WHITE ALBUM: Memories like Falling Snow
- August 3, 2023
- AQUAPLUS
Get on SteamIn "WHITE ALBUM: Memories like Falling Snow," players navigate a visual novel centered around college student Touya Fujii and his relationship with the popular singer Yuki Morikawa. As her fame grows, their time together dwindles, testing their bond amidst changing seasons. This game explores themes of love, fame, and tough choices, with a cast including Yuki, Rina Ogata, and other colorful characters from AQUAPLUS' beloved franchise.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features an amazing soundtrack and beautiful graphics that enhance the overall experience.
- The character routes are engaging, with some standout stories like Sayoko's and Rina's that resonate well with players.
- The game offers a nostalgic experience as a remake of a classic visual novel, appealing to fans of the genre.
- The gameplay loop can become tedious and repetitive, especially when trying to complete all character routes.
- The main character's actions and personality are often frustrating, leading to a lack of empathy for his choices.
- Many routes lack depth and meaningful connections, making the overall story feel unsatisfying at times.
- story72 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many praising its emotional depth, character development, and beautiful soundtrack, while others criticize its pacing and plot coherence. Some players appreciate the moral choices presented, but feel that certain routes lack substance and responsibility from the main character. Overall, it is seen as a compelling visual novel experience, particularly for fans of the genre, despite some narrative flaws.
“The story, songs, and characters are all amazingly well done.”
“Constantly I was amazed by the way they conducted the story and this was playing with my feelings a lot.”
“A masterpiece story that was born in 1998 is brought again where we could understand and enjoy why it is so popular and so well known in the visual novel community.”
“It's like moving from point A to B with a couple of detours of small talks that have small relevance to the plot, and note that you won't be able to read all of them anyway on one route.”
“On a plot and character aspect, this game is basically an NTR simulator for over half of its routes to very little result most of the time.”
“The main plot appeal is very lacking and the story barely has any substance.”
- music46 mentions
- 39 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, with many reviewers highlighting its beautiful soundtrack and memorable vocal tracks that enhance the overall experience. While some feel that the music carries the game, especially in light of its mediocre story and character routes, others appreciate the remade and remixed classic tracks that remain engaging. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, making it a significant draw for fans of the genre.
“The music is absolutely fantastic and just as good as I expected it to be.”
“A very beautiful story and very beautiful music and artwork.”
“The characters are fun to get to know, the music is beautiful and the romance bits got my heart beating.”
“No spoilers, I’d give White Album a 4.5/10 on the whole, sporting a passable soundtrack with a couple solid vocal tracks, presentation that would be incredibly charming if not for the myriad of distracting visual glitches in all of the character models (i.e. eyelashes clipping straight into eyeballs, stretched-out models when zoomed-in, disembodied flesh circles under chins, the occasional uncanny and inhuman expression; I simply could not get past it), repetitive and monotonous gameplay even with the skip button, and (with one exception) routes that all range from mostly unsatisfying to downright inexcusable.”
“The music is a big part of White Album, but it doesn't feel like it was for this entry.”
“It's also very surprising to me how little the songs are of importance compared to White Album 2.”
- gameplay18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized as a traditional visual novel and dating sim, but it suffers from overly complex dialogue requirements that make it nearly impossible to experience all content in one playthrough. Players find the mechanics repetitive and monotonous, with a lack of effective tracking for progress, leading to frustration. While the game attempts to modernize aspects of its 1998 predecessor, it ultimately feels outdated, with shallow character interactions and a protagonist that fails to engage.
“The gameplay is quite an original type of visual novel game, using a date-based activity to proceed with the story.”
“While it's a remake of a 1998 visual novel that goes to great lengths to touch up many aspects of the original, it definitely feels like a product of its time with the writing and mechanics of the visual novel.”
“My recommendation is to abuse the quick skip mechanic (select/options button on the Steam Deck in my case), which will allow you to fly past events in the case you decide to be extremely sociable.”
“The gameplay is just like any other dating sim, except the requirements for dialogue events are obnoxious. It's literally impossible to complete all the dialogue in one playthrough. They could have expanded more on tracking the things you've already read, like a progress UI, as the bookmark icons for choices you've revisited feel too lacking.”
“It makes the gameplay loop extremely repetitive and very boring for a considerable portion of it.”
“The only real complaint I have is that the dating sim mechanics drag the game down, making it way more confusing than necessary and wasting time.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 78 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their impressive quality, especially considering its 15-year history as a visual novel. Reviewers highlight the beautiful art style, animated sprites, and upgraded visuals in the latest version, which enhance the overall experience despite some criticisms of the story and character routes. Overall, the artwork and character designs are considered standout features that elevate the game.
“Additionally, the graphics of this game were very impressive for a 15-year-old visual novel.”
“The art style is gorgeous, and I appreciate the variety of heroines.”
“And we got the latest and greatest version, with all the new and upgraded artworks and one of the best looking 2D animated character portraits in visual novels.”
“That's a long time ago, and since it's faithfully ported aside from updated visuals (and removal of the +18 content, thank god), the game is a terrible slog to get through.”
“Mediocre drama, but the artwork, voice acting, and character dialogues are fantastic.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as genuinely hilarious, particularly in the interactions with certain heroines, like Mana, who provide many funny moments. However, some players found the effort required to unlock humorous conversations tedious and not always worth the time investment. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the narrative, despite some darker themes.
“It's honestly hilarious if you'd still want a heroine like her lol.”
“Considering these aspects, particularly the game loop, I would recommend completing only four routes: Yuki, Rina, Sayoko (will open after completing a game, it’s an additional character for this version), and Mana (if you enjoyed spending time with her, as there are many funny moments).”
“I played pressing Ctrl like 20 times in order to unlock some conversations which were funny but not worth 30 minutes of my time to get there because it was locked under specific events.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and unengaging, particularly in the dating sim routes, which many players find boring and frustrating. Achieving 100% completion is noted as especially laborious, making the experience less enjoyable for those not deeply invested in the series. Overall, while the story has its merits, the grind detracts significantly from the overall experience.
“⛔️ Tedious as hell to get 100% achievements.”
“The dating sim aspect is tedious; the majority of the routes are boring, and some characters are annoying.”
“The dating sim aspect makes it quite tedious whenever you're going for a new route.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is generally well-received, with users noting that it runs smoothly on the Steam Deck. The developers have addressed previous issues, enhancing the overall performance and user experience, particularly during key musical moments.
“It runs smoothly on the Steam Deck as well!”
“I can definitely see how the devs could have seen that as a problem before and fixed it with WA2, where the main cast writes their own songs and works hard to give us a musical performance.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the visual novel is highly praised for its immersive 80's aesthetic, which complements the deep character development and excellent voice acting, creating a nostalgic and engaging experience for players.
“I like this visual novel not only for the deep female characters and perfect voice acting, but also for the 80's atmosphere.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is significantly undermined by numerous visual glitches, such as character model distortions and uncanny expressions, which detract from the overall experience. These issues contribute to a frustrating gameplay experience, leading to a low overall rating from users.
“I’d give White Album a 4.5/10 on the whole, sporting a passable soundtrack with a couple solid vocal tracks, presentation that would be incredibly charming if not for the myriad of distracting visual glitches in all of the character models (i.e. eyelashes clipping straight into eyeballs, stretched-out models when zoomed-in, disembodied flesh circles under chins, the occasional uncanny and inhuman expression; I simply could not get past it).”
“The presentation would be incredibly charming if not for the myriad of distracting visual glitches in all of the character models, such as eyelashes clipping straight into eyeballs and stretched-out models when zoomed in.”
“I simply could not get past the distracting visual glitches in the character models, which included disembodied flesh circles under chins and the occasional uncanny and inhuman expression.”
