Tag: ios

Our Two Bedroom Story Character Review: Tsumugu Kido

Published on by Cherry1 Comment

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I decided to pick up a new Voltage Inc. character to try as I haven’t played a mobile game in a while and they were currently having their massive yearly sale. Although the sale has now ended, their yearly sale is the best time to try out their games since the prices re slashed on so many stories from 25%-75% off. If you’re not a fan of buying individual routes, I suggest waiting for these sales to occur before purchasing them.

After browsing the /r/otomegames reddit for some recommendations, I decided on Tsumugu Kido from ‘Our Two Bedroom Story’. I’ve played this title a long time ago when it first came out, and purchased the main story and sequel of ‘Minato Okouchi’ and ‘Kaoru Kirishima’ in the past.

It’s one of their more popular games that spawned a sequel title and I can understand why. Although the premise is rather bland and a rehash of the ‘forced living arrangements’ trope, the heroine is very refreshing and dedicated to her job. I believe back then it was one of their first games that introduced a very different protagonist in comparison to their older titles. The whole ‘step-sibling’ concept was incorporated rather poorly for most of the routes however, and clearly it’s only purpose was to serve as a reason for the couple to live together.

Despite this, I still feel that ‘Our Two Bedroom Story’ is one of their better titles and I did enjoy it back then when I first played it. What interested me about Kido was the literal ‘dual-personality’ aspect and how he actually had two different character sprites. This was quite different in comparison to previous Voltage Inc. routes and I was interested to see exactly how his route would play out.

Prologue Summary

The heroine temporarily moves into her new step-father’s home, only to find that it has already been occupied by a dishevelled, blunt and stingy man by the name of Kido. Speaking with a prominent kansai-dialect, he demands the heroine leave his home as he is the rightful owner of the place. Despite her protests, he childishly asserts that as he has already moved in first; she essentially has no say or claim in the matter. The protagonist has already moved all her things from her previous home, and the current circumstances renders her homeless.

She finally adheres to his living arrangement requirements, and agrees to pay rent for the next month until she is able to find another place. Although she is appalled by Kido’s love for money and unreasonable demands, she concedes that the current situation is far more desirable and less financially straining in comparison to living in a hotel.

The next day at work, she is excited that her efforts at the company had been recognised and her transfer request had finally been accepted. The heroine has been moved to the Seasonelle Department, which is the company section that every employee dreams of entering. It encompasses a group of the most elite journalists and news reporters within the company, working together in a high dynamic and fast-paced work environment.

To her surprise, she is not the only new worker entering the department. Another man by the name of Tsumugu Kido attends the same introductory meeting and the heroine is in awe of his skill and experience. He immediately leaves a lasting impression with his refreshing ideas for Seasonelle, despite it conflicting with the ace of the department Minato. He is unafraid to voice his daring ideas and handles himself with undisputed confidence.

Unlike the inexperienced heroine who struggles with all the new information at the meeting, Kido was head-hunted from another company due to his vast portfolio of publications and talent. She finds herself noticing the subtle similarities between Kido her co-worker, and the rude and dishevelled Kido at home.

She rules it as a coincidence that they share the same name as she is unable to bridge the disconnect between the two completely different personalities. Where the Kido at home is blunt, extremely rude and stingy; the Kido at work is full of gentle smiles, encouraging words and approaches his work with absolute efficiency. Unlike the shabby appearances of the Kido she knows, her new co-worker is exceptionally tidy, proper and emulates the ideal image of an elite businessman.

The heroine is immediately placed on a project with Kido as her support and she is determined to publish something worthwhile. In spite of the article being assigned to her, Kido quickly takes over the project and leaves little to nothing for the heroine to do. She is dismayed by the turn of events as although Kido’s methods are not wrong and far more efficient than anything she could potentially do; it was an article entrusted to her, to complete by her own efforts.

She is determined to prove her worth and at home that night, she begins to research new articles and content that even Kido himself did not include in his drafts. The Kido at home is surprised by her efforts, and asks her why she is trying so hard for a futile cause. She answers that she recognises her weaknesses, which fuels her desire to learn and improve herself to earn the recognition of her co-worker.

Afterwards, the Kido at work concedes to her wishes after seeing the content she produces and allows her to have a more active role in writing the article alongside him. Her relationship with both Kido’s continues to grow, and she finds herself slowly accepting the newfound company of her housemate. She begins to cook for the household in return for a reduction on rent and discovers that they share the same sense of humour.

They enjoy idyllic days together and fall into a comfortable routine of sharing dinner and watching comedy skits afterwards. Although they engage in their fair share of friendly banter, the heroine finds herself enjoying their conversations and her opinion of him gradually improving. However, she finds herself suspicious about the true nature of his work as she had never seen him dressed for it nor leave the house prior to her.

One night, she notices he had fallen asleep with the window open in his room. Despite his warnings for her to never enter his room, she worries that he may catch a cold overnight. She asserts that there would be no harm in sneaking in to close it, before taking her leave. However, she quickly becomes entranced by his sleeping face illuminated by the moonlight and is surprised at how unexpectedly handsome he is. Contrary to his usual dishevelled appearance, he had distinctly beautiful features that she never noticed before beneath his large frames.

To her shock, he briefly opens his eyes and she realises that the face staring back at her is none other than Tsumugu Kido; the prim, proper perfectionist she sees everyday at work.

Character Development

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Admittedly, after playing through Tsumugu Kido’s route his character is not for everyone. Due to the complete disconnect between his two personalities at home and at work, it’s difficult to decipher which of the two represents his true feelings towards the heroine. One moment he’s incredibly rude and condescending to her, whereas the next moment he showers her with kindness and gentle words. It’s consistently hot and cold with Tsumugu Kido, and you’re completely at the mercy of his whims for the majority of the story.

It really raised questions as readers on the genuineness of his feelings and actions towards the heroine, due to the incongruity between his two personalities. To me the highlight of the route was actually the protagonist herself, and her refreshing approach in responding to Kido’s difficult personality. She is headstrong, resilient and determined in proving her worth to Kido despite the obstacles she has to overcome. She successfully earns his respect and recognition of her abilities at work over the progression of the story.

This is quite a feat in itself as Kido is well-known for his solitude at work and his ambitions to rise to the top of the company, without the assistance of others. He is arrogant and prideful in his abilities, to which no one can refute due to the quality of work that he produces. On top of that, he is remarkably handsome and considered the current most eligible bachelor at the company.

Kido finds himself equally perplexed by the heroine and becomes increasingly resistant to her attempts at getting closer to him. No matter how rudely he acts towards her and pushes her away, she remains kind and accepting of his true personality. She is the only one he feels the most comfortable around and feels no need to hide his less than desirable traits from her. Instead of being offended by his tirade of insults, she deflects it with ease and constantly has snarky and witty comebacks of her own.

Rather than stepping down and being intimidated by his actions, the heroine isn’t afraid to speak her mind and stand up to him. I actually found myself laughing out loud at so many of their interactions with one another and it was really refreshing and different in comparison to the usual character dynamics seen in the standard Voltage Inc. routes. It was so satisfying to see Kido’s reluctant acceptance of her as his equal, and gradually opening up to one another due to their surprisingly similar personality traits and interests.

There is notable character and relationship development throughout his route which was crucial to the good pacing of his story. When the heroine decides to enact a cooking strike due to Kido’s actions, we begin to see the change in his character and his clear shift in emotions towards the heroine. It was really sweet to finally see glimpses of Kido’s true self, and the subtle kindness within his actions rather than his words.

When the protagonist finally discovers the truth behind his past, it finally closes the disconnect between Kido’s two personalities and how he came to be the person he was in the present. His suffering, hard work and perseverance to finally achieve his current place in life is admirable and he is understandably jaded due to his experiences. I liked the focus and writing dedicated to the explanation of his past, as it was quite thorough and was a crucial aspect that revealed the complexities beneath his character.

He gradually falls deeper in love with the heroine and how she truly sees him as a person rather than for his monetary assets. This is the pivotal moment where we finally see Tsumugu Kido’s true self and emotions and it felt so satisfying to read. It was like all the heroine’s difficulties in overcoming his difficult personality and finally coming to truly understand him were worthwhile in the end.

Although his character personality and story may not be for everyone, I still really enjoyed his route and was surprised by how much I liked it in the end. It is quite difficult to get into initially because of how utterly abrasive and rude Kido is in comparison to the other Voltage characters I’ve played that encompassed a similar character trope. As Kido quite literally has a ‘dual personality and identity’ in every sense of the word, I felt his character and route were a direct reflection of this.

His personality is very extreme in both ends of the spectrum and swings wildly back and forth between the two. His emotions and actions constantly contradict one another which serves to both confuse and infuriate the heroine, as she is unable to distinguish his true feelings. The banter and light-hearted moments between the two serves to ease the tension and I was really impressed by how snarky and witty the heroine was, in responding to Kido’s antics.

I felt like she was definitely one of the best renditions of the MC in ‘Our Two Bedroom Story’. Although in the other routes she also exhibits determination and passion for her work, considering how infuriating Kido was at times; it also brought out the fire in her own personality.

Despite Kido being a new character to the game, he surprisingly has a lot of content already implemented due to his unexpected popularity. His route is a whirlwind of emotions from beginning to end, and has a very rocky and tumultuous start with his relationship to the MC. However, I do recommend giving his route a try as the conclusion to his story and the development of his character was well worth the read in the end.

Irresistible Mistakes Character Review: Toshiaki Kijima

Published on by Cherry8 Comments

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WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! 

If you would like the walkthrough for his character, you can read it here.

For a general review of the game, you can read it here.

Prologue Summary

Toshiaki Kijima is the executive of the accounting/finance department, and regularly dubbed ‘the Evil Executive’ or the ‘Data Devil’ within the office. He often reduces newcomers to tears with his high expectations, critical eye towards work and pushes them to their limits in order to produce the results he desires.

This leaves a less than stellar impression on many of the workers outside of his department, and his cold, abrasive personality doesn’t exactly help alleviate that picture. Toshiaki is extremely passionate about his work, and doesn’t let negative opinions phase him; as he views that his reasons for working aren’t to socialise or befriend others.

However, what Toshiaki says and what he genuinely feels are two completely different ends of the spectrum. Although he comes across as withdrawn and aloof, he actually shows great care and consideration for both the heroine and others through his actions. His criticisms towards work are hardly ever wrong, and he never blatantly dismisses the ideas of others.

Rather, he gives constructive advice and forethought in order to improve their work. Toshiaki even chooses not to attend company social parties out of consideration, due to his knowledge that his presence may be seen as discomforting for most people; something which the heroine views as incredibly sad.

Initially, the MC is shocked at the realisation that her mystery partner whom she slept with from the company party is in fact Toshiaki Kijima—The Devil Executive from Hell. From the glimpses of her fragmented memories, the man from last night had been unbearably sweet, gentle; and yet a sense of sadness glistened in his eyes and actions.

To contrast that experience with the image she had of him within the workplace, it simply didn’t add up at all. On top of that, after meeting at the bar to discuss the events that happened last night; the heroine reluctantly admits that she only has vague memories of what had transpired between them.

She apologises for her unruly behaviour, and Toshiaki’s expression hardens at this revelation. He immediately dismisses her attempts to discuss the matter, and states that it would be best for them both to forget the event had ever occurred and abruptly leaves. The MC is taken aback by his actions, but concedes that there is no point in fretting over the matter; if he wasn’t willing to talk about it, then it would be best to do as he said and write it off as a one-night stand.

After all, it wouldn’t do her any good to further lament over the issue; especially because he was still her executive from work. Thankfully as they were allocated to separate departments, the heroine reasons that she would have very little interaction with him during work hours. It was another reason as to why her impression of him was based on what she had heard from co-workers. She had never seen with her own eyes how he approached work and interacted with others.

However to her dismay, soon after she is placed on a joint project with Yuiko and Toshiaki as her direct supervisor. She is to produce a commercial for the famous Mira Black: a canned coffee well known for its bitter and dark taste. Due to the newfound opportunity and their past history, the heroine is spurred on by her desire to finally get to know the real Toshiaki. The disconnect between the face Toshiaki shows at work, and the gentle man he was when touching her that night… just where does the blurred line distinguishing the two end?

Why did he look so sad that night, and what was the meaning behind that melancholic smile? Thus, begins the complicated romance with a man burdened by his past and belief that he could never fall in love again.

Character Development

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I had no idea what to expect going into Toshiaki Kijima’s route, and I had keen interest in him prior to his release since I really liked his character design. I went into his story expecting something similar to what we saw in Shunichiro Tachibana’s route, and oh how extremely wrong I was in that assumption. In comparison to Shunichiro’s route, Toshiaki’s couldn’t be anymore different.

I suppose thinking back on it now with hindsight, it makes sense as they’re in essence two completely different characters. Where Shunichiro is suave, charismatic, passionate and well-accustomed to handling women; Toshiaki is awkward, incredibly sweet, soft and struggles to convey how he truly feels. His story isn’t so much about a whirlwind romance or a heated office tryst, but two people deeply connecting in eventual emotional understanding, and helping him come to terms with his past in order to look towards the future.

For Shunichiro and the MC, they already had prior familiarity as both work partners and as her inspiration for joining the company. It’s no wonder their route takes on a more heated and sensual tone, as their barely contained attraction for one another was already present from the very beginning. Between Toshiaki and the heroine however, then outside of knowing each other’s names and capabilities at work; they essentially knew nothing about one other.

Their relationship development and understanding of one another is gradual, slow, sentimental and bittersweet; the kind that leaves warm feelings of tenderness throughout reading the story. He continually helps the MC when she is having troubles with the project such as taking her to Shimane to visit the origins of Mira Black for inspiration, and gifted her sweepstakes stickers when she had mentioned collecting them.

Toshiaki accompanies her to purchase bingo gifts for the company party, and exhibits his consideration for what others would like through his choice of items; despite them being the very same co-workers who spoke spitefully about him behind his back. He always shows concern for the little nuances and changes in the heroine’s personality, with him being the first to notice she was ill and carrying her to the infirmary.

Before long, she realises that she has fallen in love with him; and wished to know more about him not as a superior or a work colleague — but as a man whom she wanted to be with. She doesn’t want to view that night as a regret, or just a one-night stand. However, she knows that a future between them wouldn’t be possible unless she truly comes to understand the root of his suffering; and why he continued to push her away.

With the help of Shunichiro, the MC learns the truth of his past and the sadness behind his smile that night. Five years ago, his long-term girlfriend had passed away due to terminal cancer. He used to be the type of man who put his all into work, just to make time to fly to Shimane every weekend to visit her.

Toshiaki had never been the same since the incident, and rather than being the person most upset about her passing; he was rendered emotionless and dispassionate to everything. He threw himself further into his work, and despite being so in love with her; he had not shed a single tear at her funeral.

The heroine recalls his pained expression whenever he glances at Tokyo Tower, and decides that it is the place that they need to go to together in order to confront his past. He reluctantly agrees, and when they’re viewing the beautiful Tokyo night sky; he finally reveals to her what happened within his past. His work had been the only thing left for him after she had passed away, and what kept him going through day to day life.

Initially he had been proud of his work, but after she disappeared from his life; he grew to view it as the only remaining good thing about himself. After all, he was the type of cold, heartless man who could not even shed tears for his girlfriend’s death, so did he really deserve happiness? Did he even have the right to love another person? After all, due to his childish wish to see Tokyo Tower when she was better; he decided not to take her. The idea that it would most likely be the last and only time that they could go… he was afraid to accept it, and because of that he was never able to fulfil her last dream.

If only he had taken her, then she could’ve at least been happy and smiled at him one last time. The heroine begins to cry out of sadness and pain for his sake, to see how much he has bottled up inside over the past five years. She cannot even begin to comprehend the sheer loss and yearning he must have felt all alone. She admits that she had already heard the partial truth from Shunichiro, and deduced that Tokyo Tower had some special significance to him. She wanted to provide him with some solace and closure in order to confront his past, and face his inner demons.

She explains that it’s because he feels so much and has such kind consideration for others, that it wasn’t possible for him to truly be cold and unemotional. It’s because of his nature that he simply wasn’t able to face his own grief and the reality of her own death. In order to escape the cruel, painful truth he had immersed himself in his work to forget the past and his remaining regrets.

What I really loved about the heroine was not only was she passionate about her work, but she truly got to know Toshiaki and fall in love with everything about him, both the good and bad. She is tenacious, approaches everything with the utmost enthusiasm and never falls to any set backs that occur. It’s why no matter how many times he pushes her away, she stays true to her own beliefs and convictions about his character; and continues to persist in getting to know the real Toshiaki.

Out of genuine love for him does she go to such lengths in order to mend his heart; for his own sake and happiness rather than her own. To me, that is the most genuine and pure form of love that you could ever show someone else. Likewise, in Toshiaki’s POV story we see that every action he does for the heroine is due to his consideration of her own feelings and happiness.

He doesn’t want to associate with her for her own sake, as he doesn’t want to drag her down with his feelings and past burdens. He doesn’t view that he deserves her or to be loved, due to his past actions with his deceased girlfriend. It was really refreshing to see his inner turmoil over the one-night stand, and that he had fretted over the dilemma even more than the MC.

I highly recommend his POV story in conjunction with the main route since Voltage really did an incredible job with them. It gives so much more dimension to his character and the overarching story, providing more insight on what exactly happened that night and how conflicting his true feelings and actions really are.

The complete opposite of unemotional, it is revealed how much restrained passion he felt for the heroine and his respect of her work ethic, bright personality, determination, and kindness. The final chapter of his POV during his conversation with his girlfriend at her grave was truly befitting with the bittersweet theme of his story. He finally comes to terms with his own emotions regarding her death and can now let go of the past. Although he could never forget her, he hopes that she would continue to watch over him as he finally allows himself to seek happiness.

The fact that he could ultimately shed tears, and release the emotions he had built up for so many years is a testament to how much the heroine had impacted his life for the better. It is because of her that he can now look towards the future, and his life has finally started moving again rather than being forever stuck in the same place.

I really liked how their relationship in comparison to Shunichiro’s route didn’t revolve around the one-night stand. Although it was the beginning of their connection to one another, it didn’t define what transpired between them afterwards. It wouldn’t have fit with the tone of Toshiaki’s route nor his personality. His story ending was so satisfying and sweet, as he finally is able to give in to his passions and love for the heroine.

The common motif throughout his story is the comparison of Toshiaki’s personality to the coffee Mira Black, which the heroine ironically gets hooked on and begins drinking excessively during her work on the project. It’s dark, bitter and leaves a strong aftertaste initially; an acquired taste that not everyone would like. And yet once you get used to it, you notice the rich subtleties of the flavour that no other coffee can compare to.

I felt that perfectly described Toshiaki’s character throughout the route, as he really does grow on you and left a very warm impression on me by the end of his story. Not to mention it represents the heroine’s own growing feelings towards Toshiaki as well. The coffee eventually becomes her staple drink, and she learns to love the subtle sweet and warm nuances of flavour that comes after the initially bitter taste. I recommend his route if you’re after a more romantic and bittersweet story, rather than a sexually charged and dramatic route like Shunichiro’s.

Irresistible Mistakes: Toshiaki Kijima Main Story Walkthrough

Published on by Cherry1 Comment

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If you would like to read my general review of the game you can read it here, as well as my separate character route review on Toshiaki Kijima.

Heartfelt Ending

  • Bring it up yourself.
  • Yes!
  • I bet he’s actually a good guy
  • Apologize.
  • Ask Toshiaki.
  • Ask about Shunichiro and Yukihisa
  • Got it.
  • Yes
  • That was so cute!
  • You’re passionate about your job.
  • What were you doing?
  • There is someone.
  • Accept his help.
  • I don’t know what to do.
  • Only at first.
  • Say you forgot something.
  • Smile.
  • Stumble over your words.
  • I don’t know.
  • Ask him point blank.
  • Freak out.
  • Does he really mean it?
  • I’m not used to the helmet.
  • I wanted you to confront your feelings.

Provocative Ending

  • Signal him with your eyes
  • You really think I can do it …?
  • Honestly, it’s awkward
  • Make up an excuse
  • Okay.
  • Ask him about coffee
  • I think, “That isn’t fair.”
  • Hard to say.
  • I wouldn’t dare make a joke.
  • Why did you do this…?
  • What happened?
  • Please introduce me to someone.
  • Wonder what I should do.
  • This works.
  • No.
  • Talk loudly
  • Look away in a hurry
  • No
  • He drinks too much coffee.
  • Ask discreetly.
  • Pretend I’m sleeping.
  • Wait, but…
  • I’m nervous.
  • I wanted you to forget the past.

Irresistible Mistakes Character Review: Shunichiro Tachibana

Published on by Cherry5 Comments

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WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! 

If you would like the walkthrough for his character, you can read it here.

For a general review of the game, you can read it here.

Prologue Summary

Shunichiro Tachibana is the Creative Director of Addison & Rhodes, and by extension the heroine’s boss and head of her department. He inspired the heroine to pursue commercial advertising and marketing, after viewing his first commercial during a difficult heartbreak at a young age. It touched the heroine’s heart and gave her the encouragement to move forward with her life; to some day create a commercial that could touch the lives of others. The heroine works hard and manages to be accepted into the same company he works at.

After six years at Addison & Rhodes, the protagonist is still very much so passionate about her work. It’s to the point where her closest co-workers Natsume and Yuiko always tease her about her undeterred determination, and constantly force her to attend lunch with them otherwise she’d lose track of time and forget to eat.

Shunichiro Tachibana has since risen in the ranks of the company, and is on the fast-track to being promoted to Director. He is the CEO’s right hand man, talented, ambitious, all-around perfect and considered out of reach by all the women in the company.

At a company party celebrating his recipiency of another award, the heroine has one too many drinks and reveals to him her long harboured feelings of admiration for his work. He is surprised and touched by her words, as he had almost forgotten his rookie days at the company.

It was a commercial that had been panned by his superiors for its weak delivery, and after hours of hard work refining it; he finally managed to receive their approval. It is an elementary work at best, but to the young Shunichiro it had been his greatest achievement at the time and the fruits of his labour.

To hear that his work from so long ago had been able to touch someone’s heart gives him a deep sense of nostalgia and happiness. The protagonist reminds him of his younger self; brimming with passion, devotion and genuine love for advertising – something which he has long lost and become jaded to after working in the field for so long. When Yukihisa Maki (the company Doctor) suggests to take the heroine home as his responsibility as a Doctor, Shunichiro refuses – stating he would take care of her instead.

As long time childhood friends, Yukihisa is surprised as normally Shunichiro doesn’t bother taking care of drunk girls but eventually relents to his insistence. He takes her to a hotel, and changes her out of her wet clothes due to the heavy rain on their way there.

He dresses her in a bath robe, and says he should be leaving now; but the heroine in her drunken state holds onto his arm. She rectifies that she admires him as both her inspiration, and as her boss. Shunichiro struggles holding himself back in her currently defenceless state, and attempts to draw a line between them due to their work place relationship.

The heroine then expresses that she loves him, and although Shunichiro knows she probably means it out of admiration for him; he is unable to hold himself back any longer. He is undeniably attracted to her, and she willingly accepts his advances. They sleep together and the heroine flees the next morning without learning who her partner was.

This was due to both embarrassment and because she had originally intended to come into work early that day. It is then announced that she has been placed on an elite team from the company to produce an advertisement for the Olympic Games and it is against their number one rival CL, who in prior years has had this exclusive privilege.

This year however, it is an open competition to all advertising companies on who can create the best campaign to be chosen by a panel of judges. The team will be lead by Shunichiro, and the whole company’s future will be riding on this event. If they emerge victorious, it would create history and Shunichiro’s promotion as Director would undoubtedly occur. The heroine is extremely excited by the opportunity, as she had never participated in such a major project before.

To her dismay, she is unable to fully enjoy the news due to her realisation that the mystery man she slept with is one of her co-workers that are all currently working with her on the project. She decides to return to the bar from the party last night in hopes of finding any clues in discerning who the prospect is. To her absolute shock, it was Shunichiro Tachibana after receiving a text from him saying he wants to see her again that night. Thus, this begins their whirlwind romance and office tryst.

Character Development

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What I really liked about his route was that the foundations for their attraction was already clear from the beginning. He is her long admired superior and inspiration for her work, whereas he respects her passion and dedication as his subordinate. They already have a connection and point of interest from her love of his first commercial, and their similar devotion and pride for their job.

It is only natural then that attraction would bloom, because they’re like-minded individuals and are physically compatible. Shunichiro Tachibana gives her the opportunity to work for the Olympic Games Advertisement out of recognition for the hard work she has put in during her six years with the company.

He sees her potential and talent, and continually helps and encourages her development progress with it. Shunichiro is always helpful with his advice, and leads her onto the right path to figure it out herself with her own strength. He pushes her to her limits and works her extremely hard because he genuinely believes that she can do it. It is through these interactions that the heroine begins to see the sides of him that she never saw before from afar; the Shunichiro Tachibana that wasn’t her boss or employer, but Shunichiro Tachibana himself.

Although she knows it’s wrong and never thought she would have a purely physical relationship with someone; she is unable to hold herself back and continues to sleep with him. So long as she can continue this connection with him, she can accept the consequences. However, as she falls more deeply in love with him; she realises she can no longer sustain this relationship in shades of grey.

She knows it’s selfish to desire more, because to begin with their relationship had never ‘started’. There was never anything more to expect out of this predicament other than heartbreak, and so she has only herself to blame. If only she could enjoy the physical pleasures of it, then they could’ve continued as they were – but her morals and values couldn’t bring herself to see it through. She knows it’s wrong with his impending arranged engagement, and breaks up with him.

This is what I really liked about the heroine. No matter what happened in her personal life, she never let it interfere with her work life. She always put her utmost effort into creating the foundations for the commercial, pouring her everything into making it a success. She knows what she wants, and takes decisive action on it; even though she knows the inevitable heartbreak in the end. She knows when to draw the line, and decide what is best for herself. Even until the end, she doesn’t tell Shunichiro Tachibana she loves him; because it wouldn’t lead to anything until Shunichiro decides exactly where she stands to him.

I really liked the scenes where they made love whenever it rained. It was just so passionate and the palpable attraction and dynamic between the couple was well written. Especially the last scene when they say goodbye after their final date before ending their relationship, you could clearly see the agony and heartbreak of both characters struggling to decide what to do with their emotions.

Shunichiro is the typical type of guy where in order to maintain his strong, masculine persona; he never reveals his true emotions in order to protect himself. He had originally decided to end the engagement after the advertisement presentation in fear of it impacting the judge’s verdict.

This is because the arranged engagement is to the governor’s daughter, someone who has massive bearings over the competition and had allowed them to participate if Shunchiro agreed to attend the omiai (marriage meeting) in the first place. However, faced with the prospect of losing the heroine and what he always wanted most; he decides to throw it all away and cancel the engagement.

He wanted the heroine to fall for him so badly without him revealing his true feelings and winning the competition to fulfill his promise at the same time; that his indecision between the two led to him losing her. With their eventual advertisement victory with the judges touched by it’s impactful message, he bares his complete heart to the heroine. He apologises for his selfishness, and that he knew he couldn’t win her heart with the way he was going; but he couldn’t bear to let her go.

She reminds him of the parts of himself he has long forgotten; his passion, drive, and enjoyment for the job. She inspires him to better himself as a person, and deeply respects her talent and ambition – it was why he helped her to begin with for the advertisement, rather than taking the reigns himself. He had always been serious about her from the beginning, and that was why he slept with her.

It was more than just physical attraction, or merely a one-night stand. However, due to the circumstances and his inability to cope with his newfound feelings; he was unable to fully come to terms with himself and what he wanted to do until faced with the prospect of losing her. They finally confess their love for each other, and become a real couple.

What I really liked was the incorporation of their work dynamic in the game, and the feeling that they were truly equals. The heroine is talented in her own right, and Shunichiro continually helps her better both her skills in the workplace and herself as a person. Vice versa, the heroine shows Shunichiro sides of himself that he has since forgotten, and challenges him in a way that no one else does. They’re both willing recipients in the events after their one-night stand; it’s a choice that both of them consent to due to their intense attraction to one another both mentally and physically.

Of course, when their feelings deepen that’s when the complications occur. I highly recommend reading Shunichiro Tachibana’s POV story, since it gives a lot more insight in his thought process throughout the whole affair; and paints a better picture of his true feelings.

What I thought could be improved on was a lot of aspects weren’t explained clearly or delved upon in the main story. For example: what is the nature of this ‘promise’ he made to the previous CEO of Addison & Rhodes? What about it was so important that he simply couldn’t give up the competition? Just why is he so desperate as to make it his life’s purpose?

It’s been hinted that his father is a member of the Diet, and as such he is highly ranked in Parliament. This makes Shunichiro his son and direct successor, as well as a future member of the Diet. What made Shunichiro pursue a career in advertising instead? What is his relationship to his father and family? Perhaps it might be delved upon in the season two arcs or the sequel stories. Regardless, it left much to be desired because it felt like there was so much more to Shunichiro’s character that just wasn’t explored.

Overall, I really did enjoy Shunichiro Tachibana’s story. It was refreshing to see such an interesting and passionate dynamic between the two lead characters; battling their attraction for one another whilst balancing their office life. The writing was much better than Voltage Inc’s previous works, which I was pretty surprised about.

However, he is the main bachelor of the game so I did expect his story to be the best out of all the potential characters you can choose. Voltage is quite inconsistent in that aspect, since their routes tend to differ greatly in writing quality. They’ll have one or two good routes, with the others being very average or lacking in many aspects.

The first five episodes of Shunichiro Tachibana’s route is free to play right now as part of their promotional campaign for the game, so I recommend checking the game out whilst it’s free to play.

Irresistible Mistakes Review

Published on by Cherry9 Comments

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RELEASE DATE: 2017
PUBLISHER: Voltage Inc.
PLATFORMS AVAILABLE: iOS/Android (English)

So, I know in my release post of the game I mentioned a review would most likely come out in a few days. But considering I unexpectedly enjoyed the game a lot more than I initially anticipated, and while it is still fresh in my mind; I decided why not just write it now? I was very excited about this game, because it is very different from the recent titles that the company has released. A mature protagonist in a more adult setting it always a welcomed change, and I really liked all the bachelor designs this time round.

Normally, I usually only purchase between 1-3 character routes and rarely will buy the sequels or sub stories. If I do, it would usually only be for characters I enjoyed or 1-2 sub stories with an interesting premise. As such, I won’t be giving ratings for this review as I feel I can’t properly score the game if I have yet to see all the content it has to offer. This review will mostly be based on the gameplay seen in the prologue and currently released character route.

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Storyline

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-The Story- 

I should never have done that…
He was a total stranger. I didn’t even know his name.
But we spent the night together…!
It was just a huge mistake. There could never be anything between us!
Or so I thought…

“I want to see you again tonight…”

That simple text from him was just the beginning of an incredible love affair…

The heroine is a young and passionate office worker, currently working for an advertisement and commercial marketing agency called Addison & Rhodes. She has worked for the company for six years, and enjoys her work immensely. She was inspired to enter the career field many years ago after viewing an advertisement designed by Shunichiro Tachibana (the main bachelor). Since then, he has risen up the corporate ladder and acts as the current creative director and by extension, head of her department. She admires his ambition, artistic flair and work ethic as her superior; and that his commercials have the ability to touch people’s hearts.

It is her dream to be able to create a commercial of the same calibre, as his first commercial she viewed many years ago helped her through a difficult heartbreak in the past. At a company party celebrating his recent award for a large advertisement, she carelessly underestimates her alcohol intake and drinks herself away into a drunken stupor.

The next morning, she wakes up in bed at an unfamiliar hotel with clothes strewn everywhere and the shadow of a man currently in the shower. In her embarrassment and shock at her actions, as well as having no memories of the night prior; she quickly dresses herself and escapes as she still has work to attend to. At work, she laments her actions as she had never had a one-night stand before and she does not even know the face of the man she slept with.

After receiving more information about the night before from her two closest co-workers: Natsume and Yuiko, she realises to her dismay it could be potentially one of five bachelors that all happen to be part of her workplace. However, as there is no possible method of discerning who it is without complete embarrassment on her end; she decides that perhaps some things are better off forgetting.

Unable to resist temptation, the heroine decides as a last ditch effort to visit the bar from last night’s party to perhaps find the missing clue that would lead to the identity of her bachelor. As she despairs over the futility of the situation, and receives her drink from the handsome bartender: she receives a text.

It is signed with the name of her mystery bachelor from last night, and the words: “I want to see you again tonight…”

The writing in this game is a lot better than many of Voltage’s recent releases, to my pleasant surprise. I really do enjoy their more mature-themed games, and this gives similar vibes to ‘In Your Arms Tonight’. So if you loved that game, I’m sure you’ll definitely enjoy this title as well. It is more sexually explicit than their previous works, so that is something to keep in mind about the game (it is has a recommended rating for 17+ in the application store).

The heroine is definitely the selling point for me. She is kind, earnest, passionate, career-driven, realistic yet still has a refreshing sense of innocence with her character. She assumes just as much responsibility in the one-night stand as the bachelor, which I really liked.

She’s mature enough to understand it was a two-way street: there’s no such thing as one-way seduction. She is flawed, multi-faceted and has a strong enough personality to own up to her mistakes and take action. At the end of the day the bachelor and heroine are just two characters deeply attracted to one another, but the circumstances of their work life and beginnings create complications in their relationship.

Inevitably what begins as a passionate tryst deriving from physical compatibility and admiration in their work lives, evolves into something more. The heroine must decide whether to continue their relationship within the shades of grey, or turn it into concrete black or white: to end whatever connection they have to one another and return to their normal lives, or the potential of rejection for a wholesome relationship.

Character Development

I will be covering the individual character routes in separate posts, and add to the list here when new characters come out. If you need any help with clocking the game, I have the walkthroughs here.

Design

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The art in Irresistible Mistakes is gorgeous for Voltage and mobile game standards. It’s probably their best title in terms of art quality. The MC is really pretty, and I do like how she is finally not faceless. I understand that mobile games do like to have faceless heroines, just so the reader can more easily ‘self-input’ themselves as her character. To me however, it just ruins a perfectly good CG since it just seems so out of place. The background art is significantly improved in comparison to their previous games, and overall the art is very clean in their new title.

It’s vibrant, detailed and the character proportions and poses are much better. I do like how they incorporated more animations into the game, such as when the character walks closer to you; it zooms up on their profile on the screen and the raining cinematic.

Music and Voice Acting

I’m really glad Voltage decided to go back to their forte for BGMs in this game. Some of their best soundtracks have mainly been soft piano instrumentals, such as ‘My Forged Wedding’ and ‘Office Secrets’. Irresistible Mistakes used the same concept, incorporating mainly soft instrumentals and piano soundtracks. My favourite song of the game was definitely the main theme, as I felt it suited the mood and tone perfectly. A major improvement was that the looping wasn’t as noticeable in this game, in comparison to their other titles.

As with all Voltage Inc’s games, it does not include voice acting.

System

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The system is pretty basic Voltage standard layout, but I do like the theme image a lot more in this game. It includes all the basic functions such as character profile, story/chapter select, and image gallery. It does not include save slots, but the game is easy enough to get both endings with the help of the likability gauge. I still don’t understand how to this day, Voltage still doesn’t have the function to adjust the text speed settings to show ALL; it’s a lot more straining on my eyes personally to read the moving text.

One thing I really liked was the new character introduction animation during the prologue. It was refreshing to see a new change, and it helped make the characters more memorable when deciding which route to choose.

Conclusion

The game is one of Voltage Inc’s best releases, at least from what I have seen so far. It’s nice to see that they’ve improved on a lot of the areas of criticism that they’ve received in their past games. The heroine is refreshing to read, and it’s just as much her story as the bachelor’s. They play equal roles in both the plot development and as character’s; something which a lot of Visual Novels neglect actually. A lot of writers tunnel vision into creating and weaving an interesting character that encourages the flow of their own story; whilst neglecting the fact that the playable character themselves is equally as important.

I do like how the heroine isn’t perfect, but she’s mature enough to understand her shortcomings and address her problems without shying away from reality. The bachelors themselves aren’t as ideal as they’re made out to be; but that’s how they progress in their relationship, bettering themselves through the conflicts that they face together. The driving force behind their passions, ambitions and attraction to one another is their love for their job; and that to me makes for a more immersive storyline.

I enjoyed the game a lot to finish the first route in one sitting, and highly recommend to give it a go at the moment due to the promotional release campaign. You can read the first five episodes of Shunichiro Tachibana’s route for free. So if you’d like to sample the game, now is the time to do so!

Irresistible Mistakes: Shunichiro Tachibana Main Story Walkthrough

Published on by Cherry1 Comment

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If you would like to read my general review of the game you can read it here, as well as my separate character route review on Shunichiro Tachibana.

Heartfelt Ending

  • I’ll do my best
  • Stare at him
  • It made me happy, too
  • My strengths?
  • I’ll work on a new idea.
  • You live for your work.
  • Do you always drink alone?
  • Hi.
  • I’ll give it everything I got.
  • You know that’s not why.
  • Ask what Mr. Tachibana was like.
  • I want to talk to you.
  • I’ll cook for real next time.
  • I’m happy, too.
  • Don’t stop
  • It has nothing to do with you
  • Give him an update.
  • It’s cute.
  • Thank you for defending me.
  • You were serious about me?
  • We’ll win.
  • What else do you like?
  • Of course I’ll go.
  • We’ll win.

Provocative Ending

  • Why me?
  • Pull away
  • You don’t regret it?
  • I’ll be careful.
  • Another angle?
  • There isn’t anyone you like?
  • That’s cool.
  • Look away.
  • It’s really not a pipe dream?
  • We should get back.
  • I envy you.
  • Who was that?
  • I bet you say that to anyone.
  • I want to make a commercial like that.
  • Up to you.
  • It has nothing to do with you.
  • Act cool.
  • No, I like it, too.
  • About the omiai.
  • You’re saying this now?
  • I want to pick it.
  • Isn’t work your hobby?
  • Look at Mr. Kijima
  • It isn’t too late…

NEWS: Irresistible Mistakes Release

Published on by Cherry1 Comment
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-The Story- 

I should never have done that…
He was a total stranger. I didn’t even know his name.
But we spent the night together…!
It was just a huge mistake. There could never be anything between us!
Or so I thought…

“I want to see you again tonight…”

That simple text from him was just the beginning of an incredible love affair…

The game is out now on both the apple and android store for everyone to play! I’m personally quite interested in Voltage Inc’s new release as I feel it has a more mature theme in comparison to their usual games. It reminds me of ‘In Your Arms Tonight’, which was definitely one of their best titles for an older audience.

I haven’t been too impressed with their recent releases, so I’m hoping that this one will be different. I’ll most likely have a review on the game out in a couple of days, after I play through perhaps a route or two depending on which characters I find the most interesting or whether it leaves a good impression on the first play through.

You can actually play 5 free episodes from one of the selectable bachelors as part of the release campaign. So, if you would like to trial out the story and game without paying for a route I highly recommend downloading and checking it out. 5 Episodes is actually a pretty decent length, since Voltage games tend to be around 10-16 episodes long so you’re essentially getting to see the first half of the story.

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