Post
by Taihennami » Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:30 pm
I actually came into the game looking at a guide, but deliberately taking as many of the choices as possible that didn't appear in the guide, or which were used least often, in Act 1. This ended up setting none whatsoever of the Lilly/Hanako or Shizune/Misha flags, then sending me to exercise with Emi but chickening out of it. Hence I ended up with Rin (since I also chickened out of giving Nomiya-sensei the contrarian answers which would have sent me to the rooftop with Kenji), and that actually worked out pretty well for me. If I'd gone with more honest choices the first time, I'd probably have had Hanako instead, and that's also a good line.
Throughout the process I was paying attention to whether the choices I was being given, and the outcomes from those choices, made sense in the context of what I'd been told by the game up to the point. In general, they actually do, though there are notable exceptions in Act 2 onwards. All you have to do is think of the girls as actual people and make your decisions on that basis.
For example, it should be plainly obvious from Tuesday evening onwards that Lilly and Hanako are very close friends with at least some personality traits in common, and that many of the choices will therefore affect them both the same way. If you do something nice (or at least avoid doing something annoying) for Hanako, Lilly will appreciate that, and if you back Lilly up when she needs it, that will help you get into Hanako's good books as well. This even applies to choices you make when the girl in question isn't actually present; these choices have an effect on Hisao's mindset, opening or blocking certain courses of action in the future. Eg. if you came on too strong to Hanako in the library, you might still be able to salvage the situation by acknowledging that her reaction was rather cute when the subject comes up with Kenji. Kenji doesn't care either way, but Hisao does!
It always amuses me when people characterise Rin's path as "confusing", because all the important choices are very clearly signposted by Rin herself, complete with an unambiguous indication of which answer she wants to hear. This is even true of the point where Nomiya asks Hisao's opinion about Rin's exhibition project. I looked at the three options and had the general impression that none of them were really the right answer - and that actually turns out to be the case, as all of them just kickstart the main plot, with only a small deviation in the storyline later on. It's an important choice, to be sure, but it's one that Hisao is incapable of answering correctly at that stage of his relationship with Rin. The only two decisions that actually affect which ending you get are also very clearly signposted, and this time Hisao always has at least one answer to give that is good enough.
With a girl that clearly has trouble communicating clearly, as Rin does, the crucial thing is to actually pay attention to what she does say. Especially when she takes a moment to pause and think about how to phrase it properly. If you take the trouble to do that, you really can't go far wrong with Rin.
If you want a girl who actually is confusing and counter-intuitive to deal with, that would be Hanako. And yes, she's deliberately written that way.