LITV Presents Saya no Uta

[Lost In The Void]

[HEADING=1]Saya no Uta[/HEADING]​

What would you do if your entire world was twisted into something horrible beyond your comprehension? The food you love, the people you spend your time with and the things that once filled you with pleasure are destroyed and replaced with revulsion, hatred and horrifying images that only seek to drive you into insanity. This is what has happened to protagonist Fuminori Sakisaka following a car crash that kills his parents and an experimental brain surgery to save his life in the visual novel Saya no Uta or Song of Saya.

[IMG_inline caption= Beauty Amongst the Horror]http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss94/joshau77/SayanoUta2.jpg[/IMG_inline]​

The beginning of Saya no Uta takes place after the surgery and recovery of Sakiska, stepping into his shoes as he struggles to maintain the false sense of sanity while experiencing a twisted world, where the buildings are covered with flesh and blood and the walls smeared with giant organs and skin. His friends and the people around him appear as fleshy monsters and the food he tastes causes him to gag in disgust.

After experiencing the first day through his eyes, it is revealed that while he was recovering in the hospital, he met one other person that appeared normal to him. A girl named Saya, who wandered through the hallways of the hospital looking for her father. Sakiska finds himself drawn to the one normal thing in this hellish new world he finds himself in and agrees to help her find her father. They move in with each other and while Sakiska struggles to live with his new condition, we find out that Saya has her own dark agenda that has nothing to do with her missing father.

[HEADING=3]In her smile, in the quizzical tilt of her head, is everything I have lost...[/HEADING]

Saya no Uta, being a visual novel lacks the gameplay of a traditional videogame, instead focusing purely on a narrative, using the visceral images that paint a world that no man should suffer. The narrative is written by Gen Urobuchi, a writer known for his dark plots and sudden twists; Saya no Uta being the novel that brought this talent to the spotlight. The themes present deal with the idea of madness through constant psychological terror, truths being more terrifying than lies and sexual domination over others. While these themes are well presented and succeed at being disturbing and disgusting; some people will be disturbed and put off by the series for the very nature of the themes. With things like rape and sexual violence, it's impossible to say that there will not be those offended by the content.

[IMG_inline caption=One Mission to Finish]http://i565.photobucket.com/albums/ss94/joshau77/SayanoUta1.jpg[/IMG_inline]​

This ties into the inherent flaws of the game, the sexual content is very apparent and sometimes stretches on for what feels like too long, coming off as some kind of sick fan pandering and the disturbing nature of the sex scenes cause me to wonder why they do go on for so long. Another flaw is that which tends to be a common one for visual novels; the lack of gameplay creates some points in which the visual novel drags on, the writing coming off as overwrought and self indulgent.

All in all though, the world that Urobuchi created and the art that goes with it paints a terrifying picture, one that, once you look over the at times, slightly dry writing and disturbing sexual content, spins a tale of love, loss, madness and truth, one that fans of visual novels should pick up as soon as possible. The main site can be found here [http://www.nitroplus.co.jp/pc/lineup/into_06/index.html] [in Japanese.]

[HEADING=3]And I know, even with everything I've lost, I will always have Saya with me...[/HEADING]

Spoiler: Other Reviews by Lost in the Void

[HEADING=2]Games[/HEADING]
Sins of a Solar Empire [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.145037]
Dragon Age: Origins [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.161457]
MX vs ATV: Reflex [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.165581#comment_form]
Mass Effect 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.171506-Lost-in-the-Void-Presents-Mass-Effect-2#comment_form]
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.172605-Lost-in-the-Void-Presents-Knights-of-the-Old-Republic]
The Witcher: Director's Cut [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.206375-LITV-Presents-The-Witcher-Directors-Cut]
Golden Sun: The Lost Ages [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.207308-LITV-Rides-the-Epoch-Golden-Sun-The-Lost-Ages]
Amnesia: The Dark Descent [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.264458-LITVs-10-000th-Post-Review-Amnesia-The-Dark-Descent]
Dwarf Fortress [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.273815-LITV-Presents-Dwarf-Fortress]
Mount and Blade Warband [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.283804-LITV-Presents-Mount-and-Blade-Warband]
Katawa Shoujo [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.337855-LITV-Presents-Katawa-Shoujo]
Vampires: The Masquerade: Bloodlines [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.340038-LITV-Presents-Vampires-The-Masquerade-RW-2nd-Place-Entry]

[HEADING=2]First Impression Reviews[/HEADING]

Bulletstorm [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.259669-Bulletstorm-First-Impressions]
Dragon Age 2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.269033-LITV-Presents-Dragon-Age-2-First-Impressions#10316738]

[HEADING=2]Satirical Reviews[/HEADING]
The Ice Pick Lobotomy [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.186914-LITV-Presents-The-Icepick-Lobotomy#5696492]

[HEADING=2]Literature Reviews[/HEADING]

Stephen King's Cujo [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.268847-LITV-Reviews-Stephen-Kings-Cujo#10305683]

[HEADING=2]Television Reviews[/HEADING]

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book One: Water [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.316432-LITV-Reviews-Avatar-The-Last-Airbender-Book-One-Water]
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Book Two: Earth [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.335275-LITV-Presents-Avatar-The-Last-Airbender-Season-2]

 

[Meggiepants]

Excellent review! This isn't really the type of thing I'd normally play (not visual novels but more the violence and the sex part), but despite that, you have made it sound intriguing.

If you haven't played Hotel Dusk you ought to try it. I can't remember if that is one you've given a go. It's not as much a visual novel as this, but it is heavy on story.

 

[FredTheUndead]

Can you really call the sexual content a flaw when it is so deeply entwined into the inherent horror of the game? It's not like it's just crammed in there contractually like a lot of otherwise straightforward games, the twisted sensuality of Saya ties directly into the way Fuminori develops (and thus how he and the rest of humanity, however detached he is from them, imprint upon Saya).

 

[Lost In The Void]

Man this is going to seem like a horridly obvious bump, but I assure you I really don't want to bump this review but feel it necessary to address the comments to let you all know I'm listening; and due to some of the criticism, I'm also now cutting my wrists [loldepressionjokes]

Anyways, here goes.

Excellent review! This isn't really the type of thing I'd normally play (not visual novels but more the violence and the sex part), but despite that, you have made it sound intriguing.

If you haven't played Hotel Dusk you ought to try it. I can't remember if that is one you've given a go. It's not as much a visual novel as this, but it is heavy on story.

You seem to be the only one, myself included, that called it excellent, appreciate the compliment. Yeah if you're not one for gore, blood and sex I would avoid it, but it is a really interesting novel, one that I did not do justice to.

I might give that a go then, once I've worked through this, for lack of a better word, epic backlog of games to finish.

Can you really call the sexual content a flaw when it is so deeply entwined into the inherent horror of the game? It's not like it's just crammed in there contractually like a lot of otherwise straightforward games, the twisted sensuality of Saya ties directly into the way Fuminori develops (and thus how he and the rest of humanity, however detached he is from them, imprint upon Saya).

As Fargo said above the twisted sensuality of the game doesn't call for excessive explicit sexuality. As I said myself, I didn't mind it, I just found that some scenes drug on far too long. What this means is the twisted sexual acts lose their purpose, instead of discomfort at seeing Fuminori twisted into this shell of what he used to be, becoming more and more violent and dismissive of those around him, we instead get this vibe of, "Alright are they done yet because this is getting old hearing about how sexually awesome this piece of jailbait is."

Ole Snippy

You and I both agree, this is not my best work. I chalk this up to a crucial mistake on my own part, writing it late at night and not giving it a day to incubate and examine it. I feel that I shaved down and streamlined a lot of the review, trying to give it a briefer feel, as some of my reviews have been noted to repeat facts. I may have been too strong in my pruning and upon reading it again, felt myself disappointed in my work. Thank you for the criticisms though; as always I take them on board to improve myself.

Another Snip to my Heart

The name misspelling overall has no real excuse to it, save for the lacking of editing I did while more awake, it was lacking on my part to not even check for proper name spelling. I also, as you said, should have used Fuminori, as it is indeed the more commonly used name.

Tons of omitting, side effects of my poor editing, something I normally take pride in. Note what I say to Fargo in the length department. Not much of an excuse, but the reason it comes off as so short.

Lastly, it is good to see I have regular readers. Thats a plus.

Anyways a question to those who have played the game, felt the review lacking and all that. Would this piece benefit from a complete scrap and rewrite, because I am willing to do so. I feel I not only let down those who regularly read my work, but also let down the fans of the works which also means I did not do the piece justice. What this means is that those who might have been interested may not view this review in a positive light and avoid the game all together. This saddens me.

So in short we can conclude

-I suck dick and need to die in a hole [my comments]
-This review was too short
-Needs more analysis on the game and its themes
-Better editing
-Again Void go die in a hole [me again]

 

[Gigano]

Ah, Saya no Uta, the finest Visual Novel of them all, if most certainly not the fairest.

A sublime Lovecraftian horror piece[footnote]In fact, I find Urobuchi's writing style to be better than Lovecraft's, in that it invokes the same dire sense of foreboding, but is more subdued, calculated, and chilly (aside from the wording obviously being less archaic).[/footnote], the darkest love story ever told, a harrowing look into psychosis, socialization, and alienation, and a philosophical musing on how what defines humanity and ethics are very much a point of view. All rolled into one flawless bloodstone.

As for the explicit sexuality, I was originally wary of it, but it the end it fit in very well. It's an important part of the story, and the explicitness of it inescapably underlines the ever increasing depravity as Fuminori unravels[footnote]Akin to how the explicitness of the brutal scene in Irréversible made detachment from the story much harder (which it kinda needed considering its peculiar framing device of being told in reverse and all.[/footnote]. The last scene did drag on a bit though, even if it was important in showing what Saya had ultimately been socialized into.

Definitely a brutal piece that isn't for everyone, but its lack of general appeal certainly isn't due to any lack in quality. I don't hesitate to call it a masterpiece, a pinnacle which even very excellent visual novels such as Cross+Channel or Steins;Gate fall short of.

 

[ChupathingyX]

I really need to get around to playing this.

I really enjoyed Kikokugai and this has the same writer so I'll probably enjoy this one too (I just hope the soundtrack is as good).