A cheerful hospital helper ends up being hospitalized herself. In the 7th floor where being there means waiting for your death.
Narcissu ~Side 2nd~
Is a prequel set 7 years before Narcissu, the game I reviewed a while ago... At the time, Setsumi the heroine of the first game, lives her life as an outpatient of the hospital. One day she meets Himeko, a patient from the 7th floor and who refers herself as a "former-catholic".
This prequel and the first game are available as single free game on steam.
Steam Link
Even compared to most Visual Novels, this game doesn't offer any gameplay... you only click to forward the story, and being a kinetic novel, this game has only one route. Not that it takes from the enjoyment of the game...
Nacissu is full of feelings and it's strongly written. I couldn't help but relate to the characters.
Characters & Story
Himeko
"If there's a prayer... there's also a curse... don't you think?"
Himeko is the heroine of this game. She was a former helper in 7th floor of a certain catholic hospital.. But she quit and started enjoying her life... She loves cars, driving them and even fixing them. She couldn't have known that the fate will return her to the 7th floor again... this time as a resident...
She is a cheerful girl with a kind heart. She's always full of energy, no one who'll meet her would think she has a terminal illness. She talks about creepy things like her own death and with a smile. But when she's serious it shows...
She has a sister (Chihiro) and Yuka as a best friend but ordered them to not meet her again when she knew about her illness. Himeko describes herself a "fake-catholic" and a "former christian", but her sister describes her as a "devoted christian" even if she doesn't pray anymore...
She always wanted to have a friend from a different age group and she found that in Setsumi.
Setsumi
"why was it I suddenly wanted to do this, I wonder.... the exact reason, not even I knew."
Setsumi is the Point-of-View character for most of the game, due to her illness she can't go to school and she has a pessimistic look on life. Always comparing herself with healthy people... always feeling her parents will be better off without her.... She also the type to not say what she thinks but what will make the others feel better. Something which in Himeko's words "Not a Kindness".
Being bothered by Himeko's cheerfulness at the start... Setsumi who was being avoided by everyone who knew her and over-cared by her parents found something new in Himeko's treatment in her. and they became sort of friends... Though Setsumi couldn't shake the feeling that Himeko sees "someone else" in her.
Chihiro
"Onee-chan says she's a fake catholic and denies it, but.... But as far as I know, she's a very devoted christian."
Himeko's younger sister. A devoted christian and a helper in the 7th floor assigned to someone. After her sister's fell ill she was told to not meet her again. which made her feel sad but respected her sister's wishes... She has faith in her sister and knows her good side.
She met with Setsumi a lot and taught her how to pray. In the distant finale she met with the protagonist of the first game, and asked about her.
Yuka
"But still, Himeko, you're quite the eccentric, aren't you?"
Himeko's best friend, she's the opposite in personality... while Himeko is direct and don't care about her appearance... Yuka is tsundere and keeps girly-looks... She spent the most time with Himeko before her illness, but after that she was told to not see her again.
She bought a map for Himeko and she didn't meet her in the 7th floor since....
Nello
Nello isn't her real name, which wasn't shown... this was the girl Himeko was assigned to when she was a helper... a very naive and kind girl who was waiting for her parents return.... Himeko taught her how to pray and her dream is for the God to hear her voice.
Nello's name is based on the protagonist of "The Dog of Flanders".
A Bittersweet Game , Leaning On The Sweet Side.
The story of this game is full of emotions, happiness, sadness... I felt it teaches a lot of life lessons too...
The sound-track is awesome, you might even get the game just for the music... The writing in this game is so strong, the English (played "Aiges" translation) is fluid and it's full of strong quotes... the game made me think a lot of days after finishing it. I'm practically forcing myself to not spoil the late-game in this post.
The game has many religious quotes.... I'm just going to say that I'm not a Christian. I'm a Muslim, but the way they show Christianity in this game is lovely... I couldn't help but relate to some of the sayings in it.
While the game has many sad scenes, the bittersweet ending left me happy, while there are depression in the game, I feel like this game can heal depression.
I Highly Recommend This Game
If you like Visual Novels or interested in them, If you like any Novel... if you want a bittersweet experience... if you want to get used to character deaths in a way that won't leave you depressed (or at least not as depressed as many games with character deaths). If this interests you, then the game is for you!!
I don't recommend it if you only care about gameplay, or if you don't like wordy games... this game also needs you to use imagination so some parts can be hard to understand.
One day I'll play the third game of the series "A Little Iris" and hopefully I'll review it too.