Serafina's Crown

[h2]Royal Court, Political Intrigue and Romance[/h2] [b]Played Character Route Order: Roza ◈ Lorenzo ◈ Arken ◈ Serafina/Reuben ◈ Kallias ◈ Kendal[/b] [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i] is one of those Visual Novels where I was wondering for the longest time if I should even give it a try, or if I were better off spending my time on some other game in its stead. It just didn't seem very appealing to me before I started to play it, but the debating system along with the diplomacy theme mentioned in the description piqued my interest. In the end, I'm really happy that I gave it a shot since it was an utterly enjoyable experience for me, which I'd really like to share with you, especially if you have a hard time deciding whether or not this story about royal court, political intrigue, diplomacy, and romance is worth of your time. I know there is an audience for this kind of Visual Novel, the more it baffles me how underrated [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i] apparently is. Before I begin to write my thoughts down, I'd like to mention that this is the sequel of [i][b]Serafina's Saga[/b][/i], which takes place seven years prior to the events of [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i]. Alas, the prequel is not available on Steam, but you can download it for free at [url=http://woodsy-studio.com/vn/serafinas-saga-visual-novel/]Woodsy Studios Official Homepage[/url] It's not necessary to read the prequel to understand the plot of [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i], however, it does help with understanding the subtext. And with it being free, there really is no reason not to play it! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1571399723 We assume the role of [b]Odell Perin[/b], a young woman that always felt somewhat indifferent about politics before. I don't know about you, but not being highly interested in politics is something I can perfectly relate to. Everything she ever wanted was to enjoy her freedom together with her beloved [b]Lorenzo[/b]. That was until the day she reluctantly had to travel back to her homeland [i]Darzia[/i] to attend the voting that is supposed to determine the next heir after the former Queen died in a hunting accident. Her lover Lorenzo gave her a bracelet, the [i]Divinity Dial[/i], as a parting gift. Little did she know that his gift is going to be more meaningful than previously thought. To everyone's dismay, they find out that [b]Queen Belatrix Grandil[/b] didn't die in an accident, but that she was assassinated. Many nobles suspect [b]Serafina's[/b] husband [b]Reuben[/b] to have murdered the queen. Even so, basically every contender could be the culprit, and as the only neutral person in this whole dispute, it's up to Odell to act as the regent to help to elect the next king or queen of [i]Darzia[/i]. As the regent, her tasks include but are not limited to calming everyone down, attending to important matters in the meantime, while finding ways and solutions to put a halt to the ongoing disputes, although she unwillingly had to assume this position of power. Odell needs to make irrelevant but also impactful decisions that are additionally dedicated to one of the four worshiped wild gods. At the same time, her decisions raise her stats that'll help her to make progress in the debates. While being the key person in every debate, she has to take one side to argue in their favor and to try to win the discussion. The mini-game for that is quite simple, but it can also be a little annoying and frustrating as it is not only predictable but also feels like it's based on sheer luck. You should always save before the start of a dispute since there is a high chance that you will either lose it due to RNG, or a thoughtless misclick that can cause you to have to start all over. When she wins a debate for her chosen party, their house rises while the opposing party's house drops in rank. If you are thinking about the [i][b]Harry Potter[/b][/i] house cup, then you're on the right track. It is precisely this system that determines who is going to become the next heir. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1577175637 The story has many branches; while some of them focus on finding out who murdered the former queen, others focus entirely on supporting one of the candidates. Odell can even decide to take matters into her own hands and to act solely on her own behalf. As you can see, your decisions can lead you to many different, exciting paths. The romance paths are quite enjoyable, even if they're clearly not prioritized. You'll also unlock CGs when you have reached a key moment with your chosen romance interest. The variety of romance options regarding different relationship models and the inclusivity of same-sex options was something I found very appealing, and it was executed in a manner where I found myself enjoying every route in one way or another, yes even Kendal's. The characters are believable, well-developed, and, most importantly, they feel real, which makes it incredibly easy to grow attached to them. All in all, I enjoyed Roza's and Lorenzo's routes and ends the most. It's rare for me to like, and even less to say something nice about an English voice-over in Visual Novels, but the partial voice acting in [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i] is excellent and sounds professional enough. I really enjoyed every second of listening to it. It was not cringy at all, except for Lorenzo's voice acting. [spoiler]But I really loved his voice when he spoke without the fake accent after he outed himself as Lokke.[/spoiler] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1571399814 A feature that I find quite interesting, but doesn't affect the gameplay (and can also be disabled if you like) is that Odell's hair color constantly changes and can take on many different nuances throughout the game, depending on the decisions you make, that is. Even CGs are affected by this. You can choose between two hairstyles along with a few other things to customize Odell a bit more to your liking. It's not much, but it's still nice to be given the option to change a few things about her appearance. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of the artwork, but I got used to the rather crude art style [b]Woodsy Studio[/b] uses relatively quickly, and now after playing the majority of their games, I'm even growing to like the art style a bit. Not because it's so gorgeous, but because it's unique – in a good way. If you've already played one or two [b]Woodsy Studio[/b] Visual Novels then you'll know that the facial expression of the characters often seems unintentionally funny. That's something [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i] has in common with other titles, however, I think that gives the game an incredible and easily recognizable charm. Ultimately, everything fits together nicely, and if you approach [i][b]Serafina's Crown[/b][/i] with an open mind, you will experience an engaging, mature and well-thought-out story about royal court and intrigues with many redeemable qualities and likable as well as unlikable characters. [h3][quote]𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33853800/]𝐎𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐤𝐚𝐢'𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐞[/url] 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐑𝐏𝐆 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬[/quote][/h3]

I am really surprised by how good this game turned out to be. I've played first game about Serafina (in "Serafina's Crown" she's not a main character, in the first one, she is). It's a prequel to story presented here, but you won't have any difficulties understanding what's going on if you skip previous game - actually, I recommend it, since here, they went with some sort of "canon" ending for Serafina, so it may be quite disappointing to see your decisions don't have any impact. What I remember about story in the first game? Not much really. A little bit about setting and lore, few characters (many of which have a important role in "Serafina's Crown" as well, or at least make a cameo or are mentioned by someone) and the feeling that it was "alright" game. Just it. It was okay. Writing was solid, but not very engaging, story was long and detailed, but, at certain points, badly paced and not deep enough. Various, yet not so interesting endings and a lot of characters with great potential, that didn't seem to be fully used. [b]So what about this game?[/b] It does almost everything right. I was a bit concerned at the very begging (because of one too dramatic, emotional good-bye scene), but the story quickly pays off. Game mechanic (regarding very interesting necklace) is great, I enjoyed the debates (although they are really easy once you get used to the system) and its consequences. Characters are unique and even though some of them feel a bit "stereotypical", they all have a certain depth to them. I like the politics in this game, the various intrigues (although I wish there was more of it, especially regarding main character), military setting, lore and many different ways of approaching the situation - plus reactions of other characters if you choose to agree or disagree with them. Everything feels natural and realistic, which makes the game very engaging. [b]Bad things about this game? [/b]Well, I wouldn't say it's really "bad", but I found voice acting really not suitable for the characters and at certain points few "groans" made me laugh. I know why many developers these days decide to voice their games - because players demands it, but I've never seen the appeal in this, since in so many instances, the voices are not "professionally" done and thus take away from immersion instead of adding to it. To put it shortly: It's great, engaging story and a deep, unique visual novel with so many different outcomes and high replayability, which makes it worth so much more that the base price. Try it.

I loved Serafina's Crown so much that as soon as I was done with it, I went online to the developer's webpage and bought the preceding story the same night. I have over a dozen story/novel game titles in my Steam library, both visual and non, and half of them are garbage. But I keep trying because eventually I find titles like this that make it worthwhile. What made this title standout for me? In this particular case, I couldn't find a character in the story that I did not like. Even the most unlikable one had a certain malevolent charm. With many stories I find I'm barely moved by the protagonist, let alone the supporting characters. In this story, I was so interested in the supporting characters I felt I had to get the original story immediately. Also, the voice acting for the whole lot of them was impressive even when compared to mainstream expensive titles. They seemed so energetic and invested, it made it much more fun. This is primarily why I recommend this game. I feel there is a good chance other visual novel fans will really like these characters as well. Additionally, the storyline itself is very enjoyable, the political/debate system intriguing, and the visuals engaging. A couple cautions. First, not all text is voiced, mainly just the major parts of the storyline. I purchased the title without expecting the voices so it was just a bonus for me. Second, it can be more difficult to win the debate mini-game if you don't focus on one character/house to support. Call me neutral or wishy-washy, but I kept spreading my points around even when it meant losing some debates. Still, I got the ending I was hoping for, so I'm not complaining.

I am very pleased with this romance visual novel. The protagonist is a person of color. There are other people of color. There are queer characters / romance paths. And - get this - there are polyamorous characters. HOLY F*CK! Thank you. Just thank you, Woodsy Studio for all the diversity in your VN, and actually acknowledging polyamorous people exist and portraying them in positive light. The story, outside of the romance paths, is quite good. The protagonist is not a princess or queen, but a regent. The game features a mini-game of sorts that involves debating and winning debates affects certain aspects of the story. As regent, the protagonist makes several important decisions about her nation's affairs. Some people have compared this VN to Long Live the Queen, but I don't really see it like that. LLtQ had more to do with stats and very careful planning, whereas, Serafina's Crown is not really like that. Making choices affects stats affiliated with certain gods in the game, but there's a lot more leisure to say whatever the player actually wants to. Also, [spoiler]there's only one way to die, and that's breaking the oath the protagonist can take during Roza's route.[/spoiler] I thought the art was just fine. I admit that it's a bit simplistic, but I don't think it's bad. I guess people are complaining about it because it isn't anime-style and beautifully airbrushed. Just because someone can view the art as ugly doesn't mean it's bad. Minor complaints: There were some typos. I also saw one instance where a word was missing from a sentence. I can see from the achievement icon that Belatrix, the former queen, was a POC, but it's weird that a portrait of her isn't shown in the game at all. Her character spoken about quite often, but I felt it was odd to leave out what she looked like. I know there's a VN that came before this one, but it's always nice when games can be played individually. I can't get over how awesome this VN was and I definitely recommend it.

I started playing [I] Serafina's Crown [/i] because I enjoyed other games created by these devs. Though honestly I didn't expect much as the release date was years ago and...I'm not really a fan of politics but luckily I was mistaken! Quite soon I immersed myself deeply into those political intrigues. Plus, the meeting of the representatives of the main Houses had the same name as our Russian House of Parliament. I found it amusing XD The story itself feels quite short BUT it has some important problems my MC had to solve via debates. For example, election of the next royal successor, investigation of the queen's death or the right approach to suddenly appeared God. There were so many issues to discuss: of great and minor importance. It was exciting! I liked the intricate, elaborated system of different Houses, worshiping different gods and following different policies. It was great fun to debate over literally everything. Usually, when I play visual novels I quickly detect the most interesting route, or two routes if the story is really decent and then just finish the others for the complitionist's sake. Here I thought I knew what God-patron/house/life perspective I respect and gonna pursue but...I actually enjoyed absolutely every route. That was amazing! I tried out some contrast options and found them refreshing! I honestly couldn't judge anyone for their different views, they were depicted in such an appealing way. Take Rosa, for example. I dislike GxG routes, and her personality wasn't pretty to me. During my first playthrough I didn't support her at all, her House earned almost zero points. She was too bent on war, fighting, seemed too cruel, always quick to punish, kill... the measures I found too drastic and barbaric buut when I tried to shape my MC similar way, tried to look at everything through her perspective... I suddenly realized how enjoyable it felt to be strong, stubborn, that chin-up MC's sprite filled me with great resolve too. And it happened all the time in every route! That's some magical kind of immersive writing! https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2642611349 Another example, I looked at Kendal disapprovingly first, thinking he was just a shallow epicurean fellow focused too much on pleasure and relaxation. But playing through his route he turned out to be not that simple and...relaxing with him felt really too good not to indulge myself xD So, absolutely each route felt unique, representing totally different views, but equally enjoyable. Though again the game's main focus wasn't on romance, those intimate scenes were as short as possible but enough to leave some pleasant yearning aftertaste. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2644868897 Welp, what I'm grateful for: +partially voiced novel. That line “Whyy do I bother?!” was my favorite in the mini-game xD The way it was pronounced mmm *drooling*; +lots of endings for a short story; +appealing characters, captivating plot (tho it was soon obvious who the real culprit was); +cards and achievements, no profile limited features \o/ so I got one more “perfect game” on my profile! +art is far from perfect, that crooked Arken's nose when he stays sideways made me burst into laughter BUT it's still nice and feels unique, plus CGs felt better than usual; +MC's customization! A player can choose the outfit (not too many options but it was engaging anyway) and MC's hair color changes depending on what House you support. The way your inner convictions are reflected in appearance is amazing! Reminded me 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' a little bit. And elite's representatives' outfit also changed if their rank became higher, thanks to my support. It was fascinating! Only Kendal remained the same being already at the top of elegance XD https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2644869074 +the choices are numerous and so diverse: choosing the appropriate ball preparations, writing a poem (picking up the fitting lines was great fun), answering a historical quiz... So far from typical choices we make in many visual novels! And you know, whatever happened after some crucial choices it didn't seem as if I failed (except accusing innocent ppl), I just had to experience some new, different, not necessarily wrong 'reality'. +looots of save slots! I learned to sincerely appreciate this feature having played so many VNs with not enough save slots; +useful steam guides. It seems obvious enough how to reach all endings and achs but sometimes it was too frightening to imagine I'd fail and will have to debate again and again XD +despite all seriousness of political matters xD the story-telling was funny enough to make me laugh from time to time XD +I liked color presentation of the choices, so it was easy to understand in favor of which House my choice was going to be; +I was contemplating where to put mini-games, I really hate them. I consider them a waste of time in visual novels buuut here it was fun to debate (though I still think it WAS a waste of time while replaying the routes) BUT it was actually something unique! I love VNs because I have some kind of power xD to influence the events but here I wasn't always the winner, so the characters sometimes made their own choices, contrary to what I wanted. It made me feel frustrated sometimes but it felt so realistic, it was as if the chars became alive, with their own free will I had to respect... That was a great experience! Though soon I understood all the main strategies and almost never lost after that but it was enough to feel overwhelmed! Minor complaints: – debates are unskippable (for understandable reason) but it makes replaying the routes so loooong and tiresome; –I wish all those debate rounds and arguments were without shaking as if an earth-shake accompanied it all the time; –CGs were quite nice but there's no gallery. At least I didn't find it xD maybe it was technically complicated to make due to customization, lots of visual variants, but it felt sad I can't recollect the best game's moments browsing through the CGs; – the list of typos is not the shortest, during all these years it could be fixed. So, I highly recommend the game! You know, I had it in my steam library for years! I saw that the reviews were mainly positive, I saw that four of my steam friends reviewed it positively too buut I still thought the game was not my cup of tea. Politics, intrigues, mini-game... eww. I was so mistaken! Oh my! So, if you doubt, just don't! It's great! I wish I played it earlier <3 [table] [tr] [th]More thoughts about the game in a [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/readingnook/discussions/0/3164335241614047639/] Reading Nook [/url][/th] [/tr] [/table]

The highlight of this visual novel is its engaging cast of flawed characters who all have interesting chemistry with the protagonist. The art is rough -- a lot of the sprite poses look physically awkward and the CGs are just awful -- but the wide variety of expressions and poses lend a dynamic sense to the characters that's missing from a lot of amateur VNs with small art budgets. The plot structure is linear, but there are many choices with small effects. I especially liked the way the ending is structured; there isn't a clear right answer, and even solving the murder correctly can't satisfy everyone or tie up all the loose ends. It's a nice note of realism without feeling too much like a downer ending. Most of the love interests aren't my personal preference (except Arken; as an oyajicon, I was pleasantly surprised to find he's actually romanceable), but the protagonist is a well-developed character who matures and grows over the course of the story, not just a player self-insert, and it's worth playing through all the romances to see her interactions with the characters. It's also interesting to see a poly romance with an established couple, which I don't think I've ever encountered in a visual novel before. My main dislike is the mini-game; it's all right in the beginning, but once you figure out a strategy and get some abilities to help out, it's just repetitive busywork, and even more tedious when you replay the game several times to see the different endings. It would be nice to have a skip option after your first playthrough.

Serafinas Crown was a very pleasant surprise. It's a sequel to Serafinas Saga (sadly, not on steam), but it's not necessary to play the first game. I didn't and had no problems to follow the story at all. The strongest point are the characters. They were very different from each other and felt like real people. Not-so-professional writers tend to let all their characters sound pretty much the same, no matter how old they are or what background they have. Not so in Serafinas Crown. The story was very good, there were lots of options to solve given problems, and different outcomes to it. I won't spoil anything here. There's partial, really nice voice acting as well. The only thing people might dislike is the artwork, although I have to say I didn't mind it. It might be a bit rough, but it's still nice. The CGs felt a bit out of place, but I couldn't care less. I played the game 5 times to get all the achievments and all endings (skipping parts I already read), and it took me about 16 hours to do so.

Seja bem vindo a história de Dom Odeill Perin. Uma jovem inexperiente no ramo das ciências políticas, mais é convocada a lidar com a paz entre 4 reinos; suas escolhas irão definir o futuro sobre : guerras, economias, paz entre os povos e a evolução. A história do jogo é muito bem construída e para conquistar seus objetivos tera que se forçar a ter certas relações com alguns arrogantes sem noção, ajudar a caçar um assassino e até mesmo auxiliar um determinado ser numa depressão. O jogo conta com diferencial de ter uma mecânica de discutir certos pontos no tribunal, baseado na sua experiência com as falas com os NPCS ao longo da campanha; o quanto mais você ver os diálogos, mais preparado estará para debater suas ideias e se defender dos ataques. Se prepare para impor mudanças e enfrentar reinos em meio ao caos, um joguinho muito bem feito. Com conceito legal de política na visão de um novato. Claro que o game é em especial para quem curte o gênero, se quer iniciar no Romance novel, não comece por ele; tem palavras mais difíceis do inglês e poderá se frustrar um pouco com não evolução da história.

I'm quite pleased by the diversity of this story: Diverse political views (some of which very modern), diverse interests, diverse (and deep) character background, diverse national matters, diverse personalities, diverse profanity (yep), diverse deities, diverse (and interesting) choices, and diverse sexual preferences (maybe more than you'll think of...). The voice acting are kind of okay for me, and I don't actually like the music and the debate system. But the story alone is strong enough for me to recommend this visual novel.

This is now pretty muchy my favorite VN game now but i am a sucker for intelligent (or seemingly intelligent) political conspiracy dialog games where graphics are not that important but the impact of decisions are. Not that many games of this type so i find this very refreshing in a sea of VNs The plots. the good dialog and good/bad sides you learn of the characters. I love it. Buy this at any price if you like VNs that are of this particular sub-genre. No Sakura girls here or any of that stuff. Just good storyline and surprising events that you as a regent have to deal with. Definitely a overlooked gem of a game as the game has been around for quite some time and not that many reviews.