This game was originally on my Summer Game Playlist, but one thing led to another and I never got around to actually playing it before the end of the summer. If I’m being honest, I never intended to get through that list in the first place since I have a habit of getting distracted by new games easily… *cough* Liar Uncover the Truth *cough* So, now that I’ve finished wallowing in mobile otoge hell, I’ve finally decided to revisit some of the games from my poor neglected backlog (so expect many more First Thoughts posts in the coming days and weeks). The first game on the agenda is Aeon Dream Studios’s (aka Star Maiden Games) debut title, Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons.
Okay, so first things first, Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons was released back in February and while the prologue and the first chapters of each route are free, the Main Stories and Epilogues are $4.99 and $1.99 respectively. There are five romanceable characters, but as of this post only three guys have been released (number four, Takumi will be released later on this month)…
**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own any of the images used in this review, ALL images, screenshots, and characters belong to Aeon Dream Studios. Please if you are interested in the game, purchase the game either through itch.io or through Steam!!
I can’t believe it took me so long to give this game a try, it was amazing!! I started this game on Monday after I got off work, I guess around 5:30PM or so and I only meant to just play through the prologue before moving on to another game from my backlog. But, that never happened… When I looked up, I was halfway through Shou’s route and it was well past midnight! I was hooked, hell, I’m still hooked! I can’t believe I’ve been sitting on such a great game for so long without even knowing it (makes me wonder what other hidden gems are buried in my mess of a backlog)…
The overall premise is interesting and the story itself is unique: Tsubasa, a first year college student finds her normal life turned upside down when she is suddenly given magical powers by her sorceress “mother”. From there Tsubasa finds herself thrust into the world of magic. Now, in addition to classes and homework, Tsubasa must learn to control her newfound powers and of course find love along the way. On the surface this sounds like your run of the mill supernatural romance story, what with the five magical hotties tasked with looking after our newly endowed heroine. But, there’s a complexity to the story that really sets this game apart from the rest. Romance aside, MDSOA deals with some pretty heavy themes, which effect not only the heroine, but each of the potential love interests as well. Each route is a self contained story within the overall narrative of the game and deals with some issue or another specific to that route’s love interest. So, there is a great deal of variability between routes!
*I’m not going into the guys’ powers because, honestly I’m still not 100% on what all of them actually are (except for Shou and Tatsuya) besides, I’ll save them for the individual character reviews*
- Shou Hatori is an upbeat and friendly drama student. He is the most approachable guys in this reverse harem; helpful, easy-going, gorgeous… He’s the total package. Usually I find characters like Shou annoying, but somehow I found myself being charmed by his sunny personality.
- Tatsuya Yukimura is your run of the mill cool intellectual and the token megane of the group. For the most part, dude spends most of the time seemingly annoyed with the antics of his… friends? associates? I’m not really sure…But, I will admit I find his serious personality, oddly sexy…
- Shinji Hiriyama is a space case, the first time we meet the guy, he’s walking around talking to himself like a weirdo. And before you all say anything, I’m sure there is a perfectly good magical explanation for it… In fact aside from that, Shinji seems like a reliable guy, just a bit dreamy…
- Takumi Arai… I have no idea what to think about Takumi, he’s the only non magical person in the main cast, which I don’t buy at all. I have a feeling he has some secret magical ability or something…
- Hikaru Kazama
is a super fine teacher with the aqua eyes… *swoon*He is one of the professors at Hagiwara University and the main confidant/adviser for the magical students at the school. But, outside of that, I don’t really know much about him other than he’s hot and the mature love interest…
So far, the characters are fun and each of the guys while your typical otome archetypes, still manage to be likable. My only pet peeve is that all of the guys are lean, attractive Caucasian looking young men. Don’t get me wrong they’re all gorgeous and I am a huge fan of each of their designs, but I can’t help but feel like this was a missed opportunity for some non-traditional or POC love interests. Yes, I am aware that the game takes place in Japan, so that doesn’t really leave much in the way of diversity… BUT, the game is about magical creatures, magical creatures… they couldn’t squeeze in one brown or tan person? *sigh* Lack of diversity aside, the characters were really well thought out. Even after the short introductions in the prologue I found myself getting attached to them or at the very least interested enough in them to buy their main stories…
As for the heroine, Tsubasa, well she spends most of the time worried about everything and in her defense, it makes sense. In the span of a single day, Tsubasa learns that her mother isn’t really her mother, that she isn’t even a human being, and then to top it all off she is forced to participate in a ritual that gives her magical powers… I’m surprised the poor girl is even still functioning, that’s enough to make anyone break down. She’s not the worst otome heroine I’ve seen, not by a long hot.
I know this is going to make me sound extremely shallow, but I was really only interested in this game because of it’s gorgeous art! I’d seen a few screenshots floating around Tumblr awhile back and I remember falling head over heels for the beautiful semi-realistic style. The style used in the game is different from most I’ve played in the past, and I know some people won’t like it. But, I just can’t get over how awesome it looks, it really makes the game stand out in a good way. I dunno, I guess it gives MDSOA a more mature feel, which fits well with the “darker” premise.
Even after playing just one of the routes, I can really tell that the developers put a lot of love and hard work into this game. So far I don’t have any complaints about it; the characters are great, the story is interesting, and the design is gorgeous. I’m really looking forward to learning more about all of the love interests and I can’t wait to uncover the secrets Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons has to offer. I still have a few questions about some key plot points in the game, but I’m hopeful that they’ll be answered in the subsequent routes.
Of the available love interests I was most interested in Tatsuya and Hikaru. Obviously Tatsuya falls under my megane bias so that really shouldn’t be much of a surprise, but Hikaru is a teacher and I’m curious to see how a teacher/student relationship plays out… and did I mention he’s hot?!
Overall, this is a great game and I definitely plan on playing through all of the character routes! I plan on writing reviews for each of them as well, so be sure to look out for those in the near future!
What do you guys think of Mystic Destinies? Is the supernatural romance premise played out? Or do you think this game will bring something new to the genre? Let me know what you think in the comments section. If you like what you see, like this post or follow Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! As always THANK YOU FOR READING!!