I'll admit it:
I went into that game expecting the absolute worst. Most reviews lambasted the
horrendous fan service, with some writing off OWIE entirely because of
it. Still, there was no way I was gonna miss a VN with such vibrant chara
design and vivid colours — hence the stance I took: to turn a blind eye to the
fan-service and keep playing good-naturedly.
As I did that, something mightily unexpected happened: I grew intensely
attached to OWIE's motley crew. Sure, they are darn irritating at first,
with their behaviour that's way too cliché and their private jokes that are
spammed way too often; yet after a few chapters, I found myself caring about
them and worrying about their destiny in earnest. In that sense, what happens
at Judgement 7's is very similar to what happens in real workplaces, where
you're annoyed by your colleagues' quirks at first yet end up being really
attached to them. Those teammates of mine provided me with a rollercoaster of emotions:
I laughed at Ikura's grand declarations and Asano's old man behaviour, rolled
my eyes at Natsumi's tsundere antics and Sekai's hentai ones, teared up in
earnest when Natsumi confronted Yuno after the latter's past was revealed, and
let out a satisfied sigh at the final outcome.
Cherry on the cake, the fan service wasn't even that horrendous. Sure, it's pretty heavy-duty at first, and seriously crass to boot; but it's not long before it receeds into the background and lets the story take center stage. Not only that, but I daresay it's quite decent as far as fan service goes, because there's something for everybody: after delivering a healthy dose of tits&arse, the game moves on to shotacon, then dives straight into yaoi. Unfortunately, many players may be so put off by the initial bombarding of over-the-top, breast-focused lewdness that they'll give up long before the story gets to shine and the fan service changes gear. That would be kinda ironic, 'cause they'd do exactly what they blame the game for doing: focusing only on outer appearances, and ignoring the heart of gold that beats under all the bosom display.
This game has
its heart in the right place indeed, and it surprised me with many Persona-like
stories of psychological struggles. Each character gets their dedicated time
under the spotlight, and their own private issues are pleasantly varied when it
comes to depth and intensity. After all, not everybody can have a gruesome
past, right? (SPOILERS!) The drama and anxiety factor runs the gamut:
from pretty light with Iruka, who uses the products of his overactive
imagination to embellish his often disappointing reality, to cranked up to
eleven in Yuno's story of bullying, depression and suicide attempt. Then you
have Sekai who unwinds and deals with loneliness through crazy hentai
fantasies, Tatiana who suffers from being valued only as a genius child, Asano
who turned to shotacon because she's afraid of adult men, Natsumi who can't
accept her weak and flawed self, and Reina who has trouble processing her own
death and renouncing Judgement 7. Even the player, as the MC, will have to go
through a psychological journey of sorts — from being a passive, somewhat
reluctant spectator to being deeply involved in the whole crew's destiny. (END
OF SPOILERS)
I played the mandatory normal end, as well as Iruka's bromance end; others will
have to wait until next run — because there will indeed be a next run! Gee, I
love that game too much not to replay it one day. And now, I'll move on the
next VN in line — because indeed, I'm still totally on a VN roll. Until my next
run report, dear fellow gamers, keep playing and take care!
Now, this is a
surprise. A genuinely honest review about OWIE on the wide world web? Hell is
about to freeze over.
Seriously though, I was originally put off about OWIE due to all the massive
negative reviews until I surmised that the problem is "fanservice",
and that, for me, is no problem at all. Specially when the game is so colorful
and with such a nice, pleasant OST and I ended up completing Asano's route. It
does that a while for the player/reader to warm up to the characters, that's
for sure, but they end up being a really fun, likable group.
Isleif13 December 2020 at 12:35
Glad to see we're on the same page, my friend! :D I can't help but think that OWIE has been given a really rough treatment by the reviewing community; if my humble yet informed opinion can help balance things, then my job as a blogger is done ^^
Indeed, a
positive review is better than none. Specially since the game really didn't
deserve the overwhelming slamming it got outside of Japan.
By the by, do you have by any chance a VN called "Buried Stars" on
your to-play list? I'm definitely interested in it but still didn't take the
plunge.
Isleif14 December 2020 at 15:48
"I'm
definitely interested in it but still didn't take the plunge": same here;
although our reasons not to take the plunge may vary. :P
I unfortunately missed the multi-language physical edition, which means that I
now have to fork out 50 euros AND make do with the digital version if I want to
play that game. I still have enough physical VNs to satiate me; but if/when I
run out of them, I may well cave in and get my paws on Buried Stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment