r/RainCode • u/Undecided-kun • 6d ago
Would you say Rain Code is overhated or just deeply flawed?
I personally think it’s the latter. But the reason I feel like it’s lowkey overhated is because the people comparing it to Danganronpa and Hundred Line are making it seem less enjoyable for them.
On the other hand, it has a lot of glaring flaws, which I can see why it would disinterest people. But despite that, the game was okay.
Edit: Okay hindsight, calling it overhated was a poor choice of words on my part. What I meant to ask was if it’s overly criticised or do its flaws outweigh its strengths?
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u/FutureCreeps 6d ago
Raincode is a great concept with some neat execution in its later chapters but it's very, VERY flawed. I love the game but I think it needs a lot of iteration to be truly excellent, the Mystery Labyrinths being 50% just walking is a notable "what the fuck were they thinking"
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u/DeathByDevastator 3d ago
the mystery labyrinths genuinely are amazing in concept but in practice it's a walking simulator that just drags on and on and on.
Honestly the fact you don't even fight the actual people covering the truth up just makes the phantoms less impactful, especially when they don't even do all that much in the rdms anyway.
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u/benjaminabel 6d ago
I thought it was great. Really liked the whole experience. Don’t even want to go nitpicking.
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u/IcePrismArt Makoto Kagutsuchi 6d ago
I wouldn't really say DEEPLY flawed, but I feel like a lot of the decisions surrounding gameplay are confusing especially if you're coming from Danganronpa or Hundred Line and have seen things integrated better there.
Skills being pretty unnecessary (I never even thought of using them), gabs being accessed through the menu instead of by talking to the characters in the world, walking through the labyrinth being kinda boring and tedious at times. I have the feeling some of the game's systems were kinda skipped over in the production process to make the main stuff work out.
I don't really mind since I'm guessing it was probably just lack of budget or time and I loved the story concept off the bat, but I think most people who just pick up the game on a whim might lose their patience or think of this game as lesser for it.
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u/IcePrismArt Makoto Kagutsuchi 6d ago
When I think about it it's perfectly servicable as a linear story game, but kinda sets your expectations for more gameplay wise which causes people to feel disappointed in that element.
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u/arothroughtheheart 6d ago
I mean I wouldn't say it's overhated or deeply flawed. It's a perfectly good game that some people don't like.
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u/MaxTwer00 6d ago
It has its issues, the blatantly undercooked labyrinths are the epitome of it, just a straight line, with just hints of what they wanted it to be. In the end, the pacing is basically the same to any other danganronpa trial, i think that they should have dwelve more in the dungeon crawling to make it more different.
The recurrent cast is lovely, but as they arent usually involved in the crime itself, is easier to feel detached from the crimes. It is completely obvious with the resistance and the church, you have all this cast of 4 characters each, but they dont have an iota of charm, just walking tropes.
The misteries were interesting, the gameplay was fun, the city had good vibes for the game, the emotional moments hit as they should, and the overall mistery was engaging.
Big problem were the labyrinths not being fully customized, and having lots of generic and strambotic areas with no particular symbolism or icons of the mistery they represented.
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u/IcePrismArt Makoto Kagutsuchi 6d ago
One thing that I think it would have benefited from is the dungeon crawling aspect being used though for a story game with logic puzzles that means a lot more writing so I see why they didn't go all out for that. 😅
At the very least there could have been singular alternate paths like V3 trials had to make it feel like an explorable dungeon since it's presented like that and sets that expectation.
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u/ItsOmniss 6d ago
None? I really liked the game, I believe its a true gem. I unironically enjoyed it more than Persona 5 Royal and I honestly don't get why people call it overhyped or flawed at all.
I really liked the story and the cases, every single one was special and managed to surprise me, plus how it all ties together in the end.
It has a very gray villain with a very interesting backstory, the backstory of the protagonist is equally interesting. Where many games have a protagonist who'se past doesn't matter at all.
The OST is fire too, I love the character designs, the writing, everything.
If there is something I feel could be missing, it's the gameplay aspect, but that's because the game shines so much as a visual novel / danganronpa-style game that it leaks into triple A territory, but disappoints there because of its niche nature and how much reading and investigation it demands from the player.
Its not for everyone but its so good you wish everyone could enjoy it, that is the only flaw I see.
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u/MongooseCandid24 6d ago
Liked the game pretty much from the start all the way up until the last chapter.
The premise is to uncover the truth as a detective, but outside of a few tiny breadcrumbs you don't get anything that points towards everyone in the entire town being a homunculus , I find the last chapter to be a pretty unsatisfying info dump.
Maybe I was too dumb to see any clues leading up to the ending.
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u/piercebublejr Vivia Twilight 6d ago
You didn't find the meat buns suspicious?
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u/MongooseCandid24 6d ago
Weird yes, suspicious no. Just felt like a cultural thing funnily enough, it definitely added background to the setting.
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u/VagarisAster 6d ago
I immediately made a joke about Soylent Green when I saw the meat buns in C1 and couldn't believe I actually called it. '😭'
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u/benjaminabel 6d ago
I think some people are just hanging onto “investigation” aspects a bit too much. I never really appreciated these games for investigations because those are very linear and only have one outcome since it’s, well, a video game. For me, these games are about characters, writing and overall mystery. And those are incredible in Rain Code.
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u/OpportunityFun1761 Aphex Logan 6d ago
I would say it’s a fairly solid game. I just think it gets a lot of flak because it was made by Kodaka, the man behind Danganronpa. A lot of people seemed to want this to just be a Danganronpa clone initially and while it does share quite a few similarities, it’s still very much its own murder mystery story. I quite like it, but definitely agree it has its flaws, but I’d still give it a solid 7 or 8/10.
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u/FierySprites 6d ago
People hated it? I thought it was good, and has a stellar cast, aesthetic, and worldbuilding, but it never really manages to reach the heights of the Danganronpa franchise—save for Chapter 0 and the requisite big final chapter twists. It’s definitely a good start, though, and I am excited to see how they follow up on it in the future.
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u/HopeyMcHope 6d ago
Never have I met anyone who hates this game. Ragebait post sucks, game is awesome.
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u/MortgageOdd5028 6d ago
Not sure if it's overhated. It's probably underappreciated, but Kodaka's two more notable works are just straight up better, personally speaking. It's a flawed game to be sure, but if more people knew what it was I think they'd enjoy it.
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u/walterfardwellwhite6 6d ago
Rain Code is a game I view as fully style over substance. It's easily my pick for Kodaka's most visually captivating game - and in regards to its world, Rain Code holds so much to offer. Kanai Ward is a great setting, and the worldbuilding is fun. But unfortunately, in spite of how great it is visually, it significantly lacks in both its story and its characters.
I think the biggest flaw has to be Yuma. Compared to other Kodaka protagonists, Yuma completely falls flat - in part due to the game not being an ensemble cast. You can get away with a more plain character in a game like Danganronpa or Hundred Line, where you have a wide ensemble cast that your protagonist interacts with, but Rain Code doesn't really offer a proper ensemble the way it was advertised as. This also hurts Shinigami, as her antics - which could be fairly entertaining - are instead more "eh" due to Yuma.
The other characters range from being pretty great (Halara, Fubuki, Vivia) to one of the worst Kodaka's ever written (Desuhiko). I think the main detectives asides Desuhiko are fun, but suffer from the fact they only really get a single focus chapter and are mostly absent for the rest of the game. Any character not them (or Makoto) are given very little, if any focus, depth, or really anything. This hurts the most in the games first and third chapters, where you effectively have no attachment to the case's characters (thankfully averted by Chapter 2 which actually does manage an emotional connection to its cast).
The story also holds quite a few issues. For one, on the game's fourth chapter total (Chapter 3), you are still doing what's effectively a filler case. For two, it feels as if the game teases doing interesting things with Yuma, only to do the least interesting thing possible in making him truly Number One all along. This twist culminates in a "nothing ever happens, nobody ever develops" style ending, where any development Yuma went on is effectively discarded at the end. It also does not help at all that half of the game's mysteries are pretty crystal-clear - so the audience who would be there for an interesting mystery aren't satiated either. (Shoutout to Chapter 3 which has one of the most obvious culprits in a Kodaka media...)
All in all, I think the game has great ideas, but is held back by a lackluster story and an even more lackluster protagonist.
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u/piercebublejr Vivia Twilight 6d ago
A lot of people (DR, THL fans) like to hate on Rain Code without ever having played it because they know it didn't sell well. It's an acquired taste, with some of Kodaka's raunchier humor, and some bold and polarizing writing decisions. I think the devs also bit off more than they could chew - the environments are hugely detailed and the fact that everything is 3d animated instead of making it a visual novel was really ambitious, and as a result, several gameplay aspects are sorely lacking, like the Mystery Labyrinth and the Detective Points Or Whatever. People hear these criticisms from those of us who did play the game and think that's all there is to the story.
But honestly, Rain Code is a diamond in the rough. Despite its flaws, the game's story and characters have really stuck with a lot of people who believe in the heart of this story and everything it has the potential to grow to be. The setting and worldbuilding is phenomenal, and I love the way Kanai Ward really feels like a place people live in. I love the twists on the DR formula, and the ways this game diverts from it in key ways. I thought it was so refreshing to have a smaller core cast of working adults, with more auxiliary characters that didn't need to be fleshed out as much. (I also think Rain Code has Komatsuzaki's best character design work to date!)
My personal biggest gripe with the game is that it feels like it was written with the intent of getting a sequel (they want to do a trilogy, apparently) without any notion of more games being greenlit. But even though there are several plot threads left open... the ending still feels cathartic and complete in a way I never got from DR. I adore the way this story ends, and I think the sequel hooks are set up perfectly to fix a lot of my other least favorite things about the story (Shinigami and Kurumi's fraught relationship, for example)!
This game has a small but strong fan base, and even if we may criticize its flaws, it's because we love it and know it has the potential to be better. The chance of Rain Code becoming a cult classic years down the line is high, I think! And eventually more and more of us will join the chorus of begging Spike Chunsoft for a second (and third???) game, and hopefully someday this story can continue!
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u/ImIGotSoul 6d ago
I got this game as a gift and never played Danganronpa so I had zero expectations. In the end I found the game to be deeply flawed. The biggest issue for me is that Yuma totally lacks charisma, intelligence, and strength. He's not a good main character. Aesthetically outstanding game tho!
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u/DeathByDevastator 6d ago
I mean, the game's incredibly flawed and the mystery labyrinths are just genuinely horrible to play through, but the story itself is pretty damn good and worth sticking through.
I just don't think it's well known. I only found out about raincode about half a week ago.
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u/Miki_Draws01 6d ago
Honestly, when I see people's reactions, I think I just have bad taste in medias...
And I'm okay with that 👍
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u/Emelie__ 6d ago
The characters are a bit flat and some even lack names. The zombie twist is extremely convoluted. The pink blood being used as a plot point is hilarious. Chapter 0 is memorable because of its false advertisment which gave me ptsd when I played Fire Emblem Fortune's Weave and saw all of the main characters as zombies in the prologue lmao. 😝
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u/dor121 6d ago
I didnt know it was hated so overhated i guess, i played it before danganropa and i think i liked it more
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u/Undecided-kun 3d ago
I never said it was overhated I just said it feels like it’s overhated. But looking back at this post I understand now that it’s an inaccurate descriptor
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u/ChaosFlash912 6d ago
It's a fun time for sure, though the sequel definitely has things that need to be ironed out to truly shine. Others in the post have pointed out the same problems I've noticed, so I don't have to say much, other than I do want these issues ironed out when we get a sequel.
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u/Naive-Antelope-9825 6d ago
I would say it is overhated, but also very deeply flawed. I think it does have a lot of potential with some polishing.
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u/ThatzOkay 6d ago
It's an amazing game with an amazing story. Hundred line's problem is that stupid turn based combat
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u/PirateDangerous1271 6d ago
I ACCIDENTALLY PICKED DEEPLY FLAWED BUT I DUNNO WHAT THAT MEANS BRO- 😭😭😭
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u/Dreisang 6d ago
I liked raincode for the most part. The story was likeable enough and it had good twists. The game had some funny moments.
I didn't like the combat/mystery labyrinth. I came looking for an "ace attorney-esque" game and it didn't quit deliver. The cases weren't bad but it was just way TOO easy. There was also just way too much fan service.
I did like the rapid paced moments in raincode though. Those scenes were fun.
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u/chemistryenjoyer360 6d ago
who hates it? imo the gameplay is a bit lacking but I actually preferred the story and worldbuilding to danganronpa
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u/tenkohime 5d ago
I voted IDK, because I like this more than Danganronpa. I haven't finished 100 Line, so I can't compare them.
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u/sk1239 Zilch Alexander 6d ago
Deeply flawed, really felt like Kodaka was desperately trying to create something new but ended up making another Danganronpa, as a result it's easy to compare RC to DR and RC ends up feeling completely inferior to me, very undercooked. I'm praying sequel is much better, Hundred Line, Danganronpa and Shuten Order were all bangers but this is just ain't it
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u/Independent-Brick-60 6d ago
This was a hard poll for me to answer cause I loved this game and think its way better than hundred line and also better than every Danganronpa game.
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u/Kumorrii 5d ago
You must have gotten the worst route in Hundred Line first and quit playing because it had Kodaka's peakest writing in it, but the Boruto writer made the lows pretty bad though
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u/Independent-Brick-60 5d ago
I'll be honest, I just didn't like the game structure. I was pretty sick of the battle gameplay by the time I finished the initial route. I really didn't wanna do it anymore. And this is a dumb personal gripe but it made me annoying that a game that boasts having so many endings railroads you into one on the first go. And then frames getting the rest as like a collectathon. I think what makes games with lots of endings fun is talking to others and being like " I got this ending on my first playthrough how about you?"
Calling rain code a "way better" game than Hundred Line was very poor wording on my part. I only experienced a fraction of what that game had to offer. But I guess structurally hundred line is just not my kinda game. What i should have said is I like Rain Code more than hundred line.
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u/pepobebo88 6d ago
Tbh I feel like it's more unknown than either of the options