Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 126

The Caligula Effect Remake Announced

Caligula (localized as The Caligula Effect) is a JRPG that came out for the PS Vita, and now it’s receiving a PS4 remake called Caligula Overdose.

I reviewed The Caligula Effect over at MonsterVine, and while it was definitely a flawed game, it was good enough that I’m interested in learning more about the remake.

Caligula Overdose has a new “Forbidden Musician Route” that doubles the scenario, the option to play as a female protagonist, two new members of the Go-Home Club (the main group), and two new Musicians (the villains).

The story was written by the writer of the original Persona and the Persona 2 games, and it was fairly good. It sounds like the remake’s new route will let the player join the Musicians, which should be interesting.

In my review, I mentioned how the game could have been stronger if it focused more attention on the main party instead of having 500 recruitable characters with generic dialogue (easily the weakest part of the game), and I hope the remake leans more in that direction.

So far, no localization has been announced for Caligula Overdose, but if it does come West (as The Caligula Effect Overdose?), I’ll be interested in seeing what improvements it makes over the original.

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Ace Attorney Anime Dub Cast Announced

Remember the announcement that the Ace Attorney anime would receive an English dub? (I actually forgot.) Well, we now know who the voice cast will be!

Funimation made a new announcement revealing the English voice actors not only for the main characters, but also for supporting characters.

Hopefully announcing the full voice cast means the dub is coming soon. The anime was enjoyable enough, despite some pacing issues, but I’d especially recommend it to someone who has played the first two games.

I already have a Funimation subscription, because I’ve been using it to watch shows like Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, and Durarara!! (No, I’m not just excited about it, the title is “Durarara!!”) What other anime should I try?

Meanwhile, Ace Attorney rumors are out in full force, with one person claiming the game will be announced on December 14 and will include the return of Franziska and Nahyuta, as well as another old character who will be central to the plot.

Is this person telling the truth (despite a dubious history)? Well, if an announcement comes out on December 14, it will add credibility to their claims.

Are you planning to watch the dubbed version of the Ace Attorney anime? Do you believe any of the Ace Attorney 7 rumors you’ve seen?

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Rumors About the Switch Ace Attorney Games

Just last week, we learned that Ace Attorney is planned for the Switch within the next fiscal year, and now new rumors claim to know what these Switch Ace Attorney games (yes, plural) are.

According to Kotaku UK, sources have said the Phoenix Wright Trilogy will be brought to the Switch sometime between April 2018 and October 2018.

In that same time period, a second compilation will be released: a second trilogy collection of Apollo Justice, Dual Destinies, and Spirit of Justice.

The same sources also said the next mainline Ace Attorney game is planned for late 2018 for the Switch and mobile devices, and it stars Phoenix Wright as the main protagonist.

Bringing the first six main games to the Switch does make sense, so that anyone who didn’t have a DS/3DS can catch up before the new game comes out. However, I would have liked to see the spin-offs brought to the Switch as well – giving us another chance at seeing Investigations 2 and the Dai Gyakuten Saiban games brought West.

Meanwhile, Ace Attorney Investigations is the only game in the series not available on the 3DS, and if these rumors are accurate, it won’t be available on the Switch, either.

Investigations isn’t the most popular game, but doesn’t it deserve a second chance?

Of course, these are just rumors, so we don’t know if they’re accurate or not. Personally, I would like it better if Capcom released one compilation of all 6 main games, and then a second compilation of the spin-offs.

Do you believe these rumors about Capcom’s Ace Attorney plans, and if so, what do you think?

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Ace Attorney Planned for the Switch

Celebrate, Ace Attorney fans, because Ace Attorney is planned for the Switch!

All right, there hasn’t actually been a new game announcement yet, and it was pretty much assumed that the series would move to the Switch if it replaced the 3DS.

However, we not only have confirmation, but also a time frame.

In part of a Japanese interview with Capcom, translated by Court-Records, Capcom’s COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto said the company is developing games to appear on the Switch in fiscal year 2018, including Ace Attorney.

Since it’s fiscal year 2018, that could mean calendar year 2019, but it’s good to know they already have Ace Attorney plans.

But what will it be? The next mainline game? A new spin-off? A collection of the Investigations games or the Dai Gyakuten Saiban games (hopefully localized in either of those cases)?

For now, we’ll have to wait and see. What do you expect from Ace Attorney on the Switch?

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Theories After Life Is Strange: Before the Storm Episode 2

After Episode 1 of Life is Strange: Before the Storm, I discussed several theories.

Now it’s time to do the same in the aftermath of Episode 2, “Brave New World.”

Spoiler warning: this post will include spoilers for Before the Storm Episode 2. If you don’t want events in Episode 2 spoiled for you, turn back now.

Last time, one of my biggest concerns was about whether or not Rachel Amber could actually be trusted. I’d hoped the next episode would help me decide, but instead, it only left me more conflicted.

Is Rachel Manipulative?

At the start of Episode 1, I thought my concerns were resolved. When Rachel lied to cover for Chloe in the principal’s office, my feelings toward her significantly improved. She was a nice person after all and she didn’t want her new friend to get in trouble!

I felt so kindly toward Rachel, I took the blame after all. In the next scene, however, Eliot asked if Rachel got off completely free and seemed skeptical about Chloe’s claim that Rachel tried to cover for her. That left me with the unsettling feeling that Rachel had manipulated me, the player, into protecting her.

The later dream sequence is the greatest source for my continued mistrust of Rachel.

In the nightmare (which includes another raven, a recurring motif in Before the Storm), Chloe speaks with her father, William. He tells her that darkness blinds with absence and loss, but fire blinds with beauty.

After how the first episode ended, it’s hard not to associate Rachel Amber with fire. Is the dream trying to warn Chloe that Rachel’s beauty and charm might blind her to her true nature? If it was an isolated line, it might be dismissed, but the rest of William’s comments make it clear he’s trying to warn Chloe about the “fire.”

The final scene that left me uncertain about Rachel was The Tempest. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the scene. I’m a Shakespeare fan to start with, and when Rachel went off-script, that was a great moment!

Except she went off-script to say that she (Prospero) would deny Chloe (Ariel) her liberty. After the ensuing discussion, she vows to eventually make her so happy, she won’t care about liberty.

Now, I can definitely see how this scene has been interpreted as romantic or heartwarming. If I had no doubts about Rachel, I probably wouldn’t have any doubts about this scene. But together with her earlier manipulative behavior and Dream William’s warnings, this scene came across as slightly obsessive to me… and I would have liked a line about how I could have liberty if I decided I wanted it after all, thank you.

What About Eliot?

Moving on from Rachel, I’d also like to briefly discuss Eliot. Eliot has generally come across as Chloe’s equivalent of Warren, a good friend with unrequited romantic feelings.

Some people thought Warren was a little creepy in the original game, but while I didn’t pick up on that, it’s definitely a bit creepy that Eliot’s search history includes multiple searches about Chloe.

Not only that, but if you talk to Samuel about Eliot, he says he can see what most people want to keep hidden… but not Eliot. With Eliot, Samuel can only see what he wants to be seen.

A developer also commented in a discussion of Eliot’s similarities to Warren saying it would be very interesting to revisit the topic after the end of the game.

One way or another, it seems there’s more to Eliot than meets the eye.

Conclusion

Damon and possibly Sera seem to be on track as Before the Storm’s major antagonists, but can we trust Rachel and Eliot? What do you think? Are there any other suspicions and theories you have about characters in Before the Storm?

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Persona 5 is a Fantastic, Epic JRPG

Until this year, I never paid much attention to the Persona series. In fact, I left Persona 5 off of my 2015 list of upcoming turn-based RPGs, despite it being a huge turn-based JRPG fans were looking forward to.

But once Persona 5 came out and people began raving over what an excellent game it was, I decided to give it a try. And you know what? Persona 5 is definitely an excellent JRPG.

First of all, I’m just delighted that at a time when many people claim only action RPGs sell (despite Pokémon’s unending success) and series like Final Fantasy have backed away from turn-based combat, Persona 5 is a big-name JRPG with an enjoyable turn-based combat system.

Unlike a lot of turn-based RPGs where basic battles generally come down to using your basic attack over and over, it’s important to make use of elemental weaknesses in Persona 5. Hitting an enemy’s weak point stuns them and lets you attack again–and the same goes if they hit your weak point.

If you incapacitate all of the enemies in the battle, you have a chance to negotiate with them. This was fun. Instead of just beating your enemies, you could ask them for money or an item, or talk them into joining your team.

Fighting through dungeons and recruiting Shadows is only one side of the gameplay, however. In between dungeons, you have a lot of time to go through your daily life. Along with spending time with your friends to improve your bonds (one of the most important and enjoyable parts of the game), there were lots of activities to do: reading, studying, fishing, watching movies, playing games, etc. These activities use up time, however, so you aren’t able to do everything.

(Normally I dislike games with time limits and such, but Persona 5’s time passes when you complete activities, not in real-time. Since I could wander to my heart’s content without risking the deadline, it was much more relaxing.)

It’s difficult for me to say which side of the gameplay was more enjoyable. In the end, I have to say both, with how they fit together. The dungeons wouldn’t carry it on their own, but the daily life sections wouldn’t hold up as well without the dungeons in between. It’s a great system that really made it addicting to play.

And best of all, it’s heavily story-driven.

I play RPGs for their stories, and Persona 5 did not disappoint. I feel like it’s rare to have a 100+ hour RPG that’s this focused on stories and characters (usually that much time comes from lots of exploration or grinding), but Persona 5 pulled it off.

The story was filled with thrilling, epic moments, and as the stakes got ever higher, I was excited to see what would happen next. There were also lighter scenes and lots of funny moments, and I loved the characters.

Increasing my bonds with my confidants provided many entertaining moments and enjoyable characters arcs, with some parts that were funny and others that were sad. When the end of the game finally approached, I felt sad saying goodbye to these characters I’d grown so fond of.

I’m not saying Persona 5 is a perfect game. The main character seemed like they weren’t sure if they wanted a self-insert/blank slate character or a set protagonist, resulting in someone who came across as a set protagonist whose pre-determined personality involved him rarely speaking and having very little internal monologue. At that point, why not just give him a fuller personality and dialogue?

There were also some tonal inconsistencies from time to time, and I cringed every time one of the characters said something about “those rotten adults.” It felt like it was trying to push a “teens vs. adults” idea that wasn’t as present in the narrative as those line made it sound.

But those are just minor quibbles. Overall, Persona 5 was a fantastic game filled with exciting moments, and I’m really happy I gave it a chance. I can’t wait to go back and try more games in the Persona series after this!

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Contest Winners, Destiny Chronicles Plans, and Chaos Souls

As of yesterday, the contest winners for this year’s Celebrating All Things Spooky contest have been notified. Moombit came in first place with 18 points, followed by Ludwig Von Koopa in second place with 15 points.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Moving on, Destiny Chronicles ultimately fell short of its Kickstarter goal. However, we intend to relaunch the campaign in the future, once we have additional content and more polished gameplay footage to show you.

If you want to be notified about future Destiny Chronicles updates, you can sign up for the mailing list at the official website.

Alternately, you can also support the new Patreon for Visualnoveler to get regular insights into the development process.

In the meantime, we have a new called Chaos Souls due out on November 7. Chaos Souls is a side-scrolling action game that puts you up against monsters and demons as you fight to save your kidnapped sister.

(Note: there is some fanservice, but no adult content.)

Funds from Chaos Souls will also go toward improving Destiny Chronicles.

Do you have any questions about Destiny Chronicles, Chaos Souls, or related topics? Let me know in the comments below. (And you can look forward to my Persona 5 review next week!)

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NaNoWriMo 2017 Begins!

October is over! Tomorrow I’ll be checking the count of comments made throughout the month of October and notify the winners of the Celebrating All Things Spooky contest, so stay tuned for that!

In the meantime, NaNoWriMo is here! Have a motivational picture from a couple years ago to get in the writing mood.

My plans have come together a little more clearly over the past few days. My novel now has the working title “The Threshing Night,” which I changed yesterday from the previous working title, “The Darkest Sun” (which I thought of the day before). It is YA fantasy.

I have three main characters figured out, and I have a good idea of where the story will go for the first five chapters or so.

That doesn’t include Chapter 1. I started writing at midnight with Chapter 2, because I’m not positive about the first chapter yet. Writing out of order is unusual for me, but this is a weird situation where I know my first chapter isn’t the first chapter.

So far, I’ve written just under 6,000 words, so I’m off to a good start!

What about you? If you’re participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo, how prepared do you feel?

Current Progress:

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Celebrating All Things Spooky: Majora’s Mask

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is often referred to as the “dark” Legend of Zelda game, so what better time to look at it than during our celebration of all spooky and creepy games?

(Plus, I finished it yesterday.)

I never played Majora’s Mask when it originally came out, so I was thrilled by the announcement of Majora’s Mask 3D. Several friends warned me it could get repetitive, but I suggested it to a friend as a game we should play together in July.

…*looks at date* Okay, so it took a little longer to finish than I expected.

Unfortunately, the reason Majora’s Mask took me so long to complete isn’t just because I somehow put 59 hours into it, but because I often didn’t have the will to play it, at least not for more than one 3-day cycle in-game.

This is not to say I didn’t like Majora’s Mask! I enjoyed several parts of it… mainly when I was doing normal Zelda activities. I liked solving puzzles in the dungeons, I liked playing mini-games, and I liked using the masks, especially the transformation masks.

I also enjoyed the premise and story, although I’d argue that it isn’t nearly as dark of a game as people say. Plenty of dark things happen in the game, but there are dark events in pretty much every Legend of Zelda game. To me, Link’s Awakening is ultimately darker in the end despite its lighter presentation.

Click for Link's Awakening spoilerIn Link’s Awakening, either everyone you interacted with during the entire game was fake, or you killed them all. And the bosses fight you because they don’t want to be erased. That’s pretty disturbing…

But that doesn’t matter. Dark or not, I enjoyed the atmosphere and story of Majora’s Mask.

What I didn’t enjoy was the time mechanic.

I know, the time travel is central to Majora’s Mask. And I like the concept. Make progress, learn new information, get new items, and then reset time to avert the apocalypse while using what you did the previous time to get further.

Yet it leads to so much repetition…

From my understanding, the 3DS version made some of this a lot easier to manage, which I’m grateful for. Even with those changes, I found it annoying to repeat certain things over and over and over, and I was never pleased to run out of time while nearing the end of a dungeon.

I was conflicted going into The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, and I’m still conflicted now that I’ve finished it. On one hand, I enjoyed several things about it. On the other hand, I found it to be one of the most annoying Zelda games I’ve played. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had a similar story but played more like a traditional game in the series.

But that’s just me, and I know this game is beloved by many people. What do you think of Majora’s Mask?

And do you consider it a dark game?

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First Impressions of Super Mario Odyssey

Super Mario Odyssey is here!

I’d hoped to finish Persona 5 before starting Super Mario Odyssey. That didn’t happen, so I set Persona 5 aside to see if Super Mario Odyssey is the 3D Mario game I’ve been dreaming of.

(Don’t worry, I still intend to play more Persona soon and finish it.)

First of all, I’m just delighted to have this style of Mario game back again. Super Mario 64 was one of my childhood games, Super Mario Sunshine was fantastic, I enjoyed Super Mario Galaxy despite it not having quite the same sort of world structure… and I waited all through the Wii U’s life for the next one. Super Mario 3D World, while fun, just wasn’t the same.

But here, I already feel that sense of exploration and fun. The basic controls are familiar, and using Cappy felt natural right away. I’m still getting used to some parts (and seeing which motion control actions can be done without motion controls), but it generally feels good.

It’s also beautiful! I spent a while in the first area (tutorial area) just looking around and enjoying its weird, oddly Nightmare-Before-Christmas-esque atmosphere.

And of course, the other worlds have a completely different aesthetic.

I haven’t played very much yet–after I got my first Power Moon I decided it was time to get work done, starting with this blog post–but I already love it and I’m excited to play more.

Are you playing Super Mario Odyssey? What do you think of it so far?

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