Flowers: Le Volume sur Automne (2016)

I LOVE suffering in romance. Not in real life mind you (that would suck), but I want stories that will tear my heart to pieces. Finally, after the decent story of Printemps and the great couple's chemistry of Ete, we have a story that caters to my tastes.

It's a lovely setup with the outgoing, cynical protagonist Yuzuriha and her childhood best friend Nerine starting at a stage of discontent with their relationship at their christian school. Feelings spiral from there all while other series characters continue to work through their feelings and travails. The plot takes several exciting turns thanks to the presence of the Sasaki sisters as well as the 7 mysteries of the school, which are the best mystery sections of the series yet. I was kept on my toes all throughout the latter half of the game. Weirdly out of place "sexy" scenes seen in previous games have also been if not toned down, better placed/contextualized in a way where they feel more natural and are more relevant to the story. It's an improvement.

A notable aspect of this game that I enjoyed was the continued presence of the last game's main couple. This wasn't possible in Ete after Printemps due to the nature of the plot, so it was delightful getting to see the two of them together and separate all while continuing their stories. Superb.

Pro tip: Unlike the previous two games, I felt most of the other routes were interesting to check out after completing the first as you are able to get some interesting alternate perspectives on the characters as well as plot. CW for twincest stuff, but it's hardly there.

This is a great visual novel, full stop.