Away from their country, Selphine and Ritona desperately need to get back home. They’re given a grim warning, however – if they return, horrible things will happen. What choice do they have? Follow them, along with Rune, as they try and make their way back home in fault milestone two side:above.
Before I begin, let me just say that I have not played fault milestone one. Going into fault milestone two side:above, I was completely in the dark. Even after playing, despite the heavy part one spoilers, I still want to read through part one. With that, let’s begin.
fault milestone two side:above is a visual novel that follows the story of Selphine, Ritona, and Rune as they travel to get back home. At the start, you’re greeted with an intense scene that ends in an on-purpose game crash. When you launch the game again, you get told that this is what will happen should you return home. Deciding to return home anyways, you head for the Inner Pole and Viscanta. It is here the story grinds to a fair bit of a halt. You’ll spend the entire rest of the story in this general area.
The game, for the most part, revolves around two areas – Port Sasary, and Neo Sasary. All three of these areas are in the same general area, however, so it feels like the entire game is just in one place. That said, while you’ll be seeing the same areas over and over, every place looks absolutely fantastic. It’s just a shame that it feels like the story drags on horribly in particular sections. Once you start getting into the later parts of the story though, it really picks up and you’ll find it hard to set down. You’ll also be left wanting more.
As said, the art is absolutely fantastic in this game. The backgrounds all fit the mood, and while you may get tired of the characters always being in the same general positions, they also look fantastic. The art pieces for particular scenes also look great, and some will even give you a good “movie” feel. Along with this gorgeous art is a fantastic soundtrack. The pieces all fit the scene, and, along with the sound effects, you’ll find that it helps pull you in even during the slower moments.
During several moments in the game, you’ll have a perspective switch. At first it might be a bit disorientating – especially when it happens a lot right at the end – but once you get a handle of who you’re seeing the story from, you’ll be back to understanding what is going on. And then there’s the points where the point of view completely shifts and you’re brought to a completely different area with a few different characters. This only happens a few times during the story, though it would have been nice if it happened more to be able to see what they were up to more often. I’m assuming we’ll see more from then when side:below is released, but right now I’m left wanting to know more.
The game isn’t without some errors. Occasionally, mainly during the early parts of the game, certain lines get repeated, often with the wrong speaker stated. There are also some minor spelling issues. In one spot, the wrong speaker is stated without it even being a repeating line.
fault milestone two side:above leaves you on a cliffhanger, one that doesn’t even involve them leaving the area you spent most of side:above in. It did leave me eagerly awaiting the release of side:below, however far away that might be, and it also made me want to read part one. If you dive in right at side:below, expect to be really confused, especially if they start referencing terms that aren’t in the encyclopedia. That said, most of the terms you need to know are there, and the ones that aren’t you’ll likely eventually figure out.
With a great story, albeit a bit slow for a good portion of the game, fault milestone two side:above was a quite enjoyable experience – once I actually got into it. It would have been nice to see more of a recap for those who didn’t play fault milestone one. With the enjoyable soundtrack and fantastic art though, I can easily give fault milestone two side:above a high recommendation – if you read through fault milestone one! While it is doable without, I was fairly lost most of the time and constantly left wishing I had played fault milestone one first.
fault milestone two side:above Review Score
4/5
fault milestone two side:above is available now on Steam.
I would like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy for review.
