Random VN: Ojousama no Hanbun wa Ren'ai de Dekiteimasu
This game is a peculiar one. This is the third time I've played the game, and the second time I've posted on it. If you want to see my original review, please look here:
I'm going to focus here on coloring in some of the details of why I like this game and think it is underrated amongst Western readers of untranslated VNs. First, the factors that lead to it being underrated.
1) The protagonist takes on a man-whore role through large swathes of the game and isn't a pure-hearted boy by any standard. For some reason, man-whores aren't received very well by a lot of Western readers, especially ones that are calculating and intentionally act that way.
2) The visual style of the game differs significantly, if subtly, from the more common styles of the post-2010 era. It is rougher in some places and more elegant in others.
3) A large portion of the readers don't like Arika. Now, there are good reasons not to like her in many's eyes. She is whimsical, manipulative, and lazy as all hell when she isn't interested in an activity. However, she is also hyper-intelligent, intuitive, and has the same kind of super-luck that Cap did in Majikoi. Unfortunately, she is the kind of character that seriously divides readers.
4) People's expectations of trap protagonists. Most people going into a trap protagonist game expect a lot of comedy antics related to the cross-dressing. However, Hajime doesn't bungle things and doesn't panic the way a lot of trap protagonists do. In addition, 'calculating' is a quality that many who actually like trap protagonist games don't like in them... and Hajime is nothing of not calculating.
5) The surprising darkness of the setting. People go into trap protagonist games thinking they will be comedic and moe-moe festivals. Ojomasu is neither. There isn't a lot of comedy in the game, and there is very little in the way of moe fanservice.
6) The prologue H-scene. Probably the thing that annoys a lot of people is the h-scene in the prologue and how it came to be. For people that go into this game with a 'I want to see pure love romance from beginning to end' attitude, this is a huge downer. That it is followed by Hajime using the affections of a number of other women during the course of the story only enhances this impression for this part of the crowd.
7) Ginko isn't one of the heroines. Yes, in any other game, Ginko would have been one of the heroines.
The things that make this game worth playing.
1) Everything above. Seriously, the fact is that a lot of the people who play this game aren't the intended audience. In some ways, this is a more down-to-earth version of the 'guy infiltrates a girls' school' trope.
2) Despite only having three heroines, those heroines provide a full spectrum of personalities. The whimsical Arika, the stoic and straightforward Benio, and the sweet-natured Peko provide a lot of variety without any real overlap. If Ginko or Rion (the ones the largest part of the fanbase seemed to want routes for) were heroines in this game, it would distract from things greatly. Moreover, there is way too much overlap between Ginko and Arika personality-wise.
3) There is just enough darkness to the setting and story to create a firm contrast to the soft atmosphere of the girls' school. In a lot of cases with these 'girls school infiltration' VNs, there is a sense of unreality created as a result of poor buildup of the setting.
4) This game doesn't even attempt to imitate the success of other companies. I honestly think they should have named this game something else, because the title makes it seem like a game that should be a soft romance rather than the more complex story it is.
5) Hajime is a protagonist you can enjoy self-inserting into. He is capable, intelligent, and ambitious, a combination that is a refreshing change from most VN protagonists in general.
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