The Sound of Fireworks: The Haiku Reviews

I am not going to spoiler, but the story is kinda interesting, like you can feel yourself in after a while. oh, and one more thing: B2-B1 English recommended 9/10

Some issues with VNMaker (backgrounds getting stuck while the story progresses) but the story itself was a pleasant read. Interactions between character felt pretty smooth and the occasional VO was a nice extra :) Looking forward to the next TSOF titles.

Amimi has recently moved to a new city, transferred to a new school, and made a mess of her introduction on the first day. She just wants to graduate without any more trouble. However, there is a guy who wants to make friends with her, difficult as it may be... [h1]I liked...[/h1] [list] [*] The characters (they come across as relatable, with their own flaws and personal history; I was invested in what happens to them) [*] The writing (good pacing, I didn't feel that the story dragged on at any point; emotional and funny scenes are both delivered well; I loved the haikus as means of communication) [*] The partial voice acting (it adds to the experience) [*] The artwork (the spritework is nice and expressive; CGs are also nicely done but with a different style to them) [/list] [h1]I didn't care for...[/h1] [list] [*] Minor trouble with the game engine (transitions leading up to CGs didn't feel quite right; I didn't find out how to run the game in full screen; on the other hand the smoothly animated text and prompt look nice)[/list] [h1]Verdict[/h1] I decided to give [i]The Sound of Fireworks[/i] a try after I saw a brief mention of it on VN Game Den – and it quickly grabbed me, so I finished it in one sitting. It's cute, but not saccharine; it simply feels genuine, and I'm excited for the next part of the story. [i]For more reviews, feel free to look at my curator pages: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34616763-Azar-Reviews/]Azar Reviews[/url] and [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41898234-They-OK/]They OK?[/url][/i]

Loved it!!! It felt very real and relatable especially as someone introverted. Amimi's fears and overthinking tendencies when she had to do the class introduction was really accurate. I'm sooo looking forward to your next TSOF installments :) I love Amimi's voice (Hesketts). For me, it really suits her quiet and reserved personality. Thank you for this little gem of a VN.

This is a very cute anime style kinetic novel (i.e just a visual novel without branching routes or choices, the only thing differentiating it from a straight up short story/novella being the anime art, voices, and music). It's entirely, 100% SFW, it's not one of those sexy VNs, and it centers around the eighteen-year-old Amimi Imai, who's starting her first day at a brand new school, as she attempts to make friends and have a better experience than she did in middle school. Much of that quest revolves around an initially annoying but eventually quite charming student who's also new there, Uta Shibata, as he attempts to reach out to Amimi when they end up paired together in the literature club and have to work on the titular haiku as a project. This isn't like Muv-Luv or any of the bigger professional VNs. There is some voice acting, but not a whole lot, there are some basic classroom, bedroom, etc. backgrounds, but not that many, the cast isn't huge, and there are about a dozen or so songs, but not a full soundtrack. However, the game only costs 5 bucks, which makes it VERY worth it, IMO. I say it a lot, but this is one of those games that's just full of SOUL, i.e you can tell it was a passion project for its creators. I'm not usually into standard fiction, I'm almost always more drawn to scifi, fantasy, or horror. Despite that, though, I couldn't help but fall head-long into Amimi and Uta, or "Hanabi and Shibby's," burgeoning relationship. The art is a strong point, it's not the best ever but it's better than average and it's very cute and well done for what it is. The dialogue is easily the best part of the story, though. Uta, Amimi, and the rest of the cast feel like they could be real people, and the way the story progresses is surprisingly well done for apparently an amateur author (thatdiesel, the writer for this kinetic novel). At first, I found myself annoyed by Amimi's personality and awkwardness, but as the story went on, well, I won't spoil it, but you'll see she really does have a believable reason for being hesitant about reaching out to others, and the way she and Uta work through it is so realistic and engagingly done that I found I couldn't put the story down (metaphorically, since this is a steam game). As other reviewers have noticed, it's a little unpolished, there are a few spelling errors and bugs here and there; I had to restart from the beginning at one point since the backgrounds got locked. It's also not that long, at only around 40K words. Even so, thatdiesel, hesketts (the artist for the game and VA for Amimi), and the other folks who helped out a bit on this kinetic novel put so much effort and soul into this I can't help but recommend it, especially when it's only 5 bucks! I really wish this got more attention, at such a price for the quality it deserves a 100 reviews IMO.

Just finished this lovely little kinetic novel, so I'm going to try and write this review while it's still fresh. First of all, I know the creators, so take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt, but also note that I'm never one to shy away from calling something I love garbage. Clannad? Love it. Still garbage. This? Not garbage. The Haiku is a somewhat unpolished, but incredibly promising start to a series about simple, down-to-earth interpersonal dynamics. In The Haiku, Hanabi, the protagonist of this chapter, is dealing with the one-two punch of adapting to a new place while watching out for repeats of past hurt. That's a rough spot to be, because when anything could open up old wounds, how does one move forward at any meaningful pace? -Length/Content- You may know the rule of thumb when it comes to trying a new anime: give it 3 episodes. That's the size of The Haiku. The story has 10 chapters, which I read in about 4-6 hours, but you can probably read in a lot less. I found the credits rolling moments after I officially said to the story, "Ok, fine, you got me, I wanna see where this goes." I'm hooked! Well played, fellas, I am officially invested in these characters' lives. I paid $4 for this, I would have paid $5. More please!~ -Weaknesses- Yes, it is time to expose the...frankly minute weak points of the game. First of all, VNMaker is to blame for my first slew of problems. Sometimes the name of the person who last spoke pops up for a moment before the narration shows up. SMS conversations hide the navigation and can't be skipped quickly like the rest of the dialogue. The log only shows the current scene, so if you miss something toward the end of the scene, tough toenails! There's no going back unless you saved! I hope future releases are on a more flexible platform, but I can barely blame the creators for the medium. Now, for valid criticism. Hesketts' character art is phenomenal, but if you told me that Shibby in profile shots and Shibby viewed from straight ahead were different characters, I'd believe you. The biggest art weakness, however, is actually how little the background graphics mesh with the characters, although I make that complaint with nearly every VN I've seen. It took me a moment to remember that this story is indeed set in Japan, as most anime-inspired works are arbitrarily, but again, same with nearly every VN I've read. The writing by thatdiesel feels a bit weak early on, especially in moments where the protagonist is alone with her thoughts, but... -Strengths- Dang it, when the characters get together, interact, and respond to one another, they feel totally real! The dialogue is awkward, but it's awkward exactly in the way 12th graders are awkward. It's an absolute breath of fresh air, and it's so nice to see none of the arbitrary, cringeworthy, hole-that-needs-filling approach to romance that so many romcoms are guilty of. This isn't wish fulfilment, this isn't a dating sim, this isn't actually much of an interactive experience at all: It's a window into these characters' lives, and I hope it keeps getting wider. It's not much, but it [i]is[/i] very good, and that ABSOLUTELY includes the writing most of all. When I read a visual novel, the first thing I want is to be charmed. Unless the VN is House in Fata Morgana, in which case I'm first asking to be traumatized, but after that, I want to be charmed. It's why I like the dialogue in Studio Key games, flawed as they may be. At first I wasn't entirely sure if I'd be able to get that here, but as these characters interacted, you know what? Consider me charmed! I can't say no to those beautifully rendered faces. And I'm sure you will be too if you give this game a purchase, or subscribe to the game's twitter @TSOFGame, or follow this game here on Steam, and I'm sure the creators will be charmed too! Send them love and praise and attention and encouragement and (if you find yourself with a surplus of it) $$$, I want the next chapter! If you can't do it for yourself, do it for thatdiesel and Hesketts, and if you can't do that, do it for me, a stranger on the internet lol Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Spiffy out, tchau!

ALRIGHT! When I first saw this game, my instincts wanted me to read it. Like really badly. SO... I tried the DEMO. Loved it. Obviously had to see the continuation of it... And I did. The game is split into three episodes, so this is the first episode... I believe there are 10 Chapters total + Extras for those who want "previews" (or spoilers) for the next episode. Was it good? For me it was. The reason this story stood out for me is not only because it was well written and you WANTED to see the characters interact with one another... There are many other things. It's good, but also because of my similar experiences in school. I was a "Ghost" in High School and no one gave a damn about me. I had no friends and no attention whatsoever. Bullies? Of course there were bullies. MEH. The reason I am telling you this is because of this game... It makes me see an alternative to my own life kinda thing... So maybe making me feel better in a sense... Granted I had no one like Shibby to care for me, but one can imagine such a thing, right? If you are feeling sad for me or pitying me... Don't. I found my own Uta later on in life. And who said that gaming or online relationships don't work? ^^" Yes. Really. Back to the game. It has no supernatural elements in it. Doesn't need it. I like the music... The images... I liked everything. Shibby (I want to call him Shiba so badly... The bread but dog...) he looks different in CGs... To me his picture looks best when he is on the phone text and a little bit in the hallway, being a pillow. At first I thought this game was going to end in tragedy... Thank goodness it didn't. So there... I mean it's the first episode... But it filled me with hope and that things could be good for people... Yep. The game was obviously not without problems. I HAD problems... The game refused to load images for me, skipping out on CGs and then there were no text messages... Loading time between texts was up to 3 minutes... I had to close and then restart the game. IT HAS a skip button (CTRL) and then it would work for me... Until I closed the game! I don't know why it happened and yes, the Developer knows about it... I am just telling you the work around it and that... It will not (might not) happen to you... Look, despite all of that... I was very patient and HAD TO FINISH THE GAME. I did. Loved it. I mean the first episode... Now I gotta wait until the next one for more adventures! Thank you for everything I said above... The game and fun time. :3 :) =)