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On the path to fairyland
Tear-filled and yearning to embrace
A lonely Aeka
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June 19, 2007
by: James Jursudakul
A uniquely-crafted character-driven story with silly and hilarious dialogue, yet also serious underlying themes.
[What is it like, to be able to live in your own world, without really paying attention to other people? - Excerpt from Yume Miru Kusuri :: A Drug that Makes You Dream]
Story Description: You are Kagami Kouhei, the average son of adopted parents, whose greatest concern is maintaining the status quo of your carefree student lifestyle. Your days pass uneventfully, accompanied only by the rhythmic sound of a train rushing down its track. You hear it in moments of stillness, powerless as it carries you away to an uncertain future. . . But into your life come three women who threaten to disrupt the fragile balance you so carefully guard, promising to take you to places you’ve never been, with experiences that just might change you forever. . . .
A timeless coming-of-age tale set in postmodern Japan, Yume Miru Kusuri lets you guide your character through stories of tender first love and the bittersweet reality of growing up in an imperfect world. With a gripping, multipath story, a large cast of captivating characters and some of the most beautiful, emotional, and erotic moments in the dating sim universe, Yume Miru Kusuri is a dream that you won’t want to wake up from.
Review
Story: Yume Miru Kusuri :: A Drug that Makes You Dream is a vicariously-engaging tale set in post-modern Japan. It tells of the coming-of-age of adolescents who live differently in a society where everyone is inclined to fall into the status quo. The tale is approached with many interludes that consist of silly and laugh-out-loud facetiousness; however, beneath its superficial hilarity lies deeply emotional and well-told character-driven scenarios that are filled with many heartfelt and sorrowful moments made all the more eloquent, thanks to the game’s unique art-style and some very exceptionable voice-acting. You will laugh at all the madness that takes place in the cafeteria – where getting lunch is more dangerous than jaywalking a highway – as well as the lengths the player-character, Kouhei Kagami, takes to tease his sister Aya, and the many in-game references to the erotic games (eroge) genre. But you will also sympathize with the characters and even get frustrated at their lack of courage and strength at times – and these characters will even acknowledge their shortcomings. Though Kouhei may witness a bullying or be offered sexual intercourse, he doesn’t necessarily does what may be deemed “right.” He’ll ignore the bullying of his girlfriend or not even attempt to resist intercourse with a girl he hardly knows. But what Kouhei does is not necessarily wrong nor inappropriate – it’s just human nature. And Yume Miru Kusuri does an excellent job of presenting such human nature, as well as its consequences, which – despite the frivolous comedy and surreal backgrounds – is tightly knitted to reality.
Even if the girl he's dating is getting bullied in school, Kouhei Kagami turns a blind eye for fear of losing his class standing and becoming a victim himself.
The story revolves around Kouhei Kagami – a typical high-school student with good grades, but he doesn’t really do anything outside the norm. Kouhei was adopted into a family shortly after his parents passed away, and he plays the part of a good son for his family; he never causes any trouble for them, although he enjoys teasing his little sister Aya. His days usually pass by without trouble nor anything particularly significant: wakes up, teases Aya, goes to school, occasionally goes to his part-time job after school, goes home, teases Aya, and then goes to sleep. It’s not as if each passing day in Kouhei’s life composes of precisely the same thing as any other day; however, nothing ever deviates from the norm for him – nor has he done anything in particular that can distinguish himself as a unique individual. . . That is, until Kouhei becomes involved with three individual girls that live their lives outside of the status quo and yanks him from the monotonous world he resides in – into a world where the light has never been more radiant. His life is sure to change forever.
In Yume Miru Kusuri :: A Drug that Makes You Dream, Kouhei Kagami will meet three girls that live in their own world – individuals that depart from society's status quo.
As wonderful as Yume Miru Kusuri’s overall story is, it is not without some faults. There are some occasional dull and dragging dialogue / narrative, especially during a few of the game’s sex-scenes – some of which are superfluous to the story. Furthermore, the bad endings are pretty unsatisfying – not for the reason that they lead to a sort of certain doom for the character(s), but because there aren’t really any “bad endings” per se. They’re more like “game overs” because they’re quite short and to the point, without any new CGs nor events created specifically for them.
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