DRACU-RIOT! In-Depth Analysis (SPOILERS) – Yuzusoft, Slop And Audience Expectations
Where Does 'Worth' Begin and End?
It
has been a long time since I have felt the need to do an expanded
examination of a visual novel I have reviewed. However, there is a
surprising amount to be said about Dracu-Riot and Yuzusoft in general
and, coupled with my general enjoyment, it has led to me ruminating on the
game far more than I would have otherwise. Particularly the idea I
have encountered among the title's audience viewing Yuzusoft’s work as ‘slop’.
To me this seems strange given the clear effort involved in making
those titles and how they are put together with a great deal of
intention in order to achieve the genre’s expectations while still
standing out in their own right.
So
in order to full appreciate the complexities and issues surrounding
Drau-Riot we will be going through its entire narrative structure
from the Common Route to Nicola’s Sub-heroine route. Then the
overarching points which are common to the whole game will be picked
apart to reveal how all these routes are drawn together. Spoilers
will be constant and extensive so be warned. In addition it is
assumed you have read my original review here for my
broader thoughts and opinions on Drau-Riot. Now let’s dissect this
undead corpse and understand its workings.
Protecting Romance – Narrative Analysis
-Common route-
In
terms of Yuzusoft’s common routes, this one might be their smoothest
and most consistent in terms of the natural feeling heroine
interactions and escalating conflict. Rather than having segregated
sections for each heroine, they are instead given a time to shine
within the group dynamics of the dorm cast where they endear
themselves to the player through an organic set of interactions with
Yuuto and co. Given the importance of the dorm group to later
character moments and the overall themes of the game a
lot of effort is put into setting up the baseline for future
developments which it does with a deft hand and does not draw too
much attention to itself.
Slowly escalating the stakes throughout the
common route is the vampire drug case which brilliantly adds enough
tension for a climax at the end of the common route which is big
enough to be exciting but minor enough to be easily eclipsed by the
conflicts in the routes. This is a lesson they would apparently
forget in Senren Banka and Angelic☆Chaos RE-BOOT! with both having
an action set piece whose stakes are far above anything in their
respective routes so harming their ability to properly present
greater or more personal threats in their stories. Once you have
reached life or death as the stakes for your story everything else
seems more minor by comparison since the threat of death is the
ultimate danger. Dracu-Riot’s common route also manages intrigue
well through dangling plot threads surrounding Yuuto’s lycanthrope
powers and their origin. They are touched upon but left to the
individual routes to develop creating a great sense of continuity and
flow into each route. This opening provide a strong foundation and
the rest of the game builds up one aspect or another introduced
here making it the perfect encapsulation of the broader experience
the player can expect from the title.
-Miu’s Route-
Miu
is obviously the main heroine of Dracu-Riot, she is the first one
Yuuto meets and gets the most screen time even outside of her own
route leading to her being front and centre of the player’s mind
for most of the game. What makes this interesting is how it has
affected her route since it acts as a grand finale for the cast and
story where all get a chance to shine and be resolved as they
face the greatest threat posed to them by any conflict. This is to the
point that her route should probably have been locked behind the
completion of all the others since there are so many references to them. If a player chooses Miu first they will not
appreciate these nods and satisfying resolutions and at worst they
may even be spoiled about what to expect from other characters. The
biggest example of this being Anna’s behaviour towards Sayo since
it reveals her self martyring nature that Mera’s route relies on
for a big emotional moment so playing Miu’s route beforehand
somewhat undermines it.
Insecurities
are the name of the game for Miu’s route with the main hurdle the
pair must overcome being the whispering voices of doubt in their own
head. These inner demons stick around just enough to make the act of
overcoming them meaningful and in doing so side step the possibility
of the player getting frustrated with how self inflected their
problems can be. Transforming Miu’s blushing pretensions of
adulthood into a genuine maturity makes for an endearing arc since it
satisfying to see her come to understand that the allure she aspires
to have is more than just crude references to sex. The element of
possessiveness and aggressiveness in Miu which the relationship brings to
the front compliments this journey as it maintains a sense of her
as a flawed person while shifting the humour to focus around it
rather than her old weakness to teasing.
It also helps that Miu and
Yuuto have some of the most consistently amusing banter in this route
which really sells the back and forth nature of their relationship as
they constantly outplay each other. If there is any problem with this
approach it is in the lack of connection to the main themes of
Dracu-Riot, hence why the route leans into aspects of other routes
and a dramatic finale to try and bridge the gap. The attack on the
island has nothing to do with the pair’s love nor has any personal
connection to them and only works when framed through the rest of the game it
references. Even its defining moment where the vampires and humans
come together to save Yuuto and a child from a collapsed building is
about the character of the people on the island rather than Miu or
Yuuto themselves. Ultimately this division is unlikely to be noticed
since the game flows from one to the other smoothly and the
excitement will overcome any lack of cohesion.
-Rio’s Route-
If
there is one thing Rio’s route highlights about Dracu-Riot it is
the vague nature of the lycanthrope and games complete aversion to
providing details of anything not happening on the island. The big
reveal of this route is the existence of artificial lycanthropes and
the fact Rio and Yuuto are both the result of these experiments. This
seems to exist to explain why Yuuto has multiple powers despite never
having eaten another vampire while providing a nice bit of tension
when people start to come after the two of them in pursuit of this
power. However, nothing about this experiment and the narrative
issues it brings up are ever really explained. For example, why don’t
either of them remember being experimented on and why would they just
be abandoned without any monitoring after the project was ended? Why
did Rio awaken as a vampire without any stimulus while Yuuto had to
drink vampire blood? Were Rio and Yuuto the only test subjects or
were there more? There are many more questions like this which the
game just glosses over when it should have taken more time to examine
them given the prominence it gave to a major re-contextualisation to
Yuuto’s life. Yet these are all characterised by not being about or
related to the island so they are discarded by the side of the road.
As
for the rest of the route, Rio’s innocence and her maternal streak
are capitalised on for great effect as she grows into understanding
just how valuable her supporting role is to the people around her.
Playing off her friendship with Elina was one of the smartest choices
this route makes since they are at opposite ends of the innocence
spectrum and constantly talk passed each other for comic effect. Yet
it in the sincere way Elina pushes Rio to be more aggressive in her
feelings for Yuuto that reinforces the sense Elina cares about Rio’s
happiness even if she also wants to tease them. The handling
of Rio discovering she is a lycanthrope is combined with an
escalation in the action as a bounty is put on her and Yuuto’s heads in order to create the most effective confirmation of love in the
entire game. It mixes Yuuto’s frantic searching for Rio with Rio’s
own increasing spiral downwards and leads them into a positive
overflowing of emotion between the pair as they both find acceptance
in their common condition.
This should have probably been the end of
the route since the narrative after this point runs into a few
hiccups. First of these is Ougi being used as a straight villain who
is spouting uninspired evil lines which sit directly opposed to the
sympathetic view the other routes give to him. He also does not
really fit in with the theming and character arcs of this route
and instead feels as if he was crammed in here because the developers
thought they needed another action scene. Secondly there is a new
revelation that lycanthropes can turn vampires back into humans. This
should be a world shattering reveal since it offers a way for any
vampire to become a human and this creates a lot of possible issues
for the power balance between vampires and humans. Except this reveal
is actually just an excuse for Yuuto and Rio to share their memories
and not have to deal with the existence of two lycanthropes running
free. However, the memory sharing and its romantic outcome are a
strong note to end on and I cannot deny the way it completed their
arc is satisfying.
-Mera’s Route-
Dracu-Riot’s
world building and its integration into its story is at its best in
Mera’s route since it is willing to address the issues surrounding
vampire society and does not try to shy away from the grey nature of those
involved. As the only human in the dorm group, Mera is the embodiment
of the ideal relationship between vampires and humans since she sees
them as her equals and cares about them. Her struggles with the
undocumented vampires where she tries to her best to protect and help
people in a situation not their fault and rubs up against the
structures which see them as sub human. This clash between her ideals
of equality and what she can realistically achieve form the backbone
of her arc as she becomes more capable and willing to take a stand
for what she believes in. The relationship between her and Yuuto also
plays into this dynamic as they find their comfort zone to become a
walking example of this ideal. The fact Yuuto overcomes his vampiric
temptations to be with the one he loves nicely ties into this bond
being romantic rather than lustful.
What makes this all come together
is the route’s willingness to explore the way old wounds, ways and
grudges cannot be easily forgotten and it will take a long time for
them to truly fade away. Even after Mera and Yuuto’s victory things
are not magically better for everyone, the Hunters still hate
vampires and the vampires are still suspicious of humans, but the
first step has been taken by the pair towards the future they
envision. This small hope ends up feeling more powerful than the
grand coming together of vampires and humans in Miu’s route since
it captures the reality of our own world and how change comes about.
Positioning Anna as the antagonist of this route and highlighting her
self martyring nature allows her to be a foil to Mera by being the
jaded old guard to her youthful idealism. That said the contrivance
to make Anna related to Mera was a bit too much since it felt like
the game shouting this contrast at you especially since she dies at
the end further push this idea. Another knock against the story is
the one dimensional nature of the Hunters who are just violent racists and nothing else which makes it hard to believe Mera grew up
connected to them. Some more nuance to their motivations, in
particular for Kaede, would have gone a long way to making the human
side of the conflict feel more justifiable rather than simply hate
fuelled.
-Nicola’s Route-
Since
I already explained the issues with Nicola and her sub-heroine route
in my review I will try to cover a few different points here so as
not to repeat myself. These mainly centre around Nicola’s
grandfather who acts as the route’s main antagonist. His appearance
in the story as well as the conflict and its resolution are abrupt
and quickly move from one stage to another at an unnatural pace. Too
much of his identity seems to have come about from a need to make him
comedic rather than from his role as the test of the Nicola and
Yuuto’s love and so the scenes with him in lack the needed tension
for them overcoming him to have catharsis. Yet it is the very nature
of his existence which poses the biggest problem to the overall
narrative of Dracu-Riot, he is a vampire who has extended his life by
transferring his consciousness into animals. This opens a strange can
of worms concerning the nature of the vampire virus, can animals also
be infected with it? If he can transfer his consciousness does that
mean he knows what consciousness is and its location in the body?
Does being in an animal body not substantially alter his perception
of the world? Obviously the game does not want you to think about
these holes hence why he is a comedic character so the player will
not take him seriously. However, as you might have noticed by now
such holes are a common feature of Dracu-Riot’s storytelling.
-Elina’s Route-
Elina
might be my favourite character which is interesting given her route
is by far the most self-contained one with its conflicts and
characters only existing inside of it. As a result it has a greater
sense of focus then the other routes, the romance and
everything exists in service of showcasing the pair's bond rather than the
overarching themes of Dracu-Riot. This is mostly to its benefit with
Elina and Yuuto’s relationship being adorable and giving enough
space to fully explore the push and pull of Elina’s extrovert
personality against her deep seated insecurities about abandonment.
It is also nice to have the female character be the one with the
dangerous and controllable desire and the male being on the receiving
end as it flips the dynamics of their relationship on its head while
tying into Elina’s fears. Elina’s route is well thought out with
a lot of effort being put into creating situations where the couple’s
future is at stake rather than pointing some simple danger at them.
The Russians exemplify this technique since even if they are defeated
now they will never leave Yuuto alone so threatening his future with
Elina rather than just being an enemy to be battled than forgotten
about. Having the Russians use the police is a great little flipping
on the head of Yuuto’s normal status as someone working to assist
the police making for a nice thriller atmosphere in their pursuit of
him. In its totality this is the most singular and focused route
about two people in love and is paced to perfection, but its
detechment from the rest of the game will make it feel vestigial to
player’s more invested in the connectivity offered by the other
routes.
Genre Above All – Stray Thoughts
-Vampire Virus – Science VS. Magic-
Having
the origin of vampirism be a virus is a source of problems for
Dracu-Riot’s world building since the player is going to have at
least a passing understanding of how viruses function so not
meeting this expectation is distracting. The reason for this choice
is clearly to ground the title in its present day setting by
providing a modern explanation for vampires while also justifying why
Yuuto has to constantly be going to hospital. For the most part this
choice works as an explanation due to how most vampires and their
powers stick within a relatively reasonable range to the framework
established in the game’s opening hours. Where it starts to crumble
in the many expansions to this core which go beyond its simple
outline. These are things like the transfer of consciousness into
animals, the ability to absorb memories through drinking blood or the
non-physical related powers like telekinesis. What do these extremes
all have in common? They are all effectively magic and the player
subconsciously picks up on this shifting to the more extreme end of
fantasy and feels a dissonance between the pseudo-science explanation
from before. Since the developers clearly want vampires to be
mailable to whatever the narrative needed them to be, letting them
just have a vague magical nature would side step this issue through
correctly setting the player’s expectations. It also does not
entirely exclude the idea of scientific study if they wanted to
maintain the reason for Yuuto’s visits to hospital.
-Vampires As A Race Allegory-
Throughout
Dracu-Riot vampires are grouped together under the idea of them as a
‘race’. This is clearly intentional given the various parallels
to discrimination against real world racial group from a racially charged term of discrimination in ‘sucker’ to the difficulty in
find property due to landlords not wanting vampires in their as tenants to a vampire’s signature hold no legal weight and so needing a
human to sign their documents. The messaging around this use of race
is to highlight the negative impact of discrimination and the harm it
does not other people who are just the same at their core. It is
broadly successful at keeping this theme from feeling too preachy or
familiar and Mera’s route showcases a surprisingly nuanced take on the mutual damage and entrenching of preconceptions this racism has done
to both vampires and humans.
Issues with vampires as a race only
start to raise their head when it comes to their status as
supernatural beings. The idea of the vampires as 'diseased' and the
existence of a vaccine which can prevent a human turning into a
vampire has unfortunate parallels to real life rhetoric against
minorities. Add to this the fact the vampires are a genuine threat to
humans due to their powers and they need/want to feed on
humans creates a justification of human discrimination while also
echoing the ideas of race politics, such as them being a ‘parasite’ or
‘diseased’ and as a threat due to their divided loyalties, used
throughout history. Nothing among these problematic connections is
intentional on the part of Yuzusoft, but rather it stems from a
somewhat haphazard approach to their theming. They want a narrative
line about discrimination to add texture to the conflicts yet want it
to play second fiddle to the romance and action hence why it meshes
poorly with elements deemed more important for the story it wants to
tell. Obviously Dracu-Riot is not a treatise on racism but rather a
simple parable so a complex examination was never going to be
something it was capable of. Instead what should be taken away from
this observation is how hard it is to cover the nature of racism in a
fictional setting especially if you draw parallels to the real world
since the player will naturally look for other similar examples
whether these be intended or not.
-Gambling And The Sex Industry-
Another
interesting quality of Dracu-Riot’s writing is its somewhat
uncomfortable relationship with Brothels and Casinos which
characterise its setting. These two industries are the core economic
pillars the vampire island is built on yet you could be forgiven for
forgetting this fact given how minor their presence is from start to
finish. Gambling gets the somewhat larger presence since both Elina
and Nicola working at a casino and it is occasional used as a backdrop
for certain action scenes or dramatic build up. Even here none of the
characters engage in gambling for money themselves outside of one
instance where it is justified as an undercover operation to catch a
criminal so absolving them of any negative connections with the act.
This odd tiptoeing around the Casinos' existence is likely born of the
strict controls Japan has on its gambling and Yuzusoft not wanting to
be seen as endorsing it while also wanting use its taboo and alluring
nature to their advantage.
The sex industry fairs far worse with the
only notable interactions with it being the confiscation of illegal
pornography which was smuggled in and the opening joke about Yuuto’s
friend want to lose is virginity at a brothel. At no point does any
character actually go anywhere near these brothels despite the fact
we are told they are a major part of the islands financial income so
must occupy a lot of space yet is somehow completely invisible within
the narrative. If it were not immediately obvious, the reason for
this absence is how brothels do not fit into the idea of pure romance
pushed by Dracu-Riot. For the game the act of sex is a manifestation
of love between two partners and expresses their bond in the most
physical and intimate manner possible. A brothel would complicate
this idea of sex by adding in an element of sex being something
transnational which commodifies it and stands in opposition to sex
being a sacred act of love. There is a good reason Yuuto declines any
attempt to get him to go to a brothel and he always follows this
rejection up with a comment about wanting his first time to be with
someone he loves. This puts the brothels in a strange position where
they exist for the sack of making the island more seedy and
mysterious yet they cannot actually appear on screen so leave the
heavy lifting to the casinos.
-‘Yuzuslop’-
When
talking to someone about the works of Yuzusoft, the phrase ‘Yuzuslop’
or something with a similar sentiment often emerges. It can be meant endearingly
but nonetheless reveals how their audience sees their output. But why
do they view it this way? When boiled down the issue can traced to
two points, the similarity of their output and the nature of the
Slice of Life Romance genre. All Yuzusoft games share a core identity
based around their brand of light and pure romance and differentiate
themselves through their unique gimmicks be this vampires, spies or
shinigami. This brand of story born from their style of writing is
immediately recognisable to the player from the first scene and
communicates they are in good hands. Having a feeling of familiarity
can be exactly what attracts a player to Yuzusoft’s work, they want
a comfortable experience with just enough new to keep it from
becoming too predictable and for many Yuzusoft give them exactly what
they want. However, this is a double edged sword and familiarity and
predictable are the parents of contempt and form the underlying idea
of a Yuzusoft game as ‘low effort’ or ‘unimaginative’.
The
studio is walking a fine line between appealing to their audience and
losing them due to a lack of new and exciting ideas, hence why they
are so insistent on gimmicks even if it results in strange narrative
problems. Anything but being thought of as producing the same game
over and over again. Then the issue of genre expectation for slice of
life romances rears its head, the conventions and tropes of the genre
have become a set of expectations most titles in the genre choose to
adhere to as part of their appeal and Yuzusoft is not exception. Yet
utilising them brings their games closer in form to the homogenised
lump of the genre fiction and risks becoming lost in the sea of other
similar titles vying for attention. The aforementioned gimmicks are
the main way this is tackled, but even they cannot entirely wash away
the association with mediocrity brought from this connection with the
largest and most saturated visual novel genre. At every turn Yuzusoft has
to fight this two front war against the genre they have chosen and
their success should be a demonstration of their abilities even in
the face of being labelled as ‘slop’.
Conclusion
If
there is one thing you should take away from this article through
both its criticism and praise, it is the intent and effort behind
everything in Dracu-Riot and by extension all of Yuzusoft’s work.
This is far from some low effort ‘slop’ but instead a title
crafted by developers who clearly love the genre while understanding
the chains of audience expectation which come with it. Despite not
having ambitions to be high art, there is still value in what it
offers since a well made example of a genre played straight is
surprisingly difficult to pull off without leaning too heavily into
cliché and mediocrity. Bring joy through a comfortable atmosphere
and pure romance is a skill worth recognising and not dismissing as
‘slop’.
DRACU-RIOT! Review – A Thirst For Romance
Genre – Romance, Urban Fantasy, Slice of Life Play Time – 40 hours Developer -Yuzusoft Steam VNDB
Drinking Deep
After
what seemed like an eternity of being trapped in translation hell,
Dracu-Riot has finally been released and players get to experience
one of Yuzusoft’s older titles, but was the wait worth it?
Dracu-Riot’s effective blend of romance and action creates a smooth
escalation over the course of the common route and into the heroine
routes and makes the most of its vampires to allow each conflict to
feel impactful and unique. Having clearly defined heroines and routes
with only a minimal amount of overlap was a priority for the game
with the emotional through line for each heroine being different and
even the arcs given to the protagonist challenging slightly different
parts of his identity. Couple this with a strong core group of
characters and a set of sympathetic antagonists and the result is an
extremely well rounded package. In terms of visuals it is more of a
mixed bag as even with the face lift this release received it is
clearly an older title with a certain static feeling to many sprites
and CGs. Beneath these elements there is a general unevenness in
terms of character writing, the powers available to vampires and
unwillingness to commit to the concepts of its setting. Are these
shocks to the foundations enough to sink this island of vampires to
its watery grave? Let’s partake of the blood and find out.
In The Depths Of Night – Narrative And Themes
Utilising
action effectively within a visual novel can be a difficult task so
it is a testament to Dracu-Riot’s quality that it is able to tread
this fine line with finesse. It understands how to bring the most out
of the superpowered vampires to create a feeling of danger without
overpowering the romance which is the story’s core focus. There is impeccable pacing as the narrative jumps back and forth between these
pillars to keep the player on their toes and slowly escalating the
danger and drama for a natural ride towards the climax. In the
common route the battles start as small scale scuffles which rise in
stakes until a route is entered where they take a specific aspect of
the action and zoom in on that to make each route feel distinct. This
can be anything from a deeper exploration of the protagonist’s
lycanthrope powers to getting to personally experience the effects of
the vampire drug. Each route also gets a big reveal specific to it
to help shape its identity in a way both complementing the other
routes while also contrasting against the other reveals to create a
complete picture of what is going on. This provides further incentive
for the player to play through all of the routes, rather than just
the ones for the heroines they like, in order to fully appreciate
what is happening behind the scenes.
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| Danger is around every corner when vampires are around |
Underpinning these elements is a
line of strong emotions and focused theming made to allow the heroines
shine in their own unique light. Yuzusoft knows their players want a
lovable romance when coming to their games so highlighting the
feelings of love each character experiences front and centre. The player
gets to spend a lot of time in the route heroine’s head to sell the
genuine and innocent nature of their love and the weaknesses which
form the backbone of their character arc. It also helps that Yuuto,
the protagonist, has his own set of character arcs spread across the
heroines to match their stories while struggling with the trials put
before him. It gives a greater sense of Yuuto and the heroines as a
dynamic set of people who react differently to different conflicts
and challenges. The overall shape of the narrative is put together
with a lot of care to ensure the right emotions are communicated at
the correct time for them to feel impactful and a suitable escalation
of what came before.
 |
| We are always told never shown |
Issues
within Dracu-Riot’s narrative are all relatively small in scale due
to how well the overall title manages its load, but there is no
denying these failings do add up over time. The actions scenes are
effective used within the story yet lack in the moment to moment impact due
to the writing in them being somewhat stiff in execution. Perhaps
this is to be expected from a studio mainly focused on romance yet
they will later prove they can write such scenes with titles like
Senren Banka which has stronger textual action. The sub-heroine route
is similarly weak due to the heroine in question being a minor side
character with no real presence beforehand so they have to speed run
a romance for a character the player barely knows. As you can imagine
this leads to a very bumpy experience and fails to justify the actions
of the pair properly leading to it feeling very fake. Then there are
the issues surrounding powers and world building. Dracu-Riot tends to
forget the powers available to the characters when it it not
convenient for them to have these abilities. Yuuto is the worst
offender as the game constantly forgets he has multiple powers for
the sake of create a dramatic situation without justifying why he
cannot just resolve the problem with a power he possesses which would solve it.
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| Nothing outside of this island matters |
There is an uncomfortable relationship between the world building and
what the narrative seems to think is important. For example the
player is shown the discrimination against vampires in the city but
is assured it is worse outside in the wider world. Yet this is
something the player never experiences since Yuuto did not even know
vampires existed before coming to the island and even when he does
leave as part of some routes there is a time skip so as to not have
to deal with the outside. This aversion to addressing the world
the game has set up and the overall light tone of the story are in
constant tension to a distracting extent. It wants to hand wave
anything away things which might undermine its desired themes or character
moments while still having these darker conflicting aspects. On a
more minor point, there is an overuse of ‘lucky pervert’ moments
with each heroine being on the receiving end of at least one and it
feels forced for the sake of audience expectations rather than doing
anything for the story.
Vampiric Relations – Characters
At
the centre of Dracu-Riot is the dorm group consisting of Yuuto and
the heroines and their interactions form the pillar supporting every
twist and turn of the story. They come across as genuinely caring and
supportive of each other with the exact nature of this support
changing based on the situation and the heroine route. In Elina’s
route they mistakenly believe her to be pregnant and pool together
their money to help her and in Miu’s route they band together to
rescue Yuuto when he get trapped under a collapsing building. This
adaptability gives their likeable qualities a sense of life beyond
simply being good people and showcases them as a makeshift family unit
with a deep bond amongst them. It also helps that the relationships
between each heroine and Yuuto have their own texture so the
reactions to their pairings can be varied. Providing these connections
offers an avenue for conflict which plays into what has already been
established about the route's pair and act as a test to demonstrate the
strength of their love with everything from insecurities, in the case
of Elina and Rio, to a challenging of ideals, in the case of Mera.
Even the antagonists have a sympathetic angle to them through their
motives and a belief they are doing the right thing. It allows for a
single bit of moral ambiguity which never clashes against the cast in any
complex manner, since the antagonists are still doing something
clearly wrong, yet it is just enough to create a tinge of guilt to the
cast’s victory. This all combines to create a set of characters which are easy
to invest into and pay it back with entertaining banter and heartfelt
moments.
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| Miu's attempts at teasing are always a joy to watch |
Nicola
is an oddly constructed character and marks the only characterisation
weak point in the title. Outside of her sub-heroine route she is a
strong addition to the dorm group, but the moment she enters her own
route everything unique about her is stripped away. They start out a
little obsessed with the mythos of vampires and wanting to be cool
just like this fiction to the point of dressing like a man to match
it. This is a fun little quirk and is played off of for humour
throughout the game without ever coming across as mocking her.
However, once Nicola enters her own route all of these unique traits
are completely washed away in favour a blushing maiden who dresses in
female clothes and bends to Yuuto’s interests. It is presented as
being changed by love but is speed and extent do not come across as
believable nor even a positive presentation of this change since she
just gives up everything she is for this one man. This come across as
particularly bad when put next the other heroines who all get a
gradual and smaller shift in their personalities and they also change
Yuuto alongside them in a mutual way to reinforce the idea that they
are in love. As such she stands out like a sore thumb due to this
contrast not fitting within the game’s thematic and tonal
presentation of romance.
Lit By Moonlight – Visuals, Audio And Technical
Rather
than being simple localisation of the original title, this release
makes some touch up to bring Dracu-Riot more in line with the recent
technical quality of Yuzusoft’s catalogue. The biggest of these
changes is the increased resolution of the visual assets which now
pop with colour and life on modern screens with greater clarity then
their original counterparts. While this alteration no doubt improves
the visuals, there is still a noticeable level of awkwardness to
certain portrait poses and CGs giving this game away as an older
title. The higher fidelity merely draws more attention to these
moments than they might have otherwise received. Such blemishes do
not hold prominent enough places to be actively distracting and
instead once every so often the player is reminded of the game’s
age.
 |
| Almost the entire game is set a night |
Despite this age Yuzusoft’s signature light and vibrant use of
chibi CGs to highlight their humour can be seen throughout Dracu-Riot
and ensures the jokes land with the appropriate visual punch. From a
musical stand point the use of character themes for each heroine when
they are the main focus creates an easy to recognise auditory
language to communicate exactly what kind of scene the player is in
for. They perfectly captures the essence of their heroine from the
energetic and odd No Limit for Elina to the innocent and confident
Growing for Mera and stick with the player long after the story had
finished. Beyond these tracks the OST is a fairly normal slice of
life affair with a small touch of vampire fantasy added in to sell
the title’s twist on the standard formula. This makes for a musical
score filled with energy and capable of swapping into dramatic action
when needed without coming across as tonally incoherent due to the
fantasy undertone consistent throughout.
Conclusion
Yuzusoft’s
titles all want to be more than just simple slice of life romances
through adding in a dose of spice and Dracu-Riot is one of their best
attempts at this structure. It utilises its vampiric action to create
an escalating sense of danger which compliments the increasing bond
between Yuuto and the heroines. Each route is given its own threats
and character arcs to keep things feeling fresh and they combine to
create a complete picture of this world. The visual touch ups go a
long way to making this game comparable to its newer peers while
meeting the audience’s expectations for Yuzusoft. All of this is
supported by a cast of sympathetic characters, both friend and foe, who
form a dynamic and engaging space for banter and conflict. It is a
shame it does not properly commit to the consequences and ideas it
brings up and instead side steps them, but it is not enough to
prevent the player from being swept away by the impeccable pacing.
Overall Drau-Riot is Yuzusoft at its best as they display why they
are one of the dominant forces in this genre.
Verdict -
Carves out an exciting balance between its romantic drama and action scenes while maintaining Yuzusoft’s comfortable slice of
life core. Yet when it comes to its themes and some characters there is a
noticeable weakness in their execution.
Pros -
+
Vampiric action is used to create a well paced and exciting
experience which knows when to step aside to let the romances shine.
+
Each heroine undergoes their own distinct arc with Yuuto and has to
deal with different threats so each route has its own identity.
+
A loveable group of heroines and supporting characters are put up
against sympathetic antagonists who nicely challenge them to grow and
engage in entertaining dynamics.
+
Updated visuals and an excellent use of character specific tracks and a loosely fantasy soundtrack create a memorable experience.
Cons -
-
A weak sub-heroine route and an inability to properly commit to its
world building and themes do drag the overall narrative down.
-
Due to the weak sub-heroine route, Nicola sticks out like a sore
thumb for her poor characterisation and inconsistent presentation
when placed next to the otherwise excellent cast.
-
While the updated visual are good they still have a certain lack of
polish to them due to their age resulting a few odd portraits and
CGs.
Best Visual Novel Releases – April 2026
Now
that the April showers have arrived with their usual
unpredictability, let’s take shelter under the eaves of the visual
novel space and see what comforts it has to offer. This month has
seen quite a spread of releases such as spiritual sequels to popular
romances, a historical fiction crime drama and a spin-off of a
classic anime, all pushing for your attention. Let’s dive in and
pick out the best from among this deluge of outstanding titles.
Official Releases
Rose Guns Days - Season 1
The
first part of Rose Guns Days finally sees an official English
translation some fourteen years after the original Japanese release.
Ryuukishi07 crime drama was worth the wait as he applies his
distinctive style to create a compelling addition to the genre. Set
in a post world war 2 Japan which has been divided down the middle by
China and America and where the Japanese are marginalised in their own
country. Into this messy situation step the game’s two
protagonists, Leo Shishigami and Rose Haibara, who find themselves
becoming involved in the machinations of the criminal underworld as they
push back against their position in this society. It is filled with
character drama backed up by a dose of brawling action. There is a
reason Ryuukishi07 continues to be a much loved developer and Rose
Guns Days demonstrates his talent making for an entertaining ride.
Making*Lovers: First Blush
As
the spiritual successor to the original Making*Lovers, First Blush
states its intent to recapture what made that title special but its
interpretation of that has led to some interesting choices. One of
the main elements which allowed the original to stand out among the
many similar romance titles was the majority of its heroines being
adults and being treated that way by the story as their love brushes
up against the adult world. However, First Blush has moved into an
entirely school based setting removing this distinctiveness entirely.
Instead what it aims to capture the pure love element of the original where the
shape and shyness of the characters slowly define the outline of their
romance. In this regard the title can be considered a complete
success as it achieves this sense of fresh and inexperienced love
which is pleasing to witness. Yet in doing so it has become more like
its peers and blurs into the many other such titles vying for your
time. As long as you do not come in with expectations from the
original game then you will have a suitably entertaining time.
Machine Child
Opening
with a choice of three daughters for the player to select from
immediately makes Machine Child stand out against the single
character focus of other raising sims. This is a game that not only
wants you to replay it to get the different endings but also to see
how these endings influence each daughter. Choice is heavily
emphasised as expected from the genre, but here it really puts a lot
of power in the player’s hands in order to make the daughter’s
fate completely their responsibility which adds impact to the consequences. A
combination of Ooyari Ashito’s memorable artwork and a light
fantasy world create an upbeat and endearing title aiming to simulate
the feelings of parenthood without straying into any particularly
dark topics. While a connoisseur of the genre might find Machine
Child’s simplistic mechanics lacking, there is enough heart and
soul here to keep you smiling throughout your daughter’s growth.
Café of Roses
Ebi-hime
is once again back with another excellent yuri visual novel and this
time having the love interest being a mysterious vampire. Filtered
through the lens of a cafe where the vampire works, this aims to be a
low stakes romance where the tender build up of the pairs emotions is
front and centre. It follows Meike who is pressured into a
relationship with a man she does not love by her parents and one day
while trying to avoid him she ducks into a Victorian inspired cafe
where she meets the strange Magdalena. Meike cannot seem to get her
out of her mind and as the two get to know one another a special bond
begins to bloom. This is not a story aiming to break any boundaries
but is instead a well realised vision of the genre written by an
experienced hand.
Fan Translations
Kokoro Connect Random Predictions
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Spin-Off, Mystery, Romance Play Time – 15 hours
Released
all the way back in 2012 as a spin-off based on the Kokoro Connect
anime, this game aimed to capitalise on the popularity of the
original material and leans into echoing its best qualities. It has
an original scenario rather than being an adaptation so is free to
have a bit of fun putting these familiar characters into new
situations. Kokoro Connect has always been about the strange things
happening to the members of the cultural club and for Random
Predictions they find themselves afflicted by visions of the future
which they must struggle with and confront. The strong group
chemistry combined with the friction between them make for the game’s
core appeal while allowing the story to believable move off in
different directions depending on the player’s choices. However, it
does rely heavily on the player having already seen at least the
anime as it makes no attempt to bring them up to speed. A visual
novel for those wanting to experience this era of spin-off games at
its best.
Double Wings Demonbane
Patch Download VNDB Genre
– Science Fantasy, Mecha, Action Gameplay Play Time – 10 hours
Being
the sequel to the popular lovecraftian mecha visual novel, Deus
Machina Demonbane, was always going to be difficult so Double Wings
Demonbane strives to stand out in its own right. While not quite as
out there as the original in terms of narrative and content, it makes
up for it through leaning into the characters and action in ways
which push them into new territory. The duo of Kurou and Al must
confront the mysterious ‘Blood Monsters’ which threaten their new
found peace alongside the arrival of a strange pair who are somehow
connected to this case. There is a push to create a parallel between
these two pairings and it from this conflict which the game much of
its new character development and drama. It is also a shorter and
more concise experience than its predecessor with it using this
condensed feeling to its advantage to keep the pace up. Overall, a
good successor to Deus Machina that is sure to entertain fans.
Remaster, Remake, Reimagine – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Retreading Old Ground
The
world of video games has entered the era of retreading its past and
serving it up in a new coat of paint. Visual novels
are no exception to this tread with the last couple of years
providing a plethora of classic titles given this treatment. These
games can be broadly split into three categories based on the nature
of the alterations performed on them, the Remaster, the Remake and
the Reimagining. A Remaster is a simple touch up to the graphics,
music and other technical features to bring the title in line with
modern sensibilities without making any sweeping changes to its core
identity. If the developer wants to redo their work on the original
then they opt for a Remake which aims to shake up its elements and
make additions or changes to the narrative direction while still
keep the foundations of the original game. Then there are Reimaginings which rip up
everything and start from scratch with new systems and graphics
entirely distinct from the original and these aim to capture the original's spirit in a new form. Each brings something unique to the table
for visual novels so let’s reuse, reduce and recycle our way around
this industry trend.
Ship Of Theseus
Remasters
might seem the lowest effort of the three types since it is easy to
dismiss them as a quickly slapped together product due to the way
they lean towards minor changes. However, as anyone who has played a
bad Remaster will tell you a lot can go wrong even with the simplest
of things such a failing to capture the colour balance correctly or
poorly upscaling old assets. Then there is the choice about what
version of the original was selected if there were multiple
re-releases and what content is considered ‘core’ to the
experience. Balancing all these tweaks takes a skilled hand and one
wrong step can have an army of angry fans at your door demanding the
blood of the person who defiled their sacred original. Despite this
risk, the benefits of a Remaster in terms of accessibility on modern
hardware cannot be denied, many older visual novels are not playable
on newer systems, have outdated screen resolutions or did not
previously have console versions. These are a great avenue for
developers to make additional money out of an already completed title
while also laying the groundwork for a potential sequel or
continuation of the original as a series.
 |
| Simple, Clean and Effective is what a good Remaster should be |
Mashiroiro Symphony HD is
an example of the most basic kind of Remaster focused purely on
improving the user experience. The resolution was changed from 4:3 to
16:9 and all graphical elements were upscaled to match alongside the
addition of a few new bits of animation to create a little visual
variety. It is obvious when playing it that a lot of effort has been
taken to maintain the strong use of colour and seasonal aesthetics
which made the original stand out and to ensure they survived the
transition into this higher resolution. Naturally the UI also
underwent a redesign to better fit the new dimensions it has to work
within as well as a general improvement to its readability to bring
it into line with the rest of the industry. Beyond these parts little
else was changed and maintaining the rest of the game untack was clearly
the priority. While Fate/Stay Night Remastered is on the surface a
similar kind of Remaster to Mashiroiro Symphony, what differentiates
it is the choice of which version to use as its base. The headline
change which the Remaster boasts is the redrawn CGs for the higher
resolutions rather than simply upscaled and the player will
definitely notice the crispness of the visuals within this new
release. However, what players of original game are mostly likely to
notice immediately is this is not a remaster of the first version of
Fate/Stay Night, but instead of the Realta Nua release. As such there
are a lot of changes present which have been maintain in this
Remaster, even beyond the removal of the erotic content, particularly
in the increased amount of CGs and the dramatically larger
soundtrack. This choice was likely made to ensure the game could
appeal to the largest demographic and by this point Realta Nua had
become the de-facto version of Fate/Stay Night so few would question
its use here. Yet there is an undeniable difference in the overall
feel between the original and Realta Nua which will now be completely
lost on newer players.
 |
| Bad upscaling leaves blurry details behind |
Finally there is the strange case of the Ever
17 Remaster which makes the most sweeping changes of these three
Remasters yet not of the version the players initially expected.
Rather than using the well received original as the base for this
Remaster, the developers instead opted for the much more divisive
Xbox 360 Remake as its foundation. This is made even stranger by the
choice to remove the 3D models which defined this Remake and replace
them with a set of Remastered sprites taken from the original game.
This splicing of the two titles did at least resolve the odd
dissonance between the 3D visuals and the drawn CGs present in the
Remake, but at the cost of removing what made that game its own
beast. In terms of visual improvements, this is a Remaster on the
sketcher end with the upscaling being obvious in places such as the
small details on character sprites being blurred into
a mess of colour. All of the controversial narrative changes are
still present in this Remaster and no effort has been made to address
the issues people had with the Remake it making it a faithful recreation in this
fashion. The use of the original sprites almost feels like an attempt
to trick people into thinking this is the original and airbrushing it
out from history as the two releases blur together in people’s
minds. Given it is basically impossible to obtain the original Ever
17 or the Remake through any official avenue, this Remaster may well
take their place as fewer and fewer people play them over this much more
accessible version.
Emperor’s New Clothes
Sometimes
a Remaster cannot provide the changes a developer envisions for their
old title and so they turn to the Remake for a larger overhaul. The
reasons for this can be anything from the original being too outdated
in terms of its systems or the developer wanting to tweak core
elements and correct things they consider mistakes. As such the
changes made by a Remake are sweeping in nature and extend far beyond a visual touch up and into the game’s narrative
and mechanical fabric. Yet the developer does not want to wash away
what made the original title compelling and so there are less fundamental changes
than its long list of alterations might indicate. Mechanically a Remake will
keep the gameplay or systems and translate them into a modern form
matching any of the more recent releases from the developer.
Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen is a good example of this trend
with the shift from 2D to 3D SRPG combat. The aim of this Remake was
to bring the original Utawarerumono in line with the Mask games in
order to create a coherent trilogy to package together. Despite the
shift into 3D and the mechanical changes and different visual
identity it brings, the core progression of play is the same as
before with the battles and unit placement or actions being injected
directly into Prelude to the Fallen. It blurs the experience of the
Mask games with memory of the original Utawarerumono to create
gameplay which is enjoyable while keeping the identity of what came
before. Narratively little has been altered outside of the visual touch
ups expected of a modern release and it has taken great care to avoid
making any unnecessary changes outside of its main aim of creating a
trilogy.
 |
| Same style of combat now transfered into 3D |
A visual novel may release under time or budgetary
constraints which prevent its developer from properly capturing their
vision or be rushed and for this group a Remake is a chance to undo
any mistakes. Tsukihime was the first title of the fledgling
Type-Moon and suffered for both of these issues so a Remake of it was
naturally on the cards. Broken into two parts, the first half of the
game was released under the name Tsukihime A piece of blue glass moon
and showed a keen awareness of which parts of the original worked and
which need alterations. Visually and mechanical this Remake takes the
originals direction and translates it into the style of modern
Type-Moon while still bring recognisable as what it was before. The
story was a whole different case with new characters being added,
minor changes to some parts and dramatic ones to others. It inherits
much of the broad strokes of the overarching plot of the original
with a few people replacing each other, such as Vlov Arkhangel being
the early antagonist rather than Nero Chaos, and the major changes
only really start be felt towards the end of the common route. These
differences are not evenly distributed with Arcueid’s route being
more or less a carbon copy of the original’s version plus a few
more bells and whistles and minus the good ending. Here there is a
sense that her route was always what was envisioned so only a few
tweaks were needed for the sake of future set up. Ciel’s route was
always the weaker one in the original due to being too similar to
Arcueid’s and as such her new route has undergone such a large
revision it is almost unrecognisable. A shift into emphasising Ciel’s
backstory and her personal struggles in a more direct manner
characterise this new route and give it a much needed new identity
closer to the developer’s vision for her place in the story.
 |
| Everyone is rocking a new look |
Not
all changes in this Remake come in beneficial or benign forms, modern
Type-Moon works have a much higher power level than their older
material and never has this been more apparent than in A piece of
blue glass moon. The battle against Vlov Arkhangel and the final
battle of Ciel’s route stand out as the biggest offenders. While
Shiki’s Mystic Eyes of Death Perception given him a certain level
of power, he is still meant to be only slightly above the normal human
level and the original reflects this in his opponents being
de-powered in order for him to win. His victory over Vlov Arkhangel
in the Remake is so utterly unbelievable due to the power difference
between the two and by the fact a few scenes later Shiki is
struggling against common undead more in line with the original game.
Then the final battle of Ciel’s route takes this further by
introducing an antagonist of almost god levels of power and having to
power Shiki up to meet it. This antagonist is in the original game
but the fight is brief and acts more as a dramatic device than an
actual battle. Somewhere along the way the Remake has lost the
tension of mortality which defined the Tsukihime in favour of the
Fate/Grand Order style of spectacle fights which clash up against the
older components it still contains within it. When you Remake
something all the new features and changes can make it easy to loose
sight of what the original visual novel was all about.
Rethinking The Vision
In
rare cases a visual novel receive changes so fundamental that it only
vaguely resembles the original title it is based off. This
Reimagining of a game does not seek to preserve much of the material
identity of the original but instead aims to recapture its essence in
a new modern form. In many ways this kind of alteration is an
entirely new game and its choices of what to do with its systems are not bound in the same way as a Remaster or Remake. Not everything is
thrown out with this transformation as it still need to justify its
use of the name and IP it coats itself in. The elements which
generally survive this transfer are things like core aesthetic pieces
like a costume or uniform, which are easy to identity, and the
overarching narrative beats. Even these rarely end up unmolested
since they become part of the new structures where they bend to fit
the needs of these building blocks. Since this is such a monumental
undertaking, using the resources which could have been focused on an
entirely new game, and it has no guarantee to be well received by
fans of the original, it is no surprise that they are rare due to the
risks involved in producing them, but when they do come along they
are interesting specimens about how a creator views their creation.
 |
| Using 3D space creates new framing opportunities |
There are few visual novels of this kind so it is best to look
at one of the distinctive recent examples in the ToHeart Remake.
Almost everything about the original version of the game has been
thrown out, they completely revised the script resulting in many
fundamental narrative changes, moved to a 3D world space style of
game where the player can move around and added in various extra like
mini-games to create something which only loosely resembles what came
before. The change to use not only 3D models but also having them be
intractable and engage with a 3D world is the most noticeable change
when starting the title. The way its story is presented takes into
account the options offered through a broader physical space and
plays on position relative to the camera in ways simply to
available to the 2D original. On top of this being able to walk
around breaks the visual novel continuity and opens a sense of place
to the setting founded in the player’s direct experience of it.
However, despite these changes it still remains recognisable as a
visual novel when the narrative starts and the familiar text box
appears. Yet the story is a mixture of the old and the
Reimagined, here is where the overlap becomes apparent with its
rewritten script both adhering and deviating from the original
wherever it feels necessary. It clearly wants to recapture what made
the original popular so much of the core themes remain intact just
passed through an entirely reforged lens.
Conclusion
How
a developer attempts to recapture the essence of their previous work
defines much about how its audience will engage with it. For a
Remaster the choice of what version to update and the graphical
improvement to make will be closely compared to the original player’s
remember. Remakes take this further through their overhaul of a
title’s design pillars and often reflects the modern sensibilities
of the developer assigned to create it. The Reimagining is almost an
entirely new game of its own which only loosely borrows what it needs
to be recognisable as being descending from its original and it can risk not resonating with the original’s audience. Overall, the recycling
of past works is something to be approached with caution and an
understanding of what people liked about those games in order to get
the best results.
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