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Ottes

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    Ottes reacted to Clephas for a blog entry, Magatsu Barai: Story   
    First, I should note that this game suffers from what are likely budget constraints.  I say this because some of the VA choices are... questionable.  Ragou's VA in particular is something of a disaster, with a discordant mismatch between the voice and the characterization.  This stands out even more because other choices like Kaen and Diran's male VAs are actually really awesome matches.  
    I failed to properly articulate what the music in this game resembles at most sometimes... and that would be Persona 5.  Something about a number of the tracks resembles the ones seen in that game enough that, in combination with the horrible color choices, made me feel like something was off at a lot of points in the story.
    Common Route
    The common route of this game is not particularly long (the game as a whole is not nearly as long as any of Light's other games), but it does serve its purpose.  In introduces the primary antagonists, the heroines, the side-characters, and the protagonist while setting the stage for future conflicts.  It is functional, more than anything else, and if it weren't for the excellent characterization for Mizuri, Shion, Amane, and Tsubasa, it would be considered bland.  Ragou and Kaien, for pure chaotic evil characters, are pretty amusing to watch, despite the fact that they are doing horrible things to people.  
    My complaint is that there is too much time spent on SOL for a Light game.  Yes, there is a sense that you need to know what the characters are losing for it to be poignant when everyday life is disrupted, but the ratio is a bit skewed for this game, considered the golden ratio of SOL to plot and action in any good chuunige is 1:4:3.  
    Tsubasa
    Tsubasa is a weird heroine... not the least of which because she is a TS heroine who was once a guy.  However, in opposition to this, she tends to be the sexiest of the three heroines due to her characterization (it was intentional).  She is also the most 'classic' onmyouji of the two human heroines, using some familiar onmyouji techniques and preferring the bow as her weapon of choice.  
    Her story is, at least in part, a confrontation with her past, and the primary conflict - for her, at least - is internal rather than external.  While there is some buildup to a major confrontation toward the end, it needs to be said that the whimsical nature of the antagonists makes the shift to the final battle somewhat abrupt.  In addition, it felt like this path didn't really have the sheer drama I'm familiar with from the company's usual works.  It isn't a horrible path, but it does feel more like a Millie path than a Chitose path.
    Amane
    Amane is Hayato's adopted older sister who was raised by his grandfather with him.  She is a total brocon and constantly clinging to Hayato when she is with him.  However, the best way she can be described when she is away from him is 'cold and competent'.  She is a master of kenjutsu and a 'power type' onmyouji, using techniques that fall into the 'open path' style of direct combat rather than the more roundabout styles like Houjutsu (which is basically a preparation is everything), Fuujutsu (the art of binding and sealing), or Injutsu (the art of curses and turning ties against an opponent).  It makes sense, since the protagonist takes a lot of his inspiration from her.
    Her path is more involved with Kaien, as opposed to the way Ragou was the prime antagonist for Tsubasa's path.  You'll discover this during his first appearance, but Kaien is the kind of absolute evil that just deserves a good superhero punch to the face.  He likes to make people suffer above all other things, and he finds the hatred people direct his way to be pleasurable.  The irony is that, rather than the confrontation with him, Amane's inner conflict with her yandere nature is the bigger draw point of this path.  To be blunt, if you played the common route, you'll have noticed the signs of yandere in her actions, and this path brings them out in a big way midway through.  Uncharacteristic of Light's usual style, it isn't taken to its logical conclusion, instead being solved with the power of love *vomits*.  
    Shion
    Shion's path is far more typical of Light's style, in that it is long, highly-detailed, and has a lot of twists and turns.
    Now for some explanation.  Amongst the Magatsu, there are thirteen called the Thirteen Demonic Generals, who both possess a humanoid shape and intellect, as well as the ability to touch on one of the Seven Aspects of Creation and use them in a spell that matches their desires.  Shion, also known as Saikakou Nue, is one of these.  In the distant past, she was sealed away by the founding onmyouji of the Isurugi bloodline (Hayato and Amane's ancestor) during the Heian era.  Shion herself is one of the few of her kind that is capable of coexisting with the human race, for reasons that are only illuminated in her path.  She is a contrary individual, being something of a tsundere combined with someone who puts on arrogant airs and brags about her abilities to any and all that will listen.
    To be honest, I was a bit startled at the huge difference between Shion's path and the other two.  While the first third is mostly SOL, almost the entirety of the remaining two-thirds is pure plot and action.  There are plenty of good action scenes toward the end (the last two chapters of her path are almost entirely battle scenes), as well as background for Kaien (whose origin story is unbelievably sad) and Shion (whose origins are equally sad, which seems to be typical of most humanoid Magatsu).  The ending itself is a tear-jerker, and I was somewhat annoyed at the very last part, for reasons that will be self-evident to anyone who dislikes Ragou.
    Conclusion
    I'd say this one is on the lower end in terms of quality for a Light VN, even if you don't include the minus points for the character design and VAs.  It is ironic that even a low-quality Light game is still better than most of what the rest of the industry can produce, though, lol.  Typical of my habits, I have been a bit harsh on this game, as it is in my favorite genre.  It isn't going to become one of those chuunige I replay on a regular basis, either.  However, it is still fine if you are starved for the genre.
    Edit: If I have one thing I wish they would redo (other than some of the VAs and the artwork) it would be making the story somewhat less straightforward.  Too many of the conflicts in the story are resolved too easily for a Light game, and there is no foreshadowing or long sides that give life to the characters' hidden sides.  In particular, Ragou remains a two-dimensional character to the end, despite being the main antagonist.  It is ironic that the nihilistic sadistic demonic priest Kaien has a more filled out character than him.
  2. Like
    Ottes reacted to Clephas for a blog entry, Magatsu Barai: Preliminary Thoughts   
    Before someone asks, I merely paused the other VN to start Magatsu Barai (and Xenoblade Chronicles 3).  I will finish it (eventually).
    Magatsu Barai is the first Light game to be made from beginning to end after the collapse of the company's original owners.  As such, it is only natural (and unfortunate, at least to an extent) that some things will have changed.
    To address the elephant in the room for anyone who has seen the cover or sample cgs... The coloring really is that awful.  I mean, how could any cg artist think those colors wouldn't be eye cancer?  
    On the other hand, the music is an interesting set of contrasts.  There are a lot of themes that have been slightly rearranged to seem like new ones but are actually just modified ones from the Silverio series.  The rest are actually quite high-quality, but then, Light has never had any problem on that side of things.
    For those unable to read the official website due to being Nihongo-disabled, I will explain the basic setting.  
    Essentially, it is a world where sorcery in Japan remained intertwined with politics and daily life right up to the modern day.  In that sense, the setting is somewhat reminiscent of Tokyo Ravens.  However, a vital difference is that there was no real magic left outside of Japan before WWII, when the atom bombs spread it over the world when they hit Nagasaki and Hiroshima.  This resulted in the Japanese having a valuable service to provide the rest of the world... exorcists and sorcerers to counter the new laws of reality that made some of the habits the rest of the world had developed disastrous.
    As an example of this, the 'magatsu' in this world setting essentially causes a magical reaction whenever enough harm is done to a feeling being (even an insect), and this effect magnifies the more this is done.  At the beginning of the story, a news story comes up on the TV where, as the result of a country overusing pesticide against a plague of locusts, the locusts' spirits became a cloud of demonic insects that were even worse than the locusts in question.
    Because this happens all over the place, it is a world where magic-users always have a role to play.
    As such, I find the setting interesting... at least so far.
    As for the heroines, I'd say the two magatsu heroines are the most interesting, with the protagonist's older sister entering one step behind and Tsubasa falling a few steps behind her.  This is my tastes though, so others might feel differently.  A huge positive is that there are no 'Victim A' heroines in this story.  All the heroines are capable of protecting themselves (sometimes better than the protagonist is... actually all of them), so there is no sense that any of them is helpless, one of the most annoying chuunige tropes.
    On the other hand, the protagonist is under the influence of one of the more annoying tropes of the genre... the talentless guy who nonetheless throws himself into things (think Emiya Shirou from Fate).  While he does gain a power that lets him keep up, this is a power given to him by the true heroine, not a power of his own (which is another trope).
    All in all, my opinion so far is that this is an interesting chuunige VN whose art is eye cancer.
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