Neutral Drow reviews: Princess Waltz

[NeutralDrow]

[img_inline caption="THE WHEEL OF FATE IS TURNING." align="center"]http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/1776/14m7144.jpg[/img_inline]​

"Lovely beast, sweet animal
Annihilating all that stands in her way!
Hungry beast, blood shall be shed
Eradicating all the fools who contend!"

- "Babel Nose," Guilty Gear vocal tracks

"How should I put this...it's like a contest of dumb determination."

- Arata

___________________________________________________________________________________________
<color=aliceblue>Line break.

The seven kingdoms of Eldhiland exist in relative peace with each other. While conflict still exists in the world, the six original kingdoms have set aside their internal differences for a thousand years under the heading of the Emperor and the kingdom of Seventh Central, and united by the event known as the Princess Waltz. Said Waltz takes place once every generation, a contest to select from among the six kingdoms the princess who is to marry the prince, the heir to the Emperor's throne. As the name might suggest, the princesses compete for the honor by...

...

Well, okay, by arranging duels and beating ten kinds of shit out of each other until the last one standing wins.

Not that Arata Fukamori is aware of any of this. Back on Earth, Arata's mostly concerned with his everyday life, living with his mother(/teacher) and older sister(/kendo instructor), going to high school with his close friend Nodoka, and possibly even musing over that new exchange student, Chris Northfield. Not exactly idyllic, but comfortable. So considering his worldview doesn't include Chris being the prince of another world and fighting monsters in the border between dimensions, he takes the eventual revelation surprisingly well.

Fusing with Chris and becoming the swordswoman Princess Iris, on the other hand, is a little more alarming. As is the realization that, since the prince is disguised and secretly participating in the Waltz, Arata's in line to receive some very violent attention from opponents who far outclass him...

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Princess Waltz

Side note before we begin: if you get this game, don't read the back of the box. Alternately, don't read the cast page from a web site. Seriously, what the hell were those idiots thinking giving away one of the twists on the back of the box? I know it's laughably easy to see coming (a fact the game realizes and has fun with), but still, what the hell?

Er...anyway. Let's get started...finally. Didn't expect to not have this out until Christmas.

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Gameplay

Princess Waltz is a visual novel, though a rather uncommon one. If anything, in fact, it's a kinetic novel with an RPG-influenced fighting system attached. Unlike most visual novels, Princess Waltz contains almost no adventure game-style choices; at only two points in the game do choices come up, one on whether you want to go through fight training (for basically free experience), and one that determines which character's "route" you're on. Overall, the story is very firmly linear.

Instead, every so often you fight card battles. And despite the game's most obvious premise, your most common opponents are Guardeners, monsterous guardians of the dimensional border, rather than enemy princesses (after all, there's only five of them).

The game is turn-based, with each turn divided into initiative and action rounds and five cards available per turn. The cards can be used in any combination of 1-4 for these rounds (and unused cards increase in power for the next turn), and it's essentially a game of "who has the higher number;" the person who wins the initiative round goes on to attack, while the loser must defend or take the cards' difference in damage.

The game rewards you for overkill finishes. Cue the angels.

Adding to the complexity are the RPG elements, in the form of statistics and experience. The agility, weapon, and armor stats are added as bonuses during initiative, attack, and defense rounds, and the individual card colors have their own stats (the higher, the more powerful the initial draws). As well, a Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock system is in place, where using certain card colors against others grants and numerical advantage or disadvantage (though it's reversed from what might be expected; red > blue > green > red).

Winning battles earns experience points, with bonus experience awarded for quick finishes (defeating the opponent within five rounds) and overkill attacks (finishing the opponent with damage over their remaining health). Experience points in turn are spent increasing the six aforementioned stats, as well as skill cards. Unlocked once one or more stats reaches high enough level (and getting cheaper the higher those stats are), skill cards are one-off effects granting a character an edge in combat. For example, Feint (unlocked with high agility) triples initiative score for one round, while Crush (unlocked with high blue card power) adds extra damage for every blue card played in an attack.

The card game is simpler than it sounds, but still surprisingly fun. That said, there are a couple of sticking points in the whole thing, least of which is the difficult curve. That is, play right, and it curves downward. The game itself isn't hard to pick up, and with the right stat-buying - and eventually, fusing with a princess who gives agility boosts - individual fights become significantly less threatening, something first noticeable after the first (and very challenging) princess duel. If anything, one might say the challenge shifts to one of attrition; skill cards are once-a-day effects and health only refills at the end of a day, meaning a series of battles (like the three coinciding with the second princess duel) can still be nerve-wracking. But even that challenge is eventually eliminated, and what remains is going for bonus experience (seeing how fast and how hard you can smash through monsters).

Admittedly, that last part is why I never stopped looking forward to combat.

HYPER COMBO FINISH!

More significantly, however, is the severe story and gameplay segregation. I don't usually borrow metaphors from Yahtzee, but Princess Waltz's story and gameplay almost always do feel like they're being kept in separate rooms...with maybe a one-way mail slot between them, because the story absolutely affects the gameplay. After the story's first major twist, for example, Arata's psychological dissonance means Chris has to fight alone while in Iris' form, translating to a stat penalty. Another part of the game has your trainer summon monsters for fighting practice, and you can choose to fight up to three times in a row. Things like this happen a few more times, as well.

The reverse, however, isn't true. The fights themselves affect nothing but whether you'll be able to continue. It doesn't matter how close or lopsided your fight is with Angela, because <color=aliceblue>you lose anyway (well...draw, technically). It doesn't matter how little you sweat during the practice fights, because Arata and Chris are always exhausted. There's no actual story translation of the fights. Admittedly, I can see how this makes some sense, especially in light of Easy mode (which removes bonus experience, boosts every stat, and is basically there if you want to skip by the whole "gameplay" aspect).

There are exceptions, naturally. After a certain point, Princess Waltz is perfectly aware that guarden-variety monsters are basically cannon fodder to you, and acknowledges this for some pushover fights. As well, the final boss actually shakes things up a little, and was a really well done fight. For the rest, though, it quickly becomes sort of unnerving, as though the game was treating the card game as a diversion and hoping that the story could pick up the slack...

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Story

Fortunately, the story is, in fact, more than capable of carrying its own weight.

This is a game you'll often find compared to <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.223721-TYPE-MOON-Review-anniversary-Fate-Stay-Night>Fate/Stay Night, and I'd say that's a valid comparison in two ways...one of which is the absurd difficulty of speaking about the story without resorting to spoilers. There's actually a pretty big one early in the story, one that's apparently so utterly impossible to avoid it's given away on the game's back cover. I mean, granted, it really is pretty easy to see coming, so apparently Pulltop (the original development company) just decided to run with it, and have some fun at the characters' expense.

As mentioned, Princess Waltz's story is closer to a kinetic novel (basically, a non-game visual novel) than anything. There are very few twists and turns that the player has control over, but despite that lack of convention, it works pretty well. The general gist of the story is Arata's and Chris' mutual efforts at their mysterious task of magically disguising themselves as one of the contestants and winning the Princess Waltz...though the plot shifts drastically at least once, going more into the origins and purpose of the Waltz itself. The story is nominally told from Arata's perspective, and "nominally" is really the operative word. Of all the visual novels I've played thus far, Princess Waltz seems the most willing to follow characters outside the main one, to the point where the main thing distinguishing Arata is that his segments are the only ones in first-person.

Good thing it does, 'cuz Arata doesn't see this fight.

Because there are are certain choices in the game, it kinda pretends to have five "routes," depending on the princess Arata winds up allying with in the end...but only one or two (depending on how you count Liliana's extra scene) actually add any new information to the story. Other than the Beast Princess ending, the only real changes are which character you get a little more background on, who you fight the final battle with, and who's sex scene you get to see. You could almost get away with just two endings (Suzushiro/Liesel/Angela/Liliana and the Beast Princess)...except getting all five unlocks an epilogue of sorts. "Of sorts" because all it really is is a sequel hook that doesn't really add anything.

Not much else to say about the story by itself...except maybe about the Bad Ending. I just have one thing to say about the Bad Ending.

Dick move, Pulltop.

<color=red>DICK. MOVE.

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Characters

Fortunately, there actually is some incentive to get all five endings, because these are some fun characters.

That especially applies to the princesses, but Arata's no slouch, himself. I wasn't really all that sold on him, at first, until I realized that the worst thing I could say about him is that he's really at his best when bouncing off of other members of the cast, especially Chris. And Chris...I've seen some divided opinions on him, but I actually really like the guy, even though he just can't catch a break. To keep with the Fate/Stay Night comparison, there actually are some parallels between Arata and Chris' relationship and that of Shirou and Saber (beyond the obvious method of <url=http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2351/waltz7.jpg>taking Chris and imagining him <url=http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7/saberm.jpg>in a blue dress), though their personalities are rather different. Shirou and Arata both have heroic tendencies and the tenacity of cockroaches, but Arata's far more of a normal guy compared to Shirou's complex idealism and understated snark; Saber and Chris could be twin siblings and have similar insecurities about their royal status, but Saber has very little of Chris' <url=http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1188/waltz10.jpg>tsundere qualities, and none of his borderline transgender problems.

And no problem exists that horny teenage girls can't make worse.

The princesses match up similarly, and while I wouldn't call any of them paragons of depth, each one is at least deep enough to be interesting. Their personalities are widely divergent, from the bloodthirsty, spoiled brat who also displays strict honor and the occasional flash of whimsical compassion, to the housewife-in-training who radiates demureness like the north pole radiates warmth and sometimes solves her problems Captain Falcon-style, to the immature but surprisingly competent sea captain, to the cold-blooded...well, you get the point. Even their goals in the "contest of dumb determination" are rather different; only one princess fights out of love for Chris, per se, while another might fight for her country's pride, another might fight because fighting is fun, and another might fight because she's not quite aware of where she is at any given moment...

With a few exceptions, the supporting cast doesn't get to shine nearly as much, and most of those exceptions are the villains (who themselves don't get much to do until the game's second half...and who I subsequently can't really talk about, other than to point out one having an uncanny resemblance to a certain Fate/Stay Night villain). Taken as a whole, though, they're all right, and I have to admire the effort put into making them distinct (even really minor characters get their own speaking roles and unique sprites).

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Technical

This is where the Fate/Stay Night comparisons reach their zenith, because whatever else Princess Waltz is, it is fantastic-looking.

If I had to compare this game's use of its sprites and design, I'd have to bring up how the creators were deliberately trying to emulate a shounen anime. Not simply in character artwork (though, again, they clearly put a lot of effort even into the non-essential cast), but in depth and positioning (with some...<url=http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/231/waltz124.jpg>oddities) and in pseudo-animation. Actually, that last part is one thing were I can argue Princess Waltz actually surpasses Fate/Stay Night, both in sprite movement (not motion, granted, just movement) and background effect.

Again, the futility of demonstrating this with a still image.

In fact, my biggest complaint with Princess Waltz's artwork (one or two odd moments of proportion aside) is that there isn't quite enough of it. Not enough event CGs, at least, though one or two more Guardener designs would have been nice, too. Also, I know it's weird to talk about this in a game with actual sex, but Princess Waltz is surprisingly <url=http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/576/waltz25.jpg>fanservice-heavy. Though really, one could argue that if it's appropriate anywhere, it's appropriate in this sort of game.

The sound quality is quite good, too. The voice acting is, if not top-notch, pretty high up there, with my favorite performances coming from Chris (poor guy's pretty good at emoting) and Nanae (Arata and Shizuka's mother is sardonic, but oddly comforting to listen to). The soundtrack is similarly high-quality...or more so, I should say. Mostly a synth, piano, and percussion affair, the "everyday life" themes like "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3mJr60pPII>The Cat's Dance" are fine on their own, but it's really the slow themes and the action themes that stand out most. For the former, "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YrVK-Q06jA>And Then, Silence" is probably one of my favorite pieces ever, and "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0gm8QQ8xyw>Melody of the Rain" is easy to associate with some quieter, sadder themes. For the latter...I have to admit, I actually might like pieces like "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwnTbabEOiw>Battlefield of Steel" and "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8FcefXdPqM>Iron and Blood" even more than their Fate/Stay Night equivalents ("Emiya" and "Sword of Promised Victory"), and "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbWZM3MmDHQ>The Guarden" as the game's fighting theme fit the card battles very well whenever they came up.

And...then there's "<url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHRud70-zX8>Chance Meeting in the Moonlight." And I once again have to say...

<color=red>DICK. MOVE.

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Ero

There are seven such scenes in this game, three per "route," so to speak (two inevitable, one character-specific). How do I know that for sure? Because once again, a game with a scene replay option...that only includes sex scenes. Sigh...well, at the very least, unlike Crescendo, there's no rape in this game, so it doesn't have the "unpleasant reminder" thing going against it.

In any case, with one exception, there's nothing terribly special or objectionable about this game's erotic scenes. As a matter of fact, for a game that tends towards the harem route, there's a surprising maturity to some of the sexual content, tying into the game's justification for the sex and the fact that the participants aren't always romantically involved...and I sadly can't go into more detail than that.

The little death counts towards martyrdom, right?

Though it is also funny to note that the kinkiest of the princesses is probably the one you'd last expect, which leads into some of the funniest "morning after" dialogue ever.

Spoiler: Also, the erotic scene music, Body Temperature, is one of the more pleasant themes I've heard.

The scenes I had any problem with were Angela's specific scene (which was just...oddly discomforting), and a certain one involving Shizuka, Arata's older sister. Yes, per the words I used in Crescendo, <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.237875-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Crescendo>incest plausibility failure. Oddly, there are actually two incest-related things in the game, and if the other one wasn't a spoiler minefield, I would point out how ironically justified the game is in never actually calling attention to it.

<color=aliceblue>Line break.
Verdict

Princess Waltz is pretty good. It's gorgeous-looking in almost every way, the story is compelling enough to be interesting, and the gameplay, while it lacks a certain impact on the story and probably isn't developed enough to be a standalone concept, is still pretty fun to play and quite adept at shaking up the action. If anything, this game feels like a higher-end shounen/seinen mix anime in visual novel format, including some common thematic conceits (and a few pretty awesome fights).

The main problems are the game's overall linearity (including some in name only "character endings"), the gameplay aspect suffering a bit in comparison to the focus on story...and the comparatively high price tag. Apparently, I lucked out buying it in person, since it can go for up to $40 for a new copy online.

Not enough to counter my recommendation, but just a fair warning. If anything, my single biggest disappointment is that there's no sequel. Or rather, there might actually be sequel material...in a form of media that never (never) leaves Japan.

CURSE YOU, DRAMA CDS! http://lparchive.org/Pokemon-FireRed/Update%201/emot-argh.gif

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Next Review:

Can a gathering of misanthropes, homeless pariahs, and at least one nutcase live under the same roof? Find out in Family Project, coming...probably next month but don't quote me on that!

Well, actually, I'll probably have a Fate/Stay Night adapation series out before that, but...

Spoiler: Other Reviews, completed and planned (updated August 18, 2012)

____________________

TYPE-MOON reviews:
___________________

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.128851-TYPE-MOON-reviews-Tsukihime>Tsukihime
--- <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.142352-TYPE-MOON-reviews-Shingetsutan-Tsukihime-anime>Shingetsutan Tsukihime (anime)
--- <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.145022-TYPE-MOON-reviews-Lunar-Legend-Tsukihime-manga>Lunar Legend Tsukihime (manga)
- <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.139628-TYPE-MOON-reviews-Kagetsu-Tohya>Kagetsu Tohya
- <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.230960-TYPE-MOON-Reviews-Melty-Blood>Melty Blood
--- Re-Act/Act Cadenza
--- Actress Again

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.223721-TYPE-MOON-Review-anniversary-Fate-Stay-Night>Fate/Stay Night
--- Fate/Stay Night (anime)
----- Unlimited Blade Works
--- Fate/Stay Night (manga)
- Fate/Unlimited Codes
- Fate/Zero

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.304952-TYPE-MOON-Review-Anniversary-Kara-no-Kyoukai>Kara no Kyokai

Speculative: Fate/Hollow Ataraxia, Fate/Extra, Notes, DDD.

___________________________________

Neutral Drow reviews:
___________________________________

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.130703-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Xchange>Xchange
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.135672-Neutral-Drow-reviews-A-Drug-That-Makes-You-Dream>A Drug That Makes You Dream
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.146260-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Heart-de-Roommate>Heart de Roommate
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.163769-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Kanon>Kanon
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.148564-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Little-My-Maid>Little My Maid
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206764-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Kana-Little-Sister>Kana: Little Sister
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.252998-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Princess-Waltz>Princess Waltz
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.237875-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Crescendo>Crescendo
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.308335-Neutral-Drow-reviews-Symphonic-Rain>Symphonic Rain
Hourglass of Summer
Tokimeki Check-in
Casual Romance Club
True Love
Clannad
Family Project
Snow Sakura
The Sagara Family
Snow Drop
Brave Soul
Doushin - Same Heart
Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo
Da Capo
Da Capo II
Kira Kira

Spoiler: Planned, but unacquired.

Yo-Jin-Bo
Sekien no Inganock
Wanko to Kuroso
My Girlfriend is the President
Sharin no Kuni
Cross Channel
Wind: A Breath of Heart
Brass Restoration
Ever17
Remember11
Ori Ochi Onoe
Shuffle
One
G-Senjou no Maou
Gadget Trail
Swan Song
Eien no Aselia
Phantom of Inferno
Kikokugai
River Trap
Autumn
Sengoku Rance
Daibanchou
ef
Neko Kawaigari
Adam: The Double Factor
Edelweiss
AoiShiro

Speculative: Air, Galaxy Angel, Yu-No, Sumaga, Suika, Shimai Donburi, 11eyes, Ashita no Kimi to Au Tami ni

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Kinetic reviews:
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Narcissu
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
True Remembrance
Leaves
The Dandelion Girl
Tokoyo no Hoshizora

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Off-Topic reviews:
___________________________________

<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.151706-Lightning-Warrior-Raidy-a-Lordlee-and-Neutral-Drow-review>Lightning Warrior Raidy (collab. w/Lordlee)
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.158447-Off-Topic-Reviews-Devil-May-Cry-series>Devil May Cry series
- Devil May Cry 4 addendum
- DMC addendum
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.178061-Off-Topic-Reviews-Soulbringer>Soulbringer
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.194259-Off-Topic-Reviews-Ragnarok>Ragnarok
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.272426-Off-Topic-Reviews-Suguri>Suguri
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.385549-Off-Topic-Reviews-Ristar>Ristar
????
????

 

[Arcane Snowman]

As always, a solid review NeutralDrow.

As memory serves:

Spoiler: The non-Beast Princess Ending

It's an omnibus ending, Arata and the princesses have united with Chris, who once again wants to become a prince (this time with Arata's help it seems).

I personally looked at that, cursed profoundly, uninstalled the game and swore and oath to not return to it. Ever.

 

[Gigano]

Sounds like a great and fairly light-hearted fantasy fare.

I'll probably pass on this one in favour of going beyond the prologue in the Fate/Stay Night VN, in part for Rin/Archer, in part for it drawing on real mythology for an added bonus, but after watching most of the Anime also for wanting the survivor guilt-stricken defined quasi-pacifist forgive-it-all protagonist to die so badly from all the incredibly foolish approaches to strategy and tactics he makes there that some 30 endings of that sounds positively exhilarating. And learn why that reaction to this apparent Sh&#333;nen blend of trauma-victim-turned-ideologue with all the tactical considerations and pragmatic sense of a particularly blindingly blank whiteboard isn't universal.

The little death counts towards martyrdom, right?

I think you've just paved the way to a renaissance for that concept.

 

[Evilsanta]

Great review as always. Took your time on this one too .

And the bad ending was really a dick move by Pulltop.

Had me go WTF!? But i didn't do anything! ARGH! WHY!?

Damn VN's making me show emotions.

 

[Gigano]

...
Dude i think you just summed up my feelings for Shirou in one solid, well-written sentence.

Well, It's based only on the Anime version, and his distaste for warfare is understandable, as is his personality initially. But his persistent utter inability to act in a manner remotely appropriate to situations he finds himself in - and his constant getting away with it - has me more exasperated with him than Rin and Archer (who're definitely far more my kind of team) combined.

And so far there's no sign of him becoming any more sensible, he just keeps on charging servants head-on and reward former murderous enemies who've killed his friends with milk and cookies taking them in and feed them cake in addition to every other meal free of charge.

That over the course of one episode he went from being able to break lamps to being able to summon a relic capable of doing what Archer's noble phantasms could not, pretty much after hearing Archer tell him to believe in himself, isn't exactly smooth or particularly creative story-telling either. Like with Umineko, that one's probably poor anime adaption of the VN though.

 

[Staskala]

Meh, it was rather mediocre.
Didn't like the MC, didn't like Chris, which is a huge issue in this one.
The side characters were far more interesting, but no, it's all about Chris. Everyone else gets pushed aside with barely any character development.
Story was decent, if a little convoluted and stupid; 'scenes were alright, didn't like the art style all that much though.
The gameplay... well, it was actually rather entertaining, but not very deep. The small amount of fights never made it feel repetitive, so that's ok.
Only played through it once, there's no point to getting the "different" endings anyway.

You only do translated works?
G-senjou's just came out, might give it a go, easily one of the best VNs ever made.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Also, spoiler-tag me what happens in the bad ending please? I can't remember and i don't think i got it.

Yes, you did.

Spoiler

The "Bad Ending" is what happens when Arata "kills" Chris. The ending credits come up, and the game treats it like you screwed up...then unlocks the second chapter.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I personally looked at that, cursed profoundly, uninstalled the game and swore and oath to not return to it. Ever.

Meh, it was rather mediocre.

Much as I wound up liking the game, it is one where I can't really blame these opinions.

That over the course of one episode he went from being able to break lamps to being able to summon a relic capable of doing what Archer's noble phantasms could not, pretty much after hearing Archer tell him to believe in himself, isn't exactly smooth or particularly creative story-telling either.

Well...Archer's advice, and the fact that he's been seeing Caliburn in Saber's dreams for the past week, and it just popped into his head. I don't know if that helps.

But yeah, poiumty and I disagree on his personality shift during UBW (I think he's much improved), but I don't think there's much question about it during Heaven's Feel.

I actually went through the bad endings on a whim one day to see how often acting intelligently kills Shirou. By route, Fate did it the most often, Heaven's Feel does it once.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

Also, spoiler-tag me what happens in the bad ending please? I can't remember and i don't think i got it.

Yes, you did.

Spoiler

The "Bad Ending" is what happens when Arata "kills" Chris. The ending credits come up, and the game treats it like you screwed up...then unlocks the second chapter.

I mean, it´s always nice when a game makes you actually feel something, but for FUCKS. SAKE. That was NOT A NICE THING TO DO.
If anyone involved in the making of that game had been in the same room as me when this happened, I would have bludgeoned him to death with a shovel.


I digress.
Nice review of one of the most fun visual novels I ever played.
Didn´t even knew someone did reviews for these here.
Now I have to look up your other stuff.

Uh, forgot something:
All the time I was playing it, I thought "this NEEDS an anime adaption.".
And not for the sex scenes either, but just for the battle scenes.

 

[NeutralDrow]

Also, spoiler-tag me what happens in the bad ending please? I can't remember and i don't think i got it.

Yes, you did.

Spoiler

The "Bad Ending" is what happens when Arata "kills" Chris. The ending credits come up, and the game treats it like you screwed up...then unlocks the second chapter.

I mean, it´s always nice when a game makes you actually feel something, but for FUCKS. SAKE. That was NOT A NICE THING TO DO.
If anyone involved in the making of that game had been in the same room as me when this happened, I would have bludgeoned him to death with a shovel.

Ah, yes. I was quite fond of those involved, too. The only thing I could say for about five minutes was "...what."

"What."

"WHAT."

"NOO! What did I do wrong, what did I do wrong?!"

*five minutes later*

"...oh, you sons of bitches!"

I digress.
Nice review of one of the most fun visual novels I ever played.
Didn´t even knew someone did reviews for these here.
Now I have to look up your other stuff.

Oh, sweet. Well, 'swhy I write them.

Uh, forgot something:
All the time I was playing it, I thought "this NEEDS an anime adaption.".
And not for the sex scenes either, but just for the battle scenes.

I can't even imagine. If they even just did

Spoiler

Suzushiro vs. Liesel, Angela vs. Liliana, and Arata/Angela vs. the Guardenzord

it would kick so much ass. Also, Suzushiro's final battle, because nothing beats her <color=aliceblue>powerbombing a giant guardener. By its weapon, no less.

 

[TheAmazingHobo]

Yeah i must be some sort of freak because i liked that. It didn't exactly leave me in tears, more like a "well i'll be damned" state not quite believing that it's over yet. Thought it was a pretty cool move.
I knew there was something about this VN that got me started on them - the "dick move" might have actually contributed a lot to gripping my interest for them japanese anime slideshows with hentai in them. Kind of like how i saw the first episode of Elfen Lied and imagined all anime is like that, therefore becoming very very interested.

Oh, in retrospect, I can appreciate it as the masterfully pulled of move it was. It is actually one of the reason why I personally hold up this game as one of the bests there is.
But at the time I just wanted to choke a dev.

I can't even imagine. If they even just did

Spoiler

Suzushiro vs. Liesel, Angela vs. Liliana, and Arata/Angela vs. the Guardenzord

it would kick so much ass. Also, Suzushiro's final battle, because nothing beats her <color=aliceblue>powerbombing a giant guardener. By its weapon, no less.

I think the first one you mentioned alone would be enough to make somebodys head explode from sheer awesomeness.
"Wait, did she just... ?
Woah, where did she even.... woah, WOAH!"
I haven´t seen such a brutal application of the power of love, since I watched a certain magical girl "befriend" the f*ck out of her adoptive daughter.


And may I ask were you usually get your review material ?
I always found eroges/visual novels to be frustratingly hard to come by.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I can't even imagine. If they even just did

Spoiler

Suzushiro vs. Liesel, Angela vs. Liliana, and Arata/Angela vs. the Guardenzord

it would kick so much ass. Also, Suzushiro's final battle, because nothing beats her <color=aliceblue>powerbombing a giant guardener. By its weapon, no less.

I think the first one you mentioned alone would be enough to make somebodys head explode from sheer awesomeness.
"Wait, did she just... ?
Woah, where did she even.... woah, WOAH!"
I haven´t seen such a brutal application of the power of love, since I watched a certain magical girl "befriend" the f*ck out of her adoptive daughter.

Is that in the third season? Haven't seen StrikerS, yet.

And may I ask were you usually get your review material ?
I always found eroges/visual novels to be frustratingly hard to come by.

A fluke. I started with Type-Moon's games (Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night), both of which I had to torrent and apply Mirror Moon's patch to. Then I stumbled onto J-List's booth at Comic Con while (stupidly, in retrospect) looking for Kanon or Clannad. Spent most of my con spending money on nine or so titles that year, then went back last con and grabbed a half-dozen more.

Where a title never left Japan and is only fan-translated (like FSN, Kanon, or G-Senjou), I torrent or download. Other titles, I can buy online at places like Peach Princess (which has pretty much all the G-Collections translated games, like A Drug That Makes You Dream and Private Nurse), MangaGamer (stuff like Da Capo and Higurashi), and I even wound up buying one game at DLsite that got translated elsewhere (Sono Hanabira).

 

[Gigano]

...

The adaptation IS poor - like, if the VN is 10/10, this one is 5/10. Mediocre in every way.
You'll have to suffer through basically the same Shirou in the first VN scenario (as in, playthrough) - with one possible explanation for why he's able to suddenly become a munchkin (but it's optional so you could miss it). Choosing the rational option over the emotional almost always leads to bad ends, so do that if you wanna catch'em all. Drow would tell you that he TOTALLY changes in the other two routes, but i've even replayed the second and i'm still not seeing it. That said, the 2nd and 3rd routes are oh-so-worth finishing the first one. I hope no one spoiled Archer for you yet (also hope you didn't see the Unlimited Blade Works movie) because the second route bases 80% of its grip on that one little twist.

I still quite like it, most other characters are interesting (or at least hints at being so), high fantasy magic battles are always appealing - though from the Prologue the VN battles are even better, with more visceral visuals (red screen slash), text descriptions and sound effects - and courtesy of Higurashi I don't mind DEEN's generally simplistic visuals. Shirou is the only thing that really bug me.

...

Well...Archer's advice, and the fact that he's been seeing Caliburn in Saber's dreams for the past week, and it just popped into his head. I don't know if that helps.

But yeah, poiumty and I disagree on his personality shift during UBW (I think he's much improved), but I don't think there's much question about it during Heaven's Feel.

I actually went through the bad endings on a whim one day to see how often acting intelligently kills Shirou. By route, Fate did it the most often, Heaven's Feel does it once.

It helps explain why he could summon that particular legendary weapon, but how his power was magnified so immensely - after giving over circuits to Saber no less[footnote]At least in the anime, where he was ripped apart by a dragon. Given how that scene began and ended, and Saber's subsequent change of attitude, I'm guessing something... else... happened in the VN, though I don't know if that kind of activity permanently transfer's circuits there.[/footnote] - that quickly seems a bit hasty.

Given the plot was written to fit 3 long VN routes, and this is the compressed first one, I could forgive a lack of character development, but given that he's always rewarded for his thoughtless recklessness, and by now even Rin is warming up to his absurd antics (from the much more reasonable position of wanting to kill him for them early on), I don't feel like there's anything under way to suggest he'd (un)clean up his act. Are UBW and Heaven's Feel subsequent or alternate routes?

 

[NeutralDrow]

...

Well...Archer's advice, and the fact that he's been seeing Caliburn in Saber's dreams for the past week, and it just popped into his head. I don't know if that helps.

But yeah, poiumty and I disagree on his personality shift during UBW (I think he's much improved), but I don't think there's much question about it during Heaven's Feel.

I actually went through the bad endings on a whim one day to see how often acting intelligently kills Shirou. By route, Fate did it the most often, Heaven's Feel does it once.

It helps explain why he could summon that particular legendary weapon, but how his power was magnified so immensely - after giving over circuits to Saber no less - that quickly seems a bit hasty.

It's another one of those things explained in more detail in later VN routes. Basically, Shirou's technically always been that strong, he just never actually knew how to use that power. That, and Archer's vague advice (imagine something to win, and put shape to it with your mind) make far more sense when you read Unlimited Blade Works. Actually, the thing that usually bugs people about that scene (me included) is why Caliburn had the power to do what it did, over how Shirou made it.

As for the footnote...yes, what you suspect is true. And frankly, I think the sexing makes a lot more sense. It's not really "transferring magic circuits to Saber" so much as just "giving her more mana" (specifically, via semen; blood can do the same, but that would mean forcing Saber to kill and drain people like Rider was doing). My first thought with the anime version was "wait a second, he can't do that! His magic circuits are too specialized for his particular magic, that's why she's so weak in the first place!"

Given the plot was written to fit 3 long VN routes, and this is the compressed first one, I could forgive a lack of character development, but given that he's always rewarded for his thoughtless recklessness, and by now even Rin is warming up to his absurd antics (from the much more reasonable position of wanting to kill him for them early on), I don't feel like there's anything under way to suggest he'd (un)clean up his act. Are UBW and Heaven's Feel subsequent or alternate routes?

Alternate. They're what would have happened if certain early events were changed (UBW is basically "what if Saber hadn't wounded Archer on Day 3?" and HF is "what if a certain background villain stepped into the arena?"), plus Shirou becoming closer to a different love interest in each, and facing different levels of challenge to his ideals (in other words, in Fate, he received basically none; this is vastly changed in the other two).

And actually, the anime didn't do too badly overall as far as plot and adapting character development for the Fate route, though I'm of the opinion that not being able to see Shirou's thought processes really does make him look stupider than he is. He's got a martyr complex, to be sure, but it's mainly trauma that catalyzed that into "no pragmatism or self-preservation" (most obviously in how he treats Saber; Fate and UBW are night and day in that regard). With one or two exceptions I can think of, he's only reckless in the other routes when desperation forces his hand.

And Rin...well, the game gets more into that, too. Suffice to say, she's not nearly as cold-blooded as she wants you to believe, and she has some very good reasons for not wanting to kill Shirou (even in the Bad Ends where she beats him in a fight, she just takes his command spells and erases his memory).

 

[NeutralDrow]

No, they go a bit differently explaining magic circuits in the VN. There's no actual circuit transferring going on, just... the single dumbest explanation for sex i've ever heard in my limited VN experience.

<url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semen#Cultural_aspects>Why?