VN Talk: My Sweet Bodyguard - Part 1: Overview

In which I talk (write) about visual novels from a storytelling perspective...

Platform: iOS (also on Android)
Release: 2013

My Sweet Bodyguard is a Love 365 title, which means that it's a part of Voltage's pay-per-route otome library app. Though I don't usually gravitate towards a particular trope in my otome gaming, on seeing this title I was actually surprised that the bodyguard trope hadn't already been exploited left and right, and arguably hasn't since. (Shout out to Variable Barricade's Nayuta though for being the one otome bodyguard I like who isn't in this game.)

With a title like My Sweet Bodyguard I expected a guilty pleasure sort of game, being in general the otome-flavored opportunity to live out Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard. The game even name drops the movie in one route, when the main character's friend finds out about her situation. And in that respect it delivers.

My Sweet Bodyguard does not take itself seriously. The villains are often cartoony, the situations unrealistic, but all the game really wants to do is give the player a good time that involves the main character and her chosen bodyguard falling in love. Normally I prefer heavier stories, but I found the irreverence charming, and even the more contrived situations (like the ever popular faceplanting into a kiss) are just right when in search of popcorn fare.

As I did previously, this blog post series will only cover the first of what Love 365 calls the "Main Story" for each route, which is the falling in love part of the romance. There is fandisc-ish material that follows the relationship as it progresses, but it's unequally distributed among the guys due to the modular way mobile content tends to get updated and My Sweet Bodyguard seems to have wrapped up. At the moment, I'll only be covering the first five love interests, though I may add others at a later date if I get around to them.

VN Talk: Kiss the Demiurge

In which I talk (write) about visual novels from a storytelling perspective...

Platform: Windows (also on Mac and Linux)
Release: 2022

Kiss the Demiurge is an unusual visual novel for me to play since it's yuri (lesbian romance) and usually if I look for a romance game I gravitate towards otome or RPGs with romance elements. But the developer of KtD, Studio YuriEureka, asked if I would cover it on my blog and provided a free copy of the game. It looked to be a supernatural themed plot and I like to try out indie games when I can, so I agreed.

The game follows Minori, a girl who accidentally made a contract with a demon as a child, costing her her parents, and the experience has forged her into a harsh and uncompromising teenager who works for a secret organization to hunt demons. She's actually a bit of a pill in the opening moments of the game, being so uptight that it borders on caricature, but surprisingly her zeal in saving the muggles from the realities of magic is exactly what makes her entertaining.

This game was released within the past year and is still fairly new, so this is a fair warning that this post will include spoilers after the cut.

VN Talk: Buried Stars

In which I talk (write) about visual novels from a storytelling perspective...

Platform: Switch (also on PS4 and PC)
Release: 2020 (Switch, PS4), 2021 (Windows)

Buried Stars is a mystery game, but placed in a very odd setting for the genre. It takes place in a recently renovated building being used to film the titular TV show, Buried Stars, which is described as a survival audition show where performing contestants move on to subsequent rounds based on the amount of votes they get and the lowest ranked is eliminated at the end of each episode.

At the start of the game, the contestants have been whittled down to the Top 5 and by the time voting wraps up they'll be reduced to the Top 4. Each of the five performers are introduced and given a little spiel about who they are and commentary on how their fans have responded to them, resulting in their current placement. Just after that, the stage begins to shake and the building around them collapses.

Following the collapse, the Top 5 and the floor director are trapped in an intact space in the rubble and cut off from the outside world (making them quite literally buried stars). This results in a much different cast of characters than you'd normally have in a genre more frequently populated by detectives and high school students. It was a little weird at first when the deduction mechanics start popping up before it's apparent any crime has taken place, but by the end I didn't even notice.