LogFAQs > #962736995

Sprung (DS)
This game has always been on my radar. I was aware of it through Nintendo Power when it was one of the first games for the DS, and was kind of aware of its premise. I associated it a bit with Feel the Magic, another dating-based DS game that came out around the same time and which I've also played. I knew that Sprung got poor reviews when it came out so it kinda flew by me for many years. Then it came up in a topic on this board last year and a few people said it was actually kind of okay. This prompted me to look into it and as it turns out, the poor reviews were mainly because VNs and dating sims hadn't taken off in the States yet, and retrospective reviews of the game have been much more positive. I did however know that the game was a bit tainted because a certain infamous internet persona actually got their letter into Nintendo Power stating that the game helped them overcome their fear of talking to women (and let's just say that that fucking explains a lot), but I decided to give it a go anyway.

I wouldn't say the game is a pure VN, nor is it a pure dating sim. It's kind of a mix between the two. There is one "right" person you're supposed to end up with and most missions can be failed with poor dialogue choices; actually, as the game progresses, many scenarios have a very specific set of dialogue choices that you have to select in order to progress, and there can be a lot of trial and error involved - the instinctive "right" thing to say isn't always really right. I guess I'd call it a text-based adventure game.

There are two stories, both involving the same characters, but with parallel continuities. I played through both stories and initially thought I was going to be playing through the same set of events from two different perspectives, but that's made blatantly clear from the start that that isn't the case. The two leads, Brett and Becky, are both very likable. They're believably flawed while still being good enough people at heart to want to root for them. This is especially true of Becky, who was, hands-down, the best character in the game. I actually enjoyed playing through her story more because I felt it had a lot more heart put into it, and some more interactivity beyond just talking to people, as awkward as it was for me, a heterosexual man, flirting with men, while Brett's story was a bit more on the "just go around picking up chicks" side. Obviously, the goal in each story is to end up with the other, which I accomplished under very different circumstances (as I said, Becky's ending definitely had a lot more heart and passion put into it, but both had elements that really just warmed my heart; there's one particular pic of them together that really just made me melt). Most of the rest of the characters were over-the-top caricatures of the sleaziest pick-up artists you'd ever meet. Some of them are hilarious, others are pretty loathsome. The writing ranges from funny to sweet to really cringy. It's kind of a mixed bag but I forgive it for being a pioneer of the genre.

Some of the scenarios are just plain weird. There are several dream sequences, and "bonus rounds" that seem to be non-canon where you either insult people back-and-forth or just get as many people as possible to make out with you. The side characters also hook up with each other so frequently that I could never keep track of who was dating who at any given moment. The pacing could be weird at times, but again, I can kinda chalk that up to being an early entry in the genre. The animation and character art was actually really good and made the emotions the characters were feeling really believable. Becky of course had the best. Brett had a few really ugly ones, actually. Oh, and the music was REALLY catchy. Some of the tunes will be stuck in my head forever.

For such an early VN/dating sim, it's really not that bad. I am glad I finally played it and may play it again someday. It's no masterpiece or anything, but it's easy to find fairly cheap on eBay, and if you're a fan of the genre you'll probably find it was worth the time and money. Probably.