Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen

Amazing start of a trilogy

really fun read, nice mix of SoL scenes and serious moments, especially at the end. can't wait to finish the trilogy

A beautiful story with characters that you will love and cherish

masterpiece

This was a great game! The story turned out to be pretty interesting. Considering the original game was released in 2002 there were some tropes that had since become prevalent enough in the media to make some of the plot twists more predictable though not to an extent where it becomes ever less compelling. I am quite inexperienced in SRPG genre so the battle system was a bit confusing at first but in the end it played out well. Controls, even if not noticeable at start, are pretty simple as well as the levelling and equipment system. The game sadly is marred by the fact that it got self-censored with this release. I haven't played the original one but apparently all R18 scenes got removed here and while you can try to pretend like it does not affect the story significantly I did notice that certain romantic plotlines - specifically relationships with some of the main cast - missed something to be considered concluded or even open-ended. Other than that, I have no complaints with the game. I enjoyed the art style; I find this early 2000s anime style with big eyes and less realistic character design pretty charming. The music arrangement is fitting as well, might as well put the …

This is a pretty good visual novel with Strategic RPG segments. I really love the world building and the plot, which are really well-crafted. The mystery around the MC is slowly peeled back in a very satisfying way, and the world is really complex and fascinating. The game also has beautiful art and a great OST. I was less enthused with most of the character writing. This very much feels like a VN written in 2002 (which it was) in that respect. The heroines are fairly 2 dimensional and all inexplicably obsessed with the MC, creating an often cringe-worthy harem situation. There are a few exceptions to this (Ulthury and Kuuya act like actual human beings more often), but on the whole the heroines don't really get character arcs. They're just there, being cute, pining after the MC, and kicking ass. That would have been enough to get me to drop many VNs, but the excellent plot kept me reading - as did the knowledge that there are two more games in this series that are significantly more well-regarded.