There is a significant percentage of the players out there that "finished" this game and just stopped. I feel bad for them. "The game was just okay. I 'beat' it in a few hours."
its an implementation issue. playthrough 2 being 95% the same as playthrough 1 is naturally going to lead to people not bothering and not finding out they missed half the story.
I think this was entirely intentional to throw people off. Yoko Taro has commented on utilising boredom and repetition in his games and I think it's used here to great effect.
Going through most of playthrough 2 with a slight sense of disappointment that you thought the game could have been something more, thinking that at most you might get to play as A2 during the same timeframe (and it's clear by that point that wouldn't add much) only for it to throw what is effectively a sequel to the story at you in playthrough 3, full of all the mad plot twists you'd been hoping for was an inspired move.
I'm sure it didn't work for everyone, and I imagine plenty of people missed out because of it, but for those that went in blind and stuck it out it it really did give something I've never experienced in any other game.
you have to play through twice to get to the second half of the game. A is the first ending, then B. Then C or D is choice dependent. and E is another choice. F-Z are all mostly joke endings / special game overs
It doesn’t work like that, and you shouldn’t view it in that way. A better way to look at the game is to just view restarting the game as starting the next chapter. The game effectively treats NG+ , finishing the game and restarting the game as a core game mechanic.
"hearing that I was literally only half way through the story, hadn't met the third main character, and there was frankly all the best parts of the game ahead of me made me give up. I couldn't stand half an hour of mild annoyance for that little!"
I’m one of these people but I genuinely didn’t realise there was more, does it require you to play what you’ve already played over and over again though?
So you play through the second half as another character but most of the game is the same. There are some changes and things here and there that are different. Once you get past that point, ending C is all new.
Playing Ending B (as 9S) I was like "oh no, not again, I already know the story!" - but the Hacking Mechanic and those little Mini games it brings with it, that was like a breath of fresh air and I really enjoyed it.
Just finished the game 1 week ago for the first time in my life. Needed years to pick it up and start it, but I'm glad I did!
Playing Ending B (as 9S) I was like "oh no, not again, I already know the story!" - but the Hacking Mechanic and those little Mini games it brings with it, that was like a breath of fresh air and I really enjoyed it.
Just finished the game 1 week ago for the first time in my life. Needed years to pick it up and start it, but I'm glad I did!
That was me. Did the 2B play through and was like “ok well that was decent but short” and never played it again lol.
Today, idk if I care that much even though I know now that I need to replay it a few times as the other characters.
Same thing with the new armored core game. Has the same “play it three times to really see the full game” kind of design, but I just can’t really see the carrot on a stick that they’re dangling
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u/Araragi 3h ago
There is a significant percentage of the players out there that "finished" this game and just stopped. I feel bad for them. "The game was just okay. I 'beat' it in a few hours."