Version reviewed: Planetarian (iOS)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Post-Apocalyptic
Novel Style: Linear
Opening Movie: Click Here
With the recent iOS release of planetarian, now is the perfect time for a review. This also happens to be the first Key novel to see an official English translation. Why did Key choose Planetarian to be the first novel to translate? And what kind of story is it exactly? I hope to answer some of those questions, but more importantly, I hope to explain to you why you NEED to read this novel.
Planetarian is a very short story, especially compared to your average visual novel. A quick read-through will only take you about 2-3 hours. However this novel is about quality not quantity. Planetarian takes place in a not-so distant future, where the world was nearly destroyed in a large-scale nuclear war. The remnants of humanity find themselves clinging to life in small colonies while fending off attacks from long-abandoned autonomous mechs. The story begins with the protagonist - known only as the Junk Hunter - finding himself in an old abandoned building after surviving a very dangerous fight against several automated mechs. Within the building he finds the city's sole survivor, an extremely talkative robot named Yumemi Hoshino.
Despite its short length, Planetarian does an amazing job fleshing out its setting. It's also never in want of mood. Every scene is well detailed in its many colorful descriptions. The author also saw fit to use a great many analogies in the text. This is something I always love to see in writing as it really paints a colorful picture of the scene and characters. Planetarian as a piece of writing, is moving, uplifting and at times, completely depressing. I have to say, despite having read Planetarian enough times to lose count, I never get tired of its narrative. If anything, it's a timeless tale. Considering that there are only two principal characters in the plot, it's amazing that they've managed to pull off such a lovely and emotionally engaging story.
The iOS port of Planetarian also sports a new translation. While the PC version was translated by fans, this version was translated internally by Key. Fortunately I can say with confidence that the new translation is excellent. While there are a fair amount of typos, the overall translation is solid, and even better that the the fan translation in some ways. Nothing kills a good story quite like a bad translation, so it's good to see that Key spent the time to give it a proper translation.
Another thing that's new to the iOS version is full voice acting. Previous versions of Planetarian were either voiceless, or partially voiced. This alone is enough to make this the definitive version for me. The iOS version also keeps all of the original game features intact, including the CG gallery, music player, and even more bookmark slots than the PC version. The only minor annoyance to be found here is when you rotate your iPad into vertical orientation, the game occasionally clips off bits of the background, etc. This essentially forces you to read it in horizontal orientation. It's kind of a pain, but not a deal-breaker.
It should be obvious by now that I loved Planetarian, but for the sake of completion, let's breakdown the rest of the novel.
Planetarian is charming in an understated kind of way. It doesn't go crazy with the CGs or wow you with special effects. Instead, the art complements everything nicely, while still adding its own unique touch. Yumemi's character design is particularly endearing, and all her various poses and facial expressions serve the written text to a tee.
Ahh, that opening theme. The more times that you read Planetarian, the more poignant it gets. All of the music in Planetarian is spot-on. Even as short as Planetarian is, it still contains a diverse list of music. To top it off, the iOS version has a new ending theme. It seems that Key can do no wrong when it comes to their soundtracks.
There are very few sound effects in Planetarian, and the few that there are are very grating. Fortunately this is not a story that hinges on its auditory prowess, however Plantarian does earn high marks for its excellent voice work. It's nice to see a protagonist that's actually voiced for a changed. Also Yumemi's voice actor plays her role as the talkative robot perfectly.
Taken for what it is - a short story - it's practically perfect in its presentation. There's not much that I can say here that I haven't already said. Unless you're the type of person that absolutely hates this type of story, then I'll wager that you'll love Planetarian.
For those who have never experienced the magic of a Key novel, you'll will hardly find a more perfect way to experience it. Planetarian is a masterful distillation of all the elements that make Key novels so moving. It's really hard not to recommend this to everyone. Unless you have something against short stories or drama, I really can't think of a good reason to skip this one. It's also a perfect gateway novel for anyone new to the visual novel scene. With any luck Planetarian will sell well enough that Key will bring more of its wonderful stories to us English readers. In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful tale. Without a doubt it will be one that you'll remember for a long time!
For convenience sake, the screenshots and boxart are taken from the PC version, I hope this doesn't cause any confusion.
Opening Movie: Click Here
With the recent iOS release of planetarian, now is the perfect time for a review. This also happens to be the first Key novel to see an official English translation. Why did Key choose Planetarian to be the first novel to translate? And what kind of story is it exactly? I hope to answer some of those questions, but more importantly, I hope to explain to you why you NEED to read this novel.
Planetarian is a very short story, especially compared to your average visual novel. A quick read-through will only take you about 2-3 hours. However this novel is about quality not quantity. Planetarian takes place in a not-so distant future, where the world was nearly destroyed in a large-scale nuclear war. The remnants of humanity find themselves clinging to life in small colonies while fending off attacks from long-abandoned autonomous mechs. The story begins with the protagonist - known only as the Junk Hunter - finding himself in an old abandoned building after surviving a very dangerous fight against several automated mechs. Within the building he finds the city's sole survivor, an extremely talkative robot named Yumemi Hoshino.
 |
| The always-charming robot, Yumemi. |
Despite its short length, Planetarian does an amazing job fleshing out its setting. It's also never in want of mood. Every scene is well detailed in its many colorful descriptions. The author also saw fit to use a great many analogies in the text. This is something I always love to see in writing as it really paints a colorful picture of the scene and characters. Planetarian as a piece of writing, is moving, uplifting and at times, completely depressing. I have to say, despite having read Planetarian enough times to lose count, I never get tired of its narrative. If anything, it's a timeless tale. Considering that there are only two principal characters in the plot, it's amazing that they've managed to pull off such a lovely and emotionally engaging story.
The iOS port of Planetarian also sports a new translation. While the PC version was translated by fans, this version was translated internally by Key. Fortunately I can say with confidence that the new translation is excellent. While there are a fair amount of typos, the overall translation is solid, and even better that the the fan translation in some ways. Nothing kills a good story quite like a bad translation, so it's good to see that Key spent the time to give it a proper translation.
Another thing that's new to the iOS version is full voice acting. Previous versions of Planetarian were either voiceless, or partially voiced. This alone is enough to make this the definitive version for me. The iOS version also keeps all of the original game features intact, including the CG gallery, music player, and even more bookmark slots than the PC version. The only minor annoyance to be found here is when you rotate your iPad into vertical orientation, the game occasionally clips off bits of the background, etc. This essentially forces you to read it in horizontal orientation. It's kind of a pain, but not a deal-breaker.
It should be obvious by now that I loved Planetarian, but for the sake of completion, let's breakdown the rest of the novel.
Art - 9
Music - 9.5
Ahh, that opening theme. The more times that you read Planetarian, the more poignant it gets. All of the music in Planetarian is spot-on. Even as short as Planetarian is, it still contains a diverse list of music. To top it off, the iOS version has a new ending theme. It seems that Key can do no wrong when it comes to their soundtracks.
Sound - 8
There are very few sound effects in Planetarian, and the few that there are are very grating. Fortunately this is not a story that hinges on its auditory prowess, however Plantarian does earn high marks for its excellent voice work. It's nice to see a protagonist that's actually voiced for a changed. Also Yumemi's voice actor plays her role as the talkative robot perfectly.
Story - 9.8
Taken for what it is - a short story - it's practically perfect in its presentation. There's not much that I can say here that I haven't already said. Unless you're the type of person that absolutely hates this type of story, then I'll wager that you'll love Planetarian.
Final score - 9.6
For those who have never experienced the magic of a Key novel, you'll will hardly find a more perfect way to experience it. Planetarian is a masterful distillation of all the elements that make Key novels so moving. It's really hard not to recommend this to everyone. Unless you have something against short stories or drama, I really can't think of a good reason to skip this one. It's also a perfect gateway novel for anyone new to the visual novel scene. With any luck Planetarian will sell well enough that Key will bring more of its wonderful stories to us English readers. In the meantime, enjoy this beautiful tale. Without a doubt it will be one that you'll remember for a long time!
For convenience sake, the screenshots and boxart are taken from the PC version, I hope this doesn't cause any confusion.
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