When hearing romance game, many people might imagine works set in high school life. In the midst of that, “Happy Weekend” is very impressive in that it dare to use college life as its stage. Neither a child nor a working adult, possessing free time while also harboring anxiety about the future—human relationships and love patterns that can precisely be depicted because of such an exquisite age are carefully expressed. For people who felt “I want to enjoy a slightly more mature romance,” this setting alone should serve as a sufficiently enticing point.

The protagonist, Minato Yamabuki, is neither a person with special abilities nor living a dramatic life. He is a perfectly ordinary college student spending his days hanging out with friends, studying, working a part-time job, and sometimes experiencing romance. However, in those casual daily routines, you naturally empathize with his figure as he pauses to ask “Is it fine to stay like this?” and tries to re-examine himself. The story is not interesting because some major incident occurs; rather, the stance of a young man trying to move forward step by step gives a warm charm to the entire work.

What remains particularly impressive in this work is that the beginning of romance is by no means exaggerated. In the flow where acting with just a little courage or a chance encounter leads to a new relationship, there is a mysterious sense of reality. The feeling that everyone has thought at least once, “What if I made a different choice back then?”, is sprinkled throughout the story, making the player themselves feel as though taking a new step alongside the protagonist. Developments where casual daily life gradually takes on color allow you to savor a comfortable sense of excitement different from flashiness.

The heroines appearing before the protagonist each live in different positions and environments. Interaction with a caring underclassman has a youthfulness typical of student life, while a mature atmosphere drifts around the relationship with an older woman met at a mixer. Furthermore, the process of closing distance with a regular customer met at a part-time job, or a reunion with a childhood friend where complex feelings are held precisely because of being old acquaintances—the story with each person carries entirely different colorings. Because even within the same romance, the way it begins and the relationship are different, being able to savor a fresh feeling in each route is the charm of this work.

While the age of being a college student is free and fun, on the other hand, it is also a time where various emotions such as path after graduation, expectations toward the future, and anxiety are mixed together. This work holds great charm in depicting such emotional sways not just limited to romance, but as choices of life itself. Impatience and hope felt precisely right before becoming a working adult, and the preciousness of time that can only be savored right now, naturally melt into the entire story, allowing you to enjoy a calm atmosphere slightly different from youth works. Older players in particular might experience many scenes where they nostalgia-inducingly feel, “There was a time like this.”