Aoi Namida [青い涙] Game Sample - Xbox

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Vysethedetermined2

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Published on May 25, 2020 10:15:59 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=348LJQXFFAw

Game:

Aoi Namida (2004)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 1:29:44

2,845 views

51

As the only pure visual novel gal-game for the Xbox, it is a Japanese-published game with Korean origins and is quite a curiosity not only for importers but for the Japanese audience. Originally developed as an adults-only game by the Korean outlet at CDPA for PC gamers in 2003, it was later picked up and published as a milder version by Panther Software and released a year later in 2004. It is also notable for being one of the rarest games on the system; Panther Software were on the verge of bankruptcy and have a history of releasing games on a variety of platforms, but ultimately chose the Xbox as their platform of choice during the 6th generation of consoles due to its robust specs and the hopes to break out into the Japanese Xbox market as there was little competition. Unfortunately, they did not leave a good first impression when they chose to localize "Metal Dungeon". They did rebound a bit with the success of "Braveknight", but by this time, it was too little, too late and they could not fight their financial struggles any longer -- they decided that "Aoi Namida" would be their swansong and released a limited "first print" version with a soundtrack CD bundled in. This version of the game was also fully voiced (outside of the male protagonist and narration). Outside one or two other titles, (such as "Daemon Vector" which was only released in Asia, the Bistro Cupid L.E., etc.), it is one of the hardest to track down.

The game, on the surface, is a slice-of-life about a young and talented artist named Yusuke who was abandoned at birth and raised by a mysterious woman named Mana for 18 years as they go over day-to-day activities in a relatively normal fashion... except he has recurring nightmares warning him that not everything is as they appear. Yusuke will experience much turmoil as he tries to figure out what's real and what's a byproduct of his mind. The way characters bond and what is illustrated as "love and hate" is culturally different from a typical Japanese VN game, but it's a little hard to put into words WHAT is different... if I had to say, the writing has a slightly more somber and oppressive vibe with a bigger emphasis on narration and their sense of humor is also different (the jokes or gags aren't as over-the-top as what you would find in a traditional Japanese work). This game in particular delights in very mundane conversations between characters with little in the way of choices the player can make, and it is not a stretch to say that the first five (of roughly ~16) hours of your playthrough consists of shopping for cheese to make fondue, drawing on your sketchpad and going to a hot spring.

The game sprinkles foreshadowing here and there that things are not as they seem, but the problem with this game is that your choices don't always translate to logical results in the latter segments, and as pretty much all your choices are made in the first segment, you have to slog through the other 10+ hours of the game just to see the different outcomes of your choices. However, I don't want to write the plot off as uninteresting; the game takes place in three phases: the "Fantasy" phase (player choice), "Recollection" phase (where people with powers help shape your reality, two in particular being the ability to stop time and prevent disasters) and "Reality" phase (conclusion based on previous phases). The first phase is almost mind-numbingly dull, but the other two phases are pretty interesting as you deal with themes of prejudice, abuse, violence and murder, depression and more. There are various parallels between the three phases as well as the game chips away at your happiness.

There are some truly left-field moments in the game as things go from idyllic and peaceful to dark and cruel -- characters you've met in different timelines may have completely different personas... some characters may NOT EVEN EXIST, and even characters that you find during the game's finale are damaged goods or have some kind of great trauma / emotional baggage. It is almost certain to jerk some of those blue tears from your face either because they're genuinely moving or because they abort hours of reading and rooting for characters you were invested in. While this certainly wouldn't be the first game to have drastic shifts in tone, this doesn't make certain characters feel relatable. I have also never played the original PC release, so I'm not sure if the edited adult scenes added any significant context to major scenes (probably not), but what's present feels a bit disjointed at times (mainly towards the very end). Nevertheless, there are more pros than cons to this game and Japanese players noted an appealing fusion of Japanese and Korean elements with a theme that plays on Confucianism. The audio / visuals are also pleasant with some pretty detailed illustrations.

This is a video of some of the scenes throughout one playthrough with twelve hours of recorded footage condensed into about 90 minutes. Enjoy.