Nightshade -- No Spoiler Review
Nightshade
System: Switch, PC, PS Vita
Price: $47.99 (includes DLC), $34.99 (does not include DLC), Out of Print
Voice Acting: Yes (Japanese)
ESRB Rating: M (17+)
Overall Rating: Stole 7/10 ♥s
Pre-Game Perception: Play a sneaky, murdering MC that gets to fall in love with other sneaky, murdering LIs. Kinda had the idea of Basilisk with more guys to date than only the Romeo and Juliet story.
Morning-After Reflection: Beautiful art in a Sengoku period drama with plot overshadowing romance where you get to hang out with hot ninja dudes and see the mountains of Japan.
Story: “During the Sengoku Period the two main factions of ninja clans, Iga and Kōga, warred against each other for decades. In the year 1593, Nobunaga Oda started the Tenshō Iga war, decimating most of the Iga ninjas in the process. The very few that survived were absorbed into the Kōga clan, despite their past rivalries.
After 17 years the Sengoku Period finally came to an end, and Japan was unified.
Enju (Protagonist), daughter of Kandō Ueno, the Head of the Kōga clan, spends her days training diligently in hope of becoming a full-fledged ninja like her peers.
At long last she is assigned to her first mission, but finds herself caught in a dark conspiracy――.”
Interest Rating: 9/10 I’m aware of the stories involving Iga and Koga, so this sounded right up my alley. Plus, I thought playing a badass female ninja would be awesome. Who doesn’t want to be a ninja? Probably those who want to be pirates.
MC: :sigh: I must be objective. I must be objective. :deep breath: Alright. The MC in this game is Enju Ueno, her first name can be changed, and her last name is only ever used when referring to who her family is. If you use the default name, the voice actors say Enju’s name when referring to her, otherwise it will just be dead air if you change it. Enju is not voiced. She has a sprite by the text box, and appears as a full-sized sprite with other sprites for a good portion of the game as well. She is also in most CGs. She is probably the most present MC I’ve seen in a game, which is nice for those that like watching the MC in a story and not self-inserting.
Rating Enju is a huge issue for me. A bit of background that really doesn’t belong here: Nightshade was my first real otome game. I thought I’d be playing some badass ninja girl, and what I got was far from that. What I got was closer to the typical otome heroine than what I had envisioned in my mind. I felt cheated. I was angry. I have many negative feelings about Enju and Nightshade because this game was such an influential moment in my otome journey. It is less a fault with the character, and more a fault with my uninformed expectations going in. With all that said, Enju is not bad. I wouldn’t call her a good female protagonist, but I have to wrestle with whether I even think that because of my feelings or because she really isn’t very likable in the first place. Many people love Enju. I am not one of those.
Enju is a 16-year old girl that grew up sheltered and though the game makes many references to her training diligently since childhood, she was never really given the tools to grow as a shinobi (ninja) so she falls short compared to her peers. She is then dwarfed further by every character the game introduces (save one), as they all have years or decades of experience on her, and most were exceptionally talented before all of that gained experience. The game then pushes Enju into the role of the weak maiden in distress that needs to be constantly rescued since the conflict is waaaaaay out of her league. She constantly puts herself down, which is not a nice way to make me empathize with a character, instead earning disdain rather than sympathy from me that she is as pathetic as she believes herself to be. She grows through the game, some routes much more than others; and overall I can see that she had the potential to be a character I would have liked to see and play if her self-esteem issues weren’t so integral to the story.
Enju has a set personality. A set backstory. She is a fully developed character. She is consistent. And she is a child, when it comes down to it. Even though I am aware of the time period and that 16 is quite old enough to be wedded and bedded, due to her upbringing and her uncertainty of herself, she is very much a child in a wealth of ways. Emotionally. Mentally. Perhaps even physically since she is still very small in stature at 5’1” and 99lbs. Not an unreasonable size and weight, but it’s not doing her any favors appearing to be a woman in my eyes.
Likability Rating: Nin. Enju has too little agency, imo. She is central to the story only because the story is about her. The bulk of her backstory comes out mainly in one route, which I happened to do last, so I had no reason to like or understand the MC.
Plot: The overall story we’re given actually explains a lot. Enju is the daughter of the Koga clan leader, Kondo Ueno. The village is primarily a shinobi village. Enju wants to be a contributing member of society, so she trains to be a ninja. That’s where the game starts. From there she is chosen to go on her first mission with a group of people she calls friends, and then shit happens and we get our story. There is a moderately long common route with a decent number of branching choices which will take you to a few separate common route stories depending on the choices you make. Ultimately, you end up on a LI route; it is easy to tell who you’re getting based on the love meter provided in the menu, but choices to get affection from the LI you’re aiming for isn’t entirely clear on your first play through.
Everyone makes an appearance in everyone else’s route, so at least the LIs don’t all disappear once you’ve decided which hunky man is going to accompany you on this angst-filled trip. And it is angst-filled. The game holds a M (17+) rating largely for violence, with CGs depicting blood, constant conflict, and descriptions of blood and death in text. I’m sure there are other reasons why they smacked Nightshade with a M rating, but those are the general big ones. The story is much the same in plot points, just with different ways to tell it, and of course, different events depending on the LI route you’re on. Since Enju is the center of the story, it doesn’t change much from one dedicated dude to the next, but I still found each route worth putting the effort into in order to uncover all there was about the story. The writers sprinkle backstory throughout each route, practically asking you to play everyone to fully understand the nuances that pepper the paths. The same things don’t happen in each route, giving you more of a reason to see what every LI has in store for our MC.
Replayability Rating: ★★★★☆ Each route is different enough that I don’t think they feel same-y. If you skip a LI, you miss out on something new that could impact your opinions of any number of characters, so it’s best to try them all.
Love Interests: Today we’re running away with one of five too hot to handle LIs, all available at the start of the game. You’ll be notified with every choice you make of who you’re earning affection with, and can easily check where each LI’s meter is in the menu. If you’re aiming for a particular bae, be careful of picking choices that grant affection to someone else. A pretty simple warning, I know, but even choices that don’t appear to be weighted towards a character will affect someone. Like, say, what location you choose to go to for a task completely unrelated to romance. That’s a hint. Hint, hint.
Once you get tossed onto a route, there are two possible endings available per LI: a Good End, and a Bad End. Pretty simple, right? Yeah, pretty simple. I guess where it gets complicated is where you should start. Various players and guides have a plethora of suggestions on what route order is best, mainly because of the way the background and plot is covered, as I mentioned earlier. There are three big spoiler routes, and depending on when you do one of the others, it could be a big spoiler as well. Really, only one sorry sap gets left out from uncovering all there is to uncover in the plot of this game. It’s okay, though, his route is a ride on its own.
I can see the merit in every suggestion thrown out there; from least plot spoiler-y to most, from least angst to most, from most controversial to least, and even a break between the super tough routes so you don’t just die from heartache. It is my opinion that you can do anyone, anywhere :nudge nudge, wink wink:, because I think some of those spoilers hugely impact the player’s understanding of what is going on and who these people are. I like to know why things happen, not just accept that they happen without a reason. I’ll list LI’s in the order I’d suggest the general player to play in, though I’d much rather people construct a plan of attack based on who they want to see most. That is, if you are going to try for a route, and not just letting the choices lead the way.
Chojiro Momochi, or better known as Brother Chojiro by his disciples - which includes Enju and the rest of the cast accompanying you on your first mission - is the first LI introduced, and the first I’d suggest for setting your sights on. I’ll address the shinobi in the room, Chojiro is first cousins with Enju. They grew up together. They are family by blood. This can be a squicky topic for some because it is incest. I’m not going to argue against that, and if it is something that bothers you, I’d ask you to attempt to reconcile it because this route is powerful and a great way to start off the tragedy that is Nightshade. If you simply can’t (because your opinions and feelings are valid) then skip the route. You might also want to reconsider the game, as this isn’t the only controversial route offered.
Where was I? Oh, right, that quiet, eternally internalizing LI named Chojiro. What a way to kick off the game. If you want angst right out of the gate, this is your man. Really, the game is so laden with angst that nearly anyone is your man, but Chojiro has that broody, self-hating angst that is just so delicious to me. I think it’s a good way to introduce most of the characters, as well. This man has scars, most of which you can’t see. And just thinking about him now makes my heart ache all over again. If you’re a moderately emotional person, you’re likely to ugly cry with this route. The Good End is good, and the Bad End is tragically romantic; if that’s your thing, I suggest giving both a go.
In order to recover from that punch in the gut, let me introduce you to Goemon Ishikawa. You want fun and light-hearted? This is the route for you. I mean, it is as light-hearted as this game gets, which isn’t saying much. There’s a good amount of angst still involved, just not from Goemon who flippantly brushes off every crappy thing that could possibly happen. He kind of just takes life as it comes, and figures out how to make it the best for him, and since you’re in this route, you as well. Lucky you! Really though, he is a flirt and I rather enjoyed his antics in everyone else’s routes with how confident he is about himself and every decision he makes. Unfortunately, I felt a lot of his route floundered and it wasn’t as full of humor and life as it could have been. The Good End is best, probably my favorite in the game. The Bad End is worth a look if you want something equally as impactful as Goemon’s Good End.
And then we dive back into the shadows. Coming up as my suggested third, Kuroyuki is my favorite character out of the bunch. At the same age as Enju, he’s cute, mischievous, and I find his general nature endearing. He’s a man that knows exactly what he’s doing, just like Goemon; but instead of putting Enju in compromising situations and making his adult intent known, Kuroyuki plays up his childlike innocence to get away with whatever it is he’s trying to get away with. Sounds cute, right? Well… Nightshade is considered the angst game, so it shouldn’t be a surprise when I tell you this route returns angst levels to previously set parameters. This route is only intermittently spotted with cuteness. Rarely. Prepare yourself. So! In the end, we obviously want to get the Good End, because we’re good people, or something like that. But, honestly, I greatly appreciated what Kuroyuki’s Bad End offered us. Sate your curiosity and snag yourself the Bad End.
The last LI you’re introduced to in the game is my suggestion for your fourth fling, if you can wait that long for Hanzo f*cking Hattori. Yeah, yeah, I know that sometimes my tastes run a little… abnormal, but it’s what I like and I own it. I’m gonna give away a part, just so you understand where I’m coming from. The dude tackled Enju to the ground on their first meeting, and I was more than okay with him pressing up against me like that. Could do without the clothes, but you take what you get. Especially in Nightshade. Then I find out who he is, because at that point he’s just some nameless badass. I was ready to give him my sweet, young body so he can teach me the ways of being a shinobi, or whatever else he wants to teach me. Thing is… he’s just not into you. Ouch. The kuudere has come out to play-- maybe not play, maybe just stand there while glaring at you with those sharp eyes and that grumpy look that can make girls go gaga.
Okay, okay, I’m done gushing. Back to the real review of the route. Hanzo’s route is my favorite route of the game. The MC grows most in his route, the LI grows most in this route, it’s a route of growth, and I wish more routes went along this style instead of the path they took. But not everyone can be Hanzo, and I wouldn’t want anyone else to be. If you’ve made it through all this talk of how great this route, and this LI is, I’m about to drop the bomb on y’all. Hanzo is more than twice Enju’s age. You heard me right, he has nearly two decades on our heroine. If age gaps are an issue for you, I ask that you reconsider it; I find it is handled respectfully in that Hanzo doesn’t infantilize Enju during his route at all, ever. I’m pretty cool with most things, so like Chojiro’s route, I had no issue pursuing Hanzo-senpai in his tall and muscular glory. If it is an issue for you (because your opinions and feelings are valid) then skip his route. You’ll miss out on a lot of Enju’s background if you do, but don’t do something that makes you uncomfortable.
Gekkamaru is typically recommended as the last boy you set your sights on. I can agree with that. I also think that if you do him in any other order, you’re not ruining the game for yourself, despite how many people try to scare you into putting him last. I was clueless my first time through, and as I said, Nightshade was my first otoge. I fumbled my way through and found myself on Gekkamaru’s route first. I’m not sure how this might have colored my first experience, but I don’t regret it. Simply, if I had the chance to re-run the routes in an order I find ideal, he’d be last, as suggested.
Now, let’s talk about this overbearing protective young man. It’s quite clear what type of person he is from the beginning of the game with both the way other characters refer to him, and the way he treats Enju. Assigned as her bodyguard, Gekkamaru comes off very big brotherly to the tenth degree. It’s unfortunate that Enju doesn’t push for breathing room as much as the other characters do it for her. But if you like the overprotective dudes wanting to take care of you, Gekkamaru is the route to go. You’ll get that in spades. Gekkamaru has a rather weak end compared to the amount of drama encased in his story, but it’s an end that feels like it could nightcap this game. Aim for the Good End, because you’re likely to be as exasperated as I was if you end the game with his Bad End.
Boy Crazy Rating: 90%. I said I had favorites, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to keep every single one of these men for one reason or the other. They were the start of my husbando collection, after all.
Romance: With so much to say about the men of this game, surely I have plenty to say on the romance held within. It’s… uh… complicated. You have a boy, you have a girl, and they’re stuck together for a period of time, forced to rely on each other, so it should be a recipe for romance, right? Well, you’re right, it is. But it is a complicated romance that sometimes I find hard to understand where it comes from. In some cases, it feels rather forced. In other cases, it is clearly one-sided for quite some time, until suddenly it isn’t. I think, in most cases, Enju is dragging her feet in forming the relationship; which just makes me question how much of a woman she is since she is clearly in her first love with every LI.
I don’t expect her to be experienced with men, especially given her backstory, but we don’t get to see her affection grow through the story, it just kind of happens one day. Like, without prompting, she questions if she has feelings for someone and then decides that has to be the case because it couldn’t possibly be outside factors influencing her :cough:misattribution of arousal:cough:. And it is equally as confusing for some of the LIs. Being as old as they are, apparently only one seems to have had any interest in women before Enju came along, and I find that a little hard to swallow. Perhaps the writers were attempting to show how Enju abruptly influenced each LI, because every one of them has a reason for putting romance on the backburner that is essential to their core personality, but-- I dunno, I’d just like it to feel more natural, and not something that is suddenly there. It might also have to do with the time period, or the personalities of each of the LIs, or even what was acceptable in the culture. In the end, yes, there is romance. It’s subtle in most cases. It’s unreasonable in some cases. Just try to go with it and not dissect it or it might unravel as you examine it.
Heart Palpitation Rating: C. This whole experience was new and confusing, I wasn’t sure where my heart should be. Can’t rate it lower because it gave what it promised; can’t rate it higher because I didn’t feel as loved as games that came after. Solid feels.
Spice: Time to get down and dirty with this group of entirely too good-looking shinobi. At least, that’s what I’d like to say. Unfortunately, the M rating is not because you get to get dirty with anyone. This was another illuminating experience into what not to expect in an M rated otome for me. I didn’t read the fine print saying why the game was rated M, I just assumed that there would be some hot ninja sexing happening; turns out sexual themes are not even listed as a reason for the rating. So, sorry to inform y’all, but this game is about as spicy as plain white rice. I can count on one hand the number of scenes that I thought were leading us somewhere, but it was just bait! Sex-baiting should be a thing… I think they call that seduction. How about Steam-baiting? Spice-baiting? Whatever we decide to name it, it is the closest you get to something hot and heavy.
Cold Shower Rating: Fail. It was a cold night the day I realized that romance didn’t mean naughty times. Get you some hot water to melt the frigidness Nightshade leaves you with.
Angst: This is it. This is the game that out angsts all the rest. There is no escaping it. It is a beast that doesn’t beg to be set free-- no, it is already running wild and tearing through any lightheartedness Nightshade attempts to put up to keep you from being emotionally wrecked throughout the entirety of the game. Oh, how naïve I was starting up my first route in my first otome, with thoughts of romance and love and all the fluffy things one might expect from the (at the time) best selling otoge offered on the Switch. Come to think of it, this might just be what shaped my taste for tragic, dramatic, and violent love in otoge. ……. Naw! I was dark to begin with.
But, really, prepare yourself if you’re looking for love and hoping for sweet times. This is not a happy game. The MC has enough angst to cover most otoge. Add in the angsty plot. A few generous scoops of angsty conflict. Oh, yeah, can’t forget the angstiest backstories I’ve ever heard. But wait, there’s more! I heard you like angst on your angst, so we angsted your angst for you, on the house. Each LI is also angst-ridden. What’s that? Begging Nightshade to stop? Okay… But only because you were so nice asking through your sobs.
Drama Llama Rating: 9.5/10. We rode the drama llama and it careened out of control. Hold on tight as you scream “I thought I wanted this but I don’t!”
Voice Acting: It’s got it. It’s pretty good. I think the fact that most of the men are stoic characters renders it hard to fall in love with the voice acting in this game due to a lack of range of emotion. I was moved most by Kuroyuki’s expression in everything he said; my favorite line in the entire game comes in the common route from this playful fella. So I have to give props to Hiro Shimono (下野 紘) for managing to capture the character so well. Hikaru Midorikawa (緑川 光) deserves a mention for his portrayal of Goemon; his confidence rarely wavered in his voice, and when it became more caring it was nice to hear the subtle changes in his tone. Of course, the gruff yet smoothly delivered grumblings of Hanzo cannot go unnoticed, Kenjiro Tsuda (津田 健次郎) naturally fit that role well. I can’t think of Hanzo without hearing Kenjiro, now. Gekkamaru was voiced by Wataru Hatano (羽多野 渉). Chojiro’s seiyuu is Kohsuke Toriumi (鳥海 浩輔). And the reoccurring supporting cast includes Ryo Oshima (大島 崚) for Ennosuke Yamakura; Saori Hayami (早見 沙織) played Kyara Mikumo; Megumi Han (潘 めぐみ) gave us Kasumi; and Kouki Miyata (宮田 幸季) was the enigmatic Ieyasu Tokugawa.
Expression Rating: Yu. I don’t think it could have been casted better. However, I think the character profiles might have prevented good from reaching great.
Art: Nightshade is quite a lovely game when it comes to art. I like a lot of different styles, or at least I claim I do. As long as the art is reasonably proportional and there isn’t any wonky anatomy, I’m pretty cool with it. The art is reasonably proportional and everything is where it’s expected to be anatomically speaking. The backgrounds have a large amount of detail, and the sprites are all detailed as well. Each sprite has a few different poses, and roughly two outfits. Also, sprites blink and have mouth movements when speaking. I hear this is a big bonus for those that like VNs, but I was just okay with it. The blinking is nice, but I don’t care much about the speaking movements. The same sprite is used for unnamed characters of the same variety, which was a little bit of a let down, though made sense in order to easily distinguish who they were. For my first visual novel, Nightshade set the bar on what I think good art looks like for a VN.
Still Picture Rating: ★★★★★ Many sexy. Such animated. Very precedent.
CGs: G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. Gorgeous! Really, though, Nightshade was my first VN on top of my first otome, and it made an impression with how beautiful it all was. I gazed at the gallery many times, enjoying the pictures even if they weren’t showing me what’s under those sexy clothes. I love the pictures chosen, I remember every scene based on the CG given. I did think the angles were funny, having so many at a 45 degree, but I guess that’s a certain style that games like to do to make an impression. It works. Anyways, the point is the art is more than lovely.
Look at this Photograph Rating: 98%. I told people to buy this game just because of how beautiful I thought it was.
UI/Mechanics: Nightshade is your basic VN. There are no minigames or special features. I played the Switch version, and while the buttons are easy to figure out and use, they are not assigned the same as the bulk of other games I’ve played. This was not an issue for me, since it was my first game; but someone used to the standard set-up might find it a little troublesome at first. The menu is pretty simple, there are only so many screens to go into in order to find all the options and features listed. I found it easy to navigate. The UI is art in its own right. I enjoyed the textbox being more than just a gray semi-transparent background.
What’s this button do? Rating: A-. The menu is nice enough on its own. No complaints about mechanics. Simple UI to use and navigate.
Errors: For its price point, I’d expect Nightshade to be top-tier when it comes to preventing translation and other errors. I’m happy to say I was not disappointed. There are still a few spelling and grammatical errors, what comes to mind is “theif” instead of “thief” in one instance. I believe they used the wrong homonym in another case. I know for certain that my chosen character name was not used in at least two instances, instead being referred to as Enju. However, they exhibit the ability to translate well with the appropriate use of a semi-colon right after they misspelled a word on (maybe) two earlier screens. It isn’t anything that stopped me from understanding what was going on. In fact, I think it was done rather well, overall.
Here there be Bugs Rating: Pass. You may have ants in the yard, but there’s nothing here for you to see. A tiny amount of errors are seen in this title.
Background Music: To be honest, I’m glad this is an unrated part of my review. Music is so subjective that it would be difficult to say how it should be scored when my tastes likely don’t match up with your tastes. Nightshade’s BGM was good, but not memorable. Without playing the game again, I couldn’t tell you what the music was even like right now. At my time of playing, I didn’t seem to mind it. I didn’t care to just sit and listen to it, but I did play with the BGM on and never found it annoying or inappropriate for the scene. It probably enhances the experience, but again, I really don’t remember anything about it. It was just there.
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