Geten no Hana with Yume Akari - Review (2)

下天の華 夢灯り
 Game: [Geten no Hana with Yume Akari Aizouban].

Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Ruby Party / Koei Tecmo

Platform: PSP, PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/geten/vita/index.html

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v12865

Release date: 2016-09-08

 I won't be bother to write much since I already said a lot in my review for the first game.
Yume Akari is the sequel to Geten no Hana which continues from the grand finale and since
 the individual endings didn't matter I decided to let it rest before going into this
but after four months and a depressing FD I decided its time to finish this! 
Like the prequel its not accurate to history to make it an otome game 
but they did a good job of sticking to some parts atleast.
 Anyway...
Hotaru continues to serve Mitsuhide and protect Nobunaga from outside threats as the shield of Azuchi.
 What is Hotaru's dream? she will surely have one more chance to find it closeby to her.

Pro's
- Plot is okay...
- Every guy is still likeable.
- Art.
- Individual ED themes (though only Hanbei and Kanbei are new)

Con's
- Short, after one play the rest of the routes will fly by.
- Some of the previous guys routes feel like new/alternative versions.
- Annoying card minigame to replace 50% of the battles.

Yume Akari adds two new love interests Hanbei and Kanbei since the new story is centered on them
and here comes the hard truth, without them there would be no sequel.
The two come to investigate the shield of Azuchi while crashing at Hideyoshi's place...
Ok since this is the spoiler free zone that all you will get out of me, this game plot is better found out on your own.
Everyone else gets a route as well but like I explained before everything is reset till a certain point
so for the old guys basically becomes an alternative take...a second chance or so to speak.

 There's also this card game thing and well you win by get matching cards...
this is actually to break the mold of having to only do the fighting minigame, its the only way 
to get flowers and incense now also unless you want challenge just play on easy
I doubt anyone wants to bother doing it on higher difficulty and waste even more time on it. 
Especially on Momoji's route, lol.
The old fighting minigame is still there for story fights but I can't help but question why
 the new one is needed for the kusumono(intruder) fights? oh well no use thinking about it. 
You can lvl up 3 stats, precog,kunai(more hits) and one that heals your health 
by using them in the new minigame, max lvl is 10 but there isn't much use for it unless you
 want to play it on higher difficulty which is not difficult just more annoying/time consuming.

The sequel like its prequel is a fairly short game, first play should take anywhere from
 8 ~ 10 hours at most which is roughly the same as its prequel, 2nd+ will be done in 4~5 hours.
 You can also use incense during conversations with characters, which leads to some 🔥 scenes.

Too be honest I wasn't sure whom's route to do first so I just followed the same playorder as before.
You can't do Nobuyuki on first play not sure about Hanbei but I do not recommend because spoilers.
For first play just go with normal end or someone you're familair with other than that order does not matter. 
Personally it would be better to save the new routes for last... unless you are really curious 
and can't wait that long till you've done everyone if I had to recommed anything at all please do
Momoji before Hanbei and Mitsuhide before Kanbei this'll be no problem if you save Hanbei and Kanbei for later.

  My play order:
Mitsuhide > Momojiji > Nobuyuki > Hashiba > Ranmaru > Ieyashu > Nobunaga > Hanbei > Kanbei.

For a guide just us Syrup26 and Choro for whatever Keywords you are missing.

In short for those not wanting to scroll down below, I recommend the sequel to Geten no Hana fans
but do not expect a true sequel but an extension of a story that couldn't be told back then.
Most of the original chara are just alternative routes anyway, the new after stories for them were nice though.
The sequel's story is okay but has some hilariously obvious things at times, I mean
who could that bamboo hat man be? he looks awfully familiar. 😕
This game has a lot of common scenes and like I mentioned 2nd+ play will fly by even quicker
than its prequel since there is less to do and stuff, regarding common scenes its honestly
not that different from the average visual novel since somethings will never change.
I still love how most Koei games have their own solution to the predicament at the end
even at Harutoki6 Gentou Rondo I enjoyed that(despite me headdesking at times).
Also remember how I said no one ever actively pursues the heroine in the prequel?
Haha... that didn't last long as it was obv Kanbei was interested in Kikyou(Hotaru)
but don't worry there's a plot reason for this to explain his behavior still while
Kanbei shows his interest, he atleast knows when to back off, so yeah its not bad.
Moving on I thoroughly enjoyed the new characters routes and sadly I think they were the most
worthwhile content? sure it was nice to help Nobuyuki or Ieyashu again or spend time with Ranmaru
but I'd honestly wish for a fandisk and get to see them under more relaxed circumstances.
Its really sad the stars of this game are Hashiba, Hanbei and Kanbei though everyone else did have
 an enjoyable route but to me it felt like most of the effort went into the new routes.
For score it gets an  9/10 from me, it gets less points from me due to me getting nostalgic of some
of the routes characters had in the prequel and the new route feeling like an alternative.
Maybe I nagged a little but I really did enjoy it overall... and still recommend this port
because no matter how you look at it the characters and plot are well written.
I'm a little sad its over though, Yume Akari is probably the last entry... and did a good job of making it feel complete.

There's spoilers below, some sections more than others but i'm sure you've
realized you can read the full summary and character background in detail at koei wiki
and so I won't bother to be detailed and will drop things out/ summarize it in my own way if at all.

Geten no Hana with Yume Akari Aizouban review (1)

下天の華
 Game: [Geten no Hana with Yume Akari Aizouban].

Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Ruby Party / Koei Tecmo

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/geten/vita/index.html

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v11639

Release date: 2016-09-08

Note that this review is for the original game, since both are included in this port.
I will  have to make a separate post for the sequel when I get to it one day as I am not
going to play both games right after the other since its unlikely i'm going to appreciate it
and I do not wish to make the same mistake as with Juuza engi 1+2 in which most of
the first games route/endings were better than its sequel to me.

 So this is the third Koei otome game I played, this one is set during the classic sengoku period.
Our heroine Hotaru is a ninja who is sent to infiltrate Nobunaga's castle, due to circumstance ends up
working for Mitsuhide and under his orders Hotaru disguises herself as Kikyou his sister.
 Will Hotaru's heart sway for one of the seven handsome samurai's including Nobunaga himself?
Only time will tell...

 As for play order I had no idea who to go for first so I ended up going for the one guy

 who interested me the most first, since I figured I may as well enjoy myself the first time.

 Mitsuhide > Momoji > Nobuyuki > Hashiba > Ranmaru > Ieyashu > Nobunaga > grand finale.

There is no recommended order, just that Momoji and Nobuyuki unlock 2nd+ play.
 As for recommending you an order, I think you should be fine with doing whatever
 Feel free to forge your own playorder based on this information below though!
Mitsuhide's route was nicely balanced and I think its best to do him first because
all of the routes I did afterwards with the exception of Momoji ended up being more enjoyable.
Doing Momoji second is actually a good thing since not only you learn more
about Hotaru and his past, plus his route is sorta a drag compared to the rest.
Also good for farming flowers due to all the training you have to do...
Nobuyuki had the more ''serious'' route which helps to understand him more
which might be good for midway through. Hashiba's route was just fun all around!
Ran's high in moe content, Ieyashu  was really sweet with some light drama.
Nobunaga was also more serious and perfect for  last because of the way it was concluded
which was even better than grandfinale.

TL;DR
Pro's
- Story.
- Heroine; princess by day, shinobi by night.
- Strong cast of characters.
- Choice of seiyuu.
- Art, very unique style.
- BGM, OK fits the mood some of the ED theme songs are A++.

Con's
- Short.
 - Random choices to raise doubt/affection.
- Skip a thon, 2nd+ play.
- Every chara's tsumi endings are copy pasta, just with a different flavor of sprinkled cheese on top.
 -

Geten no Hana is different from most Koei's games while its obv not a straight-forward 
visual novel it has no real annoying gameplay mechanics compared to other koei games
which could bother you from enjoying a good read.
If that's what's stopping you from getting into this please set your prejudice aside.

 Here's what the actual gameplay entails:
-  Interact with the guy on a daily basis to get affection for his next event, while
 also trying to achieve the mission Mitsuhide gives you, the game is short
so there's limited time but just enough to do one characters events.
- Fight, select the right buttons within the time limit, you gain flowers 
while training which increases affection when given to the guy.
- Its easy to play without a guide however some choices could prevent you from getting the guys next
flag event or lead to an abrupt game over, I still recommend a guide for a comfortable playthrough.

Seriously the above is not as annoying as it may sound so please do give it a shot.

There's even a demo available for the first game on JP PSN so if you still have doubts go try it.
Geten no Hana is not a straigh-forward visual novel, if endless screens of text 
test your patience koei's otomege are perfect for you.

 TL;DR end.

From the start the guys are all very likeable and they fit into their historical selfs well but still
its an otome game so some adjustments have to be made mmmkay? The story
 was surprisingly well written and easy to follow despite being old timey
also there's furigana so its easy to understand kanji for important terms.

I must say I like the heroine Hotaru a lot, she is combat capable but is a bit dense 

regarding romance but it all makes sense considering her upbringing.
Hotaru is awesome but has her moments of doubt and being insecure because
she's still a girl after all but I wish she had more courage in certain route/ending.
I rather have a proactive heroine like Hotaru who kicks ass than a meek heroine
where the guys are literally all over her like in most otome.
Its sad that badass otome game heroines come in extremely small shipments.
Unfortunately the romance in some routes was more obvious than others, hmm how to put it?
This game wants you to pay attention to the characters words and actions more than anything.
If its not obvious that doesn't mean its not there at all, the route that was the hardest
to grasp any sort of romance for me was Momoji's all the others were easy to understand.

  System wise its pretty much like Harukanaru 6 just without rpg aspect.
 You have the guys side events and/or romantic moments during the main story and the
 character story is at the end which slightly change the events and ending of the game.
Everything else is mostly the same every play just the outcomes are different
due to whom you for which keeps things fresh even if the general story is the same. 
You got missions which usually include having to shapeshift into a maid, bird, samurai or a frog.
 I really liked the scenes you could get if you turn into a frog only for Ieyashu to notice it
and take it back to the pond, it was word the failed attempt for the reaction alone, lol.
 In between your missions you can visit the guys and talk with them, the conversation topic
are random some may raise or lower affection, you don't want the latter since
you need affection to trigger event flags and you need all of a character event flags
to get their best endings, if you want their normal end simply abort by chapter 3/4.
 Talk topics include their past, favorite food... and other things plenty of interesting facts to learn.
This is much better than Angelique Retour were the topics were kept even simplier.

Battles include having to select the right buttons in time, its nothing too difficult
but it is easy to mess up sometimes since you are on the clock(there's a timer).
There are a lot of bad ends like for failing a mission, though only a few are recorded
in the scene recollection, IIRC max doubt? and failing plot battles isn't recorded.

For guides momokan,otome-girly and Halfadder are good but they all are for the PSP version
so they lack the info on how to get the newly added sinful flower endings made for this port.
That is why I highly recommended you Syrup26's guide as its perfect.
Choro has done gods work by putting up a glossary check list, with these two you are all set!
I really do not recommended playing this without a guide due to shear amount of bad ends
from certain choices in scenes, basically aborts the whole cutscene, granted a quick save will help
but sooner or later it would drive me crazy not knowing which leads to an abrupt bad end. (눈_눈)

 I recommend only getting the guys events which ever one you go for that round
and don't see anyone else because you don't even have time for it, also quick saves! use them!
Seriously though due to most of the game being the same every play its better to save the unique
character events for every play you do since it just becomes more worthwhile.
There are some secret events which pairs up characters and give you a close up CG
and you'll most likely get them when going for grand finale, honestly
if it weren't for a guide I would have probably never got them since it requires
you to view various event flags of both characters during chapter 1/2.
You don't even have that much time so even getting it really puts your managment skills to the test.

 Some choices when visiting the guy are random but don't worry they're not infinitely random
so just quick save before a choice if you're unsure if its gonna lower affection or raise doubt.
 The scenes aren't long either only a few of them are so if you have short attention span
 don't worry this game like most of Koei's game is perfect for you.
Sadly this also means the game is a pain in the ass to platinum, because
this game does not give you all keywords like they're candy.
Following Syrups guide will get you everything except that, missing glossary entries?
Use Choro's masterlist to see which you missed it some of Hashiba's talks may need high affection.
Getting all cg's and scenes is easy peasy, selecting all choice in the daily conversation is not
because they're random and some only give you the keyword at high/low affection.

Okay on to another topic...
The guys do not show much interests/harass Kikyou which is good! no need for queen bee syndrome.
Okay... Hashiba does shower her with affection from the get go but there has to be one of those...
Also you'll never see Ranmaru's cute side outside of his own route, Momoji may be charming
  outside of his own route but you'll find out more about him and Hotaru's past in his route than anywhere else in his own route though he was sort of grumpy to me.
 Point is you won't find out anything about other characters in someone elses personal route
as they're very character focused on themselves as is and to be honest, this is a good thing.
Honestly while it may look the guys routes are like side events along the main road it really
isn't all that different from the average otome game because some things just won't change.
Overall Koei sure knows how to work their magic, thats for sure.
They know how to make the characters and scenes so dreamy...!
The characters also manage to fit into their historical counterparts especially Nobunaga
though for some adjustments had to made so its not completely accurate
but not like it needs to be and this game did a damn good job at trying to stay true.
No character felt like they had a route for the sake of having one and thats good!

2nd+ play like most of koei's games doesn't have the same feel but most routes still manage
and bring something new to the table as they're very character focused.
Everyone is likeable in some way and there are no yandere if you were wondering, also not
everyone get a kiss cg which is common for Koei's games to only get  or two most of the time. 

Even if there is no CG for it they do kiss, there is just no pretty picture for it...
It is sad that the characters don't get any kiss CG in their best ends. T_T
Ranmaru's tsumi end doesn't count because its not exactly something I want to remember...
Speaking of the new Tsumi no Hana endings are essentially more bad ends for some added despair

and imo they are totally unnecessary its more like a what if Hotaru betrayed Mitsuhide and everyone.
The story for it was pretty crap because the same reason is copy pasted into everyone's tsumi end.

If you already played the both psp games and think about getting this port for it and other content

I suggest to not unless you're a real fan of this series and absolutely want to support it. :)

Also me thinks the normal end and pair CG's are a ripoff... since its mostly
just their standing picture and for the pair ups its just a close up, lol.
While there isn't a canon guy there is bias present in Nobunaga's route, because
not only does none of that happen in anyone elses route it was made as clear as day he was
Hotaru's first love! I am just glad they don't shove this down your throat too much in other route
not even the grand finale, this is all good because the player is supposed to choose who they like.
Other than that Geten no Hana is a great otome game and really I recommend it!
Though I think I wrote down/repeat a bit too much...
9.5/10

The usual spoilers be they major or minor awaits after the jump, you've been warned.
Anyway i'm sure you've realized you can read the full summary and character background in detail at
koei wiki so I won't bother to be detailed with plot i'll only mention my fav events and drop out the rest.