Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen – Slow Build to an Exciting End

After Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen was released last year, I bought the Vita version and concluded my playthrough this weekend.

Prelude to the Fallen is a remake of the original Utawarerumono, although with no sex scenes (the original was an eroge).

I was waiting for this for a long time because I’ve heard excellent things about the later games in the series, Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth, but it’s highly recommended that you’re familiar with the original’s story first.

It is a visual novel / strategy RPG hybrid, with a stronger emphasis on the visual novel side. Don’t get me wrong, there are a number of battles over the course of the story and it’s an important part of the gameplay, but the battles are pretty basic and much more time is spent reading.

You play as Hakuowlo, a man who wakes up with no memory after suffering grievous injuries, wearing a mask that can’t be removed.

After being cared for by the people of a small village, Hakuowlo decides to stay there and make a new life for himself. The stakes start out low, with him helping the villagers with their farming and resisting the corrupt leaders making their lives difficult, but they gradually build higher and higher.

That’s important to keep in mind, because Utawarerumono moves slowly. There are a lot of slow-paced, almost slice-of-life sections, and it takes a while to really become exciting.

When it gets there, however, it takes some crazy twists and turns that I never saw coming. That slow build-up lead to a genuinely epic conclusion. The main characters are also pretty likeable, so the slower sections are enjoyable in their own right even if some of the sections (especially the early villains) feel a bit lacking.

I enjoyed Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen and I’m happy I was able to play it. It’s out on Steam now, as well, with an improved translation (which is good, because a couple lines felt really out of place). Now I’m looking forward to moving on to Mask of Deception in the future!