Going from Thief to Librarian: A Please Be Happy Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox One, XBox Series, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)

I'm a huge fan of visual novels, and Studio Elan has provided some of my favorites in the genre. I've only ever played through two of their releases (Highway Blossoms and Heart of the Woods), but they've stuck with me over the years. Their 2022 release, Please Be Happy, has been on my radar for quite a while, and I finally got a chance to look at it thanks to its new console release. It's available now on all major consoles by way of publisher Sometimes You, and we're going to be taking a look at it on the Nintendo Switch. This is going to be a long one, so let's just get right to the review!

Please Be Happy places you into the role of Miho, a gumiho who is a recent arrival to Wellington, a city located on the floating island of New Zealand. Miho is a drifter that moves from place to place and survives mainly by thieving. She was once a regular fox living in Korea, but her worldwide journey began when she decided to track down a human who had been nice to her. Though she's been unsuccessful so far, her new surroundings offer her something beyond simple wandering. Though she goes about her usual antics, it isn't long before Miho meets two people who will change her life forever. One of them is Aspen, a barista who longs to be a writer, and the other is Juliet, a vampire who owns a local library. These two take an instant liking to Miho, and Miho ultimately accepts their friendship even though it’s a concept alien to her. Miho is homeless though, so Juliet offers her a room in her library. The trio become fast friends, and they spend time together at least once every day. These regular meet-ups aren't just because they're fond of each other's company, but also take place out of necessity. It turns out that Miho didn't just get by in life by way of her cunning, but she also carries a curse that causes everyone to forget about her after a day has passed. This curse applies to both Juliet and Aspen, so they decide to spend every day with Miho so that they don't forget about her. This seems like an impossible task, but they trio take it in stride. Though not a replacement for her person, Miho has found something equally important to her: A home.

There's far more to the story that I can get into, but I'll leave some of the more specific plot elements vague in hopes of not giving away any spoilers. In case it wasn't obvious in my brief description, the setting of the game is not in our actual world. The Wellington that our trio live in belongs to a magical place where humans and mythical creatures live side by side. These magic beings are known as "fabled", and many of them live far longer than the humans they share their world with. Both Juliet and Miho have lived for centuries, though their experience with the wider world isn't quite the same as Aspen's. Juliet has a past that also saw her settle down when she found a person who changed her outlook on life, and Miho is totally unfamiliar with how normal people interact with each other. That's actually a core focus of the game's plot, as Miho has to learn simple tasks that we all take for granted. These include things like working for a living, carrying on a conversation, finding and maintaining hobbies, and even learning how to read and write. The relationship between our main trio is what drives the game forward, and it shouldn't be any surprise that things turn romantic before long. Though it is a girl's love title, I hesitate to use the word "yuri". There's nothing truly explicit in the game, and you can even reach platonic ends with either couple if that's what you're after. I'll circle back around to the story in a bit, but I think now is as good a time as any to move the discussion towards gameplay.

While Please Be Happy is a visual novel through and through, there are many parts of it that require player input. Most obvious of all are the dialogue choices, though these are relatively few when compared to other games in the genre. This isn't the sort of visual novel that'll see you navigate your way through countless dialogue trees, though the occasional choice will pop up. Instead of that mechanic, we get one based on locations and time management. Please Be Happy's story takes place over a finite period within the characters' lives, and you're able to make some choices regarding how Miho will spend her time. Early on this simply means getting involved in side stories that open up the plot beyond our core trio, but later choices can affect who Miho ultimately ends up with at the end. These interactions all take place on a map screen, and that screen also shows you what time of the day it is. The map shows all of the places Miho can currently visit, and some of them have icons that indicate a character being there. Going to a place with an icon takes you to an optional story scene, but you can ignore all of these if you so desire. If you're feeling like being idle, you can go to an empty location, though you'll only get a screen or two of flavor text for your troubles. Much to my disappointment, not all of the side stories can be experienced in a single playthrough, so you'll have to go through the game again if you want to see them all. Then again there are also multiple endings, so there's a good chance you were planning on doing that anyway.

Those looking for a fast-paced story full of conflict might want to look elsewhere, as Please Be Happy instead goes for a slice-of-life approach. Most in-game days start with a breakfast scene, and usually involve Miho thinking about how she'll occupy herself during the time when Aspen is working and Juliet is sleeping. (Juliet is a vampire after all, so she sleeps during the day.) This means that the plot progresses at a snail's pace, though I never found that to be a problem. I probably would've preferred for the romantic elements to have shown up a bit earlier, but the interactions between the characters were enough to keep me invested on their own. The writing is such that the pace feels natural to the events going on. Miho's journey isn't a race to the end, but instead allows her to take all the time she needs to adjust to the changes in her life. It's not just Miho though, as both Aspen and Juliet change through their interactions with Miho. Everyone does really, even those that Miho has to re-meet regularly. I'm sure that there are people out there who aren't fans of the slice-of-life style of storytelling, but those looking for a cozy tale will find one here.

It's true that I didn't mind the slow pace, but there were some elements of the plot that I found to be lacking. Keeping conflict out of the mix is one thing, but the entire opening of the game felt a bit too convenient of a setup. It only takes Miho a couple of days to find two people who instantly take a liking to her, and one that even takes her in. They don't even ask anything of her, and simply seem to want to make her happy. I of course realize that being happy is literally in the name of the game, but it doesn't change the fact that everything feels just a little too perfect at times. This is sort of addressed in the game, as Miho has been a victim of duplicitous people in the past, but it sort of leaves the reader expecting something that never happens. Don't get me wrong, I grew to love our main trio, so it's not like I wanted to see them in dire straits, but the way that everything just worked out for Miho felt more than a little contrived. I'm not sure how else this story could've been told, but this is the one aspect of the plot that I could never get behind.

My problems with some plot elements aside, Please Be Happy does manage to do a lot with its small cast of characters. I've pretty much only mentioned the main trio so far, and that's because they're the only characters you will always interact with during each playthrough. The supporting cast will pop in and out of the main plot, but you'll have to go out of your way to learn more about them. Having said that, these side stories serve multiple purposes in the game. First off, they do a good job of teaching Miho things about the world that Juliet and Aspen can't. One of the plots involves Miho befriending a boy whose parents are going through a divorce. This is the kind of thing Miho can only learn about outside of the world of the library, and it's handled quite well. That's the other thing too, as the side stories allow the game to cover topics that can't be explored in the main plot. It opens the world up quite a bit, and I once again find it lamentable that you can play through the entire game and skip the side stories entirely. I'd have much preferred them better integrated into the core gameplay experience, but I guess that would've made the entire time management side of things trivial. There's probably a life lesson to be learned there, but at the end of the day it does mean that some players might never get to experience all of the stories that Please Be Happy has to offer.

Visually speaking, Please Be Happy looks quite amazing on just about every front. The main cast is rather small, but their designs are all perfect. They each feature several variants in outfits, and there are several CGs to see and unlock throughout the course of the game. There's even some slight bits of animation, though it mainly comes in the form of mouth movements during speaking. I personally would've loved to see a few more outfit variants for Miho, or maybe version of her fox form that looked more in line with the other character images, but that's probably asking a bit too much for an indie release like this. I didn't mention this earlier, but the game also has a unique take on dialogue. Rather than put everything into a text box, speech bubbles are used. It may look a little confusing in screenshots, but they give the game a very unique feel. Speaking of being unique, there's an impressive amount of detail when it comes to the backgrounds. They're all very detailed, and have even more variants than the characters do. Much of the game takes place in Juliet's Library, and I was impressed with how fresh that location felt whenever a big scene took place there. Even small things like the UI and map screen have small touches that are easy to miss. The small character portraits scene when they're at a location, or Miho's little asides when you visit the menu, never ceased to put a smile on my face. I can continue to heap praise upon the visuals, but I think I should point out some of the few negative aspects too.

I played Please Be Happy for the first time in this console release, and I couldn't help but notice that a lot of the images looked like they were blown up from a lo-res source. This is most noticeable whenever there is a zoom in on a character's face, but it can also be present in their standard models. I'm not sure if this was something picked up during the porting process, or if it was present in the original PC release, but I can't imagine this being intentional. It may feel like a small nitpick, but it honestly pulled me out of the game more than once. While some may play through the entire thing and never notice it, others are sure to wince whenever one of the lo-res, messy-looking images suddenly takes up half the screen. My next point has to do with the overall consistency of the art itself. It doesn't seem to be the case that different people worked on the game's art, but the main character designs and models often feel like they're of a completely different style than what's found in the CGs. This isn't the case across every piece of art in the game, but there are plenty of examples where characters look completely off model when in a CG. It also doesn't help that the main models use a rougher, hand-painted style, and the CGs look like standard digital 2D art. (So I guess that might explain it?) I don't want to be too hard on a game that clearly was a labor of love made by a small team, but these two things really did bother me throughout my entire playthrough.

If there's one aspect of Please Be Happy where things really excel, it would have to be in its sound. I talk a lot about "visual novel music" in my reviews of the genre, and I'm pleased to report that this game's soundtrack far transcends that term. For those who haven't read any previous visual novel reviews of mine, "visual novel music" refers to a style of music that seems to be created solely to play inoffensively in the background. It's the kind of music that you can probably add to your study playlist, but it most likely won't elicit any strong feelings or response from you one way or another. As stated earlier, the soundtrack here is the furthest thing from that. Not only is it full of music that I grew to love, but I also put my money where my mouth is and decided to purchase it on its own. (Which you can also do on Steam by the way!) It's not the most robust soundtrack in terms of its number of songs, but each of them is memorable in their own way. There are several melodies that are playing in my head now even as I write this, and I have nothing but positive things to say about the game's music.

It's very often the case that indie visual novels will either have very little voice acting, or none at all. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Please Be Happy is fully voiced. I really mean it too, as just about everything beyond Miho's thoughts and narration is voiced. This even includes dialogue from characters outside of the main cast. Random Wellington residents may not have a portrait or a name, but they most likely will have a voice. Everyone puts in solid performances too, with special mentions being necessary for Miho and Aspen's voice actors. I'm not sure if it's because they have the most past roles that I'm familiar with, but their work here really stood out to me. If I must be thorough, I guess I can mention that there were a handful of moments where the direction seemed a bit off for a few lines, but that's probably due to the sheer amount of dialogue that needed to be recorded in a game this big. I was truly blown away by the sound overall, and I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say that everything sound-wise feels like it belongs to a AAA release.

Please Be Happy has two distinct routes that each have two endings. It's also impossible to see all the side stories in any single playthrough. This means that players who want to see everything the game has to offer will have to go through it about four times to do so. Getting to even one ending is dependent on reading speed, but it will probably take most players 8-10 hours. There is a skip function you can take advantage of for subsequent playthroughs, though it doesn't work quite the same way as it does in other visual novels due to the map screen mechanic. There is a nifty completion percentage that you can check out in the menus if you're wondering how much more you have to go. All of this comes together to make a game that has lots of content, and is more than worth its asking price of $19.99. It also doesn't have any sort of console tax attached to it, and is priced the same as its original Steam release. That may not seem too noteworthy on its own, but there are several games that pick up an extra five or ten dollars when they make their way to consoles. Even though I typically like my visual novels to be played on PC, there is a coziness to this one that makes it perfect for platforms like the Nintendo Switch. Even if you can't play it there, or would rather have it on a more modern platform, it's definitely worth grabbing at its current price.

In case I haven't made it obvious yet, I give Please Be Happy the fullest of recommendations. Its slice-of-life approach to storytelling really works for me, and you're sure to fall in love with the characters before long. This is a visual novel that not only gives readers a well-written, thought-provoking story, but it also tries out a lot of new things. I might not be the biggest fan of the time management side of things, but I do appreciate the developers changing up the usual visual novel formula. Going back to the story, it's one that will most likely stick with you long after it’s done, and it'll leave you wanting for more. Even though a direct follow up is most definitely not in the cards, I'd love to see more of this world. I'd of course also be interested in seeing what Miho, Aspen, and Juliet are up to as well, but that's even less likely to happen. I really can't praise this game enough, and you have no excuse to not grab it now since it's available on just about everything. Pick it up on whatever platform you can, and thank me later. See you in the next one!

Check Out Please Be Happy on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/please-be-happy-switch/

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Story: A+
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A-
Music/Sound: A
Value: A

Overall: A

Pros:
+ A great visual novel for those looking for a slice-of-life story with yuri plot elements.
+ There isn't a single character that isn't endearing in their own way. You'll grow to love Miho and all her new friends before long.
+ The visuals are top notch, and there are several scenes and CGs that look will take your breath away.
+ The time management aspects, and optional side stories, do a good job in changing up the typical visual novel formula.
+ Both the music and voice acting are near perfect, and feel like they belong to a AAA release.
+ Four endings, two of which are platonic, mean that everyone can find the happy ending that suits them best.
+ Feels like a steal at $19.99, especially considering the amount of content you get.

+/- Though I found the story very fulfilling for what it is, I wish that the setting was explored a bit more.

Cons:
- The opening plot setup, with everyone immediately befriending Miho, can feel a bit contrived.
- I'm not sure if it's something only found in the console release, but some of the artwork feels like it came from a lo-res source.
- Speaking of art, the main visual style looks completely different than what's found in the CGs.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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Miho needs to become a film critic.

#PleaseBeHappy