Lord Kresnik

I've been sitting here for quite some time, trying to put down some semblance of a review to encourage others to pick this visual novel up and give it a read. However, I am unable to. Mere words fail to convey the magnificence and glory of this masterpiece. You must experience this for yourself to even begin to comprehend how hollow my review is in comparison to the real thing. I will be breaking down most of the elements of the visual novel below, hoping that it can give you a glimpse at its beauty, and make you want to give this a try. [THIS REVIEW CONTAINS NO SPOILERS, ONLY REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD READ THIS VISUAL NOVEL] Plot: Beautifully written. The settings, the pacing and the twists, all will keep you absorbed till the very end. Some might find the pacing uneven, and some might find that it drags on for too long. It seemed that way to me too, but by the end i was only left wanting for more. For comparison, the feel of the stories is slightly comparable to those of Shakespeare, though the delivery does not feel nearly as dated. The themes presented are also surprisingly mature. I must say that this visual novel is not for those looking for some slapstick comedy or immature flings, but for those looking for a mature story filled with tragedy and blooming romance. Characters: By far, the best and the most memorable part of the visual novel. It was shocking to me how frighteningly human the characters can be. The way they drive the plot forwards with their flawed but unique personalities is a spectacle to behold. The relationships between the characters are fleshed out extremely well. Personal emotions like jealousy, distrust and hate are displayed explicitly. Characters develop wonderfully throughout their stories. Music: Ah, the music of Fata Morgana. Some tracks are unorthodox, some are pulse quickening, and some are simply tearjerkers. The music fits oh so well for the themes of this game. Every scene, every scenario and every location is accompanied by a track that brings out the atmosphere of that particular instance unimaginably well. It gives the visual novel the feel it should have. Be it that of an abandoned medieval mansion in the 11th century, that of a scenery by the seaside in the 18th century or that of a smoking room in the 19th century, it has the perfect track accompanying it. The composers each bring in their unique flavour of music to the visual novel, The haunting chants of the choir, the bittersweet, romantic vocals of Gao, the heartstring-pulling and atmospheric tracks of Mellok'n and Yusuke Tsutsumi, and the jazzy tunes of Takaki Moriya. While some might find the tracks peculiar at the beginning, they will slowly grow accustomed to it and learn to appreciate its beauty. Art: This is what caught my eye before anything else did. The art is unlike anything you might expect from a Japanese visual novel. I find it perfect for the visual novel, and to my liking. If you read the PC version, you'll find that the backgrounds are bit abstract and dated, but I rather liked this, as I value the story overall more than the background, and I felt that the background did its job pretty well. Also, in the PC version, the resolution is not fully HD. This did not affect my experience at all, but some might want to take note of it. The console version has better background art and is fully in HD.

One of the best jrpgs to ever exist The mechanics were such a huge step up from its predecessors Incredible game with an incredible story, well-worth the 80+ hours needed to beat the game