Please help me decide between Edelweiss and Snow Sakura

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

In the coming weeks I plan to buy two new bishoujo games: Princess Waltz and one of either Edelweiss or Snow Sakura.

First of all, I should state that I’m aware of the translation/writing problems with Edelweiss, and that shouldn’t be taken into consideration when making your recommendation. While it’s unfortunate that it didn’t receive better treatment, it’s just not a big issue for me. I enjoyed Casual Romance Club in spite of its frequent mangling of the English language and expect that I’ll be similarly untroubled by Edelweiss. Same with the DRM issue.

This is a difficult decision because my favourite games are the emotionally intense Crescendo and the (mostly) lighthearted comedy Tokimeki Check-In. From what I’ve read about them, I gather that both Edelweiss and Snow Sakura have a good deal of humour. My tastes lean towards the bawdy, filthy brand of humour found in anime like Ping Pong Club and Dokuro-chan, which puts Edelweiss in the frame (and I love the art). But if Snow Sakura pulls off funny and emotionally intense, then that becomes the more attractive proposition, even if gentle romance tends to bore me.

What I don’t like is when games are too easy; it removes the sense of achievement when you complete a character’s path. The more dialogue choices and story branches the better, for my attention starts to wander if I go too long without having any meaningful input. Also annoying is too much banal descriptive dialogue. I really don’t need to hear about the minutiae of the main character’s dull existence, so the less of that the better.

Given that poorly structured mess of confusing information, which you do think I’ll enjoy more? Is my impression of Edelweiss’ humour correct, and how emotionally intense does Snow Sakura actually get? Thanks in advance.

#2

Well i would choose Edelweiss its also funny and its got a couple of emotionally intense encounters that are good .
Snow Sakura gets a bit boring and its not very intense emotionally nice arwork but the rest the plot, characters well nothing special or really good.

#3

Your impression of Edelweiss is correct. It has mostly crude humor. It’s an extremely simple game, though. There’s only 1 choice that affects whether you branch off to a character or not. I’ve only played one path, but it seems a lot more dramatic than Snow Sakura.

Snow Sakura doesn’t use much crude humor. It’s also mostly about the characters, and there’s not much story in the game, so it’s not really emotionally intense. It’s really just slice of life with a story tacked on at the end so the game can end. It’s one of my favorite games released here, and it’s one of the few games that made me laugh constantly, but it’s probably not what you’re looking for.

Neither has excessive description in the narration, so you should be fine with either there.

#4

I enjoyed both games, however Snow Sakura spends a lot of time “getting started” so to speak, so it can feel a bit slow aside from some of the well done humor. I really only truly enjoyed Saki’s route in it, the others were pretty bland.

Edelweiss would be my personal suggestion, but more so considering you want one with a more dramatic feel, as this one delivers just that on most of it’s paths. Despite some of the crude humor(Although in your case that seems to be what you’re looking for), it’s a very enjoyable read.

#5

Many thanks for your replies. I wasn’t aware that Edelweiss had dramatic content in addition to its humour, so it looks as though we may have a winner. Incidentally, does Edelweiss share the same artist as Green Green? I always loved GG’s art style and character designs and was bitterly disappointed that an English version never materialized. The similarity of Edelweiss’ art is what initially attracted me to it when I first visited MangaGamer’s page.

#6

Yes, it has the same artist as Green Green.

Edit: Sorry for the weird spacing. I was posting from my phone and the Japanese mode on it messes up English input.

#7

Also if you end up liking edelweiss, theirs an expansion pack for it. Mangagamer has the license but haven’t posted a release date yet.
Edelweiss ~Eiden Fantasia~

#8

I haven’t played Edelweiss, but I played and completed Snow Sakura and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s almost comparable to “Seinfeld” in the sense your doing/discussing mundane things with the various cast of characters; however, it’s that same mundane activity that helps you bond. For example, one moment of the game there’s a snowstorm and the following morning you help shuffle snow with your family (ie. Saki and your father). You can choose to ditch them or help. There’s also a film festival where you have to make a movie. What’s important is your never doing this alone - all the characters are supporting you or supporting each other. By the end of the game you feel like you’ve made new friends (digital friends, but friends nonetheless).

Without spoiling anything, one of my favorite moments in the game is when you commit yourself to one of the girls and all the other girls find out you’re dating. Because all the characters in the game are so close and tight-knit, when they find out you’re dating they freak out, joke around, get a little jealous, etc. This discovery and the reactions by the characters vary based on the girl you choose.

There’s no fighting or mecha - just good old school romance in a winter setting. If that interests you, then Snow Sakura is a great game. I will say one thing that’s odd though…

^ The consensus by many via voting on this forum is that the cover girl, Misaki, is the worst of all the choices. I agree. Don’t ask why she’s the cover girl then. I’d pick Rei in a heartbeat :D. You can dig for the topic, but there would obviously be spoilers, so avoid it.

#9

Like ReMeDy I have played Snow Sakura and not Edelweiss (since I prefer to have a physical copy of my eroge). What he said pretty much hits the nail on the head in regards to Snow Sakura, including Misaki being the least of all the paths you have to choose from in the game. Not that there is really anything wrong with the path or Misaki herself, it is just that her route lacks the drama of routes such as Saki (your cousin). For there to be any drama, you need conflict. Sadly, there is no true conflict in Misaki’s scenario. It seems as if the scenario writer’s ability to write a dramatic scenario decreased as he went along, with him starting on Saki and ending on Misaki. As for why Misaki is the “cover girl” as ReMeDy puts it, the answer lies in eroge rule #21 as compiled by #mirrormoon: true ends usually involve either death, or birth. I’ll leave it to those who haven’t played Snow Sakura to find out which of those two applies in this instance (though given the nature of the game, I’m sure it isn’t hard to figure out). I will say, however, that while Misaki’s route itself may be bland, the actual end was quite well done in my opinion.

#10

I can recommend you both games as you cant go wrong picking either of them.

But if I had to choose between those games I’d probably pick Edelweiss.

I greatly enjoyed the humor in it, the strong emphasis on the characters,
and the actual feeling to be part of a group of friends that attempts to pick up girls,
always ending up in trouble.
The flawed translation didnt bother me at all,
there were only few minor mistakes in spelling.
That game was a lot of fun.

Snow Sakura on the other hand is also a great game,
its very lighthearted, funny and romantic.

None of the games has a really strong story.
Its more of a casual plot that serves as a setup up
for the games.

It really depends on what kind of game you prefer.

#11

one of the pluses to snow sakura is more h-scenes than edelweiss with 3 for each character in snow sakura 1 for most of the characters in edelweiss

#12

I have played both and I have to give it to Edelweiss, When I finished my very first route (Mei) it just WOW’d me. The other routes didn’t really disappoint either. I have to say that you at least get 2 H-scenes minimum. BTW i still really like Snow Sakura but its really different compared to Edelweiss.

#13

Yeah, like I said: both are good games.

If you really cant decide, just throw a coin. :mrgreen:

#14

Thanks for your input. I went with Edelweiss in the end. The writing is, in fact, comfortably worse than Casual Romance Club’s (I fired it up to check), but I can’t recall a single line where I had any trouble understanding what was meant. Well, maybe one or two. It’s taking me longer than usual to play through because I keep thinking about how I’d phrase the sentences differently :smiley:

The comedy is hit and miss and it took far too long for the first choice to appear (although I suppose this means less to skip on subsequent playthroughs) but I’m enjoying the game a lot. Haruka, Ran, and Mei = love.

I’ll most likely end up buying Snow Sakura sometime next year, as apart from Family Project the upcoming schedule does not excite me.

#15

Christ, Edelweiss goes on a bit, doesn’t it? I’ve been playing for at least 5-6 hours and thus far haven’t spent more than 10 minutes alone with any of the main girls. Instead the scenario writers insist on making me sit through seemingly endless scenes about nothing particularly interesting. And I wish that Kazuko and Rei would just go away or maybe fling themselves off the island when the tide is out. Still, I’m looking forward to the girls’ individual stories… if I ever get there. Oh, and it pains me that I can’t persue Rin. Hurry up with the expansion pack, MG!

While I’m here, how is Hinatabokko? It’s the only other MangaGamers release whose artwork is remotely appealing. Good stories? Reasonable difficulty?

#16

I loved hinatabokko, personally
The storylines are good, they aren’t dark but you learn a fair bit about the characters from it. Each one has 1-2 sex scenes.
If your a fan of Lolicon then you’ll find that 2 of the targets are Loli’s.
It’s also the only English game to feature a trap.

definitely worth it, in my opinion.

#17

Eh, not especially, but most games have one so I’m long past being bothered by them.

Thanks for your thoughts. I’ll most probably pick it up when I finish Edelweiss.

“Sandwiched by my wife and her sister” has some attractive designs as well, and it’s cheap, but I might wait for some opinions first.

#18