Rondo Duo

Rondo Duo is a game that many of us in the West have been waiting to be translated for a very long time. After finally getting the chance to play the game I must say that I was in shock! I have played many games that fit into the horror/erotic visual novel genre, but few have hit me as hard as Rondo Duo did.

Itsuki Has It Rough

I am having a hard time thinking of a protagonist who has had it as rough as Itsuki in this game! After her mother is “gone” her father turns abusive and decides that all females are bad and he raises her as a boy, which is messed up. She meets up with succubus who let’s lose her lust side and then all hell breaks loose.

This is the kind of story that you really do not want spoiled for you. But basically, we have a bunch of kids that are driven wild with lust, there are demons, horror, religious overtones and lots and lots of sex as well. This is a brutally hard-hitting game and while it is very, very explicit. I must say that the character development here is actually very well done.

Style And Substance

While a great story is, of course, the first key ingredient to any great visual novel style game. Having a nice look to it also helps. The look of Rondo Duo is one of the best that I have ever come across in any visual novel style game. It has a really gothic and horror kind of look to it. I would probably best describe this as a really messed up Tim Burton kind of style.

The characters are all drawn fantastically well, but the animations are also very well done and do a great job of bringing the action to life. There may not exactly be a ton of gameplay here, but making choices and moving the story along does grip you and I think this is just as much to do with those amazing visuals as it is the story itself.

One thing that the game does very cleverly is different effects. There are sections where the action looks like an old-timey gothic horror movie, the screen will be all dark and scratchy and it works very well. Not only when something like this happens is it really cool. It usually fits the scene that is happening as well.

Not For The Fein Of Heart

As an erotic game, Rondo Duo does not hold back. Seriously, this game is pretty extreme and not all of the sex is consensual so please keep that in mind. The messed-up thing is that the extremeness of it all does actually fit the overall story that the game is trying to tell. So, while some of it can be hard to sit through, it does make sense in the messed-up world and story of this game.

I can see why so many people have been waiting for so long for Rondo Duo to get an English translation. Not many visual novel style games have gripped me the way that this one did. It is not just about the erotic content either, this is actually a very well written and engaging story that no matter how horrified you are, you want to know what happens next.

8.5/10

Pros:

• A truly unforgettable story to experience
• Lots of interesting characters
• Some amazing artwork and animation
• Some very clever usage of camera effects
• Even the sound is fantastic

Cons:

• Some of the scenes are very hard to deal with
• Not all of the scenes in the game are consensual