by Jason Y., Staff Editor, Inside AX- Anime Expo

For me, stories are what makes video games and so when I first heard that an American multimedia startup was going to create the first true fully-English developed bishoujo game, I approached it with a weary eye. Would an little known multimedia startup company be able to capture what makes Japanese dating-sims unique? How well would the story be executed? After all, although my dating-sim experience was limited to True Love ’97 and the Persona series, the expectations that I held were pretty high. Thankfully, they were more than met with Okashi Studio’s Shira Oka.

The first thing that people may notice is that the game is very Japanese in nature. While people may complain that it is nothing more than a facsimile, I would honestly rather have it be something that I’m used to than something that tries to be innovative while failing in the process (i.e. Brooktown High and/or the Leisure Suit Larry Series.) Relying on Japanese cultural norms and traditions, including Obon Festivals, Golden Week and Culture Days, the game spans across over three years as the male protagonist (the player) gets a chance to relive his high school years after he grew up to be a loser; something that we all probably wish we could redo in some way or form.

As with most dating sims and visual novels, much of the storytelling is done through static images, backgrounds and music. Although the graphics could have admittedly been better, they do a great job despite being rendered out in low-resolution; which was done in order to keep the download size manageable for most users. What is surprising however, is the amount of voice acting that helps to give the characters life. Although much of the voice acting is hit or miss, as with most English dubs, people who may have played Persona or Final Fantasy XIII in the past may hear several familiar voices including Laura Bailey, Stephanie Sheh and Julie Ann Taylor. For an independent game, this is a very surprising touch and is very welcomed.

Although sim fans and casual gamers may feel right at home with the game’s “just one more week” style of gameplay, be warned this game is hard.  Trying to learn how to balance all of the protagonist’s stats along with managing the fatigue and stress levels, without a proper tutorial, it took me approximately three cycles before I was able to reach one of the game’s intermissions, or point-of-no return. However, once I was able to finish one ending, the next one was very easy to reach thanks to the game’s new-game plus feature where you get to carry over your character’s stats after you reach one of the game’s ten endings.

While each individual arc only lasts about five to six hours or so, there’s plenty of reason to replay the game, as not only do you carry over your stats, but the character also carries over the knowledge that he gains in each arc; which more than makes up for the game’s lack of a fast-forward ability to scroll through text. Almost each playthrough is a completely different experience as characters will interact differently with you as you begin to learn more and more things about them from another arc. Something that is incredibly welcoming after going through plenty of visual novels where you experience a good majority of the game’s story after just one time through.

With plenty of likable characters, addicting gameplay and a strong presentation, Shira Oka is a great experience for gamers who are looking for something different and off-the-beaten path. From the second you create your character with the game’s rather in-depth character creation screen to each of the game’s endings, Shira Oka is a very enjoyable experience. The game is currently available for pre-order on December 10th, at Impulse.com. If you place your order between now and the game’s actual release, you will get a 10% discount.

Pros:

• More than forty hours of addicting sim-style gameplay
• An interesting cast of characters
• Great character development tree, featuring quirks and stats
• A well-written script with little grammatical errors
• A good original soundtrack

Cons:

• May not be dramatic enough for some people
• The game is only available in  three resolutions: 1024 x 768, 800 x 600 and 640 x 480
• Some of the voice acting is hit or miss

PC System Requirements:

• Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later

Tags: bishoujo, Okashi Studios, Shira Oka