First look at Quartett!

Not a review because I haven't finish it yet, but I've covered a lot of ground. Quartett! is the first Littlewitch title to be translated, actually. I've waited for this VN for years, but the translation project kinda dropped off the face of the earth. It was one of the VNs on the top of my list of stuff to play when my Japanese gets at a good enough level (partially because I thought it'd never get translated). It's a bit saddening that it's finally out and my Japanese still isn't at the level to fully enjoy it without looking things up every few lines, but at least I still get to enjoy it.

BUTTDEVASTATED

So, I've spent a majority of yesterday playing through Juni's path. I played a bit today, but since it was the start of the new semester today, I haven't had too much time for it (I'm sure I'll jump right back on when I finish checking blog updates) but I do find it really enjoyable. The artwork is lovely, the music is very nice, and the "comic" feel of it is really interesting. It gives off an overall nice artistic feel to it. 

The plot isn't too heavy or anything (at least not so far). It's just simple pure love story in a nice setting with a nice cast of characters. The main character is Phill, who's talents have granted him notice from a prestigious music school, which he joins in and fills in the open slot of a quartet. Of course, the quartet just happens to be 3 girls and him (guess who the heroines are). They go on to practice for a big contest, time progresses and the MC gets to know the girls, gradual romance ensues, plot developments for different characters, you know the drill.

I'll say.

What's interesting about Quartett! is that since it's more of a comic than a novel, it's essentially tons of different CGs cropped into comic panels, which means there's tons of nice artwork. Also, because it's more of a comic, there are certain scenes that simply wouldn't work right in normal VN format. It just flows so well, it's very refreshing.

Also, I simply love the skip function in this, I can start from the beginning and skip really fast through things I've previously read. It really zooms through to the point where you're up to a new decision split within a few seconds of holding skip. But what if you want to  just skim through to find a particular scene? You don't want it skipping that fast, do you? Well, they have an answer to this too! Auto-read has several speed setting, and on the fastest setting it's essentially "skip" mode speed of most other VNs. Why can't more VNs have this? I hate having to hold skip for a full 10 minutes to get to the part I want, I want to SKIP. Oh, and the sound effects for the menu are nice as well. There's no way for me to show you how nice the skip function is, you just have to see for yourself.

Are you frustrated?

All in all, it's really enjoyable so far. It's nothing too spectacular yet, don't expect a grand masterpiece. It's something warm and lighthearted, and it breaks away from traditional VNs in a good way. Going to keep reading a bit later, maybe even finish Juni's path.

~ Kirari ミ★