History YMMV / MarySkelter

** It is typically advised to never make use of Clara's party to fight Nightmares when it can be avoided, as the group lacks any proper Fighter type character or even just a Mass.Rage Rush which leads to excessively prolonged fights compared to either of the other teams. Even normal battles are notably more difficult for this team as they lack access to Wind's Edge or Water Attack to quickly kill multiple enemies at once.

* LowTierLetdown: Chant skills are generally accepted to be an absolute waste in ''Mary Skelter 2'', as enemies will easily interrupt them before they can go off. This often leads to Little Mermaid and Thumbelina being removed from the main party in favor of stacking more Fighters and Scientists to simply destroy everything before a chant could ever manage to go off in the first place. ''Finale'' somewhat fixes this through DLC, as Thumbelina have access to First Strike type skills, allowing her to start a fight chanting and end it before the enemies can act.
** It is typically advised to never make use of Clara's party to fight Nightmares when it can be avoided, as the group lacks any proper Fighter type character or even just a Mass.Rage Rush which leads to excessively prolonged fights compared to either of the other teams.

** The various Piece items used to modify the Jail's roulette can be put into storage, and then used from storage. Doing this fails to remove the Pieces from storage, unlike when used directly from your inventory, giving you effectively an infinite amount of them to heavily skew results toward even rare Piece results. This bug exists in each game that the mechanic has been present for.

** The ''VideoGame/DeathEndReQuest'' costumes featured in ''Mary Skelter 2'' serve to highlight the peculiar number of similarities between the two games, both being incredibly-depressing Compile Heart games released within close proximity of each other in Japan that are about two steps removed from being full-on DuelingWorks. [[labelnote:''Unmarked spoilers for both'']]Both games feature a basic escape plot, {{Alice Allusion}}s, a [[CloningBlues central character being a clone]], the FinalBoss becoming an OmnicidalManiac due to losing someone close to them, a near EverybodyDiesEnding that is only averted by a ResetButton, and an [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou attack on the fourth wall]]. Key differences include the fantasy-inspired setting of ''Mary Skelter'' versus the cyberspace setting of ''Death end re;Quest'', dungeon-crawling gameplay of ''Mary Skelter'' versus the Neptunia-style gameplay of ''Death end re;Quest'', and ''Mary Skelter 2'' indulging in {{Fanservice}} while saving its violence for key points versus ''Death end re;Quest'''s constant disturbing violence paired with comparatively-minimal Fanservice. [[/labelnote]]

%%* JerkassWoobie: With the exception of [[TokenGoodTeammate Py]][[AffablyEvil re]], The Massacre Pink, at first glance, are bunch of irredeemable bitches and the main {{Arc Villain}}s of ''Finale'', but [[RewatchBonus to anyone who plays]] ''[[RewatchBonus Finale]]'' [[RewatchBonus for a second time or has read the prequel novel]], they embody TragicVillain to a T. By the end of it all, you just want to [[CryForTheDevil give them a big ol' hug]].]] -- Needs better elaboration on *why* their sympathetic, since I didn't read the novel

** Out of all of the members in The Massacre Pink who suffered throughout the events of the prequel novel, poor Pyre had it rough, moreso than the others. It's a good thing she still has her HeroicWillpower and [[IncorruptiblePurePureness former humanity]] to pull a HeelFaceTurn very early on.

** Out of all of the members in The Massacre Pink who suffered throughout the events of the game, poor Pyre had it rough, moreso than the others. It's a good thing she still has her HeroicWillpower and [[IncorruptiblePurePureness former humanity]] to pull a HeelFaceTurn very early on.

* AssPull: The first game ends with a number of questionable story developments, as [[DisappointingLastLevel you can see below]], but one that deserves special mention is the reveal that [[spoiler:Snark is an alien and the Jail is a tool to recreate his home planet]]. It is completely out of place with the setting and narrative up to that point and, in a polar opposite from [[CaptainObviousReveal just about every other "twist" in the game]], has absolutely no foreshadowing. Some like that it is a legitimately-surprising reveal, but those that dislike it feel as though it cheapens the entire story.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Unfortunately, the job balance is not very good. It seems that players inevitably gravitate toward running a Paladin to soak up damage, a support member as a healer and/or second source of items, and three teammates that are equipped to throw out party-wide attacks as early and often as possible.

** The girls have an affinity towards Jack because most of their stories have princes, who Jack is taking the place of in their minds. This is made explicit with Sleeping Beauty and to a lesser extent Cinderella, but likely applies to the others as well. Note that the characters whose stories ''don't'' prominently feature princes (Gretel, Hameln) or the princes are treated like crap by the protagonist (Kaguya) are generally less romantic toward Jack.

** More FridgeSadness than Brilliance, Red Riding Hood's Pierrot class looks like a fairly typical clown-inspired costume, but with the exception of her having a teardrop under her eye. While at first it just looks like facepaint to fit in with the rest of her attire, it turns heartbreaking when you remember her confession that [[spoiler:she killed Little Mermaid in self-defense prior to the game's events]]. In the real world, this tattoo's meaning has changed over time, but most commonly is seen as representing the wearer has killed someone, with the victim sometimes being a fellow prisoner in jail, or as a means to show grief over the death of a loved one. In Red Riding Hood's case, [[spoiler:it's both]].

* FridgeHorror: In ''Mary Skelter 2'', Thumbelina's FreakOut and attempted murder of [[spoiler: Cinderella]] is unsettling enough in and of itself, but it was proven by Jack and [[spoiler: Alice]] that the Jail can use a strong desire to [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie turn people into Nightmares]]. How close was she to turning into one herself?

* GoodBadBugs: When you retreat from a preset encounter, you are pushed back a tile in the direction opposite of the one that you're facing. If you're in a pinch, you can enter the preset encounter icon backwards or to the side, retreat, and get pushed into one of the corridors that it's guarding.

* HarsherInHindsight: Almost certainly intended in ''Mary Skelter 2''. Scenes of the characters planning for the future, mending broken relationships, or finding new resolve are almost always accompanied by [[MusicalSpoiler Tears of Heaven]] at some point in it, and all of these scenes are called back to in some way during the [[spoiler: sudden [[EverybodyDiesEnding True Ending]].]]

* {{Squick}}: The more...interesting ways that the blood theme comes into play arguably veers into this. For example, in the prequel novel, Red Riding Hood is given a cake for her tenth birthday. Sugar is very rare within the setting, so it is heavily implied that Miko sweetened her cake using ''Marchen blood''.

* TheUntwist: The foreshadowing for [[spoiler:the Professor being up to no good]] becomes so obvious, not even a third into the game, that you're probably guessing there's some kind of twist, right? [[CaptainObviousReveal Nope.]]

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot:
** While the story of the first game is entertaining enough, the mystery that the game tries to set up is undermined by the {{Foreshadowing}} being as subtle as a falling anvil.
** The sequel has what could have been an excellent endgame twist were it not botched on multiple levels, not the least of which is Compile Heart's decision to advertise the remake as an entry point for new fans yet place the ending of the narrative there, with no checks to prevent players from viewing the ending of the duology before playing the sequel. The only way to avoid both ContinuityLockout and creating {{Captain Obvious Reveal}}s is to play the Vita or Steam version of the first game (or alternatively, the remake until the point that [[spoiler:the Blood Team enters the Government Office]]), switch to the sequel, and return to the remake without reading ''any'' side material in-between. Including either game's prequel novel or, for that matter, Website/ThisVeryWiki.
* TheWoobie: Quite a few.

** Otsuu and Little Mermaid. The plot of ''[=MS2=]'' should elaborate why, as it pretty much boils down to one big KickTheDog moment for pretty much everyone, but especially them.
** Speaking of ''Mary Skelter 2'', [[LoveHurts Alice]]. Dear God, Alice. Getting separated from Jack at the start is bad enough, but then [[spoiler:it's revealed that the Mysterious Nightmare is the ''real'' Alice, transformed into an OmnicidalManiac due to believing she had ''killed'' Jack, and the one we were interacting with for most of the game was just a mimic. When she is killed by the Upper Tower Nightmare, all she can think about is whether, if she's a fake, her feelings are fake as well.]]

** [[spoiler: The Massacre Pink. At first glance, them being the main ArcVillain of ''Finale'' may come as irredeemable bitches, but [[RewatchBonus to anyone who plays]] ''[[RewatchBonus Finale]]'' [[RewatchBonus for a second time or has read the prequel novel]], they embody TragicVillain to a T. By the end of it all, you just want to [[CryForTheDevil give them a big ol' hug.]]]]
** Speaking of [[spoiler: them, poor Pyre had it rough, moreso than the others.]] It's a good thing she still has her HeroicWillpower and [[IncorruptiblePurePureness former humanity]] to pull a HeelFaceTurn very early on.
* VanillaProtagonist: Jack's compulsive drive to climb the beanst- uh, Jail Tower is interesting, but the lad himself is otherwise inoffensively bland. As mentioned above though, a bit of FridgeBrilliance does halfway justify him being an inexplicable ChickMagnet, as most of the girls in the story have a predisposition to see him as their fairy tale prince due to the stories and characters they subconsciously draw inspiration from.

* CrazyPrepared: [[spoiler:Snark]] had been hiding in plain sight all along. They got away with it because their cover story was so good that they could shoot down any suspicions and accusations thrown their way.

* ObviousJudas: A bit of a weird example where the BigBad's true identity is painfully obvious, but the villain effectively dismantles TheHero's arguments when it comes time to make them confess; the player is required to confront them with several pieces of specific evidence (some of which are only available in certain chapters and can ''very'' easily be [[PermanentlyMissableContent missed entirely]]) to get the best ending.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Unfortunately, the job balance is [[FakeBalance not very good]]. It seems that players inevitably gravitate toward running a Paladin to soak up damage, a support member as a healer and/or second source of items, and three teammates that are equipped to throw out party-wide attacks as early and often as possible.

* ContestedSequel: The sequel has garnered sharply-contrasting opinions: some like the gameplay improvements and enjoy the story, while others think the game is too similar to the first outside of brand-new balance issues and are not happy about [[spoiler:the [[KillEmAll abrupt endgame slaughter of the heroes]] and subsequent ResetButtonEnding]].

* HarsherInHindsight: Almost certainly intended in ''Mary Skelter 2''. Scenes of the characters planning for the future, mending broken relationships, or finding new resolve are almost always accompanied by [[MusicalSpoiler Tears of Heaven]] at some point in it, and all of these scenes are called back to in some way during the [[spoiler: sudden KillEmAll True Ending.]]

** The ''VideoGame/DeathEndReQuest'' costumes featured in ''Mary Skelter 2'' serve to highlight the peculiar number of similarities between the two games, both being incredibly-depressing Compile Heart games released within close proximity of each other in Japan that are about two steps removed from being full-on DuelingWorks. [[labelnote:''Unmarked spoilers for both'']]Both games feature a basic escape plot, {{Alice Allusion}}s, a [[CloningBlues central character being a clone]], the FinalBoss becoming an OmnicidalManiac due to losing someone close to them, a near KillEmAll that is only averted by a ResetButton, and an [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou attack on the fourth wall]]. Key differences include the fantasy-inspired setting of ''Mary Skelter'' versus the cyberspace setting of ''Death end re;Quest'', dungeon-crawling gameplay of ''Mary Skelter'' versus the Neptunia-style gameplay of ''Death end re;Quest'', and ''Mary Skelter 2'' indulging in {{Fanservice}} while saving its violence for key points versus ''Death end re;Quest'''s constant disturbing violence paired with comparatively-minimal Fanservice. [[/labelnote]]

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** The developer stated during ''Mary Skelter 2's'' announcement that both that game and the remake of the first would receive several changes based on player feedback, including better balance and debugging, "adjusted" dungeon sizes, improving the (by their own admission) plain Quest system, and changing up the Jail roulette. The changes are arguably most apparent in the bonus Underground area from the first game; it was originally a gigantic monstrosity that quickly goes from being interesting to being [[ArcFatigue needlessly tedious]], but has been changed to be drastically simpler in the remake.
** After the PC port of ''Mary Skelter 2'' received backlash from fans for removing the purification minigame, Ghostlight released a standalone patch to restore the feature on their own website one week after the game's release, as well as extend the discount launch by another week as an apology.

** More Fridge Sadness than Brilliance, Red Riding Hood's Pierrot class looks like a fairly typical clown-inspired costume, but with the exception of her having a teardrop under her eye. While at first it just looks like facepaint to fit in with the rest of her attire, it turns heartbreaking when you remember her confession that [[spoiler:she killed Little Mermaid in self-defense prior to the game's events]]. In the real world, this tattoo's meaning has changed over time, but most commonly is seen as representing the wearer has killed someone, with the victim sometimes being a fellow prisoner in jail, or as a means to show grief over the death of a loved one. In Red Riding Hood's case, [[spoiler:it's both]].

** Speaking of ''Mary Skelter 2'', [[LoveHurts Alice]]. '''Dear God, Alice.''' Getting separated from Jack at the start is bad enough, but then [[spoiler:it's revealed that the Mysterious Nightmare is the ''real'' Alice, transformed into an OmnicidalManiac due to believing she had ''killed'' Jack, and the one we were interacting with for most of the game was just a mimic. When she is killed by the Upper Tower Nightmare, all she can think about is whether, if she's a fake, her feelings are fake as well.]]

** The TrueFinalBoss fight is [[spoiler:a multi-tiered battle like the one at the Temple.]] With fast fingers and a bit of luck, it's possible to [[AnticlimaxBoss beat the final boss while only facing a handful of its attacks]]. Outside of its ridiculously-strong "Felony" spell, which is just the aforementioned party-wide magic attacks cranked UpToEleven, you can make an argument for the random encounters leading up to this final boss being significantly harder than the boss itself.

** The sequel has what could have been an excellent endgame twist were it not botched on multiple levels, not the least of which is Compile Heart's decision to advertise the remake as an entry point for new fans yet place the ending of the narrative there, with no checks to prevent players from viewing the ending of the duology before playing the sequel. The only way to avoid both ContinuityLockout and creating {{Captain Obvious Reveal}}s is to play the Vita or Steam version of the first game (or alternatively, the remake until the point that [[spoiler:the Blood Team enters the Government Office]]), switch to the sequel, and return to the remake without reading ''any'' side material in-between. Including either game's prequel novel or, for that matter, Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: The developer stated during ''Mary Skelter 2's'' announcement that both that game and the remake of the first would receive several changes based on player feedback, including better balance and debugging, "adjusted" dungeon sizes, improving the (by their own admission) plain Quest system, and changing up the Jail roulette. The changes are arguably most apparent in the bonus Underground area from the first game; it was originally a gigantic monstrosity that quickly goes from being interesting to being [[ArcFatigue needlessly tedious]], but has been changed to be drastically simpler in the remake.