Recent reviews by PC-9801

YOU and ME and HER is a metatextual romance novel that critiques established tropes propagated by the visual novel industry. The game pulls off its critique by presenting itself as a generic romance VN with a protagonist that must pick one of two routes between main heroines: Aoi or Miyuki.

The first half of the game, to say the least, was exhausting to play. While I understand the necessity of establishing verisimilitude (a literary term describing a narrative technique where authors manipulate readers by creating a deceptively "normal" storytelling environment) I wish this VN got to the point faster.

I loved what the author had to say about the quite literal objectification and gameification of VN heroines as symbolized by Aoi's vast experience with sexual encounters. Aoi is a stand-in for the player's "dream girl" or "dream crush," she can be whatever the player imagines her to be. Aoi's personality is dialed in to male sensibilities: a goofy, nerdy, socially awkward gamer girl struggling to make friends. This waifu bait perfectly encapsulates how the VN industry creates heroines for the purpose of being consumed sexually and romantically, a perfectly focus tested product designed to be sold and commodified. In the game, Aoi mentions that her avatar has had sex with animals, pre-pubescent boys, adults, teenagers, and fantasy creatures. She is a sexual object in an abstract and literal sense, an insatiable sexual greed that mirrors the capitalist hunger that fuels this industry. Aoi, like many VN heroines, are vessels for the player to fill their perverse sexual desires in to. Beautifully, the game attempts to give Aoi agency by making her fall in love with the player of the game.

Miyuki on the other hand, is the logical conclusion of wanting a VN heroine to have a "real" relationship to the player. She is starved of love and attention in her world, feeling that nobody truly understands or is capable of loving her. She forms a relationship with our player character and also ourselves, and forces us to learn every aspect of her personality in order for the game to progress beyond its final part. Miyuki's relationship with the player is limited by the confines of what the developers and writers imagines our relationship to be, so in a beautiful narrative beat, our relationship with Miyuki is predetermined and hollow, for she doesn't truly know "us" the player. She is a lonely trapped in a video game searching for love wherever she can find it, similar to love starved VN players searching for the next VN heroine to profess their love to.

Ones and zeros influence the complex chemical composition of our brains as we form unrealistic attractions to depictions of focus-tested heroines whose personalities go through several revisions. Girls created out of the collective imagination of coders, writers, artists, developers, marketers, and the VN community writ large. VNs, like much of what we consume in society, are a disposable commodity designed to be used and forgotten about after a set period of time. Then the next game comes out. And the next. Thus, the machinations of our insatiable sexual obsession and need for romantic gratification is fulfilled by an exchange of currency for a brief respite from crushing modern solitude. A digital girl told us that she loved us. "Us" being whatever the developers of the game we played predetermined our pretend personalities to be as depicted by dialogue selections.

YOU and ME and HER raises several questions about manufactured sexual attraction and romantic love. Pushing the boundaries of what the relationship between the player and the game along with its heroines, YOU and ME and HER is self aware of its reliance on generic tropes and essentialisms about love.

I recommend this game if you're OK with sitting through some painfully generic SOL dialogue for about 6 or 7 hours before you get to the good stuff.

Bad End Theater attempts to deconstruct common fantasy archetypes by introducing a personality modifier system that influences timelines. The game fails to achieve its deconstruction meta-commentary by not allowing its characters enough time to flesh out their ideologies and motivations.

Part of what makes a bad ending so tragic is your investment in a story's characters. Games such as 999 or Higurashi are able to have impactful Bad End scenes because they did the due diligence of establishing character interactions and relationships. Without the time to come to grow and love the characters in a story, it's difficult to be invested in bad things happening to them.

Bad End Theater shines in its relationship between the Overlord and the Maiden, being a metaphor for frowned upon queer relationships. I would've loved to see their dynamic expanded upon, but only spending about 5-8 hours with several different characters made it difficult to be invested in any character interactions.

Furthermore, the game attempts to have a 4th wall breaking discussion with the player on the futility of seeing so much tragedy occurring to characters that they've spent time playing, This message could've been conveyed more powerfully if the authors spent more time creating interesting and varied routes. Many of the endings in the game are slight variations of the same basic premise, just shown from a different perspective.

Sadly, not all characters are treated with the same level of thoughtfulness and intrigue as the Overlord and Maiden, causing the Underling and Hero to mostly feel like plot vehicles to move the story forward.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend purchasing this game. It tries to market itself as a self aware meta commentary on established tropes, yet fails to create interesting, fleshed out character dynamics.

I really wanted to like this series, but I'll keep it short and sweet:

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. However, imitation without innovative iteration is just mediocre.

Just play Higurashi instead.

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is a choice."


YIIK: A Postmodern RPG is not for everyone. Alex is not a character that everyone will be able to stand.

To avoid the common trope of many postmodern commentators, yes, Alex is meant to be insufferable, but here is the key: Alex is an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. He is not meant to be relatable in the beginning. Not all main protagonists of all RPGs must be likeable or immediately relatable. Real human beings have flaws. Some human beings have worse flaws than others.

When you suffer, you build character. When you engage in self-reflection and introspection, you grow.

Alex is a pompous, stuck up rich kid from the suburb. His mother paid for his liberal arts degree. He's in his mid to late 20s, unemployed, and a huge ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Why? Because Alex never had to struggle--he never had to face the trials and tribulations that many human beings from differing socioeconomic backgrounds have faced. Alex's life is ruled by mediocrity: mediocre degree, mediocre style, mediocre philosophy, and a mediocre personality.

I spend great length discussing Alex in this review because it is important for players to understand that they will not like Alex in the beginning. He will have hissy fits, long, melodramatic monologuing, and stereotypical "Hey man, you’ve probably never heard of x, but.." style of dialogue. But stick with him. Give him a chance. We all know or knew someone like Alex. A pompous, stuck up rich kid with no grit or true character. A person without struggle---an individual without growth.

There are several aspects of the game to not like. The minigame based combat can feel repetitive and tedious at times, but this is an issue that is easily remedied by speeding the combat up. However, towards the latter half of the game, I found myself skipping battles because I grew tired of doing the same prompt repetitively. It would've been nice to have some more variety in how you attack, and more clarity for the player as to what effect skills have. I rarely used any skills because they were difficult to put into practice during fights.

Like this review, what follows is my subjective, biased opinion. I thoroughly dislike some of the puzzles in this game. Vella and Essentia's dungeons took me quite a few hours to complete due to the difficulty I had figuring out what to do in these areas. Thankfully there are several YouTubers playing the game that showed how they solved puzzles, and the developers posted a guide on how to solve most of them. Puzzle solving was the weakest aspect of this game.

YIIK exceeds in its aesthetic presentation. It is a blend of familiar and new, much like the overall theme of the game. All of Alex's friends are familiar, but depending on the reality he's in, they're all different. Throughout the course of the game, I felt myself growing more attached to the characters and their interactions with one another. Everyone feels different, with their own story and motivation. I would've enjoyed some more character development with regard to Michael and Rory, but I give the game a pass on this part because what you get for such a cheap price exceeds the value. Even if you never like Alex---you will definitely enjoy the supporting cast.

I thoroughly enjoyed this game's music---there is some chiptune, some vocal tracks, and much more. I found myself excited to rush into battles to hear what theme would play next. If nothing else, you should at least listen to this game's soundtrack, it is quite the treat.

YIIK is a type of game we rarely ever see. One that is unafraid to take narrative risks and subject the player to experiencing the excruciating process of character growth and redemption. Alex is in many ways a child despite being an adult---he is selfish and incredibly pretentious. As the story goes on however, Alex learns that there are many important things in this world besides his personal feelings. Connections with people are important; how you decide to interact, develop, and cherish relationships is all up to you. The game attempts to teach Alex a few hard truths, one that some of us have learned, and others have a long way of achieving. Nobody is perfect. Some people are more flawed than others.

Ultimately, it is your choice to continue playing YIIK despite how frustrated you may be with the main protagonist. I don't think that Alex is necessarily somebody that you have to relate to despite being the main protagonist. I was a spectator witnessing the growth of a man-child. It was difficult to watch, but I'm glad that I did. As mentioned before, growth is a difficult process. Admitting that you're wrong is a difficult process. Accepting your flaws and working towards changing them is a difficult process. I wonder if the reason why many reviewers detest Alex is because they see a bit of themselves in them, or rather, childish parts of themselves that they'd rather not see again. Maybe you are Alex in some ways, and seeing somebody be held accountable for their problematic behavior makes you uncomfortable. Maybe you have some growing to do too.

No game, much like no person, is perfect. Neither is YIIK. It is flawed in many different ways---oft repetitive, at times frustrating. But it was a fun adventure, and one that I'd recommend people to undergo if they'd like to experience a hidden gem.


Score: 7/10

Pros:
+ Aesthetic presentation
+ Music
+ Some aspects of its narrative elements. Character interactions are enjoyable.
+ A journey of redemption and growth.
+ Varied, funny enemy designs.
+ A tale of growth and redemption. Realistic portrayal of human flaws.

Cons:
- Alex is a divisive character. You will probably hate him in the beginning. However, much like you were probably insufferable in the past---try to give Alex a chance.
- Puzzles aren't the best.
- The game drags on in certain parts.
- Some battles are offensively long.
- Damage values aren't too clear, same with experience gain values.
- There were some parts of the game where I simply did not know what to do. I understand this is a subjective point, but I think the game could do a better job conveying to the player when they must commit certain actions.
- Quite a few aspects of the story go unexplained. Maybe that is the point. Who knows with postmodernism. I don't know if it's the best excuse, though. That is up to you.

I notice a common trend among visual novel user reviews on Steam. Reviewers tend to rate any and all visual novels highly indiscriminate of quality and price. Even the page for STEINS;GATE 0 contains few reviews that cover the game meaningfully, under an objective lense without the rampant fanboy/girlism the series is known for.

Let me preface this review by saying that I am an avid lover of anime, manga, and great storytelling. Time travel happens to be my favorite genre next to romance! The original STEINS;GATE, despite all of its flaws (harem, mostly), remains one of my favorite anime to this day.

So imagine my excitement when I see that a interlude of the story, STEINS;GATE 0, comes out, covering all of the struggle, pain, and strife Okabe had to go through to create a world where two of his loved ones survived. After finishing STIENS;GATE 0 however, and paying $31 dollars for it during the steam sale, I cannot recommend this game in good conscious, I regret paying so much for this game. Why?

When this game gets serious, it is an incredibly engaging tale of a man crushed by the weight of fate, resigned to the banality of everyday life without his lover. But these scenes take a lot of work to get to,, why? Because this visual novel follows the same trope of almost every Japanese anime or VN: forced comedy scenes that aren't funny and actually take away from the story. The most egregious was a scene in which Okabe accidentally sees Maho naked, with the joke to again be repeated later in the same route. There are plenty of other instances where unfunny, cliché anime humor is used to break the serious tone of the VN, but for the sake of a more condensed review, I won't cover it. I found myself smashing the space button to get through incredibly boring dialogue for many routes, which isn't a good sign for the overall quality and writing of the VN.

In my opinion, what makes or breaks a story is the strength and development of its characters. Even if there isn't that great of a story, if there are characters you are attached to, you're still able to enjoy yourself. However, the characters in this iteration of STEINS;GATE were notably weaker than in its previous installment. The story mostly centered on Okabe and Maho, with Mayuri and Suzu having somewhat of notable roles. Daru, Feris, Moeka, and Lukako's roles felt even lesser in SG 0 than it did in the original.

But, the worst part of this VN was the ending. I was dumbfounded when I unlocked the final route, and got the 100% CG achievement. Me and my small brained self took to reddit to find some sort of explanatory post bridging everything together and thankfully there was. Many people agreed that the writing in this novel was lackluster, and not much got resolved.

This VN could have been so much better with less cringey anime humor and a more focused plot that didn't have strange tone shifts. Mature, serious stories are always a blast to play though, and I believe that even a medium like a VN is capable of telling a gripping, emotionally draining plot like Saya no Uta.

In sum, do yourself a favor and don't buy this game. Buy it extra cheap, or watch your favorite Youtuber play it.

10/10 never leaving house again

no.