I was a little wary going into this because my feelings on Hashihime can best be described as complicated. As the years have gone by since I've read it, I do think it's a pretty good visual novel. However, it reaches such heights with Minakami's route, follows it up with another great route with Kawase, and then just sort of... drags on to the finish line. It also has a fairly mean-spirited true route that irritated me so much initially that it took me a while to warm back up to Hashihime even after how much I enjoyed the first few routes. Really, the main solace for me is that Rinko Kurosawa confirmed that the true ending's revelations are only canonical in that specific ending.
However, I'm happy to report that Uuultra C is a massive improvement. Rinko Kurosawa/ADELTA has really leaned into her knack for the surreal and psychedelic, and the world she weaves in Uuultra C is so creative and fun that I found myself wishing the game wouldn't end. She's also an expert at surreal comedy, there's some really enjoyable and funny banter here. ADELTA's art is as gorgeous as ever, and there's an incredible amount of it to see-- for a relatively short VN that can be finished under 20 hours, there's over 1K CGs (!). It's also an interesting departure from the typical romantic visual novel format-- While most of them have one main character and routes for each interest, Uuultra C is a collection of three intertwined stories, each featuring their own couple. With each route, more of the mysteries are unraveled, though obviously Kurosawa works operate on zero logic, so expect some pretty fantastical resolutions. Though it can be convoluted, Kurosawa demonstrates such a dedication to detail throughout the narrative-- If you pay attention to each character's thoughts and dialogue, even if it can be difficult at times due to the dense surrealism, you'll catch so many subtle answers that could otherwise be missed.
Each story feels very unique from the others, despite the occasional overlapping scene. For me, Shirou and Isshiki's route was probably my favorite. Despite her often abstract writing, ADELTA crafts such an interesting character dealing with internalized homophobia and a complex childhood love interest, among other things. Of course, Shoutarou and Juurou's stories are fantastic as well. Shoutarou and Akira are adorable, and Juurou and Yomi's story is one of intense, dark passion and longing.
If you've ever watched a kaiju movie or tokusatsu show and wondered what it would be like if the kaiju and the hero were gay and fell in love, this is your visual novel! This makes me beyond excited for ADELTA's upcoming work Ooe, here's to hoping it gets localized.
However, I'm happy to report that Uuultra C is a massive improvement. Rinko Kurosawa/ADELTA has really leaned into her knack for the surreal and psychedelic, and the world she weaves in Uuultra C is so creative and fun that I found myself wishing the game wouldn't end. She's also an expert at surreal comedy, there's some really enjoyable and funny banter here. ADELTA's art is as gorgeous as ever, and there's an incredible amount of it to see-- for a relatively short VN that can be finished under 20 hours, there's over 1K CGs (!). It's also an interesting departure from the typical romantic visual novel format-- While most of them have one main character and routes for each interest, Uuultra C is a collection of three intertwined stories, each featuring their own couple. With each route, more of the mysteries are unraveled, though obviously Kurosawa works operate on zero logic, so expect some pretty fantastical resolutions. Though it can be convoluted, Kurosawa demonstrates such a dedication to detail throughout the narrative-- If you pay attention to each character's thoughts and dialogue, even if it can be difficult at times due to the dense surrealism, you'll catch so many subtle answers that could otherwise be missed.
Each story feels very unique from the others, despite the occasional overlapping scene. For me, Shirou and Isshiki's route was probably my favorite. Despite her often abstract writing, ADELTA crafts such an interesting character dealing with internalized homophobia and a complex childhood love interest, among other things. Of course, Shoutarou and Juurou's stories are fantastic as well. Shoutarou and Akira are adorable, and Juurou and Yomi's story is one of intense, dark passion and longing.
If you've ever watched a kaiju movie or tokusatsu show and wondered what it would be like if the kaiju and the hero were gay and fell in love, this is your visual novel! This makes me beyond excited for ADELTA's upcoming work Ooe, here's to hoping it gets localized.