Visual Novel Review: Rhyme or Reason
7/19/2014Hi everyone! Sorry I hadn't been able to go online for so long. -___- Another storm has ravaged my country, and there have been so many blackouts lately. Plus, I'm moving away to another city, so... yeah, haha, no internet there yet. I'm not moving permanently though, it's just for college. Hahaha. Ahem, anyway...
Rhyme or Reason is a free romantic comedy NaNoRenO 2014 visual novel.
It's made by Ludeshka, the same person who made Hierofania. Which is actually one of the main reasons why I downloaded this game. Hahaha. As you know, I was really impressed with that visual novel, so...
Ahem. Ludeshka did warn us about how different Rhyme or Reason is compared to Hierofania, still, I'm telling you readers, this visual novel didn't disappoint me at all with my expectations. :)
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Rhyme decides to go on a vacation to Silver Shore where her best friend, Sarah, lives with her family. The latter owns a cafe where she also helps out as a waitress. During Sarah's shifts at the cafe, Rhyme joins a band called Burnt Bridges.
Like with Hierofania, the characters here are just so full of personality. They're just so... alive. So... I'm making another character "review" of sorts.
CHARACTER REVIEW (quite)
RHYME
Rhyme is the protagonist and narrator in this this visual novel. She's unnecessarily shy, especially with her creative skills. Rhyme is the middle sibling, and her older brother is Verse while her little sister is Melody. Well, that's what she says anyway. Peter reads her name as Ma- but he is rudely interrupted. Hahaha. Now I am SO curious what her name is. Ludeshka, must you always put little mysteries in your visual novels?!
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SARAH
Rhyme's best friend. Her family owns a cafe named Merman's Tail in Silver Shore. She's a really nice girl, and a sweet bestie. Haha. You could easily tell how close she and Rhyme is.
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NANCY
A band member of the Burnt Bridges. I think she's the band leader? Hahaha. She recruits people to join her band so that they could play together at gigs. Nancy's a little blunt and a little optimistic. It's a strange combo of personalities to be honest, but I think it just makes her a more well-rounded character.
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PETER
Ah, my favorite character. Hahaha. He's quite weird, like he says so himself, but I still find him so interesting. He and Rhyme actually make a pretty good match if you ask me. They're just... so adorable together, I swear. Hahaha. His personality can be pretty hard to decipher, but he's an awesome person nonetheless. I was totally squealing at his little moments with Rhyme. :) Even though I'm still wondering what his backstory really is, I think I won't pry anymore. Haha, as Rhyme, I like him a lot, and that's what's really important.
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BRIAN
The new guitarist that Nancy recruits instead of Rhyme. Sort of blunt, like Nancy. I personally think that he and Nancy match each other pretty well. Too bad they got into a fight in Nancy's route. But oh well. Haha.
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CANDACE
Not sure if her name is Candace or Candles. Hahaha. Her name box says Candace, but throughout the whole visual novel she is referred to as Candles. Sarah says that her real name is Candace, but... oh gosh, Rhyme makes it so confusing. Hahaha. Anyway, Candance is the under-appreciated waitress at Merman's Tail. And by under-appreciated, I mean that she doesn't get much screen time. I'm still pretty curious about her past with Nancy though.
+++LIKES+++
+ This is actually sort of like a music-centric game, haha, so it's not a surprise that I was duly impressed with the music used. I'm not sure who did the music though, since Ludeshka didn't list down the full credits in the game page, though according to the credits they seem like free music tracks. Oh! And Ludeshka did have musescore, so, yeah. Haha. Anyway, I absolutely loved listening to the music! :) This game proves how music can be such an important aspect of a visual novel.
+ The story is just so... beautiful. <3 I don't want to do any more comparing here, hahaha, but like Hierofania, I just absolutely loved it. :") Told you Ludeshka doesn't disappoint. Hahaha. This visual novel is like... so gorgeous story-wise. =)
+ Please, let me use up one "like" for Peter's ending scene, ending number 6. There are actually six endings in this game, and I got numbers 2, 4, 5, and 6, which is my favorite. :) I just love that scene between Rhyme and Peter! I think I haven't squealed and screamed "Oh my god!" like this at a visual novel ever since A2 and A Troll's Fairy Tale. :) That ending was just so freakin' awesome and adorable! Hahahaha. I wish my own readers could have this same reaction of mine while playing my visual novels. :)
---DISLIKES---
- The textbox and the font don't go well with each other. -___- It was a little bit hard to read, to be perfectly honest. Maybe it would have looked better if the text goes inside the frame and not over it? I mean, with the clefs and notes and everything, the text became a little bit hard to read. Well, not exactly difficult, just a bit... eh.
- The obvious mismatch of sprite art style. Haha, the art is still as unique and beautiful as ever, it's just that... sometimes they just look like they don't belong together in the same visual novel.
- Transitions were a bit off. It was like they were too fast and too snappy. And also, sometimes expression changes made the characters go a little bit upwards or downwards, or even sidewards. I'm just... not used to sprites changing positions with the expressions like that. I think it's because... well, perhaps Ludeshka did the sprites individually and not by layers? I don't really know, haha, it just seemed that way to me.
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| Dear beloved readers. |
Download this game here~
P.S. Did you guys know there's gonna be a Hierofania 2?! Omg right? Hahaha, I hope there's also a Rhyme or Reason 2! =)
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Hi! Just wanted to say that I really appreciate your blog. It has helped me find many great games! Thank you so much! Keep up the great work. (:
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