Flowers (visual novel)
| FLOWERS - The tales of the girls who grow with a season | |
 Flowers - Le volume sur printemps Front Cover Box Art featuring (left to right) Rikka, Suou and Mayuri | |
| Genre | Mystery, Romance, Yuri[1] |
|---|---|
| Game | |
| Flowers - Le volume sur printemps - | |
| Developer | Innocent Grey |
| Publisher |
Innocent Grey‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd›
‹See Tfd›
|
| Directed by | Miki Sugina |
| Designed by | Miki Sugina |
| Music by | MANYO |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, Android |
| Released |
‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd› |
| Game | |
| Flowers - Le volume sur été - | |
| Developer | Innocent Grey |
| Publisher |
Innocent Grey‹See Tfd›
‹See Tfd›
|
| Directed by | Miki Sugina |
| Designed by | Miki Sugina |
| Music by | MANYO |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita |
| Released |
‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd› |
| Game | |
| Flowers - Le volume sur automne - | |
| Developer | Innocent Grey |
| Publisher |
Innocent Grey‹See Tfd›
‹See Tfd›
|
| Directed by | Miki Sugina |
| Designed by | Miki Sugina |
| Music by | MANYO |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Vita |
| Released |
‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd› |
| Game | |
| Flowers - Le volume sur hiver - | |
| Developer | Innocent Grey |
| Publisher | Innocent Grey |
| Directed by | Miki Sugina |
| Designed by | Miki Sugina |
| Genre | Visual novel |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows |
| Released | TBA[10] |
Flowers is a series of Japanese all-age[note 1] yuri visual novels with mystery and adventure elements consisted of four volumes developed by Innocent Grey. The English localized version of the first visual novel FLOWERS - Le volume sur printemps - was released on Steam by JAST USA on 17 August 2016.[2]
Gameplay
Like most visual novels, FLOWERS concentrates mainly on text reading and doesn't require much interaction from players. Yet the game has the mysteries solving mini games with many choices embedded in certain chapters that would lead to bad endings if the player failed to make the right choice from not retaining the details needed prior the deduction point started and some trivia. Players can use the quick save before each choice and reload using the quick load option to restart the mini game for example without going back and forth between the main window and the save/load panels.
Generally, FLOWERS has two main routes with each assigned to one of the heroines. To make it easier to get to the desirable ending, on the top right of the textbox, there is a white lily bud surrounded by a laurel wreath which would begin to grow slowly and flash green if choices made were headed towards the end with the right heroine, and flash yellow with the lily gets stunted and thus staying idle. To get the true ending, the lily needs to bloom fully. In the Summer and Autumn Arc, when all of the heroines' endings achieved, an extra section will be unlocked when Suou is the narrator in the story. On a different note, the choices made in the mini games do not affect the lily's growth.
Plot
Main characters
Each character is represented by a flower with its meanings (Language of Flowers) which is hidden in their names, respectively. Their entire surname or given name, similarly is derived from the name of the corresponding shrine, except Mayuri's case.[11][12] The protagonist's flower is displayed at the center of each visual novel's logo, together with the other main characters' ones.
- Suou Shirahane (白羽蘇芳 Shirahane Suō)
- Voiced by: Kaori Nazuka
- Protagonist of the Spring and Winter Arc. A bashful, kind-hearted and prone-to-blush 14-year-old girl. Her Amitie partners are Kousaka Mayuri and Hanabishi Rikka. Suou decided to go to Saint Angraecum Academy with the hopes of making new friends, as the protagonists in the books she has read invariably have friends beside them and she was being homeschooled by her grandfather before, with books and movies are her only friends. Being the tallest and the most mature-looking girl in the class, Suou, due to her emotional abuse wounds underneath, brushing other compliments about her being beautiful off every time she hears them. As empathetic as she is, no matter how terribly people treat her, she would find ways to forgive the perpetrators and mend the relationship with aforementioned people. Later on the first volume, Suou accepts the offer from the choir club president to play accompaniment in place of the injured appointed pianist even though she gets nauseous and panic attack in practice the moment her fingers come into contact with the piano keys. Eventually, Suou succeeds to play her part smoothly without any incurring hallucinations of her stepmother's heartless comments after getting comforted by Mayuri "Suou is assuredly lovable. There's no way a lovable person would fail. Listen, Suou, when it happens, look at me. Look at only me when you're playing."
- Flower: Hanazuou
- Hanakotoba: Nobility, Modesty, Incredulity, Betrayal, Distrust, Awakening, and Prosperity.
- Shirahane Shrine (Shizuoka Pref.)
- Mayuri Kousaka (匂坂マユリ Kōsaka Mayuri)
- Voiced by: Rie Okamoto
- One of Suou's Amitie partners. With her bright, straightforward and amiable personality, she has always been surrounded by her classmates, apart from Rikka. Going to Saint Angraecum Academy with an innermost secret, would she ever be able to share her past and feel accepted by her Amitie partners? Granting her brief time in the art club, she manages to create the reproductions of these two oil paintings: Joseph the Carpenter and The Annunciation.
- Flower: Yuri
- Hanakotoba: Dignity, Purity, Splendor, Happiness, and Imprudence.
- Yuri Shrine (Miyagi Pref.)
- Rikka Hanabishi (花菱立花 Hanabishi Rikka)
- Voiced by: Yuuri Akeshima
- First year class representative and incoming Nicaea's Student Council Vice President. Serious and responsible, she'll never break a rule unless someone uses her weakness forcing her to do so. Rikka can lose her cool once someone starts talking about ghost stories.
- Flower: Hanabishisou
- Hanakotoba: Desire to have other people fulfilled one's own requests and inability to receive rejections.
- Tachibana [note 2] Shrine (Nagasaki Pref.)
- Girl in the Wheelchair (八重垣えりか Yaegaki Erika)
- Voiced by: Ayane Sakura
- One of Suou's bookworm buddies. Protagonist of the Summer Arc. Wearing an outer appearance of a sarcastic misanthropic oddball, she has built an invisible wall between herself and other people, like Suou. Erika is notorious for using her walking difficulties at her expense to mock others. Nonetheless, she can go out of her way hiding the secrets for the people she loves. Many clues to solve the mysteries are acquired thanks to her terrific lock picking skills.
- Flower: Erika
- Hanakotoba: Solitude, Humility, Alleviation, and Benevolence.
- Yaegaki Shrine
- Ichigo Sasaki (沙沙貴苺 Sasaki Ichigo)
- Voiced by: Juri Nagatsuma
- The energetic, mischievous but good-natured older sister of the twins.
- Flower: Ichigo
- Hanakotoba: Reverence and Affection.
- Sasaki Shrine (Shiga Pref.)
- Ringo Sasaki (沙沙貴林檎 Sasaki Ringo)
- Voiced by: Juri Nagatsuma
- Supporting protagonist of the Autumn Arc, alongside with Yuzuriha. Ringo is the last person in the bookworm trio. If not careful, the usually observant Suou wouldn't even be able to tell Ringo apart from Ichigo (in one occasion) mainly because of her ongoing effort to downplay her studying and sports aptitudes all at once to strive to be more like her sister thus her sister can get less comparison and the two of them could be seen more equally. As expected, she's the opposite of her sister: quiet, indifferent, and sleep-headed. On Halloween day of that year, Ringo confesses her love to Yuzuriha.
- Flower: Ringo
- Hanakotoba: Fame, Alternative, and Chosen Love.
- Sasaki Shrine
- Nerine Komikado (小御門ネリネ Komikado Nerine)
- Voiced by: Yuka Nishiguchi
- A gorgeous blonde second year choir club president and Nicaea's Student Council Vice President. In elementary school, upon the time leaving the hospital, she lost the zealous persona and went back to what was her authentic self - anxious and reclusive. Unable to accept that dramatic change, Yuzuriha - the only friend determined to come out of her shell to become stronger so that she could protect Nerine. Having been raised in a Catholic family with her father being a priest, undoubtedly, she believes homosexuality is a sin. "Let's stay friends forever", murmurs Nerine to Yuzuriha.
- Flower: Nerine
- Hankotoba: Magnificence, Happy Memories, Luminosity, Endurance, Pet Daughter and Looking forward to the day we will be meeting again.
- Komikado Shrine
- Yuzuriha Yatsushiro (八代譲葉 Yatsushiro Yuzuriha)
- Voiced by: Kei Mizusawa
- Protagonist of the Autumn Arc. Nicaea Student Council President and member of the cooking club despite her lack of common sense in cooking. People might misunderstand her idiosyncrasy, frequent flirts and ways of looking out to others as her true self. When that facade subsides, Yuzuriha often finds her younger self in Suou and Erika. Her entire existence seems to revolve around that of Nerine: receiving baptism suggested by Nerine, coming to like the bitterness of her friend's favorite drink - coffee, joining the Student Council to help Nerine, etc. Both Yuzuriha and Nerine love The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- Flower: Yuzuriha
- Hanakotoba: Rejuvenation, Generational Transformations and Conveyance.
- Yatsushiro Shrine (Kumamoto Pref.)
- Chidori Takasaki (考崎千鳥 Takasaki Chidori)
- Voiced by: Aya Suzaki
- An eccentric ballerina transfer student in summer whose interests are ballet and singing. In fact, the reason she got into ballet in the first place was that she wanted to be famous so as to receive more her parents' attention and affection since they were workaholics. Chidori's social incompetence is habitually scolded but affectionately by Erika. Overcoming the emotional flashbacks and constraints from the past with the encouragement of Erika, Chidori is now able to open herself up in front of other people. Currently, she has begun to read books as one of her methods to deepen the bond with her Amitie partner.
- Flower: Benichidori
- Hanakotoba: Loyalty, Purity, Elegance, and "How adorable!"
- Chidori Shrine (Aichi Pref.)
- Dalia Basquiat (ダリア＝バスキア Daria Basukia)
- Voiced by: Mitsu Takashiro
- The homeroom teacher of the first year class and ballet instructor. "I live for the Lord", answers Sister to Yuzuriha's question, "Have you ever loved someone so deeply that you would do whatever it takes because of that person?" The closest student to Dalia is Erika since she's the one who helps Erika with day-to-day activities, until Chidori transferred to the school.
- Flower: Dahlia
- Hanakotoba: Frivolity, Splendor, Elegance, Solemnity, and Insecurity.
Minor characters
- Hagiwara (萩原)
- Nerine's Amitie partner. Although she does show her concern for Nerine when Nerine is sick, their relationship is not one can call "intimate" on the grounds that they refer each other by their family name.
- Flower: Hagi
- Tsuwabuki (石蕗)
- Suou's classmate who passes out at night in the sewing room while making her Halloween costume. Another victim of a love triangle.
- Flower: Tsuwabuki
- Katabami (方喰)
- The dormitory manager. She's good at sewing, gardening, and cooking.
- Flower: Katabami
Related media
Drama CDs
Each Japanese first time limited edition of each volume (either the PC version or PlayStation Portable/Vita one) is packed with a special Drama CD, which is non-included in the regular edition.
| No. | Year | Title | Formats | Release Date | Vol. | Version | Featuring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 |
|
CD | 18 April 2014[3] | printemps | PC | Suou, Mayuri and Rikka |
| 9 October 2014[4] | PSP/PSV | ||||||
| 2 | 2015 |
|
CD | 17 April 2015[6] | été | PC | Erika, Chidori and Dalia-sensei |
| 3 |
|
CD | 22 October 2015[7] | PSP/PSV | Erika, Chidori and Suou | ||
| 4 | 2016 |
|
CD | 27 May 2016[8] | automne | PC | Yuzuriha and Nerine |
| 5 |
|
CD | 17 November 2016[9] | PSV | Ichigo, Ringo, Erika and Chidori |
Music
| No. | Year | Title | Release Date[13] | Formats | Track Title | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | FLOWERS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK『PRINTEMPS』 | 18 April 2014 | CD |
| |||
| 2 | 2015 | FLOWERS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK『été』 | 17 April 2015 | CD |
| |||
| 3 | 2016 | FLOWERS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK『AUTOMNE』 | 27 May 2016 | CD |
| |||
| 4 | TBA | FLOWERS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK『HIVER』 | ||||||
Official Fanbooks
| No. | Year | Title | Formats | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2016 | FLOWERS Le volume sur printemps official fanbook | B5 72-page full-color squared booklet | 28 April 2016[14] |
| 2 | FLOWERS Le volume sur été official fanbook | 28 April 2016[15] | ||
| 3 | TBA | FLOWERS Le volume sur automne official fanbook | TBA | TBA[16] |
| 4 | TBA | FLOWERS Le volume sur hiver official fanbook | TBA | TBA[17] |
Notes
- ^note 1 The (PSP and) PSV versions of the first three visual novels were rated CERO-B.[18] (Ages 12+)
- ^note 2 A different spelling of Rikka's name is Tachibana.
References
- ↑ "Innocent Greyが百合？でも誰か死ぬんでしょ？死なないの？ 新作『FLOWERS』について杉菜水姫に聞いてみた" (in Japanese). March 16, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
- 1 2 "Now on Steam: Flowers - Le volume sur printemps -". Retrieved September 12, 2016.
- 1 2 "FLOWERS春編『女の子を好きに為ったら、いけないんですか？』" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- 1 2 "FLOWERS春編" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ↑ "FLOWERS" (in Japanese). March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 2, 2016.
- 1 2 "FLOWERS夏編『好きな人の為に、何かしてあげたいと思ったことはありますか――』" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- 1 2 "FLOWERS夏編" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- 1 2 "FLOWERS秋編『叶わぬ恋でも、想い続けるができますか――』" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- 1 2 "FLOWERS秋編" (in Japanese). Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ↑ "FLOWERS (Title to be announced)" (in Japanese).
- ↑ "志水はつみのツイート" (in Japanese). February 25, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ↑ "収録最終日＋Girls Love Festival 16！" (in Japanese). February 22, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
- ↑ "FLOWERS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK シリーズ" (in Japanese). Gungnir. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ↑ "FLOWERS ファンブック" (in Japanese). Gungnir. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ↑ "FLOWERS夏篇 ファンブック" (in Japanese). Gungnir. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
- ↑ "FLOWERS秋篇 ファンブック" (in Japanese). Gungnir.
- ↑ "FLOWERS冬篇 ファンブック" (in Japanese). Gungnir.
- ↑ "プロトタイプのツイート" (in Japanese). October 3, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
External links
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