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Root Letter |OT| The of all Mysteries

bobawesome

bobawesome

Member
Nice OT. I'm keeping my eye out for this game. Initial buzz from Japan didn't seem very positive but I'm optimistic.
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Good simple straightforward OT. Will be looking forward to seeing what general impressions are from western gamers.
 
T

Talha

Member
Wowzers 40 hours I'm in, the reviews look decent enough to dive in. Steins Gate Zero and this, lots of games coming out this November!
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Dandy Crocodile said:
Please give me a better estimate cause that's just what I've read. :p
Click to expand...

Bunch of Japanese players Ive seen said around 10-30 from lowest to highest.

Going for a full complete am seeing around 20 hrs estimated.

One common thing Ive been seeing is folks saying a single playthrough took them around 10 hours.

Second playthrough folks were saying were even shorter if you use the skip function to blow past stuff you already seen etc.
 
G

Grim Patron

Member
Dandy Crocodile said:
Please give me a better estimate cause that's just what I've read. :p


No, there's a physical edition for both consoles.
Click to expand...

First playthrough probably take people 12-max 15 hours. Totally around 25 I'd say.

Parakeetman said:
Bunch of Japanese players Ive seen said around 10-30 from lowest to highest.

Going for a full complete am seeing around 20 hrs estimated.

One common thing Ive been seeing is folks saying a single playthrough took them around 10 hours.
Click to expand...

Yea 20-25. Defo not 40.
 
M

Macapala

Unconfirmed Member
Has this got any relation to Root Double: Before Crime?
 
ULTROS!

ULTROS!

People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Decent scores though.

I thought this game was badly reviewed in Japan?
 
B

BTA

Member
Looking forward to it (and I'll probably disregard a couple other things I should finish first to start it), but whoof, that US delay really sucks given how much comes out that week. It's not like those things are the same type of game or anything, but even with what little I'm interested in, my time's gonna be broken up pretty heavily.
 
S

salamander150

Member
I forgot it was coming out so soon... The screenshots look great with the slightly nostalgic artwork. I was thinking about nabbing a korean version of this because I didn't wanna wait but I guess I'll just go for the english version then hmmm
 
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Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
ULTROS! said:
Decent scores though.

I thought this game was badly reviewed in Japan?
Click to expand...

Folks generally had a problem with the heroine and scenario was a common complaint among actual users who played through the game. Seeing how the 2 reviews that we have are favorable seems to be a difference of views present. Which is a good thing since possibly means the game might do better overseas.

Famitsu scores was as follows.

Root Letter (PS4) – 8/8/9/7 [32/40]
Root Letter (PSV) – 8/8/9/7 [32/40]

Though generally pretty much everyone knows that Famitsu scores are useless bullshit anyways lol.

Macapala said:
Has this got any relation to Root Double: Before Crime?
Click to expand...

No relation.
 
M

mdubs

Banned
Surprisingly decent scores! Hopefully it won't be too long, if it's doable in 20ish hours or so then I might be in
 
T

takoyaki

Member
Beautiful OT Dandy!

I'd say the playtime is 25h max. for a complete play-through. It took me 14h to complete the game the first time, additional endings take around 2h because of a handy chapter skip function that unlocks after your first play-through.

And the Pen Pal LE is one of the nicest collectors editions I've ever bought, highly recommended.
 
P

PoshAlligatorRD

Neo Member
takoyaki said:
Beautiful OT Dandy!

I'd say the playtime is 25h max. for a complete play-through. It took me 14h to complete the game the first time, additional endings take around 2h because of a handy chapter skip function that unlocks after your first play-through.

And the Pen Pal LE is one of the nicest collectors editions I've ever bought, highly recommended.
Click to expand...

Ah, I'm so happy you liked the Pen Pal LE! It's a little different from like the Gal Gun panties, but we thought it would really fit the mood of this game.

Yeah a first run through is doable in like 10 hours-ish. Then you'll want to get true end. It's worth looking up some gameplay videos - we have the first half hour on Rice Digital though I'm sure there are more, and we will have the live MCM stuff up soon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMuCqaunnQ0

What's different with this one and other VNs is how pacy it is. You'll be moving between environments and areas a lot so in that sense it doesn't take as long as some other VNs. I still think it's pretty substantial though.
 
moozoom

moozoom

Member
Maybe you should mention in the OP there is a big problem on the vita PAL version if your console is not in English as main language :

the game starts but soon after the choice of the protagonist name there is a black screen with music and nothing else happens.

Videos of the problem by a youtube user :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJp0VAvMmDI
https://youtu.be/gC4woEtgmLw


>> They are working on a patch (contacted them on facebook)

SOLVING THE BUG in the meantime :

Set your system language to ENGLISH - and restart the game.
 
S

Shizuka

Member
I've just started playing the game, it looks great on the PS4. The premise is very interesting as well, I can't wait to get further into the game.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
Oh snap, those two reviews are actually positive! Maybe the hate that the game got in Japan wasn't justified after all.

Then again, they're not the most prolific of online publications.
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Acquiescence said:
Oh snap, those two reviews are actually positive! Maybe the hate that the game got in Japan wasn't justified after all.

Then again, they're not the most prolific of online publications.
Click to expand...

Not really, Id say more of the userbase would be jaded with how many visual novels are available here. So its a lot easier to pick apart titles.

As stated the main complaints were about the scenario and main heroine. Which are usually 2 main things that makes or breaks a game. Scenario and characters.
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
That makes 5 good reviews and 1 bad for English reviews. Hopefully more will show up eventually to give a nice even spread for folks to look through.

The bad review below. 3 / 10
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2016/10/31/root-letter-review/

Most def is good to see even with this tiny number of reviews that there are at least more positives than negative.

Another positive review (no score though)
http://www.ricedigital.co.uk/root-letter-review/

8 / 10
http://www.brashgames.co.uk/2016/10/28/root-letter-review/
 
eXistor

eXistor

Member
I've only just started it, but my first impression is pretty good, especially coming off of Psycho Pass, which is incredibly bland presentation-wise, this feels like a breath of fresh air. I love mysteries in general so I think I'll have fun with this one, I kinda get a Another Code vibe from it actually.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
You know, I still don't get why they priced VNs to cost more on PS4 than on Vita. Like maybe not having crossbuy might be justified, but the fact that the console version is 20 bucks more seems strange. That said, I still ordered the PS4 version anyway.
 
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Possumowner

Member
Looks gorgeous,didnt realise is got some hate in Japan but those reviews in the whole seem positive,definitely gonna pick it up and bite the bullet
 
A

Ancirawr

Member
So excited to read some of the impressions for this game and hearing it is good and looks great on the Vita has me pumped for payday. With this and Steins;Gate 0 later this month I should be set until right before Christmas :D
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
So the game has actually reviewed pretty darn positively so far with the exception of the TheSixthAxis, who tore it apart.

Right, well that's solidified my purchase for some time this year. I was expecting a shipwreck and now I'm back on the hype train again.
 
Y

YianGaruga

Banned
Acquiescence said:
So the game has actually reviewed pretty darn positively so far with the exception of the TheSixthAxis, who tore it apart.

Right, well that's solidified my purchase for some time this year. I was expecting a shipwreck and now I'm back on the hype train again.
Click to expand...
From my limited playtime some of the points in the SixthAxis reviews shouldn't be completely disregarded, but a 3 is ridiculous. Too bad it really drags down the metascore.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
YianGaruga said:
From my limited playtime some of the points in the SixthAxis reviews shouldn't be completely disregarded, but a 3 is ridiculous. Too bad it really drags down the metascore.
Click to expand...

Yeah that is a bit unfortunate, but after being constantly reminded of the backlash against the game in Japan these past few months, I'm chuffed to bits at the reception towards it so far in the West. I fell in love with this game the first time I saw it, due mostly to the art and general premise I suppose, so it's nice to see that much of the hate was generally unwarranted.
 
P

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Acquiescence said:
Yeah that is a bit unfortunate, but after being constantly reminded of the backlash against the game in Japan these past few months, I'm chuffed to bits at the reception towards it so far in the West. I fell in love with this game the first time I saw it, due mostly to the art and general premise I suppose, so it's nice to see that much of the hate was generally unwarranted.
Click to expand...

As mentioned earlier, its not unwarranted, but a different point of view from a different audience.

As obviously the game did not manage to resonate well with the market here (in Japan) but it does seem to be received well so far for the most part in the West if these reviews that are out are any sort of indication.

Its kinda bad that both versions of the game are going for around 2000 yen on Amazon JP. Which means units are not going anywhere if its dropped that hard. But since people are enjoying it in the West that really doesnt matter much lol.
 
A

Azure Phoenix

Member
I'd love to be playing this but I'm still waiting for my Pen Pal edition, I pre-ordered it the day it went up and it's listed as in-stock yet still hasn't been dispatched. Not impressed with Rice for my first order with them.
 
S

somotodsyo

Member
Received my Limited Edition today! Artwork on the box looks really nice, though I'm a little disappointed they used the same artwork on the LE box and the game case, as I love the look of the regular edition case as well.

Now I need to decide if I want to finish Ace Attorney 6 first or jump into this...
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
I'm surprised at how much of a positive reception it's getting despite the wooden writing/localisation and workmanlike script that have been pointed out.

A visual novel lives mostly by its written word, so I was expecting more pragmatism when it comes to examining crucial elements like that.

I mean, I recently played through the decade old Hotel Dusk 215 and the quality of writing is eons ahead of Root Letter, as is the presentation with its beautiful rotoscoped art. Relatively speaking it does feel like it's getting a free pass.
 
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