Disclaimer
I was sent a free copy of Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
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Table of Contents
What is Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts
Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts is a dating sim FMV out now on Steam.
Hook
You move to the big city to attend university. It is your first time away from home but it is also your chance to find love. This will be your year, but things start off to a shaky start. The apartment you were going move into has been rented to someone else and you are forced to move into a shared house with strangers. To your surprise, you find your roommate is your cute childhood friend. Suddenly, you find yourself in a house full of women pining for your attention, but the attraction is mutual. Navagate your relationship with your roommates as you try to find love. Who will you choose?
Gameplay
Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts is an FMV, which means you get to sit back and watch the events unfold, eventually making choices that will affect the ending. There are multiple endings, and the game makes it easy to collect them all. What makes this FMV unique is that it makes it easy to see what paths you are unlocking, which girls you are romancing, and you can ultimately plot your route to the ending you want.
Review
I want to preface my review by admit that I am a sucker for cheesy harem anime. I’d like to believe that I grew up during the golden age of harem anime, and it is easily one of my favorite genres. Sure, the waifus are a nice bonus, but I find the simplicity and cheesiness of these narratives comforting. My favorite anime of all time is Oran Host Club because it is cute, cheesy, and apparently I also like cute anime boys pining over me. (I’ve been on a bit of a Otome game kick lately).
Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts is the live action harem anime I didn’t know I needed. This FMV is a high quality production with a decent story. I appreciate that they didn’t force me to play mini-games, and I got to sit back and enjoy a fun romantic story. And yes, the girls are very cute.
Production
The production of this FMV is good for the most part. The sound is good for most of the game, but there are scenes where the mixing is off. The girls sound far away, there are echos, or the dialogue is unintelligible (not that I know much Japanese). The acting is fine for the tone of the game. A lot of the acting is over the top, and that is by design. There are some over the top moments that can be a little cringe, but everyone seems to be having fun so who cares. The camera is great, and if you want high quality shots of your favorite girl, the game will deliver.
Story
I will preface this section of the review with the admission that I used to watch bad movies for fun. That was back before Netflix ruined everything (thanks Kissing Booth 2). Sure I could go the theater and watch whatever blockbuster smash hit was going to hit its million, but there is something special about those low budget indie films that no one is ever going to watch. I’ve sat through some garbage, but I’ve also sat through some fun, low budget, cheesy movies that I still go back to every now and again (looking at you Sasquatch Gang). All of this to say that while the game may not have deep characters, expansive lore, the story is fun and I had a lot of fun playing through it.
Now this is a harem genre game, so don’t expect deep characters with tangible growth. This is a game where cute girls pine over the main character because the script demands it, but the scenes around these ideas are cute, fun, and the type of distraction you might be looking for. There is some bad dialogue, but there are some cute moments that I had to play through a second time to appreciate fully. The story may not be as good as something Love Too Easily or One Rotten Oath (for something more serious), but it is up there as one of my favorite. If you are looking for a cute game about dating even cuter girls, get Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts.
Conclusion
I am a sucker for FMVs and Roommates, Romance, and Ringing Hearts continues to cement this love for the genre. The game has cute girls, a fun story, and solid production. It is very over the top and cheesy, but it is part of the charm. There isn’t too much fan service, so you should be able to play the game safely in public. But if you’re looking for bit more fan service, you can always play Island of Hearts. This game is fantastic, and I ended up playing the game until I collected all the endings. Get your copy today!