Matsurika no Kei Tenmeiin Iden - Review

Intertwined Bloodlines.

 Genre: VN.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v47009

Release date: 29-2-2024.

 

Matsurika was the only upcoming otome game from otomate that I was still interested in.

It has a lot to do with the artstyle and a fantasy setting which just really drew me in

as well as a comfortable seiyuu cast with familiar voices that I like.

If this is gonna be my last otomate game... they got me good!

 

This game released on the same day as FFVII rebirth but at the same time

I mostly ended up playing this first because I just missed playing an otome game

and I wasn't in the mood for Final Fanfiction 7 which I only really ended up playing

on and off if the mood striked or when switch was charging which is actually perfect for it.

Pro's

- Well rounded routes, mostly easy to follow the story.

- Compelling characters & OK heroine(considering her situation).

- Gorgeous artwork and fitting soundtrack for that chinese feel.

 

Grey area:

- CeroD for a reason, there's quite a bit of sexual themes and not just suggestive.

Con's

- Long, especially if you do all routes.

- It can be kind of frustrating if you'd like to do the routes of Enrai or Fey since

they basically need all other routes be done but locked for a reason.

- NTR (bad ends only).

 

 

This game had some pretty high production values and good art direction from the CG's to

the backgrounds and sprites they were all gorgeous. Did I mention the cg's were animated as well?

I doubt this game was the product of a year they worked on this for a while

the artist truly outdid themselves not many otomate games have multiple sprite.

It has a great soundtrack that fit the setting/mood. The OP was great and listened

to it almost everytime I booted up the game. The ED's was pretty good too.

The menus were nice as well, it wasn't busy like say cupipara and just easy on the eyes.

The system was standard stuff however I could not find the skip to the next choice option

which ended up being touch pad only which I barely use, it didn't work properly.

Matsurika has a lot of chinese influences as well as the classic four lords.

At first I had a hard time understanding all the lore and it wasn't very clear where

any of it would go, there was suspense and intrigue, it got better eventually when

I got to know the characters! i'd say the end of the common route was a little

frustrating in light of certain developments. Other than that it still has a nice

sense of humor and the character interaction was pretty great right of the bat.

**Once I got into it the story was not particularly hard to follow/grasp.

I'd say the heroine Naaya was decent at best, she can be reserved but also show courage

to go off to another town on her own despite a certain someones protest.

Naaya has a lot of potential but due to the setting can never reach it, she can be stubborn

as well but eh she goes through a lot and doesn't even know wtf is going on

so I can't be too hard on her, she doesn't deserve that and her options are limited.

**I mostly liked her because she was kind but it seems most people don't like

 passives heroines and they only want pro-active ones, Naaya shined only on rare occasions.

 

Despite being an old timey game I didn't find it boring, it only became more interesting

as it went on but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows there were secrets being kept.

There were twists and turns, at times I wasn't even sure what was really going on.

**It all did managed to fall into place at the end.

Common route wasn't too long, it serves its purpose to setup everything in relaxed manner

however the end of the common route was a little disturbing, the mood whiplash

at the time bothered me. It was at that moment the dumpster catched fire

and in some routes it goes out but in others it never really went out till the end.

Especially you Ruwo.

The story did generally flow well, it had slower moments but I didn't find the pacing

to be that bad. I think it was overall better than in say Tsuitsui.

Individual route was of decent length there's plenty developments good and bad.

If you combine them all then this game is pretty long. I did like that the final route was

not a combination of all but instead something that connects all dots, for better or for worse.

However I would like to emphasize that this game is very old fashioned and

the values of marriage or morals simply don't work in today's world. If the reader

can get past that and accept it then I think this game is much more enjoyable.

Most love interest's are nice enough that I could understand why the heroine

would stay with them because where else would she go? If you hit rock bottom

and someone extends their hand would you not accept it? I would.

 

The story wasn't very nice to the heroine but some love interests were, others did

need more time to grow on me but it was hard to dislike most of them.

Ruwo's route was pretty much the ongoing dumpster fire which was entertaining it its own way

but Zebenera was much more relaxed? it was also more connected to the overall plot

which made me super interested in Bicorn. Bicorn was the route that I thought was really good

and was able to truly present its story beats to its fullest. However it felt

a little longer but atleast Bicorns character got his full development.

I thought Seirin's route was a little boring but even that managed to make itself interesting

it just had one moment were I was like WTF this is awful but Seirin was the saving grace

unfortunately that route was riddled with politics so it took me longer to get through. Seirin route

is probably also another reason for ceroD because most routes except Enrai were... tame.

Meanwhile Fey sits in a corner somewhere waiting for the player to do all routes

and Enrai is mocking him. Wait I am getting off-topic.

All in all without any plot spoilers Matsurika no Kei was a well-rounded otome game!

however one must be willing to accept that in today's world its values no longer work and that

is okay because this is a work of fiction based on myth's and fantasy set in the old world.

The scenario was good, with multiple endings that suit the story/character.

A decent attempt at world-building and of course likable love interest

along with gorgeous and consistent artwork as well as a fitting OST.

-

If I had to ask myself the question of what do I want in an otome game

then Matsurika ticks off some flags of yes this is what I look for.

Not everything may have been my cup of tea nor is it perfect but it doesn't need to be

i'd much rather play an otome game that isn't afraid to have bad things happen

than something that railroads me to a happy end where the choices don't even matter.

**I generally liked most happy ends, they all had good conclusions.

Of course this game still has some classic problems like not every route being as relevant

 but it is handled really well that each route is refreshing and each love interest's situation is

different making it exciting to do all routes. One of MnK's problems is the restrictions

on routes but those are there for a reason. Its still better than not having any at all. I do not

consider the MC being on the passive side a problem at all considering the setting & situation.

-

Also I was reminded of ken ga kimi when I played this game and I think there's some similarity

I specifically liked how there's multiple outcomes good and bad but they all suited the character

plus the routes were all so well rounded that if it didn't get a FD then you still get a full experience.

Turns out a scenario writer of KgK worked on this game. I suppose they still got the magic

but they also worked on CupiPara which has a completely opposite direction of MnK.

This really shows their talent as a writer, playing this game made me realize I am not that

burned out from this genre, and the last one just left me craving for more balanced games.

8.5/10

(I end up dropping it sligtly because of Fey's route... because its unfinished.)

 

Do I recommend Matsurika no Kei?  yes I do but it is difficult to recommend

if you can't stand values and morals that don't work in today's world.

The developers really outdid themselves in crafting up this game, I still can't

guarantee this game will be everyones cup of tea but honestly? it was a solid

historic fantasy otome game, a journey worth taking if you like those genres

**however Matsurika no Kei is not for the easily offended.**

Its a mystery if it will get localized but taking everything in consideration

there's a possibility of this game staying unlocalized. edit: Idk how well

this did in japan but lately I think any otome game has a decent chance.

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

 

 I wasn't sure which route to go for so I went for one of the two characters

that were there since the beginning, I followed my intuition which led me to Ruwo

as Fey and Enrai were both missing from the affection screen during my first play. 

There's not a lot of options in the first play so I think Zebenera is the safest

but Ruwo is the easier choice since he is there from the start.

At one point I wanted to put Ruwo upside down into a trash can. Take that as you will

but its best to experience it for yourself, you're in for a trip.

Enrai is locked till Ruwo, Zebenera and Seirin are done.

Fey is locked till Enrai is done.

Bicorn unlocks after one route is finished however I personally do not

recommend doing his till you have atleast done Zebenera.

TFW it is easier to get into masked guy's route than the poster boys...... 🤡

My play order: Ruwo > Zebenera >Bicorn > Seirin > Enrai > Fey.

I think my own order flowed well enough that  I could recommend it as well.

Recommended order: Ruwo / Zebenera > Bicorn > Seirin > Enrai >  Fey.

This game is just restrictive as there's not much choice than to do the poster boys last or

bicorn if you forgot. Its probably for the best if you do Seirin later due to Enrai being locked

but that is just my personal opinion as I did find Seirin route to be very good at explaining things

Bicorn's route glossed over in favor of half-truth's and giving other things more depth.

 

I will be writing about the routes in the next section but this game is best going in blind.

Knowing too much ruins the suspense so I recommend not reading further if you don't

want spoilers. Also trying to write about the routes turns it into a Wall'O Text

because they are pretty long, again spoilers are after the jump.

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Gensou Manège - Review

 Genre:VN.

Developer/publisher: love&art/mages.

Platform: Switch,mobile.

Official Site: https://gensomanege.com/  

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v25993 

Release date: 2020-01-30.

 

I saw this was on sale at the jpn eshop for 30$ and since I had considered playing it

a while back plus the fact these VN rarely go on sale especially otomate/koei let alone 

this low I was like why not? this is also by the folks who made meikoi which I really enjoyed.

This was also one of the first few new otome games on switch but back then I didn't have one yet

so I had to sit out on it till now as I took advantage of the golden week sale.

This game also has a soft/fluffy colour scheme which really helped anyway

I don't know much about this game and went in relatively blind.

Also the title of the game would be something like Carousel of dreams or Dream Carousel.

I am not a professional translator but that is what it simply what it would translate to.

 

Pro's

- Cute & Comfy with an okay plot! but need to do all to fully understand it.

- Interesting characters.

- Gorgeous art and the backgrounds are very well done.

- BGM fit the mood most of the time.

 

Con's

- Kiss CG's could leave to be desired (but still ok).

- Character design can be a bit colour-coded.

- Could've benefited from a slightly stricter play order.

 

OP is cute but not the stuff I felt like watching everytime I booted it up.

 

Gensou Manege ended up being more or less a light-mystery otome game hench why

I won't write too much here except some prologue bits below! this game seems perfect if you're

in the mood for cute and fluffy things but still want to enjoy a little bit of plot to go along with that.

--

The heroine Emma lost most of her childhood memories and she has some weird magic powers...

as well as a miniature carousal she inherited from her late father, she really treasures this.

One day she goes to the amusement park and meets Hugo someone who claims to know her.

Hugo asks Emma to work with him because the people who work at the park are stuck there

so he wants her to help release them with her magic. After thinking about it and acknowledging

her magic powers might be of help she ends up joining their troupe! most of the time

she's been teached to not let anyone know of her powers as well. What could come of this?

The setting is french themed, not sure when its supposed to take place but they had electricity

anyway it is entirely a work of fiction so its best not to think too hard about it.

--

 

This game does have a common route but its more of a get to know

everyone a little while getting used to working with them kind of thing. It didn't feel like

it was too long and its also there to decide which route you'll end up on.

Art is really good, the backgrounds are very detailed and sprite work is pretty good! once more 

I will say I really love the colour-scheme even the user interface...and most of the time

I don't really care about the latter so I think that says something.

Music is fitting enough... but it didn't stand out too much and its just okay.

 Seiyuu cast... they're all relatively well known maybe some a little less though some of

the voice actors I hadn't heard in a long time so it was good to hear them again.

 

System wise its just standard stuff, a little common route to check flags to get on

the preferred route! there's only two endings one good and one not so good.

It does have a minigame but its nothing too hard or annoying.

The weird part about this after the first minigame there is an option to skip it anyway

which gives you an auto A-rank(still need to fail it for the other end though).

After the first playthrough I decided to skip every minigame because while cute it got redundant.

 

As for play order... the guide I used said if you care for the story that its better to save

Hugo's route for later as it contains the most revelations and he unlocks Arnaud.

My order ended up being: Luciole > Crier > Lyon > Serge >  Hugo > Arnaud.

If I had to recommend any order it would probably be this:

Serge / Luciole / Crier > Lyon > Hugo > Arnaud.  Because Lyon is where some

revelations start rolling and it start making more sense, the way it works

is Serge/Luci/Crier do have hints about what's going on but you won't really get it 

till you do Hugo nor will it fully make sense till Arnaud's route. So the order of the first

three or four routes doesn't matter that much as its hard to see how it fits into the big picture.

This game has a certain bittersweet feel to it, there is still some comedy to be found

as expected from the dev's of meikoi but comedy is not really the focus.

All the backgrounds were so detailed and helped with the setting the game

and made it more immersive. The heroine Emma also had a sprite!

She's cute and was pretty pro-active as well I couldn't dislike her at all.

The music always helped to set the tone/mood of the scenes but like I already

said above its not that great either. Romance wise it was good it just that

some routes may seem to not have much going for them but still all connect to it in some way!

 

Now I am personally wondering... why does this one go so under the radar?

is it because its not from otomate? by some other dev and not in english?!

or maybe just bad marketing? idk... maybe most just weren't interested

cuz they didn't have a switch yet at the time it came out, I know I had to pass.

Anyway this was like such a feel-good otome game and I could tell they tried with it.

I definitely recommend checking this one out if you're in the mood 

for something cute and fun that still has an underlying plot to figure out!

even if its not on a sale and at full price I think its more than worth it

just be careful with your play order,there are routes that do have more revelations than others!

I think this game is also good for beginners just trying out the otome game genre as the plot

in most routes is not too heavy but its there and you're just mostly in for a good time!

 7,7/10

As for language difficulty its easy to follow its plot, it might be good as a test

if you think you have a good grip on your japanese.

 

Okay that ends the non-spoiler section and the rest is all just character rambles and CG

there's probably a better digest of it by now but I still wrote some stuff down I remembered.

 

Taishou x Alice heads and tails - review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSV.

Official Site:

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v20277

Release date: 2017-12-07

FD of Taishou x alice... if I had to be really honest I didn't think TxA really needed a FD
why? I actually thought the epilogue chapter wrapped everything up nicely and everyone
got a small extension to their ending that aside it must've done well enough for them
to release this FD so why not just accept and try to enjoy whatever contents it has?
 Not much aside from the usual after stories, two new routes for Ryoushi and Ookami
but I heard beforehand they're not all that great since the bias for Alice is too great.
Then there's Gakuen Alice which might've been the last best thing this FD has to offer.😅
 There's not much else to say so let's just get on with it.

Pro's
- Gakuen Alice's a fun omake with mini route (except ookami/ryoushi)
- Art.

Con's
- Not every after story got the same amount of effort, i've only found
Akazukin, Gretel, Mauhoutsukai and Alice to be actually fun / worth it.
- The new routes aren't really 'new' at all nice if you want another perspective though.

I decided to play the after story in the same order as the original:
Cinderella > Akazukin > Gretel > Kaguya > Shirayuki > Mahoutsukai > Alice.
I do recommend saving Mahoutsukai for later preferable after Shirayuki, as Mahoutsukai
adds something that makes Shirayuki's seem like even that had its place.

The first two after stories I did was mostly fun and light-hearted like what one is supposed
to come to expect of FD's... there are exceptions to the others but it wasn't too bad
its just for some it felt there was little effort put into the scenario.
If you are familiar with sangoku rensenki's FD... its a lot like that! you get a short story
with the couple which is around 1 hour at most with two CG's for each
the content varies depending on the character though. Much like the original TaiAli
the further you get into the episodes the drearier it gets, like the boys from ep1 are fun
but then you get to Kaguya and it just goes downhill, Gretel was still OK for some reason.
The new routes for Ryoushi and Ookami aren't exactly new route just their POV of the whole
thing with Alistair much of what we already know! since they force the canon
so much their endings aren't exactly what one would like to see.
Can't recommend their routes unless you want a different perspective of the story we already know.

Overall its still a decent FD but only get it if you desperately need more Taiali in your life
there's just some parts that make me say: but why? like why even give Ookami a route if
you're going to make it end up like that... his whole character turned out to be a laughing stock.😓
To be fair... after being done with this FD the only thing I really like about Taishou x Alice is the
story of 'Alice', comedy and meta. As an otome game I think it doesn't really work that well like
half of the cast is essentially the same person, different personality and in the end only one matters.
Tai Ali has a great story&chara's and I whole-heartedly recommend the games
but as an otome game; by the end it leaves to be desired no matter how well written it was.

Well whatever I'll try to write some thoughts down below as usual, don't read it
if you don't want spoils etc (not like there is much).

S.Y.K Shinsetsu Saiyuki Portable - review

 Game: [S.Y.K Shinsetsu Saiyuki]

Genre: Otome Game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PS2, PSP

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/syk_psp/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v2251

Release date: 2010-07-29

Like I promised I finally finished up the last route in the game a couple of days ago.

I don't think anyone even cares for this anymore and I don't see otomate bringing it back and port...😅

This game is based on journey to the west and basically this is Otomate's version of it

so even if you're not familiar and here for the bishies and lolz you're still good
but some familiarity would be better to appreciate points others would find annoying.

Like I am not a saiyuki fan I was interested in the shinsetsu series
so I found myself a copy on ebay for about 20$(each) along with its FD and L.G.S
because why not have some otome with chinese folklore?
So this became my backburner when I didn't have anything better to do.
Let's just say it was nice to kill some time with it because it was mostly fun but some aspects
are a pain in the ass, not wand of fortune bad but I never look forward to common route here.
Most of my thoughts are just me raging about the boring ass common route.
The story in most route was average and it only shined in Gokuu's, also due to me
 taking breaks and play over longer period of time I do sort of become attached, I don't usually
 play two games at once but this game is perfect for it, its not really that long either there's just
 a lot of content that adds up, in total there are 26 endings 6 are good ends other are
gag and bad ends, atleast the way this game is designed often makes me say ok enough for today. 😓
Also just so you know this is NOT an easy visual novel language wise.
If you want to invest in this I highly suggest getting the FD as well, without it the original game
may feel lacking in terms of romance because some routes just weren't well rounded.

Pro's

 - Likeable characters.

- Comedy.

- Art, its on psp...everything is smaller but still fine.

Con's
- Takes too long to get started with episodic common route filler even then
it focuses on story/chara/lore with romance as bonus.

- Game pretends to have a serious plot then it drops some deus ex machina and all is well. >_>

- Music, ye olde idea factory bgm... it was below average at best.

-

The first OP well... I didn't like it that much at first but it sorta grew on me like
 its surprisingly cool and fits with the first half of the game.

Also yes it did sound like crap the first time I heard it and the 2nd OP by Mao is much better.

Honestly speaking the first OP to some extent sounded like something from a 90's anime
to the point the 2nd OP was a blessing to my ears.

System is typical visual novel stuff and its mostly the comfy type so no issues h o w e v e r!
During the first half of the game you have to select a location on a map to go to and choose
which guy to help the peasant, this is actually the worst part because its boring as hell.

The guy will tell you in the baloon if this job is for them or not but still recommend a guide
for the endings atleast because getting them all is cumbersome.
The name of the heroine is fixed for obvious reasons, so you're gonna
have to deal with getting used to the role of Genjou Sanzou.

The common route is told in episodic story like an anime and imo its fun since it really feels
like you are on a journey to somewhere but not much of note really happens. >_>

They also love to shove an OP and ED in for the complete anime-like experience!

I found the post credit previews of what's not going to happen for the next chapter to be hilarious
atleast the first time through after that its just skip it.

~

I shouldn't even need to write this but...

The heroine Genjou Sanzou is a monk, she'll know when to put her hetare companions
into place when they are unwilling to get shit done or fighting with each other.

She's apparently the reincarnation of this Konzanshi person... ow well that all u hear out of me here.

It would be so much better if she had a sprite next to the text box but alas...

As you know its based on Journey to the west, the heroine is destined to go to Tenjiku

 and save mankind, a lot of shenanigans happen along the way some fun and some bad
her only flaw is that she wants to help everyone she meets along the way...
thus making the game longer than its supposed to be that aside I think Genjou is the only
sane one and that putting up with her companions is half the journey...

Without the side tracking each chapter is actually pretty short? if it gets on your nerves
just skip the dialogue when helping peasants... Otomate's really knew how to add
quality padding that adds nothing to the plot so yeah its a call-back to that one anime.
Even if it seems useless and adds nothing to the actual plot the only
thing that is important about it is if you don't help people you'll just get a bad end
because the peasants will give you some magical rock piece as a thank you which you need.
Nice design right? they should've made the dialogue more interesting and not the typical
Anatatachi wa tsuyoi watashi o TASUKETE onegaishimasu, cue Genjou forcing her harem
to do just that. Helping people with random shit that isn't even interesting to watch/read
because on 2nd+ play I did more skipping than reading. ( ´_ゝ`)
Well atleast if you finish the game once with normal end you get a handy dandy 
skip chapter1/2 option but I wish we could've skipped helping those peasants cuz its 
been there done that once is enough but no you need to do it like six times to get to the routes
not to mention each chapter plays an op/ed ad near infinitum for fullcomp.

This games length is average and the above made it seem annoying but atleast I had a few good
laughs here and there in the more boring parts so I can't really complain that much. 😌

This otome game is best played in short burst, the chapters itself aren't long and like I said
before they have their own OP and ED, its easy to take breaks and do something else. Just so
you know I never had that much fun skipping through the common route cuz there's too much fodder.
Once you latch on the route the OP changes like for example the common route
 is season 1, a character route is season 2, the latter is actually the good part of this game.

 I just recommend that your first play is a clean up fest consisting of getting random endings
since some CG's of the guys only unlock on a second play so may as well try and get the most out of
what this game has to offer, then on 2nd play you can do routes without fear of missing something.
Unless you're absolutely dying to romance someone I guess just do as you please then...
but in all honestly I found the romance to be lacking in most routes because it focus more on plot/lore
which wasn't bad or anything just a little boring but I figure this is because its an old game.
There are also many endings but over half of them are gag/bad ends.
 I don't think I can explain how this game works any better than this lol.

One of the many bonus CG's you get for clearing their routes, too bad you have to survive a massive text dump first.

Overall its a fun otome game but can't really recommend it if you aren't interested 
 to re-enact the journey to the west in otome fashion, or don't like chinese fairy tales
it has a certain charm to it that makes it even more worth it if you are familair.
Some people may even be put off by the character designs or genderbend Sanzou
so S.Y.K really ain't for everyone, that I can say with certainty.
I wouldn't say the plot was fantastic but its there and its decent but it only really shined in Gokuu's
and Ranfan's routes. At the very least most of the story in everyones route was unique
but some things will never change and like I said most of the good stuff might be in the FD.😓
 This isn't really popular and I can see why... its a pain in the ass to play
like I only did so when I had nothing better to do but if not, lol.
I mean the characters are likeable but after one play you have the common route... to skip through
its great to come back to every once in a while and see everyone again but I just never looked
forward to the first half point and click adventure of saving peasants.😅
At the end of the day I can only recommend to fans familiar with the themes and/or are interested enough.
Its 2017 and I am sure you can find better otome games worth the investment...
I can't say this was all that good at all and well just look at my pro's and con's again to see why
if you don't want to sit through more of my ramblings, lol.

Any play order is good except don't do the latter other end's 2 such as Kanro no Yume
 that are knee deep in Gokuu's till you are actually ready to do Gokuu right after it.
Not recommened to do Gokuu's route too soon or you'll be spoiled making most route look
 self contained that said the order of Gojou/Hakkai/Gyokuryuu by itself do not matter.
Therefor I recommend this guide and the same order I used:
Other ends 1 > Gojou > Hakkai > Gyokuruu > Other ends 2 > Gokuu > Ranfan.

More babbles after the jump, I doubt anyones interested but here goes nothing, lol.
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Hyakka Hakyurou Sengoku Ninponchou - Review

Game: [Hyakka Hakyurou Sengoku Ninponchou]
English title: Nightshade. (Why tho?)

Genre: Otome Game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Red Entertainment, D3Publisher.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: https://www.d3p.co.jp/hyakka/steam/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v17287

Release date: 2016-2- 25

 I never thought I would be bothering with the JPN release and you may be wondering the same.
TBH its just an excuse to delay BWS... 😋
First off this game was on sale for 23$ at JPN psn... for like the second time and considering
console otome games rarely go that low the deal was too good to pass up.
Secondly I'm too deep into sengoku hell right now I may as well go with one more game.
I still plan to support the english release and replay down the line.
  

Okay since this game is coming out in ENG and there are detailed summary reviews elsewhere
 I'll just make this as short as I can while still going over like/dislikes.

First of all the OP movie is pretty good! MIKOTO is a pretty good singer and composer.

Like Geten no Hana, Hyakka Hyakurou is a more serious ninja otome game if you were to expect
something light-hearted like Shinobi, Koi Utsutsu you are looking in the wrong place.
Anyway many doubted D3P as this was first coming out in japan, after 3 kusoge releases
what would you expect? anyway reviews turned out to be favorable and it seems
D3P was only the publisher not the creator/dev of this which is RED entertainment.
RED is known for a few great otome... like the first Juuza Engi... or the recent Kenka Bancho Otome.
I'd love to add Scared rider xechs to that list but... as an otome it was lacking.

Pro's
-  Decent but straight-forward story.
- Interesting characters.
- Heroine.
- Art, should be obvious TEITA was in charge of everything.
- Music, beautiful a lot of tracks fit the scenes perfectly.

Con's
- Short.
- Part of the plot gets old fast.
- No jumping back via the backlog.😞

One of the first things that stood out to me is that the heroine has a sprite and is often seen
 next to the characters, not to mention she's pretty badass and involved but Enju really
 should think about herself more as she's doesn't mind dying for the sake of others etc.
 Also the art, the ART, this one screen below it could even pass for a CG but it is not.
The diversity in sprites also make the fight scenes that much more entertaining to watch.
Everyone had an even amount of CG's so this was another good point...

On the other hand the things that didn't stand out... the common route atleast half of it
 didn't leave a huge impression on me because almost nothing note worthy happened till the end
which is actually where the real plot starts and let me tell you its not as light as the common route.

Other than that the length was just right... any longer and the same-ish plot would become tiring.
Sadly this game wasn't very romance focused but atleast you get yourself a well written plot
 with an involved heroine but it not that deep, I just wish Enju had a voice she deserves it.
Another thing I liked, other characters do not disappear from the face of the planet some will
come to help out! this is great, I honestly feel some less story driven otome could learn from it.

System? standard VN stuff there's almost no need for a guide but if you want
all memoirs quickly you may as well use choro's.
There was no skip to the next choice option but skip was fast so future playthrough are mostly painless.
 Sadly this game does suffer from the I am sure I have been through this scene before
but since it doesn't classify it as old you can't readskip it because its a teensy bit different.

For playorder I went with the following...
Goemon -> Hanzo -> Kuroyuki -> Choujirou -> Gekkamaru
Goemon's route was a great way to kick things off and wasn't that heavy on overall plot and Kuroyuki is best done after Hanzo...
I only recommend this order if you like suffering😏 and want to finish one story arc before moving
 to the next since the first three and last two have shared plot but if you can't handle that
I still recommend using same order except saving Goemon for between Chounii and Gekkamaru.
Definitely do not do Gekkamaru first... his route perhaps had the best plot so consider it for last. :)

Some rambles on routes and CG's after the jump, minor spoilers warning just incase.

Moujuu-tachi to Ohime-sama - Review

猛獣たちとお姫様
 Game: [Beast and Princess].

Genre: Otome game Visual Novel. 

Developer/Publisher: Otomate

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/beast_princess/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v18833

Release date: 2016-08-25.

I got this game because I liked Beastmaster and Prince and because I like fantasy setting(I love those)
Despite amazonJP reviews being picky, this game didn't end up that bad
but its still a disappointment since its partially wasted potential.
First of the synopsis spoils so much... hench why I am not putting that here
which makes it even less stuff for you to find out not to mention the boys
already love the sheltered princess that took care of them in animal form when no one did.

My play order was:Ludwik > Mias > Jozef  > Ryszard > Henryk > Czarodziej.
I recommend to save Czarodziej for last because there is a huge spoiler in his route
that ties the two games together the order of the first three routes shouldn't matter, after those do
Ryszard, then Henryk and finally Czarodziej because the last three ended up being the most enjoyable atleast for me.

Pro's
- Setting.

- Characters.

- Art/bgm/seiyuu.

-Mofumofu.

Con's
- Julia is a weaker heroine compared to Tiana.
- The guys all love Julia from the start but don't fully admit this.
- Disappointing story.

- Semi-long common route, shorter individual route but short overall.
- No Ignacy route.

I know I complained about lack of volume in period cube but this probably takes the cake!
 Otomate just can't get it right... (;´д｀)

The common route is decent in length but individual is short, first play was around 7~8 hours
maybe I took longer because I slogged through the more boring parts yeah it just wasn't interesting.
Almost half of it was common route so.... fasten your seat belts next round!
Route should be around 4-5 hours give or take how fast you read.

The route may be short though I know that it all depends on execution of the story

 but still I'd had hoped it'd be a bit more meatier/taken itself more serious.

Story? it certainly had some interesting bits but eh it was rather weak.
While it was interesting to me it just felt like it lacked something or to put it differently
this game just feels like it could've been so much more but it wasn't.
It literally goes like this, escape tower... run through forests to another country
and chillax there untill boom the witch shows up as last boss and then its the end.
They knew folks was coming yet act surprised and do nothing to prepare...
there's variations of who, how and why but thats the general gist of it.
The big issue is the animal boys that are with Julia from the beginning! they all love her
 because she's the only one thats nice to them and they all had some shitty past
this makes romance feel unnatural because they already love her so much.
 One way or the other Beast and Princess just didn't quite live up to Beastmaster and Prince.
 The heroine didn't stand out and in comparison to Tiana, Julia doesn't compare at all which is sad
but its not unnatural for sequels to be worse than their predeccesor but don't just put out shovelware.

It still had some repeat content like defeating the witch in like every other route or so
but it wasn't as annoying like that fangirl mob/cursed stuff at moujuutsukai to ouji-sama
maybe its because they had a different team working on this, ah it all makes sense now.

At the very least once again the characters were enjoyable... especially Jozef, Henryk and Magician!
Maybe i'm biased but sakupyon sure voices a lot of great characters! 
Sadly the characters aren't well developed at all, nor was the story exciting
but I appreciate the fairy tale like theme.

Anyway I still think the guys are all great in their own way, some just stood out more to me than
others did so I guess it wasn't so bad at all and every route was fairly self-contained to their own problem and past.
Also the game is too easy one could get the best end without a guide just perfect mofumofu
and pick choice that raise affection, don't do that and you'll get a bad end.

If a sequel does come out for this i'd probably buy it though... JUST BECAUSE
I like Hendryk and Wizard but I doubt they'd give Ignacy a route
as much as I love him he doesn't really have chemistry with Julia.
Then again I am doubtful they can work miracles and make it worthwhile if they did that.
I can't say no to petting cute animal boys! which is part of the reason I got this
and I like it enough to be willing to spend on a fandisc... yeah curse at me all  you want
but when I like the characters and want to spend more time with them I will support something
even if the original work left to be desired, also doM sakupyon doM SAKUPYON.😆

Still I think the main reason for Moujuutachi to ohime-sama's existance
 is to appeal to beastmaster and prince's fanbase... they didn't try all too hard though
they only focused on the art and the seiyuu's but the story? lol nope.
That definitely needed more work overall, the link to the original game was nice
but there is no doubt about it that this is a mediocre spiritual successor.
Now I am still going to say something very harsh but pretty art, seiyuu, likeable characters
 and petting minigames won't save a game and certainly not this one.

More ramblings and possible spoilers after the jump. 

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

Taisho x Alice -All in One- Review

大正×対称アリス
 Game: [Taishou x Alice].

Alternative title: Taisho Alice.
Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.
Developer/Publisher: Primula and Prototype.
Platform: PC, PS Vita.
Official Site: http://www.prot.co.jp/psv/taishoalice/index.html
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v16032
Release date: 2016-06-02

Taishou x Alice was originally an episodic release for PC but have no fear as the PS Vita version

contains all four episodes, so if you still haven't gotten it now is a good chance to do so.

 Also this is getting an english release thanks to e2gaming but if you already know japanese
and can import I recommend to get the vita port since E2gaming is also doing a partial release.
Plus there is no way of knowing if E2gaming's localization will live up to the original.
  I'm willing to give E2gaming a fair chance though, since they had a rough start, I can only hope
they don't make any more mistakes! hopefully they can license the VA and are able to use
 the original OP and ED's it would be sad to see this game release in english without it.

/looks at post and see how I never edit this... wait e2gaming errr we all know how that turned out!

god bless manga gamer for releasing this in english.

  The heroine of the story is Arisu Yurika, after she runs into Alice in the prologue they find a

 crystal mirror and end up inside it! several fairy tale characters reside here such as the 

Little Red Riding hood and Cinderella... but their genders are reversed. XD

On way or another the outcome of this story will surely be interesting.

Start/TL;DR
The system? nothing special, standard VN stuff.

My play order is:
Akazukin > Cinderella > Gretel > Kaguya > Shirayuki > Mahoutsukai > Alice.

As for play order you have to start with Akazukin or Cinderella(episode 1) in the vita port
but after you do one of the two routes available the next episode unlocks except for episode 3 since
this one is locked till you have done ep1/2 and epilogue won't unlock till you've done everything.
As for ep 3 the first time you start it you're locked to Shirayuki's route for obvious plot reasons.
Also every single route is unique and you select the guy right after the prologue ends.
Anyway I still decided to finish episode 1 before moving on to ep 2 like it should be.
If you play out of order for the sake of character... nothing will make sense
and you'll basically only shoot yourself in the foot if you do that.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Pro's
- Great heroine.
- Unique seiyuu cast, (a few well known ones though).
- Most if not all the characters are likeable.
- Art.
- Individual route is unique and is mostly self-contained.
^It does keep you interested in the rest of the story as it slowly reveals things.

 Con's
- Heroine uses english words at random, this can be annoying but doesn't happen often.
- BGM, it has its charms but some is kind of grating.
- As an otome game it may leave to be desired once you get to 'epilogue'.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This game focuses on romance and its characters, the overall story will slowly unfold
as you go through all the episodes and it does a good job in keeping you interested and
 wanting to learn more, it actually rewards the reader in the end.
Don't mean to spoil but even though before epilogue you might find your fav...
it will become obvious there's only one real choice in the end.
9/10
 Taisho x Alice is a great VN with a good story, I fully recommend it.

I have to mention it AGAIN, if you are playing or are going to play it especially the PC ver...
PLEASE play in order the games came out Ep1>ep2 >ep3>epilogue because else you'll ruin the
whole story for yourself because things revealed in ep1 will be casually blurted out in ep2 and so on.
TL;DR/end

More ramblings and possible spoilrs after the jump.