Is the Future Pre-Determined, or Do We Create It? Review of [110128] AQUA

Foreword: As mentioned previously with this game, the one thing that disappoints me more than a shitty game is a game that COULD have become good, but the writers just fucked up something and made it bad instead. As a game that I procrastinated for about 7 months after taking out of my backlog (holy shit). AQUA was that game that fit perfectly into this description.

I can actually do a tl;dr version of this review right now: AQUA is a very deep, meaningful, and philosophical game. The HUGE CRITICAL OMGWTFBBQ problem was that character development (which includes the romance; I’ll get to it soon) was absolute shit and some of said philosophical components had a bad design (again, will be explained later). Simply put, the game does have a good content overall, but failed in the transition, delivery, and introduction of that content to the point the value and significance of said content plummeted.

I was extremely disappointed with this one for that reason, and now cautiously getting back to Irotoridori Sekai that I’ve been procrastinating for a while as well. I need to finish both games before September, even if I have to CTRL-skip the scenes (God please forbid this to happen).

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS REVIEW CONTAINS HEAVY SPOILERS FOR THIS GAME! PLEASE DO NOT READ IT IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE THE TITLE SPOILED

P.S. Also, please let me know if I should pursue other Sorahane titles. This title was quite decent, but the elements I found to be critically terribad is really preventing me from wanting to experience the other games from this company. I would sincerely appreciate all the input!

Title: AQUA
Producers: Sorahane
Release Date: January 28, 2011
VNDB Link: https://vndb.org/v5502
Getchu Link: www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=683999
Game Type: Futuristic Sci-Fi Fantasy Novel

Summary: AQUA is a computerized device that people use in lieu of various things, such as furniture. In a way, it’s like the smartphones we have today except a lot more versatile. At least for Souta, it has been his lifestyle for as long as he can remember.

His dear childhood friend, Chisa, was killed in an accident 7 years ago. This event was devastating for the young boy who didn’t even know the concept of death, and after having moved away from this town for a while, he returns today with his mother, Tomoe, to this beautiful area where the mesmerizing Luka overlooks its population.

As he is transferred to the school after a little mishap with a crazy young woman (…), he is extremely startled to find out that Chisa, who he was sure was killed, arrives late to school. It’s the same old Chisa who greeted him with a shy smile and the nickname “Sou-chan”, the clumsy girl who has now all grown up and become beautiful.

…What happened?

What Exactly are “Witches”? Review of [121130] Witch’s Garden

Foreword: Merry Christmas, Everyone! (Late Merry Christmas to the ones in Japan/Korea/other side of the Earth) Here’s a random clipart of a Christmas Tree for absolutely no reason!

2 months of no activity, but that doesn’t mean I’m dead! (Yet). As many suspected, real life stuff has been crushing me quite a bit, and it’s thanks to the Winter Break season that I actually get to enjoy my hobby a bit more. I can’t apologize to my readers enough for their patience and would like to present today another quality review to make up for that.

I do have a “Look-back at 2015” post planned very soon (Will most likely publish on the 30th or 31st), so please look forward to it.

Let’s get right onto this game, Witch’s Garden. I actually received the incentive to play this older, 2012 game from reading a Japanese blog (What, thought I was just a no-life eroge-addicted otaku?) rating this game at “S+” while the same author rated one of my favorite games, Suzukaze no Melt, at “A+”.

While this game DID have some points of interest, it unfortunately was only decent… in specific portions too. The Foreword is getting really damn long so let’s get right onto the review.

Title: ウィッチズガーデン (Witch’s Garden)
Producers: Windmill Oasis
Release Date: November 30, 2012
VNDB Link: https://vndb.org/v8438
Getchu Link: http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=727033
Game Type: Fantasy “Magic-Themed” Dating Sim

Summary: Yousuke is an outsider who recently moved to Kazashiro to live with his aunt and explore this magical wonderland that’s the craze nowadays. Apparently, something called “magic” exists in this place and both bewildered and ecstatic about his new atmosphere, Yousuke finds out that this mysterious city has events called a “Night Parade” when monsters appear and Knights and Witches are responsible for defeating them as a form of entertainment.

This game had an atmosphere similar to this game

His life starts with a beautiful girl named Ayari, who is staying at the same house that he will be living in. Along the way, he has many other friends to live this exciting lifestyle, but little does he know that his connections will soon drag him into the depths of the Truth of Kazashiro and Witches.

Promises made under the Blue Sky: Review of [060331] Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo

Foreword: Whoa, it’s been a long time since a review, but I’m looking to change that today.
Since the beginning of May, I was busy with real-life bullcrap, but somehow made time for my eroge hobbies, and as a goal for this summer break, I decided to go back and play some games I enjoyed the most. In addition to this, I’ll also be going through my backlog while keeping my eyes peeled for new releases. MMORPG is completely out of my scope now, which is kinda sad… Oh well.

Let’s get to this game Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo. So my main reason for choosing this game was because of its previous writer’s with the following three games that I’ve played and absolutely loved:
1) Chocolat Second Brew
2) White Album 2
3) Sekai de ichiban dame na koi
(In that order, too)

These three games were amazing, with the latter two fully competent and capable of being called “kamige”. Naturally, that just means that this game would be amazing as well.

With my standards and hopes at its highest possible, I opened this game. Scroll down to see what I thought about it!

Title: この青空に約束をー (Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku wo) [Lit. Trans: A Promise for this Blue Sky]
Producers: GIGA
Release Date: March 31, 2006
VNDB Link: https://vndb.org/v182
Getchu Link: http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=776143
Game Type: Reality-style Romance Novel with themes of friendship

Summary: Wataru lives in a dorm called “Tsugumi Dormitories” on the island of Minami which is actually a girl’s dorm. Due to the low number of students who are actually willing to climb this 218-step hill to even reach the dormitory, all the 5 students including Wataru have bonded closely; and this also includes their supervisor and teacher, Saeri.

The gathering of its residents!

Regardless, even with their lives at peace, they know that with the graduation this upcoming Spring would leave their dorm with a number less than 5, and the school seems to have plans to tear down the dormitories and to utilize this land for something else.

The thing is, this dorm is a place of memories and something the group cannot let go. This treasured place out of reach of society houses some of the best environments and views, and the students (and one teacher) work very hard to fight off its opponents.

Rinna and Saeri not pictured

The story adds one new character into the group, a girl named “Rinna”, who is very cold and apathetic to everything around her. She refuses to even eat with the others, and with this lone wolf causing concern in everyone, Wataru makes a determination to make this girl a part of their group.