(WARNING!: This review might contain some minor spoilers.)
Has someone or something you loved so much and kept so near and dear to your heart ever felt so far away? A lot of people have felt this way, especially when they have a lot going on in their lives; however, at least in some cases, they never forget exactly what it was that they loved about whatever or whoever it is. Take me and a visual novel called "If My Heart Had Wings", for example. Although many people criticize MoeNovel's translation of it, I still think of it as my favorite visual novel; it has an amazing story, breathtaking artwork, beautiful music, and a cast of lovable characters I could never forget. (For my full opinion, here's my review of it.) Thus, when I heard that the fandisc was going to get an English translation, I was hyped beyond compare, and I did not hesitate to buy it the first chance I got; I could not wait for the opportunity to see the Soaring Club again! Now, nearly three years after I completed the original If My Heart Had Wings and revealed my thoughts about it, I am ready to do the same for "If My Heart Had Wings: Flight Diary", known in Japanese as "Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete Flight Diary".
For those needing a refresher, If My Heart Had Wings follows Aoi Minase, a high school boy forced to give up bicycle racing after an accident damages his knee. He returns to his hometown of Kazegaura, where he is forced to become manager - or "dorm mother" - of an all-girl dormitory known as the Flying Fish Manor; one of its residents is Kotori Habane, a wheelchair-bound girl who is initially hostile toward Aoi despite the fact that he had fixed a flat tire in her wheelchair earlier. At that moment, the two witness a glider flying in the sky and are left in awe of it. Later, while wandering around his new school, Keifuu Academy, Aoi comes across a garage, where an older girl named Amane Mochizuki happens to be working on the very glider he and Kotori had seen; she is the only member of the Soaring Club, which is on the verge of shutting down. Eventually, Aoi, Kotori, and Aoi's childhood friend, Ageha Himegi, join the Soaring Club in pursuit of one goal: to fly the glider up to the rare Morning Glory cloud!
The MoeNovel version of If My Heart Had Wings: Flight Diary contains six stories - well, seven, if you buy the DLC that contains Akari's route - with most of them taking place after the main story. Overall, each story was good in their own ways, but I'll get to each one individually later. It's a shame that the joint route for Ageha and Hotaru was cut out, though; even if it was inappropriate, it certainly would have made this release more complete, and it might have been interesting to play! I must also point out that the translation isn't the best this time around, either; the errors here aren't as severe as the ones in the original game (and yes, I'm going to be saying "original game" a lot), but the grammatical errors are still noticeable.
What about the artwork, though? Well, is that even a question?! The artwork is as gorgeous as ever, rarely - if ever - dipping in quality! A few of the CGs and nearly all of the character sprites are from the original game, but alongside them is plenty of plenty of new art that are just as well-drawn. My feelings for the music are pretty much the same, too, considering how most of the music here was also in the original game; however, I must say that the new opening theme, "Brand New World" by Duca, is also an enjoyable song to listen to that fits the mood of the game well. The voice acting is still great, too, with each voice actor giving as much of their all as before!
Now, we finally get into the new stuff, starting with "The Day I Found My Wings", which is basically the common route from Kotori's point of view! Wait, no, that's not very new. Ah, whatever. Anyway, all it really is is a recap from a different perspective, and it's not even a complete recap; a lot of parts of the common route were cut out. There were two CGs that I'm pretty sure weren't in the original game, though, so that's a nice bonus. This route is good for those who need a quick recap or just want to see another perspective on those events, and it's also beneficial for getting those two CGs; otherwise, it's pretty unnecessary.
Okay, now, we get to the new stuff. "A Day In The Life" takes place after Asa and Yoru's joint route in the original game (although for sanity's sake, I prefer to think of it just as Yoru's route), and it's pretty much exactly what it says on the tin; it follows a hot summer day Aoi, Asa, and Yoru spend together in the dorm. I'm still not comfortable with the idea of a polyamorous relationship like the one that these three share in this scenario (although I suppose I can accept it if all parties are okay with this arrangement), but this route was cute. Really short, filler-ish, and uncomfortable at times (coughbathscenecough), but still cute. What else is there really to say about it?
Next was "Unfamiliar Answer", also known as Kanako's route. I briefly mentioned Kanako in my review of the original game when I said that the supporting characters were likable, but I never really elaborated on why I liked Kanako; not only was she quite amusing, but I felt like there was more to her than what we got. Sure enough, this route gave her the amount of development she deserved, and I enjoyed the story a lot. That said, though, I feel like it ended too abruptly; although the epilogue was decent, I just feel like the way the route ended before then wasn't the smoothest way it could have ended.
After that, I played Hotaru's route, known as "Inexpressible Emotion". I have a confession to make; despite the fact that she played a significant role in Ageha's route in the original game, Hotaru wasn't a character I paid much attention to until I played her route. Now, I consider her to be one of my favorite characters in the entire game. She has her amusing moments, she gains a lot of development, and it is made clear exactly how much she loves and cares about Aoi. To say that this is my favorite route in the entire game is a bit of a stretch, but among the routes for the subheroines in this game, this one is definitely my favorite.
Speaking of favorites, Amane was and still is my favorite heroine in If My Heart Had Wings, and her route was, to me, the most outstanding in the original game; this next route, "Wings of Dreams", covers what happens after that route, as well as what happened with the original Soaring Club back when Amane, Isuka, and Tatsuya were the club's members. Just like what came before it, this route was excellent; it was interesting to see what happened in the past, and I completely ate up the development of Isuka's character and her relationships with Tatsuya and Amane. (Tatsuya, especially. All I wanted was for him and Isuka to freaking get together, and BOOM. My wish was granted!) If there was one problem I had with this route, though, it is that even though this is basically an After Story of Amane's route, we don't get as many scenes of her and Aoi as we could have. Sure, we get a fair share, but I just really feel like there could and should have been more!
While I was making my way through that route, I caught wind of another route hitting Steam as DLC for this game; that was "New Wings", Akari's route from the Japan-only PS3 port of the original game, "Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete: Cruise Sign". (Hey, since it wasn't localized, it didn't feel right to use the localized title!) Wanting to stick to my plans for saving Inherited Wings for last but also not wanting to leave this one out, I bought the DLC almost immediately and started playing through it as soon as I finished Wings of Dreams. Now, one of my biggest pet peeves with anime is misunderstandings that take way too long to get cleared up (which is why I haven't watched Gamers yet), and the misunderstanding Akari had regarding Aoi's relationship with Kotori and the other Soaring Club girls was, without a doubt, the most annoying part of the entire series. However, once that migraine was finally over, I found myself enjoying the route a lot; I liked Aoi and Akari's relationship, Akari herself got quite a bit of development, and the route itself really felt like it belonged in the original game. I recommend anyone who already has this game to buy the DLC when they get the chance!
Finally, we get to the final chapter of the Soaring Club's story, Inherited Wings. Grand finales are my freaking weakness, so of course I loved this route. The story was well-paced, the characters - especially Kotori - get a lot of development, the new characters are as likable as the old, Aoi and Kotori's relationship is as cute as ever, and everything culminates in an applause-worthy conclusion with few - if any - loose threads; it's considered to be the Soaring Club Epilogue, and it certainly feels like an epilogue! As an added bonus, Isuka also plays a big role in this route; considering how she wasn't even in Kotori's route in the original game, I doubted that she would even make an appearance in this route! I feel like this route was designed to be played first, and I suspect that others have done so; however, I'm glad to have saved this route for last, as I doubt that I would have gotten as much fulfillment otherwise.
Overall, If My Heart Had Wings: Flight Diary was a worthwhile game. I recommend anyone who has played the original If My Heart Had Wings to give this game a go. Now, all I'm hoping for is an English release of "If My Heart Had Wings: Snow Presents" (and now, I feel like a hypocrite); hopefully, the day it is announce is not too far away!
Has someone or something you loved so much and kept so near and dear to your heart ever felt so far away? A lot of people have felt this way, especially when they have a lot going on in their lives; however, at least in some cases, they never forget exactly what it was that they loved about whatever or whoever it is. Take me and a visual novel called "If My Heart Had Wings", for example. Although many people criticize MoeNovel's translation of it, I still think of it as my favorite visual novel; it has an amazing story, breathtaking artwork, beautiful music, and a cast of lovable characters I could never forget. (For my full opinion, here's my review of it.) Thus, when I heard that the fandisc was going to get an English translation, I was hyped beyond compare, and I did not hesitate to buy it the first chance I got; I could not wait for the opportunity to see the Soaring Club again! Now, nearly three years after I completed the original If My Heart Had Wings and revealed my thoughts about it, I am ready to do the same for "If My Heart Had Wings: Flight Diary", known in Japanese as "Kono Oozora ni, Tsubasa o Hirogete Flight Diary".
For those needing a refresher, If My Heart Had Wings follows Aoi Minase, a high school boy forced to give up bicycle racing after an accident damages his knee. He returns to his hometown of Kazegaura, where he is forced to become manager - or "dorm mother" - of an all-girl dormitory known as the Flying Fish Manor; one of its residents is Kotori Habane, a wheelchair-bound girl who is initially hostile toward Aoi despite the fact that he had fixed a flat tire in her wheelchair earlier. At that moment, the two witness a glider flying in the sky and are left in awe of it. Later, while wandering around his new school, Keifuu Academy, Aoi comes across a garage, where an older girl named Amane Mochizuki happens to be working on the very glider he and Kotori had seen; she is the only member of the Soaring Club, which is on the verge of shutting down. Eventually, Aoi, Kotori, and Aoi's childhood friend, Ageha Himegi, join the Soaring Club in pursuit of one goal: to fly the glider up to the rare Morning Glory cloud!
The MoeNovel version of If My Heart Had Wings: Flight Diary contains six stories - well, seven, if you buy the DLC that contains Akari's route - with most of them taking place after the main story. Overall, each story was good in their own ways, but I'll get to each one individually later. It's a shame that the joint route for Ageha and Hotaru was cut out, though; even if it was inappropriate, it certainly would have made this release more complete, and it might have been interesting to play! I must also point out that the translation isn't the best this time around, either; the errors here aren't as severe as the ones in the original game (and yes, I'm going to be saying "original game" a lot), but the grammatical errors are still noticeable.
What about the artwork, though? Well, is that even a question?! The artwork is as gorgeous as ever, rarely - if ever - dipping in quality! A few of the CGs and nearly all of the character sprites are from the original game, but alongside them is plenty of plenty of new art that are just as well-drawn. My feelings for the music are pretty much the same, too, considering how most of the music here was also in the original game; however, I must say that the new opening theme, "Brand New World" by Duca, is also an enjoyable song to listen to that fits the mood of the game well. The voice acting is still great, too, with each voice actor giving as much of their all as before!
Overall, If My Heart Had Wings: Flight Diary was a worthwhile game. I recommend anyone who has played the original If My Heart Had Wings to give this game a go. Now, all I'm hoping for is an English release of "If My Heart Had Wings: Snow Presents" (and now, I feel like a hypocrite); hopefully, the day it is announce is not too far away!
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