My Experience with Cybird and Voltage Games
Well, it feels like this is one of the most controversial topic in the otome world 😅. I have a bias for Cybird and make clear the reason why, but I will try my best to judge them in a neutral perspective.
Both Voltage inc. and Cybird games are super popular, though they have a diverse characteristics in game.
Voltage is for them who want a light, not-plot-heavy contents, where Cybird is famous for the interesting game premise for their titles. Voltage have Soo many games (you will understand if you try Love356) where Cybird has much less.
Commonly, it is said that Voltage is for player who has a penchant for light-hearting, simple plots, though many of their games are plot heavy. One of the plot heavy games is like SLBP. On the other hand, Cybird is famous for their distinct and diverse plots, attracting more audience, though notorious for the price system.
I was bored to hell when playing SLBP, and I quit it after finishing Maeda Toshiie, Date Masamune (Act 1 &2), Katakura Kojuro (Act 1&2). Then I returned to try Nobunaga's route. These stories were not trash, but it felt really boring after playing Ikemen Sengoku.
1. Ikesen vs SLBP
I will demonstrate my opinion based on the routes I read both in SLBP and ikesen. So here we go.
In SLBP, I really hated Nobunaga's character building. He has an ambition and was cheeky, but not evil. But the reason I don't like him is that he is TOO cruel. He even cannot forget his cruelty. He killed so many people but he still thinks that he has no choice because all of them had betrayed him.
In ikesen, Nobunaga is a reliable person with high IQ and calculated nature. He is intelligent, and he of course has a big ambition, but not like SLBP Nobunaga. We only can see in SLBP that he has "the ambition of unification", but no particular inspiration (in his Act 1). On the other hand, ikesen Nobunaga has a clear ambition-- abolishing class system and establish a new Japan, a country which will lead the world (please, I am no racist, he has this inspiration, truly).
Ikesen Nobunaga has taken the burden of killing innocent citizen on his shoulder alone. When Mai falls in love with him, she realizes, Nobunaga also has a kind heart, he only doesn't know how to show kindness. But SLBP Nobunaga apparently doesn't have this mind set.
A peer told me that, "In Ikesen, Nobunaga always wins. It's not fair". But I think, Ikesen Nobunaga has a really REALLY great ambition, and he deserves to get the country united. In ikesen, Nobunaga's ambition was not power. In his route it was clear that he doesn't have that greed. Maybe in a event or highly might be in his main route, he had told something like this. He ONLY wants to unite the land, because he cares for his people and country. Nothing more. And his ideal deserves the pride of uniting it.
In the prologue of SLBP (I love it's prologue, so well-written and interesting!!!), MC cries at the riverbank where Nobunaga told her, "If you have the time and strength to cry, you have time for do something too", or something like that. I loved SLBP prologue, but the only dissatisfaction in it is, MC never realizes this thing except when she is told it directly. She never realizes her power and inner will untill Nobunaga tells him. She goes undercover for poison-taster after being TOLD that she can do something.
But here is Mai, who blends together in the Sengoku period by her own bravery. In Sasuke's route, she was afraid of sengoku period, but that was needed for the story building in his route. In other's route like Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Ieyasu and Masamune, she is really brave despite her vulnerable position, and she didn't do anything after "someone" told her. She found conviction in her heart to live and fight in the turbulent world.
In Masamune's route of SLBP, when he knows that MC is a woman, he feels betrayed. Obviously. But MC was his page and they had a good understanding among them, but Masamune accused MC and kicked her out without even hearing her reason. He was really indecisive about this whole matter, where he refused to hear MC out and then Shigezane knocks him. Aside just this, his route was enjoyable, but not like Masamune in Ikesen.
Ikesen Masamune is WILD. But he respects MC's skills and bravery. Their romance building was really good. Though he was a playboy type character, but he gets enthralled with MC later.
SLBP Ieyasu is really scary....but ikesen Ieyasu is really a sweet guy. I haven't read SLBP Ieyasu's route because of the fear....but I can tell, SLBP Ieyasu and ikesen Ieyasu is DIFFERENT.
One other thing. In SLBP, MC being a woman always leads to many drama. She being a woman puts her a vulnerable position as other people talks bad about her action. The era was like that, and it's totally understandable. Having a woman as page was something out of the imaginary for them. But this theme was often used as a tool to make the route more tragic, but I think, this thing also gives a spice to the whole game. Reader will always be in their seat's edge for how MC's identity will be revealed. It is not bad at all, and actually quite fun. But using her status and gender as a tool is not a wise decision in some ways, but it is acknowledgeable, because this portrays the era so good.
In ikesen, MC finds her in a special treatment out of blue. Obviously, she came out of no where in the temple and saved Nobunaga. In SLBP, MC becomes a maid or cook in most cases, but still gets so much attention from the warlords, despite being a simple commoner and cook. There are many maid and woman in castle, so it sometimes feels strange to me that why only MC is the chosen one. But ikesen does not have this problem. Mai is special from the start.
Another thing. SLBP MC does not have enough respect because she is a woman and a commoner. Retainers and castle people sometimes badmouth her. Respect to women was rare then, so it's no surprise. In ikesen, Mai sometimes also get disgraced by people as "concubine" and being a woman, but the warlords respect her so much. It's not like SLBP warlords are fixed to disrespect MC, but in many routes (Like Nobunaga or Masamune) she is treated badly for her gender.
Ikesen warlord never underestimated Mai just for her gender. I think this is why people are much comfortable in ikesen that SLBP, and also the reason to be worldly famous.
