"What was the last memorable summer you had?” Key’s latest visual novel Summer Pockets was originally released in 2018 and is their newest entry in the company’s long history of producing nakige-style (moving players to tears) games. Having been officially released on Steam earlier this year, Summer Pockets revolves around the main character Hairi Takahara and his summer visit to the island of Torishirojima to escape his painful past. On his first day there, he meets a young girl who will shape his destiny for the better. If that sounds similar to some of their previous games, that’s because it is.
Coming off of the action-thriller Rewrite, which received mixed reactions from both fans and critics, the company wanted to return to its roots of producing games to make readers cry. Pitched as an idea by famed author Jun Maeda, Summer Pockets borrows a lot of themes and elements from earlier Key titles, specifically Air and CLANNAD. As a result, although Maeda pitched the idea, he didn’t write the story;instead, the responsibilities fell to Kai and Niijima Yuu.
The two split production on the game’s true routes Alka/Pockets along with the arcs for the game’s charismatic cast. Although some of the game’s heroines initially feel like they rely on anime tropes, I was pleasantly surprised with how complex some of their backstories were by the end of their routes. From Kamome, a girl who longs for adventure, to Ao, the game’s neighborhood tsundere, each of the four girls brought her own unique fresh breath of air that made them easy to relate to. Even Tsumugi, who I dismissed early on as I felt her arc dragged, redeemed herself by the end of her route’s bittersweet end.
As the main heroine of Summer Pockets, I will personally say that Shiroha easily lives up to Key’s other main heroines such as Nagisa and Misuzu. Although she initially comes off as a recluse in her arc, it’s hard not to root for her by the time the player gets around to the game’s final routes. Without wanting to give away too much, most of the game’s real meat comes from Alka and Pockets routes which beautifully weave the game's final narrative together to tell a touching familial tale.
One of my favorite things about Summer Pockets’ narrative is that while each of the routes begin with Hairi interacting with the girls on a regular everyday basis, each of them eventually slowly integrates supernatural elements that compliments the game’s mythos. This is reinforced on how the girls continue to interact with each other in each of their individual arcs, which is a big contrast from previous Key titles. In the end, and many tears later, I had zero major complaints about any of the routes. This is amazing when I compare Summer Pockets to both Rewrite and Little Busters! which I felt both dragged at times.
Just as radiating as the story itself is the game’s artwork from Na-ga (Little Busters!, Angel Beats!). Despite the game’s static portraits, the game is rendered beautifully in HD. I played on a 3072x1920 16” MacBook Pro and it looked drop-dead gorgeous. The designs are crisp and clean with intricate background details that brings this rural tale to life. Add in a striking soundtrack from incumbent Key staff including Shinji Orito and Jun Maeda, and you have a recipe for one of Key’s best efforts to date. Their evolution as composers from Kanon to now has been a joy to behold as they mix in new technologies and ideas while retaining their auteur tradesmanship. Of particular note are all of Maeda’s Sea themes which unfold in poetic layers, one on top of another, setting the appropriate tones for the game’s common and Alka/Pockets arcs.
Breaking up the game’s narrative are two mini-games, along with a somewhat open narrative structure that easily allows players to choose which heroine’s story they would like to pursue without leading to any real bad endings. Having played through a majority of Key’s library, this was welcoming and reminded me of the Persona or Shin Megami Tensei series where the player has a limited amount of actions per day. The two mini-games are a blast to play and a welcome break from the melodrama; although, they don’t really serve any purpose in the game other than as a fun side diversion. This time, players are treated to a simple table tennis game as well as a Pokemon style CCG game where players compete with NPCs to become the number one Islamon Champion. There are also titles/records to chase which involves players satisfying different conditions throughout the game for the completionists.
Clocking in between 40-50 hours for all four heroine routes and the game’s “true” routes, Summer Pockets is a peaceful slice-of-life that couldn’t have broken onto our shores at a better time. With the amount of chaos and devastating news cycles, sometimes we all need to step back and remember simpler summer days, where the possibilities felt endless and there was hope all around. Summer Pockets will revive that memory in you and is a beautiful tale that shows the power of the medium as art. Just be sure to grab a box of tissue when you disembark onto this game’s magical island as this is Key at its best.
SCORE: 9.5