After only a few days of exposure to Ryouki, I felt that was my duty to write this short review. Why? I’m astonished at the grand (and successful, too!) scale of foul deeds this game contains.
Himeya’s game synopsis is merely a partial (!) list of the (sexual) abuses of Ryouki, which, not considering the high number of available girls/victims (10), includes even infrequent themes like hermaphroditism and religious blasphemy (of Catholicism, in this case). My review wants to be an advertisement for rapefest lovers (or simply interested, like me), and a “Keep Out” warning for all others. In fact Ryouki, the first game produced from Psy-chs (a Luchs brand), represents a fine example of the Japanese market’s growing trend towards EXTREME games, even for rapefests. Ryouki, however, is also conspicuous for its (almost) successful union of quality and quantity. This game assures an enjoyable experience, BUT ONLY for not easily offended/impressionable gamers.
Short introduction:
The main character is Van Renbork, a fallen noble that, together with the elder sister, was abused throughout his entire youth for the pleasure of the royal consorts of Estoul, a 1700’s France-like kingdom.
It’s only after causing the horrible suicide of Van’s sister that the royal family decides to definitely shut Van in the palace dungeons, under the (true and proved) charge of conspiracy against the Crown.
Ryouki’s story begins many years later, after the death of the royal consorts, when a truly unusual visitor goes to see Van: Eldia, the late king’s arrogant and snobbish elder daughter. Plotting against her own little sister for the succession to the throne, Eldia reaches an evil agreement with Van, freeing him.
But Eldia (and many others, too!) will be VERY sorry for this foolishness, because Van, driven from a lifetime of hatred, can now implement his own plans, turning the royal palace into a den of iniquity and causing the ruin of the kingdom.
Storyline:
In a sense, this is the best AND the worst component of the game. Ryouki’s storyline fails too many Reality Checks for my taste, and the characterization of the protagonists (except Van and the two princesses) is somewhat superficial (not coincidentally, Psy-chs has promised even more “sex” for the next release, but with 6 girls only). At the same time, however, this storyline is gifted with a certain sinister charme, is not boring and, most importantly, connects efficaciously the varied and prolonged sessions of very creative abuse, torture and rape which form the backbone of Ryouki. In addition, by using a simple but effective game mechanic, the player is encouraged to abuse/corrupt/brainwash the most higher possible number of girls, because this directly affects both the quantity of abuse which will be inflicted later on the princesses and the endgame itself (see below).
In conclusion, Ryouki’s storyline, despite its shortcomings, remains an interesting experience for those gamers in search of strong emotions/situations, giving them really the possibility to commit/savor foul deeds of a rarely seen (by me, at least) magnitude.
Graphics:
Ryouki’s graphics are very good, gifted with a careful eye even for the most minute details of the various backgrounds and clothings (the graphics designers have studied their art history handbooks!).
However, in my opinion, the most interesting characteristic is the “solar”/innocent drawing style itself, expressly chosen to maximize the impact of Ryouki’s abuses…
Sounds:
Psy-chs has invested much in this department, and shows it. The music tracks are uniformly excellent, and the (female only) character voices are simply extraordinary!! The voice quality is so good that I’m inclined to forgive the fact that only 70-80% of Ryouki’s dialogue is dubbed.
Psy-chs has even released the (Music Tracks + Drama) Audio CD of Ryouki, another great work and an obliged purchase for lovers of this game.
Bonus:
Ryouki boasts only 5 endings (2 for each princess + 1 harem ending), which follow the above-mentioned logic of corruption: more abuses Van/the player commits, worse the ending will be (obviously, the harem ending is the most corrupt and the most difficult-to-obtain ending, but, supreme irony, it’s also the only Good Ending of this game!).
As for the rest, Ryouki contains the usual bonuses: CG, Scenario and BGM galleries. Nothing more, nothing less.
Final considerations:
Ryouki doesn’t permit indifference: you will love or hate this game. The ryoujoku genre of erotic games isn’t for underage gamers, but I suspect that even many adults would be scandalized at Ryouki’s excesses (for those adults, I suggest Saimin Gakuen -do you remember?-, my favorite dark game, which is full of self-irony -Ryouki is terribly serious-). Personally, I prefer variety and quality rather than moralism in my choice of erogames, and Ryouki offers absolute reliability in this sense (naturally, only if you can stomach, for a minor example, anal sex scenes with ch… -oh, sorry!- “Lolitas”).
Very good graphics, wonderful sounds, a variegated -although improbable- story (which uses a relatively easy-to-breach Japanese: if you can understand the Demo Movie, you will immediately grasp 50%+ of Ryouki, minimum), this H-game is a truly good choice for certain gamers, and a true challenge for all others.
Come to the Dark Side 8) :twisted: …
Psy-chs Home Page:
http://www.luchs.jp/psychs/index.html
Ryouki Home Page:
http://www.luchs.jp/psychs/ryouki/ryouki.html
Getchu - Ryouki Page:
http://www.getchu.com/soft.phtml?id=36283
Ryouki Audio CD (a MintJam production):
http://www.luchs.jp/psychs/sound.html
Ryouki Demo Game & Demo Movie (Game Demo+Demo Movie: 123MB; Demo Game only: 81.4MB; Demo Movie only: 42.4MB. Choose any one of the links on the right -IMPORTANT: Even if you have no interest in Ryouki, download the (partially English-subtitled!!) Demo Movie. IT’S SUPERB, especially if you have even a basic grasp of spoken Japanese-):
http://www.luchs.jp/psychs/ryouki/down.html