A YEAR OF SPRINGS

I'm interested in giving this game a playthough, but I don't know which language to use! English, or 日本語? The former is my native tongue, but the latter I'm confident in using too. My main question though is what languages was the script original written for (i.e. not localized by a third party)? If it was originally written in Japanese, then I'll absolutely play it that way!

decided to check out one night hot springs and immedietly had to come here to buy this!! what a wonderful game. sweet art, and nice realistic writing. as an aroace trans guy this hit me right in the guts. i love it!!

I loved this game!! The soft art style was very comforting and the themes really hit home for me as I was going into it not expecting many lgbt+ topics, but it was a pleasant surprise as a bi trans woman. I think this is the only game that has made me cry (in a good way). I grew to love all of the characters; even though I found Erika to be abrasive at first, I warmed up to her once I saw her more caring side. If you ever decided to make a sequel with the same characters, I would buy it in a heartbeat. I just wish this game were longer tbh, but perhaps I’ll play again sometime in the future. The music is also soothing and I’m currently listening to the soundtrack. The writing was thoughtful and heartfelt. Again, great work and please keep up what you’re doing! :) 

I'm not into LGBT+ themed games. Im not even any kind of person from this community. But writing is so beautiful and deep. I LOVE the interactions between characters. I would strongly recommend it for my friends and family. I needed some cozy and cute game like this. 

Your games are beautifully written, very smart and deeply moving. They made me cry, but in a good way. Thank you so much.

amazing game, the writing was great as well. i really felt for haru. manami as well. thanks for making these.

100%d the free version of one night hot springs on steam and i loved it enough to claim a community copy and now i feel bad

5 stars

hi

im a big fan of your games! i claimed a community copy and i really enjoyed it, although i feel very guilty for not paying it tho. im too young to get a credit card and i dont have paypal, also i literally cant pay anything online rn with k plus. im planning to try and make a paypal account in the future and try to transfer some of the money from my k plus account to there to purchase it. ill try to talk to a friend and ask if they wanted the game so i could send them the game either online or using a flash drive. im pretty sure that i will be able to pay for this one day!

as for the game, awesome writing as always. society can be cruel sometimes, and i understand the pain they were in. i relate to the three of them in a way. i dont have much time to write now, thanks for this awesome game!

The cozy atmosphere of this game gives me so much hope for myself and my friends, even when society doesn't seem to be friendly towards us. The characters feel very real, and their stories are ones I will always remember.

The writing is incredible, and I have a special fondness for the last one. I started crying as Manami was starting to realize certain things about herself because of how closely her feelings mirrored mine when I was in her position.

This is such a beautiful game. Thank you for making something that really helps understand how someone who is trans might feel and the awkward interactions they usually encounter. My wife is trans and I saw so much of her in Haru. <3

have you considered providing an Android release here on itch as well as on Google Play?

I just wanted to say thank you very much for making these games and this collection. The depiction of transgender topics and romance feels very earnest and raw while still having a hopeful spin to it. I love that the characters are flawed but nice friends who remind me a lot of me and the people I know. Everything hits close to home and gets sometimes quite emotional for me and the whole series has been close to my heart since I played all three a year and a half ago. Now I played this collection on console and I really like the epilogue too and it's good to support the creator finally! :D 

Everybody in the world is probably talking about "a pet shop after dark", but....!!! HERE I AM, PLAYING THIS INSTEAD........ And I'm really happy I did!!! It's a really beautiful experience.

The uncaring nature of society is really a brutal thing; I mean, I personally have a hard time ever accepting myself and my feelings and anything valuable to me, so. Experiences like this are really important to me. Reminders that, even if you can't exactly think to yourself "I'm valid" or "I'm secure" or "I'm loved", there's so many people in this world who want you to be happy, even if we aren't personally connected.

In terms of the experience itself, the first chapter, "one night, hot springs" really made me feel.... excruciatingly sad, but also really happy, y'know? It had the most put it into it, as far as outcomes go, and so.... There's a lot there to make one feel either dejected or elated. On one hand, giving up is such an easy thing to do, and.... it hurts. Thinking "life would be easier if I didn't bother" is just such a desperately soothing thing at times, but... being who we want to be is a big part of what life is about, right? So... The dichotomy of never trying or trying your best is.... really beautiful. It's a really, really, really good first chapter.

Extremely good because, getting into "last day of spring", the payoff of the experience was very immediate and really powerful. Like!!!! Erika is just.... such a good character. A character that comes off as abrasive but simultaneously tries their hardest to make people happy, for me, is just.... Really powerful. People who're open-minded, understanding, and trying their best to make people feel accepted.... They're really beautiful. So, while the second chapter has its dead ends, which all felt really empty.... the true ending felt, so fricking beautiful. Like.... so much on display is stuff that I have so much trouble, personally, getting over, so.... Seeing a story where such struggles are given a genuinely beautiful conclusion is just, amazing to me.

But the third chapter is also really beautiful in its own way.... I myself identify as asexual, though it's obviously a spectrum and my own place is somewhere different, but.... I mean. It's really fricking impossible to untangle the thoughts of standard, socially acceptable sexuality from my brain sometimes, and understanding that my own perspective genuinely does not have to fit in line with the perspective of the rest of the world is a struggle. So a story like this is really beautiful, too. In terms of romance, I genuinely have no idea where I land, but. The story of forming really deep bonds with people important to you is.... really beautiful. Having people who'll support you no matter the issue, because they want you to be happy, and care about you, is just like... What could be more splendidly sweet and encouraging than that, right? The way it caps off is so perfect!!!!

I suppose I, myself, didn't really experience the build-up of these stories, and the subsequent importance of the epilogue, but.... As somebody who's dived right in, I've genuinely wept a lot of happy tears playing through it! And the epilogue is just..... It's a bit of an overused phrase here, but it really is beautiful. It's a really, really good last note to leave the story on. Deeply encouraging, deeply satisfying, but also.... Like.... God. I want these characters to be happy. They're really wonderful.

As an extra note, just. The music is all really freaking good, too!!! Admittedly my own methods of playing through certain games are probably pretty unusual, but. Sitting at the title screen and chapter select screen for long stretches of time between chapters was such a wonderful experience. The main theme of the story is really beautiful. And, really, the entire game as a whole looks so fricking good... It's a minimalist style, but it's genuinely so fricking good!!!!!!!!!!! I love all of it. ALL OF IT...........

As a personal ramble, I knew a lot things I wanted/identified with for a really long time, but always held it back because, I just simply didn't think any of it was worth bothering with, nor that I deserved any of it anyway. Life is short, society is uncaring, and there's very little assurance that anything I'd want is even possible. So. A story like this, that encourages growth and trying your best to feel valid even if the world is the way it is, it's like.... It's really perfect, y'know? I really appreciate it. So!!!!!!! Thank you for making it!

why'd you take the other two off sale? /general

after playing one night, hot springs for free, i immediatly bought this. I love this game! Will there ever be any more, or will it stay as a trilogy?

i buying this game to support npckc on playstore and i like the stories so far. Being a different gender with legal gender is tough and stressful. Gladly erika and manami can accept it.

Wondering about haru situation if it's in real life? Must be a lot of pain

The game is very cute and the theme is great. Glad to play a game like it.

(It is also my first time to get to know ren’py. Look very interesting :D)

I really enjoyed this game, it had a nice story. Thank you for making this.

I'm two weeks late in responding, but I want to say: Thank you.

I first played the AYoS trilogy last summer.  I knew it was a collection of three older games (all of which were still available in their legacy forms at the time), but I had no idea you didn't originally plan it as a trilogy.  I cried through much of the game, shifting between tears of sadness and joy. 

I wanted to thank you for creating this wonderful game. It really is a heartwarming story.

Hi. Thank you so much for these games. I know they're about Japan, but they hit so close to home that I almost cried multiple times (I'm trans and ace)

It's been like, months since I last played this and I still think of it with so much fondness from time to time. This felt so hopeful and I love how the way the characters were written felt human instead of having their LGBTQIA+ identity as their only identity. Also, the art was so cute!!!

Thank you so much for this <3.

This game was amazing and a lot of it resonated with me as a trans woman. This story had such a positive impact on me, and I really hope everyone who needs the love this story can bring to them can find this story and experience it for themselves. Truly a work of art. Thank you.

I loved it!! I already told you on twitter lol, but aaaa this game is so beautiful!! <3

I completely forgot that I claimed a community copy back when this released. After having played it on switch and loving this collection finally came back to pay for the game on here. Thank you so much for this series, it means a lot to me :)

I love these! It's rather uncommon to see explorations of queer people navigating Japan and its culture in the VN space; i can't help but root for everyone in their journey to live their best lives

Thank you so much for making this series!

thank you for this. I can't express my gratitude, and I really hope you are proud of these beautiful games. It moved my heart and it made me learn a lot. Thank you<3

Hey Npckc!
Thank you for this amazing game.
I love all of it!

It's my new favorite game of yours, with a tavern for tea and a pet shop after dark.
Just... Keep doing what you do so well!

So I am admittedly a cheapskate on here and love all the free visual novels on here, but I am so glad I paid the $5 for this one! One of the most wholesome and heartwarming games I've ever played, especially as a trans woman myself. <3

I purchased and played through this on Xbox. As a transwoman, some of what Haru went through hit really close to home; especially the conversation with Erika towards the end of "Last Day of Spring". I really enjoyed my play through, despite the fact that I started crying uncontrollably haha.

Hi,

I recently claimed a community copy of this game on here, and once I was able to, I purchased it on Steam as well (alongside DLCs for the games available there) to show my appreciation for lovely and cute games like the ones in this collection that also deal with hard-hitting and important topics. Once I set aside some time to play it, I will be sure to leave a review and rating, and to notify others who may be interested in it as well.

wonderful game :)

I wrote this on the older version without realizing there was a newer one. I just want to know if you plan on releasing an Android version as well. Thanks. :)

Thank you so much for this game! It was such a great and eye-opening experience for me about how it feels to be trans in a society like today's. As someone who is questioning, Haru's story hit pretty hard for me, and it hasn't left my mind since buying it on Switch a few days ago. It even helped me about coming to terms with myself about who I am and who I feel like I am. 

Thank you <3

-Cathy Nekonin

I couldn't play this game because I don't have enough money to buy it myself and I don't think my parents would buy it for me, but I played the three games separately for free and I don't think a game ever impacted me this much, I never realized what trans people go through each day, thank you for making me understand and teaching me. These games are so well made and beautiful, so again, thank you! Keep up the good work ^~^

 (,,> <,,)

- Daisy <3

Wowowowow.  I have no words—except to say that this trilogy is absolutely beautiful.  The art style is so warm, the characters work amazingly together...it's all just so good.  ❤️  Thank you for an incredible experience!  Can't wait to gift a few copies to my friends.  :)

I bought this game on Switch, and I can confidentially say that no game has ever left this much of an impact on me.

So, some context: I'm Serena (formally Aiden), a transgender woman who fairly recently came out (I came out to my mom in September). I've had a lot of issues with gender dysphoria and being extremely unsure of my sexuality, and until recently I've really felt trapped.

So, I'm browsing through the eShop "deals" section, and I see a charming looking game icon which catches my attention, and upon reading the description I knew I wanted to get it. I'm still fairly new to being trans, so I figured that it would be interesting to play a visual novel featuring a trans protagonist, who I'd come to know as Haru.

Over the past two days, I binged the game and maaaaybe filled up my Switch with screenshots of the game- either way... wow. Getting to know Haru and realizing how much I relate to her and the problems she faces on a daily basis helped fill in so many blanks. It made so many things make so much more sense, and kind of just made me feel like someone... understood. Especially when Erika and the staff lady both went out of their way to show Haru comfort and acceptance, the game/novel gives me hope that things are gonna get better, that one day I will have that supportive friend/person who helps me take the next step and feel more comfortable as... myself. Be it the writer or Haru, I felt a deep connection right from the get go. I became invested in Haru's story, and I was excited to learn more about Erika and Manami, and it was a really exciting feeling.

When I started the second game, I was a mixture of intrigued and excited. Getting to see things from Erika's perspective was a really interesting change of pace, as while she was a character that I got to know a little in 'one night, hot springs', it was really interesting to see things like her personal thoughts and feelings, living space and that, despite her daring/often rude undertone, she always meant well. It really built up both my understanding of Erika as a character and the relationship between Erika and Haru. It was really cute and I absolutely fell in love with this chapter.

The third game was definitely the game that shocked me the most, honestly. Seeing crossed-out choices that often times Manami would go against if picked... it honestly hit really close to home with me in terms of that anxiety and second-guessing everything, which is something Haru also does to a lesser(?) extent. Reading through her conversation with Haru and Erika about asexuality/aromanticy put me in tears. It all felt so... genuine. As with the rest of the game, the writing was superb, heartfelt and genuine.

I won't spoil the Epilogue, but it capped off an amazing, heartfelt visual novel the best way it could. In an odd way... I want to see more of Haru and Erika, even if their remaining stories are best left untold.

Thank you, npckc, for making this.