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| Eh... Edward's smile seems creepy on the cover but he ain't. |
Genre: VN.
VNDB: https://vndb.org/v47010
Release date: 18-7-2024.
This VN was delayed by like a month and is also slated for an english release by aksys.
At first I wasn't sure if I should bother getting it in JP but still went with it.
The heroine did seem cool & its been a long time since I played a VN with a maid as the protagonist
the last one was like crimson empire, I had a rather laidback/slow approach toward Mystonia
and so it took me longer to get through! i'm sure if I had pushed it then I could have been done
in a week or so but why the rush? Otomate's september lineup may be stacked
but unfortunately half of their games don't interest me right now.
Pro's
- There's enough intrigue to get hooked.
- Length is comfy, not overly long or drags on.
- Gorgeous Art and fitting BGM.
Con's
- Boring common route, probably the least exciting part of the game.
- Overall story elements can feel repetitive the more routes you do.
- The content in the other ends needs an acquired taste, also it has NTR.
Storywise this game has revenge themes so if you're not comfortable with those it could
be a skip, for me I think it depends on how it is handled but am disappointed with how
Mistonia implented it, its like they chose to push petty revenge which did not sit well with me.
**Thankfully it is still an otome game and taking revenge isn't always the best outcome.
This game's characters are also intertwined with each other. Each set is between the heroine
and two guys such as Ascot/John, Edward/Linus and Lukas/Alfred which works
with one particular ending each route called Maze. This maze end was by far
the worst possible outcome in the game and more often than not I just regret doing it.
I'll say the cast of the game sure was a vibrant bunch! there's a mix of well known
and lesser known seiyuu's as well. If you've been playing otome's or watching anime
for a while you will definitely hear some old favorites.
Due to the huge cast of characters I did worry this game would be on the long side
but it wasn't that long at all the common route was roughly 3 hours. Its only long if you do all.
Perhaps this game had too many characters because it was hard trying to keep
track of them all and even then some barely had any screen time so if you
did not pay much attention something could have easily pass you by
which may or may not have happened to me. More on that later.
The art looked very distinct and unique, some charactter designs looked like
this was a serious game but then I looked at the CG's on the official site
and it seemed much lighter? needless to say the art looked gorgeous.
I think there was only one CG that looked derpy to me.
The music was pretty good at setting the mood and tone of the scenes.
I thought the beginning was pretty good & got me hooked, the story beats there were well executed
as you get a look at the heroine's life and hints about there being more to it all. Rose/Applause
doesn't work alone and there are other maids including a shy/clumsy one as well as butlers etc.
Its just chapters 1 through 3 can feel a bit repetitive which is likely my only complaint about it.
System is standard stuff but you'll be having to select where to go on a map quite a bit.
Most scenes after selecting where to go are relatively short, so with a guide it may seem
like a lot but its really not that long. You really do work as a maid at a mansion!
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| Eh as long as you watch every event with characters or go to a room with a gem u're good. |
Those scenes can range from boring to mildly interesting and/or funny. There's three main endings
for each route as well but honestly the only endings I cared about were the happy ends.
The common route was pretty boring, Rose/Applause works as a maid
and will see other characters interact as she works, at the end of the day
the gem fragments you collect will form better information of what happened.
Due that I think the investigation part of the common route is the worst part of this game.
I did not fully understand the gemstone stuff but they're like memory fragments
and so Rose can get a better view of what transpired between characters which may or may not
help her own search for the truth. Its not like Rose was an onlooker, she was doing
her job the whole time! and quite well but honestly I don't think she could ever
be a favourite of mine mostly due to how she treats the guys in the maze ends, it completely
ruins the mood. Lucas nor Linus among others did not deserve any of that and in the case
of Linus his maze end was by far the worst written in every possible way.
Other maze ends ranged from mildly entertaining to wtf is this BS, looking at you Ascot.I mean I am all for different outcomes but the heroine could be really manipulative
which can either work in her favor or against her. It never felt good to me.
Hmmm..........
Do you ever just play an otome game that you think had a pretty decent plot and characters
but you just couldn't enjoy certain aspects of it? to me Mistonia falls into that category.
I know full well that it is impossible to like everything but it seems this was done
by multiple writers as the shift in tone between endings and/or routes was just too much.
Next the characters; you got some like Lucas who're really interesting
but are just sleepers in other routes or there as support like Alfred tends to be
so when I got to the truth route it felt like what if all the tiny threads combined
and then throws a bunch of new stuff at you that's suddenly totally relevant, its so bad
that suddenly side characters have a much bigger role so sudden that my only reaction
to it was like oh okay! Some of the overall plot across the 6 routes was also too repetitive
and there's another villain but... you never see much of them at all during said routes, only truth.
I can't remember this tiny foreshadowing and then barely any reference till 6+ route later.
Had this be one of my first otome games I think I would be much more forgiving but it is not.
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| Alright... Alright... ALRIGHT! |
Mistonia definitely had a decent mystery and intrigue but just fell flat in the end
and I think its because too many different writers or one took care of the truth end
or this or that route and didn't touch jack else and worked with what they had.
**The length of the game may also be a problem because it can seem quite short
compared to other games and it can seem that a lot is crammed into a chapter
so while its not boring it can certainly seem like its rushed itself.
I do wonder who worked on Lucas route though because I really liked that one.
Doesn't help I had trouble to get into it because the heroine had a constant poker face, it wasn't
through halfway a route I could see any romance. Its basically full of serious tones but early on
it doesn't seem that serious yet and plays most of them out in a fairly light manner
so despite being revenge themed I myself am not even thinking of revenge half of the time.
It did get better when you get onto a route but the common route didn't do it any favors.
Simply put I was a bit mixed on the vibes and it could change depending on routes.
I did however really like the character interactions between main and sub
it kept it engaging when the plot wasn't really there yet. It took untill
midway of Lucas's route before I started to get invested in literally anything.
In said route the plot/romance was actually pretty good, idk if it was because
I did Lucas first but I had a good time which is what matters anyway.
Alfred's route was a bit of a sleeper, its honestly best to do him first or second.
Linus actually grabbed my attention and was interesting from his 1st chapter.
ASScot's route was an entertaining dumpster fire but I started losing interest at Edward
and thought most of his route was boring and wondered what he even add to the plot
because Ascot's route brought so many revelations I was like what else is there?
Edward's route wasn't very exciting in comparison which isn't good tbh.
John's route was pretty great from the start and I was relieved since it was worth sitting
through 5 routes to get to him. Maybe your opinion could differ but I enjoyed John's route.
Fair warning this game does have NTR ending(s) needless to say if you hate that trope
don't do the ending related to it, its always the maze end so just stick with best end.
To be safe maybe don't do both of Asscot's Clown&Maze endings.
I know Rose is in it for revenge but I just don't like the idea or appeal of some guy even slightly
disappointing you in some way to make everything worse for them or to switch to guy B
because A isn't useful. I know that this plays very well into a certain character but damn not for me.
I guess I am just not that petty of a person which may be why the best end was enough for me.
Atleast the choices make you have a say in the matter so that is good.
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| I definitely did love Lucas, there's actually a very good reason he is like that. |
Mistonia can be slow at first and it could seem not as interesting but it may pay off
to keep paying attention as you go through the common and individual.
NGL the common route investigation part reminds me of VN's from 10 years ago.
So is it good? well if you're looking for an otome with an active protagonist and a fun
cast of characters with some fluff despite serious tones it still gets my recommendation
especially if you're tired of longer otome games, you'll still get a solid package here but if
you hate NTR or the MC manipulating situations for her own ends this game is not for you.
Granted most of that stuff is reserved for the clown/maze ends but its still something to be wary of.
Even after everything I am still not sure how I feel about the MC, I only really liked her in the best
ends, mostly everything else just made me feel uncomfortable that I want to pretend I didn't do them.
I just am not able to vibe with this heroine when she pulled some of the stunts that she did.
6/10
I initially gave it an 8 but man those other ends just... NO.
**Even a day after beating it I am like is my score too high? only route I thought was
really good was Lucas, others don't compare so I dropped it again by 1 point.
I will say Mistonia has some very high production values from sprites,CG's to the
background art and also the music. None of that was bad at all, neither was some of the story.
Also I can see why this was picked up for localization, being undercover as a maid
is a cool idea and could hook folks even if they're not into otome games.
However if you do end up playing this and the heroine doesn't vibe with you then that is okay
and then this game may not be for you! Rose is just written to appeal to certain angles.
As for playorder I was mostly interested in Linus and Lucas as well as John
but unfortunately there are restrictions for Edward,Ascot and John.............
Edward needs Linus,Lucas and Alfred. Ascot can be done after Two/three good ends
of those initially availabe. John basically needs all so no choice with that one.
Recommended order: Lucas / Alfred / Linus > Asscot > Edward > John.
I recommed this because the initial three have no restrictions
but if you care about the story then its best to do Linus before Ascot
and with this you can have some free choice based on personal preference.
As per usual spoiler and route babbles after the jump, if you don't want those then stop reading here. Like always I will share some of my favorite CG's as well but not all of them.
Side note writing Applause is weird all the time so I refer to the heroine by her alias Rose.
