This game is rated T and includes blood, language, suggestive themes, and violence.
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If you want to know my thoughts on Ephemeral -Fantasy on Dark-, check out my spoiler-free review!
Ephemeral -Fantasy on Dark- Story
Cloé is a Zombie, the lowest rank of all the Residents of the Dark. Having lived her entire life in a sheltered, caged town with only others of her own kind, she yearns for adventure beyond her fenced-in views. So when she suddenly receives an invitation to attend Alderic, a prestigious school where all the top Residents of the Dark receive their education, she jumps at the chance despite her grandmother’s warnings. And it’s not long before she realizes her grandmother may have had the right of it.
Even with rules firmly set in place deeming all forms of discrimination intolerable, the students–and even some of the teachers–know that they can do what they want as long as they’re not caught. After all, their world outside school is a battle of dominance, and campus is just a training ground for them. If one’s not careful, they can wind up dead. But with any luck, this little Zombie might find love instead of a gruesome end.
Ephemeral -Fantasy On Dark- Characters
The Werewolf, Shiba
Shiba is full of energy, always ready to play pranks, and might be dumber than a brick. He is always up to something and is often the butt of jokes that keeps their ragtag group together. Every month for three days when the Realm of Darkness has a full moon, Shiba turns into his bestial form with no memories or heed to his human self, and he warns Cloé to stay away. But how different can this big sweetie be when he’s covered in fur? Shiba is voiced by Takashi Kondo (Diabolik Lovers).
The Invisible Man, Nagi
Quiet, reserved, and always in the library, Nagi mostly keeps to himself. He’s always happy to help his friends study, but he’s also the first to avoid any sort of conflict. Like Cloé, Nagi is the only one of his race at Alderic and knows what it’s like to be bullied for it. He doesn’t let this stop him, though, and takes hope in rising in the ranks through his determination and diligence. Nagi is voiced by Shun Horie.
The Vampire, Ray
Ray is the most powerful student at Alderic, and he knows it. Hailing from a well-to-do Vampire family with more wealth and influence than they could ever need, Ray doesn’t hesitate to take what he thinks is his. But like all vampires, Ray is drawn to beautiful things, and it’s not long before Cloé grabs his attention. Ray is voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu (OZMAFIA!!, Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue).
The Mummy, Natsume
Despite being a low-ranked Mummy, Natsume doesn’t let anyone or anything get in his way. He’s got a cold exterior and doesn’t hold back his sharp tongue for anything. Often found sleeping in class or skipping them altogether, Natsume has more layers than bandages and doesn’t take kindly to things not going his way, or people touching his things. Natsume is voiced by Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Dairoku: Ayakashimori).
Ephemeral -Fantasy On Dark- Gameplay
Ephemeral -Fantasy on Dark- has a very simplistic gameplay compared to other titles in the genre. There are no Dictionary Terms to collect, no Game Over endings, and no CGs that require strategic saves to get. And while it has the same bones as other Otome–players make dialogue choices leading to one of multiple endings for each Love Interest–the entire setup is a bit different.
When the game starts, players will be walked through a Prologue introducing the four Love Interests, and at the end will have to choose which LI’s route to enter. From there, the game is split into two parts: Romance Part and Love Part. Each of these parts contain ten short episodes, and each episode will only have one choice. The game will give an alert when the correct choice has been picked via a quick popup in the top-right hand corner saying, “Affection Increased”, making it easy to get the desired ending. If the correct choices are made, players will get the Happy Ending for both parts; if the incorrect choices are made, players will get the Normal Ending for the Romance part, and the Bad Ending for the Lovers part.
Once an episode has been completed, it will be available to replay anytime, and the game saves the last choice made for each episode. If the correct choice was made, the episode icon will be red, whereas the incorrect choice will show as blue.
Even though the Normal and Bad Endings don’t unlock any new CGs or Dictionary Terms, they do need to be completed to unlock each LI’s Roundtable Chat 1. These are little extras in the Character Profiles where the voice actors discuss their character and answer questions, and playing through the first one will unlock the second. However, there is no translation for these, so for most players these can be skipped.
None of the LI’s require certain conditions to be met in order for players to go through their routes like in most Otome, meaning there is no true order for players to follow. That being said, I would recommend Nagi being played last as his route gives the most answers to overarching questions and feels more like a True Route compared to the others. And though it’s arbitrary, my full recommended order is: Natsume, Shiba, Ray, and finally Nagi.
Ephemeral -Fantasy On Dark- Route Walkthrough Guides:
Curious what I thought? Read my spoiler-free review for Ephemeral -Fantasy on Dark-!
Credits
Director: Maiko Miyata
Illustrator: Kinami Nagahara
Story: Hiro Hirano
Programmer: Masakatsu Endo
Script: HuneX Co., Ltd.
Translation: Fiona “Naoffi” Wong
Sound Director: Takuya Katayama
Producer: Tomomi Osawa
Developer: Dramatic Create
Publisher: HuneX
Ephemeral -Fantasy on Dark- is available digitally for PC on Steam and Nintendo Switch.
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