After finding "The Fruit of Grisaia" to be more than a tad underwhelming, I was at a loss as to whether or not I should continue with the franchise. Eventually, seeing how I'd already read the majority of the content, I decided to see it out & play through both Labyrinth & Eden.

Labyrinth, for me, is the highlight of the trilogy, with its focus on the more interesting characters in the story being the highlight of the main route. The ending of the main route also sets up the final game of the trilogy very nicely indeed, and so, we're onto Eden...

Eden, like Fruit, has a SERIOUS issue getting emotional value out of what should be really impactful scenes. I hate to draw comparisons to other story-driven games/mediums, but how much impact can a certain event have if it's been telegraphed so blatantly for hours beforehand? I'm referring primarily to the return of Kazuki. Ever since the first game, it was hinted that she was still alive, and the second game even had her featuring in the opening animated sequence. Even if none of this serves as concrete evidence for her return, it surely builds up expectations, so when she does return in Eden, it's like... Well, duh, of course she's coming back. This is far from the only instance of it happening in the trilogy, but it is, by far, the most egregious. On the other hand, the writing is still consistently funny, & the scenarios the cast find themselves in continue to be as outrageous as ever.

Plenty of new songs added to the previous selection make for a fresher feeling soundtrack than Labyrinth, but there's not many stand outs among them. The level of art, as you'd expect, is as consistent as ever, & nothing ever felt out of place during my time finishing this trilogy. Sadly, however, the game still has a terrible auto-mode, which is frustrating to the extent where I found myself actually skipping some character VA's once I'd read the dialogue.

My thoughts on Eden as a whole are pretty middling-good. If you've come this far in the franchise, it's worth seeing it out to its (obvious) conclusion. It doesn't offer much in the way of surprise or emotional impact, but it is as funny as both of its predecessors, & just as ridiculous to boot. I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic/impactful to make me realise what exactly it is I seem to be missing when it comes to the hype for this series, but sadly, I couldn't find it.

After finding "The Fruit of Grisaia" to be more than a tad underwhelming, I was at a loss as to whether or not I should continue with the franchise. Eventually, seeing how I'd already read the majority of the content, I decided to see it out & play through both Labyrinth & Eden. Labyrinth, for me, is the highlight of the trilogy, with its focus on the more interesting characters in the story being the highlight of the main route. The ending of the main route also sets up the final game of the trilogy very nicely indeed, and so, we're onto Eden... Eden, like Fruit, has a SERIOUS issue getting emotional value out of what should be really impactful scenes. I hate to draw comparisons to other story-driven games/mediums, but how much impact can a certain event have if it's been telegraphed so blatantly for hours beforehand? I'm referring primarily to [spoiler]the return of Kazuki. Ever since the first game, it was hinted that she was still alive, and the second game even had her featuring in the opening animated sequence. Even if none of this serves as concrete evidence for her return, it surely builds up expectations, so when she does return in Eden, it's like... Well, duh, of course she's coming back. This is far from the only instance of it happening in the trilogy, but it is, by far, the most egregious.[/spoiler] On the other hand, the writing is still consistently funny, & the scenarios the cast find themselves in continue to be as outrageous as ever. Plenty of new songs added to the previous selection make for a fresher feeling soundtrack than Labyrinth, but there's not many stand outs among them. The level of art, as you'd expect, is as consistent as ever, & nothing ever felt out of place during my time finishing this trilogy. Sadly, however, the game still has a terrible auto-mode, which is frustrating to the extent where I found myself actually skipping some character VA's once I'd read the dialogue. My thoughts on Eden as a whole are pretty middling-good. If you've come this far in the franchise, it's worth seeing it out to its (obvious) conclusion. It doesn't offer much in the way of surprise or emotional impact, but it is as funny as both of its predecessors, & just as ridiculous to boot. I was hoping for something a bit more dramatic/impactful to make me realise what exactly it is I seem to be missing when it comes to the hype for this series, but sadly, I couldn't find it.