We’re kicking off the new year with Otomate x Ichicolumn’s fantasy otome, Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights. In the game you take on the role of Cecilia, the “cursed” third princess of the country of Temirana who has been plagued by misfortune since birth. Despite several near death scrapes, she’s manages to survive thanks to a special ability, the Light of Good Fortune, that illuminates potentially dangerous situations.
Over the years she has come to trust in her unique power, that is until she notices the strange light around five men. Instead of taking it as a sign of danger, Cecilia senses that fate may have something else in store for her and she invites them to join her knight’s order. Unfortunately for Cecilia, none of her potential knight candidates are particularly keen on knighthood. So, she’ll have to give it her all if she’s going to convince them to join her knight’s order. But, with a prophesized calamity on the horizon, time is not on their side. Can this ragtag bunch of misfits get it together in time to avert disaster or will they get caught up in Cecilia’s unlucky fate?
Game Details
- Fantasy | Period Romance
- Where to Play: Nintendo Switch | IFI Store
- Price: $39.99 (Digital) | $64.99 (Plus Edition)
- Gameplay: 60 Hours
- Similar Games: A Knight’s Devotion | Battlefield Waltz | My Next Life as a Villainess
Characters of Temirana
In Temirana there are five romanceable characters and one hidden character route that unlocks after completing the main five routes. There are no route restrictions for the main romance routes, so you can play them in any order you’d like. That said, I do recommend saving Adel and Kiya for later on, since they have a bit more going on story wise than some of the other routes. Each route has two main ending–the more romantic True End and the more bittersweet, Normal End.
Josephy (VA. Makoto Furkawa)
The prince of the ruined kingdom of Zondarig. He lives with a troupe of traveling performers known as the Marveil Circus. He’s bursting with pride, with an ego so large that even the princess doesn’t intimidate him. He is naive in some ways and easily provoked, but he possesses a strong will to restore the Zondarig Kingdom.
Adel (VA. Sho Karino)
The eldest son of a very poor family living in the lower-class district of Samari Village. He is very calm and caring, and looks after his nine younger siblings. Not being able to afford schooling has contributed to his struggles, but he begins to change after meeting the protagonist.
Tobias (VA. Yusuke Kobayashi)
The head of a noble family on the decline: the Harbeck family. Since his parents and grandparents have already passed, he is the only master. To top it off, he is so sickly that he collapses even from brief walks, so he is prone to staying indoors. He is passive about romance, living, and everything else, but his admiration for knights is stronger than most.
Milan (VA. Shuhei Sakaguchi)
The lone owner of the blacksmith shop “Herring” in the commoners’ district of Barralboa Town. He has been dedicated to blacksmithing since childhood. With the typical temperament of a craftsman, he may destroy his own creations if he dislikes them.
Kiya (VA. Kazutomi Yamamoto)
An orphaned boy who lives in the Nelty Foster Home. Due to a certain event when he was young, he developed a memory disorder, and since then, he forgets anything that happens after a day has passed. He wears a wooden tag around his neck and makes sure to write down anything important he shouldn’t forget.
Cecilia (Heroine)
The third princess of the kingdom of Temirana. She possesses a lucky ability that reveals the best path to take when her life is in danger. As a member of the royal family, she behaves demurely in public, but in private, she speaks casually with those she is close with, just like an ordinary girl. Known as the “Cursed Princess,” she is shunned by the royal family and lives in a residence separate from the castle.
Temirana The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights Review
Temirana is an Otome Game for the Shoujo Lovers
Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights is an otome game for the classic shoujo lovers. A princess x knight romance is a pretty standard premise, in fact, Temirana had me reminiscing about Voltage Inc.’s classic otome, A Knight’s Devotion more than a few times during my playthrough. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say Temirana hits all the classic tropes—an ordinary girl (princess) with a mysterious power and a “tragic” past embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and finds love and acceptance from a group of quirky (and hot) men.
We can all name at least one game, anime, manga, etc. with the same premise off the top of our heads (for me it’s Pretear). But, that’s not the point. While Temirana may not have the most original premise, there is something nostalgic about its story that reminds me of how I felt when I first got into otome games all those years ago. It’s a simple story with endearing characters that has more enough twists to keep you entertained through some of the more obvious tropes and callbacks. That said, more seasoned otome gamers may find the plot a bit cliche and middling in places, but it’s a fun, charming otome game nonetheless.
While I like the story of Temirana overall, and it does do a pretty good job of diversifying the story between routes, it can be a bit boring. The game has a pretty long common route (five chapters) and the plot of the individual routes hit on similar plot beats so it can be a bit frustrating rehashing the same “reveals” in each route. Also, sometimes the characters get lost in the story a bit, so they feel more like props for the writers and rather than the focus of the route itself.
Temirana has a Unique Fantasy World to Explore
Temirana is a story that has a very stylized world and setting that borrows from existing lore and throws in enough new elements to make it feel unique. The game is set in Etrudia, a world made up of six distinct nations each with their own unique culture and religious practices, with Temirana being the main setting. There are the usual social hierarchy’s you’d expect in a monarchy, but with a fun little twist—in this world, your career, luck, and status are determined by your birth month which manifests as a mark on your body. So, at birth, pretty much your whole life has been decided for you, which makes it difficult for folks to change their fate.
In true fantasy fashion, there are tons of unique terms for common place real world things. It can be a bit overwhelming (and kind of silly, “melk” for “milk” was especially hilarious to me), thankfully there is a dictionary to keep track of all the new terms.
One thing I do want to note is that IFI seems to have decided to go with a more modern feeling localization style for the dialogue, which can take you out of the fantasy setting a bit. It’s not bad, but the immersion is lost when characters are using modern phrases and slang every now and again.
Temirana is a very plot focused story, politics play a big role in the overarching story, with plenty of intrigue and interplay between the various class systems and cultures. If you are expecting a more romance focused otome, you might be disappointed, but if you like immersive worldbuilding it’ll scratch that itch for ya.
Do You Feel Lucky? Do Ya?
For the most part, Temirana follows a pretty standard otome/visual novel gameplay style, with one exception—Fortune Choices.
In addition to normal choices during conversations, Fortune Choices appear when your life is in danger. The protagonist has a special ability to see dangerous things glow in critical situations, but the player must decide how to avoid them. Depending on your choices, you may lose your life.
There aren’t too many of these overall, but they do add a bit of danger to the story, since making the wrong choice with these do lead to game over bad ends. It’s usually pretty obvious which Fortune Choice is the right one, but it is an interesting mechanic nonetheless.
The Best Romances Start as Friendships
I know romance is the main attraction with otome games, but Temirana‘s real strength is the platonic bonds between the characters. The story takes more of a slow burn approach to the romance, building up the emotional chemistry between the characters before fully exploring the romantic side of things. In fact, the love stories develop so gradually that you can kind of miss them entirely. But, that’s also due in part to the fact that Cecilia and the knights don’t feel like a liege and her charges, but more like a family. It’s less about the grand gestures and bold declarations and more about the trust the characters build with one another.
Each of the main characters is considered somewhat of an “outcast”. Cecilia is a cursed princess who despite her royal status has been shunned by her family and her people. While the knights are as far removed from knighthood as you can get—a disposed prince, a sickly noble, an amnesiac orphan, a farmer, and a blacksmith. Despite having such vastly different social statuses, they treat each other as equals which allows for more genuine interactions. Some of the best moments were when Cecilia and the knights were training or just spending time together.
But, if you are someone who likes more spice with your romance, Temirana can be a bit bland in that regard. This is more cute fluff, than passionate romance. On top of that there were some pretty interesting choices made with the CGs, they kind of remind me of the old self insert mobile otome close up CGs…and that’s not a compliment.
Is Temirana The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights Worth Playing?
I stand by what I said at the start of this review: Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights is an otome for the classic shoujo lovers. In fact, Temirana has the look and feel of a fantasy shoujo anime, with it’s immersive worldbuilding, plot focused narrative, and adherence to tried and true romance tropes and archetypes. Now, that’s not a bad thing as there is something to be said for the overall experience, and I particularly found it rather nostalgic and fun. It reminded me a lot of the old Voltage Inc. otome I played at the start of my otome journey. I kind of miss the simpler storytelling of older otome games, especially when compared to often more overly contrived storylines and premises of modern otome games.
Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights is a fun charming, low stakes otome game that while tame compared to some of the other games I’ve played, is a satisfying experience that is perfect for new otome gamers or lovers of shoujo anime.
Big thank you to Idea Factory International for providing a copy of Temirana: The Lucky Princess and the Tragic Knights for this review.
I don’t mind slow burn romance as long as it’s executed well. As a shoujo manga/anime fan, I’ll certainly give this game a try!
By the way, are you trying out another new kind of review? Before with Mistonia you made video review instead of the usual written review. And now, you only provided the general description about the main characters instead of usually giving your thoughts about each of them.
Not sure if you’re aware but pointing out differences in review formats in the way you do comes off as kinda rude. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion of course, but if you’d been watching Blerdy’s socials or steams, she’s been going through a hard time in the last few months. So talking about how you prefer she do more work than she has been, (for free mind you) can be pretty discouraging!
My apologies if I came off as rude. I’m simply curious because the reviews she did for Mistonia and Teminara are different from the ones she did before, so I’m wondering if she likes trying out on new things recently. It’s never my intention to be rude or forcing my preferences on her. I rarely watch her socials and streams lately, so I didn’t know she’s having a hard time.
I’m very sorry Blerdy, I truly do not mean anything bad from my question.
Hey Kaz, I really appreciate your support of my reviews it really means a lot to see you engage with my content so consistently. I work really hard on every review I write and to see people invested in my thoughts is very encouraging.
I’ve posted about this on my socials and discussed this during live streams on Twitch, but I was laid off from my job back in October and it has been difficult finding a new one. These past few months have been extremely stressful for me and it’s kind of hard to focus on playing games when I have expenses and bills that need to be taken care of.
Blerdy Otome is a labor of love and everything I create here and on my other platforms is done solely by me with the time I have. I do not get paid to maintain this site, but I am doing my best to keep up with existing agreements I have with publishers and developers. But it’s still hard. So, I have been considering ways to make content a bit easier for me to manage (and I honestly have nothing of note to say about the characters of Temirana).
You’ve commented in the past about changes in my review style and while well intentioned, it can be a bit frustrating to have someone pointing out stuff like that especially when I have a lot going on in my personal life.
I’m doing my best and I appreciate the feedback, but right now what’s best for my mental wellbeing is going to take priority. You mentioned you don’t really follow my socials, but that is the BEST place to keep up to date on any changes or life updates. I recommend at least checking there first if you notice anything that’s different as I’ve probably said something there already.
The game seems really cute! I can understand what you mean though by each chapter being a little bit tedious since it repeats some of the same stuff. Overall the art looks really nice and the male leads look interesting!
Yay a new review! I’ll defo checkout this game if it hits a sale!
I understand. Once again, I apologize. I promise it’ll never happen again from now on.
The classic shoujo with platonic friendships certainly sold the game to me since it’s been a long time since I’ve read such stories. I cannot wait to get my hands on this game. Thanks again for a wonderful review, Blerdy!