[] Narcissu

First of all, it feels good to be back. Finally got around to re-registering. Anyways, on to the meat of this post...

Narcissu is a doujin visual novel made in 2005 by stage-nana. Unfortunately, I can't really give a sypnosis without spoiling, but I'll copy and paste from their story page.

Quote:

There exists no such thing as a perfect sentence. Just as there exists no such thing as perfect despair."
- Haruki Murakami, "Hear The Wind Sing"

... on that blindingly bright day ...
... on that very day of winter ...

Imagine what it would be like to have your entire life -- your friends, your family, your interests, your loves, your hatreds, your future -- all taken away from you in a single instant. Imagine a hard, lumpy bed, a noise-filled ward, the sharp sting of needles entering your flesh at all hours of the day, the indignity of being woken up just as you are about to fall asleep for incessant vital statistics measurements, the doctors whose names you don't know (but that's okay, because they don't remember your name, either; they just remember you as "the non-small cell lung carcinoma in room 6"), and your own name, your very own name, that you have just about forgotten.

Then you might have some clue as to what it is like to be dying in a hospital.

This is a story of disease and suffering; of medication and adverse effects; of thoracotomy scars and cellular poisons; of the living who cannot help but to die and of the dying who cannot help but to live; of a resting place other than "on 7F" or "at home".


This is a story of so many things.

But most of all ...

This is the story
of a girl whose heart was standing still
and a boy whose breath was being stolen away,
both of whom die.

This visual novel is surprisingly well done, complete with voice acting for Setsumi. While the pictures don't exactly vary much, they're beautiful in their own right and fit the mood and location of the scene. Most of the pictures are of the scenery where the protagonist is. The music is very, very good and well composed. The melodies range from melancholy to somewhat cheerful, but, given the genre of the novel, most scenes are accompanied with melancholy tunes, not like there's anything wrong with that. The music definitely sets the mood for the scenes in the novel and adds to the more emotional moments of the novel. The music itself is good enough to be in a motion picture.

Of course, the best part of the novel is the story itself. While it's only eight chapters long, it's more than long enough to keep you interested in the story, but short enough to complete in one sitting. Like I said earlier, I can't really give details or else it would be spoiling. However, I will warn that this story is heart-wrenching, and, unless you're a robot, will probably make you cry. The sheer emotion one feels for the characters is outstanding; I felt as if I knew these characters personally and felt what they did. I'm not afraid to admit that the end of this novel made me cry; it truely is a beautiful yet melancholy story without being overly melodramatic.

Do yourself a favor: download this visual novel and read it. You'll be glad you did if you enjoy a good drama story.

Discuss when you're done reading.

Links:
Main page
Download page

Jam it back in, in the dark.

The translation seemed to very true to the original meaning of the words. Then again, I don't speak Japanese, but all of the sentences flowed well with one another and were never awkward at all. Seems like the translation is done very well and is spot on.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Rydia

This is probably a silly question, but is it possible to "save" the story and then pick up from the same point later on?

Yes, there is. Simply right click anywhere and it brings up a list of options.

And Saka, you mentioned that the unvoiced version is "different"? How so? Did the developers mean that the emotional effect of the characters is different when not voiced, or are some scenarios different? I'd love to know... if you know that is.

On a side note, the ending itself didn't bring me to tears... it was...

Spoiler:

Near the end of chapter 7, where Setsumi breaks down and cries for the first time since... well, she probably found out she was going to die. That really got me... and I couldn't help but shed a few tears to that scene. It was simply so saddening. :cry:

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