Phenomeno Review by Gerard. *Spoiler free

[Gerard the Lone Wolf 10]

http://i.imgur.com/SJ6oa5h.jpg

 

 

 

"There are things that shouldn't be seen."

 

"From here on, is a story that shouldn't be known."

 

 

And with those phrases still hanging on my mind, I took a step forward into a world where occult and others lie shrouded in the dark corners, lurking, invisible to the naked eyes.

 

Venturing into the realm of Nitro+ titles always proves to be a fruitful investment at times; each story gives a different kind of pleasure and enjoyment, a rich experience, from dark sin to forbidden romance, from madness to love. Whether it’s a mere tale of vengeance, a simple fated duel between men who walk the path of the swords, a short story of a boy-meets-girl in a land where Dragons trampled the Earth, they have without fail, always managed to turn it into something more than just that, always so much more. Yet, for this time, I kept my expectation to the bare minimum when dealing with Phenomeno.

 

Phenomeno - A visual novel adaptation (for a promotion) of the horror novel written by Hajime Ninomae, it features only the first of the three cases from the book, the case of "The House that Grant Wishes". There are also two more books released, which continued the story from the first book. I believe there are no differences whatsoever in the story between the visual novel and the book as the texts are completely the same. It is no surprise, that after the book was translated into English, a Russian guy took the translated text and made it into a patch for the VN. Unfortunately, the translation is far from perfect, and has a lot of grammatical errors and awkward, stiff sentences. Some parts can be rather confusing to understand too, though it should not distract the enjoyment much. Oh yea, I think I should mention that Phenomeno is completely free and downloadable (even outside of Japan) on the official site. That’s cool. Phenomeno characters is also designed by Yoshitoshi ABe (NieA_7, Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze).

 

Some of these details were not obvious to me until after I actually finished the VN and did some digging, driven by interest and a little, err, dissatisfaction. I probably should clarify that the only reason I went in with a low expectation was because Phenomeno is like a niche among the niche, at least in the places where I usually linger around. I didn't know much about it before I started reading. It's not a title that you would see people bring up in a discussion or recommend. It was only natural to have your curiosity arouse and blend with the feeling of uncertainty when dealing with the unknown. With all that said, after I've read and finished it, I believe it’s safe to say that, for the most part, the VN did deliver whatever it wanted to show its audience (in this case, -> me), and what it wants its subject to undergo and experience, even if the outcome, the revelation, the ending, can be a bit unfulfilling and in a wicked sense, sort of, a cock teaser. (The source of my discontent)

 

So, sitting in front of my laptop at night with headphones on, all lights inside the house turned off (the usual things I did when starting horror VNs and gemu), I read the VN in all of its fullscreen glory. It’s obligatory to write about the audio and visual effects, how the music that blares through the headphones brought forth uneasy feelings and the sound effects that rattled me slightly, feels striking and fitting with the atmosphere, because this is Phenomeno’s strengths and what makes it stand out. It’s the very first thing that caught my attention and doesn't let it go. There are few things that can genuinely scare me, and it certainly wasn't Phenomeno, but this VN was like the first title after 999 and Saya no Uta that actually made me feel… unsettled. It’s rather disturbing, and it prompted me to write this thing. The visual and audio effects feel like a reminiscence of Saya no Uta, like a fleeting sense of déjà vu, though whether it reaches the same level of greatness is debatable; it's unarguable that it does work wonders for the story. As for the tachie, while seemingly well drawn, still feels a bit too rough to me. The minimal visuals and blurred photograph that served as background occasionally made the sinister ambiance more imposing, while the effects and the scarce CGs placed throughout the VN timely marked the important scene, and emphasized upon it.

 

Now, the -story- section. I'm honestly not sure how to write this particular part. It has been the area that troubles me the most when it comes to reviewing. Should I be moderately vague with the story or be mildly descriptive? Can I actually do justice to the VN, the subject I'm reviewing? It's always a source of a dilemma, a predicament on my side. It honestly can be quite overwhelming. As I've said before, I didn't know jackshit about Phenomeno before I started it, and I could enjoy the VN in its best mostly thanks to that. A few of the elements they threw in the story were genuine surprises, and the characters introduced were truthfully the first time I've ever heard of them. I believe this is the best way to tackle this VN. A good thing about an underrated game is that there're fewer chances that people are going to spoil it. But in any case, I'm determined to finish this shit, so let's go.

 

Well, the story. It starts off with the main character called Nagi, who moved to Tokyo from a place, uh, somewhere in Japan. (I can’t remember the name!) D: So, this Nagi tried to find a cheap place to live in Tokyo, and, beguiled by a real estate agent sweet tales, Nagi rented a house that has a ridiculously low rent, called “The House that Grant Wishes”, located in the middle of nowhere where the nearest convenience store or residential areas are like 10 kilometers away, more or less. And then, we soon find out that Nagi has a problem with that house, or rather, the house has problems with Nagi. Whatever. The main character, plagued with this dire problem, decided to seek help from a wacky occult club website, called Ikaigabuchi. From here, Nagi will realize that whatever the hell is happening at the moment, it is only the surface of the horror ………. Well, I guess this shitty impish description (intentional) will do for a synopsis.

 

As far as the storyline goes, it honestly wasn't that impressive or anything ground-breaking. It plays out like the usual horror and scary stories, and it certainly can be on the predictable side if you have seen a bunch of it before. There were times where I’m not entirely sure what direction the story was heading, and that’s one of the few instants where it managed to catch me off guard. (I go like, "I totally didn't see it coming, bro!") The wheel of the story is Nagi, as the plot is advanced by this particular character. This isn't to say that the other characters don't play active roles so to speak, but rather their existence doesn't do anything that actually moved the plot, at least not until the near end. A couple of characters were introduced throughout the story, but the only interesting one was Yoishi. The nature and the mystery surrounding this character somehow reminded me of a certain anime called Jigoku Shoujo. (lulz!) Yoishi is an enigma, a character that is both undecipherable and unpredictable in this VN. It’s amusing to deal with this kind of cryptic character. Still, in retrospect, the whole cast is actually quite shallow. This is probably because it’s a plot driven VN instead of characterization centered, so less time is spent on building up character's depth, personality, and importance. Whether this is a good or a bad thing will depend on personal taste. In my case, it doesn't work well. The storyline isn't strong enough to carry a formidable momentum, and if it wasn't because of the audio and visuals that saved it, the whole thing would have been rather flat. Yes, I’m saying that Phenomeno VN storyline is a bit on the weak side. (Disagree? Uh…too bad, I guess.) It is a decent read, but the storytelling clearly wasn't on the same level as the other Nitro+ titles. Though, I'll definitely say that the VN is worth it for the audio and visual effects alone. The last question at the end sends chills running down my spine too.

 

So, what does the story teach us?

 

It's bad to be a cheapskate.

• It's bad to trust real estate agents.
  
• It's bad to indulge in your curiosity without a sense of caution.

 

As for the ending, it is a bit unfulfilling, as it felt like it ended when the fun was just about to start. It isn't like it’s a cliffhanger or anything, as it ties most of the loose ends (there're some questions left unanswered), and it did play out like the usual horror story cliche twist, but this horror VN is truly short (two hours or less) that when the ending comes, it feels rather abrupt. There are parts of the story that left you wanting more, and there are parts that left you feeling less. Phenomeno unfortunately falls more on the latter category. It ends not with a bang but with a whimper. It's a self-contained story and it wasn't a solid one either. It has a lot of spaces that could be worked on and improved. It feels rather incomplete and just a small part of a bigger thing. Well, obviously, it is, since the story is just a third of a book, and there are more books that continued from that too. But I am reading and reviewing the VN, and in this VN, the story does feel incomplete. I don't give a damn about the books, and reading it certainly won’t be as good without the sound and visuals, as it will not have the atmosphere and whatever else the VN could give, so fuck it. As I've said earlier, the Phenomeno VN did deliver whatever it wanted to, but it feels rather insufficient. Nonetheless, in the end I am a little bit disappointed and I don't think this was entirely my fault.

 

End of review.

 

Lastly, thank you Desi for agreeing to correct my poor grammars. You've my gratitude.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Gerard the Lone Wolf

[zokoxex 10]

damn thats one hell of a review....

[radiantmadness 11]

''Though, I'll definitely say that the VN is worth it for the audio and visual effects alone''

''The nature and the mystery surrounding this character somehow reminded me of a certain anime called Jigoku Shoujo''

 

Anyhow, though we disagree on this VN, well written review.

[Gerard the Lone Wolf 10]

Anyhow, though we disagree on this VN,

 

I believe I should take this opportunity to clear a few things.

 

 

What follows now are some very heavy spoilers for Phenomeno VN. If you click it without finishing the VN, you are screwed. You've been warned.

---

 

 

[spoiler=Heavy Phenomeno VN spoiler]

1)

 

http://i.imgur.com/Uy4XegX.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/hqUGovA.jpg

I for one doesn't believe that a message this important is simply forgotten by Karasu due to being drunk or whatever reasons. Whatever it is, it wasn't explained properly and convincingly in the story.

 

 

2)

 

http://i.imgur.com/4UubfiL.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/vI9jyvE.png

 

http://i.imgur.com/BDf5Jtw.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/LanFuiq.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/ZHrnhTp.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/ahwiXzz.jpg

 

http://i.imgur.com/xLpl07s.jpg

 

Whatever those lines means, it certainly doesn't look like it's related to schema.

The fundamental difference between us is that I see Phenomeno VN as a ghost story, and thus, opened a few more questions surrounding the nature of the other side, the ghost of the architect, while you guys inclined to view it as something in between, or rather, the schema is the real explanation.

However, in the end, everyone has their own personal interpretation of the story. So, to each his own. Cheers.

 

Edited September 15, 2013 by Gerard the Lone Wolf

[OneManArmy 82]

I wrote it for my own amusement.

Totally the reason why I'm writing reviews. It's just the perfect way to come to terms with the stuff you just read. And I mostly agree with the things you said. It was a very interesting read, sometimes creepy but the story was definitely not the best. And I can't remember that the game has good bgm tracks but whatever. I'm getting old after all.

[Uzuki Sepia 10]

Totally the reason why I'm writing reviews. It's just the perfect way to come to terms with the stuff you just read. And I mostly agree with the things you said. It was a very interesting read, sometimes creepy but the story was definitely not the best. And I can't remember that the game has good bgm tracks but whatever. I'm getting old after all.

 

 

Phenomeno bgm is fitting but far from being unforgettable, personally I recall only one track that impressed me a bit.

The big thing about Phenomeno is ABe's art, but it's not for everyone.