Game Commentary: Fatal Twelve

Fatal Twelve is a visual novel developed by aiueoKompany that came out on 31st March 2018 on Steam. The company, as far as I can tell, has only developed one other game and have actually developed this game with the help of crowdfunding. So they're as indie as they come, which isn't inherently a bad thing. The best part about visual novels is that they're relatively simple to make and thus, most indie companies would actually try their hand at video games via this particular genre. I'm happy to support if they can do it right!

If you've followed my previous posts, you would know I've been trying to get into VNs. I've played a relatively decent (and rare) one and two very good VNs on the Switch. Yes, I have 3 VNs on my Switch. I didn't realise it until now. So it made sense for me to source cheaper VNs elsewhere and thankfully, Steam has that covered. I picked up two VNs over the Golden Week sale and Fatal Twelve was one of them. Was it worthwhile though?

Fatal Twelve stars Shishimai Rinka as she is forced to join a game of life and death with 11 other participants where only one may triumph. The hook? They're all dead. The prize? Another chance at life. I don't want to give the full synopsis because I do believe going in blind is the best way but I suppose for any visual novel (possibly barring Doki Doki Literature Club) some sort of synopsis is required to get people to even want to try it.

The game's story is actually relatively interesting. I say actually because it isn't exactly a unique concept but the execution was quite wholesome for the most part and engaging towards the end. The starting and some parts in the middle were questionable considering I wanted to quit within those segments but the payoff was nice to see. I enjoyed Rinka's growth and her relationship with the other protagonists in the story. The story itself runs about 12 hours long depending on your reading speed and features some key choices peppered across the story that will result in different endings. I would advice to play it blind the first time and if you did not get the true ending, then it's worth looking at a guide. Have multiple saves!

Also, if you're here looking for an eroge or romance VN, this isn't one of those. There is a romance but it's not what you'd think of.

Now while the story is pretty good, the characters fall a little flat at times. The delivery of some of the dialogue hits all the wrong notes for me and just feels lacking in vigor. Rinka herself speaks so softly that I can barely hear her for half the damn game! She slowly gets more assertive and louder (part of her growth) but the early parts were a tad bit annoying to play through. I'm not sure whether it's a sound balancing issue to be honest but it needed work.

Besides the delivery, the characters themselves are a hit or miss. One villain introduced early on was a rather boring character and he only gets an interesting development towards the end. The kicker here is that you're forced to play as him for a short segment because the story requires multiple viewpoints to effectively deliver on the intended message. Some of the other characters Rinka meets are also quite boring but you're required to follow their story because the game wants to make you feel bad for them. It's LOU2 all over again.

That being said, I absolutely adore some characters. Some are splendidly written and others are just very fascinating to watch. A visual novel, much like a novel, can put the characters in any situation and as long as they're interesting or captivating, the scene will sell.

Moving on from that, the music and visuals for the game are quite satisfying if I do say so myself. The music in particular requires praise, especially for an indie game. Some tracks including the vocal tracks are very well done. The visuals might be considered a tad bit dull simply because of the budget involved in the project but the overall production value is there.

All in all, the game is quite enjoyable save for a few weaker characters. I got it for cheap so it was most definitely worth the price. I'll even go so far as to say that an anime adaptation of this would be very well received given the right studio and director.