I loved the lighthearted otome game Radiant Tale, so I was thrilled when they announced localization of its fandisc, Radiant Tale -Fanfare!-.

(As a reminder, a fandisc is similar to a sequel, but focuses more on the aftermath of the romances like a game-length epilogue, often with some other new content as well.)

Radiant Tale -Fanfare!- is split into three main parts: after stories, interludes, and “if” routes.

After stories are usually the main draw of a fandisc. These are the extended epilogues that follow the end of an individual character’s route from the main game. Unfortunately, I found Fanfare’s after stories to be… lacking.

It started out well enough; I picked my favorite love interest, the intimidating-yet-actually-sweet warrior Ion, and was treated to some cute romantic scenes. Then I reached the end of the first chapter, much sooner than I’d expected to.

Now, fandisc after stories are always going to be shorter than full otome routes, just by their very nature, but these ones feel very short. I completed each after story in an hour or less, which made them feel like they finished disappointingly soon. (I’m a fast reader and usually move to the next line once I’ve finished reading, so I’d expect it to take closer to 2 hours for a story if you let all the voice lines play out.)

Worse, the after stories of my two favorites, Ion and Zafora, both felt more focused on external events and conflicts keeping the couple apart, instead of the romance emphasis I want from a fandisc.

Because of this, I find myself in the bizarre position where Radie, whose route was my least favorite in the main game, ended up having my favorite story in the fandisc. His after story had the perfect emphasis on fluff and romance, along with a lot of funny moments.

That’s one area where I can’t fault Fanfare. Its after stories might be short, but they aren’t lacking in humor. There were a lot of parts throughout the game that made me laugh.

The interludes are great for that, too. These are a collection of scenes, each only a few minutes long, that focuses on short interactions between the characters. For example, there’s an interlude where the younger side characters are attempting to adopt behaviors they believe will make them gentleman. These scenes are funny and cute.

Finally, we have the “if” routes. These are two all-new routes that branch off from the end of the common route with a short new common route that lets you pick choices that lead to a route for either Jinnia or Liyan. These routes are still shorter than the main game’s routes, but fortunately longer than the after stories. Additional choices lead to short endings featuring Colivus and Alest, as well.

Jinnia turned out to be the MVP of this fandisc. The flashy, flamboyant type isn’t usually my preferred character, but his route is so much fun, with a great amount of romance (and more spice than all the after stories combined) and a believable conflict. The character dynamics in his route were excellent as well.

I didn’t enjoy Liyan’s quite as much, but it had some exciting moments near the end that also made it a fun read.

As for the two characters who only got bonus endings, Colivus’s scenes were quite cute, and Alest’s… made me desperate for a full Alest route. He’s such a great character, and I love him. Despite my criticisms here, I’d still buy a second fandisc in a heartbeat if it delivered a full Alest route.

Overall, I did have fun with Radiant Tale -Fanfare!-, it just felt lacking compared to other fandiscs I’ve played. If you loved Radiant Tale, I’d still recommend getting the fandisc eventually… but maybe when it’s on sale.

Of all the many otome games coming out this year, Radiant Tale is one I was especially excited for because of how beautiful it is.

Set in a fantasy world, you play as a girl named Tifalia who joins the traveling group known as CIRCUS, on a mission to spread happiness across the land to save the prince whose heart was sealed away.

Based on its official description, I expected it to be primarily about helping the members of this circus overcome the difficulties preventing them from performing well, but that’s not really it.

Actually, they get their act together pretty quickly as far as the performance goes, and the common route is more about their journey across the kingdom, learning more about the problems in each major city, and watching them come together as a group of friends, while the individual routes focus on conflicts much more serious than having trouble with a circus act.

Radiant Tale is lighthearted overall, although it does deal with serious situations. Some of the routes were a lot more intense and dramatic than I expected going into it.

Its story often comes across like it’s saying, “We can solve all of society’s problems just by putting on a really good circus show!” which is disappointing if you were hoping for a more serious approach, but I can suspend my disbelief for that sort of feel-good, fairytale-esque solution, especially in such a fantasy setting.

As a result, I feel Radiant Tale is at its strongest when it focuses on the personal conflict of the love interests, and at its weakest when it tries to deal with the greater scope beyond that.

The love interests are all fairly likeable. My favorite is Ion, the taciturn warrior who unintentionally intimidates people while actually being a polite, sweet man and a great cook. It’s like he was created from all my favorite tropes. I also found myself unexpectedly happy with Zafora, the tsundere character, because he’s the sort of cute tsundere who will do nice things while pretending he isn’t. Unfortunately, Zafora’s route was one of the weakest to me. Some of the routes are great and really won a place in my heart, but others have odd pacing that made the romance feel underdeveloped. (The final route also requires you to play through a new version of the common route that you can’t skip despite having some parts that are the same as in the regular common route, which is tedious.)

All of this means that I really hope the Radiant Tale fandisc gets localized, so I can spend more time with the characters I love and get a second chance for the ones whose routes let me down, all in a gorgeous, if idealistic, fantasy world.

If you enjoy otome games and fantasy settings, you definitely should give Radiant Tale a try. It’s a beautiful, lighthearted, and sometimes emotionally intense game with a cast of characters I grew to love.