East Tower - Kuon (East Tower Series Vol. 3) Reviews

The third chapter is a bit different from the previous ones [spoiler]since there’s the looping thing happening in the game[/spoiler]. I thought that was interesting, and I really felt sorry for Kuon. I liked this character, he appears so innocent but he actually has many sides of his personality. I liked the fact that the game was a bit longer than the previous ones too. Looking forward to play chapter 4! 8/10.

I really love this series and definitely recommend it. It's much more than your basic dating/romance VN. This is the 3rd instalment and one of my favourites, because htis character is just adorable (and scary) XD There's quite a bit if replay value to this due to the different endings and achievement hunting. I personally head canon the main character as a non-binary person, although the dev's indicate this wasn't the intention. But by cautiously playing with gender identity and it's place in romance really is a nice thing to see done well (and without crapping on us trans folk). You do best to play the entire series really to get the most out of it, as the last one in the series really just goes over and above expectations.

Seems like the East Tower games grow longer and longer when you keep on playing those in order. Lovely series for otome&visual novel fans. I've been giggling and having fun while playing.

Strongest of the first three entries in terms of plot, weakest in writing, and middle ground in execution. It's frustrating how lacking this series is, largely because it had potential to be so much better. It is what it is, I guess.

I was not really feeling Kuon in this one to be honest. The story was still enjoyable, I had fun playing it. You finally make minor progress in the terms of understanding the whole story of East Tower. It served its purpose and had a lot of cute moments. The art also improved a lot from the first two installments. Still tho I gotta say, in the romance route I enjoyed Kuon the least compared to the previous love interests. Akio for the win !

So... This edition of the East Tower saga features a boy named Kuon who wants to escape reality... So for some reason, he is trapped in an endless loop... and so are you. How... nice. You again play Sakuya (you can rename her), a young woman who... does not want to act girly. As such, when offered the chance to be a test subject for her cousin's new attraction for women, she manages to convince him to let her try the other attraction... the one geared towards men. In the first few moments, she finds herself trapped with one of the four other participants. Oh, and since she can choose her avatar, she chose to partake as a male. Oh, and the real Kuon... may not be that old... There are three endings. The bad ending is unlocked if you make a wrong choice (one of which unlocks a CG). The neutral/friendship ending depends on you choosing the lesser of two choices at the end of a stage. And the good/love ending is the better of those two choices. Oh, and choosing that better one also unlocks a small additional scene for the story (and accompanying CGs). There is a split in the route for the Love Act/Scene/Chapter, as you can choose to have Kuon in his real form or adult form. The game is beautiful, at least for the time. I begin to think these were made back-to-back, as the small issues seem to get only slightly better each volume. Also, my suggestion would be to buy the East Tower Complete Edition. Especially as the last volume is almost three quarters of the price of the bundle...

"East Tower - Kuon" had a lot of the same issues that "East Tower - Aiko" had (rough artwork and superficial plot), but with some added creeper factor. In this one, you play the same heroine from "East Tower - Aiko" as you work your way through a virtual reality game gone wrong. Only this time, you're paired with Kuon, who is the shota character. Normally, I can handle shota routes, but this one just made me feel icky. I can't tell if it was the way Kuon was written, drawn, or the fact that there's a sexy scene. Probably a combination of all three. All in all, this one wasn't my cup of tea.

This review covers all 4 of the East Tower games in one. Simply put, the game isn't very good. The art has occasional good moments but most of it is pretty bad. The story is set up in such a way that it could lend itself to an interesting discussion of gender identity and digital sexuality but it instead chooses to do cliché "oops, I tripped and grabbed your boob" moments. There are dialog options but the game is still very linear; you either die instantly, find a solution, or pick a solution that gives you a bit of extra dialog. I would not recommend any of these games except for Kurenai (which was admittedly pretty good). However, there are parts of the Kurenai story that won't make any sense without playing at least a bit of the other ones. The game is also way too expensive. I bought them all as a set with 40% off ($18 total) and I feel ripped-off. There are much better VNs available for much less. Takashi, Kuon, and Akio were each only about 1.5 hours of play time, which is not a great value. Finally, every time you finish a section (and there are at least 7 sections per game) the game tries to get you to post to social media. That really pisses me off. It takes me out of the moment to try to get me to advertise for a game that I paid for. Dear game devs, please don't do that!

The East Tower series is a set of otome visual novels that are different than your standard Japanese otome game. If this review peaks your interest, I would recommend buying the whole bundle as it is cheaper than buying each one individually. The 4 games together give 15+ hours of game play. Note: If you read my reviews on any of the other games (Akio,Takashi, Kuon, Kurenai) aren't terribly different I was surprised at how much I ended up liking game. I think a lot of that has to do as a Otome game addict I was getting a little burnt out on the mobile games. (When I say burnt out, I think I have played the main story line of more than 80 characters on mobile otome games.) East Tower Kuon is the third installment the series and starts to reveal more of the overarching plot of the ET series. The order which the game is recommended is Akio, Takashi, Kuon then Kurenai. I would recommend this game even to just VN fans (not necessarily otome fans) because it explores interesting themes and has a great overarching plot. The story is what got me hooked on this game, I love a different story than your more standard otome game that ET has. The Kuon route is cute for your standard shouta stereotype but has a bit of a twist too. I especially like how this game explores gender related sexuality in a very interesting way. Gender fluidity is something much different to be explored in a VN/Otome game, especially for a Japanese market. Sakuya (the MC, name changeable) bends the standard female protagonist role, rebelling against the female stereotype, actually starts the virtual game as a male character. The voice acting is very nice for an indie game. I liked some of the unique voices in the game (Daiki specifically). I wouldn't say that there is any blaring miscasts in the voice acting. Of course this being an indie game, there aren't the big shot seiyuus (voice actors) to really make the voice acting really shine. I was not big on the art style that ET has, but I grew attached to the characters anyway, which is a good sign as the likeability of the character is not just based on the art. I would say the thing that bothers me the most is the roundness of the faces, especially the young versions of the characters. I think of all the VN/Otome games ET has to take the cake on roundness of faces. There are more CGs than I was expecting for an indie game. The backgrounds in ET are interesting, I really like how the game world is portrayed. I would really say that the only (slight) drawback to this game is the art style, but it is still nice in its own way.

[b]“Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”— Bertrand Russell[/b] It came to the third part of [i]East Tower[/i] series already? Wow, with each new one, the mystery has been kept well-fed, I must say. At this point, we all know the drill, we all know what we will encounter... or do we? This third chapter deviates from the routine a bit, by introducing the unique condition of Kuon's story. He is a bit different from the other participants. For once, he is the youngest, and he may not be declared as the boldest, for good enough reason. He is the cautious one, with some heavy trust issues. Want to find out more? Well, keep reading. Sakuya, our protagonist with a gender complex, arising from a past trauma, participates the demonstration for the newest VR game by posing as a boy – that part doesn’t change since it always serves to be our prologue for the series. She joins the game alongside four other young men and gets partnered up with Kuon this time, a bit unwillingly. He is a cool looking young man with a stone-cold attitude. As he somewhat halfheartedly treads around, we soon realize that he seems distressingly familiar with the content and the rules of this game. May he be the hacker? Or what lies under his uncanny knowledge and control over the game? Spoiler alert: [spoiler]poor guy played this game more times than he would care for![/spoiler] Our partnership with Kuon is deep layered, and his character may be considered the best written in the game, so far. [spoiler]His narrative is a great example of a well-established psychological coping mechanism. Since he’s been in the game for a long while, compared to everyone else, he grew up in many senses; yet some parts of his psyche remained juvenile and frightful. This dissociation also gets reflected upon his personality. His demeanor instantly changes according to the visage he dons. His character immediately changes, according to his form and the condition – which makes him really hard to communicate with. Kuon's story - however sad and somewhat disturbing - has been a joy to read about. At some point, Sakuya describes him as a wolf under a bunny guise - which is a really fitting depiction. [/spoiler] Challenges in Kuon's route differ from previous ones again. They are not only psychologically unique to this pairing, yet they also contain a philosophical aspect this time, about the very element of courage and wishful thinking. In terms of artwork or atmosphere, the series are not one of the best examples in the genre as I have noted in my previous reviews, yet I have played the series enough to decide that the narrative and character build don't disappoint at this point. We have 2-3 hours of game time, some achievements and our last set of clues concerning the character of the mystery hacker. Ready for the last part? I know, I am curious - which makes the series a success by its own, in my book. See you for the last chapter in the [i]East Tower[/i] series! Please also check out Lady Storyteller's Curator page [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/11672469/]here[/url] - follow for regular updates on reviews for other games!