Love Esquire

In most games you play the noble hero, off to dazzle maidens and win the war. In Love Esquire, you don’t. This surprisingly sweet visual novel is about the often forgotten side kick of the hero, a scrawny squire hoping to find love before being shipped off to war with his knight.

Love Esquire is a unique offering from the Filipino developer, Yangyang mobile.

This game is about the purest romance you’ll ever play

The Philippines have strict rules about what is appropriate, and what is not. The result is a sweet and relatively modest romance. Characters remain fully clothed even in the most intimate scenes, and while poses are compromising, there’s nothing to see.

Love Esquire does have its share of boob jokes, virginity talk, and advice from your Knight about how to get a girlfriend, but these jokes are also fairly straight-laced compared to many other romantic visual novels. Although some people may find the datable step sister uncomfortable, this is about the only uncomfortable theme present. If you’ve been looking for a romance that’s sweet and hot, but not a porno, this is the ideal game for you.

Well developed character archs

One of the biggest flaws in most visual novels is actually a high point in Love Esquire. In most games the romancable characters have a very basic personality. You can sum one up as a Tsundere and another as a trap, and there is absolutely nothing more to them than that.

In Love Esquire, every girl you can romance has their own plot line, and can develop themselves without your help. One of the best examples of this is Princess Beatrice and Princess Kamala. These two characters are both your love interests, but far from being simple figures of beauty and royalty, they work together to save the country in their own right throughout your story.

This is just one example of the depth and richness of this game.

Voiced scenes and magnificent graphics

Another nice part of this game is that the most important scenes in Love Esquire are voiced. This is an especially nice touch considering that it is from a small, indie company. The graphics are also top tier, with scenes that are a pleasure to look at, and that really add to the characters personality.

Not just a visual novel

One final point about Love Esquire that makes it more fun is that it’s not just a visual novel. The game is also a knight trainer, with your character able to spend coins to improve himself. When in combat, you’re not the big hot shot slaying dragons. In keeping with your role as a squire, your job is to taunt the enemy and loot them for your knight.

Some minor navigation issues

Love Esquire actually has amazing UX. The navigation is simple and easy to use, but a few minor glitches make it more difficult to play. In some areas, only the very bottom of a button will work instead of the whole thing. This makes it a little bit difficult to navigate. This is virtually the only flaw in the whole game though, and relatively minor. Love Esquire is unique. Think of the gameplay and flexibility of Little Busters! but add a romantic plotline and a fantasy spin, and you have Love Esquire. It’s a beautiful concept that comes together to turn a small, indie game into something that can keep up with the best game developers in the field.

Pros:

• Voiced characters
• Beautiful graphics
• RPG options as well as VN
• Well developed characters
• Decent navigation

Cons:

• Some difficulty clicking buttons