[Review] Starry Sky in Spring

Well I've been meaning to do a review on this for quite some time already, but just never really got around to it. I've already uploaded the walkthrough and CG list for this, if you guys wanted to check it out. I was surprised that there was an actual complete english patch for this, as nowadays scanlation groups usually drop the project before its completed or never pick it up. I earnestly set about downloading it, and was pretty excited about it. The art and story line itself sounded pretty promising with its take on star signs and constellations. Just letting you guys know now, I use both Vista and Windows 7, and although I did originally have a lot of trouble running this; I finally figured it out. It does work!!! If you guys would like me to post up a tutorial, please comment down below. All in all though, I wasn't disappointed with this commercial piece.

Storyline 

"The first of the four Starry Sky games starring the characters from the drama CD's of the same name.
Starry Sky takes place at Seigatsu Gakuen, a school which specializes in horoscopes, astronomy and other related topics. The main characters are all based on horoscopes.
Starry Sky Spring features Suzuya Tohzuki (Cancer), Kanata Nanami (Pisces) and Yoh Tomoe (Capricorn)."

You take on the role of Tsukiko Yahisa, the first female student who enrolls at Seigatsu Academy - a former all boys school which specialises in the study of astronomy. She spends her days under the close watch of her childhood friends Kanata Nanami and Suzuya Tohzuki, who often protect her from the male student body. Their carefree days however, are interrupted with the introduction of Yoh Tomoe, a half-French transfer student. To her confusion, he claims to have met her long before and came to pursue her heart and affections. His actions stirs up heated emotions from both Kanata and Suzuya, who have long loved Tsukiko. 


Will his entrance bring forth hidden confessions from them all? Or end up wrecking havoc upon their carefree and innocent days? Just who will win Tsukiko's heart?


All in all, my first impression was that it was incredibly cliche and reminded me of some overused shoujo-esque plot line. In actual fact, I wasn't entirely off from my prediction. The astronomy part of it proved to be rather interesting, and did add a nice touch to the overall theme of the Visual Novel. The story was very heart warming, sweet and cute. There are many moments where you'll find yourself giggling at their antics, or just sighing and thinking 'aw'. 

Originality wise though, then there's really not anything that's going to surprise you. Its shoujo, light and fluffy; filled with sweet humour, and an innocent friendship. There isn't anything 'shocking' or close to 'mysterious' because everything is predictable and practically laid out on the table. Its a high school story of their everyday life, as you embark on it with them. There are many morals of true friendship woven without, and typical events which you follow. 


Overall, the storyline itself is mediocre at best unless you like the cliche kind of high school story. For those out there who want a little more spice in their lives, then you may feel bored at some points. Although it recycles so many used cliches, it manages to pull it off quite well. I did enjoy it and found the scenes and interactions between the characters to be rather heartfelt and conveying some powerful emotions.

Character Development

In this game there are three characters which it centers upon. These are of course, your three bachelors. The most canon of the three endings is Yoh's True End, which I thought was without a doubt, the best (no surprise there). Each of their paths are rather lengthy, spawning between 2-5 hours depending on your reading pace. As a warning though, they do re-use a lot of previous group scenes, which I found rather tedious and dragged on at times. 

YOH TOMOE: The half french, half japanese third year class mate of Tsukiko, who returns to Japan to pursue her affections. Originally cold towards others and claiming to 'only need her', this eventually changes. As a child, he is teased and bullied for his 'strange' appearance, and winds up having no friends. We learn that Tsukiko was the only one who reached out towards him, and instead of thinking like the others; she views his eyes and appearance as 'beautiful'. This stays as a precious memory within Yoh's heart, and she is forever remembered as his first love.


Throughout the story he undergoes great character development; eventually becoming an irreplaceable part of their everyday life. Personally then I adored their interactions, their dialogue and event scenes together. Despite his coldness, he is unafraid to reveal his love for Tsukiko; often in either verbal or physical form. His words and dialogue are full of warmth, love and emotion. His lines were just so perfectly executed by the voice actor himself, that you'll most likely find yourself caught up in the moment as well.


His CGs and ending were my absolute favourite, since everything just flowed and fell into place. It made total sense, and to me it's obvious that it's the most 'canon' ending.

SUZUYA TOHZUKI: One of Tsukiko's childhood friends who has been by her side throughout their entire lives. He is viewed as the 'mother' of the group, due to his kind and caring nature; not to mention his uncanny ability to cook. Although at first he hides his feelings underneath a veil of indifference, it is simply because he is afraid. Afraid that it would forever change their carefree days together as friends. He has always watched over Tsukiko since they were younger, and comes to believe that he'll be satisfied with the way things are.


In my perspective, then he is probably the most 'stereotypical' character of the group, and the most boring. Although he does have a 'darker' side per say, it really isn't anything drastically different. Overall, then his path although cute; didn't really appeal to me. There wasn't that much development as a character, nor their relationship as lovers. I felt like he better suited the role of a best friend, rather than anything else. It was rather lengthy and tedious, and was a major let down in comparison to Yoh's path.

KANATA NANAMI: The other childhood friend of Tsukiko, who deeply cares for her and constantly feels the need to 'protect' her. He cares about her to the extent where he would willingly engage in fights, if it meant keeping Tsukiko safe.  In comparison to Suzuya, who is calm, mature and collected; Kanata is rash, violent and emotional. His actions are usually made without thinking, and based on purely how he feels within that moment. In spite of this though, he does have good intentions at heart. 

He becomes easily jealous of Yoh's proximity to Tsukiko, and being able to voice the things he never could. And so, they spark a bitter rivalry from Day One. I went for Kanata last since his personality just didn't appeal to me at all. His story does have an interesting twist though and takes on a much more emotional edge near the climax. Although sad and rather bittersweet, it added great depth to the path overall. I did enjoy his path more than Suzuya's, but Yoh's was without a doubt the best. 

Design

The artwork for Starry Sky was beautiful, although that's no surprise seeing how its a commercial piece. Everything was drawn in the right proportions, the colours were gorgeously done and the backgrounds themselves were very impressive. It includes a handful of CGs for each character and trust me, you won't be disappointed at all. In all honesty, then I believe the art itself is the strongest point of Starry Sky since I couldn't help but admire it when I first picked it up. 

Although one thing that bothered me though was the fact thatTsukiko doesn't have a face. I understand that this is common within Visual Novel protagonists, but the CGs just look strange with hair covering her face all the time. It just doesn't quite match with the overall tone of the Visual Novel. Its not a major concern, but I feel that that aspect of it could definitely be improved. 

Also, another minor detail was the kiss scenes themselves. I remember anticipating this from the very beginning since usually its the most "climatic" part of the Visual Novel. The last ending drama before the very conclusion. And although the kissing CGs were pretty, I was slightly disappointed. I had been expecting proper kiss CGs with their whole body/background and not just a close up of the guy's face. 

For me as a personal preference, there's just so much more meaning to it when you can see both their expressions, their body language and just giving a better visual/imagination of the kiss itself.

Music and Voice Acting

Another strong point of Starry Sky was the voice acting. They did such an amazing job conveying all the emotions, all the pent up frustration, and just taking on their character roles completely. All the voices were well chosen, and made such a fantastic difference to the Visual Novel. It made the experience all the more interesting, and to my surprise most of the voice actors are actually rather popular ones. For example: Yoh (Seito Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh!), Kanata (Hideki from Chobits, Yuichi from Kanon, Kyon from Haruhi Suzumiya), and Suzuya (Yukito from Air, Itsuki from Haruhi Suzumiya). 

I was so excited, since I've pretty much watched all the above anime including these voice actors. So overall, a very impressive selection of seiyuus which I would have never imagined voicing this Visual Novel. The music itself, was very atmospheric and soothing. All the songs corresponded well with the mood and setting, whilst incorporating a vast diversity. Everything about the Visual Novel was very emotional, soft, romantic and bittersweet. 

System

The system was rather easy to navigate through, and incorporated basically all the controls you needed (ignoring the terrible english labels). Everything was clearly placed,  and straight forward. I particularly liked the CG event viewer, since not only does it show the CG image itself but it actually allows you to replay the event. You can literally re-watch it without playing through the Visual Novel once more. 

Not only that, but the voice acting is still in tact! I found that really convenient, and a great touch to the Visual Novel's crisp, minimalist and professional approach. There were no bugs, crashes, freezes or errors throughout all my playthroughs, so that was also another positive factor. 

Personal Opinion

Overall, a job well done on this Visual Novel. I'm very impressed and I really did enjoy it. I did feel though that some of the character paths could be improved (namely Suzuya's) since his story is so blatantly plain in comparison to the other two. Nothing truly interesting happens, although it did incorporate some very nice CGs. I found myself growing quickly bored throughout his story, and only finished it for the sake of it. Although I did feel the plot line of Starry Sky was incredibly cliche and could also be improved immensely; the other areas of the Visual Novel really did make up for it.

I felt that not enough time had been placed within the story progression and character development despite its length of 2-5 hours per character. At the same time, there was too much focus on the tedious, everyday events which bored me rather quickly. Although I suppose with the release of Starry Sky: After Spring (a continuation of in Spring) it would make up for that. I was so happy with this great idea, and would very much like to play it (if only I knew Japanese). So I sincerely look forward to its English release/patch, someday.

All in all a definite recommend for all the high school story lovers out there. I'm truly curious on what happens in After Spring though, judging from the reviews themselves. We shall see if it lives up to its predecessor, or maybe even surpass it.

Overall Rating: ★★★