My personal review (cross-posted from my blog), contains mild spoilers):
Spoiler
Wonderful Everyday is a title that I came away with fairly strong opinions on in both directions. Initially it was a massive disappointment for me. So much so in fact that I quit playing it 15-20 hours in for over a month. It has a few utterly maddening tendencies that prevent it from achieving greatness, but the bones are there for something special.
The hardest part of this novel is getting into it. The first chapter is yuri hentai that serves no purpose. The second chapter is completely nonsensical until you finish reading the entire thing. The third chapter is also mostly nonsensical until the very, very end even if the crazy Takuji antics were fun.
Throughout the first 3 chapters (20+ hours easily) you will have no idea what is going on with the overarching narrative. And I don't mean that the game twists later in a way that diverts from the narrative in a rug pull-esque fashion, no no. I mean that the plot does not even attempt to develop.
Look, I know some hardcore mystery fans are going to go "BUT THAT'S APART OF THE APPEAL!". I get it, some people like that sort of thing. But I feel that there is a marked difference between a mystery narrative that leaves the reader in the dark but slowly unravels while giveing the reader something to chew on and theorise about. Versus a narrative that almost feels as though it is outright trolling the reader by feeding them as much overly verbose dialog as physically possible while somehow saying nothing at the same time.
This gets really insufferable in chapter 3 in particular. The game spends 90% of chapter 3 forcefeeding you vaguely philosophical dialog while simultaneously exposing you to some of the most abhorrent shock value that I've yet found anywhere in the medium. Not to mention the nonstop text fracturing. I sure hope you like pressing the enter key because
Every other line that appears on screen.
Is formatted.
Like this.
For no good reason.
At all.
At times it becomes very difficult to trudge through. It's not necessarily one or the other but the 1-2 combination that can lead to a lethal dose of "What in the world am I even reading for? Is there anything of substance in this story?" which was what led to me putting it down. This at times coming off quite pretentiously, especially when intermixed with incessant references to classical music and literature that do little to further the narrative which refuses to open up for 20 some hours.
I must admit that I have a very mixed opinion on chapter 3, as while it starts off rather insufferable it gets a lot better towards the end and even before then has some pretty great scenes. Takuji is a fascinating MC, probably my 2nd favourite that I have seen yet so far in a visual novel. Late in chapter 3 the game finally divulges some info that brings the player somewhat out of the dark. The Kimika ending to chapter 3 is also fantastic, maybe my favourite love story ever.
Subahibi tells it's narrative in a fairly unconventional matter. Unlike many visual novels where the chapters follow a linear progressing storyline and most endings are just alternates of that storyline, every chapter in Subahibi is a recap of the same events told from the perspective of a different character. As someone who mostly read very linear games in which there was generally little reason to venture outside of the true ending up to this, it helped me garner an appreciation for how important routes can be in VNs and for that I am thankful. Subahibi is the first VN that I ever completed every route in.
What stops me from rating this lower is mainly just how memorable it is. Takuji, Kimika and Yuki are all fantastic characters and the others are pretty solid too. The art is absolutely fantastic, there's a damn good reason you see so many Wonderful Everyday pfps online. The music is very beautiful; this track here might be my favourite song that I've yet heard in a visual novel.
You know what? I'm going to invoke an early 2010s YLYL challenge. Go to the vndb quotes page and scroll to the bottom without at least cracking a smile. If you make it, you win... uh... a verbal congratulations from me if you leave a comment under this post, I guess. But yeah, this thing is a quote machine and the prose at times can be pretty poetic and genuinely pretty good.
The payoff and message in the end is also pretty sweet and uplifting. It's rare to come across something that teaches a good philosophical message in a down to earth and easy to understand way. I'll admit that I am not a huge fan of Hasaki and found the other heroines a lot more interesting which made the later chapters a bit slow at times since she gets a lot of focus. But besides that everything from chapter 4 onwards was enjoyable. Overall I had a good time with Subahibi, and I can see why it's rated so high even if I wouldn't put it so high myself.
The hardest part of this novel is getting into it. The first chapter is yuri hentai that serves no purpose. The second chapter is completely nonsensical until you finish reading the entire thing. The third chapter is also mostly nonsensical until the very, very end even if the crazy Takuji antics were fun.
Throughout the first 3 chapters (20+ hours easily) you will have no idea what is going on with the overarching narrative. And I don't mean that the game twists later in a way that diverts from the narrative in a rug pull-esque fashion, no no. I mean that the plot does not even attempt to develop.
Look, I know some hardcore mystery fans are going to go "BUT THAT'S APART OF THE APPEAL!". I get it, some people like that sort of thing. But I feel that there is a marked difference between a mystery narrative that leaves the reader in the dark but slowly unravels while giveing the reader something to chew on and theorise about. Versus a narrative that almost feels as though it is outright trolling the reader by feeding them as much overly verbose dialog as physically possible while somehow saying nothing at the same time.
This gets really insufferable in chapter 3 in particular. The game spends 90% of chapter 3 forcefeeding you vaguely philosophical dialog while simultaneously exposing you to some of the most abhorrent shock value that I've yet found anywhere in the medium. Not to mention the nonstop text fracturing. I sure hope you like pressing the enter key because
Every other line that appears on screen.
Is formatted.
Like this.
For no good reason.
At all.
At times it becomes very difficult to trudge through. It's not necessarily one or the other but the 1-2 combination that can lead to a lethal dose of "What in the world am I even reading for? Is there anything of substance in this story?" which was what led to me putting it down. This at times coming off quite pretentiously, especially when intermixed with incessant references to classical music and literature that do little to further the narrative which refuses to open up for 20 some hours.
I must admit that I have a very mixed opinion on chapter 3, as while it starts off rather insufferable it gets a lot better towards the end and even before then has some pretty great scenes. Takuji is a fascinating MC, probably my 2nd favourite that I have seen yet so far in a visual novel. Late in chapter 3 the game finally divulges some info that brings the player somewhat out of the dark. The Kimika ending to chapter 3 is also fantastic, maybe my favourite love story ever.
Subahibi tells it's narrative in a fairly unconventional matter. Unlike many visual novels where the chapters follow a linear progressing storyline and most endings are just alternates of that storyline, every chapter in Subahibi is a recap of the same events told from the perspective of a different character. As someone who mostly read very linear games in which there was generally little reason to venture outside of the true ending up to this, it helped me garner an appreciation for how important routes can be in VNs and for that I am thankful. Subahibi is the first VN that I ever completed every route in.
What stops me from rating this lower is mainly just how memorable it is. Takuji, Kimika and Yuki are all fantastic characters and the others are pretty solid too. The art is absolutely fantastic, there's a damn good reason you see so many Wonderful Everyday pfps online. The music is very beautiful; this track here might be my favourite song that I've yet heard in a visual novel.
You know what? I'm going to invoke an early 2010s YLYL challenge. Go to the vndb quotes page and scroll to the bottom without at least cracking a smile. If you make it, you win... uh... a verbal congratulations from me if you leave a comment under this post, I guess. But yeah, this thing is a quote machine and the prose at times can be pretty poetic and genuinely pretty good.
The payoff and message in the end is also pretty sweet and uplifting. It's rare to come across something that teaches a good philosophical message in a down to earth and easy to understand way. I'll admit that I am not a huge fan of Hasaki and found the other heroines a lot more interesting which made the later chapters a bit slow at times since she gets a lot of focus. But besides that everything from chapter 4 onwards was enjoyable. Overall I had a good time with Subahibi, and I can see why it's rated so high even if I wouldn't put it so high myself.
