I certainly wasn't expecting jojo to help score pride points this jam, but as a fan of both series I was super impressed with how accurately it represents and mixes the character writing. Felt like a section right out of SBR as well as an emotional touhou tale
Play game
「Path of Lies」's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Story / Writing | #8 | 4.131 | 4.600 |
Visuals | #11 | 3.844 | 4.280 |
Overall | #13 | 3.700 | 4.120 |
Concept | #14 | 3.844 | 4.280 |
Audio | #20 | 3.053 | 3.400 |
Use of LGBT Themes | #21 | 2.694 | 3.000 |
Gameplay | #26 | 2.083 | 2.320 |
Challenge | #26 | 1.616 | 1.800 |
Ranked from 25 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Team Members
Aeon, yunevii
Streaming Permission
Comments
I still don't know what a steel ball run is but I really liked the writing in this one!
Oh no, I did not come out of this feeling like I read something dirty.. at all! Anyway, appreciate being taken back in time into a deep dive of both franchise's lore (despite not being well-versed in Jojo lore, sadge).
A short-and-sweet episode which does a great job of hauling you into its world, making you walk around in it, and then pushing you out the door before you're ready to leave.
I have watched no JoJo, but found it easy enough to understand the happenings of the story, and from what I could tell, the writer does a great job blending the two lores in a smooth fashion. This is a relief; if it were more intricate in the JoJo lore, I'm afraid I would have felt very lost.
So let's get to more specific things. Original characters are something which are always difficult to pull off when creating something expected to fit into known universes, but the OC here is effortless. (Keeping it to OC in order to avoid spoilers.) Their motivations are clear, their personality easy to perceive and it's easy to feel for them in such a foreign land. I found their "stand" of particular interest and wish I could have explored that a little more.
The art is also wonderfully done; all three characters are unique and filled to the brim with personality in a way that's hard to describe unless you see it. I deeply appreciated the gradual deteriorations and animations as well; it gave the story a real sense of visual urgency rarely seen in VNs. The "stand" and "character" stills are also great, though I wish they could have been a little more readable.
I am, frankly, upset there isn't more to read. I had settled down for more, but found that the game closed itself out right as it got to the good part. (I likely should have seen this coming all considered, but still, I hoped against hope.) Regardless, the writing itself was wonderful, even if the use of scare quotes felt excessive (lots of 'this' kind of 'quote' in the dialogue 'really' distracted me at times, but I don't really know how to fix that.) It captured the energy of JoJo dialogue while still being accessible. The shift to narration at parts also felt appropriate; the ending of the OC arc is something which will keep me up at night for awhile, given its implications.
Music was appropriate for their respective situations, and the backgrounds were distinctly American when it needed to be and distinctly Japanese when it needed to be. Though, considering the forest is named, it would have been nice to see a forest from that named place included. (This might actually be the case, so feel free to correct me on that if so.)
All in all, it is a shame real life got in the way of this being completed by the deadline, but I am once again blown away by the creativity and execution of concept from Aeon and crew in getting this out for all to see. Thanks so much for making this.
Looks like we got to the point where: the game series that made its PC debut with a couple Jojo references, gets a Jojo crossover fan story. (Ye it's not the first such crossover but everytime it happens, it's like we coming back to our sources yknow? Funny how it works)
As someone who isn't much into Jojo (and watched only the anime adaptations up to Part 5), it was really captivating. Even though I didn't know about the 3 characters, it was easy to understand them and how their powers work, and what's going on.
I really like how it perfectly captures Jojo. From the calm setup into the unnatural occurring into the fight. Even with the introduction of Touhou characters into the Jojo chapter, it doesn't feel out of place. Excellent writing skills right there.Also damn, the feels at the Hakurei's story. I'm writing with Uso No Susume in the background and I can't stop thinking of how tragic her side is (thx for introducing me to a masterpiece btw!).
Wow, a new entry! Stellar writing as expected from Aeon. I haven’t read Jojo so it was a bit hard to follow at first, but not too hard (Jojo has been in my backlog since forever, and I’ve only read part of Part 1). The two leads were quickly likeable. I absolutely adore (and admire) the setup behind your Hakurei character (and her design too), and the way you made Gensokyo’s magic and the character’s motives fit so well into Jojo’s worldview. It’s also very cool when people explore Gensokyo’s early years and Reimu’s ancestors. And the ending… it’s surprisingly grounded. Not everyone can be the hero and have a glorious end. I’ve thought a lot about stories like that and it’s refreshing to see someone pull it off so well.
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