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I've finished my dissertation so I have some free time to devote to games, hitting up the pubs, and writing here on Bitmob. But you don't need to know that, and brevity is the point of this exercise.
Check the original 500 word review here. I wrote it without this challenge in mind, but it happened to be just under 500 words so is ideal.
250 Words
Kana: Little Sister is a mindfuck. It's a Japanese visual novel (illustrated choose-your-own-adventure book) about a young man, Taka, and his relationship with his sickly little sister, Kana.
Kana practically lives in hospital due to renal insufficiency, undergoing dialysis weekly.
Taka bullied his little sister until a childhood event persuaded him to be a better brother. You then follow Taka into adulthood, visiting Kana in hospital and showing her the world outside.
Kana is two years younger than Taka. As they grow up he begins to confuse his co-dependency and affection for her with sexual urges. D.O. does a good job of making it believable but the way they justify having sex with her seems bolted-on.
Fans call it an eroge (erotic/porn game). The sex scenes I clicked through were totally untitillating and unnecessary though.
The two main female characters are very exploitative: Kana's as pitiful as a three-legged puppy and Yumi, your girlfriend, seems to live only for you.
She's been waiting for Taka since they fell out in grade school but it's not clear why. She's a typical porn character – vacuous, beautiful, incomplete without your avatar.
There are spelling mistakes in the English translation, a cheesy soundtrack, and minor plot-holes. I was on the verge of tears several times though, shared Taka's disgust with himself, and was left temporarily dumb-struck even by the non-true ending.
If you don't mind being assaulted by an incestuous, depressing story, it's the most emotionally exhaustive video game you'll play.
100 Words
Kana: Little Sister is a mindfuck. It's a visual novel about 20-year-old Taka and his 18-year-old sister, who practically lives in hospital.
As they grow up Taka begins to confuse co-dependency and affection for Kana with sexual urges. It's believable but D.O. doesn't justify it effectively. Problematic because they can fuck.
Female characters are exploitative; Kana's pitiful as a three-legged puppy and your girlfriend's a typical porn character – she's vacuous, beautiful, and incomplete without your avatar. Her sex-scenes are untitillating and disposable.
Spelling mistakes, cheesy soundtrack, and minor plot-holes barely detract from an emotionally draining game.
Haiku
Part tragic drama –
Part incest pornography.
Japan's a strange place.
That was fun. Although I wouldn't want to use the one sentence in anything but one of those summaries you see after magazine review sections. And as I cheated, here is the actual single sentence summary:
One Sentence
Kana: Little Sister, an incestuous Japanese visual novel, is the most emotionally challenging, story-rich pornography you could ever play.