After a 5 month hiatus, I’m back after just finishing Café Enchanté over my Thanksgiving holiday. Yes, I’m about a week late but excuse that – grad school ain’t easy. It only took me about a year to complete the game but it was well worth it as I can safely tell you that I give this game a solid PLEASE BUY THIS GAME YOU WON’T REGRET IT/10. In all seriousness though, I really did enjoy Café Enchanté and I am now part of the camp that would love to see an FD for this game because I really do need more more of these men and I am not ashamed to admit that. Considering that this post is my first one in ages, I will try to keep this short and simple. Considering that 3/5 routes I did was over a year ago, my memory will be foggy in some areas but rest assured I know what I’m talking about. For other Café Enchanté posts, please check out my first impressions post on the game or my appreciation posts for Il and Ignis for more dedicated and detailed articles on their routes.
Without further ado onwards!
[Warning: There will be spoilers – minor and major. You have been warned.]
If you want a quick breakdown of my opinions on Café Enchanté and don’t have time to read the whole article, here’s a table for your convenience but in summary, I personally recommend grabbing this game.
Where to Buy
Your best bet is to get it directly from Aksys Games as currently it is US $19.99 but it’s sold out. The game is 3-4 years old so you can definitely buy it for cheap. I have no idea why the Visual Novel Database links to $54 and $70 copies of the game on PlayAsia. Just don’t bother. Amazon also has it at a relatively reasonable price at $30 but still $10 more than Aksys’ version. Additionally, wait for sales to get it even cheaper!
Story
19-year-old Awaki Kotone receives a letter from her grandfather which informs her that she has inherited his cafe after his passing. Once she arrives there, she quickly discovers a door that is truly a gateway to various worlds she never knew existed. From a fallen angel to a headless durahan, Kotone is introduced to fantastical beings who reside or visit the cafe as a meeting place. As Kotone does her best in taking over the cafe in her grandfather’s stead, can she successfully become the best owner while juggling her new other worldly relationships and find love? You can only find out if you play the game.
Welcome to Café Enchanté~!
The Staff (Artist and Writers)
Considering this is now my third official otome game review, I figured it was about time I actually started paying attention to the credits. I know, I’m awful but I live and I learn. Anyways, the artwork and character design of Café Enchanté looked very familiar and the reason is because the artist is Yuuya who also was in charge of the art and character design for Cupid Parasite. No wonder I found everyone so hot then. Yuuya is definitely becoming one of my favorite artists in the otome industry because as you can see even from above, their art is wonderful. Simply put, just wonderful.
As for the writers, according to the Visual Novel Database they were:
Kojima Nao, Nakayama Satomi (Main scenario, Misyr, Il, and Ignis’ route), Sasaki Maro (Canus’ route), and Yoshimura Ririka (Rindou’s route).
And I just got to say, Ms. Nakayama, I really want to talk. She wrote my 3 most favorite routes in the game and I am permenantly emotionally damaged from ALL THREE. Ma’am, you need to take some responsibility. In all seriousness however, Il, Ignis, and Misyr’s routes were my top one’s (not necessarily in that order) and I will keep an eye out for the name Nakayama Satomi in all my future otome games now.
Prediction Check
So I have gotten into the habit of making predictions of what is to come in the otome games I played after completing the common route or the equivalent. So let’s take a look at how true or false some of these were:
Misyr and Il’s route is going to hurt the most (emotionally) -> Correct! I found both of their routes were emotionally taxing in a good way. Interestingly enough, despite being done over a year ago, Il’s route felt more heart-wrenching than Misyr’s. When I restarted playing Café Enchanté this month, when I saw Il for the first time, my heart constricted and I couldn’t help but feel so upset for the poor baby. Yes, his route will leave that much of an impression on you – guaranteed.
Favorites List -> Incorrect! Currently, it is Il = Misyr = Ignis -> Rindo -> Canus. I honestly can’t choose between the first three but I THINK Il’s edges out just barely. But I really love Ignis and Misyr, too.
The voice isn’t evil -> Correct! Sort of. The voice means her no harm but does harm her in a way. More on that later when I get to Misyr’s route.
Caelm isn’t that great -> CORRECT! Funny I singled out Caelm because I find it WORSE than everywhere else (yes, even Misyr’s world somehow). I really really hated that so-called God.
Kororo mistypes -> Correct! And many other ones.
Headless Forever Canus -> Correct!
Misyr’s Dark Past -> Correct!
Rindo will quit the GPM -> Incorrect. More on this later.
The others live happy lives at Café Enchanté -> I mean, duh.
Gameplay
Unlike Collar x Malice and Cupid Parasite, Café Enchanté does not really have any special gameplay outside of the usual pick and choose your own choices. I will say that this is the first otome game I have played that does not reward you for playing bad endings. By that I mean there are no CGs that are included in the bad endings. Thus, if you are a completionist who hates going for bad ends, then you’re in luck with Café Enchanté! That said, I have no idea what the bad endings are like in this game and I kind of don’t want to find out. The journey to get to the GOOD endings can be emotionally strenuous as is. Why would I put my heart through even more pain and suffering?
The Prologue is LONG
I will add under this section that Café Enchanté has 8 chapters of prologue. EIGHT. Thus, if you don’t like otome games with long common routes than Café Enchanté might be a skip. This is also considering the fact that as far as I know you have to replay the prologue every time you want to do another route. There is only a subtle change with each new prologue you do, but 99% of it is the exact same. I have no idea if the prologue is entirely skippable but it does not seem like it so be warned.
Love Interests
Il (CV: Ishikawa Kaito)
Il was my first route and I highly recommend that you DO NOT do his route first if you want to ease yourself into the game especially since the majority of the common route was pretty chill. As I mentioned before, Il’s route was perhaps the most emotionally taxing for me that I still feel scarred from it to this day despite playing his route over a year ago. I mean, just look at him up there. Anyways, I did a more detailed overview of my thoughts on Il’s route in his own dedicated article here.
What I will say is that I was not expecting to like Il as much as I did since he isn’t really my type at first glance but his route was written well enough that he won me over. What he had to go through with discovering how trash Caelm and that “God” was along with his journey from going from a broken angel to an otome addict to having to do that all over again was a rollercoaster of ups and downs I did not ask for but somehow appreciated and enjoyed all the same. I can’t believe I’m saying this but despite how much my heart wanted to burst from the strain of the flood of emotions I carried throughout his route, I would do it all over again. Yes, I’m a sick masochist but aren’t we all are as otome fans?
Ignis (CV: Ono Yuuki)
Ignis’ route was interesting. I did his after Il’s because I couldn’t contain my curiosity anymore and the fact Ignis is voiced by Ono Yuuki who is one of my favorite seiyuus to hear, how could I resist not falling into his route for much longer? That said, Jesus Christ, I really have to talk to this Nakayama Satomi because despite Ignis’ route not being as emotionally heart-wrenching as Il’s, I still felt a strong string of emotions that fell into the “I’m irritated and angry for you” category. Poor Ignis. The fact he was so adamant about changing the way his world works and already sort of failing before he even started is…certainly something else. Similar to Il, I go more in depth on Ignis and his route in his own appreciation post so please check that out as I wrote it fresh off his route when things were more clear in my head.
That aside, even if it’s bad to say, I really felt for Ignis as he tried to suppress and control his rampage instincts throughout his route and felt even worse for him when he terribly hurt Kotone in the middle of losing himself to said instincts, but…but…he looks kinda hot here, no?
I’m so terrible for saying that given the horrible context of this scene and what happens directly afterwards but I guess I just like my out of control beast-like men. Wow, otome really reveals sides to yourself you never knew you had. Since I can’t believe I typed a sentence out like that, I’m just going to move on and try not to cringe at myself.
Canus (CV: Umehara Yuuichirou)
So Canus was my third route and his route I would honestly suggest you do first as it is a bit less intimidating in the “my poor heart can’t take this amount of emotional damage” category but that does not mean his route is lackluster. Admittedly, I did not write up an appreciation post for Canus whose route I did over a year ago as well. While I am currently a busy grad student with some life issues to handle, I could definitely have done an appreciation post at the time. I believe that while I did enjoy Canus’ route, I did not have the creative spark to write a dedicated post for him which kind of makes me sad but it’s also understandable. Not to mention, I actually put him last on my favorites list. This does not mean I dislike Canus! It’s just from a personal standpoint but the others were more impactful on me I suppose.
With that said, his route is, of course, not without conflict and as I recall it you will face a dilemma over Canus’ identity amongst the fairies and conflict over that awful tree that is apparently sucking up the vitality of Titania which spurs Venia into action that is part of the catalyst that leads to conflict in Canus’ route. Speaking of, I do love both Titania and Venia and was happy to see at the end of Canus’ route that both end up having happy endings especially Titania who was forced to be part of the world of Medio and couldn’t leave because…these fantasy worlds are just really messed up, guys.
Anyways, Canus as a love interest is a 10/10 but not for me personally, but he is adorable with his little colorful flames.
Rindo (CV: Suwabe Jun’ichi)
Considering I don’t typically go for the DILF types, I was quite astounded with myself for really getting emotionally attached the way I did when it came to Rindou’s route. I did recently have my birthday last month so I suppose with me getting older, I can finally start appreciating the ole papas of the otome world. Jokes aside, Rindou really is a lovely gentleman that I can’t see why you would dislike even if he isn’t your type. He has his shortcomings–actually, no he doesn’t. The man is perfectly fine as is. Perhaps his only flaw is his wariness over non-humans which is honestly an improvement from his dislike for them originally. You learn during his route why he holds a wary caution for them despite getting along with Misyr and the others. I won’t necessarily spoil it here but I felt he was perfectly valid for his reasons and his constant warnings to Kotone to be careful around their non-human friends because they almost always seemed to hurt or even kill humans in the end.
His warnings and caution never come across as annoying or belittling, but from a firm stance of concern. I think this is what I really liked about his character–his depth of his relationship with non-humans that was a mix of curiosity, concern, and warmth. This is only deepen and made more complicated when he becomes one himself towards the end of his route. I was honestly surprised the writers chose to go down that route with Rindo but it does lead to character growth and Rindo and Kotone’s relationship advancing. I can see some not enjoying this direction but personally despite my initial surprise, I found it not to be the worst thing they could’ve done.
In addition, perhaps it was also my perception but he didn’t really come across as a fatherly figure but more of an older brother. Which is great because I do NOT feel comfortable romancing someone that is my dad’s age or gives off those feels (despite you know, romancing beings who are my ancestor’s age 20 times over). Regardless, as someone who didn’t believe I could like the DILF type at my age, I really enjoyed Rindo but alas, he is still beaten by his non-human counterparts.
Misyr (CV: Akabane Kenji)
And lastly, Misyr. I’m not even sure where to start with this demon king, or really non-demon king as it is revealed quite quickly in his route that his whole identity that we have come to know and love is built upon lies. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing as you soon realize that Misyr has an even more emotionally taxing backstory that tops Il’s, of course, but I won’t get into specifics about that because that would be a whole essay speckled with my own passionate sloppy feelings that you all don’t need to read about right now. You came for a quick evaluation of his route and I will serve that. However, I do hope I can write up an appreciation post for Misyr when time permits. The semester is slowly closing on my end so I hope I can accomplish a feat sometime in the next week. Keep your eyes peeled!
Anyways, I really enjoyed Misyr’s route as well. It is longer than the others by only a couple chapters so be warned about that. As his route is locked until you do the others, it makes sense a couple extra chapters is needed not only to close out his route but the overarching story in general. That said, his route does not waste time to get started with the action and you don’t have too much time to relax as ominous things start to happen in just the first chapter alone including meeting a man who looks suspiciously like Misyr.
I will say that it does feel as if they do lay it on thick with Misyr’s route especially when you reach his backstory and get the whole picture behind the being that we know as Misyr Rex, I honestly didn’t mind at all. It’s been so long since I properly played an otome game that I missed the emotions evoked by such stories and characters. I have to add though, how his route ended left me with mixed feelings. About a week later, I’m still not sure if I truly accept such an ending and considering there is still no FD in sight, I guess we just have to accept it for now.
But, and this might be a controversial take, while I do like human Misyr, I like his non-human form better. I said what I said.
Final Thoughts
Despite being a year-long journey, I was finally able to finish the lovely Café Enchanté and add it to my little completed otome game list. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who loves some fantasy elements mixed in with a great cozy cafe setting. This game is labeled as a nakige which accord to the Visual Novel Database means: “The main purpose of such a game is to make the player feel for the characters and make them cry due to emotional scenarios which serves to leave a bigger impact on the player after the game is over”. And the game certainly served that purpose (the way Il’s route will haunt me forever). I personally feel the only weak element that made me a bit exhausted was having to skip through the prologue 4 different times. Maybe I truly missed the hidden way to just go straight to someone’s route, but regardless it wasn’t too bad (sort of).
Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this post and have been a little convinced to check out Café Enchanté. I am definitely onboard with the fandisk crowd as I would LOVE more Café Enchanté especially since the ending wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. It wasn’t teh worst ending but something about it made me crave for more. Anyways, with December just around the corner, I wanted to wish you all a happy holidays and New Year. Hopefully, I will be back with another post before the new year though. Take care and have fun on your future otome adventures (with Café Enchanté hopefully).
