Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Utawarerumono Itsuwari no Kamen - Review and Impressions

うたわれるもの 偽りの仮面
Game: [Utawarerumono Mask of Deceit]
Genre: Visual Novel, Strategy RPG.
Developer/Publisher: Aquaplus
Platform: PS3, PS4,PS Vita.
Official Site: http://aquaplus.jp/uta/itsu/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v7721
Release date: 2015-09-24

Well these are just my personal thoughts about the game and when I look back
it might have been the best game I played all year despite its cliffhanger.
Tokyo Xanadu comes close but eh... that one honestly had one too many cliches.

TL;DR
8/10
Story is a bit slow at first but it takes its time to introduce everyone and sets the stage
for its inevitable sequel because this game Utaware2: Itsuwari no Kamen is designed to
bridge the gap between the first Utawarerumono game and Utaware3: Futari no Hakuoro.
This game might have SRPG elements but don't buy the game for that because
you'll spend more time reading than in battle, sadly the SOL part is going to be an absolute
hit or miss this game much like falcom's kiseki series is very slow in getting to
the good parts, if you can stand it and have played/watched the original then go for it.


Kuon~~

A new utawarerumono game we never thought would happen!
I have been waiting for this since for a while since I first heard it was announced back in 2011, after
some silence the game finally came out in 2014...  its also getting a 24 ep anime.
I wonder how the anime will turn out.... i've seen all eps as of now but
its a decent adaption, I really enjoyed watching it, more on that later.
Karula, Touka, Benawi, Kurou/Crow, Aruru, Kamyu and Oboro + the twins
from the first game also make an appearance but how or why? that I won't spoil.
 Sadly none of the returning characters are playable.
Rurutie~~ she's adorable.
 
I'm pretty positive about this entry... the story is pretty laid back for the first 20 hours.
You know slice of life-ish... at times I almost yes almost dozed off
because nothing really happens but introductions and shenanigans.
For better or for worse, it doesn't get good till later.
I really love the MC Haku, a dork he may be he is actually pretty cool! and smart.
The SRPG parts are fun but there aren't that many stages compared to say Tears to Tiara 2.
IIRC there are only 16 stages? and tears2 had like what? around or near 50?
The turn retry feature from TtT2 also returns, I absolutely love it because I am terrible at SRPG's
and now there's less frustration if I make a stupid mistake and won't have to redo from scratch. 
There is also a postgame dungeon... which are more difficult than the stages in the main scenario
and well SRPG fan shouldn't be disappoint by that but getting there well you'll need patience.
Let me add that due to the lack of stages not much happens during the first 20 hours
so yes if you don't like reading and you didn't like tears2 or the original utawarerumono
 you might want to skip out on this one, I also found the story to be pretty detailed.
If you where to buy it for the SRPG parts you'd be disappointed atleast during the main story.
The postgame dungeon like I mentioned b4 is more difficult so it should give you some entertainment!

The most annoying trophy in this game is the all continues attack one and
max lvl which is 50, the latter is easily reachable by completing the post game dungeon.
I put this game aside for a bit because I didn't know which one I was missing 
and Tokyo Xanadu was just around the corner! 
After a few weeks of letting it sit and playing other game I ended up going back and try the trophy
one more time... well.. well.. which one was I missing/haven't used? Yakuto 2nd counter attack 0_0;
Like what? he had two?! really?
 I didn't even notice the difference and you can use auto mode if only I had known this sooner!
Als do not forget the first stage where Haku has the stick instead of the fan its also easy to overlook.
Other than that its an easy platinum, thats for sure.
 Nekone... I sure hope she's alright after that cliffhanger...
 Atui... I wonder something seems off about her at times.

Like I said before while the first 20 hours are pretty fun but the overall story moves at a snail pace.
The latter is my one and only real complaint,  at times the fun scenes start to feel like filler...
because I want to know the important bits but no the game insists on shenanigans! still its really
 not that bad when I look back since the game really takes its time to introduce everyone, which
is nice, after the 20 hour mark the story slowly starts to become more serious, still a few gag here and
there but thats fine and the ending well.. a terrible cliffhanger but still good, I expected this
since they already mentioned Utawarerumono 3 was coming in an interview way back.
But now we have to wait.. and the wait is going to be long maybe 1 or 2 years.
*Sigh*
Thankfully the wait won't be that long since its coming out later in 2016.
This scene and the next one at the bath was absolutely hilarious... Haku WHY?!

 Uryuru & Saryana I like them, the way they move in unison... I love that.
 Ougi and Kiuru... Probably my favorite guys in this game, also Yakuto is pretty badass.

Overall it really is a decent game, the art and music are beautiful, interesting story and characters!
Its a lenghty game, took me roughly around 30 to 40 hours to complete.
It depends on how fast you read  and how fast you finish the stages I guess.
Like I said in the TL;DR Itsuwari no Kamen pretty much serves as a bridge
 between the original game and its inevitable sequel Utawarerumono Futari no Hakuoro.
 I sure hope atlus will localize it since they have picked up aquaplus games in the past. :)
Compared to the original utaware it might not be as good and honestly this game
took way too long to get good, it wastes a lot of time on introductions and wacky SOL scenes.
It makes sense since this is the first half of a bigger story but I can't help but mention it
and thats why the score I gave it is more than fair.
8/10 
 I can't wait for the sequel...

Sadly there is a certain villain like character that seemingly disappeared at the halfway point
after the war, what happened to him? after that I never saw or heard of him again?
I'm pretty sure we will see him in the sequel? but we'll know in september 21, 2016.
 Also near the end dat undead/zombie side plot while having to camp at night in the woods...
Oh my gawd that entire stage felt like EXP filler lol.
Thats the last two of the minor complaints I have that I thought are worth pointing out.
Yay for fan service~~
 and some MAN SERVICE for the ladies.

Utawarerumono Itsuwari no Kamen(The False Faces) Anime mini review:
As for the anime adaption which recently finished it wass decent I guess?
 It had alot of originality and they skipped out on some things most noteable is the visit to the ruins after the war, they just skip right to the manly hotspring party, rofl.
Some parts were different but I think they did a uh OK of adapting it into an anime, like
it doesn't need to be the same because then there would be no fun in watching it if one has
finished the game right? Oh well I wonder if Futari no Hakuoro will get an anime? Hmm... maybe?
I don't know if Itsuwari no Kamen sold well enough for it to guarantee a sequel adaptation.
One can hope...but I think its better to stick to the games, I always see anime adaptations
of games as advertisements for the game and not as the real thing!
That aside the anime could've been much much better way too much fanservice
not like the game was that much better but they also didn't really stick to the source material.
Okay thats all you get from me, Utaware is a wonderful series and you should definitely check it out some time, just start from the original PC game which is fantranslated or its respective anime.
I can't say it enough but I do not recommended to start from Uta2 aka this installment
as the anime is nothing but fanservice which may be better if one has played it.
 Dat smirk....
 Karura...
Kamyu!!!
Benawi the legendary warrior from tuskuru.
 Aruru~~


2 comments:

  1. I hope Atlus localizes this one like they did with Tears to Tiara 2 and Dungeon travelers 2...
    If they're only going to bother with futari no hakuoro I'd be really disappoint because this game is a great setup for that sequel.

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  2. Thnx for the comment.
    I hope Atlus will localize it as well, the anime on its own won't do at all Imho...
    Like the anime is a nice extra if one has played the game and can motivate one to buy the game.
    Because honestly the game is much much more detailed than the anime.
    I also can't wait for the sequel... but something tells me it might get delayed but I hope it won't.

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