Iwakura Aria

Visual novels still remain relatively new to me - the idea of "playing a story" is nothing new, I played a great deal of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy books back in my youth - but in video game format, not so much. I have enjoyed a few, including Tales of Toyotoki: Arrival of the Witch, but certainly nothing promising the slow-burn of dread like Iwakura Aria.

With time being something of a precious commodity of late, investing into a multi-ending visual novel that requires multiple play-throughs means I have to be picky, but the Victorian style of Iwakura Aria appealed, and you can't say the cover isn't enticingly creepy.

The game takes plenty of time setting its scene - set in a postwar Japan in 1966, you play an artistic orphan named Ichiko Kitagawa, whose work catches the eye of the head of the Iwakura family. He sees fit to offer Kitagawa a job as a maid, giving her a role and purpose in life. The mansion however is not all it seems, secrets lurking under the surface, strange tensions amongst the residents and of course the titular heiress herself, Iwakura Aria.

The composition of each scene is masterful, conveying much of the emotion with no need for words.

The game infuses it's intrigue entirely in its art-style, the painted character portraits rendered by artist 100 Years, skillfully blended with the graphic design work of Fumi Nakada. It's this pairing of soft lines and pastel colours coupled with the sharp edges and hard light of the backgrounds that lend the game its air of mystery. 

Surrounded by such gorgeous artistry, you'll examine rooms looking for clues as to the machinations of the Awakura family by highlighting and examining objects, interacting with other characters through optional dialogue and ultimately uncover the dark fate that awaits Aria herself. As always, you must be careful with your decisions as each will lead you to one of nine different endings, not of all of them happy.

While Aria is initially resistant to her new maid, she eventually takes you into her service and a deeper and potentially romantic attachment starts to form. The game goes to some very dark places, including sexual violence, but it's not graphic nor gratuitous in its exploration of these themes. However you might want to be aware of the dark places the game takes you before deciding to play.

Games such as this rely heavily on narrative - basically the main selling point - and happily Iwakura Aria manages to keep you engaged through not only the story but Aria herself. The young heiress is a genuinely enthralling creation, her initial cruelty a mask for a troubled heart. Much work has gone into making the focal point of the game layered and mysterious, a person you'll actually care about and want to help. This also ramps up the romantic element as the game has a clear idea of how people can both help and enable those with deep-rooted problems. The road to hell is paved with good intentions as the saying goes, so be careful how you tackle your unpredictable mistress.

Back on the technical side, the translation has its little issues - I know Ichiko is an orphan but saying things like "yeah" seems a bit out of place and modern for the 60's setting. It's a minor nitpick but something I can't help but notice as an editor.

The translation is fine but could be improved.

Adding to the sense of character is some exceptional voice acting from Sayumi Suzushiro as Ichiko Kitagawa, Chie Nakamura as Aria Iwakura, and Toshiyuki Morikawa as Amane Iwakura. Oftentimes the voice acting papers over the translation, so I certainly appreciated that as I played through the game.

At around 12 hours per run-through, the game is somewhat light for a visual novel, with many lasting a great many more hours than that. For my part I liked the brevity as it made the additional run-throughs seem less of a chore, but this may point to another issue the game seemingly has, which is lack of development. Only four characters have sprites in the game, with much of the story conveyed via painted CGI or manga-style panels to convey the darker aspects of the story. While these work fine for what they are, the panels aren't as nice as the more detailed illustrations and do feel like a shortcut even if that's not the intention.

The haunting panelled visuals convey much of the "action" within the game

None of which takes away from the story itself, which manages to punch through any technical or budgetary restraints and provide a thoughtful, distressing and engrossing tale which makes it a standout in the visual novel space. It's clear that Iwakura Aria is a game that pQube are very proud of, and given the tale being told, I can see why. It deserves to cross the visual novel space and find an audience amongst a wider gaming audience who might enjoy a gothic tale of woe, even if the actual gameplay elements are nothing special taken on their own.

Poking around to find secrets isn't the hook, it's those secrets and where that take you that really draw you in. This is certainly an experience to remember, and with that shorter runtime, unusual atmosphere and chilling reveals, MAGEs seem to have created the perfect entry point to the visual novel experience.