AK2 triple feature: G-Senjou no Maou review

Okay, I know that most of you would prefer if I was translating this game instead of reviewing, but now that other people have taken over, I have the time to give you people a review of this fantastic game! This is going to be a part of the Akabeesoft2 triple feature, part 2 and 3 coming in the near future!

The devil on the G-string (or G-線上の魔王) is a game made by Akabeesoft2 in 2008. Want mind games? Want plot twists? Want an unbelievably cute heroine? I think that G-senjou is the VN for you.

Premise:

Aizai Kyousuke is the adopted son of a Yakuza boss. Coincidentally, he also has a comic relief of a best friend, a sister who’s not really a sister, cute girls all around, and a great love for classical music. While he seems so innocent and generic during the day, he works for the Yakuza while not in school and is actually extremely ruthless and manipulative. One day, a mysterious transfer student comes to the school (don’t they always?), chasing after the shadows of the elusive and power “Maou”, or devil. Both of them are closely intertwined with Kyousuke and his unspoken past, and that’s something Kyousuke can’t run away from. So, let this game of cat and mouse, this game of life and death, this game of love and redemption, BEGIN!

Characters:

Aizai Kyousuke:

The non-typical main character. He firmly believes that money is the most important thing in this world, and seen emotions and human bonds and worthless trash. These feelings were further hammered into his mind at a young age when his adoptive father picked him up: Kyousuke’s family had owned the Yakuza a large amount of money, and he took it upon himself to pay it all back. However, everything that he has done in his life will be shattered when he meets Usami Haru.

He has this amazing connection to “Maou” (who is both HOT and voiced by Jun Fukuyama), and I promise you that you will be surprised when you find out.

Usami Haru

The main heroine and the only heroine that I care about. Don’t take that the wrong way though, she’s an entire Mt. Everest away from the other heroines in terms of awesomeness. There are two sides to her: the moe side and the GAR side. Both sides are filled with awesome, take my word for it.

At first, she is very odd: depressed at random intervals, quiet, and not to mention sporting an insanely huge head of hair. However, she is really friendly after you get to know her better, and she would do almost anything for her friends. She has absolutely extraordinary skills of deduction, and is embroiled in a seemingly endless game of cat and mouse against Maou, her nemesis.

Azai Kanon

Your “not really” younger sister. Being the daughter of a Yakuza boss hasn’t hampered her ability to be 99% genki, and true to her image, she excels at sports, well figure skating in particular. In fact, she just might be going to the olympics, which suits her just fine, as she has inherited a burning ambition from her father.

I hated her. I hated her story, I hated her character, it is a sore mark on a fantastic story, and I suggest that you stay away from it.

Miwa Tsubaki

AKA “Iinchou-san”. Tsubaki is a caring big sister to 4 brothers and sisters, and she is always available for help, though she is naive about the world (she didn’t even know that you can buy stuff from on-line, can you believe that?). Her family owns an apple orchard, but a powerful company want to buy it for development. Her father is dead set against selling their home, but then again, they may not have a choice…

Her story was cute. When I say that, I don’t mean bunnies and rainbows cute, but that it was a nice little story that was heartwarming at times. However, it’s still not A-grade material.

Shiratori Mizuha

This little princess was born into wealth, and her father happens to own the school that most of our characters go to. She is very distant to her classmates, and seems to harbour a particularly strong grudge against Kyousuke…

Unfortunately, she is a failed attempt at being a tsundere, but she is absolutely fantastic in furthering Yuki’s story (once again, don’t bother with her story, there’s really no point in it).

Tokita Yuki

A friend of Haru and an indispensible part of Haru’s quest to defeat Maou. She is very clever and has this intrinsic ability to read people. Add to that some study on human psychology and years of experience in speaking with people, and you have yourself a faultless negotiator. She really dots on people she cares about, and would do almost anything for Haru, whom she teases mercilessly.

Yuki doesn’t have a path to herself, but she has a brilliant role in a bad ending and in the main story.

Story:

The story is structured in a special way. (please ignore my shaky writing)As you can see, the true ending (with Haru), can only be achieved by avoiding the other girls, and the moment that you go down the path of another heroine, you won’t be able to see the rest of the main storyline. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the stories of the other heroines are really worthless. These other stories kind of tie in a few not so loose ends, brushes upon a few social issues, gives out an excuse for a h-scene, but doesn’t really do much beyond that.

HOWEVER, that doesn’t matter, because if you are reading this review then there’s a good chance that you will skip those annoying side stories altogether and focus on the main story. You see, the main story is the cake, it is the icing, it is the sprinkles and chocolate and the extra pocky stuck on top. There are twists and turns and a couple shots of adrenaline for good measure. You will be shocked at finding out Maou’s true identity, and you will be even more shocked as you come to understand every character’s role in the overall story. The story doesn’t lack on comedy and moe (if that’s what you are into), but the focus is always on the elusive Maou, with his seemingly endless bag of tricks. It’s adrenaline laced entertainment, and it is GOOD.

Sound:

The opening (Answer by Rekka Katakiri) is fast paced, the ending song (雪の羽　時の風 by Chata) was slower, the insert song (Close your eyes by Ayane), was a full on ballad, and all three songs are simply amazing. I can’t praise them enough.

The problem was with the background music.

The people at AK2 had a good idea: do remixes of classical music! However, I don’t think that this has worked all that well. Sure, the music fits the mood, but it feels really disharmonious. However, I have heard other people say that they like it, so I guess this is really up to you to decide.

It’s been a while since I’ve played, so my memories of the voices were pretty fuzzy, so I guess I can say that the girls’ acting was pretty good. But, what is really important is Maou’s voice. Fukuyama Jun goes all out with his Lelouch voice, which is absolutely delicious (what? I’m a girl and I proudly admit that his voice is wholly squeal-worthy).

Art:

I’ve never really liked Alpha’s art, and I don’t think that I’ll ever get to love it. The whole thing is horrendously inconsistent (I’ve picked the better ones for this review), and do NOT get me started on the bad sense of fashion (Kanon’s performance outfit is one of the most hideous things I’ve ever seen in my life). The backgrounds are nothing special either, but I suppose that some people will like it.

Story:9.5×5=47.5/50

Art: 7×3=21/30

Sound: 9/10

Programming: 8/10

Total:86.5/100 A-

All in all? This could have been better, but if you like the art and just stick to the main story, I’m SURE that you would enjoy this game! I know I loved it, and I loved translating it too, so you really have no reason not to play it when the full patch comes out!

PLAY IT! MAOU COMMANDS YOU!