Completion Log
I'm just... I'm totally done with these games, capiche?
List items
-
Honestly, I was not prepared at ALL for this experience. I went in expecting a slow-paced murder mystery, and I got PURE FUCKING TERROR. One of my favorite visual novel experiences, and something I think everyone should experience. A very strong 9/10.
-
Where the game begins to start giving you some clues as to what some of the pieces on the game board are, while at the same time being masterful in it's delusion. Nothing too special happens here, but still a wonderful piece of the journey. I say a light 8 in terms of the whole, but standalone it's maybe a strong 7.5/10.
-
Holy SHIT. This fucking blew my mind. This episode is just a fucking emotional rollercoaster, and cemented my belief that the visual novel is an INCREDIBLY powerful medium. Although I wasn't too much of a fan of how it ended, everything leading up to the last hour or so was very much worth it. Highly recommended, strong 8.5/10.
-
This served as a nice little detour. Lots of interesting development for such a short episode. Strong 7/10, and whatever you do, don't skip it. Regardless of the game claiming it's "optional", I'd say this is pretty important to the overall experience.
-
HOOOOLY SHIT. Kai starts off so fucking strong, with this episode having what I truly believe to be the biggest mindfuck of the entire game. Highly, highly recommended, and even though it has somewhat of a slow first half, I give this a solid 9/10.
-
Fantastic episode, with the end being another one of my favorite parts of any visual novel ever. Strong 9/10.
-
This episode was incredible in that it's mostly, at least at first, nothing but the more intense side of the slice of life parts, but at this point you're so invested in the characters that it works extremely well. I give this a light 9/10.
-
And, finally, we have the conclusion. Many people dislike it because it is somewhat over-the-top and corny, but I personally adore it and feel it covered every base it needed to cover, and ends the game on the perfect note. This one gets a solid 9/10, and overall I give Higurashi, as a full, encompassing, emotional journey, a 9.5/10. It truly ends up surpassing it's individual parts when taken in context as a whole. Probably my personal favorite visual novel of all time, although as of writing this I still have tons of fantastic experiences that I still haven't gotten to yet.
-
The gameplay is interesting but still somewhat bland. This game is saved by an interesting universe and awesome characters. I felt the whole "dark replay" thing was extremely overrated, and it didn't emotionally connect with me enough to be a really powerful experience. I give this a strong 6/10. Worth your time if you're interested enough in the world, characters, and beautiful soundtrack, but also very skippable, especially if you're a gamer on a time/money budget.
-
This, to me, is probably the perfect visual novel. It uses every single tool that the medium has to it's fullest extent, and oh boy, does it succeed. Play 999 first (not just for the important story information that, for some ODD reason, people keep downplaying how important it is; it's also a really really fucking good game and definitely worth your time), and then prepare to jump into what is one of the most amazing visual novel experiences out there. Highly recommended, I give this a very strong 9.5/10.
-
I'm not sure why it's cool to hate this game, but I personally loved it. It's definitely not Max Payne 1 or 2, but Rockstar successfully innovated and modernized the gameplay as well as wove a truly engaging tale that I feel is, although much different in tone, worthy of being Max Payne. Strong 8/10 here, folks.
-
I love the feel of these games compared to Higurashi. I'm using the PS3 patch, so that might have something to do with it, but the games really do feel like they have this more... big budget thing going on. That being said, this episode didn't have as much of an impact on me as Onikakushi-hen did, but it was still a pretty damn good introduction and I was definitely intrigued to learn more. Solid 8/10.
-
This is where things get more interesting. Some of the feelings invoked by this episode blew my mind, definitely a great experience and another awesome Ryukishi joint. Strong 8.5/10.
-
And here is where the game starts pulling out all the stops and starts fucking with you, the player. A very strong 9/10.
-
An extremely tight and emotional rollercoaster that takes you to a lot of very interesting places. I'm feeling a very strong 8.5/10, if not a light 9.
0 Comments