Man, I really wanted to like this one. I'd been wanting to play the original for quite some time only to find that a deluxe version was released just about a month ago - it felt like it was meant to be. BUT, I have to be completely honest and say it wasn't worth the price of admission.

To start with the good, the presentation was fantastic. The pixel art to the backgrounds to the hand drawn aesthetic pieces, it is all just gorgeous. The soundtrack, likewise, was pretty much perfect. The puzzles struck just the right amount of challenge without being too obtuse (with a few exceptions).

The issues arise with the characters who embody the "refuses to elaborate, leaves" meme coupled with the spineless protagonist. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of times she would ask a question and get ignored, interrupted, or get "I can't answer that" as a response, only for the same thing to happen in the next (or even the same) conversation. Meanwhile, everything else she says amounts to "I'm sorry", "It's not like that!" or "I...". It just became so unbearably grating witnessing every conversation go the exact same way and makes the whole thing so much less enjoyable when you're not actively solving puzzles or gawking at the visuals. The story is, ironically, at its peak when none of the characters are talking.

All of it would be just a mixed bag normally but then the neutral ending swoops in feeling like a joke ending and leaving a bad taste in my mouth with how bizarrely the tone shifts into almost parody territory. I might change my opinion after going back to get the other endings, but as of right now, this is where it's at.