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Review of narcissu

Subjectnarcissu
ByHelpfulness: 23
Vote: 10
bigguy4u on 2020-09-25
ReviewI recall once a line by Thomas Bernhard that everything is ridiculous when one thinks of death. I forgot exactly how he articulates the idea but it more or less expressed how much changes when one is confronted with the specter of illness and mortality. What truly matters and what can anyone outside understand about lives developed in the face of death, year after year?

I can’t help but think the same whenever I read Narcissu. At its core, it is extremely minimalistic and short, having few of the accoutrements of most other VNs. A cast of two, few backgrounds and CGs, and an anemic playtime for anyone used to the marathon lengths and production values from the likes of Fate/Stay Night or Muv Luv. But the sparse content does little to detract from the VN itself, a simple blank screen as a melancholic piano piece plays in the background can be all it takes to set the stage. In many regards, this minimalism allows for a concise focus on the simple but poignant center of the VN, two terminally ill patients and what it is that matters, that anything matters, alone on the precipice of death.

The narrative itself is fittingly simple for such a minimalistic work, two terminally ill patients steal a car on their way to a place away from either the hospital or home, a death away from the hospital or home. Anyone who visits the Steam page can find a succinct summary, that

This is a story of so many things.
But most of all ...
This is the story
of a girl whose heart was standing still
and a boy whose breath was being stolen away,
both of whom die.


There is only one inexorable conclusion. But knowing the events themselves says nothing about the VN, it is not in the story itself, the strict turn of events, which captivates interest, it is how it conveys the gravitas of death. Mortality and illness rob the two protagonists of any normal life, it makes even the smallest, trivial actions a bare struggle during their journey. But there is no melodramatic self-pity, no (excessive) soliloquys, no hopeless surrender, it doesn’t boldly defy fate, but it does at least stands upright in its resignation. For a VN so occupied with death, it expresses the greatest appreciation for the smallest, most insignificant moments that make up life.

Perhaps not for everyone, but given its short length it is certainly worth the time commitment for anyone with a remote interest.
23 points