B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA: Taking the first big leap for Otome in a long time.
Whenever I talk about these games, I am aware I often drift back to my childhood. It cannot be helped as I was not able to afford many games back in the day, but I still had some aspirations or connections to them. See, back when I was much younger, I was introduced to Otome games as, sort of, a leeway into the Visual Novel genre.
Otome games are games catered to a female audience, usually encompassing a reverse-harem storyline. These games often branch out to a variety of endings depending on how you treat your love interest in their respective branch.
As a wee child/teenager, my mother would have probably raised an eyebrow if she saw such games in my holding. A lot of these games also require in-game purchases, for which I also would not have been able to go to my mother for. And so, I had to resort to watching gameplay videos just to see how things would turn out if I had the ability to play those games. I just needed to know.
It is no secret to anyone I am acquainted with that Visual Novels are my bread and butter. At heart, I really am just a giggly school-girl with a yearning for stepping into a make-belief world, carrying the fates of characters in my hands – one can even accuse me of being a control freak.
Now, I am a woman, with my own working salary, with my own ability to afford these games, and not worry over what my dear mother would think. With this newly found freedom. I was able to experience PQube’s and MAGES’ infamous B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA.
But before anything; Otome enjoyers, I will do some of you a solid and sadly inform that you cannot date the characters – a prior notice I wish I had gotten. I jumped into B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA, eagerly waiting for the chance to romance a boy I thought was beautiful, only to find out later that it is not possible.
In any case, upon entering the game, you are met with the opening movie where they showcase tid-bits of the drama you may face, and the characters you are here to play B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA for. The Visual Novel has fourteen male protagonists, split into four subsets that converge to form the giant J-pop Idol group, B-Pro.
The subunit, Kitakore, is a unit made up of two idols that encompass the Prince-y genre of personalities. Coming from an affluent household, Kitakado Tomohisa is a softie who is both compassionate and ignorant of the world elsewhere of his privileged upbringing.
As for Korekune Ryuji, he has been a working professional since he was a young boy. Although he may seem harsh at times, his genuine concern and high standards for himself, and his members, are the reason for it.
We then have a group that embodies the wild-card energy, Thrive. Kaneshiro Goshi is a member of this unit that has a clear creative vision and contributes to the development of Thrive’s music.
Even while he never intentionally hurts anybody, his sharp tongue often gets him into arguments with other members of his group. Ashu Yuta may come out as a bit of a nutcase due to his outgoing, carefree personality, but he really does care for his comrades and may sometimes provide them very intelligent advise.
And let us not forget about Aizome Kento—the charming playboy of Thrive—who often makes subtle advances toward you, much to the amusement of his fellow members. His extroverted personality makes him popular with almost everyone, but it can also be a crutch when he wants to keep his sentiments hidden.
The third group is Moonz, a typical five-member idol collective led by Masunaga Kazuna, who is constantly thinking about his members’ best interests and spreading positivity wherever he goes. He tends to be quite meticulous. Despite his profound empathy for everyone around him, Onzai Momotaro keeps to himself and seldom shows any signs of emotion. Though he doesn’t think highly of himself, the other members of his group admire him.
The gregarious Osari Hikaru has a tendency to overextend himself. He conceals his secret issue from those who admire him. Nome Tatsuhiro—the eldest—keeps his poise and pays close attention to his environment, much like an older brother who looks out for his siblings. At live performances, he reveals a more vulnerable and passionate side.
Lastly, we have Mikado Sekimura. As a covert otaku, he becomes madly passionate about his interests. He conducts himself with an air of intelligence and is generous with his love toward his buddies, as well as fans. He also bestows little nicknames to everyone he can.
To conclude B-Pro’s lineup, the last subunit is Killer Kings. Quite the edgy name, I know. Teramitsu Yuzuki is a member of the junior group; he is reserved and shy and despises being the focus of attention.
Even if the translation of his name to the localized version is wrong, it is unmistakably Yuzuki. Teramitsu Haruhi is a lively and outgoing individual who relishes the spotlight, as opposed to Yuzuki – his older twin brother. Yep, they are twins. Being the younger one, he is occasionally immature.
As the longest-serving member and current commander of Killer King, Fudo Akane is direct and responsible, yet he has a fragile side and has a tendency to underrate his own abilities. The final character of the fourteen is Shingari Miroku, a stoic perfectionist who competes with himself and accomplishes anything he puts his mind to. Even though he is the youngest, his sophisticated nature makes it seem like he is much older than what his actual age suggests.
Being introduced to the cast of B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA feels like a blur at first. You can quickly grasp how have fourteen leads seem like a hassle. They are especially chaotic when grouped together in one room, as you will be able to see in the game’s first setting of the afterparty.
Thankfully, the UI of B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA comes in clutch. The idols’ color-coding reflected their individual characteristics, while another projection in the corner included each idol’s entire name and the group to which they belonged. My attempt to remember everyone’s names was greatly aided by this, being a newbie to the series.
The story starts that the lads and crew rejoice after a successful performance to over 50,000 people at the Japan Dome, one of the country’s biggest venues. While some of the boys are trying to rein in their enthusiasm for the plentiful and mouth-watering food on offer, others relish as they create chaos.
So, it seems that you are a crucial part of the staff in B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA. Which also means that you are present at the afterparty. It does not take the boys much to find you vulnerable and transport you over to their exclusive location to celebrate with them.
During this party, you all begin to reflect back on the past, talking about how you were discovered to be their manager and how you began to develop genuine relationships with each group. There was a flashback sequence where a customer abuses your character and it proper sent me back to my dark fast food service days.
The sporadic memories were helpful in keeping track of fourteen idols. Both the playable character and her relationship with the boys were better understood as a result. I felt a stronger connection to her as a person and gained insight into her genuine enthusiasm for her work beyond the usual employee duties as a result.
The attention and enthusiasm of my character is palpable. It permeates the screen and piqued my interest as well. How engrossed I became in the narrative of B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA took me by surprise. Witnessing the unique dynamics of each group and their eventual unity as a whole was fascinating.
When you see their boundless enthusiasm for a three-month concert tour throughout Japan, you cannot help but root for them. It is wonderful to see people’s ambitions realized, and they are on the rise to notoriety. But we quickly learn that there is more to it than just upbeat conversation and inspiring tales of triumph. The entertainment industry is cutthroat, and B-Pro is about to face some formidable challenges.
The moment the drama began, I became completely engrossed in B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA. Seeing the excitement and triumph of other players and then having it snatched away from them was a great source of motivation for me in the game.
That paparazzi and gossip publications being terrible was already in my mind, but it was further reinforced. And whether it is factual or not, a single online rumor may have a significant impact on people’s lives and jobs. Sadness washed over me as I saw these once-happy lads falter. For them to succeed, it was my wish.
B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA accomplished its goal of keeping me engrossed with my PC. Because no matter how many times I told myself to stop and save, I could not help but keep reading in order to find out what occurred next.
While most Visual Novels provide several endings, B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA is unique in that it only offers two. That means my sentiment could go one of the two ways with this design choice, and unfortunately, it is going to be that I am not fond of this. I appreciate it when games give me agency, as previously stated. I hardly faced any real decision-made consequence.
I felt like I was just reading, with characters making facial expressions in the background. I was eagerly waiting for the game to finally finish its introduction because my assumption was that, once the game really starts, I would be able to branch out to characters. By the time I had reached almost 2 hours of playtime was when I had understood that B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA will not let me advance the story like I would have wanted to.
Still, if you make an effort to win over the lads, you will unlock 14 unique epilogues—one for every member of the B-Pro squad. Taking calls and responding to texts are ways to do this. Everyone in your group will be able to text you at some point throughout B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA. This might be anything from requesting your professional opinion, to just wishing you a pleasant day.
Some texts are crucial to the game, and must be read and replied to immediately, in order to progress through the plot of B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA. But the majority are just messages that you will get on your phone and have the option to either react rapidly or wait.
However, you should know that these communications have a time restriction; hence, you risk losing out if you do not respond quickly enough. The development of your feelings for the members and the initiation of plot branches that lead to more scenes and cutscenes are both influenced by your reactions to these messages.
Essentially, your smartphone in B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA serves as your central menu. You may access your voicemails and text messages there, as well as save and load games, and tweak settings. Additionally, you can locate the game’s manual there, which provides a brief overview of the controls and how to play.
The visuals in B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA are just astounding. Normally, the character sprites in Otome games are still images, but here, the sprites move their mouths and wave about, moving to show life being present. The CGs are also well taken care of and a player may venture out to find plenty of them for their collection. And let me just say that the music is also great, especially for the opening movie. It is definitely ear-worm inducing.
I will say that it was not what I was expecting, but if you do not mind the lack of freedom, and appreciate the J-Pop idol industry, B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA is a game you should definitely try out.
I went in blind and that was honestly my fault that I expected the game to have certain features, but my complaints regarding the insufficiency of choice should be taken into account. Options for dialogue and actions could have still been made to be in-character. A lot of the time, it really just felt like I was reading a story, and not actually playing a game.
Overall, however, felt like a solid upgrade from the Otome Visual Novels of the years past. B-PROJECT RYUSEI*FANTASIA was an ambitious project, but it did not fail. It is rather a very solid addition to the genre many would come to appreciate.
