No One But You Gets a Facelift in the Updated Demo

[dropcap size=big]V[/dropcap]isual novels are called that for a reason. While the story takes priority over anything else, visuals are just as important as the tale to tell. And Unwonted Studios upped their game with an updated demo for No One But You. I covered the previous demo release that was offered to potential backers during the Kickstarter and I wrote my thoughts on it. Now, with the new version in my hands I decided to take the plunge one more time. And I’m very happy with what I’ve seen so far.

I won’t cover the story itself. Nothing’s really changed there. In fact, it’s pretty much the same word for word. Not that the demo needed that much of a change in that department anyway. Just remember that the basic premise of No One But You is that Hideaki and his mother moves to a town and he starts making friends with his fellow students. Including one that seems to remember him from his childhood. Which he can’t remember due to some traumatic event as a child.

What I really wanted to discuss here was the facelift that No One But You has received from the first demo to the second. While both art styles are good on their own merits, I happen to prefer the new look over the previous attempt. There’s not a huge difference between the way the characters look but if you compare them side by side you can definitely tell the difference in the way they’re presented.

Now, for the backgrounds. If you recall from my previous take on the demo there were numerous backgrounds missing, but with the public release of the updated version they’re all in and they look marvelous. Especially when the “camera” pans around for effect. Which is a very nice touch that Unwonted Studios put in. It’s not needed but it still adds a little something to the experience. There wasn’t much need to change the existing backgrounds and for the most part they’re still intact the way they were back during the campaign.

The other major overhaul in No One But You was with the user interface. I love the addition of the “talking heads” in the conversation window of whomever is talking at the time. It is a bit overkill when the “full body” sprite is standing right there in front of you, but it is still a nice touch. Also new to the update is the inclusion of the current date staring you in the face in the upper righthand corner.

The closeup images of the various love interests, though, would have to be the highlight of the demo. The new artwork really shines through here. All of the girls are really pretty and their expressions really show their emotions. Hideaki has a lot of good looking girls (and one guy) to fawn over and I really do look forward to seeing where each relationship takes them once the final game is finished. If you’re interested in giving No One But You a try yourself you can download the demo from Sekai Project’s Web site or via the Steam client.