Release Date: March 6, 2025 (North America)
Developers: Red, D3Publisher
Publishers: Aksys Games, D3Publisher
Platforms:  Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

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SYNOPSIS

In the summer of 2028, Mika Amamine, studying abroad at a university in Bologna, Italy, visits Rome for a short trip with friends to celebrate the end of exams.
However, during that trip, she encounters a murder incident and is subsequently arrested as a suspect.
While being transported in a police vehicle, it suddenly overturns in an accident, freeing Mika along with six other criminals and they all become fugitives.

Mysterious attackers appear, targeting the unique “power” that Mika possesses, and the group finds themselves pursued by both the police and the attackers.
The secret hidden within Mika’s power, the identity of the attackers, and the truth behind the murder incident that started it all…

Can they unravel these mysteries and reclaim a normal life?

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ART AND MUSIC

Director: Naoki Morita

Scenario: Ririka Yoshimura

Artist: Yusuke Kozaki (Main), Monami Ito (Sub Character Design)

OST: Shun Narita (BGM), Yusuke Nomura, Hiraoki Suzuki (Composers), Zwei (Vocals)

I wanted to take a moment to highlight that everyone was very hyped (and rightfully so) to learn that the artist behind Despera Drops’ character design was Yusuke Kozaki, the same artist behind the popular Nintendo originals like Fire Emblem Fates and Awakening, Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and Pokemon. They have also worked with major AAA game franchises such as Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7, Marvelous’ Daemon X Machina, and Spike Chunsoft’s AI: The Somnium Files, to name a few!

That said, I do want to comment that the art style of Despera Drops is definitely reminiscent of Kozaki’s renowned works mentioned above. I played FE Awakening, & I can say that the character designs definitely have a similar aesthetic and feel. They fit the mold of classic TRPG sprites more than the usual commercial otome games we’re used to. The CGs were nice, but I wish there was more variety in the character poses as some (close-up illustrations) started to feel a bit too similar-ish.

Also, the head scenario writer for Despera Drops is Ririka Yoshimura, who previously worked as the head scenario writer for the community’s all-time fav, Cupid Parasite. She has also contributed to other popular otome titles like Café Enchanté and Jakou no Lyla and was even part of the writing staff for Diabolik Lovers More Blood.

Voice Acting

Mika Okamoto as “Mika Amamine” – Wangya (Genshin Impact), Yuriko Ooyama (SINce Memories), Rosie (SevenKnights), Leticia (She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man)

Ryota Takeuchi as “Gib Baltzer” – Hajime Morioka (CollarxMalice), Yamato Nagayama (Jack Jeanne), Akito (Yoshiwara Higanbana), Sid (MidCin), Ren (DRAMAtical Murder), Karlheinz (Diabolik Lovers), Lorenzo (Angelique Luminarise)

Ryota Suzuki as “Ash Meyer” – Koyo (9RIP), Ginnosuke (Hanakare), Yona (Tengoku Struggle), Kiito Minorikawa (Jack Jeanne), Trey Clover (TWST), Ink (Gunka Haita Neko), Caster (FGO), Mizuro Tamaki (Tokyo Ghoul)

Kazuki Kato as “Hamiel Luis” – Kento Aizome (B-Project), Masamune (Ikemen Sengoku), Lustin (Battlefield Waltz), Malleus Draconia (TWST), Leon (Ikemen Prince), Doktor (The Caligula Effect 2)

Shinnosuke Tachibana as “Camu Einhard” – Koizumi Yakumo (Meiji Tokyo Renka), Seiya (9RIP), Himeutsugi (Hana Awase), Henri (Piofiore), White Mask (Bad Apple Wars), Kousei (Ayakashi Koi Gikyoku), William Rex (IkeVil), Koryuu Kagemitsu (Touken Ranbu), Rafayel (Love and Deepspace)

Yuto Uemura as “Ramie Carriere” – Merenice Levin (Cupid Parasite SSD), Tokisada (Olympia Soiree), Kazuna Masunaga (B-Project), Tsukito (Kamigami no Asobi), Atsushi (Bungou Stray Dogs), Kyosuke Sakurai (Tokyo Chronos), Hanjin (Touken Ranbu), Felix (Angelique Lumenarise)

Kanae Ito as “Sally del Testa” – Yui (Sword Art Online), Kugutsu Sorami (Tokyo Babel), Fujiwara no Mokou (Touhou Spell Carnival), Kanonno Earhart (Tales of Crestoria), Nanatsu Higadera (LoveR)

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CHARACTERS AND ROUTES

There are seven routes in total: six romance routes and one “True” route. The True Route only unlocks after finishing all six previous LI routes. To get to the “True Route,” you need to make sure that the heroine, Mika’s parameters are higher than any other LI’s parameters on the game’s status page. Once this condition is met, a choice will unlock during Chapter 12, that’ll lead you to the True Route.

The developers have not recommended a specific route order for this game. So, during my playthrough, I just picked routes based on whatever mood I was feeling at the time (laughs).😂 Each route unveils different revelations in the plot, with some being more closely tied to the True Route. If you want a soft recommended route order based on spoilers and foreshadowing (from least to greatest), I’d say: Hamiel = Sally = Gib → Camu → Ramie → Ash → True Route.

Hamiel’s route has the least spoilers, but please keep in mind that this route (sadly) isn’t the most flattering in terms of both story and romance. Personally, I don’t think it’s the best route to start with 😅 (lol I’ll explain more in my route blurb below). That said, I believe the order of the first five routes doesn’t matter too much, as long as you leave Ash for last, since his route, and the reveals in it, are more closely adjacent to the “True Route” (me thinks).

Walkthroughs:

• Sally
• Hamiel
• Gib
• Camu
• Ramie
• Ash
• True Route

⬇️ Click to view Content Warnings

Gun violence, violence, murder, kidnapping, bombing, arson, gambling, child abuse, drugs, substance abuse, death, blood, self-harm, mental health disorders, bullying, mob attacks, cult, age gap.

HAMIEL LUIS

• ( ‿|‿ )🕳
• mommy issues

Hamiel is the con man of the group, operating under the guise of his playboy facade. He has a knack for manipulating people with his words and is naturally sarcastic whenever he speaks. His “every man for himself” attitude can rub people the wrong way and often gets on his comrades’ nerves. He excels at disguises and has a talent for cheating in gambling.

I started with Hamiel’s route first, and ngl, I kind of regret it. As much as his description above suggests, he really does rub people the wrong way. It’s me, I’m people! (lol)🥲 For the most part of the common route, he spends his time mean-mugging Mika for being a goody-two-shoes Japanese woman and makes it a point to remind everyone, that he absolutely DGAF about anyone and is just cruising on his own terms. I mean, I guess he was written this way, to be this insufferable by design, and I was really hoping his route would have some kind of big turnaround that makes you go “Aha, gotcha!” But unfortunately, his entire story didn’t really do it for me. On top of that, his romance with Mika just felt forced, in my opinion. I couldn’t really feel any chemistry between the two. Their relationship just felt akward (to me), if anything. I’d say, Hamiel was definitely a good character in the game, but as a love interest? Meh.

SALLY DEL TESTA

• Maria holic (highlight for spoiler, pls dont look it up!)
• yuri rou—🔫

Sally is an exceptionally talented hacker with a love for the Japanese harajuku fashion. She has illegal access to information through the dark web and has committed numerous cybercrimes in the past. She’s also seemingly devoid of any sense of unrighteousness and is oddly afraid of elevators.

I’m not so sure how I feel about this route, to be kind of honest. I think I was mostly disappointed, as the trope used here felt pretty overused already. Mika and Sally had a good dynamic going though, and I was actually interested in Sally’s backstory, but sadly, the overutilized trope ended up breaking my engagement with this route.

GIB BALTZER

• waw daddie!
• best boi accdg to me 🤪

Gib is a former police officer who is currently a fugitive, wanted for allegedly murdering his own colleague. He was also a member of the special forces in Rothenburg, and known as a highly skilled sniper rumored to never miss his targets. With his sharp judgment and serious yet calm demeanor, he naturally takes on the role of the group’s leader.

I actually really, REALLY liked Gib’s route and thought it was one of the best in the game, and I kinda wished I had started my playthrough with him. But I mean, I guess that’s also because I’m just a big-phat-dilf-enjoyer, so my comments might be a little biased. (If you’re into older LI tropes, you might like this one too!) That aside, I felt this route had some really good plot pacing. It was more action-packed than the previous routes I played, and the way the events here naturally built up tension slowly but seamlessly made the reveals at the end really fun to unravel. I also thought Mika and Gib’s relationship was adorable as well. It had me going hehe cat meme for the most part.🥹 Although, ngl, there was a bit of whiplash with how quickly their relationship escalated.😂 But since I enjoy this trope, I didn’t mind it at all! TBH, I love Gib, he gives off Birushana Benkei vibes personality-wise! He’s wonderful! I promise!

CAMU EINHARD

• weeb
• this is literally Camu

Camu is an engineering student who’s very skilled in making bombs and explosives. He calls himself “The Earth Warrior of Love” and takes pride in being a revolutionist who fights for environmental preservation. He’s also a hardcore otaku, who’s obsessed with Japanese manga, anime, and pretty much anything related to Japanese culture.

First of all, the hairdo needs to go! It’s driving me nuts! Second, the fit… is atrocious! I’m sorry!😭 Not even Tachibana’s voice compensates for this hair and get-up!😭😭😭 That aside, I feel like Camu might actually be fan-fav in the west, just because of how much of a big weeb he is, (his antics were kind of funny and unhinged). On the contrary, I unfortunately didn’t enjoy his character that much. His over-the-top weebness in the common route was hilarious at first but got old pretty fast for me. His route started off with really good pacing too, but kind of crashed and burned toward the end. That said, I give credit where it is due, and I did think his dynamic with Mika was overall enjoyable.

RAMIE CARRIERE

• new year…
• …new ME ntal illness (highlight for spoilers)

Ramie calls himself the “Great Phantom Thief of the Century“. He is a pickpocket and a thief who targets only the rich. His agility is almost cat-like, and he can maneuver and slip into locations in and out skillfully without breaking any sound. He is friendly to the heroine and to everyone but hates being physically touched by other people.

This route is actually pretty heavy in terms of plot. I liked that the turn of events here caught me off guard. However, this route also left me a bit confused due to how everything just suddenly went down…hard. There was so much happening that I feel the romance between him and Mika got lost in the kerfuffle.🙂‍↕️

ASH MEYER

• lone wolf kuudere
• also best boi 👀

A young man from Switzerland who abandoned his hometown and is always moving from place to place. Ash is quiet and doesn’t interact much with others. Because of his stern appearance, he often gets caught up in random fights, leading to a life of constant violence and forcing him to move to another city each time. He also seems genuinely enthusiastic when it comes to motorbikes.

Woah! I love Ash!😍 And I love his route! Idk if my enjoyment stems from Ash being voiced by the rising star (and beloved fan favorite) seiyuu, Ryota Suzuki (who is amazing in everything he does) or because I played his route after two disappointing ones. I have no clue, but I did feel that he had the best romance progression with Mika. From the common route to his own branching storyline, their chemistry felt really solid to me.

Something about Ash’s route for some reason reminded me of this classic MV!  😝😝🤣 (esp. the motorbike parts lol)

MIKA AMAMINE (Main Heroine) | TRUE ROUTE

Mika REALLY pissed me off at the start of the game because of how passive she was, lacking initiative, and even wanting to surrender to the police despite knowing that she was framed by them (lol).🤣 While the gang was looking for ways to survive and escape, she kind of just stood there, mulling over how much she hated her predicament. BUT I’m so glad that this was ONLY at the beginning! SHE ACTUALLY GETS BETTER! She grew on me fast, and I ended up really loving how her development progressed in the common route.

There were routes where Mika really shined as the heroine and took control of the situation while proactively supporting her chosen LI. But there were also routes where she seemed a bit misguided, reckless, &made some decisions that undercut the growth she showed in the common route. It’s good that in the True Route which served as the game’s finale, she was deeply involved with everything, so I think she was her absolute BEST self there.

Also, the heroine being voiced was such a breath of fresh air! It’s been a while since I played a Switch game with a voiced heroine. I think the last ones were probably Jack Jeanne and Norn9 Last Era.

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SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION

One aspect that stood out to me in the game’s system was the WORDS section. It’s the game’s dictionary feature, where you can view each word you unlock as you progress in the story. This section offers nuanced dialogue, with characters themselves describing specific words in the list, sometimes through conversations. And I thought it was a neat and creative way to add flair to the feature. The game’s AUTO SAVE was also a lifesaver, especially since the game crashed a few times for me. Having the game automatically save your progress and let you pick up where you left off was a total godsend.

I also really enjoyed the game’s MISSION MODE, which I’d consider akin to a mini-gameplay. In this mode, the heroine monitors everyone’s locations on her phone screen and instructs them on what to do during their assigned missions. This made the game very engaging to me, so kudos to the dev team for including this! Other additional pros and cons of the system, I’ll be listing below:

Localization

The localization was top-notch! Probably one of Aksys Games’ best! I have a soft spot for the localization of Radiant Tale and Paradigm Paradox, and I thought Despera Drops was on par with these titles in terms of the localization quality. The translations were smooth, & the humor landed perfectly. I thought the nuanced dialogues were carefully tailored to fit each character, especially during scenes where the cast bickers. There were very few minor typos, and I can’t even recall one that made me glare at my screen! Everything was great. Another solid job from Aksys’s localization team!

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TRAILER

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OVERALL THOUGHTS

I checked my Switch playtime, and I ended up clocking around 70 hours in total by the time I finished the game to 100%. Ha! I switched between manual and auto mode at times, so technically, my playthrough was at a slower pace than average. This title was quite lengthy. The common route spans from Chapter 1 to Chapter 12, while the branching individual routes starts at Chapter 13 to Chapter 16. I have to say, the common route definitely took me a while to get done. I think it actually took me a week and a half to finish it. (laughs)🤣 But to be fair, it’s also because my gaming time was pretty limited as I was traveling and constantly on the go these past few weeks. So it’s more likely that my own inability to binge a game made it feel even longer.

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The Common Route Was the Star of the Show!

The game had an exciting common route! And if there was anything that really left a huge lasting impression on me with Despera Drops, it was that!

It was so much fun and ridiculously engaging! The introduction of morally gray love interests for one, had me rubbing my hands with glee. The “Mission Mode” also kept me hyper-focused in the story that it was kinda hard to put the game down. Needless to say, the common route; lengthy as it may seem, was incredibly easy to binge. And very much entertaining at that!

It is, however, a little unfortunate that some of the individual routes didn’t quite live up to the common route’s “high”. Depending on the routes you pick after it, the story tends to stagnate a bit, in my opinion. In all honesty, I feel like it probably would have benefited me to binge this game instead of playing it in short intervals, because it seems like this is the kind of title that can lose its momentum the moment you put it down and do something else. That said, if you’re someone who’s looking for a binge-worthy game, the fast-paced narrative of Despera Drops will definitely appeal to you.

The Found Family That Made the Game Worth It

While its overall plot may not have hit the mark for me, I think it was actually the found-family dynamic of the characters that was the game’s main bread and butter. All the characters are literally criminals with not-so-great pasts, some even with a few screws loose (minus Mika, who’s an outlier of the group). But there’s something inherently fulfilling about watching them go from bickering about what to eat for dinner to coming together to overcome their circumstances or escape the impending doom they’re running from.

Speaking of impending doom, the game seems to constantly have that theme, where something bad is always looming in the corner. And watching a group of peculiar characters work through these challenges and form an unlikely teamwork, to me, was the utmost guilty pleasure.

Some LI Routes Shine While Others Stumble

I enjoyed the offbeat ensemble of main characters in Despera Drops, though I’d say I only really liked two LIs out of the six (Gib and Ash). Camu was actually a good partner for Mika, but I wasn’t too into his weeb shtick (it turned me off unfortunately). Hamiel could’ve been a great NPC, while Sally and Ramie felt more like besties who needed emotional support from the heroine (I mean Sally already calls MC her bestie so…🤭). Gib was daddiest, and given my track record of favorite characters, it’s pretty obvious I’d be drawn to him the most. LOL.🤣❤️

💑LI Ranking: Gib > Ash > Sally > Ramie >>> Hamiel = Camu

🖤Route Ranking: Ash > Gib >>> Camu > Sally > Ramie > Hamiel

As for the romance, I wouldn’t consider this game to be particularly romance-centric, mainly due to how driven the story is by its plot. Sometimes, the romantic-exchanges between the heroine and her LI feels abrupt and the “confession scenes” (for the most part) don’t happen until Chapter 15 (there are only 16 chapters total per route). So, if you’re someone who prefers stories with a stronger romantic focus, this game might not meet your expectations in that regard.

Do I recommend this game? YES.
Despera Drops is definitely a binge-worthy otome title! If you’re into the noir and heist genres, this game will likely be your cup of tea. When this came out in Japan in 2023, word on the net suggested it was very similar to Bustafellows, but personally, I don’t see it. Aside from both titles featuring a noir, modern-day crime-ridden setting and a heroine with a special ability, those are the only real similarities I can find. Plot-wise, both games are actually quite different from each other. I think if anything, this game reminded me more of the film Ocean’s Eleven, so if you’re familiar with the movie, you get the gist!

Despite its flaws, Despera Drops delivers an engaging narrative that makes it a worthwhile read. If you’re looking to experience a fun romp filled with crime and high-stakes chase sequences, this title definitely has your back, make no mistake! Having laid out both the pros and cons above, I can certainly say this game was a good addition to my otome library. I had great time with this title and if you’re able to look past the minor critiques I’ve mentioned, I’m confident you will have an equally fantastic time as well!

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