Period Cube: Not worth its case

Its plastic case, that is. See, I have a new approach regarding Vita VNs with a romantic overtone: since many of these games hold little to no replay value as far as I'm concerned, I've decided to use the PSN sales to purchase them digitally at a bargain price. If it turns out that I love them and can see myself replaying them at some point, then — and only then — will I go for a physical copy. Period Cube is the first discounted otome VN I got my digital paws on, and the first to be put to the Shall We Get Physical test.

Having said that, let's cut to the chase: Period Cube is neither a good VN nor a good otome game. Not only will I certainly not invest in a physical copy of that game, but I really think that Period Cube was not worthy of a physical Western release and should have been a digital-only game with a $20 price tag. That may seem a bit harsh, especially coming from a collector that advocate physical games for life at every turn; but PC is simply too much of a half-baked game to deserve a full-price boxed release. (Spoilers ahead!)


Why PC is not a good VN: 

—It's not explicit enough. PC is your typical "How the heck did I end up here and why the heck is this happening" story, and such stories require meaty explanations at the end. Loose ends must be tied, and all mysteries must be laid down in a satisfactory way; and that is exactly what PC cheekily chooses to dispense with, preferring instead to drop allusions and lapidary statements in a nearly offhanded way and let the player put two and two together. Because of that, misunderstandings can easily arise despite the fact that the story is really simple and straightforward when put down on paper. For instance, Shiki never clearly states that he uses World V both as a tool to hone his custom-made soul-trapping process and a way to lure the strong players who carry the data needed for the final Period Cube update. He never explains properly that he was planning to wield the Almighty power himself as a sub-character on his Arcadia account and that Kazuha gained said Almighty power by mistake when she created a sub-character from his computer. Nor does he fully explain that the whole "Trilogy of Swords" setting was a mere scheme whose sole purpose was to lure powerful players to the Ark in order to feed their data to the Period Cube, and that himself was supposed to lead said powerful players — including the bearers of the two other swords — as the wielder of the Almighty power. And so on and so forth. It's annoying to have to rack your brain to figure out why things unfolded the way they did when a five-minute explanation from Shiki would have done the trick.

—It's stuffed with incoherencies and plotholes. Like, why would Shiki carelessly let his PC running and connected to World V, when he knows fully well that Kazuha has the keys to his flat and can waltz in whenever she pleases? How can NPC Zain appear in the real world with the exact same body and voice as in the game? Why does Shiki only gains theorical knowledge about how to separate the soul from the body when he visits the Akashic Records and has to work for years to implement what he learnt, when Kazuya gets to travel back in time instantly like she's been making a wish to a lamp genie? Et cetera, et cetera. If there's one thing I hate more than stories that don't explain themselves properly, it's definitely stories whose plot looks like honeycomb.

—It's brimming over with ad hoc. The guys always arrive precisely at the right moment to get dumb little Kazuha out of a bind, dumb little Kazuha always gets to use the Almighty power precisely when she needs it, information always drops in the characters' lap precisely when they need it, and so on — and let's not even talk about the Akashic Records, a.k.a. the most shameless deus ex machina of them all. It becomes so transparent after a while that you stop caring about the characters because you know they'll never be in real trouble.

Why PC is not a good otome game: 

—L'amour comes into the picture way too fast. There is no common route apart from a tiny branching prologue, and the romancing starts literally five minutes after you boot up the game. When I started my run, it actually took me a while to realize that I was locked on a guy's route and that I had to start hitting on him — so much so that I had to restart the route to get the 'right' answers I'd missed. Because of that lack of a common route, you don't get to know the guys and grow attached to them before getting the opportunity to woo them, which makes said wooing a bit forced and vacant. I know we're here to bag up dudes first and last, but surely a bit of exposition and preparation wouldn't hurt? The way PC rushes things, I feel like I'm playing "Dogs in heat: The game" rather than an otome VN.

—Kazuha is too painfully transparent to make a believable love interest. I cannot believe for a second that all these guys are fawning over a girl that dull and devoid of personality. Heck, I'm supposed to be her and I cannot figure her out, so how can these dudes fall for her like she's a femme fatale? The game repeatedly states that she's kind, optimistic and always smiling, but is it really enough to make her that irresistible? On the other hand, all these dudes seem to be virgins, so maybe that's why they melt when a woman smiles their way.

—The guys are too similar. They're all feisty young men with the same lithe body, the same tousled hair and the same eye-rolling tendency to get embarrassed and peevish when Kazuha expresses her love for them. Now look, you little b*tches: I'm about to put you out of your virgin misery, so stop acting like darn tsunderes and show some gratitude already. To be fair, I think the problem is not so much the sameness of the guys as the fact that I'm not exactly the target audience. PC is obviously aimed at teenage girls, who can undoubtedly appreciate those androgynous princes charming much better than I ever could. As for me, I would have preferred more variety in terms of body shape, age and behaviour.

Now, did I hate Period Cube? Absolutely not. Although it qualifies neither as a good VN nor as a good otome in my book, I had a good time playing it and there were a couple of things I genuinely liked. For one thing, Arcadia boasts the most gorgeous colour palette I've seen in a video game ever — heck, I sure wish I could get trapped in a game world boasting those lush crystalline hues. For another, the secondary characters were really endearing — especially the Forte crew, whose dynamics were hilarious and whose bond came across much more blatantly than Kazuha's supposed bond with her beaus. And there was also that route — the route that blew me away and somehow made the whole game worth playing. And talking about routes, I'll be back soon with a full-blown run report. Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!