<Img_Inline Caption="Blue blue glass moon,
under the crimson air" Align="Center">http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/3715/680291-tsukihime.jpg
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under the crimson air" Align="Center">http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/3715/680291-tsukihime.jpg
<color=white>Line Break!
"Can you understand what I am saying, Shiki-kun?"
"...no. Why am I in a hospital?"
"You don't remember, do you? You were involved in a car accident while you were walking. Your chest was stabbed by a shard of glass, and it was unlikely that you would survive."
Very unbefitting of what a doctor would say, yet he says it while still smiling cheerfully.
...terrible. I feel terrible.
"I'm tired. Can I go to sleep?"
"Yes, you should rest. You must focus on recuperating, and not push yourself."
The doctor is still smiling. To be honest, I can't stand that smile anymore...
"Can I ask you something, doctor?"
"What is it, Shiki-kun?"
"Why are there scribbles all over your body? And there are cracks, all over the walls...why are there cracks in the walls?"
_________________________________________________
Nine year-old Shiki Tohno would have had a bad enough day just waking up in the hospital with only vague memories of what happened, but seeing jagged black lines over everything and everyone upon waking up was right out. After an alarming experiment with a plastic knife and his bed, Shiki realizes that these lines are like stiches or cracks in the objects and people around him, places where things broke apart easily.
Naturally, the perception that the entire world could fall apart at your very touch isn't conducive to sanity, and it's only Shiki's coincidental meeting with a wandering self-described Sorceress that keeps him from going hopelessly insane. From her, Shiki receives not only details on his "Mystic Eyes of Death Perception," but also specially-treated glasses that hide the death lines from his sight, giving him a second chance at a normal life after leaving the hospital...when his father uses Shiki's continued health problems as an excuse to disinherit him, and Shiki is sent to live with relatives from a branch family, leaving behind his little sister and a pair of girls he knew only vaguely.
Cut to eight years later. Shiki, after living many years with the Arima family, learns of his father's death. What's more, he is called back to live at the Tohno mansion by the new head of the family: his younger sister, Akiha. But moving back only opens a slew of questions. Why did Akiha call him back, and after kicking out the relatives and dismissing all but two servants? Why do the two remaining maids at the mansion seem so familiar, but Shiki's own room doesn't? And outside the mansion grounds, what is happening with the serial murders, where all the victims have been found drained of blood? Why does Shiki suddenly get the uncontrollable urge to follow a strange-looking woman to her apartment and slice her to pieces?
And how is she walking around the next day?
________________________________________________
Tsukihime
Ah, Tsukihime. The doujin circle TYPE-MOON's second released work, and their breakout hit. As the Escapist's resident open TYPE-MOON fan, I decided I may as well review this, partly out of obligation, but mostly out of genuine love for the game. But, lest I fall into meaningless, self-indulgent, and above all boring reminices and praises, let's get started.
GAMEPLAY
Tsukihime is a visual novel. You read, and are occasionally presented with a decision. Your decision can influence your relationship with other characters, decide the presence or order of events later in the story, provide exposition, or lead to your ignoble demise. Basically, it's like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, except complex, coherent, and vastly more entertaining.
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/4003/s2023.jpg
Luckily, the game's first decision doesn't lead to instant death.
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STORY
Given the simplicity of the "gameplay," visual novels are made or broken by their stories. And in this category, Tsukihime shines. The game is told from the eyes of Shiki Tohno, 17 year-old high school student, fairly normal in every aspect - aside from occasional bouts of anemia, the life-loving mindset of one who's survived a near-death experience, and the aforementioned ability to kill things with frightening ease - who over the course of two weeks gets caught up in the supernatural weirdness happening in his city.
The story is mainly in very well-written dialogue and Shiki's own mostly stream-of-consciousness perspective (only twice in the game do we get another character's direct point of view). It's more coherent than it sounds. Usually. One of the two major complaints about Kinoko Nasu's writing style is that he can get rather verbose at times (I'll get to the other complaint later), typically showing up when Shiki mentally waxes philosophical, or when world-building exposition is involved.
http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/5228/cittsukihimevisualnovel.jpg
Or when something is clearly not right in Shiki's head.
The story itself is divided into five routes, each focusing on one of the game's heroines (in the recommended order of play: Arcueid, Ciel, Akiha, Hisui, and Kohaku), which fit into two overarching storylines. Arcueid's and Ciel's paths form the Near Side of the Moon, the "external" story which deals with the source of the serial murders in the city, the presence of the two forces opposed to it and to each other, and the supernatural world of vampires. Akiha's, Hisui's, and Kohaku's paths form the Far Side of the Moon, the "internal" story which focuses instead on Shiki's past and the secrets of the Tohno family. Each route but one (Kohaku) has two endings. All the women have a True ending, while Arcueid, Hisui, and Ciel also have Good endings, and Akiha has a Normal ending.
http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/7492/cittsukihimesacchinsadn.png
And Satsuki gets jack.
As an aside, I'm still not entirely sure what "True" is supposed to mean. It's not canonical status; with the nature of the Nasuverse (the world of TYPE-MOON's works), all of them are canon. It's not in emotional content, like the Good endings or the (extremely depressing) Normal Ending; they run the gamut from heartbreakingly tragic to heartmendingly happy. Odd.
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CHARACTERS
Nebulous as the phrase may be, I would definitely describe this game as "character-driven." To start with, there's the immensely relatable protagonist, Shiki; he's fairly normal, with a worldview (influenced by his near-death experience) that can be summed as "hey, it's great being alive." He's also occasionally a weirdo and a mild perv (part of his charm, really), and, when the situation calls for it, a remarkable badass.
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1199/s30521.jpg
He's also a really heavy sleeper.
The heroines are all pretty fun characters. Whether it's Arcueid, the ditzy and childlike True Ancestor vampire (and titular Tsukihime, "Moon Princess"), Ciel, the doting sempai with a passion for curry and an intriguing nighttime job, Akiha, the upper-class tsundere with some interesting habits and a weakness where her brother is concerned, or the twin maids, the cold and emotionally distant Hisui or the ever-smiling and cheerful Kohaku, it's mostly their personalities and situations that shape the game's five stories.
Given that the game is, at its heart, a suspense title, the 3-4+ villains get comparatively little screentime, even assuming they appear in any given route; Nero Chaos, millenium-old beast-controlling uber vampire, for instance shows up exclusively in Arcueid's and Ciel's paths, while his role is replaced in the Far Side routes by a certain much younger, much more tragic monster. Even Roa, the game's "main" villain, is notable for having more-or-less completely different roles in each of the game's five routes! Despite this, the ramifications of their presence are felt frequently throughout the story, and their actual appearances are always signs that shit just got real.
And always keep in mind that very few people are what they immediately seem...
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/6576/s5731.jpg
Except Arihiko. Shine on, you crazy bastion of normality, you!
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TECHNICAL
Tsukihime is a pretty simple game. The imagery style is as seen here, with photorealistic backdrops and drawn character sprites (in addition to fully drawn CGs, which each heroine has a gallery dedicated to), with the text gradually scrolling, sentence by sentence. There's also a save function and an option to skip previously-read scenes.
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/8958/s51202.jpg
There's also an in-game hint function for when you screw up royally.
The game's soundtrack is a mere ten tracks deep, but those tracks tend to do a wonderful job setting ambience for a variety of situations...except, ironically, the game's <url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0neKiun8HQ8>ending theme, which after the majority of the game's endings is extremely jarring. There's nothing really noteworthy about the game's sound effects, except that they mesh well enough that I can't remember more than two or three (clink, bonk, and maybe splorch).
<color=white>I'm invisible! You can't see me!
ERO
Welcome to the second complaint about Kinoko Nasu's writing. Yes, Tsukihime is technically an H-game, and in each of the routes is one or two sex scenes. Unlike a lot of eroge I've heard of and/or played, all of Tsukihime's sex scenes make perfect thematic sense, have an understandable buildup, never lack for emotional appeal, and offer a bit of insight and foreshadowing into the relationship between Shiki and whichever heroine is the story focus at the time.
"Wait", you might be asking. "Aren't those all commendable storytelling aspects? What's the complaint, then?"
Well...the writing during the actual scenes is typically pretty terrible. Nasu's got some writing chops, to be sure, but his skill with romanticism has a distressing tendency to not carry over into erotica. In particular, it's his decidedly unerotic turns-of-phrase and love of rather mood-inappropriate metaphor that can drive one to uncomfortable laughter or madness (in the worst cases). On the other hand, in a fit of irony, Nasu's skill returns with certain types of sex scenes. The deliberately disturbing scenes - three of the possible erotic dreams and all two-and-a-half rape scenes (the two of which lead to Shiki's very karmic death) - tend to be incredibly creepy.
...is one perspective. Personally, I never found anything wrong with them (except the nonconsensual ones, obviously), until I happened to read a scene out of context. I'm a sucker for pathos, much less inhibited when I'm sleepy, and very enamored of the scenes' music, so I never noticed (or notice) anything wrong while actually playing the game.
It's a moot point, either way, since the English translation patch has the option of <url=http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Tsukihime/Update%202/install.jpg>installing without the ero scenes.
<color=white>Argh...damn your sharp eyes!
VERDICT
It's difficult delivering a verdict when I'm certain no one will like Tsukihime as much as I did. Even aside from all the compliments I pay it here, <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.118041>the situation I was in when first playing the game undoubtedly had a huge role in determining my love for the game.
I was living and studying in Japan about a year ago when I started playing the visual novel Tsukihime, and that's easily my biggest example. It's actually kind of strange how that game affected me. I only found it (and got it to work) 2 months before I had to come back home.
My time in Japan was something of a mixed bag, and though I could never regret living there, I'm not nostalgic enough to forget having at least two nervous breakdowns and dealing with moderate depression, even after getting over the initial culture shock. I'm fairly certain it was almost exclusively school-related (and almost certainly my own damn fault), but since I was in school seven out of ten months I spent there...eh. I wasn't doing too well, let's say.
It's odd how quite a lot of my good feeling towards my studying abroad started over halfway through my time (coinciding with cherry blossom season, no less), and when I remember my time there, my flashbacks strongly tend to be from the summer months. Since Yokohama has the same summer climate as, say, Wisconsin or Washington D.C. (80 degrees Faranheit and 80% humidity), and I was missing San Diego's more reasonable 95 degrees and 5-10%, that's kind of strange. I can probably attribute it to several things. Including this game.
When I finally got Tsukihime to work exactly one year ago (judging by my first save file), I was ecstatic, since acquiring it was one of the three specific things I came to Japan hoping to do (and the only one I succeeded at). I spent the night hours for the next two and a half months in the same way each night, playing/reading Tsukihime (or, later, Kagetsu Tohya; or, after that, downloaded doujinshi). Because during the daylight hours I knew I had responsibilities to take care of, the night was the only time I could truly escape. I can't work while I'm in bed, after all, so it was almost the only time I didn't feel guilty about not working. And it helped that the game was extremely good, so I had something to look forward to and, if all else failed, carry me through each day.
I guess my point I'm laboriously building towards is that I'm ripe for a rereading...but I'm afraid to. So many of my happy memories of Japan, for whatever reason, seem to tie into this game that I'm honestly afraid to play it again. The few various times I've opened it or its sequel up since I've come back to the U.S., I immediately started to remember where and how I read a scene or heard a song last. I start feeling like I'm lying in a sorta stiff dormitory bed on a warm, humid night, feeling even warmer since I have a laptop open and laying on me, while a small amount of light from the lamps outside my third-floor dorm room goes through the blinds on my window and splay out on the wall in front of me.
I'm scared that when I play the game again, I might start to forget all of that...
My time in Japan was something of a mixed bag, and though I could never regret living there, I'm not nostalgic enough to forget having at least two nervous breakdowns and dealing with moderate depression, even after getting over the initial culture shock. I'm fairly certain it was almost exclusively school-related (and almost certainly my own damn fault), but since I was in school seven out of ten months I spent there...eh. I wasn't doing too well, let's say.
It's odd how quite a lot of my good feeling towards my studying abroad started over halfway through my time (coinciding with cherry blossom season, no less), and when I remember my time there, my flashbacks strongly tend to be from the summer months. Since Yokohama has the same summer climate as, say, Wisconsin or Washington D.C. (80 degrees Faranheit and 80% humidity), and I was missing San Diego's more reasonable 95 degrees and 5-10%, that's kind of strange. I can probably attribute it to several things. Including this game.
When I finally got Tsukihime to work exactly one year ago (judging by my first save file), I was ecstatic, since acquiring it was one of the three specific things I came to Japan hoping to do (and the only one I succeeded at). I spent the night hours for the next two and a half months in the same way each night, playing/reading Tsukihime (or, later, Kagetsu Tohya; or, after that, downloaded doujinshi). Because during the daylight hours I knew I had responsibilities to take care of, the night was the only time I could truly escape. I can't work while I'm in bed, after all, so it was almost the only time I didn't feel guilty about not working. And it helped that the game was extremely good, so I had something to look forward to and, if all else failed, carry me through each day.
I guess my point I'm laboriously building towards is that I'm ripe for a rereading...but I'm afraid to. So many of my happy memories of Japan, for whatever reason, seem to tie into this game that I'm honestly afraid to play it again. The few various times I've opened it or its sequel up since I've come back to the U.S., I immediately started to remember where and how I read a scene or heard a song last. I start feeling like I'm lying in a sorta stiff dormitory bed on a warm, humid night, feeling even warmer since I have a laptop open and laying on me, while a small amount of light from the lamps outside my third-floor dorm room goes through the blinds on my window and splay out on the wall in front of me.
I'm scared that when I play the game again, I might start to forget all of that...
That said, I'll cop out and let the review speak for itself. I think it's a good game, in other words.
Side note: the game itself is actually out of circulation (it was released in 2000), so it's pretty much only available by torrent...until the remake, anyway. The fan group Mirror Moon has a <url=http://mirrormoon.org/projects/tsukihime>translation patch, if you don't happen to speak Japanese.
____________________
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
Speculative: Air, Galaxy Angel, Yu-No, Sumaga, Suika, Shimai Donburi, 11eyes, Ashita no Kimi to Au Tami ni
___________________________________
Kinetic reviews:
___________________________________
Narcissu
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
True Remembrance
Leaves
The Dandelion Girl
Tokoyo no Hoshizora
___________________________________
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
????
????
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
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
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
___________________________________
Kinetic reviews:
___________________________________
Narcissu
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
True Remembrance
Leaves
The Dandelion Girl
Tokoyo no Hoshizora
___________________________________
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
????
????