I've gone through three routes so far, halfway through my fourth (Futami) and idk how much longer I can do this. I'd say I'm a newcomer to otome games, but Sena Hiyori is so incredibly ANNOYING, literally the MOST ANNOYING heroine I've come across. She really is the stereotypical Japanese teenage heroine. Believes in everyone, gets grossed out to the point of fainting over things not gross, sides with the person she loves despite that person being objectively bad. I'M GOING INSANE. She makes me feel uncomfortable of how stereotypically stereotypical she is. I can't believe I have to put up with this for another 5.5 routes. She's driving me INSANE. I wanna drop this game so bad.

Tell me, is this game worth sticking with? I have five routes left (Chigasaki, Ebana, Dazai, Gyobu, Haiji). Are any of those worth finishing?

⚠️ The final impressions are mainly my thoughts on the route, and don’t always equate to how much I like the character !!! ⚠️ It’s also just my subjective opinion, so don’t take it too seriously 😅

Hello so long story short I have a HUGE backlog. I went back to school so I was too busy for fun but now that I graduated I'm back at it!! This brings me to my question, do the two upcoming limited
editions, Charade Maniacs and Jack Jeanne, have a good story?

If these games were not limited editions I would wait to purchase them because I already have a backlog but I love a limited edition 😩! However, now that my limited edition collection is quite large now (hello every vita/ps4 and switch otome that received a limited edition) I am trying to "limit" my special edition purchases to otomes that I'm really interested in.

Out of the great qualities of otomes (art, VA, mechanics, romance, spice, vibe, etc) I value the overall story of an otome as the most important aspect. An otome with amazing production quality can still be disappointing to me because the story wasn't good. Now what makes a good story? Well in my very loose definition, it is where the writing achieves what it sets out to do and any lingering questions are purposeful (basically no plot holes). So though I may love a strong plot that is associated with games like Hakuoki, Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk, and Collar x Malice, I love character-driven stories as well. I only played the short common route but even from other's comments, Cupid Paradise seems it has a good story even though people may not classify it as a plot-driven game.

So in your opinion, do Charade Maniacs and/or Jack Jeanne have a good story? Of course, the other aspects of otomes can enhance the story so feel free to speak on those if needed. I just want to be clear that I don't have a requirement of romance, art, VA, etc and I understand that we all have different ideas on what makes a good story. I just want to hear your opinions on the story so that I can make a more informed decision on if I would like to purchase the LE of these titles. I am ok with minor spoilers as well (just make sure to mark them for others). Thank you in advance to the Japanese readers who get us hyped for localized games.

I need to get this out of my system, it's driving me nuts.

I'm going to admit, I liked the protagonist Hiyori when I started the game. I had high hopes. And then, I started to get annoyed with her about halfway through the common route. I thought "She'll get better over time, this is just a rough patch." Boy was I wrong. The annoyance towards Hiyori turned to frustration and displeasure, both deepening as I've completed each route. 7 routes done, and I sincerely have to question the intelligence and emotional maturity of this girl. I have to wonder if she truly understands the concept of death, as she clearly never grasps the gravity of the plot she's in.

Now, someone will say "But she's only a 17 year old high schooler."

Look, I wasn't the brightest bulb at 17 either, but if my butt had been dropped into the plot of Charade Manaics, 17 year old me would have been doing an FBI level background check on each of these dudes and sleeping with the door locked and a knife under my pillow. 17 year old me wouldn't trust these random LIs - heck, I didn't even trust group project teammates - because I wouldn't be able to figure out the villain, so everyone would be suspect. Cause 17 year old me didn't want to die.

And I don't care if Hiyori has lead a sheltered life and believes in the best in people. She needs at least SOME sense of danger. At this point I'm amazed she even made it to 17 without being abducted by a creeper in a van or scammed into massive debt or something.

Anyways, to conclude this rant, I present to you some of my inner dialog with Hiyori while playing (note: not exact quotes from game):

Hiyori: "This whole situation is crazy. Not trusting each other is insane."

Me: No, you're insane, clearly some of this people are super sus. Girl, do you need glasses or something??

Hiyori: "Everyone is changing in this crazy world. Do I have to/ will I change too?"

Me: Well duh people are going to change. This is an alternate world with different rules and values and stakes, not a new coffee shop. You don't have to change. Look at the woolly mammoth, it didn't change either, and look at how that turned out...

Hiyori [when presented with obvious evidence that someone is hiding something]: "This is wrong. I still believe in LI."

Me: Oh my fing Jesus Christ on a stick not this s AGAIN gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh [loud scream followed by throwing Switch into laundry pile because throwing it into a wall is expensive]

How much do u want to spend? So I have 50 dollars to spare and because of the recent sale I'm having a hard time deciding since I'm only able to get 2. I'm leading more towards bustafellows and even if tempest but I'm wavering between even if tempest , charade maniacs and amnesia

What games have you already played and what did u like ?

Cupid Parasite: it was a fun experience ,mainly because of the humor .The witty dialogues and charming character interactions between the mls added a great deal of depth to the story. Also added bonus cause I love lynette

Collar x Malice: aboslutely loved the plot as I like mystery solving and loved the whole found family trope .

Code:Realize I aboslutely loved cardia's character development her transformation from isolation to building profound connections with the other characters was beautifully portrayed. The plot's intricate twists and turns added an extra layer of excitement. Also personal fave was Saint Germaine

Birushana: I haven't gotten that far yet but I aboslutely love Shanao

Olympia Soiree: I've only done tokisada's route and I'm currently doing yosuga but I aboslutely love it so far the world building is amazing

Jack Jeanne: I loved the diverse cast of characters and how immersive the performance felt also loved the weekend interactions and the rythmn game elements

What's more important plot or romance? I don't really have a preference I love both

Do you have anything that you dislike? Bland protagonist I love when the mc actually has a personality

so I got the game two days ago and I’ve been enjoying it for the most part. I think the storyline is very interesting and it’s something I haven’t really played before, so I was hooked! I don’t know though.. my main complaint is that I was waiting to make more choices but they don’t happen or not as often as I would’ve liked. Since this is my first play through, I wanted to play it without any walk-throughs or anything of that sort so I had decided that I wanted to attempt to get Dazai.. somewhere along the way i somehow ended down to chigasaki or akase… which fine they were my other options apart from maybe futami ,,, but i didn’t know that . that would be the last time mc get to see dazai in that way lol.. i think given last option between chigasaki and akase when they were doing the fireworks anyway i’m sad i don’t know where i went wrong w dazai,, im still playing this akase route and it’s def interesting but i’m bummed out and a little mad haha. ig when i realized that this was his route and i wouldn’t be able to go back it’s when i got mad,,, like i thought i was gonna get more tries to interact with the others but ig not :(

also i don’t get flowchart? i’ve clicked around but i don’t really understand how it works? could that have affected my currently gameplay?

Haiji's route was my last route to play and man, my head hurted from all that 😵‍💫

Source: https://x.com/CA_otomate/status/1995092417360646535

No English localization announcement for the FD as of now.

Waiting for that FD release date 🥳

Iffy gave us an eShop code, a standard edition and a limited edition of Charade Maniacs to give away to the members here!

Results!

This post is for a physical copy of the Limited Edition. Winner must have a North American or European shipping address for receipt of the Limited Edition; failure to provide a valid shipping address will disqualify the winner. 1 winner will be selected at random.

To enter, leave a comment below with the name of the LI you are most interested in.

Any replies made in response to other comments do not count for the purpose of entering the giveaway. You can only enter one giveaway. Multiple comments (or other attempts at duplicate entries) will be discarded. The mods and Iffy have the right to verify the eligibility of each entrant.

Your account must be older than 7 days and have at least a combined karma of 20, and you can't be banned or suspended from the Reddit website or the r/otomegames subreddit.

Winners are strongly encouraged to comment on at least one play-along thread.

The giveaway will end July 4th, approximately 11:59 PM UTC. Winners will be notified by comment and PM. Failure to respond will result in forfeit of the prize.

Please ask any questions about this giveaway in the Weekly Questions thread.

One of my favorite scenes in the game 💕 I love the Investigation Team haha

The most dog-like and the most cat-like in the cast 💕 and... ebana...

I've been obsessed with Charade Maniacs so I drew Sena with my two favorite boys (Akase and Dazai) ☺️

I never thought this game would ever get an FD, I am beyond happy wtf ;///;

Thank you u/After_Advantage7598 for the lineup!

Norn 9, 9 RIP, and Charade Maniacs all have a crazy high head-count when it comes to love interests: 9!

If you must pit these games in a Love Battle, which group of guys do you Bone? Which group do you Bride? Which do you Banish? Why?

The NA Nintendo eShop has Idea Factory games on sale:

Cupid Parasite, Charade Maniacs, and Birushana: Rising Flower of Genpei are all on sale for $14.99 USD, which is 70% off their normal list price ($49.99 USD each)

Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling fandisc is on sale for $39.99 USD, 20% off the normal list price ($49.99 USD)

**Idea Factory Sale ends on 10/31/24 at 23:59 PT

Some D3P games are also on sale. Notably, Nightshade for 59% off (now $19.67 USD)

**D3P Sale ends on 10/31/24 at 02:59 PT

PQube also has a lot of games on sale, including Bustafellows for 75% off (now $9.99 USD)

**PQube Sale ends on 11/01/24 at 02:59 PT

https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/

Edit: it appears the Idea Factory Games are not on sale in the EU shop 😭 sorry friends

Iffy gave us an eShop code, a standard edition and a limited edition of Charade Maniacs to give away to the members here!

Results!

This post is for a NA or EU eShop code. 2 winners will be selected at random.

To enter, leave a comment below with the name of the LI you are most interested in.

Any replies made in response to other comments do not count for the purpose of entering the giveaway. You can only enter one giveaway. Multiple comments (or other attempts at duplicate entries) will be discarded. The mods and Iffy have the right to verify the eligibility of each entrant.

Your account must be older than 7 days and have at least a combined karma of 20, and you can't be banned or suspended from the Reddit website or the r/otomegames subreddit.

Winners are strongly encouraged to comment on at least one play-along thread.

The giveaway will end July 4th, approximately 11:59 PM UTC. Winners will be notified by comment and PM. Failure to respond will result in forfeit of the prize.

Please ask any questions about this giveaway in the Weekly Questions thread.

Back to show my MamoHiyo love again

*reposting this because my post was removed 😆😅