Finally caught up to date with the game's main story and goddamn.
Took a LONG ass break from the game midway through Rinascita (last time I properly played the game was in July around the release of Lupa. I logged in to pull for Augusta and Iuno, but didn't really play the game. Just pulled and dipped lol).
Only decided to come back to start preparing for Lucy and Rebecca (Edgerunners is my single favorite anime lmao), but after focusing on the story, thinking I'd get through it just to have all the areas unlocked to make exploration smoother, hot damn. Kuro seriously upped the ante when it comes to writing ever since 1.0
I remember playing at launch and thinking the story was just kinda eh. Not terrible, but not engaging. I really only thought the game was cool because of the relatively generous gacha system and the actual moment-to-moment gameplay.
But playing through Rinascita, having that "Avengers Assemble" (Corny as fuck. But I'm an absolute sucker for the trope. I like people coming together for a combined goal. Sue me.) moment, the ups and downs of characters like Phrolova, Avidius, Iuno, Cartethyia. AND THEN LAHAI-ROI.
It's not often that I finish a game and feel an (even mild) sense of hollowness after completing it, but man. Finishing Lahai-Roi? Genuinely invoked the same feelings I got from finishing some of my favorite story-centered games. Everything from the aesthetics of the region, to the character designs, to the twists and turns the story takes, to the absolute HEARTBREAK of losing Aemeath and the clear desperation from Rover to get her back genuinely got to me.
Really, just making this post to get my thoughts out. I'm not a big fan of gachas. I think the monetization scheme can be extremely predatory. But, man, I'm glad I stuck it out for WuWa. If for nothing else, the story alone gripped me in a way not too many other games have.