*Clap clap* Doki review
Decided to take a different approach to writing this review. I’m writing it as I play instead of going through the whole story and thinking back to what I liked. Because of this, it likely won’t be as in depth as some others, just things that caught my eye.
Spoiler warning! If you wish to play the mod blind, no spoilers are censored here! Do not read, go play it and come back!
The point of the mod is to follow each of the girls through a slightly altered version of Act 1. Episode 3 follows Natsuki.
Natsuki seems in character enough. Writer doesn’t overdo things when she gets called cute, I like when a mod does that. The beginning was already heart wrenching, the art shown within the first few panels of the game was really well done and I can perfectly imagine Natsuki saying these things to her dad.
A well written MC is also a strong part of a mod. Changing up his dialogue, or even just his thoughts, always a good thing. Giving MC more character instead of the poor guy being a blank slate is something I always look out for. One of the reasons I loved Relapse.
The hint of a college life indicates that the story goes on after this mod and we simply don’t see it. Still in love with the concept of the player becoming detached from the game so that they can continue onward without us. The idea of the dokis going to college may be hinting at that, but from what I remember from when I played episode one and two, there weren’t any meta themes going on, so pointing this out was probably worthless. Who knows, though? Maybe more of the game’s nature will be revealed during Monika’s route, which I will also be playing when it releases.
Again, this mod does a good job of altering act 1 just enough that it doesn’t feel stale. Mods that do this well stop players from getting bored of going through the same cycle each time, which keeps them playing the mod to see the author’s re-take on each and every scene.
She goes home, her dad is there, seemingly disappointed with himself, he calls Natsuki Haruka? First guess, this is probably Nat’s mum. I’ve never been a huge fan of mods that introduce OC’s or give last names to the Dokis, because a lot of them seem out of place. It’s safe to assume that DDLC takes place in Japan. Sometimes, people will bring in characters with seemingly… non-Japanese names? There are exceptions. Lots of people think Monika might not be from Japan entirely, and u/Halibabica’s Tiff from Take Two is explained to have come from America. But a lot of mods just seem to overlook the fact that the game is in Japan and people really should have japanese names. However, Another moment with you seems to have ticked this box, as I’m fairly certain the name “Haruka” is in fact Japanese. Nice one!
Also, I like mods that show Dadsuki in a better light than some abusive psychopath who hits his daughter for fun. From what I’ve played so far, it would seem that there is more to it than that here. Nat is pretty close with her dad, and it’s clear he loves her. He wants to do what he can to help, but he’s just not entirely sure what exactly that is. Pity the father, people! At least, pity this incarnation of him. Leave the Brand New Day fella outta this.
You know what else is great? Her father tries his best to care for her, he’s doing all he can, but there’s not much he can do. That’s supposedly the inspiration for ‘Eagles can fly’ and I love that idea.
Who tf is this Kei? Same thing with Haruka here, sticking to the setting we got! You can really tell that a lot of work went into this with how seamless everything is. Also, my new nickname for Natsuki is Shrimp.
Natsuki ranting about how manga is literature segueing into MC acknowledging it and agreeing with her was the best laugh I’ve gotten in a while. The quick fire questions and snappy answers were hilarious. Can’t wait to see how this dynamic duo play out for the rest of the week.
If it’s anything like the way they read manga together, it’s looking bright! When people take the fictional stories like Parfait Girls and Portrait of Markov and flesh out the story more, it’s awesome to see what kinda things people can come up with. This does a good job of explaining what Parfait Girls is like, probably to the same degree that Portrait of Markov’s base-game description got. I can also totally see Natsuki being one of those people who interrupts people when they’re either reading a book or watching a film that she knows plenty about.
Oh, the poem sharing activity is a staple to this mod! To my knowledge, we don’t see much of the girls sharing poems with each other outside of Natsuki and Yuri’s dispute during act 1, so seeing what they thought of each other’s poems here and fleshing it out makes the characters seems closer to each other.
The trip down memory lane. Natsuki reminiscing of the beach trip is honestly quite sad. I was never too attached to Nat, but I feel for her here. The music is perfect, too. Apparently the photo scene wasn’t quite finished as I wrote that and now I’m worried that a picture is missing.
Rooftop scenes scare me. Ever since I watched a play through of Persona 5, rooftop scenes form a ball of dread in my gut. This is Natsuki though, I doubted she’d resort to such a thing. Instead, we’re met with a heart-warming scene of happiness. Falls flat when Sayori is upset about it, though. *Sigh* I guess you can never have anything good in a DDLC story.
So now Nat and her dad are talking about the missing pictures, or more accurately, the pictures that had her mum cut out of them. Natsuki pressed for answers as to why. Why is he just saying stop over and over?
…
Oh.
Oh…
He did not just do that.
This is the kind of domestic abuse that makes a hell of a lot more sense in the context of DDLC. Natsuki and her dad are probably pretty close, but he just loses his temper and lashes out when she pokes at sensitive subjects (In this context, Nat’s mum) Unless your mod is making use of meta themes and you’re implying that Monika is playing with Nat’s dad’s parameters or something, this is what it should look like!
“I’m contemplating swiping one of her pieces.”
Nat: “Nope.”
This part, on the contrary to the previous few scenes, had me in stitches. Just the firmness and quickness of the Nope in my mind, something about that was amazing. Perfectly in character, too.
And the pace at which this story switches gears, hoo boi. We’re back in the sadness camp. Natsuki’s mum having passed away is a very common feature used in many mods, although I believe that Another Moment with You is the first to link Nat’s enthusiasm for manga back to her late mum. Hearing her talk about her mum reading the manga to her as a kid, it builds the perfect image. The music sets the tone, the chosen sprites fit Nat’s mood, everything about this scene is perfect and heart-wrenching. Just as intended.
The final Natsuki CG is just causing me to gush over how good this mod is even more! In the original game, the CG where MC pins Natsuki to the wall is supposed the be the equivalent of MC holding the towel to Yuri’s neck. An intimate encounter where sparks fly and chemistry is noticed. However, here, Natsuki is terrified. I haven’t played on from that point just yet, but to me, it seems like that’s reminding her of her dad hitting her and scares her to feel so powerless.
Almost forgot about Natsuki’s bet with Yuri. It’s been a while since I played chapter 2. Pretty good reference to it though. After Natsuki has recovered from her minor breakdown, she’s immediately thinking of winning that bet of who MC will end up with. Still unsure of who it will be, it might not be anyone with the way the other chapters ended, but I guess we’ll see.
So this Kei guy is back. Nat’s manga is being passed around and her secret it out. Then Monika ex machina. Or… Deus ex Monika? This is why I don’t think her chapter is going to involve meta themes. She still cares about the club. Deeply so. As though she’d never gone through that epiphany in the first place. She’s sticking up for Natsuki, and because she’s Monika, everyone is more than happy to comply.
Remember what I said a moment ago about rooftop scenes?
“Ever since I watched a play through of Persona 5, rooftop scenes form a ball of dread in my gut. This is Natsuki though, I doubted she’d resort to such a thing.”
Well, we’re back on this rooftop and my doubt has lifted ever so slightly. This mod does such a good job at the up and down of emotions and keeping me hooked with moments like this. But what does end up happening is we get an original music track play over a scene that, funnily enough, brought me closer to tears than any Natsuki route or mod. Like, holy moly! (Quick tip for playing DDLC mods, read MC’s lines out loud. It might not seem like much, but it enhances the experience so much more, as I’m now discovering.) Monika and MC being tired out by all these events makes total sense and is highly upsetting to see, as if the scene where Natsuki is forced to say her goodbyes to MC and Monika. Slightly disappointed Natsuki kissed MC, but if I was moving town and I was likely to not see the girl I was in love with again, I’d probably put aside any rational thought and kiss her.
It then goes on to describe Natsuki’s car ride past her dad’s house, giving us one last glimpse into her past relations with her dad and the artwork we see frequently throughout of Natsuki, Haruka and Dad (No name given) and it seals the nail in the coffin of what this route is truly about. Sayori’s depression, Yuri’s self harm, and not Natsuki’s domestic abuse, but her broken family as a whole. Her mother’s passing left a hole in the family, the edges slowly crumbling away until her dad tumbled in himself. By far the best telling of Natsuki’s story I’ve ever heard. Enjoyed it thoroughly, start to finish, would recommend without a doubt!
Mod page: Doki Doki Literature Club: Another Moment with You
Go shoot this mod some love and support! Please!
Submitted October 15, 2019 at 10:42PM by FearMySpeed https://ift.tt/32gA7kA
No comments:
Post a Comment