Tsumugyu actually sounds a lot less grating than I expected. At the prologue party, Iwai sounded a lot more raspy, so I figured she might sound similar to Kuno Misaki(Can’t stand her). Miki and Shizuku have like the reverse of what I expected.
I’m not 100% on Kamome’s voice. I saw this clip of her, and that’s the exact voice I want. A little deeper and more cocky. It could be the selection of clips; the samples don’t really fit the eccentric description Mineuchi gave.
Bless Konomi Suzuki 
I basically did a skip-through of the trial just now to get a feel for it. I can’t be bothered to set up text hooking, and even if I could, I can wait until the English release, I’m not that impatient. So I thought it would be best to just skim over it using my limited knowledge of Japanese.
The thing that stuck out to me the most was probably Miki. I was worried that she would be a real fun-police character, but I actually quite liked her. Seems like she knows what would be going too far, and even the way in which she does it is kind of fun. Seems much more good-humoured than I expected.
The first thing I did, even before opening it, was extract the files, so I got a good look at the character art and such. At first I thought that the art looked, honestly, a little ugly, but as I actually played through it and got accustomed to it, it started to grow on me and I think it looks pretty good in general now. I don’t like what they did to Umi though, she looked so much better in the promotional images. What have they done.
As expected, Ao is best girl. Quick to anger, quick to forgive. Her theme might’ve been my favourite track, though Kamome’s was pretty high up there too.
The minigame was pretty difficult to get used to, the depth of field is deceptive and you have to figure out the timing by trial and error. Seems reasonably fun though.
These are just very bare-bones first impressions, but it looks like it might be better than I was originally expecting.
Read all the way up to the OP. Kinda mixed feelings. This story is a very slow burner, it feels comparable to Kanon. We spend 3 days doing nothing but building atmosphere really, until one actually good scene before the OP. Feels like it’s gonna turn a lot of people off… The heroine introductions are all very weak. Of course this isn’t the first Key game to do this; I just think back to some of the first introductions of characters in CLANNAD and Rewrite, and how I grew to love them over time. But yeah, it hasn’t sold me on many of them yet.
That said, Mizutani, Tenzen and Miki are a pretty great supporting cast that gave me a lot of laughs. I guess you could say they’re the Angel Beats style Key seeping in, the comedy trio, and they do really well at that. I got a lot more laughs from them than any of the heroines.
Well, I’ve still got more of the trial to read through, so we’ll see how impressions change. I’m optimistic, but it needs to do more to draw me in; if I wasn’t a Key fan I’d probably have stopped from boredom by now.
Here’s some tweets!
Makochan is back!
So I finished (not yet) read the demo. Here is my review:
Regarding the narration, it went well. Key-type enough. Probably the writer for the demo this time is Kai. The japanese is quite understandable here. The everyday life and Torishiro-jima is reminded me about AIR and Snow (Another VN that used AIR and Kanon as base), so much nostalgic!
Character? They did good to design the character. Also the seiyuu did went well, but Shiroha voice if more “smooth” enough it will be good, for me. That Ryouichi and Tenzen. A good pair for jokes.
OST is loved it! But somehow Ao’s theme is like Lucia’s theme.
So best boy is here xD
I couldn’t be bothered to use a text hooking application, so I just skimmed through the text. As far as I am concerned Tsumugyu is so much better than expected and here’s my explanation:
Apart from that, I haven’t really gotten a strong impression from the other heroines yet apart from Kamome’s theme, but that’s hard to say considering I didn’t really bothered on making sense of the dialogues. Still, who thought introducing Shiroha in the pool wearing a swimsuit is a good idea?!?!?
More importantly, awwww yissssss I’m liking the comedy trio a lot. I like the shirtless dude in particular mostly for the manservice
Ryouichi’s shirtless joke is really funny. True, I also havent impressed with the heroines. But demo it quite promising. @BlackHayate02
I just finished the demo this morning, and I would say it about met my expectations. It’s about at the level I would expect for the prologue of a game like this: the comedy was mostly on point, the characters were likable, and there were hints of drama to come. There were just enough questions raised that I left wanting more, which I suppose is the whole point of a trial version.
I can only assume that the heroines haven’t shown their true colors yet, but so far, my ranking would be something like Tsumugi>Kamome>Shiroha>Ao. Not that I dislike any of them, though.
As a side note, I really liked the running gag based off of the first choice you make. It was dumb, but I found myself smiling every time a character brought it up.
I’d like it more if it wasn’t for the 36 achievements related to it.
This is an issue. It was the most annoying thing about 1st beat, and I was really hoping they’d hold back this time.
I don’t think the trial changed my opinion of the heroines. They’ve been marketed to hell and I follow all of that stuff manically. Nomiki and the bros were more the highlight. Writing-wise, the welcome party was my favorite scene. The ping pong was a lot more fair and rewarding than batting practice.
My biggest problem was the exposition and foreshadowing. It’s all very immediate and in-your-face; it’s a slog. Obviously can’t say if all the foreshadowing will turn out as I think, but if it does then the game is just Kanon in summer. That would be less than ideal. They’ll also frequently say things twice in quick succession making it very repetitive.
Finally, Hairi is a super weird protagonist. In his head, he constantly gets stuck in depressing thoughts. I think he empathizes with broken inanimate objects 3 times in the first day alone.
Kyouko: I’m sorry the room’s so dusty. It was a storage for a long time.
Hairi: “It’s okay. It matches my mental state.”
Christ! He says shit like this constantly. But then he’s super outward and goes along with like every joke; he’s barely sarcastic at all. A group of kids grab his shirt as it’s drying. They say it’s a treasure and he its guardian, and Hairi just gets in character and plays with them.
First impressions: I just started the demo, but yeah I see the impressions of Kanon right away. Though I get a Clannad feel because of the background. I do wish they opened differently, it feels not only repetitive but too on the nose. I like finding these bits scattered than all up front. At least in Kanon, it feels more mysterious. But I’m glad there wasn’t that huge speech like in Rewrite.
Story: I didn’t play Angel Beats, but this is really dynamic, all the close truck ins and outs, the map and the movements of characters on screen. I’m glad they have opted for something like this with all the technology out now. I feel like they really want you to be immersed in this world/island and that’s why the setup is so focused. From what I gather from the story, it really important and without having the connection the rest of the story won’t connect. That’s just me making a guess in that regard. For me, the lack of heroine interaction from the start was a bit of a let down.
Hairi: I’m not fluent enough to grasp all of Hairi’s thoughts, but I hope that with his thoughts being such a downer that we get a huge contrast as we go. I feel like the outward part feels like he actually isn’t expressing his full self to others. I guess we will see his progression as we go along.
Art: The comments about the art. I can see what was said about Umi, her CG looks unfinished tbh. Her sprite looks different again from her original art too. I feel like Na-ga changed style after the initial art perhaps? The rest of the art is good I just miss Itaru 
I do like the new styles they have grown on me.
Music: Most is pretty standard for me really enjoyable, but the best highlights for me are Ao’s theme and the guitar track when Miki comes in.
Shiroha- I was expecting something a bit more memorable for her theme. It’s nice, but I wanted something with more power to it. She seems cute a bit like Tenshi, but a tad more outgoing. I feel like she will grow on me 
Ao: I like her theme it’s way more memorable than Shiroha’s. She’s pretty great so far. She loudness reminds me a tad like Kyou, but a much sweeter person. Small art note, I can’t fathom why they didn’t give stronger silhouettes there is this annoying tangent I’m seeing where her elbow lines up with her shirt. Who thought that was okay? That whole area there is just …
That asides. I look forward to her route. I love Inari <3
Tsumugi: Her theme is nice. Seems like the more standard Key like heroine of the bunch. She had this abrupt kind of sadness behind her upon the first meeting, which is nice since she seems no so one dimensional. Love her mugyuu though. I hope to see more of her to get a better impression.
Kamome: Her theme is alright, nothing too standout for me. Her character appeals to me starting with her design and her story , plus her attitude is super fun. Something about her is really different and I’m pumped for her route.
Side cast: They are all awesome so far. They really bring out the comedy and are really likable reminds me of LB Ryoichi is fantastic he’d be good friend’s with Masato I imagine XD Miki is great too so much snark! Ping pong looks like it will be a great addition :3 and enzen adds some spark to it
Lastly… Heck ya my birthday!!! Other than Kotori’s birthday, I believe it is a first???
Having read through just the first day of the demo(and first morning), there’s something about this VN that really draws me in. After a few days, it clicked to me just why it appeals to me so much: this is the first time since CLANNAD that we’re given a somber undertone to a VN. The first time in over 10 years that the main character really truly feels alone.
Little Busters started of with Riki and his gang of friends which was a great change of pace at the time. Angel Beats also had an immense cast introduced from episode 1. And while Rewrite didn’t have this group from the get-go, Kotarou himself seemed like the extrovert; the class clown, if you will. And now we have Hairi, the self-deprecating drama queen, brought on this island barely knowing anyone. And even then, the island is practically empty. For the first day or so, he travels the island completely alone, which is different from Kanon and CLANNAD which gave you Nayuki and Sunohara from the get-go.
Needless to say, this is something I really like in VNs, and while of course I don’t expect it to be like this in the entire VN (or demo, for that matter), there will always be this somber undertone that will be behind every joke and every smile that just pulls you back into the reality of Hairi’s loneliness.
Sup I’m down for that where do I download the trial.
The first impression: normal.
Though I enjoyed it overall including the mini-game, it didn’t make me want to play more. If it were not a key work, I won’t buy. Probably, key games tend not to be interesting in the beginning because they utilize emotional development with the characters; at first, we sometimes think the game is boring but after the play, we feel strong attachments to the characters. Therefore short playthrough might not be strong enough. For example I love Rewrite but I remember in the Taikenban I also didn’t have any memorable impression.
Anyway, I enjoyed the ping-pong game. It is interesting the game is more suitable for tablet. They might think of releasing in iOS/Android soon.
Some scenes implied time leap, there are always some hidden structures in key games and maybe that’s somehow related to this scene.
by the way, in the KSL live it is announced 水谷瑠奈(Mizutani Luna) will join as a voice atress in summer pockets.
It is also announced that a ED is sung by 鈴木このみ(Suzuki Konomi)
Cool, one of Kamome’s childhood friends maybe. The left one if so: you wouldn’t name a ninja Megumi.
With the localization survey and me watching this guy playing the trial, I’ve been thinking of the idea of Hot Pockets being localized. If I were VA, I would almost certainly keep the lid on that one for a while. First of all, I’m just worried about their economy both internationally and on homefield. Secondly, I have concerns regarding this story in particular.
I don’t have much in the way of numbers to go on, but Rewrite seemed to do fine in sales according to Wikipedia. That means Key is on their seventh year of not doing much of anything. I can’t imagine them having the greatest of times, so something drastic will happen if Hot Pockets doesn’t do really well. And that’s in terms of Japan! We can’t say if the steam releases have actually been successful, and they supposedly have two more going currently. I think the game should show results in Japan before they even consider bringing it here.
Now if it does prove profitable in Japan, we get to my second issue with the game in that I think it may be too inherently Japanese to appeal to a western audience, and localization may prove difficult.
On a pure text level, this game seems easier than previous titles. The trickiest device I came across was 浸る. It means to be submerged, but it’s used in a literal sense and a metaphorical sense. The literal was when Hairi talks about how being in water makes him sick. The metaphorical–which is way more frequent–is about Hairi doing his depressing monologues. You’d probably have to do something with the phrase “sunk in thought” to make this work in English. Again, that’s not too bad considering other bullshit that’s been translated before. What concerns me much more are the themes of the story.
Key have gone on endlessly about how the story is about nostalgia and summer memories, and their aim seems to be a romanticised, nostalgic look on this ideal Japanese summer vacation. Lots of works aim to evoke nostalgia; we have the 80’s nerd nostalgia in Stranger Things, and the 70’s-80’s anime nostalgia in Megalo Box. Anyone can feel nostalgic, but the things that make us feel it will vary greatly. About that let’s play I mentioned, that guy constantly brings up personal experiences relating to what the text is talking about. I can’t do that. The best I can do is think of anime tropes and google references. Obviously all key works are by and for Japanese people, but themes of love, family, and friendship are universal; nostalgia is much more narrow. I could be worrying for nothing, but it will come down to how well the story works if someone isn’t captured by the atmosphere.
They updated the gallery with more CGs and some screenshots
http://key.visualarts.gr.jp/summer/gallery.html
Shizuku: “Actually Tsumugi overslept, so we came to gymnastics like this.”
Five sequel confirmed!
Ao: “Why not take the ferry over to the mainland?”
Ao: “Think we should wrap up early tonight?”
Ao: “Also, we’re not a couple yet!”
Kamome: “I’ll be defiled!”
Kamome: “We might end up camping outside.”
But I had been surrounded!
So…What should I do?
—Make an offering
—Draw a fortune
Umi: “One could never explain Shimamon fighting with mere words.”
Hairi: “Huh? Let me think…”
—Onii-chan
—Papa
—Lolicon
—Master
—Swine
I think the idea here is that he’s picking what Umi should call him. You did that in 1st beat with Yui too. Umi very much feels like the next step for Kai’s little sister characters after Airi and Yui.
Yo I can get best girl to call me Swine? On a regular basis?
I take back most of what I said this might be the best game.
Really looking forward to whatever scenes will Inari show up in. I don’t know but I’m amused by the fact that a fairly popular anison singer is voicing a Key mascot (and that’s ignoring the fact that said singer happens to be one of my favorites).
Now that the game has been released, this thread will be closed! Please continue the conversation in our General Discussion topic!
