It’s been awhile since the last Bite-Sized Review and trust me when I say this won’t be the last, I have a lot of dropped games in my backlog so expect a few of these bad boys in the near future. First up on the revival tour is Bad Apple Wars, the game where you play as Rinka, a recently deceased high school student who finds herself enrolled in NEVAEH (that’s heaven spelled backwards), a school for lost souls… so think a diet Re:Birthday Song ~Koi o Utau Shinigami~ .
Game Details
- Genre: Fantasy | Romance | Drama
- Developer: Otomate
- Similar Games: Dairoku Agents of Sakuratani | Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk | Re:Birthday Song Koi o Utau Shinigami
Story
Fate strikes when you least expect it, as our heroine soon finds herself on the grounds of an unknown, otherworldly academy. One of many souls left behind by death, she must choose between two warring factions within the walls of the academy. Will she follow the straight path set before her by the disciplinary committee, goaded on by promises of Resurrection? or will she stray into the mire of Bad Apples and find a different kind of salvation? The outcome of the Bad Apple Wars is in your hands!
Characters
Thoughts on Bad Apple Wars
Follow Rinka as she navigates the Hell-scape that is a literal high school of the dead, where rule breaking is severely punished and graduating means giving up everything that makes you, you… There she meets a “colorful” cast of characters, the Bad Apples, who are hellbent on breaking as many rules as humanly possible in hopes of obtaining a magic apple that will transport them back to their old lives. You can choose to join the Bad Apples and cause chaos and mayhem or join the Good Apples and become a school prefect and uphold the school rules at all cost!
I wanted to like this game, I really did, but it was just DUUUUUUUUUUUUUULL! I can’t tell you how many times I fell asleep with my PS Vita clutched in my hand only to wake up hours later with pillow lines on my face. Bad Apple Wars is what happens when you have a great premise and poor execution, I just couldn’t get through it… I’m not even going to start with the heroine, Rinka, because she’s not even worth the time and effort. The main love interests were pretty bland, in fact I was much more invested in the side characters, they just had more compelling stories. Hell, there’s a side romance between two of the supporting characters that is much more emotionally sound than any of the actual romance routes.
The design was pretty unique the majority of the color palette consisting of black, white and red, which really plays up the otherworldly feel of NEVAEH. The character designs are not bad either, but pretty art can only carry a game so far… The only thing I found mildly entertaining was the Skinship cut-scenes… but, these scenes are basically nude CGs with audio and AKSYS DIDN’T SEE FIT TO TRANSLATE THE AUDIO!?! WHAT THE FUCK!? I feel like there was a lot of important information being exchanged between the heroine and her love interest, but, fuck if I know what’s going on… but, hey, nude CGs! Yay?!
Overall, I have no intention of finishing this game anytime soon… unless they give Naraka their own route, cus, I’m all over that!! I originally got the game as a birthday gift from my Otoge Sisterhood bud, April, with explicit instructions to finish it…. But, after she played it herself, she let me off the hook…
That sounds like it was a bit of a disappointment. It is terrible when something has a great premise but doesn’t manage to do anything with it.
Not sure if this was meant to be funny, but I’m rolling over here Naja, I started playing this game, but I guess I subconsciously found it dull, cuz it’s been on hold since. I’m curious about these nudez you’re referring to, and the lack of translation. *sigh* i’ll get to this..eventually…lol.
I already knew I wasn’t going to like/buy Bad Apple Wars. You have now supported my decision. It’s a shame when a good concept is poorly executed.