9 R.I.P Sequel - Review

I've had my fill of spooky season with this...

 Genre: VN.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/9rips/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v52276

Release date: 25-9-2025 

 

I was a bit surprised when a sequel was announced for 9rip.

I mostly wanted to get this for Koyou but I will admit my memory of the OG

is already waning, thankfully there was a recap and plenty of callbacks!

As per usual I tried not to set my expectations too high and the only thing I am

disappointed by was the short length of the god after, I enjoyed mostly everything else. 

 

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

- Wraps up the story and concludes the saga for relatively well.

- Heaven afters are of decent length.

 

Grey area

- Focuses more on the heaven side than the god side.

-  Art mostly good but... you can notice the usual otomate shenanigans here or there.

 

Con's

- God afters except one are way too short.

 

Storywise it really varied whether an after story was interesting

and ultimately may come down to preference but that's just my opinion. 

 Each character has an after story for the heaven end and the god end.

With 9 routes, I realized by route 7 that not everyone was as relevant to the main

storybeats and the ones that executes them well (heaven side) were Seiya and Minami.

A lot of the others just didn't feel very... relevant or had some random plot. 

As for the OP I think it suited the heaven side more, its kinda funny but it is what it is. 

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

System.

This doesn't really follow the usual after story/continuation template

where you just select a character and get their story. Here you start a new game

and then via choices at the start get to the routes. It only takes a minute, you get a brief recap

at the start of the after too which was really helpful.

Actually its really similar to how you end up on routes in the original. 

 

My first route was blind and I decided to do Kureha. After that I used guides.

There are bad ends or... premature endings in some of the heaven routes.

I managed to avoid those first time thru Kureha's so I when I looked up a guide I was

a bit shocked choices actually seemed to matter. Always trust Koyou!

God after's have only one ending so you can enjoy that without worry.

 

They probably could have removed the map selection part as it felt pretty useless

there were times with more than one location but if there's only 1 spot why bother? /shrug.

Turns out some points are missable, 9 in total which unlock locations in a special mode

where Sayaka sends you all over town to find the perfect hiding place. 

Thankfully Choro's guide listed the locations you could recover

but if you miss them its nothing to worry out, the special mode

does NOT even have a CG just a fun scene for your efforts.

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Pacing was not too slow but it felt like there wasn't much time for anything especially

during god afters like it sure did try to deliver something but some didn't satisfy me.

The heaven afters felt like they were a bit more fleshed out and I enjoyed it the most.

With some like Hibiki I wasn't interested in the plot and new side character(s). 

 

In terms of length each god after was like 1/2 hours & heaven 4 so its 6 hours per character

you can probably already see what the problem is here so I will shut up about this.

I could probably have finished this sooner but that is no good for my menhera(mental health). 

 

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The heaven side feels like where most of the effort got put into and for some

it felt like it fleshed out more stuff. Others such as Kureha or Hibiki felt like a remix. 

I did think some had better outcomes but i'm gonna be real they just turned a less than

good end into a happy one.😅 I realized they didn't have all that much material to work with

and only a few of them were actually interesting, mainly Seiya,Minami and to some extend Koyou.

Wasn't sure if it was the writing but it kinda dipped and peaked for some of the heaven afters.

There were some new characters introduced, I couldn't care about most of them. 

Now I understand in the original heaven ends some things are up in the air so what

we get here is that the majority of the time is spend trying to make something of it.

 

God After's
Okay gonna remind everyone that over half the cast is dead

and Misa basically acts like an ankle bracelet for them, this shit is tragic.

Going to heaven doesn't sound like a bad deal for some. Its actually expanded

upon why certain things happened. So, no its not just random R.i.P bozo. 

Characters like Koyou, some demon or the ayakashi's got off better than certain others.

Shucks but it'll keep you warm for a minute.

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Uh yea have some mini character babbles.

Kureha's heaven after did have a unsettling vibe at times which is in line with the original.

I couldn't help but want to pray things would end up relatively well...

I wasn't convinced by his god after and for some reason prefer his heaven side.

I don't think there was nearly enough time to have much of substance and wish they just

focused their energy in one place. Now its like you get a burger but its divided in half.

There's moments that I like but before I knew it, it was over. Sad. 

For Hibiki... i'm mostly indifferent for his heaven after and I like slept through half

of it only to jolt right awake in time for the end and I loved the 深 ending so much! 

Hibiki's god after was kinda meh, shucks for Minami tho... he just keeps taking L's just like me.

I'm once again not completely sold here but what sort of better outcome would there be

for Hibiki and Misa when all's said and done? so at the end of the day it was OK at best.

 Like its definitely an after story but the majority of the time is spend reminiscing. 

This tells me, we don't know what to do with this but enjoy! also R.i.P.

Koyou: In a surprising way I actually ended up invested into his heaven after.

Dunno if good or bad, it scratched that supernatural itch. There was no Reika, since

she was already dealt with at this point! in exchange we got some weirdo spirit that likes

 collecting dolls, among other things thanks I guess. Koyou's god after was decent and for

once it felt like a proper after story...but even this felt like it was over in a flash...

Sena: Heaven after went on for too long about his past with S-crown, I sleep.

I loved his god after for some reason because it hit all the right tragic notes.😭

I don't even like Sena that much so that gotta say something. 

Seiya: I loved his heaven after cuz I got some vibes from the kdrama tomorrow so of course

I was eating that shit up though that was just at the beginning. Seiya's character can 

also be very entertaining so this was easy entertainment. They struck gold here amidst a sea

of bronze and silver. God after was more like the rest... 2ish hours of fluff whatever R.i.P. 💀

Minami: His heaven after was enjoyable, maybe it was because much like Seiya

there weren't many new side characters though Meimei did take some spotlight

but he never overstayed his welcome so I was fine with the creepy shinigami.

His god after was hilarious though but as per usual... over in a flash.

Koharu: I thought his heaven after was a little boring something happened

that wasn't on my bingo card. I have 99 problems and this isn't one of them. Very bakamitai.

Koharu is kinda dumb but a real man gotta be a lil stupid, I still love him but basically:

 If you can't handle him at his worst, you don't deserve him at his best.💀👍

His god after much like Sena hit like a truck and I thought it was one of the better ones

like I fully understood now why Misa ends up like that because they took the time to explain it.

I find it hilarious how with both Sena and Koharu I didn't like their heaven side much.😅

Yukimaro had a calm heaven after and it was pretty chill but it didn't have much

going for it and I thought it was pretty much a nothing burger.

OK maybe that's too harsh maybe a bun with cheese on it?

His god after was pretty good but uh not like they could have done a lot with that.

I liked how heartwarming it was, in these trying times I accept it with all my heart.💖

Touka only had one after, for his god ending. It wasn't paced like the others and was

a heaven after in disguise. Also suffers from truth route syndrome, but honestly

I didn't really like Touka that much, he actually made me uncomfy the more

time we spend with him  but of course Misa likes him so uh yea it is what it is.

Imma be real, this game turned me into a Minami enjoyer. 

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

Me with over half of the LI's whenever a route ends.

Honestly while I am not satisfied with most god afters, an attempt was made and I accept it.

Though the heaven afters was where the meat of the game was.

Not sure if my expectations were wrong but was it wrong to expect more of the former?

I wasn't completely sold on the highlighted moments thing, since it leaves a lot

open to imagination but I wouldn't say it was awful either, just not my thing. 

They focused more on supernatural side of things because heaven afters

were far longer than the god afters which was really short.

Whether or not 9rip sequel is worth it depends on how much you liked the original

and if you want more content with Misa and ALL the guys.

---

It was nice they provided an opportunity to follow up on some things

or spend more time with specific characters, I could appreciate it for some

but after sitting through 1 character and a half I was like, damn have I really cleared

almost 2 characters already?! at this point I hadn't even touched Koyou my best boi.

Its only after I cleared my 7th route Koharu that some things that happened in other god afters

actually made sense. I guess you could figure it out but its nice there was an explanation.

--- 

Kinda sad one after or route can seem really short but I think its only normal

that with like 9 LI's you aren't gonna spend a lot of time with all of them. 

Overall if you do all it'll take you 50ish hours. That's still a good deal.

Much like the original nothing overstayed its welcome but I got tired by the time of 9th route.

I got the feeling the director wasn't especially focused on more romance focused

scenario maybe it not their thing and that's why everything felt so brief.

If I had to choose between no sequel at all or what we got, I'm still grateful we even got this.

7/10  

Its a little difficult to recommend if you only like one character but if you

really dig supernatural stuff and like the majority of the cast its actually OK.

To that end this is only something I could recommend if you liked over half the cast

but who knows maybe you didn't and still end up with a new favorite! 

 

This game will likely be localized and I will be disappointed if it doesn't.

Though with iffy I am not sure anymore, seems they're just bringing over

random games now while hoping its better received in ENG than Japan.

 

Gonna sneak in this edit but: 9rips sold out on release and charted in famitsu

but there's barely any reviews for it, now having played it... there's not much to even

write about but it seems oddly quiet compared to how they raised the pitchforks at MonoChi. 

 

My play order: Kureha > Hibiki > Koyou > Sena > Seiya > Minami > Koharu > Yukimaro > Touka.

Like with the previous game I decided to keep the pairs together and go from there. There's no

restrictions and you can mostly do whatever but I recommend Koharu and Touka for last. 

 

Character rambles after the jump there's spoilers in there as well as some of my fav CG's

so stop reading here if you don't want any of that.

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

 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 Koyou 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 >???.

 

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!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.