Mononoke Chigiri - Review

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/mononoke/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v52266

Release date: 31-7-2025

 

Honestly I wasn't sure if I should get this but it did catch my attention

and I liked the setting so why the hell not? its also been a while that the

otome game lineup in japan has been so stacked like I wasn't even finished

with UtaChro FD, and this game came out! Sadly it seems barely anyone got this game

but it also didn't seem like it was going to be a heavy hitter with a lot of hype for it either. 

I had mostly a good time with Mononoke Chigiri so it wasn't a bad otome game at all.

 

 Pro's

- Decent but simple story that's not overly complicated with lots of funny situation.

- Great heroine and romance was with most LI was satisfying.

- Gorgeous art from sprites and backgrounds to CG's.

- BGM fits the setting and some have really nice relaxing vibe. 

 

Con's

-  Pretty long; the length can be a bit of a double edged sword.

- Some sub characters or enemies have no sprite, it would have more impact if they did.

- Not one but two attractive unromanceable side characters.

 

 I liked the OP, it had the right kind of tone for a game with this setting, really good jam.

The lyrics of the OP already kinda spoil what kind of story its gonna be.

The ED was okay, I didn't skip it this time unlike UtaChro FD

and the animations for it were absolute adorable and feel good. 

 

Art was gorgeous, it was done by Melo, I didn't even recognize it at first

but it really is them. The backgrounds were nice to look at too.

Music was alright it suited the scenes well, it certainly wasn't the worst i've heard.

I loved some of the BGM like one of those was so relaxing it made me melt. 

I'm more wondering where the hell did otomate pull some of these composers from

cuz they seem really randomly picked but it mostly worked out so it wasn't a bad idea.

The UI was clean and it was easy to read the text as well. 

 

Heroine/Plot.

The heroine Fujita Yuma is an onmyoji  and she took her role seriously even if she's just an

apprentice she is trying! Yuma had her own sprite in the corner, I really miss this in some games.

In terms of heroines she is definitely out there, if you like proactive heroines she'll not disappoint.

The story was pretty simple and she had the goal of sealing the bakeneko whom's seal

was weakening and she befriended a bunch of youkai to help her do just that.

Its not a plot-focused otome game but rather one that focuses on the journey

which is slightly different depending whom you go for, the solution to the problem

was never the same and routes were more or less character focused.

This game didn't suffer from copypasta but I can see it being kind of repetitive.

Needless to say I've found most if not all routes worth doing.  

 

This was not a serious otome game at all since it was a rom-com. 

There were times the story was hilarious, the heroine was sometimes wearing her clown

pants unintendedly in the beginning however the game did know when to be more serious.

There was a common route which sets the stage and introduces the setting and story

but it was quite long, I could see people drop the game because of it

so this might not be for people who prefer shorter or more serious otome's. 

I did love the overall vibe and I wanted to learn more about everything. So it wasn't off

to a bad start. I did think it was bit slow at times and took its sweet time

but it ended up being surprisingly well written in a way that suit the setting A LOT.

I also liked how the perspective would switch to the LI or Hayate&Satoru.

If you really like japanese folklore and youkai, this game is an easy recommendation.

Time for this local grandma to go back to bed!

 

The system was mostly standard VN stuff and each love interest had only two endings

a good end and bad ending which can be heartbreaking, i'm glad they made

the endings count so its quality over quantity.

 However there was was a minigame but you only have to press a few buttons in order.

This kind of interactive game play wasn't that complicated. At first I thought

it was too fast but its an easy to memorize pattern and by route 2 I had it down.

Also you don't have to do it perfectly, completing the minigame

is fine with 5/7 so you don't have to get all seven button presses correct. 

You can retry via the backlog and save before it, imo it wasn't a bad minigame.   

I actually expected this minigame to be used more but it wasn't used as much at all

which was a relief for people that don't like this sort of stuff.

 

Playtime might depend on your reading speed, I feel like my speed is normal

or slightly slower because I sometimes pause. If you're a fast reader

then this game could feel a bit shorter then I make it out to be.

This game took me a good two weeks to get through, I feel more satisfied with

Mononoke Chigiri than I did with Fuyuzono Sacrifice as well.

I didn't full focus on this game and took breaks, I think I could have finished it

sooner but there were times I wasn't ready to jump into the next route.

 

In terms of characters I didn't think I would like Akihito as much as I did

but I absolutely adored him by the end of his route! so that was a pleasant surprise.

I did Chiaki second but... I don't really like him. I got weird vibes and thought he was creepy

but I can't deny he was very much like a fox so it all checked out. He was just too much for me.💀

I generally liked Gaku but he was a bit stiff at times, you can see he means well

especially at the start of the route where he expressed some of his thoughts.

I think his route accomplished more with the setting and story overall.

Sakichi's route was downright hilarious and a true rom-com, I enjoyed it the most

and may have left the strongest impression on me cuz some stuff you don't see everyday.

I enjoyed Sousuke's route as well and I think it was one of the best routes in the game

next to Sakichi and Akihito, Due being locked its a good route to end the game with. 

 

I do have some complaints but not a lot. Some side characters have portraits, there's

nothing for really minor characters or enemies which made the game lack in impact

especially with their being some fight scenes so you had to use your imagination.

Its hilarious how Hayate and Satoru's were really handsome like

if Mononoke Chigiri got a FD they will definitely have routes. 

The bakaneko I didn't find very threatening except... near the end of a route

and overall the game can get a bit repetitive but the individual characters

were all great and the way the problem was solved each route was unique.

So I can't complain too much. I almost ran out of steam at the final route

but it managed to get its grip on me and I still progressed at a steady pace. 

 

TL;DR 

This game made me love the whole otome genre all over again.

Its had a decent enough plot but I thought it was more focused on SoL, interaction

with the LI which lead to all sorts of fun situations, sealing the bakeneko

was merely  goal but I think the journey with the LI mattered more here.

There wasn't any extreme content which could be disappointing for some but games

like this can be nice in their own way, there's enough shit happening in the world. 

It was quite long as well especially the first time through, had it been shorter

there would not nearly be enough time so I think the overall length is just right. 

At its core it may be quite a simple story... but it was still enjoyable

like sometimes you just want something that's not too complicated

while chasing 2d men and Mononoke Chigiri really delivered with this. 

I also really love animals and I liked how there were some cute scenes with the guys in

their youkai form, they kept it light and fun it reminded me of beastmaster & prince. 

 Overall pretty decent otome game that shined on building a connection with the LI! 

it takes its time with everything and it took its own setting serious, it had a potentially

bittersweet setup that became really obvious near the end of some route

but this wasn't a tear jerker, I think you're more likely to cry tears of joy

from laughing over something stupid that just transpired.

8.5/10 

I recommend it if you like more simple otome games focused on japanese folklore.

However if you prefer shorter otome games or don't like comedies, i'd probably

not recommend it since this is a rom-com of decent length.

 

I'm not sure how much chance this game will be brought over, but I don't see why not.

If aksys is gonna bring over lighthearted and comedic type of games now...

I see no reason they or others couldn't pick this up especially considering 

this is like the lovechild of Beastmaster&Prince and Radiant Tale.

Its worth a look if you like stuff such as Cupid Parasite as well. 

 

Play order: Akihito > Chiaki > Gaku > Sakichi > Sousuke.

There was a lock on Sousuke's route so I did him last. None of the initial route

had any big spoilers except maybe Gaku they all hint at little thinks

and my own play order flowed surprisingly well. There's apparently an official

order but I don't think it matters too much Akihito and Chiaki share a plot line

so doing one hints at the other. Same for Gaku and Sakichi. I think Sakichi

should be done before Sousuke though but that's my opinion. 

 

Character rambles after the jump so if you don't want spoilers just stop reading here.

I share a few of my fav CG's as well but not all of them.

 

Utakata no Uchronia Trail - Review

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Licobits.

Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/uchronia/fd/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v53877

Release date: 24-7-2025

 

You know back when I finished the original game I kinda wondered

if a FD or sequel was already planned since it felt like it was only half a story

and would you look at that? a FD was announced and released like a year later.

 

Pro's

- Afters were neither too short nor too long.

- Most afters wrapped up the story that the OG started well enough...

- Art was consistent overall.

 

Con's

- Overall plot in some routes is rather repetitive.

- Story can feel heavy, there's sugar content but not a lot.

- Some afters feel draggy and waste the majority of their runtime.

 

The OP was as good as the first game was, honestly I really like the singer as well.

The OP of both games Dawn & Deep Blue are so good, even the full versions. 

 

 

As it is a FD it has after stories for all the LI's routes from the original game.

There's both a normal and a best end... so choices seem to matter here. 

There are new routes as well for Hiiragi and Tsuwabuki

as well as another story which was set after the truth end last game.

You can get a mini ending with every LI from the previous game there as well

sadly this doesn't include the new LI from the FD. 

The menu where you select which story you'd like to view.

 

Art was gorgeous and sprites moved a little due live2d, I personally don't really

care about the latter but its a nice touch I guess. Whether a route had

good CG's though varied a lot, I think Tobari drew the short end of the stick.

Yashiro's route had a lot of new backgrounds which were all really good. 

 Most BGM's felt the same as the original nothing stood out to me except the OP.

The ED was just kind of there I actually skipped it after the 2nd time. 

 

TBH I thought the font was rather tiny, likely not optimized for switch lite.....

There's so many kanji too I was literally squeezing my eyes out.💀 Maybe it was like this

in the OG but I didn't have this problem with Toki no Kizuna's port so the whiplash was rough. 

 

I didn't list this as a con because its likely a me problem but I don't like how there is a start screen

then a separate screen for the logo before the actual main menu shows.

I mean why not just show the logo with the start screen? before the main menu???

its weird design that just makes it clunky to sit through everytime you boot up the game.

 

Average conversations in this game be like...

The pacing was OK but this game is really slow in general but I am glad

the afters weren't any longer than they were. It also felt more like a sequel than

a FD due to the contents being heavy. Like this just shows how open ended

the OG's endings were... and for some they were not ideal.

I was pretty much deceased by the time Tobari's after was over, thankfully

Yori revived me somewhat but he drove me mad by the end of his own route.💀

Each after/new route only had 5 chapters and it took maybe 5/6 hours to clear a route

individually. Due to that it was neither too short or too long, by the time I did the final route

I did feel a bit tired of it all. Let's be real this was a long FD so its not surprising.

 

Unfortunately there were bugs at release which slightly hindered my enjoyment of the game.

I am pretty sure the another story was meant to be done last but I couldn't do that

due to Awayuki,Tsuyukusa and Hiiragi's after being full of game crashing bugs.

By the time I did get to the bugged routes there was still no patch, so I decided to do

Awayuki's since his was only in chapter 1 unlike Tsuyukusa which had bugs in 2 chapters.

Experiencing wasn't fun but with the context of Awayuki's scene made me laugh somehow... 

I was sure it will be fixed sooner or later but it wasn't a good look to have these sort of bugs.

Also like clockwork when I am done with the game a patch appeared.......

okay everyone ya'll can enjoy it now without fear of it crashing.👍

 

Hmmmm....

Anyway I didn't really like Tobari's after but I liked the ending yet in Yori's after I liked

the majority of the after except the ending... Yashiro's after was generally good

and I loved Tsuwabuki's new route which was an alternative take on Yori's in the OG.

Awayuki's after was mostly good, it didn't leave me nearly deceased as someone else.😒

Tsuyukusa's after was a bit too slow-paced for me but that may've been due his personality. 

I suppose you win some and you lose some is how I sum up my experience with this FD.

--- 

I wasn't the biggest Uta-Chro fan but this FD did was wrap up  what the original game started, sadly

I just wasn't that invested in the general affairs of things but it was by no means a bad FD.

Uta-Chro likes to focus on the big picture and not just the romance, it really varied whether

or not a route balanced this. I suppose it depends on tastes but to me Tobari&Yori's after felt weak.

Though while I understand characters can't always be together there wasn't a whole lot of

romance scenes and what was there was woven into the plot. Hinagiku's just trying her best

which is good but it at times it would also focus on plot or side characters

who somehow still had their own little role to play in the story. 

The only characters that suffered with afters were the ones that never really went into the truth

so the story had to go out of its way to go into that... which wasn't all that fun. 

There's not a lot of CG's either so that didn't add to the experience either its only

been a year so the artist probably didn't have a lot of time to work on it. 

It wasn't a bad FD, even if it wasn't outstanding it was still good.

When I look back at the original... it just feels unfinished so this FD or sequel is much welcome.

 

TL;DR

Honestly for the most part its a good FD and there were definitely a bunch of route

that I thought were good and its okay if you don't like everything.

I'm walking away from this while liking atleast 3/4 routes, which is more than enough

though if you play FD's mainly for sugar content or more focus on romance this might

disappoint a little because there was still a heavy focus on the plot and slow-life.

It did further expand on the characters and it had moments

that were nice to see so it wasn't all bad if you like the pacing that is.

7/10

After finishing both games I realized UtaChro is actually pretty similar to trails in nature

so I recommend it to people that like slow-life and great worldbuilding

because at the end of the day that's what the UtaChro games are good at.

Also this isn't exactly beginner friendly you need a good grasp of japanese to enjoy it

fully, I saw aksys didn't have many upcoming games but they will likely localize this

and I will be disappointed if it doesn't because the OG really needs this FD. 

 

As for my playorder I started with Tobari but then heard there were bugs

so I adjusted my play order so the ones with the bugs were done later.

 Tobari > Yori > Yashiro > Tsuwabuki > ANOTHER > Awayuki> Tsuyukusa > Hiiragi.

 

Route babbles after the jump, I will share a few of my fav CG's as well

but no more than 3 per route, if you don't want any spoilers then just stop reading here. 

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

Toki no Kizuna Hanayui Tsuzuri - Review

PSP box art cuz its gongeous I mean gorgeous.

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate

Platform: PSP,switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/toki/switch/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v12141

Release date: 19-6-2025

 

Once upon a time otomate released an otome game called Toki no Kizuna

but then realized it didn't nearly have enough romance which was lost in the sauce

that was the overall story so they released a FD; Hanayui Tsuzuri.

 

--- 

Pro's

- After stories were a much needed epilogue to the original routes.

- Most other side content brought a smile to my face.

- After's are of decent length and didn't really overstay their welcome. 

 

Con's 

- New routes and flower chapter rely on Senkimaru's sad end so you could

feel lost in terms of continuity if you happened to only do the good ends in OG.

- Yachiyo's route is really aimed at a special audience so its not for everyone.

 ---

 

I thought the OP was pretty fire this time around and actually wanted

to listen to it most of the time I booted it up. The original game's OP

was a good jam too but it just didn't hit as good as the FD one. 

 

As for the heroine she mostly has dropped the act of pretending to be a man and she

was much more accepting of herself. Yukina let her feminine side shine through in this FD.

Maybe for some its disappointing but I didn't mind this. The extended epilogue

really did show her at her most badass which was really good IMO. 

 

---  

After stories.

All after stories start with a brief summary of the route but it felt a bit rushed

I suppose it might be good if you need a quick refresher, other than that they were in generally

pretty good as an extended epilogue but that's about it. Doing your fav LI first is recommended. 

There are choices in the after stories but it doesn't affect the outcome.

The only thing it affects is the CG variation so there's not much to worry about

and you can play at your leasure without fear of bad ends which the original had a lot of. 

 

New routes.

As you know there are new routes for Shiyuu and Yachiyo but honestly they're a hit or miss.

I didn't like Yachiyo's because it is really aimed at a specific audience that is not for me.

Shiyuu's route was a lot better and more well rounded, I actually cared about him.

Before I played this FD I wasn't sure when these took place but it made sense

for it to happen after Senkimaru's sad end as she doesn't end up with anyone

and certain characters are alive except someone and Yukina basically is the head honcho.

The new routes didn't have any choices so it was like reading a novel. 

 ---

 

There's a Inbetween chapter that takes place sometime during the original game

with some choices that may give extra CG with the chosen LI.

Honestly I don't really like this sort of content that's supposed to make up for

the lack of fun times in the original. Its hard to get into it so i'd rather prefer a scenario

after endings of the original game and that did exist in this game this just wasn't it.

In terms of length it was maybe about 30 mins to an hour the first time through.

You will pretty much skip half of it when doing another character in this section. 

I only bothered with Kazuya for this and vibed through some of the others

but it was kinda funny how he was constantly so listless, it actually was a problem.😂

 Other than that there's the flower chapter that takes place after Senkimaru's sad ending

 which acts as an extended epilogue but without any romance. After doing both Inbetween

and flower chapter you unlock something called twelve tales which is pretty much the

conclusion of the story as it wrap up the series well enough. I did this last. There's also some

unlockable bonus side stories that you get by finishing every guy's after story/new route.

Plenty of content all around but some of it can be skipped if you had your fill. 

  ---

 

Overall its a solid FD with plenty of content value.

Its okay to play it back to back because most routes needed the extended epilogues

but had the switch port not included this then i'd be disappointed so I am glad it is.

It was nice there's still a scenario that explores one sad end of the original game

but the only thing it was good at was formally closing off the Toki no Kizuna saga. 

The other extra bonus content was nice, it even reminded me of ken ga kimi's FD

but I don't think it was as loaded which was a good thing imo.

If you liked a character in the original its definitely worth to check out their after story

in this FD but its okay to skip the ones for characters you didn't really like.

Personally for me only Kazuya and Senkimaru's afters were worth it as well as Shiyuu's route

others just weren't as engaging or interesting to me. Maybe its cuz I didn't like all LI equally. 

I'll admit I feel like I forced myself through some of these afters and new routes

but I can see this isn't a bad FD, in fact its pretty good addition

since the original left much to be desired.

8/10 

This FD has just the right amount of content that there is not a lack of volume or too much of it.

A lot FD's just tend to stop at afters or new routes. Its rare to get a bunch of

chibi side stories along with an extended epilogue of a less than ideal ending.

This was 20 hours of good stuff which may stretch to 25+ish if you do everything. 

Route babbles after the jump as well as my fav CG's, its not really a digest but commentary.

Also disclaimer i'm sorry if I didn't like every LI we can't all like the same things!

if you don't like what you're reading then just stop and close the browser.

 

Toki no Kizuna Sekigahara Kitan - Review

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate

Platform: PSP,switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/toki/switch/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v9885

Release date: 19-6-2025

 

I don't even know why I got this game  but I wanted something meaty to sink my time into

and this ended up the right type of game for it. Was it worth it? it depends.

Toki no Kizuna also hasn't received any ports since it came out on PSP, it was localized

as demon's bond on mobile but solmare has long pulled the plug on that. Anyway this game 

shares the same setting as Hakuouki but it is mostly stand alone outside of a few references.

 

 

Pro's

- Overall plot is pretty decent but not outstanding.

- The heroine kicked butt and spoke her mind. 

- Gorgeous CG and sprites.

- Most BGM's suit the setting.

- What romance there is present is pretty adorable to see.

 

Grey Area

- High amount of bad endings. Can't decide if good or bad so here it goes.

 

Con's

- Doing all routes can be repetitive and make it feel same-ish.

- Feels more like a non-romance VN for the majority of its runtime.

- Despite trying to create intrigue it made certain stuff easy to put 2+2 together.

- No heroine sprite in the corner, this game may've benefit from that. 

 

 

This switch port also includes the FD which I am glad it did as the base game

really needed it and without it i'd have no motivation to finish all routes. 

As it is just a port of both games there is nothing added other than touching up

the art, I liked that the font was big which is great when it has losts of kanji. 

 

Story: this is set in old japan around the time of the end of the sengoku period. 

The subtitle should be pretty obvious about that, they've given it a slight fantasy spin.

Yukina an oni and head of her clan is tasked with finding a cure for the yasehime who was put 

into a deep slumber. Yasehime also wanted her clan to not deal with humans as she

wished to sever ties between oni and humans or create some kind of non-interference.

Oni's were once referred to as gods but the clans have since lived reclusively away from

humans, some shady people are apparently against this and are generally a nuisance. 

 

Yukina was one of the more capable heroines, while headstrong she could be sort of bitchy too. 

Key point is Yukina doesn't see herself as a woman cuz they tend to be looked

down upon in this era. I think its also kind of sad but she does what she has to do.

Despite that she could still show signs of weakness or indecisiveness but that made her human.

Seeing her repress herself wasn't fun, a big part of Yukina's character is accepting herself for

who she is and that is not trying to pretend to be a man. Some routes do this better than others.

What was amusing was that she would frequently would go i'm a chieftain before i'm a woman

 or get real feisty if the guys would treat her as a woman which she did not want.

At times she would also interject when they were butting heads so she wasn't just

standing there, she really does try to act independently for better or worse.

I wish she had a sprite in the bottom left corner or something or her sprite would appear

next to the guys instead, with her playing such a key role it feels like missed opportunity. 

 

The art was by Miko which was pretty good, the sprites looked damn good

and the guys looked attractive. There's not much to complain about honestly

except maybe some of Senkimaru's CG's looking a bit off.

Music well it was okay, not the best OST i've heard but it served its purpose?

I liked how energetic the battle theme was which wasn't bad

but there one track could be rather sleep inducing.. 

 

 The game had a stellar seiyuu cast and I recognized a lot of names

as well as oh my god Okamoto you're everywhere?!

 

Toki no Kizuna is a pretty long game, it took me around 1- 2 hours to clear

the first chapter, its a very slow and detailed historical fantasy otome game.

Though the length may vary depending on your profiency of japanese language

and sadly Toki no Kizuna is definitely not for beginners. I was fairly slow.

 

Its plot oriented and there is not much time for romance

but the heroine Yukina does grow closer to the LI over time.

I liked that there's a decent amount of suspense like who are the villains?

what is their goal?  their were a lot of characters, they all had a role to play but at times

I was more interested in the shady hooded guy CV:Tachibana Shinnosuke than our heroes

but that changed over the course of the game and I am not looking forward to his route in the FD.💀

There's a bunch of Jiji's/granpas and they always livened up the scene. I found it funny

how all the oni's would be beautiful people but the humans would be normal looking... 

The character interactions were pretty good but comedy wasn't the focus of this game

and for the most part it was pretty dry with only a funny scene here or there

with some romance crumbs too. Due to this Toki no Kizuna can feel like its not

an otome game at all and more like a non-romance VN.

The story was also fairly slow and at times it was testing my patience especially on 

subsequent routes since there was a clear pattern of things that would happen.

Some later chapters did feel shorter so that was a blessing rather than a curse as

the game had eight chapters in total. I think a route was 8-10 hours in terms of length.

Depending on choices a lot of scenes in the common route would change because it would focus

on the LI related to those choices before settling into the character route which starts from ch5.

And that is why even on subsequent plays it can still be a bit long. 

 

It was still interesting to see what character was involved with but overall it was kinda boring

to pursue multiple characters since some things still felt the same just with slightly different flavor.

Its also kind of easy to guess certain characters identities due to who voices them

its unfortunate because this kind of kills whatever mystery the story had.

The masked villains felt like they were team rocket, I couldn't take them serious by route 2.

At times it could make it seem like they didn't really take their own story and setting seriously

and if you look at the official site you can already see their appearance but the game

was generally slow at unveiling it which makes no sense to me. 

Oh well I played my sengoku musous and basaras so I already know who won the war... whatever.

 

TL;DR 

I thought Chitose's route was pretty good but its just too repetitive, there's very little

that would set each route apart from eachother, I know the setting is limited so it can't be that

different but after two routes it all just felt the same in the end. They also focused too much

on the setting or war stuff and not enough on the otome part.  I remember playing stuff like utawarerumono which also had war stuff but it wasn't as dry or boring as this. Even Birushana

had more fun to it. I remember making tomohorny jokes but here all I did was complain what

a psycho Yachiyo is.💀 Anything that was fun in this game was far and between. I'd probably

not recommend this game unless you like story heavy otome games that're slowburn or

are a giant Hakuoki nerd who wants to experience every content related to it.

There's not much sweetness but what's there is adorable, there's also a big emphasis on bonds.

Seeing Yukina develop a bond with the LI and accepting herself is what saved it.

6/10 

If you love historic fantasies as well then it might still be worth looking into but yea just

keep in mind the first game is not very otome-like and go in with low expecations.

 

My play order was: Kazuya > Chitose > Kazutake > Shin > Senkimaru.

Senkimaru's route is locked till you complete one route but his route has the real plot of the game

so its best to do him last. I recommend Kazuya's route first because there's

less reveals  and it following Sekigahara in the traditional sense.

 

Side note: This already came over once on mobile as demon's bond but Solmare

as I already mentioned pulled the plug.  I don't see a lot of people talk about it or

acknowledge it within the Hakuoki series so I think its popularity is up in the air.

It remains to be seen if it will ever get localized again but I think

it deserves better than being an ported to english like that.

 

As per usual character babbles after the jump as well as some of my fav CG's. 

 

The town of Nie - Review

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Zombilica, Hunex/Dramatic Create.

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

Release date: 19-9-2024

 

Not sure what to play next I decided to give The Town of Nie a try! I don't really play much

BL games and this is actually my first. I read a few manga's but that was it.

 Since it has an english release that is what I am playing as I do want to support those releases.

I played the switch version which I knew was already toned down as most PC to console port

 tend to be, not sure what was supposed to be different but only a handful of scenes were IMO bad.

 

 Pro's

- Interesting setting and characters.

- Pretty decent art, Hisora has a sprite as well as VA. 

 

Grey area

- Music fit the setting and mood but some tracks are quite mid.

- The OP did not automatically play when booting up the game, only when lingering on title screen.

 

Con's

- Some translation errors; most could've been fixed if it had a QA sweep.

- Sound effects were annoying; first time in long while I had to put it on lowest setting.

- Copypasta; some scenes are the same in every route that you can't readskip. 

 

 

 This was a supernatural VN, it has suspense and some gore to go along with it

but moments that it got gorey were relatively minor.

I wasn't really sure what kind of story it was trying to tell but there were moments

when I was like is this really a BL game? the narrative was interesting

so I was easily hooked, I liked how everything was slowly introduced

and I got a better picture of what was going on. It also didn't feel like it tried

too hard to get that japanese supernatural ghost stories effect.

Hisora as a protagonist was pretty okay, he wasn't a total asshole unlike some other

protagonist from another supernatural VN I recently sat through.

Though I did feel that he kind of felt idk bland? in general he seemed like some normal dude

but there was not much that stood out to him other than being a workaholic. 

By the time of Naruomi's route I thought that Hisora was cute but a big idiot. 

Hisora is also voiced and has his own sprite while the LI and important characters are

also voiced, minor characters on the other hand without sprites aren't and they only have grunts. 

You can really see where the dev's cut their losses. 

 

The art was pretty good in terms of sprite and CG's but the backgrounds

really varied like there were some good pieces but some weren't as great as others. 

Some bgm's really added to the setting but much like backgrounds it varied.

There were some bgm tracks that were honestly really average to just plain out of place.

Like yea imma bang my head to that one rock bgm.............. 💀 The bgm for tense situations

also ended up being a pain on my ears I lowered the bgm volume to 1 so I think that says enough.

The Town of Nie is one of the few VN that has me really mixed on its OST. 

Also the sound effect for bringing up the backlog or menu was annoying

and quickly grew on my nerves so that too had to be put on the lowest setting.

There was one more sound effect which was supposed to be kids laughing but it was like

1-2 seconds on repeat. These minor slights really brought the experience down. 

Translation wise... there be errors, some of them can easily be corrected

but it seems this could have done with another Q&A sweep.

For the most part it read pretty well so I can let it slide. 

 

    System wise its standard VN stuff, the common route had map movement

and this is also what decides which route you land on. 

 

The common route could seem long atleast I thought it did when I checked a guide

but it wasn't at all, the game was paced quite well and it didn't drag on at all.

Said common route served its purpose of slowly setting up the route itself and I liked

how it really felt like Hisora stayed at some inn that wasn't exactly normal

while still trying to find out whatever this place was.

The early hours can seem like this is a non-romance VN, Hisora is pretty much a normal guy

who doesn't really think about romance so it can seem like its not a BL game. 

The most gay thing Hisora said early on was call Koko sexy.😂

It was of course a BL game and there were plenty of cute scenes with the guys.

Due to spending time with a LI he does develop feelings, in some routes it done better than others.

I liked the romance more in routes that weren't Mio

 

I have never played a BL game before so I have nothing to compare it to but this was pretty OK.

I generally had a good time despite there being some gore/horror elements. Maybe it was due

to the stellar cast and decent amount of suspense. Though the horror felt more like it was there

on the side, there weren't many jumpscares or anything only one that caught me

offguard in Naruomi's route. There's only one creepy looking CG in the beginning

but I was disappointed there wasn't more of that. Some descriptions were horrific

but it also was done in a comical way? atleast there was no pictures of eyeballs

or innards falling out but I do think this game would have been scarier if there

had been more cg's or sprites to give more details cuz text is just text. 

If I actually had to see some of that shit it I'd probably lose it like Hisora did...💀

Maybe some stuff was reserved for bad ends but I stayed away from those. 

Also there was atleast WTF is this shit moment in most route

but the rest was relatively normal tbh. It also ended up feeling

more like a comedy like how was Asuku's route not a comedy?!😂

still The Town of Nie didn't shy away from being dark. Most of it is reserved for

bad ends but that tone is still present and some routes like Koko hit hard. 

 7/10

In the end I stayed for the characters and wanted to do their routes simply

to understand them better. I didn't really like Mio's route due some scenes here and there

but by the time of his good end most was forgiven, he's not a bad character but I do think

some things could have been handled better.  It won't take four routes to figure out who

mister mourning clothes was but its a shame you can't read skip the scene at the end of the route.

I suppose this game was designed that no matter who you go for some things need to be

explained no matter what before it can end. It can be a bit repetitive as well making the only

 reasons to do more routes more or less for the LI themselves and whatever secrets they carried.

The game has a FD but I am not sure if I will get to it anytime soon... i'm also not sure

if its worth it because if it doesn't have cute after stories or fun SoL scenes

and more weird stuff it definitely isn't for me. 

 

TL;DR What I really liked from this game was the suspense,mystery and fun SoL scenes

everything else varied greatly, some cute romantic scenes were there but it was not enough. 

 Honestly when I think about BL that I like Sasaki and Miyano come to mind.

The Town of Nie wasn't exactly suited for my tastes but atleast I did like some of it

and its not that bad of a VN, I did like the story and it stayed true to what it tried to do.

Its just that this sort of setting is nothing new and I thought I'd seen it somewhere before. 

Ultimately while the characters and setting were great the game is dragged down

by annoying sound effects and copypasta. After the first play it essentially becomes

a character game but by route 4 I was getting tired of the repetitiveness.

The game was obviously censored but it was done in such a way you could still

understand what originally had transpired and that doesn't sit well with me

because why even bother to change it in the first place?! meh. 

 

I used a guide for the game and it is recommended that if you care about the story

to play in the order of: Mio > Asuku > Koko > Naruomi > True.

Personally I think Mio/Asuku/Koko can be done in any order as anything sorta goes

but Naruomi definitely last due to how easily he ties into the truth end. 

 

This game also has bad ends with content that may be a bit much for some and since I am here

only for the story and shipping I decided it would be better to use that guide

and avoid  andmines that could hinder enjoyment. 

Route babbles after the jump and there might be some spoilers below as well as my fav CG's

so if you still want to play this then stop reading here, kthnx bye.

Over RequiemZ - Review

 Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Kogado/Otomate.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v47013

Release date: 17-4-2025

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

in between due to how intense the writing can be.

 

Pro's

- Interesting setting and complex characters.

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

- Gorgeous artwork, pretty consistent art.

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

- Replay value is high due to scenario split.

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

 

Grey area

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

 

Con's

- Dorothy's route should've been locked.

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

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

- The ending theme did not fit all the endings.

 

 

Over RequiemZ is loosely based on the wizard of oz.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Yea the split sides basically are like this, yes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

an otome game got that kind of reaction from me.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If Ceres crawled it was so Yuhiru could fly.

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

to the player to determine that.  Each guy had 4 endings so two for each side, I think

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

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

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

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

 

-- 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9/10

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

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

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

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

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

 ---

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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