"Wasn't I doing this yesterday? Wait, or was it the day before?"

One winter morning, in one of the rooms of a snow covered inn, Minoru Sazakusa wakes up in bed and mutters something during his mind's absence about how his current situation sub-conciously reminds him of a recent PC software he just bought.

Well, that short scene from Snow Drop (Sweet Basil - Peach Princess, 2002) was the first time I ever heard of Little My Maid, which, surprisingly, became somewhat the talk of my local bishoujo gaming community in the years 2003-2004. How a game which dated way back in 1999 became so highly anticipated and took such a long time to be translated was beyond my understanding that time. But after I got hold of the game and played it for myself, I guess what's been happening until now does make sense.

You play as Ohji Kamogawa. A miserable guy who's life somewhat falls into a downward spiral ever since his failure in the university entrance exam. Then his girlfriend dumps him, his family hates him, then he loses his will to live and wanders to the beach in hopes he can muster enough courage to commit suicide. Okay, that exaggerates things a bit. But it's basically like that.

Then he helps a maid who happens to be in need, who asks him to accompany her back to the mansion where she usually works. Thus, his short stay in this ethereal mansion begins. Get the drift?

There will be three other maids aside from the one you helped and one mistress. All of them will offer themselves to heal the wounds in your heart (this is an adult game, so of course you know what I mean!).

The game itself was based on the legend of Urashima Taro, a popular fairy tale in Japan. The writers put some nice effort in connecting it with the original game, thus ties up all loose ends that somewhat makes some sense in the end. But how good the storyline is basically does go back to the gamer's taste. It's difficult to state how good it exactly is due to the many possibilities of the outcome you might find.

The game itself is short. but complex at the same time. So many things could possibly happen during your first three day visit. Depending on your choices, the game can go from being light-hearted and mood-warming to become much dark and depressive. The change itself is so drastic you'll end up wondering if you're really playing the same game!

Each person has somewhat mood gauges which indicate their affections towards you which, unlike in Gibo, prove not to be useless. How you fill these gauges with every interaction with each girl really does decide what happens to you next! There are seemingly countless endings which result from how you fill these gauges. So many combinations, you'll understand why the game's translation process took so long!

Talking about graphics, for game made back in 1999, we have to admit the graphics are cute. The characters eyelids are animated, thus add some more cuteness. There are tons of CG to be revealed, and there are many CGs which are used repeatedly from one event to another, thus making it hell to completely unlock all CGs. Overall, I found the graphics quite satisfying, though not close to what I might call great.

Sound? Well, this is where the game shines. The music is not magnificent or anything, but it does fit perfectly with the game's atmosphere. it fits so well you won't even realize it! The voice acting was magnificent. Trust me, everyone has this magical kind of misty voice which you won't forget any time soon.

Well, I guess that's all. The game may no longer be appealing for most gamers by now. But for those who understand, it really is quite a classic.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/14/05