hmmm. very odd game. to be fair, how do you follow a game like s;g up? they did a good job, but there are TONS of pacing issues and the overall plot isn't nearly as gripping as the original. it definitely feels like it leans too much on its predecessor, and if it had to tell a story without relying on it being related to one of the greatest vns of all time, very little people would care that much. i want to lick mahos stinky mahos.
steins gate series doesnt miss
peak-er Visual Novel
I really want to love Steins;Gate 0 as much as I love the original Steins;Gate, but I don't. That doesn't make it anywhere near "bad", but it's important to keep expectations in check.
S;G 0 appropriately justifies its place in the Steins;Gate lore. Technically it is a sequel to S;G, but without spoiling too much, I would more likely put it in a "mid-quel" position. Thankfully, there are very few retcons (as is what sometimes happens with this kind of sci-fi) and the plot is generally kept nice and tidy with no egregious holes.
The visuals really let S;G 0 down though. Not being familiar with S;G 0's development, I can only conclude that it had an incredibly low budget. The original S;G had a style that was quite visually distinctive. The character designs in S;G 0 follow a similar style, but they are different enough that if you put both of them next to each other, it would be jarring.
Unfortunately, that happens quite frequently thanks to a generous re-use of the original's assets. Not only will you have scenes with one style come right before or after scenes with the other style, there are some scenes where one character is a sprite from the original and the other is a new sprite in the same frame. It really hurts the immersion.
I know this is sounding like a "negative", but I really do still like S;G 0 a lot. But after reading through both of them, I honestly think that watching both anime series is a better way to go, mainly because it keeps things consistent throughout the experience.
I hope that we eventually get a "Steins;Gate 0 Elite", because if we do, I would probably say that both "Elites" would be the definitive way to experience the stories.
I give it four stars, or a "B". The original Steins;Gate is one of my favorite stories in any video game and this is, at least, more Steins;Gate. I read through every ending in approximately 35 hours.
S;G 0 appropriately justifies its place in the Steins;Gate lore. Technically it is a sequel to S;G, but without spoiling too much, I would more likely put it in a "mid-quel" position. Thankfully, there are very few retcons (as is what sometimes happens with this kind of sci-fi) and the plot is generally kept nice and tidy with no egregious holes.
The visuals really let S;G 0 down though. Not being familiar with S;G 0's development, I can only conclude that it had an incredibly low budget. The original S;G had a style that was quite visually distinctive. The character designs in S;G 0 follow a similar style, but they are different enough that if you put both of them next to each other, it would be jarring.
Unfortunately, that happens quite frequently thanks to a generous re-use of the original's assets. Not only will you have scenes with one style come right before or after scenes with the other style, there are some scenes where one character is a sprite from the original and the other is a new sprite in the same frame. It really hurts the immersion.
I know this is sounding like a "negative", but I really do still like S;G 0 a lot. But after reading through both of them, I honestly think that watching both anime series is a better way to go, mainly because it keeps things consistent throughout the experience.
I hope that we eventually get a "Steins;Gate 0 Elite", because if we do, I would probably say that both "Elites" would be the definitive way to experience the stories.
I give it four stars, or a "B". The original Steins;Gate is one of my favorite stories in any video game and this is, at least, more Steins;Gate. I read through every ending in approximately 35 hours.