Shin Sakura Wars Review

 Genre: ADV x Action.
Developer/publisher: SEGA.
Platform: PS4
Official Site: https://games.sega.com/sakurawars/lang/en/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v26147
Release date: 12/12/19(jp), 04/28/20(eng).

 

Okay so I played the lates entry in the sakura wars series for ps4, its known for being a vn with srpg

part, outside of this game only one other game was localized Sakura Wars V: so long my love.

Also this review is a quick and dirty attempt to keep the blog alive...  I got this game because

they discounted the physical edition for 33$ (even came with stickers).

Enough about that this game is about the imperial combat revue that protects tokyo from demons

and during peaceful times they're a theatrical group who put on performances in their theatre.

Figting demons by night and performances by day?!

 Or atleast try to because they can't really live up to the legacy...

 

 

Pro's

Likable characters, plot is alright.

Comedy.

Graphics/expressiveness of models etc.

 

Con's

Short, best played in short burst.

Combat leaves much to be desired.

 

Despite never having played a Sakura Wars before I still enjoyed my time with it

and its definitely not needed to play previous entries to play this one.

The grapics were nice, the models and the expressions of the characters

took a bit of getting used to which by the end was the case atleast for me.

I really liked the characters, the story was alright and there were plenty of funny moments

imo the adventure part was the best part of this game; sometimes being kamiyama must be suffering!

With the choice system  you can be a good boy and be nice or just be a shameless pervert

but that might cost you peoples trust though there's enough room to be both.😅

There were only two characters that I couldn't win over; Yui and Margaret i'm pretty sure

those were the hardest since they (along with Kaoru I think) get the least opportunities to raise trust

while Sakura on the other hand is the easiest, that's the poster girl for you.

Story wise its best to go into this game knowing as little as possible, there's also an anime

but I do not recommend to watch that till after playing the game that is if you want

some more extra time with the cast as its apparently a sequel to the game.

If you are already are familiar with this series i'm sure you can pick up more cues and the bromides

you can collect have moments from previous entries in the series even those who weren't 

localized, there's also koi koi wars which is a minigame were you can challenge characters.....

its a hanafuda card game, outside of the first match I didn't really play it as I was confused.

Nice there is a minigame to play and collecting bromides though collecting that is also tied

to sranking all the stages with all characters... but the difficulty of the stages doesn't improve.

I think completionists will really suffer with this game...

I liked the intermission system, I usually played one chapter a day except from ch6 to final

because I was extra motivated to see it through to the end.

That aside from my perspective this game is best played in short bursts, sometimes I wondered

if they designed this game for a handheld with all the frequent intermission breaks

or if its just a habit of the series from the old days.

 

Unlike its predecessors this game's battle system is not a srpg but action... everything else

is in the same spirit, it was easy to tell the devs put a lot of passion into this except for the combat

which I'd hate to say but this game has one of the most disappointing action type battle systems

i've ever had the pleasure to experience  as its... too easy, there is no challenge whatsoever

the last stage; while suited for last confrontation felt like a chore and during it all I wondered if I even

wanted to do another characters ending or just settled for the one I had chosen which was Claris.

Yes, Claris is my best girl.

Not sure how I should describe the combat, think dynasty warriors but smaller

there's also a lot of gating/scripted encounter so you can never truly go crazy like DW.

There's no way to upgrade your units either so it never feels like you improve

not that there was a reason to but idk this wasn't a good thing imo.

The enemies ai are also nothing to write home about and if there was a boss encounter

it all came down to whether or not you can dodge to give even more opportunity to attack

some of the early ''bosses'' can go down in a single special attack, yea no effort was made here.

So... the combat aside I can say that I still liked this game, the characters were all likable

you could tell Sakura was the main heroine but if you liked anyone else of the main girls

you can just pick them instead, this game didn't have much harem nonsense either so that was a plus.  Characters like Yui and Xiaolong grew on me, yes I disliked them a little at first.

Most importantly even if I had some problems with how they resolved things

this game knew were to end, its a bit on the short side but nothing ever felt like it dragged on

too long, this game might be short but I'd rather it be like this than have it pad itself out.

I had fun, most of the time I had a smile on my face and maybe got a little sad

at some of the plot developments, so overall this was an alright game in my opinion.

Its not easy to bring back a series from the abyss and I can tell the devs really tried with this one

and they did succeed even if the combat wasn't enjoyable the rest of the game was.

Unfortunately as much as I liked it I can say that this game isn't for everyone

from the weird humor to the casual combat, its hard to say who its aimed at.

Though if you like anime and dating-sim/VN in general then its probably for you.

There's not much else to say, this game was alright but completionist will suffer...

7/10

Bilshana Senki ~Genpei Hika Musou~ - Review

Genre: Otome visual novel.
Developer/publisher: Otomat/RED.
Platform: Nintendo Switch.
Official Site: https://www.otomate.jp/birushana/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v22987
Release date: 2020-09-17

 

Bilshana or Birushana senki is an otome game set in the heian period's genpei war, since

I got nostalgic and remember a little of the time period thanks to harutoki 3 I decided to get it.

Also this game has a character voiced by Fukuyama Jun whom I don't hear a lot in

these days (I say as I just found out he apparently voiced a main char in Bustafellows).

That aside most of the main characters looked attractive one, of the love interest here

was a npc I disliked in harutoki 3 so there is a little bit of bias going in.

Also since this is another historic otome game its probably not for everyone.

 

Pro's

- Decent story, long but pacing alright. 

- Heroine is capable and also head-strong.

- Fun cast of characters.

- Art is beautiful, even side characters got sprites.

- Music is fitting, OP and ED theme is nice.

 

Con's

- Lot's of common scenes throughout.

- Decent amount of bad ends, confusing system.

 - screen dimming / switch going standby on automode.

- Random crash after returning to the main menu and opening flowchart.

 

 

The heroine of this game is Shana-ou, otherwise known as Minamoto no Yoshitsune

for the majority of the game she has to pretend to be a guy.

Knowing otomate this can go both ways but I had hope she would be both awesome and cute

wasn't disappointed she was pretty badass, also very stubborn!

Shana also has some weird power which makes her become a demon on the battlefield....

 

The pacing was alright, its not too slow and not too fast either and it being 

a historic fantasy it did get a bit boring, I was instantly reminded

by jyuza engi 1 with the amount of old dudes speaking, most of the other

characters were fun though tomomori became like a joke for me.😅

Unlike Dairoku side characters do have sprites here, look at all those handsome monks and ossans!

i'm not kidding I do think one of the ossan's looked handsome oh otomate what have you done.😱

I ended up on Benkei's route on my first play, I wasn't aiming for him at all but i'm kinda

glad I did get on his route because he was likeable and supportive.

Just doing one route will not answer all of your plot related questions so that's good!

I mean give me that incentive to do the other routes! they didn't make them too irrelevant.

In terms of plot revelations I think the route system was a lot like Hyakka hyakurou/Nightshade...

Most characters are not that interesting outside of their route their problems

are relatively self-contained within the routes especially Noritsune.

In terms of plot relevance I would recommend something like this:

Noritsune > Yoritomo / Shungen > Benkei > Tomomori.

I do think it can be done in no particular order except Tomomori as last

since his route ties up the loose ends most other routes hint at.

I think my own play order worked out pretty well so here it is for comparison!

Benkei > Yoritomo > Shungen  > Noritsune > Tomomori.

 

Also I tried to play this without a guide but I just hit some bad end which wasn't near the beginning.

Can't say I recommend to play this without a guide😅 there's a chance you hit an

abrupt bad end, the system is strangely complicated there's the usual affection and then

there's three other gauges as well i'm not even gonna go into that. Its better to look up a guide

if you don't understand it, but other than that it was pretty standard stuff.

Other than that, the story was interesting enough but its a bit on the long side?

Most of the characters were likable, like Hana Oboro certain side characters

got a special what if episodes as well which actually made characters like Takatsuna

and Shigehira more likable so that was nice.

I could make jokes about the characters which at the end of the day

might have helped getting me to like them more cough tomomori cough.

Romance interests are varied, some routes could be a hit or miss but you can't like everything.

Benkei was surprisingly likeable but he's not really my type as he ends up being

more of a dad than anything else his route was also weak in terms of plot so that didn't help.

Yoritomo was harder to like because I couldn't read him but the story really delivered for him

I think the only route I had trouble to enjoy was Shungen........I do not know if it

is because I did Yoritomo first since it made things more confusing that it had to be.

 

I think my only complaints are how... the skip was kinda slow

but there is a skip to the next choice I assume was via the flowchart

though I didn't mind iddling for a few minutes so its not that bad.

Really I don't have many complaints... war bits might be boring and/or repettive I guess?

I had a lot of fun playing through Bilshana the war parts did make me sleepy

atleast the characters were all attractive and there was drive to do all of them, this also

wasn't a game of trying to make everyone happy at the same time which was a good thing

because I dislike it when they sugar coat things too much in these type of games.

The story was generally the same in most of the routes, there was enough

going on with the characters (drama etc) that give different view points nothing was

exactly the same in all the routes even if its limited by the scenario which can be repettive.

There was also a bit of comedy to things sometimes but it doesn't

overstay its welcome as it knows when to be serious and when not.

Another good thing because it would be too dry with all the war stuff. 😅

For its genre I thought it was an alright otome game and I can recommend 

if a fan of historic fantasy and enjoy to explore such a setting with a mostly likable cast!

and don't mind deaths, since its long its also a good way to pass the time but if you're not

into history and war stuff then it could be an easy pass.

8/10

End of non-spoiler section.

Gunka o Haita Neko - review

 Genre: Otome visual novel.

Developer/publisher: Primula.

Platform: Nintendo Switch.

Official Site: https://www.prot.co.jp/switch/gunneko/index.html

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v22122

Release date: PC: 2018-09-28, PSV:2019-09-12, NSW: 2020-06-18 

Since I was thirsty and there's not much otome coming out I decided to cave in and get Gun-Neko
primula's latest game which was recently ported to switch by prototype!
I originally passed on the vita release because it was at the end of the life cycle and all
then not even a year later this got a switch port and I ain't got anything else so I was like why not?

I'm actually surprised no one had blogged about this game... but after sitting through it I understand.

Takes place in postapocalyptic world where humanoid cat people live among the ruins
of civilization, Japan is Tama's country (Wakoku) she lives there with Yuzu, Kuu and
was to be married to her cousin Koutaro. Kitty and Willow aka imperials come from
outside of japan they live in western style and use more advance technology.
Tama has always been pretty obsessed with humans, she was raised with care since
she's a bit special knowing the writer i'm not surprised most of her heroines have a quirk. 
The plot be like all these different cat people live in harmony till some human boy crashes
the wedding plans of the heroine Tama a princess and her cousin ala isekai style, now they have
much more problems on their hands as the empire moves in on wakoku

and this human boy gets to see how they all live strangely like humans did.

Oh dear did I just sum up half of this game in the non spoiler section...

Jokes aside that is exactly what this game is about, why are these cat people living so much

like humans once did?! who are apparently long extinct. Yep that's it.

Pro's
- Likeable characters.
- Comedy.
- Art/music.

Con's
- Length, it will likely test your patience.
- Interesting but executed in the most boring way filled with politics.
In most routes 90% of the time nothing happens does this say enough?
- Relies too much on the true end to make sense of whatever ''plot'' there was.

The opening is done by Ether which gave me GUST vibes.
Most of the seiyuu's are unknowns to me except Murase Ayumu and Ishikawa Kaito.

 

Tama herself was pretty cute, most of the guys were attractive, they're all based off of cat types so if
you love cats this might be a point of interest? I don't know that much of it so that was lost on me.
Art be pretty the backgrounds were decent as well and music fit the mood 
so I can't complain about any of that atleast.
System is typical choices but they have you occasionally do this sense of self thingy
where you click something left,right,up or down but this felt so unnecessary I was like but why?
The jump to the next choice feature was fantastic though...

Now I don't want to be too harsh right of the bat but is it legal for an otome game be that boring?

I mean it had some nice ideas but the plot was ok at best, chara's be likeable enough

and it has nice sense of humor as expected from the creators of taishou x alice.
That aside primula decided to do a take on the overused isekai trope: an otaku getting transported
somewhere expect harem and be OP but he ends up in an ikemen paradise instead.😂😂😂
 None of that really got explained or made sense till the true end which isn't unusual.

The length is definitely a blessing and a curse. Its good to get to know the chara's but if
the attention span is low one might get bored and in my case I did get bored at times, bored enough
to wonder if Ibuki was secretly the protagonist.😔 who doesn't even get a real route, most of
the time his entire existance is for comedic relief and support role, he gets written out
in many route very easily.😓 It makes sense for it to be that way buuuut i'm eh about it.
Though the whole thing with Ibuki was amusing it was hard to see what they were
going for at times I knew my patience was being tested, considering the writer
I'm not surprised, couldn't help but wonder if there would be psychological elements involved

but it was mostly politics instead atleast there was comedy which made it slightly better
they also love to change the perspective of the characters at times though
it only made it look more complicated than it actually was.

NGL after clearing I think my fav routes were the two childhood friends.

 

 

 

 

Overall this game isn't that serious and most of it was pretty relaxing? it took a while
to reach the individual routes or for things to get anywhere, if you don't have the patience
for this its gonna be an easy pass. I did find some of the political intrigue/world
to be interesting though it just wasn't engaging enough which just made me sleepy, I think
Kuunyan was my favorite but even his route left to be desired, each route does try
to do things differently so there's no copy pasta or 90% common 10% individual.
There is one landmine route which even lacks a proper ending, he may have deserved
such an end due to his behavior throughout but even so... atleast his route was short
still kind of feels like it was a waste I dunno just had to put that out there.
The true end wraps up any sort of questions one might have but it feels like the guys
just had routes because its an otome game and none really contributed to
the heart of the matter, when you do get there it also stops being an otome game.

 
At the end of the day this was mostly okay it might be better if you really love cats
and don't mind the militairy themes but if you want something short and sweet then maybe not
they know how to really pad it out at times which really bored me to tears.
I did like the romance and cute/funny moment which was for me the only saving grace
but considering how sleep inducing the plot is... I just can't recommend this game
unless you like games such as ye olde hiiro no kakera or Tsumikui so despite their being
a decently enough written plot beneath it all it was too long for its own good.
6/10

My play order ended up being:
Yuzu > Kotarou > Kuunyan > Shed > Kitty > True.
I'd probably recommend the same order, Shed and Kitty can't be done till 2nd play and

Yuzu or Kuu could be switched if need be, those two were probably most self-contained.

That ends the non-spoiler babbles.

Harukanaru toki no naka de 7 - review

Genre: Otome visual novel/RPG.

Developer/publisher: KOEI/ruby party.

Platform: Nintendo Switch.

Official Site: https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/haruka7/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v26558

Release date: 2020-06-18

Time for the latest installment in this series, it seems we're going back to the sengoku period.
What I love about this series is the swept to distant land trope and how of KOEI know their history
like I remember looking stuff up about Dan no ura and other stuff from haruka 3 and it was like
I learned about japanese history in a creative or romanticized way.
Haruka 7 isn't an exception to their usual ways but they were very creative with for example
Okuni and other things, though i'm not sure what they were smoking in general lmao.

I didn't have much expectations for it but one thing that stood out to me is that most
of the seiyuu cast is identical to 6 and to an extend 5.

A quick look at all vndb entries for the series basically shows this is apparently a thing

for 1,2,3 and 4 as well... not sure if KOEI is playing favorites but they make it work?

That aside...
This game is accessible to newcomers! as lore gets explained though if u have played
other entries it might be a bit like oh I know some of that already cuz its familiar.
I actually hope KOEI gives this entry a try in the west.

Pro's
- Interesting characters, no one was completely unlikeable except maybe antagonist.
- Unique character focused routes.
- Art/music.

Con's
- Length, rpg part might get tiresome.
- Plot while interesting, can be a bit inconsistent.
- Sometimes months would pass but its not reflected well in events.

For the system, the usual VN with map movement to catch a characters event flag

there's battles as well but this time instead of mini srpg from 6 we actually get

a more normal rpg-like battle again, the sd sprite look cute.
We can rotate our hachiyo in battle on the fly to take advantage of strength and weaknesses
and they can use skills with others or on their own which is nice.
Better not forget to heal them when needed though...
You lvl up normally this time though I recommend setting onryou strenght
to weak unless you really want challenge as fighting too much can be a little draining.
Also either find a good guide or save lots because it is so easy to break
a character bond from a wrong choice making it unable to proceed their events
and in turn get their ending for the rest of the playthrough, trial and error works
with this but at times I can't help but get anxious at times.
You can skip battles on 2nd play but only ones you had fought...
they still have us fight the trash along the way, thanks I guess.
Can also fight the four lords; seiryuu,suzaku,genbu and byakko to get a useful skill but
unfortunately its more like a tradition to be able to enlist their aid this time regardless of story
then again I can't remember if it was ever needed in 3 or 6 but either way they're in.

After the first chapter and a bit of the second I was mostly positive and interested
in the characters and excited to do their routes. The only exception being Satsuki
he was annoying at first but over the course of the game he somewhat redeemed himself.

I didn't find the voice for Okuni fitting but it grew on me, you don't hear Shitanda a lot but
feminine bishies he does a okay job with.
That aside having to actually pick someone on my first play was hard! going forth between
Kuroda and Yamato, though it was nice playing without a guide the first play
but I was anxious without a guide to rely on, I kept up with 5 guys events
and while the story was already lengthy the individual made it even longer.
The story itself was interesting and not hard to follow (maybe for Yamato 😂) though
its quite long, chara events itself aren't long and whether it romantic varies greatly this is
more about journey than the destination kinda thing and what is there is nice.
There are some eh moments but that's it most of the guys are pretty safe as well.
Some routes are just not my taste like Yagyuu the 2nd half wasn't that great which I thought
was fine in routes like Kuroda, Yamato or even Musashi but for Yagyuu meh.
Its not like the story is bad perse but I can tell they tried too hard to give everyone
something unique the antagonist are also inconsistent sometimes one of them will disappear
off the face of the planet / shoved to the background and i'm like ok.
I think Haruka 6 was more consistent at doing the every end does it differently than here
and its really obvious this is by multiple writers as the quality of the plot varies a lot
like Yukimura's took a nosedive after the last boss and I basically liked every other ending instead.
Also I looked up one of the scenario writers and apparently he worked on some eroge... O_O
but this game was relatively tame though. 

I thought Nanao was pretty great, she acts independently a lot as well
and won't wait for her babe all the time, she speaks her mind so that was great
at times she did lose her brain but she's the do what she can type.
Side characters are also given portraits which after Dairoku I much appreciated
and the backgrounds/art in general looks nice, music fits the mood so can't complain.
Overall I did have a lot of fun, decent story and romance/otome part was alright
not every char might be my type but when I think about it no one was really dislikable
they all got their own ambitions and atleast the romance didn't feel that forced
for some it was obvious they needed a bit more time to figure things out.
Doing every route might be tiring especially if someone isn't your taste...
and whether the 2nd half aka the route is any good depends on that as well.
In the end I can say haruka 7 was decent, story was ok and the otome element was alright
so it was pretty well rounded compared to the last two otome games I played its just since
there are so many route there might be a few meh ones and plot not well-rounded in all.
What's funny even though I found Yagyuu's route meh I didn't dislike his character and for
Satsuki I don't like him that much as romantic interest but his route was still great
though if we are talking about Yukimura all I can say that's a pity compared to everyone else.
So take that as you will, overall this game was worth a purchase for me and can recommend it
if you like history and want something to sink time into as its a pretty meaty game
the only bad part is inconsistencies with its plot, things in one route might not be a big deal
in others or come up at all, this is the best I can explain without spoiling too much.
For score it shifts between a 7 and 8/10 so 7.5 seems about right...

For playorder it doesn't seem to matter and since there are so many love interest

its probably better to go for someone who you are interested in first play.

Pro tip: Its easier to try to keep track of as many events though at certain times their are

cut off points like in ch4 at oosaka and the other one is at ch5 of which rumor to follow.

Unfortunately you cannot go for Naoe and Kuroda at the same time or
Satsuki and Yukimura for that matter as its very cleverly split so having a save
in ch4 is recommended if you kept up with all events so far.

There are three story scenarios which i'll call: Neutral, White and Black.
Based on relevance of plot I am going to rank the routes from worst to best.

Neutral: Yagyuu > Yamato. (both were ok but i have soft spot for Yamato overall)
White: Okuni > Musashi > Satsuki.
Black: Yukimura > Kuroda / Naoe.

My playorder ended up being:
Which I think is actually recommendable, as Naoe might be more satisfying
in terms of romance after someone like Yukimura.
1stplay; Kuroda > Yamato > Yagyuu > Musashi > Satsuki.
2ndplay; Okuni > Yukimura > Naoe.

End of non spoiler section, there's more spoiler babble's after the jump
so you're warned on that note.

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.

Shinigami to shoujo - review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: TAKUYO

Platform: PSP, PSV.

Official Site:

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v6656

Release date: 2019-07-25

I finally decided to get started on this while getting into the otome mood again
after a hiatus, this was also the last vita otome game that I had ordered.

I've always wanted to check this one out and am glad I got it before i couldn't like with psp ver
unfortunately the otome game part of this game while its there is rather disappointing.

The seiyuu are unknowns except for Suzuki, Nojima and Kanna though the latter you

don't hear often anymore either. That aside the play order is kind of
forced on you there's not much free choice but to listen to Takuyo.
The heroine was voiced but only in the prologue, ending and Touya/Ao route
which was jarring but I guess budget? so I can't complain for doing it that way.
 I personally love the art style, the music is also amazing so there's that.

Pro's

- Interesting char's/story which is what kept me going tbh.
- Beautiful art and music was really good.
- No annoying minigames like in Himehibi.

Con's
- Length, slight copy pasta and takes too long to get to the heart of the matter.
- The otome part of the game is lacking.

Our heroine Sayo loves stories especially her brothers who's an author. Sayo's bro
tells her about one of his works shinigami to shoujo which was pretty sad.
Sayo is a pretty rich girl, loves books especially her bro's and has an ojou-sama air about her
and she has only one friend Kaho, whom is Sayo's only friend cuz no one puts up with her.
Sayo lives with her bro due to family issues  and not only does her brother like her
Sayo also has a brocon for him......

Every chapter so far basically deals with someone having a problem, chapter two was
Louis claiming to be the protag of one of Toya's stories... as if the Tomoe's episode
in ch1 wasn't enough now we have a fanboy? oh well at this point it was kind of
hard to see how all this was important to the story in the long run
but apparently these stories run paralel to those in the books and did foreshadow
a little about another problem regarding the protagonist Sayo.
Chapter 4 is where it gets messy, the first route that you're recommended
to do, wasn't even resolved properly till you continue ch4 common.
:Pikachuface:
TBH the common route was pretty boring, just slice of life and dealing with
random peoples problems that untill you do the latter two routes
don't really seem to amount to anything or make sense.
The writer is the same as taishou x alice but even that managed to be a lil better
in the otome game department, atleast the story was still good so it evens out a little.

If you enjoy a good story and char's then I can recommend Shinigami to Shoujo
but if not and just want an otome with a some-what decent story and romance
then I suggest to pass on this game, as its just not going to pass for one.
I didn't have much expectations for this but as an otome? a let down.
Not having much else to do lately I was able to enjoy it either way
cuz the story was pretty interesting to keep playing even if otome/romance was lacking a lot.

While I don't mind Sayo's constant uwu'ing over Toya at the early hours, it doesn't make it much better as some could find it annoying even. Atleast all the chara's were likeable in someway.
Trying not to spoil but while the strong points are that its overall story and characters

are still very well written the otome game part can be disappointing/confusing
especially the first route it felt like there was only a route because it is an otome game afterall.
I don't want to discourage anyone from trying it out as the story was enjoyable/interesting
but it is quite messy as an otome game and confusing till you get to the bottom of it
and even then... unless you like thought provoking psychological stories I suggest to pass on this
I think the writer definitely improved or had better direction with the recent Taishou x Alice.

 

 7/10

This is a good visual novel if you enjoy thought-provoking stories with romance second.

That ends the spoiler-free section.

end of 2019

Didn't really play that many otome games this year, which was probably a good thing.

Variable barricade was alright... but Kenka bancho otome 2? oof the sequel we didn't need but got anyway.

Had plans to read shinigami to shojo and Gunka wo Haita Neko but decided to take a break instead

and wait for 2020. Aksys picked up some otome too like Piofiore and looks like Collar x Malice

will come to switch along with the FD which is nice. Piofiore might not be for everyone tho.

I plan to pick up Harukanaru toki no naka de 7 when it was first revealed the quality

of the art was a bit flat maybe Mizuno is just overworked or something.

Same.

 You can see more of that art linked below... some look fine but a bit??? 

 https://www.bs-log.com/20190914_1373676/

 Thankfully the ingame sprites and CG don't look like that at all.

 https://www.gamecity.ne.jp/haruka7/chara.html

Basically me in 2019.

Harutoki 7 shows promise, looks like they're going back to a setting like 3,4 or 5.

I liked 6 a lot but its sequel was very... meh and just made a mess of things

3 might be my favorite, still got to finish 1 but the novelty isn't there because

I watched the anime so most of the surprises I already know and it already had a simple plot.

 Ack maybe I should just do it for Yasuaki. >_<

 I also got my eyes on Olympia Soiree as well, the art is very pretty I hope the story hold up to that...

knowing otomate there's a chance it won't but I like how they have slowed down with games lately.

Probably because of the move to the switch eh we'll see, best not going to expect too much.

In other news...

 Takuyo has risen from the dead and is making himehibi 3 and Koi no Hana Saku Hyakkaen for the switch!

Didn't expect that at all... after Sweet clown they've mostly been porting their old games to the vita.

I might end up giving Koisaku a shot, I am in the mood for something light-hearted

though I hope it isn't that dramatic, knowing Takuyo they hardly false advertise their games.

Getsuei no kusari seemed grim and we got grim, Himehibi was light-hearted/comedy so we got just that.

2020 looks promising i'll just not play as many as before which is better for my wallet too haha.

Same goes for RPG's too i'll just pick up what interest me the most, I played a bit

of FE3H as well never played FE before but its nice.

I'll just go at my own pace from here on out, only picking up the games that seem like a good time

to me which with otomate is already hard cuz they always try to slip in some crazy trope

and that could ruin the whole game and/or give bad aftertaste.

 CoughVariable Barricade's last routeCough

Jokes aside atleast Variable barricade made it funny.

Variable Barricade - Review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate

Platform: PSV.

Official Site:

VNDB:https://vndb.org/v19850

Release date: 2019-04-04

Oh baby... the wait is over, or maybe they announced this game way too early.

Pretty art, an interesting set up but will that hold up? only one way to find out!

Its from the creator of Wand of Fortune and Reine des fleurs... both are titles
that are known to make the player suffer. Sigh~ but VariBarri wasn't that bad

didn't enjoy the overall game / cast as much as WoF though.
The protagonist here however is fully voiced! a big plus as it breathes so much more life
into them but I suppose even unvoiced have perks.

OP MOVIE

Okay, what is this about?

Hibari our heroine is pretty much a perfect ojou-sama and then one day is forced
to pick a candidate for marriage from four potential suitors who literally throw themselves
at her for that reason. Needless to say our heroine says no but hahaha... this is all a plot
by a her old man and even if Hibari says I can find me a man on my own he's like lol.
This is so dumb I CAN BARELY HOLD MYSELF but atleast Hibari's great
and it turns out she's going to have to pick one or she'll just have to marry someone he chooses.
Now she has to live in an an apartment along with these guys... they all want Hibari so much
it like she's living the otome gamer life! but... then Hibari has a nightmare they're just
after the money of her family etc and it sorta gets a little dark from my point of view.
Either way Hibari wants none of this... but still has to roll with it.
If I had to be very honest the most annoying one out of the four would be Ichiya...
I mean what kind of normal person would believe such over the top lovey dovey behavior
of someone whom you don't even know personally? I know I know there are people
out there that come on strong but this is a little much, and personally those who
come on strong early on are to be wary of so Ichiya has way too many cringe moments
not that the others are completely green either. >_> the only sane one is Hibari
and tbh who wouldn't want her she's literally perfect but even so she still has some issues.
Tsugumi was a great BFF to Hibari I could appreciate her love for romance but it got a little meta
with the whole its almost like an otome game! thing can't tell if good or bad...

Pro's
- Light-hearted and funny.
- Art
- Charming music.
- Voiced heroine/protag

Con's
- Drama; best not take it too seriously also kind of a drag.
- System is simple but presented in an awful way.

System... its pretty simple there's common route / flowchart and its easily
seen when one has finished a chapter, much oversight and no annoying
minigame to be seen, if you get far enough you can enter the personal stories/routes
but the seem split into parts like Ichiya 1, Taiga 1 etc you're forced to do everyones
part 1, as its part of the common route this is to help decide your fiance.
There is some sort of minigame but its hard to explain and tbh doesn't fit in well
depending on choices the guys weapon becomes stronger to break the barricade to the heroine
and other choice strengthens the heroines barricade...  watching the sequence in question
is kinda funny but doesn't make sense as when he succeeds Hibari is suddenly
 able to give Ichiya a peck on the cheek, seems to be more a battle of wills.
I think the barricade battle thing doesn't make sense visually it literally looks

like the guy is destroying boundaries in the form of a fence with a sword which gets
stronger or remains weak dependant on your choice, I didn't find this funny
and honestly it could be done without, though I admit the art did look cute.
They could have just kept it simple with choices but alas... they wanted something extra.
Then there's RABI which you have to set to different location to unlock extra event
that are in no way important to the plot, still don't know if you had to view them or not
and you can view them later from the gallery can suggest to just focus on the main story first
then again reading them later might be bad so might be better to read it as it appears.
There's also WHIS the APP the characters message each other with only a few have a choice
and the rest is just banter after an event. All this is awful to explain, its actually quite straight
forward. Since this from the team behind wand of fortune and reine des fleurs so one shouldn't be
surprised at how the game flows atleast this time there's no RNG like in WoF so consider
yourself blessed. The flowchart is simple and easy to see what is going on but uh
once again the general flow is to straight-forward to have this laid out for you?
sometimes the way you unlock stuff is still a straight vn something tells me they had
something else in mind but due to change of seiyuus they had to change things.
Well enough about sytem because it is quite simple some of the mini event you unlock
from RABI are funny some others weren't worth it.
Now for a good thing, you don't need a guide if you want the love ending for that guy
just let him destroy the barricade, for the other simple don't make him too strong
but if you do that to early into route its a premature bad end so you gotta balance.

A QUEEN

After finishing all routes I have to say... boy is this a hit or miss!
Either way without spoilers its an alright otome, in fact its funny like legit I cannot count
the amount of times I laughed out loud/snorted at the dialogue... sadly most of this
was in the common route, the latter half of the routes was mostly filled with drama
only a few route was balanced enough for me to enjoy it. >_>
Too bad the barricade breaking was in bad taste for me... the whole game is kinda like
trying to love someone just to proof yourself to your old man who most of the time
just laughs it off when the drama is over like what the hell is he thinking?
which is all explained in the true route.... you want to take it seriously but also not.
Hibari was so great at speaking her mind and being assertive, she really is a Queen
buuut she still is a girl and not perfect nor her suitors. That aside I had a good time

which is more important than plot which is very straight-forward and focus on character
but definitely seems to be more to it all which kept me hooked

to get to the true end which gave us things we didn't really want but got anyway.

The story is there but don't come here for a well thought out plot cuz it ain't that and the

drama could drag but nothing too heavy. If I had any complaints its more the flowchart
not making sense with its arrows making it seem like you don't need some events but
have to view them anyway to proceed considering the team behind this I AM NOT SURPRISED.
Game still balances the common/individual part very well but all the short
chapters made me quick to drop it for the day when it really isn't that long at all.
Overall its not short nor too long, it has some value.
This is more or less a VN about the protagonist/heroine and guy realizing what he/she wants
the most through the interaction whether or not a route was for you will depend...
I found Ichiya to be very typical and the drama was probably right out of a shojo manga.
Shion... was akin to a soap opera, Taiga was more like a love comedy(my favorite)
and Nayuta was just painful it hurrrts, didn't help Shion/Nayuta it just dragged itself on
or maybe I just didn't like the characters at all, atleast Nayuta I could like by the end of it.
Variable Barricade is fun but nothing much else, light-hearted drama but not too dark
the bad ends were surprisingly disappointing just like the guys themselves lmao.
TL;DR you have to show you're a woman who can make choices for herself
or else get stuck with some guy your old man marries you to for business. >_>
Yeah that is literally the whole point of this marriage thing... play order is not necessary
I can recommend the following though~ you can switch Nayuta and Taiga
if you want spice after Shion but its not going to matter, even better don't listen to me
and pick whoever you are interested in the first time, Shion > Nayuta > Taiga > Ichiya > True.
Okay spoiler free rambles are over it was pretty good and while the guys may not
look it most of them do become likable over the course of the route, unlike
a certain otome game that makes you dislike them in other route (lol).
7.5/10 For Taiga, 5/10 for the rest.

Kenka Banchou Otome 2nd Rumble - Review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Spike chunsoft/RED

Platform: PSV.

Official Site:http://www.kenkabancho-otome.com/2/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v24312

Release date: 2019-03-14

So after the original and its fd was a little bit of a success, Spike/RED decided to make another!

To be completely honest I never expected a sequel after the FD because even if some afters

had problems *hint Kirarin* it did wrap itself up in a nice way.

So as release nears all I could do was question it existence and hope for the best

as in that it retains what we all know and love about kenka bancho otome.
They're nice enough to recap some little events from the original thanks its been two years or so!

This also being my first otome of 2019 even tho I had tried to start panic palette
or continue ashen hawk but unfortunately no motivation~

I kept putting it off so here's to getting back in the otome spirit but this game...
this game made me kinda conflicted considering how rushed it is.

Pro's
Characters still have charm.
Art/Music still great as ever.
Kirarin's route is much better and I am not even biased (ok maybe I am).

Con's
It's basically season 2... idk if this is a good or bad thing btw.
Blatant bias for friend routes, otome route feel rushed/lacking.

Unfortunately they also decided to change the battle system its no longer like rythm game
but some sort of minigame where your buddies can support you. NEW and EXCITING but
HONESTLY IF IT AINT BROKE DON'T FIX! but imo it ain't that bad of a change.
That aside its easy to play but very mashy, atleast with easy mode if you can't be bothered
to play the minigame and just want a VN you can skip the battles and instant win.
Thanks spike chunsoft.
Either way, it was pretty fun in the beginning but ended up skipping after the 6th battle
and so nothing of value was lost I think my only real complaines is how
the kenka banchou otome games have such awful loading times, it runs on unity but boy!
I could go grab a drink and a snack while this baby starts up... >_>

So it basically continues after the first game where there is no romance and shenanigans continues
as in the next semester some guy named Sagara Tenma transfer into shisiku but he's no angel
and just as bad as the rest, I pity the meek principal who cannot even finish the welcome ceremony.
Nozomi's also here but whatever i'm still pissed at Kirarin for neglecting his otouto last game!
All the guys are just extra bro kinda like everyone loves you but not quite.
Otome sequels tend to be hit or miss for me because of this... like it gets annoying to have
a round two after certain events and most character love the protag from start but most are not
like that and here they're just bro's, ahem going through the common route
was a lot of fun, plenty of laughs here and there but on second play its not much of that
and its just get event flags and read skip till the route starts which is done in no time.
If I had to recommend any play order it would be:
 Kirarin > Mirako > Konparu / Totomaru > Houou > Tenma.
The first route was the most enjoyable to me and if a Kirarin fan
you may as well enjoy the game to the fullest this way, i'm not the biggest Kirarin
or Mirako fan but even I can approve of what I got and it was nice
unfortunately neither Konparu nor Totomaru could give me something that was better
than the original routes. Ow well its only fair they had a good one to begin with
don't get me started with Houou his was alright but a massive dejavu because
of the sameish reveals even the friend route with Tenma was more original...
speaking of I might have enjoyed the friend routes more than love especially Toto&Konpa's. >_>

Never wanted a sequel but at the very least it turned out to be a nice one (for the most part).

And that this ends my spoiler free impressions
Kenka Banchou otome 2nd rumble is a title that is sorely lacking in the otome department
but at the same time still manages to deliver what we all know and love.
It is by no means that terrible but overall it doesn't succeed its predecessor
or does anything that holds up to it which is just sad when it has less value overall
and thus I can only say it is an average sequel, it gives and takes... feels short and
it even feels as if its an apology for Kirarin's awful after story in the FD
because in this game his route fixes everything that went wrong
but you know what? no matter how nice this game was I do not even want a FD from this
because I cannot trust the writers anymore, halfed assed routes for some? check, blatant bias
for friend routes? check. Same flow of events despite new semester? check.
IDK but this sounds bad to me and somehow was still enjoyable...so I have mixed feels.
Maybe I am nagging too much but my score is very fair for a sequel who has less value than
the original, so basically SKIP THIS and go play the first game if you haven't
all of the routes there have so much more value than this rushed mess of a sequel.
In the end the comedy and characters are what held this game together for me
AND I LOVE IT FOR THAT but its really sad to see how rushed it is
and some routes especially the love route are anything but memorable.
7/10
''For what it is worth an enjoyable sequel, unfortunately it does little to surpass
its predecessor and in comparison is overall a very rushed experience.''

Otome ranking of 2018

Whoop it that time of the year again to make one of these!

let's start by going over the ones i've played and compared

to other years there's not as much which makes sense, I only picked

up the ones I thought were genuinely interesting and skipped any I had second thoughts of. 

Code:realize shirogane no kiseki.

Chouchou Jiken.

Taishou x Alice Heads or Tails.

Psychedelica of the black butterfly.

 Collar x Malice Unlimted.

Piofiore no Banshou.
WoFR2 FD ~Kimi ni Sasageru Epilogue~.
Shiro to Kuro no Alice FD.

🏆Best new game:🏆

Piofiore no Banshou.

 Considering what I played there was not much competition I enjoyed what I could but

considering the themes this might not be for everyone but I still think its solid

and didn't waste away what it intended with the setting at all.

The only bad part is that no main character was truly likeable except Orlok

like they all did something shitty outside of their own route and Yang...

ah yes Yang he was beyond likeability even in his own
but atleast the story was solid and stuck to its themes that being one about mafia meaning its not
gonna be sunshine and rainbows! without making too much of a mess of things unlike the next!

💩Worst new game:💩

Chouchou Jiken.

Sidney... steal me away from all of the unredeemable love interest (except Haruka).

 What in the seven hells was this?

I thought this would be a trashy mystery otome game

but it never got that trashy nor the mystery part was that interesting.

It might be great if you enjoy having a mouse nibble at your toes

but honestly this was such a waste to me like most of the routes

weren't even interesting and the ones that were weren't even important to the overall plot.

It only starts making sense in the last two routes and the romantic interests in it were complete trash

and relied too much on pity me pls trope, look I can like characters that have had a bad time

but when they literally have a goal to use the heroine for their personal gain throughout the game

or worse kill her if gotten the chance, Yes people can change, pity is allowed
but sometimes pity is not enough for me to turn a blind eye the art was nice but at times
 meh, the music was awful /grating and the story while interesting
to get to the truth it kept beating around the bush about some russian revolution
that doesn't add up before you get to routes that matter said characters almost had no
redeeming factor. Sorry that's gonna be a no from me...

🏆Best Fandisk:🏆

Collar x Malice Unlimited.

If there was any otome game that needed a fandisk it was collar x malice

the after stories were enjoyable and unique for each character and the adonis

portion gave us a different look at the villains while Ichika gets herself together.

While I thought some of the after stories were too long I think the content

in this FD is of more value than that of Tierblades which I also enjoyed.

Wand of Fortune R2 kimi ni sasageru epilogue.

 The finale of the WoF series did not disappoint me, even though its short
it managed to be on point and not drag it out and none of it was wasteful
except maybe the true end epilogue... poor Solo.
With the exception of Est's after I found it extremely enjoyable definitely not something
WoF fans want to miss out on! after all this time glad they still ported it.

~

💩Worst Fandisk:💩

Taishou x Alice Heads or Tails.

 Let's face it this wasn't even a fandisk but an addon

the new routes are exactly the games subtitle aka a different side of the same coin

it only gives us information we already knew but from the perspective of side characters!

Which is nice but not when there's no real ending for them with the heroine because of canon.

The rest of the content was ok but on its hard to recommend unless you are a real tai-ali fan...

and it doesn't add to the scenario of the two except for an extended epilogue.

Also the treatment of Ookami in his route made me rage so much! he's such a likeable character

but the writer cannot let go of the canon and he is still a third wheel no matter what.

Dear otome game writers; if you cannot let go of the canon do not give side characters routes

just to get into their heads, sure its nice for a chance of POV but ultimately
you are wasting your own time and that of the readers since all you do is give bait
but leave us hanging wishing for something more or a different outcome.

~

😐Meh Fandisk.😐
 Shiro to Kuro no Alice Twilight Line.

This was just one of those fandisk that isn't that bad but not great either
but still manages to deliver, i'm not the biggest fan but even then
I can see they tried this series strengths also makes it its downfall.
The plot is still as inconsistent and messy as ever that did not change and I doubt
it ever will, wherever otomate will take this I think my shiro to kuro adventures end here
no matter how much I enjoyed my time with Luna and her guys.
Its not that great... but still, it might deliver in ways a fan would like it to.

Code: Realize shirogane no kiseki.

 The third fandisk and while a nice addition to the series

it did nothing for the overall story , Cantarella was a nice attempt but it only
gives us after the fact information that not even Cardia ever find out. (Only the reader)

The only thing I say that was great was the extended epilogues from shukufuku no mirai

but even then its something that should have been in that game to begin with.

Its great if you desperately want more code realize in your life but I hope

otomate won't milk it more than this, you can only get so much out of it...
and by now I think I got that, there's really not much anymore I want out of Code:Rea.
 Before you get this I think one has to consider, how much do I like code:realize?
will additional stories with the cast be worth my time no matter what it is about??
If a super fan then yes you should get this but if not... then well maybe not.
~

🏆Best english release:🏆

Psychedelica of the black butterfly.

 While the otome game part is a hard sell, the story however was pretty good

every main character contributed to the scenario and it was a good feeling to get to the bottom of it
and while I have not finished Ashen Hawk it has the same feel so I had to mention it.
It is incredible hard to write about it without spoiling anything... one is best to go into this
without knowing anything, don't even go to official site! the less u know the better.
~

Well that was all for 2018 not as many console otome games as previous years but its not just me
otomate hasn't released as much nor has other companies. I skipped ports
and have been playing other games/busy with other things.
With otomates move to switch things might look better next year but even then
I am hesitant to make the move, its not a secret some of us just step out of the genre and
lot's of otome game blogs have died over the years when a console such as ps2/psp came at its end.
Vita is no exception nor will the Switch go on forever... I like otome games but i've
feel that I have enjoyed what was to offer and at times am ready to leave the genre since
I start to be jaded and cynical at new titles which aren't even much different then what I played.
There's still some (old) otome games that I'd love to play next year and I will probably do just that.