2004
Playing this game on the in flight entertainment system saved me when my phone ran out of battery.
2024
Finally I can give Persona 3 5/5 without feeling like I'm lying to myself
Fun little romance with an arrogant magical girl
2023
This is an excellent remake of the original game. The remade art, music and voice acting are incredible and much improved over the original. The only aspect of this game that remains unchanged is the script, which is functionally identical to how it was written in 1998, except for removing all H-content (an improvement, especially to Mayu's route). Sadly, This is to the game's detriment as it means all the flaws with the original story remain. This is particularly evident in Mizuka's route, where Kouhei's inconsistent characterization is at its worst. Sadly, the English translation also had many minor spelling and grammatical errors.
This is still a great remake; however, it is worth playing for anyone curious about the Key team's earlier works.
This is still a great remake; however, it is worth playing for anyone curious about the Key team's earlier works.
2022
Incredible game, worth playing if only for the voice acting.
2006
This review contains spoilers
So, I just wrapped up my playthrough of Edelweiss, and let me tell you, it was quite the ride. Strap in, because this game is a roller coaster of highs and lows.
Starting off, the art holds up pretty well for its time – not groundbreaking, but it definitely gives you that nostalgic feel. The visuals might not blow you away today, but they're like a familiar face from the past that you're happy to see again.Pacing is where Edelweiss takes a nosedive. It's like the game has an attention deficit, careening from scene to scene with little regard for coherence. The common route, in particular, is a disjointed mess, leaving you wondering if there's a narrative thread somewhere that got lost in the chaos. It's not an invigorating sense of speed; it's more like a narrative whiplash.
Now characters. Most of the cast in this game is pretty interesting and entertaining (in particular I loved Panchuu-Senpai). There is one character, however, who I feel ruined a lot of the routes. Oh, Grandma Hisae. She's the prime example of inconsistency, and not in a good way.Her inconsistencies are glaring, and it often feels like the game just flips a switch to make her the villain when it needs some plot spice. It's like they wanted drama, so they turned the lady into a mustache-twirling baddie without much rhyme or reason.
And then there are the routes. Brace yourself because they can feel contrived, like someone desperately trying to pull at your heartstrings. It's like the game is waving a big sign saying, "Feel something, please!" It's not the subtle emotional journey you'd hope for; it's more like an emotional ambush. Interestingly, Overdrive's later games like Kira Kira and Deardrops managed to weave emotions into their narratives with finesse, creating a more authentic connection with the players.
Now, let's talk about humor. Edelweiss tries its hand at being funny, but more often than not, the jokes fall flat.The humor feels forced, and I found myself cringing more than chuckling. Comedy is subjective, sure, but Edelweiss might have missed the mark for a lot of players.
In a nutshell, Edelweiss is a time capsule with some artistic charm from its era, but it stumbles in the pacing department, has a character inconsistency issue (looking at you, Grandma Hisae), and the routes might make you feel like you're on an emotional rollercoaster with a questionable operator. If you're in it for the nostalgia and can overlook these quirks, give it a shot. But if you're after a smoother ride, Overdrive's later titles might be more up your alley.
Starting off, the art holds up pretty well for its time – not groundbreaking, but it definitely gives you that nostalgic feel. The visuals might not blow you away today, but they're like a familiar face from the past that you're happy to see again.Pacing is where Edelweiss takes a nosedive. It's like the game has an attention deficit, careening from scene to scene with little regard for coherence. The common route, in particular, is a disjointed mess, leaving you wondering if there's a narrative thread somewhere that got lost in the chaos. It's not an invigorating sense of speed; it's more like a narrative whiplash.
Now characters. Most of the cast in this game is pretty interesting and entertaining (in particular I loved Panchuu-Senpai). There is one character, however, who I feel ruined a lot of the routes. Oh, Grandma Hisae. She's the prime example of inconsistency, and not in a good way.Her inconsistencies are glaring, and it often feels like the game just flips a switch to make her the villain when it needs some plot spice. It's like they wanted drama, so they turned the lady into a mustache-twirling baddie without much rhyme or reason.
And then there are the routes. Brace yourself because they can feel contrived, like someone desperately trying to pull at your heartstrings. It's like the game is waving a big sign saying, "Feel something, please!" It's not the subtle emotional journey you'd hope for; it's more like an emotional ambush. Interestingly, Overdrive's later games like Kira Kira and Deardrops managed to weave emotions into their narratives with finesse, creating a more authentic connection with the players.
Now, let's talk about humor. Edelweiss tries its hand at being funny, but more often than not, the jokes fall flat.The humor feels forced, and I found myself cringing more than chuckling. Comedy is subjective, sure, but Edelweiss might have missed the mark for a lot of players.
In a nutshell, Edelweiss is a time capsule with some artistic charm from its era, but it stumbles in the pacing department, has a character inconsistency issue (looking at you, Grandma Hisae), and the routes might make you feel like you're on an emotional rollercoaster with a questionable operator. If you're in it for the nostalgia and can overlook these quirks, give it a shot. But if you're after a smoother ride, Overdrive's later titles might be more up your alley.
A great follow up to both Kira Kira and Deardrops, definitely a must play for any fan.
This game definitely could have benefited from having been longer but still a solid follow up to Kira Kira with a fun new cast. Also Marukami is still best boy
2009
This game would be peak if not for the constant transphobia
2016
Gin'Iro Haruka is Tone Works' best game yet. Every single aspect of it is perfected.
Story 4/5
Gin'Iro Haruka has five routes each of which containing three arcs: Middle School, High School and After. All of these arcs are amazing and show the development of both the protagonist and the heroine in great detail. The only possible issue with the story is its length. Gin'Iro Haruka is very long and that length is felt as large amounts of the story move at a snail's pace and is primarily Slice-of-Life. This makes the game hard to get through at times particularly if you are playing all the routes back to back with no real interruptions.
Art 4/5
The art in Gin'Iro Haruka is great with beautiful background art and CG's consistently appearing throughout the game. The CG quality across routes is inconsistent however as some routes have CG's that are nothing but an edited character sprite across a pre-existing background. The character designs, however, are all great and there is a large amount of them. Each route has at least one new character with a design appear inside it with some having upwards of three characters exclusive to the route. There are a large number of locations inside Gin'Iro Haruka with some routes basing a large number of their plots inside foreign countries such as Italy and Canada. This means that there is a ton of background art and all of it is beautiful.
Soundtrack 4.5/5
Gin'Iro Haruka's soundtrack is amazing with twelve great voiced tracks throughout the game.
Conclusion
Gin'Iro Haruka is tone works the best game in my opinion (Though I haven't played Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou). The story improves upon Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai's narrative structure by adding in a middle school section and making sure all the routes are of equally high quality. There are even cameos from characters in Hatsukoi 1/1 and Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai to look out for. The only major issue I truly have with the game at this moment is the lack of full translation. (As of August 2021 Gin'Iro Haruka only has 3 of its five routes translated.) This is an issue because in my opinion, the best routes are the untranslated one's so unless you have some Japanese reading ability or are willing to risk MTL you have no choice but to ignore two of the best routes. However, Gin'Iro Haruka isn't a game that requires you to read everything to understand the plot so I still highly recommend it.
Story 4/5
Gin'Iro Haruka has five routes each of which containing three arcs: Middle School, High School and After. All of these arcs are amazing and show the development of both the protagonist and the heroine in great detail. The only possible issue with the story is its length. Gin'Iro Haruka is very long and that length is felt as large amounts of the story move at a snail's pace and is primarily Slice-of-Life. This makes the game hard to get through at times particularly if you are playing all the routes back to back with no real interruptions.
Art 4/5
The art in Gin'Iro Haruka is great with beautiful background art and CG's consistently appearing throughout the game. The CG quality across routes is inconsistent however as some routes have CG's that are nothing but an edited character sprite across a pre-existing background. The character designs, however, are all great and there is a large amount of them. Each route has at least one new character with a design appear inside it with some having upwards of three characters exclusive to the route. There are a large number of locations inside Gin'Iro Haruka with some routes basing a large number of their plots inside foreign countries such as Italy and Canada. This means that there is a ton of background art and all of it is beautiful.
Soundtrack 4.5/5
Gin'Iro Haruka's soundtrack is amazing with twelve great voiced tracks throughout the game.
Conclusion
Gin'Iro Haruka is tone works the best game in my opinion (Though I haven't played Tsuki no Kanata de Aimashou). The story improves upon Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai's narrative structure by adding in a middle school section and making sure all the routes are of equally high quality. There are even cameos from characters in Hatsukoi 1/1 and Hoshi Ori Yume Mirai to look out for. The only major issue I truly have with the game at this moment is the lack of full translation. (As of August 2021 Gin'Iro Haruka only has 3 of its five routes translated.) This is an issue because in my opinion, the best routes are the untranslated one's so unless you have some Japanese reading ability or are willing to risk MTL you have no choice but to ignore two of the best routes. However, Gin'Iro Haruka isn't a game that requires you to read everything to understand the plot so I still highly recommend it.