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| Before Matsurika no Kei... there was Olympia Soiree. (Wait... that kinda rhymes?!) |
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.aksysgames.com/olympia/
Official Site: https://www.aksysgames.com/olympia/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v24241
Release date: 09-9-2021
Alright, I was always kinda curious about this one and got this on a discount for 38$.
I generally played pretty slowly since there wasn't anything else I wanted to play.
It was quite long and I kinda missed the time when a route took me almost a week.
Disclaimer: This is purely my own opinion and it could be different from yours
this is not meant to be some kind of all-truth, just an opinion that came from playing this.
If you don't like what you're reading then close the tab, move on and just idk play it yourself.
Pro's
- Interesting setting and characters.
- Gorgeous art and fitting music.
- A heroine that quite literally spits fire.
- Monologue haters rejoice cuz there's none!(except extra's)
Grey Area
- Character focused and can be repetitive to do all routes.
Con's
- Long common route without choices, felt too rail-roaded.
- 3249432593 flashbacks.
- Clunky UI.
- There are plenty of CG's but the pacing for some was not balanced.
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The OP was alright but not something I watched everytime I started the game.
I liked the ED themes more for reason.
The story hooked me easily but this do be one of those games where
I found my fav right away and most other LI didn't quite click with me.π
The only reason I did all the routes was for story reasons really! maybe its dueto the heroine, who was alright but I did enjoy watching her interact with the LI's.
I liked her self-concious and grounded personality and she certainly spoke her mind
however I think she was a bit much as well.π
Olympia can be a firebreathing b!tch
who will take no shit and does as she pleases but atleast she was self aware which is rare.
I do not blame her considering how she lived, she had all the right to be assertive.
There was also a tender side to her and I loved how she confided in Daifuku
this reminded me of trouble magia and it was adorable. I'm glad I didn't sit on this
because it was surprisingly romance driven with some good worldbuiling to boot.
However not every route went into the plot and you will need to do it all to fully get it.
When I looked back on the routes after Himuka's the initial four were
hilariously self-contained only revealing things as necessary.
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The common route is just a long intro, the focus is mostly on Olympia
and explains the way of the world. It wasn't really a bad thing but I can understand
It could be too long for some. The whole game is about picking a husbando
and you have a whole year but... despite that it happens within 2ish weeks. GIRL.
The story definitely drove on desperation and at times it could feel unrequited or some
mild angst of this never going to work but... for the most part the romance was believable.
It didn't seem like the story cared about what if she couldn't find a partner. To which I started
to think this game is some propaganda for japanese teens to get babies due aging population.
The lore sure is rich but most of the routes were more character focused
and a lot of main plot threads are just left hanging in most route.
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Wasn't really sure what was up with the technology level of the island, I know
there's random stuff that washes up ashore but some stuff was never explained.
I did start to dislike the setting of this game the more routes I did.
I persevered for Himuka/Akaza and to uncover all the secrets the island had buried
but its rough when you already found your best boi which for me was Riku.π
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Music/Art/System stuffs:
Music was good, it fit the tone of the scenes. Art was gorgeous for the most part.
The sprites were great and most CG's were good, the awkward ones were few.
Most characters had a near equal amount of CG's but they would include variations
into the total amount so it said there were 30 when the unique ones are like 13 or so.
Some routes like Riku also have poor CG pacing so you get a lot of CG at once
near the end, other route had better balance but it stood out to me when I looked back.
I knew some complains about kiss cg's but they had some good variations...
One of Himuka's looked awkward at first but it was fine due to he follow up.
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| Extra's screen was cute. |
the character route, the common route is devoid of choices.
Heroine had a sprite too which was nice. There weren't many monologues, the dialogue
flowed well and was easy to read. The translation was very good and it flowed well
and some dialogue was really funny too, any mistakes I found were really minor.
Each route had two bad ends but I think they're better if you got them unawares
I found that by going back for them after the best end, that they were rather abrupt
some even had characters behave OOC. I only liked 2-3 bad ends out of all.
At first I did find the UI to be kind of clunky, text log is accessed from the corner and
you can't select save or load separately like in other games. You first have to click
on history and then you can save but if you wanted to load to have to press R.
Also what is history? just from its name I thought it was a flowchart...π
I did get used to the UI but something about it esp the save/load section doesn't
sit right with me. Though with the ability to backlog jump why are there still
quick save/load options? feels like that is a relic from a bygone era.
It can be nice to quickly see the other choice but there were barely were choices.
Also when you hide the text to look at a CG it didn't hide the menu's
in the top left&right which seems like a huge oversight to me.
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More ramblings about common route:
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I'm not bothered by the length but I was disappointed by the lack of choices in them.
Thankfully its a one time thing! you can start from the end of it on subsequent playthrough's.
Tho suddenly I realized many otome gamers had fallen here...πππ
After four routes most of it was generally unmemorable too. Like cool setup bro.
Now what it did well was establishing the setting/lore and characters of the game
however it is 9 chapters longπ. The average chapter length was maybe 30-45 min to an
hour some were short other longer. (9 common chapters and around 12-14 individual chapters.)
Olympia Soiree was a 50-70ish hour game for me.
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At the end of the common route there is the choice of which LI to pursue.
You can only do Riku,Tokisada,Yosuga and Kuroba first. Himuka unlocks after them and Akaza last.
What kept me going was the lore and the cast of characters.
I blasted through the first few chapters on my first day, but I continued
by reading subsequent chapters in the evening so it was pretty slow and chill.
By the time of the 8th common chapter I was like any minute now...
as I get bombarded with more lore upon already existing lore.π
To make up for it, the final common chapter was rather short but ayyy sure took its time.
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There were too many flashbacks! thankfully the promise one
can be easily skipped but they even used flashbacks for things that
were said a little while ago and that's just annoying.π
I don't even mind stuff like callbacks at a later time to what a character says early on
but honestly if Olympia remembered something just her saying so would be enough
so if they had removed over half of them flashbacks it wouldn't be so annoying.
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Most LI had good routes but my favorite was Riku.
Tokisada was just not for me, Both Yosuga and Kuroba grew on me then again....
when I really think about it they're also not for me but still great in supporting role.
Akaza was good enough to rank 2nd. Himuka was just OK I just have beef with his route.
Then who's 3rd? Daifuku of course!π
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Overall
I think I am rambling a bit much but it was a long VN so it evens out.
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| Cold and Cruel and HEARTLESS! |
better than say Matsurika, both games got some nasty stuff inside of them.
This game was pretty long it took me nearly a week to clear a route, I kinda missed this.
Every route was relatively interesting in its own right but damn I think this game
has some of the worst side characters I have ever laid my eyes upon.π
That ***king Kiwi and Tangerine, ISTG Ryuki! lemme borrow that air freshener!!!!
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| π π π |
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Much like Matsurika no Kei the setting of Olympia Soiree also isn't very kind
to the heroine or other people living in the world, in the beginning I found it even
more restrictive. There were no choices untill much later into the game. Though both
games sure did love their lore its just the way they handled things was entirely different.
While wanting to change things was hopeful... its terrifying women couldn't even go to school.
Both games also kind of force the idea of having kids being a sense of duty for a woman
and to that end it really isn't much better than Matsurika with its old fashioned worldviews.
Does that make them bad otome games? no not at all! but during my 3rd route I really
wondered why there wasn't a route that was okay with not having kids.
I did think Matsurika had more varied ends than this game, Olympia was definitely stronger
as a heroine than Naaya but not every heroine needs to be the same that would be boring.
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| Things that aged poorly. |
but has the ability to self-reflect however I do think they reigned her in a lot which
mostly relates to her power. I can compare Olympia to Cardia... but Cardia was a bit better
in using it to her advantage. Olympia on the other hand felt like she was held bac
by trauma, she hated her ability but honestly its handled well all things considered!
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The beginning of the game already foreshadows the tone so it was not gonna be an
ultra happy game and the setting is sad. I knew the writer was known to
put mysoginistic stuff in their games but I don't think this is a bad thing?
They're are allowed to create worlds with problems whether or not
they overcome them is different matter entirely but it would be nice if it did.
Though reading stuff about the island like culture/way of life was depressing...
most of it is told through minor characters. It did make it feel like change had to happen.
Needless to say, its easy to get comfy in the first three routes of the recommened order
because most of the worst stuff only happens in route 4 and beyond.
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| Felt like he gets fatter every route as well... |
Well... its still a pretty good otome game its just that I found my
favorite LI right at the start and most of the others weren't for me.π
It had a great cast of characters so despite the common route being choiceless
it still was interesting going through it! but sadly while some side characters were likable
there were a bunch who were just made to be hated especially in bad ends.
Most route do leave me satisfied but there was a lot left up in the air or not
explained well enough. I brushed it off as Riku being an early game route but even
Tokisada had loose ends, Yosuga felt the most progressive thus far.
The only other drawbacks were the many flashbacks and clunky UI(but you get used to it).
Also Himuka's route frustrated me when it was over since it screamed the truth is in the next route!
Akaza ended up having the most well-rounded route, its sad but most others
including my fav Riku didn't quite execute all the storybeats well enough.
I generally did have a good time with it despite some small grievances and in terms
of romance it left me more satisfied than Cafe Enchante but doing all
the routes just felt a bit repetitive, especially if you find your fav early.
8.5/10
I'll recommend Olympia Soiree to those who like assertive heroines that speak
their mind and grow over the course of the story! as well as enjoy more
meaty otome games with decent worldbuilding & don't mind darker themes.
Though if you prefer shorter games and settings that are not problematic then I don't
really recommend this because it does have some of the same issues as Matsurika.
((If Naya and Olympia met though... I think they'd be great friends.
While most of Naya's LI's are safe, Olympia will roast Ruwo till he's burnt for sure.))
I am not sure if Matsurika no Kei will ever get localized though
but I don't see why it can't if Olympia Soiree could make it over.
Character babbles after the jump, while they're not summaries its just
commentary/impressions along with as some of my fav CG's.
Its nearly a 5 year old game and its in english so digests are not necessary.
To be safe if you don't want spoilers don't read further.
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