“About
An otome (Girl pursues Boy) dating
simulation game, Lucky Rabbit Reflex sees our seventeen-year old
heroine beginning her first and final year at a new school. Will she
find friendship - or even romance - amongst the motley crew at
Northmain College? (Or a decent fashion sense, at the very least!)
Game Features
19 endings
5+ romanceable gentlemen
75 unique CG's
150+ unique items of clothing and
accessories
CG/endings gallery
178,861 words ”
This is an older otome game. I believe
it was released roughly July 2011, so I guess it's not that old. As
the offical summery vaguely covers. You play as a young girl (you get
to pick her name) who transfers college in her very last year of
sixth form (Though I was under the impression that sixth form happens
in high school not college). This game offers 5 romanceable guys plus
a secret character with lots of different personalities. You have the
best friend type who likes to tease you, the quiet type who is
actually a really nice guy. The broody, 'don't talk to me' type. The
play boy and finally the cutesie younger guy who really hates being
treated as a kid. There are also 5 girls you can befriend. If you
complete one of the girls path which involves not romancing any of
the guys, you will receive a special item from them that will help
increase your stats during the stat raising part of the game. These
items carry over saves and through into a new game.
As soon as I found this game I was
really excited to try it out because it's the first visual novel I've
come across that's based in the UK – Where I currently live. It was
great to see all the British slang that I know and love and that
money was in pounds (£) instead of dollars or euros. For someone
like me, it was just that little extra touch. I actually can't
remember how I came across this novel as when I first got into these
types of things I used to google for visual novel games and not once
did I get directed to this title. It's such a shame too.
As I briefly mentioned, this is a stat
raising novel which I usually hate but this one was somehow
different. I'm not sure if I just ignored it this time because of my
excitement of a British based game or that I'm actually getting use
to them. Either way, I generally had a lot of fun. You have 4 basic
stats: smarts, charm, social and fitness but there is also stress.
With any stat building game, different guys like different stats but
you also have to make sure to balance them out as they will determine
whether you pass your A-Level exams at the end of the game or not.
Stress is built up as you preform different activities throughout the
week. If you preform them successfully you receive less stress than
if you were to fail something. Stress can be decreased by relaxing
during the week which will, in turn, decrease your main stats sightly
as well or going out during the weekend. However, going out on a date
will not have any effect of your stress levels so you have to balance
this out carefully as the higher your stress, the more likely you are
to fail an activity.
Although this is a stat building game,
there is still tones of story to be had here. Several event
throughout the year such as, Halloween, Christmas, Valentines day and
even your birthday provide a nice chance to see the guy you're
perusing a little more. In fact, some of the boys will give you
gifts that can help with raising your stats if you have it equipped;
such as, a journal that will help raise your smarts skill. These
items will only stay with you for your current game though. While I'm
on the subject of equipping items, it's also possible to go shopping
on the weekend to buy new clothes. There are three shops with tones
of items to choose from with a few different styles – the punk
clothes being my favourite. The guys have their preferred likes and
dislikes when it comes to how you dress too and they will react
accordingly when you invite them out on a date. They can also
remember what you wore on the previous date so make sure you mix and
match or they might comment about how dirty they think you are. This
I loved. It's realistic if nothing else!
So since we covered the fact that you
can buy clothes I'll go over quickly about how to obtain money.
Firstly your parents give you some allowance each week. It's a measly
£5 but it all adds up. Secondly, you can get a job. Different jobs
also require different stats, such as the job at the library which is
always available will require a certain level of smarts. There are a
total of four jobs in this novel and three of them are only available
if you befriend a certain person or pick a certain option while
talking about jobs. You know, 'word of mouth' type thing. These jobs
include working at an arcade, a café and a high end fashion shop –
the latter being a little more complicated to hear about. Despite
what job you apply for, each will give you £10 per week for working
one evening per week.
The main thing you should remember
while applying for a job is that you can't quit and pick a different
one somewhere down the line. You have to work there for the remainder
of the game. So be careful if the guy you're after isn’t working at
the place currently available to you.
As a side note, I'd personally only
worry about getting a job if you're after one of the guys. When it
comes down to it, the girls really don't care what you wear – in
fact, if you invite them out on the weekend, you don't even get the
option to choose what you wear.
Such as with the job option within this
novel, there are also four after school clubs you can join. Again, I
believe once you join zed clue you can't change but for this, you
don't have to go if you don't feel like it. The clubs are athletics,
music, drama, and netball. Each guy again, has their preference. And
although you don't have to attend them if you don't want to, I would
advise that you do as most of the best endings require that you've
attended a certain club x amount of times and have seen so and so
events through them.
I believe that covers the basics of the
game so now I'll start with the heroine and then cover the guys.
Personally I quite liked the MC's personality. Her physical
appearance gave me that 'tom-boy' vibe as she has short hair. Her
distinctive feature was that she always wears a beret. Quite unique.
As for her personality, she isn't the naïve, dense, innocent girl
that is typical for visual novels. In fact, she's constantly thinking
how zed guy is easy on the eye or that she wouldn't kick him out of
bed, etc. She knows what she likes and also knows a lot about
different things depending of what choices you choose during dates
etc. She just feels like your typical 17 year old!
So, the first guy – Marius Blitz.
Marius is one of the first guys you'll
meet on your very first day at your new college. He's a member of the
athletics clubs as his dream is to become a professional runner.
Although he's serious about his dream, if you're lucky enough to come
across him during a visit to the gym you'll find that he's always
slacking off there. He's also the person to talk to if you fancy a
job at the arcade. Such as his attitude towards the gym, he will try
to force all his work onto you in the beginning.
Marius likes to joke around so he likes
a girl who can joke around with him in return. He also likes athletic
girls so make sure you're visiting the gym often to work on your
fitness.
I kind of got the feeling that the
creators of this visual novel favoured Marius as he seems to have the
most CG's and the most screen time. His events just seemed to be
everywhere.
As I said, if you plan to pursue Marius
you must work on your fitness, but this will in return get you a lot
of jokes about how you're more manly than feminine. To really
appreciate Marius, you're going to have to enjoy the type of guy that
likes to tease you. This kind of reminded me of how twelve year olds
flirt and although this isn't my cup of tea, once I overlooked this,
he really was a sweet guy.
As a side note, his birthday is the 3rd
of March and his preferred clothing for the MC are Punk, street or
sporty. Really easy to achieve as if you mix your punk clothes with
your sporty clothes you tend to get street.
Marius was also the hardest one for me
when it came to getting his best ending. Maybe it was because I
started with him first, but I couldn't for the life of me get him to
send the MC the required email to unlock certain events that were
crucial for his best ending.
Overall, to me, I think Marius would be
more suited to be a really good friend than boyfriend material.
Shuppin Marchelaure
Shuppin is the other guy you're likely
to meet first in this game. He's quiet and comes across as socially
awkward when he first meets the MC. You'll hear a lot of things about
Shuppin such as, most of the girls in the lower years have major
crushes on him and that he tends to sleep through most of his
classes. That may be because he's an extremely busy person. His dream
is to become a musician and his preferred item is the guitar though
he also plays the violin. Shuppin can potentially become a member of
the music club if you reply accordingly when asked if you'd prefer
more guys or more girls to join the club.
Shuppin also works at the French café
if you'd like to work with him. The boss is a little eccentric but I
found him kind of amusing at the same time. The bromance between the
boss and Shuppin is endearing!
Shuppin is fairly easy going once you
get to know him. While speaking with him, try to pick the humble,
caring answer and you're all set really. Once I got the hang of the
game, I managed to get his best ending on my first try.
He defiantly has the most complex
background and family life out of all the guys.
His birthday is the 13th of
February (pretty close to valentines day) and he likes his ladies to
wear clothes classed as punk, cute or young madam.
Overall I really enjoyed playing
through Suppin's route. He was sweet and caring. I can defiantly see
why all the younger girls at the school like him. <3
Thirdly we have Rhett Sugden.
You can meet Rhett in a few ways.
Firstly, you can increase your smarts stats to unlock an event at the
library. The second way to meet him is to get a job at the library,
and finally, if you join the drama club, he's also a member.
Rhett is the jerk of the school. To get
his attention you're going to have to match his sarcastic attitude.
Don't try to please him to begin with. I had a lot of fun with his
route mainly because I got to pick an option that said, “You know,
you're kind of a dick!”. I think that's a first I got to use a
reply like that. Don't let his glare discourage you though, as behind
that angry front Rhett actually has a heart of gold. You will find
out that he's actually a really caring guy to those that stick it out
and manage to get close to him.
He gives the MC the nickname of “Beret”
as of course, she's constantly wearing one. It actually makes the
rare times he calls you by your name stand out that much more. And if
I'm honest here, I kind of liked having the nickname.
Rhett is very hard working and will
constantly push himself to get everything he needs to done on time.
If you managed to get on his best path you will find that he pushes
himself to the extent where he actually makes himself ill and comes
down with a fever... He's kind of adorable at this part :3
His birthday is the 21st of
November and he likes it when the MC wears clothes that are classed
as elegant or casual. I had a hard time finding these types of
clothes as they are not my style at all and although it may sound
expensive to buy elegant clothing, it isn't actually that bad. He's
also a huge fan of anything horror so taking him to see a horror
movie or going into the haunted house will please him.
“Beck” Betchaku.
I'm just gonna start off with the fact
that my sisters name is Rebecca – 'Beck' so this whole thing was a
little awkward for me right off the bat.
Beck is the playboy of the story. He
loves his woman and he doesn't have a problem stringing them along
and showing them off. His route is a little more complex than the
rest as there are two ways to get his best ending.
Beck wont be found in the game straight
away. If fact, you may not even see him until after the new year or
you may spot him as early as Halloween. Beck is actually a substitute
teacher for the art class. His passion is for tattooing which he is
currently an apprentice for. Because of this, you can only go out on
dates with him to the tattoo parlour where he works. To me, this felt
more like I was just hanging out there and he happened to also be
there.
Being the huge playboy Beck is, he's
really hard to impress. You have to have a high charm stat for him to
even answer the phone to you and if you want a compliment out of him,
you have to follow the fashion articles, which you can find through
your emails, to the letter. This can make getting his best ending a
little tricky as once a month you will have to check the article and
then go shopping which will mean one less date with him a month.
Considering he doesn't show up in the game right away it means you
can end up just wasting time. Ways around this however, are to either
keep note of what is in fashion while you're on a different guys path
or look for a walkthrough for his style and then just buy in bulk
before meeting him – There's nothing like being prepared after all.
Beck's birthday is also the 6th
of December (My sisters birthday is this month too... :/ ) so it's
unlikely that you're going to be able to offer him anything for it.
He does however, actually work at one of the shops in the shopping
centre called 'Boutique TIDE'. Getting a job there yourself is a
little tricky. You need to have a high charm stat and have befriended
his sister Lamb to be offered the job.
Overall I felt dirty and cheap playing
through this guys route. I hate playboys and generally steer clear of
them in real life but as this was a game, I had to give it a try. But
no, it wasn't for me. Also, and this is the first time I'm going to
have commented on a guys ending, but even in Beck's best ending, I
just felt like my poor MC became another notch on his belt so to
speak – I'm so sorry Maddi D:
Perth Rastegar
Perth is another one of the guys you
wont meet right away. You can cross paths with him either by joinning
the netball team or by joinning the music club and saying you'd like
more girls to join zed club. To get his best ending, you have to be a
member of the netball club though.
Perth is a very baby-faced guy who is
often mistaken for being only 12 years old - I think he's actually 15
or 16 though. In the MC's school journal she even wonders if chasing
after him will make her a 'cradle-snatcher' which is a little
amusing.
Because Perth is constantly fighting
his child-like image, you should choose options that sound like
you're praising how manly he is. Also try to be cute and caring.
Yeah, I know, it sounds a little contradicting – Manly and cute but
hey, just go with it.
Perth works at a smoothie stand at the
shopping centre, and although you can't get a job there too, you can
unlock a few events with him by picking to go to the shopping centre
alone during the weekends.
Perth comes across as being very
dedicated to the MC and a few times he says in his emails and whatnot
to her how he isn't a stalker... I found him to be a little creepy in
places to be honest... Somewhat obsessed I suppose I'd call it but
other times he is really sweet.
Unlike the other four guys, Perth only
has two endings, as apose to three.
Another thing I should mention about
Perth is that he's been brought up to speak English in a very posh
way so he has a speech-tick so to speak. For example, he will say
things like “It is” then quickly change it to “-It's” which,
I feel a little mean saying, but I found this amusing. I could
imagine some people finding it really annoying though. I believe he's
like this because of the fear of being bullied... or something.
As is now customary for the guys in
this post, Perth's Birthday is the 8th of August so again
I doubt anyone is going to be able to offer him a birthday pressy and
his favourite trends are cute and young madam.
Finally – The secret character!
This guy only has one ending – Best
ending, and strangely enough, he turned out to be my favourite guy
overall. So... who is he? Well if you played one or two routes for
the others guys, It's highly likely you already met him. You know
that rude guy that works at 'Kit locker' that will barely say
anything to you or only gives you a mere 'Hmph'? Yes, that's right –
It's him. To unlock his route you must visit Kit locker every time
you have a chance on the weekend. Eventually the MC will notice he's
eyeing her and get it into her head that he thinks she trying to
steal. The truth is, he's actually just curious why a pretty girl
such as yourself is returning to a sports shop constantly. And to be
fair, you have to visit the shop so many times, that if each time you
did go there, you were to buy something, you'd have a years worth of
sports clothes and then some!
From this meeting you will find out his
name is Mardi and he's French. He is currently studying at the nearby
university and he had to take a job at Kit locker to pay for his
finances. Now, you can't get a job here yourself, but what you can do
is keep visiting each weekend. From here on out, he will be happy to
see you and greet you with a small sentence instead of his usual
sigh. This will happen for the next few times. After visiting a
certain amount of times more, you'll unlock an event with him and the
cycle will repeat.
I know, I know, it doesn't sound very
exciting and it really isn't but I think he's well worth the hassle.
Mardi is the sweetest thing ever!! Sadly though, as he is only a
secret character which means not a lot of people that got the game
first would have known about, he only has three CG's :(
Seriously though, I think his French
accent was the thing that got me. And to clear that up, his dialogue
is actually written in a way that forces you to think with a French
accent so I'm not being weird here or anything... I hope :D
I would cover the girls but this post
has gotten a little long already and I'm not sure how many people are
really interested in/care about the female friends you can make in an
otome game so I'll skip it. However, I would recommend getting a
little friendly with at least one of the girls when you can because
it will unlock an event in which you are invited to a fun fair and
you may get to go on some rides with your dream guys!
Overall this game reminded me of
another visual novel I've played before called 'Heartstring Bugs'.
Both have the unique feature with the clothing system and how the
guys will have their preferred style and will remember what you were
wearing on the last date. The job system and the after school clubs
etc. Even both of the MC's 'main' friend was an attention whore in
both novels. Either way, I did hugely enjoy this game. Like I said,
it was the first stat raising game where I generally enjoyed myself
and because of the British theme going on, it was close to home for
me. Not all of the guys were to my liking (which should be how it is
anyway) but I really loved playing as this heroine! She was a nice
change from the other ladies I've played as. This girl actually felt
like a 17 year old with the things she thought about and how she
acted – it was very refreshing. In stat building games, that seems
to be the main focus but for this one, I'd say it was 50/50 on par
with the story. The art was very unique and to my liking. I do like
to see some crazy looking chins from time to time haha. Another thing
I liked was that you're offered a special item to help with your stat
raising if you do decide to pursue a girl as a friend instead of just
going for the guys and leaving it there as at the end of the day this
is advertised as an otome game so it's nice to be offered that
something extra just for breaking out of the norm. The quality of the
writing is decent, although in my personal opinion, nothing
ground-breaking. However, I don't recall ever spotting any spelling
or grammar mistakes and I have to say, that is defiantly a first for
that! I'll also point out that there aren't any bad endings in this
game. Marius, Shuppin, Rhett and Beck all have three endings each
which are good end, best end, and dual end (dual end being where you
raise either Marius and Shuppin's or Rhett's and Beck's bars to full
and you eventually have to pick between them). Perth has a good and
best ending while Mardi only has his best ending that I mentioned
already.
Sadly, from what I understand, the
company that made this game – Studio Super63 doesn't have any other
visual novels besides this one on offer currently, and since this
game was released in July 2011, I'm not entirely sure if they are
still going or not.
I enjoyed this novel and it's quickly
become one of my favourites so yes, I'd recommend this in a heartbeat
– It's just a shame I've only recently found it. Sadly, it's not
freeware so you do have to pay for it but it's a few quid cheaper
than most VN's and hey, there's a demo if you're on the fence about it. Otherwise you can grab your very own copy of it here!
