In the latest issue of Famitsu's new game reviews, the editors commented on "proposal daisakusen" as follows:
"The game continues Pokeni's long-standing tradition: excellent art style, exquisite graphics quality, ordinary yet highly distinctive character settings, coupled with gentle and melancholic music, all combine to form such a rather peculiar game work.
In terms of quality, Pokeni's games are consistently high-standard, as expected.
The reason it's peculiar is that this galgame is different from previous ones.
It almost places the [ending] at the very beginning of the game, and then allows players to change it by going back in Time.
Players must have had similar experiences; when they reach a Bad Ending, they always feel unwilling and want to restart and try again.
This game directly amplifies this psychological aspect and makes it the main storyline of the game.
So, in the game, what we will experience is the process of how to change a Bad Ending.
It's actually very interesting, like playing a game within a game.
From a structural perspective, the female protagonist is very distinct, with only one, which is also an old tradition of Pokeni. In Pokeni's previous works, whether it's "Mermaid Heart," "reverse degree person," "Your Name"… they are basically very clear single-female protagonist games.
Single-female protagonist games are actually quite suitable for girls to experience, especially this "proposal daisakusen." Female players are strongly recommended to get it.
Because what you will experience is not just a game, but also our youth.
From a broad conceptual framework, this work seems to be just a typical Time-travel game.
However, I think that by breaking down Time-travel into segments, with the purpose of reversing the female protagonist's feelings at a certain Time node, each Time-travel creates anticipation.
It makes people constantly wonder what event the next Time-travel will be for?
Furthermore, unlike ordinary Time-travel works, the Time-travel in this work can be said to be 'failed' Time-travel in a sense. The specific content will not be spoiled here.
In short, after experiencing it, I myself was moved countless Times.
I can always find traces of my student Time in the game.
Those similar yet slightly different scenes are truly like our memories playing in reverse.
Finally, what I believe Director Aoki Haruhi, who is also the Author of the game script, most wants to convey to us is this:
That is, 'Regarding the past, what we can change is limited; changing our present selves is the most important thing.'
It is a very meaningful, positive, and yet touching youth inspirational work.
Hope everyone likes it."
"First-class graphics, first-class music, first-class storyline… This is Pokeni's galgame, and "proposal daisakusen" is also such a work.
The childhood companionship and love of the male and female protagonists are very moving.
Another point I like about it is the resonance it brings me about my youth, found in the ordinary.
I didn't entirely view this game as a pure romance game.
Because besides the emotional line, there is also the friendship and family affection of the protagonists in their youth.
Sometimes, when you look back and think, you realize that it's not just your lover, but also your friends who accompany you.
Friendship is also something very much worth cherishing."
"The plot settings in the game seem plain and everyday, yet they make it easier for people to immerse themselves, because it represents the youth of most people, with some liveliness and surprises hidden within the mundane and trivial.
Just like the young people in this game, they are like most of us, with things they loved at that age.
For example, baseball, but their performance was mediocre, failing even to pass the preliminary round of the Koshien qualifiers, but this didn't prevent them from pouring all their passion into it.
In a young person's world, there is no 'is it worth it' or 'is it possible,' only 'do I want it.'
This is the image of youth that this game presents to us.
Though ordinary, it is full of hope and longing for the future, without losing drive. This is the greatness an ordinary person can achieve.
The love in the game is the same; the male and female protagonists are ordinary high school students, neither top students nor underachievers, neither influential student council cadres nor unconventional, groundbreaking problem teenagers. They are as ordinary as can be, so much so that we seem to see our own reflections in them.
Cherish the present—this is the most sincere advice Director Aoki Haruhi conveys to us through this game.
In short, when I finished experiencing this game, and pushed open the window to see the sunlight outside, my heart was truly filled with infinite strength.
The past is beautiful, and tomorrow is also worth longing for.
However, it is indeed most important to grasp the happiness of the present.
I hope players can also benefit from it."
...
Although several editors gave very high praise, indicating that the quality and plot of this game were indeed good, the final score was only 27 points.
It didn't even qualify for the platinum hall of fame.
However, this is also an old tradition of Pokeni.
Without gameplay, relying solely on storytelling cannot achieve a high score.
Players actually don't care much about this point anymore.
Strictly speaking, Pokeni is the first to change people's inherent perception of Famitsu's scoring.
Famitsu's evaluation is certainly representative, but the score seems to be no longer so important for Pokeni.
...
After "proposal daisakusen" was released, its sales in the first week were less than 50,000 copies.
For Pokeni, this is a decent performance, and it's uncertain if it can break the million mark.
It's very likely that the final number will fall around 600,000 to 800,000 copies.
According to Aoki Haruhi's estimation, there might be another surge in popularity after the TV series of the same name as "proposal daisakusen" begins airing.
The reason this Time's sales performance wasn't as good—not to say bad, but it didn't become a blockbuster—is, according to Pokeni's operation department's analysis from questionnaires, nothing more than these few reasons:
First, Director and Author Aoki Haruhi certainly don't have the same appeal as Furuhara Tsubaki or Maeda Jun.
Fortunately, Ishino Mika served as Producer, so the basic performance was guaranteed.
Second, seeing that the PV was a marriage proposal theme and a very typical single-female protagonist mode, it actually filtered out a certain number of players.
Many galgame players are actually quite young and may not have experienced such beautiful romantic Times.
The consumer group is still mainly office workers aged 20 to 30.
These people have the deepest feelings for the game, and thanks to their high level of dissemination, this game ultimately achieved good results.
For Aoki Haruhi, having this achievement is already very satisfying.
He wasn't flustered at all.
Because the real trump card is the TV work. As long as Kashiwabara Takashi and Uchida Yuki's new work airs, there should be another big boost in sales with a dream linkage.
Even if the game doesn't break the 1 million mark, success in the film and television work is acceptable.
Pokeni is meat, and Moon River is also meat.
Either way, it's a profit.
Winning twice, winning big.
...
As a galgame deeply loved by players, "proposal daisakusen," although perhaps not Pokeni's most outstanding work in terms of sales performance, is undoubtedly one of the most talked-about and discussed games.
The reason this game has garnered such widespread attention and resonance is largely because it touches upon the emotional pain points deep within many people's hearts.
Who hasn't had one or two crushes during their student days?
Who hasn't had beautiful memories of childhood sweethearts?
Whose life is without regret?
These are questions that everyone, I believe, has thought about to some extent.
And these regrets, in the end, can brew into a cup of aged wine that only becomes intoxicating after being opened.
"proposal daisakusen" is precisely such a work that can evoke deep emotions within people's hearts.
In the game "proposal daisakusen," there are many female players.
Although distributors currently don't have statistics on the number of male and female players, judging from the number of female player posts in the official forum, this proportion should not be small.
This also indirectly reflects the game's appeal to female players.
Because of this, many people say:
"proposal daisakusen" is not just a galgame, but everyone's youth.
This youth is the same for both men and women.
It makes people recall those beautiful Times of the past and also makes them begin to think about their own emotional lives.
They hope to find their original intention and true love through this game.
Of course, everyone's emotional experiences and stories are unique.
Some people may find their answers in the game, while others may continue to search.
But no matter what, Pokeni has provided a platform for players to freely discuss emotions and share stories.
This is also an important reason why this game has become a topic of conversation.
Many players even started contacting their first loves after playing "proposal daisakusen"…
Even former crushes.
Mainly, they don't want past regrets to become permanent pain in the future.
More often, it might be a momentary impulse, but it is also the result of being moved and stimulated by the story of Iwase Ken and Yoshida Li in "proposal daisakusen."
As for whether they themselves can ultimately find their original intention and true love, that is their own story.
...
"Huh? I didn't expect Pokeni to unlock a new mode for galgames again."
After playing "proposal daisakusen," Hiruta Masato, the President of Elf Society and also a mimic and fan of Pokeni, once again gained new insights.
It turns out that galgames that deliver emotional blows and move people can win players' hearts, but this Time, going against the grain by turning a Bad Ending into a Happy Ending, "proposal daisakusen" can still win players' affection.
To some extent, "proposal daisakusen" further stimulated players' resonance.
In other words, even sweet love stories that gradually evolve from tragedy to a happy ending are actually quite suitable for galgames.
"Perhaps this kind of sweet galgame mode will become mainstream in the future!"
...
Meanwhile, at Nao Tsuda's home.
Tsuda, who had just finished the game, silently stood up and turned to look at the man behind her with a smile.
"Zhiyuan Jun, thank you for making "proposal daisakusen" for me."
"Hehe, as long as you like it."
"Honestly, I was very moved. Especially the part about Mr. River and Miss Moon," Nao Tsuda said.
For some reason, as Tsuda spoke, Aoki Haruhi's heart suddenly leaped.
He just felt that her tone was a bit unfriendly.
And her gaze was unusually sharp, as if a sharp knife was about to dissect Aoki Haruhi for a thorough analysis.
Aoki Haruhi couldn't help but take a step back.
"Um… really?"
How can I believe you? If you were moved, why didn't you shed a single tear?
Next, Nao Tsuda suddenly changed the subject.
"But… why do I always feel like it's not a story about the two of us?"
Of course not!
This was all copied from someone else's "proposal daisakusen."
But dared Aoki Haruhi answer that way?
He didn't dare.
And he took another step back.
"Uh… listen to me."
Aoki Haruhi was sweating cold.
The original intention was indeed to make a marriage proposal gift for Nao Tsuda, but you're interrogating me like this, making me very flustered, okay?
"This is what I think."
Aoki Haruhi thought, and replied, "Everything in the game is actually what I envisioned—
What it would be like if Nao and I had known each other since childhood."
"Really?" Nao Tsuda tilted her head, playfully placing a finger on her chin, "But why do I feel like you're reminiscing about your childhood sweethearts?"
"Really," Aoki Haruhi raised his hand, "I swear to God, I really wasn't writing about childhood sweethearts, and I don't have any childhood sweethearts."
After Time-traveling to this world, the original owner's student Time experiences were actually quite ordinary. Although there were indeed female deskmates and similar childhood sweetheart figures.
However, those memories lacked a sense of reality for Aoki Haruhi.
When I Time-traveled here, I was already 26 years old.
What does anything Aoki Haruhi did before that have to do with me?
Nao, you are the first woman I met in this world, and the only woman.
All my memories of beautiful love were created with you.
"What if I had known Nao since childhood, what would happen if we went to school together, how to express my feelings to Nao… I have seriously considered all of these."
"It's precisely because I haven't experienced these things with you that I long for them," Aoki Haruhi said.
"Really?" Nao Tsuda looked at Aoki Haruhi seriously, and the smile on her face also disappeared.
Goodness, he was sweating cold.
Aoki Haruhi felt his back was drenched.
Your expression was clearly one of [I don't believe a word you say], okay?
However, Nao Tsuda didn't press further. She just smiled and leaned in, kissing Aoki Haruhi on the cheek.
"Okay, let's eat."
"Really," Aoki Haruhi said, trailing behind her, troubled.
"I know, I believe you," Nao Tsuda said with a smile.
What a fox!
...
In the evening, Nao Tsuda finished her shower first, changed into pajamas, and lay on the bed reading.
Aoki Haruhi finished washing up, silently climbed onto the bed, and after sitting for a while, he said to his wife next to him:
"What I said this afternoon was all true, you know."
"I know." Tsuda lowered her head, flipping through the pages of her book.
"I didn't lie to you. If I could really start over, I would want to spend our student Time together, and be together very early on."
"I believe it."
"Really?"
"Really."
Nao Tsuda put the book aside, looking at Aoki Haruhi with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
Then she reached out and gently stroked Aoki Haruhi's face.
"I've believed you all along, because I think, if these contents were things you had actually experienced, then it would be impossible for you to create them so openly and blatantly.
No matter how magnanimous I am, if I saw my husband reminiscing about a childhood sweetheart in this way, I would definitely be angry."
"Mmm-hmm." Aoki Haruhi nodded vigorously.
"So," Nao Tsuda smiled, looking at him with hazy eyes, "then what you said is naturally true, Mr. River, you really want to create a memory from scratch with Miss Moon.
This really touches me."
"Really?"
"Really." Nao Tsuda nodded.
Unbeknownst to her, tears had already welled up in her eyes.
"Then let's create some beautiful new memories," Aoki Haruhi pounced on her.
"No way."
Nao Tsuda's playful laughter echoed in the room.
"Turn off the lights first!"
"No way!!!"
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