Illusion of Itehari Review (Nintendo Switch)
Release Date: September 18, 2025 (North America)
Developers: LicoBiTs, Tiz Creation, Broccoli
Publishers: Aksys Games
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)
SYNOPSIS
A love story from the beautiful and ephemeral world of the mechanical floating utopia.
In Itehari, the renowned and prosperous flying city, Hinagiku longs to explore the world beyond.
One day, Hinagiku, encounters an amnesiac man named Yashiro.
Their chance meeting drags her into a series of events involving the secrets and various truths hidden beneath the surface of Itehari… for this garden city in the sky, is a false utopia.
ART AND MUSIC
Director: Asahi Takamura
Scenario: Ringo Kazura, Eri Ichino, Rei Kuroabumi
Artist: RiRi
(Main), Uta Natsume
(Chibi)OST: Satoshi Nakayama
(ED), ein himinn (OP), MANYO
(BGM), Mikansei Brave
(Vocals)Illusion of Itehari was created by the same developing team behind the otome game series, Piofiore. The scenario is led by Ringo, with Takamura directing once again, both of whom filled those exact roles in Piofiore. And of course, the famous illustrator RiRi, who defined Piofiore’s visual identity, is also responsible for the character designs here.
I’d say the art is one of this title’s strongest selling points. The CGs are absolutely mesmerizing, and the character designs are just gorgeous, that even the characters I don’t particularly care for still get a pass purely because they’re just that beautiful.😭 (Yep, I am sadly guilty of this, but well… that’s RiRi’s magic at work for ya!)
Voice Acting
Soma Saito as “Awayuki“ – Yves (Virche), Kiku (Tengoku Struggle), Mineo (CollarxMalice), Tsurumaru/Namazuo (Touken Ranbu), Shungen (Birushana), Levi (Psychedelica AH), Yumeno Gentaro (Hypnosis Mic), Ohtaro (Winter’s Wish), Takuma (Kitty Love), Akase (Charade Maniacs), YOFY (Sympathy Kiss)
Nobuhiko Okamato as “Tobari“ – Asher (The Red Bell’s Lament), Minami (9RIP), Radie (Radiant Tale), Hansel (Code Realize), Manabu Souda (Collar x Malice), Taiga (Variable Barricade), Hizamaru (Touken Ranbu), Yang (Piofiore), Hiroya (Period Cube), Peter Flage (Cupid Parasite), Haiji (Charade Maniacs), Iris (Iris School of Wizardry), Bakugo (MHA)
Yoshitsugu Matsuoka as “Tsuyukusa” – Nicol (My Next Life as a Villainess), Akaza (Olympia Soiree), Alice (Taisho x Alice), Gyobu (Charade Maniacs), Monshiro (Pyschedelica of the BB), Rin Okazaki (Spiral Memoria), Vash (Trigun), Kirito (SAO), Inosuke Hashibira (Demon Slayer), Xiao (Genshin Impact), Kirihiko (NilAd)
Takuya Eguchi as “Yori“ – Ciaran (The Red Bell’s Lament), Gretel (Taisho x Alice), Rei (Him, the Smile & Bloom), Miroku (B-PROJECT), Murakumo Go (Touken Ranbu), Kazuki Hoshino (CollarxMalice), Tenma Sumeragi (A3!), Nomura Risaburo (Hakuoki), Klein (IkePri), Lee Gyu-hyuk (Buried Stars), Reon (Dynamic Chord), Roger Barel (IkeVil), Kou (Hana Awase)
Chiaki Kobayashi as “Yashiro“ – Ray Under (Cupid Parasire SSD), Hairi (Olympia Soiree), Deuce Spade (TWST), Uro (Otome Daoshi ), Ibuki Taki (Ensemble Stars), Mao Ukyo (Break My Case)
Toshiyuki Toyonaga as “Taiju” – Orlok (Piofiore), Semi (Dairoku), Kintokihana/Awahana (Hana Awase), Seiji Kobayashi (London Detective Mysteria), Takeru Totsuka (Kamigami no Asobi), Goshi Kaneshiro (B-Project), Natsume (EPHEMERAL), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (IkeVamp)
Hino Satoshi as “Narukami” –Toma (AMNESIA), Karakurenai (Hana Awase), Lavan (Psychedelica AH), Noiz (DRAMAtical Murder), Orochi (Dairoku), Guy (A3!), Mitsuhige Miyaji (Winter’s Wish), Kyojuro (Demon Slayer), Takuto Maruki (P5)
Yohei Azakami as “Tsuwabuki” – Koharu (9RIP), Ion (Radiant Tale), Rinne Amagi (Ensemble Stars!), Sakyou (Tokyo Onmyouji), Kagesumi (Ayakashi Gohan), Ryo Tominaga (Digimon Survive), Kou Haoren (Money Parasite), Shizukagata Naginata (Touken Ranbu)
Jun Fukuyama as “Karatachi” – Mizuchi (Hana Awase), Tomomori (Birushana), Vyn Richter (Tears of Themis), Mozu (BUSTFELLOWS), Goro Fujita (Meiji Tokyo Renka), Liberta (Arcana Famiglia), Rin (Togainu no Chi), Aido (Vampire Knight), Tokiwa Etsuya (Dairoku), Goke Kanimitsu (Touken Ranbu)
Kazuhiro Yoshimura as “Shioji” – Oleander (The Red Bell’s Lament), Alest (Radiant Tale), Minegeshi (Collar x Malice), Ten (Cafe Enchante), Maki (Side Kicks!), Souji Kamishiro (Suika Niritsu), Pepe (Bustafellows)
Yosuke Kobayashi as “Ugetsu” – Tomonari (Winters Wish), Flynn (The Red Bell’s Lament), Hira (Dairoku), Byleth (FE Engage, 3H), Shinano Toushiro (Touken Ranbu), Suwon (Yona of the Dawn), Yuli Norbert (MidCin), Manai Tomoki (Sweet Clown), Xavier (Love and Deepspace), Kiyoshi Kurotani (P5), Senku Ishigami (Dr. Stone)
CHARACTERS AND ROUTES
There are six routes in Illusion of Itehari. At the start of the game, only Awayuki and Tobari’s routes are available. Finishing Awayuki’s route (best ending) unlocks Yori’s, while finishing Tobari’s unlocks Tsuyukusa’s. Once you have cleared all four LIs, Yashiro’s route becomes available. Lastly, completing Yashiro’s route unlocks the Truth Route of the game.
Moreover, the common route also splits into three parts, although only two are available at the beginning. These two common routes, let you spend time with two LIs each: Awayuki/Yori and Tobari/Tsuyukusa. After clearing all four, Yashiro’s common route unlocks, and completing it will unlock the choices that’ll eventually lead you to the Truth Route. Also, you cannot fully skip the common routes, since different dialogues appear depending on which ones you go through first. That said, I would not recommend making separate save files for each common route. Instead, just start a new game each time and make use of the skip-to-next-choice function.
As for the recommended play order, Director, Takamura did not enforce a strict sequence. However, they mentioned in their blog that, in terms of world-building, the order they suggest is: Awayuki → Tobari → Yori → Tsuyukusa → Yashiro → Truth Route.
Personally, my soft rec’d play order as far as story progression is pretty similar, except I would swap Yori and Tsuyukusa. So: Awayuki → Tobari → Tsuyukusa → Yori→ Yashiro → Truth Route. My only reason for this, is that Yori’s route contains a spoiler related to Yashiro’s character development. If you do not mind character spoilers though, those two can easily be interchanged, and it really does not make much difference in the end.🤗
Walkthroughs:
Note: The CGs shown below are promotional images for the game, Illusion of Itehari. All spoiler-related content in this review will be hidden behind a spoiler drop-down, that you can choose to view at your own discretion.
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Click to view Content Warnings Murder, violence, arson, death, blood, classism, discrimination against common folk/poor people, sexual assault, trauma bond, gaslighting. AWAYUKI
- the hot butler 👅
- “yes my queen”
Awayuki is Hinagiku, the heroine’s attendant. He is overprotective to a fault, yet a highly capable individual who is more than worthy of protecting her. However, he tends to look down on himself because of his commoner status and even goes so far as to claim that he is merely the heroine’s property.
This route… ngl, was such a slog to get through. And I say this as a massive Soma Saito enjoyer. There was a lot of repetitive, nonsensical political discussion (though to be fair, this is pretty much true for most of the routes in this game). To me, the story didn’t really find its footing until around chapter 5, which meant the earlier chapters in Awayuki’s route were an absolute snoozefest imo.
However, to my surprise, Awayuki still ended up being one of my favorite LIs in the game. Wild! He was such a great character throughout the entire story, and as an LI his actions and everything about him were downright laudable. It’s really not his fault his route was a snoozer!
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Spoilers Look, a seiyuu can only do so much. And even as someone who is extremely biased toward any Soma Saito character, I can admit when a route is mid, no matter how likable the LI is. That pretty much sums up Awayuki’s route for me. I lost count of how many times I dozed off while playing. It was a real struggle to stay focused. The endless repetition about commoners vs. nobles, master vs. servant, and how the whole “we can’t be together, etc. etc.” dragged on all the way until the very last minute. It was exhausting.😵💫
On a lighter note, Awayuki himself is an amazing LI no matter how you look at it. He definitely falls into that category of otome characters who deserved a better, more fulfilling route. That said, his ending CG was so hot I practically forgave the entire struggle of staying awake just to finish his story lol.😂
TOBARI
Tobari is the current head of Itehari’s entertainment district. Despite his young age, he acts as the caretaker of his people, and the residents of the entertainment district all admire him. He comes across as unfriendly at first and always maintains a straight-to-the-point attitude.
The start of Tobari’s route actually gave me the impression that this might be a good route to start the game with, as it introduces the story well, particularly the hierarchy issues in Itehari, and you get a lot of POVs from the commoner’s side in this story. However, the middle up to the end parts of his route became a bit spoiler-heavy, which might explain why the director suggested playing him second in their soft play-order.
I think Tobari is a good character and LI, but I’m not entirely sure if I enjoyed his route, tbh. The story felt a bit heavy-handed, and the romance didn’t quite land for me. It came across as forced more than anything, though of course, that’s just my personal opinion, as romantic interpretation is highly subjective. I understand that Tobari’s passive demeanor and his calm, detached attitude are part of his charms, but I just don’t think he and Hinagiku have believable chemistry to fuel what little romance they have in this route. For me, their relationship simply didn’t click for some reason.🤷♀️
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Spoilers Tobari also lost points for me when his route made him look really gullible. Awayuki was right, in that Tobari can be vulnerable with the people he trusts. Shioji betrayed him, his own members (in the Shiranui) betrayed him, and even Doctor Shohaku betrayed him. He clearly has a weak sense of judgment when it comes to people he’s seemingly closed with. Not a good look for someone who’s supposed to lead a vigilant group and an entire district.
Also, the plot twist about him having Hari disease came out of nowhere, though I did find it a bit more relevant after playing the Truth ending. I think his Hari disease is further explained there than in Tobari’s route. (Being born from a noble and a commoner messed with his genes, which led him to develop Hari disease). The whole killing spree at the end of his chapter though…. felt kind of over the top, and not in a good way. It seemed almost too convenient for the story to end like that. I’m really not sure what to make of it, really.
On another note, I think the reason I disliked the romance in this route mostly comes down to Hinagiku. Her crush on Tobari felt way too forced, and her tendency to rush into danger without any smart plan was just… sorry for the word, plain STUPID. This impulsiveness happens in a lot of routes btw, where her thoughtless decisions get the better of her, but this route really took it to another level. I wasn’t a fan, and I was pretty happy to be done with this route, at the end.
TSUYUKUSA
- 🏳️🟢🏳️🟩🏳️💚
- green is my fav color
Tsuyukusa is an arcanist and the heroine’s childhood friend. He runs Hangetsugo, a shop that takes on odd jobs in Itehari. He doesn’t like going out except for work errands and would rather spend his time tinkering with his tools and gadgets in his own workshop at home.
This is it! Finally, a route I can actually get behind with! I enjoyed both the story and the romance. Though, in terms of the latter, I feel like Tsuyukusa has the best one in the game. Even setting aside the drab political discussions, Tsuyukusa felt far more involved in the story compared to the first two routes I played. I can’t quite explain why. The story itself was fairly predictable, yet for some reason, I found myself more engaged in this route than the others.🤔
Also, Tsuyukusa, my dude… I love this man so much (kicking my feet!) What an adorable guy!🥺 I can’t say for sure that his route had the best plot or story (laughs), but at least the romance popped, which pulled and elevated this route up by a mile.
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Spoilers I think Tsuyukusa’s relationship with Hiragi doesn’t come off as a surprise anymore, especially if you’ve already played Awayuki and Tobari’s routes beforehand. It’s also nice to see his bond with Hiragi, and I really liked his sibling-dynamic with him. I thought both were precious!!🥺
Unlike the two previous routes, where the heroine awkwardly chases the guys, gets rejected, but keeps pursuing them, the dynamic between Hinagiku and Tsuyukusa felt quite different (which is a nice change). Tsuyukusa was the one who confessed first, but he never pressured Hinagiku to respond. I also loved how clingy he was with her, yet it came across as sweet and really endearing.🥺 He definitely defines a mighty green flag of an LI to me!
Unfortunately, I found the politics here really uninteresting, though it does help expand more of the broader story of Itehari, which is explored further in the Truth route.
YORI
Yori is part of the Kurozuro, an esteemed group of steam soldiers in charge of maintaining order in Itehari. He prides himself on being a high-ranking noble and looks down on commoners or anyone he considers beneath him.
Yori’s route was kind of interesting, and it’s not because he had a better *plot* or story than the other LIs. It’s more that his personality was entertainingly funny. The dude is a giant narcissist, as well as an elitist. He acts like a diva, but what’s funny is that he’s not really the diva he thinks he is (laughs).😂 His route focused a lot on himself; he is very self-absorbed and walks around with a giant ego on his back. He was a d*ck through and through, and as much as I despise his character, I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy his route because of how ridiculously egomaniacal he is. This was the only route that kept me wide awake, and strangely enough, I binged it faster than the others.
I feel like Yori is going to be a fan favorite because anyone craving a red-flag character will definitely hype him up. Personally, as a red-flag enjoyer myself, I was pretty lukewarm on Yori. He’s alright, I guess.🤷♀️ I have to say, however, his bad ending was probably my favorite ending in the entire game…🤭
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Spoilers Yori’s route, especially his best ending, wrapped up conveniently too, which was quite anticlimactic for an eccentric character like him. The story itself was more or less a repeat of details you’d already know from the previous three routes, just with a different spin-off & result. The only thing that stood out to me here, was Yashiro taking on a semi-antagonist role and finally revealing his true purpose for coming to Itehari. This is why I recommended playing Yori’s route before Yashiro’s, since the transition feels more impactful that way. Although, if you don’t really care about Yashiro (like me lol), this reveal probably won’t matter or hit as much(laughs).😂
The romance here, like most of the romances in this game, felt more forced than anything. There was really no reason for Hinagiku to fall for your resident diqface, Yori. Lol. Especially when you have Tsuwabuki as a contender, like are you kidding me? …She basically gets drunk, gets a tongue lap, and suddenly she’s head over heels? I’m sorry, but I ain’t buying that, sis. They really tried so hard (but maybe not hard enough), because I just couldn’t take it (the sudden romance) seriously.
Speaking of Tsuwabuki, my god was this man hot! Honestly, I think it’s quite offensive that the game made him one of the most beautiful and likable characters, & even giving him a tiny bit of character development in this story, yet didn’t give him a route of his own. This felt like such a kick in the teeth for the players, no?😑
On the other hand, what was interesting, though, was Yori’s bad ending. Now THIS is what I want from my red flag characters: trauma bonding, pure gaslighting, and that you even get to *double the deed* with Awayuki???🍆🍆 Oh heck, sign me up! (cackles).🤣🤣🤣 Honestly, I loved this ending because it felt like the only twistedly fitting conclusion for Yori’s character.
YASHIRO
- (here we go again)… 🚬
- sus
Yashiro is an amnesiac man whom Hinagiku encountered one day during one of her daily walks in town. After he collapsed while helping her, she brought him to her estate out of a sense of duty as a noble.
After slogging through endless reiterations during the previous four routes, Yashiro’s route felt like the ultimate chore as you’re basically told the same story for the nth time, fully aware of what’s going to happen. Unfortunately for me, this route was criminally dull (sorry!), and it felt like the first few chapters were wasted on repetition instead of presenting anything new. The endings here were, yet again, rather convenient, which made the entire buildup in Yashiro’s story feel pointless? It didn’t help that the romance was also quite bleak. Sorry to say, this entire route was a hard sell for me. Then again, this is all just my personal opinion, so your mileage may vary. Yashiro is a great character though, no doubt! And Chiaki Kobayashi did amazing voicing him, so there’s always that!
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Spoilers I really feel like the whole buildup of Yashiro dressing in disguise and trying to cause a scene in Itehari’s square during the Lantern Festival was completely pointless. In the end, their goal of making people doubt the Taiju was immediately resolved, and they quickly moved on to cracking down on another Ginwan spy. Like… ??? What was even the point? Why did we spend so much time going through all that nonsense when this supposedly *grand master plan* was wrapped up so quickly. Not exactly a fan of this type of red herring. But whatever, I was just really glad to be done with this route.
On the positive side, I appreciated that this route gave us more insight into who Yashiro is, what his purpose was, and even a glimpse into his life in Ginwan. Sure, it was mostly exposition dumped through monologues, but hey, I’ll take any backstory I can get.🤷♀️
TRUTH ROUTE
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SpoilersNARUKAMI
New phone, who dis! nothing burger I sort of cackled-snorted when the story went, “Narukami waved his hand and instantly restored the collapsed pipes in Itehari,” like he’s some sort of Dumbledore. LOL
That said, I kept getting a serious sense of deja vu while playing this route because it felt a lot like Steam Prison’s Yune’s route/character. Narukami is an automaton powered by some kind of scarlet gold alloy as his heart. Similar to Yune, who has a gem artifact for a heart that grants him immortality, Narukami’s situation also felt kinda familiar in concept.
Honestly, I’m not really sure how I feel about this route. The romance, for one, was basically nonexistent. Plot-wise, I did appreciate moments where they tried to tie up loose ends from previous stories, like Tobari’s Hari disease and the fact that Awayuki, despite being a commoner, is surprisingly agile and strong. I also enjoyed the reveal that the city was designed so commoners couldn’t defy nobles because of their genes. It was an interesting piece of lore, even if it came out of nowhere.
What was kind of anticlimactic, though, was the big bad reveal (Saku) only for the character to go bye-bye within five minutes after the said revelation. 😭 Like… what even was that about??
On a positive note, the English title “Illusion of Itehari” made perfect sense after finishing the game. Itehari is essentially a facade of a country, built on glaring flaws that weren’t fully seen through by its creator/s. That’s why the term “illusion” fits so well. Maybe it’s just me, but I actually like the English title now!
Lastly, what really irked me was that after all the truth dumps, drama, and hoopla, everyone (esp the villains) got forgiven so easily and conveniently. It made the conflicts feel utterly ineffectual, as if all that build-up meant nothing. Perhaps, the only thing *not forgiven* was the time I wasted on this route?! (cackles).😂 …. But Narukami did have that hot CG of him showing his chest, so maybe I’ll consider that as an apology…👅 (cackles)
HINAGIKU (Main Heroine)
Hinagiku has a strong sense of responsibility and duty from being born a noble. She always, and I mean, A-L-W-A-Y-S wants to “help”. I think she passes as a decent MC at the surface. Quite driven, a bit bratty, and sometimes a little nosy for her own good.
More times than not though, she crosses into being absolutely reckless, rushing into danger without any real plan or consideration of the possible repercussions of her actions. There’s very little critical thinking going on, and she keeps doing this again and again, and shows very little improvement in the later routes (sadly). She doesn’t seem to have any sense of self-preservation, and her thoughtless impulsiveness really drove me up the wall. Look, I really tried my best to give her the benefit of the doubt. I do admire her drive to always want to help, but I just couldn’t get behind the lack of logic in her decision-making. Idk, I guess spoiled rich brat heroines with idealistic views just put me off really bad.
Nothing you’ve done so far could even
remotely be considered smart, though…😬
What pisses me even more is how almost everyone in the game, especially the LIs constantly gas her up. “Oh, you’re running straight into a burning building? So brave!” “Ah, there’s a murderer on the loose and you want to investigate the cases at night? Incredible, you’re so strong!” (cackles)😂 This is all exaggerated but like… my goodness… why are they indulging her stupidity?😭
I know this sounds really harsh, and I’m fully aware that this all comes down to personal preference. I’m sure there are plenty of people who would find her quirky and cute! Not me, though! I’ve fully accepted that this heroine just isn’t for me. That being said, I will give her credit for a few moments I did enjoy, mainly in the romance parts where she actually took the initiative to express her feelings first to some of the LIs. And I think in Yori’s route, she managed to be somewhat proactive. But seriously…that’s about as far as my praise goes.
(Bonus: Found the perfect meme for Hinagiku, Awayuki and Tsuyukusa)
SYSTEM AND LOCALIZATION
The steampunk theme of the game was very apparent from the title’s UI, which I actually quite liked. Loved seeing the cogs and gears on my loading screen!
The Live2D, on the other hand, seems to be pretty polarizing for a lot of people. Unfortunately, I fall into the camp that isn’t a fan of how exaggerated it looks. The idle breathing(?) animation in particular felt excessive, and the way the character sprites’ chests expand and move is almost a bit unsettling.😅 And I say this as someone who loves Live2D in otome games a lot. There are a few games that utilize Live2D really well. For example, in Light and Night, the sprite animations feel smooth, natural, and not jarring at all. The one used in Illusion of Itehari, isn’t really a dealbreaker to me. Though I hope LicoBits improves this aspect in the game’s fandisk.
PROS:
- Mouth movements, blinking sprites, Live2D
- Heroine’s Name Customization
- Chapter Select
- GLOSSARY section
- EXTRA Content – (extra stories) that unlock after finishing certain endings in the game.
- Short stories
- Love Catch and Status Bar
- SKIP to the Next Choice function
- Skip READ function
- Quick Save/Quick Load
- CG Library
- Music Library
- Movie Library
- Backlog and Rewind function
CONS:
- Heroine not voiced
- No Heroine side image sprite
Localization
The localization was also pretty good; I didn’t notice any significant issues in the game’s translation or tone. I thought it was pristine, with typos being very rare. Kudos to the localization team for a job well done!
TRAILER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulngh0iBr5M&list=RDulngh0iBr5M&start_radio=1
OVERALL THOUGHTS
It took me roughly 60, possibly pushing to 70 hours, to 100% the game. I was surprised that this playtime was actually quite long, given that the game itself is of decent length. I think what made it longer for me was the repetition of the stories, as well as having to start a new game for each route in order to achieve 100% in the in-game progress and unlock all possible endings. As usual, I played the majority of this title with the Switch docked on my TV.
Illusion of Itehari’s premise definitely reminded me of Steam Prison, in a sense, as they share a similar concept: steampunk setting and the division between the Heights and the Surface World. The “Heights” in Steam Prison would be equivalent to Itehari in this game. There’s also a plot device in one route that feels somewhat similar to a certain route in Steam Prison, but revealing it here would be a spoiler, so you’ll just have to play the game and find out for yourself! 😋
Drowning in Politics
Truth be told, I wasn’t too crazy about the overarching plot of this title. I’m not particularly a fan of stories centered around heavy politics, and this game is about 90% political drabble, which immediately dulled my interest. The monologues, stuffed with a lot of padding, dragged on, and to be honest, they weren’t very engaging (if anything they put me to sleep). It also didn’t help that the routes kept repeating the same details over and over again, that it made the narrative feel increasingly redundant.😭 If, however, you enjoy long-winded political discussions in your visual novels, this game right here, is definitely for you!
For its positives, one of the game’s strengths (besides the art), was its worldbuilding. The setting felt rich, and it gave the stories (and lore) a strong foundation to build on. I can also definitely say that the build-up in most of the stories was nice, and I loved the beats of suspense it had. Surely, lots of good momentum to appreciate in a couple of routes. However, what undermined that *momentum*, (and this is one of my main nitpicks), was how conveniently the endings rolled out. This made the earlier high-stakes conflicts feel completely weightless, in turn causing the reveals or plot twists to come across as rather pedestrian at best. I would’ve loved it if they had stuck to their guns and gotten into the nitty-gritty of the conflicts in the story, like they did in Piofiore 1926. But then again, there’s a fandisk for this game that was just released, so perhaps these somewhat open-ended *easy* resolutions will finally get some satisfying closure in the next installment?
Great LIs in Tedious Routes
I adopted two husbands in this title: Awayuki and Tsuyukusa. After finishing the entire game, I was pretty stunned by how much I enjoyed Awayuki’s character. I have a penchant for the loyal, sad knight/servant archetype, and Awayuki fits this trope like a glove. It’s too bad his route was such a snoozefest! He deserves far better, and I hope he gets a good story in the FD. I also feel that Awayuki is far too good for Hinagiku; with her reckless, airheaded tendencies, being paired with him would practically increase her chance of survival by 99%. Good for her. That said (and I realize I’m contradicting myself lol), I cannot bring myself to ship them (laughs).😂 I dislike this pairing and would much rather see Awayuki with someone more compassionate and considerate than this spoiled little princess. Yes, I’m being petty atm. (cackles)🤣
Please, I love them both!🫶
Tsyukusa, my other favorite LI, is one ship I can at least get behind. I liked his childhood-friend dynamic with Hinagiku to some extent. I can see green-flag enthusiasts would love him and his droopy yet adorable demeanor.🥺
If I had to pick the LI best suited for Hinagiku, though, it would probably be Yori (out of spite lol), mostly for the petty reason that they’re both spoiled, rich individuals who would likely complement each other in political functions. (cackling)🤣
Girl….. might as well! 🤣
Tobari was too passive a character for my taste, and his route was way too messy (plot-wise), so he didn’t really shine as much for me compared to the others. Yashiro was cute, but again, his route was dullsville, so I was falling asleep half the time instead of actually appreciating his character. 😭 I know I gave the Truth Route a lot of guff, but I did admittedly enjoy it in the end, particularly how the reveals of the overarching plot tied nicely into the stories of the previous routes. I also appreciated the expansion of the lore and how it came full circle, giving the game’s title real meaning.
💖LI RANKING: Awayuki = Tsuyukusa > > > > Yori = Yashiro = Tobari
📝ROUTE RANKING: Yori > Tsuyukusa > Truth Route > Awayuki = Tobari = Yashiro
Lastly, I’m convinced LicoBits entirely birthed Tsuwabuki’s character as bait to get everyone to buy and play the fandisk. Because, WDYM the most attractive, breedable man in this game isn’t a love interest? Are you kidding me?! And you can only claim him in the fandisk? Nah, fam…this was a low blow! I see what you did there, devs!🫵
YES, YES YOU ARE! …..NOW LET ME SMASH!!
As for the romance, I wish I could say the game had a lot of sugar content, but in all honesty, it was very lacking in that department. Sure, there were some moments that seemed kind of sweet, but they all felt short-lived. I also couldn’t really enjoy the romance (of what little there is in the game) because the chemistry between Hinagiku and some of her LIs felt forced. This might just be a personal thing, and perhaps my aversion to Hinagiku’s character may have influenced that, so take it as you will.
Do I recommend this game? YES.
Despite its flaws and a somewhat predictable plot, I would still wholeheartedly recommend Illusion of Itehari to otome gamers. This game is gorgeous, for one, and it’s perfect for anyone who loves rich worldbuilding in a steampunk setting, featuring a cast of charming (and very hot) LIs, be it green or red flags, who, before you know it, will worm their way into your affections.🤭
While it comes from the same team behind Piofiore, don’t expect it to be exactly like Piofiore. Though, if you appreciated Piofiore’s writing, character dynamics, and pacing, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy this one too. Personally, to me, it’s the kind of title that slowly warms up to you the more you play it! And honestly, now that I’ve finished this game, I’m kind of looking forward to playing the fandisk! Ha! Pray to the otome gods we get an announcement next year!
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