Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa

So, TL;DR: I love Kotodama for the great story with lots of brilliant plot twists, interesting characters, eye-catching artwork, pleasant music and voice acting. However, I absolutely hate this visual novel for its repetitive minigames that cannot be skipped, and they became my nightmare in some chapters. In the end, would I recommend Kotodama to my friends and readers? Yes, I would. Just bring some sedatives; you will need them a lot at some points, trust me.
The story
Fujisawa Academy has seven mysteries every occult-focused person would be ecstatic to investigate. You, as a new transfer student, were forced to join an Occult Research Club, a bizarre group of two girls on their quest to find the truth behind all these mysteries that sound nothing more than the usual school rumors. But you are no ordinary person: you have actually signed a contract with a fox spirit and can use special magical powers to see through people’s lies. And…undress them in the process?!
It seems that the quiet life you have been looking for is not in today’s menu, right? But remember: behind each school mystery lies someone’s personal tragedy.
My full thoughts about the game
When I first saw Kotodama, I could not but think that it seemed to be a mix of Danganronpa and HuniePop. It takes the twisted plot line from the first and the minigame from the second. Is it a good thing? Yes, it is, because Kotodama turned out to be a pretty unique game in the end. Not without flaws, unfortunately.
Let me describe the good features first: the artwork, the music and the story. The presentation of this game is lovely. Characters’ sprites are partially animated – their eyes blink and mouths move when the character speaks. However, I should also mention that there is hardly any lip sync. The backgrounds are hand-drawn and look great; CGs are amazing and you will remember all of them…oh, you will remember some all right! And do not forget about the cute fox spirit who is said to be gorgeous in her true form (but nobody has seen it so far…). Talking of music, there are many interesting tracks that create just the right atmosphere, and I definitely liked the opening song.
So, what about the story and its promised mind-twisting mystery? It is quite difficult for me to describe the plot without any spoilers, but there are several things that I can safely tell you. Do not be tricked by the seemingly friendly and daily atmosphere of the game. It seems like your typical slice-of-life at first and you might even think that there is a logical solution to all problems and questions. But should I remind you that your character has a literal fox demon as a partner for investigation? Magic beings of Fujisawa Academy will not let you off the hook that easily.
There will be a major plot twist somewhere half through the game, which will cause a time loop . You will have to go through several endings, as your character will try to find out the truth, and each time you will see something new; and keep in mind that not all chapters are unlocked from the very beginning. By the way, do not try to quit the game when you see end credits – they are part of scenes and you will not be returned to the Main Menu after them because each time a time loop will take place instead. The sad thing is that you cannot always influence the order of endings or how your character acts/responds.
Speaking about the endings, I will be quite honest here: the second plot twist caught me off guard. I did not expect it at all – as an avid fan of detective books and series, I had at least three theories by the end of the sixth chapter, but none of them turned out to be true. And this was not even the full ending, as I found out later! The True Ending is tricky to get to, but definitely worth your time and effort. So, if you are looking for a good story with some brilliant plot twists, then Kotodama is a great choice – it will lull you in with simple daily interactions between students and fan service minigames and then hit you on the head several times.
And now, let me tell you about the biggest flaw of this visual novel (in my opinion), the main reason why I almost quit playing it at some point and was seconds away from writing a negative review and just forgetting about Kotodama for good. The minigames. Oh my God, those damn match-3 minigames… Do not get me wrong: I thoroughly enjoyed Kotodama up to chapter six. I like match-3 games and have several of them on my smartphone. The ones in this visual novel are quite entertaining, too. They also bring more interactivity to the gameplay. I do not really think that these fan service-focused elements were necessary at all, mind you, but there is no reason to hate them either. Or so I thought.
*taking a deep breath* Ok, let me vent a bit: I am a choleric, so it is very easy to make me lose my cool. I finally moved to chapter 6 after several playthroughs and was quite happy about it. ‘Woo-hoo! I will see the true ending in about an hour or two!’ I thought. The story progressed at pleasant pace, two minigames took place and I easily completed them in next to no time. Then the developers, for some unknown reason, decided that hey, we need a third minigame in one single chapter to spice things up! And you know how long it took me to complete it? Two and a half hours! TWO AND A HALF HECKING HOURS, Carl! I was fuming after the first hour; by the end of the second one, I wanted to close the game, uninstall it and smack developers with a negative review – what fun is it to get stuck for so long almost at the end of the story because of a useless minigame that does not bring absolutely anything plot-wise?! I know some people love a good challenge, but I am definitely not one of them by any means.
Finally, I managed to win and move on to chapter seven. And you know what happened next? Right before the final revelation when the culmination was so close I was almost able to touch it? Right, my dudes! The match-3 minigame! An even more difficult than the previous one. Hello, Darkness, my old friend, damn it!!! Another two hours later, and I saw the ending (which, as I have mentioned above, turned out to be incomplete). After the usual end credits sequence and the time loop , I was sitting in my room at almost 4 a.m. and the only thought in my head was, ‘I will have to go through chapters 6 and 7 at least one more time for sure. And they will be waiting for me again…the minigames…’.
Boys and girls, if you do not mind challenging gameplay at all and love torturing yourself for hours, then my rant above will be meaningless to you. Just skip it and buy the game for all its amazing features. BUT! If you are like me, then you can understand why I was so infuriated by spending over 4 extra (!) hours on two minigames! I just wanted to find out how the story ends; I have zero interest in popping bubbles and undressing girls when the final mystery is waving its hand at me two steps away, for God’s sake! Oh, and should I also mention that you will have to go through EVERY minigame over and over again in each chapter during each playthrough? There is no way to see the True Ending without going through the game at least five times. So at the end of the day, the cute and seemingly simple fan service minigames may become a major turning point for some players; at least the ones that are as short-fused as I am.
You can find more reviews at my personal Curator Page. Please, give it a read ❤

PREFACE: Interestingly, the term "Kotodama" refers to the Japanese belief that mythical powers dwell in words and names. English translations include "soul of language", "spirit of language", "power of language", "power word", "magic word", and "sacred sound." The notion of Kotodama presupposes that sounds can magically affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence our environment, body, mind, and soul.
Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa is a unique visual novel with some concepts that you don't see often in many visual novels available on steam. Kotodama takes place in a school where you are investigating the schools 7 mysteries. The art is great and the story is interesting and simple enough to keep you interested from start to finish. The story also features some unique mechanics that I will not be mentioning in this review due to spoilers. The UI/HUD is refreshing and pleasing to use, although my only gripe with it is menu navigation can seem kind of slow at times when compared to other visual novels that I played, but not a real negative just something I thought I would note. Besides the game being a visual novel, this also features the match-3 game mode that is integrated throughout the story, and is available in the main menu as a standalone game to play. The match-3 game is fun and definitely is a good switch up from the normal visual novel content, there is no direct nudity in this game with no available patch as well. Overall, this is a great short visual novel to play if you are looking for something that is a bit different from the typical visual novel formula that you are use to playing.

Attention:
- this review may contain spoilers, if you don´t mind go ahead and read at your own risk.
- this is an early review, still playing.
Summary: A VN/puzzle hybrid game made in Unity with match 3/thriller/mysteries elements. Features fully VA (excepts MC), good artwork (only the main characters), good soundtrack. This is a 12+ game, but CAUTION is advised.
About:
- The game: This is a VN/puzzle hybrid game made in Unity with match 3/thriller/mysteries elements developed by PQube Limited (their first self-developed), the same publisher of Gal Gun. Estimated playtime: in progress
- Story: you will play as a transfer student with special powers in the Fujisawa academy and will be convinced to join the ORC (occult research club) to solve the 7 mysteries of school. As the store page describes, "Nothing is as it seems!", the main characters have something behind and with MC´s power will uncover the truth, making the twisted plot interesting.
- Gameplay: As a vn, you can choose the MC´s sex, but seems doesn't affect the story, and basically will read sentences, collect the words (you can find already obtained words at the word book) and choose the best way to find the truth behind the mysteries; choosing wrongly will lead to the bad end and the MC will be time leaped until the date he joins the school (chapter 1); while you can´t find the right path, will be bad ending and "teleported"/time leaped to chapter 1 in a endless loop, playing again and again. As a puzzle, is a match 3 type, in horizontal/vertical only, to uncover the truth, you will enter the target´s mind and play the puzzle; during this process, you will be fantasizing and stripping your target, being male or female. Differently, from what described at the store page, the target will not be naked, but at their underwear, however, once you clear, will show from their head until a small part of the chest. About the "Battle key characters using ‘Kotodama’ – the power of words", you will not exactly playing with words, instead this in the vn mode will collect words by reading the dialogues or quacker (how they call twitter in this game) and the system will collect these words and increase your power to be used in the match 3 game.
- Translation/text: not bad, but the term "honor scholar" is strange. I believe the "honor student" might be better for the context.
- VA: present, excepts the MC. In some characters, the VA doesn't suit the characters design. An earphone is highly advised.
- Artwork: good for the main characters; the environment characters is too simple. CG´s are great. This is a 12+ game, so you will not find hcg here, BUT will strip the characters until their underwear.
- Soundtrack/bgm: good. the soundtrack with vocals is very good too.
- Performance: no problems so far.
My cons: Fantasizing and stripping sounds interesting, but unnecessary, I mean, the MC will strip the target in his mind (like a perv), but for which purpose? Or is for some cheap fan service? Besides while stripping, the target will moan, so yeah, better put an earphone or silent some characters, since they (males and females) will keep moaning while you strip them. If you are careless, will fall in an endless loop, playing again and again. The price is overpriced.
Conclusion: Kotodama: The 7 Mysteries of Fujisawa is a VN/puzzle hybrid game with a decent and interesting plot, good soundtrack, good artwork (only the main characters) with fan service (not 18+), fully voiced (excepts MC) and suitable for both sexes (since you will strip male and females). Is a good game, but overpriced. Recommended buy in sales, or at full price if you like puzzles and is a fan of PQube Limited games.

Normal visual novel but may-be prefer something else first. Got it from a bundle, do not pay full price.
View Quacker tips immediately when those appear. Save before Match3 puzzles.
Graphics: normal
Story: normal
Audio: Japanese
Adult content: no
Match3 puzzles exists: I usually avoid those games, so it's good to solve some here
Focus extra: sometimes some words in conversations are in different color, will give You some extra points
- You can reach to the end and get the story overview but because You didn't select some specific answers in the start chapters You don't get any ending achievements and need to start over

6.5/10. The gameplay was unappealing; the story was interesting but left too much unspoken about the past, future, and overall state of the world.
Technical details - presentation: nothing special going on. It's a VN. Runs at a normal fullscreen, which I'm appreciating after trying to play a bunch of old adventure games with exclusive fullscreen at 360p. The art style is the teensiest bit interesting, but nothing too eye-catching.
One thing I found incredibly annoying was the time delay after pressing buttons. It usually takes a full second or more for a new screen to appear after you've clicked a button, exacerbated by things like the quicksave button bringing up a dialogue box that says "saved" with an additional button to click. Not a deal breaker but still very annoying.
Gameplay: If you're on the store page you've see it already, but this VN has match-3 gameplay: you have a grid with a bunch of symbols and if you match at least three in a row, they go away and you get points. The context here is that the main character is using this to dominate the other person's mind to get them to reveal information they wouldn't normally. This is a Japanese otaku game, however, which means that there's a sprite of their character next to the game, and when you score points the character moans like they're getting penetrated, and as you pass certain thresholds they say something and then some of their clothing is removed, culminating with an orgasmic squeal when you get enough points. This is in effect a "mind break" scenario. This happens with mostly women, but there is one guy.
It's really just awkward, not erotic, because you're focusing on the puzzle, trying to get these matches as fast as possible, while the character is squealing and squirming. It's just a distraction.
Anyway, there's that. If you fail you get kicked back to the main menu. And some of the later ones are somewhat difficult.
There's also a fake Twitter where characters say things related to the plot. Minor spoiler: there is ONE point in the game where you must read through this (properly tagging the posts as "read") to get the correct ending for the chapter.
Related to the above, there are moments where you can choose where your character goes (cafeteria, music room, rooftop, etc.). Most of the time this doesn't really matter, but there's at least once instance where you have to do things in a specific order.
Apart from this there are also dialogue choices, initially just one for most moments, but later on it expands to two.
Story:
As the store page: you're a new student at a school with 7 mysteries. You join the occult research club and begin exploring these mysteries.
And that's about as much as can be said without spoilers. There's a lot, lot more going on here. The lines on the store page "beneath the surface lie dark and sinister secrets" and "repeated playthroughs will yield new facts" can be taken as hints, but there's still a lot of other stuff going on here that you won't experience until 5 or 10 hours into the experience. The majority of the game is focused on things not indicated on the store page.
As a result, it's hard to review without serious spoilers, but there are a few broad statements which can be made.
This game feels like as though it's the second in a trilogy. There's a wealth of lore here that just goes completely unexplained, along with references to past events and foreboding comments about the future. In a general sense this is mostly good, but be prepared for (a lot of) stuff that doesn't resolve.
This story is darker than it appears. Not quite edgy dark fantasy dark, but I was surprised a few times at where they took things.
Certain events will likely prompt you to use a walkthrough. Hold off as long as you can, but if you play through the whole thing and can't figure out how to proceed, use a walkthrough. I got most of the way through, but at the very end there were a couple things I just missed.
Things like author intent and allegories are always dicey to work around, but one of the big reveals near the end of the game is really, really sketchy if viewed within the context of an allegory. It's implying something that I've heard from Christian fundamentalists, so it's a little weird.
All in all it's very, very difficult to appropriately discuss this game without getting into spoilers that would affect the experience. If you like anime stuff, slice of life, and (very, very) slight fantasy and noir elements, give this a shot.

This is NOT hunie pop. If you wanted big breasted anime girls doing ahego faces while you strip them and then do unspeakable acts, this ain't the game for you, sorry.
If you wanted a fleshed out visual novel with more under the hood than your typical VN, this might be up your alley.
The main focus of the story revolves around 7 mysteries around campus, and the puzzle matching gem game you see int he screenshots is a mechanic you use to get the truth out of people.
You use " the power of words " ( hence the game's title ) and literally, you gain more power when you learn more words, and phrases from speaking to people, or from checking Quacker ( think twitter for the campus, but with ducks )
I enjoy the art style so far, except for maybe the demon cat - that one thing looks pretty cheap, everyone else is cute and well drawn.
So far, I'm enjoying what the game has to offer - After you unlock the puzzle mechanic, you can play it anytime from the main menu, with a " fantasize mode " where you can unlock different panties for the girls. I have not seen nudity, and the devs said themselves" this isn't that type of game "
If you're looking for a slice of campus life with mystery, cute girls and a nice puzzle system, pick this one up.
I actually enjoy the different approach to the match 3 generic forumla, this one changes it up a bit. It uses the same system hunie pop has with " certain girls liek certain gems more " but the way you move gems is entirely different, and you also have skills you can use to add moves, freeze the move timer, etc.
It's better to get the full tutorial in game, rather than read about it in a review.
Typically, I hate visual novels, but this one has given me more of a reason to stick with it, And the story isn't half bad so far.
My one gripe so far, if you quick save, you can't reload that quick save from the main menu, you have to start a new game, and then QL ( quick load )
that's really my issue.
OH, and auto text advances your MC's dialogue WAY too fast! It's nearly impossible for me to find a balance where you can read what MC has to say, while having AUTO on - that's important for me, I'm deaf - and I want the audio from the characters to stay in tact - auto does this for me, but it whizzes past the MC dialogue for some reason. And if I lower it, it takes 20 minutes for a regualr dialogue exchange to follow through.
anywho ~ this is a decent release from PQUBE, it's way better than Punch line.

An Excellent game, it starts off completely normal and casual and after chapter five it completely changes in the texture of the story and becomes a REAL mystery visual novel where your choices could actually lead to your character having the same fate as Mikoto.
The story is deeper then it puts on... and even after the first playthrough you will see that you missed a lot of things and the reasons characters did things is far deeper then you originally thought. I highly suggest if you dont want to do several playthroughs to find a "word guide" or a "true end" guide or else you might end up playing the game six to ten times trying to get the actual ending.
Excellent game... dont understand why it got so few Ratings. Its far better then i originally anticipated