so i just got done playing coffee talk tokyo, the latest in the coffee talk series, and i have to say, it's a bit of a letdown. for those who don't know, coffee talk is a visual novel series where you play as a barista serving all sorts of magical creatures in a fantasy version of a real city. the first game was set in seattle and did a great job of exploring themes like racism and social issues through its characters and story.



the thing that made the first game so great was how it wove these themes into the fabric of the city itself. it didn't just feel like a generic fantasy world - it felt like a real place with real problems. and that's what made it so compelling. the sequel, episode 2: hibiscus and butterfly, built on this foundation and introduced new characters and issues to explore. so when i heard that coffee talk tokyo was coming out, i was stoked to see how the series would interpret a new city and culture.



but unfortunately, coffee talk tokyo doesn't quite live up to its potential. despite being set in tokyo, the game doesn't really feel like it's set in japan at all. the characters all speak english, with the occasional japanese word thrown in, but it feels like tokenism rather than a genuine attempt to represent the culture. and the story doesn't really explore any of the unique issues or themes that you might associate with japan. it's all just kind of... generic.



one of the main characters, a kappa salaryman named kenji, is a great example of this. he's a classic stereotype of the overworked japanese salaryman, but the game doesn't really do anything with it. he's just kind ofRead more: Full article on www.rockpapershotgun.com

What do you think about this?