this game, uh. this game. i’m kind of late to the party because this game came out FIFTEEN YEARS AGO but what i will say is that it was basically inaccessible as i was uh [looks at hands] five when it came out. also there was only a fan translation that is REALLY hard to get working back then.

anyway, let’s get to the review. nsfw (there’s no explicit art, but there’s some cropped stuff) and endgame + plot spoilers. also mentions of rape.

so here’s the good points - the cgs, the different motivations of the characters, the MUSIC (!!!) the atmosphere/setting was also good, pretty fleshed out tbh!

the bad - i know this is a BL game but it was kinda wild that only ONE route didn’t have rape in it. typical bad BL stuff like this, but i’ll ignore it because it was 2005:

like, YOU DO. you DO like guys. AKIRA IS A MAN AND YOU HAVE SHOWN THAT YOU LIKE HIM AND THAT YOU DON’T LIKE GIRLS. YOU ARE GAY.

^ with this, i’m like, again, i KNOW this is a BL game, but women can exist out of being love interests. the n+c team is almost all women anyway, so like, damn, what’s going on here, lol

this was… played off as a joke, and i’d say that his voice line was funny but it was that typical “haha gay boy looks *~like a girl oh my god~~~* like this means nothing to me, but okay

–

every route was VERY formulaic. let me expand on that, actually - after most major story events, the character on the route you’ve chosen to go on appears, and you’ll do the same thing with them.  like, oh, hey, nano, why are you exactly in the same place that keisuke/motomi/shiki/rin/etc were last time? weird……

additionally, the intrigue wasn’t all that intriguing. i UNDERSTAND that akira and nano were human experiments but it is SO weird that DILUTED BLOOD can act as a drug or anti-drug? this game takes place in the future but that… really, really is beyond even pseudoscience to me, lol.

–

onto the routes!

keisuke was the first route i did and i don’t necessarily despise him, but he was one of my least favorite ones. he tried to not be a nuisance but went ham on anime drugs anyway and assaults akira in every ending he has (he has several bad endings, compared to the one that the other have)

in the beginning, akira witnesses a man raping a dead body, and he thinks this:

this is experienced by akira in one of keisuke’s bad ends, and it made it hurt MORE. 

when it comes to my own tastes, i liked a few of the bad endings, i’m sure gore fans will as well, haha.

still, there IS a good ending - i really like the good end, because akira makes it clear that keisuke won’t be forgiven for what he did, but keisuke gets what he wants by staying by his side (this could be good or bad) it was sweet. they get jobs and live… normal (?) lives despite akira being a wanted test subject. but you know.

–

let’s continue with motomi. there’s a lot to say here, you learn a lot of the lore, motomi is attracted to akira for … questionable reasons (”you reminded me of my son, so i thought to treat you as such, but then i realized you were hot so nvm”?) but hey. this is the ONLY route where akira has a happy ending (not on the run for the rest of his life??) AND isn’t raped. so that’s a win.

also this cg is cute

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now for rin. this one was good, probably one of my favorites. rin is a little shallow because, again, like motomi, he sees someone else in akira, but ends up falling for him anyway (you know, after he betrays and tries to kill akira?) i love that he has his own agenda. it was a cool but not spectacular twist that he wanted to kill shiki, his half-brother. the fixation on shiki was understandable after he killed his whole group…

i definitely don’t want to ignore the problematic elements of the game because obviously it impacted the way i thought about it overall but…..hm… all i can say is the explicit parts of that route definitely Happened and were not great, lol

one of my personal issues is his design after the timeskip?? he’s just not cute or handsome. what did you do to my boy.

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SHIKI? SHIKI.

he was actually the reason why this game was recommended to me, and i will say that while i do like him, i was disappointed. like, who is this guy? why can he SUCK UNDILUTED REIN OUT OF NANO’S BLOODSTREAM LIKE A FUCKING VAMPIRE? i like his ambition. that was cool, sure, but NOTHING IS REALLY  EXPLAINED?

this is just my personal taste, and i know, again, that this is a gory bl game, but i wish there was really… a REASON shiki felt attracted to akira in the first place rather than just kidnapping him and saying that he belongs to him now, or whatever…

notable worldbuilding element: people can trade in their “tags” that they take from people after winning in fights for medical supplies, food, water, etc. but nobody is ever really shown to take a shower…? despite being surrounded by corpses, fighting to the death, etc…

EXCEPT, YOU KNOW, WHEN SHIKI DECIDES TO TORTURE AKIRA WITH WATER FOR NO REASON BUT HIS PERSONAL PLEASURE.

and then he just chills in his (?) apartment while shiki talks about killing rin (”i took care of a cat that wouldn’t stop nipping at my heels”…) it’s bittersweet, because shiki obviously didn’t WANT to kill him, but rin was out for his blood anyway. you can see him soften at this moment, too, which is sweet. though it is the only time it ever actually happens.

but i WILL say that i really like the bad ending where shiki attains his own desired world and akira is just brainless and fucks random dudes all the time. his face is so cute.

his good ending is also pretty good, but arguably not great because everyone still wants to murder the both of them, and… shiki just…loses it… not really sure why? he’s depressed because he can’t murder anymore and exert his power? it’s weird. akira cares for him so selflessly, despite… everything he did to him, i suppose?

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so, the true route. there’s not much to say about this one, though the suffering and non-understanding of the world that nano experiences is the highlight. it’s not as popular as shiki’s because nano isn’t pretty boy enough, or whatever (i kid)

it explains most if not all of the tied up plotlines, though it was stuff the player should have already known considering you have to play every major route to unlock this one, but i digress.

akira’s true nature is revealed in this route, and they accept each other, and vow to live together, though they are pursued the whole time and must fight for their lives.

for them, the quiet moments of love and respect make it all worth it.

–

i DO want to say something about arbitro. he, uh, is obviously shown to be gross and weird, but they kind of throw an excuse like “his parents ALSO owned brainwashed slaves, so he thought it was okay”??????????

here he is, just chilling.

the ending with him is supposed to be frightening, but they kind of cut it short. like, yeah, akira becomes brainwashed too, and i guess he’s gonna fuck someone, but ISN’T THIS A BAD ENDING? SHOULDN’T WE SEE THE HORROR OF HIS NEW LIFE? i think that’s a problem with this game, they don’t really go all the way to really express the pain of having your life being taken out of your hands and into someone else’s, even though akira’s independence was something that he had only recently won as an adult, so losing it again should be worse, indeed…

–

so, this game. not that good/10? it’s not really all that hyped up (? i don’t spend a lot of time in BL circles, though i WISH i did.) 

anyway, so i won’t say it’s overrated, but I honestly did expect… more? at the same time, it was nitroplus+chiral’s first game and their entire original script was thrown out because the supervisor (oh you know. gen urobuchi, writer of saya no uta, fate/zero, madoka, psycho-pass, and more?) said it was bad.

i don’t know if i can recommend it, since i know a lot of people played it way back when, but it’s available legally in english as it was licensed by jast blue. the translation isn’t amazing (why would you still use the word ‘member’ or ‘rod’ in a porn game in 2020, why, why, why) but if you like weird plots, formulaic gameplay, but cute characters, good atmosphere, and music… maybe give it a shot! 

it’s hard to wrap up this kind of thing, but thanks for reading this far if you did !!!!!!!