Eve of the 12 Months

First and foremost it's deeply saddening to learn the fact Minori ceased operation in 2019. Judging by this game and other titles by them i have recently checked, their works were remarkable artwork-wise and seemingly quite unusual and interesting story-wise. Artwork : for a game released in 2013 that's a spectacular creation, way ahead of it's time. For my 5-6 years of playing eroges, this one easily goes in my top 3, if not the most impressive game i've seen so far. It felt to me like half VN - half anime. There's so much fluidity and motions, so many astonishing and pretty backgrounds and scenes, everything feels so lively and realistic. Story and Characters : Well, turned out this VN is way more complicated with it's story than i expected or even anticipated. I was very curious and couldn't comprehend the very beginning, who was that girl with who'm the narration started, and what was her relationship to the seemingly familiar boy which she met on the evening street( I somehow felt it, it was kinda predictable that will turn out to be the MC ). This VN is primarly Nakige with Utsuge elements. It is quite grim atmosphere and it does feel very tense most of the time. The overview and pictures preview doesn't make us understand that quite well beforehand. The game follows family misfortunes on all sides and tragedies. It's not a game with humor elements, except the vibe from the tsundere blue haired heroine, which easily gets embarrassed and flushed. For a 7gb VN and probably a little bit longer than 15h playtime if you don't skip text, the cast is very small by pure numbers aswell. You have the MC, the 3 main heroines( 2 of them sisters), and only 2 side characters - heroines, which rarely appear. The last but not least, as probably the most important aspect of the game - it is kinetic novel, and the controversy it holds. I will probably sound very confusing, as i am myself still out of it. You don't make any choices or decide the narration anyway, yet you have 3 different routes, more precisely 2 mini routes which would lead you to the last main route ending. In reality there's only 1 main heroine, which also act as another main character, as you have her point of view a couple of times and get consequently deeper into her story. Spoiler: main heroine She has a gravely illness and here's where the fantasy elements comes in play, she would be able to travel back in the past in search for her cureness - and that is by hooking her father to different fiancees, by that thinking the outcome for her self would turn different. Nothing changes yet, was the problem in her mother in the first place? Can't say i liked the feeling of all of this, simply because the first 2 routes felt insignificant and pointless, only them to lead to the last true ending. More or less i felt like i ntr on 2 occasions the previous route heroine, just because i had to go futher with the story. Even more, for the story ... were those 2 first routes even real, or just a dream of that ill girl? Did they continued to exist in some paralel universe? There's no certain statement. Conclusion : I'm not the biggest fan of time travels, they are confusing and are born always to outdone negativities and tragedies. Non the less, the story here felt intriguing, i got eventually invested in it, became solidary to the main heroine and her struggles. It's overall great VN, one of those which leave lasting impact on you and makes you get in thoughts about life. Highly recommended! Minori!