I'm impressed. After playing through Sable's Grimoire I already knew that I will, without a doubt, end up loving its sequels as well. In this particular case, the first sequel I happened to get my hands on was Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf. By the way, there is even more content planned for Sable's Grimoire and, along with that, updates regarding the base game. It's rare to see a developer being so dedicated towards their products, although I have to admit that this series is definitely a memorable one, and thus, I am grateful that my journey with Sable is not over yet. Anyway, Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf revolves around the elf Lisha and Sable who we already met in the base game Sable's Grimoire.
[h2]Lisha and Sable are Back…[/h2]
Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf is a fantasy game where humans and mythical creatures are coexisting and takes place after the first year of Sable at Amadronia Academy. You see, Sable is just a regular human with the exception that he can use magic. Anyway, one day he happens to visit the hometown of Lisha once again with her. However, things are getting more complicated when there are incidents of recent kidnappings and robbings. Thus, Sable and Lisha are getting entangled with a dark elf again. With Lisha's father, they are trying to investigate the cases, although there might be more to the truth than it seems at first.
[h2]Should You Play Sable's Grimoire Beforehand?[/h2]
The short answer would be no, that's not necessary, especially as Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf offers the option of explaining various things that got mentioned in the predecessor. Luckily, this function is also useful for those who played Sable's Grimoire a long time ago and cannot recall everything anymore. Furthermore, the information gets added naturally in the text and I'm impressed that I didn't even notice them when playing through the visual novel.
Anyway, whilst it's technically possible to play Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf without ever having touched its predecessor, it's something I would not recommend at all. The reason for that is that the player will miss a lot of character development and has, therefore, no attachment to Lisha nor Sable. However, that's not everything as there are details in the first game that carry on here and are impossible to understand when not having experienced them.
[h2]What to Expect of Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf?[/h2]
This part is mainly interesting for those who didn't play Sable's Grimoire beforehand. So, what can you expect of Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf? — A lot of story progression and romance! That's right, this visual novel doesn't only focus on its romance but also on the storyline. I loved the world Sable's Grimoire offered to me and how Man and Elf managed to extend it even more.
Additionally, it's important to mention that Lisha is the typical tsundere. To be honest, I cannot picture another image of her that would be more fitting for an elf, so I absolutely loved it. Besides being stubborn, she's also a very proud elf and I found it utterly adorable at the same time. Anyway, as a piece of additional information, Lisha and Sable are not a couple at the beginning but start as friends.
[h2]A Satisfying Adventure[/h2]
Something that was greatly noticeable in Sable's Grimoire was that Lisha's route felt incomplete. There were a lot of things missing and I ended up getting surprised because the game build up a fantastic narrative, however, I wasn't satisfied with the way it ended. Luckily, Man and Elf managed to clear up everything that felt missing in its predecessor. Something special here is that it actually felt like the developer planned this sequel in advance as small details are getting picked up again, that I already forgot, and explained. Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf doesn't simply feel like a story that takes place after the main story, but to me, it's part of it.
[h2]More Romance…[/h2]
I also noticed that the romance fell rather flat in Sable's Grimoire, however, I was delighted to see that there are sweet scenes here and there in Man and Elf and found those even a lot more romantic than those in its predecessor. Of course, the plot still takes up a huge chunk of the whole game, although I still loved the scenes where Lisha and Sable are getting closer to each other. In that sense, I had the impression that not only the plot advanced but the relationship between both of them as well. Anyway, those who were missing the romance in the predecessor will absolutely be satisfied with Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf.
[h2]The Pace…[/h2]
Admittedly, that's the only thing I didn't like about the game. When I think about it, not a lot of events were happening while playing Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf, however, the few scenes were stretched so the visual novel offers a few hours of playing time. This means that I often felt the scenes were draggy and had a hard time paying attention to them. Although Sable's Grimoire was longer than Man and Elf, I never had the feeling of any scenes being boring when going through the predecessor. You could argue now that the scenes have the purpose of creating a proper narrative, however, I feel mixed about that aspect as I simply felt like some scenes were outright boring.
[h2]Endings, Choices, and Their Impact[/h2]
In total, there are two endings available in Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf. Whilst the game offers plenty of choices throughout the game, a minor part of the dialogue gets altered and the main story stays the same. There is only one choice that matters for the end and I would say it's quite obvious which one will lead to the good end. Anyway, even though this visual novel works out more or less like a kinetic novel, I still liked that choices were implemented to it felt like the reader had an actual impact on the story. Of course, the good end is worth reading through while the bad one will surely make the reader go back and make another decision.
[h2]Graphics and The Immersion[/h2]
Those who already played Sable's Grimoire know exactly what to expect of Man and Elf when it comes to the graphics. This visual novel implements a lot of beautiful CGs that are entirely new and didn't appear in the predecessor. The sprites and some backgrounds, on the other hand, are getting reused, however, it wasn't noticeable at all as there are a lot of new backgrounds added as well, and in all honesty, I am sure we can all agree that there is no other possibility than reusing sprites, although there are new characters appearing as well. Anyway, I already loved the presentation of Sable's Grimoire and this sequel didn't disappoint me either.
[h2]So, what do we have in the end?[/h2]
While it's technically possible for newcomers to play this game, I would strongly recommend going through Sable's Grimoire beforehand as the player would miss a lot of events. Regardless, Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf is a satisfying sequel to Lisha's route and answers all the questions I had. In addition to that, it even picked up minor details that I completely forgot about and implements the useful function of explaining important terms if the player doesn't recall them anymore. That being said, Sable's Grimoire: Man and Elf is a must-play for those who enjoyed its predecessor and isn't simply a sequel but feels like a part of the main story. To top it off, this game offers a lot of sweet scenes with Lisha and Sable.
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