Jan 19

The first route I decided to tackle was Haruka Saigusa’s route (voiced by Keiko Suzuki) which was decided on random since at the time I was only interested in Rin’s and Kurugaya’s routes. Haruka’s route takes the longest with the most amount of choices needed to be made and also has two Bad Ends while as the rest of the girls only have one (along with a default Bad End for all if you don’t chose the required choices). It was most likely due to this which took me several days to complete Haruka’s route but only a day each for the others (for those who were wondering, I’m on long break so basically took up the whole day from waking up to going to sleep playing each characters routes – dedication to the max!). As a pointer, I chose to make Futaki as Kud’s roommate (if you don’t get the option to pick, Futaki is Kud’s roommate by default) so I could gain access to all the extra scenes during Haruka’s route.

Haruka’s route depicts a side of Haruka which shows a big contrast between her usual energetic side to a more sad and lonely burden she carries as a member of the Saigusa household. The story was touching as I dug deeper into her family affairs and how she became the parasite in the family while as Futaki (her twin sister) became the heir to the household. Their individual struggles and burdens given to them by their household forced the two twins who loved each other dearly in the past, hate and cast misfortune onto the other. I was filled with mixed emotions throughout the whole route. At first I wasn’t interested, but at that time, I was hooked in wanting to finish it. The ending where the twins made up, realizing their mistakes and how misguided their hate was made me tear up a bit. It’s definitely hard to describe it because it’s one of those times where you just got to play it to realize how great it is.

The funny thing with Komari (who is voiced by Natsumi Yanase) is that out of all the girls, I cared the least for Komari with Mio following after that. Sure she’s the sweet and happy girl who loves eating junk food but she wasn’t a person I was interested in tackling in a romantic way. That’s what I thought at the start that is. I will be honest that in the game, there is a scene where Komari would ask you for your favourite donut and depending on your choice, it will lead to a different CG displayed later on in her route. At first I didn’t know (no one would unless they were told) so I went for ‘light strawberry’ and turns out, there’s a scene where you accidentally walk into Komari who was in the middle of taking off her leggings. In other words you get a panty shot and depending on the donut choice, the panty changes. Yeah I know, it’s ecchi, it’s fan service but I wouldn’t consider Little Busters as an eroge because there’s only 2 or 3 CG’s that could be interpreted as fan service. If you do wish to play an eroge version of Little Busters then I would suggest you wait for Little Busters” Ecstasy (does contain sex scenes). As for the other fan service CG’s I can only think of the bath scene where you see both Rin and Komari in (censored of course). This CG is unlocked after you complete Rin1 so if you wish to view it then you’ll have to go through Komari’s route again. Enough about the fan service stuff, let’s talk about Komari’s route shall we?

Yuto Tonokawa does a great job in portraying how the sweet, innocent Komari (who loves all living things) break when confronted by blood and death. Seeing Komari in a state of shock from remembering about her deceased older brother was nothing less than tragic. I didn’t want to see Komari traumatized with all life in her eyes gone, it was almost too much for me to continue playing. What I couldn’t agree with was Naoe Riki choosing to ‘act’ as Komari’s brother as a replacement for the deceased. Of course, the decision he made was proven to be wrong later on. We come to the conclusion that her brother tried to preserve Komari’s happiness but the actions he took with the handmade story didn’t work out the way he wanted. In fact, it had the opposite effect. This leaves the only choice Riki has to releasing Komari from her trauma, and that is making another picture book. A picture book filled with the emotions and a meaning Komari’s older brother wasn’t able to put in. Riki’s determination was something I admired and how he brought Komari back to the reality she loved was the definition of happiness and acceptance. It was beautiful seeing Komari smiling once again. I was so touched by her smile. That smile held such a powerful emotion which we all missed and I can truly say that this is a great example of “not knowing how much something truly means until it’s actually lost”. At first I didn’t care much for Komari but after finishing her route, I take it all back.

Mio Nishizono (who is voiced by Shiho Kawaragi) is quite the peculiar one because she’s got a very monotone voice to her which I found to be a bit conflicting with the atmosphere at times (but it’s to be expected since she’s the very calm and isolated type). Not that I hated it since I got used to it later on but what was also conflicting in my opinion (which most likely made be enjoy Mio’s route less than the others) was the fact that Mio has a ‘other self’ whom they both play as twin sisters. I played through Haruka and that was about twin sisters and now I’m exposed to something very similar to another twin sister route. It was because of that realization I might not have enjoyed Mio’s route as much as the rest because it didn’t have that wow factor Leo Kashida wanted his players to feel. I know for the fact that technically they aren’t twins but more of a shadow and body relationship (which explains why Mio didn’t have her own shadow when Midori was present). Midori (Mio’s other half) is Mio’s shadow who was given form by Mio’s will when she was a child. Feeling pity for Midori who can’t be seen by others except her, that’s how the route unfolds: the story of Midori ‘becoming’ the Mio everyone knows at school while as Mio herself becomes the shadow that cannot be seen.

I can understand how she would feel for Midori, seeing as Midori was forgotten about – even by Mio herself – for years but it definitely not the correct decision. Considering Riki is the only person who still remembers the real Mio, it’s tough seeing him battling against forgetting Mio while at the same time, pull Mio back into reality. As much as it’s tough, Riki’s determination for the person he loves is admirable. Mio sub-consciously wishes to stay with Riki since she also loves him too but feeling pity for Midori, she throws these emotions away. A saddening and tragic romance spin took form and I can say that it worked well. We all view Midori as the evil villain but in fact, she’s not a villain at all which is why you get this mix of sadness and happiness when Midori departs from reality; returning to the place she belongs: as Mio’s shadow. It is true that Little Busters also incorporates the supernatural so don’t be too surprised. What I found really enjoyable during Mio’s route was the poetry competition. Each Little Buster member has several lines and the order of the lines also plays a part in the end result you get. When you think about it, there are heaps of different combinations you can come up with and all of them are uniquely funny how ridiculous they can get. Overall, I had a very fun time playing Mio’s route with a few personal dislikes here and there but they were very minor. But if you were to ask me what route I found the lest enjoyment from, I’d have to say Kurugaya’s.

Kudryavka (or Kud for short who is voiced by Miyako Suzuta) is an adorable dog lover who is a bit dim-witted and naïve most of the times (which adds points to her cute, innocent side) but Kud’s route is most likely the darkest route out of the rest in Little Busters in my opinion. Although she has the least amount of choices to be made in her route (which is most likely the reason why I was able to finish her route with enough time to start Kurugaya’s at night) the less amount of time she gets from the rest is compensated for what Chika Shirokiri had install for us. I can only generalize due to a very hazy memory that Kud was part of a family working in the space department which some accident happens and the whole city goes into a riot. So at this point, I was given two choices ‘let her go to the chaotic town to see her family’ and ‘don’t let her go because it’s dangerous’. Call me a cheater but I do use a walkthrough so the first option was the good end option. Even so, I always want to see both sides of the coin so I went with the bad end first. Let me just say that if you were watching your own mother on the news being executed, you would most likely fall into complete shock and that was what had happened. It was devastating for me as well how the change of atmosphere and Kud’s emotions affected not only Riki but you as a player. It truly was a bad end but enough about that, let’s talk about the good end.

Loading my save point, I decided to let Kud go and boy did I start to think my worst fears were becoming a reality. It’s great how they don’t change perspectives from Riki to Kud and explain everything that’s happening but giving you hints and letting you think yourself how bad it was over there through the text messages and calls Kud and Riki makes to each other. The use of imagination definitely worked in Paranormal Activity and it works just as great in Kud’s situation being in another country. It was dark and worrying following Riki’s life as Kud was exposed to a dangerous place and let me tell you, the choice of using a bad reception during a phone call might be ‘cliché’ but it worked brilliantly for Kud’s kidnapping. This is where it gets a bit supernatural where the strong love and bond both Riki and Kud share allows the two to communicate through their sub-conscious from different sides of the world, strong enough to even send items across. Now before you think this is all too ridiculous that it’s shit, it wasn’t shit at all. In fact, I loved that abnormality which was touching in its own aspect and the choice of briefly letting the two meet once more at the end was a befitting ending to a new beginning. What I liked most in Kud’s route was the tribal body painting which held heaps of powerful emotions between the two, it really was a way of spiritually connecting one person to the other (which explains the abnormality) and overall I very much loved playing Kud’s route… even if her ‘freedom’ CG (after escaping from being confined) was ridiculously funny.

Besides being the most erotic and ‘developed’ heroine out of the rest, I did enjoy Kurugaya’s route somewhat but not to my expectations. Her personality is very much like Rika when it comes to being perverted but is more refined and evil when bringing those sexual jokes out (which is most likely why I found this character fun and interesting). Her presence throughout the game makes a daily high-school life fun (for herself mainly) but she also holds a very adorable side to her when she’s confronted by an overload of ‘cuteness’ usually by the hands of Komari calling her “yui-chan”. Kurugaya’s (voiced by Ryoko Tanaka) route offered a more ‘realistic’ and plain approach to the romantic side in Little Busters; being more comedic than series like the rest of the girls you can complete. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find the ‘love love hunters’ matchmaking mission hilarious. Even so, that realistic approach to ‘helping a friend hook up with a girl’ didn’t offer the impact I thought Kurugaya’s route deserved.

Surprisingly near the end, everything takes a supernatural turn of events where – I believe – Kurugaya forgets what she and Riki did in the past few days along with everyone else besides Riki forgetting things like the two of them getting together. Everything took a tragic romance ending which I was all too familiar with only after completing Ef – A Tale of Memories 2 weeks before I started playing Kurugaya’s route. I sub-consciously compared the two girls; having the (somewhat) same memory lost spin to the romance. How this ruined my ideal expectations was that I came to the conclusion that Ef did a better job at unfolding and concluding Chihiro’s route in the anime than Kurugaya’s route in Little Busters. I did end up replaying Kurugaya’s route after unlocking her True End upon completion of Refrain but even if it did offer that ‘happy ending’; it still wasn’t as impacting as the other routes I’ve played. I can honestly say that Yuto Tonokawa did a better job in Komari’s route than Kurugaya’s.

Let me first state that Rin’s route is divided into two halves (Rin1 and Rin2) which if you wish to play Rin2, you would need to complete everyone else’s routes (including Rin1) for it to unlock. Only after you finish Rin2 does Refrain become unlocked It’s for this reason that if you wish to enjoy Rin’s route to the fullest, you should leave it to last. Rin (who is voiced by Tomoe Tamiyasu) is Kyousuke’s younger sister who has a very shy side to her when it comes to strangers. Still, she’s a major cat lover and even acts as a cat (which I find adorable how much love she has for her cats). Through Rin1, we’re exposed to a ‘mysterious person’ who continues to offer Rin objectives to complete so she could ‘find the secret to the world’ but in fact, it was all a strategy to decrease the shyness she holds for strangers so that – in the future – she can become more independent. I certainly had fun distributing cafeteria food (another small mini-game) but what I liked most about Rin’s route was how it flowed with the main story much better than the rest of the girls routes (even though it’s a given).

Even though Rin’s way of dating Riki was very sudden and ‘out there’, it was still touching and sweet seeing the two of them interact with each other throughout the story. Sad as it was that Rin had to be sent off to a sister school but it really did add a lot of character development between Rin and Riki. The constant text messages she kept sending back about how she can’t stand being their; isolated from everyone else was nothing less than sad and depressing. It had the same effect as what happened in Kud’s route – using imagination to bring forth an image of what might be happening. The scary thing is that, I felt really sad for Rin for having to put up with the sister school (which even rejects her existence in the school) for the sake of cheering up depressed students. This left Riki with a reckless but meaningful choice of running away from town with Rin to save her from breaking down. I won’t comment on whether or not it was the correct choice since it does add to character development and makes sense when you play through Refrain. Living a peaceful life for a few weeks or so, Riki and Rin were caught and taken back. Thus Refrain begins after Riki vows to become stronger so he could protect Rin.

At first I was wondering why the days were reset back to the start and why it felt more like I was replaying the story than continuing from where I left off at Rin2 near the start, but this was later explained as I played on. Riki seems to have forgotten what he did in Rin1 and Rin2 besides the rest of the gang but I will talk about this later on. First off, the story does continue from Rin2 due to the fact that after the incident of being caught, Rin has developed an even worst complex when it comes to strangers that she has to attend a nursery school (that’s what it looks like to me). What was different from Refrain to the normal playthroughs is that we take a darker twist than what we’re usually familiar with. Still, it was great seeing Riki being more independent; trying to take care of Rin while at the same time trying to find a way to cure her shyness. The solution: reform the Little Busters with him as the leader. What I really liked in Refrain was how we get to see each of the main members of the Little Buster’s individual perspectives towards Riki’s idea of reforming Little Busters and why they choose not to because of the incident involving Rin in the Rin2 route. But in the end, Riki was able to win back each of their hearts in forming the Little Busters.

Masato’s being first, his perception of the world filled with Masato’s was a very interesting twist to the story and through seeing the world through his understanding, we learnt not only about his past but the formation of Little Busters. As well as Kengo’s, both of these two held a sad past; burdened by their expertise with Masato being too strong for everyone causing isolation and Kengo’s caged freedom as a kendo fighter. It was Kyousuke that brought happiness to the two in the past, but now it’s Riki’s turn to take on the same role he admired Kyousuke for and I’ll tell you now, it was done superbly well. For the last member to join the re-formed Little Busters, Kyosuke gives us a bigger insight on the link between Rin2 and Refrain while also explain the confusion I had in the beginning. Not only that, Kyosuke was the one behind all the objectives written to Rin for the sake of improving not only hers but Riki’s independence for the future. Why? The world which Riki and Rin have come to understand as reality is just a manifestation of the Littler Busters wishes. Being satisfied with the development in Riki and Rin, the team departs one by one from the world in the saddest but touching departure I’ve ever seen. Masato’s farewell moment got me teary because at that point, I realized something was wrong.

The realization of the world Riki and Rin came to know as reality was shattered in a very heartbroken way. In reality, the Little Busters gang was part of a bus accident during one of their field trips and with the only survivors capable of escaping before it blows up were Rin and Riki. It was sad, it was tragically sad to the point I began to cry that everyone has to die besides Rin and Riki. At that moment, I was so into the story, I felt like I was Riki from top to bottom. The emotions he went through as I played were affecting me wholly. I couldn’t stop crying when it was Kyousuke’s turn to depart from Rin and Riki. Even if he wanted to live on with them, he knew that the only thing he could to for them, was making them more independent. That devastation no one wanted to accept was utterly heartbreaking. I didn’t want to accept what was coming but I continued the game. Having to choose the option of ‘escape’ instead of ‘save the rest’ when Rin and Riki awake in the real world was something I didn’t want to admit doing. To escape and leave your friends to die, you can tell how much pain I was going through but you know what? When I thought everything was going to end with Rin and Riki accepting to be together for the sake of the others, it didn’t. Jun Maeda, you are a troll. You are a complete troll whom I love so much because I was given the option to make a miraculous trip back into the past and cure Riki’s narcolepsy. With this, I was able to go back to the bus scene and save everyone from the explosion alongside Rin. As much as it’s extremely extraordinary the way I explain it, it really worked in executing that ‘happy ending’ Jun Maeda wanted to show us all and damn did he do a fucken good job at it!

Since my first run ever, I’ve really enjoyed the battle matches within the game alongside with the baseball batting practice, battle rankings and other mini-game stuff. What’s great with the battle matches is that you get to assign a random nickname to the person who lost and the names the game comes up with can get ridiculously hilarious. There’s a certain part in the game where you have to throw Rin up to her classroom which is on the 2nd floor from the courtyard. Depending on the amount of power you choose, she can either get tossed too high, too low or misdirected. I found that quite funny seeing how Little Busters was the first visual novel I’ve played with so many interactions that make it ever more entertaining. I’m not sure if there are other visual novels out there that includes all these fun mini-games and interactions but they definitely work. Of course, why it worked so well with Little Busters is the fact that LB is a comedy, romance, school-life visual novel and even the comedy you don’t have a hand in (like Kyousuke’s imaginative aphorisms mainly formed from Masato’s stupidity) is greatly humorous. And that’s just one example out of the vast amounts within the game.

There are 3 extra contents within the game with 2 of them you can complete in all routes. The other extra content is called ‘Muscle Sensation’ which is filled with ridiculous comedy revolving around Masato’s muscles and world domination (yeah you heard me right). You can only access ‘Muscle Sensation’ if you haven’t finished Kud’s route. As for the other two, there is one where you need to meet the required conditions in order for a new fighter named ‘Mask the Saito’ to appear in the battle rankings. Upon defeating him, you will gain his mask (which is the strongest item you can get in the game) but also uncover his true identity (Hint: It’s someone you know). The last extra content – which is also related to battling – is called ‘Unkown Lifeform’. It doesn’t offer any rewards so whether or not you wish to complete this, it’s up to you. As for me, I got a bit of fun from defeating them. All three of these extra contents I’ve witnessed firsthand were rewarding individually in the sense that I found heaps of enjoyment from them all (to the point that I sub-consciously try to play them again even though I don’t have to). The ‘Muscle sensation’ route gave birth to a new catchphrase which I found to be hilarious even in the present. Telling you that phrase would ruin the surprise so if you want to know it, go play the game!

Reading up on all the character routes up top, you can tell I really enjoyed playing Little Busters overall. Favourite route is of course Rin’s route which the scenario was done by Jun Maeda and also because her route carries into Refrain which really made me “cry like a bitch” (as Baku would put it). It’s definitely been a while since I’ve continuously cried tears that continued to drip down onto my shirt. This is definitely a rare event because I’ve never felt so moved before! Even K-On didn’t make me cry as much and that’s saying something because I definitely cried a fair bit during the endings. I have to give credit to all the scenario writers part of Little Busters for their individually brilliant way of telling a story filled with all sort of emotions but biggest credits to Jun Maeda. The art and character designs really fitted in well with the school-life comedy aspect of the game and what’s brilliant is that the art also worked well with the more tragic and darker moments. Sure there were little tiny things I didn’t like at times in LB concerning art. Examples is Mio’s ‘flat’ face in the first CG you see with her parasol and also Kengo’s posture when you see him wear the school uniform but these are just nit-picking so it wasn’t anything I couldn’t turn a blind eye to.

The only thing I couldn’t turn a blind eye to was Naoe Riki’s (the protagonist you play as) voice actor who sounds so much like a girl. The first time you hear your own protagonist say something is during a baseball match. Yeah I got used to it after a while but I didn’t stop disliking it. To be honest I accidentally mistaken Riki’s voice for Rin’s once because – at the time – she was the only female on the field until I checked carefully. As for the other voice actors, I have no gripe over any of them what-so-ever but I will say that each voice suited the character’s personality really well in depicting everything the character was going through. As for the music, I truly love Maeda’s piano composition but of course, Maeda isn’t the only person behind the music in Little Busters. Even if my favourite is Maeda’s, everyone’s composition and the choices made to specifically put that certain composition in place was nothing less than astonishing in bringing out the characters emotions they hold inside.

During Refrain, the ‘final departure’ scene was utmost sad. The timing of each BGM is brilliant and when it needs to increase its crescendo’s, it will increase at the right amount that your whole body will feel the impact. I know that we choose how fast the text goes; affecting the story progression speed, but the great thing about the BGM’s in Little Busters is that it’s impacting from the start till the end of the track. The word amazing is an understatement with what Maeda and the rest of the team came up with for the music in Little Busters. Everything fitted into the correct slots; creating whatever atmosphere, emotions, plots, pacing or flow it wanted to achieve. To sum it all up, Little Busters is a great visual novel and definitely succeeded in achieving those very emotions it wanted us players to feel.

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