A Profile

Nice avatar there. And uh I assume Japan but it's been awhile since I've read it and I only read it once, so I can't say for sure.

It's Japan. I was surprised that a town filled with Asians could only have one student who actually wants to go to college.

So after finishing Sharin No Kuni I guess it's natural to head on to this game. Haven't downloaded it yet though, so anything I should expect about it?

It's not quite as good as the previous two. The writing is somewhat weaker as are the heroines. Still pretty good though.

^^ Same thing I did. I'm enjoying it so far.

Love letter!

Judging from the response, I'm almost certain it's Miku, or that she has something to do with it.

Still snails pace. Still on Miku's route.

Like before, too obvious that it's Miku writing. Based on hints, I think Miku has some sort of split personality, her easily flustered shy persona and her confident one.

True, it's painfully obvious. The protagonist is willfully very, very dense.

Back to A Profile, taking a small break from Kamidori.

Now they're making it even more obvious that it's Miku. There's going to be some sort of twist here I know it. But now it could be that they're building off my expectations since I already read the first route and will be making a guess off of that. If they know that and intentioanlly made the second route assuming I would make those assumptions, then this will be a bit different than Rizu's route.

Started reading this a few days ago. Three thoughts, having finished the first two routes:

1) Every story with a sister heroine needs to have a "uh, no, she's my sister" option. Always.

2) Miku's route is very well-placed. The first route and third route seem to be the heavier routes of the story. Miku's is still pretty serious, but the subject matter is comparatively lighthearted, and that makes it kind of refreshing by comparison. (I don't think any scene in the VN will top, "Does this mean I get a threesome this summer?" It also reminds me of FSN's route system a little, in that even if the characters are starting from the same place, it still feels like they've grown a little across the routes.

3) The story makes a very good use of choices at the end of the second route. Characters repeatedly talk about Masayuki's naivete and optimistic outlook, and tell him that it gets in the way of actually understanding the situation. It's especially present in the second route, where a little skepticism probably would have resulted in a lot less hurt for everyone. And it's repeatedly stressed that she wasn't the type who ran ahead — she always followed after someone else. So at the end, when she's running alone, your choices are "believe that she can do it" or "it just isn't possible right now." And the optimistic feel-good answer is wrong. It gives you the bad end, because choosing it shows that you haven't been paying attention.

It feels very much like a pop quiz moment, where the game asks, "Have you been paying attention to the theme development?" That is how you do choices in games! Seriously, I think that's something I'm going to have to point to when VN choices come up.

edited 1st Jun '12 3:11:56 PM by Einander

^ Yeah, I liked that ending more for the first route.

The feel good optimistic answer being wrong was interesting. It's not really a bad end, though. I forget the details of how it went.

Personally, I liked Miku the most. Rizu made for a better sister and I'm only so so on Miou.

edited 1st Jun '12 5:13:54 PM by Arha

It was a bad end, if only in comparison. Miku's health issues aren't resolved, and he says he isn't sure how long she has or how healthy she actually is. He thinks she might be lying and putting on a brave face, and if even Masayuki is skeptical about someone's honesty, they're being pretty dishonest. Then it tells you "Go to One Year Later!" and rolls credits, as if to tell you to pick the right answer this time. I think it's the only ending that does that, even. In comparison, the other end has Masayuki running well again, she beats her time, and she's completely healthy afterward, although they don't see each other for two years in the middle.

I liked Miku the most as well. I'm kind of annoyed that the 'romantic' end for Rizu is the full ending, considering it has the epilogue, but the focus on Masayuki was interesting. I'd have liked Miou's route more if it felt like there was a more even sense of progress; for a very large part of the route, it feels like you're getting nothing accomplished, which is frustrating to read.

Now that I've done all three routes, I'm less fond of the structure. I'm thinking the routes should have gone Rizu -> Miou -> Miku; it feels like that listing goes from "least to most personal growth" for the main character, and Miku's route is the route where the fewest bad things actually happen. It'd be a better final "happily ever after" capstone, I think.