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Utawarerumono Mask of Deception - |OT| Underwater Ray Romano

jonjonaug

Member
Finished the game and the ending is Trails in the Sky First Chapter/Digital Devil Saga 1 levels of "give me the second game NOW". What a fantastic game, Utawarerumono 3 can't come out soon enough.
 
I'm enjoying the game, I'm at the
Tuskur invasion
. But I don't really see where all the knocks on the anime came from, it's pretty much the same thing, the adaptation didn't even really cut much.
 
I'm at the 13h mark , wrapping nosuri stuff

i laughed .. i laughed a lot .. yep the writting's pretty good

During those 13 hours i'd say the character building's excellent
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Finished the game and the ending is Trails in the Sky First Chapter/Digital Devil Saga 1 levels of "give me the second game NOW". What a fantastic game, Utawarerumono 3 can't come out soon enough.

Yeah that seems to be the same general reaction from those that played in the import thread lol.

At least you folks dont have to wait a whole year like we did.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
small question..
did we get the first utawarerumono in english for any console?

Never came out in the West on any of the platforms (pc, ps2, psp).

Its why in the OT I tell people to watch the anime instead as its the main legit way to check out the series.

While chances are slim am hoping for a remake of the first game on current gen systems.
 
How does this game scale to Vita? Do the SRPG segments have a clear HUD and feel smooth to navigate?

Torn on whether to get it for PS4 or Vita, my 64GB memory card is full so I'll have to import the North American Vita version.
 

Shizuka

Member
How does this game scale to Vita? Do the SRPG segments have a clear HUD and feel smooth to navigate?

Torn on whether to get it for PS4 or Vita, my 64GB memory card is full so I'll have to import the North American Vita version.

It's great, there's nothing wrong with the Vita version.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Cool, might import then. As long as it doesn't feel janky or unpolished or have tiny text I'm in for Vita.

If you are trying to buy the game from the idea that you will get an awesome SRPG experience you better look somewhere else. As its a fairly simple in terms of gameplay and in general the game isnt trying to compete with other pure SRPG titles.

Now if you understand that this is mainly a visual novel that has brief SRPG parts to give the players a break from all the reading then you will be fine with either choice of platform you make.

Game is about 70/30 in terms of Visual Novel to SRPG content. So you will be doing a lot more reading than fighting.

In regards to the Vita ver with the SRPG portions the geaphics will not be as sharp as the screenshots shown in the OT. Outside of that the Vita version is perfectly fine and well suited to the genre.
 

Hubb

Member
It's very literal and the localization for names and places differed from the "official" localizations but it's good enough.

I have no idea why Sentai decided to spell Eluluu and then stay with Aruruu...

Haven't played the PC fan translation in a long time, but I don't remember anything wrong with it.
 

Sitrus

Member
I honestly think Maroro is easier to understand in Japanese than in the English one. That shakespearean way of speaking is almost gibberish to me.
 

Shizuka

Member
I honestly think Maroro is easier to understand in Japanese than in the English one. That shakespearean way of speaking is almost gibberish to me.

I must admit, it's pretty hard to read for people who didn't grow up in english-speaking countries.
 

lavarock

Neo Member
I have no idea why Sentai decided to spell Eluluu and then stay with Aruruu...

Haven't played the PC fan translation in a long time, but I don't remember anything wrong with it.

Recently tried fan translated pc version, even on modern Windows 10 the game is still completely playable(in full screen mode). Even though game is 15 years old it aged very well.
 
If you are trying to buy the game from the idea that you will get an awesome SRPG experience you better look somewhere else. As its a fairly simple in terms of gameplay and in general the game isnt trying to compete with other pure SRPG titles.

Now if you understand that this is mainly a visual novel that has brief SRPG parts to give the players a break from all the reading then you will be fine with either choice of platform you make.

Game is about 70/30 in terms of Visual Novel to SRPG content. So you will be doing a lot more reading than fighting.

In regards to the Vita ver with the SRPG portions the geaphics will not be as sharp as the screenshots shown in the OT. Outside of that the Vita version is perfectly fine and well suited to the genre.

I knew all of that already, it's just that the SRPG portions of the game have a turn-order HUD which looks like it'll be painful on the Vita's display. I want it on Vita precisely because it's a visual novel.
 
I knew all of that already, it's just that the SRPG portions of the game have a turn-order HUD which looks like it'll be painful on the Vita's display. I want it on Vita precisely because it's a visual novel.
The turn order HUD is fine. Nothing is too small to see, really.
I don't even use the turn order though. Battles are easy enough that I don't really care who moves next, haha.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I knew all of that already, it's just that the SRPG portions of the game have a turn-order HUD which looks like it'll be painful on the Vita's display. I want it on Vita precisely because it's a visual novel.

Yeah as others said its pretty much a non issue.
 
The turn order HUD is fine. Nothing is too small to see, really.
I don't even use the turn order though. Battles are easy enough that I don't really care who moves next, haha.

I was lost without it , so i activated it ... but now i don't use it often in battle. It does help but it's not necessary.

But somehow , in srpgs i don't feel at home without a turn order
 

Sora_N

Member
An hour in and loving this game. Combat seems basic but I only did one battle. I really liked the anime back then so it makes me happy to see more. :)
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
An hour in and loving this game. Combat seems basic but I only did one battle. I really liked the anime back then so it makes me happy to see more. :)

Basically dont play the game for the srpg parts as its only really meant as a simple distraction rather than trying to be part of the srpg genre itself lol.

Good to hear that you seem to be enjoying the game though.
 

3Kaze

Member
I just beat the game. After a very slow first half, it picked up and the final act was so good. Overall, the anime series was a really faithful adaptation though, they just had to cut a bunch of things to fit the format (which I agree, made it worse). Now trying to do dream arena stuff but I'm awful at the strategy parts, all my characters get killed in one hit.

Really hyped for Mask of Truth / Futari no Hakuoro either way.
 

Shizuka

Member
I just beat the game. After a very slow first half, it picked up and the final act was so good. Overall, the anime series was a really faithful adaptation though, they just had to cut a bunch of things to fit the format (which I agree, made it worse). Now trying to do dream arena stuff but I'm awful at the strategy parts, all my characters get killed in one hit.

Really hyped for Mask of Truth / Futari no Hakuoro either way.

How long did it take you?
 
I just beat the game. After a very slow first half, it picked up and the final act was so good. Overall, the anime series was a really faithful adaptation though, they just had to cut a bunch of things to fit the format (which I agree, made it worse).

Even after finishing I honestly still don't get the complaints about the anime. The VN is better for the most part, but the anime was a faithful adaptation that didn't really cut much at all. It's not very different from the game, I find it hard to believe someone would like one and not the other.
 
Even after finishing I honestly still don't get the complaints about the anime. The VN is better for the most part, but the anime was a faithful adaptation that didn't really cut much at all. It's not very different from the game, I find it hard to believe someone would like one and not the other.

The anime kept the story and the events , but made changes that messed up the delivery.

It doesn't help that the first game had an arc to tell from start to finish , here it's much more uneven so it's harder for the anime to keep things consistent ( not to mention the ending ).
The game is better told , has more events so things aren't as rushed as the anime did. ( even if the anime did kept all the main events intact , the anime did cut a bunch of small ones).

Imo the only thing the anime did better was
the reveal of what happenned in the past by mikado
. And even then , the game did slowly tease everything to the viewer so it could still be argued that the game reveal is better.

i don't dislike the anime , it's just " disapointing" ?
 

3Kaze

Member
Even after finishing I honestly still don't get the complaints about the anime. The VN is better for the most part, but the anime was a faithful adaptation that didn't really cut much at all. It's not very different from the game, I find it hard to believe someone would like one and not the other.

The only notable difference would be
Haku being depressed because Vurai destroyed a nakwan village in the anime instead of the Tatari stuff. They cut the latter with all the flashbacks foreshadowing the "twist". And if I remember right, Entua was also almost non existent.

The anime shortcomings for me : lack of time to appreciate the characters, it was kinda ugly, and the serious parts don't have the same weight they have in the game.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Even after finishing I honestly still don't get the complaints about the anime. The VN is better for the most part, but the anime was a faithful adaptation that didn't really cut much at all. It's not very different from the game, I find it hard to believe someone would like one and not the other.

Anime screwed up the delivery and watered down almost everything. Its fine if you never plan on playing the game but comparing the two game blows the shit out of the water honestly.

Its not that hard to see the differences between the two unless one either is not paying attention or doesnt care.
 

Sitrus

Member
Finished the game yet again and I have to say I liked the localization quite a lot. Not a lot to pick on the script. They really did a good job conveying the speaking characteristics of Mororo and Atuy.

To chip in, the anime lacks the impact for several key scenes for me. The ending felt really rushed too with several scenes weirdly absent or just plain bad. I will absolutely recommend the VN over the anime by far. My playtime in the end was 21 hours. Well, this is mostly true for most adaptations except maybe Steins;Gate.
 

xXDGFXx

Neo Member
I beat the game and the ending really got to me. Played the game after watching the anime a while back. Definitely can see the complaints. So many moments in the game had an impact on me. Kuon is still best in both of them though :D

...I need more Kuon...
 

Ekid

Member
Done with the game, just got the platinum's trophy.

It was a very enjoyable ride overall, and good to return once again in the world of Utawarerumono.

Given the ending I hope the third game will deliver as there is a lot of questions which will need to be answered.
The things I'm the most curious about are
to know what happened in the time skip between this game and the first one in Tsukur. As in this one it seems Tsukur is considered to be the entire island, which would mean that they have somehow unified/annexed the other countries. Also we don't know who is acting as the oro, maybe Erururuw since she is the only character from the first game who isn't mentioned by name.

I also wonder what the deal is with those masks. Seems strange that the Mikado managed to reproduce the power of the original when the scientists of the first game failed to understand how it even worked.
Also the glossary mention a war in Tsukur a decade ago but it should be closer to 20 years given Kuon apparent age.

Woshis is suspect, Haruka call him "young m....." at some point if I recall correctly.

And I can't get behind the fact that nobody recognize Haku with the mask on. He isn't even of the same species than Oshtor, and is supposed to have only a fraction of everyone strength T_T

Atuy stole the show.

September is too far...
 

KLoWn

Member
Just finished the game, it was great, but with a bit too much filler tbh. Too many segments where they eat or drink, and have to describe how everything tastes etc etc.

The only thing I was somewhat disappointed in was the soundtrack, which was great, but not as good as the one in the first game.
But that's nitpicking, and I can't wait for the next part to drop.

Also,
Nekone is a fuckin idiot
.
 
Done with the game, just got the platinum's trophy.

It was a very enjoyable ride overall, and good to return once again in the world of Utawarerumono.

Given the ending I hope the third game will deliver as there is a lot of questions which will need to be answered.
The things I'm the most curious about are
to know what happened in the time skip between this game and the first one in Tsukur. As in this one it seems Tsukur is considered to be the entire island, which would mean that they have somehow unified/annexed the other countries. Also we don't know who is acting as the oro, maybe Erururuw since she is the only character from the first game who isn't mentioned by name.

I also wonder what the deal is with those masks. Seems strange that the Mikado managed to reproduce the power of the original when the scientists of the first game failed to understand how it even worked.
Also the glossary mention a war in Tsukur a decade ago but it should be closer to 20 years given Kuon apparent age.

Woshis is suspect, Haruka call him "young m....." at some point if I recall correctly.

And I can't get behind the fact that nobody recognize Haku with the mask on. He isn't even of the same species than Oshtor, and is supposed to have only a fraction of everyone strength T_T

Atuy stole the show.

September is too far...
Well , when even
a sibling (nekone) can't see past the disguise with a fake one and that atuy can't either having spend close time near the real thing. it's safe to assume nobody can
 
Well that was an ending alright. It's good knowing that we don't have much of a wait for the sequel (unlike with Trails SC).

Will probably list my thoughts on it later. So far though I would say it's my favorite game of the year, which may not really say that much when I primarily only play Vita games and the occasional PC (Trails 3rd is right behind it).
 

Shizuka

Member
I must be doing something wrong. I just finished the "Playing With Fire" chapter with 25 hours of playtime and it feels like the game will last at least another 30 hours.
 
My thoughts on the game after beating it:

I feel like they could have cut out a good amount of the filler and it wouldn't have taken away much from the game. Having character development scenes is nice, having multiple scenes that basically end in showing the same development that the first scene or 2 showed, isn't really needed when it does not change how the character is portrayed. Did it really need a dozen scenes showing how Anju and Rulutieh were into BL? Did there need to be over a dozen scenes where everyone is just sitting around drinking or eating sweets?

While the srpg element ended up being a smaller percentage of the game than I thought going into it, it really started coming into it's own about halfway through the story. Bosses that can one shot and basic enemies that can do large amounts of dmg as well, made it so you could no longer just breeze through fights. The final few fights in particular ended up being really hard, where one wrong move could end in losing a character. I just started the Dream Arena, but can see that it will end up taking more strategy than any of the fights leading up to it.

As for the ending (the last 5 hours or so), it basically brought the game from 3rd or 4th on my list for the year, to it being first. The "end of humanity" scenario was a nice twist earlier on, but what happened with the conspiracy and twist at the very end where what really made it for me. The "noble sacrifice" trope is something that keeps surprising me in most games it's in, even when it should be obvious that a character is being set up to be killed off in the end. Until the very end when Oshtor stayed back to fight Vurai, I had no idea that he would end up dying.

I'm also a sap for endings that have 2 characters in a relationship and something happens that causes them to break apart, which then leads to a sequel where they get back together. Because that is what made me want to see the sequel right away.
 

perorist

Unconfirmed Member
I'm also a sap for endings that have 2 characters in a relationship and something happens that causes them to break apart, which then leads to a sequel where they get back together. Because that is what made me want to see the sequel right away.
You're going to love a particular scene in the sequel then. The combination of dramatic irony, dialogue, and music (ohhh the music) results in one of the strongest
love story
scenes I've seen in gaming period. I literally went back to watch the scene a few times using the scene viewer after finishing and it's the highlight of the game for me.
 

lavarock

Neo Member
For those that cleared the game while its been up for a few days now heres the Mask of Truth E3 trailer. (which is basically the localized ver of the JP one)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebj8Yu2TwVw

Those that didn't beat the current game dont watch the trailer obviously.

Good timing for the trailer since I just finished the game. Can't wait for the 3rd game to come out fast enough.

Some thoughts on the SRPG part

- As already mentioned, the battle system gets better as it goes on, and actually has quite a good amount of depth and strategy. Being able to rewind is nice, and I have to rewind and start over almost from beginning a few times in hard mode, but maybe it would be nice to have a harder mode without rewind to just add to the challenge.
- The charger type ring are very inconsistent, and I can never finish/critical some of the action chains. When it criticals it seems like luck. Fortunately there is auto-chain so it is not too big of deal, but I still don't understand why the charge ring sometimes don't complete. I should git gud I guess...
- Overall, I'd say the battle system improved a ton from the first game, and really came into its own. I wouldn't mind if the next one has more SRPG element. Instead of a 30:70 SRPG/VN breakdown, more of a 50:50

Some thoughts on story elements and ending

- Doesn't anyone feels bad for Moznu? He basically got framed for doing things he didn't do, and might have got executed. This is one part of the game where I felt justice is not right. Plus, from the battle with him it seems that he's not that bad of a guy after all, want to settle down and do business and all that.
- I hope they provide more ties to Tuskur in the next game and explain more on what happened to everyone. There are a bit too much teases and no tell.
- That ending... I have to say it has one of the most unexpected twist as an ending for games I've played in a long time.
Nekone deserved it though
 
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