Tester’s Corner: DCIF Ed. Vol 4.

Today we bring you our fourth installment of DCIF’s Tester’s Corner!

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“Oh man, insert song just started playing; shit just got real.”

What does one comment after play testing DCIF for 6 days straight, from sun up till sun down in one extensive and turbulent Kotori marathon?

• One, I have developed a festering resentment towards Nemu and cheered every single time (spoiler) and (spolier) happened.
• Two, I have found Suginami’s voice to be quite amazing for its depth of his intense bromance towards Jun’ichi.
• Three, having not played Da Capo, I found myself lost, namely in character references, to which I will have to wholeheartedly suggest purchasing and playing the original first.
• Four, in reference to the quote at the start of my musings, insert songs in fact do NOT always signify something good is on the way.

Seriously speaking, as with the first tester, I would have to agree that testing gave me a new appreciation for translation and the editing decisions that went into adapting a game. Having tested on another game before, I was able to see firsthand how difficult it was to maintain the balance between accurate translation and understandable translation.

With four endings that span about 10-15 hours of reading minimum (assuming you don’t stop and listen to the voices or look at the CG), DCIF was not a short game to play. The story itself is a standard galge setting with a touch of magic, granted by the giant sakura tree, but it’s the characters within DCIF that put the story out there.  The characters, each and every one of them, all have their unique personalities, making them distinguishable from each other not only by the sound of their voice but also merely by the patterns of speech they use.  From Kotori’s shy and reserved quietness, always flushing as red as her hair was, to Nemu going all ONII-CHAN ONII-CHAN (while duct taping your hand to hers), to Jun’ichi’s ever thwarted desires to sleep in the library, the principle characters were undoubtedly memorable. Along with Suginami and his flamboyant yet cryptic speeches, laced with references to camaraderie, and Kudou, who would later come to a big shock when (spoiler) is uncovered, the secondary characters provided for much entertainment.

If I were to post a complaint, I supposed I’d have to fault the BGM of DCIF. Perhaps it was due to the fact that I tested nonstop for six days, but the music began to grind on me. Some scenes had perfectly fine music, fitting the mood and suitable for the situation. However at times, probably the more error ridden ones, I came to notice some of the tracks were somewhat… uninteresting after repeated listening. Due to the nature of the game, various BGM were in constant usage, not all of which I found personally agreeable. Despite this, the insert song was quite nice, not that I actually understood the lyrics, but because the timing of its playback was perfect, signaling… something.

Having been accustomed to reading stories mostly of the horror genre, DCIF was one of the few readings I have had that consisted of a romantic drama. With that said, I found DCIF to be quite enjoyable. Between the resolution of Jun’ichi’s internal (and grindingly irritating) conflict, to helping Kotori find closure and happiness, DCIF was quite the game to test.