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Karifean's Blog of Visual Novels

Narcissu Review

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Narcissu is a visual novel developed by stage-nana, published in English by insani and Sekai Project.
It's a visual novel that I bring up for four main reasons.
  • It's on Steam
  • It's free
  • It's very short
  • It's very good



Overview

Narcissu is a story about two terminally ill young adults living in a hospice. One being a twenty-year-old man who only just got admitted, and the other being a slightly older woman who has already been around for quite some time and has lost just about all interest in the world.

The story is mainly told from the man's perspective as he comes to terms with his fate and tries to get the woman to open up to him just a little bit.



Narcissu is entirely linear and has no choices. It takes about 2-3 hours to read through (not including Narcissu Side 2nd).

Characters

Really, there are only two characters in this story, the unnamed male protagonist, and Setsumi, the female protagonist. Narcissu does a good job at making the character's actions and interactions seem believable given their situation. The effects of the atmosphere of the "7th floor" (the hospice) as a place to slowly ease yourself into death is also portrayed well, and although the characters are not the most talkative the two protagonists do have a good sort of dynamic that keeps the flow of the story going even through its slow parts.

In short, the story has all the characters it needs and for how short it is any more would be pushing it.

Story



Early on it is established that neither the protagonist nor Setsumi, think of the 7th floor or home to be a place they would like to die at. Soon enough, a chance presents itself for them to make a choice they cannot take back - and the two run away using a car. And thus begins a road trip that may just end up being the last in their lives.



The two don't have much of a goal in mind but they have their share of problems as promptly escaping from a hospice doesn't make for the best conditions to go on a lengthy road trip. From the beginning it's rather clear that there's not much of a future beyond this trip for either of them, but they still go anyways because they want to. The atmosphere is really well set up and the road trip feels well-paced all round; it's not like nothing ever happens as they just drive around. There are many memorable scenes and one thing supplements it all and makes it a great experience.

Soundtrack

Simply put, the soundtrack of Narcissu is wonderful. While few tracks stand out on their own it perfectly matches the tone set by the story and assists the storytelling nicely. One of the most fitting soundtracks to a visual novel I've ever heard.



If you want you can buy the soundtrack on Steam for I think $10; although you can listen to it as much as you want in Sound Mode buying the soundtrack directly supports the creators and localizers and will help get Narcissu 3rd a localization as well. Your call.

Summary

Narcissu is a great short story with a heavy focus on the theme of terminal illness and life with imminent death. As it's on Steam and free of charge it's also very accessible and there's really no reason not to give it a try. I can definitely say the couple hours it takes to go through are more than worth it.

I give this visual novel a notable

7.5 / 10

and strongly recommend giving it a read.

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