Operation Backlog Completion 2026
Feb 232022
 

Last year I mentioned that I’d picked up the third LoveKami game in another visual novel bundle, so let’s keep the tradition going and talk about LoveKami -Healing Harem-.

Like its predecessors, it’s set in a world where goddesses have come to Earth to learn more about humanity.

It starts when the protagonist helps out a Tatarigami, a goddess whose powers bring trouble and misfortune, and she immediately declares herself to be his wife.

This causes conflict with the region’s guardian goddess, who is a reformed Tatarigami, and another goddess close to the protagonist (who also brings misfortune, but more in a “bad luck” sort of way than the dark powers the other two have), who then declare themselves to be his better half and mistress respectively.

As usual for the series, Healing Harem is largely a kinetic novel, with a single choice partway through that puts you on one of the three routes.

It goes all in on the fanservice, and as you might guess from the title, it doesn’t even try to pretend it’s anything other than a harem fantasy. Two of the routes specifically involve the goddess in question dealing with her jealousy of the other two, although the remaining route focuses more on the goddess wanting to do nice things for the community.

The story is lighthearted and has some interesting moments, although the romance feels a bit odd since all three are already in love with the protagonist to some degree.

(One of them is also a yandere, and her route basically runs with that as a character quirk you must accept.)

Healing Harem’s story setup makes me wonder if it would have worked better as a fully kinetic novel with all three stories occurring at the same time, since the route structure doesn’t make as much sense when they’re a harem anyway. Anyway, it’s a more interesting story than Divinity Stage, but not as entertaining as Useless Goddess.

So if you’re there for the fanservice or the jealous harem fantasy, or really like the LoveKami universe, LoveKami -Healing Harem- makes for a decent addition to the series. Are there any diehard LoveKami fans out there? And don’t forget, the previous two LoveKami games are among the prizes you can win just by leaving a comment in this year’s contest!

(Meanwhile, on the other end of the visual novel spectrum, an official tweet suggests we might actually get the Chaos;Head Noah/Chaos;Child bundle in English!)

Feb 182022
 

It’s been a while since we’ve had a crowd-funding campaign to discuss, and during the Valentine Video Games Festival no less!

Love Cypher, currently seeking funding through Kickstarter, is a near-future romance visual novel set in the 2040s. You play a new student at a university studying artificial intelligence advancements.

It is a galge with four romance routes (and the possibility for more if Love Cypher should meet both its goal and subsequent stretch goals).

A demo is also available, and I played it after seeing the Kickstarter campaign. The demo is fairly short and follows the protagonist as he arrives at the university and meets the heroines.

From the demo, Love Cypher comes across as a lighthearted romantic comedy, with some silly situations and classic misunderstandings.

However, the description mentions that the advanced AI technology in this world “re-sculpts one’s identity, while keeping the individual unaware of their transformation,” which suggests there’s more to the story than meets the eye. Alongside the rom-com antics, it looks like it will deal with themes of identity and humanity.

(Nowadays I’m suspicious of anything that looks fun and lighthearted with hints of something else, but the developer has said online that the story will be philosophical, but still fun, so I don’t think we have to worry about this one being secretly depressing.)

Love Cypher will be an 18+ visual novel once it’s complete, although the demo has no 18+ content since it’s the beginning of the story.

The art looks very nice, and all around it looks like it will be a high-quality production. Although it has stock backgrounds for now, the Kickstarter page says they will be replaced in the final version. It’s tough to judge the story from the demo this early on, but the premise sounds intriguing.

So if you’re looking for an upcoming romance visual novel, you might want to check out Love Cypher’s Kickstarter page to learn more about it.

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!)