sequel please
"Even if humanity dies, the machines we have created will inherit our love and create the future"
Planetarian + Nier Automata + The Last of Us
I've never been drawn into a world so quickly.
Stella of The End is the first fully Japanese-only VN I've read. It hit pretty much all the right spots for me. There's absolutely NOTHING I can say about this game that wouldn't be praise. The visuals are top-notch, the story isn't revolutionary but you could say it was just what I wanted from the game.
The artstyle drew me in instantly. I don't typically consider myself a very visually-oriented person, but this game's artwork is striking. Combined with the way the world is described by our protagonist, it has a way of pulling you in and very quickly.
The MUSIC is very very good. At least out of what I've listened to this year, one of the best 2022 OSTs I'd argue.
Whenever this gets localised I implore you PLEASE check it out. It's not a revolutionary narrative for the genre, but it was just right for me at the time of reading it.
Stella of The End is the first fully Japanese-only VN I've read. It hit pretty much all the right spots for me. There's absolutely NOTHING I can say about this game that wouldn't be praise. The visuals are top-notch, the story isn't revolutionary but you could say it was just what I wanted from the game.
The artstyle drew me in instantly. I don't typically consider myself a very visually-oriented person, but this game's artwork is striking. Combined with the way the world is described by our protagonist, it has a way of pulling you in and very quickly.
The MUSIC is very very good. At least out of what I've listened to this year, one of the best 2022 OSTs I'd argue.
Whenever this gets localised I implore you PLEASE check it out. It's not a revolutionary narrative for the genre, but it was just right for me at the time of reading it.
The general presentation was really top-notch, the grayish and grainy visuals intelligently serve the purpose, i.e. desolate landscapes, ghost cities, or dilapidated towns, looking like refugee camps, in which dystopian microcosms develop, and to which human heart doesn't belong.
But the coolest part is obviously the text itself. It is indeed through Judo's long sentences that we feel the most how much this universe is credible. I wouldn't say that his character is particularly fascinating, but to be immersed in his thoughts in such a raw fashion contributes to the characterization of his emotions, and thus to immersion.
"Fundamental and irrational feelings, only once we rationalize them can we call ourselves human." The desire to become human, the unconditional parental love, both are impulses with no logical basis. The heart of Tsui no Stella is indeed to attach rationality to them as best we can, through prose, through tribulations. But we are also human precisely because we find it difficult to verbalize these things. Romeo does not reveal these truths through flowery and charming dialogues. The interactions are grey, sullen, the men are on edge, and that makes them all the more believable.
Another point that surprised me as much as it pleased me was the focus on a parental relationship instead of a romantic one. This is quite rare in the medium - especially for such a big production. But it was the natural choice here: since being human is about being able to "pass on to the next generation", what better way to illustrate that than a father-daughter relationship?
It's really a good game that I highly recommend (plus it's very short). I have only one desire now and that is to discover the other works of Tanaka Romeo. In particular Saihate no Ima, Kazoku Keikaku and Cross Channel. But until then, I'll cry just a bit more: https://youtu.be/_wmrP0DOj0Q
But the coolest part is obviously the text itself. It is indeed through Judo's long sentences that we feel the most how much this universe is credible. I wouldn't say that his character is particularly fascinating, but to be immersed in his thoughts in such a raw fashion contributes to the characterization of his emotions, and thus to immersion.
"Fundamental and irrational feelings, only once we rationalize them can we call ourselves human." The desire to become human, the unconditional parental love, both are impulses with no logical basis. The heart of Tsui no Stella is indeed to attach rationality to them as best we can, through prose, through tribulations. But we are also human precisely because we find it difficult to verbalize these things. Romeo does not reveal these truths through flowery and charming dialogues. The interactions are grey, sullen, the men are on edge, and that makes them all the more believable.
Another point that surprised me as much as it pleased me was the focus on a parental relationship instead of a romantic one. This is quite rare in the medium - especially for such a big production. But it was the natural choice here: since being human is about being able to "pass on to the next generation", what better way to illustrate that than a father-daughter relationship?
It's really a good game that I highly recommend (plus it's very short). I have only one desire now and that is to discover the other works of Tanaka Romeo. In particular Saihate no Ima, Kazoku Keikaku and Cross Channel. But until then, I'll cry just a bit more: https://youtu.be/_wmrP0DOj0Q
Second best Key I've seen, though the bar isn't particularly high. The aesthetic is my thing and despite a female robot lead that is incredibly easy to dislike for the first half of the story and the promise of themes that didn't seem to have any way of tying up in a satisfying way, I was pleasantly surprised to be happy with it overall. I'm still not a VN person though.
I've been thinking about why I liked this so much. It's in no way a new concept; I've seen it done before. The story beats are fairly predictable, as is the ending. So what is it that makes THIS stand out? The world building? The setting? The pacing? The dynamic between Jude and Philia? The translation, even?
Yes. It's all of that, working in perfect tandem to create a masterfully told story. It's simple, yes, but beautiful.
I'm not a Tanaka Romeo fan in particular (I've only read Rewrite of his, other than this) but I'm sold on him being an extremely competent writer, without a doubt.
Really I'm almost shocked at how captivated I ended up being by the very believable world he built up. And in the short amount of time, how attached I was to Jude and Philia by the end. Philia in particular was the star of the show, her development by the end is just...ugh. I love it. So proud of her, as I know Jude would be.
She radiates "MUST PROTECT" energy to the highest degree I swear.
On a less serious note, I loved when Jude went full assault mode and dropped a bunch of savages using Promethean vision from Halo, fun times
Yes. It's all of that, working in perfect tandem to create a masterfully told story. It's simple, yes, but beautiful.
I'm not a Tanaka Romeo fan in particular (I've only read Rewrite of his, other than this) but I'm sold on him being an extremely competent writer, without a doubt.
Really I'm almost shocked at how captivated I ended up being by the very believable world he built up. And in the short amount of time, how attached I was to Jude and Philia by the end. Philia in particular was the star of the show, her development by the end is just...ugh. I love it. So proud of her, as I know Jude would be.
She radiates "MUST PROTECT" energy to the highest degree I swear.
On a less serious note, I loved when Jude went full assault mode and dropped a bunch of savages using Promethean vision from Halo, fun times
Tanaka Romeo's humane angle and smooth writing are as moving as ever, but the story is too familiar. It combines Planetarian's setting of survivalist man meeting robot girl in a futurist post apocalypse world and The Last of Us's road trip to salvation of human race into an enjoyable yet predictable elegy of civilization.
Saihate no Ima but slightly less depressing.