I wasn't initially planning to purchase Code Realize's sequel/fan disk,
because: a) this is far from being my favourite series under the VN sun, and b)
it was said to be short and thus not worth its 40-bucks price tag. But then
came the Black Friday sales on the PSN, and Future Blessings was granted
a massive 50% discount; and since I was in the mood for careless spending and
VN action at the time, I caved in and purchased it.
My verdict: FB is most definitely short, and pretty light on content.
However, that is not the game's main issue; that main issue would be how
utterly pointless and redundant most of said content is. Without spoiling
anything, what we have here is:
— Five sequel stories involving the beaus from Guardian of Rebirth.
Those stories are painfully short, and definitely not meaty enough to leave a
lasting impact. They really should have been included in the original
game, if only to provide a sense of closure that was sorely missing in most of
said original game's routes.
— Two brand-new romantic routes involving characters that were not dateable in GoR.
Those routes are pleasant enough, and one of them comes close to
single-handedly justifying the purchase of the whole game. If the game came
with a 10 bucks price tag, that is.
— One exclusive side story taking place during the events of GoR. Probably
the weakest link here: despite the writers' best intentions, this side story
comes across as asinine, pointless, and poorly written to boot. It's also
ridiculously derivative: it feels like a fanfiction of GoR, which is
itself very much a giant crossover fanfiction.
— A set of semi-romantic skits involving a non-dateable character from GoR.
Oh, such wasted potential! Those skits could have become an epic romantic
route, if only the writers had bothered developing the whole thing. Instead,
they merely give us a teaser and let us imagine what might happen. Or is it
rather a trailer, alluding to a future route in yet another Code Realize
fandisc? At any rate, it's a cheap move. A frustrating cheap move.
If you read my last
post about GoR,
dear fellow gamers, you may remember that I had a whole list of things I wanted
to see in the sequel. Now, was my wish Otomate's command? Well, it was indeed!
Granted, I didn't get everything I wanted; however, I definitely got more than
I dared hope for. (Spoilers!) I got my Leonhardt x Victoria love story,
with the sequel routes firmly implying a greater intimacy between the pair; I
got my Finis route, not romantic but still full of love; and I got the next
best thing to a Delacroix route. The only wish of mine that wasn't fulfilled
was an Aleister route; but I guess that hooking Cardia up with a psychopath old
enough to be her (grand)father was a bridge too far, even for Otomate. (End of spoilers.)
All in all, Future Blessings is a bit of a rip-off, even with a 20-bucks
price tag. It was not unpleasant by any means, but it's definitely not juicy
and solid enough to justify a purchase unless you're a hardcore fan of the
series. I strongly feel that Otomate is trying to milk the series as much as
possible by withholding important developments and then delivering them in
sequels. Guardian of Rebirth is not a self-contained game: if you want a
fulfilling conclusion to that game's routes, you need to purchase Future
Blessings. Now, do you want a fulfilling conclusion to Future Blessings'
brand-new routes? By all means, please purchase Wintertide Miracles, the
second Code Realize fan disc! I swear, Otomate is just ruthless. (And I
may just cave in in the end and purchase WM indeed, if only because I'm
a sucker for wintery settings.) Having said that, I'll see you soon with my route
report, dear fellow
gamers! Thanks for reading, and be my
guest anytime!
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