This is probably the first VN I've played that wasn't freeware, but as soon as I played the demo, I was hooked and I knew I'd end up buying the full version. And I'm so glad I did! This game was wonderful. The art (and the gorgeous clothes!!!!), the music, atmosphere, themes, and especially the characters--I adore it all. Tbh, if the price of the game had been my soul, I still wouldn't have regretted buying it.
First of all, I love the personality options! I love games that do that so much, but they're so hard to find! (And I understand why--and I definitely appreciate the extra effort it must have taken to do that.) My personal favorite personality build is strong, cunning hellion. So much fun.
Usually, in a game with so many romance options, there's usually at least one love interest that I'm not a big fan of. With so many characters, it's almost inevitable. But no, even in this, TRoS didn't disappoint! I loved every single route and was always able to find something compelling and relatable in each of the romance options.
Actually, all the characters in general were compelling. Even the ones who didn't get a lot of screen time were still interesting. It's pretty hard to pick a favorite character. ...Okay, that's a lie--Frederique is the light of my life, and I always looked forward to seeing him in a scene, because it was usually an indicator of Fun Shenanigans to come. His mischievous personality was delightful (the boat scene, omg), but it's twice as great when it's paired with the depth of his loyalty to his Minette, on every single route. (His part in Sofia's route in particular made me cry. Especially now that I've played all the routes. He's so good, and he loves her for who she is, and he just wants her to be happy. Omfg, more tears.)
...I mean, by this point, I suspect you've deduced my favorite route. Tbh, just when I first played the demo before the full version came out, I shipped it way too hard, and then I felt really bad for shipping it because "there's no way this is going to be a canon route. I shouldn't get my hopes up." And then the full version came out and I actually didn't know there was a secret route until I saw a couple comments here, and then I took a moment to compose myself after freaking out and then opened up the game again. Note: there were several more moments during this time when I had to compose myself as well. Like, all the CG moments, and.... okay, basically every single scene in the whole thing. It's not my fault you nailed all my personal fav tropes, okay??
(I-I'm a good person. But also, thank you so much, it was great. Just.... such a great character and a well-written arc that's totally sympathetic and sweet and also, tbh, feels like such a True Route and, okay, I'm biased as all hell.)
...I told myself I WASN'T going to ramble for paragraphs on end about that. I'm so sorry. Anyway, in conclusion (I say as if this is an essay or something), this game was the best and I'm definitely going to end up replaying it many times in the future, because everything about it was my cup of (possibly whiskey-laced) tea. To everyone who worked on this game, you did great! And I'll definitely keep an eye out for anything you release in the future. :)