J-Mate

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Reviewed by Craxton Publisher: JAST USA Available at: J-List Cost: $24.95 US (as part of the Milky House Memorial Collection) Bugs: A few annoying scenes where text repeats itself inexplicably, but no critical bugs. Graphics: Reasonable. Music/Sound: Music gets tiresome quickly. Lousy SFX. NPCs: Not quite realistic. Writing: Varies from scene to scene. Plot: Good. Interface: Good. Sex: Well-done, but too excessive. Kinkyness: Most scenes are vanilla, some are very kinky. Several include heavy bondage & sadomasochism, one involves light amounts of blood, several others get carried away.

Have you ever felt as if you've lost yourself? As if you don't know what you're suppossed to be doing, or where you should be down the road? I know I have, and it's not a good feeling. It makes you depressed. You feel worthless, insignificant. As if it really wouldn't matter if you lived or died. In some way, every character in Nocturnal Illusion has that feeling- the feeling that they don't matter. And your job, as the protagonist, is to dispel this dread.

In Nocturnal Illusion, you play the role of a college student named Shinichi. Shinichi, too, has been feeling lost. A young college student, he has no idea what to do after graduation- nor has he the slightest inkling what to look for in a lover. During a break in classes, he goes to an isolated spot in the mountains to get in touch with himself, and hopefully get his life back on track. But Mother Nature has other ideas. A bad storm hits where he's camping, and, trying to reach shelter, he winds up falling off a cliff. He survives- barely- and wavers on the verge of death until a mysterious woman ressusitates him by... ummm... transferring her body heat. (Okay, she has sex with him.) Awakening, Shinichi finds himself in a mansion inhabited by a number of people, primarily women. The mistress of the mansion- the same woman who gave Shinichi... errr... the will to live- suggests that he pass the time by socializing with the others. He doesn't have much choice- The mansion's gates are closed tight, and don't open often.

Basically, Nocturnal Illusion is a conglomeration of ghost stories. Exploring the mansion reveals a plethora of secrets dark and mysterious. You'll meet ghostly spirits, battle frightening appirations, solve mysteries, uncover stories of the past, and, of course, get the girl. Or rather, girls. The mysteries all involve the inhabitants of mansion- why they're feeling so lost, and how you can help them find themselves.

So what's wrong with Nocturnal Illusion? Well, nothing especially. The problem with this game isn't with a bunch of things that are wrong, but with the fact that nothing's especially right. Every game has flaws, but most games also have nice touches to offset this- things that make you smile and say "That's cool." Nocturnal Illusion only has one, and it's not entirely beneficial.

The nice touch I mentioned is how the game tries to emulate a text adventure. For example, when you first wake up in the mansion, you'll find yourself in a room full of things- a bookcase, window, closet, desk, and so on- all of which can be examined in greater detail. You can use the well in the backyard, or try and read the books in the library, at any time. Time passes in response the occurance of certain events or groups of events. Between chapters, the game gives you quotes, reminiscent of the Inform quote box, to set the tone for the next chapter.

But ultimately, Nocturnal Illusion is an AVG, not a text adventure. You can examine items, but you can't pick them up, unless the plot says so. Most objects- such as the blank diary in your room, the etchings on the wall of the baroque bathroom, and the desk in the library- have no purpose other then window dressing. And freedom of movement is actually very superficial- if you move to an area, and there's nothing to do, you can look around, but you'll have to move somewhere else to get anything important done. Add to this the fact that the "Move" command doesn't appear when there's something in a room which requires your attention, and the scope of the mansion becomes more of a hinderance. I often found myself wandering around, waiting for something to happen.

Again, Nocturnal Illusion is not a bad game per se, but it doesn't stand out in any way, which makes the flaws rather obvious. Characterization is decent, but not so much that you actually feel for any of the characters. The plot is well developed, but, like most mysteries, it just isn't as fun once you can see where it's going. The game feels formulatic at times- find a women, figure out what's bothering her, solve the problem, make love, and on to the next. The drawings are well done, but drab. They don't have the vitality common to most Hentai. The sound is not good at all- music is uninspired, and SFX are almost universally annoying- especially the "running water" effect, which not only drowns out the music, but refuses to be shut off. The game is also very linear, and although there are multiple endings, getting all of them is simply a matter of saving during the last scene.

The sex scenes are not effective. Partially because I didn't feel "connected" to the characters, they didn't have the intended effect on me. Plus, some of them feel tacked-on. The story could easily progress if some of the women didn't have sex with you, and their motivations aren't always clear. It seems sometimes that the game gets carried away with it's erotic content. This flaw in and of itself isn't tragic, but, in addition, some of the scenes are VERY kinky. One involves a demon, another a vampiress and some bloodletting/consumption. You observe a few hardcore S/M sequences. Three scenes arguably involve pedophilia. (More on that in a sec.) Be forewarned, there's a decent chance SOMETHING in here will strike a nerve.

The "young character" scenes, are, as I mentioned, arguable. There are "loopholes" in each case. The first involves Shinichi with a woman who is nineteen years old in body, but only nine years old mentally. Shinichi tries, under some protest, to educate her. In the second scene, Shinichi makes love to Little Red Riding Hood (no joke!) who later turns out to be an apparation. The third, and, in my book, most serious, involves a girl who is the opposite of the first- late teens in spirit, only twelve in body. Those silly Japanese...

Bottom line: A good attempt on the part of Excellants and RCY, but Nocturnal Illusion simply doesn't have any spit and polish. The only things this game has to recommend it are the haunting atmosphere, mystery/horror plot, and sheer volume of pictures. Otherwise your money is better spent elsewhere.

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