In the years since Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom made its English debut in 2012, otome games have enjoyed a surge of popularity worldwide. The genre went from an unknown to one that received multiple releases on various platforms each year. Sony handhelds have long been a haven for such titles, with people who own a Vita enjoying the fruits of this bevy of releases.
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Bad Apple Wars is an odd sort of game. It is one filled with plotholes. There are more than a few instances where things make sense, all so the game can tie up various loose ends at the end. Naturally, this extends to its endings. After all, this is a game where people end up at a high school in limbo after death, congregating in the same space despite living and dying during different periods of time. Of course the conclusions will be as convoluted. But some make more or less sense than others, which might be a little frustrating for otome fans trying to rationalize things.
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A teenager dies. It is an unexpected end, but not quite as final as people are led to believe. Instead of nothingness or an afterlife, this person ends up in limbo. Which, coincidentally, is basically a boarding school. While some students follow the rules and work toward “graduation,” others join a rebel organization and fight the power. Sound familiar? No, I am not referring 2010’s Angel Beats!, the anime/light novel/manga/visual novel. It just so happens that Bad Apple Wars, Aksys and Otomate’s latest otome visual novel, is an unrelated game with an incredibly similar premise.
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