Really? Really! (henceforth abbreviated to RiaRia) is the third game in the Shuffle! series. Tick! Tack! was the continuation of Nerine’s ending from Shuffle! and this time RiaRia continues from that annoying girl Kaede’s ending.
ICHIGO PANTSU RABU!
Of course that’s all a huge lie and the game is really about Asa-senpai and how hawt she looks with long hair. :3
The game starts off pretty normally. You meet your other childhood friend, Sakura Yae, whom you somehow forgot to mention in the previous games. She’s pretty cute, but I have a thing against Aoi Nishimata‘s design in general.
“Rin-kun, how could you forget about me for the past two games?”
So, ignoring the huuuuge plot hole and the fact that Sakura wants to jump your bones too, let’s talk about RiaRia’s unique point compared to the previous two games. In Tick! Tack! you have to gauge your dialogue options against a clock that shows you Nerine’s current status, which brought some uniqueness to an otherwise plain AVG. RiaRia takes this a step further by introducing a completely new gameplay system.
Well, to explain this requires a tiny spoiler. It shouldn’t detract from the game since it happens right at the start of the whole story.
Due to a magic accident, Kaede loses consciousness. Her memories have been mixed up and she is unable to wake up until they have been restored. Rin and company enter her mind to unravel each memory and to fix the erroneous memories.
Usually two or three memories are available for you to enter at a time. You are free to select which one to enter first, although sometimes you may need to unlock certain paths before others. Memories come in three categories: childhood, middle school (with Asa-senpai!) and high school (present).
After entering a particular memory, Rin and the rest all play the roles of themselves (or how they appear to be in Kaede’s confused memories.) So depending on how screwed up that particular memory is, hilarity ensues to various degrees.
MEIN EYES!
Just like that. This just goes to show what Kaede spends her free time thinking about.
So anyway, how do you repair the memories? This is where the fun comes in.
No, you do not journey through different dimensions collecting feathers. Instead, you look for keywords in the game. A keyword is a piece of information about an event or a person familiar to Kaede. You gain them automatically after progressing through certain parts of the game.
At certain key conjunctions, you will be plunged into the “Really Zone”. This is like the Twilight Zone except less creepy. Basically, when Kaede (in her memories) says something that is factually wrong (such as Itsuki being a girl), you have to correct her by throwing her the right keyword from your collection. The keyword will jolt that memory back to normal. Or as “normal” as Kaede gets.
“Rin-kun, I think I’m pregnant…”
Not only do you have to use the appropriate keyword at the right Really Zone, you also have to select the statement that you are correcting. Each Really Zone spans several lines of dialogue and you have to scroll to the correct one before using your keyword.
“REALLY?”
After selecting your keyword, this is where the cheesy “REALLY?” sound clip comes in. Now you know why the game is called “Really? Really!”. Doesn’t this remind you of that detective game?
If you chose the wrong keyword or the wrong line, Kaede DIES!!! Okay not really. You only lose the game after four mistakes. (Or was it five?)
If you know that you don’t have the required keyword yet, you can escape from the current Really Zone and come back later.
“Oh yeah, it was a safe night.”
Once you have corrected the mistaken memory, a lot of changes may take place. For example, if you corrected a misconception about a certain hawt character’s hair length, then this change will be applied to all the memories where that character appears in.
Because the memories are often (read: almost always) linked, if you hit a dead end in a memory, it means that you should probably try another one first.
Above is how unlocked memories look like. Yeah, you collect cards instead of feathers. :P You can click on a card to playback the memory in its corrected form. You view the memories from Kaede’s perspective this time and Rin’s lines are voiced! (But not by Kyon.)
So basically, that’s what RiaRia is all about. Pretty cool concept.
NEKO NEKO WAI WAI
As you may have guessed, the story focuses on Kaede and Rin’s past, especially the cause of Kaede’s oyashiro mode. Because of the unique gameplay system, the story is not told in a linear format, so some scenes may be confusing if you do not know the context.
I can’t say for sure, but I imagine that RiaRia’s story would be really hard to follow if you have not played at least Shuffle! and preferably Tick! Tack! too. Knowing the right time to throw your keywords requires you to understand the background story of the franchise pretty well. Even if you use a walkthrough, the fact that the game jumps around to different time periods means that it’s difficult to follow the story if you don’t know anything about Shuffle!.
NEKO NEKO NEKO WAI WAI WAI
Also because of the new system, there are no alternative endings to the game. (Except the bad ending after you used up all your Really Zone tries.) Some dialogue options will affect the CGs you get, but that’s really inconsequential since you just need three short reloads to get a 100% CG collection.
There are ero-scenes for Asa, Kaede, Sakura, Nadeshiko, Primula and Mayumi. They ALL take place in the same path. All but two of them in Kaede’s mind. This proves that Kaede is a closet nymphomaniac.
Art-wise, RiaRia is pretty darn good. I just love Hiro Suzuhira‘s art. Kaede is still fugly as usual. The Asa CGs are godly.
RiaRia uses pretty much the same sound tracks as Shuffle!, with some additions. The OP theme by YURIA and the song played at the story’s climax are pretty awesome, though.
PANTSU!
So all in all, the game is pretty darn awesome thanks to the game system which is actually pretty fun. This has been one of the rare times where I didn’t feel compelled to use a walkthrough and actually tried to figure out the right options on my own. :)
BTW I don’t recommend this game to people new to the franchise or not very comfortable with reading Japanese. The game can often become very confusing if you miss anything important. Try playing Shuffle! first.
Now I’ve ran out of things to say, but I still have a lot of pictures left. Everyone loves pictures, right?
SPINNING THUNDER KICK!
P.S. Am I the only person who thinks that the title “Shuffle!” would have been soooo appropriate for this game?
Really? *ahem..*
I mean, it’s like a detective story, so the title ‘Really? Really!’ amplifies the investigative nature of the game. Hence, I have no complaints about the game title.
Wait…you actually tagged the entry with ‘Asa Shigure’ as a keyword? How appropriate…
*crosses fingers and waits patiently for an Asa-based game to arrive*
Entry needs more Mayumi screencaps.
I’ll be sure to play this right after finishing my final-term tests.. Which is still a month away.. X(
I’ve played through 2 of the storylines from the original Shuffle, but haven’t played Tick! Tack! yet, I can’t really read any of the text in the game, but from listening and the backgrounds and stuff I can understand avout half or something.
Knowing this, do you think I’d be able to play Really? Really? without going completely mad due to the new game system with memories & stuff which I probably won’t be able to understand all that good/.
In other words, would you recommend it to me?
“There are ero-scenes for Asa, Kaede, Sakura, Nadeshiko, Primula and Mayumi. They ALL take place in the same path. All but two of them in Kaede’s mind. This proves that Kaede is a closet nymphomaniac.”
I lol’d at that.
What’s the deal with Asa’s long hair anyways? Is it just long or is it in Kaede’s mind? Asa with long hair = Win
I still gotta play through Shuffle! and Tick! Tack! From looking at the screen shots I can definitely say it looks fun…although I’m nowhere near able to play any Japanese games, I can make up stuff and I don’t want to play it for the ero-scenes too….okay maybe Long-Hair Asa is hot….but still >
“Kaede is still fugly as usual. The Asa CGs are godly.”
These are your last days, Mirage. I’ll be waiting for you where least expect me, brandishing a knife.
4th pic looks like something out of Lovely Idol.
>>Kaede is still fugly as usual. The Asa CGs are godly.
I second wildarmsheero. I think I’ll stab you in IRC with the /me trigger everytime you log in…. oh wait.. i have the greeting script… hehehehehe.
MooMooCow: It is in Kaede’s mind, but depending on your choice, it may become reality at the end… :3
Silly Kaede fanboys. :P
lol aren’t you an Asa fanboy too?
Not gonna bring the Asa/Kaede fanclub war into here (even though Asa rightly deserves a hard slap in the face for intentionally trying to steal her own friend’s OFFICIAL BF), but for those looking forward to an Asa-based game: Navel has announced that Really? Really! will be the last game done in the Shuffle! universe, meaning there will be no more sequel for the remaining girls after Kaede.
Some fans argue that as long as Navel’s next game falls in sales, they’ll come back to make more of Shuffle, but judging the setting volume of their next planned release (Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai), I seriously doubt they’ll let it fail.
>>but for those looking forward to an Asa-based game: Navel has announced that Really? Really! will be the last game done in the Shuffle! universe, meaning there will be no more sequel for the remaining girls after Kaede.
Hah! HAH! HAH!!
[Insert fanboy comment]
I still cannot figure out how you people obtain this game. Can someone please tell me how?
>>but for those looking forward to an Asa-based game: Navel has announced that Really? Really! will be the last game done in the Shuffle! universe, meaning there will be no more sequel for the remaining girls after Kaede.
>>Hah! HAH! HAH!!
>>[Insert fanboy comment]
Are there ‘hentai’ images in this game? I have never played an eroge before
Yes there are. Now if you still want to play but can`t bear to see those ero-scenes, maybe you can ask a hacker out there to remove the CGs from the game and have it sent to you. Then that would the first time I`ve ever heard such a request. Usually it`s all about english patch because people from overseas refuse to study japanese. Now imagine how many other visual novels (not necessarily ero) you can enjoy if you understood Japanese. Don`t wanna go study now?
“No, you do not journey through different dimensions collecting feathers.”
Lol, tsubasa chronicle
**sweatdrops at sage flying kick cum pantsu**
Anyhow, that was a good review/skirting chit-chat..keep it up!
@Kurogane NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I NEED AN ASA GAME ASAP!
Where can you get that game (or any eroge) in Singapore? I’m 16 so ordering from the net is off for me. The only anime game I found in Singapore was by accident, a Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu doujin game based on the Lone Island episode.
As usual, Suzuhira’s art is the awesome.
@Irake: Look for a torrent? Hongfire perhaps?
BTW, you are worse than me*lol*. I am 17 and I don’t play eroge(yet..)!
is tat a Phoenix Wright parody up there @@;;
@exalt dragon
Haha, after spending 5 more minutes reading around, I was struck with a suspicion that maybe, DM brought them in Japan. Guess I’ll wait till next time (or check out Hongfire) since the only torrent I found was a 3D loli rape game ==”
Thanks
If only I knew how to understand japanese! I can READ it but I don’t understand it so it’s pretty useless.. Arghh u_u.
I know this kinda late to respond to this but can i ask where you ppl download the games for Shuffle! and the others stuff for Navel
I was wondering the same as Squall actually lol :)
try some torrents like “isohunt .com” (posting links is forbiden?)
so……that website will help me get the game but will it be in english?
Official BF my ass!
Asa forever and ever.
Kaede can go stir empty pots all day.
/⊂(゜∀゜)
|σ|
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hey so you all what other animes do you all watch i watch over like…25 anime
Screw you. Kaede rocks. Go watch the animé, Asa wins in that one. In this one, Kaede rules (and Mayumi makes her h debut too). Couldn’t you have made a review without being biased? If I could understand Japanese (I’m working on it), I’d buy it. In the meantime, I’m waiting for gamepatch to make a translation patch.
Well, since you ARE promoting the game, which is Kaede’s, you have my thanks. And since you won’t be getting a green game, short of a divine intervention (and that’s not gonna happen. Haruhi wears and ORANGE headband, after all), feel free to cry over it as much as you want.
And I have to point out (again) that Rin gets Kaede by default in the game, if your other choices don’t get you close to another girl, so face it, Rin IS Kaede’s official game BF :p Well, at least they gave you the anime to chew on (although I cannot but laugh at the whole of Asa’s anime arc… I mean… leave difficult stuff like that to the kindergarten, they could come up with something better), while Kaede got another brand new game and already is the default original game choice. Yeah… Navel knows how to sell games :D
It’s a fact. Kaede rules :p
PS And death to all lowlife traitors (aka greens) :D
lololwtf DarkMirage please go die yourself :D
2nd pic just shows Navels portrayal of Kaede\’s greatness. Being twice the size of Asa is great after all, if it were up to me though Asa would be so little no one could see her. green is overrated.
I have to show my support for Kaede here. You are allowed your favorite girl, we all have them. But, to be so biased in a review , is not good and to be biased against Kaede is just unaceptable. This is Kaede’s game, sorry.
DM may I know where to buy the game?? I saw the video on youtube and really want it
yeah this is kind of late to say it but well you see this is like a h game so in way you can most likely only to find this game through e-bay and stuff
u can find it in some torrents sites though i found shuffle! AND tick tack in a torrent site i think that really really would be uploaded on most of the torrent sites sooner or later so theres no hurry but if u really wan it desperatly u can go search on fourm and find a link or smth
I’ve played the game halfway and…I can only understand the dialogs and stories about 60-70% at least. The time I have to choose the wrong sentence and the right keyword, I have to take my time for try and reloading…It’s just quite interesting to see how Mayumi try to seduce Rin and then they…0_o”
How do I fined moer keywords I am sachk and I can,t fine any moer words
Heh..I’m a Kaede-fanboy as well…Asa-sempai isn’t bad but I like Kaede better…though I think anime kind of brought Asa sempai’s ending out of nowhere…I though Rin would end up with either Sia or Kaede from the way it was going ..but then he somehow miracously even though he really didn’t spend that much time with her..besides talking with her before meeting Primula…I mean c’mon! Just from that one talk he falls in love with her?! And he went out with a date with Sia like two times and got stranded with her on the beach and knew Kaede almost his whole life but fell in love with Asa-sempai?! It doesn’t make sense!
I’ve finished the game at last (it’s last month thou’)… In the end Rin is still going out with Asa, but you’ll be asked either you want Asa to be Long haired or short haired…
When you can’t find anymore keyword, means you have to finish the other chapter first. There’s one chapter where I have to finish 3 other chapter to find the keyword needed to finish this chapter >_
Well….I personally like Primura, Asa, or maybe Mayumi…
lol that is some dam nice pic TT to bad i dont no where to down the game
it will be so much better if its english sub and jap voices
i wants to play this game so i can score with the teacher! YEAAAH!!!!
Sorry, but could you please told me in detail on how to get shuffle! and tick tack? :3
<333 Asa in this game. She should always have long hair and never cut it.
What i don’t understand is your allowed to score with Mayumi but you can’t with Kahera. Come on you can score with her in On Stage but lack of h scene(s) fail. Upside scoring with the teacher.
So Kaede thought that Rin lost his virginity to Sakura? Cos thats the earliest one there was.
I have never played the game as I can’t find it! Big fan of Shuffle! and love all the characters, yes, even Kaede!
Any ideas where I can get the game(s) and the order of play?
I’m completely lose with the first one…
hahaha…
Can anyone gimme the walkthrough link?An english one..
I can’t progress
AHEHE,THIS IS AN AWESOMR GAME!!!! HEHE CANT UNDERSTAND THE WORD THEY SAY BUT YESS!!! THE GAME IS GOOD!!! I WISH THERE IS AN ENGLISH SUBTITLE TO IT AHAHA!!!!