Dear Emile - A tale of twisted love between a mother and her daughter. Snatched from the jaws of death by a woman who reeked of blood, Leanne has grow up in a world of torture, war, and death. Now a young woman, she finds herself in a deadly labyrinth with no memories of her past. Can she uncover the truth behind her imprisonment and escape with her life, or will Leanne be doomed to wander the halls of her prison, haunted by the mystery of theresia? Dear Martel - When a fever ravaged his orphanage, a brilliant doctor developed a treatment for the disease, hoping to save the children in his care. Though the fever was defeated, from its corpse rose something far more deadly something far more evil. Will he be able to atone for his mistake, or will his creation spell certain doom for mankind?
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Starting a new log just to say some criticisms of the game after my time with it, still stand by my earlier review.
AMAZING game that deals with topics of abuse and human nature, such as topics like jealousy and love. I feel it does it very well and the setting is perfect for exploring these topics. The story, I feel, is FLAWLESS. The way the story is presented- kinda weird- as Dear Martel (the second campaign in this game) is the first in the Theresia series, and you start out playing Dear Emile. Still, i feel both arcs complement each other well.
The gameplay? NO. I'm not joking, if you managed to play through it entirely, I'm so proud of you. I've really wanted to revisit this game, especially Dear Emile in particular (since Dear Martel suffers less of the gameplay issues, I can play it more) but that first chapter of Dear Emile gives one of the worst first impressions you could have with a game ever. It doesn't seem to have much plot development, and from my experience, it's 5 hours straight of confusingly wandering around. FIVE. HOURS. DEAR MARTEL IS FIVE HOURS AND THAT'S THE FIRST THERESIA GAME!
This game is punishing too, and I have a major issue with that, especially now knowing you can only get a certain piece of important lore if you play it hitless!!
Really, if you're interested in the plot, watch a playthrough. It'll be easier for you then, and that's how I initially got into this game until I finally decided to force myself through actually playing it.
AMAZING game that deals with topics of abuse and human nature, such as topics like jealousy and love. I feel it does it very well and the setting is perfect for exploring these topics. The story, I feel, is FLAWLESS. The way the story is presented- kinda weird- as Dear Martel (the second campaign in this game) is the first in the Theresia series, and you start out playing Dear Emile. Still, i feel both arcs complement each other well.
The gameplay? NO. I'm not joking, if you managed to play through it entirely, I'm so proud of you. I've really wanted to revisit this game, especially Dear Emile in particular (since Dear Martel suffers less of the gameplay issues, I can play it more) but that first chapter of Dear Emile gives one of the worst first impressions you could have with a game ever. It doesn't seem to have much plot development, and from my experience, it's 5 hours straight of confusingly wandering around. FIVE. HOURS. DEAR MARTEL IS FIVE HOURS AND THAT'S THE FIRST THERESIA GAME!
This game is punishing too, and I have a major issue with that, especially now knowing you can only get a certain piece of important lore if you play it hitless!!
Really, if you're interested in the plot, watch a playthrough. It'll be easier for you then, and that's how I initially got into this game until I finally decided to force myself through actually playing it.
A very atmospheric DS horror mystery. The problem is that for as interesting as the mystery is, the gameplay is genuinely bad and tedious, and I cannot find it in me to force myself to keep playing this.
I loved how this game started and by the end of it I felt very... bittersweet.
Conflicted emotions are at every corner of the story and it's clearly intentional. Once you put it together it's still leaves a very uneasy feeling. I don't think it's bad, it's just not what I'd call a clean happy story even at the best of times. It's constantly giving your mixed signals and you kind of just have to roll with it and accept them.
Really this game's biggest issue is some of the puzzle design is just infuriating. It teeters some fine lines between moon logic and inconsistent. I never felt stupid when I had to end up looking something up so much as just frustrated that it "makes sense", but the game is bad at communicating the steps. And some of the puzzle designs are just dumb and needlessly require several instance of backtracking or shit you're just not going to remember.
But still, the presentation is great. I liked the idea of the dungeon crawling style hallways and kind of wish there was more interactivity with it. Even though there's nothing out there in those halls with you, you're constantly feeling watched or like there might be something just around the corner. Though some of the overworld music gets pretty tedious and annoying in the back half, the spookier/moodier tracks (complete with the almost toy like sound to the synths) is great and really helps set the mood of just how miserable and dreary the underground base you're trapped in is.
I'm also surprised this contains a remake of the original game. Pretty stacked package for a point and click game.
Conflicted emotions are at every corner of the story and it's clearly intentional. Once you put it together it's still leaves a very uneasy feeling. I don't think it's bad, it's just not what I'd call a clean happy story even at the best of times. It's constantly giving your mixed signals and you kind of just have to roll with it and accept them.
Really this game's biggest issue is some of the puzzle design is just infuriating. It teeters some fine lines between moon logic and inconsistent. I never felt stupid when I had to end up looking something up so much as just frustrated that it "makes sense", but the game is bad at communicating the steps. And some of the puzzle designs are just dumb and needlessly require several instance of backtracking or shit you're just not going to remember.
But still, the presentation is great. I liked the idea of the dungeon crawling style hallways and kind of wish there was more interactivity with it. Even though there's nothing out there in those halls with you, you're constantly feeling watched or like there might be something just around the corner. Though some of the overworld music gets pretty tedious and annoying in the back half, the spookier/moodier tracks (complete with the almost toy like sound to the synths) is great and really helps set the mood of just how miserable and dreary the underground base you're trapped in is.
I'm also surprised this contains a remake of the original game. Pretty stacked package for a point and click game.
PLAY THIS GAME.
Theresia is my favorite game. It's an extremely deep and interesting story that could be compared to some of the horror greats, such as Silent Hill 2 and Rule of Rose. It's gameplay is point and click mixed with dungeon crawler- and unfortunately, the first chapter of Theresia is unfortunately the worst regarding the gameplay- it clocks in as long as Theresia's prequel.
I refuse to talk on the story- but it deals with some very mixed feelings and overall a balance of "beauty and ugliness" within scenarios. It's a very interesting game story wise. I probably shouldn't give it a 5 star review based off the sometimes bad gameplay, but when I got obsessed with it to the point I didn't stop thinking about it for 2 years straight- you know it's good. Theresia also has a second campaign called Dear Martel (unlocked after beating the game) which is my particular favorite of the two entries- and tells of the origin of the events of the first scenario. If you can be patient enough to put up with its sometimes clunky controls, it's a gem.
Beginner tip: If you're playing this on emulator, I greatly reccomend using super speed. This game's movement is unfortunately really slow and you'll be having a better time if you play with this.
Theresia is my favorite game. It's an extremely deep and interesting story that could be compared to some of the horror greats, such as Silent Hill 2 and Rule of Rose. It's gameplay is point and click mixed with dungeon crawler- and unfortunately, the first chapter of Theresia is unfortunately the worst regarding the gameplay- it clocks in as long as Theresia's prequel.
I refuse to talk on the story- but it deals with some very mixed feelings and overall a balance of "beauty and ugliness" within scenarios. It's a very interesting game story wise. I probably shouldn't give it a 5 star review based off the sometimes bad gameplay, but when I got obsessed with it to the point I didn't stop thinking about it for 2 years straight- you know it's good. Theresia also has a second campaign called Dear Martel (unlocked after beating the game) which is my particular favorite of the two entries- and tells of the origin of the events of the first scenario. If you can be patient enough to put up with its sometimes clunky controls, it's a gem.
Beginner tip: If you're playing this on emulator, I greatly reccomend using super speed. This game's movement is unfortunately really slow and you'll be having a better time if you play with this.
though moving through the dungeons can be mentally taxing and it's impossible to play without a guide, theresia's atmosphere, soundtrack, and story are one of a kind and constantly keep the player on edge. i would go as far as to say it's one of the best horror games for the nintendo ds, granted one doesn't mind the visual novel aspect of it.
I completely forgot this game existed until now and suddenly I recall it all vividly. It's fine.