Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/04/21 in Blog Entries

  1. Clephas

    Akatsuki Yureru Koi Akari

    This is the third game in Crystalia's series based on a world where a sport has grown up around using spiritual swords and a prequel to the original game, Kizuna Kirameku Koi Iroha. For those who haven't played the other games, I can say that you might or might not get more out of this game by playing the others first, as playing the original spoils you on the winner of the tournament and a few other issues. On the other hand, this game also fills in a lot of gaps on characters from the original, such as Miyako and Tsubaki. I'm going to come out and say this outright... this game is probably the best of the three. Why? The more obvious reason is that the battles are generally better quality than the other two games. However, the larger reason is the way it is structured. Ninety-percent of the game is actually a straightforward seishun drama based around a class of talented dropouts and a teacher protagonist. Romance doesn't change the outcome, and actual heroine paths are actually in the 'omake' section of the game, rather than being the main focus. This comes as a trade-off. For those who want romance to be the central element of their VNs, this game will probably be a disappointment. However, if you like seishun drama with fierce competition and lively interaction between the characters, this is a first-class game. The protagonist, Murakaki Iori, is a member of the JSDF's Tenju Tokka unit (wields Origami and Tenju as part of their tactics), and he gets pulled for a side mission involving educating a class full of talented individuals who normal teachers can't seem to handle. Iori is, on the surface and for the most part, a good-hearted and hotblooded teacher with a true belief in acting in the best interests of his students and treating them equally. However, he does have a somewhat traumatic past and that past isn't ignored during the story. Takamine Setsugekka is your classic 'aho no ko', also known as the 'idiot child' or 'airheaded' heroine. She wields a close-in style wielding a ninjatou and hand-to-hand combat, and she starts out at the lowest point of all the heroines in terms of skill. She occasionally, when hurt or driven to rage, goes berserk and wields immense power, but in this state she is easy to handle for an appropriately skilled opponent. Typical of this kind of story, she grows the most in skill as time goes on. Suzakuin Momiji is, on the surface, a competent and cool swordswoman who focuses on taking apart her opponent's style and habits until she can predict and lead them down the path to destruction. She wields a long katana similar to that of Sasaki Kojirou from Fate/Stay Night. She is Tsubaki's (from the original) eldest sister. However, behind the scenes she is a lazy young woman who can't be bothered to pick up her own trash or get out of bed if she isn't forced to. In all honesty, the first time I saw her chugging non-alcoholic beer (apparently, when at her family home, she goes for the real stuff) with sashimi in her other hand, I fell in love, so I favored her from the beginning (yes, I'm a bit weird sometimes with my heroine preferences). Kuki Asahi is the younger sister of Iori's best friend and former rival, Kuki Takahisa. From a very young age, she has been in love with Iori, but for some reason she has grown up into a very yandere-ish Iori-worshipper who will ruthlessly act to protect her hold on him. Her preferred style is 'iai-battou', a defensive style where the user counters their enemies with draw-slashes. Emotionally, she is perhaps the most volcanic of the characters, though I imagine some will say Setsugekka is. Tobe Ririmu is a gyaru swordswoman who has a rather unique style that is very-dance like, combining Tenju illusions with unusual steps with a difficult to predict rhythm. In all honesty, I felt bad for how this game treats her toward the end. While she has a strong presence throughout much of the game, that presence fades almost to nothing due to the events of the tournament near the end. In a very real way, she is a character that existed solely to provide emotional firewood for certain events near the end. She is something of a free-spirit, with a desire to combine fashion with Jindou, designing combat costumes and Origami skins. In many ways, she is like your typical 'slightly delinquent-like child' character, especially when it comes to dealing with teacher-student issues.
    1 point
×
×
  • Create New...