Otaku Review: My Girlfriend is the President (PC)

The PC is a great platform for the aspiring otaku out there. While Jrpg's aren't exactly released for the platform much here, there's a wealth of Visual Novels n the like that have been fan-translated or seen a later release from the developer in English - with netbooks, laptops etc offering up portability for a premium Visual Novel experience on the go. With that in mind, Lets take a look at one - My Girlfriend is the President.

*As always with a Visual Novel, I only give the story an overview/Impression to avoid spoilers*

The story sees you filling the shoes of Junichiro Hondo, a typical slightly perverted protagonist, who awakes one morning to discover his next-door-neighbour and childhood friend Yukino Ohama has suddenly become president of the United States of Nippon. It transpires that an alien spacecraft controlled by Ku Little Little has crashed into the Earth, destroying the headquarters of the government of Nippon. To avoid chaos and buy some time to fix the problem, brainwashing the populous into believing that Junichiro's childhood friend Yukino Ohama is leader of the country of Nippon becomes the order of the day. To be honest, its a pretty bonkers premise, but one that doesn't take itself seriously which leaves much leeway for the story to go in any direction. While it does go have its hilarious moments, the focal point is your relationship with one of the 4 heroines of the game and building that up as you progress through the story. Yukino (your distsy childhood friend) Putina (Yukino's rival & president of Rusia) Ran (Another childhood friend who is a year older than the protagonist) & finally the personification of Ku's spacecraft, Ell. While the main cast tend to follow the typical Moe tropes, each is different to the next and will no doubt have every other player following a slightly different route through the games story.  Thankfully, even thou almost all the cast are introduced in the first chapter, their development during the narrative is done well. Numerous members of the support cast also show up to freshen up conversations, Ell's sister Remi that seems to have an infatuation for Yukino for example, and some even form the crux of twists within the games plot line. It all comes together to form a nonsensical & humorous narrative that will see you continuing just to see what crazy situation crops up next. While the locations never really break from the few places that show up occasionally - Snow House, School etc, the game does have numerous areas within each location to keep the backdrops fresh and the chemistry & rivalries between characters will keep things ticking over for you during the gap between major plot points. Theres a lot to get through with this release, considering theres 4 heroines to get through, and a 'fan disk' could also be obtained for this release that offers up even more heroines IE Ku, to get through.

The game often features ecchi moments, due to the protagonists nature of course. For the most part this translates to cheeky panty shots & lewd expressions/postures from the female cast and thankfully doesn't go further than that often enough to be a bother. The fan-service CG's are mostly interspersed within certain moments in the story so as not to feel tacked on either, which is always a better way to go about it. Personally I don't mind fan-service, so I tended to find those moments amusing given the situations, but those that don't like it may still be able to enjoy the Novel as there not as much of an occurrence as you'd expect. Things do become a little more 'intense' later in the story, this is regarded as an eroge novel, but doesn't seem to go down the Hentai route luckily but may still catch you off guard (as it did with me) While Visual Novel's are not known for having much in the way of gameplay, their interaction with choices usually make up for this as it drives the direction of the story. The problem here is that there just isn't enough in the way of choices during the story to make it feel as though your having an impact on it much. Granted, the numerous heroines offer up a multitude of ways to  change the story - but you'll sometimes find yourself on a particular path on the story without even having an idea of how you go there. An Extra's option will unlock in the main menu that will grant you access to the games CG's, but that's about it. In truth, due to its lack of interaction & attachment to your choices, its a VN that's probably best played in moderation. Quick bursts every now & again will ensure your interest is maintained for its run time.

The games presentation is superb for a Visual Novel. The Moe artwork is colourful and packed with detail. Its not just for the characters sprites either as the games many backdrops perfectly compliment the activity going on in the foreground. The character sprites carry superb Moe expressions when the situation requires, which will delight fans of the styling and their limited animations kick in at the right moments. At times the game will also throw out Chi Bi styled CG's of the characters which are just as cute as the rest of the games Moe. The normal CG's, when showcasing fan-service or not, are quite detailed as you'd expect with the rest of the titles palette & Moe style utilised to keep continuity with the rest of the game.The vocal work for each of the characters is well done too as their individuality shines through, and the game has almost everyone's entire sentences fully voiced (only the protagonist is obviously missing) The games BGM also matches up with the rest of the games presentation. Numerous tracks are brought to the fore that perfectly complement the action on-screen, seemingly devoid of any compression etc that could hamper the quality. As a complete package, its presentation is thoroughly well done which has the obvious side effect of immersing the reader into its narrative easily.

The novels stellar presentation, coupled with a story that doesn't take itself too seriously, allows the games narrative that parodies politics to shine with a great cast of characters & its multiple pathways to follow means there's much to do. Its unfortunate then that the games cheeky fan-service makes way for a few eroge elements later in the game and the lack of interaction & impact your choices seem to have makes the title more suited to short burst reading. Make no mistake though, there is lot to enjoy from the journey if you like things a little nonsensical - Just be wary of the things mentioned before taking the plunge.

6/10

Who Should Buy This?

• Too much Moe is never enough

• You don't mind cheeky fan-service etc

• Looking for a nonsensical & amusing offering 

• Want a change of pace in your Visual Novels.

Who Should Avoid?

• Some eroge elements kick in later in the Novel, so if you don't like that stuff...

• No liking Moe etc

• Prefer some 'gameplay' in your Visual Novels

• Would like a little more interaction to branch the storyline more.