Trouble Magia - Review

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/trouble-magia/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v47011

Release date: 12-9-2024.

 

I wasn't originally going to get this but while on my second route of Hanakare I did crave

something with a little bit of story to it as Hanakare wasn't able to give that itch.

Either that or I would be playing the kaito files... but I wanted a break from RGG studios

so I decided to get otomate's newest game, the decision was mostly based on the fact

Trouble Magia seemed funny and not as heavy which is what I wanted anyways.

 

Trouble Magia also has a long subtitle which I am not even going to bother typing itout

i'll just be referring to it as trouble magia, I mean no disrespect but its simply too long.

I kinda felt bad for the seiyuu's having to say it aloud cuz aside the first time starting

up the game I never waiting for them to finish whenever I booted it up again. 

 

Pro's

- Interesting fun story & characters.

- Enough volume that there's enough time for plot,shenanigans & romance.

- Art, doesn't have a unique style but its good.

 

Grey area

-  Final route is significantly longer due to reasons but it did make sense of everything.

 

Con's

- Can seem a bit cliche.

- The length of this game can be a bit of a double edged sword as well.

- The long arse subtitle.

 

Honestly I don't think a lot of people got this game? I won't lie my first impressions

when I looked it up weren't positive... but that did change as I played it

and it was actually quite fun & interesting albeit very cliche at times.

I didn't really watch the OP a lot either like maybe a handful its not one of those

that I watch religiously everytime I boot it up.

 

Basic plot be like: Lucia wants to be a magic knight and gets to attend a school

however she also has a curse which makes her transform into a random animal

and it causes all sorts of problems in her life. She seeks to break it...

but also can't just tell anyone about it due to it happening abruptly.

Eir was the one who suggested attending the academy because there might be a way

there plus she could get some experience to pursue her own dreams. Two birds with one stone!

Speaking of stones Eir gave Lucia one since she can't go with her it could protect her if need be.

Due to a minor incident Lucia gets placed under supervision of the student council

and it gets even harder to hide the fact she's cursed. Luckily onii-chan lends a hand as well.

The game really follows Lucia's everyday life, it was quite entertaining.

She didn't get along with everyone at first but I really liked to see her fit into her new life

and grow closer to certain characters. Lucia is the type of heroine you wanna cheer on.

The writing was for the most part pretty good, it may not look it in the common route 

but its a good setup for everything that happens after.

I liked how in individual routes certain things that happen earlier

are still relevant chapters later. I really liked this, Matsurika did this as well.😄

On another note while it was not as repetitive as Mistonia, with each route you do

the more you will know of the overall plot which is introduced in small bits

hinting at something more, every route was interesting even if some

focused more on the characters individual problem.

I'd say each route still was relevant in some way but there naturally are ones that explained more.

I played in the order of: Lars > Rick > Alexei > Isaiah > Sion and this flowed pretty well

that I can recommend the same, Isaiah is locked and there's not much choice but to do Shion last.

Certain things will become obvious over time. This is neither good nor bad IMO

but even then it still managed to surprise me in routes 4 and 5.

 

As for the heroine, I liked Lucia's optimistic attitude she didn't seem the type to let things get to her.

 I also liked how proactive Lucia was, there was mutual trust and she was being relied upon.

Her design, specifically her hairstyle made her stand out, I liked it. She also had multiple outfits

as did most of the other cast so this game did seem like it had a bit of a budget.

At a glance it reminded me of Wand of Fortune except that the curse felt like they took

Lagi's problem and gave it to the heroine as she turns into an animal.😂

Art was decent, it wasn't amazing but its not awful or anything, I liked the colouring.

I got used to the style & the sprites were all great, what I really liked is that at times

the POV would switch to the guys and Lucia would have her own sprite too.

Music fits the setting and mood, definitely feels like you're attending some royal acadamy

and Ricardo's theme was pretty good, I banged my head to it.

System is standard stuff and nothing to write home about, its plain and simple

imagine wand of fortune but without the scheduling or rng stuff. Bless.

 

 I'll admit the game did start out a bit randomly with Lucia entering the student council

only for us to go back to the very beginning before she enrolled and getting the how's & why.

Granted they did point out her own forgetfulness so something must have happened.

I did really like the setting in this game and the backgrounds really added to it!

the vibes were pretty great too but as you're introduced to Lucia's new life at the school

I was never really were sure what would happen or if the curse would go off

so I suppose there was an element of excitement so the common route didn't bore me

but there were a few boring moments but I think any VN or game has that really.

 Some parts were actually kind of funny! I didn't really have any problems with the

pacing of the story due to this but it did slow down a little to focus on teamwork

because the teamspirit of the student council members was not the best...

especially Lars who just sleeps whenever he wants and tends to be like whatever

and then there's Ricardo with this cocky arse the comedy writes itself.

At times the interactions could also feel very down-to-earth which imo was a plus.

 

    The common route was on the long side,  a total of 12 chapters including individual route.

I wasn't really sure what they were trying to do, there's a heavy focus on school life and

character interaction. I mostly enjoyed it. There was so much time they spend with eachother

you could see how  they grew etc. There were enough hints dropped and by chapter 3 I already

was like some of seems related to the curse. So it wasn't half bad and it kept my attention.

With the way it was written it felt like an anime, it had a structure to focus on

the characters and problems that ensued. You slowly get to find out what the curse is as well

as figure out some deeper plot while getting to know the chosen love interest.

Also god bless there's a skip to the next choice option, you use it by swiping the screen!

 

The length of the chapters varied but it was a good common route simply for the fact

I was actually able to remember events that happened in it. Really the length is no joke

there's enough time for introduction, character development, fun and romance.

Its actually refreshing for it to be so well rounded but real talk I think the final chapter

especially Sion's was a little too long? maybe its just me...

==================================================================

I suppose part of trouble magia can seem like its very cliche but I think this

was a part that made it fun, its like the writers didn't care about that and just went with it.

Trouble magia made me realize writers can make a story as cliche as they want

its how you use those cliche's is what makes an otherwise boring story interesting.

The first route I did Lars was very interesting but then I moved to Ricardo

and realized I am unable to look at certain side characters the same way again.

Certain things just caught my attention more quickly than before as well... still each route

was unique in the way it did things and brought new things to the table so I can't complain.

---

My take-away is basically even if something seems cliche and overdone

it can still turn out pretty good! I mostly looked back fondly on the routes so all in all

it was a pleasant experience! I can't gaurantee you'll the same level of enjoyment as I did .

Most of the routes were unique, you got the obvious not as relevant to the bigger picture routes

and then there's some which go into it deeper, mostly the last two routes.

Like XYZ isn't as relevant as A & B but they're still a treat, you don't want every route

to be much of the same, I have sat through games like that and it gets old fast & that sucks.

After a dozen or so VN the way Trouble Magia does it obviously feels better to me

and I quite enjoyed the more character focused routes as well as the more involved ones.

I'm glad there was no secret route in this game and for that I am glad since

I did feel a lil tired by route 5.  Also I only did the best ends and merry bad ends, I ignored the other 

bad ends except for the one in Sion's route due to Mistonia PTSD, Sion's was kinda cute

but it felt like a joke end....... merry bad could range from sad to funny as well.

No fullcomp CG but the title screen is nice for a groupshot.

I'd recommend Trouble Magia to those that like their otome mostly lighthearted and don't mind

school settings or potential cliche's. This was honestly a fun otome if you let it be!

If you expect the most stellar writing and be blown away by it, or prefer it to be short&Sweet

then this game may not be for you. Let's be real; the plot was still pretty decent

and the writer really tried. Trouble Magia also felt similar to wand of fortune to me except

without the RNG bs. TBH while it won't replace WoF, trouble magia is like its little sister!

8/10

Its easy to follow the story, characters interact a lot and not a lot of monologues

which adds to the fun factor to me. The japanese didn't seem to be of high level

nor did the dialogue ever felt like it was dry  so that makes this game perfect as something

to test your japanese on but honestly I hope trouble magia gets localized. Its easy to overlook

due to a number of things but never judge a book by its cover you may just enjoy it anyway.

 

More rambles after the jump but I will be talking about the characters+digest the plot

so if you don't want spoilers don't read further. TBH its more like I am narrating some

of the events here and there with some commentary+share my fav CG's.

Not sure who would enjoy any of it because this game is pretty long and its a text dump

and I didn't write everything down either... why did I bother lmao. Enjoy that wall O text.

==================================================================

Fate/Samurai Remnant - Review

 Genre: RPG.
Developer/publisher: Koei Tecmo/Type Moon.
Platform: PS4/5/PC.
Official Site: https://www.koeitecmoeurope.com/fate-sr/

Release date: 28-9-2023.

 

I wanted to play this sooner but since it released the same day as Ys X it ended up

being backlogged for the fact that it seemed like it was a pretty long game.

In december this game also got an update with easier/harder difficulties as well as more

servants being playable in a rematch mode which was enough incentive for me to prioritize

it over other games that I still wanted to play, something like now or never I guess? 

Sadly I can not talk about this game without spoilers so uh you're warned right here I guess.

 

Pro's

- Good story & well written charactters(Most of them).

- Takes a while to get going but it does explain everything making it accessible to newcomers.

- Decent graphics and fitting bgm.

 

Con's

- Basically need to play the game like twice(or thrice without proper saves) to get the full picture.

- Hyper armor is a thing in this game.

- Half assed endings, lacking a proper epilogue.

- MC's personality (not that he had much) takes a 180 on NG+.

Oh hey I remember that Fate/stay night anime also starting like this!

Incase you were wondering, no you do not need to watch any anime or read any VN

as Fate/Samurai Remnant is a stand alone entry with its own story in a different time period.

Which makes this game very accessible if you've never watched or read anything fate related!

I should probably put a warning here or something but this game while fiction is quite

realistic about what old timey japan was like as well as... what it means to be a samurai.

---

I consider myself fairly acquainted with the series as I have watched a few of the anime over

the years, this game did an outstanding job at making sense of the lore of the series.

Due to that the prologue took me 2-3 hours to complete... by 30 hours I was

in chapter 5, its quite obvious to me that this game has VN roots since the scenes could be

on the long side and if you add digressions aka side stories its even longer.

It even has a story branch and multiple endings so be prepared to play it atleast twice

and then reload for the final ending. (There's also a joke end but we don't talk about that one.)

You'll be able to find a guide through google for sure but it is generally recommended to do todoroki/yashiro aka rat route first and then snake route on 2nd play along with the NG+ ending.

 

Just doing one route especially rat will probably leave you unsatisfied and it is definitely worth

to do another playthrough as IMO snek route was generally better than rat.

There are plenty of new scenes available giving further context to either characters

or lore while going for the other ending so despite it being a trainwreck it wasn't all bad.

---

If I had to rate the endings it would be Snek > Greg > Rat > 3rd end.

At first I didn't really understand why Snek end just cut Iori out of the picture

but the 3rd end explains it very well and the dude is just dead inside at that point.

Idk this game is missing some sort of true end but I guess Iori's a deadbeat samurai 4lyf

that is if you make the morally correct choice and not pursue something for personal gain.

---

 

While playing the game I generally did like the MC Iori but that kinda changed after the 3rd ending

and now I just can only see him as a deadbeat samurai. Also Iori and his servant Saber weren't off

to the best of starts they would often buttheads early on and while they could work together

to some degree another Master and a rogue servant had to explain all of the basics of

the ritual to Iori. As you can see the story is very slow due to that.

Iori was mostly indifferent and just really wants what's best for the town

so he actually got mad at his servant for destroying a bunch of shacks.

As some NG+ exclusive scenes turns out... Iori is actually a bit of a maniac too

and not much better than your typical ronin he's just more nice about it??? idk how to explain.

If Welkin was one of my favorite protaginists, Iori was one of my least fav's.

Well... Iori and Saber just didn't trust each other very well in the beginning but it did get better.

Because trust doesn't always come so easily and besides I did enjoy their interactions

as well as some of the other characters and the rivalry between masters.

Saber is kind of like a brat, cocky and also a glutton... but does have his heart in the right place.

Also Saber is often described as a woman but I thought she was a guy or like femboy.

Doesn't help that they refer to themselves as boku. >_>; Oh well enough about that

Saber didn't really act like a woman and the game actively shipped him

with someone because of actual history so I am like anything goes amiright.

That explains a lot, no wonder things turned out like they did.

Other masters that I liked was Zheng Chenggong and his servant Archer but honestly

depending on the route Chenggong was like the least developed character in the game. Archer

was great but also underdeveloped which is sad cuz Chenggong and Archer had good chemistry

and were voiced by Maeno Tomoaki and Ono Kensho! too bad plot was rude to them.

I didn't really like Chiemon but Okamoto Nobuhiko did a good job voicing him

and making him really intimidating. His servant was eh... fitting to say the least and despite

not liking him I understand why he did what he did, he's had it up to here like fuck dis shit

meanwhile Lancer is like please accept my affection you are worthy of love and Chiemon

is like no but she will follow him to the depths of hell anyways. How bittersweet.

Takao Dayu was okay but I generally am generally mixed about Yui Shousetsu

who even after the snek route I still feel indiffirent about, mostly cuz they were lowkey

giving shipping fuel at the end but also did nothing with it.

Also this game went too far back with history so some things were lost on me like

Iori's servant saber real identity and everything related to him. I had to google some names

and god I nearly cried like oh no, no no since they sticked to the facts.

A servant even joked about it that it is okay if you don't know who he was... lmao.

 

Literally half of this game in a nutshell.

The story and pacing was pretty slow but had it been any faster I would be overwhelmed?

so I am actually somewhat glad they took their time and I could re-familiarize myself

with the fate universe but I will admit that it felt like it was dragging itself out

and the characters had no idea wtf they were doing or someone got in the way

and oh damn gotta go back to base cuz tired and hungry.

Saber is a glutton...

Fate Samurai Remnant was like a game of cat and mouse and while at times fun

and interesting it ultimately overstayed its welcome and I didn't even enjoy the

final chapter, at this point I was about done with the last minute shenanigans.

Moving on the first playthrough ending only brought a sense of relief that it was over

it didn't really wrap itself up properly only setting the player up for round 2.

Well honestly by this point I was like uh what in the fresh hell? it took me 30+ hours

and I don't even get a decent epilogue and yet you want me to play it again?

Ok sure but give me five to recharge. I realized that at this point the only thing I really

liked was the general turn of events and of course the characters. Except

Chiemon&lightning horse. These two got on my nerves so much I kid you not!

Anyway there were plenty of fun character interactions and the story was unpredictable

that you wouldn't know what was really going on which I really liked kept things interesting.

Also because I know fate already I knew who Boss was but in this game he was a rather annoying

side charactter and mostly used as comic relief, I remember he was a bit stuck up

in the anime series by ufotable but not as bad as in this game.😂

Woah hey there greg, no spoilers please!

TL;DR

Its a good game if you like to be challenged by the gameplay and if not there's always the newly

added easy difficulty so you can just enjoy the story and the like without worrying of performing well.

Iori did not have much of a personality and most of the other cast just stood out to me

more than the protagonist itself including Iori's servant Saber.

I did like the story,characters and the unpredictability of it all while exploring old-timey japan

and the game had a good sense of humor but yea I just have a few gripes with it all.

Iori definitely grew stronger but everytime I faced enemies with shields it seems like that wasn't

the case. By the end of the game I was kinda done with the recycled enemies, there's NG+ exclusive

mobs but they are just supersized versions. I think occasionally enemies with shields are fine

but not every boss-like enemy. I wanted to like Fate/Samurai remnant more but yea...

I think I liked more than enough and it just kinda overstayed it welcome.

Dodging or countering was the only thing I felt like I was good at, breaking shields was a chore.

Still had shields not been there battles wouldn't last as long either maybe it is ok after all.

While I played on normal I briefly lowered the difficulty for NG+ but realized

it became too easy and actually switched back since I kinda missed the thrill of the fights.

((What am I doing to myself?!))

Me after every single battle.

I guess this post is kinda long but this game was long which just leads me to ramble

about the characters a bit and this was only the opening section, whoops.

It may seem like I am kinda mixed and perhaps I am... but it was still

an okay game with a good story and cast, over and out.

 7/10

 

More rambles after the jump i'll just be talking a bit more about the gameplay experience

and characters but the above should be good enough of a TL;DR.

You can skip to my final thoughts to get another gist I guess?

Xenoblade 3 - review

Genre:RPG.

Developer/publisher: Monolith Soft.

Platform: Switch.

Official Site: N/A

Release date: 2022-07-29.

 

Okay since this is turning into an rpg blog anyway, i've just decided to carry on

and write a post about it, straight of the bat I will say here that I like this series

mostly for its characters, story and exploration... I have never been a fan of the combat

and i'm not here for it, sure its cool but i'm a story enjoyer that still tries to play on normal. 

 

Pro's

- Great cast, I liked the story surrounding Noah and Mio.

- Exploring is fun, plenty of quests/optional content.

- Great OST.

- English/british dub is good, has a stellar seiyuu cast as well.

 

Con's

- Story while interesting, it might seem a bit farfetched to how it ties itself to its prequels

part of me even wondered what was the point and that it felt kind of forced.

-  PLOT is also full of cheeseHOLES and story elements either are underdeveloped or unused.

- Using side stories or subquests to advance the main story no longer makes it optional.

- Class system is chaotic, and makes everyone seem samey.

- Too many bosses are sponges, the final boss itself was a tad too long plus WhErE

iS mY cHeCkPoInT?! if you die(funny cuz every other boss'll wait for u).

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

TL;DR its a well-rounded rpg with a great cast and the story  that on its own is seemingly fine.

I won't spoil anything about the story which is interesting to say the least but I think

in how it connects to the first two games feels a bit off and/or far fetched

that at the end of the day seems to amount to nothing thus making it all

seem like some fan fiction of trying to merge the worlds/aspects of xenoblade 1 and 2???

I did however really like the story surrounding Noah and Mio! by the time of the ending

I was actually shipping Lanz/Sena and Taion/Eunie as well.😄

The battle system is okay, class system can be weird and chaotic but as long as you

do quests and fight blue enemies its easy to gain the upperhand and stay ahead of the curve.

If you don't do that then it could get a bit more challenging but I absolutely recommend to not

miss out on the hero quests as they're great supplement to the story. Sadly I wish everyone

could revive like in past games and not just the healers cuz if they die for whatever reason

then you are fucked and this happened more than once. The combat is actually pretty simple

and straight-forward but they just expect players to just get it. I didn't even know till I beat

the damn game that you could do a dash move to quickly move around while in combat! also

if it was in a tutorial then I must've forgotten? I don't remember it being told to you.

I have my gripes but its a good game, fans of the series will probably not be disappointed! 

So if you're looking for a 60+ hour adventure  which could be even longer if you try

everything it has to offer including postgame stuff. But after beating the game I was too tired

for any of it except unlocking the extra heroes... so yea even after beating the game 

there could be plenty left to do if you're up for it. Sadly idk what it is but this game

left me so drained by the end of it? in comparison to Arise which left me satisfied/fulfilled.

Oh well, i'm just gonna say that Xenoblade 3 had a strong start, a very good middle(ch5)

but it ended up being a little bit confusing and/or lacklustre in the way they ended it.

Even for a TL;DR this was pretty long... well the game was long it took me a good 70 hours!

 

Now for the big question should you play the other two games first?

hmm probably better you do! but its not completely necessary. I did wonder why

the Queen's of each nation looked like certain characters from both games

but other than that this game just takes place after the first and second games.

For the most part there's not much that directly references anything except two characters

but if you played the other games you'd probably have several questions why things

are like the way they are in xenoblade 3, it takes a long time before you even get

a good explanation and even then, I thought huh why did that even happen?

Its all up to you really, when it comes to numbered games and knowing they all

take place after the other, i'm more willing to say start with 1 than at 3. Honestly though

I think both 1 and 2 were fine as stand alones. Anyway that's my opinion and I say it

later down the post as well, i'm not a gatekeeper you're free to do whatever you want.

 

If you like lengthy rpg's with a battle system that has you do epic attacks then this game

might be for you, if you can get past the same-ish combat flow and system that is actually

quite simple but never really properly explained which at this point I consider a series staple.

7,4/10

I was gonna give this an 8,5/10 but the final boss was just such a slog and I found out

that if you die in the fight, doesn't matter where you're forced to restart from scratch.

And it was like an hour long LMAO... wtf even xenoblade 1 had checkpoints in its final fight.

Also what was up with lucky seven? the whole thing was underdeveloped, we got to use it once

there was even a tutorial and then it was just forgotten. Riku also was kinda SUS if you ask me.

After chapter 5 the story and all did take a little nosedive and it never regained its momentum

and we get boring fetch quest and a rushed/lacklustre conclusion to it all.

I'm gonna say it this game was released ahead of its initial release in september

SOMETHING HAPPENED and we don't know what. Either it was budget or 

they decided it was good enough, no one really knows.

Sad, I know! I really want to like this game more but this all ain't helping....

The rest of this post is just more rambles/more detail on my experience of the game

if you don't like/agree then just close the tab in your browser, its just my own opinion

which could differ from yours. There are no plot spoilers but there are a few screenshots so beware!

Kimi wa Yukima ni Koinegau - review

Genre: Otome/simulation VN.
Developer/publisher: Otomate
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/kimiyuki/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v29906
Release date: 2021-07-29.

 

Finally time for another otome game after I ended up skipping paradigm paradox

cuz jpn reviews really weren't doing that one any favors, going in all I knew about Kimiyuki

was that it was going to be a tearjerker/nakige in an old timey setting. Seiyuu cast is a mix

of the popular ones and some newer talent among one i've never heard before

which was nice, other than that this game was pretty long and took half a month to complete! though

I did push through the last two routes and well during the final one I hardly could put it down.😅

The op movie is pretty decent, and I often just let it play.

 

 

Pro's

- Surprisingly comedic, lot's of cute scenes with the guy(s).

- Unique and self contained, routes however to understand the plot you must do all the routes.

- Art, gorgeous and good variety of CG's.

- Music fit the theme/mood of the game.

- Most if not all the main guys were likable.

Con's

- Pacing, due to making time for fun and cute romance and flesh out

sub characters ties with the plot it all can drag on.

- Not all routes are as interesting, the character might really save it depending on taste.

- Half the time I did wonder... what does this game try to be???

 

General plot:

Our heroine Suzuno is an orphan who can see some weird thread of emotion that more often

than not leads to doom she was chased away by villagers and being called a monster by them...

despite that she's surprisingly carefree and optimistic.

That thread she sees is an ill omen and the villagers want nothing to do with it...

 one day she meets a man named Tomonari whom ends up inviting her to come to edo with him

its then she meets the oniwaban which is like a band of samurai's under command of the shogun.

Why not? why not go with them when your fellow villagers call you a demon-possesed youkai?!

Oh and apparently she is also a descendant of the haku-seki clan.

Tomonari and Kunitaka are so nice to Suzuno as they introduce her to the other

oniwaban and edo, faith in humanity has been restored... somewhat.

The rest of the plot of this game involves Suzuno use her powers and help the oniwaban

there is far too much to quickly digest but Kiko's are basically seen as tools to kill demons

and have no emotion which is why Suzu-chan can't see anything from them

the funny part is that the kiko's are surprisingly... free-spirited.😅

Literally most of the oniwaban as they try to do their job.

The art in this game is gorgeous the backgrounds are decent enough.

Most important characters had a sprite and there were a lot of sub chara's so that was nice.

The music is fitting and there's an interesting cast of characters which was enough

to get excited to find out what the story in this game was about

which without spoilers was just okay really this is a story driven game

that actually manages to deliver the romantic moments throughout as well but boy is it long!

had I not planned some evenings for this I would have taken longer to complete it.

There were plenty of CG's and they happen when you would like to see them

which is really good especially after the last otome game I played.

Probably one of my favourite common route group cg's.

 There are 3 types of endings bad sad and best, it doesn't really matter which order

I think I was glad I did Kinji's sad end last because I needed a moment after it.

There aren't that many bad ends, 1 per character Tomonari is a slight exception to this....

Other than that the system in general was just basic choices and nothing complicated.

The heroine Suzuno was alright, she has her circumstances but she wasn't annoying or anything

considering her optimism, I thought it was easy to relate to her situation in the beginning. 

Suzuno will point out if something worries her due to her ability to see threads of doom

and act on her own but that last bit might not be a good thing most of the time...

cuz she can't really fight back on her own i'll add to it that she is quite pure and some things

might fly over her head which in turn can lead to some hilarious situations.

Suzuno is also not a fighter, though she did have her moments 

and she stood out the most in Yoichi and Genjurou routes.

Common route was okay in terms of introducing everything and world view, they introduced

some more characters after the talk with the shogun and I did struggle to remember

all their names but atleast they had some unique personalities but so I was able to

identify them more easily as emo guy(Kyoushiro), mr nice guy(Mitsushige)

and megane brat(Yabuta).😅 This game is slow paced but all of the routes were unique

even if common route was shared the stories varied heavily though.

Its theme was advertised as to be sad but it has rather snappy dialogue & there were plenty

of funny and cute scenes unfortunately due to this the overall pacing doesn't feel too good.

Most of the main guys were really nice except one of them but he had his reasons really, you'd

have to decide for yourself. Honestly I didn't want anything bad to happen to them

so considering the theme this was working as intended.

But it is kinda obvious now that if you thought this would be a tragic historic fantasy

then I have to disappoint! Kimiyuki was actually more comedic than I ever expected it to be. Considering they brought in iwai yuki a japanese comedian it all makes sense now.

 The overall production values are also quite high, but it did  have a bit of a slow start

all things considered  I think it was necessary to understand the setting.

TBH I want to like this game more but it got a few problems and that is it doesn't

really know what it wants to be sometimes! the pacing issues are so there, I don't mind

that there are cute or funny scenes in fact I welcomed them but more often than not but

the story pacing is awful, it would drag on a lot atleast romance didn't disappoint me...

they often focus so much on side characters that i'm like what was it we were doing again?

Like the first route I did, Kunitaka was a bit boring in terms of plot but other than that

I still manage to enjoy it, I know I enjoyed Kinji and Yoichi's route the most overall

and even Genjurou had a better written plot and villain(annoying as he was)

but yea the writing quality is all over the place we have lots of route that don't have much to do

with the real plot and you won't make sense of anything till the locked routes.

A common problem in otome game land...  atleast I did think they balanced 

the romance with whatever plot together was going on so you got some cute moments

and more serious stuff while learning more but like I already said the writing quality varied heavily.

I did wonder a little about the Kiko's being emotionless

and are tools to wipe out youkai/yoika but they're so free spirited???

but its more like they're not fully capable of being human like its obvious they can be a bit

insensitive at times some more than others, needless to say these guys aren't perfect

and they don't need to be.

So despite this being advertised as a tearjerker... you're mostly in for a good time! mostly... yes.

so this is actually more of a romantic comedy really that in a way is actually a bit tender.

If you end up getting this just enjoy the ride,but its probably better to not have too much

expectations because like I mentioned above not all routes were as interesting cuz it did get slow

but that might be because it tried to focus on side characters as well! so bottom line is

this game tried to do too much things at once! which lead to a long game in general.

For what its worth it was a decent wafuu otome game the only problem is the language really

its not beginner friendly but seems like Aksys is bringing this over... some day.

Sigh aksys I do hope they won't make a mess of it because this is the only way

people can enjoy the games if they don't know jpn... I AM WORRIED and wanna express this

cuz this game does have a lot of terms and old timey so this might be more than they can chew.

 

So if you're in the mood for an wafuu otome game with a decent enough plot, don't mind

a slow start/slowburn, a little bit of mystery and fun/cute scenes this might be for you!

but yea if this otome game number 150 you might not be able to enjoy it as much compared

to someone who only has played a few... I think this is only fair cuz I played a bunch

and was able to enjoy this for the most part so your mileage might vary.

Even so the last route in this game made everything fit so I think it was pretty solid?

enough for me to give it an 8,5/10 like there were 6 routes and I enjoyed at least 3/4 of them

so I think the final score is only fair, considering production values and everything else.

(8.5/10 if bias, 6/10 for non bias)

IDK if there was a recommended order but there were routes that was locked behind

some others which was Tomonari who unlocks Otarou so you have to do Kunitaka,

Yoichi OR Genjurou and Kinji first! but it is funny they will let you into the route of Otarou

for a hot minute but will default to some abrupt end.😔 Don't be me...

My play order: Kunitaka > Kinji > Yoichi > Genjurou > Tomonari > Otarou.

The routes in bold have no restriction so feel free to mix that up but yea if you care about

story there's not much you can do about the last two routes. Yoichi is the only one that is an

odd ball, it was also very otome BUT his route does hint at something that will be explained later

so I don't think you should save him for last cuz an important plot detail gets spoiled about him

at the end of Otarou's so if I had to recommend anything it would be

exactly the same order as mine except maybe switch Yoichi and Genjurou around.

Character babbles after the jump, however be advised that there will be spoilers beyond this point though to respect the wishes of the developers I will not be sharing too many CG

and only my favorites. So if you wish to remain spoiler-free then the review ends here! This is

due to the mystery aspect of this game, so if you really REALLY are going to play it in the

future I do say to not read past this point. Its better to not know too much with this game.

 

Lover pretend (otome game) - review

Genre: Otome/VN.
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/lp/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v22986
Release date: 25/03/21.

 

After the disappointment that was Ryza 2 and not much otome games coming out

I decided to get one of their newest release lover pretend a shot because

the premise seemed interesting and the art is gorgeous... AND it has an all-star seiyuu cast.

Other than that I had no real expectations...

Pro's

- Interesting story, unique character-focused routes.

- Likeable heroine.

- Art.

- Catchy BGM. 

- Light-hearted nothing too serious.

Con's

- Too many bad ends that don't add much of value.

- Some routes have loose ends that do not properly get resolved.

- The common route can get a tad repetitive by route 4.

 

Plot/characters

Chiyuki our heroine has two dreams on is to fulfill her deceased mom's dream to be a writer

the other to find her biological father whom she never met. The clues to him

seem to be in some script her mom wrote before she have birth.

Chiyuki thinks hmm maybe the people involved with my moms work may know something!

by some string of events beyond her control she finds herself cast in a drama herself

and has to pretend to fall in love while never really having done so.😅

Actually this sounds like a recipe for disaster...

Most of the guys are all popular too so Chiyuki has to deal with some of their admirers/fans

oh well atleast there was some conflict so it wasn't boring at all.

I did like Chiyuki a lot though she her personality was great whether it was telling

Yukito to go buzz off or trying to keep her act together... she had off moments

but all in all she was pretty human! which might be why I liked her so much

she knew what she wanted and went for it, the poster boy Kazuma was great too

the best friend Chiyuki could have or maybe as a lover too? who knows... but his route

I wasn't a fan of it. Yukito was ok but his route was full of general idol bullshittery with him being

a massive flirt  but I gotta admit I was trash for him by the time it was over. (wait what...? yeah.)

TFW I find out i'm trash for yet another 2d man...

Harumi is gonna be a no from me as he's more like a little bro. UwU

Riku was fine in more ways than one... his route was quite entertaining

and out of all for me he was an easy favorite. Asagi is well okay I guess?

he's the only one I don't have a strong opinion of might've been cuz his route was rather short.

System

The director of WoF,Reine and VB gave us his newest masterpiece 'pretend time'

but atleast this system actually somewhat works with the story flow and whenever there's some

problematic situation Chiyuki has to pretend to get out of it or something like that.

This system is basically just an excuse for plot development and only a handful

actually involve pretending. In the routes of Riku and Yukito it was good. For Harumi it was

okay at best, in Kazuma it wasn't really necessary and in Asagi it was like pretending? what's that.

Like in the beginning Chiyuki pretending to know how to be a girlfriend to having to explain

she has a reason to be around Harumi was good or Riku trying to pretend to be lovers

for personal reasons. Well this is miles better than the RNG in WoF

or that weird barricade breaking system in variable barricade.

With it being similar to reine des fleur also means each guy has like 4 bad ends...😱

most are just fail ends and don't add much but atleast you get prompted to save

before it starts so its actually very forgiving, thank you otomate.

It does get tiring having to do all endings but good news! there's no need for CG completion

maybe personal satisfaction........ so you can always do it, I gave up after Yukito's.

Atleast there's the option to skip pretend times you've already done and min/max affection you gain from it which made it even much more bearable, wow otomate really learned from reine huh? (maybe)

 

This was MOSTLY a light-hearted otome game about the ups and downs in the acting world

without it being too deep it still managed to tell a decent but entertaining story

and with the exception of one route whatever drama there was in the routes

didn't feel like it was dragging it down too much. The heroine was proactive and sassy

which lead to some hilarious scenes, overall she was pretty great.

Depending on the route the title of the script she writes changes as well.

I want to add... that this games theme really is more or less about COMMUNICATION

the characters are not perfect they have flaws and it might require some understanding

Harumi is literally just a kid with a less than ideal family situation but was willing

to IMPROVE and GROW despite that, the heroine being understanding definitely helped

if you truly want a healthy relationship with anyone romantic or not it is important

to be there for someone even if they said mean things and IMO this otome game did really well

which out of all routes I had to pick Harumi as the example but they all pretty much came down to it.

I mean you could dump someone for it too and sometimes you'll have to throw in the towel

and someone might be beyond your help but that's not what a game should be about

even if something looks bad there is still hope. Afterall if you give up its all over.

 

The common route served its purpose in setting up the potential pair

it was neither too long or too short. It made it feel like this game was from years ago.😂

Story was good at slowly revealing more information and her fulfilling her dreams but of course

some was halted based on who you go for as the guys problems were more important.

This is one of those where certain information is locked into the hidden route.

Which leads to routes being more or less self-contained, Yukito, Harumi being the biggest

offenders and to some extend Riku but it felt they kinda blue balled that one.  Don't get me

started on Kazuma... Kaz... oh you cute but dumb boy! the route was cute and all but then

you get hit with PAIN that is like when a truck hits you that came out of nowhere😓

idk it felt like the writer had a block and struggled trying to make something of it

because unlike the other routes the whole mood did a 180.

Either way none of the characters were terrible but the routes sure were... unique!

if any route managed to surprise me it was Harumi, his is the one that truly stands apart

from say Yukito or Riku. Kaz doesn't compare to any route if you do his you'll know why.

There were also a bunch of bonus scenarios you can read after you finish the routes

some with a extra cg others which was nice.

I think this otome is perfect if you're in the mood for something that has a solid cast with

a decent enough plot going on to keep you invested in it as a whole while you chase bishies.

Though that didn't stop it from some routes being less interesting as a whole

but i've played enough VN to know by now this is all too common.

Atleast the routes never bored me if anything I was a little lost at the direction of Harumi's route

both him and Yukito are probably the safest picks 1st play but it shouldn't matter much.

Lover Pretend had a better plot and more interesting routes than the last otome game I had played

which when looking back was quite barebones when compared to this game

it may have been more dramatic as well but hey its about acting? and much like

variable barricade these boys are far from perfect... all have their own issues.

The only thing that I think might be bad is the high amount of bad ends that don't have much of value

and making one important plot thread into a loose end that do not properly get resolved

till the final route which kinda makes sense buuut yeah a FD could fix this

but you can't always bet on that happening. At the very least all routes were enjoyable enough

that I could turn a blind eye to this. To be fair games like code:realize also did this...

so I do not make a big deal of it any more than needed.

All things considered, I didn't expect much and almost passed on it but managed to enjoy it anyway.

For what its worth this was a pretty okay otome game!

8,5/10

My play order: Yukito > Harumi > Riku > Kazuma > Asagi.

Which I thought was fine and the order doesn't matter that much might say Yukito or Harumi first

and no choice but to do Asagi last as he's locked till you do all.

 

That ends the non spoiler section, usual spoiler babbles after the jump.

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

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).

Code:Realize Shirogane no Kiseki - Review

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/code-realize/fd2/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21521

Release date: 2017-12-21

The 2nd code realize fd... well we know the first (shukufuku no mirai) had more plot than fanservice

and that they sort of falsely advertised it so when this was announced I was like wow really?

surely they couldn't have put it as one game in the first place? but I guess

this is also to have yet another game to sell right after the anime finished airing. $$$hing
Oh well happy 2018 can't say I fully appreciated this FD but...
 atleast it gave content most fans wanted to begin with albeit a bit late.

Pro's
- Certain characters will finally get the epilogues they deserve.
- Triangle date, fanservicey but fun mini episodes.
- Art, Miko gets better and better!

Con's
- Christmas stories should've been shorter (looking at you Van).
- Was there really a need to split the FD?

This FD is christmas/holiday themed so I suggest you play it around that time of the year

it didn't arrive till the 28 for me but since I am not really that invested in the holidays 

I was just like i'll play it now before moving on to anything else like I do think

code:realize is a wonderful series but... I hope they won't milk this series too much so as much
as the idea of seasonal fandisk is nice I also dislike, I hope otomate doesn't get any more ideas.
Atleast the artist is still the same but I really hope this doesn't become the next hakuouki.

So what content is in this FD?
After stories for Finis and Sholmes because they needed it especially the latter.
A scenario titled Cantarella this is pretty much like the mafia one last time but better.
Christmas stories for the original characters set after Finis's after story.
An epilogue for the 5 original guys set after the after stories in shukufuku no mirai
to finish what the last FD started because apparently it couldn't be told back then. >_>

System? typical stuff, you select the story you want to read
there's no real need for a guide except for dictionary but since its so short
its easy to go back and select another choice so there's no fear.

To keep it short...
First off I don't want to sound ungrateful its just... starting to seem like code:rea is being milked.
Its short but the entertainment was there and the value was good... more so than tierbladeFD
speaking of volume it might be just right, I thought some of the christmas stories was too long for
their own good(especially Van) or maybe that's just me... I liked Impey's and Fran's a lot though.
Finis and Sholmes after stories... the latter bored me for some reason but still give good conclusion.
I think it would be better received if you actually like code:realize a whole lot, already said this at the
start of the post but it cannot be coincidence this came out right after the anime finished airing.
Cardia is a great heroine AND she kicked ass, got her happy future...  but there's not much else
that needs to be told is there? the more otome I play the more I realize that open ended
endings are perhaps the better kind like make your own fantasies instead of being spoonfed them
of course some could benefit from a little teensy bit more but I feel otomate is going overboard here.
I'm sure we could get a FD for everything that is new to Cardia but I hope that won't be necessary
the score is more than fair, I actually get tired of having to come back FD after FD, once is enough.
 7/10
''Its a nice addition with plenty of enjoyable fanservice but there's not much else to it.''

So do I recommend this FD? only if you are a fan and absolutely need more code:rea in your life.

Re:vice[D] - review

リヴァイスディー
Game: [Re:viceD]

Genre: Otome Game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PS Vita.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v14813

Release date: 2014-07-24

 Since the story setup ain't the typical otome I got interested since there's not much else
out these days so why not go back to some games I skipped out on?
This was like otomates first PS Vita otome game and impressions were good
but the values aren't so eventually I just grabbed a copy for 30$ on playasia
yep it goes for that cheap... they prolly just have too much stock and it needs to go to it etc.
Heck it even came with the preorder drama CD...
After the last game I played this was pleasant and much more enjoyable as a whole.


 I admit the art syle isn't why I bought it nor found it attractive at first but it grew on me.
 The music was great, definitely stood out and the OP was catchy.
I never skipped it and sometimes I'd leave it on the title screen so it loops.

-

Pro's
- Interesting set up for an otome game.
- Each character's interesting and has a reason to be a candidate.
- Comedy.
- Slick Art style.
- Music, great its not something to tire of.

Con's
- No touch features, I know this is otomate's first vita game but it may've as well been on PSP then!
- Typical truth route problems are of no concern elsewhere, guess Anvan is under tight-leash.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Not every route may be to your liking, well duh but whatever other con will there be?
 -

Aika's not amused at how laid back the other heavenly kings can be.

Our heroine Aika is  one of the four heavenly kings. She is tasked with finding
a successor in the human world, 3 of the other heavenly kings have already
assigned recommendations, Aika however adds the mysterious Yukine to that list.
Aika isn't a typical heroine she ain't one to take shit and this can lead to shenanigans,
It was funny to see her reactions and the guys to be blending in as a human highschool girl
but she's prett cool and won't sit still when her friends are in danger.
If anything she's anything but a typical otome game heroine
but remember no matter how cool she is, she's still a girl
some routes handle it better than others.

Aika isn't one of those otome game heroine's that would take the crap most do, she's more than capable.

Just by going through the prologue I was like? wow this is pretty fun/interesting
and it never beat around the bush while still having fun moments.
The system was standard so there's not much to add to that but I liked the way you select event.
 They're not long but sometimes it feels like a side story along general story but its nice
way to keep stuff character specific but uh by the last route everything flew by!
Gotta add that I found that it was a pain in the ass to read font in the selection screen, I literally
needed atleast a minute or two at times to decipher some of the scribbles, also
 no touch feature even though we're on PS VITA so use joystick or miss stuff....😅
 As unique the system was... without a guide I think you can get lost... because there's 
so many scenes and endings and without knowing you may derail into what you didn't want.
There are a lot of choices this combined with selection system made first play arguably 
the longest but each route was 4-6 hours at most which was decent in length.
Well I loved the interactions everyone had with each others, it feels some otome games miss out
on this comedic factor and only a few get it right to balance with serious & romance.
The common part of the game consists of Aika and her familiar Mike giving the candidates
situations to test themselves like will they face the problems and help each other or run away?

The side character Shinku, Suiu and Akatsuki were interesting as well and honestly
they do not need full routes, because story wise that would be jarring besides Suiu's an ass.
They do get endings though so there's something for them atleast!
All will become clear when you'll go through the routes, each character had his reasons
 for being chosen as a candidate, the weakest link may have been Hinatsu
because honestly he makes for a poor demon king, atleast his case was unique lol.
 My favorite character was definitely Iroha everyone else just followed.

The short version...
A somewhat decent otome game forever overlooked and it sold like crap
due to being the first new(that's not a port) otome on PS Vita
but didn't have much new features so it may as well have been on PSP.
While I only really liked two routes atleast every route was unique...
sadly certain character like Yukine just gets screwed over whom I only can pity.
It all depends on personal taste as I cannot like everything.
I suppose the only thing this game has going for it is unusual themes for an otome game
and crisp art due to vita but once again it may've been better if it was PSP.
 This is a relatively short game and the endings end when they should to the point
it can be good for those that do not play much otome and only pick one out
once in a blue moon after considering what the value is which sadly isn't that much
 since this is only one game, I still love the character interactions over most else which made everything come together but I wish Kuroda had more common events because his route flew by.😭
This may be a one hit wonder, you'll probably won't find anything else quite like it
nor does it specifically need more so even if one ends up liking it be prepared
that you'll won't find any goods related to it because its just not popular enough.

I guess some games like this and others are just outshadowed but that doesn't mean they're
not worth it, honestly Re:vice[D] is better as a whole than three otome games
 I played last year so that gotta say something.
hint: Period Cube, Moujuutachi and Suuran Digit.

Maybe its due to the way it was told and the comedy plus it not really losing sight of theme
while trying to keep it unique every route. I loved the characters, the story was there
and everything else was great, romance may need some work but what more do you want?
Otomate makes so much games and gems like this or that easily get overlooked
I am actually glad they didn't have much this year, means I can pick up stuff I passed on.
Re:vice[D] may cater to people who like otome game heroines
 who're more confident than average and don't mind its unique setting.

Playorder:
Hinatsu > Iroha > Ryoga > Yukine > Kuroda
This was recommended by others so may as well... use it
I do not know if Kuroda really needs all routes but honestly his makes the most sense
after Yukine and everyone else is self-contained compared to the last two.

Uh so you know character ramblings after the jump major or minor spoilers be there so be warned.