Hey guys, just to preface this, I'm going to be discussing the game as a whole, so there'll be open spoilers. Read at your own peril!
Another point, in reading this back, is that it assumes some knowledge of the game. I considered putting a synopsis in for those who lack familarity, but I'm too lazy. Sorry!
So recently, I finally played through Steins Gate. It's been a long time coming, as I bought (and proceeded to never play) a Japanese copy and then used the fan translation patch, and then also got the Vita version at launch. A year on, and I've finally played through it.
The thing that Steins Gate really, really excels at in my eyes, which is also completely separate to the (exceptional) time travel story, is the way that the characters are written, and how they act and react to each other and the world around them. I can't think of another Japanese game where the characters are so believably grounded in their world. When they say something dumb, someone calls them on it; when they're distressed, they break down; when they're scared, they run away.
Okabe, the protagonist, is one of the best examples of this. He acts like a character from a JRPG, styling himself Hououin Kyouma and talking about secret organisations and special abilities. The thing is, none of it is real, and the world around him acknowledges this fact. He's the butt of the joke, rather than the enigma that he likes to pretend. But as the events of the game take a turn for the worse, it becomes apparent that even he is in on the joke.
One of the most significant parts of the game for me was when Mayuri is shot in the head (...the first time). The characters are confronted with danger, and freeze up. Mayuri unfreezes and gets killed. The immediate reaction isn't a speech about revenge or a monologue about friendship, it's Daru dropping to his knees, clutching his head and wailing. Daru doesn't want to fight anyone, or save the world, he just doesn't understand what's happening.
The game carries its characters so sincerely all the way through, to the point that I can't remember a single scene that seems out of character (maybe the thing with Okabe and Lukako, I dunno). By the time you get to the end, you've seen everyone go through the full gamut of emotions, and always earnestly.
I feel like a large part of it is due to the visual novel format, but even still, I can't remember the last time a game made me laugh so much, and also hit me so much on an emotional level (
).
In the not-true-but-maybe-should-be-true ending, when Kurisu is sacrificed in order to right the world again, Okabe returns to the present, where he goes back to acting like a character from an anime. Mayuri tells him that he can stop acting like that, he isn't fooling anyone. His facade breaks, and he falls down and cries over everything he's been through.
Roll the credits. That's how you end a fucking videogame.
Another point, in reading this back, is that it assumes some knowledge of the game. I considered putting a synopsis in for those who lack familarity, but I'm too lazy. Sorry!
So recently, I finally played through Steins Gate. It's been a long time coming, as I bought (and proceeded to never play) a Japanese copy and then used the fan translation patch, and then also got the Vita version at launch. A year on, and I've finally played through it.
The thing that Steins Gate really, really excels at in my eyes, which is also completely separate to the (exceptional) time travel story, is the way that the characters are written, and how they act and react to each other and the world around them. I can't think of another Japanese game where the characters are so believably grounded in their world. When they say something dumb, someone calls them on it; when they're distressed, they break down; when they're scared, they run away.
Okabe, the protagonist, is one of the best examples of this. He acts like a character from a JRPG, styling himself Hououin Kyouma and talking about secret organisations and special abilities. The thing is, none of it is real, and the world around him acknowledges this fact. He's the butt of the joke, rather than the enigma that he likes to pretend. But as the events of the game take a turn for the worse, it becomes apparent that even he is in on the joke.
One of the most significant parts of the game for me was when Mayuri is shot in the head (...the first time). The characters are confronted with danger, and freeze up. Mayuri unfreezes and gets killed. The immediate reaction isn't a speech about revenge or a monologue about friendship, it's Daru dropping to his knees, clutching his head and wailing. Daru doesn't want to fight anyone, or save the world, he just doesn't understand what's happening.
The game carries its characters so sincerely all the way through, to the point that I can't remember a single scene that seems out of character (maybe the thing with Okabe and Lukako, I dunno). By the time you get to the end, you've seen everyone go through the full gamut of emotions, and always earnestly.
I feel like a large part of it is due to the visual novel format, but even still, I can't remember the last time a game made me laugh so much, and also hit me so much on an emotional level (
I'm lying. I can. It was Persona 4. But shhhh.
In the not-true-but-maybe-should-be-true ending, when Kurisu is sacrificed in order to right the world again, Okabe returns to the present, where he goes back to acting like a character from an anime. Mayuri tells him that he can stop acting like that, he isn't fooling anyone. His facade breaks, and he falls down and cries over everything he's been through.
Roll the credits. That's how you end a fucking videogame.
