MK2 - Still just unlocked Extra scenario. But felt like ranting about Ulrika route. So.
Well, the dynamics are about as insane, but less cohesive than in Raze's path. Mostly because there's a lot more wanton hostility, and the sanity anchors in this cast are a lot frailer. Enna can't anchor the cast nearly as well as Raze for sanity, and the main character actually being unbalanced shifts this further. However, sometimes it really does feel like a comedy right out of Rumiko Takahashi's deranged dreams. Anyhow, first character ranting, then battle ranting.
Ulrika - I like Ulrika. Remember how I emphasized the fact Ulrika is retarded and needs a shovel to the face at times? Yeah, that's pretty accurate throughout! Only thing is that she often -does- get the shovels to the face, if mostly metaphorically speaking. Ulrika is very much not your typical female main. Cocky, not terribly intelligent and very rash, she's like what Sailor Moon/Usagi Tsukino would be if she had absolutely no special pretty princess treatment and was dropped into a teaching asylum - and not being treated as zomg special just because she's the main makes a huge difference. The game goes to really great lengths to not glorify Ulrika in any way, and actually make her get what she deserves by being stupid, which leads to decent entertainment, especially when it comes to Chloe. Particularly, the mockery when people actually try to play up the pure virgin maiden tropes and apply them for plotz0rz purposes is very entertaining when it happens. She does care about the people she hangs around with to a decent degree, though, as some of the CQs show (particularly Enna and Chloe. Chloe CQ5 was just sorta endearing because it emphasizes that they are fond of each other even in their very twisted dynamics pretty well). For such a simple-minded and unintelligent redneck, Ulrika actually ends up performing nicely. It's kinda refreshing to see a main character that isn't omg gush gush so perfect and awsum, especially to a degree like that. She still needs to get a shovel to the face, though.
Chloe - Chloe is like your everyday 15-year-old girl! She just wants to have fun! There's only one little problem with that: her concept of fun heavily involves other people suffering in the most farfetched ways possible, and she's a witch who specializes in curs- I mean, incantations to make sure the madness keeps going strong. Chloe is -pure evil-, and her vain attempts at trying to downplay how horrifyingly sadistic she can get are as pointless as they are emphatic. It's sorta jarring to see that tiny nerd merrily humming about blood curses and horrific pain rituals like she was sorting through her clothes to go to a party on Friday, and the party reacts accordingly without fail. One exchange really sums up what Chloe is about.
<Ulrika> ... yeah, you're pure filth.
<Chloe> I know it's true, but you don't have to say it so bluntly.
She really interacts best with Ulrika, though, and I like how they're still friends even though Chloe constantly puts Ulrika in dire straits (but then, Chloe also gets dragged into Ulrika's bouts of not doing that thinking thing. It's sorta even). She goes get away with murder far more often than I'd like, but given how she is feared and avoided instead of being gushed over by the world surrounding her, it sorta works out. The game does acknowledge her pure evil - when you scare the shit out of a demon that possesses you, you know you're doing something right.
Enna - He's the straight man of the party. He's far weaker at it than Raze, since he's just a shy, nerdy kid who suffered for years under Et's criminal stupidity and strength combo (Et really likes her brother, but her love is about as healthy as Elmyra's), and he lacks Raze's brutal bluntness. Sorta whiny, sorta dull, but he actually functions as the much needed middle ground in Ulrika's group, which is so criminally insane that you have to wonder how low Al-Revis' standards have fallen. His CQs are cool, since they have some neat overlap with Et's and the ones that don't have FLAY SCREENTIME AS A SUPERVILLAIN. Flay's performance in Enna's CQ5 alone makes everything worthwhile. Not really bad.
Pepperoni - But then, we get to the embarrassing parts. Pepperoni is... um. A really huge fairy who is incredibly incompetent but tries his hardest to be cute and useful. It doesn't pan out too well, and he's borderline reviled by his workshop mates due to sheer incompetence. But they keep him around because they need the headcount and hey, he does hit things really hard. He's also insanely hammy and somewhat emotional. Okay, so that would just be somewhat weird and typical Gust insanity, right? Yes. But he has one thing named Goto factor. He's best friends with Goto, and the interactions between them are downright embarrassing and way over the top. It's like a mix of awkward ho-yay with FRIENDLY RIVALS with terminal brain damage (and Pepperoni sorta suffers from terminal brain damage as is by himself). It ends up undigestable and annoying, and it hurts Pepperoni's already limited entertainment factor a lot. Goto and Pepperoni more or less kill each other, and they were on the running for worst characters in a vacuum to begin with. The only salvageable thing about Pepperoni is how much suffering Ulrika puts him through - quite deservingly at that. She really did the right thing in learning to ignore Pepperoni's and Goto's existence stat.
Goto - Ah, yes, the fabled Goto, known for the tales of WHAT THE HELL FURRY. Well. The concept is very :psyduck: (mysterious manthing in an animal suit that somehow gives just about everything a hard-on for no reason). The game is quick to catch on to how amazingly terrible that is, though, and his workshop members (well, the girls, mainly. Enna mostly tries to forget the existence of everybody in fear of being killed) constantly harp on him for being creepily smooth like a Casanova, how there is no logical reason for people to be attracted to him, how utterly frightening he is and how slowly they will torture him to his death if he keeps hitting on them. Oh, and he's actually a criminal on the run, and sorta twisted. That could be forgivable enough, although he's still really creepy when he hits on girls. However, the aforementioned Pepperoni dynamic and the egregious horror that is Goto CQ4 just edge him irrevocably towards the "crossed the line thrice" dead baby territory. I still blame Chloe for that CQ4 (oh dear god), but for crying out loud, did you really need to do -that-? And why was Marta sobbing instead of washing her body with acid? Just... no. Goto was horribly botched in general, and whoever thought the approach to him was a good idea needs a punch in the face. The concept itself was already pushing it. No amount of suffering can really make it okay.
Gameplay-wise, the promise from the two playthrough dealie delivered pretty nicely, in general. Ulrika's party plays -very- differently from Raze's, and there are distinct emphases on how to deal with things and how the party works together. Balance is a bit less tight, though, since Goto really sucks (all the other PCs are quite fine, though). I'll elaborate on party niches on another post probably tomorrow, because I don't want this post getting gargantuan and I'm tired anyhow.
