It’s less gazey than all other VW games. There are scenes that heavily imply the high schooler cast are unclothed in their mechs, and remark on it a couple times towards the beginning of the game, but then that talking point falls off as well. There is a certain plot point that contextualizes WHY they are unclothed in their mechs as well, but of course, I can totally get why that might not be enough to make up for that being in the game at all. Fwiw, as I mentioned, it’s a talking point just at the start of the game, and then it’s never really remarked on (nor does the camera do the thing other VW games do and call attention to the nudity or sexualization either).
13S has a certain character who is presented as gender fluid. They were handled surprisingly well, at the very least I didn’t see anything that felt like the game’s treatment of them was offensive or antagonizing like many other Japanese games can often feel like in this regard. The sense I got, from my very narrow and limited perspective, was that the developers were making an effort to be as respectful when approaching that content as possible (at the very least the localization gave me that sense, I couldn’t speak for what the original Japanese is like).
I want to note that 13S’ handling of this issue is not something I’ve had the chance to discuss with others. All I am saying is based on my own perspective, and my perspective on this is less valid than others’ might be. While I feel it was handled well enough, I will fully concede to others with more relevant takes on this matter who may feel that the character in question could have been handled better.
I appreciate this post. Been trying to gather up stuff like this for a while.
I've been really interested in getting this, but the game absolutely gives off warning lights, and I've been looking into it while trying not to spoil myself. Here is what I feel based on everything I have come across.
The most consistent thing I have noticed, is it is widely regarded as an incredible experience.
The second thing I noticed, is it is indeed, generally, much much less gazey than other vanilla ware games.
There is dumb cheese stuff like this one nurse character that's an actual adult, not just having enormous breasts, but permanently having her arms folded tightly under them pushing them up for some weird reason. But whatever that's just dumb cheesecake. Less easily pushed to the side is the third general thing I noticed. How the game leers at the high school kids.
Is it really necessary to focus on a kid pulling up her skirt to summon the mech? Pulling open her shirt? The general rule of thumb appears to be male characters use their hands, or necks to 'start' while the female characters strike a pinup pose while tugging at clothing around erogenous zones. That can be fun and sexy. With adults. But these are kids, and are presented as kids. One of these characters even still has children's braids. Did we really need to focus on a kid taking off her shirt?
The portraits of the naked kids in the sentinel is another unnecessary one. No, the concept is whatever, but the difference in presentation between male characters and female characters is again, obvious in it's tittilation. Male characters get a closeup of the face with the rest of their body shoulders down hidden behind mech controls. Multiple female characters have the camera for these portraits, for some strange reason, completely behind them to show a pinup of their stretched out body, side breast, down to the curve of the hips, as they crane their neck to try and look behind them at the camera. Why?
The most irritating thing about this, and something I've seen expressed multiple times, is that it's just pointless nonsense distracting from something that is much much much better and far more striking than low grade low brow sexual tittilation.... of kids.
I've decided I'm going to get this, as everything I have seen beyond the pandering looks incredibly intriguing, the good outweighs the bad, but I cant ignore that it has it's warts just to protect that good. Warts that add nothing, and have no reason to exist. This makes me feel like vanillaware did not believe that this incredibly striking experience could stand on its own merits, and needed sexual pandering to sell. Thats kinda sad.
themakoreactor.com
