Root Double (from the director of the Infinity series)

[GundamAce]

Okay, Root B review time!

Spoiler for Root B review:

Just cleared Root B.

HOLY. F***ING. S***. This route was just pure f***ing awesome. Words cannot describe just how great this route except perhaps this: My mind f***ing exploded.

The structure of the route was very similar to Route A in I/O, with Natsuhiko and Mashiro having a bit of resemblance to Hinata and Sakuya from that game. What was really surprising, though was just how different this route felt from Root A- seriously, up until the end, it felt like a route from a completely different game, but it makes sense. Because Root A pretty much exclusively dealed with the events inside LABO, it was this route's job to give exposition on the outside world and all the terms that define the world of Root Double.

But what I really liked about it was that it doesn't just give you flat out exposition and leave it at that (there were a few, but those were justified, because they were actual in-universe class lectures). No, what they did was manage to give you exposition that at the same time, developed the characters, so that at the same time you were learning about the world, you were also learning something new about the characters (both history and backstory). There was just one exposition part that I felt went on for way too long, but it's justified because that's the exposition that gives you the scientific explanation for how Beyond Communication works.

The characters were great. This route fixed my main problem with Root A, in that I felt like all the characters got proper development. I think the main reason for this is that there were a lot of casual conversations in this route where we really got to learn about the characters, whereas Root A's characters were almost always in danger or in a hurry, so almost all conversation was related to the situation at hand. My character rankings in this route were Yuuri, Mashiro, Miyoko Tenkawa (Natsuhiko's mother- for some reason, I really like her, even though she doesn't appear in that many scenes), Natsuhiko, and Louise. However, just because I have them ranked does not mean I hate any of them. Far from it, I loved all of them, and they were truly great characters. Nakazawa or Tsukishima once said that your perceptions of the characters would differ greatly depending on which route you played first, and I agree- this route vastly improved my impressions of some of the characters that I disliked a bit in Root A. So it did an excellent job with characters, and like Ever17, there wasn't a single one of them that I hated.

The mysteries were very good. There were less than there were in Root A, but this time a lot more of them were of the WTF variety, rather than "I just haven't seen the piece of information I need to figure it out yet" mysteries. My current number of mysteries/questions is now 71. Let's see if the game can solve them all...

But the thing that sealed everything for me was the ending. It hit me with a completely shocking twist that just blew my mind away, changing everything I thought I knew. And the climax, which happened afterwards, was just full of awesome. It was practically 2 straight hours of "HOLY S***"! It was so exciting that I had to stand for the last two hours when I played the route because I was so excited/shaken that I couldn't sit down. The route's ending cleared up a good number of mysteries I had from this route and Root A, but there's still a ton left. I'd love to talk more about why I loved this ending so much, but that would involve major spoilers.

I give the route a 10/10. Very likeable characters, good plot, and of course, the awesome ending and climax. And it turns out I was right- by finishing this, I've unlocked a new route- Root C. I'd like to play it right away, but I've almost completely filled up my save slots, so I think I'll first tackle all the Bad Endings in Root A (there's 17 in total). Until next time then!

[shadowplay]

Thanks for your impressions/reviews, sounds like great game so far.
Average rating on erogamescape is not that amazing though; 83/100, not bad but not nearly as high as Ever17 (which is 90+ I think). Could be that C and D routes are not nearly as good as A and B ones.

[GundamAce]

Originally Posted by shadowplay

Thanks for your impressions/reviews, sounds like great game so far.
Average rating on erogamescape is not that amazing though; 83/100, not bad but not nearly as high as Ever17 (which is 90+ I think). Could be that C and D routes are not nearly as good as A and B ones.

That's my only real fear right now- that the resolution/answers won't be nearly as good as all the buildup in the first half of the game promises. Because even the greatest of stories can crash if they have disappointing conclusions.

[GundamAce]

Okay, Root C review.

Spoiler for Root C review:

Finished Root C. It was a fairly short route that was only about 3 hours long, but my current completion is only slightly over 52%, so I've still got a ways to go.

There's not too much to say about it. It was basically a summary of Root A, but provided answers for some of the more Mind Screwy parts (but not all of them). And I have to admit... I was a little disappointed by the answer to it. Not because it wasn't foreshadowed or it was a Deus Ex Machina, no, they properly foreshadowed it. I guess the reason I was disappointed was because it felt a little too... simple? I dunno, I guess I was kinda expected a more complicated or mind blowing answer, something that really changes the way you think about things, like in Ever17 or the ending of Root B. To quote one of my earlier reviews, rather than thinking, "Whoa, that's amazing!", I was more like "That's it?"

On the other hand, there was a very good moment near the end of the route where they answered another question, and then I was suddenly hit with an epiphany as I realized that it answered several other questions I had, where I got the, "That's it! It all makes sense now!" feeling that Ever17 and 12Riven gave me, so that worked out very well.

Other than that, though, it was mostly okay. It was kinda like the part in Coco's Route in Ever17 where you're made to rewatch Day 6 of Takeshi's Routes. At that part, I was more interested in finishing that section so I could find out what happens next- it was kinda the same here (though they managed to keep it interesting with the fact that even this "answer" couldn't explain all the Mind Screw, though granted it's not that intense of Mind Screw at this point). Also, the very last scene of the route was rather surprising, and it makes me curious to know just what exactly was going on.

I'd give this route an 8/10. It was kinda like watching a recap episode that has a few scenes of new material interspersed between it- it's okay, but you'd rather be watching an episode with entirely brand new content. As I said, I was a bit disappointed at how simple the "answer" was for those parts, but at the same time it still provides a few new mysteries and relevations that put a whole new light on older events.

However, it's not over yet. I've unlocked one last (I think) route, Root D. And the trailer for it makes it seem like it's going to be epic, and that everything will finally be solved. So I'm really looking forward to that. So yeah, this was kinda the low point of the game, but I'm sure the next route will make up for it.

[GundamAce]

Okay, here's my Root D review:

Spoiler for Root D Review:

All right, I FINALLY finished Root D, obtaining the True Ending. My thoughts?

I personally loved it... but at the same time, I can see many people hating it.

The route was just absolutely jam packed with content (it took my 30 hours to finish). Not only did it solve every remaining mystery in the game, it also added so many things to the plot that I didn't even think would happen. While it didn't have any huge mind-blowing twists like Ever17, it still had a lot of surprising twists and unexpected plot developments. In particular, the route did a great job at throwing me off at times. For example, during the route, I came up with a theory about a potential plot twist. In the end, it turns out I was right about it, but the game threw me off in the middle, making me think that I had guessed wrong, and so I believed I was wrong until the game showed me that I had been right.

The plot was excellent. It concluded everything nicely, tied up all the loose ends, had an intense climax and finale, and had a great epilogue. This was the first Nakazawa game since Ever17 that I felt had a great, satisfying conclusion.

The route's main feature was its character development. I'll talk more about it in my overall review, but this route was mainly a character study, delving into each and every one of the character's backstories, feelings, motives, and their perspectives on the plot. Without giving too much away, let's say that the characters were the strongest part about the route.

Now, with that said, this route did unfortunately have one major problem. The key issue in the route is "pacing". Specifically, the route's main feature was a gameplay system called the RAM System. So as not to give away spoilers, basically, every time it was used, it put the main plot on hold for about 1-2 hours while you used it, allowing you to learn a wide variety of things. However, you have to use it about 6 times in between very short intervals, meaning that while the plot's going on, you have to put it on hold for many hours before you can get back to it. For example, at one point in the plot, one of the protagonists runs into danger. Just then, you have a RAM System input, and then you have to wait until you're done to find out what happens. You can see an abridged version of the RAM System bits, but you can't get the True Ending/Good Endings if you do that, and you'll be stuck on the Normal Ending path. And then again, you have to go through the RAM System 8 times right in the middle of the climax (though it's only about half an hour each in this case, but still...) , and you need to go through all 8 to get the True Ending.

Personally, I mostly didn't mind any of this at all, as I found the RAM System personally fascinating, but even I admit it was a bit dragged out. But for people who hate slow pacing... yeah, you might not like the system. I personally think the RAM System material should have been its own route or something, though on the other hand, the RAM System was essential to the plot. But it still kinda killed the pacing.

In the end, I give this route a 9.5/10. I really want to give this route a 10, but even I can't excuse the slow pacing (cramming all the characters backstories into one route probably didn't help). I know it sounds like I'm complaining about this route, but aside from that, everything else about the route was superb. The plot, twists, solving of the mysteries, and the characters themselves were excellent. I just really wish that there was something that could have been done with the RAM System that didn't make it bog down the pacing so much.

And here's my overall game review.

Spoiler for Root Double Overall Review:

Story: 10/10
In my 12Riven review, I said that Kotaro Uchikoshi must have been insane to pull off that kind of plot. If that's the case, then Takumi Nakazawa must have been three times insane as Uchikoshi was to pull off this kind of plot. To use a metaphor, it's like buying a puzzle box, thinking you've bought a 100 piece puzzle, but when you finish it, you realize that you'd actually bought a 10,000 piece puzzle. What do I mean by that? In short- the plot was absolutely superb. Every single detail was clearly planned out in advance, everything scene was written with at least three separate meanings in mind, every line of dialogue carefully thought out. Long story short, every single thing in this game was important, the plot had incredible depth to it, and it all fit together in the end. The plot seems rather simple in the beginning, and at first I was rather disappointed at how simple it looked compared to the Infinity series. But Root D changed all of that, showing that the plot was far more complex (not in a confusing way) than I ever could have imagined, and it's simply mind blowing just how much everything ties together so well. Even so, the plot was not too difficult to understand, and was certainly easier to comprehend than Remember11 and I/O. It doesn't quite have the Mind Screw of the Infinity series, but it makes up for that with just how deep the game is, how much content they managed to pack into it, and how it has so many mysteries, yet manages to solve all of them in the end.

The science used in this game is much more theoretical than the Infinity series, what with it being based around the idea of psychic powers being scientifically possible, but it actually gives a legitimately well thought out for said powers to exist and how they'd work. Honestly, I thought that Uchikoshi's version of psychic powers and its explanation (Psi users in 12Riven) was way too much to buy, but here it feels like that psychic powers really could exist in real life, so I give it credit for that. The TIPS system in this game was much more along the lines of its usage in Remember11 than its I/O form- though overall, this means that the TIPS weren't quite as important as they were in I/O, though they still give important information.

Music: 7.5/10
This is, unfortunately, the game's biggest flaw. The OST was composed by Takuma Satou, and consists of 32 tracks. Unfortunately, they're not all very memorable, and tend to be rather... outdated sounding? I feel that if the songs had used different instruments for different parts, it would have been a lot better, but it didn't, so there. The music felt out of place at some points, and it was very predictable what would play when. However, that doesn't mean it was terrible. In my opinion, the best tracks were, by far, "The Truth Is Revealed" and "The Brave Decision", the latter being an awesome song that played in the highlights of the game. The OP and ED were also very good, and their instrumental versions were simply wonderful. But in the end, this is the weakest part of the game. I know they're not working together anymore, but I feel that if Takeshi Abo had scored this game, he could have done wonders for it- this feels like just the kind of game that Abo needed to have composed for.

Graphics: 10/10
The art style in the game was great. The characters were very well drawn, the overall art style was nice to look at (the CGs in particular looked wonderful, though there were admittedly one or two CGs that were Off Model), and the backgrounds were well done. However, the aspect of the graphics that I praise the most may be surprising- the background characters. Usually, when a VN has to depict a scene where there's a group of people in an area (like classrooms, shopping areas, outside of buildings, etc), they just show an empty background. But in Root Double, they not only show all the background characters that are supposed to be there, they also give each one a unique character design. That's just great in my opinion, as it feels like I'm looking at actual people rather than imagining them, and it goes to show just how much detail was put into this game.

Gameplay: 10/10
The gameplay in this VN is truly one of the most unique systems I've ever seen. The SSS isn't that hard to operate, as all you have to do is adjust character trust levels, but even so, it's fun and offers for a lot of replay value as you try all different kinds of combinations to see what's possible. Generally, you can get through pretty easily if you keep your trust values on max for all the characters, though there are some exceptions. Even so, you need to be really careful with your choices, otherwise you'll end up getting stuck in the Normal Ending and having to go back all the way to the start of the route and try to do better. On the other hand, it's incredibly obvious when you've made a wrong choice and gotten a Bad Ending, so those who hate accidentally falling into Bad Endings will love this, though I personally think that it takes a little bit of the fun out of the whole process (I personally love stumbling into Bad Endings, though it can get a bit annoying at times). The RAM System, ignoring what it did to the pacing of Root D, was absolutely fascinating to me, but I can't really say anything about it due to spoiler reasons.

Characters: 10/10
All right, I'm just going to say it right here, right now. This is, in my opinion, the best overall cast in any VN I've ever played, and may be the highlight of the game. There's just so much detail put into every single character, to the point where you don't just get to know them as characters. By the end of the game, you know them as people, inside and out. You'll know their backstories, their motives, their feelings, what they're thinking every single situation, how they feel for every other character... it's a kind of depth that I"ve never seen before in a VN (though some characters did get less development than others, they still had way more development than the average VN character). It feels like all of them could have been a protagonist in their own right. I loved every single one of the characters- hell, I even love what could basically be considered the closest thing to a physical "villain" in this game: by the end of the game, I felt really sorry for them and myself wishing that I could have done something for them. I cared for each one of them and genuinely wanted them all to escape. Just like Ever17, but this time, you know everything about the characters, so you care for them even more- while in Ever17's case, there were admittably characters who didn't really get much of an in-depth study, like Coco.

One thing I love about this game is that the protagonists were NOT player avatars- they were fully developed characters with their own unique personalities and motives. Giving them a voice of their own is cetainly a plus. Another thing I must praise about the game is that it finally achieved a feeling of "unity". By that, I mean a feeling where every single cast member was in sync. In pretty much all the other Infinity/Infinity-esque games, only a select few characters are in the know about what's truly going on, and so the other characters are shoved aside while those select few deal with the plot. While I love the Infinity series, I admit that that part can get a little annoying. Not the case here. Here, all the characters worked together as one, every character was important in the end, and they just felt like so much more of a team for that reason.

My favorite characters were.
1. Kazami
2. Yuuri
3. Watase
4. Jun
5. Miyoko Tenkawa
6. Natsuhiko
7. Ukita
8. ??? (Ai Shimizu's character)
9. Mashiro
10. Louise
11. Ena

One more minor note that made me happy:

Spoiler for Minor end-game spoiler:

This is the only other Nakazawa work apart from Ever17 where my favorite pairing ended up being the Official Couple.

Voice Acting: 10/10
This game had great voice acting. My favorite voices were probably Ai Shimizu as ??? (spoiler character), Mitsuhiro Ichiki as Natsuhiko, and Rina Satou as Kazami. With the exception of Ukita (who I basically dubbed Scientist!Tomitake) and occasionally Ena, this game was particularly notable in that although I knew almost all of the voice actors, I never really heard them as the voice actors, but as the characters. Specifically, what I mean is that when you hear a character voiced by someone you recognize, you can only really hear them as their voice actor, but in this case, that wasn't it. For example, although I only know Akane Tomonaga as Hotori from Remember11 and Seira from Chaos;Head, I didn't hear either of them- I heard Jun Moribe. They did a great job at putting life into their characters, and were a great part of why I loved them- because they just felt so real. I admit at first that I didn't like Kei Shindou's voice as Louise, but after a scene or two, I got completely used to it, and it didn't bother me any more. My only minor complaint was that both Tarusuke Shingaki (Watase) and Mitsuhiro Ichiki (Natsuhiko) probably overdid it a bit whenever they had to scream.

Overall: 10/10
I confess, people- I'm having trouble deciding what's the better game- this or Ever17. On one hand, this game didn't really have the mind blowing twists Ever17 did, and the final route had admittedly slow pacing. On the other hand, this game had a more complex plot than Ever17, was tied together much better, had a much larger scope, solved all its mysteries (and had more mysteries than Ever17 to boot), still had very good twists, had a better cast, and could get just as emotional as Ever17. For now, let's just say that it's tied with Ever17 for my favorite VN.

In any case, it's Nakazawa's best individual work, and a masterpiece in my book. While I liked I/O, I have to admit that it was a very bizzare game (perhaps too bizzare at times), and though I like Remember11 a lot more than I did when I originally finished it, nothing can ever change its ending. This game, on the other hand, had almost everything I loved about the Infinity series, yet still manages to keep it's own identity as its own game. One thing's for certain- this game needs an English translation, and if it ever gets a PC version, let's just say you've already got a translator with a great interest in translating it waiting for it...

My final word on this is this and only this: well done, Takumi Nakazawa. You've finally managed to create a work that can rival Ever17, possibly even be better than it.

[MidoriHiME]

I might have to buy a copy of this game even though I have no way of playing it, just to increase sales so a computer port is more likely. That is how much I want to play this game after reading this review.

How many years after I/O debuted did it get a PC port?

[GundamAce]

Originally Posted by MidoriHiME

I might have to buy a copy of this game even though I have no way of playing it, just to increase sales so a computer port is more likely. That is how much I want to play this game after reading this review.

How many years after I/O debuted did it get a PC port?

2 1/2 years. Though to be fair, the PC port had extras that the PS2 version didn't, particularly giving sprites to many characters who lacked sprites in the PS2 version. There were certainly a few characters who lacked sprites in this game that could have used them.

EDIT: I also forgot to mention this, but I clocked in at about 72 hours. It's partly due to my Japanese reading speed, but it's still way longer than Ever17.

[GundamAce]

Good news, everyone! Root Double is getting a PC port, which will be out on September 28th!

[MidoriHiME]

This is probably the best news ever. Any chance we could get a translation of this before 12Riven? <.<

[GundamAce]

Originally Posted by MidoriHiME

This is probably the best news ever. Any chance we could get a translation of this before 12Riven? <.<

Well, I'd rather translate 12Riven beforehand because it's been out longer, and I believe that games that have been out in Japan longer deserve the spotlight in English first before the more recent games. So no, I'll probably do this after 12Riven. Plus, this game is much longer than 12Riven, so 12Riven will take a lot shorter to do than this.

[Elvin]

Originally Posted by GundamAce

Good news, everyone! Root Double is getting a PC port, which will be out on September 28th!

YATTA
Awsome news.

[GundamAce]

Last month, a character popularity poll was conducted on Root Double's website for the characters, which ended a few days ago with 5110 votes cast. I figured I might as well post the results of the poll here.

1. Yuuri
2. Louise
3. Mashiro
4. Watase
5. Ai Shimizu's character
6. Kazami
7. Jun
8. Ena
9. Natsuhiko
10. Miyoko
11. Ukita
12. Momoko Ohara's character

Yuuri actually only beat Louise by 5 votes (1295 to 1290).

[shadowplay]

Originally Posted by GundamAce

Good news, everyone! Root Double is getting a PC port, which will be out on September 28th!

Wow, sooner than anyone thought...

Btw. Nakazawa-san was featured at exp-inc ustream program this week talking about Root Double and stuff for over an hour, stream is recorded here if anyone's interested http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/24883067

[GundamAce]

Well, just one week to go until the PC version release!

On that note, I got the novelizations of Roots A and B today. Since both of them were written by Souki Tsukishima, the game's screenplay writer, it's more or less an exact replica of the VN (I only skimmed it, but they seemed to have kept pretty much everything, minus the visuals, sound, and voice acting, naturally).

The only real difference of note that I saw was that while the VN is written in third person, the novels are written in first person from Watase and Natsuhiko's perspectives in their respective routes.

I also went to this event where they gave out this booklet/magazine of sorts for Root Double, and in it was an announcement that the novelization of Root C is scheduled for October 2nd, while Root D's is scheduled for November 2nd.

[GundamAce]

Also, now that we're almost at release time and that it's been nearly three months since I finished the game, I figured I should give a slightly revised, less biased opinion on it.

Spoiler for Revised opinion:

In hindsight, I would say that while the first half is excellent, the second half could be better. The twists were rather simple for a Nakazawa game, and though I liked the content in the second half of the game, I think the execution and the structure for it could have been better. It wasn't as much of a mind screw as Nakazawa's past games, as it's more about the "suspense" than it is the mystery, which is probably why the first half was so good.

That said, I still love the game, but I have to admit I'm a rather biased and forgiving person, so I'm not the best guy in the world for clear opinions. However, I do stand by my statement that aside from those aspects, I thought Root Double did pretty much everything else better than Ever17 did.

[GundamAce]

Well, I got the Root Double PC version... but my computer can't even read the disc. Just great.

Can anyone possibly help me? According to the box, it says my disc drive (I have a Blu-Ray drive) needs a comp speed of at least 8, but I don't know what that means.

[Dusk]

You mean disc drive reading speed? Far as I know, 2x Bluray is about 5-6x DVD speed. So if this game requires 8X DVD speed, you gotta have a higher than 2x BD reading speed on your BD drive.

[GundamAce]

Hey, I've announced it elsewhere, but Root Double is now getting a PS3 port, called the "Xtend Edition". Because it's not just a port, it has new content as well. The content includes:

-New CGs
-New Endings
-Revised gameplay
-Some slightly altered scenes in order to increase the excitement factor.
-A mode unlocked after you've cleared the game that allows you to view deleted scenes ultimately left out of the final version.

Really looking forward to this. Hope it gets a PC release too, though I'm not counting on it.

[denlee]

Hmm, how good should me Japanese be to fully enjoy this game? I know it's very subjective, but anyway.
I can manage normal spoken conversation with anyone about pretty much anything (or interpreting in automotive factories, maybe ), but it's pretty hard to understand very specific topics (with police, military, yakuza, science etc. vocabulary, which is pretty difficult even in English), especially in TV or games. Reading is worse, about between JLPT N2 and N1 (I can read Chinese better which helps at times though). I just finished Steins;Gate in English and all the scientific and nerd words were so hard I couldn't really understand the Japanese dub and relied on English subs heavily at some points (time travel theories, Large Hadron Collider explanation, world line divergences and stuff).

Do you think it may be playable (and enjoyable) for me under this conditions? I haven't played a VN in English yet so I myself have no idea. Thank you!

[VDZ]

I doubt it. VN narration tends to be real tough for a beginner (and unvoiced), and Nakazawa's games tend to be very heavy on the in-depth science use and explanations.

The general advice tends to be to go for standard moege (typical high school romance VNs with no serious plot) first, since they use easy language and are generally easier to follow.