Otome games are a wonderful creation.
Like manga, anime, or novels, you get to explore another world, but, in dating sims, you actually get to be a part of the world. Unlike those other forms of entertainment, you can be the one to make choices and direct the story. Sure, every choice has been planned for, but what story isn't planned out? (Besides bad ones, of course.)
Good dating sims have beautiful art and sometimes dazzling animations. There's music that helps add atmosphere and is delightful to the players. With spectacular voice acting, characters come to life. A great game also has to have wonderful writers to flesh out the world and characters and, of course, the love stories. Not to be forgotten, decent programmers are needed to create mechanics and smooth gameplay. If carefully directed and made with love, dating sims can be more enjoyable than anything else!
But the main reason girls are attracted to these games are the boys, and I am no different.
The capture targets are the story, after all.
From the classic bad boy to the innocent cutie, all characters are lovable. From monsters to nobles, every guy is pleasing to look at. All cutscenes and events always make my heart squeeze.
However, characters with interesting stories are my favorite, and this interest eventually led me to otome games dedicated to characters with a certain personality trait: yandere.
If you don't know what a yandere is, just know that they are scary and can cause your skin to crawl.
They are characters obsessed with the Main Character (MC). Depending on which yandere type they are, the MC can be stalked, locked up, lose herself, raped, or even killed. They are so mentally, emotionally, and morally messed up that they have no idea what the "correct" way to "love" is and just do whatever they think is appropriate.
Now, I am not the kinky sort of person who gets excited from being stalked 24/7 or gets off from being treated like a precious object. While it's fine for people to have those kinks in moderation, this isn't the reason I love yandere-focused dating sims. I love these games for the tragic backstories of these characters, their actions, and seeing their way of thinking unfold.
So, maybe I'm messed up in a different way (lol).
I just love characters with layers, and yandere characters have the most layers. Sometimes, they can be simple to unravel, or sometimes they are the most difficult to crack. Whenever I start a new game with good reviews, I get most excited to see which yandere the writers decided to mold and create.
I'm sure writers have fun creating and developing such complicated and twisted characters.
But, if a yandere is made just to appeal to those who love the violent or possessive characteristics, the character just turns into a piece of shit with no explanation for his actions.
I hate those characters the most.
Not to knock cheap games, but they are mostly found in those quickly and poorly made sims. I can't help but feel disappointment in those games as the potential was there. They just went for the money grab instead.
But, the reasonably priced game I recently bought, called "Deepest Desire," put other cheap yandere dating sims to shame.
While the art was simple, the writing made up for it. The music and mechanics weren't anything spectacular, but the voice acting was phenomenal. I was shocked when I found out that the VAs (Voice Actor) were amateurs hired from the internet.
It lacked in some qualities, but where it didn't lack more than made up for everything.
I've yet to complete all routes, but I have already placed this game as my number one. With 3 main targets and 1 hidden character, I've completed all 3 good endings and just about finished all their bad ends. Soon, I'll be able to finally start the much anticipated hidden character route!
According to forums I glanced through, the hidden character's route is unlocked after finishing all other possible endings. And from what I've read without spoiling myself, the hidden character is something else entirely.
I'm more than satisfied with the 3 I've already completed, so the fact that the hidden character is something more excites me.
What could possibly beat the other 3?
Oh, maybe I should tell you about these characters first, so you can understand me.
The three main characters are Ryuu, Tatsuya, and Yuu. All three are as different from each other as possible, so every route was like a whole new game.
The first route I finished was Ryuu's.
He was, at first glance, the usual aggressive and manly character that did well in most dating sims but, damn, did his backstory get deep.
As you progress through Ryuu's route, he becomes more violent towards everyone, including the MC. He becomes possessive and ends up fighting with anyone who gets near the MC, and, in Ryuu's eyes, the MC is also to blame for attracting others.
Ryuu would abuse the MC when she interacted with anyone else. He would also purposely hurt her during romantic events and get turned on from it.
Now, I know you may be thinking he's an asshole and scum of the earth.
But, hold those thoughts for a minute.
You see, Ryuu's backstory is very sad.
His parents were happily married and had him not too long after marriage. When Ryuu was around 5, his dad got demoted in his company. Nothing changed for a few days; however, when the weekend came around, daddy came home drunk.
That's when it started.
That was the first time Ryuu's dad hit his mom.
This incident started to repeat itself until the father no long beat her only while drunk. Until it was no longer only weekends.
The mother would always, always be covered in cuts and bruises. Ryuu even started to watch from the next room over as they didn't bother to hide the violence from him anymore.
Ryuu one morning before school asked his mother why they always fought. She simply smiled and said:
"Love."
This continued for a few years with Ryuu always thinking this was how they showed their love for each other, and there's nothing wrong with that, right?
One night, Ryuu couldn't sleep and went to find his mom as he was told to never disturb dad's sleep. Dad worked hard all day, after all.
He saw the bathroom light on and went over to see who was awake. He peeked only to see his mother breathing heavily while clutching an orange bottle in her hands.
It was empty.
Knowing those bottles contained icky medicine, he called to her and asked if she was sick. His mother swayed for a minute before turning around. Once she saw the child, she simply smiled like always and with unfocused eyes said:
"Love is a sickness, isn't it?"
When Ryuu became a teenager, Ryuu's parents finally divorced, and Ryuu was pushed onto his mother by his father. Ryuu was confused why they were separating and would ask his mom why, but she was never sober. She was never present. She could never respond to anyone.
When Ryuu entered high school, he was seen as a scary delinquent, and no one would dare to go near him. Ryuu would fight as a means to relieve his angry confusion, and when he was done with that, he would go to a part time job to help support his mother and himself. At home, he would make sure his mom was cared for and didn't overdose.
Ryuu was definitely my favorite character out of the main three. He's strong and oddly innocent. The fact that he loves you enough to hurt you is so bittersweet. And what made it worse was he would always make sure the MC was treated after any violence. He's a sweet boy with a warped perspective.
So warped, that it warps the MC.
Once she finds out his story, she no longer fights back when hit. She endures it and plainly shows her love to him. She finds no desire to help fix his warped version of love and, instead, merely accepts it.
In the good end, it even hints that the MC likes it. She loves literally "feeling" his love.
It makes it tangible.
It makes it real.
That's a big yikes from me.
Don't do that in real life. Just, don't.
The good ending shows MC and Ryuu happily dating after accepting Ryuu's past.
In my brain, I concocted an actual good ending. After the game's ending, MC starts helping Ryuu with his mother. She comes to realize she can't endure abuse forever, so she gets them both to seek help: his mother with her drug addiction and Ryuu with his anger issues and twisted idea of affection. Then they can have a real happily ever after!
The other two... I don't think it's possible to imagine a happy epilogue.