Is it legal for a “game” to be this boring? Like, don’t you have to meet some minimum standards of quality before they let you release something? Oh boy.
Umm, well. I haven’t really made a secret of the fact that I don’t like visual novels. Still there aren’t that many otome games with gameplay out there, so I try them from time to time. When I do, my requirements are simple: nice art, decent characters, a sensible story that doesn’t take too long to tell. That’s all. I don’t expect much, and I usually don’t get much, but Shinigami to Shoujo didn’t meet even those low standards.
First, though, I should own up to my own fault in this debacle: I got taken in by the trailer. One, it had piano music and I love piano music soundtracks. More importantly, it spoke of the story of a lonely shinigami and the innocent traveller he meets and how they decide to travel together in search of the most beautiful word in the world. Sounds romantic, right? Right? The poor, sad, lonely shinigami, all alone for millenia, finally finds someone to hold and to comfort him and together they learn to live and love and laugh and overcome all obstacles so they can be together forever and ever and ever… is the interpretation of the story my imagination came up with.
The “reality” is something quite different. To begin with, the first thing we learn about our protagonist Sayo is that she has a brother fetish. You know, the usual “not really siblings” thing. That should have been my clue to stop right there, because I hate that cliche. I mean, maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m from Mars or something because where I come from, adopted siblings have the same status and rights and responsibilities as “real” siblings. Adopted or not, you’re both siblings, full stop. There’s no such thing as “siblings until someone gets horny.” That’s just wrong. So that was my warning sign, which I ignored. Mea culpa.
More to the point, it turns out that the story in the trailer was from a book Sayo’s “brother” was writing, and the actual shinigami you meet in the game, Ao, is a wandering amnesiac who just claims to be a shinigami. There’s a place for people like that, and you find it by calling 1-800-NAMI. Moreover, Ao is not particularly lonely or sad or in any way distressed by his condition, and for the three days I played this game, he never treated Sayo as anything more than a bother. Which she is. Always hanging around, asking nosy questions and giggling at anything and everyone in her oh-so-cultured manner. “I’m a death god.” “Tee hee, a death god, that’s so funny.” Urghhhhh.
Don’t glare at me like that; I didn’t make this game.
So, obviously, I didn’t finish the game. There was no point, really. I gave it a solid try for a few days in the hopes that I’d learn more about Ao before the guys in the white van took him away, but no luck. It just dragged on and on with endless descriptions of books and Ao’s blond hair and Ao’s blue eyes, and books and Sayo’s black hair, and Sayo’s black eyes and books and there some clock tower in there somewhere, and look Ao and Sayo like books, they’re nerds just like you, isn’t that great, blah blah blah. I played and played and played and I was still in chapter 1, so eventually I said meh, screw it. I know when I’m not wanted.
Bit of a shame though. The voice-acting was pretty good, the soundtrack is great, the art is like 6.5/10, not too shabby. Takuyo just needed a few more lessons on concise writing and the creation of likeable characters. Oh, and basic moral decency, ‘cos that brother-con stuff ain’t cool. I’m off to find a summary of whatever the heck the story is about, and then I’ll start something new.
That was fast!.. I’m inclined to think that the PSP doesn’t have a very good repertoire of games, you seem to hate more games on it than the ones you enjoy… and i love you hating games hahaha.
Anyways DS seems to be a bit better..
On the brother siblings topic, i did’t know that this kind of “brother’s love” was a cliche…
I remember seeing an anime long time ago (a long long time ago) called “Marmalade Boy” and this kind of love was the plot of it, their parents did a couple swap, the four decide to live together and their kids end up as brothers..
There is much more story on it before they end up together, and the anime has a very interesting array of characters…imho.
But heck, i’ve seen like 5 animes in my life and this is one them, so i’m nobody to judge if its cliche or not, as i said , i didn’t know. i thought it was original, weird , but at least i liked how the characters developed and the story unfold.. i saw like 50 episodes only .. i thougt the complete series is around 80 or more…
Ah, Marmalade Boy. I read it. I raged. Not because of the couple themselves but because the parents seemed to have no morals at all. No respect for the sacred vows of marriage, no [10 page rant deleted]. And there was a sub-romance in there involving the main character’s friend and one of her teachers. That was just so [another 10 page rant deleted]. It was one of the earliest shoujo series I encountered, so I read the whole thing, to my detriment.
Back on topic, yeah, the PSP doesn’t have as many good games as I’d expected when I forked out good money for it last year. The DS doesn’t have as many RPGs as I’d like, so I thought I’d hit the jackpot but no, not really.
Still, I can recommend some of the stuff I’ve played in the last year. I strongly recommend Criminal Girls (only if you understand Japanese) and Phantasy Star Portable (only if you don’t need a story). Jeanne D’arc, Hexyz Force, Ranshima Monogatari and Tokimeki Memorial 4 are good. I had a blast with Unchainblades Rexx and Adventures to Go, but I wouldn’t play them again.
So it’s not all ranting and raving, lol.
haha, the parents were pretty forgettable, but i agree with you, their moral values are outrageously sick. After i mentioned that.. shoujen? i checked the wiki to recall the names and the story wich i pretty much have forgotten, the only thing i remembered was the Ginta/Arimi romance wich i cherished for.. It was 15 years ago when i saw the anime, and googling it was pretty meh!, i guess i was a more impresionable person back then. Its best to keep good memories of it than digging the truth =(.
As for Japanesse, i’m currently working with verbs and its conjugations, its a basic topic, but now i get more words that make sense cuz i identify them as verbs in diferent forms, Luckily the Spanish Language had a similar array of verbs conjugations that i can relate to the ones in japanesse, so its just a matter of thinking who/when/what in spanish verb and a similar one is present in japanesse.
Thanks for your recomendations, i remember them from when you “reviewed” them, also, i just got a very cool PINK DS (mexican Pink if you care =) ) from swapping some PS2 games, i’m currently playing Professor Layton 3.. i was playing Devil Survivor 2 , but my (innombrable card) just got busted.
And don’t forget to try Saiyuki when you had the chance, i’d love to know your impressions on it.
No worries there. As long as it’s an SRPG, I won’t be able to stay away forever.
This site helped me with Japanese ‘conjugations’ many years ago, maybe you’ll find it helpful: http://maktos.tripod.com/jip.html
My sister has a dusty pink DS. It’s very cute but she rarely uses it in spite of all the games I put on it for her. How are the Layton games? I don’t really like puzzle games or anything that requires me to think too deeply, but I was a little bit interested after I heard of a Layton-Ace Attorney crossover game.
i’ve only played the first one, Layton and the Curious village 3 years ago, and i was hooked, its a very different kind of game and i found it very enjoyable,the story is great and had a good peace. the puzzles vary in difficulty but nothing extraordinaire,most of them had nothing to do with the story, they’re just teasers Layton throws at you, and if you look everywhere and ask people you found puzzles everywhere too, most were enjoyable cuz they make you think the solution in various ways, and at the end you found that simplicity is the answer, they increase in difficulty in later stages, but i don’t remember being stuck for more than 10 minutes in the most difficult ones, and that if i got stuck. you could use a guide in the puzzles that make you grin if you like , i remember using it once or twice, but in the extra puzzles that are downloadable.
Also last year i discovered the gyakkuten saiban series and started to play with Apollo, i didn’t know the order of the games, just picked up this one at random, and i loved it, all of it, maybe the case with the concert and the blind chick drags a little, but it was ok.
So i eagerly played the first 3 games within a month, i just can’t get enough… sadly my DS broke when i was playing the Edgeworth game…
And yes, i was curious about the Layton/Phoenix crossover (wish i had a 3DS, but that wont happen, unles…) , so i picked layton 3 in a bargain for 10 bucks..
i was looking forward to see the movie too, it looks weird =P
Oh yeah, I saw the trailer for the movie too. I…didn’t know what to think. Still don’t know what to think. On one hand I don’t really like movies. On the other hand, it’s Phoenix Wright. I’m still on the fence.
The Edgeworth game didn’t do too much for me, so I haven’t tried the second one. And seeing as Capcom isn’t bringing it over to the West, many other gamers must have felt the same.
thanks for the link
I agree that the first part drags on a lot, but the second part makes it one of the best visual novels I have ever played. The final twist and character subversion makes it worth it.
I’ll have to take your word for it. After 7 years I had to re-read my own post to even remember that I played such a game. But IIRC didn’t it turn out later that Sayo was actually severely mentally ill? Something bizarre like that.