotional piano keys.
There was some stuff I was mostly neutral about, like the whole driving force of Akasaka going to Hinamizawa in the first place, but I still had a fun time with it! It was shorter, too, which is good because supposedly it's RIGHT before the second half when things get answered so I'm glad it didn't overstay its welcome.
One last thing. I'm aware that the console ports added alternate endings which is definitely something I'm interested in, but I think it would be better suited to be left out of my reviews for the purpose of neatening up how I review it. I definitely will be playing them when I'm done with the PC arcs of course.
This review contains spoilers
This chapter is very difficult for me to speak about because of how many emotions it made me go through. First and foremost, I was absolutely touched by the emotional bond that Keiichi and Satoko shared at the beginning. I was quite close to tearing up a few times when Coach Irie was talking about her life while "Sunrise" was playing. And Satoko calling Keiichi her Nii-nii just got me all 🥺🥺🥺
I should've despaired more then when all those wonderful emotions came to an end. Instead I found myself screaming at my computer yet again as Keiichi railroads himself into another horrible situation. I thought maybe he would be a bit more bearable after seeing him decide it's not best to pry into Satoshi's disappearance or avoiding Ooishi, or even the whole act of getting to know Satoko. He still has a lot to grow from, and while I can't call it bad character writing at all considering the nature of who he is, I found it too unbearable personally. I'm looking forward to him hopefully continue his growth! But until then, thank GOD for Rena for calling him out on his shit sometimes.
Again, this is by no means a bad chapter. While Onikakushi provided a source of horror and Watanagashi provided me emotional resonance, Tatarigoshi provided a complete gut-punch with its sheer mysterious elements coming out of left field. I was expecting a twist on the formula this time around with Keiichi being the harbinger of the curse by a simple murder. While it...kind of became true, I'm still reeling as to what kind of curse Hinamizawa is facing.
The end especially leaves me with a bunch of questions I'd like answered. And of COURSE that's what Ryukishi wanted. He, say it with me now, played me like a damn fiddle. Is the toxic gas part of fate? The curse? Part of Keiichi's wish? God knows. This is the perfect chapter to lead into the second half of the saga. I'm also finding out now that there are WHOLE ARCS from the console releases. God damn what did I get myself into.
I should've despaired more then when all those wonderful emotions came to an end. Instead I found myself screaming at my computer yet again as Keiichi railroads himself into another horrible situation. I thought maybe he would be a bit more bearable after seeing him decide it's not best to pry into Satoshi's disappearance or avoiding Ooishi, or even the whole act of getting to know Satoko. He still has a lot to grow from, and while I can't call it bad character writing at all considering the nature of who he is, I found it too unbearable personally. I'm looking forward to him hopefully continue his growth! But until then, thank GOD for Rena for calling him out on his shit sometimes.
Again, this is by no means a bad chapter. While Onikakushi provided a source of horror and Watanagashi provided me emotional resonance, Tatarigoshi provided a complete gut-punch with its sheer mysterious elements coming out of left field. I was expecting a twist on the formula this time around with Keiichi being the harbinger of the curse by a simple murder. While it...kind of became true, I'm still reeling as to what kind of curse Hinamizawa is facing.
The end especially leaves me with a bunch of questions I'd like answered. And of COURSE that's what Ryukishi wanted. He, say it with me now, played me like a damn fiddle. Is the toxic gas part of fate? The curse? Part of Keiichi's wish? God knows. This is the perfect chapter to lead into the second half of the saga. I'm also finding out now that there are WHOLE ARCS from the console releases. God damn what did I get myself into.