Great prose and premise! Even if the story didn't resonate with me, it's still an enjoyable experience of putting yourself into the mindset of Reimu and trying to help her achieve her peace while staying true to her friends and any expectations they may have.
But the story *did* resonate with me, and as the final song plays during the True Ending sequence I had a few tears in my eyes.
Not every story has to be written from a place of emotional sincerity, but I will always appreciate that ones that are - and doubly so aspect of the production is at this standard of quality.
I admit aromanticism frustrates me (like the would be “suitors” no doubt) conceptually since I’m the exact opposite end to that, but I would be foolish not to realize how well realized this works as a lens into that kind of person/character.
Although as far as suitors go Sakuya and Kogasa feel a bit self-indulgent as far as those who have Reimu on their mind, although perhaps many fanworks tend to be! That’s not a dig I just think it’s amusing.
Getting a chance for the player to see through a different lens was a central goal of this game. I can understand the frustration, as I bet it is similar to the discordance I can get reading romantic works. But I hope this game helps build empathy for different viewpoints.
If you are referring to why Sakuya and Kogasa are featured as suitors, I selected each of them based on the angle they could add to the story. Kogasa is a lovable goof who is easy to read for a first challenge, and Sakuya's form of expressing love through gifts and service could be played off Reimu's greed.
That was interesting insight to your choice of characters, I simply assumed it came from a place of “I just liked those characters”. However, you saw them more for specific traits that could play well with both the reader and the main character and that’s rad.
Well done. If I had any honest critique - I’m actually not super sure how I got the True ending. If I had to act a certain way with all suitors or explain the viewpoint best, I couldn’t exactly tell. It was a lot of trial and error on my part. But I’m glad I did.
The challenge of the game is something we never got quite right. The suitors are too easy, and Yukari too hard. Since you seem interested, I will tell you how the True End works- but BIG SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't played yet- To unlock the true ending you must handle each of the suitors amicably and then convince Yukari to leave Reimu alone. The trick there is each of the Bad Ends with the suitors teaches you, the player, the best answer to one of Yukari's questions. Since the jam ended I have gotten several better ideas to handle the decisions but they would require a complete rewrite. I will save them as lessons learned for the future.
I've yet to get every ending, but I got Bad End 5 and the True End. I am a HUGE fan of this, and it was one of the first games to catch my eye due to being aspec related (I'm ace myself, so it's nice to see this).
It's really unique, as I've never seen any sort of VN/Dating Sim(?) like this, but it's VERY welcome for me. The music was also a huge plus for this.
I am really pleased to get more representation out there. Thank you for playing and I hope you enjoy the other endings if you decide to play further, even though they show a Bad End.
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Great prose and premise! Even if the story didn't resonate with me, it's still an enjoyable experience of putting yourself into the mindset of Reimu and trying to help her achieve her peace while staying true to her friends and any expectations they may have.
But the story *did* resonate with me, and as the final song plays during the True Ending sequence I had a few tears in my eyes.
Not every story has to be written from a place of emotional sincerity, but I will always appreciate that ones that are - and doubly so aspect of the production is at this standard of quality.
Thank you to the whole team for making this game!
Good writing.
I admit aromanticism frustrates me (like the would be “suitors” no doubt) conceptually since I’m the exact opposite end to that, but I would be foolish not to realize how well realized this works as a lens into that kind of person/character.
Although as far as suitors go Sakuya and Kogasa feel a bit self-indulgent as far as those who have Reimu on their mind, although perhaps many fanworks tend to be! That’s not a dig I just think it’s amusing.
Getting a chance for the player to see through a different lens was a central goal of this game. I can understand the frustration, as I bet it is similar to the discordance I can get reading romantic works. But I hope this game helps build empathy for different viewpoints.
If you are referring to why Sakuya and Kogasa are featured as suitors, I selected each of them based on the angle they could add to the story. Kogasa is a lovable goof who is easy to read for a first challenge, and Sakuya's form of expressing love through gifts and service could be played off Reimu's greed.
Thank you for playing.
It honestly did, thank you.
That was interesting insight to your choice of characters, I simply assumed it came from a place of “I just liked those characters”. However, you saw them more for specific traits that could play well with both the reader and the main character and that’s rad.
Well done. If I had any honest critique - I’m actually not super sure how I got the True ending. If I had to act a certain way with all suitors or explain the viewpoint best, I couldn’t exactly tell. It was a lot of trial and error on my part. But I’m glad I did.
The challenge of the game is something we never got quite right. The suitors are too easy, and Yukari too hard. Since you seem interested, I will tell you how the True End works- but BIG SPOILERS for anyone who hasn't played yet- To unlock the true ending you must handle each of the suitors amicably and then convince Yukari to leave Reimu alone. The trick there is each of the Bad Ends with the suitors teaches you, the player, the best answer to one of Yukari's questions. Since the jam ended I have gotten several better ideas to handle the decisions but they would require a complete rewrite. I will save them as lessons learned for the future.
Very great game! it perfectly shows the view of an aromantic person and their own struggles, and its not easy.
While I dont play many visual novels, this one definetly is one of the best ones in the small amount i did play.
(Now if there was a Seija.....)
I've yet to get every ending, but I got Bad End 5 and the True End. I am a HUGE fan of this, and it was one of the first games to catch my eye due to being aspec related (I'm ace myself, so it's nice to see this).
It's really unique, as I've never seen any sort of VN/Dating Sim(?) like this, but it's VERY welcome for me. The music was also a huge plus for this.
Good job, everyone on the team!
I am really pleased to get more representation out there. Thank you for playing and I hope you enjoy the other endings if you decide to play further, even though they show a Bad End.