The best written route?

[Sea]

Rin's route.

Seconded

[ProfAllister]

Just out of curiosity, which writers wrote which routes?

CplCrud/Suriko - Hanako
Suriko - Lilly
Aura - Rin
Anonymous22 - Shizune
TheHivemind - Emi

I would say that Rin's route is the most evocative, Shizune's is the most complex and nuanced, and Emi's is the tightest (Insert "anal" joke (Heh, "insert")).

[Oddball]

Shizune is hard to relate to in universe. Of course that is intentional, but I suspect that it doesn't exactly help her with the readers either.

Her supporting cast really doesn't help either.

She can't communicate with others, so that makes her hard to read. You have to pay close attention to pick up the subtitles of her character and her actions.

And while she's being subtle, Misha is laughing up a storm with bright pink hair, Kenji is ranting at you, Jigoro is yelling and waving around a big sword, and Hideaki is being completly uninteresting in the most annoying way possible. It's hard to pay attention to her, when everyone else in her route is screaming for you to pay attention to them instead.

[ZXNova]

Shizune is hard to relate to in universe. Of course that is intentional, but I suspect that it doesn't exactly help her with the readers either.

Her supporting cast really doesn't help either.

She can't communicate with others, so that makes her hard to read. You have to pay close attention to pick up the subtitles of her character and her actions.

And while she's being subtle, Misha is laughing up a storm with bright pink hair, Kenji is ranting at you, Jigoro is yelling and waving around a big sword, and Hideaki is being completly uninteresting in the most annoying way possible. It's hard to pay attention to her, when everyone else in her route is screaming for you to pay attention to them instead.

Very good point made. At least Rin's route doesn't have distractions other than Rin herself.

[Sedinus]

Lilly's path feels the most professionally written, but it's certainly not the most enjoyable read. And I like to enjoy my books.

In that respect, Rin's path takes the cake.

[Mirage_GSM]

Also, there's Shizune's relationship to Lilly which doesn't serve any purpose in the story either.

I always thought that served nicely to show Shizune's flaws early-on. Her constant stubbornness, competitions, inadvertent selfishness...All of which destroys what relationship there was between them.

I didn't explain that well, sorry.
I was talking about the fact that Shizune and Lilly are cousins.
This doesn't serve any purpose in the story whatsoever. For me it only served to destroy my immersion because of the huge unlikelihood of first cousins both having completely different disabilities.
It would have made a lot more sense if they'd just been childhood friends - maybe their mothers met each other at a clinic or a special kindergarden...

[Xanatos]

Also, there's Shizune's relationship to Lilly which doesn't serve any purpose in the story either.

I always thought that served nicely to show Shizune's flaws early-on. Her constant stubbornness, competitions, inadvertent selfishness...All of which destroys what relationship there was between them.

I didn't explain that well, sorry.
I was talking about the fact that Shizune and Lilly are cousins.
This doesn't serve any purpose in the story whatsoever. For me it only served to destroy my immersion because of the huge unlikelihood of first cousins both having completely different disabilities.
It would have made a lot more sense if they'd just been childhood friends - maybe their mothers met each other at a clinic or a special kindergarden...

I don't know enough about odds to argue or agree...

[Hanako Scars]

I remember reading on the blog a while ago that Hivemind (I think it was Hivemind anyway) had the most unique writing style. I didn't notice much difference between the writing style in the Emi route and the writing style in every other route.

[Liminaut]

One thing I liked about all the paths was that the choice structure strongly reflects the subject matter. For instance, there's only one choice in Shuzune's path: if you want to be Shizune's (boy)friend you're pretty much doing whatever Shizune tells you to do. On the other hand the choice structure in Rin's path is nearly as tangled as Rin is.

Another thing I like about the writing is that Hisao is a rather unreliable guide. He's often taking the wrong view of the women involved. For instance in Hanako's path Hidao is obsessing about protecting Hanako but the key to Hanako's path isn't protecting her from the darkness but giving her access to joy.

That said, my vote for best-written path is Rin's.
1) Rin's path deals in depth with fundamental issues in any relationship: the difficulty of ever understanding someone else.
2) Rin's path reveals aspects of Yamaku that aren't in other paths
3) The gloriously tangled choice structure
4) The fact that different choices may not change the overall path but instead will reveal different aspects of RIn's story
5) Rin's dialog: being absolutely literal and absolutely snarky at the same time

[wazuzu]

This is a hard question. I think Lilly's, Emi's, Shizune's and Rin's routes are the best. Come at me.

[Umber]

I guess it really depends on how you look at it. If it were best in the sense that it revolved beautifully around the issues of the girl in question, I would say either Hanako's or Emi's routes. Best written as to immerse myself in the character's character, Rin's. For comedic value, Kenji-route (and Emi's).

Shizune's, I felt like her route didn't properly end, but that also properly supports my feeling that her route wasn't supposed to. Like, I wouldn't be surprised if the good ending sped to an event in the future where Hisao's relationship with Shizune was still basically the same, except that they're older. Or if they'd drifted apart and simply become good acquaintances, and Shizune finally managed to balance things between herself and Misha.

[ZXNova]

Due to the fact communication with Shizune is extremely difficult, the pace at which they move is understandably slow. The time it would take for them to develop a relationship would take A LOT longer then it is with other people. That's likely why it takes place all the way to the end of the school year. It takes that much time for them to get to that point.

[Drummodino]

Lily's. For some reason it just invoked the most emotion from me.

However they were all really well written. There weren't any weak links.

[Drummodino]

This is a hard question. I think Lilly's, Emi's, Shizune's and Rin's routes are the best. Come at me.

I hate to be the one who raises to the bait, but... Did you leave out Hanako on purpose?

[wazuzu]

I hate to be the one who raises to the bait, but... Did you leave out Hanako on purpose?

Yes, it feels much more empty than even Schizu. I said it a lot of times, but I feel Hanako opens to the world (not to Hisao) much more in Lilly's route.
I like Hanako's route, I just don't find it... satisfying. I even think of it as a hikki-bait route.

Manly picnic is well-written, but too otheworldly for the game.