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Steins;Gate 0 review thread

M

Mugen08

Member
Cool, guess I will have to dust off my Vita for this. I doubted they could follow up the success of the original but SG0 seems surprisingly good.
 
F

ffvorax

Member
Nice to hear!
Going to buy on VITA, but I will play FFXV when it comes out and I need to choose if buy this first or Zero Time 3 (maybe this one will get a discount soon) also I have in my wishlist Root Letter... so many good VN out there! :D
Probably will buy it in 2017! :)
 
J

Jimrpg

Member
I just finished The House in Fata Morgana last week so I'm totally pumped for this. I still have to wait three weeks though for it to be delivered to where i am :(

Anyone who hasn't played Steins;Gate should do that first. It's great.
 
S

Scanna

Member
Reviewed this and I'm loving it. Tone is much darker than the first one and the drawings are amazing.
if you have questions, I can try to answer!
 
T

Tratorn

Member
Hektor said:
This game will spoil you everything about the first one in the first 5 minutes already, and the original S;G is a masterpiece you don't wanna ruin for yourself.
Click to expand...

For some reason I thought there were already several other games of the IP, not just one.
Ok, since the first one is also on PS4 I'll get that first.

Thanks to the other answers too.

edit: Ah, there are indeed other games but they seem to just be spin-offs?
 
Z

Zhao_Yun

Member
Tratorn said:
For some reason I thought there were already several other games of the IP, not just one.
Ok, since the first one is also on PS4 I'll get that first.

Thanks to the other answers too.
Click to expand...
There are some side-story spin-offs that never made it to the West and are not important to the main narrative afaik.
The PS4 Version of the original Steins;Gate was released as a Bonus with Steins;Gate 0 in Japan and has not received a stand-alone release (in the West) yet. The localized version is only available on PC, PS3, Vita and iOS (??)
 
A

AmaterasuOkami076

Member
I'm so happy this is reviewing well. I fucking adored the original. Anyone on the fence about jumping into the series, please go and play the first one. It's phenomenal and will be really cheap now.
 
I

I Wanna Be The Guy

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Been playing through the first game again in anticipation of this. Gonna finish it within the next couple days. Just in time. Everything will be super fresh going in to the sequel. Perfect. So hyped. I will be surprised if this does not become my GOTY.
 
S

silva1991

Member
Hektor said:
No.
Click to expand...

InfiniteNine said:
Yes and no.
Click to expand...


Why not both.gif

dumb jokes aside, a friend of mine is hyping this game up for me and I loved the anime, so I will likely buy the first one.

----

Hektor's pic

a2NDS06.jpg
Click to expand...

i love the style and how things are colored
 
D

D-Man

Member
I am beyond pumped for this. Won't read reviews cause I wanna go in blind but the first one is a favorite of mine so I'm looking forward to getting in on this!
 
A

AmaterasuOkami076

Member
Is there a word that describes the feeling of being really fucking excited for something, followed by concern that you can't tone down that excitement enough and it then might not be able to live up to your ridiculous expectations?

Because that's what I'm feeling. Nervously excited? I don't know. Can't fucking wait though. Hope Rice Digital send me the LE quickly.
 
A

aspiegamer

Member
Damn, I was hoping I could get away with passing on this, but perhaps not. Full PS4 retail price is kinda brutal especially after nabbing the first on Steam for $20. Do want to buy it eventually to support publishers who will put out stuff like this, though.
 
O

Orcastar

Member
Oh crap, I completely forgot that this was coming out this week. Played the original earlier this year and absolutely loved it, so I'm pretty hyped.
 
StereoVsn

StereoVsn

Member
crimilde said:
Awesome! I'm planning on getting it after I finish FFXV since I won't have time for both, but I'm very glad it scores so high.
Click to expand...

Same here, glad to see all the high reviews as Steins;Gate was my favorite VN that I've played and one of the better time travelling stories period. Although I may wait for Steam / iOS instead of PS4/Vita.
 
F

Flandy

Member
>Checks PS4 page on amazon
>Releases same day as FFXV
>$60

Are they fucking mad?
Guess I'll be waiting for a sale :\
 
S

Sumio Mondo

Member
Audioboxer said:
First game is great. I'd probably get it on Vita for dat OLED and because I own the first on Vita. It's cheaper on Vita as well

UK GAF base have it for £22.39 ~ http://www.base.com/buy/product/steins-gate-zero-playstation-vita/dgc-stgtzpsv.htm

They have 10% quidco cashback till the end of today as well.

Sadly I'm too skint to buy right now even at that price. I just impulse bought a PS4 Pro via Amazon WH deal the other day. Woe is me because SG is amazing. As is the anime for anyone who hasn't seen it, and yeah, English dub is good too. The movie still hasn't been dubbed though and looks to have been stuck in limbo for years.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this. At this price I had to get it, even though I've not even played through the first game yet. (Yikes).
 
I

I Wanna Be The Guy

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
So according to the destructoid review the subtitles in the final cutscene of the true ending are in Japanese. If this doesn't get patched by the time I finish the game I can see myself getting quite pissed off...
 
H

Hexxen-Panda

Member
I Wanna Be The Guy said:
So according to the destructoid review the subtitles in the final cutscene of the true ending are in Japanese. If this doesn't get patched by the time I finish the game I can see myself getting quite pissed off...
Click to expand...

...WHAT. How did they green light the release with a very pivotal sequence left untranslated?

But based on how long and tedious it is to get to the true ending of the first game, I imagine it would be quite a while before I even get to that point.

But then again, maybe there's a faint chance that review copies aren't the same as the version that's getting shipped.
 
H

Hektor

Member
Hexxen-Panda said:
But then again, maybe there's a faint chance that review copies aren't the same as the version that's getting shipped.
Click to expand...

Haven't gotten to the true ending yet, but there is quite some stuff that a QA should've catched like not properly displaying CG's, some special letters being only displayed as '?' and some Tips (the ones that explained science and popculture references to you) having flatout wrong content in them.

And mine is a standard copy that just arrived overly early thanks to based amazon. So i would take a guess and think they're the same.
 
O

OriginalJonty

Member
TheSixthAxis - 9/10

Steins;Gate 0 is phenomenal. Every part of it is bigger and better than the game that came before it. Rather than a tacked on sequel storyline that disturbs the perfect ending of the original, it explores a wealth of material hidden between that story’s many layers, and ends up creating a narrative that almost rivals that of the original. It’s a game that is, without a doubt, for a specific crowd, and while it’s inaccessible to newcomers, the entire point is to explore another side to the narrative in a manner that would be lost on new players.

Go and play the first game, because if you like that one, you’re going to love this one. And if you’ve already played the first game, well then, what the hell are you waiting for?
Click to expand...
 
A

AnthonypUK

Member
I really wanted a PS4 port of the original to release at the same time, bit misguided to have the sequel that needs the knowledge gained in the first game.

Looking forward to playing it on the big screen though.

Tut tut ru!
 
S

Sitrus

Member
Wasn't going to buy this at day one due to high price on most retailers, then I see they have it so much cheaper on base.com...

BUYING IT RIGHT NOW.
 
Fbh

Fbh

Member
Serious and ignorant question but: Are these games fun to play?
I've never played a visual novel so I really don't know what to expect. Only saw the Steins:Gate anime and liked it a lot (seriously one of my favorite time travel stories).

Is it about making choices? Do your choices have big effects on the story? is there some other gameplay element (puzzles or something, like 999?)

I looked at screenshots and short clips of the original game and it looks... unexciting compared to the anime. Lots of static portraits of characters pasted on top of static backgrounds. A manga also seems more exciting as every pannel is a unique and new drawing, not just 3-4 different portraits pasted on top of the same backgrounds

Aagain, not trying to say these types of games are bad or anything. Have never played one so I couldn't say. But whats the advantage of playing the game over, say, waiting for an anime or manga adaptation?
 
C

calc84maniac

Member
Fbh said:
Serious and ignorant question but: Are these games fun to play?
I've never played a visual novel so I really don't know what to expect. Only saw the Steins:Gate anime and liked it a lot (seriously one of my favorite time travel stories).

Is it about making choices? Do your choices have big effects on the story? is there some other gameplay element (puzzles or something, like 999?)

I looked at screenshots and short clips of the original game and it looks... unexciting compared to the anime. Lots of static portraits of characters pasted on top of static backgrounds. A manga also seems more exciting as every pannel is a unique and new drawing, not just 3-4 different portraits pasted on top of the same backgrounds

Aagain, not trying to say these types of games are bad or anything. Have never played one so I couldn't say. But whats the advantage of playing the game over, say, waiting for an anime or manga adaptation?
Click to expand...

In general you get more story depth in the novel, just like with any novel-to-whatever adaptation. And you do also get multiple endings based on choices, Choose Your Own Adventure style (though in Steins;Gate there are a very limited number of branches).

As for the presentation, well, for one thing the characters aren't completely static, they do have mouth animations at least. And you get full voice acting like in the anime, with the same voice actors (though only in Japanese for budget reasons, these games are HUGE). There are also a number of unique drawings for certain scenes as the story goes along (normally referred to as CGs), which break up the usual background and character portraits.

It's hard to say if you'll like it until you try it, but if you like reading that does improve your chances.
 
Caelestis

Caelestis

Member
The scores are pretty great so far. I need to go back to the original and try to get the plat first though. Was really close but got distracted.... Also need to figure out how to play this, ff15 and Pokémon all at the same time. Rip me.
 
W

Wichu

Member
Fbh said:
Serious and ignorant question but: Are these games fun to play?
I've never played a visual novel so I really don't know what to expect. Only saw the Steins:Gate anime and liked it a lot (seriously one of my favorite time travel stories).

Is it about making choices? Do your choices have big effects on the story? is there some other gameplay element (puzzles or something, like 999?)

I looked at screenshots and short clips of the original game and it looks... unexciting compared to the anime. Lots of static portraits of characters pasted on top of static backgrounds. A manga also seems more exciting as every pannel is a unique and new drawing, not just 3-4 different portraits pasted on top of the same backgrounds

Aagain, not trying to say these types of games are bad or anything. Have never played one so I couldn't say. But whats the advantage of playing the game over, say, waiting for an anime or manga adaptation?
Click to expand...

Have you played 999, then? The novel sections use a traditional VN format, so if you liked those, you'll probably enjoy this.

Yeah, there's a bunch of choices in Steins;Gate that determine the ending you get. The anime only follows the true ending decisions; the alternate endings are all omitted from the anime, but give a bunch of characterisation to some of the other characters and are all worth getting. For example, (Steins;Gate alternate ending spoilers)
Mayuri's ending shows Okabe accepting Kurisu's death and resolving to make the most of her sacrifice to save Mayuri
- I actually prefer that ending in some ways to the 'and they all lived happily ever after' true ending.

Visual novels tend to be longer than anime adaptations, and hence flesh out the world more. The Steins;Gate VN takes about 30 hours to finish, while the anime is 24 20-minute episodes (-> 8 hours total). The game uses that time to develop characters more (such as via the alternate endings).

Personally, I think one of the strengths of VNs (and books in general) compared to film/animation is that you can take the content at your own pace. For example, (Steins;Gate spoiler)
Suzu's letter
was a much more impactful moment when I was reading it myself.

As for manga, it's the same as the advantages books have over comics - you don't get unique drawings every panel, but that lets you have longer conversations between characters in a more comfortable-to-read format. In a manga, the focus is on the art, while in a VN, the focus is on what the characters are saying. Also, just like in books, VNs often describe the scene in text rather than showing it on the screen.

And obviously, VNs have the sound aspect as well. In Steins;Gate, that's mostly voice acting and background music; however, other VNs make really good use of sound effects to set the tone (e.g. Higurashi When They Cry), or use the soundtrack to really add to the experience (e.g. The House in Fata Morgana).

I've always had a habit of just skimming over text rather than reading it properly when reading books - I've found that I don't tend to do that with VNs due to having to actually acknowledge when I've read a line (and listening to voice acting in some cases).

It might be worth trying a demo or a cheap VN to see if you like the format or not before getting a full-price one like S;G0 - the aforementioned Higurashi When They Cry and The House in Fata Morgana are really good (Higurashi is ~$5 on Steam, and Fata Morgana has a free demo of the first two chapters).
 
C

Cell_Biology

Member
Bought a copy on Amazon for the PS4. Looks like I'll have FFXV coming in the same day and Pokemon Moon to balance as well. Hype for this game.
 
Ivellios

Ivellios

Member
Just finished the first game, i almost gave up playing at the beginning but my brother convinced me to keep going because it would get better, im glad i listened to him, once the plot advances the game is really amazing
 
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