East Tower - Takashi (East Tower Series Vol. 2)

I really love this series and definitely recommend it. It's much more than your basic dating/romance VN. This is the 2nd instalment plays with gender a little bit more as both characters kinda play around with their gender presentation for different reasons. There's quite a bit if replay value to this due to the different endings and achievement hunting. I personally head canon the main character as a non-binary person, although the dev's indicate this wasn't the intention. But by cautiously playing with gender identity and it's place in romance really is a nice thing to see done well (and without crapping on us trans folk). You do best to play the entire series really to get the most out of it, as the last one in the series really just goes over and above expectations.

I first gave this game a thumbs down because I felt forced to play it in German and I really disliked the translation, even though the shop page stated it was playable in English. The developer was so friendly to explain to me how to change the language, which not only shows they still care about their game (it's an older on after all), but also their concern about their customers. Aside from the translation problem I would have recommended East Tower from the beginning, because I enjoyed the story in general. It is lighthearted but has some depth, which builds up further the deeper you get into the whole story (of the complete East Tower series). The voice acting was pretty decent, and while I know not all ppl are fond of the artwork, I think it's not so bad. I got used to it and found it similar to Captain Tsubasa (which was successful in it's time). The characters are interesting enough, so no one should despise them for their looks, right?

This review covers all 4 of the East Tower games in one. Simply put, the game isn't very good. The art has occasional good moments but most of it is pretty bad. The story is set up in such a way that it could lend itself to an interesting discussion of gender identity and digital sexuality but it instead chooses to do cliché "oops, I tripped and grabbed your boob" moments. There are dialog options but the game is still very linear; you either die instantly, find a solution, or pick a solution that gives you a bit of extra dialog. I would not recommend any of these games except for Kurenai (which was admittedly pretty good). However, there are parts of the Kurenai story that won't make any sense without playing at least a bit of the other ones. The game is also way too expensive. I bought them all as a set with 40% off ($18 total) and I feel ripped-off. There are much better VNs available for much less. Takashi, Kuon, and Akio were each only about 1.5 hours of play time, which is not a great value. Finally, every time you finish a section (and there are at least 7 sections per game) the game tries to get you to post to social media. That really pisses me off. It takes me out of the moment to try to get me to advertise for a game that I paid for. Dear game devs, please don't do that!

this game made me lol. you play as a bug eyed person in wikihow art world and you must find your heterosexuality in a very homosexual environment. as hilarious as it is... the game isnt worth anyone's time.

Basically the same as the other gaame. Basic & Boring. Still cannot recommend, its only use was 100% it for the stats.

East Tower is a sparkling hidden gem!

This is the second game in the East Tower Series so I'm writing this assuming you played the first and wondering if the second game is worth it I like this game a lot more than the first game! Takashi is a lot more charming of a partner character imo than the first volumes guy. I also really like the chemistry of him and Sakuya and how they both struggle a bit with gender identity. I feel like him and Sakuya have a history which makes it easier for me to ship him with Sakuya and gets rid of the Romeo and Juliet syndrome of falling in love with someone within a few hours. It felt like this game gave a lot more insight into Sakuyas past and how she became the way she is. I appreciated how Takashi reinforces that he loves Sakuya whether Sakuya identifies as a guy or girl, saying he fell in love with Sakuya both when he thought she was a guy and a girl. As a trans male myself seeing a character being supportive of a person going through problems with gender identity and telling them they love them regardless is something really powerful to see. If you played the first and liked it I view the second as pretty much nothing but improvements. Considering some of the things Kuon says in this volume were a little eyebrow raising so i'm personally looking forward to playing the 3rd volume myself.

This sequel to East Tower: Akio has more problems but also more highlights than the original. Some of the stages are more convoluted than those of the previous game and also female Takashi's voice is grating to listen to. Nevertheless, it IS voiced, and that's more than can be said for many visual novels on Steam. Plus, the flashback scenes are priceless and worth a second playthrough if you didn't see them the first time. I highly recommend it due to the strong latter stages of the game, although occasionally it feels like a chore to get there.

Tags: Adventure - VN - Visual Novel Additional Tags: Delete Local Content & Remove from Library TLDR: Genderfluid oriented VN with hard hitting instant game over dialogue options. Decent exposition for an intro. In this iteration of East Tower, most of the more basic elements of the plot seem to be at play, so it would probably make a good first chapter to the series. The other participant for the 7 chapters obstacle course is another person who is mentally challenging their gender, so in the VR environment they swap back and forth alongside you which actually is intriguing at times and usually plays out well in a dignified yet quirky and somewhat credible manner. The sci fi arcs, and the whole idea that each chapter has a hidden meaning or is a facet of the character's personality just does not hit as well. The challenges are very contrived, and their solutions even moreso. Picking the special romantic option apart from the regular ending option and the instant game over option almost feels like an RNG dice roll ( it is not it is pre-scripted) but the lack of logic gives it that finish and quality regardless. While the series as a whole as its merits, it shines and falters pretty much according to what you see in this intro. The sci fi elements get a bit of a bump at the end once the all the gender stuff has been established and largely played with and explored, with a bit of a twist ending. It is on the overall intriguing, and probably actually worth keeping for someone who is actively seeking content on this specific topic and niche. It is hard to see it done in a non-preachy manner and I really did enjoy the overall tone and direction. There are a lot of blurry and confused moments in the series as well, when in trying to build suspense they obfuscate too much, and the branching dialogue does cut out a lot of important lore for no real gameplay gain so a redesign of it would had been nice. One that would allow different playstyles with different results that do not end in an immediate game over might had been more appropriate, and staying in theme with the whole idea that you can manifest anything and be whoever you want in the world of East Tower. In other words, the message of the game and the way it is scripted clash at times. I would rather archive this due to its shortcomings and seek it out from the hidden library on the oft chance I have a reason to revisit it. Otherwise the four entries listed as separate games do clutter the library, the cheesy superficial way in which progression of the plot happens really does hold the title back.

The 2nd out of 4 East Tower games Target: Female audience mostly Type: Otome (female heroine, boy love interests) Playtime: 1hr Price: too much Origin: Smartphonegame This sequel gives a little bit more towards the characters which makes it a whole lot more interesting than the first game.. its still no high quality Vnovel yet its at least readable. The first one doesnt realy give any information this one doesnt give aswell.. you could easily start the quadrology with this title and skip Akio unles you want more later on Since i own all i will aswell read all and review all.. they are not my type of novel overall (mainly due to the female audience market) yet as a Vnovel fan you even can enjoy one of those stories 5/10 +1 for the voice acting -> 6/10 recommended on high off sale and mostly for girls - the other parts seem to be better so far Suitable for children as there is no nudity or similar