Otome Review: Mystic Messengers First Impressions

Game Description:

You were looking for an app, just to kill some time, and stumbled upon an app called "Mystic Messenger". It sounded interesting so you downloaded it. 

Once you opened it, you found yourself chatting with someone nicknamed "Unknown". They persuaded you to go to some studio apartment. 

As soon as you walked into to the apartment, your app is suddenly connected to a mystic group chat with attractive guys!? After a long chat, they ask you to join their secret party planning association called RFA...

 -Story Summary from Cheritz Official MM website

Title: Mystic Messengers
Route:  Casual routes ( Zen, Jaehee and Yoosung)
Developer: Cheritz Co. Ltd
Genre: Romantic Sim, Slice of Life, Mature YA, NA, interactive adventure, Party Games
Platform Played: iPhone/ iOS

Official Website (Click Here)

Avalable for download on : iOS, Android

Disclaimer: CGs/SS/IMAGES belongs to Cheritz Co. Ltd.

Hello people of the interweb! I'm back with a brand spanking new otome review after a LONG time blog! So recently I upgraded from the iphone 5s to the iphone 7 plus and one of the things I was excited about was the fact that this new phone have a heck load of storage space ( its exciting upgrading from a 16GB phone to a 128GB! no more storage shortages and constantly have to transfer my photo album to the computer!!!). So one of the games I first download was Mystic Messenger as its the game that blew up everywhere! Tumblr, twitter, Instagram heck even Kotaku was talking about it so I finally let myself play Mystic Messenger since my new phone can handle the game and the memory space. 

Yes do note that if you are planing to play this game it requires a hella lotta memory on your phone.

Game Plot

The game starts out with the MC ( AKA. you, the player ) downloading a mysterious yet interesting app from the app store of your choice (it can be Apple or Google Play your pick^^).

Upon downloading the app the MC finds a chatroom and is lead by 'Unknown' (yes the person you are communication IS named 'Unknown' till its known) to a apartment owned by Rika (who unfortunately passed away prior to the events of the game) the founder of 'Rika's Fundraising Association' aka R.F.A. which is a charity organization run by her and her 6 friends.

The MC interacts and befriends with the the existing members through the R.F.A. portal and chatroom, text messages and calls and is tasked to invite guests to the party through emails. As the game progresses the MC gets to know her 6 new acquaintances, learning more of the R.F.A. and maybe developing a relationship in the process.

Characters

Like your typical otome game this game has a diverse cast of characters in terms of personality and background though what surprised me was that there was a female option in the game. I like the cast. You can tell they are close and that they care for each other like family and even if they have conflict, they will find a way to resolve it.

Now the characters are split into two types:

1) Casual Route (Zen, Yoosung and Jaehee): Where advice to start here as the characters are introduction characters to the story.

2) Deep Mode (Jumin and 707): where its advice to wait till after you complete the casual route as their stories not only reveal more of the mystery of the game but also it's gonna cost you 80 hour glasses to unlock each route.

And the advice is to unlock/play the character in the order of:

Zen >>> Yoosung >>> Jaehee >>> Jumin >>> 707

As for writing this I'm giving my thoughts and first impressions on the characters based of what I've played so far which are the casual routes (Yoosung, Jaehee and Zen's route). 

Jumin Han

The heir of C&R International, he is the son of a wealthy business man and is usually away on business trips through the routes. He's usually very cool headed and mature however due to his very pampered upbringing, he views the world differently which makes him butt-heads with Zen. I don't really know what to think of this guy as on one hand he is amusing to read about especially when it have to do with 'commoner labeled' things or regarding his cat Elizabeth 3rd (like the dude spams mostly uploads cat pics in the chat) but on the other hand I find him kinda meh and mysterious so I guess I'm gonna have to eventually read his route (and hunt for 80 hourglass) to figure out this guy.

Zen

Up and coming musical actor and an A-class lovable narcissist. HOLY MOLY he is basically the Mystic Messenger's version of Tomaki from Ouran High School Host Club!

 

There are moments that I'm sure the developers threw in for fan service (not that I don't mind ^^) where he spams the chat with selfies and there was this one moment in Yoosung's route where he reminded us of his raunchy jalapeno stage play! Even so I like his character. I especially like his interaction with Seven, Yoosung and Jaehee (especially in Jaehee's route! its where their friendship shines).

His route to be honest is kinda meh. Its something you should not take too seriously as the choices he favors are all to boost his ego and make me gag as they sound too lovely dovely fangirling. But he does have a decent back story of how and why he becomes an actor as well as we learn about the relationship with his estranged family. One thing to note is that his route is very different from the others as its the only one where he meets and interact with the MC before the Party (as the MC is not allowed to leave the apartment due to multiple issues) but also he has A LOT of visual novels and its the only one so far I've played where you get to make choices while playing the visual novel moments. 

In a way I can see why they recommend to start with his route as it's probably one of the lighter stories with a lot of drama, fan service and excitement.

Jaehee Kang

Personal Assistant to Jumin. She's serious and professional most of the time but the best part of her is when she let her emotions slip and fangirl about Zen. I like her more than I expected especially since its nice to have someone in game to fangirl and die of nosebleed with over Zen sometimes ridiculously sexy fan service pics. Also in Yoosung's route we learn a bit of her past which is covered in detailed in her own route.

Also she's kinda overwork cause of the nature of her job and her super demanding boss so poor Jaehee is stressed out through the routes i've played especially her own. Jaehee has a really sad back story and its lightly touch upon in other routes but of cause goes in deep in her own route where we learned that she lost her parents at a young age and while taken in by some relatives she learned to be strong an independent so that she does not have to rely on them. 

I enjoyed her route more than I expected and though do note its not a yuri route (girlxgirl) but more of a BFF route. Otome is weird I know.  I also like how even though Jaehee is strong and independent she learns as the route progresses that its okay to be vulnerable and relax and to let others help her when needed. 

Yoosung Kim

A college student studying medicine and addicted to playing a game called LOLOL. Shy and sweet he's a happy go lucky guy on the outside but in the inside he is lost with what he wants to do in his life as he is not doing well with his studies and have joined and given up on multiple clubs at his school. Also since the loss of his cousin Rika he has been playing more of LOLOL in order to cope with the pain and grieve of losing someone he love and admire.

THIS IS MY FAVORITE GUY IN THE GAME!! I adore this guy to bits partly because he's the character type i tend to gravitate towards more when playing otome games. Through playing his route he's that junior that you can't help but want to look after and save from his demons! Its hard to talk about his route without spoiling the entire wtf moment of the route so I'll get more into depth on his character if i get around to playing all parts of this routes and reviewing it but do note its very heavy and I'm kinda wondering why didn't they classify his route as the deep route... 

707 aka Seven

Or also could be called Seven is a hacker THE GAMES OFFICIAL POSTER BOY and is the one in charged of the the security and the RFA portal that we are playing this messenger game on.

He's playful and jockster personality makes him instantly likable which explains why he's the poster boy for the Mystic Messengers. Nothing much is known about him apart from the fact he has a very unhealthy lives off Honey Buddha chips (i want to try this!!!) and PH D. Pepper Coke. All i know is that its advice to play his route last as that's where all the mysteries of Mystic Messenger unfolds from.

So far from all the routes I've played I can see why people are tempted to jump straight to his character. He's a cool and easily likable from his sarcastic sense of humor yet he's very caring towards his friends especially Yoosung (though he tends to also mess with him and his innocence lolll A LOT) and Zen (who he tends to tease him through the game).

Game Play

Your aim is to established a relationship with one of the five romancable characters by raising heart levels with interacting of choosing choices in the chatroom and visual novels. 

As the game is formatted like a messenger app  its called mystic messenger duhhhhhh the game play/ character interactions comes in the form of chat rooms, phone calls, emails and text messages along with the typical visual novels and CG cut scenes you would expect in an otome game.

What's really unique about Mystic Messenger is that it follows the internal clock of your phone/devices so the characters will come to the chatroom ever couple of hours more or less to interact with you. Also if you miss a chat you can use hourglass to 'buy back time' to interact with the characters in the chatroom since they are programed to not sleep and be up at like 3/4am when a normal human will be sleeping unless you are up at that time then power to you! I like my sleep so i spend a lotta hourglass for that.
 

Each round routes last for 11 days. It starts with a 'Common Route' for 4 days before branching out into the character route that get the most heart affection. So let's say you're aiming for Yoosung's route try and choose choices in the Common route that are more favorable to him over the others.

As for playing the game I've encountered both the good ending and the normal ending but not any of the bad endings (there are at least 8 bad endings in the game). The endings are affected by the amount of heart affection you build through the game when interacting with the characters in the chat rooms.

 

Once you're done with a route there is an 'After ending' where its basically and epilogue of you and the character's life after the good ending of the game. I've only played Yoosung's and Zen's After ending! Need to get the other routes but its gonna cost me another 20 Hourglass which I'm saving for the deep route. 

Also there are a few DLC events in the game to commemorate celebrations like there is one for Christmas, Valentines day (as seen above) and April Fools day. Its not a priority to unlock them unless you have the hourglass but it is advice not to play them till you unlock all the routes so that you won't spoil the story. Similar to why you should not unlock the DEEP ROUTE cause SPOILERS!!

Don't worry if you miss a call or mess up a text as those are just extras thrown into the game to make the interactions more lifelike experience and won't affect the heart affection level or the ending.

A big part why I don't want to miss a chatroom is because of THIS!!! Party guests! One important elements of this game is to invite guest to the party at the end of the route. Its your responsibility to answer emails from the guest to convince them to come to the party as it effects the ending of the game. You'll get the normal ending if you invite less than 10 guests and the good ending when you invite more than 10 guests.

Recommend using the email guide on OtomeObsess and I rely on this heavily when playing the game cause I'm shitty with making decisions and perusing guest to come to the party lolll.

You can play this game without spending a dime and its also easy to earn those in-game currency which are:

Hourglasses: The premium currency and can be purchased with real life $$$ via your device store account or exchanged with the hearts you earn in-game. 100 hearts = 1 hourglass.

Hearts: you earn them from not only participating in chats/text messages/visual novels when you answer a favorable answer towards a character/characters but you can also    as well as looking out for Seven's spaceship and hoping that it gives you some hearts. You get hearts and occasionally hourglass in chat so all you gotta do is just keep earning those hearts to exchange for the hourglass.

Look/Sound

I really like the interface of the game and that it's set up to look like a chat portal. Its easy to play around and get used to the features of the game. The closest IRL counterpart of this app I can think of is LINE. 

The game is partially voiced so you'll hear the character here an there in the chat but you'll also hear them talk on the phone call and sometimes the visual novels. 

The voice acting done in this game is all in Korean but with subtitles and I actually like it. I don't know or understand Korean, not immersed in it in any ways since I don't listen to K-POP or K-Drama but I enjoy the voice acting especially for Yoosung Zen and 707. 

The opening theme song 'Mystic Messengers' is really catchy and sucks you in excited for the game! If you go to the Cheritz youtube channel you can listen to the English version of the of the song as well as some behind the scenes of them recording.

Also the end credits theme is 'Like the Sun in the Sky' is a beautiful but bittersweet ballet that gives me a lotta feels whenever the credits roll. 

Narration/Writing

I like the writing in this game! Its hilarious the interaction among the characters as they banter about or tease Yoosung. Its also very character emotionally driven as we learn more about the characters and their troubles. Its fun uncovering more and more chat rooms, getting to know the characters and the mystery of the story. Also what's great with this game it its very self aware and makes fun of itself and the whole otome/reverse harem genre but also reference a lot of pop culture and in real life companies/people.

The choices were well done especially when given a choice to be sassy/snarky. My only complain is for Zen's route where I really was not a fan of being all lovely dovely heart eyes at Zen during the choices. I felt really stupid making some of the ego boosting decisions in his route made me CRINGED! *sigh the things I do just to raise heart levels and not end up with the bad ending But his swoon worthiness during the talky bits made up for it. No correction actually the dude who made me swoon more during the talky bits is Yoosung's! Seriously the guy is so sweet especially with the way he ask the MC out its just heartwarming!!!!! Also I will have post Screenshots of how he ask the MC out but I don't want to spoil you guys or get in trouble with copyrighted

Of the routes I've played, Yoosung's the best written but also the most emotional while Jaehee is the most exciting and unexpected route that I grew to love. 

Overall

Its a good game... but I don't recommend this to everyone. *I'm gonna hide* 

While this is a a great refresher from the traditional Japanese and Voltage Otome I've been play non stop for the last couple of years since discovering the genre I was not a fan of how I have to babysit my phone just so I don't miss a chat or phone call (and if any of you guys don't already know from the style of me playing games, I'm kinda a perfectionist and MUST achieve 100% everyday for the chats) every couple of hours for 11 days straight. 

This is not a game I'll recommend especially if you are new to otome (maybe play this game after playing a voltage style romantic novel otome games), a student who is not allowed to bring their phones to school (this still exist in my home country so its why I'm mentioning this) or someone with a demanding job that you can't use your phone through the day since you'll miss out a good chunk of the chat rooms as the game is just as tedious and demanding as those 90's tamagochi. 

I'll recommend if you love otome games to give this a go if you have like a long vacation or if your life is flexible trough the as its a unique take to the otome genre, have a likable cast of characters with really good voice acting and CGs. Also if you like K-Drama/entertainment and want to hear a beloved Oppa whispering sweet nothings into your ears during the phone calls this is the game for you.

Rating:

Let me know your thoughts on the app I mentioned. Also follow me on tumblr (rotantrm) and the hashtag  #row plays otome for more of my otome rambling/ game play commentary.

Also Check out the Otome Games section of this site for more otome games recommendations and just to see how trash I am for the genre. 

Now if you'll excuse me...I need to earn more hourglasses for the deep route and romance with 707 and his Honey Buddha Chips xD

Till Next Time

 

Game Review: Bad Boys Do It Better! First Impression

Game Discription:

You’ve been transferred to a high school with a dorm. 

But it turns out to be… a former all-boys school full of delinquents?! 

“You may be a girl, but who cares?” 

Everywhere you look there are boys, boys, BOYS! Be the envy of every girl! Start your life as the lone flower among them! 

Title: Bad Boys Do It Better!
Route:  Prologue + Free chapter demos
Developer: Voltage Inc
Genre: Romantic Sim, Slice of Life, Mature YA, NA, interactive adventure
Platform Played: iPad/Iphone (iOS)

Avalable on : iOS, Android

Disclaimer: CGs/SS/IMAGES belongs to voltage inc. blah blah blah you guy get what i mean 

 Game Plot

The MC is a high school student who transfers to a dorm school since her parents moved overseas for work. There she finds out she's the only girl since the school used to be an all boys school and is one of the 6 students living on campus. To top that the school does not have the best reputation and is filled with rowdy bad boys!

Characters

There are 5 romancable characters in the game. As for writing this out I have yet to purchase any of the guys but have played the avalable free demo chapters so this are my impressions based on the prologue and demos.

Ryoji Ryukai : Overconfident and sarcastic when I first saw his character I immediately scream ICHIGO, not strawberry Ichigo but Ichigo Sato from Dreamy Days in West Tokyo as he reminds me of my bies from that game and his character is very tsundere and a rebel on steroids! He's (in my mind) the cannon guy and the first character you meet in the prologue, saving the MC form the bullies at her formal school (what's he doing at the MC's forma school??? IDK) and lending her his jacket when she accidentally got paint on her uniform. I'll definitely get his route as the first guy released by voltage is always fool proof good.

Rei Todo: Described as cool and a bit of a space case, I instantly like him cause he looks like an adorkrable nerdy character. He has some sorta dark past that makes him 'the cursed student' holding him back by a year. Still I like his quiet emo/moody character even if he was freaking rude at the start.

Yu Agatsuma : He's described as a stubborn yet sweet firecracker... ummmm ok I'm not so sure if firecracker, sweet and stubborn should mix. In a way he reminds of a bad boy version of Yuta from MFW or Nagito from SITS where he is genuinely nice and considerate towards the MC, a bit of a teased and very cute puppy like. lollls I like him! He looks like a sweetheart and is one of the guys I'm gonna get my hands on.

Akira Sakaki : Mysterious Playboy sums him up as THAT REALLY IS WHAT HE IS!!! Not a good first impression and it does not help or kinda helps depending on how you view it that Voltage have upped their game in the way the sprites moves with animations... more on that later as he literately tries to harass the MC when she was sent to the sick bay in the prologue. Nope nope nope i might give him a pass until I see other peoples thoughts on his route. Thought I should add that I like his character design he reminds me of Iori from Brother Conflict (for some reason I lately have been loving guys with wavy silver hair like Soma from HLITF and Aoi from BUM)

Keiichiro Minase: I can't wait for this guy route to be released as he looks so mysterious! More mysterious than Akira! He's described as Awkward and manly... how could you not like an awkward and manly guy?!?! He reminds me of the character Mori from Ouran High School Host Club where they are both stoic and the quiet giant of the group and stoic.

Poor MC-chan 

The MC: The MC is a high school girl who transfers to a new school with a dorm due to her parents moving overseas (Malaysia aka my home country to be exact) for work. Apart from Dreamy Days in West Tokyo I have yet to play the other Voltage high school games so its hard to compare the MC to others her same age. She seemed to fit in with the boys well and is quiet independent. 

lolllll the MC priorities!!! 

What I love about her is her inner dialog as they were not only hilarious and sassy but realistic! There was a part in the prologue where once she got over the after shock of the fact she's the only girl in the school her first thoughts was 'there goes my dreams of having pajamas parties!' Loll that line made my day! Anyways So far through the demos I played I like this MC a bit more than the DDIWT MC.

Game Play

Once again we have the love meter where your choices influence the ending of the game similar to the sweet/bitter endings we see in games like TLSL, SITS/ BUM and many more. The After Class Ending is what I assumed to be the sweet/romantic/fluffy ending while the Teenage Dream (oh good seriously??? Teenage dream like that katy perry song??? ) ending is that dramatic/seductive/heart pounding climactic ending. Both ending will have unlock able CGs for the specific endings. 

Along with the usual three choice we see twice per episode, we are introduce to a new choice mechanic called the 'Love Tap'  which sounds kinda wrong... where we have this spinny heart with two opposite choices in place of the usual three choices to influence the love meter. This will appear several times through the game and you need to tap on the screen your answer before the timer runs out! 

I like this time crunch of a mechanic. It brings me back to why I originally played Telltales walking dead was for the time pressure choice mechanic.

Need more information about the game play? Check out my First Impression of Voltage Inc Otome games where I go into more detail.

Looks/Sounds

When I first saw this game the bright neon mix with angst it actually reminds me of Nintendo's Splatoon! Minus the squid part :P  I love how the game look like a edgy shoujo manga. The fun bright neon color scheme, paints splatter to look like graffiti all suits the games theme.

As for the character sprite, its once again are edgy and angst as heck! We have piercings, colored hair, dark emo looks, uniforms that look very sloppy and everything needed to look like a bad ass delinquent. The closes they resemble to is Dreamy Days in West Tokyo and I actually won't be surprised if this is like a predecessor/ sister app to that game especially since the cast of DDIWT makes cameo as NPC in some scenes. The cameo's is probably just fan services to hit the veteran Voltage Inc fans with more sentimental/nostalgia feels but I like the idea of those cameos especially since (from what I see in the tumblr ss) this game is set around the time of season one of DDIWT since so guys in that game are still in high school.

New mechanics/sliding animations are added which I'm hoping its gonna be a new thing for their up and coming games. There is this thing where when the character sprite tries to move closer to the MC, his character sprite is ANIMATED yes animated to move forward. Also character sprites as they move in and out of the frames as they interact have this animation where they *swoop* in and *swoop out*. I've already encountered this mechanic when I played the up and coming Shinsengumi game when it first came out in Japan but I didn't expect to encounter this mechanic/animation in this game.

Most voltage games don't really have dialog box (maybe they did in the past?!?! idk as I've only been playing voltage games for like 6+++ months so I'm still a greenie) as in the past you just darken/lighten the screen to read the dialog. In this game they use this dialog box that looks nostalgic and old fashion (in a good way)! Seriously seeing this dialog boxes brings back memories of when I used to play pokemon and harvest moon and dialog boxes like this will pop out when taking/interacting with characters.

As for the music, as always voltage has upped their game over the last couple of years when it comes to soundtrack. I especially like the intro music is upbeat and cheery with that electric guitar edge.

Narrative/Writing

I don't normally play voltage games where the characters are in their teens apart from Dreamy Days in West Tokyo but with the theme of this game where the MC falls for a misunderstood high school delinquent sold me! 

I meant come on who does not want to make a bad boy good for the weekend :p I like the interaction of the boys where though its rougher, you can still see how close the boys are.

Also the side characters like the Saejima science teacher/ home room teacher and Natsuo aka 'Nana' the residence director are both great and hilarious especially when they try to discipline but fail tell off the boys for crossing the line. 

Overall

I'll be honest, I was not that interested in the game when it first came partly is because I now prefer games with older/mature/working in society life content but out mostly cause I am so obsess with After School Affairs and Butler Until Midnight that if I were to added another game to my obsession my wallet's gonna cry! 

But then as they released the game, Voltage came out with some great promotional stuff like a voting campaign on which character will get not only his first three chapters free to read (which is great as 3 free chapters is the right amount to test the water and get an idea if you're gonna like said character's route), a free sub story on the sweet cafe and best of all A HELLA LOTTA FREE CGs! Like come on just the idea of getting free CG's is enough for me to download the app so that I can load my already crowded phone/hard drive of more eye candy to look at! 

I seriously thought this was just gonna be a meh app that I'll probably wait for sales but after playing the prologue and getting a sense of the game and characters I'm already making future plans for the guys I'm gonna get my hands on the next time I get my hands on itunes credit (at the moment I have enough for getting the last two character routes in After School Affairs and a little extra in case another sales comes' along... am currently recovering from that nostalgic sales...) and on the list is definitely Rei, Yu and Ryoji.

The prologue was a good introduction to the game where I had a good idea of the MC, the plot of the game and all the characters.This game looks nostalgic especially for those of us who are done with school and as for me the dorm or shall I call it boarding house reminds me of the boarding house I lived in when I was finishing my final year of high school! *sigh* that was a good time :D. 

Definitely give this game a go as the idea of the game while it looks like its filled with teenage angst its still cute, quirky and relateble. Recommend if you're new to voltage and are looking for a younger' game/story but also recomended if you like the high school setting and don't mind romancing with a bunch of rebellious teenage boys.

Let me know your thoughts/ route recommendation on the app I mentioned.  Also follow me on tumblr (rotantrm) and the hashtag  #row plays otome for more of my otome rambling and game play commentary. 

Till Next Time, Happy Playing

Game Review: Life is Strange Episode 5 (Polarized) - Spoilers!

Title: Life Is Strange Episode 5 (Polarized)

Developer: Dontnod Entertainment

Publisher: Square-Enix

Genre: Episodic, Contemporary, Supernatural, Mystery, interactive drama, adventure

Platforms played: PC

Official Game Description (Source) :

Life Is Strange is a five part episodic game that sets out to revolutionise story based choice and consequence games by allowing the player to rewind time and affect the past, present and future. 

You are Max, a photography senior who saves her old friend Chloe by discovering she can rewind time. The pair soon find themselves exposed to the darker side of Arcadia Bay as they uncover the disturbing truth behind the sudden disappearance of a fellow student.

Meanwhile, Max begins to have premonitions as she struggles to understand the implications of her power. She must quickly learn that changing the past can sometimes lead to a devastating future.

Features
• A beautifully written modern adventure game
• Rewind time to change the course of events.
• Multiple endings depending on the choices you make.
• Striking, hand-painted visuals
• Distinct, licensed indie soundtrack

WARNING: I'm gonna spoil the hella crap out of the final episode. I will make a discussion post where I show my walkthrough of the game and discuss my choices.

Okay I need to check but is everyone OKAY????? Cause I'm both Okay and NOT Okay...

I'm sending everyone reading this and recovering from the ending of Life is strange a BIG virtual hug as we are all gonna need it.

Its amazing seeing how Life is strange went from a chill and fun game about mundane teenage life and photography to something that is emotional, dark and twisted. I had fun playing through the games, making up theories and discussing with friends what's gonna happen and seeing the game finally coming to an end is surreal yet bittersweet. I literally am typing this out after I've completed the game and I don't think I can go back and replay this episode or even see the other ending as I've choose my path on how I think Max and Chloe's story should end and as sad and bittersweet as it was... I was satisfied. 

The Plot

Max has been kidnapped into the Dark Room by her teacher Mr Jefferson. Meanwhile a storm is hitting Arcadia Bay and her best friend Chloe is dead. Meanwhile Max's also facing the consequence of her rewind power as she manipulate time, fate and destiny. Can she escape the bunker to prevent the storm and Chloe's death?

Game Play

Game play once again uses familiar/ similar mechanics that we have encountered from episode one to four but on a hella harder level. I don't mind it as it was fun and challenging to see a new spin to some of the mechanics. I'll admit I miss the times where we snoop around the principal office in episode 3 and still think NOTHING can beat that detective puzzle board in episode 4.

Photo Hop

Ah be kind an hop around. We already used this mechanic in episode 3 and 4 and with this episode being called Polarized, makes sense that hopping around photos to fix time will be the main focus and probably the only way for Max to temporary excape. Kinda gotten used to the concept after those button mashing tutorials. Also its really cool (and dangerous) hopping through all those photos through the first third of the game. 

Also trying to photo hop in the gallery was the challenging and hilarious cause if Max does not hop in quick she'll be interrupted by those visiting the gallery. And if you were wondering, I was a slow poke and was interrupted three times. 

Warn david

This part was hard as I keep getting David hurt or killed! The point of this chain of reaction is to stall Jefferson enough to warn David with causing as little harm to him so that he could rescue Max.

I at first choose to ask Jefferson to take a pic of Max bit event though I warned David he still got hurt with being hit in the tripod, max being hit with the tripod, david being shot, max being shot, unicorns being shot GAHHHHHH!!! 

Instead I rewind way back to the start and ask for water where Jefferson push a cart near Max which when David came in we kick the cart into Jefferson making him loose that tripod he was holding and pull one of the chords to distract him so that David can give him one more punch in the face. This was like that dialog tree back in episode 4 with frank where we try to get no one hurt but instead of words its a chain of actions actions.

Everyday Storm Hero

What is a game about rewind powers without Max being kind and rewind. Through the storm you'll have to save people from stopping them from taking a pic of the tornado (stupid Evan!!!) to even rescuing the people at the diner from a fire. I like this element as its like warning Alyssa from being hit by a football times 10. 

And yes I saved Alyssa for what feels like the million time but hey she saved us!!

Nightmares

Gosh was it haunting as we see a nightmare sequence fulled with the affect of what's happened to Max after the ordeal from the week. Its kinda cool as a big 'end boss' sequence and it was hard as I had I keep getting caught, going through the wrong directions and even scratch my head when when were playing a reverse version of episode one's intro. I freaking love the challenge as they upped the difficulty of previous episodes game play and maybe even give winks from behind the camera as some of our favorite part or least favorite part. Were you one of those who called Warren a creep? How about the time we laugh at Frank and his beans?? Did you hate that bottle scene? or play around with the character models in game files?? Good job dontnod as this is probably one of my favorite nightmares in any video game I've played... just stop haunting us with those god damn green bottles!!! 

Silent Hill life is Strange

Seriously?? are horror games gonna have never ending corridor to haunt us because Silent Hill got cancelled and that the demos got pulled of the play station site?

Though I'll admit it was both mess up and cool seeing the doors and Max's appearance change through the infinite corridor especially when we got to see where Rachael's room was. 

Stealth from creepy nightmare guys

A way to describe this is Maze Runner meets splinter cells.

Holy crap was this both hard and creepy as we play 'hide and seek' to dodging the nightmare version of the guys like Warren, frank, Samuel and even David. At this point Max's head is so mess up from what she went through in the bunker that it makes her think of the guys as such. Anyways this was like that locker sequence in episode 3 as we dodge the security wit the flashlight but a HELLA HARDER version! I keep getting caught and what's worse was when I was hiding from Warren I came across his locker with disturbing stuff.

We meet again Green Bottles... wait sit and chill???

 

Haha I seriously think this is the developers wink to all of us from episode 2 as we frustrate our selves for that last freaking bottle except this time we've got to stealth through nightmare guys through the game and guess what? now we have 6 bottles instead of 5 to find. Also want to solute the developers for adding their signiture 'sit and chill' corner for both Max and us the players to collect our minds before we continue scouting for the bottles. I always love when they added the 'sit and chill' moments in the game and in this episode, while we (so far I found) only have 2  moments I still always like this scenes where we and Max can gather our thoughts.

Characters

You know what... I was wondering if Max was ever gonna crack especially after what she's been through the in the last week and at the start of this episode so when that nightmare sequence was showed I know she's finally cracked. Man Max in this episode I really want to give her a hug especially after what's she's been through from eff up Jefferson to realizing that her rewinding time is what causes the storm. I like Max as a character and in this episode she's developed to being one of my favorite characters in fiction. I also like how even in a nightmare both reality and her dreams she can still be her quirky sarcastic self (but first need to take a picture even if I just stop my classmates from taking one). Mostly I like that we are seeing the vulnerable sides of her liker her fear of still being called a child after being thrown into the adult world, how mess up she thinks of guys after the ordeal in the bunker and even her fear or not being able to make friends. If Chloe was a character with a lot of deep layers thrown at us at the start, Max is a character that we slowly grow to learn her strengths and weaknesses or in other words we watch her come in terms with herself as a person which makes sense since this game IS Max's 'coming of age' story as she becomes and adult and face the realities of her decisions. 

How many layers of eff up can an eff up shit head get?? Exhibit A Mark Shitterson...

We have been foreshadowed from the VERY START of the game about his motives but in this episode we finally learn what a disturbing guy he is and the truth behind Rachael and Nathan. Mostly we learn why does he keep nagging Max to enter the photo contest or why he took photos of Kate and is not interested in Victoria. I was barely two minutes into the game and just watching him at work sent chills down my spine and made me sick in the stomach. 

For once David I don't see you as a step 'insert mean word here'.

Yes i knew it!! I called it in my prediction that David will probably be the one to save Max... but I also called like 50 other ways for her to escape but anyways its good to have a heart to heart talk with David. Him confessing that he has not been a great dad to Chloe and that he will apologize to her made me smile as we learn he does genuine care. Also as bad as a time as it was but my heart warmed up when he was talking about him having PTSD as well as have a hard time adjusting back to civilian life and that Joyce was the only person who understand what he went through. Its a nice closure to his character's story arc and its great to see him finally acting like a sane grown up.

Raise your hand if you were on franks good side not to mention keep him alive? 

I already mention that Frank was one of my favourite character whether he was mad at Chloe or not so it was great to see another side of him as he talked about his dad and how he wanted to changed for the better. Its sad when we were talking about Rachael as he did genuinely did care for her. Also his dog Pompadour is adorable when he's chill. Oh and nightmare Frank and his beans is probably my favorite part of the nightmare xD 

Well that's a surprise to see principal wells not being a shady jerk that we saw in episode one but instead for once acting like an authority figure and supporting Max. Its great as in episode 4 depending on your choices, Ms Grant will actually tell Max off saying he's under pressure from the Prescott and as well as trying to keep the school afloat due to financial problems. I noticed on youtube not a lot of lets players go to talk to him at the buffet table at the gallery but seriously if you didn't, go back to the art gallery scene and talk to him. You'll get to know what he's been going through and that he might get in trouble from his wife from happily nomming at the buffet xD ha that part was precious!! just as long as he does not get near to the alcohol.

Victoria was a big surprise to see her character change. She also missed my top 10 characters as I still was not a fan of her character till the very end of episode 4. I warned her in the previous episode about Nathan and I didn't think that she will go running to Jefferson... of cause she'll go running to Jefferson and got herself in the dark room. Dang it! Anyways I feel bad for her character as its only in episode 4 where we start to see her change and develop as a character and that while she's confident and a a-class bitchy mean girl on the outside, she's deep down actually not that confident and is pretty insecure. Man if you don't feel bad for Victoria in this episode then you obviously don't have emotions.

Speaking of Nathan... I was VERY disappointed with his story arc! There was so much build up about the Prescott taking control over Arcadia Bay and Nathan only to end in an emotionally heart sinking voicemail. 

Don't get me wrong, It was heart breaking hearing his voice in the voice mail and all that he's been through as he confesses to Max which made me hopped they will solve all of his issues and problems in this episode only to have him killed off and never been scene unless we count the nightmare or the bathroom seen in episode 1. His character and story got so much potential to tie in not to mention there are some unanswered question like like him knowing about the storm in episode 4... WTH?!?! I feel like something must have come up that they had to cut out something about Nathan cause why did we get so many build up in the last four episodes.

Depending on the players choice, we get a quick scene to comfort Kate back in the classroom. 

Its sweet and heartwarming seeing Max assuring Kate that there are people there for her. Also nightmare Kate was freaking sad! I feel for Max as her fears about Kate thinking she's not good enough of a friend to her. 

I'm so happy this scene happened!! I predicted we will confront Warren about Max powers and let's face it, even if you were nice to him through the game and even accepted his request to the drive in, Max still treats him kinda shitty and Warren is precious that he still sticks to Max's side. This was probably my favorite relationship building in this episode by far and I really like that the develpoers give you the option to romanticize either warren or chloe, both or none.  

Ah Warren is such a sweetheart in this episode. I'll admit my feelings for this guys have shift around a lot through the series as at times I think he is a genuine and caring friend and other times he was a bit creepy. But hey he' just an awkward teen guy who just discovered the beauty of infinite text message with a phone plan which explains why he loves blowing up Max phone. I'm pretty sure anyone with an infinite text message plan will send multiple messages with their besties *raising my hand slowly as I'm guilty of emoji spamming my friends at times* . Anyways I love the guy especially after the last episode when he went all APE and in this episode I crack up laughing at another ALMOST HUG *poor warren can't catch a break*. Anyways I kinda always know we will confront Warren about Max's powers and I'm both surprise and now surprise on how easy he took it. I seriously adore the guy in this episode and how he comforted Max after what she went through in the dark room. Anyways you'll have to check the discussion (click here!!!) to see what I choose before Max skadoo into that picture :P 

AM I THE ONLY ONE WHO WAS FREAKING DISAPPOINTED THAT WE NEVER GOT TO MEET RACHAEL? WHAT A JOKE! WHAT A TEASE! For a second there I seriously thought we will have a chance in one way or another to meet her in some beyond two souls sorta way where we figure out some mindblowing spiritual connection of her with Max. All this set up about Rachael leading Max was probably the biggest disappointment in the game.

What's interesting about this episode is that we have the least one on one interaction with Chloe. I mentioned that she's my all time favorite character in this game and seeing that last interaction with Max shows how much she's grown in the last 5 episodes. From the selfish and rude kid we saved in the bathroom back in episode 1, Chloe has grown and gotten over so much of the issue through the game. She learned to move on from her father's death, found the truth about Rachael and at her last action was wishing to be selfless. This is the reason why I love Chloe as a character. She's a shitty friend at times who at times acts more immature than Max but she's a genuinely loyal and caring friend and person who has finally learned to let go of the past.

Looks/ Sounds

This episode is Life is Strange at its darkest. We already had a change of tone at the end of episode 3 so how eff up does this episode get? Well how about barely 2 minutes into the game I get a sick pit in my stomach seeing the darkroom. I got creep up at the start of the nightmare. Yet even in the dark, the game manages to show some beautiful moments as nothing is black and white but grey in this game.

One thing that the game manages to hold was the nostalgia. Walking down that dark path of memory lane as we relieved stills from the past few days with Chloe was amazing as it reminds us that we came a long way to get here.

The art gallery moments was one of the few light hearted moments of the game and one of the best place to explore as Max goes into this Almost perfect alternate reality.I really like going up and listening to some people talk about Max's art or try to talk about Max's art (pretentious people...) as well as looking at all the 'everyday heroes' entries. Its modern yet classy and heck I'm usually someone who is clueless about art yet I really appreciate the level of detail put into this place making me want to explore as much as I can. 

And yes I say ALMOST cause you know... THE STORM!!! AND MAX ALMOST SAYING LIFE IS STRANGE!! haha good job Dontnod!!! 

Going through Arcadia Bay as a E6 tornado is hitting was scary as heck but still kinda cool how they set up the environment as buildings gets ripped apart while vehicles and dead whales get thrown around. Also I love how there time for Max to sit in the only safe house aka the diner and for us the players to sit and for us the players to catch our breath. Feels like we just beat through a swarm of zombies in L4D right? lolz

But of cause things gets mess up when you mess up with multiple realities... the burning rippling effect was a great touch to showing how damaged Max has cause through the multiverse. 

The transitioning from scene to scene is another favorite moment as we watch those picture or memories burned up and replaced with new ones.  

The music was my least favorite thing about this episode this episode as lets face it, it was depressingly sad, I found it cool that during the nightmare scene as Max relieve the first day of her getting her powers, they not only reverse that whole scene and dialog but also the song 'To all of you' by Syd Matters.

 Narrative/ Writing

I'm gonna admit... the narrative in this episode felt kinda short... its not the best but also not the worst. The pacing was actually faster than I expected (beat the game in 4 hours +++ which is the normal amount I need to play an episode including photo hunting and the number of times I had to redo the nightmare scene) but it still felt chompy and in consistant. All those photo hop made it confusing about the timeline. Some moments dragged on way too long like that nightmare of Chloe making out with almost everyone that we could potentially ship her with.

Yes we get a good conclusion for some of the character story arc like Jefferson and his motives, David and his PTSD, Princepal Wells and the pressure he has to keep the school afloat and most importantly how the story of Max and Chloe ends. Also good job to the dude who wrote those dark scene scenes as its the most disturbing moment in the game when we had to multiple times stare at drugged up Max and listen to creepy yet pretentious Jefferson.

But what about the others? Like all that build up with Nathan and the Prescott's involvement with Arcadia Bay? Or even some of  the characters like Samual or even Stella who if you were in the diner will learn a bit more about her problems. Heck we got a very vague truth about Rachael? Most importantly what are the origins of Max's powers?!

This is my biggest rear of any story as it comes to the end whether it be a tv show or even a book series is that we never really get a complete conclusion which leaves us loyal fans unsatisfied with the plot holes of the story. By the end of episode 4, its showed how diverged and complex it can get with its story telling and have actually set up so many things about some side stories and characters.

While I will say that this episode was not lazy writing or bad writing. It was good writing that while it made the conclusion simplified and cliche, they never sugar coated the situations we had to put through to get to the end. It still captivated me, made me feel and care about the story and the characters till the end. My favorite part of the game is still most the nightmare scene and the bit where we have to fight through the storm to get to the diner but have to overcome some obstacles.

This episode played a tug of war on my mind where it provokes and influence you for later on in the game of which is worth saving and sacrificing. While I was already knew what I was willing to sacrifice from the start, seeing the diner scene with all the people we interact with in the diner followed by that walk down memory lane made me question my decision I wanted to make which is the biggest charm of the game is that there are no right or wrong answers. Both ways have its goods and bads but at the end of the day its up to us the players on which choice is more desired. 

So yes, the ending was predictable. It was foreshadowed from the very start of the game and either ways was emotional and bittersweet though one was obviously more lengthier and detailed than the other. I know that the developers say that this is the end of Max and Chloe story but I seriously think there is something missing and this is not the end. Don't get me wrong I am satisfied and accept with how it had to end even if it was one of the hardest and most painful decision that I had to ever make in video game, it was foreshadowed from the very beginning so I was prepared to make that choice.   

Also lets remember what is the main idea of Life is Strange... its Max's coming of age story of her transitioning into adulthood, learning to take responsibilities for her actions, capturing moments and most of all accept reality. 

Book Recomendations

I have recommended an abundance of books through my reviews of Life is Strange and if I can i want to recommend all the amazing coming of age YA's out there as there are so many stories that I relate to or reminds me of Life is Strange. 

Melissa Kell is an amazing Aussie YA author who writes some of the most realistic coming of age stories. I especially love Incredible adventures of Cinnamon girl as it focuses on the a girl who has a fear of leaving the comforts of the childhood home and moving to Melbourne to persue her dreams of being a comic artist. If you like Chloe and her relationship with her dad as well as Max's passion for the art of photography in the game you need to check this out. Her other book My Life in Outer Space is also great especially if you like the story of a nerdy and awkward teenage boy who love horror films (*cough Warren) and is having a hard time trying to peruse the girl he likes (*cough definitely warren). 

Another Aussie YA I highly recommend is the Spark series by Rachael Craw. The book actually reminds me of a mixture of Life is Strange with the paranormal aspect of Beyond two souls where a teenage girl name Evie who recently lost her mum suddenly discovers that she was born with scientific engineered DNA and is a Shield. She must protect her friend Kitty who is a Spark from a Stray who is out to kill her... Okay that sounds Hella confusing and I'm not doing the book justice but I do have a review on the first two books Spark (click here) and Stray (Click here) and am now patiently waiting for the last book to come out in 2016 which is Shield. Read it if you love the mystery of life is strange, the friendship between Max and Chloe and most of all the magical realism elements except instead of rewind powers we have superhuman powers. Also a bonus, SWOON WORTHY HOW BRIT NAME JAMIE. Another bonus, FAST PACE EPICNESS EVERYWHERE!!!

Anatomy of a Misfit (Review Here) is a book I'll recommend if you like Victoria's mess up mean girl character who is not as mess up as we think and is actually quiet insecure. I love this book to pieces as its so snarky and laugh out loud hilarious yet emotional and heartbreaking. This is one of the few books that really made me cry so be warned... don't read it immediately after watching/playing Life is Strange.

Lastly is a book that I loved last year and the sequel is coming out REALLY SOON!! The Break-up artist (click here) is an amazing contemporary YA about a girl who anonymously breaks up couples for $100 in her paypal account. This book is amazing if you want an unlikely MC and story as it shows her realizing her mistakes and fixing the problems. Also if you like the detective board from episode four you might like this book as there are some really cool detective relationship parts here. 

Overall

Wowsers guys. I can't believe we are at the end of Life is Strange. Its bittersweet saying goodbye to a story that has helped me in my darkest times but also gowned attached to over the last couple of months. I still have mix feelings about this episode as I feel like we have A LOT of unanswered questions yet still it wrapped up the main goal of the game in somewhat a satisfying way. Whichever choice you choose it will have something happy along with something sad. Whatever choice I've made, whatever relationships I build and whatever I think of the game past, present and future, I was satisfied with my actions and playing life is strange is worth it. All of it.

Life Is Strange is such a smart and refreshing take on a gaming and even the YA genre that is an essential to be played/ experience whether you are a gamer or like a good story as it really makes you think and care for the characters and stories.

If anything in this episode or through playing the series affects you whether physically or emotionally, please go seek help and talk to someone. The developers have even set up a hotline site where they have linked all the places to seek help at Life is Strange Talk (Click here). Don't keep it to yourselves. If anything the game shows is no matter what there is somebody always out there to talk. 

So there you have it guys. My review and thoughts on the last episode of life is strange. Its been a fun and memorial journey to play and one of the best and most unique story I've seen in not just video games but fiction in general. Thank you Dontnod for making such a beautiful game and I'm looking forward to playing whatever games you guys have for us in the future and maybe even a DLC or season 2 of Life is Strange *hint *nudge *wink. Either way I had a great time with the game and following Max and Chloe's adventure so I hope you guys who have beaten the game think so to. 

Also check out my reviews and episode discussions for Life is Strange:

Review (Click Here) // Discussions + Walkthrough (Click Here)

Review (Click Here) // Discussions + Walkthrough (Click Here)

Review (Click Here) // Discussions + Walkthrough (Click Here)

Review (Click Here) // Discussions + Walkthrough (Click Here)

Also check out my last post, a Top 10 Life is Strange Characters

Game Discussioin: Life is Strange episode 5 trailer and theory talk. 

Discussions + Walkthrough (Click Here)

The Storm has passed but life goes on, 

Happy Playing as Life is Hella Strange guys :P