Hey guys, [member='Aura'] here with a new entry in the series of articles I like to call Aureview (y'know, Aura + Review? No...?) Today's review will be a little different, because I'll be doing it on a non-Pokémon title! Of course, expect these from time to time, however I'll mostly be focusing my reviews on Pokémon titles, as those are the ones I play most. So, without further ado, let's start this review! For today's review, I'll be talking about the Korean otome game, Mystic Messenger! Developed by Cheritz, Mystic Messenger is, at its core, a dating sim directed to a female audience. As to not spoil any of the story, I'll be brief. You, as the player, are suddenly directed into a secret chat room known only to the members of Rika's Fundraising Association, or RFA for short. Your task is to help the members of the RFA organise their next party by taking emails from party guests and getting each guest to like you enough to want to attend the party. The dating sim aspect of the game takes place between conversations with five of the six members of RFA; Zen, Yoosung, Jumin, Jaehee and 707 (often referred to as Seven). Apart from Jaehee and the player, all the members are male, and each have their own personalities and occupations. Zen is a musical star, and a bit of a narcissist, always taking about his many fans and good looks. Yoosung is the youngest member, and a university student obsessed with the game LOLOL, but he seems to be hiding something about his past. Jumin is a young business tycoon who's often described as being "born with a silver spoon in his mouth", but he loves his cat, Elizabeth 3rd. Jaehee is Jumin's assistant, a big fan of Zen's work, not a fan of cats, and generally the group's voice of reason. Seven is a living internet meme, constantly playing tricks on the unsuspecting, but he's an amazing hacker and the creator of the private group chat RFA uses. The games takes place in real time, and over 11 days, with random events taking place at scripted times. After the first four days, you'll find out which member's "path" you're on, and your goal from that point is to both make your partner happy and hold a successful party, despite there being many obstacles and challenges to overcome. For my first and current playthrough I am on the character Yoosung's path, and I know from accounts of acquaintances that there are 3 different possible "bad" endings, one possible "normal" ending, and one possible "good" ending, the goal of course being to try and achieve the "good" ending, which I did successfully. On top of that, there are two different types of stories, "Casual Story" and "Deep Story". "Casual Story" is available for free right from the beginning of the game, while "Deep Story" requires a purchase using in-game currency, which I'll expand on next. Like most mobile games, this game has two types of "in-game currency"; one that you can earn outright, or one that you can earn rarely or buy using either the first currency or real-world money. The first currency is hearts, and you gain hearts when you compliment or agree with a member, which also increases their affection towards you. Saying something rude or disagreeing with them will sometimes lower their affection towards you, however it does not lower the amount of hearts you've already accumulated. The second currency is hourglasses, and these allow you to revisit sequences that you missed (there are often scenarios that take place between midnight and 6 AM, so be ready for that) or unlock all the sequences for one day. You can sometimes earn an hourglass if you say something a character really likes, or exchange 100 hearts for 1 hourglass, as well as being able to purchase them outright. These hourglasses are also the currency needed to purchase the "Deep Story". The art in this game is very pleasing. Each character is well-designed with full-body renders, avatars that change over time and even custom emojis that make little sounds when a character uses them. There are also images that are often inserted into the chat, much like you would do in a real situation, which can then be viewed in a gallery and used as wallpapers for your phone. The Facebook-like chat room and one-on-one texting aspects of the game are done all through words, but the third form of communication, which is a regular phone call, is all done in Korean with separate voices for each character, and translated subtitles on-screen. Overall, this game is very enjoyable, even for me (as a male who has no desire to be in a relationship with other males). The game looks, sounds and feels very professional, and the balance between romance, action and comedy is set out very well. The only problems I had with this game were the fact that there were quite a few scenarios that took place while I was asleep, and the fact that the game failed to recognise my timezone, and as such I am forced to wait 30 minutes after receiving a notification to play a scenario. However, these problems are only minuscule, as half an hour isn't that long to wait, and I tend to use my hourglasses to revisit scenarios I missed anyway, and sometimes nothing important even happens during them. So, in conclusion, I'd rate this game a... FINAL REVIEW - 5/5"Aura Sphere. It's a game that sends out it's message with perfect accuracy. I definitely felt the flow with this one!" As always, this is [member='Aura'], and I'll see you all in the next instalment of Aureview!
