Wanting Wings

Wanting Wings is a shockingly good story. It has a strong foundation which stays consistent and important, and each character takes time to build on that foundation in a way that's meaningful to them, and with a payoff which is meaningful to them. Wanting Wings also takes extra care to maintain their timeline of events, regardless of whose route you're on: character X will always have to deal with the fallout of a certain event, but depending on who she's in a relationship with at the time, or if she's in a relationship at all, the options and solutions available to her are different, and that event will have an effect on ALL characters. This kind of thing matters to me a lot, because it so effectively highlights the divergent nature of one's life, and how minute decisions can butterfly into meaningful outcomes. It's the reason that I fell in love with this genre of video game, and Wanting Wings gives me exactly what I love about it. Bonus points if there's a mention of 'how many possibilities we had to cross to get here'. I'm a sucker for that, and WW knows it. I cannot overstate the professional quality of the writing, translation, and voicework. Each character is positively overflowing with personality, and stay almost entirely consistent through each route, personality-wise. The humorous writing that each of the girls are given really hits the mark on every swing. They know exactly when to go full throttle and make a scene just entirely ridiculous, and when to rein it in and temper the tone into something more emotional, or even somber. The use of tone, and the way the non-voiced narration lends itself to that tone, is utterly masterful. There are some downright poetic lines in this story, and I had to take a step back so that I could take it all in; marvel at it. "[spoiler] So cry. Wail. Your emotions are truly intense. Your face is soaked with tears; your nose is running too, but... Right now, you're truly beautiful. More than god himself. [/spoiler]" The presence of each member of this small cast feels integral. One of my least favorite things about romance VNs is when certain characters whose routes you aren't on seem to just disappear, or stop mattering. Such is most definitely NOT the case in WW. Each of the three girls are given real development, and extra scenes, even when they aren't the focus. I started writing this review without a plan; this is really me just dumping all of my praise for WW into one spot, so it isn't very well structured. I hope you can still feel my adoration for these characters, and these stories, even just a little bit, because there's still so much I could say, and so much that I feel that I left out. Wanting Wings gets full marks for characterization, music, and story. This cast brings the story to life with a voiceover that pulls you in, with a soundtrack that's easy to listen to, and a story which will bring you to the heights and depths of all sorts of emotions. I hold no reservations in recommending this to those who think it sounds like a good game. As an aside, I would also highly recommend the content restoration patch, as well. Downloadable for free with Mangagamer. While the game is perfectly enjoyable without it, there is truly important context and dialogue held in those scenes. I hope you enjoy this wonderful story, if you do check it out. Oh, it also has controller support built in! Which is pretty neat.