If you make the "wrong" choices during Erica’s route, the game forces a sequence that has been banned from let's plays on several platforms. The screen doesn't just fade to black—it fractures. The cheerful BGM distorts into a 5Hz drone. And the text log begins to write itself, describing things the protagonist isn't seeing, but rather remembering from a previous loop .
If you are a fan of late-90s PC gaming, you are likely familiar with the "Moe Boom"—the rise of cute, slice-of-life dating sims that defined a generation of otaku culture. But buried deep in the dusty archives of 1999, between the To Heart clones and the Kanon wannabes, sits a ticking time bomb of psychological terror wrapped in a sundress.
However, players who stuck with it discovered the truth: natsuiro no kowaremono after
Without spoiling the exact horror, let me just say that Natsuiro no Kowaremono plays with the concept of "Save Scumming" in a way that Undertale and Doki Doki Literature Club! would popularize nearly two decades later. When you reload a save file, the girls know you left them.
On the surface, it has all the hallmarks of a forgettable summer romance VN: a returning protagonist, a seaside town, a childhood friend, and the oppressive heat of Japanese August. But if you go into this game expecting fireworks and festival dates, you are going to leave with a very different kind of trauma. If you make the "wrong" choices during Erica’s
Veteran fans of this cult classic only need to hear two words to shudder: The Pool .
But then you notice the glitches.
You play as Takumi, a jaded city boy forced to spend his vacation in a rural coastal village. The "heroines" are exactly who you expect: the shy childhood friend (Yukino), the energetic foreigner (Erica), and the mysterious shrine maiden (Mizuki). The art is typical for the era—big eyes, soft pastels, and a UI that looks like a scrapbook.