Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo

Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo or if you want to get all “Western” about it, A Kiss for the Petals is a popular series of visual novels. Those who are looking for a visual novel that is about school girls finding their way into adulthood are going to enjoy this. While I am just looking at the first game/visual novel in the series. It is worth noting that if you get into this that there are 16 (as I write this) other titles in the series.

Welcome To St. Michaels Academy

The setting for Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo – A Kiss for the Petals is about a student at the school called, Nanami who somehow ends up getting into trouble and gets involved in an accident. She is saved by another student called Yuna and she becomes infatuated with her. It leads her to question herself and want to get more connected to this other girl.

The story is basically about the relationship between these girls and how it blossoms. It is very well written and while it is a story about a relationship. I liked the way that the story was also a coming of age tale as well.

One Decision Can Change Everything

If you are looking for a visual novel that lets you make many choices so that you can shape the narrative in many different ways, this may disappoint you. Instead, you only get to make a few key decisions and the rest of the game just unfolds and you go with the flow. I am not sure exactly how much weight decisions play in the series in general, but I can tell you that in Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo – A Kiss for the Petals choices are not something you will be making a great deal of.

Like A Fine Wine

I am sure that when this was first released in 2006 that the visuals were what grabbed people’s attention. Even now, over a decade later this is a game that is very appealing to look at. It features some very classy looking girls (who do like to get very naughty!) and they are supported with very sharp looking backgrounds that are nicely detailed, but they never take away from the characters that are standing in front of them.

The game has this kind of painting vibe to the presentation and that is a style I really do appreciate. The sound design is the weakest aspect of the game. I say this because there are these odd sound cues that can happen as you play which stick out like a sore thumb. The overall score of the game is just kind of there. While the Japanese voice acting is decent enough, it is very loud and abrasive.

Pros:

• The game has some likable characters
• The game is not just about sex, it is also a coming of age story
• You will get attached to the characters
• The series just gets better and better from this!
• The presentation is like a painting

Cons:

• The sound design in the whole game is not very appealing
• The later games are better in my opinion