Tengoku Struggle Strayside - Review

Tengoku Tumbleweed Side Struggle

 Genre: VN.
Developer/publisher: otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.aksysgames.com/tengoku/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v33150

Release date: 04-04-2024

 

I played this game inbetween others but this was one of those games

that I wish I could like more and only got good for me in the last two routes.

Due to it being what it was I wasn't in the mood to get through this but I also didn't

want to let this sit in my backlog for half a year so after Matsurika FD I continued.

Despite being aware about contents; I found it rather tame.

I mean without context they sound awful but within the narrative? oh. 

 

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

- Strong-willed and self-concious heroine.

- All LI's are likable in their own ways.

- Great art and catchy music.

 

Grey area

- Quite long; route length is 10-12 hours on average.

- Story doesn't seem to take itself serious, weak resolutions in early route.

  

Con's

- The game can feel a bit draggy at times and has pacing issues.

- Bad CG pacing, there are droughts and moments with a lot at once. 

 

 

Art was great,When I looked at the cover for the first time I almost

didn't recognize who the artist was, tho it definitely is Satoi's style.

Music was generally good and I had no issues with it.

The OP was good but I didn't feel like watching it everything. ED was fine. 

 ---

 

[System ramblings] 

Standard visual novel stuff, nothing that stood out.

The common route was much like Olympia Soiree a long one-time introduction

without choices and it becomes entirely skippable on 2nd play.

Its also easy to see what's a good or bad choice as this is shown when you select a choice

so you can play this without a guide, there's only two endings per route; Happy&bad.

However the bad endings were IMO more like good ends.

The common route did hook me, the setting and introductions were interesting.

I liked how the heroine had a female friend with a sprite too.

There's a scene at the end of ch1 that kinda woah but what I found hilarious

is how tame the rest of the common route of seven chapters was. The early routes

such as Yona or Kiku were quite tame as well. I was actually disappointed at this, within

the narrative a lot of things did make sense but if I listed it separately it could sound awful.

Actually the game is rather tame in general... LMAO till the gloves are off in Goemon route.

Pacing was a tad slow for me but for a SoL character driven game its not bad perse.

 Though things can get heated the game was for the most part pretty laidback which lead

to some shifts in tone, if you can't handle this TengoStray is likely not for you. 

I'll add to this that TengoStray is a fairly long, especially the first time through.

Individually the routes had 12 chapters and it took around 10-12 hours to complete one.

---

 

[Heroine ramblings] 

She has a whip but...

Rin was alright but can be a bit much at times, even if she didn't remember her

past life she had a personality! I did wonder how she turned into a misandrist

but the story wrote itself in such a way I kinda got why she had enough of them.😅

The narrative esp in early routes seemed more set on mellowing her out...

As she lived with everyone she got over that stuff pretty fast too and she tried

to approach them differently which also kind of clashed with the initial setup

but its okay people can change their mind so that's not bad per se. 

I wasn't really sure what they tried to sell me during the first few routes and 

if need be Rin can really hold her ground, its just she acts like a tiger but is in fact 

just a cat and acts like any girl could. Rin's proactive but she was also a tsundere

so getting her to be honest was a struggle in itself. Sometimes she's just hostile😓

but also not incapable of self-reflecting on things as she is self-concious.

Rin is comparable to Olympia, not perfect by any means and it was obvious

she bit off more than she could chew, even so she regained her balance. Rin also

reminded me of Rinka from BAW; if they fleshed her out and wove her into the plot. 

Rin shined the most in the locked routes as that's where she was given the most depth

and the early routes only touched upon it on a surface level. Considering her story

it also makes sense why that is the case. Maybe I had the wrong expectations

but I expected a bit more from her even in early routes.

I didn't always vibe with Rin Enma, yet I was in-sync with her in how

her perspective changed both on herself and the guys.

My sign also isn't very compatible with Rin who is a scorpio and at times

I did not understand her but she wasn't a bad heroine at all. Just not for me.

---

The LI are criminals but there was barely need to punish them. 

I actually expected Rin to whip them more if they acted up but... this wasn't necessary! (haha)

imma be real the only one who really needs whipping is Sharaku. The times the whip was

cracked were few. The narrative pushed it yet was against doing it at the same time.

I don't know if the localization toned her down among other things but let me tell you

again Rin was at her most badass in Jack and Goemon's routes.

If you wanted to actually whip LI's then I recommend KLAP kind love and punish instead.

---

 

The seiyuu cast are mostly familiar I personally don't hear Goemon's VA a lot

but this game made me like him!  I also did love some of the seiyuu for

the side cast like Koyasu Takehito as Daddy or Nojima Kenji for Takamura.

It was a good cast with classics but none of my fav's were in it.

--- 

 

The localization was good but this game was toned down, there's less vulgarity than what

the japanese were complaining about and there's not much that soured the experience except

some of Sharaku's phrasing near the end of his route but that's just him.

I always hear people complain about this otome but it was tamer than I thought.

 ---

 

[Overall ramblings]

Despite grievances I think I am more satisfied with this than Cafe Enchante!

Tengoku Struggle is what happens when you mix aspects of bad apple wars,

varribarri and Olisoi. The setting is interesting but it can be kind of deceiving

as it ended up being much more slice of life focused than I initially expected.

The lore wasn't deep or anything but it was creative, the things I found myself

disappointed at was mostly the execution of the overall story

which felt like it was doing whatever at times.

This was a much slower paced game rather than an action packed one which lead to

pacing and tension issues. Olympia wasn't always able to meet her goals but she had

a more simple job. Rin does try but it may vary on the route and who her partner was. 

Both the enemy and the heroes had goals but ends up being rather casual about it. 

Sometimes you can't really do anything about a situation and this game was full of it.

I think I may be fine with slice of life when there's not some grand plot

going on but TengoStray certainly was an experience. 

You see this game has its routes tackle things on a case by case basis and it tends

to ignore anything not related to that character or put it very into the background.

I can forgive some things but its understandable why I feel the way I do since

there's a lot of beating around the bush. I'm fine with some truths only shown in

locked routes but... I had trouble enjoying the early routes because they were all over the place. 

In terms of romance routes ended in satisfying manner but I wasn't fully convinced

when it came to tying up all the plot threads. I found Sharaku to be a lil better

than Yona/Kiku but not by much. I thought its just because they're the early game

routes, those can be lacking and not tackle it all... then I moved on to JacK

who spiced up a lot of monotony that the starter routes had going on while being

hilarious at the same time. I thought there would be no route i'd like but I was wrong!

Goemon had a really good route as well but... the others started feeling like what if's.

--- 

 

TL;DR 

 At the very least the character interactions were always golden, due that I mostly had

a good time but it was a tad slow for me, the real struggle was the SoL along the way!

The romance is build on trust and its most enjoyed as a slowburn, early routes for me

like Kiku or Yona's was a real s t r u g g l e because while I liked them they never became fav's.

There was not much was going on and the real narrative is buried in the locked routes.

The main plot was kinda weak in early routes and very character+romance driven. 

At times there is plenty of enjoyment, yet the plot was 404 not found. 

 Goemon's the only one which handled it well but when I looked back I got

a massive headache thinking about certain side chara's.😓

Its sad I didn't enjoy the first 3 routes and at that point I was like is there a route

in this game I really enjoy? the answer was yes.  After three routes I struck gold with Jack.😄

So I basically suffered during the first half.😩Okay I guess I'll take the L's.

The best parts about TengoStray for me were the character interactions even when there

was nothing important going on. I didn't even dislike the LI's themselves. I just thought

some of the narrative within their routes particular the early ones could be better. 

8/10 

I would recommend TengoStray if you want an otome game about bad boys and life&death themes

with homey SoL/found family vibes. I wasn't disappointed with this game like with Enchante.

I'd probably not recommend TengoStray to those that don't like SoL, slowburn romance

or can't handle some mild forms of sexism since its just all that. 

 

My Play order:

Yona > Kikunosuke > Sharaku > Jack > Goemon.

Yona and Kikunosuke are the beginner routes and can be interchanged.

Sharaku the intermediate one which is best done before Jack.

Jack needs the player to do the three initial routes and Goemon is locked behind him. 

 

Recommended order:

Kikunosuke / Yona > Sharaku > Jack > Goemon. 

 

Character rambles and some of my fav cgs after the jump.

Probably don't read further if you want to experience it yourself since its just

senile grandma rambles beyond this point with potential spoilers. 

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

 

 

 

 

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 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. 

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

Honey Vibes - Review

Honey, there's landmines on da beach.

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/honey_vibes/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v49600

Release date: 3-10-2024.

 

I wasn't originally going to get this but after the last game I played

something like this seemed appropiate, the premise sounded fun tbh.

Moeyo otome doushi fell off the radar after I learned its really short

so I just decided this would be the last otome of the year instead.

 

Pro's

- Fluffy and Spicy; romance oriented otome game.

- Character focused rather than plot focused.

- Length; doesn't overstay its welcome.

- Gorgeous art & music fits the vibe.

 

Con's

- Plot isn't really its strong point, its hidden away in a corner called the finale.

- Some of the less than good ends can be a killjoy.

 .

Artstyle is pretty unique, at first reminded me of bad apple wars/dairoku but its

not the same artist, I guess its because the eyes and it having a similar look.

While most CG's were gorgeous there were a bunch with weird angles

or with the heroines face not shown or it cutoff near the edge but everyone

had a decent amount so I didn't mind if it that much. I will say that there was

one thing that I find unnacceptable and Theo was a victim of it. One of his ending CG's was not

positioned right which is a criminal offense, I could see another background behind the CG.

Another gripe is that they weren't evenly spread out through the routes and in some cases

there were a lot of them right after the other like at the end of Elijah's route.

Music is nice and felt really relaxing and gave it chill vibes

but I wasn't sure what was with the ar tonelico/NIER bgm's as this

made it seem more ambitious than it was.

Plot:

The protagonist Nagisa seems to be a pretty normal girl going about her day

till she rescues an animal CV:Toriumi Kousuke (Hello Simeon from Kai no kiseki!)

Something appears to be up and Nagisa starts tripping and next she finds herself

in a room full of antique with an unusual chessboard; usually the pawns are only

for two people but this board is for three? weird. The furball introduces himself as Colt

and the room they're in is some sort of space between worlds so he offers her a chance

since Nagisa seems to be a kind person that he wants to place his faith in.

Colt has basically chosen her to help save beings like himself

and hopes that she can offer them happiness till the last moment.

Next she wakes up she is in another world called Libalium and Colt isn't a

furball anymore and a human with wings as ears (Like Meteion I suppose...?) 

Colt is more or less like a priest or kind of like a god.

Meanwhile Nagisa just thinks she is having a dream, lol.

Colt tries to explain she is in another world, and she's not dreaming

and eventually meets a bunch of guys who live in that world.

At first Nagisa doesn't have any idea what is going on really and the games begin.

 ---

 

I liked Nagisa, her reactions to some things were quite natural but I wish she had

a sprite in the corner, its weird since when you go to the backlog she has a sprite there.

She could seem a bit unsure in the beginning but there were times she really shined.

 

With there being a game going on and all I think this game was shameless

about the fact that this was a reverse harem, boys don't fight over me but

then it is literally about that since Nagisa fell into the role of queen

and most guys are divided into different camps red,black and white. 

Nagisa basically made it so the guys have to convince her to choose them

and well gonna say some of the guys had varying levels of how they went about it.

Honey Vibes was for the most part a fun isekai, there's a sense of seriousness but it also

doesn't take itself too serious and just rolls with what it tried to do without shame.

It wasn't too long or that anything dragged, the game's length is fine. Common route introduces

things and there's enough time to get a feel of everyone's personality before going into a route.

Sadly the bad ends were such a killjoy idk what but had I gotten them by accident

the mood would be ruined and I don't think I would even want to see the best end.

This game shared some writers with 9rip and it definitely had a little bit of suspense

so I can see why this game suddenly went off the rails but still I don't remember

9rip being as bad as this?! the bad ends in honey vibes legit killed the mood.

While I won't complain about there being different outcomes some felt out of place or a bit

extreme and not what I initially came here for or fit with the setting. I will admit I didn't

do a lot of research on Honey Vibes but expected it to be dark was the last thing on my mind.

How interesting the plot in the route was varied a lot since Honey Vibes focused more

on romance and the character's personal issue than whatever plot there was which felt

like an after thought to me in routes such as Alvin. Finn's route complimented Alvin's

in a way its like the otherside of the same coin, both routes also had great romance.

 In some routes the bad ends are also worse  like Eno for example. Milo's route still good

not just in terms of romance but since I understood more in the grandscheme of things

and unlike other routes, Milo's bad ends atleast made me understand why its the way it is.

Theo's route was also decent, his personal conflict together with the overall plot was just

beautifully written, unfortunately he has some of the worst bad ends in this game.

Elijah was the only route that I thought was well rounded and actually focused on the

story/lore but even then it was still just character focused like all the rest which means

 even if it seems more involved it isn't. They saved it all for the finale route.

So while in most routes the overall plot was never amazing, it was still pretty decent

since if you do all routes it connects well enough.  If you come here for the

romance & your favourite voice actor is in here you'd likely be satisfied.

Story can peak in some routes and just dips in others, the characters carried this game hard.

As for the game as a whole, its fluff and spicy! I don't play a lot of otomes where things

get THIS steamy but honey vibes was on another level that most others felt tame.

Sadly most desire ends were awful, it just felt like another bad end where the one tied to rationality

is the only good outcome which all things considered is kinda lame.The LI's were all pretty good

but for some I immediately went like oh no! looking at you Milo but he as well

as Alvin were among my fav's so look how that turned out. The only one

I didn't like was Eno really. With 6 LI's there might be a favorite for anyone.

This game could be interesting to play blind but honestly i'm glad I used a guide

since there are just way too many landmine bad ends you could trigger.

Bad ends did at times contain minor plot revelations so I'd say its still worth

checking them out just don't be surprised if you get burned while doing so.

The actual story is left for the finale route which wraps everything up in a grand way

perhaps there is room for a sequel or FD? idk but it may need one since

after the finale most best ends just has me going is that it really?

8/10

I can't hate this game because its literally the best and worst of otomate in one package.

Its likely it will be picked up for english release and will be disappointed if it won't

since there's definitely an audience for this, no I know there is.

TL;DR Honey Vibes is quite enjoyable but if you're just here for an romance novel

i'd stay away from the bad ends if I were you unless you like to live dangerously.

This game is not all sunshine and rainbows and can get surprisingly dark in bad ends.

If this sparks your interest then by all means I will recommend this otome game.......

For playorder there weren't any restrictions so I just picked one in the moment:

Alvin > Eno > Milo >Theo > Elijah > Finn > Finale.

You can do whatever camp you want in any order due to no restrictions

the best I can recommend here is to just stick to one camp before moving to the next.

 

More rambles after the jump, just the usual some of my fav cg's etc

if you want to play don't read further.

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

Utakata no Uchronia - Review

Genre: VN.
Developer/publisher: Broccoli/Licobits.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/uchronia/ 

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v40519
Release date: 11-04-2024. 

 

I still decided to get this game but the price... why is this game so expensive?

I even bought it digital but 8000 yen? damn that is the price of a limited edition

from the PS Vita era. Idk if this is just broccoli or the economy tanking

but I can see why people just don't want to blind purchase these games nowadays.

 

I'll say it right off the bat, this game was definitely not another Piofiore yet

it could be its successor in spirit. Also while this is not an otomate game

you can definitely tell this was by former staff of theirs.

 

Pro's 

- Interesting story in the grand scheme of things...

- Most love interests were likable except one.

- Gorgeous art and fitting bgm.

 

Con's

- Needs a high level of japanese to fully understand the story.

- Length, focuses too much on the big picture that it cuts itself short.

- Overall plot/flow of the game gets a bit repetitive with every route.

- Yori, i'm not even going to say anything else here.

 

I really liked the OP movie back in the demo and they finally uploaded it on YT

seems like they waited till the actual release date instead of alongside the demo's release.

I hardly ever skipped the OP, it generally was nice to see everytime you boot up the game.

Like I said in my demo impression post, UtaChro is very scenario focused, I just

did not expect it to be on such a grandscale and the fact it was legit surprised me.

UtaChro is very focused on the world they live in and the relationships of the people

in Hinagiku's life etc. Utachro is rich in worldbuilding and interpersonal relationships

but due to all that makes for a pretty long game, no joke. Due to that the romance takes a

while to develop as well but I generally had no complaints because of the pace of it.

For some routes the resolution could seem rushed or good enough... oh well.

What I also like is the whole main cast is part of the plot and don't just

disappear off the map once you lock onto a route which is great.

System is same as piofiore, lots of choices; 2 main endings a best and bad end.

There's no affection/correct choice indicator so easy to hit a game over end.

It may be best to use a guide if you don't want any surprises. There's the switch the PoV

like in Piofiore but since this is from the same writer/director so its to be expected.

 

In terms of story I was hooked to some extent and wanted to see where it was going

but it was also a bit long-winded and the conversations were not always able to grab me.

In Utachro my attention often waned. I do not know if it was because of the level of

japanese or the dialogue just being... dry. Of course at times jokes were cracked

but comedy is not really the focus in this game and it was far and between.

The level of japanese UtaChro uses often betrayed me, because at times it is simple

but it also won't hesitate to throw some complicated kanji at you.

Haven't played Y7 yet but that's me whenever I encountered Kanji that tripped me up.

 UtaChro is also incredibly slowburn, I am glad I did Awayuki as my first route since it fit

really well and I liked their chemistry somewhat but it wasn't a route to bring out

the full potential of the story which was sad. Good starter but not much else.

I did Yori second because he was the resident trashbag and wanted him out of my hair

after the crap he pulled during Awayuki's route and at the end of the day

Yori just wasn't my cup of tea but it may be someone elses? Tobari on the other hand

was probably one of my favorite characters, the romance with him was just right as well!

It reminded me of non-toxic normal relationships, which after Yori was a breath of fresh air.

Idk what to say about Tsuyukusa without spoilers other than that I am kinda tired of the

friend-type routes but he was one of the more relevant routes in the game, he did take a while

to grow on me and like Tobari I couldn't really see it till like chapter 4/5. Got not much to say about

Yashiro tbh but throughout most routes he was sorta just there, I remember him saying

I'm just an amnesiac guy somewhere which sounds about right till you get

to his own route and he just fucks everything up literally.😨

 

Hinagiku as a heroine was pretty great, good natured and a bit pampered like a princess

but also fearless and not easily afraid of situations she is getting herself into

yet at times she is still a girl you know? don't expect too much of her and I think she was

at her best in Tobari's route! I did prefer her over Naaya from Matsurika.

 

I also made a low effort meme for fun.

Yashiro could be a bit more to the left but for the most part this fits.

 

Overall UtaChro is overly lengthy and complicated, I only really enjoyed&remember the

interactions with the love interest & other fun interactions but there wasn't much of that.

The conflict going on in the town..... sure I was intriguid by what was really going on

but I just was kinda bored with how it was presented. Maybe it really is the dialogue

since it just didn't grab me most of the time. Or I just wasn't interested in the big picture

which just makes it a me problem. Your opinion could differ from this so I will still encourage

this game to anyone that likes scenario driven visual novels of decent length & don't mind politics

but idk the routes are kind of a hit or a miss. The only guy I really liked was Tobari

so I don't know what that says either, probably not much(other than that I might like stupid guys).

 

I know Uta-Chro is scenario driven but it really surprised me that there was

enough romance along the way and this was for me the saving grace.

If I had to be harsh this was a 5/10 due its repetitiveness but it gave me Tobari so... its a 7/10.

Uta-chro was just a really weird game, I came here for the scenario but left with romance.....

I still hope Aksys or someone else still picks up Uta-Chro... I mean its not Piofiore

but it has some of its elements as well as Nicola&Yang's love child Yori

which I am sure people will either love or hate. Even if that person is not me. 

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

There are route restrictions and Yashiro, Tsuyukusa and Yori are off limits at the start.

Yori is unlocked by doing Awayuki, Tsuyukusa unlocks after doing Tobari and finally

Yashiro needs like everyone so no choice but to do him last.

My play order ended up being:

Awayuki > Yori > Tobari > Tsuyukusa > Yashiro >Finale.

I'll just recommend the same except maybe switch Awayuki/Tobari based on preference, this order

may be good to be able to go from those who're available at the start to a more important route.

Whether or not you do Yori right after Awayuki just depends whether you'd like to or not.

This game is even more restrictive than Matsurika and its not even funny.

Route babbles after the jump however the only routes I really wrote about

were Tsuyukusa and Yashiro, but only note-worthy things. This game is too long

someone else can do it if they'd like to but it ain't gonna be me. I'm drowning.

Utakata no Uchronia - Demo Impressions

 Genre: VN.
Developer/publisher: Broccoli/Licobits.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://licobits-game.com/uchronia/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v40519

Release date: 14-3-2024.(Demo) 11-04-2024. (Full Game)

 

Since I wasn't in the mood to play as Red and Barret in FF7 rebirth

I took a few hours to check out this demo!

I haven't really done a demo impressions/review post in ages and I didn't even know

UtaChro was going to get one! which is good because I was a little on the fence.

 

I only tried out UtaChro to see what it would be like! and also kinda as a vibecheck.

I know things could always turn out different in the full game but whatever

who cares if you only end up liking 1 love interest or route!

UtaChro is developed by a bunch of ex? otomate staff and broccoli/TIS creation.

I like RiRi's art but overall it reminded me more of Piofiore and not Yunohana.

Backgrounds were pretty detailed in showing the environments, art in general was good.

Music? no complaints. The OP definitely catched my attention more and I liked listening to it!

sadly I couldn't find the OP on youtube yet to link here.

 

The demo had the common route & was definitely good for introducing the setting and characters.

The heroine Hinagiku is an Ojou-sama who is good natured...maybe a bit pampered

she gets treated like a princess and earned that nickname, lol.

Yashiro seems to have amnesia and they go around trying to jog his memory for a bit, doesn't

really work out yet. Tsuyukusa bumped into them, he knows Hinagiku and thinks Yashiro

is too close already, oh jealous are we? Tsuyukusa was pretty chill so whatever I guess.

The demo ended after you meet Yori but for the most part its just too early to tell

where any of it was going, romance was definitely not a focus atleast not at this point!

not a lot of fluff yet as well, I figured out from my two-ish hour expedition that UtaChro

is a scenario driven kind of game with romance not really being a focus.

Interactions were good and  it had a decent sense of humor too. Overall it seems UtaChro

 is more or less something like Piofiore but with a bit of steampunk! I kind of liked it?

Not really route impressions but I wrote a little about the love interests?

not all seem to have a lot of screentime in the demo so there's not much after the jump.

Shuuen no Virche Epic Lycoris - Review

Genre: Visual Novel.
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/virche/fd/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v38067
Release date: 07-09-2023.

 

Only reason I even got this FD was cuz I wanted more romance with Ceres and the guys

since... the original game was lacking a lot in that area. As well as not giving one major

character a route which was a great injustice which this game seems to want to remedy?

 

OP movie URL cuz they apparently disabled embedding...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIJLuh_JA_8

 

Pro's.

- Side stories are nice.

- Nice after stories for Yvess, Scien and Adolph.

- Great for Ankou fans.

 

Con's 

- A giant 🖕 to Lukas fans.💀

- Some CG's are nice but they're spread across too many different scenarios... afters feel barren

some also have awkward angles or weird face shots and I am like what is this?!

- Some afters just plainly lack any fluff or fun content.

- With the exception of Ankou's route everything was pretty short.

---

 

There's side stories with all the main characters and then there's the usual after stories

as well as a new side end that takes a spin on the original route from the first game.

There's also a route for Ankou, however you can't do it till you complete the Drifter story.

 

Also it seems they took encore literally and it is not going the be the fun kind and more in line

of what the original game was like. Lukas's left me traumatized and I cannot handle it

so I skipped the other encores. What is even worse is the encores are like 3/4ish hours

with the same experience while the emotion/after stories are like like 1/2 hours at best.

I was quite disappointed with atleast 2 of the afters as well. Ankou's route is by

far the longest and i'm pretty sure it was 8-10 hours in length... hoo boy!

 

The writers apparently said no, you can't have nice things and some characters apparently haven't suffered enough, so here's more despair, Ankou included. Yea I know virche wasn't exactly

a normal otome game but come on, I thought this was a FD but it didn't seem like one, even less

than raditale's. Also while some cg's were beautiful they sometimes had awkward angles

and really nice moments between the characters were hard to find especially in the afters.

So I found it hard to find anything memorable in the after stories, the only ones

I even remotely liked was Scien Brofist's cuz hurrdurr and Adolph.

For Ankou's route they had a nice prequel story called Drifter which unlocked Ankou

and the route was pretty enjoyable albeit very long, this but this game is 

pretty much for him alone and everything else is there as a bonus. 😂

Now for the thing I am most disappointed about, it is the severe lack of fluff and/or fun

content in the afters... cuz unless you're Adolphe,Scien or Ankou they had to give that to us

via a side story and its just sad they couldn't do better for the actual afters.

 

I don't know if I should recommend this game unless you're a big Ankou fan

and are OK with some of the other guys not really getting much else but a few crumbs!

I'm sorry I really tried to like things in this game but I could barely find it...

most of the time I was just bored, missing even the interactions with Jinnia and Liyan.

All the fun stuff were put into side story -interlude- as well...

I guess that not everything has to be truly happy but I just found most of the afters lacking

if only they didn't bother with encore and focused more on the afters cuz it really

feels like they divided their attention too much leaving some other areas to be desired.

 

Idk what score to even give this FD on one hand an 8/10 just for Ankou seems a bit much

but a 5/10 or lower could make this seem like a kusoge... so I guess a 6.5 or 7/10???

cuz hey atleast half the guys had a nice after story! as wells as Ankou being a great addition.

 

My play order was: Lukas > Mathis > Science Brofist > Yvess > Adolphe >Drifter > Ankou.

The only good thing about this play order for the FD is that the afters will gradually get better.

Spoilers after the jump as I will be writing about the character/routes etc!

so you've been warned!!! if you don't want spoilers then don't proceed further!!!

**Ended up fixing some mistakes or adding some stuff but this post won't be edited anymore

and ain't no way I am touching encore more than I already did.

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Kuro no Kiseki 2 Crimson Sin - Review

Lol, they buried Aaron...

Genre: RPG
Developer/publisher: Falcom
Platform: PS4/PS5.
Official Site: https://www.falcom.co.jp/kuro2/

Release date: 2022-09-29.  

Okay its that time of the year! unfortunately while I greatly looked forward to this game

I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped! first of all this is a direct-sequel to kuro no kiseki

so I don't recommend starting with this game. Sadly when this game launched

there was a bunch of drama Llama due to chinese streamer that rushed the game

and finished it in a day or so and a lot of fans were disappointed.

After playing it myself I can sort of understand why!

I will say this here, I tried to be positive but this game is far from perfect

this is not one of those cases where sugar coating it is gonna make it better.

Anyway if you don't like what you're reading close the tab and

go play it for yourself and form your own opinion.

There won't really be many plot spoilers in this post, though some notes

about random scenes but nothing with full context.

Pro's

- Story has an interesting enough premise and it is good as a direct-sequel.

- Rion and Celis are goat, Nadia and Swin are cute little angels.

- BGM was good, tho mostly boss fights.

- Fishing minigame is back and better than ever.*

Con's

- This game does very little for the trails series as a whole.

- Dumb bad ends with time travel gimmick yet no consequences for it.

- We hardly visit any new areas.

- Characters get too careless and OOC in a way that does not fit.

- Minigames for the sake of having them.

I'm going to start with the things that I liked!

I loved spending more time with Rion and Celis and learning more of them

they're also Bergard's disciples/students and they go way back. Sadly Bergard couldn't

be around much in this game but these guys have our backs most of the time, especially Rion!

I liked the scene where Celis kicked a door and Rion went like oh my that's quite sturdy isn't it?😅

or the one where Rion covered Celis's mouth as she was about to spout obscenities.😂

I Need more cheeky guys like Rion in my life...

 Someone at falcom may have been a Eugeo fan though as Rion's S-craft is quite the reference!

and well he ended up being like a true bro too so... hmm!

Cuz Bergard isn't present at all in this game and I wish Rion/Celis replaced him in full

but they ended up being more or less guests that join at fixed times.😭😭😭

A timeless classic...

 Nadia and Swin are also back and they're so cute and sweet, most scenes were fun with them

also plenty of fun moments with the cast in the game, it wasn't all bad.

Okay you may be like what does this have to do with any of the plot? well it doesn't

the plot is mostly about the eight genesis, Quatre also gets more development

as his backstory was actually pretty big and could definitely not be told before.

Unfortunately this game may have been about the eight genesis but it did a terrible job

at even explaining wtf they even are... instead we get an entire chapter full of bullshittery

but hey just in case anyone misinterprets this sentence i'll add that atleast it wraps it all up

pretty well and there was a reason why garden master wanted the dang things... and why red grendel exists. So even if this game does nothing for the series as a whole it is good as a sequel.

Elaine has a nice ass.

Sadly I thought Elaine would have more presence but more often than not it felt like Swin

was the second protagonist and she was even sidelined for a whole chapter.

Haha atleast Elaine's final connect event was kind of nice, super fanservicey but uhm

while that is nice its also nothing definite regarding her relationship with Van.

 

Van is a good MC, kuro 1 has showed that but in this game he and the crew have

gotten careless, add into the fact the dead ends are just shock value

its like they tried to turn this into a visual novel! Maybe trails becoming a VN

wouldn't be so bad, perhaps this way they could actually finish the story as a whole. /s

As for Shizuna... she was cool as always but yet again this wasn't her game!

also I didn't really like her costume this time cuz it looked like she robbed a store 

and was caught in the act when going for the pants.😂

 

Anyway if you expect Kuro no Kiseki 2 Crimson Sin to make big progress for the series in general

then drop those expectations cuz you ain't gonna get it! but as a sequel or fandisk to Kuro 1?

yea it is good in that sense but it also doesn't do too much for any of the cast.

In short, Kuro no Kiseki 2 can be a disappointment *if you expect to much in the grand scheme of things.

 

More rambles after the jump, edit: I won't force anyone to read any further as I can sound

kind of harsh, cuz despite loving parts of it I did not enjoy the game as much and actually

expected more of it. Please note that I do not think this game is that bad...

if you really don't like what you're reading then I urge you to play it for yourself

maybe you will like it more than I did! thus my score of enjoyment overall

is a 6/10 this is my personal rating for the game.

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Birushana Senki ~Ichijuu no Kaze~ - review

 Genre:VN.
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/birushana/fd/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v32229
Release date: 2022-03-31.

 

Well its here! the FD to Birushana or Bilshana (depending on how you spell it).

I'm surprised it got a FD but it did do pretty well so its only natural.

I kinda did wonder if it was really needed or not... as release draw close but its better

than something never getting a FD... like Hana Oboro for example.

 Aside from the usual after stories the fd also has routes for some of

the side characters that only had mini routes in the original.

 

Pro's

- After stories are diverse and suit the characters.

- New routes give those characters plenty of substance.

- Gorgeous artwork.

 

Con's

- After's get less Cg's than the new routes...

 

The OP movie is pretty good, definitely the type i'd just let play.

Its just a standard VN, After stories don't have any choices and its mostly just chill

and fluff as you get to enjoy some time with your husbando.

New routes do have choices but cuz of the love catch its easy to tell which is the

best choice and thus making it easier to get both endings.

Right after I downloaded the game from the jpn eshop I dived into Benkei's route

and well I already was satisfied in the romance department! even if he was not my fav.

 

After's aren't that long either... I think the length was about two hours depending

on your reading speed. There's not much to work with so don't expect too much

except some fluff and wrapping up some loose ends, as well as some horniness?

some had it on the lvl of oh god just fuck already?!

As for the new routes... they do a pretty good job of giving those guys more substance!

they are like a full route in the original game so we get to spend plenty of time with them.

Before starting on this I wasn't that hyped for the new routes cuz I was fine with 

what we got in the original and there wasn't much to them except

Shigehira but Tsugunobu really grew on me and ugh he's now my best boi!

With this I think the content value of this game is pretty good and will last a bit unless you binge...

The new routes get more cg's than the afters which could be disappointing! for afters 

there were only 3/4 cg's (with variation) and one bonus with the guy in present day clothing.

The new routes also follow some of the general plot of the original because again its about

the genpei war, you can't expect them to suddenly make it about something else

which is good because it was consistent in making room for the new-old friends.

I think that in general something Birushana is good at is concistency, there's minimum holes

in its plot they might be there but once you did all it really did make sense.

Of course its not perfect... and there's definitely some problems but I really do love

this series and its cast, it was great to spend more time with them.

If I had to be really honest neither of the Satou brothers were particularly interesting

in terms of plot, Takatsuna was slightly more interesting cuz he's Yoritomo's retainer but don't do

these routes expected new and exciting plot revelations cuz that's not what they're here for.

They're basically here for another romance option... someone for Shana to be happy with

which was nice in its own way, personally I did enjoy spending time with Tsugunobu.

For play order I did want to try to alternate the afters with the new routes which was: 

Benkei >  Shungen > Tsugunobu > Tadanobu > Noritsune > Takatsuna >Yoritomo>Tomomori >Shigehira.

Anyway Birushana FD is a great treat for fans that want a little something extra

I wasn't disappointed with the additional romance for some of the guys cuz some of them needed it.

The stories are diverse and suit the characters, in that sense Birushana doesn't disappoint.

Maybe I am being too positive but if I like it, I like it. There's not much to complain about either

except maybe the CG count for the after stories but it seems they wanted to focus more on the

side characters new routes anyway its better to have quality over quantity and its not like

the after's were bad... I mean the guys getting hornier is a good thing no?

 

I could understand some people not giving two fucks about those guys having new routes but maybe

it will surprise you & you'll end up with a new best boi, i'm speaking from experience here.

So overall me thinks depending on what you're here for that this

is a pretty good FD to compliment the original!

 

PLEASE NOTE that from here on there will be spoilers both for the original game and this FD

as I will write a little about the after stories/new routes from this point onward, so if you plan

to play either the original game in english/jpn or this FD I recommend to stop reading here!!!