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I originally faced waves of disappointment for feeling like HU was the Muppet Baby version of Quest For Glory, but once I realized that was its charm, it helped me appreciated its identity, at least a little bit more.

While the story doesn't quite bring to us to the height of thwarting another summoning of another earth ending demon, It does service to the fact that Shawn is building the blocks to one day perhaps be in that position. Also surrounding him with Profs that may have been contemporaries of our previous adventurer adds flavor to the universe. To use the example of Moira, I appreciated the fact that the painting of her as Paladin-in-the-field, flaming sword in hand, wraith in pursuit connected the universe together quite seamlessly, bringing to mind my own exploits of hunting undead in Mordavia. The same could be said about Esme's shift back into a human after the Bug Boss fight. Memories of Gypsy Davy and his snap-fu with the Igor Murder case come quickly to mind.

Bringing that nostalgia to the table, and then laying out a masterful dungeon crawler was indeed a breath of fresh air. While I would argue that the combat takes a little too long open up all its goodies, by the games second half the use of runes that can finally turn status effects in your favor give the combat a great deal of flavor. However, before that point too much of my strategy was fleeing to the end of movement limit and tossing a dagger, repeat until all enemies are down, (a Ploy that's made too easy once the dagger-rang is found), as long as you have the space most enemies have little recourse.

What really bogs this game down the most--other than not having a invisibility cloak to sneak out to Hogsmead..I mean Calamari or Calgari? (Whatever)-- is all the mechanics linked to the School aspects. It really is just a gimmick. I know the entire game is set around it, but there's no joy to it. The tedium of having to sit in class, take tests, change your armor load out everyday to avoid demerits, and even the Rogue of the Year award are either tedious or dull. Cesari towards the end calls it a stupid popularity contest and I have to agree.

The reputation system is gamey and immersion breaking. Good story telling would always trump little meters and emo cues. If the pacing of these characters and the deeds you choose to do for them was done in more organic manner than you would know where you stood with each one without little spoon feeds. I think the setting and art direction was too masterful to be undermined by constant reminders that you're playing a relationship sim. At the end of the day, it doesn't amount to much. There's no gray areas, tough decisions, or heart breaking moral choices, it comes down to superficial vanity of spamming roses and trying to sleep with everyone to win a contest. Even the Paramor system which relies on a promise ring is meaningless as I was allowed to go "Rock Katie's boat," after swearing loyalty to Esme. Well, I guess Shawn is a Rouges after all.

Ray Bradbury once wrote that Story telling was about being Quicker than eye, if reader remembers they are reading the illusion is lost. The same is true here. Too many times do we feel the hand of the designer either utilizing unnecessary gamey mechanics or pulling the player back and saying you can't open that door or solve that puzzle because its not the right time to do so. Also the characters, don't really organically move through the story with you. They are each assigned a level where they need help as simplistic as the placement of Barrels or fireballs or springs in a game of Donkey Kong. While I thoroughly enjoyed the design and variation of each dungeon, Their rigid layout in the game with the associated act and bestiary didn't help the game-y feel to otherwise beautifully immersive world

The exceptions to these complaint are some clever usages of short cuts, in an almost Dark Souls-esk, fashion that made traversing the castle less painful, also the use of an elective classes to allow for some character variation and supplement the lack of Char Class selection was a masterful stroke.

My final thoughts on the game is that was a great bit of nostalgia, an awesome expansion of the universe, and I would gladly back it a third time, but some of the mechanics require fine tuning, other overall haul, and few need to not return next semester. There is definitely room for improvement in at least the execution of some of the more gamey non-organic mechanics. Sadly though it is hard to imagine myself playing from the beginning again. If I get the hankering I'm just going to load right before I choose my elective to see some other character classes. The pacing of the first 13 days is just too off and the early char development lacks joy. That aside, I think this a great window back into a wonderful world and I hope to see have the opportunity to have another glance in the near future.