Dcubed Posted May 21, 2021 Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) Oh, and here's a little extra for those that have finished The Missing Heir. Don't read this spoiler unless you've finished the game, but there was one very happy side effect that came from my character naming choice that made me fucking HOWL with laughter right at the very end of the game... Spoiler I can't even! I am very happy with my life choices Edit: Ahh crud! It’s gone to a new page!! Go back to the end of Page 1 to see my big write up on The Missing Heir; you won’t be disappointed! Edited May 21, 2021 by Dcubed 1
Dcubed Posted September 12, 2021 Posted September 12, 2021 (edited) So I just finished The Girl Who Stands Behind! Much of what I previously wrote about The Missing Heir also applies here, but I do have a few notes to make that are more unique to TGWSB. First off, this game leans more into the supernatural than the original game does; it's not a full on ghost story, but it definitely draws upon classic Japanese ghost story literature, particularily with its mood setting. I wouldn't say that it leans much into the horror genre, it's definitely a whodunnit more than anything else, but it does create an unsettling atmosphere in places that calls to mind movies like Juon: The Grudge. If you like that sort of atmosphere, you'll likely appreciate what TGWSB is going for. Secondly... this game LOVES NPCs that are thoroughly unhelpful and useless! You'll be spending a lot of time window wiping through dialogue choices, desperately hoping to trigger any sort of flag that might help you progress through the story... This summarises approximately 80% of my time playing this game I swear to Hylia that I never want to see another pair of elipses ever again! It can be very frustrating trying to get any information out of people here, and it still suffers from some obtuse logic needed to trigger the flags needed to progress the story. That being said though? I really enjoyed my time with TGWSB. I like pretty much all of the characters and the story is legitimately well told and interesting; with some brilliant use of red-herrings and foreshadowing... Spoiler This dialogue, helpfully proceeded by 10 odd hours of internal screaming prior to this point Not gonna lie, I instantly thought that Shinobu's body was hidden behind this wall pretty much as soon as the game started. Was driving me absolutely mad that nobody even thought to tear the wall to have a look until right at the very end of the game. Well played Sakamoto... Spoiler It was actually behind the mirror all along, not the wall. And some nice use of misdirection throughout as well... Spoiler Both with Toshio Tazaki and Goro Kaneda. Did suspect the two of them for quite a while... For quite a while though, I was also starting to get the horrible feeling that TGWSB might end up pulling the same trick that they already did in TMH and have... Spoiler Utsugi (from the Utsugi Detective Agency that you work at) end up being the killer. Especially after the reveal of the "TU" initials and his continued absence from the office... was really hoping that they wouldn't repeat the same trick again. Thank God they didn't! ... especially as having the principle being the killer seemed far too obvious. Genuinely didn't see the game's big end twist coming though... Spoiler The fact that there were TWO murderers all along! Really enjoyed that one! Well played! Good story that is very well told. Genuinely good mystery with great atmosphere and mood setting. One thing that's also nice is that the game sticks very closely to the original 1989 setting; small little details like having CRT TVs, oldschool button phones etc all feel very faithful to the original NES version. If by "huge" you mean tinchy? Sure. Just like with TMH, the localisation work is top-notch, if a bit punchier and swearier than TMH; also there's one use of the word "cosplayer" which doesn't quite feel right considering the time period in which the game is set ("cosplayer" is very much a 2000s term of expression in English that kind of stood out like a sore thumb to me as a bit inappropriate for a 1989 setting). Overall though, there's very little to complain about, I like how everything has been handled here with its (very late!) English debut. Nintendo channelling their Love Hotel roots nicely here Compared to TMH though? I think that I prefer the first game overall. I think it's paced better, has a more engaging soundtrack, less frustrating progression/interrogation and I prefer the slightly more grounded setting. But it's really a wash anyway; if you like one, you're going to like the other pretty much just as much. Let's just hope that we get a localisation of the BS Famicom Detective Club game next (Would be a very appropriate use of DLC Nintendo ) Didn't know that the game came out in 1959... it's even older than I thought! Edited September 12, 2021 by Dcubed 1 1
Ike Posted September 12, 2021 Posted September 12, 2021 14 minutes ago, Dcubed said: Secondly... this game LOVES NPCs that are thoroughly unhelpful and useless! You'll be spending a lot of time window wiping through dialogue choices, desperately hoping to trigger any sort of flag that might help you progress through the story... This summarises approximately 80% of my time playing this game I swear to Hylia that I never want to see another pair of elipses ever again! It can be very frustrating trying to get any information out of people here, and it still suffers from some obtuse logic needed to trigger the flags needed to progress the story. Yeah, same here. What's annoying is that they don't tell you that you get ranked at the end. Apparently you're not supposed to push certain characters when they tell you they don't want to talk about stuff. You can tell the Girl Who Stand behind came later as it felt like it had more cutscenes and more interactivity which the first game only really felt like it had at the end. Both games feel like they ramped up very quick and then it was over. I enjoyed both, but the constant ellipsis was frustrating. You had to do some un-obvious stuff sometimes to be able to continue. 1
Dcubed Posted September 12, 2021 Posted September 12, 2021 (edited) 5 minutes ago, Ike said: Yeah, same here. What's annoying is that they don't tell you that you get ranked at the end. Apparently you're not supposed to push certain characters when they tell you they don't want to talk about stuff. Yeah, I wasn't expecting that at all. What I also didn't expect is that apparantly there's actually a way to get Game Over in TGWSB! I only found out by checking the sound test that you unlock after beating the game and I have absolutely no clue how to trigger a Game Over! (I didn't even know it was possible lol!) Quote You can tell the Girl Who Stand behind came later as it felt like it had more cutscenes and more interactivity which the first game only really felt like it had at the end. Yeah I do agree, but that being said... Spoiler TMH does have that really cool 3D dungeon section where the game suddenly turns into Phantasy Star 1! TGWSB doesn't really have any sort of equivilent. Bit of a shame because it was pretty dang cool to see in a NES game with a sudden genre switch! (even if just for a few minutes) Quote Both games feel like they ramped up very quick and then it was over. Agreed. But I actually quite like the way that the pacing suddenly ramps up towards the end, it's pretty exciting. Almost like a Metroid escape sequence in the form of a VN Edited September 12, 2021 by Dcubed
Recommended Posts