This review contains spoilers
Sorry Uchi, I really like ya man but I was hoping for a better... or, *a* justification for the twist. It's still clever and going back to spot all the foreshadowing is fun but speaking as someone who's played most of your other work, you're definitely capable of more. Also, I did actually pick up that the flow felt off when I played, but it annoyed me more than anything else. I don't think it was a worthy tradeoff.
That aside, there are some things I really like about Ai 2. Shoma and Komeji's route was very sweet, the Somniums feel more like puzzles (generally), date is da best, the bit where Aiba threw away Lien's key was pretty raw, Lien's whole deal as a former criminal who doesn't want to be defined by that past was nice, Ryuki's mental episodes, the fact that you had to go out of your way to get the secret end, the way they tied it into the arg was cool, and the tragedy of Amame.
There's a lot of other stuff they bungled, however, other than the main twist. Lien's behaviour is creepy, though it seems like it's meant to be endearing? I didn't like what they did with Gen and Amame's relationship. Why did they decide to double down on the action sequences? (the chakra thing was nice tho). The final big action climax in the stadium was for sure something that happened.
Why did they try to make it newcomer friendly despite having a returning character as a protagonist? It made Mizuki feel static and boring, which is amazing since she was one of the better Ai 1 characters. What's with the repeated jokes from Ai 1?? Also, have I grown out of it since Ai 1, or is the writing less charming and funny? Ryuki should've been the main focus, he got shafted hard.
While I don't regret playing it, my feelings are pretty mixed overall. As a sequel, Ai 2 is more disappointing than it is bad. As Uchikoshi's latest offering after over 2 decades of writing for games, it feels like a shadow of his greater works. I just hope this was him saving his A game for something much better.
Since becoming progressively disenchanted with Uchikoshi's reliance on repurposing twists (worlds end club was a very low point) and the flaws of his "backwards writing" approach, I want nothing more than to once again feel as enthusiastic about his work as I did when I first played 999 and Ever17. Ai 1 had Uchikoshi's usual thing but it was still a very enjoyable game in spite of the meta stuff not really adding much to the story.
In a sort of reverse situation to Lien's, it feels like Uchikoshi is confined by his past successes. I know you can break out of this cycle and make something great again Uchikoshi so despite being disappointed with Ai 2, I'll still be rooting for you man.
That aside, there are some things I really like about Ai 2. Shoma and Komeji's route was very sweet, the Somniums feel more like puzzles (generally), date is da best, the bit where Aiba threw away Lien's key was pretty raw, Lien's whole deal as a former criminal who doesn't want to be defined by that past was nice, Ryuki's mental episodes, the fact that you had to go out of your way to get the secret end, the way they tied it into the arg was cool, and the tragedy of Amame.
There's a lot of other stuff they bungled, however, other than the main twist. Lien's behaviour is creepy, though it seems like it's meant to be endearing? I didn't like what they did with Gen and Amame's relationship. Why did they decide to double down on the action sequences? (the chakra thing was nice tho). The final big action climax in the stadium was for sure something that happened.
Why did they try to make it newcomer friendly despite having a returning character as a protagonist? It made Mizuki feel static and boring, which is amazing since she was one of the better Ai 1 characters. What's with the repeated jokes from Ai 1?? Also, have I grown out of it since Ai 1, or is the writing less charming and funny? Ryuki should've been the main focus, he got shafted hard.
While I don't regret playing it, my feelings are pretty mixed overall. As a sequel, Ai 2 is more disappointing than it is bad. As Uchikoshi's latest offering after over 2 decades of writing for games, it feels like a shadow of his greater works. I just hope this was him saving his A game for something much better.
Since becoming progressively disenchanted with Uchikoshi's reliance on repurposing twists (worlds end club was a very low point) and the flaws of his "backwards writing" approach, I want nothing more than to once again feel as enthusiastic about his work as I did when I first played 999 and Ever17. Ai 1 had Uchikoshi's usual thing but it was still a very enjoyable game in spite of the meta stuff not really adding much to the story.
In a sort of reverse situation to Lien's, it feels like Uchikoshi is confined by his past successes. I know you can break out of this cycle and make something great again Uchikoshi so despite being disappointed with Ai 2, I'll still be rooting for you man.