I don’t really have an eroge planned f until Primal Hearts 2 in August, so I thought I would write up something for Evenicle. Now this is actually the first time I’ve ever written about a game that has actual game-play, so don’t go expecting too much from me =3
Company: ALICESOFT
Game site: イブニクル
Release date: April 24, 2015
Links: VNDB
The creator of the world, the Holy Mother Eve, gave two commandments: one must not kill another human, and one must only have one partner for life. However, knights are exempted from the latter divine rule, so that they can produce powerful offspring to fight against monsters. Somewhere in the land, there was a young man Asterisk who wished to marry the beautiful twin sisters who raised him. He decided that he will become a knight and get lots of wives! Thus, he set out on his journey with great enthusiasm and ambition.
[Borrowed from Micchi’s blog]
Opening
Story
Micchi’s description of the game sums up things in a nutshell. Evenicle is a classic odyssey type story, where Aster and his party roam around the land to try to stop an evil organisation called “Jamon”. The game makes reference to King Arthur, the Bible, and several other elements. It’s pretty clear early on that Evenicle wouldn’t have an insanely deep plot, and an over complicated plot wouldn’t really suit the game’s style either. Evenicle has a very light and simple feel, with things occasionally getting serious. The direction of Evenicle is pretty obvious, but despite that, it’s a very enjoyable ride.
Yep, they look evil alright
The concept of outlaws I found quite interesting, and I really liked how it was an element of the story that was constantly looked at. Given that one of the ways people becomes outlaws is by having multiple sexual partners (knights excluded), a fair amount of rape is in the game. In general I really don’t like dark stuff like rape, and the rape in this game does get a bit gruesome at times. However with Evenicle, I found myself accepting it because I found it to be a very necessary element for the game.
The Evenicle, and all the history about the creation of the world regarding Eve I found hilarious. Maybe it’s because it’s because I’m an atheist, but how perverted Eve was in the beginning just had me cracking up. This element of the game also added in a lot of random H-scenes, which were most pretty funny.
Something I liked about Evenicle is that the story is constantly progressing, and you pretty much always know what you need to do. For example, I didn’t find myself aimlessly wandering around looking for that ONE NPC needed to get the story rolling again. So I never found myself needing to consult a walk-through in order to know how to move forward. Though I’ll admit, I did consult a walk-through a couple of times to learn how to beat a couple of the optional bosses.
Characters
I really liked Aster as a protagonist; his pervy nature and how he constantly hits on women is something I found amusing from start to finish. All of the main heroines were great, and their unique personalities added something nice to the family as a whole.
Ramius is just as much of a perv as Aster, which makes their affinity for each other great.
Riche is somewhat laid back as a princess, but is a bit serious when it comes to being a wife. Her hate of Haniwas is damn cute and funny at the same time.
Gurigura’s cute and innocent, and her well-trained senses help the team immensely. I suppose for a lot of people, she adds in that loli factor.
Kathryn is a bit of an oddball, and spends all her time either doing suspicious research, or ordering stuff off Amazon.
Yes, her friends are Haniwas
The side heroines were a bit of a hit and miss for me. I liked most of them, the twin sisters especially, but a couple of them were really randomly thrown in there. There were also a couple of side characters who I really wanted as brides, but it ended up not happening.
Sigh~
Game-play
The game-play for Evenicle is quite simple, and there’s nothing revolutionary about it. As you run around, you’ll come across enemies. In battle you attack enemies by clicking them, and during fights you can also use battle points to use skills you’ve set. You level up as you gain exp from defeating monsters. And that’s the gist of it.
Did a find Evenicle’s game-play fun? Yes…for the most part. However a problem generally encounter when I played RPGs, which I’m sure others also experience, is that I bored of the game-play. I don’t think it’s anything surprising given since turn based RPGs almost always get repetitive. You can add in new party members and show me a bunch of new skills, but the game-play ultimately stays the same. Fortunately, Evenicle has several features that made me withstand the repetitiveness of the game-play.
Gurigura has the passive ability to defeat weaker monsters automatically, without the need for you to enter the battle. This helps immensely when you’re travelling around older areas since don’t need to repeated fight those weak monsters yourself. I also love the auto-battle setting and how holding control speeds up the game play.
I choose you, Gurigura!
Grinding is also something that has made me drop a number of RPGs in the past. However with Evenicle, I almost found myself NEVER needing to grind. The level of difficulty for this game is fairly gentle. I don’t mean to say that things were insanely easy or anything. Boss battles were still interesting, and if I was careless, I would get team wiped. But instead of grinding, I changed my skills around and used different strategies in order to face those tougher battles. When I did find myself needing to level, I would focus on 1.5x EXP battles.
Those spiky red orbs are 1.5 EXP battles, and they’re fairly common
The skills system is quite basic, with more powerful skills requiring more skill points for you to equip them. There are multiple ways to gain skills, and equipping the right skills can do wonders for boss battles. Some skills are more useful than others. For example, the tree cutting skill is used on ONE occasion because you need some logs from a special tree. In that particular case, I don’t see why giving Aster an Axe didn’t suffice…
There’s only ONE healing item in the game, and it heals all a single character’s HP. Aside from a couple of consumable items, the only thing I was really using my money on was weapons and armour. I would have really enjoyed if there was something else major you could spend money on, like visiting love hotels or renovating your house.
Romance
I’ve always been a fan of romance in adventure settings. The heroines in these settings give a very different feel, which I suppose is what gets me attracted to them. Seeing this sort of romance in games is one of the driving forces that motivate me to finish these long, and often tedious games. Of course, romance in games is more often than not, a side dish. Hell, it’s probably more accurate to say it’s like a seasoning; it’s there, but it gets lost within everything else.
When it comes to romance in a RPG, I feel that Evenicle did a good job. Sure there isn’t the normal build up I would normally like to see in the typical slice of life games, but there’s a decent amount of stuff after the relationship is formed. The story in general has a fair amount of husband and wife interactions mixed in, which is often more humorous than it is romantic. However Evenicle also makes use of a couple other elements to show romance.
First, there are mini icha-icha events scattered around the world map to find, with each main heroine getting 10-12 events. These events show a short playful dialogue between Aster and one of the heroines, and will usually relate to the surrounding environment. Short and sweet would be how I describe these moments.
Second, a love bar slowly fills up as you fight monsters. Once it reaches max, you can watch a bride event. These bride events have much deeper romance than the icha-icha events, and will sometimes contain a sex scene. I really enjoyed these events, and even though I wish there were more, the presented amount was still satisfying. The fact that you gain SP for heroines and get neat items from watching these events are an added incentive.
Graphics
You should have a reason feel of the graphics for the game since I’ve been plastering CGs all over this review. Traveling on the world map and battles are in 3D, while dialogue is in 2D. There are a few SDCGs used for the game as well, and they’re adorable.
Wow that middle one stands out
Sound
All the major events, bride events, and H-scenes are voiced. Your more general dialogue and scenery trivia is unvoiced. I was a bit sceptical about partial voicing when I entered the game, but it turned out pretty well. The stuff that needed to be voiced, was voiced.
Extras
Capturing girl monsters was probably the only time I was kinda grinding. Along with getting to see a nice CG, capturing girl monster s gives you a nice item. So there’s double the incentive =D.
Optional bosses are quite challenging to fight against, and a lot of them require specific strategies in order to beat them.
This fight was a little tricky given my level, but I managed to beat him =D
Finding scenery spots as you explore around teaches you some trivia about the world. Also, you get a nice package sent through Amazon from your sisters every time you find 10 spots.
Fishing can score you some nice weapons and armour. Plus, you can also collect rare outfits for each of the main heroines.
There are a few other random side quests in the game. Most of them only give EXP or money, but there are some nice rewards out there to find. For a game like Evenicle, when I say “nice reward’, you KNOW I’m talking about H-scenes.
Final Words
Overall: 90/100
I LOVED Evenicle, and if I didn’t have to work, I would have been playing it non-stop until I clocked it. The cast of characters was fantastic, and their unique personalities added a lot of humour to the game. The overall story is fairly simple, but well executed. The fast paced story coupled with gentle game-play kept me in the moment, and stopped things from getting boring. Though I admit, at times I wish the level of difficulty for this game was a bit more challenging. The various extras of the game also added to the experience, and there’s real incentive to actually do them. Evenicle is a game I highly recommend, and it holds a special place in my heart. There are talks about a sequel, and I can’t wait XD.
Amaenbou Dane~ 
TONIGHT we 6P!
It’s a shame that there weren’t more 3P and higher scenes in this game =(
FUCK! then whats the point of getting a harem thats soooo OOC of Aster
I mean, they imply that they do those super sexy sex scenes, but it’s barely ever shown. We only really get the occasionally 3P >___>. Hopefully the sequel will bring more sexiness?
given your level, that V2 boss is definitely impossible for you to defeat it. 😀
It’s amazing that you can defeat that pervert gorilla boss with those level though.
Btw, I just finished Evenicle yesterday and I completed everything in it. Yes everything. So that makes me no need to do new game+ in Evenicle since there is nothing to do anymore besides leveling to max level (When I cleared Evenicle, everyone is at lv 95. :D). I took a month to finish Evenicle and it’s definitely worth my time that I spent to finish it.
In overall, its story is really good. I like how they build its story in every chapter. It’s true that Its story is cliche, but they executed it really well in its story. About its romance, I feel there is little lack on its romance and there are once or twice I feel the change of his bride personality between before become his bride and after become his bride feel forced, but at least its romance is still good. Also, they end its story hanging because there are still many things that left unanswered I think(Maybe they plan to make sequel of Evenicle in the future and maybe that’s the reason).
The concepts of how someone become outlaw is interesting, but I found inconsistency with that concept in the story. Someone become outlaw if he/she kill someone or having multiple sex partners (knight excluded). I found its inconsistency on the 1st rule (kill someone). Remember when Pancho kill outlaw at near monster’s nest and he didn’t become outlaw after killing them. Maybe because he is knight that he doesn’t become outlaw, but that’s where I found its inconsistency. The story said that knight only excluded for 2nd rule (having multiple sex partners).
In the first place, I feel the concepts of someone become outlaw is still flawed. What makes me think that concepts is flawed because it’s indiscriminate and somehow I found it cruel. Let say a woman get raped by outlaw or by two men or more and then she became outlaw because of that. From there, I’m sure you know where I found it cruel.
For character, Definitely like Gurigura the most in Evenicle. She is my favorite in Evenicle. Moreover, she is very useful too in battle. Ramius + Asterisk = Bakapuru (Stupid Couple) and when those two together, they’re really funny. In battle, Ramius is your teammate defender because she has high defense. I like Kathryn personality, but she is useless in battle without her support skill.
For Battle: Gurigura >>>>> Riche > Ramius > Kathyrn
Outside Battle: Gurigura > Kathryn > Riche > Ramius
I really like the system in Evenicle. Moreover with some extras in it, I never get boring playing Evenicle. Music in it also pretty good. I really like the BGM for boss battle.
Btw, something to remember about Gurigura passive skill to defeat weaker monsters automatically, that skill has pros and cons.
With many things still unanswered in Evenicle, they definitely need to make sequel for Evenicle. If they don’t make sequel for Evenicle, I will go to Japan and force Alice Soft to make sequel for Evenicle
My rating for Evenicle:
Rating for Evenicle:
Story: 8/10
System: 9/10
Art: 7/10
Character: 9/10
Music: 8.5/10
Opening: 10/10
H-scenes: 8.5/10
Overall: 85/100
Still one step away to reach kamige level, but In overall, Evenicle is great game and just like Aero, I also recommend other people to play it.
It’s true that I beating V2 at that stage would’ve been a pipe dream, but the gorilla isn’t all that hard. It’s the normal battles on that island that I found tough.
The chances of a sequel is pretty high, and it’s hinted in the bonus scenario. That aside, I wouldn’t say that there are “many” things in Evenicle that were left unanswered. Sure there are some loose ends, but for the most part I feel it was concluded. Though, I’m assuming here and there that they’ve chosen to keep things ambiguous.
I disagree with both of the inconsistencies you’ve pointed out, and here’s why.
First, I’m fairly certain you probably missed something because “killing” is covered at the very start when you first party with Ramius.
Second, the fact that there’s no discrimination when people become outlaws from being raped makes the concept LESS flawed. The world isn’t a some flowery place where only good things happen to the good; sometimes bad things happen to good people, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Tio’s refugee camp existed to shelter those who didn’t choose to become outlaws, and note, there were also men there. Saying it’s cruel when good people become outlaws when they’re raped is understandable, and I agree But the concept of outlaws isn’t flawed just because you didn’t like some aspect of it. That’s not a flaw; that’s just your personal preference.
Heh, you’ve sure become more critical when it comes to rating games. If I recall correctly, you gave Hatsuyuki Sakura something like 12/10?
V2 is the hardest optional boss in Evenicle I think. The main reason is because you have limited turns to defeat it. You have to stock a lot of BP potion and make sure Gurigura have her stun skill when fight that boss. No matter what, always try to stun it so you can delay the turn where you definitely lose. Yeah, that gorilla isn’t hard as long as you don’t make that gorilla angry. I agree that normal battle in that dinosaur island is tough. Even I still find it little tough though everyone already at lv 95.
I’m glad that they make sequel for Evenicle. let me rephrase my words there. what I feel is there are few things that still left unanswered. For example, why there is only right hand of Adan in that world? Where is the other parts of Adan’s body? Did the other parts of Adan’s body get destroyed?
Also, who is Qu actually? What is her relationship with Adan and maybe with Eve too?There are still many mystery about Qu. Also, they said Asterisk’s father is still alive, but where is he now?
So, do you still say that there is still no things that left unanswered?
First, I’m fairly certain you probably missed something because “killing” is covered at the very start when you first party with Ramius.
What do you mean? Please explain it in detail.
Maybe my personal reference or maybe it’s really a flaw. I think it’s a flaw because those two commandments are rules and outlaw exploited that rules that have no discrimination to make other people become outlaw. Rules that can be exploited is flawed. Then again, there is no rules that don’t have flaw. The concept of outlaws is good, but flawed because of its no discrimination. At least I’m happy when they showed that Croix can make black ring at their hand (the proof of someone is outlaw) disappeared. Because of her, now the flaw in that no discrimination was repaired, though it’s possible to make new flaw appear.
Yeah, I give Hatsuyuki Sakura 15/10 for its story, 12/10 for its music, and 13/10 for its character if I remember. When you see that kind of rating (rating above 10), that means I feel that part of the game greatness is really in whole diferrent level and really make me amazed that even turn on my “WOW” switch. I’m already critical when it comes to rating games and I always give rating to a game from how I feel. Evenicle is for example. It’s definitely great, but I feel none of every part in it that turn on my “WOW” switch. Even its OP that I think is the best part in it, only almost turn on my “WOW” switch. Different story for Hatsuyuki Sakura. Its story, character, and music turned on my “WOW” switch. I know that the maximum that I can give is 10 because it’s 10/10, but I feel “mottainai” when I only can give it 10/10, but it deserve more than 10/10. Because of that, I decide to go with my own rules for ratings and give it more than 10/10 when it deserve to be given more than 10/10. I kinda feel I’m biased when I rated character for Hatsuyuki Sakura because my ideal woman is in it (AYAAAAAAAA!!! >_<). Well, that's the story. 😀
Also, If you see the overall rating of the game is above 100, that means I definitely considered that game as kamige.
for most of your questions, if not every, i suggest you play it until the end, brother. Mangagamer already translate it, if you don’t fluent with japanese. About Adan’s body, about Qu, about Aster’s parentage, it’s answered already.
No need to tell me about how to fight V2; I finished most of the game weeks before you did, in less than a third the time.
Sorry, let me also rephrase how I worded my statement about the game’s story. When I say there’s aren’t many things left unanswered, I was meant to say that there aren’t many things that were left unanswered that they didn’t “purposely” leave as such. The “loose ends” which I spoke of are things I believe the sequels won’t cover, and I think these are few in number. While there are larger bits of story that I believe that they’ve purposely left vague so that they can build on it in the sequel(s).
Refer to the picture below about for the concept of killing:
Okay, let’s try this from a different angle, remembering that I also agreed that some elements regarding outlaws are cruel. I agree with you that those commandments set by Eve are rules; natural laws of the world if you will. So I saw this natural law of the world as something that wasn’t good or bad; it’s just the way things are. In my eyes, it’s not something that outlaws are taking advantage of, or exploiting. Instead, victims becoming outlaws is something that naturally occurs as a result of what other outlaws choose to do. If you think about it, outlaws couldn’t really care less about if a girl (or sometimes guy) gets turned into an outlaw; they’re just looking for someone to screw. Which is why I disagree about calling this nature of this natural law a “flaw”. Calling it cruel, unfair, and even disgusting is something I can agree with. And yes, the epilogue moment with Croix about the black rings was quite touching.
Maybe I was a little quick there to say that you’ve gotten more critical when it comes to judging games. While it’s completely up to you what rating you give a game, such scores do make me wonder if you’re not “over beautifying” the your views of the game. Well in any case, I do hope to see the day when you can evaluate Hatsuyuki Sakura a bit more critically. If that day does come, do send me an email =D
Hmm…… I still don’t much understand with the first rules (Don’t kill people) after all. But I still feel the first rule is contradiction because what it said in the synopsis (about those 2 rules) and what I see in the game is pretty different.
You won’t ever see the day I’ve gotten more critical when it comes to judging games more than this. Also, you can’t ever guess me because I’m a person who really hard to guess (because I’m an instinct person after all. Most of my actions comes from my instinct), my suggestion is just leave it be.
Well, I also feel I’m biased with my score for its story (About 1 or 2 points) because it looks like nakige and utsuge is my favorite story type. Even some of my story ideas are utsuge or nakige type. But I don’t biased when gave score for its music because it really deserve to get that much. If I’m being honest, I never see BGM and music that blended so perfectly with its story besides Hatsuyuki Sakura so far. I even think Hatsuyuki Sakura high score on its story was thanks to its music because its music that helped showing the “X factor” on its story to peoples.
Actually I’m planning to re-play Hatsuyuki Sakura in the future because of Aya’s birthday, so let see whether I’m a bit more critically about Hatsuyuki Sakura or my opinion is still stands the same after I re-play it.
Btw Aero, if possible please play Monster Girl Quest too. I really want to see your review about it.
Now see, you’re way too fixated on the VNDB synopsis when it comes to judging that there’s a contradiction in this rule. While I think the VNDB synopsis is very reasonable, which btw was written by Micchi, there’s a bit too much emphasis on Knights being exempt from only the rule about having multiples partners. The Japanese synopsis doesn’t have this emphasis, so the relationship between Knights and killing is left untouched. So leaving the synopsis aside, the game does make mention that Knights have the right to kill. So I believe that should resolve this “contradiction” you speak of.
Sorry, but I have no interest in playing Monster Girl Quest. Let’s also end the discussion about Hatsuyuki Sakura as well because I actually have “nothing” good to say about your follow up comment.
Now that makes sense and solve my problem. No wonder that there is contradiction between what I read in its synopsis and what I see in its game. I don’t know if this contradiction happens because of Micchi or really because of its own synopsis, but I don’t like when there is inconsistency between what I read and what I see in its game because that means it gives false information to peoples.
Well, if that is your decision, I won’t force you anymore, but let me say this. I’m sure you will regret to not play Monster Girl Quest as soon as possible.
Yeah, let’s end the discussion about Hatsuyuki Sakura too.
Btw, maybe you can solve contradictions and exceptions that Jason found in Evenicle (like that dragon things for example).
It’s kinda strange that you would claim that the game has a contradiction based off what you read from the synopsis…maybe you skip over that bit in the game because you were reading too fast?
With regards to the contradiction that Joyjason brought up his review about QD’s rule about dragons, it’s mostly valid. I suppose one could argue that since Aster is only a half dragon, dragon rules don’t apply to him, but I don’t think anything is said explicitly. So it’s mostly up to interpretation.
Yeah, I think I definitely skip it since I accidentally clicked my mouse when I read few times and There are times when my mouse isn’t in good condition and makes a click become double-click.
I don’t think it’s not only on QD’s rule contradiction that he found in Evenicle. If I remember he said he found few contradiction in his review. Maybe you can solve those contradiction. The only contradiction that I know from him is only that QD’s rule contradiction though, so you should ask him for other contradiction.
Hmm… So I just finished Chapter 5 yesterday, but I actually have different opinions from you and Will. Not sure how the story is going to turn out, but I’m definitely making a review for this game.
Aero, mind if I link your review in mine? I won’t be using your words, but I just wanted to give readers a more favorable viewpoint because mine won’t be so pretty
I’m quite interested in seeing your opinion of Evenicle. Will’s thoughts on the game aside, Micchi and I both thought that it was the best game for 2015 so far. Though, we aren’t the most critical people out there. Also, I very rarely play eroge that has a game-play component to it, so it might just be the gap that’s appealing to me.
Feel free to link this review to your one. Ohhh, so your reviews gonna be blasting the game quite a bit huh? Always good to hear different opinions, so can’t wait for the read =D
I think I agree that Evenicle is the best eroge for 2015 so far. I don’t remember all other eroge that released in 2015, but I’m sure there is still no eroge that released in 2015 that can match Evenicle’s quality so far.
Meanwhile, I’m kinda expecting eroge from Eushully that released this year also have the same quality as Evenicle, but after looking at its rating at EGS, they let me down this year. I’m really expecting it to be as good as Kamidori and it’s not even near it. Mottainai.
I’m also interested to see your opinion about Evenicle because you said you have different opinion from me. I can’t wait to read it.
I’m playing the game now and have a question: I’ve been collecting these random items. They include things like beetles, what seems to be cassettes, and so on. Are these things worth keeping or should I sell them for money?
I don’t know about the cassettes, but definitely don’t sell those green beetles because they’re REALLY expensive later in the game.Those beetles increase your all your sub-stats by 1% (e.g. chances of consecutive attacks, and exp gain). Generally with consumables, it’s better to just use them because they’re not that easy to come by. Other stuff, you can sell if want, but I usually keep at least one of something. The only thing I sell is duplicate or old weapons/armour, and treasure =D.
I have those green beetles but I also have black ones that don’t seem to give any bonuses. They, the cassettes, and other things have in their item descriptions at the bottom something that says: * sasato-something-mashyo. (excuse my romanji)
For the life of me, I can’t remember. Most likely an accessory? If you give me a screenshot of the thing, it’ll give me a better idea of what you’re referring to.
I kinda forgot all about it cause I stopped playing evenicle for a little while, but here’s what I’m talking about:
All four items don’t seem to give anything I can notice, and they all sell for quite a bit of money.
Yep, all of that stuff is just meaningless treasure (indicated by the 「お宝」), and it’s safe to just sell it off.
Hey there! Can I ask, is there any NTR scenes in the game? Like are ALL of the heroines safe from rape or NTR? (fan of romance here, anti-NTR >.<)
The main heroines who become part of your party don’t appear in any rape scenes, but a couple of the side heroines do.
Oh, thanks for replying! Are they avoidable?
Those scenes are part of the main storyline for the game, so they’re unavoidable. I’m a vanilla guy myself (well mostly), so those scenes didn’t really agree with me. However as I said above in my post, I do feel that it was a necessary element for this game.
Hmmm, this is hard to decide… I really like the art and the characters look really cute and nice, even the gameplay looks fun. …maybe I’ll push it back on my list haha. Thanks for the reply again ^-^
I liked how you explained the gameplay and battle systems, the lovebar gauge and whatnot. It felt like a lot of effort went into it, especially Gurigura’s passive skill to reduce the grind and repetitiveness.
Same, I loved Evenicle too!
That they let me continue after the final boss makes it kind of compelling for me to grind the levels to see if the maximum level is 99. (^w^);;;;
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