Greetings to all! Today I'm reviewing the Free-to-Play slice-of-life GxB Visual Novel from TeaCup Production, "(P)lanets- the Life of Normalcy has Ended," also known as "(P)lanets." I'll be critiquing this Visual Novel based on it's story, characters, art, sound, and gameplay. Let's get to it!
Story: This synopsis TeaCup Production provides reads,
"Marin was a normal girl, until one day she fell down the staircase at school. She had a concussion, and when she awoke in the nurse's room, something had changed. She could hear the thoughts of everyone around her! What was going on...?
It was then a mysterious boy appeared before her. “Come with me, where there are others like you.”
Like that, Marin's days at Planets began.
Perhaps she will find love through the chaos of a new and strange school?"
Now, here's what I thought of the story: first of all, the whole psychic ordeal makes a good supernatural twist on the typical slice-of-life genre. The story is a real emotional roller coaster through each of the five routes (I mean this positively). The story has a good balance of comedy and drama, and takes into account many realistic dilemmas to psychic abilities. I must applaud because this game isn't entirely otome fairytale doki-doki fluff (There is just enough though).
Alas... I didn't have one problem, but i suppose that will be addressed between my character and gameplay critiques.
Characters: This visual novel rotates around its protagonist, Marin. She isn't anything too remarkable, but her lack of an overbearing presence makes the game more enjoyable. However, I really don't like her lack of motivation to do well in her psychic endeavors- it really sucks all of the fun and intrigue from the whole supernatural scenario. Despite that, the cast of (P)lanets is nothing to scoff at! In addition to the heroine, there are six other big roles, three(?) of which are romancable males. While the characters are as stereotyped as they come, I couldn't adore them more. Each character reveals many twists and are very real people.
Art: Fantastic! The characters sprites are beautiful and so full of life in (P)lanets. The visual animations such as the spinning stars are quite cute as well. This Visual novel also has some major boasting rights, because it features over a whopping thirty stunning CGs. The backgrounds are your typical bgs for the slice-of-life genre, but they fit the game and support the story instead of detracting from it.
Sound: Cheery.Fluffy.Zany.Rainbows. EVERYWHERE!!! The soundtrack for (P)lanets has got me throwing up glitter and rainbows while I shed lemonade tears (ocular citrus ouchies?) of both laughter and sorrow! Now, the soundtrack does contain more than happy upbeat music, but the dramatic compositions are so... nonexistent when compared to the latter. Perhaps this is not only because there are more cheery pieces (that much makes sense for this Visual novel), but also because those contrasting are merely inferior compositions. Not to say the dramatic pieces are bad,- they are quite satisfactory in themselves- but when paired off with the upbeat pieces, there is an evident lack of presence and identity for the dramatic scores. It is my opinion that, either the dramatic scores need to step it up a notch, or the cheery pieces need to take it down- perhaps both actions would be the ideal solution.
Now, while I seem to hate the soundtrack of the game by the above description, it is actually pretty cute, fitting, and tolerable- provided that you don't go on a binge play session to unlock all five endings at once like I did. For a free-to-play visual novel I can't be so harsh. Nevertheless, there's room for some fine tuning and improvement (Haha, tuning... I'm talking about sound...Pun not intended).
Gameplay: The gameplay in (P)lanets is simple, but that's normal for visual novels. I didn't find errors of any kind, and the overall flow was pleasant and right. My only regret (and it's a big one) is that you don't really get to do anything with your psychic powers. (P)lanets easily could've been a stat-raising sim, but even as a VN, there are many different player interactions (Such as puzzles and minigames) that could incorporate and support Marin's new-found abilities. Alas, aside from some comedy and entrance to the psychic academy, her powers are rather useless. She can't read the mind of any of the romancable characters either. Sadly, this game closed off every opportunity for a sequel, but if is ever remade, I'd really like it if at least her telepathy classes were actually delved into:I mean, you feel so removed from the whole class and world because the bg is a empty bleak gray hallway. Take us into telepathy class! Who's the teacher? What are other telepaths like? How does one hone such a skill? etc.
Despite all of that I really, really, REALLY enjoyed (P)lanets. I've played it through and through, and felt so much during it all! I reccomend this to everyone. Kudos TeaCup Production, kudos.
Well ta-ta for now guys! You can download (P)lanets here:http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=11779&hilit=life+normalcy
Play it and let me know what you think~
Until next time,
YourGeekGoddess
Story: This synopsis TeaCup Production provides reads,
"Marin was a normal girl, until one day she fell down the staircase at school. She had a concussion, and when she awoke in the nurse's room, something had changed. She could hear the thoughts of everyone around her! What was going on...?
It was then a mysterious boy appeared before her. “Come with me, where there are others like you.”
Like that, Marin's days at Planets began.
Perhaps she will find love through the chaos of a new and strange school?"
Now, here's what I thought of the story: first of all, the whole psychic ordeal makes a good supernatural twist on the typical slice-of-life genre. The story is a real emotional roller coaster through each of the five routes (I mean this positively). The story has a good balance of comedy and drama, and takes into account many realistic dilemmas to psychic abilities. I must applaud because this game isn't entirely otome fairytale doki-doki fluff (There is just enough though).
Alas... I didn't have one problem, but i suppose that will be addressed between my character and gameplay critiques.
Characters: This visual novel rotates around its protagonist, Marin. She isn't anything too remarkable, but her lack of an overbearing presence makes the game more enjoyable. However, I really don't like her lack of motivation to do well in her psychic endeavors- it really sucks all of the fun and intrigue from the whole supernatural scenario. Despite that, the cast of (P)lanets is nothing to scoff at! In addition to the heroine, there are six other big roles, three(?) of which are romancable males. While the characters are as stereotyped as they come, I couldn't adore them more. Each character reveals many twists and are very real people.
Art: Fantastic! The characters sprites are beautiful and so full of life in (P)lanets. The visual animations such as the spinning stars are quite cute as well. This Visual novel also has some major boasting rights, because it features over a whopping thirty stunning CGs. The backgrounds are your typical bgs for the slice-of-life genre, but they fit the game and support the story instead of detracting from it.
Sound: Cheery.Fluffy.Zany.Rainbows. EVERYWHERE!!! The soundtrack for (P)lanets has got me throwing up glitter and rainbows while I shed lemonade tears (ocular citrus ouchies?) of both laughter and sorrow! Now, the soundtrack does contain more than happy upbeat music, but the dramatic compositions are so... nonexistent when compared to the latter. Perhaps this is not only because there are more cheery pieces (that much makes sense for this Visual novel), but also because those contrasting are merely inferior compositions. Not to say the dramatic pieces are bad,- they are quite satisfactory in themselves- but when paired off with the upbeat pieces, there is an evident lack of presence and identity for the dramatic scores. It is my opinion that, either the dramatic scores need to step it up a notch, or the cheery pieces need to take it down- perhaps both actions would be the ideal solution.
Now, while I seem to hate the soundtrack of the game by the above description, it is actually pretty cute, fitting, and tolerable- provided that you don't go on a binge play session to unlock all five endings at once like I did. For a free-to-play visual novel I can't be so harsh. Nevertheless, there's room for some fine tuning and improvement (Haha, tuning... I'm talking about sound...Pun not intended).
Gameplay: The gameplay in (P)lanets is simple, but that's normal for visual novels. I didn't find errors of any kind, and the overall flow was pleasant and right. My only regret (and it's a big one) is that you don't really get to do anything with your psychic powers. (P)lanets easily could've been a stat-raising sim, but even as a VN, there are many different player interactions (Such as puzzles and minigames) that could incorporate and support Marin's new-found abilities. Alas, aside from some comedy and entrance to the psychic academy, her powers are rather useless. She can't read the mind of any of the romancable characters either. Sadly, this game closed off every opportunity for a sequel, but if is ever remade, I'd really like it if at least her telepathy classes were actually delved into:I mean, you feel so removed from the whole class and world because the bg is a empty bleak gray hallway. Take us into telepathy class! Who's the teacher? What are other telepaths like? How does one hone such a skill? etc.
Despite all of that I really, really, REALLY enjoyed (P)lanets. I've played it through and through, and felt so much during it all! I reccomend this to everyone. Kudos TeaCup Production, kudos.
Well ta-ta for now guys! You can download (P)lanets here:http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=11779&hilit=life+normalcy
Play it and let me know what you think~
Until next time,
YourGeekGoddess
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