Arcade Spirits

I didn’t expect a visual novel to make me want to hear the sound of tokens dropping into an arcade machine again. Even if you’ve only ever seen that era in photographs.

Enjoyed the character customization and overall aesthetic, but the dialogue felt excessively repetitive and corny, like Wattpad fanfiction, written by a twelve year old type corny. Dating sim should not be one of the primary tags when the only romantic interactions you get are essentially getting to choose who you want to vaguely flirt with at the end of every day. Although, I'd nitpick the dating aspect less if the story itself wasn't so disengaging. I found myself bored most of the time and forcing myself to push through it until eventually dropping the game as a whole a few days in. Visually exciting game that started off strong only to fall flat.

missed refund window

This was very cute. The retro arcade aesthetic is easily one of the best parts of it. It commits to the theme right down to the starting credits, UI, transitions, menus, all of it - I especially liked the chapter-start transitions being styled like putting a coin into an arcade machine, which immediately makes the game more cohesive. The game-y elements are also integrated nicely into both the story and the actual gameplay. The dialogue tone system works well enough to give your protagonist a distinct personality without feeling too restrictive, and Iris is a fun way to tie your choices, stats, and general progression into the world itself. I also loved the fact that when I named the new arcade with "Francine" as part of the title, the game actually recognised that I'd referenced her and gave me a specific line of dialogue for it. I was also pleasantly surprised by how natural the protagonist’s character development felt. With visual novels, especially ones where you're creating a fairly flexible player character, there's always a risk of them either being too blank to develop properly or suddenly becoming a completely different person because the plot needs them to have a…

Another very charming game, by a talented writer! I like the characters well enough, and the story does a few neat things which make it not super predictable. If you like charming little stories with social justice themes, friendship, and hope against the evil systems of the world, this is one for you!

This is only a moderate recommendation, I think the game is good but not exceptional. Its weirdly more plot focused than romance focused. I finished it once (I read very quickly) and don't feel particularly compelled to find everything I missed. The writing is generally good but some bits are awkward. Or, rather, I think the plot is very fun and sweet but some of the actual lines are embarrassing or lean too hard on stereotypes. I think the personality type points mechanic suits the game well. I like choosing which situations to interact with and having to miss out on some. Overall, if you are interested, you'll probably enjoy the game, but its not something I would go rave about to everyone I know.