If My Heart Had Wings General Discussion

[cjlim2007]

For a while now, I’ve been aware that a fair bit of people on Kaza have read If My Heart Had Wings. I feel like it’s pretty similar to Key with it’s wholesome story. Sure, there is the general topic but I want to get deeper. Or at least I’m challenging all you IMHHW readers out there to analysis… or something like that. Seeing as I finished the game within about three weeks with 28 hours, I’d say I got pretty into it.

So, what did you guys think? Which was your favorite route? Was there something really cool you noticed in the story? Was there a word choice that made you feel a certain way? Did you have a favorite moment? Do you think it was better to play with or without restoration patch? There’s a lot of things you can talk about here.

Because this is a discussion of If My Heart Had Wings, full spoilers for the game are allowed. Please tag references to outside works with context and [spoiler][/spoiler]

[Zosonte]

I quite enjoyed it for what it is. I read the Android version, so no adult content.

My favorite part about IMHHW are the visuals. This is perhaps the most beautiful VN I’ve ever encountered, with clean sprites and so many pictures of the sky that just appealed to me as a lover of Air. The art alone will have this VN stick with me for a long time. The translation was spotty, but not unreadable.

My favorite route was definitely Kotori’s. It felt the most like a Key route, with the immense hit of drama toward the end, whereas the other routes just sort of fizzled out and didn’t really feel emotional or impactful to me. It had that sort of magic in it that Key’s work usually have. My favorite moment was Aoi riding toward Kotori’s father’s car as they drive away from Kazegaura as Precious Wing starts playing. I’m a sucker for moments like that.

I loved Amane as a character, but her, Ageha, Asa, and Yoru’s routes did nothing for me really. Ageha’s especially was frustrating as it didn’t really seem to have any purpose or seem to know where it was going, and her not being able to admit her feelings even at the end of the route sapped my care for her.

The way soaring through the sky represents such an irrational achievement, with no real practical reason, appealed to the romantic in me. Just to fulfill a dream or wish that may be childish to others. Again, this novel reminded me a lot of Air, and perhaps that’s mostly why I enjoyed it.

All in all, I don’t much to say about this VN. It was alright, but I don’t think I’d read through it again. It was visually beautiful, but that’s all that really stood out to me.

[Odinbeard_McSparkles]

If My Heart Had Wings is probably the best VN outside of the small amount of Key that I have played (Clannad and TA, so far). Finishing all the routes took me 43 hours, and the first full playthrough from the common route into the Ageha route took me around 23 hours. It was the first long VN like that I had ever played, and I was completely surprised since its incredibly cheap ($15 normal price, I believe I got it for like $8 on sale,) and considering the majority of the other VN options on steam for that price, its quite the steal IMO.

That being said, the first 5-7 hours are incredibly slow. Some of the dialogue is also super sappy, especially by the final arc/end.

The best recommendation I can give if you get it on Steam is to not do the Ageha route first. From what I remember, the translation was exceedingly bad in that route; I played through it entirely without the Restoration Patch, and immediately went back and played it with the Patch, but remember it only being a small improvement. That being said, the patch also adds H-Scenes, and most of them are super awkward; in fact, if I remember correctly, I believe Aoi kinda forces himself on Ageha in the first H-Scene, and overall I felt like the route was pushing some unnecessary conflict to sort of force character development, rather than allowing it happen more organically like it does in the Kotori and Amane routes. Playing this route first almost killed my interest in the VN, and I feel like it permanently damaged Ageha’s character in my eyes (who was my favorite through the whole common arc), for both the translation and plot issues. I don’t recall any noticeable translation issues in any of the other routes. The only upside to Ageha’s route is a small window into her’s and Aoi’s past.

Amane’s route was my favorite, as it was the most natural route besides Kotori’s, and you get a little more insight into the history of the club and its founder, as well as Amane’s backstory. Kotori’s is excellent as well, Asa’s is just ok, and the only way you can be with Yoru is if you are also with Asa at the same time. It’s a shame because Asa is just a little too simplistic for my taste, while Yoru at least has a few layers to her.

Overall, its a lengthy but fun and mostly light-hearted VN with good character variety, great visuals and art, and a solid soundtrack to boot.

Just noticed it’s actually $4.49 for the Halloween Sale on Steam until Nov. 1st. Totally worth a look at that price.

[wha2les]

what route order would you recommend?

[Zosonte]

I would recommend Asa>Yoru>Ageha>Kotori>Amane. Yoru is locked behind Asa and Amane is locked behind Kotori.

[cjlim2007]

I went Ageha>Asa>Yoru>Kotori>Amane on @Rin’s recommendation. I guess the general consensus is that you want to do Kotori and Amane last.

[StarfishBender]

I’ll just be lazy and copy my post from the General VN discussion to here…

General Visual Novel Topic

I’ve been reading “If My Heart Had Wings”, and finished the common and Kotori routes so far. I’ve found it a pleasant read although as is my way some of the “blossoming romance” sections too long and sugary (just my personal tastes here). I like the use of the Soaring Club and glider as a symbol of independence, growth and freedom - though I might be overthinking it a bit!

The common route is very long and I didn’t get the first choice until some 9 hours of (slowish) reading, I was surprised when the intro movie cut in as it was so far into the VN I’d forgotten we hadn’t had one yet! I quite like Kotori although she doesn’t stand out much to me as a character compared to others in other games, the route is a little heavy on melodrama.

Bear in mind, I’m playing the unpatched Steam version; initially I didn’t see many translation issues but as the VN went on there were more and more silly errors which look like sloppiness and a lack of quality checking rather than weak translation (not that I’d know). E.G. a female character being referred to as ‘she’ in one sentence then ‘he’ in the next! A bit minor but annoying. I really did not want to mess about with the Restoration patch though (don’t need H-Scenes), so my bad.

Will say more when I’ve completed all the routes, but for now I’d put this below CLANNAD and Steins;Gate but well above Grisaia in my ratings. I don’t think this will have a lasting resonance.

General Visual Novel Topic

I’m going through Ageha’s route now, and it’s quite bizarre. I googled it to see if it was just me but it looks like it was largely rewritten for context because of the removal of the h-scenes. The translation and presentation of the story is (to me) odd. I guess this one really does benefit from the Restoration patch. It’s a bit unfortunate if that route is chosen first ahead of Kotori.

EDIT: I ended up skipping most of Ageha’s route in the end as it got too painful, nonetheless I think I did get the gist of what was going on but 10+ hours of it was too much for me. Trouble for me is that the glider story seems to be pushed back far too much - but saying that it does add a little to Ageha and Aoi’s back story if you chose or landed on Kotori’s route first.

EDIT #2

Asa & Yoru - could be considered a minor spoiler so identical twins and I found it a bit hard not to draw some parallels with the Ryou/Kyou love triangle this is quite a fun route though it doesn’t really add much to the overall story. There is a combination of the routes up to a point, we do go through some of the usual tropes, e.g. Polar Opposite Twins, Different as Night and Day, and I don’t know if the h-scenes go full on Twin Threesome Fantasy but it seems from hints on the Steam version it might end up that way!

General Visual Novel Topic

Completed Amane’s route so now finished the VN, and this one was was my favourite, it does a very nice job of completing the circle in terms of the story and we also get an insight into the VNs antagonist who was rather one dimensional villain until this route.

There is no “True ending” as such but for my part, Kotori (which has to be completed to open certain other routes) and Amane are the essential routes with the others more optional and Amane is best saved to last as it comes the closest IMO to a true ending.

Being still new to VNs I’m still feeling my way and as a n00b to this forum I have to point out I still find the teen romance elements for the most part a little dull - it takes I think some special story writing to engage my interest in the way that Tomoya/Nagisa and Steins;Gate spoiler Okabe and Kurisu, which helps to add such a cruel dilemma to the story and I did as usual find some parts of the routes went on too long.

I spent a fair time on MS Flight simulator in my past so I appreciated the inclusion of aerodynamics as I felt this helps the reader believe that High School students could achieve what they manage here. I understand that slight spoiler Gliders riding the Morning Glory really is a thing in Australia where the phenomenon is predictable.

It’s a pity that Ageha’s route seems to have been messed up in the Steam version ( bearing in mind I know nothing of the Japanese or Restoration versions) and that is the only downer objectively but it’s up to each prospective reader to decide if they want the full on eroge I guess.

It actually took me over 50 hours to complete all the routes, and as this is a lowish/mid price game on Steam, it’s good value. I’d definitely recommend it.

[DangoDaikazoku]

If My Heart Had Wings was an enjoyable first read, but I’m unlikely to find myself reading it again. To hear the comparisons to Key is interesting for me, because Aoi’s tragic backstory combined with his lack of straight-forward parental figures are both hallmarks of Key protagonists. However, I feel like Aoi lacks the quirky, off-beat personality and sense of humor that makes characters like Tomoya, Yuichi, or (straying away from Key) Okabe interesting. He comes off as a bland nice guy most of the time who’s just going through the motions that the other characters are more active participants in until he needs to prove himself by making bold choices at significant turning points in the plot. I never got a great feel for his personality, and the fact that they go out of their way to shill how much every girl is in love with him in the common route where he hasn’t spent as much time with them, felt obnoxious to me. It’s not a fault exclusive to this VN, but it’s a point where I feel I’ve been spoiled by Key VNs, then tend to avoid this particular pitfall. A good example of this is that bath tub scene. The one route where I admittedly ended up being more compelled by his character was, ironically, Ageha’s route, a role reversal of the oft-done indecisive childhood friend, as it is often the guy who’s dragging his feet. His emotional journey felt real, and I believed his frustration at Ageha’s actions were very believable. He feels like a more active participant in that story’s plot throughout, rather than only doing things and being actively involved in critical moments.

Admittedly, it was hard to get into the scenes where they explained the science of the glider. I totally understand why it was included, but I never found myself enjoying these scenes very much, especially near the back end of the common route. I don’t feel the characters have a strong enough group chemistry to make this somewhat hard to access subject interesting. Steins;Gate’s science exposes are interesting because the characters are really fun, off-beat, and bounce off each other very well, even the main character. But since Aoi is kind of bland, and the girls admittedly feel like they abide pretty closely to their archetypes when they do show character in these scenes, I found myself a bit bored through most of them.

My opinion on Asa and Yoru is identical to Zosonte and Odinbeard’s. Asa’s had so little substance to it compared to the other stories, it felt almost like an after thought, while Yoru’s spent more time making fun of the romantic situation Aoi has found himself in, rather than further developing the characters. Some elements I admittedly found rote also bothered me, like the straight of an old-fashioned movie ending of Kotori’s story, or the archetypical “mean teacher who wants to stop the gliding club from being a thing” conflict that feels hokey. I’ll give them points for giving the character a motive, however, rather than leaving him without nuance.

I have nothing but positives to say about the presentation, like everyone else here. For me, the VN is worth a read, but I doubt it’s one I’ll ever feel compelled to look at again as I have with Clannad or Steins;Gate.

[Rin]

Yeah my suggested route order is Ageha - Asa - Yoru - Kotori - Amane

Yoru’s route is locked behind completion of Asa’s, and Amane’s is locked behind completion of Kotori’s. But the way they’re presented, Kotori’s route is almost like the “main route” and Amane’s route is almost like the “true ending” as I describe them, even though all the routes are unique and there’s no overarching storyline.

You can start either Ageha or Asa, it’s more do you wanna date the childhood friend and get the worst of the translation over from the start, or do you want to date the shy twin who tries her best?

Also, content warning. The Yoru route is centered around polygamy. There is no route where you date only Yoru.

EDIT: Right, should probly also offer my thoughts on the game lol

I’m sort of in the common opinion group of Aoi not being a BAD protagonist, but he’s super bland. Which I suppose is to be expected with what was originally an eroge, but when you put THAT MUCH work into the stories, the music, the art, the DETAIL into an eroge, surely you can do better than some mayonnaise on white bread protag.

Kotori’s route for me was my favorite. It’s nice seeing a route heroine in a visual novel get character development, and she has quite a bit. Amane’s route is a mixed bag for me. I’m not that attached to Amane. I like her, but she’s my least favorite. So the main details of her route didn’t captivate me, but the ending is perfect. It is definitely a satisfying “end” to the game, if you will. Ageha’s route, I’m also the same as most people in that opinion. Not a bad route, seems to accurately portray the frustrations of a high school relationship, and also has a nice dose of feels, but suffers from the fact that it was originally centered almost entirely around sex. So the translation is easily the worst in the Ageha route, and it’s easy to get lost in.

The twins are a mixed bag, too. I really like Asa’s route, but that’s because I really like Asa as a character. I also like Yoru as a character too, but Asa’s route definitely felt more like “Okay here’s a half-baked plot, we’re just gonna keep overdosing you with your cute twintail girlfriend” and for the most part, they do a good job of that. I found myself thinking “Oh my god Asa is a cutie” throughout the whole route. Yoru’s route, however, is pretty heavy on story and Yoru’s past. But it’s constantly undermined by OH WOW POLYGAMY IS SO WRONG BUT OH WELL LET’S KEEP TALKING ABOUT IT, WHAT A WACKY SITUATION I’VE FOUND MYSELF IN WITH MY TWO LOLI GIRLFRIENDS so it’s hard to keep a consistent tone to the story, and I feel it suffers from that.

As a whole, I think it’s a really solid visual novel. I live and breath for intense emotions and If My Heart Had Wings evoked plenty of those from me. And if you haven’t read it and like heartwarming stories with cute and (admittedly well-written) characters then definitely try it. Just don’t expect Key-level feels.

A closing side note, anyone who tells you that the Restoration Patch which restores H scenes and improves the translation is wrong. It changes hardly anything, it literally just re-implements the H scenes. Which are mood-killing and shoehorned in.

[machelmore]

So, IMHHW holds a special place in my heart as the second VN I ever read. Katawa Shoujo, which was first, was enough to get me to want to try another VN, and then followed by such a strong showing from IMHHW, I got really into VN’s. As such, I feel like I owe IMHHW (as well as Katawa Shoujo) a lot, because all my current favourite fictional stories are VN’s.
IMHHW was definitely difficult to get running properly though. For people who aren’t good with computers or haven’t installed many VN’s before and worked out the tricks, it would be very difficult, but fortunately I’m decent with computers.
As for the restoration patch, I don’t understand why people keep saying that it didn’t really improve the translation quality. I finished Ageha’s route (not understanding the plot at all thanks to the translation quality), then decided enough was enough and patched it, then never had any difficulty in reading it again. It’s seriously making me wonder if I just lucked out with some super niche final version of the patch that almost no one else has or something, that’s how confused it makes me when people say the patch didn’t improve the quality. I wouldn’t be able to direct people to where I got the patch unfortunately, it was two and a half years ago and I’ve forgotten completely.
Getting back to the game itself, it seems like I naturally followed the recommended route order (Ageha>Asa>Yoru>Kotori>Amane) without knowing anything about it beforehand. It just feels right to do it that in that order I guess.
I was really impressed with Yoru’s route in particular. Polygamy isn’t for me personally, but i’m not one to judge, and it definitely made for a unique reading experience. It kind of takes guts to put in something controversial like that at all, which I really respect.
Other than that, I think that the different routes really cover different bases. For example, I liked Ageha’s route so much because there was so much involvement from side characters that don’t get as much time to shine in the other routes (Hotaru, Akari, Kanako). I’d have to say Asa’s route was probably the weakest, but I still enjoyed reading it. If I had to put the routes in order of my favourite to least favourite it’d be Yoru>Amane>Ageha>Kotori>Asa.
Probably the thing that bothered me most though, was the protagonist. Aoi seems completely unrelateable to your average VN reader, I would think. When I played Katawa Shoujo, I amazed me how similar I was to the main character, to the point I was convinced that the people who’d made the game had done personality testing on it’s general demographic and modelled Hisao after that. Of course, they wouldn’t have been able to pull of the story of IMHHW with that kind of protagonist i guess, so it’s a necessary evil. I get that protagonists shouldn’t always be relateable, but look at Key protagonists for example. Even if they’re not relateable either, they’re always funny or witty, they have traits that your average VN reader would value. Aoi’s not particularly funny or witty, or even really that interesting, so I would at least have liked them to work on that a bit.
On a completely unrelated note, as someone who has two pet ducks, I take issue with how relatively well behaved Hat is. It’s not realistic at all.

[emilevnp]

So last night, I noticed that the Steam version of IMHHW got an update. Does anyone know what that was about? Did they fix the mistranslations? I’ve yet to really do anything in it and I’d like to give it another chance.

[Mikey]

Finally, the re-translation patch is out. Not only does it fix the translation problems, it also restores the content that was originally cut by MoeNovel. I have been playing it, and its a good improvement from what it was before.
On a side note, MoeNovel has just released CROSS+CHANNEL on Steam.