Archive for September 2025
Best Visual Novel Releases – September 2025
The
chill of autumn has truly begun to set in and now the trees have
turned their customary brown it is time to look at the harvest of
visual novels from the past month. It has been a good one from lovers
of mystery stories with all kinds being released from magical girl to
murder to puzzle alongside a suite of other exciting genres and a
surprise port of a classic title. Let’s dive in and discover the
exciting games on offer.
Official Releases
Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery
This
title is an interesting take on the magic girl genre in a variety of
ways from its married couple of magical girls to most of the cast
being in their late 20’s. Choices like these create a very
different style of magical girl story with people who have more worldly experience
than the children/ teens typical of the genre. Yet it is still
undeniably a love letter to the genre as it uses the same themes and
ideas but places them through the lens of its older cast. The story
follows the married pair of Sherri and Kealey Cohen as they are
pulled out of retirement after a string of murders demands their
skills to help uncover the perpetrator. It will lead them down a
winding path through the past and the future where they will have to
confront the web of lies surround the case. Not everything is clear
cut and it is up to the player to guide the pair towards an ending to
their tale. Another strong visual novel from Studio Élan who seem to
be on a role when it comes to thoughtful yuri games.
Illusion of Itehari
Nintendo Eshop VNDB Genre
– Otome, Steampunk, Politics Play Time – 45 hours
Set
the floating city of Itehari, this utopia seems to be a picture of
paradise for the young noble lady Hinagiku, and yet she still wonders
what beyond its boundaries. One day she meet a strange amnesiac man
named Yashiro and is dragged into a conflict which unearths secrets
about their paradise. There is a strong political thriller angle to
Itehari as Hinagiku finds herself having to navigate the structures
of power defining her world alongside the people she meets there and
it is never certain who is friend or foe. This game has a distinctive
visual identity which mixes Japanese styling with its steampunk
setting to create an interesting and immediately recognisable landscape. These elements combine to create a memorable ride which
fans of otome who are looking for their monthly fix.
SHUTEN ORDER
The
latest title from the weird mind of Nakazawa Takumi comes off the
release of HUNDRED LINE earlier this year and there appears to be no
slowing this man’s creativity. What makes SHUTEN ORDER stand out is
each section having its own distinct gameplay style associated with
it. This ranges from stealth action horror to dating sim with every
one of them taking their style to its absurd limits. It is drenched
in a constant scene of dark humour as the subjects being tackled are
serious in nature, but the entire package is presented through its
strong brightly coloured art and larger than life characters who make
light of what are some horrible affairs. The absurdity of this nation
run by a religious cult never leaves the player’s mind as it slowly
dawns on them, through the lies and dark jokes, exactly what is going
on in this world and why the cults leader was murdered. Overall
another fun and thrilling ride which is worth
your time if you are looking for something completely distinct.
Blood Lily Ghoststories
Now
for something much smaller in scale with this light and short yuri
horror anthology. Split into four parts each one covering a different
character and aspect of the plot as they build towards the truth.
Each one does a good job selling the cast and creating tension when
new reveals occur while still having their own identity. Its
stylistic use of silhouette sprites lends those scenes a detached
sense of place to them and helps to underline this as a horror title.
The short play time works in its favour since it does not have much
substance to its plot so keeping its length down hides its weaker
elements and intensifies its stronger moments. For anyone looking for
a lighter horror experience, this is perfect for you.
ROAD59 A Yakuza’s Last Stand
Looking
for a crime thriller then perhaps ROAD59 might be up your alley.
This drama packed yakuza story set in the bright neon glow of a
future Tokyo aims to hit all the right notes of the genre. As the
heir to a crime syndicate Sho Himuro’s life was never going to be a
simple affair no matter how much he might yearn for normality. He
finds himself entangled with the family's future as a conflict breaks
out over the mysterious Power of Orochi and a rival gang seeks to
overthrow them. Faced with danger on all side, he must set up into a
world of betrayal, desire and honour in order to protect those he
cares about. A solid sci-fi crime game with just enough unique flare
to keep you engaged until its finale.
Type Noise: Shonen Shojo
Six
people awake in Noise Scramble City and into a mental prison of their
own making from which they must escape. This place resembles a
twisted version of down-town Tokyo and is formed of the true selves
each has forgotten. Interpersonal drama from the tension of being
trapped without memories forms much of the initial narrative
driving force with a smattering of personal revelations adding fuel
to the fire. Type Noise makes good use of this tension by playing up
the cast’s personalities in a human and fragile way in order to get
the player to root for their success in the face of this confusion.
Supporting the story are a series of puzzle mechanics which shift as
the player engages with new characters and places to match the themes
and tone of these elements. At its core is a point and click style of
interaction where additional aspects of gameplay, such as a mock
fighting game and managing a live stream, are weaved in to spice up
the formula. If you are seeking another in the oddly large sub genre
of trapped people in extreme situations then Type Noise will meet
your needs.
Fan Releases
Tsui no Sora Original
Rather
than a simple fan translation of the original Tsui No Sora, this is a
full on port out of its ageing and difficult to run engine into
Ren’py making it more accessible on modern hardware. Despite the
change all of the identity of Tsui no Sora is preserved
including its low budget presentation and strong writing and offers a
new audience the chance to experience this cult hit work. You might
be asking why play this version when the shiny new remake is also
available? Simply put they are not identical experiences with the
remake making important changes and additions which fundamentally
distinguish it from the original. All three versions of this story
have their own unique selling points and the original is just the
first iteration on those ideas. The original is worth playing to see the base from which many of the developer’s titles would string and the
imagination it represents.
A Slow Burn: Openings And Pacing – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
Beginning On The Right Foot
A
game’s opening determines much about how a player is going to
perceive and engage with its content going forward. Since visual
novels are particularly susceptible to this influence, due to their
focus on narrative and longer play times, making those first few hours
critical to hooking the player in as they know this is what they can
expect for the entire duration. As a medium visual novels have
developed tools to try and control this perception, such as the
common route, but this article will not be looking at them and
instead will investigate the way the broader idea of pacing shapes the
experience as a whole. Regardless of whether the game begins with
dramatic battle or a walk to school, these moments must work to set
up the seeds of future beats around which everything will rotate. If
the opening is slow in nature then there is a good chance the player
might begin to lose interest so it has to be carefully curated to
drip feed just enough engagement to prevent that response. The temptation to front load the drama and excitement in a bid to capture
the player’s attention without a means of maintaining this style of
narrative over the long term risks hurting the their trust in the
game. Let’s pace ourselves and see exactly what a good opening has
to do.
Setting Up For The Long Haul
When
constructing an opening and its pacing there has to be consideration
for how it will relate to future plot events and reveals. It can be
easy to fall into the trap on simply establishing characters and
setting in their most immediate manifestation, this is still important
when it comes to setup, but only doing this fails to set the right
expectations for later sections while not giving the player anything
to latch onto. Setting up long term plot elements requires the use of
narrative breadcrumbs which act as subtle hooks to gain the player
interest and gesture towards what might be coming in a vague enough
way so as to not give anything away. How these breadcrumbs are
distributed decides the pacing of each scene in the opening hours as
the intrigue they generate helps even out the story’s momentum in
between larger plot beats. The fact they are so subtle in nature
works in their favour when placed in a section where they can
compliment rather than distract from the main ongoing events. A title
capable of establishing this long term promise with the player will
be rewarded with a passive ability to hold their attention due to the
investment created through these breadcrumbs and the player wanting
to see the way all of this plays out.
 |
| What a strange man, I wonder if his backstory will somehow be important |
If there is one game which
absolutely loves breadcrumbs in its opening then it is Fate Stay
Night. Over the course of its first few hours hints are dropped about
almost every character such as Sakura’s family situation, Saber and
Archer’s motivations and the identity of other masters are all
liberally sprinkled wherever there is space. It promises the player a
wild ride of character centric drama and conflict as all these
elements focus on them rather than being related to the setting. One
key feature to note is how the path which the player takes through
the common route determines what breadcrumbs they will see. This is
important in not overloading them with hints which may not be
relevant for anywhere up to twenty to thirty hours later and keeps
things focused on the route the player is about to enter. It also
allows the opening to feel fresh with each new pass through it
since there will be different hints on display to be digested and
considered within the context of the knowledge gained from the
previous route. Umineko uses its entire first episode as its opening
and uses its nature as a mystery title to fully take advantage of the
benefits of breadcrumbs. It uses this space to establish the
foundation of the ongoing puzzle box around which everything will be
based, but it has to balance the feeling of this being solvable and
not actually giving way enough to make it possible. Here the
breadcrumbs provide the sense of what
solutions might exist without presenting anything with substance
which could hurt future revelations. They tempt the player into
continuing to play for the long term by putting the truth so close
the player can almost touch it if only they keep playing.
Maintaining Interest
If
a visual novel opens in a slow burn style then there is a risk the
player may lose interest since it appears on the surface as if little
is actually happening and there are no stakes. For some games this
may be an intentional choice to create a cosy and low stress
atmosphere, but for many others it is a major issue they do their
best to mitigate. This is often achieved by moving the focus away
from the slower pacing and onto the moment to moment events on
screen. Having strong characters and selling the build up on their
interactions is the most common way to go about implementing this
idea. It gives the player something solid to grasp onto in what
appears to be a sea of minor events and provides them with a genuine
reason to care about what happens to the characters which in turn
leads to them sticking around to find out. Much of the content of
these interactions is banter or comedic in nature since laughter can
be an effective way to humanise someone by showing them to be flawed
just like the player. In addition, recurring gags can be used to create a
structure of humour and provide its own brand of narrative pacing to
compliment the main flow. If there is one game which embodies this
approach it is Steins;Gate with its long and slow opening. While a
lot of plot build up does happen in the background, its progress has
long gaps between jumps and these have to be filled with something so
character interactions and scenarios are used to establish the cast.
These are important for establishing all the individuals who will
later on come to define the conflict and the various timelines. Of
course the player is not aware of this significance at the time so
instead a focus is placed on create a believable group who gradually
come together into the lab members they will come to love. This forms
the connective tissue between plot beats and acts as the main reason
to progress during those opening hours before the twist.
 |
| Kurisu's lecture is a fun way to introduce her and her future interactions with Okabe |
Another way
to hold the player interest in a slower paced opening is to plant the
seeds of intrigue. Rather than big plot beats these are small events
which show a breaking of the facade in small ways from character
behaving strangely for a moment to a sudden time skip which goes
uncommented on. These clues are all player facing with the characters
often ignoring or dismissing them and they are instead designed to
get the player thinking about what they mean in order to keep them
invested in the narrative. Little Busters uses this approach
alongside the previous character centric one to add some variety to
its opening. Individually its hints do not appear significant and it
is only as they compound that the player sits up and takes notice
when the off words of certain characters and Naoe Riki’s abnormal
narcolepsy start to ring alarm bells. This works well for the emotion
centric narrative Little Busters is trying to tell since big reveal
this is all building towards is not all that surprising, but instead
gains its potency from what it means to the cast. As such the
feelings of intrigue are the important part of this approach since
they bring the player into an emotional mindset around which the rest
of the game can create an environment for heart-wrenching moments.
The Risks Of Front-Loading
At
first it might seem a good idea to front-load all the drama and
action in a visual novel since this is the kind of content which can
easily ensnare a player. However, the opening is a type of promise
between game and player about the experience the latter is for and if
the game cannot maintain this content then it can lead to a feeling
of disappoint on the part of the player. Subversion of this
expectation is an option here since some titles may want to play
around with the idea introduced in the opening in unexpected ways.
Yet there are plenty of games which understand the importance of
engaging the player immediately so opt for an exciting start before
shifting onto what they actually want their narrative to be about.
The result is an uneven progression where there is a clear divided
between the two parts of the game with little being done to reconcile
them leading to it distracting the player.
Let’s look at a couple of examples to see the damage this
unrepresentative opening can do. Action and tension are the defining
element of Senren Banka’s opening hours as the cast deal with the
supernatural threat plaguing the village of Hoori. There are multiple
instances of life and death combat throughout to really drive home the
danger and keep the player on the edge of their seat. However, most
of this conflict is suddenly resolved at the halfway mark and the action
and tension almost entirely vanish for the narrative. They are
replaced by the standard Yuzusoft slice of life and romance heroine
routes and these have little in common with the content from just
hours before. It is quite clear the intention was always to have a
story be about the heroine romances but the developer felt they
needed to spice up the usual formula so introduced the supernatural
threat to make the game stand out. This betrayal of player
expectations almost feels accidental since action is not what the
studio is know for and this is just the two parts unintentionally
rubbing up against one another in an unflattering way.
 |
| This looks like it belongs in an action centric title not a romance one |
From the first
scenes of the opening Futamata Ren'ai pushes over the top drama as
its core appeal. The two timing and character’s reactions to it
supply a steady stream of comedy and they are the pole around which the game
can form plot beats and emotional scenes. As such when it stops the
moment the player enters a heroine route it is like something major
is missing from the substance of the narrative since nothing is added
to replace it while the route trundles along seemingly oblivious to
the empty feeling in invokes in the player. This loss of the opening
promise is a result of the way the two timing has to be resolved
before a heroine route in order to make its romance pure and so the
primary source of conflict must be removed. Yet nothing replaces it
since the title has spent so much time on this one issue it has not
had the room to build up another. However, the end result undeniably
weakens its consistency and hurts the player’s overall impression
of it.
Conclusion
Shaping
the pacing and expression in a visual novel’s opening hours is key
to crafting an overall experience which can capture the player’s
imagination. It is the place where future plot elements can be teased
and set up to allow for the a feeling of excitement in the player
about what is to come. As tempting as it is to make the opening
dramatic and action packed, it still has to represent the rest of the
game since it a promise with the player about what is to come. When
opting for a slower paced opening there is a need to maintain the
player’s interest through other methods and this often means strong
character writing or intrigue to give direction to the downtime. How
a developer starts their game is important no matter what type it is
or what its narrative aims are and so it is the part of it which
needs to be extremely carefully considered in order to get the most
out of it.
High And Medieval Fantasy – Genre Deep Dive
Another World And Time
Due
to the widespread influence of Tolkien on fantasy, there has been
a lot of overlap between High and Medieval Fantasy genres to the
point of the two often being one and the same. Technically High
Fantasy does not need to be set in the medieval times of its world, it just has to be set in a world separate from our own with its own set of
magically rules. In reality the majority of High Fantasy visual
novels are also Medieval Fantasy and so the two must be talked about
together to get a proper overview of their workings. One of the most
common elements of these genres is the way magic is out in the open
and normal knowledge for all those in the setting which changes how
characters engage with it and see their own role within their society.
From the Medieval side comes the political structures and general
aesthetics where towering stone castles and golden temples are ruled
over by monarchies with knights and princess and this influences the
kind of narratives these games like to tell. The distancing of the
player from the familiar through the worlds of High Fantasy tends to
lead to it focusing on using its world as an exaggerated reflection of
our own where the core themes are writ large in every action. Let’s
weave a tale of sword and sorcery and discover the extent of what
these genres have to offer.
Magic In The Open
A
common feature in many titles of these genres is the presentation of
magic or magical elements as a natural part of the world and
something known to all. This contrasts with games from genres like
urban fantasy which often have magic being a hidden side to the
familiar everyday reality of modern life. Having magic be a
fundamental aspect results a variety of changes to how social and
political structures operate since there are people or creatures capable of
reshaping the world at their whims. Titles of these genres often
operating on a higher power level with magic not being accessible to
all and tending to have a society where those who do have it
generally hold a higher value. Many Eushully games like Kamidori
Alchemy Meister and Madou Koukaku broadly fit into this space where magic
often equals special treatment while angels, demons and other
divine forces play an active role in deciding the fate the world.
Kamidori is a smaller scale version of this outline with it being
focused on the lives of those running an alchemy shop and their
inevitable magical encounters. Here the grand forces and powers are
shown through their influence on the individual lives, angels are
objects of faith who follow their convictions while humans
possessing magic offer their services to those who pay them and
elemental spirits lazily live out their existence. Grand power
scaling is common in these genres and yet they can still leave room
for the everyday operation of these worlds.
 |
| There are all kinds of fantasy races on offer in Kamidori |
On the
diametric opposite side sits Madou Koukaku due to its focus on
miliary might and the struggles for control over an empire. Magic is
a tool of war in this story and the Magical Machine Dolls are the
keys to winning the war. This higher perspective on the affairs of an
empire places magic firmly as an instrument of power and those who use
it or command such individuals gain positions of authority. Magic is
presented within the world as another weapon like a cannon or even an
atomic bomb and so it is easy for the player to understand why they
would be such importance through its comparison to real world conflicts.
A lens like this is important for something as abstract as magic
since its fantastical nature can stretch its believability and cause
a disconnect with the player.
King, Queens And Castles
From
the Medieval Fantasy comes many of the political structures found
throughout both genres which come to shape the themes they
choose to handle. Some form of monarchy is the most common style of
political institution among titles in these genres with all the
associated kings and princesses alongside their magnificent castles.
This is of course a reflection of real world medieval Europe although
sometimes it will extend out into medieval Japan with its Emperor and
hierarchy, but it still maintains the focus on a single ruling
individual holding the majority of the power. Since these genres tend
to lean into the idea of an escapist fantasy, they often find
themselves glorifying monarchy with its rulers holding good intent or
the person the characters help raise to power leading to a virtuous
age. Any evil is just a few bad apples who are not symptomatic of a
wider problem and just need to be removed for everything to be
better. No real attempt is made to provide an even presentation of
the realities of the system and these games make sure to distract
away from this fact so it will not sour the experience. The power
politics and backstabbing under a single ruler adds an important
element of danger beyond the characters’ control and to keep the
player guess where danger will come from next. The Utawarerumono
titles Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth both take this political
danger and make it a bed of thorns for their protagonist the
navigate. All of the struggles centre around the emperor of
Yamato and the young princess and heiress with the various factions
and people positioning themselves to gain favour and power around
them. This is given even greater importance from the special magical
masks given out to those who hold the emperor’s favour and it
neatly ties the magical element of the world into the struggles for
dominance. The protagonist is a reluctant player in these battles
which works to absolve them of seeking power for their own gain and
helps frame them as a virtuous righter of wrongs in this pit of
snakes so the player might cheer for them.
 |
| Got to love the power struggles of succession |
Monarchy is not the only
system present in these genres as a few of them choose to add
elements of theocracy into their narratives. Here a religious
organisation or figure hold a major sway over the affairs of the
nation and in many stories are not mutually exclusive with monarchies
even if the two will often butt heads as a result. Overtones of faith
and belief as well as religious imagery tend to find there way into games
involving this system of governance alongside tests of that faith for
the zealous characters and the idea of forgiveness and sin. Aiyoku no
Eustia engages in a mixing of monarchy and theocracy in a floating
city ruled by a king and kept afloat by the prayers of a saint.
Obviously the idea of a city flying due to religious fervour places its
fate in the hands of the church who have the saint at their centre
and want to keep her on their leash. It also uses a large amount of
vaguely religious imagery in the form of the people growing wings and
the idea of angels which it constantly circles back to and forms its
core theming. The growth and development of the saint is where much
of the testing of faith comes from as she rebels against the church’s
hold on her and the true nature of her role. Pushing this theocracy
angle gives the game a strong visual and narrative identity it would
not have without its use of religious elements.
Beyond The Real
By
choosing to set a visual novel in alternative world with its own
rules distinct from our own, the developers gain a freedom to shape
the bigger picture of their narrative in more exaggerated and to the
point ways than in a real world setting. Using the very fabric of the
world as a canvas to paint the core themes and ideas is the main
advantage of following this path since it makes it difficult for the
player to miss them. It also offers a way to ground the magical
elements of the setting within an easy to digest core point around
which it can be contextualised and given substance. For The Second
Reproduction, the big element it uses to write is its various demons
and their powers. They are both the darker aspects of human nature
while still holding many positive qualities and the contrast they
offer to the humans in the story holds many of the key themes of the
work. Placing these demons within the context of an ongoing war
further drives home this emphasis on the extremes of human nature and
how engaging in one extreme does not exclude you from the other while
also adding a tension to every interaction with the demon characters.
From this dynamic the magic fights and powers are given the role of
representing the conflicting aspects of humanity through the methods and
directness of the powers they wield against each other.
 |
| Having a magical race be a mirror for human nature is a fairly common idea |
Not every use
of alternative worlds needs to be quite so grand and leveraging the
same tools can create jokes just as well as themes. Despite its
almost aggressively standard sword and sorcery setting, the Rance
series seems to hold its setting in contempt and regularly makes
jokes at its expense. Each title has everything you would expect from
a world of this type, wizards, knights, castles and princess who are
all made a mockery off by one very horny guy. It still knows how to
take somewhat seriously when needed but the unique characteristics of
the world are flexible enough to swing either way since they are well known to the player so can be supported or subverted
depending on the situation. Everyone else except the titular Rance
takes their world entirely seriously and their magical conflicts and
kingdom spanning strife are of dire importance. They are the straight
man for Rance’s antics as they struggle to deal with his absurd
choices which fly in the face of the expected reaction of a hero in
his place.
Conclusion
Despite
how bound at the hip Medieval and High Fantasy are there is still a
lot of variety to the way they implement their narratives. With magic
being an open aspect of so many of these stories, it changes the
social and political structures of their worlds and makes them more
flexible when it comes to their approach of engaging with their
characters. Since these worlds operate on such a different set of
rules to our own they offer more opportunities to shape them to
showcase core themes and ideas or just for the sake of humour. The
political structures inherited from Medieval Fantasy tend to be
either monarchy or theocracy and shape the direction of the narrative
and the imagery it chooses to invoke. Overall there is a lot on offer
when choosing to this meshed dual genre and it definitely demands
more creativity and imagination to get the most out of or risk
appearing cliché or seeming to have a world with inconsistent rules.
Futamata Ren'ai: Two Times the Trouble Review – And Make It Double
Genre – Romantic Comedy, Slice of Life Play Time – 20 hours Developer - ASa Project Steam VNDB
Balancing Act Comedy
Becoming a two timer after being forced into a relationship with
a girl due to a misunderstanding and then being asked out by your
crush is suitably absurd premise perfect for a romcom. Pushing the
boundary of believability for comic effect is something Asa Project
have made their signature and Futamata Ren’ai continues this steady
output. It uses the drama generated by the two timing to create
entertaining situations for the player to laugh at while still
maintaining a sense of the stakes and providing meaningful
consequences. The characters and their banter are the heart and soul
of the game and they are its greatest strength as the majority of the
moment to moment comedy comes from their interactions and how the
play off each other. Fun and unusual character portraits, such as
those involving vomiting, give a life and humanity to its cast even
if the rest of the visuals and audio are fairly standard. If there is
one thing which brings the experience down it is way the routes feel
weak and devoid of the drama which defines the rest of the title.
However, is this undermining of one of the visual novel pillars
enough to stifle the laughter? Let’s juggle relationships and find
out.
Two Times The Drama – Narrative And Themes
The
core of Futamata’s appeal lies in the way it plays up the drama of
its core premise to tread a line between comedy, sincerity and
satisfying resolutions. It leans into all the expected beats of this
kind of narrative from the accidental double dates to the discovery
of the infidelity and amps them up to their extremes. The use of
drama here is craft a wild ride for the protagonist, Koga Nao, as they fumble their way through their relationships with the heroines while
the player gets watches this slow motion car crash. By putting the
player in the passenger seat Futamata is free to leverage Nao’s
self inflicted suffering as an avenue for comedy within the framework
of its over the top events and allows the player to not feel
responsible for his actions. These various pathways for the delivery
of its comedy are all brought together with the character banter
which operates as the main means of communicating and playing off the
comic situations. From the moment it starts the game is clear how the
Nao’s two timing will end so the focus shifts onto how it will all come
crashing down and what this will mean for those involved. As such
the moments of sincerity on the part of the cast where they are frank
with their emotions and the comedy is allowed to take a backseat have a powerful impact and bring them closer to the player
as they move beyond being simple vessels for humour. There is also a
forward momentum provided by this drama via the developing web of
lies and the way relationships based on this lie start to bloom into
something meaningful. This does a lot to help connect what might
otherwise come across as series of unconnected comedy sketches and
keep the player invested for the long term. When it comes to the
resolution of the car crash, Futamata makes
sure to offer a satisfying conclusion to the conflict for both the
route heroine and the rest of the cast. It is shown how what has
happened resulted in growth for their character where the become more
assertive, reconcile with those they were in conflict with or find
love. Doing this helps ease the sting of the wrong done to the heroines
through the two timing and keeps the tone light rather than having
the consequences being completely negative. The game gets to end on a
satisfying note where the characters the player has grown the care
about get the conclusions they deserve to round out the experience.
 |
| Not sleeping is bad for you kids |
Marks
against the game come from elements of somewhat messy execution which
are peppered throughout. Broadly these come in the form of weak
routes stemming from the drama stopping the moment one starts and
the uneven treatment of its characters. The overall structure of
Futamata places all of the drama in the common route and almost all
of it is resolved before the game enters its routes. Since the
mixture of drama and comedy is one of the game’s strongest points
its absence in character routes is keenly felt because its ends up
being a series of romantic and comedy scenes with very little
connective tissue. They feel more like long epilogues than
substantial additions or explorations of their respective characters.
Due to how suddenly the drama disappears it feels as if there is a
hole in the narrative which is never filled even if the quality of
the banter and character moments remains the same throughout to help
mitigate the void. It is a strange choice since it would have been
easy to mix in a few moments of drama to spice things up without it
weakening the romantic atmosphere since they manage to keep the
character banter comedy in without any issues of clashing tones.
 |
| Hmmm I wonder why |
The
uneven treatment of characters is something born out of a
collection of small oddities when they compound together and it may
be something you never notice during your own play time. Let’s go
over a few example to showcase what type of oddities there are in the
text. Perhaps the most immediately noticeable is the presentation of
the male cast as “assholes”. Nao is an interesting case for this
since he is not exactly the best person, hence the two timing, so him
being labelled as an “asshole” is somewhat his own fault. The
issue arises when comparing his treatment to that of the female cast
who are not all that much better than he is. At one point Nao and a
heroine are found to be equally guilty but their punishments are not
equivalent, he gets tossed into the sea and while she just gets a
light slap. Then there is a moment where the player is offered a
choice whether to sleep with a character or not and regardless of
what they choose Nao is always treated as being in the wrong. If he
does sleep with her then he is irresponsible despite the other party
consenting and if he turns her down than he was not man enough to do
the deed. There is a running undertone in Futamata of men having all
the responsibility and women being less culpable for their actions,
despite the majority of the major characters in the game being woman
and each one having an important role in how events conclude. Then
there is the strange case of Oikawa You who the player is told is an
“asshole” but during the game he is nothing more than a bit
grumpy and his pursuit of a stable job and thoughts towards the
future seem to suggest the opposite. Beyond the strange male
presentation, the women also suffer for similar issues. For example
Rui is a supportive person who tries her best to be their for her
friends, even for Nao in this two timing, but this is contaminated by
the later revelation that she is a masochist and the game drawing a
direct line between it and the help she offered. Thus the conclusion
to be draw for this connection is that the only reason she was
supportive is she enjoyed the suffering due to her masochism rather than her being
a good person. Obvious Futamata intends this as a joke rather than a
serious comment on her character, but things like this happen often
enough to be distracting and it feels like the game is beating these
characters over the head with a club and asking you to laugh. It
spends most of its time asking the player to laugh with the
characters so swapping to asking them to laugh at the cast is more
than a bit jarring since they are people you will have grown attached
to.
Two Times The Banter – Characters
Fun
characters and their banter are the life blood of Futamata without
which the drama and comedy would not function and they underlie much
of the developer’s design choices. Having a protagonist like Nao
who is not the normal good guy archetype opens the door for a lot
more engaging interactions and satisfying arcs since he has room to
grow and can surprise the player in fun ways. It is from his
character that much of the game’s drama stems with his two timing
and the comedy loves to play with his less desirable traits to create
banter specific to the character he is interacting with. As the main
POV character, this variety is especially important since most jokes
and emotional moments will in some way relate to him so he needs to
keep the player on their toes lest he become dry and familiar, the
death nails of comedy. The heroines all have their own memorable
quirks from the biting wit of “final boss” Nobuta Yua to the laid
back cat-like Umino Miyako. Each one interacts with Nao’s two
timing in their own way as they dance around the problem lending the
comdey a good variety of situations where Nao has to deal with their
antics. There is a concerted effort to make the heroines exist
independent of Nao as they form their own friendships and have their
own lives unknown to him. By doing this the game establishes their
ability to act in surprising ways so when those actions are suddenly
sprung on Nao they do not come across as unnatural and instead help
make the heroines endearing for how they push back against him. Banter is how
much of the narrative is delivered outside of climatic moments and
Futamata is notable for how consistent the quality of it is and how
it ties nicely into the cast. Their conversations always find a new
way to take their established traits and shine new comedy lights on
them throughout the entire play time which is no small feat given how
much of the game is banter.
 |
| Even the minor character get their own distinctive traits |
Two Times The Spectacle – Visual, Audio And Technical
Presentation
is one of the game’s few mediocre elements. There is nothing
particularly wrong with it rather it is a standard visual identity
common to titles in the slice of life/ romance genre making it blend
into the memory alongside all the other similar looking visual
novels. The one exception to this is the fun unique character
portraits used for more over the top comedy moments. From vomiting
rainbows to shooting lasers out their eyes, these extra portraits are
used when to indicate a character’s drunken state and the wild
behaviour they engage in. Since this cast get drunk a lot over the
course of the story, the portraits see a good deal of use as a means of
selling just how out of control the alcohol has made them and results
in some truly outstanding comedy moments. Outside of this one
exception, the visuals and audio are the cookie cutter bright colours
and upbeat tunes where the aim was clearly to craft something
familiar to the player’s sensibilities. In this they succeeded as
it does feel like slipping into a kind of game the player is
comfortable with just with a greater leaning into comedy than normal. However,
in a world with so many titles of this genre competing for the
player’s attention is being so hard to recognise at a glance truly
a good thing? Ultimately it is inoffensive enough that it is not
really a strike against the game in a way which would undermine what
it has set out to do, make people laugh.
 |
| Vomit is a strangely consistent part of the story... |
Conclusion
Making
the most out of an outlandish core premise is what Futamata excels at
and it knows exactly how to push all the right emotional buttons
while doing it. The drama is played up to a deliberately comic
extreme to facilitate this brand of comedy yet still being capable of
using it for genuine moments of sincerity. Character sprite are
expressive in fun ways and make it easier to form a connection with
the cast even if the rest of the visuals and audio are fairly
standard. Interactions between the cast form the backbone of the
comedy and their banter is of exceptionally high quality with a large
variety on offer depending on who is talking to whom. The game does
stumble a bit when it comes to the weak heroine routes and uneven
presentation of its cast, but these are not major enough issues to
undermine its strong core foundation.
Verdict –
Two timing leads to double the fun in this dramatic romcom which
knows how to balance laughter and a loveable cast. It achieves this
despite its weak heroine routes and some odd choice in character
presentation.
Pros -
+
Good mix of comedy, drama and sincere moments which mesh together to
create a roller-coaster of laughter.
+
Fun characters with good banter who bounce off each other in exciting
and hilarious ways.
+
A variety of unique portraits for each character sell their
personalities in their wilder comedy moments.
Cons -
-
Heroine routes feel weak due to the lack of the drama present
everywhere else.
-
Uneven treatment of characters can make it feel like the game wants
the player to laugh at, rather than with, the characters they have
grown to care out.
-
Visuals and audio are mostly uninspired and standard for the genre so
it blends into the soap of other similar titles.
