Just completed the game, and oh wow.
I played Liufan's route first, then Maru's and lastly - Senrei's. Spoiler tag warning C:
Review of All Characters (Including Protag, Romances, Side-Chars.etc)
Biyu
Oh boy, did I enjoy playing a shrine maiden who kicks butt! Mantras that can seal and kill, and prayers that have affects on - well -everything?
Heck yes. Biyu really is an amazing character - someone that genuinely stands out. Her dialogue was fairly amusing, heart-wrenching and
definitely relatable. Her waking-up-late for her duties thing made me grin (and smirk) cause I sorta do the same thing which annoys my mother quite a bit
Grandpa
Thank the Maker that I have my own laptop so that I can play in my own room. I swear, I didn't I would be playing in the hall and my parents would probably be questioning me if I'm okay and perfectly sane cause I couldn't stop laughing. The dang grin wouldn't leave my face. My cheeks hurt, by the way. I burst out laughing at the part where Biyu found out that her grandfather stuck a note on her room door with a sword.
Liufan
The guy best friend who's le epitome of chivalry (Y) I went all "Nuuu!" when I found out he lost his memories. (Poor Biyu!) Sweet but not overly sweet to the point where I can get diabetes (heh) - seriously, his protectiveness and integrity are really touching. I mean come on, beside despite being an amnesiac he still has his moral values. (Reminds me of Rurouni Kenshin!) *approves*
And that's not even mentioning the awesome cooking yet! And the kickass sword.
Maru
One word. ADORABLE. He's so cute (and one just cannot help but 'squee'!
Adorable, but still can kick butt? Awe-some. Seriously. Though, when he was all sad I just wanted to have Biyu hug him.
Y NO HUG OPTION But yeah. He reminds me a tad of Naruto (ya know, he's so darn good and with his big blue eyes... *cough*) with his loveable personality. The play scene made me smileeeeeee
Like really. I was all "D'awww!" His insecurity is quite heart-rendering.
Senrei
My official response: "...."
SERIOUSLY. WHY DID YOU GUYS TUG AT MY HEARTSTRINGS? While playing all routes, I loved him, disliked him, sympathized with him, felt compassion for him, and just
wanted to facepalm at his stubbornness sometimes. You guys really did an outstanding job on him. Quick-tempered but secretly is a good guy who, as Hermione said, "has the emotional range of a teaspoon" with the not-listening-but-just-reacting kinda attitude. But when you find out all the reasons . . .
Side-chars
The scenes and dialogue with them were nicely fleshed out. Really, really realistic. Plus, they slotted into the storyline perfectly. Nicely done!
Art/Graphics
Me likey. This was pretty well done for a month-long project! I'm not much of an artist, but I loved the style. It fitted with the Asian elements kinda theme you had going on, so much kudos
The art fitted with the characters and their personalities too!
Sound/Music
Didn't notice any errors if there were any. I felt that it flowed really well!
Plot/Storyline/Writing/Dialogue
As someone who loves to write and has read (and still read) a lot, I found myself pleasantly surprised. The twists and turns came rather unexpectedly, and I saw that you guys sneaked some mystery in there...with details that were easily overlooked but actually played important parts in the end, together with some suspense (with the mist and Maru's actions). Devious people, you are! Some of the lines had me thoroughly amused and laughing/grinning while others tugged at le heart-strings.
Overall, I genuinely liked this game. It's most definitely one of my favorites and I hope to see more works from you guys.
Another otome with elements like this, please C:
