Nobody in Particular wrote:Mysterious Stranger wrote:Disagree completely, and moreover I have to question how long it's been since you played the game. Kira Kira does get very serious in all five of its major endings (that's excluding the bad ones, one of which is downright hysterical) - especially in Kirari's normal and true arcs, which are probably the heaviest. Each does end on a happy note, though (mileage may vary with the Kirari normal end - my second least favorite of the endings, incidentally).
I probably finished both KK games about two months ago, but I remember all the endings quite clearly. I suppose we are going to have to agree to disagree because
the only "good" (including Kirari Normal) endings that swapped comedy for seriousness were the two Kirari ones, in my opinion. I suppose Sarina had it a bit too but it still stuck with the comedy roots at time, I think that was the whole point of that uncle character. Chie's was kinda like Act 1 and Act 2 with a slightly more serious story, but then it goes back to comedy.
Also you said there were five major endings? I'm pretty certain there were only four.
Yes, please disregard my idiocy there. For some reason I was counting five instead of four... actually, I think it must be that, while typing that response up, I had just taken a look at the five movies contained in the game files - four of which are the credits specific to each ending, and the fifth is the opening. That must've been it. Yes, that's the ticket.
Anyway, I don't deny that comedic elements remain fairly constant throughout every single route (again, with the possible exception of the Kirari normal end), but I have to say, the tone shifts in Chapter 3 (respective to each arc, of course) were fairly tremendous. I mean, you have Sarina's backstory,
with her parents dying, and her grandfather's own tragic history
(i.e. his entire family dying at once), and their dysfunctional family dynamic in general - even Yuji-san, who comes off as arguably the most light-hearted character in the arc, has a tragic side,
having to deal with the estrangement of his father and brother and then discovering his brother's suicide a week or two after it occurred. And that's not even mentioning
her illness, even if they don't really do anything with that as a storytelling device. With Chie's arc, I suppose Midori-chan's character lends a lot of light-heartedness, but I didn't find that it muted the solemnity of Chie's struggles with her own family to any substantial degree. I guess it was the least heavy of all the endings, but I thought it was the most genuine. And certainly not overly comedic.
As you said, though, each of them eventually revert back to comedy and end on a happy note. Even when it's for the worse... *cough* Sarina ending *cough*. But overall I'd say Kira Kira gets pretty damn dark in its second half regardless of which route you happen to take.
On a related note - obviously I finished Kira Kira just recently, about a week ago, and I've been wondering whether or not to take the time to play Curtain Call. Is it really worth it, can it wait, or is it possibly a waste of time? Any input on that would be appreciated. Deardrops is also on my list, but I'm under the impression that it has substantially less to do with the original game than Curtain Call, and in fact works as a standalone.
