Ribbit~
Leap of Love's Review
Developer: Andrealphus Games
Genre: Stats Management, Dating Sim
Reviewed version: Final
Censored: No
Patch Needed: No
OS: Windows
Language: English
I have to admit the first thing that came to my mind when I read the game’s description and saw the screenshots was the “The Frog Prince” fairytale. The game turned out to be different from the classic tale but it was still an enjoyable one.
Pros
Engaging story.
Beautiful art.
The game mechanics are solid.
The game is challenging but not unfairly hard.
The soundtrack is fitting.
Spot on voice acting.
High replay value.
Neutral
There aren’t many H-scenes and they all play near the end of the game.
Cons
There’s no message when you pass a stat check.
Story
Leap of Love is a visual novel that follows the story of Kaheroux, a talking frog who longs for the attention of human women. This seems to be impossible for him to achieve until he meets a shady wizard who, amazed by his ability to talk, decides to make a deal with our amphibian protagonist. He’ll turn him into a human under the condition that he marries one of the princesses in 30 days, or else the spell will revert and he’ll be used as an ingredient for a potion.
The story is engaging and easy to follow. It combines funny moments with some serious ones and has the right amount of plot twists to not make it neither too predictable nor too convoluted.
The multiple endings give the game a high replay value. Without counting any of the bad endings there are 9 different ways to finish the story, all of them related to who you decide to marry at the end of the game.
Art
The art of the game is great. The characters are gorgeous, and the backgrounds range from being pretty to downright stunning. Also, the chibi drawings that occasionally appear are cute.
The moving curtains that show up between scenes give the transitions a very nice and original touch. They reinforce the fairytale-like feel of the game and make the player feel like they're watching a play.
The H-scenes are very well done, but they are very few and take place near the end of the game. While I certainly don’t mind it because I find it more rewarding this way, some players who prefer to see the spicy scenes asap might get disappointed.
Gameplay
Each day is divided into two phases, morning and afternoon. During the morning you have to choose which of your stats you want to train (prowess, charm, or knowledge), while in the afternoon you get to try to woo one of the princesses or wander around the town.
The game is more challenging than one would think at first. While it’s not as unforgiving as other games of this kind like Long Live the Queen, your time is very limited, so you have to carefully plan which stats to train or what to do in the afternoon. Sometimes visiting a specific place or wandering around the town at the right moment can make the difference between getting your happy ending or not living to tell the tale.
It’s worth noting there are a lot of save slots available. While it’s a bit excessive to have about 60 save slots in your typical visual novel, being able to save at least once per day in this one is very helpful. It lets you backtrack as much as you need if you make a critical mistake early into the game and you notice it much later.
There are three modes you can adjust the notifications; basic, full, or none. It's set to basic by default, which shows a message every time you fail a stat check or obtain an item. If you want more info you can set it to full, which will also say how high your stats should have been or which item you needed, or if you feel brave you can set it to none and mute it. It’d have been nice if we also got a message every time you clear a stat check. It’s not important, but it feels odd to not see anything when you pass them.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is very fitting. There’s a good variety of tunes, with a mix of upbeat tracks and solemn ones, and they all do a great job of giving the game a medieval vibe and setting up the mood in each scene.
Verdict: Very Good
Leap of Love may have some issues here and there, but it’s a game every fan of visual novels with management elements should consider buying as long as they don’t mind the adult content.