Tengoku Struggle Strayside - Review

Tengoku Tumbleweed Side Struggle

 Genre: VN.
Developer/publisher: otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.aksysgames.com/tengoku/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v33150

Release date: 04-04-2024

 

I played this game inbetween others but this was one of those games

that I wish I could like more and only got good for me in the last two routes.

Due to it being what it was I wasn't in the mood to get through this but I also didn't

want to let this sit in my backlog for half a year so after Matsurika FD I continued.

Despite being aware about contents; I found it rather tame.

I mean without context they sound awful but within the narrative? oh. 

 

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

- Strong-willed and self-concious heroine.

- All LI's are likable in their own ways.

- Great art and catchy music.

 

Grey area

- Quite long; route length is 10-12 hours on average.

- Story doesn't seem to take itself serious, weak resolutions in early route.

  

Con's

- The game can feel a bit draggy at times and has pacing issues.

- Bad CG pacing, there are droughts and moments with a lot at once. 

 

 

Art was great,When I looked at the cover for the first time I almost

didn't recognize who the artist was, tho it definitely is Satoi's style.

Music was generally good and I had no issues with it.

The OP was good but I didn't feel like watching it everything. ED was fine. 

 ---

 

[System ramblings] 

Standard visual novel stuff, nothing that stood out.

The common route was much like Olympia Soiree a long one-time introduction

without choices and it becomes entirely skippable on 2nd play.

Its also easy to see what's a good or bad choice as this is shown when you select a choice

so you can play this without a guide, there's only two endings per route; Happy&bad.

However the bad endings were IMO more like good ends.

The common route did hook me, the setting and introductions were interesting.

I liked how the heroine had a female friend with a sprite too.

There's a scene at the end of ch1 that kinda woah but what I found hilarious

is how tame the rest of the common route of seven chapters was. The early routes

such as Yona or Kiku were quite tame as well. I was actually disappointed at this, within

the narrative a lot of things did make sense but if I listed it separately it could sound awful.

Actually the game is rather tame in general... LMAO till the gloves are off in Goemon route.

Pacing was a tad slow for me but for a SoL character driven game its not bad perse.

 Though things can get heated the game was for the most part pretty laidback which lead

to some shifts in tone, if you can't handle this TengoStray is likely not for you. 

I'll add to this that TengoStray is a fairly long, especially the first time through.

Individually the routes had 12 chapters and it took around 10-12 hours to complete one.

---

 

[Heroine ramblings] 

She has a whip but...

Rin was alright but can be a bit much at times, even if she didn't remember her

past life she had a personality! I did wonder how she turned into a misandrist

but the story wrote itself in such a way I kinda got why she had enough of them.😅

The narrative esp in early routes seemed more set on mellowing her out...

As she lived with everyone she got over that stuff pretty fast too and she tried

to approach them differently which also kind of clashed with the initial setup

but its okay people can change their mind so that's not bad per se. 

I wasn't really sure what they tried to sell me during the first few routes and 

if need be Rin can really hold her ground, its just she acts like a tiger but is in fact 

just a cat and acts like any girl could. Rin's proactive but she was also a tsundere

so getting her to be honest was a struggle in itself. Sometimes she's just hostile😓

but also not incapable of self-reflecting on things as she is self-concious.

Rin is comparable to Olympia, not perfect by any means and it was obvious

she bit off more than she could chew, even so she regained her balance. Rin also

reminded me of Rinka from BAW; if they fleshed her out and wove her into the plot. 

Rin shined the most in the locked routes as that's where she was given the most depth

and the early routes only touched upon it on a surface level. Considering her story

it also makes sense why that is the case. Maybe I had the wrong expectations

but I expected a bit more from her even in early routes.

I didn't always vibe with Rin Enma, yet I was in-sync with her in how

her perspective changed both on herself and the guys.

My sign also isn't very compatible with Rin who is a scorpio and at times

I did not understand her but she wasn't a bad heroine at all. Just not for me.

---

The LI are criminals but there was barely need to punish them. 

I actually expected Rin to whip them more if they acted up but... this wasn't necessary! (haha)

imma be real the only one who really needs whipping is Sharaku. The times the whip was

cracked were few. The narrative pushed it yet was against doing it at the same time.

I don't know if the localization toned her down among other things but let me tell you

again Rin was at her most badass in Jack and Goemon's routes.

If you wanted to actually whip LI's then I recommend KLAP kind love and punish instead.

---

 

The seiyuu cast are mostly familiar I personally don't hear Goemon's VA a lot

but this game made me like him!  I also did love some of the seiyuu for

the side cast like Koyasu Takehito as Daddy or Nojima Kenji for Takamura.

It was a good cast with classics but none of my fav's were in it.

--- 

 

The localization was good but this game was toned down, there's less vulgarity than what

the japanese were complaining about and there's not much that soured the experience except

some of Sharaku's phrasing near the end of his route but that's just him.

I always hear people complain about this otome but it was tamer than I thought.

 ---

 

[Overall ramblings]

Despite grievances I think I am more satisfied with this than Cafe Enchante!

Tengoku Struggle is what happens when you mix aspects of bad apple wars,

varribarri and Olisoi. The setting is interesting but it can be kind of deceiving

as it ended up being much more slice of life focused than I initially expected.

The lore wasn't deep or anything but it was creative, the things I found myself

disappointed at was mostly the execution of the overall story

which felt like it was doing whatever at times.

This was a much slower paced game rather than an action packed one which lead to

pacing and tension issues. Olympia wasn't always able to meet her goals but she had

a more simple job. Rin does try but it may vary on the route and who her partner was. 

Both the enemy and the heroes had goals but ends up being rather casual about it. 

Sometimes you can't really do anything about a situation and this game was full of it.

I think I may be fine with slice of life when there's not some grand plot

going on but TengoStray certainly was an experience. 

You see this game has its routes tackle things on a case by case basis and it tends

to ignore anything not related to that character or put it very into the background.

I can forgive some things but its understandable why I feel the way I do since

there's a lot of beating around the bush. I'm fine with some truths only shown in

locked routes but... I had trouble enjoying the early routes because they were all over the place. 

In terms of romance routes ended in satisfying manner but I wasn't fully convinced

when it came to tying up all the plot threads. I found Sharaku to be a lil better

than Yona/Kiku but not by much. I thought its just because they're the early game

routes, those can be lacking and not tackle it all... then I moved on to JacK

who spiced up a lot of monotony that the starter routes had going on while being

hilarious at the same time. I thought there would be no route i'd like but I was wrong!

Goemon had a really good route as well but... the others started feeling like what if's.

--- 

 

TL;DR 

 At the very least the character interactions were always golden, due that I mostly had

a good time but it was a tad slow for me, the real struggle was the SoL along the way!

The romance is build on trust and its most enjoyed as a slowburn, early routes for me

like Kiku or Yona's was a real s t r u g g l e because while I liked them they never became fav's.

There was not much was going on and the real narrative is buried in the locked routes.

The main plot was kinda weak in early routes and very character+romance driven. 

At times there is plenty of enjoyment, yet the plot was 404 not found. 

 Goemon's the only one which handled it well but when I looked back I got

a massive headache thinking about certain side chara's.😓

Its sad I didn't enjoy the first 3 routes and at that point I was like is there a route

in this game I really enjoy? the answer was yes.  After three routes I struck gold with Jack.😄

So I basically suffered during the first half.😩Okay I guess I'll take the L's.

The best parts about TengoStray for me were the character interactions even when there

was nothing important going on. I didn't even dislike the LI's themselves. I just thought

some of the narrative within their routes particular the early ones could be better. 

8/10 

I would recommend TengoStray if you want an otome game about bad boys and life&death themes

with homey SoL/found family vibes. I wasn't disappointed with this game like with Enchante.

I'd probably not recommend TengoStray to those that don't like SoL, slowburn romance

or can't handle some mild forms of sexism since its just all that. 

 

My Play order:

Yona > Kikunosuke > Sharaku > Jack > Goemon.

Yona and Kikunosuke are the beginner routes and can be interchanged.

Sharaku the intermediate one which is best done before Jack.

Jack needs the player to do the three initial routes and Goemon is locked behind him. 

 

Recommended order:

Kikunosuke / Yona > Sharaku > Jack > Goemon. 

 

Character rambles and some of my fav cgs after the jump.

Probably don't read further if you want to experience it yourself since its just

senile grandma rambles beyond this point with potential spoilers. 

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

 

 

 

 

Over RequiemZ - Review

 Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Kogado/Otomate.

Platform: switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/over_requiemz/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v47013

Release date: 17-4-2025

 

I wasn't sure if I was going to get this game and it was literally a last minute decision

but I am glad I did because I ended up enjoying it more than I thought I ever would and it

had a pretty good story more so than a bunch of recent otomate games I played recently.

Also I could probably have finished this sooner rather than later however lately I don't

like it when I burst through games in a week but it lasted almost two weeks for me

so I slowed down my pace just a little bit, the game also is better with breaks

in between due to how intense the writing can be.

 

Pro's

- Interesting setting and complex characters.

- Mostly good pacing, atleast I thought fact side was.

- Gorgeous artwork, pretty consistent art.

- Beautiful music, I found it better than most of otomate's stuff.

- Replay value is high due to scenario split.

- You can completely ignore the dark side and get to enjoy the story with proper romance.

 

Grey area

- There's only one best ending, the other three are either bad ends, a tragic end or subjective good.

 

Con's

- Dorothy's route should've been locked.

- Most choices are meaningless except a handful that decided a branch or end.

 - Dark side can feel a bit drawn out, atleast one felt forced.

- The ending theme did not fit all the endings.

 

 

Over RequiemZ is loosely based on the wizard of oz.

The heroine Yuhiru gets isekai'd to a strange land and meets a bunch of guys

who are all convicted criminals alongside herself for reasons she doesn't get. The world

isn't quite like her own but she still recognizes elements here and there from it.

Due to her black hair and eyes, she is discriminated for it but she's not

the only one as one of the LI has suffered from it as well.

Yuhiru finds solace with a bunch of guys who like herself end up being charged for

crimes they didn't commit. The question remained of whether she can trust them or not. 

This honestly feels like a breath of fresh air. Yuhiru sets out on a journey with them

which really felt like a journey btw, the characters also had good chemistry

but this was mostly the first 5 chapters before it focused more on the LI.

I loved the character interactions, there was a good dose of humor at times as well.

 Even if they were criminals it didn't feel like they were bad atleast not at first

but you could tell there was another side to them so it was exciting to see how it'll play out.

I really loved how the writing could be rather intense, it was hard to get bored

and if I did zone out then the dialogue would snap me back into it.

 

Art looks gorgeous both sprite,CG and backgrounds are very well done.

Music Some BGM's were absolutely stellar I rarely praise this much but they deserve it!

It also set the tone of the scenes well and I like the OP a lot as well.

 

System; its a standard VN however  there's a route split for each character Fact and Dark

Depending on your choices you can tip the scales to either of those and get different endings

but other than that most of the choices were meaningless, it may change a dialogue line or two.

All the endings of which there were four per route were right at the end.

Yea the split sides basically are like this, yes.

Length; A single route would be 15 chapters in total, every guy had a sort of

common route/prelude which lasted for 5 chapters and then it splits into fact or dark

of which both are 5 chapters long.  Nothing seemed to drag on, I thought individually

chapters were short, it still delivered the scenario in a well-paced manner.

My first route was about 7-8 hours in length but depending on your reading

speed it may differ.  Its important to note that both sides are different in tone

from the other so you won't get the same experience twice.

 

I wasn't sure what was up with the choice system maybe that's to decide what ending you get

or if you can make it to the fact or dark. I used a guide so... i'm not sure if selecting a less

than good choice would result in a game over ending and I didn't have the energy to experiment.

Often there would be red choices, I thought that selecting the wrong one would give me

 a bad end but the guide listed none. This game also only has four endings per route.

They were at the end so the bad ones felt more like you reap what you sowed.

Still I think some bad ends may've worked in a type of game like this since

most choices are actually pretty meaningless and add nothing of value except

the ones that decide the route split or the endings at the end of it.

 

 

I liked the general feel of the game but I had so many questions...

like why was the heroine summoned? isn't this judicial system too harsh?!

The early parts of trying to survive outside of the city reminded me of the dark dragon and

the happy hungry bunch from yona of the dawn. The first half of the game felt rather calm

but there were moments of suspense like do you tell a LI the truth of where you came from?

Anyway for the most part the game was very enjoyable, I wanted to get to know the LI

and perhaps more about the world... which was my main motivation to keep playing.

The characters were honestly pretty great, I wanted to know more

about them all, in good and bad ways. Its been a long time

an otome game got that kind of reaction from me.

They all had some sort of underlying trauma and it could seem like the heroine

is a therapist but I thought she was just trying to be a good friend

and a good friend listens to someone elses troubles and doesn't judge.

The fact route tended to resolve issues while the dark route let them fester.

In most other otome games I am like eh a yandere but this game did

not present them the usual way, more like they could become one.

Most of my questions were answered by the time of the final fact route.

 

The fact side pretty much felt like a normal otome game to me...

It focused more on the character development,backstory and current problem

as well as delivering some proper romance as Yuhiru grows closer to the LI.

The dark side reminded me of stuff rejet would come up with

and that would probably be for folks who like yanderes or something.

The main plot in dark took a different turn which... opened up other problems.

So even if you don't like rejet type stuff I could still recommend this game.

I personally thought it was a hit or miss as I could stand Claude's dark route

but Molly's... was a very oh no wtf is this shit?! momento.

I kind of wanted to skip them especially since I came to love Noil a bit too much

still I wanted to see all of his character so I bit the bullet againu. 

 

Yuhiru was pretty okay? I did think she could have been fleshed out more

like she wants to go back home but... ends up finding a handsome man instead.😂

There's only one route where she is actually given a lot more backstory

so if you don't do it she can seem a little less interesting.

That aside I liked her interactions with the love interest and she was very positive and brave

 so I don't think there was much to dislike. She goes through some shit alright

but the worst of it was mostly reserved for the dark side. Which is optional.

If Ceres crawled it was so Yuhiru could fly.

 

Over RequiemZ reminded me a little of 9rip but with more horror/suspense. I wouldn't say

it was on tsukihime/virche level but it had a good dose of violence and blood.

I think without the fact side this game would've been unsatisfying for me

and it may have even steered me away had I tried to do the darkside first.

Other than that it was character focused but most routes would never go into

the same problem twice maybe this was a double edged sword.

Unfortunately, while I was lucky enough to play the most spoilerific route last

otomate may've been better off locking it but it seems they forget

and I am blaming the guy in charge of management.😩

Locking Dorothy's route should've been a thing.

In most routes there were more bad outcomes than good ones, like one best end

a sad end and then two endings that I thought were generally leaning to the bad side

but they could be good in a subjective way.  In the case of Noil I think he had three

good outcomes and one bad but two of them  were really subjective and it would be up

to the player to determine that.  So 4 endings so two for each side, I think there's

a lot of appeal to this otome game though and I was invested quickly in whatever

was happening. The dark side of the route is probably what most are going to come here for

but I'd probably recommend to do the fact side first just for a better understanding

of the LI more so if you care about plot+romance.

 

-- 

TL;DR: Over RequeimZ was more well-rounded, it was just the right length

which was a relief since I think Fuyuzono really rushed itself.  Its just that one route

should've been locked. There was just enough time for both romance, plot/character

development but it can be really intense and can not seem very otome.

Looking at it overall the actual story/character's were really good and given a lot of depth

that I can forgive it. Whatever scenes there were with the LI were very enjoyable but don't come

here expecting only fluff. When I look at Noil's route it spends more time building trust...

however trust is the foundation for everything and without that there can be no love. 

That is why I had no issues with romance. The fact side did feel to me like any other otome game

 Its just that some characters had stuff going on in their dark route that legit made me go nope

so it certainly is not for everyone. There was a moderate amount of violence

and blood, I don't think it was as extreme as Virche. I also see comparisons

and I just don't see it?  Virche made me depressed, Over RequiemZ had me hooked and

despite the dark side being less than good I was excited to go to the next character fact route.

It has intense and suspenseful moments but it also makes room for more calmer ones.

Dark side tended to... have more extreme ends as opposed to the fact side

which just had a tragic and good end.  I thought at times the split sides also complimented

eachother, this was most obvious to me in Noil's maybe because I enjoyed the route.

Noil Bestia was one of my favorite LI along with Kaize&Claude.

I can recommend this otome, more so if you miss rejet-like games and want a story full of suspense.

If I have to be really honest, if you're just here for the story&romance just do the fact side.

I feel the dark side is there for people that like darker stuff, once again its contents is not for everyone.

9/10

Should this get localized? absolutely! there's definitely an audience for this

but even if it doesn't the language difficulty is fairly low.

Lastly, I don't recommend binging or rushing through this game.

Take your time, the scenario is carefully written and going too fast

will likely not make you be able to take it in or enjoy its finer aspects.

 ---

 

There are no route restrictions so you can choose whoever you're interested in.

For my first play I ended up choosing Claude... as I played the routes

it all was so character driven, if I had to recommend anything then you can do

Claude,Molly,Noil and Kaize in any order but Dorothy is best saved for last.

I almost by a hair chose him first and was glad I didn't.

This game is best played without spoilers and its very hard to write about the

characters without spoiling  so if you don't want that then stop reading here.

Its mostly just me doing commentary and a poor digest of whatever happened

while sharing some of my favorite CG's, not all of them of course.

Atelier Yumia the Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land - Review

Genre: RPG.

Developer/publisher: Gust/Koei.

Platform: PS4,switch.
Official Site: N/A.

Release date: 21-3-2025

 

Honestly I was kinda excited for this one because it had a new heroine and world.

I tried the demo just to tip my toes in it while suffering through Tsukihime and I kinda liked it

however i'll say that this series is starting to feel more RPG-like with every new entry.

 

 

I like the OP but near the end of the game I started skipping it...

 

Pro's

- Interesting and decent story.

- Great cast of characters & fun interactions.

- Exploring is fun, its always nice finding chests.

- Character models are gorgeous, prettier than the environments even.

Grey area

- Due to the amount of content it is easy to get overwhelmed and  as an

atelier game this might've been the one where I spend synthesizing the least.

 

Con's

- Combat is too easy as long as you make good gear and items.

- Graphics are decent but... it can feel like it lacks a layer of polish.

- Ingame lightning either works in the games favor or against it.

- Shrines of prayers are too repetitive.

- Some bugs.

 

 I liked Yumia as a character, she definitely has her wits about her but is also a little timid

 and can come across as indecisive, the key theme is trying to do the right thing

but that isn't always easy. Describing her as a character isn't easy either.

Also seems she is well aware that alchemy isn't accepted so I couldn't help but noticed

she was anxious around folks but she'd be more open with people she knew. In terms of design

she kind of reminds me of Sophie or atleast in the artwork, sadly I didn't really like the design

since Yumia looks like a classy office lady with a jacket of someone

who's gonna do some outdoor camping or that's the impression I got. 😅

 

Other main characters were all GREAT and I LOVED their interactions with each other!

Story was pretty decent, I have no complaints, I absolutely loved how we slowly

got to learn more about everyone and whatever happened in the past.

I did think the ending fell a bit flat and it felt more like a beginning to something

Once I knew more about Yumia's past I liked her a lot more than right at the beginning.

Some villains are threatening, one of them is even like a dragon just not as fleshed out.

Garurumon was a weird character, was he friend or foe? he is shown to be a villain

from the get go, unfortunately like Vesper they lack depth but its done in such a way

like what else was there to tell? Lili was the more fleshed out of the bunch.

Final boss sure had build up but I thought he was just an asshole.

Due to the story being decent and the main characters having such great chemistry

I wanted to keep playing I could care less about the clunky combat

because it was fun to explore the lands of aladiss. Sadly there were still caveats.

He's like a dragon, unfortunately he wasn't as well developed.

In terms of graphics is erm... the models look great but while Ligneus region

looked fine to me, the Sivash region is where it started to look all washed up and soapy...

Graphics literally go from good to...

 

I see what you're trying to do but did you miss a layer of polish?

Sivash did look better at night, not sure if this was intended but it seems they forgot something.

The Auruma region looked okay I guess you get used to it.

It honestly baffles me how the models look great and are animated well

but the environments looks like they missed a layer of polish. 

Music was honestly fine, I don't really have any complaints, it had a good battle theme

and the atelier/synth music makes me forget the time so yea music's good. 

 

The character models look so good they look out of place with the rest.

 

In short; I liked atelier Yumia BUT I think this game needed a bit more time in the oven

because the straw that broke the camel's back for me was the Licht quest at the end of the game.

It literally tells you where to go next but for some reason the quest doesn't progress into the next

and at that point the only other things to do is the main story of which not much is left

or plain completionism which for some may not be their cup of tea. Its just poor design

and that wasn't the worst of it, I also had the bug where a side quest NPC will disappear

if you talk to it twice before killing the monsters making it unable to be completed.

This is also one of the few games that I ended up falling through the floor......

it usually ends up other people showing off their out of bound skills. This time it was me.💀

''...''

Like holy shit did they even QA this game?! Anyways I did like the characters and the story itself

was decent, for the first time ever I completely understood the alchemy system while

in dusk/mysterious I'd barely get it. Sadly I don't think this game was that cozy because

all the ''?'' marks and completion percentages did everything in its power to make it not cozy.

Its hard to recommend Yumia, maybe if you like easy games with lovable characters & lots to do?

7/10

''It was still enjoyable in terms of story/chara's but... its simply half-baked.

For all it did right, it did some wrongs. Its not perfect it just lacks polish.''

 

More rambles after the jump, I probably rambled on too much so you can stop reading here.

Temirana Koku no Tsuiteru Hime to Tsuitenai Kishi Dan - Review

Tsuitsui ~The lucky princess and the unlucky knights~

 Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/tsuitsui/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v34020
Release date: 2023-04-27.

 

Otomate's latest game! when I looked at it prerelease it didn't

really grab me outside of the heroine being cute, some designs

partly reminded me of a PS2 otome game but when looking at it the plot

did seem interesting? so I gave it a try anyway.😊

Most of the seiyuus aside from a few are all pretty new, I guess the veterans

have become too expensive but it seems they've invested a bit in Kimuryo.

Still I think its nice they let newer talent get some roles too.  Also since the title is so long

I'll be referring to this game as Tsuitsui instead, which also rolls of the tongue pretty well.

Pro's

- Story and Characters.

- Art is decent but the designs remind me of a ps2 era game.

- Music was good, it fits the setting/moments.

Con's

- It may look like a comedy but its really not.

- Not a lot of fluffy content.

- Length; no joke it is a long VN.

- No play order restriction, which IMO may have been necessary.

The story is about a princess who has high luck, some sort of power which

she uses to determine who's safe or something sadly this power isn't seen as positive

and they mostly refer to it as a curse. One day Cecillia starts trusting her intuition more

and learns it was actually trying to help her. Most of the knights she ends up choosing

were not really being suited for such a job! The guys also really seems like Cecillia just

picked them up from the street and some don't even have an interest in being a knight

which is probably the main reason that caught my attention.

They had to do some training-camp were she got to know them better and low and behold

some magic happened as she interacted with them and actually got them to take it seriously!

Art; its decent but some designs reminds me of some PS2 era game.

The heroine looked really cute though but some Cg's of the guys did not grab my attention

still it wasn't all bad and there were good ones! the backgrounds were especially well done.

Music was alright it fits the setting/mood. I didn't have any complaints but the OP

I did start skipping after a few plays not that the song was bad, it just not my thing

it also seemed kind of misleading and way too cutesy for what the game really was about.

The ED was really nice though! perfectly fitted the mood.

 

The game also had a generally chill vibe going on as well! especially in the common route.

There is best end,normal and game over end for each character so you may have

to watch your choices here and there (or just use a guide). I personally skipped

the game over/bad ends as they gave no CG.

 

The common route was long and it took its time to introduce the characters

as they did not become knights in a single day; god bless for that since

some of them really didn't seem like they were gonna be knights haha.

If you had to ask me, the common route was the most fun part, its the

 personal routes where things start to get real.

The pacing wasn't too bad and the common chapters of introduction were paced well

its basically a pace I was comfortable with, at times a little slow/boring but..

we did get to know the characters and understand the setting etc.

The only time I was ever bothered by it was in the final route but then again

it had lots of great moments with the love interest too so I can forgive them.

The character interactions are also one of the best parts and i think

the characters did carry this game by a lot as well.

This game may seem light-hearted and knows when to have fun

however it isn't afraid to throw in political games or people plotting stuff!

Also after you complete routes there are new but short scenes from the guys POV.

All of the love interests were likable in some way so that was great, they weren't

off-putting or a creep or anything. For some sub characters it was easy to tell that they were not 

so nice like for example Claudia who is Cecillia's sister totally has that villainess look.

Maybe in another world she's the protagonist trying to save herself from certain doom!

Honestly I can tell the writers/devs sort of did this as a joke.

 Cecillia on the other hand was a pretty good heroine, despite being lucky she still goes

through some shit alright but is able to keep her chin up and well in the case of Joseffy

being able to put a leash on him (or so it seemed to me). Cecy was both caring and headstrong!

 

I did find the overall the setting/lore and political intrigue to be particularly strong in Tsuitsui

as it certainly wasn't afraid to go all out with the heroine being a princess and part of a monarchy

but it didn't get too dark or anything. It had some fun moment but definitely not

a full rom-com, the story and characters were its strong points.

Some routes could turn out to be less interesting depending on the order of play, the romance

with the love interests was alright as they did manage to find a balance of how

things progressed, if kimiyuki had an odd balance or dragged they certainly

found the right balance with tsuitsui. However I want to make it clear that

Tsuitsui is not a short game, so if you end up getting this you're definitely getting

something with a bit of volume and a long final route. There's not much fluff but I still

think most of the best endings were fulfilling. So if this game never gets a FD

I wouldn't be too disappointed, I mean it would be nice if it did well enough!

 

Overall Tsuitsui was pretty decent to me, despite looking a bit generic!

so if you're up for something like an otome game version of game of thrones or

the dragon prince(but not really) this tsuitsui definitely gets my recommendation.

IDK how well this game did in japan, or if i'm one of the very few who imported but if

it didn't do well then otomate only has themselves to blame for misrepresenting this game.

Because it really seems like it was gonna be some light-hearted comedy which turned

into actually being something with a serious story with funny moment as but an after thought.

Needless to say I still think Tsuitsui was good but don't come here expecting a full rom-com!

8/10

 

Play order doesn't seem to matter much as every route is self-contained

and each can reveals parts of the greater plot! there is no restriction

which really baffles me since there are routes that reveal more than others

especially Kier and Adel kind of hints at things.

Order of play that I recommend:

Toby/Milan > Joseph > Adel > Kier/Kiya > Finale.

My own play order was:

Milan > Josef > Kier/Kiya > Adel > Toby > Finale.

I still think this is partly fine since it flowed well enough and by the time of Adel route

everything fell into the right pieces so I am inclined to recommend this same order

with the exception of not doing Tobi last since I found it to be a little lacking

with the exception of his character development also Kier's route is best done last b4 finale.

 

Spoilers and character ramblings with bad romanizations after the jump

 I'll be mostly sharing two CG's per character with the exception of

the finale since I had too many favorites.

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

Cupid Parasite - Review

 Genre:VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: Switch.

Official Site: http://ideafintl.com/cupid-parasite/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v25912

Release date: 2021-11-02.

 

So after I beat xenoblade 3, which left me kind of depressed I wondered what game/vn

would be best to play next... which lead me to cupid parasite cuz honestly I was in the mood

for something that I know is light-hearted/fun and probably doesn't take it self too serious! I couldn't finish the game before kuro 2 so this kind of became a backburner game I played inbetween

other games. Due to this being out in english, I actually decided to play it and support 

instead of just buying it in JPN. The localization was fine and they even patched

any lingering issues that were found. Of course I did spot a few minor mistakes

anyone could make when typing, its nothing too big that would ruin it in the long run.

Pro's

- Cute and funny story with a pro-active heroine.

- Gorgeous Art and Catchy Tunes!

- Unique individual routes and a really good finale.

 

Con's

- UI is a little busy / too much random/useless text in menu's.

 

I don't got many complaints so let's get those out first!

The UI is a tad busy! which I think is more of a personal issue from my part.

So while the art is really good and I don't have much problems with the background art either

though it is stylish the backgrounds can look kind of flat at times as well.

I don't mind the vibrant colours in fact I like bright happy stuff but there's such a thing

as there being a lot on the screen. The other thing is that while the music is really good

I didn't like it when there were vocal tracks cuz it distracted me from reading

so I just lowered the volume to the point its just a nice background bgm.

The UI is just too busy for people like me and it overwhelmed me...

still I like the style of it all and it being hip and trendy even if its just not my thing.

System wise it was just basic stuff, there are bad/fail ends but it all was pretty simple and easy

to get the normal/best end which didn't have much difference except one being just better.

It does have bad ends but they're not too bad, if you play blind you could get them...

but its not too hard to get the good or best ends due to love catch! although

at times it will take a while before the love catch shows up.

 

Cupid Parasite does remind me of Variable Barricade in some ways yet they're nothing alike.

The only thing that is, is that the love interests are definitely not ready for marriage! yet.

Both games also have a confident/headstrong heroine. So if you're into that or tired

of the meeker ones Cupid Para is definitely something to look into.

For the most part it was a pretty light-hearted but fun read, this is not the game

to look for if you prefer darker stories as it really is like a love comedy.

Can't describe it in any other way! some of the love interests might not work  for everyone though

but really i've played plenty of otome games to know by now that sometimes you'll just

find some character that you just cannot like or leaves the most terrible of first impressions

and Ryuki sorta hit that spot for me, I was like any other love interest please and thank you!

I swear I looked over all the initially available love interests and was like hmm they're all

a better choice than him. I still wanted to do his route of course, just not right of the bat.

All in all Cupid Parasite is a fun and cute otome game, it is also a game that can lift your mood

like if you have a bad day or want to think about something better/fun.

There's not much otome games like it but I think it is one of the better ones out in english

because it doesn't try too hard with its story and manages to keep it light and fun

without it ever trying too hard to be something it isn't.

The heroine Lynette also was an absolute queen I enjoyed seeing her interact with the guys etc.

One thing I will be honest about is that the love interests could definitely be a hit or miss

but don't let that stop you from trying it out. I didn't like any of the guys that much based

on the common route but their route did make things better or put perspective on things!

so characters like Shelby became much more likable and even Gill became bearable.

Ryuki however will remain the king of terrible expressions, even so his route was still 

surprisingly entertaining, even if I don't like him that much he got the OK from me by the end.

The true route this time was one of the better kind but I can understand if some say it needed

just a little more romance as it did focus on the plot and any questions the player could have had.

 However if you're not looking for a rom-com or don't like that genre, Cupid Parasite should be a pass!

but if you're up for that or just for something silly then by all means it gets my recommendation

cuz it is a good time. This game is also great to just play in short bursts/a little at a time

or do a route every now and then! for me it was like that and just did a route inbetween other games.

For the most part it all turned out okay cuz there's no real overarching plot so I wasn't

too confused when I picked it back up cuz every route is mostly self-contained.

There was definitely a plot beneath it all but by the time I got to the routes that delved into it more

I also stopped taking breaks and just did the final three routes one after the other.

Allan's route is really good tho and i'd even recommend the whole game just cuz of him.

I also think due to the love interests being diverse there may be something for everyone

in this game which is good. Honestly I think Cupid-Para was pretty well-rounded!

all things considered this was a good otome game maybe not the best ever but it was pretty good

at what it tried; being a rom-com. The final route does feel more like a fanservicey what if

rather than a typical true route but it does a good job of giving the player another perspective.

9,5/10

Biased score I know! but I did enjoy it and will look back fondly on it.

My play order was Shelby > Gill > Raul > Allan > True.

Raul's route is locked till 2nd play and Allan's locked by him...

dunno if there was a recommended order but I think the following is alright to recommend

due to the restrictions on Raul/Allan the first three routes listed can be done as you like.

If Ryuki really irks you due to his habits then you could skip him... 

or if you want to get to Allan just do Gill and Raul to unlock Allan.

Recommended: Shelby / Ryuki / Gill > Raul > Allan > True.

I'll stop rambling here and there is some more character focused babbles after the jump.

The route babbles they will just be some likes/dislikes, along with fav CG.

    There won't much spoilers except for me rambling of all routes including the hidden one.

Birushana Senki ~Ichijuu no Kaze~ - review

 Genre:VN.
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/birushana/fd/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v32229
Release date: 2022-03-31.

 

Well its here! the FD to Birushana or Bilshana (depending on how you spell it).

I'm surprised it got a FD but it did do pretty well so its only natural.

I kinda did wonder if it was really needed or not... as release draw close but its better

than something never getting a FD... like Hana Oboro for example.

 Aside from the usual after stories the fd also has routes for some of

the side characters that only had mini routes in the original.

 

Pro's

- After stories are diverse and suit the characters.

- New routes give those characters plenty of substance.

- Gorgeous artwork.

 

Con's

- After's get less Cg's than the new routes...

 

The OP movie is pretty good, definitely the type i'd just let play.

Its just a standard VN, After stories don't have any choices and its mostly just chill

and fluff as you get to enjoy some time with your husbando.

New routes do have choices but cuz of the love catch its easy to tell which is the

best choice and thus making it easier to get both endings.

Right after I downloaded the game from the jpn eshop I dived into Benkei's route

and well I already was satisfied in the romance department! even if he was not my fav.

 

After's aren't that long either... I think the length was about two hours depending

on your reading speed. There's not much to work with so don't expect too much

except some fluff and wrapping up some loose ends, as well as some horniness?

some had it on the lvl of oh god just fuck already?!

As for the new routes... they do a pretty good job of giving those guys more substance!

they are like a full route in the original game so we get to spend plenty of time with them.

Before starting on this I wasn't that hyped for the new routes cuz I was fine with 

what we got in the original and there wasn't much to them except

Shigehira but Tsugunobu really grew on me and ugh he's now my best boi!

With this I think the content value of this game is pretty good and will last a bit unless you binge...

The new routes get more cg's than the afters which could be disappointing! for afters 

there were only 3/4 cg's (with variation) and one bonus with the guy in present day clothing.

The new routes also follow some of the general plot of the original because again its about

the genpei war, you can't expect them to suddenly make it about something else

which is good because it was consistent in making room for the new-old friends.

I think that in general something Birushana is good at is concistency, there's minimum holes

in its plot they might be there but once you did all it really did make sense.

Of course its not perfect... and there's definitely some problems but I really do love

this series and its cast, it was great to spend more time with them.

If I had to be really honest neither of the Satou brothers were particularly interesting

in terms of plot, Takatsuna was slightly more interesting cuz he's Yoritomo's retainer but don't do

these routes expected new and exciting plot revelations cuz that's not what they're here for.

They're basically here for another romance option... someone for Shana to be happy with

which was nice in its own way, personally I did enjoy spending time with Tsugunobu.

For play order I did want to try to alternate the afters with the new routes which was: 

Benkei >  Shungen > Tsugunobu > Tadanobu > Noritsune > Takatsuna >Yoritomo>Tomomori >Shigehira.

Anyway Birushana FD is a great treat for fans that want a little something extra

I wasn't disappointed with the additional romance for some of the guys cuz some of them needed it.

The stories are diverse and suit the characters, in that sense Birushana doesn't disappoint.

Maybe I am being too positive but if I like it, I like it. There's not much to complain about either

except maybe the CG count for the after stories but it seems they wanted to focus more on the

side characters new routes anyway its better to have quality over quantity and its not like

the after's were bad... I mean the guys getting hornier is a good thing no?

 

I could understand some people not giving two fucks about those guys having new routes but maybe

it will surprise you & you'll end up with a new best boi, i'm speaking from experience here.

So overall me thinks depending on what you're here for that this

is a pretty good FD to compliment the original!

 

PLEASE NOTE that from here on there will be spoilers both for the original game and this FD

as I will write a little about the after stories/new routes from this point onward, so if you plan

to play either the original game in english/jpn or this FD I recommend to stop reading here!!!