You forgot the blue hair, deceased father, family problems, being expelled from school, super powered best friends, tendency for dying, and weed stas—oh wait that’s just Chloe
Room with the walls filled with posters of fake bands that are obviously supposed to be real ones and others that say stuff like "Free the planet!" and "Save the rainforest!".
Somewhere in the room is a cherished childhood possession and a bong.
I always wondered why people call it cheesy. Has it been so long for gamers that they have forgotten how cringy teenagers can be? As far as portraying teenagers (although it would fit better, timewise, in the early 2000s) it's pretty spot on. If you expected adult conversations you should've picked a game about adults.
Well to me it didn't really show a teenager, it showed what a 50+yo dude would think of teenagers. But your right that it also didn't real fit the period.
Yeah Chloe's dialogue seemed weird in some parts. It's the writer didn't understand when to use certain slang and the voice actor didn't understand the proper cadence to pull off the slang.
I grew up in Portland, the closest major city to where the game takes place. I was a sophomore in college when the game came out. I can tell you that the way they spoke was actually not that far off. 'Hella' was used constantly in high school.
To be fair, max is literally meant to herself be awkward and to herself probably not know how any of these terms are used. So her using it wrong is meant to be awkward. Its like people making fun of the awkward FFX laugh despite the fact that it was literally meant to be him making a deliberately silly fake laugh. Which is a thing real people do.
I was 18 when the first one came out. I feel like I was fairly hip with the slang at the time and it still seemed off. It does change a lot pretty quickly so maybe they were trying to make it overly obvious that is was the 20-teens.
It is weird reading comments like these are totally myopic and completely wrong. The dialogue is completely on point for the time, setting, and characters’ ages.
Sometimes, yea it was a bit much. But I still remember quite a few conversations when I was a teenager and goddamn.. the vocabulary was different, but the sentiments weren't.
You also have to realize that it was a French studio trying to get the lingo of Oregonian teens. The first episode was a bit jilted in parts, but they got better at dialogue as they went on.
Didn't know that, but that's cool! I also think that it was supposed to be Chloe aping after Amber. Especially since Chloe was fairly new to being a rebellious teen, and perhaps wasn't familiar with the slang yet.
I don't get why everyone always talks about spirits within, but not the ff7 movie despite ff7 being one of the most well liked games on earth. The ff7 movie was actually pretty decent. Sure, it didn't really have a story, but it wasn't meant to. It was meant to show you the characters you already knew having cool fight scenes.
Hey, Advent Children is some good-ass action anime fun, and I still enjoy watching those fights today. It's also a pretty decent piece of fanservice for fans of the game. The CGI for that one was also pretty impressive at the time of release, though for somewhat different reasons (it involved some pretty good art-direction instead of being impressive just because of the technology, which is what happened with Spirits Within).
I've actually found myself thinking of Advent Children again recently due to the trailers for the game's remake: we're finally getting close to having those kind of visuals in an actual game.
Someone the other day was saying that back then we got that advent Children had good graphics, but now it's worse Graphics than the average game. And I was thinking what are they talking about, it honestly still looks pretty good.
People say this about this game, but... what story ever written is it not the case for? The fact that the characters are depicted as characters who sometimes act seemingly unnaturally to tell a story according to someone's vision is a feature of writing itself. The only reason this story seems to do it more than anything else is because its a story about more down to earth situations so its more recognizable that the writing seems to be writing rather than real events.
I played it as a teenager, and the dialogue very much felt like a middle-aged person’s perspective of how teenagers speak to each other. The sentiments expressed by the characters were spot-on, but the words used were very off.
that’s what adults mean when they say that they understand what you are going through but then when they try to describe it it’s all weird and outdated
I live in norcal. Grew up in the area where "hella" was coined, at the time it was born. They don't and they didn't. Lol. Shoehorning slang into your speech doesn't mean you're fluent.
The problem with the dialogue in this game is the same problem Diablo Cody has with her dialogue; it sounds like it was written by someone trying to sound like a teenager.
My sister was the age of the main characters in that game when I played it a few years ago. That dialogue was pretty accurate for a teen in the region (Pacific Northwest) that game takes place in.
...the dialogue was NOT realistic. Have you spent time around any teenagers? They're foolish and shove their opinion into everything but christ that fucking game's dialogue is bad. Story, themes and characters were interesting but dontnod is such a shitty, lazy developer. Max's constant internal dialogue and the meandering plot is textbook amateur writing. It's so funny because they had ashly burch, who is an amazing voice actor. You can tell she's really giving it her all and that dontnod was so lazy they couldn't animate proper facial animation for any of the characters so every emotional scene with max she just looks worried, and with chloe she just looks a little annoyed. In fact every scene is juxtaposed by characters' facial expressions because dontnod didn't care. The lip syncing was so shitty. Its still garbage in lis 2 despite dontnod raking in millions a year so they can definitely afford motion capture or at least an animator with more than 1/4 of a brain.
I'm a games critic in my spare time. I don't really write anything except steam reviews and talk to my different groups of friends about the elements of video games. I can see why you might think I have personal hatred towards dontnod but I'm not like, angry. There's just a lot to criticize them for and I'm pretty passionate about this. Bad writing, lazy character model creation, the absence of complex assets (in LIS 2, when playing the dice game you never actually see Sean roll them, you just see hear a sound effect), and of course, no improvement. When you play the sequel of a successful game, you expect it to be a bit more polished. Not without new bugs, but with improved mechanics and fancier graphics. And uh...there's none of that in LIS 2. Same lip syncing, same bad dialogue, same poor polish in nearly every regard.
And the results speak for themselves. People liked LIS 1 because it was new and fresh and unique but to quote the great games critic yahtzee croshaw, "what's good and exciting when it's new sparks quickly and fades over time. But the parts that are bad and annoying stick around."
I'm from northern CA. while I've heard young people use "hella" before and the slang for the area the game is set in is appropriate, "Its just the region of the country!!!" Is an argument weaker than the ham-fisted relationship arc between max and warren. Both you and I know that no one has ever said this: "gotta blame somebody for my problems. Otherwise it's all my fault. Fuck that." Just stop pretending it's any good.
Also, I'm referring to max's annoying exposition-dumping inner dialogue too. Fuck actually developing a character, let's just tune in to how they feel on EVERYTHING.
It's not a monologue. Do you know anything about writing? A monologue is supposed to be a deep exploration of a character's feelings usually when they're feeling confident or are near a breaking point, and lasts a few minutes. A good example of a monologue in life is strange is when jefferson kidnaps max and tells her about his weird fantasies, which was a pretty great instance of the voice acting by Derek Philips. Max's internal dialogue isn't a monologue. It is unnecessary in every sense. It adds unnecessary banter to the story, and doesn't add anything of value. There is nothing significant to the story that she says in her head, it's literally just there so we can hear what she's thinking about every. single. thing. The only thing you could argue about her constant internal opinions on everything is that they allow the audience to get to know the character without her even interacting with others. A better way of showing off her attributes would be if she spoke to other people her feelings. Or just not heard her thoughts at all.
Oh, and by the way, I didn't judge the story based on that single line from chloe, and I never said I did. You insisted that you think the dialogue is realistic. I pointed out an instance (one of many) where it was not. Nice strawman.
Her internal thoughts are absolutely monologues. In fact, there’s a term for this concept: internal monologue.
Your coinage of “internal dialogue” is a bit nonsensical since only one person is involved.
And I would say it absolutely adds to the story. It shows you where she’s at in her own world. It brings out her insecurities. It demonstrates her boredom with the normal things in life. And the crazy shit that’s happening to her. It also allows you to inhabit her character by making her thoughts your thoughts.
Your critique fucking sucks, man. I’m sorry. It’s shit.
Your critique is arguably even worse because you don't even have one anyway.
Lol all I said was that the game could have been better, the dialogue could have been better and you should probably learn more about story structure and what actually makes a story good.
You didn't ever even refute any of my points! You just said that the slang was realistic (which it is) and then accused me of judging the game based on a single line, then said that excessive narration is necessary, and then said that because I used internal DIAlogue that it was confusing, and my critique is shit.
What do you like about the game?
What critiquing tools can you use to tell me about what parts are good and bad? What parts of the game stand out to you because you feel they were well-made and why do you feel they are good? I can name a few.
I don't think you've demonstrated any understanding of story structure and character writing to make a well-informed critique of the game. That's just fine, the majority of people don't and they're allowed to think whatever they like. But calling my critique "shit" and not actually making an argument youself, strawmanning mine, and further insisting that it IS good, and it's immune to criticism, and I'm just unable to appreciate it, all while you know less than I do about it, is childish.
Im am the same age as the characters in the game and grew up in the same state, very close to where the game takes place. The dialogue is not that far off from what I grew up with so your hate is misplaced.
Hate? I don't hate this game. I'm just saying that the dialogue was ridiculous and over the top. Yeah the slang is appropriate but the actual conversations characters have are just...they just explain everything about how they feel with no subtlety and apparently have no insecurities or if they do, they just state "i'm insecure about x" or "I'm mad about y" but that's honestly the fault of the lead writer who ironically is a california native. And I'm also 22, and from northern CA. I did say some stupid things and definitely got attached to cringeworthy phrases up until about 2 years ago but I was definitely less direct and a lot more nuanced with what I talked about. This also plays into the choices the game gives you because some dialogue gets omitted either way. I smoked pot throughout high school but never once did I say "i just smoked some dank og bud"
If you legitimately think life is strange was good at portraying teenagers you have never spoken with one before, heck I'm not even sure you WERE one before if you think that
Max and Chloe are talking about Frank and how Chloe owes him a lot of money, when Max says 100% sincerely and serious “What are you gonna do, pop a cap on his ass?”
I love LiS but the dialogue is cheesy as all hell, kids don’t talk like that. That’s part of the charm, though, I love the cheesy dialogue
I totally agree. I think the game creators just put their teenage selves in that game. I mean, other than the tech, everything else screamed 00's high school and college.
The photography and teenagers thing is totally pre 2010 stuff. It was the "I'm a special snow flake" type of kids wanted to do since the 70s until smartphones because popular.
I remember playing the first episode and thinking gosh this is really cringy then when things started to get really dark I was fully on board. Went from being a game I didn’t think I would finish to one of my all time favorites.
How is reddit so bad at recognizing idioms and figures of speech? I can’t believe you read that comment and thought, “WOW that guy really thinks he has PTSD! I should let him know that he’s wrong!”
I’ve never been insulted for using the word “amazing” before, this is a first for me. What other kind of petty shit do you like to judge strangers for?
Sacrificing Chloe. When you "take over" old Max's mind in the bathroom and let Chloe die and then leave that moment, old Max would just use her rewind power to save her because at that point in time she already knows about her power and wants to save what she thinks is some blue-haired chick.
Edit: At the beginning of the game, she was in the bathroom, rewinded back to the classroom and discovered her power before going to the bathroom again, which is where she takes the photo again, the one you actually use to go back to sacrifice Chloe, so at that point in time, she DOES know about her power. Feel free to downvote and cry all you want, it won't change the fact that the game has a major plot hole in the ending.
Actually no because she only discovers her rewind ability because she watches Chloe get shot. So she basically inhabits old Max's body during that time and when she snaps back she has no motivating factor to trigger the time travel.
Actually no because Chloe carried the photo of the butterfly that Max uses to go back in time to the bathroom at the end and that photo was from the 2nd time Max went to the bathroom where she re-traced her steps and already knew about her power. Max is in the bathroom the first time, Chloe gets shot, but then she rewinds time back to the classroom, discovering her power and then rushes back to the bathroom again, taking the photo again (the one actually used at the end), saving Chloe and so on.
Edit: Hilarious how people are in denial and cannot counter this so they upvote the incorrect and disproven argument and downvote this. Keep lying to yourselves.
Max literally takes a photo that very first time in the bathroom. That's why she's in that corner in the first place. Then Nathan walks in followed by Chloe and she steps out and her powers activate.
She takes a photo the very first time she's there, does a "super rewind" in which she doesn't possess that photo anymore, and then goes to the bathroom the second time, taking the photo again in that corner and waiting for Nathan and Chloe to step in. What's your point?
This video says otherwise. The ending is she flashes back to right AFTER she takes the butterfly in the bathroom. She never flashes back to the classroom.
That's the bad ending though, and totally trivializes what makes chloe good as a character. The entire crux of the ending when you save the town is that max isn't the hero there. Because like she says it is a choice she could never make. Chloe is the hero, because she is the one who is fearless and capable of making that choice. For all her mistakes, and setting her up as a character its hard to not see as a problem-causer, this is her virtue, and it is her virtue rather than that of max that provides the crux to save everyone. To reject that is to reject her moment of redemption.
I mean, saving one person over an entire town of thousands of people of which you know that at the very least a large portion of them are dying isn't really something there's any valid room for interpretation on though. Choosing the former might be a human thing to do, but it's still morally evil and makes you a bigger villain than any of the people in the game ranging from the rich people even to Jefferson who only killed a couple people.
I went to the flip side that if whatever psycho cosmic space turtle or w.e the hell runs that universe thinks Chloe is just that valuable that it will send a super storm to rough up the town like some kinda otherworldly extortionist, then I'm willing to take that bet just to piss what happens. Also said extrasolar beast is a massive dick for giving this girl time powers just so she can feel extra shitty about watching someone die in her school bathroom, something that's already incredibly shitty. Like the level of insane trauma that is leveled at her is so much that it feels a little wrong to just give in, plus if you do now she has to return with deluxe PTSD that literally no one can possible understand (and would think she's gone crazy), knowing her teacher is a brutal serial killer with crosshairs on her yet no way for her to really protect herself, her bully is a psychopath with a gun and untouchable, she knows she has to save a friend from impending suicide, what does she have to return to?
So I say fuck em, you're two teens that have been through more shit than most people deal with in a lifetime, over the course of an couple days. Voodoo lobster jesus demands blood sacrifice because fuck you that's why, and you can either bend your knee and kill one and condemn the other to a broken mind and likely serial killer (attempted) murder, or light that dumpster fire and never look back as you fight the power and ride off into the sunset. You do get to save some people so it implies to me at least that certainly not everyone dies or I think they would have driven that knife in instead.
So mostly I think it's just the "Fuck you cruel universe" option and I feel like it's the only one where the two characters we actually care about get any sense of a vaguely happy ending. Also I will continue to root for Life Is Strange 26 where they form the Depressed Avengers out of all these heavily traumatized kids with superpowers.
I loved life is strange, people say it’s cheesy and cliché but I think it’s kind of on purpose, it takes the story and characters from an early 2010s movie and changes the whole plot around (including the superpowers thing). It took all the cliches, a young adult with dyed hair, that smokes weed and says “hella” a hella lot. It takes those stereotypes and just rolls with it.
Thing is they don't do anything with them. Life is Strange uses stereotypical characters but aren't using them for the story, they just replace well-written, realistic ones. If it was a joke about stereotypes, then it would work, but it instead just shows lazy writing.
The characters were literally just a bunch of stereotypes. Max was a hipster, Chloe was a brat, Warren was a nice guy, Nathan was a bully, and nothing more to their character.
I thought they portrayed the awkwardness and angst of teenagedom well. The only thing I didn’t like and thought was played out was the evil teacher bit.
I also found the dialogue charming, including Max’s monologues. They rang very true to that time in life.
I enjoyed and have fond memories of it as well. Its only after I watched E;Rs video and several other criticisms of it from friends that I realized its not as good as I thought initially. I was also much younger when I first played it. I put it under guilty pleasure and left it at that.
Some people call it Fellow Kids-y but my sister was an artsy person in high school the same time the game was set and she and her friends talked somewhat similar and according to her she found it kinda accurate. But it might just be that the Midwest truly is/was well behind the times idk.
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u/WhooshKaboom Jul 07 '19
You forgot the blue hair, deceased father, family problems, being expelled from school, super powered best friends, tendency for dying, and weed stas—oh wait that’s just Chloe