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[Visual Novels] Chaos;Head, Anonymous;Code, and Steins;Gate Re;boot (yay)
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// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
I definitely liked the witch's realm part more than the tea party. It was more interesting since it was something different.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
Haven't played it, nor Tsukihime. I really want to check out the latter as a follow-up to F/SN, but I'm holding out for the remake. Yeah, I know it's going to be a wait.
I hear the manga adaption is really good, while Fate's is....pretty bad.
Anyway, it's the 1st of October.
It's time....
I wasn't prepared for Silent Hill-style noises.
Edit: Seriously, after all the mental preparations I built myself up for, I wasn't prepared to be affected by the very first scene in this story.
Leave it to Urobuchi to give his characters a "fate worse than death" scenario. Only he would be capable of coming up with a "medical condition" like the one plaguing the main character. Pretty sure if it were me I'd rather be dead.
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For reference, here are the first ten minutes, which should give you an indication of what you would be in for.
Not Safe For...Sanity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDHJ05TbDxU&hd=1
I just got to the part where
Ah, Urobuchi....
That aside, I feel it's the psychological bits of horror that will unnerve me far more than the straight-up gore moments. Though based on what I've read, I'm nowhere near far enough to make that call.
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So far, I haven't witnessed any straight-up gory imagery; a lot of the situations that seemed prime for nightmarish splatter have happened off-screen or by narration. The game does have a "fade guro imagery" option, so it's probably coming.
The psychological horror, however, is in full effect, and I imagine will linger far longer than the inevitable gross-out sequences. This is unmistakably Urobuchi's work, twisting once-innocent characters into depraved husks that are incapable of functioning alongside normal civilization. The narration uses the phrase "fate worse than death", and does so with a not-too-subtle hint of satisfaction. There's a clear message here about "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", though it's also taken to a primal, wholly malicious degree.
Also, I'm pretty sure by the time this is over, I will be turned off by sex. Forever.
For reference, the scene I am up to involves
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcAvYNUtF-M&feature=player_embedded&hd=1
I'm bummed they couldn't make it for October, but whatever man! This is awesome!
I also found an appropriate venue to discuss Saya no Uta, which I'll link to once it goes up.
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Steam - Wildschwein | The Backlog
Grappling Hook Showdown - Tumblr
If you haven't checked it out yet and you own a PSP or Vita, you've got no excuse now. It really is one of the best horror games released in the last few years.
I just wish we had a clearer time frame for the sequel then "Winter". That could mean anywhere from November to January.
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XSeed, have I ever mentioned enough that you guys are my favorite localizing game company ever?
// Switch: SW-5306-0651-6424 //
I hope they dub it this time. I mean I won't hold it against them or anything, but VA doesn't do a damn thing for me if I can't understand the language.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
I normally prefer dubs, but...no chance in hell.
Take it as a stereotype if you want, but nobody knows how to shriek in terror like Japanese VAs.
Need I mention Morishige?
I get chills just typing it.
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YES!
Three as of now, the next one is called Corpse Party 2. The current three are all part of the Heavenly Host Saga. (The third is kind of a joke game, I don't think anyone expects that to be localized.)
It would make a nice bonus to include with Corpse Party 2.
Doesn't sound like it would take much effort to localize or anything.
I need a fucking date for BoS. Please be late November.
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If you're feeling adventurous, there's a demo of Sachiko's Hysteric Birthday on the J-PSN, I already tried it.
I honestly think it's setting up for a huge nightmare drop. It kind of felt like the comedy stuff was a big trap.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
PSN for sure. Other than Gamestop, most retail locations sell PSP games in a "licensed and what we didn't get rid of already" sort of way.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
They could make like Steam and add digital bonuses for pre-orders.
Making the little comedy game an exclusive for digital pre-orders would benefit them, I'm certain.
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What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
I mentioned before that I found an appropriate venue for Saya no Uta. That will likely be ready by Monday, so I'll link it here when it does.
I will say this though: of each of the Urobuchi works I've witnessed, I've come to notice a certain pattern he takes. Basically, of the cast of characters featured in each story, there always seems to be one that he likes to single out...one that he likes to point at and say:
"You. Yes, You....You will be the one."
"The one" being the character that he wants to devote all of his "attention" toward, much like the way a dog gives it full attention to ripping the shit out of its newest chew toy for hours on end.
Nine times out of ten they are female characters. His latest series, Psycho-Pass, already has people waving their death flags over the main protagonist, who happens to be A) a woman, cute, and C) full of ideals.
In all fairness, I don't think he could ever top Saya No Uta's "one" character.
She was the lucky one. The person afterward....not so much.
Most certainly the most disturbing moment in that VN, and that's really saying something.
And yes, I did indeed get some freaky, incomprehensible nightmares from the week I played this thing. In all fairness, I knew what I was getting into.
I still recommend it though. If you want something geniuinely horrifying and unnerving, boy howdy you'll get it with this.
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What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
I would say the plus side is the whole spooky, horrible side of the game, but I actually dunno if I can say that yet. All the bad ends in Chapter 1 are random and illogical. Like "okay, I guess they just kill you in whatever way the writers came up with at lunch break, not in any way that makes sense with the area and what I've seen so far." I'm sure more will be explained as I go, but should I really need to beat Chapter 3 or whatever to even slightly understand the easiest to get ending in Chapter 1? That seems like bad writing...
Finally, what was their budget on this, $12? Could you at least have a static image for the horrible death scene? Like for this one I've triggered like 12 times in Chapter 2
And if you're looking for more gruesome death scenes, hoo boy.....you'll hate yourself for asking.
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I just meant (about a certain Bad End in chapter 2) the combination of "more easy to get than it is to progress the story" plus "nothing actually visually depicted" plus "long" plus "no explanation of how this is even possible or the mechanics of this" isn't scaring me so much as making me think about going back to Persona 3... It REALLY shouldn't be so hard to just get the story flowing. Maybe I can make a mistake here and there but "went to the obvious place and did the obvious thing" should not automatically be a bad end.
Like in Chapter 1
Is this what VN's are normally like (about as user friendly as a typical adventure game) and the ones we've gotten in the US so far (999, Time Hollow, Phoenix Wright, etc) are the well done exceptions? I fully admit to sucking at stuff like Myst, but this has rarely made any sense for me so far. : (
I've included opinions for both Corpse Party and Saya no Uta, so I feel this article might prove interesting for some folks: http://zcint.co.uk/article/halloween-special-play-these-and-scare-yourself-silly
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Oh and also
Kids tend to do stupid things.
Kids tend to do even stupider things in desperate situations while they're scared out of their wits.
I just chalk it up to horror cliches. Whenever someone says "Let's split up gang!", I know it can only end in tears.
Speaking of Corpse Party, I just finished watching an anime on Hulu called Another. It was pretty well done (except for the reveal at the end, IMO) and it certainly had a Corpse Party vibe and atmosphere going on, especially in the last few episodes. Check it out if you have a chance, makes you kinda want a Corpse Party anime.
Actually started watching that.
Or rather, I saw the first episode. I plan to commit to it, just have a couple of episodes of another series I want to finish first.
On that note, should I be checking the Steins Gate VN or the anime? Is the anime a good alternative to playing a 50+ hour VN?
I should be checking out Muv Luv as people constantly rave about it. Those character designs are really not encouraging, though....
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Saya No Uta for instance, could you imagine an anime of that being nearly as gripping?
It could work, sure. If they got Fate/Zero's director and animation studio to handle it, it would make a pretty spot-on adaption.
Or it could go the other way and just become another tentacle hentai.
On the subject, Corpse Party is getting another anime...something. Don't know what it is, other then it's from the same studio that did the 10 minute short.
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What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.