「RE:VICE[D]」 -My Dear Lord, I definitely find you- [(old) Review – Part 1]

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「RE:VICE[D]」 -My Dear Lord, I definitely find you-
- Available System(s): PSVita
- Maker/Company: Idea Factory/Design Factory/Otomate
- Translation Available: None
- Release Date(s): Japan - 24th July 2014
- Info: Old Review. Plan to replay it one day for sure!
- Home Page: Reviced

Note: Just like with my Dramatical Murder review, this review is old and not updated, so certain aspects might be outdated. It also does NOT contain any updated thoughts on the game/routes itself. Unfortunately, I don't think I originally finished the game, so I believe it's only two of the routes. I do have plans to replay it in the future. For now, though, this is what I've written on it.

Onward to the review!




I have been playing the game Re:Vice[D] as of late, and I must say that I love this game. I haven’t finished it yet, but I went ahead and wrote a partial review of my play thus far so I won’t forget my thoughts on them. I’ll post the other guys when I’m finished with their routes.

Note: I give out the basic plot summary in the beginning, but otherwise my reviews do not contain any plot spoilers as to not ruin it for anyone who has not played it. I mention parts of the game that doesn’t directly pertain to the storyline. Anywho, let’s move on with the post!

DISCLAIMER: This review represents my opinions alone and is not endorsed, supported, or ordered by Idea Factory or any other outside third-party related to this product and/or series whether it be direct or indirect. Furthermore, I have no direct relation to and/or with Idea Factory and any outside third-party involved in the production of this series. The review does not represent the views of the company and/or people whose videos I have included or any other players’/companies’ opinions and vice versa. Furthermore, all images used and videos recorded have not been created and/or owned by me and do not belong to me unless explicitly stated. I do not have any copyright claims on any videos, images, music, and/or any other types of media. All media content belongs to their respective organization, company, and/or users. I do not condone any actions and/or comments made in any of the videos and/or images. The 「RE:VICE[D]」 series, trademark, music, artwork, characters, names, etc. all belong to Idea Factory Co., Ltd.


Storyline: The old demon king has disappeared from the demon world and now, Aika (the default name of the main protagonist) and her three companions must find a new demon king.

I’ve read recommendations as to who to start out with, but I ended up playing Ryoga first. It was quite random and I don’t know why I chose him first, but I have no regrets. His route was entertaining despite some of the darker moments.

Ryoga



He is a likeable, funny guy who can talk well except he’s got some serious issues. Girls do not like him and puppies and kittens despise him as they end up scratching his face. He doesn’t know why he has this issue, so when he meets Aika, he carries some strong attraction toward her because she is the first person who doesn’t run away from him.

While I played his route, I constantly chuckled and/or laughed at the incidents that unfolded. There was one situation in which people kept seeing Ryoga as Iroha and Iroha as Ryoga. With no choice, Iroha had to go to the host club and Ryoga had to go to school. Iroha, being his usual angry self, told Ryoga, “Don’t screw it up, dumbass -`д´-” And Ryoga’s like, “No probs, man! o(^▽^)o”

Later on, Ryoga came crying to Aika after class and wondered why everyone stared at him so strange and odd. She then answers by telling him, “Er, yeah, well, Iroha just kind of sleeps all day.” Seeing Ryoga’s reaction to her explanation was funny since he was really looking forward to going to class.

At one point, Ryoga helped Hinatsu to be more outgoing and he brings Hinatsu to the host club (where he works) to teach him how to interact with girls. When Hinatsu doesn’t live up to Ryoga’s expectations, he demonstrates it for Hinatsu by acting all sexy and handsome when he hands Aika a drink. However, I love Aika’s priceless reaction here. She simply shakes her head at his disappointing performance and tells him that he’s really not all that sexy. Poor Ryoga gets super depressed by her comment and ends up sulking.

Without spoiling the game, later on, he pulls out his darker side. Maybe some people would think this is a cool thing for his character, but I honestly thought it was freaking weird. He changed a total 360 degrees without almost any progressive signs of change. (In my opinion, a little creepy.) Luckily, he returns to his normal self when he and Aika get their feelings all sorted out. In the end, Aika takes charge and kisses him. During this moment, I was like, yeah! You go girl! Show who’s in charge!

Lastly, I felt fuzzy and warm during the ending when they went on a date. It showed the cute interaction between the two of them. Ryoga even tried to skirt away from some things he was supposed to do and Aika was like, “Uh, are you sure??” And he’s optimistically answers, “Yeah! No problem! ⊂((・▽・))⊃”

Conclusion: I loved his route and I do no regret playing it first. There was an even balance of comedy, romance, and serious moments. There was no awkward pacing in his route and I felt his route truly brought out the problems he was facing within himself. There was no loose ends left for his character when I finished playing his route.

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So I went ahead and decided to play Hinatsu’s route because he looked adorable and he was pretty funny when I played Ryoga’s route. I definitely do not regret playing his route either. It was done well.

Hinatsu



He is a quiet guy who mainly stays at home alone because his parents are never around. He calls himself a hikikomori [引き篭り] because he never leaves his house, reads books and mangas all day long, and knows his computer stuff.

I think his interactions with Shinku were pretty hilarious. At one point, I believe Hinatsu is skeptical of Shinku’s power because of his short height, and he gets all upset, so he transforms and was like, “Rawr! I am a badass demon!” He even takes Hinatsu with him to fly in the air so he can show Hinatsu what it’s like to fly, haha. Poor Hinatsu.

There was another part in the game where Hinatsu was reading a book out loud to Aika. At first, Aika was listening, but then she fell asleep, only to wake up with head lying down on Hinatsu’s lap. Initially, she doesn’t realize this and proceeds to ask him, “Why can I see Hinatsu’s face so close??” Because Hinatsu is completely absorbed into his book, he doesn’t even feel bothered by it.

When she finally realizes, she jumps up and scrambles to get off him in panic. However, he fails to notice any of her actions because his lack of awareness. In response to Hinatsu, Aika’s stares at him with a dumbfounded expression, not sure what to make of his reaction. This little incident made me quietly snicker because Hinatsu had no sense of what was going on. Definitely not the way to win a girl’s heart.

Also, when Aika gave him the Demon Lord’s ring, I felt as though Hinatsu has a sort of “I’m a man! This is awkward! Seriously!” reaction. This made me appreciate the way the game flirts with traditional gender roles and pushes some boundaries (especially in a place like Japan where a majority of the population is still very traditional and conservative).

As the game progresses, when the both Aika and Hinatsu are on an outing, they met up with Ryoga and Yukine who both notice, after some time, the ring on Hinatsu’s left hand and pester him with questions as to where he obtained such an item. Hinatsu tries to lies and fudges an answer, making up a fake designer. Yukine, being a sharp little cookie, immediately questions him as to who this particular designer was. Unfortunately, for Hinatsu, Aika steps in and declares, without any hesitation, that she gave it to him.

In a comedic chaos, Ryoga and Yukine clamor while freaking out wondering how the heck they have already lost the battle. They even playfully tease Hinatsu about the significance of putting the ring there, letting Aika go in this matter since she might not understand it due to her demon upbringing. Hinatsu, knowing full well of their half-cruel, half-teasing intentions, immediately skedaddles to avoid answering them, but both Ryoga and Yukine relentlessly chase him down for a response. Even Shinku freaked out and asked Aika why she gave Hinatsu the ring. I love her calm, candid responses. She nonchalantly answers, “Well, what does it matter? He’s going to be the demon king anyways.”

Later on, when stuff starts happening in the story, Hinatsu and Aika go on a date, and Aika’s school mate, Sumire, thinks Hinatsu is Aika’s little brother. It was hilarious, but disheartening at the same time because it almost seem to imply that there is a standard of who can be appropriate lovers :\ Nonetheless, it turned out to be a cute scene since Hinatasu, being upset (as he rightfully should be), declared that Aika and he were lovers.

I appreciated that the game made references to real life book titles. Hinatsu asked Aika if her demon world looked like the world in the Dante Inferno book. (I hope not!) I forgot what the situation was, but in another part, he mentioned the mystery author, Agatha Christie. This made me laugh and adore him for being such a lovely bookworm.(Hmm, and now I’m thinking about Miss Marple and Pierot).

Conclusion: I liked Hinatsu’s route just as I did with Ryoga’s. Even though it had a different feeling than Ryoga’s route, it was executed right on par. The story was engaging and the comedic moments were great. Once again, I have no regrets playing his route. I suppose my only complaint would be some overlap, but it’s usually a given in most otome games.



Those are my thoughts on the game so far. I haven’t finished it, but I’ll be playing Iroha’s route next before I play Yukine’s route. I can’t wait to play both of their routes since I’ve been pleased with the other two routes so far.