ThunderheadFred
2008
This review contains spoilers
I must be really desensitized, because when I told my husband, “as expected, one of the boys ate the other,” he didn’t seem to think that was as obvious a summary as I did.
Uhh. I really liked the sound design?
Uhh. I really liked the sound design?
2012
A mixed bag for me. The production values are nuts; this is easily the most well-produced traditional-style visual novel I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately the plot is… uhhhhhh… generously described as a hot mess. It felt about ten thousand times longer than it needed to be, especially since so many parts of the routes overlapped exactly. The villain especially is a real bore.
As for the erotica… hmm. Hugely subjective. For me, it felt like routes swung wildly between character-driven romantic hotness and just. Fucking weird. Which is fine, but like. Perhaps this suffers from trying to do too many kinks at once? Also lube does not exist in the future I guess. rip Aoba.
I acknowledge the point of having multiple routes is that not everything appeals to everyone but even bearing that in mind, I DID have to See Some Things to finally unlock the most uncomfortable “true ending” of all time so. Uh. Thanks for that.
I don’t know how I feel about this. Confused? Confused.
I’ll just stick with: the art is insanely gorgeous and Clear’s route alone almost makes up for the rest.
As for the erotica… hmm. Hugely subjective. For me, it felt like routes swung wildly between character-driven romantic hotness and just. Fucking weird. Which is fine, but like. Perhaps this suffers from trying to do too many kinks at once? Also lube does not exist in the future I guess. rip Aoba.
I acknowledge the point of having multiple routes is that not everything appeals to everyone but even bearing that in mind, I DID have to See Some Things to finally unlock the most uncomfortable “true ending” of all time so. Uh. Thanks for that.
I don’t know how I feel about this. Confused? Confused.
I’ll just stick with: the art is insanely gorgeous and Clear’s route alone almost makes up for the rest.
Pretty much a mindless grind-for-resources mobile game but with better graphics and some sandbox-esque design elements. Personally, I find this type of do-nothing game really relaxing, but if the meaningless gameplay loop isn’t appealing to you, there’s not much to recommend here other than extremely basic repackaged Disney nostalgia. I shudder to think of the inevitable microtransaction buffoonery once it goes full free-to-play in 2023.
Tried on PC (via Xbox Game Pass) and Switch. Looks pretty on PC though seems poorly optimized with some stuttering. On Switch? It… uh... Runs. Except when it doesn’t. Frame rates are nigh unplayable in certain areas when raining. It has crashed every time I’ve played; luckily it autosaves frequently. Hopefully Switch optimization improves, because the touch-screen features are handily implemented.
Tried on PC (via Xbox Game Pass) and Switch. Looks pretty on PC though seems poorly optimized with some stuttering. On Switch? It… uh... Runs. Except when it doesn’t. Frame rates are nigh unplayable in certain areas when raining. It has crashed every time I’ve played; luckily it autosaves frequently. Hopefully Switch optimization improves, because the touch-screen features are handily implemented.
Cute and fun, but pretty shallow. I think these 3DS remasters would have worked better as DLC add-ons to the existing Switch game so that that the tracks and outfits could carry over and feel like more of a bonus. Packaged on their own as a standalone “game”, they’re unfortunately relatively weak.
2021
I loved this. I bought it mostly on a whim and started it with zero expectations. I immediately became addicted and could not stop until I finished it nearly a week later.
Five stars reflect my own personal enjoyment, though I don’t think it’s perfect and some of the routes were better than others. A lot of that always comes down to personal taste, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, there is a lot of implied and direct sexual assault in this story, so I imagine the bad ends won’t sit too well with some.
Overall thoughts: the production was stellar, with some of the best art I’ve ever seen in an otome. The music was likewise gorgeous. The STORY is Incredible: lush and operatic, with this deep and mysterious lore that had me completely hooked from word one. Fantastic side characters and world-building; it felt like a fully fleshed-out fantasy novel.
And UNF! The romances are ROMANTIC. Horny, yes (this game is definitely Mature) but it’s much more than that. Each route had its own wild twists and obstacles, revealing more and more of the plot. Pretty much all of the routes tugged on my heart strings in some way, though Riku ended up being a surprise favorite.
I can actually see myself revisiting this some day, which is pretty unusual for me. Possibly my favorite otome I’ve played so far.
Five stars reflect my own personal enjoyment, though I don’t think it’s perfect and some of the routes were better than others. A lot of that always comes down to personal taste, so take that with a grain of salt. Also, there is a lot of implied and direct sexual assault in this story, so I imagine the bad ends won’t sit too well with some.
Overall thoughts: the production was stellar, with some of the best art I’ve ever seen in an otome. The music was likewise gorgeous. The STORY is Incredible: lush and operatic, with this deep and mysterious lore that had me completely hooked from word one. Fantastic side characters and world-building; it felt like a fully fleshed-out fantasy novel.
And UNF! The romances are ROMANTIC. Horny, yes (this game is definitely Mature) but it’s much more than that. Each route had its own wild twists and obstacles, revealing more and more of the plot. Pretty much all of the routes tugged on my heart strings in some way, though Riku ended up being a surprise favorite.
I can actually see myself revisiting this some day, which is pretty unusual for me. Possibly my favorite otome I’ve played so far.
The murder mysteries were weak and overly simple to start with, only to get buried beneath a pile of awkward and completely arbitrary trial mini-games.
The cast is a collection of shallow stereotypes that do have slightly more depth… but the game’s narrative mode doesn’t allow you any time to get to know them, so what’s the point? What little humor there is relies on obnoxious pervy fan-service ”jokes” about a bunch of terrorized teenagers, which is not only tiring but also pretty gross.
The premise never resolves itself, leaving about five billion lazily unanswered questions. And this is merely a personal gripe, but half the time I found the art, music, and sound effects just… grating.
Points for style, ambition, and production value; there’s definitely something charming about how much attention was lavished on certain parts of this game…. Unfortunately mostly the wrong parts. Hoping the sequels improve on this, because so far I’m not especially impressed.
Also, getting platinum on this was a special kind of hell. I ripped that trophy out of Monokuma’s cold dead hands.
The cast is a collection of shallow stereotypes that do have slightly more depth… but the game’s narrative mode doesn’t allow you any time to get to know them, so what’s the point? What little humor there is relies on obnoxious pervy fan-service ”jokes” about a bunch of terrorized teenagers, which is not only tiring but also pretty gross.
The premise never resolves itself, leaving about five billion lazily unanswered questions. And this is merely a personal gripe, but half the time I found the art, music, and sound effects just… grating.
Points for style, ambition, and production value; there’s definitely something charming about how much attention was lavished on certain parts of this game…. Unfortunately mostly the wrong parts. Hoping the sequels improve on this, because so far I’m not especially impressed.
Also, getting platinum on this was a special kind of hell. I ripped that trophy out of Monokuma’s cold dead hands.
2015
It’s…. Fine? I picked this up when I was building my physical otome collection for Vita, as it was pretty cheap and easy to get at the time. I don’t regret it, but I have a feeling I would have enjoyed this more if I was still a tween, or better yet, a Japanese tween. The story feels specifically tailored toward Japanese high schooler ennui, so as a 30-something American I definitely feel a bit…. Unmoved, shall we say. I did appreciate the feral theatre kid energy of the Bad Apples though.
It wasn’t BAD, but felt a bit like an outline of a visual novel, rather than a fully realized story. A lot of side characters (who were more interesting that the LI’s, most of the time) have subplots that never get resolved. Despite the short length, the game still repeats itself a lot, and the “choice” mechanics were basically color-coded railroads. The touch system was also just…… odd.
CGs were lackluster as well… overall, everything just felt kinda halfhearted. That said, I DID love the visual style and music. I just feel like this game needed more time in the oven.
It wasn’t BAD, but felt a bit like an outline of a visual novel, rather than a fully realized story. A lot of side characters (who were more interesting that the LI’s, most of the time) have subplots that never get resolved. Despite the short length, the game still repeats itself a lot, and the “choice” mechanics were basically color-coded railroads. The touch system was also just…… odd.
CGs were lackluster as well… overall, everything just felt kinda halfhearted. That said, I DID love the visual style and music. I just feel like this game needed more time in the oven.
Huge, complex, and bizarre. There’s almost no way to describe this experience adequately, other than to say I know this story will stick with me for a long, long time. Takes the idea of a haunted house and goes absolutely wild with it.
I’m still reeling from the whole thing, honestly. It’s so structured and intentional and deep and broad and bleak and hopeful and strange. Equal parts gorgeous and goofy, sacred, profane, and stupidly mundane, All at once. Somehow.
The illustrations weren’t always to my personal taste, occasionally they even felt at odds with the text (Giselle CGs in particular) but that’s neither here nor there. The story itself is certainly art, well and truly. A slow, meticulous build that eventually grabbed me by the throat and would not let go. Pretty spectacular. Plus the soundtrack is like an alternate universe Dead Can Dance album, and some of the tracks haunted me for DAYS.
The text does occasionally get too long-winded for its own good. A bit of editing to shave down some meandering plot threads and verbal redundancies might have helped with the relentless-feeling read time, especially considering the already spiraling, recursive nature of the story. Furthermore, the translation (or the original text, hard to say) took a lot of liberties with weirdly casual speech for a “period” piece. But honestly, the lack of historical realism isn’t particularly important to the story’s themes, and if anything the inconsistency serves to elevate the sense of surreal displaced weirdness that permeates the entire novel. It doesn’t actually take place in any of those times, after all. So…Ignore everything I just wrote. It’s gonna take me a while to absorb and process this whole journey.
Edit: the prequel/sequel stories were not nearly as good, and ranged from incredibly boring to coffee shop AU, so your mileage may vary on that. I personally didn’t see the point: at worst I felt they cheapened the main story somewhat. My five stars are exclusively for the original game, not all the much weaker fluff they padded this special edition with.
I’m still reeling from the whole thing, honestly. It’s so structured and intentional and deep and broad and bleak and hopeful and strange. Equal parts gorgeous and goofy, sacred, profane, and stupidly mundane, All at once. Somehow.
The illustrations weren’t always to my personal taste, occasionally they even felt at odds with the text (Giselle CGs in particular) but that’s neither here nor there. The story itself is certainly art, well and truly. A slow, meticulous build that eventually grabbed me by the throat and would not let go. Pretty spectacular. Plus the soundtrack is like an alternate universe Dead Can Dance album, and some of the tracks haunted me for DAYS.
The text does occasionally get too long-winded for its own good. A bit of editing to shave down some meandering plot threads and verbal redundancies might have helped with the relentless-feeling read time, especially considering the already spiraling, recursive nature of the story. Furthermore, the translation (or the original text, hard to say) took a lot of liberties with weirdly casual speech for a “period” piece. But honestly, the lack of historical realism isn’t particularly important to the story’s themes, and if anything the inconsistency serves to elevate the sense of surreal displaced weirdness that permeates the entire novel. It doesn’t actually take place in any of those times, after all. So…Ignore everything I just wrote. It’s gonna take me a while to absorb and process this whole journey.
Edit: the prequel/sequel stories were not nearly as good, and ranged from incredibly boring to coffee shop AU, so your mileage may vary on that. I personally didn’t see the point: at worst I felt they cheapened the main story somewhat. My five stars are exclusively for the original game, not all the much weaker fluff they padded this special edition with.
This review contains spoilers
I dunno what I was expecting when I started 999, but the anime successor to Titanic: Adventure Out Of Time was not it
Story = neat, full of conspiracy lore meta just like Uchikoshi’s other work. Unfortunately the number aspect felt deeply underutilized, with too-easy point-click puzzles mixed with a bunch of math problems, a map feature you never actually use, calculator feature you can’t use when you actually need it, clunkly visual novel mechanics desperately in need of a flowchart or full skip, and uhhhhh the final boss fight was literally just basic sudoku?.??..?
Moral of the story: better learn how to do sudoku before you turn ten or a mad scientist might incinerate you.
Overal solid 7/10, deeply entertaining but a bit of a spaz
Story = neat, full of conspiracy lore meta just like Uchikoshi’s other work. Unfortunately the number aspect felt deeply underutilized, with too-easy point-click puzzles mixed with a bunch of math problems, a map feature you never actually use, calculator feature you can’t use when you actually need it, clunkly visual novel mechanics desperately in need of a flowchart or full skip, and uhhhhh the final boss fight was literally just basic sudoku?.??..?
Moral of the story: better learn how to do sudoku before you turn ten or a mad scientist might incinerate you.
Overal solid 7/10, deeply entertaining but a bit of a spaz
This review contains spoilers
So basically you spend 20-30 hrs playing a realllllllly slow, clunky, repetitive visual novel with a few inconsistent and frustrating puzzle rooms and then the last hour is like “oh shit here’s the actual story” and suddenly they info-dump an actual apocalypse on you, and right when it gets to the part that has the potential to be genuinely interesting the game ends on a cheap OR IS it?!???
I admit after playing the third game I appreciated this one more, but it’s my least favorite of the three on its own.
I admit after playing the third game I appreciated this one more, but it’s my least favorite of the three on its own.
F-Finally….. got platinum on Hakuoki
(Leans against a wall, gasping for breath)
That was….. a lot…….. of boys
(Leans against a wall, gasping for breath)
That was….. a lot…….. of boys
2015
This review contains spoilers
I have played approximately one half of the laboriously boy-filled two-part Hakuoki (so many boys they needed two game cards!!!!)
…the boys so far…
Hijikata - his cologne, Default Love Interest, can be detected at twenty paces. It was a noble effort on the part of the writers to make him appear to love anything other than the Shinsengumi, especially the protagonist, but. We all know that’s a lie. No one has ever been more married to a job than this angry vampire man. Points for a poetic ending and his really hot-sounding voice actor. 7/10
Okita - he’s voiced by Impey Barbicane so how are you NOT going to like him? I enjoy that he is a big dumb picky-eater manchild. He has Victorian Wasting Disease AND becomes a Hot Sad Vampire which seems sort of like an unfair advantage tbh. 8/10
Saito - basically Hijikata Lite. Really boring imho, except for the part where the protagonist gets a cold. He’s somehow even more obsessed with being a stoic ice queen than Hijikata. If you’re the kind of masochist who sticks your tongue on icy playground equipment, he is the boy for you. 5/10
Heisuke - cute I guess?? Sort of feral. Gives you some more insight into some plot points. Do you enjoy discussing the philosophical merits of switching sides a lot? If that is sexy to you, oh boy. Y’all team up with the main villain randomly after the one female friend yells at said villain and tells him to stop stalking the protagonist so that’s pretty good. At least he’s fucking age appropriate jfc 6/10
Harada - DAMN. OKAY. my girl Chizuru finally goes all the way. About time. He’s entirely sane, exceptionally hot, has a big spear, and his biggest goal in life is: make wife happy. Decidedly, refreshingly, NOT a vampire. Instead of being an angsty undead samurai he gets drunk and his best friend draws a face on his botched seppuku scar. That’s not a joke that’s actually what happens. Most of the tension in his route is slow burn UST, and wooooofda. Good job girl. Now that’s what I call a husband. NSFW/10
Nagakura - the first half of his route is really cute and good and his voice actor has a VERY SEXY LAUGH. Got my hopes up. Unfortunately nothing much happens in part two except some uninspired moping. He calls you little sister a lot which is not uncomfortable or weird at all. One random and pretty boring kiss??????? I am disappoint. He is still extremely hot. I want to go drinking with this guy. 6/10
Kondou - Not an actual romance option. 11/10 would choose again
…the boys so far…
Hijikata - his cologne, Default Love Interest, can be detected at twenty paces. It was a noble effort on the part of the writers to make him appear to love anything other than the Shinsengumi, especially the protagonist, but. We all know that’s a lie. No one has ever been more married to a job than this angry vampire man. Points for a poetic ending and his really hot-sounding voice actor. 7/10
Okita - he’s voiced by Impey Barbicane so how are you NOT going to like him? I enjoy that he is a big dumb picky-eater manchild. He has Victorian Wasting Disease AND becomes a Hot Sad Vampire which seems sort of like an unfair advantage tbh. 8/10
Saito - basically Hijikata Lite. Really boring imho, except for the part where the protagonist gets a cold. He’s somehow even more obsessed with being a stoic ice queen than Hijikata. If you’re the kind of masochist who sticks your tongue on icy playground equipment, he is the boy for you. 5/10
Heisuke - cute I guess?? Sort of feral. Gives you some more insight into some plot points. Do you enjoy discussing the philosophical merits of switching sides a lot? If that is sexy to you, oh boy. Y’all team up with the main villain randomly after the one female friend yells at said villain and tells him to stop stalking the protagonist so that’s pretty good. At least he’s fucking age appropriate jfc 6/10
Harada - DAMN. OKAY. my girl Chizuru finally goes all the way. About time. He’s entirely sane, exceptionally hot, has a big spear, and his biggest goal in life is: make wife happy. Decidedly, refreshingly, NOT a vampire. Instead of being an angsty undead samurai he gets drunk and his best friend draws a face on his botched seppuku scar. That’s not a joke that’s actually what happens. Most of the tension in his route is slow burn UST, and wooooofda. Good job girl. Now that’s what I call a husband. NSFW/10
Nagakura - the first half of his route is really cute and good and his voice actor has a VERY SEXY LAUGH. Got my hopes up. Unfortunately nothing much happens in part two except some uninspired moping. He calls you little sister a lot which is not uncomfortable or weird at all. One random and pretty boring kiss??????? I am disappoint. He is still extremely hot. I want to go drinking with this guy. 6/10
Kondou - Not an actual romance option. 11/10 would choose again
I’d like to play Clue: Zero Escape Edition
— Mr Green (cloned) in the moon base with a robot arm
— Miss Scarlet in the grand staircase with a baseball bat
— Mrs White in the incinerator with sudoku
— Colonel Mustard’s severed head in the pantry with a chainsaw
— You win when Mr Body is no longer dead
Okay but actually. The balance between visual novel and puzzles was far better than the previous two, and the flowchart was brilliantly implemented. I called most of the twists. This is NOT a criticism. Not at all. All the twists actually make me want to replay the entire series, because everything is so well seeded. Uchikoshi has a way of feeding you exactly enough information to piece together the plot yourself, and then he immediately rewards you for paying attention. Every time. Very few plots in any medium are so collaborative with the audience. It’s really, genuinely special. The meta stuff is also just, intensely good. It’s hard to imagine this series being anything OTHER than a video game.
My brain broke though. How many people who worked on this game just ran out of the writer’s room screaming, never to return?
Reviews on this game are all over the place, and I can absolutely understand why, but I loved it start to finish. The janky insanity of it just really appeals to me, I guess.
— Mr Green (cloned) in the moon base with a robot arm
— Miss Scarlet in the grand staircase with a baseball bat
— Mrs White in the incinerator with sudoku
— Colonel Mustard’s severed head in the pantry with a chainsaw
— You win when Mr Body is no longer dead
Okay but actually. The balance between visual novel and puzzles was far better than the previous two, and the flowchart was brilliantly implemented. I called most of the twists. This is NOT a criticism. Not at all. All the twists actually make me want to replay the entire series, because everything is so well seeded. Uchikoshi has a way of feeding you exactly enough information to piece together the plot yourself, and then he immediately rewards you for paying attention. Every time. Very few plots in any medium are so collaborative with the audience. It’s really, genuinely special. The meta stuff is also just, intensely good. It’s hard to imagine this series being anything OTHER than a video game.
My brain broke though. How many people who worked on this game just ran out of the writer’s room screaming, never to return?
Reviews on this game are all over the place, and I can absolutely understand why, but I loved it start to finish. The janky insanity of it just really appeals to me, I guess.
Maybe my favorite iteration of TnT, even without the tatacon option. Practice mode is a lifesaver, and the quest mode is great whenever I want a different pace. Love love love.
Easily one of my favorite game franchises.
Knocking off one star simply because I wish the Switch version had some of the Vita game features like practice mode and built-in quests. Would have been great if the Adventure pack (which I love, don’t get me wrong) had been incorporated as DLC rather than released as a separate game, because switching between all three titles is a pain. But that’s pretty minor, and was probably a licensing issue, so oh well. Still….. no practice mode…….. alas…..
But yeah, other than that, it’s pretty much straight unadulterated serotonin.
Knocking off one star simply because I wish the Switch version had some of the Vita game features like practice mode and built-in quests. Would have been great if the Adventure pack (which I love, don’t get me wrong) had been incorporated as DLC rather than released as a separate game, because switching between all three titles is a pain. But that’s pretty minor, and was probably a licensing issue, so oh well. Still….. no practice mode…….. alas…..
But yeah, other than that, it’s pretty much straight unadulterated serotonin.