Adventure Corner ~ Battlefield Waltz

Welcome to Adventure Corner, a column where members of the RPGamer staff can give their thoughts, impressions, and pseudo-reviews for various adventure titles that don’t come under our usual coverage. Adventure Corner is aimed at delivering opinions on a wide range of titles, including visual novels, point-and-click adventures, investigative mysteries, and so forth.

In this edition of the column, we take a look at Battlefield Waltz on Nintendo Switch.

Battlefield Waltz

As an avid reader, I am a sucker for an underdog story. I love seeing a protagonist lose everything, only to rise again, better, faster, and stronger. In Otomate’s Battlefield Waltz, players are introduced to Lan, a heroine who has lost everything — her village, her loved ones, and her father. Despite losing everything, she also finds a newfound power in the form of a cursed sword. With nowhere to turn, she enrolls at Nirvana Military Academy, where young men and women learn skills to defend themselves and their nation. She finds a place of belonging and a little romance along the way.

Battlefield Waltz is one of those games where the story is quite a slow burn. The Common Route in the game is surprisingly long, establishing Lan’s backstory and her relationship with everyone in the Nirvana Military Academy. Despite the backdrop being about a war, it also has many slice-of-life moments. The game also locks many of the romance options, offering three to start, and as each one’s Happy Ending is completed, a new character route unlocks. There are six bachelors total, each with their struggles and backstories. The narrative setup is good, even though it’s very much a story that has been told before. The selling point of Battlefield Waltz is in its colourful cast of characters and the romance options.

Sweetest sweet boy that ever appeared in an otome game.

The love interests are obviously one of the main draws in an otome game, and Battlefield Waltz does not disappoint in this area. Despite the long Common Route, each of the bachelors gets a surprising amount of depth and story, with the game throwing some unexpected twists that this reviewer did not see coming. There is a nice mixture of angst and wholesomeness throughout the game, and it helps that there is a lot of intrigue with many of the love interests. One of my personal favorites is Abel, the grumpasaurous prince of an enemy kingdom, but once that cold exterior is broken, he is secretly a gummy bear. In this reviewer’s opinion, Nike’s plot was one of the best, as it offers so many unexpected, jaw-dropping moments. Plus, Nike is a baker, and who doesn’t love a cinnamon roll that makes delicious baked goods?

That being said, like most otome games, one’s mileage will vary in the love interest department, as not all bachelors are equal. There is absolutely a lot of strong storytelling throughout, and in many cases, it’s more about the player’s personal preference in terms of which bachelor they will likely enjoy, and with both a Bad Ending and a Happy one, there is a lot to explore. That being said, some of the side narratives, particularly with the secondary characters, feel a bit on the weaker side, and their placement in some of the routes just feels a bit bland. Some of the bachelors also feel a bit short-changed in terms of their build-up, as characters such as Pash and Tifalet’s endings just don’t offer a lot of surprise in the way that other love interests have.

Abel is very dramatic at all times… he is also a pathetic, fluffy grumpasaurous.

If there is one thing that can make or break an otome game, it’s the heroine, and thankfully, Lan is wonderful. Having a fairly tragic backstory, she has a lot of room to grow and transform within the larger narrative. She wants to be a dependable friend and often shows the game’s cast of characters a lot of compassion in the crummy situation they are all facing with the war. Lan also has a strong sense of justice within that kind of shell, though she can be a little reckless when it comes to certain love interests in question. She’s adorable, and her actions feel quite realistic, which puts her leagues above other otome protagonists.

There’s a surprising amount of additional content in Battlefield Waltz. For starters, there is an Ancient Book of Memories, which can only be opened once the player has completed the Happy Endings for the five main love interests. Once completed, a sixth storyline becomes available for the player to enjoy. There is also a shop where the player can spend their hard-earned points from completing a route to get new artwork in the gallery. The game also allows for the ability to replay all movies and listen to the background music. In terms of features, players can skip all the read text to speed through sections they have already played, or skip all text altogether. Players can also rewind text or even access a story log in case one has forgotten information or simply wishes to reread. All the voice work is in Japanese, and all the actors do a great job playing their roles, though there’s no real standouts.

The flirty healer at work!

Visually, Battlefield Waltz has stunning backdrops and character artwork. The special CG images for important moments within the story are well detailed and full of emotion. Where the game mildly stumbles is the odd choice of a purple text box with very light text on top of it. There were times when this reviewer had a bit of a hard time reading the text simply due to this choice, and while it’s not a constant problem, it’s still worth addressing. The soundtrack in the game is also lovely and does a great job of fitting the vibes of a prestigious military academy, while the game’s music during sad moments is much more delicate and somber sounding.

There is a lot for otome fans to enjoy with Battlefield Waltz, particularly in its presentation and its wonderful cast of characters. While the game offers a very long Common Route, it makes up for this by offering players some wonderful growth within each love interest’s storyline. It was surprising how many twists and turns happened throughout each playthrough, and how attached I got to characters that normally are not my type, such as Nike. While school stories have been done to death, Battlefield Waltz succeeds in crafting a fully realized world with a strong heroine who is worth rooting for.

Disclosure: This article is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.