Reviews

• 

  thearomalady

  Apr 25, 2017

  I would consider this one to be "enjoyable, but definitely not worth the full price". There are five routes, and all of them are quite safe and innocent. It's very hard to not get the happy endings, and I would say the price is only so high because you're paying for the name voice actors. There is not a lot of character art nor is there a lot of CG art- only six charaters have character art (the player and the five guys), and there's not even pictures for characters that appear in multiple storylines, like your personal maid and the tutor you have that isn't Kei. In fact, in most of the storylines, the other guys don't even appear outside their storylines, and they are never mentioned by name. The only exception aside from Soshi (who has to appear) is Kagemitsu, who is only completely absent from one of the five storylines. I bring this up because, well, you can't exactly get a feel for the guys outside their routes as a result. Further, not much changes in each route outside the "how". The general outline is the same in each storyline, the same events happen, just the order is different and the specifics of the events change. This, I kind of feel, is in poor taste when so many otome have very different storylines depending on the chosen route. It's easy to predict things in the story once you spot the recurring trend, so the plot twist that [spoiler]the guy you pursue is the/a leader of the Rebellion[/spoiler] is ruined, since aside from one route, this is always the case. It's frustrating to play a game like this and have it be so... repetitive. If you are curious, these are the recurring plot elements: [spoiler] There is a festival, part of the town burns down, you go to ask Soshi to do something about it and he refuses (his own storyline is the exception to this rule, but that's due to what part of town burned), there is a ball, you have a dance lesson with the guy you picked to prepare for it, Soshi announces your engagement to a foreign power at said ball, there is a rebellion shortly before your departure that your chosen guy leads (Koichiro is the only one who doesn't lead the Rebellion but he is still an important figurehead in it), the Palace burns down (Kei's route is the exception because the climax doesn't happen in the palace), you get together with your chosen guy forever[/spoiler]. The order may change, but those events happen in all storylines. There is one thing, though, that was a gigantic "WTF" because it comes out of nowhere and isn't properly explained for quite some time- [spoiler] that being when the protagonist tries to poison Soshi in his storyline[/spoiler]. And even when it is explained, it still makes no sense. The story is quite basic I think and, as noted, does not really change from path to path. It's very safe- nothing truly exciting happens and the protagonist is never in any real danger. The voices are nice on the ears, particularly Soshi's deep, bored drawl, and the guys are all quite handsome. As characters, I didn't enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed characters in other games- Kei was a rather weak tsundere, Koichiro was an all right dandere and probably the second most enjoyable, Kagemitsu was ungodly boring due to being a generic nice guy childhood friend type (which is a pity, because I really like Toshiyuki Toyonaga's voice), Toki was merely all right and to be honest I don't have much of an opinion on him aside from I would have liked him more as a yandere (I said the same about Kagemitsu when playing his route- anything to make him interesting and less one dimensional), and I... really don't know what to say about Soshi. I certainly liked him best, but I don't know what to say about him, aside from the feeling that most of the effort was put into making him the most appealing option despite being your stepbrother. Much as it pains me to admit it, I can't really recommend it. It's fun, it's pretty, the voices are a delight to listen to, but I've played free otome that have more substance to them even without voices. So while I think I enjoyed the game, I do not recommend it unless it's on sale for 75% off or so.
• 

  Totoro

  Apr 27, 2017

  [h1][url=https://visualnovelreviews.com/2017/04/27/the-charming-empire-review/][Full Review Here] [/url][/h1] [h1][url=https://visualnovelreviews.com/2017/04/25/the-charming-empire-walkthrough/][Complete Walkthrough][/url][/h1] [b]STORYLINE 2/5[/b] Pros: * Interesting premise. * Overarching storyline of political unrest and a corrupt empire. * Improved translations in comparison to previous Dogenzaka Lab titles. * Light and cute read that is enjoyable for a relaxing game experience. Cons: * Writing and execution heavily suffers due to it originally being a mobile port. * Prologue is extremely abrupt and short, and you're immediately thrown into the main storyline. * Sentences are short and condensed to fit into text boxes normally seen a small mobile screen. * If you're looking for a detailed and immersive storyline like [url=https://visualnovelreviews.com/2017/04/21/nightshade-hyakka-hyakurou-review/] Nightshade (another April release)[/url] then this isn't the game for you. [b]CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT 3/5[/b] Recommended Play Order: Yoshimine Kei → Koichiro Sera → Tanba Toki → Togawa Kagemitsu → Amazaki Soshi. Soshi must be played last due to spoilers and storyline flow, otherwise the story loses its impact and doesn't make much sense. Pros: * Plenty of cute and fluffy character moments * Yoshimine Kei's route was unexpectedly really cute, and definitely my favourite from the game. * Soshi's route tied up all the missing elements within all the other stories, and explained the overarching storyline. Cons: * Character routes are fairly repetitive as they all follow the same linear sequence of events, that eventually leads to the endings with each bachelor. * All the character routes were used as a build up for Soshi's story, and as a result were lacking in terms of individual storyline. * Character personalities were very inconsistent for some of the routes. * Despite how similar and connected the stories were to one another, the bachelors made little to no appearances in the other character routes. * This was very disappointing considering the game length, and it made it difficult to develop meaningful attachments towards the characters. [b]DESIGN 4/5[/b] Pros: * Highlight of the game. * Clean and crisp character designs, sprites were consistent with the CGs. * Lovely protagonist design * Many CGs for each bachelor, in spite of the relatively short game length. Cons: * Backgrounds were digital paintings of photographs/real life images. * Sprites looked noticeably distinct from the background, and distracted from the artwork itself. * Although common for mobile ports, it looked pixellated on the PC Screen and definitely took away from the overall impression of the game. [b]MUSIC AND VOICE ACTING 3/5[/b] Pros: * Famous and prolific voice acting cast, with previous work on popular otome games. * Emulated their personalities well, and definitely carried the monotonous story writing. * For example: * Yoshimine Kei | VA: Masuda Toshiki | 増田 俊樹 | Taisho x Alice series as Kaguya, Marginal #4 series as Kirihara Atom, Haikyu!! as Chikara Ennoshita * Koichiro Sera | VA: Eguchi Takuya | 江口 拓也 | Taisho x Alice series as Gretel, Collar x Malice as Hoshino Kazuki, Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak Academy as Sonosuke Izayoi * Kagemitsu Togawa | VA: Toyonaga Toshiyuki | 豊永 利行 | Marginal #4 series as Makishima Shy, Yuri!!! On Ice as Yuuri Katsuki * Tanba Toki | VA: Kakihara Tetsuya | 柿原 徹也 | Amnesia series as Shin, Code: Realize series as Viktor Frankenstein, Kenka Banchou Otome as Mirako Yuuta * Amazaki Soshi | VA: Tsuda Kenjirou | 津田 健次郎 | Yu-Gi-Oh series as Seto Kaiba, Hakuoki series as Chikage Kazama, Nightshade as Hanzo Hattori Cons: * Music was an improvement from previous Dogenzaka Lab titles, but still suffers from blatant looping. * Incorporated very little tracks, and became repetitive by the end of the first playthrough. * Hindered the great voice acting. [b]SYSTEM 3/5[/b] Pros: * System design and UI is quite nice for a mobile port. * Incorporates all the basic functions such as save/load slots, CG Gallery, skip, text speed etc. * Voice lists were a nice touch. * Skip speed was surprisingly quite fast, which helped a lot in subsequent playthroughs. Cons: * The character select and prologue options are reminiscent of a mobile game, as you would purchase their individual route and lock yourself into their story. * Ease of use felt clunky overall. * Would have liked a scene recollection option for the CGs and a ‘jump’ button to skip to the next decision. [b]CONCLUSION[/b] * Had mixed feelings about the game. * If you’re looking for a light-hearted and short read, with beautiful art and great voice acting then this is the title for you. * The overarching plot is relatively simple, with a greater focus on the cute character moments and relationship development for the bulk of the game. * It has a lot of CGs with every character, in spite of the short length. * Can overlook a lot of the shortcomings of the game, if you consider the fact that it was originally a mobile port. * Still significantly cheaper than purchasing individual mobile routes and side stories. * However, would not recommend purchasing the game unless on sale. Other games of the same price point in the steam store offer significantly more content. For example: [url=https://visualnovelreviews.com/2017/03/25/amnesia-memories-review/]Amnesia Memories[/url] [url=https://visualnovelreviews.com/2017/04/21/nightshade-hyakka-hyakurou-review/]Nightshade[/url] & [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/337930/]Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~.[/url] * Enjoyable game to play and a nice breather from more content-heavy and darker themed games. * If you're looking for something really worth your money in terms of content, then I would not recommend The Charming Empire. * Although it isn't without it's faults, it was definitely a huge improvement overall from previous Dogenzaka Lab games and a good sign for better releases in future. OVERALL RATING: 3/5
• 

  Mifititi

  Apr 30, 2017

  Recommended. Story... As a fan of visual novels with a historical setting, this immediately captured my attention. Yet, the setting wasn't as medieval as I expected it to be. It is an interesting mix of the past and the modern day, which I ended up accepting easily, as the focus is on the story. The routes offer variety, with a slice of forbidden romance. Even if all of the routes happen in the same areas, but they turned to out to be different from each other, beside a few aspects. Some of the plot twists can be quite predictable, but I couldn't guess everything ahead. In a way, that makes the routes more interesting, because you figure out something, and something you don't. The game also offers a bigger mystery, that you will eventually figure out. Characters... I liked all of the romanceable males enough to enjoy their routes. Admittedly, I found one of them to be boring, but rarely all characters are to my tastes. The males represent certain types; we have a flirt, a tsundere, a stoic one, a childhood friend and an intimidating older brother. While they are typical, at least you can tell which one(s) you're going to like. Now, I know some people are uncomfortable with the brother being a romantic interest, but the game is really tame content wise. The main character is pretty innocent, but she had more inner strength and temper than I expected. I liked her for that. But her actions on one route made no sense to me. I guess it was put there as a "shock factor", but I was just really annoyed by what she did. I'm surprised the love interest even forgave her for what she did in the end. Otherwise, I wasn't bothered by her actions - or lack of them. Gameplay... Like most visual novels, this game asks you to make decisions. Not all decisions are wrong, so it gives you more chances to act more like yourself, without making you lose affection points. It was interesting aspect for sure. Art... It's pleasant to look at, as it usually is in visual novels. I enjoyed all the colorfulness, especially on the love interests, but the fact that they rarely changed clothes was a bit strange, with the exception of the ball event. Apparently everyone always sleeps, eats and walks in the same clothing, every day. And we never got see the main character in her dress. Voice Acting / Music... The highlight of this game was definitely the voice acting. As this was originally a mobile game, I didn't expect that great performances, but I was pleasantly surprised. You can hear both the laughter and the agony in their voices, as you should be able to. The voice actors are really famous around otome game and anime world, so it makes sense they do their work with passion. You can definitely hear every emotion in their voices, no matter the situation. I didn't particularly notice the music. Because I didn't notice it, it wasn't bad. Conclusion... I enjoyed the game. While some of the things can get serious, it isn't as dark as it could have been. It was a nice change, and not too full of anguish. If you want some quick, fluffy romance, this is for you. BUT. The price is too high for a game that doesn't even take 20 hours to finish completely. The voice acting naturally brings up the price, but compared to some other games that have the same price, it definitely doesn't have enough length. I bought this on sale, and I'm glad I did. I have no regrets buying the game, but the full price would have been too much.
• 

  Zhen

  May 10, 2017

  The story is rushed and all over the place and the translation is a bit awkward :(. Sometimes you won't understand what is going on unless you use a specific play order and play another character before hand.
• 

  Chudah™

  May 19, 2017

  I'm gonna be honest, I don't know how this game has as many good reviews as it does. I went into it thinking it HAD to be better than Dogenzaka's in-house developed catalogue, and I was wrong, so very very wrong. I don't understand how anyone can derive enjoyment out of it as I literally cannot bring myself to read through more than a chapter at a time due to sheer boredom, and they're the shortest chapters I've ever read through in a VN. The writing is juvenile and simplistic to the extreme with a paper-thin plot that takes FOREVER to get moving, and when it does is so insanely illogical I just want to shoot these characters to end the pain they're putting me through. But that doesn't accurately convey how badly I hate this MC. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=926949032 Our milquetoast protagonist has no discernable personality AT ALL, and is frustrating beyond belief with how wishy-washy she is in just about every situation. The guys are basically cookie cutouts of the most stereotypical otome tropes, which isn't horrible IF there's some decent romantic tension to push things along; but the MC is so brainless that she spends most of the story shooting down the possibility they even like her, thus negating all potential feels to be had! That's not to mention how incredibly naive and childish her thoughts are, so much so that at times you'd think this 16 year old girl may actually have a developmental disorder. I'm not kidding, it's really that bad. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=928106068 It's abundantly clear that a majority of the production budget went into paying the voice actors, because that's all this game has going for it. The artwork isn't even that great. Sure the character sprites are nice, but the CGs are so emotionlessly boring that I'm not even sure why they bothered. Listen, I know people are desperate for good otome, especially ones with voice acting, but do not waste your money on this garbage. It may look and sound pretty, but if you value storytelling at all, DO NOT add this waste of space to your library. There are far better voiced otome games on Steam for the same price OR less. Do yourself a favor and grab one of those instead, or if you already own them all, play one of them again. I promise you won't regret it. [code][h1]Curated by: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32217440-Bad-Otome-Games/]Bad Otome Games[/url] & [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33004802-Chudah%27s-Corner/]Chudah's Corner[/url][/h1][/code]
• 

  Ambnesia

  May 27, 2017

  I thought for sure Soshi would be my favorite route - how can you resist his voice actor and the uniform? However, I have to say Kei made this game worthwhile. Yes, the petite dude who often acted like a kid won me over with so many adorable moments. I would describe him as my personal kryptonite, the kuudere/tsundere type, whose cute-ness/insecurity speedily melts hearts despite his brat like behavior during the first five minutes. I personally enjoyed Toki’s route more than Soshi’s, which ultimately leads to me saying that 3 out of the 5 routes has something substantial to offer. Thankfully, all the characters were decent guys who weren’t hungry to lecherously harass the MC at a moment’s notice, but it’s easy to say a minimum of two routes weren’t very memorable. The biggest negative issue of this game is the MC. It’s really annoying how she goes with the motions and accepts whatever situation is thrown at her without a second thought. Too bad there isn’t a stronger/more relatable lead protagonist. Thus, I can only recommend to fellow otome fans to buy this game while it’s on sale. Don’t pass on this title, since it has it’s shining moments, but wait for that discount.
• 

  angelpsyche

  Jun 7, 2017

  The story started interesting but there are times the story starts jumping all over the place or become too much of a drag. I've only done two routes so far. Still it's a nice read. Anyways, the art/CGs are beautiful and the VAs done a great job. But story wise, its not too great. Still recommend this if its on sale. Nice read to pass the time and all.
• 

  Arisa

  Sep 1, 2017

  Nice voice acting, art, and CG. The story was boring at times, the MC is like the other MCs, but surprisingly I liked most of the guys in this game. This is definitely a game to get when it's on sale. My favourite character and route is definitely Soshi, my poor baby deserves better ;_;
• 

  skmccord

  Sep 16, 2017

  I feel bad but this is not worth full price. I'm sorry. The art is so awesome you might get it just for that. It is really lovely. The voice acting is very good.....The actual story itself is so rushed and yet slow to progress it is infuriating. I stopped playing before finishing the last route and I have never done that before. I just hit a wall thinking, "if the story is going to be like this and the MC is going to keep being inconsistent and dense... do I even care to see the end?..." I know that sounds awful but the story is either painfully predictable or completely unexpected (in a bad way that is confusing). There are moments (almost always the beautiful art) that made me keep going but then it would just get annoying again... You have to play in a sort of order or things will be revealed in certain routes. The MC is painfully self depricating and clumsy and anxious and sad and pitiable that I don't want to be her and don't see why the guys like her. Oh i almost fell and he caught me like 4 different times... I ran to his room because there was a storm... I cry in every other scene...I need to be saved... I faint from surprise... I run into plot devices like it's my job haha so clumsy... -_-... Having all of those traits and then coming out with insightful or shockingly mature revelations out of absolutely no where is unrealistic and annoying and just to further the plot obviously because she just goes right back to her sad, emotional, pitiful, anxious, clumsy, childish self.
• 

  Arkamos | Death Defiance

  May 1, 2018

  I have already experienced the type of games that Dogenzaka Lab has to offer, so, really, I should have known what am I getting myself into: pretty art, but godawful writing. Still, I can't say no to more Kenjiro Tsuda; the only reason I didn't drop this visual novel halfway through is because voice acting is done well for all the characters, even insignificant one, like members of palace staff. That, and I took too much breaks during the reading of this abomination, otherwise I would have a permanent handprint on my face from facepalming too much. Taking this into consideration, I can't, in good conscience, recommend this game to anyone who values their sanity and time.
• 

  Exuvia

  Jul 3, 2018

  Bought this bundle with Gakuen Club on summer sale. the Gakuen Club looks promising, yet this one............... Graphics ☑ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it Voice ☐ Eargasm ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Bad Story ☐ If you want story, then go read a book. ☑ Starring at walls is better ☐ Good ☐ It‘ll replace your life Game Time ☐ Long enough for a cup of tea ☑ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond Price ☐ Worth the price ☐ If u have some spare money left ☑ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money The art is so good, I'm playing this only to get them. It is really lovely. BUT, The story itself is so rushed yet slow to progress make me frustrated There are moments (almost always the beautiful art) that made me keep going but then it would just get annoying again.
• 

  Smol Bubu

  Aug 4, 2018

  I was really enthusiastic to play this game disregarding the negative reviews mostly, because I believed the game would be great. Honestly, the story was medicore and was very easy to play through. There were many plot holes in the story especially in Soshi's arc. The story need many developments and the VN creators should know by now that submissive weak women are not a trend anymore. The characterization is okay, but need more depth and twists. You get the easy going Tanba, strict Soshi,, kind Kagemitsu, tsundere Kei and idk-how-to-react Sera. The art was pretty good not many complaints there. One major flaw in the story was that everything was confined into one single place, the heroine is just restricted to the palace mostly. This was debunked in Tanba's route which was interesting. But the rest of the routes were concentrated on the palace. The endings seems incomplete, the players would want to know what would happen next or extra bonus secret scenes maybe. Those were absent and would have made the game more interesting. I wouldn't want to recommend this game to anyone UNLESS you enjoy hearing the characters speak (which is not present in many visual novels). The voice acting was done very well, as expected from professionals. It seems like the only selling point in this visual novel with the art would be the voice acting. But other than that- I cannot recommend the other aspects.
• 

  Apsica

  Oct 16, 2018

  The CVs are good, but the story was just so boring I stopped playing in less than 10 minutes of the first try. After finishing one route, I decided to drop the game, and will only pick it back up in case I really don't have anything to do.
• 

  ✩ Helenα ✩

  Dec 10, 2018

  [i]The Charming Empire[/i] is a short/medium length (it really depends on how fast you read and if you wait for the characters to finish all their lines) otome visual novel. There are [b]five romanceable men[/b]; each route has [b]15 chapters[/b] (they are very short though) and there are [b]two endings[/b]: a happy and a normal ending. When you reach the normal ending, you'll see it in chapter 15 itself. But if you gather all the points necessary during your choices, you'll get to read an extra chapter, the "happy ending" one. [b]Please notice that one of the guys is the brother of the protagonist and she has the option to romance him.[/b] There are [b]no adult scenes[/b] in this visual novel, though. It was published by [url=https://store.steampowered.com/publisher/dogenzaka]Dogenzaka Lab[/url] on Steam and developed by another company, [url=https://twitter.com/OPERAHOUSE_info]OperaHouse Corporation[/url]. You play as a young girl called Amane Kosaka (you can change her name). She lives in the countryside, until one day her brother orders that she must move to the central city of the Empire (he's the current ruler). Amane is a sort of "cookie cutter" otome heroine: she's young, inexperienced, naive, doesn't think too much of herself, etc. It can be hard to relate to someone like her at times, but that's fine. It would be a lot better if she was a bit more independent or just stood out for herself. She could be really worse, though. Anyway, let's talk a bit about the guys and their routes. [b]Sera Kouichirou[/b], the serious bodyguard, was my first choice. He's the quiet type, and his route was... okay? I mean, nothing much happens. It's very straightforward, and suddenly the story reaches its climax. [b]Tanba Touki[/b], the playboy and café owner, wasn't my favorite character, but his route was my favorite. I'm not into the "flirty" type in otome VNs, but Tanba was a sweet man. And I actually liked his route, it was more interesting than the other guys' stories since it happened outside the castle. [b]Yoshimine Kei[/b], the captive prince and private tutor, is very handsome. But... is it me or does he also have a very punchable face? I'm dead serious. Anyway, I liked his backstory, it was sad. But his route was also rushed, and he changes his behavior towards Amane too fast. [b]Togawa Kagemitsu[/b], the childhood friend, was... alright. He's even sweeter than Tanba. But his route was [i]so boring[/i], oh my god. I fell asleep twice, I'm not kidding. It was cute, sure, but just... boring. I'm sorry. And finally, we have Amane's brother, [b]Amazaki Soushi[/b], the cold emperor. His route was like a rollercoaster, it starts fine, and then suddenly [spoiler]Amane tries to poison him out of the nowhere[/spoiler] and things just go downhill from there. And then they change again? I don't know, it was very confusing and rushed. Not that I was expecting much dept, but some coherence would've been nice. [b]Overall, the main routes are plain boring[/b]. I'm usually a fast reader, but it took me a bit more of time to read through this VN since I fell asleep during Kagemitsu's route. Which is really a shame, the art and VA are great here. But the story wasn't. [spoiler]Also, the happy endings felt so incomplete! I wanted to see more, it felt like something was missing. They were rushed and ended out of nowhere.[/spoiler] The art style is good, and the guys are overall handsome. There is awkward anatomy in a few CGs though like really big hands, small heads, etc. It didn't bother me so much, but I'm not sure about other people. The BGM is nice as well, it's not a masterpiece, but it's pleasant. My only complaint about the UI of this game is the fact that the auto button isn't really for automatic text, it's to skip read text. The highlight of TCE is definitely the VA: the voice actors did an amazing job! Actually, the whole game has VA, not just the romanceable guys. The protagonist is the only silent character. I mean, it's great that we get such good VA, but in the end, if the story is just boring, I don't think it's much worth it. It took me 11 hours to complete all routes, reading at a slow pace. Mostly because like I've said before, the game is tedious and I fell asleep. 5/10. In the end, I don't recommend [i]The Charming Empire[/i]. Yes, it's visually appealing and the VA is great, but... It's [b]very[/b] expensive for such a boring game. I can only recommend this VN when it's heavily discounted or bundled AND if you're really curious about it. There are better and cheaper otome games out there, and even for free. But that's just my opinion.
• 

  Impracticalmagic

  Jan 23, 2019

  I'm not finished yet, but so far I'm not very impressed with the writing/stories. The art is very nice, the music is fine, and the voice acting is honestly *wonderful* - but the whole thing just falls flat for me. Which is really too bad. I can't recommend buying it unless it is on sale AND you're big a fan of excellent voice acting and historical-type otome. I'm going to go with "recommend", because the game does have quite a few things going for it; however, I'm generally disappointed so far, especially with such high production values on paper.
• 

  SnowAngel1412

  Apr 17, 2019

  I always thought that a 'Normal Ending' was supposed to be at least semi-happy. Apparently not for this one. And the 'Good Ending's didn't make up for the poorly developed stories on 3 of 5 characters. I really liked the stories for Tanba and Kai with the Happy Endings actually being happy. Soshi's story was terrible but I liked the Happy Ending. ALL of the Normal Endings were terrible. Overall, not worth 30 bucks. Wait for a good sale if your curious.
• 

  orikona

  May 4, 2019

  I loved the game, each route was pleasant and although the plot is consistent between them, they were original enough to keep you interested. The voice actors are fantastic, I was expecting to enjoy the emperor most (because, you know, Kazama or Hanzo Hattori voice), but Sera went out to be even better. Don't expect too much from MC, really.
• 

  PandaUnicorn24

  Dec 4, 2019

  Well...that was something. I really can't say that I recommend this game unless it is on a major sale and you are bored or curious. So I am going to write some thoughts on the routes. This will contain some spoiler at the end for Soshi's route. Just warning. I went in this route order - Kei > Sera > Toki > Kagemitsu > Soshi Kei's route was alright. It felt a bit fast but had a little bit of charm. I guess it was overall...average? Not really exciting or overly interesting but it had a bit of feels . Sera I liked a bit more than Kei because of his personality. It would have been better if the MC wasn't so...submissive? Also a average route. Toki was my overall favorite in this entire game. Now he had a personality. After two eh routes with mellow main guys and the overly submissive MC, Toki was like a breath of fresh air. He was fun. Of all the routes, he brought out more personality from the MC. She was still submissive but it was bearable and she actually did take some action. They bantered a little and the overall environment around the MC was just more enjoyable. Kagemitsu was probably my second least favorite route just because I didn't like his personality. Quality-wise, I think his route was probably second best. He had some backstory with the MC that kind of felt like it was just giving information more to lead up to Soshi's route. He gave of a little bit of a sadistic vibe in the beginning but it didn't really go anywhere, which was a bit disappointing since it would have made him more interesting. He felt too attached to the MC from the start. That was probably because he was an over-the-top childhood friend cliche. He constantly complimented the MC and went easy on her. She didn't really grow and felt so bland next to him since he pretty much worshiped her. SPOILERS COMING (Soshi's Route) Soshi was really something else. Honestly, even after having read it all I don't know what to think. I don't understand how they allowed this route to go out like it did. I played in English, so maybe it was just a translation thing but it was just so out there. [spoiler] It started out normal. MC was curious about her brother and wanted to see if he was the same person she vaguely remembered from her childhood. There was some memories with him that were jogged during the route. They were slowly getting closer and it was hinting that she was starting to develop feelings for him that were romantic, which is strange but I sort of saw it coming. They are first introduced as siblings in the beginning of the game then it is said they are half-siblings then they say they are step-siblings. It is pretty hard to tell what their actual relationship is. From what I understood they are indeed half-siblings but they constantly say they aren't actually related even though they supposedly have the same dad. ANYWAYS, I got a bit offtrack. As I said before, it started out normal and despite their complicated familial-or-not-familial relationship, I was sort of enjoying it. Soshi's personality was alright and seemed to be developing. Then just as they were getting closer to each other and hinting romance coming up....BAM!!!! MC tries to murder him. Yeah...that is right...she literally tries to poison him. There is no lead up to that at all. It comes from nowhere and confuses the crap out of me when it happens. Literally no thought process goes behind it. She is worried about him because he overworks himself and is tired and wants to make him tea but then poisons it. He acts like he has been on to her the entire time even though there has been no hints that any of this is going to happen. She acts all upset that he found out...BECAUSE HE WON'T TRUST HER NOW. I was just thinking wHAT...the entire time. She continues to act like it isn't a big deal and he does the same even though he casually brings it up sometimes. They are distant for a bit then he suddenly starts acting crazy. They dance at the ball that happens on every route....then she suddenly realizes she is in love with him? He starts acting even crazier. She tries to stop him then comes to the conclusion that she has to try to kill him AGAIN. While she is there to KILL HIM...he suddenly tells the truth about what is going on and she is like...oh so he had reasons. Then just when I think things can't get any more out there...he confesses his love for her. They never mention that she was there to kill him again and they live happily ever after? One more thing. After they are romantic...she suddenly start calling him brother. Even though she usually called him Soshi before she claims it is just a habit from before???????? [/spoiler] Let me just say....it is a mess.
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  Underthempireshadow

  Dec 5, 2020

  Okay this game makes me wish that Steam had a side thumb for "maybe" instead of "Yes" or "No" if I would recommend; I have a hard time rating this game a No as I have just recently played worse games and it doesn't belong in that same category. I feel like this is the game you play when you are pretty much out of games. The game never glitched on me, it's pretty, the voice acting is good, and the translation is okay. Story wise, not too much is going on, and there is a disunity to other routes that I don't care for (aka personality shifts of MC and family relation changes), but this is also probably why the game has you chose the guy after the into rather than have a main route with choices that lead to the different routes.
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  Ekşili Pilav

  Apr 29, 2021

  I am normally inclined to write long reviews for games but at this point, I got tired of Dogen games, so here is a quick & short version of what I think: * Voice acting: a nice change from all other Dogen games I've played. * Dudes: Same faces during the game, nice artwork, cute-ish fellas BUT I have things to say for Soshi route: [spoiler] Soshi being our big brother but not actually being our big brother -not being blood-related- that thin ice over incest is crackling very loud I'll say. And he becoming head of the rebels after he literally planned and "Coup d'état" ed HIMSELF? I dunno man. MC not realizing she's poisoning the dude, then when he&she realized what's going on she doesn't say anything about aunt's letter? I mean whole Dogen games are lazy writing but this route is one of the laziest easily. [/spoiler] * Even though repetitive, I liked the music. * MC is childish, weak, and naive most of the game. I may recommend it at discount but I definitely wouldn't recommend buying full price.