psychedelica ramblings
Jan. 18th, 2020 03:20 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hello, it's me, the

I completed Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly the other night. I still have 2 achievements left but I'm pretty sure they're related to the shooting mini game and I suck at that so, as much as this hurts my completionist ass, I'm officially done with the game.
It was shorter than I expected, took me less than 20 hours to clear everything. Steam says 19 hours but considering the breaks to go to the bathroom or the kitchen, and all those times I had to pause the game for like 10 minutes to stare at the wall in contemplation because what the fuck, the total is probably a bit less than that.
I loved the flowchart, and being able to see the structure of the story and the different branches. It's pretty cool and I'd love to see that kind of thing in more games. However I also think it made things a bit more confusing, somehow lol I mean, as much as I loved it, I'm not used to games being like that and it was overwhelming, especially at first. It was a bit buggy too. I had issues to unlock a couple of scenes.

I completed Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly the other night. I still have 2 achievements left but I'm pretty sure they're related to the shooting mini game and I suck at that so, as much as this hurts my completionist ass, I'm officially done with the game.
It was shorter than I expected, took me less than 20 hours to clear everything. Steam says 19 hours but considering the breaks to go to the bathroom or the kitchen, and all those times I had to pause the game for like 10 minutes to stare at the wall in contemplation because what the fuck, the total is probably a bit less than that.
I loved the flowchart, and being able to see the structure of the story and the different branches. It's pretty cool and I'd love to see that kind of thing in more games. However I also think it made things a bit more confusing, somehow lol I mean, as much as I loved it, I'm not used to games being like that and it was overwhelming, especially at first. It was a bit buggy too. I had issues to unlock a couple of scenes.
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MC is voiced!! I think this is the first otome I play with a voiced MC ;; ngl I'm not the kind of player who waits for the charas to say the whole line before I click next, but I still enjoyed this detail a lot. I think it really adds to the experience.
And well, I looked at the guys and saw that Karasuba looked like my type (flirty/cheerful) so I went for him in my first play-through. Or tried at least lol I got the main ending instead (and before that the only official bad ending in the game, because of course).
Gotta say, while he is still my type, he is way more bitchy than I was expecting lmao like damn, he is such a shit stirrer?? and those scenes you get when you choose him are so unsettling?? he is such a shady motherfucker in those that I was seriously considering he was the master of the manor or some shit. His ending was Like That, but somehow I expected worse lol.

I was also suspecting Kagiha at the time. I was so busy side eyeing these two that Hikage being the master caught me off guard lol. It's not like I hadn't considered that possibility too, but I didn't give it too much thought because my focus was elsewhere

and lmao, in this scene, when Karasuba breaks Monshiro's mask and you see that he has the same face as Hikage, my first thought was holy shit these are the real twins and Yamato is the one who doesn't fit agfdsghdsh then I thought about it for 10 seconds and realized that made no fucking sense but? can you blame me? at least these two look like actual twins.

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I'm not crying
when I bought this game I was so excited about the ~possibilities~ (?) that I also bought Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk, so I want to try and play that game too before the month ends
this game is literally afterlife by avenged sevenfold
MC is voiced!! I think this is the first otome I play with a voiced MC ;; ngl I'm not the kind of player who waits for the charas to say the whole line before I click next, but I still enjoyed this detail a lot. I think it really adds to the experience.
And well, I looked at the guys and saw that Karasuba looked like my type (flirty/cheerful) so I went for him in my first play-through. Or tried at least lol I got the main ending instead (and before that the only official bad ending in the game, because of course).
Gotta say, while he is still my type, he is way more bitchy than I was expecting lmao like damn, he is such a shit stirrer?? and those scenes you get when you choose him are so unsettling?? he is such a shady motherfucker in those that I was seriously considering he was the master of the manor or some shit. His ending was Like That, but somehow I expected worse lol.

that's it, that's the route
I was also suspecting Kagiha at the time. I was so busy side eyeing these two that Hikage being the master caught me off guard lol. It's not like I hadn't considered that possibility too, but I didn't give it too much thought because my focus was elsewhere

sir please control your boner
and lmao, in this scene, when Karasuba breaks Monshiro's mask and you see that he has the same face as Hikage, my first thought was holy shit these are the real twins and Yamato is the one who doesn't fit agfdsghdsh then I thought about it for 10 seconds and realized that made no fucking sense but? can you blame me? at least these two look like actual twins.
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Kagiha... I felt there was something going on with him, and as I mentioned earlier I considered he might be the master of the manor but the idea of him being dead for years never crossed my mind. I lost my shit at this part tbh.
I kinda wish I went for him in my first try... I'm not even sure you can get any of the guys' endings in your first play through, but well, still. I don't exactly regret choosing Karasuba first, it's just that... I kept getting scenes with Kagiha in the main story and while I enjoyed them, and him as a character, I was kind of distracted thinking about the other idiot, and I feel that because of that I didn't enjoy Natsuki's story as much as I could have. I think it would have had more impact if I had chosen him at first, and I'm sad I missed that chance.
But well, too late for tears. His story is still pretty moving and enjoyable anyway~
On another note, some of his expressions are kinda unsettling? which is weird because I don't think they're meant to come off that way? I think they're just supposed to be regular smiles or kind expressions, but they're kind of yandere-ish lol
I kinda wish I went for him in my first try... I'm not even sure you can get any of the guys' endings in your first play through, but well, still. I don't exactly regret choosing Karasuba first, it's just that... I kept getting scenes with Kagiha in the main story and while I enjoyed them, and him as a character, I was kind of distracted thinking about the other idiot, and I feel that because of that I didn't enjoy Natsuki's story as much as I could have. I think it would have had more impact if I had chosen him at first, and I'm sad I missed that chance.
But well, too late for tears. His story is still pretty moving and enjoyable anyway~
On another note, some of his expressions are kinda unsettling? which is weird because I don't think they're meant to come off that way? I think they're just supposed to be regular smiles or kind expressions, but they're kind of yandere-ish lol

I mean?????
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btw, right at the end of the main ending, there is a CG and it's an old picture of Hikage with Usagi, right? well, I was going too fast so I only could see it for like a second but I thought it meant that Usagi was Hikage's daughter lmao
and now that I'm talking about stupid shit I believed let me mention something else. I'm actually annoyed about this thing lol. There is a scene where Yamato and Hikage are arguing about some bullshit and Yamato says that Hikage is like a woman and Hikage gets SUPER offended. Yes, all very charming. Right after reading that scene I read another about a little kid named Aki who was bullied because he was too weak, and other boys called him Princess and said he was too girly or something. And I was like, oh I see, Aki is Hikage and he reacted so strongly to what Yamato said because of his childhood. I see.
but NOPE. Karasuba is Aki, and Hikage is just Like That lmao. though I wonder if this is a way to hint he was born in a different era, or something like that.
and now that I'm talking about stupid shit I believed let me mention something else. I'm actually annoyed about this thing lol. There is a scene where Yamato and Hikage are arguing about some bullshit and Yamato says that Hikage is like a woman and Hikage gets SUPER offended. Yes, all very charming. Right after reading that scene I read another about a little kid named Aki who was bullied because he was too weak, and other boys called him Princess and said he was too girly or something. And I was like, oh I see, Aki is Hikage and he reacted so strongly to what Yamato said because of his childhood. I see.
but NOPE. Karasuba is Aki, and Hikage is just Like That lmao. though I wonder if this is a way to hint he was born in a different era, or something like that.
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Yamato. When I was checking the official site to find pics, I remember seeing that he was the most popular out of all the charas. And I get it. He is very endearing. I enjoyed his scenes a lot. Except the ones from his childhood because he was insufferable when he was a child lmao tho I do feel bad for him, he was struggling so much with his emotions/feelings and he was just a kid, I can't hate but damn.
His face looks kinda weird sometimes or am I seeing things? He looks fine in the CGs, but something feels off in the sprites. Inconsistent, maybe? idk, but it was distracting
I feel like I'm only bitching about the art agfdsghdsh. I actually like it a lot, it's pretty and interesting, and very fitting too. The CGs are especially gorgeous. Also I noticed that there are almost no variations and I thought it was a curious detail. Like in other games you get a CG, but then some parts of it change (expressions, charas, etc) so it's different but the base is still the same. Other games do this pretty often but here, I think it's only 2 or 3 times. There are many CGs tbh, in some important scenes you get like 2 or 3 different CGs in like 2 minutes and it's Intense.
His face looks kinda weird sometimes or am I seeing things? He looks fine in the CGs, but something feels off in the sprites. Inconsistent, maybe? idk, but it was distracting
I feel like I'm only bitching about the art agfdsghdsh. I actually like it a lot, it's pretty and interesting, and very fitting too. The CGs are especially gorgeous. Also I noticed that there are almost no variations and I thought it was a curious detail. Like in other games you get a CG, but then some parts of it change (expressions, charas, etc) so it's different but the base is still the same. Other games do this pretty often but here, I think it's only 2 or 3 times. There are many CGs tbh, in some important scenes you get like 2 or 3 different CGs in like 2 minutes and it's Intense.
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Back to the boys. I'm trying to do this in the order I played so, Monshiro. Baby boy. Baby.
I don't have much to add to that tbh lol. His route really hurt me in the heart.
I decided to leave Hikage's route for last when I discovered he was the master of the manor. I just thought it made sense and I'm glad I did. His route was pretty different from the rest. In fact it's the only one that felt like an actual route. The rest felt more like just some scenes complementing the main story here and there, and then endings. Except for Monshiro's, maybe.
This game made me tear up a few times, but it was the route the one that managed to make me cry. That scene right at the end, when the MC is in the real world. BOY.
Also you know how in some otome games the MC doesn't have a face, she has a shadow instead of eyes, right? I doubt it was a reference to that (?) but I love that they included this element in the story. And it's not non-diegetic, it's an actual thing that happens in that universe, AND it makes sense. It's so creepy and it fits so well and I love it?? hell yea
I don't have much to add to that tbh lol. His route really hurt me in the heart.
I decided to leave Hikage's route for last when I discovered he was the master of the manor. I just thought it made sense and I'm glad I did. His route was pretty different from the rest. In fact it's the only one that felt like an actual route. The rest felt more like just some scenes complementing the main story here and there, and then endings. Except for Monshiro's, maybe.
This game made me tear up a few times, but it was the route the one that managed to make me cry. That scene right at the end, when the MC is in the real world. BOY.
Also you know how in some otome games the MC doesn't have a face, she has a shadow instead of eyes, right? I doubt it was a reference to that (?) but I love that they included this element in the story. And it's not non-diegetic, it's an actual thing that happens in that universe, AND it makes sense. It's so creepy and it fits so well and I love it?? hell yea
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After Hikage's route I finally looked up a walkthrough, because I wasn't sure how I could get those 2 endings after the epilogue I was missing. I suspected they could be actual good endings for Aki and Takuya, but I wasn't 100% sure about that. I mean, they could have been something else, idk lol.
Thanks to the walkthrough I discovered the happy ending, which I had no idea existed. And I wonder how do other people even learn about this ending without a walkthrough tbh (???). but well, I decided to leave this one for last and get the other two first.
these endings felt very fluffy compared to the rest of the story. I wouldn't say they're super romantic or anything like that, and they still discuss things that happened during the story (obv), but they were sweet, and most of all they were hopeful. it was a nice way to end things after all that angst.
in his ending Aki apologized for being a jerk and I really appreciated that lol, kinda wish that he apologized to Takuya too but well, guess Aki and MC were having a moment and it would have been weird if he was there too lol.
the happy ending was nice. you know when I was reading the flashback I couldn't stop thinking they could have stayed inside the manor until the storm passed, and they would have been fine. like sure, adults would be mad at them for disappearing and being stupid, but they would have been fine.
and then the game gives us the option to actually do that?? I'd like to thank not only god but also jesus.
though I wonder how things would end for Hikage and Usagi in that AU..? it's a bit bittersweet if I think of it that way. I think you can say that about all the good endings in this game, like there is always some chara who doesn't end well no matter what you do lmao
that said I'm a bit surprised there was only one bad ending, considering the story and the setting and everything. I'm not counting Kagiha, Karasuba and Yamato's endings as "bad endings", though I don't think of them as "good endings" either lol, I mean, they're obviously not supposed to be. I'd describe them as "bittersweet, but like, in a very unsettling way". I was ~worried~ all the endings were going to be Like That until I reached Kazuya's ending.
And that's it I guess. I'm def forgetting stuff but I can't think of anything else to say right now... I'm glad I played this game, feels weird to say but it was fun lol (I mean if you enjoy some angst and suffering it is fun). It's not about romance, but I'd say it's about love. And about guilt and grief, and forgiveness and moving on. and boy do those hit close to home *laughs into the night*
Thanks to the walkthrough I discovered the happy ending, which I had no idea existed. And I wonder how do other people even learn about this ending without a walkthrough tbh (???). but well, I decided to leave this one for last and get the other two first.
these endings felt very fluffy compared to the rest of the story. I wouldn't say they're super romantic or anything like that, and they still discuss things that happened during the story (obv), but they were sweet, and most of all they were hopeful. it was a nice way to end things after all that angst.
in his ending Aki apologized for being a jerk and I really appreciated that lol, kinda wish that he apologized to Takuya too but well, guess Aki and MC were having a moment and it would have been weird if he was there too lol.
the happy ending was nice. you know when I was reading the flashback I couldn't stop thinking they could have stayed inside the manor until the storm passed, and they would have been fine. like sure, adults would be mad at them for disappearing and being stupid, but they would have been fine.
and then the game gives us the option to actually do that?? I'd like to thank not only god but also jesus.
though I wonder how things would end for Hikage and Usagi in that AU..? it's a bit bittersweet if I think of it that way. I think you can say that about all the good endings in this game, like there is always some chara who doesn't end well no matter what you do lmao
that said I'm a bit surprised there was only one bad ending, considering the story and the setting and everything. I'm not counting Kagiha, Karasuba and Yamato's endings as "bad endings", though I don't think of them as "good endings" either lol, I mean, they're obviously not supposed to be. I'd describe them as "bittersweet, but like, in a very unsettling way". I was ~worried~ all the endings were going to be Like That until I reached Kazuya's ending.
And that's it I guess. I'm def forgetting stuff but I can't think of anything else to say right now... I'm glad I played this game, feels weird to say but it was fun lol (I mean if you enjoy some angst and suffering it is fun). It's not about romance, but I'd say it's about love. And about guilt and grief, and forgiveness and moving on. and boy do those hit close to home *laughs into the night*


I'm not crying
when I bought this game I was so excited about the ~possibilities~ (?) that I also bought Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk, so I want to try and play that game too before the month ends
this game is literally afterlife by avenged sevenfold