Strong & Reliable Like A Tree Trunk: The Mermaid of Zennor Review

By Manuel

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

I don't know when it exactly happened, but I've slowly become a fan of the visual novels written by ebi-hime. I've admittedly only played about five or six of her games so far, but they always leave an impression on me that sticks around long after I finish them. I previously reviewed the console release of Sweetest Monster (which you can find HERE), and recently read through both Lily of the Valley and Six Days of Snow in my free time. I have several more games by her lined up on my soon-to-play backlog, and I also have one that I'm going to give the full review treatment today. The Mermaid of Zennor is a short visual novel that released on PC back in 2021, and arrived on consoles in May of 2024. Thanks to the console publisher Penguin Pop Games, I got my hands on the Nintendo Switch version, and it's that one that we'll be taking a look at here. There's a surprising amount of content to go over in this one, so let's just get straight to the review.

The Mermaid of Zennor centers on a thirteen year old girl named Lilac, the second child of a family that lives in the small village of Zennor. Thirteen can age a tough age for just about anyone, but things are particularly bad for Lilac. She's bullied every day at school, mostly ignored by her parents at home, and suffers from autism that her family only learned of when she was forced to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after harming one of her bullies. The only light in her life is her brother Jesse, who ironically enough is also indirectly part of the issues she has with her parents, since they clearly favor him over her. If things were bad even with her brother around, they've only gotten worse recently as he's moved away from home to attend university in London. His absence has shattered any hope she had regarding her hopeless situation, and she now has no one to confide in. The school counselor Mrs. Khoury means well, but doesn't seem to be able to break through to her, and she even resents her only fried, a girl named Aislinn, because she has a crush on Jesse. Actually, Aislinn isn't alone in that crush, as Lilac bears a deep love for him that borders on obsession. Not only does she think that she's in love with him, but she takes his lack of contact as a form of abandonment. This all changes as the game starts. Following a particularly bad stretch, Jesse suddenly reaches out to Lilac after not checking in on her for a long while. Lilac is not only pleased to hear from him again, but ecstatic to learn that he's going to be coming home for Christmas. She counts down the days until the winter holiday, and that's when things take a rather intense turn.

I'm going to go over the plot more in-depth later in the review, but I'm choosing to keep things as vague as possible for the sake of spoilers. The Mermaid of Zennor is a visual novel in the purest of senses, it flows more like a traditional novel than a video game, and only features one player-made decision near the very end. This type of visual novel is better known as a kinetic novel, but I feel that term can sometimes confuse those who aren't familiar with it. What this means in terms of review, is that I really have no "gameplay" to discuss. If you are someone who needs plenty of player-controlled action or input in their video games, or even their visual novels, then you're going to be disappointed here. This barely qualifies as a "game" at all, and that's fine. You're also not going to find much in the way of a traditional romantic story here. I already mentioned that Lilac is rather infatuated with her brother, and he indeed has an important relationship in-game that we'll get to in just a bit, but this is a story that focuses more on how one deals with trauma and mental health issues. It really flies in the face of what a lot of visual novel fans might be expecting, and it's best to go in with the proper frame of reference so you won't feel like you've been misled. Having said all that, I personally have no problem at all with the way the game flows, and I'm all for these types of experiences. Those other three visual novels by ebi-hime I mentioned at the top of this review are all kinetic novels too, so I wasn't at all let down. Now that we have that out of the way, let's move on to discussing presentation.

Visually, The Mermaid of Zennor looks amazing, and features the anime style one comes to expect in games like these. The world is surprisingly vast and detailed for its small setting, and the character designs are well-done too. One thing I like about ebi-hime's games is that the art tends to vary from one release to another. I can only assume that this is due to different artists working on different releases, but it means that there's a lot of variety in each of her works. Though the art here isn't among my favorites as far as her games go, it definitely is above and beyond most other indie visual novels. There's also a lot one can gather from the visuals and character designs alone. Lilac has a bit of a plain look to her, but it serves as a nice contrast to other characters in the story. She's also very expressive in her emotions, which is interesting when you realize that no one can seem to get a grasp on what she's thinking half the time. Aislinn, Lilac's friend, is a colorful and cheerful counterpart to her design, and Jesse resembles Lilac so well at times (minus the mental health issues and angst) that I wondered if he represented a sort of end goal to Lilac's overall journey. There's also a neat contrast between light and darker scenes, and some well-drawn CGs involving multiple pairings of the characters. We even get some cool water animations that I think they might be actual live action footage. I doubt anyone will fault this game based on its visuals, and they help ease readers into some of the uncomfortable topics discussed within.

Interestingly enough, I found the game's soundtrack to probably be the single best aspect of the game beyond the story itself. The Mermaid of Zennor has a soundtrack that takes a completely different approach than what one thinks of as far as visual novel music goes. Each track is composed in a way that almost feels like it’s meant to emulate ambient background noise, but they all manage to add to whatever happening in-game. There aren't any truly upbeat tracks, but the more casual ones always feel like they're bracing you for the storm just on the horizon. There are also several tracks that come off as foreboding in a way that's hard to describe outside of experiencing them in the game, and some that are downright creepy and wouldn't be out of place in a psychological horror movie. There are all sorts of emotions at play in this story, and the music accentuates them all perfectly. The great soundtrack also makes up for the fact that there is no voice acting. While I didn't expect to actually find full voice acting in an indie game like this, part of me did wonder what these characters would sound like if they were given life via a full-on cast. I guess we'll most likely never get the answer to that, but the music keeps things from ever feeling stale or hollow.

Moving on from presentation, let's circle back around to the story. I'll still be wary of going into spoilers, but there's a bit more I want to discuss. It goes without saying that a visual novel lives and dies by its plot and characters, and The Mermaid of Zennor really delivers in its second half. After spending a long, painful day with Lilac, we learn a lot about her, and also hopefully sympathize with her situation. She not only has trouble communicating exactly what her problems are, but it also seems that no one really listens to her when she does. She doesn't see Aislinn as a friend, but also doesn't want to hurt her. She likes Mrs. Khoury, but can't tell her what she really thinks. She is confirmed to be autistic, but her family doesn't react to it much beyond considering it being a bother. She has sensory issues that go unaddressed, barely eats because the food is the wrong texture, and her bullies won't stop even though she's lashed out at them in the past. She's holding on by a thread, and that thread is Jesse. Things come to head when Jesse arrives back home. Lilac is beyond happy to see him, but that soon fades when she realizes that he didn't come back alone. It seems he got a girlfriend in London, and he's brought her home. This turns Lilac’s world on its head, and her obsession turns destructive rather quickly. Things expand from there, and the story then shifts focus to how Lilac responds to this new development in her life. The constant that saw her through all of her pain seems to be slipping away, and things go through several twists that have to be read to be properly experienced.

To say that I was floored by this visual novel is an understatement. There is another kinetic visual novel from ebi-hime called Lynne (Which you can actually read for free!) that has very strong similarities with The Mermaid of Zennor. The two plots vary greatly in terms of detail and execution, but both main characters have traits that mirror each other. I'll admit that I felt like I was playing through a more detailed version of Lynne at first, albeit one where the reader feels far more sympathy towards the protagonist. This quickly changed as the plot unfolded, and I'm glad for that. For a story that can be read through in an afternoon, there are a lot of parts one can get lost in. There are fairy tale references that parallel Lilac's journey, several moments that get extremely dark in tone and subject matter, and the titular mermaid even gets a spotlight by the end. I was literally at the edge of my seat in the final scene, and was at a total loss for words as to how I was going to review this game once I had finished it. I don't know if I've actually done a good job of actually delivering on that review, but I hope that I at least got across the point that this is one of the best-written visual novels I've ever played, even if its subject matter might put off some.

I was able to read through The Mermaid of Zennor about two hours. I imagine most others will have a similar experience, though times will of course vary according to reading speed. As I mentioned earlier, there is only one choice to be made in the game, and it determines the outcome of the story. It's really hard to determine which of the two endings is the "real" one, but I do feel that both wrap things up in a way that satisfies the plot, even if it might not be exactly what the reader was hoping for. Like most visual novels, especially kinetic ones, there really isn't much reason to pick it up once you've finished it. Having said that, I for one like to compare kinetic visual novels to actual books rather than games. Considering that The Mermaid of Zennor is currently priced at just $5.99, picking it up almost feels like a must since it's far cheaper than most books on the market. It also is a story that will probably get a re-reading or two later on down the road. At least that's how I see it.

If it's not already obvious, I give The Mermaid of Zennor the biggest of recommendations. Saying I "enjoyed" it doesn't feel quite right, but I'm sure that this is yet another ebi-hime written visual novel that will stick with me for some time to come. It might not appeal to everyone due to its subject matter, but if you can get beyond that, it's sure to keep you entranced as it did me. Do yourself a favor and pick it up right now on whatever platform you can. I for one will take a bit of a break before diving into another one of these games to play something light-hearted. See you all the next time another ebi-hime visual novel comes my way!

Check Out The Mermaid of Zennor on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/the-mermaid-of-zennor-switch/

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Story: A+
Gameplay: N/A (It is a kinetic visual novel after all.)
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A+
Value: A+

Overall: A+

Pros:
+ Despite its dark themes and subject matter, this is one of the best visual novels I've ever read.
+ Though you don't get a lot of time with them all, the cast is well-written and fleshed out. You'll come to care about them all by the end. (Except for the bullies I guess.)
+ The ambient soundtrack is simply amazing. It is movie soundtrack quality at times.
+ There's nothing negative to say about the visuals. The backgrounds, CGs, and character designs are all practically perfect.
+ It's practically a steal at just $5.99. At that price you can pick it up even if you're just casually interested.
+ Oh, and there's even a Shrek reference!

Cons:
- It is a kinetic visual novel (As in there are no character-driven choices or gameplay.), so that might put off some.
- The subject matter might not be for everyone.
- There may not be much reason to go back to this one after you've read through it.

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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The End... for now...

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