What should I read next?

[akaritan]

Hi! I'm sort of lost as to what to read next, but I think I want to either get back to KnS or read Symphonic Rain. If you could inform me as to what Symphonic Rain offers, and whether you think I'd like it more, I'd be grateful.

[mitchhamilton]

ooh, very nice choices akaritan. i would have to choose kns. ^ ^

[Funyarinpa]

Kara no Shoujo is decent. Don't go in without a walkthrough.

[Eclipsed]

Symphonic Rain offers very slow paced somber charage that gets somewhat interesting once you get into the Al Fine route with its character revelations

Kara no Shoujo is all about Reiji appearing and sounding like a competent detective but ultimately the body count will just keep rising as he plays catchup, and banging Touko.

[xGreyHound]

KNS, I have no clue what that other one is but KNS is a god dammed masterpiece. 

[Silvz]

I really think Kara no Shoujo is going to "win" here because it is way more famous than SR. Both are great, but I think Symphonic Rain really deserves attention and care, since it is a great novel, both story and character wise. All three routes are meaningful in some way, but the true route adds a lot more to the story, changing completely how you see the whole game, which is a great feature, and in my opinion, the whole game makes it worth it the reading. And don't forget the amazing songs [both from the skippable gameplay sections and OST] and the wonderful art

 

Edit: to complement my post: Symphonic Rain is a novel with huge focus on music and love, whereas you are a music student preparing to the final presentation. You live in a city where it is always raining and gets to know 3 different main heroines besides the True Route, which is focused on your "magical" companion, a small fairy-girl. There are some gameplay segments, where you have to play the songs with your keyboard [but you can set the game to play it by itself]. One of the best things for me in this game is how everything is connected, all routes are important to the character development and to the story.

Oh, and there are also the plot twists, which are a lot!

Edited December 31, 2016 by Silvz

[xGreyHound]

2 minutes ago, Silvz said:

I really think Kara no Shoujo is going to "win" here because it is way more famous than SR. Both are great, but I think Symphonic Rain really deserves attention and care, since it is a great novel, both story and character wise. All three routes are meaningful in some way, but the true route adds a lot more to the story, changing completely how you see the whole game, which is a great feature, and in my opinion, the whole game makes it worth it the reading. And don't forget the amazing songs [both from the skippable gameplay sections and OST] and the wonderful art

KNS is still gonna win, but now I kind want to look into this "symphonic rain".

[Silvz]

3 minutes ago, xGreyHound said:

KNS is still gonna win, but now I kind want to look into this "symphonic rain".

I edited my comment with more thoughts.

On KnS, I'd suggest you to read Cartagra first, since its events are prior to KnS's and influence deeply Kara no Shoujo 2.

[Fred the Barber]

I can't really give a very trustworthy answer here, since of the two I've only played Symphonic Rain, but that game really struck a chord with me. It has one weak route (Lise) and one highly divisive route (Fal), but the last two routes are fantastic and extremely memorable, and Torta and Fal both remain among my favorite VN heroines to date.

The art in Symphonic Rain is also totally unique (or at least, I've never seen anything else like it). It was actually a bit off-putting at first, but after an hour or two getting used to it, I think it's really lovely; the character sprites are particularly adorable.

Heck, once I got the hang of the mini-game (and the fact that it wants you to be way more precise with the timing of hitting notes than, say, Guitar Hero or Rock Band games), I even really enjoyed that part of the game.

The game looks like a straightforward charage at first blush, but it's really got a lot more going on than that, and it plays its cards extremely well with the way the later routes are set up.

Bottom line, I'm a big Symphonic Rain fan, and I suspect you'd enjoy it. Even if you don't play it now, do pick it up soon.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Fred the Barber

[akaritan]

Sorry, I was gone for a day and couldn't reply.  But thank you for your help. Although Symphonic Rain sounds really good, and I do plan to get around to it soon, it also sounds like a slower burn, which isn't really what I'm looking for right now. So I'll be reading KnS next, and again, thank you for your help!