Sweet clown ~Gozen San-ji no Okashi na Doukeshi~ - review

 Genre: Otome/simulation VN.
Developer/publisher: Takuyo.
Platform: PSV, Switch.
Official Site: http://www.takuyo.co.jp/products/sweetclown/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v16460
Release date: 2021-07-22.

 

What lead me to Sweet Clown? I started to look for something to kill time with

but not exactly in any hurry to finish it as a whole so this kinda became like a backburner game.

The japanese subtitle of this game is long (Gozen Sanji...) so I won't type it out

anywhere else in ENG it means: 3AM candy clown.

Considering the themes of this game this was for the better, its not as depressing as say Getsuei no Kusari nor is there too much despair like Virche but it isn't exactly light-hearted either.

Perhaps I wanted something not from otomate and since I feel like i'm a clown lately...

so I ended up picking up sweet clown after I had initially passed on the vita version

honestly how or why is Takuyo still around?! I wonder what there secret is...😂😂😂

 

Pro's

- Interesting story and cast of characters.

- Well-rounded routes.

- Art is pretty good but can vary.

- Music fits the mood/tone of the game.

 

Con's

- The routes do have a bit of a slow start... it takes a bit to get going.

- Sometimes it can seem that whatever choice you made doesn't matter also there are a lot.

- Le espresso depresso... wait this could be a pro.

 

A little bit on the plot... but it might be better to read the VNDB

description if you want to know what's it about!

Our protagonist Zakuro received an invitation for a 3am tea party, which leads her

to a castle owned by the sweet clown. There... she meets a bunch of other people

and the story slowly unfolds from there. It quickly becomes obvious Zakuro carries a secret.

She lost her brother when she was young and is extremely lonely and has some issues with guilt

over it... after meeting this sweet clown she ends up being selected to take over the role

unfortunately due to her issues things go far from smoothly.

The OP was pretty nice but apparently they changed it for the switch version.

I looked up the PSV version and uh i'm not sure why they changed

but it was most likely a licensing issue or they lost the file/was damaged

anyway this is the switch one.

 Oh well back on track, this game is probably not for people with fear of clowns and stuff

this is also a fairly mystery-oriented otome game more and play order is important.

What's recommended is Seisuke > Kuze or Takeru > Ouchirou > Manai.

There are also a bunch of endings 4 per route which are all toned differently

some more depressing than others, i'll be using the same order the guide recommended

and this order is very good because it makes the most sense with the overall plot.

 

I honestly found myself hooked right from the start and interested to find out more

and come back to it so I thought the flow of the story was pretty good

but it was kinda glum and so this is not something to look into if you want something light-hearted

its also not too dark! but if you want there's a more twisted end waiting for you.

The art and backgrounds were pretty nice and the music was appropiate so there's that

though I might have to say that while the art is gorgeous and there are nice cg's it did vary a little.

The system was pretty basic? there's a gazillion of choices so it might be better to use a guide...

what bothered me about the choice system is often there isn't even much of a difference

characters would often react the same as if the other choice was chosen which made me go

like thank god for the blue/red rose animation for affection which determines the endings.

Also you could literally make one wrong choice and be locked out of the best end... which

happened with me in Kobashi's route.... this combined with the mass amount of choices

makes me really want to tell people to use a guide unless you want to figure it all out yourself.

I did wonder why I passed on this game initially and it was probably because of some of the designs

and setting, even now some of those don't really vibe with me but still glad I did give it a try

because the story and characterization was honestly really good and in terms of despair

it might not be as extreme as Virche but when it hits, it hits.

 The prologue was a good setup albeit a bit long? it was ok cuz you slowly got

a better picture while also getting to know the guys if only a little.

I like it more than Shinigami to Shoujo cuz of the overall flow but this is by no means a simple

game like himehibi since  there are some layers of complexity in regards of the plot and char's

 so now you know why I won't be writing too much about the plot but i'll comment

a little on the character routes cuz I think this game is best experienced when you know very little like

psychedelica for example, the route which was most complicated was probably Takeru.

 

Most of the common route focuses on the heroine Zakuro and her internal struggles+the guys

trying to help her so they can go home each in their own way.

This isn't one of those otome games that has the heroine only help the guys its the other way around which honestly lead to an interesting experience. I do have to point out the routes

do start out fairly slow and once more that play order is VERY important, I did Seisuke first and

godbless I did because this guy completely became unlikeable in Souma's route! (atleast for me)

so for a moment I thought if I had done Souma first, I didn't want to bother with Seisuke anymore.😞

 

Overall this was a pretty good otome game with a well written story and heroine/cast

it might seem dark and dreary but it is definitely one that I can recommend.

The routes here are well-rounded in terms of plot and romance while developing both

the heroine and love interest. If anything some of the guys are just clowns really

but even then with 2 different endings per route+bad there's bound to be one outcome

that could suit your taste whether that's a happy outcome or a twisted version of it.

Weird thing was by the time I finished Souma's route I didn't even want to do the others... 😅

since the ending of it was so satisfying I felt no need to continue cuz he was also my best boi

but alas for the sake of the truth I continued on! if there was anything that I thought was a downside

is that routes take a bit to get going and it might seem same-ish how Zakuro had to overcome

her problems but every route added a new flavor its just that it might get a tad repetitive?

but as long as you're invested I don't think its a big deal! do have to be honest that if

you found your best boy the rest of the game could feel like a slog.

 

So all in all, Sweet clown is a pretty solid pick if you want something with a good story and cast!

but if you're not in the mood for a long and dreary read then it might be better to pass, there's

not much fluff either and its very character driven, the humor was a bit weird but it was there

if it wasn't I think this game would be plain depressing.

That's all I can say without spoilers really...

Sweet Clown is interesting but requires patience and perhaps an acquired taste?

I think I want to play something lighter next but this was still a good time killer

its definitely something to look into if you value character development..

8.2/10

That ends the spoiler-free section! there will be some route commentary below as this game

much like getsuei was far too long to digest and someone already summarized it anyway

so there'll only be commentary with a few of my fav CG's.

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.

Dairoku Ayakashimori - review

Genre: Otome Visual Novel.
Developer/publisher: Otomate
Platform: Nintendo Switch.
Official Site:
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v25911
Release date: 2020-05-28

So since my thirst for some sakurai takahiro was real and I haven't heard him in forever

I decided this will be my first switch otome game! \o/ albeit digitally.
Went into it almost blind, only knowing that protag Shino was some government official
but when they found out she can see youkai she was transfered and ends up
working with Ayakashimori who deals with supernatural stuff in Sakuratani
to prevent folks from causing too much mischief, you basically pick one of the dudes
to keep an eye on and/or help them because who knows what might happen?
Shino also gets a pet ayakashi named Kouya to help her out.
The common route did a good job of introducing everything and wasn't too long to bore me
atleast with a little joke or two which after the last otome I played was much welcomed
and all the char's were great the only problem this is a really slice of life-ish game
but that doesn't make it bad or anything.

System is just standard VN stuff, map movement stalk-a-bishi and a press the correct button
in this order minigame like in Utsusemi no meguri but you only do this minigame
like once in the prologue so I am not sure why they even bothered in the first place?
you only get to do that if you go out of your way on the map, while ignoring character or
for the grand ending or scenario completion dunno why it was there tbh.


Pro's
- Likeable characters.
- character design, same artist as bad apple wars and alice=alice.
- Seiyuu performance was great.

Con's
- Backgrounds are plain.
- Overall plot is a little disappointing.

- Lot's of no-face side characters including antagonist.

I liked the setting and general atmosphere, the comedy was alright it didn't try too hard
neither did the story which was decent atleast but nothing too deep either
but it also wasn't that great in using the scenario to its full potential.
The art was great except for some of the background stuff which were simple and bland so meh.
Music was pretty good and fit the setting, the rock theme grew on me and before I knew it
I was rocking my head back and forth everytime it played. 😂
The heroine's was also great, despite insecurities of her new position I absolutely
loved her positive attitude to chara's such as Hira. Though the overall story is kind of
simple, each route tried to go about it in their own way and some characters were more
helpful to Shino than others. The route length is not too long or too short
but overall this game is kinda short? sad it might be a one-off game :(
A lot of side characters had no sprite/face to remember them by so that
didn't make that much better I suppose they ran out of budget, i'd be find with it
if it was just townsfolk but apparently the villains got the treatment as well
which was really irritating and made it hard to remember them but I guess they were so
significant otomate couldn't give a damn so why should we?
Playorder shouldn't matter just go for whoever you are interested in doing, the three endings
for every character makes you understand them more which was another plus
though I am gonna recommend to save Shuu and Tokitsugu for later.
The main cast,heroine and seiyuu being superb made it easier for me
to overlook some of the flaws and since it was enjoyable I think this was an alright
otome just don't expect it to go and do new things or be deep because it won't, there weren't
any landmines or wtfbbq twists so it was nice to have a more normal otome game for once.

Overall it might be meh but still fun, hard to recommend unless you're a beginner in the genre
atleast the otome part didn't disappoint me unlike the last game I played
still I can't rate it that high so it kinda ended up shifting between 6 and 7/10
kinda weird how I played two games back to back where one had a stellar story
but bad otome part and the other a bit of lacklustre plot but good otome part.😅


That ends spoiler free section.

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.

Teikoku Kaleido -Banka no Kakumei- - Review

Game: [The Charming Empire]

Genre: Otome Game Visual Novel.

Developer/Publisher: Operahouse/Dogenzaka Lab.

Platform: Mobile, PC, PS Vita.

Official Site: http://store.steampowered.com/app/505090/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v16651/

Release date: 2017-2-19 (English)

I got this game on steam because it seemed interesting and to take a break 

from a more heavy VN, something lighter seemed appropiate and so I bought this even though
I usually do not bother with english games and well I also supported Nightshade.
It had good art and the translation seemed decent oh and its fully voiced!

The music is a bit eh though... and the system was so standard
I could figure out the right choices without using a guide(if there was one)
and if I guessed the wrong one i'd reload usually but I still got the happy end first
the opposite choice led me to a normal end overall it was an easy ride no guide needed.

Well sometimes a simple otome game is good...
The whole theme of this is... what if I fell in love with a rebel leader?

Pro's
- Simple but decent plot and heroine was more proactive than i'd thought she'd be.
- Enjoyable routes, atleast imho.
- Art.
- Voiced

Con's
- Decent in length but its not that long really.
- Three of the romanceable characters don't have presence outside of their own route.
- Music, its sorta average and just there.

Though I found it weird how we suddenly got an introduction of the guys in the prologue
in a fashion thats totally out of place they even show random CG's but turns out this is intended.

It probably was for the mobage part to get you to buy the individual route and was
 too much of a hassle to change it for the steam version which comes with all.
 The prologue just serves as an introduction to the general story it'll change based on route.

The heroine Amane lives and ordinairy life with her grandparents in the countryside
 till she is summoned to the capital by her older brother who's also the ruler of the country.

Overall I think the heroine's okay, she's not a blank slate and will say what's on her mind or
atleast try and knowing this was a mobage I honestly was surprised at how proactive she is.

You start the routes right away after Soushi tells you why your here and I unfortunately 

picked Sera first and they just shove him into the scenario and pretend he was sitting

 in the car the whole time, quality writing amiright but overall it got a little better.

I know mobage stories are usually meh but it turned out ok... atleast make your story 

and characters consistent don't give me a prologue and suddenly go back to it

because hey, this guy was here the whole time! (lol Sera.)

The only flaw is that except Soushi,Kagemitsu and the guy whom's route your on disappear from
the face of the earth, I learned from Sera's route Kagemitsu's apparently a childhood friend

and Soushi's advisor but Sera a bodyguard and Kei another tutor don't exist outside their own route.
I never saw Tanba outside of his own route either oh well its good to see them focus on
 the individual but don't make it look like they come crawling from under some rock, lmao.

Playorder won't matter that much, Kei's route is the most self contained
so he may be best done first so in the end  I recommend this order:
Kei > Kagemitsu > Seras > Soushi > Tanba