Chuusotsu - 1st Graduation: Time After Time Demo

Although at its most basic level life is all about survival, modern humans have other worries and problems, such as achieving their dreams or leaving some kind of legacy behind. In fact, it’s almost a demand to find a purpose in life and have a stellar career, so the standards are pretty high. On the other hand, being happy has nothing to do with expectations or how everyone perceives you.

Chuusotsu - 1st Graduation: Time After Time is an interactive visual novel in which you get to play the role of a girl who must make a name for herself in a strange world. You can make decisions that affect the plot, not to mention the fact that there are quite a few characters participating in the story. To make things even better, all of these characters are different from each other and have unique personalities.   The main story revolves around Marisugawa Arue, a manga-loving girl who finds herself labeled as a chuusotsu, or a person who lacks education past middle school. In order to stand a chance at a normal life, Arue applies for a rehabilitation program, which is where she meets two other girls and moves in with them in order to participate in the aforementioned program.

The interesting story might not be everyone’s cup of tea, given the specific anime concepts and the occasional exaggeration, but the writing is good enough to keep you engaged in spite of that. The interesting society rules created for the story are quite thought-provoking, even if they wouldn’t function as intended in the real world.   Lastly, the artwork is very important in visual novels, especially since there’s nothing else to keep you occupied most of the time. Every scene is very detailed and full of color, which helps a lot with the atmosphere and the general mood. Not much can be said about the soundtrack, on the other hand, given the fact that it sounds a tad too generic for the genre.

All things considered, Chuusotsu - 1st Graduation: Time After Time can easily keep you busy from start to finish, but the demo is only a taste of the final product. Hence, you can support the developers by participating in the game’s Kickstarter campaign.