LogFAQs > #975493743

4- Joshua

He did not get that many scenes in this game. But it just happens I liked everything I saw. This is post-SC Josh, who now has his personal issues mostly solved and a stable relationship with Estelle. How happy is he? A lot.

The SC afterparty scene is great and I wish it was in SC proper. There, Josh is just relieved he gets to hang out casually with all those people, something he thought he would never be able to do. It's starting to dawn on him that he really has nothing to do with Orobouros anymore. He's a free man.

He doesn't get many scenes in Phantasma, but he still carries with what he gets. His exchanges with Kevin are solid, where he's showing both sincere gratitude and his ability to stay on the top of things, at the same time. We learn he always knew about Kevin, but decided to let Kevin hang out with Estelle because he thought she would benefit from it. He sees Kevin being broken but also sees his good side. So much of Estelle has dripped on Josh at this point it's delightful.

There is also the Loewe scene, where he gets to show he's moved on. The Renne scene at the end, where I feel he was just as great as Estelle. And there is the flashback where they are kids, which really gives more points to Estelle than to him, but is nice characterization for him anyway.

Josh is also the one who benefits the most from time passing after I played SC, along with Estelle and Weissmann. Because the memory of having played that perfect dramatic love story stays, and my appreciation for the main characters involved just grows over time. It was really a one of a kind thing.

3- Renne

Star Door Fifteen.

The thing that is interesting about that door is how it recontextualizes the entire character of Renne. Ok, I know, she had already said she used to be a child prostitute, in SC. But I feel like I hadn't really processed the concept myself. It was treated as an argument for why Estelle couldn't easily redeem Renne. She went through worse shit, therefore she's more broken and will take more work to fill up her alignment meter with goodness.

But now? Screw all of that. Fuck redemption. Go burn the world down, Renne, you deserve it. What you went through in that place dwarfs everything else, it makes it all meaningless. Parents, childhood, friends, morals, what even matters when... THAT happened?

I checked the timeline in a forum and apparently she was 6 when she was found by Josh and Loewe. Six. Let that sink in.

And Orobouros? Any bad feelings I may have had for them for turning Renne into a child soldier are gone (though what they did to people other than Renne is a different story). They saved her. Heck, Josh gained a few points in his own ranking just for being the one who asked Loewe to take her with them (and it's also fascinating to learn a brainwashed Josh was able to do that).

It's no wonder why she is so mad. Why she refuses to open herself up. It may be because she thinks if she just allowed herself to be normal again, it would cheapen all the horror that happened to her. There has to be a meaning to it, I guess. Something to destroy. Some closure to achieve. I don't know. Crossbell will tell. I feel like she won't find it, because the story wants Estelle to bring her to the light, but damn if Estelle/Josh pulling that off won't be an incredible feat.

Well, I've said my piece about that... door. So what's left? Well Renne is pretty fun in Phantasma. When she is not too busy trying to keep people away, she gets to be snarky. Which works because she is very intelligent on top of having been forced adulthood into her too early (in hindsight, I feel so bad for enjoying that now). Renne is just fun to have around, and I like how her VA and animations make her so childish, so she retains the sense of horror and wrongness that made me rank her high the first time around. Renne is funny and likable, but also absolutely dreadful and off-putting. I'm not changing her position because I really do love the other two, but you know what? God Tier.

God Tier

3- Renne

Very High Tier

4- Joshua
5- Kevin
6- Agate
7- Weissmann

High Tier

8- Ries
9- Richard
10- Kloe
11- Nial
12- Anelace
13- Tita
14- Zin

Mid Tier

15- Scherazard
16- Dorothy
17- Campanella
18- Gilbert
19- Cassius
20- Dunan
21- Mogran
22- Aina
23- Kilika
24- Amalthea
25- Loewe
26- Julia
27- Maybelle
28- The Ravens
29- Osborne

Low Tier

30- Beaublanc
31- Walter
32- Mueller
33- Don
34- Luciola
35- Kurt
36- Hans
37- Sieg
38- Erika
39- Rufina
40- Cid
41- Mary
42- Ein Selnate

Boring Tier

43- Kyle
44- Jill
45- Albert Russel
46- Queen Alicia
47- Dan Russel
48- Clem

Actually a Bad Character Tier

49- Lechter
50- Josette