REVIEW : Love, Money, Rock’n’Roll (PC)
Nikolai, a regular Japanese student and the son of Soviet immigrants, has no idea that his life is going to be turned upside down. The familiar, ordinary life will collide with the ghosts of the past within him. Nikolai will have to select who he can trust and discover why he has been of attention to individuals with money and power that make ordinary people’s lives seem unimportant.
The Heroines
Himitsu is a childhood friend of Nikolai’s. She is sweet and kind, and she is always concerned about him. She may also be annoying at times. But is she truly content with a simple friendship? Maybe her years of devotion to Nikolai have earned her anything more?
Love, Money, Rock’n’Roll
Catherine is Nikolai’s ex-girlfriend who left Japan a year before the events of the game. Their split was acrimonious, and Nikolai still remembers it with resentment. Perhaps he would have forgotten with time, but Catherine reappears and transfers to his class. Why is she back, and does she still love him?
Ellie is the granddaughter of Nikolai’s school’s board of trustees. She is a stubborn, proud girl who understands her worth, yet she is not without zeal. Is she as innocent as she appears at first glance, or is she a rebel disguised as a pampered lady?
Nikolai’s class is represented by Kagome. He had never paid much attention to her previously, but a series of events causes them to get more acquainted. Kagome is despised at school, and she has no desire to get friendly with others. Is everything that simple with this unsociable female, or is there more to her than meets the eye?
I’m not sure if this visual novel is on the same level as “Everlasting Summer,” because the main character has a past, a personality, and a perspective.
Unlike Semyon (the protagonist of the original game from these developers, whom I have long followed), he does not appear to be the target audience. Who wants to play for the alpha male, who will guard the girl behind the school, keep all the girls in the friend zone for years, and also leave a romantic impression on everyone? (and I remind you that we are not a fantastic dream pioneer camp but in a supposedly realistic Japan). Most crucially, the option is imposed as a result of this. Here is the very first one at the start (spoiler for the first 5 minutes of the game).
Everything is displayed in such a way that it is vital to prevent bullying, the hero wants to intervene by default, and if you choose the option “do not intervene,” he will inform you that this is not feasible and is nasty conduct. So he tells the player that he made the wrong decision, which should not be the case in visual novels with story development options.
And there are many similar instances in this novel.
Consider Semyon, who lacked the unique personality and background of a serious and self-sufficient individual, making him relatively similar to the rest of us. If the player does not intervene, he will say something along the lines of “Well, I am not a hero, so I will not look for problems, I do not need them.” And if the player had opted to protect, Semyon would have told him, “It is impossible, you must intercede and protect the lady.”
I’m referring to the concept that in an RPG, picking the proper ending should define not only the tale but also the character. Or, at least, not to compel and not to inform the player that he did anything wrong, particularly with the words and ideas of the main character, for whom we appear to be acting as if the author had already determined everything for us.
REVIEW : Batora: Lost Haven (PC)
