I happen to find myself in the same boat as Klash, that being putting
Rewrite aside (the title doesn't really do much for me ... I guess Romeo's writing isn't to my liking, and the quite mediocre production values don't help) and going for Noble Works instead, like I have been planning to for a while now.
And all I can say is: I wish I had done so sooner. Only finished one route by now (that being Akari, so I guess can be considered the main one), and it has been nothing but a fine piece of quality entertainment. The art is very nice (as usual, Yuzusoft doesn't disappoint in this area), the music fits the themes and setting, and the highly active character sprites that change expressions/poses mid sentence, several times if need be, go a long way towards bringing the cast to life. And above all, the writing is highly enjoyable - from start to finish, I never found myself being bored or disinterested in what was happening.
The character interactions are entertaining, the jokes funny and don't really wear themselves out, and the whole main cast is thoroughly likable. I was sort of dreading that being a story about 'nobles' there would be some snobby brats to endure, and that not being the case is something I am very glad being wrong about. The cast is great and rub together nicely. All in all, a highly fun package that I find nothing negative to say about. In the end this is probably the strongest point of Noble Works as a whole - the absence of negatives that could otherwise spoil the experience. It was a quality ride from start to end.
Well, if you discount the sin that is Makoto not having a route of her own - what gives !? She grew on me very quickly with her outgoing and friendly personality, her interactions with Takumi (or most everyone really) are a bundle of fun and highly entertaining, and the girl certainly has a good head on her shoulders. It has been a while since a side character (which is almost a miss-label, considering she is probably the most prominent character in the school side of things) left such an impression on me. Besides, how can one not like a girl who
doesn't overreact for being caught in her underwear by the male lead ? (Or would instigate the situation even, because hey - what's better than a male for a honest impression on the design
). Easily my favorite character around.
I ended up liking Akari a fair deal as well - at first I dreaded she would turn out to be a tsundere (and i hate those with the intensity of a thousand stars going supernova, or at least the most common modern application of the type), but she was anything but. The opposite, if anything, because she is refreshingly honest and straightforward about her feelings. The girl probably doesn't even know how to be dishonest, and pretty much wears her heart on her sleeve, irregardless if she is being happy or angered over something. Her ignorance over most things romance related was hilarious indeed, and a load of fun watching her try and overcome that ("research"
).
I expect Maya to have similar levels of awkwardness, and I find her character a fair deal to my liking as well, so quite looking towards her route as well. That's for later though, Shizuru is next on my list - being the least connected to "the gang" her screentime was rather abysmal (I guess that will be the case for all routes, save for hers), so I feel the need to rectify that to get a proper impression on her character. She seemed rather irritable at first, but then there were some scenes that made me rethink said impression. It seems most matters related to her granps (and probably the old man himself) rub her the wrong way, and since most of the interactions were related to him in one way or another, that may well be the reason for her less than stellar mood. Should be quite interesting as well.
All in all a great game and quality entertainment, wish I had tackled it sooner.