I'm not even fucking joking anymore, this series gives me more joy and fulfillment than most other games I've played this entire year, and I honestly do not care about the implications of that whatsofuckingever.

The gap between this and the previous game was something I actually noticed, and, for the lack of better terminology, was somewhat saddened by. Why, of all things, it was Garten of fucking Banban that left such an impression on me is completely beyond me. What, in January, started out as a mildly entertaining 20 minute slop-game, has turned into something I LEGITIMATELY look forward to.

Thank you, Euphoric Brothers, I'm sure this isn't the kind of thing you expect to see someone writing about the game you're probably working sincerely on, but know that when I say these games suck, I mean it in the most loving way I possibly can. The sheer absurdity of these games is incredible, I cannot wait for the next one.

Completely captures the feeling of a fantranslated PS2 adaptation of a forgotten 90's shoujo manga. Almost dizzyingly textured & artisanal in its devotion to presenting this kind of rose-thorny traditional German folktale. Feels so genuine, inspired, fully realised in a way I desperately needed as a palate cleanser.

For me to become completely convinced of its gameplay and narrative goals, I’d have to replay it with alternate routes in mind, which I’m not quite able to facilitate with my current limited free time - and Little Goody Two Shoes doesn’t exactly make going down these forks in the story particularly breezy. I don’t tackle games with completionism in mind these days but I find myself a little bummed about how much work I’d need to put into this if I wanted to see the stories I’ve missed. Nothing a timeline/"skip seen dialogue" update somewhere down the line can’t fix, please don’t make me watch a Youtube video.