A really beautiful looking remake. Like jaw-dropping at times.
I actually had no idea this was related to Key in any way, I didn't even know Jun Maeda wrote most of it until after I started. After seeing Sumii (an actual Sunohara clone) and the general vibe, I began to piece it together.
So, the story. The nicest way I could put it is that it was very obvious this was one of Jun Maeda's earlier works.
I see much of the foundation in this game that he managed to capitalize on in later Key works, but this was overall very weak. Annoyingly ambiguous serious scenes that often seem out of place, Kohei's almost bipolar characterization makes early routes unsatisfying (especially Nagamori's).
Once I realized what HAPPENING to Kohei, stuff is easier to swallow, but I still never really LIKED it. I don't think anything in this game was realized to its full potential. Misaki's route was easily my favorite route and girl, which had an amazing theme of accepting your lot in life and finding beauty that you never thought was there.
The theming of the whole game is its strongest point (well, aside from the insanely adorable characters), but like I said, disappointing in that it doesn't quite feel complete.
However, I enjoyed it enough thanks to me being a sucker for cute girls and the indescribable Key-like atmosphere it provides.
I actually had no idea this was related to Key in any way, I didn't even know Jun Maeda wrote most of it until after I started. After seeing Sumii (an actual Sunohara clone) and the general vibe, I began to piece it together.
So, the story. The nicest way I could put it is that it was very obvious this was one of Jun Maeda's earlier works.
I see much of the foundation in this game that he managed to capitalize on in later Key works, but this was overall very weak. Annoyingly ambiguous serious scenes that often seem out of place, Kohei's almost bipolar characterization makes early routes unsatisfying (especially Nagamori's).
Once I realized what HAPPENING to Kohei, stuff is easier to swallow, but I still never really LIKED it. I don't think anything in this game was realized to its full potential. Misaki's route was easily my favorite route and girl, which had an amazing theme of accepting your lot in life and finding beauty that you never thought was there.
The theming of the whole game is its strongest point (well, aside from the insanely adorable characters), but like I said, disappointing in that it doesn't quite feel complete.
However, I enjoyed it enough thanks to me being a sucker for cute girls and the indescribable Key-like atmosphere it provides.