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rionaleonhart) wrote2021-10-16 05:47 pm
rionaleonhart) wrote2021-10-16 05:47 pm
Entry tags:
You Seriously Want Me To Think About Something?
Finished NEO: The World Ends with You! Here are my notes up to the end.
The Jupiter of the Monkey shopkeeper says 'KEEP IT FRESH' with absolutely undisguised loathing whenever I leave his shop.
FRET LOST HIS MIND AND ATTACKED US, THIS IS GREAT. I love how uncomfortable and guilty he is when he learns about it, too.
I love the exchange when Shoka and Fret pull off a joint attack:
Shoka: That didn't totally suck.
Fret, excited: I know, right??
Poor Kanon! Poor Fret! ('My favourite character is having such a terrible time!' I exclaimed in delight.)
Fret's backstory hit pretty close to home for me. His feelings of helplessness, being unable to save people. I want to give this poor kid a hug.
Fret dealing with his trauma by taking nothing seriously reminds me of Marco from Animorphs, a little. (I would love to see Fret as an Animorph.)
Calm, smiling Neku! This is going to take some getting used to. He's looking good, though!
I'm not sure how I feel about the returning major characters from the original game. I do like Neku, but I also like the NEO characters and I don't want them to be overshadowed.
I liked Fret asking Nagi to keep telling him that the person he was fighting wasn't Kanon. 'You already said that. ...Say it again.'
I find it really interesting that the characters worry about what will happen to them if Rindo goes back and changes the past. It's something I'd be very concerned about in their situation, so I'm glad the game brings it up.
Fret: Wait - what does that mean for us? If Rindude keeps jumping around changing history, what happens to us here and now? Do we just... poof? Disappear?
Neku: With a bit of luck, you should be able to change what happens next. Although if you do, that means we won't come here or have this conversation. I wonder what'll happen to us. The 'us' here and now, that is.
(And then it turns out to be a major plot point! A major, horrifying plot point. The idea that the lost versions of them from other timelines turn into Noise is extremely distressing.)
This whole 'they fail and everyone gets wiped out' scene is very reminiscent of a sequence in Kingdom Hearts III. Nomura, are you okay?
Disconcerting that Shoka and Rindo are talking emotionally about Pokémon Go as she dies in his arms.
It's fucked up that Fret died and Rindo can't talk to anyone about it because nobody remembers that Fret ever existed. I'm intrigued.
I thought at first that Haz was Joshua, but it might actually be stupider than that; he looks and sounds a lot like an older Rindo. Rindo from the future?
I'm annoyed that Rindo didn't go back in time and immediately make out with Fret. I feel that's an oversight on the part of the writers.
DID MINAMIMOTO JUST SAY HELLO UPSIDE DOWN ON A CALCULATOR
Showing up at the very end just to be a dick for no reason is very Joshua.
Aww, I'm glad Shoka ended up in the RG! I like that she's struggling to get used to having a physical form.
At the end, I have mixed feelings about this game's plot. In particular, the returning major characters from the first game somehow felt like they were simultaneously overshadowing the new characters and strangely underused, and there were some aspects (such as Fret opening up about his issues) that didn't seem to be followed up on at all. But the dialogue's a joy, I liked Shoka a lot and, to my surprise, I loved Fret, the character I immediately took against in the demo. It was fun! I had a good time.
Final verdict: this game was sort of a mess, but an enjoyable mess! Which is what I tend to expect from Square in general and Nomura in particular, really. I'm satisfied.
The Jupiter of the Monkey shopkeeper says 'KEEP IT FRESH' with absolutely undisguised loathing whenever I leave his shop.
FRET LOST HIS MIND AND ATTACKED US, THIS IS GREAT. I love how uncomfortable and guilty he is when he learns about it, too.
I love the exchange when Shoka and Fret pull off a joint attack:
Shoka: That didn't totally suck.
Fret, excited: I know, right??
Poor Kanon! Poor Fret! ('My favourite character is having such a terrible time!' I exclaimed in delight.)
Fret's backstory hit pretty close to home for me. His feelings of helplessness, being unable to save people. I want to give this poor kid a hug.
Fret dealing with his trauma by taking nothing seriously reminds me of Marco from Animorphs, a little. (I would love to see Fret as an Animorph.)
Calm, smiling Neku! This is going to take some getting used to. He's looking good, though!
I'm not sure how I feel about the returning major characters from the original game. I do like Neku, but I also like the NEO characters and I don't want them to be overshadowed.
I liked Fret asking Nagi to keep telling him that the person he was fighting wasn't Kanon. 'You already said that. ...Say it again.'
I find it really interesting that the characters worry about what will happen to them if Rindo goes back and changes the past. It's something I'd be very concerned about in their situation, so I'm glad the game brings it up.
Fret: Wait - what does that mean for us? If Rindude keeps jumping around changing history, what happens to us here and now? Do we just... poof? Disappear?
Neku: With a bit of luck, you should be able to change what happens next. Although if you do, that means we won't come here or have this conversation. I wonder what'll happen to us. The 'us' here and now, that is.
(And then it turns out to be a major plot point! A major, horrifying plot point. The idea that the lost versions of them from other timelines turn into Noise is extremely distressing.)
This whole 'they fail and everyone gets wiped out' scene is very reminiscent of a sequence in Kingdom Hearts III. Nomura, are you okay?
Disconcerting that Shoka and Rindo are talking emotionally about Pokémon Go as she dies in his arms.
It's fucked up that Fret died and Rindo can't talk to anyone about it because nobody remembers that Fret ever existed. I'm intrigued.
I thought at first that Haz was Joshua, but it might actually be stupider than that; he looks and sounds a lot like an older Rindo. Rindo from the future?
I'm annoyed that Rindo didn't go back in time and immediately make out with Fret. I feel that's an oversight on the part of the writers.
DID MINAMIMOTO JUST SAY HELLO UPSIDE DOWN ON A CALCULATOR
Showing up at the very end just to be a dick for no reason is very Joshua.
Aww, I'm glad Shoka ended up in the RG! I like that she's struggling to get used to having a physical form.
At the end, I have mixed feelings about this game's plot. In particular, the returning major characters from the first game somehow felt like they were simultaneously overshadowing the new characters and strangely underused, and there were some aspects (such as Fret opening up about his issues) that didn't seem to be followed up on at all. But the dialogue's a joy, I liked Shoka a lot and, to my surprise, I loved Fret, the character I immediately took against in the demo. It was fun! I had a good time.
Final verdict: this game was sort of a mess, but an enjoyable mess! Which is what I tend to expect from Square in general and Nomura in particular, really. I'm satisfied.