OZMAFIA!! – PC Review – by BijouxDemon
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Poni-Patchet SY
Publisher: MangaGamer
Release Date: Apr 29, 2016
The beauty of otome games is the diversity in themes and story. Taking influence from current day society, to distant lands and kingdoms, all the way to lost civilizations with the old gods, these games are able to take you and immerse you into stories filled with love, adventure, heartbreak, and even danger sometimes. OZMAFIA!! takes the existing story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and gives us a twist with unique characters, a remarkable world, and……the mafia?! Yes, if you didn’t catch the word mafia the game title name, OZMAFIA!! is the first game from publisher MangaGamer, and follows the long line of cell phone based otome games turned PC version.
The story starts you off as Fuka, a young girl with no recollection or clues to her past, in a dark alley faced with an unknown assailant. Through a series of quick events in the beginning, she finds herself as a charge under Famiglia Oz, lead by Caramia who is the don of the family, nicknamed the courageous lion. Along with him, Kyrie, the consigliere of Famiglia Oz, and Axel, the caporegime of Famiglia Oz, Fuka must adapt to this new world and it’s laws and avoid trouble amongst the other Famiglias. The different mafia families each protect a different part of the city, as well as tax them for said protection whenever conflict arises, aside from Sunday, which is the only day when no form of conflict is allowed without severe retribution in turn. During the span of story, without giving too much away, Fuka must deal with assimilating into the city and it’s rules, interacting with various characters including those from the other mafias, and finding love during the process. With that said, you are not limited to finding romance among the three main characters in Famiglia Oz. Other leaders and members from the other mafias can be romanced or even those from rogue groups or simple citizens, so choosing a path that fits your romance interest type is fairly easy. I have to give this game big props for giving a female character that Fuka can romance, though I wish it was a larger number.
The characters are designed with such unique looks that each speak to the fairy tales they come from, and have a very soft, almost water color effect to them that gives it more of a storybook feel. It is more so of a visual treat during the CG sequences, adding better visuals to accompany the story. Most of the story progression in this game happens on Sunday, which gives Fuka more freedom to interact and bond with characters outside of Famiglia Oz. The story carries very well, but leaves plot holes between times with no events or interactions in between. Even certain events pass only to be brought back up through a flashback with no form of story choice. I’ve also had the additional displeasure of dealing with cut voice lines. Through a bit of research, I found out that extra lines and plot points were added to the story, and no additional voice lines were recorded. Thus, there are times when you are having a moment with a possible love interest and the voices stop, only leaving you with the background melody for quite a few lines of story.
OZMAFIA!! Is definitely a game that can appease the otome fans, but there are a few problems that set it back a bit in quality and storytelling. Still, it felt solid and I enjoyed myself immensely. I’d definitely recommend it. You can purchase it now on steam for $34.99 but it wouldn’t hurt to wait for one of the sales to help the price tag.
BijouxDemon gives OZMAFIA!! a Drastik Measure 8.34 out of 10.0 (83.4).
Pros:
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Wonderful character designs
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Creative story line
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Plenty of ending options
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Hours of gameplay
Cons:
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Only one female romanceable character
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Audio can cut in and out sometimes
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A few plot holes or jumps to flashbacks instead
- Cut voice lines
