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xizro345 · 2012-03-25, 16:28

I was asked a few times what the game did better story-wise than the recently-concluded TV series, so I'm going into details about that, but discussing considering no prior knowledge of the game story. Of course it's all under spoiler tags, and those who are waiting for the game should avoid reading.

Spoiler for Game story and TV series comparison:

Let's start with the basics: the game deals with a post-apocaliptic scenario in which the whole population has been reduced to 14 people, after years of constant war. As ridicolous as it sounds, it actually works, because the story reminds constantly of the struggle of the survivors against the aliens. By contrast the TV series has problems in establishing a common view, especially in later episodes, and the overblown drama doesn't help at all.
Characters-wise. BRS in the game (called Stella or simply "girl") has a completely different personality, or better, she has one unlike the lack of it in the TV counterpart. She acts like a child most of the time, in the sense that she doesn't really understand what's going on until tragedy strikes (see below). She later develops a bond with one of the remaining humans, Rothcol, and after his death with Nana Gray (Yomi-like counterpart in the game). She's also a weapon built to fight aliens and she just does that once she gets her priorities straight. By comparison, in the TV series the viewer doesn't really get "who" is BRS. That would be fine, if there wasn't the issue that a few plot points raised about her are never resolved or mentioned again. The limit of the game characterization of BRS sometimes becomes apparent though, especially when she deals with Nana.

Unlike the TV series, BRS has one companion only for most of the game, Nana Gray (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, who also voiced Yomi in the TV series). Nana Gray is probably the biggest problem in the game story. An "imperfect clone" of the project that gave birth to BRS, she's bitter about it and feels she's never been loved by her father/creator. In the "better end" scenario, available after completing the game once, se realizes she has been wrong and reconciles with BRS. The problem with her, much like Yomi in the TV series, is that she overreacts a lot and comes off as a whiny, spoiled child instead of the tragic character she's supposed to be. The only difference is that the game story flow doesn't permit her to act exactly Yomi, but for comparison sake IMO they're essentially similar.

The game doesn't have a big number of side characters: some are pretty much non-existent, save a couple, including the aforementioned Rothcol. In this case, the game and the TV series are pretty much on par.
The villains are a completely different matter: huke designed some rather interesting fellows for the game. Each of the "Class-A Aliens" that make up the game bosses have a distinct personality (the ones that stand out are LLWO, MZMA and SAHA in my opinion) and sometimes are used to introduce a few story concepts. They're clearly antagonists di per se, unlike the TV series in which BGS and al. were depicted in a more ambigous view but the writers didn't stick with it all the times, creating unnecessary confusion.
The limit of their characterization is a flaw of the game itself, as BRS encounters each of them just once over the course of the main story (you can have rematches, but they're sort of gaiden chapters). While there is a reason for this, I personally feel they should have been used more.
The main antagonist of the game, White Rock Shooter, can be compared with Black Gold Saw of the TV series more than Dead Master (even if she carries a scythe), though the characters are actually very different. WRS isn't completely explained in the game, the story hints at her being the alien whose genetic code was used to create BRS, but it's never said explicitly. WRS herself doesn't really seem interested in telling the truth, as she considers all that's happening a game. Her ambiguity is really similar to BGS, but unlike WRS BGS doesn't really have a personality to speak of, which detracts from her character.

The game story isn't without flaws (mostly due to Nana Gray's behavior) but I think it works better than the TV series as uses the basic premise that was decided and sticks with it without trying too hard to be "big". The TV series instead tries too many things and doesn't decide what to do until it's too late.

2012-03-25, 16:28	Link #554
xizro345 King's Justice Join Date: Apr 2004	I was asked a few times what the game did better story-wise than the recently-concluded TV series, so I'm going into details about that, but discussing considering no prior knowledge of the game story. Of course it's all under spoiler tags, and those who are waiting for the game should avoid reading. Spoiler for Game story and TV series comparison: Let's start with the basics: the game deals with a post-apocaliptic scenario in which the whole population has been reduced to 14 people, after years of constant war. As ridicolous as it sounds, it actually works, because the story reminds constantly of the struggle of the survivors against the aliens. By contrast the TV series has problems in establishing a common view, especially in later episodes, and the overblown drama doesn't help at all. Characters-wise. BRS in the game (called Stella or simply "girl") has a completely different personality, or better, she has one unlike the lack of it in the TV counterpart. She acts like a child most of the time, in the sense that she doesn't really understand what's going on until tragedy strikes (see below). She later develops a bond with one of the remaining humans, Rothcol, and after his death with Nana Gray (Yomi-like counterpart in the game). She's also a weapon built to fight aliens and she just does that once she gets her priorities straight. By comparison, in the TV series the viewer doesn't really get "who" is BRS. That would be fine, if there wasn't the issue that a few plot points raised about her are never resolved or mentioned again. The limit of the game characterization of BRS sometimes becomes apparent though, especially when she deals with Nana. Unlike the TV series, BRS has one companion only for most of the game, Nana Gray (voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro, who also voiced Yomi in the TV series). Nana Gray is probably the biggest problem in the game story. An "imperfect clone" of the project that gave birth to BRS, she's bitter about it and feels she's never been loved by her father/creator. In the "better end" scenario, available after completing the game once, se realizes she has been wrong and reconciles with BRS. The problem with her, much like Yomi in the TV series, is that she overreacts a lot and comes off as a whiny, spoiled child instead of the tragic character she's supposed to be. The only difference is that the game story flow doesn't permit her to act exactly Yomi, but for comparison sake IMO they're essentially similar. The game doesn't have a big number of side characters: some are pretty much non-existent, save a couple, including the aforementioned Rothcol. In this case, the game and the TV series are pretty much on par. The villains are a completely different matter: huke designed some rather interesting fellows for the game. Each of the "Class-A Aliens" that make up the game bosses have a distinct personality (the ones that stand out are LLWO, MZMA and SAHA in my opinion) and sometimes are used to introduce a few story concepts. They're clearly antagonists di per se, unlike the TV series in which BGS and al. were depicted in a more ambigous view but the writers didn't stick with it all the times, creating unnecessary confusion. The limit of their characterization is a flaw of the game itself, as BRS encounters each of them just once over the course of the main story (you can have rematches, but they're sort of gaiden chapters). While there is a reason for this, I personally feel they should have been used more. The main antagonist of the game, White Rock Shooter, can be compared with Black Gold Saw of the TV series more than Dead Master (even if she carries a scythe), though the characters are actually very different. WRS isn't completely explained in the game, the story hints at her being the alien whose genetic code was used to create BRS, but it's never said explicitly. WRS herself doesn't really seem interested in telling the truth, as she considers all that's happening a game. Her ambiguity is really similar to BGS, but unlike WRS BGS doesn't really have a personality to speak of, which detracts from her character. The game story isn't without flaws (mostly due to Nana Gray's behavior) but I think it works better than the TV series as uses the basic premise that was decided and sticks with it without trying too hard to be "big". The TV series instead tries too many things and doesn't decide what to do until it's too late.