The Kids We Were

As so many others are saying, this game is really special. With tears tricking down my face, I can testify to how intriguing and emotionally-provoking the story is. The music is beautiful, the scenery is attractive and synergies effectively with the melodies, and the plot, as long as you’re patient enough, is really moving. I would love nothing more than for the devs to make another game, whether a sequel or a different project, which could further demonstrate the exceptional storywriting and game design that was expressed throughout “The Kids We Were”. It’s so unfortunate that in my playing so many mobile games for the past 7 years, it wasn’t until this weekend that I stumbled upon this app. In a sea of forgettable games, this one is worth your time and money, if you wish to pay for VIP mode ($3.99). Regardless of which mode you pay for, take time to explore the town and to interact with the townspeople, as well as the coin machines, both of which are elements that point to the incredible effort and creativity put in such an underrated app. Again, I really look forward to seeing what the devs will produce in the future, as this was a really great experience and one I will be thinking about for quite some time.

This is one of the few free app store games that I genuinely feel should be paid for. The amount of effort and heart this little and short game has trumps the majority of other unoriginal content on the app store. The story is very well written and I loved the dialogue. Even if it was just translated from Japanese to English, it didn’t lose its meaning and sounded very smooth and casual. There were times where I laughed at the wackier moments, but most of the time, the environment and atmosphere alone were able to move me to tears. It really does bring back a sense of nostalgia to a time gone by, which is amazing, considering that the game is set somewhere unfamiliar to most international players. And to add, going through the game and realizing the internal struggles of each of the characters, you really can’t help but to wish for their happiness. I ended up getting overly attached to each of the kids and really, I hope more people could learn from them. Overall, I highly recommend you to get this game, the ads aren’t very obstructive, and there are a few bugs, but they didn’t bother me too much. I’ve also recommended this game to all my other friends looking for a game suggestion. It’s just that good. And if you’re wondering, yes, the ending was definitely worth it; all endings were satisfying in their own way.

I don’t write reviews often, but this game’s been getting so little traction that I thought I might as well. If you can’t tell from the screenshots, this is a visual-novel style game where you move a voxel boy around a small Japanese town and solve various mysteries. Aside from walking around and talking to people, there’s no gameplay to speak of. If that turns you off, this game probably isn’t for you. Personally, I’m into this kind of game, and the story (while short) was enough to keep me engaged, and yes, made me actually feel something. It took me about a day and a half, playing off and on, to beat it, but YMMV. I would not recommend playing with ads. Every couple of minutes, something’s going to pop up. Additionally, after each chapter, you’re going to be required to watch a few 30 second ads to progress to the next one. Given that there are 16 chapters and each is really short, this becomes a constant interruption. This is removed with the IAP—if I were to replay this, I’d recommend it.