Sympathy Kiss is a slice-of-life, office romance, otome visual novel that was first released in Japan in November 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. The game was developed by Design Factory / Otomate, and published by Idea Factory, then later localised in English and brought to the west by Idea Factory International in February 2024.
I’d been desperately awaiting Sympathy Kiss ever since it was announced for localisation in July 2023 and it remained as my most anticipated release ever since. After getting stuck straight into the game on release day and finishing it all in less than 2 weeks, I can now confidently say that I was right to be so excited as I thoroughly enjoyed every second! After digesting my experience, I can now say I loved Sympathy Kiss even more than I initially thought – so much so, that I felt compelled to write a review!
*Please note: All CGs used in this post are promotional CGs as shown in IFI’s official gallery. I have also included a few text screenshots, but these do not reveal information that could spoil the routes. Any spoilers within text have been hidden and require you to click on the heading for the paragraph to appear.
Synopsis:
It’s been a year since Akari Amasawa (name fully changeable) started her job as a developer at mobile app company, Estario. When she is suddenly scouted to join a brand new team to work on reviving a failing app, Akari meets a group of quirky characters in the form of her new colleagues. It is here that she must pair up with one of them to pitch a lifeline for said app. Is Akari up to the challenge with her new partner, and will she end up getting dragged into more than she bargained for?
Key Points:
- Around 30-35 hours of gameplay
- 8 character routes (6 standard + 2 secret)
- Plenty of melodrama, not much in terms of plot
- Heroine speaks with internal dialogue
- No specific route order and can easily be played without a guide
General Overview: What to expect!
The first thing to note about Sympathy Kiss is that there isn’t really much of a common route before you are required to pick your guy at around 2 hours in. Although this is probably a plus for most people, there isn’t a lot of time to get to know the characters individually before each route branches off. If you’re going in blind like I did, this might be slightly disappointing as the dialogue choices made to get on each specific route are fairly obvious – so basically, you’ll need to know who you’re pursuing right from the start. This somehow feels a little anticlimactic, however, it does mean that it’s pretty easy to follow without the need of a guide. Each route has three endings (a perfect end, love end, and a work end) with no majorly traumatic bad ends present like in some otome out there. The perfect end is the only ending with a CG for completion’s sake, with the exception of Yoshioka’s love end (for some reason). Since there’s no overlying plot, any route can be played in any order, although Usui’s route is locked until your first playthrough is complete. For the best experience, I suggest starting with either Saotome’s or Minato’s route, and I also advise leaving the (not-so) secret routes until later on.
What makes it different?
Setting for setting’s sake:
The whole synopsis about working on developing an app is basically just there to set the scene. If you’re hoping to get anything out of that aspect, or any type of deep, overlying plot, then prepare to be disappointed. Sympathy Kiss is slice-of-life at it’s best with a strong focus on romance and friendship; it just happens to be set within an office environment – which, in my experience, makes it more appealing to an older audience.
Internal Monologue MC:
Okay, I know this sounds weird but bear with me. I’ve never known an otome game to be written like this before and I feel like it deserves much more credit than anyone seems to mention. The MC, Akari Amasawa, is a fully fleshed-out MC that even has a spoken name – she is not self-insert only! On the other hand, she never actually speaks for herself. Her entire speech is written in first person as an internal monologue as opposed to what she would voice aloud (I’ve attached some examples in screenshots below). I thoroughly enjoyed this writing style and it was actually one of my favourite parts about the game. Saying that, I wouldn’t want this to be the new norm, it was just a refreshing change.
Secret routes (spoiler free!):
If you didn’t already realise it yet, Sympathy Kiss has an additional 2 routes tucked away, waiting to be found. Branching off from 2 other character routes, both these secret LIs have 4 episodes rather than the usual 6, but this doesn’t mean the stories are any less exciting. In all honesty, I enjoyed them the most! Featuring a full set of CGs and all three endings, these routes definitely don’t fall flat on quality and are paced excellently considering they’re shorter in length. Keeping them secret also added to the excitement as you don’t know what to expect, although now I’ve finished the game, it is super frustrating not being able to talk about them openly. As much as I want to scream about Secret Route 1, let’s not spoil it for others.
Art and Design:
Sympathy Kiss’ art design suited the style of the game extremely well with bright colours and clean lines. I’m no artist, but I greatly appreciated the use of light, especially in the CGs, to provide depth to the images and create a subtle atmosphere. I did feel a little disappointed with some of the CGs though as some of the proportions felt off sometimes, and on occasion the characters looked way different to their sprites – mostly in Kobase’s case (why did he suddenly look like a teenager?!).
There are these stunning examples (shown above), and then there are these… slightly wonky ones (feat. faceless MC)… I don’t mean to be harsh, but when everything else is so beautiful, it’s glaringly obvious.
The choice to leave Akari eyeless also bothered me since she actually had her own personality. Although her face wasn’t visible in a lot of the CGs, it was jarring to see half her face absent at certain times where an expression could’ve said a thousand words. The sprites were beautifully drawn with various poses for each character and I loved the variety in style/appearance for each individual. My favourite thing of all though was the outfit changes! Each character had 2 different outfits that cycled throughout the game, adding a more realistic and personal touch. Considering this wasn’t necessary, I loved that extra effort that was put into this fairly minor detail.
Alongside the main art, the backgrounds were really detailed and created the ideal setting for each route featuring a small selection of different locations. Aside from the visuals, the audio was top-notch too. The game featured a professional Japanese voice cast with some well known voice actors (listed in the next section) who all performed their roles perfectly! Despite it not being particularly memorable, the soundtrack was also a great fit to the game, included the opening song!
Route Rundowns:
Mitsuki Saotome (VA: Kajiwara Gakuto)
Saotome’s route showed a different side to this motivational, bundle of joy. He contributes a lot of banter, but is far from the class clown. Despite being a little childish, he is capable and professional when it comes to work, although he can often come across as condescending.
Show spoilers!
Even though I liked the setup, I wasn’t blown away by Saotome’s route. For such a headstrong guy, the way he handled the rumours left a sour taste in my mouth despite understanding it was related to past trauma. Saotome did redeem himself and I was satisfied with the conclusion, however, I much preferred him as a support character in other LI’s routes than in his own.
Kohei Minato (VA: Umehara Yuuichirou)
Minato may seem cold at first, but he has so much more going for him than first meets the eye. He’s a man of many secrets and tries to keep people at arms length with his curt demeanour. As Akari works her way into his private life, his reasonings for this approach will soon become clear.
Show spoilers!
Even if the gap moe was plain as day, Minato’s route was actually quite a surprise. His route really delves into his past and shows, what I believe to be, the strongest character progression in the game. The way his secret was revealed to Akari was a little too dramatic, but I’m willing to overlook that thanks to its strong ending. Overall, this was a solid route, even if I didn’t personally click with his character.
Yoji Kobase (VA: Okitsu Kazuyuki)
The dependable boss isn’t as scary as he first seems. Kobase really cares about his subordinates and will do anything in his power to help them whilst also carrying out his own duties, without so much as batting an eye. This route stirs a whole array of emotions and also includes some of the spiciest scenes!
Show spoilers!
Kobase’s route contained some top notch romantic tension and steamy content, but fell a bit short on story. The end felt rushed and we didn’t get full closure as it seemed somewhat unfinished. I enjoyed his character way more than I expected and I loved seeing things from his perspective as he always puts on such a cool façade. Not going to lie, I was disappointed with some of his CGs though (they looked a little wonky, and they showed the noticeably eyeless MC the most).
Rokuro Yoshioka (VA: Yamashita Seiichirou)
As the heir to neighbouring tech corporation, Tempesty, Yoshioka comes from a successful and wealthy family that feels so far away from Akari. He is the smiling face of the company and very much a people pleaser, with a princely charm that everyone adores. This also makes him strangely approachable for someone of his business status.
Show spoilers!
Yoshioka’s route was ram packed with drama that felt like it came straight out of a Japanese TV series! I was expecting him to be more of a flirt, so the childhood friend angle caught me off guard, however, once you got the gist of the story, the rest of it was pretty predictable. I wasn’t a huge fan of the drawn out “wait for me” approach, but there was never a dull moment and it was overall an enjoyable ride that was also quite different to any of the others!
Nori Tainaka (VA: KENN)
Nori is a peculiar character with a big heart. He may be all smiles and possess a friendly aura that makes you feel all fuzzy inside, but you can’t help but feel like something is off about him… after all, Akari does pick him up off the street (literally)! Red flags aside, it doesn’t take long to develop a soft spot for this lovable freeloader.
Show spoilers!
Nori’s route seems slightly disjointed from the others since he’s the only LI not directly involved with Estario. I loved both his mysterious persona and his character progression as he battles his past with Akari’s support. In contrast to the other LIs, who are much more dominant characters, Nori is rather vulnerable and requires Akari’s strength to push forwards. Although he wasn’t my favourite, I really enjoyed the dynamic between the two.
Shuya Usui (VA: Uchida Yuuya)
The owner of Evergreen, a small restaurant/bar located in close proximity to Estario. Well versed in the art of cocktail language, Usui is always on hand to proide the perfect pick-me-up for any occasion. He is also a fine listener who is always happy to lend an ear, although, it’s rare for him to reveal anything significant about himself.
Show spoilers!
It’s always a pleasure to see older LIs in otome games, and at the age of 45, Usui’s route was an excellent example of a more mature relationship. Usui considers Akari’s future over his feelings (much to her displeasure) which throws a spanner in the works, but provided a different approach to a romance story. I’m unsure why Usui was marketed as a main LI though as he fit the bonus character description much better since he (disappointingly) had a much shorter route. I’m still slightly salty because this was the route I finished with and it ended up being my least favourite…
Secret Route #1
Accessible through Yoshioka’s route.
Show spoilers!
YOFY (VA: Saitou Souma)
KING! YOFY is very much the loner type who is highly intelligent and into all things tech. As the youngest member of the cast, he has his teething problems (bordering on yandere-in-the-making), but he’s so adorable that you can’t help but forgive him.
I can’t remember ever being this infatuated with an LI before. I fell in love right from the start and it only got better from there. I did not see what was coming AT ALL, and by that time, I was already completely under his spell… Akari handled the situation she was put in so well!
Secret Route #2
Accessible through Nori’s route.
Show spoilers!
Tsukihiko Higa (VA: Toriumi Kousuke)
Higa is the lovable father we never knew we needed. Completely devoted to his 5 year old son, Hinata, this route screams everything family and expertly handles the dating life of a single parent.
I hadn’t played a route involving a parent in otome before so it was a refreshing change from the norm. Despite the theme being handled exceptionally well, it was sometimes hard to see Higa as an individual due to his devotion to his son, but this was what this route was all about – they’re a team, a package deal, a loving family still battling with the loss of Hinata’s mother. I have so many thoughts about this route, it’s hard to keep it short!
gamergal.exe’s Ranking System:
5★ – Exceptional. I couldn’t fault it in any way.
4★ – Very good. Could maybe do with a few tweaks to make it even better.
3★ – Average. Nothing particularly special, but good enough to enjoy.
2★ – Below average. Needs adjustments / I didn’t get on with the game.
1★ – Poor. Whether it’s broken or just plain dull, I don’t recommend this game.
0★ – Trash. This should never have been created.
Overall Thoughts:
Rating: ★★★★
Despite favouring plot heavy otome games, Sympathy Kiss was an absolute pleasure to play and I had such a great time during every single route. As a fan of J-Dramas, this game had a strange sense of familiarity due to some of the scenarios and I believe anyone who watches J-Dramas/K-Dramas etc. will find joy in this game. It would also be an excellent palette cleanser after playing a game with dark, heavy themes. I agree that it’s not perfect, but it wasn’t that far off the mark. I adored all the characters but I would’ve liked to see a full 6 chapter route for all the LIs at the very least. Saying that though, I probably would’ve felt inclined to rank it a full 5 stars if Akari had just been given eyes… yes, I’m still annoyed about that.
Because Sympathy Kiss isn’t plot focused, I honestly think I could enjoy playing through this again in the future. Typically, when a game has a big plot reveal towards the end, I feel like I wouldn’t enjoy replaying through the experience since it’s essentially been ‘spoiled’. Because Sympathy Kiss’ routes are short, independent, slice of life stories, there’s a likely chance I’d have fun playing through them again – just like I would rewatch my favourite J-Drama. It’s probably just as well since I bought the game to try in JP before the localisation announcement!
gamergal.exe 