eden*

in library

4.1/5

( 12 Reviews )

4.1

12 Reviews

English & 2 more

Overall most helpful review

Posted on: June 16, 2018

MJim

Verified owner

Games: 458 Reviews: 4

My first Visual Novel

This is my first visual novel. It isn't a game, but a book, or an audio book (if you can speak in Japanese) with visual images and music to accompany the words. Adult content: This is NOT an erotic novel; there is some suggestive writing, but it is mostly used for humor. There is no nudity (there is a single scene late into the game with a 2-piece swimsuit, but that is as close to nudity as the game gets), and even scenes where blood is depicted in writing, is not shown visually. In saying that, apparently there is a patch available that will unlock erotic content, but the GOG version I finished this novel with, does not include this. I'll start with the bad: Visual Novel resolution: This visual novel uses a resolution of 1024x640, which I feel is pretty low even for it's first release in 2009. Story/Plot: The plot doesn't really get much attention at all, it is very much a tool for which to create drama and build the characters. You will likely find yourself questioning certain plot points and decisions, so a certain amount of 'suspension of disbelief' is required to enjoy this novel. On to some good things: Characters: This novels strength is very much the characters and how they grow and change throughout the novel. The two main characters were especially well done, and despite me not understanding the Japanese voices, emotions were conveyed very well. Art: The art is very nice, I just wished it was rendered at a much higher resolution. Music: There are several music tracks I enjoyed while reading this novel. On completion of the novel you get the ability to play the music tracks individually (within the program), of which there are 32. Overall: I think I enjoyed the story (I did complete it), or at least I believe I may of taken something away from it; but certain scenes I found difficult to proceed through due to my own emotional state. The overall tone of this novel isn't happy, but I guess 'hopeful' is what they were aiming for.

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Posted on: May 28, 2018

Zappy99

Verified owner

Games: 160 Reviews: 2

A unique experience

I have mixed feelings about this visual novel. I should probably start out by saying that I've never read any visual novels before. I've seen a few eastern films, animations, and I generally read a lot, so the idea of a kinetic novel with no reader interaction whatsoever (which this is) isn't alien to me. However, I really am an outsider to this kind of story, and there may have been parts that I hadn't really been able to appreciate or which frustrated me as a result. Let's start with the good parts, and there are a lot of them: The voice acting is great, the art is incredible, and the music is good, if sometimes repetitive and out-of-place. A few other reviews have mentioned how minori is a pretty special developer, and there's no denying it. The story isn't something to sniff at either. The writing is good, if a little flowery, and the dialogue is great, which is kinda surprising from a translated work. The characters are well-developed, compelling, and all of them fulfill a role in the story. And then, of course, there's the story itself, which is... great, and kinda inspiring as someone who's an aspiring writer. It deals with a lot of interesting themes, and it's a real tearjerker no doubt, even if I sometimes struggled to "feel it". And this leads me to the main problem I have with the VN: The pacing. Despite apparently being on the shorter side of VN's, the story progresses at a snail's pace, and only gets slower in the second half. There were times when I felt the story just kept repeating itself. Even worse, by the second half many of the plotlines have been resolved and most of the tension is gone, and you're just waiting for the inevitable end to come. While I get what they were going for, I really couldn't get to grips with the pacing, and it's a testament to how good the novel is that I carried on regardless. In conclusion, I have no regrets, and I have to give eden* 5 *'s. If you can handle the weird pacing, you'll definitely enjoy this one.

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Posted on: May 22, 2018

Jiskra84

Games: 346 Reviews: 1

eden*

eden* is great VN from minori (yes all lowercase). Its kinetic visual novel, which means no choices, you only keep clicking to move story forward. minori makes very special visual novels, they put great ammount of work into production, which results in flawlessly executed visuals, there is incredible ammount of CGs, character sprites are done so well you have hard time recognising when its sprite&backsground and when its CG. Both character sprites and CGs have lip sync, characters blink, they turn heads to person who is speaking etc. Audio is as good as visuals, very nice music, flawlass voice acting. Story is special as well, minori mostly avoids usual visual novel troupes and story in theyr games is original and enjoyable. That said, eden* is real tearjerker so good supply of tissues is adviseable. eden* is one of my favorite visual novels, its not long (cca 10 -12 hours) so its good start for VN beginners.

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Posted on: May 23, 2018

samboni94

Games: 324 Reviews: 1

First VN to actually finish

I don't play many VN's, and have never actually finished one, but the story in this one just grabbed me and didn't let go. I ended up pulling an accidental all-nighter just so I could continue. Doesn't actually have choices, so this is what is referred to as a Kinetic Novel, but still a very good story even if you don't have to decide things the whole way through.

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Posted on: November 27, 2018

Kokohan

Verified owner

Games: 54 Reviews: 1

A beautiful, heartwrenching experience

This Kinetic novel was quite the experience. As stated in the game's description, the creators went for a more cinematic presentation, and boy does it show! With loads of event CGs, sprites with many expressions and poses, blinking eyes, voice acting (complete with lipsync), you'll almost forget this is a digital novel and feel like you're watching an anime unfold! The plot in itself is intriguing, but the whole end of the world thing by the second half serves more of a backdrop, and the focus is really on our two mains, Sion and Ryou. And really, the characters are what is this VN's strong point. You will become attached to them, become emotionally invested, witness what I feel was fairly good character development, and overall pray for a happy ending despite the circumstance. I certainly cried several times throughout this VN, it's that beautifully orchestrated. Now of course it's not a perfect story, by all means, and I did have some minor problems with it. Some may find trouble getting through some of the slower paced points (though I personally didn't mind), I also found one particular character that shows up later unneeded in the beginning but came to like her and found she did serve a purpose. And the ending I have mixed feelings about, namely as I had an idea of how I think it could've ended and the way it ended has me half thinking how beautiful, bittersweet, and well orchestrated it was, to also feeling left a little wanting and thinking of an alternative way it could've ended. Regardless though, I enjoyed the entire story, albeit it very emotional, and aside from shedding tears, you'll also feel rather warm too.

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