Da Capo 3 R

For many, the era of visual novels has really exploded to become one of the main methods of gaming. Visual novels offer a lite-gaming experience where you basically follow the story, make some decisions, and see how things play out for the people involved in the plot. Many of these visual novels are Japanese, and as such it is not uncommon for the theme to be a high school drama with some kind of magical or fantastical twist.bThis would be most easily noted if you were to play Da Capo 3 R. This 2017 release from Circus is part of the wider De Capo series of visual novels, all of which are based around magical schools and high school drama. This game moves away from Japan, though, and instead us to a magical school called Weather Vane which lies beneath the city of London. Can this iteration of the Da Capo series live up to the high standards?

Magical romance with all that usually entails

So, like other games in the Da Capo series, Da Capo 3 R is based in a high school. This massive visual novel is comfortably the largest of the series, and takes many insights and inspirations from other highly successful romance-based visual novels. While it might not be quite as mysterious as something like Doki Doki Literature Club, or anywhere near as dark, it does contain some very intriguing concepts.

You take on the role of Kiyotaka, the eldest son of the Katsuragi family who are among the most well-regarded mages in Japan. He moves to London with his sister, Himeno, to study at the magical school known as Weather Vane. Here, many mages from across the world come here to learn about magic and everything that it entails.

The story is highly enjoyable, and as the final ‘main’ entry of the series this brings some very interesting questions to the table. The series has had a habit of jumping around in different timeframes, and this one takes place in the 1950s as opposed to the late 2070s.

A fantastic concept well realised (8.5/10)

For many fans, Da Capo 3 R is the best of the series. This remastered take on the original 2012 release was very well received. The story does a good job of blending together scenes of happiness and joy with more sorrowful scenes, so the story does a fine job of keeping a pretty consistent pace. Like other games in the series, this requires multiple playthroughs and routes taken so that you can reach the ‘true’ ending. That can be a timesink, though, so be prepared to lose many hours if you want to know the real conclusion.

Pros

• Builds on the innovations of the genre to keep things fresh and engaging throughout
• Characters and world are uniquely enjoyable, helping to ensure monotony does not set in
• Storyline is excellent and can provide an excellent conclusion to a long-running story

Cons

• Multiple playthroughs can become tiring if you want to see the entire story