Summary: Collar × Malice follows a rookie police officer Ichika Hoshino stationed in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On her way home from work, she is attacked and a collar with poison is placed around her neck; following this, she becomes involved with the "X-Day Incident", a string of murders done by a terrorist group called Adonis. Under the threat of death, Ichika is forced to investigate the X-Day Incident together with a group of former police officers
Review: My first otome game on the Nintendo Switch (Lite), but far from the first one I’ve ever played. Though it’s a far cry from that one – which means there’s (thankfully) been some improvements to the genre after so many years.
First of all, this game is primarily a detective and mystery game and secondarily a romance game, though the romance still bears a lot of weight in the story (more so in some routes then others), which isn't in itself a bad thing since it’s what I was expecting from the reviews I read before purchasing.
It sets its tone right from the first scene and doesn’t hold its punches after that. Though there are many moments of levity between the MC and the chosen love interest, they feel natural within the story and never like they’re putting the action on hold.
Speaking of action, I feared that it would be difficult to fully get into it given the nature of visual novels in general but the sound effects and the voice acting really sell it. In terms of voice acting, Yuki Kaji is of course a standout, as usual, but none of the cast felt like they were dragging their feet or anything like that – from the main characters to the most minor of background characters, everyone gave it their all and that was clear to hear.
Now onto some of the bad stuff – chief of all, the translation/localization. I noticed a lot of times where the characters called me ‘Ichika’ in the dialog box, which is very much not the name I picked. And, although my japanese is basic at best, I noticed some odd choices in translation; like oddly modern slang that felt especially out of place in high-intensity scenes. Okasaki saying ‘you take the L on this one’ during a shootout is not something I could’ve ever expected.
For the price I expected a little better, especially considering the time they’ve had to fix it, but it’s also not the absolute worst I’ve seen.
Still in the negatives section, we have the routes and how unbalanced they feel when played back to back. From what I understand, most people don’t even play every route, let alone back to back, but I’m a completionist so I can't help it. Also given the nature of the story and the way you have to get every good ending in order to unlock Yanagi’s route, that seems to be what the devs wanted you to do as well.
When I say the routes feel unbalanced, it could be seen as a good thing or a bad thing; the issue is that while Enomoto’s route felt like one episode of a romance show, Okasaki’s feels like a whole action blockbuster – there’s a lot more action, interpersonal conflict and overall stakes. Not to mention that it felt more structured overall, even though Okasaki wasn't investigating a specific case like Enomoto. The order in which I completed them (Enomoto – Takeru – Okasaki – Shiraishi – Yanagi) seemed to exacerbate the problem, but it made it so the mystery was unveiled slowly without being spoiled before it was time.
Each love interest will have its own section, because they deserve it, but I will point out which ones I liked most:
Best route: Okasaki, Yanagi, Takeru, Enomoto, Shiraishi.
Review: Enomoto was the first route played and in terms of introductions, it’s the best one to start with – it's full of fluffy goodness while giving you just a little taste of what Adonis does, although id say it does not do a very good job of preparing you for how dark and dramatic the story will get.
Though it’s adorable, its lack of dramatic stakes in comparison with the others makes it somewhat forgettable. It's a great route to start with or for those looking for a lovable goofball to romance but it falls somewhat short in other regards.
Enomoto as a character is basically the only one that acts his age – he's goofy (sometimes unwittingly), clumsy, easily flustered, nerdy but incredibly genuine. He also sets up a precedent for this game having quite good representations of mental illnesses as he acts a lot like someone with depression might and after what he went through its completely understandable, though im grateful it doesn't take over his whole character.
Overall, his route is nice, fluffy and not very daring, though as the first route, it works just fine.
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Sasazuka Takeru
Rating: 4/5
Review: Given the rating, it might surprise you to know that he really pissed me off at first, though I do feel that's the point. Even now, knowing why he's like this, the way he acts still rubs me the wrong way during other routes.
He's a very well-written example of the type of character you have to know completely in order to like and understand them – which happened somewhat suddenly for me, before I realized I'd become fond of his high intellect and tsundere mannerisms. Watching him work really sold how inexperienced Hoshino is in comparison, no matter how annoying he was about it.
Truly, despite the revelations that come later, Takeru seems to be the love interest that shows the most unexpected sides of himself – being surprisingly willing to comfort Hoshino even before any kind of affection is established between them.
The plot of his route is also a great opportunity to see the truth behind who we think to simply be shallow background characters like Mochida, Minegishi and Akito.
Some very important and serious topics are brought up and handled very well during his route, like panic attacks as well as gun violence and the need for gun laws – which I did not expect after Enomoto’s comparably lighter route.
Overall, love the grumpy cat energy at the end and he became an unexpected favorite of mine.
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Okazaki Kei
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: If you can't tell by the rating, he's one of my favorites and of course Yuki Kaji’s voice acting has something to do with it, though I didn't really expect this at first. I was certain my favorites would be Shiraishi and Yanagi, but it was not so (we will get to that).
In terms of first impressions – I found Okasaki to be somewhat off-putting at first and the romance between him and Hoshino to feel a little “insta-lovey”, but once it was revealed why he feels this way, it ended up making more sense than I expected it to!
The heavier topics were handled wonderfully and he is a great representation of someone with passive suicidal tendencies – this route’s more serious moment hit me the hardest out of anything in this game. Showed that this world and the current situation aren't black and white (much better than Shiraishi’s route).
This was by far the most action-packed route, in my opinion and everything from the visual effects to the sounds were chosen very well, which greatly helped immerse me in the action despite the 2D aspect of the game. Despite all this action, this route really felt well-balanced between the romance, plot stakes and personal stakes – plus every aspect felt like it was given the necessary time and care.
My only complaint is that Okazaki suddenly pulling out ultra-modern slang really threw me off and just didn't fit with the rest of his dialogue.
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Shiraishi Kageyuki
Rating: 3/5
I usually love this character archetype, which is why I thought he’d be my favorite route, but that ending…
In terms of plot progression, this is absolutely the last route to play before unlocking Yanagi’s – so many spoilers. The plot revelations were great and generally well executed as well as balanced adequately with the romantic scenes.
The romantic progression between Shiraishi and Hoshino felt good and pretty realistic to how a relationship with someone with this kind of childhood trauma would go – because of this it feels heart-wrenching and kind of frustrating most of the way, so I’d say this route is more angst than fluff absolutely. Although given his personality and situation, none of it feels like it absolutely would not happen.
Now that ending – first of all, the “good ending” does not feel like it at all, so much so that I had to look up whether it was. It’s so bleak and depressing that it has tainted my view of the rest of the route, not to mention that it kind of comes out of left field.
Overall, the route itself is very different from the others and the “good ending” doesn't feel good at all, so I’d say I’m quite disappointed with this route that I thought would be a favorite.
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Yanagi Aiji
Rating: 4.5/5
This route has to be 2 things at once – Yanagi’s route and the finale of the game. As you can see by the rating, I think it did both rather well.
The VA did mostly pretty great, except for a few monotonous moments, although his and Shiraishi’s argument is probably the best written and acted scene in the whole game, I wish they’d given Masakazu more opportunities to really yell and be angry, even if it makes sense why he wouldn't in most of these situations.
In terms of the “Zero” mystery, his identity became obvious the moment this route started, though I wouldn't say that dampened my excitement much. I will say that Saeki’s motivations and general attitude seem quite simplistic and generic in comparison to the topic central to the story and the heavy topics breached. He’s disappointingly predictable and somewhat boring, also what he was doing with his voice as Zero kind of got on my nerves after a bit. The Zero Ending didn't help this feeling as it didn't seem to have any build-up and just didn’t make much sense overall.
To get some small things out of the way before I touch on the romance; Shiraishi’s psyche felt better explored here than in his own route somehow; the guys have great chemistry which I wish we got to see more often and the action scenes with all of them were stellar; the final showdown was kind of short and anticlimactic but I guess that can't be helped since most of the story was already resolved; great individual character wrap-ups that feel like actual endings.
Also have to mention that there were still some errors in the translation, particularly in an important choice near the end that completely changes the meaning of it.
Now, onto the lovebirds! Firstly, the part before the affection starts felt longer and with good reason which helped these two feel like they had a better foundation before the actual romance. Though their connection through the backstory felt a little predictable but generally well executed (could’ve had more build-up though).
The scene with the little kid started off really cute but the brother/uncle jokes just reminded me that this is Japan…
The CG’s are gorgeous and help to really show the two’s affection for each other – they feel much more grounded as a couple than the others, even though their relationship is more layered and complex.
Although I felt that Yanagi’s fear of commitment could’ve been explored more deeply as well as better explained, the romantic moments still felt well-earned and adorable.
Overall,my favorite route along with Okazaki’s, though that’s 50% Yanagi and 50% because it wrapped up the whole story neatly.
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