LogFAQs > #974333389

Thoughts before diving into the post-game content.

First, I ended up mostly liking all the characters. Nosato (glasses-wearing arrogant dude) was a small favorite of mine from the beginning so I was happy to see him get more time to shine later on. Huraki Fusaishi remains one of the best VN protagonists I've experienced. Maybe the actual best? He was certainly a big part of why the story was enjoyable. Chiemi was also good, had amazing chemistry with Fusaishi.

Why'd they have to push a potential romance between Fusaishi and Haru though? She's a teenager. Japan gonna Japan I guess. It's disappointing that I have to be used accustomed to that sort of thing.

Now onto the ending parts. They're...hmm. Hmm. I saw that for some people, what happens after Route 3 ruined the game for them. I wouldn't go that far, as there were some parts I really liked. Examples would be the part where Fusaishi is looping with Chiemi, and the cheesy-yet-cathartic scene where Fusaishi gives therapy to everyone in the village while pretending to be their god. Defeating a god via marriage fraud is a fucking great moment.

With that said, I can see where the detractors are coming from. Raging Loop tries to have its cake and eat it too in that it pushes supernatural answers and realistic answers at the same time. To be blunt, I don't think it pulled that off. The elements of supernatural horror were so well-done that shoving in a realist answer afterwards just seems...why? Are we really supposed to believe in perfect knockout gas, electronically locked doors (that no one ever tries to break down for some reason), and an army of heat-seeking dogs with rabies, all somehow secretly integrated into a rural village? You're telling me that endlessly-looping Chiemi with a murderboner couldn't find a way to kill a bunch of shmucks in cosplay?

It makes less sense the more you think about it, and worse, it retroactively detracts from the experience. Now when I think back to the moments of horror, they just seem...worse. Like when Fusaishi wakes up as a wolf and is given his task, that chilling scene is apparently just randos in outfits. Considering that Raging Loop still has plenty of hard confirmed supernatural elements, this half-measure was unnecessary.

Also, a lot of the plot twists hinge on Japanese language manipulation, which is a complete miss for a non-native speaker. That's not necessarily the game's fault, but it is what it is. The scene where they describe the history of the area are also way too long and could have been shortened. Not so sure about Rikako getting a relatively happy ending after all the fucked up stuff she did, too, it's totally glossed over because she's a waifu.

This post ended up more negative than intended, but I think that's because the good parts of Raging Loop are a bit more difficult to discuss. It's strengths lie in the moment-to-moment, how the dialogue is smart and realistic, how it creates an effective atmosphere. You can't really replicate that by talking about it.

Overall game is hovering somewhere between an 8/10 and an 8.5/10 for me. Great start, Fantastic middle, conflicting end. Will see how I feel after doing the extra content.