Recent reviews by Kosakyun

Full review at Fuwanovel[fuwanovel.net].

White Album: Memories like Falling Snow is a remastered version of the original 1998 VN with the same name. While it's ambitious in the kind of topics that it wants to handle with sensitivity, the writing isn't exactly up to par against current giants in the drama category.

Story

Overall, the story itself isn't half-bad in its conception. The lack of time for your partner is a real problem that some relationships face, so the drama that the story builds up to makes sense. There is, however, an aspect of the game that hurts the way the plot progresses: its dating sim mechanics.


Dating Sim Mechanics

The game features your typical calendar day system accompanied by an area map that displays characters you can choose to interact with. Each character has particular conversation points that may or may not be important for advancing the story, but overall helps in leveling up your conversation proficiency to unlock more dialogue options. The mechanic kind of works against its story by locking important character details behind certain conditions that may or may not be cleared in a normal playthrough. It makes it feel like it undermines what the story could have been.


Characters

One of the things it does do nicely though is its set of characters. The way they did their personalities and dynamics with Touya makes each one of them likeable from the get-go (save for maybe extremes like Eiji). Their conversation options aren't half bad too; the banter that happens between them and the obvious progression in terms of intimacy with someone as the calendar shifts make for a pretty satisfying experience. I wish I could say the same for the routes overall though.


Routes

WHITE ALBUM features seven heroine routes, with one ending each + a normal ending if you don't end up with anyone by the end of the calendar dates. For the most part, these routes makes sense depending on what you do within its dating sim mechanics. But because the dating sim mechanic taking precedence over route-specific opportunities to progress character arcs, you're left with only a handful of character events that make up what should be the heroine's route. In short, there's a lot of dilly-dallying that makes character growth a bit stunted especially for some of them.


Art and Soundtrack

I'm a fan of AQUAPLUS' choice of artists and musicians, so I'm pretty satisfied with what WHITE ALBUM had to offer. I do think that I would have liked more CGs for the heroines or even the common route at all, but there's only so much you can do as a remake for an old game I guess. Definitely a missed opportunity to have expanded on the assets though!


Final Thoughts

While I thought that its story was lacking in multiple areas, my overall experience with the game was pretty pleasant. The themes it discusses aren't exactly easy ones to tackle; I'd commend it for being brave enough to try and present them with a degree of sensitivity. It's definitely a product of its time.

Personally, it was a 7/10 for me. Good enough for a read, but not the best game to recommend to everyone. If you're a reader that likes a bit of sadness and guilt in their love story, try picking this up.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I suck at this game. 10/10 will practice for 5 hours again to lose at Stage 5 Easy.

Fun game. Went in expecting to read a lot, wasn't disappointed. Not only did I get to read, but I also got two cuties to accompany me while I read!

To be real though, it's a good game. It's one of those games that push the boundaries of what a visual novel is, making the experience really refreshing compared to just reading it. Two characters in conflict, and you get to choose which side of the story you adhere to. It's exactly what it sets itself out to be - a hate story. How much hate can be perpetuated by knowing only parts of the entire story?

Get it if you can.

Good novel. You're doing yourself a disservice not reading it.

It wasn't made haphazardly. It's been given thought and depth, very much worth the time you invest in it. What makes it even better is that it's free for everyone to experience!

Thankful for being given the chance to read through a story like this.

Once the Sun rises for their next game, I'll be there to welcome it.

The game's a great way to know more about our beloved characters from Orange_Juice's games, be it their main titles or their most popular game, 100% Orange Juice. Lovers of old school Pokemon-esque games will enjoy this with its simple battle system and cute graphics. I dare to say that the game only cemented QP's place as best OJ character even more.

The character recruitment is fun too, but reminds you of all the salt RNG has given you throughout the years, especially in those gacha games. You'll spend a few hours past 100% completion if you want to complete the ultra rare character lineups. If you're lucky with your draws, however, you might be okay past three hours.

A lighthearted game that gives us a better image of our beloved characters. What more can a fan ask for? Maybe more of the QP games and Sumika DLC for 100% OJ? Actually I'm just interested in the Six Gods of Sweets.

I've been putting off this visual novel for so long, but I'm glad I finally took the chance to sit through it.

Eden* is a short visual novel that tells the love story of the last two people on Earth in an era where the planet is inching towards its death. Although it's a love story, it certainly did not feel that way for the majority of the time I was reading it. It did not feel like the usual cute and cheesy love story that we've been accustomed to in anime culture. It felt like a lot of things, and I'm happy it did. Because the situation presented in its storyline was one that calls for a lot of emotions.

I'll refrain from commenting too much on the storyline. Instead, I'll focus on what it made me feel. What I felt throughout most of the visual novel was a tinge of loneliness. Almost everything past a certain point in the story had made me feel lonely, and even more aware of how separated we all truly are as people. However, loneliness is far from what the visual novel imparts to you by the end.

I'd encourage anyone with spare time to give the game a try. It has a unique concept of using rather theatrical methods in portraying the story at hand, and I believe it worked as well as intended. It was a new experience with how they structured the visuals, and I'd love to experience something like this again. The music was pretty good as well, matching the atmosphere and its transitions. I also liked how the characters developed as the story progressed, and how grounded in reality their process of decision-making was.

For those who'll be asking about the adult version, there's not much of a difference, really. The adult version has the 18+ scenes in a separate option in the main menu, which you'll be able to access after you finish the main storyline. I'm glad they made these scenes as a sort of what-if scenarios, because I'm pretty sure they'd ruin the solemnity of the storyline if they were inserted somewhere in the middle, especially the scenes of the other main girls which I'm sure were made as a sort of bonus for the fans. In the end, the most important aspect of the visual novel is already included in the Steam all-ages version, so don't hesitate to pick it up. c:

I'm looking forward to more visual novels from minori and mangagamer being on Steam. <3

Super cute game about being a water drop and going on an adventure around the house.

The fact that you restart the whole level when you die is rage-inducing, but it pushes you to be more careful, especially with how the controls functions as a water drop. Jumping around was harder to do compared to other platformers. Personally, I hated the stage "Too hot for my drop", but that was because getting the token above the ham was a pain in the ass to figure out, especially with how drained your drop becomes after you get out of that oven.

Other than that, I feel like the difficulty of controlling your drop's motion added to the overall feel that what you're controlling is indeed a very fragile drop of water, and is highly subject to unnecessary motion and shifting weights. The only thing in my mind while playing was how strong the drop's surface tension must be to withstand all those movements.

If you want a cute platformer that'll make you mad because of the lack of checkpoints, pick this up. I mean, the best part is that it's free!

Push its buttons, and it pushes yours back.

10/10 makes me want to destroy my laptop every time