All The Words She Wrote is an original English language visual novel (OELVN) by ebi-hime, one of the better-known indie developers in this niche. It’s a short yuri romance comedy, mostly set in the Japanese countryside.
In Love with Elf Forest
The easy-going protagonist Mayo Takaoka isn’t much of a reader, but she’s obsessed with Elf Forest, a light novel series written by her favorite author. She particularly loves Princess Luluna and will tell anyone at length about the appeal of the shy character who does her best and cares about everyone. She will without shame tell people that Luluna is “her waifu”.
It’s no surprise that when Mayo lucks into the chance to work for the mysterious author as a live-in housekeeper, she immediately sets off to the countryside. Unfortunately, things don’t go as smoothly as she’d hoped.
The author, Hijiri, is a recluse who doesn’t particularly like people. She has a harsh tongue and a particular disdain for the fans of Elf Forest. Between her biting personality and her penchant for missing deadlines, even her editor finds her difficult to deal with.
This sets the scene for the start of a romance between two very different women: the overly-enthusiastic fan and the author who is the complete opposite of the fan’s favorite character.
Reluctant Help
It’s a little unusual to say that a story that only took me just over three hours to read is a slow burn, but that’s what All The Words She Wrote felt like to me. Hijiri doesn’t even want Mayo there and only reluctantly allows her to stay. She barely speaks to her at first, and even as Mayo slowly gets closer and closer, she still isn’t a fan of people in general. Watching them slowly become friendlier and learning more about Hijiri along with the building of their relationship felt rewarding.
That’s not to say it all goes smoothly. The main characters are both very different people and the way they’re written clearly gets this across. The dynamic between their clashing personalities was quite amusing at times and contributes to its fair share of problems. Events occur which slow or reverse the progress made and these were some of the more interesting moments in the story.
While the slow romance was enjoyable in general, I felt that Hijiri herself is the standout part of All The Words She Wrote. A lot of her sarcastic lines made me laugh, while others were somewhat relatable. I imagine I’m not the only one who wishes they didn’t have to deal with people sometimes, and that’s probably even more the case for those of us whose jobs involve a lot of meetings, constantly trying to explain things, or dealing with the public.
Yuri Love
All The Words She Wrote doesn’t linger overly long on ideas like exploring sexuality, realizations that they both like women, or thoughts about acceptance, though these are briefly mentioned. This is a fairly straightforward and mostly lighthearted visual novel, with no choices.
I did find it a pity that it doesn’t show much beyond where the romance starts in full. It would’ve been nice to see more about where things go, but it ends shortly after that. There is an 18+ scene near the end if you have the patch installed (listed as adult.rpa on the Itch page), though it felt a little abrupt due to the pace of romantic development. I suppose this is a short and relatively low-priced visual novel though, so it makes sense relative to that.
Sights, Sounds, and Systems
There are thirteen CGs included in All The Words She Wrote, mostly without variants. This is a good amount considering the short length of the story. They highlight some of the key moments well. One of my favorites was seeing Hijiri’s uncharacteristic response to pancakes and I thought one during a certain event at Mayo’s home was particularly impactful.
Sprites look good, but are fairly limited in variation. They’re always in the same pose, regardless of outfit, eyes being open/closed, or direction faced. There are some minimal animations like bobbing up and down and sweat drops appearing.
Twelve pieces of music are included. They all fit the tone of the visual novel and they’re all designed for this visual novel so they work together well. There is no voicing, which is pretty standard for an indie title.
The systems work well enough, though I do wish there was a full backlog window function, instead of seeing dialogue appear in the textbox when scrolling backward. Otherwise, features are fairly standard, if minimal.
As a bonus, there are some writer’s notes hidden away in the menu. It’s always interesting to read these types of thoughts.
Verdict
All The Words She Wrote is a short, slow, and sweet yuri romance, with a particularly fun dynamic between a cheerful fan and a misanthropic author. While it feels like it could’ve done a little more post-climax, the build-up to it was particularly good. It’s worth the read.
ALL THE WORDS SHE WROTE IS RECOMMENDED
If you are looking for another Yuri visual novel, you might want to check out UsoNatsu ~The Summer Romance Bloomed From A Lie~. We have also covered a wide variety of visual novels both original to English and localized from Japanese, which you can check out here.
Many thanks go to ebi-hime for a PC review code for All The Words She Wrote.
A gamer since the days of Amstrad and DOS and someone who has dabbled in a variety of professions. He enjoys a wide variety of genres, but has been focusing on visual novels and virtual reality in recent years. Head Editor of NookGaming. Follow him and the website on @NookSite.
