VN - Others - Completed - YOU and ME and HER: a love story [v1.00] [Nitroplus/JAST USA]

Its alright up until the forced NTR shit about a third of the way through the game. A lot of comparisons are drawn between the looping section of the game and DDLC, despite there being no inspiration or connection between the two VNs.

I just wish we could go back to the looping part of the game since the story is hellbent on "putting reality back together" for the third act instead of being happy with your waifu forever/ the dark haired girl who doesnt NTR you.

You and Me and Her is a difficult recommendation, but a top tier VN. In short, the entire thing is too convoluted for it's own good, and if you were to read this in a "pass the time" mood, it would probably seem unremarkable (a number of people, don't understand what the big deal is). I can assure you that this VN is as good, as some of the more enthusiastic opinions portray it.

Positive:
- You can read this many times, and you will keep finding new things. It's very impressive, because the links between scenes reach some crazy numbers. There's only one rival that I know of in the VN world (sekien no inganock - Ever17 also has the numbers).
- Both heroines are emotionally powerful, and have great V.A (voice acting).
- The "big twist" is awesome, and if you re-read, there were clues to it
- The writing is very good, and this is a good example of a smart localization (not that many around).
- The supernatural (with meta elements) was inspired back then, and the story is incredibly coherent, outside one major exception.
- One H-scene that you are bound to remember for a very long time.

Neutral:
- NTR - I don't mind it. Many people do. It exists.

Negative:
- You don't want to read this following a guide (because of spoilers), but there's a very good chance that you will need a guide. Maybe open it, after the "big twist", that seems like a solid compromise.

Score: You and me and her is a 10/10, and one of the best VN's ever. If you are gonna read this, try having more time than usual on your hands, and really paying attention to what's going on, otherwise this is very hard to recommend. I feel like reading this casually, is a loss for you.

(Despite the one great H-scene, reading this for the 18+, makes very little sense)

You and Me and her (totono) is one of the best visual novels ever, up there with legends like Muramasa, Fata Morgana and White Album 2. End of the review. Go read it?

NO! STOP! Only read totono, if you already have some experience with this type of visual novels. That's what everyone here (f95) fails to mention, and they are doing you a disservice when considering the amazing experience totono is.

Read a handful of medium/long duration visual novels, before trying this one!

Now you, my unobserved but very much real friend, might be thinking:
"Why? I'm a smart cookie. I'm well read, (know my classics) and I'm familiar with Japanese idiosyncrasies from other entertainment mediums."
It's not enough, I'm afraid. High intelligence is not the main requirement to understanding things in this world (it's experience and repetition). Books have little to do with visual novels and their tropes, and "watching Virginia hanging out with little boys in spandex***", doesn't make you an authority in anything Japanese.

It sounds elitist (and condescending) as all hell, but I genuinely want you to enjoy this, and believe what I said, so at the very least, you can believe I have your best interest at heart.

As for the review, I already have a long, pretentious, and pseudo-intellectual one in VNDB (You are not surprised? Why, that's both shocking and original!), so let me just point out the essentials:

There's hundreds of things that you can miss in totono (literally). Even if you give this your best attention, you will still miss out on things (I know I did). Reading it twice is the best course of action, if at all possible. Totono is a handcrafted masterpiece, where everything leads to something else: Example: the batting cage scenes, the can of juice, the phone connection etc...

The message and themes delivered are the true treasure of totono. Without spoilers, the main idea is that Faith/Destiny is a real thing, and life only has one destination, but the beauty of it all, is that while you are here, you can steer things in your chosen direction. A mix of determinism and free will so to speak. Pay close attention to the intro, and the stairs. It starts right away.

The rest is all pretty good: V.A has "zappy girl" delivering one of the best performances you ever heard; The OST is great (not top tier); The visuals are all about ambience and an ethereal, otherworldly feeling; The setting starts normal, but quickly blows your mind; The translation (dare I say this?) might actually improve things to English speakers. The characters have depth, lots of traits, proper motivations etc.. (Love me some Miyuki, if she is not unique and amazing, then I don't know what is); The big twist is unforgettable. You will remember Totono, and more... I have nothing to say on the NTR front, read "things" with tags you are comfortable with, is my advice.

"What about the bad fanboy" - "Are you gonna tell me this is perfect?" - Aptly put my jaded virtual acquaintance! Yes, there is bad here. The one choice that ties everything together, is out of your hands. They screwed up in that regard (if you read it, I mean the moment when YOU say you love Miyuki, and are FORCED to promise her something), nothing is perfect. There, are you happy now?

So yeah buddy, please don't become another one of those "Oh I don't understand totono, or why this is supposed to be good, so I will just give it a 6 or 7/10, dismiss it, and classify the people who recommend it as pompous/arrogant" (well, the last part is not wrong, but the first claim is a crime). Finally, there is a reason why I didn't mention DDLC up until now: It's STUPID to even compare them. It's not "oranges and apples", but it's a regular apple, VS one from the garden of Hesperides (oh boy, I'm going all out with the fedora today).

This is a 10/10,(a REAL 10, unlike some others I have given here, which are based on scope and comparisons), and I only recognize 5 other visual novels (in English) in the same tier as totono (Kamige, or the really good stuff). Read this, and you have my freaking assurance, that this is AN ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, just do your best to prepare yourself, so that you have the best of times with Totono. One more thing, go in blind. No walkthroughs or spoilers of any kind, but you already knew that.

*** That can't be obscure, it has 50M plus views on youtube.

God tier kamige, played this a long time ago and only did the blue girl route, a deviation from the boring everyday dating sims is always nice, really unique game that did the "different than others" theme right not even including the very good art and nice voice acting.

turns out getting zappy can cause severe case of concussion and brain damage

dunno how to describe this game without delving into too much details, but essentially this is a love story where you, the player, are judged critically for your decisions.

the characters are interesting, and i got quite invested in them. none of the them are stupid, and can actually take hints (including the mc).

you may stumble upon a few endings during your playthrough, but bear with it longer. the story isn't ending anytime soon. the true ending will tie it all up together nicely.

this may sound like a generic but competent tearjerker vn to you, but i really can't describe much further without going into heavy spoiler territory. i must also repeat what others have said: GO IN BLIND! don't look for walkthrough or try to 100% it.

This is the best VN I've ever read. I couldn't finish it b/c I couldn't bear to break her heart. Pure love. The sex is ok pink girl is pretty meh scene wise but main girl has some great stuff. But if you read this it wont be for the sex it'll be for the pure love. Only real OGs get the 30 questions on the first try

Its a VN showing the dangers of becoming obcessed with avoiding NTR

If you're considering not playing because of the NTR tag, don't worry. I strongly dislike NTR but the NTR in here is minimal and serves a purpose for the story. Don't read any more reviews, just play and go in blind. Trust me.

10/10

This game offers fresh experience by breaking the fourth wall. While this trope is quite often exploited lately, this game does not actually put this as a surprise -
Even after knowing that this game has two routes and I finished just one route of both routes,

I promise I will never play this game again.

Holy shit this is good. Play this game blind. I repeat, play this game blind. DO NOT LOOK at the spoilers, I did and i am filled with regret. Dont be afraid of a certain genre, the game is not what it appears to be...

Was looking for a psychological experience and definitely got it with the true ending path (I suggest using a walkthrough after you clear a normal ending once, using the skip/skip-to-next feature at your convenience). The game's intro and outro videos really added enjoyable production value.

Well this was a crazy game. There's not much that can be said without giving away heavy spoilers but this game easily can transcend your expectations. It's sad, cute, funny and tense condensed into a package.

The NTR was pretty cringe getting through it but that's kind of the point. It's uncomfortable because it's meant to be uncomfortable. Anyways, point being is that even if you hate NTR like myself it's worth it to suck it up and deal with it for the full experience of this game.

There are some gameplay elements and puzzles in this game that are actually very unique. I do heavily recommend just running through this game without a walkthrough as it's really not that necessary. It's pretty linear although it doesn't appear to look like it is. If you get stuck literally pick the other option, it's not hard and no, the game isn't broken. It can get a bit tedious, I'll give you that but that's what the skip button is for.

So, just try the damn game. It's not really a feel good game but it's just a really interesting story that does a great job of getting you invested into it. I'd say, it goes beyond just being a game. And there's only a handful of VNs like it.

cutest voice entry ever. But didn't feel like finding another route at after the 1st one was over. And nothing happened at all in that.
And it kind of impossible to get the correct entry without reading the walkthough. Which seem like a chore. So incomplete review sorry

You should play this game.

If you enjoyed a certain game about a language related club, i can almost guarantee you will enjoy this.

I don't usually complete all the routes in VNs. I usually pick one girl at the start , finish the route and move on to other games. This game though, is different. All the routes are interconnected. I would recommend using a walkthrough to go through the routes in order. There is a larger narrative that is told.

For the those who despise NTR, i can say that this isn't your typical NTR. It is limited to one character and even then it is due to the narrative. I'd say it is the most selfless NTR i have ever seen. And i can assure you i have seen a lot of NTR.

I admit that what led me to look at this game was the NTR tag. However, this game is not about it at all. When you think of NTR games it is usually fetishised. The thought of your loved one betraying you due to selfish reasons, you getting off from it, you taking revenge for it, etc. But this has nothing to do with that. It really is a selfless NTR from that particular character. I really don't want to spoil the narrative, so you're going to have to take a leap of faith.

I hope someone sees this review and decides to give this game a chance. It is honestly worth is.

Just remember, NTR in fiction is not the same as in reality. Keep that distinction in mind and you won't screw up your real life.

I know that this thread was posted quite a while ago, but I feel compelled to write a review just so I can put on paper all the amazing things that I experienced with this Visual Novel. If you've been around VNs for a while, then you probably know how popular this one is. I tell you right now that all the hype is justified. This is objectively one of the best Visual Novels ever created. The writing, storytelling, characters, art, gameplay, everything is deserving of praise.
I'll completely avoid major spoilers in this review. I want everyone to experience the game by themselves. If I can't avoid giving spoilers, I'll hide them, although the tags already kind of give you an idea of what to expect.

First and foremost, this isn't your typical VN. As others have mentioned countless times, this is metafiction on the level of Doki Doki Literature Club, but far better in every way. Granted, DDLC definitely took inspiration from this gem. The fourth wall is already shattered in the first few minutes of gameplay, and the game does so wondrously. It doesn't feel forced or cheesy. Every time the fourth wall is broken, it's either funny or impactful. Without giving spoilers, the latter half of the game has a practically nonexistent fourth wall. You, the player, is now directly involved with the world and the two girls.

Another great thing about the writing is how outright addictive this game is right from the get-go. Because of the pacing and amazing writing, it's easy for the time to just fly. You think "I'll just read until the next transition, then I'll go get something to eat", but the next transition already grabs you by the balls neck on the first line, piquing your interest and keeping your eyes glued to the screen. Not a single line is useless, disposable padding to fill the gaps. The more you read, the more you want to see what happens next.

The characters are also amazing. Both girls are likeable and unlikeable in their own right. It all comes down to how you rationalize those traits and what you consider unacceptable. Miyuki is the devoted and loyal childhood friend who deeply cares about you, while Aoi is the sweet and lovely oddball that will make you cry like a baby. On the flip side, Miyuki is a yandere, the psycho type of yandere, while Aoi is a whore who NTRs you and enjoys every second of it. I personally don't mind the type of person that Miyuki is. In fact, I love her even more for it. That being said, it's undeniable that both of them have their own character development, for better AND for worse. If you follow a guide for the true ending(s), half of the game will focus on Aoi while the other half will focus on Miyuki. The protagonist, on the other hand, is... infuriating, to say the least, but he's supposed to be. He's not important. You'll eventually understand why.

Another good thing about this VN is the fact that you actually get a true ending for whoever you pick. "True ending" is just the path that you take until you reach the final choice. Unlike other VNs that follow the same type of dark plot, there's no "main" heroine, or a heroine that gets discarded after showing her... unsightly side. I could swear that Miyuki was going to get sacked after the second half of the game, after everything that she did. To my surprise, she wasn't. You still get to explore both of the girls, having plenty of time to make your final decision.

I also MUST mention how amazingly well-done the subtlety of this VN is. You can turn your brain on while reading. You won't be disappointed. Foreshadowing, references, subtle details; everything is flawless.

About the gameplay, I don't think I can explain it without giving spoilers. Let's just say you actually get to interact with the Visual Novel on a fundamental level, just like DDLC, except you won't be messing around with files and stuff. Everything about this VN is tight and responsive. The UI is genuinely one of the most polished I've ever seen, something to serve as an example to every other VN out there. THIS is how you do it.

About the sexual content, there's quite a lot of it. I was actually surprised that a VN with so much plot also had so many sex scenes. Not only that, but they're all great. The art is amazing, the voice acting is perfect, the situations are hot, everything is simply satisfying.

I find it hard to write more than this without giving spoilers, so I'll just wrap it up by explaining why this VN is one of the best. The thing is, this is the first time a VN has messed with me to such an extent. If you actually care about the girls, this novel will stick with you for a while, maybe even forever. It's an ambitious project, especially in an age where we just want to see cute girls doing cute things without a care in the world. YOU and ME and HER is supposed to be played only once, your final choice being the ultimate decision that you'll carry with you for the rest of your life. It only makes the choice even more difficult, and you'll still feel a sense of loss regardless of what you choose. That sense of loss is what propels you forward and teaches you an important lesson: There is no "saving" in real life. Life is a series of choices, and you have to learn how to live with the outcome of your decisions no matter how much it hurts you. This novel won't coddle you. It will give AND take, and that's the beauty of it. That being said, don't be afraid of jumping into it. This isn't a tale of pain and misery. It's just a story that will make you feel many things, good and bad.

I thoroughly recommend this VN to pretty much everyone, unless you can't handle certain types of dark content such as NTR, murder, etc. I definitely forgot to mention a thing or two in this review, which is a shame, but to be expected. There's too much to unpack, and I urge you to experience it all for yourself.

That's one monster of a game, I would say it took me more than 8 hours to finish the game (not at 100% still)
The game doesn't have many CG/sex scene the story is good, i mean the 'routs' are well taught and the devs did an excellent job interconnecting it through different playthroughs would say it's a 8 or 9/10
Right in the kokoro

If you want a detailed review, go read the others' reviews. This is gonna be short and sweet:
This is a very story-driven game, focusing on character development, sprinkling some amounts of sexual content when needed. If you've played Doki Doki Literature Club or other games like it, then you probably won't be able to enjoy parts of the game as much, since it relies on some shock value the same way DDLC does. The game can get tedious towards the end (not the first play-through, mind you, but the actual end of the story), but I won't spoil the fun

Now, the title says "YOU and ME and HER", but don't get your hopes up thinking there's a harem route. The novel drives it into your brain that you may only choose one (though there's not much decision to it at the start), so pursue whoever it is you fancy. Saving is not essential, but is definitely recommended in case you like having seen all the lines; savor it while you can.

I guess this review wasn't really short, but to be fair the game wasn't that short either. Play as you would any other visual novel: Explore every nook and cranny that the game offers, because missing the slightest thing can lead to frustration.

For the more advanced users: DDLC practically ripped this game off, so if you know how to save the game's state (not saving progress, but the so-called "permanent" changes to the game), then you'll know this one: Game state is saved in the "common" folder, which resides in the same folder as the game saves. This will be useful information to know later on, and is hinted at by a certain character towards the end.

Boop boop boop boop boop boop...

Just want to pile on the praise for this game.

If you're a fan of Japanese visual novels, this is perhaps the best meta-commentary about the genre.

It's better experienced if you go in blind, in my opinion. There are some stuff in here that people who only like vanilla romances definitely won't like. The other reviews touch on that, so I won't get into it.

Just want to say this is definitely worth your time, even if some of the genres kind of throw you off. There's a point to everything and the ending is worth it.

(Disclaimer: I played the original japanese version, so I can't comment on how the translation may or may not affect the quality)

I wholeheartedly loved this experience, even without having experienced all there is to this game yet. I WANT to explore more, but that's pretty tough at the moment, but still, this game is ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL to me. If people are avoiding this because of the NTR, it's as the other review (as of writing this) said, it's not really to humiliate you, as it is to make you question the characters and the length of which you're willing to push through for them, all plot-circumstances considered.

This game really does deserve a chance, even if you don't like the concept of NTR. Even if you rather not, it's entirely worth the pay off by completing the game in full.

Naturally, this is spoiler territory and I'd just like to say that if you like VNs and have the time, you should definitely try this game. NTR does have a role in the game, but it isn't there to humiliate you so much as make you question characters and your relationship with them. You have to endure it to get all the way through, but I assure you it is worth it. You don't lose the interest or love of the heroine - the guys just a means to an end.

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Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi or "You and Me and Her" is example of a visual novel that shifts genre and engages in meta-fiction. As soon as A CERTAIN AMERICAN VN WITH GENRE SHIFTING PSYCHOLOGICAL TWISTS was released, plenty of folks who could read moon or had seen Webms of one of this game's false endings were drawing comparisons. Now we have a solid English translation, we can see the extent of the similarities (even though that developer denied knowledge of the game).

First and foremost, this game has some really beautiful art - the H scenes are presented in their full uncensored glory. However, the game doesn't have tons of them and it's not really what the game is about. The game focuses much more on choices, heroine routes, false endings, messing with your saves etc. It's written to throw you a few curve balls and requires multiples playthoughs to access all it's content. If you've never played a game which modifies itself for it's next launch or breaks the foruth wall quite as hard, the game will probably surprise you.

The story is initially typical, involving our boring self insert guy (Shinichi) and his popular, intelligent, athletic childhood friend (Miyuki). Our third character is the oddball (Aoi), who eventually forms a friendship with the other two at our MC's behest. She describes herself as a transceiver for God and expresses a desire for the other two characters to get together. She also thinks reality is a video game. Throughout several routes and based on a key choice enacted by Aoi based on a decision made by Shinichi, the nature of Aoi and their universe becomes clear. Until this choice is made one way over other, you're stuck with depressing endings over progression to where it gets really weird.

Beyond the focus of the story, extending through to the true ending, the game seems to be making commentary on the nature of romance VNs and player agency. In the end, Shinichi's choice to allow Aoi to patch the universe out of fear of losing Miyuki forever is what brings them all misery. Some players will note - this choice to avoid getting "cucked" has some seriously negative consequences and I don't expect many people to like it. You need to really spend some time replaying to finally get into Aoi's route, and it inherently involves being cucked. Up to press, I've blasted through the game and chose the true Aoi ending so I can't quite comment on the alternative, but a lot of the game's true ending dialogue is melodramatic and ham-fisted. Don't get me wrong, there's some great emotional scenes here but by the end there's some bullshit about how Aoi is now a part of every VN heroine...

So when you get you cock sliced off or shit on by a woman in a hardcore nukige bad ending I can think back to Aoi? What?

It seems like the writers desperately wanted to hammer an impression into players when they were already doing well and didn't need to force it. I think somewhere in the climax of the game the writing shit the bed, but the love scenes with both heroines and yandere scenes with Miyuki are respectively heartbreaking and unsettling in equal measure. IMO the game doesn't really start until Miyuki homeruns your scrotum.

Naturally, for a VN of this caliber (actually good enough for JAST to translate it), voice acting, music and presentation are excellent. I never had any problems running the game and I honestly didn't think I'd get as much time of out this as I did. I can't read Japanese, but my limited understanding tells me the translation really understands the intention of what is being said in it's context. We really don't see quality like this often.

Ultimately, I'm giving this a 4 because whilst beautiful and well written, I've seen similar features in other VNs that didn't need to overdo it to have huge emotional weight. I know a lot of people don't like meta-narrative hi-jinks because they either think they're cliche or a cheap way to tell a story. This VN is also not going to satisfy the appetites of people who come to F95 for tons of sex scenes. It has a highly compelling story regardless which I think people won't want to try because of the fetishes involved.

Mad props to the devs, I really enjoy works like this and I hope we get more translations in the future.