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Review of H2O -FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND-

SubjectH2O -FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND-
H2O √ after and another Complete story Edition
ByHelpfulness: 4
Vote: 8
funnerific on 2020-09-12 last updated on 2020-09-13
Review(Originally posted on Fuwanovel)

An unsettling mix of carefree comedy and harsh story, but I loved it anyway. The plot, characters, and music were pretty nice (the ED song is damn good), but probably the best thing about this VN is the art. I picked it because I liked how Ikikoi did some things like the protagonist with a face in many CGs and while I certainly was disappointed on that front, I still loved it. Dem >15 CGs with sunset in the background. the atmosphere.

Hate the added routes (Yui route, anyway. Haven't read the trap route) and all those after/side stories, though. It's really too bad in the complete edition Yui route is mandatory for unlocking the last route, as she is completely unforgivable, and the new protagonist, Yui's brother who has a parallel story in this route, was a hetare (and you know that part where Yui came to tell him she's going to be a bully and he didn't even try stopping her even though he wanted her to be different?) but Setsuna was something else. Such a great heroine is wasted on Kouichi. She's so cool she even has a comical moment in her H-scene (~~な、なんとぉ~~よよよ).

In those after stories the game abuses the hell out of the "Easily forgiven" trope. I could never forgive Yui for what she did and seeing her get along with Hayami felt plain wrong. What the hell was that yuri NTR scene? Protag doesn't even see it as cheating, because hey, sex between women isn't real sex apparently (Hayami doesn't feel bad about it either). There's also a group scene with Hayami and Hinata in the latter's after story. (In short: very bad H) Meanwhile in Otoha After the protag just keeps dodging her advances for no reason. Perhaps they didn't want to invest in more than 1 H for an apparently unpopular heroine (the others get lots of scenes).

A couple words about the anime. I watched 2 episodes and was disappointed with how some things were handled/changed, read the synopsis and saw the plot was entirely different. So if you've seen the anime, don't let it stop you from playing this.

That ED song (lots of in-game CGs, beware!). Love it.

If you want my advice, just read the main game and ignore after/side stories, unless tasteless H doesn't bother you. And pretend Yui route doesn't exist.
4 points
#1 by kaazeh
2020-09-23 at 19:59
< report >I've completed Hayami's route a moment ago and I have a question: are the other routes necessary for the story? Because I didn't really like the other two heroines and also they would be hard to play knowing the situation of Hayami.
#2 by funnerific
2020-09-23 at 20:05
< report >#1
They don't involve Hayami, but I do suggest you at least play Otoha route as it's, in a way, the true end. I can certainly relate to finding it hard not to choose Hayami though.Last modified on 2020-09-23 at 20:06
#3 by kaazeh
2020-09-23 at 21:30
< report >Ok, thank you. I keep playing and i think I'll avoid(or wait for the moment)after stories since I played a bit of "Friend's Ending" of Hayami and it's kinda tedious.Last modified on 2020-09-23 at 21:33
#4Post deleted.
#5 by fallenguru
2021-08-02 at 14:38
< report >Hmm, does that mean you'd recommend getting the original H2O and Root After (separately) to someone for whom the main draw is "early SakuUta characters & content", or is the Complete story Edition still the release of choice?
#6 by funnerific
2021-08-02 at 14:52
< report >Well, the complete edition simply integrates Root After into the main game so you don't have to play two different ones.
#7 by fallenguru
2021-08-02 at 15:07
< report >That was quick! Thanks. I guess I wasn't quite sure how to interpret "just read the main game".

I got the impression that the CsE wasn't just a bundle, but really integrates the extra content, and when some of that extra content is non-canon (or simply bad enough that it should be skipped) integration can sometimes go deep enough that it impacts the original negatively even if you skip the offending bits, assuming it lets you do that easily.
#8 by funnerific
2021-08-02 at 16:27
< report >It does. Originally there are 3 routes and the third one is not only meant to be played last, but unlocked after doing the first two. With the complete edition, you are forced to read Yui route as well before that last one is unlocked. Which is a problem for me, because I really hated it, as stated above.

By "main game" I meant "not after stories or side stories"Last modified on 2021-08-02 at 16:31
#9 by fallenguru
2021-08-02 at 17:43
< report >Roger that! I guess I'll just have to live with that, though. Ctrl-ing through one route sounds less hassle than ctrl-ing through the duplicated content in Root After, and besides, the Yui route is the one SCA-DI (allegedly) wrote (though apparently not the one that's connected to SakuUta), so I'll probably give it a chance at least, anyway.
#10 by ryu123
2021-11-26 at 16:08
< report >so does that mean the anime is completely different from the visual novel?
#11 by Vnquirer
2022-02-08 at 18:01
< report >The anime is 80 to 90% different from the visual novel. Do yourself a favor and skip the anime (or play the VN first) for a more coherent plot/story.
#12 by funnerific
2022-02-09 at 12:49
< report >My review already has the answer to #10's question, idk why he asked.
#13Post deleted.