Otome Game Review: Shall We Date? Heian Love

Whoaaaa!!! My first review! It's a monumental moment! LET'S CELEBRATE. Okay sorry...I'm getting off track. Anyway, "Shall We Date? Heian Love" is an otome game that is only available on the touch screen iWhatevers (ie. iPhone/iPod Touch). The game costs $3.99, and three extra characters cost 4.99. Why did I decide to write a review about this game? Because of the (somewhat) lack of reviews on the interwebz.

The Story:
So, in "Heian Love", you play as a new attendant to Emperor Kuze at the Imperial Court. You were planning to attend a poetry contest, but thanks to a stupid stomachache, you were unable to attend. HOWEVER...all is not emo. One day, you receive an anonymous love letter. You are desperately dying to find out who sent it to you. So, with the help of your maid, Hinata, you two set out to find him!

The Gameplay:

I will be a completely honest person...I wasn't very used to the gameplay at first. I was used to otome games/visual novels where you have to choose the right choices to get the guy. However, in Heian Love, you choose the guy and then you try to get the happy ending. Weird. So, when you make the right choice, these...sparkles...appear around the guy you are talking to. Hooray! Anyway, each guy comes with 14 CGs (except for two extra characters. They get 11), and you can look at them again in your album! Yay! Also, you get messages from the guy you're pursuing every chapter. Unfortunately, you cannot delete any repeat messages. Each guy has an unhappy, normal, happy, happier, and happiest ending. Oh yes, and HALLELUJAH...there is a skip button. Each guy has 13 or 14 chapters. It depends on how well you're playing. OH AND DID I MENTION THIS GAME IS 12+ BECAUSE IT IMPLIES...things? Yeah. There are shirtless CGs. The only bad thing? This game has no music whatsoever, so I was forced to listen to music on my iPod...and it didn't really...match the game. *headdesk*

The Characters:

Heroine (AKA You): I can't say much about her. You can barely see her face in some CGs, and most of the CGs don't even show her face. You can name her whatever you want. The only physical description I have is black hair, and she was wearing a junihitoe. Personality-wise, she can be a total brickhead, but she isn't the most annoying heroine I've met.

Emperor Kuze: Mr. Serious McEmperorpants. Okay, sorry. Anyway, Emperor Kuze was a total tsundere. He was always so serious and blah. HOWEVER, once Mr. Tsuntsun falls in love with you, he becomes a total Deredere. One of his messages to you was so sweet that I almost fell out of my chair (Let's just say: I love you x100). If you like tsunderes, then Emperor Kuze is the man for you.

Sakuhito: Some random guy who looks like Kuze, but is the complete opposite of him. I have a spoiler about him, so don't read unless you want to be spoiled. (highlight to read) (start spoiler) Sakuhito is Kuze's twin! *le gasp* (end spoiler). I played his route, and let's just say...he was pretty awesome. I liked his cheerfulness, and I just thought he was adorable. Unfortunately, he has the most crappy happiest ending CG. *sigh*

Mikage: The white haired wizard guy (DUMBLEDORE??? *bricked*). Unfortunately, I played his route first and got his happier ending. I thought I wouldn't like him, but his route was pretty sweet. He is a total joker, and likes to tease the heroine/you. Sometimes, though, he can get all serious and it's kind of scary...kind of. He isn't exactly my favorite, but I think his route was worth playing.

Yui: The childhood friend of the bunch (who somehow reminds me of Okita from Hakuouki *shot*). He's younger than you by who knows how many ages (they probably mentioned it, but I wasn't paying attention). I thought he was pretty cute too, but in the middle of his route, he went all jealous and thought that you didn't see him as a "man". That part...was pretty annoying. However, once he gets out of his man PMS, he goes back to being the cute Yui that can play the flute and dance! *happy ending*

Lord Masakuni: He's your "uncle figure", which means he is not blood-related to you. However, I cannot stand the fact that I/heroine/you call him UNCLE. So a romance route for him was kind of...disturbing. I tried to play his route, but I gave up really quickly. I don't think I'll be playing his route...ever. *shivers* I DON'T LIKE EROJIJI CHARACTERS. 

*streamers and balloons* THE THREE EXTRA CHARACTERS THAT COST MOOLAH!!!! (BUT IT WAS WORTH IT...SORT OF.)

Hisame: This guy was almost not worth the extra money. In the beginning, he was being a total arrogant and snobby noble, and I wanted to punch him in the nose. However, as he begins to shed his "high and mighty" skin, he becomes a romantic person. SURPRISING, HUH? Buuut...his route was pretty boring and I had to put the skip button to good use.

Hinata: No. This is not a shoujo ai route, and this isn't a friendship route either. I hate to spoil this for people, but...HINATA IS A GUY. If you had gone through the prologue without skipping, you should've known already. If you did skip or didn't play this game...well now you know. I only have a few words about Hinata: I. LOVE. HIM. Okay, so he may have been the "shota" of the game (which I usually don't like), but he was SO DAMN ADORABLE in his route that...GAH. I just had to replay his route over and over again. I have another spoiler about Hinata. He is (spoiler start) actually a relative of the Imperial family (spoiler end). His route is basically about you finding out that he is a guy, and the spoiler thing. His happiest ending CG was ASDFGHJKL and pretty unexpected. HE IS SO DANG HOT. THE THINGS PUBERTY CAN DO TO GUYS. <333

Izo: Gardener man who fixes your garden to make it pretty. Anyway, Izo is the stoic, I AM A MANLY MAN type of character. Well, he's like that until he falls in love with you. Then he turns into a blushing I AM A MANLY MAN character. However, there is more to Izo then "just a gardener with funny green hair". He is actually (spoiler start) leader of the assassins that are trying to kill Emperor Kuze (spoiler end). His route was, in my opinion, cute but not the most special.

The Art:

At first, I thought the artwork was pretty bleh, but once I started playing, that changed my mind. The CGs were beautifully drawn, and not to mention...some of the guys were pretty hot. *cough* Hinata *cough* Anyway, the drawing style is not that special, but it isn't an eyesore either.

Overall:

The game was pretty damn awesome in my opinion. Perhaps the best english otome game in the App Store. It was addicting, and I found myself spending hours trying to get all of the guys' CGs. The game was rather easy, but it was still a good play. If only they added some music and voice acting, then the game would probably be perfect. Rating: 4.5/5

Notes:

-If anyone wants to see some "interesting" CGs, I'll put up a download link. :D

-Click: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id418501952?mt=8 if you own an iWhatever and are interested.