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.

Utawarerumono Chiriyuku Mono e no Komoriuta - review

Genre: SRPG/Visual Novel.

Developer/publisher: Aquaplus.

Platform: PC, PS2,PSP, PSV, PS4(this version).

Official Site: http://aquaplus.jp/uta/chiri/

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v3#main

Release date: 2018-04-25

Since I've never reviewed the original(played PSP ver ages ago) I'll try to 

to do so for this ''remaster'' it won't be that long since its an old game.

So since Utaware Itsu/futari was such a success, like it moved mountains

of copies on release (especially the latter) AP decided to release an updated version 

of the original game after the ps2/psp version BUT made the srpg part like its sequels.

It was originally an eroge but most of it has been replaced by other events

 some things are still implied though and the harem well its still there. xD

I played the PS Vita version but it felt like it was the PS4 version as outside of battles

its incredible clean, I never had a problem with itsu/futari since those're decent ports too
sure its rougher on PSV but atleast it retains its charms AND runs well.
Unfortunately this might be my last actual ps vita game outside of pure visual novels. 

 
Pros
- Story, long but worth to sit through all the way.
- Lovely cast of characters.
- SRPG part is enjoyable; more options compared to utaware 2/3; lots of stages.
- Music; can use special arrangement that give the feel of 2/3 during scenes
and if you want to get nostalgic there's the old BGM, best of both worlds.

Cons
- Its not without its flaws, some may stick out like a sore thumb.
- While the art itself is amazing... changing the hue of the sprites to fit the time of day looks odd.
- Missables; if you just go through the story first(like me) you might have to do another
playthrough since certain items from event/drop of optional stages are missable its not a problem
if you do everything as it becomes available but its more of a matter of knowing when and where.

Pictured; an optional battle, please note at this point its post game and i've grinded BP to max out some stats.

 Gameplay; upgraded to the likes of its sequels; SRPG part is like a breather between VN part

there's a hard mode for those that want a bit more challenge. Its very slice of life-ish

at first but it gets better; it just takes its time, the first battle was about a bit over an hour in.
 I found its easy to take breaks as well due to it bringing you to the camp menu often enough.
It has a slow start but when it gets serious its battle after battle and there's times of peace
like a calm before the next storm of course the further you get in the quicker the pace
and less time for shenanigans, that's the only way I can sum up the flow of the game
without mentioning spoilers. In terms of stages there's a ton and I still found it to be
much more engaging than its sequels, replaying only made that clearer for me.
The variety/goals of some of them is better too like there's a pure defensive stage later on
and they love throwing nasty status effects at you either by attack or a turret.
The finishers/dual are gotten pretty early and its funny how enemies can heal... even boss
this time you too can equip items that a give a stat boost and be able to heal themselves
in case Eruruw isn't around, you can even use offensive items. Overall its more enjoyable.
 You can still redo turns and replay old battles but i figured you'd expected this
and if you've bought Sasara and Tamaki before they'll automatically join.
 However I never had need of them; the main playables and a few guests(they have deathblow!)
are more than enough! also man Oboro is so amazing; he's fast and strong! if you only
raised his strength with BP and accesory to the point if used well nothing stands a chance really.

If I had to give the playable's class/roles it'll be: Hakuoro is average but if he dies so does
everyone's brains which means a game over. Eruruw is the healer, Aruruw a tank.
Oboro and Karula are the glass cannons. The gay twins Dorii and Gura the rangers.
Benawi is defense is best offense! and Kurou is his back up but weaker in terms of defense.
Urutorii and Kamyu are casters; not too strong but not that weak, they have their uses.
Touka and Genjimaru are offensive; if you know Yakuto-err Jachtwalt they're like him!
then we have Theoro and Derihourai.. both offensive unit but you won't get to use them much
atleast there's optional stages but like you're not starved for EXP or BP and I completed
the game without even touching one optional stage, missed opportunity? sure since if I want
that platinum I will have to do it again to get certain items. TBH I never platted futari no hakuoro
since the loot trophy was too time consuming and I just wanted to do other things. Well now you
know they are there and if the VN part drains you some action is available. It add a lot even if
amount of optional is like half the main scenario stages of which there are 32 of.

 On another note...
It is nice how these two DLC Sasara and Tamaki are shared throughout all three games
if you had bought them before they are yours forever! yay cross-game DLC.
The only thing that irks me is a season pass but its only 30$ and you'll get bonus items along
with playable Haku, Kuon, Rurutie, Ukon, Nekone and more which is nice fanservice.
 Atleast Ukon has a deathblow now which was quite cool IMO

Overall it really feels more like an SRPG with all the options available, not too difficult
but not that hard. Unfortunately I found the last few end game stages got too easy (lol Oboro)
I gotta add that as soon as you clear stage 14 it becomes extremely easy to farm BP
so no matter the difficulty you can just adjust stats to your liking on a whim.
That aside the pace of the story was literally one thing after another near the end, the plot
isn't bad its just so much at once and I am glad the story took itself seriously which makes
you like oh I actually missed those shenanigans early on but there's no time for that!
That might add to the impact of the ending itself. Now imagine it being mid 2000's-
(I'm trying not to mention actual spoilers or how's and why's so bear with me.)
-and you finish it; there's no sequel you're left with that ending. Personally
I found it nice its not completely a happy one but it isn't that awful they actually
left a lot of matters up to interpretation. Life goes on Hakuoro's friends
said lives had been changed because of him... basically his presence had a huge impact.
The relationships said friends have with each other... is great too and I feel
in a lot of rpgs these days you don't get to see it like here. Utaware might be harem-ish
but its not all about the harem even the sequels still manage to get that across.
Did I ever mention the lore? and how it just makes it that much more engrossing...

Graphic; Stills and Portrait are beautiful, world is lively and colourful

even not important character have sprites or atleast most of them but like I did not see a need
to change the hue of the sprites(the standing pictures not cg's) to whatever time it is ingame.

Music? at the start you can choose between original/sequel tracks so whatever suits you...

BGM is beautiful and fits the scenes quite well I don't even need to explain why
but if you have never played the original I recommend sticking to the original music track
unless you are like super fond of itsu/futari's OST.

Fav character:

Touka > Aruruw > Oboro > Kamyu >Yuzuha >  Eruruw > Benawi > Kuuya > Sakuya >
Urutorii > Karula > Genjimaru > Gura / Dorri > Kurou > Derihourai/Hien > Teoro >
Kamuchataru > brick wall; Nuwangi > Suonkasu > Dii > deepest pits of hell; Hauenka(fuck him).
Some of this is basically just preference; its only the ones that stood out.
 Nothing against the gay twins; but like they are pretty much
Oboro's sidekicks and didn't leave that big of an impression on me aside of comedy
and them being super duper loyal to him. Karula is like idk not my type but she's great
character and has her reasons but I found myself more attached to Urutorii. :/
 Benawi would be my husband and Kurou... well he's like a bro he won't let you down
but that's it really he adds a lot to the others if scenario allows.
Oboro's cool; a bit of a siscon but while he seems a bit hotheaded he matured a lot
over the course of the game and he totally gets the MVP award there's no contest for that.
Touka would be my absolute favorite; her personality... she's a bit dumb and she might
overlook things in the heat of the moment but she makes me smile a lot.
Kamyu is... like the ugly duckling and quite mysterious but she made friends
which helped her in the end I think its beautiful to see that.
I'd prefer Aruruw over Eruruw due to her growth and showing courage despite her age
like I know the story is very biased for Eruruw but half of the game she was like
a tea servant and at best a pillar of support yet... she gets almost no recognition
and just has to deal with stuff happening at the end but to be there for someone even though
they might look the other way like wow that's mature. So yeah she's good in her own way.
Yuzuha... despite her situation she's genuinely happy for doing what she can. ;_;
Kuuya.. oh man she... she got caught up in some shit and the end result wasn't pretty
but there's hope for her so she wasn't completely beyond help.
Uh now i'm getting emotional so let's stop.

While I still praise the anime of this work, as it stays pretty fateful to the game it still really
is a digest it was made painfully obvious what was omitted; minor spoilers warning here
Benawi and Kurou's relationship to Nuwangi's sister Kamuchataru; the arc takes place
around the same time Hakuoro and Karula deal with Suonkasu. Its nice chara development
but still felt like a side story. The only side thing I liked was the deal with
Urutorii and Fumiriru; the child she found and cared for; its something that may not
have been a big deal back then but with the itsu/futari it suddenly becomes so much more.

How to sum it up...

If you like VN's with a charming cast of characters and a meaty storyline I suggest

picking this up if you haven't and want to try getting into this ''utawarerumono''.
Playing this after uta2/3 will be nice too, you'll still pick things up like for example that
little baby that the gang finds midway through the game that will be more clear, even though
I played this before it was a nice way to refresh my memory on various facts.
The slice of life scenes are many but not too long and you can replay battles
at any time! there's optional ones too so you'd probably not be bored.

Of course I can't promise you'll like it, it has some flaws but if you like stories that take its time

with an engrossing world and lovable chara's I recommend this series along with tears to tiara.

I HOPE THEY LOCALIZE THIS VERSION, not only to complete the trilogy but why wouldn't

you want an updated version that plays like its sequels AND in high definition at that?

Atlus did a good job localizing the other two... the names look a bit weird to me in ENG but that's it.
Hmmm... its clear Aquaplus did cut corners where they could... like did Kurou
have a beard at this point? he doesn't in his sprite but does in his 3d model.
I actually didn't notice this till way later; shows how much I care about graphics.
Overall its a great game, decent story/world and a lovely cast of characters!
Its sad but I think on its own this installment may have been enough...
there's just something, something about its sequels that lacked.
That doesn't mean they're bad like they gave the much needed resolution for Eruruw
and went on to tell the tale of Kuon while going further into matters not resolved.
It might've just been that it wasn't on such a grand scale as the first game like
less generals/countries hmm yea that could be it.
Even then if you have a PS4 or Vita I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Utaware's story is far from perfect but its an enjoyable series nonetheless
I can't wait for Utaware Zan even though it seems to be like a fanservice spin off.
Well have a finisher exhibition; I also watched some of the PS4 version and well
it does have more flair, even then I am glad this was my last ps vita game(besides VN).

Taishou x Alice heads and tails - review

 Genre: Otome Visual Novel. 

Developer/publisher: Otomate.

Platform: PSV.

Official Site:

VNDB: https://vndb.org/v20277

Release date: 2017-12-07

FD of Taishou x alice... if I had to be really honest I didn't think TxA really needed a FD
why? I actually thought the epilogue chapter wrapped everything up nicely and everyone
got a small extension to their ending that aside it must've done well enough for them
to release this FD so why not just accept and try to enjoy whatever contents it has?
 Not much aside from the usual after stories, two new routes for Ryoushi and Ookami
but I heard beforehand they're not all that great since the bias for Alice is too great.
Then there's Gakuen Alice which might've been the last best thing this FD has to offer.😅
 There's not much else to say so let's just get on with it.

Pro's
- Gakuen Alice's a fun omake with mini route (except ookami/ryoushi)
- Art.

Con's
- Not every after story got the same amount of effort, i've only found
Akazukin, Gretel, Mauhoutsukai and Alice to be actually fun / worth it.
- The new routes aren't really 'new' at all nice if you want another perspective though.

I decided to play the after story in the same order as the original:
Cinderella > Akazukin > Gretel > Kaguya > Shirayuki > Mahoutsukai > Alice.
I do recommend saving Mahoutsukai for later preferable after Shirayuki, as Mahoutsukai
adds something that makes Shirayuki's seem like even that had its place.

The first two after stories I did was mostly fun and light-hearted like what one is supposed
to come to expect of FD's... there are exceptions to the others but it wasn't too bad
its just for some it felt there was little effort put into the scenario.
If you are familiar with sangoku rensenki's FD... its a lot like that! you get a short story
with the couple which is around 1 hour at most with two CG's for each
the content varies depending on the character though. Much like the original TaiAli
the further you get into the episodes the drearier it gets, like the boys from ep1 are fun
but then you get to Kaguya and it just goes downhill, Gretel was still OK for some reason.
The new routes for Ryoushi and Ookami aren't exactly new route just their POV of the whole
thing with Alistair much of what we already know! since they force the canon
so much their endings aren't exactly what one would like to see.
Can't recommend their routes unless you want a different perspective of the story we already know.

Overall its still a decent FD but only get it if you desperately need more Taiali in your life
there's just some parts that make me say: but why? like why even give Ookami a route if
you're going to make it end up like that... his whole character turned out to be a laughing stock.😓
To be fair... after being done with this FD the only thing I really like about Taishou x Alice is the
story of 'Alice', comedy and meta. As an otome game I think it doesn't really work that well like
half of the cast is essentially the same person, different personality and in the end only one matters.
Tai Ali has a great story&chara's and I whole-heartedly recommend the games
but as an otome game; by the end it leaves to be desired no matter how well written it was.

Well whatever I'll try to write some thoughts down below as usual, don't read it
if you don't want spoils etc (not like there is much).