Tag: visual novel

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! 

For a general review of the game, you can read it here.

RATH VOGART: The younger brother of Arles V. Felnoir, and the poster boy of Black Wolves Saga. After their family is slaughtered by the hands of Mejojo, they are separated in the ensuing turmoil; where Rath endures many years of immense suffering. They reunite many years later, and he is considered second-in-command amongst the Wolves along with Guillan. Due to his experiences, Rath is extremely apathetic towards the world. He is resentful of his own pathetic existence as a wolf, living life in constant fear of being hunted and with no choice but to constantly flee for their own survival.

Rath resents and distrusts humans due to the suffering that he and others have experienced, and views achieving peace and co-existence amongst the races as an impossible dream. Above all else, he despises himself: he is powerless to seize control of his own future and fate. He lacks the will, determination and leadership to invoke change like Arles, and continually protected and treated like a child; whilst unable to do anything in return for his kindness.

To add salt to injury, Rath is suffering from Zodiva that is rapidly consuming his body and already completely blinded him in one eye. It further increases his burden on the pack and Arles; and does nothing but elevate his self-loathing at his own futility. Even if Rath wanted to change for the better, his time was running out with his deteriorating body. Seeing Fiona’s kindness, determination and will to change the future of the world moves his cold heart, and causes him to reevaluate his own situation.

In spite of her obvious powerlessness to invoke change, she stands by her own convictions and beliefs. She willingly joins the wolf pack despite having to abandon her own family in the process, all for the sake of peace. Not to mention that at the end of the day, she is still a Lobeira and exposing herself to such harsh conditions with the wolves would inevitably infect her with incurable Zodiva.

He cannot fathom as to why she would go so far, as she had been ostracised and outcasted by her own people for witchcraft. Rath eventually warms up to Fiona’s kindness, and slowly changes his opinion of humans; and that perhaps, what he once considered the impossible is now no longer a far-off dream.

Considering Rath is the poster-boy for Black Wolves Saga, I was exceptionally disappointed by his route as I had high expectations from the beginning of the game. From what I’ve read, he finally gets his spotlight in Last Hope as the game revolves around his side of the story. As a result, it left Bloody Nightmare with little to no content dedicated to Rath. It’s a shame considering he actually had what Arles’ route lacked; which was the romantic intimacy and build up between him and Fiona.

They actually had some really cute and meaningful moments together, as well as some of the best CGs in the game. The scene where Fiona allows Rath to drink from her neck in order to see whether it would cure his blindness had so much muted passion and desire. The voice acting, tension and build up was amazing; and I read with bated breath wondering what would happen next. It felt like a major turning point in their relationship, so I was really excited to see how they would progress in the events following after.

To my shock and dismay, the story essentially all ends immediately afterwards. After escaping from Mejojo and Auger, Rath finally decides to take action in what he wants for the future. Although Arles and Guillan’s fate is unknown, they cannot return to rescue them as that is not what Arles would’ve wanted. They had made a promise to continue living, and spread the Wolves’ story; as with no survivors, their tale and suffering would become lost to the history of the world.

No one would ever come to know the truth, and the lives forsaken and sacrificed for the cause would all be forgotten. Fiona agrees, and they walk hand in hand towards their future together. I remember just staring at my computer screen for a few solid minutes trying to convince myself that it couldn’t possibly just end then and there without any sort of epilogue or conclusion tying up their story.

To my complete and utter disappointment, that actually was the ending. It felt like there was so much build up in their relationship and potential for the future; setting the reader up for expectation, and then having it all crumble before their very eyes. It’s knowing how much promise the story had to be amazing, that makes the ending altogether even more dissatisfying.

Especially because Rath is always the focal target of their promotional advertisements on Black Wolves Saga, it really does set up the audience in believing his route would offer a lot more than it actually did. I guess in a way it’s effective marketing by Idea Factory, as out of frustration with the lack of content for the wolves you’d undoubtedly purchase Last Hope for a more satisfying conclusion to the series (laughs).

On that note when I was discussing the game with my SO, we agreed that almost every single emotionally traumatised male character or lead wears what we call an ’emo scarf’. You know the black tattered scarf that is all together way too long and impractical, but it’s a must have accessory in order to show how ‘edgy’ of an ‘edge lord’ they are. It’s always the cold, hard to approach and disillusioned character that wears it as though their life depends on it.

All jokes aside, I did really like Rath’s character and design; and I actually don’t mind the scarf trend. It’s popular because clearly a lot of people are a fan of the look, and it suits the character type. I will most likely play Last Hope and take Idea Factory’s bait, simply because my curiosity is unable to accept the conclusion of his story.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! 

For a general review of the game, you can read it here.

GUILLAN GUINOR: Second in command to Arles and his most devoted follower, Guillan obeys his orders without question and supports him with unwavering loyalty. He lives and feeds off receiving Arles’ praise, and he is the only one who can keep his dysfunctional personality in check. Guillan has quite a blood-thirsty and sadistic streak, openly expressing his desire to torture and murder humans for what they have suffered the past decade. He has no qualms with staining his hands with blood, and finds enjoyment and euphoria from it.

Guillan is a major tsundere, despite initially coming across as cruel, blunt and sarcastic. As we come to know and unravel his character, we realise that he has a gentle side to those whom he cares about. He does not hesitate to place his life on the line for Arles, and when he meets his demise during the Castle Siege in many of the routes; he uses his own body to prevent the soldiers from discovering Rath’s escape. In spite of his continual insults and belittling of Rath’s gentle nature, he treats him akin to a younger sibling whom he constantly looks out for.

I had no idea what to expect going into Guillan’s route. Initially I dreaded it since he had an extremely obnoxious voice throughout all of the stories, and his eyes just spelled insane when he was inflicting torture and espionage on helpless enemy soldiers. To my surprise, his route was a lot sweeter than I expected and had a more satisfying ending than Rath’s story — which I found hilarious. It just goes to show how lacking Rath’s story was, that the poster boy of the game was upstaged by a side character’s route.

Guillan quickly opens up to the heroine when she joins the wolf pack, and surprises her with his courtesy, consideration and willingness to accommodate to her needs. Initially, he is unsure how to respond to the heroine’s kindness as he had never been treated with such honesty and gentleness from another person before. I found it so cute when he requests Fiona to call him ‘Lord Guillan’ and when she obliges; immediately becomes embarrassed by the name and retracts his previous statement. Although he claimed that was his rightful name to everyone he met, no one had actually ever entertained his request before.

However, similar to the other wolf faction character stories he suffers from severe lack of development and substance to his story and persona. His shift in attitude towards the heroine was altogether poorly written, as it was in such stark contrast to what we had seen from him until that point. Prior to that, he had been ravenous in his desire for carnage with little regard for the morality of his actions. And yet, from the moment he meets Fiona he reverts to being shy and embarrassed around her.

All of a sudden without invitation, he then requests blood from the heroine and bites her neck — a symbolic act within wolf culture as a sign of pledging oneself and belonging solely to another. The sequence of events and development happened so abruptly, I honestly could not understand at what point his feelings towards Fiona had transgressed to love and romance.

It was like at one stage they were both on friendly, familial terms with one another and then immediately afterwards Guillan is possessive of the heroine and no longer wishes to share her with anyone else. Although Arles and Rath had very little content devoted to their story, at the very least we did receive some background information in regards to their past and what has shaped who they are in the present timeline.

However, in regards to Guillan then we know little to nothing about his past and his motives towards the wolf pack. It’s never delved upon as to why he was so devotedly loyal to Arles to the point of worship, his desire for bloodlust and carnage, and what led to him joining the coven in the first place. Just what was his past history with the two brothers? Where was the rest of his family? What made him the character he is today?

As the wolves prepare for their final attack against the cats, Guillan promises Fiona that no matter what he would return for her. She agrees, and escapes with the remaining wolves that are ill-fitted for combat and still recuperating from Zodiva. They spend many months within a hidden cave near a small town, and Fiona has settled into a daily life of at least some normalcy.

She is content with her life with the wolves, as she feels finally has a purpose and is useful to others. She regularly provides blood to the remaining wolves, and in the past couple of months they’ve more or less made a complete recovery. As they’re now able to revert to their human forms, everyday is lively and Fiona isn’t lonely with their companionship. As she is the only human, she is tasked with visiting the village markets every month to trade goods such as knitted and handmade items she creates out of wolf fur for items that they’re unable to forage from the forest.

Eventually, Guillan fulfils his promise and comes for Fiona. In his good ending, he carries Fiona off to travel the world on a journey with just the two of them as it was Arles’ final request of him. To make the most of his remaining life in creating meaningful memories. To explore the many things that other countries have to offer on a bright adventure with his beloved. In the true ending, Guillan returns with the only remaining piece of Arles — his sword arm along with his weapon that he had been gifted when dubbed the title ‘Knight of Salvation’.

Guillan consumes the arm as a symbolic act of pledging himself to Arles and taking upon the mantle as the next Wolf King. The wolves howl in celebration of their new leader, as he vows to protect them all and enable them to have a life of peace; just as Arles had always wanted. Although the scene was quite disturbing to read along with the CG, I felt it was quite befitting as the ‘true ending’ of Guillan’s story. Although his good ending was light hearted and sweet, it felt strange for him and Fiona to completely abandon the remaining wolves for the sake of their own happiness.

Considering what Arles had meant to them both, disregarding his cause and life devotion to the wolves just didn’t sit right with what we have seen from both their characters so far. My main criticism is that it honestly felt Guillan’s true ending would have made a lot more sense for Rath’s story. It would have been monumental for his character development, to seize the future with his own hands and finally have the courage to invoke change; just like what he had always admired and respected Arles for when he was alive.

Although Guillan’s story was cute and a nice addition to the game, I didn’t truly feel he necessarily needed his own route in the story; especially if they weren’t going to delve upon his past or beyond just the superficial details about his character. I would’ve definitely preferred if they devoted the writing and time to the other characters of the story, as they play a much more significant role to the overarching plot.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! 

For a general review of the game, you can read it here.

ZARA SKEENS: Zara is the heroine’s dearest childhood friend, and only other companion along with Nesso. He is a war orphan after the rabbits were mass-murdered due to their advanced medical knowledge. Their skills would have revealed the cure to Zodiva, and unveiled its true nature in regards to the wolves; effectively foiling the plans that Mejojo and Auger were to set in motion. As a result, the entire race was destroyed and left only an extremely rare few that had been unable to escape Weblin.

Zara is captured by humans and enslaved to horrible cruelty during his stay with them. As a result, he becomes cold and distrusting of others — having lost everything dear to him at a very young age. Fiona’s father places a gold offer that no one can refuse for a rabbit to serve in his household, due to the rumours of their superior medical knowledge for the sake of his daughter’s health. Zara is immediately sold, and initially does not assimilate well to his new household.

Due to his distrust of humans, he is cold to the family despite the warm welcome he receives; as he believed it would only be a matter of time before they would show their true faces and he would be betrayed once again. He views Fiona as a nuisance with her clingy, irrational and child-like behaviour; constantly asking him to play and spoil her. Zara can never take his eyes off the young lady without her getting into some sort of trouble.

He is confronted by her kindness and treatment as part of the family, and as a result he is unsure as to how to respond to her affections. Overtime, he grows to genuinely care for her and the Galland family; realising that they’re truly kind people who have offered him a home and a sense of family that he had long lost. With his talents and superior medical knowledge, Zara could have easily climbed the social ladder and achieved a great deal more within society.

For example: he had the opportunity to join Nesso in the Royal Castle in order to train as a squire, effectively rising in the ranks of the social hierarchy. However, he chooses to remain by Fiona’s side as he cannot bear to see her crying face begging him not to leave and out of genuine love for her. To him, she provides him with a reason for living in his darkest moments and someone whom he needs to protect no matter the cost.

Zara’s route was actually so cute, the kind of story that just gives you such a warm feeling reading and a sense of deep contentment. I really liked it because it provided such a nice breather from the drama and complexities of the other routes. In terms of actual storyline and relationship development however, then there really wasn’t much to it. The human’s side of the story is prevalent throughout all the routes due to Fiona’s involvement, and their relationship was already established to begin with.

The childhood flashbacks of young Zara and Fiona was just too adorable, and provided that extra depth to their past; and it was clear they had a very loving connection to one another. Zara is like the emotional pillar that Fiona can always depend on — pulling her out of even the toughest situations. He is the voice of reason that keeps Fiona in line, and is the biggest factor as to why she has stayed alive for so long with his medical prowess.

His bad ending actually made me so incredibly sad, because it felt as though a hole had been torn through your heart. Everyone had made it and crossed the finish line – except for Zara. Their family would never be complete again, and it’s like that one integral piece of the puzzle is now missing. Whilst Zara’s route is nowhere near as immersive, detailed or integral to the storyline as the others; I still loved the pacing and tone of his route.

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! 

For a general review of the game, you can read it here.

NESSO GALLAND: Nesso is the older, half-brother to Fiona and has fiercely protected her since birth. Both their mother’s died young, and as a result growing up they only had each other and their father for the most part. Nesso is considered to be immensely talented, skilled, popular amongst the people and directs his own special platoon within the army. He is Weblin’s finest swordsman, and has yet to be defeated on the battlefield.

However, normally as part of the Galland family a man of Nesso’s ability and lineage would have easily reached the status of Captain within the Royal army itself. Fiona learns to her dismay that it is due to their family’s refusal of Mejojo’s advances and his resentment towards knights that leads to Nesso taking on many tasks that one would expect of low rank-and-file soldier.

He assures her that he is unaffected by his predicament, so long as his precious little sister is untouched by those devious cat’s hands. After all, the main motivation and drive behind his desire for strength and the ability to wield the sword with such skill was all for the sake of protecting Fiona.

We soon learn that it is due to Nesso’s request rather than their father’s decision to lock Fiona away inside the tower. Although her weak body is partially the reason, for the most part it is due to Nesso’s desire to always have Fiona within his line of sight. Even though Nesso is able to protect her within the castle grounds, due to the nature of his work he is often sent to the front lines of battle. As a result, Nesso reasons to himself that he needs a place to keep her safe when he is not close by; a place out of reach from the hands of others.

In reality however, we realise from the very beginning of the game that rather than out of familial love for Fiona; Nesso in fact has a major sister complex. His actions towards Fiona border on incestuous for most of the game, and becomes insanely jealous at any male who comes close to her. Although it is comical for the most part, you can just tell from the underlying tone that Nesso is actually dead serious.

He continually expresses his desire to marry Fiona, as it is not entirely uncommon for half-members of the family to wed amongst one another. Nesso claims that he is the only man suitable and truly worthy of Fiona. To my dismay, I can’t exactly refute that point. Nesso is the perfect character that tends to Fiona’s every need: he’s handsome, talented, has the strength to protect her, and everything he does is for her sake. His love for her borders on obsession, but he does indeed try to keep her best interests at heart.

At least everything would be perfect about him considering Fiona’s circumstances… except for the fact that he is still her sibling at the end of the day. I actually dreaded and left his route for last on purpose, because although I know some people are fans of incest; it really just doesn’t sit well for me personally. I just wanted to leave my personal impression of Nesso as the caring older brother doting on his sister, rather than finding out any dark, twisted love he may secretly have on the inside.

What really irked me about Nesso’s character is his blatant disregard for Fiona’s opinions and his constant projection on her that she is still a helpless child who knows nothing about reality. He continually rejects her decisions on what she wishes to do for the future, and leaves her no choice but to take action on her own accord. Otherwise, he only gives in when she is extremely adamant on what she wants to do, or leaves him with no choice on the matter. For example: she’s not leaving Weblin, and his only option is to leave without her or stay with her.

Also, his confinement of her within the tower was what led to her complete disconnect with reality to begin with. It wasn’t certain whether or not her solitary confinement was the sole reason as to why she was able to stay alive for so long, as she remained perfectly fine when residing in the Castle Gardens within Mejojo’s Kingdom. He had taken away her freedom without her knowledge, and he reasons that it’s all for her sake rather than his own selfish desires being projected onto her.

That in itself is already a very unhealthy relationship to have. If she hadn’t been confined to the tower all her life, she would’ve grown up to have a better understanding of the world and some semblance of common sense. I just found myself uncomfortable reading the romantic scenes with Nesso, because for some unknown reason they had the most passionate and physically intimate moments with one another; even greater than Mejojo or Auger.

It honestly just felt as though he was preying on her, and confusing her feelings for him as a brother. When they shared a kiss, to me it felt like Fiona was more so shocked and surprised by it all; rather than actually reciprocating his desires for her. Even she herself is unsure of the act, as he always evades her when she questions whether or not it is appropriate behaviour for siblings to engage in.

His good ending actually left me with a deep sense of despair hilariously enough. Due to Nesso taking the brunt of their fall from the cliff and shielding Fiona, he has become crippled by his injuries. Fiona feels an extreme sense of guilt over the situation, as it was because of her that he is now confined to his bed; and their positions towards one another had become reversed. Fiona is now his caretaker, and Nesso is (a little too) content with his newfound predicament.

After all, every waking moment they have now is spent with each other. She continually dotes on and spoils him, attending to his every need and whim. It’s heavily implied they are now regularly engaging in a physically sexual relationship, as Nesso reasons that it ‘helps him feel better’. Fiona who is deeply saddened that her once talented brother is now a crippled invalid unable to ever wield a sword again; obliges him willingly with his embarrassing demands.

To me, what Fiona felt towards him wasn’t romantic love; but the love of a sibling stained by guilt and manipulated by Nesso. Nesso projects onto her his obsessive love, and Fiona is all too clueless about men due to her complete social disconnection from the world. I’m unable to see their relationship as being genuine in any sort of form, due to the nature of the events that transpired.

I admit I was also incredibly salty because Nesso and Fiona had so many romantic moments together, whilst many of the other characters were left out to dry in comparison. If I could choose, then I would prefer Nesso’s route to not be in the game since I felt it would be better used to develop the other storylines. The human faction storyline within BWS doesn’t really contribute much to the overarching plot, as they play the role of by-stander in the main conflict between the wolves and cats.

Their role in the story is revealed in the main linear storyline, and their relationship to Fiona is already established from the beginning. As a result, it doesn’t leave very much substance to work with and the writers decided to focus their routes on the more romantic aspect of the game rather than actual storyline. As I dislike Nesso this was considered a tragedy to me, as I would’ve preferred it with essentially any other character but him (laughs).