Sunday, August 23, 2026
Three Pillars
Not
every visual novels wants to be an artistic masterpiece which pushes
the medium into new territory and instead many are aiming to fall
into the eternally popular category of Power Fantasy. Upon hearing
its name, it might be tempting to immediately jump to thinking about
overpowered protagonists fighting superpowered enemies, but this is
only one side of the Power Fantasy and is arguably the least prolific
in medium. The biggest slice is taken up by the romantic style where
the protagonist is wildly attractive to members of the opposite sex
and the strength of their combined love overcomes all. Adjacent to
this sits the last major type in the fantasy of peace where conflicts
either do not occur or are resolved quickly with minimal stress and
damage. These all share the common thread of being detached from
reality and able to resolve their respective problems without having
to pushed beyond the confines of their specific fantasy. Let’s
fulfil our dreams and find out how each of these types of Power
Fantasy manifest in visual novels.
Martial Power
When
thinking of a Power Fantasy most people jump to the idea of physical
or magical strength where the protagonist possess them in large
amounts and even has their own unique powers which set them apart from
the other characters. The aim here is to offer the player a sense of
vicarious empowerment through an element of self-insert common in
these protagonists. As such they tend to have either vague
personalities or be lacking in strong emotions in order provide a
space into which the player can easily slot themselves without too
much friction. Despite this these protagonist rarely slip into being
the kind of complete blank slates as those of the romance Power
Fantasy due to the need for them to have tragic backstories and
secret connections to the plot, so their powers can be justified and
they can become increasingly involved in the drama of the story. Once
the player is comfortably slotted into their position, the powers can
be put to use in a series of spectacle battles which are the real
beating heart of this kind of story. It is a Power Fantasy focused on
feeding off the tension and heart pumping action while the player sits in a
comfortable position where they know their protagonist will
ultimately win the day. A comparison to a roller-coaster comes to
mind, both are experiences which present some level of danger in
their presentation but the participants all know they are perfectly
safe and are instead buying into a sanitised version of this danger.
This kind of Power Fantasy is not as prolific in visual novel as it
is in other types of game due to the difficulties in creating the
needed feelings of action and moment in what is a predominantly static
medium. Skilled developers have made it work but for many it is
simply not worth the risk and investment in this skill set when more
compatible Power Fantasies exist.
 |
| Nothing sells power quite like being really big |
A good example of this being pulled
off successful is Tokyo Babel. Tendou Setsuna is an absolutely
overpowered protagonist who goes toe to toe with angels, demons and
even gods and coupled with his relatively weak emotional range, makes
him a perfect vessel for this kind of fantasy. It leverages its down
time to make sure the connection to the player sticks with it pushing
the other characters forward in interactions to further relegate Setsuna
into the background to de-emphasise his personality. As for the
action which he partakes in, it is all extremely over the top and
involves spectacular feats of magic and physical combat removed from
any sense of reality. This is a perfect space for Tokyo Babel’s
Power Fantasy since it can fully detach itself from any grounded
ideas which might break its hold and gives it room to ensure each
subsequent battle ups the danger so the player can experience their
roller-coaster.
Not all games of this type need to have their
protagonist in such a commandingly powerful position. Coμ often has
its protagonist in battles where they are on the back foot despite
the power of the black dragon Babylon being at his command. This is
because of the fact Babylon’s power can only be drawn out to its
full potential when he works with the other people connected with it.
As such the highs of this Power Fantasy are contrasted by
exceptionally deep lows so it can full embrace the ‘safe danger’
it thrives on. It also gives it a bit of flexibility to lean into the
idea of a community being a kind of power and connect it to the
moments of catharsis when the group wins together with the player feeling
they played a role in it. Mizuwa Akihito has a far more distinct
personality and identity than Setsuna since he ends up being more
directly connected to events and so needs the extra wrinkles to
accommodate the more elaborate motives and interactions. Yet he still
has enough blurring around the edges to allow the player to
comfortably slip into this role and form the emotional connections
needed for the Power Fantasy to function.
The Power Of Love
By
far the most dominant Power Fantasy in the visual novel space is
focused around romance. The defining feature of this type of fantasy
is the way the protagonists are always inexplicable attractive to
members of the opposite sex. While this can mean the characters fall for the
protagonist at first sight and are all over them immediately, it is
often more subtle in its implementation with the ensemble gradually
coming together around them before moving into the explicitly
romantic events. A slow build up like this gives the characters time
to breathe but also staggers out the fantasy so it is less in the
player’s face that they are being pandered to. When selling the
romance is the name of the game the emphasis shifts into individual
interactions, but having the characters constantly jumping on the
protagonist can create a weird undertone of infidelity it wants to
avoid. As such pure love must be bound up in the fantasy in order to
make the player feel special and desired through the vessel of the
protagonist. Despite this direction, many titles lean into a degree
of jealousy and competitiveness to present the idea of every one of
these characters wanting to end up with the protagonist and being
willing to fight for that privilege. The protagonist themselves is
generally a blank slate who falls under the broad category of ‘nice
guy/girl’ with a traditional moral compass. Placing so few
character traits in them is important since they exist as a thin film
for the player to experience the Power Fantasy through.
Another side
to this fantasy is the power of love which underpins its later
sections once a romance with a specific character has been
established. What this promises to the player is that the newly
formed bond between them will overcome every trial which is put in
front of them and there is never any doubt they will succeed. Some
titles have this be literal with the protagonist’s love being the
magic touch needed to save the other person while others have the
pair work together to defeat whatever obstacle is put in their way. The point of such strength is as a
means of solidifying the romantic Power Fantasy in a quantifiable
manner where the player can feel the culmination of the pair's
relationship.
 |
| Got to get as close as possible to really sell the romance |
Sabbat of the Witch fully embraces this fantasy as a
core pillar of its identity while making sure never draw unnecessary
attention to this fact. The key to a good romantic Power Fantasy is
to never spell out its existence but instead to quietly let it creep
up on the player and so this game is slow in inviting all the
heroines into the main circle. Each of them has a massive soft spot
for the protagonist despite him being the quintessential ‘nice guy’
with few memorable traits of his own which makes him perfect as the
screen to view this budding love. The power of love features
prominently in game’s narrative progression with many problems
being solved with the protagonist’s love conquering things like
memory loss and there is even one point when their love actually
manifests as a physical object just to drive home its strength. As a
result the Power Fantasy it offers is focused and never lets the
player out of its grip for a second in order to allow its mesmerising tale
of romance to never loses their interest.
On the female face end of the
spectrum there is Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth with its suite
of suitors who all find our protagonist magnetic. There is a slightly
greater attempt to justify the initial reason for their interest
through the fact she has deadly poison in her veins and her dramatic
encounter with Lupin. As such there is a common starting thread to
these future relationships which provides a less broad romantic
fantasy in exchange for a more cohesive progression of the
characters’ bonds. Cardia falls into the fair standard ‘nice
girl’ archetype common in otome meaning a generally pleasant and kind
person with a stubborn sense of good which allows her to serve the
role as the player’s vessel. Since otome already leans its
protagonist towards emotional intelligence and empathy as the main
ways to help the suitors, it naturally expands into the power of love
when intensely focused on one of the suitors and pushes it as a
critical part of their eventual happy ending. Combining these pieces
results in a more protagonist centric version of the Power Fantasy
with them being a magnet for misfortune and suitors to better
highlight the emotional highs.
Power To Be At Peace
Sitting
off to one side of these two titans are the Power Fantasies which
sell an impossible peace and a constant cosy feeling. They present a
normality which is sharpened to a point where all conflicts have been
removed or can be solved through simple and reasonable conversation.
There is no stress or trails in this vision of the world and instead
we are all just a step away for happiness if only we would let go and
embrace those around us. Community and belonging make the core pillar
of this Power Fantasy, where being a part of these groups comes
without the social pressure, group power struggles or constant
maintenance which often define their real world equivalents. Here it
is only a matter of existing and this alone is enough for you to be
able to form bonds and be appreciated. As such it does not demand its
protagonist be a blank slate like the others, even if it
does tend to lean in that direction, since what it being sold as the
Power Fantasy is more a vague atmosphere rather than something
focused on one character. Interactions between characters end up
being more important for the fantasy over one individual through the
support and affection they show for one another without any strings
attached.
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| OH NO, a cat got in! Truly world ending stakes! |
Across its three games, the Coffee Talk series has made
this type of Power Fantasy its selling point. Everything about it
from its choice of lo-fi music to its comfortable cafe to the
colourful and universally likeable cast scream cosy.
When conflicts appear they are all resolved by the characters sitting
down and talking about their feelings in a measured fashion and each
party coming to understand the other in an idealised vision of what a
relationship should look like. The stakes are suitably low to match
the cafe setting with everything being limited to the scope of an
ordinary life so it is easy to for the game to draw the player into
the fantasy it is presenting. Its protagonist is fairly weak in the
personalty department and instead serves as the player’s vessel and through the drinks they
serve to give them agency over the Power Fantasy. Coffee Talk walks a
fine line in terms of convincing the player of its believability and
selling the lack of conflict since if they solve the problems too
quickly then the resolution comes across as fake, but if done to
slowly it will break the illusion of peace the game depends on.
Conclusion
Despite
the negative connections surrounding the Power Fantasy, it remains a
popular and diverse element of visual novel narratives. By focusing
on the physical or magical strength of its protagonist it can create
a sense of empowerment through exaggerated spectacle and heart
pumping tension. On the complete opposite end the fantasy can present a
cosy and peaceful world devoid of the conflicts of reality which can
wrap the player in a warm blanket and assure them that they have
value and influence within this world. If romance is the main selling
point then the protagonist becomes inexplicably attractive to the
opposite sex and their combined love conquers all. Overall the Power Fantasy is an impressive tool to
help invest the player in the story and facilitate a boarder set of
associate themes and ideas which make it worth considering when
planning out your own visual novel.
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