Written By: JP Developer: IDHAS Studios Platforms: PC, Mac and Linux Genre: Comedy, Slice-of-Life, Romance Release Date: March 17, 2013 | So a year ago, around this time, I was having a conversation with one KomiTsuku of I Don't Have a Studio Studios (roll with it) about what may be the end of his career as an English Visual Novel producer. Well, that time has passed and IDHAS is still rolling! So what have they been Well, let's take a look at Rising Angels: The Red Rose and see! |
Story
PRO: I actually liked much of the cast and I feel Chief got the general feel of a freshman class correct. As much as people like me would hope that those who want to defend us would be upstanding, serious citizens...that isn't usually the case. That's where BASIC TRAINING comes in: to teach people how to operate in a way that makes the entire group stronger. So people like the humanist bigot Sol and the often-lazy, loudmouth Yoi are a refreshing change to typical ideal. I didn't like them all, but that made many of them more interesting and created necessary tension and story lines that will be needed for later entries to the series.
CON: Faye. the main character, is a dumbass. I wish there was a nicer way to say it, but as a main character she just doesn't cut it. There are a few intimate moments that show that while she's not that bright, her honest and overall good nature can be better than being shrewd. But those moments do not make up for when she's groaning about reading history or complaining that the work outs are too hard. It makes her difficult to identify with and even harder to root for or even sympathize with.
PRO: For those not initiated Chief does a decent job integrating you into this particular metaverse. There are detailed bits about the history of his world and while everything isn't spelled out for us, the basics make everything seem like a natural progression of some type of history, rather than just Anime Spin-Off World #127 that is all sci-fi-y just because it wants to be. Also it doesn't get too outlandish outside of the various races: preferring the slice-of-life drama to, say, giant robots. It was the right choice for this particular tale.
CON: This is the first kinetic novel I've played that has screamed for some kind of interactivity. The design and flow of the story says to me that it was originally the plan, but for whatever reason it may have been removed or it could just be my wishful thinking. However this reduces you to being a spectator instead of an active participant. Sometimes it works: see Juniper's Knot for how to make a kinetic novel right. Here though, it is written in such a way that it demands for you to be more than just a spectator without allowing you the devices to do so. It is frustrating to sit through one argument or conflict or bald-face moral dilemma and have no other option than to let it play out and move on to the next one. But that can work as long as your main character isn't a total dumbass OH WAIT.
PRO: Like Faye's handful of genuine moments, the game crafts great moments with the entire cast when necessary. While some of the humor is just really uncomfortable to sit through (every prison rape and incest joke basically), the good really does outweigh the bad and it showed the potential the entire series has to hold an audience's attention. The best is definitely the scene where the group of Faye, Iotor and Yoi come together to help the very human and VERY out of her element Lenna, which just shows their characters at their most relaxed. It was good work done there and if the entire VN centered on scenes lack that, it would've hit it out of the park.
CON: Unfortunately it didn't, which led to something I found hard to swallow: the romance. Rising Angels: The Red Rose is billed as a yuri game: lesbian romance for those of you who don't know. The simple truth is that there aren't enough moments to spark intimate interest in either girl for you to believe that Faye is interested in either outside of the zone of friendship - apologizes to any possible shippers. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I'm some kind of romantic expert...especially lesbian romance. That one is far outside of my mental abilities. But shouldn't there be some sense of natural progression? At best, there are some elements of same-sex attraction but it isn't put together well enough for the second act to have the emotional punch it seems to be going for.
So that's the first act in a nutshell, and while I've never been the type to beat a dead horse, hopefully you see what I'm getting at with this little demonstration. This is a classic case of one step forward, two steps back with the core issues with the plot adding up quickly. Then you get into the second act of the story Rising Angels goes hard into the romantic angle : using it to develop at least five characters outside of the three main characters presented in the beginning. Again, because of the issues with Faye and the overall romantic slip ups, the twists don't connect.
At best it's an average tale of friendship under fire and with a bit more polish, it can stand on its own.At worst, it's a long sit ruined. Also apparently some didn't like the ending. I didn't mind it as it set up some interesting issues for the next chapter, but to each his own.
Enjoy a Screen of the Early Version of the Game...I just wanted to See Faye Cry
Presentation & Gamepaly
No gameplay here. There is no UI interface in the main game, though you do have a basic save/load screen to work with if you wish. I've already been over what I feel about the lack of interaction in this one, so we'll move on.
....If you Heard All of It Why Didn't You Step In Yoi?
Replay Value
Overall
Final Score
5/10 | + Mostly Interesting Romance Story With A Somewhat Interesting School Background - The Cast Is Hit Or Miss + Presentation Is Decent |