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Gleam Garden no Shoujo - Review and Discussion


edwd2

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Gleam Garden Review

It*s been a while since I last read a VN without skipping a good portion of it. These days, the more I play, the more repetitive things get. Much of the visual novel industry is still obssesed with the cliches and plot patterns that we've seen for years, and this is unlikely to change if market demand is strong, sadly, it still is.

Gleam Garden is Cosmic Cute's second novel, following Lovesick Puppies which released only a few months prior. Don't let its predecessor and fluffy cover art fool you though, this game isn't quite your typical moege. The story follows our protagonist Touji, a mentor who supervises the so called "witches", girls bestowed with mysterious and often deadly powers, isolated in a special training facility to aid their re-transition to society. Most of the plot takes place in this high school so don't let your hopes too high, it's still the typical slice of life you'd expect, but at least the protagonist is a teacher this time. The underlying conflict revolves around growing tension between humans as we know and humans of greater power, in this case "witches". This is, once again, an ageless theme that has recurred countless times in works of fiction and nonfiction of many media; we fear what is alien to us. Actual "witch" hunting dates back to the bubonic plague and beyond, the term itself brings negative sentiments. That said, his job isn't easy, but it pays off over time. I have to say that they saved the best for the last, the game becomes quite dramatic and action-packed near the end of each route (and for most of the true route); there are some intense and heartwarming moments here and there, expect a good ride.

You have the choice of five heroines, one hidden, unfortunately, this game has locked routes. I found three of the heroines attractive and thus only completed three routes. Some of the characters have memorable traits while others are almost entirely defined by a type, not too surprising either, it all comes down to your preferences (I hate large breasts...). The protagonist is pretty much an older version of Kaito or Yuuji, proactive, strong, decisive, and badass, not anywhere near Minato though, he lacks personality. Character development is better than average, our setting naturally helps, but the plot doesn't take us far enough to trigger any major changes, the time frame is rather limited (except the true route). I would like to see a fan disc with after stories set years later. On a side note, the protagonist*s best friend, usually the comic sidekick, plays a rather unique role here, he doesn't appear much but you'll see.

Art deserves an A. Luna's CGs, in particular, are very well done, the first one left me glued to the screen for a good minute. Soundtracks are fine, they do get repetitive at times, you can always turn the BGM lower. Character voices, my only complaint is one of the heroine's timid voice and choppy sentences, but the CV isn't to blame for what the script reads. Other than that, mostly on the spot.

Gleam Garden is worth a try if you're looking for a decent medium length novel mildly packed with action and emotion. As always, you need the proper state of mind. Want an epic scale masterpiece? Look elsewhere. Otherwise, sit back and relax.

Overall Score: 72/100

Comparison with similar works:

 

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Screenshots:

 

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rofl... you rated this higher than Hello, Lady?  *Clephas rolls around laughing hysterically*

 

Edit:  I should clarify.  I like this game, as I would have mentioned in my VN of the Month thread when it came out (like I'd miss a game of this type).  I simply think it is ridiculous to put it above Hello, Lady... or even rank Hello, Lady that low.  Also, Saihate no Ima isn't really in the same sub-genre... for one thing, Saihate's plot structure is so weird that it can't be effectively included in any sub-genre very well.  Also, even more roflz at rating Grisaia lower than this... unless you played it in English, maybe.

 

Edit2: Saihate's plot structure is one of the prime reasons I only played through two of the endings... it was too much of a pain in the rear to get anywhere in that game.  I don't like interrupting my flow of consciousness to search for keywords...

 

Edit3:  Forgot... that month saw a set of two excellent games of higher quality come out that had VN of the month... and it was three months before I started the thread (I named the VNs of the Month for the pre-September months but didn't comment on the others I played during those months).  I didn't review it, though I recall  my overall thoughts on it.  (second-rate chuuni, poor action descriptions, good heroines/paths other than that, etc.). 

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I remember playing this last year but haven't had the chance to finish it. I can't bring myself to forget the crappy sd cg's though, I don't know if that was intended or not but well the characters are really likeable. I might just reread this some other time. Thanks for the review!

Yea I agree with this, the deformed CGs were extraneous, or they should have put in more effort.

rofl... you rated this higher than Hello, Lady? *Clephas rolls around laughing hysterically*

Edit: I should clarify. I like this game, as I would have mentioned in my VN of the Month thread when it came out (like I'd miss a game of this type). I simply think it is ridiculous to put it above Hello, Lady... or even rank Hello, Lady that low. Also, Saihate no Ima isn't really in the same sub-genre... for one thing, Saihate's plot structure is so weird that it can't be effectively included in any sub-genre very well. Also, even more roflz at rating Grisaia lower than this... unless you played it in English, maybe.

Edit2: Saihate's plot structure is one of the prime reasons I only played through two of the endings... it was too much of a pain in the rear to get anywhere in that game. I don't like interrupting my flow of consciousness to search for keywords...

Edit3: Forgot... that month saw a set of two excellent games of higher quality come out that had VN of the month... and it was three months before I started the thread (I named the VNs of the Month for the pre-September months but didn't comment on the others I played during those months). I didn't review it, though I recall my overall thoughts on it. (second-rate chuuni, poor action descriptions, good heroines/paths other than that, etc.).

You remind me of how some folks used to act on MAL: "Your scores are laughable", "how can you rate Code Geass lower than 9!?", "this should be better than that, etc. etc." C'mon, can't expect everyone to have the same tastes now, and if all you care is that rather trivial number I gave at the end, there are thousands of them on EGS or VNDB for you to laugh at.

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Actually, I could understand rating Hello, Lady between a 6-7 out of ten, looking at it from a certain perspective... Grisaia... sorry, they just don't make many VNs at that level.   I rated Hello, Lady around a 9 just because it was immensely enjoyable and protagonists on the level of Narita Shinri are rare... to say the least.  It has its flaws (heroine paths tend to be a bit abrupt, for instance...

what happened to Mitori is behind the scenes

and they won't have a Hishiya path until next month, lol.

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I think I get why.

Shh....

Just kidding, don't kill me!

lol... yeah.  I think it is more that he doesn't like Lelouch as an archetype and Narita Shinri is equally arrogant and melodramatic (though he is a lot funnier, if only because of his personality quirks).  Some people just can't stand that type...

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Good review (although I have read nothing but one of the eroge on that rating chart, and am currently reading Saihate no Ima). I've always heard from others that it's distasteful to read reviews before playing the game. In my case, I feel like I need some huge motivational power (reason) to pick up something, and that's via checking out reviews like these.

This is especially nice because you list a rating chart with comparisons to other similar works. I won't adhere to any of the ratings to judge the quality for my tastes (Hello Lady! seems the type of eroge that I'd really enjoy, as an example), but it'll be helpful if I finish this and want to look for another similar experience.

Gleam Garden is surely going on my backlog as of now (still need to finish a lot of other stuff first x_x).

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  • 3 weeks later...

Remembered marathoning through this one the day it is out. Overall the story is pretty decent (especially Luna's) but with one flaw, "wasted potential for the setting". I also liked the fact it avoids common tropes (*cough* "male best friend" *cough*)  you see in a school setting (although it is still fairly light-hearted for the most part) and it gets pretty intense and brutal in key events.

 

While to me there's no way this can rank above Hello Lady it is still a decent read. Definitely recommended.

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