Amatarasu Riddle Star

 

Amatarasu Riddle Star is a visual novel released in October 2019 on Steam and was developed by softhouse-seal and published by MangaGamer. The story is a play on the classic literature work by Lewis Carrol called Alice in Wonderland. While it has many characteristics of the original story and many of the unique characters can be compared to characters in the story, it does provide its own unique twists and turns that makes it a unique work.

Unlike American McGee's Alice which went dark and twisted this one goes more light hearted and if you have the 'Adult' Version then it goes a little sexual. There is also two main characters with you playing the protag Doumoto Takaya, while the other "main character" at least in my mind is his childhood friend Yua. Yua also is one of the five primary routes you can take and end up in a romantic relationship with.

The story starts with Takaya and Yua out at night star gazing from the highest point in the town referred to as 'Star Fall Hill'. The pair used to visit the hill often together as children, but after an event occurred to Takaya his once innocent demeanor and active imagination was locked away and the harshness of reality of a down trodden world took over. Because of this now he doesn't go very often but on some nights Yua can get him to come with her to have a night picnic and to watch the stars with her.

Yua is Takaya's long time childhood friend and has for a long time had a secret crush on Takaya. She's a bit of a dreamer and can be a bit of an airhead but she means well. She is caring, nice, loving, and an exceptional cook. She is usually always around Takaya and tends to drag him along with her on her many excursions and expeditions around town. She seems to always be happy and never really shows any anger or contempt for others. And yes...she was the first route I took.

It isn't long into the Visual Novel that an event that we'll call an actually Star Fall happens and it is in this event that the lives of Takaya and Yua as well as everyone in their quiet little town changes. After the two make a wish on a group of falling stars the stars suddenly come crashing down upon the town and a white light consumes the town. However instead of the town being destroyed in a ball of fire it becomes slowly transformed.

It is during this change that we begin to meet the other characters of this story including the four other girls that you can end up being with. The first you really interact with is Ai.

Ai is based off the Cheshire Cat and is usually heard before seen due to her cat bell she wears. Ai is a mystery but seems close to Takaya though he doesn't know why. She likes to refer to herself as his older sister and does to an extent tends to show up when he needs her most. Ai is unique as she doesn't through main set of the Visual Novel tend to have many actual scenes where she's either not sleeping or running away from the Card Soldiers and the Queen's personal maid Hire. 

Ai is fun loving and caring she is also very active and agile. When she's not protecting Takaya from afar or skipping school running from the Card Soldiers she's usually laid up somewhere sleeping, much like a cat. She is protective of Takaya and on occasion will drop by his house to get free food from his parents who just go along with it. At the moment I have not gone through her route yet so I can't say much about her relationship with Takaya.

Later when returning to school Takaya notices that things in the town are changing including his school which has now become a castle of sorts. It is also when he meets and gets introduced to Kokoro which represents the Queen. She is in fact a real Queen and is also acting Head Master and Principle of the school, but she is also a student in Takaya's class.

She has a personal maid Hire who is over the Card Soldiers that can be seen floating around the school acting as guards as well as helping with anything that is needed to be done from construction to clean up. Kokoro is reserved, well spoken, and shy to a fault. She tries to be a strong leader and takes charge every chance she gets in order to connect with the students on a more personal level. Despite that and her obvious cuteness she's seen as somewhat unapproachable and because of that she doesn't have any friends.

It isn't until Yua, Miu, and Takaya start spending time with her and talking with her that her story becomes more apparent. There are hints and discussions between Kokoro and Hire that gives you the impression that she knows Takaya and has a thing for him however it isn't until you start down her path that her story truly starts to make sense. I have played through her route and I actually enjoyed it quiet a bit. The ending I personally feel so far of the two I have completed was well done and had some sort of closure to it.

 Miu is the embodiment of the Rabbit...pretty much literally as she has rabbit ears that she tends to hide unless she gets flustered. She is extremely shy, timid, and fast when it comes to running. She also has a watch that at different times can be heard before she appears. She is a classmate of Takaya and Yua and as the three become closer she tends to follow them around on Yua's expeditions. 

She enjoys reading the same type of stories that Takaya does and truth be told they have a great deal in common and can at some points even finish each other sentences. Due to her shy nature and innocence she is extremely popular among both the boys and girls in their class, though the boys all want her to be their girlfriend. However, despite this she never really tends to do much with the others.

I am currently on her route and her relationship to Takaya is pretty interesting and one that I find to be a nice change of pace. There is some hidden secrets there about Takaya's past that you start to see but those seem to be secondary at this point so I'll have to see where it goes and update you all on a different post.

Madori is based off the Mad Hatter and you meet her when Yua decides to explore the forest that has sprung up behind the school. She of course drags you with her and you soon find yourself in a traditional Japanese style tea house. It is here you meet Madori who is a first year student in the Tea Ceremony Club. Madori is mischievous and a prankster and tends to do things at her own speed. While this normally isn't a problem she sets her sites on Takaya and that can cause some chaos and confusion.

Madori is quick witted and enjoys making Takaya flustered by making suggestive remarks, rubbing her boobs against his arm, and putting him in situations where people believe that he and Madori are a couple and they have done way more than people think. While she does this on a regular bases she doesn't speak about herself much and she tends to be elusive. She also has an unusual tick of sorts by talking to herself and if Takaya says something about it she dismisses him as him just being crazy.

Not playing her route yet I honestly can't tell you much of their relationship story. 

All in all from the few stories I have played through and the over all feel of the Visual Novel is very well done and thought out, the story flows and has several comedy like instances that is refreshing and nice. That said there are also a few of those more heart wrenching moments that really hits you hard. While I won't say what those are because I don't want to ruin it for anyone.

The artwork is well done and the music works well with the overall feel of the Visual Novel. I recommend this VN to anyone that is looking for a unique take on a classic like Alice in Wonderland. If you obtain the 18+ DLC it will also add 3 additional 'mini' endings in which there are three other women you can get with. And to say the H-scenes are hot is an understatement. I can say that thus far of the three I've done or working on there are several that even got saucy for me...which I like.