almorica
2008
This adventure game from 2008 is still special to me in 2023. The art holds up even today, delicately detailed both in character portraits and in the numerous CGs. The designs are fairly simple considering the amount of school uniform time, but each character’s personality comes across in their expressions and poses. CGs in particular aren’t afraid to show more dramatic emotion, and the brief instances of voice acting can be expertly performed enough to give me chills every playthrough. The English VAs had their work cut out for them, and in my opinion, some of them really nailed it.
The soundtrack suits the moods the game cycles through, amplifying higher energy moments and adding somber notes or tense beats to heavier ones. It could have been better on stronger hardware than the DS I think, but for a DS OST, it’s pleasant to listen to.
A very high point of the game is that the city it takes place in feels lived in. LIves go on outside the main character Atsuki Saijo’s presence, and various characters interact with each other in unexpected parts of the city. People have hobbies and interests and pre-established relationships, even between generations. Atsuki is an observer, and sometimes participant, rather than a king the game revolves around. Sometimes that’s refreshing.
One thing to be aware of before getting into this game is the heavy subject matter. Suicide is a common topic, and animal harm even more so, sometimes even spoken of from the POV of the animal. While they’re treated with the gravity they deserve, it could be rough to someone particularly sensitive to either subject.
And of course, the game is not perfect. Battling SIlent isn’t the most fluid or visually impressive experience, some characters make homophobic comments, and the English written localization is abysmal, sometimes coherent and sometimes most definitely not. The voiced segments make the most sense in the game, which puts them at odds with the words typed on the screen. If typos and poor translation really get under your skin, it will be a challenging time. At least the mind-reading segments are always on the coherent side.
All in all, I adore this game and probably will still be playing it a 17th time in 2030. Can’t wait.
The soundtrack suits the moods the game cycles through, amplifying higher energy moments and adding somber notes or tense beats to heavier ones. It could have been better on stronger hardware than the DS I think, but for a DS OST, it’s pleasant to listen to.
A very high point of the game is that the city it takes place in feels lived in. LIves go on outside the main character Atsuki Saijo’s presence, and various characters interact with each other in unexpected parts of the city. People have hobbies and interests and pre-established relationships, even between generations. Atsuki is an observer, and sometimes participant, rather than a king the game revolves around. Sometimes that’s refreshing.
One thing to be aware of before getting into this game is the heavy subject matter. Suicide is a common topic, and animal harm even more so, sometimes even spoken of from the POV of the animal. While they’re treated with the gravity they deserve, it could be rough to someone particularly sensitive to either subject.
And of course, the game is not perfect. Battling SIlent isn’t the most fluid or visually impressive experience, some characters make homophobic comments, and the English written localization is abysmal, sometimes coherent and sometimes most definitely not. The voiced segments make the most sense in the game, which puts them at odds with the words typed on the screen. If typos and poor translation really get under your skin, it will be a challenging time. At least the mind-reading segments are always on the coherent side.
All in all, I adore this game and probably will still be playing it a 17th time in 2030. Can’t wait.
This game has been on my mind since 2017 and still won’t let up. A stunningly dark dungeon crawler/visual novel crossbreed unafraid to make you afraid, Death Mark has earned its various mature ratings through its concepts and visuals. The characters are a little quirky and sometimes unpleasant; they’re the types of people (and children) that don’t really get along well with other people for one reason or another, which can make them relatable or not. The gameplay can be rewarding or tedious, but if you really get stuck, the Spirit Files give tremendous hints toward success.
Unfortunately, it is also horny, and in a very specific way: the sometimes suggestive visuals (almost all of female bodies) are as saturated with horror as the rest of the game. For most people, it’s going to just be unsettling or even upsetting. For some I’m sure it’s hot. I can’t say I like the female body exploitation, but it’s an undeniable facet of this game that will pop up at least once a chapter. If you think you wouldn't be able to stand this, the first sequel, Spirit Hunter: NG, drastically reduces this to the series' benefit. I'd recommend skipping to that entry.
At least the horniness is a minor part of the game. The Horrors are varied and bound to hit at least one thing you’re uncomfortable with. The original final chapter, Chapter 5, is the most terrifying scenario I’ve ever been in in a video game, and the night I completed it for the first time I was too scared to sleep. I love that chapter enough to place the game in my Top 5 of all time, despite the game’s flaws.
Ultimately, I love this game. I love playing it, and have it as a platinum on my Vita. I love watching youtubers play it, and Gab Smolders was the one to introduce me to this series, making it dear to me for the past six years.
And, most importantly, Shuuji Daimon is a dilf (doctor I’d like to
Unfortunately, it is also horny, and in a very specific way: the sometimes suggestive visuals (almost all of female bodies) are as saturated with horror as the rest of the game. For most people, it’s going to just be unsettling or even upsetting. For some I’m sure it’s hot. I can’t say I like the female body exploitation, but it’s an undeniable facet of this game that will pop up at least once a chapter. If you think you wouldn't be able to stand this, the first sequel, Spirit Hunter: NG, drastically reduces this to the series' benefit. I'd recommend skipping to that entry.
At least the horniness is a minor part of the game. The Horrors are varied and bound to hit at least one thing you’re uncomfortable with. The original final chapter, Chapter 5, is the most terrifying scenario I’ve ever been in in a video game, and the night I completed it for the first time I was too scared to sleep. I love that chapter enough to place the game in my Top 5 of all time, despite the game’s flaws.
Ultimately, I love this game. I love playing it, and have it as a platinum on my Vita. I love watching youtubers play it, and Gab Smolders was the one to introduce me to this series, making it dear to me for the past six years.
And, most importantly, Shuuji Daimon is a dilf (doctor I’d like to
Pretty, but too safe and sanitized, outside one particular route that feels like it's from an entirely different game. The true route also tries to nicely tie up too many loose ends, and most fixes it pulls feel unearned. Might have been slightly improved with a Queen route.
A short and sweet little horror experience with its main detraction being the repetition. As brief as it is, though, it's not so bad to go through it several times with no save/skip function. A nonbinary protagonist and stylish limited color palette help it stand out among others of its kind.
2005
It can be difficult to get the good ending on a first playthrough, but Trace Memory is a perfect first adventure game/VN to get you into the gaming styles. Unfortunately, you will then want to play worse adventure games/VNs, like this one's sequel.
2023
I played through 1997 in its entirety in a little over two weeks with my partner, our total play time coming in between 10-15 hours. We came into it expecting something low quality, but hopefully entertaining — I personally thought it would be worth it if it just taught me a few things about 90s Russia. We were both pleasantly surprised with the result.
Parts of it are still very silly. There’s stray punctuation in some text boxes, some typos, [presumably] glitches that do things like prevent a character called Girl from ever having a real name above her dialogue, a glossary that is very tedious to navigate, wonky human anatomy in some CGs, and the characters generally continue shouting at each other even when they’re supposed to be quiet. But the game is much more than its problems, and I ultimately found it to be a positive experience.
Right when you get to the title screen, you can see a cute, unique user interface resembling a much older video game. It’s possible to actually play it as a simple mini-game by pressing the + button, or just use it to navigate through basic main functions. It has a gallery and an achieved endings list (though it does not say how many endings there are), as well as a glossary you can also view while you’re playing the game. You will almost definitely want to view that glossary as you unlock definitions and explanations while playing, but as you gather more words it becomes more of a search to find them in the list. There is no “NEW” indicator; you just have to locate them yourself. At least you learn some cultural context for your trouble!
Starting the main game itself, it’s apparent that the background artist knows what they’re doing. The BGs are very detailed and frequently beautiful. CGs are more hit-or-miss, but it’s cool to see them change with the characters’ actions, and the artist is quite skilled at unsettling imagery as well. The character portraits are also quite nice; characters who are much older than the main trio show that age well.
The voice acting is exclusively in Russian, and in my experience it all worked. While main character Anton didn’t have that much vocal variation, Alisa and Daria’s cadences were especially fun to listen to, and Fedor’s voice was downright sultry. I mean, seductive. I mean—
The characters aren’t all that special, but they serve their purpose in the story well enough. The game could’ve used a more consistent stance on domestic violence perpetrated by a few of those characters, but the usually strong condemnation was satisfying to see. There is also an interesting bit on gender that is brought up in one flashback and then never acknowledged again. The mystery at the story’s heart is very unusual (speaking as someone unfamiliar with much Russian fiction), so it was never too predictable or cliched.
Something cool about that mystery is that you only get the whole picture after following every possible route in your choices. Those choices come down to Trusting or Distrusting each character that asks for it. So, while you’ll get 5 different bad endings doing this, you will learn something important chasing them down instead of only earning a bloody failure CG. It’s also possible to just get a good ending the first time and stop there if you’re satisfied.
Overall, 1997 is an engaging VN with beautiful backgrounds, awkward CGs, decent characters and pleasant full voice acting. At its cheap price point (especially on sale), I would recommend it to anyone else who wants to dive into a relatively short mystery and learn a little more about a very specific time period in Russia.
Parts of it are still very silly. There’s stray punctuation in some text boxes, some typos, [presumably] glitches that do things like prevent a character called Girl from ever having a real name above her dialogue, a glossary that is very tedious to navigate, wonky human anatomy in some CGs, and the characters generally continue shouting at each other even when they’re supposed to be quiet. But the game is much more than its problems, and I ultimately found it to be a positive experience.
Right when you get to the title screen, you can see a cute, unique user interface resembling a much older video game. It’s possible to actually play it as a simple mini-game by pressing the + button, or just use it to navigate through basic main functions. It has a gallery and an achieved endings list (though it does not say how many endings there are), as well as a glossary you can also view while you’re playing the game. You will almost definitely want to view that glossary as you unlock definitions and explanations while playing, but as you gather more words it becomes more of a search to find them in the list. There is no “NEW” indicator; you just have to locate them yourself. At least you learn some cultural context for your trouble!
Starting the main game itself, it’s apparent that the background artist knows what they’re doing. The BGs are very detailed and frequently beautiful. CGs are more hit-or-miss, but it’s cool to see them change with the characters’ actions, and the artist is quite skilled at unsettling imagery as well. The character portraits are also quite nice; characters who are much older than the main trio show that age well.
The voice acting is exclusively in Russian, and in my experience it all worked. While main character Anton didn’t have that much vocal variation, Alisa and Daria’s cadences were especially fun to listen to, and Fedor’s voice was downright sultry. I mean, seductive. I mean—
The characters aren’t all that special, but they serve their purpose in the story well enough. The game could’ve used a more consistent stance on domestic violence perpetrated by a few of those characters, but the usually strong condemnation was satisfying to see. There is also an interesting bit on gender that is brought up in one flashback and then never acknowledged again. The mystery at the story’s heart is very unusual (speaking as someone unfamiliar with much Russian fiction), so it was never too predictable or cliched.
Something cool about that mystery is that you only get the whole picture after following every possible route in your choices. Those choices come down to Trusting or Distrusting each character that asks for it. So, while you’ll get 5 different bad endings doing this, you will learn something important chasing them down instead of only earning a bloody failure CG. It’s also possible to just get a good ending the first time and stop there if you’re satisfied.
Overall, 1997 is an engaging VN with beautiful backgrounds, awkward CGs, decent characters and pleasant full voice acting. At its cheap price point (especially on sale), I would recommend it to anyone else who wants to dive into a relatively short mystery and learn a little more about a very specific time period in Russia.
2018
As a lifelong rhythm game and visual novel player, the almost equal blend of the two this game presents was a dream come true.
The rhythm game aspect is both gentle and challenging. You never have to play above Hard really, and can play Easy for 95% of the game while making good leveling progress. However, Chaos and higher difficulties are great fun for someone who gets enough experience to be good at it. NO STAMINA IS NECESSARY FOR PROGRESS, EVER, and you can play as long as you want or as little as you want without feeling limited or pressured by a stamina gauge!
The story of Cytus II is a very intricate but accessible cyberpunk setting, teasing you with fictional social media posts at the start and transitioning into in-depth logs of character activity. It uses its status as a game to toy with your perceptions, and exploits the interface to tell parts of it in ways a book or movie couldn't. It's largely female-character led and has instances of subtle and overt queerness. I cried more than once and Incyde still makes me do it again anytime I listen to it.
While it is a sequel, playing Cytus 1 isn’t necessary to understand the story, and 2 greatly improved the rhythm game aspect when it comes to eye strain. It also isn’t necessary to buy any additional characters to complete the story, but there are hours on end of worthwhile backstory to find in the characters that aren’t crossovers/cameos.
Just, if you want to buy any of the DLC, do it on sale. The nine character sale repeats often, so there is never a reason to drop $10 on Xenon no matter how hot you think the helmet is
The rhythm game aspect is both gentle and challenging. You never have to play above Hard really, and can play Easy for 95% of the game while making good leveling progress. However, Chaos and higher difficulties are great fun for someone who gets enough experience to be good at it. NO STAMINA IS NECESSARY FOR PROGRESS, EVER, and you can play as long as you want or as little as you want without feeling limited or pressured by a stamina gauge!
The story of Cytus II is a very intricate but accessible cyberpunk setting, teasing you with fictional social media posts at the start and transitioning into in-depth logs of character activity. It uses its status as a game to toy with your perceptions, and exploits the interface to tell parts of it in ways a book or movie couldn't. It's largely female-character led and has instances of subtle and overt queerness. I cried more than once and Incyde still makes me do it again anytime I listen to it.
While it is a sequel, playing Cytus 1 isn’t necessary to understand the story, and 2 greatly improved the rhythm game aspect when it comes to eye strain. It also isn’t necessary to buy any additional characters to complete the story, but there are hours on end of worthwhile backstory to find in the characters that aren’t crossovers/cameos.
Just, if you want to buy any of the DLC, do it on sale. The nine character sale repeats often, so there is never a reason to drop $10 on Xenon no matter how hot you think the helmet is
This review contains spoilers
What I will give to this game that I couldn’t give to Dual Destinies is that it’s compelling. I didn’t have much fun playing this game, and I never thought it was good, but I felt like I should keep playing it. There was absolutely nothing engaging and barely anything memorable about Dual Destinies, so at least it improved there — and in the actually good 3D models and animations! — even if nowhere else.
I’ll go through my replay thoughts case by case.
CASE 1: Whoever thought Ace Attorney needed its stakes raised this high really missed the point of the series. The specter hanging over this entry, the Defense Culpability Act, is absurdly intense for AA and not even in the series-celebrated fun way. It’s really, really hard to have a fun banter with the prosecution, judge and other court employees when they’re out to kill you and constantly remind you of it. From my experience with this game, it was even impossible. In the first four games, high stakes cases worked for good drama, but were surrounded by cases where they were relatively low. So this person you’ve never met before will get a guilty verdict if you lose; so what, honestly? It enabled cases to be silly and fun. Under the DC Act, there is No Fun Allowed, and that really sucks for an Ace Attorney game.
Other people have spoken about Khura’in in more detail, but I definitely agree with them that it has racist and orientalist vibes that are really hard to ignore and accept as a “fun fantasy country”. It borrows too heavily from existing aesthetics to be its own thing, and has weird implications by not being its own thing. Not a fun case.
CASE 2: Stakes are still really high because the defendant is Trucy, and although we aren’t subject to the DC Act if we lose, the prosecutor is still really cruel about it. Trucy and the Gramaryes both have been subject to both minor and major rewrites and sanitization from AA4 that are really unfortunate to watch, as a big AA4 fan. Not a fun case.
CASE 3: While compelling, this case is so long and we retread tired old AA setups by making Maya the defendant, again. The DC Act also applies, making the stakes even higher than the first case. It’s nice to see the first case ever that features the channeling of a victim as a witness, but at the same time is also kind of a retread of Misty Fey’s mistake in DL6 with the way that victim intentionally tries to sabotage the case. It does add a little depth as to how the DC Act affects the average non-lawyer citizen, but that still does not make it a fun case.
CASE 4: I’ll be real with you, I couldn’t care less about DD, so I couldn’t care less about Athena, but I recognize why people who did like her dislike this case. She’s a fully fledged lawyer but Blackquill constantly has to come to her rescue, and this is the only time in the game she gets any spotlight. It’s also weirdly placed in the case lineup, making it feel like poorly paced filler. They’re valid complaints.
This is the only case in this game that is mildly fun in traditional Ace Attorney style, though. We don’t know this defendant. We aren’t subject to the death penalty if we lose. The two prosecutors in the courtroom actually have good banter. There is a somewhat strange depiction of a character with DID, but that character is not the murderer. It’s allowed to be stupid and silly without slamming its head against the high stakes in literally every other case. For once in the game: a slightly fun case!
CASE 5: Also compelling, also so long, also retreading old AA setups by having Maya kidnapped (case 2-4) and used as a channeling plot device (case 3-5), opening with a surprise civil case and switching to the usual murder case (3-2), Phoenix only defending a garbage client under duress (case 2-4), and having the ultimate plot twist of the case be “they’re basically Misty and Morgan Fey, on a grander scale!!” Almost all of the plot twists are just using something from previous games, so nothing ever felt cool and new to figure out.
With the defendants being Apollo’s foster father and foster brother, the DC Act applicable, and the main prosecutor being the despot queen, the stakes are more suffocating than ever. Yikes.
And Ace Attorney likes its cleavage; that’s nothing new. It’s either forgivable or it isn’t depending on the player. It’s ignorable for me, but Ga’ran’s switch from completely covered to a very tight and revealing outfit that shows off her chest, which is literally used as evidence against her later to prove a photo is not her after we zoom in on her breasts, is sooooo stupid, oh my god.
Phoenix sucks as a support character on the bench; the circumstances don’t allow him to be silly at all, and he lost all the weird charisma he had as support in case 4-1. Nahyuta finally gets character development here, but it’s too late. He’s such a miserable figure to challenge throughout the game unless he’s trading ridiculous insults with Blackquill. He deserved better, like the gradual changes in Rayfa that have made her understandably well liked. This case and resolution to this game sucks.
As for the potential Ace Attorney 7, I’m in the same boat as others that think there’s nowhere good to go from here. Either there needs to be another cast switch under better writers, or the people that enjoyed DD and Spirit of Justice can have fun. More of this is a No Thanks from me.
I’ll go through my replay thoughts case by case.
CASE 1: Whoever thought Ace Attorney needed its stakes raised this high really missed the point of the series. The specter hanging over this entry, the Defense Culpability Act, is absurdly intense for AA and not even in the series-celebrated fun way. It’s really, really hard to have a fun banter with the prosecution, judge and other court employees when they’re out to kill you and constantly remind you of it. From my experience with this game, it was even impossible. In the first four games, high stakes cases worked for good drama, but were surrounded by cases where they were relatively low. So this person you’ve never met before will get a guilty verdict if you lose; so what, honestly? It enabled cases to be silly and fun. Under the DC Act, there is No Fun Allowed, and that really sucks for an Ace Attorney game.
Other people have spoken about Khura’in in more detail, but I definitely agree with them that it has racist and orientalist vibes that are really hard to ignore and accept as a “fun fantasy country”. It borrows too heavily from existing aesthetics to be its own thing, and has weird implications by not being its own thing. Not a fun case.
CASE 2: Stakes are still really high because the defendant is Trucy, and although we aren’t subject to the DC Act if we lose, the prosecutor is still really cruel about it. Trucy and the Gramaryes both have been subject to both minor and major rewrites and sanitization from AA4 that are really unfortunate to watch, as a big AA4 fan. Not a fun case.
CASE 3: While compelling, this case is so long and we retread tired old AA setups by making Maya the defendant, again. The DC Act also applies, making the stakes even higher than the first case. It’s nice to see the first case ever that features the channeling of a victim as a witness, but at the same time is also kind of a retread of Misty Fey’s mistake in DL6 with the way that victim intentionally tries to sabotage the case. It does add a little depth as to how the DC Act affects the average non-lawyer citizen, but that still does not make it a fun case.
CASE 4: I’ll be real with you, I couldn’t care less about DD, so I couldn’t care less about Athena, but I recognize why people who did like her dislike this case. She’s a fully fledged lawyer but Blackquill constantly has to come to her rescue, and this is the only time in the game she gets any spotlight. It’s also weirdly placed in the case lineup, making it feel like poorly paced filler. They’re valid complaints.
This is the only case in this game that is mildly fun in traditional Ace Attorney style, though. We don’t know this defendant. We aren’t subject to the death penalty if we lose. The two prosecutors in the courtroom actually have good banter. There is a somewhat strange depiction of a character with DID, but that character is not the murderer. It’s allowed to be stupid and silly without slamming its head against the high stakes in literally every other case. For once in the game: a slightly fun case!
CASE 5: Also compelling, also so long, also retreading old AA setups by having Maya kidnapped (case 2-4) and used as a channeling plot device (case 3-5), opening with a surprise civil case and switching to the usual murder case (3-2), Phoenix only defending a garbage client under duress (case 2-4), and having the ultimate plot twist of the case be “they’re basically Misty and Morgan Fey, on a grander scale!!” Almost all of the plot twists are just using something from previous games, so nothing ever felt cool and new to figure out.
With the defendants being Apollo’s foster father and foster brother, the DC Act applicable, and the main prosecutor being the despot queen, the stakes are more suffocating than ever. Yikes.
And Ace Attorney likes its cleavage; that’s nothing new. It’s either forgivable or it isn’t depending on the player. It’s ignorable for me, but Ga’ran’s switch from completely covered to a very tight and revealing outfit that shows off her chest, which is literally used as evidence against her later to prove a photo is not her after we zoom in on her breasts, is sooooo stupid, oh my god.
Phoenix sucks as a support character on the bench; the circumstances don’t allow him to be silly at all, and he lost all the weird charisma he had as support in case 4-1. Nahyuta finally gets character development here, but it’s too late. He’s such a miserable figure to challenge throughout the game unless he’s trading ridiculous insults with Blackquill. He deserved better, like the gradual changes in Rayfa that have made her understandably well liked. This case and resolution to this game sucks.
As for the potential Ace Attorney 7, I’m in the same boat as others that think there’s nowhere good to go from here. Either there needs to be another cast switch under better writers, or the people that enjoyed DD and Spirit of Justice can have fun. More of this is a No Thanks from me.
2022
Profoundly unsettling game with a deeply fucked up vibe and suitably cool aesthetic. For budget obsession horror, it would be difficult to outperform this for me. (Better sound quality/balancing related to the voice acting is probably how.)
2016
Somehow, pretty much every review of this is correct. Chasing down locked chests and grinding for the last destination is tedious; the Blowbeat combo cheapens most strategies; It'll scratch the itch if you're looking for a shortish piano-accompanied tragedy in the style of retro RPGs.
One thing I disagree on is that it really needed multiple drastically different settings. Sometimes a short game can take place entirely in a winter landscape and it's fine and cohesive.
One thing I disagree on is that it really needed multiple drastically different settings. Sometimes a short game can take place entirely in a winter landscape and it's fine and cohesive.
2016
Mildly entertaining for what it is (if you can easily access your device throughout most of the day each occasion you play it). Obviously low budget UI-wise however, and not where you want to go for difficult choices and character depth.
Jaehee is a great wlw option, though sadly the more overtly romantic content for her is paywalled. Still absolutely more effort than many other devs would like to put in for a female character route!
Jaehee is a great wlw option, though sadly the more overtly romantic content for her is paywalled. Still absolutely more effort than many other devs would like to put in for a female character route!
Still overstays its welcome less than Great Ace Attorney even with case 5
A sequel I kind of recommend skipping the first entry for. It continues the general situation of the first game, but with a different cast and so much more sympathy. Plus, a big mystery of the second game will only be a big mystery if you play it first! (On the other hand, that same mystery will be spoiled in game 1 if you play game 2 first.)
In general, the Caligula Effect 2 is a very fun, easy game I gladly sunk 75 hours into. Pleasantly linear and stunningly hopeful for a game so blunt about traumas people face in all ages of life. It features very heartfelt transgender and nonbinary representation, without insisting everyone upset with their gendered treatment in life is trans by default.
Despite being a serial easy mode player, I was able to complete it the first time on the hardest difficulty without DLC aid. Make of that what you will.
Unfortunately, a decent amount of the game is only in Japanese audio, no text given: battle conversations among your party members, or between your party members and the bosses, are wholly untranslated. At least there are fan-translated versions of the party-only battle banter available, but it’s a very frustrating limitation of the official English localization.
Certain group quests take a lot of running around through tedious areas as well (one hospital floor is so poorly laid out for backtracking), and battles can also visually be rough on photosensitive people.
If you can get past those issues, amazing game, worth the time.
In general, the Caligula Effect 2 is a very fun, easy game I gladly sunk 75 hours into. Pleasantly linear and stunningly hopeful for a game so blunt about traumas people face in all ages of life. It features very heartfelt transgender and nonbinary representation, without insisting everyone upset with their gendered treatment in life is trans by default.
Despite being a serial easy mode player, I was able to complete it the first time on the hardest difficulty without DLC aid. Make of that what you will.
Unfortunately, a decent amount of the game is only in Japanese audio, no text given: battle conversations among your party members, or between your party members and the bosses, are wholly untranslated. At least there are fan-translated versions of the party-only battle banter available, but it’s a very frustrating limitation of the official English localization.
Certain group quests take a lot of running around through tedious areas as well (one hospital floor is so poorly laid out for backtracking), and battles can also visually be rough on photosensitive people.
If you can get past those issues, amazing game, worth the time.
2021
Ultimately a passable VN, but when it's straightforward with its premise it's often cringy, and other games have done the meta subversion of expectations better. Some backgrounds look ambiguously AI generated, as well.
If you want a pleasant romance game I'd recommend something like Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, and if you want a game with Twists, I'd recommend something like Hatoful Boyfriend.
Two stars for the MC though --- they're very funny, and can be he/him or she/her while being unabashedly attracted to these men. A little casual queerness never hurt.
If you want a pleasant romance game I'd recommend something like Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side, and if you want a game with Twists, I'd recommend something like Hatoful Boyfriend.
Two stars for the MC though --- they're very funny, and can be he/him or she/her while being unabashedly attracted to these men. A little casual queerness never hurt.
2021
No major criticisms of this game come to mind, so I can't say exactly why I didn't emotionally connect with anyone in this game. It was just something I played once in a while when bored until I finished it, taking me almost 6 months total. I don't regret it, at least.
On the notable plus side: an explicitly 20+ year old set of love interests and protagonist (who is also voiced)!
On the notable ??? side: if there are lines that seem to not be translated, go into the backlog and check for them there. This does mean that if you're hard of hearing or don't listen to the voice acting, you'll miss some of the lines completely.
On the notable negative side: there are numerous typos in the English localization (mainly punctuation), and Luka deserved a route. Cowards
On the notable plus side: an explicitly 20+ year old set of love interests and protagonist (who is also voiced)!
On the notable ??? side: if there are lines that seem to not be translated, go into the backlog and check for them there. This does mean that if you're hard of hearing or don't listen to the voice acting, you'll miss some of the lines completely.
On the notable negative side: there are numerous typos in the English localization (mainly punctuation), and Luka deserved a route. Cowards