Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Rant: The little quickies

I have to admit that having RURUR -petit prince- sitting on my desk these past five years did have a hand in my wanting to review it. The lesson learned from this is that outdated PSP custom firmware can make your life hell.

Anyway, I'm going to give some thoughts on petit prince as well as other things that I've been mulling over in the last couple of months.

RURUR -petit prince-: While I do recommend it to anyone that is interested, I was underwhelmed by the fact that the main point that drew me in (the Benibana route) ended as it did. I guess I was too invested in the hope that Benibana would have a "happily ever after" ending instead of what she was given. I've seen another reviewer wondering why they chose to have her elope with Ichihiko instead of something else. I'll admit that I wonder the same thing, but do see it as a viable route for her. What got me was that the ending CG would have worked differently in a normal eroge.

This is the CG in question:

Normally what would happen is that they'd have their conversation, then the protag would say something to the effect that the heroine should take care of herself, then the camera pans to show she's expecting. Instead what happened is that Benibana dies in Ichihiko's arms (the variation of this very CG).

My favorite route turned out to be R-Tanpopo's, if only because it is a story of self-loathing and forgiveness. To give context, Tanpopo was part of the security force inside the ship (as explained, the military-class chapekku protect the outside of the ship, while the security force protects the inside of the ship), and a choice she made led to the destruction of the stasis capsules that contained the humans on board. As punishment, she was stripped of all authority and secluded to deck N03, to forever care for the corn fields. For her part, Tanpopo can't forgive herself for what's happened and accepts her punishment. Interestingly enough, her punishment doesn't feel like a punishment until Ichihiko discovers deck N03 and comes to visit her (because she can't always be with him).

Green Green -Kanenone DYNAMIC-: This is another console port that I'm looking into getting through. I played the other PS2 port of GG (yes, someone thought it would be brilliant to release two PS2 ports, this one and Kanenone ROMANTIC) for that time I featured one of its heroines, and with the shadow of the Green Green remake by Overdrive looming over me, I think it's necessary for me to do that before touching GG2013.

The one thing I'm getting out of this so far is that the PS2 port isn't really running as smoothly as I hoped. Then again, this was for PS2, so loading times and the like are to be expected. I do find myself understanding a LOT more of the scenario than I did when I played the original Green Green 10(?) years ago, so I might also give the original GG a second look if time allows.

Otakano: I've been sitting on this game for the last two years, since I couldn't bring myself to review it. The pacing and design are what sort of annoy me. I'm actually not bothered by the fact that it borrows a few elements from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu.

As I may have mentioned before, my main gripe with this game so far is that it makes me feel bad for not choosing the supposed "main" heroine. While I'm more to blame for that than the game itself, when you show a heroine having a ton of direct involvement with the protagonist, you can't help but feel bad when you don't choose her.

Featured Character:

Name: Isis Petrovna Elenskayer
Game: Kyounyuu Fantasy
Designed by: Q-Gaku
Voiced by: Sakurai Alice

Isis is introduced as a graduate from the military academy along with the game's protagonist, Lutto Hende. She is known for her exceptional swordsmanship, and was the equivalent of the salutatorian of her graduating class. Like most of the other characters in the game, Isis starts off looking at the protagonist as little more than worthless trash, and is personally irked by his fixation on breasts (she's apparently caught him looking at hers in the past).

Her involvement in the story varies depending on the route chosen. She starts off stationed in the capital along with her fiance, but is later assigned the task of searching for the the missing crown prince in Giribon's Forest (a forest that is supposedly filled with monsters and inhabited by the demon tribes). To her dismay, the protagonist is also assigned to the search party.

After a series of unfortunate events that lead to everyone except for Isis and Lutto running away, she is forced to depend on the protagonist, who to her surprise can cook and manages to save her life at one point. This causes her to re-evaluate how she feels about Lutto, and even begins to grudgingly respect him. As told by Isis, she is the last surviving heir of her family, as her older brothers are deceased. She chose to become a knight in hopes of continuing her family's legacy.

Regardless of the route chosen by the player, Isis proves herself to be fiercely loyal when it comes down to it, sacrificing her status in her own route (she elopes with Lutto when the royal court hears of his demon heritage) and going above the call of duty in helping Lutto ascend to the throne in the true ending.

Note: Yes, I'm aware that I already featured this character, but that particular post has vanished into the ether.

Anyway, that's it for today.

-Moroboshi Yuumei

No comments:

Post a Comment