Review of Sanoba Witch
| Subject | Sanoba Witch Sabbat of the Witch - 18+ Patch |
| By | Helpfulness: 0 Vote: 9zeldinor on 2022-01-24 |
| Review | First off, I really enjoyed this game. For various reasons, it really nailed what I wanted from a visual novel right now. Overall the art and music are amazing, and the UI, while nothing major, definitely made the whole experience that much more polished. Most of my review, though, is about the routes themselves, as that's what I find most important in these games, specifically breaking them down into how they handled the plot, how they handled the romance, and how the romance and the plot blended together. I generally won't mention h-scenes unless there was something noteworthy; overall, I thought they were really good. I played it loosely based on the order recommended in another review with some tweaks, specifically Meguru, then Tsumugi, then Touko, then (most of) Wakana, and finally Nene. I don't think it makes a huge difference, but I would definitely save Nene's for last. I might switch Meguru's and Tsumugi's routes, for reasons I'll specify below, but I enjoyed the way I played it just fine. Common route: This was probably one of my favorite common routes I've read recently. It definitely did a good job establishing the setting, and it ended on a high note without feeling like it ended the story, allowing each route to pick up where it left off. It did, however, feel unbalanced towards certain heroines, but I'll get into that more below in the routes affected by that. Meguru: Her route was very sweet, and solid. It's not for nothing that Meguru is one of the fan-favorite characters; she is absolutely adorable. The romance felt like it grew naturally, and it felt like the plot naturally grew out of that. I only have a couple of complaints, and even those are so small as to be more nitpicks than complaints. First, in the scenes leading up to the end of the common route, Meguru didn't have a particularly active role in the plot, so there was a small hiccup in the transition from the common route to her route, but overall, Meguru was quite active in the common route so that seemed a small thing. The second is related to the ending; the whole thing with Shuuji still having a hole in his heart until he used his power to crystalize his feelings to hand to Meguru. It was definitely very sweet, to be sure, but it felt superfluous, like they needed a big thing to end on and made something up on the spot. Mostly this is because at least Wakana's and part 1 of Nene's routes both should have had similar issues in their conclusion if this was actually an issue, and yet it never came up. Even that's a nitpick, though; the scene was still sweet. Romance: 9.5 Plot: 8 romance/plot blend: 9.5 Tsumugi: While I definitely enjoyed Tsumugi's route, I felt unsatisfied with it, and it took me a while to figure out why. I think there are multiple reasons; first, the romance felt like it jump-started out of nowhere (or, at least, Shuuji's feelings for her did), which I think is because Tsusmugi had very little sense of presence in the main route. Even during her introductory arc, the focus was just as much (if not more) on Nene, and all the choices you make to pick Tsumugi never mention her by name. This may be fridge brilliance; she isn't the kind of girl who appreciates the spotlight. But I do think it made it harder to connect with her as a reader. that said, I did think the transition from the common route to her route, where Shuuji goes of to be alone at the party, and they meet and talk and Shuuji helps her wear a temporary Halloween costume, was very well done, and probably should have mitigated most of the. The second reason is the bigger one. The route is Tsumugi's; the romance is Tsumugi's; but the plot? The plot belongs to Akagi, Tsumugi's Alp. As a result, while the romance is a factor in the plot, it feels more like the plot and the romance are woven together a bit awkwardly rather than blended together. Additionally, Akagi gets on my nerves. It feels like it takes her too long to figure out why everyone is upset with her, and it also feels like everyone is just a little too quick to forgive her, I think? Something about the whole situation with her left a bad taste in my mouth. That said, learning about that side of the world in the game was very cool. The third thing is a couple of inter-related minor nitpicks. tsumugi's wish was underwhelming, especially given the hype her cost set it up to be. Then, that wish hyped up the girly dress Tsumugi wanted for herself, and... well, it wasn't bad, just way more reserved and underwhelming than I expected. Kind of feels like a metaphor for my take on the route as a whole. Romance: 7 Plot: 7 Blend: 6 I would consider playing this one before Meguru only because Meguru's plot focuses on Shuuji overcoming his own issues, and in the middle of Tsumugi's arc there are some scenes that offer more insight into how he developed the whole in his heart, and those give more context and weight to the feelings he has for Meguru. I think the main route does a fine enough job of establishing that, however, so it would be a minor difference at best. Touko: She, I think, suffered a lot more from her lack of presence in the common route than Tsumugi, even. It was hard to believe in the why and how they fell for each other at first. That said, I think the biggest problem for the firs 2/3 of the route is the way they try to make Touko feel both like the teasing onee-san archetype, and yet naive and inexperienced about sex. This is likely intentional, however, given the fact that her emotions are literally sealed away, and provide buildup for later. Still, it made it hard to get through the first part. The route's saving grace comes after the big reveal. Touko's embarrassment after she snaps out of the coma, emotions restored, and remembers every single thing she's done in the route so far, is utterly adorable, and probably my favorite scene in the whole game. I also like the way the romance literally drives the plot - the happier she is pre-coma, the more she forgets. I'd recommend the route for that scene alone, and it might even be worth spoiling yourself so you can watch what happens in advance; it might make the foreshadowing and the buildup to that moment even better, making the first part of the route more palatable, too. Also, the H-scenes in this route seemed especially good to me, especially the one just after the reveal. Romance: 7 Plot: 8 Blend: 9.5 Wakana: The bonus route; what more can I say? I subconsciously friend-zoned her as soon as she showed up in the common route, which made it a bit difficult to play her route and take it seriously. I do recommend playing at least past the Halloween party before Nene's route, however. Nene: It lives up to the hype. What more can I say? Definitely do it last; not just because it's longer, or the best, or whatever, and thus spoil the experience of the others; rather, I feel having read the others before going in added to my experience in her route. Maybe it's because I've been writing too long, but I really have nothing else to say. Ah, except her H-scenes also enticed me the most of anyone's; perhaps it's that unique blend of utter embarrassment and desperate arousal that she always has? I dunno. But I do think Nene and Shuuji make the best couple, and the plot has all the sweetness of Meguru's, while being as deep and poignant as anything else I've read recently. Romance 9.5 (because I don't believe in 10s) Plot 9 Blend 9.5 |
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