>>538079552
Hisui and Akiha's routes in particular were phenomenal. Akiha's had superb writing/pacing throughout, with excellent fight scenes, great balance between the romance and action, and two absolutely heartbreaking endings. Hisui's route had some of the best psychological horror that I've ever read. Kohaku's reveal in the ending was so damn good. SHIKI was an awesome villain, and I would have sex with him. I could never bring myself to hate the poor guy. I don't have that many complaints for Far Side. The only one I'd consider notable is the complete lack of Arcueid throughout. Ciel gets a cameo, but not Arc? Seriously? Why does the game's titular heroine show up the least?

It’s only fair that I go into a little more detail for Kohaku’s route as I did the others. Honestly? It was strange, perhaps a tad disappointing compared to what preceded it. There were some standout moments, namely Shiki and SHIKI sharing coffee and the Akiha fight, but outside of that it was just alright. The middle was mostly rehashed stuff, all the reveals that could’ve made the route better already happened, and the ending was ridiculously abrupt. There were also some loose ends (no clue why they implied that Akiha killed Arihiko if it was never going to come up again). It was definitely the weakest of the Far Side routes, but its inclusion was still a net positive for the VN. I’m glad Kohaku got her happy ending.

Regarding the non-writing aspects, there are obvious complaints to be made regarding the art and music, but I can’t say I was particularly bothered by either. The amateur art comes off as endearing, and once I got tired of the admittedly simple OST, I just listened to my own playlist.

Tsukihime was amazing overall, and it's probably my fifth or sixth favorite VN of the few I've read so far. Final score... 9/10!

Routes - Akiha > Hisui > Kohaku > Ciel > Arcueid
Girls - Akiha > Kohaku > Ciel >= Arcueid > Hisui

Next is Kagetsu Tohya!