New in the blog. New on the Kara no shoujo blog true ending
Platform: PC
Developer: Innocent gray
Publisher: Innocent Gray, MangaGamer
Date of release: June 29, 2011 (online)
Age rating: —
Language: japanese, English
For three long years She slept sweetly, sheltering from the outside world inside a huge black egg, the surface of which was covered with strange symbols - "moon runes". All this time, people waited with trepidation for the day when a thin web of cracks would appear on the surface of the shell impenetrable to the human eye, marking Her coming into this world. And finally the long-awaited moment has come - as soon as all the moon runes were translated, the shell crumbled into small pieces, allowing us to finally see the beauty of Her true appearance.
Beauty of Pain, beauty of Madness, beauty of Hope ...
It must be admitted that the English translation of Kara no Shoujo dragged on in earnest. Three years have passed since the initial release of the game in Japan - while the translation project itself, which began back in 2009, fell into a state of deep coma several times for various reasons. But, despite the long delays, in the end everything ended well - and in the summer of 2011, the MangaGamer company (already known to many horror fans for localizing Higurashi no Naku koro ni) finally released the official English version of the game.
However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. What is Kara no Shoujo? - Ask a reader who has not followed the news. "Girl in a Shell" (this is how the name is translated) is a new game from the Japanese company Innocent Gray - creators of the cult visual novel "Cartagra". The authors themselves define the genre of their creation as "Psycho Mystery Adventure" - in other words, a visual novel with elements of a detective story and psychological horror: throughout the game we have to get used to the role of a private detective and investigate a chain of mysterious murders.
Like other projects of Innocent Gray, Kara no Shoujo is designed for an adult audience - so it should be borne in mind that during the passage, players will have to repeatedly encounter scenes of cruelty, sex and other shock content. At the same time, KnS is so permeated with an atmosphere of despair and melancholy that the game is often considered to be "utsuge" - especially dark visual novels that can rape the player's brain and drive him into deep depression (like Saya no Uta or Swan Song). Hopefully, after all these warnings about violence, sex and a raped brain, you haven't recoiled from the monitor in horror and are still reading this review? Great, because next we move on to the most delicious part - the description of the game's plot. Speaking of the plot, it should be noted that Kara no Shoujo is a kind of sequel to Carthage - throughout the game we can meet familiar heroes, as well as find numerous references, easter eggs and interesting plot parallels. However, the stories themselves do not have a direct connection with each other, so getting to know Kartagra is not a prerequisite for understanding KnS's plot.
So, the events of Kara no Shoujo are set in post-war Japan in 1956. Our protagonist is Reiji Tokisaka, a former police officer who left the service after a high-profile case 6 years ago - a series of brutal murders, the final victim of which was Reiji's fiance: her tortured and decapitated body was found crucified on a cross in a gutter. The murderer was never found, and the motives for the crime remained a mystery ... Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. After leaving the police, Reiji took up the work of a private detective, mainly specializing in the investigation of brutal murders, and in the depths of his soul cherishing the hope of someday getting on the trail of his lover's killer. Often, our hero also helped his friend - an investigator named Wozumi Kyoso - in the investigation of particularly difficult cases. And now Wozumi again asks us to help unravel one strange business, or rather, even two businessmen at once. Recently, two mutilated female corpses were found by the police. The first corpse was found in Inokashira park - however, it is difficult to call it a "corpse", since in fact only scattered remains wrapped in black cloth were found: a head, two arms, two legs, and ... nothing else. The victim's body was never found. Another corpse was found in the Tama cemetery - the killer cut off his victim's left arm, half buried the body in the ground so that only a bent leg sticking out of the ground, doused the leg with gasoline and set it on fire so that the leg burned like a torch, illuminating the cemetery shrouded in night mist. But that's not all - as it turned out during the autopsy, the killer also ripped open the girl's abdominal cavity, cutting out the uterus and placing a cracked, black-painted eggshell inside the body. Hour by hour is not easier! Why did the criminal need to cut the corpse, take it to the cemetery, and even set fire to his leg, risking being noticed !? What symbolism and secret purpose can all these actions carry? Are the two incidents tied together, or are the two corpses the work of two different people? And could these strange murders have anything to do with the case 6 years ago ...? This is how our investigation begins.
But the matter is not limited to just one request from Wazumi. Along the way, Reiji is approached by an elderly man - Tokyo Saeki, vice president of a local Christian school - with a request to help in finding two missing students: Nishizono Yui and Imamura Haruki. And finally, on top of everything else, our detective also receives a strange request from a girl named Kuchiki Toko, studying at the same school: “I want you to find my true self” - and after this phrase, the girl runs away, leaving us in bewildered to scratch the back of his head. What can her words mean? Could the request to find her "true self" have something to do with the disappearance of two other students ..? Or did the girl just read Freud?
And this is just the beginning. But the further into the forest, the more firewood. Will Tokisaka be able to prevent further killings, expose the criminals, find the missing schoolgirls and unravel the mystery of the tragedy 6 years ago? Or will an excessively inquisitive detective end his life in the form of chopped pieces of meat? The outcome of this story depends directly on your actions and decisions.
And there are about a dozen possible outcomes in total - and if the player does not carefully think over all his actions, he risks stumbling upon a sudden Bad End, without getting to the bottom of the truth. They made the wrong decision and followed the wrong trail - and one of the characters may die; missed an important piece of evidence - and you may forever miss the opportunity to solve the mystery. At the same time, the game has more than fifty moments when we will have to independently choose one or another option of actions - some choices make it possible to obtain new information or evidence; other choices affect relationships with characters; and, of course, we have to independently put forward various hypotheses and choose a presumptive killer. Also, the player is given relative freedom of movement: we ourselves can choose where our detective goes - for example, to a park, to a hospital, to a cafe, or somewhere else. Again, by being in the right place at the right time, we can learn something useful. The game also periodically switches from the standard visual novel mode to the so-called "Investigation" mode, offering us to investigate the crime scene in the classic quest point & click interface - moreover, especially attentive detectives will be able to find not only additional evidence, but also Easter eggs hidden from prying eyes (for example, when exploring one of the rooms, you can stumble upon a secret diary of one of the characters of Carthage).
It's worth noting that despite the many opportunities to screw up the investigation, getting a good ending on the first playthrough is not at all incredible. If you think about all the plot details, carefully search the crime scenes and do not commit stupid things, then the case can be completely unraveled the first time (verified by personal experience). And in this we will be helped by a notebook, where the main character writes down all the important information. Character profiles, details of crimes, evidence found - all these important details can be viewed at any time during the game, you just need to look in your notebook to refresh your memory. And given the number of characters we have to meet, as well as the abundance of various small details (each of which can become a clue), the notebook will become our irreplaceable companion throughout the entire investigation.
Speaking of characters, Kara no Shoujo has over 30 characters in total - a significant figure for a visual novel. Let's take a look at some of the main characters:
Yukari Tokisaka - The younger sister Reiji is calm, judicious and responsible. After her parents died, and her brother began to disappear at work all day, the girl had to take over the entire household. He is fond of drawing and entomology, often spending his free time in a local park collecting snails and grasshoppers. After the disappearance of two female students from her school, Yukari decides not to stand aside and asks her brother to help with the search.
Wozumi Kyoso - An experienced investigator who has seen a lot in his lifetime - this person can no longer be surprised by dismembered corpses, and a huge scar on his head is a silent reminder of the dangers he had to go through. Reiji and Uazumi had known each other during their time in the police force, and despite Tokisaki's departure from service, they still periodically help each other in their investigations.
Natsume Takashiro - An eccentric female forensic scientist who adores only two things: the seduction of men and the autopsy of fresh corpses. She has such a nasty character that even police officers are afraid of her! But despite the many oddities, Natsume's talents cannot be underestimated - she really is a professional in her field, and in addition to forensic examination, she also possesses the skills of fingerprinting, graphological analysis and other forensic examinations. By the way, her last name sounds familiar ... where could we have heard her earlier?
Toko Kuchiki - A student at a local Christian school. One day she suddenly tracks down Reiji in Inokashira Park and gives him a cryptic request, the meaning of which remains incomprehensible to the detective. Likes to paint, philosophize and wander around the city at night. She believes that the literal meaning of her name - "trees that wither in winter" - is very suitable for her. What does this mean?
Toko Mizuhara - Kuchiki Toko's friend. She loves her namesake and attends school solely for the sake of being close to her. Likes to read children's stories and draw. Experiencing a strong inferiority complex due to the poor financial situation of his family.
Orihime Tsukishima - A girl from a wealthy family, brought up in strict rules since childhood. Orihime is accustomed to always maintaining a proud appearance, never exposing her weaknesses and emotions - these qualities, along with excellent academic performance, allowed her to take the honorary place of the head of the school board of the Christian school and become a role model for many students.
Tsuzuriko Yosomiya - Despite the fact that Tsuzuriko is Yukari's best friend, the characters of these two girls are diametrically opposite - Tsuzuriko is always cheerful, reckless and often behaves like a child. She also loves writing detective stories and, despite her young age, even managed to achieve some success in this field - the official release of her first book is soon being prepared! And, of course, having learned about the strange disappearances at school, Tsuzuriko simply cannot resist the temptation to take part in unraveling a real detective case.
Kyoko Hazuki- The owner of a small cafe "Lunny World", who is also an old friend of the protagonist. In many ways, their fates are similar: Kyoko also had to face the loss of a loved one when her husband died in a car accident. Since then, she plunged headlong into work, devoting all her time to the "Lunar World".
Hatsune Amemiya - The new waitress in Lunar World is a shy and awkward girl who is secretly in love with a detective from Ueno. Rumor has it that she used to work in a certain institution called Yukishiro, many of whose workers were brutally murdered five years ago ...
Stella- Employee of the Museum of Fine Arts. Usually Stella does not talk on abstract topics, confining herself to only one or two words, and quickly forgets the faces and names of visitors - but this does not prevent her from remembering all the smallest details from the life of famous artists and giving long lectures on the topic of fine arts. And now, thanks to the next thematic exhibition, she had the opportunity to tell the museum visitors about the life of the cult artist Mamia Shinzo and his masterpiece called "The Girl in the Shell".
Like previous games from Innocent Gray, Kara no Shoujo continues the tradition of using the theme of art - this time with a focus on painting and literature. As you may have guessed, the picture of the same name plays an important role in history; and an attentive player will surely notice numerous references to the work of such writers as Edogawa Rampo, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, the Grimm brothers, Dante Alighieri, Kyogoku Natsuhiko, and even allusions to a certain horror manga by Eiji Otsuki. Of course, there were also religious overtones. But the main theme of Kara no Shoujo is liberation, the way out of the shell that people fetter themselves with day after day - putting on masks, trying to become someone else, pursuing illusions and lamenting about what cannot be changed ...
To be honest, initially I had some doubts about the plot of KnS - this was due to the fact that the original screenwriter of Kartagra - Iida Kazuhiko - left Innocent Gray and gave up the horror genre, giving way to his colleague named Suzuka Miya. I think there is no point in explaining what hellish consequences a change of scriptwriter can entail in a game where the plot plays a primary role. But, fortunately, the fears turned out to be in vain - the new screenwriter did an excellent job with the task entrusted to him, creating a deep and really interesting story, from which it is difficult to break away. Like Cartagra a few years ago, "Girl in a Shell" once again made me immerse myself in the world created by the authors, reflect on the plot and empathize with the characters, and also gave me a lot of unforgettable impressions.
The visual design in the game is done by Sugina Miki, the permanent artist of Innocent Gray, and, as usual, deserves all the praise. The designs of all the characters are very realistic (no red hair and crazy outfits), but at the same time they have a strong personality. The arts and backgrounds are also excellent - but the overall mood is in many ways different from what we saw in Cartagra: if earlier cold tones prevailed, constant darkness, desolation and lifelessness of the surrounding world were felt, and an oppressive atmosphere of loneliness and hopelessness literally seeped through the backgrounds - then now, with the arrival of spring (KnS events take place from March to April), all this has given way to brighter colors. Nevertheless, one should not rejoice early - after all, despite the spring season, we still have to visit the gloomy abodes of psychopaths and examine the half-decomposed corpses.
It is also worth saying a few words about erotic scenes. In terms of artistic execution, they are well done, but in terms of plot substantiation, they leave much to be desired. Unlike Kartagra, where the overwhelming majority of H-scenes were determined by the plot, Kara no Shoujo, unfortunately, cannot boast of this. Moreover, some H-scenes are inserted so inappropriately that they cause only bewilderment and a desire to quickly skip them in order to quickly return to the plot. However, for the sake of truth, it should be noted that there are only two “obligatory” bed scenes for the whole game (which is 20-30 hours of gameplay), which is a record low by the standards of eroge. The rest of the erotic content is mostly scattered around the Bad End, or opens only under certain conditions, being essentially a kind of bonus.
Of course, voice acting also plays an important role in helping to breathe life into the characters. And, admittedly, Innocent Gray very carefully approached the choice of actors for their brainchild: for the selection of actresses for the role of the main characters, a large audition was arranged, to which more than 250 applicants came! Many of them are truly seasoned voice actors with extensive experience - for example, Rino Kawashima (Yukari) has a track record of over a hundred visual novels, including titles such as Kusari Hime, Aoishiro, Sekien no Inganock, Dies irae, Shikkoku no Sharnoth, Forest, and G-senjou no Maou; Ishino Hikaru (Natsume) also keeps up with his colleague, in addition to many other games, having previously taken part in the voice acting of Kartagra, Yume Miru Kusuri, Ayakashibito and Yosuga no Sora. However, during the hearings, new talents were also found: for Sanma Aji (who played the role of Kuchiki Toko), Kara no Shoujo became the first big job - but the young actress coped with the task entrusted to her so well that later Innocent Gray even invited her to participate in the voiceover for their next game, Caucasus: Nanatsuki no Nie.
It is noteworthy that in the English-language release with the voice acting, a serious snag turned out: due to legal overlays, MangaGamer could not get the rights to voice acting - and the English localization had to be released in a voiceless form. But fans quickly corrected this annoying misunderstanding by making a "pirate" patch that adds all voices from the original Japanese version to the game.
Fortunately, no legal overlays have touched the musical accompaniment - all the music has remained in place, and perfectly emphasizes the atmosphere of the game, interspersing the sad sounds of the piano with oppressive ambient, from which goosebumps run through the body. Traditionally, composer MANYO, who is well known to us from the excellent OST of Kartagra, was working on the soundtrack. Singer Haruka Shimotsuki also returned with the title song of the game, "Ruri no Tori" (azure bird). The angelic vocals and the light, almost airy sound of the track contrast with the gloomy lyrics telling about loss and inner emptiness, creating a feeling of surreality.
So, the review has already dragged on for a long time, so let's move on to summarizing. Without a doubt, Kara no Shoujo is one of the main English-language releases of 2011 both for fans of horror and detective stories, as well as for fans of visual novels and just an adventure game with an interesting plot. Beautiful art, great music, captivating story, live characters, atmosphere - all this makes "Girl in the Shell" one of the brightest representatives of the genre. In turn, the freedom of choice and a wide range of endings (many of which allow you to see new scenes and gain additional story information) provide the game with good potential for replay. And, of course, the abundance of metaphors, allusions and innuendos leaves room for thought, interpretation and discussion. I strongly recommend paying attention to Kara no Shoujo, this game will not leave anyone indifferent.
Kara no shoujo prologue
It's worth mentioning that in addition to the game itself, there is also a small additional scenario. It was originally distributed in Japan as a demo version of KnS, but it was never translated into English - which is rather sad given that the script is essentially a prologue to the story and contains many interesting scenes. For example, here we can take a look at the events that took place several months before the start of the game, meet Yui himself, solve a small murder case, get into the skin of Uozumi Kyozo and inspect the scene of the incident in Inokashira Park, where fragmented body parts were found. and also look at the world through the eyes of a killer. However, despite the lack of translation, you can read or play the Japanese version yourself, armed with AGTH and an auto-translator.
Day?. 23:40
The typical, unremarkable day was drawing to a close. By a long-ingrained habit, I flipped through the VK news feed. What for? Apparently, in search of some new occupation, because dota and other mob games have long ceased to bring me the former pleasure. Post with pictures. Post with music. Sko-ko-that. Wait a minute though.
YG: Hmm, interesting.
It caught my attention ...
Yes, this is the news. With some part of my mind, I had a presentiment of suitability, and that such a thing should not be missed.
YG: I hope this time my intuition won't let me down.
It was with such thoughts that my new hobby was put on download for a couple of evenings. I assumed that for a couple. Mistakes happen. Although, if you think about it, I'm even glad that I was mistaken only in this.
After a few hours of waiting, the story was still loaded. With impatience I rushed to the installation file, then to the shortcut, and finally, I was able to dive into the abyss of a very entertaining text. But ... a sudden drowsiness hit my mind. It's strange, because before I could sit quietly and until morning without much desire to sleep, but, apparently, not this time.
YG: Well, not destiny.
With these words, I blurted out on the already spread bed and quickly gave up my consciousness to a long sleep.
It's time to stop pretending to be a worthless writer and get a little closer to business. Sorry for waiting c:
But the very next day, literally starting to read it at 4 o'clock in the morning, I stayed until 11, getting up except for another cup of hot drink.
Actually, this is how I began my acquaintance with the work called Kara no shoujo or Girl in a shell.
A dry description of the game in order to bring you up to date.
The action of this detective the short story takes place in 1956. A series of brutal murders falls on Tokyo, the victim of one of which is the fiance of the protagonist of the novel, a detective named Tokisaka Reiji. Six years later, history repeats itself, and Reiji has a chance this time to catch the criminal, which is what his old friend from the police asks for. In addition, you and the hero will have to investigate two more cases: the serial murder of young students, in connection with which you will have to work undercover as a teacher of the Catholic Academy, and the search for the true self of one of its students, who became your customer.
A few words about the GG family.
So, what is so remarkable about this novel? First, our protagonist immediately catches the eye. No, this is not another schoolboy-oyash, from whom all the female characters are crazy (although the latter, nevertheless, ~ indirectly refers to him), but a real 30-year-old detective named Tokisaka Reiji. It has a very flashy appearance, for the same 50s.
(somehow he looks like a little detective, more like some businessman / prince, but not the essence)
He is smart enough (unless, of course, you will "blunt" during the game), addicted to a coffee drink and not at all adapted to the household and, in fact, he does not have time for that. But, be it heavens or the developers, he has a wonderful little sister named Yukari.
Why wonderful, and even with a capital letter? It's simple - this is the ideal of a younger sister. I am not kidding. You come back from hard work - greets you "Welcome back, will you have dinner / lunch? / Can you make coffee?", Cleans up, gets up before you, wakes you up affectionately ... Eh, not a sister, but a real perfect wife. Now you will not find such sisters. * dreams * Although, she has one drawback, but I will not say which one, it may not be so significant for you (who knows).
About the novel itself.
As already shown above, the main genre is still a detective story. Consequently, the game will have a significant number of choices, the smallest of which can significantly affect the plot in the future, or even save your skin. There are, of course, and not influencing at all, such as this one (If you know what I mean).
But this is already one of the rare exceptions. And yes, there are not so many sex scenes here, personally, during my first independent passage, I did not come across a single one. In general, I thought, maybe I downloaded the wrong version, but it soon became clear that I was still lucky, because these very scenes, it happens, do not fit into the picture of what is happening at all, which is very, very sad. But something I got distracted ...
First, I will go through the shortcomings, because there are very few of them. Skipping the text (fast reading) disappointed me, because sometimes he skips the information that has not yet been read, or, on the contrary, does not want to scroll through the text that has already been seen before. I also want to highlight a little boring text presentation at the end of the story. In principle, everything is on the bad sides, it's time to move on to the good. This novel can please with beautifully traced CG-scenes, high-quality character sprites, pleasant music, fully voiced characters (in addition to our main character, which, I think, is natural), its atmosphere, changeable mood (for example, you have just been on a crime, where in tension they looked at the corpse of the victim, and the very next day you smile at the behavior of a character (not every story can boast of this).
Kara no shoujo makes the reader think and reflect together with our GG, worry about some of the characters. At first it is easy to read, but in the end it may seem boring to some, because a dense stream of information about the investigation begins to pour on us, a bunch of names, half of which I just physically cannot keep in my head by 5 a.m. The Girl in the Shell tries to deal with this little flaw by introducing a column like this marked "record."
It contains all the personalities that our detective met, evidence from crime scenes, a map of the city, in general, a lot of useful information for very forgetful players (such as me: p).
Change theme Same, Kara no Shoujo fully translated into Russian... Sometimes, there are small mistakes or places with the English language, but they did not affect the overall perception of this work, because the text itself is written in a very pleasant literary form, but what can I say, the translators even bothered to make notes on words incomprehensible to a simple layman, which is very pleases.
Now for the transit time. My very first trek through this novel lasted about 7 hours, despite the fact that I went along the shortest branch, which was a little less than half of the full passage. The complete passage took me 5-6 evenings and nights, which is approximately equal to 20-30 hours specified in the description of the game. Not sickly, so if you do not want to spend a day of your life on some kind of game, it is better not to download, because if you start, you will already be let go of navryatli.
In the game you will be greeted by ~ 10 endings, only one of which is true, it will also open you access to the gallery, where you can watch CG-scenes, listen to musical accompaniment or go over some moments of the game.
I admit honestly - I read it, even though it was late in the yard, I could not give up this piece halfway through. After all, every time choosing one or another answer and getting on a false thread, in which, for example, you still die, the main character tells his killer: "So it was you!" and he instantly kills him. After this, I just want to find out who exactly was the killer of the intrigue at the height, in general, you plunge into the detective channel to the fullest. And the true ending ... Yes, it does not explain a lot, leaves some gaps, but, in my opinion, this is its peculiarity. This is what gave the drama we ended up getting. Ehh, this "picture" not only will take your heart, but also the warmth in the chest area will warm you on such a cold night of passage. I'm serious. At 19, I almost shed a sad, lonely tear. So dramatic.
Overall score
Five out of five cups of hot dark coffee.
Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye. I would also like to know your feelings from the game, what you liked and what did not. Finally, I will leave the site with the Russian translation of the game (you can download it from there) and wish you successful New Year's days. See ya next so dramatical time!
I'm talking about new torment now
In the twentieth song of the first of the canzons,
Which is about dying in the abyss.
I was already disposed to look
Into the hole opened before me for the first time
Which is watered with a mournful cry;
And I saw dumb crowds in the round ditch,
Who made a leisurely journey in tears,
How litanies are conducted in this world.
When I let my gaze slide over them,
Then everyone got strangely twisted
In the place where the chest comes to the face;
Face to back turned and soundless,
He, backward, directed his step
And he was disaccustomed to seeing directly.
Hello.
And since such a booze has already gone to blogs, I want to tell you about one visual novel that took place recently - "Kara no Shoujo" or "Girl in a Shell".
This is due to the fact that relatively recently hentai was released on this game. No, I am calm about hentai, but film adaptations of visual novels are often worse than the original. These are seagulls, fate, sakura, and much more. And the point is not even that in the overwhelming majority of short stories there is a choice that affects the plot, but in the loss of atmosphere. So Kara no Shoujo, a gorgeous heavy detective, was filmed as a three-part hentai. It's a shame. Therefore, I will tell you about the game.
ACHTUNG
The text below was written by a psycho during a spring aggravation. The game contains scenes of cruelty and violence, and is not recommended for people under the age of 18, as well as people suffering from mental disorders.
There is also a critical amount of spoilers and screenshots in the story.
Released: 2008. Studio: Innocent Gray. Translation: "Our version".
So, the game has gone and a short introduction about the time and place of the action is given. 1956, Tokyo. The official cessation of hostilities in Japan - 1952. Do not forget about the occupation by American troops and numerous military bases. Japan's policy has changed beyond recognition, many laws have been introduced. In short, after losing the war, Japan found itself in a quiet asshole. You can read more about these events on specialized sites. And although this is only mentioned in passing, it is worth knowing about it, for a better understanding of what is happening - they lost, they were occupied, the constitution was redrawn, you have to act with an eye on the Americans. The number of people who have gone completely crazy (both former military and civilians) has grown significantly, the city still retains traces of the bombing.
But, as I said, these events are only mentioned in passing. The main character is Tokisaka Reiji, who went to the police after the army, but after the incident with his fiancée he quit and became a private detective. He has a sister who is studying at the Oba Women's Academy. The academy, by the way, was very unlucky.
So, the main character decides to take a little vacation, but fate is not - not only that brutal murders begin to occur, but also a girl named Toko hires a detective to "find her true self." The detective takes on both cases and begins an investigation. For this, he becomes a temporary teacher at the Oba Academy, where he notices that the girls there are too quiet and depressed, and the murders, meanwhile, continue and the obvious allusion to Jack the Ripper, built in my inflamed mind, immediately crumbles to dust. Dante's Divine Comedy.
The relationship between all the characters in the novel is very confusing, but the detective has a notebook in which he writes down all the materials on the case, as well as a map with the locations of the murders, the relationship between the characters and the dossier on them. And believe me, you will have to rummage through this notebook constantly, it is updated every now and then, new facts are revealed, and the amount of evidence is terrifying.
The killer, however, can be found in the third week of March. Yeah, but they won't say your name, because they'll kill you. And this is my first playthrough, by the way.
The detective gets to know the teachers and students, delves into their relationship and tries to find the culprit. And if you succeed the first time, you can be proud. Sometimes the thought arises of the involvement of mysticism, the Black Madonna, black fabric, a shell sewn up inside the girls. But this opinion is wrong, all the creation of human hands.
Well, in the academy, a piquant detail is revealed, in which the too tough policy of isolating the academy is to blame. Is it related to the case or not? And if so, how? And what does the killer want to say, why the black shell? Answer all questions? Well done. Because this is just the beginning. And how the hell can you find yourself?
The detective is not alone in his investigation - the owner of the cafe, the medical examiner, an old friend who remained in the police force, another detective - they are ready to help. And we smoothly move on to the gameplay.
As in most visual novels, there is an opportunity to choose an answer or actions, but this moment is poorly expressed, moreover, a system of "extra trunk" is very often encountered, where different answers lead to the same result. Sucks? Not. The choice of answers is just a tribute to tradition, the real choice takes place in a completely different place. Firstly, it is an inspection of the crime scene, where you can find out a bunch of details or get hold of evidence. In this mode, the interface is hidden, giving you a complete view of the place. There is no pixel hunting here, everything obeys the old woman's logic. Second, the choice of evidence. What is really important, what will lead to the trail of the killer? Third, the choice of suspects. How to unravel the tangle of relationships, who turned out to be just an ordinary person, and who should you pay attention to? And, damn it, a private detective is not a policeman, so you need to act in a roundabout way. For example, you know that the killer put a tape from the "Divine Comedy" in the victim's mouth and the handwriting is clearly female. And whose is it? All the available characters are revealed to you - whose handwriting sample will you take first? And fourthly, the choice of location. The detective works part-time as a teacher at the academy, but this is a cover, and it's worth nothing to skip. So where will he go? To the lab for the details of the case? To the Institute of Pathology? Throwing in a cafe, going to a museum? Everything depends on you.
Therefore, the notebook is so important, with each new detail of the case, the records become overgrown with details and clarifications, new murder sites appear on the map, all evidence is written down. After each dialogue, I shook up the poor notebook, but all the same - four passes ended in nothing. Well, the victory ... But what a victory it is ...
The plot and its presentation is what is perfect in this game. A detective story without any kind of mysticism is very difficult and that is why I dislike this genre, there are too few good examples. The fact is that there is no such frequent crap in detective stories as "the character knows more than you", no. The character knows the same as the reader, no more, no less. All the evidence and all the dossiers are available to you, so the result of the investigation depends only on you and your decisions. Sometimes the narrative shifts to other characters, but this does not help in the investigation. Rather, it is for immersion in what is happening.
But my beard would grow back to my knees if I hadn't found something to get to the bottom of.
First. It's still a Japanese visual novel. Names and titles are not remembered in any way, they constantly fly out of my head and I have to turn to my notebook again. It cannot be called a minus, but still.
Second. Although everything that happens is a whole story, it can be divided into two series of crimes. And the second part causes a wild headache, because there are too many actors, the investigation downloads on the timeline and all the details are simply not kept in mind. If during the first playthrough you did not screw up in mid-March, then here you are definitely a tryndet.
Third ... But this is worth talking about a little later, since this also applies to the story.
This gives me an 8.5 out of 10 for a great story. Tough, dark and damn addictive.
Let's talk about the schedule. The game engine can produce some special effects and, fortunately, the creators rarely use this. The drawing itself is designed in the same manner, the characters are not dazzling and look quite natural. The sprites look great, the backgrounds change, sometimes you can see the character himself on the same background. In general, you see the screenshots, I have nothing to complain about. Perhaps, I would refrain from some anatomical details.
I can't say much about sound either. Music does not interfere and perfectly conveys the atmosphere, rare sound effects do not interfere and even work for the atmosphere - I noticed that I bit my lip at the sound of an ax blow.
Let's move on to the most optional element of the game - hentai. It is not enough and it is not really needed. Yes, some moments, such as a quick friendly hookup with Natsume for a mutual release of tension - okay, okay. But for the most part, it doesn't help the game in any way, and it doesn't cause excitement. Don't get me wrong, I'm calm about it, but watching the sex scene when I recently watched the scene of dismemberment live - fuck. And this is the third disadvantage of the game. Fortunately, hentai is not enough.
Well, in general - "Girl in a Shell" is a very strong and atmospheric piece, with a good drawing and music. The plot is catchy and you want to go through it, because the ending depends only on the player. It's hard for perception, I spent almost a week playing and there are still white spots. I do not recommend this game, it is difficult to recommend it. It is heavy, gloomy, it is almost impossible to achieve at least a little light ending. And yet, it grabs.
Will you find the true girl in the shell?
After playing this at first glance, a wonderful Novel, reaching the end and going through the so-called true ending, I came to the conclusion that the authors of this game are very cruel people. Why? I'll try to explain. Throughout the game, a variety of bad endings await the player, and, moreover, very scary and bloody, there is no wonder there is a rating of 18 or 21, depending on the country. Throughout the game, the player witnesses the grisly murders of the characters in the novel. Over and over again, the player will have to look at the deaths of vending characters, and the consequences of these deaths. Like me, the playing person, there will be several things pushing to continue the game despite all these deaths, namely, firstly, that this is a game, and not a book, respectively, here the player is given limited freedom of action, in other similar novellas, it is expressed in the fact that it is possible to save certain characters, as well as, many novellas, unites, the true ending, where after a series of bad or neutral, the game ends in the most favorable way, but or as close as possible to this. The second thing that prevents you from leaving the novel is its consistency, plot and, most importantly, high-quality living characters. The third thing is the idea of \u200b\u200bthe novel, namely, the many options for the passage and endings. And now what happened in the end. Despite the fact that this is neither a book nor a film, where the player is not allowed to change the plot, in fact, the player, in this case, can have little influence on anything, the scriptwriters gave only the illusion that you can save everyone. But, for the whole game you manage to save only two characters, the first is the wife of the protagonist's friend, and the second ... what the writers did with the second person who can be saved is difficult to express with something other than the most rude foul language. I was amazed at such cruelty. But about the second person a little later. The second and third reasons are combined, communicating and seeing living characters, players become attached to them, and the characters die, as already mentioned, very cruelly and bloody. I personally tried to save Tsukishima Orihime at least ten times, but whatever I did, it was completely useless. The girl dies anyway. You can put up with this if you manage to save someone else instead of her, or in the true ending there was a hope to save her, she did not justify herself. Why did they make so many options for passing if the character cannot be saved? But, okay, I've come to terms with it as an inevitable plot milestone, as other players think. Then everything repeats itself, except for one character, all the others perish basely, and the player can do absolutely nothing here. In this case, absolutely nothing depends on the hero. This is the meaning of this novel, but more on that later. After a long series of deaths, we still get to the true ending. The beginning, quite optimistic, the player still manages to save the wife of a friend, the main character. It's like a ray of hope, but the scriptwriters simply trampled it further. The further the plot moves, the more events remain the same, the characters still perish, despite the fact that this is the root of the true ending. Further more, in order to go through it, you need to start an affair with a charming character, Toko Kuchiki, in all other endings except one she dies, but about this ending a little later. In relation to the girl, the dialogues change, scenes appear, in each of which, she is more and more revealed as a character, and also in each of this scene, after going through so many endings, you expect the appearance of that dialogue, which will be the key to her salvation. But, it never appears. As a result, in their true ending, the girl dies anyway. Now, back to the ending, in which she does NOT die, you save her, yes, as a stump. No kidding, it can be saved, only in one version, in which it will exist without arms and legs. Isn't it cruel? Further, according to their true ending, in one of the options, you can catch the killer Toko, but only in one. In the true version of the ending, the maniac who killed this and the other girls goes to travel with her head around the world. And we are fed a picture of her drawn, in which a bird flies out of a broken egg. With the idea that she finally found freedom. The only thing that separates this ending, from several similar ones, is that they show how the main character becomes an uncle. Well, the already mentioned picture, and mocking the player, is given a choice whether to watch it or not. Now about the idea of \u200b\u200bthe novel as I understood it, besides the obvious, realism, of course. Namely, that the work of a detective is such that he only investigates crimes and is unable to save everyone. Given the recommended age for playing this novel, I can't figure out why shove such an idea in there? People who have reached 21+ and so should understand that life is not a fairy tale, and law enforcement agencies are not a bunch of supermen. A similar idea in the novel is not only meaningless, but also very cruel to the players. Because there are many films and books with very dark content and viewers / readers are helpless, playing the role of only bystanders. Visual novels are essentially the same interactive books or films / games in which the player has limited control over the situation. In such things, screenwriters are not only able to show dozens of hero deaths with wrong actions, but also dozens of lives saved with the right ones. However, here, the authors trampled on all this, depriving the player of a decent ending. After all the dirt and deaths that the player had to go through to achieve the True ending, they only laughed at the players, leaving them at a broken trough and with thoughts of the inevitability and impossibility of changing something. As if in life, this is not enough. P.S. One more point, this is a detective story coming out. That is, the player is investigating crimes. In order to discover the true ending, you have to go through all the others, both good and bad. In the course of the passage, the player opens up an increasingly clear and complete picture of what is happening. It would seem that this is a Detective Novel, where, in theory, the player is required to think, investigate a crime, etc. But in fact, all the investigation that depends on the player is pressing a couple of buttons and choosing a pair of suspects and that's all, for someone who carefully reads the game, such choices do not pose any problems. The player does not need to think about something himself, everything goes on as usual. No matter what theories you build in the beginning, the plot will take its course. Even when the player has gone through everything, he knows who the killer is, who will be killed, etc. The player has no way to use his knowledge in order to advance the investigation faster than the storyline option. This limitation greatly spoils the experience of the game. However, at the same time, I have no complaints about the plot itself and the secrets of the game, everything here is done at a very high level. If you are annoyed, cruelty, hopelessness, many deaths that you cannot influence in any way, then this Novella is not for you. If you are not worried about all of the above, then you should play this Novella. Because you are waiting for interesting well-written characters, exciting moments with blood, many secrets and mysteries, a high-quality plot, a kind of unique atmosphere of post-war Japan, the main character who does not annoy with his stupidity and spinelessness. "Kara no Shoujo" "Girl in a Shell" A very high-quality novel, but at the same time very specific, not for everyone.