Everyone hypes up Shinku and the True Route, but I found the story's reveals to be incredibly unsatisfactory. The answers to my questions were either profoundly stupid, contrived, convoluted, or nonexistent, and I did not think the main heroine had as much chemistry with the main character as the other girls - and I disliked how the game fully buys into the idea that you'll immediately love her way more than the others. Some very specific actions the main character took in this route also made him immediately, irredeemably unlikable to me, but it's not something I can say without spoilers.

The presentation was top notch, but I wish it was attached to a script that didn't feel like it intentionally wasted my time. I really enjoyed the earlier parts of the game, and the feelings of friendship between all the characters, but I do not think it stuck the landing in its final route at all.

And the character routes aren't perfect, either. I think the routes have a problem where they layer on contrivances to make the already sympathetic backstories just a extra little bit *more sad* in a way that feels unsure of its own character work. Which is a shame, because the characters already have so many interesting qualities and thoughts about the world around them, you don't need to force out those extra drops of drama.

I really, really wanted to like this, and I did for most of the game, but it just dropped the ball last minute so, so hard for me.

We all love our pancakes loving magician!