The chronicles of an engaging visual novel
Kunado Chronicles' review
Developer: Purple Software (Published by Shiravune)
Genre: Visual Novel
Store: Steam, GOG, Johren, KG Store, Denpasoft, MangaGamer, JastUSA
Reviewed version: Final
Censored: Yes (Mosaics)
Patch Needed: Yes (Only for the Steam version)
OS: Windows
Language: English, Chinese, Japanese
When I played Kunado Chronicles, I expected it to be a sex fest with little plot development like St. Yariman's Little Black Book, but it turned out to be the opposite. It puts you in the shoes of Shin, an amnesiac guy who woke up 1000 years into the future in what could pass as ancient Japan. The Tekki, monsters made out of corrupted metal, destroyed civilization as we know it and pushed its survivors to adapt. Now Shin has to get used to this new society while using his knowledge of the past to help them improve and give them hope for the future.
I was hooked from the get-go because it was different from your standard fantasy visual novel, and I couldn't help but be invested in the characters and the peculiarities of this new world. Everyone has superpowers, and their role in this society is decided by how useful they are for a specific task, regardless of their personal preferences. Among them, there's a group of the eight most powerful members, the Eight Swords, who are tasked with protecting the town from any Tekki that attacks them, with the strongest being the de facto ruler of the village.
The characters' powers are also interesting. There's a mix of well-known superpowers, such as super strength, lightning powers, healing, and unique ones, like the Kotodama power the protagonist and the ruler have that lets them command people and the world itself to do their bidding. However, they should be careful with it because it's so powerful it could break things in ways that can't be fixed.
By the way, the story unfolds in a rather unorthodox way. It plays like a kinetic novel for a good portion of the game until you reach a point where you have to choose if you pick the girl's route— and thus get romantically involved with them—or if you move on to the next one. I didn't mind this much because the plot was engaging and the light-hearted moments in it managed to keep it from getting too serious, though I'd have preferred to have some choices in the early part of the game.
Visuals-wise, the visual novel features eye-pleasing CGs, nicely-drawn character portraits, and cute chibis featured during the sillier moments of the game. The sex scenes have mosaic censorship and are mostly vanilla. However, they are infrequent and appear in the specific character's route and the After Story segments (the exception being the few scenes involving a specific plot-relevant character, which take place before you start any of the girls' routes).
I liked the soundtrack too. It has a variety of tracks that help you get immersed in the game. Some are used to set up the setting, like the ones similar to traditional Japanese music, while others are tenser and play during serious moments. Moreover, the game displays the title of each song as soon as they start playing, making it easier to find later when you want to play them in the music gallery.
Verdict: Great
Playing Kunado Chronicles felt like having sirloin for dinner after eating cheeseburgers every night. It has plenty of world-building, character development, an engaging plot, and beautiful art to boot. That said, you may find it a bit frustrating if you're looking for a sex-focused visual novel or one where you make plenty of choices.