The Oasis Water Shop's Curious Customers (ワケあり客とオアシスの水屋)

HOLY MOLY THAT WAS SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU FOR SUCH A COOL GAME OMG

For a quick and easy visual novel, I like Oasis Water Shop a lot! The English translation is a bit rough in patches, with even the text for the water serving options seemingly going off the option box. But it's never incomprehensible, so English players shouldn't be confused when reading. I'm also not sure if this game is an otome (amare might be a more applicable label), but this might be a difference in how Japanese fandoms label otome vs English fandoms.

As for the game itself, it's very enjoyable. The premise is cute, giving us a bartender/barista-sim visual novel (in the vein of games like Coffee Talk or Va-11 Hall-A) but with creative variations on serving simple glasses of water (though there isn't a minigame/mechanic to actually make the drinks). The art style is gorgeous, with beautiful pixel art for the characters. The OST is really fitting too, with music themes that fit the setting and characters perfectly. As for the biggest selling point of  Wakemizu, the love interests are great. Vangriff as the quiet and stoic mercenary, and Carleone as the shifty yet sweet-talking con man - both with hidden hearts of gold. It's hard for me to really choose one over the other, as they're both fun to have around. (Though, if you forced me to choose, I might go with Carleone, there's a dorkiness to him that endears me.)

That being said, part of the reason I have a hard time choosing between the two is because of my biggest criticism of the game -- it's too short for its own good. The player is only given a short amount of time with Vangriff and Carleone one-on-one before they are forced to choose between them. And, quite frankly, it was not enough time for me to feel particularly strongly between the two. I understand that this was meant to be a short game -- a quick little for-fun project between 72studio's larger works -- and this release is more a demo or proof-of-concept sort of thing, but I am still left wanting. Thankfully, based on the post-game survey, it sounds like the developer is open to making an extended release of Wakemizu, which I would absolutely snag if it comes to fruition.

Overall, for the experience you get, I think The Oasis Water Shop's Curious Customers is a fine game that will leave you satisfied until the end. I'm always glad to see more games from 72studio, and I can't wait to see what they have in store next.

こんにちは!プレイテストはすごく楽しいです!実は最近ゲームのローカライズ(翻訳)に興味があって、よかったらこの作品の翻訳をお手伝いできたらなと思いました。無料で大丈夫ですが、もし可能でしたらクレジットに名前を載せていただけると嬉しいです。英語、ドイツ語、ロシア語に翻訳できます。もし興味があれば教えてください (discord: keiko06457) :)