PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse

[h2]这就是我们年度必吃榜恋爱轻喜剧好吧[/h2] 值得游玩的民俗怪谈向视觉小说，不过比起前作本所，这一部几乎没有恐怖桥段[strike]（谁懂最恐怖的是绕背突脸的萌萌阿里呢）[/strike]浮世绘画风和贴合剧情的配乐设计让《灵视异闻》系列拥有了独树一帜的标签，meta元素也为剧情收束提供了完美的驱动，因此只要不是故事埋雷，续作的质量应该会很稳定的产出。[b][i]（简直就是夏日重现代餐）[/i][/b] [h3]剧情方面：[/h3] [list] [*]相比前作短线叙事，本作加入了更多的文本量，但是巡礼等主线章节生硬植入的科普大幅拖慢了故事节奏。感兴趣的玩家会专门搜索背景故事，不感兴趣的只会感到无聊，这部分内容倒还不如加入资料库或是减少篇幅描写。 [*]徒手捕捞爽，以为只是收集探索没想到水下还挺热闹（） [*]依旧震撼开场，两部作品出logo的小巧思都让我起鸡皮疙瘩。本作真结局总算没有烂尾，meta部分[spoiler]谜底藏谜面的设计非常优秀。[/spoiler] [*]推理部分顺畅，结合资料提示很少遇到卡关，插叙的设计让玩家一次次推翻自己的猜想重新推导，这样的体验过程很有成就感。 [*]资料里的怪谈传说暗示了故事明暗线走向，全结局回头再看也会有新的感触。 [/list] [h3]角色方面：[/h3] [list] [*]核心人物外的可操作角色描写过于简略，尤其太太这样富有个人魅力的角色（背景故事够再出一部了），可以结合主题进行更多描写。这点在本作感情线上的体现也很明显，很容易感到突兀。（配平文学发力了）[spoiler]戏的感情线真的点睛之笔，重女百合be有力气。（但是似和戏怎么连相遇立绘都没啊！！）[/spoiler] [*]不良鸟结局比反派燃有懂得吗[spoiler]平知重真的最拉BOSS，800年0成就最后还在给别人当狗，死前忙了半天结果为了殉情。（孩子们看看你阿布叔叔的反例）[/spoiler] [*]优秀的人物立绘使我全程颅内配音，男女主瑟茜冷脸萌吐槽役好感upup+（se什么时候把配音端上来啊啊）爽吃[spoiler]超绝无反水主角团[/spoiler]，你们四个把日子过好比什么都重要。 [*][spoiler]长生不老男孩和长生不老女孩的美丽爱情故事是对的，如果有所向往的强烈愿望，长生不老也可以视作祝福。（日剧核心价值观）[/spoiler] [*]司纱和阿蓟[spoiler]感情线铺垫过少，表白时机也太晚，可能原剧本根本没打算写，怀疑是为了配平硬组cp。[/spoiler] [*]阿布瑟茜这样的组合摩多摩多！[spoiler]（没有喜欢看啥子的意思[/spoiler] [/list] 《灵视异闻》已经更新到了File38，那有生之年是不是可以更到File100（），se快点出新作，我已经很久没有听到兴家彰吾一穿六的故事了。 [h3]附录：关于《伊势物语》对故事主旨的影响（可跳过）[/h3] [code]君曾来此否，我往亦无凭； 茫茫如梦境，似寐亦如醒。 ——《伊势物语》第六十九段「狩使」[/code] 《伊势人鱼物语》开篇最值得注意的地方，是我们在故事开始前先见到的这段引言。原典描写奉命前往伊势的男子与斋宫之间的一次秘密相会。两人彼此有意，却受到身份、礼法与现实的阻隔；好不容易在深夜相见，却又在真正倾诉之前分别。临别时，女子以「缘浅」起歌，男子则续以「逢坂」回应： [code]“また逢坂の関は越えなむ” （我一定还会越过逢坂关，再与你相逢。）[/code] 这就像一种无法实现的“禁忌之恋”：相爱的人明明已经相遇，却依然无法按照寻常的方式相守。 回过头来再看，是不是有些熟悉？这正是《伊势人鱼物语》不断重复、又不断变形的情感命题。 [spoiler]水口似与戏之间，是人与人鱼、有限生命与漫长生命之间无法轻易跨越的隔阂。似的生命以另一种方式延续；一段无法走到终点的感情，最终成为另一段人生继续前进的理由。（染河梓对人鱼的向往也符合禁忌之恋，在这里不展开讨论） 平知重与里，则呈现了另一种更加复杂的可能。当一个人的生命中只剩下复仇，爱也可能逐渐从“想与你相守”变成“必须得到你”。平知重漫长岁月中的执念，使这份感情早已变质，只剩下抢夺、占有与牺牲。[/spoiler] [spoiler]而勇佐与里，终于给出了与前两者不同的答案。 他们面对的同样是一道无法轻易跨越的关：里已经走到漫长生命的终点，而勇佐却刚刚踏上这条道路。可当里真正产生“还不想死”的愿望时，她想要留下来的理由已不再是长生本身，而是想继续与勇佐一起生活。 于是，游戏完成了一次极其漂亮的反转。玩家可以主动选择“再次被诅咒”，“长生不老”这个原本被作品不断强调为“诅咒”的东西，最终第一次变成了两个人共同选择承担的未来。[/spoiler] 有意思的是，《伊势物语》并没有只在开场出现。本作资料库内容亦提供了第二十三段（筒井筒），第九十五段（牵牛星）。这三段故事的主题，始终围绕着“用至真之情打破现实壁垒”这一核心展开。无论是青梅竹马的深厚羁绊、禁忌之恋的决绝勇气，还是跨越阶级鸿沟的渴望，真挚的表露和坚定的选择才是爱这种感情本来的模样。当你所收获的一切如你将要失去的一切那样多，那么，你就能够明白，为什么爱可以复杂到让人感到畏惧，却也让人感到不舍。这正是本作最动人的地方。

跟前作比起来前期很慢热，大概多了几个钟才进入正题，不过依旧是高开低走，后期比较平淡，甚至结局依旧是日本人最爱的配平文学，梦回人狼村。。确实没太懂一个活了八百年的怎么莫名其妙毫无征兆地就跟17岁的人谈上恋爱，以及另个喜欢了很久一个配角男的女生一晚上就又要答应另一个男生的交往请求了。立本人你们觉得这好磕吗。

整体依然不错，玩法上基本保留了前作的特色，剧情比前作平淡和轻松，叙事结构成熟了很多，如果说前作算虎头蛇尾，这部就是中规中矩的包饺子，毕竟主题是灵异和诅咒，还是希望续作在剧情和压抑惊悚氛围上再突破一些吧。

如果是因为对前作有好感才来玩的本作，建议别抱太大希望，和前作差的不是一星半点。 本作无论悬疑还是推理成分，都比较弱，谜题少暂且不论，推理部分亮点极少，当然也相对容易。最后真结局玩了波meta，算是为数不多的优点。 游戏剧情也是高开低走，一开始又是[spoiler]大凶杀又是死者复生[/spoiler]搞的很惊悚似的，然后剧情质量就一路往下掉，越看到后面越觉得不过如此，到最后说什么[spoiler]两人老早就爱上了，然后还故意瞒着玩家爱了那么久[/spoiler]真是一把狗血糊了一脸。而且剧情转折也很少。当然由于确实有一定悬疑成分，倒不至于玩不下去，只不过剧情没那么吸引人而已。而且游戏全程充斥着大量无意义、拖时间的对话，就那么一个小岛来来回回转来转去，场景可以说是相当偷工减料了。 游戏剧情更是中二的一比，反派拥有那么强大的[spoiler]长生不老和隔空杀人能力[/spoiler]居然只是为了[spoiler]复兴几百年前的衰败家族，这尼玛，慕容复是吧[/spoiler]？ 本质就是个伊势文化宣传游戏。 游戏中花了大量篇幅去描写、介绍和主线无关的伊势文化，连游戏标题都带着伊势两个字，什么用意简直一目了然。而且有一个很奇怪的细节，游戏日文中文标题都有伊势这个地名，但是英文却没有，这是精准定位目标人群了？知道谁会去伊势旅游是吧？ 游戏中的捕捞小游戏，操作别扭的令人发指，居然还不能用键盘前进/后退，时间短水产又随机，纯拼脸。而且不玩还不行，要不然过不了真结局。我可真是服了。 游戏为数不多的亮点之二，是全成就比较容易，毕竟是很明显的低成本游戏，这个体量再不容易全成就，也说不过去，是吧？ 我个人认为本作还是可以入，但最好价格打骨折后入，要不然性价比太低。

Welp, the game is a step up in some aspects and a step down in others. In short, I found the mystery to be more complex and engaging overall. At the same time, it's actually more straightforward once you understand two key details. The characters have much better chemistry, and they bounce off each other more naturally. Gameplay-wise, it's less exciting than the first game, but the music is still top-notch. Main improvements (in my opinion): 1) Character writing 2) Mystery 3) Atmosphere and the Japanese inspiration 4) Locations have much more variety 5) Diversity in character designs About the same quality: 1) Music & art 2) Pacing 3) The overall plot Things that got a little worse: 1)The mechanic of turning your view is severely underutilized. 2)The romance subplot is sweet, but it was introduced way too late. 3)Some characters are kind of just... there. They don't really have their own unique contribution to the story. Personal grievances: 1)The main mechanic of the game is Recollection, and it's cool, but most of the really important plot points happen before the main events and it's not as engaging 2)I really missed the Storyteller questions. There's one, but it's easy and comes pretty late. 3)I love Avi, but his section is basically one big lore dump. 4) Spoilers: I really don't like the reason why we ultimately succeed. The vision from the future, followed by everything conveniently falling into place, feels like plot armor or a miracle solution. I understand why they went with it, but I think it could've been handled in a more interesting way. Overall, I liked the game a lot despite its flaws. It's a great visual novel, but holy moly, it has absolutely zero marketing. Seriously, why?

What a delight it is that this game exists at all. I loved the first Paranormasight, but I figured that it would be a one-off, consigned to obscurity in the depths of Square Enix's catalogue. To get a sequel is a miracle, and to get a sequel that's almost as good as the first is a huge bonus. Mermaid's Curse isn't quite the home run that Honjo was for me, but it's also not trying to recreate the exact elements that made Honjo so great, and there's a ton of charm to be found in Mermaid's Curse on its own merits as a result. Gameplay-wise, Mermaid's Curse is pretty much the same point-and-click style as Honjo, including the meta narrative elements and gameplay curiosities that Honjo had. Some of the late-game puzzles require you to stretch your brain in ways that I don't think are especially intuitive, but they're satisfying to see play out once you do stumble onto the answer, so it kind of makes up for the obfuscation. The diving minigame is also quite addictive, with a gameplay loop and progression system that really makes you feed into it way longer than you really need to. It was so fun that I found myself disappointed when I fully cleared it, wishing there was more, but I suppose that's what the rest of the game is for, right? On the story, to keep things vague, Mermaid's Curse is tonally very different from Honjo. The first game is dark and horror-fueled even with its frequent moments of levity - Mermaid's Curse, by contrast, keeps its average tone much lighter, giving the vibe of a summer adventure that turns out to be much deeper than one would anticipate from the way it starts. That's not to say the story has no weight - it takes its lore seriously, and there are substantial elements of tragedy that are as affecting as anything in Honjo. Ultimately, Mermaid's Curse just takes a different approach to reaching its emotional core than Honjo did, and that's something I can appreciate, because I adore the story of this game just as much as I did Honjo. The narrative, the characters, the lore...it's all fantastic, as I've come to expect from this dev team. It's just different, that's all. Really, I'm just delighted to get another Paranormasight game. The first one stuck with me for months and months after I finished it, and Mermaid's Curse has lingered similarly. Yeah, there's still no voice acting, and yeah, the game relies almost entirely on camera movement to convey dynamism in its otherwise static scenes, but I don't give a ♥♥♥♥ about any of that. I play the Paranormasight games for the stories they tell, and both of these games are unqualified triumphs in that regard. Play them. You won't regret it.

Does one of the coolest things I've ever seen a game do, story is great but I'm not positive everyone will vibe with it. [spoiler] The main romance was introduced way too late but I thought it was sweet, though Yuza had way more chemistry with Azami tbh. [/spoiler] Avi top 10 characters ever

其实在刚发售那会儿看到过一些玩家评价，抱着对于那部分被吐槽较多的方面降低期待的想法开始了游戏……出乎意料地比较满意，甚至其实不觉得那些方面有那样的…不尽如人意。 剧情上较多的引入了日本的志怪文化——不如说日本好像在这方面做得尤其好，比较火的几部视觉小说或多或少都有民俗、传说、志怪方面的元素结合。虽然我对这方面不是很感兴趣，读资料时也多是一目十行，好在囫囵理解个大概也可以完全搞懂剧情真是太好了。各种倒叙和插叙的情节给了游戏更高的悬疑性，回想起了之前打十三机兵时的快乐。 meta元素融合地一如既往的好， [spoiler]戏真的超——级大美女，我一直在忍不住地截图T T，BGM暂停后的回眸一笑真的绝了，世人为什么追逐人鱼我自有决断。[/spoiler] 老实说这一代人设比上代戳我，永远喜欢这种沉稳的主角，知道自己想干什么，需要干什么。男女主感情线基本是在剧情最后才呈现给玩家，可能会导致一些人觉得莫名其妙……其实也能够理解，只不过于我而言还是非常能接受+好磕的。我不过也是和大众一样、被他们隐瞒欺骗过去的一方啦。[spoiler]警视厅的大姐姐和助手我也非常喜欢，主角的两个发小更是给力到最后一刻，很少见到这样互相信任到完全不拖泥带水的主角团…上次还是夏日重现。[/spoiler] 没有像一代开头那样比较恐怖的回头突脸情节，整体偏向氛围恐怖。 但不得不说反派塑造还是太扣分了——！[spoiler]这代全部的危机全是反派想一出是一出后的副产物，反派自己一事无成不说还把事情搞得乱七八糟。八百岁的人了，手上人命成百上千的，抢个盒子抢不过普通独居民女；混了这么多年还得在龙头老大底下当小弟，干到最后快死了眼见没希望了，把老大一嘎拿平民的命威胁女人跟他一起去死；唯一的贡献就是把所有情报打包送到男女主面前后被当成路边一条抓获。这是人啊，这纯废物啊。 搞得全程都是好人和好人之间互相不信任和斗心眼，就像柯南离踢死组织之间就差个红方坐一块儿喝个茶。[/spoiler] 总之——整个体验下来还是一部非常优秀的作品！全故事流程大约在十小时出头，全成就非常便利，不良鸟位置也比一代好找多了。（叹息

the 800 year old immortal in me sees the 800 year old immortal in you