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Balzac · 2012-05-05, 14:30

Of course, in particular, Fall in Love's "contest" is one of the most hilarious memorable moments in my visual novel reading.

And so, to game impressions. As expected, story impressions may take a bit longer to type up, so here's my thoughts on the system. It's spoilered, but there are no story spoilers involved.

Spoiler:

System

What was very much apparent from the title screen was the game's almost identical interface to the previous iteration of Da Capo. Clicking on each option in the main menu (and later, the extras) yielded a fundamentally similar experience, almost as if one were playing another "Da Capo II extension" instead of a true sequel. To add, the features from the previous game, barring H scenes are almost intact, save for a difference in layout, the music, CG and scene appreciation have the same concept as D.C. II. Is that a good or a bad thing?

Perhaps the Circus (or more specifically Da Capo) fan will be struck nostalgic by all of it, on the other hand, one might find something to complain from them basically "reusing" the same system that's basically unchanged from the previous Da Capo - recalling how there was a bigger shift in system from Da Capo to Da Capo II. As a somewhat fan, I tended to shift towards the latter, because it was eerie seeing the same thing when I opened up the game for the first time, and having the exact same "dream cherry" music play to the same exact background of the school for four (...six?) straight games now.

As to music, well it was a different beast. To longtime readers, the Prologue's assortment of music may at times seem nostalgic, but I cannot believe they actually reused most of the "everyday" music from D.C. II, and in addition, Da Capo! It evoked a similar atmosphere to the previous games and I had a hard time divorcing myself from the shock of having one piece of music from a ten year old game follow the music from a sequel, with only the major changes being the heroine's motifs. There may be some other people who might smile at the nostalgia, and in some ways, I can see it being particularly fitting if that was the intent of the developers (speaking to the overall plot), but the personal effect on me was markedly different and somewhat negative.

An addendum to the heroine motifs: it seems Himeno's, Ricca's and Charles's were arranged to specifically call back to previous heroines. (who were also all collectively magic-users from the previous games) Now that is the kind of nostalgia I can at least appreciate, much like Sakura's remix theme from Da Capo II.

The Scene replay, while much expected, comes with a certain kind of inconsistency. There are times when particular scene blocks are longer than the other, which came as a surprise for me when I looked at the feature for the first time. Some blocks last shorter than a classroom break, others take entire days. If I'm remembering it right, D.C. II had a more consistent blocking system, though it made the feature cluttered (maybe that was intent?). Scene replay is one of the rarer game features I actually admire Circus for, so point to the developers here.

Oh yes, and I would just like to say a big "HUH?" to a particular element in Sara's route, which people might see later... It was...surprising to say the least. After finishing the game, I think back to that route and think on what the point of that element was.

Editing in the other elements later

2012-05-05, 14:30	Link #41
Balzac Assistant Professor Join Date: Jul 2011 Age: 48	Of course, in particular, Fall in Love's "contest" is one of the most hilarious memorable moments in my visual novel reading. And so, to game impressions. As expected, story impressions may take a bit longer to type up, so here's my thoughts on the system. It's spoilered, but there are no story spoilers involved. Spoiler: System What was very much apparent from the title screen was the game's almost identical interface to the previous iteration of Da Capo. Clicking on each option in the main menu (and later, the extras) yielded a fundamentally similar experience, almost as if one were playing another "Da Capo II extension" instead of a true sequel. To add, the features from the previous game, barring H scenes are almost intact, save for a difference in layout, the music, CG and scene appreciation have the same concept as D.C. II. Is that a good or a bad thing? Perhaps the Circus (or more specifically Da Capo) fan will be struck nostalgic by all of it, on the other hand, one might find something to complain from them basically "reusing" the same system that's basically unchanged from the previous Da Capo - recalling how there was a bigger shift in system from Da Capo to Da Capo II. As a somewhat fan, I tended to shift towards the latter, because it was eerie seeing the same thing when I opened up the game for the first time, and having the exact same "dream cherry" music play to the same exact background of the school for four (...six?) straight games now. As to music, well it was a different beast. To longtime readers, the Prologue's assortment of music may at times seem nostalgic, but I cannot believe they actually reused most of the "everyday" music from D.C. II, and in addition, Da Capo! It evoked a similar atmosphere to the previous games and I had a hard time divorcing myself from the shock of having one piece of music from a ten year old game follow the music from a sequel, with only the major changes being the heroine's motifs. There may be some other people who might smile at the nostalgia, and in some ways, I can see it being particularly fitting if that was the intent of the developers (speaking to the overall plot), but the personal effect on me was markedly different and somewhat negative. An addendum to the heroine motifs: it seems Himeno's, Ricca's and Charles's were arranged to specifically call back to previous heroines. (who were also all collectively magic-users from the previous games) Now that is the kind of nostalgia I can at least appreciate, much like Sakura's remix theme from Da Capo II. The Scene replay, while much expected, comes with a certain kind of inconsistency. There are times when particular scene blocks are longer than the other, which came as a surprise for me when I looked at the feature for the first time. Some blocks last shorter than a classroom break, others take entire days. If I'm remembering it right, D.C. II had a more consistent blocking system, though it made the feature cluttered (maybe that was intent?). Scene replay is one of the rarer game features I actually admire Circus for, so point to the developers here. Oh yes, and I would just like to say a big "HUH?" to a particular element in Sara's route, which people might see later... It was...surprising to say the least. After finishing the game, I think back to that route and think on what the point of that element was. Editing in the other elements later __________________ Within each of us a thousand worlds Last edited by Balzac; 2012-05-05 at 14:47.