Honey Rose: Underdog Fighter Extraordinaire

Well... kind of. I'd like to get in a long review and explain point by point, but what I really wanna do is to get people to play this and the dev taking into account what I feel was literally a bad idea. The game DESERVES to be played, as it is really cute and funny, but there are things inexplicably flawed in the design. I hope subsequent versions or even successive games will stray away from these things, as they really hinder the fun of the core game. Pro: - it's a nice change of pace from the standard VN, it feels more like a sort of long campaign of Punch-out sometimes ahah, or even some kind of Streets of Rage: Teen Story Edition... well you get the drift. The action part is funny. - menu music is awesome. Soundtrack all over the game is quite cool. But what about all those noises? We'll get on that later. - artstyle is cute! Animations are cool, and the artswell. It is simplistic but detailed enough to be enjoyable, and man, what can I say... I wish I could be Red for just one day, she literally shapeshifts inside that suit and becomes totally different from when she's in front of the mirror... but it's all part of the camouflage! XD - happenings are... realistic. But we'll get on this later. Con and somewhat-con: - one of the biggest flaws I found on this is about the reputation system: it is literally faulty. What does it represents? It's not even hinting at a good thing, it makes you seem like you have to build reputation for Honey Rose, to get her sponsorship and let her go all the way to the top, but eventually drops if your parents scold you? Or if you fail to raise suspicion? What the hell? About that meter, aswell. Suspicion meter: that's exactly how the reputation meter should work. It stays up even after days and does not drop except in rare circumstances. Seems more logical here and I don't get why it was easier to build a "punishment" meter than a guidance one. It really made me infuriating. - another HUGE con was about the random events. I get that it was to get some replayability, and even fake the "randomness" of life, but really, how unfunny it is to miss one cutscene or some cute dialogue option because we hadn't time to keep checking in certain locations over and over again? Or refused to reload repeatedly? I liked a lot Nolwenn, actually I was pairing Rose with her in my mind and I'd liked a bit of atleast friendship between them developed but... well. Debug mode says I was in scene 9 with her, and so no cutscene whatsover except that one with Isabelle. It kind of feels weird after the Leslie one. - the ending: to let the player feel the weight of everything, I think there are a bit of overdramatizatez moments. I feel like the game could benefit from a lighter take from Rose, since until then she was a balanced, preppy individual. I felt like playing almost another character the last days, not only for the gloomy dialogues (some of them were really infuriating) but because some reactions were literally deliberately idiot. Could be a personal point, but I tried watching it from a writer's perspective (I do that for work) and it just miss the mark so much. It kind of deluded me, I'll be blunt. Now, for the almost-con part: - the action part could be so much more used. I mean, I get the spirit of the game, but man, wished there would be more matches and it would be more developed, I'm a sucker for these 2D street brawlers! - the noises with character's reactions. What the hell? I get it was to make it a bit more cartoonish, but there are a couple ones (namely: when people get mad and they "whistle") which are sooo obnoxious... and they are also a lot louder than normal volume, so they really stick out. A con for me. - artsyle is cool and somewhat consistent... I only found Red's fighting model to be a bit less "curved" of what we see on the mirror when changing outfits... but it's okay, although I would have preferred red's fighting model to be reflected in the mirror. She's a fighter, not a Barbie! Show those muscles :D - one of the two REAL problem: dialogues. While happenings are somewhat realistic, what makes them feel a bit less realistic is the dialogues. They are written weirdly, they look half-way through your average teen-book and something out of an american movie. A bit cliched, but also a lot unrealistic in some parts, like the parts where your parents talk about sending you to another school as a punishment. The father even laughs that she's being sent. Either he's a psychopath or he's faking everytime we see him getting back home. Someone will be appeased by the cynic writing though, I guess. I like more realistic ones, but it's ok. All in all I had FUN playing it, and maybe I raised expectations way too high, since everything looks really good, but I think the development took a very long while, and things changed throughout the course of it. I can't know for sure, but one can literally see one point where the development took a darker turn of events, leading to what the game is now. It is however fun, and even a possible spring for thoughts. If I get some money soon, I'll be sure to drop something, it sure is a big project. I look forward to next games though, hoping to see more polished ideas!

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This game is much better than I thought it would be. It's funny, has great animation, and a few funny lines. It's basically a time managements/raising sim for a wrestler. You have to help honey balance her wrestling dream and her college courses while also gaining fame for her and keeping her identity a secret. It's also a fighter game, you have to win matches and fight street thugs. Comos are pretty easy to remember and the fights are fun. Overall lots of fun and to top it all off it's free! I wouldnt mind paying for this game though. I hope the developers release something else like this I've really enjoyed my time playing it. If you

A pretty good free fighting game with female protagonist

It's an interesting blend of two genres: fighting games and visual novel. Meet Honey Rose, a regular highschool girl by day who moonlights as a luchador at nighttime. She dreams of debuting in the career that she loves and at the same time complete his schooling to make her parents proud. The player's decisions would determine if she'll be able to excel at both academics and grappling, be able to succeed in one field or the other, or completely fail altogether. Despite the flash game aesthetic it offers a lot of depth and it seems that choices do matter in this game. If the game has multiple endings this would be a blast.

A time management, visual novel, fighting game. The concept is unique, artwork very cute and fitting the game style(s), and the execution is wonderful. I love that a developer took these chances to create something truly original, and it is well done on top of that. The game is fun to play, pure and simple. The pricing model alone is amazing, and I would love to see more devs take this approach. This game is a shining example of why indies are my personal favorites. Absolutely recommend this one for anyone who thinks they might like it. You have absolutely nothing to lose, and a lot of fun to gain. Give it a shot!

I was really impressed with this game. The fighter game aspect makes for an interesting take on the VN/life management genre. Stat-building, etc. in these kinds of games can get pretty montonous sometimes, but I think the wrestling matches in Honey do a good job of breaking it up enough so it doesn't feel that way. The writing is engaging, well-developed, and funny. And of course the beautiful hand-drawn animation is the icing on the cake. You can tell a lot of love went into the development. Definitely recommend this one!