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Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation is a Funny, Heartwarming Side Story

 Reviews, Video games  3 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 202020
 

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle is a side story set after the events of Chuusotsu! 1st Graduation: Time After Time, a visual novel I read/played and reviewed in 2018.

As a Kickstarter backer, I received a copy of 1.5th Graduation ahead of its public release, and I finished it this weekend.

It’s about 2 hours long and follows Arue as she prepares to take her manga to a doujin event for the first time. An encounter with an arrogant manga artist leads to him betting that Arue, due to her lack of a seal, won’t be able to sell even a single copy.

This not only brings him and Arue into conflict with each other, but also sets her dreams and passion against a belief that profit is all that matters. A new character named Monami is also introduced, and Arue gets to know her across the course of the plot.

I really enjoyed it, and I definitely recommend it if you liked the first Chuusotsu. However, if you haven’t gone through the original, I wouldn’t recommend starting here. Not only is it a short side story, but it doesn’t really explain its world like the original does.

But if you have, it’s great!

There are a lot of funny moments, but many heartwarming parts as well. Just like the original, it takes a premise that could just be a silly story and turns it into something meaningful.

It especially resonated with me since I’m a writer. While I write prose and video game scripts, not manga, I really connected with Arue’s love of creating stories and her general feelings at the doujin event. Talking to someone about your inspirations, the anxiety of sharing your work with people for the first time, the fear of no one wanting to read it… this is all conveyed in a way I connected with quite well.

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle does a wonderful job of capturing the sense of being a new writer/artist, and it’s a funny, heartwarming side story in the Chuusotsu universe. It ended with a hint that there might be another “graduation,” so I hope we see a full Chuusotsu sequel in the future.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses “Cindered Shadows” DLC Revealed

 Video games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 172020
 

Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which got an honorable mention on my Top 5 Games I Played in 2019 list since I’ve only beaten one route so far, also has a DLC Expansion Pass available for $24.99.

The first three waves of DLC have added new costumes, more activities, and similar things, but the fourth was announced as story DLC. Yesterday, it was finally revealed to be a side story called “Cindered Shadows” with a February 13 release date.

Cindered Shadows deals with a “secret fourth house” known as the Ashen Wolves, students who are apparently living under the monastery. This led to a lot of speculation about whether this would be a full route or if the Ashen Wolves would simply be recruited into your house after you played their story.

Nintendo Japan has now cleared up some of these questions. As translated by Serenes Forest, you will not encounter the Cindered Shadows storyline as part of a normal playthrough. It is a separate option from the main menu, with its own save files.

However, due to data mining, it is believed that completing the side story will allow you to recruit the new characters in the main game, as well.

Cindered Shadows will also deviate from the normal teaching/activities/battle gameplay cycle, although they didn’t specify how, and the battles will be more difficult than those in the main game. You will also be given a set team, without the ability to recruit other characters.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about Cindered Shadows and how it will fit into the plot, but at least some things are clearer now. I haven’t actually bought the Expansion Pass, but if this side story is good enough, maybe it will sway me.

In the meantime, I’ll get back to slowly working through my second playthrough. What do you think of the Cindered Shadows DLC and what we’ve learned so far?

Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation Comes Out on Friday

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Jan 152020
 

During the visual novel Chuusotsu’s Kickstarter campaign, it had a stretch goal for a side story called Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle.

Although the campaign itself didn’t reach that goal, upgrades and add-ons through BackerKit brought Chuusotsu’s funding high enough for the side story to be made.

Now, Chuusotsu! 1.5th Graduation: The Moving Castle has a Steam page and will be released this Friday, January 17.

Backers got it a few days early, so I hope to play it soon and have a review ready. As a side story, it’s supposed to be a couple hours long and focus on a lighthearted adventure at a doujin event set after the main visual novel.

I really enjoyed Chuusotsu, even more than I expected to, so I can’t wait to play The Moving Castle.

And of course, I’m still hoping we’ll see a full sequel someday, too.

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