Operation Backlog Completion 2025
Feb 142022
 

We’ve come this far, so why not keep going? For our Valentine’s Day review, I continued on and played Nekopara Vol. 3.

Just like how the previous main volumes each picked two catgirls to highlight, Volume 3 focuses on Maple and Cinnamon.

Maple has a secret dream she has convinced herself can never come true, while Cinnamon wants to support her in any way she can. It’s up to the protagonist to help them through these conflicts… and of course become romantically involved with them along the way.

(The story acknowledges the silliness of this ever-growing harem and his insistence on prying into people’s business.)

Like in Vol. 2, you might be surprised at the emphasis on the story here, simple though it might be. It has a good message about following your dreams and even digs into the protagonist’s own backstory and motivations a bit. I’d be tempted to call it wholesome, except, well, Nekopara has a reputation for fanservice for a reason.

It has its share of ecchi content as usual, and even the all-ages version makes it very clear when the H-scenes occur in the 18+ version, with the characters even discussing them afterwards.

Aside from that, it tells a nice story with a number of sweet and funny moments (even Shigure had some funny lines, or maybe I’m just getting used to her).

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Nekopara has a very specific audience in mind, but if you aren’t in it for the fanservice, what you end up with is a lighthearted, fluffy romance story. The romance in this one didn’t feel as central, but it made up for that with a bit more following the characters and their new relationship after the main conflicts were resolved.

If you enjoyed the previous Nekopara games, you’ll most likely enjoyed Nekopara Vol. 3 as well, for a new romance story with your group of catgirls. What better to talk about for Valentine’s Day?

(And don’t forget, the whole Nekopara series is among the prizes you could win in this year’s contest!)

Feb 112022
 

Our next game to discuss is a boys’ love visual novel called Blind Men, written as a parody of spy fiction.

The main character is Keegan, a young would-be super villain who hopes to be accepted into the League of Evil by proving himself with a daring scheme.

However, when it’s time to pull of his evil plan, two enemy spies end up getting in his way.

While Blind Men is a fairly short visual novel and should only take a few hours to get all the endings, choices have a fair impact on the story’s direction. You get to choose one of two possible evil plans, either kidnapping a professor or stealing a diamond, in addition to which of the two spies you end up entangled with.

Each love interest then has a few different outcomes to his route based on your choices, along with the situation being completely different depending on which plan you picked. Some of the choice consequences felt a little obscure, but that’s not too bad when it’s so short to start with.

Blind Men is pretty funny. The whole premise of playing an aspiring super villain (who tries so hard to act villainous and not be flustered by his love interests) together with the spy fiction tropes it parodies results in enough humorous moments that it made me laugh several times.

The romance feels a little lacking, unfortunately. There’s definitely flirting, you can see some chemistry building if you make the right choices, and you might be lucky enough to get an ending with implications of romance, but it comes just short of feeling truly romantic. That might be due to the short length. If the characters crossed paths more times before the ending, the romances might feel more fully-realized.

With that said, it’s still fun. Blind Men might not do the best with its romances, but it’s an entertaining spy parody with several endings to keep you trying different paths.

(On a completely different note, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 exists! I’m so excited! It looks fantastic! Also Front Mission and Radical Dreamers and Live A Live; that was a crazy Direct!)

Feb 092022
 

Last year, one title we looked at during February was Code: Realize – Guardians of Rebirth, which quickly became one of my favorite otome games, and one I’d recommend whether you’re generally interested in otome or not.

So it’s fitting that this year’s celebration includes Code: Realize – Future Blessings, the first fandisc released for Code: Realize.

(A fandisc is similar to a sequel, but more like an extended epilogue. I’d describe a fandisc like this: you earned your happy ending in the main game, and now you get to enjoy it.)

Future Blessings is made up of several parts, so let’s take a look at each of them. First up are the after stories, stories for each of the love interests that focus on their life with Cardia after the events of their route in the main game. It’s nice to see each route get its own follow-up, and I found these stories to be cute, funny, and very sweet.

Click for Future Blessings spoilers
…except for Victor’s, in which Idea delivers an ultimatum to Victor and Cardia since they see her as a danger in that route. It was still a heartwarming, romantic story, but considerably more intense than the others.

I also played it second, so it was a bit jarring to go from Van Helsing’s “we’re having trouble communicating because we’re each so focused on the other’s happiness” conflict to Victor’s “either you become an immortal killer or we’ll kill Cardia right now” conflict.

(I would have expected Saint-Germain to get a high-stakes after story, if anyone, but nope, even his was more relaxed than that.)

I can’t think of anything better for this Valentine’s Day celebration. Since these stories focus specifically on the relationship between the protagonist and love interest after they’ve become a couple, romance is their primary focus.

(But someone, please tell me why the writers treat Abraham Van Helsing and Victor Frankenstein as though “Van” and “Franken” are middle names? I can get on board with affectionately calling Van Helsing “Van,” but Victor being referred to as “Professor Stein” bothers me every time it happens!)

Aside from the after stories, Future Blessings also includes two whole new character routes, a romance route for Herlock Sholmes and a platonic route for Finis. Both of these routes are great and have similar intensity to the routes in the original game. I enjoyed both of them quite a bit.

Click for Future Blessings spoilers
And it just felt so nice to finally see Finis get a happy ending.

Plus his route included new scenes with Nemo, and more of that crazy man is always appreciated.

One more story, “Lupin’s Gang” is a new adventure set during the original, in which Cardia and the others become entangled in a plot involving the Mafia. This story is not romantic due to effectively being part of the original’s common route, but it’s a fun adventure with entertaining new characters, even if the pacifist Mafia family did make me raise my eyebrows a bit (Kiryu would love them).

Finally, as you complete each story in Future Blessings, you unlock a series of short chapters featuring Delly. These are all incredibly cute and often funny.

Click for a no-context reference to a Future Blessings joke
1. Eat the cookie.
2. Eat the cookie!
3. EAT THE COOKIE!

Overall, Code: Realize – Future Blessings was a delight to play. The after stories are wonderfully fluffy and romantic, and reminded me of how much I love this cast of characters, the new routes are exciting and satisfying, and everything has a great blend of excitement, humor, and romance. If you enjoyed Code: Realize and want more of its romance, I definitely recommend picking up Future Blessings.