Toki no Kizuna Hanayui Tsuzuri - Review

PSP box art cuz its gongeous I mean gorgeous.

Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v12141

Release date: 19-6-2025

 

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

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

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

 

--- 

Pro's

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

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

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

 

Con's 

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

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

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

 ---

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

---  

After stories.

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

New routes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 ---

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  ---

 

Overall its a solid FD with plenty of content value.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

since the original left much to be desired.

8/10 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Fuyuzono Sacrifice - review

Genre: VN.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v49601

Release date: 26-2-2025.

 

I honestly wasn't sure whether or not I was going to get this but two weeks before

release I thought on it, the regular edition cover art was nice and I kinda

liked the setting of it? sadly I noticed the price was steep and it really

seems otome games or new games in general have become luxury products.

I sure was nervous buying it at such a steep price, still I liked the setting

and heroines outlook of wanting to decide her own destiny, so I bought it.

 

Pro's

- Great cast of characters.

- Each route has unique ways to solve the key problem in good or tragic ways.

- Lot's of sweet/cute scenes with the LI.

-  Beautiful artwork.

Con's

- Short and doesn't have much substance.

-  Can be a bit cliche or cheesy.

- The final LI has barely any presence outside his own route.

 

 

Art was gorgeous, I loved the fantasy look and soft colours.

Seiyuu seems to be a mix of ones I know and then some I am not familiar with.

Music was pretty fitting but nothing wowed me, I liked the theme that played on the main menu

and the OP song was good too, definitely stuff i'd let play when I boot the game up.

 

Story well I am just gonna say I had 0 expectations, my first impression was that its

rather basic, the heroine had only a short amount of time before it would be her

doomsday aka the day she was going to be wed to the god of winter.

The story itself was easy to follow, there was not a lot of infodumping and it flowed well.

The worldbuilding itself was solid and have no complaints on it.

The LI were interesting so it was still fun to see what was gonna happen or learn more about them.

The prologue and common route are short and to the point...

Fuyuzono definitely won't take you eight common chapters to get to a route!

Oscar's route started out comfy but I couldn't help but feel a little sense of dread

over the heroine's upcoming fate as the bride of the god of winter. 

 

Something I absolutely loved was at times there was a  change in POV enabling you

to see things from the perspective of the love interest. The heroine had no sprite in

the bottom left but she did appear on screen if there was a perspective change which was nice.

The pacing was okay, it wasn't that slow I was getting bored, still this was also not

a long game either. I'd say its perfect if you're tired of longer games.

 

The game seems to encourage multiple playthrough's since I keep getting extensions

of the very first scene in the game the more routes I completed which was a nice touch.

 

Characters

Oscar... I liked him a lot but I think that's pretty much because of his personality.

His route was pretty much focused on his character but didn't touch upon all plot threads

because that was sacrificed for the romance. I thought Oscar was pretty great

despite that and this man is willing to go very far if need be...

Elias route felt like it was good for introduction due to him explaining a lot

about the legends surrounding the gods. It wasn't too focused on romance

but it did take babysteps towards that so it wasn't bad. While it was also focused

on his character, I think they over did it with the angst in some part near the end.😓 

Still I think Elias needs an honorable mention because he also was a stellar supportive character!

Dylan was an amusing character, if I had to recommend one route from the game

to anyone it would probably be him. That's mostly because the relationship

started from zero instead of already being friends.😄

Besides there's definitely an audience for guys like Dylan...

Regis was quite likable, but his situation was more complicated than I'd thought

and this game has some really dark undertones that tend to get glossed over.

Like we can see some of it in Dylan's route but in his own that isn't part of the main issue.

For a poster boy he wasn't too bad but romance wise it felt kind of similar to Elias

where they went from acquantance to friends to lovers but with Regis... it was

very obvious he liked Laeticia from the start. I guess its okay not everyone

has to be so curt like Dylan or the friendly guy everybody knows like Oscar.

Regis route also felt like it was the main one and the rest didn't quite compare.

Hiver probably stood for hibernation because he just doesn't exist outside of his own route.

Regis hinted at him but did so in a way that made me full of dread... and I almost 

skipped out on doing his route, but I persisted for the sake of the conclusion. I liked his story

but yea I couldn't fully get into the route of a character that crawled from under a rock.

 

I guess Fuyuzono Sacrifice was solid, depending on what you come here for.😅 The name

of the game suggest tragedy but the synopsis hinted at seize your own destiny kind of thing.

So it could be a miss if you come here for the former, for me the best ends were satisfying

however there are tragic ends and they can be kind of sad, atleast I thought Oscar's was.

I don't recommend this game if you hate cliche's and cheesy stuff or you have high standards

and want to be blown away by stellar writing cuz while its solid I wouldn't say it was stellar.

I think this game is best for those who have very little experience with the otome genre

and/or don't mind any of the above and just want a short&sweet otome game.

---

Personally I didn't have much in the way of expectations nor did it absolutely blow me away

but it was a pleasant experience. I loved the medieval-ish fantasy setting, I didn't think it

was ever that deep in terms of plot, it had the basics down to a T

but due to the short length isn't able to explore its own setting fully.

I liked all love interests a normal amount, they didn't do much to upset me

but Oscar was definitely my favourite, my apologies your highness.(Regis)

Its not as lengthy like trouble magia or an ero novel in disguise like honey vibes and while

there are bad ends they are not great in numbers. Romance wise there's not going to be

a lot of time to begin with due to plot elements but there's enough to build

a connection between characters... though its easy to say it could seem rushed.

At the very least it didn't overstay its welcome which was a good thing.

Still I want to say otomate should've done better because it seems like they're in a hurry

and not taking their time. You know if this game had like one more chapter for every route

there probably would have been enough but instead we're left with

a snowflake that falls unto your hand and just melts away quickly.

7/10

My playorder: Oscar > Elias > Dylan > Regis > Hiver.

Only the last route is locked till you do all others, I might recommend Elias first due

to being good with introduction and it doesn't throw you into a whirlwind romance like Oscar.

Though if you care about the plot i'd save Regis for before the final route.

Play order I recommend:

Oscar / Elias / Dylan > Regis > Hiver. 

I don't think it matters too much who you pick with the first three so its pick your poison.

 

There's still some spoilers after the jump cuz I blabbed too much on hiver's part

and rambled some more about the characters while sharing some fav cg's.

So if you want to play this game best stop reading here!

 

Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail - review

Couldn't take a screenshot of the title screen so uh have the keyart!

Genre: RPG.

Developer/publisher: Square Enix.
Platform: PS4/5, PC, xbone.
Official Site: N/A.

Release date: 27-6-2024.

 

I have been playing FFXIV for quite some time but never wrote a review on it.

This post is mostly about the new expansion dawntrail and it isn't much about the previous.

There aren't any major plot spoilers in this post but anything could count as

a spoiler to some so whatever I guess this is just a blog post and I am writing my own

personal thoughts as a review of a game I played, if you don't like it then close the tab/browser.

Pro's

- Decent enough plot.

- Great character development for Krile and Erenville.

- The first four zones are beautiful.

Con's

- Levels are simply given to you and I personally don't feel like I earned the lvl 100.

- Recycles too much old tunes and enemy models as well, its like i've seen/heard this before.

- I get Wuk Lamat is a main character but she steals too much of the spotlight...

 

 The expansions features a slight graphic update with better textures and models

gotta admit I was a little nervous, my WoL turned out okay but there may have

been those the update wasn't too kind of. The developers were kind enough to

give players a free fantasia to edit the character again. Which is a good thing.

Not really great at taking screenshots but thought this was a nice spot in the game.

 

More rambles after the jump but if you want the short of it, I think Dawntrail is decent

however don't expect too much out of the story and just enjoy it for what it is not for what it is not.

 

Matsurika no Kei Tenmeiin Iden - Review

Intertwined Bloodlines.

 Genre: VN.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v47009

Release date: 29-2-2024.

 

Matsurika was the only upcoming otome game from otomate that I was still interested in.

It has a lot to do with the artstyle and a fantasy setting which just really drew me in

as well as a comfortable seiyuu cast with familiar voices that I like.

If this is gonna be my last otomate game... they got me good!

 

This game released on the same day as FFVII rebirth but at the same time

I mostly ended up playing this first because I just missed playing an otome game

and I wasn't in the mood for Final Fanfiction 7 which I only really ended up playing

on and off if the mood striked or when switch was charging which is actually perfect for it.

Pro's

- Well rounded routes, mostly easy to follow the story.

- Compelling characters & OK heroine(considering her situation).

- Gorgeous artwork and fitting soundtrack for that chinese feel.

 

Grey area:

- CeroD for a reason, there's quite a bit of sexual themes and not just suggestive.

Con's

- Long, especially if you do all routes.

- It can be kind of frustrating if you'd like to do the routes of Enrai or Fey since

they basically need all other routes be done but locked for a reason.

- NTR (bad ends only).

 

 

This game had some pretty high production values and good art direction from the CG's to

the backgrounds and sprites they were all gorgeous. Did I mention the cg's were animated as well?

I doubt this game was the product of a year they worked on this for a while

the artist truly outdid themselves not many otomate games have multiple sprite.

It has a great soundtrack that fit the setting/mood. The OP was great and listened

to it almost everytime I booted up the game. The ED's was pretty good too.

The menus were nice as well, it wasn't busy like say cupipara and just easy on the eyes.

The system was standard stuff however I could not find the skip to the next choice option

which ended up being touch pad only which I barely use, it didn't work properly.

Matsurika has a lot of chinese influences as well as the classic four lords.

At first I had a hard time understanding all the lore and it wasn't very clear where

any of it would go, there was suspense and intrigue, it got better eventually when

I got to know the characters! i'd say the end of the common route was a little

frustrating in light of certain developments. Other than that it still has a nice

sense of humor and the character interaction was pretty great right of the bat.

**Once I got into it the story was not particularly hard to follow/grasp.

I'd say the heroine Naaya was decent at best, she can be reserved but also show courage

to go off to another town on her own despite a certain someones protest.

Naaya has a lot of potential but due to the setting can never reach it, she can be stubborn

as well but eh she goes through a lot and doesn't even know wtf is going on

so I can't be too hard on her, she doesn't deserve that and her options are limited.

**I mostly liked her because she was kind but it seems most people don't like

 passives heroines and they only want pro-active ones, Naaya shined only on rare occasions.

 

Despite being an old timey game I didn't find it boring, it only became more interesting

as it went on but it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows there were secrets being kept.

There were twists and turns, at times I wasn't even sure what was really going on.

**It all did managed to fall into place at the end.

Common route wasn't too long, it serves its purpose to setup everything in relaxed manner

however the end of the common route was a little disturbing, the mood whiplash

at the time bothered me. It was at that moment the dumpster catched fire

and in some routes it goes out but in others it never really went out till the end.

Especially you Ruwo.

The story did generally flow well, it had slower moments but I didn't find the pacing

to be that bad. I think it was overall better than in say Tsuitsui.

Individual route was of decent length there's plenty developments good and bad.

If you combine them all then this game is pretty long. I did like that the final route was

not a combination of all but instead something that connects all dots, for better or for worse.

However I would like to emphasize that this game is very old fashioned and

the values of marriage or morals simply don't work in today's world. If the reader

can get past that and accept it then I think this game is much more enjoyable.

Most love interest's are nice enough that I could understand why the heroine

would stay with them because where else would she go? If you hit rock bottom

and someone extends their hand would you not accept it? I would.

 

The story wasn't very nice to the heroine but some love interests were, others did

need more time to grow on me but it was hard to dislike most of them.

Ruwo's route was pretty much the ongoing dumpster fire which was entertaining it its own way

but Zebenera was much more relaxed? it was also more connected to the overall plot

which made me super interested in Bicorn. Bicorn was the route that I thought was really good

and was able to truly present its story beats to its fullest. However it felt

a little longer but atleast Bicorns character got his full development.

I thought Seirin's route was a little boring but even that managed to make itself interesting

it just had one moment were I was like WTF this is awful but Seirin was the saving grace

unfortunately that route was riddled with politics so it took me longer to get through. Seirin route

is probably also another reason for ceroD because most routes except Enrai were... tame.

Meanwhile Fey sits in a corner somewhere waiting for the player to do all routes

and Enrai is mocking him. Wait I am getting off-topic.

All in all without any plot spoilers Matsurika no Kei was a well-rounded otome game!

however one must be willing to accept that in today's world its values no longer work and that

is okay because this is a work of fiction based on myth's and fantasy set in the old world.

The scenario was good, with multiple endings that suit the story/character.

A decent attempt at world-building and of course likable love interest

along with gorgeous and consistent artwork as well as a fitting OST.

-

If I had to ask myself the question of what do I want in an otome game

then Matsurika ticks off some flags of yes this is what I look for.

Not everything may have been my cup of tea nor is it perfect but it doesn't need to be

i'd much rather play an otome game that isn't afraid to have bad things happen

than something that railroads me to a happy end where the choices don't even matter.

**I generally liked most happy ends, they all had good conclusions.

Of course this game still has some classic problems like not every route being as relevant

 but it is handled really well that each route is refreshing and each love interest's situation is

different making it exciting to do all routes. One of MnK's problems is the restrictions

on routes but those are there for a reason. Its still better than not having any at all. I do not

consider the MC being on the passive side a problem at all considering the setting & situation.

-

Also I was reminded of ken ga kimi when I played this game and I think there's some similarity

I specifically liked how there's multiple outcomes good and bad but they all suited the character

plus the routes were all so well rounded that if it didn't get a FD then you still get a full experience.

Turns out a scenario writer of KgK worked on this game. I suppose they still got the magic

but they also worked on CupiPara which has a completely opposite direction of MnK.

This really shows their talent as a writer, playing this game made me realize I am not that

burned out from this genre, and the last one just left me craving for more balanced games.

8.5/10

(I end up dropping it sligtly because of Fey's route... because its unfinished.)

 

Do I recommend Matsurika no Kei?  yes I do but it is difficult to recommend

if you can't stand values and morals that don't work in today's world.

The developers really outdid themselves in crafting up this game, I still can't

guarantee this game will be everyones cup of tea but honestly? it was a solid

historic fantasy otome game, a journey worth taking if you like those genres

**however Matsurika no Kei is not for the easily offended.**

Its a mystery if it will get localized but taking everything in consideration

there's a possibility of this game staying unlocalized. edit: Idk how well

this did in japan but lately I think any otome game has a decent chance.

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

 

 I wasn't sure which route to go for so I went for one of the two characters

that were there since the beginning, I followed my intuition which led me to Ruwo

as Fey and Enrai were both missing from the affection screen during my first play. 

There's not a lot of options in the first play so I think Zebenera is the safest

but Ruwo is the easier choice since he is there from the start.

At one point I wanted to put Ruwo upside down into a trash can. Take that as you will

but its best to experience it for yourself, you're in for a trip.

Enrai is locked till Ruwo, Zebenera and Seirin are done.

Fey is locked till Enrai is done.

Bicorn unlocks after one route is finished however I personally do not

recommend doing his till you have atleast done Zebenera.

TFW it is easier to get into masked guy's route than the poster boys...... 🤡

My play order: Ruwo > Zebenera >Bicorn > Seirin > Enrai > Fey.

I think my own order flowed well enough that  I could recommend it as well.

Recommended order: Ruwo / Zebenera > Bicorn > Seirin > Enrai >  Fey.

This game is just restrictive as there's not much choice than to do the poster boys last or

bicorn if you forgot. Its probably for the best if you do Seirin later due to Enrai being locked

but that is just my personal opinion as I did find Seirin route to be very good at explaining things

Bicorn's route glossed over in favor of half-truth's and giving other things more depth.

 

I will be writing about the routes in the next section but this game is best going in blind.

Knowing too much ruins the suspense so I recommend not reading further if you don't

want spoilers. Also trying to write about the routes turns it into a Wall'O Text

because they are pretty long, again spoilers are after the jump.

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

9 R.I.P - Review

 Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/9rip/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v38068
Release date: 2023-06-29.

 

Otomate's latest visual novel! I didn't get started on it right away because

I was busy with FF16 but I still wanted to give this game a shot since it seemed interesting

and they brought back some golden-era seiyuu's I hadn't heard in a while. Oh boy! they

got me nostalgic for Kakki, KENN, Nobuhiko and Shinnosuke Tachibana alright!

I am not too familiar with Azakami or Shun'ichi though but it is always good

to see otomate try to use less popular seiyuus. Other than that I went in very blind

I didn't even know it was gonna be an occult mystery with suspense!

 

Game/story is presented as an occult mystery about people being spirited away...

The heroine Misa ends up hearing some scary stories/rumors and then she had a strange encounter

in the school hallway, she was also worried over her education when an accident happens...

Due to that Misa finds out crossed over to the spirit realm, most of the love interests

are spirits and such. I don't want to say too much so i'll stop her since its really better

if you don't know too much and can find it out on your own.

 

Pro's

- Story/character driven, good amount of suspense.

- Art, cg's are very well done.

- Music fits the mood and theme of the game.

- Short but it doesn't feel longer than it needs to be.

- Great heroine, she takes initiative.

 

Con's

 - 1 route has no epilogue cg's.💀

- High amount of bad ends.

The game can have a little bit of suspense too... but at times it can also be relaxing.

There was enough time to get to know the characters during the common route parts but who

you meet there depends on an early game choice, this was good since it kept each playthrough fresh.

Also it is best going into this game blind as knowing too much could ruin the suspense.

 

First thing I notice is that there are 8(9 if you count the final) routes, well this can

go both ways but I hoped this wouldn't be too long of a VN and it wasn't

the pacing was okay, it moved at a good pace and there was hardly a dull moment!

so I was happy it respects your time, maybe the love process was a little fast

and most characters are nice and easy to like. Of course there are exceptions

and certain characters could not be your cup of tea atleast that was me with Minami.

On the other hand my favorite was Kojou followed by Koharu, Sena and Yukimaro.

Due to characters being paired up and share a common route it makes the most sense

to do the other characters route/end right after. Also even if they shared a common route

they did infact have a individual route and it didn't feel like one character took up more time.

I was relieved at this since I was worried of there being too much shared plot.

 

The heroine Misa was great and good at taking some initiatives, I didn't find her annoying

and considering what she goes through... she handled it pretty well.

 

This game does have bad endings so if you want to avoid those or not in the mood

a guide is recommended. I do think the bad ends were still worth doing even if

they had no CG, as sometimes they gave little details or for better or worse

showed another side of a character. 

 

System was your standard stuff but in one route they had you input your characters

name and you could do it manually which threw the entire jpn dictionary at you. xD

Thankfully you could autofill Misa's name which begs the question... why even bother?

The bad end gotten if you fill it in wrong can be gotten through another choice too...

this was a really dumb design choice that makes 0 sense.

 

Art, looked really nice and before I played I was more positive about it

than I initially was about tsuitsui, so IDK if that says something other than its good.

The CG's were all well done, even if the amount was low its 7/8 there are variations

so i'm on the side of i'd rather most be of quality than half of them be looking off.

9rip also has 8 routes and one finale which is more than the usual 6 or 7 so I think

that says a lot and there's nothing wrong with it. Cg's are nice but it shouldn't be

the whole reason to buy a game, then you're better of buying an artbook!

Music was fine, I had no complaints and it fit the mood. ED themes change

depending which pair of love interests you go after which was nice. 

I think I can recommend 9rip if you don't want a visual novel that is on the long side

but still want something with an engaging plot, don't mind it being an occult mystery

that could test your nerves a little (its nothing too scary) and one or more characters interest you.

This was a very good life/death character drama type of otome game

the only real down side I can think of is the number of routes since by the time

I reached the final route I was kind of burned, thankfully it wasn't as long

as a certain character from Tsuitsui but it was still a nice finish even if it was short.

9/10

I can't ironically give this any less than a 9 because of a bunch of facts

and how refreshing each set of routes was, it balanced everything out nicely.

My play order:

Koyou > Sena  >  Kureha > Hibiki> Koharu > Yukimaro > Minami > Seiya > Touka.

 

Recommended play order:

It was hard to come up with a recommended order I think this works nicely:

[Kureha > Hibiki]  > [Koyou > Sena] > [Minami > Seiya] > [Koharu > Yukimaro] >???.

You could switch some pairs up due to preference but things to note is that

Koharu/Yukimaro is a bit of a healing route and had more fluff compared to others... it can

either be done after Kureha/Hibiki or after Minami/Seiya. Finally Kojou/Sena may be best

done before Minami/Seiya... it just works better in terms of story elements

same goes for making sure Koharu is done after Hibiki. Of course you could

change something due to preference, like even my own play order works out.

There's not much choice but to do ??? last as his only unlocks after doing all

anyway I hope this information was helpful in deciding a route order.

Character rambles and my fav cg's after the jump! the spoiler free zone ends here.

I should add that 9RIP is one of those visual novels that is best going in blind

as route summaries/thoughts etc could reveal too much.

So if you want to go in blind stop reading here cuz there will be spoilers!

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Piofiore no Banshou ~Episodio 1926~ review

 Genre: Otome/VN.
Developer/publisher: Otomate.
Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/piofiore/1926/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v25914

Release date: 12/11/20.

 

Sequel to the original game, though this one seems more honest about also being a -sequel-

unfortunately its lighthearted and is still as suspenseful as the first game.

At first I did think that this would be a FD but as time went on and info was revealed

it looked more and more like a sequel. FD's hardly introduce that many new characters.

 

Pro's

- Unique, character focused routes.

- Suspense and Unpredictability.

- Art and bgm are as good as its ever been.

Con's

- Cg's while memorable are far and between.

- Landmine bad ends.

- Most of the new sub characters are garbage.

- Some routes don't solve anything, inconsistent antagonists.

 

Meanwhile system is also back atleast this time auto mode will stop

and its harder to miss the meanwhile scenes which iirc wasn't a thing on vita.

They try to have these flashback aria's to help us remember scenes from the first game

with the guy's POV which is nice but this works the same as meanwhile so sometimes

i'd get annoyed because i'd just gotten into the scene and it would want me to

review the past or see a scene elsewhere, I honestly prefer just the meanwhiles.

Oh apparently the switch port of the first game actually had some new cg's? nice.

 

Episode Burlone, stories that takes place after the characters route in the first game

though its not a simple after story... the enjoyment you get here might vary.

For play order here, I'm going to recommend Donte for later as he has

the most spoilers and Gilbert is the most original and imo fun route out of all

but other than that you can do Gil's route whenever you want.

Yang,Orlok and Nicola are mostly self-contained so the order of play doesn't really matter

for them doesn't matter that much either! Just Donte later or midway if you don't want

a certain side character's story spoiled right away.

Alternativa:

Like the name suggest this is an alternative story set after the true end

of the previous game! it featuring 8 short stories which were mostly lighthearted

as Lily interacts with various characters (mostly side) within the year of 1926.

Most of the episodes are refreshing and perhaps a nice palate cleanser after one of the routes

but unfortunately for me I did them all after doing said routes which might be a blessing

in disguise because they all do seem to hint at more and after completing said 8 stories

you unlock a full route where you can get an alternative end with the main guys

as such it doesn't matter when you do either the mini route or Henri because

the story told here is completely separate from the after stories.

In all honesty the whole tone of this scenario was much more enjoyable than the after stories

itself, I do have to add that it had some weird vinyl earporn, otomate please...........😑

Not much else to say but just to do your fav guy in alternativa first because

it is copy pasta scenario and annoying to collect all ends.

 

Story for the after stories was interesting enough hard to figure out what was going on or why this

was happening but got explained as it went on, the length is that of a normal game so about 6-8 hours?

Each route was unique and dealt with various issues not addressed in the prequel

they brought in some new characters as well that're tied to the stories.

 Kind of hard to recommend this game unless you want more of the same, because

you're getting just that while it fleshes out the characters and relationship.

They did a good job with Yang even though I still don't like him all that much he's just ok to me now.

What romance is there is nice but it still retains a serious atmosphere.

The writing was exceptionally good and its still as unpredictable as ever the first game

also had that kind of suspense and if not use a guide you'll better brace yourself.

As there are landmines and one wrong choice could lead to an abrupt bad end just like the first game.

The chapter titles are also still in a different language! I always thought that was neat.

Yang's chinese, Donte in spanish, Orlok be German , Nicola's italia, oh and Henri in french.

The routes varied greatly in terms of enjoyment, I absolutely loved Gilberts

and liked Donte and Yang but Nicola was a disappointment but great as a refresher if you

had forgotten some of the stuff from the first game as for Orlok... sigh

that was just depressing to sit through and didn't really solve much if anything.

Donte's or Gil's route were probably the only well rounded routes in the whole game.😓

I mean that in terms of how it balanced plot/romance which is honestly kind of sad

nice that they all came in different flavors but the only one I truly enjoyed was Gil.

I also did like Henri maybe because it had no Theo! though disappointed

otomate didn't give him an ending but I guess that fad is over now.🙃

 

All things considered... it was a decent sequel, if you liked the original and want to see more 

including things getting fleshed out I could recommend this game and if the after stories

are too much then you can settle for alternativa? because the tone is drastically different.

Piofiore has never been an otome game that's for everyone in fact its themes

are not otome at all! I can praise it for not sugar coating what a mafia does

and I like that but i'm kind of disappointed for a reason I cannot explain without spoiling

but its related to the character Theo whom in Donte's after actually made me really angry and upset.

Its really funny how the main cast in the previous game could all do something

that could make you hate them but here its mostly the sub characters that are disgusting

especially Theo, idk I could make a rage post about him, lmao.

Also after I finished the after stories I got to alternativa which was fun at first

but then it unlocked a route and I was like there is MORE?! at that point I couldn't help

but feel slightly burnt because I was looking forward to Henri, though it was nothing

a small break couldn't cure! the tone of alternativa also helped.😅

Other than that this game was more than worth the price though! as there's plenty of content

its just that for some characters the afters might leave to be desired.

I tried to do the bad ends as I went through including the tragic end first but it was too much

and just went for the happy end which might have saved what was left of this game for me.

I know at the end of the day its just a game... and you can easily avoid the more gruesome ends

by using a guide but not everyone can stomach contents in which people die all the time

and there were too many bad ends were that happened especially in Henri's

I mean what was up with that?! in the whole game I think there's almost 20 of those.😓😓😓

That aside I think the piofiore sequel is decent but yea it ain't for everyone.

 7,4/10

I might not like everything but this was a pretty good sequel...

This is the end of the no spoiler section more ramblings/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.

Wand of Fortune R2 FD ~Kimi ni sasageru Epilogue~ - Review

PSP box art because I like it more.

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSP, PSV.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/wandoffortune2_fd/vita/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v10050

Release date: 2018-10-04

The much needed FD for Wand of Fortune 2  ~Jikuu ni Shizumu Mokushiroku~
This is where I say its better late than never, since I did like the cast enough
to return otome hogwartz one more time for the much need epilogue to WoF2
because let's be real, WoF2 had so much character development that by the time
you got to the post credit scene and you'd see your handsome man all grown up
you'd either be like aww its over OR wtf?! growth spurt much? (looking at you Est)
to the point you don't even really recognize and want more time.

Pro's
 - Plenty of content and fanservice.
- No more gameplay.
 - BGM is a relic of the past...but has charms, OP theme's a good jam.

Con's
-Short, only reason I took so long is because I paced it out due to otome game drought.

So in the prologue of this FD; in some dream-like space she meets a fairy named Bell
and now Lulu has the power to visit the past or the future... 

because Lulu has had so many possibilities Bell's gonna help her out!
At first, me thinks this little scenario takes place after the true end of WoF2

but since she let chances slip she had regrets this is where Bell comes in

and she gets to spend lovey dovey time with her harem.

So many things! so little time!
 

There's the after stories to WoF2.

A scenario of a ball at mils clair where thanks to Bell. Lulu can go out with everyone

and finally there's loli-Lulu's big adventure... but that was so random I didn't write much of it.

 Ball scenario can get repettitive and the writing for each guy keeps it a bit more fresh
but its not long, an hour or so maybe less, still fun just gets redundant.

That ball takes place somewhere right after WoF1/mirai no prologue but before WoF2
but Lulu was so busy studying she completely forgot, idk its sort of weird trying to place this
anywhere and maybe its better to just believe Lulu forgot about it all together back then
which will actually all make sense once you do Solo's scenario, what a special boi.
There's a score card system where you can check what you have completed
but imo since its sorta obvious in the stories which element belongs to who but still nice
that you can check if you really completed a route (after/ball/great adventure) with that character.
There's also this mils claire DX thing which is basically interviews with the characters
and bonus voices which was the only awful thing to complete since it requires
playing with bell and feeding her stuff loli-Lulu finds in her big adventure
but its not too bad and can be done in no time so its not that annoying.

If you finished WoFr2 completely and still like the series I see no reason as to why one
should not get this. It has plenty of content and an extended epilogue to WoF2 is what
we all wanted the most and the rest is enjoyable, the overall content makes it worth the price
even if its still short, just because one after got me in a bad mood didn't ruin the whole game.

9/10

Piofiore no Banshou - Review

Donte be like; being in the same room as these guys gives me a headache.

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSV.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21782

Release date: 2018-08-30

This was probably my most anticipated new otome game in a while
and to be honest barely anything that has released recently caught my eye.
The theme of mafia has been touched upon in arcana famiglia and even ozmafia
still the way this was presented got me excited and back into the otome mood
but whether or not this was a good otome is up to the reader/player but imo? its not bad
and I do not regret getting the limited edition.

 Pro's
- Immersive scenario that isn't wasted and good cast of characters.
- Amazing art and music fits the setting/mood.

Con's
- While Meanwhile events are insightful it'll get on your nerves sooner rather than later.
- It can get a bit brutal like fights/deaths etc... not otome in the slightest.
- You will find a reason to dislike every main character in this game.



The only thing that got me worried was if the protag would be able
to hold herself in such a setting like this... she was raised in a church
and looks like the pure ''I know nothing about what's going on type'' needing to be protected
 but she actually has a bit of a mind of her own and isn't some dumb blonde except in Yang's route.
The story takes place in this italian city Burlone and three mafia familia's struggle to get
control over it there's no justice because its a bloody mess due to all the fighting! there's some
folks who have enough of their crap too and want this BS to end.
One day Liliane meets Dante by the graveyard at the church she lives
he seems to be mourning someone and it all rolls from there.

The game also has this ''meanwhile'' system where you can see what is happening elsewhere
this is nice considering all the different familia but can also be annoying if not used right.
I don't have any complaints about the music, it fits the setting and mood
and the art is gorgeous! RIRI did an amazing job!
So about that MEANWHILE SYSTEM... let me just say that while nice it also sorta sucks.
You can easily miss these events that happen at the same time to the point one can say
why didn't you just implement them into the story without having to go out of your way
to view them every time meanwhile shows up on the screen?!
I ended up missing many of them during dante's route which btw wasn't that exciting
to begin with but i figure different POV's would make it more interesting
but they were mostly just insightful things like what is that character up to.
The only route the MS system affected an ending was Orlok's... but its best
to pay attention and catch them all as you go which means less hassle later on.
They do not affect the platinum trophy I missed a bunch of them and still got it though...
I think some of them might affect the ending like one in Orlok's route but the most
important ones happen automatically which makes me go like why not do that with all of them.

Overall without going into spoiler/plot details of course...
I did liked how the routes actually have a Best/Good/Bad branch and choices actually change
the scenario quite a bit... leading to an entirely different ending you never know what
is going to happen which considering the setting is really good.
Prologue/common is also nicely done you will branch out to a new route in different ways
so basically the choices actually make a difference and without a guide it could be difficult.
Not everyone is going to like this game; fans of arcana famiglia expecting an awesome
MC like Felicita? nope you aren't going to find it here.
Fans of Ozmafia might be disappointed too since Piofiore is much more serious with little fluff.
 So what do you have to expect? Serious story centered on mafia problems
with a girl with a kind heart at the center of it, she isn't a complete doormat so that imo is a plus
of course there's romance and memorable otome moments but not much
which going by say Donte's route is just enough feels more like a normal VN would be better.
 This game also has a ton of suspense, in some route its better than other and
certain choices can lead to dead ends so be careful with what you pick.
IMO Piofiore is just right, if you can stand the mafia problems atleast!
the writers do not hold back to how serious they can be and while I have some
gripes with how this isn't all otome-like as in only one route ever getting close to it
I still hope it gets a FD one day but what exactly is an otome game?
there are many different types and yet this is very much one of them its just more serious.

I still think this is a solid otome game compared to other disasters I have recently sat through
*cough*Chouchou Jiken*cough* this game is a lot better suspense wise than that one ever was.

I can definitely recommend this otome game if you want a serious story centered on the mafia
and don't mind things ending up in a bloody mess, while I have gripes here and there
its imo as good as Collar x Malice or Code:Realize since the otome bits might leave to be desired.

Side note, I love how the chapter titles for each character are in different languages.
Dante's are in spanish, Nicola's in Italian, Yang's in chinese, Orlok is in german,
Gilbert is English and the finale was in french lol.
If they ever localize I hope they keep this haha.

If I have to recommend a play order the one I followed didn't cause problems
and flowed naturally so I will recommend it to others:
Dante > Nicola > Yang > Orlok > Gilbert > ???.

and that is all if you want no spoilers! more ramblings after the jump.

Bad Apple Wars - Review

 Genre: Otome Game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://aksysgames.com/baw/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v17344

Release date: 2015-11-19(JP), 2017-10-13(ENG).

Well I bought the english version... since I didn't bother with the japanese version
and wanted to try it  since I passed on other localizations this year such as Pcube
or CxM, I already played those and not buying something twice
that aside it seems it would've been better for me to pass on this.

The setting seems strangely similar to a certain anime... as for our dear heroine Rinka
I haven't exactly heard great things about her and can be quite annoying so before I started
I hoped she wouldn't be that bad but alas, the story is about life and death
and she ended up being quite an annoyance on my first play.

Pro's
- Characters... even the side ones have interesting backstories.
- Gorgeous art and catchy music.
- Interface.

Con's
- If you expect an otome with a solid story and unique individual routes look elsewhere...
- Bad/good split was pointless.
- Short, some routes may leave to be desired coughShikishimacough.
- Copy pasta, after a few routes you might've just seen it outside of character stuff.
- Protagonist in general, no backstory either because apparently her life was that boring.

Saw other people have mentioned that the font of the text seems kind of an odd choice
which I agree with but in all honesty its not that bad, its surprisingly easy to read for me
but maybe for those with eye problems it can be an issue I guess.
The localization was overall pretty great?! for aksys standards... very little typos but its sad

that this had to be the one that was given extra care except for the following
you might want to skip reading this its a minor spoiler.
White Mask's family name... its not shou but iku like, he even says Iku
 I know translators  can't hear this but how did they mistranslate this?! 
maybe they thought lol... Iku is pretty odd  so let's roll with Shou *tilts head and rolls eyes
...its a key aspect of his character like how did the editors not realize this!
and like it was at the end of his route which out of all I enjoyed a bit more, sigh

thank you aksys games for completely ruining the meaning.
Next... the font or a name is the least of your problems, if you don't know a lick of japanese
soul touch scenes could be a problem. Thing is they don't have subs
so the dude would say stuff and you might not be able to understand.
Its just lazy you know? they should've added text boxes but they didn't
I can understand japanese so I get by easily but other people might not. >_>

System, standard VN stuff such as choices, some map movement and you apparently get
 the choice to join the disciplinairy commitee or a group of odd balls fighting against it
some routes are only available if you pick a certain side of course.
You can pretty much play this without a guide, its impossible to miss stuff or get lost
and to get bad ends just touch the spot he doesn't want to be touched.
Well the common route was very simple yet informative, I liked the introductions
and most of it didn't feel longer than needed it all was quite straight-forward but
there is just so much shared throughout the routes even if you join the other side
the writer really didn't care to give everyone a unique route, a shame...
Art... despite setting its colorful and different than most otome games, I sort of liked it.
the BGM seems to fit the setting as well, no complains and a catchy OP by nano.

Here comes the ranting...
This... is a depressing game but I found Rinka's entrance to be not sad at all?
I can't say I liked the heroine in general either I know she's supposed to be this girl
who has never suffered in her entire life but still got by but because of her constant negative attitude
in the first route I did and her lack of actual backstory/development I just shook my head.
If I liked anything about her it would be her design, she does look adorable but that's it and
 part of me should be able to relate to her but I don't think I want these type of otome game heroines.
Just so you know I tried to like Rinka and find positive traits, she had little of it.
I am not lying when I say she does not have much of a personality and just goes with
the flow of things in some routes the whole I am empty thing is more annoying than others.
Rinka doesn't really have much of anything, no interests can't fit in and is easily jealous of others
but she doesn't do much on her own, instead she brings herself down time and time again
if I hadn't done Higa's route when I did I probably would've raged quit but weirdly enough
after his I did a disciplinary route and Rinka was a lot more tolerable than most bad apples routes!

Does being a good or bad apple mean much in Rinka's case? not really just another perspective.

 I wish we saw knew more of Rinka's life though... it can't have been that boring
like did she have hobbies or friends? she didn't because she can't fit in.
Early on she says she wants to return to her everyday life but to what exactly?
Well apparently she does like cute things like the gothic girls dress... but I guess Rinka being passive
makes it easier to get into her (like self-insert) I just wish she wouldn't be so negative is all like in
bad apples routes she's wahwah i'm empty I haz nothung! yet in disciplinary she thinks like a proper
human being and mentions having tv,manga and games would be better wow... the difference.
I too can get real depressive and say I have nothing... but i'd see something in my life
that would snap me out of it, can be as simple as a material thing.
In truth there are people who really have nothing but those prob wouldn't be playing this...
depression is not fun, still BAW does a bad job of showing it atleast for Rinka's case
because some of the other side characters are much better written.
Also mostly everything goes her way because somehow she's not limited like the others
because SHE HAS NOTHING and somehow this empty shell manages to heal
all the guys problems too because who else possible could, just because she is warm and gentle
on the inside which makes the guys comfortable for some reason! everything makes sense now right?
 In all honesty its amusing how Rinka knows her own flaws and doesn't do much about it!
No... the problem is she doesn't get many opportunities for that because the time for that
went to the sub characters and the love interests. I didn't even understand why some of the guys
fell for Rinka... maybe its because she's a natural good kid with an empty heart of gold
but is just so insecure about everything and somehow when she sees people in their weakest
moments she racks up the courage to help them if that ain't mary sue-ish idk what is. >_>
I found myself the most frustrated with Rinka in the bad!common routes because its the same
just with a different guy at your side and then the fact the routes themselves are so short
it becomes almost unbelievable in terms of romance coughShikishima&Satorucough.

 Honestly I have never seen an otome game heroine be more pathetic than this
atleast she has more personality than the protagonist of AMNESIA...  yeah I went there
because even if Rinka is irritating she does grow and you know actually talk outside of choices.
IF ONLY they fleshed out Rinka more so that she got proper development too but alas
Rinka is no Cardia Beckford, if anyone gets development its the guys
heck even the side characters got more development than our dear protagonist.
A protagonist can make or break a game, clearly this one is breaking it for me
because a narrative can only be as strong and/or good as the person at the center.
When you think Rinka gets better she gets worse again, this sort of repeats and then
 you do another route also yeah she is special, most otome game heroines are
but with Rinka I just wish they actually fleshed her out. >_>

Also there are hardly any choices except as to where to go and whether ot not you do
the soul touch thing depends on which ending you get, this combined with Rinka's personality
going with the flow never improving cept a little at the end just makes it worse.
Maybe its because she has nothing she can take in their problems but in reality that's not the
way it should work, I found Rinka's character to be quite shallow compared to everyone else.
If its supposed to give people struggling with depression a little hope then
it might have done so in the worst way possible, atleast flesh out your protag please.
 If anything this game shows even if you have barely anything you can be someones light...

Okay that aside on my first play I did like the mystery aspect what little there was

since this is not the focus of the game nor was romance btw it was just shoehorned in in some routes.
So yeah at NEVEAH gakuen those that died early get another shot at life if they get expelled
or join the cycle of samsara if they graduate but for that they have to let go of everything.
Bad apples are people who don't follow the rules of this school and then there are the
people of the disciplinairy commitee who try to make sure everyone follows the rules
and try to correct the bad apples, huh this sounds awfully like angel beats! they even had a freaking
concert, lmao I think this game may be better if you are not familiar with that franchise. >_>
Its up to Rinka(or better put you) to decide to be a reject or a goody two shoes... not that it matters.
In some routes like Higa's I'd say the romance was believable but whether or not
some of the other guys are is a whole different matter entirely.
Also trashy sugitan and creepy koji yusa sub characters, check...

So now to the important part do I recommend it?
Not really but if you are in desperate need of another ENG otome then yeah go for it.
I am not even sure what I liked about this otome game as a whole... but I think
the one thing that shined are the characters even the sub chara's! but as for the whole
war thing may have been a bit overhyped I guess, because neither side goes THAT far.
The story well... after two routes you might've just seen it all since it stays the same
no matter what guy you go for the only difference is scenes with him and his past etc.
Outside of the characters past, I still found most chara's to be plain except some of the side
characters like Naraka for example imo  he was a great sub chara.Also there are no real individual
routes so if you thought Code:realize was great for having a unique story for each guy
then you'd probably be disappointed here by the amount of copy pasta to the point by route four
 litte amazed me. I've played lots of otome games some also have content that just repeats
no matter what but then something else made up for that, I can't find that here.
BAW has some touching moments which could make you think about stuff but that's it
I hardly found much to be memorable it pretty much focuses on the characters over anything else.
Rinka needed more development but if I think really hard it wouldn't have worked in another way
that aside I need not repeat myself to how much of a disappointment she was for me right?
Yeah sorry I cannot fully recommend this otome game when the protag is literally an empty shell
from begin to end- the only thing that helped her realize her purpose was the guy of her choice.
Don't want to be that person but the guys aren't that interesting outside of their (sad) past...
nor is the otome part that satisfying, in other words imo this is a mediocre game.

Well that ends my probably spoiler free section, I recommend to not read any of my
character babbles if you want to play the game yourself because I did wrote done their past
so there are definitely detailed spoilers of stuff including the endings.