>>57710114Seems like I was right. Back to back lesbian melodrama in two different gyms. Well, this was interesting. Goes without saying that I'll be discussing spoilers.
Regardless of anything else you could say about the Amaria/Titania relationship in terms of its relevance to the broader narrative or the somewhat clumsy contrivances like the diary and the amnesia, it's an almost painfully believable portrayal of an abusive relationship with a BPD partner and the writing is generally better when it feels as real as this. The routine of 'I hate you I want to die you're going to make me do it no wait don't leave me I'm scum I'm miserable I need you more than anyone' would be acutely familiar to anyone with experience of such people. Her Trainer class being Jetsam is the cherry on top. She made me wince more than once, before and after the attempted murder.
I've noticed that the game's portrayals of social issues and urban problems can be a little awkward and on the nose but the writing improves when it's more personal. I felt similarly listening to Taka talk about his father issues, and I was sad to see him die. Probably the best executed death scene so far—Ame and Eclipse were too personally insignificant to the player.
I was right about there being a difficulty spike, although not unmanageable. Unbelievably, Shelly the Venomoth managed to be the clutch victor once more against Titania's Empoleon, and the battle was also a good opportunity to debut the Fennekin I picked up from the WTC. Amaria choosing the opposite format that you request was a neat integration of characterisation with gameplay, as was her running two different variations of a trolly Lapras, one of which compels you to murder-suicide. Didn't have a reliable Electric type so I beat her in singles by bringing in a Volt Tackle Pikachu as a pinch hitter for Deliverance.
>>57711324It was fantastic. Took me right back to playing old JRPGs as a kid. All the game's strengths and none of its weaknesses.
