>No Steins;Gate Thread
I'm here to fix that. For the inaugural post in the Steins;Gate thread, I want to talk about my personal views on the game's overall strengths and weaknesses. I want to do this for all the series mainlines (that I've read), but I figured this would be a good place to start since I read S;G first.
This won't be exhaustive or super duper detailed, just some baseline stuff I think the games get right (and wrong).
I have experienced the VN something like four times now. My own playthrough of course, and then watching my brother and two dear friends play. I feel fairly confident in my assessment, but feel free to flame me if you want. Spoilers for the whole game ahead:
Spoiler
First of all, two things that are great in every Science Adventure game: Banging soundtrack and stellar voice work. Takeshi Abo, I fucking kneel. I don't know how you do it every time. I don't know VA names yet but I've never been let down by the voice cast of a SciAdv game. Onto the proper good of S;G:
1) Okabe. My favorite protagonist in the series still, though Takuru and Takumi aren't far behind. Okabe is definitely not as "complex" as someone like Takumi, but I really enjoy his character arc and development throughout the S;G storyline. You can tell that Okabe really is just a kid inside that wants to have fun adventures with his friends, and it's not until the end of chapter 5 that reality comes crashing down and forces him to lock the fuck in. And what a lock-in. Chapter 6 has some of my favorite moments of Okabe in the entire game. It really demonstrates not only his force of will, but his intelligence and willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. His moment with Moeka on the roof and then breaking out of the SERN van are such great moments. Dude's a beast when he needs to be.
Hououin Kyouma, Okabe's alter ego, needs no introduction. Super iconic, so many great one liners. Operation Skuld remains my favorite true ending (more on this later).
2) Chaos;Child remains my GOAT entry but I do think that the S;G core cast (Okabe, Kurisu, Daru, Mayuri, and Suzuha) are probably stronger overall. Daru doesn't shine as much until 0, but the rest of those I mentioned all have great moments and development throughout the story. The revelations about Kurisu and her father, and how that colored her interactions with Okabe (fathercon btw), Mayuri being a lot smarter and more perceptive than she lets on, Suzuha's wish to meet her father again and all of the shit she goes through in Alpha Worldline (past and future), truly an amazing supporting cast that is hard to top. And Daru does still have his moments too, like going to get the pin for Suzuha or the revelation that he pursued the time machine on both attractor fields (to his death on alpha worldline) just to bring Okabe's dream to fruition.
Okabe/Kurisu is also my preferred 'canon' romance of the series. I think they have such great chemistry and the way they come to rely on each other is just excellent.
3) The "nanami hand box" moment in this game is so good. I'll never forget chapter 5's end. It's especially memorable to me because I started reading it right before work, and had to leave on the frame the rounders bust in. I was thinking about that shit for 10 hours straight. And of course, what happens immediately afterward, and Chapter 6 as I already mentioned... such an amazing ride.
4) One of the major pitfalls of the series that Steins;Gate avoids is that it doesn't have an individual main villain. It does have its main minor villains in moeka and tennouji (we'll return to them later), but the actual villains of the narrative are the Committee of 300 (via SERN), and the world itself. Both I think act as forces of nature, insurmountable obstacles that Okabe cannot possibly overcome through conventional means or on his own. It really wouldn't be until YOU KNOW THE ONE that this series got its iconic villain, but I hope the concept of an 'entity' as a villain gets revisited at some point as well.
5) Chapter 9 is such a great chapter. Tennouji really steals the show as the tragic villain. It's a shame this part was massacred in the anime. It's even sadder how his plan doesn't really pan out, since Moeka ends up killing herself if FB stops talking to her on that worldline. Not to mention psycho Nae... Plus, Okabe bringing up Suzuha to Tennouji, and him revealing the truth about her being a time travller... just a mint chapter. I can't say enough good shit about it.
6) For me, the true ending of S;G is undefeated (as far as true endings go). Operation Skuld is such a fantastic moment, a final fulfillment of everything you've worked towards at that point in the game. It's like Okabe himself said: "... It feels right." Saving the one he loves, saving the future, and putting his life on the line one last time to do it... fantastic. Maybe one day I'll talk more about why I love it so much.
7) While the consistency is not always there, the moldy look of S;G art will always be iconic. It's going to be much missed in Re:Boot.
There's more I could say, but I want to actually get this post out so I'll cut it here on positive. Let's talk bad:
1) Weak side characters. I personally feel that everyone outside of the core 5 I mentioned are lacking. Lukako and Moeka in particular (sorry Alix) leave a lot to be desired. This kind of feeds into point 2, which I'll discuss in a moment. The only character here I'm iffy about is Faris, as I think her and Okabe actually have really good chemistry, the only problem is that she's in the game that has Kurisu and Mayuri in it, so she's gonna lose no matter what. Sorry NyanNyan.
2) Weaker later game chapters. I think Chapter 7-8 are the worst parts of S;G for certain. Chapter 7 isn't actually that bad, it's just kind of a sharp drop off from the excellence of the previous chapter. The RaiNet battle scene lingers far too long imo, and I wish it had been cut down or executed in a more entertaining way. Maybe it lands better if you're Japanese, idk. Chapter 8 I think is the real stinker. I get what they're going for with Luka, and I don't hate him or anything, but he just has no stakes compared to basically everyone else in the game. Everyone else is risking their own life or someone they love, but Lukako's out here going through the "accepting himself" arc. It just doesn't land for me like the other chapters, fortunately it's short. Moeka's chapter is carried by the Tennouji subplot, and she is definitely handled better in other series entries (LBP/Darling).
3)Missing CGs. By missing, I mean S;G has moments that really should've been captured visually. My most glaring example is that instead of getting a CG of suzuha fighting the rounders, it's just a picture of her face with some speedlines. I would've killed to actually see this happen. I think some more CGs in Chapter 6 of some of the SERN thugs and encounters Okabe has would've also been great. I think S;G 0 is far more egregious with this problem, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway. Really, most of the series has this problem-- we need more CGs!
4) I could also bitch about this for most of the games, but the "replay" parts if you miss the true ending the first time aren't pleasant. Nowhere near as bad as, say, Chaos;Head or Chaos;Child, but the text messages can be confusing and I've known people who had problems getting everything to work, and there's not really a way to figure out what you fucked up.
Like I said, I wanted to get this post out before the end of time so this isn't exhaustive or all that detailed. What do you think? Amirite? Amiwrong? Is this coal, gem? What do YOU think about Steins;Bait?
1) Okabe. My favorite protagonist in the series still, though Takuru and Takumi aren't far behind. Okabe is definitely not as "complex" as someone like Takumi, but I really enjoy his character arc and development throughout the S;G storyline. You can tell that Okabe really is just a kid inside that wants to have fun adventures with his friends, and it's not until the end of chapter 5 that reality comes crashing down and forces him to lock the fuck in. And what a lock-in. Chapter 6 has some of my favorite moments of Okabe in the entire game. It really demonstrates not only his force of will, but his intelligence and willingness to adapt to changing circumstances. His moment with Moeka on the roof and then breaking out of the SERN van are such great moments. Dude's a beast when he needs to be.
Hououin Kyouma, Okabe's alter ego, needs no introduction. Super iconic, so many great one liners. Operation Skuld remains my favorite true ending (more on this later).
2) Chaos;Child remains my GOAT entry but I do think that the S;G core cast (Okabe, Kurisu, Daru, Mayuri, and Suzuha) are probably stronger overall. Daru doesn't shine as much until 0, but the rest of those I mentioned all have great moments and development throughout the story. The revelations about Kurisu and her father, and how that colored her interactions with Okabe (fathercon btw), Mayuri being a lot smarter and more perceptive than she lets on, Suzuha's wish to meet her father again and all of the shit she goes through in Alpha Worldline (past and future), truly an amazing supporting cast that is hard to top. And Daru does still have his moments too, like going to get the pin for Suzuha or the revelation that he pursued the time machine on both attractor fields (to his death on alpha worldline) just to bring Okabe's dream to fruition.
Okabe/Kurisu is also my preferred 'canon' romance of the series. I think they have such great chemistry and the way they come to rely on each other is just excellent.
3) The "nanami hand box" moment in this game is so good. I'll never forget chapter 5's end. It's especially memorable to me because I started reading it right before work, and had to leave on the frame the rounders bust in. I was thinking about that shit for 10 hours straight. And of course, what happens immediately afterward, and Chapter 6 as I already mentioned... such an amazing ride.
4) One of the major pitfalls of the series that Steins;Gate avoids is that it doesn't have an individual main villain. It does have its main minor villains in moeka and tennouji (we'll return to them later), but the actual villains of the narrative are the Committee of 300 (via SERN), and the world itself. Both I think act as forces of nature, insurmountable obstacles that Okabe cannot possibly overcome through conventional means or on his own. It really wouldn't be until YOU KNOW THE ONE that this series got its iconic villain, but I hope the concept of an 'entity' as a villain gets revisited at some point as well.
5) Chapter 9 is such a great chapter. Tennouji really steals the show as the tragic villain. It's a shame this part was massacred in the anime. It's even sadder how his plan doesn't really pan out, since Moeka ends up killing herself if FB stops talking to her on that worldline. Not to mention psycho Nae... Plus, Okabe bringing up Suzuha to Tennouji, and him revealing the truth about her being a time travller... just a mint chapter. I can't say enough good shit about it.
6) For me, the true ending of S;G is undefeated (as far as true endings go). Operation Skuld is such a fantastic moment, a final fulfillment of everything you've worked towards at that point in the game. It's like Okabe himself said: "... It feels right." Saving the one he loves, saving the future, and putting his life on the line one last time to do it... fantastic. Maybe one day I'll talk more about why I love it so much.
7) While the consistency is not always there, the moldy look of S;G art will always be iconic. It's going to be much missed in Re:Boot.
There's more I could say, but I want to actually get this post out so I'll cut it here on positive. Let's talk bad:
1) Weak side characters. I personally feel that everyone outside of the core 5 I mentioned are lacking. Lukako and Moeka in particular (sorry Alix) leave a lot to be desired. This kind of feeds into point 2, which I'll discuss in a moment. The only character here I'm iffy about is Faris, as I think her and Okabe actually have really good chemistry, the only problem is that she's in the game that has Kurisu and Mayuri in it, so she's gonna lose no matter what. Sorry NyanNyan.
2) Weaker later game chapters. I think Chapter 7-8 are the worst parts of S;G for certain. Chapter 7 isn't actually that bad, it's just kind of a sharp drop off from the excellence of the previous chapter. The RaiNet battle scene lingers far too long imo, and I wish it had been cut down or executed in a more entertaining way. Maybe it lands better if you're Japanese, idk. Chapter 8 I think is the real stinker. I get what they're going for with Luka, and I don't hate him or anything, but he just has no stakes compared to basically everyone else in the game. Everyone else is risking their own life or someone they love, but Lukako's out here going through the "accepting himself" arc. It just doesn't land for me like the other chapters, fortunately it's short. Moeka's chapter is carried by the Tennouji subplot, and she is definitely handled better in other series entries (LBP/Darling).
3)Missing CGs. By missing, I mean S;G has moments that really should've been captured visually. My most glaring example is that instead of getting a CG of suzuha fighting the rounders, it's just a picture of her face with some speedlines. I would've killed to actually see this happen. I think some more CGs in Chapter 6 of some of the SERN thugs and encounters Okabe has would've also been great. I think S;G 0 is far more egregious with this problem, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway. Really, most of the series has this problem-- we need more CGs!
4) I could also bitch about this for most of the games, but the "replay" parts if you miss the true ending the first time aren't pleasant. Nowhere near as bad as, say, Chaos;Head or Chaos;Child, but the text messages can be confusing and I've known people who had problems getting everything to work, and there's not really a way to figure out what you fucked up.
Like I said, I wanted to get this post out before the end of time so this isn't exhaustive or all that detailed. What do you think? Amirite? Amiwrong? Is this coal, gem? What do YOU think about Steins;Bait?
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