Cotton's Teahouse

This month was one where I actually kind of followed my gaming plans for the month to some degree. I also had more time on my hands thanks to my vacation. So I was able to spend most of my time with these games.

After the announcement of Twilight Kiss I thought it would finally be time to start on Meiji Tokyo Renka Full Moon. This one is a classic in my eyes and I already had a graps of the story thanks to the anime, which aired in 2018. This doesn't mean I wasn't surprised by the eccentric Ougai though. The characters do come in pairs, so my goal was to finish Ougai and Shunsou. Both of them where fun to play through but with KENN being Shunsou's VA, he had a big advantage. 💜

Another game where a new announcement in the franchise served as a reminder that I still had a gem lying around. Persona 3 Reload is everything I could have hoped for. The graphics and music are just top notch, I would have been more surprised if they weren't this good. Finally meeting these character for real after playing the rhythm game and reading some reviews and other things for this installment, is such fun time. Especially hearing Hikaru Midorikawa as Akihiko is a blessing for my ears (and he IS easy on the eyes).

☕︎ Recommended tea:  caramel apple pie ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

June had a amazing shorter experiences and a big surprise in store.

I'm really glad I got a physical for this one. Volontés is a rather short but great story with Fiena as the protagonist. She was surprisingly forwards in some instances which was a nice surprise. Each route gives us a small piece for the overall story and secrets which are revealed at the end. Of course I was theorizing again like a wanna be detective but was at times really far of from the truth, which was fun. With Vivi I gained another yet another purple haired LI into my little collection. 💜 This guy is too mysterious for his own good and deserves some love and a quite life. I loved to see him in various bad endings because those sealed my fate fr... 🙇‍♀️ One issue I had with it were the long loading times. Those were the bane of my existence while playing.

I've heard so many good things about Witch Spring R since it released back in 2023 and it didn't disappoint. A compelling story about Pieberry and her search for the pie of her dreams which turns into a way bigger adventure than anticipated. It really surprised me with it's amazing story telling and how every character, even if minor, got his time and conclusion at the end. I even got my headcanon/theory turned into canon, which made me really happy. 💜 The mechanics where great and I had so much fun with the crafting and magic system. It also got my collecting nerve covered with all the different pets you can collect and fight with. I'm definitely checking out the franchise more after this gem. One of my favorite moments with Pieberry and Black Joe 💜

☕︎ Recommended beverage: Strawberry Kiwi Soda ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

We just had the June of announcements. With all these shows and directs over we have a pile of new games and release dates we can anticipate over the next months.

The biggest one for me is definitely Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave! Finally we have a release date and the reveal of the Collector's Edition (which I had to pre-order ASAP)

I was a bit sad that we only got a glimps of Atelier Karia: The Night Kingdom & the Guide of Memories in the western Nintendo Direct. It was so short I in fact totally didn't missed it 😭 Fortunately the JP one had a lengthier trailer and Koei even did a presentation to show us even more of the game play and characters. I haven't finished Yumia yet but I really need to do that soon.

Other ones from the Direct specifically I want to check out are FF Resonance, Muramasa: Revenant Blades and Xenoblade Genesis.

A FF in 2D/HD style feels like it's going back to the roots and I have to see it for myself. With Genesis I'm mostly awed by the presentation of the game. I'm still on the fence if I should get it when it comes out or wait for some reviews first because of my lack of involvement with the Xenoblade franchise. I would love to dive into it at some point but have to many and games to check out and I would love to give it my undivided attention.

Speaking of other franchises and story I dipped my toes into: Final Fantasy VII Revelation. I just finished Crisis Core last month and plan to play the original next,after that the movie and 'Remake' on PS5 which is really time consuming to get through.

And last but not least the Persona 4 Revivial and Persona 6 announcements. I really hope Revivial will be my gate back into P4. I never finished Golden back on the Vita because the dungeons where just not my kind of tea and thus it was never finished. The changes which we saw in a recent presentation by Atlus are giving me hope that I can get to the end this time and even experience some more of the absolute banger that is the Ost. Persona games just have one of the best music in their games which won't leave your brain for ever. (Every day is great at your Junes! ♫ᝰ~) Persona 6 on the other hand looked really dark and spooky which is kinda nice for a change! Can't wait for Atlus to show us some more of this entry.

☕︎ Recommended tea: sencha apple tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

May was such a fun month I continued my nostalgia vibe and dipped my toes into a new absolutely massive story.

After stalling for almost a year I finally sat down and 'finished' Octopath Travler 2. This game took everything from the first game and made it better. There is almost now game that did it as well as OT2 💜 I choose Partitio as my main protagonist and it ended up being perfect - the best BP Battery 🫶 The stories this time around were even more intriguing and interwoven than in the first game. Which was amazing and made the game an even more polished. I set finished in quotations because I can't for the love of tea beat that last final boss. I had the same issue with the first game, so I searched for a video on Youtube to get the whole conclusion. I would love for them to include some kind of easy mode for story enjoyers so we can experience the ending for ourselves too.

The nostalgia part this month: Amnesia LaterxCrowd. This game has been in my backlog for 4 years and I replayed Memories the last time ~ 2017. Seeing everyone again was great, with it being my first otomate title I played back when it came out gave me heavy nostalgia. Having some new stories has been great and we also saw more of the Oshi: Cage-kun 😌 Absolute peak if you ask me. The only down side are those mini-games. I'm so glad we don't do those anymore. Some are kinda fun but if they're necessary to play to unlock other things I just have to hate them with a passion. I still have trauma from the first game lmao.

☕︎ Recommended tea: mint caramel tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

The first half of this year is almost over and what a time it has been. So many games to play and even more games announced. That's why I thought I would do a little recap of games I played these past months (while neglecting this blog) 🌻💐

First of: my year started amazing with my continuation of Mistonia's Hope - The Lost Delight. It was the last game I started in 2025 and after been in detective mode from playing Uchronia, I continued that with this one too. The story was just so compelling and had so many great conclusions, especially the first few routes I played. The bad ends where amazing and made so much sense for Aprose to turn out like that. I even got a new fave with Lucas, which I saw coming from a mile away 💜 and I enjoyed Lucas's route so much that I replayed it directly after finishing it. I also got pleasantly surprised by Alfred and Linus!

Atelier Marie Remake the one Atelier I was procrastinating to get because I wanted the physical edition. I don't know why they wouldn't give us one in the west but I was lucky to find an Asia copy locally so I didn't have to import it. The waiting payed of then. I had so much fun playing this one. It reminded me of Nelke with its managing aspects. I've finished my story objectives with my second playthrough for now but will play it again after some time to see more story bits for other characters.

I was itching for a tactical game and with The Diofield Chronicle in my backlog I hit gold. This game didn't let me go until I finished it completely (or it me, I'm still in denial about that). It has such a complex story with small hints for the overall lore and so many plot twist! Absolute amazing game with great design and such a well thought out tactical gameplay. Even though I'm normally not one for a real time tactical gameplay, Diofield proved to me that it is possible for me to play games like this too.

Titel: Illusion of Itehari Platform: Nintendo Switch Hours played: 70h

This game had me in my detective mode while playing the whole time. Making notes and writing down my theories. I haven't had this much fun with an otome in a while.

On top of that, the presentation and stylistic choices. We have an amazing opening theme, which was unskippable for me. Also a gorgeous menu design and artwork by beloved RiRi, who never disappoints with her absolutely amazing artwork.

Another really important part was the Live2D animation for the sprites. Really had me wondering why there are so few games that use it. Of course it’s really time-consuming and expensive but the overall atmosphere and the characters have so much more life to them. It’s hard to go back to ’normal/stiff’ sprites after this because just seeing their facial reactions and everything makes it so much more immersive.

The VA’s for this game was top notch. We have Nobu, Egu-tan, Souma and Matuoka in the main roles and also Kobayashi Chiaki who I was happy to hear more off. (can’t wait to hear him in the upcoming Otome Daoshi again!) Even the side characters got some amazing VA's with Toshi, Fukuyama Jun and Hino Satoshi! The latter finally being in an otome we got localized again! 🎉

Some thoughts and light spoilers ahead: ∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

☕︎ Recommended tea: Sweet cranberry tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

Titel: Jack Jeanne Platform: Nintendo Switch Hours played: 110h

I played Jack Jeanne on and off for over a year because of its massive playtime and it actually made it more fun like this. With the common route being this long and repetitive for every character, just had me revisiting the lovely stage plays and characters over and over again when I was in the mood for it.

On the mention of the plays: the rhythm game was so much fun! The amazing soundtrack played a big part in this and the emotion they conveyed with their stories. I cried every time without fail while playing the Winter and Univeil performances. 😭

It’s also one of the first games to grace us with the management system, which I have a love/hate relationship with. I always wanted to try one, but with it being really linear, if you know what to do to get to the character you want, it just a repetitive chore.

The story seems like one we’ve seen a couple of times before, with Kisa hiding her gender in an all-boys school, but it has so much heart and just an overall lovable cast that it can be as cliché as it wants to. Also don’t be fooled like me and think that there can’t be any plot twists that can surprise you 🤫

And now for the individual characters. Spoilers ahead: ∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

☕︎ Recommended tea: peppermint ginger tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

My December was all over the place with me trying to finish some games before the year ended and still playing the games I was in the mood for. But I managed to finish 4 games and even started two new ones at the end of the month.

The first game I wanted to dive right back in was Jack Jeanne. I saved up Fumi and Neiji for last because those two were the ones I was most interested in and they didn't disappoint. Finishing the game now after almost playing it on and off for a year has me feeling a bit sentimental. I really hope we do get the second game if it releases at some point.

The next one I planned to finish was Illusion of Itehari. With just Yashiro and the Truth route left, this one was done in just some days and sadly I wasn't too happy with how Yashiro's route turned out, but that's a topic for my review.

I wasn't spared by the Steam sale either and got Unpacking to wind down on the weekend. It was really short but still a fun puzzle game for a cozy afternoon.

My most anticipated game of 2025, Atelier Resleriana RW and it showed me exactly why it was. I tried to save it up for last and glad I did with the latest free update it got. I didn't get the now available Resna and Valeria DLC yet, but maybe I will get it at a later date to experience their bond stories too.

The two new games that I started were Ni no Kuni and Mistonia's Hope. Ni no Kuni was actually on my list for a very long time, but the last shove I needed was the recommendation by a friend who normally doesn't like story-driven games. It is incredibly charming, which is no surprise with it having the Ghibli art style and overall vibe.

☕︎ Recommended tea: white peach tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

November is my favorite month of the year, when I take my longest holiday of the year to mostly catch up with friends and of course, finish some more games before the year ends.

The first few days were filled with Stardew Valley. I always come back to it during this time of the year. With its cozy atmosphere, it’s the perfect game to get into a few restful weeks in this season.

Another fun happening was the Baldurs Gate 3 weekend session I did with a friend of mine. We finally finished our first run and had such a blast. Not only on this weekend but every hour we put into this game over the course of the past months. One of these absolutely hilarious moments was this:

The one game I wanted to finish on my vacation was Illusion of Itehari or Uchronia. It was my most anticipated otome game of the year and it didn’t disappoint at all. Even though I wasn’t able to finish it completely, I cherished every minute with this game just because I had so much fun playing  detective and piecing together every piece of information I got.  The reason why I wasn't able to finish it as planned: 

I had to replay Tsuyukusa’s route from the beginning right after finishing his route for the first time because I came to love him just this much. The last time I had the urge to do that was last year with Koyo from 9 R.I.P.

☕︎ Recommended tea: Sweet cranberry tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

September

I was able to complete not one but two games from my backlog Tales of Arise and Bayonetta. 🥳 Both were new series I dipped into and was pleasantly surprised by.

More thought on both, here:

While I was waiting for the new upcoming releases, I thought it would be nice to continue one bigger otome I had lying around for some time now: Jack Jeanne, and this time it caught my full attention. To the point where I was disappointed I didn’t start it sooner.

I was able to finish Sou, Mitsuki and Kai’s routes in the time I had with it and was caught off guard by Mitsuki and Kai. I already knew Mitsuki would be a caring character but Kai got me with his story and how both Kisa and he were able to grow together. Especially seeing Kai’s development was such a blast. He is my favorite character and route to this date (still have to play Fumi and Kokuto tho).

∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

October 🎃

October was kind of slow for me with waiting on my highly anticipated games and having caught the flu in the later half of the month.

Ultimately I got to play around 40 hours of Atelier Resleriana RW when it arrived and had trouble laying my controller down once I started playing. RW is everything I wanted from it and even more (alas, it does have its issues for example the camera placement at certain points).

☕︎ Recommended tea: Apple Blackcurrant tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

Titel: Bayonetta Platform: Nintendo Switch Hours played: 15h

This game has haunted me for years now. After my sister got into the series, she hasn’t stopped gushing about it and because of that I was expected to give it a try at some point. That point was now.

I already had some questions regarding the story before starting the game and I wasn’t disappointed and got most of my questions answered about the story in this first installment of the series.

The level design is pretty linear, has a straightforward system and most of the boss battles have some kind of gimmick, which spiced up the battles. Riding a motorcycle or a missile weren’t on my bingo card for this game.

The battle system is so stylish and fun to look at, even for someone like me, who just wants to button-smash sometimes and can’t remember a good combo for the love of it. Even though I’m bad with game systems like this, this game rewards you regardless with hilariously with climax attacks when the health-bar of the enemy is low. The stylization of this game is just such an experience and I’m glad I caved and finally got around to playing it.

Story-wise it was a bit confusing at first, but the last chapter really cleared up most of the questions and even got me excited for the second installment.

☕︎ Recommended tea: Black-cherry tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

Titel: Tales of Arise Platform: PS5 Hours played: 71h

Some years ago I decided to dive into major JRPG series like Final Fantasy, which have been going on for such a long time that they’re almost frighteningly massive, and I never got into when I was younger. Finding a good starting point with such big series is always such a daunting task to do.

When I was thinking about giving the Tales series a try, I took the same approach as I did with Final Fantasy: Go for the new shiny one.

Well, Tales of Arise was already three years old when I picked it up last year and had it lying in my backlog for some time before I got around to playing it but now that I've finished it, I’m glad I chose it as my first game in the franchise.

My thought on the story and systems:

∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

☕︎ Recommended beverage: Redcurrant Soda ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

This Nintendo Direct started really slow for me. Not too much I was interested in but they dropped the game I was waiting for at the end.

Games I want to look into:

HYKE: Northern Light(s)

I’m such a sucker for cute pixel art, so this is a no-brainer for me to check out. I hope there will be a demo available at some point to try out its action RPG elements.

The story is set in a world that was devastated by the war between humans and witches and revolves around Hyke. She follows in her mother’s footsteps, a witch, and continues her journey around the world.

The character design is stunning and like I said, those chibi character models are super adorable. Definitely going to keep an eye on this one.

Suika Game Planet

MORE SUIKA!! This game is just so relaxing and now with the new planet mode, it looks even more fun, so this one is going into my cart in the eshop 🤭

My Highlight:

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave

☕︎ Recommended tea: Cherry blossom tea ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

My August was mostly filled with two great games and I had some time to try some demos I wanted to try for some time now. ♥

∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

Kemono Teatime - Demo -

I was going totally blind into this one and was hit with an underlying dark story I didn’t see coming. Nonetheless, I’m all here for it. The gameplay is simple and choosing the tea blends is so much fun. The story has me intrigued, so I’m definitively giving the full version a try.

Atelier Yumia - Demo -

A bit late to Yumia but I’m still going to push it back a little bit before buying. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try the demo tho. 🤭 I was already aware of the bad reputation alchemists have in this installment, but seeing how Yumia is treated had my heart bleeding. She just wants to be helpful and only gets such bad vibes thrown in her face. I wouldn’t continue trying to be good to others in her stead, but she is a good soul, so she doesn’t do that. (Don’t be like me; be Yumia) The fighting system is more fun than Ryza’s for me but her synthesis … I know they’re trying new things but seeing the girls with their cauldrons always gave me such a comfy homey feel, which is now completely gone. Yumia looks absolutely stunning while synthesizing but that’s it. Maybe I need to try it some more, but we will see. The exploring was fun and I’m probably going to explore some more, so that my progress will carry over to my main game as soon as I get my copy.

∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

Tales of Arise

It was almost one year ago that I started playing Tales of Arise as my first Tales of game. I had to pause the game in the middle because I got a bit frustrated with one character at the start of this year, but I’m glad I picked it up again. It was able to chain me to my TV and became a staple for the past weeks for my evenings.

Bustafellows Season 2

My game of the month for sure. An almost perfect continuation for an already great game. I really hope they are doing a season 3 in the future. More thoughts on this one here:

∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

Next up:

The reason I’m not giving in to my urge to get Yumia after trying her demo is the upcoming Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & The White Guardian! My ultimate fave Sophie, is on the cover and was shown as one of the first characters. So, of course, I have to get this game ASAP to see more of her! Also, we are back to a more round based game and we see a lot of mechanics already used in the Res mobile game, which I loved. The town development and shop management parts are also intriguing and remind me of Nelke (which I played for an ungodly amount of hours).

Another one on my list for September is Utakata no Uchronia or Illusions of Itehari. I’m so excited about what LicoBiTs cooked with this one and the things I have seen are mostly positive, so my expectations might be a little bit to high. I’m mostly happy to see an otome character voiced by Eguchi Takuya and Yori is also my most anticipated character… I really hope I’m not setting myself up for a big disappointment but we will see, I guess.

∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘

☕︎ Recommended tea: White tea - Strawberry & Vanilla ᝰ.⊹ ࣪ ˖

Titel: Bustafellows Season 2 Platform: Switch/Steam Hours played: 50h

First thing: I don’t know why it wasn’t one of the first games coming to my mind when talking about my favorite otome till now. That’s going to change for sure. Of course, it's not perfect, but it is damn near being it now with this Season 2.

This sequel gives us more story than we could ask for and maybe even a potential opening for a third season? I would definitively welcome it with open arms.

My short thoughts about the individual routes and minor spoilers ahead ~ ∘•··················································•∘ʚ♡ɞ∘•··················································•∘