Feels like a common theme in this game is that the more I read, the less I actually understand about the mystery
When Sara was explaining what happened in the past with Setsuna killing the other Setsuna, I donāt understand how Sara would have known all of that or why they instantly believed her? Donāt know if I missed something during that scene.
Iām not really sure if I understood Rinneās reaction too. If Saraās theory was true, wouldnāt the current Setsuna still be the same one that Rinne loved, just from a parallel world? Rinne going all yandere mode was kind of funny though.
I think Iām nearly done with Karenās route. Itās just that every time I think itās finally over, thereās another epilogue. Well, maybe tomorrow.
Finally done with the last epilogue of Karenās route. Starting Saraās tomorrow.
I wish I could still find all the posts other people have already made about this route, but theyāre buried too deep.
Route A final thoughts
This route sometimes felt a bit unnecessarily drawn-out, but all in all, I liked it.
Small bits of information about the greater picture were thrown around and they did their job to hook me and make me more curious. The ending left me with a lot of questions, especially about Subaruās motives.
Iām not all that interested in the romance parts in the first place, but except for the occasional cringe-lewd parts already mentioned, I felt this route did a reasonably good job of developing Setsuna and Karen as a couple of young, immature people who are drawn together because of their shared flaws and who suffer setbacks for the same reason. Setsuna got a chance to fool around, make mistakes without any major consequences and get more self-aware of his own immaturity.
Even though I was reading without a guide, I didnāt encounter any bad endings, but the route I took felt very natural. Right now, I donāt feel any particular urge to go back and explore alternate choices. My overall reading progress is at 17% now.
Alright so I went ahead and reread the 265 comments of the thread
I made a table with reviews in the second post (the first reply after the main post), let me know if you have any feedback for improvement or if I forgot anything
Also made me realize how bad Iāve been myself at posting my thoughts
But now that we have an index itās a nice incentive, you guys donāt have to decide between reading spoilers now or forgetting where my review is and never read it. I need some time to organize the thoughts Iāve written along the way but will definitely post them
Unlocked all the endings I could find by myself. There are 2 more that I canāt find! Will look for them a bit more by myself, otherwise use a guide tomorrow. Thatās 88% completion in the ending list.
That scene where they got to the sea station again only to see it blown up was such a cock-teaser! As for the way back, this time they probably just turned the boat around. But earlier and at the beginning of Route B, I think itās implied that thereās a current pulling you back to the island as long as youāre conscious enough to stay afloat.
In general, women are expected to use formal language more than men in Japan, so this isnāt that rare in and of itself. However, I also feel like Sara goes beyond whatās expected and strikes an overly formal tone thatās probably part of her whole shrine maiden/local nobility persona, just like always wearing traditional shrine maiden clothes. Karen, on the other hand, often uses rough āmaleā language and it makes her sound rather tomboyish and carefree.
Found where to go next, without a guide I donāt think Iāll do that for every VN, but ISLAND is like my baby at this point, I felt I had to try :x
Last endings, Iām coming for you!!
(Iām reading all the guides so I knew in advance that there was more to be found. It was so hard not to spoil it for you by asking the wrong questions these last few days!)
I did it I finished the game 100% everywhere!
Updating with my final character count in the first post.
I started it in August last year so it took me almost a whole year, wow. I donāt think I knew that it would be so big (but also I started at a very slow pace and had several weeks break from time to time, so itās definitely doable in less time!)
My brain is a little bit broken from all the things I know now, but I will take a moment and try to make sense of it all. And of course post some thoughts. And list of favorite tracks. And think about what I will do with my life instead now
Congratulations on finishing it! Iām looking forward to reading your final thoughts on the game and everything.
If I remember correctly, this was your first VN in Japanese? Definitely a long one to start with Itāll be the longest single VN Iāve read by the end of it. I was hoping to finish it before we start Hiver but seeing the final count, not sure if Iāll make it in time. Might have to take another break at the end of the month or find time to read them both.
Yes and yes!!! Whatās the character count for the different Flowers, I donāt remember if I ever asked? I feel like they are way shorter but the language is a bit harder.
Theyāre around 280-310k characters per game except for Ete, that one was the shortest at 250k~. So it looks like in Island Route C is longer than any single Flowers game haha. The language is definitely easier in Island though, rarely any weird kanji here and a lot shorter/simple sentences.
Except for Momoka, she'll take up an entire textbox for a single sentence (Route C spoiler)
Congratulations! Thatās such an accomplishment! What level were you when you started? You must have learned so much while reading this past year!
Regarding the character count, I have a question. You posted the character count for Saraās route at 396.000. The other routes are much shorter. I think Saraās route has 2 parts, right? Do you have the character count for each part? Iām guessing that the first part is similar to the other routes? It might make sense to split it in the first post in the thread, but that could be a spoiler too. Hmmā¦ And one more assumption, I think the character count in vndb must be based on the game up until the first part of Saraās route. Does that sound about right?
What did you think about the ending? I have read some reviews that say that they liked the VN but hated the ending. Some say that the ending in the anime is better than the ending in the VN.
I guess now that you have read the whole thing, you can watch the anime without any risk of anything being spoiled!
Just a comment to this in the first post in the thread - you can toggle between windows mode and full screen using F11. Very convenient if you go from full screen and being able to read everything, to window mode with Textractor, and back again to reading in full screen. Maybe you could edit that in too?
It lets you import your own dictionaries and I think you can set up mining to anki with it as well. Hereās a random screenshot I just took to show how it looks
maybe I can make a wiki or an edit in the home post with a collection of thoughts per route!
I donāt think Iāll do that for every VN, but ISLAND is like my baby at this point, I felt I had to try :x
