#vehura reviews

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews – Kitty Love -Way to Look for Love-

Kitty Love contains a fluffy cute story and nice character artwork, but all the kneading in the world won’t help the poor translation.

Read This Review on OtomeObsessed.com »

[zenobsessed-blog]

Getting off the MysMe train - Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds opening song

With the disappointing V route and Ray being only slightly better, there was a big void left, so I started branching out into other otome games. I tried the two other Cheritz games, Dandelion and Nameless. Others have written longer, better reviews. I liked Nameless better but both were quite good.

So what does a girl do when there’s no more MysMe to be had? First I tried Midnight Cinderella from Vehura’s recommendation. It was okay, but I spent way too much money just making it through the story. However, it taught me to curb my spending, so now I am currently playing My Forged Wedding Party and have disciplined my spending on coins. It’s just frustrating to have to wait for the time to recharge the love passes or whatnot for those free-to-play games.

I didn’t mind, however, shelling out the money for Dandelion and Nameless, and not having to wait for the next chapter of the story except on my own time. I figured that someone else had probably created some pretty good otome games before these, so I googled the top ones. As luck would have it, Steam was having a sale on Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms.

On to a new obsession! Others have also written better reviews of both these games, so I will not. I have played several routes, and because the game is based on historical events, they are starting to feel repetitive. Thank goodness for the skip button. I love the opening song Ruri no Sora e, but I can’t seem to find an English translation. Google Translate will only work on the kanji, not the romanized Japanese, so I had to take these lyrics and delete the romanized lines to get Google to translate the kanji.

Credit for the lyrics to Koigokoro, but I will reproduce them here to get the side-by-side (well, really, top-to-bottom) translation. Also did a bit of cleaning up with the English, but I unfortunately have no idea if it is at all accurate. :( Apologies to those who actually know Japanese! 

I have to say: I love this song even more now that I get an inkling of what it means. The transient nature of cherry blossoms is so poetic and tragically beautiful. Just like life. #hanami

Ruri no Sora e  歌詞: 瑠璃ノ空へ 歌手: 吉岡亜衣加 ゲーム: 薄桜鬼 真改 風ノ章 Lyrics: Ruri no Sora e (To the Lapis Lazuli Sky) Singer: Aika Yoshioka Game: Hakuoki Shinkai Kaze no Shou (Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds) Sora e sora e 空へ　空へ

To the sky, to the sky 

takaki sora e mukai sakishi hana yo 

高き空へ向かひ咲きし花よ

Fly to the sky high above, and bloom and flower

toki no jouran sae fumikoete 季節(とき)の擾乱さへ踏み越へて

In this fleeting time 

sake adeyaka ni 咲け　艶(あで)やかに

When you blossom and fade

Furimuki mo sezu hana wa saite chiri yuku 振り向きもせず　花は咲ひて散りゆく

These flowers bloom and scatter, never returning

sono ikizama ito tsuyoku isagiyoku itooshiki hito ga goto 其の生き様　いと強く潔く　愛ほしき人が如 Living and loving with all their strength and brilliance  Aa saredomo seou yume wa amari ni omoku あゝ　されども背負ふ夢はあまりに重く

Though I am young, my dream is fervent   

tada mimamoru modokashisa kono mune ni shimaite koyoi mo inoru ただ見守るもどかしさ　此の胸に藏(しま)ひて今宵も祈る I keep this frustration within my heart, and pray tonight as well Unmei wakeaitai moshi yurusareru nara 運命 分け合ひたひ　もし赦されるなら

That you can be forgiven

asu no te ga kari wa sono senaka tsui no toki made 明日の手がかりは　其の背中　終(つい)の刻まで

And to know how by tomorrow’s end Sora e sora e 空へ　空へ

To the sky, to the sky ruri no sora e mukai hiraku yume yo 瑠璃の空へ向かひ開く夢よ

A dream that opens to the sky of lapis lazuli yami ni moesakaru yozakura yo 闇に燃え盛る夜桜よ

It is a cherry blossoming in the dark night sake azayaka ni 咲け　鮮やかに

Blooming vividly Deai shi ano hi mabuta omowazu fuseta 出逢いしあの日　瞼思わず伏せた

That day, I beheld a shocking image  sono hitomi no ito fukaki yuruginaki kibishisa ni inukarete その瞳の　いと深き揺るぎなき厳しさに射抜かれて

Burned into my retina even after closing my eyes Aa tsuyoki manazashi ima wa mitsume kaeseru あゝ　強き眼差し　今は見つめ返せる

I opened them and looked again, now that I can stand strong   

wa ga yukumichi koko ni ari sou mune ni kakugo wo kizami shi yuweni 吾が往く道　此処に在り　さう胸に　覚悟を刻みしゆゑに

And do what needs to be done, my mind resolved and prepared  Mirai wo sasagemasu moshi kanau no naraba 未来を捧げます　もし叶ふのならば

I will devote myself to you even if you fall   

inochi nagedasu mo ito wa nai anata no tame ni 命投げ出すも厭(いと)はなひ　貴方の為に

Like a leaf and die

Sora e sora e 空へ　空へ

To the sky, to the sky kuraki sora e mukai ryoute awasu 昏き空へ向かひ両掌合わす

Fly toward the sky with our hands clasped together

imada akeyaranu kono sekai 未だ明けやらぬ此の世界

Through this unknown world 

sake wa ga negai 咲け　吾が願ひ

Wishing for blossoms Kabosoi tsuki ga marude sora no kizuato no you de かぼそひ月が　まるで空の傷痕のやうで

The moon is like a scar in the sky futo ononoite osoreuchi kesu tada me wo tojite ふと慄いて怖れ打ち消す　ただ目を閉じて

Suddenly, trembling and afraid. Just close your eyes.   

Sora e sora e 空へ　空へ

To the sky, to the sky   

ruri no sora e mukai sakishi koi yo 瑠璃の空へ向かひ咲きし戀よ

I will blossom to the sky of the lapis day and love you sotto moesakaru hizakura yo そっと燃え盛る火桜よ

Suddenly burning fire cherry blossoms sake tokoshie ni 咲け　永遠(とこしへ)に

Blooming forever  Sora e sora e 空へ　空へ

To the sky, to the sky tataki sora e mukai sakishi hana yo 高き空へ向かひ咲きし花よ

Fly toward the sky high above, and bloom and flower   

toki no jouran sae fumikoete 時代(とき)の擾乱さへ踏み越へて

In this fleeting time 

sake adeyaka ni 咲け　艶(あで)やかに

When you blossom and fade

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews – Iris School of Wizardry -Vinculum Hearts-

Iris School of Wizardry has a surprising story and beautiful character artwork, but the game is brought down by an inconsistent and poor translation.

View This Review on OtomeObsessed.com »

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews - Ikemen Sengoku: Romances Across Time

The third game release by CYBIRD Inc, I knew of this game’s popularity even before its release in English. It’s getting a port of Playstation Vita, it had stage plays, collaborations, there was an anime coming. Basically, in the two years the game had been out, it had BLOWN UP to become one of CYBIRD’s most popular properties. So, when they finally announced that we were getting the game in English, I was ready to see what the fuss was about.

At the same time, I was cautious. I didn’t want to hype up the game too much in my mind. There are many games that are really popular that I have played only to be disappointed with the game overall whether is be in writing, gameplay, main character, ect. So, I wanted to go into this game not expecting much at all and have it do the work to convince me that it deserves to be thought of as a great game.

And hoooo boi, has it convinced me.

Read This Review on OtomeObsessed.com »

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews - Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds Limited Edition

Just in case you are not up-to-date on this massively popular otome series, the plot of Hakuoki is: 

Chizuru Yukimura goes to Kyoto to attempt to find her father and, through a series of events, she ends up with the Shinsengumi. From there, and after revealing who she really is, she joins up with the men to help locate her father. And, at the same time, uncovers a dark secret the group are keeping as well as some secrets of her own.

Hakuoki is the grandpapa of otome internationally. Originally released in 2012 on the PSP, it help boost the otome landscape of what we have today. It’s a long game in its original form being 30~50 hours with six routes. It has spawn anime, stage plays, musicals, and many MANY versions of the game.

Are we all caught up? Good.

Once Kyoto Winds (the upgraded version of the original PSP) was announced, I spent December playing the original game on my stream to build hype for Kyoto Winds and we had a blast! After the stream, many people told me they were very excited for the new version of the game that was adding six love interests and expanding the shorter romance routes.

Then there is the merch.

When the Limited Edition was announced I was like a puppy who had seen its favorite toy. Bento Box? Sign me up! Furoshiki? I will be the most beautiful weeb-bushka! Artbook? OMG, are you trying to make me cry?! Soundtrack? I’m gonna take epic roadtrips! Reversible Cover Sleeve? When I get tired at looking at these handsomes, now I will look at these other handsomes!

So, when I was contacted by Idea Factory International to be sent a review copy of the Limited Edition, I was floored. Yes, a thousand times, yes.

First and foremost, I have a degree in graphic design. I love touching and holding things. I enjoy well made items. I don’t want flimsy items. If I’m going to spend money on something, I want to get my actual feels worth. And because of that, I hold physical items up to a pretty high standard. I also am a bit of a package design snob. How things fit in packaging, was the package actually designed or is it just a box with things thrown in it, ect.

Oh god. I’m so happy right now I might cry and I want to shake the package designer’s hand. They did a beautiful job.

Let’s start with the collector’s box itself.

(Pocky for scale)

This is a nice box. It’s not flimsy. It’s a thick board. If you bought the Amnesia collector’s edition, this is a big step up from that. At no point am I worried I’m going to put the box back together the wrong way and bend it. Just hold the sides and let the bottom slide out. Awww yeah...

I gasped at opening this. I think it’s important to note that the last handful of Limited Editions I bought consisted of “just throw it in the box!” I can tell that everything has a compartment and I’m floored. (Sorry sorry, designer coming out in me again.)

We’ll get to the game itself later but first...

The bento box is not fake wood. It is legit Bamboo and Chinese Fir that has then had a thin layer of latex added. Hand-wash only, not microwave safe. I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable actually using it for its intended purpose because how nice it is.

Every Limited Edition needs its nick-nacky things, this and another thing in this box are those things. They are the body pillow and coasters from the Amnesia Box Set. In this set it’s this and the furoshiki, two items that I would be worried about ruining if I used them. OTL

Maybe I’ll hold charms in the bento instead, like suggested in the Unboxing video that IFI did a month back.

Soundtrack, the necessary item in a limited edition. If there is one small thing I am disappointed in here, it is the same thing that disappoints me about CDs and games these days. I remember in my day we had booklets that came with our CDs and games! You kids these days have no appreciation for a well designed booklet!

20 tracks. I jammed to it on my 10 minute drive to work this morning.

Peek-a-boo. It’s the furoshiki!

For those of you who don’t know the use of a furoshiki, you wrap things in them. Presents, bentos, ect are wrapped in them for easier transport. And now here is one with all 12 bachelors on it. Also, it’s massive (Vita box for scale).

It’s made of polyester so there is a nice feel to it. This is another thing I don’t think I would actually use, though the idea of wrapping my hair in it like some weeb-bushka is very tempting.

Maybe I’ll frame it just to get weird looks from the people I get my prints framed at. They’ve seen what I’ve brought in before, I don’t know why they would be surprised...

Here comes the other thing that made me gasp when I saw it.

It’s a hardcover art book! I opened it to hear the crack. Ohhhhhh I’m gonna curl up in a ball of happiness. That’s some good stuff right there. Nice glossy paper that still has some tooth to it. I held it close for a bit and thought about actually displaying it on my bookshelf instead of hiding it inside the box.

The information is really nicely laid out for the most part. You get a lot of stats info that can help you figure out the age of the characters when you meet them during the game.

Husbando likes tofu. I’m gonna get that MFer some tofu so he’ll love me.

Also, stop calling Toudou the shota of the game, he’s the same age as husbando! Which, going by MC’s age and her birthdate, puts them both at 19~20..........

*lies on the floor* Still gonna get husbando tofu...

It’s just a really nice 64 page art book... Oh and there were ~40 pages of CGs in the book. TAG YOUR CG SPOILERS, IFI!!!

And finally we make it to the game’s case.

I’ve looked at the three new husbandos long enough. Gonna flip the cover to the other husbandos.

Straight up: For me, the artbook alone makes it. Just some nice artbook. 10/10, would artbook again. That artbook is easily worth $30 on its own. The bento and the furoshiki are nice thing to have for display or maybe a purpose outside of their original ones. And if you want to use them, more power to you! It’s up to you. I do believe that items are best and their happiest when you are using them.

Also, there are chibis all along the sides. And who doesn’t love some cute chibis?

Quick Game Comments

The game Hakuoki: Kyoto Winds is a wonderful upgrade too. The GUI (Game User Interface) has an amazing upgrade that almost made me cry when I saw it. Gone are the jagged edges and the yellow text box. Everything is crisp. Don’t want to press X? Just touch the screen now. The characters blink and their mouths move when they talk (I was surprised when it happened). Random characters, like one of the ronin in the beginning of the game, now have sprites, which adds to the game’s richness. Backgrounds are now added in where they weren’t in the original game. There are effects happening on screen, it’s now snowing in the game and there are animations when the MC moves.

Oh, and splatter effects. Bless splatter effects. lol

All in all a very nice upgrade from the original version.

Conclusion

I like it so much. I was thinking that I would have a few more gripes about it, but it’s a solid package with nice extras and the game itself has a beautiful upgrade.

Something I do feel the need to confirm with everyone is this game is in two parts. Due to the additional routes, upgrades, and extensions of existing routes, Idea Factory decided to release this game in two parts. The first part is Kyoto Winds (Kaze no Shou) and there is a second part, Hana no Shou. Think of it like an anime series that leaves you with a cliffhanger until the second season comes out. I have seen that most reviewers, who seem to not know what they are missing, feel satisfied with the game after playing it.

I’ll still be here ready for the second part. Additional releases could still be ahead for this series as well. If you look anywhere where fans are talking about this series, you will see wails for Hakuouki SSL ~Sweet School Life~ which is a High School AU game. Otome fans love their AUs...

If you want to get your hands on this, you need to make a decision FAST. The game isn’t even out yet and, on May 5th, Idea Factory Intl announced they are at 40% stock. It’s going and soon it might be gone!

Get those husbandos and enjoy your merch!

Thanks to Idea Factory International for sending me this to review. I’m still in shock when I hold it and feel I’m not worthy. Also, hearing I was the first person outside the company to receive this in no way made me super nervous. NOPE.

Release Date: May 6 (NA) May 9 (EU) Store links: NA - http://www.iffysonlinestore.com/HakuokiKyotoWindsLE EU - https://store.iffyseurope.com/products/hakuoki-kyoto-winds-limited-edition Official Site: http://ideafintl.com/hakuoki-kyoto

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews – A World With(out) You: Kotaro Kamiyama Route

A World With(out) You is a free to read story of love lost that will leave you emotional, but fulfilled in the end.

Read More on Otome Obsessed.com »

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews – Masquerade Kiss: Kazuomi Shido Route

Masquerade Kiss is a free to read spy story with a rarely seen MC personality and, some sexiness, but Kazuomi’s route leaves you wanting more spy.

Read More on Otome Obsessed.com »

Thanks to @voltageotome for this for this opportunity!

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews – How to Sing to Open Your Heart

The third title in the Story of Eroolia series, How to Sing to Open Your Heart expands on the story preceding it while also having twists of its own.

Read More on OtomeObsessed.com »

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews - How to Fool a Liar King

What do you get when you put together a runaway, a group of seemingly random travelers, and a country of cat people?

Why, How to Fool a Liar King, a fantasy romance visual novel from roseVeRte, of course!

I had seen this game on Steam, drawn to its artwork, so when I was approached to review the game by the developer, I leaped on the chance to try out this game.

And, let me just say, it was a delight.

Read This Review on OtomeObsessed.com »

[otome-obsessed]

Mini? Review - Gossip Girl Party by Voltage

(THIS GAME HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED)

I’ll come out and say it, games when the MC is in High School are not my games. I have already done HS, a while ago in fact, and it was not the best years of my life and I don’t really want to go back.

View This Review on OtomeObsessed.com »

[otome-obsessed]

Review - Starstruck Love

[Picture: Just keep telling yourself, it's not incest if there's no blood relation.]

Your parents suddenly die, leaving you with debts to pay. Now alone without a single relative, you are offered help by your childhood friend's father. Your new father is the gifted CEO of a major entertainment company. Your pop star debut comes with a spacious room in a huge mansion, and your own private butler. You begin the coveted and comfortable life of a celebrity. What's more, a hugely popular pop star group has become your siblings! You must keep secret the dangerous fact that you are siblings... and possibly more than that!?

Starstruck Love is a free to play otome game by OKKO/Arithmetic. 

Oh.... Starstruck Love. Nothing is as it seems in Starstruck Love. Everyone is a little off or, in some cases, A LOT off. I found myself going: "Jesus, are these seriously my choices?" several times while playing this game.

The story itself might be too much for some people. One of the guys has no qualms about straight up going for you even if you aren't in his route. Another guy just ignores you and then, when he does pay attention to you... Well... I don't want to spoil it. One you are warned by the butler to stay away from him. (Hmmm.....) And the last, is not your brother? He's just some random pop star what works for your new father's company. And he seems nice and normal until...? Also, there is a crazy girl who is in love with one of your brother's even though he could care less about her. She's cray. Back away slowly.

The User Interface is pretty straight forward. There is music playing, which I don't care for at all, that can be turned off by scrolling almost all the way to the bottom and selecting 'Sound Settings.'

The game is a pretty easy play through. Like most games of this genre/from this company, you are given five tickets daily for free to play through the story where every few scenarios you will be asked to make a reaction choice through 3 selections with affection ratings of one, three, and five. The one thing that is different here is two characters share a route for the first 70% of the game and then branch off. So, you might have to make choices that will get you in good with love interest and get you no points for the other.

Now it's time for me to break down my opinions about Starstruck Love Pro/Con.

Pros:

Free love gacha is nothing but affection boosts with clothes. Why is this pro? Because free clothes AND affection! After finishing one route with so much affection, I could stop worrying if I was making the +5 decisions about 2 chapters early. When I started another, I was already up a lot of affection points, which is pretty awesome. You get love gacha via logging in 7 days consecutively and dressing up your friends.

Scenario Re-reads. At any point, if you want to go back and re-read a scenario, there is a place on the menu to do that.

Double your... pleasure? No, that's not the right term at all when it comes to this game. There are two routes in the game that then split off at a point into a solo route. Which is a bit interesting to see how one character expects you to act while the other might think the complete opposite.

Cons:

No CG gallery. You're just gonna have to screenshot it. :(

Picking your route blind. In some games, you get to meet your potential love interests; not here (or with most OKKO/Arithmetic games). Read the little blurb on their graphic and just hope for the best. Nobody is as they seem and sometimes the character doesn't show his cards until late in the game.

There is a good chance you aren't gonna have a good time. You think that's a joke... Cute. You might need to be a bit of a masochist in order to play this game because you are gonna be held down, bit (literally), and the character that you might feel is the safe choice is more than likely not.

There are two in-game mechanics and I still don't understand 100% how one of them works. Chic, as long as you max it out and keep you affection points at a certain level, gets you an ending that I haven't played yet as of this review. Also, depending on who you choose, you'll get an alert telling you to raise black or white fate for a character. I have no idea what this means or how to do it and the FAQ tells you nothing about it.

Tip(s):

Friend as many people as possible (50 max). Yes, it is a bit of a chore to spend a few minutes every day saying hi to all your friends, but you get love points for the free capsule that can give you clothes to up your affection rating. It can come in handy if you are trying to play without a walkthrough.

Login in everyday. Just open the app, tap past the login in screen and then, if you don't plan on playing, exit. You get 500 free love points every 7 days of logging in to use in the love capsule machine.

Pick a character and stick with him. You'll have to make choices that will affect one or the other in the main route, so make your decision about who you are going for... probably before you start the route.

TL;DR This game doesn't have a lot going on it, so it's a pretty basic/casual otome game. The story itself might be too much for some people.

Enjoy! And if you decide to play, my invite code is: Nys6nb. 100 free platinum for both of us is pretty sweet. ;)

Download on Google Play | Download on App Store

Select a walkthrough:

Currently only Toma's Route is complete.

[otome-obsessed]

Vehura Reviews - Celebrity Darling for Gree

[Picture: Say hello to Kyosuke and Natsuki, who you can't date in the English version of the game. *waves* (Haha. Get it? Wave... I'm hilarious.)]

When you jump head first into the entertainment industry to make your dreams come true, what do you find waiting for you? A life-changing, non-stop scandal with the hottest boys in the business!  Your turbulent life in the industry is filled with trials—but what will be the future of your scandalous romance? A popstar, an actress, a singer... decide which path you'll take, and aim for the top!

Note: This game has been discontinued and you can n longer play it.

Celebrity Darling is a free-to-play otome game by Voltage Inc. (I wish they'd release a pay version). It is one of the first otome games I started playing and the first that I completed, so it holds a special place in my heart.

You get all the game standards here: 5 love passes a day, in game ways to build up money and gacha points.

The game also has an interesting addition that I have yet to see be replicated, for free, in other games. At some point, you come along a mission where you have to buy one of two outfits to continue the story. And depending on which outfit you pick, you can continue from your point of view OR his point of view. I find it really interesting to get to see where your love interest's feelings lie for you.

I do think that this game can be a bit overwhelming for new players of this genre. There is a lot to do and you have to be on top of things if you want to have an easy time advancing. I've had less of a hard time in this game as I've had in Be My Princess, but you still have to constantly be greeting and auditioning and unless you are ready to do some work, it may be frustrating.

Anyway, now it’s time for me to break down my opinions Pro/Con style!

Pros:

Several guys to choose from. Five so far. Three of them are in the same boy band so you can interact with other potential love interests in order to decide who to go for next!

Weekend Audition event making aquiring money easier. I've never had an issue come up in game where it took me forever to meet a money goal. *cough*bemyprincess*cough*

Four different gacha levels. This includes a secret gacha that opens when you finish the Sweet Ending for a character. Getting the three level items raises your celebrity status in game though I don't really know what the celebrity status is for...

Greeting system is set up so it cycles through your mates for you. For those of you, like me, who find it a bit of a chore to do the greeting system in these games, this system is nice. No going back and sifting through pages. It just loads the next mate you haven't greeted yet. You do have to do three clicks, which is teetering on a design no-no, but it's still better than having to go back to the mates page for me.

Picture album!! Let me say, the picture album is great. You can view and save the pictures in different sizes. Only slight downside is, the images save as a .bin. I've found sharing them to blog (like tumblr) in a draft converts them to a .jpg making viewing them easier.

Cons:

No scenario album. I like to reread things and take screenshots. There is no way to go over the scenarios in this game, which is sad.

Compatibility is a shot in the dark. The game doesn't alert you when you have made a good choice. The only way you know if you have is if, at some point, your compatibility with your love interest changes.

I have never been able to view my room. I'm playing on an andriod device and the room is just the bg with nothing in it even though there are a lot of things in it. I just blindly slap things into my room. I'm sure it looks like a disaster. No wonder my LI never visits. (hahaha)

(small con) Gacha costs a lot to spin. But, the gacha really does nothing but raise your princess level, give you more charm to win auditions, and get you items for your room.

Unable to view potential items for purchase. If you don't have enough money and want to see how much money you need for an item, too bad, you can't see it. The only album I can see in is ???. If I try to look in the others, I'm just told I don't have enough money. Getting Pretty Woman'd in this game = lammeee...

Bugged route and showing you a route you can't play. From what I'm reading Ryota's route is bugged to the point where you can't get the sweet ending with him. Want to date Natsuki? Too bad, he's JP version only. Boos all around!

Tip(s):

Like with all these games, max out your friends. Greeting gets your gacha, gacha gets you stuff, stuff can get you more charm, charm get you winning audition, winning auditions get you money for stuff. What's not to like?

Audition 2-3x a day. You're gonna need that salary and fans for mission items.

Did like your choice reaction? Back out! If you make a choice, and you don't like the reaction it got, you can reset the level by immediately going to your home screen, opening your task manager, and killing the app. Then restart and play through the scenario again. I will let you know that my walkthrough will get you to the sweet ending. So, if you use them, you don't have to really worry about that. ;)

Enjoy!

Download on Google Play | Download on App Store

Select a walkthrough:

(in progress)