Buddy Mission Bond - review

 Genre: interactive VN.
Developer/publisher: Ruby Party/Koei and Nintendo.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.nintendo.co.jp/switch/aq2fa/index.html
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v30145
Release date: 2021-01-29.

I heard about this game last year but didn't get to it, now that otomate decided to try to dive into

the no romance but friendship genre I was reminded of this and I thought huh why not?

from what I found it doesn't seem to be that bad and its reception in japan were mostly positive!

Honestly the title of the game is a bit generic so I wouldn't be surprised if many glossed over it.😅

I was once again reminded to not judge a book by its cove- err title.

Side note, this game is a collab between Koei and nintendo.

There aren't really any major plot spoilers in this post, please enjoy the game for yourself

cuz this is one of those games like psychedelica that you just can't say too much about its plot.

Pro's

- Decent enough plot with some twist and turns.

- Amazing cast of characters.

- Great art and BGM to fit the mood.

- Quite long but pacing okay, has replay value/reason to redo a chapter.

Con's

- No touch screen support, a bummer for switch lite users.

- Some aspects of the mystery might be a bit too obvious...

- It might be overwhelming to unlock and/or see the side events alongside progressing the main plot.

^^Its okay to do it later to not burn yourself out.

 

OP Movie; I watched maybe once or twice.

 

 

Buddy Mission Bond is a mystery visual novel but honestly what I really liked the most

was the chara's. This may be a VN but it is more like an animated comic/manga!

The protagonist Luke is voiced by Kimura Ryohei and it has many other high profile seiyuu as well

such as Namidai, kondo takashi and morikawa toshiyuki. Kouki Uchiyama also

voices someone and he's easily my favorite besides the main gang.

 The story was easy to follow, its about Luke who was an orphan but then he met

Edward who became his role model and adoptive father. Luke eventually followed

in his footsteps by becoming a detective, he always dreamed of being a hero.

Luke ends up on a case about a diamond thief which leads to him investigating

a case on his own and ends up teaming up with allies which lead to one thing and another!

I'd love to talk more of the story/side episodes but I think this game really is best

to be experienced when knowing as little as possible of its plot i'll still be sharing some screenshots

but most of these won't give away the main story/are without context of whatever is going on.

 

 Main cast:

Luke: Cinnamon roll too good for this world too pure... who wouldn't protect his smile?

Aaron: Best bro! despite his attitude this fact is undeniable by the end of this game. 

Though he does need a stress ball or just take walks with doggie Luke....

I like how he never gets a new shirt... or maybe it just rips naturally.😅

Mokuma: Moe oyaji??? laidback guy for the most part he also has a ''real shit'' mood.

Chesley: Didn't like him much at first, he's a bit twisted but his past made me sad

actually twisted is putting it mildly he's a megalomaniac with varying lvls of moods

and also has a hateboner for Mokuma.😨 Idk this guy was just 2weird5me?

all the BL themes in this game is basically Chesley's fault and to some extend Mokuma too.

 

None of them are perfect or anything but I learned to love them for better or for worse.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I liked how their alias/codenames formed BOND...

 

There's a lot of QTE and aside the usual choice you sometimes have to solve puzzles

and there's a 3d adventure element. So if you're up for that it is definitely

worth looking into it, it has a trial version on the jpn eshop if you're curious.

More rambles after the jump break.

 

Angelique Luminarise - review

 Genre: Otome/simulation VN.
Developer/publisher: KOEI/ruby party.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/anmina/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v28833
Release date: 20/05/20.

I am not too fond of simulation genre of otome games but I still got this game

after I was impressed with the demo, as its base plot was a bit more captivating

than my entire experience with retour granted it was one route...

I remember trying Brian even but lost interest welp, time to try again? 

 

Pro's

- Interesting characters, was motivated to do multiple character ends.

- Ange's personality, sometimes she can be sassy.

- Art, I like the art style.

 

Con's

- Starts off strong but falls flat in the end... (none if any conflict as well.)

- Gameplay is pretty much a reskin of retour albeit with QoL improvements.

- It is rather short, especially on 2nd+ play.

- Reusing CG's with slightly different background taking up slots in the gallery like its 2010.

 

The queen is MISSING and they're in need of a new one.

 

Plot/prologue

Ange who after a hard day of work went for a drink and laments her life's choices

then gets offered with the choice of becoming a  queen and randomly signs it cuz why not!

Little did she know some pretty boi on a pegasus showed up to take her to her new job.

 I liked how this was all done in manga form... really added some humor to it

before it switced back to regular VN mode, was nice while it lasted.

Ange doesn't understand but the pretty boy who's name is Yue explained it all...

but did a poor job so Vergil had to jump in to explain it in a way Ange understood.

In short: Ange signed a contract and was isekai'd to a new world to become a candidate

to be queen of the cosmos, Ange thought that contract paper was a joke but here we are.

There is also another candidate to be the queen, Reina who like Ange also just got here

and is willing to answer any further questions Ange might have, Reina is also her rival

who has no intention to lose! In terms of other characters there's Cyrus who is Ange's butler.

Cyrus also interrogates Ange some of his questions will determine compatibility such as

birthday/bloodtype or likes/dislikes you could say he's simply one hell of a butler, also is it just me

or do I get sebastian vibes from him. >_> Unfortunately Cyrus is not romanceable

like the others which is such a shame because just from the prologue he really grew on me.

The chemistry amongst the guardians was also nice so events with them were nice most of the time.

The two candidates are given their own planet to raise with the help of the elements

that the guardians possess. This is a series staple and it wouldn't be Angelique if it wasn't.

Cyrus knows when to joke around as well some times it was good other times it was eh

and I was just like my dude what're you smoking?! Tyler the engineer was cute

as well too bad he's not romanceable, ah the terashima curse strikes again!

Reina might not be romanceable but atleast she and Ange can hang out.

 

Gameplay like other entries includes simulation parts and there is a day/time limit to get things done

though i'm not sure how long we are allowed to take, probably best to not take too long.

Like with retour you have to manage your time of chasing bishies with being a candidate

for the queen. Most of the gameplay flow is similar to retour but they have tweaked some things.

There is still some RNG involved but it is much less of a hassle which made it easier to replay

and there are timed choices in which a character may quiz you during a date but most of these

are easy if you've been paying attention during your gameplay. Like for example

is your rival(or yours development higher or lower? Do you remember x and what was it? etc.

Thankfully the first dates no longer have you select lots random questions which is a blessing

there's still some randomness but not as bad as in retour,  I was always stressed back then

cuz of RNG and higher potential of saying the wrong things that would ruin the mood of a date.

If you date a lot the guys and get perfect answer on the quiz they may give Ange a present

for me it only happened with Vergil, Yue &Noa, you can also give the guys presents

but you have to buy it on a holiday but figuring out what they like was another thing...

though affection was plenty so that was not a big deal!

Gameplay also feels less monotonous because some things can be automated

a blessing on multiple playthroughs. Whatever difficulty you select will affect

Reina's behavior making it either easier or harder to get through it.

I recommend easy because hard makes everything a pain............

Like retour you don't need a guide as long as you save a lot because there is a chance you

select a wrong choice during events that results in heartbreak so you cannot proceed events

for me Lorenzo's events were especially bad with this I couldn't find the right thing to say.😔

The only thing I really hated was the RNG involved with the confession or be confessed at events

and how there's 1 cg locked behind being lovers that for some had asinine requirements

but atleast the game is nice enough to tell you how to get it so its not that bad.

If you're curious about this entry  and are still on the fence about the aforementioned gameplay flow

there's a demo/trial on the japanese eshop, wish more otome dev's would do this tbh.

 

 The vibes were nice, I got interested in a few of the love interest just from the prologue

Zeno's precious and Vergil totally not from the devil may cry series also seemed interesting.

The characters all had a personality to them outside of their events... but a lot of it was

random and I couldn't keep track of some of their stories so that was a bummer.

I liked a event were Vergil teased Yue during a game of words.😂 On another note

the heroine Ange is 25 years old! which certainly made things a bit more interesting?

As for the love interests  the youngest ones are 18 and 19 with the others being in the mid/late 20's.

Seiyuu: With the exception of Satou Takuya and Shimazaki Nobunaga most of the seiyuu talent

are all relatively unknown which is nice sometimes even I am tired of hearing the same old va's

also glad they didn't use those ossan's because some of them like Zephel's VA really

had to try hard reprise their role the only exception was Koyasu but that's probably

because Koyasu is still very active as a seiyuu unlike some of the cast in retour.

Rest assured that this is not the case here which lead to a better listening experience.

Some guys have their own thing going on its more obvious with Kanata the youngest of the

guardians he's much like Ange and still getting used to his new life there if you don't know which

guy to go for I think Kanata might be a good pick? but still it might be better to pick the guy

which really interest you and make the most out of your first play because I ran out of steam quickly

cuz this game wasn't that fun to sit through multiple times, it isn't very interesting either in terms of plot. Not sure about the rivalry but as long as you're trying there shouldn't be a problem, only once

I fell behind & sorta sat on my ass in the beginning cuz I was thinking about Vergil.😜

They also gave Ange and Reina backgrounds that influenced who they are as a character and their

relationship but that's sorta it too. If you want to complete all events, well uh good luck with that?

there are lots of different variations of events. I was pretty satisfied with just getting

the romantic ends as well as full gallery or almost cuz I couldn't be arsed to get

the last bar cg for 2 characters, which thankfully wasn't worth that much. Other than that

its probably disappointing there was no real plot outside of the guys events, it was mostly relaxing

and everyone was nice much like in retour maybe too nice, even if things don't work out

in terms of love there's no hard feelings they might even still want to spend the day.

Its great if you don't want much going on but yea don't expect a plot like in

the haruka games, I found this disappointing because it started off well enough but this might

as well be an angelique thing, you have the goal and choice to romance but not much else to it.

The character events and love ends really are the best thing the game has to offer!

 

IMO it was alright... just okay at best, Koei managed to sell it to me

from the trial but its mostly cuz of the characters so they definitely did something right?

But there is also something wrong, the lack of CG events and reusing

1 cg scene 3 times, only change is the background. Come on what year is this? I expect

something like that from back around 2010. There are many times I wonder why there

was a lack of them, even retour had a few cg's when you go out visiting that world's town

or a dance cg etc, luminarise does it too but really awkwardly, disconnected from the flow

and not fun to have to fetch it if you didn't visit said location thrice. Some have weird conditions

like visit the first time as lovers but if you visit before being lovers that you get a different version

of the event.😒 See what I mean by asinine? god forbid you visit misty canal with Kanata

before being lovers cuz there goes your chance of seeing one of the few CG events.

Atleast most mini event were enjoyable but i'm just disappointed there are hardly

any CG's spread out over the romance events, Further more there are no real routes

and the game is a giant common route filled with individual events which aren't very long, if you

try to go for one you will trigger a bunch of the others especially if you automate to much.

Sometimes there would be guy only events. I couldn't keep track or be interested in those cuz they happened in no particular order they weren't that interesting either so nothing of value was lost.

 

This game is very short not like retour was much better at that.... in that game despite enjoying Zephel's

events and vibing with some guys from time to time, that was all that there's to it! Luminarise is the same in that regard. So I realize maybe simulation games just aren't for me! cuz by the time

I got to the final route of the game I was just about done with it.

Vergil is my best boi!

 Overall I like most of the characters, general plot and can stand the gameplay

more than retour due to QoL improvements. But really my first play was the most fun

and most of the fun and interest disappeared on subsequent plays leading to me

running out of steam and then I also felt bad about betraying Vergil when going for others

cuz I liked him more than Kanata whom I just wanna cheer on not romance.😓

If there was any character I had trouble liking it was Milan his romance events were off-putting

but outside of that he was likeable. I much preferred to spend my time with Zeno he is too precious.

Both Shuri & Felix were a surprise for me cuz I was turned off at first but they both grew on me!

There might be some characters you just don't like which for me was Milan and Lorenzo.

Noa's likeable enough and I don't hate him but everything about his character

has me going, I have seen this somewhere before have I? Yue on the other hand is a cutiepie!

Whoever ends up being your fav will depend on personal taste really.

The stories in the character events varied heavily but there were some life lessons that could

seen or learned from it so I don't think it was all that bad, it just makes up for the main plot

being lacklustre which was just there to set things up. This can be a nice otome game if you let it!

by doing all routes you might notice how a lot of things are just kinda the same.

6.5/10

Well I think this is okay if you like romance simulators and never played an angelique

game and are new to this but other than that it kind of fell flat despite starting out strong

the lore and all is interesting but don't play it for the plot... do it for THEM bishies.

Once more I recommend trying out the demo on the JP eshop to get a feel of it

the japanese is pretty easy too so its a good game to test japanese on. I say that

because this game is quite expensive it might just be KOEI tax at this point

but i'm more inclined to blame this on the pandemic for it being the way it is

or maybe that's just me trying to be nice and cut them some slack?

 

End of non spoiler section, route spoilers after the jump.

Harukanaru toki no naka de 7 - review

Genre: Otome visual novel/RPG.

Developer/publisher: KOEI/ruby party.

Platform: Nintendo Switch.

Official Site: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/haruka7/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v26558

Release date: 2020-06-18

Time for the latest installment in this series, it seems we're going back to the sengoku period.
What I love about this series is the swept to distant land trope and how of KOEI know their history
like I remember looking stuff up about Dan no ura and other stuff from haruka 3 and it was like
I learned about japanese history in a creative or romanticized way.
Haruka 7 isn't an exception to their usual ways but they were very creative with for example
Okuni and other things, though i'm not sure what they were smoking in general lmao.

I didn't have much expectations for it but one thing that stood out to me is that most
of the seiyuu cast is identical to 6 and to an extend 5.

A quick look at all vndb entries for the series basically shows this is apparently a thing

for 1,2,3 and 4 as well... not sure if KOEI is playing favorites but they make it work?

That aside...
This game is accessible to newcomers! as lore gets explained though if u have played
other entries it might be a bit like oh I know some of that already cuz its familiar.
I actually hope KOEI gives this entry a try in the west.

Pro's
- Interesting characters, no one was completely unlikeable except maybe antagonist.
- Unique character focused routes.
- Art/music.

Con's
- Length, rpg part might get tiresome.
- Plot while interesting, can be a bit inconsistent.
- Sometimes months would pass but its not reflected well in events.

For the system, the usual VN with map movement to catch a characters event flag

there's battles as well but this time instead of mini srpg from 6 we actually get

a more normal rpg-like battle again, the sd sprite look cute.
We can rotate our hachiyo in battle on the fly to take advantage of strength and weaknesses
and they can use skills with others or on their own which is nice.
Better not forget to heal them when needed though...
You lvl up normally this time though I recommend setting onryou strenght
to weak unless you really want challenge as fighting too much can be a little draining.
Also either find a good guide or save lots because it is so easy to break
a character bond from a wrong choice making it unable to proceed their events
and in turn get their ending for the rest of the playthrough, trial and error works
with this but at times I can't help but get anxious at times.
You can skip battles on 2nd play but only ones you had fought...
they still have us fight the trash along the way, thanks I guess.
Can also fight the four lords; seiryuu,suzaku,genbu and byakko to get a useful skill but
unfortunately its more like a tradition to be able to enlist their aid this time regardless of story
then again I can't remember if it was ever needed in 3 or 6 but either way they're in.

After the first chapter and a bit of the second I was mostly positive and interested
in the characters and excited to do their routes. The only exception being Satsuki
he was annoying at first but over the course of the game he somewhat redeemed himself.

I didn't find the voice for Okuni fitting but it grew on me, you don't hear Shitanda a lot but
feminine bishies he does a okay job with.
That aside having to actually pick someone on my first play was hard! going forth between
Kuroda and Yamato, though it was nice playing without a guide the first play
but I was anxious without a guide to rely on, I kept up with 5 guys events
and while the story was already lengthy the individual made it even longer.
The story itself was interesting and not hard to follow (maybe for Yamato 😂) though
its quite long, chara events itself aren't long and whether it romantic varies greatly this is
more about journey than the destination kinda thing and what is there is nice.
There are some eh moments but that's it most of the guys are pretty safe as well.
Some routes are just not my taste like Yagyuu the 2nd half wasn't that great which I thought
was fine in routes like Kuroda, Yamato or even Musashi but for Yagyuu meh.
Its not like the story is bad perse but I can tell they tried too hard to give everyone
something unique the antagonist are also inconsistent sometimes one of them will disappear
off the face of the planet / shoved to the background and i'm like ok.
I think Haruka 6 was more consistent at doing the every end does it differently than here
and its really obvious this is by multiple writers as the quality of the plot varies a lot
like Yukimura's took a nosedive after the last boss and I basically liked every other ending instead.
Also I looked up one of the scenario writers and apparently he worked on some eroge... O_O
but this game was relatively tame though. 

I thought Nanao was pretty great, she acts independently a lot as well
and won't wait for her babe all the time, she speaks her mind so that was great
at times she did lose her brain but she's the do what she can type.
Side characters are also given portraits which after Dairoku I much appreciated
and the backgrounds/art in general looks nice, music fits the mood so can't complain.
Overall I did have a lot of fun, decent story and romance/otome part was alright
not every char might be my type but when I think about it no one was really dislikable
they all got their own ambitions and atleast the romance didn't feel that forced
for some it was obvious they needed a bit more time to figure things out.
Doing every route might be tiring especially if someone isn't your taste...
and whether the 2nd half aka the route is any good depends on that as well.
In the end I can say haruka 7 was decent, story was ok and the otome element was alright
so it was pretty well rounded compared to the last two otome games I played its just since
there are so many route there might be a few meh ones and plot not well-rounded in all.
What's funny even though I found Yagyuu's route meh I didn't dislike his character and for
Satsuki I don't like him that much as romantic interest but his route was still great
though if we are talking about Yukimura all I can say that's a pity compared to everyone else.
So take that as you will, overall this game was worth a purchase for me and can recommend it
if you like history and want something to sink time into as its a pretty meaty game
the only bad part is inconsistencies with its plot, things in one route might not be a big deal
in others or come up at all, this is the best I can explain without spoiling too much.
For score it shifts between a 7 and 8/10 so 7.5 seems about right...

For playorder it doesn't seem to matter and since there are so many love interest

its probably better to go for someone who you are interested in first play.

Pro tip: Its easier to try to keep track of as many events though at certain times their are

cut off points like in ch4 at oosaka and the other one is at ch5 of which rumor to follow.

Unfortunately you cannot go for Naoe and Kuroda at the same time or
Satsuki and Yukimura for that matter as its very cleverly split so having a save
in ch4 is recommended if you kept up with all events so far.

There are three story scenarios which i'll call: Neutral, White and Black.
Based on relevance of plot I am going to rank the routes from worst to best.

Neutral: Yagyuu > Yamato. (both were ok but i have soft spot for Yamato overall)
White: Okuni > Musashi > Satsuki.
Black: Yukimura > Kuroda / Naoe.

My playorder ended up being:
Which I think is actually recommendable, as Naoe might be more satisfying
in terms of romance after someone like Yukimura.
1stplay; Kuroda > Yamato > Yagyuu > Musashi > Satsuki.
2ndplay; Okuni > Yukimura > Naoe.

End of non spoiler section, there's more spoiler babble's after the jump
so you're warned on that note.

Harukanaru toki no naka de 3 Ultimate - Fujiwara no Yasuhira DLC review

Putting this route seperate because its DLC... also it wasn't that long so I am glad
I got it out of the way and I ended up buying after all because
even if this dude is an uptight asshole he still deserves a happy end.

Also let me be clear this is the only DLC I bought for this game.

Not like anyone cares... it must suck if you don't have a jpn psn on your vita...

Fujiwara no Yasuhira is voiced by Toriumi Kousuke.

You must atleast do Kurou's shinsenen event in chapter 2 and sit through 

the Izayoiki normal end first... to watch Yasuhira meet a pitiful end because 

some of his events require Nozomi to have prior knowledge to know what's up.

 (This CG isn't from his route... but from Shirogane's side story sometime before his ending

and well the decision of Nozomi to see Yasuhira made Shirogane very sad, kinda stupid.)

His events take place when the party after being betrayed decided to go to Hiraizumi.
Yep you have to play the game normally to access his route, which makes the
decision for it to be DLC even more questionable than ever before. 

 It basically Nozomi putting her nose where it doesn't belong like the first time she makes

food for him together with Saku he's like bitch get out I didn't ask for this did I?

Wow rude! even Nozomi is like you ungrategful bastard how dare you!

Nozomi runs into him later in the mountains near Hiraizumi and when

she doesn't go back as told he just grabs her arm and drags her back with him

because he can't have a little kitten get lost in his backyard, he's like what a cute face 

you're making, never been touched by a man like this or sth but as soon as they 

get back to town he let's go of her arm and excuses himself.

Yasuhira disappears in a flash of light and Benkei wonders why Nozomi is spacing out like that

and so he explains that she was merely looking at Yasuhira's shiki cue benkei teasing her.

They meet again later after Nozomi plays around with Kugane, who jumped into the pond.😅

Kugane is Kurou's dog  that Yasuhira is looking after because he's not that mean, he's glad

 she looked after this mendokusai dog till he came to fetch it but there's no need to thank him

and well Kugane gets all excited and even if Yasuhira tells him not to jump on him

when he's wet it lead to a hilarious scene sigh look at what you've gone and done now?

Yasuhira is wondering why she's staring so much while he's all wet...

well anyone would stare when a hot bishie is drenched, he tells her to fuck off as usual.

Shirogane comes around and wonders what's up... Yasuhira tells him not to go into it further

and they leave, Nozomi goes for a walk in the mountains she asks Kurou some stuff 

before she goes off on her own and finds some secret hideout cavern

oh and none other than Yasuhira is there telling her what a no good miko she is.

He tells her about some stuff that happen between Kanazawa and Oushu a hundred years ago

 then Nozomi's gekirin tries to send her off somewhere she doesn't want to go, Yasuhira pulls

 her back somehow and tells her if she values her life to not go near this mountain again.

When she gets back to the residence after purifying all those weird ass stones and Hinoe rejoins the

group but before going to Taisha Saku tells her Shirogane was looking for her so she goes to

Yasuhira's place who is all like the fuck you doing here i'm in the middle of a meeting!

Shirogane politely explains he's the one who asked her to come or more accurately fo Saku to pass

the message, Yasuhira is like how annoying and Shirogane immediately apologizes anyway

 he has Shirogane and Nozomi help him on a trip near Kanazawa for some banquet

 and when the day came Yasuhira cannot believe she actually showed up! 

He later just ups and grabs her and pulls her up on his horse stays her to put up with it

Nozomi tells him of the time in the mountains when he took her hand and he immediately

goes ugh don't bring that up and before you know it they've arrived at their destination.

Finally there and when the talks are over he gives her a fan...  and has her dance 

at the banquet to entertain the guests, Yasuhira compliments her.

 Oh well they fight some onryou at Taisha and Kagetoki shows up near Hiraizumi

Hidehira/Mitachi gets injured and winter comes, signaling a fight 

is about to break out between Hiraizumi and the genji.

Nozomi will act on it and the whole Taisha construction was so Yasuhira
can perform some Mahakala ritual...

Yasuhira is like its no use talking to me get out let me do what I think is correct to save Hiraizumi.

 Plot proceeds as normal and there's not much Nozomi can do... she remembers the fond moments

Yasuhira tells her this is Hiraizumi's problem ever since a 100 years ago and tells her to get lost.

 The soul devouring witch Masako shows up and the others head to Taisha

Yasuhira ends up sealing her using the Mahakala ritual and all is well that ends well?

Hakuryuu gets ready to send Nozomi back to her world and everyone sees her off however

 one person isn't coming because he got gangbanged by some goons when out in the countryside

because he ordered Shirogane to stay with the miko, those goons were out for revenge

 against Hidehira? or whoever since Yasuhira was behind that plot and used Shirogane to do it

however this time Nozomi finds him lying there half dead, he wanted her to just go back to 

her world knowing nothing since he knows all too well this is the path he has chosen.

 It sorta makes him happy that she was worried and cried for him...so now Nozomi

uses her scale of the white dragon to go back in time and change his fate.

Back when she made the bento she takes a different approach and so he wonders what is up with her.

Oh and realizing it was his shiki when he walked her back to town she couldn't but feel him up

making him ??? it wasn't as lewd as I made it sound so forgive me, she goes to the cavern that 

would surely mean her death but tells her she knows what it is he's trying  to do now with those

shiki's and also tells him of the future in which he dies because he tried to stop Masako with the

mahakala ritual,  anyway you should know by now who Masako is... she is a manipulative witch

who's also a god(荼吉尼天) who's been around for some time by eating peoples souls 

anyway this is his fight  not hers she shouldn't meddle in it, also don't come here ever again 

if you do not wish to be warped to times unknown to you, Nozomi decides help Yasuhira out 

and that she will change his fate that was decided a 100 years ago, yasuhira is like lol what

I will defeat dakiniden with the ritual there's no way for you to risk your life for mine.

Nozomi goes to the mountain cavern alone determined to change Yasuhira's fate in the distant past.

Yasuhira decides to come with her too he can't quite believe it either but yeah...

They find what appears to be Masako in a different form, that of a fox 

or more likely her original form, Nozomi decides to defeat it but Yasuhira ends up protecting 

Nozomi from one of her attacks not to worry it was just one of his shiki's but Yasuhira 

in the present ends up feeling some of its pain and says that he is living for her sake now.

Meanwhile Nozomi faces Masako aka the dakiniten alone and lives to tell the tale

after that Yasuhira shows up and seals it. (anticlimatic isn't it?)

In the ending its revealed that in the present he was able to sneak away from his duties...

oh well Yasuhira's fate has been changed and the two live happily ever after not that we get
to see that in detail, the writers didn't care so I won't either and no I didn't leave anything out.

Let's greet a new dawn together.

I'm indifferent about Yasuhira, he appeals to me but romantically IDK... the route didn't

do much to make me like him more... the story was okay I guess but a little disappointing?
Yasuhira doesn't even get a side story like all the other guys(let alone a decent epilogue)
I can see why some are just disappointed its been over a decade and this is what we get...
I'm sorry to sound ungrateful but when characters such as Hinoe, Yuzuru, Ridvan or Masaomi
get decent side story epilogues why can't the rest of the guys? the others just get some bridge the gap
or reminisce story and I just sigh deeply it can't be that hard to keep it consistent.
Not that all of that matters because Yasuhira still gets the short end of the stick.

My summary prolly isn't accurate enough but I don't care since who cares about half of the

plot of Yasuhira doing stuff because of shit that's been brewing since 100 years ago.

The romance was very subtle and the ending is only the beginning of their relationship

but that's the case with most ending in the original game so I shouldn't complain.

I just wish there was a side story like all the other characters have...

In the end even if he has a route now and has become 'romanceable' I can't help but

say its a waste because KOEI didn't put all of their effort into it.

You know its bad when the average fanfiction writer will be able to come up with something
better ever since the izayoiki game came out on ps2 including a decent epilogue.
Even otomate usually delivers on that. -_-
TL;DR its not worth it especially when KOEI already overprice this game
you can't tell me its gonna cost more just cuz u fully voice it while removing cg for new ones
all while the content people buy it for like yasuhira has to be bought seperately for 25$
if you didn't preorder had they just include it then yes it would be more passable.

Its also sad that half of his cg's are a vertical bar that doesn't even get recorded in the

gallery so lol it obv KOEI is cheapening out they even used a variation of Nozomi's dance CG 

all they did was change the color of the fan, i'm not shitposting just posting the cold hard truth.

Do I recommend this piece of DLC? only if you want to romance Yasuhira that badly, I do not think

this is worth 2500yen and firmly believe it should've been in the game in the first place.

KOEI goes and gives their vita port an ultimate subtitle well if it was the ultimate 

experience you wouldn't have to sell this route as DLC.  (눈_눈)
Okay I admit that was harsh, though they should have put this in the game to begin with.

 Romance ★★☆☆☆

Plot ★★☆☆☆

Enjoyment overall ★★☆☆☆

~

Maybe you'll see me with a post on haruka3unmei no labyrinth soon that is if they port it
but it is sure tempting to buy a psp copy for 35$... hmmm what to do?
Anyway it won't be soon give me a few months or so, also tfw blogger think it made
a duplicate of a concept post and overwrite one in the process, sigh.

Harukanaru toki no naka de 3 ultimate - DLC content

Didn't you know about this yet? now you do.

While I honestly love the game so far and my impressions are positive and since I haven't
post in a while since I am busy trying to full comp it I'll do a post trying to detail

 how shameless KOEI is trying to get money out of their loyal Harutoki 3 fanbase.

BTW the game itself sold great in its first week, partly due to nostalgia and it being full voiced! 

 Yeah I just do not wish to ruin my mostly positive review of this game so this'll be separate.

No one will bother reporting or share their own thoughts on this anyway...

The good out of all this? the scenarios are fully voiced compared to Harutoki 6 and Gentou rondo DLC.

The bad? obviously your wallet is going to cry a whole lot! really if you love the boys so much it will.

If you do not have a JP PSN and have the game on your PS Vita count yourself blessed. 

 ---

March 3 2017 Scenario pack 1 sequel scenario in spring.

(Masaomi, Yuzuru, Hinoe, Atsumori and Shirogane.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 800 yen.

You're laughing now but you'll regret it.

April 3 2017 Scenario pack 2 sequel in spring.

(Kurou, Benkei, Kagetoki, Ridvan and... Tomomori)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 800 yen.

Didn't preorder  the LE boxes? welp from this day you now have to pay 2500 yen

if you still want to romance Fujiwara no Yasuhira!

---

 

May 2 2017 Scenario to fight the black kirin... with after party for 900 yen.

Yeah its not like I wanted to fight you either...

 June 2 2017 Voice audio that was originally a first print for PSN DL version.

You can buy individually for 200 yen but the whole pack is 1800 yen.

(This one ought to be the most shameless, nice to see them sell it later but... ahahaha.)

---

July 3 2017 Sequel scenario in summer.

(Masaomi, Yuzuru, Hinoe, Atsumori.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 600 yen.

My himegimi... don't you want to spend more time with me? oh please do consider it.

August 3 2017 Sequel in summer.

 (Kurou, Benkei, Kagetoki, Ridvan.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 600 yen.

---

September 2 2017 Sequel scenario in fall.

(Masaomi, Yuzuru, Hinoe, Atsumori.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 600 yen.

Don't disappoint Atsumori-kun please.

October 3 2017 Sequel in fall.

 (Kurou, Benkei, Kagetoki, Ridvan.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 600 yen.

 ---

November 2 2017 Sequel scenario in winter.

(Masaomi, Yuzuru, Hinoe, Atsumori.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 600 yen.

Back again? i-i-its not like I wanted to spend more time with you b-baka.

 December 1 2017 Sequel in winter.

 (Kurou, Benkei, Kagetoki, Ridvan.)

You can buy individually for 180 yen but the whole pack is 600 yen.

 ---

 What can I do but sigh about all this? I can see they want to support this game in the long run

but I am so indifferent about this sort of stuff, I know its not that different from games but please this

reminds me of the Shining Resonance DLC schedule and my rant about how much it will cost you. 

However you can do the math yourself this time...   

I like how KOEI gave up on Shirogane and Tomomori's scenario's after the spring set dunno much

about Shirogane at the time of writing this but I have an unfavorable impression on Tomomori. 

I like supporting things I love and sometimes I won't bat and eye over it but DLC

 for visual novels especially otome games? oh puhlease I know I am not the only

one who feels this way many reviews on amazonJP just want them to stop this nonsense

 and want KOEI to include it with the game like it should be and I agree with them.
This isn't a mobile game and they should've included it from the beginning I do not know
about the quality of the scenarios but I heard they had amateurish writing and well
considering I could come up with something better I think I'll definitely pass now
 its just that because its voiced I actually want to buy it... someone stop me.
Its not that I do not want to buy but this is ridiculous and not the type I want to support.

Would you not gift this beautiful poor angelic young man some money?

Feel free to comment your own thoughts on this, I tried not to rant too much about it, lol.

Oh and I had fun making up the subtitles for the screenshots... they are inaccurate on purpose. 😂

Geten no Hana with Yume Akari - Review (2)

下天の華 夢灯り
 Game: [Geten no Hana with Yume Akari Aizouban].

Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Ruby Party / Koei Tecmo

Platform: PSP, PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/geten/vita/index.html

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v12865

Release date: 2016-09-08

 I won't be bother to write much since I already said a lot in my review for the first game.
Yume Akari is the sequel to Geten no Hana which continues from the grand finale and since
 the individual endings didn't matter I decided to let it rest before going into this
but after four months and a depressing FD I decided its time to finish this! 
Like the prequel its not accurate to history to make it an otome game 
but they did a good job of sticking to some parts atleast.
 Anyway...
Hotaru continues to serve Mitsuhide and protect Nobunaga from outside threats as the shield of Azuchi.
 What is Hotaru's dream? she will surely have one more chance to find it closeby to her.

Pro's
- Plot is okay...
- Every guy is still likeable.
- Art.
- Individual ED themes (though only Hanbei and Kanbei are new)

Con's
- Short, after one play the rest of the routes will fly by.
- Some of the previous guys routes feel like new/alternative versions.
- Annoying card minigame to replace 50% of the battles.

Yume Akari adds two new love interests Hanbei and Kanbei since the new story is centered on them
and here comes the hard truth, without them there would be no sequel.
The two come to investigate the shield of Azuchi while crashing at Hideyoshi's place...
Ok since this is the spoiler free zone that all you will get out of me, this game plot is better found out on your own.
Everyone else gets a route as well but like I explained before everything is reset till a certain point
so for the old guys basically becomes an alternative take...a second chance or so to speak.

 There's also this card game thing and well you win by get matching cards...
this is actually to break the mold of having to only do the fighting minigame, its the only way 
to get flowers and incense now also unless you want challenge just play on easy
I doubt anyone wants to bother doing it on higher difficulty and waste even more time on it. 
Especially on Momoji's route, lol.
The old fighting minigame is still there for story fights but I can't help but question why
 the new one is needed for the kusumono(intruder) fights? oh well no use thinking about it. 
You can lvl up 3 stats, precog,kunai(more hits) and one that heals your health 
by using them in the new minigame, max lvl is 10 but there isn't much use for it unless you
 want to play it on higher difficulty which is not difficult just more annoying/time consuming.

The sequel like its prequel is a fairly short game, first play should take anywhere from
 8 ~ 10 hours at most which is roughly the same as its prequel, 2nd+ will be done in 4~5 hours.
 You can also use incense during conversations with characters, which leads to some 🔥 scenes.

Too be honest I wasn't sure whom's route to do first so I just followed the same playorder as before.
You can't do Nobuyuki on first play not sure about Hanbei but I do not recommend because spoilers.
For first play just go with normal end or someone you're familair with other than that order does not matter. 
Personally it would be better to save the new routes for last... unless you are really curious 
and can't wait that long till you've done everyone if I had to recommed anything at all please do
Momoji before Hanbei and Mitsuhide before Kanbei this'll be no problem if you save Hanbei and Kanbei for later.

  My play order:
Mitsuhide > Momojiji > Nobuyuki > Hashiba > Ranmaru > Ieyashu > Nobunaga > Hanbei > Kanbei.

For a guide just us Syrup26 and Choro for whatever Keywords you are missing.

In short for those not wanting to scroll down below, I recommend the sequel to Geten no Hana fans
but do not expect a true sequel but an extension of a story that couldn't be told back then.
Most of the original chara are just alternative routes anyway, the new after stories for them were nice though.
The sequel's story is okay but has some hilariously obvious things at times, I mean
who could that bamboo hat man be? he looks awfully familiar. 😕
This game has a lot of common scenes and like I mentioned 2nd+ play will fly by even quicker
than its prequel since there is less to do and stuff, regarding common scenes its honestly
not that different from the average visual novel since somethings will never change.
I still love how most Koei games have their own solution to the predicament at the end
even at Harutoki6 Gentou Rondo I enjoyed that(despite me headdesking at times).
Also remember how I said no one ever actively pursues the heroine in the prequel?
Haha... that didn't last long as it was obv Kanbei was interested in Kikyou(Hotaru)
but don't worry there's a plot reason for this to explain his behavior still while
Kanbei shows his interest, he atleast knows when to back off, so yeah its not bad.
Moving on I thoroughly enjoyed the new characters routes and sadly I think they were the most
worthwhile content? sure it was nice to help Nobuyuki or Ieyashu again or spend time with Ranmaru
but I'd honestly wish for a fandisk and get to see them under more relaxed circumstances.
Its really sad the stars of this game are Hashiba, Hanbei and Kanbei though everyone else did have
 an enjoyable route but to me it felt like most of the effort went into the new routes.
For score it gets an  9/10 from me, it gets less points from me due to me getting nostalgic of some
of the routes characters had in the prequel and the new route feeling like an alternative.
Maybe I nagged a little but I really did enjoy it overall... and still recommend this port
because no matter how you look at it the characters and plot are well written.
I'm a little sad its over though, Yume Akari is probably the last entry... and did a good job of making it feel complete.

There's spoilers below, some sections more than others but i'm sure you've
realized you can read the full summary and character background in detail at koei wiki
and so I won't bother to be detailed and will drop things out/ summarize it in my own way if at all.

Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 6 Gentou Rondo of Deus Ex Machina - Review

遙かなる時空の中で6 幻燈ロンド
Game: [Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 6 Gentou Rondo]

Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Ruby party, Koei Tecmo.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/haruka6/gentourondo/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v19190

Release date: 2016-12-22

The sequel to Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 6, given how I really enjoyed the original

I couldn't help but be surprised we got a sequel instead of a Fandisk because of that this game
takes place after the grand finale and now I have a sequel I never asked for but got anyway.
 Since this is a sequel, if you haven't played the prequel maybe skip this game
since it relies on past events and one can't begin to understand why there is this wall
between Darius and Azusa, sure they'll recap general knowledge and expect
you to be able to remember on your own.

Sadly this game hasn't had the greatest of receptions which made me scared...so after
I finished KgK momoyo tsuzuri I went into this right away because I had to know for myself
and in the end I sorta agree with the japanese impressions this is a very flawed sequel
an unnecessary one even, pretty sure they rushed some parts of it
in short; its just an average sequel to please fans but it wasn't at all a necessary one.

The game plays just like its prequel, you still have mission/goal from time to time
and you must balance the visits to the guy which end you're going for once again.
Also for those playing without a guide be careful with your choices
you could very well mess up and make it impossible to get the guys next event.
The battle system is improved but still easy, you're rewarded for finishing battles fast

and evolving talismans is a pain in the neck but once you're done with everyone said

 items to evolve talismans will be useless, also this time you get to choose which location to use
as a home base, like the demon-clans mansion or the cafe Haikara which Murasame frequently visits.
If you pick one that isn't tied to the character which route you're going for
 you can miss a few sub events during that playthrough.

Pro's
 - Arima/Shuhei route is better, tbh most if anything the indivual event/route is only worthwhile thing.
- Wan-chan is Totez Adorbs.

Con's
 - Story seems interesting at first but turns into a convoluted mess...
 - System, its like an rpg with a bit of time managment, So if you're not up for that avoid.
- Long common route not much individual, overall its a short game.
- Deus ex machina.
- Unvoiced sugar-content scenarios as paid DLC.  (눈_눈)

 There's also a demo available on JP PSN so if you have second thoughts
about the sequel please try it out, it contains the entire first chapter.

My play order:
Darius > Arima &> Shuhei > Tora &> Kohak > Ludo &> Kudan > Murasame > Man
 & Normal > Toudou & Grand end.
I mostly focus on two characters per playthrough making the total number of runs 6 or 7.
Because its easier to do than the prequel... and you have too much time on your hands anyway.
For a guide/walkthrough I recommend: http://neoromance.info/haruka/rondo or Half-adder.
I recommend going for only one character and the normal end first play, try viewing some
of Man's events till you hit a wall and don't forget to focus on upgrading your talismans.
If you were to only do one per play you just have more free time to focus on upgrading
and or capturing every onryou summon so its not bad either way.
There's no trophy for capturing pokedemons this time but I did it anyway.
You get some new scenes during the prologue on 2nd play from Man's point of view as a sign that his
route has unlocked, however I do not recommend doing it till you're done with everyone else.
Preferably do Man before the toudou/grand finale the order of the rest doesn't really matter
may as well get Darius out of the way early(no offense to mai husbando but it wasn't that great).

As for expectations for the routes themselves, I didn't have much of that and I'm glad
Arima and Shuhei got better routes than in the prequel because they deserved it
though I still think Darius had a more well rounded route back then than here. :(
The game is much shorter than its prequel and I went through the routes without
needing to say meh I don't feel like it now and go do something else.
Also
For those wondering if you need to do every character combination technique in one play no you don't.
The list resets, but rest assured you can get them all over multiple play so best to keep notes!
The most I got was 20... but I was glad to realize you don't need to go that far.

This wasn't that bad  but was it a necessary? Hmm... I honestly can't answer that.
Was saving Chiyo back then really such a good idea? maybe there was a consequence
somewhere someplace in a distant time that the two miko's and the hachiyou isn't aware of.
You'll find that answer in this sequel, warning that there are full spoilers further down below.
In short I give it a 5.2/10, I had a great time in most routes and most of them were enjoyable -event
wise- but it isn't all that great to sit through multiple times, the routes are essentially new versions, to
give us another opportunity, yeah some route brought up legit issues but I honestly wanted a continuation of the love ends but everything was reset to them being friends in this game, for some character it worked out for others it was a drag, you know I could put the prequel down
for a few weeks and continue later but since this is shorter and easier to play through
I couldn't and I am sorta glad for that. Also the plot wasn't engaging enough its like
they forcible created a problem when there was none which lead to one thing and the other.
The missions were less, too easy and not rewarding at all basically the first half
of the game is spend in the most boring ways like i said atleast the chara events made up for that.

The DLC controversy makes me roll my eyes and it makes me sad
Koei has taken such steps and one thing is for certain I won't support any of it.
This is a visual novel with some light simulation that shouldn't be the victim of addon content.
That aside I enjoyed most if not all the routes, except the grand finale as Kudan's end was much
better, it was pretty underwhelming this time yeah I am sure it worked out but it was a mess
I prefer Kudan's end over it which felt like it was the most complete ending in the whole game.
5.2/10
PS: Wan-chan is a maji tenshi.
---
more spoiler babbles after the jump

Angelique Retour - Review

アンジェーリーク ルトゥール

Game: [Angelique Retour]

Genre: Otome game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Koei tecmo, Neo romance, Ruby party.

Platform: PSP, PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/ange_retour/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v2166

Release date: 2015-12-17

Here we go another koei game its a remake of one of the very first otome games!
Or more like Angelique helped to develop the genre a lot.

I find this game to be somewhat enjoyable, despite some of the RNG...

I guess it keeps things interesting? maybe i'm just not into simulation games.
Too bad I have no motivation to do more than one route...atleast at the time of finishing this post.
Because the system is just that boring and annoying to me not to mention there's no real conflict 'cept
the guys internal struggle thus nothing really happens outside of you competing to be the queen...
more on that soon.

I gotta be honest though, while I was sitting through the first few hour I thought that
Reine des Fleurs took alot of things from this game but not everything and they make it french. (lol)

I'm not bothered by it because things like this happen all the time in japan and even in the west, all those similair light novel or anime and even game? Yep it happens all-the-time, but enough about RDF being similair to Angelique cuz I don't give a single fuck, i'm just pointing it out and thats that.

Also for some reason I find that Koei's titles are less popular than otomate in the west?
Maybe its because they have zero presence in the west unlike otomate outside
of the old harukanaru tv anime and manga who ironically are now long out of print.
Koei should really step up their game now, the market is there and Aksys has shown that!
I do not care if Koei otome titles will be steam only because sadly the vita is a lost cause in the west.

PLOT
''A plain-ish girl named Angelique which we'll shorten to Ange is a chosen
candidate alongside Rosalia to become the queen of the cosmos.
The two girls compete for this role and the guys support them in their journey.''

UNFORTUNATELY that is all there is to it except love there is no real outside source to oppose them
the two candidates (except each other)which is actually really disappointing

it doesn't help that while the guys are appealing they aren't really interesting

until you get into their events and get to know them a bit more.
Other than that not even Rosalia was a nuisance, I expected bitchy rivalry behavior
but there was none of that (lol) which honestly made for a pretty boring game.
Why would you even want to become the queen of the cosmos anyway?
Ange isn't even capable of questioning this except when deciding to go with a guy or not...
IMO the plot of Koisuru tenshi angelique was more interesting because atleast
the protag had some history and the guys are all sad and emo over Ange becoming the queen
and the bias for Zephel there made me get this game and to be honest it wasn't worth it
except for him finally finding happiness with his first crush.😅

 Pro's
- No Date, No Life.
- All of the guys are sweethearts.
- The system is easy to understand.
- Interesting setting and worldview but...
- Art and BGM.
- Heroine was cute buut very basic.
- The heroine's rival Rosalia was likeable and not bitchy.
- Zephel was moe, best boy. (bias)

Con's
- The story is almost non-existant.
- Characters have cardboard personality outside of their events which takes a while to reach.
- Events and individual ending are on the short side.
(^This could be great if your attention span is short^)
- Its hard not to reach the goal of the story.
- Not a straight-forward visual novel.
- RNG.


Like i've said this otomege's overall plot is simple, do as your supposed to as the candidate and chill with guys from time to time and win their hearts in the process, there is no pressure
though it might be great to get ahead of Rosalia which is actually easy.
It doesn't even matter if you shoot down any guy who requests to hang out with the heroine
they'd be disappoint and will probably cry in a corner for the rest of the ingame day. :D
I still think its too easy to reach the main objective though, most of the time Rosalia isn't even
 trying I mean at one point there was a 1000 point gap, I'm like pls.
Anyway it is ok if you don't have any expectations and are new to it, don't let the RNG bit
get to you it can still be lots of fun (I think).