Nightshade: Early Common Route
Oct. 18th, 2020 04:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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So I bought the ninja otome Nightshade on special and then downloaded it so I could play immediately next time I was in the mood for an otome...and then my internet went down! Thanks for the game, Past Me!
I just finished Goemon's good end and it was GREAT.
The basic setup is that the heroine is the 16 year old princess of a ninja clan in around 1600, and there's a lot of Ninja Angst and Sengoku Political Shenanigans with the same figures I met in Samurai Love Ballad Party and Hakuoki: Demon's Bond, though the shared characters are written very differently.
The overall tone reminds me a lot of the Shadow paths in SLBP. It feels like there's a sort of "clan as abusive family you need to work through your trauma about" metaphor, and all the LIs have a somewhat pseudo-incesty (possibly estranged) family member vibe, though the closest blood relative is a cousin (who is also her teacher so that'll be fun)
The overall plot is apparently the same for each route, and I've heard it gets repetitive and some of the others are ANGSTY. So we'll see how I feel about the game overall. But I'm very positive right now!
Content note: I worry about there being consent issues but nothing very bad actually happens (yet) Spoilers for the first few chapters of the game.
There's authoritative sounding Japanese men saying incomprehensible things to me every time I click a button in the main menu, it's very disconcerting.
The background art, sprites, voice acting etc is all really well done. The music annoyed me quickly and I turned it off but I have a low tolerance. The sound effect for all kissing appears to be a single re-used smacking lips noise which was an UNFORTUNATE CHOICE.
Before I begin, here's all the LIs:
Gekkamara, 19: Overprotective earnest older brother type
Kuroyuki, 16: Mischievous slightly yandere younger brother type
Chojiro, 23: Sensei Cousin the duty-bound kuudere
Hanzo, 33: Grumpily sensible older man
Goemon, 26: Flirty charming rogue
I have seen a bunch of Hanzo at this point and still never seen that smiling sprite haha.
Anyway!
We start with some historical backstory which COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS Samurai Love Ballad: Party's history for the same period, which is fine, because ninja clans are fake either way and it'll make it easier to think of any shared characters as entirely separate.
So. Oda Nobunaga declared war on the Iga ninja clan, killing most of them, and the survivors were taken in by their previous enemies, the Koga ninja clan. The sister of the dead Iga chief married the Koga chief Kando Ueno, and their daughter, the now 16 year old protagonist Enju Ueno, became a Symbol of Peace. (I'm using the order the names are given in the translation, also half of these 'o's have bars over the top but idk how to type that)
Woo Enju's first appearance is with her daggers out looking for an enemy :D
She ended up with a knife to her neck but of course it's a training exercise with her kuudere cousin and teacher Brother Chojiro, who sounds like Saito from Hakuoki and has long pretty hair and a boob window. He thinks she's too kind and emotional to be a ninja, thanks to her unique upbringing, but now that they are living in peace under Totoyomi Hideoyoshi and working more as spies than assassins, maybe even a kind person like her can live as a ninja.
So I was all set to be into Chojiro but then another guy, Gekkamura, showed up calling her Enju-Sama and turned out to be her bodyguard and I am into the whole knight-to-warrior-princess dynamic.
He's a bit overprotective, he keeps ruining her training sessions. But he speaks in a slightly hesitant, softly polite way with hints of yearning that I am Into.
Enju: You keep rejecting all your job offers, Father will scold you.
Gekkamaru: If I'm out on a mission I can't protect you!
Me: :/
Gekkamura: YOU are my Master. You are all that matters. And I am go on enough missions to earn my keep. Even if I think of you the whole time I am away...
Me: :D
Enju wishes she wasn't so protected and could go on missions herself. An unnamed Village Woman with no sprite asks if "our princess" is feeling unwell, and I'm all OMG BACKGROUND FEMALE CHARACTERS?? PASSING THE BECHDEL TEST??? Look, it's otome, I'll take what I can get.
Enju is very polite and friendly to the villagers but stares bleakly once they're gone, feeling stifled by being called "princess" and wishing she could give more back to the clan.
HELLO IS THIS A HOT NINJA FEMALE BFF????
I'm guessing this one won't turn out to be non binary like in SLBP but I am willing to roll with whatever.
So! We have the boyish Ennosuke and my new fave, the somewhat snooty Kyara, both seem to be 18ish and childhood friends. They immediately start arguing about which of them was more annoying on a recent joint mission, and being ninjas it takes moments for the weapons to come out:
Gekkamaru: Stop! Enju-sama could be hurt!
Ennosuke: You're way too overprotective. Fighting is a normal way for ninja friends to have fun!
Aww and Kyara is all tsundere about Enju, saying she should be allowed to go on missions "to pull her weight" but Ennosuke is all "you could just admit you care". She's "from one of the original 50 Koga families", the Mikumo, which seems to make her quasi-nobility.
Huuh looks like Ennosuke isn't a LI. THEY BETTER NOT BOTH DIE. I could deal with the game just shipping them together, their banter is cute.
Aww Gekkamaru says that while he doesn't want Enju in danger he respects her wish to help the clan and supports her going on a mission. "I have been with you since you were a baby and will stay by your side forever" is giving me some confused feelings, I'd be more bothered by the implicit age gap if he didn't look and act, like, 25 at the most. Which he might be, a 9 year old bodyguard for a baby makes sense by ninja logic.
ANOTHER FEMALE CHARACTER?? She's a little girl called Kasumi. In a midriff-baring kimono top, which...SURE.
Everyone we've met so far is called to meet with Enju's rather mean looking pointy haired dad Kando Ueno. He has a big facial scar, I wonder if there's A Story.
Minister Ishida asked for five of Kando's best men for a mysterious mission, so he put Chojiro in charge and chose Gekkamaru, Kyara and Ennosuke...and then Chojiro insisted on adding Enju, saying she's ready.
Ah, they're Chojiro's four disciples!
Also Gekkamaru's brother Kuroyuki will be coming home soon after 8 years on a mission.
Enju and Kuroyuki were suckled together? This game is really into pseudo-incest, huh...
OH WOW now my internet is back I checked, and Chojiro literally has the same voice actor as Saito o.O (My kuudere swordboy fave from Hakuoki) Hanzo has the same voice as the villain LI Kazama from Hakuoki, none of the other work histories jumped out at me. Also: Chojiro is only 23 and Gekkamaru 19, but Gekkamaru and Kuroyuki are described as her ADOPTED BROTHERS (they're orphans) which WOW OK THEN GAME. Meanwhile Goemon is 26 and Hanzo is THIRTY THREE.
Ohhh man I have my first choice and it's Gekkamaru vs Chojiro vs neither. Hmmmmmm sorry Chojiro, being Literally Saito doesn't stop you being her teacher. Time to...hit on her adopted brother instead >.> LOOK I NEVER SAID MY SQUICKS WERE LOGICAL.
Aww...her dad has always been really strict and distant and she hopes this will make him proud of her, so they can be closer.
Everyone is being really sweet to Kasumi, who's sad to be left alone and it's cute but also makes me worry SHE'S going to be fridged.
Ennosuke refers to Chojiro as Cho-nii (so...he's sort of a brother but not? Is this like martial siblings in China?), and everyone keeps calling the (then) capital Kyo rather than Kyoto... Ahh looks like Kyo To literally means Capital City, and people often referred to it as variations on Kyo until Tokyo became the actual capital and Kyoto just a name.
Ok going to make a note here as I edit, because it comes up a lot later: The disciple-level ninjas are inclined to refer to each other and Chojiro as Brother/Sister: either the very polite o-nii-sama/o-nee-sama or less formal (name)-nii/nee. In Japanese it's not uncommon to refer to older people as older sister/brother as a sort of affectionate/childish thing, like calling a friend of the family Auntie/Uncle, and in Chinese at least fellow martial arts students call each other variants on family terms. But don't remember ever seeing quite as many unrelated characters call each other siblings in Japanese media as in this game, and it feels like a thing.
They run through the night then start walking normally during the day so as to not draw attention from the normals with their Weird Ninja Skills. Chojiro gives a serious lecture on how their village needs commissions to survive so they must perform perfectly to satisfy their customers. Nothing is more important than the mission, even their life.
Gakkamura says Enju is his first priority and Chojiro cooly rebukes him for not respecting Enju's desire to be a full member of the clan, and his equal. Gakkamura apologises and agrees (and calls him Chojiro-dono, google says 'dono' used to be used for leaders of samurai)
Enju says Kuroyuki will surely be the same cheery, easy-going cry-baby he always was and I think that's as likely to be true as Ennosuke's certainty that this mission will be easy D:
Chojiro sends Enju off to get a drink of water with her two BFFs, then asks Gakkamura if he resents Chojiro for bringing Enju along. Gakkamaru says he worries because he doesn't think Enju values her own life enough, and Chojiro agrees.
Chojiro: Master Kando has much to do with it, but so does her mother Kagari-dono, considering how she died...
(So NOW you leave dono untranslated, game?)
They both have these quietly sad expressions. Later I realised Chojiro is the son of Enju's mother's brother, the former Iga chief, so he'd be the leader of Iga if it still existed.
Chojiro: Ask yourself if your actions protect not just her body, but her soul.
They obviously care a lot about Enju in their own way, and respect that about each other, I'm kinda shipping the triad...
And then the bffs come back just as they all COME UNDER ATTACK BY SHURIKENS!!
Chojiro: Alright you've had your fun. You can come out now, Kuroyuki.
Kuroyuki: Hi everyone, forget me? ;)
Ennosuke: Kuroyuki >:( How dare you...grow up taller than me?!
Kuroyuki: Sup Kyara, you grew up hot ;)
Kyara: And you grew a glib tongue. Looks like your skills have improved, I'll have to watch my back :)
(Pretty sure he's calling her Onee-san/sister not her name)
Literally the first thing Gakkamaru says to his brother is "You could have hit Enju-sama >:(". Kuroyuki smiles and says he was just getting their attention and made especially sure not to hit her.
Kuroyuki: I see Gakka-nii is still your bodyguard, Enju-nee, I bet he's a real handful. How about I be your bodyguard instead? ;)
Ohhh this is going to go to some WEIRD places I can TELL. I wonder exactly how rapey a rapey-little-brother-type he's going to be :/
Ohhh man he offered to 'playfight' Gekkamuru for the job and got all cold eyed and creepy then was all "haha just kidding ;P"
Aww, Chojiro is very serious-minded, but does nice little things like make sure everyone gets enough rest and tell Kuroyuki that Gakkamaru was smiling about seeing him before he arrived.
Chojiro takes Enju alone with him to meet Minister Ishida, despite Gakkamaru wanting to come. She wants to make sure she doesn't get lost and embarrass herself...and Chojiro points out she's holding onto his sleeve like she did as a child. He then tells her to practice her blending-in skills by going the rest of the way alone.
Just as Enju is about to ask 'a girl in a pretty kimono' for directions she sees the girl unknowingly targeted by a pick pocket. So of course she MUST STEAL THE MONEY BACK.
At which point she is approached by Goemon, calling himself Goro. I know from SLBP that Goemon was basically a Robin Hood figure who stole from corrupt officials and gave to the poor, before being caught by the then-ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi and horribly killed. He describes himself as "your friendly neighbourhood libertine" and asks if she wants to join him for some 'fun'.
Enju: Thank you, Goro-sama, but if you could just give me directions...
Goemon: Sama? I'm not someone to be that highly regarded.
And then I get to choose between Goro and Goro-san because this game assumes it's target audience knows "san" is the default honourific you would use with a stranger.
Since he's basically the Japanese Robin Hood, let's throw politeness to the wind. HONOURIFICS ARE A TOOL OF THE BOURGEOISIE!!
He's surprised but charmed and she gets embarrassed. "Pardon me, Ojo-chan/Miss, but you seem the serious sort who only forgoes honourifics with close friends. It made me feel a little special ;)"
She's reluctant to tell him her name and he says that while he looks like a skeezeball he's nothing like that other man she bumped into, then compliments her skill. She says her cousin pickpockets for a hobby and taught her how, then leaves quickly before she reveals any more.
When she meets up with Chojiro he says a real shinobi wouldn't help a stranger who'd been pick-pocketed (implying he was watching her, aw), she thinks he's annoyed but I think he's charmed.
OH! MINISTER ISHIDA IS MITSUNARI ISHIDA! Absolutely nothing like the SLBP dude, kinda blokey. And he wants them to track down...the thief Goemon Ishikawa!
Deputy Gen'i Maeda storms in saying that nobody should capture Goemon but him, especially not these NINJA SCUM!!
Ishida reassures him that the ninja will find Goemon but Maeda will capture him.
Afterwards Chojiro explains that many people mistrust ninja, especially former Nobunaga aide Deputy Maeda, but she shouldn't pay it any attention.
As Chojiro explains the situation, Kuroyuki and then Kyara realise his plan: figure out which rich official has already gotten a calling card from Goemon, but is too embarrassed to admit they might need help preparing for a single thief.
Everyone but Enju is sent out to get a feel for the state of the city, while she is ordered to sleep: the other students napped while she was out, but she's been awake for over a day, and unlike Chojiro she's not used to it. Gakkamaru and Chojiro join forces to persuade her it's necessary 'for the mission".
I really like that while Enju is soft-hearted and inexperienced, she is still a competent ninja. Also I really like that Kyara is proof that Enju isn't Just How Girl Ninjas Are.
Enju dreams of going to see her mother as a child, but people try to stop her. She rushes in and cries out at what she sees...
...and wakes to something cool and soothing on her forehead. She is very confused to find herself looking up at a grinning Kuroyuki who has perched himself over her and should not look so charming when he says things like "I got tired so I decided I'd sleep with you ^_^"
Enju: Why are you doing that? Get off.
Kuroyuki: Why?
Enju: It's inappropriate.
GAME
Enju: We were children then!
Kuroyuki: How are you feeling? *gently brushes her forehead* It seemed like you were in pain.
Enju: *is comforted despite herself*
Oh no I ship it. Oh noooooo
Gekkamaru arrives and coldly asks Kuroyuki why he's here. Oh no I have to decide whether to cover for him or not. Ahhhh who do I pick???
Ok I tried looking up whether anyone had trigger warnings for Kuroyuki's path and all I got was "WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY KUROYUKI IS A YANDERE HE'S SWEET AND LOVING AND THE BAD THINGS HE DID ARE NOT HIS FAULT >:(" (or the same thing but as a complaint because they wanted something nastier lol)
I saw the reccomended play order is usually Goemon, Hanzo, Chojiro, Kuroyuki, Gekkamaru. Which is called "the maximum angst order" because it gets sadder every route???
this order comes with more details about the routes.
Looks like everyone wants to bang Ieyasu Tokugawa and is sad they can't lol.
Anyway I might just follow my gut with the choices and see where I end up! Which from the looks of things will PROBABLY BE SOMEWHERE BAD, even in a 'good' end, but not rape, so I'll hopefully be ok.
SO. Looks like this game is set in 1598, just before the events of Hakuoki: Demon's Bond. Hideyoshi Toyotomi is 62 and about to die. He's trying to look good in front of the council of five elders, who are kind of like his parliament. Hence the rush to get rid of Goemon. The most powerful 'elder' is Ieyasu Tokugawa, who Toyotomi is worried enough about to send off to build up the city of Edo. In two years, after Toyotomi's death, Ieyasu Tokugawa is going to take power for himself away from Hideoyoshi's infant son Hideoyori.
Kyara says she and Enju will cook dinner. "I've seen my nanny cook lots of times, how hard can it be? Oh, but that little knife is too small, let's use my weapon! HAIYA!"
...
Enju: I'm so sorry we smashed the kitchen :(
Kyara: It should have worked! Maybe the water is different here >.>
Ennosuke: Wait, what's that delicious smell??
Gekkamaru: Excuse me. I'm sorry to presume but I cooked something...
Ennosuke is sent back to the village with a letter updating Enju's dad. He says he'll use his ninjitsu "Hien" which lets him jump from tree to tree. The game doesn't explain what a ninjitsu is but from context it's basically a ninja's semi-unique quasi-magic power. SORRY GAME, I AM A WEEB, BUT I NEVER WATCHED NARUTO.
Kuroyuki says he's going to "sleep with" Enju, massively flustering and angering Gekkamaru. Seeing them argue over it Chojiro irritably says "Children, it's not time to play. She will sleep between me and Kyara."
The next day Ennosuke arrives with a letter for Kuroyuki...and with Kasumi, who's going to do the housework.
He makes fun of how bad she is at being a ninja and Kyara pulls out her weapon all BACK OFF SHE'LL GET GOOD AT SHURIKENS WITH PRACTICE!!
...and then I got very sleepy and probably forgot some stuff...ooh nice it lets me see earlier dialogue even when I load from a save!
Ok, so! Ennosuke and Chojiro say they have seen signs of OTHER MYSTERIOUS NINJA LURKING ABOUT. Perhaps...the as yet unmet final LI Hanzo Hattori??
But at this point I decided to focus on Goemon, so it's a good place to stop the post, since from the scroll bar I am less than a third of the way through my summary and maybe you'd all prefer a 'shorter' taste to let you know roughly what this game is like before committing to an even longer post.
I eventually thought to look up Scytale's posts and they do have a trigger warning for Kuroyuki so there you go. So I've been spoiled for that route (SOUNDS INTENSE) but not the others.
I chose to start with Goemon since he sounded like one of the less angsty LIs, which would let me get through the overall plot without being tensed for too much awful. Which worked well!
I'm thinking I'll end with Hanzo, since he seems to be commonly considered Best Boy and also one of the less angsty routes. But I haven't decided who to romance next, or if I'll do Goemon's bad end first instead. We will see!
So I bought the ninja otome Nightshade on special and then downloaded it so I could play immediately next time I was in the mood for an otome...and then my internet went down! Thanks for the game, Past Me!
I just finished Goemon's good end and it was GREAT.
The basic setup is that the heroine is the 16 year old princess of a ninja clan in around 1600, and there's a lot of Ninja Angst and Sengoku Political Shenanigans with the same figures I met in Samurai Love Ballad Party and Hakuoki: Demon's Bond, though the shared characters are written very differently.
The overall tone reminds me a lot of the Shadow paths in SLBP. It feels like there's a sort of "clan as abusive family you need to work through your trauma about" metaphor, and all the LIs have a somewhat pseudo-incesty (possibly estranged) family member vibe, though the closest blood relative is a cousin (who is also her teacher so that'll be fun)
The overall plot is apparently the same for each route, and I've heard it gets repetitive and some of the others are ANGSTY. So we'll see how I feel about the game overall. But I'm very positive right now!
Content note: I worry about there being consent issues but nothing very bad actually happens (yet) Spoilers for the first few chapters of the game.
There's authoritative sounding Japanese men saying incomprehensible things to me every time I click a button in the main menu, it's very disconcerting.
The background art, sprites, voice acting etc is all really well done. The music annoyed me quickly and I turned it off but I have a low tolerance. The sound effect for all kissing appears to be a single re-used smacking lips noise which was an UNFORTUNATE CHOICE.
Before I begin, here's all the LIs:
Gekkamara, 19: Overprotective earnest older brother type
Kuroyuki, 16: Mischievous slightly yandere younger brother type
Chojiro, 23: Sensei Cousin the duty-bound kuudere
Hanzo, 33: Grumpily sensible older man
Goemon, 26: Flirty charming rogue
I have seen a bunch of Hanzo at this point and still never seen that smiling sprite haha.
Anyway!
We start with some historical backstory which COMPLETELY CONTRADICTS Samurai Love Ballad: Party's history for the same period, which is fine, because ninja clans are fake either way and it'll make it easier to think of any shared characters as entirely separate.
So. Oda Nobunaga declared war on the Iga ninja clan, killing most of them, and the survivors were taken in by their previous enemies, the Koga ninja clan. The sister of the dead Iga chief married the Koga chief Kando Ueno, and their daughter, the now 16 year old protagonist Enju Ueno, became a Symbol of Peace. (I'm using the order the names are given in the translation, also half of these 'o's have bars over the top but idk how to type that)
Woo Enju's first appearance is with her daggers out looking for an enemy :D
She ended up with a knife to her neck but of course it's a training exercise with her kuudere cousin and teacher Brother Chojiro, who sounds like Saito from Hakuoki and has long pretty hair and a boob window. He thinks she's too kind and emotional to be a ninja, thanks to her unique upbringing, but now that they are living in peace under Totoyomi Hideoyoshi and working more as spies than assassins, maybe even a kind person like her can live as a ninja.
So I was all set to be into Chojiro but then another guy, Gekkamura, showed up calling her Enju-Sama and turned out to be her bodyguard and I am into the whole knight-to-warrior-princess dynamic.
He's a bit overprotective, he keeps ruining her training sessions. But he speaks in a slightly hesitant, softly polite way with hints of yearning that I am Into.
Enju: You keep rejecting all your job offers, Father will scold you.
Gekkamaru: If I'm out on a mission I can't protect you!
Me: :/
Gekkamura: YOU are my Master. You are all that matters. And I am go on enough missions to earn my keep. Even if I think of you the whole time I am away...
Me: :D
Enju wishes she wasn't so protected and could go on missions herself. An unnamed Village Woman with no sprite asks if "our princess" is feeling unwell, and I'm all OMG BACKGROUND FEMALE CHARACTERS?? PASSING THE BECHDEL TEST??? Look, it's otome, I'll take what I can get.
Enju is very polite and friendly to the villagers but stares bleakly once they're gone, feeling stifled by being called "princess" and wishing she could give more back to the clan.
HELLO IS THIS A HOT NINJA FEMALE BFF????
I'm guessing this one won't turn out to be non binary like in SLBP but I am willing to roll with whatever.
So! We have the boyish Ennosuke and my new fave, the somewhat snooty Kyara, both seem to be 18ish and childhood friends. They immediately start arguing about which of them was more annoying on a recent joint mission, and being ninjas it takes moments for the weapons to come out:
Gekkamaru: Stop! Enju-sama could be hurt!
Ennosuke: You're way too overprotective. Fighting is a normal way for ninja friends to have fun!
Aww and Kyara is all tsundere about Enju, saying she should be allowed to go on missions "to pull her weight" but Ennosuke is all "you could just admit you care". She's "from one of the original 50 Koga families", the Mikumo, which seems to make her quasi-nobility.
Huuh looks like Ennosuke isn't a LI. THEY BETTER NOT BOTH DIE. I could deal with the game just shipping them together, their banter is cute.
Aww Gekkamaru says that while he doesn't want Enju in danger he respects her wish to help the clan and supports her going on a mission. "I have been with you since you were a baby and will stay by your side forever" is giving me some confused feelings, I'd be more bothered by the implicit age gap if he didn't look and act, like, 25 at the most. Which he might be, a 9 year old bodyguard for a baby makes sense by ninja logic.
ANOTHER FEMALE CHARACTER?? She's a little girl called Kasumi. In a midriff-baring kimono top, which...SURE.
Everyone we've met so far is called to meet with Enju's rather mean looking pointy haired dad Kando Ueno. He has a big facial scar, I wonder if there's A Story.
Minister Ishida asked for five of Kando's best men for a mysterious mission, so he put Chojiro in charge and chose Gekkamaru, Kyara and Ennosuke...and then Chojiro insisted on adding Enju, saying she's ready.
Ah, they're Chojiro's four disciples!
Also Gekkamaru's brother Kuroyuki will be coming home soon after 8 years on a mission.
Enju and Kuroyuki were suckled together? This game is really into pseudo-incest, huh...
OH WOW now my internet is back I checked, and Chojiro literally has the same voice actor as Saito o.O (My kuudere swordboy fave from Hakuoki) Hanzo has the same voice as the villain LI Kazama from Hakuoki, none of the other work histories jumped out at me. Also: Chojiro is only 23 and Gekkamaru 19, but Gekkamaru and Kuroyuki are described as her ADOPTED BROTHERS (they're orphans) which WOW OK THEN GAME. Meanwhile Goemon is 26 and Hanzo is THIRTY THREE.
Ohhh man I have my first choice and it's Gekkamaru vs Chojiro vs neither. Hmmmmmm sorry Chojiro, being Literally Saito doesn't stop you being her teacher. Time to...hit on her adopted brother instead >.> LOOK I NEVER SAID MY SQUICKS WERE LOGICAL.
Aww...her dad has always been really strict and distant and she hopes this will make him proud of her, so they can be closer.
Everyone is being really sweet to Kasumi, who's sad to be left alone and it's cute but also makes me worry SHE'S going to be fridged.
Ennosuke refers to Chojiro as Cho-nii (so...he's sort of a brother but not? Is this like martial siblings in China?), and everyone keeps calling the (then) capital Kyo rather than Kyoto... Ahh looks like Kyo To literally means Capital City, and people often referred to it as variations on Kyo until Tokyo became the actual capital and Kyoto just a name.
Ok going to make a note here as I edit, because it comes up a lot later: The disciple-level ninjas are inclined to refer to each other and Chojiro as Brother/Sister: either the very polite o-nii-sama/o-nee-sama or less formal (name)-nii/nee. In Japanese it's not uncommon to refer to older people as older sister/brother as a sort of affectionate/childish thing, like calling a friend of the family Auntie/Uncle, and in Chinese at least fellow martial arts students call each other variants on family terms. But don't remember ever seeing quite as many unrelated characters call each other siblings in Japanese media as in this game, and it feels like a thing.
They run through the night then start walking normally during the day so as to not draw attention from the normals with their Weird Ninja Skills. Chojiro gives a serious lecture on how their village needs commissions to survive so they must perform perfectly to satisfy their customers. Nothing is more important than the mission, even their life.
Gakkamura says Enju is his first priority and Chojiro cooly rebukes him for not respecting Enju's desire to be a full member of the clan, and his equal. Gakkamura apologises and agrees (and calls him Chojiro-dono, google says 'dono' used to be used for leaders of samurai)
Enju says Kuroyuki will surely be the same cheery, easy-going cry-baby he always was and I think that's as likely to be true as Ennosuke's certainty that this mission will be easy D:
Chojiro sends Enju off to get a drink of water with her two BFFs, then asks Gakkamura if he resents Chojiro for bringing Enju along. Gakkamaru says he worries because he doesn't think Enju values her own life enough, and Chojiro agrees.
Chojiro: Master Kando has much to do with it, but so does her mother Kagari-dono, considering how she died...
(So NOW you leave dono untranslated, game?)
They both have these quietly sad expressions. Later I realised Chojiro is the son of Enju's mother's brother, the former Iga chief, so he'd be the leader of Iga if it still existed.
Chojiro: Ask yourself if your actions protect not just her body, but her soul.
They obviously care a lot about Enju in their own way, and respect that about each other, I'm kinda shipping the triad...
And then the bffs come back just as they all COME UNDER ATTACK BY SHURIKENS!!
Chojiro: Alright you've had your fun. You can come out now, Kuroyuki.
Kuroyuki: Hi everyone, forget me? ;)
Ennosuke: Kuroyuki >:( How dare you...grow up taller than me?!
Kuroyuki: Sup Kyara, you grew up hot ;)
Kyara: And you grew a glib tongue. Looks like your skills have improved, I'll have to watch my back :)
(Pretty sure he's calling her Onee-san/sister not her name)
Literally the first thing Gakkamaru says to his brother is "You could have hit Enju-sama >:(". Kuroyuki smiles and says he was just getting their attention and made especially sure not to hit her.
Kuroyuki: I see Gakka-nii is still your bodyguard, Enju-nee, I bet he's a real handful. How about I be your bodyguard instead? ;)
Ohhh this is going to go to some WEIRD places I can TELL. I wonder exactly how rapey a rapey-little-brother-type he's going to be :/
Ohhh man he offered to 'playfight' Gekkamuru for the job and got all cold eyed and creepy then was all "haha just kidding ;P"
Aww, Chojiro is very serious-minded, but does nice little things like make sure everyone gets enough rest and tell Kuroyuki that Gakkamaru was smiling about seeing him before he arrived.
Chojiro takes Enju alone with him to meet Minister Ishida, despite Gakkamaru wanting to come. She wants to make sure she doesn't get lost and embarrass herself...and Chojiro points out she's holding onto his sleeve like she did as a child. He then tells her to practice her blending-in skills by going the rest of the way alone.
Just as Enju is about to ask 'a girl in a pretty kimono' for directions she sees the girl unknowingly targeted by a pick pocket. So of course she MUST STEAL THE MONEY BACK.
At which point she is approached by Goemon, calling himself Goro. I know from SLBP that Goemon was basically a Robin Hood figure who stole from corrupt officials and gave to the poor, before being caught by the then-ruler Hideyoshi Toyotomi and horribly killed. He describes himself as "your friendly neighbourhood libertine" and asks if she wants to join him for some 'fun'.
Enju: Thank you, Goro-sama, but if you could just give me directions...
Goemon: Sama? I'm not someone to be that highly regarded.
And then I get to choose between Goro and Goro-san because this game assumes it's target audience knows "san" is the default honourific you would use with a stranger.
Since he's basically the Japanese Robin Hood, let's throw politeness to the wind. HONOURIFICS ARE A TOOL OF THE BOURGEOISIE!!
He's surprised but charmed and she gets embarrassed. "Pardon me, Ojo-chan/Miss, but you seem the serious sort who only forgoes honourifics with close friends. It made me feel a little special ;)"
She's reluctant to tell him her name and he says that while he looks like a skeezeball he's nothing like that other man she bumped into, then compliments her skill. She says her cousin pickpockets for a hobby and taught her how, then leaves quickly before she reveals any more.
When she meets up with Chojiro he says a real shinobi wouldn't help a stranger who'd been pick-pocketed (implying he was watching her, aw), she thinks he's annoyed but I think he's charmed.
OH! MINISTER ISHIDA IS MITSUNARI ISHIDA! Absolutely nothing like the SLBP dude, kinda blokey. And he wants them to track down...the thief Goemon Ishikawa!
Deputy Gen'i Maeda storms in saying that nobody should capture Goemon but him, especially not these NINJA SCUM!!
Ishida reassures him that the ninja will find Goemon but Maeda will capture him.
Afterwards Chojiro explains that many people mistrust ninja, especially former Nobunaga aide Deputy Maeda, but she shouldn't pay it any attention.
As Chojiro explains the situation, Kuroyuki and then Kyara realise his plan: figure out which rich official has already gotten a calling card from Goemon, but is too embarrassed to admit they might need help preparing for a single thief.
Everyone but Enju is sent out to get a feel for the state of the city, while she is ordered to sleep: the other students napped while she was out, but she's been awake for over a day, and unlike Chojiro she's not used to it. Gakkamaru and Chojiro join forces to persuade her it's necessary 'for the mission".
I really like that while Enju is soft-hearted and inexperienced, she is still a competent ninja. Also I really like that Kyara is proof that Enju isn't Just How Girl Ninjas Are.
Enju dreams of going to see her mother as a child, but people try to stop her. She rushes in and cries out at what she sees...
...and wakes to something cool and soothing on her forehead. She is very confused to find herself looking up at a grinning Kuroyuki who has perched himself over her and should not look so charming when he says things like "I got tired so I decided I'd sleep with you ^_^"
Enju: Why are you doing that? Get off.
Kuroyuki: Why?
Enju: It's inappropriate.
GAME
Enju: We were children then!
Kuroyuki: How are you feeling? *gently brushes her forehead* It seemed like you were in pain.
Enju: *is comforted despite herself*
Oh no I ship it. Oh noooooo
Gekkamaru arrives and coldly asks Kuroyuki why he's here. Oh no I have to decide whether to cover for him or not. Ahhhh who do I pick???
Ok I tried looking up whether anyone had trigger warnings for Kuroyuki's path and all I got was "WHY DOES EVERYONE SAY KUROYUKI IS A YANDERE HE'S SWEET AND LOVING AND THE BAD THINGS HE DID ARE NOT HIS FAULT >:(" (or the same thing but as a complaint because they wanted something nastier lol)
I saw the reccomended play order is usually Goemon, Hanzo, Chojiro, Kuroyuki, Gekkamaru. Which is called "the maximum angst order" because it gets sadder every route???
this order comes with more details about the routes.
Looks like everyone wants to bang Ieyasu Tokugawa and is sad they can't lol.
Anyway I might just follow my gut with the choices and see where I end up! Which from the looks of things will PROBABLY BE SOMEWHERE BAD, even in a 'good' end, but not rape, so I'll hopefully be ok.
SO. Looks like this game is set in 1598, just before the events of Hakuoki: Demon's Bond. Hideyoshi Toyotomi is 62 and about to die. He's trying to look good in front of the council of five elders, who are kind of like his parliament. Hence the rush to get rid of Goemon. The most powerful 'elder' is Ieyasu Tokugawa, who Toyotomi is worried enough about to send off to build up the city of Edo. In two years, after Toyotomi's death, Ieyasu Tokugawa is going to take power for himself away from Hideoyoshi's infant son Hideoyori.
Kyara says she and Enju will cook dinner. "I've seen my nanny cook lots of times, how hard can it be? Oh, but that little knife is too small, let's use my weapon! HAIYA!"
...
Enju: I'm so sorry we smashed the kitchen :(
Kyara: It should have worked! Maybe the water is different here >.>
Ennosuke: Wait, what's that delicious smell??
Gekkamaru: Excuse me. I'm sorry to presume but I cooked something...
Ennosuke is sent back to the village with a letter updating Enju's dad. He says he'll use his ninjitsu "Hien" which lets him jump from tree to tree. The game doesn't explain what a ninjitsu is but from context it's basically a ninja's semi-unique quasi-magic power. SORRY GAME, I AM A WEEB, BUT I NEVER WATCHED NARUTO.
Kuroyuki says he's going to "sleep with" Enju, massively flustering and angering Gekkamaru. Seeing them argue over it Chojiro irritably says "Children, it's not time to play. She will sleep between me and Kyara."
The next day Ennosuke arrives with a letter for Kuroyuki...and with Kasumi, who's going to do the housework.
He makes fun of how bad she is at being a ninja and Kyara pulls out her weapon all BACK OFF SHE'LL GET GOOD AT SHURIKENS WITH PRACTICE!!
...and then I got very sleepy and probably forgot some stuff...ooh nice it lets me see earlier dialogue even when I load from a save!
Ok, so! Ennosuke and Chojiro say they have seen signs of OTHER MYSTERIOUS NINJA LURKING ABOUT. Perhaps...the as yet unmet final LI Hanzo Hattori??
But at this point I decided to focus on Goemon, so it's a good place to stop the post, since from the scroll bar I am less than a third of the way through my summary and maybe you'd all prefer a 'shorter' taste to let you know roughly what this game is like before committing to an even longer post.
I eventually thought to look up Scytale's posts and they do have a trigger warning for Kuroyuki so there you go. So I've been spoiled for that route (SOUNDS INTENSE) but not the others.
I chose to start with Goemon since he sounded like one of the less angsty LIs, which would let me get through the overall plot without being tensed for too much awful. Which worked well!
I'm thinking I'll end with Hanzo, since he seems to be commonly considered Best Boy and also one of the less angsty routes. But I haven't decided who to romance next, or if I'll do Goemon's bad end first instead. We will see!
