"I'm not asking you to become a saint. You can be the person you think is right. If you can accept your mistakes and are able to apologize, you'll certainly grow up to be a wonderful boy in ten years."

It's crazy to fathom I'd been waiting for this for about half my life now, and it's even crazier to fathom that it was completely worth it.

In short, it does everything it sets out to perfectly well and more. On a presentation level, I struggle to imagine visual novels being able to get any better than this. Both the art and music are appealing, moody, and atmospheric, faithful to the original's style yet standing out with a modern identity of its own. On a writing level, it's heartening to see just how far Nasu has come since his early days, staying true to the thematic core of his humble beginnings yet expanding upon the intimate stories of his characters and making them -- along with the world they inhabit -- feel more alive than ever before.

If Nasu brings this same energy and care to the next part, the routes that made Tsukihime truly special in the first place, then he's sure to have yet another magnum opus on his hands.