21/12/2020

Café Enchanté: The Route Report (SPOILERS!)

 

Man, I really need a catharsis after playing that game; and that run report will be exactly that. Here, I can expand on everything that shook and shocked me and made Café Enchanté the rollercoaster of emotions it turned out to be. I'll lay down the Routes in the order I played them; without further ado, let's get to it!

 

  

Canus Espada

Well, colour me surprised: I sure as heck didn't expect Canus' route to be the sweetest and more wholesome of the bunch. Both Canus and Kotone are better off together than they were on their own: Canus is free from his burdensome fate, Kotone made precious new friends, and both are in love and gained a second country to call their own. What more can you ask for? Well, maybe a darn head for Canus? I swear, that route would have been perfect if only the man didn't look like he had an unfortunate encounter with a guillotine. As it is, it remains a bit off-putting, even though the game implies that Kotone can see a bit of Canus' face after her interaction with the World Tree. For once, no head means no kissing scene, which is disappointing in an otome; for another, one can picture all sorts of freaky scenes under the sheets, which kinda soils the wholesomeness of the route. Oh, well; this is still one of my favourite routes, and it would certainly be my absolute favourite if Canus had a head on his shoulders.

 

  

Ignis Carbunculus

I really liked the fact that Ignis dropped the tsundere act so early in his route, revealing his more complex personality in the process. What I didn't like much, on the other hand, was the psychological torture he had to endure for most of said route. Learning that he slaughtered his whole village back in the day and that the guy he saw as a little brother was actually a traitor was bad enough already; so pray tell, was it really necessary to have him also literally feast on Kotone and endure an excruciating episode of mental torture in a prison cell? I swear, that avalanche of nastiness became seriously unsettling after a while. That aside, the All-Devouring Wolf God theme was pretty interesting, and reminded me nicely of my beloved Raging Loop; and Ignis ultimately ends up in a better place, making all the angst somehow worth it. 

 

 

Kaoru Rindo

Rindo being a sexy beast and the only human beau, I fully expected a steamy romp that would give Kotone some much-needed sense of normality — and boy, how utterly wrong I was. Rindo's route ends up being deeply disturbing, as it veers towards body horror in a most unexpected and brutal way. The 'loss of humanity' theme running throught the route brought back unfortunate memories of the Mitty/Nanami arc in Made in Abyss, and that's really not something I wanted to remember — more like I'd erase it entirely from my memory if I could. Not only that, but Rindo ends up worse off that he was on his own: his beloved sister's dead, and he became a non-human. Sure, he has Kotone now; but one can seriously wonder if the trade-off was really worth it. I'll admit it: I didn't get much from Rindo's route beyond a deep uneasiness and a heart-stabbing sadness. That route's only saving grace was Akira Mikado, who ditches his cliché mad scientist guise to reveal his immense fortitude, kindness and patience — and ends up being really touching and mesmerizing doing so. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the guy were made romance material in a future fandisc. 

 

 

Il Fado de Rie

The Kaori Yuki vibes are strong with this one, and I felt like I was reading an Angel Sanctuary fanfic through and through. It's not just the angel motif; from the sadistic god to the torture of angels, without forgetting the ban on love and emotions and the whole fallen angel shebang, that route's overall themes could have been lifted straight from Angel Santuary. Not that it's a bad thing, mind you; it just made Il's route a tad boring for me, as I was already familiar with all those leitmotifs. Still, there was more than enough shock value to keep me on my toes: Il's extreme deshumanization was genuinely harrowing, and the plot twist was truly genius, as it gave a totally new perspective on the whole story. Watching Il (re)learn to feel emotions was truly touching — heck, you know I'm total a sucker for the whole 'learning to feel and be human' shebang. And my, was it lovely indeed to be treated to a happy ending after all these struggles. 

 

 

Misyr Rex

Oh boy, oh boy. Where do I start with this one? This is the real deal, folks. Misyr's route is (very blatantly) the one and only canon route, and it runs the gamut of the CE mindf*ck: from angst to body horror to fates worse than death, it gives you everything — and it pulls no punches. I'll say it: the things Misyr and Noah went through are absolutely bone-chilling. The discovery of their fate stirred strong and unknown emotions deep within me; I seriously feel that my very soul has been touched, and I can safely claim that I've never, ever been struck so vividly by a narrative development in a otome. This is absolutely on par with terrifying classics such as I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream — heck, it's actually a textbook, perfect And I Must Scream! And don't get me started on Kotone's ultimate fate, which is truly horrifying yet unexplicably manages to retain a modicum of sweetness and wholesomeness. How on earth did the writers pull that off? I swear, Misyr's route will go down in my personal history not only as one of the most chillingly memorable otome routes I've ever played, but also as one of the most haunting fantasy stories I've ever read. 

 

 

With that said, here's the thing, dear fellow gamers: while CE's overall story is splendid and truly a masterpiece, CE's routes kinda fail on the romantic front. The issue here is that far from improving everybody's lives as you'd expect, Kotone getting closer to the beaus always results in appalling events, for both her beau du jour and herself. Even Canus' route, which is by far the most mellow, has its fair share of angst, betrayal and body horror before everything is settled. It's nearly like the game is advising strongly against relationships between human and non-humans; and knowing the overall Japanese stance on binational relationships, I wouldn't be surprised if the Otomate writers had indeed wanted to convey a not-so subliminal message on the matter. At any rate, the romance in CE is so contrived and painful that it certainly doesn't feel fulfilling; the overall story, on the other hand, is the stuff cult classics are made of. With that said, I'll see you soon with yet another VN report, dear fellow gamers; in the meantime, keep playing and take care!

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