Grisaia Phantom Trigger parts one and two
Entry posted by Clephas
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Since this one was released in English already, I'm pretty sure at least a good number of the members of this community have already sampled it. However, this is also the last VN for this month (that isn't a nukige). This has been a month full of short kinetic novels that are parts of a larger story... a setup that I normally dislike intensely. Since this game is only a partial, it isn't actually a candidate for VN of the Month (VN of the Month's rules require that the release in question be a full game that stands on its own, which means individually-released chapters and fandiscs don't count).
First, I will say that this game is significantly different from the original Grisaia series. How is it different? For one thing, all of the kids are, like Kazami Yuuji, individuals who are incapable of living a normal life for one reason or another. For another, this game spends relatively little time in the protagonist's point of view, with the first chapter mostly being told from the teacher's point of view and the second chapter mostly being portrayed from the point of view of one or another of the girls. Since this is an all-ages game, this works a lot better than it would with an eroge, where the protagonist's point of view is the one you use to judge the heroines.
After the incidents in the original Grisaia trilogy, the agencies Yuuji worked for eventually chose to purchase and reuse Mihama Academy as an assassin and spy training school for kids who, for one reason or another, can't live in the outside world. The story in this game is focused on A Class, which is made up of members of SORD (students who are already working for the organization). The nominal protagonist of the story is Haruto, who, like Yuuji, was part of the organization since childhood (apparently from earlier on in life than Yuuji, though). This guy is a bit more sane on the surface than Yuuji, and he is definitely better at dealing with people. That said, he has his 'black' side, which tends to show at critical moments. Unfortunately for him, he does retain the remnants of a human conscience, lol.
Volume 1
Volume 1 focuses mostly on the teacher, Arisaka Shiori, and her encounter with the killer girls in her class. Shiori is a straight-out normal person, whose only black mark is a mother who is in prison (incidentally, this is sufficient reason for her to be refused employment at any other school). She is also a bit cowardly on the surface, but she is definitely a hot-blooded teacher in the old style underneath. That said, the class she is teaching is, quite naturally, a bit beyond what she expected.
In this volume, the writer uses Shiori's viewpoint to introduce you to the difference between the girls' viewpoints and that of the average Japanese person, while at the same time creating the conditions that lead to Shiori becoming the only truly normal person who deals with the girls and Haruto. I have to give it to Fujisaki... he did an excellent job in this way, and the way he ended the chapter was excellent, in that it left me wanting more without giving me the voracious appetite that I experienced with Grisaia 2.
Volume 2
This chapter focuses mostly on Rena and her issues. Rena is a brainwashed assassin 'purchased' by Haruto at an auction for the specific purpose of making up for his inability to use guns. She has no moral compunctions about killing, and when she is released from the restraints of normal life by Haruto's orders, she is pretty much a berserker, killing everything in her path. The rest of the time, she is a big-eating girl who loves to ride motorcycles and clinging to Haruto.
She is aware of her faults, but she is just a little too stupid to be able to fix them. She is also insanely devoted to Haruto, even aside from the brainwashing that created the loyalty bond between them.
This chapter deals heavily with Rena's past, which means some pretty nasty stuff that is just as bad - or worse- than Yuuji's, and so it isn't exactly for the faint of heart. That said, it was an enjoyable read, and, like the first volume, while it leaves me hungry for more, it doesn't do that to excess (meaning I can wait for the next chapter with relative equanimity, though if this game goes beyond four chapters, I'll probably get murderous).
Overall
If their goal was to catch my interest, Front Wing did an excellent job. The first two chapters both stand alone to some extent, and there is no sense that they left you hanging. For a game done in parts, this is about as good as it gets.
VN of the Month April 2017
There will be no VN of the Month for April 2017, due to a lack of viable candidates.
- Dreamysyu and Mr Poltroon
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