#so the plot makes sense- i recommend Nadia or Julian first | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

tartagilicious · 6 years ago

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games/routes i’ve played + my favourites

..to be updated

*send me recommendations if you’d like!

(if i give a game a bad rating, it’s just my opinion. you don’t have to agree with me)

MysticMessenger :

routes: Zen, Yoosung, 707, and Jumin Han

my favourite: definitely Jumin Han! he’s more of an unpopular choice, and I see why, but, I love him. his story was borderline obsessive at some points, and im not going to try and defend his weird behaviour, but there was a reason for it. he got everything he wanted as a kid expect for the love of another person, which is why he treasured Elisabeth the 3rd so much, because in a way, she was the only one there for him. but, then after he gets close to the mc, and then Elisabeth goes missing, he sees the mc as the same type of warmth. he definitely could’ve been more casual about his approaches, and less weird about everything, but I see where it’s coming from. the boy’s got some trauma. and, I mean, the mc is kind and stays with him, understands him, and he opens up to her and falls in love with her. I don’t think it’s entirely unrealistic for an otome game. his character development was great. but, enough of Jumin. this is a really well thought out game. the storyline is impeccable, and the characters are all diverse enough that it’s usually not that much trouble picking one guy/girl over the other. but, this game is really heavily dependent on the emotional labour aspects of the boys, which I don’t like. if you want someone’s route, you had to constantly be excited for them and constantly support them and no one else. a prime example being zen’s route, which is still a great route from experience, but there’s too much flattery in the initial stages, if you ask me. also, I don’t have the energy to get up at 3am for a chatroom, sorry Jaehee.

my rating: 7 or 8/10

The Arcana :

routes: asra, julian, and nadia (portia, lucio, and muriel are current)

my favourite: Asra! this magician and his snake familiar got my attention pretty fast, and his heartbreaking past with the mc just sealed the deal for me. his route is so romantic and touching, but has a lot of action. it was honestly perfect. the devs did a great job with the writing of the game, and the storyline is, again, impeccable. I honestly cried when I found out about Asra’s history with the apprentice, and lemme tell you that is a DIFFERENT type of pain.

my rating: 10/10

+Lost Island :

route: ryo tsuzuki

my favourite: none. ryo was definitely eye candy and a perfect guy, but he was the only route I played, and frankly, was the last. the only good things about this game were the action scenes, which were admittedly heart-wrenching since the game took place on a zombie infested island. But otherwise I hate this game with a burning passion, and will frankly be seeing it down in Dante’s inferno, in the depths of hell with every other shall we date game. It was my first otome game, I found it when I was 11 - just out of the womb lmao - and I was so entranced that I ended up spending sixty Fucking dollars on this game!!! I regret it deeply to this day, because the game was horrible. it moved so fast, it was pretty predictable (and I spent the sixty dollars to move it along even though when I look back at it the game exposed itself so many times??) it was so weird. after we cured the strange virus that his ‘missing’ sociopath scientist father created with an antidote hidden in Ryo’s blood and left the zombie infested island, he proposed to me in a bush! a bush! he popped the question in a bush, beat that level of romance ladies and gentlemen. and, I know now that I type it out it some points sound like a pretty good plot, but trust me, don’t let that fool you. I will argue with you about this until my death. and not to mention this bitch was a horny little shit in the middle of what the characters thought was the zombie apocalypse. all in all this game is the bane of my existence, thank you (I’m sorry this is so dramatic lmao)

my rating: -100000/10

Dangerous fellows :

routes: Zion, Harry, Eugene, Ethan, and Lawrence

my favourite: Zion! omg what a cutie, still highkey owns my heart. he’s your run of the mill rich kid that eventually rebelled, but his sense of humour and toughness is what won me over. His heartfelt promises and uncharacteristic seriousness in the face of danger were my favourite parts. he’s so adorable and owns all my uwus. I’d fight someone for this boy. this was the game the birthed this account a couple of months ago, and I still love it.

my rating: 10/10

Lost Alice :

route: Owen Chester

my favourite: I know this technically doesn’t really count, but I did like the joker! I never played his route, and he wasn’t involved in Owen’s route much, but what little I saw of him was great. He was joking, vague, and helped Alice out a lot as a guide in the very beginning. if I had the courage to even download this godforsaken game again I’d definitely go for him! as for Owen’s route, I honestly didn’t like it at all. all of these games have a timeline, and the end point is always the main characters fucking. like?? not the thing where you randomly travel back and forwards in time? no, just both living in her world and ignoring it, because, me and bae are official now and that’s all that matters 🤪 plus, classically, he was like the formal king trying to seduce her for funsies and then accidentally falling for her.

my rating: 0/10

Modern Cinderella :

route: Rudolf Oak

my favourite: ..I didn’t really have one. I’m sorry this was a shall we date game, need I say more? the ’stoic’ restaurant owner that ’never opens up to people’ saw me stand up for myself literally once and suddenly his entire worldview of me has changed, and surprise surprise, he wants to date me. This was one of the worst ones I’ve ever played. I really had no favourite, except maybe for the guy that let me stay in his apartment in the beginning of the game and gave me food after he found me in the rain 🤧

my rating: 0/10

Ikemen Sengoku :

route: Hideyoshi, Yukimura, Nobunaga, Sasuke, Shingen, Masamune, Kenshin (mitsunari is current)

my favourite: yukimuraaa, yukimuraa, that bean. i can’t explain very well it but I love him :((. i really loved Mitsuhide, but I liked masamune too! I love masamune’s attitude atowards the mc, and his nickname and nonchalance around her (in sasuke’s route where he hesitated on killing him just because the mc yelled ‘stop!’ out of fear?? 🤧🤧), and I also love mitsuhide’s slightly threatening but caring personality, and that he’s deadly smart! you can’t hide anything from that man lol. Plus the mc describes him as a a good person even in hideyoshi’s route, which I respect. (ugh the devs knew he would be too powerful with a route) but, I didn’t like that after you finish a route, your intimacy is completely reset. like :(( it disheartens me in playing a little because it takes days to build up grace, and im not about to go scouring on those offer pages, because i’m not willing to put myself through that again after dangerous fellows. the formatting is a little wack too, but it’s still nice and something to look past, since the game is pretty great otherwise, and it’s a little older. I love almost all of the characters, (the ones I don’t are for personal reasons, not because they’re bad characters or anything) and I don’t think its cringey at all! it’s honestly a great game altogether.

my rating: 9/10

Ikemen Revolution:

routes: fenrir, edgar, ray, kyle, sirius, lancelot, luka, jonah, loki, and zero (all, idk if I forgot one lol)

my favourite: every time I see edgar my heart goes boom!! I started playing his route literally like a week ago and god, this boy deserves the world. I love his gentlemanly personality and his habit of joking around and giving vague statements or warnings when in reality, he’s very sweet and kind. you’ll never know what he’s thinking, and I love that I constantly have the chance to surprise him when no one else ever does. though, I really love my boy Kyle at the same time. he’s a real one 😤 I really like how the devs handled the Alice in wonderland concept! I’ve seen that go wrong a few times, so this was refreshing. again, with the ikemen games, they’re never really fast paced or cringey in the way some other games are. it takes the mc usually at least 13 chapters to even admit to themselves that they’re crushing on the guy, which I like. it’s more realistic then, say, the nightmare harlem (see other review). also the plot design, the character depth, uGh, as a writer, don’t even get me STARTED. it’s all amazing. and!! the intimacy doesn’t reset, so I can basically just blaze through all of the intimacy checks right away. The only thing I maybe don’t like about this game is about how long it takes to complete one route. it may take you a shorter amount of time to pay, but I always play free

my rating: 9 or 10/10

Mystic Code:

routes: cold case, lost case, happy ending: case closed, wrong suspect (2), true ending

my favourite: this technically isn’t an otome game. I admittedly didn’t really like this game as much as I liked dangerous fellows, but it was still really good! I just thought dangerous fellows’s story was a little better, and there’s obviously the added bonus of being able to romance any of the main characters. You couldn’t romance any of the characters in mystic code, and while the story made up for that a lot, I was still a little disappointed. Plus, romancing the characters could‘ve really made for a more complex storyline.. 👀 I won’t give any spoilers,, but the story really did make up for it for the most part. but, I guarantee you that if you could play routes, I’d choose eliot. he’s got that confident and playful but serious and smart personality I fall into every time, and I would’ve liked to get a chance to see more sides to that.

my rating: 8/10

Love and Producer (Mr Love: Queen’s Choice):

routes: —

my favourite: ohoho do I have a story about this one. i was going through pinterest one day a few weeks ago when I came across this picture. and idk, something about it had me starstruck, so I looked for what the image was from and found out that it was from a chinese otome game! at the time, I didn’t know that there was an english version out, so I was really disappointed when I found out I couldn’t play it. but!! through a dangerous fellows account I follow on instagram, I downloaded this game by chance and realised it was the same game under a different name. now, I was completely right to be starstruck, because I love Gavin, he’s amazing! He and the mc were classmates in high school, and they have this ~thing~ that happened in the past that’s vaguely talked about, which is a moment with the wind and ginkgo leaves (which is super nice and romantic af, since he has a wind evol) and I think there’s other parts, but I won’t give away any more spoilers that aren’t obvious and/or easily accessible. the only thing I maybe have wrong with this games that the cliffhangers it can leave you off on before it tells you to level up more are emotionally shattering, and the karma levels/movie shootings are a little annoying, but they’re easily fixable and easy to pass if you snoop around the game a little and figure out how it works. I also really like how though there are no technical routes, each “romance” with the other the guys is completely plausible and any could be endgame easily.

(+ damn, Gavin’s one main line ‘as long as you’re in the wind, I’ll find you.’ is really nice and romantic to me also, since there’s another line from a book I love that’s “I’ll be your map. Where you go, I go.” but idk maybe i’m just biased)

my rating: 9/10

The Princess Closet:

route: reo

my favourite: honestly, I hated this game, so I didn’t really have a favourite. It sounds dramatic, but it’s really true. I was snooping through the App Store one night around midnight looking for a new otome game, and I stumbled upon this one with pretty great reviews. So I, the otome hoe that I am, was like ‘okay fuck it’ and downloaded it. Basically, the game’s storyline is this guy comes up to you and is like ‘you’re my princess, I finally found you’ and the mc is like ‘wtf are you talking about’ but is flattered and sorta curious so she goes back to his studio where she agrees to become a model. like?? girl what?? he could’ve taken you into a back alley and killed you, but she didn’t care. then, in the first chapter, she does her first modelling job then the main guy (reo, also the fashion designer) comes up to her, basically pins her against the wall and is like ‘I knew you were perfect, but I didn’t imagine this. Now, since I always get what I want, I’ll have to make you mine because I’ve taken interest in you.” like,, okay bro. I deleted the app after that. if you like that kind of stuff, that’s fine, but it seems too outright and cringe to me. plus, this isn’t really relevant but I didn’t really like the formatting.

my rating: 0/10

Ikemen Vampire:

route: Napoleon, Arthur, Leonardo, Mozart, Vincent (double clear for both Arthur and Napoleon!)

my favourite: oh my god, this game finally came out with an English version and I’m so excited! I barely knew anything about this game before this morning, but it’s seriously good. I was sceptical in downloading it at first though, because vampire related things usually come out in a fashion similar to something like diabolik lovers, but this blew my expectations out of the water. the writing is amazing, and had me literally stopping between moments and being all nerdy about it. plus, all of the characters are based on real people of history, and I like that part. It’s a really cool idea. but the best part!! all of the characters are more or less like normal people. I’m not sure if that exactly makes sense, but it’s relief to me. I’m also really thrilled about some of the stories in the game. like, bonaparte is a half vampire?? nice, I wanna know more! you have to be da vinci’s fake lover?? coolio. but, I’m kinda bummed that there aren’t more routes out. Issac Newton, Napoleon Bonaparte, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Theodorus Van Gogh are definitely my favourites,(Theo is best boy 😤✊🏻) and I would’ve liked to play other routes too, but that’s totally good, because games are hard work.

my rating: 10/10

THE NIFLHEIM+:

route: Leo

my favourite: I gotta say, this wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. And that’s surprising, since this is a shall we date game. The storyline was pretty good, sorta like sleeping beauty with a twist, and while it was really cringey at some parts, it wasn’t too overbearing in my opinion. There’s a variety of characters to romance, and while they all have pretty stereotypical personalities in some way, it was still somewhat enjoyable to play. Though, I didn’t finish the game because I didn’t like the route I was playing, the way it was set up or the ticket system was kinda weird (one every 4 hours. you could log in once every month and it would say ‘welcome to your fourth day!’ even if it’s been four months in reality) if I did another route, though, it would probably be Nick, because his route seemed fun from the preview.

my rating: 3 or 4/10

Nightmare Harlem:

route: oswald

my favourite: honestly, my favourite was still Oswald. (though it’s a close second to Lucas, who never entered the room in any way other than the window) he was a sweet bean and didn’t deserve any of the shit any of the other suitors gave him. now that I think about it, the plot is creepily similar to ikemen vampire’s. the mc is walking home one night when a portal opens up under a red moon that takes her to a mansion full of vampires! but, maybe that’s just an overused plot. this is from the same company as princess closet, but I think it’s a little better. don’t get me wrong, though, it was still cringe to the max. the mc insisted on helping with work around the mansion exchange for letting her stay there until that portal opened again (hello ikemen??) and the main guy was like ‘pfft sure’ and that’s where she met oswald, the gardener. but, the main thing that turned me off of this game was how fast the romance came. she spent a day outside with him, talking about whatever, then decided she liked the time she was with him and was disheartened when he had to leave. you know, totally not like any kind of normal friendly relationship at all. and after that she was like ‘oh shit what’s this feeling in my chest’ when she saw him at dinner. like, I get the quick crush thing but she’s all like “am I falling in love??/?” and to make it BETTER the next day he’s like ‘oh shit what’s this feeling in my chest’ after, again, spending a day with her and doing nothing more but exchanging smiles otherwise. and the other guys are in on it instantly too! one of them even tries to set them up! and I just- I couldn’t take it seriously after a while.

my rating: 3/10

Ayakashi: romance reborn:

route: Koga

my favourite: honestly, how to choose?? At first, I really liked Ginnojo and Toichiro, but after playing for a bit, Koga and his stupid dice swept me off my feet. I’m only at chapter 20 since I started playing a few days ago, but I can already tell that koga is very friendly and jokes around a lot, and the moment she ever has a problem he’s there to help her. he’s an oni ogre ayakashi, and I also think that’s super cool tbh. the game itself is sort of like mr love queen’s choice in the way that you get cards and have to level them up and that corresponds to how well you do in the game, but there are more romance aspects to this game than mlqc. after you finish book one (comprised of 50 chapters) it branches off into the 4 routes that are available to play. (Koga the oni ogre ayakashi, Kuya the tengu ayakashi, Ginnojo the Mizuchi dragon ayakashi, and Aoi the satori seer) I think it’s a really interesting and fun game, but I don’t like that the only way you can get keys to play the main chapters is through patrols, which can get repetitive, especially when you can only play the same 5 or so locations before the lp cost is more.

my rating: 9/10

Honey Magazine:

game/route: wanted: son in law // taiga takajo

my favourite: I should really change this label ^^. Honey magasine is an otome app that’s comprised of many stories that you can play at once. honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for this one based on the look of it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I am super super super super picky when it comes to otome games, but this one genuinely could’ve been worse. in the story I played, a journalist was invited to her billionaire grandfather’s estate to pick out a fiancé, but that was unbeknownst to her, seeing as this was the first time she’d talked to her grandfather since she was 5 years old. she went through the whole night meeting these different guys before she had to choose one the next day. I didn’t like this part because I probably got one interaction with each character max, and really didn’t get to go very deep into any of them. in the end, I chose Taiga, the heir to a fortune and the CEO of his own company at the ripe age of his early 20-somethings. honestly I only picked him because he kinda looks like Yuta from nct and since I didn’t really like any of the others, I had nothing to lose lol. He’s emotionless and very cold but subtly caring, and this drives the mc crazy as he claims that he’ll just parade around with her if he needs to and act in front of other people. she promises that she’ll make him fall in love with her, and well, the rest is history. I won’t get into his route much, but, I think it’s about what you would expect from a situation like this, not that it would ever happen. it’s not terrible, and I think that if someone had paid a little more attention to it it could’ve been great, not just okay.

my rating: 4/10

Twilight School:

route: Wade

my favourite: this game was actually recommended to me by a follower, and honestly, I do really like it. but, it’s a good thing that I liked Wade, because I’m not the biggest fan of either Rylan or Hogan. I’ve never liked the idea of werewolves, and Rylan is just the epitome of twilight meets vampire diaries to me. (even though neither of them really have to do with werewolves lol) and, hogan, idk. he’s got a nice personality, but I’m not really interested in him beyond that. Wade reminds me of Eugene, to be honest. that’s not why I like him, but I just thought I should get the observation out there. what I don’t like about this game is the gem system. yes, I wanted to kiss wade’s hand when he was sitting next to me after I woke up from being sick, but could I?? no. and I’m still disappointed about it, thank you very much. I also don’t really like the scene where they all fight over her in front of her. like, uh, can I get a waffle?? can I PLEASE get a waffle? but overall yes! it’s a very good game and I love the storyline and mystery.

Samurai Love Ballad Party:

route: yukimura sanada

my favourite: (i keep mixing up the name smh) is every yukimura character an absolute sweetheart?? because it sure seems like it. I found out about this game though a discord server I’m in, and honestly, from the looks of it, my expectations were low. Format is a big part of an otome game, and this one is obviously old, and that kind of dimmed my likeness a bit. But, the story is really fun. Kinda cringey, but still fun. I had no idea it was also in the sengoku era, so that was a fun surprise. I played the prologue laughing and joking around the entire time, and it was honestly really fun. i knew I liked yukimura from the moment he appeared, and chose his route immediately when I could. One thing though, this doesn’t bother me, I just think it’s kinda funny, is that the choices you make actually determine a good or bad ending rather than the romantic or dramatic I’m used to. So, seeing that ‘you could’ve chosen better...’ message after a chapter is always refreshing lol. (I get those a lot because I literally have 2 brain cells 🗿)

overall rating: 6/10

Obey me!:

route: —

favourites: THIS IS A SHALL WE DATE GAME?? it blows my mind, because I absolutely love this game but normally hate swd games (see lost island for reference lmao) the format is cute and modern and easy to navigate, but isn’t in your face bright and not too bland either. there’s a lot of options to go for, like the random calls and messages you get throughout the day plus the person you want to choose from majolish and display on the home screen has little things to say to you ever 15 seconds or so. the ap/stamina system is similar to ayakashi, so it was refreshing to already know how to deal with that, and I do like how while it goes fast, it doesn’t take much to regen. The actual story function is similar to that of mlqc, though, with the mission and then story part. There are no actual routes in the game as of right now, but the game is still being updated, so there might be in the future when the storyline is complete! I really hope there is, because I totally wanna do some of their routes like 😳 My favourite at first was Mammon, because from the get-go he’s the energetic dumbass that’s always by your side like fenrir and I just appreciated that, especially when I didn’t know any of the other characters yet. but then I actually got into the game more and while I still do like mammon, it’s a bit less and I do have some new favourites now. first off is Lucifer, who I really was neutral with most of the time (which shouldn’t have been the case considering he threatened/tried to kill the mc at least twice lmao) but yeah, sometime along the way I went from 😶😶😶 to 🥰🥰🥰 and that was that. Second is probably either Satan or Belphegor because they’re just both adorable and I like belphegor’s voice and sense of humour and satan’s love for books and considerate personality

favourite: Lucifer

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CURRENTLY PLAYING: mr love queen’s choice, ikemen sengoku (mitsunari), obey me!

#otome #otome x reader #mystic messenger #the arcana #lost island #Dangerous fellows #Lost alice #modern cinderella #ikemen sengoku #ikemen revolution #Mystic code #love and producer #the princess closet #ikemen vampire #the niflheim #nightmare harlem #obey me!#mr love queen's choice #mlqc

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jusadode-blog · 6 years ago

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Juicy, love ya to death but what the heck is this Arcane (????) Thing you've been going off about for a bit now?????

If it were not for the fact I read tags, I would have been confused yet honored by the name Juicy. Hope you’re ready for the long-post of a lifetime mate.

Okay, so “The Arcana” is a free to play visual novel-like game which is pushing out new updates every blue moon for phones with a lot of romance, mystery, danger, and all that fun stuff. This description is gonna focus mostly on the romance since the story is full of spoilers from the get go. There are currently three main possible romances including:

Julian [my beloved~] (male), Asra (who is Nonbinary [I just found that out from the wiki] and uses he/him pronouns), and Nadia (female).

Muriel [my cave husband] (male) has just been added for a chapter, and will likely get plenty of updates soon, and there is another two characters (including another girl) who appear like they will be romancable in due time.

A mechanic I adore is that you can pick your pronouns as he/him, she/her, or they/them as well, and change them and your name at any point in the game without issue.

On the website I used, it says it’s rated 12+ however I would estimate it more appropriate for ages 16+ due to the nature of the usual sexual tones and scenarios.

The story is a LOT to take in, and I’m still wrapping my head around it all.In the first so many chapters: There’s a magical kingdom. Count’s dead, been dead a while and it’s my boyfriend’s fault? Countess wants to kill him, I personally didn’t want to and am making choices against such. Heartbreak and shenanigans ensue (and by shenanigans I mean things I cannot explain without spoiling other things, which would spoil other things, which would…). So far I’m pretty sure I’ve been guessing in the right direction although I’ve been making almost every wrong decision possible this latest chapter I did [whoops].

Which, by the way, YOUR CHOICES MATTER. Characters can die later in the game if you choose too many wrong, as well as may be less likely to befriend you or more likely. There are also two endings in the works, however it seems like it’s pretty easy to change the course of the ending you’re on the path towards as you can just go back in a chapter and change your choices. However, the games mechanics are still a bit hidden behind the curtain as it’s always updating, and some choices repercussions from the first few chapters hasn’t even played out their purpose yet.

MAJOR WARNING! Some choices have time limits! I made a questionable decision in the beginning because I wasn’t expecting it.

The art is so gorgeous, the story is VERY intricate and has so many questions arising each and every tap of a page, and the characters are so delightful I feel a sting in my chest in how some of my choices may affect some others. However, I will comment that I went in almost completely blind and so I had no fucking clue what was going on for a good 5 chapters but just now understood a major plot thing and now I’m dying while waiting for my keys to recharge.

Recharge? Well, here’s the more boring and stressful (but understandable) details:

For each chapter, you must spend a “key” to read it (or reread it). These keys recharge every SEVEN hours, and cannot hold more than three at a time.

There are coins you can earn for free in game through a daily free spin and the “heart hunter” minigame, which are then to unlock bonus content and “buy books” which allows all choices in the book to be unlocked and unlimited rereadings, and you can also buy the coins and keys if you want, but ultimately you neither need them to complete the entire basic story, nor get most of the content. However, it can be quite frustrating as some of the choices are so insanely painful to click the opposition of as the alternative seems rude or even ooc for yourself to click despite not having any repercussions.

You can easily save up coins though with a bit of patience, even though I dropped some of my day 1 freebie coins on a dumb but very much appreciated scenario, I already have saved up about 200/500 coins for a book, so I imagine F2P only players might suffer a bit at first but can still enjoy it entirely. According to their tumblr page @thearcanagame , they are attempting a new method to allow users to get free coins through watching ads willingly, so it may become even easier for F2P only players to enjoy more content [however, if you’ve got the cash and enjoy the game you should support it! the devs are pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into this game man!]

Also, you can replay the prologue at any point! The choices affect later choices still (so be careful going back on your awnsers, as you may miss how such affected things and character development based on such), but that’s always an option.

Now for me to just swoon:

Julian is the biggest fucking edgy dork and I just relate to him so much and have fallen so fucking hard for him man, he’s so stupid yet so sweet? Like this idiot is out here isolating himself with all that “I DON’T WANT YOU TO GET HURT!” nonsense all dramatically and (someone) and I are just ready to beat his ass and take him down from his drama for five minutes to let him know he’s loved and needs to chill. He’s so energetic and fun, and just brings a sort of energy into the room when he arrives and shifts everything onto it’s side where things don’t really need to make sense anymore, as long as it’s dramatic, as long as it’s grandiose, it’s all good.

[But he’s also an idiot so don’t let him get himself fucking killed doing that]. Like, when I first saw the art and stuff of him I poked fun at him myself, but now I would honestly commit treason for this man. I really wanna look into the Asra’s route eventually as well, however his character seems far less relatable to me and somehow even more moody? That might be because I keep picking the wrong fucking choices though.

A final note, I’m trying to prevent this game from becoming my SpIn because there are SO MANY SPOILERS OUT THERE, but it’s obviously already taken over my life and I can’t stop thinking about it and how much I want to continue and all my questions, HOLY SHIT ALL MY QUESTIONS, and also I really don’t know who to trust or even if I shouldn’t trust anyone, as well as just I don’t want anyone to die ;.;

Honestly if you like dating style games, or love mystery games and can handle a nice romance on the side, I highly recommend this game. I’ll give it a 8/10, with the two points marked off mainly because I couldn’t fucking click “Kiss me you fool” on a thing where I fucking 100% would have said that in real life because I HAVE NO MONEY YET.

Thanks for dropping in, hope this answers your questions!

#ask #anon ask #anonymous #anonymous ask #the arcana #the arcana game

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thearcanapositivity · 6 years ago

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The Arcana Fan Survey Results

Intro

Here it finally is! The results of The Arcana Fan Survey!

A few notes. We got 454 responses in the end. Though not everyone responded to every question, so for those questions I’ve listed the number of responses separately.

Also keep in mind that I posted the survey on my blog and it was reblogged to other blogs, but that obviously means that it is going to be mainly (or maybe even exclusively) people on tumblr who take the survey.

I’m just saying all that so you understand that this survey is never going to be 100% representative of the fandom(’s opinions on The Arcana).

I’ve just collected the data, gone through all the extra notes left by people and compiled those as well. For open-ended questions I’ve only listed the most common responses, because I can’t list 100+ responses for every question.

Because this got incredibly long I’ve just listed the contents, and all the results are behind the read more. That way, if you’re not interested in all the results, you can just look up where the results you want to see are and scroll down to those.

On a final note, there were a few responses that seemed to think I was one of the devs or in contact with them? I hope I made it clear enough this was just for the fans by the fans, and no, I can’t tell the devs anything for you. There were also a few really nasty responses directed at the devs, and I am going to completely ignore them.

I’m not saying people don’t have valid issues, I’m just saying I’m not part of the team, I can’t address them. BUT if you feel I’ve left out something vital you mentioned, feel free to send me an ask, or reblog this and add it on :)

(As this survey covers Book I-X there will be spoilers for those books throughout.)

Contents:

General

How did you get into the game?

Do you play the game yourself or do you follow it through lets-plays?

How long have you been playing or following The Arcana?

How high would you rate the game so far?

Would you recommend the game to other people? And why (not)?

The Routes

Which route is your favourite so far?

Has the previous answer changed since you started the game, and if it has, what changed your mind?

What is the route you think is the best route (so not the one you like the best, the one you think works best)?

Why do you think that route works best? Is it the writing, is it well paced, does it have the best scenes? Is the romance done well?

If the route you thought was the best one, is not your own personal favourite, why do you think you enjoy your favourite route over the one you think works best?

For each character, choose which Book you enjoyed the most.

Was there a book for any of the characters that disappointed you? If so, which one, which character, and why?

Do you feel the routes are equal to each other - in content and quality?

What was your favourite scene in all the books and routes?

We know there are three possible new routes, which one are you most looking forward to?

What makes you look forward to it?

Story Content outside of the Routes

Have you unlocked all the extra scenes and did you think they added to the experience?

Did the prologue (Books I-V) convince you who to romance, and if so who and why?

Did the prologue do a good job of introducing all the characters and teasing the romances?

Which romance do you think the prologue teased best?

Do you think the updates to the prologue enhanced your experience of the game?

Do you think the prologue did a good job of getting you interested in the story of the game (separately from the romances)?

Do you think the prologue did a good job of introducing the Apprentice and getting you invested in them?

Asra’s Route

Did you play Asra's route?

How would you rate Asra's route so far?

What drew you to Asra? And what kept you playing?

What is your favourite thing about Asra's route?

If there was one thing you could change about Asra's route, what would it be?

Julian’s Route

Did you play Julian's route?

How would you rate Julian's route so far?

What drew you to Julian? And what kept you playing?

What is your favourite thing about Julian's route?

If there was one thing you could change about Julian's route, what would it be?

Nadia’s Route

Did you play Nadia's route?

How would you rate Nadia's route so far?

What drew you to Nadia? And what kept you playing?

What is your favourite thing about Nadia's route?

If there was one thing you could change about Nadia's route, what would it be?

The Main Characters

What do you think about the Apprentice?

What do you think about the Apprentice's backstory?

Who is your favourite main character? (Regardless of how you feel about their romances.)

Has this changed since starting the game?

Is there a character you feel gets preferential treatment by the game? Either by how often they show up in other routes, or how high the quality of their own route and scenes, or memories is?

How do you think the game does when it comes to Asra's character development? Is his character consistent? Do his actions make sense to you? Has his character changed from the start of the game and did that change make sense to you?

How do you think the game does when it comes to Julian's character development? Is his character consistent? Do his actions make sense to you? Has his character changed from the start of the game and did that change make sense to you?

How do you think the game does when it comes to Nadia's character development? Is his character consistent? Do his actions make sense to you? Has his character changed from the start of the game and did that change make sense to you?

Side Characters

Who is your favourite side character?

What appealed to you about your favourite side character?

Do you think the side characters add to or distract from the main storylines?

Game Mechanics

What would you change about the gameplay? (You can choose multiple answers.)

What do you think about the optional paid scenes? (You can choose multiple answers.)

What do you think about the Wheel of Fortune?

What do you think about the way the game updates? (You can choose multiple answers.)

Any final remarks about something this survey doesn’t cover?

General

Tumblr (42.1%)

Recommended by friends (17%)

Recommended by the Google Play Store (12,8%)

Kickstarter (4.8%)

Other: a lot of found it on the app store, a few found the game via ads.

Now obviously this is a survey that got posted on tumblr and no other site, so that means it’s only logical that most of the people who found it, found it via this site.

I play it myself (78.6%)

I only follow it through lets-plays (0.2%)

I play it myself but also watch lets-plays (20.5%)

I started playing but stopped once the coin costs for romantic scenes got too much (0.2%)

I play it but only watch lets-plays of the premium scenes (0.3%)

I have bought all of Ilya’s books, but watch the others on youtube (0.2%)

Since it was released (22.2%)

For a few months (69.2%)

Since the last update (8.6%)

I think the results might be a *little* skewed, because a. people who are in the fandom for this game will of course like it a lot b. this survey was posted on a blog with only The Arcana content, so the people following it (and finding the survey) will likely also love the game a lot.

Would you recommend the game to other people? And why (not)?

(126 responses)

Basically everyone said some variation of ‘yes’ or ‘YES’ :) The main reasons they gave for recommending it were: the art, the diversity of the characters, the ability to choose your pronouns, the ability to date who you want regardless of your gender.

There were only three people who said no, their reasons were that the updates take too long, and that the paid option are too expensive.

The Routes

Asra (37.4%)

Julian (50.2%)

Nadia (12.3%)

Has your previous answer changed since the start of the game?

(226 responses)

Mostly no, but of the ones who said yes most started with Asra as a favourite route, and then went to Julian. I think a reason for that could be that a lot of people said that they think the prologue teases Asra’s romance best, so maybe that steered them to Asra in the first place.

The reasons they changed from Asra to Julian were that Asra is too secretive, and that Julian’s route has more drama in it.

Asra (49.8%)

Julian (28.2%)

Nadia (22%)

Now this is kind of a surprising answer isn’t it? Because it’s almost the reverse of the previous one, meaning as many people who prefer Julian’s route, also think Asra’s route works the best.

The results for Nadia are closer together, but there are still more people who think Nadia’s route works the best, than people who favourite her route.

Why do you think that route works best? Is it the writing, is it well paced, does it have the best scenes? Is the romance done well?

(102 responses)

The reasons given for Julian’s route were how it’s very consistently paced, the story is easy to follow and that it is a wild ride.

The reasons given for Asra’s route were that his route has the best connection to the main plot, has the most magic, and the most information about MC’s backstory. People also said he had the most consistent characterisation.

The reasons given for Nadia’s route were the leisurely pace of the romance, and the softness of her scenes.

If the route you thought was the best one, is not your own personal favourite, why do you think you enjoy your favourite route over the one you think works best?

(96 responses)

The most common reasons were the fact that their favourite route also had their favourite character, that julian needs love, that Asra is too secretive, that Julian is hilarious, Asra’s history with MC and Nadia’s slow romance.

I’d say the dance with Asra was a smashing hit ;) I’m also not surprised that Julian is the only one were Book X wasn’t the outright favourite ;)

I think Nadia’s results are a bit skewed because the least amount of people played her whole route, so that means a lot of people probably enjoy her in the prologue the most because that’s the only time they’ve really spent with her character.

Was there a book for any of the characters that disappointed you? If so, which one, which character, and why?

(211 responses)

Mostly no. But out of the ones who said yes, Julian was the only one who got more than a single response. A lot of them hated Book X, they thought it was aggravating, that Julian was hypocritical, they felt the ending was confusing/ didn’t make sense, that it was too much. Other issues were that they felt Book X and Book IX for Julian felt as mainly filler and that Julian was treated as a joke.

Yes (31.3%)

No (13.4%)

Can’t say yet, waiting to see how the routes play out (48.2%)

Other: not played all of them, Nadia’s content is locked away behind paywalls, Julian’s route is inconsistent in quality.

What was your favourite scene in all the books and routes?

(101 responses)

For Nadia it was the cake scene, and dancing in Book X.

For Julian it was the scene at the cottage with Portia and Pepi, the secret garden scene, and the community theatre scene.

For Asra it was the dance in Book X (so surprising, I know), and the cave scene.

Muriel (28.2%)

Portia (34.1%)

Lucio (37.7%)

What makes you look forward to it?

(107 responses)

For Portia it was how sweet, relatable, cute, and fun she is.

For Muriel it was his big boi status, the fact that he’ll be hard to get, and how mysterious he is.

For Lucio it was how fascinating and brass he is, his furry status, and a curiosity about how the romance will work.

Story Content outside of the Routes

No I haven’t unlocked them (36.1%)

I unlocked them but I don’t think they add to the experience (2%)

I unlocked them and I think they absolutely add to the experience (47.1%)

I unlocked them, but I could take them or leave them (9.7%)

I don’t really care about the scenes, but I like having something to save trinkets for (4%)

I don’t care whether I unlock them or not (1.1%)

Did the prologue (Books I-V) convince you who to romance, and if so who and why?

(121 responses)

About half the answers were yes, most saying it convinced them to romance Asra, because of his relationship to the Apprentice. A few others said Julian, because of his personality and the mystery around his guilt.

Yes (57%)

No, I felt the prologue spent more time on some than others (17%)

Yes, but it didn’t change my mind on who to romance (16.7%)

Other: more so after the update, Julian is too hidden away, Nadia's romance felt neglected.

All of them equally (28.6%)

I didn’t feel it teased any of the romances (8.4%)

Asra (32.8%)

Julian (15.2%)

Nadia (15%)

Yes (39.9%)

No (3.1%)

Maybe (20.3%)

Yes, but only the added paid option (8.1%)

Yes, but they also changed things I wish they hadn’t (8.8%)

Other: haven’t played/ noticed the updates, never played before the updates.

Yes (89.6%)

No (0.2%)

Somewhat (9.3%)

With what little I can remember, yes. I stayed this long after all didn’t I? (0.2%)

Y E S (0.3%)

Absolutely (0.2%)

I guess? (0.2%)

Yes (66.5%)

No (2.4%)

Somewhat (28.9%)

Other: need more options to choose the MC’s reactions, the MC is too much of a blank slate to be invested.

Asra’s Route

Yes, all of it (70.9%)

No, none of it (5.1%)

Some of it, but I didn’t finish it (22%)

Other: yes but skipped all paid options.

What drew you to Asra? And what kept you playing?

(Only 101 responses.)

The reason were, MC and Asra’s past, his love for the Apprentice, how mysterious he is, and his magic.

And a lot of people said they only play it for the info on the story, or as a pass time waiting for other books.

What is your favourite thing about Asra's route?

(Only 110 responses.)

Faust, the mystery, magic, the past with MC, and the Lisa Frank aesthetic.

If there was one thing you could change about Asra's route, what would it be?

(Only 121 responses.)

Most said nothing, but the changes suggested were: take out the flashbacks to his fling with Julian, and have less secrecy.

Julian’s Route

Yes, all of it (76.9%)

No, none of it (3.1%)

Some of it, but I didn’t finish it (17.2%)

Other: not the paid options.

What drew you to Julian? And what kept you playing?

(Only 100 responses.)

His warm personality, the fact that he’s a dork, how affectionate he is, the mystery of guilt, and his look.

What is your favourite thing about Julian's route?

(Only 114 responses.)

The Character development, the drama, the humour, Julian’s personality, and his relationship with Portia.

If there was one thing you could change about Julian's route, what would it be?

(Only 118 responses.)

People wanted more peaceful moments, to have him be less self-destructive, and more reveals about the past.

Nadia’s Route

Yes, all of it (55.3%)

No, none of it (16.5%)

Some of it, but I didn’t finish it (24.7%)

Other: not the paid options.

What drew you to Nadia? And what kept you playing?

(102 responses.)

How graceful, intimidating, and powerful she is. Her design. And for the info on the story.

Also, we’re all gay for Nadia.

Not kidding, so many responses were just that ;)

What is your favourite thing about Nadia’s route?

(112 responses)

Seeing the real Nadia under her veneer, and getting information about the murder, meeting her sisters, and the pampering.

If there was one thing you could change about Nadia’s route, what would it be?

(121 responses)

About half the responses were yes. Most people felt the paid option feel too necessary (and that all the romantic moments are paid options), or wanted more options to show the MCs feelings/capabilities to Nadia.

The Main Characters

They’re too much of a blank slate (15%)

Their personality is too set in stone (5.9%)

There is not enough variation in the dialogue options (41.2%)

I don’t really care, I create my own canon (21.6%)

I like the way the game represents them (13.4%)

Other: needs more choices you can make to define them.

I like that it’s kept vague, but I hope they’ll reveal more about it (65.6%) (combines the final category as well it’s the same category but a correction led to google counting it as two separate things)

I like that it’s kept vague, and I hope it stays that way (5.7%)

I don’t care, I’ve thought of my own backstory (5.3%)

I think the memory loss is a bit contrived (4.8%)

I like the memory loss, it adds intrigue (11.7%)

Other: please reveal more about their backstory, give players the choice to choose their backstory.

Asra (36.8%)

Julian (46%)

Nadia (17.2%)

Yes (30%)

No (63.9%)

Other: it fluctuates.

Yes, Asra (27.3%)

Yes, Julian (9.9%)

Yes Nadia (4.4%)

No, no one (51.1%)

Other: Julian and Asra, don’t know.

(117 responses)

So many people said they feel Asra’s manipulative and they outright distrust him, from saying he is keeping secrets to him ‘looking shady’.

But most people think he’s interesting and like the way he’s handled. And think he is consistent and that his actions make sense.

(102 responses)

People like his development and think he’s really grown, but they want less of his masochist side (because they feel it doesn’t make sense with how it’s portrayed).

A couple of people are still confused about Book X and feel it didn’t make sense.

How do you think the game does when it comes to Nadia's character development? Is her character consistent? Do her actions make sense to you? Has her character changed from the start of the game and did that change make sense to you?

(108 responses)

Most people think she’s consistent, and think it makes sense how she goes from reserved to open in her own route. Some feel she could stand to grow some more.

Side Characters

Portia (31.3%)

Muriel (8.6%)

Lucio (15.4%)

Mazelinka (4.8%)

Faust (25.3%)

Pepi (2.6%)

Chandra (0.4%)

Vlastomil (0.7%)

Nahara (3.1%)

Other: can’t choose, Volta.

What appealed to you about your favourite side character?

(108 responses)

Portia: cute, friendly, her relationships with the others.

Lucio: mysterious, trash, his connection to the main story.

Mazelinka: grandma.

Pets: because pets.

Add (40.5%)

Distract (0%)

Add, and I wish we had more interaction with them (57%)

Distract, I prefer to spend that time with the main characters (0.2%)

Other: sometimes adds to the story, sometimes distract from the story.

Gameplay

Add the ability to rewind (66.3%)

Add the ability to fast forward (26.4%)

Add an autoplay option (13.9%)

Add the ability to quit out of a chapter without forcing you to finish it to start a new chapter of that route (30.2%)

Add more limited time responses (26.4%)

Add more chances to choose the Apprentice’s reaction (84.1%)

Add some minor voice acting (39.6%)

They were always fine (16.1%)

They are fine now (16.3%)

They’re should be more of them (9.5%)

They’re should be less of them (13.4%)

They’re still too expensive (68.3%)

They still feel too vital to the story to be considered optional (58.4%)

They should only be used for romantic scenes (21.8%)

It’s fine (24%)

I love it (19.6%)

I hate it (1.1%)

I like the idea but it needs some work (49.1%)

Other: more coin options, make the coin options more likely to drop.

The wait between chapters is too long (23.3%)

The wait between chapters is fine (47.6%)

I wish they had a set day (a set day each month for instance when they updated (57%)

I don’t mind not knowing when the next update is (30.8%)

The infrequent updates make me lose interest in the game (7.5%)

I’ve uninstalled the game between updates because I wasn’t sure it would update (5.1%)

Any final remarks about something this survey doesn't cover?

(98 responses)

There were a lot of long responses to this (and to the people who apologized for that: I don’t mind, I loved reading them), and a lot of varied ones. Some were directed at the devs, so I can’t address those, but a few things that came up again and again were: People want more witchcraft in the routes, people want more responses from the MC to major plot points (like Julian’s eye reveal for instance), they want more options in the dialogue responses, and a lot of people still said they feel the game is too expensive.

There were also quite a few people who wanted the game to be completely free. Some didn’t want any paid options, some wanted to be able to gather enough coins in a month to pay for all the books, some wanted the wheel to just have coin options and bigger ones.

Some wanted some way to create a custom MC sprite in game (like a CC).

There were also a couple of people who asked for a NB LI, which makes me think they don’t realise Asra is NB.

So that was the survey! If you spot anything I’ve missed or just want to ask me something feel free to message me ;)

And of course feel free to reblog it with any extra information you want to add.

#the arcana #the arcana game #asra #nadia #julian #the arcana survey

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