Really loved this game-- love the art, the story, and the UI. Went through and collected all the endings all in one go, and can't wait for the full release!
As with other commenters however, I did have issues unlocking Death #3 even with the guide-- I think there's some sort of bug where Serin swoops in to save the day and the light/wood check points pass even though the actual values don't meet the cutoffs.
Oh man, just finished playing through the entire demo, including all three routes! Also finished writing the longest survey response of all time... oops. So I won't regurgitate any of that here. That said, I'd originally planned on waiting for the full game release because I'm a completionist at heart, but I was lured in anyways. I totally regret it because now I am desperate to get more of these characters' amazing development and backstories, but I also don't regret it because this demo was incredible! The artwork was gorgeous and the writing was excellent. I found myself really loving all the characters-- the MC is amazing and sassy, and I love her banter with the parrot; I'm very much drawn to the Sorcerer's broodiness and secrets, as well as Malik's mischief and wickedness. However, even Mikali, whom I didn't expect to like at all, had hidden depths. I seriously cannot wait for more and hope we get a full release soon. It's incredible how much detail you've put into this game, from the animations to adorable chibi sequences to the incredible story log and karma/affection meter framework, and all of that attention really shows in the way this game plays!
Ugh, just finished playing through the entire game with all its endings, and it's just such a gorgeous, gorgeous game. The artwork is sumptuous and I absolutely adore the character designs (both visual and story-wise). I only wish that this game was longer!! The characters have so many wonderful psychological issues to work through, thematic points, and backstory to cover, that I really wished we'd gotten to see more of all of them. I agree with other comments in that I would've loved to see more choices and a more drawn out ending, as the ending in all routes definitely did feel rushed. I also felt let down by Alexei's bad ending (lol), since it wasn't quite as dark and heartwrenching as the other two. Emilio totally had the best endings overall, but Alex was adorable and Gio had such a compelling storyline.
Also wondering the same thing, and whether I missed something! I went back for multiple playthroughs of Dallas's route, trying to get By The Pier & In the Dark, not sure what I was doing wrong. Even with all the dates/other scenes unlocked, and with me delaying the time until the AMPs by several months to make sure it was after July 2 (per the walkthrough), I just wasn't sure how to get to these two scenes. Tried hanging out with Dallas a whole bunch, but that didn't seem to be it.
That said, I used the find-memo cheat because I just had to see these scenes, and I completely agree with the OP! These scenes are absolutely necessary to the plot and I'm glad I had a chance to read through them. It doesn't really make sense otherwise why Dallas leaves at the end (and it's doubly weird because we see part of the "By The Pier" scene in Beau's route). It also flows really beautifully in the ending-- before getting these two scenes, I found the ending get-together abrupt and wished we'd gotten more romantic scenes before.
Amazing, thank you for the link!! I must admit, I've been actively avoiding Dallas's route since I know it's going to be even more heartbreaking (and I totally already got all the feels and cried during Beau's route, even though his is supposed to be lighter). Looks like I have to do it though, since I'm excited to meet Faust and Jammy particularly. If I go back and start a new Story Mode game, will the characters unlock in the Open Mode game I'm currently playing? Or will I need to start a new Open Mode game before I can access those new characters?
Also, two things: 1) I was wondering if you could clarify since I'm still not 100% sure after two playthroughs lol-- does "hiring a producer" for song recording actually do anything to the quality/popularity of the song, or is it just to cut down on the time it takes for recording?
2) Any chance you'd be looking for additional writers for your dev team? Playing the game and the freedom of the band management aspect definitely got my creative juices flowing!
Ooh, what a great little game. Your artwork is really beautiful (those CGs!) and I enjoyed that the tone was much darker than I could've anticipated. I also liked the twist endings, and that the choices I thought would lead me to the "bad ending" in traditional otome games actually led to the happiest conclusion. The characters and relationships had a surprising amount of depth, and I would've loved to see more of them! I will say that some of the tags are deceptive, but I didn't mind it and did really like the game for what it is.
There does appear to be a somewhat annoying glitch where I can only load a saved game once-- if I try to go back to the main menu, or load a different save, the game gets stuck on a black screen. It would be great to see this fixed! Also, not sure if there's supposed to be voice acting included? I see a lot of options in settings for the characters' voices, but I only heard background music throughout.
Just wanted to say thanks for creating this wonderful game! I blasted through the entire thing over the past two days, and I found myself completely addicted to the story and the wonderful characters-- I've now unlocked all endings on all three routes, plus all the CGs and achievements except for the "read all lines" (need to go back and try out all the possible combinations of Mira's boys x Emma's boys, which will be fun), and I'm already craving more of this world. Pretty proud of myself for doing it without a walkthrough too :D definitely took a ton of hours, but it was all worth it.
I absolutely adore Zane and Daire and their routes, and really appreciate how you managed to craft such distinct characters. I will say that Kiron's route felt cluttered, which is unfortunate since the man himself is such a sweetheart. There were so many new side characters thrown into the mix, and we never really connected with them in Kiron's story, although I do get the desire to hint towards a potential sequel. I thought the side characters were more deftly handled in the other routes, and enjoyed how your suggested playing order of Zane > Kiron > Daire really built upon each other. My favourite character however has to be Mira herself-- I loved her strength and independence, how she was unafraid to be sexy and sexual, and her awesome banter. She definitely stood out to me among otome game heroines.
I'm also really glad we got to see so much Emma/Halloween Otome goodness embedded throughout this game, and the friendships between characters were truly lovely. I am also impressed that you created a sequel game that is so distinct in tone from Halloween Otome-- this definitely got a lot darker in places than I anticipated, but there were lots of great funny moments to balance that out too.
Thanks for the hint! I feel like I still must be doing something wrong :P I've tried raising trust while keeping management as low as possible (never selecting "work at boutique" unless it's fixed in the schedule). I'm guessing that I'm still picking story choices wrong somewhere at the beginning, as I'm not unlocking most of the special romance scenes I saw in Zane's true ending when I attempt to keep management low. Ah well, I might move on to the other boys and come back when the walkthrough is released.
EDIT: Finally got it, after multiple tries! Also finished Kiron's route, and I'm SO excited to be moving on to Daire at last. Just one thing, a potential glitch perhaps? When I try to set the stats preference to "fast/skip", it always seems to reset back to normal and I'm never able to skip the stats on replays.
Hello! Really enjoying the game thus far--blasted through Beau's route on Story Mode and now playing through Open Mode. It seems like not all of the available characters/routes unlock just by playing through one route, and I don't think it's included in the walkthrough. Is there a list somewhere of which routes/modes unlock which characters? Thanks so much!
Edit: I think there may also be a glitch with song recording in Open Mode? During the recording process, I can see the song gaining in popularity, but then the final screen shows popularity of -1 -> -1 or -99 > -99. Both times this has happened has been when I recorded "Classic" songs.
Edit 2: Another likely (very minor) glitch-- after signing to Piccolo, I noticed that in the expenses report it deducts the label cut, but says 0% rather than 75% in brackets as it should be.
Devs, I don't know if you're still reading these comments, but thank you so much for creating this game! I played through the entire game and all its endings in one spurt, and (particularly as a musician/music-lover and Asian myself) I was so deeply moved by the story and by how much music was woven in. It was beautiful how both the Chinese and the music were used to illustrate the themes of finding a common language and belonging. I loved Sona's violence, Hao's seriousness, the orchestra, and their adorable doodles. The ONLY nitpick I might have is that I wish we got a longer bonus epilogue with the lovers, perhaps with a real kiss?!
Thank you so much for creating this game! I basically spent the past few days playing through Story Mode to its first completion, and I completely fell in love with Robin, her band, and her world. I will definitely be following along eagerly, hoping for more updates from you-- I am craving more Beau, and I can't wait to see Seth's story come to life as well. I hope I will get to read their stories some day, although I completely understand life getting in the way :)
