MIRYAFA'S PROFILE

I like playing RPGMaker horror games. I think puzzles are enhanced by having to solve them while scared, and the simple graphics of RPGMaker games generally mean they aren't *too* scary.

I write reviews for games that I think need them - either because they don't already have a review, or because I disagree with the previous reviews. But whether I love it or hate a game, I think it'll be a great game for somebody. And I appreciate the developer of any game for putting in the effort to make something for other people's enjoyment.

Search

Filter

One Night Review

It seems you hadn't played many scary games on RPG Maker when you wrote this (or scariness is different for you than me), because I heartily disagree with the title of this review. For examples of scarier games I would offer: It Moves, Dreaming Mary, Blank Dream, The Witch's House, Chelsea, and Ib

Dear Mariko

I'm glad you're still open to comments! I'll respond too:


Yeah, there are a bunch of hints about the true ending, and I realized them after I found it (I went back and played it again from the start). It doesn't change my comments one bit. Even knowing you had the plot planned out the whole time, it still felt like you did the ending last and went back and added those in afterwards, because everything else is so confusing as it stands.

I can tell you're not open to changes because you're defending your decisions. But I'm just making suggestions because I care, because I actually liked something about the game, and want to make it better. To that end:
-The part of the introduction with "I met Darien 2 years ago" could be Shinku as easily as Mariko. Same with the part about something being wrong with Darien, because Shinku obviously is not getting that Darien doesn't want to be with her.
-As I understand it, the idea that "Mariko has been endlessly harassed and threatened" is impossible because until she read the letter, she had no idea that Darien had a previous girlfriend, or that he was being stalked. The intro makes it clear that she only knows "something is wrong between Darien and me." That's not enough for someone to feel a need to arm herself, or be determined to find out who Darien's stalker is. Basically, it seems like you wrote Mariko's lines as though she had no knowledge of a stalker (but the way she reacted to that letter was pretty stalker-ish herself), but wrote Mariko's actions as though she is being chased by a monster at this very moment, and it doesn't mesh together. That's why I suggested the changes I did.

Dear Mariko

After seeing the true ending, I kinda feel like the plot is contradictory. Specifically (spoilers):

author=Kirroha
You are not Mariko. Remember, the game never said you were...
Yes it does. The introduction says "'Mariko' / The way he said my name..."

And then the way Mariko acts is suspect. Supposedly Mariko knocks on the front door of her own house before entering - I don't know anyone who does that. And then she walks in openly brandishing a knife - which is illegal in most places I know of. When she reads the letter, she says "I'll kill you." And (if you hide in the bathroom) she breaks down the door. And then she actually murders you. Either Mariko herself is criminally insane, and Darien has a thing for yanderes, or this plot makes no sense.

It just feels like you made the game with the intention of the main character being Mariko, and then at the very end, when you were writing the true ending, you decided that the other girl should be Mariko instead.

Here's what I can buy:
-We hear Mariko before she enters the house. (makes sense)
-Mariko knocks on her own door (as long as it's explicit that she's hoping Darien will open it). I could buy it easier and better if instead of hearing Mariko knocking, we just her walking up the front steps.
-Mariko has a knife (since the protagonist can't see her, it could just be her imagination).
-Mariko says "I found you!" and the game ends (because the game is up - no pun intended).

Here's what I can't buy:
-The introduction being told from Mariko's point of view. It's confusing if you don't know the protagonist isn't Mariko, and it's pointless if you do know it. Removing the references to Mariko would fix that.
-Mariko says "I'll kill you." What the heck?! Just remove that.
-Mariko breaks down the bathroom door. WHAT?! I didn't even believe that when I thought she was the crazy girl. No one is breaking down a door with a knife. It should just be that she's still there when you want to leave, and there's no other exit besides the door.
-The screen flashes red if Mariko catches you, and it sounds like you're getting stabbed. The real Mariko shouldn't be a violent murderer like this game makes her out to be. Just remove it.

Dreaming Mary

By the way, I have a question (with spoilers):
I get that the maid fell to her death, and the penguin (her mother?) lost her head, but what happened to the fox (her... elder sister?)?

Also it seems her father is symbolized by Boaris, but are the other associations right?
Bunnilda - maid
penguin - mother
Foxanne - elder sister?
Boaris - father

Dreaming Mary

I quite liked the game up until...
I got to getting the seeds. Then I couldn't find the book (of course), even though I went through every map pushing up-Z and down-Z on every single tile, twice in the library. I saw the bad "true" ending. I looked at a walkthrough, but couldn't go behind the cement wall (of course). Then I restarted the game and went up through that point again. And again. (To summarize: I'm a bit stupid. BUT the characters kept saying "find the angel" even after the wall turned to cement and I couldn't find the angel anymore - totally misleading!)

At this point, I definitely wasn't having fun. I tried the cement wall before talking to anyone else, and was finally able to get in (of course). It was only later I realized you have to do that before talking to Boaris. I really didn't understand that hint at all, and I didn't even read it the second time I went through the game (because I had already seen all the dialogue only a few minutes ago).

So I finally got behind the poster, and then I started having fun again. Until I couldn't get the key, even after looking at a walkthrough, because I was standing in front of the door and pushing up-Z instead of standing beside it, facing right, and pushing Z.

Finally I got it right and ended with a bit of fun. The SUPERMARY ending was hilarious too!

Bottom line: everything about this game was great (and the dark world was exceptional!) except for the monotonous re-playing the entire game because I missed a point-of-no-return within the first 5 minutes, and the absurdly precise inputs required to interact with things.
Pages: first prev 123456 last