"A review from someone unaffected by the hype."

Introduction

Kana Little Sister is an adult bishoujo game created by D.O. of Japan and licensed by G-Collections. It is currently the premier translated bishoujo game title, and is known by fans and haters alike. In this generation of translated bishoujo game, Kana Little Sister can be looked upon as the "book of the month", the one that each kid of the current generation has viewed at least once.

Gameplay - 8/10

Kana Little Sister is a click-and-go bishoujo game, so not much can be said about its gameplay. All you really have to do to progress through the game is to keep clicking your heart out. However, fans of the newer releases might be turned off by the book style of Kana Little Sister's storytelling rather than the low textbox style of the newer games. Also, the new-release player might have a bit of trouble in finding the in-game menu, although a little trip to the game's help file would solve that in a jiffy.

In the game, various options are given to the player for him to swerve the story in new directions and get different endings. There is a total of six endings, and one after-story for one of the endings. Unless you're using a FAQ, obtaining all of the endings might be a bit of a challenge, as the game doesn't follow a simple decision-tree style. Thankfully, Kana Little Sister incorporates saving/loading features and a message skipping option, so getting those extra endings isn't that much of a task.

Story - 7/10

Kana Little Sister, when stripped to its roots, is simply about a man being beside a woman as they navigate through the pains of life and death. It's about a brother and a sister who love each other to pieces, facing the issue of the sister being terminally ill. The complication of possible incest arrives, and stuff such as past loves and other things are thrown in the mix. In the realm of storytelling, Kana Little Sister paces its story beautifully. It tells the story in a not-too-fast-and-not-too-slow sort of way, so the player can sit back and take the time to breathe all of it in.

Truth be told, one thing that bothered me about the story was that it was too far stripped down and simplified for its own good. What I mean is, there are a lot of issues towards terminally ill patients that just weren't addressed in the story. To give an example, I know a close friend of mine who also had to undergo dialysis treatments for a span of one year, and the ordeal totally drained his family of all resources. Kana, the main female, on the other hand, has been undergoing regular dialysis treatments for more than five years. The family has just got to be loaded for that to be even possible. It's things like this that chip away at the game's overall believability.

The characters of Kana Little Sister don't follow regular classic bishoujo game archetypes, which is a good thing. However, they're not as realistic as I hoped they would be. Kana, the main female, acts a bit too clingy towards her brother for her own good. We also have Yumi who's been in love for years with someone who positively hates her. Then there are a lot of characters who pop up for convenience's sake and then disappear for the very same reason. Lastly, I'm going to bet that you'll eventually find at least one character rather than Kana who you're just dying to see a different ending with. It's totally a big letdown.

I guess the main saving grace of Kana Little Sister was Taka, the main character. Taka, in my opinion, has been one of the most pleasant main male leads in all bishoujo games I've come across. His opinions on whatever happens onscreen are never weird, his emotions are never out of place, and he relays his complicated emotions in the simplest ways possible. Because of this, he makes the game truly heartbreaking for those who've loved this game, as well as making the game a lot more bearable for those who've hated this game.

The game's choices are also a plus. The game's choices are put in such a way that the situations you're put into naturally calls for a choice. There's never a choice to "turn right or turn left" out of thin air; you'll get to make a decision when you absolutely expect one. Also, these choices swerve the story in proportionate amounts, so there's never a big story change over very mundane decisions.

Graphics - 3/5 / Sounds - 3/5

The graphics of the game is okay. Backgrounds are always fresh and bright, which is sort of an irony considering how dark and depressing the overall mood of the story is. The main gripe I have with this game, however, is the character art. I am not joking when I say that each time a character changes her face's angle, her appearance completely changes. If it wasn't for the hairstyle, Yumi from the front and Yumi from the side would look like two completely different people.

Thankfully though, the character art looks extremely well during sex scenes.

Anyway, later on, the story gets rather engrossing, so you'll eventually learn to forgive the weird character art.

The music of the game was rather forgettable, but at the very least, the tracks fit well with the situations they're put into. I believe the lack of voice acting in this game is actually a plus; at least we don't have to hear the word "oniichan" a thousand times over. However, the way they programmed the sound effects in the game was not as one would like. The game freezes for a few seconds to load sound effects, and it's rather annoying whenever that happens.

Play Time and Replayability - 7/10

This game is good for at least 16 hours if you're speeding through things or around a few weeks if you choose to take things slow. Given the fact that Kana Little Sister gives you three different endings and a non-decision-tree style regarding choices, be ready for a bit of a challenge if you aim for a complete game (unless of course you use FAQs). If you're a big fan of tearjerkers, you can expect yourself to save during the touchy moments so you can get back to them again. On the other hand, since the game's plot only branches to two major plots with only minor variations along the way, you can expect to use the message skip option often.

Overall Average Score - 7/10

Recommendation

Although I'd say it was a good ride, I personally didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else. However, I still respect the general fandom's opinions and consider Kana Little Sister as an okay game. I ask the readers of this review to please buy the game for two very good reasons. The first reason is that Kana Little Sister is one of the most well-known translated bishoujo games of our time, so it'd pay to check it out. The second reason is to support the companies that bring us these games and hope that they eventually bring us other hidden gems out there.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/05/09

Game Release: Kana Little Sister (US, 07/02/02)