Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani

A fun but ultimately simple otome game that will appeal to mythology lovers or genre fans looking for a "palate cleanser" in between larger, more intense games.

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is mainly bogged down by average writing that did not do enough justice to the enchanting world of Sakuratani and its cast of charming characters. Aksys Games’ translation quality is a mixed bag as well. Despite that, my 45 to 50 hours spent with this otome visual novel has been mostly enjoyable. If you fancy some supernatural romance with the ayakashi, entertaining stories rich in Japanese mythology, and pleasant culturally hybrid music to pass your time with, then you may like what Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani has to offer.

When you're going back-to-back-to-back with one genre of game, they can start to run together. I'm glad Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani avoided the urge to lock portions of the game behind completion, and hope this happens more in the future-though hopefully the next romance game I play will have a little more sunlight in it.

Despite some intriguing premises, Dairoku fails on delivering a balanced and captivating experience, feeling more like a missed opportunity.

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is a decent otome, but not one that I would recommend to everyone. While I appreciate the English release, the story fails to find its footing in the early moments, which is a shame because the conclusion is exciting. Further, the romance comes off more platonic than genuine on some routes, but I enjoyed the ghostly premise and charming cast.

Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is an otome game with a concept of representing Japanese myths that will certainly attract people who are fond of this theme. Unfortunately, the narrative makes a blunder in not properly presenting all the elements that are relevant to this rich folklore, leaving those who aren't as knowledgeable about the topic in the dark. Despite that, it's still a good game worth giving a try.

With all this in mind, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani ended up being a particularly slow playthrough for me due to its many shortcomings. But it has plenty of aspects to compliment.

Fortunately for fans of the genre who might look to review potential new games for their libraries, Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is a game with exceptional characters. It’s handled well, with great interactions and lore. The result is a visual novel that’s is a blast to play.

The strong point of Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani is the design of all its characters, although its scenarios lag behind in terms of level. The story, inspired by Japanese folklore, is interesting. As for the battle mode, it does not add anything to the game, being somewhat repetitive and without difficulty.

Although I did like my time spent in Dairoku: Agents of Sakuratani I have to say I was expecting more. And I don’t think it was just due to my wanting to play another Café Enchanté. They could have done so much more with the main storyline and with the battles they introduced. I felt that an intriguing plot was missing. A missed chance. Overall I have thought hard if I would go for a rating of I’m not sure, or an I like it. In the end I decided on the rating below as I must say the love interests and the side characters were fun.