I just wanted to say-- I made an account on here purely to talk about this game, because wow. Last night I splurged and played every route.
(Warning- there may be spoilerish stuff in this post so if you're trying to decide whether or not to play it, only read the next paragraph.)
First of all, I'd like to say that this is definitely a 10/10-- Honestly, it's the best VN I've ever played. It may sound extreme but I've played quite a few, translated, not translated, or english-made. Other otoges made by professional companies may be longer and well.. more professional, I guess, but none of them really made me love the characters like this one did. (Plus, this one seemed PLENTY professional to me, don't worry, that's not what I mean!)
I think it's because so many VNs focus on being... dark and sad. But this one made me laugh, a lot. Not just a puff of air through the nose, no, I was laughing, sending pictures to friends on Skype, worried that I'd wake up my family...
As for crying, I... didn't really? For some reason, even though it was sad, on all the routes I just felt kind of.. Happy for Ciel and the other characters? Because even if they had a sad past, they'd get over it, together. I think that's what kept me from crying and, honestly, that's a good thing. (Not that anyone who cried is wrong for doing so!)...Plus, I think I'm out of tears for now, since I just finished the 3rd arc of Rune Factory 4...
All of the characters were... Well, they were all just wonderful. I think if I had to choose a least favorite character it'd be.. Well, Ciel. But even then, I love her! I would only say she's my least favorite because I had a bit of a hard time.. relating to her personally, and games like this just feel a lot better when you can get into that role.
As for the boys, I.. can't decide. Florien is adorable; but I'm not really personally attracted to him because he reminds me a looot of myself. Seeing him blush over little things was adorable.. But I knew that that's exactly what I'd be doing. His snarky comments, too, are things like I would say.. So for me it's a little weird to go that route, but I played it anyways and couldn't help but enjoy it a lot. The amount of character development done for him, just... His character is amazing, like the others, he feels, well, real.
Anton
might be my favorite, like many others. I honestly fell in love with his personality and how much he cared for Ciel. As for the Meta Knight thing, well.. When I was younger, I had a HUUUUGE crush on Meta Knight, no joke. So it doesn't really surprise me that the two would be compared! I played Anton's route first, which honestly made the other two a bit harder... To see a world where Anton wasn't with Ciel,
where she didn't remember anything about him in the past.
God I love him. The only thing is that I'd really love to see a kiss scene with him... I figure, they wouldn't have kissed anytime within the span of the game; that's not how Anton rolls. But while playing his route I couldn't help but keep thinking. "God I just want to kiss you."
Time for Yvin. Wow, Yvin... Even if described as a joke character, he has the same depth as the others. I loved his personality probably just as much as Anton, which is why I just can't decide... I think the perfect character for me would be somewhat a mix of the two. Yvin made me laugh so much, but even starting from Anton's route(Note: I played Anton -> Florien -> Yvin), I worried for him. I felt like.. something wasn't
right. When I found out
he was just helping Ciel with her father I was relieved
but it felt like so much more. And the way he protected Ciel in odd ways in every route, too. Man I'm a sucker for protective guys. I just wish there were more Yvin CGs but I've read the author's note so, well, I understand why.
Anyways, I've never really written a review type thing before so I hope that's enough.. I loved the game. When it ended I felt kind of empty, I would've loved to see more of the routes, sort of.. afterwards. What the king thinks of the relationship, a little date scene, more angst.. Anything really. I just want to see MORE-- But I guess that's just to say how good the game is. I can't wait to play more games of yours, but I do have a question; Have you ever thought of lengthening the game if it gets more popular/started a Patreon for it? If I were you I'd definitely try looking at getting a Patreon set up for your otoge making, especially if you're thinking about making more... It may start out slow but if you make one, I may just have to ask my parents to let me pledge with some sort of monthly allowance. (I just turned 15 today so I can't work... _(:'3 z))
Sorry it was so long, but I did have a lot of (good) things to say. I'm sure there's plenty more I could say but I don't want to flood this post, haha.