[h1] 9.5/10 Love, Courage, and Hope: A Romantic Floral Picture Book Drawn with Clair Obscur - 愛與勇氣與希望，用光與影繪製的一本浪漫的花繪本 [/h1]
"Noctuary" is developed by Gratesca Studio in Chengdu, China, and is a story-rich title following "Far Away".
The game's genre is somewhat hard to pin down. It has the action system and characteristics of a typical RPG, the experience of a SHMUP, and also incorporates Touhou Project / SLG danmaku dodging. ([u]It has difficulty settings.[/u])
[h2]Story[/h2]
In terms of story, the game features a fictional setting with a rather unique worldview and the concept of illuminators.
Whether during gameplay or after finishing it, I could see traces or elements of many past masterpieces in the script design, character dialogue, and even the gameplay.
In both the overt and covert design and dialogue, many works are referenced or parodied, such as "Evangelion," "Monster Hunter," "Touhou Project," "Mobile Suit Gundam," and even Lu Xun's "My Old Home"/"Hometown"............
Although many comments mention that the first few chapters are quite boring, there are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand people's eyes. Personally, I felt it was okay.
And I think these chapters are a necessary part of expanding the worldview and fleshing out the characters.
Instead, I got stuck for quite a while in the later battles against [spoiler]Lumina Fullmoon[/spoiler] and [spoiler]Noxistasia Shade[/spoiler].......
And as the story moves into the mid-to-late game, the plot becomes clever and coherent, the script design is tightly logical and well-structured, and it is full of surprising twists and turns.
After finishing the game, the ending music stayed with me for a long time, and I doubt I will be able to forget this game for a long time to come.
After getting all achievements and looking back at the story, I think:
This is a romantic story that teaches you to clearly see [spoiler]the bitterness of reality[/spoiler] and [spoiler]the beauty of the virtual[/spoiler], and then still face the hardships and difficulties of [spoiler]life[/spoiler] with a passionate heart.
If you are under great pressure and heartbroken, you might as well play this game and check out the 8 different endings.
[h2]Action System[/h2]
The action system is relatively simple. Overall, it features switching between two characters, and each character has three different combat styles.
Although the game has difficulty settings, the combat experience is honestly not that great.
The only two styles with a bit of interactivity and a higher skill ceiling are Alina's Swiftness style and Fancia's combo style. If you time your rhythm well, you can deal damage while using invincibility frames to dodge.
[h2]OST[/h2]
The OST is excellent, and the menu BGM "Sweven" and the BGM "Nystagmus" from the battle against Kira Crimson both left a deep impression on me.
The naming of the tracks is also very thoughtful. For example, "Nystagmus" is a medical term referring to the involuntary, rhythmic oscillation or jerking of the eyes. The title clearly borrows this medical term to suggest the sense of rhythm, instability, or high-speed movement in the battle against Kira Crimson, echoing the tense atmosphere of the fight.
There is also the battle BGM for Mildia Dream, "Palinopsia," another medical term. It means visual perseveration, where a visual image persists abnormally in the field of vision after the stimulus [spoiler]disappears[/spoiler]. And this [spoiler]perfectly matches the story of the important character Mildia Dream[/spoiler].
Finally, there is the battle BGM for Noxistasia Shade, "Anopsia," which means the loss or absence of visual ability, perhaps a metaphor for [spoiler]Noxistasia Shade's shortsightedness in the story[/spoiler].
These BGM tracks all borrow ophthalmological or neurological medical terms to name the music, very precisely hitting the personal experiences of the characters, the narrative themes, and the battle rhythm.
In addition, "Sweven" has 5 different instrumental versions. In the game's menu, clicking on "Gallery" will play the guitar version of "Sweven"; clicking on "Archives" will play the string version; clicking on "Settings" will play the woodwind version.........
And it transitions seamlessly into the current melody without interrupting playback.
I really love Gratesca Studio's little thoughtful touches like this!
[h2]Details[/h2]
As mentioned earlier, many works are referenced openly or covertly, which shows that the dev team has diverse backgrounds and covers a wide range of fields.
There's also the seamless transition of OST melodies.
Noctuary is also one of the few games with Cantonese voice acting support, and its predecessor "Far Away" also has Cantonese voice acting.
The side quest details are also full of detail. The dev team not only assigned each character a corresponding flower in the game, but also described the flower's morphological characteristics, growth habits, distribution range, and uses. On the surface, this enriches the worldview; underneath, it fleshes out each character's personality.....
Moreover, the game is full of small incidental details. For example, the menu is the desk in Fancia's room in the Rose Garden. Pulling the switch of the small desk lamp will "exit" the game.........
[h2]Endings[/h2]
There are three endings that require special defeat conditions to unlock:
1.In Chapter 3, the [spoiler]"Mildia Dream"[/spoiler] quest, lose to [spoiler]"Mildia Dream"[/spoiler] in final test to unlock the [spoiler]"Oblivion is the best remedy (Failed to pass Mildia's final test.)"[/spoiler] achievement.
2.In Chapter 3, the [spoiler]"End of Dream"[/spoiler] quest, lose to the second phase of [spoiler]"Lumina Fullmoon"[/spoiler] in battle to unlock the [spoiler]"Loop"[/spoiler] achievement.
2.In Chapter 6, the [spoiler]"Messenger of Dream"[/spoiler] quest, when the savior [spoiler]"The Outsider"[/spoiler] enters its second phase, get sucked into a black hole and be defeated to unlock the [spoiler]"Request from a thousand years ago (Noxistasia Shade realized her plan.)"[/spoiler] achievement.
Apart from these, there are the manually chosen endings:
4.In the final chapter, the [spoiler]"Resurrection"[/spoiler] quest, choose [spoiler]"I choose the dream"[/spoiler], then win the battle against [spoiler]"Alina Nightsong"[/spoiler] to unlock the [spoiler]"Birds in the cage, flowers in the mirror (Became the dominator of Dreamland.)"[/spoiler] achievement.
5.In the final chapter, the [spoiler]"Resurrection"[/spoiler] quest, choose [spoiler]"I choose reality"[/spoiler], then lose the battle against [spoiler]"Fancia Dream"[/spoiler] to unlock the [spoiler]"So close, so distant (Became the slave of Dreamland.)"[/spoiler] achievement.
6.In the final chapter, the [spoiler]"Messenger of Dream"[/spoiler] quest, choose [spoiler]"Let Inlixa continue to sleep here."[/spoiler] to unlock the [spoiler]"Farewell and proceed (I'm sorry, the savior never existed)"[/spoiler] achievement.
7.In the final chapter, the [spoiler]"Messenger of Dream"[/spoiler] quest, choose [spoiler]"I'll inherit Inlixa's power."[/spoiler] to unlock the [spoiler]"Being the deity (I made it..Ali...Alina..)"[/spoiler] achievement.
8.In the final chapter, the [spoiler]"Messenger of Dream"[/spoiler] quest, choose [spoiler]"Perhaps, there is another path to choose. (Acquire all Blessings to unlock 34/34)"[/spoiler] to unlock the [spoiler]"Towards the future... (If everyone gives away a tiny bit of light.)"[/spoiler] achievement. True End
With that, the eight endings mentioned by yuya have all been covered.
[h2]Last[/h2]
I total recommend Noctuary!
The rating and thoughts are purely personal.
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