Recent reviews by jailsgrr

This is the kind of game that leaves you breathless and laughing out loud and genuinely hurt and anguished. I've probably felt more emotions in the past two days playing this than I did in the last year. It is a surprisingly depressing game despite the bright aesthetic and the jazz and the silliness, so the "make sure you're requesting this game in good mental health" on the initial warning screen is not a joke. This hit me a lot more personally than almost all media does.

This game not only forces a route order but also peaks at the first route. But honestly after you do the first route it's already worth it. Probably after you do half the first route it's already worth it. Minakami for life... I also really enjoyed Kawase's route, and these routes make up like more than half of total possible playtime already. They're both just very well-executed. The Hanazawa and Professor routes are fine (Hanazawa's route does have noncon and both of them are insane in different ways, though you could argue that for all the love interests) and I probably would have enjoyed them more if I hadn't been instilled with deep loyalty to Minakami after the first route, but from other reviews this kind of thing is common so it might be happening to you. They also were less developed than the other two routes, especially Hanazawa's, but they did have high points the same way the routes before them did, just not as much.

VERY IMPORTANT: There's a secret route about an hour long, but according to word of God it's not a true route but instead an alternate timeline deal. You can interpret it however you want, but it wasn't really meant to affect the rest of the game. It's a little polarizing, and while it felt a little nonsensical and I did not love the relationship, I thought it was pretty moving and had value. Just don't think about it too long because it will kind of fall apart alongside sending you into massive depression but that is kind of the point.

Dogra Magra is not available in English but I hope someday it is.....

Stat management is fun but it definitely is a grind -- one year per route😭 Storywise, Cheritz doesn't really do anything fun or out-of-the-box here. It's probably fine as a regular dating sim. None of the characters were really my type, and even when they went extreme and did something different it just was not done that well. Not really worth the price point, buy Nameless instead...

The story in this game is disjointed and messy and mostly on a whim. There are many questionable pacing decisions and halfhearted reveals that are nonsensical and lead up to a conclusion that is highly disappointing and means nothing. Technically, it's an OK game -- the art is good and you can work your way through more than a handful of puzzles that are fine, nothing special -- but like I said earlier, storywise, the pacing is strange, and sometimes you'll be in an area doing your fifth puzzle in a row and be like "why am I still here?"

It's very Alice in Wonderland-esque in that a girl who acts very much like a little girl is put in numerous outlandish situations and makes what she makes of them, which is to say, not much, but if you're in the game for the scary experience and find the aesthetic pleasing, you can probably find a way to enjoy it. However, if you want a coherent narrative and genuine emotional investment, you're better off looking elsewhere.

Extremely story-heavy and lighter on the romance than most otome games, although it is there. You will learn more than you have ever thought you ever would about specific battles and political unrest in feudal Japan. It's worth it... They are good boys...

You have to buy Edo Blossoms as well as this game and I recommend after you finish a route you navigate directly to Edo Blossoms to play the second half. There's no route order because the only concrete facts that stay consistent throughout each playthrough are the battles fought and the fate of the Shinsengumi and shogunate... Other than that, something like learning the secret motivation of a big bad (there's multiple possible ones) in one route won't spoil the others because that person might have different motivations in another route. Big variation in routes. They're also pretty long, so maybe save your favorite boys for last if you want extra motivation. The original six routes are about an hour or two hours longer than the new routes, but they are all pretty long.

New content is great! Enjoyed most of the new boys, had a lot of fun with finally getting routes for characters I've known for years, and the SOL fanservice scenes with the main six were very wholesome and endearing. All the new art is very fun. Definitely worth getting even if you've already played the original game. Yamazaki has become my best boy...

Coming in from playing Mystic Messenger, I am not disappointed in the least. I thought this game would be worse than MM, actually, since MM is their newest project, but this is at least just as good. (It's hard for me to say better because MM is close to my heart, but Nameless is just as close at this point.) Using a traditional visual novel format gives Cheritz a lot of room to work, and they make the absolute best use of it.

A lot of people are saying "this is not your average visual novel, there's an overarching plot," and I just want to emphasize this 100%. I've been playing VNs for years, and I've never played one like this. While each individual route is fantastic, the air of mystery behind all of them really motivates you to play, and this game is magnificently creepy at times. I don't want to spoil anything, but the way this story is done is such a creative and effective use of the visual novel format that I was completely blown away. The overarching story here is a lot deeper than in MM, and it is fantastically executed.

On the whole ball-jointed doll concept: I honestly thought it was the most ridiculous fantasy in the world, but the story is better for it. Like, it's not a weird thing you overlook because the game is so good; it makes the game good. A lot of the things that are utterly unique about the characterizations and the overall story would simply not be possible if not for the fact that they're ball-jointed dolls.

Characters and individual routes are amazing. Of course, as with all games, some are better than others (I personally found Yuri's to be the blandest, though I did enjoy his), but even the ones where you're not interested because you want to marry the character or something are still page-turners. The characters are all subversions of standard character types: the kuudere, the shota, the ladykiller, the gentle mom-type, the silly boyish type (I recognize the last one isn't a standard type, but please work with me), and as you delve deeper into their true characters, you start needing to realize why they are the way they are. It's really well-executed; only once does their reasoning behind characterization seem to fall flat, but you let it go because the characterization is just that interesting.

Speaking of individual routes, by the way, I heavily advise you stick to the order the game wants you play the routes in: Lance > Yuri or Yeonho > Tei > Red. Lance is honestly one of my favorite routes and I don't really like to tell you to play it first, but in terms of mystery, Lance's route really reveals nothing. It's just a very good route. Also, make sure to play with the Steam Guide and get every bad end. They're super creepy and super enjoyable, and they also reveal stuff about the overarching plot.

On the technical aspect: amazing voice acting and you can look at the character art for yourself. As well as that, the main character is really sweet and not a pushover. Even if she's a little slow at times, she's cute and nice so it's okay. The rest of the side characters also have really strong personalities, and the minigames are pretty easy.

I know the price is pretty steep, but I assure you that if you can pay it, it's worth it. I'm in Nameless hell. Please play this game.