So now that the prologue has been released, I want to give my brief thoughts on Project: Eden’s Garden. I’ll try to avoid spoilers, but if you wanna go into this fully blind, now might be the time to check it out yourself. The prologue has been released for download, the playthroughs are up on the main channel, and SHSL Blaze has uploaded their playthrough of the prologue as well. Others will most likely be coming out fast as well. So get on the train while you can to avoid Spoilers.
If you really don’t know if you should check it out or not before reading this, I urge you to please go and see the prologue through to its entirety. You will not be disappointed.
With that, follow the Read More for my brief thoughts on this game so far.
So to get the negative out of the way, I do think that the controls themselves need some work. Mostly I wish we had the option to adjust/toggle controls so that we can adjust it to our comfort, or at least perhaps something that could show us immediately what the basic controls were on the main menu when you first start the game. I struggled to get the controls working even with the download instructions and experimenting. In the end, I had to shut it down and opt for the let’s play instead, which is a rare issue I don’t often have with starting up a game I intended to play. I’ll try again on my next day off when I have more time to really devote to it, but if the problem persists, that might be an issue going forward.
That being said, for a fangame with a very small team doing all this for free in their spare time? It’s honestly still an amazing feat and the team deserves a round of applause for all their hard work on getting the controls to work as well as they did based off what I saw in the let’s play. I think if they give themselves some more time in between the prologue and the first chapter to playtest things and maybe work out the kinks in how the controls are set up, we’ll have something really good in terms of playability.
Also, this might become a bit of an unpopular opinion going forward as more people play the game/watch let’s plays of it, and I do understand that this is just how he is now that the game has only just started and there’s the character development we have to wait for, but I really, really, REALLY do not like Damon as the protagonist as of the date of this post. I do like the idea of a character like Damon being the protagonist, and I have seen it be used effectively in other games and novels. But there were many times where his inner monologue and things he’d say to others made me dislike him more the further in we went, and I was half tempted to just close it out and wait until the first chapter was released (I pushed through because of the rest of the cast). By the end of the prologue, I began wishing that Wolfgang, Desmond, or Toshiko were the protagonist instead. Going forward, the writing for Damon is going to have a lot of work cut out for it to make me enjoy him as a protagonist. Or at least tolerate him as the player character.
And that’s all I really have to say by way of genuine negatives because this is all positive going forward.
Starting with the art and UI because HOLY SHIT. If you didn’t know better, you’d think this was an actual, official Danganronpa game, and I honestly would not be surprised if someone at Spike eventually sees this and goes “hey, we need this team on our payroll”. The design of the characters are fantastic, all of the sprites are dynamic and expressive and on par with some of the best in the franchise. The backgrounds are GORGEOUS and the interface is sleek and clean and easy to look at. The colors are vibrant and it all is very beautiful. AND DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON THE MUSIC BECAUSE I WANT TO EAT IT. IT IS THAT GOOD. Honestly, the art, music, and design alone make this worth checking out.
And don’t even get me started on the voice work because BY GOD. It’s absolute perfection. I don’t think there’s a single voice I don’t like. Mty favorites have to go to Eloise, Grace, Toshiko, Desmond, Wolfgang, Jett, Wenona, and of course, Tozu.
SPOILER: As for the mechanics, they’re more or less your standard Danganronpa fair for the most part. You have the Climax Reasoning, the Nonstop Debates, and the parts where you answer questions via multiple choice. I do also really like that the team decided to do make the purple text something you can utilize as absorb statements. The Pathos Statement mechanic is a true gamechanger and I hope to see it implemented in future projects.
Now, for my brief thoughts on the characters. I will go in the order of how they appear in the VA cast video. I have some thoughts that’ll be more elaborate later, but this is just a brief overview.
Damon Maitsu: I already said it in the negatives section, but just a recap of it is “I hope his character development makes me hate him less”. Good for what he is, but will be a deal breaker character for some people.
Eva Tsukuna: You are either going to become my best girl or my worst nightmare and I cannot wait to see where your character goes. There is something off about you and I need answers. I don’t like you, but I also don’t hate you. You’re in that weird grey area where I need more before I can really decide.
Desmond Hall: We haven’t seen much yet, but from what little we got, I am excited to see how he interacts with the rest of the cast. Please survive at least past chapter 2.
Eloise Taulner: I WANT YOU TO HAVE THE WORLD SWEETIE YOU’RE DOING AMAZING. She better survive or I will be very very very sad.
Toshiko Kayura: I was so, so prepared to list you as my least favorite character and right now I want you to survive to the end. Toshiko my dear, you’re phenomenal.
Wenona: To quote John Mulaney, “MY WIFE IS A BITCH AND I LIKE HER SO DAMN MUCH!” Seriously, Wenona is so much fun as the antagonistic character so far.
Ulysses Wilhelm: Someone get this man a lavender scented candle and a cozy blankie. He needs to SLEEP. I love him.
Mark Berskii: You are either going to be very very lowkey or you’ll make a massive splash. I hope you do a concert.
Diana Venicia: I will be so sad if you die. You are absolutely the definition of a cinnamon roll.
Wolfgang Akire: Oh. Oh, there’s some TRAUMA here. I can sense it. So far, Wolfie is my favorite. I love him so much. I want him to have a big crying breakdown.
Kai Monteago: “If you didn’t like me from the start, you’re never gonna like me-” HOLD IT! I like you. I didn’t expect it and honestly thought I’d hate you, but so far I do in fact like you. You pathetic little meow meow you.
Jett Dawson: Jett, my dear, my darling. You are on par with Akane so far. I want to see more from you.
Ingrid Grimwall: I don’t know if I want you to make me a sword or take my soul and make me into a sword. Your kind heart is as big as your arm muscles. I adore you.
Grace Madison: I expected to hate you, and yet, you are my favorite Asshole in this entire show. You’re the fun kind of Asshole. I love the fun ones.
Jean Delamer: You’re like if Sakura, Nekomaru, and Kaito fused into a single person. You’re as amazing personality wise as your muscles are huge. I wanna see more. Gimme the FTEs now.
Cassidy Amber: Oh, you and Wenona are gonna get along like water and oil and I am READY for it.
Tozu: .....I feel like you’re about ready to jump to the top of my “favorite villains of all time” list and your voice is so..... I just.....I want Tozu to read audio books.
I’m honestly surprised because with ONE exception, I don’t dislike this cast. With the official games, I always have a total of three characters minimal I either absolutely dislike or am absolutely indifferent to. But I think this game has one of the strongest casts in any fangan project. Or hell, in any story I’ve come across as of late.
And that’s about it that I really have to say at the moment. So far, Project: Eden’s Garden is shaping up to be one of the best Fangans in history, and I would honestly not be surprised if it got picked up to become and official Danganronpa title with its quality.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, or you’re still debating on if you should, please do yourself a favor.
GO INDULGE IN PROJECT EDEN’S GARDEN.
You won’t regret it.
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// rant?? kind of
basically things have happened and i have thoughts lmao
not going to name what exactly has happened (tho if ur in the same kind of twitterspace i am you can probably guess) but...
really i think this is a symptom of a HUGE issue concerning ignorant activism and responses to that
people, usually kids/teenagers because no one's shown them any better, immediately dogpile anything they consider "problematic" instead of exploring the topic to understand it better before making any judgment in a total “shoot first, ask questions never” kind of way
this kind of knee-jerk reaction is really harmful, not just to who/whatever they're cancelling (especially if it’s undeserved), but also to themselves, because then all the grown-ass adults who should know better start shaming them for it when they could be explaining why that kind of outlook is wrong and thus preventing these kids from having more ignorant perspectives
i mean i'm not saying you shouldn't feel upset or annoyed about them, but literally when dealing with kids, when kids do some dumb shit it's either for attention or because they don't know any better
and i know you could say it's none of your business to educate them when their caretakers should be doing that, but are their caretakers online with them all the time???? are their teachers constantly keeping an eye on their social media to catch and correct them when they make mistakes????
i'm not saying you have to go into a super in-depth explanation, you can just say, "well, that take on this topic is actually kind of close-minded" and leave it at that
listen i am only 20, i didn't do a ton of introspection as a teenager (which was only like. 2 years ago) so i had a lot of stupid opinions on things too XDD i was 100000% one of those kids who cancelled first, did research never
it's only because there were a few adults online (and irl, kind of) whose opinions caused me to change my perspectives on things that i think the way i do now concerning “problematic” media/people, and let me tell you, none of these adults were the ones who were making fun of me for having dumbass opinions (usually, anyways)
idk i know it's too much to ask for to get adults to try and teach kids they know nothing about, especially kids with dumb takes, but whenever i see things like this happening, you know, kids having a dumb opinion and then adults making fun of them for it without explaining why, i just feel awful on those kids' behalves
and idk, responding to force with more force instead of redirection never ends well. if you push back against these kids, you’re probably just going to root them in place.
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I finally finished reading the fourth volume of svsss in full, and thing is--the first time through I only read the bingqiu content because I was ravenous for more of their happy ending.
Turns out that was a perilous mistake.
Because I started reading the airplane extras. And I swear to god. MXTX is trying to kill me
What do you MEAN demon lord Binghe was sitting on his big fucking throne. All stoic and forbidding. Surrounded by his demon generals who don't know shit about human courtship. Asking them what he should do, fully demoralized by constant rejections from sqq, only to have airplane tell him to act more pathetic and needy. Which is already hysterically funny and insane, UNTIL LBH'S RESPONSE IS THIS, KILLING ME INSTANTLY:
LUO BINGHE. WHY DOES HE SAY IT LIKE: "I already tried that, didn't work--nothing works :/ not mean, not maidenly, not housewife, not spicy, not capable disciple. Is doubling down on clingy really all it will take? What's a born hater with only one love in his life to do????"
The dichotomy of him sitting there like 'how can I reach the unfathomable depths of shizun's heart?' A HEART HE'S ALREADY WON OVER, MIND and then in the Holy Mausoleum solving the puzzle without blinking and being like 'oh yeah you just have to hit the acupoints, no sweat.' Literally the comedy writes itself I'm so--
How am I supposed to be normal about this. MXTX understands the juicy quintessential queer joy of a person with the world's power at their fingertips wishing only for love. Willing to do anything to earn that love, when unbeknownst to them it's already been freely given. Totally not screaming and yelling and clawing at the walls
And that's not even touching airplane's uproarious account of events. The way he's like 'lol what's next, lbh and sqq are best friends now? smfh' only to see lbh TACKLE SQQ LOVINGLY. FOR SQQ TO BE BASHFUL ABOUT IT BUT SO SO FOND OF THE LITTLE SCAMP. This when we've been experiencing sqq's constant inner monologue of 'I'm so cool and so dignified about my role, truly the epitome of propriety and poser-level fortitude.' Meanwhile, in their universe:
Airplane constantly flaming???? Sqq and lbh in his observations????? His absolute bewilderment and confusion????? Legendary. No notes every single second of this shit was hilarious.
Airplane's comment that sqq + older adolescent lbh traveling together was just watching a couple in their honeymoon phase. OR the fact that lbh is exceedingly petty and refuses to share their food in the wake of airplane's interruption of their time together, until sqq relents sheepishly and insists airplane eat what's left (ONLY AFTER PLACATING LBH WITH MORE FOOD FROM HIS PLATE, SOBBING)
Watching airplane salivate over Mobei-Jun and acting like that's totally normal behavior. Finding out mbj and airplane got together first. Finding out sqq encouraged airplane. LIKE THIS. WHILE HE IS STILL IN DENIAL ABOUT HIS OWN FEELINGS:
Mobei-jun clearly thinking their arrangement is a forever thing, heartbroken his human abandoned him with all the hapless fury of a scorned wife swept away by false promises of fidelity. Airplane writing demons to be the type to beat up their crush lovingly and still unable to connect the dots about mbj's feelings. Mbj letting him go and respecting his wishes, only relenting when there's indication airplane was poorly processing his own feelings and didn't actually want to leave. Mbj caring for him and listening to him as soon as airplane voices what he needs directly and with clarity. None of these gays are functional and it's everything to me
Unrelated, but I physically can't hold this information in anymore:
I'm still reeling from younger lbh having his sexual awakening from the image of sqq wrapped in the immortal binding cables. Condemn me as you like he was so, so real for that.
And no I will not be taking any comments about how luo bingge couldn't bear to see luo binghe cherished in ways he never got to have and all the haunting implications of that. I will also not be taking any comments about luo binghe's instinct to look for sqq in that alternate universe, only to be shaken to the very core to be unable to find his shizun anywhere. The unspeakable and latent horror of his relentless mind likely piecing together what happened, but unable to say it; to suspect what is true, and live with the harrowing confusion of his double's actions. To blame himself, to assume that he had let his anger get the better of him in that world and result in unspeakable folly...
I also refuse to talk about how heartrending it is to hear Tianlang-jun weakly say "In the end, I really can't bring myself to hate humans." The implication that the foolishness of that hope and bright-eyed fondness--the very thing that put him through such unspeakable agony--couldn't be beaten out of him entirely. To discover that his faith in Su Xiyan hadn't been misplaced, to the contrary: his beloved hadn't scorned him at all, but rather fought to the miserable end to protect the fruition of their genuine feelings of love when she couldn't protect tlj or herself.
How MXTX has sqq deliberately draw parallels between their situation and that of ygy+sj and tlj+sx; desperately wishing it might not be too late for them. The concept of breaking cycles of abuse and harm pervasive throughout the newly devised story, how it evolves for the better only when love takes the place of power, pride, and domination. How the moment sqq chooses vulnerability instead of saving face, the genre shifts to the so-called "cringe" girly genre where most if not every character is more fulfilled, more true to themselves. How the "male-oriented" former genre was aimlessly sensationalized and sexualized, how it was a sustained performance of aspirational toxic masculinity. How men objectify other men without end. All of the unspoken gendered implications that come with that.
Anyways. Going to go put my head in a sandbox and try to process everything I just witnessed because even a second reading is not enough to find a modicum of closure.
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So Atsumu Miya has a loud, boisterous, kinda clingy personality and he's also kinda full of himself so he comes across as a jerk sometimes. But he's spent his entire life being compared to his calmer, more mature twin. But despite that he still wants his twin around always. So when Osamu (his twin) tells him he's not gonna play volleyball after high school despite his promise to play by his side forever, Atsumu is crushed and angry.
Enter Kiyoomi Sakusa (nicknamed Omi-Omi by Atsumu). He's germaphobic and hates people and crowds and well- everything and comes across as stand-offish and rude to just about everyone (seriously his only real friend in high school was his cousin lol).
They technically meet at a training camp for the best high school athletes when they're 16, but they don't interact much until Sakusa finishes college and joins MSBY (a professional volleyball team, also know as the team Atsumu has played on since he graduated high school). Atsumu loves getting on Sakusa's nerves and dragging him into stuff and they kinda hate each other at first. But Sakusa never compares Atsumu to his twin, and Atsumu slowly draws Sakusa out of his shell.
They're relationship will always be filled with snarky remarks and petty little fights, but they both know there's no one they'd rather have put up with their shit in the end. They love each other dearly, even if neither likes to admit it.
Also unlike Osamu, Sakusa really does play with him for as long as he possibly can- from the MSBY team to the Japan National team in the Olympics
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