More specifically;
The daughter and symbol of peace between two Edo period samurai clans
A witch who can time travel--in the most gruesome way--and does so repeatedly all in the name of revenge
A demon who chooses her love for humans over her own family... and more samurai
A granddaughter and coffee shop beneficiary, with a portal to other worlds hidden beneath it
A cross-dressing witch that is manipulated into killing her own father to save an already dead town
The only remaining survivor of her clan with a burden she's constantly (and literally) running away from
A self-actualized villainess who couldn't take a hint if it slapped her in the face
And many more...
Konnichiwa, my name is Moonqueen ("MQ"), and despite the title and list above, I have not technically IRL been any of those things and technically I do have a real persons name... but as I play every Otome game as my alias, MQ, I think it's only right that she's the version of me talking to you now.
While I may just be a simple, small town office manager in Northern America IRL, through Otome games I've gotten to be profoundly more than my time and location restrict me to. Living the lives of the protagonists described above, my life as MQ has meant more to me than just the physical time spent on a console.
Every choice I've gotten to make means so much more than just pushing a button, and as passionately as each variation of Moonqueen has loved, I feel passionate in wanting to be a part of the Otome community as more than just a player. Thus, I find myself doing things like buying a domain name and writing blog posts like it's 2005, but I digress...
If you are interested in, currently play, are a seasoned veteran of Otome games, or just need a quick guide to get you through a particularly bad route (Chojiro in Nightshade, amirite?), then please join me, and read on, as I fall in love over and over and over and over and ... you get the picture.
First things first, Otome games, or 乙女ゲーム "Maiden Game", are visual novel-style games that simulate relationships between the player character's "protagonist" and game's "romanceable" characters. With the first released in 1994 (Angelique), they are aimed generally at audiences of young girls and women. Incorporating many different genres, art, and game play styles, Otome games are diverse and allow a wide scope of personalities to enjoy their stories. While each game has it's own way of approaching menu style and route placement, most Otome games follow the same gameplay pattern; A player character, whose name can usually be customized (hence, Moonqueen) and "romancable characters", who are also referred to as the "routes" of the game. Each game has a varied number of routes, but usually these range from a minimum of 4 to 8 or more "romancable character" routes. Further, each route usually has at least two, and possibly many more, different endings; great, good, bad, and... frankly? Horrible.
Through a series of choices, it is the player's directive to avoid said horrible endings--and achieve the good, or best, romantic ones. These choices, occurring early and often, can lock players out of an ending--or just as easily unlock new possibilities. The flexibility that Otome games offer makes giving them an end goal of "winning or losing" completely arbitrary, but you can consider an Otome game 100% complete once all endings of each route are cleared--and yes, this includes the bad endings!
(To all you masochists out there that just play for the "bad endings"; you are seen and appreciated. I am not saying I am one of you, but I am also not saying I am not.)
Long form writing like this is not my cup of tea, and I believe this might be the longest thing I've ever written without the incentive of a grade grade or a paycheck (the power of Otome, I suppose), so I promise most posts will not be as long.. What I will try to do is be honest in my reviews and make the most comprehensible, easy to follow, spoiler-free route guides an Otome player could need!!
I leave you with a line from a favorite character of mine, "I suppose this is... love, after all."
With love, from a view, Moonqueen
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