[spoiler=Yami no Koe 1, Special Edition - some thoughts and questions.]Now that I’ve finally stopped reading about and started playing a Black Cyc game, it’s a good chance to post some of my impressions of Yami no Koe 1. I hope I haven’t gotten too many of the details wrong :oops:.
For a game originally made in 2001, Yami no Koe 1 holds up remarkably well. The music is midi, and there are only 12 tracks, but they all fit the game well - and would be more memorable if I hadn’t come across them in the Yami no Koe 2 and ZERO demos that I played prior to 1, although of course, chronologically those games came later.
Content-wise, I’ve probably seen around 50-60% of the scenes, and I was surprised at how ‘tame’ everything’s been so far, compared to the general impression I’ve got from other Black Cyc titles - although there are quite a few hardcore scenes (mostly involving Arisu in SM Queen mode, or the ending sequence involving Nanami), there’s nothing overly ‘shocking’ in the game. I could be mistaken, but it doesn’t seem like there’s any guro (of the blood and gore variety) and I haven’t run into any scat either.
Given the format, the shortish ero-scenes here are probably more appropriate than scenes of a standard length. By about Day 15, there will probably be at least 3 scenes per day, and if they were much longer, clicking through the same event . The repetition of scenes was also a big problem for me - even on the first playthrough, quite a few of the same ero-scenes needed to be repeated to degenerate each character. Also, the general character thoughts if they aren’t interacting with anyone get very repetitive too. Due to the nature of the gameplay, these factors are probably inevitable, (and they are easily fast-forwarded through), but it would be nice if it was more variety in this respect. Also, the character development could perhaps be improved, and treat the degenerations as more than sexual personalities (but this seems contrary to the spirit of the game).
How many endings are there? I’ve come across three, although I’d only really count one of them as an actual ending (where Nanami gets targeted and broken by everyone - the only ending I’ve reached where the credits appear). The other two I’ve seen have been a ‘time over’ ending, one where I was only able to ‘degenerate’ 5 characters before the time limit, and the other was just seeing what would happen if I didn’t do anything.
Despite all the above comments (it’s easier to criticise than praise :P), I was definitely impressed by and have enjoyed the game as a whole - the concept is fascinating, as is the gameplay and the elimination of narration. Plus it’s fun just to watch everyone descend and give in to their base desires. From what I’ve seen, it’s also a good choice to dip your toes in the water with - it’s dark, and in a few places a bit brutal, but there doesn’t seem to be anything really shocking. It’s also an easy game to follow, even with minimal Japanese skills.
Although 2 or 3 look interesting too, I’m a bit worried that they don’t seem to add much to, or improve on 1 :(. I would be interested in playing ZERO (I like the more muted and darker colour palette used by the game, and obviously the art is a lot better) - but I’m probably not interested enough to want to buy it at full price.[/spoiler]
