Kite 最近的评测

A review with minor introductory story details.

If My Heart Had Wings (Kono Ōzora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete) is a visual novel centered around a group is students in the soaring club, a school club primarily focused on aviation. Surprisingly there is more than romance to this story as the main objective of group is to fulfill the dream of flight. I wasn't expecting to listen to several detailed explanations of glider aerodynamics and construction but I found them interesting. The story itself is mostly light hearted and humorous but at the same time has dramatic, emotional moments.

Visually, this visual novel is very pleasing. The art is done very well with many vibrant colors and gives a unique look. The soundtrack is spot on when it needs to be and very tame during normal sequences. In the settings menu allows a lot of customization, such as pausing the game when it is off screen or even changing the announcer's voice to any of the characters.

Unfortunately, the game does suffer censorship and certain routes will seem less developed than others. Translations will be a bit cringey at times with americanization. I'll be blunt and say that the censored version of this games acts like sex doesn't even exist. It's painfully obvious when they tweak a scene to skip an eroge scene in the original. I personally recommend using the 18+ restoration patch to have better translations (just skip the eroge scenes).

My Opinion on the routes:
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Kotori - The best route. Clearly the most developed and gives the most satisfaction when reading.

Amane - The next best route. Fills in a lot of details that are unexplained in other routes.

Ageha - I found this route frustrating. Lots of angst and melodrama. Sometimes I don't even know what's happening and I have to reread the dialogue because of out of character interactions. The censored version of this route is especially butchered through censorship. The story and jokes will make no sense.

Asa - Partaking in this route doesn't seem realistic to the story. Almost feels like you ignored past experiences and immediately started befriending the loli.

Harem - I don't take this one seriously at all.
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This is currently one of the better visual novels on Steam right now. If you're even slightly interested in visual novels I would give this a try, especially if it's on sale. You get a lot for what you pay for with If My Heart Had Wings.

Notes:
- Length is 50+ hours if you include all routes. The common route is around 10 hours and each character specific route is about 15 hours (assuming you listening to the voice acting).
- There is voice acting.
- Certain routes cannot be done until you complete other routes.
- There are a total of 5 routes + 1 bad end.
- There is a eroge focused sequel based off of the aftermath of Kotori's route.
- This is the censored version of this visual novel. It can be patched to the 18+ version to unlock eroge scenes and several translation fixes. Unfortunately this makes the game a bit unstable (sometimes sprites will be stuck on the screen, gallery is out of order, and in a specific scene the screen is stuck on a blank white image). Achievements will be locked if you decide to use the patch. There is a Steam guide that shows you how to apply this patch if you need help. Do note that there are separate guides for Windows 7 and Windows 8. If you're interested in applying this patch, be prepared for lengthy eroge scenes with voice acting. You have been warned.
- Originally released in May 25, 2012 in Japan.

A short review with no story details.

eden* is a wonderful visual novel with brilliant art and a soundtrack that enhances the reading experience without being too overpowering. Simple details like having the characters blink add a nice touch to an already high quality work. This is by far my favorite visual novel currently (this review was created March 22, 2015) on Steam. The $20 price tag is quite steep, so I would wait for it to go on sale (mine was 50% off). If you're looking for a serious visual novel to start reading, I recommend this.

Notes:
- Length ~15 hours (assuming you listen to the voice acting)
- There IS voice acting
- There are NO choices/routes in eden* (Kinetic Novel)
- There is VERY LITTLE TO NO fan service
- This is the regular version of eden. The eden Plus+Mosaic version (not available on Steam) includes added blood to certain scenes and less censoring for certain scenes. It also includes an extra eroge side story that is not part of the main story. In my opinion I would have liked the added blood, but an eroge side story sounds incredibly out of place for this VN.
- I consider this a serious/emotional visual novel, unlike a VN such as Sakura Spirit. It tries to BE something and succeeds instead of appealing to absurd fan service.
- Originally released September 18, 2009