the visual novel database

Report an issue on this page.

Review of HEAVEN BURNS RED

SubjectHEAVEN BURNS RED
ByHelpfulness: 0
Vote: 2
artikash on 2022-08-10 last updated on 2022-08-17
ReviewI've only read the first chapter. I felt like I'd seen enough to drop, it was just awful. The plot, setting, and characters are nonsensical, the same jokes are used 500 times, the pacing is quite bad, and the gameplay is bog standard turn based RPG. Outside of the great production value, I don't think there's a single thing that I can commend Heaven Burns Red on.
0 points
#1 by HataVNI
2022-08-10 at 08:46
< report >Music must be insanely good tho
#2 by kiru
2022-08-10 at 09:06
< report >It's a Key novel through and through, and the best Key did in a long time. If you don't like Maeda though, well yeah. Not much else is there. But Maeda is there in full force.
The event that launched today? Once again, pure Maeda. I've bawled in the majority of these, just as much as I laughed.
#3 by artikash
2022-08-10 at 18:21
< report >Yeah maybe I just hate Maeda's writing. I've never played a VN he wrote, but I did like Charlotte and really like Rewrite so was hopeful.
#4 by yunari-ah419
2022-08-11 at 00:45
< report >While he did write Charlotte, somebody else wrote the script for Rewrite anime(Aoshima Takashi). Maeda only composed for that one.
It's okay to dislike his style(I do too) and you should probably not bother with his VN work. But if you liked Charlotte you can try other Key animes.Last modified on 2022-08-11 at 00:45
#5 by kiru
2022-08-11 at 05:11
< report >Rewrite isn't Maeda, and Charlotte is one of the many not very successful anime only projects. They are all too short for Maeda to shine. This guy writes journeys.
I can understand why chapter 1 of HBR isn't immediately appealing, but it does a whole lot regardless. You follow a journey of a cast that starts slowly but this is the very essence of what makes Key Key, or rather what makes Maeda Maeda. Key means more than Maeda nowadays. The anime only stuff just went right to the drama which isn't really working.

When people talk Maeda, they mean Little Busters / Clannad, most of the time. Mind you those also have a lot of parts that suck because Maeda didn't write them. There's a lot of good stuff in HBR when it comes to the story and attention to detail with it. Unfortunately the same really can't be said about the gameplay.


edit: The problem with incomplete works is that reviews don't really make much sense. Only chapter 4 really shows where this game is heading, so every opinion until then is very incomplete. As a journey a lot of things can be appreciated much more in retrospect. As things change and you realize not everything is how it looks like, past events get put into a different light. And who knows where the journey still goes. In 2 years we might be once again somewhere entirely different and look back at chapter 4 first part with nostalgia.
Not to say you should never review like this. But it IS a little like someone played half of common of a regular VN and then reviews it with a 2/10. Your opinion is valid, but is the review? I'm not sure. Does it really help anyone.Last modified on 2022-08-11 at 05:17
#6 by diabloryuzaki
2022-08-11 at 08:34
< report >I can understand your feelings, I like hbr because the music is great but the story pace in early part is too high

If it is created as a vn in the first, maybe I can accept it but sadly hbr is mobage so you will find less descriptive text

The joke is funny but give too many joke is nonsense, hbr do it wrong
#7 by pure-spirit
2023-05-27 at 01:41
< report >Is Heaven Burns Red a proper VN? Or is it borderline?Last modified on 2023-05-27 at 01:51
#8 by diabloryuzaki
2023-05-27 at 01:56
< report >#7 i believe it is a vn, it is just you can't read more story if you can't clear battle same like eushully etc