A Kiss for the Petals – Remembering How We Met

Developer: St. Michael’s Girls School | Publisher: MangaGamer | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Visual Novel | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam / MangaGamer

Risa Azumi, a student at St. Michaels, was instantly captivated when she spotted the new girl, Miya Ayase. As luck would have it, Risa finds herself in the same class as Miya and seated right next to her. However, whereas Risa is very serious about school and her studies, Miya is brilliant enough to find it all a bore. Since she can get full marks on all her tests effortlessly, Miya takes to skipping class, which Risa, who is also a class representative, finds completely unacceptable.

A Kiss For The Petals – Remembering How We Met is the story of how Risa and Miya met for the first time and what happened before they became a cute couple. The story focuses primarily on Risa’s recollection of the events, but the viewpoint sometimes shifts to Miya. Remembering How We Met is part of the very popular Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke o (A Kiss For The Petals) yuri series, which, at the time of writing this review, is in its 9th year in Japan. Although it is one of the newest titles in the long-running series, it is also a good starting point for several reasons.

Firstly, because it centers on the two characters’ initial meeting, no prior knowledge of the series is needed to enjoy the story. The story focuses exclusively on the two girls, to the point where other characters are simply referred to as “Girl A” or “Girl B.” It is also a nice introduction to the Yuri genre, as the game is suitable for all ages. Unlike other titles in the same series, there is no adult content; thus, nothing had to be cut or censored for the Steam version. A scene with the two girls sharing a tender kiss is about as explicit as things get, in contrast to the other 18+ titles in the series that all feature plenty of H-scenes.

As far as the story and setting are concerned, there aren’t a lot of surprises in Remembering How We Met. Everything takes place at St. Michael Girl’s School, and the plot features a mixture of comedy and drama. Risa’s growing frustration with her classmate, which prompts her to try everything to get Miya to stop skipping classes, is humorously depicted. Still, there are also plenty of tender moments. Overall, the story is quite soft and sweet compared to some of the other titles in the genre. However, the game is a kinetic novel, so it can be completed in about one 3-hour session.

Visually, the game looks very nice, but it sticks to a 4:3 ratio even when played in fullscreen. This results in black borders on both sides of the screen. Unfortunately, this means that the game doesn’t look quite as nice as titles such as the Nekopara series. However, according to series producer Mi Kara Deta Saba, there is actually a good reason why the widescreen modes are not supported. Although the game doesn’t feature animations, the CGs are very nice and can be viewed from the “Extra” gallery once unlocked. The Steam version also features achievements as well as trading cards that players can craft into some nice emoticons and backgrounds.

The soundtrack for Remembering How We Met is very fitting and contains a nice mixture of lighthearted tracks along with a couple more romantic ones. There is even a very nice track, Kiss Me With a Smile, with vocals by Moriya Satomi. In addition, the game features full Japanese voice acting for both girls. After completing the game, all the BGM can also be played from the “Extra” menu. The game is built with the Ren’Py visual novel engine, which means the interface will be familiar to most fans of the genre. The volume of the background music, sound effects, and voices can all be toggled individually or disabled if preferred, while the text speed can also be adjusted.

The amount of Otome games on Steam has been on the rise lately, so it is good to see some more Yuri titles also making an appearance. Players expecting the more explicit elements of the genre will find Remembering How We Met very tame, but anyone who can appreciate a soft and sweet love story between two girls should check out this game. Overall, the game is short but entertaining, and hopefully, there is enough interest to ensure that other titles in the series also make their English market debut.