Nami, you've done it again!
This game was a joy to play through.
Periwinkle is a very fun main character to follow - he's confident and exuburent without being arrogant or insensitive, so I was never annoyed by him, and really wanted to keep reading about him and to find out what happened to him.
Plus, it's always wonderful to see characters like him who fearlessly and proudly live in a way that makes them happy, rejecting oppressive gender roles.
It was also wonderful to see Pastille again. After reading about him in your game 'Syrup and the Ultimate Sweet', it felt really rewarding to go much deeper into his personality, to see sides of him we hadn't seen before, and to develop him much more.
All the other characters were very engaging and fun, too - so many varied personalities, but all interesting and all helping to make the game's story and world feel richer and more interesting.
I kept playing this game all the way through to the end in one sitting, because I was so entranced by the story. It's a fairly simple romance story, when you think about it, but you wrote it so well, with so much emotion, so much humour, so many skillful changes in mood, and with such a beautiful, heart-warming tone.
I felt like I had just got out of a warm, refreshing bath after finishing this story!
Plus, it's nice to see you getting bolder in the writing of sexual scenes! Your games have often had a sexy, suggestive edge to them, but this one got downright steamy at parts! It was very enjoyable.
What I particularly enjoyed about this story was its length. I know you've said in the past that people have expressed disappointment that some of your games don't go on for long enough, that they want to spend more time in the worlds that you've created. Well, it seems like you've really taken those comments to heart, because this game is a lovely long length! Several chapters long! It really felt like we were going deep into the story, deep into the characters, deep into relationships, and it made the whole experience feel so much more substantial and satisfying!
I understand that it's harder to come up with a nice long story without letting it drag or get boring, especially when you're making your games mostly by yourself, so I am very grateful that you put in the effort to do that here! Thank you.
I also really liked the music. It was gentle, sweet and warm - it really helped set the story's tone. Having it done in that old fashioned, '16-bit' sort of style (or however you'd describe it!) was very nice to me - it helped give a simple, comfy feel, and it reminded me of the music from old games I played as a kid (games like 'Simon the Sorcerer', for example).
You also made skillful use of silence, too. Periods of silence can be a useful tool in helping to set moods in visual novels, and you used them well.
And, of course, how could I forget the ending song? Thank you to Jake Bellissimo, he did a good job! That was something new that I don't think I've ever seen in one of your games before!
The illustrations are very good, too. Your pictures of the characters are adorable, as always - simple, but very expressive and skillfully done - especially in the more detailed scenes that pop up from time to time.
The backgrounds look lovely, too. Some might object that they look too simple and could be more detailed, but I think that the way they are fits the warm tone of this game better. The backgrounds might get distracting, cluttered, and not as warm and friendly, if they were more detailed.
So, again, well done on this game and thank you for making it! I'd never read anything about Periwinkle or his life before this, but you made me care enough about him to make me play through hours of story, all through to the end, in just one sitting!