Siverfale
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Steins;Gate
I haven't read a visual novel in a long time; the last time was back in college, when I was about 21, and now I'm 32. I stopped reading them because they caused me intense emotional turmoil that lingered for weeks, disrupted my normal life, and generally made me even more melancholic than usual. At some point during that 11-year period, I decided that VNs were just tearjerkers without substance and that it wasn't worth spending time on them. But despite this, I still decided to read this particular work.
The first chapter was quite difficult. The main character was incredibly annoying with his absurd phrases, which made me feel ashamed and irritated. His activities weren't very interesting either – just a typical Japanese freshman who browses 2channel, hangs out with a friend in a summer maid cafe, and, as a bonus, constantly spouts irritating nonsense. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I read the first chapter with difficulty. The only exception was the lecture – it was quite interesting to read. I've always liked the theme of time travel, but specifically in terms of the theoretical model of various timelines, paradoxes, and so on. The practical side – how it would actually work – wasn't interesting to me because it seemed too complex and far removed from reality. Here, everything was explained in simple terms – of course, not super-simple, since it deals with complex subjects – but it was quite understandable for the average person. But the ending of the first chapter intrigued me, and after that, I read with interest. I'll say right away that this will be a general trend – each chapter skillfully escalates the tension and captivates more than the previous one. The only thing that is still difficult to accept is the behavior of the main character, but even he evolves at some point and will sometimes even pleasantly surprise.
I liked how the gameplay was implemented – in the form of interactions with a phone, where we respond to emails and phone calls. I liked this because in a typical VN, you feel like you're on rails, where you're only allowed to choose a direction at certain points. Here, you feel like you're actually "playing" – you can interact with your phone if you want, or you can ignore it. Of course, this is just a way to disguise the choices, but it's still cool. At first, the unusual art style surprised me, but after getting used to it, I realized that it's actually quite pleasant. The music fits the moments well and harmoniously complements them. Both of the main heroines (who you see in the picture above, if it hasn't broken) are simply wonderful. And yes, I remembered why I stopped playing VNs – just like when I was 20, I was overwhelmed by very difficult emotional experiences at the end. So difficult that, to be honest, I couldn't work properly today and almost completely lost my appetite.
At first, I thought about giving the heroines a rating without spoilers, but I decided – what's the point? The rating will still only be meaningful to someone who has read it. Therefore, spoilers follow.
To be honest, initially, when I was reading the first half of the VN, I thought about giving the heroines harsh ratings, accompanying some of them with demeaning words. But when I finished the chapter with Luka, I realized that there was no point in this cynicism. So, I'll just write my opinion about each one. I'll start, however, with the best girl:
Assistant Zombie Christina Kirisu – she is the best in everything, she is smart, beautiful (because she looks like the best girl from Reim Empire Persona 3), she shitposts on @channel and knows about anime, which means she's one of us (the pun was unintentional). Tsundere without excessive exaggeration, exactly to the perfect degree that she should be, puts Okabe in his place when he is most irritating and supports him when he needs it most. No matter what angle you look at her from, she is simply the most wonderful.
Mayuri – a magical cloud of kindness and happiness, a perfectly worthy rival for the title of the best girl in the title. Moreover – throughout the novel, I changed my opinion about the best girl several times in this order: Christina – Mayuri – no one (both are too good) – Christina. So, the battle was lost with more than honor. When I was reading the novel, a memory from another worldline was unlocked – how someone was hating her for the fact that Christina should die because of her. But only when I read the true route, I remembered that someone replied to that guy – that both of them survive in the true route. But since I only remembered this after seeing the standard ending of Christina – I felt very sad and excited. And yes, Mayuri is so wonderful that even if Christina really died because of her – I wouldn't hate her.
As wonderful as the main heroines turned out to be, the secondary heroines are just as far behind them. As I said, I haven't read many VNs, but I don't think the gap between the main and secondary heroines has ever been so large. So, just a few words about each one, in random order:
Faris – I liked her the most at the beginning because she also puts down the MC, but she does it by increasing the level of absurdity. She has very cute sprites with emotions.
Suzuha – just cute, without frills, but in the end, she probably has the most attractive appearance of all.
Luka – I felt sorry for the guy until the true ending, after that – I believe that everything will be fine with him.
What else can I add? If we leave aside the beautiful euphemisms – I cried like a beaten whore, starting from the ending of Mayuri, where she says goodbye to Chris-chan, and especially in the ending of Christina – almost throughout it, with a particular intensification when she runs into the laboratory to say goodbye. And when, in the true ending, her memories from another timeline returned – I probably cried from happiness for the first time in my life. A special thank you to the authors for this happy ending.
I haven't read a visual novel in a long time; the last time was back in college, when I was about 21, and now I'm 32. I stopped reading them because they caused me intense emotional turmoil that lingered for weeks, disrupted my normal life, and generally made me even more melancholic than usual. At some point during that 11-year period, I decided that VNs were just tearjerkers without substance and that it wasn't worth spending time on them. But despite this, I still decided to read this particular work.
The first chapter was quite difficult. The main character was incredibly annoying with his absurd phrases, which made me feel ashamed and irritated. His activities weren't very interesting either – just a typical Japanese freshman who browses 2channel, hangs out with a friend in a summer maid cafe, and, as a bonus, constantly spouts irritating nonsense. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that I read the first chapter with difficulty. The only exception was the lecture – it was quite interesting to read. I've always liked the theme of time travel, but specifically in terms of the theoretical model of various timelines, paradoxes, and so on. The practical side – how it would actually work – wasn't interesting to me because it seemed too complex and far removed from reality. Here, everything was explained in simple terms – of course, not super-simple, since it deals with complex subjects – but it was quite understandable for the average person. But the ending of the first chapter intrigued me, and after that, I read with interest. I'll say right away that this will be a general trend – each chapter skillfully escalates the tension and captivates more than the previous one. The only thing that is still difficult to accept is the behavior of the main character, but even he evolves at some point and will sometimes even pleasantly surprise.
I liked how the gameplay was implemented – in the form of interactions with a phone, where we respond to emails and phone calls. I liked this because in a typical VN, you feel like you're on rails, where you're only allowed to choose a direction at certain points. Here, you feel like you're actually "playing" – you can interact with your phone if you want, or you can ignore it. Of course, this is just a way to disguise the choices, but it's still cool. At first, the unusual art style surprised me, but after getting used to it, I realized that it's actually quite pleasant. The music fits the moments well and harmoniously complements them. Both of the main heroines (who you see in the picture above, if it hasn't broken) are simply wonderful. And yes, I remembered why I stopped playing VNs – just like when I was 20, I was overwhelmed by very difficult emotional experiences at the end. So difficult that, to be honest, I couldn't work properly today and almost completely lost my appetite.
At first, I thought about giving the heroines a rating without spoilers, but I decided – what's the point? The rating will still only be meaningful to someone who has read it. Therefore, spoilers follow.
SPOILERS
To be honest, initially, when I was reading the first half of the VN, I thought about giving the heroines harsh ratings, accompanying some of them with demeaning words. But when I finished the chapter with Luka, I realized that there was no point in this cynicism. So, I'll just write my opinion about each one. I'll start, however, with the best girl:
Assistant Zombie Christina Kirisu – she is the best in everything, she is smart, beautiful (because she looks like the best girl from Reim Empire Persona 3), she shitposts on @channel and knows about anime, which means she's one of us (the pun was unintentional). Tsundere without excessive exaggeration, exactly to the perfect degree that she should be, puts Okabe in his place when he is most irritating and supports him when he needs it most. No matter what angle you look at her from, she is simply the most wonderful.
Mayuri – a magical cloud of kindness and happiness, a perfectly worthy rival for the title of the best girl in the title. Moreover – throughout the novel, I changed my opinion about the best girl several times in this order: Christina – Mayuri – no one (both are too good) – Christina. So, the battle was lost with more than honor. When I was reading the novel, a memory from another worldline was unlocked – how someone was hating her for the fact that Christina should die because of her. But only when I read the true route, I remembered that someone replied to that guy – that both of them survive in the true route. But since I only remembered this after seeing the standard ending of Christina – I felt very sad and excited. And yes, Mayuri is so wonderful that even if Christina really died because of her – I wouldn't hate her.
As wonderful as the main heroines turned out to be, the secondary heroines are just as far behind them. As I said, I haven't read many VNs, but I don't think the gap between the main and secondary heroines has ever been so large. So, just a few words about each one, in random order:
Faris – I liked her the most at the beginning because she also puts down the MC, but she does it by increasing the level of absurdity. She has very cute sprites with emotions.
Suzuha – just cute, without frills, but in the end, she probably has the most attractive appearance of all.
Luka – I felt sorry for the guy until the true ending, after that – I believe that everything will be fine with him.
What else can I add? If we leave aside the beautiful euphemisms – I cried like a beaten whore, starting from the ending of Mayuri, where she says goodbye to Chris-chan, and especially in the ending of Christina – almost throughout it, with a particular intensification when she runs into the laboratory to say goodbye. And when, in the true ending, her memories from another timeline returned – I probably cried from happiness for the first time in my life. A special thank you to the authors for this happy ending.
Where do we go?
Where do we end up when we save the world?
Where do we end up when we save the world?