Is Utawarerumono Mask of Truth Worth It?

[@mountainmgtow5421]

Thank you for this honest review. It helped me make my decision to not get into this series. Please everyone, don't be offended by that. This series just isn't for me and I wanted to be sure.

[@Lytane]

You are welcome! I'm really glad that I could help you figure out that this wasn't for you. Seeing a comment like this makes it worth while to make these silly little videos. And I'm not offended I hope you do find a series that you do like instead

[@jrpgaddict7726]

Ty

[@InfiniteInspirationInc]

Really surprised your channel doesn't have more views! Your reviews have been great and I love your content. Thinking of giving the two Mask games a try. I loved Zero Escape and Danganronpa and have been itching for another Visual Novel. Think this will scratch that itch?

[@Lytane]

KZbin is a big place but I am humbled by your response! Thank you so much!!!! =D I got into VN through Zero Escape as well but this is VERY different from those two games. For one the gameplay is strategy RPG. The story is much more about the slice of life sections, like the free time in Danganronpa. So the story can get really slow but the characters are always pretty good. There is also a game before this, Prelude to the Fallen, which is good and parts of the story are brought up in the two mask games but you could watch the anime instead of playing the game if you wanted to. In the end I would say give it a go. Just keep in mind the tone is more light hearted and comical, the plot is slower and the gameplay is different. And if you make it to the end of Deception the cliffhanger is SOOOOO good you'll want to pop in Truth straight away! Let me know what you think of the game in the future if you do decide to play it!!

[@InfiniteInspirationInc]

@@Lytane Thanks for the quick response! I thought about it some after and was curious if you might have any specific recommendations for me outside of these games as well. I definitely love mystery games and interesting world building most in a story (this is why I gravitate towards science fiction, and tend to fall asleep during slice of life type games). I've played the following games, and have the scores I gave them after each. Any suggestions based off this list of some I might like? I really appreciate your input and taste. Zero Escape Trilogy (10/10) Ever17 and Remember11 (10/10) Danganronpa Trilogy (9/10) Root Double (9/10) Umineko When They Cry (9/10) The Great Ace Attorney 1&2 (8/10) Professor Layton Trilogy 1 (8/10) Ace Attorney Trilogy 1 (8/10) Fate Trilogy (8/10) Ghost Trick (8/10) Cartagra + Kara No Shoujo (8/10) AI The Somnium Files (7/10) Ace Attorney Investigations (7/10) Steins Gate + 0 (7/10) 428 Shibuya Scramble (7/10) Prof Layton vs Ace Attorney (7/10) Hotel Dusk + Last Window (7/10) Ace Attorney Trilogy 2 (6/10) Professor Layton Trilogy 2 (6/10) Time Travellers (5/10) Psycho Pass: Mand. Happ. (4/10) Time Hollow (4/10) G Senjou No Maou (3/10) Jake Hunter (3/10) Trace Memory (3/10) Once again, appreciate your input!

[@Lytane]

No worries! The Utawarerumono series has some sci fi elements but it sort of feels more fantasy and like I said a LOT is slice of life in the first two games. The third has less slice of life though still character driven but if you are unsure about the series I'd say start with Deception and see if it tickles your fancy. Oh damn that is an impressive list! There are many on there that I would love to play but haven't gotten around to yet like Root Double and Hotel Dusk. And a few I have played that I would rate similarly like Psycho Pass (which the game IS better if you watch the anime first but only slightly!) In terms of recommendations that's a tough one thanks to that list. Hmmm From what I've played that you haven't? The only one is Death End Re;Quest which was alright like 5.5/10 with a slightly fun battle system between the story. It does have a lot of mystery to it so maybe? Otherwise I'd might recommend other games in the Sci;Adv series like Chaos;Noah which is coming to the switch in English for the first time soon. As it's the same people that made Steins;Gate it's said to be good. Robotics;Notes is also supposed to be good but draws heavily on the Chaos series so it's not the best to start there. Another I haven't played but is supposed to be great is 13 Sentinels (and is next on my VN play list!) which has more gameplay than most VN but it might work for you. Lastly I think there's another Uchikoshi game called Never 7 in the same or similar series to ever17 I just started an indie VN called The Sekimeiya which has 8 (or possibly 9) people trapped in a building full of strange things. I'm about 2 hours in and it's interesting. Supposed to be very high with the mysteries but no voice acting as it's a tiny game. Let me know what you end up playing!

[@InfiniteInspirationInc]

@@Lytane Thanks again for the quick reply! If you liked Zero Escape, I'd highly recommend Root Double. I find it to be one of my favorite titles and surprised it flies under the radar of so many. It's suspenseful and extremely well paced, especially considering it's length. In regards to the Psycho Pass game, I gave it a try because I loved the anime! It definitely added to the world, but I think it was a missed opportunity honestly, in that it didn't really do anything that the anime didn't. I think the game world could've been a great chance for them to introduce interactivity that the anime didn't have. Oh well. I've heard of Death End Re;quest, and have given some thought to trying it, maybe I'll give that one another look! I did like Steins;Gate (actually preferred 0 to the first), but got bored when I had to play through all the different female character routes to get to the end. I don't mind romance options in a game, but I'd prefer to just go with my favorite or the main girl. Forcing me to pursue 5+ women just to see the true ending feels sluggish and greatly detracts. Do the Chaos and Robotics series do this at all? I hear there are some connections between the games, but if I don't want to risk getting bored again, which should I start with? I gave Never7 a try because of Uchikoshi, but after playing a couple hours and reading more online, it being his first title, he hadn't really developed into the mad genius writer we know and love today. All three games in the series don't really have any bearing on one another, and I definitely would say skip the first. I actually think Remember11 is slightly better than Zero Escape in its vision, although the ZE series has a more satisfying and cohesive story and conclusion. I'd definitely recommend giving Remember11 a try. It's only about 25 hours and probably the most masterful piece of storytelling I've ever seen in any media, period. Sekimeiya sounds like its gotten some inspiration from ZE, I'll give it a look! As for gameplay, I actually prefer games with another element. That's why ZE, Ace Attorney, and Professor Layton have me coming back again and again. They're puzzles are just as fun as the story. Are you on Discord by chance? Would love to connect and chat more, and don't want to fill up your comments section with a back and forth xD

[@Lytane]

No worries, to start I DO have a discord, it should be in the description of all of my videos. It's a quiet place though (I don't have a talkative community sadly) but if you join and talk I'll talk right back hahaha Root and then Root Double have been on my list for a while but I don't get a whole lot of time to play game right now with uni, work and a newborn so it might be a while before I finally tackle it. Oh man the first season of Psycho pass is SOOOOO GOOOOODDDDDD!!! Then it's just alright hahaha. The one kinda bad (or good) thing about Death End is it has a lot of fan service in it, my wife wasn't a fan lol Wow I'm surprised you liked 0 over the OG, not many people would claim that. I get that you don't like the romance of the other characters but I saw it as them liking Okarin more than him reciprocating UNTIL you chose to keep their D-Mails which leads to those alternate endings. Sure you focus on those characters for a while but the ultimate goal is either Mayuri or Kirusu. I have not played the other Sci;Adv games yet. I was going to play Robotics near the end of last year until I heard how much they use Chaos concepts to explain things so it's harder to jump right into it. So I'll wait until the Chaos games come out to switch later this year. So I can't help out, sorry! Yes it does in fact draw inspiration from ZE. It's what drew me to the title in the first place, even backed it on Kickstarter (and I'm glad I did, the game is a little expensive lol) I too prefer the adventure novel style as well. Straight VN can be great but I like playing a game as well

[@dragonboyexz]

My favorite personality wise is Maroro a friend we all would like around. Visually favorite is Jachdwalt embody that laid back swordman persona very well.

[@Lytane]

Maroro is such a great friend! Drinks a little too much but is always there for the people that he cares about, I think we could all do with more friends like that. I love Jachdwalt's design as well and like you said, just by looking at him you can guess who he is and his personality.

[@Naryoril]

My favorite character... that's a hard one, because there are so many great characters in the story... I love Haku, Kuon and Atuy, but my favorite is Rulutieh. I always like the characters who deeply care for others, who seem shy and weak on the outside, but have a really strong heart.

[@Lytane]

I know how you feel so many characters are great for different reasons it’s hard to narrow it down! I love Rulutieh in the second game, after she gets over her shock, and starts becoming a stronger woman. Standing up for her friends, making hard choices but all while she deeply cares about everyone and wants the best for everyone. Plus she brings Cocopo and I love that bird hahahaha

[@justsomeguywithachinmustac5010]

Mine is Oshtor no doubt.

[@aisukururimu7515]

After Mask of Truth, Anju's definitely my favourite character hands down. Although granted, I found her a bit... hard to deal with back in Mask of Deception, but Mask of Truth? Goddamn... she grew on me big time! From an annoying spoiled little princess, into an actually wise and admirable ruler of Yamato. Ngl, I even found myself cheering on her speeches too at times, Mask of Truth's Anju is really something else for me...

[@Lytane]

Her arc is good, from a silly spoiled girl to leader of a nation and most of that has to do with the Haku and Oshtor (and Kuon for different reasons) So I can easily see why she would be your favourite! Plus I love when her and Kuon fight, that scene was so good and shows both the person she was and who she is destined to become in an action packed scene.

[@jiminatorx]

Nekone, such a great tragic character.

[@Lytane]

I agree, in this game. In Deception I really didn't like her lol but she did grow on me in this

[@44milosLP]

I got pass the recap and I might as well end it there. That stupid capital really ruined whole series for me, ever since then I could care less. Even when somebody died it really didn't do anything for me and if I don't care about characters then what's the point in continuing. It's sad that I had to end it on such bad note, but I guess not everything is for everybody.

[@Lytane]

That is a fair point, and you should not force yourself to continue something if you don't enjoy it. The fact that you gave it a good try is all that I would have asked for. What about the capital ruined the whole series for you? When I played through this series, I was struggling a little bit in the first game as the story didn't feel like it was going anywhere and then the second game has so much slice of life that I didn't think there would be much of a plot and I tend to love more plot heavy games. Still, in the end I did enjoy them but you are right, they aren't for every body