So I've 100%'d the game and I have come to a final decision point about my favorite route list. I have no doubts at least some of you will rage at me and give me a million reasons why such-and-such route is the best, but here's my list:
1. Emi - I like hers the best because it was the perfect mix of sad and happy moments, not to mention the fact that Emi herself is pretty cute (just watch her cinema again, she looks so beautiful <3 I must have a thing for short girls; my first crush was short). Her overall personality is so... for lack of a better term, cute. A good example is the final scene in Act 2 (The (Real) Beginning); the way she confesses to Hisao is so charming, like she's daring Hisao to reject her. Not to mention the fact that I got Emi's good ending on my first runthrough, so I feel a connection with her. Another chip to add to the pile is that it almost inspires me to go run the track at my school in the mornings, not just for a relationship but to get in shape as well. I connected so well with Emi that I actually wrote a parody post-route short story where Hisao reflects back on his year at Yamaku, for an assignment in Creative Writing class (didn't mention the explicit stuff, of course). Posted it: viewtopic.php?f=94&t=44708
2. Lilly - Lilly's route is definitely up there with Emi's, but Emi's beats it by just a smidge due to how heartrending Lilly's route gets near the end. That's not to say it's bad, quite the opposite, but it was a tad much. I even cried for a bit afterwards (yes, I admit it, I actually cried. I'm sensitive to emotions, I'm sorry). Weirdly enough, I never considered Lilly to be an option for the end, probably due to the fact that she looks a lot older compared to the other girls. Lastly, Lilly's is beaten slightly because Emi has her prosthetics, which allow her to pretty much forget about her disability. Lilly doesn't have that luxury, she has to deal with her blindness full force. I wrote a parody epilogue for Lilly's route too, not for a class assignment but I was just really bored and inspired. viewtopic.php?f=94&t=44761
3. Hanako - Before you rage on me for hating Hanako for her scars, don't. That's not the case at all. Hanako is at number 3 due to there not being as much romance compared to the other routes (especially Emi's). Why do I say that? Ask yourself this: when were the confessions? In Emi's, it was at the end of Act 2; Lilly's was two-thirds of the way through Act 3; Shizune's is at the end of Act 2... Hanako's confession was in the FINAL scene of the route. That was pretty much the LAST thing that happened. Also consider how many h-scenes they had. Emi has 2 (technically 3, counting the shed scene), Lilly has 3, Shizune has 2, and Rin has... let's just say 1.5. The scene in the art place doesn't count for a full scene. Hanako has only ONE, and it was just a couple scenes from the ending. To it's credit, Hanako's route does have an emotional side to it. Her backstory about the fire and the orphanage is a bit on the sad side, not to mention Hanako herself. An experience like that would be traumatizing to anyone, I can definitely sympathize with that. I had a similar experience a few years ago, a tree fell onto my house and hit the roof right above me. For a couple months after, I was afraid to even step foot into that room, the scene still fresh in my memory.
4. Shizune - Ironically, I thought Shizune's would be my favorite, as I thought she was the cutest on my first playthrough. I changed my mind later, but that's not the point. Shizune's fourth position is from the lack of romance, even less so than Hanako. Hell, her "good" ending wasn't even really a good ending in the first place, it was more like a neutral ending. She and Hisao did have one more h-scene than Hanako, but outside of those, I don't recall them having many romantic moments (completely opposite of Emi, her route is chock full). The last thing that drops Shizune's route a bit is Misha. The closest you can get to a Misha route is Shizune's bad ending, which is honestly a little disappointing. I was hoping Misha would have her own route, but her one scene feels kinda shoe-horned in, as like a last-minute thing.
5. Rin - This one is the real kicker, the one I'm sure you guys are going to disagree with me on. To put it bluntly, I don't care for Rin's route. It seems to drag on for longer than the other routes and Rin has such an enigmatic personality that I find it very hard to connect with her. Not to mention the fact that she doesn't look that attractive, in my honest opinion. To me, Hanako looks more attractive than Rin. That might be partially due to her lack of arms, and I know that's rude of me to point out, but it's the truth. Over the course of her route, so many different things happen that it's hard to get a grasp of who Rin really is. I feel her route has the least romance, and I know I'm harping a lot about romance, but that's how I feel. It's like taking Hanako's least h-scenes and Shizune's lack of romantic moments, adding some enigma, and tossing them together into a blender.
tl;dr: To sum up each route in one word, Emi's route = inspiring, Lilly's = heartrending; Hanako's = emotional, Shizune's = disappointing, Rin's = enigmatic.
Feel free to give your own opinion (inb4 Rin's route is best, no questions), I just wanted to share mine. Also, the final CG is pretty lame, it's just
a slideshow of various objects, such as the pills, the music box, the wine, Iwanako's letter, etc. Really designers, you couldn't come up with anything better? I am very disappoint.
Posted: August 16th, 2013, 11:53 pm