Людей вважають цю рецензію корисною: 22
6
Рекомендована
22.7 год. за 2 тижні / 22.7 год. загалом (20.9 год на момент рецензування)
Додано: 19 лют. о 6:42
Оновлено: 19 лют. о 7:11

Early into playing the game I looked at the reviews and noticed a lot of people complaining, that the twist at the end completely ruins the experience and creates multiple plotholes, so I was both scared and curious as to what it was. Finally, after reaching the ending, it... turned out to be exactly what I theorised based on the foreshadowing throughout the game? But I'll get to that later.

This is an extremely stylish and beautiful visual novel/detective game. While most of the mysteries are not extremely difficult, I'd say the presentation and stunning pixel art more than make up for it. The character designs are so good, you can immediately tell what sort of personality they are supposed to be a lot of times. Heck, I could even imagine which voice actor would fit them best. Unfortunately, the localisation is a mixed bag. There are a lot of great puns and slang usage, but some lines don't really connect to each other or seem off and unnatural. While the ost is a bit sparse, the music manages to usually fit the atmosphere pretty well. I would say the biggest problem is that you can't select chapters or load saves to reread information, though many people have pointed that out before. Overall, I can really recommend this game if you like detective/adventure games.

Finally, let's talk about the elephant in the room, or rather, let's make a "Dissolution" of the "urban myth" of "the big twist that supposedly ruins the game". Ending spoilers follow.

Let's list all the foreshadowing for the twist that Azami is Meguriya and the mastermind.
First question: Who has ever seen or heard the director personally?
Answer: Only Azami.
We are never shown Meguriya interacting directly with anyone besides Azami, which was the first thing that tipped me off. Even outside the UMDC, only Azami ever received calls from the director. The calls themselves were suspicious as well, such as Azami suddenly getting phone range in an extremely specific place underground. She didn't actually have any, the call was staged. In Episode 4 the Director also disconnected with ideal timing so Jasmine could immediately call in, almost as if the line was never occupied? Another bit of foreshadowing was the imaginary Director in deduction segments. He was almost too... accurate and similar to the "real" deal? Azami even mentions that the "Director in her head" had character development or something, I don't remember the exact words. This is because that's all the Director ever was, in her head. But you may argue that the Director did official videos of the case resolutions, right? Here's the kicker: he always wore a mask that obscured his face. Possibly used a voice changer as well, considering Azami is a super hacker and all. You can even observe that they have very similar hairstyles. Azami just tucks her side hair behind her ear during the videos. This is also what allows for the mistake of thinking of the younger Kisaragi sibling as a boy as a kid. Azami's flashbacks in the university also make sense this way since they were literally the childhood memories of her main personality.
Great!
Second question: What were the suspicious interactions between some the suspects and Azami?
Answer: Some of them acted like Azami told them to do something and trusted her completely.
This really tipped me off, specifically in the first and third case. Mio and Kiragami both said something like "it's because it's you, Azami". Originally I thought that maybe Azami was possessed by a ghost that causes hallucinations, but in retrospect it makes more sense that she simply interacted with them as her original personality to help them set up the cases and protagonist Azami simply doesn't remember it because she's the clueless innocent personality. Mio even seems a bit confused when Azami asks about the church in Episode 6, almost like... she should already know that? Other people like Sara didn't recognise her because she talked to them in disguise, once again possibly using a voice changer. Finally, I'm not sure if traces of Azami in the crime scenes in Episode 6 were there to hint at her involvement, but it might be a possible interpretation.
Excellent!
Third question: What was the most suspicious and unusual thing about Azami?
Answer: She didn't know a lot of obvious things about the world.
This also caught my attention. Jasmine points out several times that Azami should have heard about something that happened some time ago. A person also asks Azami if she was a sheltered princess in Episode 4 I believe and she just replies with "something like that". The reason for all of that is because Azami is a recently created personality, therefore she has not been around for long.
Brilliant!
Final question: What was the biggest hint towards Meguriya and Azami being the same person?
Answer: The doppelganger dream.
I actually screamed when this scene happened. Azami dreams of being followed by someone, then she thinks she has heard the Director's voice, but when she turns out it's herself, her own doppelganger. It clearly spells out that the Director is Azami.
Fabulous!
Someone might ask, why go to such lengths? I believe it was for two reasons: to have Azami act as a cover and to guide the cases to proceed in the way mastermind Azami wanted them to. She probably already figured out that Jasmine was investigating her and by having her work with clueless Azami she diverted the attention of C.U.T.U. while assuring them that nothing suspicious was going on. Jasmine herself admits that she ended up using the UMDC mostly as a source of information. Second, remember that the imaginary Director guided Azami's deductions, as well as the Dissolutions, by asking her certain questions. This way, the Director and mastermind Azami both had first-hand information on the cases and could ensure that the prophecies made by the cards came true.
Dissolution

All in all, don't let the rumours of a bad twist discourage you from playing the game. It is by no means a perfect game, but I still had a lot of fun playing through it and can definitely recommend it to people.
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Коментарів: 2
Ninjakidkat 11 год. тому 
"Even outside the UMDC, only Azami ever received calls from the director."
Hasn't Jasmine spoken to the Director? She predicts his phone calls on multiple occasions, so he definitely has phoned her before, right?

The whole DID thing is a tired old trope in detective stories, and the idea that alters can just be "created" to fit a certain purpose is definitely weird to see, but ultimately I'm just fine with the ending. With this game being about urban legends I was expecting SOME kind of BS and the twist just feels kinda tame in comparison.
aaaaargwarbl 23 лют. о 5:44 
Well I have to admit, that Dissolution is pretty convincing. But there is at least one point I found contentious, and it has to do with the answer to the Third Question.
"Azami is a recently created personality, therefore she has not been around for long."
I'm pretty sure DID does not work that way. Alters can't just be created out of whole cloth; they come as the result of either the original personality or a pre-existing alter splitting into two (in fact, no alter in a DID system can be considered the "original personality"). The assumption that the Azami we play wouldn't have inherited memories from her past self is actually an unreasonable one.