Haru no Ashioto - はるのあしおと

Finished Haru no Ashioto, always heard good things about it, and it is probably the most famous of minori titles pre ef, and I have to say it didn’t disappoint; if anything, it exceeded my expectations. While it follows the traditional galge route structure and doesn’t do anything groundbreaking, the game flows with soul. Yeah, I’m not really sure how to explain it better; it has a great, lively 田舎 atmosphere brought to life by some of the best presentation and visuals in the medium and solid routes all around.

The protagonist moves back to his hometown from Tokyo, falling into depression in his own room after failing his exams to become a licensed teacher and being dumped by the girl he liked for years, but never had the balls to confess to. One day he’s offered the opportunity to temporarily work in an all-girls school to fill in for his uncle while he’s sick, and that’s basically where the story starts. Although the protagonist is framed as a だめ人間/useless guy in general, I kinda liked him a lot; he actually has a lot of personality and he’s an actual character in the routes. One of the themes between the routes is about constant change and growing up to protect your beloved ones, and he very much follows that within the routes. The game is structured into five chapters, the first two being the common route and the other three being the character routes. The common route is actually pretty short, so you get into the first route real fast. The routes are apparently written by two guys, with Kitagawa Hare doing Yuu and Chika and Kagami Yuu doing Nagomi and Yuzuki’s routes. Mikage is also credited for the scenario in the game credits, but EGS only lists him as a sub, and I didn’t feel like he wrote anything relevant, since the two-writer dynamic is very evident in the game structure and in how the characters are used.

Story-wise, Yuu and Chika do seem like the most “main” routes. Chika’s route is even locked after the other three, but the reality is that actually they are the short routes that feel more like a prologue and epilogue. Yuu is the cousin annoying imouto type of character that I’ve never been a fan of, although I won’t deny she’s cute. Her route is the most forgettable, feeling more like an intro to the themes of the game. Chika is the turbo-cute osananajimi; her route is actually only one chapter long, so basically 1/3 the length of the others, and has zero drama. Somehow it is still pretty nice, since it nails the 優しさ of the game after all the shit that went down in the other three routes, and being short also helps with not getting boring. This route feels like the epilogue, since the protag seems like he has actually matured after everything seen in the other routes, and the fact that it is the only route where the good ending is him staying in the town instead of going back to Tokyo probably is a hint to that too.

The other two routes are the big meat of the game, with the longest and most thematically charged routes. Nagomi is the tsundere kind of character, but to be honest she is more of 重い女. Her route focuses thematically on how to communicate feelings and what it means to become someone’s 特別, and it is all filled with drama, fights, and all kinds of twists through a wild ride of three chapters. If anything, I have to say that by the end even I was exhausted. Special mention to the phone call with Shirahase in this route, turbo kino nightmare fuel stuff. Yuzuki’s route is kind of similar thematically; it has a big focus on communication too, but her route is kind of the opposite to Nagomi. It’s more of a dreamlike atmosphere where the drama is kind of weird; I’m not even sure if to call it drama, to be honest, or how to explain the route, but it is probably my favorite one. The writing feels kinda inspired here, especially the narration, and it ends on a super high note. It’s interesting that the same guy wrote both routes; they are kind of sister routes in a way, but feel completely different in another way. Also, special mention to Kusunoki, great character in all the routes; sad she didn’t have one.

Another high note of the game is the presentation and graphics. minori is well known for this, so it’s not like anything new, but for a game from 2004 it is actually insane. The amount of CGs, composition, scripting, effects, unique animated EDs for every route as some sort of after story, OP by Shinkai. When I say the game is filled with soul, it is for a reason. I mean, the scope of the game is not F/SN or MLA, but it still feels even above those two in terms of presentation. It’s also above the two minori games I’ve played from the 10s too, lol; it brings the story to a new level. In general, extremely solid game, need to keep playing more titles from minori.