Magical Makeover

Author: S. Woodson

Availability: Free, Download/Online

Format: Twine

Genre: Humor/Fantasy

Rating: Teen

Found at ifdb.tads.org or jayisgames.com

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 4

Art: N/A

Gameplay: 2.5

Romance: N/A

Summary

In Magical Makeover, you have managed to get an invitation to Princess Philantha's Grand Equinox Ball! (Specifically, you've managed to get Dame Demetria's invitation to the ball. But never mind.) Once you're inside the palace, you plan to search for the legendary, wish-granting golden cassowary! Only, just having the invitation isn't enough: Princess Philantha only permits the prettiest people to be present at her party, which means it's time for a makeover! What could go wrong?

Review

The Writing

It occurs to me that this is the second game I've reviewed where the protagonist is a lesbian, and in both cases, the games were text-only and her love-life was irretrievably in the toilet. Huh. This has no bearing on the rating, mind you; I just find it kind of odd, and if it happens again, I'll have to check TV Tropes to see if “love-lorn lesbian text adventure” is a thing.

Getting back on topic: the writing for this is both good and hilarious. The game is partly a send-up of the classic dress-up/hygiene flash games on the internet. Our protagonist is not especially pretty, and she knows she's not pretty, and people are all too glad to tell her she's not pretty. But, when her rather suspicious beauty-products turn her into freaky and unusual shapes, somehow this gets considered beautiful. Of course, the beauty treatments are only a means to an end, both in-game and in a meta sense: after your arrival at the party, the story branches off into narratives that have little to do with either beauty or the eyes of beholders, and everything to do with looking for the golden cassowary. In other words, “Come for the satire, stay for the adventure.”

The Gameplay

I think I would have liked this game better if it had more choices in the second half. As it is, only the makeover segment itself feels remotely like a game, with the scenes at the party playing out like a very long epilogue. The choice of beauty-products is what determines which story you get to read at the end. Your choice of clothes has no effect on it, though it does give you some flavor text on the bus and at the party, which I enjoy seeing.

TL;DR:

Magical Makeover is an entertaining interactive story that flips off beauty-obsession without making that its only point. While the first half feels more like a game, the latter half puts more emphasis on “story” than “interactive”. Still, the writing itself is often fun enough to hold this piece's head above water.

That's just my opinion, though. Do you think that this game is simply glamorous, or is it the weirdest thing you've ever seen? Tell us in the comments!

Ishara

Author: Happy Backwards
Availability: Free, Download
Format: Visual Novel (with turn-based combat)
Genre: Nautical, Fantasy
Rating: Teen

Found at happybackwards.com

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 3.5
Art: 3.5
Gameplay: 3.5
Romance: 2.5 (“Meh, I suppose it's all right.”)

Summary

In Ishara, you are...Ishara.  Your family promised you a boat in exchange for severing all ties with them, but when you got enslaved and disappeared for five years, they figured you were dead and so reclaimed it.  Now, they plan to use it as your sister's dowry.  You, however, have other plans.

Review

The Writing

If I may start with the bad news, first: the English in this is awful!  “Guard” is constantly misspelled as “Garde”, tenses shift between present and past at the drop of a hat, and there's a shipload of grammar errors and missing words!  It was also difficult to get used to the sudden changes in POV: one minute we're in Ishara's head, the next, we're in Cendre's.  Since the narration is always in first person, it took me a minute to realize someone else was talking. (Thankfully, the character sprites help sort this out).

On the plus side, the story itself is good and very entertaining.  Talon's dialog is hilarious, yet she never comes across as a mere “comic relief”, being just as awesome and intimidating as Ishara, if not more so.  The back-story is heart-breaking, and the overall tale makes for a great discussion about standing by while  people in power do terrible things: do you keep your head down, buying a bit of temporary and unsure safety, or do you take a stand, causing the entire system to lock its aim onto you?  It's a question that will probably be important until the end of time.

The Art

The art is decent, and I like the music.  The main-menu has a nice water-color look to it.  I find it interesting that Ishara and her sister have both red hair and dark skin (with Grandmama's being even darker).  Since this is a fantasy world, it makes sense that racial traits could and would be mixed-and-matched (unless I've misunderstood and they're simply either biracial or deeply tanned).  Anyway, it's a welcome bit of variety, and I'm whipping out the “non-white protagonist” tag for it.

The Gameplay

For the most part, Ishara a very linear story.  There are very few choice points, one of which determines which story you follow, and one or two (depending on route) which determine how it ends.  There are also a couple bugs where the narration doesn't quite match up to what happened: If you choose to leave Cendre behind, for example, the story still describes her boarding the ship with you.  Considering how few branch points there are, this really should have been corrected.

The combat mechanism livens things up quite a bit.  This is the first visual novel I've ever played that includes such a thing, and I found myself getting kind of addicted.  Unlike most turn-based rpgs I've seen, not every party member gets a turn: rather, each team gets a turn.  This means you have to choose between attacking the enemy or healing a wounded party-member.  Also, since the stun effect only lasts for one turn, this makes the fight even more challenging.  I think the part of the combat that I like best is the AP system: each character has a certain amount of Action Points, and each of their skills cost a certain amount of points to use.  These points slowly regenerate over time, which means that you can have one character wailing on the enemy while another saves up for a group-wide effect.  It invites strategizing, rather than thoughtless spamming of an attack button.  Still, I was miffed that victory had no permanent results, instead only giving bonus AP in the next battle; perhaps I've been spoiled.

TL;DR

Ishara is a great story wrapped in awful grammar, and I don't just mean the pirate-speak.  The art and music are nice.  The gameplay is mostly linear, but has some very challenging combat scenes sprinkled throughout.  Overall, I give it a resounding “Yarrr!”

As usual, mateys, this be one lass's thoughts on the matter. Ye might thank the stars for this game, or ye might want to have it keel-hauled.  Hoist yer colors in the comment section! Yarr!

...I should never do that again.

Cinderella Phenomenon

Author: Dicesuki
Availability: Free, Download
Format: Visual Novel
Genre: Fantasy 
Rating: Teen

Found at dicesuki.itch.io OR Steam

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 4.5
Art: 4.5
Gameplay: 4.5
Romance: 4 (“D'awww! A little bit tropey, but still very nice!”)

Summary

In Cinderella Phenomenon, you are Lucette/Insert-Name-Here, the cold-hearted crown princess of Angielle.  At least, you were the crown princess: it seems you've become the latest victim of the Fairy Tale Curse, which gives people curses based on well-known stories.  Your curse is based on Cinderella, only for you, it's reversed: you've gone from riches to rags, and you must complete three good deeds if you ever want to return to the palace.  Fortunately, you've found some new friends who are willing to help you, but it seems there's more going on than anyone wants to tell you...

Review

The Writing

I am starting to love the twisted fairy-tale genre.  Cinderella Phenomenon handles the source materials very cleverly by having them be in-universe inspirations for the curses; this allows the authors a lot of creative freedom.  Still, while most of the twists were great, I felt that the interpretations given to Peter Pan's “Neverland” and “Tinkerbell” were too much of a stretch.

One major brownie point I must award to this game is that it doesn't assume anything about the player's familiarity with any of the stories.  Rather, our heroine was explicitly never allowed to read fairy-tales growing up, and so other characters are forced to give her a quick recap of the relevant tale.  This allows the unfamiliar to learn the important details without slowing the pace too much for players who already know the story.

The story itself is complex and intriguing with a lot of emotional gut-punches.  I found myself becoming worried about the characters whenever they were in peril, and that right there is the hallmark of good writing.  Be fore-warned, though, that this story will do its best to make you cry.

Still, I do have a few nit-picks: there are one or two occasions where characters are clearly carrying the Idiot Ball™.  There are also a few fairly subtle grammatical mistakes sprinkled here and there in the script: mixed tenses, a character saying “violence does not beget violence” when she clearly means the opposite (and it's not sarcasm, either; just a mis-handled quote), that sort of thing.  A spell-checker would not have picked up on any of it.  I bring it up because...well, because I'm a nit-picky grammar nazi, but also because it's jarring, and whenever the text calls attention to itself with these kind of mistakes, it takes readers like me out of the story.

The Art

Right out of the starting gate, this game gets the player pumped up with an EPIC intro sequence featuring a song called Broken Cinderella.  I must say, though, that while I like the music and the lyrics individually, they just don't seem to mesh together quite right: something about the cadence feels off.  Still, it's beautifully done, and everything from the menu to the sprites to the cgs to the background music is absolutely gorgeous!

I also like how the stained-glass windows in the menu change when you win each character's route.  And how the character sprites “curtsy” for you.  And the expressions.  And the lighting changes.  And... a lot of other neat touches, actually. I do find it strange, though, that characters seem to wear their day-clothes to bed, including (in one case) a giant earring.  Do pajamas not exist, in this universe?

The Gameplay

First, let me gush about the back-button.  It seems like such a small thing, I know; but, so often, when I play these games, I click too fast and immediately think, “Dang!  What did that say?!  If only I could go back!”.  But in the opening tutorial (the existence of which is also a lovely touch), one of the first things the game tells you is “Here is a back-button!”  And there was much rejoicing.

Another much-appreciated mercy is the indicator that pops up when you make a correct choice for a given character's route.  Since the game is several hours long, this is a very welcome trouble-saver; though, if you prefer the challenge, this feature can be turned off in the settings.  In fact, doing so is necessary for one of the achievements.  Yes, there are achievements.

As for the game, proper: there are five love interests, all of whom are clearly spelled out for you.  Like with Frozen Essence, there is a common plot up until you choose a character's route, at which point the plots diverge wildly, changing how the villains' schemes unfold, which of them you end up facing, who lives or dies, and how the main conflict gets resolved.  It makes sense, in a chaos-butterfly kind of way.  Also, while the routes never truly meet up at any point, like they do in Requiem of the Abyss, they still acknowledge each other's plot points, which gives it at least some sense of unity.

TL;DR:

This game was backed on Kick-starter.  This means that the creators get paid and we get a fairly professional-quality game for the low, low cost of FREE.  While it's not completely flawless, it is definitely excellent in every way.  I could spend a few more paragraphs gushing about it, but really, that's time you and I could both be spending actually playing it.

Remember, though, that this is only my opinion.  You might think this game is something out of a fairy-tale, or your opinion might be more Grimm.  Share your thoughts in the comments!

Foo Foo

Author: Buster Hudson
Availability: Free, Download
Format: Text Game
Genre: Humor, Mystery, Fantasy / Literature
Rating: Teen

Found at ifdb.tads.org

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 4
Art: N/A (Cover Art: 2.5)
Gameplay: 3.5
Romance: 2 (“Forget it, Jake; it's Fieldtown.”)

Summary

Foo Foo is, of all things, a hard-boiled P.I. mystery based on the nursery rhyme “Little Bunny Foo Foo”.  You play Good Fairy, a detective with the FPD who's been tasked with clearing the name of a repeat-offender who swears he really doesn't recall bopping anyone this time.  As you dig deeper, you unearth a conspiracy involving real estate deals, disappearing field mice, and illegal cheese; and somehow, your ex-girlfriend is mixed up in all of this.

Review

The Writing

It boggles the mind how Foo Foo manages to be so silly and so dramatic at the same time.  On the one hand, you're a fairy in glass shoes, dealing with cheese, stuffed dinosaurs, and food that may actually be mud.  On the other hand, beneath this gleefully ridiculous surface is a story of lies, betrayal, and heartbreak that would seem right at home with any “serious” story.  It feels like it's not as much a parody of noir as it is an actual noir story in a very silly setting, and somehow, it works on both levels.

The Art

Like Pytho's Mask, this is a text game, or Interactive Fiction as they're also known.  As such, the only art you'll see is the cover-art when you click “About This Game”.  It's not bad, and the idea of a rabbit's shadow looming menacingly over a mouse does fit the silly-yet-semi-dark tone of the game.

The Gameplay

The puzzles tend towards the “easy” end of the scale, and I like how the hint system is integrated into the game: one of the characters is “partially psychic”, which means he can give you obscure clues that you have to decode.  Of course, if even that's too difficult, then pressing him further will give you a clearer answer.

The game uses multiple-choice dialog.  There are no topics to be brought up, nor any branching dialog trees; your responses seem to be mostly decorative, although there are a couple obvious points where your choice can lead you to a different ending.  This system and the small world-map keep the game very compact, which is both a plus and a minus in my book.  Since there isn't a whole lot to explore, it's difficult for the player to get lost.  It's a good game for beginning IF/text-game players, I think; although the humor and over-all shortness should keep more experienced players from becoming too bored.

TL;DR:

Foo Foo is a hilarious love-letter to hard-boiled mysteries that manages to evoke the same feelings you'd likely find in a straight example of the genre.  The gameplay keeps things short and simple so that the player doesn't get lost, and the in-game hint system is amusingly done.  If you're new to text-games, this game is a good way to get your feet wet, and if you're a veteran IF player, it's still an amusing way to pass a few minutes.

These are just the facts, Ma'am...well, actually, no;  they're just my own opinions.  You might think this game is a wish come true, or you might say it stinks like old cheese.  Feel free to present your case in the comments!

Zayay

Author: psyAlera

Availability: Free, Download

Format: Visual Novel

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: Teen

Found at DeviantArt OR PsyAlera.itch.io

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 1

Art: 3.5

Gameplay: 2

Romance: N/A

Summary

In Zayay, you are insert-name-here. You're in a place you don't recognize, with no memory of where you were trying to go. A strange bunny-man offers to help you remember by showing you around the area. What could possibly go wrong?

Review

The Writing

“What on earth did I just read?!” is not a good question for a story to leave the audience with. After several playthroughs, the only information I had gained about the world and the characters in it is that there was some kind of war, there are some kind of gods, and there's some kind of demon bunny named Lord Zayo Byron who sells bones. Also, the woods have a nymph in them. This wasn't because the story was confusing, exactly, but because nothing of substance really happens with any of the characters. Information is so minimal that one gets the impression that there *is* no story, nor any real sense of character beyond “here is a creepy rabbit-man”. Who are you, and why did you come to this place? Unknown. Why does Zayo do what he does? Unknown. What does he like? Fear? Dream about? Unknown. Unless, of course, you get all the endings and unlock the out-of-story character interview in the “extra” section, because heaven forbid something as important as characterization be anywhere in the actual story, and personally, I think the revelations given in this “interview” just make the character even flatter.

Furthermore, the game seems to outright mock players of romance games. At the risk of spoilers, there is one ending where Zayo flat-out insults the protagonists for expecting a romantic outcome, using the phrase “I hate your kind”. It's easy to see this as the author trying to mock the player for wanting to play a dating game and get a romantic ending from it. Granted, the fully-revealed twist makes things a little clearer, but again, the most information we get is outside of the actual story and so locked away that I'm a bit upset at having already used the “bewareof the leopard” quote.

The Art

One thing I'll say about Lord Zayo: poorly-written though he may be, at least he is well-drawn. The eyes especially were pretty captivating. Everything else, though, was kind of “meh”. The background of the forest was kind of interesting in that it had several layers which rocked back and forth, giving it a nice surreal sense that evoked the wind blowing through the trees. Over-all, though, the actual shapes and figures in the backgrounds were very simple to the point of feeling lazy. The music was nice, but I didn't really feel that it connected with the story or setting in any meaningful way. Like everything else in Zayay, it simply was.

The Gameplay

Perhaps the biggest (maybe even only) draw about Zayay is the randomized dialog which makes it so that no two play-throughs are exactly the same. In one session, Zayo first approaches you; in another, you first approach him. He may ask your name, or nick-name you himself. Responses to questions may be different, even contradicting answers given in earlier games. Of course, this actually worsens the problem of getting to know the characters and the world since information isn't just revealed, but changed.

Aside from the randomized dialog, though, the actual game itself is pretty linear and boring. There are five locations, and you will visit all of them, once and only once. There are three choices at the end, leading to four (technically three) possible endings, so while your choices apparently do have an effect, it's really only minimal. There is a sharp twist to the game that really doesn't become fully clear until you've unlocked and seen the extra, and frankly, it just doesn't seem worth it to me.

TL;DR

Zayay strikes me as a rather gimmicky waste of time. There is a twist on the otome-game genre and some interesting, randomized variations in the dialog, but the game is otherwise on rails, the characters and setting are never really fleshed out in any meaningful way, and while the characters are well-drawn, the backgrounds are pretty lazily done. It's not romance, it's not horror, and without the locked character-interview, it's not comprehensible.

But then, maybe you disagree. Do you think Zayay is cute, or does it just leave you wondering why you came here? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

Lads in Distress

Author: Catfish Crew

Availability: Free, Download

Format: Visual Novel

Genre: Fantasy / Literature

Rating: Teen

Found at catfishcrew.itch.io

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 4

Art: 5

Gameplay: 3

Romance: 3.5 (“A good notch or two above actual fairy-tales”)

Summary

In Lads in Distress, you are Princess Charming of Lunar Kingdom. You're skilled in magic and have quite a bit of a hero complex, which is why you have no problem with entering into a loveless political marriage to help your struggling kingdom. Of course, you still get to pick your groom, although three mysterious princes have been emphatically vetoed by your parents and it seems all of them need some kind of rescuing. Hmm.....

Review

The Writing

How do I love this game? Let me count the ways: I love that it flips the genders on classic stories, putting the girl in the position of the dashing hero. I love how Princess Charming manages to avoid crossing the threshold of Mary-Sueism by having her arrogance and savior complex actually treated as character flaws to be overcome. I love how each prince is recognizably based on a fairy-tale. I love how it twists the fairy-tales enough that, even if you're familiar with the story each prince is based on, you'll still be caught off-guard. I also love that Mer is clearly based on the original Hans Christian Anderson version of The Little Mermaid, as opposed to a certain popular 90's movie.

Granted, the script could have been proof-read a little better, and there might be a little bit of fridge-logic in one of the paths, but overall, the writing is pretty good. I was impressed that this story didn't romanticize royal marriages the way many fantasy stories often do, with love-at-first-sight and beautiful commoners becoming royalty because of their shoe-size; rather, we get the much more pragmatic truth of royals marrying for political reasons that have nothing to do with love, looks, or foot-wear. Yet despite this unromantic premise (or maybe because of it?), the relationships themselves are very sweet in how they unfold, with something that started out so cold and calculating slowly growing into friendship, trust, and love over time.

The Art

After much thought, I could not justify giving the art score anything less than a perfect 5. Calling it “beautiful” just isn't enough. It's...sumptuous! Everything, every artistic aspect, is clean, perfect, and of a professional quality. The backgrounds are gorgeous and richly detailed, with a wide variety of locations that don't “recycle the set”, so to speak. The music is exquisite, orchestral, and perfectly meshes with the game's setting and tone. The characters themselves are lovely and intricately detailed, with a very broad range of surprisingly nuanced expressions that match up well with the descriptions in the text. Even the color palette works on a level I don't usually notice, giving each character a distinct look that reflects something about them while still harmonizing with each other and the background. If this artwork were a cup of coffee,even the saucer would be perfect!

The Gameplay

Alas, I wasn't really sure what score I should give the gameplay, since while it doesn't really do anything “wrong”, I still came away feeling a little unsatisfied. To give just the facts: there are three potential suitors in this game, each with two endings (although they don't fall neatly into the labels of “good” vs “bad” endings, with one dark exception). After the initial three-pronged split, each path is pretty linear, with your choices mostly just adjusting subtle stats to determine which ending you get. Mer's route spiced things up by having options appear, disappear, or have a different outcome depending on your past choices, which I thought made things more exciting, but for the most part, there's only a narrow range of change in each route. (I was also privately disappointed when the fairy companion didn't turn out to be a surprise fourth suitor, but this did not factor into the score at all).

I feel that the general lack of any bad endings takes most of the risk and tension out of the game. While this can be a major plus for someone who just wants to relax in a comforting story, like the equivalent of a bowl of chicken soup, it's a drawback to anyone looking for more of a challenge. The value of a victory is mostly based on the threat of defeat, and without any real chance of losing, it falls to the main story itself to shoulder the burden of getting the reader invested. Of course, this is only a review of the NaNoRenO version, and it's possible that the future extended version will turn out better.

TL;DR

Lads in Distress is a fantastically beautiful game that turns classic fairy-tales completely on their heads. The game mostly stays on its rails with only a few endings, only one of which can be called “bad”, so you generally can't lose. Overall, I think it's very worth playing.

What do you think? Is this game so good it leaves you speechless, or does it deserve the kiss of death? Let down your hair in the comments section and tell us your thoughts.

Lady of the Castle

Author: Waffrus
Availability: Free, Online 
Format: Visual Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Everyone

Found at: simdatinggames.com OR freesimulationgames.net

My Scores (Out of 5):

Writing: 2.5

Art: 3

Gameplay: 2

Romance: 2 (Eh, I wasn't totally feeling it.)

Summary

In Lady of the Castle, you are Lady Elise. You're celebrating your birthday with your cousin, tutor, and maid when you get a letter from your uncle, the king, informing you that you are to marry the prince of Rozale in two weeks. Happy Birthday, indeed!

Review

The Writing

After the darkness of Saccharine and Reverie, it was kind of nice to get back into a classic “meet and fall in love” romance game. Lady of the Castle is a bit of cute fluff, although it clearly doesn't quite pull off all of the ideas that the author had. The difficulty with anything this short is that the author has a very limited space in which to parcel out all the important information about the characters, setting, and plot. It's important that we get to know these people, especially our protagonist, ASAP, so that the ending has more emotional payoff, and in this game, it feels like a lot of interesting information shows up late and goes whizzing by with little or no elaboration. I know I've said before that I like when stories “bleed off the page” by alluding to things we'll never actually see, but something as critical to a character as “why she's living with her uncle instead of her parents” strikes me as something that should get just a bit more attention in the beginning of the story. Or, maybe that's just me.

The Art

Overall, I found the art to be rather pretty, although the faces struck me as being a little wonky, especially Elise's. I think it's to do with where her mouth is in relation to her jaw, and it's less noticeable on the guys. Still, the clothes and backgrounds are very nice, and the style is a refreshing break from the usual anime/manga look these games nearly always have. I was also pleased to see a suitor with some melanin, since again, these games do have a tendency to be completely White. The only other exception I've found to this rule so far is the Canada-based Heartstring Bugs. Variety is good, people: in games like this, the more different the suitors look from each other, the more tastes you can appeal to.

The Gameplay

Well, one advantage this game had over Saccharine was the giant button labeled “Start”. It was pretty hard to miss. However, the cursor only changes into that “I” shape you see when typing, which is its own brand of confusing.

There are 6 endings in the game: 1 for ending up alone, 2 for one suitor, and 1 for everyone else. It's a little odd to me that only one character has a bad ending, and it's not even someone the plot centers around. I had actually thought that the “official plot-line” would be that cousin Fred himself was secretly in love with Elise, yet his ending only has her end up as his adviser, a detail which other endings also include. As such, it wasn't until I got the other 5 endings that I realized that was his ending. Also, while some options like “Talk to Loren” are obvious in whose ending they build toward, others are a bit less intuitive on the first play-through.

TL;DR

Lady of the Castle is a very short, cute game that's very clearly an early attempt. There are no shocking twists or turns and the pacing needs work, but if you just need a quick dating-sim fix, there are worse ways to spend thirty seconds.

So, what do you think? Is this game fit for royalty, or nothing to write home about? Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments.

Saccharine: a Misleading Sim Date

Author: Amiralo

Availability: Free, Online

Format: Dating Sim

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: Teen

Found at: simdatinggames.com OR amiralo.deviantart.com

My Scores (out of 5):

Writing: 3.5

Art: 3.5

Gameplay: 2.5

Romance: 1 (As close to an anti-romance as you can get without being “I Want to be Single”)

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Girl Game Review is back, and the first game we're serving up is Saccharine.

Summary

In Saccharine, you are Branwen: a mysterious, pale woman who comes to the pastel-colored kingdom of Cadille with the hopes of hiding a wanted fugitive; and if that plan happens to involve winning over the prince of this cake-loving kingdom, then so be it. Be warned, though, that this is not your typical, sugary dating sim.

Review

The Writing

Let me say up front that this is the darkest dating-game I've played to date (pun not intended), and that is including the games with vampires and magic powered by forsaken children. The game warns the player up front that it is a “misleading sim date”, and that...might actually be a good way to put it. At the risk of spoiling too much, this almost seems to be an anti-dating-game, the way its story unfolds and twists.

While there are a few grammatical issues sprinkled here and there (such as a person called "Women 1" stating “If I hadn't already marry Matthew..."), the story itself is interesting and nuanced, with satisfyingly individual and distinct characters. Also, I like how enough hints of the world—its culture, history, etc.—are given to make it seem to “bleed off the page”, as they say. It's nice when a fantasy story feels like it has a larger world to live in.

The Art

The art-style is interesting in that the characters have a hand-drawn look, while the backdrops seem to be painted with water-colors. This, combined with the long, thin style of the characters and the haunting, music-box-like background music, fits very well with the tone of the story, I think. That said, I like how there's a noticable difference in both body and face-shape between Branwen and the innkeeper; she adds a nice bit of visual variety without actually breaking the asthetic.

There are rough, un-colored chibis in some of the cut-scenes, and I leave it to others to decide whether this is in keeping with the hand-made look, or merely suggests that the creator was phoning it in for these parts. Personally, I didn't really mind it much, and I found the chibi drawing of Branwen with a bag over her head to be hilarious. The other scenes can be quite beautiful, though certainly not perfect, and I have to admit that the first time I saw Branwen, I didn't realize her eyelids were closed and I thought she was staring out at me with blank, dead eyes. It was rather unnerving.

The Gameplay

This game has an enforced linear gameplay, meaning that you cannot pursue bachelor #2 until you win bachelor #1. This would probably be more annoying if this were a regular dating sim, since offering a variety of guys to suit players' different tastes is part of the point. Even so, the way it's executed (with a note in the help screen telling you that you need cheatcodes) is very bald, and could probably have been handled more subtly. For example, some games (such as Fantasia: Requiem of the Abyss) just quietly unlock the new content after you've achieved whatever goal the author has set. Still others (like Frozen Essence) enable all the paths from the beginning anyway, letting the player assemble the full story themselves in whatever order their play-throughs happen to be in. I'm not saying the use of cheatcodes and such is wrong, mind you; just that it's possible to blend things more neatly into the game without breaking the fourth wall.

Subtlety aside, there are a few genuine complaints I have about the gameplay: first, it took me a while to realize that, in order to start the game and progress through certain scenes, I had to click on a gem. It would have been helpful to have this icon labelled the first time we see it. In far worse need of labeling, however, are the cakes and recipes for sale in the shop. It was very frustrating to finally earn enough gold to buy a certain cake, only to discover I'd purchased the wrong one. It'd be one thing if I were having to choose between a watch and a bowling-pin, but when discerning the flavors of cakes, one can really only go by the coloring, and even that's iffy. It's even worse for the recipes, which are identical except for their almost-arbitrary colors. (Sure, blue makes sense for blueberry...until you realize there's a second shade of blue in that lineup.) Also, there is a bug where trying to feed Isador a cake you don't have will result in you having a negative number of cakes.

One thing I did like, however, is that the gifts were woven naturally into the dialog so that you couldn't progress until you'd gotten the right thing. This kept the gift mechanic from feeling unnecessary or hack-y. I was annoyed, though, that Branwen told the Prince she'd eaten a cake when it was clearly still sitting in her inventory. (Then again, she does lie, so maybe this was in-character?) In fact, there is no mechanic for eating in the game, and while there doesn't really have to be, I was sort of expecting an eat-for-hp system like in Festival Days and a few others. Ah, well.

Another thing I like is the game-changing moment half-way through, where you get the opportunity to play match-maker for a couple of side-characters. Choosing one option can affect your income at work, while the other can affect the prices you pay at the shop. It's a nice way to let the player have more impact on the game's world, and it's also nice to be able to give someone a shot at hapiness.

TL;DR

Saccharine is a dark, anti-dating-sim set in a world of cakes and pastels. The story is a little depressing, and the music and hand-made-looking art fit the overall tone. The game forces you to play in a certain order, and while there are a few bugs and frustrating bits, it's perfectly playable. On the whole, I think it's worth checking out, provided you're fed up with sweetness and in the mood for something sad.

Of course, this is all my opinion: you might want to eat this game up, or hack it into bits. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Lunar Days Sim Date

Author: Pacthesis
Availability: Free, Online
Format: Dating Sim
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: PG
My Scores: (Writing: 3, Art: 3, Gameplay: 3.5) out of 5

Found at  http://www.deviantart.com OR http://www.bestonlinerpggames.com

Summary

Lunar Days Sim Date has nothing to do with werewolves, despite what the name and the sillouhette on the title card might lead you to believe.  In Lunar Days Sim Date, you are Karina/Insert-Name-Here.  After a recurring dream leads you to a magical book, you find yourself transported to a strange world populated by humans and cat-people, where a green moon shines during the season-long night.  Since the book's magic only works during the full moon, it will be a while before you can return home.  But once the time comes, will you even want to?

Review

The Writing:

I really like the setting Pacthesis has created here.  While the story itself is relatively simple, and the premise is similar to Dating Sim Academy in that you are magically whisked to a strange land of animal-people for no adequately explained reason, the world and the characters in it give this game its life.  We are given glimpses of racial tension and its effects on the people of this world, and glimpses of what it means to have night and day pass like seasons instead of hours.  It makes me want to see more of this setting.  This could easily be re-used as the backdrop of a movie, or a novel, or even another several dating sims, and it wouldn't feel old. There is much to explore here, and if Pacthesis doesn't choose to do so, then I hope that she gives the fans her blessing and that someone takes up this torch.

Story-wise, however, this isn't really Pacthesis' strongest work, although it's still quite good.  The introduction sequence starts out a little cliched, but then, after the book is opened, does a very good job at drawing the player in.  The characters have distinguishable personalities, and some have interesting secrets.  Sadly, the dialogue has a smattering of typos and mistakes here and there, but at least it's nothing that will ruin the gameplay.

Also, this is the second time I've given a more conservative age-ranking than the official one; the author bills this as an "all ages" game, but I felt that some of the flirting in the dialogue was a wee bit too saucy to be truly "all ages".  Yes, I am hyper-conservative and picky about everything, which I hope you'll always keep in mind when reading these reviews.

The Art:

All of the backgrounds are filtered stock-photos.  This is an accepted convention among makers of free dating games, but I did miss having a drawn background.  To me, the scenes set in our world looked a bit tacky, although for the emerald world, it worked much better.  

What is drawn is mostly okay.  It does get off-model quite a bit, though there are some very good bits also.  There's some nice animation peppered in the game, and the music is appropriately eerie.  I also like the changing profile picture in the HP meter.  Lastly, gifts given to the characters appear in their rooms, which was a nice touch.

The Gameplay:

This game does things a little differently than Pacthesis' previous works.  For one thing, it doesn't show you any numbers.  Your character has no stats to build up, so which job you work depends on how much HP you want to spend.  As for HP, while certain interactions are said to cost a certain amount, your only clue about how much HP you have is the round meter in the corner which shows you how tired you are.  This means it will take a while to figure out how much you can get done in a day.  On the other hand, often-meaningless numbers for relationship points have been replaced with words like "Acquaintance", "Friend", or "Soulmate", making it much easier to understand where you are with a person.

Rather than a mini-map, the game puts you in the world and lets you wander, like in Cafe Rouge.  This heightens the sense of immersion, but can also cause a little frustration as you try to remember where you are and how to get to where you want to go.  On the plus side, there are multiple places where you can rest, meaning that you might not have to trot quite so far; and usually, once you've reached the Friend level with a person, you can rest at their house, saving yourself a trip altogether.

It's very difficult to actually lose this game, since generally, even if you fail to win the person of your dreams, you'll still get a nice surprise once you get home.  This makes failure almost as much fun as success.  The good news is that clicking on the moon when you're resting skips you forward to the last day, making it easier to see every possible ending.

TLDR:

Lunar Dating Sim isn't really Pacthesis' strongest work, although it's still good.  The world she builds here is exquisite, and I wish I could someday see more of it.  The art leaves a bit to be desired and the gameplay tries new things.  Overall, this is a fun game, and very much worth playing.  Also, there are no werewolves.

This is, naturally, all the opinion of one person.  You yourself may think this game is the cat's meow, or you may think it needs to be banished from this world.  Feel free to discuss your own opinion on the comments. :)

Prince Maker 2: Braveness

Author:  Alpha Games
Availability: Free, Download 
Format: Raising Sims (with RPG elements)
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Teen
My Scores: (Writing: 4, Art: 3, Gameplay: 3)

Found at: http://princemakerproject.wordpress.com/

Summary:

Prince Maker Braveness is part two of a fan-made series based on Princess Maker, although it doesn't require playing part one in order to understand what's happening.  It's originally Chinese, but an English Translation is available (and is, in fact, what I'm basing this review on).  In this game, you are tasked with raising a young boy to become the next Emperor of the Three Kingdoms.  Will he succeed, or will he wind up pursuing other dreams instead?  Will he find love?  It's all up to you!

Review:

The Writing:

This is definitely one of the more story-intense raising sims, and even after several play-throughs and a bit of research, I still haven't uncovered everything. There are several distinct characters that your boy can meet as you progress through the game, and uncovering the secrets of his past unfolds a twisted and convoluted tale of love and politics.  Mind you, the English is imperfect, which can make reading the dialogue a bit of a chore in some places.

The Art:

The art in this game seems to divide evenly between "OMG That's so cute/hot/pretty!" and "Gah! Anatomy does not work that way!"  The main sprites for your boy are well done, at least, which is good, because you'll be spending a lot of time looking at him.  The music is nice, too.

The Gameplay:

There is a lot packed into this game.  There are several different locations you can visit, whether you're just shopping or explicitly sending your boy out for an adventure or a stroll, and a number of jobs and classes to unlock as you play.  There are also at least 6 different people the boy can meet and end up with, aside from you and your maid.  Be forewarned, though: this game is hard.  Some of the endings require triggering events that won't even happen unless you've set things up just right. If you don't have a guide, there will be a *lot* of guesswork over what to do, where to go, and what to say.

This is one of those games that ends up consuming all of your time, because by the time you've finished a several-hours-long playing session, you've come across details that you missed the first time around, or learned something that would have totally altered your strategy had you known, and so you have to go back and start over.  The high difficulty combined with the elusive plot-threads and the numerous endings you can get certainly makes for a lot of replay value.

TLDR:

Prince Maker 2: Braveness is both fun and frustrating.  It has it's flaws, but it also has a well-layered plot and some good fan-service...I mean art.  Art!  *Ahem*.  Anyway, as an English translation of a Chinese fan-game based on a Japanese series, it's easily the most cosmopolitan game on this blog so far, and certainly worth checking out.

Of course, this is all just my own opinion.  Feel free to state your own in the comments. :)

Pytho’s Mask

Author: Emily Short
Availability: Free / Download
Format: Text Game (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Rating: Everyone
My Scores: (Writing: 4, Gameplay: 3) out of 5

Found at http://ifdb.tads.org/ or http://www.wurb.com/if/index

Summary:

In Pytho’s Mask, you are Soteria, an agent of the secret Order of the Phoenix.  A mysterious masked man has invited you to the royal celebration of a comet that appears once every hundred years.  Your orders are to use this opportunity to investigate a possible threat to the king, which may have something to do with the comet...

Review:

Pytho’s Mask is a text game.  Although the more popular term for this genre is apparently “Interactive Fiction", I personally prefer to stick with “Text Games”:  arguably, most of these games are interactive works of fiction.  The main difference is that while most of these games have graphics and clickable items and whatnot, text/IF games deal primarily with, well, text.  The narrator gives you a description of where you are and what’s going on, and you type what you want to do in response.  True, some may have illustrations; but it’s like the difference between a book with pictures and a comic book.  Anyway, since Pytho’s Mask is all text with no pictures whatsoever, the Art score is absent for this review.

I like the writing in this game.  The plot is interesting, the mystery is well-clued without being too obvious, and the strange setting is beautifully detailed.  While some details can seem confusing at first, one quickly and easily gets a feel for this fantastic alternate-Earth.  Better still, the story and setting seem to “bleed off the page”, as it were;  hints of old stories and personal dramas creep in, giving the feeling that there’s more in the distance.  The characters are nicely distinct with strong personalities, requiring only a couple of sentences to establish just what sort of people they are.  And yet, there is more to each of them than meets the eye, for this game is all about hidden facets and dualities.  Also, I like that the main character is a bit like a Renaissance noble-woman version of Batman: Soteria doesn’t just idly solve mysteries as a way to pass the time between harpsichord lessons; she is a highly-trained agent whose job it is to kick butt.

The gameplay, on the other hand, I consider to be middling: not very good, not very bad.  One of the problems text games face is that they are highly vulnerable to “What Am I Supposed To Do Here?!” and its cousin, “What Am I Supposed To Type?!”.  Pytho’s Mask does a fairly good job of prodding you in the direction of the plot.  Admittedly, there are moments where you feel the game putting you on rails, but this is balanced out with times where you get to wander and explore at your leisure.  As for typing, there are blessedly few commands that you will actually need, although first figuring out how to phrase some things was a bit of a hiccup for me.

>Read Guide To Spotting Conspirators
What do you want to read that in?
> ???

Bear in mind, this is usually the fault of the tools used to make the game more than the author him/herself.  I currently recommend TADs, as it has a decent system for handling and creating actions, and it doesn’t ask me what I want to read things in.

One bug that’s more likely to be on the author’s shoulders, though, is the tendency to try to pick up a given book in the library only to later find yourself holding a completely different one.

On the shelves, you notice The King In Yellow.
>Read King In Yellow
(First taking The King In Yellow) It details how to roll out the dough, and what ingredients to use for sauce.
>Inventory
You are carrying a copy of How To Make Pizza.
>??!

Fortunately, things like that do not make up the majority of the game.  If anything, you spend most of the game talking to other characters.  The conversation system is introduced very early on, and it’s actually an NPC who initiates your first conversation.

Conversations are mostly handled in dialogue trees.  You first address a character by typing “Talk To (Character)", and then you’re given a choice of things to actually say.  You choose by simply selecting A, B, C, etc.  This helps make conversations easier to navigate, as it solves the “What Am I Supposed To Type?!” problem.  I discovered by accident, though, that you can also introduce different topics by typing “T (ThingYouWannaTalkAbout)”.  It took me a while to figure out what T was supposed to stand for (Talk About?  Tell About?); then I stumbled across a help section that said T was short for Topic.  “Topic Prince”?  Weird.

On that note, some of these characters have unusual names.  While that’s par for the course in fantasy, it brings up the problem of actually being able to remember said names.

>Ask Minister About Venetia
Who?
>Vedalia
Who?
>Viviwhoseewhatsis 
Who?
>The Hussy Hanging All Over The Prince
Who?
>!!!

As it happens, though, the aforementioned Help section -- which I found so late in the game, that it’s embarrassing -- disclosed that, at any time, I could have typed “P” and been given a handy list of all the characters I’d met so far.  Why, oh why, did it not occur to me to type “HELP” sooner?  It could’ve saved me so much headache.

The last minor complaint I’ll bring up is that it’s a bit tricky to keep track of where the exits are.  Some text games have a built-in compass that tells you which directions you can go at any given time:

You are in a dungeon.  Exits are North, South, and Dennis.  
 Exits: North, South, Dennis
>Go North
You come to a room with an inadequately written description. 
 Exits: South, West

The version of Pytho’s Mask which I played (on Frotz) has no such function that I could detect.  Exits were only mentioned as the room was being described (“to the west is a door, and you see a...”), and room descriptions only appeared automatically when you first visit a room.  This means that if you go back to a room you’ve already been to before, you’ll have to explicitly type “Look” (or just “L”) to see where you can go from there.  (Or, of course, you can try going in a direction that doesn’t exist there, and thus be told “You can’t go that way.  You can only go North, South, or Dennis.”)  It’s a minor-to-moderate inconvenience, but it doesn’t make the game unplayable.

There are multiple endings to be had in this game, and at least two different men you can end up with.  Several of the endings fork from the same point.  Basically, toward the end of the game, you have to switch one item with another, and what you switch it with will determine the outcome (And let’s just say you really want to have a grip on who’s who at this point).  Of course, merely figuring out whodunnit isn’t enough to ensure everybody goes home safe and happy...

TLDR:
Pytho’s Mask is a fantastic intrigue flavored with romance and a little action.  It has its share of hiccups, but nothing so debilitating that you can’t finish the game.  “HELP” is your friend, and will save you from much woe.  On the whole, it’s worth checking out.

The Fortune Teller holds up a card.  On one side is an image of a reader agreeing with everything that the girl with the blog has just said.  On the obverse is an image of a reader shaking their head, tossing the blogger out of a convenient window, and going off to start their own blog, a better one, that will have blackjack and hookers.

Rose Destiny 2 Dating Sim

Author: Chickslovegames

Availability: Free, Online/browser

Format: Dating Sim

Genre: Fantasy, School Romance

Rating: Teen

My Scores: (Writing: 2, Art: 2, Gameplay: 2) out of 5

Found at http://www.newgrounds.com/

Summary:

In Rose Destiny 2, the sequel to Rose Destiny Dating Sim, you are still Rose. This time, your father has gone away and "forgotten" to take you and Adrain. But no worries; he has arranged for you to stay at an all-boys school for demons while he finishes "errands".

Review:

Writing:

Wait...someone please tell me that the main character's last name isn't supposed to be Destiny...*sigh*.

Possible names aside, this game is a lot more cleaned up than its predecessor. Adrian's name is consistent, and we get more hints about what the heck is going on in this world. I actually found myself becoming interested in the suggested story.

In my review of the first game, I pointed out the oddness of a father wanting his daughter to find a boyfriend. In Rose Destiny 2, however, his motivation seems to be along the lines of wanting his daughter to marry into comfort. Much more plausible. Furthermore, I find it intriguing that they are broke and constantly moving while her father tries to wheel and deal. It makes me think exciting things are happening in the grand scheme.

That said, this game is still not perfect. For one thing, the spelling is horrible, and I want to fly into a violent rage every time someone discusses the prospect of "Marridge". M-A-R-R-I-A-G-E! Admittedly, I'm the last person who should be griping about spelling (For years, my attempts at "Scissors" caused pointing and laughing, and even now I still balk), but if *I* can tell that a lot of words are misspelled, then it's time to start using a dictionary.

Also, and this applies to both this game and the prequel, I feel that Adrian should be explained a little earlier on. If he is supposed to be the main character's adopted brother, then this information should be made fairly clear to the player at the beginning, as it is information that the main character knows. That's always a problem when it crops up in writing; how to convey to the audience information that the character already knows and thus has no practical reason to discuss. I think in this case, though, a few words in the intro would have covered it.

Finally, while there are some interesting possible plot threads, questions are not satisfactorily answered and too few explanations are given, leading me to wonder if there actually *is* a plot or if the author is just pulling things out of a hat (to use a polite form of the expression).

Art:

I still don't like the art, but at least it doesn't cause physical pain to look at, as in the first game. I can't put my finger on exactly what makes it better, but at least that awful font from the main page is replaced by something prettier, and that eye-straining "notebook style" intro is out. There also seems to be more in the way of backgrounds, and the characters aren't as short and squat as they were in the previous installment.

Also, it's time for me to adress a peeve that many artists are guilty of: If your character has hair covering an eye, we should not be able to see that eye. I think Aurelius from Frozen Essence has this problem, and I forget where else I've seen it, but it looks wrong and annoys me to no end. It's like the character had no eyes, combed their hair down, and then glued eyes onto their face. It's creepy, artists; please stop doing it.

Gameplay:

Most of the bugs from the first game are gone, although there are still a couple, such as the fact that choosing "Date" for someone you can't date yet results in repeating the first dialog with that character.

Speaking of dialog, though, let us REJOICE, for the dialog tree has been improved with relevant responses to your choices! Now, when you choose poorly, the character will tell you why this response was inappropriate....sort of. While some of the responses cause me to see the logic at work, others just serve to highlight the arbitrary nature of some of the branches. To give a made-up example:

Choice: "I like pudding" vs. "I like Mustard"

You select: "I like Pudding."

Hottie Responds: "Yay! Me too."

...Nothing happens. Next turn:

You Select: "I like Mustard"

Hottie Responds: "OMG I love mustard too! It is my favorite condiment! <3" (+10 EXP)

Game Progresses.

So....Okay. Now that's out of the way, there was one thing I forgot to mention in the last review, and that's the 10 gold rent charged in both of these games. I actually find it to be an interesting mechanic; it forces you to pay attention to something other than the Talk button, and with some extrapolation and tweaking, could make for a nice balance sim.

TLDR:

To Sum It All Up, we get more story and better flow in this game, though too much is still left hanging. The art is more tolerable, but still needs some improvement. Also, the gameplay is much improved, but still a little buggy. The game and its author show much potential, though, and I think that if a third installment were to come out, I would be interested in playing it.

Do you agree?

Rose Destiny Dating Sim

Author: Chickslovegames
Availability: Free, Online/browser
Format: Dating Sim
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: Teen
My Scores: (Writing: 1, Art: 1, Gameplay: 1) out of 5

Found at http://www.newgrounds.com/

Summary:

In Rose Destiny Dating Sim, you, your father, and your brother have all moved to a new kingdom. Your father wants you to find a boyfriend, preferably in time for the ball.

Review:

Writing:

Notice how I didn't use any names in that summary. The dialog in the game doesn't make it very clear who's who and what's going on. Generally, you can figure out the boys' names by checking the stats sheet immediately after talking to one of them, but this brings up a hilarious inconsistency with the brother; throughout the game, your brother is referred to as Adrian, but the stats sheet lists him as Alex. This makes me think of a scene from a Cheech and Chong movie: "Dude, you never told me your name was Alex!" As for our "shy" but totally-willing-to-break-into-people's-houses-and-start-bossing-them-around protagonist, I think her name is supposed to be Rose, but I wouldn't bet my life on it.

As you can guess, I don't much care for the writing, but there are a couple places where I must give credit. One thing that impressed me is that one character has an attempted female-on-male rape in his backstory, and it is treated as something to be taken seriously. Often in fiction, and real life, the concept of women sexually attacking men is either not addressed, downplayed, or laughed off. We assume that women are too weak, or that men only respond when they want to, and neither of these assumptions are true; but because of them, a serious crime will often go unreported or unbelieved. As women, I think it's time we took responsibility and acknowledged the heinous things we are capable of.

Soap boxing aside, there was one other interesting bit that warrants half a point: The fact that Rose's father wants her to find a boyfriend. This is unusual, as parents generally either don't want their children dating (as the game mentions), or they want their children married off (mainly for status and/or money). Why this obsession with Rose finding a boyfriend as opposed to a husband, then? What does he have to gain? This would be very interesting if I didn't think it was merely an excuse for the dating sim setup, but if the author ever wants to do some serious retooling, she has the material for an intriguing story.

Art:

The art here is harsh, and also a bit confusing. The first time I played this game, I didn't see the "leave" option in the corner and thus couldn't figure out how to exit the house. Also, the intro to the game is hard on the eye and thus difficult to read.

Gameplay:

This game is broken. Choosing to work takes away hp more than once (after you click the button, and after it tells you how much you earned), and choosing to date someone who is not yet datable also results in a glitch. Also, it is possible (and easy) to end the day with -10 hp.

This game also commits the sin of having two nearly identical responses to pick from, one of which is wrong. Furthermore, the game won't tell you why it's wrong. Often, it feels like the author has written a script, and the point of the game is to guess what my exact lines are.

One more issue I have is with the lesbian in the market place. Some games have gay options; others don't, and that's fine. But why have a lesbian character, build up how much she's madly in love with you, give her Talk and Date buttons, and then have it come out that she's not actually an available character? Friends, when it comes to things like sex scenes and gay options, let us remember the words of Yoda: "Do or Do Not, there is no Tease."

TLDR:

In short, I found this game difficult to play and enjoy. In many ways, it reminded me of Dating Sim Academy, and has some of the same flaws. Still, as much as I hate both of them, I'm certain that every game has its audience. As long as there are redeeming qualities in a piece, there will be someone who can appreciate them; and when a piece has no such qualities, there will be someone who can enjoy it ironically. Alas, that someone is not me, but maybe it can be you. Feel free to say what you think.

Kingdom Days Sim Date

Author: Pacthesis

Availability: Free, Online/browser

Format: Dating Sim

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: Everyone

My Scores: (Writing: 3.5, Art: 4.8, Gameplay: 3.5)

Found at: http://www.deviantart.com/ and/or http://www.newgrounds.com/

Summary:

In Kingdom Days Sim Date, you are Rose. You used to live in an orphanage, until one day you met a strange boy who revealed that you're the long-lost daughter of the king and queen, and he himself is your servant. Sometime after this, though, war forces you to flee from your castle and take shelter with a king who will only allow you to stay if you marry him at the end of a month. Will you go through with it, or will you find a future with someone else?

Review:

Once again, I found myself waffling over the numbers, so take them with a grain of salt. I may have to change my rating system again.

The Writing:

At first, I thought the whole bit with the orphanage was superfluous. Since the premise essentially boils down to "You are a princess", it didn't make sense to have such a long introduction sequence catering to the "Orphan has royal parents" fantasy, which probably hasn't been relevant since the 1800's. However, while this background doesn't have much bearing on the game in general, it becomes absolutely crucial for one character's path. Even so, it probably could have been handled differently - either introduced more subtly, or made more relevant to different parts of the game - so that it doesn't seem like a massive weight pressing down on the game with just one character path acting as a load-bearing pillar. Other than this, the game has Pacthesis' usual interweaving plot threads, attention to detail, and odd humor, all of which I've come to love.

The Art:

I almost gave this a 5. Almost. Had the art for some scenes been just a liiiiittle bit tighter, it would have been perfect; as it was, it was impressive. From the use of monochrome in the beginning, to the animation during the escape, to the detail of Rose and Lewis being spattered with mud as they run through the woods, it's clear that a lot of effort was put into this. The characters and scenery are lovely, expressions and wardrobe change quite a bit, and overall, I am just very impressed.

The Gameplay:

THE STATS DO SOMETHING! Finally, a Dating Sim where the stats actually do something: Charm is required in order to go on dates, Wisdom is required to work the better job, and Magic is used to unlock the cheat codes. Granted, the system is not above criticism, but it is a huge step up from the mostly decorative stats in Pacthesis' other games.

Like Idol Days, there is one hidden character who must be unlocked, and one character who shows up at the half-way point, meaning you have less time to complete his path. The game is also nice enough to tell you when you've completed each path. Also, there are no pesky minigames! Hooray!

Unfortunately, the endings are less satisfying once you realize that the *relationship points* mean nothing. Oh Pacthesis, why did you give me ice cream and take away my cake? The mechanics of the game appear to be rigged so that when you progress to a certain point in a character's path, you invite them to your wedding, which means that they show up at the church and can thus be selected for an ending. While this may seem a perfectly acceptable way to do things, there are two characters (The king and your servant) who will *always* show up at the church, regardless of your relationship with them. This means that you can pretty much approach a person you've had nothing to do with all month and say "OMG I love you! Let's get married and live happily ever after!" Compare this to Idol Days and Wonderland Days, where all of the characters show up to wish you well and only the one(s) you have a high enough relationship with will cart you off into the sunset. Since Kingdom Days is entirely dependent on the dialogue path/church mechanic, there's no purpose to the gifts or dating, and no sense of accomplishment when you "win" either the king or Lewis.

TLDR:

To sum it all up, it's pretty clear that Pacthesis keeps getting better and better at making these games. There are some new things being tried out here, some of which work and some of which don't. The writing isn't perfect, but it's nice; the art is impressive and shows a lot of attention and effort. I'm not a fan of the game's method of handling relationships, but it plays all right, and generally makes for a lovely and relaxing way of passing an afternoon.

As always: This is just my own opinion, based on my own experiences and biases. Feel free to share yours. :)

Castle Chase

Author: Makio-Kuta and Racheal

Availability: Free, Download

Format: Dating Sim / RPG

Genre: Fantasy/Humor

Rating: PG

My Scores: (Writing:4, Art: 4, Gameplay: 6 5) out of 5

Found at http://www.castlechase.com

Summary:

In Castle Chase, you are Princess Monica. Your future, as it has been planned for you, involves marrying some prince from another kingdom and becoming a queen. That doesn't strike you as appealing, so you duck out from your studies for the day with the intent of going on a date! The problem is, who with?

Review:

My reaction upon seeing the game's home page: Yikes, who let the dogs out? Ugh, the English on this page is worse than a five-year-old's. And what the heck? "Two hour contest"? Is that how long they spent making this thing? Aw man, this is going to suck....

My reaction upon actually playing the game: OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST GAME I'VE EVER PLAYED IN MY LIFE!!!

--The following review is brought to you by Esther D. Bum, with many apologies to Doug Walker.--

There's this princess, and she looks like a bizarre anime character, which would suck if this was a romance game, but it isn't really a romance game! It's a comedy!! And she meets this guy who looks a lot like a girl, which is amazing since all the girls look like guys anyway! But she only looks bizarre when she's talking, because the rest of the time, she's a cute 8-bit rpg character like from the 80s or 90s! I was an 8-bit rpg character once, but then I got eaten by a turtle! And the music is all midievally and stuff!! It's amazing!!!

So the princess wants to go on a date even though dating doesn't exist yet, and everyone is like "NO! STAY IN SCHOOL!" But she says "Screw you I'm the Princess! I'll do what I want!" And she walks around the castle looking for someone who wants to date her, because she doesn't know princesses are hot stuff, and every time she talks to somebody, plot happens! And sometimes the plots are sweet and sometimes they're hilarious, and sometimes they're sweet AND hilarious, like chocolate-covered clowns!!!

So she's walking and walking and then she walks some more, because the castle is really, really big, and it's just like Legend of Zelda except that she doesn't fight anything! Or smash any pots! So it's not like Zelda at all! And she finds these objects everywhere and she gives them to people to make more plot happen, but some of the objects are red herrings, and one of them actually IS a red herring! So she walks around and sometimes people follow her, and different things can happen based on what she did and who she talked to, and then she gets an ending and the game is like "Okay, You're Done!" HOORAY!

This is Esther D. Bum saying CHANGE? You got change?? Aw, c'mon, help a girl out!!!

----

Seriously, this game was a lot of fun once I figured out the keyboard commands. (X is inventory and S is use, by the way; or at least it is on my copy.) Also, this is the last time I shall attempt to rip off Doug Walker's "Bum Reviews".