WOWZA this one really surprised me!!! I LOVED it. I have a quite a few small gripes with it (mostly about the story structure/writing, localization/language barrier issues, and the lackluster extra content), but those aren’t enough to take away from the fact that this game seriously has the BEST characters. First, the voice acting is incredible. This game gave me some serious laughs and awwwwws, AND it gets extra points cause it’s the first Otome game to ever make me cry!!! And I mean CRY, not just tear up. It was towards the end of Mozu’s route which for me was extremely personal, and I think that’s one of the great things about this game is that I think most people can find something they relate to in at least one of the routes. This game tackles SO many issues: past regrets, revenge, being unsure of one’s identity, the importance of family, body image, shame, drug addiction and recovery, death of loved ones, trauma, deception, you name it. With that said, I would definitely offer a trigger warning if you are highly sensitive to any of these topics, particularly violence. I also have to give a lot of credit to the devs and writers for the protagonist, Teuta. She is seriously one of the best protagonists I’ve encountered so far. First of all, she’s VOICED!! Which is amazing, I didn’t know how much a voiced protagonist REALLY ups the immersion and I really hope that becomes the norm in the future. But more importantly, this woman is no pushover. To me she’s the epitome of a “modern” 21st century woman. She knows what she wants for the most part, she views herself as equal to men, and she’s confident, silly, and perfectly imperfect. I loved her.
Lastly, it wouldn’t be a great Otome game without great romance. I do think that BUSTAFELLOWS intentionally leans more into story than romance, but the romance it did have was really nice and felt VERY natural. This game was also a first for me in that I actually liked ALL of the routes. Normally there’s at least one I don’t like or am at least indifferent to; not the case here, they really were all great. My #1 ended up being Shu which shocked me cause he’s definitely not your typical sweetheart. However, I think he really made me fall for him because he is probably one of the most straightforward LIs I’ve ever seen in Japanese media, and if you know anything about [romantic] Japanese media, you know these types of guys are one in a million, or more like a billion lmao. It was so refreshing and just straight up satisfying. Like, “I love you, you love me, let’s kiss and date, also yes I’d like to have sex with you eventually” chef’s kiss
ALSO REAL QUICK: The music in this game absolutely SLAPS

I certainly don’t think I’ll ever complain about more content!! I think Amnesia fans will be perfectly satisfied with both fandiscs… as I played I definitely got more and more attached to the characters (esp Orion omg 🥺). Some of the writing can be a little silly but it’s nothing that made me want to put this down. The CGs are as gorgeous as ever and are a huge reason why I continued playing (esp all the guys’ shirtless CGs in Crowd. Damn). Seeing the progression of each LI’s relationship with the protagonist was really nice!!! (Except Toma because 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻) Kent still remains my favorite. Give this one a go for sure if you liked the original game 🥰

It took me a minute to get into this one but I’m glad I didn’t give up on it! Best boi Kent stole my heart and it was worth it sticking to the end for the whole story to come together with Ukyo’s route. At first I found the story boring and kind of silly, but the more you play the more it makes sense. At least it did for me! Not my most favorite Otome game ever but worth a play through! Also the artwork is lovely, same artist as CxM so that was enough to hook me!
Final thoughts: Toma can go to hell 🖕🏻

This is such an amazing continuation of the original game. I repeat all of the compliments I gave the first game, and I just can’t stress enough that this fan disc is (with maaaaaybe the exception of Shiraishi’s route) all about THE FLUFF. The romance here is absolutely the #1 priority and it’s ALL great. With some yummy spicy content in there too 😈 The extra features are even better this time around and the side stories are really great, especially Yoshinari’s. He is just too precious. The CGs are just as beautiful as the first game and I also LOVED the addition of the chibi CGs, they are just too adorable for words 🥺 I feel like this fan disc truly understands what it means to give fan service haha. Amazing!

To me, this is the perfect Otome game. Honest to God, I don’t think I have any complaints here. Each route is vastly different, the artwork is stunning and very unique, the music slaps, the voice acting is truly top tier with all the main LIs being voiced by the best of the best, the story/motive of each route is great, the side characters and side plots are wonderful, the extra content and extra stories are great, the game is the PERFECT length, the guys are hot, and the protagonist is a badass. I mean, what more could you ask for?!?! I have so many thoughts I could share but this would go on forever. I think even people who don’t play Otome games and just enjoy a good story would like this one.
Yanagi’s route definitely ended up being my favorite, but story wise I think Takeru’s is actually the best. I also think he has the strongest motivation for stopping X-Day out of all the LIs, and he also falls into the VERY rare camp of being a tsundere that I actually like. It’ll be hard to find another Otome that tops this one for me.

Definitely a must play for any Otome fan. I could write a really long review here but I won’t cause it’ll go on forever lol. So I’ll hit the main points: the music and artwork are beautiful, and I did enjoy the short stories after you complete each route. Voice acting is excellent and I think the themes that the game touches on are really interesting and relevant, and I have a feeling the writers were definitely trying to go for subtle commentary here. I do feel that each route is unique enough apart from others that each one is enjoyable. My favorite was Akaza’s as I love kuudere, quiet types, and usually Otome poster boys/locked endgame routes end up being my favorite. My only gripe with his route is that I personally found Olympia’s tsundere attitude for the first half to be incredibly annoying. It’s rare for me to find a tsundere that I actually like/find endearing, and unfortunately Olympia in Akaza’s route did not fall into that category. It got much better in the latter half though. And for anyone who’s played, they know that this game can get REAL SPICY 🥵 I cannot stress how many times I’ve rewatched Akaza’s love scene because DAMN. IYKYK.
I will say as a minor complaint that I do feel the game is a bit too long. I think it could’ve been condensed quite a bit. And yes, TW for sexual assault and rape on bad endings.

I think this one is kind of a toss up.. it was in the middle for me. I saved Gekkamaru for last as that was the recommendation with the walkthrough I used, but I was honestly a little disappointed. I feel the routes overall are repetitive and I really feel like the only one that actually gave both the protagonist and the LI good character development was Hanzo’s. Which is funny because I was initially wary of his route since he and the protagonist have such a huge age gap. But he ended up being one of the routes I liked the most. I also liked Goemon’s, made even better by his VA.
I really wasn’t a fan of Enju as a protagonist. It’s tough for me to get invested in romances between minors and adults. Sometimes there are exceptions and of course taking place toward the end of the Sengoku period, things were a lot different, but still. I just felt she was kind of boring…? And overall I think her feelings for each LI just weren’t very convincing.
The music here is cool, the artwork is good but I think I’ve been too spoiled by other Otome games to really call it anything super special. As a nitpick, I get SO annoyed with kiss CGs that aren’t like, a complete kiss?!?? Like they’re almost there but like… Is it hard to draw lips touching? Who knows. Such a petty complaint but it just annoys me lol

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this one! I really needed something lighthearted when I got this one and it delivered! It also had me laughing hysterically the whole time. I normally don’t like “pretend” romances but it didn’t bother me here, for whatever reason! Sometimes the plot points are a bit silly but I knew that going into this one so I wasn’t too annoyed. I’m not sure I can pick a favorite LI cause they really are all so different! I know for sure that Sena is my least favorite but he still really charmed me toward the end of his route! I have a little bit of a bias toward Kazuma cause I’m also a beautician, plus I am a MAJOR sucker for the childhood friends to lovers trope. The music is also a BOP, the extra features after completing each route were really cute and fun, and the artwork is really lovely! I really liked the protagonist too; I felt like the writers did a good job of balancing her shyness while not being a pushover.

I was excited to jump into this one cause I just can’t get enough of the series! I thought all of the white rose stories were lovely and the perfect length, with of course Lupin’s being my favorite 😋 Van Helsing definitely shot up to #2 for me here! His route was just so incredibly sweet, plus none can deny the sexiness of Junichi Suwabe’s voice. I did end up skipping around St. Germain’s route a lot because I’m just not a fan of his as a LI, plus his stories are so sad lol.
I also pretty much skipped the entire side story with Shirley as I just wasn’t super interested. But she is adorable!
I did like the addition of the Finis route; he’s not my favorite but it’s nice to see the different ways the story could have unfolded!
I also loved Delly’s room, such a cute addition and ummmmmm I think we need a fan disc just for him as an adult 😳 IYKYK

The first Otome game I ever played! And I chose well. This one is a must play for any fan. I could write an insanely long review with all my thoughts, but it’s just fantastic. Like a lot of people I’m sure, Lupin is of course my #1. And I really think Cardia is such a fantastic protagonist… she can be a real badass! Even more so if you play the fan discs. My only complaint is that I do feel it was a bit too long. Lastly, I truly think this series has probably the most beautiful CGs of all the Otome games I’ve played so far, with Piofiore being a close second. They are just stunning. Wonderful music as well. Don’t miss this one!

I think this one is definitely a must play for Otome fans! I have to say, I kind of have a love/hate relationship with it?? Especially after playing the sequel (you can read my super long review of that one lol). For me personally, I had to take breaks at some point because it’s just a lot, and made me feel all the emotions.
My #1 was definitely Dante, I know it’s not really explicitly stated that he’s the “canon” route or the “poster boy” of the game (especially since his route isn’t locked until the end), but I feel like it’s kind of made out to be that way, especially since he’s on the cover of both games. Regardless, I’m a sucker for kuudere, soft LIs and Dante checks all those boxes. He’s just a sweetheart and I couldn’t get enough of him. And yes, he’s stupid hot 🥵
I have so many other thoughts I could share but will leave it here lol. The last thing I’ll say is that this game’s artwork and music are absolutely top tier. The CGs are just stunning and a lot of the musical pieces were very emotionally captivating.

Ok. I came into this game with pretty high expectations. I enjoyed the first game a lot, with I think my opinions being fairly consistent with most… everybody likes Dante, Nicola, and Gilbert, most are meh on Orlok, and those who can shut their brain off like Yang and those who can’t hate him (of which I fall into the latter category). And of course, most were like “who the fuck is Henri, why is he here, his character is completely useless”
After completing the first game, Dante was definitely my favorite. I love kuudere LIs and he was such a sweetheart, plus I tend to like the “poster boy” of most Otome games (even though that wasn’t necessarily the case here 100% like Code: Realize or CxM, but still kinda…?). Nicola was a close second, with Gilbert and Orlok just kind of being ok. Although I have to commend Gilbert as he unquestionably treats LiLi as an equal the most in the first game. I skipped Yang’s route altogether, force skipping only to get CGs. Can’t stand him. As for this sequel…
I stand by Dante being my #1 but I really wish there had been more passionate romance between him and LiLi in this sequel. What they do have is very nice and I do think their relationship gets stronger over the course of his route, but I just feel there were a lot of missed opportunities for things to be turned up a notch.
I won’t go into detail on Gilbert and Nicola as my opinion of both of them didn’t change much with them. I once again skipped Yang because fuck him lol. Although to his credit, he does crack me up when he’s NOT LiLi’s lover lmao
And finally my little bean Orlok. I think my opinion is pretty unpopular here at least from what I’ve seen others saying, but Orlok absolutely climbed to #2 for me in this game. I truly think his character development was the best out of all the routes and I absolutely loved that he and LiLi were such a committed TEAM throughout his route. This was one thing that bothered me and was unfortunately very repetitive about Dante, Nicola, and Gilbert’s routes: LiLi doesn’t have a lot of participation in their endeavors until the very end of their routes, and it takes all 3 of those guys a longer amount of time to be 100% open and honest with her. Not the case with Orlok’s route. He is committed to her protection while simultaneously relying on her help and learning how to express his own emotions. Of course, like most, I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get even any hint of sexy time between him and LiLi, but I just thought their romance was so unbelievably sweet and HEALTHY that I didn’t have a problem overlooking that.
Aaaaaaand now we come to the most important point of all, and for the love of God PLEASE, if I’m not alone here, PLEASE TELL ME CAUSE I NEED TO KNOW I’M NOT CRAZY lol.
It seems to me that everyone, from what I’ve seen and read, thought Henri’s route was the best in this game and they all fell head over heels for this man. I am COMPLETELY in the opposite boat. Now, for the sake of transparency, I did NOT take the time to completely go through his route like I did with the others, however, I did slow down my skip speed and stopped at parts that I felt may be important or that helped me to MAYBE see Henri in a different light. And after all that…
I still hate this man. I already hated everything about his route in the first game and that opinion really hasn’t changed. Of course I have empathy for him because yes, he has been through horrific trauma and led a truly tragic life. However, that still doesn’t change the fact that he’s a terrible person. He consistently makes selfish choices while claiming that it’s for LiLi’s benefit, and I honestly hate that LiLi never stood up to him; she was just head over heels for him from the beginning because… he’s French and hot, I guess? Similar to Yang’s route in the first game, her supposed attraction to him honestly just makes her look stupid and immature, and I personally think LiLi is better than that. Granted, my favorable bias toward the others guys here has certainly only made my negative opinion of Henri worse; I had mixed feelings about their support of LiLi here. On one end, it showed how much they all truly care about her wellbeing and happiness, and on the other hand, it enables Henri to continue to be an ass. I can appreciate Henri’s efforts to redeem himself here. But I just cannot get on board with him as a love interest. His whole route only served to make me hate him AND LiLi. I guess the one good thing is that I loved all the other guys even more lol. My perception is that the people who like this route seem to be fans of the pining, slow burn aspect. I don’t like slow burns as a general rule, and pining just makes women look weak IMO. There’s a difference between desiring someone and being desperately in love with them because of shared experiences (which is the case with all the other LIs except Yang, at least in the first game), and then the way LiLi desires Henri here which to me is just her being super attracted to him and honestly kind of loving him out of pity? LiLi has beautiful compassion but that doesn’t mean she needs to rescue Henri. I think this is why I like Dante: he is also a criminal and some would probably say he’s also a terrible person. But my god, at least he has his head on straight rather than constantly flip flopping. I think Dante’s emotional conflicts are handled way better and they actually contribute to his character development and deepening of his relationship with LiLi. He’s determined to be a better man while also allowing himself to be comforted and supported by LiLi when he needs it. I don’t know if it was intentional, but it just seems to me that the writers just kind of gave Henri those similar qualities but just decided to make his entire route and romance go the way of being as tragic as possible until the very end. If that’s your thing, cool. But it just didn’t work for me. I also felt that it was SO fucked up that they CLEARLY gave Henri the most seductive intimate scene/CG with LiLi when it was completely undeserved. I really feel like that was so unfair to the other guys and I feel deprived of my fan-service lol.
To end on a more positive note, I have to commend the voice actors here, particularly Ryohei Kimura (Nicola). Some of the more intense scenes he and everyone else performed were truly gut wrenching and I loved it.