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| Oh the misery..... |
Developer/publisher: Otomate/Aksys.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: N/A.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: N/A.
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v24240
Release date: 5-11-2020.
Since I wasn't in the mood to start a completely new game, I decided to continue
on something from my backlog and that was Cafe Enchante. I started this earlier this year
but due to this games long common route I took a break after Canus's route.
Going back to this did make me feel productive as well as appreciating what I already have.
I wasn't constantly playing it, I frequently put it down after a chapter ended.
don't like what you're reading just close the browser/tab and move on. Its okay if not
everyone likes a game or certain aspects of a game. Yep it was time for a disclaimer again
maybe its better to add this permanently as a reminder its okay to not like
what everyone else likes both for myself and others.
Pro's
- Interesting premise and setting.
- Great cast of characters.
- Gorgeous art and really good OST.
Grey area
- Plot over romance type of otome.
Con's
- No skip to the next choice option, making it hell to sit through the common route on subsequent plays.
- Game ends up being far heavier than it initially appears.
- Sloppy translation.
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I loved the OP movie but I think it mostly suited the common route + first 2 chapters of a route
as there were moments where letting this play would not match the mood of the story.
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It was pretty long, the prologue and common route do a good job at setting the stage
but it was kind of repetitive. NGL this game false-advertisted itself about a cute story
about a cafe, which it can seem like it is but it goes far deeper than that.
If I had to give this game an award it would be most misleading.😂
Cafe Enchante is a good example of don't judge a book by its cover, I wasn't
attracted to this game for heavy themes, it just seemed fun? but alas a cute story
with some light drama it was not. However it knew when to have fun and when not
but I can't help but be a little disappointed by how short the individual route
was compared to the common route and how unsatisfying the ending was at times.
Like it just felt like something was missing or it left to be desired.
Everytime you complete a route you also unlock a sort of extended prologue....
on its own I didn't really get what they were about, it hinted at something
which doesn't seem to be related to the original four routes. I figured Misyr
would go into it since he is locked but every time I saw a piece I was just confused.
Art was great and I can't complain, the music was also one of the better ones.
In some games its just kinda there but Cafe Enchante had some really good OST.
I do wanna add that while the BGM is good, you often go from the upbeat
title screen music to... the middle of a route and the mood whiplash is real. 💀
So when I was in the latter half of a route I would not put my headphones on till I loaded the save.
The system was just standard stuff, nothing write home about.
Everyone has 1 best end and 1/2 bad ends.
I used a guide but this seems hell to play without one as there's no correct choice indicator
and its difficult to even guess what route you would land on so GG's to guide makers.
The UI was also pretty nice and stylish but not as eye-popping as Cupi-Para.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Story?!
If Virche had a light-hearted tone, lost some of its extreme nature
but knows when to step on the gas pedal of angst. There it is! Cafe Enchante.
I'm late to the party as it is a rather old game already but to me this is like a cute version of Virche.
Anyway the heroine Kotone inherits from her grandpa with its visitors being
from other worlds which sounds like it could be a simple but fun story yet it isn't
while there were some cute scenes this was not a romance focused game
but more of a plot-driven one. At most the romance part is woven into it.
Due to that it never really felt like an otome game and even when it was time for confessions
it wasn't that satisfying and in the end I found the LI's better non-romantically.💀
The common route also ended in such a way that I was actually fine with dropping out there
but still I wanted to check out Canus route so I continued! and eventually the others.
Also I gotta admit that they did craft a wonderful setting.
Canus route was one of my favourites, Ignis&Kaoru were OK in comparison.
Il had a good routes as it had some nice surprises, I'd say Misyr did as well
but I think it tried too hard and suffered truth route syndrome.
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The length was such a double edged sword and just simply playing this game
1 hour before bed meant I was going at an absolute snail pace. So I had to plan longer sessions
to literally get anywhere early on. Its one of those games that loves to set the stage and
spend time with its characters, which is good but there were times I got bored
so this game is definitely not for people with short attention spans.
I started this game on january 10, the common route was SO LONG that I took
a break midway and didn't finish that and Canus route till like a month later.
This truly was my backburner game of 2025! because I didn't come back till september.
Of course in VN common routes come in all sorts of shapes and sizes! but Cafe's Enchante
was just too long for my tastes. At one point during the common route I thought I had already
entered a character route but then I looked at the guide and it said main chapter 4 out of 8.💀
Canus route was about as long as a route in fuyuzono sacrifice which is 5ish hours at best
other routes were slightly longer but after 3 of them I started to noticed a pattern.
Canus route was arguably the shortest, Ignis&Kaoru was slightly longer and Il's route was
significantly longer than any of the former with Mysir doubling down on that.
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As for the heroine; Kotone was alright, I can't be too hard on her due to her past
and I generally liked her. She was proactive and spoke her mind.
There are at times moments especially very early on I was like eh? i'm glad
she got better once she actually accepted and understood what was happening.
I found her to be surprisingly adult/level headed and down to earth with
a little bit of baggage, she can't handle tense situations at all it seems.
Sure Misyr's greeting was awkward but Kotone's initial reaction was kinda unjustified
not sure if it was the localization but it wouldn't surprise me if it was.
Thankfully moments like that were only a handful so it wasn't a big deal
a lot of the times I could omit a line and read it as if it wasn't there.
Overall I thought she was a pretty normal girl and i'm willing to forgive
the nonsense mid Ignis route due to bad translations.
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Localization rambles
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| This was the most random and apparently the original was but... lack of QA is apparent. |
As you already know yea the localization was awful but most of the awful was
at peaks and the rest generally read pretty well, I think had they actually handled this
game with more care there wouldn't be any problems. Now we have stuff like
the infamous box pusher, it read as terrible as when I found out years ago.💀
At times the dialogue in Canus route started to read like haiku's... and there were
odd line-breaks where there shouldn't be any. I've heard after this game's release
aksys has been getting better and I sure can get past the odd typo here or there
but still the damage these sort of things do remain ever a stain especially
when they don't get patched out which is the case here. Like people paid for this.
I often make a lot of typo's when I write stuff but I always fix them when I see them.
Perhaps putting out patches for games is expensive but I'd prefer it they
release the game a month later QA'd instead of releasing them like this.
I actually really liked how they translated Utakakata no Uchronia as Illusion of Itehara
which is very fitting for what the game is about, like Aksys can do it if they try!
 |
| Sad we may need a port of this game for it to get patched up like norn9... |
TL;DR
Do I recommend Cafe Enchante? sure if you can get passed the sloppy translation.😅
Cafe Enchante is for those who don't mind seemingly light-hearted settings that can turn out
to be deeper than it appears to be and want to be surprised by potentially mindblowing twists.
However I suggest beginners of the genre or those who seek shorter or casual experiences
to steer away unless you love angst&bittersweetness. I saw some people say this is
a cozy game but that only really applies to the majority of the common route and 1/2
chapters of a character route. I can however praise it for its plot twists but idk why
I just find myself not satisfied with Cafe Enchante as an otome game.
i |
| Looking back at some routes this actually fits perfectly. |
TBH I am glad I got to experience it... and its by no means bad, I am a little unsatisfied.
It has good content value, the common route is repetitive in nature and one could get bored during it.
The setting and characters is what pretty much saved this game for me and it was
still an enjoyable otome game to come back to! its just at times I don't think it was too sure
of what it wanted to be? did Cafe Enchante wanted to be a cute SoL story about a cafe
with some drama? or an isekai action packed adventure?! because it seems it wanted to be both...
Romance was kinda lacking and not main focus but atleast there was, something.
Atleast it didn't make me wait for the best outcomes till after the final route. |
| Plot twist; the tape did not hold... |
In terms of characters I generally liked everyone and didn't particularly dislike anyone
so at the end of the day you could say the characters carried this game really hard.
I really liked Canus even if it ain't his route and I don't even care he has no head!
I saw people complain about the headless part but I'm loving him.💕
I thought Kaoru could seem like one of the more logical choices, but eh
when I really think about it this ended up being one of those otome games where
the romance left me so wanting and while I am happy with the best outcomes
I actually like mostly all of the guys more non-romantically outside of their route. 💙
Definitely a recommendation for those seeking to dip their toes into the misery porn genre.
7/10
''Man... I don't think there's ever been an otome game where I said... I liked all the guys
outside of their routes and I don't need anything more than the common route.💀''
I wonder though... will the day come more smutty or fluffy otome games will get localized?
I know honey vibes was not perfect but it seems the ones with lotsa angst always make it over...
Is it that difficult to bring over something like Shinobi Koi Utsutsu or Tlicolity Eyes?
its mostly the plot focused ones from otomate but never the fanservice ones.
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There's apparently a locked route which require all others so
my play order ended up being what most people seemed to recommend:
Canus > Ignis > Rindo > Il fado> Misyr.
Route babbles and my fav CGs after the jump, its generally light in spoilers
and mostly just commentary if you want no spoilers then stop reading here.
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