Ace Academy 2 - A Much Needed Sequel

[milman95]

I must admit, I am rather new to the visual novel genre. I don't know many of the tropes, cliches, elements in general that are common to the genre. Ive always been a hardcore gamer for sports games, RPGs, the occasional shooting game but it wasn't until I played a certain Everlasting Summer that I realized the power the visual novel medium has. I cared about the characters, the story, the struggle the main character was going through and once it was all over, as weird as it sounds, like I was a little empty, a feeling no other game genre really made me feel. So I started down the path of finding a new visual novel to get into. I wanted it to be one where I had more choice, and felt as if I was apart of the world. Enter Ace Academy.

I can not believe the game that has been developed here. I could gush on and on about this game but ill try to keep it down so I'm not writing my own novel here, and mention some of the elements I really enjoyed!

The visuals are gorgeous. The CG's that we do get are unbelievable and I only wish we had more. The backgrounds and character models are top notch as well and really make the player feel a part of the world, like they are really there.

Voice acting is also very solid. I didn't realize the game had full voice acting until I got into the game and started hearing the characters talk! I think this feature adds to the list of factors engrossing the player into the world, like the characters and the synopsis are really happening!

However, a voice can only go so far if the characters are brutal. This to me is why I play visual novels, or most adventure/action games in general, for the characters. I can not believe the job that was done characterizing and writing these characters for this game. They are outstanding! I loved how you could actually hang out with more than one character in a day, not restricting you to just your love interest you could forge platonic relationships as well. You could actually bond with the other male characters which was actually so much fun in this game. The dialogue and the interactions are genuine, and I laughed harder than id like to admit at a few parts thats for sure. From the family characters to the best friend guy characters to the girls they all for the most part feel like actual people in a world. But all good things of course come to an end.

Once the game had finished and the credits rolled I again felt that empty feeling I had felt previously. I wanted to go to that world and be with the characters and in the story, I can't say that many games have made me felt that way and its a really powerful feeling. From reading other posts I've read how the developers wanted to expand the story but ran out of funding and had to cut it short. If this is true its a shame. However, this conclusion can still be wrapped up better with a sequel.

I believe there are many possibilities to take the story for a sequel. I think continuing to find out a little more about the mystery of your family while continuing to build relationships with your schoolmates and family would be the backbone of the game. There is still a lot of growth for these characters to go through, stories to tell and bonds to be forged that rightfully deserve a sequel. However, I know the developers are working on a new game and to be honest from what I've heard its fantastic! Just from reading the description on steam about the game I can't help but wish the same grand scale would have been utilized for Ace Academy. I can't imagine how this game might have been with an even more fleshed out RPG / relationships / interaction system for the characters and story.

I believe the developers should work on projects that they want to work on though. There is nothing worse than working on a project you care very little about and being forced into a sequel when they are not ready might be doing a disservice to the series. When the time comes though, I hope the developers choose to make a direct sequel for this game, to continue and finish off the story, world, and characters that rightfully deserve to go out with a bang. Now that the developer is a little more established and has a little more funding I think a grander scale game would be fantastic! If a developer does read this, this game series could be really something special, and I hope you all revisit this series sooner rather than later, but when your ready to conclude it like you all want to.

[mc_cross43]

yes agreed. when the time is right. i need kaori back :D :D :D

[milman95]

Haha yes Kaori was my favourite as well :) I can't stress enough how great of a game an Ace Academy 2 would be in my mind with all of the new implementations being introduced into the developers new game (especially the new animated 2D models which look fantastic), with the developers being a bit wiser and knowing how to overcome certain obstacles in the development process since they have their feet wet after developing several great visual novels, or even just the more funding they would probably be able to have for the second instalment. I know I would be one of the first supporters on kickstarter if it were to open right now. They built a really interesting and engaging universe and I just hope they return to it sometime in the near future so we can all revisit those loved characters and story :) But like I said before in my original post I would want the developers to do the series justice and really tackle the next game when they are ready to do so, and build a game completely on their terms without funding being as much of an issue as it was for the first game :) But of course I must admit I would be absolutely stoked if this were their next project after they are finished with their current game :)

[Nia]

KAORI

[lv999!!]

Val is best grill

[Drakir]

100% would buy

[Searchitect]

I wholeheartedly agree with you and see a lot of potential in the future. But first, I'm putting up a BIG spoiler warning.

• The investigation into the death of the protagonist's parents was actually very engaging. It really managed to make me feel invested in the main character's story as well as the family's in general. And given the fact the man responisble was put in a coma, regardless of what you chose, there's a big possibility for a sequel complete with an antagonist.
  
• There's Nikki. I genuinely loved seeing Nikki interact with the protagonist. They made a great pair of siblings and NEVER feeling incestuous. Seriously, wtf is wrong with some of you? I want to see more moments of the protagonist being there for his sister. There were times he actually acted something like a parental figure, which is common when it comes to older siblings. And if they ever had an antagonist in the sequel, even more put at stake and a bigger role for Nikki to play.Plus you have her relationship with Ken. I can see it either getting further explored or at least mentioned.
  
• There's the team. The main meat of the character's a strength of the game. The sequel could either take place the following year where they face new challenges and competitions.

There is so much potential in this one game that it would be a shame if Pixelfade never made full use of it.

[Searchitect]

OH! And there's still Akira and Mei. I really like their characters and wanted to see more of them in the future.

[SilverHawk]

I fully agree with this. I want to see whayt hapens if they graduate and I want to see what the potential results and implications are at least based on which ever choice at the end is supposed to be the cannon one if not both.

[LuigiMeatball]

They also need to let us watch TV shows again with the family and one of the options should be Top Gear.

[Lywelyn]

i'd really like to see ace aca 2 not because of the usual fan stuff, but rather because the thing get interesting near the end, the romances are quiet nicely done , and yeah the mist around the core n stuff, i really want to find out + seeing akira with his scythe and gear in space like a 2.0 come on, give it to us once crystaline's done

[milki milkers]

Originally posted by Termin8r:

OH! And there's still Akira and Mei. I really like their characters and wanted to see more of them in the future.

really late anwser but mei is kinda a slut, she did ♥♥♥♥ it up for me in the manga store hunting for men.