Review of [121221]Oreaka

Foreword: Another game to troll the Mayan Calendar! Although that joke’s pretty old, it still makes me laugh nonetheless.

Right onto the review. This game (which is drastically shortened to “Ore-aka”) was actually a very good game, despite it being borderline nukige/moege.  There is a theme of “family” within the story, and for a person like me, who doesn’t understand family relationships too well, it was a good way to see how “family” should ideally work. However, by reading this review, the reader will realize that while the theme remained strong, there are some very detrimental factors that belittle this game, and also affect its rating.

Title: 俺と５人の嫁さんがラブラブなのは、未来からきた赤ちゃんのおかげに違いない！？ (lit. trans, Isn’t it certain that the reason I am in love with my 5 wives is because of the baby that came from the future?!)

Producers: Onomatope*
Release Date: December 21, 2012
VNDB Link: http://vndb.org/v10876
Game Type: Nukige Novel

Summary: Koichi is a diligent student. He tries his best in everything, and is kind to everyone he meets. One day, in a thunderstorm, a baby suddenly appeared at his house! Being surprised at this situation, he calls over his cousin, Akari, to help him take care of the baby. However, the strange thing is that the baby is recognized as Koichi’s little sister, even when it is physically impossible for that to happen (his parents died from a car accident when he was 6). Finding this situation abnormal, Koichi soon finds 4 other girls other than his cousin, who recognizes the baby NOT as Koichi’s little sister. The group makes predictions to what the identity of the baby could be, and makes a conclusion that she is Koichi’s future child.

This forms the “Baby Club” in school, and things escalate rapidly. Akari is suddenly forced to go through an arranged marriage, and in order to block that, Koichi will have to succeed the MB Corporation. In addition, the requirement for becoming the CEO of such a big organization is 5 wives!

Flying baby is probably a first to you, too.

Story Length: Moderately short (20 hours)
Complete Story Clearing Difficulty: Easy
Comments: Readers will be surprised: you start out with a harem, unlike other games where there is a “harem ending”. However, the paths split up into different stories focused on one heroine: just choose the target heroine twice, and you’re set!

Character Design Rating: 7/10
Story Rating: 4/10
Game Quality: Moderate
Overall Rating: 5/10
Rating Comments: Let me start off by saying that despite the fact that the “travel to the past” factor is in play here, there is no “true route”. You can see a glimpse of Mikuru (the baby) as a teenager form in one of the routes, but that’s it. No “making-a-baby-with-someone-in-the-future-and-sending-the-baby-to-the-past” kind of plot I was expecting. Even if it wasn’t that, I would be pleasantly surprised, but onomatope* decided to take out all of it =__=

Well, a great deal of the character design still comes from the dynamic characters, so I guess that’s another good trait.

I’ll just enjoy this cute drawing of Mikuru-chan, too

Sexual Content: High

Comments: As you could see above, my main complaint was that the story was not complete; the paths did not connect like I wanted to see, and this left a very bitter feeling as I spitefully write this review. However, when I say this is borderline nukige/moege, I mean it has both traits; “adorable” character design with high sexual content.

The theme of family is kept intact throughout the story. In a sense, it is safe to argue that this game is suggestive of family idealization. Despite this, I feel like if there was no use for it, the “baby from the future” was completely unnecessary. The characters from the story state that “…it was Mikuru who brought this family together…”, but without the true route, such statement is meaningless, and creates another time paradox by itself.

On the idea of “family idealization”, readers will be exposed to heartwarming scenes where each member of the family cares deeply for each other, and is willing to face great challenges or make ultimate sacrifices in order to protect and support each other. This game puts a whole new meaning on “family” that is different from other famous series focusing on family, like Clannad.

Fun in the pool! Let me join too!!

Most of all, I really appreciate that onomatope* gave a new flavor of eroge, where readers start out with a harem route, but do not lose affection for everyone else; it was normal to see H-scenes with the target heroine, as well as another “family member” in it.

Affection for the Characters: Moderately high

CG Quality: Moderate
Music Quality: Moderate, but I don’t like the music choice; if you listen to the opening, you’ll literally get goosebumps all over your body because it’s that creepy.

I like Hinata the best, for her lax personality, the white hair, and mainly for her “tsundere” that’s very little “tsun” and a LOT of “dere”.

 

Addictiveness: Low. There was no “true route”, so I’m sad. I really hope Sakura no Reply (a game next in line by the same company) is at least better.

Conclusion: A good “moege” with lots of 18+ content. You will enjoy this game if you want to feel some “family love” between the characters or simply want some harem plotline, but if you’re a player looking for a serious and connecting story, this will not be the game for you.

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