Farewell, My Childhood Self

Spoiler-free review

I find myself somewhat conflicted after reading this storygame. Not because of anything it did specifically, but rather because I always try to formulate my opinion based on things that are objective and measurable so that my reviews can be as informative to as wide a group of potential readers as possible. And yet, if I were to do that here I’d be doing a massive disservice towards the entire idea behind Farewell, My Childhood Self, which is something I’d end up hating myself for because it’s not a story to enjoy with your mind, but rather with your heart.

The premise is a good example why reviewing this storygame “properly” is a silly idea. There’s nothing special to it after all, just another love story centered around childhood friends, but tropey premises like that are a staple of romance and for good reason. What doesn’t however follow the tried and true approach of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is the structure used to tell that story. Instead of a coherent, singular plot letting the reader familiarize themselves with the characters and setting, the entirety of the game is told through essentially a jumbled mix of dreams and memories that branch apart and weave back together based on choices we make as the dreaming boy. This approach means many events teeter on the line between reality and fantasy, but not in a way that’s supposed to confuse the reader.

Character wise it’s also not particularly adventurous. The cast consists of essentially just the two main characters with a few more existing as little more than names, but even the main two don’t exist as actual people. The one coming closest to being one is the girl, who receives the bulk of characterization throughout the game, but all of it is ultimately sparse and vague. For the limited scope of the story it works well enough as proper characterization is not the point. The writing is however solid, if a bit too infatuated with its visuals at times. Sometimes repeating the same superlatives about a thing too many times can negatively impact the perceived value of that thing, and the game gets dangerously close to doing that as it goes on. Thankfully this is where its modest length works in favor and combined with a brisk pace helps in avoiding that particular pitfall.

And yet despite all this criticism barely any of it actually matters when it comes to actual enjoyment of the game. Farewell, My Childhood Self wasn’t written to have a long, tightly knit, intertwined story full of colorful characters. It wasn’t made to collect awards or win contests, but rather to tug on a few heartstrings and perhaps squeeze a tear or two along the way. That is why instead of telling you whether I recommend it or not I’d rather pose a simple question:

Do you read with your mind, or your heart?

Plot: The plot of this story is almost like a child-like remembrance of a now dead love. The scenes seem more like memories than a cohesive storyline, which was nice, but also confusing until I got to the death ending and then it would become clearer. The transitions in the gameplay/story line were a bit fast paced for my liking. The transitions are understandable for the story to move on, but I believe each choice you made could have helped lay the foundation for a more cohesive scene shift than what it did. A better flow was more than able to achieve, but the scenes, although well written, were short and choppy due to the bridges not being created by the scene transitions.

Characters: We never find out much externally about our main character/protagonist. The story is written from his point of view, and is his fondest memories of an old lover. He does a great job of describing the feelings, scents, sights, emotions, etc that he felt for and with his lost lover, Sophia, though. Sophia is more described externally than internally, which makes sense given the point of view of the storyline. I did quite enjoy the opposite descriptions/knowledge of o

Grammar & Writing Style: Minor grammar and punctuation mistakes throughout the story, but not enough to affect the rating and/or make the story confusing. The use of descriptive imagery and animations was very helpful in painting a literal picture of our characters. The imagery, specifically, was very spot on, and essential to helping guide readers by awakening their senses to the real smells, sounds, etc of the scenes. Using the animations was definitely a risk-taking move, as not everyone enjoys that type of art or illustration, especially within a story. I am one of those people that does not typically enjoy it, unless it is a map or something necessary to the understanding of the story, but I think your risk paid off here. I do think your imagery of the senses could be expanded though. Although good, there was not much variety. The description of Sophia’s scent (cinnamon mint), was used extensively throughout the story without any expansion, fluff, etc. You could have monopolized on your descriptive writing skills to really convey that scent and the feeling it gave our main character instead of using the same phrase/description over and over again. When in doubt, always go the extra mile to avoid seeming redundant.

Overall Thoughts: Overall, I enjoy the feeling of reminiscing on long, lost loves that this story gave me. My personal story would not be the same as this story, but I always am delighted when a story can pull emotions out of me, which is exactly what this story did.

“Farewell, my childhood self” is a very well-written and interesting CYOA that definitely deserves its featured spot in the “Love and Dating” category! The writing is beautiful and very evocative, although at times, the prose leans a bit too far into a schmaltzy overly sentimental tone that feels too saccharine. There is an abundance of apt adjectives that showcase the author’s ability to write beautiful scenes of love, but at times, it feels amateurish since the writer goes overboard with it, while the more seasoned writer would hold back in some of those moments. While these moments certainly pack an emotional punch, they occasionally overwhelm the grounded nature of the love story between the boy and the girl. This criticism however, takes a step back to the overall feel that the story creates. Seriously, I was enchanted by the beauty of this story, and only after doing a second read-through did I notice/feel some of these flaws.

I enjoyed the use of pictures in the story. The anime-esque art lends a sense of innocent childish love, and a sort of childish wonder that can only be present in “first love”. This meshes quite nicely with the writing as well. There is a sense of hope, optimism, and childish wonder in the interactions between the 2 characters that is incredibly wholesome. I think applegirl did a great job of portraying “puppy love”.

I do think that the sappy nature of the story makes it more palatable to a specific kind of audience. Some people might find the love story a little cringe or cliché, as it’s not really meant to be a realistic portrayal of love, rather a kind of fairy tale. Luckily, I was in the category of people who enjoy fairy-tale style love stories, so this story worked well for me!

I love how the prologue sets the reader up for what’s to come. In just 2 pages, the author manages to hook the audience’s interest through a very imaginative dream sequence. I must applaud the author for her use of stylized/flowery language in the dream, in contrast to the more simplistic language used in the real-life sequences. While those sentences did get a little annoying to read with the overuse of adjectives/purple prose, since it’s a dream, I’ll give an allowance for the stylistic technique that the author is using to differentiate the dream environment from real life. I know that this is a stylistic technique because the author later uses more simple prose when introducing the 2 characters. I can understand how the author approached crafting the scene. At the same time, I do think “less is more” in this case, and simplifying the prose can go a long way.

I thought the character writing was well done! I thought the author did an admirable job of portraying the perspective of a teenage boy, showing all the complex emotions that generally accompany adolescence. The main character wanting to “cream every guy who looked at Sophie with dirty eyes”, or this sentence, “ Being shorter and smaller than the girl you like? C'mon.", added to the verisimilitude.

There is an over reliance of tropes that over time, have become so familiar that they border on stale, and in some cases are tired, cliché, and overused, but I was willing to let it slide because the story as a whole sucked me in. I think what really made this story work was the picturesque writing that manage to elevate the ordinary into the sublime the way only a teenager can.

Reading this as an adult, it brought me back to the days of my first love, and that feeling of “everything is way more important, meaningful, and significant than it actually is” that every teenager feels. That angst, that heartbreak, that love, it’s all portrayed quite beautifully and was almost a time capsule for me, taking me back 6 years. The lingering on various scenes from their life, from drawing the girl to racing her, adds to this feeling. I like how the author chose to spend time, making the pacing feel slow and significant through some of the most everyday/ordinary scenes, because at the end of the day, it’s not the grand gestures that make up love, but it’s rather the small delights that feel all the more wonderful because you have someone to share them with.

Compared to a lot of CYOAs on here, many of the pages don’t significantly advance the plot. But that’s the unique experience this story offers, the chance to live through an entire romance through many tiny small episodes. By taking her time with the pacing and characterization, applegirl ensures that we fall in love with the story and the characters, and root for them. All so that she can then pull the rug under us with a dramatic flourish.

Just as we’re steadily falling in love with these characters, feeling their bliss and happiness, the page “She’s gone” hits us like a ton of bricks. Although it was hinted at and the set-up was there in the prologue, it feels like it came out of nowhere because all the scenes were building up to the characters marrying. I really felt that applegirl did an excellent job commanding our emotions in that scene, and it was a really well written scene.

At this point in the story, the episodic nature gives way to actual branching. Till this point, I was enjoying the story but in the back of my mind, felt a little frustrated since I wanted a degree of narrative control, basically to be able to change the story. Luckily, in the end that opportunity arose.

The endings really took the story from “good” to “great”. While the rest of the story was fantastic, the endings made me understand exactly why this story is featured and in the top ten best stories of the site. I thought the twist that she had cancer felt natural in this story, even though that trope in another story would have bothered me since it’s basically cliché at this point. But the way the author approached the work as a whole somehow made it click.

My personal favorite ending was the one where you go back to the “oak tree”. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the “happy endings” because they felt unearned, and sort of took away the emotional impact by wrapping a neat little bow over everything and closing it off instead of really exploring the story. The scene where he dreams of her while under the oak tree was so bittersweet. I felt the pain the main character feels, and the way he wanted to stay in the dream no matter what. Furthermore, this ending connects well with the title, since the dream in a way is metaphorically the main character saying farewell to his childhood love one last time. I did like that the title can apply to the other endings as well, which was a very poetic way of wrapping the story up.

Overall, this is a must-read and I would definitely recommend this story to readers looking for a softer, sweeter CYOA alternative to more grimdark stories like Eternal, End of Creation, and Reborn. While the site’s best stories traditionally run on the violent and dark side, occasionally I run across a more wholesome and softer story, and “Farewell, my childhood self” is among the best of this type of stories. It also serves as a charming nod to the site's earlier days, with a style that's somehow nostalgically old-fashioned while also being delightfully timeless at the same time. This is truly a story that will be enjoyed by generations to come. I give this story an 8/8.

Spoilers Below

Hello, I have been looking for some good Love & Dating storygames on this website, and I found this. I looked through the description, and thought that it would be most related to me. This reason will be announced later. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts:

Plot: 4/8
The plot was coherent and represented many twists and turns along the way. I found some of the endings to be quite cliche, but I may be wrong because I've only played into two endings. Sophia in the story dies in a hospital at some point, but there was also one where they got married? There was no time gap between the hospital call and the marriage scene. The pacing makes me very confused; I can't tell which pages are real and which pages are dreams! Pacing was very slow and I got bored. Even though this is a featured storygame, there are still things to improve!

Characters: 7/8
Despite the slow pacing of the plot, the author really put in some character development into the story. The good writing really showed a real connection between the protagonist and Sophia. Even though they are the only characters to talk about, This section of the story is almost perfect. The protagonists' dreams and the dialogue really showed both parties' desire to be together forever. Great job on showing the connection between the characters!

Grammar: 6/8
The grammar is probably how the Characters section got such a high rating. The appeal of the reader to the senses of smell and touch really makes you imagine all the scenes in the storygame. However, the smell of 'mint cinnamon' is repetitive around the storygame. Would use different imagery for higher engagement. There are a few minor grammatical errors, but nothing too alarming about them.

Gameplay: 8/8
Again, I wonder how many endings this storygame can possibly have. There are so many options to choose from throughout the storygame, and i feel like I am heading towards a certain ending on every click. Even though I only experienced two endings, the possibilities are endless! Also, the art on each page makes you really imagine the scene. Really helps with the imagery used throughout the storygame. The art alone just shows how much effort the author put into this storygame.

Overall, I am relieved to finally leave a good comment. I've commented on a few bad storygames in the past, but this is my first good review. The connection between the Protagonist and Sophia is great, the imagery used is great, especially with the art, and the possibilities are endless! Would be better if the pacing of the plot wasn't so slow, but is overall good.

Final Rating: 5/8

Oh man. This was so much nicer to read after that last storygame I just read. (Don't bother looking, it's trash) I really like the way the story was written in flashes of memory, and yet still incorporates everything a good and complete storygame requires.

The writing was very elegant and had a nice flow to it. It rose and fell, each time dragging me in even more until I had to play every path, click every link, and read every word until I had read it all. I did exactly that. It was so effortlessly sad, because it was written in such a way that no other story could meet this natural level of set mood.

It was the perfect length for the writing and the mood so that it lasted and only got stronger near the end. The characters were developed nicely, and were introduced quite impressively. There is an evident plot, even though it was written in such a broken way, and it still felt smooth and effortless. This is still one of my favorite storygames on the site and I hope you can return and create more works of art.

There was no obvious grammar and spelling mistakes, and this wouldn't have take away from the overall rating at all. It was a good use of pictures, but not everyone enjoys the animation style, but still, very good job. 8/8

TEARJERKER
SO SAD NO MATTER WHAT I CHOOSE
BUT JUST CLICK ON THIS.
No grammar errors(coming from a straight A- English student )
It's one of the best I've seen, its so realistic like I relate with the guy and all...
I love it
9.8/10 (cause there's a saying nothing is perfect..)

- Leanne
SHOUT OUT TO LEXI

So sad. I honestly don't really wanna know how you came up with this. But one question, and I would kinda like it if you answered it in a comment: What illness did Sophia have? And how do you get the ending where they get married?

I LOVE THIS YOU SHOULD DO ONE WITH THERE KIDS!!!!!!!!!!

One of my Favourites. Absolutely Perfect

Ok