Posts Tagged ‘kid’

Hi no Kioku ~Mizu no Senritsu 2~

I liked Hi no Kioku ~Mizu no Senritsu 2~ a lot, and was surprised at how little-known it seemed to be. It was released three months after Hiiro no Kakera in 2006, and I wonder if it was overshadowed by it.

First, the setup. It helps you understand the story if you play #1 first, but if it doesn’t appeal to you, I wouldn’t force it – Hi no Kioku, while characters from Mizu no Senritsu show up, is pretty independent of the first – with one exception. Shitara Suguru’s story has strong ties to the first game.

Have you ever heard of the myth that eating mermaid flesh gives you eternal life? Well, this story is roughly based on that myth. Long ago, a woman called Yaobikuni supposedly did just that, lived for 800 years, and could control the elements. Her present-day descendants, the Kusou and the Ichiyou lines, have different abilities. The Kusou all live much longer than regular humans and have superhuman healing powers as well as each having a special power, but the Ichiyou only live a bit longer, and have their own special powers.

The heroine, Kashiwagi Kira, is an orphan who lost her parents when she was only a baby. She’s her high school’s kendou team ace, has a strong sense of responsibility and is a little self-conscious about not being cute. She has a crush on Kyousuke, who came to the orphanage around the same time as her, but is several years older. He has no idea and treats her like a sister. One day they visit a nearby hotel where his parents were killed (his story is in the first MnS game), and Kira stays outside to give him some privacy. She finds a small shrine, and a strange light fills the air. There’s a flash and Kira finds herself holding a sword, with a voice telling her that it will lead her to her destiny. A strange mark appears on her hand as well, but fades.
Over the next few days she has several confusing encounters with both the Ichiyou and the Kusou (after one she wonders if they’re two rival gangs, lol). She also discovers that Kyousuke is in love with Hina (the heroine from MnS).

Eventually she finds out that someone is attacking both the Ichiyou and Kusou, and though they’ve recently reached a truce, this danger is threatening their ceasefire. Depending on your decisions, you’ll join a certain group and try to find out who is behind the attacks.

On to the characters!

Kashiwagi Yoshiharu (CV: Shimono Hiro): He lost his parents very young and lives at Kashiwagi Home. Kira sees him as a younger brother.

Azumi Yasuhide (CV: Morikawa Toshiyuki): The student president at Kira’s high school, he’s smart but doesn’t trust the Ichiyou. He’s from the Kusou.

Shikibu Yoshino (CV: Kishio Daisuke): A flirty Kusou member who saves Kira when she’s suddenly attacked by monsters. He can tell where people are by somehow following their shadows, and also uses ofuda (seals).

Akizuki Ryou (CV: Kondou Takashi): The older brother of Akizuki Kei from MnS in the Ichiyou family, he works as the instructor of the local kendou dojo. He can temporarily put enemies to sleep.

Shitara Suguru (CV: Saiga Mitsuki): The young Ichiyou hunter, he was an important sub-character in MnS. He’s a tsundere, and he also has a guilty conscience so he doesn’t believe he deserves to be happy.

Shana (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki): The bad guy. Can’t say anymore to give away plot!

The beginning half or so is straight visual novel, but once you choose a side, you start to patrol the neighbourhood, and there’s a straightforward but kind of fun battle system. You choose who to patrol with, and during the battle you build up energy to do special attacks. There are several combo special attacks as well.

I like the art, but the tachi-e aren’t that pretty – it almost seems like an anime artist did them, someone who’s used to having to do several frames so they use strong, very simple lines. The CGs are quite good though IMO. I actually think the visuals will translate really well to the PSP and the smaller screen – there are some screenshots here showing different aspects of the gameplay (this website sometimes works for me and sometimes doesn’t…)

I won’t say much about the plot because I don’t want to give things away, but I thought the story was done well, and Kira is one of my favourite heroines. If you like supernatural adventuer (it’s actually listed as a “gothic romance adventure”), I’d totally recommend trying the new PSP version.