The nicest surprise of the game for me was Michel reuniting with his brothers near the end. I didn't think they were going to show up again; I didn't suspect the man in the painting was Georges at all. It's touching that they were that close to him all this time.
Listening to the soundtrack, I forgot how badass the moment with Maria on the throne is with
Dirà "Minchia!" playing. She's a great dom :|~
Crowd By the Riverside always gave me MediEvil vibes for some reason.
Never Hold Me made me feel like I was climbing the final stairs before Dracula in a Castlevania game. I thought I was almost done in the first area that played in (getting the keys from the shadows), but there was so much more after that.
Some of my favorite parts were the lighthearted moments, so few and far between. The chemistry between Michel and Giselle is great. "Do you have a particular window you'd like to be thrown out of?" got a chuckle out of me. I liked going through all the dialogue options when Nellie asks you about her brother in the "past". Same with the options you get when Maria, Nellie and Pauline ask Michel to pick between them. Nellie fantasizing about having two brothers to pamper her if you pick "I'm not interested in women." was fun.
Something I thought stood out in this game compared to other VNs is how many expressions the character illustrations have. All the different mouth and eye positions match with the dialogue so well that they bring the characterization to a higher level. I especially loved when Giselle acts exasperated with Michel or that impish look to the side she gives sometimes.
Interestingly, if you go through the gallery and look at the Morgana illustrations, they have extra frames showing her with her face healed that didn't show up during the game.
