I wasn’t sure if writing a review for Kaleido Even would be useful, since literally no one was interested in this game when it was released; but then I realized how there aren’t even many reviews, for the same reason, so writing about it may still be interesting if someone gets curious.

When I started, my expectations were low: if everyone ignored it, there must be a reason, right?

I was surprised to see how I actually found enjoyable the characters, their interactions and also the setting of this game. I had a good feeling right from the start.

The heroine is great, she chose a difficult job because she wanted to be useful to people in need and that’s admirable: she isn’t fighting for herself, saving lives it’s her way to pay back the ones who saved her, when she was little. Her determination is as strong as her.

The plot overall may be interesting, but it’s poorly explained in some routes.

This doesn’t ruin the game, but you’d be disappointed if you’re looking for a detective/mystery otoge perfectly developed like Collar Malice, since the cases in Kaleido Eve are not detailed explained in every route. Honestly, when I ended the first route, I was confused…. what did I play? What is Kaleido Eve exactly? Nothing made sense. Still, Daichi’s route was nice to play.

The biggest problem for me, is that the routes are short: this may be good somehow, since I didn’t have the time to get bored and I reached the ending pretty soon, but still some love confessions felt a bit sudden and out of the blue. Where did they fall in love? Why? Everything happens too fast, as if the route was rushed: this leads too a poorly developed plot and also awkward relationships and random confessions.

The strong point in this game, it’s the good balance between funny scenes, mystery, action and romantic scenes; but since nothing is deeply explained, when the route ends there’s a sense of “something is lacking”. But I had fun, so who cares?

While playing more routes, finally the pieces of the puzzles started to complete and it was very interesting to further explore the twisted personalities of some side characters, like the pharmacists twins; there’s even a disturbing scene I won’t forget easily, those boys are really crazy.

I’m just disappointed that the main villain’s personality wasn’t properly developed and explained; in every route, we just get to know who’s the culprit and why he committed those crimes, but the psychological aspect is completely ignored. It could have been tragic and emotional, if properly explained, but I guess they chose a simpler and more superficial motivation, just to keep it shorter.

I suggest you to play Rei’s and Tsukishima’s route last, since they contain important spoilers and they become quite emotional in the end; I think they are both a great conclusion for the game, the playorder for the other characters doesn’t matter that much.

Would I recommend Kaleido Eve?

I’ll be honest, it’s not that great.

But it saddens me to see how it was ignored, as if it was the worst kusoge ever, not even worth a try.

I guarantee it’s not that bad, I’ve played many worse games (even more popular ones)!

So, if you happen to find an old cheap copy somewhere, don’t ignore it…. it deserves a chance!