RELEASE DATE: 2016
PUBLISHER: Idea Factory & Aksys Games
PLATFORMS AVAILABLE: PS Vita (Japanese & English)
GAME LINK: Period Cube: Shackles of Amadeus – PS Vita [Physical]
Period Cube: Shackles of Amadeus – PS Vita [Digital Code]

I was very excited to play Period: Cube ~Shackles of Amadeus~ as it is my first collaboration title with Aksys Games. I was provided with a copy of the game to review in light of its April 28th, 2017 release. I had been anticipating Period: Cube since Aksys Games’ announcement last year of licensing four otome titles in 2017, which I covered in my ‘Most Anticipated English Visual Novels of 2017‘ post. To my delight, the next out of the four to be released is Collar x Malice which was the one I had been looking forward to the most. You can pre-order the game from Amazon here, for the official release date of July 28, 2017!

What initially attracted me to Period: Cube was the incorporation of RPG elements, and an MMORPG as the basis for the universe setting. As I have played many MMORPGs since childhood, this brought about a wave of nostalgia for me. I was interested to see how they decided to approach the RPG gameplay and how much of it would be balanced with the visual novel aspect of the game.

Storyline ★★★

-The Story- 

Searching for clues about your missing brother, you and your childhood friend Hiroya begin playing an online RPG called “Arcadia.”

You’re suddenly enveloped in a flash of light, and awaken to find yourself in a mysterious fantasy world. You discover you’ve been sent inside of the game, and learn that the only way out is to complete it. In a deadly world on the verge of collapse, you become the “Almighty,” the key to clearing Arcadia, and the secret weapon everyone is after.

You and your companions undertake a perilous journey, where love grows as the world falls apart. (Official Website) 

The website summary actually encompasses the story outline very well, so I won’t delve into it further here. Period: Cube has a very interesting premise that is reminiscent of the highly popular light novel and anime adaptation, Sword Art Online. It immediately appeals to fans of the MMORPG genre and the creators definitely showed their attentiveness to the finer details throughout the story. I loved all the little nuances and references, and they were extremely nostalgic as I’ve played RPGs since childhood.

If you’ve never played RPGs before, then the encyclopaedia entries are very detailed and explain everything concisely. The universe of Period: Cube demonstrated elaborate world-building and were highly reminiscent of aspects you’d find directly from a cohesive RPG title. The immersive overarching storyline really captures your interest and encourages playing all the routes in order to reveal the ‘complete truth’.

However, the plot had many integral issues in terms of storyline explanations and the development of character routes. There were many times throughout the game where I had to re-read many revelations in order to fully understand exactly what had happened, how the events occurred and why. This is a sign of flawed writing and pacing, as the crucial foundations of the storyline were not very concrete or coherent.

It had an interesting premise and collection of unique ideas that weren’t executed to the fullest potential. Many of the strange phenomenons in the game that transitioned into the real world were never properly fleshed out and left me in a state of confusion. I just had so many questions remaining, despite completing all the routes.

How were the players consistently pulled back into the game, despite not being logged in physically? How did this occur regardless of their location? How were the character’s data and minds inputted into the system to begin with? All they did was create a character, and for some reason in a flash of bright light they were sucked into the game. The whole concept of the ‘Period: Cube’ was poorly explained and evident in all the routes, since some characters converted into data could magically return after dying whilst others could not.

Period: Cube was also very difficult to play without a walkthrough and they really should not have used the combat selections as integral choices for the character routes. Although they seemingly didn’t appear to have any significance, they actually did. I was shocked when after thoughtlessly choosing several options, I ended up on a character route after an extremely short prologue and first chapter.

I was also on the completely wrong route and had to replay it several times through trial and error. If you’re expecting Period: Cube to incorporate substantial RPG elements, or have gameplay akin to the Fire Emblem series; then this game really isn’t for you. It is still a visual novel through and through, and only utilises the concepts of an RPG to further the storyline. The ‘combat system’ is extremely basic, and coded as decisions in the game; rather than having any substantial value.

That being said, I still really enjoyed reading the overall storyline of Period: Cube. It was unique, interesting and would appeal more to people who are familiar with RPGs. You can see just how many references are placed throughout the game, and relate to them as an RPG player. The translation was also quite good, with only very marginal typos from all the routes. Some phrasing of words could’ve been better, and there were some sentence cut offs from the original meaning in Japanese. However, they were negligible for the most part.

I would have preferred the prologue and common route to be longer, as you’re not even introduced to all the characters before being locked into their route prior to meeting them. You’re thrust into the game universe all too quickly, without proper build up and introductions. Each route took around 3-4hrs to complete depending on your read speed, which totals to around 30hrs of gameplay.

Character Development ★★★

WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

KAZUHA: As a protagonist, Kazuha elicited very mixed feelings within me. It felt as though every single bachelor fell in love with her at first sight, and their only reason for loving her was because of how ‘cute’, ‘innocent’ and ‘kind’ she was. Not to mention she looks exceptionally young in comparison to the rest of the cast, and age sixteen at most. Although she does develop as a character, it did not feel very satisfying nor was it a substantial change. She is able to stand by her convictions and beliefs by the end of the game for the sake of all the remaining players; and return to the real world.

Kazuha is determined and unwavering in her views of justice and the integral goodness that every person possesses, no matter how many terrible experiences are inflicted upon her throughout the course of the story. It is from finally coming to terms with her own strength, that she is able to call upon the powers of the Almighty. However, this blind trust is also her greatest flaw; she is constantly manipulated by others seeking personal gain and dragged around by all the bachelors fighting for her affection throughout the game.

I felt there was just so much more that could’ve been done with her character, considering all the RPG elements they incorporated into Period: Cube. As the game storyline revolves around an RPG universe, I would have really liked to see the heroine have some progression stat wise. At best, she would be level 5 by the end of the game. It honestly felt pathetic that she barely advanced any levels, when all the other characters were at least five times higher.

Realistically in any MMORPG, she should have never made it past a day in Arcadia without speed levelling and increasing her stats. Not only that, but her combat consists of mainly ‘buffing’ or ‘de-buffing’ allies and enemies from the backline. All the characters then proceed to praise her as if she was a godsend and no one else could’ve done the exact same thing. It felt like such a cop out that her level was pretty much negligible, and just because she’s the protagonist and ‘coincidentally’ the Almighty; she had the ability to one hit kill extremely powerful mobs.

It is because of her almighty status, that she receives constant protection and saved by the bachelors time and time again throughout the game. You would think that in a life or death situation, she would be more proactive to ensure her own survival. Thousands of people have died in the game, and yet Kazuha avoids hundreds of warranted deaths because she is the protagonist. Ironically, the only times when Kazuha is truly assertive in what she wants and wishes to do is in the bad endings of the game.

It was really disappointing to see how much great potential she had to develop as a character with the overarching storyline and universe, and none of these concepts were utilised at all.

I recommend playing the character routes in the following order: Radius → Astrum→ Demento → Zain → Libera → Hiroya→ Poyo-poyo due to storyline spoilers and flow of events. Poyo-poyo can only be unlocked upon the completion of Astrum, Libera and Hiroya’s routes. I have the completed walkthroughs for the game here.

RADIUS: Renowned as a solo player who never forms parties with others, he is the strongest player of the demon faction. Radius is a powerful fencer, who owns the ‘Infernal Shadow’s Edge’ which is part of the Trinity of Swords required to clear the Ark; the final dungeon within Arcadia. Radius saves Kazuha when she separates from Hiroya and is attacked by enemies. He trades her his most prized Shadow’s Edge to regenerate her health, and Kazuha narrowly avoids death upon completion of the mission.

They temporarily return to the real world, and the two coincidentally meet one another at the hospital. He is cold, blunt and aloof and wishes to have nothing to do with the heroine. He sharply rejects her attempts at friendship and camaraderie, asserting that he works alone. The heroine is confused by the disconnect between his cold words and kind actions, as in spite of his uncaring demeanour; he had saved her life countless of times. She soon comes to discover the reasons behind his distrust towards others, and the suffering he has endured in the past.

Radius is extremely similar to Kirito from Sword Art Online, and jaded by the exact same experiences. He suffers from survivor’s guilt, after his entire party and close friends are killed on a quest expedition for the Shadow’s Edge. Radius is burdened by their final words, and believes himself to be a coward for abandoning his comrades. He views himself undeserving of the life given to him, and yet lacks the courage to face death. This confliction forms the crux of his character, and the inner dilemma that causes him to distance himself from others.

As a result, he finds Kazuha’s complete acceptance of her precarious situation bewildering; and becomes angered on her behalf. Radius views it to be extremely unfair, how she was unknowingly thrust into a life or death situation because of her honourable intentions to save her brother. Now she is being hunted by all of Arcadia, due to her status as a powerful ‘tool’ and disregarded completely as a human being.

Radius admires her inner strength and perseverance; qualities which he sorely lacks in spite of his physical prowess. As Radius spends more time with Kazuha, he comes to fall in love with these aspects of her personality and confides in her his dark past and inner torment. It is through his experiences with her that he is able to come to terms with his anguish, and relinquish the burdens he has carried for so long.

Radius’ route was initially quite irritating to play, due to his constant refusals of the heroine and his cold assertions for her to stay away from him. At every opportunity, he would assume she was stalking him and disrespecting his wishes of wanting to be left alone. He is very fickle in his emotions, and continually switches between resenting the heroine completely; to saving her every time she is in trouble.

However, as a character he develops significantly over the course of the storyline and has some great romantic moments with the protagonist. He becomes very soft towards the heroine when he falls in love with her, and priorities her wellbeing above all else. He is no longer afraid to die or face the future, if it is for her sake. Radius even bows his head to the guild Forte, and uncharacteristically begs them to party with him to save Kazuha.

He had the best CGs and romantic scenes with the protagonist in the game, and was unexpectedly passionate when in love. He also spent the most time with her in the real world in comparison to the other characters, which was reflective in his CGs. Radius’ route was overall the most well-rounded in Period: Cube, as it properly developed his character and relationship with Kazuha over the course of the story.

There was slow, notable progression and I could understand his reasons for falling in love with Kazuha. She had always looked at him as the person he truly was, rather than exterior appearances, fame or fortune. She is able to accept him within his darkest moments, no matter how many times he pushed her away and did not allow his cold rejections to faze her. Her own perseverance and selflessness for others inspires Radius to overcome his own personal demons and accept that it was not too late to atone for his past mistakes.

ASTRUM: The famous guild leader for the dungeon speed-runners Clarius, and representative of the Angel Faction. Unlike the demon faction, the angels are organised and possess guild roles; enacting proper chain of commands and efficiently battle dungeons together. Although highly respected and revered for his immense strength and tactical game knowledge, Astrum is also well known as an avid role-player within Arcadia. Despite it being a game, Astrum’s mannerisms and flowery dialogue are extremely exaggerated and reflective of his in-game character role.

He is the owner of the ‘Divine Blade of Light’ which is the other piece of the Trinity of Swords required to clear the Ark. Astrum falls in love with Kazuha at first sight due to her beauty and status as the ‘Almighty Amadeus’ and lovingly refers to her by that title throughout the game. He rescues her and Hiroya in the woods, and welcomes them to the Celestial Palace.

However, his actions incur the wrath and jealousy of the other angels; as they view him treating Kazuha favourably despite being unable to use the powers of the Almighty. Hiroya’s presence as a demon is also unheard of, and the atmosphere becomes tense as they continually put off expeditions to the Ark; despite the impending Jaws of Death threatening to consume Arcadia.

I had very mixed feelings about Astrum’s route initially. I was intrigued by his appearance in Radius’ story as his direct counterpart and complete opposite in personality. I didn’t mind his roleplaying and found it hilarious, as it was in line with the RPG elements of the game. It added a lot more comic relief and a light-hearted tone to Astrum’s route. His character is also a reference to RPG players in real life, as many do actually enjoy roleplaying and I’m sure every RPG enthusiast has done it at least once before.

However, I found his overly affectionate feelings towards Kazuha difficult to believe and understand. He essentially falls in love with her at first sight without any proper build up or development. Astrum completely favours her over everyone else, despite the questions and anger directed at his complete disregard for his own position. As a leader, it was unfair that he showered her with special treatment without any proper justification or explanation.

Because of this, for the bulk of his route in spite of the kindness he showed to Kazuha; his feelings felt rather shallow and disingenuous. It felt as though his only reasoning as to why he had special sentiments towards her was due to her status as the Almighty, and because of how ‘cute’ and ‘kind’ she was. However, upon meeting his real life persona Asou Tohru… needless to say, I instantly fell in love with his character.

Sakurai Takahiro did such an amazing job with voicing Tohru’s persona, and perfectly captured his awkward social tendencies and mannerisms of speaking. He truly brought his character to life, and it always amazes me how he is able to play so many diverse personalities. Although I was initially confronted by his sudden rejection of the heroine upon meeting her in real life, it was explained quite well afterwards.

It revealed Tohru’s insecurities and his lack of self-esteem, as he was afraid that Kazuha had become disillusioned by how ‘uncool’ he was in the real world. A stark contrast to the confident and powerful leader of the Angels as Astrum, Tohru in real life is teased by his peers for his lack of social skills and constantly compared to Kazuha’s older brother, Shiki Hanamiya. No matter how hard he tried, his efforts remained unrecognised and forever labelled as second place.

This creates a major inferiority complex within Tohru, and he uses Arcadia as an escape from the real world. At least in the game universe, he could emulate the character that he aspired to be. I was really disappointed that they didn’t delve more into this backstory with Shiki, since it formed such a major crux to Tohru’s character and personality. It is through Kazuha’s belief in his abilities as his real life persona, that gives him the confidence to finally best Shiki.

She asserts that there are only things that Asou Tohru can do, that no one else can replicate. I found the long-running gag of Shiki completely disregarding Tohru’s presence hilarious, considering Tohru’s entire world revolved around being second place to him. Although I absolutely loved Tohru’s character, his relationship and feelings towards Kazuha at the beginning lacked a lot of foundational development and proper progression.

DEMENTO: The notorious PK’er (Player Killer) who appears throughout all the character routes. Demento has the status of ‘Fallen’ which is branded on his chest as a symbol of killing other players throughout Arcadia. He captures Kazuha an innumerable number of times in Period: Cube and forces her to use the powers of the Almighty, at the cost of her own safety and life. He wishes to to see what would happen when a player affiliated with neither the angel or demon factions clears the Ark, and whether the whole world’s balance would be destroyed by his actions.

He was once apart of the guild Clarius and completed many dungeons in the same party as Astrum. However, he one day kills a Demon and experiences an unforgettable thrill that begins his downward spiral into corruption. Astrum overlooks the incident as Arcadia does encourage the killing of other faction players and Demento has yet to be branded. He becomes addicted to replicating the sensation and begins mindlessly killing all players of both factions. As a result, he is eventually banished from the guild.

It explained why Demento was so powerful despite his poor weaponry and levels. Players with the ‘fallen’ status are punished for their actions, reset their level upon killing and are unable to equip any items other than the basic default gear. As he regularly played with Astrum, it can be assumed he was fairly high level prior to his branding. Astrum forever lamented his decision and wondered if there was more he could’ve done to prevent Demento’s demise.

I had a lot of issues with Demento’s route and character overall. Regardless of his actions being committed in the game world, he still enacted irreversible murder without remorse. Thousands of people died from Idiopathic Coma in the real world because of his cheap thrill and he showed complete disregard for Kazuha in all the routes. He uses her for his own selfish means of entertainment, and I could not even fathom as to how Kazuha developed feelings for him at all.

This was exacerbated by the fact that his route is only three chapters long and branched directly from Astrum’s route. It then led to the question of: Astrum treated you with nothing but kindness, and yet for some reason you were compelled to fall in love with the guy who kidnapped and threatened to kill you? There was just so little time and writing developed to his character that I’m unsure as to why he was incorporated at all.

It became almost irritating and predictable at how without fail in every single story, he would appear sooner or later for no other reason than to cause unnecessary drama and create anguish by murdering other players. It was never truly justified as to why he killed players in Arcadia either, other than it giving him the sensation of truly being alive and some satisfaction in his monotonous daily life.

Why did he not feel alive to begin with? What were the reasons as to why he lacked so much purpose? If he had no reason for living, why did he pray for life every time he killed someone else? How can he wish for himself to live, when he killed others without thinking by the hundreds? His route was just so painfully ironic, it was almost laughable at how essentially nothing was explained about his character, past and reasoning.

In his good ending he suffers from amnesia and as a result, his crimes are ‘erased’ from his memory and enables him to have a bittersweet happy ending with Kazuha. To me, this was quite a cop out as countless people still died because of his actions but he is essentially cleansed of sin and responsibility. After all, even though the murder can never be trialled in the real world; the knowledge of his actions would burden him until the end of his lifetime. If not for his amnesia, he never would have been able to attain happiness.

Although he did have some cute moments with the heroine and one of the only few characters who had a proper kiss CG, I simply could not overlook his actions and poor writing for his story. His contribution to the overall storyline was minimal and regardless of whether or not he was in Period: Cube; it would not have altered the events of the plot at all.

ZAIN: An NPC (non playable character) within the world of Arcadia, he usually resides in Adventurer Town to guide new players with tutorial information and provides quests to complete. Unlike other NPCs, he receives a reprogramming and orders to protect Kazuha. This gives birth to human-like tendencies, and a lapse in memory in regards to his original purpose and origins as an NPC. As Zain is originally not human, he experiences many difficulties in understanding human emotions and customs.

Zain is incredibly kind to Kazuha and very helpful in assisting her when she becomes separated from Hiroya. He quickly becomes extremely attached to her, as he experiences so many new things and powerful emotions with Kazuha. His feelings transcend into obsession, as he becomes consumed with unhealthy thoughts of possession and expecting Kazuha to mirror his own feelings. This angers his creator and causes immense confusion within Zain, as he become unsure of his own identity and sense of self.

Again, I had a lot of problems with Zain’s route. His overall storyline was extremely confusing for the most part and filled with many convenient plot holes that were never truly explained or fully delved upon. I could understand that Zain experienced a lot of turmoil due to his conflicting desires, the interference of his creator/the voices within his mind, and his lack of understanding with the nature of humans. However, a lot of his actions and key scenes with Kazuha were very disturbing and manipulative.

The scene where he forcefully attempts to merge himself with Kazuha, in order for them ‘to share the same feelings’ made me so uncomfortable reading. He was quite literally physically and mentally violating her, and forcing his own emotions and thoughts on her; something which he knew more than anyone else was mentally debilitating and extremely painful. His feelings towards Kazuha to me were very selfish, and entirely based on inciting guilt.

Kazuha would always feel guilty imagining how lonely Zain would be without her, and how she could never go anywhere without him because of how worried he would be waiting alone. It was just an unhealthy relationship from start to finish and due to Kazuha’s ‘kind nature’ she could never seperate from him for very long. It was also sad how the only method he could transcend from NPC to the real world with Kazuha, was through the death of Demento.

The concept of their minds merging was explained very poorly and all too coincidental for the events of the story to occur. Essentially in order to for them to be together, it required the death of someone else. Again, his route honestly didn’t really contribute to the story nor his character and I would have preferred much longer stories with the others who actually played a role in the overarching plot. It felt like he was implemented just for the sake of having another character and Zain’s route directly tied into Shiki’s story. It felt like it was two routes dedicated to Shiki, rather than a stand alone route for Zain.

LIBERA: A nekama (person who portrays the opposite gender online) who uses his cute appearance and deceptively feminine mannerisms to attract the attention of countless males in Arcadia. He is surprisingly popular and amasses many friends with his outgoing and talkative nature. They regularly invite him on missions and gift him with rare items and gold, asserting that they’ll protect him on their quests.

Despite playing the game since beta, he is fairly low level and prefers to stay within town to socialise rather than accompanying parties on missions. He is also quite mischievous and haughty, often stealing other player’s gold and selling gifted items for his own benefit. Unlike the other characters in Period: Cube, Libera does not wish to clear the ark and desires to remain in the game world. He prioritises his own safety above all else, and fears death with every fibre of his being.

I found it pretty hilarious how throughout the game, everyone more or less doesn’t notice that Libera is a guy in real life despite how obvious it is from his voice. For the most part, I didn’t really feel the ‘romance’ aspect from Libera’s route. His initial feelings towards Kazuha and kindness are all fabricated, and he expresses vehemently that he only ever desired to use her for his own sake or to pawn off to a high-level player.

He views her as a prized asset that is beneficial for his own survival in Arcadia. Despite his cold words, when Kazuha is in trouble; he always manages to be there at the right moments to save her. Although he claims to prioritise his own life above all else, he constantly places himself at risk in order to protect Kazuha. This encourages the heroine to truly get to know Libera, and what warped his perception on the world.

His story is rather tragic, and explains Natsu’s contribution into the overarching storyline. He has been plagued by illness and a weak body since birth, rendering him to a sick bed at the hospital. As a result, he is unable to properly attend school and make friends; unknowing of which day would be his last.

His beloved elder brother Natsu is what holds their family together, and is admired and deeply respected by Libera. He is talented, handsome and intelligent; and decided to create Arcadia for Libera’s sake as the only thing he could play at the hospital were video games. The notion of transcending death and eradicating illness also enticed Natsu, as it would be the cure to his brother’s health issues.

It made sense as to why Libera preferred the social aspect of Arcadia, due to what he lacked in his life. He feared death because he knew better than anyone else what it was like to face each day, knowing it could be his last. In Arcadia, the options were limitless on what he could do in comparison to the monotonous life he lived in the real world. With Natsu’s accident, it shattered their family apart and he comes to believe that he should’ve taken his brother’s place.

Although he contributed immensely to the overarching storyline, the romance aspect of his route left much to be desired due to his age, and the rocky beginnings of their relationship. Not only that, but he created a female character which prevented him from truly expressing his feelings towards Kazuha for the bulk of the game. The romance honestly felt rather forced, and it was more befitting as a platonic route. I actually preferred a route with Natsu instead of Libera, since I felt they actually had chemistry in every story in Period: Cube.

It was really disappointing that the story was told from Libera’s perspective instead, even though it would’ve made so much more sense if Natsu was the selectable character. He had such an important impact on the creation of Arcadia and the overarching storyline, and I was genuinely surprised in how they decided to approach his backstory. The closest thing we got to a Natsu route was Libera’s good ending CG, where he essentially grows up to look exactly like Natsu (laughs).

HIROYA: Kazuha and Shiki’s beloved childhood friend, and neighbour since they were little children. He has long admired Shiki due to his intelligence, strength and fortitude when it came to Kazuha, and aspired to be more like him for her sake. Hiroya is traumatised by Kazuha’s accident that left her prone to fainting and she experiences many lapses in memory as a result. He views it to be entirely his fault, due to his thoughtless actions as a child that inadvertently led to the accident.

He vows to become stronger and wholeheartedly dedicates himself to becoming a better man capable of protecting Kazuha. He reluctantly allows Kazuha to join him in Arcadia due to her heartfelt request to find her brother, which leads to the events of the storyline. The story branches when Kazuha either chooses to separate from him in Minta Woods upon an ambush, or decides to remain by his side.

I honestly felt really bad for Hiroya in all of the routes, because he essentially plays second fiddle to every single bachelor despite him being there for Kazuha from the very beginning. He accepts her choice no matter the circumstances in the end and supports her completely in her decisions. Hiroya only desires her happiness and everything he does is for her sake.

Although he makes a lot of Kazuha’s decisions on her behalf, he always tries to keep her best interests at heart. This is also an issue with his route, as he does not allow for Kazuha to decide for herself what she wishes to do and develop the confidence to voice her own beliefs. In Radius’ route, he completely dispels her concerns and tunnel visions on prioritising her own safety at the cost of her own wishes.

His route is very cute, fluffy and had a predictable romance because the feelings were always there to begin with. It is obvious no matter which route how much he cares for Kazuha and his feelings are as blatant as ever. Because of this predictability however, I didn’t feel as much attachment to him as a character. As the poster-boy of the game I did expect a greater focus on the romance with the heroine, and his contribution to the overall storyline.

There were really no surprises in his route, and follows the standard events and typical interactions reminiscent of the childhood friend trope. I did like his unhindered dedication and determination to improve himself in regards to the heroine, as it demonstrated out of all the bachelors that he truly was in love with Kazuha and it was understandable as to why.

SHIKI: Normally I wouldn’t reveal the identity of this character (which I haven’t in my walkthroughs) but Aksys Games already spoiled it on their official game website. I do spoiler tag my character development section, as I personally find I cannot delve into my complete thoughts on a character, without revealing major events of their story. If you haven’t played the game in it’s entirety yet, I highly suggest not reading this character section.

Shiki is the elder brother of Kazuha, and the reason as to why all the events in the story occur. He created Arcadia in the pursuit of an eternal utopia, where humans transcend the possibility of death and illness. This is due to Kazuha’s accident from childhood, that instills fear within him that human lives are not indestructible and can be taken away in the blink of an eye. Young Kazuha asks Shiki to promise and fulfil her wish of living in a world without pain, and a world where they could be together forever.

This drives Shiki to grant her desire and he is able to access the Akashic Records; which is the embodiment of all knowledge within the universe, from the beginning of time. It provides him with the answers to create the world that Kazuha is seeking. However, due to her lapses in memory she soon forgets many of the moments they shared together and their promise.

Only Shiki alone remembers their promise, and this is why Kazuha found his actions so unfathomable throughout the entire story. It is due to this unworldly knowledge that enables Shiki to create technology far beyond the realms of human capabilities, and essentially achieve the level of a God.

It also explained as to why no matter how much Tohru tried, he could not surpass Shiki’s intellect and why he topped the university despite never studying. Due to his obsession with the notion of granting Kazuha’s wish, he disregards all other factors and obstacles impeding his success. He becomes warped by his fear of Kazuha eventually forgetting him or dying, and willingly sacrifices dozens of lives to ensure her wish comes true.

His feelings for Kazuha are on a completely different magnitude, and despite him knowing his actions were morally wrong; he was too far gone to stop. He is filled with regrets, self-loathing and ironically watches every other bachelor end up with Kazuha in all the other routes. I honestly found it difficult to believe that he was not Kazuha’s genuine sibling, due to their interactions and similarity in appearance throughout the game. Despite the constant assertions that they were not related, I found myself highly skeptical of it.

As a romantic interest, he was exceptionally creepy in his nighttime expenditures whilst Kazuha was sleeping and I inwardly cringed at many of their moments together. However, I felt his story definitely answered the many questions that were left open-ended in the other routes. It offered a plausible and holistic conclusion that tied up all the loose ends of the storyline, and was a satisfying read considering all the other routes never addressed Shiki’s conflict and reasoning for his actions.

He is left as an amnesiac and confined to the hospital in all the other stories, which really built the drama and anticipation for his route. His good ending made a lot of sense, as realistically he could never experience happiness otherwise. His stained hands and lonely years devoted in solitude to Kazuha’s selfish wish was irreversible and had completely twisted his personality. Turning back time was very befitting of the theme of the game, and enabled Kazuha the newfound confidence to relive her life without the impairments of her physique from the accident.

It returned the lively childhood and close relationship she had lost with both Shiki and Hiroya. It also provided Kazuha with the decisiveness to affirm her own feelings and stance when it came to her brother. In the new timeline, Shiki does not impose his emotions and desires on Kazuha, and is respectful of her decisions. She chooses of her own accord to be with him, and is finally able to truly fall in love with Shiki this time round.

What I liked about his route and all the other stories was that Kazuha never deludes herself into thinking she loves him, and genuinely reveres their relationship as platonic. It is only in the new timeline does she fall in love with his true personality. Although Shiki is cold-hearted and borderline insane in all the routes, I could sympathise with his character and reasoning. The bad ending itself was quite interesting, as it demonstrated rather literally how repetitive a utopia without death would be.

The characters relive the same day over and over, and although there is no pain or suffering; there is also no ‘true happiness’. It rectified the recurring motif and theme of the game, that life is a gift to be cherished in both the good and bad times despite the short life span of humans.

Design ★★★★

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This was one of the aspects that captured my interest from first impressions, and was definitely one of the highlights of the game. I loved how many MMORPG elements they incorporated into the design and artwork. For example: the outfits reflecting the class/race for each of the bachelors and even the side characters had very memorable and distinct costumes.

One of the notable elements of Period: Cube was that the main bachelors each had a different sprite for their real life appearances, and how they looked in game. As a player it was exciting to anticipate when you would eventually meet them in the real world and how they differed from their in-game personas.

The unique weaponry was also a very nice touch, as well as the additional ‘glow’ effects on special ability activations. The backgrounds were so incredibly gorgeous, and they really brought the game to life. It was reminiscent of the maps and dungeons typical to an RPG, and Kuroyuki’s art style definitely suited the theme of the game.

I felt that Period: Cube really brought out the full potential of the OLED PS Vita screen, and definitely showcased the impressive and crisp graphics. There were plenty of CGs for every bachelor, although I found that Kuroyuki (the artist for the Black Wolves Saga series) had a noticeable trend of drawing awkward half-kiss expressions on the characters in Period: Cube. As I have played her previous works before and quite liked her unique artwork, this was rather surprising to see.

It was disappointing as it felt like some characters definitely had better kiss scenes than others, and was a downgrade to previously released titles with art by Kuroyuki. In terms of consistency between the CGs and character sprites, then the game did fairly well. I really loved how many unique monster designs they incorporated into Period: Cube, and the definitive attentiveness to the RPG aspects were great to see.

Music and Voice Acting ★★★★★

For me personally, this was without a doubt the standout aspect and highlight of the game. I was amazed at how phenomenal the OST was, and loved all the tracks immensely. I was really impressed with the battle BGMs, especially “Battle Finale” since it honestly felt like something that would come out of a high-quality RPG game. Rarely do I ever hear a game OST and instantly feel the need to listen to the soundtrack on repeat.

The piano tracks were so lovely, and really inspired the pianist in me to actually try and learn them myself. The voice acting was fantastic as well, encompassing a highly prolific and famous cast line up. Even the side characters had very memorable voices, such as Jocus being voiced by Morikubo Shōtarō. They did such a great job at emulating the character personalities, and really built a strong level of attachment to all of them by the end of the game.

I personally felt Sakurai Takahiro (Astrum) especially, as well as Okamoto Nobuhiko (Hiroya) and Maeno Tomoaki (Radius) had notable performances in Period: Cube. As I already mentioned earlier, Sakurai truly captured how endearing Astrum’s character and personal conflictions were. I found myself laughing out loud, and feeling all sorts of emotions when reading and listening to his character’s dialogue. It’s amazing to see how well he can personify so many different character personalities, and my last game I played was him voicing Mejojo von Garibaldi from Black Wolves Saga — Bloody Nightmare —.

This actually gave me a lot of mixed feelings, because if you’ve played the BWS series you’ll understand exactly what kind of character Mejojo was. It’s just a testament to his skill as a voice actor, to be able to reproduce and play any type of character trope. It was also nice seeing Maeno again from Code: Realize as Lupin, and he perfectly expressed Radius’ transition from cold to loving towards Kazuha.

• Astrum | VA: Sakurai Takahiro | 櫻井 孝宏 |
  Danganronpa series as Kuwata Leon, Black wolves Saga series as Mejojo von Garibaldi, Grisaia series as Kazama Yuuji, Naruto Shipuuden as Sasori, Final Fantasy series as Cloud Strife, Anohana as Atsumu Matsuyuki, and Psycho-pass as Shogo Makushima.
• Hiroya | VA: Okamoto Nobuhiko |岡本 信彦 |
  Black Wolves Saga series as Pearl, Maid Sama! as Takumi Usui, Haikyu!! as Yuu Nishinoya, and Gekkan-Shojo Nozaki-kun as Mikoto ‘Mikorin’ Mikoshiba
• Libera | VA: Hanae Natsuki | 花江 夏樹 |
  Taisho x Alice series as Ookami, Your Lie in April as Kosei Arima, Tokyo Ghoul series as Ken Kaneki, and Aldnoah Zero as Inaho Kaizuka
• Shiki | VA: Toriumi Kousuke | 鳥海 浩輔 |
  Hakuoki series as Saito Hajime, Naruto series as Inuzuka Kiba, Danganronpa series as Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Nightshade as Momochi Chojiro
• Radius | VA: Maeno Tomoaki | 前野 智昭 |
  Code: Realize series as Arséne Lupin, Taisho x Alice series as Akazukin, and Kenka Banchou Otome as Onaigashima Houou
• Zain | VA: Hirakawa Daisuke | 平川 大輔 |
  Code: Realize series as Count Saint-Germain, School Days series as Itou Makoto, Hiiro no Kakera as Oomi Suguru, Taisho x Alice as Cinderella and Diabolik Lovers series as Sakamaki Raito

System ★★★★★

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The system was another fantastic aspect of Period: Cube and definitely matched up to the music and voice acting. I loved the system user interface (UI) and design, and it felt very crisp and smooth to navigate. The attentiveness to the detail reflective of an RPG were consistent throughout the game and followed the thematic motifs of Period: Cube. It really left a strong and lasting impression, especially if you’ve previously played RPGs and can relate to the references much better.

It provided statistic pages for all the characters, displaying their items/gear, class information and love affection towards the heroine. Depending on the events of the story, the HP Gauge of the character actually does change and I found myself checking on it periodically throughout the game.

The system incorporated great battle animations such as character sprite transitions upon using abilities, monster kills, spells, glowing weapons, affection increase etc. It definitely brought the RPG game elements to life, and I really liked the map movement of the game which reflected the time of day.

This is also shown on the game’s loading screen, which had three different landscapes based on morning, afternoon or night. Period: Cube had all the basic functions of a visual novel such as CG Gallery, scene recollection, music list, and save/load slots. I liked the extra unlocked character profiles of the bachelor’s real life personas upon completion of their route, and the bonus ‘his perspective’ segment that had a bit of fan-service dialogue.

However, I do wish these were a little longer in length and came with a CG as it’s technically the ‘after-epilogue’ endings of the routes. The skip speed was very fast and the jump button was a life saver considering how vague the options of this game were at times. This definitely helped so much when writing my walkthrough and manoeuvring through the game routes.

As Period: Cube is still purely a Visual Novel, the combat system was extremely basic; however, it was nice that the creators tried to incorporate it into the game. I personally didn’t think that they should’ve used the combat select options as important route deciders, as it made the game unnecessarily more difficult than it should have been.

The encyclopaedia is very useful and a helpful feature for players who have never played an RPG before and ensures that the game is enjoyable for a wider audience. However, for players accustomed to the RPG elements then the definitions were very basic and common knowledge. I also really liked the blinking, mouth and hair movements of the game, since it showed up really nicely with the PS Vita graphics.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Period: Cube is a good game. With the stellar game design, system, voice acting and music; it definitely made it a worthwhile title to try and support english game localisations. It had gorgeous visuals on the PS Vita screen, and far better music and voice acting than I would have ever anticipated. It had an awesome opening and is sung by Joelle, who has contributed the vocals to other games such as Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Bravely Default.

It incorporated a notable amount of gameplay, CG art and many character routes to choose from. Although the storyline left much to be desired in its execution, it still had an interesting premise and captivating elements in all the routes. It really needed more cohesive explanations to some of the glaring plot holes in several of the character stories. The incorporation of the protagonist Kazuha with the combat system was also quite poor, and I was really disappointed by how minimally it impacted the storyline.

I honestly preferred less dateable characters overall, and more writing time devoted into fleshing out the bachelors that had significant contribution to the overarching plot. Personalities such as Zain, Demento and Libera were nice to have, but not necessary to the overall storyline. With or without their involvement, it didn’t significantly alter the key events in Period: Cube nor would I have sorely missed their presence.

I preferred more writing focus and character development on Radius, Astrum, Hiroya, and Shiki as well as replacing Libera with Natsu. To me, that would have offered a more memorable connection and attachment to the characters; as well as better explanations on the overarching plot. Rather than dedicating screen time to new character stories that were half-done anyways, they could have addressed the many prevalent plot-holes.

Although they incorporated a lot of cute character and relationship moments with all the bachelors, it wasn’t really enough to overlook the subpar plot explanations. I honestly felt stronger attachments to the side characters of the game, which is an indicator to how two-dimensional some of the bachelors really were. The highlight of Period: Cube was definitely the impressive world-building, music, voice acting, and UI design; and to me that was what really swung the game from a 3.5/5 to a 4/5 rating.

I do recommend giving the game a try, as I did enjoy the storyline and immersive graphics on the PS Vita. I particularly enjoyed Radius’ route and Tohru’s character, who were definitely the standouts from the game. Thank you again to Aksys Games for the collaboration, and I’m definitely looking forward to their next otome slated release of Collar x Malice on July 28th, 2017!

Overall Rating: 4/5

Written By Cherry