Who is the best Love Interest?

[faerirose]

I'm not going to change my personal choice (Karen!), but Amukiki might be my overall winner. I was ranking my favorite GxG, GxB, and BxB romance scenes and here's how it shook out:

GxG: Karen/Elenor

BxB: Amukiki/Saren

GxB: very close tie between Loren/Saren and Amukiki/Elenor

That guy is strong, silent, brooding, and straight outta nowhere.

[Nadirah]

Alright, I wanted to wait and finish the romances (didn't think I'd run through them all so soon, but the writing was so good I simply had to ) and then vote, it would seem fair that way.

First off I want to congratulate Aleema, superb writing (I think the forte for me is character development, it was wonderfully smooth)!
In the beginning I wanted to play a 'no time for romance when there's a war going on' sort of character, but that didn't work out because I was so tempted to keep clicking the 'romance' button


Now for the love interests:

Spoiler:

Loren: Her character development regardless of taking the romance path or not is exquisite, and like the writer in the monastery points out - it's hard to believe the immature, slightly egotistical princess in the beginning turns to (I'm willing to bet) -the best- queen the Amazons ever had.
I was quite surprised at myself when discovering I enjoyed her romance with Elenor more than the one with Saren. I'm usually for the 'prohibited love' setup between a man and a woman, yet the way Elenor and Loren interact feels so natural and it's still off limits because of the rank (and I'm not usually one for GxG romances in rpg's or vn's because they don't feel believable). In the Loren/Saren romance I was waiting for a bit more emphasis on that when the two interact, some sort of vocalized confirmation from Loren in the cg description. What I did like was Loren's reaction when she saw Saren working among the slaves, how desperate she got when she asked one of the slaves for his name and how the player was just as surprised/horrified as her when the other slave gives the reason as to why.

Karen: Because of all she's been through, even if her romance went quite smooth, and it felt like she did most of the work for Elenor (smooth operator), it still felt wrong to me. The hardest decision in the game was at the end of her romance, what do you do?! Sacrifice Loren when she has to lead her people, sacrifice Elenor and leave Karen to mourn for the rest of her life, or sacrifice Karen and leave Elenor heart broken? (this one really opened the flood gates for me, no matter what you do the impact of the decision felt even graver and it felt real, in the sense that you come to realize how sometimes happy ending just doesn't seem possible in a real situation) It was exquisitely written for that very reason

Myrth: She comes last in my list. I find her a good person, but in the end I'd rather just be her friend, rather than lover. I think it was just a bit off putting that she was a pacifist fighting in a war, if it came to protecting Grandtree, yes, that would have been alright. Everything was alright for me until Rei interfered and she tried to distance herself, her later interactions just didn't feel like her anymore. Also compared to other characters she didn't have the same amount of build up, it was quite obvious she liked Saren and it felt like she led him on in the beginning only to turn him out when he acted upon his feelings. But I do get where she is coming from, not being allowed to love and not having any previous experience.

Amukiki: I really didn't expect liking the guy, I was just as jealous as Elenor/Saren of him in the beginning. He didn't strike me as a deep character at first but after a while you start to see that that was the way Saren/Elenor perceived him and in the end he has a lot more going for him than you could ever have imagined in the beginning. I do admit that the "I want..." really got me . Overall I can't decide which romance was better in his case Elenor's or Saren's. Elenor's interactions with him where wonderful, and when she asks about being an elf I just melted, the romance cg description with Saren was just unbearably hot, the kiss and everything, just yum!

Draco: If up to chapter 3 I didn't feel like it was 'Poor Draco', well what the little idiot (and I mean that in the most caring way possible) did when faced with the giant drake - getting himself toast really brought on the `awwww poooor Draco!' out. I don't get why people don't like him more, I mean he's such a great character, he's so conflicted and complicated and feels so human. True, I would have liked the fact that he's attracted to men and that he's attracted to Saren to be more of a surprise and sort of come out of nowhere, also would have loved if Saren goes something along the lines of 'you look very good/handsome/gorgeous ... for a guy' (*starts trying to cover it up startled he actually said it*) when Draco say's he's the other side of his coin - que Draco being startled and maybe, just maybe a little bit more sure of himself. Also would have been nice to see more graphic romance, the fact that he's so inexperienced is quite endearing.

Rei: Saving the best for last. First off let me just state that the 'casanova/don Juan' type never really appealed to me, but boy was that a bumpy, exciting ride! The way the relationship turns from chase to friendship and then coming to realize that Rei does in fact want more than just to bed Elenor. The best kind of romance in my opinion is when the character starts to find out more about themselves in the process, goes on a journey of self discovery when provoked by the other. It was so touching to have Elenor find the depth of the holes in her soul, in her real nature and then having Rei show her, heal her, it just made me melt. The character growth he undertakes rivals Loren's, by taking a chance with Elenor, accepting to be her friend and in teaching her learning more about himself as well. The only -only- thing that bothered me was Elenor's shoked face for the whole duration of the romance scene. Also would have loved to see his reaction if he found out Elenor was not undercover as a merchant but a harem girl (but that might have changed how he perceived her, shaping the romance differently, he probably would have been so hung up on the idea he would have kept pushing Elenor and nothing would have come from the romance anymore).
Yep, Rei deserves the crown in my opinion , don't apologize Aleema, if he's your favorite character then it shows!

Looks up, yuph that's more than enough, I'm cool now I got that off my chest.

All in all I need to thank you guys for this magnificent game, it was an awesome experience. How else would it ever be when it brings titles like Lord of the rings and Heroes of myth and magic to mind?! Everything I loved about fantasy as a kid was brought back with Loren! Your efforts where really worth it Jack, I do hope the game does well! (how are the sales going btw, are they what you expected?)

I love the game and I love you guys!


One quick question and I promise I'll return to lurkin' in the shadows:
When is the expansion coming out? (the romanceable characters are going to be Mesphit [with GxB and BxB] and Chambara [with BxG and GxG], right? Anyone else as surprise, Breza or Sauzer perhaps? )

[jack1974]

Thanks for the post. Seems Rei is going to be the most famous GxB character of the game I agree with most of your points, and indeed Loren is my favorite, and

Spoiler:

the slave scene is the best one of the game IMHO. Not just the best romance scene, the best scene of the whole game. I like to think that the main message of the game is that everyone can change, every one has a second chance (Loren becoming a better Queen, PC rising in social ranks, Myrth not becoming an elder for love, Rei giving up being a casanova for the true love, etc).

The game is doing well, though is just in pre-order, and the games cost haven't been covered yet I'm confident that when it's officially out things should change though!
About the sequel no, sorry the only extra romances are Chambara and Mesphit. Sauzer will have another use for the story though!

[Aleema]

@Nadirah: That was a good read! I'll happily take the good along with the bad, since it's most important that you like Rei. :D
Again, I think it's great that everyone had to check out all the romances! That's the most flattering.

You brought up some excellent ideas. I, too, want to see Rei's face when he learned her real cover. I also see now that there was a good opportunity for Saren to compliment Draco off-handedly. Ah, the joys of more than one mind!

Thank you again for your thoughts on the romances, it was very enjoyable to read.

[faerirose]

Is the "cover" thing a newer development? I don't think I've played from the beginning since 0.85 or 0.86. I understand it has to do with the way you answer the character creation questions, right?

[Aleema]

Is the "cover" thing a newer development? I don't think I've played from the beginning since 0.85 or 0.86. I understand it has to do with the way you answer the character creation questions, right?

Spoiler:

Since Rei is an assassin, if you play a harem girl, you confide with him in being a spy. You'll lie and say you were undercover as a merchant instead. (for obvious Rei reasons) Later on, after killing Jul, he'll mention that you're being "manipulative" and that he likes it. Again, only if you're playing harem spy (select thief + working royal palace).

[jack1974]

I think she asked if she could get the same scenes from an old savegame? I don't think it would work since the variables in version 0.85-86 didn't exist if I remember correctly, so to see them you should effectively start a new game

[Aleema]

Something for the expansion, then!

[faerirose]

I think she asked if she could get the same scenes from an old savegame? I don't think it would work since the variables in version 0.85-86 didn't exist if I remember correctly, so to see them you should effectively start a new game

Ah! Neat! Both of your replies were helpful. I was going to start a new game soon since I've gotten all romances but still need no romance. That'll be hard...

[faerirose]

I just saw the rafter scene with Elenor and Karen. I love it!