27/01/2018

Code:Realize: Here we go again


I'm just done replaying Code:Realize, folks. Now, why replay that game, a mere year after I wrote two unflattering posts about it? Well, I could tell you that I'm playing a super-grindy game these days and need a lighter game on the side to unwind, or I could tell you that I'm usually in the mood for VN in the winter; but the bottom line is that my gaming instinct wanted to revisit that game for some unfathomable reason — and where my gaming instinct tells me to go, I go.


Not only did I replay C:R, but I replayed every single route — and I'm glad I did, because it gave me a new appreciation of that game. To sum it up neatly: everything I said about C:R last year still stands, and yet I like that game nonetheless. I'm not sure why I like it, to be honest. I could try to come up with reasons, such as the lush SFX, the gorgeous colours, the characters' mannerisms, the whole atmosphere; but I'll rather leave it at that and simply enjoy the fact that C:R was not such a bad investment after all. I mean, nobody said love had to be rational, right? Having said that, I still have some criticism in store for C:R — because indeed, it's very much a case of tough love between me and that game. First, a quick route review (minor spoilers):
  • Victor: Just as perfect as the first time. For me, Victor is Cardia's canon mate, and nothing will make me bulge. The clever way Victor figures out a solution to suppress Cardia's poison is deliciously satisfying, and the smooth way he saves her and London in the nick of time while slipping in a steamy moment is even more satisfying.
  • Impey: Still nice, entertaining and very Jules Verne-ish. Still no chemistry between Impey and Cardia, but that cannot be helped. 
  • Saint-Germain: Now that I knew what to expect, that route felt a tad less weird. Still, events there are a bit too far-fetched for my taste. Why would anybody go as far as Saint-Germain does for the sake of a single person? And the whole "we'll shape our destiny ourselves" motto has been worn out by scores of JRPGs already and has no more lustre to offer. 
  • Van Helsing: Mr Iceberg's attitude was slightly less intolerable this time around — heck, I could even spot flashes of niceness towards Cardia here and there. Still, that route is by far the weakest when it comes to narrative content. You want me to swallow that Aleister manipulated events around Van Helsing for years just for the sake of traumatizing the latter, and that Van Helsing's feelings for Cardia allowed Aleister to add the final touch to his twisted oeuvre? I mean, Van Helsing doesn't manifest Hidden Strength in the other routes, so it's obviously Cardia's love that makes the difference; but why would psycho Aleister give up on his prey so easily in the other routes? On the other hand, why would he go that far in the first place? You're either too crazy or not crazy enough here, mate. 
  • Lupin: Just as unconvincing as before. The game tries its hardest to convey romance and to showcase the Frenchman as the perfect bachelor, but I just cannot feel l'amour there. 


Now for the biggest bite, i.e. Cardia's overarching story. Oh boy, is there a lot to say about it. There are so many problematic things there that I don't know where to start. Well, maybe by saying that the biggest issue is not so much Cardia herself, but rather her father Isaac, whose decisions make absolutely no sense in the context of the story. (SPOILERS again!)
  • Incoherency#1: Isaac abandoning Cardia in a remote mansion instead of locking her up in his headquarters. I know I mentioned this before, and I know I'm supposed to exert suspension of disbelief here; but I'm sorry, this premise is just too far-fetched to swallow. The story goes to painfully great lengths to establish that Cardia's Horologium is of paramount importance and holds the key to Isaac's entire masterplan; and yet you want me to believe that Isaac casually let Cardia frolic around in the boonies, free to attract unwanted attention and be abducted by any random madman wanting the Horologium for himself? Either that guy is a complete moron, or this a a very transparent plot device to allow the story to unfold the way it does — and I'd wager it's the latter indeed. 
  • Incoherency#2: Isaac recreating his children only to kill them off. On one hand, he claims upon dying that the only thing he wanted was to be one with his family again; yet on the other hand, he tells Cardia that he doesn't like her and that she's only a pale copy of his beloved daughter. So what does he want exactly? Did he clone his children hoping to recreate his happy family, only to realize that he couldn't love them after all? Now that would be fickle.
  • Incoherency#3: Isaac turning himself into pure spirit and letting a clone of his son take care of his masterplan in his stead. How did he achieve that state in the first place? And why would he all of a sudden entrust the son he always despised with such a mammoth task? Given the story's fantastic nature, having Isaac being alive and well and planning to fuse his original physical body with Cardia's Horologium after using the pendant on it would have made just as much sense as doing these things as a big ball of something with Finis' help. I'm afraid we're privy to another plot device here: keeping Isaac as an ethereal presence makes him more threatening and unescapable, as well as more akin to the god he wants to become. Too bad it doesn't also make sense in the grand scheme of things, really. 
  • Incoherency#4: The slaughtering of Isaac's family and Isaac's subsequent madness. Sure, rural folk in C:R are routinely described as subhumans, always ready to harass and wrongly accuse innocent people; but killing the entire family of the doctor that served them for years just because they feel he might be responsible of the current famine is too much, even for them. Isaac's reaction to that event is no more believable — so your family has been murdered, and the first thing that comes to your mind is "I'll become a new god"? How about something less far-fetched, like "I'll torture and murder all them pigs that did that"? Once again, plot devices: a forced and overblown trigger to a no less forced and overblown change of character.
 

In a nutshell: Isaac is an half-baked villain, he makes no sense whatsoever as a character, and nearly all his decisions are mere plot devices that exist solely to further narrative developments. Too bad it's so painfully transparent. There are also a couple of minor non-Isaac-related plotholes that bothered me, such as:
  • Cardia and Finis being twins: Really? Cardia looks at least five years older than Finis, if not more.
  • Lupin rescuing Cardia just before Isaac is done absorbing all her poison: Sure, that's a neat narrative trick, and a no less neat way to let Cardia live as a normal person... That is, until you start thinking about it in earnest. Like, how on earth did Lupin know when the poison was about to run out? Sheer luck, obviously! And how did he know which amount would be necessary to let Cardia live a normal lifespan without emitting poison? Sheer luck again! Yeah, more like "shut up and suspend your disbelief, b*tch". 
  • Horologium tautology: Okay, so the Horologium needs to spend some time in a living being to reach its ultimate state. Regular humans couldn't survive the stone's poison, so Isaac created an Homunculus (i.e. Cardia) to bear it. Fine; but given that the Horologium is the very thing that keeps Cardia alive, how does she qualify as the living being that will allow the Horologium to mature? She wouldn't be alive if not for the stone, so she's not really a living being after all. Or can the Horologium feast on the very life it grants Cardia? This is all quite unclear, and it looks too much like a logical fallacy for comfort.


Geez, that's a lot of writing for a game I already played once! But when all is said and done, I like Code:Realize despite its flaws. I like it so much, in fact, that I firmly plan on purchasing the sequel that's slated for release in early 2018. Heck, I even have a wishlist for that sequel: I want a Delacroix route, because Delacroix is a sheep in wolf's clothing and seeing him getting all flustered at Cardia's wooing attempts would be hilarious. I also want an Aleister route, because every Otomate game needs a sir psycho sexy as a love interest; and I'd even like a Finis route for the sake of 'blooming-love-overcoming-deep-seated-hate', if not for the fact that Finis is Cardia's brother and is feasting on the flowers. Oh, and I also wanna see Victoria and Leonhardt tie the knot. Let's hope that the sequel will make some of these wishes come true! I'll see you later with more Code:Realize tidings, dear fellow gamers; as usual, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

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