Atelier Lydie and Suelle Alchemists and the mysterious painting - Review

 Game: [リディー＆スールのアトリエ 〜不思議な絵画の錬金術士〜]
Genre: JRPG.

Developer/Publisher: Gust and Koei Tecmo.

Platform: PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch.

Official Site: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/atelier/lydie/

Release date: 2017-12-21

Time for another non-visual novel review, i'm still busy with TaiAli FD on the side.
I played the PS4 version because the vita version did not at all look convincing... besides
after the horror stories of atelier firis and its frequent crashes I played it safe! sadly I do not own
 a switch yet so its not like I had much of a choice here! also the vibrant colours
in the PS4/switch version give the game that much more life...
vita looked very bland in comparison even Firis looked better to me.
Just saying i'm not here to shit post like I love my vita... but I also do sort of
want to like actually enjoy games? PS3 to vita ports have been good but PS4 to vita ports
 just can't hold up all that well that much was obvious but uhm enough about that.

 
Yes I like the OP, I feel it captures the game so well especially the sisters
and their true goal, bright, cheerful and colourful happiness is best shared.

The lastest entry of the mysterious series, its the bright and colorful conclusion

I try to write a bit more as a whole there won't be much spoilers.

I didn't think so at first but this series actually managed to have some decent character

development, if you've stuck around since Sophie and the mysterious book you'll definitely notice it.

As for story? its there but very straight-forward, gust focused on the characters this time, there's

plenty of sub events and often I found myself absorbed since there's so many to keep us 

entertained while we do requests, perform alchemy and complete ambition notes

 to proceed the story; the goal? become the no,1 atelier in the country!
While doing the main objective there's plenty to be distracted by, mostly from sub event

and its better to view as they appear. I let a few stack and there goes
an hour of just viewing events😅. I still managed to focus on other games

on the side while still manage to make a decent progress with L&S.
No character truly or other things was dislikable to make me stop completely and drop the game.

Lydie and Suelle are sisters, they've lost their mom and their dad's a bit of a free loader...

using up the money the sisters worked hard to get which leads them to pursue the dream of their
mom. Eep! this looks pretty grim but it all managed to be quite a heart-warming tale throughout.

All the playables have a place in the story this time, they got a reason to be around 

and I hate to admit it but half the cast despite in Firis being oh so likeable did feel 

sort of like mercenaries, companions on the road which with the whole journey
so I am glad with L&S they toned down a little bit and tried to fit everyone in properly.

Promotional artwork.

 The characters... like Mathias is Mireille's brother, he's a bit of a dork but he fits the

 typical protector character, btw i'm sure Sterk would be proud in one way or another.

Lucia is the typical tsundere rival... at first she's a bit annoying but after a certain 

character episode the sisters showed her no quarter! and well she sort of gets better after it.

Alto... I don't want to talk too much about him but he's quite cool! most of his sub events 

are tied to Sophie's so don't worry about it, quite possible the most interesting sub arc.

Well we all know Firis! nothing will stand in her way, she follows her heart and dreams

and Liane still loves every bit about her.. ah what a sis-con.

I'm still surprised by Ilmeria... she's taken up the teacher role for the sisters

and her friendship with Firis is still strong Il-chan gives Firis the space she needs.

 There's Pamela, Hagel(haha yes they brought him back! Fritz and Drossel too

I quite liked how the latter two's sub events wrapped up some questions.
As for Lydie and Suelle themselves... they're both lovely Lydie's a bit more withdrawn
but is like a voice of reason compared to the bumbling genki Suelle.
They both have their charms and both lack something the other could cover.

 Art is pretty good, it shows how well two artist can work together

and I like how some of the CG's are like an actual painting.

BGM... well its gust as usual they do an amazing job not every track may stand out

but some do! the only field music I liked was from the intermission chapter after the mid-boss

aka the underwater treasury. Dunno why sometimes I just starting humming along. xD

As for the world, there's one town and its quite big atleast I think it is, luckily there's a quick

warp feature to get to where we are really needed. The paintings all have their own 

mini story to it and in my opinion its what makes it overall more charming.

My favorite painting world would be the starlight plains one.

 The alchemy system is more or less the same as before with a few tweaks sadly it still uses 

the awful recipe idea system and I really wish they're going back to the books next series.

Well due to the game plays out its easy to get accustomed to it, everything is slowly

opened up to you with the occasional boss, the mid boss was cool since I had to

to be like wait uh may I need a few to prepare? 😂 the last boss

was exciting too albeit a bit weak on the story side.

Battle system is like Eschatology/Shallie but not as broken, well that's what I like to say

since if you try you could really be stronger than if you don't all depends

on if you use the right traits on your items and weapons/armor.

Then there's battle mix which let's you use even more powerful version of an item

if you have the right material in your bag that is...

All 6 playables can tag along at once which is nice if you hate benching characters there'll be

DLC too; Lucia and Ilmeria so if you thought there wasn't enough well there you go!

There's combination moves as well and this time they have more of an impact such as this one.

While none of them appear to be locked its possible with the DLC you might be able to have more
freedom but this is not confirmed as I suspect Lydie and Suelle are fixed either way. 
Always hated how in Firis; Sophie/Plactha and Liane are locked into the party making, it was hard
to make your desired team since there are 9 playable in firis yet 3 of them are locked in.
Speaking of DLC... what is up with these 90$ season passes? this started with
blue reflection but why make it cost more than the game? in Lydie and Suelle case
we get like what? 2 playable characters, swimwear costume and extra area
which is all stuff that has costed less back with dusk series.
Well in my opinion regarding koei's season pass BS Blue reflection was the worst thus far
all those costumes and mini event that cost more than the game. Said costumes can only
be used in school not when a magical girl, wow thank you. Okay enough about that
I didn't buy it thankfully but apparently KOEI's shitty practices continue. -_-
Look I love many of their games but... this is getting ridiculous.

Another combi... haha prepare to meet your doom!

That aside I don't think there's any missables either, just try to get a flower circle/max bar
at a rank up exam for Roger's requests just max the bar and you will be fine.
You can also dismiss any request and they'll just pop back up eventually, yes even
the ones that reward you with a battle mix recipe. Money is easy to get as well
if you do requests atleast, sadly by the time you hit the epilogue chapter
you might have more than needed which means you have to spend to unlock
events required to get the shop ending, I found this out the hard way
if gust cut corners anywhere its there i'm sure they could have let us trigger them
regardless of how much we had at that point but alas this is not the case. 
Atelier games these days are so easy and straight-forward, Firis was the only exception
but even then it was still easy to reach the goal with time to spare. Its sad they took a step
back here because I actually loved Firis and miss how it was in Arland/early dusk series.

Either way I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Lydie and Suelle
while not as much as Firis its still a good way to end the trilogy, its a
heart-warming tale that has themes of family, hope and dream.

I did not experience any sort of crashes/bugs though there is an occasional
frame rate drop as an area loads in but tbh that's not bad at all
really though I can't find that many negatives, there's probably a few
like this feels more like classic atelier just by the way its paced but
its sort of like Rorona except there's really no pressure to do anything
so if you think your gear/item needs a desperate upgrade go ahead to do just that!

There was only one time there was a sort of time limit  IIRC when you at B rank
but its so lenient I finished it immediately without wasting a second

so like just go at your own pace and you'll get everything done still.

I can see gust trying to capture ways of old but then they hold back...
The other might be how they sort of gave us a last boss for the sake of one
you know it bad when I think the mid-boss fit in more than the last one. >_>
One could hope gust will take a bit of a break from atelier... despite me not finding
much flaw its clear they cut corners here and there where they could.

Anyway I took my time but honestly its a pretty short game still, not that short though!
but if you are impatient to go ham with the alch/battle system you'd be disappointed
as battling/alchemy doesn't reach its full potential till the last chapter of the game
by then a lot opens up and there's lots of powerful enemies to test you, unfortunately by then
the story is already over but that shouldn't stop you from having fun breaking the game even more.

 Only the hidden painting dungeon has a little bit of story, errr more like lore to it.

If you already played Sophie and Firis I see no reason to skip out on Lydie and Suelle, its 

a great game that finished what was started way back in Sophie through character development.

If I had to be honest the mysterious saga has mostly focused on characters while plot

takes a backseat(like after thought) yes even Firis! no especially Firis, she had her goal

and met so many friends a long the way that made it all more interesting.

I don't want to repeat myself too much so I guess I'll wrap it up... yes I recommend L&S!
at the very least it might be better if you've played Sophie first and as much
as I loved Firis you could probably skip it and be fine?

I do think this might be my last atelier game... lol I say this everytime

a series concludes but somehow gust always manages to pull me back in.😅

Chouchou Jiken Rhapsodic - Review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PS Vita.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v19851

Release date: 2017-11-30

I dunno why I bought this... I imported the first manga volume and was intrigued I guess.
Erena/Elena the protagonist seemed okay, there was a mystery vibe and the art is pretty
though the first promo art the protagonist looks like a freaking twig ready to snap. -_-
 I got the feeling I wouldn't like it that much so I bought the regular edition and I am glad.
Sydney's character trailer should've warned me but yet... I still bought.
PS: Some say they spoiled some stuff like Sydney in the promo image... but honestly speaking
if you don't know what the spoiler is you'd think he's some sort of fancy earl.

There are some difference from the manga like Erena for example... she is more typical otomate
heroine template which disappoint me because she appeared to have more personality in the manga.
 Don't want to say Erena was that bad since she had her moments in the game  where she managed
to shine if only a little. The rest flowed almost identically from what I had seen from the manga
dunno but in the manga it felt like Erena had more spirit, hopefully you get what I mean.
Part of me think the manga is supposed to be the main and this game just fanservice.(who knows)
for all we know this was supposed to be an interactive shojo manga... hench why
certain stuff is a bit all over the place and some routes especially the initial two
(Masanari and Haruka) can feel like filler compared to the locked ones.
If you care for the story then I'd say Ritomo is the true route of the game since everything
make sense but it all depends on preference, personally the guy is anything but likeable.

Play order:
 Masanari>Haruka>Sydney>Iori>Ritomo
The last three route are locked... I do know that doing Masanari unlocks Sydney.
doing both Haruka and Masanari get you Iori's route which in turn unlocks Ritomo.
So you could do Sydney second but I don't think that's a good idea... just do the 

initial routes first aka Masanari and Haruka and the rest will be natural to get to the truth.

Pro's
-  Just doing one route won't get you to the truth.
- Pretty art, well portraits look nice but CG's vary.
- Charming cast, atleast I found some of them to be 'charming'.
- MURASE AYUMU's stellar performance.

Con's.
- It can get a bit draggy at times and two routes are essentially filler.
- This womans blooood uwaaaagh, zombies overall writing may leave to be desired etc. >_>
- Protag/heroine was too ala otomate.
- You can't skip the credits, yep its 2k18 and yet they couldn't implement such a feature.
(There's no movie view feature either...)

The common route is basically a giant introduction too long for its own good each
chapter sort of introduced a character, chapters are not long but combined? they are.
Certain stuff will never change even if events play out slightly different
part of this is normal atleast there's something interesting to find out in the actual routes.
As for length its average, not too long not too short but the problem lies that its rather dreary.
There are two endings bad/good but its not very exciting since its just the typical two-choice system
where the correct choice raises affection which in turn lead you to best end, no guide needed!
Art is pretty, the music is so-so... bgm was awful in the long run definitely not worthy
to buy an OST of this.The OP/ED I can say these are fine but it not my thing.
I heard people say the lipsync is awful but honestly its OK most of the time it
looks awkward in some way so I tend to prefer no movement all together.
Characters seem interesting so there was drive to do the non locked routes to get
to the more interesting ones but uh TBH in the long run most of the story wasn't very interesting
since nothing makes any sense till the last two routes and even then... /shrug.

To get the platinum trophy you have to save the lines the characters say this is something
daisy2's games have had in the past, here's 60 slots but you only need a couple
to make a playlist and get the two remaining trophies.
In fact you can just spam the same line into all three playlist for the trophy.............
OTOMATE WTF ARE YOU HIGH? this isn't funny since there's not much
I'd classify as note worthy, if it had lots of comedy then yes but this is a waste
there's other games like for example Ninkoi that deserve this feature yet do not have it. -_-
Not saying there aren't any memorable lines but IMO... not enough to warrant this feature.

Let me try to keep it short...
Takes place in the early Showa period, shortly after WWII with some russian agenda mixed in.
So our heroine Erena is the unfortunate orphan who enjoyed a quiet life ever since an incident
in which her parents passed on from, she enrolls at this fancy school in the big city
after a sudden invitation and one day runs into these vampire zombie folks who want to devour her.
I kid you not I cannot even put it any other way,  for mystery driven chouchou jiken is decent
but it was too draggy and took forever to get somewhere. I feel this was meant to be a manga
 from the beginning like I already mention it but Erena is typical otome protag
aka meek and very otomate, I did had drive to figure out WTF was going on but my
first route didn't get very far nor did it make the guy feel relevant and it sucks if the dude
whom's route your on doesn't strike your interest at all.(like for me Masanari)
I think forced play orders are still good though but I think it is better to do Haruka first
since it felt like he was a whole lot more relevant and interesting than angry navy boy.
 Moving on...
The protag is 15 years old yet... most of her suitors are almost 10 years older, for the 

time period its ok but it is a little creepy. The plot only makes sense in the last 2/3 routes
This game seemed like a good mystery otome game that might be a little trashy
but it wasn't all that, it suffered from a rather cliche/over used protag has magical blood plot
which makes her wanted, the trashy bit never really gets that far, there's a somewhat decently writen
plot behind it all but you must have a pretty good attention span to get it, lots of TL;DR
 Well I wouldn't say its a kusoge downright since it had nice build up...
even then some stuff might not even add up to historic facts, partly that's fine but its not all
that great to get a load of bull, if you know your history of the period don't expect much.
In all honestly to me early on most of the plot was dull and only interesting if you like to have a
mouse nibble at ur toes like some characters could make it better which for me which
are Haruka and Sydney but that's it, Masanari's route was total filler and the plot
only picked up in Iori and Ritomo's route, Sydney? I like the guy but the route was still eh.

Most of the endings also gave me the is that it feeling like there could be more or better way
to end yet still... looking at you Iori suuuure let's go to sovjet together to look for more clues :eyeroll:
Especially with bad ends sometimes they tried too hard to make something of it

like bad fanfic I think Haruka's bad end is exactly that lmao.
While doing route no.2 so much flew by me that I just gave up all expectations...
 each route was unique enough though but sadly the last unlockable route aka Ritomo
makes you sit through the whole game from scratch unable to skip common scenes
just for a bunch of new flashback scenes in between old scenes. I'm like come on otomate?
It is so very fun to sit through it all just for a few scene here and there, also yes I did force skip it. -_-
Personally Haruka and Sydney's route are most enjoyable but tbh it might just depend on taste...
 whichever character you like the most will depend on personal preference.

5/10
''Chouchou Jiken seemed like it would be a decent mystery otome game but it
turned out to be hilariously average, its not a kusoge but its not exactly that good either.''

Code:Realize Shirogane no Kiseki - Review

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/code-realize/fd2/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21521

Release date: 2017-12-21

The 2nd code realize fd... well we know the first (shukufuku no mirai) had more plot than fanservice

and that they sort of falsely advertised it so when this was announced I was like wow really?

surely they couldn't have put it as one game in the first place? but I guess

this is also to have yet another game to sell right after the anime finished airing. $$$hing
Oh well happy 2018 can't say I fully appreciated this FD but...
 atleast it gave content most fans wanted to begin with albeit a bit late.

Pro's
- Certain characters will finally get the epilogues they deserve.
- Triangle date, fanservicey but fun mini episodes.
- Art, Miko gets better and better!

Con's
- Christmas stories should've been shorter (looking at you Van).
- Was there really a need to split the FD?

This FD is christmas/holiday themed so I suggest you play it around that time of the year

it didn't arrive till the 28 for me but since I am not really that invested in the holidays 

I was just like i'll play it now before moving on to anything else like I do think

code:realize is a wonderful series but... I hope they won't milk this series too much so as much
as the idea of seasonal fandisk is nice I also dislike, I hope otomate doesn't get any more ideas.
Atleast the artist is still the same but I really hope this doesn't become the next hakuouki.

So what content is in this FD?
After stories for Finis and Sholmes because they needed it especially the latter.
A scenario titled Cantarella this is pretty much like the mafia one last time but better.
Christmas stories for the original characters set after Finis's after story.
An epilogue for the 5 original guys set after the after stories in shukufuku no mirai
to finish what the last FD started because apparently it couldn't be told back then. >_>

System? typical stuff, you select the story you want to read
there's no real need for a guide except for dictionary but since its so short
its easy to go back and select another choice so there's no fear.

To keep it short...
First off I don't want to sound ungrateful its just... starting to seem like code:rea is being milked.
Its short but the entertainment was there and the value was good... more so than tierbladeFD
speaking of volume it might be just right, I thought some of the christmas stories was too long for
their own good(especially Van) or maybe that's just me... I liked Impey's and Fran's a lot though.
Finis and Sholmes after stories... the latter bored me for some reason but still give good conclusion.
I think it would be better received if you actually like code:realize a whole lot, already said this at the
start of the post but it cannot be coincidence this came out right after the anime finished airing.
Cardia is a great heroine AND she kicked ass, got her happy future...  but there's not much else
that needs to be told is there? the more otome I play the more I realize that open ended
endings are perhaps the better kind like make your own fantasies instead of being spoonfed them
of course some could benefit from a little teensy bit more but I feel otomate is going overboard here.
I'm sure we could get a FD for everything that is new to Cardia but I hope that won't be necessary
the score is more than fair, I actually get tired of having to come back FD after FD, once is enough.
 7/10
''Its a nice addition with plenty of enjoyable fanservice but there's not much else to it.''

So do I recommend this FD? only if you are a fan and absolutely need more code:rea in your life.

2017 in review

Time for another one of these, I will limit myself to only otome visual novels as per usual.

Played:

Ken ga Kimi Momoyo Tsuzuri.

Harukanaru toki no naka de 6 gentou rondo.

Getsuei no Kusari Kyouran Moratorium.

Geten no Hana Yume Akari (vita port)
Hana Oboro Sengoku Den Ranki.
Hyakka Hyakurou Sengoku Ninponchou.
Harukanaru toki no naka de 3.
Wand of Fortune R2.
 Black Wolves Saga Weib und Schwarz.

Charming Empire.
Gakuen Club.
 SideKicks!
Shiro to Kuro no Alice.
Tsumikui.
Utsusemi no Meguri.
Re:vice[D].
Moujuutachi to ohime-sama FD.
Shinobi, koi utsutsu FD.
Yuukyuu no Tierblade FD.
S.Y.K Shinsetsu Saiyuuki.
Bad Apple Wars.
HimeHibi.
Usotsuki Shangri-la.

Have but not yet played:
Chouchou Jiken.
TaiAli FD.
Code Realize Shirogane no Kiseki.
Himehibi 2.

💩Worst:💩

Harukanaru toki no naka de 6 Gentou Rondo.

Okay, while I enjoyed going through most every route, overall I think it wasn't that good
 of a sequel(yes it is not a FD). This heavily relied on dues ex machina to the point I went whatever
at the end of it all like part of it doesn't even make sense, yeah sometimes a bad sequel is better

 than no sequel at all but still. The only good thing that came out of this was Wan-chan.
 This sequel was literally a cross between code:realize and clock zero like the whole
ruined future and the mysterious doll/robotic-like Man. >_>
 There was little point to it all, Ludo's new route was pretty enjoyable but I personally
just wanted a FD with after stories not a sequel which resets the relationships!
The original guys routes here are just new version... a new chance
but it didn't work out like KOEI's other work geten no hana.
Darius suffered the most welp my fav character goes down the drain especially
after a near perfect route in the previous game, to the point i wish this didn't exist the worse part
the whole time slip thing hurt my head and his confession. T~T
I think I am done here, its clear they rushed this to please the fans
and I truly have no energy to discuss this dues ex machina trainwreck further.
 

The Charming Empire.
While I think it was decent for being a mobage but there's so many things that make me say
 it wasn't all that great compared to other otomege nor was it that memorable
and I have no incentive to pay 6000 yen for additional content in the vita port
if you want to try give the english version on steam a spin please try but don't expect much
because this truly was of mobage quality, hehe atleast I can admit Sera was a cute.

Gakuen Club.
From the same makers as Charming Empire it also was a mobage and I wasn't
surprised at the quality that I got which was inconsistent, the only
route I really enjoyed was Saku's and everything else followed after that.
Its nice if you want something simple really but veteran otome gamers should stay away
because the endings aren't worth your time like most don't even give proper conclusion
not to mention the whole secret club thing felt childish nor did it felt like it was that secret. -_-

Tsumikui ~Sen no Noroi, Sen no Inori~ for V.
An otome game focusing on reincarnation, sin and morality... also TL;DR.
Mediocre at best, interesting story and most of the guys are likeable, now for the bad parts...
Its a little slow at parts and drags on the early slice of life parts, it also loves to throw
internal monologues at you even in action scenes which totally ruins the moment
the character interaction? not fun but sometimes its gold but it just doesn't happen a lot
because the story doesn't allow it which most of the time was gloomy and dreary (2serious).
I don't mind serious type of otome games but there's so many reason why I just couldn't like it.
I don't know if all operetta games are like this but I sure have no incentive to buy their other games.
This was a mixed bag and the story never reaches full potential, I only really liked one or two routes
plus the side characters most of them are underdeveloped, all in all it could've been better
so there it just goes on my shit list because it has no place in my neutral or positive sections.
 ~
Moujuu-tachi to Ohime-sama ~in blossom~.
Oh otomate must've planned to release this FD... all you need to know is
its as lacklustre as the original, why did I bother? characters/seiyuu thats why...
but honestly I learned my lesson here no matter how great a setting may sound sometimes things
are too good to be true and characters/seiyuu won't save a paper thin story not even my love
for fantasy settings saved this lacklustre entry set in the same world as ye olde moujuutsukai
which honestly was a whole lot better than this new series in the same world. -_-
Otomate next time get the original staff to work on your sequels but I guess
they're too busy with tierblade which I actually managed to enjoy.

Bad apple wars.
Well if I had to nominate something as Kusoge of the year it would be this.
I DID NOT ENJOY THIS GAME... the protag is an empty shell whom in
the bad apple routes whines and complains more than I could count without trying to fix
her own issues because all development went to the guys and the sub characters.
Granted she was tolerable in the disciplinary routes and if anything I liked her development
in Higa's but its not much, like I said in the original post she's no Cardia Beckford.
Which side you choose it doesn't make a difference in the end story wise its the same no matter
which character you pick not to mention the forced copy pasta in every route is very sigh.
The only thing it had going for it was the characters sad past... but for a supposed Nakige
it overall wasn't that sad, if only the heroine had some sord of backstory other than I haz nothing.
Most the romance was rushed and then there's Shikishima :eyeroll:
Atleast I managed to enjoy Higa and Watase's routes and to some extend Satoru
but this was such a miss for me, I regretted buying it so much why did this even get localized?
clearly there was bias towards it but I don't see what makes it that special.
Maybe just maybe if you're not familiar with angel beats one might enjoy it...
but if you are you just better off skipping it, I constantly compared
this to angel beats to the point i'd say this is the poor man's version of it.
~

Neutral/so-so:

Getsuei no Kusari Kyouran Moratorium. (Vita port)

Decent FD of a not so typical otome game, vita port has added features that make it
so much more worth the price, all in all I cannot complain even tho its still depressing
but don't expect much fluff its still as dark and dreary as its predecessor.
If you like your coffee black and bitter you may enjoy the original (and this FD).

Black Wolves Saga Weib und Schwarz.
A dark fantasy otome game which a decent story, good art and amazing music
however as an otome its a little lacking so I can't help but say it ain't that great
if you want more romance and well finish the game once the rest will fly by
cuz its 90% common and 10% individual. >_>
Well the characters were interesting, the plot, art and music was good
and overall despite drawbacks its worth it, however it definitely need an acquired taste.

Wand of Fortune R2.
Sequel to the first WoF, the system is more straight-forward but still has some annoying tidbits.
Its recommended for those looking for character development, I managed to enjoy most of it even
if part of the overall plot was a little meh but we all know the best thing about WoF is still the
characters, everything else comes after it which makes the journey through it all the more worth it
even if the system just plain sucks, honestly if you manage to fully complete this it just means
you enjoyed it despite system woes because the characters save it for you (probably).
Its also a little sad Lulu is less cheerful and that's all Bilal's fault!(kidding) the true end was meh
since Lulu had to be told a simple thing by Ami that she might've known all along :eyeroll:
The only downside is that this does not come with the FD kimi sasageru epilogue
which in my opinion would've made up for the bad parts in the main game. :(

Sidekicks!
Let's be honest here... its an improvement compared to Oumagatoki~Kakuriyo no Enishi~
as the core story was actually good but I feel its a bit overhyped I only found the last two routes
(which were locked) actually good as a whole. Also the heroine Inori didn't really stand out.
 What did she do before she joined sidekicks? this is important! not even her family
was mentioned all we know is she lives alone and that she was probably born with
 her precognition which again they do not go into she basically just joins sidekicks
because she saved their asses and could be of use. That aside she wasn't that bad or annoying.
Other flaws like some chara episodes(routes) in the game feel like filler like you get in detective
drama and imo some are good and other are bad and then there's one character entire purpose
 literally exists to only narrate certain chapters... sigh I guess they wanted to give Morikubo a role.
I could only be surprised by a small amount of revelations outside of Nora's route and another
story. Some routes(Chika) still exist for the sake of having one but in some case like Hibari
it not bad it got better by my fourth route and Nora(best boy) didn't disappoint.

At the end of the day I can still recommended this if you like otome detective stories
like Eikoku tantei mysteria, collar x malice or similair.

Shiro to Kuro no Alice.
Another otome game that's Alice themed, I haven't played much with it
but it was surprisingly enjoyable despite some stuff, sadly this would've benefited
from an enforced playorder, I really can't stress that fact enough because the story is too
scattered and without proper order you'll be lost and probably confused if you do X chara first.
That aside I think most people may find something to their liking here not everything but something.
In my opinion black side was the only worthwhile thing, Luna's just an adorable heroine but white
side on the other hand was just typical stuff... of a meek heroine having to put up with crap.>_>
Keep in mind this is no substitute to any other alice related work, All I can say
if you want to get this, do it for Luna I really did find black side to be most enjoyable
but don't look at this as a replacement for a certain other alice-themed work.

Utsusemi no Meguri.
Honestly I can say this was neither particularly amazing or that it downright sucked
so my opinion is truly neutral, the feel of the game is nice and the chara's are interesting
but overall I am just meh as it just never stood out in what it tried to do
except in the true route of the game which is fine in a sense.
Its nice to discover darker sides to the guys in the kyouran endings but with half of them
 I was like ENOUGH, please stop. もういいよ
 If you like extremely japanese and old timey stuff this might be for you though.

S.Y.K Shinsetsu Saiyuuki.
I managed to finish a PSP otome game! this was an otome based on journey to the west
and it was pretty fun but I never looked forward to doing another route due to
the common route and how much filler that had(call back to certain anime?)
hench why it took me forever like 4/5 months since I only played once in a blue moon.
The characters are fun but I felt that most of this game focused on the lore part
and the romance was lacking especially in routes such as Gyokuryuu it was
not interesting to watch a moeblob fiddle around over his feelings for his past
 and present master :eyeroll: atleast the rest of the routes were great especially Ranfan
but its clear the main guy is Gokuu, his route was the most well rounded in terms of story/romance.
Its was a decent otomege for its time but it doesn't hold up all that well today, I do look
forward to the FD which i'll get to eventually not to long from now.

 Shinobi, Koi Utsutsu FD.
In all honesty this FD was fine however it just came too late for me(like almost two years)
and I was no longer invested, I didn't even remember much of the original so go figure.
I think they did try but the charm was no longer there for me and well some of the art looked weird
and I figured this is another case where otomate used tracers instead of the original artist.
I enjoyed what I could but... I feel like most of it was wasted on me and the general writing bored me
because too many characters, I liked Yuri, Daisuke and Garaiya the most this time
around. I wish they didn't advertise this as a fandisk because it was a sequel in disguise
with all the maturing stuff  not to mention everything I liked about the original
such as fanservice and shenanigans was watered down.

HimeHibi ~princess days~.
For what its worth I enjoyed my time with it but it didn't leave that big of an impression on me.
Himehibi had a stellar cast, a good dose of comedy and a decent plot but that's it
open ended and there weren't much romantic scenes with Aizaki and the guy.
Not to mention most of the cg's are either solo shots or with another guy which is fine
since they looked great but still... the otome part left to be desired and the best way to put it
is that its very pure in what it tried to do. I found this to be a perfect otome game for beginners
who don't expect much out of otome games there's nothing else I can add on it
if you haven't played much and want to test your japanese.

 Usotsuki Shangri-la.
I didn't thoink it was particularly bad or good... some of the art was weird
and only one route truly made everything come together which might be great but I never felt
attached to any character due to the lack of volume I still think it rushed it self even if
it tried to pace it well. In the end this felt like an apology for the disaster that was moshikami.
~

🏆Best:🏆

Ken ga Kimi Momoyo Tsuzuri.

This is probably the best FD a KgK fan could ask for, so much content via side stories

that went deeper into matters of the original game while also giving us after stories
its seriously more than anyone could ask for even if not every side story was as interesting.
Other than that to me this series is finished, they could prolly make more but...
I feel everything needs to end someday even if you really like it and want more.

Hana Oboro Sengoku Den Ranki.
A historic fantasy otome game and for the most part it was alright aside from the poster boys routes
being lackluster(to me), its also sad how Alan who was supposedly the 6th romanceable character
gets the shaft so hard, sequel/FD? maybe but I can only recommend if old timey games
are your thing but this isn't a jyuuza engi, you definitely have to accept certain characters fate
which despite other flaws makes it a whole lot better to me, this ain't a kusoge that's for sure
because some routes were great especially Katsuie, the poster boys aside who cares?
Hanbei and Shingen were still good but overall I suppose it was a little convoluted.

Geten no Hana Yume Akari.
 Unlike Harutoki6 GR this was actually enjoyable and the story additions made sense
like hanbei's route explained even more about the setting and background of hotaru's village.
A decent sequel to a stellar otome game and even if most of the original characters routes
in this game feel like alternative takes I still enjoyed most route even tho it was still short.
 Sadly the shining stars of yume akari really are Hanbei and Kanbei but its oh so worth it and
I fully recommend to buy the vita port since it comes with both games, definitely a hidden gem
and I was always motivated to find out more about the cast <3 even though
the original casts routes felt like a new version.

Hyakka Hyakurou Sengoku Ninponchou.
After 3 kusoges who would have thought that D3P could release something decent?
Guess what D3P was only the publisher for this and RED entertainment saved the day.
Enju was a great heroine despite being naive at first and well after being on the run
she learned a great deal and in turn helped some of the guys too, every route was interesting too
but Gekkamaru's had me on the edge of my seat, is out in english as Nightshade so please do
buy it if you haven't already, the story is the same in every route with the ninjas on the run thing
but atleast they kept it interesting every route was another side of the story.
However if you don't like ninjas and morality stuff it might be better to pass...

Harukanaru toki no naka de 3,
Otomege set in the heian period and well it had a surprisingly proactive heroine
willing to fight to protect the things she cares about, Nozomi isn't all bark and no bite
that much is made clear, the overall story was okay its not too heavy but I wish they would've
given everyone epilogues and not just a handful while giving others side stories that took place
during the journey but we never saw those to begin with till the extra scene, oh well whatever.
Even without knowledge of the time period, its not hard to understand as long as you read up on
tale of the heike or not, you may even learn a few facts about this specific period!
Nozomi does become a little too perfect after god knows how many loops
but you know practice makes perfect so please don't hate on her too much
because she just had a convenient scale and used it to her liking (which is amazing)
like thats better than being ignorant and not doing a thing right.
Either way I had loads of fun, the guys were all great in their own way could never hate anyone
even if they are the equivalent of garbage(yooo Benkei), most importantly RPG part was
fine sure battling weak mobs got redundant but eh thats normal.
 The gameplay really isn't that annoying but it doesn't hold your hand, a good guide is recommended.
If you want an otome RPG look no further! because Haruka3's pretty much the closest right now.

Kenka Bancho Otome FD.
Honestly this was a fun fandisk with plenty of fun but much like the code:realize FD they tried
to still put some weight to some after stories which in my opinion only two
of the bachelors got enjoyable after stories: love comedies for (Totomaru/Konparu) another
gets stuck with i'll be back ™ (Houo) and fades into the background(Rintarou) or
idol dramatique(Mirako), Rintarou was literally a waste of space he barely said anything
and at times I was like hey he's there... maybe its because of his seiyuu being on hiatus
but still its like they planned lines for him but they couldn't get his VA to voice them. :(
I understand not everything should be the same but Rintarou fans will be majorly disappointed
I enjoyed Totomaru and Konparu the most, followed by Mirako even though I loath idols.
Most of the content I come to expect of normal FD delivered, others did not
but I still think its a solid fandisc that'll please its fans.

Re:vice[D].
Well this turned out to be better than I expected, its most definitely an overlooked gem.
I loved the character interaction and the story is unique for an otome game
most of the routes were good but its a bit on the short side, however I enjoyed it a lot.
This had such a stellar cast of characters... I mostly liked everyone cept Suou.
 Aika as a heroine is out there as well, she's awesome and won't take shit most of the time
but as an otome heroine she may not be what people want that aside she is still awesome.
This games value isn't high which may be good for your wallet?
It definitely was a fun otome and I have no regrets playing it but I can see why
 its just not popular because in some routes the romance itself left to be desired
to the point I only ever really liked two routes(Iroha and Ryouga).
Nothing against Yukine(he did nothing wrong) but... part of his route was off-putting
like it makes sense by the end but he felt like a stalker at first.

Yuukyuu no Tierblade -Fragments of Memory-.
This FD was more than I could ask for but it was rather short, had I not delayed finishing
the last two eclipse chapters I'd say it would've just flown by me.
Atleast it managed to be on point while still expanding upon the world of tierblade
much like KgK momoyo tsuzuri did its definitely in my top 3 of best FD this year
despite feeling a little lukewarm by the time I finished it.
Tierblade is by no means a perfect work but does that stop me from liking it? no.
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
~special section~
 -Characters-

Most hated/disliked
~Auger - Black Wolves Saga~
This speaks for itself... the character is a complete nutjob and I doubt anyone could top him.

Surprise favorite (one per game)
Alan - Hana Oboro ~Sengoku Denranki~.
 Kanbei - ~Geten no Hana Yume Akari~
 Taira no Tomomori - ~Harutoki 3~.
 Hanzo - Hyakka Hyakurou.
 Nora - ~Sidekicks!~.
Solomon - ~Wand of Fortune r2~.
 Iroha - Revice[D].
Hiiragi - ~Utsusemi no Meguri~.
Rinto ~HimeHibi~.

Other characters I liked a lot.
 Atsumori/Benkei/Shirogane - ~Harutoki 3~
 Hanbei - ~Geten no Hana Yume Akari~
Jack - ~Shiro to Kuro no Alice~.
Shiou - ~Tsumikui~.
  
 aaand because I am bored...


Best Otomege I played this year -top 3-
Harukanaru 3.
Hana Oboro ~Sengoku Denranki~.
Re:vice[D].
Special mention: Geten no Hana with Yume Akari.

Best FD -top 3-
Ken ga Kimi Momoyo Tsuzuri.
Kenka Bancho Otome FD.
 Yuukyuu no Tierblade -Fragments of Memory-.

What's for next year?
Well I plan to atleast play WoF2FD and S.Y.K FD. As for new games I think I after
the 2017 left overs (TaiAli FD, Chouhou Jiken, Code:ReaFD2 and hime hibi2.)
I am really going to slow down, it feels like the more I play the less I like or maybe
its the quality of the games it might also be a little bit of a burn out.
I still plan to buy new otome games like Harukanaru port, Dorico no toshokan
 and Variable Barricade but I think I have seen the most of what otome games can offer.
I still like otome games and all but the more you play the higher your standards get(in terms
of writing) and sooner or later stuff you could stand at first just aren't all that great anymore.

Usotsuki Shangri-la - review

 Game: [嘘月シャングリラ] 

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Rejet.

Platform: PS Vita.

Official Site: http://rejetweb.jp/usotsuki/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v20634
Release date: 2017-11-30

Rejet's latest game... and I shall be your guinea pig in trying to figure out
if it was worth it, UsoTsuki is Lie and Moon together it means liar. (lol lying moon.)
Well uh that's all for crappy lessons in japanese you get from me.
Shangri-la is a name of a fictional paradise...

Pro's
-A good mix of sweet&serious scene.
- I'd say the story was ok like there is drive to get to the locked route.
 - Slow skip but there's jump to the next choice.

Con's
- Did they really need to have to force everyone to call Akari Usotsuki-chan a l l  t h e  t i m e.
- The characters are plain, cliche, I find unable to attach myself to most of them.
- Its actually pretty short when you think about it.
- Would be better if there are actual epilogues.

Art, looks a bit weird but not bad or anything infact the background art was fine.
Music, its decent, OP... some BGM could be better because the castle-like theme drove me crazy.
As for seiyuu choice... meh its the popular boys.

System... typical stuff, you select the route of your choice right after the prologue.
 I had no preference so I just went with one of initial ones. Ende is locked till you do the other four.
Now this is a bit of a minor complaint but the text was pretty blurry while everything else
 was crisp IDK but it bothered me, it also small but uhm the font in himihibi was pretty big
so maybe thats why it bothers me now. xD

I like the OP and all... atleast they're honest at to what expect even if the context was different.

As you've figured this game is about lies... with the usual rejet spin but lighter?!
it has a pretty generic setup of girl ends up in another world not like her own.
The protagonist is typical, she seems good natured but no experience with guys
this is okay but I sort of laughed when Akari said how well everything else is going
to a relative on the phone in the beginning. I was like girl if you know what you're in for!
 The prologue/common route was an introduction, they explained how the protagonist
Akari is the usotsuki who might save the world and Fenrir, Hel and Jorm are the brothers
of calamity who are believed to cause misfortune and are scorned for it...  they seem
normal enough, like they saved Akari but there seems to be more to them than meets the eye.

Smartphone? what is that? why thank you for this gem...

Who thought this whole usotsuki concept was okay? I can't take it seriously.

At first I thought this whole game is a pun on the word ''Usotsuki'', I joke about it
 but in the beginning it was actually really cringe worthy. Constantly hearing the protag called
usotsuki-chan or liar-chan in plain english is so incredible off-putting...
but as I did more routes I eventually stopped caring.😅

Can't say the transition from Akari's world to shangri-la was very good in fact it confused me.
That aside there is a bit of mystery to it all... and Usotsuki-chan >_> frequently has these
visions/dreams when she touches water so I still found drive to continue, since its
like the way she learns more about the chara's the happiest
ends aren't necessary the best for sake of world which is sad.

The romance and plot developed side by side so it was good mix of sweet/serious moment
the pacing and sense of mystery was nice too bad some routes are just disappointing
story wise since there's only one where all makes sense. As for the protagonist
Akari wasn't that annoying just a bit too nice for her own good I guess...
the guys however are pretty bland they don't have much personality and felt plain to me.
So on the topic of lying, if you lie at certain points you change the ending...
dunno if it was the guide i used but in certain routes you dont need to lie to get best end.

I do think it has its place in the game... Its nice that each route had something new
to reveal, atleast the turn of events was never the same which was nice.

 

 I thought Usotsuki was so-so... its pretty tame for a rejet game atleast NO VERY TAME
in the first half of the routes(not counting bad ends). Each route focuses on that
character, its unique enough just doing one route won't get you to the truth of the story.
They all have something they don't want others to see and its also very realistic, not everyone
is nice even if at a glance they appear to be. I suppose Usotsuki shangri-la
is like an apology after the disaster that was Moshikami because I believe they went too far
with that one, you might know what I am talking about.
Well if you don't want to read more, I'd say it Usotsuki gets the OK from me...there's no
creepy oniichans or extreme yanderes here so if you expect that then you'd be disappointed.
Might be better for newbies... since veterans may notice how lacking certain aspect are.
So-so otome game but Nice Try Rejet.

If I had to recommend any play order it'd be:
Fenrir / Hati >  Jorm > Hell > Ende.
I do not think it matters when you do Hati he might be nice first, midway or right before Ende
idk it was pretty much the most otome-like route so just do it when you feel like.

Himehibi ~Princess Days~ Review

ひめひび -Princess Days-

Game: [Himebibi ~Princess Days~] 

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Takuyo.

Platform: PS2, PSP, PS Vita.

Official Site: http://www.takuyo.co.jp/products/himehibi/himehibivita/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v1640

Release date: 2017-07-20

After the previous disaster otomege I wanted a more normal otome game that doesn't take itself
too seriously with light drama and since this is like the only recently (re)released game in my backlog I went for it. Being a Takuyo game, no one probably gives 2 cents about their games... but here I am!

Its pretty fun despite the cliche setting of girl goes to all boys school...
I went into this with little expectations which was probably for the best.
You've probably realized this ain't a story heavy otome game, it does have a story, some members
of the board of directors don't even want the heroine to go to this elite boys only school.
Some developments actually surprised me but its not much, I liked how every route
tried it slightly different. The language used isn't that difficult, they don't
 use that many Kanji so this is perfect for beginners but keep in mind
having a fair grasp of the language is still necessary.

Pro's
- Comedy, (mostly) light-hearted shojo-like otome game.
- Great cast of characters.
- Art, old but it still looks great.
 - Read text marking, no copy pasted scenes and can skip over with ease.

Con's
- Can't skip minigames on 2nd+ play.
- Have to hold R button to read skip.
- Repetitive scenario.

System... typical choices to make but also you need to do a minigame and succeed to give
out flyers to people so Aizaki can become the school idol(thank you Ken for this brilliant keikaku).
If you fail the dude may never notice you- nah I am kidding about that.
I still think the minigame solely exists to break the mold of only having to read
because I really don't see the point outside of Ken's subplot, it quickly became a nuisance
of having to hand out flyers and score 500~ points. Okay its not that hard because
it becomes memorization game, if blond bishonen, short black haired kid
or bandana dude show up on the screen its ok to press the button really early. ^^;
There's another minigame in the 2nd half to give fanservice... but you can get away
 with button mashing a little so its less of a hassle to get the needed 1000+ points.

Common route itself is pretty long, the latter part is shared with another character
but the routes aren't long its of average length, doesn't beat around the bush!
There's a flag system something like Geten no Hana or Harutoki, if you ignore
 characters it won't get you their ending. A downside... only way to skip is to hold
the R button but for some reason they automatically put it on skip all
from the start I don't even know if there was a readskip.
I wish Takuyo would have upgraded this game a little because this is so 2006-ish
well atleast the text already read was marked so it was easy to stop skipping. 
However I am sure I missed a new line appearing here or there... sometimes
I can't be bothered to go back for it, a line of text or two is not going to be a big deal.

The art... it doesn't look like it belongs in the current generation
but is it bad? not at all, infact its beautiful and fine the way it is
besides the characters still look handsome especially Rinto.
Music fits the mood... its not as bad as ye olde idea factory bgms that's for sure
as for the OP I let it play once or twice but then I skipped it.

In short:
If you are looking for an otome game with an amazing ''story'' I suggest you look elsewhere
himehibi is anything but that, its a simple but classy modern day shojo-like story.
Compared to the last otome game I played Aizaki was actually a decent heroine
Aizaki will speak her mind and isn't a doormat constantly moaning about her problems
she can't fix, she's pretty head-strong but that doesn't mean she's not allowed to be weak

or have girl problems.
The first route took me a while to finish maybe its because early on each ingame
day was relatively short and a bit of a repeat but I am glad it didn't go on longer than needed.
Overall this game's length is average but when I think about it its just right, most will fly by
on 2nd+play the unskippable minigames started to annoy me by route 4 but to be honest
they're not that bad at all.😅 The characters are all great tho except Kitsuneme-san😡
 they threw in a good dose of comedy I often found myself snickering at a piece of dialogue
so yeah it has fun, serious and sad moments but all in all it is light-hearted.
 You could say this game is like prince of stride except much older.
A turn off could be like two of the romantic interests are cousins to the protagonist
and she had a crush on one of them from the start but atleast they're not blood related.
 Ahaha this excuse will never get old will it?
That aside I still found them likeable so it didn't bother me that much... like I have seen worse.
I suppose I could critize the subplot of becoming the school idol and the minigame it
brings with it but eh... its part of the game and if you remove it you'd be left with very little.
If you are going to play this otome game I recommend to start with Naohito the rest of the order
doesn't matter just try to do the characters that are paired up with each other right after the other.
Naohito > Masaya > Hikaru > Yamato > Shinobu > Rinto; should be a good order. 

The game ends where it should, there's plenty room for more but part of me is glad
Takuyo doesn't really milk their games. Yes there's a himehibi 2 but it has a completely
different protagonist and some returning faces. That aside this didn't really leave that big
of an impression on me but it was still refreshing. Himehibi is perfect
for beginners/those who don't expect much out of otome games.

Since this is just a straight port there's nothing new or updated except now it can be enjoyed
on the clean psvita screen so if one has already played the ps2/psp version there's little reason
to get it unless you're a fan, ''i'd recommend himehibi if one want an otome game
with fun characters, a simple story that doesn't try to be something it is not''.

You should probably stop reading here if you don't want spoilers.

Shining Resonance re:frain (PS4 port) announced

 This is probably the only JRPG I like enough to bring it back and write a little about it.

The PS4 port will include all DLC content so this will pretty much be the definitive edition

as they will even be enhanching it and add improvements such as being able

to retry after event battles which imo is a god send especially in chapter 7

since you'll be unable to save for a while at the end of it.

The other is making Rinna's AI smarter... well I usually ended up playing as her

in some battles late in the game because it did suck and also take care of my party members. (lol)

There will be a new mode which will allow you to recruit Jenius and Excela at the beginning

I do not know if this will change the story since it would require rewriting the whole game
so I doubt that... its pretty much a wait for more info. They'll also be using a new OP 

but if I had to be honestIy prefer the old one more like I feel they only made it for the sake of
this port, when I look at the old one as seen at the end of this post the new one seems messy visually.

I hope it will be localized, the director seems to want to do it since he commented on it
but if they do they'd probably use the PS3 box art or atleast I hope so...

 The limited edition will include:

Game soft.
 Art specifically drawn for the box.
Shining magazine fanbook.
Drama CD: The days of the dragon knights.
Theme Song CD: Eien Iro no Aria.(Aria of an endless colour).

I am not mad it includes all DLC content, all of that back when it was released
was so expensive I wrote about how much it would cost  you if buy it all
and well that would be the price of another game but over time they even
put discounts/sales on it which was nice, can't help but mention it
because not many people probable knew about that.

Now people can enjoy the game in one piece (and at higher FPS if you care about that).

Personally I really liked Shining Resonance even if its very much a cliche JRPG

but atleast it had a great cast of characters that join your party and not just waifus, guys too
heck you could even let Yuma date the guys and they had an ending.
I liked the art as well, a lot of people hate on tony take for his same face syndrome
but boy if they knew how many other artist have the same problem... just wow.
I remember Lesty who early on was pretty much an ass, being rather gay towards him at the end. 😂

Most of my favorite RPG's tend to have a mix too much of one side is bad(imo)
I mean even in otome games I'd prefer there to be girls that aren't antagonistic towards the heroine.

The story isn't perfect... nor was the gameplay, its pretty casual and thats fine.

I liked the game enough to buy the soundtrack and art book on release like even
Kirika,Rinna and Excella's figures! nothing against Sonia but I didn't like the one they released
sadly they never did release a figure for Marion... guess she's just not popular
if anything I found he past the most touching and she could be very powerful in battle.

 I guess that mini review concludes this post... feels good to write something positive in a while.

PS3 Opening... 

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.