“Call no game good which has not ended well,” a wise man once said. Or should have said, anyway. In my last post on Tsukumonogatari, I forgot to mention one more feature of Majin-likes: the true ending is the only one worth getting. The so-so ending I got left a number of questions unanswered, a character I liked was killed off, the last boss came out of nowhere and then the game just kind of stopped. Like seriously?

So, what about the ayakashi and summon spirits? We were supposed to wipe them all out, but there are clearly several powerful ones around even after MC supposedly sealed the gate between the worlds. And the character that died, that’s it? Did they just kill her to make the game ‘tragic’ or what?

Then there’s the character that betrayed you. It’s pretty obvious they just added that twist because it’s popular these days to have your [spoiler]guide/mascot character be secretly evil. I’ve played at least 3 other RPGs with that twist , one from FuRyu itself, so it’s not quite the shocking swerve they were hoping it would be.

It’s a pity they messed up the ending, because for an occult-based game Tsukumonogatari had been relatively clear and easy to understand up to that point. If they had just tied up those last few loose ends I would have felt really, really good about this game.

Ah well, I’m too lazy to do all the requirements to get the best ending, and I guess the lingering questions aren’t that important anyway (they’re only the entire point of the game, that’s all). According to my save record I only discovered 58% of what the game has to offer and 77% of the CGs, so if I had the energy for a replay or two I might get the answers eventually.

Then again, because I got the bad ending I didn’t get access to New Game+, so I’d have to collect all my photos and phrases all over again. And there’s no guarantee the “best” ending is worth the trouble. You know what, I won’t play it again. I’m done.

Before I go, I should correct what I said in my previous post about the battles being easy. That’s mostly true, but you do need to be a little careful around the last three or four bosses. From chapter 10 onwards, it’s time to bust out all the stat-ups and special attacks you’ve been hoarding since the beginning of the game. Those later battles were my favorite part of the game. It was fun trying all kinds of summon spirits and buffs to counter the enemy’s attacks. And status effects do work, so use them! Heck, I beat the final boss in 7 turns by putting him to sleep repeatedly… Score one for the good guys!

Another point of correction: I said the writing was good, but eh, I guess I did praise it too early. It’s still a quick, easy read, but since very few of the characters got any development it got old after a while. The perverted guy was still perverted, the tsundere friend was still tsundere, the shy girl was still shy. You know how they’re going to react before they even make a move.

What’s worse, despite the cast full of pretty girls and all the choices you get to make, there aren’t any proper character endings. I really wanted those, even if they weren’t romantic. Akane-chan! Youko-chan!! As far as I can tell, people who like the MC will like him regardless of what you pick, but the relationship will never go beyond the “good friends” stage. Honestly I did enjoy the game and I do think it’s pretty good, but a visual novel lives and dies by its story and characters, and that’s where the biggest flaws are.

To summarize, Tsukumonogatari has a story that goes nowhere, an almost assured bad ending unless you use a FAQ, no romance and little character development. That’s the negative stuff. On the plus side the character designs were really cute, the all-star voice actors gave 100%, the conversations were interesting to read and I really liked the gameplay. I’d like to see more battle systems that revolve around harnessing the power of everyday objects and conversations.

As for whether I recommend the game or not, hmm I’m not really sure who would enjoy it. Visual novel lovers would expect their choices to actually make a difference. And they’d be hoping for character endings and a conclusive story, so they’re out. RPG fans would be happy with the battles, but there are only about 14-15 battles in the whole game, or about 1 battle per hour, and most of them are rather easy so it’s not that satisfying.

So umm, it’s for people who can read Japanese well but don’t really care about good stories and don’t mind occasional easy battles but don’t necessarily expect to be rewarded for their efforts? If you fall into that category, definitely give Tsukumonogatari a try.

Related posts:

Grand Knights History – Not feeling it yet Grand Knights History – I’ve seen enough Doki Doki Suikoden – Too many crotch shots Tsukumonogatari – I like it so far