Type of
Review: In-depth character review
Review
Subject: Video Games, Otome
Available
Platforms: PS Vita, Steam (PC)
Spoiler
Content: High [BEWARE!]
Personal
Enjoyment: Very High
As a player of otome games and lover of anime, I
had a lot of expectations going into this game. Looking at the suitor
characters available, and reading their short bios, I began to form an initial
opinion of what types of stories I was likely to encounter with each character.
As most otome players likely do, I weighed those reactions and used it to
decide which order I would play through each suitor’s scenario. My order was
Shin, Toma, Ikki, and Kent, finishing off with Ukyo because I had no other
choice. Fortunately, these characters all defied my initial impression and
managed to surprise me in both good and bad ways, but more good because I
eventually found that I adored them all and it was actually pretty difficult to
choose a favorite when I was finished with the game. That said, here is my
review of the main characters from Amnesia:
Memories. [Do not continue if you’re leery of SPOILERS, you’ve been
warned.]
When the game begins you are greeted by a
fairy-like spirit named Orion. He works for a god named Nihl, and has
accidentally crashed into your soul and gotten trapped there. This is the reason
for your displaced memories. Orion is very childlike, and a lighthearted
character that is great at cutting through an otherwise gloomy scenario and
providing both insight and humor. Orion is with you every step of the way, only
disappearing when you regain your most important memories and he is convinced
that you will go on to live a happy life. Orion isn’t a suitor, merely a
catalyst and a guide for the story, but I felt he was worth a look at because
he’s just such a fun and interesting character. Ultimately he leaves you
feeling like you had a sweet-heart little brother in your life.
When you wake up in Heart World, you discover
yourself in a hospital, having suffered a near-fatal accident that your
boyfriend Shin blames himself for causing. He is an immediate presence in your
life and assists you in checking out of the hospital and finding your way home,
but he is suspicious of your condition right from the beginning. It doesn’t
take long for him to figure out that you have amnesia in spite of your efforts
to hide it from him.
Shin is very perceptive and a sharp character. His
personality is very cold, blunt, open, and honest; sometimes to the point of
cruelty. He doesn’t believe in coddling the heroine, so he is always pushing
her and encouraging her to improve herself and become stronger, and this works
for the heroine’s personality in heart world. He inspires her to push forward
and work extra hard to accomplish her goals. Fortunately, Shin is aware of how
harsh he can come off as and wants to be nicer to the heroine so he does his
best to take care of her and show her how much he loves her. It is clear that
he is willing to do practically anything to protect her.
My Initial
Expectations: Since Shin was the display character I figured his story
would likely be the most generic and possibly the “main story” with the most
meat to the plot. I did think that he was one of the most attractive out of the
characters and so I chose to play his story first. I knew from reading through
his introduction that he was going to be a tsundere (cold at first) character,
and was definitely correct in that assumption.
Thoughts
After Playing: Most of my initial impressions about Shin were correct,
aside from his story being the most meaty of the bunch, as they were all about
the same in that regard. Shin was definitely a very cold, very harsh character,
and his meanness was hard to deal with at times, but he managed to warm me over
with his sheer dedication to the heroine. There wasn’t anything he wasn’t
willing to do for her, no lengths he wouldn’t go to, and in the end it made me
very happy. His coldness didn’t melt completely away, but I preferred it that
way.
Favorite
Shin Moment: While Shin is attempting to re-teach the heroine to do her job
as a waitress in a maid café, he can’t stop himself from blushing and getting a
little too excited whenever she calls him master. It was just too cute to
watch. Second favorite moment was when he slugged Toma in the face at the end:
go Shin!
In Spade World you’re thrown into a strange
romance with a… time limit? Ikki has a strange power in his eyes that makes
women infatuated whenever they look into them, but through sheer willpower, you’ve
become immune to his power and this had peeked his interest in you. You had
joined his fan club in order to discover why the girls were so obsessed with
him, and they prove to be a dangerous force in your life now that you’re dating
Ikki. You spend his whole play-through trying to figure out which is the real
Ikki – the playboy who allows himself to be surrounded by women, and indulges
their obsessions, or the sweet, caring, and doting boyfriend that he seems to
be when he is alone with you. As the heroine is steeped in confusion, so are
you.
There was never really a time that I was
completely sure of the real Ikki, and I really did find myself getting jealous
alongside the heroine. As it turns out, Ikki really is a sweet and caring man
who desperately wishes to end his curse and find his one true love.
My Initial
Expectations: This guy set my warning bells off, as do all playboy types. I
thought he was very cute, but I didn’t believe that I would enjoy his
play-through because I was leery of his character-type. He definitely shocked
me.
Thoughts
After Playing: Major spoiler alert; Ikki is the exact opposite of the kind
of character he outwardly portrays. I was so shocked by how loving and gentle
he was whenever he was alone with the heroine, and dear gods the way he talks
so sweetly sent chills down my spine. He is so sweet it hurts. I think that
Ikki’s story probably brought out the most emotion in me because I couldn’t
tell if he was really a player or if he was truly serious about his feelings
for the heroine. I was stung by jealousy, and rocked by his kind heart, it was
an emotional roller coaster.
Favorite
Ikki Moment: Anytime he wasn’t being a jerk, Ikki was being absolutely
adorable. I don’t have any particular favorite moment but anytime he lowered
his voice and whispered sweet-nothings, I absolutely melted. Ikki is nothing if
not exceptionally charming.
You wake up in your own bedroom in Clover World,
and are left to figure out who you are and what you should be doing alone with
only Orion to help you out. You find you’ve been in contact with someone named
Kent, who as it turns out is your boyfriend. It’s a confusing relationship from
the start because you can’t figure out why you’re dating someone who is so
aloof and against the ideal of love, but he is so curious to discover what love
means, and why he feels the way he does, that you can’t help but to start
growing attached to him. You WANT to show him what love is.
Kent is so confused by the heroine’s sudden change
of character; where once she was very argumentative and sensitive, she is now
understanding and tries to listen to him. It becomes clear that they had gotten
off on the wrong foot and emotions were high on both ends so they were arguing
over a lot of misunderstandings created by the miscommunication. In the end
they laugh about it, but it’s a rocky trip getting there. Kent proves to be an
amazing boyfriend who is wholeheartedly devoted to the heroine. It’s beautiful.
My Initial
Expectations: I couldn’t help but to wonder how you could achieve romance
with a character who is so cool and logical as Kent. He has to ground
everything in logic, and has a hard time understand something as wholly
illogical as love. I honestly didn’t think I’d have much fun playing through
Kent’s story but boy was I wrong…
Thoughts
After Playing: Through all expectations out the window because Kent’s story
will truly blow your mind. Who would have thought? Underneath all of the cool
logic lurks a very emotional and passionate man. In fact, by the end of his
play-through I’d even dare to suggest that he probably showed more passion
towards the heroine than any other suitor character (except maybe Ukyo). He has
a cute jealous side and he is very innocent when it comes to love, so he’ll
often come off as slightly boyish, but not in a creepy way. I really loved his
story, especially all of the surprising humor in it!
Favorite
Kent Moment: Kent is walking along, deep in thought, when BAM! He walks
straight into a telephone pole! I was stunned at first, but when he just looks
up and mildly observes that there’s a pole there and keeps going, I couldn’t
help but to burst out laughing. There were several moments where his
personality causes cute incidences like this, and it’s very amusing! Second
favorite moment was his freak out in the pool, his fear of any other man seeing
his girlfriend in a swimsuit was priceless!
The Diamond World is the only world of the initial
four that you wake up not in a relationship already. Toma feels trapped in the
friend-zone, and you know that you liked someone but you’re not sure who
because you have no memory of it. You spend time trying to figure out who it
is, and at first suspect that it might have been Ikki because you were meeting
him a lot, but when you receive a text from him asking about the guy you liked
you realize he wasn’t the one. But everyone else thought he was the one and so
you were being stalked and violently harassed by his fan club as a result. Toma,
aware of your memory loss, lets you believe that he was your boyfriend and
takes you to his place to stay where he can keep you safe from the harassment
that he’s been hiding from you. Gradually you begin to unravel the mystery and
discover the harassment and Toma’s lies, and that’s when Toma snaps.
Toma has been trying to keep the heroine safe, but
goes to extreme measures to accomplish it. A conversation with insane-Ukyo
reveals that Toma is also insane, and that becomes more and more clear as Toma
gets more obsessed with protecting the heroine. Toma is extremely
over-protective, and his jealousy drives him to even deeper extremes until he
locks the heroine up in a cage so that she won’t escape his apartment again. At
this point he believes that he’s protecting her from herself and steps over the
line from over-protective to just plain creepy. Luckily, he gets his hands on
your diary and discovers that you’ve been in love with him this entire time,
even obsessively so! A match made in hell?
My Initial
Expectations: Here I was thinking that Toma would be the sweetheart
character. He’s cute, brotherly, protective. All the signs were there. Why… why
couldn’t I see what was about to hit me?
Thoughts
After Playing: The good – Toma was
sweet, Toma was brotherly, Toma was protective. And cute. The bad – He
was also extremely over-protective.
And kind of stalkery. The ugly – Three words… O. M. G. Imagine my surprise when
sweet, lovable Toma turned out to be psychotic. While I couldn’t help but to
enjoy his play-through, I was also more than a little creeped out at the end.
Favorite
Toma Moment: When he reads the diary – you want to smack him upside the
head for being such an idiot the entire time. The best moment, however, was when he got dragged into the lingerie shop with you and the shopkeeper (thinking he's your boyfriend) won't let him leave as she prances you around in your underwear for him. The poor guy nearly pops a blood vessel!
Joker
World: Ukyo (Major spoilers ahead!)
Joker is a very mysterious, enigmatic character
that vaguely appears in every play-through in varying degrees of sanity, or the
lack thereof. Playing through the other characters’ endings can give you a
pretty good idea of just how insane this character can get if the situation is
right. Being left alone with him can easily lead to her death, and often does.
It is later discovered that Ukyo was the heroine’s original boyfriend and after
she passed away on August 25th, he made a desperate wish for her to
live and find happiness. A god named Nihl heard his wish and fused into Ukyo’s
body much in the way that Orion fuses with the heroine, and helps him to jump
into different worlds in an attempt at fulfilling his wish. It’s a very complex
story-line, as the world-jumping has a lot of crazy consequences, and is also
the cause of Ukyo’s split personality. His is the story that ties everything
together, explains the appearance of Orion as well as the oddly cold weather,
and acts as a grand finale to the game.
If you set aside Ukyo’s second personality, he is
an extremely emotional character who is deeply in love with the heroine. It’s a
love that transcends death. He is surprisingly passionate, kind, loving,
affectionate, and just plain beautiful. It’s so hard not to fall in love with
this guy once you get past his violent second personality. This was one of my
favorite play-throughs out of the five.
My Initial
Expectations: After playing through Toma’s story, I really didn’t expect
much different going into Ukyo’s story. He’d already proven himself to be a creepy,
stalkery, insane character capable of doing very violent and cruel things to
the heroine. I had my guard up going into this one.
Thoughts
After Playing: I was pleasantly surprised. I knew that Ukyo’s story would show
off his good personality’s side more than you got to see it in the other
play-throughs, but I was shocked at how warm and genuinely lovable this
character could get. His dual personalities were absolute opposites. I also
absolutely adored how Ukyo’s story tied the whole game together into one giant
story made up of smaller stories. One could say that Ukyo was ultimately the
perfect suitor for the heroine because it was their love story that initially
started it all, and it was their love story that ultimately ends it. Much to my
chagrin.
Favorite
Ukyo Moment: It’s not a moment in the main scenario, but something you
unlock once you reach his good ending. A memory with Ukyo while he is staying
with the heroine in her apartment. You have the option to ask him to come under
the blanket with you and after hesitating he does so and you cuddle up to him
while laying your head on his shoulder. He keeps on talking to you even after
you fall asleep. It’s just such a sweet moment.
One of the things that I have wanted to see happen in the series is a reversal of roles for the two main protagonists. I even wrote a letter to Nintendo when I was a child asking them to make my dream a reality. Please make Zelda the hero for a game! Unfortunately my wish was denied, but I still have hopes that Nintendo will eventually go this route. I absolutely cherish my favorite hero in green, but it wouldn't hurt to give Zelda the spotlight every now and then. I mean, the game is named after her! I believe that one of the things that sparked this desire in me was the old, and admittedly rather silly, Zelda cartoon that aired every Friday during the Super Mario Brothers Super Show. In that cartoon, Zelda wore practical clothing and often fought alongside Link with her bow. I didn't care much for her snarky attitude, but I loved her for taking a stand and fighting back!
One of the things that I have wanted to see happen in the series is a reversal of roles for the two main protagonists. I even wrote a letter to Nintendo when I was a child asking them to make my dream a reality. Please make Zelda the hero for a game! Unfortunately my wish was denied, but I still have hopes that Nintendo will eventually go this route. I absolutely cherish my favorite hero in green, but it wouldn't hurt to give Zelda the spotlight every now and then. I mean, the game is named after her! I believe that one of the things that sparked this desire in me was the old, and admittedly rather silly, Zelda cartoon that aired every Friday during the Super Mario Brothers Super Show. In that cartoon, Zelda wore practical clothing and often fought alongside Link with her bow. I didn't care much for her snarky attitude, but I loved her for taking a stand and fighting back!
