- Engaging and well-paced narrative structure
- Satisfying plot twists and emotional depth
- Unique hybrid gameplay with branching choices
- Overwhelming narrative complexity for some players
- Illogical and forced true ending criticism
- Outdated UI and slow unskippable text progression
Emotions
Players frequently cite buggy or cumbersome save systems, loss of progress, and outdated controls as major sources of frustration. The game's repetitive gameplay, lack of quality-of-life features (e.g., fast-forward, text skipping), and poorly paced storytelling—especially in the early game—further exacerbate this emotion. Illogical narrative branches, trial-and-error mechanics, and disruptive systems like 'JUMP' or 'KEEP OUT' also break immersion and create unnecessary hurdles.
The game's engaging and suspenseful storyline, dynamic character arcs, and innovative 'butterfly effect' mechanics generate excitement. Players highlight the interconnected narratives, plot twists, and emotional impact of key scenes (e.g., the true ending's resolution) as standout features. The unique visual style and immersive storytelling create a sense of anticipation and discovery, especially during climactic moments.
Players admire the game's high-quality live-action performances, intricate narrative structure, and character depth. The seamless blending of storytelling and gameplay, along with the emotional payoff of well-crafted character arcs, earns widespread praise. The game's reputation as a 'masterpiece' and its innovative mechanics (e.g., interconnected storylines) are frequently cited as reasons for admiration, alongside the passion and attention to detail from the developers.
Completing the game, especially the true ending or all branching paths, provides a strong sense of satisfaction. Players appreciate the narrative payoff, emotional resonance, and the puzzle-like structure of uncovering interconnected storylines. The game's high-quality storytelling, character development, and value for money (e.g., substantial playtime) contribute to this positive emotion, particularly after overcoming initial pacing or gameplay challenges.
The game's humor, absurd plot elements, and charismatic characters (e.g., Minorikawa) elicit amusement. Players enjoy the creative and often chaotic bad endings, 4th-wall-breaking moments, and quirky live-action segments. The juxtaposition of serious storytelling with comedic relief, such as exaggerated character expressions or humorous dialogue, adds a lighthearted dimension to the experience.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 89% · Negative 11%. Score: 11 / 100
Positives:
- The game is praised for its cohesive storytelling, natural pacing, and immersive plot twists. Players highlight the logical foreshadowing and satisfying payoff, making the narrative a standout feature.
- The game delivers impactful and surprising plot twists, culminating in an emotionally epic and satisfying ending. Players highlight the logical yet unexpected reveals as a major strength.
- The game effectively integrates Japanese-style humor, balancing suspense and drama with comedic moments. Players appreciate the lightheartedness and absurdity that enhance the narrative.
- The game blends visual novel storytelling with live-action elements, creating a unique and engaging experience. This hybrid format is praised for its innovation and effectiveness in the genre.
- Choices in one storyline subtly or significantly impact others, creating a dynamic and interconnected narrative. This mechanic is praised for its depth and replayability.
Negatives:
- The game’s multi-threaded narrative and frequent character switches overwhelm players, especially those unfamiliar with Japanese drama tropes. Logical inconsistencies and contrived plot points exacerbate confusion.
- The true ending is perceived as forced, politically correct, and unsatisfying, with unresolved character arcs and contrived resolutions. Players feel it detracts from narrative satisfaction.
- Critical features like text skipping, fast-forwarding, and rewind are missing, making replays and navigation cumbersome. The slow text progression and lack of voice acting further reduce accessibility.
- The game lacks official Chinese/Russian localization, requiring manual patches. The UI is clunky, with no window resizing, slow text speed, and poor navigation tools, making it feel outdated.
- The Canaan side story is criticized for its poor pacing, tonal inconsistency, and lack of integration with the main narrative. Players find it exposition-heavy and disruptive to immersion.
Gameplay:
- The game features a multi-threaded, interconnected narrative with branching storylines, multiple protagonists, and cause-and-effect mechanics. Players experience a web-like structure where choices influence outcomes across character arcs.
- Choices significantly impact story progression, character fates, and endings through butterfly effect mechanics. Decisions in one storyline can alter outcomes for other characters, creating a dynamic narrative experience.
- The game includes 80+ bad endings, encouraging exploration of alternate paths. These endings often contain lore or humorous outcomes, making replayability a core feature.
- The story unfolds in hourly segments, with time-sensitive choices affecting character arcs and plot outcomes. A timeline system tracks events, adding structure to the multi-threaded narrative.
- Players use 'Jump' to switch between character perspectives and 'Keep Out' blocks to unlock story progression. These mechanics create puzzle-like elements, requiring strategic choices to advance the narrative.
Performance:
- Players report frustratingly slow text scrolling speeds and the inability to skip or rewind dialogue, making narrative progression tedious. This is compounded by unskippable scenes and camera movements, disrupting gameplay flow.
- The game lacks comprehensive mouse support, forcing reliance on keyboard inputs. Graphical and control customization options (e.g., resolution, window mode) are also limited, reducing accessibility.
- The auto-save system is buggy, and the lack of manual save options leads to frequent progress loss. Players highlight this as a critical flaw that disrupts gameplay continuity.
- The PC port suffers from performance issues, poor optimization, and unresolved bugs. Players also note similar problems in the PSP port, indicating broader technical shortcomings.
- Changing resolutions or entering fullscreen mode often causes crashes or renders the game inaccessible, with some players only retaining audio functionality. This severely impacts usability.
Recommendations:
- The game is highly recommended for fans of visual novels, narrative-driven experiences, and character-focused storytelling. Its unique and emotionally impactful storytelling appeals to both newcomers and enthusiasts.
- While the game is praised for its storytelling, some reviewers recommend it conditionally—such as waiting for a sale, tolerating its age-related flaws, or avoiding it if visual novels aren't a preferred genre.
- The game is praised for its high immersion, atmospheric presentation, and emotionally engaging narrative, making it stand out in its genre.
- Players suggest playing the main story without guides initially to preserve the experience but recommend using walkthroughs or community guides when stuck, especially for unlocking bad endings.
- Opinions vary on the game's price-to-value ratio. Some consider it a masterpiece worth full price, while others recommend purchasing only during sales due to DRM or minor flaws.
Miscellaneous:
- An unofficial Chinese localization patch is widely available via third-party sources, enabling non-English speakers to access the game. Community efforts, such as those by 汉化组030, are praised for expanding accessibility.
- The game includes references to other works (e.g., *Tsukihime*, *Canaan*) and real-world historical or cultural touchstones, such as the anime *Canaan* as a sequel. These connections add depth for fans of the developer’s broader universe.
- The game features bonus scenarios written by renowned authors like Nasu Kinoko (Type-Moon creator), which have even inspired anime adaptations. These additions are frequently highlighted as standout content.
- The game’s use of real-world filming locations, such as Shibuya, enhances immersion and resonates with players familiar with these areas. This detail is often cited as a unique strength of the live-action format.
- The live-action format, as opposed to anime or CGI, is a defining feature of the game. Players appreciate its distinct approach to narrative-driven gameplay, though some note the technological limitations of its era.
