Ikemen Revolution: Love & Magic in Wonderland (5'7" & Below Edition) -- No Spoiler Review
Ikemen Revolution: Love & Magic in Wonderland (5’7” & Below Edition Featuring: Edgar Bright [Jack of Hearts], Zero [Ace of Hearts], Luka Clemence [Jack of Spades], Loki Genetta [Cheshire Cat], & Oliver Knight [Mad Hatter])
System: Phone
Price: Freemium (Free to play with in-app purchases available but not required)
Voice Acting: Partial (Japanese)
ESRB Rating: M (17+)
Overall Rating: Stole 7/10 ♥s
Pre-Game Perception: Alice in Wonderland, but you get to date all the weird characters. And they’re good looking this time around. And there are a lot of them. Oh, it also has something about cards fighting?
Morning-After Reflection: Alice in Wonderland, but you get to date all the weird characters. And they’re good looking this time around. And there are a lot of them. Oh, it also has some worldbuilding about Wonderland and a pretty cool concept.
Story: “In 19th century London, a chase after a gentleman curiously resembling a white rabbit leads you to a land where magic trumps reason. At the center of a struggle between Red and Black armies, 14 Wonderland Ikémen threaten to cast the spell to keep you from returning home— love.”
Interest Rating: 8.5/10. Who doesn’t love Wonderland? I know I grew up loving it, and every rendition I’ve seen. Now I get to play Alice in a game? I’m in.
MC: For a phone game, this MC has a lot of personality. She comes without a name, I’m not certain if you can put more than one name in there, as I just put a first name in. But consider that they will say the whole name everytime they say your name in text. There are no sprites or voice acting for the MC, however, she does appear in most CGs. She has eyes! You can actually turn this feature off if you’d rather have the typical eyeless MC. I like the eyes though, so I kept them.
MC’s age isn’t given, but she lives on her own in 19th century Paris and works at a bakery before her journey to Wonderland. I would put her around 18 as she is sometimes still juvenile, but also sometimes rather adult. She is a bit young in personality for me, but if I just look at it as a cutesy game made for teens, I think the MC fits the bill. I just don’t happen to be a teenager, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the character or the story.
There really isn’t a whole lot of background for the MC, as expected for a self-insert game. No mention of family. No mention of friends besides vague references once in a while that she has some. She likes to eat, and likes sweets. She likes to eat, and likes sweets. No, really, she likes to eat and likes sweets. This comes up every route about ten times a route. She also likes cute things, like animals. Because all girls like animals… or something.
Likability Rating: Ryo. Sweet, kind, and a maiden in need of rescuing. She’s not bad, especially if you want to play a MC that is easy to fall in love with, full of fluffy feelings.
Plot: The general plot is you fall into Wonderland after chasing a man who drops his pocket watch. From there you go through a decently long prologue (for a phone game) where all the romanceable characters are introduced, some not directly to you, simply to the game. After an exciting trip around Cradle (the country you end up in in Wonderland) and getting some of the background of the world explained to you, you pick your route. That’s where most of the similarities of the game end.
All routes head to the same resolution: getting MC back to the Land of Reason (London in this case). All routes have minor conflicts along the way. And all routes have the same general big plots, just executed differently depending on who you end up picking. It doesn’t get too same-y except for the fact that it follows the same flow of story no matter who you pick. I think they just wanted to tell the story with no matter who you end up with, so you can romance anyone and still get the same ice cream reward, just with a different flavor.
I really enjoy playing all the routes, because although I know where it’s headed, I get to go there with someone different. And in each route I learn something new about someone else, which makes them much more interesting to me and builds up expectations for when I do finally get to do their route.
Replayability Rating: ★★★★☆ Same destination, just different ways to get there. Worth playing at least half the offered routes.
Love Interests: So, phone games come in all shapes and sizes. For the majority of them there is a prologue where EVERY LI is introduced, you get to know the setting and basic ideas are explained, then you’re thrown into a “choice” section where you pick your LI. Ikemen Revolution follows this model. There is no recommended route order and I haven’t come across any game spoilers that change the way I’d approach a different character. Each character (that’s currently released) has two endings, Romantic and Dramatic Ending. When you finish chapter 26, you simply pick the ending you want to do as long as you have enough points on that side of the scale, I believe it’s 60 points in this case. How the game functions will be further explained in the UI/Mechanics section.
There are currently 12 released characters, with five more planned to be released. I decided to pick my man simply based on shortest to tallest, which means I’ll be leaving Daddy Sirius for last, unfortunately, but I couldn’t resist starting with Loki, and I’m glad I did. He was a treat. Anyways, I’ll review the other routes once I get to them, which will be quite some time from now, as they take roughly a month each as a free to play player. So, today we have the shorties! I have to say, I like tall guys, I like short guys, and I like guys that are in-between. I don’t think height has anything to do with how attractive I find their personality, or their physical aesthetic. Playing an MC that is probably around 5’2” means that even the short ones are still tall comparatively, so I don’t see why the shorties are typically shunned. I think anything over six-inches would be a pain to deal with. :eyebrow wiggle: Lewd jokes aside, let’s appreciate what each of these bitty boys brings to the table.
Starting with the shortest, Oliver Knight is an oddity among oddities in Cradle. He is portrayed as a kid, being only 4’8” and rather youthful in appearance; however, don’t say that to his face. He gets more than a little annoyed about it. He talks, acts, and even refers to himself as an adult, calling MC a little girl on more than one occasion. He is housemates with Blanc (the White Rabbit) and is part of the neutral faction of the game, though clearly siding with Black Army over Red. Oliver has a story that felt like it took too long to uncover when I played it. I already had my suspicions before even starting his route, and the MC took ⅔ of the route before she figured it out, which means it took a while for it to be revealed without question. By the way, Oliver is your typical tsundere. He’ll call you stupid every chance he gets, boss you around, and eventually warm up to you when the time is right. I will be replaying his route in the future to get the second ending, meaning I found it interesting and fun enough to come back to.
I’m not sure if I love Loki Genetta as much as I do because he was the first I picked in the game, or simply because he’s just too goddamned adorable. Standing at 5’6”, he appears to be one of the youngest of the cast, though no actual ages are given throughout the story. However, he’s often treated as younger than the rest, which might be just because of his playful attitude. There’s a reason he got the nickname Cheshire Cat. I’d call him your typical genki, but that isn’t exactly the case; he has a dark and lonely past that is revealed through the story. He lives with Harr (Joker) far away from the city proper, and is part of the neutral faction in the game though he appears to have more friendships with Black Army than Red. He was a good starting route as I learned of the overall plot of the story, and I’ll gladly fall in love with this cutie all over again.
From Loki’s route, I jumped on Zero’s, though it was probably a mistake. The Ace of Hearts is 5’7” and probably has an interesting story, but I was bored with the way it was presented. Most of it was exposition. They literally told you about how great a person Zero was, instead of him just being great. I thought a man with a tattoo and that blonde-streak in his hair would be much cooler than what I got. I think I understand where they were trying to head with the presentation, but it just left me feeling empty. Personally, I think they did Zero dirty. Everyone else I’ve read was just so much better than what I was given with him. Anyways, he’s the withdrawn and silent type, so I guess they needed everyone else to explain his character to the MC. He’s a sadboi. And there was entirely too much time dedicated to the animal of the story rather than Zero. Okay, puppies are cute, sure, but I want to interact with the sad puppy going by the name of Zero. Since I felt like doing his route was like pulling teeth, I won’t be repeating it just for the second ending.
Jack of Hearts? Jack of Spades? ... Jack of Hearts? Naw, let’s do the Jack of Spades, Luka Clemence. You want a pretty man? Luka is one of the prettiest. As if all the Ikemen aren’t attractive men, it is both described several times and in his character design that Luka is even more attractive than attractive. I’m okay with this. At 5’7”, this fragile looking beauty wields a sword that is likely bigger than the MC, maybe even heavier too. Swords are heavy, guys, and he swings his around with one freaking hand. If you like blushing boys, Luka will blush for you. He’s the shy guy of the group, and apparently the best chef ever! Which is good, because we’ve covered that MC likes food. A LOT. So she’s bound to like Luka and his ability to feed her 24/7. Overall, it was a little bit of an odd route, imo. It was very slice of life, but also peppered with conflict, and so many different angles they were trying to cover that it felt like the writers were trying to tell every story in the short amount of time they had. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly is on the lower end of my list to revisit to see the second ending.
Finally we have the Jack of Hearts, Edgar Bright. What a gentleman, or gentle demon, as this 5’7” man is known by other Red Army members. I really do have a thing for people that are more than they appear. He gives off that vibe from the get-go. If you’ve played any of the other routes before now, you might have seen him around. He’s alright in other routes. A little too teasing, a little too “I know something you don’t know” if you ask me, but he’s alright. Sure enough, he’s cunning and great at putting on a smile for the situation. He seems kind, and I like guys that are kind to me. I really enjoyed this route. He may not be as freaking cute as Loki, but I enjoy the attention and care that Edgar offers the MC. The MC does end up going a little… dumb is a good word, gullible is better, gullible in this route. I didn’t enjoy the writing in order to progress the plot, but I really do just like Edgar. This is another route I’ll be revisiting in order to enjoy again just for the second ending.
Boy Crazy Rating: 83%. Short boys deserve love too. I’d do them. I’d also husbando a few.
Romance: This is probably the cutest, most fluffy game I have played. I wasn’t aware it was rated M, as it feels like it’s directed at teens. Though it also makes sense that it is rated M, since I probably would have passed it by on the app store if it was T. I wanted some hotness with my romance. Point is, this is a heavy romance game in most routes. The MC is constantly considering the way she feels about whatever LI she’s with, and there are many touching, sickly-sweet moments to be had. There is a plot, but it isn’t plot heavy. A lot of the story is just getting through the month MC has until she can return home. I typically don’t like quick romances, especially not ones where the couple is madly in love in such a short time, but I don’t get the feeling the relationships are rushed in this game.
Heart Palpitation Rating: B. Cutesy romance that makes me feel just a little warm.
Spice: Alrighty, I’m going to have to give a scathing review on this portion of the game because of my own frugalness. Is it fair? Probably not. Am I going to do it anyway? Yes, very much so. So, here’s the deal: this is a freemium game, meaning there are points where you can spend the premium currency (that typically costs money) in order to get “better” things. These things come in the form of stories not offered to those cheapskates like myself who pay with the common currency (which is typically free in-game). So, for the basic game for people not looking to spend anything, is this mild, hot, or fire sauce? What’s below mild? Whatever that is is where this game is. You get maybe a few moments, in only select routes, where there are heated gazes and close contact, with fewer compromising positions and only a mention of doing the deed, if it is, in fact, done before the end of the game. The premium stories are supposed to be steamier, but I haven’t paid for any of those. It is also a very cutesy game, so I can’t imagine the adult content being very adult. I haven’t heard anyone praising how heated this game can be, unlike other Ikemen series games.
Cold Shower Rating: Fail. I need a shower to heat up. Free players get barely a glimpse of the possible spicy content.
Angst: It’s super hard to take this game seriously when it comes to angst. The MC is just so positive and bright and cheery that she blows all the clouds away and leaves only blue skies. The LIs all seem to have some sort of dark aspect to them, and that’s fine, it makes them interesting, but playing as the MC who is f*cking sunlight in woman-form makes it impossible for anyone to maintain their dark, dreary, or angsty self. Like, there is talk of murder and war, there are active kidnappings and violence, and there are LIs who clearly doubt if not outright hate themselves; but you have this MC who is so naive overflowing with goodness and caring that none of it matters. None of it. I’d like to see a route where there is suffering and it isn’t made better with love. It’s too bunnies and butterflies to remind me that Eeyore is hanging around somewhere in the background.
Drama Llama Rating: 4/10. The drama llama can be dangerous, but it is in mellow mode. Violent conflict keeps this from being a complete slice of life game.
Voice Acting: To say this game has voice acting is almost a fallacy. They call it partial, but it is really only a few lines out of the many that exist in the game. I understand that voice acting can be expensive, and it is a free game, so I get why there aren’t many lines read by some top named seiyuus that they have on cast. If you really like the voices for certain characters, you can set their card as your background wallpaper, and they usually have a few lines that they say to you when you poke them.
In this edition of Ikemen Revolution we have Daiki Hamano as Oliver Knight (Mad Hatter), Ayumu Murase as Loki Genetta (Cheshire Cat); Kentaro Kumagai as Zero (Ace of Hearts), Junya Enoki as Luka Clemence (Jack of Spades), and Taku Yashiro as Edgar Bright (Jack of Hearts). Since there are so few lines, I don’t feel I can correctly rate how well the voice acting is. I mean, I like the way Ayumu playfully sing-songs Loki’s lines. Daiki does a good job at being an annoyed Oliver. And Taku’s gentle way he voices Edgar is what I hear when I read his lines. So… It’s good?
Expression Rating: Ryo. Too few lines to actually rate, but good for what you get, I guess.
Art: It’s actually… really good. We’re talking about a phone game here, but it is as good as I’d expect from a paid game. Every sprite has their usual outfit, and an additional one. All sprites only have one pose, but different facial expressions. Also, all outfits are detailed more than I’d expect from a phone game. The resolution on the pictures is also pretty high. And even though ⅔ of the LIs are in uniforms, each uniform is a bit different for each character. I think everyone is easily distinguishable from each other.
Still Picture Rating: ★★★★☆ Many pretty. Such saturation. Very individual.
CGs: God, I love them. I have not been disappointed with any of the CGs that I’ve gotten from this game. Nothing is wonky in proportions. Everything is beautifully done. It’s almost a shame it’s all just on my phone. But I would make some of these my background. What they chose to immortalize as a CG were very good picks, I can remember what was going on in each picture.
Look at this Photograph Rating: 88%. Is good. Thoroughly enjoyable picture staring.
UI/Mechanics: If you’ve never played a phone game, let me lay down some tracks so you can figure out how Ikemen Revolution works. To start, it’s free. No need to pay for anything unless you want to. There are options to buy magic crystals, which is the premium currency, in order to then buy other items that can improve your gaming experience. I spent $5 on the Tea Party package, and have played for roughly six months. You can gain magic crystals through various means in-game, like daily log-ins, (rarely) secret lessons, and placing in events. The other currency is Lin, which is just a fancy word for gold. This comes from battles, both winning and losing, daily log-ins, sending greetings to friends, and I’m sure there are other ways that I’m not currently thinking of. Also, this is a chapter ticket game, meaning you get five free tickets a day that do not stack with any other day, and replenish at 5am PST. With those 5 tickets you can read one full chapter a day; there are 27 chapters per route, all chapters have five parts, hence the five tickets = one chapter. But wait, there’s more!
This is also a dress-up game, a gacha game, and an energy game. This is where those battles come in. You get cards that you add to your deck (two cards only) and for 20 energy you ghost battle other players (really, you just hit a button and it does it for you). But where does the dressing up come in? Well, your beauty score (easy to think of as strength for battles) is determined by the amount of beauty you have on all items owned on you and in your closet, you do not have to wear them for them to up your strength. This strength is added to your card strength, and if your strength is higher than your opponents, you win. Why does this matter? Heh, I’m getting to that. So, you build your beauty, to battle for intimacy, with energy, and gain gold as well. While playing through your chapters, there will be intimacy challenges, and avatar challenges. In order to pass an intimacy check-point, you just have to have more intimacy than required. In order to pass an avatar check-point, you have to purchase the dress-up item with gold or crystals (premium currency).
It seems all rather complicated, but isn’t once you understand how it works. Just log in a few times a day to spend your energy on battles, and read your chapters, and that’s how easy it can be. Eventually you’ll have enough of a rating that you don’t need to even screen opponents in order to find the best to win against. I’m at that point. It’s been a good month or more since I even cared if I would lose a battle, and I don’t typically lose.
For those that have played phone games before: the UI and mechanics are pretty simple. Once you learn how to navigate the menu, everything is laid out in an easy navigable manner. It doesn’t take much time to load anything, so pages are pretty quick. And the menu will pretty much tell you if you have anything you haven’t looked at yet.
What’s this button do? Rating: B+. There’s a lot going on, but it isn’t hard to learn or figure out. Plus, if I remember right, they guide you through a lot of the first time uses of features.
Errors: There are few spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. They aren’t too bad, as I can easily understand what is going on, and haven’t had a time that I was confused on what was meant. I had a hell of a time attempting to download the game initially, constantly coming up with a download error, and just pressing restart over and over again until it finally got everything where it needed to be. I haven’t had any problem with updates. Sometimes when I open the game, it doesn’t load correctly and I have to close the app and reopen it. I haven’t figured out why it does this yet, but it is always after I have recently exited out of another app. It’s a slight annoyance, but doesn't keep me from playing as it always loads correctly the second time. I also haven’t had any errors when playing or navigating the game, and I don’t believe I’ve had any crashes.
Here there be Bugs Rating: Pass. Ya’ got some termites here, but they can’t make it into the foundation. More effort than other games in the series, but smooth sailing in game.
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