TSA writes: "The Utawarerumono series has generally been pretty hard to recommend to anyone outside of Japan. While the final two PlayStation 4 and Vita entries in the trilogy were localised and released globally, the first game in the series was a Japanese PC release in 2002 that never saw the light of day outside of Japan. Even as that was later ported to PlayStation 2 and even PSP in Japan, the only option English-speaking fans had to engage with the game was to watch an anime adaptation full of skipped stories and character changes. Even once Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth came along nearly a decade later not much had changed."
TGG says: "For Utawarerumono fans out there who always wondered how the series began I can’t help but recommend this game. Sure, it shows its age a little in certain parts of the visuals but the characters, artwork, soundtrack, and story are all well worth experiencing through to the end even if that story loses some steam here and there."
Travis Bruno of Capsule Computers writes:
"The Utawarerumono series has always had a somewhat unique barrier to entry for those who have wanted to see what it has to offer. The first game in the series was released long ago in 2002 as an eroge in Japan and, considering it featured a number of sex scenes to go along with its visual novel storytelling and strategy RPG combat, a Western release was never in the cards. Years later an anime adaptation was created and eventually brought to the West but for the most part, many Utawarerumono fans who jumped into the two sequels in the series’ trilogy would be needing to do either some research, try out the original release themselves through fan-efforts, or go in blind. Now though, the first game in the series has been brought to the West with a number of updates in the form of Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen. With two games following in its wake and serving as a significant building block on how those stories unfolded, is this first entry finally worth revisiting?"
With its slick pacing, fun battles and overall level of quality, Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen comes fully recommended to anyone with a passing interest.
This isn’t a series I’ve heard of before but it looks and sounds interesting. Might be worth checking out!
Gonna have a bit of a deep dive into what the series is all about. If you can’t find me I’ll probably be at the bottom of some Wiki rabbit hole.
