This was a fantastic way to end this trilogy. i came into this with low expectations since i've seen a lot of people call this bad but man.... i've never cried while having a big goofy smile on my face in my life like i did when i unlocked the true ending. I would prefer to avoid spoilers so if you've read the first 2 Kara no Shoujo VN's this is 100% worth it.
This is probably the most mature storytelling I've ever seen in a visual novel. It isn't as long or as complicated of a story as the 2nd game in the series was, but it really felt like the absolute perfect ending to the series, and to drag it out any further wouldn't have made much sense.
The few "sex scenes" that are in the game are nothing you wouldn't see in a typical R-rated movie. The camera remains above the waist, and they're all 100% relevant to the plot. So if that's what you come to this looking for you're bound to be disappointed.
But if you're looking for a great story, this series is as good as it gets, and this is pretty much the perfect conclusion to it, IMO.
Thought I'd write my first review here as a sendoff for a trilogy that is my obsession, no pun intended. I'll put up a spoiler for the review section as there are too much words for those who's only interested to know if the VN is good or not. Also, translated walkthrough and save bundle here. I do not take credits for this; it belonged to Seiya-Saiga.
Overview:
The game has 15 endings technically, although one is not counted in the official ending list. This makes for a lengthy VN, which is sort of a rare breed in the 2020s with how "VN blizzard" loomed across eroge studios for quite some time now. There is enough content, further extended with the need of multiple playthroughs if you are going for the complete experience.
From a VN / game standpoint Paradiso leans closer to the former, meaning that the gameplay is not going to be the focal point of the product, and so if you are interested with immersive detective sleuthing games this is not going to scratch your itch as its mostly about clicking objects on a 2D image during investigations much like a find-the-difference puzzle, or the more common "pick your evidence/suspect" deduction phase style, then repeat these multiple times in one playthrough, repeated again through multiple playthroughs.
I am no artistic connoisseur to review the art style of Paradiso. Sugina Miki is a relatively well known artist in the industry by now. I would simply say the artwork itself is very well made, more so when the context of the story is considered, but might not impress if your preferences are computer enhanced 2D/live 2D/3D images, or AI based. Specifically for Paradiso, some of the character models might also come across as monotonous despite how the story was meant to be told.
That said, unlike the previous 2 works, Paradiso has very softcore sexual content. Even from a horror/violence perspective, the depictions are significantly less graphic than its predecessors. Instead, the acts are enhanced with audios, which isn't much in today's standards. The lack of scenes in the gallery also suggested a shift in focus of the game, and might not sit well with new readers who's expecting them in a standard eroge. Just like Sugina's gamemaking philosphy, Paradiso is made to satisfy a certain niche, and the art and game direction for this product made it clear that its not meant to serve as the common gory erotic VN in the market these days. The VN might come across as average, or downright unimpressive if you have not previously experienced the prequel works, specifically Inferno and Purgatorio.
To close, Paradiso did what it has to do - it is the final sequel of a trilogy, made to provide closure to fans that expected a conclusion of the characters that they've known and loved over the course of two works and several arcs. To do that, Innocent Grey has released this 8 years since Purgatorio, and there are some noticeable new elements in this product compared to the prequels while maintaining a standard of high quality music and artistic expression, important traits of a good VN. For the fans Paradiso might score higher than what is rated here, but the work is not without its problems from an objective point of view, hence a 4 star on this platform is what I would rate as a fair score in general.
