Tailor Tales
^{Windows, Free w/ Commercial DLC}

This game is a visual novel about a fashion designer protagonist that also features clothing design and dress up elements. All love interests have separate routes with different stories, gameplay length, and degree of drama.

At first I found the game very promising - it looks nice visually, I was curious enough about the characters, and there are no bad endings, with each route instead having two different good endings depending on the main protagonist’s attitude through the game. However, after finishing two routes, I found myself quite disappointed. The stories drag on immensely due to the protagonist’s indecisiveness and lack of self-awareness, and the choices do not feel meaningful at all.

I wouldn’t say the game is not worth a try, especially since it’s free, but I definitely won’t be coming back to it or purchasing the commercial extras.

Taisho x Alice
^{Windows, Commercial}

Themed after several fairytales, this visual novel is divided into three episodes and an epilogue. There are seven romanceable characters, although all routes ultimately come together as the plot unravels.

The story includes a lot of humor and banter between the characters, but the tone quickly becomes somber, and many dark themes are explored across the different routes. The mystery aspects of the plot are quite compelling, despite a tendency for repetitiveness. That aside, I had mixed feelings about the ending in terms of romance, as it seemed to invalidate the love interests’ individual stories. I would personally not have spent so many hours playing this game had I known the outcome beforehand.

Some positive aspects of Taisho x Alice are its great art and the extra features, which include not only an illustration and sound galleries, but also an event gallery, making it easy to replay previously seen scenes.

Ten Trials of Babel: The Doppelganger Maze
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ♦ 】 Set in a death game scenario, it is the relationship element of this puzzle RPG that defines its endings. The (nameable) protagonist must work alongside six love interests and build affinity with them in order to unlock a good ending.

The pixel, almost retro style art is very charming and, in my opinion, suits the game well. There are many event illustrations to unlock, as well as achievements. Everything that the player has discovered can be viewed in a convenient parallel room within the game itself. Another room with extras, namely character profiles and humorous chat room conversations between characters, can be found after reaching the final ending.

Aside from a cast of characters whose secrets you can uncover, the plot of the game unfolds in a way I found both surprising and moving. Furthermore, the ‘true ending’ is parallel to the love interests’ endings, rather than a replacement of it. All in all, it is an innovative game and I would love to play a sequel, though I do not dislike it as a standalone either.

There’s No Such Thing as a Harem
^{Windows, Free}

Although it forgets that premise right at the beginning, this visual novel starts with its (nameable) princess protagonist deciding to build herself a harem. The story has darker themes than one might have expected, and features both sweet endings and tragic ones. A bit more confusingly, there are two “true endings”, and a “beyond ending”, something I had never heard of before.

There are five love interests in total - three starting routes, a fourth one that unlocks after the first playthrough, and a hidden one that requires playing through all the others and is, frankly, a pain to get on. I sincerely thank the creator for answering my questions and sending me the walkthrough, or I’d still be trying to figure it out today.

The game is short, but very well polished, with nice art and storylines. The translation is not the best, but it is understandable. There are also unlockable character profiles, epilogues, and an image gallery.

The Thing with Mistletoes
^{Windows, Free}

A short visual novel that follows the protagonist and her friends in trying to find her missing younger brother; it features a faint Christmas theme, fairly easy choices (the one bad ending is incredibly easy to avoid) and four love interests.

The story is simple and sweet. I am always happy to see an otome game where I don’t dislike any of the love interests! On the other hand, I disliked the choice of locking the best endings until the player completes the average ones, as it doesn’t make much sense. The art is average, but the odd cuteness of the sprites grew on me while playing. This game might not be a masterpiece but it was still a nice little thing to play around Christmas time.

This World Unknown
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ✘✘ 】 This is a fantasy visual novel about a nurse living in a small village and the colorful cast of characters around her.

Although I am writing about this game, I ended up not finishing any of the routes as I was getting more and more uncomfortable with it. The sprite and event illustrations are of good quality - even if not matching the backgrounds - but choosing an art style that makes all characters look like children is off-putting. It feels particularly jarring when the game takes a turn from fairly light-hearted to having topics like forced intimacy, prostitution, and assorted wartime horrors. The actual ages of the characters don’t help the situation much, with the youngest love interest being 15 and the oldest being in his later 20s, in relation to the 17-year-old protagonist.

Other negative aspects of the game include the scattered worldbuilding and the protagonist being annoyingly dense. I will however admit that some dialogues can be pretty amusing, and so are some of the side characters

Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 1st Love
Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 2nd Season
Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side: 3rd Story
^{Nintendo DS, Fanmade Translation Patch}

【 ♥ ♦ 】 Each game in this stat-raising life simulation series spans three years in the life of a (nameable) high school student surrounded by many possible love interests. Although the story is always simple slice-of-life, the games are incredibly complex, with an overwhelming number of events and ending variations.

Aside from romance, Tokimeki Memorial games include school events, part-time jobs, friendships, rivalries, buying clothes and dressing up for dates, and even mini-games. There are also many event illustrations to be found, all with professional grade art. The games are fully voiced too, and the characters will even say the protagonist’s name, provided it was entered using Japanese characters.

I will admit I am not much a fan of the first game due to the outdated art style, while the second one is my absolute favorite due to both the art and the characters. The third has the advantage of including even more gameplay dynamics and having more event illustrations to collect. Either way, the series is a must-play, even if it might take some planning and a guide at hand in order to get the best endings.

Tomato Soup for the Heart
^{Windows, Free}

This is a very simple mix of a visual novel and a stat-raiser about a student protagonist getting help in her studies from another student.

There is only one love interest and the best ending is easily attainable. It’s not a game to be taken too seriously, as it was apparently made for the purposes of code testing, but the love interest is cute and there are some funny moments despite the absence of a plot.

Typical
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ✘✘ 】 The only nice thing I can say about this visual novel is that the art is great.

The plot centers around a group of university students. The protagonist herself is frustrating, with slow thinking and dull reactions even by the lowest standards for otome games protagonists. Her friendship with her best friend and two of the love interests (there’s three total) struck me as uncomfortable during the game, and turns out it was foreshadowing - the twist at the end is that the protagonist has been deceived and manipulated the entire time.

With a different ending, maybe this game could have made for a dramatic horror story or a tragedy. Instead, it really believes it is a romantic tale, even as it excuses all the horrible actions of the characters, who all remain friends at the end, not to mention the protagonist ends up in a relationship with one of the love interests. I played through my first route and promptly uninstalled the entire game - it was already a waste of money and time, no need to keep the cursed thing in my computer files.

Unmoor
^{Windows, Commercial}

【 ♦ 】 A visual novel about a sailor protagonist trying to get back her family ship through bravery, cunning, crossdressing, and sea magic.

I liked the protagonist and especially how her being a female ship captain in a historical setting was handled - sexism is addressed without taking over the story. The plot itself is entertaining, and there are four love interests with very different personalities. The art is generally beautiful, if sometimes veering into uncanny valley territory. A game worth the price, and double so when bought on sale.

Unplanned Amour
^{Windows, Free}

An average visual novel featuring an adult protagonist whose mother insists she get married, and three love interests - or possibly two love interests and a friendship route option.

The plot is different for every route, but it always feels rushed, and I didn’t find any of the characters that interesting. The art is average, with sprites not matching the stock backgrounds well and only one event illustration per route. All in all, disappointing.