- Nov 11, 2017
- 2,313
- 6,102
Well, this is where I've documented my stark disagreement: D has long been portrayed as an imprisoned princess in need of a prince to set her free. And that happened in a monumental fashion, wherein she not only recognized the opportunity before her but solidified that moment of leaving the prison in one of the peak emotional episodes of this game (almost rivalled by her loss of virginity, which was something of an extension of that moment, IMHO.)
The buildup to her moment of freedom came with impressive displays of conscientious thoughts by the MC on her behalf - mostly in how to enable her self-determination, but mixed with growing desire to be with her.
Again, the MC's narrative changed little between the exclusive and non-exclusive paths: in each case, he continues to think similarly. But, in the latter path he's fully lept beyond her and has grown to treat their relationship like merely another matter to schedule and balance with his others (based upon your choices for side-relationships). Unlike other games where I feel this has been done successfully - including Melody - there is little recognition of how deep his control/manipulation has become by Chapter 3 or what its consequences could be, as he's still acting as if it's Chapter 2 with D and no consequences will ever be realized. The fantasy of a princess in thrall was broken, yet now she's back in another tower. Now it's no longer fun, just a game of situations to manage because we know D will overlook anything that may come about in the end: she's been groomed too well.
Yet the dynamics have shifted markedly in the non-exclusive path through Chapter 3: sharing is only about D being shared, rather than anything else. It's a power play and the MC has no conscience about it - again, unlike many other games which offer this sense of realization in the MC's dialogue, to at least show some impact to the player of their choices when taken (which needn't be moralistic, but at least recognized for what they happen to be.)
This was not sold as a psychological control game to my knowledge and although I'm fine with MrDots making the game he desires, never have I seen the marketing go in that direction. I can be flexible on changes over time, especially given all the circumstances of its tumultuous fight to simply exist, but the flower petals were often discussed as being "corruption" in the form of breaking down her sexual/relationship boundaries that she previously had as a locked-up princess, not turning her into merely a managed plaything for the MC's benefit. I realize the end effect could look very similar in terms of her practices that come into form, but the reasons for those actions should matter if the story was to remain consistent in purpose. Otherwise, MrDots should at least consider hinting that this is actually a sleeper psychological entrapment/break game at its core with an incredibly long grooming stage. To this date, their Dev team hasn't spoken in those types of themes, from what I can recall.
