At first, I was expecting to enjoy this as a light and old-school vanilla otomege.Before anything, let me explain a bit of things about this title. ForewordRoyals -Itoshi no Ouji-sama- is the original title of this VN. It’s purely romance and drama. Its H scenes are vanilla and there are only happy endings.However, one may notice that some of it has a lot of pointless stuff, like “black cards” which never get unlocked and the ability to gain affection points from “unwinnable” guys.Apparently, they get a purpose through the the append disk, Royals -Yuuwaku no Ouji-sama.
It introduces a different angle to the routes, mostly out of trying to pursue two guys (instead of one) in one playthrough. It introduces non-vanilla scenes, and almost all endings have a bitter aftertaste.MechanicsThis game has two initial branches. When playing for the first time, you only have access to one of them.The “chase the ring” route is the initial default route. This is where Ash and Iechika saw Nagisa (the protagonist) first, which then makes her Ash’s maid.
Iechika and Said are only winnable in this branch.The “give up the ring” route is where Elias and Ian saw Nagisa first, which then makes her Elias’ guest. Ian is only winnable in this branch.Meanwhile, Ash and Elias are winnable for both branches, so one may assume that they are the main characters. If you are aiming to clear all routes and don’t want to have two consequent playthroughs of rereading the same stuff, it’s highly recommended go after one of them first. The card systemWhile having walks with certain characters (one way it happens is by selecting them in the map), there’s the card system.“Keyword” cards get unlocked when you encounter certain character-related events. They don’t affect the subsequent events, but they give explanation to the events that have already occurred. One keyword may have different contents depending on the character’s favorability.For example, when initially asking Ash about what his wish is (Day 14), he claims that he doesn’t have any. At around Day 28, asking the same question would have him complain about not wanting to go to the ball.“Action” cards get unlocked by events as well; however, they remain unlocked even after starting over. They are mostly flavor text pertaining to interactions that you may do with characters.
One action may have different contents depending on the favorability and the location.For example, the “tanuki” action usually leads to an actual tanuki showing up. However, “tanuki” may also refer to the action of pretending to sleep, which event you may witness in Ian’s route.“Black” cards get unlocked through the events only accessible in the append disk. They usually lead to H scenes.The next thing that I will discuss are the character routes that I have read (which covers pretty much all guys). Black text refers to details that are applicable to both the original and the append disk. Blue text refers to the details only applicable in the “vanilla” (original) route, while purple text is for the “temptation” (append) route.I won’t provide coverage for the common route at this point because it’ll end up being very unnecessarily long.Character routes Ash Edward Andrew Louis Mountlester-ShilfieldAsh did mention his long as hell name in Said’s “temptation” routeAsh is the prince of the Great Britain and the owner of Ash Kingdom, the island which he and his friends visit every year for vacation.
He’s arrogant, but he is overprotective. He spoils his little sister Anna a lot and he likes animals.He’s a very entertaining character, but I have to say that reading all of his routes felt like a huge waste of time. The worst part of his route is how little of his role as the childhood sweetheart got followed up. It simply came across to me that Nagisa is clinging to a memory that Ash himself doesn’t care about.He happens to be too close to Anna, who I found to be an incredibly useless extra, so that took away some points from him. This happened thanks to the stuffed toy Anna gave to AshHis “chase the ring” route is mostly funny, which is probably better compared to having cheap drama. Nonetheless, it still has drama in the end and the way he handled it is pretty unimpressive.His “give up the ring” route gives more coverage story-wise, but it is too short so I can’t remember anything about it.His “temptation” route involves Iechika waiting for the opportunity to steal Nagisa from Ash. However, I thought that Iechika is a bit too passive so his entrance came off as a desperate move.
Well, I kind of noticed how Iechika has suspiciously numerous appearances before but I wasn’t sure at first about what his motivations are. I assumed that he resigned himself to simply being her close friend.I solely went after Iechika’s ending in Ash’s “temptation” route, which was the only time Nagisa gets to call Iechika in his first name. Ash has turned me off too much so I can’t be assed to make Nagisa chase him further.Ash came off as a guy who knows the right things to say, but refuses to do actions that are inconvenient for him.Well, if you want standard romantic fluff, Ash’s route is recommended. After all, he got the best event CGs. Tokumaru IechikaIechika is the successor of the Tokumaru group, a very powerful financial clique in Japan.
He met Ash during his university years and they have been friends for 2 years. He is calm and gentle, but is later revealed to be overbearing and possessive. He likes motorsports, and he had a failed romance.The most problematic part of his routes is how little his route has something to do with Japan except for a bit of infodumps here and there (notably about food). I kept on doubting about whether or not Nagisa is really Japanese because of how little she knows about her own country.Nonetheless, I appreciated how little his route has something to do with status and how his drama didn’t originate from having a relationship with Nagisa. Nonetheless, his drama is something a common person also experiences so it didn’t feel particularly dramatic. His ending probably is the least romantic, which is disappointing.His “temptation” route involves his jealousy over Elias, who is obviously affected after Nagisa and Iechika started going out.
It seems like the most realistic among all the “temptation” routes because Elias is already giving off that aura even during the vanilla route. Iechika’s negative reactions probably were the most reasonable, especially if his past is to be considered. The illustrator is just too harshHis presence in others’ “temptation” routes really painted him as a bad guy, but for some reason I can’t help but root for him. Nonetheless, after reading the append disk, I ended up appreciating Iechika’s vanilla route even if I initially found it to be mediocre.He’s probably one of the villainous characters, considering that he has the guts to betray anyone of his friends for the sake of a girl. I must say that for someone who likes sadist types, he hits the right spots (which is unlike what happened in Torimari).I enjoyed his H scenes the most because of his lines, most notably when he insults Nagisa. Elias ManugusElias is the prince of Wedel Kingdom (not sure about the flag – is it Greece?), and he is Ash’s cousin.
He is cheerful, hardworking, and acts like a gentleman towards women.I’ve only read the “chase the ring” route, which is solely composed of cheap drama if you must ask me. It’s the classic status difference drama which has been overdone in soap operas for so long. At the very least, the ending CG is nice.At that point, I appreciated Elias’ persistence towards the whole thing and I’ve been wondering why Ian has to be pushy. Nonetheless, reading Ian’s route later added another layer to Elias’ route. Since then, I hugely prefer Ian over Elias.Elias’ “temptation” route is about Ian attempting to seduce Nagisa. Since I’ve already read Ian’s route at this point, his actions weren’t surprising. I only stopped after reading the supposed bad ending and I’m disappointed that Elias’ reaction wasn’t shown. I only read this route for Ian’s villainous moments, so I didn’t bother with the other ending.
Elias and Nagisa’s relationship is just a huge drama fest so I just don’t want to bother anymoreAt first, I was rooting for him alongside Iechika. However, I ended up liking him significantly less than before. Elias is too innocent.
I can’t think of anything wrong about him, and everyone has to worry when he gets burdened. Don’t quote me on that – Ian has said something along the same lines too.I guess that while I like guys who are nice towards the protagonist, I don’t like it if when they show romantic interest too early. In my case, I can’t take his niceness as romantic interest when he does the same thing towards other girls. Ian GreekIan is Elias’ butler. He was the top student from the butler school he attended.
He is usually calm and stable, though he is strict over the small details. He refuses to recognize Elias as anything aside from being a master.His route is one of the superior ones, story-wise. While some may recognize his hidden agenda from the beginning, the tension build-up among him, Elias and Nagisa is just fun to read. Ian’s confession scene is certainly heart-warming.His “temptation” route is pretty stupid though. It’s pretty much an excuse for 3P/harem ending and it surely revived the whole Torimari experience. I’m disappointed because I thought that there’s something else (notably, another good ending involving Ian).While most of Ian’s screentime is about him being scary, I guess that it’s in his “temptation” route when I actually got frightened. Nonetheless, my reaction towards the ending is, “Is that it?” so it’s not really worth it unless you want the H scenes.
(That said, the harem ending made me laugh mostly towards Ash and Said because I’ve almost never seen them in the route until that scene.)Here’s another villainous character, who takes joy in other’s suffering. He may be edgy for others, but one part that I like about him is how much he tries to keep in things in order even if something’s obviously wrong.Nonetheless, the reason why I like Iechika over Ian is probably because the latter didn’t get much screentime as a romantic interest. It’s also unfair how Elias is taking up some of Ian’s spotlight (as a love interest) in the latter’s (vanilla) route. Said bin JassimSaid is the prince of Arabia. He went to Ash Kingdom to escape from an assassination attempt. He is Ash’s childhood friend. He is taciturn and usually bears a gloomy look.
He keeps a hawk and a camel, and he claims that humans are lower compared to other living creatures.Among the “prince” routes (Ash, Elias, Said), he has the strongest route. Ever since the beginning, one should have an idea that he’s burdened by a tragic past and fate. His route expands that angle further. The drama has something to do about being a prince of some hometown, and his interactions are related to his hometown’s culture. His route got the best execution to the whole premise of “princes from different countries gathering together”.I am not sure about how accurate some of the details in his route are. For example, Said’s hawk is named Najm which according to him means “moon”, but apparently the word actually means “star”.
That typo is embarrassing thoughHis “new king” ending is too unrealistic, which is just like every other ending in others’ routes. In addition, I personally find it thoughtless for a foreigner to be talking about some other country’s politics. At least, his other ending, “revival” is better.His “temptation” route exploits the love triangle angle, and the third party happens to be Ash.
Said’s “black” card H scenes are boring vanilla stuff as always. Nonetheless, the star of the show is Ash and his rivalry with Said is made clear from the start.I always think that Ash is spineless, until this route where he got the guts to betray his best friend and to risk his position (which he can’t get himself to do even in his own route). I ended up reading only the bad ending where Ash “wins”.Even if Said’s route is superior, for some reason, I still can’t get myself to like him that much.
Could it be because he doesn’t really have a role in others’ routes, and vice versa? Could it be because I just don’t like the taciturn archetype?General impressions SettingThe first thing to do is not to overthink about the setting (e.g. Thinking about how could Japanese fish swim in a sea somewhere in Europe).The setting remains consistent throughout all routes, which is great. It makes all routes connected with each other.Each prince represents the country they are from. However, there are barely cultural references aside from Said and Iechika’s routes (and the latter happens to focus mostly on food above anything). Their routes did a good job on making me appreciate the culture of their hometown.Ian’s route is forgivable in this regard because he’s not a prince to begin with. Nonetheless, Ash and Elias’ routes really don’t have an excuse to be mediocre.I particularly don’t find a private island inhabited by rich kids to be interesting especially one that has stuff like hidden treasures in it for no reason.
Why haven’t they been doing anything in the island before Nagisa got there?Possible rating: 65/100 Characters. Iechika’s distrust is totally justified if Nagisa still hesitates when another suitor asks thatThis does a good job of making all the winnable guys likable. However, my favorite characters ended up being the ones who made significant appearances even outside their own routes.The extras mostly provide comedy, but I am not sure why Anna exists at all.
She pretty much did nothing aside from acting cute to fish attention from Nagisa and the guys. She is MIA in everyone’s endings, except Said’s route. And she’s supposed to be Ash’s sister and allNagisa is not that heroine that I would pursue in a galge.
However, there is nothing offensive about her aside from the fact that she is too ignorant for her own good. She doesn’t know much about her hometown and she’s too dense (i.e. She still doesn’t get the message even if a guy kisses her). She kind of ruins the H scenes because of how she kept on saying the same shit.The hidden treasure of this VN are the unexpected villains namely Iechika and Ian.Possible rating: 72/100 ScenarioScenario writers: Taira Makiho, Nakajo Rosa, Kaga Chihiro, Kaneko Reiji. Attempting to perform a prank (an action card) at the beach usually involves splashing water towards the guyFor a “small” VN, this certainly is packed with entertaining dialogue. The scenes are barely extraordinary though the exchanges between characters are rarely boring. While the map system would lead you to encounter the same lines getting repeated, the action cards give an opportunity to see new lines, especially for a route that you decide to read first (when not all action cards are unlocked).It’s fairly obvious that the writers have barely anything to write anymore after the drama because they tend to skip a huge lot of things during endings.
It kills the mood when I get shown a CG where Nagisa and her love interest get reunited again right after exchanging good byes months beforehand.I got pissed off about how I got nothing when I decide to read Ash’s route to see how much his childhood memory of Nagisa affected his actions throughout the VN. In the end, I thought that they can eliminate the childhood angle altogether without making a significant difference. Ash is probably the most significant during Said’s routeIan and Said’s (vanilla) routes are probably the only ones that had a lasting impression, without a doubt.The “temptation” routes are worthless without the villains.
Ash and Elias’ black card scenes are just too vanilla and their premise of being a bit more “forceful” didn’t suit their character. Said’s black card scenes are actually a bit more in-character but again, it’s boring vanilla.I ended up appreciating Iechika and Ash’s vanilla routes after witnessing their villain roles in Ash and Said’s “temptation” routes respectively. That kinda shows one fun thing about NTR: the premise of the guy being obsessed to the girl to the point he risks a lot of other things just to steal her from her boyfriend.Possible rating: 69/100 ArtIllustrator: Yamashita Shirori. That’s not the worst example that I can findI’m pretty forgiving towards art from seven years ago.
Thankfully, this artist didn’t go lazy with the backgrounds but there have been a lot of CGs with poor anatomy. I always found the mouth to be placed much higher in the face than necessary.Iechika is probably a victim of having awful facial expressions in a lot of his event CGs.The lack of CG variation is hugely bothersome especially during H scenes when what is being described in the scene completely doesn’t match what is shown in the picture.I am also bothered by how the text box covers the faces of the characters during event CGs. There happens to no option to change the transparency of the text box.Possible rating: 60/100 SoundVoice cast:. Nagisa: Namida.
Ash: Kaiou Raku. Iechika: Katou Kazuki. Said: Ichijou Kazuya.
Elias: Yuuki Takuto. Ian: Shiki Tooru. “Seek pleasure” probably became Ian’s alternate theme songThe OP song (“We can make a paradise!”) is just a bit too cheerful for all the content from the append disk. Elias’ VA is the one who did the vocals so there?The ED song is simply the orgel version of the OP song, so I have nothing much to say about it.The BGM is nothing notable, though my favorite is obviously going to be “Seek pleasure”, the one used during rape scenes.Guess that I still can’t get myself to dislike a character if he has good voice. That is most likely case for Iechika and to some extent, Ash.
Katou Kazuki just does a good job switching to a low voice during his dramatic scenes.Apparently, Said’s VA has the most experienced among the cast though I mostly find him decent at best.Ian sounds like an old man for someone who looks like on his twenties, but sounding sarcastic is probably his strong point.My problem with Nagisa’s VA, Namida (which is just an alias of another experienced seiyuu), is probably about how her reactions are a bit too exaggerated. Also, I kind of want her to shut up during H scenes because like what I have mentioned previously, she is just repeating herself most of the time.
Isn’t there really anything else to say aside from “そんなことはない”, “言えません”, “だめ”, “恥ずかしい”, among others?Possible rating: 66/100 EnjoymentEven if the routes are mostly mediocre, I never got bored which is a good thing. I stayed for the antagonist moments like thisReplayability is fairly high, though I must say that I’ve read replayed the game for so many times to read all the routes so I don’t know how much more I could do. After a week-long run of this VN, I don’t want to read any further aside from the routes of the characters that I like.The H scenes were a bit too unnecessarily long so I ended up skipping them, save for Iechika’s because I’m biased towards his voice actor. Actually, even if I am also kind of biased towards Ash’s voice actor, Nagisa’s lines during his (vanilla) H scenes got quickly annoying. Reading Ash’s H scene in Said’s route is highly recommended, though.I could just hide the game in background while running it in auto during H scenes because the illustrations barely reflect what’s happening anyway.+1 for the completing all the routes (which rarely happens)+1 for the unexpected replayability+1 for the append diskVerdictThe best aspect of this VN is the humorous interactions between Nagisa and the guys. Romance is not this VN’s strongest point.My rating of 70/100 assumes several things:.
I enjoyed the characters even if their individual routes suck. I don’t particularly mind the dating sim elements specifically the grinding. I assume that I won’t be seeing outright malicious characters in a vanilla romance for a while.
Pictured: foreshadowingHere goes the rankings. Route preference. “Itoshi no Ouji-sama”: Ian Said Iechika Ash Elias. “Yuuwaku no Ouji-sama”: Said Iechika Ash Elias Ian. Character preference. Iechika Ian Ash Elias SaidSaid’s (vanilla) route may have higher quality than Ian’s, though I found Ian’s route more exciting.
Iechika and Ash’s display of both their kind and malicious sides made me appreciate them as characters, so I managed to embrace even the simplicity of their routes.Otomege sure has a thing with making love interests have different occupations, don’t they? I guess that this VN makes me prefer the butler archetype.
I actually end up not liking the prince archetype as much after reading this title. I didn’t realize how I found prince outfits to be tackyI rooted for the guys who aren’t really a prince in a title about princes. What can I say?
Friendly reminders:. Please don't suggest titles; they have no interest in allowing their games to be translated to English. Please don't suggest console-only titles; MangaGamer is PC-only and doesn't do console ports. Console-first games which have already received PC ports are okay.Some VNDB filters which may help:. (also includes VNs with separate R18 and non-R18 versions)There's no way to filter out anything that's already available in English, but there's not too many of those.I'll go through these lists later to see what I want in particular. Friendly warning to everyone that Mashou Megane is the most messed up r18 otome I've seen in terms of fetishes - trigger spoiler content that the LIs are a necrophile, a king who punishes people who have sex with death, and momotaro who engages in bestiality with his animal pals.
Royals Itoshi No Ouji-sama Game 1
And that's not even the most squicky partMy picks ended up being: Kusunoki Yashiki no Monogatari Himitsu no Ochoumen, Enkan no Memoria, and Yoshiwara Higanbana.Regardless of what you like I recommend voting for otome games to show Manga Gamer that otome has a sizeable fanbase.