I was looking over the results of the survey posted here and over on Reddit, and numerically HOJOTOHO! has more votes in the best category that any other story. At 24 "exceptional" votes, it beat out For All the Saints at 21, Lost in Reflections at 18, and Flint and The 12:15 at Moloch Street at 15. All these are very highly regarded stories that I still hear about to this day as among players’ favorites, but I never really see anyone discussing HJTH! on the forums.
The valkyrie was a neat character, urchins are always fun, and the ending was a doozy, but it never really struck a chord with me like the other super popular stories did. So, again, I’m curious to hear all your thoughts on why HJTO! seems like the most popular exceptional story and if you’re among the fans.
HOJOTOHO is about a group of children who, despite being destitute and downtrodden, urchins as they are, choose to dedicate themselves to helping and protecting others—that’s not the story, or something that happens as it progresses, it’s the base premise that everyone saw when it was first released as an Exceptional Story. We get to spend time with all of them, and though they aren’t particularly deep characters, I know that I personally found the interactions to be endearing.
And without giving too much away, one of the endings you can choose may be only thing in the game that can be described as outright triumphant. It’s a story about people, people you like, defying the darkness because they know what’s right and they aren’t going to give up. It’s more than a little nnaive, but that’s part of the charm; it is so very bleak down here, far from the sun, and it’s nice to have a moment where you really can beat back the Sea of Misery. edited by Lazaroth on 1/25/2019 edited by Lazaroth on 1/25/2019
I’ve gotten a little soured on stories about Neathy weirdness, especially Parabola. I do like the stories you name, but part of the charm of HOJOTOHO is that except for a little bit at the end, which is not terribly important to the story of it, it’s just about a bunch of plucky kids.
I also found the mechanics simple and enjoyable enough, and the fact that the reward for one of the endings comes with regular nostalgic reminders on an opportunity card keeps it in mind. Some of the stories I barely remember a few months after playing them, but HOJOTOHO isn’t one of those.
Lazaroth put it very aptly. It was a joy to play and it’s a joy to remember every time the card comes around. I developed a real fondness for the urchins afterwards.
For some of the stories, the final decisions are so tricky emotionally and morally that I have to go away and think about them. At least three are sitting in my Neathy streets because I can’t make up my mind. Indeed, they’ve sat there so long, I’ll probably have to replay them in an alt to remember what they were about. They were hard work.
Endearing is a good word for Hojotoho. It was a feel-good story and all the more welcome for that.
The main things have already been said, but maybe to add a few more minor points:
[ul][li]The story is very beautifully written. Moreso than most of the other beautifully written stories in FL. Cash DeCuir really has a way with words and it shows on most of his stories (Persona Engine, Where You and I Must Go, Waltz that Moved the World, etc.)[/li][li]The story has some really funny moments (like, when it is revealed who the Shieldmaiden actually is) and some tragic moments - but on a relatable level (like the night watches with the Valkyrie). And the mystery part about Mr Songbird is proper mysterious for most of the story and the reveal is neither disappointing nor does is seem far-fetched … it absolutely makes sense.
[/li][li]The permanent mechanical rewards is small but surprisingly useful (and of course a very lovely reminder of the story)[/li][/ul]
I guess what I’m trying to say is that while being very endearing, it also a very well-crafted story on a mechanical level. The whole structure, scope, pacing, and solution … everything fits very well. edited by rahv7 on 1/25/2019 edited by rahv7 on 1/25/2019
Another thing to keep in mind is that the number of votes on the survey varies between stories. If HOJOTOHO! has the most “exceptional” votes, this obviously means that it’s popular, but it could also indicate that more people have played this story than the other most popular ones.
There is definitely a certain feedback effect to these surveys. For older Exceptional Stories, there are fewer players around that have played a story when it was released. Newer players who want to buy stories from the fate-page often look at previous survey-results to learn which stories are worth playing (at least on reddit the survey is recommended a lot). So there is definitely a higher percentage of participants that have played previously recommended stories. In addition to that, Failbetter had discounted the top five stories from our previous survey during #loveindies-week last year, further increasing this effect.
I am not one who cares much for stories about kids. But that story was written so well it swept me right up into the adventure immediately. The whole atmosphere was cool, Mr. Songbird was creepy and used well. the reveal was cool but was not even the crux of the story. It was just…fun. And it gave a good reward. And then when what could be the Valkyrie showed up in the advent calendar, even this much later, I got a big grin on my face and it immediately put me in a good mood. I have played good stories that made me tense, made me melancholic, and other interesting emotions, but this one made me feel happy. Legitimately, goofily happy.
From my perspective, it was a well-written story that had nice individual storylets within the main story, yet was all very cohesive in scope. There were mysteries, adventures, downtime and reflection with the characters, and a choice that felt a least a little weighty at the end – which also carried forward in an opportunity card. So from start to finish it held many wonderful components, with long-term consequences.
And I will add that while I love Fallen London and the atmosphere, lore, and looming sense of unease that it conveys, it’s crucial to have lighthearted and even mundane moments interspersed within. They are important to take a breather from the more frightening components of this world, while simultaneously breathing life into those same frightening components. You can’t have one without the other. This is one reason why I personally enjoyed the Inconvenient Aunt storyline so much whereas others did not.
The greatest character in this story was the sense of hope it injected into us, in an otherwise very bleak and dismal world.
At the end of the day, there are so many Exceptional stories and I enjoyed most of them. But they are all subjective, of course. There are some stories which seem to be universally disliked which I had really enjoyed, so…
You know, everyone’s talking about the cheery hopeful parts but I honestly think it has just as much to do with how damn insufferable spies and bureaucrats are, and how good it feels to give one a vocational kick in the teeth.
My favorite moment in Eleutheria in Sunless Skies is tied between crossing the Belt of Midnight and my first visit to Achlys. It really goes to show the impact of "HOJOTOHO!"