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rev-feaw · 5 months

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This game is truly fgo + genshin with arknights system lol

First Impression of Reverse: 1999 from a Long Time Gacha Games Player

Hello! Today I'll tell you my first impression about a new gacha game that just release it's global version not too long ago, "Reverse:1999". I preregistered this game and mind you, I actually had zero intention to add more gacha games into my sleeves especially the turn-based ones, but the art... The ART man!! It caught my attention soo let's dig in!

Before we start I'd like the readers (you) to know that I've been playing gacha games daily for a considered long time, since 2017 and still going on today. Although not a lot of them so here are some that I've played for over 3 months (pretty much understand the overall system):

Fate/Grand Order, Arknights, Genshin Impact, Honkai/Star Rail

Bold are my main daily games. And then here are some that I've tried, well at least I know their UI & prologue lol:

SAO MD (discontinued), Food Fantasy, Granblue Fantasy, Punishing/Gray Raven, Tower of Fantasy

I might bring up some titles to compare and most likely from between the "over 3 months" ones. Then, let's start!

What's the big deal of "gacha game" and why I play them?

I like to draw and gacha games have one of the best community for art clout. No this is serious, and one of my top reason of why I'm playing this borderline gambling type of game.

Gacha games are living from their banner rotation. The second ones are new characters and story reveal that updated regularly... Don't you think these are real good timings for posting?? They also got those art gods that somehow helped the promotion and attract the peasants (me included) to get to know the story and make fanarts too. I'm not kidding. This is why I've been here since I started digital art. Lol.

But every actions need consequences. Gacha games are very high maintenance to stay relevant, from the player's side. You missing one update, you'll feel like an old man. This is the most FOMO (fear of missing out) type of game. The main sacrifice is TIME. So many things need to tend in one game, and if you play multiple it means you have to spare some hours in a day. If you can't, get ready to lose something. Why I don't say money? Because I'm pretty much f2p, I never really spent my money for gacha. But time, time bro. Time also money! This is also why I write this post.

The Premise of Reverse: 1999

The early story kind of reminds me to Persona 3 where there are some special times (Dark Hours in P3) where an ordinary human can't survive and there are some special creatures than survived.

In R:1999 the special time is called "storm" which will turn back time further from your original time. For example, MC is from 1999 but she's sent to 1920s thanks to the storm. So they made a foundation or something to get back to the original time. Well in a sense this is kinda similar to FGO (Fate/Grand Order)'s Chaldea, maybe that's why I'm so driven to try this game lol. The name of those "special creatures" are arcanists.

Actually I don't really understand everything yet, but at least that's the glimpse I got. Also they tried to fix the history or something whenever they're getting sent back so, basically a fancier FGO right?? I have no problem though.

Setting

The game's mainly set in the west in 20th century. I think this is the main perks of the game, because the entire design and aesthetic revolves around this so it can differ greatly from most gacha games that either have fantasy RPG setting or urban post/apocalyptic ones. Personally I really like this.

The Main Character

The MC is such a breath of fresh air!! It's a woman, and people called her "Vertin". So no, not your typical self-insert anime degenerate persona like most gacha games. Here is a very beautiful EP of her:

youtube

The Characters

The characters are pretty unique imo, you can play as inanimate object (visually) like apple and satellites. The arcanists are the playable (and summonable) characters. So expect to see various 20th century-themed designs.

Also the designs are dope!! They're unlike most gacha games' characters designs where they wore something weird that will awaken your darkest corner of brain but here they're just dressed NORMALLY LIKE A NORMAL FANCY PERSON I'm so glad. Normal doesn't mean boring, this is a compliment. Even the "fanserviced" ones are still pretty tasteful than just put random windows everywhere.

Summoning

This game has a carry-over pity on 70th roll, soft pity started like in the 60th. They use the same gacha currency on both permanent and limited banners. There's 50/50 like in Mihoyo games. You need 180 clear drops (?) to turn them into one rabbit statue (?) for a summon. I think this one is very similar with Arknights. Personally in my opinion this is very generous and reasonable, but I'm a FGO player so yeah my "generous" standard may differ greatly with a lot of people lol.

Oh you also can get guaranteed *6 from beginner's summoning banner.

(Early) Gameplay & Progression

The gameplay is like FGO with extra steps. Or FGO with fewer steps... Anyway, it's a card game. Each character has cards you can choose per turn. Once the "stars" are filled you can unleash the ultimate. Honestly? A little boring lol, but things may change once I get out early-game phase. People said this is very similar to 7 Deadly Sins game but I never get close to the IP so idk.

You can set which enemy to hit per card unlike FGO where it's done per turn. Personally I think this is neat. Although among the games I've tried I think Honkai/Star Rail still superior for turn-based system since they can control the speed and whatsoever. However this kind of "fixed" system also nice since you don't need to farm artifacts/relics to be playable.

The early stages are so easy. Well, most games have very easy early stages though, unless a certain popular furry tower defense game (*cough* Arknights *cough*).

For character progression pretty much just level up, no need for artifacts/relics like Mihoyo games so it's fast and easy.

You can set a "replay" for autofarming once you get 2 stars achievement on the node. You can also choose the "amount" of drop rate for just one battle. This is very neat!

Dailies, Weeklies, etc

R:1999 has similar progression with Arknights and Mihoyo games with this one. The daily and weekly tasks literally like Arknight's.

Tbh their dailies are quite a hassle lol, you need at least spend 5-15 minutes to clear all.

And their "battlepass", looks like Genshin's battlepass or HSR's Nameless Honor

Gotta admit between ALL the games I've played, nothing beats the simple daily of LOGIN in FGO (in exchange with disastrous gacha and tremendous farming🙏).

UI & Visual

Maybe I should've put this a little earlier lol.

The UI is AMAZING!! One of the best. Really (once again) reminds me of Arknights, since I like their UI too, and even better I think especially their retro aesthetic.

The visual is GORGEOUS. The game is presented in common gacha game storytelling method: visual novel, however they tried to incorporate like L2D animation in the STORY'S VISUAL.

The characters have different art styles, I think done by different artists like most gacha games (the only one who didn't do this are Mihoyo games, please explain). And the sprites are full body non-chibi 2d animations! This one's like FGO, although still like 10% chibified so in terms of sprite style, FGO still has the crown.

Music & other sounds

Music is BANGER!

I rate it 4.5/5. Maybe the 2nd music of gacha games that I like after Genshin. It doesn't sound like basic visual novel ost (looking at you FGO and HSR) in most part, tho since this is basically *still* visual novel, so in some part still sounds pretty stale after you heard it so many times.

The voice over is dope! They used various accents, so it's pretty interesting!

Housing/Dorm

The name of housing/dorm in R:1999 is "Wilderness", something like islands. This is once again reminds me to Arknight's "Base" but outdoor.

End game

Honestly I haven't found the endgame content for this one, if you're looking for challenges maybe games like Arknights and HSR still better choice.

Conclusion

Based on every gacha games I've played, I can say progression, UI, and summoning from Reverse:1999 is similar to Arknights, but turn-based and A LOT easier at the start. If you've played Arknights before I think understanding the system will like walk in the park.

For the story it's somewhat like FGO, of course not the same, but still both are "correcting the history and go back to our time" kind of story.

The game doesn't ask much, so I think if you're a gacha game player and barely have any time for more games, this one's still enjoyable with very minimal investment. Suitable as your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th gacha games. Especially when you're just want to vibe with the art and setting like me.

If you're new in gacha game, there's no problem with trying out this, but I think the game is made with thought that the target market are people that familiar with gacha games. Still, enjoy your time!

Tl;dr if you still want to play your main games daily while join the Reverse:1999 bandwagon, it's totally possible without sacrificing much of your time.

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rev-feaw · 6 months

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First Impression of Reverse: 1999 from a Long Time Gacha Games Player

Fate/Grand Order, Arknights, Genshin Impact, Honkai/Star Rail

Bold are my main daily games. And then here are some that I've tried, well at least I know their UI & prologue lol:

SAO MD (discontinued), Food Fantasy, Granblue Fantasy, Punishing/Gray Raven, Tower of Fantasy

I might bring up some titles to compare and most likely from between the "over 3 months" ones. Then, let's start!

What's the big deal of "gacha game" and why I play them?

I like to draw and gacha games have one of the best community for art clout. No this is serious, and one of my top reason of why I'm playing this borderline gambling type of game.

The Premise of Reverse: 1999

The early story kind of reminds me to Persona 3 where there are some special times (Dark Hours in P3) where an ordinary human can't survive and there are some special creatures than survived.

Setting

The Main Character

youtube

The Characters

Summoning

Oh you also can get guaranteed *6 from beginner's summoning banner.

(Early) Gameplay & Progression

The early stages are so easy. Well, most games have very easy early stages though, unless a certain popular furry tower defense game (*cough* Arknights *cough*).

For character progression pretty much just level up, no need for artifacts/relics like Mihoyo games so it's fast and easy.

You can set a "replay" for autofarming once you get 2 stars achievement on the node. You can also choose the "amount" of drop rate for just one battle. This is very neat!

Dailies, Weeklies, etc

R:1999 has similar progression with Arknights and Mihoyo games with this one. The daily and weekly tasks literally like Arknight's.

Tbh their dailies are quite a hassle lol, you need at least spend 5-15 minutes to clear all.

And their "battlepass", looks like Genshin's battlepass or HSR's Nameless Honor

Gotta admit between ALL the games I've played, nothing beats the simple daily of LOGIN in FGO (in exchange with disastrous gacha and tremendous farming🙏).

UI & Visual

Maybe I should've put this a little earlier lol.

The UI is AMAZING!! One of the best. Really (once again) reminds me of Arknights, since I like their UI too, and even better I think especially their retro aesthetic.

The visual is GORGEOUS. The game is presented in common gacha game storytelling method: visual novel, however they tried to incorporate like L2D animation in the STORY'S VISUAL.

Music & other sounds

Music is BANGER!

The voice over is dope! They used various accents, so it's pretty interesting!

Housing/Dorm

The name of housing/dorm in R:1999 is "Wilderness", something like islands. This is once again reminds me to Arknight's "Base" but outdoor.

End game

Honestly I haven't found the endgame content for this one, if you're looking for challenges maybe games like Arknights and HSR still better choice.

Conclusion

For the story it's somewhat like FGO, of course not the same, but still both are "correcting the history and go back to our time" kind of story.

Tl;dr if you still want to play your main games daily while join the Reverse:1999 bandwagon, it's totally possible without sacrificing much of your time.

#reverse 1999 #reverse: 1999 #games #gacha games #review #first impression

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rev-feaw · 7 months

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New Insight, New Reflection

A very copium follow-up of this post.

I've done the most recent archon quest, and it was Fontaine already, freaking over a year from this arc disaster. However, since I was so attached with the game at that moment, the moving-on phase is still on going. Today, no, just recently I kind of liberated from this feeling, because of one silly realization:

China's political views about Japanese culture

Inazuma is based off Japan.

From what I observed from the nature of Mainland China's politic (please note I'm talking about the GOVERNMENT, not race/culture etc), since I'm living in a country which unfortunately relied to China too much, they like clear publication and propaganda. Like the "Made in China" label everywhere, they want to be known as THE China, not "mere" manufacturer of overseas label products.

Genshin Impact is a Chinese product, which "unfortunately" has main selling point as a Japanese-derived culture. They show it very clearly in their slogan: MiHoYo "Tech Otakus Save the World". What is the "otaku" here? Simple: weeaboos, people that fawn over Japanese pop culture too intensely. And Genshin is booming all-around the world, it should be an easy target for Chinese propaganda, but why they have a Japanese-inspired region too? You can't make this region too good! -- what some politicians thinking, probably.

I saw Genshin already did A LOT to massively promote Liyue, their Chinese-inspired region incorporated with real Chinese culture performance and art. You can see them in Youtube and honestly, I really like it. The thing is, they barely did the same for other regions (maybe because unlike Liyue and Inazuma, the current other regions are culturally very mixed). So I think, maybe they are indeed very promoting China for requirements, which I have zero problem.

Then, why is Inazuma storyline very bad? This is a mere subjective baseless take, but I think they are afraid to make Inazuma more popular than Liyue (spoiler: it's already very popular even without trying), and people will think Genshin is a Japanese game, not Chinese, and the dev are gonna have more trouble with Mainland fanbase and the higher-ups. Why other regions that not Liyue are still good? Maybe because the dev don't see Europeans, South Asia and Middle East as threat for their Chinese Japanese-inspired game that has to follow Chinese rules.

tl;dr: MiHoYo make Inazuma arc worse intentionally so their game has less "Japanese attachment", thus less pressure from the mainland government and fanbase.

The “Bittersweet” Betrayal of Genshin Impact’s Inazuma Arc (a Personal Reflection)

Inazuma arc, how it could have been my favorite arc…

Inazuma New Year 2022 from Genshin Impact Japan Twitter (by Pako)

This was a rather subjective and over exaggerated view of Inazuma arc, affected by so many personal experiences at that moment. I’ll do the more objective one later, that looking more from the game itself and less from myself.

WARNING! CONTAIN HEAVY SPOILERS OF INAZUMA AND SUMERU ARCHON QUESTS

Overview

Inazuma was one of the most anticipated update in Genshin Impact. It was the first major update after the game’s release in late 2020. The content drought was real as we approached the 2.0 update, and so many people saved up for Ayaka. You know how thirsty people for new content, new characters, new mechanics and new lore… of course, including myself.

Keep reading

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rev-feaw · 9 months

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Vtubers and Their Unique Cycle of Derivative Works (the Mediaception)

an example of vtuber derivative work by.. me! HAHA

It's early 2020. The COVID was starting to emerge in Wuhan. I watched all of them from my flat screens, treated them just like an unknown being from another dimension that'd never break the 4th wall...

They broke it, the 4th wall.

As the virus was getting stronger, another being also started gaining success by diffusing two different worlds and dimensions, a unique phenomenon derived from stars-crossed destiny of the rise of digital life, pandemic, and weeb invasion: The Great Wave of Vtubers.

Vtubers was already gaining their recognition long before the pandemic. But it's not mainstream, they're like, only reachable when you've reached certain high stage on weeb level. I won't explain the history of vtubers here (just watch them on YouTube), I only want to highlight something interesting about their nature: the high dependency of community and derivative works.

Please note for this particular topic I'll only talk about corpo Vtubers (Hololive, Nijisanji, etc) with mostly HoloPro because that's where my rabbit hole is. Streamers that have L2D doesn't count here as they generally have different culture.

Now let's start! First, here's a clip that piqued my interest in this topic:

youtube

It's a very obscure clip, and from Holostars at that, but the topic is very intriguing! I don't understand how this ended up on my recommendations but I'm glad it did, because I've been thinking about this ever since I know vtuber for the first time.

Secondly, here's a quote from Amelia Watson of Hololive EN, another line that gave me the "buzz" in my head.

(Source)

I'll start from her statement. People often said that Amelia Watson is a genius, and I never really look into it until I read her interview. Vtuber is a gray area between a fantastical character and a real person, such a simple yet defining line.

So in this statement, we have two subjects that define vtuber as one: a fantastical character and a real person. These are important because to me, the combination of both is what makes them dependent on their community. A vtuber can have the freedom of setting up their character like an anime protagonist with real-time interaction ability as they're real humans. In short, they're roleplaying, like a puppeteer, with the similar exposure of fictional characters you usually would simp on.

Then, where are the derivative works coming in? This is tied strongly to how vtubers are very dependent to their community. I’ll attach another video and give arguments about this topic based on that.

youtube

The video above was a pretty good intro about vtubers for normies, however it also seems like made by someone who doesn’t watch vtubers especially the first half (I mean come on, Hololive Gen0 =/= first gen!). The second half though, their view was interesting.

They presented a term known in pro-wrestling: “keyfabe”, a fake act to connect wrestler and viewer. They also compared that nature in vtuber community, and said something along “it’s more acceptable because they’re already fictional character and people just willing to accept all fakeness”.

I’d argue on that, maybe to some people including the video maker they feel that way. But to me and maybe some other, it’s an act, not “fake”, they’re not using their real self anyway. And connection between vtuber and viewer is more complex than “just” wrestler’s keyfabe and this is where the derivative works coming in.

To me, derivative works in vtuber community is a form of communication between vtuber and viewer, that can give similar and more impact than things like pro-wrestler’s keyfabe.

1. Vtubers and the hierarchy of media (as a subject or object)

This is how usually a media is consumed:Ok so I went for a mile and trying to deduct on how media works in vtuber community:

And this is where a vtuber character stands in that diagram if we only count their usual gaming/reaction streams:

Basically, a media born from a media, but with different kind of main subject. Well, actually the “vtuber” can fit in any part of the first main media cycle, like making the derivative works or doing reactions from the community but mostly their role is the user/player of the first main media.

Vtuber is an interesting “creature”, because they’re both the user (subject) and producer (object) of a media. I mean if you’re playing a game then you’re the game user, and the game is main media. If you’re making fanfic of your favorite character then that character is the main media and you’re making the derivative works. A vtuber has the ability to BOTH play games as user while their viewers can make fanfic out of them.

“But that’s just how every streamers are!!”

Yes but no, because a vtuber is a people-made character since the start. In corp like Hololive and Nijisanji, they’re already given form, name and lore. It’s up to them how to play that up. And one more specific thing: it’s anime. They’re born from anime culture which has it’s own characteristics. For easier imagery, imagine anime characters taken out from their story and became a streamer. Yes, that’s what’s vtubers are generally.

2. How does a vtuber survive?

I’ll summarize what Astel talked about in this section.

Generally, in that video there are three topics. First, about the vtuber as a person and character. Second, vtuber as a consumable. Third, vtubers as treasure trove.

a. Vtuber as a person and character

Vtubers in companies generally are variety streamers. They are watched by many people NOT because of what they play but because of who they are. Choosing games to play in their case is the same with building their personality, because in this media, games are the most effective way to introduce their self and personality to public.

Astel said there are two types of vtubers. First, the ‘NPC’ character. He said to treat this kind of vtuber as a fantasy being, a fictional character in which case the person behind it had to be less human and stay true in their given lore more. One of popular example about this trope is Hyakumantenbara Salome from Nijisanji. She managed to keep up her “Ojou-sama” image at front for almost every time.

Hyakumantenbara Salome, a sudden hit ever since her debut

Second, the ‘streamer’ kind. Astel said he belonged here with his long streams, thus more ‘humanity’ feelings attached. He said it’s a challenge to keep viewers and add new viewers. Doing Youtube shorts can make better exposures, but they don’t help much in general stream views. So what vtubers need to have is lasting impressions, something unique only to them.

b. Vtubers are consumables

Vtubers, unlike TV shows, can’t just be watched and done. Since they’re practically ‘born’ with lore but no plot, they have to create the plot themselves via their streams. However, they are still strongly attached to their lore especially regarding character design/model and such.

Astel gave an example about Aruran, a fellow Holostars Vtuber. Recently he had done a massive change on his model, from dandy ojiisan to a young man. It tied to his own “multiverse” lore, but some outsiders who didn’t very aware about his lore questioning that decision and some even gave him mean messages. That happened because the lack of “plot”, Astel assumed (well I’m the one who gave the term “plot” here though). The plot that made outsiders understand the lore.

The redesign of Arurandeisu (old left, new right) that sparked controversies

Then, what’s this “plot” he’s talking about? It’s the very derivative works we discussed earlier. The device that can be a good indicator of a vtuber’s success and how much of interaction they have with fans, also the main differentiating point between a vtuber and common streamers. Vtuber as in a corpo or vtubers with similar nature I mean, not a simply streamer with L2D.

Thus why Astel said “vtubers are consumables”, because the fans, especially creators, are “supposed” or “encouraged” to interpret their personalities and interactions with collab mates, resulting a brand new work. Shipping (u know, like, you think this character and that character looks cute together) also falls in this category, because Astel keeps saying “Derivative works are important, especially the ones with implied relationships.” (I think he wants to be shipped LOL).

One of popular example is Nijisanji’s ChroNoiR, consisted of their popular talents: Kuzuha and Kanae. The fan (derivative) works usually convey their bittersweet relationship between long-lived vampire and short-lived human, which was... pretty hard to be actually found on streams? Thanks to that interpretations, the fandom grew bigger and the vtubers gained more attention.

ChroNoiR tag on Pixiv. artwork

c. Vtubers as Treasure Trove

At last, Astel said vtubers are treasure trove. The vtubers work to provide "materials" for the fans, to imagine and to expand their work into more diverse works, to make better impression to even new viewers.

Since I watched a lot of Hololive and Holostars, which are basically “idols”, I can see that they adapted the usual real-life “idol persona” applied in idol/entertainment industry, where a person basically create a mask to show to public. This mask was even more apparent in virtual world, especially in Cover Corp (Hololive & Holostars company), where that person never even show their own face. This very mask is what they want their fans/viewers to interpret and exploit in some way, the treasure trove, the lore. The did gimmicks based on their “masks”, and provide a platform to let fans/viewers show their interpretations. The platform is usually on Twitter and using hastags.

Vtubers community generally encourage derivative works

3. The impact of derivative works

Derivative works are very impactful in vtubers community. Because as I’ve stated earlier, they’re living off of existing media to show their personality. Fanworks (I’ll refer derivative works as this from now) also existing media, if the vtuber still want to stream after a certain fanwork published.

Why I’m emphasizing this very much? Because look at these fanworks we got today:

A very popular derivative work, Holocure, that made its way to the vtubers' streams

Another very successful Hololive fangame that showed up on many streams: Idol Showdown

Yep! The “fanworks” is the “main media” now. Maybe if we take the earlier diagram it’ll look like this:

Notice the newest line on the bottom. They’re no longer just retweeting it like how they do to most fanworks, but able to stream it! Streaming is the main “job” of those vtubers, of course to see yourself interpreted then be able to treat it as equal with your usual media hits different.

This is the “mediaception” I’m talking about in the title. A media that only able to born thanks to derivative works, works of interpretations, of giving plot to existing characters that can be easily be the “main” media. Unlike when you made fanworks of anime, movies, etc which have little chance to affect the main media, unless if you do Fate series because everything is canon.

Those games born because of vtubers’ reactions when they play games and collabs. Then they reacted to their interpreted reactions. Such mediaception.

Of course, it had to start somewhere. As we saw in Ollie’s tweet earlier, “fanworks” that affect “main media” were already there, when the vtuber said they’ll use fanart as thumbnail/schedule picture. Something like this:

Anya Melfissa’s schedule

And stuff like these:

Kobo's reacting to her fandom's various derivative works on her anniversary

We can see the relationship between the Vtubers and fanworks there, but not very interactive, although very entertaining. IMO, those media are still count as fanworks/derivative and I think they’ll never be able to be the main media, because of vtuber’s nature itself. That’s not a bad thing, it just, I think the fangames like HoloCure and Idol Showdown are the last stage of derivative works, because they’re no longer derivative only, they’re really the media that’s played by the vtubers!! Maybe we can explain this like:

Those different kinds of fanworks also usually complete each other, like clips for the animation’s voice over, or text/fanfic as the base for fan art. And at last, in a game a lot of fanworks’ types are covered.

4. Keep it DERIVATIVE

Another section to emphasize why “fanwork” is very important.

You’re on big company, can create your own game if you want to, but why still dependent on fans??

That’s because there are some major differences between FAN works and OFFICIAL works. Well, these are just my own thoughts, so:

You have to pay to create official works

Official works can be altered as much as the company/vtuber pleased

Fanworks are usually made with purely interpretations. If a fanwork became big, maybe that’s how the vtuber actually is. So, the vtuber themselves are able to identify their shown personality better.

“Testing the water”, but for fans. The vtubers are usually able to commission the fanwork’s creator afterwards

Fanworks is there to show love, which is very obvious

Fancreators feel appreciated of their work and strive to make more

Fanworks can imply some relationships (at some length), when officially can’t since it's prone for riot

Lastly, the most important part: fanwork doesn’t have to follow the company’s rules. I’ll explain about this below.

The last part, fanworks are usually works to make fans enjoy. Vtubing can be a difficult thing to handle, as we can see how often graduations (retirements) and stuff happened. If the person behind the avatar did some messed up things, they even can be discharged forever and thus their name will be treated as non-exist by the company.

One of the most apparent case here is an item in HoloCure game that referenced a terminated vtuber: Uruha Rushia. She was terminated from Hololive forever because she broke the NDA some time ago. Her channel and contents and her character are all gone. However, her fans are still there, and they’re pleased to see Rushia is still living as a reference in HoloCure. Well, losing an oshi, especially vtuber is a hard thing, because the persona is gone forever. Here’s a good video about it:

youtube

And here’s the cutting board that took her as reference:

Cutting board, visualized from a certain running gag of Uruha Rushia, who’s already considered never exist in the company. This kind of thing wouldn’t be allowed if HoloCure was an official game. (x)

TL;DR: so fanworks can keep the memory of graduated vtubers alive. They maybe left the mask forever, and the company won’t involve themselves with them anymore, but the lingering memento is still there. This is very unique to vtuber culture, due how they blur the line between “anime” and a person. Maybe similar with when your favorite character is dead, but I think this is more painful and bittersweet.

5. The lighter the light, the darker the shadows

An anime character that can interact with you in real-time? No way! That sounds too good to be true... wait, it's true?? I can talk to my waifu/husbando for real now??

Welcome to the vtuber's worst nightmare: parasocial relationship. Since they're anime that can actually interact with people, while in the previous segment this acted as an advantage, this method also has its flaws... and one of the most popular case is parasocial relationships. I won't say much about this, just watch this video:

youtube

Yea I watched Nousagi’s videos A LOT lol

Then what’s the correlation with fanworks?

I think fanworks contributed something here. It depends on the community though, but maybe fanworks spice up some stuff. I created a comparison between an anime character and a vtuber here:

I think fanworks help to fill things in red box, because I guess if a vtuber given clear plot they’ll become more like a fictional character, as I said before in the beginning: they're roleplaying, like a puppeteer, with the similar exposure of fictional characters you usually would simp on. And when they became more like a NPC, like what Astel said in section 2, people maybe forgot that they’re human too, thus the parasocial happened worse because viewers treat human as the same with fictional character. Well, this is just my speculations. Maybe things are actually different.

So, I think that’s why sometimes vtubers and companies also regulate fanworks including shipping.

6. Conclusion

Derivative works are like symbiotic mutualism between vtubers and their creator fans. Personally I like this kind of interaction, and it’s so fresh. Here’s some pros and cons based on my opinion:

Pros:

Everything I wrote until point 4

Cons:

Can be a trigger for point 5

Very platform dependent. What will we do when twitter completely collapsed?! And don’t let me start with socmeds’ chaotic algorithms.

Sometimes can be demanding for the fans. Need a good understanding for each parties for proportional attention for fanworks and the creators.

In the end, I think this is one of top defining feature of vtuber culture. It helps blurring the line between fictional character and a person. Vtubing is a hard thing to keep it together. You need artist, modeler, hi-spec PC, money to buy games & the permissions, viewers, interactive community, sponsors, and so many more.

Personally I respect the ones who run vtubers company and still get it together, because on how complicated and how it looks “trivial” to many people. I wish a good luck for all vtubers talent out there that deserve it and thanks for reading.

My oshi?

I mostly follow HololiveID, but individually my favorite ones are: Ina and Kobo! Ina was my gateway to today’s vtuber (if we don’t count Kizuna AI), because her papa is a FGO illustrator LOL

7. Personal recommendations

If you’re curious about vtuber cultures and the fan, since it emerged from Japan I think read/watch some stuff about Japanese idols can help to understand more. Personally I understand it from Oshi no Ko (manga) and freaking FGO idol event 😂. There are a lot of media about Korean idols too, I found plenty of them in Webtoons.

Sorry for bad grammar and if there are misinformation. Once again...... thanks!

#damn did i just wrote a writing about vtuber until 00.33?!#is there anyone who read this HAHA #analysis - sort of probably #vtuber #hololive #nijisanji

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rev-feaw · 10 months

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Why Genshin Impact’s Summer Fantasia Patch is Amazing (A Spatial Analysis) - Part 1

It’s the time of the year again: summer! Genshin Impact 3.8 Trailer is already out, so I think this is the good time to drop the fruit of my overthinking for almost a year ago. I saw many people already “analyzed” Genshin lore, META, characterizations etc but not about the overall worldbuilding/3D concept in spatial sense (NOT technical sense like Blender tutorial or cultural inspirations) so I’d like to fill that hole--thanks to my architecture background I guess, sorry LOL.

I’ll talk about how Genshin went all out in 2.8 worldbuilding/landscape, how their concept is very amazing and well thought, very integral to the story and characters and fun to play. And all of these are just for ONE event, despite I thought this is how Genshin should be. Also this was one of my favorite event so I like to do some breakdown about it!!

Let’s start! Be prepared... this is gonna be LONG

Part 1 - Intro

a. What kind of game is Genshin Impact?

Genshin Impact is a well known game as per 2023. Personally I don’t play so many games outside mobile gacha and pixel ones, but I can say for certain: Genshin is an anime gacha game, get over it. It was developed by a developer known for this genre, and since I’ve played several anime gacha games before I can tell based on the characterization, grinding, wishing, and events system this is where Genshin belongs to. However, a big HOWEVER, there’s one thing that separates Genshin from the rest (as per 2020): the explorable world. This is also where people compare Genshin to other open-world games, but since Genshin was born from anime gacha game it makes it has no competitor overall. It’s an anime gacha game by system, executed like an open world games.

As months passed by, Genshin also finally shown its good and bad. There are many, many things need to be criticized in this game, but in my opinion there are also some aspects that always delivers in every patches. The first is music, Genshin music is very top notch and using real orchestra, imo it’s hard to make real orchestra flop. And the second, the one I’m more confident to breakdown: the worldbuilding. I wouldn’t say Genshin’s worldbuilding is unmatched, but it’s definitely up there, SS tier. And this is circled back to my previous point: Genshin is a different anime gacha game. Many gacha games have great world building and lore already, my personal favorite is Fate/Grand Order and this is how they presented it:

youtube

FGO’s ways of storytelling

Only through letters, 2D visuals and mini-maps, yet still delivers. You can’t move around your characters freely tho... imagine an open-world FGO... that’d be very groundbreaking.

Genshin Impact, notable as the first open world anime gacha game has more freedom to express their worldbuilding. How they do it? This is what I’m gonna breakdown here.

This is a Genshin Impact worldbuilding appreciation post!

b. The Space as a Media

Firstly, I’m not gonna explain about how they have cultural or whatever inspiration, here I’ll more dive on their spatial use & composition. What’s this spatial thing anyway?

What I mean is “space” as a media, no, not that kind of outer space. People with 3D design or architecture background maybe already familiar with this. Well, imagine a blank canvas, then an artist draw something over it. Whatever genre they did, everything must have a composition. What is composition anyway? The easy answer is “placement”, how to make things look good on the canvas. The artist will decide where they gonna put this most important blob, where to leave the canvas empty, etc. They may make abstract, or impressionism, or even anime art, but the composition is always there.

Now imagine a 3D box, you have the whole box. There are X, Y, Z axis formed a volume inside the box and you can do whatever you want. This is, the volume, is the “space”, the media to pour your imagination. If we talk in musical sense, what I’m going to look is about the chord progression and things like that, not about what instrument used.

Imagine putting an object ANYWHERE in that box and think “how did that thing able to be there?”, then imagine some elements that “help” the object to be there. Those elements formed a composition. (img src)

Well this isn’t the most correct definition but I hope you get it. Let’s talk about it in Genshin’s manner!

Let’s compare Sumeru’s landscape with Inazuma’s. We got different hills, rivers, floating devices (four leaf sigil/thunderbolt device), but in essence they’re similar, right? These components formed into a composition in a 3D space, while the dendro + South/Middle Asia and electro+ Japanese aesthetic and inspirations are “just” the genre. How about spatial use?

The “object” is Traveler, and they’re able to float mid-air (fully occupying the 3D space than just do “earth humanlike” movements) thanks to floating devices

This is where things are getting interesting. The user of this space are us, the player, or more specifically whoever active character we pick on field. Spatial use means how is this character gonna occupy/exploit/experience the space? What kind of exploitation can be performed in a space?

We have 3D space, means our character will not only walk back and forth. We can make them go higher, or lower. We can alter the gravity so our character will float in air, or walking upside down.. et cetera.

In these Sumeru and Inazuma landscape we mainly use the space as we did in real world, unless for that four-leaf sigils and thundering thing. That thing can move our character swiftly in the air, and this kind of thing’s nature is what I’m gonna explain here.

c. How Genshin Impact Plays Around with Space

Genshin Impact is an adventure game, so a space isn’t a mere place to settle. The easiest logic of space exploitation/experience is just how far our character can get into? Try to watch several “domain-breaking” videos, it’s basically apparent how the dev wants the player to experience the space: mostly to make the surface walkable. If it isn’t, then you’re playing the game differently from the dev’s intent.

youtube

An example of how to play NOT according with dev’s intent

The open-world part of Genshin is easy to understand. It is mainly just like our earth with normal gravity, normal ground, normal walls etc.. maybe just their shapes are weirder. The unusual ones are usually the devices to go higher, like wind currents, thunderbolts, windy stones in The Chasm..

The domains, however, has many unique mechanism that can exploit a space differently than before. It’s already apparent ever since 1.0, in earlier domains (personally I like Lisa’s) but they barely develop it until this Summer Odyssey patch (I think), the four unique domains in this event are so amazing! They’re so different with what we’ve encountered so far, and I mean in the spatial sense too!

To make things clear, of course Genshin isn’t the only one who did something like this. Plenty of movies and games already did this as well! For example in the movies: Dr Strange and Inception. Look at how they alter the space so people can do activities in unusual areas. As for games, Stray game is one prime example! Look at how our world became different when we turned into a cat.

d. The Summer Odyssey Mirages

Why I’m emphasizing Summer Odyssey Mirages (2.8 domains) so much?

Well, this is the first time in my opinion Genshin Impact really make use of their 3D freedom to make great storytelling. In short, finally Genshin found a unique way native to Genshin-only to tell the lore of the game better. Why I can say for certain like this? It’s not like Genshin is the only 3D game. Yes, but for the current anime gacha game (July 2022), it is.

So far, I think Genshin is struggling to retell the vast lore of the game in form of playable storyline. They’re scattered everywhere: in characters’ pages, artifacts, books, item descriptions, weapons, etc… and who the hell gonna read all of that except for some lore maniacs (I’m not even one of them) while some infos stated there are important. I never skip dialogues, yet I still missed big chunks of info since I don’t bother myself to read most of those items.

Most anime gacha games tells everything in their VN (visual novel) style texts. That’s why maybe for some people they don’t think Genshin’s story is that deep, because what we’ve experienced in-game dialogues are minimal compared to things like these:

Honkai Impact 3rd (I didn’t know this game also DON’T have log feature)

Fate/Grand Order story log

Arknights story log

See, they are able to put everything into paragraphs and no one will protest, because that’s how their game format is. Genshin, however, is not. Try to read these lore dumps, very unentertaining amirite?

Genshin Impact Inazuma AQ Finale (I had a grudge with this chapter)

Thankfully, Genshin’s nature of the game let them go beyond mere texts. While it took WAY more effort and time, a spatial experience can be a good way to tell a story. And this is what Summer Odyssey Mirages are. They are domains to tell stories, by letting the players experience the space.

They positioned the components of story & lore in a 3D space that can be perceived by visual and hearing. It feels like you’re experiencing the story yourself, and not only the visible/tangible aspects incorporated into the domains, but also the intangible ones like emotions. You can see in Kazuha’s, the house looks more and more a run down as we progressed there just like his state of legacy:

From Kazuha’s second domain

This is what I’ll try to explain based on my understanding and experience of playing the event. I’ll keep this objectively subjective so at least people who didn’t like it as much as I did (well, that event was VERY long and tedious so, understandable) can understand why I like it.

See you in next chapter!

#genshin impact #analysis - sort of probably #Summer Odyssey Mirages #personal essay #gaming #gacha games #3d #architecture #--maybe lol

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rev-feaw · 11 months

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The “Bittersweet” Betrayal of Genshin Impact’s Inazuma Arc (a Personal Reflection)

Inazuma arc, how it could have been my favorite arc...

Inazuma New Year 2022 from Genshin Impact Japan Twitter (by Pako)

WARNING! CONTAIN HEAVY SPOILERS OF INAZUMA AND SUMERU ARCHON QUESTS

Overview

In my personal rating that time, Genshin Impact was winning in so many aspects. I liked the combat, setting, exploration, story, even the gacha was forgiven! (What do you expect from a stockholm-syndrome FGO player), I only disliked the constant artifacts grinding. But Inazuma arc changed everything and destroyed my mighty view of Genshin entirely. This is just my love-hate letter about how this arc has everything that I could’ve loved, but I “hated” it. It’s a confusing feeling, the feeling of betrayal by something you love.

The Inazuma Build-up

To this day, I believe Inazuma still has the best build-up ever made in Genshin. At this point I’ve finished Sumeru archon quest and its interlude. I don’t feel like there’s anything exciting about Fontaine, meanwhile the Inazuma lockdown was already hinted since... THE RELEASE!

Some hints about Inazuma that’s already in the game long before 2.0:

The Inazuma girl in Liyue (Atsuko)

A letter in a bottle from Inazuma that landed in Dragonspine

Hints dropped by Zhongli by the end of Liyue Archon Quest

No new electro character until 2.1

Outside the game, Inazuma was hinted several times in the livestream, along with the islands’ concept art and Ayaka.

Some clearer hints later dropped in 1.6, a patch before Inazuma which was, one of my favorite patch ever. So many hints around the islands, the Maguu Kenki, and then the prologue ft. Kazuha in the second half of the patch!

Kaedehara Kazuha, the Inazuma Arc’s Beacon of Light and the Last Hope of Humanity

How Inazuma arc could’ve been my favorite...

Genshin Impact official artwork. I love you Kazuha

Yes, thanks to Kazuha. He’s the beginning and ending of Inazuma arc. You expect Ayaka as the MVP? No! It was all Kazuha!

I was so excited when I learned that there will be the first Inazuma character: Kaedehara Kazuha. To this day he’s still my favorite character so this is definitely heavily biased. This part will explain his influence as our first real introduction to Inazuma, but I’ll write more about his major impact to Inazuma arc later.

I think the way Mihoyo introduced Inazuma along with the release of new temporary region (Golden Apple Archipelago) and a new character is genius. Genshin Impact is a gacha game, meaning it’s very reliant to character collecting. And with the addition of Kazuha as our first “guide” to Inazuma let all players, not only the lore-aware ones, but even META/gameplay enthusiasts to notice how impactful is Inazuma! He also came along with EM reaction buff, granted turned him into the most broken character at that moment (and tbh even now lol).

As the players were trying to get better to know Kazuha in many aspects, let it be personality, gameplay, or his story, they would also learn more about Inazuma. His entire character is tied strongly to the main focus of Inazuma Archon Quest, he’s like the personification of Inazuma AQ itself. It can be seen from his character teaser and Inazuma AQ prologue. Not to mention he appeared with a character that already familiar to the players: Beidou. We’ll talk more about Kazuha later ;)

The 2.0 Version Livestream

youtube

This is one of build-up for Inazuma, other than the ones I stated before, but not in-game. I absolutely loved this livestream! Even now, after all the “betrayals”.

For the first time, Mihoyo introduced this “developer talks” format for a livestream. It gave us the sense of importance for the next patch, and personally I really love the content. They gave us short but insightful behind-the-scenes, from many aspects like the landscape designs (they explicitly said was inspired by Studio Ghibli) and the raw notes of Inazuma’s score medley played by the godly Yu-Peng Chen himself.

Personally to this day, this livestream is still the best and very dear to me.

2.0 is Another Build-up!

2.0 is still Inazuma build-up. It’s stopped right before the climax. I like 2.0′s story, and I think it’s still successfully held the might of Genshin in my eyes. There are some flaws in this patch--which aged terribly later on, but I’ll talk about it later.

I like the other aspects, such as explorations and new mechanics, pulled Ayaka first day and had a great time trying to ice bridge between the isles. Inazuma is so pretty! The OSTs are so enchanting! The world quests are awesome! Overall I love this update. It has strong feeling of we being a vigilant, and how people were locked out from other nation. It was living up the hype from release.

2.1 Version Trailer is Still the Best

youtube

Truly the peak of version trailer

The end of 2.0, and the 2.1 livestream is where all things started went downhill, but not with the version trailer. Just like Kazuha and 2.0 livestream, I still absolutely love 2.1 version trailer, even today. I think it’s still the best in every aspect, yes even as I wrote this, right after 3.7 dropped! Especially the OST. THE OST, MAN!! Also, there’s Scaramouche, the long awaited character since 1.1 appeared in the end of trailer!

The Birth of Disaster

2.1 livestream was a cancer. At least, the EN/global side is. I don’t want to go for details, you can see it yourself @ youtube. The newest 2.0 characters, Sayu and Yoimiya got many criticism, especially Yoimiya, after how recent *5 were bonkers and suddenly, there’s her. I never had any faith about character power balancing in any gacha game, so it didn’t affect me. Other thing is, Genshin 1st anniversary was in 2.1 as well, and they didn’t seem very rewarding for the players as seen in the livestream, but we’ll talk about it later.

The most bugging thing about 2.0 was Ayaka’s story quest for me. They seemed butcher her character very much to the point she’s just a “waifu longing for attention”. But the players also seemed enjoying her story as I read many comments and polls in Youtube so I thought Mihoyo did the right move. HOWEVER, apparently... this is cancerous, this is spreading to other aspects not only story quests. This is what ruined the Inazuma arc.

In the other hand, exploration-wise, their new Watatsumi and Seirai island were great, although not as exciting as the previously introduced Inazuma in 2.0

The Land of Waifus

“They said Honkai story was good!” My friend seemed so... pissed by the end of archon quest. Well actually, we all. “What is this?! Why all the women just there as waifu? Where’s the characterization?! Isn’t Honkai also all girls and they said the story is good?!”

I was pissed as well. I pulled Raiden on the first day, right after work and eager to finish Inazuma AQ with my brand-new all archon + traveler team (I already have Venti and Zhongli). I finished it with full concentration and dedication, and I was pissed.

It was so hollow.

I played the Raiden story quest, and I got EVEN MORE PISSED!! Like the hell, this waifu just ruined a nation and you, traveler, succeeded on making her out of her hikikomori era, but nOW YOU HAVE A DATE WITH HER?! And worst thing is, people “only” remember her boobas. She’s a very popular character despite her horrible characterization... because of boobas and big pewpew damage.

I still cannot forgive this part. To this day. The end of Inazuma AQ and Raiden story quest is the menace for my being. I hate it, and not as simply hate, but I felt so betrayed. My expectation about story in Genshin was ruined in shreds. There’s no climax. There’s no conclusion. There’s no redemption. It’s all end. The Inazuma finale was just Kaedehara Kazuha blocked Musou no Hitotachi.

The Kokomi and Anniversary Catastrophe

I don’t like Kokomi’s kit. I admit that. At least until dendro + Nilou introduced.

People also didn’t like her kit, but some people were just ahole who likes to ditch any character. Her release sparked many controversies, and the anniversary wasn’t helping either... it just fueling the fire!

I played Kokomi’s story quest for the sake of “seeking redemption for that disastrous AQ ending” and tbh, I liked her story better than Raiden’s. It’s less dating sim, but still has strong dating sim. People finally realized that this dating sim trope started by Ayaka was getting out of hand, and all of those aspects merged into one, big, anger of the players from every server and they finally let it all out in the anniversary... remember the google classroom hate rate?

There’s this Moonchase event actually in that patch, and honestly, this story about a glutinous panda was 1000x better than a god waifu’s.

There are SO MANY more issues with this particular topic (2.1 story & anniversary disaster), but lots of people already discussed it (many in Youtube) so I don’t think I need to write further. One funny thing is the players’ wrath successfully made Mihoyo gave us all more free 10 rolls + an exclusive glider. So lame.

We Left Genshin Impact

The cherry on top of those disaster was none other than...

A freaking Childe rerun.

The least character anyone wanted to rerun.

The 2.2 was the most “boring” and barren patch for most players. However not me. I like Childe, I was actually happy with the event LOL.

Obligatory Childe’s Rizz moment

Many players left the game or community after all 2.1 disaster (not to mention all the new *4 are pretty meh). It’s like cultural reset which is funny on their own. They actually have a new area (Tsurumi Island) this patch along with some banger world quests, but the island itself is so sorrowful and scary that can be easily forgotten... sadge.

Back to Mondstadt and Liyue, the Reflection Arc

The 2.3 patch was a geo patch with an intriguing Albedo event. 2.4 was the grand Lantern Rite™. The two patches were quite a reflection for the past 3 Inazuma patches, and to me as a player. I played the events, I played Itto’s story quest. They were good, in the initial Genshin Impact standard. So why the Inazuma AQ was so disastrous? Was it just a fever dream?

In 2.4 an Inazuma area, Enkanomiya was released. I like this area, despite haven’t been there in like 3 months lol. Imo this place is the prettiest “man-built” area in Genshin.

This is How Inazuma Archon Quest Should Have Been

Genshin Impact official artwork

The 2.5 and 2.6 were heavy Inazuma patches. And strangely, I actually enjoyed them a lot better than the AQ. 2.5 focused a lot to Raiden, with some Yae Miko. Yae’s kit, once again sparked controversies, but not causing uproar like Kokomi’s although funnily enough, I think Kokomi’s kit is a lot better than hers.

Raiden 2nd story was very good. It’s SO GOOD that the AQ and her 1st story quest was probably just a surreal projection. Yae’s was good, standard in Genshin lah.

2.6 was actually my favorite Inazuma patch. It’s like the real conclusion of the story of Inazuma, and how they managed to do it within a temporary event, with characters from diverse nations! This is the patch that redeemed Inazuma for me, simply remove the “hatred” from 2.1. Although my chest still ache when I remember it, but I forgave it now, thank you Ayato, Kazuha, and... Scaramouche LOLL. It’s the Irodori Festival. I love the story very much and I think the lore here should’ve stated in a permanent story quest, alas.

In 2.7 they started to hint Sumeru via the Chasm. This was a Liyue patch, but done in similar way of 2.6. It’s like they prepared for the ending of Inazuma Arc.

Irodori Festival, the true conclusion of Inazuma Archon Quest (pict from 2.1 mil followers celebration of Genshin Impact Japan Twitter)

Kaedehara Kazuha, the Beginning and Ending of Inazuma Arc

We finally reached this part. Why I was so attached to Kazuha, and why Inazuma arc should have done better. 2.8 patch was actually a summer event, but it’s like an epilogue for Inazuma for me, especially how once again, they use Kazuha’s life story here. And this is why he matters so much.

Kazuha was the one who introduced traveler to Inazuma (told in 1.6)

He has strong ties to a direct “victim” of Sakoku Decree (1.6)

In the prologue (1.6) it was stated that he wanted to make his late friend’s vision’s glow. In the finale he himself made it glow by blocking Musou no Hitotachi (2.1), he answered the question given in the very beginning.

Has long history in Inazuman swordsmaking, since he’s from samurai family just like Ayaka and Ayato (told in 2.6 event)

Descendant of someone close to the puppet of Electro Archon herself: Kabukimono (Scaramouche), who’s very plot relevant later (2.6 event & Sumeru AQ interlude)

His family decline was directly tied to Inazuma’s history, that was told in the last event of 2.x (2.8). Kazuha himself decided to keep moving on instead going back to his homeland, it’s like Mihoyo told us to say goodbye to Inazuma.

Considering his “accidental” involvement to people responsible to either Sakoku Decree & Vision Hunt Decree, Inazuma commissions, Fatui, etc that basically the plot driver of Inazuma AQ, it’s safe to say that he’s the major backbone. Without Kazuha, the Inazuma arc’s story would stray even more random. He connected all of it, the lore stated in either AQ or event stories. His first banner was in the last patch of 1.x, and his first rerun was in the last patch of 2.x, the beginning and ending of Inazuma.

This is why I love his promo MV very much. It really shows us a “journey”, a sweet ending for Inazuma. I may will never forget the disaster, but Kazuha ended it with a smile, so... it’s a bittersweet feeling.

youtube

So long, Inazuma.

End of Sumeru Arc and the New Beginning of Wanderer

Genshin Impact official artwork

I wish I could move on from Inazuma AQ’s disastrous writing, but sadly I can’t, because... it tied strongly with Sumeru’s story, and the rest of Teyvat journey.

Scaramouche, or later known as Wanderer (this is actually Kazuha’s name smh), has an integral involvement in Inazuma lore/history just like Kazuha, but in different side of coin (imo). He was there, always there in every major circumstances that happened in Inazuma after he was born. But he was the villain when Kazuha was the “victim” or “hero”. It’s like Kazuha’s story was under the light, when Scara’s under the shadow.

All of it were just slowly revealed through Sumeru AQ story. Sumeru AQ was good. 1000x better than previous AQs. Especially the interlude, it made many of Inazuman events sensible, and I’m glad of it. Like we finally able to attach the light and the shadows altogether. Funnily enough all of it happened after Sumeru arc ended.

Wanderer is like the personification of “Inazuma arc reset”. I still “hate” how 2.1 happened and ended, but as his “redemption” goes on (especially by Nahida), I think it’s time to move on and don’t mourn so much to the “betrayal”. Genshin is no longer that mighty in my eye and the anticlimatic Inazuma AQ will always haunt my Teyvat journey, but I’m still here, at least until Sheznaya.

Tl;dr, I really like all about Inazuma, except the AQ finale which is like, if you’re on a test, it’s a segment with 60% of overall value and the rest are just 40%. Wasted opportunity. Anticlimatic occurrences are always the worst.

How Inazuma arc could have been my favorite... if only 2.1 was done better

#genshin impact #personal #lmk if I stated anything wrong regarding lore or something #games #gacha games #mihoyo

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rev-feaw · 1 year

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My Short Review of Honkai: Star Rail after ~2 Weeks

Hi!! This is gonna be my first post here.

If you’re a gacha games observer, Genshin/HI3 player or general Mihoyo enjoyer you are most likely already know that they just released a new game, that is Honkai: Star Rail. I prereg this game and made my account on the first day, and this is my loose review about the game so far. Please note other gacha games I’m currently play daily are Fate/Grand Order and Genshin Impact. I also tried Arknights for some months so maybe there will be comparison to them.

Combat: 7.5/10

I don’t like turn-based system for the God’s sake (looking at you, FGO) but the way they have AUTO really escalated the rate for me. The turn-based here honestly more fun than I thought!

Art: 8/10

OK. As expected

Music: 8/10

What should I critic from Hoyo-Mix

Exploration: 7/10

Please keep in mind this isn’t an exploration-focused game like Genshin. It does, however has funni descriptions about items, reminds me of 2D exploration games (something like Undertale).

Story: 7/10

I’ll be honest I play this just as a ‘gacha addict’ outlet and don’t really pay attention to the story, but imo this one’s harder to digest than Genshin, maybe HI3 player can understand better though.

Characters: 7/10

Not very much attachment too, heheh;; Unlike Genshin where I was very attached to Venti after 3 seconds in the game. But the MC is a menace of society, real rate is THE RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN/10.

Also they have “chatrooms”!! This is very cool, because I think they can keep any character relevant with this.

P. S. They REALLY need to add more battle voicelines. You’ll go crazy listen to “the rules--” everytime you turn up the volume.

Worldbuilding: 7/10

I’m not much a fan of their worldbuilding concept tbh, I think “planet” as a chapter’s setting is too massive, so many aspects about it left unpolished (one nation/planet isn’t very believable to me). But maybe I just don’t understand well.

Grinding: 9/10

AUTO mode is gamechanger. You also can change a relic’s main stat once/patch. Honestly this is the one that can make me linger around longer in this game. GI and FGO both aren’t this forgiving in time spent on farming :’D

Also unlike Arknights, u don’t need three stars or something to start AUTO your way out.

Endgame: 9/10

NGL, this game has better endgame content than Genshin. A LOT. It has something called “Stimulation Universe”. I think it’s similar to Arknights’ Annihilation that reset every week and earn rewards based on points. So rejoice if you’re strategy games enjoyer and like to play around with character builds, this game is good for you.

Gacha: 5/10

Why even bother. Just go with your starter characters.

UI/UX: 7/10

Dear Mihoyo: SKIP and LOG button WHEN??!!

Overall enjoyment: 7.8/10

Yeah weird numbers, but this is my overall, subjective rate. This won’t be my main game but since they’re not as grindy as my other games I think I can keep up by just playing casually. The minimal amount of grind also helped in increasing enjoyment in the overall strategy gameplay.

Unlike when u play Arknights where you have to massively build so many characters with so limited items and pretty hard stages (even for farming for early player) or Genshin with their chaotic artifacts farming..or FGO with their horrendous amount of doing the same 3-turns farming manually. If I had to go through things like that again here, I’ll drop the game immediately.

End Note (if still want to read, or just skip, lol)

If Star Rail was published before Genshin I doubt I’ll ever try it. Back then the only gacha game that can keep me for so long was only FGO (Since 2017, dear God) because I was soooo invested with their story and characters despite I have a massive hatred with their gameplay (lol).

I often got HI3 ads on Youtube and I thought their visual is cool. But the game itself never interest me, because the playable characters are like 99% waifu so no, I prefer to have pretty balanced amount of dudes and chicks. Then in late 2020 Genshin was released, and I’m like... this is the one... the one I’ve been waiting for!!!!

I may write other long essays about why I was drawn to Genshin very much. And I was right, it was the only game that can pull me out from my FGO exclusivity, and made me realize that HI3 was not just a mere “waifu” game, and they give faith for me about HSR that was still in the beta back then.

Tl;dr Honkai: Star Rail is good. Don’t worry.

#honkai star rail #games #mihoyo #my reviews #gacha games

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