i didn't find the overall narrative in this one as interesting as the other dlc, and with that slight lack of interest some of the mysteries were particularly challenging (i really struggled with the second case lol, this was the first time i actually used the hint system and even then i was drawing blanks for a bit of it), but when pieces really fell into place i ended up liking it anyway! i enjoy its direct connection to the start of the golden idol game, that was neat. overcomplicates that aspect of the original story, maybe, but i don't know, i like it

MEMENTO MORI, IF THE NINETH LION ATE THE SUN

i enjoyed 999 quite a bit but i didn't love it, so i was feeling a bit worried that virtue's last reward would make me feel the same: interested but ultimately underwhelmed by its impact on me. oh boy!!! this game!!! knocked my socks off!!!

the prisoner's dilemma aspect of the story deeply impacted me, the times i got betrayed i genuinely felt it. even those times when i just knew i was going to be betrayed, this person is obviously not telling the truth when they promise me they'll ally, every time i still gasped in hurt shock, lol. after playing the game a few days straight when i first started playing i actually needed a long, several months break because i got too emotionally invested, i was nearing yet another AB game and i was genuinely so scared that the last person i felt like i trusted in this game was going to betray me. i legit cried in fear and had to stop playing lmao it just really hit me emotionally. this game has truly highlighted for me that deep down i am a very trusting person who wants to see good intentions. man, the amount of times i got burned on that in this game... betraying others' trust in me also stung, every time

this game kept me in the dark at every shocking twist and turn, no matter how much i felt like i knew, i never managed to come up with a single tangible theory. every time i started to think i maybe was onto an idea, the game pulled the rug beneath my feet and dropped a bomb on me. that was an incredible experience!

the puzzles in my opinion were a lot better compared to the previous game, in the sense that i rarely needed to look up the solutions lol. my worst puzzle moment was in a certain room at the end of the game, one of the wall puzzles and the dice puzzle together absolutely broke my brain. the fucking die just won't!! flip the right way!!!! sigh, anyway. on a small number of puzzles throughout the game i would've spent like 5 hours stuck on if i hadn't looked them up, so i'm okay with doing it in that case. the puzzles were overall pleasant challenges though! i played through in hard mode with an overall minimal struggle

my only negative comment at all, really, is zero III. the most annoying-ass character in the entire game. i first played with english voices and i instantly couldn't stand zero III, so i switched to japanese voices and he was still just as unbearable (also daisuke ono voices K and i love that actor so i would've switched eventually either way). thank god for the ability to skip over dialogue you've already seen! a life saver! other than zero III i ended up liking all of the characters. luna is my absolute favorite and i love her <3

i wrote down notes as i played to keep track of information and to solve puzzles, and wrote down little reaction notes as twists were turned and facts were revealed, it was so fun. all in all, i had a fantastic time playing this game! i could spend hours talking about this game, i loved my time with it

i played this game loads on my ds as a kid but i never completed it (understandable, because i didn't know english very well then and couldn't really comprehend any of the quests beyond each of the npcs' first quests). i watched izzzyzzz's video on the wii version of the game the other day and got the irresistible urge to replay the ds game

finally completed the main story but i still plan to attempt to 100% it, just so that i will never have a reason to be compelled to play this ever again lol. this game kind of sucks but i'm a sucker for survival oriented around foraging for food, crafting tools, and making the wilderness into a home, so i still have some fun. it's a sims game after all

my favorite part of this game is probably the fishing mechanics, i could spend hours going spear fishing when i played this as a kid. this playthrough was the first time i ever unlocked the fishing pole and it's just really fun to have two distinctly different fishing minigames that both work pretty well all things considered. my only problem is that it wouldn't always register long holds so the pole fishing minigame didn't quite work for me a lot of the time but hey, that isn't the game's fault, that's my 18 years old nintendo ds's fault. honorable mention is the painting easel! i didn't really engage with it on this playthrough but as a kid the easel was a big hit and i'd spend several hours drawing and try to squash all the bugs in order to unlock all the colors. fond memories

the absolute worst part of this game is the godawful crate rng, waiting over 15 in-game days for a crate of one (1) nail because you accidentally used it in a shitty ~mystery craft~ when you really needed it for something that is mandatory in order to make further progress is literal hell. the items that are crate-exclusive and are necessary parts in several essential crafting recipes are way too rare

my other massive pet peeve in this game is the amount of crops that come from expensive-to-trade seeds and then the crops themselves are one-harvest-only. that's such bullshit! at least the free grass patch has the decency to give me a new seed bag when i harvest it. ms weeder is making bank on all the crap i trade with her in order to cook all food recipes. she and chef butcher must be working together to squeeze all resources from me

this game does have some whimsical and goofy touches that i really enjoy, but it gets drowned in core mechanics that feel like a chore to play and a main "story" that abruptly just ends