Matsurika no Kei Review: Why this is the best game in 2024

I started being a "professional" otome gamer in February 2021. Since then, I have played in total, about 45 games as shown in my VNDB at the time of writing this post. After playing this many otoges, I began to see a pattern on what types of games I usually enjoy. Of course, this is very subjective but here's mine.

A good otome game should have:

Decent story, doesn't need deep crazy plot but one that's interesting enough
Well developed romance
Likeable LIs and side characters
Likeable (and even relatable) MC
Pretty art and CGs
Great voice acting
Music that fits the setting and atmosphere

Examples of good otome games for me: Steam Prison, Code: Realize, Sympathy Kiss, Utakata no Uchronia, Radiant Tale

A GREAT otome game should have:

Compelling story with excellent writing to develop it
FEELS!!! The romance feels so real!! So cute and spicy and well paced!
Likeable and memorable LIs (with oshi found) + side characters with consistent writing
Likeable (and even relatable) MC
UNFORGETTABLE bad ends that ruined me forever
GORGEOUS art and CGs
AMAZING voice acting
Music that defines the game itself AKA iconic and unforgettable

Example of great otome games: Collar x Malice, Piofiore: 1926, Ken ga Kimi, Tengoku Struggle and now, Matsurika no Kei

And now, Matsurika tops the list of a great otome game in 2024! I can't tell you how many nights I burst into tears thinking about this game after completing it!! After playing so many otome games, I consider myself a bit "jaded" in a sense that I will get all the feels while playing the game, but once I'm done with it, I'm done. I moved on fast.

The only games that HURT my soul that's comparable to Matsurika no Kei are:

Tengoku Struggle (bc of that 1 dude who is too obvious to name)
Collar x Malice (bc of that cat-eared one)
Olympia Soiree (bc it was my first otoge)

Without further ranting, let's just get to the review!

Sypnosis:

There's this Ko Unyou guy who calms the 4 evil beasts
He's like a Pokemon trainer and brings in 4 heavenly beasts famous in Chinese mythology: suzaku, ouryuu, genbu, byakko creatures to defeat the evil beasts
Now it's believed that the emperor of the moonlight country and their descendants carry the blood of the senka/the saviour
His descendants carry blood of Yellow dragon and 999 years passed, that's the history of the Moonlight Country
MC lived in Matsurika village as gem appraiser. Deep in mountains, takes 1.5 hours to get down so the villagers never leave the village, as it is a rule.
Rule 2: Everyone in village are not allowed to marry ppl outside, they believe disaster will happen if they birth kids w/ outsiders. Those kids will be called Tao Wu
Her job as a gem appraiser lies in the power of "keigan" in her red eye which can see which ores mined from the village mountains are real gems. They use gems to trade for fire with merchant Ruwo. 1 girl per generation in the village will inherit this power so right now, she's the only one who can.
Fire is a scarce resource in the village, it is said the God Firefly who protects the village hates fire. They have to trade with Ruwo to get it and use it for cooking, etc.

LI Impressions

Zebenera:

King of White Wolf tribe
10000000% Husbando material
DEEP SEXY VOICE, GENTLE, CONSIDERATE, DEVOTED, EVERYTHING IS PERFECT
Romance developed sooooo well and beautifully, plot bits at the end a little drag
I love all their ends, even the bad end was beautifully tragic 😭
Best lines: "Nakuna (don't cry)" & "Omae wa... nakase taiwake dewanai (I... dont want to make you cry)"
Route explores lightly on MC's keigan power
If you like Radiant Tale Ion, here's the Cero D version

Don't cry... I... don't want to make you cry...

Ruwo:

Merchant who comes to Matsurika village every 3 months to trade fire
I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM THE WHOLE ROUTE 😭
Very interesting route, feels like an adventure around the world, was never bored
VA is soooo good!! Same VA as Yoichi from Winter's Wish. His PAIN UGH... U CAN FEEL 😭
Tissues will be used in this route
Angsty beautiful romance and characters, satisfying best end
Route barely touched on main plot
Best lines: "Ai...shiteru..."
If you like Collar x Malice Shiraishi, ahh.. this one will crush you

I.... love you...

Seirin:

Cute, sensitive, pure, selfless and beautiful boi! Prince of Moonlight Country
Sometimes he looks like woman/otherworldly in CGs! TOO BEAUTIFUL
SOMEONE PLS PROTECT HIM!! HE DESERVES THE WORLD 😭
Route starts a bit light then BAM! A lot of plot revelation
Romance development is quite unnatural for me but towards the end was BEAUTIFUL 😭
His friendship with Enrai, his teacher/bodyguard was soooo UGH CUTE!
SOOO BITTERSWEET! 😭 Feels like a 6-hour historical romance drama
Best line: "Wherever you go, no matter what form you take, I want to be with you. This is my once-in-a-lifetime selfishness." 😭😭😭
If you like Piofiore Henri, Seirin is a little more innocent but similar vibe (+ same voice actor)

Wherever you go, no matter what form you take, I want to be with you. This is my once-in-a-lifetime selfishness.

Enrai:

Seirin's teacher/bodyguard
Fun fact: left-handed, which catches his enemies off guard in sword battles
Looks like shota but ACTUALLY A MAN!! Oldest of the bunch (27 y.o)
Love the gradual development of both story + plot, but there was a LOT of plot dump in the middle
Really tsun at the beginning and not honest with feelings, can sure be a tease with that DEEP VOICE (I still can't believe he's the same VA as Himuka from OS)
He will make you have mental breakdown a few times HAHAHAHA
Like his 3rd end most, it's sooooo cute but his bad end is great too! AHH they're all great!
Best lines: "hoshiika...?" with a smirk 🤤🥵
If you like Olympia Soiree Riku, OMG... This guy is Cero D and bad boy version of him

Do you want me? (with smirk DLKFHSLKDF)

Karuma:

Kind, sweet, sensitive, precious boi!!
MC describes him like a baby goat AWW
Great development in the beginning to middle of route
Great chemistry with MC, prob he can best empathize her
Compelling backstory in the first few chapters
After ch 7, it becomes a slice-of-life romance genre. Kinda boring
The best end made me go huh? They took the "fantasy" genre too far LOL
The only route that fell short for me
If you like Piofiore Orlok, you might like this spicy cinnamon roll too!

Naaya... I... wuv you...

Fey:

MC's childhood friend and chief's son
I heard his route was underwhleming from bloggers so I had low expectations
I WAS SOOO WRONG. THIS IS THE BEST ROUTE for me! 😭😭😭😭😭
Romance? YES. Plot? YES.
Beautiful VOICE by Nobu (Piofiore Yang)? YES
Beautiful VISUALS? YES.
Route explores the theme of grief and love... IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE IT!
I feel like I was reading a LONGGGG TRAGIC HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVEL 😭😭😭 Literally cried buckets!
I kept thinking to myself: IM SO DEAD I wont be able to recover from this route
3rd end was... GREAT HAHAHAHA! Might offend some ppl tho, but that CG ASLKDFNSLDKFN!
If you like [insert best LI ever], you will like him!!

Why should I be safe? [Spoiler lines] ... Why would I have the reason to live?!

Route ranking: Fey > Ruwo >= Zeb = Enrai >= Seirin > Bicorn

LI ranking: "Fey" > Zeb > Enrai >= Bicorn > Seirin > Ruwo

Review

TRULY TRULY LOVE THE WORLD BUILDING, feels like this world is full of history, traditions and ppl are all religious and strong in their own beliefs
The main plot slowly reveals itself in every route and the gradual foreshadowing was great
Consistent storytelling, characters and themes
A lot of symbolisms in each route to analyze and appreciate
MUSIC IS SO FITTING!! The erhu/string/flute instruments fit the ancient China theme so well. One track was in every terk-jerking moment and now I feel so sad just listening to it 😭
Cero D sounds, but not a lot of Cero D CGs LOLOL
But the CGs are work of art! Very beautiful! All the colors! I just wish a little more variation but just a small gripe.
Every route is great!! Albeit a few small gripes like lore dumps but they're all enjoyable!
Every LI is likeable! They are all so devoted, sweet, gentle to our MC.
The storytelling is immersive and compelling. The way they show the LI's POV a lot 😭 You easily get so emotionally invested!
Great casting like all the VAs' acting HIT ME SO BAD!! I creid 4 out of 6 routes!! That's a lot considering I don't usually cry playing these games for 2 years now (except Virche, yeah bawled till no tears left)
Overall, recommended for those who enjoy historical romance, tragic, melodrama, spicy stories.

Others

Some reviewers don't like that MC is too passive. Well yeah, she is. But remember that's because this is set in the past, where women let the men lead and MC is raised with those values. She's also been sheltered in the Matsurika village. I personally think she's mentally strong in her own way and she's always optimistic and making the best out of the worsts situations. There were times when she insists on her values, which is great. Overall, I don't think she's that bad of an MC. She's just a little sheltered and naive but she's a strong, kind, brave and responsible girl.
Every route has 1 best end, 1 alternative end and 1 "bad" end. I like Enrai's alt end. Zeb's ends are all good, bad end is tragic. I like Seirin's bad end too. Bad ends are heartbreaking tragedies but you can really feel how much the LI loves the MC, which I think is great!

Themes

1. Traditions vs New Ways

The main theme around this game is centered around "Upholding Traditions vs Adopting New Ways". We can see this in every society in the game such as the matsurika village, white wolf tribe and Moonlight Country. Each society upholds years and years of traditional values around the 4 sacred beasts. The Matsurika village had strict rules not to mix blood with outsiders. And white wolf tribe has never left the snowy mountains as they believed in living close to their ancestors.

But what if something happens and those rules/traditions need to be broken? Should one adapt to changes and find new ways to live, or should they try their best to fulfill their duties determined by traditions? I love how the game explored that. Everyone was bounded to their own rules and traditions. And 1 end would be the end where they continue living by those traditions and find a solution. While 1 end would be the "what if we change" end. Remembering our roots and practicing them is important for our identities, but resisting change to fit with the tides of time can be harmful too. It's not always black and white, there's no right or wrong.

In most routes, we will see the primary objectives of each LI is for their duties/mission they need to continue from previous generations. MC has also a great sense of responsibility to continue her role and mission as a gem appraiser. You will see her often thinking about how she can fulfill her role well. The conflict comes in the form of when things don't go in their way and they are put in a position where they may have to choose another path because they are unable to fulfill their duties. A lot of times MC will portray her inner conflict to pursue a new journey or stay with her duties. The storytelling for each route is powerful and solid, while keeping this central theme.

2. Grief 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Another theme often seen in the routes is grief. I cried the most in this game than any other otoge I've played! In all the otoges I've played, there's usually only 1 route that broke me. Even Virche I was mostly dealing with despair rather than tears but this game!! HOLY! I cried almost EVERY ROUTE till I was so dehydrated LMAO!

Dealing with grief, overcoming/helping others with grief and moving on from grief. I REALLY REALLY FELT SO MUCH PAIN for Ruwo for what he has been through. Of course, other LIs too. Most of them turn out the way they are presently due to the pain and grief they were subjected to. AND IT'S SOOOO UGH... I felt bad for them, I felt angry for them and most of all, I felt how those events have impacted them. Each characters have complex and 3-dimensional motivations, where some stemmed from their tragic pasts.

Analysing the way each LI responds to their grief was interesting. Like how one chose not to pursue it or how one chose to be selfless and silently strong... Or another who became full of guilt and self-hating... Or one who stopped trusting others. It's just... detailed and great storytelling. Can't write much or I want to keep this post spoiler-free.

3. Love 😭

The last theme explored is obviously, love. This is a very MAX ROMANCE game. There are many tropes of romance in this game. The trope where LI will question everything he believed before and changes for MC GEUHHH... The trope where LI will sacrifice/abandons EVERYTHING for the MC... The trope where LI will become a VILLAIN for the MC... The trope where LI loves the MC so much, it transcends physical forms and time... Anyways, if you like these tropes, you will get it in this game.

But love is not simply wanting to be together and have a happy end. There are many instances in this game where they explored what it means to love someone. I find that so beautiful, I cried a lot... Sometimes, LI will be placed in a position where he has to choose between his duties and MC... What can he do then? UGHHH 😭 Sometimes, the best end (imo) is not where LI and MC are together, but because of what they've been through. Hah... I could rant on and on but this is it. I must move on from this beautifully written masterpiece.