This review contains spoilers
Very very spoiler heavy thoughts below.
It's been almost a year since AINI released, and the more time passes, the less I like this game.
And that sucks because I was so excited for it!!! I love the first game a ton, it means a lot to me and especially my partner, and we're a bit more forgiving when it comes to some of Uchikoshi's more 'controversial among the fans' releases, like Zero Time Dilemma. I hate that I feel this way about something I thought I wanted for years, but this game made me realize more than anything before that some stories are better left finished than turned into a franchise.
As a sequel, it was extremely held back by the rule of being beginner friendly for players who decided to experience this before the first game. Returning characters do and say things that make no fuckin sense for the sake of not spoiling the first game to people that play this first. Date is the best example of how far they had to reach in order to not spoil stuff, it's ridiculous. Him continuing to wear Saito's face for some made up ass reason just so unfamiliar players don't know what Date really looks like is ghoulish stuff, and so out of character. And him ditching his family after being reunited for some more made up bullshit was so infuriating. I feel really bad for anybody that actually played this first and this is the version of Date they got to meet. He might as well not have been here. Most characters might as well not be here.
Mizuki was definitely the highlight of the returning cast. I honestly think she's the only one they didn't fuck up in a bad way. Since this timeline is the True Ending from the first game, we know that in this world, the Mizuki ending didn't happen, and Date and Mizuki probably never got to have a super deep bond. I'm glad that by the end of this game, Mizuki has someone that will (unless more made up bullshit happens in game 3) never leave her side. That felt like a good ending for her.
I don't really even know what to say for Ryuki though. He is just more of a plot device than a character by the end of it all. I enjoyed him for the first half before everything about him began to get revealed. Also that gay moment felt so out of nowhere? That's honestly the Ryuki moment I think about most is them giving him unrequited love for Date for some reason. I guess Tama's design hints at it, but it gets brought up once and never again. All for the most hetero guy in the franchise too, like bro, you never even had a shot...dude really thinks he can be a homewrecker.
Not to toot my own horn, but many of the twists were predictable for me personally, and were just not nearly as impactful as anything from the first game's story. The timeline being a literal Twist is pretty clever, I'll give Uchikoshi that. The big big twist about Bibi actually being half of the Mizuki side, making Mizuki only playable in 1/4th of the game, was cool, it sucks that it makes the Mizuki game barely have Mizuki as the lead though. Somehow I even guessed Amame being the 'final boss' before the game even came out. I was just getting those vibes from her being promoted to main cast, no idea why. I had a similar experience with the mastermind in Danganronpa V3 funnily enough. Uru being revealed as another child of So Sejima is really icing on the twist cake. What, are they just gonna tell us at the beginning of game 3 that the 'Tetrahedron Killer has been revealed to be So Sejima's 4th illegitimate child, but heh, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.' That had to be for the sake of a joke, like c'mon man.
The character endings are really tame in comparison to the first game's. Every single ending from game 1 is so memorable and fills you with emotion. The character endings in this game are just like, okay, moving on. It doesn't help that 2 of them deal with relationships that are being shoved down our throats to make us care, but that all of them(besides the secret ending which is the best one btw) all have to be about 2 characters at once because this game is obsessed with the number 2. I hate that most of these characters have to rely on another to have a story, most of the characters only really get to be characters when they're stapled together rather than on their own. Also these new guys that get most of the endings are just not that engaging in these endings. I simply could not care for Lien/Kizuna's and Gen/Amame's super forced relationships. Komeji and Shoma's was pretty alright though, at least that one felt natural and normal and didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. None of the character endings come close to the first game's in terms of emotional beats which sucks because I feel like game 1 did such a good job expanding on what if scenarios with the leads.
One thing that bugged me a lot was every body discovery being the exact same. There are some really gruesome deaths in the first game that are so shocking to see for the first time. In AINI, every character that dies is killed in the same fashion, just split down the middle. Obviously the reason for this is most of the plot and twists, but it was just so boring seeing the same style of murder over and over, when the first game's deaths were so varied and unique in comparison.
I see a lot of people say the somnium's themselves are much better here than in the first game, and I agree for some, but I just feel like most of them are missing the eeriness of the first game's. This game really does have a problem trying to establish the same grim tone the first game had throughout it. I only ever felt on edge during Tokiko and Bibi's. I think the problem with this as a sequel is that they couldn't pull off the insane twists of not knowing who's head you're actually in again here, so just going through all the new character's for one small piece of the puzzle each was pretty repetitive. I will say, Chikara's somnium was a super strong start. If Ryuki has anything going for him, it's that the somniums he explores are significantly better than Mizuki and Bibi's on average. Also I may need a replay to remember this part, but my partner and I both felt that the somnium's this time around felt too easy and made too much sense in comparison to game 1, y'know? The absolute biggest complaint I always encountered when seeing people talking about game 1 was that the solutions to puzzles made no sense or had no reasonable line between puzzle and solution. I never understood this as a somnium is like a dream, and dreams don't make any sense. You're not in control of a dream, and neither is a person in control of their somnium. In AINI, I felt like maybe there was a bit of control going on and things just made a little too much sense. I feel like this was done to address the complaints people had about solutions seeming random in game 1. I enjoyed the trial and error of game 1 and I guess I personally just enjoy that more than most people apparently. I guess that's why I love games like Somnium Files and Illbleed so much.
The music is the best part of the game for me. Chikara, Shoma's and Tokiko's somnium themes are stellar, and I like the Silent Hill vibe of Lien's. Bibi's somnium theme is the kind of tenseness I was hoping to hear more of. The updated character models are also very welcome. It was surprising to see how different boths games looked, even if mostly subtle. Amame is a great example.
I also enjoyed Tokiko and Komeji a lot, they were very much the highlight characters for me. Tokiko especially is a character that actually manages to leave you with some thought once the journey is over.
I just wish this game wasn't so scared of progress. I would've loved a more traditional sequel, I'm sure it would've been excellent. This being the outcome, the rule of not letting what happened in the first game affect the sequels story, is just so damn frustrating, it makes me wonder why ever bother doing it this way? Was it because visual novels tend to not sell like crazy, so this was to entice people into spending money sooner than later? I have no idea. At this point, I am just left wondering If I even want to play the inevitable 3rd game when it comes out in probably 2025.
Thanks for the Aiba figurine at least.
It's been almost a year since AINI released, and the more time passes, the less I like this game.
And that sucks because I was so excited for it!!! I love the first game a ton, it means a lot to me and especially my partner, and we're a bit more forgiving when it comes to some of Uchikoshi's more 'controversial among the fans' releases, like Zero Time Dilemma. I hate that I feel this way about something I thought I wanted for years, but this game made me realize more than anything before that some stories are better left finished than turned into a franchise.
As a sequel, it was extremely held back by the rule of being beginner friendly for players who decided to experience this before the first game. Returning characters do and say things that make no fuckin sense for the sake of not spoiling the first game to people that play this first. Date is the best example of how far they had to reach in order to not spoil stuff, it's ridiculous. Him continuing to wear Saito's face for some made up ass reason just so unfamiliar players don't know what Date really looks like is ghoulish stuff, and so out of character. And him ditching his family after being reunited for some more made up bullshit was so infuriating. I feel really bad for anybody that actually played this first and this is the version of Date they got to meet. He might as well not have been here. Most characters might as well not be here.
Mizuki was definitely the highlight of the returning cast. I honestly think she's the only one they didn't fuck up in a bad way. Since this timeline is the True Ending from the first game, we know that in this world, the Mizuki ending didn't happen, and Date and Mizuki probably never got to have a super deep bond. I'm glad that by the end of this game, Mizuki has someone that will (unless more made up bullshit happens in game 3) never leave her side. That felt like a good ending for her.
I don't really even know what to say for Ryuki though. He is just more of a plot device than a character by the end of it all. I enjoyed him for the first half before everything about him began to get revealed. Also that gay moment felt so out of nowhere? That's honestly the Ryuki moment I think about most is them giving him unrequited love for Date for some reason. I guess Tama's design hints at it, but it gets brought up once and never again. All for the most hetero guy in the franchise too, like bro, you never even had a shot...dude really thinks he can be a homewrecker.
Not to toot my own horn, but many of the twists were predictable for me personally, and were just not nearly as impactful as anything from the first game's story. The timeline being a literal Twist is pretty clever, I'll give Uchikoshi that. The big big twist about Bibi actually being half of the Mizuki side, making Mizuki only playable in 1/4th of the game, was cool, it sucks that it makes the Mizuki game barely have Mizuki as the lead though. Somehow I even guessed Amame being the 'final boss' before the game even came out. I was just getting those vibes from her being promoted to main cast, no idea why. I had a similar experience with the mastermind in Danganronpa V3 funnily enough. Uru being revealed as another child of So Sejima is really icing on the twist cake. What, are they just gonna tell us at the beginning of game 3 that the 'Tetrahedron Killer has been revealed to be So Sejima's 4th illegitimate child, but heh, I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start from the beginning.' That had to be for the sake of a joke, like c'mon man.
The character endings are really tame in comparison to the first game's. Every single ending from game 1 is so memorable and fills you with emotion. The character endings in this game are just like, okay, moving on. It doesn't help that 2 of them deal with relationships that are being shoved down our throats to make us care, but that all of them(besides the secret ending which is the best one btw) all have to be about 2 characters at once because this game is obsessed with the number 2. I hate that most of these characters have to rely on another to have a story, most of the characters only really get to be characters when they're stapled together rather than on their own. Also these new guys that get most of the endings are just not that engaging in these endings. I simply could not care for Lien/Kizuna's and Gen/Amame's super forced relationships. Komeji and Shoma's was pretty alright though, at least that one felt natural and normal and didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth. None of the character endings come close to the first game's in terms of emotional beats which sucks because I feel like game 1 did such a good job expanding on what if scenarios with the leads.
One thing that bugged me a lot was every body discovery being the exact same. There are some really gruesome deaths in the first game that are so shocking to see for the first time. In AINI, every character that dies is killed in the same fashion, just split down the middle. Obviously the reason for this is most of the plot and twists, but it was just so boring seeing the same style of murder over and over, when the first game's deaths were so varied and unique in comparison.
I see a lot of people say the somnium's themselves are much better here than in the first game, and I agree for some, but I just feel like most of them are missing the eeriness of the first game's. This game really does have a problem trying to establish the same grim tone the first game had throughout it. I only ever felt on edge during Tokiko and Bibi's. I think the problem with this as a sequel is that they couldn't pull off the insane twists of not knowing who's head you're actually in again here, so just going through all the new character's for one small piece of the puzzle each was pretty repetitive. I will say, Chikara's somnium was a super strong start. If Ryuki has anything going for him, it's that the somniums he explores are significantly better than Mizuki and Bibi's on average. Also I may need a replay to remember this part, but my partner and I both felt that the somnium's this time around felt too easy and made too much sense in comparison to game 1, y'know? The absolute biggest complaint I always encountered when seeing people talking about game 1 was that the solutions to puzzles made no sense or had no reasonable line between puzzle and solution. I never understood this as a somnium is like a dream, and dreams don't make any sense. You're not in control of a dream, and neither is a person in control of their somnium. In AINI, I felt like maybe there was a bit of control going on and things just made a little too much sense. I feel like this was done to address the complaints people had about solutions seeming random in game 1. I enjoyed the trial and error of game 1 and I guess I personally just enjoy that more than most people apparently. I guess that's why I love games like Somnium Files and Illbleed so much.
The music is the best part of the game for me. Chikara, Shoma's and Tokiko's somnium themes are stellar, and I like the Silent Hill vibe of Lien's. Bibi's somnium theme is the kind of tenseness I was hoping to hear more of. The updated character models are also very welcome. It was surprising to see how different boths games looked, even if mostly subtle. Amame is a great example.
I also enjoyed Tokiko and Komeji a lot, they were very much the highlight characters for me. Tokiko especially is a character that actually manages to leave you with some thought once the journey is over.
I just wish this game wasn't so scared of progress. I would've loved a more traditional sequel, I'm sure it would've been excellent. This being the outcome, the rule of not letting what happened in the first game affect the sequels story, is just so damn frustrating, it makes me wonder why ever bother doing it this way? Was it because visual novels tend to not sell like crazy, so this was to entice people into spending money sooner than later? I have no idea. At this point, I am just left wondering If I even want to play the inevitable 3rd game when it comes out in probably 2025.
Thanks for the Aiba figurine at least.