New spoiler free review series, and I think its the perfect way to cover the TONNE of games coming out in Feb :D

@platformingames2967

7 ай бұрын

This is a horror game

@joseph2000117

7 ай бұрын

Please do a spoiler vid on this and raincode. Would love to hear your thoughts

@1ordTakeo

7 ай бұрын

I tried my best... but I simply can't find your other channels! If you would, pleaaase.

This game is phenomenal, but I was a lot more emotionally invested in the first one than the second. I've cried twice in the first and during a "sad" moment in the sequel, my friends and I couldnt stop laughing at how cheesy the scene was.

I hope you make a longer spoiler video when you have time as I want to hear what you think about the story.

@joseph2000117

7 ай бұрын

Yes 🙏🏼

I wanted to love this game a lot more than I did. Despite some good stuff in it, I feel it’s hard not to see it as a less focused version of the first game

@Dharengo

7 ай бұрын

The whole story was written around the twist at the end, at the cost of everything really. Including the plot's own consistency. Or its consistency with the previous game. And the worst part is, the twist itself is only in service to the audience. It has no impact on any character in any way. Actually wait no, the worst part is Uchokoshi already did this twist over two decades ago, in a much more consistent, much more satisfying way that actually has relevance to the plot.

@bane2201

7 ай бұрын

@@Dharengo Yeah, making the game revolve around the twist was a really bad idea. Same with the idea "hey what if we made a sequel where playing the first game isn't mandatory?". SPOILERS FOR AITSF, AI:NI and VLR BELOW: Writing that for AI: NI is writing on Dante Must Die difficulty. A supporting character is literally in a different body, and he's _the player character_ in AITSF. VLR spoiled the ending of 999, and ZTD spoiled the endings of 999 and VLR. And VLR wasn't as impactful, because they were in enclosed spaces and didn't have a ton of I can't think of any other "twisty" VNs where that'd be a good way to play the game. The Ace Attorney and Prof Layton series might be OK, but they didn't have meta-level twists like Danganronpa, Zero Escape, or AITSF. If you try to write around _both_ the ending twist to the game _and_ the "standalone sequel", it's just impossible to do. It made it impossible to write about the return characters with any degree of emotional depth (because you can't be clear how much time passed) and it lowered the stakes of the original. I can't fault Date for wearing a mask (no one cared who I was until I did), but how on Earth did he get limb-shrinking surgery? It really sucks, because if they took those pieces out - made it an _actual_ sequel, used the "twist character"'s proper name, and were clearer about when things are happening - I honestly think it'd be a really great game. And if you play it again in the proper order of events, it's much more coherent and pretty good IMO. Looking at it strictly event-by-event, I feel like the writing is great. But keeping the player in the dark about everything just for the sake of the twist was a terrible decision - practically cutting off the nose to spite the face.

As scattered as the game was, I still wanted more time with Shoma where you know what and why he is the way he is, and he knows about Mizuki. Because excuse me? Are we just going to gloss over the consequences of Shoma? Maybe the third game will have more of him. Also the killer's somnium in Ryuki mode coming back to stab you in the heart in Mizuki mode was peak for me. Lastly, I've heard a criticism that we don't spend enough time with Mizuki Date. If you know, you know, and I agree. STILL LOVE THIS GAME THOUGH.

This game is probably the most bizarre sequel I've ever played and not in a good way. The first half feels like a lot of nothing happening (it's like starting out on the Iris route from the first game but the protag dynamic and events are more boring) while the second half is so over-the-top and riddled with plotholes. The less said about the endgame plot twists the better but what I can say is that particular one with Mizuki both weakens the events of the first game AND actively changes nothing moving forward so it's a twist that fails on every regard. The good news is that Uchikoshi wants to make a third AI game with Date as the main character again so I guess that's something to look forward to.

I really enjoyed the twist in this one. I had been kind of piecing it together, but once they actually revealed it, I sat there for like an hour geeking out over how cool it was. And it's hard to do that with visual novels, imo, because a lot of twists have been done before.

I actually finished this one last week. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first one. I feel like (Spoilers) Changing Mizuki's backstory to her being adopted... just kinda made her whole family dynamic in the first one make no sense. Cuz Shoko clearly resented having a child, and Renju was an absentee father. If she was their biological daughter, that'd make sense, but why the hell would these people, who CLEARLY don't want a kid, adopt one? It was all to serve the "two Mizukis" twist. but if the idea was that she was an embryo modified with Bibi's DNA to be the perfect version of her, they could've still made it so it happened while Shoko was pregnant. They also REALLY dropped the ball on Ryuki. he had his most significant moments of overcoming his trauma and metal issues off screen. they should've found a way to better integrate him in the latter half of the game, or just have him be full time protagonist, as he was a much more compelling character than Mizuki.

Your video on the first one was all I needed to convince me to buy it and I've been looking forward to this one ever since.

My wife and I were just playing The Somnium Files together last night, and we haven't beat it yet, so I can't watch this video. I'll put it on with the sound off and me not watching it a few times for you to get some views though. Also, I have no problem with Pewter reading tons of yaoi. My issue is the madman keeping it all at work!!! Like, organized in cabinets and everything. At the police station. That's kinda... unprofessional. To quote Ishizu Ishtar, "Marik, stop flaunting your yaoi in public!"

'Kept you waiting huh' is the only thing i remember from this game and it made me laugh my ass off

Ryuki really hooked me into this game as someone who was kind of meh on the first game annnd... I gotta say, kind of felt like they dropped the ball on him. I was just kind of waiting to play as him again but he just didn't get as much time. Annnnnd then the ending was not really convincing and then they dropped the dance song again which I agree, was not as deserved as the first game.

@SpectreBagels

7 ай бұрын

Gotta say the dance scenes were just annoying in the second game because it felt like it came out of nowhere and like they were trying to recapture Iris's charm without Iris. If I remember right I don't think Iris even did it all that much and a lot of it was tied to her job and not being a flash mob routine. Like when her friend asked her to perform, she did half of it on her live stream, and there was 1 other time but they all kinda meant something, and then the dance number at the end was more to show the unity of the group we've come to know. In this game it's more.....we did the thing guys

I watched this game via live stream, and really enjoyed it, especially the many twists, felt like a ‘smart’ game. The hooks were very good as well and I wanted to know the mystery more than the first game (halfed corpse >corpse missing an eye) But this suffers from the ‘go big’ sequel syndrome, in that the stakes of the first game were rather small and contained, but the sequel’s stakes and plot were WAY bigger. Think how fast and furious went from simple gang racers fighting to world savers and international crime fighters. I also remember it having a lot of plot holes. I think I made a list of like 5-6 points that just didn’t make sense, didn’t go anyway, or didn’t connect with the other points of the story and plot. Characters just disappearing….etc. While I had fun experiencing it, it still left me kinda disappointed.

@Dharengo

7 ай бұрын

The list of plot holes is.... Very long. It gets longer if you consider the previous game.

I've been looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this game for a while, it's only because of your video on the first game that I decided to pick it up, and it's now among my favorite Visual Novels! I think I probably slightly prefer the first game overall, but I still think the sequel did a lot of things right, and I'm definitely super excited for the third game that they're hinting to be working on.

I’ve been waiting for this

Funnily enough while Date could have that flanderizated feeling, I actually counted how many time he makes sexual jokes and it's not really that much. It's mostly because of other characters joking about him than it being his fault.

Literally just watched the series for the first game, what perfect timing.

I love the somnium series. Definitely deserves a somnillion sales

I personally prefer the first game, but I still enjoyed this one. I didn’t expect some of the jokes. The major plot moment in the second game didn’t feel as earned as it was in the first. The Nirvana Initiative kind of “cheats” to get it.

Gotta say ramzees knows his stuff when it comes to JRPG games

@hylus9286

7 ай бұрын

What does that have to do with this video 😭

@nebbynetwork2089

7 ай бұрын

​@@hylus9286 just stating a fact

i will say thought that it was your review of the original ai the somnium files that made me buy the game, love playing it 100% to the end and buy and complete the sequel and love that as well. so they should definitely give you review codes when the next game eventually releases.

Tama is this game's biggest tease. The ending is out there but her. The definition of tease.

AI made me fell in love into visual novels

Somnium Files deserves wayyyyy more love

I've heard mixed views on this game where one of my friends absolutely loves and adores it while the other felt a lil off on it. I'm kinda in the middle where I definitely enjoyed it and there are some factors I quite like and without really spoiling what it's about the fact there's something in the game that's unique to each copy is honestly a nifty little touch. Some story beats definitely felt odd though I think part goes with how you can technically play it without having played the first so it keeps out certain story beats that would really spoil the first game. Though I definitely liked a good percentage of the new cast but it definitely felt a lil off with some of the returning cast feeling a lil odd. All in all it is a decent game but it isn't without its faults. Curious what could be built on it in the future and wonder what little outside of game thing they'll do since this one was the ARG on twt which I only really caught part of when it went on. Certainly an interesting thing

I see Ai Somnium, I click.

1:04 It's the small details that let you know that the dev team has your average gamer in mind Also, can I just say that Yusuke Kozaki's designs are amazing, dude doesn't miss!

can you also do a video on tales of the abyss?

I was having a really hard time deciding whether I like the first game better, my conclusion is yeah but slightly

0:53 i genuinely forgot this line existed 😂

Have you ever played a game where you felt like it was just made for you? This is one of those games for me. After everything I immediately started another playthrough, and I found that things made a lot more sense the second time around. Piecing together the story was a lot tougher in the second game than the first especially when considering… you know. There were so many times when I thought I found a plot hole, but it was just misdirection. And the story with Naix I found fascinating. I myself gave a lot of thought to the theory months before playing, not that I believe it, it’s just fun to think about, but it was interesting to see them echo my thoughts on it. It’s not as objectively solid as the first game, but man, I like it way more.

i really wanted to love the game just as i did the first, but i think it has a lot of the same problems as the second zero escape had ironically. poor iris getting the clover treatment all over again

@calicokity1

7 ай бұрын

Comparing it to Virtue's Last Reward is kind of ironic, as it's generally thought to be the best of the trilogy, though. But yes, I was mad about what they did to Clover.

@winteriris13

7 ай бұрын

@@calicokity1 oh is it? I did really like VLR but it always made me miss the first game which i felt for the somnium files. at the very least i do kinda want the third somnium game to be just as bonkers as ZTD minus all the unanswered questions, i loved ZTD for how stupid it was lol

I'm still so keen to play this. What do you think of the remakes of the Apollo Justice series coming to switch next year?

I love that unlike last of us 2 where they killed Joel at the very start to let ellie shine, the way they let Date live and be a side character and have Mizuki shine alone by herself. I also like both games the same each being able to shine independent of each other.

I love both the games, but ai 2 has a wilder plot, so it has to be my favorite. That twist was insane.

Wail it is only above ZtD in my ranking of ushikoshi games iv played I do really like the plot twit and new characters in this game even if with the exeption of mizuki the old characters felt a bit shallow in this game as you said its still definitely worth picking up if its on sale i dont think even the first game is worth 60$

I actually liked the sequel very much. I liked to see Ryuki as a protagonist, but somehow the development throughout the game before the big twist, made him seem weird and not in a good type of weird. But after the twist and playing this game for a second time, I really started to love him and the whole cast. But I think the thing wiith the sequel is, that so many things were left unanswered or rather not fully used. For example the backstory of Ryuki or the relationships between the characters. Even though some aspects regarding this game left me disappointed, I actually liked the sequel slightly more than the first game, because for me persoonally the story was more challenging for the mind and led to a lot of philosphical question. But I think I might be the only one thinking that way and I can fully understand the criticism.

Bro lol that costume you're wearing

Gonna be honest the 2nd game is good but it was also a let down when it came to characters and stories. Especially the story with how it was towards the end especially. I agree with a lot said in this video, it's kinda what I thought too. So far Somnium 1 > Somnium 2. The second game felt disjointed in a lit of areas and wasn't as cohesive as the 1st with the elements they carried over. Like a mismanagement of elements of the game in general would be the biggest issue. It was fun nonetheless

please a Raincode review

2:22 Her shirt has a Gaijin-4koma meme on it. That's hilarious.

I'm hoping you will talk about the "999" puzle on the full video.

I LOVE this game! The first one too of course. Is it flawless? No, by no means! But it's still one of my favorites! I might even like it more than the first one - aside from the story (I think that was better in the first game) - but as a whole I think I might like AiNi a bit more. And I'm looking forward to the 3rd game!

What happened to the star ocean vid

🧀🤔 yes the cheese

I hope Commitimus Crime is doing well

Man I liked the game while I was playing it. Then I finished it. And I thought about it. And everything just kinda fell apart. Veru unsatisfying.

@joseph2000117

7 ай бұрын

Yup dropped ball compared to the 1st. Should have been an easily better game than the 1st

Commenting for the algorithm

I hate hate hate when games or stories in general are afraid to take themselves seriously, it's so annoying. The first game had a good handful of moments that just turned me off because instead of hitting the climax of that moment of the story they just kill the mood instead. Like there was way too many cheesy moments that killed the mood for me, especially the action scenes to where instead of feeling like you're fighting for your life, you're in a comedic intermission until the real story resumes. And i didn't like Date being degraded constantly for laughs.

Good thing I still haven’t played the first one despite owning it on Switch. May be time to sit down and start now that I’ve seen the resident JRPG expert say it’s better.

I liked it, that was bizzare.

But it's a fun kind of cheese

I wanted to like this game more than the 1st, but this one just was just too easy to drop. The 1st one besides the coomer moments was great and felt engrossing throughout comparatively

Step on gum

wait why was date not in his spoilery body

@joseph2000117

7 ай бұрын

I played and dropped it, iirc he said he feels comfortable in his old body but it's just fan service

@qazwsx014jsbd8

2 ай бұрын

@@joseph2000117 btw its not actually his old body, that wouldn't be possible lol. He's literally just wearing a mask and a wig - its just fanservice for the sake of the 'spoiler free' mode. You are right though in that he said he didn't feel comfortable looking so different and everyone is used to that face already, so he changed it back. I honestly didn't like the whole mask thing at all and was slightly surprised that he was just ok looking like that again after the reveal of the last game but its a tiny detail that literally changes nothing else so i just ignored it haha. plus i like the non spoiler body much more anyway

Tama means Soul or B@lls in Japanese. I guess more people liked the 2nd game cause it had them soul-busting their b@lls.

So uh, what's your name ?

@CheesyRam

7 ай бұрын

What do you mean?

This game was great, and I really liked all the new characters who were added, but the actual hook of the game - the crime scenes themselves - just felt less impactful than the first.

It was a fun game, but disappointing compared to the first. Everything about it other than the story was better, but the story is the most important part of a visual novel, unfortunately. Oh well, I’ll just re-play the first… and wait for 3.

Why did I get recommended this trooncore "game?"

In short: play master detective rain code. It's a MUCH BETTER game, that game pleasantly surprised me but somnium 2 disappointed me. I'll only consider getting the 3rd game if you recommend it

6:31 Hey man, you said it was gonna be a spoiler free review but you kind of spoiled one of the surprises of the game? I mean, sure, it' may not be story related or anything, but it is still a spoiler regardless. Cool review, but please be more specific next time?

I'm with you on not liking this game as much as the first. This one just felt way more disjointed. Mizuki as a character was SO BORING in this game, which is a crime because she was arguably the best character in the first. Her dynamic with Aiba didn't work as well as the dynamic with Date and Aiba, or Ryuki and Tama for that matter. I found Ryuki's story way more fun and interesting. The characters added in this game were awful as well. I didn't like any of them. And the big "twist"? It wasn't a twist at all; I can't stand it when the twist of a game is just messing with the player's perception of time, instead of actually being a mystery for the characters as well. Another game that does this is 13 Sentinels, and yeah, didn't like that one either.

The songs definitely were the cringiest parts of these two games

The second game is just so much better than the first one, in literally every way, even though I like both a lot. Sorry not sorry.

@qazwsx014jsbd8

2 ай бұрын

I completely disagree but you're entitled to your opinion lol. i did like the sequel though, just not nearly enough for it to top aitsf personally, due to alot of personal gripes that came up the longer i played. It did start off so strongly though that i thought it might actually be better (for me) at first. I was just wondering what bits of the second game you loved in comparison to the first and why?