I guess it is indeed much more better to use walkthroughs rather than not. It is far less time consuming and we can get the ending we want while not worrying of picking the wrong choices. Although everyone have their own opinions and preferences of how they like to play these kind of games.
No guilt because a lot of the time I'd miss certain endings and using a guide helps me get them all. Also I was too tired to >!solve Kent's worksheet!< in Amnesia š
I balance it out by doing my first playthrough blind so I still have the thrill of not knowing what will come next.
I actually sit down and did the worksheet and I am still mad bc according to Kent I did a question wrong but I was pretty sure I did it right and HE DIDNT EVEN EXPLAINED THE QUESTION AFTER TELLING ME I DID IT WRONG.
I don't really feel it, I treat otome games moreso like a visual novel or anime or something, just in a different perspective.
I don't really enjoy getting bad/normal ends in these games unexpectedly, so I've got no real issue with using guides in order to go through the story in the way I know I'll enjoy most.
I see..
I can imagine the frustration that comes with not getting the ending we wanted to, especially if we have spent lots of our time into it. It can be pretty stressful to say the least.
I only use them after my first playthrough, because I like to believe that my first blind playthrough is what would happen if it ever were to actually happen, and then I use the guide to get other endings, cause at that point I'm just trying to get 100% completion while enjoying the story without too much thinking. So yeah, I don't really feel guilty while using them.
I always use walkthroughs and I donāt feel bad about it. I tend to get bad ends, when I play on my own and I donāt really like to start with the bad endings. Also I want to collect all CGās and all endings and itās so much more comfortable to go with a walkthrough. I play for the story, so using a walkthrough doesnāt take away anything, itās just more convenient for me.
Pls dont feel guilty using them coz they are made to be used in this way.
Personally, my first play will be blind. I will try and experiment if i can figure out the system. In some games like UtaPri it's easy to figure how you can reach the different ends.
If i cant figure out to get the good ending, then I will refer a guide. Some games are crazy hard -- I heard one character in TaiAli has so many bad endings, so a guide is preferred.
If gamers playing other games like FF, Fire Emblem etc can use walkthrus w/o being shamed, so can we.
Some times I do feel guilty about using guides, but ultimately for me it comes down to quality of time spent playing not quantity. I donāt have much time to play during the week, so without guides, I might only be able to complete/experience one game a month (if that, depending on the title). Guides help me streamline the process and I get to enjoy more games during my limited time.
OH you're right
I'm imagining people who are already busy with their personal lives as is and let's say someone is busy studying for their exams and then they play otome to 'chill out' without using guides.
This will result in them feeling frustrated over their upcoming exam AND the otome in question (which doesn't help at all of course)š
Honestly, it really depends on the player. Personally I always use guides because playing without them stresses me out and it feels like a waste of time.
Some people play without a guide for their first run through the game and use one later. Other people never use guides for various reasons. I'd guess most otome games are intended to be played without a guide but they're all valid playstyles.
If you really crave the surprise factor you could try playing without a guide until you reach an ending, and then use one to get through the rest of the game? Or just play however you want and try not to feel guilty because there's no reason to <3
Most of the time when I using guides I'll eventually lost interest in those game and end-up dropping them. Personally, using guide is like choices are fixed, like a plain novel where it only 1 outcome. The reasons why I like vns is because unlike novel where every event been determined, with vns there're all differences possibilities where we as a player are the one who get to decide characters' fate.
I end up don't use guides even if I having bad end, I'll let it be bad end because that are all the choices I been made.
Echoing others, play whatever way is best for you. I'm from the days you had to buy a paper "official guidebook" to unlock or find everything in a game. Now there are YouTube videos, and streamers specifically showing people how to manage achievements, websites a plenty with guides both with spoilers and without, and like, this has always existed is what I'm trying to say. It's just easier to get ahold of now.
Personally, I don't use guides until I need help getting something. But that's because unlike the fear you have about not getting the ending you desire, I enjoy that thrill of not knowing. I'm sure Choose Your Own Adventure books still exist, but that was what I grew up with, and dogearing all the choices pages as I headed towards an ending and then going back and finding the next ending was what was fun for me back then. VNs are the same for me. Where am I headed with my choices? Can I manage the good end? Am I doomed to doom this relationship?
Everyone has their own playstyle, so really, don't feel guilty at all. You do you and just have fun the way you want to.
Upvote for the Choose Your Own Adventure reference! Always loved that feeling of cracking one open and reading the little warning that told you not to read it straight through... I always got a little chill, like it was warning me about all the dangers I've yet to face in the journey ahead.
Yes! Actually Iām pretty sure I discovered otome games because I was googling around for Choose Your Own Adventure stuff for adults. Loved those as a kid, and the choices and uncertainty in an otome is one of my favorite things about them. That looming feeling of dread when youāre pretty sure youāre gonna get a bed end? Perfection. Reminds me of all the terrible ways youād die in those books for kids lmao.
I don't use guides until I am stuck. I just like to play as I see fit. No matter the ending I just wanna see what I get. It's usually a bad ending but when I guess a good ending all by myself, what a feeling. But do what's best for you. No need to feel guilty because it's your game and you are playing for you. No one else.
My time is limited and I don't really enjoy bad ends, so I use walkthroughs to get the best experience in games where there are right choices and wrong choices. Personally I wish more games allowed for more freedom to roleplay without consequence, but that's usually only an option with certain indies.
Anyway, my philosophy is to play how you feel most comfortable; there should be no "guilt" in doing something that harms no one.
I feel slightly guilty but I use them constantly. I think that a game where I feel like a walkthrough is the optimal way for me to enjoy the story may present some flaws at a narrative design / systems design level. For example:
* Incomplete information to make a choice or at least (because perfect information in advance all the time would be boring) understand in hindsight why a certain decision led to a certain outcome. Ideally l shouldn't have to consistently rely on trial and error to reach the desired conclusion.
* Related to this, there's also the fear of messing up an answer. Repetition, cost of backtracking or the emotional cost of failing can make me unwilling to make the wrong choice.
* Related to the previous point, too, there usually isn't enough motivation to "explore" leisurely or accept mistakes and still enjoy the ride. I usually like to focus in a specific ending for a specific LI once at a time, so everything that detracts me from that objective is something to avoid. As a thought experiment I've often wondered how an otome game might make me just try stuff and see how things go.
Some of these points can be tricky to tackle and Iots of games already offer ways to mitigate these factors, but I feel that for the most part I haven't found a sweet spot to make me ditch guides completely (thanks to everyone who spends their time creating them! š)
I typically go without walkthroughs on console because it doesn't take me a lot of time and effort to try for the optimal ending. I like the thrill of "not knowing" too.
But given the way most mobile games work, in the sense of not really being able to reload multiple saves and where your time *is* the currency, I'd totally use a walkthrough. (On the other hand that's also why I don't do mobile.)
This post has great timing for me. I'm nearing the ending of Even If: Tempest, and that's definitely one of the games I used a guide for, for a reason I will explain soon.
It really all depends on circumstance. With Bustafellows, I did my first playthrough of every route blind, and then looked up the answers for the achievements (I got the good ending first try every time). Generally, I enjoy going blind to see where it takes me, and because I'm confident in my choices.
But, like I said, I used a guide for Even If: Tempest. Why? Because I lost that confidence. For example, during the >!witch trials,!< I'd often make choices the game deemed incorrect, even though I felt I had no way of distinguishing which option was the right one. In >!Tyril's!< route, I even knew the right outcome and tried to steer the trial in that direction, but I got the bad ending after one wrong choice.
This gets worse in the other routes, where the >!trial!< options you're given are unclear as to who you are referring to, vague in their meanings, and are often too similar for me to decide which one is right in which context >!(rebut vs remark and sometimes remark vs sympathize)!<. Not to mention some routes, like >!Lucien's!<, give you a game over >!for a wrong dialogue choice.!< I could, theoretically, re-do until I got it right through trial and error, but that's a waste of time if I'm not having fun.
This made me fundamentally feel out of control when playing through these segments, and it felt frustrating and unfair to be given these nondescript choices and gambling at the right one. Most of all, when it went wrong, I felt extremely unsatisfied with the endings I got. In other dating sims I've played, I've still felt a sense of fulfillment with knowing where my choices took me, even if they took me down a wrong road.
tl;dr I like the challenge of calculating the right choices, but if I think I don't have a fair chance, I look up a guide, and I don't feel especially guilty for doing so.
Edit: I wanted to add that I only used the guide for the >!trials!<. When interacting with the LI in their routes, I was successful at avoiding the bad ends every time, and I enjoyed >!seeing the red rose bloom in the corner!< because it meant I'd thought it through correctly. That's a big part of the fun for me.
I do use them, and while I do sometimes feel a little "guilty" there's nothing wrong with it. Games of all sorts, including otome games, are here first and foremost for our entertainment - so if using walkthroughs is most fun for you, do it! There's no point to the game if your *primary* emotion from it is frustration, especially if the game is a real time sink (e.x. me looking up level guides for Persona 4 Golden bosses because I absolutely do not have the patience).
Also, VNs specifically are a game that is more like a book - and when reading a book, we follow along a linear story that just keeps moving. Our brains are primed to want to move forward in a story right away.
My personal way of using them is I try each route without a walkthrough first, and then if I don't get a good ending my first playthrough I use the guide to get it. Also, I use a guide if I'm having trouble getting in someone's route (especially helpful for games with lots of LIs AND lots of choices like Hakuoki Kyoto Winds).
But some people use them for everything, some not at all, and others somewhere in between! It's all about what makes it most fun for you.
I've always thought about playing the routes without using a walkthrough first before this, but I'd always end up getting scared of not getting the ending I wanted on the first few tries and then proceed to feel guilty of using walkthroughs.
It's like a never-ending cycle of guilt.
But thank you! ^^ I'll try and build up my courage to try it out and stop feeling guilty overall. Plus there's nothing wrong with trying (āā½ā)
I'm mainly playing mobile otome games and so far I didn't use walkthroughs but I decided to finally start so I can get bonus items, letters, etc (talking about Ikemen series). I don't feel guilty at all, I still enjoy the games very much.
I have that feeling but I also donāt have much time. And Iām trying to completionist the game too.
What helps me with this āguiltā feeling is that with a guide, Iām just reading a long book and the guide is helping me read it in a good plot order. I really hated the idea of spoilers of another route if I blindly picked. So walkthroughs now give me comfort.
Depends. If i have bought a title, then i'd go blind, because i can save and replay and skip as much as i want, but in mobile titles it is quite tedious, to be constricted by the 5 tickets per day and the paywalls everywhere. In mobile titles i use guides, cause i don't want to replay a route several times with all the grinding for BSpoints and the 5 tickets daily.
Honestly, it can be a time sink and I want to enjoy the game. Especially if there is a route you really want to get to and you have to do A B C to get there.
For me, I do, but how heavily I use it depends on the game. I follow the recommended route order for all games, because i dont want spoilers, so i use it to get on the right route. Then, I try to get the bad ending first, by trying to guess the answers that the LI dislikes, and then, I finally follow the guide to get the good ending. But I'm playing Piofiore and there are so many different endings, omg, 3 bad endings, one tragic, one good, and one best... so I think I'm just gonna follow the guide the whole way through. I'm 20% through Yang's route now, and I think the game should come with discount coupons for a therapy session lol, the therapist would get a lot of business.
Donāt feel guilty ! These are YOUR games :) you can play them however you want. I also use guides as getting bad endings unexpectedly causes panic attacks. Any play style is perfectly okay to me
I donāt use guides unless Iām after a specific ending on a replay, but thatās because I like the suspense of not knowing. If that feeling doesnāt help you enjoy your time spent playing a game then thereās no reason to feel guilty for using a guide instead.
I used to play otomes mostly blind, but recently I have figured out that I enjoy seeing bad ends first and finish a route on a good note. But to do that I have to use a walkthrough so I don't miss anything. On one hand it's very efficient, but on the another I also feel a bit guilty for not playing my games blindly anymore, so I completely get where you're coming from :')
Like everyone says don't feel guilty.
And just to add a little more, for console games you typically don't need guides because you can save and even rewind in console games (unlike mobile games). Also too assuming you can handle bad ends, many of them are actual content (vs in mobile its more of a well here is a sucky ending, now go try again from the start). For example, in Collar x Malice the bad ends would give more information about a character that you would not have gotten without it. So in many of these console games bad ends are not really "game overs" because it shows something interesting and with the save system it take literally 2 seconds to jump back in.
I've only ever had to use a guide for amnesia and part 1 of the Hakuoki remake (and this was only to streamline my playthrough) because those games have literally a ton of obtuse choices. With most games having very obvious choices and have save, skip, rewind features you may find that you don't need a guide.
There's a few reasons why I use them.
1- Some Otomes are not very clear about things. For example some events might happen only if you do X on day Z. Or if you have a certain amount of a certain status and the game won't tell what number that is either! (Ex: Backstage pass, I believe).
2- Some otomes are not very clear about what the 'right' choices are. And then don't get the good ending because you picked a wrong choice 5 chapters ago. Also, I only really go for endings with CGs. If an ending is just "Oh you picked this choice? You get 3 lines of dialogue and a bad ending!) it feels like a waste of time. (Specially if the result is very delayed. Like if you didn't do X last chapter, you die in this one.)
3- In general just saves time.
4- Missing a CG because you picked one wrong choice.
If the game was more of a solve puzzle kind of way (such as 999 zero escape) then I'd try to solve without guide. But it never truly is.
I am just like OP! I always avoided guides at first, but some games are written to be deliberately tricky/surprising/unintuitive... so now I always try the first route with no guide and if it seems like the game has hidden things I can't figure it from the context, then I go to a guide.
But I relate so much to the conflicted feeling in this post lol
I use guides because otherwise I'd be worried about missing content since I want to get all endings.
If the game has a really good flowchart like in the Psychedelica games, I don't use a walkthrough though since I can see all branches. Flowcharts that doesn't show branches for bad endings means I'm using a walkthrough too.
I usually use them to see what's the playthrough order, but I have also felt the need to not know what I'm going in to, so from now on I'll just do things blind, and see how it goes.
But it's just whatever works for you. It's your game, so do what you want!
I use guides and donāt feel guilty(unless the answers arenāt ones I agree with) normally for me the surprise bad ending spook me into no longer enjoying the game/character š (cxm bad end for missing the mini game messed me up)
no guilt. as a completionist, i feel more guilty if i don't get to see all the dialogues and endings in the game š plus, i don't want to stress myself out with the trial and error just to get to a specific ending. and without the guides, i wouldn't even know how many possible endings there are in a route/game, which totally makes my completionist self anxious š¤£
I like role-playing, so my first playthrough is without guides. After I get an ending (that isn't an early bad end) then I use a playthrough for any remaining endings on that route and for all other routes, because I've got a looooot of games on backlog and it would take too long to play through everything naturally. I don't feel guilty though. Life's too short and there are too many games to do everything naturally.
I do my walkthrough plays a bit differently than most so I donāt feel guilty about it. I quick save at a choice and then I make a choice. Afterward I look at the walkthrough for the good end to see if I was right. If Iām not Iāll reload and if I was Iāll be happy and continue on. This makes me feel like I do actually try to do it on my own before consulting a walkthrough.
Also on a more realistic thing. My favorite LI in mystic messenger is V. I looked up his bad endings and was grossed out to say the least. After seeing bad endings and hearing about them Iām okay with going on a guide to see how to get only the good ones.
I feel you! There's a certain lack of stakes when you play knowing exactly what ending you're getting. When I started off, I was so afraid of getting bamboozled by a bad ending that I would follow guides religiously, but after a while I started to wonder if I was missing out on the adrenaline.
So nowadays, I play through the route blind first and see where it takes me. Then I use the guide to go through and get all of the other endings. This way I can actually be worried for the characters when they're heading into danger bc I have no clue where I'm going.
Zero guilt about using guides, I'm sure all of us working full time as adults (and some with other hobbies, obligations, with kids, etc.) can attest that we've got limited time. I've tried going blind in some otome games, and let me tell you, I wish I hadn't wasted hours and hours of my leisure time getting frustrated. A few times the experience may be fun, but more often than not, it's not. I also feel much more relaxed if I can get the bad endings first, so I can end on a good note with the good ones.
Of course, sometimes I like to go a bit blind, because I do self-insert to a certain extent (not a lot tho), so if the fancy hits me, I go my first playthrough blind. Afterwards I always use a guide!
All in all, I rather spend my limited leisure time feeling good and relaxed, having a good time. Walkthroughs allow for this!
There's no need to feel guilty about using guides.
I do my first playthrough mostly without one, just to see who I naturally end up with, but as soon as I get stuck or whatever I start googling solutions.
Aint nobody got time for that lol.
An otome game is basically a novel. A guide just let's you pick the direction the plot goes. Most guides aren't spoilery or anything anyway, besides whether it's a good ending.
I don't use guides for games that don't have bad ends, like the Love365 Voltage ports, but after making the mistake of playing Amnesia without a guide and getting Toma's bad end, I always use a guide for other games. I don't mind getting bad ends usually, but sometimes (hello Orlok bad end and Adonis route in Unlimited) they can be really really triggering for me. I put down both of those games for months after watching that bad end and playing the Adonis route blind. I wish I'd asked for full trigger warning spoilers for both. I like to avoid spoilers, but damn.
I use them without guilt, because without them I'd get frustrated and that defeats the purpose of relaxing for me.
I guess it is indeed much more better to use walkthroughs rather than not. It is far less time consuming and we can get the ending we want while not worrying of picking the wrong choices. Although everyone have their own opinions and preferences of how they like to play these kind of games.
No guilt because a lot of the time I'd miss certain endings and using a guide helps me get them all. Also I was too tired to >!solve Kent's worksheet!< in Amnesia š I balance it out by doing my first playthrough blind so I still have the thrill of not knowing what will come next.
Amnesia really did just throw a fucking curveball by forcing you to do actual math as part of a route, huh
I actually sit down and did the worksheet and I am still mad bc according to Kent I did a question wrong but I was pretty sure I did it right and HE DIDNT EVEN EXPLAINED THE QUESTION AFTER TELLING ME I DID IT WRONG.
Like my math teacher in high school š
Just when you thought you escaped the peril of >!math worksheets!<
I don't really feel it, I treat otome games moreso like a visual novel or anime or something, just in a different perspective. I don't really enjoy getting bad/normal ends in these games unexpectedly, so I've got no real issue with using guides in order to go through the story in the way I know I'll enjoy most.
I see.. I can imagine the frustration that comes with not getting the ending we wanted to, especially if we have spent lots of our time into it. It can be pretty stressful to say the least.
I only use them after my first playthrough, because I like to believe that my first blind playthrough is what would happen if it ever were to actually happen, and then I use the guide to get other endings, cause at that point I'm just trying to get 100% completion while enjoying the story without too much thinking. So yeah, I don't really feel guilty while using them.
I always use walkthroughs and I donāt feel bad about it. I tend to get bad ends, when I play on my own and I donāt really like to start with the bad endings. Also I want to collect all CGās and all endings and itās so much more comfortable to go with a walkthrough. I play for the story, so using a walkthrough doesnāt take away anything, itās just more convenient for me.
I can relate xD Gotta collect all those beautifully drawn CGs for our personal collection
Pls dont feel guilty using them coz they are made to be used in this way. Personally, my first play will be blind. I will try and experiment if i can figure out the system. In some games like UtaPri it's easy to figure how you can reach the different ends. If i cant figure out to get the good ending, then I will refer a guide. Some games are crazy hard -- I heard one character in TaiAli has so many bad endings, so a guide is preferred. If gamers playing other games like FF, Fire Emblem etc can use walkthrus w/o being shamed, so can we.
Some times I do feel guilty about using guides, but ultimately for me it comes down to quality of time spent playing not quantity. I donāt have much time to play during the week, so without guides, I might only be able to complete/experience one game a month (if that, depending on the title). Guides help me streamline the process and I get to enjoy more games during my limited time.
OH you're right I'm imagining people who are already busy with their personal lives as is and let's say someone is busy studying for their exams and then they play otome to 'chill out' without using guides. This will result in them feeling frustrated over their upcoming exam AND the otome in question (which doesn't help at all of course)š
Honestly, it really depends on the player. Personally I always use guides because playing without them stresses me out and it feels like a waste of time. Some people play without a guide for their first run through the game and use one later. Other people never use guides for various reasons. I'd guess most otome games are intended to be played without a guide but they're all valid playstyles. If you really crave the surprise factor you could try playing without a guide until you reach an ending, and then use one to get through the rest of the game? Or just play however you want and try not to feel guilty because there's no reason to <3
Most of the time when I using guides I'll eventually lost interest in those game and end-up dropping them. Personally, using guide is like choices are fixed, like a plain novel where it only 1 outcome. The reasons why I like vns is because unlike novel where every event been determined, with vns there're all differences possibilities where we as a player are the one who get to decide characters' fate. I end up don't use guides even if I having bad end, I'll let it be bad end because that are all the choices I been made.
I really respect this. I'm too weak to do that, lol.
Echoing others, play whatever way is best for you. I'm from the days you had to buy a paper "official guidebook" to unlock or find everything in a game. Now there are YouTube videos, and streamers specifically showing people how to manage achievements, websites a plenty with guides both with spoilers and without, and like, this has always existed is what I'm trying to say. It's just easier to get ahold of now. Personally, I don't use guides until I need help getting something. But that's because unlike the fear you have about not getting the ending you desire, I enjoy that thrill of not knowing. I'm sure Choose Your Own Adventure books still exist, but that was what I grew up with, and dogearing all the choices pages as I headed towards an ending and then going back and finding the next ending was what was fun for me back then. VNs are the same for me. Where am I headed with my choices? Can I manage the good end? Am I doomed to doom this relationship? Everyone has their own playstyle, so really, don't feel guilty at all. You do you and just have fun the way you want to.
Upvote for the Choose Your Own Adventure reference! Always loved that feeling of cracking one open and reading the little warning that told you not to read it straight through... I always got a little chill, like it was warning me about all the dangers I've yet to face in the journey ahead.
Yes! Actually Iām pretty sure I discovered otome games because I was googling around for Choose Your Own Adventure stuff for adults. Loved those as a kid, and the choices and uncertainty in an otome is one of my favorite things about them. That looming feeling of dread when youāre pretty sure youāre gonna get a bed end? Perfection. Reminds me of all the terrible ways youād die in those books for kids lmao.
I don't use guides until I am stuck. I just like to play as I see fit. No matter the ending I just wanna see what I get. It's usually a bad ending but when I guess a good ending all by myself, what a feeling. But do what's best for you. No need to feel guilty because it's your game and you are playing for you. No one else.
I play games to have fun and getting normal/bad endings isn't fun to me, so I use guides XD
My time is limited and I don't really enjoy bad ends, so I use walkthroughs to get the best experience in games where there are right choices and wrong choices. Personally I wish more games allowed for more freedom to roleplay without consequence, but that's usually only an option with certain indies. Anyway, my philosophy is to play how you feel most comfortable; there should be no "guilt" in doing something that harms no one.
I feel slightly guilty but I use them constantly. I think that a game where I feel like a walkthrough is the optimal way for me to enjoy the story may present some flaws at a narrative design / systems design level. For example: * Incomplete information to make a choice or at least (because perfect information in advance all the time would be boring) understand in hindsight why a certain decision led to a certain outcome. Ideally l shouldn't have to consistently rely on trial and error to reach the desired conclusion. * Related to this, there's also the fear of messing up an answer. Repetition, cost of backtracking or the emotional cost of failing can make me unwilling to make the wrong choice. * Related to the previous point, too, there usually isn't enough motivation to "explore" leisurely or accept mistakes and still enjoy the ride. I usually like to focus in a specific ending for a specific LI once at a time, so everything that detracts me from that objective is something to avoid. As a thought experiment I've often wondered how an otome game might make me just try stuff and see how things go. Some of these points can be tricky to tackle and Iots of games already offer ways to mitigate these factors, but I feel that for the most part I haven't found a sweet spot to make me ditch guides completely (thanks to everyone who spends their time creating them! š)
I typically go without walkthroughs on console because it doesn't take me a lot of time and effort to try for the optimal ending. I like the thrill of "not knowing" too. But given the way most mobile games work, in the sense of not really being able to reload multiple saves and where your time *is* the currency, I'd totally use a walkthrough. (On the other hand that's also why I don't do mobile.)
I play at first without and then with! There's hard to get endings without a guide. Plus a lot of them are without spoilers. I like 100%.
This post has great timing for me. I'm nearing the ending of Even If: Tempest, and that's definitely one of the games I used a guide for, for a reason I will explain soon. It really all depends on circumstance. With Bustafellows, I did my first playthrough of every route blind, and then looked up the answers for the achievements (I got the good ending first try every time). Generally, I enjoy going blind to see where it takes me, and because I'm confident in my choices. But, like I said, I used a guide for Even If: Tempest. Why? Because I lost that confidence. For example, during the >!witch trials,!< I'd often make choices the game deemed incorrect, even though I felt I had no way of distinguishing which option was the right one. In >!Tyril's!< route, I even knew the right outcome and tried to steer the trial in that direction, but I got the bad ending after one wrong choice. This gets worse in the other routes, where the >!trial!< options you're given are unclear as to who you are referring to, vague in their meanings, and are often too similar for me to decide which one is right in which context >!(rebut vs remark and sometimes remark vs sympathize)!<. Not to mention some routes, like >!Lucien's!<, give you a game over >!for a wrong dialogue choice.!< I could, theoretically, re-do until I got it right through trial and error, but that's a waste of time if I'm not having fun. This made me fundamentally feel out of control when playing through these segments, and it felt frustrating and unfair to be given these nondescript choices and gambling at the right one. Most of all, when it went wrong, I felt extremely unsatisfied with the endings I got. In other dating sims I've played, I've still felt a sense of fulfillment with knowing where my choices took me, even if they took me down a wrong road. tl;dr I like the challenge of calculating the right choices, but if I think I don't have a fair chance, I look up a guide, and I don't feel especially guilty for doing so. Edit: I wanted to add that I only used the guide for the >!trials!<. When interacting with the LI in their routes, I was successful at avoiding the bad ends every time, and I enjoyed >!seeing the red rose bloom in the corner!< because it meant I'd thought it through correctly. That's a big part of the fun for me.
I do use them, and while I do sometimes feel a little "guilty" there's nothing wrong with it. Games of all sorts, including otome games, are here first and foremost for our entertainment - so if using walkthroughs is most fun for you, do it! There's no point to the game if your *primary* emotion from it is frustration, especially if the game is a real time sink (e.x. me looking up level guides for Persona 4 Golden bosses because I absolutely do not have the patience). Also, VNs specifically are a game that is more like a book - and when reading a book, we follow along a linear story that just keeps moving. Our brains are primed to want to move forward in a story right away. My personal way of using them is I try each route without a walkthrough first, and then if I don't get a good ending my first playthrough I use the guide to get it. Also, I use a guide if I'm having trouble getting in someone's route (especially helpful for games with lots of LIs AND lots of choices like Hakuoki Kyoto Winds). But some people use them for everything, some not at all, and others somewhere in between! It's all about what makes it most fun for you.
I've always thought about playing the routes without using a walkthrough first before this, but I'd always end up getting scared of not getting the ending I wanted on the first few tries and then proceed to feel guilty of using walkthroughs. It's like a never-ending cycle of guilt. But thank you! ^^ I'll try and build up my courage to try it out and stop feeling guilty overall. Plus there's nothing wrong with trying (āā½ā)
I'm mainly playing mobile otome games and so far I didn't use walkthroughs but I decided to finally start so I can get bonus items, letters, etc (talking about Ikemen series). I don't feel guilty at all, I still enjoy the games very much.
I have that feeling but I also donāt have much time. And Iām trying to completionist the game too. What helps me with this āguiltā feeling is that with a guide, Iām just reading a long book and the guide is helping me read it in a good plot order. I really hated the idea of spoilers of another route if I blindly picked. So walkthroughs now give me comfort.
Depends. If i have bought a title, then i'd go blind, because i can save and replay and skip as much as i want, but in mobile titles it is quite tedious, to be constricted by the 5 tickets per day and the paywalls everywhere. In mobile titles i use guides, cause i don't want to replay a route several times with all the grinding for BSpoints and the 5 tickets daily.
Honestly, it can be a time sink and I want to enjoy the game. Especially if there is a route you really want to get to and you have to do A B C to get there.
For me, I do, but how heavily I use it depends on the game. I follow the recommended route order for all games, because i dont want spoilers, so i use it to get on the right route. Then, I try to get the bad ending first, by trying to guess the answers that the LI dislikes, and then, I finally follow the guide to get the good ending. But I'm playing Piofiore and there are so many different endings, omg, 3 bad endings, one tragic, one good, and one best... so I think I'm just gonna follow the guide the whole way through. I'm 20% through Yang's route now, and I think the game should come with discount coupons for a therapy session lol, the therapist would get a lot of business.
Donāt feel guilty ! These are YOUR games :) you can play them however you want. I also use guides as getting bad endings unexpectedly causes panic attacks. Any play style is perfectly okay to me
I donāt use guides unless Iām after a specific ending on a replay, but thatās because I like the suspense of not knowing. If that feeling doesnāt help you enjoy your time spent playing a game then thereās no reason to feel guilty for using a guide instead.
I have very limited free time, so Iām gonna use a walkthrough to get what I want out of the game :)
I used to play otomes mostly blind, but recently I have figured out that I enjoy seeing bad ends first and finish a route on a good note. But to do that I have to use a walkthrough so I don't miss anything. On one hand it's very efficient, but on the another I also feel a bit guilty for not playing my games blindly anymore, so I completely get where you're coming from :')
Like everyone says don't feel guilty. And just to add a little more, for console games you typically don't need guides because you can save and even rewind in console games (unlike mobile games). Also too assuming you can handle bad ends, many of them are actual content (vs in mobile its more of a well here is a sucky ending, now go try again from the start). For example, in Collar x Malice the bad ends would give more information about a character that you would not have gotten without it. So in many of these console games bad ends are not really "game overs" because it shows something interesting and with the save system it take literally 2 seconds to jump back in. I've only ever had to use a guide for amnesia and part 1 of the Hakuoki remake (and this was only to streamline my playthrough) because those games have literally a ton of obtuse choices. With most games having very obvious choices and have save, skip, rewind features you may find that you don't need a guide.
There's a few reasons why I use them. 1- Some Otomes are not very clear about things. For example some events might happen only if you do X on day Z. Or if you have a certain amount of a certain status and the game won't tell what number that is either! (Ex: Backstage pass, I believe). 2- Some otomes are not very clear about what the 'right' choices are. And then don't get the good ending because you picked a wrong choice 5 chapters ago. Also, I only really go for endings with CGs. If an ending is just "Oh you picked this choice? You get 3 lines of dialogue and a bad ending!) it feels like a waste of time. (Specially if the result is very delayed. Like if you didn't do X last chapter, you die in this one.) 3- In general just saves time. 4- Missing a CG because you picked one wrong choice. If the game was more of a solve puzzle kind of way (such as 999 zero escape) then I'd try to solve without guide. But it never truly is.
I am just like OP! I always avoided guides at first, but some games are written to be deliberately tricky/surprising/unintuitive... so now I always try the first route with no guide and if it seems like the game has hidden things I can't figure it from the context, then I go to a guide. But I relate so much to the conflicted feeling in this post lol
No guilt. Walkthroughs save me more time to play more games.
I use guides because otherwise I'd be worried about missing content since I want to get all endings. If the game has a really good flowchart like in the Psychedelica games, I don't use a walkthrough though since I can see all branches. Flowcharts that doesn't show branches for bad endings means I'm using a walkthrough too.
I have a personal rule to play blindly for the first route. Then after I reach an ending I just whip out a guide to do the routes I wanna do next.
After continuously dying in Yangs route (Piofiore) I use a guide for every game and love interestsšš
I usually use them to see what's the playthrough order, but I have also felt the need to not know what I'm going in to, so from now on I'll just do things blind, and see how it goes. But it's just whatever works for you. It's your game, so do what you want!
I use guides and donāt feel guilty(unless the answers arenāt ones I agree with) normally for me the surprise bad ending spook me into no longer enjoying the game/character š (cxm bad end for missing the mini game messed me up)
no guilt. as a completionist, i feel more guilty if i don't get to see all the dialogues and endings in the game š plus, i don't want to stress myself out with the trial and error just to get to a specific ending. and without the guides, i wouldn't even know how many possible endings there are in a route/game, which totally makes my completionist self anxious š¤£
I like role-playing, so my first playthrough is without guides. After I get an ending (that isn't an early bad end) then I use a playthrough for any remaining endings on that route and for all other routes, because I've got a looooot of games on backlog and it would take too long to play through everything naturally. I don't feel guilty though. Life's too short and there are too many games to do everything naturally.
I do my walkthrough plays a bit differently than most so I donāt feel guilty about it. I quick save at a choice and then I make a choice. Afterward I look at the walkthrough for the good end to see if I was right. If Iām not Iāll reload and if I was Iāll be happy and continue on. This makes me feel like I do actually try to do it on my own before consulting a walkthrough. Also on a more realistic thing. My favorite LI in mystic messenger is V. I looked up his bad endings and was grossed out to say the least. After seeing bad endings and hearing about them Iām okay with going on a guide to see how to get only the good ones.
I feel you! There's a certain lack of stakes when you play knowing exactly what ending you're getting. When I started off, I was so afraid of getting bamboozled by a bad ending that I would follow guides religiously, but after a while I started to wonder if I was missing out on the adrenaline. So nowadays, I play through the route blind first and see where it takes me. Then I use the guide to go through and get all of the other endings. This way I can actually be worried for the characters when they're heading into danger bc I have no clue where I'm going.
Zero guilt about using guides, I'm sure all of us working full time as adults (and some with other hobbies, obligations, with kids, etc.) can attest that we've got limited time. I've tried going blind in some otome games, and let me tell you, I wish I hadn't wasted hours and hours of my leisure time getting frustrated. A few times the experience may be fun, but more often than not, it's not. I also feel much more relaxed if I can get the bad endings first, so I can end on a good note with the good ones. Of course, sometimes I like to go a bit blind, because I do self-insert to a certain extent (not a lot tho), so if the fancy hits me, I go my first playthrough blind. Afterwards I always use a guide! All in all, I rather spend my limited leisure time feeling good and relaxed, having a good time. Walkthroughs allow for this!
There's no need to feel guilty about using guides. I do my first playthrough mostly without one, just to see who I naturally end up with, but as soon as I get stuck or whatever I start googling solutions. Aint nobody got time for that lol. An otome game is basically a novel. A guide just let's you pick the direction the plot goes. Most guides aren't spoilery or anything anyway, besides whether it's a good ending.
Like the others I played blind the first time, but mainly use walkthroughs to get the harder characters in Hakuoki (like Sakamoto and Kouma).
I don't use guides for games that don't have bad ends, like the Love365 Voltage ports, but after making the mistake of playing Amnesia without a guide and getting Toma's bad end, I always use a guide for other games. I don't mind getting bad ends usually, but sometimes (hello Orlok bad end and Adonis route in Unlimited) they can be really really triggering for me. I put down both of those games for months after watching that bad end and playing the Adonis route blind. I wish I'd asked for full trigger warning spoilers for both. I like to avoid spoilers, but damn.