Lemma Soft Forums

I especially liked Violetta's case, probably because it unfortunetly reminds me of some real cases I've ran into. Though they weren't nearly as serious as hers, of course... A lot of girls make themselves suffer and stress in order to look good in front of other people. It's quite a sad thing... :<
The end too, it was really touching, a good end. Many visual novels that I've played have an ending that feels like the player would be forced to run into a wall, but this certainly wasn't one of those - this felt complete. That's really an achievement! ^^

The game really gives the impression the world is functioning properly, with the witches and the normal people living together, but that's why I found it even more interesting to stop and think -for instance the hex put on Reese - it seems that anyone can hire a witch to hex anyone, and that gives a lot to think about, since people aren't really safe - but maybe there is some form of control over the abuse of powers - there should be one. There are many more examples of practical things, like why can Marivel do this, but not that? It's often well explained, but my questions were always - could she do THAT? And so on, and so on. I was also wondering about Violetta's makeup - it was told in a good, fairytale-ish manner, but also with great atention to detail, which isn't so common for fairytales - and so it left me wondering (I'm not joking here) - in WHICH ORDER she puts on the makeup products that she listed - first the oils, then the cream? She would have to let the cream dry, since that's moist, and only then put on the powdery parts - the problematic thing is that often different facial care products don't go together out of principle - so if you have a revitalizing cream for instance, the very point is to let your face breathe, and if you use it you don't put on any more makeup on that face part - which may well be the whole face. The same is true for sunscreen, it works only really when it's applied to clean skin. Also, it makes the skin a bit moist, so again, make up on top of it would not really hold, and make up under it would smear off.

That's the problem I had with this story - I had to switch from the fairytale perspective to a more elaborately described environment back and forth to be able to enjoy it. I still did, but it left me with a lot of questions - interesting ones - but still they detracted from the overall experience. As I said, I think the main reason were some of the backgrounds. They evoked a sense of familiarity, so I instantly associated it with a relatively modern, maybe 19th century world and fitting in witches, maybe the world would be completely different. I could never quite stop thinking about that and sure it may actually enrich the playing experience, but I just thought that maybe it detracted me from the story, which was supposed to play the major role.

So you see, I'm very complicated ^_^. In any case though, it was an excellent read, and a nice outcome as well. Happy endings are always good, and no matter what they say - that they are all stereotypical, that they are not realistic (life is cruel and all that) - I don't believe it. I really enjoy a good happy story and this was one of such games.

The pacing of the story worked really well, I liked how you gradually introduced the reason why Jack wanted to reach the stars and how the advancement of that backstory was tied into the present situation. The final plot twist with Marivel having drunk the memory loss potion was suprising, but in some ways clearly foreshadowed. Above all, the story felt like it was the right length, it was never overly verbose yet it felt like every word needed to be there.

The way art was used in the game was superb; the reflected characters and the animations (such as when Violetta reluctantly goes to talk to her father) really get the most out of the sprites. Also, the ending was very beautiful - a really effective use of art/background.

I really liked the character art and facial expressions, (for Violetta in particular, her expressions really captured her character). The music was very well chosen (although there really needed to be a piece of violin music when Reese was playing, not piano music).

The whole timeframe of the game setting felt a bit odd, having the fantasy/fairy tale element and the portable, collapsable telescope, and phone (which the butler talks to the mayor on) - it almost seems like an early 20th Century/fantasy world... which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just made a bit harder to pin down and place the setting.

The story held itself up enough even without the details about Ana and Clementine's deaths. We're left with a small hint, which I think was a good thing for the story. Hm, I had been expecting Ana to turn out to be the one who hexed Reese or something, but I'm glad that didn't turn out to be true.

The ending at the graveyard was something that I hadn't been expecting, to be honest. I didn't catch any hints at Marivel having used the vial. I guess, looking back over the game, I should've. Oh, well.

I loved how Marivel and Jack helped out without becoming lost in saving the day. The way they ran into Violetta and Kareena and choice to help them felt natural. It wasn't forced. Also, I liked the contrast in personalities between Marivel and Jack, particularly when they met up with Violetta. ^_^

I was starting to feel a little weary of the theme of the conflicts (girl in trouble, male at fault) when the main characters reached the second home, but since you didn't repeat it three times. no harm done :p

But then again, does this mean Marivel's sister's death is the fault of another cruel male?