#arcade spirits

Game of the Month: Coral Island

♡ ... rhapsody + locksley duo board!

A lot of dating sims are like "pick the right options for the best ending!" (often with some wiggle room), but that's not how any relationships work irl, platonic or romantic. The only time i've ever seen this properly addressed is in Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, which has a stat system based on what personality traits are associated with each choice, and those are more for character building than anything else (although it does get you points with whichever characters value the personalities you have the highest stats in), but there's ALSO the "no good choices" mechanic, where your answer is never going to be, well, a good choice. Sometimes it's because every choice fucking sucks, sometimes it's because the main character has a lot of shit they need to work through and it's a character moment to understand what makes them the way they are. But even when we fuck up an interaction, real people are often willing to give the benefit of the doubt, and if they aren't, well, they're probably not worth your time. You can accidentally be ableist to someone and like. maybe they'll give you another chance. You can end up pushing your loved ones away, but they'll try to help you because they know you. They know you're hurting.

What Your Arcade Spirits Romance Choice Says About You!