English Otome Games Review (Android)

Amy from Always Remember Me

Recently there's been an influx of English Otome games being released for either Andriod or Apple products. Some are fun while others, not so much. I have complied a review/guide for those who want an overview of the games before making the decision to spend hours and hours on a particular one.

As I complete routes, I'll be writing up walkthroughs for those who want to have all the pictures! I would suggest attempting to understand what the character will and won't like in in terms of choices but we all need a little push at the end at times.

Remember that Ctrl + F is your best friend here ;)

Winter Wolves 

Of all the companies producing English Otome games, Winter Wolves is my favourite. I haven't played all of them, but the three I've played so far are incredibly worth the money! Instead of merely a visual novel, they create simluation games with the major focus on dating. While using the anime style in regards to character designs, I find their men to be more North American than anything, which is REALLY refreshing. There isn't an absolute need to be protected and you determine the protagonist's career and/or scholarly path.

Amy & Aaron

Always Remember Me

Plot: The story revolves around Amarantha (Amy) Fitch, a student attending college for creative arts, who in the beginning of the game, has a boyfriend named Aaron. Unfortunately, they get involved in an accident while on a date. Following the trip to the hospital, she learns that Aaron lost his memories of her! And thus the game begins, where Amy lives her regular life and finds out whether her true soul mate was Aaron or perhaps another man altogether.

Characters Design/Development: 9/10
Extra features: 6/10
'My Page' Interface: --
Love Metre: 10/10
Music: 10/10
Story & Pacing: 8/10
Side Stories: --

Opinion:  I did like the batch of men available in this simulation as they don't necessarily fit stereotypes. The situations with all of them follow the plot yet have the unique factor since they each have vastly different careers. 

The game's time frame was three months, where you can do a variety of things to increase skill sets such as creativity, discipline, romance, or culture. These affect which ending career-wise and if you have one in the same field as your chosen boy, it's said to be a super happy ending. There are 9 available with the 9th being that you end up alone. It isn't a downer though.

In my first play, I received the 9th ending, not realizing I couldn't play past September. The second time around, I chose Eddy but because I didn't increase discipline to the maximum level, I didn't receive the career ending. The affection points go up/down by 5 or 10. 

The art is gorgeous and very soft toned. The dialogue in each scene is believable/realistic and can be quite difficult to make the right choice, depending on the difficultly level chosen in settings. After playing other games, I found that I really like the sound effects & music. 

Overall rating for Always Remember Me...

9/10

Solmare

Solmare has some interesting otome themes but the majority do have to be paid for, unless you have an iPhone, in which case, some were free. The graphics of the games were GORGEOUS, even more so than Winter Wolves since the targeted demographics were teenage girls.

They also had an interactive 'My Page' where you can greet friends for extra currency, partake in gacha/lotto, shop or earn extra money by completing action items. This feature was the most developed in comparison to the other otome companies featured since it doubled as a social platform. All Solmare games have the feel of a visual novel.

In all games though, the downside was the pressure to spend actual money to get ahead faster or have nicer avatar items.

Ninja Love+

Kotaro & MC

Plot: One day, ninjas appear at the temple where you live and inform you that you are the ninja princess, the personification of hope for the waging war at hand! Born in a small village, you aren't quite sure what to do but try to make a difference in the world. With your chosen bodyguard by your side, you feel you can make a difference in the world.

Characters Design/Development: 10/10
Extra features (Gacha/lotto/training/room): 8/10
'My Page' Interface: 9/10
Music: 10/10
Story & Pacing: 8/10
Side Stories: ...

Current route: Mushashi

Opinion: I initially played the GREE version for this and become very frustrated. While the graphics were nice, there wasn't much else to do aside from greet friends while I waited for the energy to restore & items were ridiculously expensive so I stopped playing.

The Solmare version is a fantastic upgrade. There were familiar characters plus some now playable ones. The route I chose was Mushashi's. The plot was shorter but more seemed to get accomplished so I haven't played any side stories yet. The main character's personality had been upgraded so she was a stronger minded individual.

I like my heroines to kick ass in their own way ;) The dialogue was quite funny in some places! Check it out for daily entertainment.

Overall rating for Ninja Love+...

9/10

My Sweet Prince

Alvah & MC

Plot: While on vacation, you suddenly get shoved into a car and not sure where the final destination is. What a surprise it is when you end up at the country's palace! It turns out the bracelet you found randomly on the street determines the next heir to the throne. It's up to you to pick the right son out of the six possible heirs, each with different mothers and unique personalities. But ruling isn't as glamorous people think it is, as you will soon find out.

Characters Design/Development: 10/10
Extra features (Gacha/lotto/training/room): 5/10
'My Page' Interface: 7/10
Music: --
Story & Pacing: 8/10
Side Stories: 3/10
Played Route: Chezem

Current Route: Jun

Opinion: I felt this game was pretty straightforward and it was nice having it layered with the politics of becoming the next ruler. Families and businesses trying to get into the heir's favours were interesting.

I've attempted only one side story and immediately, they asked for an item at checkpoint only obtainable from Gacha, which was non-existent. Not impressed. Aside from that, the game was good and the art & plot made up for some lacking features.

Overall rating for My Sweet Prince...

                                                                  6/10

Destiny Ninja

Hanzo & MC

Plot: One fateful day, you awake and don't remember who you are and how you got to the forest clearing. A mysterious man tries to kill you but spares your life, taking you his lord, Yoshitsune, who agrees to host you. With the assistance of your chosen ninja, your memories return slowly as does your destiny. 

Characters Design/Development: 10/10
Extra features (Gacha/lotto/training/room): 7/10
'My Page' Interface: 7/10
Music: --
Story & Pacing: 8/10
Side Stories: 10/10

Current Route: Hanzo

Opinion: This continued to be my favourite Solmare games. The choice of nearly ten men, all very unique albeit having a few share traits, was the best part of the game. I have replayed many of my favourite routes, such as Sohma, Hanzo, & Mizuki.

I like the unique aspect of befriending the sidekicks of the chosen ninja and the short side-stories. The characters are who really pull me in as they are much more...direct/handsy than Ninja Love+. Some of their introduction lines are a little sadistic but getting past that, the men are much more sweeter!

The stakes aren't too high in this one when it comes to check points and all. You get items frequently as accomplishing ninja missions are simple enough. 

Overall rating of Destiny Ninja...

8/10

Accela

Accela is a relatively new entry into the English Otome industry, its virgin attempt made obvious through the single route they have available in their game. This is a major disadvantage as not every player will be fond of the default choice and will lose interest in the game. They are mobile based, as is obvious from the minimized app interface, which is similar to the Okko interfaces.

Illegal Romance

Plot: You wake up in a telephone booth and can't remember how you got there. Well honestly, you can't remember much of anything. A young man named Noze finds you there and offers his home to you while you recover your memories. After taking a bath, you flick on the television and come across a news flash: a murder has been committed and the murder is still at large. Suddenly, feelings of familiarity overcome you. Could this tragic scene be part of your past? 

Characters Design/Development: 8/10
Extra features (Gacha/lotto/training/room): 2/10
'My Page' Interface: 4/10
Music: --
Story & Pacing: 8/10
Side Stories: 0/10

Current Route: Noze

Opinion: The pacing of the plot is fairly good, which compensates for the choice of only one character's route and crappy interface. The text speed is good and each sub-chapter has a good length, both factors that doesn't make me feel pressured to have to buy anything. There isn't much specialization happening because of the difficulty in getting coins though, which is kind of boring.

Overall Rating of Illegal Romance: 

7/10

GREE

GREE is a mobile social gaming company which provided a few free otome games with the option of purchasing in-game items. They placed restrictions in the game so those who were addicted would want to buy these items to make the story/events go by quicker, much like Solmare. Aside from that downside, everything else about the games they provide was relatively alright. Not spectacular but good to play if you had the patience.

Be My Princess 

All Princes

Plot: You are a young fashion designer, constantly rejected by ever position applied for. Then one day, you receive an opportunity with the most famous fashion designer in a far away kingdom. So you take the opportunity, only to learn this particular company makes clothes for princes!

Thus your story begins to become the best & personal designer of one of six princes.

Characters Design/Development: 6/10
Extra features (Gacha/lotto/training/room): 5/10
'My Page' Interface: 5/10
Music: --
Story & Pacing: 7/10
Side Stories: 4/10

Current Route: Edward

Opinion: Of all the GREE games, this one popped out. It may be due to the main character, who is actually trying to build a career (although it revolves around her love interest) and the CGs are nice enough. There's a mix of politics and emotional baggage for each character, developing them further than the usual archetypes.

It's nice to receive some free items here and there and the annoying part is the way GREE attempts to persuade to take money from you. The side stories are insightful but do contain spoilers for the main character route if you haven't played. It does take quite a bit of time to play through if you don't buy additional currency/items to and they are to be time limited. Other than that, everything is fairly adequate for a free game.

Overall Rating of Be My Princess:

6/10

My Sweet Bodyguard

Mizuki & MC

Plot: You are the ordinary Japanese citizen, raised only by your mother, but all of a sudden, you find out your father is the Prime Minister of Japan! No wonder he wasn't around when you were younger.

He loves you immensely and has received intel that your life will be in potential danger. That being said, he asks you to choose a bodyguard for safety's sake. Thus your life takes a dangerous turn but nothing is impossible for your bodyguard!

Characters Design/Development: 6/10

Extra features (Gacha/lotto/training/room): 6/10

'My Page' Interface: 5/10

Music: --

Story & Pacing: 5/10

Side Stories: 3/10

Current Route: Kaji

Opinion: When I first got my hands on this, I thought it was the best - the cliche of having a bodyguard protect you and who will eventually fall in love with you. Then progressing in the game became a little difficult since the stakes could be incredibly high.

The side stories are alright but they take forever to finish as well and are available for a limited time - GREE's almost forced attempt to spend money to make things go faster. The main character is kind of annoying too. 

This was a decent game but that is all, just decent. 

Overall rating of My Sweet Bodyguard...

5/10

So that's all for today. I've begun playing Okko's games but I'll need to make some headway before I review it on here. I'll eventually begin investing in the paid games but that's far in the future. At the moment, the next games to be added will be Sweet Scandal, Nicole & Contract Marriage.