Kana Little Sister

"It doesn't challenge your skill--it challenges your heart"

''Everyone knows that life should be lived to the fullest. Everyone knows that. But not everyone feels it.'' - Daniel Oaks


Her name is Kana, and she's your little sister. She's been ill all her life, spending days in and out of the hospital. Because of this she has no friends and is missing many things girls her age should be doing. She is pale, physically weak, and knows very little about the world beyond the four walls of her room.

You are her brother Taka, and your job is to be kind to her.

''Kana Little Sister'', or ''Kana Imotou'' in Japanese, is another bishoujo interactive game in the tradition of ''Nocturnal Illusion'' and ''Love Potion''. But the moment I saw the intro, I knew I was going to see something very special. And after playing the game over once, I came to one inescapable conclusion for why the emotions are so real and intense--not too long ago, the author lost someone very important.

''Kana Little Sister'' is a love story. Not just the kind we're familiar with, but also love between a brother and sister, love for an aunt, love for a patient, love for a friend. It is, at the same time, a coming-of-age story, and a search for meaning in life.

We won't go into detail about ''Kana's'' plot: nothing less than a mortal threat can make me spoil you about what happens. But we can take a short look at what makes ''Kana'' so good, and why its story is so powerful and moving.

''Kana'' is seen through Taka's perspective--a usual for games like these. He begins very simply: ''I have a little sister.'' His style of telling the story is straightforward and uncomplicated. Thankfully, it's hard for any translator to mess up. His narrative voice is done just right: there are many moments that could have been overplayed and cheezy, but Taka's simple observations allow the weight of the scene to speak for itself.

Kana is the sweetest little sister anyone can ask for. The story took pains to illustrate how inexperienced she is, rather than having Taka say so. She is afflicted with chronic renal failure. I am familiar with how deadly this disease is because my grandfather died of it. It affects many vital organs because many toxins of the body are not properly removed, weakening your body as a whole--the heart especially. Thus, at a young age, Kana's life is already in peril.

''Kana'' as a story has a strong structure, and it draws it strength from a strong build-up and pay-off. It may be difficult for you to see upon playing, but you can draw a logical line between Taka's memories and account for why each one is there.

To illustrate: it may seem at first a big coincidence that three of Taka's relatives have illnesses in one form or another--in a lesser story, this would be a plot device intended do simply arouse audience sympathy. That it does, but ''Kana'' makes their situation not only believable but vital--the characters echo each other's lives, allowing them (and us) to see their situation in a new light. This gives the overall theme of the game a lot of mileage.

One prime component of this genre of bishoujo games is sex. ''Kana'' has that too, though it's been argued that it could do without the sex scenes as it is primarily a drama. Even I have to say that the scenes are needlessly graphic (for the attention-deficient?), but I also contest that taking them off entirely will diminish the story. They're there for good reasons: a) to dramatize the characters' sexual awakening, which increases the story's tension, b) as a logical step in consummating a love relationship and c) to give one particular relationship gravity, such that when it falls apart (and I'm nearly into spoiler country here), the pain is real and damaging.

There are many moments in the game that are done just right--when a self-pitying Kana breaks down over her failing health, Taka shouts at her, ''The people around you hurt too! Would you rather I be sick and you be healthy? Will that reduce your pain?'' There's another memorable scene at the beach, where Taka gives her a pig-back ride so she could know what it's like to run. These scenes and others like it are so good that by the time ''Kana'' reaches melodrama levels, nobody minds because by then the story's earned them.

''Kana'' features wonderful artwork that not merely show a pretty face but evoke a certain emotion. There's one image of Kana looking out a hospital window with longing in her face, and the window glass beside her is reflecting the open azure sky. No words--but the point is made. Even the background CG has character. In a rare turn for bishoujo games, the artists decided to put people in them--with facial expressions, no less!

''Kana's'' plot moves at a meditative pace, shifting from one event to another via fade-outs. At first I found the transition from scene to scene odd and a little confusing. I later realized the game was mimicking a person's way of remembering things. Somebody once said, ''We do not remember days, we remember moments.'' It's apt, but I could've done with a little clue unto how much time has passed between scenes. I'm not looking for a time stamp here; just, 'a few hours later,' or something like that.

There are also some problems with the script--misspellings, grammar errors, homonyms getting mixed up, redundancies. Thankfully, these are not enough to shock you out of the story.

Some technical stuff:

Unlike many bishoujo games, ''Kana'' does not use 'seiyuu,' or voice-actors. This is probably the right choice. The emotions pervading ''Kana'' are so acute, voices could be distracting. Or worse, unintentionally funny.

I can't critique the BGM because some sort of glitch prevents it from playing. I understand it's a common problem with ''Kana.'' Nevertheless, I went through the whole game in an almost Zen-like silence. This is a harrowing experience--no music to cushion emotional scenes. I've made a solemn vow to keep trying to make the music work for when I play it next time.

This game also sports many interesting features. You get a portfolio detailing the characters and your relationships to them, and of course the usual image gallery and jukebox. There's also a reviewer for the endings you've unlocked. A simple tap of the Alt Key will take you the in-game menu. There you can set the BGM and SFX volume, text speed, screen transmissivity, and the speed of the ''hands-off'' auto scroll. There's an option for saving any image in the game to use as wallpaper. Also, unlike many old-school bishoujo games (cough, ''Fatal Relations'', cough), you get a handy thirty save slots for any moments you want to go over. ''Kana'' has a total of six endings (seven if you count the bonus side story), so use the save slots wisely.

***

''Kana'' is nothing less than amazing. It uses no tricks, no gimmicks, no fancy graphics or complicated gameplay. Yet you spend hours in front of it, unable to look away, unable to think of anything but the plight of Taka and Kana. How does it do it? Simply by telling the truth. It doesn't challenge your skill, it challenges your heart--before today, how well have you lived your life?

If you haven't played ''Kana'' and are afraid to touch it because everyone says it's depressing, I encourage you to be brave and take a chance. In the future you'll get to play hundreds of games that have hype and spectacle but nothing in between. They'll take away dozens of hours from your life and then leave you feeling like you've never been anywhere or met anyone. But Kana will take your time and give back something in return, hopefully something you'll cherish. And there's joy to be found here too, if you dare to look for it. And should you get hurt in the process, it'll be a good hurt, because you'll know you're alive, and you know how to love.

This review is dedicated to Kana's makers and distributers. If there's one thing that Kana's done well, it's that it built a bridge to its audience. If I have something to be thankful to its makers for, it's for allowing me the chance to be kind to someone very special. Even if she doesn't really exist, she's real to me.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/19/03