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The House in Fata Morgana |OT| Obsession. Sadism. Avarice. Zealotry. Death.

F

Funyarinpa

Member
KharmaPolice said:
So, what is the best place to buy the OST? iTunes has it as does Steam? Though it is more expensive on iTunes and the track order seems to be messed up. I've never bought music on Steam before, what file format do the tracks come in?
Click to expand...

I bought it from Steam and I'm a happy camper. Really high quality (though I'm no audiophile), track names and order isn't messed up, no DRM.

Taruranto said:
Chapter 8 spoilers

I personally don't dislike it, I appreciate what they tried to do, but I can see why some people may have issues with it it. Door 7's ending sorta "hypes" you, and then Door 8 starts and it essentially resets the story and you feel kinda like you are starting another novel. The door also a lot of humor, especially if you pick certain answers. The humor itself is not bad, but it can feel a bit out of place.

I think it's the only time Fata has serious pacing problems, most VN suffer from a massive numbers of repetitions or slice of life scenes, FM only had a couple until that point.
Click to expand...

In my opinion (full spoilers)
it's actually a good thing that the Eighth Door is relatively lighthearted. The worst that Michel and Giselle had to endure are now behind them,
and so they can now move to save Morgana. It's gone from a desperate struggle to an act of closure and moving on, so I appreciate the tonal shift.

Also,

I really don't mind the repeating scenes. Every time they repeated,
they were recontextualized which made some moments especially heartwrenching when seeing them again.
 
Q

Qurupeke

Member
Door 3:

Another tragedy, but the whole story seemed almost out of place. Maybe it was because of the more modern setting, maybe because there wasn't really a big twist. Still, it was a hell of a ride. The music that played on Maria's revelation, along with the final scene were so over the top I loved them.

A bit after that...
Doors 4&5:

Fairly interesting developments. I expected something was wrong on the first story, I really liked the subversion of it. Also, the interactions between Michel and the girl, both times, were insanely cute. Alas, no happy ending of course. It's kind of amazing there are still so many unanswered questions, but the Maid's past will be interesting.
 
D

Dee Dee

Member
I am writing this about to see the end of Door 3 (or what I believe to be the end):

Jacopo confessing his love to a closed shed.
I'm going to make a risky guess.
The white haired girl inside has killed herself since the deadline has passed.
Gosh darnit.
The game becomes a bit less surprising if you start assuming the worst always.
:/

Let's see if I guessed right! There's still an unaccounted for factor in this story too...

Edit: Well, I was close. That last image got me good though. :(

Second Edit: Uh. What is happening in my backlog.
 
T

themaskedndi

Member
Dee Dee said:
I am writing this about to see the end of Door 3 (or what I believe to be the end):

Jacopo confessing his love to a closed shed.
I'm going to make a risky guess.
The white haired girl inside has killed herself since the deadline has passed.
Gosh darnit.
The game becomes a bit less surprising if you start assuming the worst always.
:/
Click to expand...

Door 3 spoilers

That's what I expected too. I'm glad that I was wrong!

Door 3 was probably my least favorite so far. The misunderstandings dragged on for so long, and Maria felt like such a cartoonish villain. I figured out that she was setting them up after the scene with the perfume, which probably compounded my frustrations.

I did enjoy pieces of it, though, like the scene with the phenakistoscope and the weird stuff in the cellar.

Post Door 3 question

Does the room you call for the maid in make a difference? I went back to the stained glass window first and called for her there. I saved before I started exploring the mansion.
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
themaskedndi said:
Post Door 3 question

Does the room you call for the maid in make a difference? I went back to the stained glass window first and called for her there. I saved before I started exploring the mansion.
Click to expand...

The Maid would only appear in that room, if I'm not mistaken.

----

Demon Child
Oh wow, wow, I never expected that the game would deal with gender dysphoria and intersexuality. It really gets into it too. That scene when he writes out his name and erases the last two is simple yet so cathartic. "For the first time, it feels right."

(the whole sequence of him getting sick then rapidly becomes a hunk in three months is weird, though. That doesn't normally happen, right? To begin with, do boys actually get a fever before their voice breaks?)

His brothers are complete jerks. I don't care what their excuses are; I completely question their sincerity if they left him rotting for two years in the same fricking house, only snapping out of it when his life is in immediate danger.

That whole segment in captivity with Aimee is over the top and I dislike it. He's already rejected by his mother, about to be killed by his father and abandoned by his brothers. Is there a narrative need to add malicious physical and mental torture on top of those? It's beginning to feel like everyone is in a suffering competition.

EDIT:
Wait, are we seriously continuing this flashback up until Michel's death again? Oh gee, I wonder how much more suffering they could cram into it this time. Maybe the very knight who stabs him is actually Didier. Maybe Aimee will come and spit on his corpse. Bleh.
 
S

Slashlen

Member
Door 2:
This one seemed to get going much faster than the first door. I thought it dragged on for a few bits in the middle, but that was probably because I figured out the big twist fairly early. I'm a fan of that twist though, and the additional parts that came after. The Beast/Man twist was a good play on perspective, but they manage to pile on several others in the latter part of the story. Just about everyone there seemed to have a fundamentally incorrect read on Bestia in some way.
 
O

OniBaka

Member
Aokage said:
You want the House in Fata Morgana manga officially translated?

Do you now... ;)
Click to expand...
Oh hell yeah, is manga just a retelling of the VN?

Tbh I wish it was on android or iOS because my friends don't play on pc so can't get them to try the VN out.
 
T

Taruranto

Member
Scrooge McDuck said:
(the whole sequence of him getting sick then rapidly becomes a hunk in three months is weird, though. That doesn't normally happen, right? To begin with, do boys actually get a fever before their voice breaks?)
Click to expand...

I think it probably has to do with the hormones imbalance in his body more than anything. The novel can't really give us Michel's medical history for an obvious reason (the time period).


That whole segment in captivity with Aimee is over the top and I dislike it. He's already rejected by his mother, about to be killed by his father and abandoned by his brothers. Is there a narrative need to add malicious physical and mental torture on top of those? It's beginning to feel like everyone is in a suffering competition.
Click to expand...

Yeah,
I disliked Aimee and found her over the top too. The scenes with the brothers and the mother on other hand are great because they feel "natural", like you can see Dieder and George try to understand him and love Michel, but they ultimately actually fail to understand him.


Chapter 7 spoiler, don't open until you finish it:

Honestly I loved the second part of the 7th door, the way it completely re-contextualize Michel's character, his relationship with Giselle (You finally get why she was so important for him) and ties him to Morgana. Plus the chapter's climax is pretty much the most powerful scene of the novel.

It's very to easy to write a character who suffers a lot, but it's hard to do it in a way that feels natural and doesn't feel manipulative. Michel's tragedy pretty much hit the target for me, even more than Giselle and Morgana.

It's also pretty neatly foreshadowed, especially during Door 4's backlog and the "Recall yourself" scene. Morgana literally tells him at one point, that she will unveil his secret in front of the woman he loved, eh.
 
A

aravuus

Member
OniBaka said:
Oh hell yeah, is manga just a retelling of the VN?

Tbh I wish it was on android or iOS because my friends don't play on pc so can't get them to try the VN out.
Click to expand...

I wish it was on Android cause reading a "book" on the PC is tiring

Might try one of those remote desktop apps though, could read on my tablet but the sound would still output from the speakers I've got connected to the PC
 
X

XMSHO

Member
Being a kirikiri game you could simulate it on Android with something like Kirikiroid2... But you need to disable some Steam related commands first inside the main .xp3
 
D

Dee Dee

Member
Can I just post my question again: I am in Door 4 and
my backlog is... hm. Weird?

Or... is trying to tell me something? Because it does seem to add stuff in that wasn't there... and obscures stuff that was.

So... do I trust the mysterious voice in my backlog? I feel I shouldn't. Red font wtf.

I fucking love when games do these things by the way,
hiding stuff in the UI or options or the title screen.
 
A

aravuus

Member
XMSHO said:
Being a kirikiri game you could simulate it on Android with something like Kirikiroid2... But you need to disable some Steam related commands first inside the main .xp3
Click to expand...

Ooh, this sounds promising. I just move the whole game folder to the tablet and that's about it? What modifications do you need to do to the .xp3 file?
 
X

XMSHO

Member
Muntu said:
Ooh, this sounds promising. I just move the whole game folder to the tablet and that's about it? What modifications do you need to do to the .xp3 file?
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I'm quite busy these days to make a patch or detailed guide, it something I was experimenting with around August/September last year.

But first you need to know how to extract&repack .xp3 files (use insani Xp3tools, there is a Readme file).
In data.xp3, replace \system\Initialize.tjs with this.
In data_en.xp3, replace \scenario\first.ks with this.
And you're ready to go, repack the files and move them to your tablet. To run the game using Kirikiroid2 navigate to its folder then press on data.xp3.

I'm not sure how the game will handle achievements when you reach one of them, It may or may not crash. If someone is up to giving this a proper check / made a user friendly patch feel free to do so.
 
K

Kalor

Member
I've been making my way through it since I won a copy last week and it's pretty good.

Door 2:
I figured out the twist about the beast about midway through but it took a different form than I was expecting. I thought the beast stuff was going to be literal and he somehow transformed into one so I was surprised to see that he was actually a person. Even thought there seems to be witches and weird mansion magic, the idea of these beasts existing was sort of offputting at the start so I was glad that they weren't literal with it.

I started the third door and the new music is pretty good so I'm excited to get further into it.
 
Q

Qurupeke

Member
Just started the (Late door spoilers)
7th
door and holy shit.

This is intense. The thought that Michel and Michelle were the same person passed my mind, but the game confused me and I decided that maybe that wasn't the case. I thought that the witch might be the white haired girl and I kind of accepted that. Looking forward to Michel/Michelle's past because it's the one blank spot right now.

Anyway, the witch's story was very brutal. Not really surprising, it took place on the Dark Ages after all, but just imagining everything was really agonizing.
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
Taruranto said:
Chapter 7 spoiler, don't open until you finish it:

Honestly I loved the second part of the 7th door, the way it completely re-contextualize Michel's character, his relationship with Giselle (You finally get why she was so important for him) and ties him to Morgana. Plus the chapter's climax is pretty much the most powerful scene of the novel.
Click to expand...

Yea, I was somewhat upset and so didn't really think it through when making that comment. Now that I've actually played through it, I agree that the second part has many good, important stuff. The segment about the painting was expected, but really drove the point how Georges didn't really understand Michel (at least he's remorseful, because surely that Man in the Painting is him).

Even though I mockingly predicted it, the part with Didier, it's actually felt like a sincere, heart-wrenching moment, with all the things leading up to it. I could do without the following part of Michel's corpse getting dragged to town, displayed and rotting, though.

Final Door
I'm just starting this but I just have to say that I love, love their banters, I don't care if they're cheesy. Please let the end of this tale a happy one for them (well, as happy as it could be, considering that they're both are pretty much already dead). I'm also really glad to get a more playful mood here because all the grimness was honestly starting to wear me down.

I have apprehension about the premise here, though. I have enough faith to believe that the creators would not got for a dumb "changing history" conclusion, so let's just move past that right into the idea of getting to know these three villains better.

I agree with Morgana that it doesn't really matter why they do such a heinous thing. Like, I can maybeee see Mell becoming kinda sympathetic with his whole pitiable "I just want peaceful life for me and everyone" thing. But his action would still be unjustified, and I'm sure the rest two guys would largely still be their despicable selves.

So I don't understand what Michel is going for, here. Unless Morgana straight up lied about her story, showing and reminding Morgana of these three would only makes things worse. At this point, there could be no forgiveness, yar? Making her forget and move on seems more attainable.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Kinda apoilery for the final door. To be safe scrooge don't read until you've finished it.
Sometimes forgiveness and moving on are not one and the same.
 
A

also

Banned
Spoilers for up to door
7

I don't consider myself squeamish when it comes to gore but Morgana's backstory was too much. I had to take some breaks to clear my mind. Her willingly giving her own blood was already disturbing but then it just gets worse and worse.
And the worst thing is I find myself thinking that if someone can imagine something within the realms of reality, no matter how twisted, then it definitely happened.

It doesn't look like the game has any intention of slowing down any time soon.
 
KLoWn

KLoWn

Member
Kalor said:
I started the third door and the new music is pretty good so I'm excited to get further into it.
Click to expand...
The music only gets better as it goes on.

In fact, I thought it started off kind of weak, especially considering how the developers themselves stated at the beginning of the game of proud they were of their music, but as it went on, goddamn, the soundtrack is some masterclass shit.
 
I

ike_

Member
Played the backstage (post-game) stuff and freaking loved it. Much less 4th wall breaking than I was expecting.

12 out of 12 game recommendations for me on Steam are currently visual novels despite having never played one before this. I'm starting to think Steam is right.
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
ike_ said:
Played the backstage (post-game) stuff and freaking loved it. Much less 4th wall breaking than I was expecting.

12 out of 12 game recommendations for me on Steam are currently visual novels despite having never played one before this. I'm starting to think Steam is right.
Click to expand...
There is a lot of junk in the genre. Be wary! (Or ask people here for recommendations.)
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Visual novels are like everything else really. 1% good and 99% junk. :p

Especially on Steam though. Jesus there is so much junk on there.
 
I

ike_

Member
Thanks. Yeah, the Steam reviews themselves make it sound like this is among the best available right now. So I'll temper my expectations and probably ask for advice before the next.

From earlier in this thread it sounds like Steins;Gate is comparable, but I think I've already spoiled that one for myself by watching the anime first. Oh well, I'll need a bit of time anyways.

edit: And thanks for all the suggestions! I'll definitely be checking some of these out.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
ike_ said:
Thanks. Yeah, the Steam reviews themselves make it sound like this is among the best available right now. So I'll temper my expectations and probably ask for advice before the next.

From earlier in this thread it sounds like Steins;Gate is comparable, but I think I've already spoiled that one for myself by watching the anime first. Oh well, I'll need a bit of time anyways.
Click to expand...

There's steinsgate 0 which is not as good but still pretty good.

Especially if you're in it for the suffering.
 
S

Shizuka

Member
This game got a pretty big spike on Steamspy, it's now ahead of Ozmafia and a few other Mangagamer games that were ahead of this one before the sale.
 
S

Scrooge McDuck

Member
OniBaka said:
Going have to disagree with that and I watched the anime first.
Click to expand...

I read the VN first so maybe that's the key here! :p


Final Door (partway)

Just finished Yukimasa's account, and... I still generally like all the exploring and snooping in-between (and I really like that conversation between Michel and "past" Morgana), but the actual flashbacks are kinda a drag. It's still really hard to sympathize with them, all things considered, and they both unfold pretty much as expected. Also, things are beginning to feel grim again now that Giselle is gone...

Meanwhile, I'm beginning to suspect shenanigans and that the Lord from four years before is not actually the same Lord who rules now. The motivations are completely different. Whereas the "old" Lord seems to revel in short-sighted debaucheries - using Morgana for as party tricks for himself and guests - the "new" Lord uses Morgana as a mean to gather capital in that pragmatic Jacopo way. The other key characters also turns out to have the same names, why not him?

So I think! Maybe Jean-François is the actual Lord from four years ago, and then Jacopo usurped him and took his identity somehow. Maybe... Maybe Jacopo is that slave boy who cared for Morgana... somehow.

Because it all fits! Now that Maria turns out to be Morgana's acquaintance from the brothel - pulling out chapter of her life to the front - the slave boy feels to stick out too much not have relevance to the current story. He's also would be more likely to have personal connections with Maria, not the actual Lord.

It also perfectly feeds to Michel's theory that the White-Haired Girl is actually an aspect of Morgana: both the White-Haired Girl and Morgana being the ones Mell were attracted to, as well as Yukimasa's tethers, and the persons Jacopo love.


... Or maybe the slave boy is just poor Javi.
 
K

Knurek

Member
ike_ said:
Thanks. Yeah, the Steam reviews themselves make it sound like this is among the best available right now. So I'll temper my expectations and probably ask for advice before the next.

From earlier in this thread it sounds like Steins;Gate is comparable, but I think I've already spoiled that one for myself by watching the anime first. Oh well, I'll need a bit of time anyways.
Click to expand...

The closest thing to Fata Morgana on Steam is probably Umineko.
There's also Cupid, which has the advantage of being free.
 
T

themaskedndi

Member
ike_ said:
Thanks. Yeah, the Steam reviews themselves make it sound like this is among the best available right now. So I'll temper my expectations and probably ask for advice before the next.

From earlier in this thread it sounds like Steins;Gate is comparable, but I think I've already spoiled that one for myself by watching the anime first. Oh well, I'll need a bit of time anyways.
Click to expand...

I played Steins;Gate after watching the anime and felt like I got a lot out of it. The anime is a pretty condensed version of the game's story, so there will be plenty of new content there for you.

Visual novels are tricky. I am hesitant to recommend a lot of titles I've enjoyed. I'd suggest poking around on VNDB and looking for games that have free demos.
 
S

Slashlen

Member
Door 3:
I really liked Jacobo. It does the whole "make an irredeemable asshole character sympathetic" trope really well. Even by the end, I wouldn't call him a good person, it's more like his set of character flaws is completely different than we were led to expect. The twist seemed a bit weak in this one. We find out a single person was pulling the strings and their plan succeeds without any real issues(yes she dies, but after she won and only because she's a bad shot). I guess I was hoping for her to get caught up in her own schemes somehow.
 
Q

Qurupeke

Member
Late Game spoilers:

I'm midway on Door 8, I think, and damn this is a huge chapter. It kind of sours my experience, as I just want to reach the story's conclusion and the VN tries to make it as slow as possible. I like the story and it's an interesting development compared to anything thus far, but damn, it's so slow.
 
T

Taruranto

Member
I was lucky that I had to stop for some days during chapter 8, I'd imagine it's not the best thing if you are reading it all at once. :X


ike_ said:
Thanks. Yeah, the Steam reviews themselves make it sound like this is among the best available right now. So I'll temper my expectations and probably ask for advice before the next.

From earlier in this thread it sounds like Steins;Gate is comparable, but I think I've already spoiled that one for myself by watching the anime first. Oh well, I'll need a bit of time anyways.
Click to expand...

There is nothing like Fata in the VN medium, both in terms of quality and themes/maturity.

I guess Umineko could be consider close to it in atmosphere/themes, but I don't think it's very good and R07 bit more than he could chew. Also maybe Sharnoth?
 
RAL1992

RAL1992

Member
My god, what an emotional experience from start to finish, I loved the individual stories and how they ended up intertwining together with the overall arc of Morganas life experiences, the story near left me broken in places but the whole scene after the credits ran (Ended up with the best ending) was simply beautiful, I have no other words for it, I was expecting even more despair for Giselle with how Michels soul was slipping away, so I was blown away with how things played out.

My only real issue with the game is the repetitiveness in the final chapters, however, I can understand why the developers went that way with it, to remind you of the characters actions, personally I think I exacerbated the problem with me binging the final sections.

I want to thank OniBaka, both for the giveaway and for enabling me to play what is an exceptional game, which would of most probably stayed under the radar for me but has become my GOAT. I'd love to buy a copy for a friend of mine eventually but he doesn't have a PC atm, does the Japanese ps vita version have English subs? Cheers all!
 
F

Funyarinpa

Member
Athanix said:
My god, what an emotional experience from start to finish, I loved the individual stories and how they ended up intertwining together with the overall arc of Morganas life experiences, the story near left me broken in places but the whole scene after the credits ran (Ended up with the best ending) was simply beautiful, I have no other words for it, I was expecting even more despair for Giselle with how Michels soul was slipping away, so I was blown away with how things played out.

My only real issue with the game is the repetitiveness in the final chapters, however, I can understand why the developers went that way with it, to remind you of the characters actions, personally I think I exacerbated the problem with me binging the final sections.

I want to thank OniBaka, both for the giveaway and for enabling me to play what is an exceptional game, which would of most probably stayed under the radar for me but has become my GOAT. I'd love to buy a copy for a friend of mine eventually but he doesn't have a PC atm, does the Japanese ps vita version have English subs? Cheers all!
Click to expand...

Really glad to hear all that! The JP Vita version has no English subs, but we're (as the game's community) trying our best to get it localized, and there have been hints. Wouldn't hold off for it though, get your friend a PC asap :)
 
D

Dee Dee

Member
Some of the stuff in that game made me turn off the sound.

Reminded me of some of the newer Scott Walker stuff. Very corporal sounds, making you physically react to it.
I appreciate artists going there. It's not a place I can personally stay at for long though.

I started Door
7
which I gather is close to the end.
This game started tackling some wholly different topics then I would have guessed. It feels well done, but a lot of this is very far out of my realm of experience so I have to base my impressions on my own sensibilities here.
It's also a game with a lot more honest romance than I thought. Subverted by tons of guilt.

I have a bad feeling about the upconing chapter - of course.
WTF at Giselle randomly drinking warm floor "wine" a few chapters before. Come on game. "Oh how nice he warmed it up for me..."
No. NO. This the end right there.
 
A

also

Banned
I completed it but I need a bit of time to gather my thoughts and read through the thread; I just skimmed it before because I didn't want to accidentally spoil myself. For now I will just say that overall it was excellent. Praise be to darkmark1987 for giving me a copy.

Regarding the OST, while I find myself listening to Giselle again and again, it is Hex that is my favourite. I think I got chills the first time I heard it; the art, the music, and text all blended together to create the perfect scene.
 
L

Lumination

'enry 'ollins
Atmej said:
Regarding the OST, while I find myself listening to Giselle again and again, it is Hex that is my favourite. I think I got chills the first time I heard it; the art, the music, and text all blended together to create the perfect scene.
Click to expand...
I think it's impossible to hear Giselle when it comes up in the game and not feel incredible emotions.

I love alternating between Hex and the Youth Choir version. It's definitely on my playlist of 20 odd tracks I still listen to regularly.
 
T

Taruranto

Member
"A fleeting fata morgana" is secretly the best piece of the OST, but you only hear it once.

But yeah Giselle is the best. After that Cicio, Hex (both versions). Door 3 themes are all good. The OP is really good too, but I sorta forgot about it until I re listened it.
 
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