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RIP Harmony's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Presentation | #20 | 3.265 | 3.265 |
| Creativity | #24 | 3.588 | 3.588 |
| Story | #31 | 2.676 | 2.676 |
| Implementation of Theme | #33 | 2.118 | 2.118 |
Ranked from 34 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Name of Wolf/Wolves
Zest
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ts bussin frfr
I quite enjoyed the amount of slang and the vibes the characters gave off. Not the most narratively compelling of the VNs I've read, but definitely the most impressive due to the fact that there was a LOT more to the premade sprites than I thought, so that was cool how you implemented them. I just sorta wished that the Misery character wasn't the narrator and instead an active character within the movie. It would make things flow much better.
That was something! I loved the comedy of RIP Harmony, especially the dialogues between Zest and Bliss, even though I'm not usually a client of some of the slang used in the VN. The one little criticism I can give is that I don't really see the theme, but eh, I really don't think it's that big of a deal.
As for the technical aspect, you made a great use of the sprites and I also appreciate your use of music and your backgrounds!
I, short, I think if you approach RIP Harmony as a silly VN made for fun, I feel like that would be the right mindset to appreciate it fully!
This felt like it was written just for me. I loved the comedy, I cringemaxed and I was happy for it! The story, if you can even call it that, was pretty thin, but taking it as a series of vignettes I loved the experience!
Even though the "story" is probably going to be main thing people will take home from this, I can definitely appreciate the technical skills too. Everything flowed very well, I loved the music, the backgrounds, and the expressiveness of the characters. (Taking full advantage of Sikyu's premade sprites, which is surprisingly challenging too do: so many layers to play with.)
I would honestly love to see these characters again in a proper story.
aw thank you so much!! i really apreciate it :3 aside from writing, the technical aspects are also something i find fun to do.
This is the rare occasion I decide not to go by submission order (cuz this one is short enough to cram up). So 18th VN I will read and rate here we go!
Edit 1: ._.XD . I have just finished reading this VN. It was something. Just rated, too.
Your review will wait a bit as I am trying to read as many VNs as possible today. Cheers!
This was an interesting surprise.
I would not necessarily say that I loved the structure, but it was pleasantly quirky and weird. The music is fitting and the spirtes utilize a range of emotions that help push its wacky tone.
A quick entry that is worth checking out.
I'm so glad I came to this VN expecting comedy, and boy it delivered. I laughed, and cringed, and laughed the entire playthrough. Does RIP Harmony have some deep meaningful narration? Not really, but I don't care. I don't care the last scene doesn't really make sense either. Heck, most of the story is filled with borderline nonsensical humor. This is comedy gold among the entries and I love it!
SPoilers:
Theme: Saying the theme in one moment does not quite make a theme.
Story: Performative live-action movie date for their friend (who they forced in as part of the scene). Very brief, with no time to breath with fourth wall breaks that didn't fit within the pre-existing structure (whether through Misery (the real Draky?) or the characters themselves commenting on it?) Unless that narrator was also supposed to be Misery but then why was Misery also the narrator in those moments?
It felt very much like those 3d model videos of the man and the woman only speaking gen z slang, but inconsistently at that. I suppose it does align very truthfully with what their poorly thought out narrative would be, but that doesn't quite make it interesting to read a hodgepodge narrative.
The thing that's missing compared to those videos is how they commit to the awful bit, where this one keeps pulling back and undercutting itself, as though not confident in the idea (and then we felt not confident in what the story was telling us because the story kept telling us that things were going wrong (which sure, but for stuff that felt primarily imagined(?), that creates false stakes of wrong vs real wrong stakes to latch onto).
Presentation: I appreciated your dragon scene, and your attention to the details throughout, although the black abyss and the attempt to lampshade the "Funny moments music"... I'm not sure if they did you any favors.
Also wild to not even allow for music volume to be adjusted lol.
Your narrative made lots of items feel disjointed, even if authentically necessary within the narrative, which made the accompanying presentation also feel disjointed at times.
Creativity: Well, trying to replicate the vibe of like teenagers performatively doing an extensive tiktok and not being well rounded enough at absurdist humor to really sell it is a wild take, and I applaud your ambition.
Overall thoughts: I came out feeling wanting. I wonder if we had more time and more consistent through lines if I'd be more on board with the premise, as opposed to the story consistently interrupting itself.
I was pretty confused throughout the entire playthrough, and Zest's dialogue made my eyes water sometimes, but in terms of presentation I think it's incredibly solid, and moments of competent writing seem to poke out every now and then. As a comedy, I think it does it's job well. Congrats! ♡
I had to bust out my teen slang to old geezer translator for this one! There was fun banter, but as Misery says, "I can't seem to connect with this story..."
I know it's kind of the point to be a cheesy rom-com performance based on the ending, but the entire time leading up to it, I was thinking to myself "how the heck are these two even going on a date?" because of the absurdity.
The fourth wall breaks were a clue, but so many vns I've just read do the same, that it is still difficult to discern the intention. I picked up on them discussing plot points, and how at times Zest in particular seemed to break his 'character voice' but it didn't start finally coming together for me until I read it through a second time.
There are still some aspects I'm trying to wrap my head around, but at least I have the jist of it now. I think it may just be an instance where you know exactly what the context is, so you read the story with that understanding, kind of like how proofreading your own work can be nearly impossible. That, combined with intentionally being a bit obtuse by putting the premise at the end, of course.
The banter was fun, and I did enjoy the colorful artwork! It was evident quite a lot of care went into making this regardless.
thanks a ton for the comment! i actually think that mentioning "rom-com" at the end might be a mistake, because what they're doing is not what people usually consider a rom-com. also as you said, there may be a few details that dont make total sense at the moment. either way, thank you!
Mostly, I think, the game's briefness works against it – with so many surreal non-sequiturs and scenes of characters telling what they're like instead of it being shown, it didn't really feel like as if they had actually been on a date, you know? Even this sort of primarily comedic piece benefits from an impression that you've been on a journey with the characters and witnessed things happen. RIP Harmony ultimately feels more like a collection of admittedly funny contextless moments than a narrative. I didn't really get the framing device, either.
Can't really say I had a bad time playing the game – it's engaging enough on a line-to-line basis. Such a short length just demands more of a clarity of purpose to every element for the final product to not feel entirely weightless.
thanks, i really appreciate this!
so you're saying it's disjointed. i tried my best to have a logical narrative here, but maybe I didn't do the best job at making it clear, haha ^^
Short, but the banter between Bliss and Zest made the playthrough enjoyable. The little details helped paint a fun and nonsensical world, though the parts with Harmony and the abyss were lost on me.