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B-Project Ryusei Fantasia is a fascinating sort of visual novel. It’s not an otome game, though you do get to spend time with and send messages to 14 single young men who seem to adore your character. It’s not like most visual novels, as many of the choices are tied to earning stories for the singers in the group and there aren’t many decisions influencing the endings. Also, while it involves an idol group, there’s no rhythm gameplay like in Jack Jeanne. Add in the fact that you really do need some awareness of B-Project to really enjoy it, and you’re left with one of the most niche games I’ve played in a while.
In order to really understand how big of a deal B-Project Ryusei Fantasia is in a way, you have to understand exactly how big the whole property is. It’s been running since 2016, after all, with Mages starting it with an anime and manga. Since then, there have been CDs, multiple games, and stage shows. A lot of it hasn’t been localized! Though if someone wants to prepare and get familiarized with the world and its characters, Crunchyroll does have B-Project: Zeccho Emotion and Passion Love Call streaming on the service.
Simply put, it’s a lot to take in. The best advice I can recommend going in, if you aren’t familiar, is to know the general premise. Haruhi and Yuduki Teramitsu, Akane Fudo, and Miroku Shingari were in a group called Killer King. Ryuji Korekuni and Tomohisa Kitakado performed as a duo called KitaKore. The group Moons consisted of Hikaru Osari, Kazuna Masunaga, Mikado Sekimura, Momotaro Onzai, and Tatsuhiro Nome. Finally, Thrive was a trio made up of Goshi Kaneshiro, Kento Aizome, and Yuta Ashu. Gandara Music decided to bring them all together as one big group, and the player character is essentially in charge of them. The visual novel follows you helping them prepare for more shows, while also offering a brief flashback at the start to help familiarize players with the situation.
You’re going to know in the first hour of playing B-Project Ryusei Fantasia if it is for you or not, which makes it a blessing that a PC demo is available on Steam. I’m not the biggest fan of the execution, but feel like it might work better for fans. Basically, it begins in the thick of things. You watch as four boy band idol groups called Killer King, Kitakore, Moon, and Thrive perform as the supergroup B-Project. As you celebrate with a number of young men who all are praising you, an artist & repertoire expert who worked with them come together, you flash back to the beginnings. It’s honestly throwing a lot at you at once, with no introductions to the characters or groups immediately, which may put off people unfamiliar with it. I watched some of the anime on Crunchyroll ahead of time to prepare, and I had trouble following and recognizing some people.
I will admit that there are some minor production decisions for B-Project Ryusei Fantasia that started to get to me the more I played and added to the issue, with some being on Mages part and the other a result of a means needed to make the game work. While in the CGs and certain segments, you can really see how each member of the cast stands out, there are times when the portraits for characters have this uniformity that feels a little off-putting. Like if someone dragged and dropped pair of eyes A and hairstyle B in certain colors onto a sprite to create one person, and then pair of eyes A with hairstyle D for another. Characters are distinct, but when dealing with such a large cast I started to notice commonalities.
The other involves the text boxes. There are times when the font is a perfect size and there are two or three lines in a box. Things look fine! But then, there will be an especially wordy explanation or long-winded response. Since PQube is working within certain confines, it means getting three lines in a box and it gets difficult to read.
However, aside from that, the execution of B-Project Ryusei Fantasia is quite fun. Using the heroine’s cell phone as the UI works well. Especially when you get Join text messages, calls, and voice mails. It helps with the immersion in the moment. The general art direction is very crisp. While some music can feel a bit generic, actual B-Pro songs sound great. The pacing of the story, once you get past the introduction and flashbacks, is also good. I’d even say once you get to personal stories, it feels a lot stronger.
B-Project Ryusei Fantasia is one of those games that is ideal for what it is for those who are aware of B-Pro and the many projects tied to the series. If you “get” it, you’ll love how it handles things and the chance to more closely interact with your favorite characters. For those who aren’t aware of this Mages project, the entry barrier is pretty high! Not impossibly so. I think it feels like PQube was aware of this and released the demo so early ahead of launch as a result to help people prepare. For those who love the series, it’s a lot of fun. I do think people curious about it should give the free trial and anime a chance, as both would really help you when it comes to deciding to pick it up.
B-Project Ryusei Fantasia will come to the Nintendo Switch and PC on July 15, 2024.
