Otomate party 2018 has come and gone so these are the important announcements.
Variable Barricade revived, coming to ps vita and ps4 near you in 2018.
Yay, its not dead! really looking forward to this!
Kurenai no Homura Sanada Ninpou chou, also coming to psv and ps4 in 2018.
IDK kinda getting burned out on old timey games...
Shiro to Kuro no Alice Shinsaku(new work), PS Vita.
Ah it must have done well enough for a FD... or maybe it was planned
since some part felt scattered and endings a little convenient.
Collar x malice unlimited... no platforms.
I do not have high hope, probably means permanent out of jail card
for a certain character, ugh I get sick thinking about this.
Piofiore no Banshou for ps vita.
Post ww1 set in italy there be mafia idk but not excited yet.
Shiritsu Verbara Gakuen ~Versailles no Bara Re*imagination~.
Not familiar with that anime so can't say I am interested in this work
platform wasn't announced but I bet its vita.
Tengai ni mau iki na hana, PS Vita.
Its set in taishou/showa era? not really interested right now...
shares same artist as hanayaki nari / verite.
Cendrillion PhalikA, PS Vita.
The art looks nice and the heroine's cute but idk cinderella theme and all it feels like a trap
could be surprisingly dark so uh more info please?
Charade Maniacs, PS Vita.
Personally this doesn't attract me at all so definite pass unless rave reviews.
Triangle Project, PC seperate volume release.
Oh otomate dabbling in PC territory and try to rip us off in the process
releasing the whole series separately. lol no thanks.
Other news...
Diabolik lovers haunted dark bridal and more:blood bundled together and port to PS4.
Library cross mobage gets anime... much like sengoku nightblood. (me is meh about this)
Another Dance trips PV... well who is actually interested in this? looks so cheap lmao.
Nil admirari anime PV was shown... well atleast they take their time in making it
hopefully at the very least its a 12 ep 24 minute series and not a mini series.
Well it seems otomate is determined to move to PS4 but still has plenty
of PS Vita otome games in the pipe line so its not over yet.
Looking forward to Variable barricade and I will keep an eye out for
Cendrillion PhalikA and Piofiore no Banshou. I will probably get shirotokuro FD
as well but untill new info is revealed most of these titles are in the back of my mind.
Long awaited new sangoku rensenki game with new heroine and cast
with some old ones making an appearance.
Since it is very likely to get a vita port I just decided to check out the trial now
also I know its bad to judge the full game on a demo but from what I saw I liked.
Also I will write the name as spoken and english equivalent.
You should know that if you aren't into chinese history you'd probably have to give this a pass
buut you might learn a thing or two it would depend on your love for bishonen?!
Tomoe is a highschool girl coming from old fashioned family and talented with the bow
but has no experience with romance.
The way the story starts gives us a good look at Tomoe's normal life
but she's really dense and her best friend Nana has to play shipper on the deck
because she can't stand how Tomoe and Kouta are right now.
As in they're friends but its awkward, so Nana figures Tomoe is in love with him
and says they'd should just go out already but Tomoe is like what should I do?
So when she goes to the library Tomoe isn't there and she finds a book
related to the sangoku period and well you guessed it she gets swept away to a world
resembling ancient china in the early three kingdoms period, sadly this time
the protagonist does not choose those who saw victories she chose those who lost. Due to choices in the prologue it may differ where you end up I like this because you get to the route you want right away.
Those who played the original may not sit well with some stuff...
and there's a little false advertisement of fighting heroine often she is forced
to do nothing this I felt in Yuan Shao route that is why I recommend the route of Lu Bu first
because you will see that despite being capable she's a girl and killing is not what she wants.
Its best not to compare too much with previous work but see with open mind.
System: typical VN stuff and daisy2's easy mode is there
so you can see which choice relates to what character and get on a route faster.
I think the demo itself is about 2 maybe 3 hours considering to try all route.
I found a recommended play order in a JP review so I will relay it for you its:
Lu Bu / Dong Zhuo > Yuan Shao > Sun Ce > Hua Tuo.
I think Lu Bu is a good start but according to them Dong Zhuo's not bad either.
Everything written down is what happen early on in the route if you do not want spoiler just skip character section, I only saw Yuan shao and Sun Ce to the end of demo but everything else is only a little, it probably ended shortly where I stopped.
Since the story setup ain't the typical otome I got interested since there's not much else
out these days so why not go back to some games I skipped out on?
This was like otomates first PS Vita otome game and impressions were good
but the values aren't so eventually I just grabbed a copy for 30$ on playasia
yep it goes for that cheap... they prolly just have too much stock and it needs to go to it etc. Heck it even came with the preorder drama CD...
After the last game I played this was pleasant and much more enjoyable as a whole.
I admit the art syle isn't why I bought it nor found it attractive at first but it grew on me.
The music was great, definitely stood out and the OP was catchy. I never skipped it and sometimes I'd leave it on the title screen so it loops.
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Pro's
- Interesting set up for an otome game.
- Each character's interesting and has a reason to be a candidate.
- Comedy.
- Slick Art style.
- Music, great its not something to tire of.
Con's
- No touch features, I know this is otomate's first vita game but it may've as well been on PSP then!
- Typical truth route problems are of no concern elsewhere, guess Anvan is under tight-leash.¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Not every route may be to your liking, well duh but whatever other con will there be?
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Aika's not amused at how laid back the other heavenly kings can be.
Our heroine Aika is one of the four heavenly kings. She is tasked with finding
a successor in the human world, 3 of the other heavenly kings have already
assigned recommendations, Aika however adds the mysterious Yukine to that list.
Aika isn't a typical heroine she ain't one to take shit and this can lead to shenanigans,
It was funny to see her reactions and the guys to be blending in as a human highschool girl
but she's prett cool and won't sit still when her friends are in danger.
If anything she's anything but a typical otome game heroine
but remember no matter how cool she is, she's still a girl
some routes handle it better than others.
Aika isn't one of those otome game heroine's that would take the crap most do, she's more than capable.
Just by going through the prologue I was like? wow this is pretty fun/interesting
and it never beat around the bush while still having fun moments.
The system was standard so there's not much to add to that but I liked the way you select event.
They're not long but sometimes it feels like a side story along general story but its nice
way to keep stuff character specific but uh by the last route everything flew by!
Gotta add that I found that it was a pain in the ass to read font in the selection screen, I literally
needed atleast a minute or two at times to decipher some of the scribbles, also
no touch feature even though we're on PS VITA so use joystick or miss stuff....😅 As unique the system was... without a guide I think you can get lost... because there's so many scenes and endings and without knowing you may derail into what you didn't want. There are a lot of choices this combined with selection system made first play arguably the longest but each route was 4-6 hours at most which was decent in length.
Well I loved the interactions everyone had with each others, it feels some otome games miss out
on this comedic factor and only a few get it right to balance with serious & romance.
The common part of the game consists of Aika and her familiar Mike giving the candidates
situations to test themselves like will they face the problems and help each other or run away?
The side character Shinku, Suiu and Akatsuki were interesting as well and honestly
they do not need full routes, because story wise that would be jarring besides Suiu's an ass.
They do get endings though so there's something for them atleast!
All will become clear when you'll go through the routes, each character had his reasons
for being chosen as a candidate, the weakest link may have been Hinatsu
because honestly he makes for a poor demon king, atleast his case was unique lol.
My favorite character was definitely Iroha everyone else just followed.
The short version...
A somewhat decent otome game forever overlooked and it sold like crap
due to being the first new(that's not a port) otome on PS Vita
but didn't have much new features so it may as well have been on PSP.
While I only really liked two routes atleast every route was unique...
sadly certain character like Yukine just gets screwed over whom I only can pity. It all depends on personal taste as I cannot like everything.
I suppose the only thing this game has going for it is unusual themes for an otome game
and crisp art due to vita but once again it may've been better if it was PSP.
This is a relatively short game and the endings end when they should to the point
it can be good for those that do not play much otome and only pick one out
once in a blue moon after considering what the value is which sadly isn't that much
since this is only one game, I still love the character interactions over most else which made everything come together but I wish Kuroda had more common events because his route flew by.😭
This may be a one hit wonder, you'll probably won't find anything else quite like it
nor does it specifically need more so even if one ends up liking it be prepared
that you'll won't find any goods related to it because its just not popular enough.
I guess some games like this and others are just outshadowed but that doesn't mean they're
not worth it, honestly Re:vice[D] is better as a whole than three otome games I played last year so that gotta say something. hint: Period Cube, Moujuutachi and Suuran Digit.
Maybe its due to the way it was told and the comedy plus it not really losing sight of theme
while trying to keep it unique every route. I loved the characters, the story was there
and everything else was great, romance may need some work but what more do you want?
Otomate makes so much games and gems like this or that easily get overlooked
I am actually glad they didn't have much this year, means I can pick up stuff I passed on.
Re:vice[D] may cater to people who like otome game heroines
who're more confident than average and don't mind its unique setting.
Playorder:
Hinatsu > Iroha > Ryoga > Yukine > Kuroda
This was recommended by others so may as well... use it
I do not know if Kuroda really needs all routes but honestly his makes the most sense
after Yukine and everyone else is self-contained compared to the last two.
Uh so you know character ramblings after the jump major or minor spoilers be there so be warned.
Game: [Utsusemi no Meguri]
Genre: Otome Visual Novel.
Developer/publisher: Matatabi.
Platform: PS Vita.
Official Site: http://matatabi.tv/utsusemi/
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v20326
Release date: 2017-07-27
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Edo period, on a remote islands their exists two gates Higammon and Kogammon that lead to
the land of the dead, they're guarded by humans and oni respectively.
One day a phenomenon is observed and the heroine Amane a human priestess
gets send to the oni-clan's village along with her human servant Yasuomi.
The secrets of the island will be revealed as the miko interacts with the oni-clan
and renews the bonds between humans and oni.
Oh boy who thought these guys would stick around for one more project?
This time their game centers on conflict between human and oni...
fate and forbidden--- ah you guessed it romance.
The whole synopsis sounds like we've seen it before but for some reason
I was intrigued at how'd they handle it and they seem to take their world setting
serious enough to carefully explain it so it can't be that bad right?
This otome game is very japanese with dark themes and by no means its not an easy read.
After being sent to the village of the oni the heroine Shizumiya Amane becomes
the target of youma who are like the living dead but what are they truly?
Moving on Amane is one of those good girl types taking the words of her grandma
to heart and tries hard to perform her duties as a miko, TL;DR she does as she's told
but doesn't value her own life and basically wouldn't mind jumping in front of someone.
Amane is an okay heroine and she's cute but I don't feel attached to her at all
besides in some Kyouran/tragic route she got on my nerves.
As for length it took me maybe 10 hours till I reached my first end this includes
common route which was atleast 3-4 hours I think each route is 6 hours at least.
Said common route takes its time to introduce everyone in neutral manner and get the plot going
but the story while interesting was hard to follow maybe due to concepts I found it hard
to understand wtf was happening to the side characters or my japanese just sucked.
OP, well I like it but its a bit on the long side.
Pro's
- Interesting world view, pacing OK.
- Beautiful art.
- Decent length not too long or short.
- Character have Yin / Yan split route, one side is more happy the other is dark.
Con's
- Same-ish plot in all routes but a little different depend on guy yet only makes sense in the true route.
- Minigame could be done without like you can even skip it at the press
of the button and still get the trophies related to it. -_-
- Gamebreaking crashes among other bugs they're being worked on now but seriously...
~Art~
If you love ancient japanese aesthetics you'll love the backgrounds, seriously they're amazing.
As for CG's Puru did a great job its surprisingly consistent too but eh some angles are a bit...
strange but nothing to complain about! I made a selection of a few of my favorite scenery How can I not share this? they're BREATHTAKINGly beautiful.
~System~
You know the usual reading and choice selecting love catch etc.
The minigame this time is more simple its a purification ritual or whatever
and involves pressing buttons this may or may not save your life, or so they said.
Honestly this minigame could've done without... all it does is break the mold of only reading.
Atleast its just simply press this button in time rinse repeat untill its complete
and no rng bullcrap so it gets a pass even tho its sorta just there at the end of the day
atleast add an automatic succeed/fail after one play so that's nice.
There are four endings, not all of them are happy and some are just painful.
I think that 4eds thing is similair to say Ken ga Kimi... because the one end you'll get
depends on choice and minigame success/failure there's a small change in route
scenario as well so yeah if you ask me its pretty similair.
~
Compared to rear pheles, Utsusemi no Meguri is a lot better, Matatabi seems to have
learned from mistakes and hired better devs, no more screentear in the movies
and the lips move and eyes blink, it even has its own save screen
plus the art no longer looks blurry on the ps vita screen, it is crisp now.
I also love the general setting and atmosphere early on in this game
it had a great start to introduce everyone imo and it made me interesting
even tho the plot partly sounds generic. >_>
The pacing was good too like there's no long monologues\TL;DR that makes me bored
its just that some parts of the story are a little confusing to me.
- However Matatabi's games still come with plenty of bugs like sprites may disappear
so only the eyes and hair show that's spooky right? but reloading fixes it...
granted that didn't happen to me but i've seen screenshots that it can happen.
You know I can turn a blind eye to that but the next...
There's a FATAL bug where the game crashes when you try and save I am just sigh. -_-
Mind you this only happened once... in common route so dunno if it was just a bad spot.
Matatabi definitely had budget for this... but could've worked a little on debugging
but maybe they ran out of time and had to release it as is, patch it later.
-
That aside I sorta like this otomege, the characters are all intriguing which may make you
want to do their routes because common route wise it won't get far.
I think the only one who was generic as is was Yasuomi... but Hiiragi definitely did not
turn out the way I thought so yeah there's that! in fact he's my favorite character.
The story and relationship develops side by side... at times it may be stiff
but it'll get there, I found Hayate to be a slowburn but rewarding in the end.
This isn't a fun visual novel everyone seems to have a little darkness, some more than others.
Utsusemi has all the things that could make it decent but keep in mind its not for everyone
nor an easy visual novel language wise so with that in mind before you buy this...
As someone who do not like yandere... I am just happy Matatabi has most of that crap
reserved for kyouran/tragic ends much like rear pheles and their merry bad ends.
In most I prefer happiest and the only kyouran end I could stomach was Yasuomi's.
In short this game was rather average to me, it has a nice setting and cast but if there was a revelation about a character I was usually ''oh'' about it. In most routes it just doesn't try anything new... except the last route where it hit me right in the feels and thus I only feel really attached to Hiiragi. ''Other than that nothing specifically wowed me nor made me say it just plain sucks, in the end its just fine.''
So I recommend this otome game to people who are: A, Not tired of human x oni bullshit and old timey settings. B, People who like a dark side to characters and yin/yang route split as in one is more happy/natural yet the other is dark/sorta bad end-ish. C, Do not have a backlog/read too many other otomege like this. D, Like heart-wrenching true endings.
Playorder: Hayate > Kai > Yasuomi > Yuzuru > Hiiragi. There's no official recommendations so just go with someone that strikes your interest, for me
that turned out to be Hayate.😌 The order I went with flowed surprisingly well!
unlike the last game I played... so I can recommend it to other people as well. Due to events in Hayate I wanted to do Kai and in Kai's Yasuomi got my interest which lead me to Yuzuru! Yuzuru's filled in my suspicions about him and gaps in Yasuomi's route. Hiiragi is locked till you do everyone else... so no choice with him.
I did Happiest/kindan ends... then Kyouran/tragic love ends, this is to save whatever
likeability the characters may have Kyouran/Tragic is just shit gone horrible wrong.
Unless you don't mind that but... i'll leave it up to you to decide the order of endings.
That concludes my non-spoiler thoughts, rambles/possible spoilers after the jump.
