FAVORITE is a visual novel developer I have mixed feelings on. Hoshizora no Memoria was a visual novel that had flashes of brilliance, but had just as many pitfalls that prevented it from becoming a masterpiece. Irotoridori no Sekai is the project that they released following Hoshizora no Memoria and its fandisc, and I've found that it is a significant improvement despite having much of the same issues.

First, I have to give them props on one thing: the setting they crafted for this visual novel is fantastic. There's a lot of potential for this setting right out of the gate, it's presented in a way that is cohesive and deliberate, and the more fantastical elements are interesting without ever feeling too out of place to feel unrealistic. The developers lean into the unique setting across the common and various heroine routes very well, and the entire piece comes out feeling connected in a realistic way. It gives the final route a lot of impact that it otherwise wouldn't have.

The depth that comes from the setting extends to the routes themselves. The common route has a similar issue to the Fruit of Grisaia where it feels episodic in an unnatural way, but the individual heroine routes are more deliberately focused on exploring that particular heroine's motivations. This isn't because of the arcs themselves, but because they all feel connected to the overall story and each other in a realistic way. One thing that I also very much like seeing in visual novels, yet don't see in enough of them, is when it makes sense why every single non-picked route's events don't happen in the route that you are currently in. Irotoridori no Sekai does this, and it's this attention to detail that shows that there was a lot of effort into making sure that the overall story worked.

The music is great, but not quite on the level of Hoshizora no Memoria's (at least most of the tracks) in my eyes. This isn't something that should be a turn off in any way, but it is worth mentioning. The artistic style is varied nicely and helps sell the idea of the multiple different worlds, and the sprites of the various characters are distinct and expressive. The one thing I would nitpick about the art is the amount of panty shots there are across the various CGs throughout the game. Mio's scenes are especially terrible about this, and it comes across as trashy every time it pops up. The humor does trend towards the fan service awkward scenes at times as well, and it's always awkwardly forced whenever they appear, but these are sparse enough that it didn't detract from my immersion too much.

Finally, the parts of the game that I have mixed feelings on are the story and the characters. For a protagonist, Yuuma impressed me significantly. His characterization throughout the story felt remarkably real and he's given an impressive amount of depth by the end of the story. The supporting cast almost universally are given a similar type of treatment, being shown to be real people in the world rather than simply plot devices to be used for whenever their specific trope has a chance to force their way into the story. All of them have their own time to shine in the story. The heroines, however, are not quite the same.

I found Tsukasa to be grating for most of the runtime despite thinking her character arc was quite strong. Kyou wasn't very interesting to me in general either, and her arc did little to endear me to her. However, it was very endearing how their friendship was shown in both routes, and their dynamic specifically helped redeem both of their relatively lackluster routes. It was clear that they had the least effort put into their arcs compared to Mio and Kana.

Speaking of Mio's route, it was significantly stronger than either Kyou or Tsukasa's routes, but her character progression is generic to the point where the romance in her route is predictable. Kana, however, was clearly the favorite heroine of the developers. Her route is far and away the best route in the entire game, having the most depth packed into it and a lot of the best character dynamics across every route. This route alone is worth playing the game for, but it's best to save this one for last of the initial four routes available to you.

The overall story builds off of the setting competently and feels complete, with a lot of the answers you gain within Shinku's route providing a satisfying explanation to all the various oddities listed throughout the game and how this setting ticks in the first place. I felt that the final route was bogged down heavily in simply being drawn out for far too long, and I wasn't the biggest fan of Shinku as a character throughout either. She was compelling as a character enough for the emotional moments within her route to hit properly, but I was disappointed at how she of all characters feels like a plot device for most of the game.

As a last warning, this game heavily emphasizes emotional moments. Every single route is designed to be sad almost to the point of being depressing at times, so go into this visual novel expecting to have your heartstrings pulled. Beyond this, however, I was impressed with this attempt at fixing the issues that plagued Hoshizora no Memoria. There's a lot to love about Irotoridori no Sekai, and if it looks interesting to you, I would encourage you to pick it up and give a try.

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I play Visual Novels for its characterization and storytelling potential. If you are interested in the medium for these reasons, visit my profile for more information. This includes more reviews and a link to my vndb profile, where I have ratings and TL;DRs of every Visual Novel I have played. Thank you.

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