Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Celebrating All Things Romantic: Nekopara Vol. 4

 Celebrating All Things Romantic, Reviews, Video Games  4 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Feb 032023
 

The Nekopara series continues to surprise me.

After reading through Nekopara Vol. 1, Vol. 2, and Vol. 3 in past years (not to mention the otome spin-off Catboys Paradise), this year I moved on to Nekopara Vol. 4 anticipating another story of Kashou starting a relationship with more catgirls.

So it’s quite a surprise that I’m mainly counting this as a “Celebrating All Things Romantic” review by virtue of the series itself fitting in the theme.

The past entries featured Kashou getting to know the catgirls who help him manage the patisserie La Soleil, helping them through their problems and conflicts at the same time. In the fourth volume, however, it’s the protagonist himself who takes the center stage.

An encounter with his father, who disapproves of his work in the patisserie and tells him his cooking is still lacking, leads Kashou to question himself and what it is that he’s missing. This entry largely focuses on his conflict with his father and his personal journey to overcome his doubts. It’s quite heartfelt, and its messages are surprisingly wholesome.

It’s still filled with catgirl antics and funny moments, but the focus was much more on Kashou’s character development.

Of course, this is Nekopara, so the lack of romance is mitigated if you get the 18+ version (or the 18+ patch). While this entry might not include any new relationships, the main character still has six catgirls to spend time with. What’s more, I learned that the 18+ content of Nekopara Vol. 4 actually contains alternate scenes as well, where if you say you’re in the company of other people, you’ll be presented with a different intimate/romantic scene instead of a sex scene.

I also learned that the console versions of the Nekopara games are not the same as the all-ages Steam version after all, but replace the sex scenes with different scenes.

That’s more complicated than I expected from Nekopara, but then again, it’s a series full of surprises. In short, Nekopara Vol. 4 does not focus on romance as much as the others, but will still have its share of romantic scenes and/or related activities depending on the version you play. Meanwhile, the core story is a surprisingly wholesome tale about fulfilling your dreams and seeing what drives you.

Volume 4 is currently the last game in the Nekopara series, although a new game called Nekopara After La Vraie Famille was announced in 2021. And don’t forget, you could win a Steam collection of the Nekopara series by participating in this year’s contest!

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception – An Intriguing Start

 Reviews, Video Games  5 Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
Jan 162023
 

It’s been two years since I finished Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen, the remake of the first Utawarerumono game.

Now I’ve moved on and played the second game, Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception.

(I played it on the Vita, but digital copies were delisted and good luck finding physical copies.)

Utawarerumono is often considered a trilogy, but it might be more accurate to describe it as a game with a sequel duology. The original Utawarerumono came out in 2002, only in Japan, and tells a complete story. It was followed by Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Of course, the original was then remade as Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen, which makes it much easier to approach the three games as a trilogy.

Like the first game, Mask of Deception is a visual novel strategy RPG, and I’d say the focus on the visual novel side is even stronger this time. You can spend hours of reading without encountering a battle. When combat does happen, it’s fun enough, but certainly not the game’s big draw.

I got off to a bad start with the game when I couldn’t save in the middle of a scene but had to restart the scene when I loaded my save, but it turns out that’s only an issue for scenes that use the 3D character models. Regular visual novel scenes can be saved and loaded just fine.

You play as Haku, a man with amnesia, and while that sounds similar to the premise of its predecessor, it goes in a different direction. After a woman named Kuon saves Haku from monsters (and gives him the name “Haku” since he can’t remember his own), the two decide to travel together and eventually end up at the capital, with a variety of eccentric characters joining their little group along the way.

It has several connections to the first game, but this entry feels accessible even without that knowledge. However, I’ve gotten the impression that the third game in the series will expect you to have played both previous ones.

The majority of Mask of Deception is fairly lighthearted in tone, with a lot of humor and silly situations. Some of the gags get a little repetitive, but every now and then it would surprise me with a very funny scene. It’s a slow burn that introduces you to its characters and sets the foundations for its world. But when it gets serious, it doesn’t hold anything back. The ending felt like a punch in the stomach coupled with a demand that I play the sequel.

And that’s why I began by discussing the structure of this trilogy. While Mask of Deception does eventually introduce and resolve a major conflict, it feels less like a sequel to Prelude to the Fallen and more like the first half of a sequel. It’s like the Great Ace Attorney situation, where the first game sets up the story to be resolved in the second. Here’s hoping Mask of Truth does as good a job.

In short, I enjoyed Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception, and now that the stakes have really been built up, I’m looking forward to starting Mask of Truth to see what happens next.

Lover Pretend: Sometimes Funny, Sometimes Just Fine

 Reviews, Video Games  2 Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jan 062023
 

Let’s talk about Lover Pretend, the final game I beat in 2022.

Lover Pretend is an otome visual novel about a screenwriting student named Chiyuki who is searching for the identity of her father and has narrowed it down to a handful of possibilities. When she gets an opportunity to work as an assistant screenwriter alongside people related to the men on her list, she sees it as a great opportunity for both her career and her quest.

During the common route, I had my eyebrows raised about a story premise where most of the love interests have the potential to be the protagonist’s half-brother. Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), that aspect is quickly dismissed and forgotten in most of the routes. Despite it being set up as the protagonist’s main goal, most routes don’t deal with it at all.

Instead, each route has a different focus and conflict depending on the love interest. The only thing they have in common relates to the game’s title, “Lover Pretend,” as Chiyuki ends up pretending to be in a relationship with them.

The reason for the fake relationship is different in each route (and despite what the store page says, it’s not because she’s cast as the love interest in the movie, so I don’t know why it says that), and some of them are a bit of a stretch. But whatever, the premise of the game is about getting into a fake relationship, so let’s just roll with it for the sake of comedy and romance.

This fake romance leads you to learn more about the love interest and his personal conflict, with choices along the way determining what sort of ending you get.

One unique feature is the “Pretend Time” mechanic, where you need to answer several questions in a row to lie your way out of a predicament. It’s entertaining, although it really isn’t as focused on lying as the name suggests. While it often is, it’s also used for any situation where you need to make a series of choices – like trying to guess a character’s motivations.

So, now that I’ve explained what Lover Pretend is, how did I feel about it overall? It’s… fine.

It’s a romantic comedy, and there are times when it’s pretty funny, but not as funny as something like Cupid Parasite, for example. The love interests are also just fine. I liked three of them, loved another until his best ending ruined both the character and the romance (seriously), and would have liked the fifth if it was a full-length route like the others.

Click for Lover Pretend spoilers
I wouldn’t have minded Kazuma’s “I’ve actually been jealous of you and secretly hoping you’d fail so you’d have to depend on me” nonsense as a plot point, but making it the final trigger for the love confession and now they’re a happy couple?? What the heck was that???

Lover Pretend isn’t the game to play if you’re looking for a deep plot or exceptional humor, but it’s an enjoyable enough time with mostly enjoyable characters. If the premise interests you, it’s worth taking a look, but if you’re on the fence, there are many others I’d recommend before it.

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