The moment-to-moment gameplay is very addictive and well-presented. The mechanics at work may be sort of opaque at times, but that ultimately serves to create the illusion that the game can't entirely be understood on the fly and therefore you'll have to simply make decisions based on your own judgment. It has an organic feel to it in that sense.

The music and themes for each character are nice, and there's a really wonderful variation in artwork for the environments and each character. Seasons and special events will mean new locations are depicted, and characters have a surprising variety of outfits and expressions for different occasions. And that's not to mention the special events with certain characters which you may or may not see in a given plathrough, giving the game an interesting sense of mystery and replay factor.

One thing that the game does capture to an almost unpleasant degree is the nature of dating, it's a social arena defined by so much artifice and charade that as you play the game you feel that same loss of a sense of self, of making choices not based on what you really think or feel but which will perhaps lead to a desirable outcome. There are a lot of things to reflect on while playing, at least for someone who can't, won't, or shan't go back to high school and do it all again.

Hugely grateful for the translating team who made it possible for us non-japanophones to finally play this game!