Starlight Vega Review

Note: Review copy provided by Razz.

UPDATE: Apparently some players reported there being bugs in the game. The devs took notice and are working on a patch to fix the issue.

Here we have another highly anticipated yuri visual novel that was set to come out in 2016. Question is whether it was worth the hype even after a couple of delays? That is what we are about to find out as we take a look at Razzart Visual‘s Starlight Vega, published by Sekai Project.

Genres: Visual Novel, Comedy, Supernatural, Magic, Romance, Yuri, Harem

Themes: Demon Girls

Length: 8-10 hours.

G-Rating: Great (Personal), Good (Overall)

Plot Summary: After moving into her grandfathers old house, Aria and Melody accidentally unleash the flirtatious demon, Lyria, who spent the past fifty years in a stone. A yuri visual novel with romantic routes and different endings based on your in-game choices

So the game is essentially about a girl named Aria who gets involved in a story about magic, demons, crazy spells, connections through time and space and a pinch of life saving…oh and there are three girls who have an insatiable craving for Aria-flavored Chalupas.

The three girls who yearn the sweet taste of Aria quesadillas are:

• Lyria: The sexy beast who has no trouble letting everyone know that when she wants something, she will get it and will use her nigh-omnipotent charms to get get the taco.
• Melody: the soft-spoken cutie who is a big fan of the supernatural and the only thing she enjoys more than reading are Aria quesadillas.
• Scherza: The stone cold belle who is as intimidating as she is gorgeous. Not as hungry as the other contenders are for Aria tortillas but what if her cold heart were somehow melted?

To kick off the review the very first thing I have to heartily compliment is the writing. To explain this allow me to share my initial experiences “plreading” (play-reading) the game.

So I initially planned on courting (or to be courted by, depending on how the “plreader” sees it) Melody but then Lyria made her grand appearance and I was like “Okay let’s go after Lyria”. But then I learned that Melody’s last name is “Roccoco” and I was like “Okay, back to Melody”. Then Lyria did made a sneak attack on both Aria and my heartstrings and I was like “back to Lyria”. Then Melody made a great move and then I was introduced to Scherza and I was like “OOOOOOOOOH I can’t choose! “All three girls are written so well, have their special charms, wooing techniques, sexiness and they are all great potential lesbian girlfriends.” So I was like “If Starlight Vega were to somehow be turned into an animated series and it had an open-ended conclusion where Aria didn’t hook up with either of the girls but still can off screen…either one would make a great girlfriend for Aria!” Each girl written that well. While fans will obviously pick their favorite among the three, any one of them would be an excellent choice. It’s like three short yuri games in one rather than one big game with a bunch of romance options where only one is worth going through. Not Starlight Vega. All three options are worthwhile.

This brings me to the unlockable harem end that becomes available after successfully courting all three girls in separate playthroughs. Some could say it is a tacked on feature for the sake of fetishism but I disagree. The reason once again being the great writing…because choosing one girl for Aria to love and the other(s) feeling left out…the pain in their hearts can be felt from behind the screen, enough for me to say “Awww. I feel bad that “x girl” was left out”. Sure in real life there can (in theory) be only one winner but since this is a game that not only grants the option to court more than one but makes it worthwhile…kudos.

Next up let us talk about the main protagonist and the object of affection of the story, Aria Reid. She is best described as a sensible harem protagonist, who does not come off as neither ignorant nor clueless. She can be oblivious at times but not because she is a moron but because her mind becomes full of confusion…like a sensible human being and not a stereotypical het-harem lead and his merry band of horny hos. Sorry. I have seen a lot of het-harems back in the day and very few were pleasant. Anyway back to Aria. She is a very likable character and worthy of being the love interest of three lovely ladies as she usually puts a lot of thought into her actions…sometimes a bit too much.

The game is the standard multiple choice fare. There are ten endings in all. Getting the Lyria or Melody routes is simple enough while getting the Scherza route can be tricky. There are also dead ends so keep that in mind. A hint is to not be too mean to the girls the “plreader” is not after during a playthrough.

If there is one nitpick worth mentioning is that as of this review there is no fast-forward button handy for other plathroughs. The reason I see this as a nitpick and not a flaw goes back to the paragraph where I said it feels like three games in one. What I meant is that while each playthrough shares some similarities in scenes, there are many more different events based on chosen routes than there are repeat scenes. Even repeat scenes contain a change to make it worth not needing a fast forward button. Besides, the default setting makes left clicking skip through text as quick as The Flash. Maybe there is a fast forward button and I just did not notice while playing but as I said there was enough to content where it was not necessary.

Update: Apparently holding CTRL works. Also the TAB button toggles the scrolling on and off. Maybe this is just a VN thing. No biggie. It may come in handy for “plreaders” who need it.

As the images throughout the review made clear the art style for the character sprites, background and especially the CGs are all very well done. I felt the game had a European feel to it. For readers who are wondering, yes there are love scenes but they are more Rated T than AO. Still, for readers who do not enjoy nudity there is the option to turn them off in the Options menu so there you go. As for the soundtrack, I did not turn it off once. It is also pretty good. I especially liked the more romantic and calm tunes. However, there are two intense tunes that may surprise “plreaders” ears later on so best not to play the game at full volume when getting to those points.

Overall I have to say Starlight Vega lived up to the hype and filled the void that was once the “demon girl yuri harem” game. We have one now and it is glorious. Even though we did get the excellent Strawberry Vinegar prior and it blessed us with demon yuri romance, it was only one gay demon compared to two. Highly recommended to yuri fans provided they do not have TOO specific requirements.

Pick up the game on either Steam or Itch.io

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