Finally finished part 1 and 2!! I wanted to wait until I was done playing both parts to leave a comment. I'm glad I could do it before the end of 2023, hehe.
BOY, WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN???? This is such a wonderful game in so many ways!!!
First of all, the art is GORGEOUS and don't even get me started on the animations and programming!!! Everything feels so cinematic, it's as if I was watching a movie, at times!! It makes the story so much more immersive and captivating, I honestly can't stress this enough, it's SO GOOD!!!
I especially love how you added tables at certain times, so that the characters' sprites would sit and eat together (or even just chat, like when Q is at the cafe working on his laptop and chatting with June). The spells and portals showing up was FUCKING AWESOME as well and, gosh, don't even get me started on the flying broom scene, it's so MAGICAL!!!
Something that I also love to death about this game is how it's mostly dialogue and there aren't as many descriptive parts; only when Q's describing a part of a flashback. I love when games AND books do this. It reminds me of this book called "The kiss of the spider woman", which is essentially a book that only has dialogue save for the last part. But when a visual novel does this? Gosh, it's even better. I just LOVE when visual novels make the most of the medium and make things so cinematic. It adds a certain flavor that's usually not there but, when it is, it makes everything better. I admit I'm biased, though lmao.
Now, let's talk about the characters. GOD, THE CHARACTERS. I love them SO MUCH!! They are all so unique, I love how you can tell who's talking even if you don't look at their sprites!! Their personalities are very distinct and, no pun intended, enchanting!! Even the characters that aren't supposed to be likeable are interesting; the lore is so rich that I want to know more about everyone!! Q, Milo and June are definitely my favorites, though. They're just too wonderful not to love.
Even with some things that would obviously not be possible for me to relate to, because SPOILERS, I found Q and Milo to still be really relatable in a whole lot of ways.
When it comes to Q, his social awkwardness, his struggles with self-confidence, his hate for crowded places and annoying people who pester him about being in a relationship and his fear of rejection rang very close to home.
When it comes to Milo, what can I say, I'm a big sucker for alchemy LMAO so I can't help but relate to their love of transmutation magic and their love of cheesecake! But I felt especially close to their wish for someone to love them as they are instead of forcing ideals and fantasies onto them. It's so true, sometimes people just want you to be someone you're not and I share Milo's view about preferring to be alone rather than with someone who can't accept them as they are.
Now, for the story... just, WOW. They had us on the first half, not gonna lie LMAO. I expected some drama but I was NOT prepared for what I experienced (and I mean this in the best way possible). It started all pretty wholesome with a little bit of magic here and there, a liiiitle big of drama... and then BOOM the first plot twist came around and I was just like "DID IT REALLY JUST WENT THAT ROUTE???". A lot of things started to make so much more sense after that and dksbgdksjgbjks words are not enough to express just how invested I am in the story because HOLY SHIT.
[WARNING, HUGE SPOILERS BELOW]
I love the way the 1st plot twist was done 'cause it's not out of nowhere. There were little hints given here and there throughout all of part 1 but not in a way that screams "I'm intentionally avoiding mentioning stuff to appear more mysterious" but rather "I'm just going to make you think Q's an introverted and stressed out programmer that's also most definitely going through grief and use awkward silences to make it seem like he's just nervous and clueless, but he actually knows more than he lets on". I FELL IN THE TRAP.
Now, T's introduction!!! Gosh, I won't deny that the cute interactions between him and Q made me smile a lot, but I also felt really bad for Q. As much as they loved each other, their relationship had a couple of red flags... especially on T's part. I feel like T most definitely loved Q in the same way Q loved him, but T seemed to be ashamed of how being seen as gay or bi might "damage his reputation", which, yeah... that's no bueno, T, my dude.
It's also so tragic how that's the last conversation they had too. It's no wonder Q fell into such deep despair. The way he also loses the "anime shine" in his eyes when he, presumably, falls into depression... god, it broke my heart in a million pieces.
Not to mention the OTHER plot twist about what the DATES meant all along!!! I was a bit confused about them, at first, but when it's revealed that it's the days that went by since T's death... jesus christ, I feel so bad for Q and want to hug him forever.
Also, this is probably obvious from the tweets I made of this game but, gosh, I'm all on board for the Q and Milo ship!!! I love them so much, their chemistry is so good!!! Their romantic scenes just put a huge smile on my face and I'm really looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops further!!
Not gonna lie, I'm usually not a big fan of the "will they won't they" trope when it's from BOTH sides; especially since it makes me react similar to June xD BUT, I think it works here because of Q's real identity and because of Milo's fear of people wanting them for someone they aren't.
I'm a bit crushed on the note that Q was basically hit like a ton of bricks when Milo said the word 'abominable'. I hope he still finds the courage to tell them the truth... though it's looking more and more like the big reveal will be accidental and I'm scared aaaaahhhh sdkjgbskjgb!!!
ANYWHO, this was a mega long comment LMAO but I just couldn't help but ramble on and on because of how much I loved the game. I'm looking forward to part 3!!
Awesome work, Hiro!!