Jitteh Dawn - Review

Warning: This review contains spoilers.

Amongst the OELVN scene, particularly in 2007, there have been a lot of solo VN’s made. One of the advantages of working by yourself, is having total control over all the creative aspects of the game, and perhaps because of this, some very distinctive and original VN’s have been released recently. One game that can be described in these terms is Jitteh Dawn, particularly because of its’ unusual and intriguing storyline.

Personally, I found the story arc where Hogi continues to pursue his research to be more interesting. There were a lot of clues given as to what the Ippongi family’s secret might be, and with careful thought the mystery could be deduced, The other arc felt a bit odd, as the reader will probably have to suspend their belief for some of the wilderness scenes, particularly as to how the characters get lost. The other story element I found problematic was having Tatsunami immediately introduce himself as a member of the Ippongi family, which felt a bit odd, given the families notoriety. On the whole though, the story presentation was well done, particularly the opening allegory, which effectively foreshadows the Ippongi family’s secret. I should also add that the Death scene(s) are rather unusual.

The other thing that really struck me about Jitteh Dawn, was the protagonist, Hogi Hasekura. Although his age is not given, his over-eager and somewhat immature personality suggests that he is quite young. When playing I found myself enjoying his personality, but at the same time often wanting to stop him from saying or doing certain tactless things. However, that does not mean that I dislike Hogi – on the contrary, having a protagonist with a strong personality really made the game come to life. Also, without a protagonist like Hogi though, it is unlikely that any of the mystery would be uncovered.

One of the more unusual features of Jitteh Dawn (in terms of OELVN’s) is its heavy use of Japanese. Although a few OELVN’s use Japanese honorifics, and several have Japanese settings (and many display at least some Japanese influence), the extensive use of Kanji on maps and the family tree As an aside, the player does not need to be able to read Japanese. At the same time though, there is probably a hidden dimension to the game – for example the various name Kanji are unlikely to be randomly chosen. In some ways, perhaps this game might have worked even better in Japanese rather than English, although the OELVN scene would be much poorer as a result.

The character art (all from the public domain) uses a combination of head graphics and sprites, with Sayaka being shown at various times as both of these, depending on the situation. There is a version with improved artwork in progress, and this paragraph will be extended once the revised game is released.

Overall, I found Jitteh Dawn to be a very unique and enjoyable experience. It’s definitely worth playing if you’re looking for a VN experience that’s different from a typical romantic game.

Review by Ignosco