It's day 4 and I no longer have a backlog of things, we'll see how day 5 goes but I finally figured out what to do for Day 5. Today's work we got some good old fashioned Monigard. We establish the origin of the world Lesbian in Fodlan and there is a big hug.
In my last post breaking down what makes a dating sim a dating sim by Japanese definitions (among other genres), I briefly touched upon how, in the early days of the genre in the mid to late 90s, dating sims actually tended to have something of a reduced focus on predefined, linear narrative arcs compared to their contemporaries in traditional adventure games and the then-emerging novel games. This statement might have come as something of a surprise to some folks considering that dating-themed visual novels—which, again, typically don't fall under the dating sim umbrella specifically due to a lack of, well, simulation gameplay elements—have been so ubiquitous for over two decades. How could they struggle at such overt storytelling when that's exactly what the wider Japanese adventure game umbrella specializes in?
The answer lies in how dating sims were typically played and designed at the height of the Tokimeki Memorial boom and the legions of clones it inspired in its wake.
Since I'm on my Tokimemo Drama bullshit again, for those new here, I'll just leave this little write-up I did on the trilogy of games from this forgotten chapter of Kojima Production's history. If you love the original game and are literate in Japanese, you genuinely owe it to yourself to play all three games and especially the last one starring Shiori (and Miharu if you're a deviant like I'm currently being). You'll be impressed just how much a team of complete outsiders to both the franchise and dating sims in general managed to significantly flesh out the entire cast while still making them feel completely authentic to what sparse source material there generally is.
Anyway, they're all tremendous games that deserve to be properly considered within the legacy of Kojima Productions and their adventure game output and I'm not exaggerating when I say that last game in particular has one of the best, most touching stories of its generation. (And for those of you who can't play it, long-time friend @Kimimi posted a great write-up summarizing the game and what makes it so special here. Go read it!)
If all your friends were jumping off a cliff, would you do it? If everyone in the world was jumping off a cliff, would you do it? What if jumping off a cliff was unequivocally necessary to participate in society, if jumping off a cliff was the sole method available to you of earning food lodging luxuries, was mandatory as a signifier in order for other people to even perceive you as a part of the world? What if jumping off a cliff didn't actually kill you, at least not at first, was only experienced as a lessening of your world, a slow seeping spiritual poison that pervades your life over decades until it defines your every experience. Would you do it?
I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT EVER HAVING WORN A DRESS I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT HAVING BEEN TOUCHED WITH KINDNESS I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT HAVING EATEN A GOOD BAGEL I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT HAVING KEPT A REAL PROMISE GROWN WITH MY OWN CALLOUSED HANDS I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT STANDING IN THE ARC OF THE MOON AND KNOWING THAT HER LIGHT ALSO BELONGS TO ME AND ALL OF MY SO-SHAPED BELOVEDS AND I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT WAITING ON THE SHARP EDGE OF THE OCEAN AND NOT WANTING TO COME HOME AND I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT BUILDING LOVE WITH A HOMEBREW GIRL IN THE MILKY LIGHT OF THE MONITOR GLOW CASTING US INTO SHARP PARTS AND HARD PARTS AND I DON’T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT EVER HAVING TOLD THE TRUTH OR WITHOUT EVER HAVING FRENCH-BRAIDED MY HAIR OR BOUGHT A PINK SKIRT NOT TO WEAR BUT JUST TO HAVE OR GONE TO A NAIL SALON OR SEEN MY LIPS BLOOM SCARLET OR SANG AT KARAOKE NIGHT OR CRIED A REAL CRY OR MET MY REAL SELF OR BEEN REAL AT ALL AND I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T WANT TO DIE WITHOUT HAVING BEEN LOVED I JUST WANT TO LIVE I WANT TO LIVE
[Published at Graphic Violence Lit]
[https://graphicviolencelit.wordpress.com/2023/07/24/regrets/]