Strawberry Vinegar (Nintendo Switch) Review

Nearly everything about this game is charming, apart from Licia's reason for demanding daily cooked goods from Rie is not from kindness… but just look at the outfits the girls wear! They are Lolita-style fashion, frilly and charming. They wear several outfits through the visual novel, which make it hard to pick a favourite. The menu styles are bright pink, which somehow works with the pastel theme.

Then there are all the food pictures, which seem to almost sparkle with yumminess, and the descriptions of the dishes make them even more appetising! There should be a real life dare to play this game without wanting to eat at least one of the delicious treats used to satisfy Licia. Minor flaw: occasionally, the colours of the characters' names are not always easy to see depending on the scene, but with only a few characters in the tale, it isn't difficult to keep track of them.

Rie isn't the easiest character to like. Her nature is prickly, but thanks to Licia's appearance she slowly learns to be kind to people, her parents, and her classmates. Everyone adores Licia, thinking she is from abroad, so happily accept her horns as a weird fashion style. Rie works hard to keep people finding out the truth about Licia, and is determined to get rid of her, but Licia eventually works her way into her heart. Licia's family do pop in to visit and check up on Licia, and they help her make a decision that changes her life and Rie's.

The yuri element enhances the plot, and is realistic of some relationships in that Licia and Rie become good friends as children, and then when they are older that relationship blooms into something more special. Love evolves from deep friendships, and Rie discovers just how much she likes Licia as the days of that fateful week pass, and it gets closer to Licia going away. All that can be said, is that the ending is very happy. There are multiple endings, but somehow a positive one was found during the first time playing the game for this review.