Categoria: otoge reviews Page 13 of 14

I admit I wasn’t very excited, when I first started playing Meiji Tokyo Renka: the art didn’t attract me too much, and also the plot didn’t seem very interesting; but a movie was announced, so I was curious to see if it was actually worth it.

The heroine seemed immediately quite funny to me, because her attitude and answers towards guys are quite original and interesting; also, her great love for meet was hilarious sometimes!

I think the best merit of the game are the characters: they are all based on historical figures, but with really exaggerated features and weird behaviors that made this game really enjoyable and memorable.

My favorite was Ougai, who is supposed to be a literary man and also an army doctor…. but in fact, he’s basically a strange guy who loves to walk around the house naked! I was laughing so much when he said “what’s the problem? It doesn’t matter if there are guests, you can undress too” with such a straight face! He seemed to fall in love at first sight with the heroine, and he offered to host her in his house immediately, for no reason. His route was really the funniest to me, I laughed very much! And he was really nice and caring, he’s perfect husband material.

Shunsou lives in the same house: he attends art school, and he’s such a typical tsundere who loves cats and pretends he doesn’t care about the heroine, but he obviously does.

Let’s take a moment here, to fully appreciate KENN’s voice with the dummy head mic. It was perfection! He’s one of my favorite seiyuus, but I’m not into drama cd, so it was the first time I could hear him speaking directly to my ears like that, and it was paradise!

I appreciated this feature even more in the FD, because there were more dokidoki moments and that was really an exciting experience for me… I wish it could happen more often in the future!

Otoujiro was a cross dresser geisha, and I’m usually not attracted to this kind of character, because… well, they look like women most of the time. I quite liked his personality tho, so I wished I could spend more time with him actually dressed like a man; I had to wait for the FD for that, but I was satisfied at least!

Kyouka is another tsundere, and I admit I didn’t like him at first: he had quite a bitchy and bossy attitude, that annoyed me a bit. But then he really grew on me, and I fully appreciated him while playing the FD: there were a lot of funny moments there (when he was deadly scared by a cute dog) and also romantic times that made me finally like him very much. I also liked how he changed when he fell in love and became really nice towards the heroine.

Fujita was a serious policeman, with a really cold attitude that made him quite uninteresting to me for most of the route: I don’t like kuudere that much, and it was also awkward to see the heroine trying to approach him, even if he was always suspicious and rude with her. I don’t even know why he suddenly started blushing and being nice, because… well, I don’t see him and the heroine as a good match tbh. As always, the FD showed me great improvements, because at least we got to see them as a couple, sharing more cute moments.

Yakumo is……… weird. I don’t have other words to describe him! He’s from Greece, but he lives in Japan; he teaches english, but actually all he cares about is researching about mononoke. This route was really funny in a weird sense, because he’s completely crazy! I couldn’t see him as a romantic interest, even if in the FD he becomes way more interesting: this route felt more like a comedy to me, which was not completely bad.

Charlie’s route was locked, because he obviously hides all the secrets behind the heroine’s time travel to the Meiji era. His do-m personality was actually really amusing, even if I felt quite sad every time he tried to convince the heroine to marry another boy… you’re worthy too, be more confident! His ending was also the “true ending” of the game, so completing it made me quite sad instead of satisfied…. that’s why I’ve played the FD too, but it wasn’t enough.

I’m glad another game has been announced, I’m probably going to get it…… but my poor wallet is crying, so it’s probably better if I wait for a while and prioritize other releases.

Do I recommend this game?

Well, overall I think it’s good, but not really amazing. The dummy head was a great feature, the characters were really original and the heroine was nice; but the art was quite mediocre, the backgrounds looked very cheap and the plot wasn’t always interesting. You can try to play it if you’re also looking for some comedy, because Ougai and Takumo are really something you can’t see very often! I just hope the next game will improve the lacking points.

Brothers conflict Passion pink was my first otoge ever, that’s why I’m really excited to write this review and share my opinions about it! \(^o^)/

Many of you probably have seen the anime, and that’s how I’ve started too: but when I fell in love with the Asahina brothers, I couldn’t imagine that it would be the start of a great love for otome games.

In fact, I had watched also Amnesia before that, and quite liked it, but for me they were just “reverse harem” and I literally had no idea that a game genre aimed at females existed. I discovered it just randomly looking for Tsubaki’s pictures (yes, he was my first otoge love ever!) and it was like finding an oasis in the desert. Or even paradise, if you prefer!

I still remember how excited I was, when I first started playing it.

Years ago my japanese was quite bad, I just understood some words but I couldn’t even read; that’s why I realized that I really needed to search for a dictionary and start learning kanji. Don’t ask me how, it was probably the power of love, but in 3 months of intensive studying I could understand and read enough to play decently my first route. Needless to say, as I was clueless of the existence of guides to reach the different endings, I ended up failing; I also had a bad luck, if I think about it now, because Brocon had a terrible gameplay, one of the worse I’ve ever played.

But I’ve talked too much about myself, let’s start the proper review!

The plot is really simple: Ema’s father marries a woman who has already 13 sons, and they start living together in a great mansion. As predictable, the adults disappear immediately, so she’s left alone among men with a great variety of ages. Not everyone is playable here, because there’s also another game called Brilliant blue which features some of the brothers.

The gameplay is really annoying: you have to chose what to do every day of the week, and if you make a mistake, even a small one, you won’t reach the good ending. Also, you have to randomly repeat some of the dates just to increase the boy’s affection.

Some of the endings are quite hard to reach, but I think it’s worth it: I loved every single route and character in this game, even if it may seem even too plain and simple.  Even if they are so many, the routes never felt similar or boring, everything seemed always new because their personalities are really different; the fact that their age range is so vary, also changes the atmosphere every time.

I liked the heroine: she’s nothing special, but she’s quite nice and caring.

I’ve played Tsubaki first, and it felt like a dream come true: I didn’t think it could be possible dating my anime crush! his route was quite different from the anime, I imagined it would be funnier, but I was so madly in love with him that I would have loved every scene regardless of the plot. Just give me my Tsubaki and I’m happy!

Kaname’s route was quite sexy, I was fangirling like crazy at the ending… and Suwabe’s voice fits the character very well. I enjoyed him, even if he was a playboy I trusted him immediately, it was obvious that he had a romantic side too.

Masaomi, despite his age and his caring attitude, had a really cute side, which was a nice surprise; he was actually hiding his insecurities, trying to be strong to protect his brothers, but he needed to be loved even more than the others probably.

Subaru was a typical tsundere, always shy in front of Ema, but really gentle; the same was for Yuusuke, who had a really cute route and a lot of sweet moments. Seeing those tsundere blushing made my day!

Fuuto is such a brat, but how can I hate him? I’m so weak for otoutokun, and even more if they’re so sexy and cool! What should I do with myself? I could forgive him everything, I love him as much as I hate him.

There’s also a route for Hikaru, but it starts very late in the game, and he’s dressed as a woman for too much time; it wasn’t even easy to unlock, but if you can’t get to it, you aren’t missing that much tbh.

Would I recommend this game?

My opinion about it is obviously influenced by my personal feelings and it can’t be objective: it was my first otoge, I own it so much for showing me this beautiful world…. it will never be just a normal game for me.

But I can clearly see the flaws too: the worst is the gameplay, but also I can’t blame those who think it’s almost plotless and not memorable.

Anyway, I’d suggest you to try it at least for the characters!

They may not have superpowers or extraordinary lives, but their emotions and situations look so real that you’ll feel like you’re actually dating a real person: their insecurities, their successes, their losses, will be also yours. I think it’s very easy to empathize with them, and you’ll be happy to help them overcome their fears.

At least, give it a chance: they are so many and so adorable, I’m sure you’ll find someone you like and enjoy playing!

I’ve played Klap!! as soon as it was released, I couldn’t wait even one day more!

No kidding, I was waiting for it like crazy, because it looked so original and different from every other otoge: where else can you whip do-m ayakashi? Also, the heroine was a teacher, and that was interesting too: I’m used to play the role of the student, sometimes with do-s teachers (Bad Medicine, anyone?), so this kind of reverse roles excited me very much! One more strong point, is the art: I loved Kawahito Yasutake’s style since Storm lover, and I was so glad to play another otoge illustrated by this great artist.

The game turned out to be quite different from my expectations, but it wasn’t a bad thing. Maybe it would have be funnier if the heroine was a do-s (I may look like a crazy person, but I admit I’d enjoy a plot like that, with a psycho heroine ready to beat up anyone), but she’s just “forced” to punish them, as a weird way to teach them how to control their powers: they basically need to learn how to prevent going berserk,so they can live among humans.

There are many items you can use to punish the boys, from conventional ones like whips to creepy candles and also my personal favorite, money! Their reactions are crazy, I had to put headphones on, because from the audio it seemed like a r18: I was still living at my parent’s house at that time, so if my mother would hear that……….. it was a big NO!

I’ve played Sousuke first, for a simple reason: he made me angry in the common, and I immediately felt a desperate need to punish him! Later on he grew on me, his story was surprisingly quite sad, and I ended up really liking him. I was not completely satisfied with the ending, and I felt like there was already a plan for a FD. I was right, luckily!

I had the best surprise while playing Camil, my aristocratic vampire who hates blood. I hadn’t great expectations, but his route was very funny and he ended up being my favorite character. When he said he could live without sleeping, but not without games, I laughed so hard! I just wished I could see more of his family and life outside the school.

Toma’s route was not as great for me, I liked him as a character but the plot itself was a bit boring… I felt like I could have enjoyed him more, if the plot was more centered around him instead of the new Tengu king and their past problems with humans.

Kanade’s route was the saddest, I wasn’t expecting to cry with this kind of game… but I did! In fact, I thought Klap would be just a happy game, with funny scenes and without a great plot, but it surprised me to realize that there’s much more behind that: when I bought it, I’d never imagined that I would end up crying and feeling so sad.

Akito’s rout was very good, I’ve played it really fast because I liked him and the plot too, even if it was quite predictable: he’s rich and he’s family doesn’t approve of him dating a commoner; nothing original, but still well written. I really appreciated his reaction, he really got my heart too! Also, some scenes with Toma being all embarrassed for everything Akito said were really memorable.

I’ve played Shion sensei last, and I didn’t enjoyed it that much tbh, he was too serious for me; but at least I discovered why the heroine was chosen to teach in that school, apparently she had the power to see supernatural creatures since her childhood! Anyway, the ending surprised me, and the CGs were beautiful.

I enjoyed this game a lot, even if my expectations were quite different: I thought it would be a plotless game, just for the sake of being for once a badass heroine beating do-m ayakashi (instead of just taking random abuses), but in fact it was quite serious sometimes! I even cried in Kanade’s route, and also Sousuke and Toma had difficult pasts. No worries tho, because the FD will be released next year, and it’s probably going to be just a fun party! I can’t wait, I’m going to play it immediately! I usually don’t like mini games, but this one was really original and I enjoyed it a lot; in fact, it happened often to me that I just randomly entered the punishment section just to use different items to test their reactions!

I recommend this game to everyone: it’s the perfect mix of serious plot and enjoyment; also, the art is amazing. I really like the opening song too and I still listen to it. It would have been even better if they had character songs, but we can hope the FD will bring those too!

Dynamic chord Reve parfait was the first game released by honeybee black, and I was really curious to see if this new company could bring us something different from their main branch. Obviously, I already knew honeybee, because of the widely famous Starry sky (who hasn’t played at least one of them?), so in my mind they had an image of sweet and innocent otoge developers, maybe even childish.

When I knew the game was about a band, I imagined it as a rockish version of utapri, but still colorful and funny. I was basically waiting to see good looking young boys making music together, having a good time improving, becoming more and more friends; I could already imagine them talking about their dreams, laughing, and growing up while falling in love…. well, I was wrong.

So wrong.

This game is completely different from every other honeybee release, and also the situations are way more mature than every music game I’ve played before this.

The common route was quite long, but never boring; it never felt like wasting time with useless filler scenes before entering the individual route, but it had an interesting yet simple plot.

What I appreciated the most, was the realism of the characters: somehow, it feels nice to me seeing that they are popular at school, and have groupies and girlfriends. I’m very tired of the concept of good looking yet too pure boys, who are loved by every girl around but aren’t interested in any of them and prefer to be alone. Which real high schooler would act like that? Let them be boys, come on! We all have been at school, and we know how it goes: the popular boys get the girls. End of the story. That’s why I really enjoyed to see those kind of scenes, they felt real; some were a bit shocking at first, because I wasn’t expecting it, but it was a really nice choice.

Unfortunately, the heroine couldn’t keep up at all with the boys: unsure of her looks, always shy, she couldn’t even react to the bullies. She even thought she deserved to be bullied somehow, like “I’m not pretty enough to stand next to these ikemens, I know it!” and it made me cringe.

I’ve played Kuon first. Most of his route was about his crazy ex girlfriend, and trust me, she was really really annoying; her voice, her face…. I just wished I could punch her or at least insult her, but obviously the heroine apologized instead. Every time she said “I can’t live without Kuon”, I was answering “then you can throw yourself under a train, goodbye!”, but it wasn’t an option. Who made the choices for this game?! Anyway, once he finally got rid of her, the route became great again, and I loved it. The secret scenario was awesome! Also, the ending were really good tbh.

I was hoping for something even better while playing Tsumugi, but I was a bit disappointed: he looked like a playboy in the common, yet his route felt quite innocent. I don’t know why, but he suddenly became shy and it seemed quite forced to me, as if the writer decided to add randomly some romanticism in the game at the end.

Reon was the last I played, and I was expecting something really interesting: he’s the heroine’s ex boyfriend, so I spent most of the game wondering why they broke up. I was hoping to unveil a shocking reason behind that, but it was just a typical childish misunderstanding, which became worse because of his tsundere attitude, so it wasn’t that great. There’s also another crazy girl in his route, and I really couldn’t take anymore these crazy bitches! Get out of my otoge please! Anyway, this route was quite good too.

None of the characters really stood out to me, but I enjoyed every route equally.

It was quite short, actually I hoped to play more! A new game which would allow me to play also the drummer, was released after this… but I didn’t bother honestly. Aki was nice, but not worth the price of another game for me.

Anyway, my first experience with honeybee black ended with a good feeling, that’s why I decided to try also another Dynamic chord, featuring Liar-s. I plan to play them all actually, but time WHERE?! But don’t worry, I will.

The question, as always, is: do I recommend this game?

Yes!

This is not perfect, but still very enjoyable, and I liked all the characters; also, the art is colorful and nice. The opening song was really amazing, I still listen to it often, I never get tired! I like this kind of sounds more than the typical idol songs. If you like music themes, and you are a bit tired of too innocent otoge, then try Dynamic chord. You won’t be disappointed!

When Taisho Alice was announced, I admit I wasn’t very excited: it was Primula’s first game, and I didn’t know what to expect from a new company; also, the fairytale theme feels already abused, so it took me a while until I finally decided to give it a chance. And that was a really good choice!

I’ve played the PC version, which was released in 4 different chapters.

I’ve started with Cinderella., even if he’s isn’t my type, so I didn’t have great expectations; I couldn’t imagine from the start that there was an overall plot that tied together all the routes, so I didn’t pay attention at some details, which made sense only in the end. Now I’m so sorry about that, I should replay his route because I feel bad for him, my first impression was really superficial and wrong!

In fact, the route itself didn’t interest me that much besides some funny dialogues, but what really stood out the most to me was the heroine, even more than the characters. She’s really strong and funny, her answers and reactions made her “the real main character”, instead of being nothing but a self-insert for the player, as unfortunately happens sometimes. That, already, was a nice change: I think I’ve never seen an otoge heroine with such an outstanding personality!

I’ve also realized that this game has a very good writing, just by playing Akazukin’s route. At first, he looked like the typical kuudere who has no emotions, but after a while everything changed: his reactions when he was embarrassed were priceless, when he stuttered and had blood running from his nose I was dying from laughter on the chair! Yurika’s comments made him blush and panic even more, and that’s when I’ve noticed that I was playing something very good and different, not just an Alice themed plain otoge. This route had everything: angst, mystery, sad moments, funny scenes, love… it felt really complete, and I started to appreciate this game more than I could imagine.

But still, I didn’t know how deep the plot could become in the next chapter, which was way darker and sadder than the first one.

Kaguya’s route touched very sensitive arguments, like self harm and suicide; somehow, it felt kind of strange to me, because when I met him in other routes I used to think he was a weird but funny character, so I wasn’t expecting something so serious and shocking.

Gretel’s route was even creepy, but I enjoyed it most of all: the first reason, is because I’m so weak at otouto siscon; also, because I was very curious since the beginning about him, it was obvious that he had really shocking reasons to act like a psycho.

The third chapter became even darker and psychological: at that point, it became really obvious that the real plot had still to be unveiled.

Shirayuki’s route was quite calm and light at first, so I hoped somehow to relax a little and have some fun… but I was wrong. In the end, when I discovered the truth about his mother, everything became really tragic and even quite disturbing in a scene.

Mahoutsukai’s route, finally, explained everything! or most of it, at least. I won’t lie, I’ve tried to make some assumptions about the truth, before being able to play him, but I was so wrong… well, I don’t think anyone could predict something like that. It’s really too complicated, and I admire the writer so much for thinking such an original a plot. It took me quite a long time to understand completely what was going on in all those flashbacks, and I had to read many times some of the most important dialogues. I was satisfied with all the explanations, but not that much with the route itself… because it feels like reaching an happy ending with this character it’s almost impossible. And it makes me sad, because I like him, but I must accept it. This route explained all about the other characters too, that’s why it couldn’t focus only on one; but the most important thing, is that everything finally made sense, in a shocking way.

The great final, was obviously Alice. I was afraid that the epilogue could waste something, because the truth seemed already explained perfectly in Mahoutsukai’s route; also, I was worried that the real ending could make suffer the others…. it’s really hard to convey my feelings without spoilers, but you will understand what I mean when you reach it. Alice was really difficult to play, I had to stay focused on every line, or I could probably lose somewhere an important part; I though his happiness would mean someone elses’ pain, and that was my greatest worry, but I’m so glad that somehow everything was solved in a really happy ending. Everyone had to suffer so much, and I had to suffer too while playing, so…….. we needed something relieving in the end.

Do I recommend this game?

Yes, but maybe not to anyone. Don’t give me wrong, the writing itself makes it a masterpiece, the heroine is great and the plot is really good, that’s why overall I think it’s a great game! But some of the routes may be disturbing for sensitive people, the atmosphere can be really heavy sometimes, and creepy. This is not for people who are looking forward to a bright and funny game (even if some dialogues are really hilarious) because the sad part is really the most important, when you go on through the various routes and reach the final epilogue. It’s also very psychological and deep, so you must be really focused and understand every single line, or you will miss something important. Anyway, it’s going to be localized soon (in December, I think?), so people who can’t fully understand japanese can enjoy it too, that’s a really good news! Also, I can’t wait for the fandisk, because Ookami and Ryoushi will have their own routes! (But mostly, because I miss Gretel too much).

If you’re ready to be shocked, Taisho Alice is a must play!

Writing about Glass Heart Princess makes me feel really nostalgic: this is one of the first otoge I’ve ever played, years ago, so I’m a bit emotional now!

If you just look at the art, you can already imagine how colourful and bright it is; in fact, it’s a funny game without a deep plot, but the crazy moments and the interactions between characters make it really enjoyable and worth playing.

The first part of the game is basically about Kyouko going on dates, to cure her illness: the glass heart syndrome. This also means she has to do a lot of training (by raising stats), so her weak heart will be able to take all the emotions without breaking into pieces. If you fail, you can really see her heart breaking and the poor heroine dies, so take it seriously! It may be quite silly as a plot, but I was laughing all the time, also because the scenes are written very well: it’s simple, but not boring or predictable. Raising stats may be annoying, but I didn’t have great problems, besides Shinnosuke’s route: I just tried to raise everything equally, from physical training (I usually prioritized that, I’ve noticed it helps her heart the most) to reading manga and watching drama, and it was enough.

Shinnosuke was a completely different story: his route must be unlocked in a special way, and it was really hard to get for me… I had to start all over again about 5 times, maybe even more. In the end, I managed to do it, but I don’t even know how exactly.

Anyway, a few tips:

• usually, when the game starts, you have to shoot Cupid’s arrow to the character you choose, to enter his route; it doesn’t work for Shinnosuke, so don’t do anything;

• If you will date him from the beginning, you will be called by the shota after a few dates, and end up in his route; do it just to complete the CGs and have some fun, but you can’t reach Shinnosuke’s ending like this;

• Date Yukito for a while, be sure to choose always the best answer and raise all the stats. I remember that I had problems if I prioritized the psysical training, so I watched a lot of dramas since the beginning, to reach the A ranking very soon.

• You will see that a new date option appears, called “black pulse”, choose it!

That’s how you can unlock this route. I suggest you to use a very detailed guide, because it’s better if you know exactly what you have to do each training lesson! If you don’t achieve the stats required, you will end up angrily repeating it multiple times, like it happened to me.

Annoying stats aside, let’s talk about the characters!

Yukito is such a cute tsundere: he acts like he doesn’t care, but it’s obvious that he likes Kyouko; he’s also very shy, that’s why he just keeps blushing on every date! He loves animals and he’s a really caring boy, even  if he always tries to act cool.

Tenma is the infirmary doctor at Kyouko’s school: he’s very positive and energetic, even too much for me… I usually can’t stand this kind of character, but his route is quite interesting and I loved his good ending!

Kanata is a typical kuudere, but his innocence and lack of reactions makes every situation really awkward and embarassing for the heroine! well, in fact he hides a huge secret, but I don’t want to spoil!

In this game, every character hides something very shocking and everything is revealed in the main route, which starts when the dates are over: that’s how the funny and easy part ends, the plot unveils and you can see the true colors of everyone. It was quite random to be honest, but also unexpected and interesting!

Shinnosuke is the canon, that’s why he’s so difficult to unlock: he’s her loyal butler, so the main route also shows how he met with Kyouko and why he chose to stay by her side, devoting his life to protect her. It was really heartbreaking and emotional, I was madly in love with him… and I still am, he’s one of my favourite characters ever, he deserves a special place in my heart.

The shota has a short route, I recommend to play it even if it doesn’t interest you, because you can finally get to play him when he gets older in the FD! And he grows up really well, trust me.

Satsuki, the heroine’s maid, is the best side character ever: she always tries to help the heroine in her own crazy way, creating embarassing situations that made me burst out laughing, it was amazing! I think I’ve never had so much fun while playing an otoge, and Satsuki really made everything even greater. I simply love her, and I’m really glad that she had more scenes in the FD, to show why she decided to become Kyouko’s maid. That made me really emotional too.

The fandisk is really short, it took me just a week to play it, but I absolutely recommend it too! I loved every single moment, I even cried in the end…. amazing. No raising stats this time, just simple choices that are very easy to get, you can play without even using a guide if you want. The huge amount of CGs impressed me, I wasn’t expecting it and I was so glad because I love this style, it fits the atmosphere perfectly!

If you haven’t played Glass Heart Princess yet, just do it now! Don’t be afraid of the raising stats system, it may be a pain sometimes, but everything else greatly make up for it! This game can be at the same time funny and very emotional, the art is colourful and great, the characters are weirdly enjoyable and Satsuki will be your best friend ever.

You won’t regret it!

I still remember my reaction, when I’ve seen the first trailer of Nihil Admirari: Satoi’s art amazed me as usual, and I immediately decided that I shoud get this game and play it as soon as it was released. There was an immediate hype, and probably it was one of the most anticipated games of 2016.

When I finally managed to recieve my copy, I’ve started playing with huge expectations. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed at first: the common route seemed too long to me, and also the pacing was quite slow, so I was even bored sometimes. But when I finally entered the route, everything changed: I was completely absorbed in the story, I couldn’t stop playing!

I’ve chosen Akira as first, but probably it was a bad idea: his route contains way too much spoilers, and that’s probably what made it so interesting compared to the others. He looked like a kuudere to me, and usually I’m not into that kind of character, so I just wanted to get it done immediately… but everything I planned was changed. Akira’s route was really great. I loved him, the plot, the CGs, everything! I was ready for a plain character, with a boring personality… I was wrong. Many scenes were really cute, others shocking, there was a huge plot twist… it was all I could ask for!

Unfortunately, Shizoru’s route wasn’t as exciting. I had great hopes for him, but… I was almost falling asleep. The heroine tried so hard to prove his innocence, while he was just having fun with other women, and then, magically, he’s in love with her! There’s a huge plot twist, when you think the route is already over, but it makes it even worse. Again, the pacing was terrible.

Anyway, my mood changed again thanks to Shougo! He was my favourite, I really liked him and his route! his tsundere moments were so cute! This route had a good writing, finally, and I feel like he also got the best Cgs. Overall, the art quality is amazing, but somehow I think that Shougo was even more blessed (or probably, it’s just because I loved him so much). I can’t wait to meet him again in the sequel!

Hisui’s route was quite sad, and also boring sometimes. I spent way too much time with the boss’ wife instead of him, and she was really annoying. Her way of talking unnerved me, I swear. I just wished I could talk to him more, because I felt like his personality is more complicated than it seems: he’s not only a quiet shota, some situations made him look like a potential yandere to me… it was unexpected, but not bad.

Rui’s route was more interesting, even if the pacing was, once again, really slow. It was disappointing at first, but then he grew on me and I really loved every single ending, I even cried with the bad ones! He’s a really sweet guy, even if I’m not fond of the “love at fist sight” trope: it makes me think that the writer was just too lazy to develop the romantic part, so he focused only on the plot, because the character already loved the heroine from the beginning for no reason.

Hayato was the last to unlock, so it was obvious that his route had the most important revelations: I was really hyped for it, because I also really liked him from the start of the game (and I wished I could play him first)! Many people complained because there’s too much focus on another character, who is also the secret route, so they couldn’t enjoy Hayato at his best. I quite agree, I think that the secret chara took way too much time and overshadowed Hayato a bit, but the route itself didn’t seem worse than others, to me; Shizuru was far more boring tbh.

This game has a quite heavy plot, so it’s obvious that romance sometimes is put aside: even if it’s Cero D, the sexy parts are not the main goal; or at least, you need to go through hours of gaming before you reach them. I’m sure that when I’ll get to play these characters again in the sequel, in an easy and relaxed atmosphere, I’ll appreciate them more.

I won’t say much about the secret route, for those who haven’t played it yet. Let me just say that I was quite angry in the end, and the heroine as always is too nice with every psycho. I didn’t hate her tho, I admired her for taking actions and chosing to actively do something to save her little brother.

I think I can recommend this game to anyone: it was not perfect, but not bad either. Don’t be fooled by the CeroD rating, this is not a plotless game with random sexy scenes… if that’s what you’re looking for, Otoko Yuukaku is better for you. Nihil Admirari is plot centered and probably a bit too long, with some needless boring moments; anyway, the overall plot is interesting, the characters too and the art is wonderful, so if you give it a chance, you probably won’t be disappointed.

I‘ve decided to write my opinion about Black Wolves Saga, because sometimes I feel like it‘s not getting all the recognition it deserves. I still remember my feelings after completing it: I was empty, shocked, confused. I enjoyed every character, even the the bad ones!

Mejojo is so arrogant, cruel, full of himself. He truly has no heart, nor pity for anyone: all that matters to him is revenge, and he doesn‘t hesitate to kill and destroy everything that bothers him. He‘s so obsessed by his past, that he lost every kind of empathy or affection. He loves to see people suffer and the only person he somehow cares about is his brother…just because he‘s even worse than him.

Auger is a true psycho. He seems weaker than Mejojo, because he doesn‘t need to be in the spotlight to prove his absolute power, but he can commit the worst crimes just to entertain himself. He‘s a liar, a sadist, and also a betrayer.

The poor heroine had to suffer any kind of humiliation, she was even marked and tortured until she had no will to live. She has seen her family members die, her city destroyed…. without any chance to do something at all. She could just watch everything she loved being shattered for no reason in front of her, and all that remained was just a useless, empty life without love, even worse than death. She knew that nobody truly cared about her, because she was just a pawn in Mejojo‘s twisted game: in the end, after losing everything, she lost herself too.

Julian‘s route was a bit better, at least the endings were kind of good… even if terrible moments were everywhere, and also the last scenario was quite creepy. His mind is broken, even if he tries to regain indipendence… but what happened in the past, has probably ruined him forever.

The cat‘s clan was obviously the most painful to play, so after that I took a deep breath and hoped to see something less traumatizing.

I‘ve started playing the Wolves clan from the king, Arles. He carried on himself so much guilt, despair, pain, but also the hope of the survivors, who looked up at him as the only one who could rescue them for the sure death. I was impressed to see that all the tragedy and pain that shattered this race became also their strenght to build a unite clan, full of trust on their leader, where sometimes there was also time to laugh and find a little moment of happiness. They were not blinded by all the hate that surrounded them, but they were still open to accept Fiona as a member of the family, to protect and respect. I wish I could see some more cute moments between Arles and Fiona, at least in the end… I really want to see them happy!

Rath‘s melancholy was really different from all the other character‘s attitude: he just seemed to be waiting for death, probably because of his illness. I really wished his route was longer, but there were too many common parts I could skip… I hope the FD will give him more space, he deserves it.

Guillame‘s route had the same problem, it ended too soon, just when I was about to get interested in him. I admit Ididn‘t like him at first, his attitude was kinda arrogant, but he‘s a good person after all. (let‘s ignore the cannibalism part in the ending).

I’ve played the famous siscon Nesso next, and he was the character I was interested in the most since the beginning.  His route was surprisingly funny, there were less yandere moments than I expected. He was so straightforward with his love for Fiona, without even try to hide it, that it seemed entertaining more than shocking! He was actually nice, more than creepy.

Zara just kept making fun of him in his route, and that wass even better! I just wish also his route was a bitlonger: he’s a great pharmacist, not only a butler… he deserved more recognition for his work.

Anyway, there’s no doubt for me that this game is almost perfect…. in a creepy way. I absolutely loved it, and I’d recommend it to anyone. I still have to play the FD, even if going back to PSP is not that easy…. but I will, this games deserves it. The plot is amazing, some revelations are shocking, the characters are really interesting, the sadness makes you cry multiple times… this is not a “simple otoge”, this is a masterpiece. It’s one of my all time favourite game, and one of the few must play: I think every person who likes this genre should try it, just to see how great Rejet can be when it does his job in the right way. Of course, this is not for fragile people who look for simple and nice love stories, but for those who are tired to see love and hearts everywhere and want to try something sadder but original. This will blow your mind.

Just be ready, or it will destroy your soul!

I know really well which type of games HoneybeeBlack releases, so when I’ve started playing Blackish house I was ready for some kind of violence and twisted characters.

And I was right!

First of all, this game is not as I imagined: I thought the plot would be more original and deeper, but it’s just a quite simple story about young actors who live together in the same house, basically. Of course, this is not an happy easy going game, so there are creepy people everywhere, various abuses and bloody scenes.

The first character I played was Madoka, and I admit his route was not bad, maybe even the most interesting. He looks like a playboy, but he’s actually a good person, so I enjoyed most of it. The reason behind his brother’s hate is quite unbelievable even for an otoge, so I had to pretend it made sense and just focus on him instead. But I can forgive this, because his ending were really good and even the bad ones were interesting! If you don’t want to see blood, then avoid his bads like the black plague. No, wait, avoid this game!

After him, I decided to play Tougo. He smelled like a yandere from a long distance, you can tell he has some kind of twisted personality just by looking at him…. so, I was ready to be locked somewhere, raped and all the worst I could imagine. Well…. he was maybe even worse than my expectations. His violence is more psychological than physical, and it really hurts, I felt sorry for the heroine at some point. And not only for her, but for all the other characters who had to suffer for his terrible sadistic attitude. The bad endings were actually not shocking, but predictable for this kind of character… I was even expecting something more, like mass murder or something like that! I’ve only liked him in Rei’s route, when his sadistic personality was actually put at good use… and it made me laugh so hard! His intentions were probably not good, as always, but the result was really entertaining and I felt like I could somehow hate him a little less, just for that scene.

Among all this terrible angst, Gou seems like an innocent angel. In fact, he’s really too pure compared to the others… when you enter his route, it feels like you’re suddently playing Starry Sky! It was a nice change, I really needed some funny moments after all that suffering. It was even too easy, I was expecting some bad plot twist just to make the heroine suffer as the others route, but it didn’t happen and that made me happy but also disappointed at the same time! Somehow, it felt out of place… like a route of another CERO B game, just put in Blackish house to make the game a little brighter.

The last character was Rei. Unfortunately, in the beginning his route was just irritating: not only his personality is really arrogant and rude, but there are also the typical butthurt bitches that bully the heroine, while she does nothing else than cry, obviously. At some point, thanks to my “good friend” Tougo, the route changed and it finally became really entertaining, I swear I was laughing like crazy! I wish it was like this from the start, or at least earlier. From that point, I’ve really started to enjoy it, and also Rei’s attitude got better. Seeing him embarassed, and his friends laughing at him, was really too much fun! The plot twist later in the route was also quite shocking, I didn’t know how to react… I guess his route is locked for that reason, it makes sense.

I still don’t know how I feel about Haruma, he seems nice but a bad ending ruined his image completely… even if it’s not that unpredictable. I wish I can play him in the near future anyway! He will probably be the last to unlock.

The other side characters look kind of shady, I don’t think I can trust anyone, but that’s what makes them worth playing in this kind of game.

I didn’t hate the heroine: I appreciated her positive side, she tried to overcome her issues as an actress, but most of the time she also lets the boys treat her badly (Tougo obviously being the worst offender), so I could feel pity for her only when she was abused, but not when she just did nothing to protect herself.

Would I recommend this game?

Well, it depends on the people I guess.  I enjoy dark themes and creepy characters, but it gets frustrating just sit here and watch the heroine take all this abuse and suffer.  Also, I wished the plot was deeper: there is only one great revelation in Rei’s route, the others are just about characters overcoming their mental issues. The final ending makes me think there’s also another overall plot behind everything, which still has to be unveiled in the next game, and I think it could be quite interesting. Among the angst, it was also funny sometimes, and the art is great, so there are many good reasons to give it a try.

I think I’ll play Side Z when it gets released, but I won’t be looking forward it expecting some kind of masterpiece.

Before playing this game, I’ve read so many terrible reviews that I was almost scared, I swear! But I’ve made the huge mistake to preorder it, so there was no way back from Rejet hell.

Many people criticized the common route, for being too long and boring: that’s not completely wrong, some school scenes felt kind of random, but I think it was useful to become immersed in the creepy atmosphere. Those crows gave me nightmares! Even now, after months, I still think about Moshikami when I hear them somewhere.

I really loved the music: everytime something bad was about to happen, that “horror movie” BGM started and I really got goosebumps. Maybe I’m just to easy to scare, but it worked really well on me.

The art was not that perfect, some CG felt a bit awkward: nothing really bad, but I was expecting something better. (Rejet always has gorgeous art for the drama Cds, I wonder why they don’t care about it as much for otoge).

The first character I played was Ace. He’s a quiet and cool guy, his past is not even that traumatizing if compared to the other’s, so I could focus more on the main story. I admit it, I was more interested in the overall plot than the romance part, because…. well, I really needed to know what the hell was really happening and why! Instead of focusing on romantic scenes, I was really eager to reach the first ending and discover all the mysteries that surrounded the heroine, or at least the most important ones. And when I understood the truth…. I was shocked. That moment, I realized that Rejet has really no fear to cross the line and go always further. I really admire them for taking risks, they don’t like to play safe and repeat the same themes.

Kyou’s route was far more bloody and cruel, I’ve seen him (and his sister) suffer so many times, that in the end I was just hoping that she would die and end that agony soon. It was really painful to play, I didn’t even know how to react! The writer must be a real sadist, because he could have make them suffer just once, but he chose to repeat the cyrcle all over again… that hit me really hard.

Shuri’s route was brighter: I usually don’t like shotas, but I appreciated him from the start. Behind his young appearence, he’s really smart, mature and reliable. He’s my best boy, no doubt!

Neiji was a bit disappointing, everyone loves him so I was expecting something more. I liked him, but the only thing I really can’t forget about his route is the truth about the “beach incident”. Well, that was really shocking. And it was probably too much, even for Rejet. I can stand bloody scenes, abuse, creepy rapist, betrayals… but THAT is truly unforgivable.

Then, for the great ending: MASATO. I’ve played a lot of bad characters in my otoge life: abusers, rapists, creepy yandere… but he’s far worse than anyone else. I’d like to meet the person who wrote this game, just to look at him in the eyes and ask: “how could you even imagine something that bad? What’s wrong with you!?”. Well, the purpose was probably to make this game unforgettable for the players, and it obviously worked! In a bad way. I don’t even wanna write my opinion about the good ending, because it made me sick.

When I first played this game, I was so hurt and shocked by some scenes that I didn’t have to courage to complete all the bad endings; I did it more than a year later, and I admit they weren’t terrible as I imagined.

Of course, there’s the usual violence and gore, but nothing worse than situations which already happened in the game: I was waiting to see rape scenes, or even creepier stuff (is there something more disgusting than pedophiles and cannibalism? I don’t know, I was ready for everything at this point).

But nothing really stood out to me, they were not memorable, not even the “common bad ending” which I honestly expected to be Masato’s bloody fest. So you can play them safely… or kind of.

Haruka was not a bad heroine (until Masato’s route at least), and I can’t blame her for being scared… it would really be unbelievable, if she acted strong in that nightmare. She’s not great, but not even annoying. Poor girl.

Is this game worth buying?

I don’t regret playing it, because the overall plot is really good and interesting. The music is great, the art is not bad, the characters are ok… but it’s not the typical otoge. If you’re looking for romance and cute scenes, this is not for you. If you don’t like blood and you can’t stand violence of any kind, then avoid it. Don’t even read reviews, just stay away. But if you don’t mind gore, enjoy some suffering and want an “horror” story, that Moshikami is quite good and I recommend it. Just keep in mind, that you’ll probably be very angry in the end, just like me! At least, when it’s over, you can use Masato as a scale of comparison for bad characters, like “on a scale from 1 to Masato, how terrible is it?” It could be useful!

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