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| They had me in the first half NGL... |
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/mirage/
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/mirage/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v58562
Release date: 17-9-26.
Alright since no other otome interested me besides Sullyland I decided
to get this anyways. Since there aren't any games I felt like I should play.
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
- Setting and Characters.
- The story was in most routes interesting suiting the LI.
- Gorgeous art and fitting music.
Grey area.
- Can feel a bit all over the place.
Con's
- Some routes have potential for more bad ends than there actually are.
- The last 20-30 minutes of Evan's route.
- Can be very short if you're a fast reader and don't take your time.
Heroine:
Aria Laprade is an honest to good girl, I admire her courage to investigate on her own!
other than that when she first arrived on the island she striked me as what huh?! image related.
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| This specifically applies to the ending of Evan route as well. |
I mean if I was her I too would have several question marked upon being invited to the island.
I'd say she's fine, I wish she had a sprite in the corner though.I would give her the you tried award since, while she isn't physically strong she is mentally
but she is rather meek. She often needs protection. I think that is fine but when I look at
the setting I expected more, she doesn't compare to Mavis but when she slayed she slay'd.
She's capable of taking the lead and be curious but the narrative didn't allow for much more.
Its pretty inconsistent how she developed which depended on the route.
Leon was right about one thing and she really should be a little bit more selfish.
Art is gorgeous as always, BGM was pleasant but not many wowed me.
I particularly liked the track at the start of Jack's route!
The OP movie is great, though there were a few times I skipped it upon startup.
System wise its a standard VN however there is no correct choice indicator aka love catch.
From my first demo play I actually landed on Rudy's route.
I decided to redo and I landed on Charles. I could sorta figure which
choice let to this... and I messed around again and finally triggered Jack.
Honestly it felt rather random in how a route triggered, the LI would suddenly speak up
and things branched off into their route. I didn't experiment further and just went with Jack.
Honestly speaking without a guide its difficult to go for who you want
but in this game it is kinda rewarding to figure out the path on your own.
Massive respect for guide makers for this game or any without ''love catch'' systems.
A guide is still recommended for a smooth experience of the story.
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Overall I found the ''plot'' to be all over the place and depending on which
starter route you land on your experience will be different.
It is a mystery oriented otome game and each routes tackles different subjects
suited to the LI's and they all had different things going on. It all does tie into
the overall plot in their own way so I found it rewarding to keep at it.
Early routes don't reveal too much which is fine, with most I was satisfied for what it offered.
Just doing one route makes this game rather short but fully completing it takes around 35 hours.
The chapter length reminded me of OlySoi and each LI had 8 chapters in total.
Nothing felt like it dragged and I wanted to keep playing like I had some sort of addiction.
My first play was around 8 hours. So its not that long and I thought it was paced well.
I think if you're a fast reader it may be even shorter... so mine is just an average.
I let the voices play and generally had a normal pace while digesting incoming info.
There aren't a lot of bad ends either each route had only two endings which I thought
was disappointing, some routes do have game over ends but not all of them.
As its a plot-oriented otome, the romance developed alongside it which was okay.
At most I'd describe the romance as cute. Some routes had it better than others
which is in-line with most Licobits titles. In terms of LI's Rudy's the biggest surprise!
didn't expect to like him as much as I did. Charles reminded me of Ikki from Amnesia
for some reason but no one was that awful. I'd say Jack had a good route...
if you don't know anything but Rudy topped it easily.😍
Evan's route started alright its here the story slowly shows its full potential but...
it shat in its own pants in the last 20-30 minutes, it just crashed and burned.😞
I won't burn this otome at the stake for it but it did prevent me from rating it highly.
I'd prolly give it 3.5 stars on amazon.
As someone that liked him I am going to be a little selfish and let it affect my rating!
7.3/10
TL;DR I'd say it was pretty good but I found it rough around the edges.
The good part was that I couldn't help but come back for more and explore
other angles even if one of those angles was to be desired, not gonna lie
it felt like they were playing favorites too much.😒
IDK if this game will get localized but I figure it will have a different name
because whenever I looked it up I get stuff about perfume or hotel/cafe's.💀
It probably has a decent chance but I can't be certain.
The JP language level is intermediate, due to high amount of monologues
and unvoiced text I can't recommend it for beginners. It should be fine
for anyone with a solid grasp and want to test out their japanese.
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My Play Order:
Jack >Rudy >Charles> Evan > Leon.
Recommended order:
Charles / Jack > Rudy > Evan > Leon.
The first three routes have no restrictions and I don't think it matters too much
but I think if you did Rudy too soon it may turn into a bottleneck.
Charles: Starts out light and flimsy but has surprising depth to it.
Jack: This route is very mystery oriented with some heavy undertones
but it doesn't go too deep into anything so its alright as a starter.
Rudy: Rudy's good for when you want to better understand what is going on.
Despite exposition dumps I found it surprisingly well-rounded in terms of plot&romance.
Evan: Unlocks after the initial three routes.
Leon: Unlocks after Evan so no choice but to do him last.
Route babbles after the jump, there are spoilers so be warned!
so if you don't want any then stop reading here. Its just senile grandma rambles.
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