Tengoku Struggle Review: That one game where you found your kamioshi

FYI: Kamioshi means the oshi of the oshis! GOD tier!

Ok, so this game has mostly positive reviews with a little mixed. To be fair, I can see there is a lot of... unfortunate parts like the writing. But! This game made me laugh, cry, bawl, rage like no other game! That's how much impact it has and 2 years later, when the localized English version came out, I still enjoyed it like my first playthrough in JP! 😭😭😭

I love Goemon, there's no denying it. I'm biased.

LI Impressions

Murakami Yona

"Old-fashioned" LOL
Sea man
Can be hot-blooded
Book worm
Big tsun puppy
Blushes!
So adorable with kids
10/10 body

Uga Kikunosuke

Gamer (but why zombies...)
Wolf boi
Pure and kind boi
Goemon's secret fanboy
Good ears like Zenitsu
Likes citrus-y body soaps
Loves to be pat and stroked
Grocery shopping buddy~

Toshuusai Sharaku

Likes cleanliness, a bit germaphobe level like Levi from AoT
Spends $400+ for vacuum cleaner
Mother of the group
Teases other LIs, often their wingman in their routes
Blunt boi, can rub off others in the wrong way
Horny boi hahaha and I don't mind it
Sexy voice
UGH PAINFUL PAST T^T
MC describes him like a cat, doesn't trust/open up to others easily
Dreams of being an actor

Jack

Looks calm and charismatic on the outside, unexpectedly a weirdo LOL
Called an "aho (idiot)" by Sharaku LOL
Loves tea and writing music
Loves animals but animals don't like him
Plants around the house like MC
Hilarious shenenigans by Goemon and his bros!! LMAOOO I can't stop laughing!
そんなに僕が欲しいなら、抱いてあげるよ
Sensitive giant baby
OMGGGGG his power so cool!!!
I like his route only because Goemon is so jealous here!

Ishikawa Goemon

Loves coffee, makes delicious coffee for others
Father/leader of the group
Holds barbeque parties
Has an adorable concerned puppy expression because he's worried about MC in every route
Lethal voice, body, face, etc.
Can be a tease, and is soooo sweet, jealous, protective, cute, reliable, kawaii, sexy, EVERYTHING
HOT when angry/upset/protective
Funny how he says everyone just writes about him as they please after his death but this game literally does that too LOL
MY HEART HURTS SO MUCH WHEN [spoiler can't say anything]

Note

All the stuff about how much this man hurts me in the rant post

Themes

Life and death, many die at 25 but bodies aren't buried until 75. Ppl stagnated. And LIs too. They never move past their trauma/emotional baggage. This is also symbolizes at the fact they stop aging at the age they died at.
Those who are "alive" like Jack or Fujimori wishes to die and those who are "dead" wishes to stay alive to find long lost love or something
LIfe vs Death
Judging what's good vs bad, related to justice and punishment
Justice - what is it.. Fujimori suffered at his own choice of justice, Ichise also has his own definition of justice, and every character too, but as Goemon said we tend to force our idea of justice to someone else and that creates the conflict.
Jigoku itself is "justice" in a sense. The Lord judges based on his morals how much they have sinned, it's his own version of justice which the sinners themselves may or may not agree with
The heaven realm, never touched on Justice. They lived in utopia and don't care about anything or anyone outside of it.
Same for shinobikuni, her idea of justice became so twisted after she got raped in her past life and realized there's no good or buddha to save her. She wants to "save" other ppl and give them salvation by getting rid of their greed? It's like she made it her duty or something?
"Take responsibility for your mistakes, no one can erase them for you. That is life."

Route Ranking: Goemon > Jack = Sharaku > Yona > Kiku

LI Ranking: Goemon >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Yona > Sharaku > Jack > Kiku

Pros:

MC has sprite and it animates and very expressive. Even more than Olympia from Olympia Soiree
LI and SC has amazing sprites, the expression can be so subtle but it conveys such complex emotions well. They are all also animated, even SCs
Each LI has such a distinct and complex character that it makes me curious and anticipate their routes
SCs are just as interesting to learn about, most are likeable haha
UI is great, modern and simplistic. Can even customize menu screen.
All the voice actors were brilliant and conveyed emotions so well
ART IS just CHEF'S KISS! As expected of Satoi~
The setting is sooooo intriguing like how did they even come up with that?
LI interactions and LI-MC interactions are soooo cute! A few memorable ones in my head
Characters have backstories and OOF! I feel for them and can understand their actions in some way
MC's past is unknown and gradually unravels in every route
Easter eggs from previous games! Love it!
Writing is amazing, all comes in full circle!
I like MC design and she has many outfit changes which is nice to see
I like that they have "dates" like so naturally. In some games, it is so plot driven that the romance came out of nowhere but here it feels like it is developed naturally because they interact and talk about random things outside the plot and also just do things together to learn more about each other. SO cute!
This game created Goemon, who is the reason for my existence (I CAN NEVER GET OVER HIM)

Cons:

Need to know a bit of Japanese cultural norms like how it's common knowledge that when ppl die, they go cross the Samzu River. I didn't know that before lol.
References to buddhism and samurai culture that those who are not familiar with them may find it hard to understand or relate at first
LIs were at first quite misogynistic and gave remarks to the MC that I don't appreciate. Granted, they were born in that era and had their own reasons
I wish for more CGs... because the art is soooo good
MC no voice...
Honestly, the antagonists in this game were shallow and not written very well. Their motives made no sense and only Okuni and her husband were likeable.
The resolution at the final route was a little weird but eh, doesn't really affect how much I love the characters!