Finished it yesterday.
Non spoiler thoughts: They do an incredible job capturing the feel of the awkwardness and anticipation of the early stages of a relationship. When merely looking at your lover was exciting, when she touched your shoulder made you tingle, when her leaning against you or breathing on you or hugging you made your head swim. It brought back lots of happy memories of my teens/20s with the excellent descriptions of the fumbling (not just sexual but verbal) around when you're not quite sure if your feelings are as strongly reciprocated.
I actually laughed when the protagonist lies in bed after a date and thinks to himself that this can't be true, something is bound to go wrong, it always does, FML. (that's one for the 'Does anyone else?' thread because I did that constantly from about age 14 until 21) Likewise, silly memories like your first few times spending the night, crammed together in a single bed, pillow fights ending with one unwittingly up atop one another, trying to stall the other person going home at the end of the night because you just don't want to be apart...
I'd almost say it is aimed at an older (late 20s onward) audience to remind them of their awkward young romances.
Anyway, my massively spoilerific (don't read if you're thinking of playing it) thoughts on the characters:
ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!
Emi was my match, it seems. If I'm honest, I'd have never considered her a top choice, possibly second or third. I was actually more inclined towards Rin who I found much more interesting to talk to and be around.
Lilly struck me as extremely boring, sitting there all placid and elegant didn't really interest me. Hanako's timidness was off-putting, especially as you knew you'd only have her attention when Lilly wasn't there.
Shizzune was actually the one who caught my eye first in terms of physical attractiveness. Unfortunately, she's a bit bossy and the more I thought about the more I wished there was an option for my character to get a damned sign language book out from the library and learn some! I suspected that Shizzune would be much better in isolation from Misha but unfortunately they're joined at the hip and I suspect the bad parts of their personalities feed off each other. I'm keen to try her storyline (along with Rin) because you're invariably going to have to be alone with her at some point, away from both Misha and her club activities.
Oh, and his neighbour? He's a tosser, of course, but I think it might be deliberate on the behalf of the writers to suggest to all the horny internet geeks who'll be playing this hoping for some hentai to point out that locking yourself in your room making charts and fearing women isn't going to get you anywhere.
And even more spoilerific on my specific relationship:
ZOMG Spoiler! Click here to view!
As above, I honestly didn't think I'd like Emi, but screwing up all the other choices sent me onto her path (I do wonder if hers is the easiest one to end up on*) and I wasn't sure what I was going to do next.
Again, as a testament to the writers, I found myself falling in love with her through the excellent narration of the protagonist. In spite of myself I found that I was thinking about her and the story while away from the game.
Being thrown out of the house (not aided by an inappropriate choice of facial expression by the programmers - that should be her downright mischievous face, not her rage face) was so traumatic that I reloaded my previous save and had to click about two billion times to get back to where I'd been before, trying to get around my character going all Cole Phelps on her in the kitchen... only to find that the other choice gets you thrown out too!
Likewise, the elation when you confront her on the rooftop the following day, she tries the whole 'you're the knight coming to save the poor helpless crippled girl' defense again and you finally say the right things, that you're not charging to the rescue thinking she's helpless, you're going to stand with her to be there for her because god dammit I love you Emi, you say you can't bear to get close to someone in case you lose them but that's exactly what you're doing to me, please don't think I'm trying to interfere in what is a very personal problem for you and only you.
The final scene (thanks for spoiling, John Walker) of her sitting up in bed asking what you'd like to do today, and the poignant 'stay with me - not tonight, not forever, but just stay' were the perfect ending to an emotional rollercoaster, a happy ending without feeling forced or cheesy, things had worked out well for a reason.
Oh, and the now infamous bumsex scene? On the one hand it was a bit gratuitous, on the other it was again just young lovers experimenting and learning about one another.
*it appears, from the flowchart, that your first few choices are giving you either Lilly/Hanako or Shizzune positive marks, so it's possible to be equal. Agreeing to run when confronted by the nurse puts you on a course for Emi, I think
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So having a slight cardiac problem means being sent to a school for the disabled? Couldn't he have no chin or something? Like Dr Tongue from Day of the Dead.
