I have some mixed feelings about this VN.
For people who don't know, Ef - the latter tale is the second part in a duology. The first VN in the series (ef - the first tale) is also on Steam, and you really need to read that first before reading the latter tale. Together, both parts of the VN add up to one five chapter story, and new chapter explores a budding romance between a different protagonist and heroine. The stories are more or less self-contained, but it all adds up to a larger narrative, and characters make cameo appearances between each chapter.
I'll talk about both Ef - the first and the latter tale in this review, since you're supposed to read them together to get the full picture.
So! The Ef series as a whole looks undeniably gorgeous. You wouldn't think this was a VN from 2008 at all, there's so much beautiful art. There are literally hundreds (maybe over one thousand) unique CGs between both parts, and the CGs have a lot of variants. The sprites, meanwhile, have a lot of poses, the background art is lovely, and the OST is wonderful. Both the first tale and the latter tale have their own animated openings, and the fifth chapter in the game has a brief five minute segment which is basically an anime; it's all very imperssive. Apparently, producing Ef cost Minori around one million dollars, according to source I found on the web, and it shows: it all looks and sounds very very good. It's let down a bit by the dated UI (Minori seems to use the same UI across all their VNs, since i also saw it in Eden* and Trinoline), but it's a small nitpick in an otherwise polished experience.
I only have positive things to say about the presentation, but I'm a little lukewarm on the stories. I think the first tale is mostly unremarkable, with the first chapter being dedicated to a love triangle between a trio of high schoolers which was rather slow-paced, and the second chapter being incredibly boring. The protagonist in the second chapter has all the personality of a cardboard box, and I felt almost sorry for the love interest in the second chapter (spoilers: [spoiler]the LI in the second chapter is the girl who lost out in the love triangle in the first chapter[/spoiler]) for being saddled with such an unremarkable guy. This chapter is tedious, and the only redeeming feature of it is that I think it's the shortest chapter in the VN. At least Kei is cute (I like tsunderes).
Moving along to the latter tale, the stories and characters are much better here. I was prepared to be disappointed, since I found the first tale unremarkable despite its high production values, but I actually liked the third chapter a lot. It's a very solid romance story with some interesting and believable drama. The heroine in the third chapter, Chihiro, feels a bit like a Key heroine (spoilers: [spoiler]she's a sickly shy girl with a rare medical condition who stuggles to make friends, and she feels somewhat pitiable[/spoiler]), but I think Chihiro is handled with more grace and tact than most Key heroines. She isn't infantilised by the narrative (even if she is described as being childlike on occasions), and though the male protagonist, Renji, helps her accomplish her dreams, he does so from the sidelines. In a lot of VNs, the male MC seems to swoop in and magically solve all the heroines' issues, but that doesn't happen here: a large part of Chihiro's route centres around Renji realising [spoiler]he can't do everything to help her. He needs to let her accomplish her goals on her own, but he'll always try and support her if she feels like she needs it.[/spoiler] It's a really solid romance, I think it could easily have been released as a standalone VN and I still would've loved it.
Chapter four features perhaps the most cententious couple: a girl who has just gradated from middle school, Mizuki, who falls for Kuze, the charming playboy prodigy violinist who lives next-door to her, who happens to be in his late 20s. These two have an age gap of at least 10 years, so I was pepared to find this chapter a bit uncomfortable... But somehow, it managed to become my favourite chapter in the whole game, lagely because of Kuze.
I think Renji from chapter 3 was a decent protag, but Kuze is such a fun character that getting into his head is a joy. He has much more depth to him than your standard male MC, and he gets a fair few scenes where he isn't interacting with Mizuki to flesh him out. He appears in Renji's chapter before his own, so you get to see a few scenes of him goofing around with Renji and his mother (and one rather touching scene where Renji falls sick, and Kuze is trying to cheer him up) before his Romance With A Teenager begins, which makes him immediately endearing before his chapter even starts. Kuze is a jokey and mischievous character, and he's sucha devious flirt he almost feels more like an otome love interest than a male protag in a BxG VN. If he was less charming I'd probably find his chapter more uncomfortable, but you know what? Kuze is easily the best (and most attractive) character in the whole VN, and I understand why Mizuki would fall for him. I can't really can't blame her.
Chapter five, meanwhile, is the climax of Ef: the pinnacle of the story, and the culmination of the previous 4 chapters. It's the mostly widely regarded part of Ef, but I honestly found it a little lacking after chapters three and four. I liked both the protag, Yuu, and the love interest, Yuuko, in chapter five quite a lot, especially Yuu (he's Kuze's friend, and gives Kuze some advice in chapter four about his love life, among other things), but I don't really care for Yuu and Yuuko as a couple. I thought most of the events in chapter five were so melodramatic they were almost laughable, and the main 'conflict' here was handled incredibly poorly.
Spoilers: [spoiler]it's revealed that Yuuko's older brother has been raping her every night for two years, to the point of leaving visible bruises on her body. He also threatens to murder her on the regular, and he stubs out cigarettes on her naked body. Yuuko describes her vile treatment to Yuu in detail. Yuu is naturally upset by this, and he decides to confront Yuuko's brother about his crimes. You would think this would result in more drama, but no: Yuuko's brother readily agrees that he was out of line, promises not to hurt Yuuko again, and promptly ♥♥♥♥♥ off and kills himself, so he'll never bother his little sister again. The VN then also adds insult to injury by daring to claim that Yuuko's brother "wasn't that bad really", and "if he had really hated Yuuko, he would have killed her!" This is a very dark and serious plotline, and it gets resolved so quickly and easily it trivialises the whole thing and makes the rape seem like it was only there for shock value[/spoiler].
Chapter five also includes some magical elements in the end which were not present in any other chapter, which felt a bit jarring.
So! Overall, Ef is a mixed package, but there is some stuff here I really liked. Chapter 3 is the real standout, but I loved chapter 4 too for Kuze. Kuze is honestly one of my favourite male leads I've read in any VN ever, and I'm a little bit heartbroken that the fandisc for Ef has not been translated into English, because I would love to read more about him. It's such a shame...
The first tale might be somewhat lacking, but I think the latter tale really does deliver (at least, for the most part), and the varied nature of the love stories present means that there's probably at least one couple in here that you'll enjoy, even if you don't like the rest of them. It's not without its flaws, but Ef does have some genuinely touching moments and some very high highs, so I have no choice but to recommend it.
TL;DR: I really love Kuze he's the best boy, you should read it for him at least!!! He's easily cuter than all the heroines in this VN and I think more people need to discover how adorable he is!!!
