Showing posts with label Otome. Show all posts
White Prince Vs. Dark Knight – Character and Cliche In Visual Novels
The Two Extremes Of Desirability
When
playing a wide range of otome visual novels there are a pair of
character archetypes which consistently appear in one form or
another. These are the White Prince and the Dark Knight. They sit at
opposite ends of the emotional spectrum and make for an interesting
contrast to show the range of what otome considers romantically
attractive. The White Prince is a man defined by his purity and
unquestioning adherence to an upstanding moral code. He treats the
heroine with earnestness and a committent to their love without
harbouring any hidden emotions towards her. On the other hand, the
Dark Knight is a compromised mess of a person who is willing to do
some questionable things to achieve his aims and is defined by
his trauma. His treatment of the heroine starts out dismissive with
an undertone of violence before he eventually becomes emotional
reliant on her to soothe his pain. These two kinds of suitors often
end up acting as an indirect framing device for the more well
adjusted romantic options also present and pushing what each of them
can get away with. Let’s get in touch with our innocent and broody
sides and look at how different titles handle this pair of archetypes.
Too Pure For This World
Upstanding
and morally conventional are the elements defining the starting baseline for a White Prince
and while they might later be forced to deviate from it, they will
always find their way back to the light. A
purity runs through their personality and how they interact with the
world around them which naturally extends to the heroine when they
become a major part of their life. This does not mean they are
without a traumatic past or darker side to them and instead they do
not let it rule them and shine with their inner light in all but
their lowest moments. When
put into a romantic context there is an attractiveness to their
uncompromised devotion to the heroine without the baggage often
brought in by both parties. Their love is a simple warm blanket of
affection to be wrapped in and they are often happy to indulge the
whims of their passionate other half.
Take
Monshiro, from Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly, he is a timid,
kind and gentle soul who is constantly trying to help the other
characters even if his silent and awkward nature means he gets
misunderstood. Once
the heroine accepts him, he becomes extremely affectionate towards
her and, mixed with his already protective feelings, it creates
a sense of the purity of his love. In many ways he is like a small
animal in how he is framed, someone who is attached to the heroine
and almost unquestioningly looks up to her for his emotional support
and guidance with big eyes. On top of this there is also another
loose recurring element of the White Prince which can be seen in him
and this is the slight feminine streak running through his
personality. Timid, gentle and kind are traits otome generally pushes
into the heroine so when they are placed onto a suitor he ends up
associated with this in the player’s mind. It allows him to be
closer to the heroine’s level by straddling the gender line and
being someone she can have an easier time empathising with.
 |
| Innocent is their bond |
Another
kind of White Prince lean into the connection between purity and
being
a child
such as with Impey Barbicane, from Code: Realize ~Guardian of
Rebirth~. Despite
being a genius, he often lets his energetic and carefree nature get
the better of him leading to situations someone with common sense
would have avoided. Yet it is easy to like him since he remind the
player of an innocent and wide eyed passion which they have lost with
age. Being on the receiving end of this energy through his love often
throws the heroine off balance due to how upfront he can be with his
feelings and will always stand by those he cares about no matter what
happens. His attractiveness to the player stems from this desire to
recapture some element of lost innocence through him and the intense
affection he deliverers onto the heroine.
Putting
the White Prince in a situation where their kind nature clashes
against their desire to protect those they are about is a common
means to highlight
their purity. Junoru Kenriji, from
Dark Nights,
is a good example of this idea.
His polite and gentle personality is forced to compromise with his love
for his brother, Roya, when it becomes clear Roya are not able to
control his undead nature. On one level Junoru wants to stop Roya
from hurting people but he also wants to protect the family he cares
about. When
the heroine enters his life this muddies the water even more
as he is pulled between the two people he most cares for while both
head in different directions. Once
the romance with the heroine is in full swing, a softness runs
throughout his actions towards her and there is a general sense he is
just happy to be near her in these mundane moments. It
also makes him a good contrast to the heroine’s wilful personality
and sells the pair as a duo who are perfect for each other.
In Need Of Repair
When
thinking of a Dark Knight the first thing which comes to mind might
be a brooding anti-hero and, while this personality often appears, the archtype also covers a broader suite of identities
bound together by the common link of deep seated trauma. Any
aggression, silence or general anti-social personality traits are an
effort to hide their scars so other people will not see their
weakness nor will they be hurt in the same way again. Their moral
compass skews towards the compromised side with a willingness to
resort to killing, bribery and other questionable actions if it will
get the results they need. Yet when the chips are down they will more
often than not do the right thing and show themselves to be softer
than they initially present, especially when it comes to the heroine.
Upon first meeting their relationship with the heroine is dismissive
and they only tolerate her because other characters value her
presence. It is over the course of many interactions that the heroine
uses her emotional sensitivity to pull back their defences and reveal
the inner workings which define their world view. At this point they
become inseparable from the heroine and reliant on her for their
mental well-being with their affection being pushed her way whenever
they can find the space to do so.
As you might have noticed this
description of the relationship arc is close to that of a
Kuudere and many Dark Knights do end up falling into this category.
Shu Lyn O'Keefe, from BUSTAFELLOWS, showcases this connection well
with his stoic and pragmatic exterior giving way to a deeply
affectionate interior. He, like most of the game’s cast, does not
have a normal moral compass, being an assassin set on getting revenge, which inherently clashes with the heroine’s more altruistic and
naive nature. This leads to some initial tension between the two
since they have such different backgrounds and it takes a while for
them to resolve this misalignment. Under the heroine’s intense
interest Shu’s eventually crumbles revealing the gentle and
affectionate man lying beneath which plays into the choices he makes
later about their future together. What is desirable to the player
here is this satisfaction of slowly peeling back a mask and receiving
the reward of affection for emotionally healing this damaged man.
 |
| Healing provides powerful emotional catharsis |
On
the opposite side of the Dark Knight spectrum sits Shiraishi
Kageyuki, from Collar X Malice, where the damage caused by trauma is
more of an immediate threat to the heroine. Even from their first
meeting the heroine knows he is bad news with his treatment of her
being more like that of a specimen on a dissection table than a human
being. Yet flashes on a gentler side increasingly shine through, such
as his love for cats, the more than the heroine spends with him
causing her to revaluate her initial view of him. This all builds up
to the reveal of just how deep his scars go and even he thinks that
he is beyond saving while being a danger to her. The appeal here is
in having the heroine prove him wrong and show him to be a
fundamentally good person at his core. At their core a Dark Knight is looking for some
kind of redemption and happiness and the heroine is all to happy to
provide it resulting in a swapping of the power dynamics with the
heroine being in charge of their relationship.
Playing Both Sides Of The Romantic Fantasy
The
White Prince and Dark Knight do not exist in a vacuum and many other
suitors are positioned around them to form the complete cast. In this
context they are often used to present the boundaries of what the
player can expect from the emotional range of the suitors as a whole.
The White Prince’s moral upstanding nature and pure heart shine
with a light which points out the flaws of the other characters even
when they are just operating on the level of a normal person. In
addition their presence generally sets up a lighter overall tone or
at least a hopeful one since their kind nature is more suited for a
tale with a happy ending where their behaviour is rewarded. For the
Dark Knight this is inverted with them casting a shadow over the
other suitors with their broken and compromised actions making the cast seem
virtuous and well adjusted but comparison. Naturally this extends
into the kinds of stories a Dark Knight is found in which lean
towards the serious end given his brooding would be quite out of
place in a bright and cheerful comedy. Sometimes the White Prince and
the Dark Knight can be utilised together to flank the other suitors
and they work to make each other appear as distinct and memorable
characters while pointing to the weakness they all try to hide.
 |
| Suitors are only as good as their whole |
As an
example of a White Prince Adel Nares, from Temirana: The Lucky
Princess and the Tragic Knights, is nothing special but it is in his
function within the game’s cast where something interesting can be
seen. In placing him among the knights who serve the heroine, the
game allows him to contrast and clash against the other suitors while
establishing himself as the one closest the narrative’s positive
vision of the kingdom’s future. The rest of the knights are
variations of this core direction and push against it to create a
well rounded cast who all hold some investment in the promise which
the heroine offers them. Without Adel this theming would be
completely reliant on the heroine to uphold it in the earlier section
of the title and it would have seemed to be something she alone believes has value. Adding in a White Prince lends positive ideas and
narrative direction such as this an addition supporting pillar which
can help the other suitors to grow in a natural
manner.
If the tone is decidedly more serious then a Dark Knight can
be brought in instead. This is what OVER REQUIEMZ does with Kaize
Ozma by initially placing him as the cold hearted prince and
establishing just how broken the player can expect the rest of the
cast to be. It also serves a secondary purpose of establishing an
expectation for answers as to why the suitors have ended up as
convicts so furthering the sense of danger and intrigue. By showing
what Kaize was willing to do when pushed to the edge it creates a
sense of the overall moral values set through the narrative which can
eventually explode with disastrous consequences depending on the
player’s action and make this change seem like the natural
conclusion to events. Without the Dark Knight it would be more
difficult to tread the line between the potential danger posed by the
suitors and the gentle soul which they hide beneath.
Conclusion
The
extremes of purity and sin offered by the White Prince and the Dark
Knight make them powerful character archetypes for otome to use.
White Princes uphold a high moral standard often with a layer of
innocence to it and find their attractiveness in an uncompromised
devotion to the heroine. By contrast a Dark Knight is defined by the
scars of his past which leads him to performing questionable
actions and his desirability stems from the satisfaction of pealing
back this mask to find the gentle core he tries to hide. As part of
the cast in general, they serve to establish the tone of the work and
provide an extreme for the other suitors to bounce off so they can
define themselves. Overall, this pair of archetypes are powerful and easy to
identify at a glance which is a blessing for those looking to attract
interest in certain characters while also working to showcase the
range of masculinity an otome is capable of depicting.
Power Fantasies: Strength, Love And Peace – An Anatomy Of Visual Novels
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.
Dark Nights Review – Solving Romantic Tension With Spooky Scares
Genre – Otome, Supernatural, Mystery Play Time – 13 hours Developer - Pinlin Steam(Free) VNDB
Supernatural Hunks
Everyone
dreams of something exciting happening to them to break the mundanity
of their lives, but few consider the consequences of this
adventure. Such is the case for Dark Nights’ bored protagonist
Miyoko who gets exactly what she wishes for when people start
disappearing and she becomes entangled with a series of supernatural
men. This tale of tension, romance and a light bit of horror unveils
to her the hidden world living right under her nose. Each of her
suitors is given their own distinct plot completely focused on them
rather than a variation of a core narrative structure which keeps the
game fresh throughout. Small nods to the other routes pepper each play
through and invite the player to explore every possible avenue. The
suitors possess a good spread of personalities that compliment and
rub up against Miyoko’s own strong willed and proactive nature in
different and entertaining ways. Backing them up is a secondary cast
capable of playing both friend and foe to the main characters without
coming across and inconsistent. When it comes to the visuals and
audio the amateur nature of Dark Nights becomes obvious in their
inconsistent quality and this is not helped by a few odd quirks of
scene pacing plaguing certain sections. Are these traits of its
production enough to undermine the otome fantasy? Let’s snoop
around at night and find out.
It Goes Bump In The Night – Narrative And Themes
Variety
stands as Dark Nights’ greatest narrative strength with each route
bringing some new angle to the world and there being little overlap
between their ideas. This keeps the experience of progression fresh
throughout as the player is never quite sure what they are going to
encounter next. It also uses the unexpected to help add tension and compliment a romance where the threats facing the suitors differ
wildly and always remain exciting. Despite this variance, the world
building has a believable consistency to it which never strays too
far from the core supernatural concepts established early on in each
route. No matter what a player chooses they will be met with a
consistent presentation of the world without it falling into a
predictable pattern. Almost everything comes down to spirits, the
undead or those in charge of managing them. Yet there are lots of
variations to this framework such as the spirit world being made up
of different powerful spirits and even guardian demons. Helping all
of these elements feel consistent with one another is the countless
little nods to the other routes inside each route. These hint at the
fate of characters from other routes and tease what their route
involves while also providing the sense the cast do not just
disappear when not chosen by the player. It makes the world feel more
natural and alive where the character decide their own fates and
merely intersect with Miyoko’s life rather than having everything
revolve around her.
 |
| Dreaming of something exciting |
Supporting these vibrant routes is the
entertaining mixture of romance and light horror. The horror in Dark
Nights’ come across more as spooky rather than actively trying to induce fear in the player and it is akin to haunted house ride at a
theme park. This is not to say it cannot create feelings of tension
and danger since Miyoko’s fragile nature is constantly reinforced
through the bad endings and monsters she faces. What allows this
horror to not be overwhelming comes from the playful way it presents
these darker elements through making them somewhat silly punishments
of obvious failure or the achievements for bad ends having funny
illustrations on them. This lighter presentation of horror lets it
complement the slowly building romance between Miyoko and the suitor
where the two can bond in the face of their shared dangers alongside
the excuse to get physically closer to these handsome men. Since
these relationships are the main attraction of an otome, a stronger
horror element might have overpowered the positive emotions of this
romance so this is skilfully dodged and instead employed to showcase
the development of their bond.
 |
| This collection for the ending achievements is a fun addition |
A
consistent problem throughout Dark Nights is the way scenes and some
endings can be too short or abruptly come to an end. For scenes this
mostly comes in the form of events which serve a function but are not
given the space to feel natural. They have the characters say all the
important information in rapid succession before stopping as soon as
their utility has ended which is jarring since it creates the sense
the cast are robots. Fortunately scenes like these are mostly
concentrated in the common route and the opening sections of a few
suitor routes but disappear as the player progresses further into
them. This makes for a poor first impression of the game which might
turn off potential new players from the joys found in later sections.
In the case of some endings, not all are created equal and some
normal and romance endings lack a proper climax and resolution and
instead just stop. What this means in practice is things like major
plot beats or antagonists dealt with of screen in a single line
despite all the build up or a happy ending not earned by the
characters and just shoved onto them. As you can imagine this leads to a
feeling of being left without a way to tie up the player’s feelings
towards the route’s suitor and leaves a sour taste in their mouth.
The majority of endings do not suffer from this issue but this makes
the ones which do stand out in the worst way possible and are
disappointing when the bar for ending quality is so high.
Another
minor issue is the weird way Dark Nights insists it is set in a
village despite the location being far too large to be considered
one. There are inconsistencies like the fact that Miyoko can run
through the streets for an extended time to escape oncoming zombies,
a lot of villagers die and become zombies yet the village never seems
to run out of people and there being parts of the village Miyoko has
never been to despite living in there all her life. Each one of these
point to the village in fact being at least a small town where these
traits would make sense since it would easily excuse them. This
issues is at most distracting rather than damaging but does
contribute to the overall inconsistency of the narrative at times.
Ghosts, Ghouls and Charming Men – Characters
Key
to any good otome is a likeable suite of suitors for the player to
select from and invest into and those on display here more than meet
this standard. A wide variety of personalities exists across the
suitors from the blunt but kind Zeikun to the carefree and lazy
Kurato and these lead to a lot of distinct interaction based on who
is the focus of a route. What further pushes their individual
identities is how they do not all get along with each other and often
come into direct conflict with each other and in doing so reveal new
sides to themselves. Most importantly of all they bounce off Miyoko
in fun ways as their banter creates a sense of the bond between her
and each suitor while contrasting it with her other relationships. It
makes her connection with them feel genuine and unique to each of
them since they bring out different parts of her personality. Miyoko
being the story’s primary driver gives her a refreshing wilfulness
and helps equalise the relationship with her chosen suitor despite
being physically weaker than them in need of their protection.
Without her they would not be moving forwards and it is only because
she drags them with her that they manage to overcome their issues and
find happiness. It also makes for some amazing dialogue where the
characters have to face down this force of nature and find her
persistence difficult to deal with. As for the secondary cast, they
nicely fill in the roles needed from them as they dynamically jump
between ally and enemy depending on the route while remaining
believably consistent in their motives and actions. Finding out how
they will react in a new route to Miyoko and the suitor forms a
strong part of the appeal of exploring the game’s narrative to its
fullest. Their interconnecting web of relationships and shared
history slowly unveils itself with unguarded comments and heartfelt
cries providing these sneak peaks behind their masks.
 |
| Kaichi is one of the best examples of someone who is both friend and enemy at different times |
Fantasy Bellow Normality – Visuals, Audio And Technical
The
amateur nature of Dark Nights is brought into sharper focus when
considering the three pillars of visuals, audio and design choices.
From a visual standpoint it is the inconsistencies which highlight
this quality through the contrast between the sprites and the CGs.
There is a gap in presentation between the two which creates a
feeling of disconnect where they do not seem to show the same
characters. The CGs come across as lush and vibrant where their
dynamic and expressive poses compliment an excellent colour palette
and vivid lines to form strong visualisation for the narrative.
Unfortunately the sprites cannot match this high benchmark and each
is somewhat stiff in their posture with a limited variety of
expressions leading to the cast feeling wooden at times. Then the
small OST comes into focus as it is not quite large enough to fill
what is not a short visual novel which results in a lot of repeated
tracks the player will become very familiar with. Each track is used
appropriately but over the course of the long play time they lose their
impact and no longer invoke the emotions in the player’s mind.
Another sign of the amateur nature of this title is the extremely
short common route. The suitors are given one scene each before the
game asks the player which one they want to pursue.
 |
| Oh my, look another handsome man |
Conclusion
Keeping
a romantic tone while having the pressing weight of horror is the
mixture which characterises much of Dark Nights. Each route takes a
different part of this setting and explores it through its suitor as
it weaves in aspects from other routes to create a complete feeling
world. Vivid characters dance around each other in a battle of life
and love where the friends and enemies change dramatically from
suitor to suitor and set to a backdrop of beautiful CGs depicting
their most heartfelt moments. There are some hiccups hampering the
player’s enjoyment of the game from some of the more amateur
visuals to the abrupt endings to some scenes, but these are ultimately minor or infrequent enough to overlook for what is otherwise an
exceptional otome.
Verdict –
Perfectly captures a spooky horror tone which allows for intense
romantic interactions with its many engaging suitors and their
supernatural problems. Oddly cut off scenes and some limited visuals and audio do hold it back from its potential.
Pros-
+
Every route has its own distinct plot thread which deals with a
different part of the setting to keep the narrative feeling fresh.
+
Blends romance and horror together in a fun mixture of spooky and
steamy moments.
+
Suitors have a good variety of personalities and clash with each
other. This extends to the secondary cast who jump between friend and
foe depending on the route.
+
Beautiful CGs enhance the most powerful and memorable events in the
game.
Cons -
-
Some scenes and endings are too short or end too abruptly leading to
an unsatisfying and poorly paced feel at times.
-
Weak character sprites and an OST too small for the game’s length
hamper its presentation.
-
Common route is too short and demands the player choose a suitor
before the player has even had a chance to get to know them.
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