Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Coffee Talk Series Reivew – Brewing Connections
Genre – Bartending, Fantasy, Cosy Play Time – About 8 hours Per Game Developer – Toge Productions Original Hibiscus & Butterfly Tokyo VNDB
On The House
Running
your own cafe and chatting with the customers as you serve them
drinks is a form of cosy fantasy focused around forming human
connections. The Coffee Talk games lean heavily into the potential of
this premise and sets about crafting a narrative space where sitting
and listening to the character’s worries is pleasant. These titles
take place in a modern day setting with fantasy races yet their
lives and troubles are surprisingly normal and their struggles form
the backbone of the story. Interacting and serving drinks is the
majority of what the player will be doing and Coffee Talk does
everything in its power to make this as engaging and impactful as
possible. Each of their life stories endears them to the player and
helps the games push its themes and ideas in an organic manner as they
come out over the course of multiple conversations. The cafe and the
people visiting are all rendered in a strong visual and auditory
style which quickly communicates who they are and makes them stick in
the memory. However, this is a series of titles which are plagued by a set
of recurring issues, from a struggle with subtly and conflict to
drink requests which can feel too vague, and its attempts to solve
these problems often end up shifting the issues to other parts of the
experience. Are these struggles between maintaining its cosy identity
and pushing the series forwards enough to weaken the fantasy? Let’s
fail to draw some latte art and find out.
Fantastical Mundanity – Narrative And Themes
Being
cosy sits at the heart of Coffee Talk’s identity and the inviting
atmosphere of the cafe and its customers do everything they can to
reinforce this tone. It plays off the inherently passive nature of
the premise, where the characters and events come to you rather than
you being the driving force, to create a slow pacing where the player
is encouraged to surrender themselves to the flow and appreciate the
interactions taking place in the current scene rather than looking to
future promises. This is supported by a web of characters and plot
threads which interact in surprising and satisfying ways as they meet
for the first time in the cafe. A lot of care has been taken to place
each character alongside others who will bring out the interesting
parts of their personalities and allows for them to grow in
meaningful ways. New relationships born from these chance encounters
form a key appeal of the narrative with the player getting to shape
their ultimate outcomes through correctly meeting their orders. By
offering the element of agency in the fundamental element, the game
can invest the player in the consequences they have helped to shape
while preventing them from become too complacent in the cosy tone.
 |
| One of the few looks at the outside work you get |
The social media app, where the player can look at what the cast have
been doing, adds another aspect of player interaction for them to
fiddle with outside of big narrative moments. It also serves the
purpose of making the cast feel like they exist beyond the confines of
the cafe so they come across as more believable individuals. All of
these elements are in service of some extremely powerful emotional
moment and pay offs in the finale which utilise the slower pacing to
get the space they need to breath and properly set the player up for
the gut punch. When the player puts down the game after the credits
roll it will be these scenes of catharsis that will stick with them
and each title in this series manges to capture its own version of
this impact.
Despite
there being some truly powerful narrative threads, there are just as
many others which meander or weakly splutter to their conclusion.
This unevenness consistently plagues the series and it is perhaps a
result of the large cast required for the amount of meshing
relationships Coffee Talk wants to engage with. A need to provide
arcs for each of these characters means some get left behind in
favour of the more interesting ones the developers clearly
put a lot of time and effort into. While the emotional impact of the
powerful moments is undeniable there exists a strange toothlessness
to them when it comes to actual conflict. There seems to be a fear
that if the cast are seen as being in conflict it will ruin the cosy
tone and on some level they are right. However, there is a different
being dramatic and destructive conflict and the weaker challenging of
beliefs style conflicts which make up most character centric
narratives. Shying way from any meaningful conflict creates a sense
of this world being a sanitised version of our own and lends it a
fake feeling.
 |
| This is just water with some mint on it... |
Then there is the series’ weird relationship with
subtly. There is a regular use of subtly through the dialogue and
character actions and it speaks to an understanding of how to sell a
theme or idea without saying it directly. Yet the developers constantly decide to have the
characters shout these ideas at the player in the most direct and unveiled
manner possible. This comes across as a lack of faith in the player’s
ability to pick up on clues and engage with the story while being
desperately afraid that its precious messages might be missed for
even a second. Ash is a good example of this trend, he is a stay
at home dad and through interacting with him the player is subtly
made to see his perspective on the role men can take in the family.
Then later on he explicitly vomits his beliefs out loud in a long
monologue despite the game having already demonstrating them and it
feels awkward while causing the scene to come to a screeching halt.
As a result it often feels like the games are preaching to the player
in a distracting and almost fourth wall breaking manner. On a higher
level, the overall structure and pacing of all three games is near
identical to the point of them somewhat blurring together. Rather
than being a strictly negative trait, this is more something a
prospective player should be aware of coming into the series. If they
like one of the games they will probably like the rest or vice verse,
but it is definitely not a series interesting in winning over new
audiences so much as sticking to what it want to be.
All Walks Of Life – Characters
As
you might imagine for a series so focused around interactions, the
characters of Coffee Talk are its strongest aspect and form much of
its appeal. They cover the full spectrum of what this fantasy society
has to offer from struggling journalists to blind musicians and it
comes together to create a patchwork picture of this diverse world.
Each one has an immediately recognisable core identity which helps
the player keep track of who they are in the sea of other characters
who enter the cafe. These are then expanded upon over the course of
their visits and as the player chats and serves drinks to them they
develop into well rounded and interesting individuals beyond their
initial archetypal introduction. Their colourful personalities mesh
together in pleasing ways where the unexpected can be born from a
chance meeting and helps push the sense of them as dynamic people who
have more going on than what the player gets to see. Only seeing a few
of the cast per day does a lot to keep them fresh, the games
regularly have characters be absent for one or two days in order to
make their presence not overstay its welcome and giving time for
developments between them to believably take place.
 |
| Even the smallest interactions are a joy |
One character who
sticks out for their weaker presentation is the protagonist who is
devoid of almost any interesting features and they are someone with
no investment or emotional connection to the world. They fit the
generic ‘nice guy’ mould and this basically removes them from
every conversation taking place as they only offer cookie cutter
reactions. There is the reveal in the first game about what they are
but this is hand waved away and never has any meaningful consequences
so feels like an excuse for their bland personality rather than
legitimate world building. What is worse about this is there are
characters in each game which are clearly the main recurring ones and
could have easily been slotted into the protagonist role, such as Vin
in Tokyo. This shows the developers are at least partly aware of this
issue and try to have another character fill this role of being the
core emotional anchor.
Coffee Shop Interiors – Visuals, Audio And Technical
The
pixel art visuals and their 90s anime inspirations craft what is the
series’ mostly consistently stunning feature. One look at a
screenshot invokes a powerful nostalgia in those who have played any
of the titles as its carefully designed characters and cafes are
laser focused on capturing the essence of the nostalgic comfort of a
good coffee. Just as the cast’s personalities are immediately
memorable so to do their visuals catch the player’s interest
through their mixture of familiar modern elements alongside the
fantasy features of their race. The cafes each present their own
vision of cosy mundanity through the assortment of decorations and
fixtures spread throughout which make it so there is always something
new to look at. Since this is the only location in each game, this
ability to continuously hold the player’s interest supports a
smooth visual experience where even in downtime it can work to
enhance the tone. Working alongside the pixel art is the lo-fi
soundtrack composed of relaxing and jazzy tunes and it is pitch perfect for
the narrative it accompanies. Each game in the series has its own
selection of new tracks to give them their own auditory identity
while still possessing the same cohesive feel across every entry. It
is difficult to overstate just how much these OSTs add to sense of
cosiness underpinning much of the series’ appeal and they are
wonderful to listen to outside of these games.
 |
| Mix and match your ingredients |
Preparing
and serving beverages offers the player their primary mechanical
means of interacting with the narrative and it characters. The act of
matching customers to their destined drink has a puzzle like
satisfaction to it and tests if the player has been keeping track of
the cast’s likes and dislikes. A small amount of artistic
personalisation is provided through the option to create latte art on
appropriate beverages and it connects the customer’s satisfaction to the player’s own work.
Each title adds its own new layer to this process of drink creation in
order to prevent it from becoming too familiar and routine so the
player must actually engage their wits rather than relying on previous knowledge. The only issues with these systems is
how some orders can be vague to the point of confusing since the game
does not show what ingredients or drinks have more abstract qualities
which some characters can ask for. Since this could be solved by
adding some keywords to drinks it the compendium to make it clear if
they match the requirement, it is not a major enough flaw to be
anything more than a slight frustration.
Conclusion
Capturing
the appeal of cosy interactions with lovable characters is what
Coffee Talk does best and over the course of the series it has slowly
developed its approach. It encourages the player to surrender to the
relaxed flow and go along with the cast’s slow development while
still being able to pack an emotional punch when needed. The pixel
art aesthetic and lo-fi soundtrack reinforce this atmosphere as they
provide enjoyable stimulation to make each moment feel fresh and
soothing. Its characters are the main appeal, they cover a wide
spectrum of this mixture of modern and fantasy people and each brings
their uniquely interesting problems to the table. Backing this up is
a robust set of beverage making mechanics to give the player a means
of influencing the narrative. However, it is not without issues
stemming from the uneven quality of its character arcs, its struggles
with introducing meaningful conflict and a flat protagonist which all
muddy the experience. Despite these weaknesses there is little doubt
about the strength of Coffee Talk’s cosy appeal and it understands
how it get the most out of its vibes and put its positive qualities front
and centre.
Verdict –
A beautiful and cosy collection of games about a cafe which
plays host to the emotionally resonant tales of its customers that stay with you long after the credits roll. Although there are
some issues with the execution of their character arcs and conflicts.
Pros-
+
Has an immersive and cosy atmosphere which helps the player sink into
the task of serving drinks and listening to stories.
+
Some extremely potent emotional moments act as the capstone to each
title and leave a memorable mark.
+
The cast are a collection of colourful and human personalities who
engage with each other in endlessly entertaining ways.
+
Excellent pixel art graphics and lo-fi OST forge a distinct
audio-visual identity.
+
The mechanics of serving drinks provides agency to the player while
also acting as a test of their memory.
Cons -
-
Character arcs are of an uneven quality with some being flat and
dull.
-
The games can sometimes be unnecessarily direct with their
presentation of ideas to the point of coming across as preachy and
lacking it subtly.
-
A protagonist who is a bland and generic ‘good guy’ archetype and
feels odd when placed next to the rest of colourful cast.
-
There are moments when the instructions of what a customer wants from
their drink can be too unclear and this leads to frustration at the
vagueness.
Dark Nights Review – Solving Romantic Tension With Spooky Scares
Genre – Otome, Supernatural, Mystery Play Time – 13 hours Developer - Pinlin Steam(Free) VNDB
Supernatural Hunks
Everyone
dreams of something exciting happening to them to break the mundanity
of their lives, but few consider the consequences of this
adventure. Such is the case for Dark Nights’ bored protagonist
Miyoko who gets exactly what she wishes for when people start
disappearing and she becomes entangled with a series of supernatural
men. This tale of tension, romance and a light bit of horror unveils
to her the hidden world living right under her nose. Each of her
suitors is given their own distinct plot completely focused on them
rather than a variation of a core narrative structure which keeps the
game fresh throughout. Small nods to the other routes pepper each play
through and invite the player to explore every possible avenue. The
suitors possess a good spread of personalities that compliment and
rub up against Miyoko’s own strong willed and proactive nature in
different and entertaining ways. Backing them up is a secondary cast
capable of playing both friend and foe to the main characters without
coming across and inconsistent. When it comes to the visuals and
audio the amateur nature of Dark Nights becomes obvious in their
inconsistent quality and this is not helped by a few odd quirks of
scene pacing plaguing certain sections. Are these traits of its
production enough to undermine the otome fantasy? Let’s snoop
around at night and find out.
It Goes Bump In The Night – Narrative And Themes
Variety
stands as Dark Nights’ greatest narrative strength with each route
bringing some new angle to the world and there being little overlap
between their ideas. This keeps the experience of progression fresh
throughout as the player is never quite sure what they are going to
encounter next. It also uses the unexpected to help add tension and compliment a romance where the threats facing the suitors differ
wildly and always remain exciting. Despite this variance, the world
building has a believable consistency to it which never strays too
far from the core supernatural concepts established early on in each
route. No matter what a player chooses they will be met with a
consistent presentation of the world without it falling into a
predictable pattern. Almost everything comes down to spirits, the
undead or those in charge of managing them. Yet there are lots of
variations to this framework such as the spirit world being made up
of different powerful spirits and even guardian demons. Helping all
of these elements feel consistent with one another is the countless
little nods to the other routes inside each route. These hint at the
fate of characters from other routes and tease what their route
involves while also providing the sense the cast do not just
disappear when not chosen by the player. It makes the world feel more
natural and alive where the character decide their own fates and
merely intersect with Miyoko’s life rather than having everything
revolve around her.
 |
| Dreaming of something exciting |
Supporting these vibrant routes is the
entertaining mixture of romance and light horror. The horror in Dark
Nights’ come across more as spooky rather than actively trying to induce fear in the player and it is akin to haunted house ride at a
theme park. This is not to say it cannot create feelings of tension
and danger since Miyoko’s fragile nature is constantly reinforced
through the bad endings and monsters she faces. What allows this
horror to not be overwhelming comes from the playful way it presents
these darker elements through making them somewhat silly punishments
of obvious failure or the achievements for bad ends having funny
illustrations on them. This lighter presentation of horror lets it
complement the slowly building romance between Miyoko and the suitor
where the two can bond in the face of their shared dangers alongside
the excuse to get physically closer to these handsome men. Since
these relationships are the main attraction of an otome, a stronger
horror element might have overpowered the positive emotions of this
romance so this is skilfully dodged and instead employed to showcase
the development of their bond.
 |
| This collection for the ending achievements is a fun addition |
A
consistent problem throughout Dark Nights is the way scenes and some
endings can be too short or abruptly come to an end. For scenes this
mostly comes in the form of events which serve a function but are not
given the space to feel natural. They have the characters say all the
important information in rapid succession before stopping as soon as
their utility has ended which is jarring since it creates the sense
the cast are robots. Fortunately scenes like these are mostly
concentrated in the common route and the opening sections of a few
suitor routes but disappear as the player progresses further into
them. This makes for a poor first impression of the game which might
turn off potential new players from the joys found in later sections.
In the case of some endings, not all are created equal and some
normal and romance endings lack a proper climax and resolution and
instead just stop. What this means in practice is things like major
plot beats or antagonists dealt with of screen in a single line
despite all the build up or a happy ending not earned by the
characters and just shoved onto them. As you can imagine this leads to a
feeling of being left without a way to tie up the player’s feelings
towards the route’s suitor and leaves a sour taste in their mouth.
The majority of endings do not suffer from this issue but this makes
the ones which do stand out in the worst way possible and are
disappointing when the bar for ending quality is so high.
Another
minor issue is the weird way Dark Nights insists it is set in a
village despite the location being far too large to be considered
one. There are inconsistencies like the fact that Miyoko can run
through the streets for an extended time to escape oncoming zombies,
a lot of villagers die and become zombies yet the village never seems
to run out of people and there being parts of the village Miyoko has
never been to despite living in there all her life. Each one of these
point to the village in fact being at least a small town where these
traits would make sense since it would easily excuse them. This
issues is at most distracting rather than damaging but does
contribute to the overall inconsistency of the narrative at times.
Ghosts, Ghouls and Charming Men – Characters
Key
to any good otome is a likeable suite of suitors for the player to
select from and invest into and those on display here more than meet
this standard. A wide variety of personalities exists across the
suitors from the blunt but kind Zeikun to the carefree and lazy
Kurato and these lead to a lot of distinct interaction based on who
is the focus of a route. What further pushes their individual
identities is how they do not all get along with each other and often
come into direct conflict with each other and in doing so reveal new
sides to themselves. Most importantly of all they bounce off Miyoko
in fun ways as their banter creates a sense of the bond between her
and each suitor while contrasting it with her other relationships. It
makes her connection with them feel genuine and unique to each of
them since they bring out different parts of her personality. Miyoko
being the story’s primary driver gives her a refreshing wilfulness
and helps equalise the relationship with her chosen suitor despite
being physically weaker than them in need of their protection.
Without her they would not be moving forwards and it is only because
she drags them with her that they manage to overcome their issues and
find happiness. It also makes for some amazing dialogue where the
characters have to face down this force of nature and find her
persistence difficult to deal with. As for the secondary cast, they
nicely fill in the roles needed from them as they dynamically jump
between ally and enemy depending on the route while remaining
believably consistent in their motives and actions. Finding out how
they will react in a new route to Miyoko and the suitor forms a
strong part of the appeal of exploring the game’s narrative to its
fullest. Their interconnecting web of relationships and shared
history slowly unveils itself with unguarded comments and heartfelt
cries providing these sneak peaks behind their masks.
 |
| Kaichi is one of the best examples of someone who is both friend and enemy at different times |
Fantasy Bellow Normality – Visuals, Audio And Technical
The
amateur nature of Dark Nights is brought into sharper focus when
considering the three pillars of visuals, audio and design choices.
From a visual standpoint it is the inconsistencies which highlight
this quality through the contrast between the sprites and the CGs.
There is a gap in presentation between the two which creates a
feeling of disconnect where they do not seem to show the same
characters. The CGs come across as lush and vibrant where their
dynamic and expressive poses compliment an excellent colour palette
and vivid lines to form strong visualisation for the narrative.
Unfortunately the sprites cannot match this high benchmark and each
is somewhat stiff in their posture with a limited variety of
expressions leading to the cast feeling wooden at times. Then the
small OST comes into focus as it is not quite large enough to fill
what is not a short visual novel which results in a lot of repeated
tracks the player will become very familiar with. Each track is used
appropriately but over the course of the long play time they lose their
impact and no longer invoke the emotions in the player’s mind.
Another sign of the amateur nature of this title is the extremely
short common route. The suitors are given one scene each before the
game asks the player which one they want to pursue.
 |
| Oh my, look another handsome man |
Conclusion
Keeping
a romantic tone while having the pressing weight of horror is the
mixture which characterises much of Dark Nights. Each route takes a
different part of this setting and explores it through its suitor as
it weaves in aspects from other routes to create a complete feeling
world. Vivid characters dance around each other in a battle of life
and love where the friends and enemies change dramatically from
suitor to suitor and set to a backdrop of beautiful CGs depicting
their most heartfelt moments. There are some hiccups hampering the
player’s enjoyment of the game from some of the more amateur
visuals to the abrupt endings to some scenes, but these are ultimately minor or infrequent enough to overlook for what is otherwise an
exceptional otome.
Verdict –
Perfectly captures a spooky horror tone which allows for intense
romantic interactions with its many engaging suitors and their
supernatural problems. Oddly cut off scenes and some limited visuals and audio do hold it back from its potential.
Pros-
+
Every route has its own distinct plot thread which deals with a
different part of the setting to keep the narrative feeling fresh.
+
Blends romance and horror together in a fun mixture of spooky and
steamy moments.
+
Suitors have a good variety of personalities and clash with each
other. This extends to the secondary cast who jump between friend and
foe depending on the route.
+
Beautiful CGs enhance the most powerful and memorable events in the
game.
Cons -
-
Some scenes and endings are too short or end too abruptly leading to
an unsatisfying and poorly paced feel at times.
-
Weak character sprites and an OST too small for the game’s length
hamper its presentation.
-
Common route is too short and demands the player choose a suitor
before the player has even had a chance to get to know them.
DRACU-RIOT! In-Depth Analysis (SPOILERS) – Yuzusoft, Slop And Audience Expectations
Where Does 'Worth' Begin and End?
It
has been a long time since I have felt the need to do an expanded
examination of a visual novel I have reviewed. However, there is a
surprising amount to be said about Dracu-Riot and Yuzusoft in general
and, coupled with my general enjoyment, it has led to me ruminating on the
game far more than I would have otherwise. Particularly the idea I
have encountered among the title's audience viewing Yuzusoft’s work as ‘slop’.
To me this seems strange given the clear effort involved in making
those titles and how they are put together with a great deal of
intention in order to achieve the genre’s expectations while still
standing out in their own right.
So
in order to full appreciate the complexities and issues surrounding
Drau-Riot we will be going through its entire narrative structure
from the Common Route to Nicola’s Sub-heroine route. Then the
overarching points which are common to the whole game will be picked
apart to reveal how all these routes are drawn together. Spoilers
will be constant and extensive so be warned. In addition it is
assumed you have read my original review here for my
broader thoughts and opinions on Drau-Riot. Now let’s dissect this
undead corpse and understand its workings.
Protecting Romance – Narrative Analysis
-Common route-
In
terms of Yuzusoft’s common routes, this one might be their smoothest
and most consistent in terms of the natural feeling heroine
interactions and escalating conflict. Rather than having segregated
sections for each heroine, they are instead given a time to shine
within the group dynamics of the dorm cast where they endear
themselves to the player through an organic set of interactions with
Yuuto and co. Given the importance of the dorm group to later
character moments and the overall themes of the game a
lot of effort is put into setting up the baseline for future
developments which it does with a deft hand and does not draw too
much attention to itself.
Slowly escalating the stakes throughout the
common route is the vampire drug case which brilliantly adds enough
tension for a climax at the end of the common route which is big
enough to be exciting but minor enough to be easily eclipsed by the
conflicts in the routes. This is a lesson they would apparently
forget in Senren Banka and Angelic☆Chaos RE-BOOT! with both having
an action set piece whose stakes are far above anything in their
respective routes so harming their ability to properly present
greater or more personal threats in their stories. Once you have
reached life or death as the stakes for your story everything else
seems more minor by comparison since the threat of death is the
ultimate danger. Dracu-Riot’s common route also manages intrigue
well through dangling plot threads surrounding Yuuto’s lycanthrope
powers and their origin. They are touched upon but left to the
individual routes to develop creating a great sense of continuity and
flow into each route. This opening provide a strong foundation and
the rest of the game builds up one aspect or another introduced
here making it the perfect encapsulation of the broader experience
the player can expect from the title.
-Miu’s Route-
Miu
is obviously the main heroine of Dracu-Riot, she is the first one
Yuuto meets and gets the most screen time even outside of her own
route leading to her being front and centre of the player’s mind
for most of the game. What makes this interesting is how it has
affected her route since it acts as a grand finale for the cast and
story where all get a chance to shine and be resolved as they
face the greatest threat posed to them by any conflict. This is to the
point that her route should probably have been locked behind the
completion of all the others since there are so many references to them. If a player chooses Miu first they will not
appreciate these nods and satisfying resolutions and at worst they
may even be spoiled about what to expect from other characters. The
biggest example of this being Anna’s behaviour towards Sayo since
it reveals her self martyring nature that Mera’s route relies on
for a big emotional moment so playing Miu’s route beforehand
somewhat undermines it.
Insecurities
are the name of the game for Miu’s route with the main hurdle the
pair must overcome being the whispering voices of doubt in their own
head. These inner demons stick around just enough to make the act of
overcoming them meaningful and in doing so side step the possibility
of the player getting frustrated with how self inflected their
problems can be. Transforming Miu’s blushing pretensions of
adulthood into a genuine maturity makes for an endearing arc since it
satisfying to see her come to understand that the allure she aspires
to have is more than just crude references to sex. The element of
possessiveness and aggressiveness in Miu which the relationship brings to
the front compliments this journey as it maintains a sense of her
as a flawed person while shifting the humour to focus around it
rather than her old weakness to teasing.
It also helps that Miu and
Yuuto have some of the most consistently amusing banter in this route
which really sells the back and forth nature of their relationship as
they constantly outplay each other. If there is any problem with this
approach it is in the lack of connection to the main themes of
Dracu-Riot, hence why the route leans into aspects of other routes
and a dramatic finale to try and bridge the gap. The attack on the
island has nothing to do with the pair’s love nor has any personal
connection to them and only works when framed through the rest of the game it
references. Even its defining moment where the vampires and humans
come together to save Yuuto and a child from a collapsed building is
about the character of the people on the island rather than Miu or
Yuuto themselves. Ultimately this division is unlikely to be noticed
since the game flows from one to the other smoothly and the
excitement will overcome any lack of cohesion.
-Rio’s Route-
If
there is one thing Rio’s route highlights about Dracu-Riot it is
the vague nature of the lycanthrope and games complete aversion to
providing details of anything not happening on the island. The big
reveal of this route is the existence of artificial lycanthropes and
the fact Rio and Yuuto are both the result of these experiments. This
seems to exist to explain why Yuuto has multiple powers despite never
having eaten another vampire while providing a nice bit of tension
when people start to come after the two of them in pursuit of this
power. However, nothing about this experiment and the narrative
issues it brings up are ever really explained. For example, why don’t
either of them remember being experimented on and why would they just
be abandoned without any monitoring after the project was ended? Why
did Rio awaken as a vampire without any stimulus while Yuuto had to
drink vampire blood? Were Rio and Yuuto the only test subjects or
were there more? There are many more questions like this which the
game just glosses over when it should have taken more time to examine
them given the prominence it gave to a major re-contextualisation to
Yuuto’s life. Yet these are all characterised by not being about or
related to the island so they are discarded by the side of the road.
As
for the rest of the route, Rio’s innocence and her maternal streak
are capitalised on for great effect as she grows into understanding
just how valuable her supporting role is to the people around her.
Playing off her friendship with Elina was one of the smartest choices
this route makes since they are at opposite ends of the innocence
spectrum and constantly talk passed each other for comic effect. Yet
it in the sincere way Elina pushes Rio to be more aggressive in her
feelings for Yuuto that reinforces the sense Elina cares about Rio’s
happiness even if she also wants to tease them. The handling
of Rio discovering she is a lycanthrope is combined with an
escalation in the action as a bounty is put on her and Yuuto’s heads in order to create the most effective confirmation of love in the
entire game. It mixes Yuuto’s frantic searching for Rio with Rio’s
own increasing spiral downwards and leads them into a positive
overflowing of emotion between the pair as they both find acceptance
in their common condition.
This should have probably been the end of
the route since the narrative after this point runs into a few
hiccups. First of these is Ougi being used as a straight villain who
is spouting uninspired evil lines which sit directly opposed to the
sympathetic view the other routes give to him. He also does not
really fit in with the theming and character arcs of this route
and instead feels as if he was crammed in here because the developers
thought they needed another action scene. Secondly there is a new
revelation that lycanthropes can turn vampires back into humans. This
should be a world shattering reveal since it offers a way for any
vampire to become a human and this creates a lot of possible issues
for the power balance between vampires and humans. Except this reveal
is actually just an excuse for Yuuto and Rio to share their memories
and not have to deal with the existence of two lycanthropes running
free. However, the memory sharing and its romantic outcome are a
strong note to end on and I cannot deny the way it completed their
arc is satisfying.
-Mera’s Route-
Dracu-Riot’s
world building and its integration into its story is at its best in
Mera’s route since it is willing to address the issues surrounding
vampire society and does not try to shy away from the grey nature of those
involved. As the only human in the dorm group, Mera is the embodiment
of the ideal relationship between vampires and humans since she sees
them as her equals and cares about them. Her struggles with the
undocumented vampires where she tries to her best to protect and help
people in a situation not their fault and rubs up against the
structures which see them as sub human. This clash between her ideals
of equality and what she can realistically achieve form the backbone
of her arc as she becomes more capable and willing to take a stand
for what she believes in. The relationship between her and Yuuto also
plays into this dynamic as they find their comfort zone to become a
walking example of this ideal. The fact Yuuto overcomes his vampiric
temptations to be with the one he loves nicely ties into this bond
being romantic rather than lustful.
What makes this all come together
is the route’s willingness to explore the way old wounds, ways and
grudges cannot be easily forgotten and it will take a long time for
them to truly fade away. Even after Mera and Yuuto’s victory things
are not magically better for everyone, the Hunters still hate
vampires and the vampires are still suspicious of humans, but the
first step has been taken by the pair towards the future they
envision. This small hope ends up feeling more powerful than the
grand coming together of vampires and humans in Miu’s route since
it captures the reality of our own world and how change comes about.
Positioning Anna as the antagonist of this route and highlighting her
self martyring nature allows her to be a foil to Mera by being the
jaded old guard to her youthful idealism. That said the contrivance
to make Anna related to Mera was a bit too much since it felt like
the game shouting this contrast at you especially since she dies at
the end further push this idea. Another knock against the story is
the one dimensional nature of the Hunters who are just violent racists and nothing else which makes it hard to believe Mera grew up
connected to them. Some more nuance to their motivations, in
particular for Kaede, would have gone a long way to making the human
side of the conflict feel more justifiable rather than simply hate
fuelled.
-Nicola’s Route-
Since
I already explained the issues with Nicola and her sub-heroine route
in my review I will try to cover a few different points here so as
not to repeat myself. These mainly centre around Nicola’s
grandfather who acts as the route’s main antagonist. His appearance
in the story as well as the conflict and its resolution are abrupt
and quickly move from one stage to another at an unnatural pace. Too
much of his identity seems to have come about from a need to make him
comedic rather than from his role as the test of the Nicola and
Yuuto’s love and so the scenes with him in lack the needed tension
for them overcoming him to have catharsis. Yet it is the very nature
of his existence which poses the biggest problem to the overall
narrative of Dracu-Riot, he is a vampire who has extended his life by
transferring his consciousness into animals. This opens a strange can
of worms concerning the nature of the vampire virus, can animals also
be infected with it? If he can transfer his consciousness does that
mean he knows what consciousness is and its location in the body?
Does being in an animal body not substantially alter his perception
of the world? Obviously the game does not want you to think about
these holes hence why he is a comedic character so the player will
not take him seriously. However, as you might have noticed by now
such holes are a common feature of Dracu-Riot’s storytelling.
-Elina’s Route-
Elina
might be my favourite character which is interesting given her route
is by far the most self-contained one with its conflicts and
characters only existing inside of it. As a result it has a greater
sense of focus then the other routes, the romance and
everything exists in service of showcasing the pair's bond rather than the
overarching themes of Dracu-Riot. This is mostly to its benefit with
Elina and Yuuto’s relationship being adorable and giving enough
space to fully explore the push and pull of Elina’s extrovert
personality against her deep seated insecurities about abandonment.
It is also nice to have the female character be the one with the
dangerous and controllable desire and the male being on the receiving
end as it flips the dynamics of their relationship on its head while
tying into Elina’s fears. Elina’s route is well thought out with
a lot of effort being put into creating situations where the couple’s
future is at stake rather than pointing some simple danger at them.
The Russians exemplify this technique since even if they are defeated
now they will never leave Yuuto alone so threatening his future with
Elina rather than just being an enemy to be battled than forgotten
about. Having the Russians use the police is a great little flipping
on the head of Yuuto’s normal status as someone working to assist
the police making for a nice thriller atmosphere in their pursuit of
him. In its totality this is the most singular and focused route
about two people in love and is paced to perfection, but its
detechment from the rest of the game will make it feel vestigial to
player’s more invested in the connectivity offered by the other
routes.
Genre Above All – Stray Thoughts
-Vampire Virus – Science VS. Magic-
Having
the origin of vampirism be a virus is a source of problems for
Dracu-Riot’s world building since the player is going to have at
least a passing understanding of how viruses function so not
meeting this expectation is distracting. The reason for this choice
is clearly to ground the title in its present day setting by
providing a modern explanation for vampires while also justifying why
Yuuto has to constantly be going to hospital. For the most part this
choice works as an explanation due to how most vampires and their
powers stick within a relatively reasonable range to the framework
established in the game’s opening hours. Where it starts to crumble
in the many expansions to this core which go beyond its simple
outline. These are things like the transfer of consciousness into
animals, the ability to absorb memories through drinking blood or the
non-physical related powers like telekinesis. What do these extremes
all have in common? They are all effectively magic and the player
subconsciously picks up on this shifting to the more extreme end of
fantasy and feels a dissonance between the pseudo-science explanation
from before. Since the developers clearly want vampires to be
mailable to whatever the narrative needed them to be, letting them
just have a vague magical nature would side step this issue through
correctly setting the player’s expectations. It also does not
entirely exclude the idea of scientific study if they wanted to
maintain the reason for Yuuto’s visits to hospital.
-Vampires As A Race Allegory-
Throughout
Dracu-Riot vampires are grouped together under the idea of them as a
‘race’. This is clearly intentional given the various parallels
to discrimination against real world racial group from a racially charged term of discrimination in ‘sucker’ to the difficulty in
find property due to landlords not wanting vampires in their as tenants to a vampire’s signature hold no legal weight and so needing a
human to sign their documents. The messaging around this use of race
is to highlight the negative impact of discrimination and the harm it
does not other people who are just the same at their core. It is
broadly successful at keeping this theme from feeling too preachy or
familiar and Mera’s route showcases a surprisingly nuanced take on the mutual damage and entrenching of preconceptions this racism has done
to both vampires and humans.
Issues with vampires as a race only
start to raise their head when it comes to their status as
supernatural beings. The idea of the vampires as 'diseased' and the
existence of a vaccine which can prevent a human turning into a
vampire has unfortunate parallels to real life rhetoric against
minorities. Add to this the fact the vampires are a genuine threat to
humans due to their powers and they need/want to feed on
humans creates a justification of human discrimination while also
echoing the ideas of race politics, such as them being a ‘parasite’ or
‘diseased’ and as a threat due to their divided loyalties, used
throughout history. Nothing among these problematic connections is
intentional on the part of Yuzusoft, but rather it stems from a
somewhat haphazard approach to their theming. They want a narrative
line about discrimination to add texture to the conflicts yet want it
to play second fiddle to the romance and action hence why it meshes
poorly with elements deemed more important for the story it wants to
tell. Obviously Dracu-Riot is not a treatise on racism but rather a
simple parable so a complex examination was never going to be
something it was capable of. Instead what should be taken away from
this observation is how hard it is to cover the nature of racism in a
fictional setting especially if you draw parallels to the real world
since the player will naturally look for other similar examples
whether these be intended or not.
-Gambling And The Sex Industry-
Another
interesting quality of Dracu-Riot’s writing is its somewhat
uncomfortable relationship with Brothels and Casinos which
characterise its setting. These two industries are the core economic
pillars the vampire island is built on yet you could be forgiven for
forgetting this fact given how minor their presence is from start to
finish. Gambling gets the somewhat larger presence since both Elina
and Nicola working at a casino and it is occasional used as a backdrop
for certain action scenes or dramatic build up. Even here none of the
characters engage in gambling for money themselves outside of one
instance where it is justified as an undercover operation to catch a
criminal so absolving them of any negative connections with the act.
This odd tiptoeing around the Casinos' existence is likely born of the
strict controls Japan has on its gambling and Yuzusoft not wanting to
be seen as endorsing it while also wanting use its taboo and alluring
nature to their advantage.
The sex industry fairs far worse with the
only notable interactions with it being the confiscation of illegal
pornography which was smuggled in and the opening joke about Yuuto’s
friend want to lose is virginity at a brothel. At no point does any
character actually go anywhere near these brothels despite the fact
we are told they are a major part of the islands financial income so
must occupy a lot of space yet is somehow completely invisible within
the narrative. If it were not immediately obvious, the reason for
this absence is how brothels do not fit into the idea of pure romance
pushed by Dracu-Riot. For the game the act of sex is a manifestation
of love between two partners and expresses their bond in the most
physical and intimate manner possible. A brothel would complicate
this idea of sex by adding in an element of sex being something
transnational which commodifies it and stands in opposition to sex
being a sacred act of love. There is a good reason Yuuto declines any
attempt to get him to go to a brothel and he always follows this
rejection up with a comment about wanting his first time to be with
someone he loves. This puts the brothels in a strange position where
they exist for the sack of making the island more seedy and
mysterious yet they cannot actually appear on screen so leave the
heavy lifting to the casinos.
-‘Yuzuslop’-
When
talking to someone about the works of Yuzusoft, the phrase ‘Yuzuslop’
or something with a similar sentiment often emerges. It can be meant endearingly
but nonetheless reveals how their audience sees their output. But why
do they view it this way? When boiled down the issue can traced to
two points, the similarity of their output and the nature of the
Slice of Life Romance genre. All Yuzusoft games share a core identity
based around their brand of light and pure romance and differentiate
themselves through their unique gimmicks be this vampires, spies or
shinigami. This brand of story born from their style of writing is
immediately recognisable to the player from the first scene and
communicates they are in good hands. Having a feeling of familiarity
can be exactly what attracts a player to Yuzusoft’s work, they want
a comfortable experience with just enough new to keep it from
becoming too predictable and for many Yuzusoft give them exactly what
they want. However, this is a double edged sword and familiarity and
predictable are the parents of contempt and form the underlying idea
of a Yuzusoft game as ‘low effort’ or ‘unimaginative’.
The
studio is walking a fine line between appealing to their audience and
losing them due to a lack of new and exciting ideas, hence why they
are so insistent on gimmicks even if it results in strange narrative
problems. Anything but being thought of as producing the same game
over and over again. Then the issue of genre expectation for slice of
life romances rears its head, the conventions and tropes of the genre
have become a set of expectations most titles in the genre choose to
adhere to as part of their appeal and Yuzusoft is not exception. Yet
utilising them brings their games closer in form to the homogenised
lump of the genre fiction and risks becoming lost in the sea of other
similar titles vying for attention. The aforementioned gimmicks are
the main way this is tackled, but even they cannot entirely wash away
the association with mediocrity brought from this connection with the
largest and most saturated visual novel genre. At every turn Yuzusoft has
to fight this two front war against the genre they have chosen and
their success should be a demonstration of their abilities even in
the face of being labelled as ‘slop’.
Conclusion
If
there is one thing you should take away from this article through
both its criticism and praise, it is the intent and effort behind
everything in Dracu-Riot and by extension all of Yuzusoft’s work.
This is far from some low effort ‘slop’ but instead a title
crafted by developers who clearly love the genre while understanding
the chains of audience expectation which come with it. Despite not
having ambitions to be high art, there is still value in what it
offers since a well made example of a genre played straight is
surprisingly difficult to pull off without leaning too heavily into
cliché and mediocrity. Bring joy through a comfortable atmosphere
and pure romance is a skill worth recognising and not dismissing as
‘slop’.
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