Meiji Katsugeki Haikara Ryuuseigumi - Review

May I offer you a historical SoL otome in these trying times?

  Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/haikara/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v25910

Release date: 24-09-20.

 

Okay since I couldn't find anything else I wanted to play yet

and wanted an otome that could last me a while I decided to get this. 

I knew that it is long and seeing as its by Ichi-column...

the nagaikara jokes were real... it took me a full month to finish.

Tho to be honest the game was kinda nice... as a backburner. 

 

Since this game's title is long I shall simply be calling it Haikara.

I'm not sure how to translate it tbh; its subtitle suggests its about a group of vigilantes

under the cover of darkness we'll punish you! or something like that.

The common route is massive in length and its prolly one of the longest i've ever sat through.

Haikara, Nagaikara... do you get it now? 

 

Disclaimer: This is purely my own opinion and it could be different from yours

this is not meant to be some kind of all-truth, just an opinion that came from playing this.

If you don't like what you're reading then close the tab, move on and just idk play it yourself.

 

Pro's

 - Enjoyable SoL set in the Meiji Era.

- Great cast of characters including the protag.

- Catchy BGM fitting the time period. Art is top notch too. 

Grey Area

- Very long, occasionally leads to some pacing issues.

- UI may trip people up or feel clunky in design.

- Can be a bit too much of a soap opera esp in the end which was not my cup of tea. 

 

Con's

- Slow-paced, multiple plays can get redundant.

- Terrible text box design leading me to finally use transparancy options.

- Despite many choices there aren't any bad ends and only a best&good end

of which the good end may be very subjective. 

 

 

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Basic plot outline: Kei just lives her life as usual wondering about her

father till one day she is invited to one of those western styled balls.

There someone approached her and told her she knew the truth

behind her father death before disappearing like tuxedo mask.

This causes her to slowly investigate and get her friends involved

some of which had closer connections to things.

Warning: Haikara is an incredibly slow-paced and Slice of Life focused otome game

so even this outline took a while to happen, if you lack patience and dislike

old timey SoL with agegaps this otome game is not for you! 

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 The heroine; Kei is a hardworking girl just going through life, she's not

perfect and this is the meiji era nor is she capable of anything special.

So I think Kei was fine for the time period.

I do think she deserved a sprite but she had a lot of presence

in CG's especially groups to make up  for the lack of one.

Kei is pretty proactive and tends to run all over town to investigate by herself

and in that sense she doesn't need a man... but she can't do everything alone.

Kei can seem noisy and that's exactly how she gets herself into trouble.

She's not a bad heroine, maybe better than most but there's

a lot of baggage that people kept from her.

If she didn't investigate on her own I doubt she would have learned the real truth.

In some routes she never finds all of it out but that makes it rewarding

to do other routes, atleast some explained it better.

 

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Art generally looked good and the OP and BGM suited the time period.

The backgrounds were also great as was the sprite work.😊

Seiyuu wise I wasn't too familiar with this cast with the exception

of IshiKai and EnoJun the rest were all pretty unknown to me...

 

Gameplay wise its a standard VN with some map movement

there doesn't seem to be much to that so it was pretty standard.

From your second play onwards the map selection in ch1-4 can be skipped too.

The game had a very long common route, even longer than Enchante.

 During map sections you frequently had to gather information.

This by itself was okay not everyone knew everything about a specific keyword

but if you asked the right people then you got gold.

It might be redundant to some but most of these segments never lasted that long.

Its not like you had to talk to 10 NPC's who had absolutely nothing of note to say.

However by the end of the game I think some of the LI should

have been more honest especially Ginn and Ken. 

There were a few timed choices but I wondered why because since no matter what

happened it will always play out the same way. I tested this in a specific segment even.

Maybe doing x instead of y increased affection but that could be done more effectively.

---

It took me 16 hours to finish the common route and Hisashi's route

added to that made me clock out of my first play at 25 hours.  💀💀💀

There were no random bad ends and each route only has two endings

which for the amount of choices felt weird to me.

Fully completing the game took me 77 hours. 

 

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The UI certainly knew how to mess with my brain...😅💀

The text box colour could be better too but the fond size was okay.

Thankfully there was a window transparency setting!

Haikara is the only game where I used that setting, it makes the background

of the text box invisible. Making reading much more pleasant.😌

No other otome in recent years has made me use it.😱

The auto mode took getting used too I remember having to mess

with the settings so it doesn't skip over voices, you want it at 1 or 2.

Wew... this otome sure had the system woes but once it was settled it was good.

I can see why the UI could get on peoples nerves but once I adjusted it was gucchi. 

I liked that the CG gallery was based on hanafuda cards but honestly

it was a tad too stimulating so I had a hard time looking at it.

---

 

Language difficulty felt like it was intermediate maybe leaning to advanced.

Not easy but also not really that hard.

So its best for those who got a solid grasp on the language.

 

I doubt this game will ever get localized... honestly I think there are better picks.

Like Crazy Chain and Trouble Magia for example.

Most people will prolly just tune out here unless they wanted some chill

meiji era SoL drama or are super interested in a specific character or seiyuu.

 

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Overall this was just fine, nothing stellar but also not awful.

 Good as a backburner when not sure what to play but still want to engage with something!

To be blunt, this VN was too long for its own good and could have been

written more effectively, if done so it would likely be better than whatever this was. 

I generally like old timey japan settings despite some stuff  it was aight😌

especially after a rather... wild otome game that I recently did finish.

SoL + a bit of comedy and a mystery in the meiji era? that part was great.

The early hours did feel like it was OlySoi due its protag just trying her best

but without racism while being more upbeat in tone.  Not to say there wasn't

any sad or dumb stuff but I wasn't going aww man this island sucks due its stupid rules.

Most of the problems felt in line with the time period but what I liked the most

is how the threads all connected by the final route. 

Unfortunately I expected slightly more of the Ryuuseigumi segments

so I was disappointed that... 90% of the game was all talk, barely any action.

I also kinda started disliking some LI's since while they're likely protecting Kei

they are also just... irresponsible and ultimately a lot of the drama

could be avoided had they just come clean and be honest. 

There were parts I almost just completely tuned out due to too much useless dialogue.

The thing that kept me coming back? Hisashi. Oh my goodness like a silver lining!

he's like Sharaku so if you liked him then you might like Hisashi as well... maybe. 😂

Well not only that but the chara interactions were definitely a highlight

that made me push through the more boring moments.

Narrative wise I don't think Hisashi's route held up to others but outside

of his own he still shines. My favorite routes were Ginn and Fuuka, I didn't like

Ken that much however he has his own way of doing this and in that he shines. 

Tokujirou was nearly ruined for me at the end of Ginn route... real homewrecker.💀

At the same time he also quickly redeemed himself, amazing.

None of the LI's were bad they're all sweethearts in their own way and all have flaws.

I think my favorite chara's was Fuuka followed by Hisashi. 

--- 

The character relationships were still surprisingly good?! maybe its cuz I didn't

expect anything and I didn't hear much good about this game.

They all had pretty distinct personalities too.👍

I don't think Haikara is outstanding but it wasn't that bad except the default settings.💀

 The good points made it worth the purchase but... tbh? too slow for me.😅

I think I would have liked it more had it had found more balance with its overall narrative

because as it stands this isn't Meiji-Era Hakuoki this is a SoL simulator. 

There were barely any bad ends which I found odd, especially with the amount of choices.

There were only two endings and both were good, idk if there were fail ends but the guide listed none. 

It certainly is an otome like no other but it managed to padd itself out quite a bit

which detracts some points from my rating. Despite that its a good refuge from more

extreme tropes and made me love the more normal parts of the genre.

Therefore I cannot dislike this otome that much but I do think that

the lucky princess and the tragic knights is a better pick.

6.7/10 

 

TL;DR I generally had a good time with this game despite it being a slow SoL.

The group dynamic was great,  if there was a LI I was shipping Kei with right of the bat

then it was Hisashi. Their chemistry was great. Fuuka would be the runner-up in this regard.

Other LI's like Ginn or Ken were kinda just there for me. Initially nothing about

Tokijirirou sold me except his sexy ass ryuuseigumi design. 😅

The only thing that saves his route to me is the trope but i'd rather ship Kei with Hisashi. 

The story was really slow tho and it could do with better pacing, if you keep in mind

the characters are ordinary people it makes sense why it is the way it is.

Most of the time they're just going about their day while dealing with issues.

Certain things do make sense but... none of it was executed well. 

In the end it always felt like some soap opera?! not really my thing

but I enjoyed learning more about every LI and how it connects. 

Its neat but I didn't find this work exceptional except some of the character writing.

 

 I won't recommend Haikara to the general audience, I get the feeling most

will just find this boring but if you're all in for a SoL historical otome with volume

and a whiff of mystery then Haikara may be something to look into!

especially so if you like soap opera's.

Perhaps its better on a sale, then do atleast one route to see for yourself because

while I was doing so I already understood why its initial reception was less than stellar. 

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My play order:

Hisashi > Fuuka > Ken > Ginn > Tokujirou.

Only Tokujirou has a restrictions and this order seems to be the official recommended one.

As goes from least to most spoilers, I recommend to follow this same order.

Warning: If you start with Ginn and immediately do Tokujirou after it, most

of the routes will lose a bit of lustre with the exception of Fuuka.

 

Hisashi: Starter route; bare minimum of plot revelations.

Fuuka: Balanced route; however it contains a unique revelation regarding

a recurring villain so its best done after Hisashi or at its latest last.

Ken; Midgame route, full of half-truth's best before Ginn.

Ginn; This route contains massive plot revelations and leads into Toku.

Tokujirou: Locked behind Ginn and acts like a truth route.

 

Character rambles after the jump with some of  my fav CG's

I just wrote stuff of note and senile ramblings.

If you don't want any spoilers at all then don't read any further! 

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Sullyland ~Nursery Rhyme~ - Review

／人◕ ‿‿ ◕人＼

 Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: Switch.
Official Site:https://www.otomate.jp/sullyland/

VNDB:https://vndb.org/v59313

Release date: 1-10-26.

 

I guess we're playing mystery otome games now... well atleast with this game

I could sorta set my expectations due to the game covers. But NGL the QB bothered me.

Sullyland Nursery Rhyme seems like its a perfect pick if you enjoy getting seasonal!

 

Disclaimer: This is purely my own opinion and it could be different from yours

this is not meant to be some kind of all-truth, just an opinion that came from playing this.

If you don't like what you're reading then close the tab, move on and just idk play it yourself.

 

Pro's

- Interesting story and vibe that will keep you on edge. 

- Great group dynamic and character writing.

- Great art and fitting music.

 

Grey area

- Oldschool common route. Rather long. Repetitive structure.

- Contains sensitive contents, the severity may vary depending on the route.

 

Con's

- There was no need for that sheep movie more than once.

- Could be too SoL-ish if you expect more spooky stuff. 

 

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Art; its Miko, they did an excellent job as always. What's there to complain?

The after story CG's did look a bit... different but it was a cute style.

 Seiyuu cast is a mix of familiar voices and some new ones!

no one was an absolute fav but its always nice hearing IshiKai.

BGM was mostly pretty good, it had a few good jams and it suited the setting. 

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Sullyland is a mystery otome game with an eerie vibe but it was surprisingly sweet.

Ninomae Joe's the assistant director, the main one seems pretty new.

Basic plot: Prepare for the festival and hang with your friends by day

and be forced to play unsettling games at night, courtesy of a QB.

In doing so everyone reclaims or faces? their memories.

 Most routes focus on the LI's problem without the games, there are signs of a greater whole

but much like other otome games this isn't really touched upon till the final route(s). 

 

Heroine; Amane  is pretty decent, thoughtful and speaks her mind.

I can't see much wrong with her. She carries or navigates herself thru situations very well.

Her past however seems to be buried and after the initial two routes you can see

some truths slowly start to leak out but none of it made sense yet. (But why tho?) 

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System: It has some point and click minigames but other than that its mostly a straight-forward VN. 

While the ones in the common route can be a hassle, the ones during the routes

were mostly simple stuff where you examine objects in the room.

If there's any minigame I liked in particular it would be the escape room

and the one in chapter 4 of Ryokuha's route, that was nicely done.

It felt a bit experimental and they could have definitely done more with it.

There's a normal and a easy mode with hints. As well as ''scenario'' which skips it...

I didn't have any issues with it but I understand why some people

may not want to bother so its a good thing there is a scenario mode.

While the common route has fail ends this game has not many random bad ends. 

Each character has three endings Catharsis, Lunatic and nightmare with the latter two

being considered bad outcomes. Ryokuha is an exception and has no nightmare ending. 

 

The language difficulty is definitely intermediate, there were moments

you had to input japanese text to answer things. It should be accessible to learners. 

 

Sullyland is a long game, it took me 55-60 hours to clear all routes.

 A mystery doesn't need to be long but I did enjoy spending more time

with everyone and this was more descriptive than MiraMys ever was.

Common route took me 8ish hours maybe? that was done across two days

and I play casually with breaks, I didn't lose sleep over this.

 The routes were about 8-9 hours as well. Fast readers finish quicker of course

but it felt it had the same volume as Crazy Chain.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Overall it is interesting but... it may not be for everyone

particularly those who are looking for edge over sweetness.

That aside I still think it is a good pick for if you're in the mood for

something with a highschool setting that has an eerie vibe. 

Ninomae Joe may have rediscovered his childhood friends phase...

can't be a coincidence both his recent games have an entire cast of them.💀 

It has this small town in its setting where its not unusual people

just knew eachother. I did think its a bit convenient.😅 

The early hours felt like a class reunion of a bunch of people who hadn't gotten

together in a while. I didn't feel a particular strong attraction to most except Tera or Shiima.

Most LI's really seem normal... and then there is Neo.  

Neo's the only one that really made me think yea how about no. 😔

This was definitely a game with some stakes, if they didn't participate

in Shiro's game(s) and gather the memory pieces things looked pretty grim

but not all of it was that edgy. Shiro's games got on my nerves tho.😓

The lunatic or nightmare ends felt like classic stuff as far as yandere goes.

Some LI's weren't that much of a yandere which for me is a relief, as the trope is repetitive. 

It felt like they decided to combine fact and dark from over requiemz into

one thing with the catharsis ending being the best outcome.

Sullyland's full potential isn't seen till you get to Shiima and Ryokuha's route.  

Imma be blunt: The common route was rather oldschool, there was a pattern.

 It did add quality time between MC and the characters, there was foreshadowing for

their route.  Its Reminiscent of Enchante's common route due to pace and length.

Parts of the past become more clear as it went on, an interesting ride to say the least.

The first time they got a crystal back I was like, that's cute but this can't be all right.

Ofc it wasn't. Due to the pattern I got tired and at times tuned out. Nothing a break can fix.

Most of the times I tuned out were during slow investigation scenes. 

I am glad its more descriptive so it doesn't feel like its over in the blink of an eye.

I actually got to see most of what I wanted as well as some shit without

wondering if it could have gone differently, its a well-rounded work!

--- 

I will say I did think Sullyland would be edgier but it felt rather normal. 

Those hoping for edge, it is definitely there but it takes time to cook, the entire route.

 I mean there's definitely horrific details in here but they will be revealed at the right time.♥ 

Felt it was intended like I definitely fell for Tera over the course of my first play

and I would forgive any sins that could happen. 😅 Tera's route did feel weak in terms

of overall plot  but its backed up by his development that I was reminded of Riku from OlySoi.

Kiseki was a surprise for me, I didn't think I'd even like him and his route fit in better thematically

unfortunately I could not enjoy Kiseki's bad ends as I lack the chain fetish for it.😔

My feelings for Neo can barely be put into written form, its like math lady.gif 

Shiima rose to best boy status faster than a rocket could launch.♥ 

Ryo is great but... his route was a bit difficult, I loved his catharsis ending tho.

My fav's are 10/10's but overall the game fell into an 8.7/10. 

My complaints range from there being too much of a pattern and repetition

but eh the vibes, general narrative & individual struggles were still strong.

I'd say this was as enjoyable as TengoStray, atleast for me. both games

got the same issue of saving a lot of the important narrative for later.

    Sullyland is an otome game before anything else, it does have edge and

eerie vibes but tbh If you come here for only horror you may be disappointed. 

It leans more into psycho horror. 

Feels like I rambled enough already but it was a long game... so allowed. 

- 

Therefore I recommend Sullyland to those who like a well-cooked

character driven mystery with a good dose of sweetness!

It may not be for you if you prefer shorter to the point stories.

 

 ----

Sullyland will likely be localized, I see no reason why it can't and next

to crazy chain i'd say there's not much competition besides unlogical maybe.

There aren't much contents to worry about but there are definitely some horrors to uncover.

If it isn't its likely due some contents in the lunatic/nightmare ends but other than that... why not?!

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Recommended route order:

Tera / Kiseki > Neo > Shiima > Ryokuha.

This game has a highly restrictive order and only has Tera and Kiseki initially available.

Its okay to interchange Tera and Kiseki as you like since the rest is so forced as it is.

 

Kiseki: Fits the overall theme better than Tera, keeps the eerie feel throughout.

Tera: Slowburn and softer route mostly focused on his personal problems.

Neo: Unlocks after Kiseki and Tera.

Shiima: Unlocks from Neo.

Ryokuha: Needs Shiima so there's no choice here but last.

 

My play order: Tera > Kiseki > Neo > Shiima > Ryo. 

 

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Character rambles + some of my fav CG's after the jump so if you don't

want spoilers of any kind then stop reading here, thanks.

Its just incoherent grandma rambles and it gets worse the more routes I do. 💀

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Le Mirage Mystique - Review

They had me in the first half NGL...

Developer/publisher: Licobits.

Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/mirage/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v58562

Release date: 17-9-26.

 

Alright since no other otome interested me besides Sullyland I decided

to get this anyways. Since there aren't any games I felt like I should play.

 

Disclaimer: This is purely my own opinion and it could be different from yours

this is not meant to be some kind of all-truth, just an opinion that came from playing this.

If you don't like what you're reading then close the tab, move on and just idk play it yourself.

 

Plot: In the early 19's Aria Laprade receives an invitation to the island Mirage

which is like the last paradise on earth. It only appears during certain periods.

She meets various people and how the plot develops varies heavily depending on

the route. Generally it involves gathering a bunch of mysterious books. 

 

Pro's

- Setting and Characters.

- The story was in most routes interesting suiting the LI. 

- Gorgeous art and fitting music.

 

Grey area.

- Can feel a bit all over the place. 

 

Con's

- Some routes have potential for more bad ends than there actually are.

- The last 20-30 minutes of Evan's route.

- Can be very short if you're a fast reader and don't take your time. 

 

 

Heroine:

Aria Laprade is an honest to good girl, I admire her courage to investigate on her own!

other than that when she first arrived on the island she striked me as what huh?! image related.

This specifically applies to the ending of Evan route as well.

I mean if I was her I too would have several question marked upon being invited to the island. 

I'd say she's fine, I wish she had a sprite in the corner though.

I would give her the you tried award since, while she isn't physically strong she is mentally

but she is rather meek. She often needs protection. I think that is fine but when I look at

the setting I expected more, she doesn't compare to Mavis but when she slayed she slay'd.

She's capable of taking the lead and be curious but the narrative didn't allow for much more.

Its pretty inconsistent how she developed which depended on the route. 

Leon was right about one thing and she really should be a little bit more selfish. 

 

Art is gorgeous as always, BGM was pleasant but not many wowed me.

I particularly liked the track at the start of Jack's route!

The OP movie is great, though there were a few times I skipped it upon startup.

 

System wise its a standard VN however there is no correct choice indicator aka love catch.

From my first demo play I actually landed on Rudy's route.

I decided to redo and I landed on Charles. I could sorta figure which

choice let to this... and I messed around again and finally triggered Jack.

Honestly it felt rather random in how a route triggered, the LI would suddenly speak up

and things branched off into their route. I didn't experiment further and just went with Jack.

Honestly speaking without a guide its difficult to go for who you want

but in this game it is kinda rewarding to figure out the path on your own. 

Massive respect for guide makers for this game or any without ''love catch'' systems.

A guide is still recommended for a smooth experience of the story. 

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Overall I found the ''plot'' to be all over the place and depending on which

starter route you land on your experience will be different.

It is a mystery oriented otome game and each routes tackles different subjects

suited to the LI's and they all had different things going on. It all does tie into

the overall plot in their own way so I found it rewarding to keep at it.

Early routes don't reveal too much which is fine, with most I was satisfied for what it offered. 

Just doing one route makes this game rather short but fully completing it takes around 35 hours.

The chapter length reminded me of OlySoi and each LI had 8 chapters in total.

Nothing felt like it dragged and I wanted to keep playing like I had some sort of addiction.

My first play was around 8 hours. So its not that long and I thought it was paced well.

I think if you're a fast reader it may be even shorter... so mine is just an average. 

I let the voices play and generally had a normal pace while digesting incoming info. 

There aren't a lot of bad ends either each route had only two endings which I thought

was disappointing, some routes do have game over ends but not all of them.

As its a plot-oriented otome, the romance developed alongside it which was okay.

At most I'd describe the romance as cute. Some routes had it better than others

which is similar to most Licobits titles. In terms of LI's Rudy's the biggest surprise!

didn't expect to like him as much as I did. Charles reminded me of Ikki from Amnesia

for some reason but no one was that awful. I'd say Jack had a good route...

if you don't know anything but Rudy topped it easily.😍

Evan's route started alright its here the story slowly shows its full potential but...

it shat in its own pants in the last 20-30 minutes, it just crashed and burned.😞

I won't burn this otome at the stake for it  but it did prevent me from rating it highly.

I'd prolly give it 3.5 stars on amazon.

As someone that liked him I am going  to be a little selfish and let it affect my rating! 

7.3/10 

TL;DR I'd say it was pretty good but I found it rough around the edges.

The good part was that I couldn't help but come back for more and explore

other angles even if one of those angles was to be desired, not gonna lie

it felt like there was a lot of favoritism/narrative bias.😒

 

 

IDK if this game will get localized but I figure it will have a different name

because whenever I looked it up I get stuff about perfume or hotel/cafe's.💀

It probably has a decent chance but I can't be certain. 

 

The JP language level is intermediate, due to high amount of monologues

and unvoiced text I can't recommend it for beginners. It should be fine

for anyone with a solid grasp and want to test out their japanese. 

 

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My Play Order:

Jack >Rudy >Charles> Evan > Leon.

 

Recommended order:

Charles > Jack / Rudy > Evan > Leon.

The first three routes have no restrictions and I don't think it matters too much

but I think if you did Rudy too soon it may turn into a bottleneck.

 

Charles: Starts out light and flimsy but has surprising depth to it.

Jack: This route is very mystery oriented with some heavy undertones

but it doesn't go too deep into anything so its alright as a starter.

Rudy: Rudy's good for when you want to better understand what is going on.

Despite exposition dumps I found it surprisingly well-rounded in terms of plot&romance.

Evan: Unlocks after the initial three routes.

Leon: Unlocks after Evan so no choice but to do him last.

 

Route babbles after the jump, there are spoilers so be warned!

so if you don't want any then stop reading here. Its just senile grandma rambles. 

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Le Mirage Mystique - Demo Review

 Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Licobits.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/mirage/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v58562

Release date: 16-07-2026(Demo) 17-9-26(Full game)

 

I didn't even realize Le Mirage Mystique got a demo till

I looked at the official site for more info and noticed there was one.

Honestly outside of the setting and goldie seiyuu cast this otome game

didn't quite catch my eye. So this demo was welcomed.

 

--- 

 

Le Mirage Mystique is a mystery driven otome game set in 1917.

The heroine Aria Laprade receives an invitation to an island.

What will she uncover there...? one thing is for sure

she meets a bunch of lovely young men there.😅

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 The art is lovely and the introduction movie was quite unique.

The background art stood out to me more than the character sprites. 💀

Sadly the heroine had no sprite maybe from another POV? but the demo

wasn't long enough for that to happen so I can't confirm this. 

Music was fitting for the setting, I had no complaints but it didn't exactly wow me.

The seiyuu cast of this game are all goldies and if you played a lot of otome

in the PSVita era you will definitely hear some familiar voices.

Le Mirage Mystique could be worth looking into if your favorite seiyuu is here.

System wise its pretty much a standard VN, which is fine.

The font was a bit tiny on default but this can be adjusted.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Storywise it seems interesting but it felt very slow-paced

and it took a while for even the heroine to find her bearings.

The presentation felt similar to Piofiore, they also loved to give it

this old movie vibe & switch POV. I wasn't sure if any of the

characters be it main or side could be trusted at all.

I don't think they were part of the mafia though... but some looked wealthy. 

Serge explained a bunch of facts to us about the island

but even then I could tell there was more to it.

Most of what the demo covered was dedicated to introduction

and there were quite a number of side characters.

Some of it was intriguing but it was nothing wild.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd probably recommend to play this blind even if only for the first play

and only use a guide if you don't know how to get the best end.

 --- 

In terms of language difficulty i'd say it was on the same level as Uchronia

so its probably better if you have a very solid grasp of the japanese language.

If you rely a lot on voiced lines or like to vibe on autoplay you will likely

be overwhelmed here because of unvoiced narration and monologues.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

TL;DR

Honestly I think it might be nice if you enjoy slower paced otome? the backgrounds

were lovely though but my investment into the LI's was quite low.

I tried to write about them after the jump but not much came of it... 

I think Evan interested me the most but that may be because Okamoto-san.

Evan's seiyuu really selling this game for me.😅

Other than that I suppose Leon did interest me too but I could smell

he was some kind of revelation route or something. Blame the OP.

I'd probably not recommend Le Mirage Mystique if you prefer fast paced otome

because everything told me this was going to be another slowburn.

Though if you enjoy that I recommend it by all means.

Maybe try the demo for a vibe check if you still can't decide!

 

Some more rambles after the jump but its not much really. 

 

===================================================================== 

Unlogical DLC - review

 At first I wasn't sure if Licobits was going to release DLC for Unlogical like with Uchronia

but they did and vol.1 was announced one week ahead of its 26th march 2k26 release.

At the time I only did Miyabi's and I didn't think that was worth a post but after

I found out the second volume was released I decided to make one.

The second volume completely blindsided me but it apparently already released on 23 july.

Last time I looked for news for DLC there was none.💀

They must have announced it once again very close to its release so this was

sandwiched between a bunch of other games and I didn't even notice till a month later.

 

Anyway Volume 1 of the DLC is Free while Volume 2 is paid.  

 

Volume 1 features a moment in the morning after the happy ends...

with the exception of Miyabi who takes place after ending 12.

 You know the one and now I am like this meme trying to figure

out which of Miyabi's endings may actually be the best outcome.

Why did they choose that one? instead of the best end?

are they planning a FD so they're saving contents to go from there?

none can say till Licobits makes any announcements.

 

The morning dlc stories were 10-20 minutes but it'll depend on your reading speed.

They are just a nice short story, its voiced but don't expect too much.

I liked Miyabi since it added a sense of normalcy.😏 

Vol.2 was around 1700 yen but its fully voiced date scenario and adds a CG.

I'm pretty sure the dates including Miyabi were all after the best ends. They're not any longer either.

---

Overall: 

I bought vol.2 for Miyabi but they all had really cute date scenarios

which completely validated the purchase for me. 

Oh just when I thought my Miyabi brainrot had calmed down it came back too...😖

I'll be honest here though I don't really like DLC for visual novels

and i'd much rather just buy a FD or sequel but this was still nice.

 Even if the scenarios were short Miyabi's date was a satisfying

epilogue so I could justify the DLC being paid. 

Sadly it was short 20 mins at most but its a nice extra!

if you do it all then you may have an hour or two of contents.

(Depending on how much you take your time and enjoy the moment.)

For the morning scenarios I only viewed Miyabi's but I viewed

everyone elses date scenario to get the most out of my purchase.

If you absolutely want more content with your fav LI I think the Unlogical DLC is worth it.

 

While the game is currently (at time of writing this) unlocalized I do hope it gets picked up

and that it maybe gets a proper FD/sequel down the line but for now I am satisfied.

 

Spoilers after the jump so if you haven't yet played

the original game then best stop reading here.