#magical otoge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lunas-otome-blog · 5 months

Text

Luna's Review: Radiant Tale

Official Summary:

Tifalia’s comfortable life is turned upside down when a dragon crash-lands right into her! This triggers her first encounter with CIRCUS, a performance troupe that travels around the world to save their crown prince. After a dismal failure of a performance, CIRCUS discovers that Tifalia might be able to help them and recruit her to act as producer for their dysfunctional troupe.

Will they master the ring? Or just be mediocre?

A crazy dragon who’s more silly than scary, a prickly clown who won’t make you laugh, a mysterious conductor who doesn’t want to use water magic, an acrobat who doesn’t know how to entertain, a drunkard fur ball, an unmotivated leader, and an amateur producer who just joined.

Can you help this dysfunctional troupe create their greatest performance?

(Spoiler Free) Luna's Thoughts:

I have so much praise for this game. It really delivers on what it promises at the beginning: a colorful, fun adventure with a circus theme throughout. Not to mention the Mucha-themed user interface is gorgeous.

They need to give the editors and translators for this game a raise. Not only is the editing accurate and excellent, but the localization of dialogue (particularly with Radie) is really skillfully done. This was the first otome game I've played in a while that didn't have a lot of awkwardly-phrased sentences. It really felt like the editing team cared and was trying their best throughout.

The cast of characters is colorful and varied, and I love the characterization of the main character as someone who goes through her own unique arc in each route. Often otoge protagonists are just fill-ins for the player, but Tifalia is actually allowed to have her own thoughts, feelings and interests. Her biggest flaw is that her name is, unfortunately, Tifalia.

(I know you can rename the protag, but I like to hear them say the name, so I always keep the default name lol.)

She does lack the typical protagonist top-of-eye shinies, which makes her look a little unemotional in some CGs.

Another thing I enjoyed was how the common route changes a little based on which characters you spend time with. Ultimately the same things happen, but the way you're introduced to certain elements changes. That was a nice little bit of flavor that made even the common route a little more exciting each playthrough.

I did have a little trouble picturing where the flowers you're supposed to bloom are in the game. They're never described as being any particular place, just that they're there. Are they floating? Do people carry them around? What is going on lol.

There were also a few details in particular routes that I felt could have been done better, but ultimately I really liked this game. Below, please find my thoughts on each route in the order I played them. Spoilers ahead.

(SPOILERS) Zafora Route

Zafora is so, so cute. You really have to work to get him to blush, which makes it all the more adorable when he does. His inability to speak sincerely is hilarious and results in a lot of roundabout dialogue. It doesn't help that Tifalia is kinda stupid and doesn't get it, but that just means Zafora has to come out and say what he means sometimes.

My biggest issue with his route was that Erase, the magical weapon he needs in order to save Cultura from Balto, is just a gun lolol. Like, this is a magical universe with magic and spirits and MAGIC and he gets a gun. The ending scene with him and Tifalia holding the gun together was extremely funny.

The ending did feel a bit rushed, as Balto just sort of vanishes after being shot. We don't really even get to see that moment, as Zafora freezes and isn't mentally present for it. The game pretty much abruptly ends after that, only to reveal that one year later, Zafora hasn't contacted Tifalia AT ALL. Like, bro, you're really gonna be like this after all she did for you?? Tifalia pretty much falls over herself taking him back, which made me kinda angry. Have higher standards, girl!

I've seen other write-ups about his route feeling more plot heavy with romance shoved at the end and I agree. The fun of a tsundere like Zafora is getting them to debase themselves and confront their feelings and even at the end, Zafora is never forced to do this. He remains dignified and cold and forces Tifalia to do all the emotional lifting. It was a bit disappointing for an after ending.

(SPOILERS) Ion Route

This route was longer than Zafora's (or at least it felt so) and it seemed a little better paced. I felt Ion's relationship with Tifalia was sensible and sweet. Of course he'd fall for the girl who showed him a little kindness.

Characters like him (honest, deadpan, straightforward) can be handled well or poorly depending on whether the writing gives them time to grow. I think Ion's growth felt natural as he learns to rely on others, accept praise and have his own opinions about things.

One part in his route that I had trouble with was when the group just decided to break into Balto's house and then they did it. Like, we didn't get any sort of explanation. The dialogue was just like "we snuck in." I know the story needed to move on, but it was kinda funny that the circus kids can apparently stage a heist with no concerns.

I really enjoyed the characterization of Luna in this arc, but I did wish that she was drawn more childlike. I assumed she was just a short fully-grown woman until I played this arc because her clothes and hairstyle are fairly mature. But she's supposed to be like 12 I think?

While I thought Ion's ending battle scene was a lot less rushed than Zafora's, I wish Tifalia's sacrifice was given a bit more time to breathe. She just brands herself with the ring and then two seconds later Ion is able to deliver the final blow. I wish we'd had a little more time for him to agonize.

That said, the ending scene where everyone wordlessly agrees to brand themselves with the ring, despite not even being 100% sure that doing it will help, just to make Ion feel more secure, was absolutely adorable. I really felt the friendship here. It was incredibly sweet.

Overall, I felt Ion's route was more grounded than Zafora's, possibly because Ion is a more honest character. Also, jealous Ion at the end?? Fantastic. More of that, please.

(SPOILERS) Paschalia Route

If Ion's route was romantic, Pas's route takes it to a whole different level. Zafora is outright hostile towards Tifalia for a lot of his route, and Ion was standoffish for a while. Pas, on the other hand, seems to be attracted to her from the very beginning. His chivalrous nature has already developed into romantic feelings before you even get on his route.

Seeing him blonde with yellow eyes was a shock. I knew his appearance changed based on his water spirit contract, but I didn't know how much, as blue hair isn't that uncommon in these games.

This route felt very different from the first two I did, and it took me a while to understand why I felt weird about it. I realized it's because Paschalia's route is perhaps too "traditional" for my taste. He tells you right away that he wants to protect Tifalia, not because she's without magic but because she's a woman. Which is ironic because Pas is easily the most feminine-looking character in the game, Tifalia included.

And his route culminates into a literal damsel in distress plot, with Tifalia trapped underwater, unable to do anything except wait for her prince to come. She felt more pathetic this route, as compared to Zafora's route, where her whole arc is figuring out how she can support him, and Ion's route, where she brands herself with a curse in order to help him. And let's be honest: as soon as they mentioned the Leve Vows, you know that's how it's going to end.

This is also the first route where you truly get to understand the fickleness of the great spirits. Leve has no rhyme or reason for what she does; she simply likes humans who are in love, and will punish them if they betray her expectations. It's treated as kind of sweet in the common route, but later I realized it's kind of horrifying. Sometimes people fall out of love, or just realize they need different things in a relationship. I don't think people should be punished for it.

There's a weird mention of making Paschalia the mayor of Oriens to get the earrings which is never followed up on. I also thought the surprise wedding was abrupt, and kind of messed up if I'm being honest. Consent is key!

I know there's a lot of negatives here, but I didn't dislike the route. I thought Pas and Tifalia's relationship developed fairly naturally, and I did genuinely cry when he rejects her initially. I also thought Leve televising their kiss to all of Oriens was hilarious.

But idk, overall this route felt a little heteronormative to me. I would have liked to see Tifalia get a bigger role.

(SPOILERS) Radie Route

This route was ambitious to say the least, and I don't think it was pulled off as effectively as it could have been. A large part of it, to me at least, was that the route tries to pull off too much in such a small space. Radie's — or as we find out, Ralida's — route felt like it should have been the true ending. We find out so much about Tifalia's past, most notably that her parents are alive, but there's so much going on in this route that we don't really get a proper reunion with them.

I feel like this route was made to come right before the true end, so I cannot imagine how odd of an experience it would be to play it earlier. It makes the other three routes seem super insignificant, honestly.

Ralida was a weird choice to be the character that loses his emotions, namely because he's not the most expressive character in the cast. In fact, I'd say he's not expressive at all unless in his fey form, which we realize is largely acting, or at least a cutesy persona he developed for Tifalia's sake.

I do understand his arc mirrors Tifalia's own experience losing her emotions and memories when her parents "died." But it would have made more sense to go with a character like Vilio. Thinking about it now, none of the boys in Radiant Tale are very expressive except Vilio, are they? Lol.

Despite the dramatics, this route felt fairly low stakes, as they're basically never in doubt that they can bring Ralida's memories back. That made me somewhat impatient. I'd have liked the plot to be more "what can we do to bring him back" rather than "here is what we do, now sit through two more chapters while we do the thing." Idk if that makes sense but I was never worried for Ralida. And we never got an explanation for how the great earth spirit was about to turn Ralida into a full fey after he left. I guess it's something like Leve leaving a part of her consciousness behind, but we didn't get to hear any explanation so I don't truly know.

I also felt like Tifalia was kind of swindled out of a more satisfying after end sequence. It was better than Zafora's, but I wanted Ralida to be more flustered. We barely see him blush the entire route. I do like that Tifalia gets to take the initiative though. And I ADORE Tifalia's dad's reaction to their relationship. He is the most dad ever about it.

I also want to address one thing that bothered me a little, which is that it feels a bit icky that Ralida was basically Tifalia's dad for a while. I know he's an immortal being and probably time means nothing to him. And I don't blame Tifalia either, because she doesn't remember their past together. But surely this route could have been written in a way that didn't state over and over again that Ralida was her guardian? Just feels a bit wrong tbh.

I was really excited for the "childhood friend" route but I got a lot more than I expected. Again, I know I've written mostly negative things here but I promise I didn't dislike this route! I just think it could have done well with more space to breathe, as well as making Ralida more emotional from the get-go so it's more of a gut-punch when he loses his emotions. I still think this should have been the true end route, given how entangled Ralida is with Tifalia's past.

(SPOILERS) Vilio Route

The beginning of this route felt weird to me, probably because you don't get to go through the regular common route. Vilio has his own version of the common route, and the key events/explanations of the common route are given new dialogue. However, it felt a little rushed, with oversimplified explanations and little dialogue with anyone but Vilio. It's basically just a crappier version of the common route.

I know it's because players have already read it and been through the common route four times at this point, but with the skip function, it's still pretty easy to get through it. And it gives you the ability to select Vilio on the cute little map like I got to do with the others. Idk, I know you're gonna pick Vilio when you're playing his route, but I felt like I was robbed of the chance to get onto the route myself. Maybe I'm just a traditionalist and prefer trying to qualify for a route like normal. But being made to read through a rushed version of the common route was annoying.

After playing Vilio's route, I still feel like Ralida's route would have been the better true end. That said, I thought Tifalia was at her best in this route. This is the only route where she gets to set out fully on her own (well, ok, with Colivus) and go on an adventure, standing up to the Great Spirits to convince them she's worthy.

Like in a lot of otoges, you realize Vilio's cheerfulness is a cover for his sadness and regrets. I enjoyed the contrast between his personality and his mission, as well as the visual of him with dark hair, symbolizing his dreariness and resignation to accept his fate.

Like with Ralida's route, I felt the reunion with Tifalia's parents was rushed, as was how everyone else gets their problems solved. I know the true end route is always tasked with somehow resolving things for everyone, but given how difficult it was to take care of, say, Paschalia's situation in his route, it seemed really silly to just say that Leve fixes him instantly. There was also the usual level of convoluted magic in Vilio's route, but I've grown to expect that sort of thing in these games.

I would have liked to see Tifalia with dragon powers. We know she now shares his lifespan but we're told she has a dragon's strength and magic now. Yet we never see an example of this. It would have been cool to get to see her become accustomed to her powers, or use them to fight, or really anything lol.

I also thought the Dragon's Bride thing was brought up way too late. It was never hinted at until it became plot relevant, which seems lazy. The introduction of the fiend breakout at the lab also seemed a bit too convenient.

I'd say overall, the pacing was my biggest criticism in his route. I wanted less common route and more Tifalia reuniting with her parents and attempting to come up with a way to help Vilio. That said, it was still a happy ending and I enjoyed playing it.

Jinnia

Jinnia technically isn't a route, unless you count the common ending, but I would be remiss not to comment on him.

Honestly, I thought he was one of the best characters in the game. As soon as I saw him I was like "I hope he's not romanceable because sir, that is a Gay Man." Fortunately he's not (thought I have heard he sort of is in the fan disk) but he still has a great presence.

He's the first ally you have when Tifalia falls in love. He's always supportive, even when you don't make the choice he wants. And he canonically wears makeup and flamboyant fashion. He's easily the most consistently-behaved character in the game, and I love his relationship with his boyfriend childhood friend Acchan.

A+ character. 10/10

#otome game #otome review #review #radiant tale #radiant tale review

4 notes · View notes

faroreswinds · 2 years

Note

I can answer the reason over why self inserts are popular in japan. It’s kind of hard to explain and translate but i’ll try. So basically the preferred mode of escapism in media is mostly just called “living” i guess? It’s why fans of sol can coexist comfortably with isekai and even mecha fans, since they see it as “immersing” themselves in the narrative.

There is also an important distinction to be made: most don’t really consider self inserts to be “omg this is literally me!” It’s more like playing with dolls if i can explain it that way? They don’t disdain “non self-inserts” but they make a clear distinction between say, character a having a set romantic partner and ending, and character b having many romantic options and more endings available. Someone commented (about otoge game heroines in particular) that they distinguish between “normal” players and “dream shipper” players (people who do see themselves as the main character in the sense of wanting their personal tastes catered to, vs “normal” players wanting to see an established character having the freedom of options). To talk about otoges in particular: someone will say that they want the heroine to be romanced by x character because that’s what they are attracted to in a real life partner, and someone else will say they want character z because z will be better for the heroine as a character.

I forgot a lot of these terms in japanese. I’m sorry…

But i’ve been following your blog closely. i can say it’s not an exaggeration to say that byleth is really very popular in japan: for example, only ike, marth, and lyn have large scale non poseable figurines sold that aren’t pure fanservice merchandise like camilla and tharja and cordelia. The corrins and lucina and edelgard have figma (and chrom has amiibo and nendoroid) but getting a large scale made is seen as an honor and a sign that a particular character “made it.” So fans were extremely happy that a byleth large scale was announced for july.

Japanese fans love the three houses lords and the way i can best try to describe it is that byleth is their preferred way to show the lords their favor towards them (like making your favorite dolls kiss and play house), and giving their lords the power to have the “happiest” ending in their routes. They enjoy the story beats for byleth and the interactions they have with the lords. They also love that it combines an academy (school media is well received in japan and older fans appreciated that a military and religious academy setting made it feel more mature and not like a typical high school with juvenile concerns) with magic and warfare. They liked the change of starting out with a commoner protagonist (like ike) rubbing elbows with nobility but also becoming close with them when most fire emblem main characters are royalty (excepting robin, ike, and byleth).

Three houses and byleth became so popular, regardless of western fanbases, that intsys, which is usually very lazy when it comes to merchandise, is now also offering three houses tea, plush toys and pop up parade figures.

Now i can definitely vouch for the statement that japanese fans are very unhappy with the storytelling decisions made for musou. Many say that it feels like the story and characters they got attached to in houses were spat on. Others are calling it poorly written doujinshi or ntr. Others are saying the head writer hates byleth and many are calling the interviews made in those magazines deliberately misleading, and saying the developers played coy and lied to the fans and bribed them with merchandise to convince them to buy musou. Others are saying what was the point of playing houses if musou came along to invalidate it.

Finally, i can also say that the complaints about western fans are true. I do acknowledge that there are a lot of stupid anti sjw types and incels in the mix. Typical channer message board posters who we can at least say its fine to ignore because they’re racist and sexist anyway. However, there is a significant part that i agree with in that they are worried that the developers and scenario writers (? I think that’s the term) are swayed by foreign money and now consider their complaints more important than simply making a game for its own sake. Many are worried about the infamous toxicity in western fandoms and are basically worried that that will now come into their own online spaces (which practice strict segregation and aggressive tagging to avoid ship wars and the like), which is now more difficult to shield from with how porous social media has become. They also resent the behavior of western fans towards asian fandoms, citing several instances of western fans being racist and homophobic (they do not like BL media being criticized for example) while also demanding asian media like anime and manga and games to cater more to them. Or that they call asian media trashy and stupid and bad (they don’t like western deprecating mean and aggressive humor for example; many have made guides on things like “if a westerner leaves a post on your fanart saying they hate it, sometimes they mean it as a strange compliment”)

So theres my explanation. I’m sorry it was so long. But hopefully it shed some light onto the situation.

This is very much appreciated, anon, thank you!

The truth is that while I used to live in Japan and have a degree in Asian studies, I've never engaged too much with Japanese fandom spaces. Partially because I've really had little reason to until recently. So some things are foreign to me but I'm always happy to learn.

And honestly, all of this makes sense based on what I already know Japanese fans to be like. And honestly, part of me gets it. Perhaps it's because I spent a number of years in high school with my friends over there enjoying Japanese media (we used to go doujinshi and figure/poster shopping in Nipponbashi, we called it "nerd shopping"), but I've always felt that Byleth was, as you say, a "character b" type. I only bothered me personally because I felt it came at the sacrifice of other characters in terms of the quality of the story. So I do criticize Byleth, but I also... kinda like them? Especially more so now with Hopes.

Others are saying the head writer hates byleth and many are calling the interviews made in those magazines deliberately misleading, and saying the developers played coy and lied to the fans and bribed them with merchandise to convince them to buy musou.

This I did see a mile away, though. AoC was the precedent for that. But I don't think the writers hate Byleth personally. But I can see why fans think that.

However, there is a significant part that i agree with in that they are worried that the developers and scenario writers (? I think that’s the term) are swayed by foreign money and now consider their complaints more important than simply making a game for its own sake.

To be honest, I do understand their fears. Western fanbases are currently very toxic. You can't say anything wrong, you can't think a certain way. Japanese fanbases, from my limited experience, are much more pleasant overall. And Western fans do have a sense of... entitlement. An expectation to be pandered to.

Now, I do feel that these companies should have some Western fans in mind. To a degree. They are creating products for a multi-national company. To ignore a large part of your consumers is silly. That's not to say to bend to their every whim, mind you. But you can't just ignore them either. Some of these franchises are only as successful as they are BECAUSE of the Western fanbase. Zelda comes to mind, I believe. It's much more popular overseas than in Japan.

It's honestly inevitable for these companies to consider foreign countries. Look at Hollywood, bending over backwards (until recently) to get their dumb movies to play in China. That's serious money, and these companies NEED money. You can't get by on integrity of your story alone sometimes.

But that said, I'm not entirely sure how much they were actually paying attention to Western complaints this time. I've seen some the exact same arguments in Japanese forums that we have in English about Houses - Claude is a good guy, Edelgard is right/wrong, etc etc. Sometimes it's actually freaky how similar the "fights" really are. I can understand their concerns but I think this time, they are probably just as much to blame in this case.

(But Westerners calling Japanese media terrible are just awful people.)

But i’ve been following your blog closely.

I didn't even know I had people who followed me closely. :) I'm going to take this as a compliment and thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope my takes are entertaining and that I don't come off as a dumb dumb.

#Three hopes #meta #anon asks

17 notes · View notes

arandomtimeofday · 1 year

Text

Backlog of games (WIP)

1931: Scheherazade at the library of Pergamum

7'Scarlet

Absolute alchemical potion

Airis

Akash: path of five

The amazing shinsengumi: heroes in love

Anicon -Animal Complex- Cats path

Anicon -Animal Complex- Sheep's path

Backstage pass

Ballads at Midnight

Blood code

Blue rose reprise

Blush blush

Cafe 0 ~the drowned mermaid ~

Cafe 0 ~the sleeping beast~

Cafe rouge

Cardinal cross

Changeling

Cinderella phenomenon

Cliche -critical change

Crossroad

Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~

Dangerous relationship

Deliver us from evil

Destiny's princess

dUpLicity ~beyond the lies~

East tower Akio

East tower kuon

East tower kurenai

East tower takashii

Errant kingdom

A foretold affair

Hatoful boyfriend

Hatoful boyfriend holiday star

The heiress of sorcery

High school otome

How to fool a liar king

How to take off your mask

I live you Colonel sanders

Let's not stay friends

London detective mysteria

Long live the queen

Love ritual

Lucky rabbit reflex

Magical diary horse hall

Magical otoge ciel

Memories on the shoreline

The men of yoshiwara: Kikuya

My Butler

My lady

Nekopara -catboys paradise-

Never forget me

Never give up

Office lovers

Ozmafia

Paper Shakespeare

Pink rage

Psychedelica of the ashen hawk

Psychedelica of the black butterfly

Pub encounter

Quantum conscience

Red strong of fate

Reflections ~dreams and reality~

Royal alchemist

Secrets of me

Signed and sealed with a kiss

Sounds of verity

Sword daughter

Sword of asumi

Tailor tales

Taisho x Alice

Theory of fear

These nights in cairo

This world unknown

Ture lovers knot

Typical

Unmoor

Witches x Warlocks

X-note

XOXO blood droplets

Switch

Amnesia LaterxCrowd

Arcade Spirits

Ayakashi Romance Reborn

1 note · View note

vishapsking · 1 year

Note

✖ How has Tumblr RP changed since you started?

salty af munday meme. @deificdeceit / accepting !

i won't mention any of my previous experiences on other platforms, but i started rping on tumblr in 2014.

maybe it's because my first rpc experience was in a much smaller fandom ( an otoge with a headcount that is barely half of the jenshin one ), but i felt that everything was much more close-knit and community-like. there weren't any cliques and 'my group of blogs is better than yours~' mentality back then.

sure, there were folks i didn't like as much but we relatively stayed out of each other's ways. but it was a lot easier to do dash commentary events or random events where everyone was aware and were a part of ( e.g magic anons that everyone reacted to ). it was really fun back then. nowadays, it sometimes feels like walking on eggshells when you see new people come in or try to talk to them. say something jokingly about a character they like/don't like and maybe you'll upset them etc. esp in jenshin where there are a lot of different hot takes lmfao

#deificdeceit #;hibernatking | ooc #;mun replies #//thank you for sending !#//idk i've found it harder to just chat and make friends these days #//also holy shit it's almost been 10 years

1 note · View note

dalkyeom · 1 year

Note

Yeah from what I remember about it it was cute and fun so I may go and try and watch it again (although idk where I left off so I’ll just have to start from ep 1 again haha)

Anime au stuff IS so much fun! Right now I’ve been thinking about doing smth based off of norn9 bc it’s one of my fave otomes that also has an anime, and I’d write it in a multifandom way so I can write for more than just certain members from one group ✨✨ I also kinda considered doing one around collar x malice, another otome but I’m more on the fence with that one.

Your princess tutu art is still very 😤😤🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼✨✨ and oooh I don’t think I know gakuen alice all that well tbh so that sounds interesting!! I hear magic 👀✨

amg leggaur izzy moon! Rewatch time! 😭💗💗 i forgot how it ended in the anime but I remember reading the manga and BSBDS TAMAKI AND HARUHI’S DAD MOMENTS 😢😢😢 made me laugh so hard

OHH!! NORN9 AND COLLAR X MALICE 😭 I remember those. I remember the otoge hype of 2016(?) and they were one of the more popular games 😭 amg need to hear your au thoughts on both bc I feel otome game aus also hit different when it comes to fic series bc the world building or the archetype building is just mwah chef’s kiss! 🥺 also Izzy didn’t know you also like otoges hello my friend 😭🤚🏻 I loved them in my youth too (today too but I haven’t been playing much these days)

amg yes! Hahaha Gakuen Alice was one of my childhood faves it’s basically about students who live in an academy (the eng translation of GA is Alice Academy) and they have magic known as Alice (like it’s their talent) and the students are categorized based on their alice’s element/how dangerous it can be I think? Basically the highest rank gets you the best privileges at the academy. It’s been awhile so I have to restudy bc the concept is really good!

The anime’s plot is about mikan who has a nullifying alice so everyone was like ??? Why are u here? And they thought she was an anomaly bc their talents don’t really work on her. She followed her best friend to the academy but since alices are a hush hush secret she didn’t know her bestie has this special gift. So she ends up staying there and makes friends and changes lives. it’s a really cute anime 💗 very classic shoujo

#💌 you’ve got mail #izzy 🌙#also ty!! amg I promise I tried my best not to abandon it but I focused so hard on weekly chan 🤡#I had plans for mytho!hyunjin and fakir!Bin bc dndnd OOF MEH MWAH MWAH #🥲💗 Bin in those frilly blouses amg crIES SOBS

0 notes

hydrangea-juice · 4 months

Text

Up next after Ciel is Moon Observatory Anholly, a short game… but don’t be deceived! It only takes an hour but that’s all it needs to deal some critical emotional damage 🥲🫰

I very much need the ever talented @batensan to know that some of us are still licking our wounds ❤️‍🩹

I’m still currently putting together my spreads (that’s right, plural!) for Moon Observatory Iris, but that’s a much bigger undertaking since there’s so much to unpack there 😩💜

#batensan #magical otoge #moon observatory #magical otoge Anholly #moon observatory Anholly #indie otome #journal #otome game

30 notes · View notes

batensan · 7 months

Note

hello!! i played magical otoge ciel and i kept thinkin "wow this art style is so familiar where have i seen it before??" so im wondering if youve ever made a Picrew?

also fantastic game btw im def gonna try buying moon observatory iris when i get the money

!!!! Thank you for playing, I’m glad you liked it!! 😭 I always say this but I cringe at MOC now since i made it when I was... in my late teens LOL dies

I have not made a Picrew before! But mad respect to those who do lol 🫡

T______T Thank you again...! I’m already low-key cringing at MOI but so far it’s the best thing I’ve made lol. My next project will be a lot better, I promise!!

Also hint hint, MOI will go on sale later this year (allegedly, don’t beat me up, Steam), ofc no pressure though!!

Oh and in the meantime maybe you’d be interested in Moon Observatory Anholly or Pizzaro Project Deep Dish! I wrote both! They’re free to play but on itch.io only at the moment :D

#ask #moon observatory

26 notes · View notes

aderisudesu · 7 months

Text

Just a Hat Rambling #2 – Ciel Practice Drawing (MO Ciel Fan Art Musings)

i have been dealing with art block for the past few months and found it really difficult to not only draw, but also be satisfied with anything i drew. i suppose this does not sound all that different from my previous rambling, does it? on the other hand, if i can notice the faults in my drawings, perhaps this is a sign that i am improving?

i experimented more with the layers this time! unlike the process i used when drawing Iris and Morgen, i added colored shadows and lights than the stark whites and blacks i had used in the past. now, those approaches are still there. except! this time i played around with the overlay feature and changed the shadows and lights with a more orange-like hue!

why? well, i noticed that the colors for Ciel in her sprite have warm shadows that contrast with the blues of her outfit and eyes! i tend to usually see blues and purples for shadows, so i found it rather inventive and profound that warmer colored shadows are used for her! in addition, from a character standpoint, it fits Ciel very well! she is a very kind and considerate girl, and she longs to go on an adventure to see the outside world! it would be remiss if i could not incorporate such a detail to my own drawing of her!

speaking of Ciel, i found her really fun to draw! at first, i was pretty nervous. i really, really wanted to improve my ability to draw using the things i had learned from my previous drawings. but then I realized something: “Moon Observatory Ciel” (previously called “Magical Otoge Ciel”) is the first MO game to be made by its creator, Batensan. seeing the creator’s older art reminds me of how much she improved over the years, so drawing Ciel was my indirect way of showing my appreciation to her previous works. i always love seeing how artists improve from their older pieces!

i hope i can continue to draw more MO fan art soon!

until then, this is Adeliss signing out!!!! o((>ω< ))o

#just a hat rambling

0 notes

vegasgreys · 2 years

Text

Mystic destinies serendipity of aeons tatsuya walkthrough

#MYSTIC DESTINIES SERENDIPITY OF AEONS TATSUYA WALKTHROUGH FULL#

#MYSTIC DESTINIES SERENDIPITY OF AEONS TATSUYA WALKTHROUGH CRACK#

Through some minor hijinks, the broody captain of the knights, Anton, decides to come along for the ride and keep the princess safe. She concocts a plan to leave the castle and hop onto the nearest ship to her shock, her personal knight and childhood friend actually agrees and insists on coming with her to keep her safe. Since he won’t listen to any reason, she decides she’s got to run away and go on a mini adventure. She wants to travel the world and see the sights but Pops won’t let her set foot outside the kingdom. Our protagonist is princess Ciel – somewhat, as her dad’s more like a governor – who’s suffering from good, old-fashioned Rebellious Princess Syndrome. It certainly delivers the funny but left me underwhelmed everywhere else. It promised to be a heartwarming, straightforward story, loaded with comedy and gratuitous puns.

#MYSTIC DESTINIES SERENDIPITY OF AEONS TATSUYA WALKTHROUGH CRACK#

It’s got the fingerprints of someone’s first crack at a visual novel, meaning the worst should hopefully be over. This is the approach I took with today’s game, Magical Otoge Ciel. In short, I don’t speak from a place of being better I speak from the experience of similar mistakes. So, I’ve always tried to approach every game I play with a critical eye, not for the sake of finding problems but for the sake of helping my fellow amateur content creators. No, the tricky part comes from something that’s about so-so, and it was clear the author was trying.īut, at the end of the day, I feel very strongly that the worst thing you can do to an artist is stay silent when they need to work on a skill. When that happens, it’s fun venting exorcise to rip in and tear it a new one. If you decide to donate any extra, it will go directly to making that dream a reality.Any reviewer will tell you that it isn’t hard to write a review of bad material. We're hoping to kick off a successful business in order to make visual novels of all genres and worked without pay the entire route to achieve that dream. Star Maiden Games is a small start-up indie visual novel team consisting of three women at it's creative core in 2015. So if you're ready to embark on a beautiful journey of self-acceptance, love and magic then press that purchase button and play until you cry." "Playing Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons will give you warm fuzzy feelings but it will also make you feel some angst as not everything is sunshine and roses. I recommend this game highly to all the otome lovers out there." I can't wait to read the other guys' routes. "All in all, it was a very great reading experience and I have to say that I have shed some tears towards the end. I think a lot of people will enjoy the characters, the art, and the music! I'm excitedly looking forward to the next route!" It's not without a few problems, but overall it's a well polished game and a great first release for Star Maiden Games.

Over six hours of content, with additional content on the way!.

Enjoy atmospheric high quality music, hand-picked for every scene.

Learn about a world with deep lore and it's own unique universe.

Read a completely different story with each route!.

Two "bad endings" mean your choices have more of an impact!.

#MYSTIC DESTINIES SERENDIPITY OF AEONS TATSUYA WALKTHROUGH FULL#

Three full length canon endings per character - depending on your choices.Experience a different kind of love story with a balance between dark and light themes, and a strong emphasis on fantasy and action.Forced to take sides even as she tries to control her unstable powers and emotions, Tsubasa is pulled into large scale business negotiations and the politics of the ancient Ryu clan.Ĭan you navigate a path wrought with mysteries and drama to find happiness? But she soon finds out that nothing is as it seems. That's Tsubasa's thinking when she chooses the ever-serious Tatsuya. ★ Tatsuya's Story ★ If you're in trouble, choosing a reliable partner is the most logical choice, right? Play as twenty year-old university student Tsubasa Fujimoto as she learns to balance her daily life with her new supernatural one - all while falling in love. This original English language visual novel tackles romance in an urban fantasy setting, with the aim of blending genres and deconstructing common tropes.Īfter a ritual forces immense magical powers onto you, you're thrown into a new world with new threats and challenges that you'd never dreamed of. This unlocks the second released main story route AND epilogue of Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons, focusing on the character Tatsuya Yukimura. Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons, the Kickstarter-funded original English language visual novel originally released on Steam comes to Itch.io!

#Mystic destinies serendipity of aeons tatsuya walkthrough

1 note · View note

curejune · 4 years

Photo

idk which looks better so have both @batensan

just played the pizzarro project (yeah i know middle of october so i’m a bit late to the party to april fools - or early - roughly same amount of time tbh) and god i missed this sense of humor

the ending trailer finally had me in tears (from laughing), thank you so much

as for which prompts it corresponds to, lemme check my lists - day 10 blue hair, a bit late - day 11, The Handsome One, yup checks out

#fanart #pizzaro project deep dish #project deep dish #magical otoge #2020

35 notes · View notes

lunas-otome-blog · 1 month

Text

Luna's Review: Cupid Parasite

Official Summary:

What's love got to do with it? In this divine romantic comedy, play as Lynette Mirror, Cupid Corporation's top bridal advisor and none other than Celestia's Goddess of Love, Cupid! Determined to prove that love is more than bows and arrows, she meets her biggest challenge yet — the infamous Parasite 5.

But in finding love for the Parasite 5, will Cupid find love herself?

Luna's Thoughts (Spoiler Free)

I needed a break between the stupendously long playthroughs of Jack Jeanne (review coming soon!) so I picked up Cupid Parasite for a more casual, less involved game.

In Cupid Parasite, the MC, who is literally the goddess Cupid, descends to earth as human alter-ego Lynette Mirror in order to stick it to her father and prove that human algorithms are better than forcing people to fall in love with her magical bow and arrow. She joins a dating agency and quickly becomes their top advisor. Due to her success, she's forced to take charge of five bachelors who are having trouble finding love because they suck.

I'll say it upfront. Cupid Parasite is very stupid. The plot is goofy and very loosely constructed. There is a roomba. The MC is a powerful demigod and her first move upon coming to Earth is to rent a shared apartment and get a bachelor's degree. The B-button produces a honk sound. These were the highlights for me, actually. I don't mind a stupid game as long as it spells that out upfront, and Cupid Parasite definitely does.

Where this game really stands out is where it embraces the stupid and allows itself to be fun and silly. But it suffers from inconsistency, leaving me unsure of what to think. Some routes are very serious and others are incredibly unserious.

It took me a really long time to warm up to this game for a few reasons. First, Cupid Parasite feels like it's aimed at a younger audience, as everyone in the game, including the protagonist, is immature or undeveloped in some way.

This game was also just way too sexy for me, and extremely heteronormative. The romance and ideas portrayed are very traditional. Lynette has some fairly antiquated views about love between men and women, ranging from boring to slightly offensive. A lot of it didn't sit right with me.

It was also a little difficult to get through the common route because I truly didn't like a single one of the dating options lol. I know the premise is that they're undatable but man...they are insufferable at the beginning.

The interface, while colorful and quirky, is too "busy" and thus difficult to navigate. It was a little laggy for me. The whole experience felt clunky and unpolished.

If you like flirty, silly and sexy otoges, you'll probably be really into Cupid Parasite. But unfortunately I am not the target audience for this game. There were certain aspects of each route I enjoyed, though, so find below my thoughts in the order in which I played each character.

(Spoilers) Ryuki Route

I genuinely liked Ryuki's route, which was surprising to me because I really DID NOT like him in the common route lol. He warms up to Lynette right at the end of the common, and his affection grows from there. He's not a true tsundere, but he fulfills the "has trouble being honest" role in this game for the most part.

He's the youngest of the love interests at just 19 — not that age matters much when the PC is an immortal god— so I didn't feel too great about the sexy scenes with this barely legal kid lol. But they don't sleep together on the route, which I was grateful for.

Ryuki's driving force is in learning how to be a good designer, and Lynette is charmed by the attention he puts into his designs. It turns out he always wanted to design clothes for women, but nobody has allowed him to do that, so he's just lived with this repressed desire his whole life.

His interest in Lynette comes from how she treats him like a normal person, rather than flee from his rudeness or put him on a pedestal like most people, as well as how she's the first person to tell him he can do what he wants. Ryuki's attraction to her felt natural and the pace was good. When he realizes that you naturally find the person you're in love with more attractive, he freaks out in an adorable way.

Once he accepts that what he's feeling is love, his entire attitude changes, and he instantly becomes an attentive and kind partner. He was already warming up to Lynette, but the switch proves how much he was holding back on his base instincts to cherish her. Realizing he's in love gives him the freedom to do what he's always wanted, just as Lynette gave him the freedom to design women's clothing.

Proposing to Lynette instead of asking her out was silly, but he's 19, so I actually felt like it was in keeping with how a teenager would act with his first love.

Overall, I felt Ryuki's route was very successful. I hope Lynette reels him in a little, hehe.

(Spoilers) Gill Route

Man this route sure was...something.

It's so hard for me to judge Gill, because every time the game gives you a reason to like him, they add in another reason to dislike him, too.

He's an insufferable sad sack in the common route. Then you start his route and realize he took such good care of Lynette at the beginning when she didn't know anything about the human world. Then you find out he literally stalked her in college and calls her his "baby bird." Then you find out he did technically ask her out (though she never got the letter) and thought he was formally rejected. Then you find out he took his job specifically to spend more time with her.

Toward the end of his route, he reveals he has a folder of pictures of her on his phone, taken secretly over the years, including some of her sleeping. This is treated as romantic and sweet, but as someone who has been stalked before, I can assure you it is not. It's creepy and frightening. And no, Gill is never told this behavior is not ok. The game actually treats it as not only acceptable but as demonstrative of how dedicated he is to Lynette. Gross.

Gill's route also had a lot of contrivances and some downright weird stuff, such as him being kicked out of his apartment due to rotting blue cheese, and a voice change app that exists to create a convenient misunderstanding. This is already a very silly game, but it felt like a few too many coincidences.

He also swoops in to save Lynette by literally building a transforming car and flying to the heavenly realm where she lives, culminating in a giant robot battle with Lynette's father, Mars. What.

This route gets really weird toward the end, and just goes on forever. Every time it seems to be coming to a good stopping point, there's yet another chapter or plot thread we must unravel.

You do get some fun background on Claris, and I did like Gill's backstory, including his family and interest in cars. But this route was too long, too weird and just thoroughly unromantic. Rather than give Gill an opportunity to learn from his mistakes, Gill is allowed to do whatever he wants and is praised for it. I did not like this route.

(Spoilers) Shelby Route

After playing Gill's route with all its craziness, I was worried about Shelby's route, but it ended up being fine. There were some contrivances and pacing issues, but it was an okay story.

This whole route reads like a fanfiction. It's a fake relationship plot complete with mutual pining and a drunken confession that is forgotten the next day. I actually love these tropes so that wasn't an issue, but I would have liked it a lot more if it didn't drag on as long as it did.

Lynette is a complete moron in this route as she steamrolls past her boss's concerns and basically invites herself into his life as his fake wife. While she works hard to make Cupid Corporation a success, Shelby is taken by her positive attitude and dedication to spreading love. And when she's in danger, he immediately clears up the misunderstanding, even to his own detriment.

I think my biggest issue with this route is that there was no tension. When Shelby admits he was pretending to have a wife, we are immediately reassured that everything his fine. His employees are cool with it. Other CEOs are cool with it. The guy who forced him into the misunderstanding publicly announces everything is his fault. It was complete overkill.

And then later, when you finally get backstory as to why Shelby wants to be "SS" at everything, it's immediately resolved. We get a flashback to his middle school days and we find out a few kids made fun of him for not being the best at academics, and that there was a shitty rich kid who attracted everyone's attention and stole the girl he liked. So he decides that he will become the best at everything because that's all people care about, apparently. Idk, it was kind of a leap.

Then we go back to present day at his middle school reunion. (Really not sure why they didn't just go with high school reunion, which would be a lot more normal.) Everyone remembers Shelby as the cool kid, and he realizes he never needed to be great at everything for people to like him. Oh, and the shitty popular kid is all washed up now. Basically everything resolves super neatly, without Lynette being involved at all.

There is a scene where Shelby is able to shoot a gun with pinpoint accuracy at another guy's gun, shooting it out of the assailant's hand. Lynette is shocked that he can do this, at which point he just calmly says he's SS so of course he can do it, which was very funny. I do wish we got to see more of his "SS" skills though. Allegedly he has a lot of them, but we only get to see the gun and a little bit of cooking. There's also a very silly scene involving Lynette's father and a Roomba, which I enjoyed.

Ultimately, I think this route was a little too neat. I would have liked to see some more consequences for Shelby's lying, and I wanted Lynette to be more involved in him figuring out his own problems. But it wasn't too bad, and I love a good fake relationship trope.

(Spoilers) Raul Route

Raul seemed to be the most airheaded out of the Parasite 5, so it was nice to get a peek into his head and learn via his thoughts that he does take acting seriously. I also enjoyed learning that he looks coldly on people who pretend to be interested in mythology to get close to him.

I had high hopes for this route toward the beginning, as Raul argues that there's nothing wrong with casual sex, and even offers to show Lynette that you can sleep with someone without it meaning anything, which she accepts and agrees with at first. I thought it was kinda cool. I'm ace, so the idea of casual sex is very spooky to me personally, but I understand that it's very normal for a lot of people. So it was kind of refreshing to see Lynette accept that sometimes it's ok to just have fun with someone without it being serious.

However, after she sleeps with him, she just bans him from casual sex in general, telling him that he'll never learn about love if he does it. She keeps insisting that it's better to have sex with someone you love. I'm not really fond of this holier-than-thou attitude.

Most of the route is generally fine, consisting of the pair enjoying their time together, with Raul trying to piece together why he enjoys spending time with Lynette and Lynette trying her best to ignore her own feelings.

However, like Gill's route, it just kept going on and on. There's a long scene with them getting stuck in ancient ruins that was entirely unnecessary, as it's just a plot device to get them to Celestia, and then a MASSIVE FUCKING PLOT TWIST that I actually thought was pretty interesting. But the plot twist should have been revealed halfway through the route, with the rest of the route being resolution, as opposed to just tossing it haphazardly at the end.

This was not my favorite route, but it at least made a little more sense than Gill's route so... 6/10 lol.

(Spoilers) Allan Route

I was actually pleasantly surprised by Allan's route. I tend to dislike flirtatious characters, so I figured he'd be my least favorite. But that was all blown away pretty quickly as you realize he really is just putting on a persona in order to conduct his incubus activities.

Allan is a man with complex feelings. His confidence is largely for show to cover up his deep shame and feelings of disgust toward himself for being a demon in the first place. Lynette doesn't make it any easier for him by being a precious angel baby who isn't bothered by him at all. I thought their relationship was sweet, well-paced and actually pretty innocent at times.

While Cupid Parasite doesn't formally have a true ending, Allan's route felt like one. It honestly makes all the other routes seem shallow by comparison. I LOVED the description of Heaven as basically an angel incubator from which new gods are pulled. It was treated as sort of natural, but it's honestly pretty horrifying — in a good way.

There is certainly some of what I call "magic bullshit" in this route. What I mean by that is there are contrivances in how the magic system works in this universe that are clearly created for plot reasons, so they felt a bit forced.

There's also an absolutely giant time skip in the middle of the route that I felt could have been handled better simply by using different sprites, backgrounds, etc. I understand budgetary constraints, but to say that Lynette, after reincarnating as a human, would look exactly the same and also have the same name was lazy writing.

I'm also furious that we didn't get to see a demon version of Lynette or Claris. Claris I kind of get, because why bother drawing a whole new sprite just for one scene in the underworld, but the game actually dares to tell me Lynette has grown a tiny lil tail and I don't get to see it in a cg???? Unfair.

Overall, while I do think this route suffers from contrivances and some pacing issues, it was probably my favorite route of the game. Allan is a true baby muffin and it's heartbreaking knowing what he has to go through while the other routes are happening.

(Spoilers) Secret Route

I won't name the love interest in this route just in case. But this is a route that explores what happens if the gods send Lynette down to Earth themselves, rather than her escaping. It starts off much the same as the regular game, minus a few small changes.

We FINALLY get an explanation for Lynette's divine beast companion Chii in this route, which I was grateful for. I felt like most scenes with Chii were largely a waste of time, so it's nice to know there was a deeper meaning to his presence. I didn't realize how big Chii was supposed to be until I saw him in a cg. I thought he was hedgehog sized lol.

While this route is treated as an alternate reality, it competes with Allan's route for a suitable true ending. Everyone plays a role. This is the route that showcases what I wanted the whole game to be — a fun mix of romance, silliness and serious plot. It was pretty well balanced and a good way to end the game. I just wish more of the game was like this route.

#otome game #otome review #review #cupid parasite #cupid parasite review

0 notes