Visual Novels - because insomnia builds character.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Crimsoness

Can't give up now! al|togther 2008 2/6~!
OMGWTFOTL's angst-y sister... Prepare to genuflect!




Graphics - Monochrome MS Paint drawings. Yeeep, the art style is simplistic and focuses on red, the color of rage and a natural fit with the story. The scheme lends to a very raw, angry feel especially since the entire game features a jittery effect. I don't think any other style would have worked as well. The translation team also went to great lengths to make localized text and graphics fit in with the game. 10/10

Music/SFX - There are two tracks of music, the title track and the in game track. I really do like both, the dramatic in-game track and the somewhat wistful piano opener. Because of the TIMER in the corner of the game, I had not noticed the loop and had to replay the game just to check the track count. Maybe a track for the true end would have been nice. 8/10

Story - Maybe, OMGWTFOTL was too zany for you? But the luxurious pacing of school sims makes you cry? This game strikes a happy medium. Never a dull moment but there is (some) reason in the flow and the protagonist's actions.While the timer makes it tempting to speed through without reading... it is worth it. The writing is polished and makes you keep at those many, many, replays it will take to get to the end. Even Itoko's rambling monologue keeps its self fresh. 10/10

System/Extras - This game runs on Windows only, however this is justified by the intense level of specialization used in the system. From the rage bar to the jitters to the font color and style, the system is carefully molded to the style of the art and the story. No extras but the system doesn't lend it's self to such, no event CG to collect and the music is easy to reach to replay if you desire. 5/5

Overall - This is a great piece though it is very difficult to clear. (If you are truely stuck I can email you some pointers.) The amount of thought and effort in this seemingly short and simple piece is amazing.

Score - 33/35 - 94% - Exceptional

5 comments:

yuki_tsumotteru said...

Thanks for this and the other al|together reviews - I'm planning to play all this year's releases regardless, but having another's insight is quite nice, and I was surprised that we seem to have similar opinions on so many games (August Snow was my favorite part of May Sky, too ;D).

Crimsonness is indeed a challenging yet fun little piece of insanity :D which I haven't managed to clear yet... but since you offered, would you mind sharing a few of these pointers; I do so want to SPLIT THE EARTH.

Sorry for posting it here, but your e-mail address seems to be eluding me.

Jyuichi said...

Ah, sorry I don't post my email ^^; I can always be PMed at V-N.net or through here though :D

So to beat Crimsoness (visit rot13.com to decode)

Svefg lbh arrq gb punetr gb 50 entr cbvagf (gur tnhtr jvyy fgbc) va gur pynff ebbz, gura oernx gur qbbe qbja sbe na hctenqr. Gura tb gb gur ebbs naq fyht gur cbbe thl (nabgure hctenqr). QB ABG ERPUNETR GUR ZRGRE! Urnq qbja gb gur neg ebbz naq punetr gur tnhtr hc gb UHEG yriry naq oernx gur fgnghr, lbh'er tnhtr jvyy znk bhg gb ERQ. Abj lbh pna tb naq oernx gur jbeyq va unys sebz gur svryq. Vs lbh eha bhg bs gvzr whfg chapu gur ubhetynff ng shyy cbjre :) Znxr fher gb ernq guebhtu Vgbxb'f zbabybthr ng fbzr cbvag (lbh unir gb oernx gur ubhetynff be lbh pna'g urne gur raq bs vg)

Have Fun :D

Anonymous said...

Just in case here's a kinda complete walkthrough... hopefully I haven't left out anything... (rot13.com)
(Cynpr) (Ahzore bs entr arrqrq)

---Pbzcyrgr fpranevb (Fnzr raqvat nf Ehfu fpranevb, whfg rirelguvat vf pbzcyrgr)

Jnvg hagvy 50 entr ng fgneg, fb gung lbh'yy raq hc jvgu rabhtu ntnvafg gur pebpbqvyr (Tlz)...

Qbbe 10
Ebbs 30
Tlz 75

Negebbz 20-29 (abg zber, abg yrff!) - Lbh fubhyq unir 255 znk. entr

Jnvg hagvy gur pbhagre tbrf qbja, gura Gvzr 255
Yvoenel - Whfg jnvg nobhg 3.2 zvahgrf...

Svryq 10, 20, 30, 75, 150

---Ehfu Fpranevb
Qbbe 10

Jnvg hagvy lbh unir ng yrnfg 50 entr...

Negebbz 20-29 (abg zber, abg yrff!) - Lbh fubhyq unir 150 znk. entr

Svryq 10, 20, 30, 75, 150

yuki_tsumotteru said...

Thanks both of you, those were extremely helpful! The "twists" in Crimsonness are well-hidden, I think, which made the ending that much more enjoyable - splatter and all ;)

Kriss said...

hi! Greetings from Chile (Yes, even this far te vn are known) This was a great game! in this insanely 3 minute adventure i couldn't stop laughing for 4 hours lol. This was too funny,maybe because something similar happened to me, but the result was a half-broken door and a bad score in a test :P. Anyways, great job from the creators, and, obviously, from the translators! Keep up the good work!