izigame.me

Alright, look. So I've been reading the reviews and a whole lotta cats have been talking about the port and its issues for the most part, taking the rest of the game as a no-brainer or just something the reader's already familiar with. That's fine, and the port DOES have issues, but I figure a lot of people are also curious to know what this game actually is and whether or not it's actually even worth playing. Short answer: if you're a big fan of the Mary Skelter franchise, yes. Otherwise, probably not?

If you've never heard of Mary Skelter before, straight up just don't play this game yet. It's the conclusion to a years-long story arc. It does come with a full recap of the previous two game's storylines including an (unvoiced) cutscene collection but, it's an objectively inferior way of experiencing the previous games. So, get outta here, go play Nightmares or 2 first. Preferably 2. And *then* you can come back.

The game itself... It should be noted that this game was developed at the peak of the pandemic, and appears to have been made on somewhat short notice.

So, with that in mind I think what's important to realize about the game is that it feels like an ambitious project that was marred by budget constraints, time constraints, and a troubled development cycle.

You're gonna be surprised to find that this game is SUBSTANTIALLY more gameplay-oriented than it is story-oriented, much to my chagrin. It's got a whole lot of story at the beginning and at the end, but, the midsection of the game, where, you know, you'd expect quite a bit of development, is marked by hours and hours of entirely plotless gameplay. This is odd compared to the previous two games, where every dungeon has plenty of story. This is a huge disappointment because the story would really be improved with more development for characters, especially the newer characters and NPCs. A lot of the NPCs, returning and new, don't get to do much the whole game (despite getting hints and teases), and unlike a certain OP ANGEL, don't get an excuse for it.

In general, this game prioritizes exploring the newer characters much more than it values the older characters, and the thing is, it doesn't even actually have enough story content to develop all of its newer characters. As a game that sets itself up to be the grand finale of the entire franchise, the fact you don't get to see as much of the older characters that you got to know and love over 2 very lengthy games and mini-novels is really sad. Hameln especially gets the short end of the stick especially given just how great she was in 2. Jack's team gets the worst of this, as at least Toh and Clara's teams revolve around their new characters.

This game has fewer dungeons compared to 1 and 2, but they're also much longer. The four 'main dungeons' you spend the most time in are massive. I actually don't think this is a good thing. Exploration can get really tedious, especially with the new three party system. You're constantly swapping back and forth to get items and exchange them which can only be done in specific spots in the dungeon. The puzzles are not innovative for the standards of the franchise, either.

Towards the end of the game I was so tired of doing the dungeons that I started ignoring rooms that weren't part of the critical path, which is, like, uh, REALLY BAD for a dungeon crawling game, where, you know, the EXPLORATION is the MAIN POINT! This is not in any way helped by the fact that, even though they severely nerfed Blood Farming from 2, Blood Farming is STILL strong, and makes it so that going out of your way to find chests is just not very rewarding.

The gameplay balance is what you'd expect from the franchise. I actually think this game is a bit harder than 2 and 1 but, still pretty easy to cheese. EXP and Blood Crystal gain is very slow and getting an achievement required me to use an item duplication glitch which is again not the greatest look.

The ending of this game is... it's certainly conclusive, but, I think it's a bit abrupt, and, sadly, didn't feel all that satisfying to me. It's overall not terrible, but I questioned a lot of its logic.

This game has a lot of odd decisions like this that are only explainable if you presume that the game had development issues and ran out of money or time before they could properly finish it. This game has so, so many amazing ideas that just desperately needed more time to bake. There's a huge, shining gem underneath all the soil surrounding this game that they just... couldn't get to.

That being said, you may have noticed that this is a positive review, despite my criticism all this time. There's three major reasons why I recommend this game to longtime fans of the series, and one minor reason.

The minor reason is that the three party system is genuinely unique and interesting. I actually had fun doing the dungeons early on and if they had been better paced with story content, I would've loved it the whole way through. It's an unique idea with lots of unique applications, though it's a shame each individual party doesn't get more creative puzzles despite having fixed party members. The only real downsides are the fact that the parties are badly balanced due to the class distribution between them (FWIW if we had Warrior Hameln from 2 all of Clara's party's problems would be solved) and because transferring items between parties is a huge pain.

The three major reasons are Toh, Pyre and the bonus DLC content. Toh and Pyre have amazing arcs and a really good dynamic with their parties, and Toh alone does so much for the franchise as a whole that he's easily the best character introduced in this game. Really, their parties were designed for them. It's a shame I can't say that about Mary and Charlotte. My only real criticisms are that Toh has an ending to his arc that feels conclusive, but really unfair given what his character's been through (not really that big of a deal just a subjective opinion especially given this franchise's tendency to treat the characters softly) and that a certain character associated with Toh does not get to talk or do much, and in fact that does not even get a design, which is a bit disappointing given that we get a description of their appearance.

The bonus content was originally released as DLC for 2 and Finale but is bundled with the PC version for free. They're ""dating sim"" VNs with a school theme for the first one and a beach theme for the second one. It's great stuff and gives a lot of characterization and cute moments for all the old characters, especially TsuuHime. Charlotte, Mary and Pyre unfortunately get shafted, with no unique CGs. This alone made the game worth it for me.

So, if you absolutely LOVED 2 and 1, then you will get some closure in this game and I still think you'll enjoy yourself even if it's an inferior experience to the first two games. If you only just kinda enjoyed them or didn't like them, this game will not fix the issues they had, in fact it'll make them worse. Unless you were just there for the dungeon crawling gameplay. Then enjoy yourself I guess. You weirdo. Why not just play Etrian Odyssey or something?

P.S. I. Hameln's old JP voice actress retired, so they got a new one for her this game. It took some getting used to, but she does her best and it shows. As always, the English dub is not complete, so I do not recommend using it. And if you're a weeb, - and let's be honest, look at you - you'd probably gravitate towards the JP dub anyways.

P.S. II. Due to Sony's newer content guidelines, this game lacks the purge minigame and censors some of the Blood Skelter designs (though not all for whatever reason). Not a huge loss for me, but if fanservice is one of your main angles of enjoyment for this franchise, keep that in mind.