Witch on the Holy Night is another decent Type Moon visual novel with an outstanding produce value that really shines because of its well-written main character trio. However, as the supposed start of a trilogy, it doesnât feel as complete as it should be at certain occasions and leaves you wanting for more In a sense, Witch on the Holy Night (MahĆtsukai no Yoru) could be described as the origin of all Type Moon works, since it was the first novel that co-founder Kinoko Nasu ever wrote â although at that time (1996), it was but a manuscript that was [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_on_the_Holy_Night#Development_and_release]merely shared among his friends . Many years and successful Type-Moon franchises ( Kara no KyĆkai , Tsukihime , Fate ) later, said manuscript got realized as a visual novel (2011) and finally received an official Western localization through this enhanced version that released in 2023. As such, Witch on the Holy Night presents itself as an easy entry-point into the wider [url=https://typemoon.fandom.com/wiki/TYPE-MOON%27s_shared_setting]âNasuverseâ , acting as a prequel of sorts to Tsukihime in particular. I wonât deny that those familiar with the Nasuverse are going to get a little more out of certain moments in Witch on the Holy Night than those who are entirely new to it, but it never reaches a degree to which Iâd advise newcomers to engage with other Type-Moon works beforehand. This is not the type of prequel that demands you to be familiar with the âsequelsâ beforehand, since Tsukihime has not yet been officially localized in the West for example (although the first part of the remake is set to [url=https://www.gematsu.com/2023/11/tsukihime-a-piece-of-blue-glass-moon-launches-in-summer-2024-in-the-west]be released over here in Summer 2024 ). One of the most striking things about Witch on the Holy Night is its absurdly high production value for a visual novel. It features an incredible amount of beautiful & unique artwork, great looking effects and voice-acting for all dialogues (although thereâs no lip-syncing). If this is your first visual novel, you might actually get spoiled here compared to the more common standards in the genre. Witch on the Holy Night looks and sounds absolutely stunning, to the point where it occasionally feels like watching an anime rather than reading a visual novel. In terms of âgameplayâ however, Witch on the Holy Night can be classified as the âkinetic novelâ-type: A visual novel where the player can only read through the story instead of interacting with it, there are no choices to be made or multiple routes to play through here. Thereâs a slight exception to this rule: Witch on the Holy Night features multiple âbonusâ chapters that arenât part of the âmainâ story. They become available after reading through certain story chapters (I recommend reading them as soon as they appear) and offer additional insights into the story. The extra chapter that unlocks last does actually feature choices for the player to be made, but as a bonus comedy chapter, these are more of a gimmick than anything else. However, as a visual novel, the main draw of Witch on the Holy Night is the story itself to begin with. And although itâs not an excessively long one (expect your playthrough to last [url=https://howlongtobeat.com/game/65500]between 16-22h , depending on the amount of extra chapters you read), itâs especially the main character trio that really makes it a memorable experience. The three protagonists are extremely well-written and characterized, which makes it a joy to see how their different personalities influence their interactions with each other. Itâs simply impressive how the tone of the story can change from tense to calm moments without ever feeling unnatural while simultaneously allowing the group dynamic to develop naturally and the characters to grow. It's also impressive that the game doesnât really have a âmainâ protagonist â even though the game is called Witch on the Holy Night , the other two protagonists are just as well-realized and got their fair share of moments to shine. In fact, Iâve rarely seen a character-trio handled so well as in this case, which is an achievement in itself. I could easily read another 20h visual novel with just these three characters around. However, while Witch on the Holy Night is definitely at its best when it focusses on its main characters and their circumstances, these are unsurprisingly shaped by a larger plot that serves as the main driving force behind the story. Unfortunately, this is also where the visual novel struggles a bit. Witch on the Holy Night was planned to be [url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2012-05-18/type-moon-outlines-future-plans]the first game in a trilogy (back in 2012!), with its two sequels unfortunately yet to show up. As such, even if you read through all extra chapters, there are some questions left unanswered and plot developments that have yet to show their consequences. Witch on the Holy Night can feel like a prologue to bigger events at times, which makes for an unwelcome surprise when the ending credits suddenly start to roll. I wouldnât go as far as to call Witch on the Holy Night an unfinished story, itâs really not, but I do wish we got more closure regarding certain plot points - lingering questions even the âsequelsâ didnât answer. That said, a more positive spin on this would be that wanting more after finishing a game is definitely a good thing. Additionally, I also feel like side-characters couldâve been treated a bit better. Compared to the extremely well-realized main trio, itâs almost jarring how little characterization some (!) of the side-characters receive. Itâs not that theyâre badly written, itâs simply weird how some of them show up for a few scenes and never re-appear again. For example, one character only shows up for a about five minutes (!) during the aforementioned last extra (!!) chapter and is only briefly mentioned (!!) during another - why even introduce them to begin with? Still, apart from these small issues, I consider the story of Witch on the Holy Night to be quite good. It starts out with small conflicts that gradually grow bigger in size but it also manages to keep the build-up believable, with even the big events never feeling out of place. The re-introduced magic system remains interesting and unique, the battles are intense and well-realized, and the story is paced well (apart from some minor exceptions, like the second half of the first proper battle). I found myself to be so involved in the story at certain moments, that I was simply unable to stop reading until I knew how the current conflict turned out. Witch on the Holy Night is a great introduction to the wider Nasuverse and recommendable to everyone who likes character-driven stories with magic elements and smaller, more personal stakes. The high production value might convince even those who donât really like visual novels to give it a try but donât make a mistake: That doesnât mean you wonât spend a lot of time just reading. If you donât like that or visual novels in general, Witch on the Holy Night wonât change your mind. But if you do like visual novels and are interested in the setting, youâre in for a great time!
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