#psychedelica will be the best of them all

[tackyink]

This was supposed to be for @asususasa but in the middle of writing I thought this could be useful for someone else, so here's Tacky's general list of otome recs. It took me over an hour to write so I'm not proofreading it.

DS

Not much to say here because back in those days otome games didn't get localized. The stand outs are Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love Plus and Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Season, who have English fan translations. Slice of life games where you play as the protagonist through her three years of high school. And if you feel like a student-teacher romance that would make Sakura Kinomoto's mom proud, these are your games.

PSP

Still well into the no localizations era with one exception: Hakuouki Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. Not recommending it on PSP because there are better versions. Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story Premium also has a fan translation and should be played over its DS counterpart because it has added functionalities. Sadly this time around the teacher is a secret character and a shota.

3DS

There's Hakuoki Memories of the Shinsengumi. Still not recommended because we can do better.

PS3

Hakuouki Stories of the Shinsengumi includes the original game and the fandisk with some neat animations added. This is the version to play if you want the original experience. If you want even more routes, go for another version.

Vita

Hakuoki Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, Collar x Malice and Amnesia are the best games you can get for the Vita imo. Some people dig a lot the Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk and Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (I've only played BB, it was good but wasn't the best; wouldn't rate it as high as the others). There's Code Realize and its two fandisks (Future Blessings and Wintertide Miracles) and many people swear by them, but while I liked the common route in the first game, the rest didn't do it for me. You can find all of these except CxM and the CRs on Steam, and the Hakuoki games get dirst cheap on sale. Best bang for your buck of the saga. The CR games have PS4 ports and CxM has a Switch one, which you already know.

Switch

*rolls up sleeves* LET'S GO.

To get it out of the way: Hakuouki KW and EB are getting a Switch rerelease and a new translation and will be released as a single game, Hakuoki Chonicles of Wind and Blossom, on August 1st.

Collar x Malice fucking nails the mystery and lowkey horror vibes with and excellent plot that's interconnected in every route. CxM Unlimited is its fandisk and only recommended if you really have the CxM itch, because it's mostly fluff and the little plot there is is at most functional. It has a route where Ichika joins Adonis and you get to see its inner workings though. That was very interesting.

Bustafellows is 100% found family vibes with a very assertive protagonist. It's a mystery/action story and the team dynamics are sort of Ocean's 11-ish. Hilarious, heartbreaking at times, I've never felt more dread in a game than heading towards the basement in a certain's guy's route. There are two unlockable stories after you finish the routes of the guys, one of which I thought was glorious, another which sets up a sequel and is a big downer but I also really liked. It gets heavy at times with murder, suicide, sexual assault, human trafficking, among other kinds of violence, but despite it, it's generally a very funny and upbeat game. We're getting the sequel next year. Also available on PC.

Café Enchanté baits you with the premise of being a girl who manages a coffee shop patronized by handsome supernatural beings, so it's a real surprise when the cannibalism shows up. Anyway. Great game, but I'm afraid saying more would kind of defeat the point. Reminds me of Megami Tensei games, so if coffee shop AUs with supernatural world-ending threats are your thing, go for it. Just be warned that the fandom has kind of collectively agreed that poster boy's route never happened.

Birushana is a hidden gem that goes on sale super cheap and is also probably a hit or miss thing. You play as the legendary Yoshitsune, who in this game is a girl disguising her gender, but she's an amazing warrior as in history. It has the best otome couple I've ever seen, bar none, with Yoshitsune and Noritsune. The game is worth the price just to see them fall in love on the battlefield and watch Noritsune chug down Respect Women Juice all the way through it. The thing is... the rest of routes aren't great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed how utterly unhinged they got at times, but the plot got worse as it deepened. Still. Noritsune. And I loved that most of the guys respected her as a warrior and were aware she was as capable or a better warrior than them and she didn't need a man to protect her. Very refreshing. One of my faves got done dirty by the translation because they started pulling lines out of thin air to make him creepier. Just him. Why. It's not like he needed the help.

Virche Evermore Error Salvation is also a good one if you can handle continuous drama and see egregiously bad science and say, "You know what? It's magic. Humans in this world are just built different." The worldbuilding is really interesting and the characters very enjoyable, though they don't feature a lot in each other's routes or aren't that friendly with each other. The continuous tragedy may tire you out, or maybe it'll work and emotionally destroy you. It didn't get any emotional reaction out of me until a certain point near the end, but I enjoyed the game a lot, nevertheless. We're getting the sequel this November and I'm really looking forward to it.

Variable Barricade: a fun romp where a young heiress has to chose a fiancé among the four disaster bachelors her grandpa has selected. It's not really similar to Ouran, but it reminded me a little of it at times. It's a pretty light game. The BFF is a gothic lolita otaku who has the time of her life shipping you with the guys, and the butler... oh boy the butler.

Amnesia, as I mentioned earlier, has a PC port as well as the Vita version, as well as two localized fandisks for the Switch (Amnesia x Crowd) that I can't speak of because I haven't played them yet. The protagonist has supernatural amnesia and must piece together her life while avoiding that other people realize she's lost her memory. It's a super intriguing game the first time you play, really nailed the being completely and utterly lost in the protagonist's shoes. A required play to get in on the cage jokes. It's sort of a rite of passage for otome gamers.

Jack Jeanne has probably the best group dynamics of any otome I've seen. I think some people have issues with the protagonist because they find her passive, but to me she felt the complete opposite. Everybody is adorable. A sentimental story of hard work, being young and and fighting for your dreams, 10/10, no notes. I lied, there's a note: Tanakamigi deserved a route! Where is our Tanakamigi route! щ(゜ロ゜щ)

Last but not least at all, the two Piofiores. Mafia games where all trigger warnings you can think of apply. Well, maybe not the cannibalism, that's still Café Enchanté's crowning glory. Fated Memories, the first one, has its ups and downs, but has very enjoyable characters, rock-solid worldbuilding, an amazing atmosphere set in 1920s Italy with a jazzy soundtrack that ends up living rent free in your brain. The last routes of the first game, Gil's and Finale, are worth the full price of the game alone. Piofiore Episodio 1926 is a masterpiece of the otome genre. It doesn't have a single boring route, and the final stretch (Advent Calendar-Alternativa-Secret Character route) has the best writing I've seen in an otome. Lots of points of view and situations interconnecting, an excellent final couple, top notch interactions between the main characters. Just the best.

[xcerizex]

Lovebrush Chronicles: Godheim Review

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My very long, informal, and definitely biased review. This will contain minor spoilers for the Godheim arc only so take caution. This review is also only limited to the Godheim series so there will be no overall thoughts on the game itself. I followed Otome Kitten's format and I really hope it helps out any beginners to LBC.

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ART:

I found the art very pretty and was extremely glad to see that they did not skip out on giving us CGs either! The sprites all looked good, but I personally have some issues with Lars' outfit (the orange did not look good on you sweetie 💀).

Not all CGs are drawn by the same artist however, which may be off putting for some. The total count number of proper CG's for each route (not including common route) boils down to around 4-5, so that also may be a pet peeve for some.

On another note, there are also mini CG's which appear as small boxes, whether you consider it as an actual CG is up to you. Personally, I enjoyed the roles they played towards aiding the narrative.

Unrelated note, I'm banging on the floor crying and wondering who the hell did Ayn's CGs (the one where he was cleaning his sword was my absolute favorite 😍) and why didn't they come back.

MUSIC:

If there's one aspect of the game that I shall praise to the ends of the earth, it's the music.

Colour me shocked when I listened to the intricate and deep soundtracks for the first time, they just took my breath away! There were many gorgeous orchestral scores that depicted the fantasy setting perfectly. Not to mention the battle ost's which had more effort put into them than necessary.

My personal favorite OST's would be the "River's End", and "Starry Sky", which plays the same tune as the OP song you hear when you log onto the game. It's honestly so iconic. 😭👌

Opening theme:

VOICE ACTING:

I was absolutely flummoxed by the stacked japanese voice cast, which all included extremely famous seiyuus from the otome industry:

1. Ayn Alwyn

[JP VA: KENN]: Shelby Snail (Cupid Parasite), Yukimaro (9R.I.P), Limbo (Bustfellows)

2. Alkaid McGrath

[JP VA: Tachibana Shinnosuke]: Seiya (9R.I.P), Henri (Piofiore), Rafayel (Love and Deepspace)

3. Lars Rorschach

[JP VA: Junichi Suwabe]: Artem (Tears of Themis), Van Helsing (Code: Realize), Sukuna (Jujutsu Kaisen)

4. Clarence Clayden

[JP VA: Kosuke Toriumi]: Rei Mukuni (CollarXMalice), Ichiya (Variable Barricade), Chojiro (Nightshade)

5. Cael Anselm

[JP VA: Daisuke Hirakawa]: Saint Germain (Code: Realize), Tower Overlord (Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk), Lucas Proust (Virche Evermore)

COMMON ROUTE:

To my delight, the pacing was done very well. Nothing was dragged out and the introduction to the overall plot of the game was well established minus a certain plot point which definitely could have benefited better by being introduced in the common route itself.

I didn't really expect it to turn out as dark as it did however. The common route + modern prologue took me around a total estimation of more than 4 hours but in reality the prologue itself shouldn't take that long at all.

ROUTE ORDER:

Once you've completed the common route, you are given the option to start either Ayn's or Alkaid's route. After you've completed both, Lars' route is unlocked. And once you've finished all three routes, Clarence's route unlocks as the grand finale.

This was my personal playthrough and I wouldn't have changed it if given the chance. I believe it had the best flow of story progression. Though that was mainly because I wouldn't have enjoyed Alkaid's route as much if I'd played Ayn's first:

Alkaid = Ayn = Lars = Clarence

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AYN ALWYN:

- Crown Prince of Godheim

- Tsundere

- Sweet tooth ❤️

Ayn is Lars's cousin, but you soon find out that there is not a hint of familial love between them. He shows up as a mysterious figure during the common route and portrays a conflicting character, making the heroine unsure of his standing. While he appears blunt and crude, he is a determined young man who's sworn vengeance, and with an unexpected love for sweets.

Ayn's route in my opinion had the best consistent pacing as well as romance. I did find the romance somewhat abrupt early in the story, but the strong chemistry between him and the heroine more than made up for it! 🥰 It was just so enjoyable to watch them banter with one another and watching them just click.

I enjoyed the storyline for this route a lot and I think it had something to do with the fact that Ayn's route provided a different perspective in comparison to the others. In this route, we learn more about the the political situation surrounding Godheim and the royal family.

I also loved Ayn as a character, and not unexpectedly became my oshi ❤️.I do think a lot of people will enjoy him as a love interest. His route also has a wee bit of spice 👀, so for y'all thirsty gamers be sure to savor it slowly, as it's the only bit of spice we're getting here lmao. I did find some of his actions, mostly in the bad ends, to be OOC, but I easily brushed it off seeing as how much I liked him.

ALKAID MCGRATH:

- Member of the Noventrate

- Good, sweet boi

- Tea

Devoted and caring, Alkaid is the mage assigned to guard the heroine during her stay in Godheim. He's always expressing his concern for the heroine and will do anything to help her, even if it means betraying his mission.

Alkaid is the character who the heroine interacts the most during the common route. His romance with the heroine was sweet, even if it did feel way over the top in it's initial stages when I first played it. But once I got to learn more about him, I realized that he truly just wanted the best for the heroine, romantic feelings aside. 🥺

The route was fine. But I personally wasn't the biggest fan of the direction (?) it took on halfway. Some parts of it felt irrational to me and didn't really feel like it had any real relevance to its own story.

On another note, Alkaid is such a dreamy man. 😩 I adore just how respectful of a man he is in general (women respect juice, bottoms up!), and it was so sweet how attentive he was in making sure the heroine was always out of harm's way. I guess you could say he was someone akin to a hero in fairytales.

LARS RORSCHACH:

- Emperor of Godheim

- Good at combing hair 🥰

- That chest doe 👀

Known as the "Tyrant Emperor" from the heroine's manga, he immediately sweeps her off her feet, claiming her as his bride the moment she first arrived at Godheim. While his initial impression was flirty and playful, he lives up to his name as a cold-blooded tyrant. For some aspects at least.

His route focused more on the Silver Knight, which was the main (and wrong) reason why I enjoyed his route so much! 😆 On that note, I think that the writers had a bone to pick with Lars. They just had to force him to share the spotlight with an intriguing side character lmfao. The route itself was paced and executed well for the majority, but the quality of the writing towards the end was slightly skewered.

But to be honest, I quite enjoyed Lars a lot as a character, rather than a love interest. It was interesting to see the conditions surrounding his birth as a tyrant and his motivations for his questionable actions.

That's not to say that the romance wasn't enjoyable. I actually quite liked the relationship between him and the heroine. I found some moments they shared together really sweet. I also adored the development of Lars' feelings, and you can see just how important the heroine's existence was to him at the end of the route.

Though I guess I would have found the romance more believable if the heroine articulated her feelings for Lars more. I found it difficult to see the romance from her side. In short, the romance wasn't it's strongest point.

Clarence Clayden:

- Godheim's Archmage

- Get the tissues

- I've never been the same since...

Clarence has somewhat poised himself as an antagonist, only giving leeway in Lars' route. Distant and cold, he is stubborn in wanting to use the heroine for his goal and is willing to sacrifice anything to achieve it.

This route was an emotional rollercoaster. It broke me down, dumped my heart 6ft underground, trampled on its grave, and then some. It left me broken for a whole week for real goodness gracious...😭

This route can probably considered the "True Route", seeing as how it tackles the problem straight on unlike in other routes. The pacing slows down a little bit for a few chapters, but once it picked itself back up, it picked up HARD.

Now let's get to the romance. Out of all routes, some may say it had the least sugary romance, and a part of me agrees. But do igaf? No! ❤️Clarence turned out to be such a longingly sweet character and despite all the harm and pain he's done, I have no qualms in forgiving him and wanting to love him with all my heart🥺, as does the heroine.

I honestly don't want to say too much as it may ruin the experience. I went into this route completely blind and boy was I glad. All I can say that this route was the most popular out of all the routes for good reason. Got me playing up to 2 am with no regrets.😆😭

CAEL ANSELM:

- The Silver Knight

- The bias wrecker

- The sus

- He ruined me...

He is known in Godheim as the Silver Knight as well as the leader of the Rebellion. Decisive and apathetic, the heroine is unable to affect him emotionally in any form.🤡

Cael does not have an actual route, but a personal story, labeled as Expedition from his POV which may serve as an epilogue to the Godheim series. In his story, any unanswered questions are explained here, as well as the many actions he took that did not make it on screen.

If this wasn't a review I'd spend one whole section brainrotting about him so be grateful I'm trying to keep this short. 😅 Cael is a surprisingly interesting character by nature and it was very liberating to finally get a glimpse of his true feelings and thoughts throughout the heroine's journey in Godheim.

I'm scared to say more in case it may ruin any surprises. In my opinion, I enjoyed his story a LOT! It definitely made me feel depressed and empty in its own way and it hurts my heart to see that he never got a route of his own for reasons I won't get into right now. Absolutely amazing and one of my favorite parts of the Godheim series!

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TRUE EPILOGUE:

Once you've finished all routes, the game will give you the option to choose one "True Ending", wherein you choose one of the boys to have a happily ever after with and by your own accord.

"One can only paint a world in which they believe in." 🥰

Please note that you can only choose one boy at a time. Your choice will then give you a Pictura based on which boy you choose.

To change your "True Ending", buy the Diadem from the shop to change your choice. You will not receive a different Pictura however.

I think the best thing about these endings were the music.😆 Each soundtrack was unique to each character and drop dead gorgeous to listen to. 😩

HEROINE (LITTLE PAINTER):

- Cheeky

- Anonymous manga author

- Needs a therapist (rly tho)

Despite China's strange attempts at creating self-insert heroines by leaving them nameless, the Little Painter was far from a blank slate! She's extremely relatable when it comes to her reactions and actions. Often times I would react a certain way to something an LI said or did, only for her to do the same thing! 🤣 I guess that could also count as a self-insert personality.

But if there's one thing I admire her greatly for, it would be her drive and determination to save Godheim. Her journey was far from easy and I doubt I could ever stay sane the way she did. Tbh, I didn't like the fact that her sufferings were never truly addressed properly, or rather, professionally ig?

I also found her quick adaptation and flexibility to her new environment extremely impressive. That goes the same to the way she wielded her powers for the first time. And how she grew stronger to go head to toe with even Clarence in his own route! You👏 Go👏Get👏 Em👏 Girl!

That said, she's not perfect. Some people found her to pushy and annoying though I personally found it okay. I was really glad how she didn't force herself to tolerate any crap and got that anger out rightfully.😆 (Asmoran deserved it...)

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Final Thoughts:

I have enjoyed my journey immensely! The whole premise and setting drew me in, and I was surprised with the impressive narration which absolutely pummeled me to the ground (mostly on Clarence's route and no I'm not shutting up abt that).

The localization was also really superb? Yes it had a few typos + mistakes here and there, but they really pulled out all the stops when it came to making the dialogue natural and relatable. Not to mention a few large words that even I don't understand. 😂

It's not without it's imperfections of course. There are definitely some issues with the writing. And if you're looking for heavy romance or even fluff, Godheim is not the place to go to. 😅

Playing the Godheim arc took me about a week-ish, considering I had to level up and such. It may be a tedious process for some, but for me, it was an iron gate which I violently shook every day, screaming for the next chapter.

All in all, it's definitely worth playing! You don't lose much anyway considering it's free, so just give it a try. You can always drop it if you don't like it. My rating for this game is also very much biased and should not be taken seriously:

8/10

[miyakuli]

Hello! I've played The House in Fata Morgana after seeing your review of it a while ago and I loved it, so thank you for introducing me to one of my favorite games. ❤ But now I'm wondering if you have other good visual novel recommendations of any genre. Just the titles would be enough, I just want to have an idea where to start looking since I'm pretty new to it and there are so many. Thanks! :]

Hello anon and waaa that makes me so happy to know that I could make someone discover this visual novel :D I also adored it and now it's really one of my fav for sure <33

Ohhh yes there are so many and so different kind, like VN with some gameplay or VN with only few interactions or even otome which are focused on romancing characters. And I mostly played this type so I can rec a lot of those x'D

If you look for adventure type with gameplay, I would definitely recommend you games like Ace Attorney saga or Danganronpa saga or even Zero Escape saga that are my faves of the genre :))

If you look like more cosy visual novel, you can go with Our Life: Beginnings & Always (that is actually one of my big fav ever, SO HEARTWARMING!!!), Coffee Talk or Harmony: The Fall of Reverie that are pretty nice!

If you prefer otomes with different romancing routes, you can try the Psychedelica games (Black Butterfly first, then Ashen Hawk), or Taisho x Alice, or also Even if Tempest. All of those have such amazing stories and don't focus only on the romance, there are such amazing otomes!! and if you like homosexual romance, go with Dramatical Murder <3 big crush on this one >v<

If you rather have more something like Fata Morgana with mostly text to read, I haven't played it myself yet but I heard A LOT of good things about it, I think it's safe to go with Umineko When They Cry. Like it's considered for a lot like their best VN like Fata Morgana so yeah, I'm pretty sure I rec you something good here xDD and I want to play it too actually.

If you want, I actually have a ranked list of all the visual novels I've played so far (there are 56 in it), this way you can find titles I loved the most and the least ;) I commented in french though, sorry, but maybe seeing the titles and checking on them could give you some ideas <3

Here

[cymoseria]

if anyone wondering about my profile quote (and maybe the pic too), it’s actually nothing related to twst. it’s from my favorite otome called taisho x alice (only followed closely by collar x malice).

it’s not like your typical otome, even though it started like a light and comedic otome (and ngl, the comedy is actually really funny at times), the plot is actually really dark once you know about what’s really happening in the game. and it also comes with a bunch of trigger warnings (please heed them, especially for episode 2). there are 4 games in total (plus 1 fan disk) and it’s highly recommended to be played in order, though i messed up by playing episode 2 before episode 1. in my honest opinion though, it’s still fine to switch the order of episode 1 and 2, but definitely not for the rest. if you ever decide to start playing this otome, i really hope that you’ll give it a chance of at least playing it until episode 3 because that’s where you’ll understand the plot. trust me, there’s an answer to everything.

the voice acting for this game is also exceptional, especially so for alice (voiced by matsuoka yoshitsugu). i couldn’t share the detail without spoiling the plot, but the reason is connected to it and the cv really delivered it beautifully. but it also goes the same for other characters too! i really love listening to them because the characters and feelings are conveyed very clearly (even for someone that doesn’t understand japanese, ie. me). and also let’s not disregard the translator for doing a wonderful job translating this whole game without ruining the humor and details of the game 🖤

another thing i love about this game is the protagonist. the heroine of this game is unlike any other. she’s assertive, funny, smart, and most of all, she’s the princess that saves her prince(s). i’ve played some otome with strong protagonists as well, like ichika (collar x malice), jed/eiar (psychedelica of the ashen hawk), teuta (bustafellows), and many more, but yurika is on another level. she can also be drastic and crazy at times lol, but that’s all the more reason of why i love her. she’s also not someone with an idealistic mindset that always thinks about “the best for everyone” like how most protagonists are written, she’s more of the realistic type that understands that she can’t have “best of both worlds” and knows that she needs to make her own choice.

all in all, this game really destroyed me. i really couldn’t stop thinking about it for months after i finished episode 3. the epilogue hadn’t come out when i finished it at that time, but it really was worth the wait. i’m gonna confess that i usually cracked the non-online games i play in my pc, but for this game alone, i was more than willing to pay for the official game just because i really wanted to pay my respect for the developers. it went the same for my friend whom i dragged into this mess of feelings.

[kyuwook09]

Upcoming otome games 2018

Since I made a trashy review of last year’s line up of localized games, I figure I’ll do one this year too XD.

Like last year, I’ve played most of the games set to be localize(I still haven’t touched my Hakuouki yet so..’most’) …Here’s a mini review and thoughts/opinion on the games ヽ(ヅ)ノ ....I’ll try to avoid spoilers..as much as I can. Thankfully unlike last year, Aksys game of choice are all great this year and here is why.

7′sCarlet

Honestly, I was first put off by 7′sCarler due to one flaw. The MC. Like she was introduced as a plain collage girl, who would be excited about that? And to make it worse...her character sprite is..well..I’m going to be blunt here...it looks weird..(´･ω･`)

^see what I mean?

Anyway, once I get pass that...obstacle, 7′sCarlet was probably one of my favorites last year. Mainly due to me being a sucker for mystery trope..murder mysteries to be exact. Also by the end of the game, Ichiko(MC) manage to be redeem by having the game really involves her.♥（ﾉ´∀`）

^little Ichiko looks so much cuter (σ≧∀≦)σ

Unlike some of the otome games, wherein MC goes to a route sees that the guy has a problem, adjusts herself so that the guy’s problem is magically solve..without her being really needed most part of the story. Here Ichiko is a crucial part of the story and she may have been a damsel in distress half of the game but there is a reason for that too. Which will be revealed little by little as the game progress on and players finishes the routes. She was actually really great in one route which made the story a lot more fun.♥（ﾉ´∀`）

Characters of the game are also lovable and the bad guy did his part well. The plot twist of the story is kinda predictable yet its not the boring kind of predictable. The true ending did go to the ‘open ending’ type but its a nice wrap up of the game overall. I did regret not having the Limited Edition of the game...if only I wasn’t so weirded out by how Ichiko’s sprite is then I could have gotten it.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

PS: BEST GUY is the ossan..or well..the eldest(ΘεΘʃƪ)

Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly

I first played Black Butterfly last 2 years ago and it left a strong impression on me. It was actually on my ‘To Buy’ list even before I bought a vita and it did not disappoint me.♡(ŐωŐ人)

What were doing in a mansion in which they cannot leave? Do they know each other? Who is the owner of the mansion? What happened to them? These were some of the question that will leave players hook in their seats and be engaged in the story. ╭( ･ㅂ･)و Character development especially for the Beniyuuri(MC) was really great, even if the whole game was so short, they managed to have each of the characters grow and have their story have its satisfying ending.

Unlike most otome games though, Psychedelica is like a manage/anime that I’m watching and little by little the truth of the character’s ‘situation’ unveil with each passing time, its more on the mystery VN rather than an otome to be honest. That said, it’s plot and romance scenes are well balanced and despite it being on the ‘tragic’ kind of game, it also have its humor and character interactions were always a delight.(ｏ'ｖ｀ｂ)ｂ

Despite my ‘Do it for Him’ banner, I equally love all the guys. But I have a reason why Kagiha is the one I choose to be the reason to play the game. But... nah who am I kidding, I love Kagiha...and he deserves so much more (┳Д┳)

I’ll end my review with this. I HOPE YOU GUYS WILL CRY AS MUCH AS I DID WHEN YOU GET TO THIER ‘GOOD/TRUE END’ ψ(｀∇´)ψ

Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk

Ok, unlike the first game I don’t recommend this game and not because its terrible BUT IF ROMANCE IS YOUR MAIN REASON then I don’t recommend it. 

The fact is, its a great game BUT if what you’re hoping for in an otome game is romancing with the guys and have some sweet scene or a great build up of romance, then Ashen Hawk might disappoint you a bit. It’s like the romance part of the game is 20-30% and on that low percent, 70% of that romance(the most satisfying romance that is) goes to this guy.＼（Ｔ∇Ｔ）／

Nevertheless, I love Ashen Hawk just like Black Butterfly, like the first game, it made me cry and really engaged in the story. The story/plot did have some holes and unanswered question more than Black Butterfly but in the end, I became attached with the characters, be it the main characters or even the ‘bad guy’ and for me, that’s what matters in an otome game. 

Let’s play who has the hotter dad( ⊙‿⊙)

Here is a breakdown of what the game’s theme is (based on my play experience):

35% Story/Plot

20% Romance

25% ANGST...(YES THIS GAME MADE ME CRY...LOTS)

20% Character Development

IF YOU THINK SHIRAISHI’S ‘GOOD END’ IS SAD, WELL....WAIT TILL YOU PLAY PSYCHEDELICA...(・∀・)

Also, Jed is such an awesome MC, even Girls falls in love with her (´ε｀ )♡ heck these two are fighting over her...with her still being in male disguise...

Code: Realize ~Future Blessings~/Code: Realize ~Bouquet of Rainbows~ 

I don’t think it’s necessary for me to place this here since I think all of us are already waiting for March 30 to come.٩(●ᴗ●)۶

I put it here to make a slight suggestion, if you have a ps4, try getting that version instead. The gorgeous CGs of the game will be in high def and make for an instant wallpapers.

^Me the entire Sholmes route cause Watson doesn’t have a route....Also on Finis route...cause Hansel also doesn’t have a route....

That said, I hope they also localize the 2nd fan disk, Shirogane no Kiseki/Silver Miracles. It was a much better ending to the game overall.（๑✧∀✧๑）

Hakuoki: Edo Blossoms

The long awaited sequel for the first part of the Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds. This game will be the concluding part in which Chizuru will finally have her ‘happy end’ together with her man. 

I keep repeating this but, as much as I love Saito and Okita I do hope this will be the last Hakuouki---as if. (；一ω一||) Don’t get me wrong, I love this game, but constantly porting and adding to it when the story is great enough on its own just seems like a desperate move for otomate/idea factory. Like they can’t let go and leave this series to its happy end already and then focus on other great project.(VARIABLE BARRICADE!!) Like with Amnesia, after Amnesia World, they let it rest and started on Collar x Malice, which btw received tons of positive reviews.

Anyway, it’s great that they decided to localize this and not keep the fans hanging due to the incomplete story of the first game. (ノ_<。)

And, I’m going on a wild guess here but...I think the chances of them localizing SSL is not so far off. Like what I said last year, it does not have any final word yet but, Aksys says they’re trying their best to get this localise. Info taken here

PS. I just noticed, aside from Code:Realize, all of the game lineup this year has one thing in common: TRAGIC STORY (・ωｰ)～☆

[cosmicangst]

have u ever played nightshade or psychedelica of the black butterfly? If yes did u like them? Also is there some otome game u just never vibed with? Lmao, I’m very curious about your tastes, I hope I didn’t bother you with this ask. Have a good day!!❤️

no bother at all!

i have played nightshade and i enjoyed it quite a lot. the art and the atmosphere are fantastic. i’ve never been partial to the ninja/samurai premise in otome even though they always end up making me cry the most bc they’re often the ones that really lean into the tragedy. but i appreciated the lore and world building for what it was.

hanzo remains the best route ive ever played. in terms of character, story, and romance, no one has topped him yet. i enjoyed all of the routes for different reasons but was a little disappointed in how the story treats enju in each. she has the most agency and growth in hanzo’s but has so little power in kuroyuki’s though i did enjoy his a lot bc of his yandere lite tendencies. there is a significant plot element in gekkamaru’s which kind of soiled his character and the rest of the route for me but i still enjoyed him.

i have not played the psychedelica games yet! i bought them years ago for my vita but both are still waiting for me in my huge backlog.

there’s never been an otome that i just didn’t vibe with in general. i judge them more on a route by route basis. even piofiore which i found myself enjoying the least still had elements and characters i liked and appreciated. it’s more common that i have otome i vibe w the most in general than the opposite. my tastes usually lean to mature, grounded, slice of life/workplace romance. i really enjoy plot heavy and fantastical otome but i tend to be partial to voltage’s classic mobile titles where it’s usually a working office woman going about her day. my favored cast of love interests fall more into something like cafe enchante’s where they’re all comprised of generally good and appealing men though a well-crafted dysfunctional freak lol who borders on yandere (but isn’t an actual yandere) is usually enough to turn me around even if the other elements aren’t doing it for me

[court-queen]

Otome characters you might like according to your OM! favourite (Lucifer, Asmo and Belphie)

I'm going to include both paid and free otome games. I'm also going to mention some games that aren’t otomes but have dating sim stuff (i.e Fire Emblem). This post is only my opinion and based on the games I've played. I hope these work as recommendations for you!

Lucifer

Hijikata Toshizo (Hakuouki): Hijikata is the first commander of the Shinsengumi, a short-tempred, but intelligent man. He is the most mature character from the main cast. Hijikata is very strict with the other commanders, who are very chaotic just like the demon brothers, and the protagonist, whom he distrusts at first. He also has a close relationship (though without any implications) with the Shinsengumi leader, similar to Diavolo. He lacks some of the kinky stuff Luci has, but leaving that aside, Hijikata might be a good route to play.

Jumin Han (Mystic Messenger): Jumin is a CEO who likes cats a bit too much. He is cold and centered on his work. The only close relationship he has is with the leader of the charity organization he belongs to, who is his best friend, and lacks any romantic experience. I would say Jumin is much less developed than Lucifer regarding to social interactions. Also, one of the characters has a strong distaste (which seems to be one-sided) for him. When you enter into his route, he is possesive, but in a slightly different way than Lucifer, more...over-protective. However, in some instances, he can have the same style of possesiveness as Lucifer. If you don’t mind he is less assertive, Jumin could be a very decent alternative.

Xander (Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest): Xander isn’t from an otome, so he  doesn’t have as much romantic stuff, but he is the most similar character to Lucifer, story and character-wise imo. Xander is the crown prince of the country of Nohr, a stoic and wise man. He is the older brother of the royal family, so he has to assume all the responsabilities, taking questionable decisions and pushing away his own feelings in order to maintain peace and protect his family. The relationship with one of his siblings, Leo, is similar to the one Lucifer has with Satan (post Satan arc). Xander has also a very complicated relationship with his father: to keep it spoiler-free, let’s just say he is what would have happened if Lucifer hadn’t rebelled against God. 

Nobunaga Oda (Ikemen Sengoku): A charismatic and intelligent warlord who is trying to unify Japan.  Very bold with the MC. He basically wants to own her, winning Go matches and claiming a part of her body with each victory. It sounds somewhat fucked up at first, but tbf it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Nobunaga isn’t as strict as Lucifer, but when the moment comes he can be very serious. 

I haven’t played it, but...I’ve been told that Victor from My Love’s Queen Choice, Jumin and Lucifer form the holy trinity of sugar daddies in mobile otomes. Chikage Kazama from Hakuouki isn't that similar to Luci, but he has some points his fans could enjoy a lot (he is one of my favourite LIs)

Asmodeus

None of these recommendations are as kinky as Asmo, sorry I don't play many +18 otomes. I still hope you like them Dx

Karma and Rumpel (Cinderella Phenomenon): I think both might work for someone who likes Asmo. First, Rumpel is quite a flirt. He has a curse that provokes him amnesia, but that doesn't stop him from trying to charm beautiful women. Then we have Karma, who has a curse that makes women fall in love with him, so he usually dresses as one to not attract them. He isn't that much of a flirt, but he is quite narcissistic. Put both in the same room, what could go wrong? Both characters end up having a decent depth and growth, so if you are one of those people who wants Asmo to be more than his quirks, you are probably going to enjoy them a lot.

Zen (Mystic Messenger): At first a narcissistic actor, then the most supportive and sweet character from all Mystic Messenger (and also the most stable). I would say he subverts the archetype of the flirt/narcissist in otomes. He has a past and context explaining why is he like that, and his route makes a twist with the rival in love with him. If you want a different focus of the archetype Zen is a really good option for you.

Ikki (Amnesia):  Ikki has a special charm that attracts women. This charm will cause the protagonist in Amnesia to get into lots of problems with people who are totally in love with him. He isn’t narcissistic nor a flirt, but if you are interested in a story about how might be dating Asmo with the consequences of his powers in other people, Ikki's route could interest you.

Yuri (Nameless): Yuri has also a charm that makes people being attracted to him. However, it isn't as exaggerated as Ikki or Asmo especially because all the main characters in Nameless attract a lot of people. He is a flirt and narcissist, practically at the same level as Asmo (I had a lot of fun with his moments). Imo, he is the most intelligent person in the game, and reads quite well the other characters. In his route we will learn more about his behavior, and he will be forced to grow and leave behind his attitude.

Sylvain from Fire Emblem Three Houses and Jiyeon from Dandelion  might also be good recommendations, it’s just that they are a bit more...controversial.

Belphie

These characters are very spoilery, I'll try my best to explain why you might like them.

Unknown (Mystic Messenger): A twin, just like Belphie. Both have violent episodes, even trying to hurt the protagonist. They direct their hate to certain characters, whom they consider responsibles of their miserable situation. At heart, they are really kind and sensitive, but have changed because of their circunstances. I would say Unknown's route doesn't portray him as well as the rest of the game, but regardless you might enjoy it if you like Belphie.

“Nameless” (Nameless): Okay, this one quite spoilery, I'll try to explain it without saying much. Belphie's situation? Imagine it but worse, with nobody knowing where you are and not being able to try anything to escape. Then combine his hate for humans and his love for Lilith, and you'll have the complicated feelings this character has towards the protagonist of Nameless. For me, he is literally Belphie, just much more dramatic and dark...

Monshiro (Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly): if the character before is a darker Belphie, this is a lighter Belphie. All the characters in Psychedelica are trapped in a mansion with monsters inside. This mysterious man appears to help the protagonist to fight them at certain times. Even if the rest of characters are very suspicious of him, he seems to be kind and calm, to the point he doesn't appear to know much about the situation the main characrers are involved in. When we continue advancing through the story, we will learn his real identity, and the sad truth about him. There is also another important similarity with Belph, but, spoilers.

Yeonho (Nameless): Like you can guess from the other character, Nameless is darker than other otomes. Yeonho is a sweet boy, very dependant on the protagonist. He is shy, and doesn't like to socialize with people, even if he is quite popular in his class. When you enter into his route, he becomes a little bit obssesive, and some of his endings are terrifying. If you are a masochist like me enjoy being alert with a sweet character that could break in any moment, Yeonho's route is for you.

I would want to recommend another character from Nameless, who I think has some points that could remind of Belphie, but given that this is not apparent at first, I'll let you discover by yourselves if you play the game.

I wouldn't consider them that similar, but Ukyo from Amnesia is quite the Belphie experience. If I had to pick an only route among otome games I would pick this one. Totally recommended. Kei Okazaki from Collar x Malice has also some quirks Belphie fans might enjoy.

[muwi-translates]

灰鷹のサイケデリカ ソフマップ特典ドラマCD 「ぷちサイケデリカ ～贈り物編～」

Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk Tokuten Drama CD - Petit Psychedelica ~ Gift Episode 

”Something that may have happened during the main story. Having called Lavan over, who was walking on the streets, what was this peddler going to sell him...?” Big thanks to @jokertrap-ran​ for accepting my commission!

Hugh: Hey, mister! Take a look at this ring here.

Lavan: Hm? Are you talking to me?

Hugh: Of course! I think this ring suits you. It’s a malchite ring with an inlaid gem, It’s a beautiful piece of work with all the engravings on it.

Lavan: Sorry, I don’t like extravagant accessories. Do you have anything else?

Hugh: Then how about a gift? This necklace is one of a pair and has a moonstone in it. It’s a perfect gift for a lover. It’s said to boost love and happiness.

Lavan: For a lover? Ah... it’s unfortunate, but I don’t have one.

Hugh: But you do have someone you’d like to give something to.

Lavan: Ah... If I do, then what would you recommend?

Hugh: Let’s see... how about this hair accessory? It’s intricately woven silver and the inlaid gems in it are eye-catching as well.

Lavan: It’s definitely a sight to behold, but I think it’s still over the top. I doubt she’d want to even put it on on normal days if I gave her that.

Hugh: So your lover isn’t one for extravagance, is she?

Lavan: That’s true... I doubt I’ve ever seen her decked in any over the top things.

Hugh: I see. What type of person is she then?

Lavan: Well... she’s not one to bother about her appearance, but she’s honest, straight and bright. Sometimes she’s so bright that even I have to turn away. She should be someone within my reach, but yet she’s also somewhat far away. That’s the kind of person she is.

Hugh: I can tell how much you treasure that person from your description. I’m almost envious that you’ve had someone snatch your heart like that and taken it captive. If she’s someone that doesn’t usually put on accessories...then how about a bracelet? It’s not easily noticeable and it’s simple, so I think this will work out. 

Lavan: That’s not a bad idea, but wouldn’t it get in the way if she starts swinging a sword?

Hugh: Hm? Is she someone who handles swords a lot?

Lavan: Ah, no... I was just wondering if it’d get in the way when she works... What about these over here?

Hugh: Those are earrings. It’s made of morganite; stunning, aren’t they? They shimmer and shine in a muted way which makes it gorgeous, but I don’t really recommend it if she’s not one who wears earrings often. Here, try holding it.

Lavan: It’s heavy…

Hugh: It is. I’ve got a couple others that resemble it but does she like the colour red?

Lavan: Her favourite colour…? I never thought to ask so I always got her things in the more simpler colours out there.

Hugh: Well... so long as she doesn’t hate it, right? I think that’s fine. Picking things out on your own is one thing but having someone pick something out in your image is another thing too. What colour do you think suits her best?

Lavan: That’s a difficult question to answer... I think both bright and dark colours would suit her. Green... perhaps?

Hugh: That’s a calming colour. Is she like a stable harbour for you to hold onto or something along those lines?

Lavan: I can’t deny that but I just thought that something green would be easier to find.

Hugh: A calm, slow love that sometimes brings about bouts of passion. That sounds like a story brewing in and of itself in the making.

Lavan: It’s nothing like that. Things start going haywire just when I think we’re proceeding smoothly. It’s troubling, really. I try to push it down sometimes but it just ends up springing back up no matter how hard I try.

Hugh: And you’re willing to tell me this, why? Is it because I’m just a pedaling merchant?

Lavan: Perhaps so. You’re an unknown face. Plus, it might also just be that I wanted to let things off my chest.

Hugh: You don’t have to think that hard about it. No matter whether your love is sweet, or sad, they’re all the same deep down.

Lavan: I suppose so. So, how about you?

Hugh: Me? I didn’t expect this conversation to turn to me, actually? It’s nothing compared to yours.

Lavan: Don’t you think it’s only fair that I ask you the same after I’ve answered your question?

Hugh: It’s really nothing to talk about. Besides, I only asked you for details in order to find the perfect present for you to gift her. Although I did say that it was rather intriguing. Anyway, shall we return back to selecting your gift? I won’t choose anything expensive so rest assured.

Lavan: Heh, you’re really good at this sales thing, huh. Very well then. So back to the conversation at hand; what would you recommend?

Hugh: There are many things you could give. Necklace, bracelets, earrings, hair accessories, rings, etc. But I think a necklace or a bracelet would be good.

Lavan: Oh? And why do you think so?

Hugh: Because I feel like these things would assure them that they are their own person. Not a collar, not a claim.

Lavan: Not a slave, you mean?

Hugh: You’ve got a rather bad choice of wording there. But what you truly aim for is to find something that can express the love you feel, right? Something that has a form, at least.

Lavan: I know what you’re saying but I think a hair ornament would still be best.

Hugh: And so you always find yourself drowning in this love of yours.

Lavan: I’ve always been doing that already, so... do you have anything smaller than these here? I doubt she’ll put it on if it’s too big either.

Hugh: Hehe. Demanding, aren’t you? If you want something that’s easily wearable, then I think this will suit your fancy. It’s small but it’s delicate and makes an impression.

Lavan: It is pretty, but it seems overly intricate and fragile. I think she’ll share the same sentiments about it too.

Hugh: Then how about this one here? It’s a little strange and has an abstract design to it but I think that’s what makes it attractive.

Lavan: I do think that it’s interesting but I’m a little concerned over it’s sharp edges...It looks like it’ll cause unwanted injuries to the wearer.

Hugh: And here I thought you’d just listen to my suggestions and take them. But it seems like we’ve met with quite a number of problems.

Lavan: That’s only because I’m thinking of every possible scenario while picking it out. That’s the best I can do since I’m picking out a gift after all.

Hugh: Then, I suppose I should give it my best as well. An accessory that's fitting for the love of yours. Something sweet, passionate yet undying. For someone brilliant and bright, for someone of strong-will.

Lavan: I don’t remember saying those things, though…

Hugh: Oh? Am I mistaken? That was the image I got, though…

Lavan: It’s not exactly wrong, but…

Hugh: Then isn’t it fine? Unless you’ve got something else to reveal about this lover of yours, I think it’s fine to just admit that you love her for these aspects.

Lavan: Spare me, please. I don’t want to become someone like that.

Hugh: What a pity. It seems like I can’t get anything else out of you unless I involve alcohol into the equation.

Lavan: What do you intend to do with all that information anyway?

Hugh: I won’t do anything, really. It’s just a personal curiosity of mine, you see. But personally choosing a present like this... It’s hard, but it’s also enjoyable, right? Of the hair accessories here; do any of this catch your eye? We’ve got one made from pearls, from the river shells and ones that shine brightly under the light.

Lavan: What about that one at the very back?

Hugh: This one’s closed because it has a very precious gem inlaid into it but there’s a defect. It’s strangely alluring, isn’t it? It’s a good choice, but look here. It’s broken off.

Lavan: That’s true; but this one still best catches my interest.

Hugh: I think the material it’s made of is it’s strong point. Plus it’s not that noticeable and I think it actually enhances the design with its defects. I suppose one who doesn’t have much interest in extravagance would think that.

Lavan: I don’t think she’ll take care to notice such a minute detail either.

Hugh: So, is this it? I’ll give you a discount.

Lavan: Sure. I think she’ll be more willing to accept it as well if she hears that it was actually cheap.

Hugh: Thank you. It was enjoyable listening to your story.

Lavan: You sound like you’re not her to sell your merchandise, but rather to hear stories as you pedal?

Hugh: That might seem so. I think it’s important to expose myself to the world and hear out the stories of others. Else... I might forget how to live my day to day life. For my case, at least.

Lavan: You sound like someone who can’t live on if you don’t relax once in a while and converse with people.

Hugh: That’s precisely it. I don’t really think of others all that much.

Lavan: Although, I think it’s better if a travelling merchant talks a lot. It’ll work better in your favour. Anyway, thank you for helping me out. I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to pick anything out at all if I was left to my own devices.

Hugh: You’re welcome. So, when are you planning on giving her that hair accessory?

Lavan: You’re really nosy, aren’t you?

Hugh: It’s just simple curiosity. Your expression just makes me even more so. Your answer?

Lavan: Someday...I hope I’ll give it to her someday.

[kouei116]

Piofiore no Banshou: Dante (1)

Y: Eeee!? Why are you ... But thank you for saving me ...

After the prologue, Dante brought MC to his Falzone mansion. She was treated as a guest, had a comfy room, an escort called Leo that brought her everything she needed but Dante refused to explain/tell her anything, didn't allow her to step outside the mansion either. One day MC knew Dante was going out, she told Leo she was taking a bath but actually making a rope from bed sheet to climb down and escape. The rope snapped and she fell straight into Dante’s arms below ଘ(੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧ Dante had a bad premonition hence he quickly returned and managed to catch her. He was mad, she could have died! MC thanked him for saving her. Dante brought her to his office and explained Sister Sofia died from the wound that night, MC was in a dangerous situation, she should stay here so that the Falzone could protect her from LaoShu (the Chinese mafia).

Y: (His face is very gentle...)

D (to Carlo the cat): ...  What happened to you? To be lost this late at night?

Leo brought MC books, music records so she wouldn't be bored, even a cat (that she named Carlo, it has blue eyes just like Dante's) so she wouldn't be lonely. MC was very thankful to Leo but eventually found out all of these were actually Dante's orders. One day, Carlo finished eating and ran off into Dante's office. MC followed and saw Dante patting Carlo's head gently ~(=^･ω･^)ヾ(^^ ) She came in to thank him for giving her all the books, records and Carlo. She asked if she could trust him, he said it was hard to ask her to trust mafia, but he had rules and he would move ahead to do what needed to be done without wavering - similar to what Sister Sofia told MC before. MC burst into crying missing Sofia and Dante stroked her back comforting her. She thought to herself, thanks to Carlo, she found out this kind gentle side of Dante today. 

Y: (Dante was fighting while he himself was wounded like this ...)

Nicola (Dante's right hand man) told her to go with him to the mansion's dungeon where Dante and other men were interrogating Fei (underling of Yang - Laoshu's leader). Fei saw MC and said ohhh she is the Key Maiden! Nicola lied to Dante that they came down here to look for Carlo the cat. MC asked Dante to stop bc Fei was still a boy, but Dante said this was not her business. Nicola brought MC back up and explained he showed MC that to remind her even if they treated her kindly, they were still mafia, and the world they lived in was different from hers. 

MC found out Sister Sofia was still alive, she wanted to go to the church to ask Sofia about the Key Maiden. Leo helped sneak her out on the day the Falzone attacked Yang's dealings but Sister Sofia wasn't in the church so they returned, bumping into Gilford (Visconti family's head) on the way but he let them go without troubling them. The Falzone's attack was successful, MC had been waiting to ask Dante abt Key Maiden, but when she saw blood on his arm, she rushed to get the first aid box and gave him treatment. She apologized to him, saying she found him scary in the dungeon and she still didn't like violence. He said it was natural to be scared and she didn't need to come to accept violence, in the world he lived in, sometimes there are things that need violence to get done. 

Y: (The leaf must have been flown by the strong wind earlier)

MC saw a famous politician angrily left Dante's office then Dante came out, looking all gloomy. She asked him to come to the garden with her, she tried to cheer him up talking abt fall and winter lol but nope, not working. Then she asked what sweets he wanted, more dulce? panacotta? tarta caprese? Btw Dante had a sweet tooth, he drank cafe latte, cappucino and liked the dulce that MC usually made for him. He was interested in the tarta caprese. MC was very excited saying she would try her best to make it delicious for him - this made him smile (❁´‿`❁)*✲ﾟ* Suddenly a strong wind flown by and he came very near to her face because ... there was a leaf stuck into her hair. He took the leaf off and MC heart pounded in her chest UwU

Leo said he was sure Sister Sofia was in the church this time, so when the Falzone went to do another attack on Yang, they sneaked out again (urggg whyyy Leo). But the intel for this attack was a miss, Yang wasn't there. Meanwhile MC and Leo were cornered by Yang's underlings. They ran away, bumped into the police officer Marcus and Robert. Leo offered to acted as the diversion while Marco helped bring MC back. But Marco and MC bumped right into Yang... Luckily Dante arrived and fought with Yang to protect MC. Then Nicola and more backup arrived so Yang left.

When they returned to his office, Dante slapped Leo for not thinking before acting, then was abt to explain everything to MC but there was a commotion at the front - Orlok arrived and on his own beat up the Falzone people to get inside the mansion. Leo rushed in to warn Dante, Dante prepared his gun and as soon as he stepped outside, Orlok was right at the door wanting to talk to MC. Dante wanted to stop Orlok so Orlok lunged at Dante with his short knife. Leo jumped in and got stabbed in his arm. More Falzone backup coming so Orlok jumped out the window and escaped.

After this, Dante told MC to pack things up and they immediately left to a hidden house that even among the Falzone, only Nicola and Leo knew about. These 2 usually came by to bring food and give reports to Dante. Nicola now was in command while Dante was here with MC.

Dante explained to MC, the Falzone has always been protecting the Holy Relic. In order for the Holy Relic not to be misused (that would cause Burlone to fall into wars and disasters), the Holy Relic was strictly sealed and according to legends, the 2 important factors to unlock the seal were the Falzone family's blood (hence the family was very strict with bloodline) and the Key Maiden (that the church chose aka MC).

D: Y...? What is it...?

Y: I really wasn't about to attack you in your sleep!

Later Dante fell asleep on the couch, MC was trying to wake him up to go to bed properly and avoid catching cold, but Carlo the cat at her feet made her slip and nearly fell down onto Dante, hence this adorable blushing Dante CG (*´﹃｀*)  Well, she managed to get up and their hands only touched a little bit what a shame (￢ε￢　) The two of them lived in this house, MC cooked and cleaned bc when Dante offered to help he immediately broke a dish lol. He asked her abt her life at the church while she asked him abt his childhood (with Nicola sneaking into the kitchen, they grew up together so could understand each other very well). It's nice for Dante and MC to get to know each other while living here all on their own ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Nicola: Well, once I finish reading this book, the three of us (Dante, Nicola, MC) can discuss our thoughts together while having tea. 

Introducing my Falzone Panini (the Italian cousin of Anna's sandwich™ haha): Dante Falzone (VA: Kaito Ishikawa) and Nicola Francesca (VA: Kimura Ryouhei). I automatically have a soft spot for Nicola the moment I saw Kimura Ryouhei as his VA. Dante is ahhhh, not only is he very handsome, I like how he seems cold but actually silently protects and looks after MC. He is sweet like his sweet tooth! His voice is so nice too, I'm definitely playing Midnight Cinderella's Alyn, Psychedelica the Black butterfly’s Hikage and Gensou Kissa Enchante’s Il Fado de Rie in his honour (♥ω♥ ) ~♪

This post is about chapter 1-5, about half of Dante's route that I have played and so far I enjoy it very much. The story, the arts, the music are stunning. I can't wait to finish the rest of Dante’s then onto Nicola’s ヽ(。ゝω・)ノ☆

[grimelords]

I’ve finished my September playlist, only almost a month later. It’s got everything, The Weeknd, desert psychedelica from Niger, and Australian yodelling from 1941. What more could you want!

listen here

and if you’re interested, sign up for my tinyletter to get these playlists delivered to your inbox here

XO / The Host / Initiation - The Weeknd: First of all Trilogy is a masterpiece. The Weeknd is a legend forever for this alone. Back when he was an anonymous character and before he tried to pivot to being a proper pop star and started beliving his own bullshit. This trio of songs for me is one of the highlights of the whole thing because this is where things really take a turn and it serves as a nice flipside to earlier songs like Glass Table Girls (even quoting some of the lyrics from it in a very cool reprise). Where most of the songs from House Of Balloons are about his own descent into this hedonistic life, by the time you get to Echoes Of Silence he lives there comfortably, and he's turned from cool,  dark and tormented to coldly evil and calculating. He's the master of the dark palace and he's drawing this woman in. The chorus of XO is straight up cult language 'all we ever do is love, open up your mind you can find the love'. She's broke and addicted trying to escape her life and he offers her this community. Which is where Initation comes in and things get really dark. This song feels like the real truth of those stories you hear of Drake flying instagram models around and it's a masterpiece of the dark underside of the drugs money and models bragging you're used to.

Sociopath (feat. Kash Doll) - Pusha T: Get a load of this new Pusha song where he's got Rodney Dangerfield ghostwriting for him. I got a bitch that'll master your card.. my wife ova hea!! Also the funny gritted teeth way he says it cracks me up. He also says boop bop be boop bop. There's so many good moments in this very silly song from a man that is normally terrifyingly serious.

Ice Cream - Muscles: I suddenly remembered this song the other day and I'm so glad I did. A good example of how you can get so much feeling out of music that has no relation at all to the lyrics. In the right mood this song makes me so emotional and I can't even pin down why. The way he sings 'ice cream is going to save the day' somehow just makes the urban alienation of the verse even more pointed. It's such a silly little dance song and that's what's so strong about it. It's dancing at night and unsuccessfully trying to forget what happened today.

Running - Gil Scott Heron & Jamie xx: It’s extremely strange that this remix album ever happened, thinking back on it. Stranger still that a Gil Scott Heron song got remixed by Jamie xx and then remixed again by 40 and turned into a Drake song in I’ll Take Care Of U and all three versions rock. Anyway, this song and this whole album remain fantastic - it still sounds futuristic in a way where nobody else really followed Jamie’s sound, everything else went a different direction so this an In Colour feel more and more unique to me as time goes on.

Boyfriend (Repeat) - Confidence Man: I’m in love with this album. It’s the closest I’ve found so far to the level of absolute fun in dance music since Duck Sauce’s album. I love the the attitude of her lyrics, which carries through the whole album. I love when her Australian accent peeks out for a second on a few words. I love his rebuttals that almost but not quite put it over the edge into a comedy song. I love the big fading out leadup to the drop near the end where a huge throat singing drone just swallows the whole song for a second.

Ever Again (Soulwax Remix) - Robyn: Extremely hot remix alert!! Thankyou to Zan Rowe's Monthly Mixtape playlist for putting my onto this.Sometimes all you need is one ferociously hot bassline to make a life complete.

$50 Million - !!!: !!!’s new album has one of the best covers I’ve seen recently, I advise you to check it out. It’s interesting to be so far into your career (this is their 8th album since 2001) and still be writing songs about selling out, a concept which has largely disappeared from music discourse since musicians started making no money post napster. I vaguely remember the turning point being when Kimya Dawson, after blowing up via the Juno soundtrack, turned down a coke ad for a ludicrous amount and the blogosphere at the time turned on her and said she should have taken the money because she was living in a van at the time. Nobody gives a fuck about selling out anymore because bands make more from tshirts than streams so you’ve got to act like a brand just to make a living. Anyway I’ve gotten off track. This song rocks, especially for the breakdown near the end.

Tipped Hat - The Paper Scissors: A song I haven’t heard in over ten years that suddenly popped into my head the other day. I love the way this guy’s voice sounds, just completely committing to sounding like a hand puppet. I’ve been playing bass a lot more recently and so have developed the worst man habit of becoming more sensitive to and pointing out extremely hot basslines to people, so I’d be derelict in my duty to not share this one.

Heimsdalgate Like A Promethian Curse - of Montreal: I love this song about literally pleading with your brain to come good. Here’s a good quote about this album “I went through this chemical depression, and that's when I was writing a lot of the songs for Hissing Fauna. They're all songs about that experience. And I was experiencing it in the moment that I was writing the songs, and sort of asking myself: What the hell is going on? Why are you all of a sudden totally paranoid and plagued by these anxieties? And why is everything so distorted and confusing and fucked up? My lifestyle hadn't changed that much. And then I realized, well, there's something going on inside of me that I don't have control over, and then you realize how vulnerable you are to these things, these elements that you can't understand, or unless you go on medication and get it under control. It's like you're being betrayed by your body.” Something I really admire about this album is that the lyrics reflect black metal levels of mental anguish, he was absolutely going through it the worst anyone can go through it “I'd gotten to that point where nothing was working. I was borderline suicidal, and my relationship with my girlfriend had totally eroded and she'd gone back to Norway with our daughter and everything was totally fucked, and I was just like, What can I do? "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" is about that.” But the music is one hundred percent committedly twee and I really admire the effect that that split mood gives. “The lyrics tell the story of what was really going on and the music sort of represents this other emotion that I wish existed. The music was really happy because I wanted to make something that would lift my spirits.”

Jesus Rabbit - Guerilla Toss: I love the wobbly weird bass sound in this weirdo UFO cult song. I love the bleepy bloop melody that runs through it and I love how fundamentally unstable the whole song sounds, like it’s made out of paperclips and foil and papier mache.

Suburbia - Press Club: I can’t believe I didn’t know about Press Club for so long. I only found out about them this performance https://youtu.be/bCmtc-T5Unk which I’m shocked to learn has less than 5k views considering it’s one of the very best TV performances I’ve ever seen.

Come For Me - Sunflower Bean: I’m pretty sure I’ve talked about this song before and I’m probably going to say the exact same thing but who cares! This song fuckin rocks. I love how assured it is, like “if you’re gonna fuck me then stop fucking around and fuck me already.” It also feels so musically similar to I Can Hardly Make You Mine by Cults to me, which is a great excuse for me to listen to that song every single time I listen to this song.

Thousands - Club Night: This Club Night album is really really good. It's like a really nice middleground between midwest emo and Cymbals Eat Guitars. The way this song blows up halfway through with 'what if we want it!!' is so good. This whole band feels like they're from 2009 but in a good way, the tail end of indie and twee with these prog or postrock structures where the songs just go and go, and you can just get completely lost in it.

Cemetary - Brutus: The first thing you've got to know about Brutus is the drummer is also the singer. Normally who plays what is not really important but in this case I think it's very important because it makes the drums a lead instrument more than they normally would be. When she's not singing my focus is still on the drums because they're linked and I absolutely love it. This song is great and every song I've heard of theirs is just as good, I love Brutus and they're one of the best new bands I've found recently. Someone in the youtube comments said 'there's something really special about hearing a song for the first time and just knowing you're going to listen to it hundreds of times in your life.'

Enter By The Narrow Gates / Spirit Narrative - Circle Takes The Square: I think that I think of Circle Takes The Square as a household name just because they have such an outsized importance in my own life when they're definitely not at all. They're legendary for making The screamo (good kind) album in As The Roots Undo and then taking 8 years to make a followup, which is this album Decompositions, but I don't really know if they're well known outside of like, people who have opinions about what were the hottest music blogspots in 2010. I chose both of these because you can't really have one without the other, the whole album basically runs as one long piece of music and so this just kind of jarringly ends at the end of Spirit Narrative, sorry about that please listen to the entire album. Because of the status As The Roots Undo enjoys I feel like this album was kind of ignored, or overshadowed by the reputation it was trying to live up to, almost exactly like The Avalanches with Since I Left You and Wildflower, when just like Wildflower it's a more expansive, developed take on the original sound that trades some of the rawness for a more polished and considered approach and comes out arguably better than the orginal. I feel like I have so much to say about this album but I don't really know where to begin, just listen to it.

Vitrification Of Blood (Pt. 1) - Blood Incantation: I am by no means a metal scholar, but I know that when the word 'blood' is in both the song title AND the band name that means it's good metal. I love this song, and this whole album is great. It's very 'classic' death metal but there's touches (beyond the extreme length) of psychedelica as well that puts it on another level you can just get lost in. The way the guitar goes to space at 3:40, and again properly into orbit at 6:50 is just magical. The more I listen to this band the more I understand those guys who only listen to metal, there's a whole ecosystem in here and it's really got everything you need.

Out Of Line - Gesaffelstein: This whole song is basically intended as an intro for Pursuit on the album but it’s so powerful just on its own. I love imbuing weirdo lyrics like ‘a bitter sunken love in a bleach blonde submarine’ with such ominous power through the commanding delivery. I love the way the big grunting vocals on the offbeat build to sound like a summoning ritual. I love making a big processed bell the centrepiece of your extremely evil sounding song. It’s sort of a shame that Gessaffelstein has never really gone back to the vision of his first album and has spent his time since diluting it down for guest production on Weeknd songs and the like because it feels like there’s still so much more to get out of this sound. That he hasn’t gone back and dug deeper makes Aleph stand out more and more as a singular masterpiece as time goes on.  

Kamane Tarhanin - Mdou Moctar: Turning to Mdou Moctar after the new Tinariwen album kind of disappointed me, with all it’s big name guests nothing really hit me. I love this song though and I think a big part of it is the sort of loping, 6/4 rhythm that combined with the drone gives it this feeling of endlessly tumbling over itself in place, especially as the guitar heats up.

Achabiba - Fatou Seidi Ghali: I know very little about Fatou Seidi Ghali except that I saw she was supporting Sarah Louise at a show. From some googling it turns out that she’s the leader of a Nigerois band called Les Filles de Illeghadad who you can probably look forward to seeing on next month’s playlist. I also learned that the demonym for someone from Niger is Nigerien or to minimise confusion with Nigeria, Nigerois (said in a french way). They play a sort of desert psych in the realm of Mdou Mocter or Tinariwen, but this song (also the only solo song she has on spotify) shows her acoustic side. I love the swirling melody over the drone as the hand percussion keeps it in place and I love the very delicate vocals, but a probably unintentional thing I love a lot about this recording is the unmistakable iphone locking sound near the very start that instantly removes so much of the mystic exoticism that these sorts of artists are often written about with and places it firmly in the same sprawling modern world we all live in.

Floating Rhododendron - Sarah Louise: I love Sarah Louise. She’s a phenomenal guitarist and has such a big love for traditional folk music with her side project House And Land, but unlike everyone else in the genre is also very interested in pushing guitar forward to new and strange places. Her latest album was super experimental layered electric guitars and voice that still managed to maintain the deep connection to nature that runs through all her work. I would also highly recommend following her on instagram because her passion runs over. She’s regularly just out in the woods somewhere explaining how wonderful a particular mushroom is.  This song one of the first ones I ever heard from her, and it’s back when she was just doing very beautiful 12 string acoustic work, but she recently added it to spotify and it’s a very nice reminder of where she came from and how far she’s gone in such a short time.

Lark - Angel Olsen: The new Angel Olsen is absolutely great. I love how much she is just completely going for it on this album, absolutely unleashing. Taken against earlier songs of hers I’ve loved like White Fire, where the majesty was in her quiet power and the ability to absolutely command silence with a whisper quiet song, this song feels like the direct inverse, an about-turn into all the gigantic majesty of swirling strings and top of your lungs vocals - going all out and leaving nothing on the table. The way this song blows up about three different times until by the end you’re caught in this gigantic swirling maelstrom of screaming sound is just out of this world.

Door - Caroline Polachek: Caroline Polachek’s brain is huge. When I first heard the chorus of this song I couldn't believe it. Are you allowed to have a chant that runs in a spiral like this be the chorus of your pop song? Is that allowed?

North, South, East And West - The Church: The Church feel like they don't get enough respect. They don't seem to be in the same league as Cold Chisel and The Angels and all the other dad rock Australian bands from that era for some reason. They're very good though and I've been really getting into this whole album and this song specifically lately. Maybe what's working against them is just how much his voice sounds like Bono's in this song but surely that was a boon at the time!

Western Questions - Timber Timbre: This has become one of my new favourite songs to sing. The way the words fit together is my favourite kind of poetics where they just sound incredible, phonetically, and can mean anything you like for large chunks. Like “the gelatinous walls of the seeds that seldom remain / while the bulls are  browsing needles through computer casinos / honour the name”. Especially “bulls are browsing needles through computer casinos” is just extremely nice to say. I love the character of this song and am yet to completely understand what it’s saying other than personifying some worldwide blackpilled spirit of nihilist evil. What I love is the experience of all encompassing evil in this song, like a worldwide conspiracy connecting everything together that makes it all make sense. It doesn’t make you happier but it makes it make sense. I also love the finality of the big fill near the end that ushers in the outro riff that ties everything up.

Cold Cold World - Blaze Foley: I got heavily into a country music thing this month and spent a bit of time trying to find ‘real’ country, which of course turns out not to exist at all. The entirety of country music is built on a false nostalgia for an imagined time long past when things were real, some unspecified time in the collective consciousness between cowboy times and coal mine times. I don’t say this to say ‘country music is a fraud’ but that it’s built on a foundation of myth and that’s what’s so good about it. It’s constantly reframing the past as it relates to the present and is energised by the friction between them. Blaze Foley is a good example of this in the modern era because he seems to exist more as a myth than a man. He had three studio albums, the master tapes of which all disappeared through various means (lost, stolen, seized by the DEA) and so the majority of his surviving material is live recordings or long-lost studio recordings that resurfaced decades after his death when his fame and mythology already preceded him. He also thankfully lives up to the myth, he was truly a great artist and it’s a shame more of him hasn’t survived.

Where The Golden Wattle Blooms / Why Did The Blue Skies Turn Grey  - Shirley Thoms: Further to what I was saying about country music before, Australian country is a whole other thing. Transferring the myth and the mythmaking to a new location adds another layer of abstraction. Shirley Thoms was the first female solo act to record country music in Australia in 1941 and was most notable for her yodelling of which she is damn fine. This is a great song and a good a starting point as any in trying to trace the origin of country music in Australia. That it's so english in its identity, so evidently imitating an american style (which is in turn imitating a german yodel) is just more good evidence that nothing is 'real' and traditions of the past and future are malleable at all times.

Talkin’ Karate Blues - Townes Van Zandt: Townes Van Zandt is widely regarded as a songwriter’s songwriter and one of the best country songwriters to ever live, but like a lot of great country songwriters also has one or two songs like this - strange comedy songs about learning karate and getting your arm ripped off.

Strange Tourist - Gareth Liddiard: This album is a masterpiece on the level of Ys and it feels criminally underlistened in my opinion. Luckily in the last week or so some renegade has done up the wiki article on it to a couple of thousand words so that's a start. Because this is a song I've listened to one million times and love a lot, it's hard for me to write about it in a general way so instead I'm going to talk about something very specific and new that I've only begun to appreciate recently. The way he uses the vowels of the japanese words to create these assonant runs in lines like "Koda Kumi sang a coda pink as sarin gas / I took a trip to Nagasaki in a rented Mitsubishi / Then went camping in the Jukai under Mount Fuji" and "They found him frozen in a hollow in Aokigahara forest where them harakiri weirdos go" is really something, and a nice illustration of the two sides of Liddiard's songwriting: densely technical poetics in a song about living with a housemate who was a real freak.

I Dream A Highway - GIllian Welch: I’m not even going to go into the lyrics of this because it’s such an out of this world perfect song but I’m going to say this: it’s really something that this song goes for nearly 15 minutes, sits on the same three chords the whole time and never ever feels long. This song is longer than Emily by Joanna Newsom but doesn’t feel like an epic of the same scale at all. It’s just a mournful slow ode to change and decay that goes on forever and could keeping going on for twice as long if it wanted to.

Deep Water - The Middle East: The way the vocals in the verses are delivered, trailing off and mumbling bits and pieces is somehow magical, like it’s more interested in communicating the gist and the feeling than the actual words. You can just pick whatever part of it you like. Petrol stations and a copper mine, the kind of place I think I could die. This song also has two minutes of silence at the end for album reasons so enjoy that.

listen here

[readablenoise]

Florida’s Best Live Acts of 2019

With a new year, and new decade ahead of us, we recap the best Live Acts Statewide of this past year

Florida- 2019 has been a prosperous music for local music in the state.

With a plethora of albums, EP’s and concerts released before the new decade, in addition to new acts emerging from the already electrified soil, we decided to take our focus on the medium that we believe best proves the true mettle of a band: our selections of the Top 10 Live Acts in Florida.

This proved to be a much harder list than expected, with a great many acts having captured our heart in 2019. However, we stand by this list, and feel that these acts should be the ones you keep your mind, ears and excited soul on in 2020…

The Guttertones (Rock)

(photo: Jenelle DeGuzman)

Having formed in just 2019, the duo, composed of Brennan Curtin (drums) and Adam Sheetz (guitar/vocals) perform with the intensity of an act that have been honing their craft for 10 years. Debuting at Bumblefest, their live performances are something inexplicably powerful; with just a guitar, drums and a vox microphone, they can draw in a crowd like flies to sugar, and it helps that the sound coming from the amps is a honey suckle drawl of perfect Southern inspired rock meets the grit of Detroit distortion, all wrapped up in West Palm Beach flair.

They are an act that increasingly better themselves after every viewing, and for that reason and many more, we believe the duo to be one of the best on this list.

https://www.facebook.com/theGutterTones/

Spirit & The Cosmic Heart (Dreampop/Shoegaze)

(photo: Roberto Badillo)

The Lakeland based act has been one we’ve kept on both your radar, and ours, since early this year. Churning and evolving like the Atlantic itself, the group made continued evolving and with each new emergence, seem to just keep getting better.

With their 2nd EP, “Memories” released mid-2019, they are one of the few acts, both locally and internationally, that can sound just as good on record and yet somehow, different. Our best example of this being our personal favorite, “Endlessly”. While the track is an intense Cure meets Mama’s and Papa’s build-up of dreamy romance live, the 5 piece have created an almost alternate reality version of the track on record that explodes just the same, in a different way. And it’s truly the best way to describe the act; something haunting that sparks something individually different, upon every song and every viewing.

https://spiritandthecosmicheart.bandcamp.com/

Donzii (Post-Punk)

(Photo: Jen.cray)

Another of our unabashedly favorite local acts, experiencing the 5 piece in any of the five senses, is akin to visiting one of the great art museums of the world- each time.

With visuals being orchestrated by frontwoman Jenna Balfe, a whirlwind mixture of Siouxsie Sioux and Poly Styrene, every performance Donzii puts on is a different painting, in a different time, all along the already powerful hypnotic music that follows from the chemistry of the act themselves. “Sand”, to our ears, is one of the best tracks of this decade by any artist in recent memory internationally. It’s a large claim to make, but an act like Donzii truly come every once in a lifetime, and we are grateful to be living in the same era of music as this incredible band.

https://donzii.bandcamp.com/

Jaialai (Psychedelica/Alternative)

(Photo: go.cuna)

While the sound have been a local flavor favorite, we got our first powerful dose of the sound live, at 1306 Miami earlier this year and it was something unlike anything else we’ve seen. Carrying the force of a hurricane inside of a tornadic explosion of guitars, drums and build-up, the performance we viewed consisted of moshing, dreamy visuals and near Renaissance punk vibes, something that is hard to duplicate not due to the sound, but the sheer amount of power it takes to carry such a beautiful weight.

If you have the chance, we highly recommend catching this act in any venue, and watch as you leave out of breath and captivated.

https://jaialaiofficial.bandcamp.com/

The Spoondogs (Rock/Punk)

The Orlando based sound helped to close out Bumblefest 2019, and demonstrated a performance so great, it never left our mind.

Take The Rolling Stones, Warsaw and just a touch of surf-esque orchestration and you have a truly potent mixture that could fit in any decade and still bring the crowd to a absolute frenzy, something they did to a full house of the Patio Stage in Respectable Street, having those in attendance so enthralled, some stood on tables just to get a glimpse of the hailstorm of guitars that the act wield so well, both live and in recording. If you’re a fan of the above examples, Robert Plant in his prime or classic punk in general, we recommend listening in all methods, ways and feelings possible.

https://spoondogs.bandcamp.com/releases

Tape Studies (Post/Instrumental Rock)

Let us tell you a story of romance, ambition, love, the feeling of falling and a thousand sunsets; or better yet, let Tape Studies do it for you. We have expressed our endless respect for the post-rock genre due the basis of composition being that of a storybooks. The unspoken words of feeling itself, and all those moments you didn’t quite know what to say, wishing instead that music would flow out of your lungs. The Northern Florida trio are this exactly, and after watching them perform at Will’s Pub, they also embody the belief that while an orchestra can fill a room, a group with passion can act as a hundred orchestras; something they do effortlessly. With a new album in the works, we greatly look forward to the opportunity of seeing the act again, and we await for you to do the same.

https://tapestudies.bandcamp.com/releases

In Motion (Post-Hardcore/Emo)

While the trio have been on our list since mid-2019, they are also our pick for the Best Album of 2019. The post-hardcore genre is one that, while often seen, is very scarcely done right justice and we are proud to say that it’s one they not only excel in, but have brought back incredible light back into. Having seen the act perform as both an unplanned trio and in it’s complete package, we have been thoroughly astounded each and every performance by the wall of enormous sound the Hobe Sound based produce. It’s not hard to see the trio truly love what they do, and we love watching them.

https://inmotionfl.bandcamp.com/

Glass Body (Punk)

This Miami sound is one you read about in the history books. The kind you see in black and white pictures of bands you wish you were able to see, giving performances that seem to bleed sound from image alone and you wish on the stars above you could have viewed. And we’re happy to say, you can and you must. Performing in the small, intimate space of Kismet Vintage in West Palm Beach, the trio are pure, and pardon our language, fucking amazing punk. With incredible Pixies-esque drones meets Sex Pistols explosion, frontwoman/bassist Bridget helps orchestrate performances that are a legendary joy to watch, and one we hope you’ll carve into your concert tablets in 2020…

https://glassbody.bandcamp.com/

Kalistik (Metal/Doom)

(Photo: Keith McCullough)

With the debut EP freshly released, and wonderfully, darkly seductive, the Winter Haven group while fresh on our list, are not one to be taken lightly. Having made their powerful debut performance at Jessie’s Lounge (the videos of which can be seen on their Facebook page), they became one of our Florida Project acts simply due to the intensity of the performance. Bringing 70’s post-punk, doom and just the slightest touch of psychedelic elements in an impressive whirl, they are an act we cannot wait to get more in the coming year and are grateful we can jam to on our earbuds in the meantime…

https://kalistik.bandcamp.com/releases

Death of a Deity (Thrash/Metal)

(Photo: Jenelle DeGuzman)

The metal scene is one that thrived in 2019, due in part of the incredible acts that have emerged in genre in the past year alone. And while our next picks have been favorites of the South Florida scene, after having the pleasure of seeing the Loxahatchee based act perform at Propaganda Lake Worth late this past year, they make our list for the sheer of power they hold in their ferocious chemistry.

With a swirling, impressive storm of guitars and Abe Cunningham meets John Bonham-esque drums, they succeed in the difficult task of checking of not just one, but all marks of a great rock show: Heavy, orchestrated chaos, headbanging worthy composition and most importantly, enjoying every moment of it, while having all those in their grasp feel the same. With a new album on the horizon, and the preview of those tracks shared during their live performances solidifying our belief in DOAD being one of the great live acts in Florida, we cannot wait to headbang again.

https://deathofadeity.bandcamp.com/

Rose Dickeson (Pop/Jazz)

One of the last, great and most promising examples of the power of, to quote Prince’s album, a piano and a microphone, the effortless composition that radiates from the Port Saint Lucie duo is an unforgettable of Fiona Apple earnesty, Regina Spektor vocals and the soul of Nina Simone, they are an act that are vastly underrated and incredibly potent. If you have a chance to see the act perform, it’s one we highly advise not passing, as they offer experience in the shape of sonic roses you’ll never forget the scent of.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op53J4l1TV4

Makoto (Instrumental/Math Rock)

Our final selection for this list, will not be met with the usual “last but not least” blush response but calculated reasoning. The Southern Florida based act are the final cut on our list for the same reasoning that fireworks cap off another rotation around the Sun; for the power lightning storm that roars into the night, and what better way to describe the act than this? As we spoke of in our review of Bumblefest, we thoroughly believe that they should have been given a headline set and we believe 2020 will see them perform that slot at festivals both near and far, for the incredible, anthemic performances they emanate both in record and live. Makoto deliver the types of performances that have your feet sore from jumping, hair in a tizzy from rocking out and most importantly, leave you breathless. It’s a talent they are as skilled at as they are in composing near perfect rock orchestrations. And one we know, will leave you in awe.

https://makoto.bandcamp.com/

We hope you fill your heart with great, new and wonderful music in the new decade. And now, to quote a certain wizard, “ Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.”

-Jenelle DeGuzman

[benichi]

Steam Prison - Spoiler Free Mini Review

Steam Prison deals with some very dark themes like corruption, abuse of authority and the like. I love when stories aren’t afraid to explore the depths of cruelty in the world so I thoroughly enjoyed this visual novel. For me Steam Prison is on par with my other two favorites Collar x Malice and Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly

+ Immersive story with amazing atmosphere and story telling. As I’ve said this game deals with some heavy topics. Especially the first few hours had me at the edge of my seat. However among all these rather grim themes there are also a lot of light hearted and romantic scenes. I think Steam Prison found the perfect balance between these seemingly contradicting moments. Plus I’m a big fan of the writing/localization. Yumas (who also wrote for Ozmafia) has a way with words that really speaks to me and Mangagamer did a good job translating that into english. As with Ozmafia you’ll see the story told from the viewpoints of different characters which is another detail that I love. 

+ A cast of likeable love interests with interesting characteristics. It’s been a while since I’ve liked all of the LI’s in a game but this time I certainly did. Every character has a very distinct personality and throughout the game there’s a lot of character development. Especially the bad endings/different points of view often times reveal interesting details. The banter between certain characters often had me giggling to myself, but there were also times when I’d be touched by their words since they held a lot of truth. 

+ Great main character. Cyrus has a lot of pride and stands up for her own believes. She’s quick to take action and often times get’s into trouble due to it. However she never stops being herself and always gives her best in any situation. Cyrus is also a very capable (sword) fighter which I liked a lot.

+ Beautiful visuals and music. These two points definitely helped to set the mood for Steam Prison’s great story. The art is very pretty, both the character sprites and CG’s. I especially like the Ending Song (which was also written by Yumas), every time the credits rolled I sat there listening to the very end.

+ Ending List. What a blessing. This game has a lot of (bad) endings and it’s always nice to have an overview of those. I also recommend reading all of them because as I’ve said they hold a lot of interesting details

To be honest I feel like I’m not doing this game justice. I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t stop reading. But I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil anything. All I can say is that if you liked CxM and the Psychedelica series or are generally into stories with a more dark tone you’ll definitely love Steam Prison. It’s a beautifully written game that I enjoyed from start to finish and I hope it’ll receive the credit it deserves. So if you haven’t played it yet please give this amazing visual novel a chance!

[justine-the-guillotine]

Hey there! I saw your post (about Mystic Code) on LucyDream's tumblr. Love how you're in your 30's but still playing otome games! I'm the same, but I'm in this world just recently. Can you make a list with your favorite visual novels and otome games? I love those ones with a more mature MC. I mean your can be cute/fun and still be sassy/adult hehe I miss it sometimes...

Okay Anon first of all I’m trash because I told you I would have this out the day you asked it and I totally didn’t so I’m sorry I don’t even know if you’re going to see this. 😩 But you need to know that THIS IS MY MOST FAVORITE QUESTION I HAVE EVER BEEN ASKED AND I LOVE YOU A LOT. 

Anyway, I have a lot to say about this and here’s what I’m gonna say first - there’s a lot of layers to this question so let me just... write a novel. 

Important Note #1: I don’t know that you necessarily want to consider me some kind of expert on otoge with adult MCs. My favorite VN of all time is not an otome game and it is also not with a “mature MC”... you play as a 16-year old boy in Fate/Stay Night. But it’s such a good VN, if you can find it I totally recommend it. I will rave about it for DAYS so if you also want an essay about that please let me know. 

Important Note #2: Some little, technical things... - there is a difference between “mature MC” and “older MC” so I’m gonna kinda do a mix of both... but also going to include “older suitors” or “suitors with no canon age” in this criteria as well.  - I prefer PC games to mobile games but play mobile more often due to convenience... -I own a lot of games that I’m super interested in and have actually never gotten around to playing because I have both a time management problem and a shopping problem. So there are probably some even better choices than what I’m about to list from personal experience and maybe I’ll just come back and update this in a few months.  Moving on...  Here are my current top favorite VNs (otoge or not):  1. Fate/Stay Night (PC) 2. When the Night Comes (PC)   3. The Arcana (Mobile) 4. Amnesia (PC and Mobile) 5. Mystic Code (Mobile) My favorite mobile VNs:  I’m gonna tell you right now this list is gonna change on July 1st when Ikemen Vampire comes out... watch that immediately jump to the #2 spot but as of right now I haven’t played it so I can’t do that.  1. The Arcana 2. Ikemen Revolution 3. Mystic Code 4. Mystic Messenger (this is iffy to call this a VN in my opinion but VNDB lists it so I’m going go with it) 5.  Mysterious Forum and 7 Rumors  My favorite PC VNs (otoge or not): This list is a big oof to be honest because there are so many games I am really interested in but haven’t yet played. For example, I have 20+ unplayed games in my Steam library right now.  1. Fate/Stay Night 2. When the Night Comes 3. Amnesia: Memories  4. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 5. Cinderella Phenomenon  Now those are my favorites, but here instead are my actual recommendations for you personally Anon:  Recommendations for VNs with a More Mature MC:  1. When the Night Comes (PC, Free to Play) I absolutely adore this VN. It is the best otoge/dating sim I have ever played (thus far). But that’s because it caters to a lot of my interests - it’s definitely not going to hit the mark for everyone! The MC has no canon age or gender. You can date a human, witches, a vampire, a Lycan, and a demon. There are even two route options for poly romance. THE WRITING IS PHENOMENAL. I mean the story is great, yes, but THE FUCKING LANGUAGE is totally everything I love. It is very snarky, witty, and British. Swearing in places one would swear in real life. Sarcastic, “roll my eyes at myself” jokes that one would make in real life. Things are dark but with a sliver of hope. MC is a fucking badass and very much a mature adult. It’s currently being updated monthly (chapter 8 comes out tomorrow - 6/29) so we only have two more months left and then we’re done :( 2. The Arcana (Mobile, Free to Play, with Premium Options)  Please be cautious when interacting with this fandom, especially right now. But besides that warning, The Arcana is amazing. It is also currently still updating. But the MC again has no canon age nor gender. And as a plus, as far as I am aware, the suitors do not have canon ages as well. I wish all games would have no canon suitor ages but I digress. The story sorta starts as a murder mystery but evolves into something much more. It is magical. It incorporates tarot so well. The art is absolutely gorgeous. The MC is not at all helpless and definitely holds their own. 

3. Cinderella Phenomenon (PC, Free to Play)   Okay so MC in this one is NOT an adult. She’s 17, I believe. But she’s a bitch and I love her. I genuinely love the plot of this VN. The art is very pretty - very art nouveau. If you like twists on fairy tails, some snark, and a story of... uh, learning how to be less of a bitch ... this one is a great play! 

4. Mystic Code (Mobile, Free to Play, with Premium Options) I’m not gonna elaborate on this here since Anon already knows about it but I want to remind people reading this that I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS VN... I believe it is the best game to come out on mobile thus far this year.  5. Love Tangle in the Niflheim+ (Mobile, Free to Play with Premium Options, Abandoned)  So... normally I would never recommend a Shall We Date game as a top choice, however, this game is SWD’s only exception. It, of course, has the god awful mechanics that all SWD games have, which could make it a bit annoying to play. This game has also unfortunately been abandoned by SWD so there are NO updates to it. Luckily, all the routes (save for one, I’m pretty sure they were planning to release Sunny’s route prior to abandoning) are out and in full. MC has no canon age and it doesn’t matter because she’s fucking dead. Your suitors are also dead. This is the best premise of a fucking story I have ever seen. As with most SWD games, the writing is a hit or a miss depending on the route, but the MC is mature and strong-willed - never helpless. (One thing I will give SWD is they tend to write their MCs with a bit of *bite* in them.) The writing has some well-timed comedic moments so it definitely keeps you entertained!! I originally started playing just for the novelty of it but I actually genuinely love it. Plus MC has the best hair of all the MCs I have ever seen. 

Additionally, I recommend both Ikemen Sengoku and Ikemen Revolution (Mobile, FTP w/ Premium Options). The MC usually has her shit together although she does have her moments of “oh no baby what is you doing?” And in both games, she’s a young adult, not anywhere near 30 but I still find I have no problem self-inserting.  Other games:  -  Hustle Cat (PC, $) - I have yet to play, but it was recommended to me by two people I trust when it comes to these types of games. It seems to be geared toward adults and as far as I am aware, MC is customizable in not only pronouns but build as well.  - Mr. Love Queen’s Choice (Mobile, mostly FTP) - I do play this and I enjoy it. I wouldn’t really recommend it for a “mature” MC (even though she is a young adult who runs a company), but I mod a MLQC discord server and noticed a lot of our members are in the late 20s-30s. So obviously this game appeals to an “older” market (har har, I just mean “older” than 21). It’s a VN at its core, but it’s got so much extra shit going on that it can be overwhelming unless you like those sort of games. The story part of it is really, really good. And the MC gets equal time with all the suitors (instead of specifically just choosing one route to date).  - Food Fantasy (Mobile, mostly FTP) - this isn’t a VN and I don’t think it’s technically an otoge either- it’s a JRPG-  but oh my goodness the art is fucking gorgeous, and the backstory that sets up the game is WILD, dark, and deep. It blew my mind. It’s cute! So I had to throw it in here in case you were looking for something fun. :)  And finally, VNs on my “To-Play” List:  - Ikemen Vampire (Mobile) - this is coming out in just a few days and I have been waiting for 8 months, so I’m super stoked! - Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (PC and Vita, $) - The House in Fata Morgana (PC, $) - Clannad (PC, $$)  - Tokyo Debunker (Mobile) - as far as I know there’s no official release date yet, unfortunately! :(  Anyway please message me more if you have any more questions or want to know anything else, I love this shit thank you!!! Depending on the question I’ll try not to write a thesis paper next time :[ 

[shenanigumi]

Any otome suggestions?? I've played Nameless, Dandelion, Hatoful boyfriend, both Hakuoki's, Mystic Messenger and Amnesia. I want to play OZMAFIA but I'm not sure if it's worth the price

Huh, I’ve only played a few of those, and I’ve never heard of Dandelion. (Is it good?) As for your request, anything in my description is worth playing in my opinion, but I’ll go ahead and elaborate here!

Collar x Malice was thoroughly enjoyable. As a dystopian murder mystery, it can get more than a little disturbing from my vanilla perspective, but the banter is snappy, the characters and dynamics are interesting, and the heroine is actually capable. If you don’t mind spoilers, you can check my tag for it here. If you don’t like spoilers and/or need a summary of major characters, you can check this post.

Code: Realize ~ Guardian of Rebirth and Future Blessings (I haven’t played the winter one yet, though I think it’s been localized) are both good. The writing is solid and believable despite being alternative history, there’s a fairly wide variety of characters and dynamics even if some of them get flanderized, and the heroine is among the best. If you don’t mind spoilers, you can check my tag for it here.

OZMAFIA!! is better than you’d think. The heroine is among my least favorites, but the routes are fascinating since it’s possible to start out on one route and continue on another, even if several of them get dark fast. If you don’t mind spoilers and excessive salivation, you can check my tag for it here. I also wrote a spoiler-free mini-review here. (I don’t remember how much the game is or how much you have, and I seem to recall it isn’t the cheapest even on sale, but I’m inclined to green-light it based on my own experience.)

Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk is great, although it is conceptually the darkest otome I’ve played yet, and I also haven’t finished all the routes. The story is compelling and set in pseudo-medieval times, the gameplay is unconventional compared to the others I’ve played, and I enjoy the lack of emphasis on romantic relationships despite an apparently fixed love triangle. I don’t have a tag for this one since I haven’t been liveblogging it, but I might say more once I finish it.

I remember vaguely that Cinderella Phenomenon is good, but I can’t think why for some reason, and it’s been that way ever since I played it. Maybe I’ve been cursed? Anyway, it’s somehow free on Steam, so you might as well check it out. If you don’t mind spoilers, you can check my tag for it here, but it’s practically disused due to this amnesia…

Hope I could help!

[otomeverything]

NIGHTSHADE

Release Date:  December 20, 2018 (North America) Developers:  Red Entertainment / LANTERN ROOMS Publishers: D3Publisher Platforms:  Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) ESRB Rating: M (Mature) 17+

  Walkthroughs:

Goemon

Chojiro

Hanzo

Kuroyuki

Gekkamaru

Common Route

  PROLOGUE (from Nightshade’s official site) During the Sengoku Period the two main factions of ninja clans, Iga and Kōga, warred against each other for decades. In the year 1593, Nobunaga Oda started the Tenshō Iga war, decimating most of the Iga ninjas in the process. The very few that survived were absorbed into the Kōga clan, despite their past rivalries. After 17 years the Sengoku Period finally came to an end, and Japan was unified.

Enju (Protagonist), daughter of Kandō Ueno, the Head of the Kōga clan, spends her days training diligently in hope of becoming a full-fledged ninja like her peers. At long last, she is assigned to her first mission but finds herself caught in a dark conspiracy.

  ART AND MUSIC One of Nightshade’s prominent features that’ll easily make an impression among otome fans, is its art style. The game credits non-other than the famous illustrator, Teita who’s fairly popular for her other works such as Norn9, the Juuzaengi  Engetsu Sangokuden saga and the recently released visual novel, Charade Maniacs.

I wish I could say the same for the game’s musical score. The OP theme was nice but wasn’t memorable at all. The END theme (Good End) however, “Taezaru Hana”  by MIKOTO was pretty soothing that I ended up purchasing the track in iTunes. Listen to the full song below:

  Voice Acting Nightshade honestly has the best seiyuu lineup. The voice acting was, in fact, one of the major highlights of the game. The VAs really did an amazing job capturing your emotions. I was already expecting this much from their topnotch VA list, but they did more than stellar performances with this game! Every seiyuu involved were magnificent, even the side character, Ieyasu Tokugawa (voiced by Koki Miyata, who’s famous for his role as Ukyo in Amnesia), did an amazing job portraying his cunning personality.

  Hikaru Midorikawa ♥ “Goemon Ishikawa” – Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi Suzaku Ibun), Zenya (Sweet Pool), Ayato (Diabolik Lovers), Hanate (7’Scarlet), Yutaka Nabari (Nil Admirari)

Wataru Hatano “Gekkemaru” – Asato (Lamento Beyond the Void), Lindo (Dance with the Devils), Kotarou (Hakuoki), Sakiyama Youji (Sweet Pool), Yuuto (Storm Lover)

Hiro Shimono “Kuroyuki“ – Shou Kurusu (Utapri), Senri Ichinose (Norn9), Sou Kiryuu (Harukanaru Toki no Naka De 5), Ricchie (Black Wolves Saga), Ray Blackwell (Ikerev)

Kenjiro Tsuda “Hanzo Hattori” – Chikage Kazama (Hakuoki), Soshi Amazaki (The Charming Empire), Leonardo Da Vinci (Ikevamp), Nathan Seymour (Tiger & Bunny)

Kosuke Toriumi “Chojiro Momochi” – Hajime Saito (Hakuoki), Kagiha (Psychedelica BB), Poyo-Poyo (Period Cube), Hideyoshi (Ikesen), Lawrence (Psychedelica AH), John Watson (Code Realize)

  MAIN CHARACTERS (Spoiler Free)

I must say, I love all of the characters and their routes that it was hard for me to pick a favorite. If you’re concerned with plot spoilers in your first playthrough, my recommendation would be to play the routes in the following order (from least to greatest in spoiler content):  Goemon – Hanzo – Chojiro – Kuroyuki – Gekkamaru. For enjoyability, I’d recommend playing in the same order. Goemon and Hanzo were the lighter routes, Chojiro was angst from start to finish and the brothers (Kuroyuki and Gekkamaru) had more plot revelations than you’ve expected. I would also strongly recommend saving Gekkamaru’s route for last, trust me when I say, this makes your last playthrough more worthwhile. 😉

  GOEMON ISHIKAWA

The Japanese Robin Hood

ladykiller

True to his name in history books, Goemon Ishikawa is the legendary Japanese outlaw who stole gold and other valuables from the rich to give to the poor. He’s very popular among the townspeople due to his ingenious thieving schemes. He is known to send prior notices to his targets before he robs them off their treasures. Goemon is also a highly skilled ninja who has the wit of a brilliant tactician.

Playing Goemon’s route first was a good choice since his story was the lightest among the bachelors in the game, plus I haven’t fallen in love with Midorikawa’s voice in a while, so there’s also that ha! I find Goemon’s story really refreshing due to his carefree personality and charismatic nature. Because of this, it was so easy to like this character from the get-go. Going down his route will let you discover a few revelations regarding Goemon’s past, where he came from and how he ended up as the notorious thief he is now. His route also offers  a couple of plot twists and although it was a little predictable towards the end, it was executed really well where it didn’t feel awkward nor forced. As far as the romance goes, Goemon is a straight up, ladykiller. It was fun to see his relationship with Enju develop all throughout his route. His playful teasing and his easy-going personality will have you falling for him in no time.

  HANZO HATTORI

Mr. stoic ninja

kuudere

Besides, being Lord Ieyasu Tokugawa’s personal guard, Hanzo is also the Tokugawa clan’s shinobi leader. Because of his resounding title as the strongest ninja history has ever known, he is very popular among all the shinobi clans in Japan. He is normally calm and collected but will not hesitate to become ruthless for the success of his mission.

Hanzo is the oldest among the bachelors (and I absolutely love him!) He is, I believe 33 years old, making quite an age gap between him and the heroine Enju, but LOL this is Toyotomi-Tokugawa (Edo 1600’s – 1800’s) period we’re talking about, where huge age gaps among couples are very common… But age aside, let me tell you… Hanzo’s route completely took me by surprise! I have no words! *Breaths heavily* I guess, I was already eyeing this character from the start since Kenjiro Tsuda voiced him. But I wasn’t expecting his arc to be this good that it literally caught me off guard. He ended up becoming my favorite of the entire game!

At first, he started as the very straightforward stoic kind, who’s only doing his master, Lord Tokugawa’s bidding. But after a few encounters where he teams up with the heroine and helps her survive, he begins to slightly soften up, giving us a glimpse of his true adorable fluffy nature. Both Hanzo and Enju go through tremendous character development in this route, especially the heroine. I just love seeing Enju prove herself time and again how much she wanted to make it as a true shinobi while she constantly faces hardships every step of the way (she’s freakin’ cool!) I also love seeing Hanzo unexpectedly supporting her through her struggles. It’s as if, rather than saving her all the time, he wants her to learn to depend on herself instead; and to me, this relationship was truly very refreshing, not to mention absolutely heartwarming. Expect a lot of badass back to back action scenes in this route, where Hanzo and Enju kick some ninja ass!

  CHOJIRO MOMOCHI

Big Brother

Angst! Angst! Angst!

Chojiro is the son of the late leader of Iga, Tanba Momochi . After losing his family and clan in the Tensho Iga War at the age of five, he joined the Koga clan along with the other Iga survivors. Chojiro is also the heroine’s cousin as well as her mentor/trainer. He is a man of a few words and he completely devotes himself to his missions without questions.

I made a mistake playing Chojiro’s route earlier in the game as I wasn’t ready for a sudden whirlwind of angst! At the start, Chojiro’s personality was very closed off, its almost as if he has built a wall before him to keep others away. Because of his tragic past, he doesn’t want to get attached to anyone, afraid he’d lose them at the blink of an eye just like how he lost his parents when he was young. This makes his relationship with Enju a little less intimate from the beginning. As the heroine tries her best to get a closer reach of him, he waves his feelings off because he’s conflicted between succeeding his missions as a shinobi versus his own desire to help Enju and stay by her side.

Chojiro’s route was also the most tragic in the game!😭 Ya’ll better prepare those tissues! Romantic wise, his story was not my favorite. The drama just out-weights the romance on this one. I do love the writing in his route though. It seriously gave me an emotional breakdown I wasn’t prepared for. 😅I suggest playing his route in the middle to get the angst out of the way. This, also kinda gives you more room to recuperate from the heavy drama before jumping into an even more dramatic finish as you do Gekka’s route last.

  KUROYUKI

clever, cunning

soft yand

Kuroyuki is Gekkamaru’s younger brother. Right after he was born, both boys became orphans and were taken in by Enju’s family. He was sent away on an extended mission when he was eight, by the heroine’s father Kando Ueno, who’s also the leader and head chief of the Koga clan. Kuroyuki is also the same age as Enju (16).

Not much is revealed about this character other than he is Gekkamaru’s brother who was sent on a secret mission when he was eight years old. Where did he go? What was he doing for the last eight years he was gone? It was rather questionable how his character (in other routes) always comes and goes sporadically in the plot.

I couldn’t really expound more on Kuroyuki’s arc without entering spoiler territory but going down his route will let you discover one interesting revelation about him and the game’s overarching plot. It was quite satisfying to play Yuki’s route because finally! we get to fill in some plot holes. I fell in love with his story for the same reasons some people are calling it out for. It wasn’t light nor easy-going as Goemon’s or Hanzo’s, it wasn’t tragic as Chojiro’s or Gekkamaru’s. It was dark and I probably wouldn’t have it in any other way. Kudos to Hiro Shimono for breathing extra life to this character!

  GEKKAMARU

best boi

puppy eyes

true route ish?

After losing his family at the age of three, Gekkamaru was adopted by the heroine’s parents along with his younger brother Kuroyuki. Gekkamaru was assigned to be Enju’s trusted bodyguard when they were young and has proven his loyalty and devotion through time by sticking to his role as Enju’s protector. He is wholeheartedly committed to his master (Enju) to a point where he becomes too overprotective of her.

So after going through all kinds of heaps and hooplas of playing and suffering each of the character routes in the game, I was finally on my last one, Gekkamaru. I know you can just play his route whenever but I chose to do his story last for the experience. ohoho!

…and I have no regrets!😭 Gekkamaru’s route started with pure dramatic fluff as expected. It was just so precious and endearing to see how far this man would go for the sake of the heroine. His loyalty and dedication for Enju was such a pure bliss that it even pains me to see him doing too much😭. His route was a combination of action, romance, a side of humor and a whole lot of drama as he and the heroine struggled to survive by each other’s side. I thought to myself, “This story couldn’t get any better or worse, could it?” but then angst hits the fan through plot twists after plot twists (during the last chapters) and this was where the story really picked up. I was at lost for words. I felt really sad, angry and confused. His route put me through a tidal wave of emotions, I had to pause the game for a while, sit in a corner to get my head straight and my breathing in check! lmao! Gekkamaru’s route is like a slow burn, heart-rending gut punch and I absolutely loved it.

  ENJU UENO (Main Heroine)

Enju is a strong heroine and I adore her to bits. Unfortunately, her potentiality to become an even better shinobi was wasted in some routes because of the whole damsel in distress scenarios, with the exception on Hanzo’s and Gekkamaru’s route ~ these were the only story arcs where the heroine was able to hone her skills as a ninja and show us her true strengths.

Enju Ueno was literally, thrown to the wolves when she got caught up into this despicable game of survival, out of the blue. Not only that, but the ordeal she went through of betrayal, loss, and sorrow was absolutely too much to handle for someone her age. Still, despite all the hardships, she chose to live and survive. I was thoroughly impressed by her determination which I believe was one of her strongest points. YES, this is one badass heroine right here folks!

  Side Characters

Ennosuke (Left) – The fastest ninja in the Koga clan. He’s not romanceable, and I don’t think I’d want him as a dateable character either, heh. I ship him with Kyara though. I love the chemistry with both of their characters.

Kyara (Right) – Proud, graceful, responsible, and badass on the battlefield. Her weapon of choice is a “chigirigi” which is similar to the “morning star” in medieval age weaponry. I ship her with Ennosuke. Also, Saori Hayami voices her, so this to me was a plus!

Kasumi (Center) – the cutest, most adorable ninja…ever! She’s the youngest of Chojiro’s disciples. Looks up to Enju and Kyara as her older sisters. I love her so much! *must protecc*

  SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION I purchased the physical copy of Nightshade (proxy shipped) which lets you choose three language options to start the game with (English, Chinese, Japanese). I can say, that the localization was fairly decent. I didn’t play the PC version, but I asked a few people who owned both PC and Switch copy and as far as their answers go, D3Publisher did not change the English translations for Nightshade on the Switch. They changed the fonts though! D3Publisher is known to deliver decent game localizations. They’re not the best but they’re not disappointing either. I’ve spotted a couple of minor typos in the game, but it’s NOT something that would ruin the whole experience for you.

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The Switch system was very comfortable and very easy to navigate from the jump. They even offer a “rewind” option for you to backtrack scenarios, which to me, was a saving grace. This way, making the correct save files became a piece of cake. The Nintendo Switch version also contains the game’s DLC “Special Content”. These are extra fluff episodes that happened in the middle of a character’s story. They also come with a special CG (one for each story).

  TRAILER

  OVERALL THOUGHTS? (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ It took me a total of 30 hours to finish the game, and none of these 1800 minutes spent were wasted. Yes, I loved every bit of it.

Although the story was set in the Sengoku “Warring” period of Japan. Instead of the usual cliche battleground premise that’s normally used in Sengoku themed animes and VNs. Nightshade’s story focused more on the darker side of politics during the said period. The indirect “battle royale” theme, I admit, was quite bracing and very well paced. It was something I never expected to actually work in an otome game.

Besides the Nightshade’s gorgeous artwork, I wanted to compliment the game’s stunning special effects, such as the leaves falling in the BG, flower petals scattering about  (whenever Enju uses her ninjitsu), and the moving sprites (which played exceptionally well during fight scenes). The voice acting for Nightshade blew me away and I couldn’t have wished for a better seiyuu lineup. I guess my only gripe here was Enju’s inconsistency as the heroine. In some routes, she’s badass while in others, she’s weak and very dependent. Her characteristics as a whole seem to vary depending on who’s the guy she’s with. I still love her as the main protagonist though!

While I’ve enjoyed playing all the routes in Nightshade and their respective stories, the ones that made an impression on me were Hanzo’s, Goemon’s and Gekkamaru’s. Chojiro’s was good but it was too angsty for my taste and while Kuroyuki’s story drove me to the edge of my seat, this is the route where Enju is at her weakest.

Do I recommend this game? YES This is the first ever english otome game in the Switch that I would no doubt recommend to everyone at the drop of a hat. I’m so glad I’ve waited for this port, despite all the STEAM sales that have gone by the previous years 😂 (laughs). To be honest, I was even quite sad when I finished it 😅 and wished there was more content for me to delve into. If you’re having second thoughts whether or not it’s worth shelling out 48 bux to get this game in your Nintendo Switch Library. Here’s my advice: GET IT! This one’s definitely a gem and imo, almost up to par with the big titles (like Code Realize, Hakuoki, CxM). If you want an impressive storyline and characters you can’t ever get enough of, I can’t recommend Nightshade enough!

  CHLO’S RATING: 8/10

Nightshade Review (Nintendo Switch) NIGHTSHADE Release Date:  December 20, 2018 (North America) Developers:  Red Entertainment / LANTERN ROOMS Publishers: D3Publisher…

[queernuck]

something that impacted me in reading about the Futurists, thinking about both the potential that kineticism as a representative concept, the means by which motion and kinetic escalation is represented through aesthetic means, is paired with the aesthetics of war, militarism, industrialization, and in fact that there was socialist and anarchist involvement in Futurist art in addition to the obvious (and in many ways definitive) fascist character of the movement invites a great deal of questioning about the political nature of the aesthetic, the purpose of art, exactly that which is meant by art, the way that art takes on certain character, including class consciousness, or of course reversal thereof.

the corporate appropriation of art is often interesting even as an affect: the deconstruction of fashion present in Virgil Abloh’s work for Off White’s collaborations with Nike is effectively acting toward a kind of self-aware dual return to the process of creating the shoe: it is a creation of creation, the process by which work is generated itself part of the completed work, a kind of act of presenting the evidence of the process for evaluation. The way that this alludes to sample sales, works in progress, the way that one has a sense of pre-fashion, a kind of unready-for-wear in Off White’s clothing, is thusly drawn out by the way in which it mimics something akin to industrial pre-production, the process of industrialization behind custom clothing such as this made obvious through that very process itself.

in turn, we are at a moment akin to those which propelled many of the Futurists in relation to war: akin to the aimless and disaffected veterans which became the first fascists, the Vietnam Vets who started the militia movement and formed a reactionary backbone to the 90s resurgence in militias which itself made space for current white supremacist movements of various sorts, there is a way in which the “future” is being reappropriated by fascist ideology. the way in which a proliferation of a kind of hyperreal, futuristic post-postmodernity aesthetics have used the shock of violence, the distance that ironic reference to the abjection of fascism and its violence affords, the way that a humorous and satirical character that coupled itself with a great deal of early Vaporwave was appropriated by those who interpret Cyberpunk as a parable about how great it is to be a fucking rich parasite, how incredible it is to not only accept the violence of poverty but to in fact revel in it, use it as a means of obtaining targets, the endless remove of renaming and resignification found by an ever-changing lineup of memes and references that go far beyond the racial coding in the use of “Monday” as a racial slur and pushing believability even further, relying on a process of ironic distance and development of further second-order acts of signification to build up an entire vocabulary of violence around their various symbols and signals, there has been a kind of reproduction of the notion of process-as-work as well as a process-of-work-as-process such that in addition to classic signs of white supremacy and fascism (which can be deployed when the desire is to outwardly and obviously signal white supremacist affinities) there is an entire constellation, a wide assemblage of weighted and doubled words that stands in contrast to the obvious, such that it can be easily denied.

Fascination with the aesthetics of death, of violence and militarism, are not by any means inherently fascist. In fact, the militarism of the aesthetics at hand makes it such that looking at the real-world embodiment tied to it, the way in which images of either training for or exerting colonial violence figure heavily in these fascist aesthetics (militiamen, soldiers, special forces, police) leaves a great deal of room both for the same approach to leftist forces (as well as the questioning of imperialist hegemony through the introduction of nations considered anti-imperialist or at least making hegemony less stable, less totalizing, although in the case of nations such as Russia this is already employed by some fascists) and a kind of double resignification of the hegemonic forces such that the eye is on them as that of an insurgent, stealing the CIA’s copy of Mao’s guerilla tactics, a recognition of fascist creep and a kind of turnaround upon it. 

Indeed, there are induced bodies and processes that one can find in certain contemporary flows of musical and aesthetic generation. The well-armed Springfield XD toting war machines found in gangster rap with lean and LSD floating through their veins and AK-47s on the hip, organs of desire generated and deflated all at once by the eightball of executive-quality cocaine liberated from the pocket of a kidnapped businessman with his mouth duct taped shut, the ecstasy and agony of meth and ecstasy purchased at gay nightclubs once owned by the Mafia, the bleeding-edge of tumblrs with self-hating yandere anime girls surrounded by alprazolam and ketamine, how all of these aesthetics inform(ed) the vulture culture of vaporwave as well as its own self-reflective inquiry upon itself, the recognition of assholes proved to be as much by James Ferraro questioning what exactly vaporwave “is”, a strike upside the head to the NazBol irony posters who made one good mixtape exactly under the microgenre of Hardvapour before confusing themselves with Krokodil references when selling real heroin makes far more sense, a necessary bit of actual embryonic and transformative (as opposed to the fascist affected-obscurantist) psychedelica, so that one may substitute Terence McKenna for the Joe Rogan they currently entertain themselves mocking, one might move toward new means of militia-making, the recruitment for new war machines. Black and Lavender and White and Teal and Red Panthers collaborating against the police, anarchist banners flying from tanks and acting as unit emblems, circles of self-criticism with Maoists and Post-Leftists able to spend an entire half-hour talking without accusing the other of being a plant or liberal, a kind of combined-arms approach that acknowledges the opposite in the enemy, the embracing of supposedly degenerate cultural movements in their fascist forms, the roles of gay men and trans women and lesbian tradwives and cringeposting solipsistic subjectivities that excuse their own violence with the personal gain they see from it in the movements of nationalist, fascist, reactionary, and generally contemptible politics, one can indeed interpret movements in relation to study of shock, of development, of how the contemporary is informed by imagination of the past.

Questions regarding the place of Soviet Realism are best asked in a form of representation, the use of a wider act of questioning to gesture toward a kind of unsureness regarding exactly what the purpose of such art (or artlessness) functions as, a record for the ideal, of ideation in the present and realized through the reading of such artwork, the inclusion of certain events and bodies into a process of deep and concerted rectonition through this realist lens a reflection of their material consequence, one that affirms certain questions of what kind of memory “matters” when the subjective and immediate is seen as the basis of experience, the way in which the opposite, the abstract, holds a kind of power such that the ever-disappearing “present”, the disappearing “Real”, is best represented through paintings such as Guernica, the horror of fascist violence rendered as literal cat-and-mouse by Art Spiegelman, the means by which Eli Valley has taken on Spiegelman’s consciousness of fascist violence in the time of Trump (the sort of mainstream figure that the fascists adore) and represents it through a kind of grotesqueness that is at once genuinely revulsive and allegorical like the work of Junji Ito, the many means of representing provide experiences-of-experience of new orders. 

One must envision a militant Spring Breakers, the sort of unreality crafted toward a deeper “Real”, the horror of realizing exactly what is represented by that which one draws from coupled with a kind of earnest return only possible after ironic distancing, such that one confuses all senses of assessment until it is too late, the moment of revolution now at hand.