Rin's Path discussion *spoilers*

[Mirage_GSM]

Basically both.

[Hamadyne]

Just finished Rin's path. Got the happy ending on the first go.

Man, where do I start?

Do I talk about her doubts about the future, or do I talk about how I felt at the very end?
Do I talk about how I thought I chose the wrong selection one too many times, or do I just start crying after seeing the first h-scene in the loft, when she's just...broken?

I knew had to do either Rin's or Hanako's path first or second thing, and Rin was the best to experience after Hanako. Both of them have similar moments, in my opinion.

[saudaaji]

Absolutely stunning. After so many years reading all those blog posts about how great visual novels could really be, here we see the fruit of that vision. It is abundantly clear how much love aura has put into crafting Rin's character. Rin defies stereotype. Many people could (and did, and do) find themselves intrigued by the quirky scatterbrained artist in Act 1, but what does it take to love her? What does it mean to be her? As we read her story, we never cease to learn more not only about Rin, but about Hisao himself, the player character (who is more often than not ignored in VNs), and as a result we see a real relationship develop, with all its pleasure and pain.

The erotic scenes are superbly well done. No mere porn interludes, these scenes, always in the context of the emotional relationship of these two young lovers, are a source of concentrated dramatic energy, overwhelmingly charged with emotion--despair, self-loathing, fear, longing... and at last a triumphant tenderness as the intensely sensitive piano of Romance in Andante II always seems to jump in at just the right moment.

Rin's route is a hard journey, but a beautiful one. I had the shivers for about 20 minutes after I was done with this route, and after I rewatched the finale to write this review I got them again.

[saudaaji]

Forget to give due credit above to the graphic artists who contributed to Rin's route. First, to the CG artists who effectively conveyed a wide range of emotions for Rin (I particularly like the set where she's lying on her bed, most of the ones from the last erotic scene, and the final CG). Second, you can't really make a story about an artist without showing some art, and I enjoyed the ink drawings from the art club, Hisao's doodles, and Rin's paintings.

[CrabNicholson]

Very well developed characters in this game. I don't know whether I relate to Rin or Hisao more, but the whole path felt very much like relationships I've had in the past.
This was an extraordinarily cathartic experience and really made me feel awful about what I've done with my life, though it was a very beautiful story (or perhaps because of this)

[njaanon]

No one else thought Rin had a psychological disorder?

There were many clues, dissociation from reality, inability to form coherent thoughts, instability in her moods(crying to why did I cry blank look in 30 seconds is NOT normal), and so on. I'm not well-learned enough in psychology to identify categories or such, but symptoms such as these are definitely huge signs that she needs a psychiatrist. I honestly was bracing for suicide throughout act 3, seeing the way the MC and the teacher treated a girl with mental problems.

In view of her untreated condition exacerbated by thoughtless characters, the final sentence turned out to be really creepy.
"What's the word for when it feels inside your heart that everything in the world is all right?"

...

I hope the writer had something else in mind.

[Worthington]

Rin's path really hit very close to home to me. I love how it deconstructed the conception of Rin's cloudcuckoolander personality and just looked at how that would effect a relationship. I could really relate with both Rin and Hisao in that route, and it was frigging soul-crushing. Even her ending was very bittersweet with Hisao accepting that he and Rin will never be able to have a normal relationship.

[moonpalace]

njaanon,

Yes I felt similarly. Although I don't think aura intended Rin to have a mental disorder.

Actually I couldn't stand Hisao most of the time. After at least every other line Rin said, there would be several reiterations from him of how wierd/unresponsive/aloof etc. she was... And whenever there was some intimacy, Hisao invariably treats us to excessive mental digressions. Also, I didn't like a lot of the philosophical tangents that he thought on and on about. On the other hand, some of these ideas - like where he took Rin out of herself to explore the streets aimlessly at night - were excellent.

I don't mean to sound harsh. It was clear what a labour of love this was and the quality was consistently high. I just had very little empathy for the protagonist and in that sense the path was generally frustrating as a result.

[Nelke/Nizzy]

Did Rins path this night and only hers so far. Got the "good" ending. But honestly, after a short sleep, i feel sick and tired now. *sighs deeply* ... when i look at Rin and what she tries to explain, i feel pretty connected to her, with the difference, that i mostly live in future/past like Hisao and find myself somewhat unable to seize the day at all. To put it short, i not just fear the moment of being broken to repeat forever, but also i have the strong feeling, that there will be nobody waiting for me after the rain. Utterly depressing "realization" about my life being reflected in this end, as the "best" the game can come up with in the end is still only a temporary feeling of coexistence. No marriage, no children, not even an "and they later lived happily ever after, working/living together". It doesn't feel good, it doesn't feel happy, it feels like but a mere interruption of solitude, with the last moment - "everything feels alright" - possibly shattered again only a few minutes later, seeing as the character is just as unstable as she is. I'm sorry if this sounds like a complaint about the game itself or some sort of public whining around (well, it somewhat is) ... just wanted to share this. A complaint about life in general maybe. And that somehow, the anxiety, which the path has created, didn't really vanish for me.

[Goldilurks]

"What's the word for when it feels inside your heart that everything in the world is all right?"

"I'm dating Rin" is a pretty good phrase.

Anyways, did this first, liked her path, got a bad end in act 3 then the good end. I'm not so hot on the order of the decision points: I felt that, for a lot of the "right" decisions, I got the hint for why it was the right decision after I had to make the choice. Other than that though I loved Aura's writing.

[moonpalace]

"What's the word for when it feels inside your heart that everything in the world is all right?"

"I'm dating Rin" is a pretty good phrase.

Rin looks startled, "You mean you would describe that feeling as how you feel when your dating yourself? How is that possible?"

Hisao spends the next half an hour overanalysing her questions, how he feels and butterflies.

Other than that though I loved Aura's writing.

I'm kidding. So did I.

[Jintor]

A simply amazing path. My first and natural, though I fucked up the first time and ended at the end of Act 3 (incredible depressing because it's Hisao giving the fuck up like a baby). I kind of want to see the BAD END for Act 4, but somehow I think my heart might not be able to take it.

I definitely want to reread the whole thing after I've read the other paths.

[futatsu]

i really get rin...

i may be over-analyzing this, but to me, she seems to be slightly autistic, among other diagnosis. that may be why i find her story so familiar.
the forgetfulness, the verbal difficulties, the dilemma of destroying your true self. i'm right there with her.

i don't know how i feel, and when i do, i can't convey it to you.

[Babli]

It felt so real. Everything about her path. I could relate to almost everything.

I cant start another path right now. Rin´s was just...perfect.

I didnt expect such an emotional ride.

[Wrds]

I've been really intrigued and fascinated with Rin ever since Aura's blog post titled "Loss and Loneliness" I believe. I was expecting a lot after that, and now that I've finally read Rin's path I'm absolutely blown away. I can think of only one other time in my entire life of reading/gaming/watching that I've been so thoroughly captivated by a set of characters. In all honestly I just finished it right now, I've been up all night reading it. I really empathized with Rin much more than I thought I'd be able to. A lot of things Rin and Hisao had to deal with in this story are questions I've wrestled with in my own life for years. Can I fit into society as I am? Am I able to properly express myself in social situations? Things like that.

Haven't read any of the other paths yet, but already with Rin's path alone KS is above and beyond anything I ever could have hoped or expected it to be. I'm stunned at how natural and frustratingly stuck in character both Hisao and Rin were. All too often writers are give their characters leaps in logic that the writer would have made. That always feels unnatural and takes away from the characters. Its absolutely amazing that they were able to not do this with a character as complex and conflicted as Rin. As an aspiring writer I can only cup my head in my hands over how far I've missed the mark with so many characters I've tried to create.

Absolutely stunning, this is probably one of the most enthralling reads I've had in...well, I'm not sure how long. But its been a really god damn long time.

BRB gotta go finish sobbing my brains out.