Review of D.C. II ~Da Capo II~
| Subject | D.C. II ~Da Capo II~ Da Capo 2 - Download Edition |
| By | Helpfulness: 0 Vote: 8waffletown654 on 2022-09-13 |
| Review | I played the first Da Capo right at the outset of my journey into the VN medium, and I think my experience suffered slightly for it. However, even if I had more experience with VNs and had gained a better appreciation of VN tropes and conventions, I still think Da Capo wouldn't have been far above average in my opinion. It was a good VN, but that's all it was. Da Capo II was, at the very least, more than that. To begin, I could probably concisely sum up my opinion on DC2 as "everything DC1 did but better." The balancing of supernatural themes with normal slice-of-life was more interesting. The character drama was actually relatable. And on that note, the protagonist was much better than the first game's, and I found his perspective much easier to follow. I'll do some pros and cons like I did for the first game. Pros: -Sound design and soundtrack. The voices and menu noises? Love 'em. I could use this game's sound mode as study music or for anything else, really. -Character art. I already liked DC1's character art, which in hindsight is SUPER dated. DC2 has a lot of the same charm but isn't so rough around the edges. I think DC3 sacrificed a lot of that charm, but maybe that's just nitpicking. -The best routes are the first routes. DC1 made you play EVERY OTHER ROUTE to get the cute robot girl romance. The drama and supernatural elements in the first four available routes are more interesting (imo) than even the best routes in DC1. -Overall better handling of the same character tropes and plotlines as DC1. I liked Yume a lot, but Otome and Yume are just better. DC1's version of Sakura always weirded me out, not because she's a loli, but just the way she acted. DC2 fixed that. Any dialogue with Amakase and Anzu is an absolute treat. Koko and Nanaka's friendship and drama are more believable than any scenario in DC1. -Best iteration of Suginami. He's incredible. Cons: -This is specific to the English localized version, and a complaint it shares with DC1: too many great characters don't get routes in the base game. What we got is great, but the DC universe is clearly set up for a plethora of fandiscs, and we haven't gotten any of them in translation. -The converse of the pro: routes get less gripping as you go. Otome and Yume are super cute and I was very excited to romance them in their unlockable routes, but I was put off by their routes being steeped in the Da Capo brand of supernatural pseudo-tragedy. -What you see is what you get... A bit too late. By that I mean that the conflict in each route was surprising to me when I realized what it was going to be... And after that point, proceeded to stale pretty quickly. Not to say I didn't like the endings or direction any route went, but they turned predictable after their direction was revealed. |
| 0 points |