Recent reviews by Kureha

Overall I found ms2:a to be a very strong and quite intriguing VN. Relative to ms1, which you absolutely should read first if you haven't, I think it's a much more tightly constructed piece of work. Everything has it's place so to speak and it's all arranged just so in a way that all comes together brilliantly. The art is very solid and I'd suggest it's a moderate step up from ms1 overall. In particular it's event CGs are very plentiful at 52 compared to the 24 found in ms1, this is despite it being only slightly longer. The art and atmosphere are also enhanced by the periodic use of camera work which typically looks quite nice, although a few graphics lack the resolution to cope with it well if your screen is over 1200p. The music is more or less on par with the previous title, although a little different as they picked up a dedicated composer. I found the writing to be a really meaningful step up from the original. This is due in part to a new translator being used who does a much better job than their predecessor. I would also mention the improved translation in turn leads to better world cohesion which is nice to see. On an aside it's worth rereading the encyclopedia, which has many of the same entries as ms1, as the old translation was outright wrong in some cases.

In terms of possible negatives I will say with regards to the direction they go in terms of character screen time that it may irritate some people, however I can't go into that without spoilers. Personally I found it interesting although I do suspect I'll enjoy ms2:b, which I eagerly await, more than I did ms2:a.

To anybody worried about the naming scheme with regards to above/bellow, you shouldn't be. It's episodic in much the same way as ms1 and you still come away with a satisfying self contained story.

Overall I think anybody who even remotely enjoyed ms1 should be very happy with this purchase. To people who haven't read ms1 I'd suggest you go check it out. It's a little rougher around the edges but still an exceptional read.

Note this review will tag as pre-release because patreons started getting keys a few hours before launch, I also paid for a phisical JP copy and would have a key from that anyway so I don't consider it a conflict but I though I'd disclose anyway.