![]() ![]() Aquadine bucks that trend and supplies a bevy of gorgeous, high-resolution backdrops, excellent static character images and full body character portraits which react to emotional situations. Gloom and Doom which we covered recently (review here), was written extremely well but the backdrops for the game were sub-standard at best. Most visual novels, especially indie ones, tend to feature a limited background selection, a handful of character portraits, limited animation, and more. There’s also a remarkable amount of scenery in the game. Every part of Aquadine feels like a fairy tale romance, fitting for a game with mermaids in it. Between the writing and the light sexual tension between characters, there’s more than a hint of romance floating around the game but nothing that feels crude or out of place. This is pure anime fan-service at its cleanest and that’s not a bad thing. Aquadine certainly doesn’t leave much to the imagination when it comes to candid images of the characters and while it isn’t erotic, some of the pictures are certainly provocative to say the least. There’s also a fair amount of silliness and more than a bit of cheesecake here. The emotional ups and downs are what you’re here for and they’re simply well-done across the board. No one is quite what they seem in Aquadine but that’s more because they’re incredibly authentic characters rather than some big twist. As you work your way through the story, Robin becomes more and more interesting and your chosen love interest does too. In addition to being a fun, light-hearted romance, Aquadine gives you the chance to woo a mermaid and tosses in tiny bits and pieces of mythology for the town and its ancient history. For this review we started with Diana, the loud-mouthed, somewhat crass redhead and then moved on to other choices. With four pathways to choose for love, Robin has a lot of options and all of them are interesting. There’s something about the script that just charms the socks right off of you as you play and it doesn’t let up for the whole game. In fact, it’s quite reminiscent of the same slice-of-life vibe that The Language of Love (review here) put off when we reviewed it a couple of years ago. The dialogue seems human and realistic, the characters are surprisingly deep once you learn more about them, and the situations are both fun and somewhat realistic. Now, a bunch of teenagers talking might not seem very interesting for a game, but honestly, Aquadine is one of the best-written VNs that’s popped up recently. There’s literally just a screen at a certain point and you return to it after finishing each path. you simply read, no branching choices), you do get to go back to a screen and choose each person you want to romance in order to play through all the possibilities. While this is a kinetic visual novel (i.e. Robin has several friends that he slowly becomes close with over the course of the game and as you might expect, those friends can become romantic interests. No, you won’t find out here because it’s a fun plot point. However, there’s a bit more drama going on with Robin as well, some that requires a slight suspension of disbelief. His family runs a gondola company in the town of Aquadine and Robin moonlights as a gondolier. It’s a teenage love story where you play Robin, a boy whose mother is hospitalized with an unknown disease. Some of the best stuff they’ve been releasing has been indie visual novels and they’re back with another one to suck you in! Aquadine is a heartwarming slice-of-life VN from new developer SoftColors. Ratalaika Games has been upping their game for years, bringing interesting small titles to major consoles. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |