Samurai of Hyuga Book 2

Just as a little note I spent the last fifteen minutes trying to quote from your post until I finally gave up because I’m on mobile so if I seem overly angry or anything it isn’t intentional :sweat_smile:

I never really said that Momoko was forcibly removed from the narrative. I just said that the timing, and the way she left, made her seem incredibly selfish in my eyes. She confesses her love to the PC, after Hatch proposes to her, and then has this long monologue about how she can’t stay and how much she loves the PC and then leaves . And what does she want us tell the others? “Oh by the way Momoko left after I met with her last night in a shady love hotel and rejected her feelings. Sorry Hatch I know you proposed to her but oh well. And sorry Masashi I know you were close but apparently she didn’t care enough to come tell you herself.”

That’s what upset me. And as @Quaintrelle mentions a few posts above this one Momoko seems to look at the PC with a very large savior complex. I could believe Momoko’s love was genuine if she had been given the ‘screen time’ in the first book to showcase the amount of concern she shows for the PC in the second installment.

But, as a woman that plays video games quite frequently and consumed a lot of anime when I was a bit younger, I’m incredibly sick of the whole ‘big-breasted, overly sexualized woman that wears little more than napkins covering her nipples half the time’ character trope. On almost every page where Momoko is mentioned it’s almost immediately followed by some statement about her looks. The narrative does a good job trying to push the whole ‘she’s a doctor’ thing but it all gets undone in my mind when said narrative can’t talk about her in two sentences without mentioning her tits or her figure.

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First off, I love playing Book 1 and now Book 2 over and over again making different choices and playing around. I did find the ‘romance’ part a bit misleading though. Momoko and the Baron were the only ones, both of whom I had no desire for my character to sleep with or romance. I was hoping for Masashi, Toshio, or more Jun. Though I did have one playthrough sleeping with Baron while he looked like Jun. That was nice.

My favorite part of Book 2 is Jun. The conflicting emotions are just lovely! Not to mention having the MC trying to be an overall good person though they are severely scarred from their past and using alcohol as a crutch. Having Masashi scold them over all their faults yet still have the MC try to protect from emotional trauma. I love it!

For my least favorite part, it’s Momoko. I was trying my hardest to get her and Hatch together (so they could both leave my character alone) and all she wanted to do was be with the MC, not to mention Hatch trying to force his feelings on Momoko. Of course in my opinion, Momoko is an emotional, drug dealing, doctor with a death wish. I mean how many times has the MC almost killed her? I didn’t like her. I’m glad she left.

Now, I saw some posts commenting about the attunement. Sometimes I lost some when I was a bit unsure on the choices, but most of the time I had it pretty high regardless. There were other times where I just chose what I thought my character would say regardless though. The only one I’ve ever had a real issue with is trying to make a drifter character. I can never get that one just right. I am wondering if you could possibly add an option to put what choice would increase or belong to which stat by it. Though that would probably be time consuming and tedious.

Overall, I loved it! I can’t wait for more and will most likely be playing through Book 1 and Book 2 constantly until I find another one to get into. Thank you so much for all your hard work. :slight_smile:

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Finished the game a few times and really looking forward to the next one. I don’t have long analysis like some of the others here, just really want to throw that out. Despite the fact that I felt the ending was rather weak and this was largely a setup for Book 3, I personally liked this more than Book 1. It’s personal preference, mostly, as I simply liked the characters Book 2 focuses on more. However I have to acknowledge that I can see other people’s grievances if they weren’t aiming for Momoko because the story really seems to railroad you down that choice here. That said, I tried playing as a character who isn’t interested in her due to sexual orientation and I really liked how that turned out as well. I was going to go for Momoko in the first place so that’s one of the big reasons why I enjoyed Book 2 more and I do hope that she returns at some point in Book 3, though I would understand if she doesn’t. I think that the railroading is a weakness in these games but on the other hand the fact that the story here focuses on one character for a significant chunk of it helps the romance (or lack thereof, if the player so chooses) feel more authentic for me. Even if PC has no interest in Momoko I felt that it gives interesting development for both of these characters. I also really enjoyed the PC’s relationship with Jun(ko) as it was delightfully twisted and despite their screentime being limited to just the opening scene, they seem to have an oppressive presence throughout the entire story this time around. I especially liked how the PC sees their former lover in most scenes where something intimate happens and the dream sequence promises some very interesting places to go in future chapters. I do think it is a weakness of the story that there’s no real resolution by the end and there isn’t a climatic battle at any point but for me personally this one simply has enough high points to make up for it.

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Yes, yes, yes.
That character was definitely over-sexualized. I kept thinking “my MC would never think about another woman this way!”

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I wish her “description” was toned down, at least for the people whose MCs aren’t into women or the pervy type.
It was pretty awkward to read my Stoic and Chivalrous hetero lass practically ogling Momoko. It didn’t bother me a lot, but it still was a notorious OOC thing that made me raise an eyebrow several times.

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After playing through this twice (once with an entirely ‘blue stats’ character and once with an entirely ‘red stats’ character except for being protective because I can’t not take care of Masami), it’s time to say my two cents.

First of all, I whole-heartedly enjoyed this book, just like I enjoyed the first one. It did feel like there wasn’t as much story progression as in Book 1, but I live for slow burn in all forms, so I actually enjoy it when things take time. Now on to some specific aspects:

[spoiler]

Momoko - As some people have already said, my PC’s feelings towards her feel a bit railroaded. I don’t mind Momoko having feelings for the PC and I don’t mind it being an important part of the story, but I was put-off that the PC seemed so attracted to her no matter whether I worked towards it or not. It didn’t take away much from my enjoyment of the story, but it was hard to empathize with my PC in that regard since I have no feelings towards Momoko one way or the other. She always felt like the least interesting of the group to me - ´mostly what I got from her was ‘giant boobs’ and ‘cries a lot’. (Which is the exact opposite of my type.)

Plus, yeah, my PC is very gay for the ladies, but she’s also very stoic and chivalrous. Definitely does not seem like the type to stumble just because there are boobs in her face.

Though perhaps Momoko just pales in comparison to Masami and even Toshie, who have been with my PC since the beginning of this journey and who fit much better into my concept of an enjoyable romance - something that takes time to develop and leaves room for both disagreements and friendship before swearing your eternal love.

The ending - Yes, it felt rather too soon. In Book 1, we got to finish at least the first part of the mission, while now things seemed to end just before the climax. Buuut, I also understand your reasons for doing so and the cliffhanger doesn’t bother me too much…maybe because I don’t feel that attached to Hatch? I like him, of course, but again, he pales in comparison to Masami (and Toshie), presumably because I’m gay af and because he hasn’t been with the group as long as they have.

The Baron’s Island - As some people have mentioned, the genre shift from Adventure to Mystery was obvious. Now, I don’t mind that too much. I’m not too big a fan of the Baron’s Island because it seems very surreal to me (which is intentional, I presume) and a bit abstract and I like my stories and places and characters clear-cut. But that is a personal preference. However, I very much liked the reference to western stuff and how clueless the PC was about it all while, as the reader, I knew what the characters were talking about.

Masami - I have exactly one complaint: I wanted to spend more time with her. Then again, I always want to spend more time with her and I’m continuously yelling ‘love me’ at the screen whenever it happens, so I may be just a taaad biased. That said, I am still unsure about Masami’s age, but have come to an agreement with myself to view her as 15 until proven otherwise. I also can’t tell whether Masami will end up being a RO at some point or not. I’m hoping for it, as I have been since Book 1, but it’s honestly impossible to tell because you are very good at keeping things just ambigious enough that I can never come to one conclusion or the other.

If she does end up a romance option though? I get the feeling it’s gonna take a long time and as I believe I have already mentioned, the slower the burn, the happier I am.

Junko - Ahhh, Junko. The PC’s feelings in her case are rather railroaded as well, aren’t they, though I haven’t seen anyone complaining about that. And I have to admit, this does more natural than the PC’s interest in Momoko, presumably because her and Junko have a long and obviously traumatic history and, in my case, also because Junko fits my type much better than Momoko does.

It’s gonna be interesting to see where this is going and I’m definitely gonna make a character at some point who can’t let go of her and still deeply loves her, even at the cost of her new friends. (Though I am telling you right now, if there’s gonna be an actual option to get back together with Junko at some point, whether by joining her in her madness or trying to save her from it, you better not make her die no matter what. If this ends up like the Prodigal romance in Heroes Rise, I’m gonna be pissed.)

(Joking.)

(OR AM I???)

(Please don’t do that, my heart is sensitive and fragile and prone to breaking.)

Toshie - I gotta say, I’m warming up to her. Wasn’t really interested in Book 1 (and Masami is still my main concern), but she’s starting to grow on me. It’s interesting to see her tough shell crack a little and it’ll be a joy to romance her and catch her off guard.[/spoiler]

All in all, this part is different than Book 1, but no less enjoyable to me. It’s definitely still miles ahead of other Hosted Games (and CoG) and I will await the next game with baited breath.

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I noticed on another page the author mentioned that Toshie, Hatch, and Junko would be romance options at some point. There may also be other non mentioned romances(like the baron) but it seems Masami wasn’t mentioned and I’m ok with it not going beyond a crush on her part because it would be odd because her age and the emotional differentce of the relationship… Mostly the age seriously they’re a kid guys.

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Well, such plotline could be done in different ways, up to possibility for pure love from her side and strong affection from Ronin for the length of story… until some kind of epilogue set years later, when Masami/Masashi already old enough to not let this stupid angsty ronin continue to push their away. :grin:

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That’s quite cool. I was afraid Hatch wouldn’t be an option since PC shows very little interest in him romantically but I’m glad to know he’s a available. I love the image of the rough and cynical PC being head over heels for the clumsy idiot (who is really really oblivious to any of it) who’s head over the heels for Momoko (who really really doesn’t know what to do about it) who’s head over heels for PC (who really really doesn’t want any of it). When I replayed with a straight female character that’s the scenario I wanted to have and was kind of disappointed to see that wasn’t the case but I’m still glad Hatch is an option somewhere down the line.

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[details=Summary][quote=“Chain321, post:108, topic:20494”]
(…)because it would be odd because her age and the emotional differentce of the relationship… Mostly the age seriously they’re a kid guys.
[/quote]

Did it say anywhere specifically how old she was? I wasn’t paying much attention to her or her details beyond the more plot orientated stuff like helping her out of her drug making thing and stopping her from killing herself. All I know about her is that she is a smart protege of some old doctor guy who studied opioids, she feels guilty for making all the opium, she is a reasonably competent doctor, she has big boobs and she is in love with my super gay ronin. If she is a teenager it certainly explains why she is kind of emotionally unbalanced. Its either that or the demon brainwashing. (Would that be considered a spoiler? I don’t remember where/when we learned about that in the story.)This text will be hidden[/details]

Edit: My mistake, [quote=“Lotus, post:112, topic:20494, full:true”]
Momoko is the person you are thinking of. Masami is the kid.
[/quote]

lol.

Momoko is the person you are thinking of. Masami is the kid.

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Oops, thankyou, they both start with “M” and everyone else is a dude in my game. My bad lol.

Speaking of which though, did it specifically say anywhere how old Masami/Masashi is? I got a 15-16ish year old vibe. The start of the kind of annoying teenager rebellious age. Did their age come off different for anyone else?

So far the ninja is my favorite for romance prospects. Although if the baron randomly decides to ditch being an evil demon and join the party I would totally have him.

Honestly, taking into account that this is kinda feudal pseudo-japan, in my head their age around 13-15, considering fact that guard in Yamato wasn’t too much stressed by “lover” reply.

I’d put it about 15 as it’s clear it happens in this time period but it’s also clear its cradle robbing

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In my head I’m now seeing Masa- as a magical floating baby wearing a red kimono.

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Now it’s stuck in my head

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Lol

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I got an impression that Masashi (specifically) is 13 or 14 at most.
On the very first page of Book 1 his voice is described as “pre-pubescent” and, according to Google, a boy’s voice typically begins to change between ages 11 and 14. We also have his approximate hight, which is four-and-a-half feet or 137 cm. (“Whereas most Hyugan men were around five-and-a-half feet in height, Masashi was fortunate if he was a foot below than that”). And 137 cm. is very low even for a 14 year old, so I don’t see our charge as any older than that.
Don’t know much about Masami, though, but, I guess, her age should be the same as Masashi’s? They are the same character, after all.

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I just had to download the game a second time due to some issues with Amazon app store coupled with my own dumb hands but, I found downloading the game from the Google play store actually imported the book 1 save of my MC properly unlike Amazons download!

So um, good to know for anyone else out there. :smile_cat: