Since the Vita apocalypse has finally dawned upon us, a lot of otome fans in the west were left hangin’ after Sony’s big announcement on shutting down production of physical PS Vita games. With this shocking news set to place, localization companies such as Idea Factory Intl. and Aksys Games, who are known for bringing popular otome titles to the west has ceased to announce any otome games this year. Discounting Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles ofc! (the only confirmed Otomate title that will have a physical release this coming 2019).
So where does that leave us otome fans?
While there are still a lot of otome games that are digitally making their way to the west through different media (PC, Steam, mobile, and Switch), this post will be touching on the ones that are available in the Nintendo Switch console.
Below I’ll be listing down all otome titles that are currently available in the Eshop (NA and EU):
The Men of Yoshiwara: Kikuya
Game Review Voiced?NO Price: 19.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: 5/10
Comments: I personally, liked this game because of its *cough* steamy content and beautiful art. Some routes were great, while others were boring. It is a bit expensive though for a non voiced tittle. Recommended routes: Kagura, Kagerou, Takao.
The Men of Yoshiwara: Oghiya
Game Review(in progress) Voiced?NO Price: 14.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: NA
Comments: In terms of the game’s sound and mechanics, I find this one better than the first Yoshiwara series. Story-wise, I’ve only finished Takigawa’s route so I can’t really spell out any thoughts if this game was better than its predecessor. I do like Oghiya MC more than Kikuya MC.
The Charming Empire
Game Review Voiced?YES Price: 24.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: 4/10
Comments: The only things I liked about this game were the voice actors and the artwork. The story was super bland and most of the routes ended in a rush. Recommended Routes: Kei Yoshimine, Soshi Amazaki
Pub Encounters “Dandy Shot”
Game Review (in progress) Voiced?NO Price: 16.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: NA
Comments: I kept putting this game down for some reason lol. I’ve been hearing a few mixed reviews regarding Dandy Shot (Pub Encounters). Most of the reviews were actually quite good, as long as you don’t mind romancing older men (chuckles). I’ve only finished Yuze Ryunosuke’s route, he’s the tsundere and his story wasn’t so bad.
Destiny Princess
Game Review (in progress) Voiced?NO Price: 14.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: NA
Comments: One gripe I have for this game was that, because it was a mobile port the CGs on the Switch looked really weird and stretched. The game has an interesting prologue and I’ve actually enjoyed its steamy content.^^; I’ve finished three routes so far. Some were good, while others were meh. Recommended Routes: Nobunaga
The Amazing Shinsengumi
Game Review (in progress) Voiced?NO Price: 11.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: NA
Comments: I’ve played the game’s prologue and it was boring as heck. I haven’t started a route yet but based on hearsay (from the otome community), this game apparently borders a bit on “rapey” scenarios? Haha if you’re someone who’s uncomfortable with that, it may be best to stay out of this game.^^;;
Ayakashi Koi Gikyoku
Game Review Voiced?YES Price: 24.99 USD Chlo’s Rating:3/10
Comments: This game had great voice acting. That’s it. The story is bad and translations are the worst. **Edit:A recent patch update was released for this game fixing the horrid translations.
Gakuen Club
Game Review Voiced?YES Price: 24.99 USD Chlo’s Rating:5/10
Comments: This game wasn’t so bad. It had some good routes worth checking out and the art style was really beautiful. But since all the main characters were younger high school teens, the game didn’t appeal to me as much. Recommended Routes: Saku Takizawa, Toma Sakai
Iris School of Wizardry – Vinculum Hearts
Game Review Voiced?YES
Price: 24.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: 5/10
Comments: Just like Ayakoi, the translations were pretty bad in this game but the story itself was fairly decent. I loved the game’s shoujo manga art style and I believe I’ve enjoyed a couple of routes on this one. Recommended Routes: Matias, A-Jay, Iris ***Edit: A recent patch was released fixing the game’s English translations! ^^
Kitty Love – Way to look for love
Game Review Voiced: YES Price: 24.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: 6/10
Comments: Again, the game’s english subs needed proofreading. However, I was able to chug it all up because the story was so cute. The game’s art style, music, voice acting, and enjoyable stories were its redeeming qualities. Recommended Routes: Kohei, Takuma
Nightshade
Game Review Voiced: YES Price: 47.99 USD Chlo’s Rating: 8/10
Comments: (Edited) If you’re having second thoughts whether or not it’s worth shelling out 50 bux to get this game in your Switch Library. Here’s my advice: GET IT! If you haven’t played the game yet, this one’s definitely a gem. When it comes to the character arcs and story-line, I cannot recommend Nightshade enough! Ask other Nightshade fans and they’ll tell you the same thing! ha! (*´▽`*) Recommended Routes: ALL
There you have it! So far, these are the current (English) Otome games available on the Switch Console. There’s probably a couple more Operahouse (mobile) games that’ll be ported to the switch soon (I’m pretty sure they’re working on Spiral Memoria right now and possibly Yumemidori Nostalgia) but no official news has been released yet, so this is all just mere speculation. *wink*
While Otomate,Japan’s leading company in producing otome games are slowly but surely moving to the Nintendo Switch as their main visual novel console going forward, there has yet to be any announcement whether any of their old and new titles (for the Switch) are getting localized.
If you’re curious which games (Non-Otomate titles included) are currently available in the Switch eshop Japan, here’s a list below for both physical and digital releases:
(The list below does not include the games that were already localized)
Release Date:October 18, 2018 (North America) Developers: 4Door Games, WMY Studio Publishers: WMY Studio, CIRCLE Ent. Platforms:PC, Nintendo Switch ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
GAME PREMISE
(Nintendo Eshop) There is an urban legend… Write down your troubles on a note and pray. A god shall hear your story as relayed. People who believe in the legend live all over this world, in every shape and form. They write and pray to the gods, seeking help for their troubles.
A quiet nerd stuck in a hopeless crush. An impoverished artist contemplating suicide. A rookie police officer hoping for his first big case. A young woman desperately chasing her dream. Even a stray cat who would be satisfied with just some food to eat.
What would the world be like if such a god exists with the power to alter the fate of those that believe in this urban legend? What if, you are that god?
First Impressions
One day you wake up as a young goddess called, Myth who apparently lost all her memories. Clueless as to who you are and what’s going on, another god, Will, who takes the form of a dog fills you in with the deets. You learn that your job is to fix the problems of those (humans) who write you letters asking for aid.
As you go along the story, you’ll also get to discover the rules and limitations of your power when bending the fates and destinies of your mortal ‘clients’. Aight! This should be fun!
MECHANICS: Puzzles and Problem Solving
You’ll spend most of your time reading letters for the entirety of the game while thinking of ways to alter each situation that’ll give you the best possible outcome. To do this, you’ll either switch or re-arrange sections/portions of texts from one letter to another; by doing this (with your so-called magic pen), you’re changing the fates of the main characters giving them better end results.
You’re also given two options on how you want to play the game at the start. The Normal Mode gives you hints and clues in solving puzzles while Lunatic Mode doesn’t.
ART AND MUSIC
Although it’s not the shoujo–type art, I normally crave for in visual novels (laughs), the artwork was nonetheless, fantastic for this game. I personally love the character designs and thought they were absolutely adorable, esp. my sons Jimmy and officer Chang. ( ´ ▽ ` )
The carefully curated bgms, blended perfectly to the game’s well-crafted atmosphere. I liked how each main characters have their own theme and while they’re not fully voiced, the game added pre-lap dialogues for each main cast, so you can hear them talk before you read their letters. The OP song, “Ω2πⱯ” was also one of my personal favorites as it did a great job laying out the game’s enigmatic vibe.
You can purchase the game’s complete soundtrack here.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Besides the two gods, Will and Myth who are in complete control of how each scenario move forward, you’ll also be following the lives of these main characters, all of which have very interesting story arcs.
Alicia
Carlos
Chang Gyeong-Ming
Jimmy
(Lieutenant) Kang Baek-Ya
Li Wen
Park Sang-gun
Spottie
Wen Zhaoren
(Note: More characters unlock as you progress in the story)
Rewriting One’s Fate Affects Another
‘Deduce and Decide’ ~ these are the most crucial points of the gameplay as your decisions either make or break the character’s goal, endgame or even fate ~Who would’ve thought playing god can be so difficult!
It’s also fun to see how every story is somewhat interwoven and connected with another as you later on, progress through its overarching plot. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? This game is kind of like that.
When I say ‘dark’… I mean it.
All of the main characters have their own unhappy (sometimes distressing) stories to tell that bring up different real-life issues. At first, the themes were rather minor and almost trivial. Issues that were presented in the beginning can come up as simple as helping a boy impress a girl at school to aiding a police officer make the best out of his first day on duty.
But as the letters pile up, you’ll eventually come across more serious problems which can sometimes lead to a crippling life or death predicament. Be warned, the stories get dark, pretty fast!
That said, this game is not for everyone. There were a few scenarios that tackled very sensitive subjects such as suicide, sex trafficking, mental illness, and child abuse. If these issues make you feel uncomfortable, you may need to think twice before picking this one up as the darker themes can be a little too much (for the faint of heart).
I personally, felt really uneasy going through Alicia’s arc in the beginning. This character cannot catch a break at all, and her route was becoming harder to swallow each episode.
But here’s one of the game’s major pros: These (sensitive) issues were dealt oh so well that it even took me by surprise! I was really impressed by how each of them ended up with a positive turn around. I’ve also enjoyed how the writers added humor to some of the depressing scenes.Most of the characters go waayyy deeper than I expected, they’re not boring so to speak and their development was really something to look forward to.
SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION
I bought the Nintendo Switch copy of the game. The only problem I’ve had with it, the first time it came out in the e-shop was that it wouldn’t let me play on “docked mode” and the game will only load if you’re playing it hand-held. Thankfully, the developers fixed this bug a couple of days after its release and you should now be able to switch on either mode with no issues. The game also crashed twice for me, but thanks to its auto save mode, non of my progress were deleted.
The localization was pretty good. I only noticed this one menial and funny typo that irregularly came up at the end of the game (where the word “dice” became “die” 😂 lol) ~ but I don’t think this will, by any chance, hinder your progress. Although WILL was published by Circle Entertainment, it was Sekai Project who provided its English translations. *tips hat to SP* ヽ(￣ω￣)
The N.Switch System was very straightforward and easy to navigate. While Nintendo doesn’t offer trophy systems, the game conveniently enough has its own achievement section for players who want to complete it by 100%.
It also offers a Dictionary section where you can read and view the different terms (vocabulary) that were used in the game’s series of stories. Some entries come with illustrations, such as the example above. Look at that cute Ser Spotty plushie!
TRAILER
OVERALL THOUGHTS?
It took me a decent 20-25 hours to beat the entire game as there were a couple of instances where I had to go back and unlock other endings to see if the story branches out differently. Some of the puzzles can get a bit difficult and exhausting near the end that it certainly requires a lot of patience if you’re planning to clear this one out by a hundred percent (that means getting all the endings, completing all dictionary entries and collecting all the CGs).
Take note that in this visual novel, giving the characters a “good ending” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the “best” for them.
WILL: A Wonderful World is not your average stereotypical visual novel. Its unconventional mechanism of moving sections of texts from one story to another was quite engaging that it gets you hooked. I had fun experimenting on the countless possible outcomes I can come up with for each character. Their stories were really good and the main casts’ development was immensely defined, they grow on you.
I should warn you though; the game gets aggressively heavy in tone as you progress. While I don’t really mind the hefty timbre of angst and sadness some story presented, I don’t think you should be playing this one blindly if you’re someone who’s easily triggered with the issues mentioned above.
Do I recommend this game?YES
If you’re a visual novel junkie like me, this game is an absolute gem and seriously a must-buy! I haven’t played a VN this interesting not to mention, emotionally heartrending in years. To me, WILL: A Wonderful World, was such a memorable experience, one that sticks to you like glue. I bought the digital copy of the game ($15.00) during its debut in the eshop and now that they’re releasing a physical version, I pre-ordered it again for the reason that it’s definitely one for the shelves and worth the collection.
I recommend picking this one up along with your fav. box of dark chocolates for the experience.😉
Release Date:February 14, 2019 (North America) Developers:Idea Factory, Otomate Publishers:Aksys Games Platforms:PS Vita, PS4 ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
I literally took my time playing this FD, knowing it’s the last (physical) otome game that will ever grace localization in the PS Vita.
Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles (Shirogane no Kiseki) is the second fandisc of the series, Code Realize. This game contains varieties of alternate and after stories that happened after the events of the last fandisc, Future Blessings.
This fandisc contains the following stories:
Cantarella (Side Story) – Walkthrough available here.
Special Epilogues (Epilogues for White Rose’s stories in Future Blessings)
ART AND MUSIC I know this is probably redundant as I’ve gushed about it a few times in my reviews for Guardian of Rebirth and Future Blessings. But, the artist Miko has done it again! I could not for the life of me, describe how incredibly beautiful the CGs are for this fandisc. There were also new sprites available for all the main and side characters, wearing their cozy winter outfits. Even Queen Victoria gets a new sprite wearing her expensive royal fur faux garb!
What I also loved about this fandisc were the new BGMs added for the series, they were all unforgettable and were specially made for the game’s Yuletide theme. One song that really stood out to me was the second Ending theme (Finis’ and Sholmes’ ED) “Beside You” by the artist SHOJI. Listen to the full track below:
***I purchased the whole soundtrack for Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles in iTunes. Link here.
Baron of Aiguille (CV: Sugiyama Noriaki) – Akito (Norn9), Thor (Kamigami no Asobi), Suou Hana (Ayakashi Gohan), Katsuragi Naomasa (Yunohana Spring), Kashika Galle (Cendrillon Palika)
SIDE STORIES AND AFTER STORIES I did Cantarella’s route first, followed by Finis and Sholme’s epilogues, then knocked out the love triangle dates before I played the main course, that is the “First Christmas” alternate stories for Wintertide Miracles. I myself, enjoyed this play order, though I would suggest playing whatever story you feel like playing first because that’s the whole point of a fandisc! lol
CANTARELLA (Another Story)
This story happened somewhere in the middle of Guardian of Rebirth’s common route. On their way home, after watching a performance at the Royal Opera House, Cardia and the rest of Lupin’s gang witnessed an attempted kidnapping of the Opera House’s beloved songstress, Cantarella. They’ve managed to save her as well as send her perpetrator running for the hills. They then took Cantarella to her home for safety measures, which lead the gang to meet her so-called “father” Miles. In this story, Cardia finds a friend in Cantarella and later on, discovers her true identity as both their existence managed to connect each other’s fates.
Just like “Lupin’s Gang’s” (side) story in Future Blessings, Cantarella’s route offers new likable characters and an interesting new plot for us to follow. Although I’ve very much enjoyed this story (for what it is), I didn’t like how the writers threw in these important characters on the third game, since canonically they don’t matter anymore as the main plot officially ended in Future Blessings. I would rather have this as an alternate story than a side story because It felt kind of unfair for Cantarella, Miles, and Auguille to get dissed like that after this little episode. lol Unless they’re planning on a third fandisc! (laughs)
Although the choices you make in Cantarella’s route, will not change the whole outcome of her story. It will, however, change a few scenes and dialogues in the game depending on the guy (main characters) your choices are inclined to. You can view my walkthrough for this route here.
FINIS’ EPILOGUE (After Story) This after story took place right after the end of Finis’s route in Future Blessings.
Six months have passed since Cardia managed to save his little brother, Finis from the unfortunate Nautilus incident in London. During this time, both twins return to their home in Wales and spend each day cleaning and repairing their old abandoned house while enhancing their bond as siblings. Suddenly, all hell breaks loose when one of Isaac Beckford’s invention called the “Knockers” have been spotted destroying a couple of buildings in London. It was made clear in the story, that these supposed-to-be-quarantined inventions of Isaac were “wrongly” activated by accident and it is now, up to the Beckford twins (Finis’ most especially, since he’s fully knowledgeable when it comes to their father’s inventions) to stop this heaving uproar that threatened London its peaceful days.
This was probably one of my favorite After Stories in the series. Not only we get to see Finis in his true nature, as Cardia’s adorable cinnamon roll lil’ brother. We also get to see Lupin’s Gang and the Gordon Family in action as they help out clear the disruption in the streets of London during the main incident. ***This epilogue was very heartwarming and I absolutely enjoyed seeing Finis’ soft side while he deliberately declares threats whenever one of the main bois flirts with his sister! *chuckles* (´ ω `♡)
HERLOCK SHOLME’S EPILOGUE (After Story) This after story took place right after the end of Sholme’s route in Future Blessings.
It’s been half a year since Sholmes defeated his arch nemesis, James Moriaty (in Code realize Future Blessings). During this story, Cardia becomes part of Sholmes’ Detective agency together with his partner John Watson. The three of them fight crimes for the cause of good, even to the extent of ‘trying‘ to stop Lupin, the gentleman thief’s planned diamond heist of the prized jewel called “Mermaid’s Tear”. Though try as they might, Lupin, as cunning as he is, still gets the upper hand and was able to escape with ease together with his genius engineer assistant, Impey. I know this was just a filler episode but it was kind of weird seeing Cardia as their enemy for once, but oh well…
Anyway, Sholmes actual main story revolved around finding a cure to Cardia’s poison. As the Horologium still present in Cardia’s body, this fact still poses a threat that one day it will activate again, killing her along with the demise of London and its people. With this complication at hand, Sholmes gathered his A-team geniuses in the field of science and medicine; Victor Frankenstein, Dr. John Watson, Impey Barbicane and even the deviant genius scientist Nemo, who apparently now lives in a tiny cardboard box located in sewers (laughs) 😂 Poor guy!As all of them try their hardest to conduct research on a formula that will counteract the horologium’s poison, more problems seep into the picture that eventually causes Sholmes and Cardia make one life-threatening decision.
I like how Sholmes’ epilogue was narrated in a fairytale-esque kind of way. I enjoyed the story’s fluff content though, to be honest, this is probably the weakest story in the game (imo) as there really wasn’t anything “new” going on. Nonetheless, if you’re a fan of Sholmes, I’m sure you’ll have an awesome time discovering a few surprising sides of our favorite hot daddydetective.
FIRST CHRISTMAS “Wintertide Miracles” (Alternate Stories) These are “after stories” that happened right after Finis’ route in Future Blessings. It’s merely an alternate story where our heroine Cardia finds love during the Yuletide season. We get one story for every five main characters. What’s really special about these stories is that Cardia falls in love with one of the guys while his brother is alive! …THIS couldn’t be any more perfect, ❤️ I almost wished this was headcanon!
Spoiler Warning: I will only be posting each story’s premise but I’m putting up my spoiler banner just in case.
Victor Frankenstein After Isaac Beckford’s Nautilus incident that wreaked havoc in the city of London six months ago. Victor ended up opening a clinic located in the downtown part of London in order to help as many people as possible at a cheaper cost.
Victor’s main story started when one day he receives a mail from his parents in Switzerland telling him to settle down. He, in reply, told them he has no plans in getting married anytime soon but then started talking about how he’s currently interested with this ‘one girl’ and went all out writing two whole pages regarding his feelings for Cardia. (´ ε ` )♡ Without thinking of any repercussions, he sends the letter back to his parents judging its only the right thing to do as he’s speaking honestly from his heart. uwu. The next few days, he receives a reply letter from his mom saying they’re coming to London for Christmas so they can meet their son, Vic’s girlfriend. 🤣
In result, a panicked Victor travels to Wales to ask Cardia to be his “pretend” girlfriend just for Christmas while his parents are in town. 😂
***This was by far the cutest, most endearing “First Christmas” story I’ve read among the selections and I absolutely enjoyed it to bits! Besides its overwhelming fluffy contents, we also get to see Victor introducing Cardia to his parents (in CG!).
Saint Germain Six months after the Nautilus Incident, Saint Germain, visits Idea’s leader Omnibus and reports that both Finis and Cardia, Isaac Beckford’s “problematic twins” are now living peacefully in Wales as normal human beings and are no longer a threat to humanity. As one of Idea’s faithful apostle, he awaits for Omnibus next order but was surprised to hear her tell him to take a long sweet vacation instead.
Still dumbfounded by their leader’s words, Saint Germain goes back to the mansion to find something to do with his newly acquired free time but since everyone in Lupin’s gang went about their own lives after London’s incident, he was left as the only resident in his house. This made him feel lonely and he admits to himself how much he misses the rowdy group clamoring inside the premise of his mansion. What’s more, is that he longs to see the face of his beloved, who he has not seen since his last visit in Wales.
This made him decide to write invitation letters to the group for a Christmas “Get-together” party. Though unsure if his anticipated guests would actually make it to the planned event. Saint Germain waits with hopeful eyes to see the faces of his precious friends again.
***The part where he waits for his friends actually made me tear 😭. Why are Saint Germain’s stories always melancholic? Why?!Thank goodness, this ended really REALLY happy. I would also like to gush on the fact that this is the only episode in the whole series where we get to see Guinevere outside her armor! Seriously, you absolutely can’t miss this!
Abraham Van Helsing After London’s Nautilus incident, Van decides to travel with Delly all over United Kingdom in search for survivors of the Vampire War.
During their travels, the duo hears about the upcoming Christmas festival in London and decides to come home for the occasion as well as attend the gang’s Christmas party at Saint Germain’s mansion. They haven’t seen everyone in a while, so this decision made Van and Delly both excited. While at it, Delly proposes to take a side trip to Wales before coming to London and see the Beckford twins. Van agrees with him with Cardia in mind. ( ´ ▽ ` )
A few days have passed and they both arrived at Cardia and Finis’ home in Wales only to be disheartened to see the twins not being around. But with optimism as their friend, Van and Delly decided to wait. Night falls, and finally, Cardia and Finis arrived in the most unfashionable way ever (their automobile almost came crashing towards the duo) 😂 Everyone says their greetings when Cardia noticed that Van and Delly have been waiting out in the cold for too long, so she insisted they stay for the night.
The supposed-to-be one night stay turned into days and the group eventually decided to go to London together. While still in Wales, Cardia wanted to make everyone Christmas presents in the form of knitting and Van insisted on helping her with it.
***I love this! (/▽＼*) This surprising side of Van Helsing is all I ever wanted. I’m so glad to see him happy, always smiling and in his positive beaming self. It’s so refreshing! I need more happy-ray-of-sunshine Van Helsing in my life!
Impey Barbicane Half a year has passed since the Nautilus incident in London and Impey visits the deviant scientist Nemo in prison from time to time as he plans to re-invent the gravity alleviator and is currently taking notes on Nemo’s advise while at it.
One day, In Saint Germain’s mansion, Saint tells Impey they received word from Van and Delly saying they’ll be back in London for Christmas. Since Lupin and Victor are already residing in the city, they decided to might as well invite Cardia and Finis in order for the gang to reunite once more this Yuletide season.
Meanwhile, in Wales, Cardia, (while fixing their automobile) thinks of how Impey’s constant declaration of love for her makes her heart feel woozy. She gets confused because she’s sure she loves Impey back but also “loves” the other members of Lupin’ s gang as well as her brother Finis. With this train of thought, she pesters her little bro and forced him to say the phrase “I love you” (to her), to which a blushing Finis, with all the effort, reluctantly did. 😂 But then yo girl was like “Oh but why does it feel different when Impey says it?” 😂 😂 😂 ROFL. This was adorably hilarious! I just can’t! 😂
Later that day, they received a package from London in the form of a miniature Impey doll with a recording of Impey, Saint Germain and Lupin’s voice telling the siblings to come home for Christmas.
***I really enjoyed reading this one! I love how Cardia was strongly forward of wanting to explore her own feelings as she tries to discover the different meanings of “love”. …and seeing Impey immensely blush time and again was such an awesome treat, I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear!Another plus point was that we get to see Nemo give love advises to yo boi and that, to me was the icing on the cake in this story! (laughs)
Arsene Lupin After the Nautilus incident in London six months ago, Lupin is back doing his thievery schemes like the proud gentleman thief he is.
One day while on a mission to steal a prized necklace from a corrupt Duke’s estate, he ends up being chased by Leonhartd as usual and just when he was about to execute his dashing escape, he gets distracted (by thoughts of Cardia) and gets shot by a rubber bullet instead. This, not only surprised Lupin himself but his perpetrators, Leonhardt, and his men were also perplexed at how they were able to take out the famed gentleman thief in one easy shot. In the end, an injured Lupin still managed to get away as he limped his way back to safety.
Back at the mansion, Victor along with Impey confronts Lupin saying he’s not being his usual self lately and asks him to perhaps, take a rain check from work (theft missions). A week later, Saint Germain chimes in, telling him the same and suggests that perhaps he’s longing for “someone”. Taking in the Count’s advise to heart, Lupin begins to think of Cardia and how her absence is taking a toll on him. He then concedes with his true feelings and finally admits he misses her badly and the only way to cure this yearning is to see her face to face. So he starts writing the ‘perfect’ love letter for his beloved lady. 😂
***I must say, this after-story has the best CGs, as expected from the game’s headcanonboi. Just like Lupin’s uwu story in Future Blessings, it had its glorious romantic moments between the couple. As far as I see it, the game is clearly biased on Lupin’s story… the kabedon scene and that loooong kiss at the end, come on! I couldn’t ask for more!
TRIANGLE DATES (More CGs!)
These are short stories which involve scenarios of Cardia spending her day with two main characters in the series. Although these are rather shorter stories compared to the ‘Wintertide Miracles’ selection, I was really impressed by how exceptionally good these little episodes were. You think you’ve had enough doki-dokis? Try this one on for size!
Here’s a list of all the Love Triangle episodes (you can play it in any order):
Lupin and Victor
Lupin and Impey
Lupin and Van
Lupin and Saint Germain
Van and Impey
Van and Victor
Van and Saint Germain
Impey and Victor
Impey and Saint Germain
Victor and Saint Germain
Secret Episodes:
Delly and Sisi
Aliester and Nemo
Hansel and John Watson
SPECIAL EPILOGUES These are short epilogue stories continuing the last events of Future Blessings (White Rose). These will unlock last, after finishing all of the above’s selections.
IMPEY It’s been a few days and Impey hasn’t returned home after going on a work-related project (fixing airships and submarine engines in London). Cardia was left alone in the mansion and although she knows Impey will come back soon, she thought of surprising him by gathering a lot of research documents related to their ‘moon-project’. She leaves for Wales to collect any information her father might have written in the past that can possibly help with the project. Not to ruin the surprise for her hardworking husband, she leaves a note that says “I’m going”.
Impey arrives at home, finds the note then begins to panic thinking Cardia has left him.😂 So he hurries and follows her to Wales to clear out this whole silly misunderstanding.
LUPIN Cardia and Lupin go on a picnic at their secret place which has a great view of the industrial city of London and Lupin suggest that it’s about time to go on a honeymoon. Next few days, he takes Cardia to his birth city, Paris. There, they visit and the grave of his master, Theophraste and both of them said their prayers. They also ran into the head of the French police whom Lupin coined as someone equivalent to ossan Leonhartd. They had everyone (French police) chase them for fun and the couple gallantly escaped in style.
VAN
Cardia and Van are finally getting married and Shirley helps Cardia put on her wedding dress. Cardia decided to step outside the church so she could practice walking in her high-heel shoes when a bunch of men in blacksuits kidnaps her and takes her to another wedding location. There she finds an impatient man wearing a groom’s outfit who urges her to walk down the aisle with him. Cardia remembers the combat techniques her husband taught her and throws the man to the floor. Meanwhile, a worried and upset Van bursts out through the church door and started taking down the men in suits Liam Neesonstyle! 😂 😂 😂 Before things get worse, the gang stops Van and explains this was all a misunderstanding as the kidnappers and groom were actually actors and the bride actress never showed up for rehearsals so they thought Cardia was her by mistake.
The Moral of the Story: Don’t mess with this couple… ever! 😂
VICTOR
Cardia is now working as Victor’s assistant in the Royal Society and they spend their days doing research in Victor’s lab. Though they call themselves husband and wife, they realize that they never really had an actual wedding ceremony. So Victor asks Cardia if she wants to have a proper wedding and she says yes. A few days later, they began their search for a church in London but couldn’t find any since it’s peak season. Queen Victoria, along with Leonhardt notices Victor’s sullen expression and asks him what’s wrong, Victor tells them their circumstance and a snarky Victoria promises to help him only if he can prove to her how much he really wanted the wedding. After their deal, Victor comes home later than usual as he’s working extra hard to get her beloved wife that perfect wedding she deserves. Finally, the day has come for Victor to propose to Cardia and Victoria granted them permission to use the newly renovated St. Paul’s Cathedral. They got married in front of their friends and the Queen, and Cardia couldn’t be any happier.
SAINT GERMAIN
Cardia is now free of her poison and she and Saint Germain return to London so they can hold their wedding ceremony. The Count buys the ship “Gloria” from their mafia adventures in Lupin’s Gang (Future Blessings) episode and tells her this will be their venue. A day before their promised wedding, Hansel takes Cardia to the enchanted forest and there they meet with Saint Germain and the leader of Idea herself, Omnibus. The old lady gives them her blessing, saying they will no longer be in the watchful eye of Idea and Saint Germain is now finally, freeee! The couple both said their thanks to Omnibus. They got married in their luxurious ship the next day and all of their friends are with them happily celebrating the couple’s most special commemoration.
Will I be able to enjoy this game even if I haven’t played Future Blessings? There were a lot of characters and events in Future Blessings that were present and added to this game, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to skip Future Blessings in the series. In addition, the main “Wintertide Miracles” stories continue from the last events of Finis’s route in Future Blessings, so, all the more reason not to skip the first fandisc.
Localization
There were a couple of typo mistakes that I couldn’t really overlook which makes me think that perhaps because of it’s promised released date on Valentines Day, the game was rather rushed and there wasn’t a lot of time spent dedicated solely on proofreading it. ┐(︶▽︶)┌
TRAILER
OVERALL THOUGHTS? ＼(＾▽＾)／ My overall play length for Code Realize Wintertide Miracles was a good 10-15 hours. Despite me trying to make the game lastforever for about at least, two weeks, I finished it pretty quickly because I just couldn’t get enough of it.
Cantarella’s side story was way better than the gang’s Mafia adventures in Future Blessings and I sure did wish the ‘Cantarella-characters’ would’ve made a cameo in the special epilogues, because seriously, what a waste of good characters to be squeezed in, on the third game. ┐(‘～` )┌
Finis wins best boi in my book. This was one of the things I really appreciated most in this FD, and I’m sure most Code Realize hardcore fans would agree. Finis’ character finally gets justice! We get to see more of his adorable side as Cardia’s little brother while maintaining his hostile and dubious personality 😂. Who would’ve thought this boy is such a tsun-tsun! ❤
Do I recommend this game? YES(esp. to all Code Realize fans) Take note, this game is the series’ second fandisc. So literally, one cannot play it all willy-nilly without fully playing it’s first two predecessors. Personally, I’ve enjoyed this game a lot but that’s because I’m already a huge fan of the series. Perhaps to those who aren’t into Code Realize, you probably won’t enjoy this as much.
With the production of PS Vita consoles and games, completely shutting down worldwide this year, Code Realize Wintertide Miracles was such a special treat for us otome fans ~ esp. now,where there is scarcity of otoge releases in the West.
The game’s romantic Christmas theme really took this one up a notch and the newly added side stories are really something to look forward to. If you already like Code Realize, loved it’s main casts and wished for more adventures with them, Code Realize: Wintertide Miracles is definitely worth the purchase.
Great news otome fans! Digimerce LLC has recently released patch updates for the following Nintendo Switch otome games:
Ayakashi Koi Gikyoku(patch update released last December 2018)
Iris School of Wizardry ~ Vinculum Hearts (February 26, 2019)
I believe a lot of us are already aware of the awful translations as well as the lack of proofreading on most of these Switch titles back when it was first released in the eshop last year. Thanks to all of your feedback as consumers, the game publishers themselves finally took action and fixed the translation mistakes of their games.
Below are some of the “BEFORE and AFTER” screenshots of the two games.
BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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I must say, the English subtitles have greatly improved and these games should now be playable for everyone to enjoy. There’s still no news if they’ll be doing the same with “Kitty Love” but it is highly possible they’ll be fixing the translations for that game as well and soon.
Still having second thoughts if it’s worth getting these games in your Switch Library? Hopefully, my reviews below will help you decide! Tee-hee! (ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ
The choices you make for this route does not change the whole outcome of Cantarella’s story.
Some minor scenes and dialogues will however, vary depending on the guy your choices are inclined to.
FIRST CHOICE:
-Go with Lupin and Victor (Choose this if you want the ending to be more inclined to Lupin or Victor)
-Go with Van Helsing, Impey and Saint Germain (Choose this if you want the ending to be more inclined to Van Helsing, Impey or Saint Germain)
SECOND CHOICE:
-Shopping in the city (Van Helsing)
-Inviting her to the mansion (Saint Germain)
-A tour in Buckingham Palace (Victor)
-The airshop docks (Impey)
-Somewhere outside London (Lupin)
THIRD CHOICE:
-The Eastern route along the wall (Lupin, Victor)
-The Western route down the narrow path (Van Helsing, Impey, Saint Germain)
Release Date: December 20, 2018 (North America) Developers: Red Entertainment / LANTERN ROOMS Publishers: D3Publisher Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam) ESRB Rating: M (Mature) 17+
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.
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)
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) have more plot revelations than you’d expect. 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. Heended 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 slightlysoften up, giving us a glimpse of his true adorable fluffynature. 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, Im finally down 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, Ihad 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 love his friendly banters with Kyara.
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 fluffepisodes 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 clichebattleground 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, at that. It was something I never expected to actually work in an otome game.
Besides 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 otome game with impressive storyline and characters you can’t ever get enough of, I can’t recommend Nightshade enough!
Game Review
Game Review 
Here’s a list of all the Love Triangle episodes (you can play it in any order):
IMPEY
LUPIN
SAINT GERMAIN
