calicomps
6 reviews liked by calicomps
Raging Loop
2015
im so sad bc a friend recommended me this and it started off so good but alas...
to start with:
pros
+ art style that fits a lot with the theme, its not particularly "pretty" to look at but it does the job
+ character designs both fit the time period (early 2000s) AND the setting (u'll understand when u see it)
+ if you ignore the stuff ill talk in the spoilers section the first 10-15 hours and some additional info you get at the end are just. really good writing
+ worldbuilding that makes sense and makes you go "OHH.. THAT'S WHAT IT WAS" in a good way
+ lots of anti-frustration mechanics such as the game telling you where you fucked up and what you should have done, and which keys are for which choices
+ rly good ost!!!
+ i just like mafia/werewolf
? there's no real gore, everything is drawn with a red silhouette instead.
general thoughts are:
SPOILER TERRITORY!!!
HOOOAHHH!!
complaints about haruaki and rikako:
i think the first loop where you dont participate in the feast and the second loop where you DO participate and play as the snake are flawlessly written, aside from chiemi's behavior in wit (which is explained later) is written in a really cringeworthy way, i think that just fits her personality. characters react differently to familiar people and events depending on their role during the feast which keeps the story fresh during each loop and you learn more about them. my problem with the wolf route which also has characters behaving differently than usual is mostly with haruaki's behavior with haru. chiemi and rikako are his love interests during the first loops which i have no problem with, but haruaki is (self reclaimed) 24 years old and haru is a 15 year old. haruaki is just really creepy about her, saying that she is "becoming his type" and that he has "fallen for her" and "would like a relationship with her had she not been a wolf". although haruaki himself is an unreliable narrator, lying about pretty much everything ever, no one in the game questions the age gap when haruaki says he had fallen for her (although this can be explained with the fact that yasumizu is a hypertraditionalist religious village, and as i am currently living in a country filled with and basically ruled by these villages i can see that being ok with them, however the journalists are educated people from the city, they should never be okay with a 24 yr old saying he has fallen for a 15 yr old.
i also hate that rikako is also a pedophile and a rapist, at least she gets called out, not because shes a rapist or a pedophile but because she is trying to resurrect an ancient evil god and destroy japan. i mean ok priorities. i know japan isnt the best with these topics (rape and pedophilia) so thats all i will say.
i didnt like the ending. i hate the whole "dreamer" thing, i hate that fucking sheep so much just ruining the immersion completely and destroying the setting the game had established, and i hate the game trying to justify EVERYTHING about yasumizu with "facts and logic", such as miguruma and higuchi controlling yasumizu and making them think ookami-sama DOES exist, and while learning about these with nosato was fun and made me go "ohhhhhhh", i just hate that how haruaki had an answer for everything. the corruption? its miguruma destroying the bodies with machines. the marks? they put sleeping gas in their room. the locks opening themselves? miguruma must have put motion activated locks on the doors. just bulldoze the whole village at this point whats the fucking point the cops wont come anyway
anyway it was ok the ost was really good. as for who i think is autistic (because i have to pick an autist from everything i play) i think its both kiyo and mocchi, i think autism just runs in the nosato family. also i love haru / the badger god combo theyre so fucking funny
to start with:
pros
+ art style that fits a lot with the theme, its not particularly "pretty" to look at but it does the job
+ character designs both fit the time period (early 2000s) AND the setting (u'll understand when u see it)
+ if you ignore the stuff ill talk in the spoilers section the first 10-15 hours and some additional info you get at the end are just. really good writing
+ worldbuilding that makes sense and makes you go "OHH.. THAT'S WHAT IT WAS" in a good way
+ lots of anti-frustration mechanics such as the game telling you where you fucked up and what you should have done, and which keys are for which choices
+ rly good ost!!!
+ i just like mafia/werewolf
? there's no real gore, everything is drawn with a red silhouette instead.
general thoughts are:
SPOILER TERRITORY!!!
HOOOAHHH!!
complaints about haruaki and rikako:
i think the first loop where you dont participate in the feast and the second loop where you DO participate and play as the snake are flawlessly written, aside from chiemi's behavior in wit (which is explained later) is written in a really cringeworthy way, i think that just fits her personality. characters react differently to familiar people and events depending on their role during the feast which keeps the story fresh during each loop and you learn more about them. my problem with the wolf route which also has characters behaving differently than usual is mostly with haruaki's behavior with haru. chiemi and rikako are his love interests during the first loops which i have no problem with, but haruaki is (self reclaimed) 24 years old and haru is a 15 year old. haruaki is just really creepy about her, saying that she is "becoming his type" and that he has "fallen for her" and "would like a relationship with her had she not been a wolf". although haruaki himself is an unreliable narrator, lying about pretty much everything ever, no one in the game questions the age gap when haruaki says he had fallen for her (although this can be explained with the fact that yasumizu is a hypertraditionalist religious village, and as i am currently living in a country filled with and basically ruled by these villages i can see that being ok with them, however the journalists are educated people from the city, they should never be okay with a 24 yr old saying he has fallen for a 15 yr old.
i also hate that rikako is also a pedophile and a rapist, at least she gets called out, not because shes a rapist or a pedophile but because she is trying to resurrect an ancient evil god and destroy japan. i mean ok priorities. i know japan isnt the best with these topics (rape and pedophilia) so thats all i will say.
i didnt like the ending. i hate the whole "dreamer" thing, i hate that fucking sheep so much just ruining the immersion completely and destroying the setting the game had established, and i hate the game trying to justify EVERYTHING about yasumizu with "facts and logic", such as miguruma and higuchi controlling yasumizu and making them think ookami-sama DOES exist, and while learning about these with nosato was fun and made me go "ohhhhhhh", i just hate that how haruaki had an answer for everything. the corruption? its miguruma destroying the bodies with machines. the marks? they put sleeping gas in their room. the locks opening themselves? miguruma must have put motion activated locks on the doors. just bulldoze the whole village at this point whats the fucking point the cops wont come anyway
anyway it was ok the ost was really good. as for who i think is autistic (because i have to pick an autist from everything i play) i think its both kiyo and mocchi, i think autism just runs in the nosato family. also i love haru / the badger god combo theyre so fucking funny
If I had to choose one word to describe this game, it'd have to be "baffling." In certain aspects, Security Breach is very nearly competent; the art direction, voice work, and- to an extent -environmental design are on point, and clearly display some level of passion from the team behind them.
Unfortunately, this is where the positives end. As I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, this game is nearly unplayable in almost every way. Marred by constant glitches, inscrutable gameplay decisions, and a plot even more convoluted than it's already incomprehensible predecessors, almost everything about Security Breach is an undeniable mess. My friends and I had a damn good time laughing at it, but that's just about the limit of what one can take away from this game.
Unfortunately, this is where the positives end. As I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, this game is nearly unplayable in almost every way. Marred by constant glitches, inscrutable gameplay decisions, and a plot even more convoluted than it's already incomprehensible predecessors, almost everything about Security Breach is an undeniable mess. My friends and I had a damn good time laughing at it, but that's just about the limit of what one can take away from this game.
Amnesia: Memories
2013
This review contains spoilers
PHEW... i got this game 223 days ago, started with ikki's route, got super fucking bored and dropped it until like a month ago when i picked up again because i made it my mission to play all otome that's available on pc ... anyway here's my review of each route following the route i played, so its: clover world -> spades world -> diamond world -> heart world -> joker world
Clover World - Kent
i did initially start with ikki's route but the first route i actually finished was kent's, and i started him because he looked like a knockoff version of axel from ozmafia (ignoring the fact that amnesia was released earlier). i'm autistic and i'm 100% sure kent is also autistic, although not made put clearly in the text, a lot of autistic coded characters in anime are written to be "weirdo geniuses who are too literal with everything", and that's exactly what kent is like. kent's route is the most normal one out of the other routes, he doesn't have a special power like ikki or ukyo, or has a bad past or bad morals like shin or toma, he is just very autistic, very normal, and very in love. he's the least popular character in the japanese fandom and the most popular character in the western fandom for this exact reason
Spades World - Ikki
continuing ikki's route from where i left off, it's understandable and actually expected of the player to be turned off from ikki, he has his own fucking fan club and he would rather spend time with them than the heroine. he has this special power where if he looks at a woman's eyes she falls in love with him instantly, but they fall out of love once he is out of their sight, which he uses to play around with other women. to give a summary of his route: his fan club is fucking insane, he refuses to acknowledge it until the last moment because they almost kill you because he's too nice and he feels bad about rejecting all those women and he hates his life because he's DROWNING IN PUSSY!!!!!!!! i do like him tho i think he is funny. if ikki has 10 fans in the real world one of them is me
Diamond World - Toma
so toma's the most popular character in the japanese fanbase because he is a yandere and abusive, and also because he is the heroine's step brother in ikki's route (though he is not in the other routes???) so there's also an incest/inseki element to it that you can just ignore because he's not her brother in his own world. toma's popularity also deems him a walking spoiler because if you have heard ANYTHING about the amnesia games before playing them it's The Cage which he brings around day 22 so that's nice.
although i think toma's route is INCREDIBLY badly written, save from the danger and thriller elements from his own route (especially the way you get the good ending, honestly what the fuck, im not even gonna bother spoiling it because it was so stupid), the ost from his specific route is GREAT, toma unintentionally makes himself the most suspicious guy ever, he has his own specific parameter exclusive to his own route (the "doubt" parameter which replaces "suspicion"), and he makes out to be a great fucking villain especially in shin's route. HOWEVER, even though i am neutral on the topic of yanderes, i believe toma's route to be horribly badly written, and not because of its abusive elements, but because of the story's flow, the plotholes, and the way the story itself tries to justify toma's actions. his route takes the safe option by eliminating other characters from the story after bringing The Cage, so its just the heroine, toma and orion that stays relevant in his route (and ukyo but he appears like once and he says some cryptic shit i love him). you literally dont see the other characters again after his route. shin sends some messages to the heroine on day 17 but then he fucks off and never returns to the story hes just gone. did toma kill him?? did he give up?? who knows! knowing the stuff toma pulls in shin's route he might as well be dead! anyways i didnt like it, but toma is funny so he's like a 5/10 for me
Heart World - Shin
so i literally did his route yesterday and i started off NOT liking shin solely because of his sprites and i would like to apologize to him for that. his sprites might be ugly but his heart is pure.
the mystery elements of shin's route are really well written, almost like a detective novel (since you and shin play detectives) and i did NOT see the plot twist coming. i honestly dont have any complains about shin's route other than toma's role in it, i understand that shin and toma are meant to parallel each other the way that ikki and kent does, but i did not like that he was allowed to be free of his consequences, and even shin feels bad for him. he bashed someone's face in and pushed someone else off the stairs, wtf?? BUT this route also makes toma out to be a really good villain, aside from his motive which is stupid as fuck but hes a yandere so its expected, the way that toma's role in the attempted murder and his reaction + the foreshadowing (such as toma being able to keep a perfect poker face during gambling, or him being one step ahead of shin to confuse him) are so good. honestly it was really great, and i would RECOMMEND that you play toma's route because shin's, because shin's route reveals toma's yandere nature and basically spoils toma's entire route, and despite having played toma's route before shin's, i did not see the plot twist coming, so you wouldn't be missing anything.
Joker World - Ukyo
this route was the one i was most excited for and it DID deliver, albeit towards the ending it started to fall off a little bit. ukyo has visual novel DID so he has an evil alter that comes and goes, and its not only an ableist depiction of DID (which is. ok its 2013. i cant say anything about that. proper research on DID is still not properly available to the general public.), but the way that his evil alter portrayed at the ending was straight up CRINGE. in a funny way. im not gonna say any more on that. play ukyo's route its so good i love him. if ukyo has one fan its me if ukyo has no fans im dead
GENERAL RATINGS
UI design: confusing but you can get the hang of it quickly, plus you can change key settings
OST: fucking banger
Art: really good!!! some CGs are in awkward poses but i really like the atmosphere they give
Character Design: i will warn you they are garbage but listen. everything about amnesia is supposed to be weird. just go along with it. ignore kent's coat
Heroine: im the heroine's no.1 defender, aside from being so stupid in toma's route the heroine actually gets her personality back bit by bit (especially in ukyo's route) so i will not accept any heroine slander!!!
anyway um. if you like visual novels or otome games OR you want to start them amnesia is a good choice. its legendary in the english otome community. its so funny not because of comedic elements but because the story just slaps you in the face sometimes. give amnesia a try :3
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/755536334336295022/1083109209605951600/u.png
Clover World - Kent
i did initially start with ikki's route but the first route i actually finished was kent's, and i started him because he looked like a knockoff version of axel from ozmafia (ignoring the fact that amnesia was released earlier). i'm autistic and i'm 100% sure kent is also autistic, although not made put clearly in the text, a lot of autistic coded characters in anime are written to be "weirdo geniuses who are too literal with everything", and that's exactly what kent is like. kent's route is the most normal one out of the other routes, he doesn't have a special power like ikki or ukyo, or has a bad past or bad morals like shin or toma, he is just very autistic, very normal, and very in love. he's the least popular character in the japanese fandom and the most popular character in the western fandom for this exact reason
Spades World - Ikki
continuing ikki's route from where i left off, it's understandable and actually expected of the player to be turned off from ikki, he has his own fucking fan club and he would rather spend time with them than the heroine. he has this special power where if he looks at a woman's eyes she falls in love with him instantly, but they fall out of love once he is out of their sight, which he uses to play around with other women. to give a summary of his route: his fan club is fucking insane, he refuses to acknowledge it until the last moment because they almost kill you because he's too nice and he feels bad about rejecting all those women and he hates his life because he's DROWNING IN PUSSY!!!!!!!! i do like him tho i think he is funny. if ikki has 10 fans in the real world one of them is me
Diamond World - Toma
so toma's the most popular character in the japanese fanbase because he is a yandere and abusive, and also because he is the heroine's step brother in ikki's route (though he is not in the other routes???) so there's also an incest/inseki element to it that you can just ignore because he's not her brother in his own world. toma's popularity also deems him a walking spoiler because if you have heard ANYTHING about the amnesia games before playing them it's The Cage which he brings around day 22 so that's nice.
although i think toma's route is INCREDIBLY badly written, save from the danger and thriller elements from his own route (especially the way you get the good ending, honestly what the fuck, im not even gonna bother spoiling it because it was so stupid), the ost from his specific route is GREAT, toma unintentionally makes himself the most suspicious guy ever, he has his own specific parameter exclusive to his own route (the "doubt" parameter which replaces "suspicion"), and he makes out to be a great fucking villain especially in shin's route. HOWEVER, even though i am neutral on the topic of yanderes, i believe toma's route to be horribly badly written, and not because of its abusive elements, but because of the story's flow, the plotholes, and the way the story itself tries to justify toma's actions. his route takes the safe option by eliminating other characters from the story after bringing The Cage, so its just the heroine, toma and orion that stays relevant in his route (and ukyo but he appears like once and he says some cryptic shit i love him). you literally dont see the other characters again after his route. shin sends some messages to the heroine on day 17 but then he fucks off and never returns to the story hes just gone. did toma kill him?? did he give up?? who knows! knowing the stuff toma pulls in shin's route he might as well be dead! anyways i didnt like it, but toma is funny so he's like a 5/10 for me
Heart World - Shin
so i literally did his route yesterday and i started off NOT liking shin solely because of his sprites and i would like to apologize to him for that. his sprites might be ugly but his heart is pure.
the mystery elements of shin's route are really well written, almost like a detective novel (since you and shin play detectives) and i did NOT see the plot twist coming. i honestly dont have any complains about shin's route other than toma's role in it, i understand that shin and toma are meant to parallel each other the way that ikki and kent does, but i did not like that he was allowed to be free of his consequences, and even shin feels bad for him. he bashed someone's face in and pushed someone else off the stairs, wtf?? BUT this route also makes toma out to be a really good villain, aside from his motive which is stupid as fuck but hes a yandere so its expected, the way that toma's role in the attempted murder and his reaction + the foreshadowing (such as toma being able to keep a perfect poker face during gambling, or him being one step ahead of shin to confuse him) are so good. honestly it was really great, and i would RECOMMEND that you play toma's route because shin's, because shin's route reveals toma's yandere nature and basically spoils toma's entire route, and despite having played toma's route before shin's, i did not see the plot twist coming, so you wouldn't be missing anything.
Joker World - Ukyo
this route was the one i was most excited for and it DID deliver, albeit towards the ending it started to fall off a little bit. ukyo has visual novel DID so he has an evil alter that comes and goes, and its not only an ableist depiction of DID (which is. ok its 2013. i cant say anything about that. proper research on DID is still not properly available to the general public.), but the way that his evil alter portrayed at the ending was straight up CRINGE. in a funny way. im not gonna say any more on that. play ukyo's route its so good i love him. if ukyo has one fan its me if ukyo has no fans im dead
GENERAL RATINGS
UI design: confusing but you can get the hang of it quickly, plus you can change key settings
OST: fucking banger
Art: really good!!! some CGs are in awkward poses but i really like the atmosphere they give
Character Design: i will warn you they are garbage but listen. everything about amnesia is supposed to be weird. just go along with it. ignore kent's coat
Heroine: im the heroine's no.1 defender, aside from being so stupid in toma's route the heroine actually gets her personality back bit by bit (especially in ukyo's route) so i will not accept any heroine slander!!!
anyway um. if you like visual novels or otome games OR you want to start them amnesia is a good choice. its legendary in the english otome community. its so funny not because of comedic elements but because the story just slaps you in the face sometimes. give amnesia a try :3
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/755536334336295022/1083109209605951600/u.png
Changed the game for the franchise tbh, will always have a special place in my heart! The ost is insane, the new gameplay mechanics are fun, the maps are refreshing, the characters are unique and the story is simply great! Chrom best husband btw 🤷♀️
god dude they really made his ass SO BIG it's WILD
Lost Judgment
2021
This review contains spoilers
Kuwana did nothing wrong