Quartett!

The worth it could've had is deflated by its frantic pace and short length. It's made up of so many small moments that are over before they are even given a chance to breathe and give life to this work. As such none of the characters are memorable and the overall story just comes across as inconsequential. It also has too many and really boring and dumb H scenes that don't fit at all, it's always the same pointless thing, feels like filler. I think there wasn't a single good H scene in the game. It's a shame about all the glaring flaws because there was real potential here. First of all it has the same pretty artstyle as Period (a game that was simply awesome) though sketchier with less attention to the detail, but there's a huge amount of art crammed in here due to its unique presentation. It's presented in a comic-like style with panels showing up one by one on the screen. Basically, the game is all CGs, you will get unique art thrown at you every moment of gameplay. IMO the artistic presentation is really good and it is the one saving grace of this work. Quartett was supposed to be a story about musicians, but the musicality in it is without a doubt weak, both conceptually and the BGM. It's a bit of a slice of life like Period but this one is more dramatic. The drama does have its moments, Charlotte's route almost manages to make something decent out of the writing, but the other two routes really struggle. Particularly Shuhua's route is just too ridiculous. The routes intertwine a ton, it's more like you're always playing a common route with a little differences in it depending on which girl you're after. So once you've read one, you will end up skipping a LOT.

Despite all this the amount of care that went into the presentation must be commended and I suspect it is the reason why the story is so rushed. Presenting the game in this way demands a lot of work, so the writing likely had to adapt to fit the pace set by the presentation. There are also times where the fast pace is to its advantage, and works really well with the comic panel style. Notably there are some really cute gags. Perhaps Quartett! would've worked better if it had a more comedy and/or lighthearted everyday focus, instead of all the plot-heavy drama which really demanded a slower pace and more care and attention to work. There is a complete lack of introspection or moments given to you to just think or feel. The game is all plot, eager to move the plot forward as soon as possible. In the end I wouldn't recommend Quartett! but I'm not too keen on completely dismissing it either, it's a mixed bag. If anything you could always play Charlotte's route and ignore the others since they'll have so much common ground anyway. Ooyari Ashito is an amazing artist and Quartett! can be an enjoyable experience on a purely superficial level.