Otome Game ranking of 2020

Well for starters i've played more otome games than in 2019 😂

Which might be because I made the move to the nintendo switch

and honestly now is as good as time as among other games there have been

a decent number of otome games released for it. All of my games so far have

been digital purchases though, not only have the prices of games gone up(they probably

also cost more to make) the current crisis also doesn't help much.

I kept the rankings simple this time with a short non-spoiler summary of my thoughts.

Dairoku Ayakashimori. (🍀Beginner friendly🍀)

My first switch otome game! which was surprisingly okay except for thelacklustre plot or

the rather bland backgrounds and lack of sprites for some side characters.

It won't win any awards for that atleast! if anything the characters made it all worth it, I think

it would be perfect for beginners! The art was nice though and its not too long or too short.

The heroine Shino was cute and proactive too, since its a charage(character focus)

if your fav seiyuu voices one of the romanceable guys it might be worth it for a spin

I couldn't find much else to dislike it managed to be entertaining enough that

whatever brings it down it still will hold some value.

~

Shinigami to Shoujo. (🏆Best Story🏆)

A left over PSvita game I finally made time for, in terms of story it

was probably one of the better ones and definitely worth it for that alone especially if

you like to go deeper! or thought provoking plots but in terms of romance/otome? in that area

it might be a bit disappointing. With the exception of Kirishima route I think it would be

better suited as a straight-forward VN. The play order also didn't give much room for free choice

each route essentially hinted at a bigger picture which doesn't make sense till the last two routes.

As an otome game... it leaves a lot to be desired, I also thought the common

route was too long and Sayo's brocon was a little annoying though if you're willing

to get past that you do get a decently written plot in return.

~

Harukanaru toki no naka de 7. (🏆Most well rounded🏆)

The seventh installment in the series... which was one of the more

well rounded otome games I played this year it had a decent enough plot

and the romance was cute, it was also nice to watch certain characters grow.

There's lot's of sides to explore which made all the routes worth doing, imo the bad part

is the plot or motivation of some characters (mostly villains) might seem a bit whimsical

at the end this was a nice rpg-like otome game it was mostly light-hearted with a lil drama

I can't find much to dislike, though it has a lot of routes I suggest to start out

with the guy which catches your interest the most! if the gameplay part bothers you

this game has an ingame feature which tells you were to find or when the next event flag

for that character is which with timely saves made it very easy to progress through.

I can recommend Haruka 7! its also stand-alone so no need to play previous entries.😄

Gunka o Haita Neko. (I sleep...🐢💬)

Primula's second otome game, I passed on the PC/vita versions buuut

because I was thirsty I finally decided to get it when it came out on the switch.

Unfortunately and I hate to say it this was probably the most boring otome game I played

in a good while, its basically all about why these cat people lived so much like humans once did.

 The characters were interesting enough and it was cute but the plot in most routes just

wasn't engaging enough and was longer than needed even though I could tell

they made a decent attempt in the truth end it was barely relevant in the individuals. In the end

my fav routes were the two childhood friends; Yuzu and Kuu and I rarely like childhood friends.😓

 I can't recommend this game unless you enjoy slower paced otome games and don't mind politics.

~

Bilshana Senki ~Genpei Hika Musou~. (✨Personal favorite✨)

A historic fantasy from otomate and RED set during the genpei war

which I thought was quite enjoyable, I didn't dislike any characters by the end of it

and the overall plot was pretty decent as well the heroine was also very head-strong.

Though the only bad parts were that the scenario doesn't have much room for it

being that different, similar to hyakka hyakurou/nightshade. Every route reveals

another perspective of things the individuality of the routes and its cast being likeable

is what pretty much made it an enjoyable game for me despite the war stuff.

If you plan on playing this the order doesn't matter that much, I think that Tomomori is best for last.

 ~

 

Piofiore no Banshou 1926. (🌼Most depressing sequel.🌼)

 While it wasn't fun all the time and knowing Piofiore is definitely not for everyone

it still managed to be a solid sequel, my only problem is some of the afters aren't all

well-rounded but alternativa was a pretty fun story to continue from the first games true end

which at the same time also makes it possible to have an alternative end with every guy

might be a little annoying to do all the ends there though.

There's definitely plenty of content value in this game... the only bad part the afters all had

the same feel as the original some made everything even messier. Maybe that's good in a way

as it knows what it wants to be and won't try to be something its not.

I ended up liking more than I thought I would, I even ended up liking Yang whom I could

barely understand in the first game, Henri & Donte were fine but I enjoyed Gil's route the most. Unfortunately both Nicola and Orlok were duds for me and couldn't enjoy much if anything with them.

I am still kind of mixed about it but at the end of the day its just a game and if the vast

amount of bad ends are too much I recommend to just use a guide to avoid that and enjoy

the little things but yea if you weren't a fan of the original it might be better 

to steer away if you're not up for that because it really is more of the same! 

 ~

 

Himehibi Another Princess Days White or Black - (Classy highschool romance💝)

 Out of all otome games I played this year, this one was probably

the most simple yet intriguing in what it tried to do, I tend to avoid highschool

otome games but I thought this was pretty decent.

Its not particularly deep in terms of plot but it does go past the surface of a pretty face...

The routes all were unique as well and focused on the character of your choice

and at the end... it also makes sense why there is no canon character I mean there is bias

towards someone but said character is mostly a wholesome chad to the heroine.😂

Its also relatively safe though the black route has a sligthly darker tone.....

The humor might be a hit or miss but it definitely didn't overstay its welcome either

due to the highschool setting the entry level is also lower than most otome games so

it does have my recommendation if you just want something simple, cute and funny

buuut maybe not look here for a well written and/or deep story.

~

 

For 2021, there's not much otome games that interest me buuuut I'm still considering Bustafellows

and Cupid Parasite! the former is even getting an english release by Pqube! Not many of otomates

new titles interest me as at time of writing but I have my eyes on some but there's really not much

information available about some of their lineup so its wait and see with them. 😕

Himehibi Another Princess Days ~White or Black~ - Review

 

Genre: Otome/VN.

Developer/publisher: Takuyo.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: http://www.takuyo.co.jp/products/himehibi_wb/index.html

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v26906

Release date: 10/12/20.

 

Good old Takuyo is still around and released a new entry in the hime hibi series!

of which I have only played the first entry, I did buy the second one but never

played actualy managed to make time for it.😅 I did pass on their other new game

Hanasaku and maybe i'm glad I did as reviews weren't exactly doing it any favors.

 Who is Takuyo? that's a long story but they've been around for a long time.

Enough about that and more about Himehibi 3! which in terms of being of an otome game

was a little more simple than the other Takuyo game I recently played!

 

Pro's

- Mostly light-hearted but there seemed to be more to it all but not too deep.

- Pretty art, love the soft colours! most of the backgrounds are nice to look at as well.

 

Grey area

- Music manages to fit the mood most of the time but its nothing special.

 

Con's

- Kinda on the short side, but on the flip side it knows where to end.

- Not all route are well-rounded better not come her for a deep plot.

 - They should have used a different ending theme for the black lily route, too upbeat.😓

 

The OP is decent I guess, catchy enough.

Kisakino Emi is invited to enrolls at sumeragi gakuen, a high-class all boy school that is

undergoing an experiment of letting girls enter, all the boys are princes and the girls princesses...

Its is all a project/test held by the sumeragi group and she has been chosen to be a model student

like some of the guys have. There's a ranking system like Masamune for example is the rook

and Kazumi is a self-proclaimed unicorn(knight) wait why unicorn?! well there surely

was a good sense of humor around as well basically every romanceable guy is named

after a chesspiece and Emi's the queen she joins their commitee and with them prepares

for the festival, each route does this differently and you get closer to him.

Emi also has to deal with being a model student... Other than that a relative of Chiharu

typically tries to make things difficult for everyone involved, gotta have some bad guy I guess.

Depending on your choices you can get different type of route such as: white lily or black lily

there's four endings total, the former is happier than the other but what I liked about this

they explored different sides to the character and different kinds of love which kept things

interesting, for some this is for better others for worse basicallly black route is spicier.

Other than that the general system of the game was smooth and I had no real issues

on my journey to full-complete!

 

This game is set in a rich kids school thats fancy high-class but more up to date with current times

kind of reminded me of zettai kaikyuu but without the harsh class system.

Hmm... maybe the setting was too fancy for me atleast there were no annoying minigames

and was still pretty relaxing it also didn't feel like it took forever to get interesting

otome-wise like shinigami to shoujo this game was much shorter and to the point.

The common route served its purpose well enough to introduce and explain things.

There are many cg which is only the guy(s) some were good others meh.

The protagonist even comments how just staring at pretty boys is happiness enough

well atleast there are cg's with the two of them together so I can't complain much.😌

Himehibi1 also had this problem... but I guess its just a thing this series has

but this 3rd installment does it a little better than the first.

Also its ceroB(12+) so its probably better to not expect it to be that raunchy

because what was there was very tame which might be a blessing cuz there

are maybe two endings were the game was pushing this rating.

 

Emi is a good girl she might be more likable than the protag of himehibi1 but I did think Emi

is a bit too forgiving. Most of the guys are likable and the only one who pissed me off 

was Yumeji and paperbag-kun turned out to be worse than I expected.😓

There was definitely enough going on with the character(s) to keep me interested also the game

seems to know its cliches but actually not giving 2fucks about it and still rolls with it

characters like Kazumi would actually be boring were it not for their quirk

and I found his character to be very interesting!  though the humor was odd 

and a bit corney I feel you're either gonna love or hate it. Atleast every route was unique

and focused on that character which was a plus, some endings might feel lacking

but if you do all you will truly know everything about the guy (for better or worse).

 

This game was overall pretty simple in what it tried to do, I think I can recommend

this game if you want something light-hearted and character focused while not minding

having to look past the surface of a pretty face, cuz there are some ~problems~ some more obvious

than others. Romance wise... it depends for some it only gets good at the end

others are more well-rounded overall it was still open ended, I think this new himehibi

does kind of retain the old spirit its also not too bloated in length it ends when it should.

I think this game was alright... Kazumi's route while corny was fun😅 it might not

be my cup of tea but it wasn't bad! Masamune's route was very enjoyable

and he's definitely my husbando, the only route I didn't really like was Yumeji

but that was mostly because the guy lost his last shred of dignity in the black route

atleast his white route was still somewhat enjoyable but yea watch yourself with him and Paperbag because as much as I like to say there were no bad ends these two are like uhuh riiight?

Ah well otome games are always like that, one route that just rubs you the wrong way

you can't like everything but this game does a good job of finding paths that you could like.

Chiharu was the most well-rounded route and I also really liked him, he's so wholesome it hurts.😭

 Overall I think this was a pretty good otome game some parts might be a bit cliche

but that's not necessarily a bad thing if it doesn't try to be something its not and

the plot was okay too, for what it was worth this was mostly enjoyable.

I don't know what else to say but if you want to try a more classic

yet modern(for today's standard) this game is a good bet! that is if you don't mind it being simple.

7,6/10

My playorder was:

Kazumi > Masamune > Yumeji > Chiharu > Paperbag.

Idk if there was some recommended order but none are locked nor was there a story that had

to be played out in specific order so you can do whoever you fancy in whatever order you want!

This is the end of non-spoiler section, more ramblings about routes after the jump.

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

Piofiore no Banshou ~Episodio 1926~ review

 Genre: Otome/VN.
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/piofiore/1926/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v25914

Release date: 12/11/20.

 

Sequel to the original game, though this one seems more honest about also being a -sequel-

unfortunately its lighthearted and is still as suspenseful as the first game.

At first I did think that this would be a FD but as time went on and info was revealed

it looked more and more like a sequel. FD's hardly introduce that many new characters.

 

Pro's

- Unique, character focused routes.

- Suspense and Unpredictability.

- Art and bgm are as good as its ever been.

Con's

- Cg's while memorable are far and between.

- Landmine bad ends.

- Most of the new sub characters are garbage.

- Some routes don't solve anything, inconsistent antagonists.

 

Meanwhile system is also back atleast this time auto mode will stop

and its harder to miss the meanwhile scenes which iirc wasn't a thing on vita.

They try to have these flashback aria's to help us remember scenes from the first game

with the guy's POV which is nice but this works the same as meanwhile so sometimes

i'd get annoyed because i'd just gotten into the scene and it would want me to

review the past or see a scene elsewhere, I honestly prefer just the meanwhiles.

Oh apparently the switch port of the first game actually had some new cg's? nice.

 

Episode Burlone, stories that takes place after the characters route in the first game

though its not a simple after story... the enjoyment you get here might vary.

For play order here, I'm going to recommend Donte for later as he has

the most spoilers and Gilbert is the most original and imo fun route out of all

but other than that you can do Gil's route whenever you want.

Yang,Orlok and Nicola are mostly self-contained so the order of play doesn't really matter

for them doesn't matter that much either! Just Donte later or midway if you don't want

a certain side character's story spoiled right away.

Alternativa:

Like the name suggest this is an alternative story set after the true end

of the previous game! it featuring 8 short stories which were mostly lighthearted

as Lily interacts with various characters (mostly side) within the year of 1926.

Most of the episodes are refreshing and perhaps a nice palate cleanser after one of the routes

but unfortunately for me I did them all after doing said routes which might be a blessing

in disguise because they all do seem to hint at more and after completing said 8 stories

you unlock a full route where you can get an alternative end with the main guys

as such it doesn't matter when you do either the mini route or Henri because

the story told here is completely separate from the after stories.

In all honesty the whole tone of this scenario was much more enjoyable than the after stories

itself, I do have to add that it had some weird vinyl earporn, otomate please...........😑

Not much else to say but just to do your fav guy in alternativa first because

it is copy pasta scenario and annoying to collect all ends.

 

Story for the after stories was interesting enough hard to figure out what was going on or why this

was happening but got explained as it went on, the length is that of a normal game so about 6-8 hours?

Each route was unique and dealt with various issues not addressed in the prequel

they brought in some new characters as well that're tied to the stories.

 Kind of hard to recommend this game unless you want more of the same, because

you're getting just that while it fleshes out the characters and relationship.

They did a good job with Yang even though I still don't like him all that much he's just ok to me now.

What romance is there is nice but it still retains a serious atmosphere.

The writing was exceptionally good and its still as unpredictable as ever the first game

also had that kind of suspense and if not use a guide you'll better brace yourself.

As there are landmines and one wrong choice could lead to an abrupt bad end just like the first game.

The chapter titles are also still in a different language! I always thought that was neat.

Yang's chinese, Donte in spanish, Orlok be German , Nicola's italia, oh and Henri in french.

The routes varied greatly in terms of enjoyment, I absolutely loved Gilberts

and liked Donte and Yang but Nicola was a disappointment but great as a refresher if you

had forgotten some of the stuff from the first game as for Orlok... sigh

that was just depressing to sit through and didn't really solve much if anything.

Donte's or Gil's route were probably the only well rounded routes in the whole game.😓

I mean that in terms of how it balanced plot/romance which is honestly kind of sad

nice that they all came in different flavors but the only one I truly enjoyed was Gil.

I also did like Henri maybe because it had no Theo! though disappointed

otomate didn't give him an ending but I guess that fad is over now.🙃

 

All things considered... it was a decent sequel, if you liked the original and want to see more 

including things getting fleshed out I could recommend this game and if the after stories

are too much then you can settle for alternativa? because the tone is drastically different.

Piofiore has never been an otome game that's for everyone in fact its themes

are not otome at all! I can praise it for not sugar coating what a mafia does

and I like that but i'm kind of disappointed for a reason I cannot explain without spoiling

but its related to the character Theo whom in Donte's after actually made me really angry and upset.

Its really funny how the main cast in the previous game could all do something

that could make you hate them but here its mostly the sub characters that are disgusting

especially Theo, idk I could make a rage post about him, lmao.

Also after I finished the after stories I got to alternativa which was fun at first

but then it unlocked a route and I was like there is MORE?! at that point I couldn't help

but feel slightly burnt because I was looking forward to Henri, though it was nothing

a small break couldn't cure! the tone of alternativa also helped.😅

Other than that this game was more than worth the price though! as there's plenty of content

its just that for some characters the afters might leave to be desired.

I tried to do the bad ends as I went through including the tragic end first but it was too much

and just went for the happy end which might have saved what was left of this game for me.

I know at the end of the day its just a game... and you can easily avoid the more gruesome ends

by using a guide but not everyone can stomach contents in which people die all the time

and there were too many bad ends were that happened especially in Henri's

I mean what was up with that?! in the whole game I think there's almost 20 of those.😓😓😓

That aside I think the piofiore sequel is decent but yea it ain't for everyone.

 7,4/10

I might not like everything but this was a pretty good sequel...

This is the end of the no spoiler section more ramblings/spoilers after the jump.

Atelier Ryza Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout - review

The title menu changes as you progress.

 Genre: RPG.
Developer/publisher: Gust/KOEI.
Platform: PS4/Switch/PC.
Official Site: https://www.koeitecmoeurope.com/ryza/ 

Release date: 09/26/19 (jp), 11/01/19 (eng).

After getting fatigued with the series in 2018 with Lydie and Suelle

and gust releasing not one but three atelier games in 2019 I decided

to take a break from this series untill now that is.

Three new atelier games had come and gone, one a sequel to the arland saga; Lulua.

Another being a fanservice spin-off bringing together every protagonist; Nelke

and finally this game; Ryza which will also be getting a sequel soon-ish.

 

Pro's

- Well-rounded story and characters that take part in it.

- Beautifully designed areas and nice music, photo mode is a blessing.

- Its not too easy or too hard, depending how well you alchemize your item/gear.

 

Con's

- Short, lack of character events(for some is dlc...).

- Lack of variety in enemy design, hard to tell miniboss apart from normal enemy.

(There is a compass item that can show mobs but this isn't available till later...)

- Battle system can be confusing.

 

 

Story: This game's story is a little different from the usual atelier as its a coming of age

type of story but it still manages to be what we all know it to be.

Its about Ryza and her two friends Lent and Tao who have seen it all on their little island

and want to adventure beyond it which leads to them meeting a merchants daugther Klaudia

but meeting Empel an alchemist and his sidekick Lila lights a fire in Ryza's heart...

the islanders aren't fond of outsiders and what is it that Empel and Lila seek? Without spoiling

I found the story to be pretty good, while short its paced well and gives drive to continue

imo the story was pretty well rounded and I liked it more than the dusk series in its entirety.

In Ryza, the main cast all are relevant & contribute to the story in some way.

I do noticed there was room for two more characters

in the formation menu but they never did anything with it.

Having Agatha, Bos or Kilo would be nice as DLC but alas. 

Overall I liked the story, there's definitely some sentimental value? to it.

 

I'd call her a slave driver for this line but she's more of a leader.😅

Characters: I like the main group they got good chemistry, since they're still kids

they can be brats at times and the game isn't afraid to show that or how snarky the adults can be.

Ryza herself is likable enough, Lent is the reliable big bro of the group he does have some

daddy issues though. Tao is a whiny bookworm who wants to be able to read

his grandfathers bookcollection which is in a old language.

Klaudia is rather timid who has to deal with her overprotective dad though having met

Ryza has expanded her world and has given her more courage to play her instrument.

I liked Empel a lot too, as was Lila though the story helped with that I guess Empel is like

a slightly younger and more moe version of keith also doNUT! his chemistry with Lila

is also great kinda makes me wish we saw some of their earlier (mis)adventures.😂😂😂

Of the Npc's I think Jonna was the most memorable and rather funny questline

the rest kind of varied in terms of enjoyment but they all made the island more lively. 

 There are no character events though... which is a shame but i'll take it since

all the main cast was so involved in the story. No romance either but just like gust's

other games if you put yuri goggles on, one could probably see some subtext between

Klaudia and Ryza. Lila and Empel seemed pretty into each other too... but that's it.

Truth

 

Gameplay: Atelier Ryza is sorta like Firis the areas are big but not too big

the pacing of the story also keeps you from adventuring too far which is good

for progression because if everything was open from the get go we'd be OP in 10 hours.😂

I always thought that while Firis's world was nice it was a little too big at times.

I do like the world design a lot this entry though, lots of memorable places and bright colours

other than that, the atmosphere of kurken island and nearby areas are pretty relaxing but later areas

 the music is appropiate as well, a place invested with dragons still makes me tense.

Thank god quick travel became a thing when it did! because in the first few hours

I actually got tired of running so much.

The camp menu will also change as you progress.

 

The side quests are decent and give the islanders more personality, I think its best to do them

as you go through the game having them stack up till endgame might make it become a chore.

Sidequests I hated were once were they had you find 3 npcs then go back....

other than that the rest were fine its good to do them since they reward accesories or recipies.

Treasure hunt system is nice, besides kurken island most can't be completed

till later but i'm fine with that as it gives a reason to go out there

as well as finding any missed landmarks. Also not having wind shoes early

is a tease since there's many spots you can't reach early.

The alchemy system is okay... little room for error and you can improve existing items further...

We are also back to getting recipies from books, story and recipies within a recipe! neat.

I like all this more than the idea system from the mysterious series, which was something

that worked better on paper but not in practice.

Though my one problem with the alch system... is how weird the wpn/armor

synthing is, like start at tier 1 and make way to the final tier then fill out and spam ingot/etc.

then rebuild to unlock/add your traits, i'm just not sure about all this. :/ 

 

The battle system this time is action based, everyone still has turns but time only stops when

using a quick action? also kind of like ff7 remake but no need to be in control

of everyone and AI isn't useless, each character has a role ATK,DEF or Support. DEF gets

more aggro, ATK well attacks and supporters heal but only the controlled chara can use items.

The formation system is a bit weird, characters like Tao, Empel and Klaudia

are backrow only while Ryza,Lila and Lent are frontliners. Atleast they made it

possible to remove anyone from the party and free-form it with whoever you like.

I don't quite understand the combat but I didn't have that much difficulty till the dragon

who did kick my ass once😅 I already had a good weapon on Lent and got good accesories

from treasure chests along with a decent ice bomb, all I had to do was upgrade Ryza's and Klaudia's

weapons and for some reason it went down in 1 try. Funny how a slight boost in stats

made a difference. By the time of last boss I had even better wpns/armor, which made the fight comfy.

 

 Lvling was not a problem, just following the story got me to lvl 30

and the last dungeon to 45 at best then it was a bunch of optional bosses.

LVL doesn't matter that much in this game but a few extra stat points is always nice.

pre-final boss my alch lvl was 60 the real problem was getting that to 99

doing all recipies will get you to 80~ at best... then you have to make red stones......😩😩😩

The special attacks unlock at lvl 40, felt like I should already have them by 30

but nope they made it an endgame thing 10 lvls before the lvl cap/trophy(not counting dlc)

atleast I got to use it on the last boss, Empel is pretty cool.😅

I managed to see the rest in some lvl 90 travel bottle...

Speaking of bottles, these are nice when you need a lot of a specific ingredient like dunkelheit

when you can't be arsed to go out there so you can make a miniature map to quickly farm them.

But like rebuilding it costs gems, which aren't a problem I just farmed the first two trees

from maple delta and then turn that loot into gems.

There were also minibosses but I ran right past most them because they had

a normal enemy design, when i did find them some are bigger or had a different animation

but I didn't realize those were minibosses till post game except for the shiny puni

and at that point thanks to my gear, they were all pretty easy, their names are a lie too...

they don't live up to their names. Even the elementals were not much of a challenge.😦

I guess I really did over did it, because only the last optional boss (in the bottle) was a little difficult

thank you healing ball and elixer, I appreciate you.

 

The only other problem I have is how many trips to the atelier I'd have to make

to unload my bag(yes I know there was an upgrade but by then I was almost done) and also

recharge CC(ew) so I can use items again... speaking of CC I don't like the core

system, atelier had never a system in place that would prevent

you from using your items they'd either you run out or you duplicate good ones.

In Ryza items cost CC points to use, you can recharge an item in battle but

that would cost you another item the plus side is both items are infinite and never run out.

Recharging in battle is a bit annoying though.

 

Most of the trophies were random and for things that were easy to accomplish

like making a harvest scyth, hammer or a random mob that's slightly stronger

thus it did feel like they were padding out the list. :/

Worth mentioning there's no trophy related to the puni that you can feed

it'll change colour and depend on its mood it can bring back item

unfortunately I almost forgot that feature existed.

 

That aside the other feature that I did like was the photomode

and I messed around with it for a bit in two of my fav areas.

TL;DR I liked atelier Ryza, the gameplay was addicting, from the story events to gathering

a few mats to doing alchemy! where did the hours go?! either way it was mostly a good time.

Its also perfect for newcomers to the series, no need to know anything about its history.

The story was a bit on the short side but had it been any longer i'd probably get annoyed

since the alchemy/gathering was gated behind the plot thus preventing to make a lot

of useful items too early. Though I can see why its like that, after getting winds shoes and bomb hammer you can finally find the remaining landmarks and treasures while also gathering mats.

That was not a deal breaker for me though there was plenty of items to work with early game

I kept wondering where I can find that item to make that item... but its best to not worry

do what you can to proceed the story with what you do have on hand which was enough for me.

Not a big fan of the action-oriented combat though but I got used to it by the end

of the game, the CC system was awful and if you got your gear right you basically

don't even need to use items, gust what is this please?! minus the few nitpicks

this was still a good game. I even felt motivated to get the platinum trophy which for rpgs

has been rare for me lately. Though if I see a philosopher stone one more time.....

The only downside is that despite every main character being involved in the plot

is that they don't have that many side event, for some it even paid dlc......

I can't fully blame gust for this because they did make 3 games in a year aaand

 once you're done with the game you're probably really done and not much else to do.

Almost as if this game was made for photomode...

 

Glad I did finally play another atelier game, I know from when Ryza was announced

this was meant to be a single game but apparently it was so succesful that they decided

to do another game, either way i'll look forward to another adventure in the world of Ryza.

8.3/10

Not sure if I will play Lulua anytime soon or Nelke for that matter, i'm just

gonna chill with piofiore FD when that comes out and also try to finish the sakura wars anime

which is okay, the animation style did take some getting used too but everything else is ok.

Shin Sakura Wars Review

 Genre: ADV x Action.
Developer/publisher: SEGA.
Platform: PS4
Official Site: https://games.sega.com/sakurawars/lang/en/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v26147
Release date: 12/12/19(jp), 04/28/20(eng).

 

Okay so I played the lates entry in the sakura wars series for ps4, its known for being a vn with srpg

part, outside of this game only one other game was localized Sakura Wars V: so long my love.

Also this review is a quick and dirty attempt to keep the blog alive...  I got this game because

they discounted the physical edition for 33$ (even came with stickers).

Enough about that this game is about the imperial combat revue that protects tokyo from demons

and during peaceful times they're a theatrical group who put on performances in their theatre.

Figting demons by night and performances by day?!

 Or atleast try to because they can't really live up to the legacy...

 

 

Pro's

Likable characters, plot is alright.

Comedy.

Graphics/expressiveness of models etc.

 

Con's

Short, best played in short burst.

Combat leaves much to be desired.

 

Despite never having played a Sakura Wars before I still enjoyed my time with it

and its definitely not needed to play previous entries to play this one.

The grapics were nice, the models and the expressions of the characters

took a bit of getting used to which by the end was the case atleast for me.

I really liked the characters, the story was alright and there were plenty of funny moments

imo the adventure part was the best part of this game; sometimes being kamiyama must be suffering!

With the choice system  you can be a good boy and be nice or just be a shameless pervert

but that might cost you peoples trust though there's enough room to be both.😅

There were only two characters that I couldn't win over; Yui and Margaret i'm pretty sure

those were the hardest since they (along with Kaoru I think) get the least opportunities to raise trust

while Sakura on the other hand is the easiest, that's the poster girl for you.

Story wise its best to go into this game knowing as little as possible, there's also an anime

but I do not recommend to watch that till after playing the game that is if you want

some more extra time with the cast as its apparently a sequel to the game.

If you are already are familiar with this series i'm sure you can pick up more cues and the bromides

you can collect have moments from previous entries in the series even those who weren't 

localized, there's also koi koi wars which is a minigame were you can challenge characters.....

its a hanafuda card game, outside of the first match I didn't really play it as I was confused.

Nice there is a minigame to play and collecting bromides though collecting that is also tied

to sranking all the stages with all characters... but the difficulty of the stages doesn't improve.

I think completionists will really suffer with this game...

I liked the intermission system, I usually played one chapter a day except from ch6 to final

because I was extra motivated to see it through to the end.

That aside from my perspective this game is best played in short bursts, sometimes I wondered

if they designed this game for a handheld with all the frequent intermission breaks

or if its just a habit of the series from the old days.

 

Unlike its predecessors this game's battle system is not a srpg but action... everything else

is in the same spirit, it was easy to tell the devs put a lot of passion into this except for the combat

which I'd hate to say but this game has one of the most disappointing action type battle systems

i've ever had the pleasure to experience  as its... too easy, there is no challenge whatsoever

the last stage; while suited for last confrontation felt like a chore and during it all I wondered if I even

wanted to do another characters ending or just settled for the one I had chosen which was Claris.

Yes, Claris is my best girl.

Not sure how I should describe the combat, think dynasty warriors but smaller

there's also a lot of gating/scripted encounter so you can never truly go crazy like DW.

There's no way to upgrade your units either so it never feels like you improve

not that there was a reason to but idk this wasn't a good thing imo.

The enemies ai are also nothing to write home about and if there was a boss encounter

it all came down to whether or not you can dodge to give even more opportunity to attack

some of the early ''bosses'' can go down in a single special attack, yea no effort was made here.

So... the combat aside I can say that I still liked this game, the characters were all likable

you could tell Sakura was the main heroine but if you liked anyone else of the main girls

you can just pick them instead, this game didn't have much harem nonsense either so that was a plus.  Characters like Yui and Xiaolong grew on me, yes I disliked them a little at first.

Most importantly even if I had some problems with how they resolved things

this game knew were to end, its a bit on the short side but nothing ever felt like it dragged on

too long, this game might be short but I'd rather it be like this than have it pad itself out.

I had fun, most of the time I had a smile on my face and maybe got a little sad

at some of the plot developments, so overall this was an alright game in my opinion.

Its not easy to bring back a series from the abyss and I can tell the devs really tried with this one

and they did succeed even if the combat wasn't enjoyable the rest of the game was.

Unfortunately as much as I liked it I can say that this game isn't for everyone

from the weird humor to the casual combat, its hard to say who its aimed at.

Though if you like anime and dating-sim/VN in general then its probably for you.

There's not much else to say, this game was alright but completionist will suffer...

7/10

Bilshana Senki ~Genpei Hika Musou~ - Review

Genre: Otome visual novel.
Developer/publisher: Otomat/RED.
Platform: Nintendo Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/birushana/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v22987
Release date: 2020-09-17

 

Bilshana or Birushana senki is an otome game set in the heian period's genpei war, since

I got nostalgic and remember a little of the time period thanks to harutoki 3 I decided to get it.

Also this game has a character voiced by Fukuyama Jun whom I don't hear a lot in

these days (I say as I just found out he apparently voiced a main char in Bustafellows).

That aside most of the main characters looked attractive one, of the love interest here

was a npc I disliked in harutoki 3 so there is a little bit of bias going in.

Also since this is another historic otome game its probably not for everyone.

 

Pro's

- Decent story, long but pacing alright. 

- Heroine is capable and also head-strong.

- Fun cast of characters.

- Art is beautiful, even side characters got sprites.

- Music is fitting, OP and ED theme is nice.

 

Con's

- Lot's of common scenes throughout.

- Decent amount of bad ends, confusing system.

 - screen dimming / switch going standby on automode.

- Random crash after returning to the main menu and opening flowchart.

 

 

The heroine of this game is Shana-ou, otherwise known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune

for the majority of the game she has to pretend to be a guy.

Knowing otomate this can go both ways but I had hope she would be both awesome and cute

wasn't disappointed she was pretty badass, also very stubborn!

Shana also has some weird power which makes her become a demon on the battlefield....

 

The pacing was alright, its not too slow and not too fast either and it being 

a historic fantasy it did get a bit boring, I was instantly reminded

by jyuza engi 1 with the amount of old dudes speaking, most of the other

characters were fun though tomomori became like a joke for me.😅

Unlike Dairoku side characters do have sprites here, look at all those handsome monks and ossans!

i'm not kidding I do think one of the ossan's looked handsome oh otomate what have you done.😱

I ended up on Benkei's route on my first play, I wasn't aiming for him at all but i'm kinda

glad I did get on his route because he was likeable and supportive.

Just doing one route will not answer all of your plot related questions so that's good!

I mean give me that incentive to do the other routes! they didn't make them too irrelevant.

In terms of plot revelations I think the route system was a lot like Hyakka hyakurou/Nightshade...

Most characters are not that interesting outside of their route their problems

are relatively self-contained within the routes especially Noritsune.

In terms of plot relevance I would recommend something like this:

Noritsune > Yoritomo / Shungen > Benkei > Tomomori.

I do think it can be done in no particular order except Tomomori as last

since his route ties up the loose ends most other routes hint at.

I think my own play order worked out pretty well so here it is for comparison!

Benkei > Yoritomo > Shungen  > Noritsune > Tomomori.

 

Also I tried to play this without a guide but I just hit some bad end which wasn't near the beginning.

Can't say I recommend to play this without a guide😅 there's a chance you hit an

abrupt bad end, the system is strangely complicated there's the usual affection and then

there's three other gauges as well i'm not even gonna go into that. Its better to look up a guide

if you don't understand it, but other than that it was pretty standard stuff.

Other than that, the story was interesting enough but its a bit on the long side?

Most of the characters were likable, like Hana Oboro certain side characters

got a special what if episodes as well which actually made characters like Takatsuna

and Shigehira more likable so that was nice.

I could make jokes about the characters which at the end of the day

might have helped getting me to like them more cough tomomori cough.

Romance interests are varied, some routes could be a hit or miss but you can't like everything.

Benkei was surprisingly likeable but he's not really my type as he ends up being

more of a dad than anything else his route was also weak in terms of plot so that didn't help.

Yoritomo was harder to like because I couldn't read him but the story really delivered for him

I think the only route I had trouble to enjoy was Shungen........I do not know if it

is because I did Yoritomo first since it made things more confusing that it had to be.

 

I think my only complaints are how... the skip was kinda slow

but there is a skip to the next choice I assume was via the flowchart

though I didn't mind iddling for a few minutes so its not that bad.

Really I don't have many complaints... war bits might be boring and/or repettive I guess?

I had a lot of fun playing through Bilshana the war parts did make me sleepy

atleast the characters were all attractive and there was drive to do all of them, this also

wasn't a game of trying to make everyone happy at the same time which was a good thing

because I dislike it when they sugar coat things too much in these type of games.

The story was generally the same in most of the routes, there was enough

going on with the characters (drama etc) that give different view points nothing was

exactly the same in all the routes even if its limited by the scenario which can be repettive.

There was also a bit of comedy to things sometimes but it doesn't

overstay its welcome as it knows when to be serious and when not.

Another good thing because it would be too dry with all the war stuff. 😅

For its genre I thought it was an alright otome game and I can recommend 

if a fan of historic fantasy and enjoy to explore such a setting with a mostly likable cast!

and don't mind deaths, since its long its also a good way to pass the time but if you're not

into history and war stuff then it could be an easy pass.

8/10

End of non-spoiler section.