Heiligenstadt no Uta – Review

ハイリゲンシュタットの歌 ✧ ♥

Cast: Ono Yuuki, Shimazaki Nobunaga, Uchida Yuuma, Suzumura Kenichi, Okamoto Nobuhiko, Taniyama Kishou

Release Date: September 29, 2017

Localization: No

WHOOPS I finished this game like a month ago but only found time to write about it now when I should really being doing work for finals

I honestly wasn’t too interested in the game because of the art but it eventually grew on me and now I find it really cute, especially about MY DAUGHTER Lied. Eventually more videos and whatnot got released and the music hyped me up so much that I just had to get it (i even got the animate and stellaworth tokutens omg calm down) JOKES ON ME AGAIN BECAUSE I ALWAYS END UP LOVING THE GAMES I INITIALLY PASS ON AT A FIRST GLANCE.

I LOVE MY DAUGHTER

Story/Plot: 

Our heroine Lied loves music more than anything else in in the world even if she herself isn’t the greatest at it (she plays the organ!). She’s always accompanied by her “pet” Soprano everywhere (he’s basically her guardian/family) playing music for the children at the orphanage they stay at. One day they go to see a performance at the Royal Orchestra but it gets disrupted by a dissonance which caused people to lose their “sound” and ability to hear or play music (basically becoming deaf/mute). However, only Lied isn’t affected by this event and thus she is thrown into the world of the Royal Orchestra members to help solve this phenomenon.

…. is my best summary of the common route without diving too much into super spoiler territory. I have to admit while the story generally ends with stopping the force that’s creating the dissonance it really goes all over the place when you enter the character route. The common route serves as an intro to the guys and a small conflict before you get to choose which route to start. After that is the character routes and where things start to get a little confusing. Character routes definitely focus on the chosen character as we get their whole backstory told to us and the reason for the darkness in their hearts. One thing I felt iffy about was how they presented us a “big” backstory but it was used to it’s full potential; I feel like they could’ve expanded more on it but maybe due to time they couldn’t so it felt a little rushed/overwhelming. As well there’s definitely plot holes scattered about with a lot of the mysteries solved only in certain character routes. So rather than big common events and end, the character routes vary based on who you choose. It’s kind of like 7’scarlet where individual character routes seem abrupt or don’t make sense until you play the rest and everything falls into place. True route plot twists and reveals hit me so hard I did not see this coming at all.

I think pace wise it was alright; everything was fairly short but resonable with the information they presented. While I enjoyed the plot of this game because I’m a big music lover I can’t say this will appeal to everyone regardless. As well, this is a light-hearted and happy game with x928368 gags scattered everywhere in the plot; perhaps a little too much (at times the mood felt ruined because of this). It’s definitely character>plot kind of game; I felt like the characters were the spotlight of the game whereas plot kind of takes a backseat in order for the characters to shine. It is a game that prioritizes happiness over everything so if that’s not your thing maybe you can wait a bit before picking this up.

Characters:

EVERYONE IS SO GOOD! I love how all the characters intersect with each other it felt so natural and with all the gags you really see how their dynamics are with each other. I really like how the author wrote Lied and how she handles the situations she’s thrown in.

I guess you could say the characters fall under certain tropes but I think the game made a good use of that with all the little gags and shenanigans. They all have a pretty sad backstory to explain how they got to who they are in the present and I have to say they’re pretty unique. For such a lighthearted game I didn’t expect the backstories to be so sad, but how else would they explain the reason for the darkness in their hearts. I thought I’d be able to guess their thoughts and actions pretty well but LOL NOPE I PLAYED MYSELF. I’m sure there’s a “type” for everyone but everyone is A++++++++++ god their reasons for playing music tho しんどい.

While I don’t want to say too much about the characters, here’s my little blabbles about them as I was playing their route. I removed most of my revealing comments but a lot of my thoughts are spoilers so if this is of any interest to you, HERE YOU GO:

Lied:
– LIED IS VERY CUTE I’M GONNA DIE
– very genki and outgoing, cAN TSUKKOMI AND PLAY ALONG WITH A JOKE WHILE STILL BEING POLITE
– ditzy but not in the airheaded or too innocent kind of way??? like she’s not as pure as snow idk how to describe uuuuuuhhh basically pure but no so pure like “where do babies come from?” AS INNOCENT AS THAT SCREAMS NO
– i’m love her my daughter i will protec with my life

Arushe (CV: Shimazaki Nobunaga)
– stop with da kokoro ga inai bINch yes u do
– he’s supposed to be flirt but not really towards Lied in his route lmao as in he isn’t constantly going after her –> only like that in other routes doushite
– ore wa tensai da mon
– oNCEN HE REALIZES hiS FEElinGS FOR LIED theIR ROLES GET REVERSED?.?!?>!! (chaser becomes the chased) LIED IS VERY CUTE
– focking only got cute at very end of last chapter and epilogue why couldn’t he be like that the whole route
– for a flirty chara i like how he wasn’t constantly going after Lied he only made passes if the opportunity was fed to him basically
– I WANT MORE ZURUI/SPICY ARUSHE UM

Dee: (CV: Uchida Yuuma)
– holy shit what was that back story
– da poor kid isn’t being a brat bc he’s a brat
– Rudolph is his biggest fan wow
– BOY JUST PLAY THE WAY YOU WANT DON’T BE AFRAID
– he’s the tsun wanko u are looking for
– maybe a little too mean for me cry
– tfw u gotta fight big boss but nah let’s play music

Visse (CV: Okamoto Nobuhiko)
– the orchestra’s pet
– cat magnet
– lewd
– ur father is so mean scREAMS glad u got ur mother’s looks
– JKS SAD BACKSTORY FOR FATHER BUT IDC STILL RUDE
– ur mom loves u u just can’t see it
– for someone so seemingly innocent u sure say a lot of lewd things
– sekuhara
– he got an extra chapter even tho not super plot related
– lewd

Kuravia (CV: Suzumura Kenichi)
– EVEN WILDER THAN I THOUGHT
– a weeb
– damn shit son sorry about ur hands
– natsuki shinomiya
– LMAO apostle in this route
– YOU GO LIED
– Kuravia is still an innocent lad
– except the epilogue where i wrote about one little exchange and everyone thinks he’s a spicy when really he’s prob a cherryboy
– even tho he lost the feeling in his hands shouldn’t u be embarrassed that Lied put ur hand on her chest (ok the circumstances were kind of :^( but STILL)

Hart (CV: Ono Yuuki)
– HECKIN SHIT IT START’S OUT SO CUTE ALREADY
– onoyuu thanks for my life
– hart is a good kuudere he dere up p fast
– NO U STUPID DON’T TELL HER HER FEELINGS ARE WRONG
– BACK STORY AND PLOT GALORE SASUGA POSTER BOY
– CRIES FOR SOPRANO A LOT
– yyyyyYYYYyYEAH boy THE CONFESSioN
– BELIEVE IN ORCHESTRA DAD
– he’s too gullible/serious jsdhflkjhlfa but THAT’S A GOOD THING THANKS FOR MY LIFE
– EVERYONE’S PROBLEMS GET SOLVED IN THIS ROUTE EXCEPT FOR ARUSHE KIND OF I’M DYING

Apostle (CV: Taniyama Kishou)
– TRAGIC PAST ALREADY
– HE IS A VERY GOOD BOY
– SAVE HIM
– delicious tsun
– UNEMI NO HITO, UNMEI NO HITO(?)
– oh god SoPRANO ;;;;;;;;;;
– hoLY SHIT HIS NAME
– i guess he lowkey look like Beethoven SCREAMS BUT
– EVEN LIED IS…. UNMEI NO HITO UNMEI NO HITO
– GIVE HIM THE FAMILY HE DESERVES

Art:

Like I said the art kind of shyed me away from the game at first but I got used to it and now I find it endearing. I will say some sprites look awkward, Arushe’s especially and some inconsistencies in the CGs? The character expressions are really cute though, I was surprised there was so many and a lot of comical faces too. Lied has a wide range of expressions I love it.

OK this Arushe sprite is actually OK but I love Lied’s face here

Cries why did his route screw him over

I love them

This scene was so sweet because *SPOILERS*

Music:

THE MUSIC IS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT THIS GAME. Of course with it being a game with music as it’s main point, the BGM is amazing and very appropriate for every situation. One of the really cool things is that the ED theme has many variations with the guy’s main instrument and the lyrics change to reflect their route. You can listen to a sample here:

System: 

The system was super easy to follow and I love the little SFX of piano notes whenever you select an option. Even the loading screen is cute! Also another big thing: THERE’S A SKIP TO NEXT CHOICE OPTION That was probably one of the most amazing things for me honestly because I hate having to Skip All just to get to next choice when I’m trying to get the other endings. Also there’s chapter select so that was handy. The fact that you choose which character’s route you enter also made it super easy and user friendly. It also highkey reminded me of Senjou no Waltz system in a way that the “true route” is unlocked (colour jewels fit into a chest) and how you have to read a couple of chapters for context before entering it.

I wish the background changed in real time between Day and Night like C:R but oh well

Soprano is best character

Execution:

I definitely have a soft spot for this game just because I’m a big classical music nerd and I found the characters really cute, but the plot is a bit messy even for me. The flow and transition between events was a little confusing to me and while most things are explained I still feel like something is missing the story. Especially since it unfolds like 7’scarlet where everything is ???????? until “true” route but even then I’m still left to wonder or suspect things ended too conveniently. I think you can finish the game in 30ish hours, but in generally it’s a pretty quick game (not like Psychedelica though).  The highlight of this game for me was definitely the characters and their little interactions; it was so cute and heartwarming I didn’t want the game to end but luckily there’s so many bonus scenarios in the Extras page as well as the tokutens. While the plot intrigued me a bit, it’s not the main reason why this game left a lasting impression for me. Heiligenstadt wins me over for the characters and amazing OST that I am still waiting for Again because of this I do not recommended this game for people who like plot driven and darker games because you will not find that here. If you’re looking for lots of fanservice you also won’t find that here.

Recommended route order for best unfolding of plot:

Arushe→ Dee→ Visse→ Kuravia→ Hart→ Apostle

In the end I’m left with warm fuzzy feelings of hope and LOVE.

Overall: 7.5/10

PROS: 

• Super adorable cast/characters
• Great character interactions
• Amazing music and system

Cons:

• Plot execution can seem messy/unanswered
• Awkward sprites/CGs

Recommended for people who:

• Like classical music
• Excellent character interactions
• Very lighthearted games that prioritizes happiness over everything

You can buy the game here: ✧

Read my reactions of the game here:  #michiplaysハイシュタ