Moujuutsukai to Ouji-sama Flower & Snow PS Vita port - Review

Minor CG spoilers, so be warned.

Game: [猛獣使いと王子様 ～Flower ＆ Snow～]

English: Beastmaster and Prince

Genre: Otome Visual Novel.
Developer/Publisher: Otomate

Platform: PS2, PSP, PS Vita & iOS/Android.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/beast/flower_snow/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v4540
Release date: 2015-06-11

D'awww these cuties...

TL;DR
9/10
A rather quick review with not much spoilers, except complain about small things.
This is a really charming otomege with a decent plot and one of otomate's gems
personally I love the medieval theme and the music is fitting even if its the typical 2008/2010 era
ye olde idea factory themes, back then they recycled or rearranged a lot for same-ish themes. >_>
Honestly its far from perfect but imho it has alot of things which make it really enjoyable
from a heroine who isn't afraid to backdown from a somewhat great written plot.
I think the same-ish common part just with different guy is what brings it down
a little but atleast the rest was unique so its not that bad?
There won't be much I can write about without spoilers so I keep it simple and if you want to
read the routes they can be found in other peoples reviews, this is a port afterall.

Recommended play order: Matheus > Alfred > Erik > Lucia > Klaus / Silvio.
Klaus + Silvio are unlockable by doing IIRC Erik/Lucia.
 Matheus/Alfred routes share plot, same for Erik Lucia
Either split them up or do them right after the other, there's no avoiding eventual repeat content.

 Mini rant incoming because there isn't much to complain/write about other than this :P
I regret doing Alfred right after Matheus I really do, which made me sad because some of it was mostly the same! there are new bits but you have to sit through that fangirl mob, Tiana getting cursed
plus other repeat content first. This made me so sleepy because I already know most of it, I think the worst offender is that the game classifies it as new, because the character you're with is different. Luckily Erik/Lucia's path follows a different scenario so thats why taking a break from it
or perhaps split it up because by the time you finish Erik or Lucia, Alfred
might be a nice change of pace again but honestly it doesn't matter.
end mini rant.

As for the characters I liked everyone, Klaus had a really sexy voice though! especially
in the mofumofu minigame, it made me have to use headphones because its just THAT embarassing

or it made me embarrassed lmao.

For snow bride, same play order atleast for me, might be best to save your fav chara for last

or first if you really want to or can't wait/be bothered with others.
You select these scenarios individually after story, additional story, side story...
it a fd so not a straightforward VN, honestly I was a bit confused at first?
Franz memoirs is rather uh... nice but why? never really saw the point of it.
Storywise Snowbride is just something extra, nice after stories for everyone
and it also delves further into some things, the winter theme was great btw.
 I really liked it and have nothing to complain about except some minigame
that was first added in the PSP port... more on that below. ಠ_ಠ

Pro's
- Interesting story,setting & characters. 
The main story line in both games is great, there is a mystery thing going on, all
the guys are likeable and the voice acting is superb(like it should be). 
- Art. 
Nothing to add here, its pretty.
- MofuMofu minigame ♥
Do I even need to go into this? who doesn't want to pet bishonen in animal form?
-  Ex Another Story.
A nice side story for the original game added for the port, what's there to complain about?

Klaus voice is... too lewd I get embarrassed petting him.

 

Con's
- Repeat story content.
This is obviously the weak point of this otomege, no matter how you cut it, it just is.
But it could've been far worse so in the end it may not be that bad.
- Ye olde cheesy Idea Factory BGM.
Well this is from 2010 after all...its forgettable yet it does add to the setting.
- New Snowbride Minigame(First added in the PSP port)
This is just... wtf? why otomate? ( ಠ益ಠ)
I know otomate isn't known for its amazing minigames but this is ridiculous. 
It was apparently added with the PSP port, as it wasn't in the original PS2 version. 
Worst of all it has nothing to do with the actual plot... just extra content.

Seems lame right?

This was just silly, its a poor excuse for a minigame, its like something you
expect from a smartphone game...  I just can't get over how bad this new minigame is.
First thing first, the heroine isn't even Tiana, its basically a self insert, lol.
You have to help the guys earn 50000 money/gold so they can return to their human form or sth.
There is a day limit and you can only do it once a day...
Luckily you can adjust PSV time manually and continue the minigame whenever you want.
if that wasn't possible have fun doing that shit for a whole month with all characters.
In the end the last CG(see below) for other wasn't even all that nice...
No wonder no one bothered writing about it for the PSP version... I wouldn't
want to do that for a whole month just for this CG.

Thanks for the hideous CG you get for completing an awful minigame, i'm sorry but I don't find this cute.

Anyway I hope you don't mind my small complaint about the one crappy minigame and repeat content.

Its better to know before hand the story is split int two parts each allow you to romance 2 guys
so naturally the one that shares still has some of the same-ish events the worst part is
the game classify old dialogue as new just because the dude ur with is different.
Like I said before there is so little to complain about I can't help but nag about it or point it out.
The story for both games was atill pretty good, I have no complaints about that except that
some of it repeats in other routes, the way the romance developed was nice except maybe

Alfred other than that I love the whole fantasy theme in this.
At the end of the day they bundled two characters together and split the scenario there.
 A lot of VN have repeat story content or copy pasta scenarios so Moujuutsukai isn't that bad www.

Or maybe its because this was my first experience with it I can let it slide?
Character wise this game does have its stereotypes but everyone was likeable, some
people tend to have bias for the tsundere Lucia though but Mateus seems to be
the typical poster boy, Alfred is a bit of a loner the cute type and Erik the really nice guy
you just don't want to make angry? /sweat, I think  he's pretty close to yandere.

Klaus is like a good older childhood friend... and Silvio is the unfortunate cat boy suffering.

You just have to be careful with your play order, but honestly I don't think play order even matters.
Silvio and Klaus unlock by doing two of the main guys route and cuz I did those two last
I forgot which so sorry about that but the side routes are perfect for at the end.

Characters ★★★★★
Art  ★★★★★
Scenario/plot. ★★★★☆(Good stuff except that some repeats.)
Music★★★☆☆ (Average but fits... ye olde grating idea factory BGM.)
System  ★★★★☆ (Comfy, also who doesn't want to pet cute animal boys?)
Enjoyment overall ★★★★☆(Its a well rounded otome game.)
Moujuutsukai is definitely a gem from otomate and you should give it a go sometime and
I really hope it gets picked up for localization one day because its a really charming game.
Holy Silvio, Gloczus has announced there next localized will be this Beastmaster and prince!
They'll release it on PC(Steam) and iOS/android, I asked them if it will have voice acting and
it should be in but they can't say anything else because of licensing issues.
I'm glad and super excited about this is the next otome game being localized I really am!
 Too bad the localization kickstarter failed, I still hope it gets localized some day but it doesn't seem hopeful, I wish it did though because despite its repeat content 
this is really a charming and good otomege!!! it got a heartwarming story with a great heroine.

  ♥

Prince of Stride - Review

Game: [プリンス・オブ・ストライド]

Genre: Otome Visual Novel, fictional sport.
Developer/Publisher: FIFS/Kadokawa 

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://posweb.jp/

Release date: 31-7-2015

TL;DR

 Pro's
- Sports, not every otome game tackles this theme.
- The overall story had some interesting bits but very character driven.
- Characters, the main guys are likeable and fun to be around.
 - Seiyuu cast, Art and Music.
- Minigame is fun.

Con's
- Long common route+stat raiser, so after one route it becomes skipskipskip.
- The guys don't have much of an actual route. T_T
- Copy pasta.

Babby's first sport otomege...
At the end of the day this wasn't that much of an otome game but
I still like it alot, they focused more on the sport than the romance.... which
might be a huge miss for some people but I still thought it was really good overall.
Its really going to be a hit or miss... but I still think the way they pulled it off was fine
I thought it was fun for what its worth and there's not much of negatives for me.
9/10
On the bright side all the characters were amazing except some of the neon pink team but 
even then they managed to redeem themselves, except Shiki ok maybe he did become better. :P

 Let's stride!

Harukanaru toki no naka de 6 - Review

Game: 遙かなる時空の中で6

English title: Beyond the stream of time 6.
Within the Expanse of Distant Time 6.

Developer/Publisher: Ruby Party/Koei Tecmo

Platform: PSP/PS Vita.

Genre: Otome Game, Visual Novel, RPG.

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v16060

Official Site: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/haruka6/

Release date: 12-03-2015.

I bought this game on a whim along with Clock Zero.
Both games have something to do with time too but aren't similair in the slightest.
I didn't review CZ, firstly because there is enough review and positivity about it
and secondly my feelings for it are summed up for it at the recommendation section.

Pro's
- Heroine is likeable.
- Interesting story.
- All of the characters are likeable even if to me some were you know less interesting?
- Seiyuu cast, Art and Music.
- If your attention span is low, Haruka6 may be just right since its not a straigh-forward VN.

Con's
- System, its like an rpg with a bit of time managment, So if you're not up for that avoid.
- There are eight routes, this combined with the above can lead to a long otomege.
- When I really think about it the story is a bit weak but as a whole I think its still okay
and gotta add that it wasn't bad or anything.
- One of the obtainable guys is a 35 year old, ossan... yeah thats right almost 20 years older than the heroine.
Just saying but Murasame is my favorite ossan so far. :P

My play order was:
Darius > Arima > Kohak > Shuhei > Murasame > Tora > Ludo > Normal > Kudan > Finale.
Every route was worth doing... and no route will spoil another chara's so play order won't matter
but some aren't tied to the overall plot that well. 

I have never played a Harutoki game before and I was relieved you didn't need to play the previous entries.
I started this while taking a break from Clock zero, which turned out to be just what I needed
to completely finish CZ after I finished a route, cuz oh my god that had a heavy plot >_>
 Harutoki 6 is surprisingly light compared to it and its great to come back to after a while.
 I Absolutely love how this otome game balances gameplay and story so well!
and I really have a thing for this sort of setting maybe its because I like RPG, history
or more like alternate world/timeline and the fantasy of being swept away to the past of an alternate world?
The gameplay is satisfying too and those who don't have a long attention span may
enjoy koei games more, even I get tired of regular VN where its just text after text...

Anyway one fine day our heroine Azusa was about to visit her grandma at the hospital but
she gets warped to an alternate world similair to the Taishou era, there she is told
she is the priestess of the black dragon, however the demon-clan snatches her away from the imperials whom are the ones who summoned her to this world.
 Kyaah Darius-sama sugoi sugoi! erm fangirling aside I started with Darius
which probably means I spoiled myself badly on some things luckily there are
still routes with interesting revelations like Murasame or Kohak, this makes it fun to do everyone.

Still this otomege also makes me go  ¬_¬ sometimes but not in the bad way!
I don't think this or any harutoki game had that of an amazing plot-line but it still OK...

I have my complaints and that the battle system is too simple for its own good is one of them.
and wish we could actually use skills and items...and that it was more fleshed out like a real srpg.
The art is good though, some of the backgrounds do feel cheap but the scenery is still is nice to look at.
 ~
Even when after a few route I couldn't be bothered and went back to something else, unless you are really enjoying yourself you may end up finishing it without doing other games etc.
Story is decent but not the best ever, also if you look up some IRL taishou period event
you might end up facepalming because these guys do know their stuff, and know how to
make it into something yes even if its an alternative world some things are strangely similair!
Even if there's not much of an individual route I like how all the endings in this game are different
from each other and TL;DR it just a bunch of character events during the main plot then beat the last
boss and thats it, atleast there's actual VARIETY in turn of events and add to the story
to make it worthwhile doing all routes some may be less interesting but its still good.
Like depending on the guy events leading up to the finale the events do change if only a little.
 I might not like all of the endings in this game but its not bad to do it like this, feels like an rpg
with multiple ends for characters and you have to get flag events to get said endings. So yeah this is 👍
 Sadly the endings of each character are just endings... I think I only really liked Darius, Kudan
and Ludo's yet in others they leave so much to our imagination and that fine
but for example Arima or Shuhei's post credit scenes while cute just felt a lil empty to me.
The other reason this game stands out from the other entries?
Azusa the heroine is the black dragon priestess as opposed to being
 the white dragon priestess in like every other entry.
Officially you do not get your hachiyou's till the end of the game but by that point
you should realize who they are and the game makes that hilariously obvious
anyway who says the black dragon priestess can't save the world? this one sure can.

One other thing though I wish Koei would stop being inconsistent with Kiss CG's, there's kissing but
they always seem to leave it up party to our imagination or its the lips almost touching thing. -_-
I get that they try and aim this at pure twelve year old girls but when
we look at Ludo and Murasame's routes I am like KOEI PLS
you can do it just fine, its an otome just give everyone the same treatment...
I mean come on there have been cero B games with normal kiss CG's like clock zero.
Its sort of tiring having to use imagination because in some there was kissing in the text..

If you need a guide I recommend Momokan.
Choro's guide for this was or is still incomplete, Momokan has charts for individual route.
So I have to recommend Momokan to you instead of Choro because this game suffers
from a long common route wait was there even an individual route?

I tried to follow Choro's guide on my first play w/ Darius and on my 2nd play
I did not get any new events till like later in the 3rd chapter thus making it a skipfest
since it tried to group characters which is nice but I felt its better to separate in this one?
Seriously do not do recommend unless you want/need to finish this quickly...

 Terms of overall enjoyment of route/ending:
Darius > Kudan > Murasame > Kohak > Ludohane > Tora >, Arima & Shuhei(tie)
Imho Darius, Murasame and Kudan have definitely the most interesting route/paths...
and are well balanced interms of romance/plot stuffbut that doesn't mean the others aren't worth doing, its just that the ones at the end barely gave me a good and memorable impression. :P

 My favorites at the time of finishing this game would be:
Darius > Murasame > Kudan  > Kohak / Ludohane > Azusa > Chiyo > Tora > Shuhei > Arima.
Wait what was the point it almost the same as above.
None of the characters are bad its just that some just aren't my type or that the route
 just didn't wow me enough, in this game Shuhei and Arima are my least fav with Tora following
even tho the latter is a hot stud.

 

The Harutoki series has been known as a hit or a miss but i think this entry is a solid one!

its also one of the oldest ongoing otome series next to angelique.

 

Some ramblings about the series from what I could find at this point:
Basically from what I gather from other reviews it was like don't bother with Harutoki 4 while it has
 great points and a 3d battle part with actual models it seems to fall apart at the second half.

I could even get behind the heroine but I doubt I will ever get to it the game seems to work

on a hellish flag system so hahaha no.
As for other entries haru2 sseems to be a step up in terms of stuff from haru1 but the characters
and seiyuus from haru1 are copy pasted under a different name... with different personalities. 😓
I think back then Koei was experimenting so its better to only play haru1 or haru2 not both. 
Unless you absolutely love this series to try out every game...
Harutoki 3 was were its at and apparently 3 is called a masterpiece, I can't
fully agree with that yet but it seems like an enjoyable otome RPG atleast...
Harutoki 5 may be good if love fushigi yuugi I plan to check it out some day

but most of the older games were only partly voiced this changed starting with haru6.

 

Anyway spoilers only after the jump.