Hua Manlou Review

Characters are vital in romance FMVs. Despite this, many games neglect to give them shape. A few have gone above and beyond, like Such a Guy and I Can’t Beat the Pretty Girls. Hua Manlou makes character depth its highest priority. Along with humor and strong production values, it is a great experience marred by minor quirks.

Like in SIFU, the game begins with you transmigrating into a historical world. You retain knowledge of the modern-day, used occasionally for laughs, and also have memories of the person you took over. Your new persona is a government official who must establish an entertainment pavilion to gather intel and train six women for covert missions.

Events take place over five years, with time advancing in monthly intervals. Some months offer regular story content. In others, you can only ‘date’ the women of your choice.

Dates are where you will find most of the brilliant character arcs, with 30 for each love interest. Liu Qishuang is a timid student and formulaic dancer; you help her find herself. Zong Feiyan is clumsy and useless; until she meets her calling. Li Wuyou cannot differentiate good from evil; you discuss it via funny drinking sessions. Su Ying mends clothes and plots revenge; and you facilitate both.

Although dates are mostly about the women evolving, they interweave additional plot. Spending time with the mysterious latecomer, Ping Yang, or your loyal maid, Mumu, will expose personal history. Date locations are varied and other characters often appear, so they are natural encounters that provide a sense of belonging.

Unfortunately, about 20% of dates are pure text, often used for back-story. Much of the final year is massive clumps of text as well. This is far less engaging. Some could have been removed, trimmed, or voiced by characters instead. There are also minor continuity issues, like when you have not undertaken specific dates yet.

Romance develops naturally. There is a great mix of personalities and they interact wonderfully together. Meaningful connections are formed with the traditional romantic archetypes: pure love, shared ideals, cute, mature, tsundere, and youthful. The many different endings are a little short, when put against the cumulative might of dates, but they are decent value overall.

Although dates are fairly linear, the game has enough branching paths. Big changes are based on who you select for missions and various attribute checks. Every month you can assign tasks to the women, to increase money, stealth, or other stats. It took 8.5 hours to clear the first time and about 20 to see most scenes. If you wish to unlock everything in the somewhat convoluted final chapter, prepare to grind and restart a lot.

One additional perk is that the game is consistently hilarious, whether through slapstick, observations, hostilities, or sarcasm. Although it uses ADR, which has a few sync issues, it has great sets, costumes, props, and acting. Hua Manlou’s character depth puts most other games to shame, and if you value it then you should arrange a date.