Developer: Idea Factory
Publisher: Idea Factory
Platform: Switch
Tested on: Switch
Battlefield Waltz – Review
Enter the military school Nirvana and meet a bunch of interesting people on your journey to become a better fighter and discover who you are. Battlefield Waltz is an otome visual novel that was originally released in Japan in 2014 on the PS Vita. The Nintendo Switch port serves as its English localization debut. So, if you’re a fan of the genre, now is the time to jump into the world of Ortesia and accompany the main character, Lan, during her days at Nirvana and watch her fall in love with one of the game’s many love interests.
Story
In Battlefield Waltz, you play as a young woman named Lan, who lives in a secluded and peaceful village with her parents. Then, one day, her village is attacked and her father falls in battle. Lan, her mother, and a little girl who is their neighbor try to run away, but two attackers close in on them. Lan desperately wants to protect them, which triggers the mythic cursed sword housing the soul of a child called Wilhelm. The sword and soul then become attached to Lan. Because of the sword, Lan ends up at the prestigious military school called Nirvana. As Lan tries to find her way there, evil forces try to get their hands on the cursed sword, and war may be on the horizon. The general storyline isn’t that original and focuses a lot on Lan’s school days and not enough on everything else that’s going on in the continent of Ortesia.
The first part of the game, the common route, is also quite long. However, the people Lan meets here make up for that. All of the characters you meet are very well-written, and they all have their unique personality and background stories. Getting to know them all and seeing the dynamics between the different characters is a real pleasure. The whole cast will grow on you and make you want to keep playing the game for hours on end. Also, Lan’s search to find herself and what she wants for her future is rather relatable to a lot of people.
As an otome title, romance is a significant focus in the game. After the common route, you’ll get to one of the romanceable characters’ routes. There are six character routes available. Only three of them are available at the start, but you’ll be able to unlock the three others later on. Each route is as interesting as the next. Depending on your taste, some of them might be more impactful than others. Yet, all of the subplots are worth playing through.
Graphics
The visuals in Battlefield Waltz are gorgeous. They’re vibrant, oh so colorful, and give the game a magical feel. All of the main characters have a unique design that’s incredibly detailed. The backgrounds, too, look very lively because of the diverse color palettes. The minor characters, on the other hand, either have no artwork at all and are represented by a voice, or their design is plain, and most of them don’t even have eyes drawn on them. So, it’s one of two extremes, really: the main characters are stunningly detailed, and the minor characters lack a lot of detail. Fortunately, it’s not extremely disturbing, and it’s compensated for by the beauty that the other characters and backdrops radiate.
Sound
The soundtrack of Battlefield Waltz is highly enjoyable, and you can listen to the BGMs at your leisure in one of the menus. The opening theme is especially catchy, and the music throughout the game adds a lot to the magical fantasy vibe of it, or adds thrill to exciting moments. The voice acting is all Japanese and well done, too. Unfortunately, the main character isn’t voiced, but that isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker.
Gameplay
Battlefield Waltz is an otome visual novel in which you play as Lan, who is trying to find a place to belong. As it’s a visual novel, the gameplay is rather limited, but there are a couple of things to mention. First of all, you’ll have to make certain decisions in conversations that will influence your relationships with Lan’s love interests. These decisions determine the course of the game and which ending you’ll get. Battlefield Waltz has six romanceable characters and routes that all have three endings, and therefore has a total of 18 endings.
Besides the fact that your choices determine the ending you’ll get, Battlefield Waltz comes with an exploration phase every now and again. In this phase, you’ll get a number of turns to visit certain areas on the map. You might want to look for the character you want to romance here since you’ll get the opportunity to have an extra conversation with them to boost your affection level. This feature adds a little extra to the game.
Another important feature is the story map called Chronicle. It’s used for replayability purposes and collecting all the different endings Battlefield Waltz has to offer. The only problem here is that the game doesn’t explain how to use it, so you’ll have to figure it out by yourself. But once you get the hang of it, it’s a handy tool to use so you don’t have to replay the whole common route to get to the other character routes and ultimately experience all endings.
Conclusion
Battlefield Waltz may not have the most intriguing story, but it has a very intriguing cast whose personalities and backgrounds are all deeply written, and they all look gorgeous. The visuals are stunning, the soundtrack is magical, and because of the Chronicle feature, the game has a high replayability ratio. Besides the long common route and the fact that you’ll encounter some eyeless mercenaries during your playthrough, Battlefield Waltz is definitely a must-play if you’re a fan of the genre.
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