#so sorry i forgot i should actually tag this so people can see it LOOOOL

[kasmis]

Shinigami / Death Mark II

Hiii so I wanted to write out my thoughts after playing last weekend! I’ll be giving an overview of the game / discussing certain aspects in detail, so please be wary if you’re trying to avoid any information on what happens. I tried to avoid any overt spoilers, though. Conversely, if there’s something you’re curious about that I don’t discuss here, feel free to ask!

General Summary and Thoughts on the Premise

Ig just to start I should briefly summarize the game. Shinigami takes place 4 months after the end of Death Mark at a school in H City called Konoehara Gakuen. Yashiki has been hired by the principal to investigate the rumors surrounding the school and the mysterious messages left by an unknown entity known as “Shibito.” As the game progresses, Yashiki must figure out who the target of each new message is, what spirit is targeting them, and the identity of Shibito / their motivation for leaving these messages.

I liked this premise overall! It was interesting to see Yashiki and the Mark Bearers so soon after the events of the first game. IIRC the writer stated this game was showing the beginning of his transition from the person he was at the end of DM to the person we see briefly in NG; that is, someone who fully embraces his role as a “spirit specialist.” I also think having the school as the main location was a smart choice, since it allowed for a more cohesive and connected story. While the spirit cases weren’t related to each other, having the school and Shibito’s messages be the unifying factor made it feel slightly more streamlined than the other games.

The Cases Themselves + The Spirits

While the game has a total of 7 chapters, there are only 3 “boss” spirits and a final boss that also pops up throughout the story (Shibito, if it wasn’t obvious). So as to not give too much away, I’ll just refer to the other spirits by their chapters. Out of all the cases, I think Chapter 2′s was the best written and most interesting. The plot points hit certain weak spots for me, and I thought the reveal of the grudge and the resolution were really heart wrenching. This also made the initial reveal of what happens after a successful purification even more shocking. If I had any complaints, it’d be that the spirit design just didn’t really do anything for me.

Chapter 3 had really great sound design and I liked the design of the spirit, but the story wasn’t as interesting to me as the other two. It does have some of my favorite CGs from the game though, so I have to give it points. Chapter 5 had maybe my favorite spirit design from any of the games and an interesting story, but I was disappointed by the final confrontation tbqh. I can forgive that though, since there was a longer confrontation sequence beforehand. I also really liked most of the character interactions in this chapter, both with returning and new characters, so I think overall it was my favorite from the game.

Shinigami also incorporates several minor spirits that you confront throughout the game besides the boss spirits. I thought this inclusion was nice, and most of these encounters are simple enough that they’re not tedious. Their designs were good, but nothing standout.

Having another reoccurring “villain” like in NG was a fun plot device, and it was fun seeing the way Shibito’s appearance morphed and changed throughout the game as we learned more about them. I will say that I wasn’t particularly blown away by any of the designs, even in their final form, though. I still think Kakuya’s final form was the best out of the 3 games. Still, Shibito’s presence throughout the game was a fun way to keep the tension high. I also think the story behind Shibito’s grudge was really great; it was the perfect amount of sad, yucky, and scary, and I like how it incorporated lore explored in the other two games. I will say I was a little disappointed that the Hyakki Yagyo concept wasn’t really touched on, since my expectation coming into the game was that it’d play a larger role.

I also liked that one of the key aspects of the game was to determine the true identity of Shibito, even if I think I figured it out more quickly than the game anticipated. If you also figure it out quickly, it can make some “deduction” sections feel like a little bit of a slog. The game throws in a few red herrings and curveballs that complicate the mystery though, so I think it’ll still keep people on their toes for the most part.

The Characters

I enjoyed the way they portrayed Yashiki in this game for the most part and love him so much as a protagonist in general. I’ve seen some people complain that he seems a little weak-willed or overly hesitant, but I agree with that characterization, especially at this point in his development. I also have seen some people say that he seems ungrateful towards the former Mark Bearers that return to help him out, but to be honest like, I wouldn’t want these normal people getting involved in dangerous situations either, so I understand why he wouldn’t be over the moon about it LOL. I really loved being able to compare his character here to how he was in DM and see how he changed in the 4 month interval, and also how he changes throughout the game itself.

I won’t say I thought he was a great character throughout the game, though. Again, without trying to spoil too much, a big part of the story involves some of the new characters crushing on Yashiki / being attracted to him. I anticipated this tbh, but it was still slightly uncomfortable having underage girls express romantic interest towards him and him not immediately shutting it down. I get that he lived a reclusive life up until now, but he seems a little naïve and it can be frustrating at times. However, it’s established that Yashiki is someone who is easily affected by the feelings of others (both human and spirit) and one of his major flaws is that he has trouble denying these feelings even for his own sake, so it’s not as if this is something completely out of character. Even so, I didn’t particularly enjoy this aspect of the game and it’s part of the reason why I ended up preferring one ending over the other.

The returning characters are all good to see! I liked that some characters still played an important role even if they no longer function as partners, and I really really liked that the game offered some more insight into their interpersonal relationships with each other and not just with Yashiki. It was satisfying hearing some information that confirmed things for me. I also liked that they kept the mechanic where you have to have a certain partner in order to complete certain actions and progress the story, even if switching them out could be a bit annoying if the place you needed to go to was far away from the infirmary (which is like the home base like the mansion was in DM).

I... don’t want to sound too crazy and go off about the Mashita and Yashiki interactions, but I’ll just say that I was incredibly satisfied and have enough material to ponder to last me for a long time. I’ll leave it at that, for all of us.

I was a little worried since there were so many new characters, but I ended up liking most of them! I think my standout favorites are Sakamoto-sensei, Horikoshi, and Saki. I wish Saki and Abe had more screen time, since I enjoyed their scenes quite a lot. I like the principal and thought he was written well, though being written well made him (and Sakamoto) hard to handle in some instances lol. Sadly I didn’t particularly care for Himeko and Michiho, which could get a bit frustrating at times since they really ended up being front and center for a lot of the game.

The CGs + Art

Though you have a choice between two partners for the chapters with spirit cases, the partner who dies if the spirit isn’t fully purified is always fixed. That means there were only a total of 3 partner death CGs total. I was personally a little disappointed by this, since there were certain characters I really wanted to see, but for the narrative direction this game took it makes sense that only a few characters would be able to die (being that you can still technically get the “Good End” even if your partners die, and some partners are confirmed to still be alive in NG). I wasn’t too impressed by the Chapter 2 and 3 death CGs, but I liked the one from Chapter 5 a lot.

The “Bad End” CG, however, was one of my favorites in the game!! I think it makes sense that Yashiki gets the best CGs in the game, but I thought almost all of his were really really great. A few of the new characters also get some really great CGs. There are a few ones that just seem like pointless fanservice without actually being scary, but overall I liked the stills from this game.

I did feel some of the CGs and still images didn’t match up to the character sprites well, specifically the CGs of a certain character in Chapter 2. I think this is just due to the fact that these CGs were done by a different artist than the sprite artist, but it still bothers me slightly.

Speaking of the sprites, I personally prefer the ones from the first game. I felt like they got rid of a lot of Yashiki’s crustiness, which was what I like the most about his design LOL. He still retains a little bit of crustiness in some of the CGs, so at least that’s a win if you’re like me and miss it too. The new sprites ended up growing on me though. Everyone gets more facial expressions too, which is something I wish DM had. Overall, I think the art in this game was good and retains the feel from the other games.

The Endings

There are 3 possible endings; a Bad End, a Good End, and a True End. Unlike previous games, the Bad End doesn’t happen if you fail to save your partners, but rather if you fail to correctly deduce who Shibito is. It’s a short ending, but the CG you get is soooo worth it imho. The Good End happens if you correctly guess Shibito’s identity and survive the final encounter, but you fail to save all of the characters you could possibly have saved. The True End happens if you save all these characters, survive, and make a certain choice after the end of the final confrontation (if you saved all of the characters, but do not make this choice, you get the Good End instead). The True End is also only available after getting either the Bad End or the Good End first.

Between the Good and True Ends, I definitely liked the Good End more. I don’t think I can get into why I feel this way without outright talking about the endings, but I liked the way the Good End concluded the story and set up what was in store for Yashiki in the future. That being said, I didn’t totally dislike the True End. I think it’s definitely a much happier end, but I think some people might not like it and I completely understand why. Either way, I think both were satisfying in their own way, but the Good End felt more appropriate to me.

New Mechanics + Other Notes

I really love the new side-scrolling / movement function. I actually spent so much time just making them run around LOL, it was so entertaining. Everyone gets idle animations as well, which were really fun! Sometimes the selection sensitivity for investigation points can be annoying, but otherwise I don’t have any complaints. There’s also a fast travel feature that takes you back to the infirmary, which was a really nice feature. Returning to the infirmary also restores any HP lost during encounters. My only complaint is this movement system doesn’t particularly help build any tension or enhance the horror of the game, which can be a bit of a detriment to a “horror” game.

The Live or Die mechanic has now been replaced by something called Suspensive Act. To briefly explain: you expend HP to execute certain actions, which have a non-fixed success rate. You can either execute these acts as Yashiki, make your partner do it, or execute them together in tandem. My opinions on this are mostly mixed. For some reason I always have the worst luck with % based success rolls, so I had to redo some events multiple times, not because I was choosing the wrong options, but because I just kept failing rolls more than once. I’m glad they still allow you to start over from just before though, so it could be worse. I think once you know which answers are the correct ones you can end up brute forcing your way through these / the success rate stops being as important. I think it could have been refined a little better, but overall it works for what it is.

That being said, I like the introduction of more RPG elements and different characters having more success doing certain actions. While I don’t think it made much of a difference strategy-wise, since all partners can complete all actions and your success rate will always increase after you fail, it added more color to the world / helped strengthen their characterization imho. I also liked that for final encounters you could bring anyone along with you.

I also like the new leveling up / stats system. To summarize briefly, you collect items around the school while you’re investigating that can be traded for stat boosting items, which will then help you during Suspensive Acts. Collecting enough of these items can also allow you to level up, which increases your HP. I enjoyed having a reason to investigate lots of different things, and I think it was a good introduction to the mechanics of investigating and using tool combos for newer players. Finding all of the items in a chapter also unlocks character profiles, so there’s an incentive to hunting for them.

The soundtrack is good as always! There are some really great new songs, some pretty good remasters of older songs, and some returning classics. They tend to play the same few songs all the time, which I know is exactly how it was in the first game, but I think with a larger soundtrack available the overuse kind of bugged me. The sound design is really good aside from one or two instances where it felt kind of off, and the UI is insanely good imho. I loved the different menus and designs and I hope they retain some of the stylistic choices in the English version.

There’s so much more voice acting in Shinigami too, which was sooooo fun. Again, I felt like it really helped flesh out the characters and made it a more immersive experience.

What to Expect for Death Mark II

I do not envy Aksys one bit LOLLLL. This is their comeuppance for changing that one Mashita line in DM; a game full of puns and word play that will make no sense translated directly into English, along with more Japanese religious / cultural aspects that won’t be obvious to overseas players. I honestly don’t know how they’re going to tackle certain things, but that’s why it’s their job and not mine, so good luck to them!!

Additionally, I’d say the CGs for this game are a lot more grotesque and explicit than the other two games. I don’t really see how they’d censor some of the CGs too, so I don’t think they can take a Red Riding Hood approach either. I assume it’ll probably get the standard M rating, but I think it’s important to note the CGs are a bit more graphic here.

I am interested in seeing how they’ll tackle certain things though, and I’m looking forward to comparing my experience playing in Japanese and playing in English.

Final Thoughts

After I finished my initial playthrough, I walked away thinking this was a game about love. I don’t really know how to put my thoughts into words without giving away major parts of the game, but I think love is the most important element in every aspect: both the positive and negative effects that love, or the desire for love, can have on people; what happens when that love isn’t returned, that love is betrayed, or that love is stolen away; and how such a strong emotion continues to have an effect even after death. And I think all good horror always has a little bit of love in it.

I’m don’t think I prefer this game over DM in the end, but I don’t really want to compare the two. Even though they’re in the same series, they felt like very different games trying to tell different stories. Both games have strengths and weaknesses narrative-wise, but I guess it depends on what type of story you prefer. I think though, if I had to compare them in simple terms, it would be that Death Mark is a game about Yashiki figuring out who he is, while Shinigami is a game about him defining who he is. Whether that person is someone we end up liking or not will depend on the player I think.

That being said, I think Shinigami is an improvement in many ways. It feels much sleeker, has less overly confusing puzzles, has more CGs and location art, more in-depth characterization of its returning cast, and incorporates a lot of fun new gameplay elements. Though it simplifies things, sometimes overly so, it at times is also more confusing than it needs to be. But once you figure out the system it becomes relatively easier! I finished my first run through in about 22 hours, but I think there’s more replay value for completion runs and collecting all the items.

Overall, I had fun playing it and it met my expectations for the most part. I’m looking forward to future playthroughs and I’ll continue to think about the game for a while. I hope everyone who’s looking forward to it will be satisfied too!!

[silver-wield]

Hi this is not Cloti related but do you have an analysis on Cloud's relationship with Jessie? Particularly during chapter 4 after the bike mini-game? Cloud looks worried

Sorry this took a while, Nonny, I get a bit done in from life lol

So Cloud and Jessie, the girl who absolutely has no issue throwing herself at our boi. It's pretty good for him because at least he gets used to girls being all over him and helps him make his mind up just who he wants to show attention to #cough# Tifa #cough#

Ok, spoiler warning for ppl who haven’t played – do I still need to do this? Eh ok, (I tag FF7R spoilers as final fantasy 7 remake spoilers) and it’s gonna be smol.

Also, this is one person’s interpretation of the scene, so if you disagree that’s cool and we’ll agree to disagree.

You’re also gonna have to excuse the janky quality on some of the screens, I’m grabbing them from Youtube and it’s frustrating af trying to get the exact moment I want.

Please check my master post to see if I've already covered your question, thanx

Let's mosey!

Recap time!

Chapter four and our reluctant hero has been roped into help the avalanche trio go topside. Problem is they missed the last train and have to take their bikes instead. Cue a few problems with security and a meeting with the master of extra, Roche. Once that's out of the way, Jessie rewards Cloud depending on your expertise.

This scene has 3 optional endings.

Quick aside, I find it hilarious that Cloud literally tells Jessie to shut up and get off the bike when she starts annoying him during the minigame.

Ok, ending one. The bad ending where Jessie's beyond disappointed with you. These are hard to pick apart because a lot of Cloud's attention is on the road, so the usual microexpressions are even harder to catch.

But look what I caught anyway! Check that brow quirking like “excuse you?” and it's accurate because he says he's a great driver in the next moment. I really love going over these scenes and spotting all these because they build such a clearer picture of Cloud is as a person. And clearly boi doesn't like his driving ability being questioned, especially seeing how Jessie didn't do squat to help him, aside from being annoying lol

Well, Cloud does seem a bit worried here if the frown is anything to go by. I'm guessing it's because this is the bad ending and as much as he's not into Jessie, he doesn't like people having a bad impression of him. He doesn't like the idea that he's not thought of as the big badass capable merc in all ways, so this could well be hints of that self-doubt coming through. 

Although, after watching the other two endings, this is the only time we see this typical cycle of expressions he does before concluding something. This is what I like to call a real!Cloud inner debate. Cloud often goes through a lot of quick expressions or his eyes dart around. Since they can’t do that here, we get the former. Judging from the frown at the end, he’s not impressed with his own performance and likely berating himself for not being good enough. Again. Someone call a therapist for Cloud, plz.

And moving onto the second ending, which you get if you did ok on the minigame. These are making me wonder which one's canon. I don't think it's the kiss and actually, it may well be the bad one since that's where we get the most facial expression and close ups from Cloud compared to the others where we see the back of his head or a mid range view.

For this scene we only get one close up of Cloud's face and it's pretty much SOLDIER!Cloud and then the next time he speaks you can't even see his face. This is the kind of thing that hints to me which optional scene is the one we're supposed to be getting for Cloud's narrative story (and that I actually forgot about for my playthrough as Cloud lol I got the middle one because I kinda suck at fighting Roche, but I try).

Yeah, so a lot of sighing from Cloud at Jessie, the annoyed kind. I mean, we know she kinda irritates him, but he likes her too, just not in a romantic way. You also don't see his reaction to her “I might be falling after all” line and only hear him say “hmm?” Then when his face is next in frame it's full on SOLDIER, so there's really nothing to pick apart.

And now the good ending where you get a kiss from Jessie! Ooh lala!!

CLOUD'S FACE HERE! OMG I'M DYING! He's such a boi in a man sometimes! Adorable af! Definitely never even had a kiss on the cheek before in his life and look at the ott reaction to it!

WAIT! Wait! I've seen that face before somewhere!

YES OMG I'M DYING! It's the same reaction as the one to Aerith's best dress! OMG!

I'm sorry, I genuinely need a minute....

Ok, so...looool ok....I can be sensible here....maybe loool erm, the unrealistic expression on Cloud's face shows that it's unlikely this is the outcome that happened. But, on the other hand if the red dress happened then so did this kiss, so choose your poison lol

omg I love the devs for this! I really do! This is hilarious! I can’t even look at these two pics without laughing!

Ok, sensible. Kinda. 

And last one where Cloud looks grim af as usual, but with a hint of “what do I do about this?” because Jessie kissed him and he's not interested and he has no clue what to do with women and likely wants to reject her, but still doesn't know what to do with women, so you can see the dilemma he's in lol

It doesn't help when Jessie tries calling him out on it and he has this tiny frown in response. His attention is split between trying to talk to her and driving, so it's no wonder he's not that talkative and abrupt. If I wanted to speculate I'd say if he actually had an interest in her as more than friends he'd have tried harder. He had his little chat with Marle already, so he's not opposed to putting himself out if he wants to. He doesn't here, but he's still trying to concentrate, so that could explain the lack of attention, but still, Jessie kissed him and he got scowly.

Conclusion.

Well, I for one didn't remember there were 3 of these endings – each with their own remix of Jessie's theme, just like another 3 optional scenes with a remixed theme lol the parallels are killing me!

The music for each should also hint at which one is the narrative canon – I'm useless with music analysis so bear with me. The first one does sound like it fits with the other girls' themes, so very simple, easy to listen to in the background and memorable in its way. The second is louder and has more techno notes in, making it seem less like a background piece and more in your face. The last one has vocalists and is a full on pop song! No way is that right lol

For two of the three of these we don't really get much in the way of Cloud's face. It could be put down to him driving, but we get a couple of very good close ups on the bad one with varied expressions, one of which definitely goes towards his personal motivation to be thought of as a hero. Having people point out his faults would cause that kind of reaction.

The second result really doesn't have much in the way of facial expression and Cloud's voice is brisk because he's driving, so I can't really say much about it one way or the other. It’s the one I get the most when I’m playing and it’s kinda blah. Like your standard minigame pass screen. That probably didn’t help.

The last one is hilarious! That's such an exaggerated expression! Do people really believe Cloud pulls that kind of pikachu face on the regular?! I legit needed to stop because I couldn't stop laughing! That's not Cloud or real!Cloud, that's just bloody funny! Also, Cloud doesn't seem too impressed by the result if that last minute frown is any indication. He doesn't want Jessie kissing him, even though it's probably the first time any girl has kissed him – poor sweet summer child lol

If I had to make a guess at the narrative canon I'd say number one, because we know for a fact that Cloud hasn't been driving for years. Boi gets motion sickness ffs! And when did he ever drive a motorcycle? I'd definitely buy that being one of the first times he's ever driven, which would explain why he did so poorly and why he has multiple varied expressions in that result.