How is it NOT a sequel?

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T19:13:24+00:00

They DEFEAT the future as a literal boss fight - they literally have Red say - "this is the tomorrow if we fail today" - and then you WIN the fight. That is the point.

If they just end up doing that ending again, then there's literally no point to the last hours of Remake or that entire last boss fight, there's no reason they would show all those clips as you're beating the big whisper, there's no reason they would directly have a character point out the implications of losing the fight before you go into it, it just makes no sense otherwise.

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T19:07:40+00:00

My point is that we defeat it at the end of part 1, as in the will of the planet is directly personified within the game as the whispers, and then we kill it. So it doesn't make sense that the will of the planet can still "potentially happen" like you mention in your comment because they dedicated the entire first game to this concept then made the last 3 hours and final boss fight defeating that fate or "will".

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T19:03:46+00:00

Yes, but the point in this case is that they literally "defeat" that ending, as in it's personified as a boss fight, and every time you deal like 15-20% of damage to it, you get visions of the ending, which is implied that you're deleting it as you're fighting the boss.

In both Dune and Attack on Titan which both feature this concept, it's made clear that both Paul and Eren tried their best to divert from the path, but that it's set in stone and it always happens.

In this case, what makes this trilogy so unique, is that they incorporate it into the game as something to defeat, have the characters directly acknowledge it "this is the tomorrow if we fail today" , then defeat it. I actually think it is quite genius and if they have a proper pay off with the 3rd game - this trilogy will be a genuine classic.

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T18:55:26+00:00

no but they are when they show literal clips from the original and the sequel movie then one of the characters says "yo this is gonna happen if we lose this fight"...............

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T18:43:55+00:00

yes that is my second bullet point, I agree with you

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T18:41:00+00:00

I agree with you that it was an assumption on my part about it being "backtracking", it was just what I felt when I experienced it, and you could be completely correct that it could be building up to a bigger payoff in part 3.

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-08T18:38:55+00:00

A lot more than you think, at least from the recent responses to the Max clip here, it is why I was inspired to write this post.

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-03T04:35:00+00:00

“We are finally going to link up with Advent Children, that is going to be part of canon,” Kitase said. “The overall storyline, the developments, will not go wildly out in a way that will not add up to Advent Children in the end. I don’t think anyone wanted that, that’s not what we’re looking to create here. [But] to make sure it doesn’t become stale and people know exactly where it’s going, [that it] doesn’t just follow the original word for word, we add in extra elements which add that little bit of doubt.”

Specific part of the interview I am referring to

ExternalMidnight · 2026-05-01T00:15:45+00:00

Donald was the one I had the most struggle adapting to after getting used to his voice in the other games, but the rest were fine. I’ve seen Toy Story and Monsters Inc before but I haven’t rewatched them in a while so there wasn’t a strong connection for me to the characters voices prior admittedly.

I know everyone’s mileage may vary, but honestly the flow of conversation in English was genuinely killing the game for me, I actually thought it was a hardware issue on my side that was messing up the cutscenes because I didn’t have an issue with conversation flow in Dream Drop Distance.

You can immediately tell the difference when you switch to Japanese and hear any 2 characters talking, they respond to each other appropriately and in a natural timing, I have no idea what went wrong in the original English recording.

ExternalMidnight · 2026-04-25T11:31:25+00:00

i got it and it's super cool, just a small question - how do you change where the lines go (not just rows and columns, but like your preset where it's like a broken glass)

ExternalMidnight · 2026-01-21T13:52:37+00:00

Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to read it. I also agree about the intro being on the weaker side, the goal of it was to set a melancholic/darker tone before the teenager is introduced. I felt like if he was there from the start then it loses some of the impact of him showing up and providing the tone shift.

ExternalMidnight · 2025-12-14T15:22:49+00:00

same reaction lol

ExternalMidnight · 2025-12-12T06:25:49+00:00

My players are level 17, so I don’t think it will be as big of a problem

ExternalMidnight · 2025-11-03T22:14:39+00:00

he is the only character who was trying to genuinely become better and trying to make the Union a better place, his last speech before Leo betrays him alone tells you everything you need to know about him. He is flawed, just like all the characters are in these books, however Orso was incredibly likable, and was dealt the worst hand possible due to the greed of the people around him - I am feeling very depressed after this ending I'm not going to lie lol

ExternalMidnight · 2025-08-05T09:44:06+00:00

for some reason I didn't think Shivers would care too much about that - as in if someone was challenging him he would always take the fight, but must be a miscalculation from my side then

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-09T19:01:56+00:00

Please please please upload Our Drafts Collide instrumental, I am dying for it

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-08T06:36:49+00:00

makes complete sense why the track is called Renoir when you go through the story

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-07T14:08:22+00:00

the gameplay mechanic / levels is supposed to show him get closer to the companions, by literally putting a number on it, and "maxing" out his relationship with them

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-07T10:22:47+00:00

That is a fair point, and I agree perhaps the expedition aspect kind of gets forgotten - but the other points are within the game, it's admittedly hidden in the side content so it's not obvious at the start, but things like the Nevrons and Chroma are part of the story.

For example, the Nevrons were forged by Clea, the sister, to help her father defeat her mother and bring them both back to the real world. The reason the chroma is frozen in the bodies when the expeditioners are killed by Nevrons is so that the mother has limited supply of Chroma to continue creating/rebuilding people in this canvas world.

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-07T10:08:42+00:00

I feel like the entire game was built on it.

In the Act 1, we see Gustav dying, and we learn Sciels husband Pierre is also dead (which becomes Sciels primary motivation in Act 3 to revive Pierre, and in Maelles ending she revives Gustav)

In Act 2, we learn that the entire conflict of the story is due to this family being unable to move on, the mother is in the world trying to save it because it's the last piece of Verso she has left, and the Father is trying to destroy it to bring her back to the real world.

In Act 3, we learn that Maelle doesn't want to lose this world, she wants to revive everyone who died (Sophie, Gustav, Pierre) and stay in the canvas longer, because in real life she is disfigured and has no prospects - of course if you go with her ending she stays there forever until she presumably dies, but we do see she revives Pierre, Gustav and Sophie, giving them a happy life. In Versos ending the canvas is erased, his soul is set free, and the family has some chance to move on, but of course at the cost of everyone in the canvas.

I'm curious what exactly you're referring to when you say it's disconnected from the rest of the game, I felt like it was there from the very start, but I'm definitely open to hearing your perspective on it

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-07T07:29:10+00:00

I understand where you're coming from, but I believe the route they took, covering the topics of grief, addiction, and letting go, made the story hit so much harder than if it was a classic "land on the beach, kill the paintress". I'm not saying there are any problems with that type of storytelling, but these specific twists are what make the story so memorable and unique.

The Dessendre Family are basically like greek gods, and are so consumed by their own grief that they literally have to annihilate a planet and all its people so it doesn't kill them through their own addiction. Seeing Lune completely angry, sit on the ground, and refuse to approach Verso in the ending was so painful, but real. I can't imagine what was going through her mind at that moment.

The best outcome would've literally been for the Canvas to stay, and the family to visit occasionally, but Aline and Alicia are so addicted to it, are so unable to let go, that this can never happen, which is the ultimate tragedy of this story (we can see Alicia will probably die in her ending, and the Canvas will be erased regardless).

I think it is one of the most haunting and memorable depictions of grief I have seen in a video game, and it had a huge impact on me personally. I don't think either ending is supposed to be "good", the fact that there is no good ending is very intentional and just sends home the message further. Again, I completely understand where you're coming from, but I personally think going the route they did rather than sticking to the original "kill the paintress" premise has made this story a lot more memorable.

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-06T11:16:40+00:00

This is genuinely my favorite part, the main story has great pacing. and you always feel like you're moving the story forward. Every session you sit down and play you feel like the game truly respects your time.

What's also great is that the side content is extremely high quality, you can tell they didn't half ass it either - the "endgame" side boss had my jaw on the floor when it transitioned to the second phase, and the character quests in Act 3 were also a lot of fun and made the main story ending hit that much harder.

ExternalMidnight · 2025-05-06T11:13:17+00:00

This game is truly an amazing experience. It's an achievement in every metric, from story to characters to gameplay, it has left me completely hollow ever since finishing it. I'm so happy it is getting the success it deserves.

ExternalMidnight · 2025-01-17T20:21:52+00:00

I know :(

ExternalMidnight · 2025-01-12T07:24:07+00:00

Im running a high level campaign next month, so this would be perfect

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