I think Japan's fascination with school girls is tangentially related with their romanticizing of High School in general. Its often considered by many as the last time they had a large degree of freedom and not bogged down by work.
@@clochard4074 You might also note that virtually every Isekai LN has the protagonist as "an average high schoolboy/girl", with a moderately strong sideline of NEET/hikkimori MCs, both of whom represent the only sections of Japanese society not perpetually chained to social/family/work obligations for 20 hours of every day
@@tomstonemale True, but that in turn is largely because they are one of the few sections of Japanese society with the cash, and more importantly, the free time to actually spend time reading LNs
i do like how so many games have their only legacy be "their Zero Punctuation had some truly classic jokes/twisted metaphors." never dead, Alpha Protocol, Amy, Brink. I'll never forget any of these games but only because a strange cartoon man in a hat made me laugh my ass off about 'em
I'll never stop enjoying how relentless and brutal Yahtz can be in his criticism of Swery's ability to create video games/sanity while still very clearly being fond of the guy and his work. I guess it's my living in Ireland and his having lived in Australia - both places where that's, if not _the_ main form of expressing fondness for someone, then certainly among them.
This comment had me on the floor. I live in Canada but my dad was born in Ireland so half my family is there and I've visited over a dozen times and the differences between Canadian literalness (if you love someone you tell them you love them) vs Irish cheekiness (if you love someone joke about their insecurities while cooking them a lovely meal and give them a hug when they finally get its okay for you to make fun of their insecurities too) has certainly given me an appreciation for who I am, where I live and where I come from than I could ever really express. Oh they do say I love you btw they're just really witty and enjoy having fun (imagine that!)
I thought that the themes were pretty on the nose, really. The monster was wielding a utility knife, and then later you find out that the main character had been cutting herself with a utility knife.
"You name it, Japan's got a school girl version". As a mild weeb, I can't even argue that. I thought we hit rock bottom when we turned battle cruisers into school-girls and we still keep digging deeper
In all seriousness, it sounds like it's about the horrors of trying to mangle your own personality to what other people think you should be rather than what you are, AKA, being in the closet. Having been there myself, I can genuinely say it's like emotionally cutting yourself to bits, then just having to get over it.
The text messages you unlock over the course of the game do lend to this. From her controlling mother, someone overly fascinated by her, idealizing j.j and their intelligence, strong arming her to do other people's homework or help them in some way. Her professor seems to care, but every now and then it feels like he crosses a line and has this assumption of who j.j is based off their work. J.J is notably characterless throughout the story, but I think that's because nobody ever really asks or cares about who J.J is. Sometimes j.j talks about their interest in antiques, but the conversations never lift off the ground because nobody cares about j.j for j.j. they just care about what she does for them and who she is in their mind. J.j doesn't let on much to how this affects them, but I'm sure it hurts when you notice how short and curt her replies get. As if she's trying to not let on as to how much these little interactions chip away at her
I love the fact that here, Yahtzee’s own attempts at analyzing the game with his already dark sense of humor & bitter cynicism gets to a level that it horrifies even _himself._ “Is that a metaphor for scissoring during that time of the m-- _That was the new worst thing I've ever written!”_
It reminds me of that other ZP where he draws a miscarriage as a baby being shot out of a woman's bleeding vagina and then writes "this is the worst thing I've ever done and I hate myself for it".
The narrative was actually compelling if it's your cup of tea. The self-harm aspect is actually vital to character progression and that ending is something special.
It's absolutely about the main character, a trans woman, coming to terms with the fact that she'd tried to kill herself, experiencing violent hallucinations as she lays bleeding out on the gym floor with a doctor (with the school mascot moose's head) trying to save her life (the lightning strikes are defibrillation). It definitely sounds like Yahtzee wasn't reading the chat logs because that starts to become increasingly the focus of all of them about 2/3rds of the way through. Her mom's transphobic, rumors about her coming to terms with her identity are getting her bullied at college, she's having trouble managing her relationship with her girlfriend because of the whole situation.
Not reading the chat logs does seem like something Yahtzee would do given schedules and his general feelings for the concept. Part of me wants to give it a go for that story, though maybe I'd be better served with something from a trans creator in a more straightforward medium.
At least they talk about REAL issues surrounding this topic and don't shy away from the uncomfortable but very real negative aspects to it. Seems to handle the topic MUCH better than Tell Me Why which was painfully bad in it's messaging and basically called you a bad person for even thinking that some of the negative aspects to this topic exist in the first place, which they objectively, factually do.
I'd like to think the theme of the game is "learning that you have a place in this world and that no matter how you view yourself, someone in the world is waiting for you." It doesn't have to be a lover, it can be just a friend, but someone will see you for more than what you see yourself in your self-loathing view, and the usage of a trans lesbian protagonist drives that point home.
@@1paxromana Same here. I didn't even realize I needed to hear that until the game said it. That plus some induced self reflection puts it on the very short list of games that have taught me something that weren't educational.
Which is, when you think about it, a bad message because it says you should extract your worth as a person on what another person thinks of you. You may die waiting for this perfect person to come. Be happy now, without them, and if that person comes, your relationship will be better.
@@blakksheep736 Depression, suicidal ideation, the want to self-harm for a variety of reasons, all of these tend to be parts of the Trans Experience when not in a legitimate support network that cares about them. Sure your partner could be a support network, but when beset on all sides by people who either won't support you or try to stop you, not even someone who loves you with their heart and soul can stop the pain.
"Is that a metaphor for scissoring during _that_ time of the m- that was the new worst thing I've ever written." I died. I am dead. I had to rewatch the last minute of the video four time because I couldn't hear it over my own laughter. This may end up being my favorite line that he ever will have said. Christ.
Once I saw the ending of the game, I thought that the main themes presented by the game were pretty well laid out. Maybe Yahtzee didn't have the patience to ponder through the many archived text conversations in the game, many of which you only unlock after completing optional puzzles. My main issue with the game is not that its themes are too muddled or vague, but that it progressed much of its underlying narrative through exposition dumps instead of visual storytelling.
What ever happen to the short but snappy titles that Japan would make? Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger, Mother, Fire Emblem. Now most of them have either a large number at the end, or for the kids who think they're too cool for things like "numbers", overly long subtitles. Mother and Chrono Trigger are the only ones that didn't go with the trend of unnecessary long titles.
Yeah, it's kind of odd. Japanese publishers seem to still be in the (pre-)Victorian mode of titling, where the title and its alternatives and/or subtitles are supposed to stretch and explain the general plot, but the thing is, the Victorians and their forebears did that because they had neither the technology nor the pre-publishing customs to print paragraph-long plot synopses or quotes from reviews on the cover. Once they _had_ printing presses that could handle relatively tiny type, paperback books, and cheap means of printing on covers, the long titles largely went away unless you were being deliberately old-fashioned. Meanwhile, Japanese manga and sometimes even video games still have _countless_ Victorian-school titles like _Help! I Must Win the Regional Baseball Tournament to Save the Reputation of My High School While Battling My Literal Inner Demons, and My Forty-Seven Simultaneous, Handsy Girlfriends Won't Leave Me Alone, Ahhhh!_ (which, of course, the Western fans will insist on rendering in full in the original Japanese every single time, except where some of the words are inevitably English even _in_ the original Japanese, in which case they'll insist on the Japanese _transliterations_ of the English words, even though they know full well what the author is trying to pronounce). Do... do they _know_ they can print on the _back_ covers now? Like, _really tiny_ if they have to?
IT's like any other visual novel title. Instead of bringing something thoughfull, that may make you ponder on meaning of the title, it instead works as description of a book within 6-12 words, optionaly, in most retarded way possible.
@@Midnight-Starfish "What ever happen to the short but snappy titles that Japan would make?" It died around the same time American media stopped putting numbers on sequels.
There is just one thing I don't understand What is so stupid about her hairdo? She just has long hair and a hairband, only way it can get more basic is by removing a hairband
I will say it's telling as to how much Yahtzee delved into the background of the characters when using the phone, because you find out what the metaphor for chopping yourself to bits is while collecting donuts
Finally got to this game all these years later. Just beat it on Twitch to an audience. I read out aloud all the text messages in-character. It got me good by the end... ended up doing a big ol' cry. It was actually very relatable to me and felt more honest about the subject matter than western writers try (Tell Me Why). One of my favourite all-time games now. Ended up finding a sealed copy of the CE on Switch after already buying the Steam version on sale and had a little FK plushie with me on second stream. And now here I am with fabric about to make the cosplay. Loved this one to bits (no pun intended).
I am surprised it has been going on this long, without him giving a review. Considering he always complains about not enough releases in the summer and the like.
@@vetlekarlsen8382 Remeber the one execution where the girl was hung while Monokuma used here dying body to play a giant piano at breakneck (yes that was a pun) speeds? And then crushed the corpse for good measure?
@@brainnim9935 while also being an incredibly anti religious work that makes anyone who is involved in religion act like a hypocritical, greedy, shallow self engrandising prick who likes to solves problems by moral grandstanding and just saying that they win than actually doing any work...... and by that i mean reimu and sanae. who are both TERRIBLE PEOPLE
I don't see how touhou and schoolgirls are related, besides the outfits to some extent. Then again I don't know anything about the specific game he mentioned. edit: Scratch that, I see it now. They're not schoolgirls strictly speaking, but it does follow the theme of "every hero, villain, mythological creature, monster and deity is a cute animu girl" that Yahtzee was talking about.
I rarely feel this confident about a youtuber's utensils drawer, but yahtzee definitely has a $20 pizza cutter that just looked awesome at bed bath and beyond. Dont worry yahtzee we've all been there.
If I hadn't seen the moose doctor myself I'd think Yahtzee was joking, but no. He even runs in on all fours. Also I *super* appreciate that spoiler warning. I'll be back for the rest later.
Not remember Neverdead? You bite your tongue Yahtzee! Don't get me wrong, this is coming for someone who didn't buy Neverdead or even played it. But I damn sure remember it because I can count on one hand the number of ZP episodes that have made me laugh as hard as the one you did on that particular little gem (seriously that bit with the big burlap sack and the day laborers with cricket bats was a stroke of goddamn genius).
i think yatzee somehow manages to not be offensive with any offensive joke by making literally all of them. how can you get offended by a man who offends everyone?
I don't think the symbolism in this game is as confused as you think it is? While most of it seemed kind of random at first, between the text messages you didn't mention and the OTHER ending spoiler it all seems easy enough to grasp. Otherwise agree though, coulda done with double or at least 1.5 times speed for the whole game.
Reminds me of the little known (though I think I saw it pop up on GOG awhile back so maybe it's getting a little more attention) Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy from way back in the day. The levels where you play as Sphinx are a pretty standard Zelda clone with an Egyptian theme, but when you play as Tutankhamen it switches to more of a puzzle game where all the puzzles are solved by maiming yourself in various ways.
I find it funny that Yahtzee used Touhou as an example of Japan sticking schoolgirls in everything when that's probably one of the only shmup series left that hasn't done that (for its protagonists at least) It took Touhou an entire 18 years before it got its first schoolgirl (Sumireko Usami), in one of the spinoffs, and she doesn't even dress up like a schoolgirl anyway outside of some 5 panels in one of the manga. I know I'm being pedantic and that the point was more that Japan likes to stick cute girls in everything, but you know, just saying. and yes, I know that some of the PC98 folks are going to want to be even more pedantic and say that you could technically could Chiyuri and Yumemi as schoolgirls, too, but I don't even think they are.
Wait... so are we doing a Huniepop style version of Undertale where you date the Undertale characters... or a version of Undertale filled with cute japanese girls where you can choose to murder them all... ... I'm fairly certain both exist in some form already...
Watching this review after finally playing the game I kinda think Yahtzee was either rushed or didn't particularly care enough to fully review the game. Whilst I certainly agree with his criticism of the gameplay, he comments on the story seem, well, a bit tonedeaf. To start with the main character is a college student in her 20's, not some schoolgirl. So the 20% of the review yahtzee spent going on about that now seems pretty off topic. As for putting together the main story themes, whilst the game does slowly feed them to you at the start, by the end its pretty obvious what its about. If you spent more than 30 seconds reading any of the conversations J.J has with her family and friends, or spend a minute to think about what you've seen you'll immediately know whats going on. Unhealthy relationships, stress, suicide, hurting yourself in pursuit of your goals and finding your place in the world are all core themes are are explored (either subtlety or quite upfront).
I have a girlfriend who was struck by lightning and came back to life and suddenly everything is a platforming action-adventure puzzle. Glad I'm not alone.
Honestly, as much as Swery is, well... Swery, this might be the single best depiction of trans issues ever in a videogame, so that counts for something, in my book. The only real competition is (BEEG SPOILERS) A Year of Springs, Missed Mesages and A Normal Lost Phone, which are amazing but much less game-y.
America has the equivalent. Replace schoolgirl with burly white military man. Even japanese survival horror game sequels made by americans suddenly have one of those as main character. Don't know why everyone has to bring their sexual fantasies into games.
Yahtzee can review something I don't care about in the slightest, and he still makes it interesting for me. Kind of like Red Letter Media. Well done Yahtz.
While others have mentioned in the comments, some times as a joke, I do legitimately want Yahtzee to review Danganronpa. I would love to hear his thoughts on the games unique blend of elements from Saw, Battle Royal, subversion of tropes, and off the wall insanity that make the game stand out.
4:24 I am pretty sure the "put two pregnant women in an arena and tell them the only one allowed to leave is the one who eats the other's fetus" still tops this.
Hearing this review after playing the game is so surreal because the game is absolutely full of the most on-the-nose symbolism I have ever seen in any art that's almost impossible to not immediately understand, and this whole review is Yahtzee going "but what does it mean though"
"Is that a metaphor for scissoring during that time of the mo- That was the new worst thing I've ever written" I had to pause the video because I was choking from laughing too hard...
I don't know to be happy or horrified that Yatzhee got whiff of Touhou project and Danganronpa. I don't care if he ever reviews those monsters, just happy and/or horrified.
Dear lord am I the only person who remembers Plok! A 2D platformer where you launch your characters detached limbs at enemies to kill them but have to sacrifice some (or occasionally all) of them to trigger platforms and lifts. They then get sent to a clothes hanger where you can pick them back up. I'm starting to worry I may have hallucinated the whole bloody thing!
That’ll probably work as a throwaway joke, but make you come across as a condescending ignorant jackass if you’re actually trying to defend yourself for saying something offensive.
Nidorino Alliance Yeah, context is key for that one. Because it’s either mocking the imaginary “offended snowflake” that only exists in the minds of bigots, or the hypocrisy of said bigots when they complain about other people being too “sensitive.”
@@CarrotConsumer They do tho. Like, Red Dead Redemption, Pride and Prejudice And Zombies, Shaun of the Dead, CoD zombie... It's just that they're more of a video game exclusive thing.
Anyone else look at the title and think: "Oh sweet, Yahtzee is reviewing two games at once, again"?
Yep and I've heard of the missing, I just didn't realise it had a short story tacked on to the end of the title
Yep I thought so too lmao
Guilty
I did
Guilty as charged
I think Japan's fascination with school girls is tangentially related with their romanticizing of High School in general. Its often considered by many as the last time they had a large degree of freedom and not bogged down by work.
Interesting and frightening theory.
@@clochard4074 You might also note that virtually every Isekai LN has the protagonist as "an average high schoolboy/girl", with a moderately strong sideline of NEET/hikkimori MCs, both of whom represent the only sections of Japanese society not perpetually chained to social/family/work obligations for 20 hours of every day
Pretty sure it's just because teenagers are their main audience really
@@tomstonemale True, but that in turn is largely because they are one of the few sections of Japanese society with the cash, and more importantly, the free time to actually spend time reading LNs
And the more you learn of the work environment of Japanese companies, the more sense that romanticization makes.
“Do you remember neverdead?”
Yes, I just re-watched 80% of your reviews waiting for this one.
i do like how so many games have their only legacy be "their Zero Punctuation had some truly classic jokes/twisted metaphors."
never dead, Alpha Protocol, Amy, Brink. I'll never forget any of these games but only because a strange cartoon man in a hat made me laugh my ass off about 'em
I'll never stop enjoying how relentless and brutal Yahtz can be in his criticism of Swery's ability to create video games/sanity while still very clearly being fond of the guy and his work. I guess it's my living in Ireland and his having lived in Australia - both places where that's, if not _the_ main form of expressing fondness for someone, then certainly among them.
This comment had me on the floor. I live in Canada but my dad was born in Ireland so half my family is there and I've visited over a dozen times and the differences between Canadian literalness (if you love someone you tell them you love them) vs Irish cheekiness (if you love someone joke about their insecurities while cooking them a lovely meal and give them a hug when they finally get its okay for you to make fun of their insecurities too) has certainly given me an appreciation for who I am, where I live and where I come from than I could ever really express. Oh they do say I love you btw they're just really witty and enjoy having fun (imagine that!)
America does have the equivalent to the Japanese schoolgirl genre; it has the Rock.
lol xD
Kudlac13 To be fair, have you seen the Rock he is super adorable
To be fair do you know what he's cooking
Now all we need is the rock in a schoolgirl uniform chasing after senpai.
Ryan Rhenyleds?
"That was the worst new line I've ever written"
You mean the best? I couldn't stop laughing.
Lol. I actually had to hear it again to make sure I heard it right.
I burst out laughing so hard I nearly slipped off my chair and choked on my dinner!
That abrupt stop and reveal that yahtzee does have some sort of limit made me laugh out loud
StrikeWarlock the worst line he’s ever written is in his review of Split/Second, and for that it is glorious.
@@Zoxide_ commencing research
I wanna see a collaborative effort by Swery, Suda 51, and Hideo Kojima. You know, just so there can be a definitive "weirdest game ever made".
The universe will be confused
Stick Yoko Taro in there for an emotional head fuck.
You forgot Yoko taro
Add the guy who made Evangelion and I think we have a masterpiece on our hands
You insane fool, time will become liquid, the world will become Jam.
I thought that the themes were pretty on the nose, really. The monster was wielding a utility knife, and then later you find out that the main character had been cutting herself with a utility knife.
"You name it, Japan's got a school girl version". As a mild weeb, I can't even argue that. I thought we hit rock bottom when we turned battle cruisers into school-girls and we still keep digging deeper
Wait what's this battle cruisers business? I am intrigued. Is it kinda like panzermadels or whatever that visual novel was called?
At least he used HOTD for the horror. If he used School-Live! there, it could of been just as well.
maybe...
@Thomas Davis fucking japan. Of course.
@@beargrills3508 Probably Kancolle. But also Azure Lane and Arpeggio of Blue Steel.
@Thomas Davis, it's "Girls und Panzer," btw.
In all seriousness, it sounds like it's about the horrors of trying to mangle your own personality to what other people think you should be rather than what you are, AKA, being in the closet.
Having been there myself, I can genuinely say it's like emotionally cutting yourself to bits, then just having to get over it.
The text messages you unlock over the course of the game do lend to this. From her controlling mother, someone overly fascinated by her, idealizing j.j and their intelligence, strong arming her to do other people's homework or help them in some way.
Her professor seems to care, but every now and then it feels like he crosses a line and has this assumption of who j.j is based off their work.
J.J is notably characterless throughout the story, but I think that's because nobody ever really asks or cares about who J.J is.
Sometimes j.j talks about their interest in antiques, but the conversations never lift off the ground because nobody cares about j.j for j.j. they just care about what she does for them and who she is in their mind.
J.j doesn't let on much to how this affects them, but I'm sure it hurts when you notice how short and curt her replies get. As if she's trying to not let on as to how much these little interactions chip away at her
I love the fact that here, Yahtzee’s own attempts at analyzing the game with his already dark sense of humor & bitter cynicism gets to a level that it horrifies even _himself._
“Is that a metaphor for scissoring during that time of the m-- _That was the new worst thing I've ever written!”_
some one need to make scissoring during that time of the mouth a game
@@KiraSlith im a nut to period lesbians thanks
It reminds me of that other ZP where he draws a miscarriage as a baby being shot out of a woman's bleeding vagina and then writes "this is the worst thing I've ever done and I hate myself for it".
@@KiraSlith There's probly a skyrim mod for it somewhere. Don't worry.
"Is this enough fire ? I can get more !" is one of the cutest line wrote by Yahtzee for his characters
The "I Am Setsuna" review had another good one.
"Oh I just know there's goodness in your heart, Mr. Tufty--" "RAAAR (maul maul)"
I think his characters look really cute whenever they bite down on something and its just a pair of little triangle for teeth like in his Ys review
0:34 Yeah, it really sucks when a game promises to be episodic but then doesn't release any new episodes. Isn't that right, Half-Life 2?
Beriorn or sin episodes: emergence
Half life 2 released TWO new episodes!
Greg Furey Uhh I’m not sure if the Emergence Doujin should be an episodic game or not.
the reason it only had 1 episode was because MS canned the season and Swery can't make anymore episode because MS owns it
Hey if Valve did it, it means it's cool
The narrative was actually compelling if it's your cup of tea. The self-harm aspect is actually vital to character progression and that ending is something special.
A moose in a lab coat? Are we sure this wasn't made in Canada at least partly?
It takes place in Maine which is just American Canada
@@shaggnar2014 I thought that was Minnesota
@@merrittanimation7721 No, that's Canadian America. Very similar though.
@@merrittanimation7721 Nah, they just talk like them
Tiberius Hrafn-Úlfur Well, since it’s Maine that explains why the young girl has supernatural powers-it’s a Stephen King game
It's absolutely about the main character, a trans woman, coming to terms with the fact that she'd tried to kill herself, experiencing violent hallucinations as she lays bleeding out on the gym floor with a doctor (with the school mascot moose's head) trying to save her life (the lightning strikes are defibrillation). It definitely sounds like Yahtzee wasn't reading the chat logs because that starts to become increasingly the focus of all of them about 2/3rds of the way through.
Her mom's transphobic, rumors about her coming to terms with her identity are getting her bullied at college, she's having trouble managing her relationship with her girlfriend because of the whole situation.
Not reading the chat logs does seem like something Yahtzee would do given schedules and his general feelings for the concept. Part of me wants to give it a go for that story, though maybe I'd be better served with something from a trans creator in a more straightforward medium.
Damn, that's a lot heavier but more interesting than I would have expected.
At least they talk about REAL issues surrounding this topic and don't shy away from the uncomfortable but very real negative aspects to it. Seems to handle the topic MUCH better than Tell Me Why which was painfully bad in it's messaging and basically called you a bad person for even thinking that some of the negative aspects to this topic exist in the first place, which they objectively, factually do.
I think the rough American analog to the Universal Schoolgirl is "white guy in his early 30's with brown hair and stubble."
And the American analog in video games specifically is "Nolan North."
that's a lot more general though.
Can't argue that
Dunno if that's a romanticized archetype so much as, 'we just have a lot of them anyway'.
A lot of actors in Hollywood happen to be around 30, white and have stubble.
I'd like to think the theme of the game is "learning that you have a place in this world and that no matter how you view yourself, someone in the world is waiting for you." It doesn't have to be a lover, it can be just a friend, but someone will see you for more than what you see yourself in your self-loathing view, and the usage of a trans lesbian protagonist drives that point home.
I think you hit the nail on the head here.
I AM a trans lesbian, and this message hit me HARD. The final chapter had me ugly sobbing.
@@1paxromana Same here. I didn't even realize I needed to hear that until the game said it. That plus some induced self reflection puts it on the very short list of games that have taught me something that weren't educational.
Which is, when you think about it, a bad message because it says you should extract your worth as a person on what another person thinks of you. You may die waiting for this perfect person to come. Be happy now, without them, and if that person comes, your relationship will be better.
But why the self mutilation then?
@@blakksheep736 Depression, suicidal ideation, the want to self-harm for a variety of reasons, all of these tend to be parts of the Trans Experience when not in a legitimate support network that cares about them. Sure your partner could be a support network, but when beset on all sides by people who either won't support you or try to stop you, not even someone who loves you with their heart and soul can stop the pain.
I've watched this one three times and I know less about the game than when I started.
Love this show.
"but lets contextualize this AS BEst We can."
Man, you can hear him laughing at the idea at making sense of this madness.
1:56 I love how even Yahtzee couldn't get through this line without cracking up a little.
"Is that a metaphor for scissoring during _that_ time of the m- that was the new worst thing I've ever written." I died. I am dead. I had to rewatch the last minute of the video four time because I couldn't hear it over my own laughter.
This may end up being my favorite line that he ever will have said. Christ.
He should really review Danganronpa.
Also America's version is a semi scruffy, slightly tall , square jawed , brown haired, early thirties white dude.
Americas equivalent to school girls would be generically grizzled short haired 30 something white dudes.
Though it's neck-and-neck with "Japanese school-girl characters" in the U.S. nowadays.
Once I saw the ending of the game, I thought that the main themes presented by the game were pretty well laid out. Maybe Yahtzee didn't have the patience to ponder through the many archived text conversations in the game, many of which you only unlock after completing optional puzzles. My main issue with the game is not that its themes are too muddled or vague, but that it progressed much of its underlying narrative through exposition dumps instead of visual storytelling.
You know it's Japanese because the title is ridiculously overwrought.
What ever happen to the short but snappy titles that Japan would make? Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Trigger, Mother, Fire Emblem. Now most of them have either a large number at the end, or for the kids who think they're too cool for things like "numbers", overly long subtitles. Mother and Chrono Trigger are the only ones that didn't go with the trend of unnecessary long titles.
You offend me. Now I'm going off to play my Japanese bullet shooter, Phantasmagoria Of Forgotten Prayer Forgiveness Death In Gensokyo
Yeah, it's kind of odd. Japanese publishers seem to still be in the (pre-)Victorian mode of titling, where the title and its alternatives and/or subtitles are supposed to stretch and explain the general plot, but the thing is, the Victorians and their forebears did that because they had neither the technology nor the pre-publishing customs to print paragraph-long plot synopses or quotes from reviews on the cover. Once they _had_ printing presses that could handle relatively tiny type, paperback books, and cheap means of printing on covers, the long titles largely went away unless you were being deliberately old-fashioned.
Meanwhile, Japanese manga and sometimes even video games still have _countless_ Victorian-school titles like _Help! I Must Win the Regional Baseball Tournament to Save the Reputation of My High School While Battling My Literal Inner Demons, and My Forty-Seven Simultaneous, Handsy Girlfriends Won't Leave Me Alone, Ahhhh!_ (which, of course, the Western fans will insist on rendering in full in the original Japanese every single time, except where some of the words are inevitably English even _in_ the original Japanese, in which case they'll insist on the Japanese _transliterations_ of the English words, even though they know full well what the author is trying to pronounce).
Do... do they _know_ they can print on the _back_ covers now? Like, _really tiny_ if they have to?
IT's like any other visual novel title.
Instead of bringing something thoughfull, that may make you ponder on meaning of the title, it instead works as description of a book within 6-12 words, optionaly, in most retarded way possible.
@@Midnight-Starfish
"What ever happen to the short but snappy titles that Japan would make?"
It died around the same time American media stopped putting numbers on sequels.
There is just one thing I don't understand
What is so stupid about her hairdo? She just has long hair and a hairband, only way it can get more basic is by removing a hairband
Well from the cover it seems to reach her waist with every strand so... Maybe he thinks she should braid it?
At 1:55, you can tell Yahtzee's looking forward to trying to give context to the batshit insane scene he's just described.
4:24 I find it incredibly amusing how he couldn't even finish the sentence
I initially thought the Main Girl was 02 without her horns.
Glad to see I wasn't the only one.
Damn. I thought it was just me. Hopefully the game has a better final arc than 02 did
StrikeWarlock i guess that’s her reincarnated human form (I still liked her more as a fullfledged Klaxosaurus)
Darrrrlllling....Evangelion is better, stop copying it
@@jagannathbarman6712 Nice meme but no
I will say it's telling as to how much Yahtzee delved into the background of the characters when using the phone, because you find out what the metaphor for chopping yourself to bits is while collecting donuts
Finally got to this game all these years later. Just beat it on Twitch to an audience. I read out aloud all the text messages in-character. It got me good by the end... ended up doing a big ol' cry. It was actually very relatable to me and felt more honest about the subject matter than western writers try (Tell Me Why). One of my favourite all-time games now. Ended up finding a sealed copy of the CE on Switch after already buying the Steam version on sale and had a little FK plushie with me on second stream. And now here I am with fabric about to make the cosplay. Loved this one to bits (no pun intended).
Yahtzee: *mentions Danganronpa*
Danganronpa fans: "*RED ALERT PEOPLE RED ALERT! YAHTZEE MENTIONED DANGIT RON PAUL! REVIEW WHEN???!?!?!//1/1?!?!/*"
I mean, it DOES deserve a review for some of the shit that goes on in it.
I am surprised it has been going on this long, without him giving a review. Considering he always complains about not enough releases in the summer and the like.
@@pickyphysicsstudent201 I know you from nicob 's vids .
You follow yatzee too?
Nice.
@@anexplosion5436 Yeah I agree, its one of those "so bad its fun" kinda games.
@@vetlekarlsen8382 Remeber the one execution where the girl was hung while Monokuma used here dying body to play a giant piano at breakneck (yes that was a pun) speeds?
And then crushed the corpse for good measure?
"Scissoring during that part of the month"
Yathzee is a gift from cosmos.
This was probably the best ZP vid this year. I really needed that.
1:16
"Bullet hell shooter"
*Sees Touhou*
Nice
Eh Dodonpachi does the schoolgirl thing better. Touhou is more about religious and spiritual entities.
@@brainnim9935 I know, I just was amused that he used the cover art for one of the Touhou spinoff games.
@@brainnim9935 while also being an incredibly anti religious work that makes anyone who is involved in religion act like a hypocritical, greedy, shallow self engrandising prick who likes to solves problems by moral grandstanding and just saying that they win than actually doing any work...... and by that i mean reimu and sanae. who are both TERRIBLE PEOPLE
@@bluestormpony I love how you wrote a comment to mostly trash some touhou characters. Though I don't know how that makes me laugh.
I don't see how touhou and schoolgirls are related, besides the outfits to some extent.
Then again I don't know anything about the specific game he mentioned.
edit: Scratch that, I see it now. They're not schoolgirls strictly speaking, but it does follow the theme of "every hero, villain, mythological creature, monster and deity is a cute animu girl" that Yahtzee was talking about.
Yahtzee merely mentioning Danganronpa even in a passing joke was more than enough to satisfy me
I rarely feel this confident about a youtuber's utensils drawer, but yahtzee definitely has a $20 pizza cutter that just looked awesome at bed bath and beyond. Dont worry yahtzee we've all been there.
"Scissoring during that time of the month", a real quote to remember from Yahtzee.
Yahtzee manages to consistently not disappoint year after year. We love you Yahtz.
I started laughing at 1:42 and basically didn't stop until I ran out of breath (right around the 2:35 mark). Great review Yahtzee!
If I hadn't seen the moose doctor myself I'd think Yahtzee was joking, but no. He even runs in on all fours. Also I *super* appreciate that spoiler warning. I'll be back for the rest later.
Not remember Neverdead? You bite your tongue Yahtzee! Don't get me wrong, this is coming for someone who didn't buy Neverdead or even played it. But I damn sure remember it because I can count on one hand the number of ZP episodes that have made me laugh as hard as the one you did on that particular little gem (seriously that bit with the big burlap sack and the day laborers with cricket bats was a stroke of goddamn genius).
You had me at "Japanese schoolgirl"...
I like how yahtzee couldnt restrain his laugh at "lets contextualize this"
Her haircut is pretty straightforward and simple, I think.
i think yatzee somehow manages to not be offensive with any offensive joke by making literally all of them. how can you get offended by a man who offends everyone?
i'm sure someone with blue hair somewhere will find a way
Agreed xD
Because they’re a offensive man. I like Yahtzee but I hate that defense
@@stephensmith7327 :(.......
Ahhhh, the South Park strategy.
I don't think the symbolism in this game is as confused as you think it is? While most of it seemed kind of random at first, between the text messages you didn't mention and the OTHER ending spoiler it all seems easy enough to grasp. Otherwise agree though, coulda done with double or at least 1.5 times speed for the whole game.
Reminds me of the little known (though I think I saw it pop up on GOG awhile back so maybe it's getting a little more attention) Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy from way back in the day. The levels where you play as Sphinx are a pretty standard Zelda clone with an Egyptian theme, but when you play as Tutankhamen it switches to more of a puzzle game where all the puzzles are solved by maiming yourself in various ways.
If it wasn't for this video I wouldn't even know this game existed on Steam.
Wait... a platformer where you can't die and have to mame yourself to solve puzzles... this sounds like an artsy Wario game.
4:23 "That was the worst new line I've ever written"
As a writer, mood
The metaphors actually do work very well if you take more than five seconds to think about it.
I find it funny that Yahtzee used Touhou as an example of Japan sticking schoolgirls in everything when that's probably one of the only shmup series left that hasn't done that (for its protagonists at least)
It took Touhou an entire 18 years before it got its first schoolgirl (Sumireko Usami), in one of the spinoffs, and she doesn't even dress up like a schoolgirl anyway outside of some 5 panels in one of the manga.
I know I'm being pedantic and that the point was more that Japan likes to stick cute girls in everything, but you know, just saying.
and yes, I know that some of the PC98 folks are going to want to be even more pedantic and say that you could technically could Chiyuri and Yumemi as schoolgirls, too, but I don't even think they are.
"Is that a metaphor for scissoring during that time of the m--
THAT was the new worst thing I've ever written."
something something Huniepop Something something determination.
fuck you youre doing it wrong
Thanks for shouldering my Burden for me this week, Nick :)
it wont be a habit. But traditions must be kept. :D
Wait... so are we doing a Huniepop style version of Undertale where you date the Undertale characters... or a version of Undertale filled with cute japanese girls where you can choose to murder them all...
... I'm fairly certain both exist in some form already...
@@NimhLabs Yes *:)*
Oh snap! I didn't hear anything after I saw that Lexx cover. I think it's time for a rewatch
That's true! Zev is amazing!
4:20 Maybe one of the best things Yahtzee has unintentionally written ever. XD
'I dont understand what the self mutilation is about' yahtzee says moments before admitting teen suicide is a theme
"That was the new worst thing I've ever written" Is the new best thing you've ever written.
Holy fuck, Yahtzee went through a dry patch for a while but his recent videos have been the best he has made in years
Watching this review after finally playing the game I kinda think Yahtzee was either rushed or didn't particularly care enough to fully review the game. Whilst I certainly agree with his criticism of the gameplay, he comments on the story seem, well, a bit tonedeaf. To start with the main character is a college student in her 20's, not some schoolgirl. So the 20% of the review yahtzee spent going on about that now seems pretty off topic. As for putting together the main story themes, whilst the game does slowly feed them to you at the start, by the end its pretty obvious what its about. If you spent more than 30 seconds reading any of the conversations J.J has with her family and friends, or spend a minute to think about what you've seen you'll immediately know whats going on.
Unhealthy relationships, stress, suicide, hurting yourself in pursuit of your goals and finding your place in the world are all core themes are are explored (either subtlety or quite upfront).
Much more engaged and lively sounding when he dives into the weird shit.
I have a girlfriend who was struck by lightning and came back to life and suddenly everything is a platforming action-adventure puzzle. Glad I'm not alone.
Honestly, as much as Swery is, well... Swery, this might be the single best depiction of trans issues ever in a videogame, so that counts for something, in my book. The only real competition is (BEEG SPOILERS) A Year of Springs, Missed Mesages and A Normal Lost Phone, which are amazing but much less game-y.
America has the equivalent. Replace schoolgirl with burly white military man. Even japanese survival horror game sequels made by americans suddenly have one of those as main character. Don't know why everyone has to bring their sexual fantasies into games.
And don't forget that the burly white military man always is brunette and has a crew cut.
I'd say not so much "burly white military man" as "burly jaded ex-something". Like, the Bourne trilogy, almost all noir movies...
Yahtzee can review something I don't care about in the slightest, and he still makes it interesting for me. Kind of like Red Letter Media. Well done Yahtz.
While others have mentioned in the comments, some times as a joke, I do legitimately want Yahtzee to review Danganronpa. I would love to hear his thoughts on the games unique blend of elements from Saw, Battle Royal, subversion of tropes, and off the wall insanity that make the game stand out.
for some reason I just love the way his tone flows as he says "at the beginning of the game the main character is struck by lightning and dies"
4:24 I am pretty sure the "put two pregnant women in an arena and tell them the only one allowed to leave is the one who eats the other's fetus" still tops this.
Cyanide and Happiness did that first 😡😡
OMFG 1:15 I never expected to see Danganronpa in a ZP
This has been my favorite ZP episode in a long time
Just FYI everybody the RDR 2 review is already up on the escapist magazine website
Went to the comments to see how many people were complaining about Yahtzee referring to Angel Beats as a comedy
I really like how even though he ravages Swery's games, you can tell Yahtzee loves the man in this weird paradoxical way
Siegschranz you gotta latch into whatever you can in this world where creativity is so rare
Hearing this review after playing the game is so surreal because the game is absolutely full of the most on-the-nose symbolism I have ever seen in any art that's almost impossible to not immediately understand, and this whole review is Yahtzee going "but what does it mean though"
The Missing Mounties
Only get mounties in some shows. Like Due South.
"Is that a metaphor for scissoring during that time of the mo- That was the new worst thing I've ever written"
I had to pause the video because I was choking from laughing too hard...
Angel Beats was hilarious all the way through lol still love it
Danganronpa got mentioned in a Zero Punctuation video. My life is now complete
Not ONE J.J. Abrams reference in the title parodies? I feel somehow robbed.
did you want a J.J.Macfield and the overused lens flare or something?
@@crazychr1s167 Is that so much to ask? :D
1:57 That hitch/half laugh in his voice makes me laugh for some reason
“How dare you oppress me I identify as someone who isn’t oppressive”
I’ll just write that down for future use.
2:56, i like your metaphors.
I don't know to be happy or horrified that Yatzhee got whiff of Touhou project and Danganronpa. I don't care if he ever reviews those monsters, just happy and/or horrified.
Dear lord am I the only person who remembers Plok! A 2D platformer where you launch your characters detached limbs at enemies to kill them but have to sacrifice some (or occasionally all) of them to trigger platforms and lifts. They then get sent to a clothes hanger where you can pick them back up. I'm starting to worry I may have hallucinated the whole bloody thing!
I'm kinda surprised that Yahtzee felt this game was confusing. The whole thing was pretty clear i thought.
Yay, actual content I've subscribed for
Now that you have acknowledged Danganronpa's existence, REVIEW IT PLEASE
“That was the new worst thing I’ve ever written” 🤣🤣
It seems like he nearly enjoyed it because it’s the game that he wants Neverdead to be. If that makes sense.
Love, love will tear us apart, again
Angel Beats is a comedy?
Then why am I sobbing?
Tears of laughter
A Lexx reference!?!? No one makes references to Lexx. Looks like I found one of the three people that watched that show aside from myself
"Don't oppress me! I identify as someone whose not oppressive!"
Oh I'm using that one
Yep. Nicked.
That’ll probably work as a throwaway joke, but make you come across as a condescending ignorant jackass if you’re actually trying to defend yourself for saying something offensive.
Nidorino Alliance Yeah, context is key for that one. Because it’s either mocking the imaginary “offended snowflake” that only exists in the minds of bigots, or the hypocrisy of said bigots when they complain about other people being too “sensitive.”
4:29
Fuck, i can relate.
... But she isn't a schoolgirl.
She's on college, and the college is really the centerpiece of her relationships.
4:16
God damn yahtzee. That almost beat the jackpot joke from the 3ds episode.
I think "zombies" would be the non-Japanese equivalent to schoolgirls: fracking everywhere.
@@CarrotConsumer They do tho. Like, Red Dead Redemption, Pride and Prejudice And Zombies, Shaun of the Dead, CoD zombie...
It's just that they're more of a video game exclusive thing.
Okay, that bit about the bone splintering noises actually made me choke on my milk.