Reviewing a kinetic novel is a curious thing. There's no gameplay to discuss or criticize, and there aren't any mechanics to discuss. What you have is a story. The good news is while Witch on the Holy Night is a prequel to Lunar Legend Tsukihime, you don't need any prior knowledge of that visual novel to enjoy Witch on the Holy Night. Which might be for the best; I'd hate to think of how much more complicated things would get if we had to explain the various types of vampires on top of everything else.

Aoko Aozaki is a witch living in a mansion overlooking Misaki City. Learning magic from the enigmatic Alice Kuonji, she spends her days as the student council president in her high school while spending her nights fending off the puppets of a mysterious assailant. Her days at school are complicated when Soujyuro, a transfer student from a very remote part of the country, joins her class—and further complicated when Soujyuro catches Aoko using magic...

The cast is colorful, with Aoko coming off as fascinating. While not quite the cool, sassy witch she grows into, she still has a sardonic streak even when she makes rookies mistakes with her spells. Her relationship with Alice is a complicated “frenemy” relationship where the two clash over dinner while also studying magic together. Aoko's bristly personality towards her peers makes her something of a pariah, setting the stage for her tension with Soujyuro. Soujyuro, having come from a town without electricity, is extremely innocent and obtuse in ways that drive Aoko up the wall. She can't even properly insult the guy without it sliding off of him. The early conflict comes from Aoko having to kill Soujyuro once he learns her secret abilities in magic. Still, much like in Tsukihime, the two find themselves having to help each other as Aoko finds herself embroiled in more significant battles against other mages.

It's a good story, with lots of great banter between characters and bits of cutting wit from Aoko. The worst part about it would be the narration. While the character dialogue feels natural for each character, the overarching narration feels clinical and belabored. This is par for the course with Nasu's writing. I can only surmise that the localization struggled long and hard to salvage what they could from the mathematical description of Aoko's petty grudges. Nasu's trademark piece-by-piece explanations of How Magic Works are also present, with breathless passages explaining Magic Circuits and incantations and their many complicated rules. Even in the world of Tsukihime, the many forms of magic would be perfectly fascinating if it weren't for their over-explanation.

And that's essentially where we're at; Witch on the Holy Night has few decisions as it progresses, so there's not much to do besides enjoy the story. Each intermission between chapters allows the player to read side-chapters that expand upon specific backstory incidents, like offering Soujyuro's perspective from when he sees Aoko using magic for the first time. These are thankfully optional for understanding the whole game, simply offering fascinating insight. Fortunately, while this is a kinetic novel, the visuals are no slouch. TYPE-MOON's traditional house style for its character design has gained sophistication as the years have gone by, and the game employs many eye-catching layering effects and animations to make its scenes come to life. While character models have only limited animation, it helps that they're not distracting from the text itself. Magic circles appear when magical blasts are shot, gates in the background open up as characters walk through them, and a character's face is reflected in soup as their expression darkens... it's good stuff, helped by the soundtrack. While much of the music is classical piano affairs like Gymnopédie No. 1, the incidental tracks are also pleasant.

I can imagine kinetic novels being a tough sell for most gamers, but for people who are fearless of text in their stories, Witch on the Holy Night has lots to offer. While Nasu's stiff, wordy narration might be a turn-off, the characters and their interactions more than redeem it, and the primary conflict is engrossing and moving. The visuals are simple but effective, and Aoko has a spectacular face-game. Fans of Melty Blood might enjoy seeing more of Aoko's adventures from her youth; anyone else who's never experienced the Tsukihime-world could stand to pick this game up, too, if only because it's on sale.