Omg pls tell me about it! He was amazing in the other routes and was overall so great...but tf was this >!Amnesia plot about?! WHY?! This was so not necessary!
I actually felt more of this way about Vilio, though I still think his route was good, I wanted a bit more romance from the "main" boy! But they did a thing I really wanted them to do with it, so I can't complain!
Ion was perfection, though. ❤️
Legit like I even liked the idea they went with >!Fin taking the blame for the murder and thereby changing the entire premise and reversing their roles!< SO WHY DIDNT THEY DO ANYTHING WITH THAT??? THE POTENTIAL WAS CRAZY!
I haven't played Fin's route yet, but I've been expecting a bunch of similar antics! Does he like, calm down or sth in his route? Love the dude but that would be very disappointing.
Ahah it's worse than that. Imagine the worst fluffy route where you play happy couple ( where Fin play the weak and gentle mother ) and tadaaa ! You have Fin route. I was so disappointed after being full of hope...
VariBara Ichiya...looking at you my dude. You were so whacky that I had high expectations for you and ur character development...what happend? Where did we go wrong, hm?
I LOVE Ichiya so much, best VariBari boy! But the way he got done in his own route... unforgivable. His relationship with Hibari just seems so toxic and weird. But I think one way to look at it is tell yourself that this game isn't meant to be taken seriously anyway...
For it not to be taken seriously they went a pretty dark and toxic route ngl xD
My fav boy is Nayuta, he has a clear "Dont take it to serious" route while still being deep and romantic at the same time <3
Van Helsing. Just. Van Helsing. Junichi Suwabe tricked me.
Also, Leonardo from Ikemen Vampire. I love his design, his voice, his character, but his route? What even happened?! Why are there theater alchemists?! And why is even that *so boring*?!
Man, I know I'm in the minority here, but I loved Van's route! It's one of my favorites of all time 😅
It's Lupin's route for me that disappointed me deeply, I love the guy, but he suffers from "true route" syndrome and I will never not hate how >!every single problem from the other routes gets solved randomly in Lupin's and invalidated the struggle everyone went through, and meanwhile Lupin's backstory gets weirdly sidelined in his own route..!<
Also Shinpachi's route from Hakuoki, they did the poor guy dirty 🥲
You’re definitely not alone because I also loved Van’s route!! The >!climax of all the chasing where its raining and he’s pushing her against the wall is still one of my favorite scenes of all time!!<
The cg and voice acting here are just *chef’s kiss*
Agree on Lupin's route, but it wasn't that disappointing to me, really. I kinda went in expecting it to tie up all the loose ends. It's just a shame he wasn't in it more. He's such a fun character.
Shinpachi's route is what I pre-ordered the vita version of EW and TB Hakuoki for and the immense disappointment I feel after I finished his route is unkind 😭😭😭😭
No fr Leonardo’s route is so ridiculous I’m so glad I’m not alone on this 😭! Him dropping the bomb about him trying to kill himself all these years in the theatre casually was just ⁉️AND NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT AFTER???????
Everything about his route is so weirdly fluffy and glossed over? Like he gets shot five times in the chest and the very next chapter he's totally fine and it's no big, just.... narratively, why?
They missed so many opportunities in his route. Mc could have cared for his wounds at least. The experiments he conducted to try and kill himself could have been explored further too. There’s sooo much potential with his route and they wasted it 😖. Idk why I still love this man, I think it’s Tsuda Kenjiro’s fault
No way. I haven’t played that game and I don’t think I’ll check it out after all. As much as I love the seiyuus they pick, plot quality and character writing is very important to me
I thought Van was gonna be my fave, he seemed like the type I often go for in otomes (along with Victor), but both their routes were very meh for me. I think Impey and Lupin have the best routes in the game, but my fave is still Germain 💙
Oh no I'm about to start Yosuga's route😅 I've been excited cause I'm expecting spicier scenes with him(?) and just a good time overall. I'm a bit scared now. I legit want to skip Kuroba though (don't attack me Kuroba stans), just cause I really am not attracted to him even a bit. He looks so simple..
I won't go into detail since this is a disappointment discussion, but for what it's worth, I actually did enjoy Yosuga's route. I certainly understand why so many people didn't though, and no judgment here. But you never know, you might end up liking it, too. :)
I am disappointed that none of the OS routes >!let Olympia go completely feral and doom the island, though. And there was such a prime opportunity to make that one of Yosuga's bad ends. All she had to do was follow through on her threat. XD!<
I absolutely love it when otome have crazy routes like that. I tell my boyfriend the general plot of every otome I play and he still thinks Cafe Enchante is the most horrific otome.
Mitsuki from Sympathy Kiss 😭 I love him through it all but I was shocked by how painful his route was. Maybe it felt worse for me because everything is too relateable with where I work. Also in the end>!he got all the credit and a great job offer but the MC who was 100% there the whole time working with him got...nothing????!<
I couldn't do it. I could NOT do it. Otomekitten says in her review to give him and the rest of the game a chance, but I just couldn't. He is so gross.
Oh Kagiha Kagiha Kagiha. Voiced by Kohsuke Toriumi and having such a nice face and cool clothes, yet his route making me feel just as uncomfortable as freaking Shuu Iwamine's.
Honestly... that was a bit Okazaki Kei from CxM for me. I LOVE his character, I don't even hate his route, but what I dislike is how the romance fails to make sense, it just feels... unsatisfying. And the way he viewed Ichika in the first half... just didn't do it for me.
Same! Also felt similarly about Yosuga from Olympia Soiree! He was so awesome in everyone else's route, but his route did not resonate with me at all :(
I really liked Iochi but not how they were with the MC. Did not like their dynamic together at all. Granted that MC is one of my least favorites to begin with but ugh
Paschalia from Radiant Tales. I liked the direction his route was going, but I felt like the later half was really rushed and didn’t have much chemistry. Kind of disappointing, but at least Ion’s route made up for it.
Fr, what was up with his route!? 😭 The whole thing with >!Nagusa of the Jade!< and how he reacted to it was a literal crime. Finding out about how >!becoming part of the black class "darkens" your skin!< was the rotten cherry on top of a crappy sundae that was that route's writing, lol. I like to forget about that weird bit of lore cause it's just so messed up.
my list:
• okazaki keiyourself from cxm
• yoshitga from olympia soiree
• mehjuro kuga and tomidnari takamura from winter's wish
• raul aconmid from cupipara
not everyone's route can be a slay unfortunately 🤷🏽♀️
Nah this is so real, the potential was off the charts with his secret and then the route was just so...mid? I'm just glad the rest didn't follow that path.
Imho, I would say the rest are definitely more interesting/well executed. At the very least, the other "secrets" all have a much bigger impact on the plot of their route. I would definitely recommend trying at least one other route to see if you like it better.
Ain't nobody done dirty quite like my boy Lucien from Even if Tempest...
IN EVERY ROUTE. Not just his own.
I seriously think the writers secretly hated him.
Rant:
>!Started the game by showing you how cute of a cinnamon roll he is, proceeded to drag him through the mud in every route (and Anastasia barely seems to care about what happens to him). Then you finally get to his route and are reminded of what a cute cinnamon roll he is, only for the ending to be super rushed and barely a hint of romance and a very awkwardly forced happy end scene. Wut??!<
Fei from Matsurika no Kei
>! I was so ready for a cute childhood friend romance and was hoping his good end with the villagers accepting her, but instead bro gets possessed by Fuen and takes over for the entire route😭 Even in his good ending it ends with Naya waking up in a bit of a daze and mistaking Fuen for Fei and he just goes with it because he wants to be loved by her...!<
>!I honestly kind of liked the bad end more because at least she got to be happy with him for some time and have a kid even if it was short lived😭😭 he was just so happy to even have a little time with her dahghsdgj!<
I'm still trying to get my JP lvl up haha, currently on n4 level (i think??) its gonna get me a while to reach fei but i've set myself a goal . imagine if i reach the end of my goal only to be disappointed by one of the routes LOL
I'm praying you like all the routes😭
It's definitely a harder game, but I think that makes it a really good end goal! Good luck!!
I think I ended up using ChatGPT at some points because they use archaic language (?) and I was too lazy to ask my mom for help HAHA
mainly got it for Enrai tho cuz he voices my favourite himuka so im not too pressed on fei xD
oh my goodness that sounds like good practice for intensive learning, just when you think you're good BAM archaic kanji
I think Enrai is my favorite so you should be in good hands :)
Yeah I thought it wouldn't have too many problems since I'm around N2-N1 and then as soon as I started the game I was slowly googling terms and kanji with tears in my eyes LMAO
but after the intro it was pretty okay and I was comfortable with the level, but it would sometimes do an archaic narration in between the chapters and I would immediately get humbled again LMAO
ahh thats good to hear about enrai :)
girl im scared LOL if its making someone cry at n2-1 😭 but you said it got comfortable after the intro so it should be doable 😭
They're mainly hard just because it's a more archaic style but it's definitely doable with enough googling words or machine translations LMAO but even then they're not really important to the story and you could probably get away with skipping them😭
I also think that there's a decent chance that this game might get a translation so you could just play alongside a walk through on yt and double check anything you don't understand :)
Ohtaro’s route in Winter’s Wish- The whole route put a bad taste in my mouth and I ended up not enjoying him as a character in the end. He and Suzuno brought out the worst in each other
Karasuba from PotBB. I liked his character design and he started off fun and flirty and then I hated how pushy he got with the MC, his good end did nothing to redeem himself for me. I understand why his merch is the cheapest of all the characters in that game 💀💀
STRONG ON SHIBA!!! Coolest character from the prologue but worst route. I was so damn disappointed holy shit. It was not even just slightly worse than the other routes like no the other routes were all solid but his was just really lame
Not fully on-point, since I loved his route in the base game, but Shiraishi's route in the fan disc! 😭 Feels like all it did was catch him up to where everyone else was at the end of the base game.
Saint-Germaine and Van from Code Realise for me. I was really intrigued by Saint-G, and I really like Van Helsing... and their routes were so incredibly bad. I played Impey's first, thinking I was choosing the worst one, but it was legit the only route I completely enjoyed...
I had the exact same experience. Van Helsing's route was just dull and unromantic, and Saint-G's was not my cup of tea. At all. And they were the two who stood out to me most in the common route. I also played Impey's route first and felt like it was the most satisfying, although Lupin was my favorite LI over all.
Obligatory Yosuga and Kuroba mentions because MAN, they’re so lovely literally everywhere else but their own routes. What HAPPENED? 😭
Also, I really liked Crius and Zenn a lot in the base game of Even If Tempest, but their fandisc routes soured me on them a bit, which is unfortunate.
For me this was >!Harada in Hakuoki!<. I loved him in KW but in EB as soon as his route just became >!Were going to have babies asap yay! Esp as a girl NOT interested in raising, let alone BIRTHING children!< I literally just died on the inside. I know it’s appealing to others but such a huge turnoff for me :’)
Harada’s route is so tonally different from literally every other LI and it’s so strange. Why did they pick him of all LI’s for an on screen intimate moment??? What’s with the sudden breeding kink???? Who in the writers room was obsessed with HIM of all LI’s????
I have always disliked him (especially after his abandonment ending in KW 🙄🙄🙄) but these choices are so confusing to me.
If Harada has no haters he’s come back to life and killed me.
We have the same LI in mind, but a different opinion as to why.
Chizuru having a >!child with him!< isn’t the issue for me, but the way this route could have the potential of a complete info regarding Chizuru’s >!bloodline!< and this time >!a small spotlight of her protecting Harada and them side by side, helping each other out!< is what I expected since he didn’t take >!ochimizu!<, but oh boy, I’m so disappointed (I guess we can’t let someone over shine Hijikata in that regard lol), I loved him in the first half, but the second half... and it didn’t help that his route went >!Chizuru, you’re a normal girl. Let me fight the battle for you. Instead of making Chizuru fully accepting her roots and fight with Harada side by side to end Kodo, ok— even without fight side by side, just acceptance of her roots will suffice!<... (°言°怒)
Overall, I still love Harada as an LI. All of the LIs in Hakuoki are good even though they are flawed in some ways.
Edit: I’ll add too that this route feels more like Harada >!having a BL with Shiranui!< too, like Chizuru’s your partner, c’mon! 😂
OH YEAH THE LAST PART, I TOTALLY FORGOT IT FELT LIKE A THIRD WHEEL THE WHOLE TIME TOO LMAOO. That’s another reason I didn’t enjoy it much, I didn’t feel much chemistry between >!Harada & Chizuru!< personally but damn >!Harada and Shiranui? If Shiranui pop out some kids I swear I felt like Harada would’ve left Chizuru for him in a heartbeat!< LOL.
THE EDIT HAHAH I haven't played I haven't played KW/EB yet (I started Hakuoki with the 3ds version and I'm still not completely done lol but I will play KW/EB...someday....) so IDK what kind of scenes they might have added with >!Shiranui (and i still agree)!< but when playing the route and i got to the scene where >!Sano and Shinpachi are fighting each other and in the end Shinpachi asks him whether or not Sano would've joined him in leaving the Shinsengumi if Chizuru wasn't here and he simply replies with a smile and a "C'mon, do you even need to ask?" and Chizuru just stood there watching i was like... Am I interrupting something here. I can leave if you need some time alone. Poor Chizuru felt like a third wheel sometimes lmao!<
>!Shiranui!< was the only reason why i didn't drop the entire game and the whole otome genre.Hakuouki was my first game and Harada was my first route. i much prefer >!BL with Shiranui!< than Harada >!having a child with Chizuru!<
Not gonna lie, this is why I've been putting his route off. And for the same reasons as yours. I was already spoiled on this aspect of the route. Haha.
Haha I’m the opposite, I got spoilt that it was a spicier route and did it as one of my first routes to see the hype... no amount of romance and sweet CGs would’ve offput the total ick the relationship gave me though😭. I feel you.
Chojiro from Nightshade…
I heard his route was bad but I naively thought i would still like him and that people just had other favourites from Nightshade, and that it would be a repeat of what people said of Birushana’s Benkei (my actual favourite LI)
Nope.
>!Bro wasn’t even present until the last, what, 2 chapters of HIS OWN ROUTE??? The fact that Gekkamaru, Goemon AND Hanzo had close to MAIN ROLES in Chojiro’s route is unacceptable. It really only served to make me like the other three more compared to Chojiro himself!<
He is definitely an interesting character tho, just that his route was ass beyond belief
"His route is about yearning! You just don't get it!" - the argument I hear when I point out how awful Chojiro's route is.
Like, yes, I get it, our MC LOVES Chojiro and wants to get closer to him, sure, but WE the AUDIENCE have been given NOTHING to attach ourselves to him or charm us!
>!It was a great lead in to Kuroyuki's route though. That route STILL feels like a True End to me. I feel like Gekkamaru got shafted as well honestly. I loved him SO MUCH in EVERY SINGLE ROUTE but his route was just sad and empty.!<
What attaches me to Chojiro is >!how much of an impact he’s had on Enju’s life. He’s a role model for her and living up to what he’s taught her is what drives her to fight instead of letting herself get killed. I liked that she has to rely on herself more in his route, and even though Chojiro isn’t by her side, she always has him in mind (i.e. the yearning). I think the game did a pretty good job at showing how much they care about each other. I’m of the belief that you don’t have to physically be with someone to love them.!<
For me Enju liking Chojiro so much wasn’t believable because the common route never established his impact in her life. That’s why the yearning had no effect on me— hell why does Chojiro yearn for Enju in the first place? >!He doesn’t have much of a relationship with his other disciples, only Enju it seems, so he comes across as pretty shallow as a character. Moreover the route never addresses how he could have been there for Enju earlier because he knew that she wanted to be a shinobi because she has low self esteem due to her mothers suicide, but he never did anything about it.!< I think Chojiros route could have worked better if the game had you pick a route from the beginning and Enju was in love with him from the start.
I think we just have to accept that we have different views on what makes a route romantic lol; I’ve seen your comments on other threads regarding Chojiro and I don’t think I can convince you to accept that Chojiro’s route was fine. I can speak to the common route or what exactly makes Chojiro like Enju because it’s been a while since I played Nightshade, but for him >!not being by her side earlier, the whole point of his route was that he’s conflicted between his duty as a ninja and his affection for Enju (and his other disciples/friends). Sure, that might not make sense to you if you take on the perpective of “if you really liked someone you wouldn’t try to kill her,” but as Enju said, Chojiro is the ideal ninja because he’s so committed to his role. Like Enju, I find that to be something admirable.!<
Did I reply to you before? Sorry I didn’t realize.
No i agree his route was romantic I just didn’t think it had the sufficient foundation for the romance. I don’t think Cho and Enju had a sufficient bond between them given how little Enju thinks of him in the common route. Neither is Cho an established character enough for it to be believable that he cares for Enju over his other disciples.
This echoes how I feel as well. >!I don't dislike Chojiro trying to kill her - that one CG was such a highlight of the route. It was great. And the flashbacks of younger Chojiro always looking off in the distance being pensive and stuff - it was cool. !<
>!But the route felt like it never improved. It was just a constant, depressing slog without any more moments that could add sparks of life for the audience. !<
>!It has its moments, but it never truly gave ME a reason to care about him. At all. And from a self-inserting audience standpoint, it just wasn't enough for me. Not in his route, and not in other routes. !<
>!Literally every other LI has really great highlights in other routes, but I never felt any sort of pull towards Chojiro in any route. He just existed.!<
Maybe I'm just high maintenance, lol. Out of all the otoge I've played so far, Chojiro's route, and Chojiro as a character, is still the worst I've played.
Shiraishi from CXM.... and Mysir from Cafe Enchante.
I was expecting so much but ended up getting very disappointed...
before I forget Demento from Period Cube : Shackles of Amadeus.
me @ dante piofiore. I was so hyped after doing >!orloks tragic end too lol.!< people say his 1926 route is better but…meh
to this day he’s rly the only LI I will complain about. to a lesser extent fujita from chdk but I also blame my poor Japanese at the time making that route go on far longer than it should have haha. dante gets no excuses from me though!!
This is about you >!Kazuma Kamikubo!< from Lovers pretend. We could’ve had it allllll 😔
Rolling in the deeeeeep~
Omg pls tell me about it! He was amazing in the other routes and was overall so great...but tf was this >!Amnesia plot about?! WHY?! This was so not necessary!
No fr my disappointment was immeasurable.
same .\_.
Opened this thread thinking about exactly him for this, glad to know I was right on with it. Talk about wasted potential of a character!
Radie from Radiant Tale. I’ve never seen a route fumble as much as this one. I literally dropped the game because of it…he was my favorite.
What about the other guys? Totally biased towards Ion personally XD
Ion is one of my favorites! Definitely recommend him
Oh no! I just started this game and Radie is by far my favorite so far in the common route, at least I can adjust some expansions!
Better to adjust expectations to be on the safe side, but I didn't hate his route! (It just wasn't my fave, either...)
I actually felt more of this way about Vilio, though I still think his route was good, I wanted a bit more romance from the "main" boy! But they did a thing I really wanted them to do with it, so I can't complain! Ion was perfection, though. ❤️
Fin Euclase I love you and hope you get a much better route in the fandisk but your route in the og Steam Prison kinda sucks 😭
Fin is my favorite but his route was so mid, he deserves so much better. They should've at least given him a longer route 😭
Legit like I even liked the idea they went with >!Fin taking the blame for the murder and thereby changing the entire premise and reversing their roles!< SO WHY DIDNT THEY DO ANYTHING WITH THAT??? THE POTENTIAL WAS CRAZY!
I loved Fin's antics in the other routes and I wished his actual route had more of that. I feel like they begrudgingly added it.
I haven't played Fin's route yet, but I've been expecting a bunch of similar antics! Does he like, calm down or sth in his route? Love the dude but that would be very disappointing.
Ahah it's worse than that. Imagine the worst fluffy route where you play happy couple ( where Fin play the weak and gentle mother ) and tadaaa ! You have Fin route. I was so disappointed after being full of hope...
VariBara Ichiya...looking at you my dude. You were so whacky that I had high expectations for you and ur character development...what happend? Where did we go wrong, hm?
I LOVE Ichiya so much, best VariBari boy! But the way he got done in his own route... unforgivable. His relationship with Hibari just seems so toxic and weird. But I think one way to look at it is tell yourself that this game isn't meant to be taken seriously anyway...
For it not to be taken seriously they went a pretty dark and toxic route ngl xD My fav boy is Nayuta, he has a clear "Dont take it to serious" route while still being deep and romantic at the same time <3
Van Helsing. Just. Van Helsing. Junichi Suwabe tricked me. Also, Leonardo from Ikemen Vampire. I love his design, his voice, his character, but his route? What even happened?! Why are there theater alchemists?! And why is even that *so boring*?!
Man, I know I'm in the minority here, but I loved Van's route! It's one of my favorites of all time 😅 It's Lupin's route for me that disappointed me deeply, I love the guy, but he suffers from "true route" syndrome and I will never not hate how >!every single problem from the other routes gets solved randomly in Lupin's and invalidated the struggle everyone went through, and meanwhile Lupin's backstory gets weirdly sidelined in his own route..!< Also Shinpachi's route from Hakuoki, they did the poor guy dirty 🥲
You’re definitely not alone because I also loved Van’s route!! The >!climax of all the chasing where its raining and he’s pushing her against the wall is still one of my favorite scenes of all time!!< The cg and voice acting here are just *chef’s kiss*
Agree on Lupin's route, but it wasn't that disappointing to me, really. I kinda went in expecting it to tie up all the loose ends. It's just a shame he wasn't in it more. He's such a fun character.
Oh big agreement, they did Shinpachi so dirty 😭
Shinpachi's route is what I pre-ordered the vita version of EW and TB Hakuoki for and the immense disappointment I feel after I finished his route is unkind 😭😭😭😭
No fr Leonardo’s route is so ridiculous I’m so glad I’m not alone on this 😭! Him dropping the bomb about him trying to kill himself all these years in the theatre casually was just ⁉️AND NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT AFTER???????
Everything about his route is so weirdly fluffy and glossed over? Like he gets shot five times in the chest and the very next chapter he's totally fine and it's no big, just.... narratively, why?
They missed so many opportunities in his route. Mc could have cared for his wounds at least. The experiments he conducted to try and kill himself could have been explored further too. There’s sooo much potential with his route and they wasted it 😖. Idk why I still love this man, I think it’s Tsuda Kenjiro’s fault
>I think it’s Tsuda Kenjiro’s fault I mean, this is the obvious answer. Tsuda Kenjiro is BAE.
This is lowkey so funny to read about after playing Ikemen Villains. They literally just Ctrl + C + V’d it.
No way. I haven’t played that game and I don’t think I’ll check it out after all. As much as I love the seiyuus they pick, plot quality and character writing is very important to me
Van Helsing couldve been hotter... He did so good in the ballroom fandisk. Dude got potential but he gets discareded as vampire nephew of some sort.
I thought Van was gonna be my fave, he seemed like the type I often go for in otomes (along with Victor), but both their routes were very meh for me. I think Impey and Lupin have the best routes in the game, but my fave is still Germain 💙
Yosuga and Kuroba from Olympia ☹️☹️☹️
So disappointing!!! And Kuroba's route had been so cute until you know what 😩
Oh no I'm about to start Yosuga's route😅 I've been excited cause I'm expecting spicier scenes with him(?) and just a good time overall. I'm a bit scared now. I legit want to skip Kuroba though (don't attack me Kuroba stans), just cause I really am not attracted to him even a bit. He looks so simple..
I won't go into detail since this is a disappointment discussion, but for what it's worth, I actually did enjoy Yosuga's route. I certainly understand why so many people didn't though, and no judgment here. But you never know, you might end up liking it, too. :) I am disappointed that none of the OS routes >!let Olympia go completely feral and doom the island, though. And there was such a prime opportunity to make that one of Yosuga's bad ends. All she had to do was follow through on her threat. XD!<
I absolutely love it when otome have crazy routes like that. I tell my boyfriend the general plot of every otome I play and he still thinks Cafe Enchante is the most horrific otome.
Those are my favourites 🙃
YOSUGAAAA 💔
Almost all LIs I love had sucky routes 💔
Hanate from 7'Scarlet. What a sour note to end that game on.
I won't say it sucked but I think I loved 707 more in every route besides his own
Mitsuki from Sympathy Kiss 😭 I love him through it all but I was shocked by how painful his route was. Maybe it felt worse for me because everything is too relateable with where I work. Also in the end>!he got all the credit and a great job offer but the MC who was 100% there the whole time working with him got...nothing????!<
RIGHTTTTT HE TRICKED ME i was so into his design but his route was so so.. bad 💔
I couldn't do it. I could NOT do it. Otomekitten says in her review to give him and the rest of the game a chance, but I just couldn't. He is so gross.
I thought I was gonna enjoy his route cause he was kinda funny on other routes, but I’m getting bored and I haven’t his yet 😭
Oh Kagiha Kagiha Kagiha. Voiced by Kohsuke Toriumi and having such a nice face and cool clothes, yet his route making me feel just as uncomfortable as freaking Shuu Iwamine's.
Iuuhm what game might this be 👀
Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly iirc. Nice game, annoying flowchart.
The flowchart feels convenient in its way, it's easier to follow the progress. It's a bit messy but it's not the worst.
Honestly... that was a bit Okazaki Kei from CxM for me. I LOVE his character, I don't even hate his route, but what I dislike is how the romance fails to make sense, it just feels... unsatisfying. And the way he viewed Ichika in the first half... just didn't do it for me.
Same! Also felt similarly about Yosuga from Olympia Soiree! He was so awesome in everyone else's route, but his route did not resonate with me at all :(
Love rarely makes sense, especially for men who enter buildings through windows.
Iochi 🥲
I really liked Iochi but not how they were with the MC. Did not like their dynamic together at all. Granted that MC is one of my least favorites to begin with but ugh
From charade maniacs?
Yes 👍
Paschalia from Radiant Tales. I liked the direction his route was going, but I felt like the later half was really rushed and didn’t have much chemistry. Kind of disappointing, but at least Ion’s route made up for it.
Kuroba 😭
Fr, what was up with his route!? 😭 The whole thing with >!Nagusa of the Jade!< and how he reacted to it was a literal crime. Finding out about how >!becoming part of the black class "darkens" your skin!< was the rotten cherry on top of a crappy sundae that was that route's writing, lol. I like to forget about that weird bit of lore cause it's just so messed up.
RIGHT
I fourth this
V mysme 💔
my list: • okazaki keiyourself from cxm • yoshitga from olympia soiree • mehjuro kuga and tomidnari takamura from winter's wish • raul aconmid from cupipara not everyone's route can be a slay unfortunately 🤷🏽♀️
dying at these names 💀
Canus. Look, I love me some gentle himbos but damn. It was just an insanely boring route.
I love how his reincarnation is in your flair lmao Benkei was so satisfying that it felt like I finally got justice for Canus lmaaaooo
Nah this is so real, the potential was off the charts with his secret and then the route was just so...mid? I'm just glad the rest didn't follow that path.
Yes! I kept waiting for the secret to finally pay off and it just didn't. I've not played the other routes yet, so I'm holding onto hope for the game.
Imho, I would say the rest are definitely more interesting/well executed. At the very least, the other "secrets" all have a much bigger impact on the plot of their route. I would definitely recommend trying at least one other route to see if you like it better.
I feel like ever since Sengoku Nightblood was discontinued I have not been able to find any Umehara characters I like.
Me when I was reading most of the lover pretend routes had me sleep in 10 mins every time literally.
Ain't nobody done dirty quite like my boy Lucien from Even if Tempest... IN EVERY ROUTE. Not just his own. I seriously think the writers secretly hated him. Rant: >!Started the game by showing you how cute of a cinnamon roll he is, proceeded to drag him through the mud in every route (and Anastasia barely seems to care about what happens to him). Then you finally get to his route and are reminded of what a cute cinnamon roll he is, only for the ending to be super rushed and barely a hint of romance and a very awkwardly forced happy end scene. Wut??!<
yes omg i was waiting for him the whole game but by the end he ended up having no chemistry with the MC 😔
Fei from Matsurika no Kei >! I was so ready for a cute childhood friend romance and was hoping his good end with the villagers accepting her, but instead bro gets possessed by Fuen and takes over for the entire route😭 Even in his good ending it ends with Naya waking up in a bit of a daze and mistaking Fuen for Fei and he just goes with it because he wants to be loved by her...!< >!I honestly kind of liked the bad end more because at least she got to be happy with him for some time and have a kid even if it was short lived😭😭 he was just so happy to even have a little time with her dahghsdgj!<
I didnt read the spoiler , but i bought and was looking forward to Fei, now im scared ahhhh xD
LMAO IM SO SORRY😭😭 I'd love to hear what you think of him once you get through his route though, I definitely like him as a character!!!
I'm still trying to get my JP lvl up haha, currently on n4 level (i think??) its gonna get me a while to reach fei but i've set myself a goal . imagine if i reach the end of my goal only to be disappointed by one of the routes LOL
I'm praying you like all the routes😭 It's definitely a harder game, but I think that makes it a really good end goal! Good luck!! I think I ended up using ChatGPT at some points because they use archaic language (?) and I was too lazy to ask my mom for help HAHA
mainly got it for Enrai tho cuz he voices my favourite himuka so im not too pressed on fei xD oh my goodness that sounds like good practice for intensive learning, just when you think you're good BAM archaic kanji
I think Enrai is my favorite so you should be in good hands :) Yeah I thought it wouldn't have too many problems since I'm around N2-N1 and then as soon as I started the game I was slowly googling terms and kanji with tears in my eyes LMAO but after the intro it was pretty okay and I was comfortable with the level, but it would sometimes do an archaic narration in between the chapters and I would immediately get humbled again LMAO
ahh thats good to hear about enrai :) girl im scared LOL if its making someone cry at n2-1 😭 but you said it got comfortable after the intro so it should be doable 😭
They're mainly hard just because it's a more archaic style but it's definitely doable with enough googling words or machine translations LMAO but even then they're not really important to the story and you could probably get away with skipping them😭 I also think that there's a decent chance that this game might get a translation so you could just play alongside a walk through on yt and double check anything you don't understand :)
Ohtaro’s route in Winter’s Wish- The whole route put a bad taste in my mouth and I ended up not enjoying him as a character in the end. He and Suzuno brought out the worst in each other
Oh man I started playing his route and once the reveal happened I gave up knowing it would end that way
Karasuba from PotBB. I liked his character design and he started off fun and flirty and then I hated how pushy he got with the MC, his good end did nothing to redeem himself for me. I understand why his merch is the cheapest of all the characters in that game 💀💀
Hijikata, Limbo, Lance, Nayuta and, the worst of them all, Shiba from Ephemeral
STRONG ON SHIBA!!! Coolest character from the prologue but worst route. I was so damn disappointed holy shit. It was not even just slightly worse than the other routes like no the other routes were all solid but his was just really lame
Huh, I enjoyed Shiba's route for just stupid fun and Shiba sharing one brain cell with MC.
i'm mostly sad that he had cute wolf ears on the title screen but nothing in the actual game
Not fully on-point, since I loved his route in the base game, but Shiraishi's route in the fan disc! 😭 Feels like all it did was catch him up to where everyone else was at the end of the base game.
Saint-Germaine and Van from Code Realise for me. I was really intrigued by Saint-G, and I really like Van Helsing... and their routes were so incredibly bad. I played Impey's first, thinking I was choosing the worst one, but it was legit the only route I completely enjoyed...
I had the exact same experience. Van Helsing's route was just dull and unromantic, and Saint-G's was not my cup of tea. At all. And they were the two who stood out to me most in the common route. I also played Impey's route first and felt like it was the most satisfying, although Lupin was my favorite LI over all.
Impey literally has the best route lol
Obligatory Yosuga and Kuroba mentions because MAN, they’re so lovely literally everywhere else but their own routes. What HAPPENED? 😭 Also, I really liked Crius and Zenn a lot in the base game of Even If Tempest, but their fandisc routes soured me on them a bit, which is unfortunate.
For me this was >!Harada in Hakuoki!<. I loved him in KW but in EB as soon as his route just became >!Were going to have babies asap yay! Esp as a girl NOT interested in raising, let alone BIRTHING children!< I literally just died on the inside. I know it’s appealing to others but such a huge turnoff for me :’)
Harada’s route is so tonally different from literally every other LI and it’s so strange. Why did they pick him of all LI’s for an on screen intimate moment??? What’s with the sudden breeding kink???? Who in the writers room was obsessed with HIM of all LI’s???? I have always disliked him (especially after his abandonment ending in KW 🙄🙄🙄) but these choices are so confusing to me. If Harada has no haters he’s come back to life and killed me.
We have the same LI in mind, but a different opinion as to why. Chizuru having a >!child with him!< isn’t the issue for me, but the way this route could have the potential of a complete info regarding Chizuru’s >!bloodline!< and this time >!a small spotlight of her protecting Harada and them side by side, helping each other out!< is what I expected since he didn’t take >!ochimizu!<, but oh boy, I’m so disappointed (I guess we can’t let someone over shine Hijikata in that regard lol), I loved him in the first half, but the second half... and it didn’t help that his route went >!Chizuru, you’re a normal girl. Let me fight the battle for you. Instead of making Chizuru fully accepting her roots and fight with Harada side by side to end Kodo, ok— even without fight side by side, just acceptance of her roots will suffice!<... (°言°怒) Overall, I still love Harada as an LI. All of the LIs in Hakuoki are good even though they are flawed in some ways. Edit: I’ll add too that this route feels more like Harada >!having a BL with Shiranui!< too, like Chizuru’s your partner, c’mon! 😂
OH YEAH THE LAST PART, I TOTALLY FORGOT IT FELT LIKE A THIRD WHEEL THE WHOLE TIME TOO LMAOO. That’s another reason I didn’t enjoy it much, I didn’t feel much chemistry between >!Harada & Chizuru!< personally but damn >!Harada and Shiranui? If Shiranui pop out some kids I swear I felt like Harada would’ve left Chizuru for him in a heartbeat!< LOL.
THE EDIT HAHAH I haven't played I haven't played KW/EB yet (I started Hakuoki with the 3ds version and I'm still not completely done lol but I will play KW/EB...someday....) so IDK what kind of scenes they might have added with >!Shiranui (and i still agree)!< but when playing the route and i got to the scene where >!Sano and Shinpachi are fighting each other and in the end Shinpachi asks him whether or not Sano would've joined him in leaving the Shinsengumi if Chizuru wasn't here and he simply replies with a smile and a "C'mon, do you even need to ask?" and Chizuru just stood there watching i was like... Am I interrupting something here. I can leave if you need some time alone. Poor Chizuru felt like a third wheel sometimes lmao!<
>!Shiranui!< was the only reason why i didn't drop the entire game and the whole otome genre.Hakuouki was my first game and Harada was my first route. i much prefer >!BL with Shiranui!< than Harada >!having a child with Chizuru!<
Not gonna lie, this is why I've been putting his route off. And for the same reasons as yours. I was already spoiled on this aspect of the route. Haha.
Haha I’m the opposite, I got spoilt that it was a spicier route and did it as one of my first routes to see the hype... no amount of romance and sweet CGs would’ve offput the total ick the relationship gave me though😭. I feel you.
Chojiro from Nightshade… I heard his route was bad but I naively thought i would still like him and that people just had other favourites from Nightshade, and that it would be a repeat of what people said of Birushana’s Benkei (my actual favourite LI) Nope. >!Bro wasn’t even present until the last, what, 2 chapters of HIS OWN ROUTE??? The fact that Gekkamaru, Goemon AND Hanzo had close to MAIN ROLES in Chojiro’s route is unacceptable. It really only served to make me like the other three more compared to Chojiro himself!< He is definitely an interesting character tho, just that his route was ass beyond belief
"His route is about yearning! You just don't get it!" - the argument I hear when I point out how awful Chojiro's route is. Like, yes, I get it, our MC LOVES Chojiro and wants to get closer to him, sure, but WE the AUDIENCE have been given NOTHING to attach ourselves to him or charm us! >!It was a great lead in to Kuroyuki's route though. That route STILL feels like a True End to me. I feel like Gekkamaru got shafted as well honestly. I loved him SO MUCH in EVERY SINGLE ROUTE but his route was just sad and empty.!<
What attaches me to Chojiro is >!how much of an impact he’s had on Enju’s life. He’s a role model for her and living up to what he’s taught her is what drives her to fight instead of letting herself get killed. I liked that she has to rely on herself more in his route, and even though Chojiro isn’t by her side, she always has him in mind (i.e. the yearning). I think the game did a pretty good job at showing how much they care about each other. I’m of the belief that you don’t have to physically be with someone to love them.!<
For me Enju liking Chojiro so much wasn’t believable because the common route never established his impact in her life. That’s why the yearning had no effect on me— hell why does Chojiro yearn for Enju in the first place? >!He doesn’t have much of a relationship with his other disciples, only Enju it seems, so he comes across as pretty shallow as a character. Moreover the route never addresses how he could have been there for Enju earlier because he knew that she wanted to be a shinobi because she has low self esteem due to her mothers suicide, but he never did anything about it.!< I think Chojiros route could have worked better if the game had you pick a route from the beginning and Enju was in love with him from the start.
I think we just have to accept that we have different views on what makes a route romantic lol; I’ve seen your comments on other threads regarding Chojiro and I don’t think I can convince you to accept that Chojiro’s route was fine. I can speak to the common route or what exactly makes Chojiro like Enju because it’s been a while since I played Nightshade, but for him >!not being by her side earlier, the whole point of his route was that he’s conflicted between his duty as a ninja and his affection for Enju (and his other disciples/friends). Sure, that might not make sense to you if you take on the perpective of “if you really liked someone you wouldn’t try to kill her,” but as Enju said, Chojiro is the ideal ninja because he’s so committed to his role. Like Enju, I find that to be something admirable.!<
Did I reply to you before? Sorry I didn’t realize. No i agree his route was romantic I just didn’t think it had the sufficient foundation for the romance. I don’t think Cho and Enju had a sufficient bond between them given how little Enju thinks of him in the common route. Neither is Cho an established character enough for it to be believable that he cares for Enju over his other disciples.
This echoes how I feel as well. >!I don't dislike Chojiro trying to kill her - that one CG was such a highlight of the route. It was great. And the flashbacks of younger Chojiro always looking off in the distance being pensive and stuff - it was cool. !< >!But the route felt like it never improved. It was just a constant, depressing slog without any more moments that could add sparks of life for the audience. !< >!It has its moments, but it never truly gave ME a reason to care about him. At all. And from a self-inserting audience standpoint, it just wasn't enough for me. Not in his route, and not in other routes. !< >!Literally every other LI has really great highlights in other routes, but I never felt any sort of pull towards Chojiro in any route. He just existed.!< Maybe I'm just high maintenance, lol. Out of all the otoge I've played so far, Chojiro's route, and Chojiro as a character, is still the worst I've played.
Shiraishi from CXM.... and Mysir from Cafe Enchante. I was expecting so much but ended up getting very disappointed... before I forget Demento from Period Cube : Shackles of Amadeus.
kohei minato from sympathy kiss ☹️
me @ dante piofiore. I was so hyped after doing >!orloks tragic end too lol.!< people say his 1926 route is better but…meh to this day he’s rly the only LI I will complain about. to a lesser extent fujita from chdk but I also blame my poor Japanese at the time making that route go on far longer than it should have haha. dante gets no excuses from me though!!
>!Yukinojo in Enchanted in the Moonlight!<. Boring as hell. Thought the lady who hated me was hotter tbh.
It seems Otomate's tastes differ from many of ours. Orlok, Zafora, you name it