Shiro to Kuro no Alice Twilight Line - Review

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform:PSV.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/bw_alice/twilight/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21786

Release date: 2018-11-15

Ah yes the FD- or sequel to that rather messy alice in wonderland otome game
from otomate, in case you wonder what I mean by messy again is that
the overall story was too scattered and there was no locked routes
so if you did Nello first you'd basically spoil a plot behind the scenes
or if you did Snow's then well you basically got the best possible resolution.
That doesn't mean the other routes aren't worth doing as it still would fill in the blanks
here and there regarding the characters. So in short when a story would benefit
from restriction they said nah let them pick! which could work if the important story bits
weren't all over the place, like I am sure no one likes getting to Minette mid game
only to find out it was better to do him first since he has nothing to do with the main plot.
Shiro to Kuro no Alice had a story albeit very messy and all over the place!
and even that did not change in its FD's additional scenario.

Pro's
 -After stories are short and sweet.
- Art and music are excellent.

Con's
- unvoiced heroines who still talk to each other as if it was voiced, which
like the original ruined a lot of potential in scenes everyone else is voiced.
- Story is still a scattered mess.

Content wise there is the after story's ~lover's day~ which gives us a look at their lives now
it covers both white and black happy ends... which is probably what you wanted the most.
Then there's another line... which is basically just an another story...
but with individual endings as well which is where most of the meat of the game is.
There's also the tea party after doing all which is a nice extra for full complete.

Either way I decided to start with Airi's side first mostly because she literally got stuck the worst boys
and Luna with the sweethearts, which made me not very interested in Airi's side.
After stories are like an hour long BUT there's one for each happy end (black and white)!
  so that's basically two hours... whether it was worth it depends on character like

for me Minette's were an utter waste of time but Nero was actually worth sitting through
so I guess it depends but even then I wish they put more effort.
Another line was eh... after 4 routes I got the general gist of the plot and had enough
and actually got sad we didn't get a routes for Rui, Ratt or Nine instead
like they give us new characters try and flesh em out but they don't really get resolution.
Volume wise its about right... if you rush its probably not but I thought the content was fine
and could definitely last a week or two if you take it slow but eh unless one was
invested in the world of shiro to kuro no alice I can't really recommend it
since this is for fans of course, I got what I wanted out of it thanks to Luna side
but still felt it was lacking in someway maybe because they had to split
the lover day scenario to the two happy ends which makes no sense if
the another line scenario also sort of follows up on the bw after???
IMO most of the white afters were the best to me so I wish they'd made it a little longer
even at the expense of the bw after but eh they still managed at making some of it
its just not going to be to everyones taste.
As we know Another line has the same problem as the original game
I am going to recommend Snow's route there for last as it has the most
revelations about Rui, the rest of the order shouldn't matter too much
so just to be safe do Airi side before Luna's with Snow last.

That ends my spoiler free section...

Wand of Fortune R2 FD ~Kimi ni sasageru Epilogue~ - Review

PSP box art because I like it more.

Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSP, PSV.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/wandoffortune2_fd/vita/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v10050

Release date: 2018-10-04

The much needed FD for Wand of Fortune 2  ~Jikuu ni Shizumu Mokushiroku~
This is where I say its better late than never, since I did like the cast enough
to return otome hogwartz one more time for the much need epilogue to WoF2
because let's be real, WoF2 had so much character development that by the time
you got to the post credit scene and you'd see your handsome man all grown up
you'd either be like aww its over OR wtf?! growth spurt much? (looking at you Est)
to the point you don't even really recognize and want more time.

Pro's
 - Plenty of content and fanservice.
- No more gameplay.
 - BGM is a relic of the past...but has charms, OP theme's a good jam.

Con's
-Short, only reason I took so long is because I paced it out due to otome game drought.

So in the prologue of this FD; in some dream-like space she meets a fairy named Bell
and now Lulu has the power to visit the past or the future... 

because Lulu has had so many possibilities Bell's gonna help her out!
At first, me thinks this little scenario takes place after the true end of WoF2

but since she let chances slip she had regrets this is where Bell comes in

and she gets to spend lovey dovey time with her harem.

So many things! so little time!
 

There's the after stories to WoF2.

A scenario of a ball at mils clair where thanks to Bell. Lulu can go out with everyone

and finally there's loli-Lulu's big adventure... but that was so random I didn't write much of it.

 Ball scenario can get repettitive and the writing for each guy keeps it a bit more fresh
but its not long, an hour or so maybe less, still fun just gets redundant.

That ball takes place somewhere right after WoF1/mirai no prologue but before WoF2
but Lulu was so busy studying she completely forgot, idk its sort of weird trying to place this
anywhere and maybe its better to just believe Lulu forgot about it all together back then
which will actually all make sense once you do Solo's scenario, what a special boi.
There's a score card system where you can check what you have completed
but imo since its sorta obvious in the stories which element belongs to who but still nice
that you can check if you really completed a route (after/ball/great adventure) with that character.
There's also this mils claire DX thing which is basically interviews with the characters
and bonus voices which was the only awful thing to complete since it requires
playing with bell and feeding her stuff loli-Lulu finds in her big adventure
but its not too bad and can be done in no time so its not that annoying.

If you finished WoFr2 completely and still like the series I see no reason as to why one
should not get this. It has plenty of content and an extended epilogue to WoF2 is what
we all wanted the most and the rest is enjoyable, the overall content makes it worth the price
even if its still short, just because one after got me in a bad mood didn't ruin the whole game.

9/10

Piofiore no Banshou - Review

Donte be like; being in the same room as these guys gives me a headache.

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSV.

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

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21782

Release date: 2018-08-30

This was probably my most anticipated new otome game in a while
and to be honest barely anything that has released recently caught my eye.
The theme of mafia has been touched upon in arcana famiglia and even ozmafia
still the way this was presented got me excited and back into the otome mood
but whether or not this was a good otome is up to the reader/player but imo? its not bad
and I do not regret getting the limited edition.

 Pro's
- Immersive scenario that isn't wasted and good cast of characters.
- Amazing art and music fits the setting/mood.

Con's
- While Meanwhile events are insightful it'll get on your nerves sooner rather than later.
- It can get a bit brutal like fights/deaths etc... not otome in the slightest.
- You will find a reason to dislike every main character in this game.



The only thing that got me worried was if the protag would be able
to hold herself in such a setting like this... she was raised in a church
and looks like the pure ''I know nothing about what's going on type'' needing to be protected
 but she actually has a bit of a mind of her own and isn't some dumb blonde except in Yang's route.
The story takes place in this italian city Burlone and three mafia familia's struggle to get
control over it there's no justice because its a bloody mess due to all the fighting! there's some
folks who have enough of their crap too and want this BS to end.
One day Liliane meets Dante by the graveyard at the church she lives
he seems to be mourning someone and it all rolls from there.

The game also has this ''meanwhile'' system where you can see what is happening elsewhere
this is nice considering all the different familia but can also be annoying if not used right.
I don't have any complaints about the music, it fits the setting and mood
and the art is gorgeous! RIRI did an amazing job!
So about that MEANWHILE SYSTEM... let me just say that while nice it also sorta sucks.
You can easily miss these events that happen at the same time to the point one can say
why didn't you just implement them into the story without having to go out of your way
to view them every time meanwhile shows up on the screen?!
I ended up missing many of them during dante's route which btw wasn't that exciting
to begin with but i figure different POV's would make it more interesting
but they were mostly just insightful things like what is that character up to.
The only route the MS system affected an ending was Orlok's... but its best
to pay attention and catch them all as you go which means less hassle later on.
They do not affect the platinum trophy I missed a bunch of them and still got it though...
I think some of them might affect the ending like one in Orlok's route but the most
important ones happen automatically which makes me go like why not do that with all of them.

Overall without going into spoiler/plot details of course...
I did liked how the routes actually have a Best/Good/Bad branch and choices actually change
the scenario quite a bit... leading to an entirely different ending you never know what
is going to happen which considering the setting is really good.
Prologue/common is also nicely done you will branch out to a new route in different ways
so basically the choices actually make a difference and without a guide it could be difficult.
Not everyone is going to like this game; fans of arcana famiglia expecting an awesome
MC like Felicita? nope you aren't going to find it here.
Fans of Ozmafia might be disappointed too since Piofiore is much more serious with little fluff.
 So what do you have to expect? Serious story centered on mafia problems
with a girl with a kind heart at the center of it, she isn't a complete doormat so that imo is a plus
of course there's romance and memorable otome moments but not much
which going by say Donte's route is just enough feels more like a normal VN would be better.
 This game also has a ton of suspense, in some route its better than other and
certain choices can lead to dead ends so be careful with what you pick.
IMO Piofiore is just right, if you can stand the mafia problems atleast!
the writers do not hold back to how serious they can be and while I have some
gripes with how this isn't all otome-like as in only one route ever getting close to it
I still hope it gets a FD one day but what exactly is an otome game?
there are many different types and yet this is very much one of them its just more serious.

I still think this is a solid otome game compared to other disasters I have recently sat through
*cough*Chouchou Jiken*cough* this game is a lot better suspense wise than that one ever was.

I can definitely recommend this otome game if you want a serious story centered on the mafia
and don't mind things ending up in a bloody mess, while I have gripes here and there
its imo as good as Collar x Malice or Code:Realize since the otome bits might leave to be desired.

Side note, I love how the chapter titles for each character are in different languages.
Dante's are in spanish, Nicola's in Italian, Yang's in chinese, Orlok is in german,
Gilbert is English and the finale was in french lol.
If they ever localize I hope they keep this haha.

If I have to recommend a play order the one I followed didn't cause problems
and flowed naturally so I will recommend it to others:
Dante > Nicola > Yang > Orlok > Gilbert > ???.

and that is all if you want no spoilers! more ramblings after the jump.

Collar x Malice Unlimited - Review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel.

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSV.

Official Site: http://www.otomate.jp/collar_malice/fd/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v21789

Release date: 2018-07-26

Fandisc to Collar x Malice! and I dare say it deserved one

since the original was more focused on plot than romance(not to say there wasn't)

they did still balance it out quite nicely though! it did deserve a better look into the future 

especially for characters such as Shiraishi because we all know he deserved it the most.

Content wise its just the usual after stories and something dedicated to Adonis.

Pretty sure they followed up on that one bad end as well but I did not
get my hopes up for anything good to happen out of that.

Pro's
- After stories of decent length, varied endings for everyone.
- Art, hanamura just gets better and better!
- It's got the volume, more than tierblade(unfortunately so).

Con's
- ED theme be nice but its not in sync with credits and just cuts off/repeats, sloppeh.

Sysem
Interlude: this further details events about X day; where some dude named
Chisato Tachibana brings up some suspicious facts to Ichika and the others.
After story: continues on from interlud; the after story of the two.
Adonis: Basically another side of the story.
Side story/what if's: self explanatory.

First of all it is nice they go out of their way to give us another look to the whole
X day thing as a refresher especially after two years and have a nice movie
such as the story thus far at the start of everyones after.
Honestly I feel a lil conflicted about this FD most of this comes from interlude
it felt pretty low effort at trying to start something. -_-
The interlude part aside everything else is 👌 still the same guys we all know and love, no OOC.
The interlude was interesting as there are different paths to take, I went to unlock all
afters before actually doing them since it would only be a hassle to go back and forth.
Unfortunately nothing was truly interesting... it did expand on certain things

but the only good thing about this FD is the fanservice after story.
The after stories are of decent length, there's not much plot to it but the scenario
was interesting nonetheless it focused more on their relationship though.
TL;DR its recommended if you liked CxM and want to see more to the relationships.
 If worried about quality/value of the fandisk, imo its more worth it than Tierblade's FD
which only convoluted the plot revelation after revelation but CxM manages to actually clear it up.
9/10

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly - review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel.

Developer/publisher: Otomate, Aksys.

Platform: PSV.

Official Site: http://www.aksysgames.com/pbb/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v15771

Release date: 2018-04-27

Back to our regularly scheduled otome game reviews.

I will be reviewing this a little bit different due to the nature of the game

as in its better to not know too much about anything story or character related

before you play which means it probably will be my messy ramblings of likes/dislikes
and my apologies for bringing up the biggest drawback too much
but it just shows even this game isn't perfect, tbh i've yet to play one otome that was.

Unfortunately before I played I was warned that this game is in fact a giant common route
with the individual or romance part as an after thought. This is fine but part of me prefers
something more balanced like code:realize. However sometimes I don't mind if the story's good.
Also you're better off playing this game without a guide, you'll most likely get Kagiha's route
(like what happen in my case) without trying; unless you were super curious about that one book.

Good stuff first, I really like the story, the way its presented and written sort of sucks you in
because its full of suspense which is good motivation to continue on. The flow chart is meh
only really handy to get where you want to be, constantly having to stop the story
for the side stories might be annoying especially when things got really interesting
(more on this later) even then later on certain side stories provide a way to see
another side of the characters others are meaningless filler of days gone by.
The minigame isn't annoying but it might take a bit to get used to.
The key is to not shoot the butterflies individual but lock on to a lot of them at once while getting
the special coloured ones and then shoot, basically look what you chain together.


The protagonist is voiced, has an actual personality and backstory this time.
Beniyuri is an integral piece of the story which after the last localized otome i played is very
welcomed. A protagonist makes or breaks a game...but for the most part she made it a lot better.

Music adds a lot to the mood of the game which helps with both suspenseful and light-hearted scenes.
 The OP isn't really my thing but its not unbearably bad or anything.
The art is of course pretty to look at; it helps with the overall theme of the game
I like how they changed the colour depending where it took place.

Pro's
- Interesting and suspenseful narrative.
 - Likeable cast of characters.
- Art is pleasing to look at.
 - Music fit the mood.
 - Giant common route, individual routes or more like ends are short but overall its of decent length.

Con's
- Extremely short; I think if you actually put effort into it you can finish it in two-four days.
Main/side ep - Having to read Five of these ''daily life'' to continue the main narrative was
incredible jarring, esp when I was pretty engrossed by it. I only liked the one about
cooking and shojo manga but most did nothing to add to the actual plot except camaraderie.
This just brings the potential of this game down,  its like reading this manga and at the end
of volume 4 there's a bonus side chapter full of fluff which takes place some time earlier but we
couldn't fit it in! I get some of them are like a reward but its sad how the mainstory
just goes like ''a bunch of days passed'' yet here we are in a bonus episode  about just that, it really
could've been executed better like there are these ''main story'' bits  and things get interesting
like at one point I expected a minigame as they headed out to confront a monster but was booted
into the flowchart to read even more ''short episodes'' WAY TO RUIN THE MOMENT!

That aside its still an enjoyable mystery otome game, that has a bit of a flawwed execution.
Great cast, decent amount of suspense + drive to get to the bottom of it all
and good art/music to compliment it. What more could you ask?

As for the localization? I am pleasantly surprised! its really good, like BAW its
not that long of a game so it makes sense they have more time to check things over
if the size of game isn't that big, the font is pleasant to look at this time too so thats another plus.
It does makes me wonder what goes wrong with their bigger titles...
if only they could give those the same type of Q&A as their smaller ones.
Speaking of BAW... certain things are similair however in my honest opinion
I think Black Butterfly has the better narrative but even then it has its own set of ''issues''
to the point I am going to have to recommend you to read as many side stories
as you are able too even if you can advance the main story. Doing so will give you less
frustration of having to go back and read them later on which ruins immersion
especially because some do take place early on and its just weird to go back
I really do think the whole main/side is this games biggest drawback. :/
Personally the only side stories I've enjoyed are Yamato and Monshiro's
nothing against Kagiha but because I saw his end first his were permanently ruined!
so I was lowkey like I should've watched his along with Yamato after all... sigh.
The only thing they did execute well was the enforced play order and how more of the
overall story will be revealed with each new ending you get to. Its just a bummer most side
episodes are basically just filler, atleast the actual individual ends(thegood ones) are a nice treat.
The only jarring thing is some oddly copy pasted text here and there but nothing too bad.

Out of all the otome games currently out in english it depends on what you want
but if mystery type stuff is what you fancy i see no reason not to get it if you haven't.

8/10

That's the not so long version atleast... i'll ramble a bit more after the jump.