Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Review | Nintendo Insider (2025)

Tsukihime was the first release from the now-acclaimed studio Type-Moon. While they’re best known for the FATE franchise now, Tsukihime always had a passionate audience worldwide despite never receiving an official localization. This year was the first I decided to actually give their works a shot after it being a blind spot for me, and I decided my first foray into their body of work would be the now officially localized Tsukihime remake, titled Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-.

After an accident leaves Shiki Tohno with the ability to see Lines of Death on every single living thing and object. He quickly finds out how fragile everything around him is, able to cut through the lines on things in his hospital room with ease. A woman arrives to set him on the right path with a pair of glasses to suppress this, and give this boy a chance at a normal life. He’s sent away and disowned from his prestigious family, left to grow up living a pretty standard life despite his new disability.

Years later, when his father passes away, his little sister (now head of the family) invites him back to the foreboding Tohno manor. What seems as a fascinating setup over a peculiar and suspicious rich family springboards into a conflict about a long-running conflict between vampires and The Church. Tsukihime exists in a larger universe where all kinds of magical beings exist alongside each other. You don’t need to read anything else in that to understand what is happening here, but I bring this up to highlight that you’re not getting a grounded story with this game. The Tohno family has their own skeletons in their closet, so much so that it’ll be the focus of the next part of the Tsukihime remake project.

I really respect how Tsukihime brings you into its world. Looking at the game in its entirety, it whips you back and forth between all kinds of subject matter, tone switches, emotions, and extreme setpieces over its 40-50 hour run time. It shows a strong confidence to keep things slow in the beginning, with plenty of moments of quiet contemplation. Shiki’s first few days in the Tohno manor allow us to get to know him, but more importantly Kinoko Nasu’s brilliant prose. Shiki has anemia as a result of the accident, so even living a normal life can be a challenge. Just hearing his internal narration on how a character like this views the world around him and life itself is just beyond engrossing. He’s a well-meaning person who simply wants to live a quiet life without stepping on too many toes.

Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Review | Nintendo Insider (1)

All of that changes when he finds a dark side of him awakened one day. When walking home from school he comes across a woman with an aura he’s never seen before. He immediately gets a craving to murder her, and we then have to see him taken over by these urges to follow her back to her apartment and cut her into several pieces. It’s visceral, gory, and completely out of nowhere. The way this hits you just feels perfect in delivering the weight it deserves, with Shiki just stunned at what came over him and how to process it. There were plenty of moments foreshadowing Tsukihime’s abyss of darkness, but seeing our own protagonist be the inciting incident is tremendously effective. Tsukihime shines when it delves into horror and shock, with writing that allows these moments to hit like a freight train.

It’s probably a good thing that the woman he “murdered” happened to be an extremely powerful vampire named Arcueid. Shiki’s outburst interrupted her mission and left her in a weakened state. She takes an interest in him and demands he work with her to hunt down a vampire serial killer in his town. From there Shiki learns all about a part of the world normal people would have no idea about, the lore of Vampires, and even more about his strange power.

This part of the Remake adapts two of Tsukihime’s routes: Moon Princess and Midnight Rainbow. These are heroine routes for Arcueid and Ciel respectively. From what I gather Arc’s is pretty faithful to the original game, but Ciel’s is almost all new content (which likely is why it took so long for this game to release after its original announcement). Ciel’s route is an absolute behemoth of a visual novel, and definitely feels about twice the length of Arc’s.

Progression in Tsukihime is pretty straightforward for a visual novel, with dialogue choices littered through each chapter and hidden end flags being triggered depending on what you pick. There are three definitive endings in total and a large amount of bad endings you find throughout. I never had too much of an issue making it to the True Ending though, thanks to a fun series of non-canon gimmick scenes called “Teach Me, Miss Ciel!” after every bad end. These break the fourth wall entirely and have Ciel speak with an exaggerated chibi version of Arcueid called Neco Arc about what the player just experienced and how to avoid it going forward. They’re all really charming, showcasing just how funny Tsukihime can be when it wants to.

Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Review | Nintendo Insider (2)

While Tsukihime starts slow, and will often enjoy slowing down to indulge in explaining its complicated world, the battle scenes sprinkled throughout keep things truly exciting. With Shiki’s urges comes an almost inhuman ability to precisely kill anyone in front of him, and he’ll find this useful for vampire hunting. If it wasn’t clear from earlier parts of this review, Tsukihime is not for the faint of heart. The fight scenes can get pretty graphic, and I’d say if you aren’t already a visual novel connoisseur only play this if you have a strong stomach for violence and gore.

Accompanying all of this are some of the best visuals I’ve seen in a visual novel, so much so that it truly feels like possibly the first “AAA visual novel” ever made. While I don’t play gacha, I can only assume this is funded primarily by Fate/Grand Order. Fair enough. When things really get serious it almost feels like you’re watching a high-budget anime play out, but with just enough restraint in its animation to not go overboard. There’s a balance struck between having the animation look gorgeous but still seeming stylistically in line with being a visual novel, all without never looking cheap. Battle scenes are fast, with the exhilarating pacing keeping us as tense as Shiki usually is. The soundtrack swells at just the perfect moments to lead to so many wonderfully hype moments.

This extends to just how many gorgeous CGs and backgrounds there are, the art team really outdid themselves to not have the game feel so static. There are some locations you’ll visit regularly, but there’s so much unique art you’ll see throughout that it keeps the story unpredictable. Whether it’s to excite or unnerve you, Tsukihime’s art design is always firing on all cylinders.

In addition to featuring many exhilarating action scenes, Tsukihime is at its best developing relationships between its main three characters. Each of the girl’s routes have to do with Shiki developing romantic feelings for both, but I’m genuinely surprised to see how both have distinct dynamics. I personally prefer Shiki’s relationship with Arcueid, but Ciel pleasantly surprised me with a late game twist that completely recontextualizes why she bothers so much with Shiki to begin with.

Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Review | Nintendo Insider (3)

Outside of the main three, the supporting cast all spice up the story in their own unique ways. There weren’t any weak links to speak of, even the unlikeable characters have a charisma to them that makes every scene they’re in better. The remake has a handful of new characters to spice up the story, with my absolute favorite being a mysterious man named Goto Saiki who basically only exists to be abrasive to Shiki in his own home. When this character shows up it almost feels like he’s speaking directly to the player, toying with them for being just a bit too curious. Tsukihime’s cast are a complicated and entertaining lot, all with unique voices and personalities.

Nasu’s prose overall is what makes every single disparate element of this game come together. I could listen to this man describe apartments for hours, and would probably get a shockingly accurate depiction of the lives of the people who live in all of them. The man just has a way with words, and can vividly depict the world in all of its extremities and nuances. Even seeing cast members narrate their thoughts is just fascinating in a way I can rarely say for other games. He’s a fantastic writer, but equally important for this particular release is that the translator was as well.

While I love Tsukihime’s entire cast, Shiki’s story is what really made me consider this one of my new favorite visual novels. He’s a really fascinating character to me, but might not land for others who aren’t as interested in these kinds of protagonists. Ever since getting into visual novels I’ve always been fond of the Messed Up Little Guy protagonist (within reason) and he’s probably one of the best of these I’ve seen. Having this power that lets him see the seams on every The crux of the entire story is if Shiki is allowed to even be considered a good person with these kinds of horrible thoughts in his head.

It’s hard to love a character like Shiki without acknowledging some kind of darkness in yourself. Accepting him is accepting vulnerability. He’s every intrusive thought you’ve ever had. Every failure. He’s that time you hurt your significant other and couldn’t take it back. He’s all the worst aspects of yourself that you never want to admit exists. He’s the reminder that even if you yearn for a happy ending more than anything else, sometimes that’s not what you get. Life will go on though, as long as you persist in this horrible world.

Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Review | Nintendo Insider (4)

But he’s also your hope that you can be more than the parts that you’re not proud of. That you can salvage whatever happiness you can get from the debris of another horrible tragedy that defines you. Finding room to love yourself even with your flaws, to try and continue to improve yourself even when it feels your sins are too heavy to bear. That you can love yourself, and learn how to find it in yourself to love another. There’s a lot of relatable parts to Shiki thematically in this version of the story, and you can tell that writing him must have been cathartic for Nasu.

Tsukihime is the kind of story that just seems made for me. Every line feels utilized to accomplish its goals. The combination of serious drama, detailed battle shonen fight scenes, and genuine horror make for a story that beats entirely to its own drum. There is simply so much to pick apart here, with so much budget backing it up. After a few more months delving into Type Moon’s catalogue, I’m really impressed that their studio seems largely committed to crafting art that feels indie in feel but prestige in budget.

Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- is easily the best-looking visual novel I’ve ever seen, and I’m excited to see where they go next with the second part of the remake. Even if that takes ages, or somehow never sees the light of day, I still view this part of the remake as a perfect experience. I tend to love the works that contrast the horrors of existence and the evils of man with the small moments of genuine bliss, and Tsukihime gets that. That we can make time to appreciate the gentle kindness hidden around us as long as we look for it. It was probably the most life-affirming piece of art I got to experience in such a mentally exhausting year for me.

Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review copy provided by Aniplex

Cullen Black

10/10

Total Score

Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- Review | Nintendo Insider (2025)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Tish Haag

Last Updated:

Views: 5613

Rating: 4.7 / 5 (67 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Tish Haag

Birthday: 1999-11-18

Address: 30256 Tara Expressway, Kutchburgh, VT 92892-0078

Phone: +4215847628708

Job: Internal Consulting Engineer

Hobby: Roller skating, Roller skating, Kayaking, Flying, Graffiti, Ghost hunting, scrapbook

Introduction: My name is Tish Haag, I am a excited, delightful, curious, beautiful, agreeable, enchanting, fancy person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.