If I like something then I usually want to see more of it, although this rarely works out the way I would like it to – Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World being perhaps the best example of this. I have a desire to know what happens afterwards to these characters that I have grown so attached to, yet the reality is often that I am better off not knowing, because it’s so poorly written that a vague, unsatisfying ending is preferable.

Thankfully, this wasn’t one of those times! Mostly.

I didn’t really know what to expect from this going in, but I was pleasantly surprised overall. I had this on the PS Vita back when it was first released, but between other projects and too much time passing between getting this and reading the original VN, I just never got around to it.

The White Rose after stories were a bit of a weird mixed bag – the ones I actually liked the most stemmed from the routes I enjoyed the least, Impey and Frankenstein. Impey has always been a vexing character in that I don’t like his endless flirtation but can appreciate his (very) hidden depths, and how earnest he is in pursuing what he wants, and him ending up under the sea was a nice way of continuing that dream. Frankenstein’s after story was surprisingly good despite incorporating elements of St Germain’s route in the Apostles of Idea, a concept I’ve always been a bit iffy about if only because it feels like it should be more developed than it is. St Germain seems to work better as a supporting character than anything else though, and this was by far the most meaningful after story in that things actually happened in it.

Lupin’s route was intended to provide some closure for Cardia but it ultimately felt like a waste of time, St. Germain’s story was as much of a mess as his route was, and Van Helsing’s…I’m really disappointed in Van Helsing’s route. His story had the least satisfying ending of all in the VN, and I did not like the way Victor was brought in to fix Cardia’s poison issues for him so they could focus on blowing up a simple misunderstanding. It was exactly the kind of problem I would have expected Cardia and Van Helsing to have, but it didn’t make for very compelling reading.

The Lupin’s Gang story was a nightmare. I don’t really know what else to say about it. It felt like it belonged in another visual novel entirely – in fact I believe there is an otome about the mafia, although the name escapes me at the moment – and was poorly paced and very tedious to sit through. I’m not sure where it came from or what the point of it was, all I do know is that I never want to hear from Shirley or her father again. Code: Realize has always been about Cardia first and foremost, and whilst I can appreciate them trying to build on the world to tell a different story to an extent, when that story isn’t particularly interesting in the first place…well.

Sholmes’ route was interesting, although it didn’t bring anything new to the table. I suppose it gave a little more meaning to Aleister/Moriarty as a character, but honestly I think he got enough of a role in Van Helsing’s route as it was. It was a little awkward to read as well…without prior knowledge of a lot of things from other routes it wouldn’t have made much sense, and whilst I have that knowledge from reading Guardian of Rebirth, one thing I like about that game is that the routes are all self-contained and the focus is mainly on Cardia as a protagonist. She took a bit of a backseat in this in favour of Sholmes and Watson, despite making a very big decision to not return to Lupin’s gang. Her affection for Sholmes felt extremely forced and the end result was that the whole thing felt very rushed.

Finis’ story was easily the highlight of this game, and in a lot of ways it felt like the true ending for the whole thing. Finis is a character who is never really explored in particular depth in any of the routes in the main game, but he’s always portrayed as a very lonely person who just wants to be loved. He’s malicious and sadistic, but only because he’s envious of his sister – what we never really find out is WHY. Why isn’t he loved? What made him this way? His route in this answers these questions perfectly, and I think it’s also the best route for Cardia as a protagonist as well: she never comes to overly rely on or be diminished by any of Lupin’s gang, but at the same time it just feels more right to me that she not end up with any of them and instead lives out a happy life with her little brother. It turns an otome game into a heartwarming story about family and I really enjoyed reading it. I get the feeling it isn’t typical for the genre either, which is wonderfully refreshing.

So, a mixed bag overall, consisting of some of the best and worst content I’ve read for this series! I definitely don’t regret reading this and my appreciation of the world and its characters has definitely broadened, but at the same time there are things here I could have done without. I’m curious to see what Wintertide Miracles brings to the table, but will be saving that for Christmas…thematic sense, and all that.