I'm extremely annoyed by the writing in this game.

[LROCK]

I love how this game looks. So far every place I've been is adorable, It makes me want to explore this game's world and see all the places i can. Also the attention to detail is nice and makes the world feel alive. But all dialogues go the same way, Estelle is shown as the impulsive, unnatractive sister and Joshua is the smartass perfect brother. Every single chance the game has to shove this on your face it does. I've been playing for ten hours expecting this to change but it only gets worse.
I like the game and I want to see what else it has to offer, but with writing so poor it's hard to keep going.

[Gabby]

First, there's a difference between poor writing and writing / characters your don't personally like. What you're actually identifying it the latter, not the former.

Second, you're ten hours in, you might not have even cleared the prologue yet. (It's a seriously long game.) Consider that you're basically still at the beginning of what could be considered the longest book you're ever going to read. First and Second Chapter were originally written as a single piece, the development and growth of the characters occurs throughout the plot, no one changes or grows into a better person overnight (or the first few chapters of the book). Give them more time.

Finally, I feel you're being a tad overdramatic. Settle down, it feels like you've determined something about the game and you're letting that determination bias how you translate what's going on in game. Try letting go of that. It might help you.

[SchwartZero]

There is a reason why Joshua excels in many things, compared to Estelle and other characters. It's important to know that most things do get explained in this game, and the rest of the series.

It does take time though, so you will have to keep progressing through the game to find out!

[LilG]

I agree with Seraphna ,give the game time if you're only on the Prologue, the characters will develop. I'm nearly upto chapter2 & enjoying the plot unfolding.

[LROCK]

Joshua is the worst. He's so condescending and autistic all the time I can't play anymore. He's that bad.

[Gabby]

First, autistic is something he's not and I'd appreciate it if you don't misuse that term.

Second, while he can appear condescending (read: teasing), he actually cares quite deeply for Estelle and it will show more as time progresses.

[Missilepom]

Originally posted by Rockloh:

Estelle is shown as the impulsive, unnatractive sister and Joshua is the smartass perfect brother.

IIRC, even in the prologue, there were a few times that these stereotypes were subverted. Like the others said, keep on playing. Usually people who stop after a few hours get put off by the initial slow pacing and can't appreciate the worldbuilding in the beginning of the game. That doesn't seem to be your case. I think you will like the game more and more as you see more of it ;)

[Missilepom]

Originally posted by Rockloh:

Joshua is the worst. He's so condescending and autistic all the time I can't play anymore. He's that bad.

Well I guess it depends on how you look at it. You've only known them for ten hours but they've known each other for five years. To me it was just harmless teasing between siblings who know each other very well. Since they know each other so well Joshua knows those kinds of teases won't hurt Estelle.

[Talkkno]

Joshua's usually looking out for Estelle with his snarky remarks, can't let her get a big head.

[Letari]

First, consider where this game was made. Japan has a different sense of humor and I would compare the way their personalities mix to a form of comedy known as Manzai:"Usually involves two performers (manzaishi)—a straight man (tsukkomi) and a funny man (boke)—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mutual misunderstandings, double-talk, puns and other verbal gags." Now their relationship isn't exactly this nor are their characters but many pairs of characters often have this dynamic in their relationship with each other.

Second, don't get pulled into Joshua's Mr. Perfect image, they're both 16 but the difference in their amount of life experience is obviously far apart and that gets brought up at the end but many hints are dropped over the course of the game.

Third, Estelle is a naive character and is unfamiliar with the overall situation of the world and that's sort of the reason this game is interesting. She's also learning about it along with us and acts as the medium for the game to explain to us every detail about it.


The only time I found Joshua annoying was when I tried to go the opposite direction the story tells me to go and leaving town is forbidden so he scolds me...but any party member does that so Joshua isn't alone in that one...

[omgfloofy]

Originally posted by meginb:

Second, don't get pulled into Joshua's Mr. Perfect image, they're both 16 but the difference in their amount of life experience is obviously far apart and that gets brought up at the end but many hints are dropped over the course of the game.

While all of the other points are good, I want to emphaize this point specifically. Joshua does seem very perfect from the beginning and as things go on, you'll start to see what else is with him bit by bit.

I've said elsewhere, the start of this game is one of the hardest starts of the Kiseki series for me, but the payout at the end is what makes it so good. When everything finally starts clicking into place is just amazing.

[old Charlie]

Well its an jrpg and it has an obvious anime-style to it. So you can expect the usual cliches, stereotypes and obvious archetype-characters. But this much you should expect when buying this game. The presentation never seemed sophisticated. Its an entertainement product, mostly for teenagers who are into anime.

Apart from that, the writing isn´t really great, but its by no means bad either. Its good enough for me to understand (mostly) why the characters act the way they do and the decisions they make. The story makes sense for the most part and all characters are fleshed out wiithin. Everybody serves a storytelling purpose or i hope they will in later instalments.
At times the writing gets a bit lazy for todays standards but some 10-15 years ago nobody would have even realized that (example: smokegrenades^^).

In fact, i´d say that the writing is better than in most other rpgs. But I can fully understand that you can´t listen to the dialogue. I am not into animes and the way of talking seems weird to me. But thats the feeling I also get from disney movies...

...now be glad that there is (almost) no singing in this game!


[EDIT]
about joshua: He isn´t nearly perfect enough considering his backstory.
But well, its a game after all, so they didn´t have a choice.
Thats not bad writing. Those are the common boundarys for games in general. he had to start off at lvl 1.

[Cloaked Figure]

I have not gotten to far into the game yet, but I for one love Estelles and Cassius personalities. Estellee acts so much like this one young college girl I know, it kinda freaks me out. So incredibly naive and full of joy. Not to mention the random singing, and yelling.

Cassius, I love his snarky personaliy. The portrait that is shown when he is being sarcastic really adds to it. Joshua I find dull and boring so far, While Scherazard is awesome. Anyway Im afraid to read to much more in this thread because I don't want spoilers.

[Letari]

But smoke grenades are the last thing anyone expects from an attacker so it ends up being successful every time no matter how ridiculous you think they would be. :P
Also when you think about it, they didn't have many options that weren't potentially lethal or would give them away, so smoke grenades make the most sense. My only gripe would be how they set them up without getting seen since going through the tunnel would mean they go through the checkpoint and coming in from above would make them clearly visible in broad daylight...unless they either scaled the building from the sides or back or used disguises to get inside.

[Domi]

Joshua is pretty much Estelle's support... and since Estelle is... well, Estelle, it's obvious she needs someone extraordinarily good. But don't worry, by the time you guys finish the game, you'll look back and realise it all made sense.

[old Charlie]

Originally posted by meginb:

But smoke grenades are the last thing anyone expects from an attacker so it ends up being successful every time no matter how ridiculous you think they would be. :P
Also when you think about it, they didn't have many options that weren't potentially lethal or would give them away, so smoke grenades make the most sense. My only gripe would be how they set them up without getting seen since going through the tunnel would mean they go through the checkpoint and coming in from above would make them clearly visible in broad daylight...unless they either scaled the building from the sides or back or used disguises to get inside.

I am talking about the effect of a smoke grenade as exit-strategy. It just doesn´t work that way ;)

(trying not to spoiler here)