What a fucking game. I didn't know how much this series was going to impact me but fuck man. I'm honestly at a loss for words but I can confidently say this is one of my favorite pieces of media ever. A fantastic end to the story of these games. THATS MY MC!!!!!!!
Utawarerumono is a tale about people trapped in their past and unable to move on because of it, whether that be because they can't get over it, or simply because they have to deal with the responsibility that comes with it. And along with that are valuable lessons about responsibility and burden that permeate throughout the trilogy. There is no way to separate burden from responsibility, after all burden is one of its facets. You choose the burden you are willing to carry and at the same time the things you intend to abandon for that burden, your actions are all your responsibility, after all, this is the path you chose and the actions you committed or committed. Utawarerumono is a unique and extremely emotional story, it provides us with tragic moments, with a lot of sadness and loss, but manages to be as welcoming and comforting as it is. It is an experience that I will keep with me, I cried, had fun and learned with these characters in the midst of this new fantasy and epic world that was created by Suga.
Full review here, but it's in Portuguese since it's my native language, but in that case just use google translate: https://medium.com/@Feripe/utawarerumono-responsabilidade-e-caminhando-em-direção-ao-futuro-86e981200150
Full review here, but it's in Portuguese since it's my native language, but in that case just use google translate: https://medium.com/@Feripe/utawarerumono-responsabilidade-e-caminhando-em-direção-ao-futuro-86e981200150
Rapaz...
KIMI GA TAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
If a game makes you cry 4 times and your crying of happiness as the credits roll, you know you just played something special
If Haku has a million fans I am one of them.
If Haku has ten fans I am one of them.
If Haku has one fan then that is me.
If Haku has no fans then I am no longer on this earth.
If the world is against Haku I am against the world.
I love Haku until my last breath.
If Haku has ten fans I am one of them.
If Haku has one fan then that is me.
If Haku has no fans then I am no longer on this earth.
If the world is against Haku I am against the world.
I love Haku until my last breath.
You know that feeling when you finish a video game that was so incredible, so gripping, and once the credits roll, you find yourself in complete awe? That is Mask of Truth. Holy shit, this game is a masterpiece of its genre. I don't even know how to completely verbalize how amazing I thought this game was. All I know is I deeply loved almost everything about it.
As of writing this, this is my new favorite visual novel title of all time.
As of writing this, this is my new favorite visual novel title of all time.
legit one of the greatest vns of all time. the ultimate payoff to the uta series. my heart hurts thinking about this game
Greatest of all time. Zenith of the medium. Hallmark of media. Gold standard of Storytelling. Apogee of creativity. Vertex of invention. Crest of Igenuity. Acme of imagination. Pinnacle of innovation. Epic of epics. Legend among legends. Peak Fucking Fiction.
This review contains spoilers
I think when I reached the scene where Oshtor's mom reveals that she knew what was going on the whole time, I was pretty confident that this was one of my favorite games of all time. What an incredible, sad, difficult, and ultimately extremely sweet game.
The way it handles the tension built up from Deception's amazing cliffhanger is so good, I was on edge for the first 20 or so hours in this game just because I was waiting for things to fall apart, desperately hoping they wouldn't. The game's handling of grief and identity are so, so good, too. Seeing all these characters as empty as they are at the start hurt so damn much, I kept wanting things to just get better, somehow.
And man, that the game has the same end as the first game, where everyone says their sad farewells and it hits even harder than it did there, only for the game to keep going and just get better and better, wrapping on maybe my favorite final boss ever, is staggering.
What a towering achievement. What an amazing culmination of everything this series has set out to do. I love it more than I can ever express.
The way it handles the tension built up from Deception's amazing cliffhanger is so good, I was on edge for the first 20 or so hours in this game just because I was waiting for things to fall apart, desperately hoping they wouldn't. The game's handling of grief and identity are so, so good, too. Seeing all these characters as empty as they are at the start hurt so damn much, I kept wanting things to just get better, somehow.
And man, that the game has the same end as the first game, where everyone says their sad farewells and it hits even harder than it did there, only for the game to keep going and just get better and better, wrapping on maybe my favorite final boss ever, is staggering.
What a towering achievement. What an amazing culmination of everything this series has set out to do. I love it more than I can ever express.
Great conclusion to the saga, the bittersweetend makes my heart ache each time I think about it....
Emotional Catharsis: The Game
Haku is so real
oshtor i kneel....
I haven’t even finished it and it’s my favorite VN
I strive to be as cool as Haku man
By far the best SRPG combat of the three games. Beat the final dream battle first try by the skin of my teeth with only Kuon alive in water faithshift against Oshtor who recoil damaged himself to death attacking and healing her lul. Shoutout to Fumirul looping as well
Pretty outstanding finale all around. I think the slice-of-life segments in the first half of Deception are still my favorite chunk of the story but this was a very satisfying send off. Gonna miss these characters, especially Atuy and Anju. Glad I was able to get the trilogy during the recent Steam sale (£20)
[2023-03-13] Increasing score from 9 to 10/10.
Pretty outstanding finale all around. I think the slice-of-life segments in the first half of Deception are still my favorite chunk of the story but this was a very satisfying send off. Gonna miss these characters, especially Atuy and Anju. Glad I was able to get the trilogy during the recent Steam sale (£20)
[2023-03-13] Increasing score from 9 to 10/10.
Oshtor be like
Oshtor : "Can we have a nyamo ?"
His mom : "We already have a nyamo at home"
Oshtor : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSgv6dhbvMw
Oshtor : "Can we have a nyamo ?"
His mom : "We already have a nyamo at home"
Oshtor : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSgv6dhbvMw
Man this is just so good. One of the best VNs I've ever played. It's not perfect, no game ever really is, but the story and characters are just so good I can't give this less than a 5. This game actually made me feel pretty strong emotions and in a way that's earned and not cheap.
The only real criticism I have is with the tactical RPG section, it's at its best in the series here but still is ultimately not exceptional.
The only real criticism I have is with the tactical RPG section, it's at its best in the series here but still is ultimately not exceptional.
An all time favorite of mine now. Mask of Truth is a masterclass at balancing incredible character growth, gut-wrenching emotional moments, comfy slice of life greatness, and an intriguing war story. Mask of Truth rarely crumbles under the weight of how ambitious its main story can get. All of the intended impactful plot-beats are executed almost flawlessly. The execution of the story makes Mask of Truth consist of some truly incredible scenes, with many of these scenes moving me to tears multiple times. This story probably has the largest cry ratio for me out of anything I experienced. One part near the middle and the entire ending section of the game almost killed me with how much it messed me up.
The main cast are some of my favorites in any story, but Haku steals the show as the standout character. His growth from a bumbling but well-intention slacker into a living legend is one of the best character journeys I have seen, being both emotional, tragic, and impactful. Everyone else is just as colorful as they were in Deception, but the war setting and slice of life scenes brings into light their personal struggles, and lets us appreciate the characters in all of their facets, flaws and all. How the characters' interact with the new circumstances of the world around them and Haku's change creates some incredibly gripping scenes in the story. Kuon is a phenomenal main heroine as well, with her development throughout the game alongside her developing relationship with Haku's new circumstances being a standout aspect of the story. The only critique I have about the cast is the harem-like nature the game gets into near the middle, with almost every female character falling in love with Haku, but it's not a dealbreaker.
The insert songs deserve their own special mention, with Mask of Truth's usage of them being the best I've seen in the visual novel medium. Every time a new Suara song hits, you're bound to feel some sort of heavy emotion.
Gameplay wise, it's still pretty easy, and not the most complicated SRPG in the world, but it does the job in making you feel like you are having an impact in the story itself. Certain story moments hit way harder with the addition of gameplay interaction from the player, especially the final map. The final map is probably one of my favorite levels in a game ever.
If I had any real flaws about this game, it would be that the story in the last third is a bit contrived and messy compared what came before, but the last few hours manage to salvage it hard.
Overall, pure greatness, peak fiction, made me cry like 10 times. Play this game!
The main cast are some of my favorites in any story, but Haku steals the show as the standout character. His growth from a bumbling but well-intention slacker into a living legend is one of the best character journeys I have seen, being both emotional, tragic, and impactful. Everyone else is just as colorful as they were in Deception, but the war setting and slice of life scenes brings into light their personal struggles, and lets us appreciate the characters in all of their facets, flaws and all. How the characters' interact with the new circumstances of the world around them and Haku's change creates some incredibly gripping scenes in the story. Kuon is a phenomenal main heroine as well, with her development throughout the game alongside her developing relationship with Haku's new circumstances being a standout aspect of the story. The only critique I have about the cast is the harem-like nature the game gets into near the middle, with almost every female character falling in love with Haku, but it's not a dealbreaker.
The insert songs deserve their own special mention, with Mask of Truth's usage of them being the best I've seen in the visual novel medium. Every time a new Suara song hits, you're bound to feel some sort of heavy emotion.
Gameplay wise, it's still pretty easy, and not the most complicated SRPG in the world, but it does the job in making you feel like you are having an impact in the story itself. Certain story moments hit way harder with the addition of gameplay interaction from the player, especially the final map. The final map is probably one of my favorite levels in a game ever.
If I had any real flaws about this game, it would be that the story in the last third is a bit contrived and messy compared what came before, but the last few hours manage to salvage it hard.
Overall, pure greatness, peak fiction, made me cry like 10 times. Play this game!
i'm probably not gonna experience something this special again for a long long time.
if your game can get a few tears out of my overmedicated ass, you won.
if your game can get a few tears out of my overmedicated ass, you won.
This review contains spoilers
I love this game so much.
This is the pinnacle of long term storytelling in gaming. What MoT does the best, is slow building. They take the time to get you emotionally invested in the characters, the story, why you should care. The first game did that to perfection, leaving the second game to close the story.
Haku is a super relatable protagonist, hes an average fun guy who happens to be in a bizarre situation. We his identity of “haku” as we know it die in MoT, every day is emotional hell as he’s forced to confront his friends behind a mask, wishing he could interact with them genuinely. The every day interactions build up to emotional crescendos perfectly. Whether its Kuon & Nekone, Haku/Oshtor and his mom, Kuon & Haku, these encounters are teased insanely well. You know its gonna happen, you know one day they’re going to find out Oshtor is Haku but they tease the moment countless times, forcing you to want it even more.
When Haku finally lets his guard down, and allows Oshtor’s mother to acknowledge his suffering, that he still exists, I couldn’t stop crying. The imagery of a mother, even while blind, still recognizing Haku as Haku, knowing her son Oshtor was probably dead was beautiful. He had been holding so much in and the payoff was emotional as hell, they do this amazingly.
As Oshtor’s sister, we see a young Nekone attempt to cope with her brothers death, and Haku stealing his identity. To make it worse, her role model Kuon left for a while, its impossible to really understand her pain but we see her open up bit by bit. When Kuon comes back, Nekone is shaking its very obvious something is wrong. Kuon is the only one to see this side of her & comforts her, this breaks her “im fine nothing is wrong” facade as she starts sobbing even though she cant tell Kuon what really happened. The line when Kuon offers Nekone to sleep with her for the night, but a shaking child responding “Just the night? You wont leave me right…” broke me. Shes only a child that misses her older brother dearly.
The last example I wanna bring up is the relationship between Nekone & Haku. Nekone is very uncomfortable acting like Haku is her dead brother, but she goes with it because its what must be done. “If he’s my older brother, then where will my real older brother go.” She can not truly mourn Oshtors death/memory, its an unbearable burden to put on a young child. Its extremely painful, but she justifies it by blaming her brothers death on herself. Its heartbreaking. We see the culmination of this guilt when she’s kidnapped. She goes on about how she doesnt want to be saved, that she should be left to die since shes such a burden to Haku & Oshtor. Yet by the end, Haku saves her anyways & tells her that he only wants her to smile. Even though they both acknowledge Oshtor is never coming back, their relationship improves and Haku becomes an amazing role model and big brother figure for her. Character development is beautiful.
Master class in storytelling, easily my favourite game of all time.
This is the pinnacle of long term storytelling in gaming. What MoT does the best, is slow building. They take the time to get you emotionally invested in the characters, the story, why you should care. The first game did that to perfection, leaving the second game to close the story.
Haku is a super relatable protagonist, hes an average fun guy who happens to be in a bizarre situation. We his identity of “haku” as we know it die in MoT, every day is emotional hell as he’s forced to confront his friends behind a mask, wishing he could interact with them genuinely. The every day interactions build up to emotional crescendos perfectly. Whether its Kuon & Nekone, Haku/Oshtor and his mom, Kuon & Haku, these encounters are teased insanely well. You know its gonna happen, you know one day they’re going to find out Oshtor is Haku but they tease the moment countless times, forcing you to want it even more.
When Haku finally lets his guard down, and allows Oshtor’s mother to acknowledge his suffering, that he still exists, I couldn’t stop crying. The imagery of a mother, even while blind, still recognizing Haku as Haku, knowing her son Oshtor was probably dead was beautiful. He had been holding so much in and the payoff was emotional as hell, they do this amazingly.
As Oshtor’s sister, we see a young Nekone attempt to cope with her brothers death, and Haku stealing his identity. To make it worse, her role model Kuon left for a while, its impossible to really understand her pain but we see her open up bit by bit. When Kuon comes back, Nekone is shaking its very obvious something is wrong. Kuon is the only one to see this side of her & comforts her, this breaks her “im fine nothing is wrong” facade as she starts sobbing even though she cant tell Kuon what really happened. The line when Kuon offers Nekone to sleep with her for the night, but a shaking child responding “Just the night? You wont leave me right…” broke me. Shes only a child that misses her older brother dearly.
The last example I wanna bring up is the relationship between Nekone & Haku. Nekone is very uncomfortable acting like Haku is her dead brother, but she goes with it because its what must be done. “If he’s my older brother, then where will my real older brother go.” She can not truly mourn Oshtors death/memory, its an unbearable burden to put on a young child. Its extremely painful, but she justifies it by blaming her brothers death on herself. Its heartbreaking. We see the culmination of this guilt when she’s kidnapped. She goes on about how she doesnt want to be saved, that she should be left to die since shes such a burden to Haku & Oshtor. Yet by the end, Haku saves her anyways & tells her that he only wants her to smile. Even though they both acknowledge Oshtor is never coming back, their relationship improves and Haku becomes an amazing role model and big brother figure for her. Character development is beautiful.
Master class in storytelling, easily my favourite game of all time.
This review contains spoilers
There is so little that can be said of this game that isn't the biggest spoiler ever, so I'll mark this a spoiler but still keep it simple and say that my review for Mask of Deception applies doubly here, with the addendum that Truth, specifically, is a masterclass in grief and grieving, life and death, and balancing living for others and for yourself.
Por mais que eu não tenha pego um afeito emocional maior, é inegável o quão poderoso é a carga emocional, principalmente no final que é simplesmente revigorante
The thrilling conclusion to the Utawarerumono series, with less filler than its predecessor. The story reaches a satisfying conclusion, but not really any evolution on the gameplay.
You know when you finish something, and you have to lie down for a while afterwards to just process it because it was so emotional? That - but I just keep lying there for a month.
greatest of all time
Starting directly after Mask of Deception, Truth quickly sets itself up as more ambitious with its grander scope while still maintaining the improved character writing, especially for Haku. Since it has a lot more going on than Deception the story did feel less focused to me (mainly in its later hours), but if you got this far in the series you'll likely be affected by it and how the trilogy comes together by the end
The production quality is still really good with top-notch voice acting and artwork. But the OST in particular stood out as one of the best I’ve heard in quite a while, and really managed to heighten the more emotional points of the story
There’s definitely more gameplay here than before with some extra changes, and it’s still fine but not really a highlight of the game for me. Though it is a bit more challenging with its later stages which I enjoyed
The production quality is still really good with top-notch voice acting and artwork. But the OST in particular stood out as one of the best I’ve heard in quite a while, and really managed to heighten the more emotional points of the story
There’s definitely more gameplay here than before with some extra changes, and it’s still fine but not really a highlight of the game for me. Though it is a bit more challenging with its later stages which I enjoyed
GOAT
RAW
SWAG
FIRE
PEAK FICTION
RAW
SWAG
FIRE
PEAK FICTION
Ive never cried so much at something
Such a great journey i dont regret even a minute of it, this ending and closure to the trilogy is pure and unfiltered joy. I can say for sure ill never forget this ride.
Such a great journey i dont regret even a minute of it, this ending and closure to the trilogy is pure and unfiltered joy. I can say for sure ill never forget this ride.