Should the Lighthouse be more...difficult?

[HypetheKomodo]

As the climax of the game, and the location of your ultimate objective, I can't help but feel that the Lighthouse is just a bit anticlimatic compared to the struggle you went through to get the keys and reach it in the first place

Unless you're really at death's door (Less than 6 Stam/Reason, 90% Doom) there's really nothing stopping you from tipping whatever represents the Old God over and saving the day, and the lone enemy I've encountered there (thus far) has no power and can die in one turn easily

In fact, the encounter is the best result as you can skip one of the skill checks, which again, aren't likely to finish you off unless you are literally about to lose otherwise

I dunno, just my take on the whole thing, it's weird going through tense mysteries where I have to take advantage of every possible resource just so I can enter the Lighthouse, rest a bit and just waltz to the end

Maybe some family histories liven it up, I don't know, but it's just from what I've experienced so far

[Ronin Away]

Originally posted by Chris_Woods:

I am unfamiliar with Junji -- how is the ending being anticlimatic a thing? Does his stories just sort of peter out, I suppose?

Most of them have not-endings if that makes sense? Like cliffhangers with no hook, scary thing happens and just ends abruptly.

[Nalut]

Originally posted by Dr.maniac:

The light house being anticlimactic is the game taking it's junji ito influence to it's max

Thanks. Finally.

As i wrote before i was really happy that it was what it was instead of ooooh let me guess, boss fight: now i'm gonna have to fight the big bad old god ....



Buuuuut it should more random events to chose from. I'm not talking about more events poping up before reaching the top..just more crazy stuff that i might encounter in there. I think that 2 game are enough to actually play them all and after you chose all the possibility just to see what happen you are done in maybe 3, 4 more games.

Aaand a I mean....you don't have to ask me only about the second case..

I mean i hope that maybe i always got that but it seems veeery unlikeble after all this game hours. You could also ask something more and more pertinent to the case, i wouldn't mind.

[Gato(Means Cat)]

Honestly, this entire game is way too easy and the Lighthouse being anticlimatic and eventless only compounds that. There should've been a series of checks related to the old god in question or a battle to end it all. Reaching to the top and just seeing nothing but the sky clearing up is a very boring way to end the game and how things like Alexandrite opening the museum never goes mentioned anywhere. Would be nice if the final place was different depending on what old god, like the old god I mentioned to be a museum that's opening soon so you sneak in or something.

[Dan of 76]

Originally posted by mykenae:

Isn't Takahashi-san implied to be the policeman who's been fighting against the cult in the Festival's A-ending?

I kept that in mind after I did the Festival again and then got to the end again (third time, actually). I think you're right; it appears as though he is the same guy. After all, it's a male with black hair, in a suit, and in the combat screen he's holding the same mask in his off hand as though he just took it off.

But did he go insane or was he part of it all since the beginning? I like to think the latter, this way he prevented the Eldritch god from appearing because he wanted his to appear instead.

[Dr.maniac]

I wish the mysteries had more randomize components. Stuff like figuring out the ward for the scissor lady or the one where you had to do a ritual at specific times are the most fun parts of those mysteries.

Adding more trials based on your actions during a run would also make the lighthouse better. Like, what if you messed up the ward and the scissor lady showed up for a fight at the end.

[silentpassion]

I get the idea of it having it be a none ending as it does fit the theme, but maybe have something along those lines but more character specific?

[Griffith]

It's an interesting thing to work with. On one hand, it's is anticlimactic. Everything you learn and deal with throughout the game starts building something up for this lighthouse, that somehow it's all connected, and these things will be revealed. Except it doesn't. It just ends, after a lot of strange problems and things that occurred.

Yet on the other hand, this game clearly has some great style and themes, that frankly make it what it is. I think the Lighthouse needs to be changed, but not necessarily to stop being anti climactic.

[RampantDurandal]

I'd like to see the possibility of being "too late" when you reach the top of the lighthouse, possibly tied to DOOM level, possibly 90% as per the achievement. You wouldn't necessarily fight the god, but you might go into some Otherworld locations, or something along those lines.

I like the concept of the Lighthouse as being the final DOOM drain that does you in; I've lost several playthroughs on True Believer one or two investigations away from the top of the lighthouse due to things like not having a flashlight, or having followed an easy mystery path and taking too long against Takashi-san due to being too weak.

On that note I think Takashi-san should do at least 3% DOOM, if not 4%. Surely he should have more power than a random encounter.

[Dr. Marker]

I don't think it's unfair to say that the lighthouse is anti-climactic, in essence it can be boiled down to 'unlock the front door, climb the stairs, do some light repair work and deal with either an emo teenager or a man who's only weapon against you is wasting your time (considering how Takashi only does doom damage and his attack text refers to him blocking your passage, he physically can't actually harm you) only to enter the room at the top and...er...pack away a telescope with no resistance whatsoever only to suddenly be told 'congrats, you won dude, everything is cool now'.

I get that a lot of people are saying 'anti-climaxes are fitting for Ito' but I don't think his stories are anti-climactic so much as they often have very abrupt and sudden climaxes (which in many cases often either end on sad notes or with the character forever marked by their ordeals).

When I say this I'm not saying you need to enter the top of the lighthouse and go Def Jam on an Elder God (although I would absolutely play the hell out of a game like that) but for the place that the rest of the game has been building up to be the epicentre of everything going on only for it to be...the most mundane and safe place in the game by a country mile feels like a bit of a let down.

[Pulowski]

Originally posted by Dan of 76:

Originally posted by mykenae:

Isn't Takahashi-san implied to be the policeman who's been fighting against the cult in the Festival's A-ending?

I kept that in mind after I did the Festival again and then got to the end again (third time, actually). I think you're right; it appears as though he is the same guy. After all, it's a male with black hair, in a suit, and in the combat screen he's holding the same mask in his off hand as though he just took it off.

But did he go insane or was he part of it all since the beginning? I like to think the latter, this way he prevented the Eldritch god from appearing because he wanted his to appear instead.

yep, cultists fighting over who's god gets summoned first is one of the interesting aspects of this game cus that means they can be allies at some points

[NOPper]

I just finished my first successful run, and thought the game had locked up when I got to the top. While alt-tabbing back and forth after trying all sorts of things I must have clicked the leg of the telescope or something and got the ending text. There was no cult leader anywhere heading up the lighthouse...did I miss something or was that actually it and I was just supposed to click the leg of the telescope in the first place?

I think a good chunk of what I thought were odd choices may have been down to needing better translation. If the text made more sense the anti-climax might not be so jarring.

[Nalut]

Originally posted by Greatfox RUS:

On that note, how do you even get "Something Truly Evil" (tm) to engage you?

Originally posted by mykenae:

Originally posted by Greatfox RUS:

On that note, how do you even get "Something Truly Evil" (tm) to engage you?

I don't believe it's fully in the game yet. There are four possible encounters with it that've been discovered (3 in the Apartments, 1 in Downtown), and the game keeps track of how many times you've gotten one of those events, but so far there's no sign that you can actually complete that achievement at this point.

I heard a rumor that something truly evil is coming soon, so next patch or so but yeah, it ain't possible to get atm.

[El Rey de la Karnov]

It is anticlimatic, and I hope something a bit more involved or cooler is done for it later on. The cases that come before are more complex and harder, and there's not much payoff from the ending.

[Snorb]

I dunno, I think I wanted something a bit more stakes-raising than a man shouting "Just give up, kiddo!" before Aiko caves his skull in with a baseball bat.

Hell, we don't even know anything _about_ Takashi-san other than he's the head cultist of Ithothu or Goizo or Cthac-Atorasu or Ath-Yolazsth.

[Pingularity]

I think the last three events in the lighthouse being set encounters based on the god would be cool.
The game doesnt need a final boss so to speak, as not every mystery has one, but i think the lighthouse events should be harsher, so that anticlimatic ending is much more relieving.
Maybe make it so the lighthouse encounter has a threat level that gets worse for every bad ending you got in a mystery.