Very, very moe. Especially that hat, I love that hat.
Have you ever watched one of those sappy dramas where the girl dies in the first scene and the whole thing’s a flashback? Nevermind. Have you ever seen a girlfriend…forget it. Just know that this game starts to tug at your heartstrings from the first scene. Piano-wait, the name’s just too long. Piano Shita should be fine. Piano shita is one of those games with a really good atmosphere, complemented by the music, the art, and the writing.
The title has piano in it, and certainly, there are some absolutely beautiful piano pieces (the more comedic pieces aren’t too shabby either). The younger sister of the main character (and the focus of the story) has this squeaky voice, but it’s not too bad, and the nurse/caretaker/maid has this really soothing voice which makes me just want to relax and look at clouds for a while. As you can see from the screenshots, the menu and the text box are well places and stylish. The writing itself has that relaxed feeling, describing confusion clearing away “like ink dissolved on an inkstone”. I am very aware that the vast majority of you have never seen an inkstone, let alone used one, but I’ve taken a good number of calligraphy classes while still in China, and the image of inkstones gives this sense of serenity and assurance that I can’t quite describe.
Now, the art. As far as I can tell, you can only see 2 characters, the caretaker/maid/nurse and your sickly younger sister. When I first saw the art, I thought that this was a doujin (especially with the nurse), but after a while I’ve been impressed with the movements and detail that went into it.
I love the backgrounds. They have this light, watercolor feeling, and the splendid placement of color is really refreshing, especially after staring at stuff like Memories off.
All in all? Great atmosphere crafted with loving hands. I’m just waiting to cry now.
Moonstone
