Categoria: questions/challenges

I haven’t answered otome games related questions in months and I found some good ones, so let’s start! Some are very difficult, so I just chose the first answer that came up to my mind.

1- What’s your favorite game right now?

I’m playing Rear Pheles, but I can tell it’s not going to become one of my all time favorites!

Talking about recent games, I enjoyed Ikemen Sengoku.

2- What’s your favorite character?

In Ikemen Sengoku, Masamune (but I loved Kenshin a lot).

In general, I made an embarrassing TOP10 husbando, where you can see my heart belongs to Diabolik Lover’s Shuu.

3- What’s your least favorite game?

That’s a good question, sometimes I even think about making a TOP10 kusoge, but I’m afraid I would end up offending someone if I’ll be too mean.

Should I do it anyway? What do you think?

Anyway, Gakuen K is the first one which comes to my mind now.

4- Who’s your least favorite character?

It’s impossible to find just one character, there are many who annoyed me a lot and it was hard to go through their routes.

Let’s say Amnesia’s Shin, but I could name at least 5 Dynamic chord’s characters.

5- Who’s your ultimate otome OTP?

I did a TOP10 for couples too, my number one is Heroine/Ikki from Amnesia!

6- Who’s the hottest character?

If I really had to choose one, maybe it would be Louis from Reine des Fleurs.

When I first saw him, I remember myself staring at the screen and thinking: “this is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my all life”.

7- Who’s the funniest character?

I guess I’ll choose someone from Binary Star, that game had a lot of funny interactions!

Maybe Mict or Yun.

8- Who’s your favorite MC?

Cardia from Code Realize, but there are a lot of great ones!

9- What’s your favorite otome moment?

This is so hard, how can I choose just a moment?!

Maybe the most memorable one was when Nadeshiko opened her eyes in Clock Zero… I was crying.

10- Which game has the best soundtrack?

Reine des fleurs was amazing. I loved Moshikami’s too, I was always scared!

11- What platforms do you play on?

Mostly PsVita, but sometimes I go back to my dear PSP.

I don’t like very much playing on PC, but if the games looks really interesting I try to make an effort!

12- Kiss, marry, avoid?

I guess I’d say:

Kiss: Shuu (Diabolik Lovers)

Marry: Ikki (Amnesia)

Avoid: every Dynamic chord character

13- Which has the best artwork?

Reine des fleurs looks stunning, I’ve never seen something so visually pleasing.

14- Whose route was the most interesting?

It’s impossible to choose only one route, the first I can think of are Mejojo’s route in Black wolves saga and Kagiha’s route in Kokuchou Psychedelica.

15- Whose route are the most boring?

Again, choosing one is impossible, but Yoshimoto’s route in Ikemen Sengoku, Masamune’s route in Norn9 and sensei’s route in Storm Lover made me bored to death.

16- Whose route took you by surprise?

Toa’s route in 7’scarlet was shocking and memorable!

17-What’s your favorite character type?

I did my TOP10 tropes just a few days ago, it’s yandere!

18- Do you play sequels and new seasons?

If I liked the first game, of course!

19- Who’s the most annoying MC?

Oh, so many… too many.

Dynamic chord had the worst ones, they all enjoyed being abused. Oz Mafia too was awful too.

20- What’s your all time favorite Otome game?

Kokuchou Psychedelica, but Black wolves saga is really close.

Yes, I enjoy happy and fluffy stuff.

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Well, it was funny!

I answered many questions in previous TOP10 too, but the “worst” route/character/game is something I’ve never talked about.

This makes me wonder: should I write “reverse TOP10” too?

About games or characters I disliked?

It’s probably better if I avoid this topic, so I won’t offend anyone’s opinions and tastes, but it also could be kinda interesting, if we are all mature enough to not feel offended personally.

Answer this poll please!

Since it’s a sensitive topic, I won’t do it until there are at least 30 requests.

The choice is yours!

Hello everyone!

I thought it would be nice, from time to time, answering on my blog your questions about games, Japan or learning Japanese: if I answer them here, instead of just replying on Facebook, it may be useful to other people who have the same curiosity.

This is my first ASK, but I plan to do it every month, or every two months, depending on the amount if questions I receive.

Thank you for submitting your questions, let’s start!

• Where is the best place to buy merch? 

Buying merch on internet may be painful, that’s why I bought mine when I went to Japan!

Importing is hella expensive, you’d end up paying like 3 times the price…. sadly.

I usually buy everything on Yes Asia, I trust them because they’ve never lost a package even if I live on the other side of the word.

Amiami should be good too, many of my friends buy there.

Amazon jpn also has good prices!

• In learning Japanese to play otome games, what did you find the most challenging, and in doing so, what do you wish you would have done or a resource you found later that you wished you had used earlier?

The most challenging part is the different levels of language, which depends on the game or the characters, and it’s completely different from what you find on textbooks.

Textbooks usually focus more on the “polite form”, the -masu one, but it’s rarely used on informal conversations which happen in most of the games.

An example you probably know: Diabolik Lovers.

Ayato and Subaru speak using a very rude, basic and masculine tone, which doesn’t even exist on textbooks; no one would talk like that in real life, without being considered aggressive.

Kanato’s and Reiji’s level is higher and very polite, even too much: the -nasai form is the one teachers use, or mothers, or people who consider themselves in a higher position. It’s rude in a normal conversation.

Also, Reiji’s way of speaking implies more difficult kanji.

The most challenging is Carla, because he basically speaks like an ancient king.

I don’t know how to explain it properly, you’ll find out on your own, but it’s really hard and I always need to look up for kanj!

So, my advice is: study the grammar, but don’t expect to find what you’ve studied in otome games.

You’ll learn the different levels and forms while you play and everything will sound normal very soon!

In this process, a very useful app I discovered an year later is Google translate.

It’s awful for long sentences, but it’s actually helpful if you have to look up for a single kanji: you just take a picture and it will tell you the meaning, without having to look up on the dictionary every time.

Also, my dictionary is really thin and doesn’t contain ancient or rare words, so it would be useless.

Obviously, you can rely on it when you already grasp the general meaning of the sentence.

I hope my advice helped you a bit!

• I want to ask something relating to Kanji dictionary. I know to understand Otome Game you have to get used with Kanji. What’s kind type of book or dictionary that you need to increase your comprehension on Kanji.

When I first started, I just bought a thin dictionary (about 10000 words), I brought it with me everywhere and I kept reading it again and again; I’m not even kidding, I just opened it wherever I went, like when I was waiting for my train at the station!

At the same time, I was already playing easy games, so I was pretty confident with hiragana.

I slowly started to recognize easy kanji, the most common ones, and they soon became very normal to me. When I needed something more, I bought a book of “joyo kanji”, which are the most important kanji which were chosen by the Japanese government as the ones you NEED to know to read at least basic texts.

I already knew most of them, but it’s useful if you find a book which helps you to memorize them with some tricks; there are many books which explain why a world has been given a certain kanji to represent it.

Kanji may look scary, but don’t worry: if you keep playing games, you’ll memorize them without effort!

• Which is the most popular otome game right now in japan?? And also which one was the most popular of all time?

I’ve been in Japan in September and all I’ve seen everywhere were mobage such as A3!, Senbura, Touken ranbu (there was even a whole shop dedicated to the swords); for console games, Diabolik Lovers and Utapri are always the most popular. It surprised me to see no one cared about Code Realize, even if the anime was about to start soon.

I think the most popular of all time is Hakuouki, but Utapri is huge for sure!

• Since i am learning japanese, too: how do you learn Kanji? And i am curious about how popular otome games are in Japan or elsewhere

As I answered in a previous question, I kept reading my basic dictionary everywhere! I think I read it all at least 10 times, probably more. Then I bought a book of “joyo kanji”, which are the most important ones.

But since some otome games may have difficult kanji (depending on the setting or the plot) or old kanji (historical ones), I obviously keep studying!

Every time I see a kanji I don’t know, I look for the meaning and try to memorize it.

Playing games is really useful to memorize, so I always suggest to try playing even if your level is not good enough: at first you don’t understand completely, but step by step you’ll find yourself understanding more.

People say otome games are a niche market and that’s obviously true in the west; but Japan is different, I disagree with those who don’t admit it’s a huge market.

When I was there, I saw literally in every gaming store a whole shelf dedicated to otome games; not only in “female oriented” stores like Animate or Kbooks in Ikebukuro, but also in Akihabara (in Traders and Book off).

I could buy otoge literally everywhere and mobage characters were hugely popular (I saw Senbura characters covering the walls in a train station).

Mobage are probably taking over console games, but the market is far away from dying!

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This ends my first ASK, see you soon with another one!

Don’t be shy, you can ask me whatever you want!

As promised, I’ll try to keep my blog alive from now on, even when I’m not posting reviews!

I’ve asked my friends on twitter for suggestions and the most voted option was “write whatever you want”, so…. here I am, answering a few questions!

1- VERY FIRST VIDEOGAME

Let’s keep it otome game related: Brothers conflict passion pink. I guess it’s not a mystery anymore, I’ve talked about it plenty of times!

2- YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER

The first who comes to my mind, whenever I read this kind of question, is Amnesia’s Ikki.

He was one of the first characters I really loved and he always has a special place in my heart.

3- A GAME THAT IS UNDERRATED

There are many, I guess I’d go for an old one: Princess Arthur.

All I read were bad reviews, but I enjoyed it a lot: I liked the heroine, the characters and also the plot; I even got emotional and cried for the side characters, which is really rare for me.

4- YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE GAME

Diabolik lovers. Judge me if you want, but I still can’t drop this series.

5- GAME CHARACTER YOU FEEL MOST LIKE (OR WISH YOU WERE)

Wait, these are 2 different questions!!

I wish I was elegant and lovely as Glass Heart Princess Kyoko, but I’m more like Trigger Kiss Futaba; sometimes people can’t understand my humor, I’m sarcastic and a bit cynical. I swear I’m not a bad person anyway, I’m just…. not ordinary and a bit difficult to approach!

6- MOST ANNOYING CHARACTER

How can I choose only one? There are too many, sometimes even among main characters.

Let’s say Diabolik Lovers Cordelia, every time she appeared on the screen I was like “are you still alive, you bitch?!”

7- FAVORITE GAME COUPLE

Kyoko and Shinnosuke from Glass heart princess, they were born to be together; a dreamy couple!

8- BEST SOUNDTRACK

I loved Reine des Fleurs BGM, the music in that game was stunning.

9- SADDEST SCENE

I don’t want to spoil, but… THAT Kokuchou Psychedelica scene. The Kagiha one, I’m sure you know what I mean. I cried a lot!

10- BEST GAMEPLAY

Otome games have similar gameplay, but some are more complicated than others; I usually don’t like mini games, unless they are related to the plot like the utapri ones.

I can tell you for sure 2 gameplays I hated: Brothers conflict and Wand of fortune.

Those systems were so annoying!

11- GAMING SYSTEM OF CHOICE

Well, otome games have similar systems too; but I can tell I hate timed choices, if I’m not mentally prepared I end up missing them and having to load from the last save, it gets on my nerves!

12- A GAME EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY

Black wolves saga: great plot, great characters, it’s a masterpiece for me.

Also, I think it’s good for people who think otome games are just fluffy stuff aimed at little girls; let them try this, they’ll regret it for life!

13- A GAME YOU’VE PLAYED MORE THAN 5 TIMES

None! I don’t even have time to replay, sadly… I think I’ve played twice a few Brothers conflict route tho, before entering otoge hell and having a neverending backlog; if I remember correctly, I’ve replayed Kaname, Fuuto and Tsubaki.

14- CURRENT WALLPAPER

15- POST A SCREENSHOT FROM A GAME YOU’RE PLAYING RIGHT NOW

16- GAME WITH THE BEST CUT SCENES

Well, otoge don’t have cut scenes, so I’ll just talk about 2 moments that deserve a mention:

• BWS: this game has so many unforgettable scenes, I don’t even know where to start; let’s talk about Julian, when he reveals his “true personality”. I don’t want to spoil, but there was a shocking and unexpected scene, which really stuck in my mind. I’ve never realized Hosoya Yoshimasa was such a great seiyuu until I heard him change his voice while begging “please, praise me”. That broken voice is really something every otome game player should hear.
• 7’scarlet: before playing, I didn’t know there were cinematic scenes and it was an amazing experience! it’s rare to see animations in otome games, and those few seconds in the beginning were really perfect to make me immersed in the mood of the game.

17- FAVOURITE ANTAGONIST

Collar Malice… “Adonis”. Let’s call “it” like that, to avoid spoilers. I really had no clue until I reached the end, I was almost shocked… best antagonist ever!

18- FAVOURITE PROTAGONIST

Code Realize Cardia. It was nice to see her growing and becoming confident and strong.

Futaba from Trigger kiss was funny too, she really voiced my thoughts… it’s the first time I completely agree with an heroine’s reactions!

19- PICTURE OF A GAME SETTING YOU WISH YOU LIVED IN

Period Cube. It may be dangerous, but it’s beautiful!

20- FAVOURITE GENRE

If we talk about otoge, I prefer dark themes, deep plot and mystery.

You can tell just by reading my “top 10 recommended games”, fluffy stuff is not for me!

 

21- BEST STORY

Wow this is really hard, there are a few with a great plot!

I think my favourite is Black wolves saga, because it’s the only otoge which made me ignore the romantic part: I was completely absorbed by the plot and by the character’s psychology, it didn’t even felt like an otoge at all. As the story progressed, I was captured by their amazing personalities and I just wanted to know more!

It made me suffer so much, but it was worth it.

22- A SEQUEL THAT DISAPPOINTED YOU

Kamiaso infinite.

I enjoyed the first game, it wasn’t great but still good; sadly, the sequel was kusoge level: short routes, no real plot and everything happened so fast, it didn’t make sense.

An example of terrible writing which destroys a story with good potential.

 

23- BEST ART STYLE

I appreciate many artists, but Satoi is my favourite. When I see her art, it’s an istant buy for me!

 

24- FAVOURITE CLASSIC TITLE

I guess Amnesia is a classic now? I’ve seen the anime even before knowing otome game existed and it’s a series I’ve always loved, it’s special to me.

 

25- A GAME ON YOUR LIST TO PLAY

ONLY ONE?

I’d go for Yunohana spring then, I want to play it soon! it looks funny, I need something brighter because I’ve been playing too much of my usual depressing and creepy stuff lately.

 

26- BEST VOICE ACTING

The first name which comes to my mind, is Kaji Yuuki voicing Kanato.

It’s really difficult to act such a disturbed character: he has to change tone rapidly when Kanato’s mood change for no reason, cry randomly, scream like crazy… it must be challenging!

 

27- MOST EPIC SCENE

How can I answer this without spoiling?! Let’s just say, Hijikata’s ending in Hakuoki…. when the meaning of the name “Hakouki” is explained.

 

28- FAVOURITE DEVELOPER

Rejet.

Sometimes I hate them, sometimes I love them… sometimes they disappoint me, as it happened on the last streaming. But I still have hopes, maybe they’ll come back with a new epic game next year!

 

29- A GAME YOU WERE SURPRISED YOU LIKED

7’scarlet! I didn’t even buy it at first, I’ve just became curious after reading my friend’s tweets and decided to see if I was really missing something…. I WAS! I didn’t expect to love it so much, but it was an amazing journey, totally worth playing.

 

30- FAVOURITE GAME OF ALL TIME

Can I just answer with 2 titles?

Black wolves saga and Kokuchou no psychedelica.

Don’t ask me to choose, they are both masterpieces to me!

 

 

 

I’m finally done answering all the questions, it took me a few days, but it was fun!

I hope my answers were interesting enough, I’ll probably try something similar in the future!