This is an article introducing the adventure game "Paranomasite FILE38: The Ise Mermaid Story" by Square Enix.
The story unfolds in Ise City, Mie Prefecture, revolving around a mermaid said to grant immortality to those who eat her.
While it marks a significant shift from the horror-tinged atmosphere of the previous work, "The Seven Mysteries of Honjo," to a "coming-of-age ensemble fantasy mystery," this work still retains the distinctive "essence" of the series.
The completion time was approximately 12 hours.
Game Overview
Yuza Minakuchi, who has returned to his hometown of Kamejima Island in Ise Bay, attempts to dive into the sea for a certain purpose.
With the help of her best friend Azami Kumoi, she tries her hand at free diving for fishing, but there she has a strange experience.
When you start the game, a mini-game of free diving for fishing begins immediately.
Players who were expecting an adventure game might be surprised, but let's just explore and see what's going on.
Don't worry, the mini-games aren't too difficult.
While the game primarily progresses by advancing the text, there are also scenes where you can click on interesting parts of the screen to advance the story.
Check various parts of the screen.
Additionally, you may be able to move to a different location on the map screen.
Even if nothing happens when you go there, something might happen after you trigger an event in another location.
This work is an ensemble piece, so the scenario is divided among multiple protagonists.
As you progress through the main story and fulfill certain conditions, new chapters will be unlocked.
Each chapter is arranged chronologically, making it immediately clear when each event occurred.
The chapters that are unlocked are not necessarily in chronological order, so past events often appear later in the story.
Some of the terms used in the work can be found in the materials section of the menu.
This section contains a lot of information necessary for solving puzzles in the game, so it's a good idea to look through it at regular intervals.
Review (no spoilers)
I managed to complete the game successfully.
I got stuck at one point during the gameplay, but I was able to solve it by looking it up online.
For those who haven't played the previous game, there may have been many puzzles that break the fourth wall and present blind spots, making it feel difficult.
Because of that, I feel that the joy I felt when I solved the mystery on my own was all the greater.
The playtime to reach the true ending was approximately 12 hours.
It felt neither too short nor too long, with just the right amount of content to play through in one go.
The game progresses from the perspectives of multiple protagonists, and I found the way the plot twists and foreshadowing were cleverly done to make it very enjoyable.
Reading past scenarios that appear later can significantly change the impression you get of the same scene.
I enjoyed both the thrill of gradually getting closer to the truth, like in a detective adventure, and the excitement of having my perception turned upside down by a twist.
From Google Street View
Unlike its predecessor, this game features many open areas along the coast, and I was immediately drawn to the beauty of the graphics.
Many of the locations are real, and being able to freely move the viewpoint around in the 360-degree panoramic view made the game world feel more realistic and deepened my sense of immersion.
I can't go into too much detail about the characters here, as it would spoil the story.
However, each protagonist basically has a partner, so it follows the format of a buddy story.
Since you're with someone else in most scenes, you rarely feel lonely, and I think the horror elements of the previous film are considerably toned down.
The word "horror" has been removed from the official genre name, so this is likely a deliberate change.
Now, since I can only talk about the superficial aspects in my spoiler-free review, I may not have been able to convey its charm properly.
However, if you've played the previous game, I'm sure you'll find this one incredibly enjoyable.
Even if you haven't played the previous game, I can definitely recommend this one.
It's reasonably priced, so why not give it a try?
My thoughts, accompanied by screenshots (contains spoilers)
This section contains many spoilers.
Please be aware that viewing this before playing the game may significantly diminish your enjoyment of the game.
It's easier to empathize with a story if it's close to where you live, isn't it?
When the story is set in a real place, it feels like you're taking a short trip.
The free-diving fishing game started out of nowhere, but I bet a lot of people immediately tried to raise their character's stats to the maximum (or maybe not?).
I found free diving itself quite interesting, so I got pretty engrossed in it.
It's nice that there are many text variations depending on the actual number acquired.
I had 125, but I wonder if hardcore players will see something like, "Huh... I have 65,535?"
It seems likely that some hardcore players will emerge who will test the game all the way to the maximum level.
Futatsu-kun is generally cool and sharp-looking, but he has a variety of expressions that make him cute, doesn't he?
Her angry face is quite intimidating, and I also like the fox-like eyes on her smiling face; they have a certain charm.
It's great that they're not only cool, but also competent and strong.
Tsuyu's absent-mindedness is very much like Yuusa's grandmother, and it adds a nice touch to the story.
This is also a difference point similar to the one mentioned earlier.
When the score is high, it looks like they're showing off, and I can't help but laugh.
The characters' mouths in this film move in a very distinctive way, which makes it hard not to pay attention to them.
I felt a certain attention to detail in the mouths of the characters drawn by Masanori Morita, the artist known for his manga "Rokudenashi Blues," among others.
*Apparently, in Professor Morita's case, he writes by capturing the shape of the lips as they utter the final sound of the line.
She appeared cool when she first appeared, but it was heartwarming to discover that she's actually a girl who loves Japan.
It's less that Avi is the guardian, and more that Avi's guardian is the one who protects Avi.
I was really surprised by the sudden turn of events around this point in the first playthrough.
I feel like everything leading up to the ending of the Turtle Island tragedy is like a prologue to the previous work.
I was surprised to see the cursed orb appear in this game, as I never expected it to.
The conditions aren't exactly cheating, but since you can fulfill them simply by pushing your opponent off a cliff, it's still a powerful move.
Avi's broken radio-like behavior, which even left Somekawa dumbfounded, was great.
He's a natural-born comic relief character, and even in the bad ending where he dies, it somehow still came across as a joke (sorry about that).
If you had these options, you'd choose one, right?
It feels good.
At first, I didn't think much of it, but reading it again after the conditions for the slash were revealed sends shivers down my spine.
Personally, I think Kikuko is the most deranged character in this film.
I wasn't really convinced at first, but when they told me they'd witnessed him dying and coming back to life five times, I figured he had to be the one, so I was able to nominate him.
As the developers mentioned in an interview, they made a point of not criticizing players for getting the answer wrong, but instead praising them for getting it right.
The curse battles, similar to those in the previous game, were quite interesting.
It's sad for Kikuko, who, for no particular reason, threw away not only her mirror but also her business cards, and could no longer meet the requirements.
It reminds me of that character from the previous book who threw away his lighter for some vague reason.
Circe's expression, which seems to say, "She doesn't even realize it...", is slowly sinking in.
I spent quite a bit of time figuring out how to present these options.
This was the only part of the game where I had to consult a walkthrough website.
If you're someone who's earned a high level of ama (female diver) skills early on, you'll probably find that many people tend to let go of their inhibitions.
I had a bad feeling that I might accidentally break the seal on something strange, but in the end, it saved me some trouble, so I'm glad.
The contrast between Chishige, who has always clung to the past, and Sato, who is trying to adapt to modern culture and live a new life, was striking.
It's possible that Sato's memories were fading, but even if she had retained her past memories, I feel like this outcome would have been inevitable.
Players are always happy when they are praised.
It might sound simple, but I really like games that give me proper praise.
(Perhaps their need for recognition in the real world is not being met.)
I laughed at how Avi was being treated like some kind of lunatic.
I spent quite a bit of time thinking about where I could meet a mermaid.
I was clicking hesitantly, thinking this might be the right spot, when I was startled when it suddenly turned around and started talking to me. Typical of a mermaid, I suppose.
Since I like Avi, I felt this was the best ending.
As expected of a writer who brings romance.
There was a time when I was suspicious of Azami because she was too nice, but she really was just a good person.
I hope he lives a long life.
A compilation of gaming-related articles featured on this blog.
Setting Guide: Paranoia Site FILE23 Honjo Seven Mysteries / FILE38 Ise Mermaid Tale Official Setting Reader (SE-MOOK)(Amazon)