“You play the story of 21 year old
Hee-jung, a student who leaves home to study in far-away city of
Busan. In many ways
she is a typical schoolgirl; she is a timid
introverted girl who is very sensitive to what others say. However,
she is also afflicted
by haunting childhood memories, and an an
unrelinquished desire to succeed in life and surpass others. One day,
something that
will change her busy lonely life happens. She comes
home to find that a basket of three rabbits and two cats has
mysteriously
been left in her bedroom. Soon, she will find out
these are no ordinary animals ... They are in fact much more than
that.
Why have these unusual animals been left to Hee-jung?
What was the purpose behind this? Find the answer by playing
through
this roller-coaster of emotions, full of surprises, deceit, and
romantic adventures.”
Heejung... Well I can't really say I
loved this protagonist. She has a lot of traits I've come to dislike
in visual novels such as the typical dense characteristic. She isn't
very bold either in my opinion and easily gets embarrassed by the thought of someone just holding her hand. She just sort of... gets on with her
busy life even though she doesn't like it all because she's afraid
her mother wont accept what she wants and she will be abandoned.
That's perfectly understandable but it seems no matter what Heejung
does her mother isn't happy about it so I don't see why she even
bothers trying to be praised by her mother. I've had more of an
'indifferent' mother so that's probably why I can't quite understand
her mindset but I'm sure some might. She does have some qualities I
envy though: She's always hard working no matter what she's doing. I
don't often come across people who put their everything into
something, even if they dislike what they are doing. I generally
think that's an incredible trait. But if nothing else, she seems
realistic.
The timid, apple obsessed Prince
I've read Jieun is the easiest guy to
start with because he doesn't have a bad ending, so not really
knowing how to play the game, I thought it'd be a good idea to follow
this advise.
He's the timid little white rabbit.
Apparently white is a sign that he's royalty, which I found rather
interesting. In his route, he doesn't talk much to begin with and
sticks close to Jihae. His favourite food is apples and he appears
quite obsessed with them – always talking about them and wanting to
eat them, but Heejung is told not to give him too many as sugar makes
him aggressive, which she is reluctant to believe, and so was I. He's
just so quiet and sweet! So after being told not to give him more
than two a day, she let's him have seven – yes SEVEN apples (He
sure doesn't have a problem getting him 5 a day at that rate) and
quiet little Jieun starts acting as though he were drunk. He even
smacks his head on the table. Geez. I didn't really see him as being
as aggressive as I imagined when told about the sugar but yeah, he
does change. Jieun starts yelling – ordering Heejung to give him
more apples. It was kind of funny to see this! And that CG with his
red cheeks was so adorable!! The main thing I liked about Jieun's
route is how he changes over the year when he is with Heejung in a
realistic way. He starts out the spoilt prince that he is, getting
others to do even the most trivial thing for him such as
straightening his ribbon. When going out on a date with him, he will
even ask Heejung to open the door for him when they arrive back home,
but as the story progresses, he starts to want to be more
independent. He tries to help with the cooking, even though he's not
very good at it and causes Heejung to take longer preparing dinner, I
thought it was really sweet none-the-less! I didn't feel like he had
on overly tragic past, it felt more like 'shit happens' but he feels
guilty and his wish revolves around wanting to correct his mistake
which is very mature of him.
Overall he has a nice route to begin
with. His character is believable if not a little stereotypical in
places and he's very adorable. Although having said this, I still felt at parts there was going to be some kind of BL with Jihae with how close their bond was... That might just be my mind in the gutter though! :3
The huge tsundere
Jiwoo was my second choice sheerly
because I was sick of his attitude and I thought; “Screw you little
bunny, let's see how that attitude changes after I catch you and make
you mine”. Evidently... it's didn't change all that much.
Jiwoo is what you call the 'tsundere
character' I suppose. He's loud and arrogant, often making himself
out to be far more superior than everyone else – generally he's just
a jerk. While pursuing Jiwoo he gives Heejung the nickname “Dumbo”
and continued to call her stupid through most of the route even after
they become a couple. Being the tsundere he is, even though he acts
like a complete a-hole he actually only wants someone to reach out
and understand him, which Heejung quickly realises - While he's
sulking might I add... He sulks a lot actually, but it is kind of
cute! :3
He's also complete obsessed with
romance novels and old TV dramas as he tries to become some kind of
romance guru. He seems to be the jealous type and is quick to jump to
conclusions when he finds Heejung out with Jisoo. His 'tragic past'
is sort of something that could quite easily happen in the real
world... with a bit of a twist I suppose.
Overall I wasn't that keen on this
route (Which is probably obvious in the little that I managed to
wirite about Jiwoo) , I remember thinking things like: “I really
want to punch this guy!” and “These two just don't seem right for
each other at all!” but his ending was really something – I did
enjoy it, I'll give him that. I have, however, seen a few people that
seem to like Jiwoo a lot! Each to their own and all that!!
The kind but overly jealous black cat
He's my third because he's hawt!! Yep,
that's right, that is all there is to my choice here! :3
The first thing I noticed about Jisoo's
route is that he doesn't come across as being as stupid as he does in
the other routes. He's actually very sweet and caring towards Heejung
but he's also overly jealous and I mean OVERLY here as well as
jumping to conclusions without a shred of proof. He constantly asks
if Heejung has a boyfriend and if she is lying or not. It even goes
as far as Jisoo saying she can't take other guys out with her (though
I don't think she's the type to mess around anyway) or even think
about other guys. He just comes off as 'two sides of the same coin'
to me. The main thing I loved about Jisoo is how he's portrayed while
talking about his little sister. He really does sound like he's a
great older brother and that he loves her very much. Even though he's
seen as being really cheerful (or madly jealous) throughout the game,
he really shines during this part and the story about his past was
rather heartbreaking – Not to the point where it made me choke up
or made me tearful but it was still really touching! One of the other
things to note about Jisoo is that his past, unlike the other two
I've played to this point, doesn't explain his jealous personality
but it does explain his need to protect Heejung. I might have missed
something, or didn't interpret something I should have, but even at
the end of his good ending I was still unsure of the reason for his
jealous behaviour – Maybe there's something in his bad ending but I
didn't get around to playing that yet. Nope, it still wasn't explained but
holy hell was he scary on his bad route. I mean SERIOUSLY scary. I
think he's been watching/playing Amnesia and got an idea from Toma or
something. Drugging poor Heejung – crist. It was a pretty
interesting experience though since I've, fortunately, never been in
a situation like that before.
And as an extra side note –
Jisoo has the most CG's!
Overall I honestly don't know what to
think of Jisoo – There were just so many feels in his route. Every
time I began to think: “Maybe he's just really worried about
Heejung, it's sweet!” and started to overlook his jealousy and see
only the kind side of him – BAM, he started acting jealous again
and I was left thinking: “I really don't like this side of him!”.
His good ending was really something though, I majorly choked up
here. It was a great ending to a very emotional route. I think his character was written very well!
Jihae
The self-conscious gentleman
Well after using Jihae for Jisoo's bad
route I felt kinda bad and I was interested as to what was hiding
behind that gentleman exterior that I hadn't learned about from
Jieun's route. Sadly... not much. Jihae was a complete gentleman
throughout his route, his 'down side' was that he was very
self-conscious about they way he looks. Heejung has a hard time
keeping eye contact with him for the sole reason that he was so
incredible beautiful and poor Jihae thought the reason she wouldn't
look at him was because his appearance was displeasing. Even though
he became a very successful model in a short space of time, he still
seemed to believe looking at him was making Heejung uncomfortable for
the wrong reason. Man, how many people can't relate to that one? I
suppose that because I can relate so strongly to Jihae is the reason
he quickly became my favourite! I couldn't help noticing that every
time Heejung took Jihae out with her, he's always telling her to get
some rest upon returning home. It eventually stopped and he started
saying he'll cook tonight instead but I think because I was on the
look out for hints that would lead me to his 'dark side' I was
questioning everything. This game is totally messing with my head
right now haha! I didn't really find out anything new about Jihae's
past that wasn't already shared through Jieun's route, it was just
more detailed. Talking about Jieun I actually thought Heejung would
be sort of taking Jihae from him in an unknown sort of way here, and
although that's kind of what happens, it's handled in such a way I
didn't feel she was a bitch or anything. In other words it was done
in a subtle but understandable way. Kind of like... Jieun hands him
over, not necessarily happily but for Jihae's own good type way. Out
of the four guys I've played so far, Jihae is the only one where
Heejung's mother doesn't come storming into her life again to yell at
her, instead, he's also the only one to try and break up with Heejung
to make his disappearing easier on her – not necessarily the best
thing to do but I could totally see where he was coming from! I'm
also going to add as a side note that Heejung looks extremely
beautiful in the last CG in this route!
Overall like I already said, unless
Jiyeon can beat Jihae, Jihae is my favourite guy. He's very caring
and sensitive toward our protagonist and it's been nice to see a true
gentleman in a visual novel – Lord knows it's hard to find one
without an ulterior motive in the real world!! I can also imagine
Jihae being last on most peoples list in order of playing as he does
seem to be the quiet guy that just sits in the corner patiently
waiting for his turn... Heck he even tells Jisoo something similar to
that during the game.
Before I finish up with Jihae and move
on to Jiyeon, I'm going to add that (until this point) Jihae's route
seems to have the most mistakes in the text. His name was even
misspelled at least twice!! Geez.
Jiyeon
And finally the little orange cat.
Jiyeon might have been first on my list if I hadn't of played the
demo which seems to push you in his direction. He acts cute and all
but I didn't really like his sprite! I'm not entirely sure why and
the fact that he can't pronounce a lot of words correctly isn't
cute... It just isn't Jiyeon!! In fact his whole 'I'm an adorable
little kitty – love me' thing didn't sit right with me at all. It
may be some what 'cute' (for a lack of a better word) that his
favourite colour is also his favourite food but seriously, if some
free loader in my house was content with leaving orange peels all
over my place for me to clean up when they have the luxury of getting
their favourite food for free, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't continue to
roll over and not only let him do as he pleases but encourage him!
Bad Heejung!! There are several sides of Jiyeon shown in his route.
His cute and cuddly side soon disappears after Heejung finds out that
he's going out and lying to woman so that they will give him money
and other things. He forcefully threatens Heejung, warning her to
stay out of his business before leaving. He's actually quite
terrifying here, but even after Heejung is abused she can't give up
on him. I guess she's already in too deep but the fact that she mopes
around constantly and acts like she wants to be thrown a pity party
as well as feeling worthless all the time is not really what I like
to see in a protagonist. I suppose it's realistic but still, it
doesn't mean I have to like her right now! Those guys that can get
into your head and make you feel completely worthless really are the
worst! But having the strong desire to carry on and try to help him
she does eventually get him back and you see yet another side of
Jiyeon. It's similar to his first side – he's happy and playful but
doesn't try to act cute any more. When Heejung tries to get him to
stop manipulating other woman to get what he wants and to stop lying
so much he agrees... a little to easily which again, didn't sit right
with me. Considering he's a compulsive liar or sorts I didn't like
how she could just trust his word like that! Love does strange things
to people I suppose. I did actually take quite a liking to Jiyeon
towards the end. He's sort of romantic in his own way. The scene with
the Wizard before the credits felt a little rushed though. Usually
there is dialogue back and forth between him and Heejung but for this
route it was just him talking. Jiyeon also seems to be the only guy
out of the five who is willing to throw away his chance at getting
his wish by pushing away Heejung. I'm a little at a lose as to why he
even agreed to be in the game...
Overall it's an interesting route, you
get to see a lot of sides to Jiyeon. I personally think he's the most
deceptive of the bunch. He's also the only one that doesn't have a
scene for Christmas as well as being the sole guy to give her a gift
during a scene, although it doesn't get put into your tiny little
purse afterwards.
Wizard
The love crazed wizard
He may not really be an obtainable guy
(even though I think it would have been interesting to see) but I
think because he's an important part of the game (and hawt!!), I
wanted to put a little bit about him. So he is of course the person
who made the game involving Heejung, he does this because,
apparently, he's madly in love with her after observing her in the
human world. She can't see him of course, because she doesn't have a
desperate wish and he gets tired of waiting. He's defiantly more of
an obsessive stalker than anything else and I also thought it was a
little crazy, but I suppose if you so desperately want something that
is being dangled in front of your face but you can't have it, you're
not going to stay sane forever. Once you complete the five guys
routes there is a “Behind the story” option in the bonus tab
within the extras option. You get to see more of his side of the
story and why he's made the game. It's pretty interesting and at the
end of it, there is a nice CG.
Overall though, I find it hard how he
can justify himself as being “good”. I guess that granting
peoples wishing is an incredible thing and if they are that
desperate, the price of their memory doesn't look like a huge deal,
but when he has to take away some ones memory to keep himself alive,
the illusion of being good sort of fades away and you're left with
what is necessary to survive!
Heejae
Not actually an obtainable guy
Heejae may indeed not be romanceable
but I wanted to write a little about him anyway. I'm sure anyone can
tell just by looking at him that he doesn't fit in this game in that
way. Even though I felt bad that he is like the definition of “friend
zoned” I couldn't help but laugh at him most of the time. If you
manage to get your stress level maxed (I only did this while the guys
were animals, not after) he invites Heejung out for a drink and you
get this pretty funny looking CG where he's pretty wasted. The creep
is caught trying to invite himself into Heejung's house twice from
what I've managed to find. I was also curious what would happen if I
avoided increasing my points with all the guys before they turned
human and this leads to a Heejae sort of ending which I pissed myself
laughing at. Turns out the guys parents own a chicken restaurant and
he's working hard delivering chickens... Man, the way he sounded so
passionate about it, I couldn't help myself. There was a mixture of
laughing and cringing on my part for this! Geez, I swear, you guys
have to try this out. It really can't be missed, especially if you
have a humour similar to my own!! He's gonna have to make that
chicken pretty damn tasty if he hopes to provide for Heejung this way
that's for sure!
Overall
There was one major thing that annoyed
me with this game and that was the text. It was as if it didn't have
a single proof-reader. There were so many typos, some words didn't
have a space where they needed one (mainly in Jihae's route), some of
the sentences were a little hard to understand because of unnecessary
words and a lot of the time, the guys names were mixed up and
misspelled, it was very off-putting to say the least and in some
places, it really spoiled the mood for me! Considering you have to
pay for this game, I did expect a little more here but even after
saying that, I'm still grateful that it's in a language I can
understand.
I knew off the bat that this was a stat
raising game and I've never been that fond of them but this one just
felt so much more drawn out then it needed to be. All that saving and
loading also become tiresome fast. It made it quite difficult for me
to finish this game in all honesty!
Other than that, the artwork is
beautifully done. The story itself was okay, it's something I haven't
quite played before, but I must say that if five guys suddenly turned
up at my house with the selfish intention of trying to make me fall
for them just so they can have a wish granted, I'd probably be pretty
pissed to say the least no matter what that wish may have been.
I particularly loved how the guys were
all so different from each other and although most of them I didn't
end up liking, I still really enjoyed playing each route. Their
personalities are so defined and I think they were all written really
well! The way they interact with each other and the protagonist was
believable and sometimes pretty comical. Their defining traits shone
through strongly making them feel more like a person than something
inside a game and the way they can sway your emotions was amazing:
such as in Jisoo's route, I really did feel terrified for Heejung,
which isn't an emotion I normally get to feel in a visual novel and
in Jihae's, my heart really did go out for him for most of his route!
Another thing that took my fancy was
the option to go out with a guy on the weekend (assuming they were
home). There were so many options and I really liked that fact that
each guy responds to the weather depending on what time of the year
you go out. Such as if you go to the beach when it's cold and you
come across a girl in a bikini they will pass a comment on it. This
again makes the game more realistic in my opinion!
Ah, yeah, one more thing, and I'm not
sure if I liked this or not but you couldn't look through the CG's of
a guy until you finished his route. It certainly helped motivate me
to complete the game but at the same time, I can't help thinking that
that feature was only put in place because of the tiresome stat
building mechanics.
I'd like to just say that I'd be happy
to recommend this game and leave it at that but it's not going to
happen. I'd personally only recommend this game to people have don't
have a problem with the stat building mechanics in these games and if
you have a lot of patience. If you're still on the fence about it,
there is a demo out along with the full version of the game!
And finally, I'll leave you with this cute/funny picture!
