You know when you're casually doing something, then suddenly have a wave of nostalgia wash over you? Well, this happened while I was searching for a game to review.
I remembered from years ago (like 2015, but you know what I mean) with my phase of dating sim flash games on websites like Newgrounds and Kongregate. While these were the stepping stones of how I started into visual novels, I always just like looking back to see how my tastes have changed over the years.
There were a group of creators I seemed to go back to, one of them being Amiralo.
With their gorgeous art style and thought provoking narratives, these dating sims were unlike any other I'd play in my lifetime. And with them being so short too, it'd take me till at least last year until I'd find a visual novel that'd make me think as much. And until a few days ago to look at all their work again, digging into the old and seeing how they've developed.
I was mildly surprised by my nostalgia trip. Surprised in a good way that is.
First things first (while doing university work, of course), I replayed their old games.
I started with Saccharine, as that's the one I found first when I was younger. My gosh was that a nostalgia trip! The story was just as compelling as when I was younger. I understood more now than I did too, especially with the full story. I forgot it was the era of cheat codes to get things too, so I was surprised when the order was forced rather than free to spoil. A nice touch for it being more story driven anyway. Even with the wrong answers (there's only two per interaction anyway), you do get to learn more about the characters, which is a nice touch.
I also forgot about the funny sketches they included too as part of certain scenes (mainly for Dominicus and Isador's route). For example, this one :
And I gotta say... I love Branwen. She doesn't take anything from anyone, and is self sufficient. While no ending gives a truly happy ending, I just wish to be in the world to at least help her achieve some closure. As well as this, the love interests were all engaging! I didn't actually dislike any in the sense of character development.
Now a skip to the next game, Reverie.
I'll say it now - It's my favourite out of all 3 for concept wise. A place in your dreams that you can escape to and control. While we don't get to control ours as much, we still see the vibrant colour palette and dream-like state the world is left in.
Psychedelic colour palette ahoy:
A surreal realism that only this artwork can capture in dating sim form. While the layout of the house itself is confusing, the overall playthrough was just phenomenal.
There's more endings in this (good and bad for all, with both adding more lore to the story). While I loved the visuals and the story was decent, what ended up hurting was if I made the wrong choice at certain ends. In White's and Joker's endings, there's a chance to game over before even getting to their designated ends. White was annoying in this sense cause I played through, only to die at the first option (damn you child with attachment issuessss!!)
Thank you cheat codes and me noting where to find them down from years ago!
Onto our final one that I can readily access - Where the Adabanas Grow.
The characters in this are my favourite out of all three. Every single time I play their endings, it gets me right in the heart! Like, come on! It's unfair for me to be liking the bad-good guy!
Even when I played through his route again, I just wanted to cry at the end!! Why you do this!
The happier endings also gave me a sense of fulfilment, as I could see the main character was at least gonna have a happier life. While it was the first one on Newgrounds they posted, it was very well made and included a great feature in it to tell you what to do.
I did look on their Deviantart after I played their games to look at their artwork, and lo and behold... a new game to try! Luckily, this one is on itch.io, so I can get it and download it. While I would briefly go over it here, this is one I haven't even heard of before (simply because it's my first time going back to their page in 4/5 years).
What I will do with that one is a proper review on that specific title, as I'm honestly curious how it'll turn out.
Overall, dating sims/visual novels years ago hit hard, but gave me the appreciation to see them for more than just anime artwork, but engaging characters and creative stories. There's at least one or two more artists that got me fully into this genre, but I'll save that for another day.
-R (03/03/2021)
Links to the games on Newgrounds for y'all - https://amiralo.newgrounds.com/
Link to their Deviantart - https://www.deviantart.com/amiralo/gallery/47994089/games-i-made
Link to the itch.io game - https://sunlit-dreamer.itch.io/whats-your-name
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