Belle Automata: Chronicle I

Super cute! I really like Aureve as a character and seeing how she developed in each route was really nice. I love the art style, soundtrack, and even the voice acting. Really lovely experience overall!

I was intrigued by the idea of a Beauty and the Beast-esque romance VN told with androids, and this game fully delivered. In this installment, 2 out of the eventual 6 romance routes are available. There was far more voice acting than I expected, which brought even more life to the story. The game also ran like butter on the Steam Deck, allowing me to easily finish the routes almost all in one evening while swapping to random locations throughout the house. I did have to use a guide to get to some of the endings, as some of the choices that actually led to the perfect end seemed to go against what I felt the character would like/dislike. But it was only maybe one or two choices that I had wrong, and then the rest were pretty easy to figure out as you play through the game. I'm glad that the Kickstarter campaign for this game was a success, as I can't wait to get my hands on the next installments to see the routes that were not included in this game.

[b]Type of Game: [/b] Otome – Romance Visual Novel (heavy focus on romance) [b]Length: [/b] About 7h (for all endings) [b]Story: [/b] 9/10 (8.5 for Victor’s route, 10 for Nightmare Prince’s route) [b]Art: [/b] 9/10 (without CG: 9.5/10) I got a free copy to review this game as a curator. Honestly, I enjoyed this game more than I initially thought I would. It is especially good for an otome game because it has a consistent story and, while the focus is still romance, it manages to describe different kinds of romantic relationships that depend on the heroine’s experiences and the player’s choices. The story is… Well, I was actually pretty surprised to read that the main character is an android, a self-aware android, to be exact. After her previous owner died, she was sold to another family or more like to a shelter for self-aware androids. There, she is supposed to find a way, how to live for herself and not for someone else (like her previous master), and find purpose in her existence. Well, obviously this “new life – new me” story wouldn’t be considered an otome game without romance. As far as I know, the Kickstarter went successful, so there will be part 2 and 3 with the routes for the other guys, but for now we only can choose between Victor and the Nightmare Prince. Victor is the harsh and straightforward butler of the mansion and the Nightmare Prince is the heroine’s saviour and employer. Depending on your choices there will be totally different events going on. Not only does the heroine’s life and future change, but also her appearance, personality and friendships. It actually very cool too see this huge of an impact, although I am not sure if I do fully agree with the actual development of the story (especially with Victor’s route). Besides that, the art is really good, although I was surprised how much worse the CG’s are than the character designs. What I also really liked is the voice acting. Especially because the voices of the androids were changed to really sound similar to how an android would sound. It really helps the game to be immersive. Nevertheless, I did find something I am not that happy about: The difficulty to get the perfect ending. Honestly, I am not that amazing in finding “the right answers” in these types of games, but I think it is still a bit extreme that you get the “normal ending” with the Nightmare Prince already, if you have three wrong answers. I would have liked, if there had been for example “key events” that have an impact instead of the overall accuracy of the answers. It’s not that much of a big deal because you can look up a guide though. Another thing is that you should keep in mind that not that much changes between the endings. So, let’s say, you got a perfect ending. Then, the bad ending will be basically the same story with slightly different dialogues, but with a totally different ending. All in all, I did really enjoy this game and I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to play it. It makes me sad that there are not a lot of reviews, so that this visual novel is very much underrated. The routes were nice and well-written, the character designs are good and the characters are unique and have a consistent personality. Actually, I liked all of them, but found myself in the end falling for the Nightmare Prince. I really adore this guy more than I should. His story was very touching and cute, especially when you get the perfect ending. I didn’t like Victor’s route as much in comparison, to be honest – I didn’t really like, how the heroine was behaving because I couldn’t really relate to it. So, if I’d have to give it a score, I’d give a 10/10 for the Nightmare Prince and an 8.5/10 for Victor probably.

Aureve is just so, so pretty! I love her design. I love her eyes, her hair and her ball-joined features. Everyone’s designs are lovely but the MC is the best in my opinion. I also like her personality – her curiosity about others and just the simple warmth in the way she interacts. She’s a darling. I didn’t except the full voice acting. I don’t usually like full voice acting and usually turn voices off but I liked the electronic touch to the androids’ voices and decided to keep the voice acting on in this game. I think it was quite nice in the end. The CGs are super cute, but the disparity between them and the more elegant art style of the sprites can be a little jarring the very first time, though it’s not something that detracts much from the game, just something I noticed. The story itself is wholesome and sweet. I also enjoyed how Aureve changed her hairstyle in each route. It was cute to see the characters figure out and navigate different emotions. They break down how emotions feel and why they feel them. It feels raw but also soft. Both Victor and the Prince were great love interests in their own ways. In Victor’s route, I was delighted to see Aureve put her own autonomy and decisions over her feelings for him. Their romance was sweet and all about figuring out how to communicate in a way the other understands. In the prince’s route, the two of them were so sweet and awkward. I enjoyed their discussions of change, and the unexpected angst. I love how romance wasn’t ‘be-all, end-all’ in both routes. I’m also curious about Zaffre, Diego, Roman and Klaus. The little hints about the kind of person they are makes me look forward to the next chronicles. The story of this VN is one of self-autonomy, respecting other people’s autonomy and finding out what kind of person you want to be. I like how the characters respect each other’s decisions even when they don’t agree with them. Good communication between characters and their determined attempts to understand one another is what makes this VN enjoyable to me.

Enjoyed it and would say to give it a try. Its different as you are a AI yourself and not a human

Tl;dr: This is a brilliant game. Play this if you're a romance-lover out there who wants to read about respectful, complex and heartfelt love stories, and where your character is treated as an independent, valued and respected person pursuing their own hopes and dreams. This game will make you laugh, blush, AND cry, but you won't regret it. Side effects may include deep philosophical thoughts, dramatically raised standards for romantic games and relationships platonic or otherwise, and potentially even renewed inspiration to pursue your own personal ambitions in life. I recommend this, and all other games by Jellyfish Parade, wholeheartedly. The romances are tender and enchanting, believably woven into the lives of the characters- and while the love stories are central, they are not all the player character/MC is defined by. Aureve/MC goes on a journey of friendship, self-exploration, and discovery, realising inner strengths and ambitions and learning new ones, pursuing her own hopes and dreams thanks to her newfound freedom. None of this, critically, solely revolves around or relies upon the new love in her life. MC/Aureve's successes are due to her own ambition, persistence and diligent hard work, meaning her achievements are her own, irrespective of how the romances end or don't. The MC/player character, Aureve (and I highly recommend sticking with the preset name because the voice actors say it with such emotion, it's worth it) is amazing, in wits and style, and has a distinct personality. Speaking of voice actors- they're incredible, absolutely powerful performances of emotion, and beautiful nuances in the spoken and written dialogue. Even if you're on the fence about how the voicing uses a slightly synthesised effect, I found I acclimated fast and grew to love it, especially with how it fits in perfectly with the androids and setting. All the characters' illustrations, facial expressions, postures- their hands, as well- are so expressive and reflect their personalities so well. The art is stunning, all characters' eyes are like jewels; I love the blink animation that really shows them off. The MC's hair especially, in each iteration, is just fairytale-beautiful. The mansion setting is a classy modern futuristic/space age haven, with occasional 'human' homely touches that make it all the more appealing. There's an exquisite care and attention to detail that draws the reader in- like (minor spoiler?) the mention that the mansion's owner put in specially adapted light switches in the house to open at the pressure of an android's hand, where others were designed to respond to the warmth of a human's. Now, the androids can help themselves when they need something, and can operate and access basic household functions, giving them agency like never before. A very early scene about freedom SO resonated with me, I was instantly hooked. The emotion in the subtle expressions, the words and the voice of Victor in that scene was awe-inspiring in its delivery. These little touches feed beautifully into the MC's journey of friendship, self-exploration, discovering inner strengths and learning new ones. This is not a romance game where the MC may as well be 'a table lamp', with no agency or personality to speak of- or even a bobble-head, nodding along unconditionally with everything their chosen love interest thinks/says/does. In fact, this game actually rewards the player (with increasingly good -> 'perfect' endings) for making choices that are indeed compassionate, but also often choices that are more genuinely thoughtful or even quite direct when necessary. It's not one of the typical otome games that forces the MC to be as people-pleasing and unconditionally agreeable as possible, in order that the love interest might decide to 'love' you back- as if that's an adequate reward for sacrificing all autonomy, integrity, hopes and dreams. This game has the powerful message of finding love by being genuine and true to oneself, maintaining your own hopes and dreams, and pursuing your own ambitions. All MC/Aureve's achievements are due to her own diligent hard work and effort, and her successes are also her own, irrespective of how the love stories themselves end. This message of self-affirmation can't be emphasised enough, especially in this genre. I love the inspiring values at the heart of all Jellyfish Parade's games. I hope the new kickstarter goes well, and that these games get all the notice that such lovingly crafted stories deserve, so that many more can find and enjoy them. I've played so many more hours already on another platform, and regret nothing. There are just SO many artfully crafted details in this game and this world- in things the characters say, or do, and brilliant flares of creative genius throughout; I can't list them and most of them would be spoilers anyway, so all I can say is, enjoy this game and the masterful weaving of words.

I really enjoyed this game. It was cute and also on point with its commentary. The are was beautiful!

love it