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Sooo... I'm back now that I've finished the game (I was actually so swamped with real life stuff for a while that I forgot to play it after asking you the previous questions, and going through Hunter Hunted reminded me of it). Well, to be fair, I only did ending 2 - since this game is longer, I'll have to see if I go through the other endings or not but... I have THOUGHTS.

- First thing: Kid really needs his own game! I loved him so much! And I'm so SO curious about more of his background and the whole G.M. thing and what not. I was genuinely so invested in him as a character, it's crazy.

- I have such bittersweet feelings here; on one hand I loved the ending overall, on the other I can't help but be sad about Roy. I'm not even one of the people who liked him more than Duke (not even close actually!) nor was I interested in him having a romance, but him dying was still heartbreaking as hell.

- On the matter of the previous point, I see your answer to the previous commenter here about making a spin-off with him for people who want him to live, and I'm curious if you'd be willing to tell if this is meant to be an AU where he lives or if something else will be going on? And like, will it be with the same MC if it's an AU or someone else entirely? Since you talked about a spin-off and not like a DLC, I'm leaning towards a different MC but yeah, I can't really know. Obviously if that's not something you want to reveal at this point, I understand!

- The painting plot point was possibly one of my favorite things in the game. I can't even begin to explain how glad I am I picked art as my MC's hobby!

- Do you think you'll ever make a guide for non-ending related stuff? Quite often, I had choices locked off that were clearly not truly related to "main-route stuff", but I had no idea what locked them off. For example, shortly after Duke wakes up after he was hurt, I have the option to leave Roy alone or insist on asking him about more, and I can only leave him alone. On the other hand earlier in the game, I can either follow him or not, and I can only follow - stuff like that.

Oh well sure, but I don't judge a game by the bad endings! If anything, bad endings - knowing how badly it COULD have ended - make the good one even sweeter!

Discovered this by sheer chance thanks to a reblog on tumblr, and I'm in love! Such a sweet and wholesome game!

Oh, no, no more spoilers are needed, what you said is enough! Thank you, I'll get it now and will probably play tomorrow, then!

Hi! Someone recommended this game to me, but it may be for me or not based on one specific story element, and I'd like to ask about it. 

Is the revenge mandatory, or can the main character opt out of it based on player choices? Few things are as cathartic to me as giving up on revenge in a supposedly revenge story, but on the other hand, I can't stomach "actual revenge stories".

Thank you!

I got a mail notification about this, which is the only way I get news from itch anyway since I don't really look at my feed on here, so there's that

There's no rush! Thanks!

Thanks to you reposting  this on your tumblr, I could read it for the first time, and I love it so far! 

I had a couple of errors though, sadly.

These are typos and minor issues.

But then after the garm fight, at least if fighting it with strength, I couldn't get past the decision about what to do with Fri (I picked to heal him, but it happens with all three options):

And I can actually continue - once I click "ok", I can't click on the choice anymore, so I'm stuck on that page.

Thank you so much! And with what you said, I know I should be fine, though thanks for the link, I'll check it out! I somehow missed the demo!

Hi, I'm interested in this game, but I'm not sure if it'll suit me or not because of some of the themes and I came here to look for some information - mainly hoping for people talking about it. But since the only comment that had related spoilers seem to had them removed, I need to ask I guess?

First thing is - it's said the MC finds herself in the body of a vilainess, and it also says something about it being a choice if this is serious or a dream? And we know she may interact with the world in two chosable ways. Does that mean we get to pick if she takes the whole thing seriously or thinks it's a dream? Does that mean we can't determine the way she acts aside from that? As in, if she has a nicer or less nice disposition and what not - I'm always wary of the "villainess" trope since I don't like playing "bad" MCs.

Second and most important. To me, there is no bigger trigger in fiction than isekai stories that end in "going back to their homeworld". It gives me genuine panic attacks, and I have to seek information out beforehand if I want to play an isekai game, just to be sure such endings can be avoided (and still be considered a good ending - no stuff like "you can stay but it's a bad end"), otherwise it'll ruin the entire game for me anyway and it'll get me upset for days. So yeah, the question is - taking that into account, CAN I even play this game? The page seems to imply 5 endings, but well, if there is like a single good ending that's about going back to MC's homeworld, and all the rest are bad endings, that won't help me much haha.

Sorry if these seem like annoying questions. I wish I could control that trigger of mine, but sadly at this point I know there is no helping it.

Seen it! So hyped!

I've been trying to stay away for these past few years to not let my eagerness get the best of me, but I want to say I still come back here from time to time to check on the progress, and I'm so SO excited for this to be out. It's so nice to see the progress!
Wishing all the best for the last stretch!

This is so cute I just can't... I love these games so much

Thanks, that's great to know!

Hey, I like this a lot!

I'm always on the fence about that sort of stories, because if it leans too much into rom-com I tend not to like it, but it was pretty enjoyable so far!

I have stumbled upon something I think is an error though!:
If I decide to go with Dan for the fake dating thing, and then invite Tar to MC's room to talk about how they acted when they learned about it, then after saying pink suits them (or any other option in that choice), I get a notice that the spice scene is not written yet. But there wasn't any romantic content with them at this point on my playthrough and I never hinted towards it so there shouldn't be a spicy scene to begin with - at least not by default just by saying pink suits them (in my case). And after the scene, the romance bar goes from 0 to 25% without any true input from me about it. The only way to avoid this is to "sleep it off" instead, but considering my MC, it would make sense to want to clear things out with Tar instead. It's a bit sad not to be able to talk about it with them.

Thank you for your answer! And don't worry, I just needed to know if I can have a "good" character and still side with the demons! And what you're saying is that I can! I guess my phrasing made it seem as if I was scared my MC would "turn" evil if they sided with the demons, but it was more about if going on the demons' route was at all possible or not with a "good" MC. As long as it is, then what happens, happens - the consequences be damned! As long as I can go that path, I'm happy!

Hi, I just started this game and reached chapter 3 at this point (very intriguing so far!), but I actually wanted to ask about something before I continue since I'm unsure about how to proceed.
From the very first second he appeared, Ariel has been my favorite character - and like, BY FAR. And I don't think this will change to be fair. Now, that's all good but... well, until it isn't, I guess? You see, I don't like playing the "evil" route in games that offer the possibility, and knowing the game later branches in a demon, a human and an angel route, I'm sort of worried I'd get blocked if I'd like to do Ariel's route but not play an "evil" character. 
I've been trying to look it up a bit, but obviously I want to avoid heavy spoilers so I've been having a really hard time, and at this point I just prefer to ask you how does this work? Would your "alignment" default you to one faction or the other and thus I need an "evil" character to romance any of the demons, or is the faction route an actual choice and then the MC being "good", "neutral" or "evil" would influence which ending I'll be able to get?

I know it's a very peculiar question and I'd be able to get the answer just by playing, but yeah, considering my favorite character vs favorite playstyle issue, I prefer to just know that beforehand and see if I should give up on either the character I most want to romance or the kind of MC I most want to have heh.

Thanks for your time!

Thank you!

Oh thank you!

I got this game on Steam recently and didn't know such a patch existed! It's cool that I didn't play yet!

Just to be sure though, how do I know if it's active? I see the ON/OFF toggle, but I have no visual indicator that it's indeed active, as it stays highlighted only while my cursor is on it - basically it doesn't change when I click. Is that still fine?

Oh this is SO GREAT! Thank you very much! Both for the answer and for such an awesome feature!

Also sorry for the late answer - had a busy week!

Hi!

Just wanted to ask a little question about the portraits! You say we'll be able to select our portrait. But is that mandatory, or can we just not select one? At this point I have a fairly detailed image of my MC in my mind, so it would be strange to suddenly have to pick a premade portrait. I'm sure they will be lovely, but if it's not something that I've played with since the first playthrough, I sadly can't get used to it.

Thanks!

Ah I see, thank you!

Didn't miss anything then! 

I'll be eagerly waiting for more haha - it was so interesting!

Have a great day!

I've finally given this game a try, and it was incredibly interesting!

But a small element had me a bit confused actually, At some point, the MC explains to Lebeny that because of their training, they didn't have contacts with their parents at all, and that they don't know what they parents think of them etc. But then later on, when they talk with Lochem, the player actually gets a choice for the MC to have dead parents, parents with whom they have a close relationship, or estranged ones. But then, wouldn't having parents whith whom they reconnected or dead parents invalidate that previous conversation? Either because if they reconnected, the MC would know what their parents think, or if they are dead, they'd rather have mentionned that to Lebeny too (of course I know that conversation with her comes first, but I mean it's strange the MC didn't mention it to her if that was the case, considering the context, and instead simply said they don't know what they think since they were separated).

Also about Lebeny, I didn't have the opportunity to see her after the energy surge, but it seems my MC knew what happened to her after it, since I had mentions about my MC seeing her sobbing, and the memory of her sitting among destroyed plants, which I never saw on my playthrough.

As for the question, I actually wanted to know if at this point it's possible to get an intimate scene with every character or not? I'm asking because one of the few characters I didn't have the opportunity with was actually the only one I had selected romance options with and I was wondering if it was simply too early for that, if I messed something up, or if it was due to some other factors.

Thank you very much!

Oh okay, thank you!

I was a bit worried it would be something like the various LIs appearing only during a third of the story, and then not anymore, which would be sad! I'll try out the demo later, then! Didn't want to get invested if it was something like that, since the LIs that interest me the more are in the first chronicle.

Hey, may I ask what is the concept of the "chronicles" exactly? I see the love interests are always exclusive to one specific chronicle, but how does that work? Are these variants to the story, like different paths it may take, or are these sequels to one another, or something else?

Hey, may I ask if this VN is kinetic or not?

I don't like kinetic novels, since I play VNs for the choices and multiple endings, and I wouldn't want to start a game only to find out it's not for me.

Thank you!

Aaah, I understand better! Thank you!

Oh, I think it's nice to have a "less-wholesome" route!

But I'd also think it would be nice to actually know which route it'll be - I tend to prefer being aware of these things before I actually start a route, since I really don't like to "drop it", and it may feel frustrating on the long term.

Still, regardless of if you reconsider keeping it a secret, I'm still eager for the game!

I didn't feel that way, about the Nerissa thing. I kind of see it as him being extremely upset and traumatized by what he did to her. Makes sense. So regardless of who is the person he cares more about well... he doesn't have the ongoing trauma of having killed the protagonist. His reactions at the end make total sense to me if I take that into consideration.

Though I guess I can sort of see how other people may interpret it diferently? I guess each person sees these things in their own way.

Funny how I on the other hand am not a fan of the lovers to enemies to lovers trope, but on the other hand I adore the betrayal-forgiveness trope in both romance and friendship scenarios, so it kind of feels tailored to my tastes too, though not for the same reasons as you!

Ah, but I honestly don't consider the MC is useless either.

Just saying that with their arc, they may have a bigger impact than previously, regardless of each person's opinion on if they are useless or not.

I recall a post made a while ago about the focus of each chapter - the various characters all have their "character arcs" or something like that. And the MC's will be the final chapters, unsurprisingly.

(unless that changed in the meantime, of course!)

Ah, I see! Thanks!

No problem about the things I put in the form - after all, it's up to you!

And gotcha for the shifting! I was a bit confused! I won't go that path cause I couldn't bring myself to it, but I was just confused, so that's okay, I basically wanted to know where that is more than anything!

Anyway, thanks for your answers! <3

Ah, I didn't realize the demo dropped! I thought it would be longer till then! Such a nice surprise, especially since I've been upset after another game, today! <3

You wouldn't believe how excited I was for this, and man, it didn't disappoint! I adore both Leir and Odile, and seeing them both in the actual story, not only tumblr asks was such a delight. And well, to finally truly connect with my MC too!

I filled a bug report form too - didn't notice bugs per se, but answering what you've been asking on tumblr, and reporting something that bothered me with the MC's name selection. As I'm sure you'll recognize my report with that, feel free to comment on it here if you wish to answer to what I said! I don't mind!

One thing I didn't actually put in my form, but still thought about while reading is the eye color selection. The blue eyes are described as "as blue and fierce as the winter sea", but the "fierce" part is a bit strange considering my MC is kind and soft (he has blue eyes, so I had to pick that). I know we get to decide the MC's personality after that, but it's not really the issue - it's just that having the eyes described as fierce kind of sounds as if the MC's gaze was fierce, and well, it's the opposite for me! But I don't really categorize that as an "issue" per se, hence me talking about it here only!

That aside, small question!

Some Tumblr posts mentionned shifting, and how it's awful and so on, and it seems it's something that people have seen in the demo? But it didn't happen in my playthrough, so I'm curious...

And I think that's it!

Thank you for uploading the demo and the awesome start - this was probably the IF I was the most eager for!

PS: I have noticed on Tumblr you're not a fan of code diving because of the spoilers, but generally neutral. I always code dive when I play IF games because I love seeing how the game is made, the effects of the choices and to see outcomes I could NEVER go for while playing (like the bad endings and stuff) - the experience is only half as fun without it to me! But I only read the parts I can access in game, unless I'm actually testing the game and was explicitly asked to read more, so no worries about that!

Thank you, it helps! What I'll do is that I'll start the game, and I'll go through the beginning of the story. If I see the choices never go in a way I should like, I'll leave it at that. Otherwise, I'll continue playing!

Thanks again!

Hey there! I just found your game thanks to a friend, and I find the premises interesting, especially with my love of angels. But I would like to ask a question before I actually try it out, since it may contain a type of content I can't really enjoy, if that's okay with you?

In stories revolving either about the MC seeking revenge or the MC being a "villain", I love to play a "redemption" or "forgiveness" path. Is that a thing in this game? I'm not really able to enjoy a game where the "evil" or "vengeful" path is forced, so I prefer to ask beforehand!

Thank you in advance!

Thanks for your answer! Glad to hear any playstyle is "valid"!

And about that - "so I can have Knight Valência answer this one for you if you want." - sure! Thanks! <3

And glad my feedback was helpful! It's always fun to write my thoughts about a game!

Thank you!

I did actually check the content warning list, before I asked buuut... It didn't really answer my question. But well, if you think there are endings I should like, based on what I said, then that's okay, that's all I wanted to know. Like, maybe in the end I won't be a huge fan, who knows, but at the very least, it wasn't a situation where you'd say "no, you certainly won't like it", so that's fine.

I will play the demo later, then!

Hi there! I stumbled upon this game today by sheer chance, really, and I found myself compelled to play! And wow, I really enjoyed it a lot, and I can't even tell if it's "more than I expected to" or if it is "just as I expected to". I KNEW I would like this game, but at the same time,  I really didn't know what to expect from it, so it leaves me so confused (but very pleased regardless!).

Since you made lists of questions to answer, both for the main game and the Extra Story, I will answer these and then complete my feedback with whatever wasn't encompassed by these!

Base questions:

• What's your favorite character?

Well, it's hard not to love Mathias, so I guess it would be him. Interestingly enough, I would have expected Mandra to be my favorite, but somehow their brother beats them. It's not Mandra being less to my liking than I thought, though, but Mathias being more to my liking than expected. I also really like Valência, even if she isn't an important character! She may even be my second favorite, somehow. That aside, I like the main character a lot, even if I would have a hard time figuring out where they stand compared to other characters, with how the player shapes their personality to an extent.

• Did you try the different options, or did you follow only one path?

Only one path. While (as opposed to strictly text based interactive fiction) I DO play more than one "route" in most visual novels, in this case I couldn't NOT go for Mathias' romantic path, and well, since I want to always have the same main character, regardless of romance, I could not change their personality or outlook on things.

• What do you think of the black and white aesthetic?

I love it! But I don't think it's exactly BECAUSE it's black and white, and rather regardless of it. Though that isn't accurate either, since it implies black and white should be worse than fully colored. The truth is I simply don't care either way, as a rule of thumb. I guess it's because I read a lot of mangas, so yeah, black and white is pretty usual for me, and I mostly see the art-style and that kind of stuff rather than the colors or lack thereof. At least, I can say the art-style fits the black and white aesthetic a lot. So the end result is gorgeous!

• Is there anything about the world of Five Kingdoms you'd like to know more about while playing?

Not exactly at this point. Like, there are things I'm not sure I understand well, but that seems intended with how the narrative is structured - things to be revealed at a later point, bit by bit... Well, no, maybe just... What IS the "Dragon Commander"? Obviously it's the MC, but that's WHO they are, not WHAT. I'm curious about why that title, and what does it entail exactly.

Extra Story questions:

• Did you enjoy having a more intimate look at your Dragon Commander's past? Should I make more of this type of thing or nah?

Yeah, I liked it a lot. It helps in knowing little details about the MC, and how they were before the events that seemed to truly change them. It's a good example of well placed showing instead of telling, basically. A bit of exposition about how they all were back then would work, sure, but seeing it, playing through it... The impact is bigger.

• What was your favorite and least favorite thing about this update?

I'm not the best placed person to answer since I played the entire thing in one go, having discovered the game only now. Now, generally speaking, I really like the way you write more intimate scenes. Like, yeah, at this point "nothing" truly happens, even implicitly, but they have... that kind of beauty. Like, they are very delicate and enchanting? These are the best words I can find! Now, I find your style very beautiful overall, anyway. It's hard to put into words, really - beautiful is the best word. I think it has to do with the rythm of the narration. Very slow, very vague, with information coming very slowly, things becoming clearer here and there, new mysteries and question showing up too...  It's both very epic and very quiet and appeasing.

And there was nothing I disliked, so... If I was actually following updates per se, maybe I could have answered that part but as it is... yep, only positives.

• Which character would like to learn more about?

The main character! So yeah, basically, I want to know more about what happened to them, their past, their family... And Valência because she's a very secondary character so we know sooo little about her! Obviously I can't really tell any specific thing I'd like to know about her since I know almost nothing to begin with.... AAAAH WHY DO I LIKE HER SO MUCH???!!!

• Do you feel you're having enough space to create your own Dragon Commander? 

Hmm yes? But you're talking to a person who largely prefers to have a main character who is their own person, with only some player input into their psyche, behavior and so on. So while this game has the perfect balance to please my tastes, I don't know what other people may have to say. My go-to requirement is: "either have a MC who is a fleshed out character and leave little to player input, or leave EVERYTHING to player input, with dozens of choices to back that up". Basically, I don't like the "in-between" where it feels as if the player should have full agency over the MC, only to be lacking in term of choices afterwards. Since it doesn't fall in this in-between, I'm happy!

Well okay, with both lists of questions answered, I don't think I have a lot to comment on anymore. Good music choices? But that's it I think!

I DO have a question, though!

So, I like the way the choices work - how they either shape the protagonist's outlook on / approach to things, or their dynamics with the various characters, in terms of relationships. Generally speaking, it's all pretty clear and neat. 

But with that being said hmm... how to phrase it... Let's say I did play games that actually revolve around a simple system, but where there IS a "good" and a "bad" way to play. Meaning that while the system is simple and the choices easy to interpret, the player actually has to balance their stats and choices, because some playstyles (for example being always as nice as possible or as mean as possible) are not viable - you'd have to balance nice and mean reactions. In these games, you'd get a bad ending (sometimes even a game over) if you don't balance things "correctly". 

And, as I'm sure you figured out at this point, I was wondering if that is the case in this game? The setting, style, etc, remind me of some of these games, so I'm naturally wary and I prefer to ask. If it IS the case, that won't deter me from playing, eh! It's just that it's a thing I prefer to know beforehand! Not going to lie though, I DO hope it's not the case and that I'll be able to continue playing selecting the generally nicest / softest answers, because I enjoy this so much! <3

Anyway, I think that's truly it now!

You really created a little gem here, and I'm excited for more!

What a sweet game! It was very funny and enjoyable, despite being so short. Kind of makes me want to know more about what happens in the "good-good" ending in more detail! 

I had a surprisingly hard time (well, for a game so short, obviously) to find the second bad ending, but eh, I managed! When I saw that option that leads to it, I KNEW what would happen (cause come one, you don't DO things like that!). 

Fun fact: I've just checked if you made other games and I see "Adarna", and I think "oh, funny, it's shares it's name with that bird...... WAIT! It IS about that bird OMG!!!" - aka, me as a mythology/fairytale/legend freak, too used to being the only one to know some stories! I'll have to check it out next!